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Three Great Teachings of China
Buddhism, Daoism/Taoism, Confucianism
Tibetan Buddhism
The three paths
Shravaka Yana: way of the emptiness of the self
essentially the path of Theravada Buddhism
considered the lowest, selfish path.
it consists in seeing that there is no self.
Pratyekabuddha Yana: way of the emptiness of all things
consists in seeing the nothingness of all things.
it is better in that it seeks unity with all being.
because it focuses on all being, it gains a sort of spiritual mastery over all things.
mastery of world around us through exercise of preternatural powers
Bodhisattva Yana: the way of compassion
Similar to Mahayana Buddhism
Vajrayana Techniques
The importance of ritual: prostrations, circumambulation of stupas/temples; offering mandalas; recitation of mantras; spinning of prayer wheels/flags; holy water; rosaries, etc.
Upaya Lineages: a kind of ordination/initiation ceremony which is seen as necessary to embark successfully upon the spiritual path
Esoteric transmission of teachings: because one must be ordained into a teacher-student relationship for some practices to be effective, these are only known to initiated students
Bodhisattvas from above and from below
From Below: start as human beings and achieve enlightenment by meditation
From above: start as divine emanations (like the Logos) who enter this world
Adi Buddha (cosmic principle) comes from above to the world
Lamas: living Buddhas and incarnations of the emanations of Adi-Buddha
remain fallible as human beings, but higher spiritual powers work through them
two Lamas are also political rulers: The Dalai Lama (of all Tibet) and Panchen Lama
Sand Mandalas
Mandala = symbolic picture of the universe
Mandalas as temples in which Bodhisattvas might dwell
Mandalas as soul construction: shapes your own patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting
Mandalas as microcosms of the universe: what you do to the picture of the cosmos, the actual cosmos will change through your manipulation
Sand mandalas as magic (e.g. sympathetic magic, like the vudu doll)
Dao
The Way/ the Ideal Order (similar to Greek concept of Logos, God’s logic/reason)
ideal order of nature and natural harmony
ideal order of society and social harmony
Qi/Chi
Breath or spirit
the basic energy of which all physical, psychological, and spiritual things are made
the “force” in star wars is literally modelled on qui.
Yin, Yang, and the fundamental place of movement and change
the only constant in the world is change; change is the fundamental reality
Qi moves between the two extremes of yin (darkness, death, femininity and winter), and yang (light, life, masculinity, and summer) is the fundamental reality of the world
The movement of Qi causes the 10,000 things that exist in creation
“as the essences of yin and yang move through the four seasons, alternately upward and downward, they encourage each other; this is the round way.
Souls and afterlife
humans have two souls
The hun (the Yang soul), intelligent and spiritual; can become an ancestor
The Po (the Yin soul); can become a ghost
Gradually these souls revert back to the yang and the Yin
Stronger, more godlike souls ‘last’ longer
3 types of afterlife
Gods: government officials and charismatic people
Ghosts: beggars/bandits
Ancestors = family members
Rituals of Chinese Folk Religion revolve around communication with other spirits
Sacrifice, esp. at family altar and the ghost-feeding festival
Spirit marriage and spirit adoption
if someone who dies w/o marrying, she’ll become a ghost because there is no family for her to be with. Ghost marriages prevent this by bringing that person into your family
Divinization
Exorcism
Traditional Chinese religion as a diffused religion
Chinese culture and traditional Chinese religion largely merged with Daoism; diffused
Chinese popular thought and customs were/are an eclectic fusion of Buddhism/Daoism/Confucian thought
In regards to culture, many aspects of Traditional Chinese Religion/Daoism revived as culture
Philosophy: Confucianism and Christianity studied at universities as philosophies
No institution that teaches us about horoscopes, but we all know our sign = diffused in the ambient culture
Religion is diffused in China. You don’t belong to a specific religion, but all perform rituals of traditional Chinese religion
TCR as immanent
there is no supernatural: everything is part of this natural order
