Brown REL 101 JMU Exam 3 Review

How is the nature of divine human relationships in indigenous religions deeply political?

in indigenous religions, humans can negotiate with a god and if one god is unsatisfactory, the humans have other gods as options

How is the divine-human relationship primarily moral in monotheism?

because humans have only one option and God is all-powerful and defines the good, humans must learn to conform their wills to God’s will

What is the existential problem of human existence in indigenous religions?

cosmological harmony; staying in balance with the powers of nature, and knowing how to get along with the gods.

What is the existential problem of human existence in monotheism?

moral harmony; tuning the human will with the divine will

How does monotheism view nature as opposed to indigenous religions?

in monotheism, nature does not contain any sacred power (inanimate). However, nature reveals the character of God.

How is God intimately involved in human affairs in monotheism?

By caring about human well being and working to overcome the moral alienation of humanity

Where is God’s activity most clearly seen in monotheism?

Through history

Providence

God guiding or influencing events

Taboos of Monotheism/Judaism

1. belief in many gods

2. idolatry

3. veneration of nature

4. divination or magic

5. contact with the dead

Why are divine images/idolatry a taboo in monotheism/judaism?Why is m

Because an infinite God cannot be represented by a finite image

Why is magic taboo in Judaism?

Because God alone controls human destiny, not humans. Instead, humans should enter into a relationship with God through prayer

How does God overcome human moral alienation?

1. covenant with Abraham

2. covenant with Moses

Covenant

a non-utilitarian contract

What are the 4 promises included in Abraham’s covenant with God?

1. land to live on

2. children

3. protection from enemies

4. all of humanity blessed through him

What was the sign of Abraham’s covenant?

circumcision

Israelites

Abraham and Sarah’s bloodline after them

What were the issues of the Israelites living in Egypt

1. they were enslaved

2. its not the land God promised Abraham’s descendants

After Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt and into Israel, what was received?

the Law of Moses (Torah)

What are some of the main idea laid out in the Law of Moses?

1. ritual sacrifice

2. priesthood

3. comprehensive laws

4. monotheism

5. guidelines for what is sacred and impure

Why are animals chosen for sacrifice in Judaism?

to tone for moral violations. the animal dies in place for the Human and decreases guilt

How is monotheism reinforced in Judaism?

through the 10 commandments

Where was religion centralized in Israel?

the temple

What are some of the problems of the Canaanite religion that influenced Israel?

1. they engaged in polytheism and idolatry

2. they engaged in a fertility cult of Baal’s death and rebirth

3. sacrificed humans to appease Mot

4. read the natural world to see what the gods are doing

When Israel fell into the cycle of disobedience, what emerged

Prophets

Forth-tellers

confronted the Israelites about their behavior

Fore-tellers

Predicted events

Eschatology

concerned with beliefs about the end of the world, day of judgment, and the messiah

What did Assyria do to Israel?

Conquered and deported the northern kingdom

What did Babylon do to Judah?

Conquered and deported the southern kingdom

How did the prophets interpret Babylon’s conquest of Judah?

Breaking the covenant and divine wrath

What ancient kingdom allowed Jews to return to their land?

Persia

Why was the Maccabean war fought?

Jews revolted against forced Greek culture and religion

Hanukkah

celebrates the rededication of the temple

Rome conquered…

Judea

When Rome conquered Judea, how did they approach monarchy?

established semi-Jewish client kings (ex. Herod)

Sadducces

priests

Pharisees

rabbis focused on purity and law

Zealot

revolutionaries

Essenes

desert community, rejected the temple and therefore didn’t like the Sadducees

Samaritans

rival group with their own religion

First Revolt of the Romans

destruction of second temple

Second revolt of the Romans

Romans expel Jews from the land and rename the region Palestine

Who led the Jews during the second revolt against the Romans?

Simon bar kokhba (false messiah)

Some of the consequences of the Jewish diaspora

1. suspicion as foreigners

2. persecution from christians and muslims

3. Judaism survives through people, rabbis, law, and synagogue

After WWII and Holocaust, the UN established what?

the modern State of Israel in 1948

How does Judaism view creation?

God created the universe outside of himself. made good creations, world is not meant to scare humans

How does Judaism view God?

God not created, infinite in goodness, and defines reality

How does Judaism view humanity?

1. humans made in image of God

2. higher than animals

3. have moral culpability

How does Judaism view human predicament?

humans morally alienate themselves from God knowing good and evil, and still choosing evil

How does Judaism view the path of ultimate transformation?

keeping the covenant and repent for sins

How does Judaism view the afterlife?

Not clear, some believe in resurrection

How does Judaism view ritual life?

1. started off as temple sacrifice then led to synagogue worship

2. circumcision

3. bar/bat mitzvah

What are some holy days in Judaism?

1. sabbath

2. passover

3. New year (rosh Hashanah)

4. Yom Kippur

Sabbath

day of rest and worship on Saturday

Passover

celebration of liberation of Israelites from slavery in Egypt

Rosh Hashannah

Jewish new year

Yom Kippur

day of atonement

What are some sacred texts in Judaism?

