hey it's the guy that posted those philosophy notes a little while ago, I also found (incomplete) religion notes, but I'm a bit more apprehensive about posting them since I'm worried about the ensuing shitstorm it might cause. Should I just say fuck it and post them anyway?
>>869102
>philosophy notes a little while ago
Which?
>>869110
he walls of text that a few anons responded to. It is entirely possible you had not seen them at all.
>>869116
Link to the thread?
Serious question, why would the shitstorm form these notes be bigger than any of the other shitstorms hapening on here?
Why would it becoming a shitstorm be a problem for you or anyone else?
You don't happen to be a native redditor?
>>869102
Are you that anon who posts those handwritting study notes?
>>869208
no that's another anon.
>>869141
That anon who asked about Reddit here.
As long as you are giving a good, honest reasoning and can stand up to reasonable critiques of your work I don't see any reason for you to be afraid about what it may cause.
>>869227
It's not that I'm worried about any critique, in fact I encourage that you critique me, it's just that I've noticed any topic on religion here tends to result in fervent shitposting. Also these notes are not necessarily my own opinion, but what I was taught, so again I'm not too worried (though there may be a lack of reasoning on my part because of this, but what can you do).
>>869243
Oh, I am the guy that posts Chickposts all the time.
Promise to not do it this time.
>>869247
Okay, so I should just go for it and post [oh and it'll all be text walls (and it mentioning Progressivism, but in a historical context not the modern view) is that fine?]
>>869254
Yeah, it is.
And even if it do become a shitstorm, it will only last 300 posts or so before reaching the bump limit.
And I don't think trolls can bother with wall of texts, as long as they are actually kinda well thought out as well as most people only starting to troll if the thread start out as being unserious or if the one arguing clearly is refusing the points others make or act disshonest.
Trolling is (I think) partly a punishment for bad people.
>>869274
Fair enough, but again there might be some holes here and there as the notes are incomplete. (I should really stop stalling and just start posting the notes now)
World Religion
Five Myths about Religion
...and a couple of things to consider.
Myth: Religion and religious leaders are rarely if ever "socially progressive."
Examples to the Contrary:
1) In the western world, religious organizations were at the forefront of providing for the poor for 1500 years before governments got involved.
And Hospitals (in our sense) did not exist until Christianity was legalized in the 4th century...and Christians' willingness to care for the sick (during frequent outbreaks of plague) seems to have been a major factor in many conversions to the new faith.
More recently, the early 20th century "social gospel" movement was linked strongly with a broader social justice movement called..."progressivism."
2) In the Middle East today, one reason for the popularity of fundamentalist Islamic movements is their focus on the needs of the poor.
3) The anti-slavery and civil-rights movements were all religiously-based...and their main leaders were very religious:
e.g. William Wilberforce, leader of the anti-slave trade movement in Britain
e.g. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King and Islamic Minister Malcolm X, leaders of the two main wings of the U.S. Civil Rights movement.
4) Latin American "liberation theology" on the behalf of the poor and oppressed.
e.g. Catholic Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador, assassinated in 1980.
The current Pope, Francis, has been recently criticized for sounding "Marxist" by U.S. conservative talk radio.
The Catholic Church also opposes capital punishment, euthanasia, and is very concerned about climate change.
5) Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his work against apartheid during the 1980s.
6) Rev. Brent Hawkes of Toronto, a prominent gay rights activist for many years.
He was very near to achieving legalization of gay marriage in Canada through the courts...when this was overtaken by political developments in that direction.
>>869301
Myth: Religion is unusual in that it often emphasizes self-criticism or an awareness of guilt...sometimes for things we were born into (e.g. the Christian notion of original sin)...and this is psychologically primitive and unhealthy.
Examples to the Contrary:
1) Chinese atheistic communism under Mao required weekly self-criticism sessions.
And "guilt" for being born into the middle class was punished horrifically under his rule, during the "Cultural Revolution." period.
2) We're made daily to feel guilty about global warming...in many ways, by the political left.
3) The left also asks members of what they argue are privileged groups to feel guilty about evils committed long before they were born.
Myth: Religion is unusual in taking a position on things most people consider personal and private, especially in a free society.
Examples to the Contrary:
1) "Pornography is harmful" is a view held by some prominent feminists.