Lao Tzu
Carried in his mother’s womb for 82 years, born gray and wise
worked as an archivist in a Western Chinese state
Quit when he became convinced that the civilization was collapsing
Dedicates self to telling others to live a natural goodness
Tao Te China: 1/5 most influential books in human history
A record of his insights written in 3 days after the border guard at Hankao Pass asked him to stay
Three Aspects of the Tao
way, path, road
way of untamed nature
Supreme Tao (ch’ang tao)
Unseen Tao (wu tao)
Seen Tao
The emergence of the ‘seen’ Tao
The chaos and the Development of the Seen Tao (Heaven and Earth)
At the beginning of all things was the Unseen Tao; From this issued the One [Chaos]; there was unity, but it had no form
Philosophical Taoism
Goal: to align one’s daily life to the Tao, to ride its boundless tide and to delight in its flow
The one who lives according to the Tao is “never forcing, never forced”
Some Taoist techniques related to the philosophical aspect of Taoism
Wei wu wei (the action of non-doing): go with the flow, action rooted in the Dao, let yourself act instinctively
free and easy wandering
Tao understood through analogy with water
Supreme good is like water
nourishes all things without trying
soft and yielding, yet also able to dissolve the hard and inflexible
Hygenic aspect of Taoism
Augmenting your own share of chi
Maximizing chi through matter
through consuming various foods or minerals (tiger marrow, sap/resin)
through specific sexual activities (change lead of human body to gold of immortal body)
through breathing exercises, to draw chi from the air (if you stretch in certain ways, your chi receptors are open and can bring in energy)
Maximizing chi through movement (dance, meditation, calisthenics, acupuncture)
movements mimic the natural movements of animals
basic idea: to draw chi from cosmos; to dislodge internal blocks to its flow
related to Feng shui
Maximizing chi through mind (meditation)
similar to experience of raja yoga in Hinduism
belief that worry and distraction clogs the soul; this build up must be eliminating
sitting and forgetting: all the griefs and anxieties of life, and the socialization/education which leads to them, must be actively destroyed
Magical aspect of Taoism
Vicariously deploying chi to assist others
Problem: philosophical or hygenic aspects require time and resources
Taoist priests would use their achievements to increase the chi of the people
Methods: soothsayers, psychics, shamans, faith healers --magic
Taoism as a spectacle for the common people
A pantheon of gods
3 pure ones: Jade, grand, supreme: total embodiment of chi
8 immortal ones: attained immortality. They go to the chain of islands off coast of Bohai sea
Mystical Taoism
Union with the eternal Tao
Importance of realizing the Tao
those who die without recognizing the Tao fade into nothingness
Metaphysics of Unity with the Tao
knowing the creator, you will come to know the world, knowing the world, go back and hold fast to the creator
How Harmony with the Tao is described
your own mind is destined to become the universe itself (if we return to the source we become the source)
Do all Taoists believe in immortality?
Only the Tao as non-being is truly immortal
entities it forms must ultimately dissolve
There is no heaven. The only way to live forever is with our bodies/in this world. Our soul decays when separated from the body
Transmogrification
changing corruptible flesh into some incorruptible source
Invulnerability
inability to be hurt by weapons or fire
accounts of Chinese swordsmen who through the use of Taoist charms made themselves invulnerable to conflict
Confucianism: Building blocks of virtue ethics
virtue is the foundation of civilization
Happiness comes from performing your proper act, to live in harmony with others
human nature has the potential to perform our proper act, but we are born incomplete
individuals can perform their proper act by acquiring the right virtues (ren/li)
Any action is good if it builds up a virtue or destroys a vice
Confucian moralization of Tao as Taoli
Daoli/Taoli is the moral order
Tao of the Confucians was repugnant to the Taoists because instead of being one and indivisible, it was a complex of many modes or ways
Confucian moralization of Yin-Yang
Yes, but… Confucians are more focused on moral interconnectedness than natural kind
Is qi/chi important in confucianism?
