world religions midterm

Know the relative size of the world’s 6 most populous “religions” know the order

Christians

Muslims

Hindus

Secular “Religions”

Folk Religions

Buddhists

Know the reasons why we Christians should study religion

We now live daily among many different religions (the fact of “religious pluralism”)

A shared human reality-everyone is fundamentally “religious,” whether they recognize it or not

Religion influences every aspect of life (politics, economics, media, art, law, etc.)

Curiosity

Love seeks to understand the other, with respect and accuracy

Obedience to obey Jesus in disciplining the nations requires it

Can help us to understand, refine, and be more convicted in our own beliefs

Know the relationship between substantive and functional definitions of “religion”

substantantative narrower to more functional broader definitions from universal truths to universal functions

everyone has a prime reality but may not be metaphysical

Know the relationship between syncretism and orthodoxy in religion

syncretism combining different beliefs/practices

orthodoxy detailed internal consistency of beliefs/practices

Know the 4 transcendentals

What is the true

what is the good

what is the beautiful

what is the shared

Know the 8 questions that make up our Story of Religion

Creed 1: What is prime reality

Creed 2:What is a human being

Creed 3” What is the problem with the world

Creed 4: What is the solution to the problem?

Creed 5: What is the path to gain this knowledge?

Code; What is right and wrong and why?

Cult: What is worthy of worship (transcendence)?

Community: With whom and how do you live out this story

Know the 3 possible Christian Evaluations of other religions

As Partially true and fulfilled

As partially true yet deceptive

As complete deceptions

Know the 3 answers as to whether salvation can be found in religions other than Christianity

Pluralism

Inclusivism

Exclusivism

What is Prime Reality in Biblical Christianity

The triune God

What 2 terms together describe the scope of the biblical God’s relationship to his creation?

both fully transcendent and immanent

Through what means does God always relate to his creation?

God always relates through covenant

What is the fundamental human identity in Biblical Christianity?

Mirror image of God

What category is shared by humanity with God and with angelic beings

persons with both materiality and immateriality personhood

In Biblical Christianity humans truly possess what?

Free will

In Biblical Christianity, what is the ultimate source of the problems in the world?

Breaking Covenants in Rebellion against the triune God

What is the dilemma in Christianity when considering a solution to the problem of sin?

How can a holy, just God show mercy to his rebellious, covenant-breaking mirror images?

What is the Christian solution to the problem of sin?

The God-Man

How does the Messiah solve the dilemma?

he lives the life we should have lived and he dies the death we should have died.

In Christianity, what are the 2 pathways to knowledge

General Revelation

Special Revelation

In what sense is the Christian view of knowledge “critical”?

knowledge always limited by human creatureliness (finitude) and impacted by human sinfulness (fallenness)

In what sense is the Christian view of knowledge “realism”

true knowledge of external reality (material and immaterial including God) is possible because the triune god created his mirror images with this ability to know and communicates knowledge of reality with them through general and special revelation

In Christianity, what is the ultimate source of morality?

Gods own nature and character

Why is the Triune God the Only proper, ultimate objects of worship?

He is uncreated and he transcends time and space

In Christianity, what is the purpose of the marks of transcendence in creation

intended to move God’s mirror images to worship and delight in the creator

In Christianity, where do rebellious mirror images seek transcendence

seek transcendence in creation

What is the expression of the deepest beliefs of a people?

Culture

What is the identity of the church as an expression of living in 2 worlds

An embassy of another kingdom

What began by AD 500 and was over by AD 1950

Christendom

What are some of the impacts of Christianity on Roman/European culture

Love for all

pro-life

changed status of women

sexuality within marriage and family

hospitals, orphanages and charities

conviction of truth

technology development in the Middle Ages

an ethic of labor and wealth-creating free market economies

abolishing of slave trade and slavery

high culture

scientific and industrial revolutions

new forms of government which protect the freedom and rights of the individual and limit power concentration

what is the definition of animism

the basic belief that the whole world is “animated” by a multitude of spirits

What is the definition of polytheism

Reality consists of both the seen and the unseen, with the unseen consisting of many gods and spirits

What are the 4 relationships in a culture between a
"Little Tradition” and “Great Traditions”

syncretism

side by side

major minor

extinction

What is the essence of animism

power

What are the 3 hierarchical levels of personal power

Other worlds unseen

This world unseen

This world seen

What is the flaw of those in the west who do not recognize a middle spiritual realm

The flaw of the excluded

What is the fundamental human purpose and identity

to live in harmony with this large spiritual family

In animism, human life is intended to be what?

holistic

In animism, what is the relationship between the world of the gods and the world of the tribe

remarkable similarity and deep connection to local context

What is the fundamental problem in an animistic world

The large spiritual family is out of balance and harmony

What are the 2 causes of the fundamental problem

a personal power or a impersonal forces have come in to upset the balance

What is the solution to the fundamental problem

restoration and maintenance of harmony

What is the role of human worship mediators

ritually communicate with the unseen powers, seeking to placate or manipulate them or to gain information, all in order to maintain and restore spiritual harmony

divination seeks to discern

What are 2 paths to gain knowledge in animism

oral tradition

primal experience

How is sin defined in animism

socially

Where is the focus of worship in animism

this world

Which two key aspects of romanticism were formative to the new understanding of witches

primitivism and the idealization of women

who is considered primary in wiccan worship

the goddess

Which two theories underlie the Wiccan view of the universe

The theory of levels

the theory of polarity

What is the Wiccan rede

an it harm none, do what ye will.”

What is the most common view of the afterlife among wiccans

reincarnation

What is a working group of witches called

coven

What is shamanism

the process of going into altered states of consciousness for healing processes, predictions and other magical activities.

what is the most common ceremony among wiccans

Casting the circle ceremony

What is the earliest period of civilization in india

Indus Valley Civilization

What is the classical tongue of hindu literature

Sanskrit

What are the earliest writings of hinduism

Veda Sacred Wisdom

What is the highest caste in India

Bhramin

What are the interpretive texts which explain the meaning of other Hindu literature

The upanishads

What is the highest reality in hinduism

Brahman

What is the name of the fragment of the divine that is the human soul

Atman

What is the eternal cycle of birth and rebirth

Samsara

What is the law of cause and effect stretched throughout time

Karma

What is the release of the soul from reincarnation

Moska

What are the 2 categories of Hindu scripture

Smirti

Schruti

What is the name of Devotional Hinduism

Bhaki

What is the name of the most treasured portion of all hindu scripture

Bhagvad-Gita Song of the Lord

What is the name of a path to liberation

Yoga

What is the eternal law producing duties

Dharma

What are the 2 most common gods of devotion

Vishnu, Shiva,