2) "Don't eat animal products (e.g. meat and dairy) or wear fur," we're told by animal-rights activists.
3) Don't use regular light bulbs, we're told by environmental activists...and now the government too.
Myth: Religion and science are natural enemies and always usually have been in conflict.
This is a very large topic; we'll spend a lot of time on it later in the course.
Myth: The worst wars in history have been religious wars...and the most oppressive ideologies have been religious ones.
Examples to the Contrary:
1) The French Revolution's "Terror" phase, in the mid-1790s (extremely hostile to religion)
2) World War One...with an unprecedented toll of death and destruction. (Not a religious war)
3) World War Two...even more destructive...and an ideological war...but not a religious one.
Hitler's hatred of the Jews was based on racism, not religion...e.g. even completely non-religious Jews were often victims of the Holocaust.
4) Stalin
5) Mao
6) Pol Pot
7) the Kim family of North Korea
>>869310
These last four were (or are) mass-murdering dictators...of officially atheist regimes...focused on the socio-political dream of an eventual communist utopia.
If you average it out...Stalin killed as many people every day for 25 years as died in the whole history of the infamous Spanish Inquisition.
In the last 50 years, even modern terrorism has more often been driven by political extremism of some kind (e.g. nationalism, anarchism, or Marxism...)...than it has by religious fanaticism.
Examples of some of the atheistic left-wing revolutionary ones:
--the Baader-Meinhof gang
--the Symbionese Liberation Army
--The Red Brigades
--The Weather Underground
--Carlos "the Jackal"
A Final point to Consider:
Religion is often judged very harshly because distortions of its teachings have sometimes led to great evil.
(e.g. Christianity and the Crusades...or Islam and 911...or Hinduism and the caste system).
But consider the evil in the name of Marxism (as seen above)...through revolution, police-state oppression, and terrorism...a death toll around 100 million.
Many on the left insist that these "distortions" or "excesses" don't affect the value of Marx's ideas or his analysis.
In other words, Marxism is still essentially "good."
Religion is almost never judged in this forgiving or nuanced way.
>>869319
Similarly, consider the evils that came in the late 19th and early 20th century, in the wake of Darwin's theory of evolution:
1) "Social Darwinism:" the idea that "survival of the fittest" should apply to societies, cultures, and even races.
This was used to justify the European imperial expansion of the period, which brutalized much of Africa and Asia.
2) Eugenics...part of which was forced sterilization of the mentally challenged.
Hitler was famously an avid proponent of this...but so were many others (e.g. the U.S. Supreme Court...and even Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood).
But Darwinian natural selection is never judged harshly by these excesses...and remains for many, as Richard Dawkins puts it, "elegant."
Religion is, however, almost always judged only by its excesses or distortions.
A similar point can be made about science generally.
The 'scientific consensus" (i.e. what most scientists believe) changes over time...and improves, generally.
For example, being gay was considered a mental disorder until 1973, by the American Psychiatric Association.
The APA eventually changed its view.
The APA is not judged negatively today because of its past mistakes...even this extremely recent one (which supported what we now see as human’s rights violations...)
...but religions are constantly being judged by events from centuries ago...e.g. the Inquisition (c.5-600 years ago) and the Crusades (c.8-900 years ago)...things the Catholic Church would never support today.
Why does Religion exist at all?
Three perspectives:
1) The Scientific Materialist Perspective:
Only the material world exists, and science is the only path to knowledge. (Sometimes this is also called "scientism" or "scientific reductionism.")
a) Feuerbach thought that deities (e.g. gods/goddesses) were simply projections of human qualities.
b) Marx thought religions develops out of the longings of the oppressed...and is a kind of drug for them...one that diverts them from any real solutions to their situation (e.g. revolution).
He also argued that religion is often itself used as a tool of oppression.
2) The Functionalist Perspective:
Essentially...the idea that religion is useful. There are many aspects of this; for example:
a) Durkheim (the "father of sociology") argued that religion was a fundamental human institution that can play a beneficial role in societies.
b) Some scientists argue that religion is "adaptive", in an evolutionary sense, for societies (as mentioned in your online reading for this week)...for example, it can promote co-operative behaviour among strangers.
So...the prehistoric groups (or small societies) that didn't have it, weren't as cohesive or successful...and "lost" in the Darwinian struggle for survival.
c) Religion seems to usually have net benefits for the individual...e.g. religious people tend to live longer and be healthier, on the whole.