It is unimportant. It is present in neo-Confucian mysticism, but it is generally not important
Do Confucians believe in an afterlife?
no; Confucius has nothing to say about an afterlife. If there is an afterlife, we cannot do anything about it
Tian (Heaven) as impersonal God
Confucius speaks of Heaven (Tian), but this is only an impersonal name of God, not a transcendent dimension; tianli = the natural order
Five cardinal relationships of Confucianism
Ruler and subject: royal virtue engenders ritual propriety
parent and child: provision engenders filial piety (through obedience, ancestor rituals)
husband and wife: provision and fidelity engender domestic service and obedience
elder and younger sibling: example of character engenders respect for character
Friends: mutual dedication engenders loyalty; non-hierarchical
Chief Confucian virtues
Ren: human-heartedness or “goodness”
the primary virtue: ideal relationship between two people
exemplified by the silver rule: do not do unto others what you would not want others to do unto you
Li: general appropriateness and ritual propriety
doing the proper thing in the proper way in given circumstances
ritual propriety: performing the rituals correctly
awe of the rituals and cultural tradition kept central states safe
Confucius himself edited a number of ritual books
Filial piety: respect for one’s parents, elders, and ancestors
Ancestor worship
A service rendered to one’s forbearers at the ancestral home altar, where the presence of the family’s dead was localized through paper cartouches/wooden tablets
Deep bow
lighting candles
burn incense
offer some food to the ancestors, have a banquet
Confucius’ context and his interest in governing
China’s political crisis: result of the decline of the Chou dynasty
Social crisis: shortage of food, security, and opportunity
Moral crisis: human life not valued; corruption rampant
Confucius as a political and moral reformer
teaching the liberal arts to all
about a dozen of his disciples take positions in the government
Confucius fails to obtain a meaningful position
Edits editions of great Chinese literature, spreads program throughout China
virtue ethics and 5 cardinal relationships
Is Confucianism a religion?
There is debate over this. Some say its best understood as an ethical guide to life and living with strong character, but it began as a revival of an earlier Christian tradition. There are no Confucian gods, however, and Confucius himself is worshipped as a spirit, not a god. Many people refer to it as both a religion and a philosophy
John Wu on Confucianism
Confucius and Heaven (the impersonal force that guides the world): something that has will, creative power, protective love
Confucianism and Filial piety: attitude Christ models towards us and to His father
Christ and filial piety: to God + Virgin Mary
Christain critique of Confucianism: Jesus has rescued us from a slavish bondage to this world, rescuing us from the “this-world” mindset of Confucianism
John Wu’s critique of Daoism
Lao Tzu and his insights into being: got his insights from Cosmic revelation
Wei wu wei and following nature: basic natural law = following the logos
Virtue as participation in the Tao: participation in logos
Self-effacement and the importance of humility to reach being: growing spiritually
Critique: a failure to worship God directly. Catholics worship God directly, being empowered to be sons/daughters of the King
Matteo Ricci and the Chinese Rites controversy
Jesuits arrive in China in 1582; make converts among the educated
From 136 BC to AD 1905, in order to hold a government post, you needed a Confucian education
in order to graduate from a Confucian school, you needed to perform the ancestor worship ritual in honor of Confucius, your new intellectual ancestor
Do these practices qualify as religious rites, and are thus incompatible with Christian belief?
Jesuits argued that these were secular rites and were compatible with the Christian belief
Dominicans and Franciscans disagreed and reported the situation to Rome
Back and forth debate with ban being placed on practicing those rites, but then the ban being lifted
Pius XII issued a decree in 1939 allowing Chinese Catholics to observe these rites
Do most Taoists follow only one aspect of Taoism?
Their philosophy is more heterogenous. They don’t generally regard themselves as followers of a single religious community that shares a specific set of teachings or practices
Main goal = to align one’s daily life to the Tao
You ca imply a number of methods at once to try to attain this goal
acupuncture, meditation, free and easy wandering, magic, etc.
The Covenant Principle of Judaism
“You be my people, I will be your loving and merciful God”
Noahide Covenant and Commandments
Belief in one God
Do not worship idols
do not steal
do not murder
do not engage in sexual immorality
dont abuse animals
establish a system of justice
Covenant with Abraham and the chosen people, land
Promise of land (Canaan)
Promise of descendants
Promise of redemption to all people, through Abraham’s people
Covenant with Moses + 613 Mosaic laws
Conditional: people responsible to follow the law, God promised to abundantly bless and protect Israel
entirety of laws that Moses delivered from God in the 5 books of the Torah
Moses and the exodus from Egypt
Passover: Jewish festival that celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Celebrated for 7 days, beginning the 14th day of Nisan
YHWH appears to Moses.