1. Bible (tanakh)

2. Talmud

What is in the Jewish Bible (tanakh)

1. Law (Torah

2. Prophets

3. Writings

4. divine revelations

Which prophet was given the torah?

Moses at Mount Sinai

What is the Talmud

• rabbinic commentary on Law

• authoritative, not divine revelation

Response to emancipation and enlightenment of Jews

formation of religious sects

1. reform

2. conservative

3. orthodox

4. Hasidic (ultraorthodox)

Holocaust meaning

refers to Israelite sacrifice of “whole burnt offering'“

Shoah

catastrophe

When was the alienation of Jews in Europe at its climax?

Under H*tler in germany in the 1930s and 40s

H*tler’s final solution

extinction of all Jews

H*tler’s 3 step process

1. exclusion of Jews from German life

2. exiled Jews from germany

3. Extermination of Jews when Germany expanded

1935 Nuremberg Racial trials

intended to drive Jews out of Germany by forbidding sex between Germans and Jews, denying civil rights to Jewish Blood, no unemployment, or social security

How did H*tler exclude Jews?

• by not allowing them to work in civil service and law

• denying them access to public places

• passed the nuremberg racial laws

• 1936 four year plan: preparation for world war and Jews were not leaving Germany fast enough so plans to kill them begins

How did H*tler exile the Jews?

• Kristallnacht

• jews forced to wear star of David

• sent them to concentration camps where Jews worked to death

Kristalnacht

Translates to “night of glass” when Jewish shops were smashed, synagogues were destroyed, and 36 Jews died

How did Nazis exterminate Jews?

• 3 million more Jews in Poland making deportation difficult, so they were killed instead

• Action groups formed to kill Jews

• extermination camps built to kill Jews, Gypsies, Russian soldiers, communists, Jehovah’s witnesses, homosexuals, disabled people, sick, and christian resisters

What do Jewish people who view the Holocaust as punishment believe?

they view the holocaust as punishment for sins of violating the covenant (ex. Reform Judaism, zionism, anti-zionism)

What do Jewish people who view the Holocaust as martyrdom believe?

they view it as Jews needing to be willing to sacrifice their lives for God even if irrational. The genocide was not due to unfaithfulness, instead it was proof of their righteousness in not denying God

What do jews who view the holocaust from the perspective of free will believe?

they view it as an extreme form of God restricting his power to allow humans choice

What do jews who view the holocaust from the perspective of a new phase in Judaism believe?

they view it as God still being present for Jews despite the holocaust, stressing the necessity of the existence of Judaism (can’t let H*tler win by giving up the faith, must resist)

What do jews who view the holocaust from the perspective of God being dead believe?

they believe the Holocaust is so evil that belief in Yahweh is impossible (must retell the story so the world doesn’t forget it)

Incarnation

Christians believe Jesus is God in human form

Jesus’ message

taught about the kingdom of God with no evil, suffering, and death

How was Jesus seen initially?

many believed he was the messiah but others saw him as a prophet

How did Jesus challenge Jewish religious authorities?

Picked grain and healed people on the Sabbath

Beatitudes

blessings to the poor, meek, and suffering. Jesus’ teachings that show how God does not favor the powerful

Jesus teaches to….

• love your enemy

• commit to self-sacrifice by putting other people’s interests in front of yours just as Jesus did

What part of Jesus’ life do the gospels focus on the most?

Jesus’ last week

How does Christianity emerge from judaism?

• messiah is no longer a conquering king but instead a suffering servant who died for our sins

• messiah was expected to restore Israel but instead he atoned for the world’s sin

• Jesus’ resurrection showed how death was defeated

What did Apostle Paul do before converting?

• tried to purify Judaism and kicked people out of synagogues

Council of Jerusalem (AD 50)

leaders of christian movement gathered to say people don’t need to follow all jewish law (ex. circumcision, mosaic law, sacrifices, kosher diet)

What were Jewish followers of Jesus committed to?

• Jesus as resurrected and divine messiah

• Jesus’ death created a new covenant

• old covenant law is no longer binding

How were christian churches set up?

• apostles founded churches and appointed bishops

• bishops went to new cities to preach

Christian canon

Christian bible

Christian creed

summarization of Bible by bishops

How does christianity view God?

• Trinity as father, son, and Holy Spirit (one in essence, being, nature, and substance)

• Incarnation of God the son

How does christianity view humanity?

In the image of God with specific purpose

How does christianity view the problem with existence

• humans have the power to chose good or evil

• humans struggle with depravity and moral alienation

Judaism vs Christianity view of free will

• judaism: humans have free will to choose good or evil

• Christianity: humans are deprived of power because sin compromises free will. This emphasizes the need for divine intervention to chose what’s good

Christianity’s path of ultimate transformation

• Jesus’ death served as universal atonement

• salvation by faith

• salvation by grace

What did Theologian Anslem answer?

the question of why God became human

Why did God become human?

Because human sin is an infinite offense but humans are finite and therefore can’t pay it back. But since God is infinitely valuable, only he can pay the debt.

How does christianity view afterlife?

• there will be a day of judgement, Jesus’s second coming

• dead will be ressurceted

• restoration of all things

Christian rituals

the 7 sacraments