3) The Belief Perspective:
Essentially...the idea that epistemology is more complicated than scientific materialists would have us believe...and that there is a deeper or ultimate reality out there...often perceived through non-rational modes of knowing...often mystically.
Many cultures have traditions and disciplines (sometimes taking decades to master) which often help in focusing or opening the mind in this way.
This leads us to some basic vocabulary:
In some religions, that ultimate reality-perhaps "God"-is described as "immanent"...i.e. present in the material world...perhaps even in everything around us.
Sometimes it is described as "transcendent"...existing outside or above the material universe in some way.
Theism is (generally) the belief in one transcendent, personal, active God.
Pantheism is (generally) the belief that the universe (or nature) equals divinity...and "God" is immanent in everything.
Monotheism is the belief that the divine is essentially "one," in some defining sense. In other words, monotheistic religions believe in "one God."
Polytheism allow for many deities (e.g. gods and goddesses) or many different form of "the divine."
Theology is the study of (or reflections about) the nature and being of the divine (in whatever form).
Deism began during the Enlightenment.
It is the rationally-arrived position that there is probably a "prime mover" god or cosmic designer...but also that this entity is not necessarily personal or still active in the universe.
Atheism is generally defined as the belief in no deity.
Agnosticism is a position of uncertainty about this question...or a position of certainty that the answer cannot be known.
If you are a believer, how do you deal with other faiths?
Diana Eck of Harvard describes three "responses to other faiths" among religious people:
a) Exclusivism...i.e. "ours is the only true way"
This approach is not as common as you'd think...at least in the U.S.
b) Inclusivism...this sometimes takes the form of creating a new, world religion that ties all others together (e.g. the Bahai faith, created c. 1900)
...other times this involves seeing one's own religion as in some way encompassing others...
...e.g. seeing Islam as the culmination of all monotheistic religions (especially Judaism and Christianity).
>>869339
c) Pluralism...uniformity is not the goal here...instead the religious pluralist holds their own faith while still respecting and inquiring about others.
The Paleolithic...c.150,000 BCE to c. 20,000 BCE
Paleo [old] + lithos [stone]
-hunter-gatherer life
The Mesolithic...c.20,000 BCE to c. 10,000 BCE
Meso [middle] + lithos [stone]
-a step on the path to agriculture...still "collection"...but increasingly done in one place
The Neolithic
Neo [new] + lithos c. 10,000 BCE -c. 5,000 BCE
--real agriculture (e.g. with irrigation) and animal husbandry (domestication of animals)
This transition to agriculture had its downsides...more repetitive work, for one thing. And less "downtime," it seems.
And evolutionary psychologists today speculate that we are better suited psychologically to a hunter-gatherer life, in many ways.
Even in our earliest written records, the feeling that life was somehow harder, and that something had been "lost" is there...and this is reflected in myths and/or religious writings around the world.
This is one way of reading the account of the expulsion from the Garden of Eden.
The next period, the Copper Age, began in roughly 5000 BCE, and goes on until about 3000 BCE.
The above Periods are called "pre-historic" because there are no written records from them.
"History" is usually said to begin with the invention of writing...which happened at the beginning of our next "age":
The Bronze Age- c.3000 BCE to c.1000 BCE
The Iron Age- c.1000 BCE to c.500 CE
Together, these are usually said to make up "the Ancient World" for historians.
What forms did early religions take...and why?
Because there are no written records, pre-historic religions are impossible to reconstruct with certainty...but one well-known set of theories argues that a mother-goddess was at the centre of many of them.
It's plausible, given the idea of the earth giving abundantly, as a hunter-gatherer mother would have given milk to her young.
Attempts to link this to widespread pre-historic matriarchy have failed due to lack of evidence for the latter.
In any case, the norm by the time of our earliest recorded history seems to have been male-dominated hierarchies of gods...often based in the sky or "above" the earth.
e.g. in the earliest written records we have (from ancient Mesopotamia), three out of the four main deities were male. The earth mother goddess was the fourth...but she was not in charge.
This shift from the primacy of female/earth deities to male/sky/weather ones has been explained in a variety of ways.
Here are three:
a) Since farmers are more dependent on the weather than nomadic hunter-gatherers, religions increasingly needed to address this, as agriculture spread.