Moses leads the people in a confrontation with Pharaoh.
Israelites wanted in the desert for 40 years (and the feast of Sukkot)
Torah commanded holiday celebrated for 7 days, beginning on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei. Commemorates the protection that God provided the children of Israel when they left Egypt. Also celebrates the gathering of the harvest
the covenant at Sinai and the Mosaic law
Entering and conquering the promised land
Conquest of Canaan
Establishment of the Monarchy (David, Solomon, Saul)
Dedication of Solomon’s temple
Yom Kippur: Day of Atonement. Holiest day in Judaism. Celebrated the 10th day of the 7th month. People would fast and cleanse themselves from their sins before God.
Loss of northern Israel through conquest and intermarriage (=Samaritans)
Judah is conquered, temple is destroyed
Survivors sent into exile in Babylon
Feast of Purim: commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from Haman, an official of the Persian empire who wanted to kill all Jews
Second Temple Judaism
Persian Cyrus the Great frees the Jews from Babylon, finances 2nd temple
Persians conquered by the Greeks, then by Romans
Feast of Hanukkah: festival of lights. commemorates the recovery of Jerusalem and subsequent rededication of the second temple at the beginning of the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid empire
Jews remain a vassal state with limited autonomy under foreign rule
Jewish revolt against the Romans
1st revolt (AD 70): Temple is destroyed
2nd revolt (AD 130): The Jews are kicked out of Judah; diaspora begins
Diaspora Judaism
Sephardic Jews: settled around Mediterranean after Diaspora
Ashkenazi Jews: Medieval migration of Jews to Germany/Slavic countries
Re-establishment of Israel in 1948 by the British and United Nations
2nd temple Judaism: divisions around the time of Christ
Sadducees: collaborationists; collaborated with ruling power at the time; as long as you keep Jews in line, you can govern yourselves; ran the temple
Essenes: covenant was broken; temple was corrupt; wait for the Messiah; live out in the desert
Pharisees: studying the law (613 laws of Moses); be holy in everyday lives by application of law of Moses; debate how to apply it to every situation
Zealots: impatient; promote organized rebellion against the Romans
After 2nd revolt, only pharisees were left = rabbinic Judaism is only version left today
Neusner’s Four ways of Jewish Spirituality
The way of Leviticus: sacrifice of Animals, grain, wide in temple (cult)
ex. priests, Scribes, Sadducees
The way of the Prophets: appeal to God’s will in the events of history
ex. prophets, social activists
The way of meals: transformation of temple liturgy into ritual meals
ex. Essenes, Christians, post-diaspora rabbis
The way of study: finding God in God’s written word (imp. of literacy and education)
ex. Rabbis, and a Story of the First day of Rabbinic school
Rabbis and Pharisees were Jewish in this way
The Torah
Basic Principle: God present to Israel through the gift of the Law
Religion and China: the imperial model
everything is overseen by the government
dont like religion outside control of gov’t
Created these churches
Catholic, Protestant, Daoist, Buddhist, Islamic
leaders of them chosen by the communist party
The Written Torah (analogous to the Christian OT)
The Torah itself (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)
The Nevi’im (“Prophets'“): Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, 12 minor prophets
The Ketuvim “Writings”: Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Chronicles
The Oral Torah
Written accounts of debates between famous Rabbis
Recall: The Pharisees sought to apply the law, mostly written as priestly purity codes, to the daily life of lay believers
The spiritual significance of studying the law of God
internalizing the Torah through study as “spiritual communion” with God
Neusner: In Judaism, if you want to meet God, you open a book and study
Rabbinic Jewish culture delights in argumentation
The Talmud: collection of Jewish civil/ceremonial law, with 2 parts:
Mishnah: first written compendium of Judaism’s oral law
Gemara: discussion of the Mishnah and related writings
Midrash: Homiletic works that expand on scriptural narrative (e.g. Lillith)
Neusner’s description of Open canon
what the most current sages teach, in a spirit of faith and in a process of learning, is regarded as part of this same Torah of Sinai
Hillel and Shammai
Hillel: Rabbi born in Babylon
Shammai: Rabbi born in Palestine; opponent of Hillel
Shema
Hear, O Israel, the Lord Our God, the Lord is One. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might
What to do on Shabbat in the home
Friday: clean the home; make challah; eat together; light shabbat candles; recite the kiddush to bless wine and bread
Saturday: visit family/friends, shutins; recite the Havdalah to bless wine and bread
Reform Judaism
An Enlightenment attempt at integrating with newly-secular Europe
Jewish ghettos and limited Jewish autonomy
