World Religions Midterm (26-49) (Animism, Judaism, Islam, Zoroastrianism)

Though other religions have a body of teaching that is relatively standard

Animism is as varied as the tribe or people group that hold to it

animism is the typical belief system of the world’s tribal peoples

(muslim, Christian, or Hindu)

Animism from the Latin Anima

breath or spirit

sub-saharan Africa

is the greatest surviving stronghold of animism

traditional religions

rarely have written scriptures or sacred writings

the foundation stone of animistic ritual

magic

Animism addresses

the immediate issues of life

formal religions address

the ultimate issues of life

negative magic

witchcraft

imitative magic

seeks to bring harm to an enemy by attacking a representation of him

contagious magic

the connection between a person and his hair clippings, nail parings, spit, or feces

fortunetelling

divination. an important aspect of many traditional religions

it may be taboo

to touch certain objects (snails, frogs, animals, or a woman who just had a baby)

most animistic rituals

are in response to a problem (illness or drought)

animistic religions are generally pragmatic and focus

on the here-and-now

personal spirits

ancestral spirits or nature-dwelling spirits

impersonal forces

fate or the evil eye

Characteristics of Animism (listing 4)

1. the whole of life is pervaded with and governed by fear

2. the absence of love and hope

3. there are no moral absolutes

4. fatalism and a sense of helplessness in the face of external forces

all major religions have some fowlers who practice

animistic rituals alongside formal activities

the most common group ceremonies

involve dancing and drumming

the largest animistic family is the

African traditional religions

syncretism

the blending of beliefs and practices from two different religions

parallelism

describes the practicing of two system side by side without blending the two

most tradition africans believe that

ancestros continue to live after death in much the same way they lived when they had physical bodies

the African world view sees disease and death

as a result of the spirit world, not from natural causes

illnesses are often attributed

to an ancestral spirit in danger of being forgotten

fetishes or charms are worn around the neck, wrist, waist, or ankle

to ward off unwanted spirits

witchcraft answers the

why

common sense and modern science answer the

how

Time centers on

the past and present, not the future

salvation in the OT was

by grace based on the love of God

the Jew who were not killed were

scattered across the world (diaspora)

the Jewish name of the OT

Tanakh

three sections of the Jewish bible

Law, Prophets, writings

torah

law

Neviim

prophets

Ketuvim

writings

the torah

first five books written by Moses

midrash

a collection of commentaries and interpretations

talmud

combination of the Gemara and the Mishnah

Moses

the chief of all prophets whose prophecy is true

physical resurrection of the dead

immortality of the soul

cic=rcumcision

a sign of the covenant between God and Abraham and his descendants. religious requirement that must be performed on all male children

dietary laws

kosher

Reform Judaism

liberal or progressive

Conservative Judaism

middle of the road

Hasidic Judaism

ultra fundamental

Kabbalah Judaism

Jewish mysticism

bedrock of Jewish practice

observance of the Sabbath

Yom Kippur

Day of atonement

Passover

marks the greatest event in Jewish history, the exodus of God’s people form slavery in Egypt

Hanukkah

festival of lights

synagogue

Jewish place of worship

Jewish life today is primarily

lived out in the home and secondarily in the synagogue

generally if one has a jewish mother

one is considered Jewish

messianic jews

ethnically Jewish but believe Jesus is the messiah promised in the Old Testament

the Star of David

central identifying symbol of Jews and Judaism

Menorah

candelabrum with seven candle holders

bar mitzvah

for boys (13)

bat mitzvah

for girls (12)

zionism

emphasis on the return to Paletstine to give Judaism a homeland for the Jewish people (form of nationalism)

holocaust

state sponsored mass murder of some 6 million European Jews during world war 2

Jews see Christians

as a systematic distortion of their religion

Islam

“submission”

the symbol most commonly associated with Islam

is the crescent moon

islam is more than simply a religious faith

it encompasses all of life

sharia

islamic law

nine years after his arrival in Medina

Muhammad returned to Mecca

at the time of his death

Mohammad had nine wives still living besides at least two concubines

even though Muslim conquerors did not compel the conquered people to convert to Islam

the non Muslims were second class subjects known as dhimmis

five pillars of Islam (listing)

1. public confession

2. five prayers a day

3. month of fasting (ramadan)

4. giving of alms

5. the pilgrimage

important doctrines (bonus listing)

1. belief in God

2. belief in angels and the unseen

3. belief in the prophets

4. belief in the holy books

5. belief in the day of judgment

6. belief in predestination

major emphasis of God in Islam

his judgment

Muhammad is

the last and greatest prophet

islam acknowledges Jesus

as a great prophet second only to Muhammad, affirms his virgin birth and acknowledges his title of Messiah, but denies his deity and his death

the consider the term Son of God

as blasphemous

the Quran must be read

in Arabic to be understood

Jihad

the most controversial Muslim belief meaning “struggle”

Haram

forbidden

halal

permitted

understanding the Quran allows husbands

to bather disobedient wives as a last resort

idolatry

the greatest sin in the Quran

submission

the greatest good

Muhammad’s actions and sayings are recorded

in the Hadith and Sira

Sunnis

comprise more than 80 percent of the world’s muslims

sufi

mystic and ascetics with Islam

Mosques

islamic houses of worhsip

the niche at the front of the room

indicating the direction toward Mecca

islam the fastest

growing religion in the world

indonesia

the world’s largest Muslim population today

Zoroastrianism

a monotheistic faith in a single, creator god, center in a dualistic csmology of good and evil and eschatology predicting the ultimate destruction of evil

parsis

followers of Zoroastrianism

spitama (Zarathustra)

prophet from ancient Persia that founded Zoraostrianism

aura Mazda

(wise Lord) ancient Iranian god

Zoroastrianism was the first religion

to put forth the concept of judgement by weighing good and bad deeds called ethical dualism

the basic premise of Zoroastrianism

the ongoing struggle between good and evil

death is seen

as a temporary victory of evil

towers of silence

where the dead were placed for the birds of prey to devour the flesh

zoraostrinism’s most sacred writings are

Avesta

parsi temples

fire temples