Religions began to reduce terrifying natural phenomena (e.g. storms) to human-like forms which might be appeasable in some way.
b) Jacques Cauvin has recently argued that this shift in "mentality" about religion was actually necessary before the Neolithic Revolution could have even occurred.
The key element of the "new religion" for him here was the idea of human mastery over nature rather than being simply part of nature.
c) Many argue that newer and more complex hierarchical religions legitimized similar features (e.g. hierarchy) in early Bronze Age civilizations...by mirroring them.
Three well-known early religions: Egyptian, Greco-Roman, and Norse.
These are sometimes called "pagan," a term that can mean different things.
It most often means polytheistic religions in regions known to the ancient Greeks and Romans.
As we'll see later in the course, revivals of these religions flourish today...as part of "neo-paganism"
Ancient Egypt: probably the most successful Bronze Age society.
1) the Nile river produced abundance.
2) Deserts, etc. made the country relatively secure from invasion:
Things were so relatively prosperous and peaceful (most of the time) that it was easier to believe that the ruler was a deity.
This, in turn, meant that Egypt was a "theocratic" state (no distinction between religious and secular authority).
All these features meant that there was a remarkable level of stability and order.
This week's article explores the idea of order, balance, and duty...all being connected through the religion which suffused Egyptian society.
The goddess Maat (or Mayet) personified this order and balance.
Even Egyptian official art seems to exude an eternal unchanging calm.
One of Egypt's most famous legacies was its medicine...and records reveal that a strong religious/mystical element persisted in it, alongside more "naturalistic" tendencies.
As the article discusses, Egyptian religion was polytheistic, with a hierarchy that changed over time.
One of the most important gods was Osiris
He was believed to have given humans agriculture...and was also the god of fertility and the afterlife.
Hard times lead to a revival of his cult at the beginning of the Middle Kingdom (c. 2000 BCE).
Prior to this revival, the afterlife was thought to be reserved for elites.
Now it was seen as open to all...as "egalitarian" in that sense.
Everyone would be eligible...but only if their spirit passed Osiris' "weighing of the heart" test on Judgement Day.
The essence of the test was to see how well the individual had behaved in accordance with Maat.
One's body also had to be preserved in order for the soul to flourish in the afterlife...hence the famous Egyptian process of mummification.
Another famous practice...male circumcision…seems to have been first practiced by the Egyptians rather than the Jews...as a ritual to bring fertility to crops.
Greco-Roman religion
Its many gods and goddesses were believed to mostly reside on Mount Olympus.
These deities had human personalities and failings (e.g. jealousy)…along with supernatural powers.
They often acted arbitrarily and cruelly, and although they were sometimes loyal…you couldn’t count on it.
Even love could be used as a weapon…e.g. by Aphrodite/Venus
Sometimes even the gods were shackled by the demands of fate, who was represented by three women…called the “fates.”
Related to this was the belief that you can do everything right and still lose…since forces beyond our control (and ability to even predict or plan for) shape our lives.
e.g. the people of Troy, who suffered horribly through no fault of their own, in the famous Trojan War legend.
The gods and goddesses often represent these forces in such stories…so much so that religion and myth were inextricably intertwined.
For example, the Trojan War saga is supposed to have begun with a quarrel between three goddesses over who was the most beautiful.
And at several crucial points in the story, they and other deities intervene (or fail to) in ways that change everything for the poor humans.
Respect for the gods was perhaps the most important virtue. Keeping up with rituals, sacrifices, etc. was one way of showing this.
Disrespect was swiftly punished.
e.g. Arachne…who boasted she could weave better than the goddess Athena.
She was eventually turned into a spider, weaving only its web.
Norse religion
The most famous group in Norse society (for us) is the Vikings.
From Scandinavia, they raided or invaded parts of northern Europe repeatedly in the Dark Ages, peaking in the 800s.
This week’s article confirms that Viking aggression “clearly reflected” aspects of Norse mythology/religion.
For example, some fallen warriors are honored with a special place the afterlife…Valhalla…where they train and fight in preparation for Ragnarok…the final battle foretold to Odin (the chief god).
They’re chosen for this honor by the “handmaidens of Odin,” called Valkyries…based on their bravery.
The Norse gods were believed to be not just constantly fighting…but also stealing.