enlightenment: religion should be private, religious differences are not a government concern
religious toleration: Jews get to leave the ghettos, but Jewish tradition made it difficult to integrate into society
Jewish particularism and mainstream antisemitic bias
Reformation: essence of Judaism found in the prophets
Four ways in reform Judaism integrated itself with modern society
Rationalism: faith must be rational
Moralism: only the moral laws of Torah are bidning
Social liberalism: total equality of sexes in worship
ritual liberalism: simplify rituals, use vernacular, dress in modern clothes
Holocaust was perceived as a failure of the project of integration
Orthodox Judaism
Maintaining the whole Torah and the Medieval Tradition
Denies the very premise of the Jewish reformation
Maintain 613 mitzvah and the accompanying Rabbinic fence around them
Conservative Judaism
grants the premise of Reform Judaism, but maintains more customs
Two issues in the relationship between Jews and Christians
Christology: Jesus and His Divine and Jewish Identities
Was Jesus a good Jew? person?
Supercessionism
are Jews still in a covenant?
Balance between tzedek and kedusha
Tzedek (Justice): extend boundaries of righteousness and justice; mend broken world
Kedusha (sanctify): sacred people with sacred purpose; apart from rest of the world
Blend of world engagement yet also remaining set apart as Jews. There will always be poor in the land. We are to lead them from exile into freedom, that is our sacred calling
Ethical Thrust in Judaism vs Pagan Fatalism
Pagan Naturalists (stoics): created world is perfect the way it is. If it is natural, it cannot be bad for you, and if it’s artificial, it cant be good for you
Life is not so difficult or sorrowful so long as we approach it with a sufficiently detached attitude
ought to accept the natural world and its pain
Jewish Fatalism: prophetic principle of lament to God + denunciation of the sinner
God is personal: knows and loves you
God is one: polytheism allows many possible ends in life. Human life has one permissible end-- the will of One God
God created the world, transcends it, and rules it. The world CAN fall short of God’s will
Prophetic principle = partial repudiation of the world and human nature as it is
Moses Maimonides
The Jewish Aquinas
attempted to reconcile Jewish faith with Greek philosophy
13 Propositions
To know the existence of the creator
The unity of God (no Trinity)
The denial of physicality in connection with God
God’s antiquity
That God, blessed be he is worthy that we serve him, to glorify him, to make known his greatness, and to do his commands
Prophecy
Prophetic capacity of Moses our teacher, peace be upon him
The Torah is from Heaven
The completeness of the Torah
That God knows man’s actions and does not remove His eye from them
That God gives reward to he who does the commandments of the Torah and punishes those that transgress its admonishments and warnings
The era of the Messiah
Resurrection of the dead
Length of Jewish Diaspora
AD 135 -1948
Supercessionism and Vatican II
shift from hard to soft supercessionism (David Novak)
Shift in thinking: no longer “the Jewish covenant is no longer acknowledged by God”
Nostra Aetate: Recalls Paul’s langauge in Romans 11
God holds the Jews most dear for the sake of their Fathers
Prophetic Principle in action
King Ahab and Naboth: tzedek
Naboth, by refusing to seel Ahab his vineyard was obeying God’s orders, as he forbade them to sell their land to another tribe or family
David and Bathsheba
God will not endure exploitation, corruption, or mediocrity; because of the value of human life, it will have consequences
son Bathsheba was expecting with David, according to the prophet Nathan, would die because of both of their sins
Meaning of the word Islam
Peace
submission
Taken together, the peace that comes from submission to God
The Life of Muhammad
Born into Quraish clan at Mecca
Nursed by Halima
Entrused to his uncle, Abu Talib, and his son, Ali
Father died before his birth; mother died when he was six
Muhammad restores his aunt’s withered palm tree
Trader and husband
marries Khadija, a widow in the caravan business; has leisure to pursue spiritual life
Mount Hira
frequents a cave for solitude and reflection. Prophecies begin (610 AD). The total of these revelations is the Koran
Jibreel reveals the plans for the Hijra to Muhammad
people of Mecca upset at his attack on their ancestral polytheism
Flees Mecca after his wife dies
Received at Medina
city divided between Jewish founders and polytheist majority
Muhammad welcomed as a way of promoting unity
fight over marketplaces in Medina
Muhammad’s followers turn to raiding Meccan caravans, conflict ensues
Battles of Badr and Uhud
Muhammad sets out to take Mecca (Battle fo the Trench)
exiles the remaining Jewish clan in Medina
Failed pilgrimage--10yr treaty
Muhammad and his companions take the city of Mecca
Muhammad breaks treaty 2yrs later
Mecca surrenders w/o fight
Muhammad and Aisha seal an alliance with an Arabian tribal chief
Sunni and Shia Islam
No heir; choose successor by vote or by blood?
Who will be caliph--Abu Bakr (friend) or Ali (cousin)?
Followers of Abu Bakr and Aisha: contemporary Sunni (80%)
Followers of Ali: contemporary Shia (Shi’ites) (15%)
Differences between Sunni and Shia
Differing theologies of power
Sunni: power as a reward and sign of God’s blessing
Shia: power as a threat to the truth and see value in suffering for the truth
12 Imams only valid authority
12th Imam is alive but has been hiding since AD 941; he will return at the end of time to bring justice
Shi’ites celebrate redemptive suffering with Ashura
Shi’ites believe in the special intercessory powers of the imams
Devotional shiite practices: pilgrimages, shrines, saints, affective prayers
The Ulama: Mullahs to Mujtadhid to Ayatollah to Grand Ayatollah
5 Muslim Approaches to modernity
Scholastic traditionalism: no change
Salafi Traditionalism: go back to original Islam
Salafi Reformism (The Renewal): more willing to changes in Iran and Egypt. Democratic elections
Politicized Literalism ((a subset of 2 and 3): use political force to implement literal form of Islam
Modernism: “A reformed Islam is Islam no longer”
Three differences between modern and traditional societies
Political Liberalism: fundamental freedom of the people in the form of
democratic rule
disestablishment of religion from state
prioritization of individual human rights
Economic liberalism: fundamental freedom of the marketplace to distribute goods
built upon a banking system which allows usury
this breaks the connection between physical work material gain
Priority of empirical science: science is the primary method of establishing truth, not received tradition
Sayyid Qutb’s “The America I have Seen”
America as al-Farabi’s democratic city
peak of advancement and depth of primitiveness
America as an ignorant city
America was born through muscle and applied science, and therefor cannot appreciate the deeper truth and beauty of spiritual things
4 sufi paths in Islam
way of knowledge: philosophy and science
Example: Neo-Platonic eisegesis of the Tree of Life as the Tree of Being
way of mystical union
Rumi
Sufi monotheism
One real being, ground of all existence
call the real either God or the World
God is very immanent, manifested by all visible things
No creation in time: universe is God’s co-eternal self-manifestation
way of beauty (Koran is best expressed through art)
poetry, art, film, musicals
way of compassion: try to find God present in other people by serving those in need
6 ways Muhammad is superior to other prophets
words are more concise and meaningful
helped by terror he inspired in the hearts of his enemies
raiding and spoils were lawful for him
the earth has been made clean for him
he was sent to all mankind
he is the final prophet
5 pillars/practices of Islam
Shahadah: creed, how you become Muslim
Salat: 5x daily prayer, obligatory
Zakat: tax 2% of finances
Ramadan: month of fasting from sun up to sun down
Concept and Basic Practices of Dhimmitude
Dhimmi: people of certain faiths (Judaism, Christianity) living in lands ruled by Islam who receive protected but inferior status under sharia law (2nd class citizens)
strictly forbidden from evangelizing or proselytizing
not allowed to display symbols of their faith
traditionally, not allowed, to build/repair churches
traditionally, must pay the tribute tax (jizyah) as a sign of submission
sometimes, not allowed to protect themselves
historically, wear some form of distinctive apparel as a sign of inferior status
Muslim view of Christ vs Christian view of Muhammad
Muslim view of Christ
deeply respectful views
Christian view of Muhammad: 3 attitudes
Extremely negative: Muhammad’s as lustful, violent, heretical, instrument of the Devil
Selectively positive: He’s like OT prophet: social justice, monotheism, God’s judgement
Imperfect vessel of God’s grace: he was flawed, but his message contains some truth
What do Muslims and Christians share doctrinally?