And this may explain why the Vikings seem to have regarded trading and raiding as two sides of the same coin.
Kind of like the Mafia…
For example, in medieval Iceland, stealing was punished much less severely if it was done “courageously…”as raiding or “open, hostile, taking…”known as “Ran.”
But the Norse gods also fulfilled more typical roles too…For example…Thor was special to farmers because of his control over aspects of the weather.
And there are three “fates” here too…called Norns.
Odin, in fact, traded one of his eyes for a drink from the Well of Wisdom…and saw the future.
Hinduism
It is the third largest religion in the world, with almost a billion adherents.
Most of these are in India, where 80% of the population regards itself as Hindu.
Origins:
It’s perhaps the world’s oldest religion, with its origins well back into the Bronze Age…
In the 2nd millennium BCE, a group of tribes began to gradually leave Eastern Europe and Western Asia.
They were called the Aryans
They gradually migrated into many regions, including India.
The Aryans mixed with the Dravidians (already in India), and Hinduism seems to have developed from both cultures.
By the first few centuries CE, Indian society and culture had taken on recognizable patterns…such that it could now be considered one civilization rather than several.
By this point, Hinduism became the dominant religion in India, and became deeply integrated into the structure of society there (e.g. through the caste system…more on this below).
Holy writings and philosophical systems:
The oldest Aryan text is the Rig-Veda, thought to have been composed during the Bronze Age.
The most famous set of Hindu holy writings is the Upanishads, mostly written during the last few centuries BCE.
The most famous set of philosophical systems are known as branches of Yoga…These are more diverse, intellectual, and spiritual than is generally recognized.
They are a group of disciplines to help one to attain inner peace…and true awareness of the transcendent reality…from within oneself.
Basic Hindu beliefs:
Even this aspect of Hinduism resists easy definition…since it is not one unified religion…but rather a “family of faiths.”
So…what follows applies only to “most Hindus.”
Brahman is the unseen but all-pervading ultimate reality…or Supreme God…who is formless…and also expressed in a wide variety of forms.
Brahman cannot be exactly defined or fully understood.
There are many theistic paths/expressions of Brahman…some female (e.g. Devi the mother-goddess)…
--some male (e.g. Shiva and Vishnu)
Each of these, in turn, has many different forms and goes by many different names.
The worship of them also takes many different forms (e.g. see examples in the video for this week).
Devotion to a particular god or goddess (as an expression of Brahman) is a spiritual path embraced by most Hindus.
Another central belief of Hinduism is its ethical centre: the concept of dharma…or ethical duty to do the right thing.
It’s so central that most Hindus would speak of their religion not as Hinduism…but rather as Santana (eternal) Dharma.
Karma is also central…It means “action” and also the “consequences of action,” which are believed to follow you through this life and the next.
All these are tied into reincarnation…the idea that the soul is reborn into a different body, once its current body dies.
Ultimately, the hope is that the cycle of rebirth and death (called samsara) ends…and one achieves moksha…liberation from it…and permanent unity with God, or the transcendent, in some way.
Some paths choose the more difficult path of asceticism, which is more likely to lead to moksha sooner.
But for most people, attaining moksha takes many lifetimes, and constant attention to dharma.
And, in the meantime, what station in life you are reborn into is connected with the caste system of class divisions, in many strands of Hinduism.
This system is thought to have arisen independently, but to have been buttressed, in some sense, by Hinduism, as we’ll see.
The word “caste” can refer either to: the few major social classes (“varnas”) OR their many subgroups (“jatis”)
The 5 major social classes/castes:
--Priests
--Warriors/Aristocrats (includes rulers)
--Tradespeople and Merchants
--Servants (includes peasants and manual labourers)
--Outcastes/Untouchables
The 3 major “caste restrictions”:
Endogamy: marry within your caste
Commensality: e.g. eat only with members of your caste
Occupation: must be appropriate to your caste
The caste system was connected to major forms of the Hindu religion in that…performing the duties required by your caste-and not rebelling against the system-was often believed to position you to be a member of a higher caste in the next life.
In turn, living a bad life in some way was often believed to position you to be a member of a lower caste in the next life.
This, in particular, opened “untouchables” to terrible hatred and abuse.
Mahatma Gandhi, founder of Indian independence, renamed this group “the Children of God.”