Belief in one God, just and merciful
angels and demons (but Christians dont believe in the jinn)
the human relationship with God depends on faith/trusting submission
Prayer, not meditation, as the path to God
attitude towards God of humility and gratitude for the gift of revelation
social justice as critical to a right relationship with God
prophets proclaim the judgement of God
eschatology (this world will pass away in God’s final judgement)
To what do Muslims object most in Christianity?
Doctrine of the Trinity (3 persons 1 God)
Doctrine of the Incarnation (Jesus Christ as Son of God, true God and true man)
Process of Revelation in Christianity vs Islam
Christianity
Word of God made…MAN
Islam
Word of God made…BOOK
Koran: Meccan vs Medinan verses
Mecca verses
have story/narrative
monotheism, Judaism
Polytheism: Christians, Jews
emphasis is similar to prophets
Medina verses
rules (prose)
differences in Christians + Jews
REPLACE Mecca verses
Controversy between literalists and eisegetes (in relation to the Koran)
Literalists: build your relationship with God by literal application of the Koran, ahadith
‘the masses’ follow a deen of literal interpretation of the Koranic signs and symbols
Eisegetes: Koran/ahadith require additional instruction to grow relationship with God
reads a deeper, non-literal meaning into the Koran
Deen
religio: the way of life which correctly interprets the Koran
signs of revelation
Esotericism in Islam
Dhikr
remembrance of God and recitation of the Koran
Rumi and his claim to be God
Sufi monotheism
There is one real being, ultimate ground of all existence
We can call the real either God or the world
God is very immanent, manifested by all visible things
No creation in time: universe is GOd’s co-eternal self manifestation
Rumi can say, “I am God”: I am nothing, God is everything--there is nothing but God’s being
hadra
supererogatory ritual performed by Sufi orders. Often involves sermons, recitation of the Koran, chanting, and invocations of God.
Virtuous vs Ignorant city
Virtuous: organizes itself around pursuit of virtue, holiness
Ignorant: societies ignorant of a shared spiritual pursuit
Indispensable city: citizens cooperate on essentials
Vile city: citizens cooperate in pursuit of wealth
Base city: citizens cooperate in pursuit of pleasure
Timocratic city: citizens cooperate in pursuit of honor
Despotic regime: citizens cooperate in pursuit of power over others
structure and purpose of a hadith
Hadith: strong/mandatory if chain of transmission is strong
collection of traditions (speech, report, account, narrative) containing sayings of the prophet Muhammad which, with accounts of his daily practice
Isnad: chain of narrators who have transmitted the report
matn: main text of the report
Their spiritual authority comes from the Koran, enjoins Muslims to emulate Muhammad and obey his judgements
shirk
sin of idolatry in Islam
Syro-Aramaic thesis on the origin of the Koran
asserted that the language of the early compositions of the Qur'an was not exclusively Arabic, as assumed by the classical commentators, but rather is rooted in the Syro-Aramaic dialect of the 7th century Meccan Quraysh tribe, which is associated in the early histories with the founding of the religion of Islam
Importance of the Koran in Islam
answers our purpose in life
explains the oneness of Allah
we can learn about all the prophecies
teaches spiritual, moral, and social values
teaching solely based on reasoning
can understand Muhammad is the ideal role model
Rights of women in Islam
Women are inferior sex: male is in charge of the female
called to be submissive, obedient wives
Body must always be veiled (unless in presence of immediate male family member)
Men can divorce as easily as saying “we are divorced” but a woman can only sue for divorce in the courts under specific circumstances
can be married as young as 9 years old
Cannot have custody of their children
cannot travel, work, study, or leave the house without the proper male’s permission