Gandhi hated the caste system, and the Indian government has been trying to eradicate it since it achieved independence from Britain in 1947.
It has not yet fully succeeded.
Judaism
It is not a particularly large religion…about 14 million members worldwide.
But it is foundational to both Christianity and Islam, the two largest religions in the world today.
It all begins with Abraham…a figure revered in all three religions.
The belief is that he left Mesopotamia in c. 1800 BCE, with the Hebrews, and travelled to the modern-day “Holy Land.”
Abraham actually may have thought of the God of the Jewish Bible as only the most powerful god among many…rather than the only God in existence.
…but nevertheless Jewish belief is that he made a COVENANT with the one true God: The Hebrews would serve only Him, and He would guide them and establish them in the Promised Land.
This Covenant was sealed with circumcision…and Jewish boys are still circumcised in remembrance of this.
After this journey, once in their new home, the Hebrews gradually became known as Israelites.
Jewish belief says that some of them went further west to Egypt, eventually, and were enslaved.
By c. 1250 BCE, another Jewish holy man-Moses-is believed to have led them out of captivity, and back to the Promised Land.
The Covenant was now expanded…the Israelites were now God’s chosen people, with His promise of protection, as long as they followed his laws…most famously, the Ten Commandments.
Once back in the Promised Land, a strong kingdom was established under David (c. 1000 BCE)…and reached its peak under his son, Solomon.
Solomon, according to tradition, built a magnificent Temple to God in Jerusalem.
But after Solomon, it all went downhill, for about a thousand years…division, conquest, forced migration…ending in an enduring catastrophe at the hands of the Romans.
One central event during this long period was the first Jewish DIASPORA...or forced migration away from their Holy Land.
This happened in c. 600 BCE. at the hands of the Babylonians...who also destroyed the Temple.
During this thousand-year period of troubles, several prophets blamed the misfortune of the Jews (as were increasingly now called) on their lack of obedience to God's laws.
e.g. the prophet Elijah...who fought the Jewish King Ahab over the inclusion another god (Baal) in worship.
The interweaving of history, morality, and the fate of the Jewish people and Jewish state became a strong theme in Judaism during this period.
Other themes that emerged during this period were:
1) Monotheism (as opposed to God being merely the most powerful among many deities)
2) An emphasis on personal morality, rather than external religious rites (e.g. animal sacrifices)
3) The Jews as God's chosen people...and as the "suffering servant of humanity..."
...who would somehow purify it, through their trials.
4) The idea of a futures Messianic Age (ruled by Messiah...or "anointed one")...which will be a time of universal peace and brotherhood.
Eventually, the Temple was rebuilt (and is known as the Second Temple)...but it was eventually destroyed by the Romans, who took over the region around the time of Julius Caesar (c. 50 BCE).
By c. 100 CE, the Romans had put in motion the final Jewish DIASPORA (or dispersal)...
...as a result of two unsuccessful Jewish rebellions against Roman rule.
In the process, they destroyed the "Second Temple" (it had been rebuilt in c. 500 BCE)
From now on, the vast majority of Jews would live outside Israel...often as oppressed minorities.
This central event changed Judaism, both in terms of its geographic base...and its religious practice.
In the centuries that followed, it became a decentralized religion of geographically diverse communites led by Rabbis...religious teachers.
Communal worship in synagogues (literally "meeting places") became the centre of Jewish religious life.
The contents of the Hebrew Bible (roughly the same as the Christian Old Testament) had been finally codified or "set" at the beginning of this "Rabbinic Period."
It is known as the Tanakh.
The word Torah can sometimes also refer to all of this sacred material...
...but the Torah more often refers to simply the first five books of the Tanakh ("the five books of Moses").
There was also an "oral Torah" which was eventually codified in the Talmud...a series of writings from the early post-DIASPORA period.
Study of and commentary on the Torah became a central faith activity, as Judaism was forced to adapt to new circumstances during this period.
Thus the Talmud also came to include large amounts of commentary on Jewish holy writings, religious practices...and life itself.
...and eventually it became the most famous of a set of writings known as Rabbinic Literature.
Christianity
It is the largest religion in the world, with roughly 2.2 billion adherents.
Origins:
Built around the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth...known eventually as "Christ"...a Greek translation of the Jewish word "Messiah."
Christians interpreted Jewish beliefs about a Messiah to include the idea that he would be a spiritual saviour.
The story of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection are found in "Gospels" (or "good news").
These were written roughly 50 years of his death, which has been dated to roughly the year 30.
Christian beliefs about his life:
He was the son of God, carried in the womb of Mary, a virgin.
He grew to become a popular teacher, urging kindness and charity above all.
He performed many healings and other miracles, as he preached.
He associated with those often shunned in society (e.g. prostitutes)...
...and often preached radically egalitarian ideas.
Eventually, he angered the Jewish religious authorities, any they convinced the Roman governor (Pontius Pilate) to torture him...
...and execute him via crucifixion.
After three days, he was resurrected, and appeared to his disciples...urging them to continue his ministry.
He then ascended into Heaven.
"Original sin" is often said to mean the permanent damaging of human nature as a result of Adam and Eve's choice to disobey God in the Garden of Eden.
And perhaps the most central Christian belief is that "Jesus died for our sins..."
...in the sense that his suffering, sacrifice, and resurrection have made eternal life possible through the cleansing of "original sin" from humanity.
Note that many Christians (including members of the largest Christian denomination, Roman Catholicism) do not believe that it is only Christians who are "saved" through Jesus:
But Christians are nevertheless called to live a good life, in accordance with Christ's teachings...as part of what is often said to be a "New Covenant" with God.
The degree to which human ethical behaviour has an effect on salvation is debated.
Roman Catholics, for example, believe that one's "good works" in life (e.g. charitable actions) do have an effect on how one is ultimately judged.
Protestant denominations often do not believe this. For example, Martin Luther famously believed that God's grace is the only thing making salvation possible.
Divine grace is a complex concept...but it usually means something like "divine favour" (important examples of this are salvation and eternal life) generously given to the faithful...
...who--because of their fundamentally flawed natures--can't really deserve it or earn it themselves.
In Luther's view, we are "justified [saved] by faith alone."
Thats...uh, all I have, I thought there was more.
Reading it now.
There's to things I can think about so far.
I think it would be better of you to call the Abraham god Yahweh or YHW as it would clarify as that's the god you are talking about, especially when you (I think) touched how the Jews didn't start as monotheists.
Why are you always ending sentences like this "....."?
It do look a bit like if you are worried, just wondering if it got any certain reason.
>>869572
It's meant to imply that there's more to the story, but here's the gist of it.
>>869525
Nothing on Islam? Zoroastrianism?
What level course is this?
>>869609
well for one it's INCOMPLETE, and two...well okay there isn't really another point I have, just that this is incomplete.
>>869618
oh, I see
I didn't see that in the OP, sorry
still
>What level course is this?
>>869633
Well it's uh [spoiler]college level[/spoiler] pls no bully
>>869638
Yeah, but what year?
also, I hope you know /his/ doesn't support spoilers
>>869672
Sorry, it's a force of habit, I normally post on other boards, anyway it's second year.
>>869319
It might be more prudent to edit
>Stalin killed as many people every day for 25 years as died in the whole history of the infamous Spanish Inquisition.
In the last 50 years
to something along the lines of
>The regime of Stalin was responsible for the deaths of as many people every day for 25 years as died in the whole history of the infamous Spanish Inquisition.
In the last 50 years
Most people interested in history ought to know better than to conflate it with popularized firgures. But it's my opinion that a change in semantics might reinforce this anyways.
>>869310
Dude you seriously going to handwaved the fact that the 30 years war literally took down 25-40% of the German population?
Modern conflicts are always going to have larger numbers simply because of population growth. Its kinda disengenous to act otherwise.
Just read through your notes, do you philosophical ones also have a very heavy bias?
>>869970
Actually this isn't necessarily my opinion, I was just stating why it might possibly be skirted aside, which may not be true at all.
>>869982
Well I think its that issue which causes the shit flinging
>>869997
I see what you mean, I'm sorry.
Well done op I'm halfway through and loving it
Just wondering what political and religious affiliations do you have, just wondering as then I'll know what you focus on more
>>869301
>fundamentalist islam
>socially progressive for helping the poor
Anon, I...
>>870072
I'm Agnostic, or sitting on the fence about the who thing.
Also I don't really align myself politically.
>>870084
Zakat and stuff, I guess?
