Blog Post 22 - Ancient Western Religions

THIS PACKET IS IMPOSSIBLE TO READ!!!!
1.  Ancient Iran in 600 BCE
2.  Zarathustra began to preach and was able to convert the Persian king, who led the dominant army.
3.  An angel named Good Thought brought him before God and he realized that there was only one true God and so began to preach monotheism.
4.  The sacred text is called Avesta.  The oldest part of it are called the Garthas which are 17 hymns written by Zarathustra
5.  He is eternal and universally good.  He controls the cosmos and human destiny.  He is also the creator.
6.  Belief in universal forces of good and evil.
7.  The hostile spirit chose the Lie.  There is probably more to this but I can't read the packet.
8.  Good & Evil (Angels & Demons)
9.  After death individuals go to judgment by crossing a bridge of torment and pain.  They walk across a bridge over an abyss and the good get into paradise while the bad fall to their death.
10.  Agriculture.  Care for livestock.  Worship 5 times a day.
11.  They are the modern day Zoastrians who live in India.
12.  The Iliad and the Odyssey.
13.  They have human attributes.
14.  He celebrates Zeus' divine power and wisdom with his play, Agamemnon, which portrays human suffering as necessary.  
15.  The oracles are mortals with whom the gods have direct contact.  The most famous is the oracle at Delphi to whom Apollo was worshiped.  Delphi was thought to be the center of the earth.
16.  Mystery religions had initiates who had to undergo rituals.  During initiation, the initiate experienced an encounter with the deity.  Initiates got spiritual renewal and hopes of a better afterlife
17.  The mystery religion at Eleusis, near Athens.
18.  He is the god of fertility, vegetation, and wine.  He is depicted with vines and grapes.
19.  Lead a pure life, also be vegetarian, so that the soul will realize that it is divine.
20.  Plato thought that body and mind were separate.  He believed that truth was not something the body could experience.
21.  The mind was the only thing that could perceive truth and the body was incapable of such truths.
22.  Both healers were called Savior and venerated in similar manners by their people.
23.  They are the supernatural powers in charge of certain things.  They inhabit homes, towns, trees, doors, altars, and shrines.
24.  Jupiter
25.  Jupiter, Venus, Mars, Neptune, Saturn, Mercury
26.  The worship and favor of the gods brought welfare and peace to the state.
27.  The mystery religions from Greece, Egypt, Syria, and Asia Minor.
28.  Isis and Osiris were lovers until Osiris was hacked to pieces and spread about the land.  Isis found them all, mummified him and made him ruler of the underworld.
29.  It was the emperor's guardian spirit and his divine knowledge.
30.  Worship of the emperor would have contradicted their monotheistic view.

D*** It Feels Good To Be A Jew

Holy Items
1. What are the three functions of a synagogue?

A synagogue acts as a hub for social interaction amongst the Jewish folk.  They can worship, recreate, and celebrate.  Jews also use synagogues for study and worship.  The Torah is kept there and is studied in groups of people to promote synergy.  As for worship, it is done three times a day as required.

2. What does the layout of a synagogue look like? Check out the various items and then identify the purpose and location of the following:
Ark- On the eastern wall is an ark.  They are all differently ornate and hold the Torah behind a highly ornate curtain.  Sometimes there will be multiple Torah scrolls so there are multiple shelves.

Torah Scrolls- contain Jewish teachings on parchment made from the skin of a kosher animal.  They are kept in cloth coverings and must be clearly written, not be faded, and free of error.  It is forbidden to touch them

Ten Commandments- The ten commandments are also called the mitzvot.  There are 13 of them and they stress emphasis on God, human and family, and  human and human.  

3. What is a rabbi? A Jewish scholar or teacher who has been appointed a leader.

How does a Jew become a rabbi? Some rabbinical programs require 4 years in college, field training, internships, and a year lived in Israel.

How does a rabbi differ from a clergyman? Rabbis have no powers.

What is the rabbi’s role? He is a counselor, teacher, spiritual leader, and role model.

4. What is the nature Shabbat? (also called Sabbath) When does it occur? It is a day of rest given on Sunday.  Jews pray and eat more on this day.

5. What is the Torah? What is the Talmud? Torah is the law of God according to Moses. Talmud is Jewish civil and ceremonial law.

FYI: This is what a Torah Scroll looks like…

6. There are different branches of Judaism. Describe the following…
Orthodox: follow only the Torah, Talmud, and first 5 books of the bible in belief that God gave Moses the whole thing and that it has not been altered.

Reform: Believes the Torah is an ever changing thing.  These Jews keep up with modern times and change their beliefs as they see fit.  They also practice in the vernacular.

Conservative: Members of Judaism that did not fully adhere to either Reform or Orthodox.

Zionist: spawned from political activist Theodore Herzl, this branch aimed at ending anti-semitism

***Take a break and listen to some Klezmer music…(this will only work if Quicktime is loaded!)***

(What the hell is Quicktime?)

Language
7. What is Hebrew? A Semitic language that almost died out completely due to Aramaic.  It was revived in the 1920s and is currently spoken in Israel and is an official language.

8. What is Yiddish? "Jewish" language built upon Hebrew backgrounds.  It was extremely popular in Russia until it began to decline and is now the second most popular language spoken in Israel.

9. Define the following Yiddish terms:
Mazal Tov: Congratulations

Shalom: Hello, Peace, or Goodbye

Mitzvah: commandment

10. Rites of Passage – Use this link to define and describe the following:

Brit Milah (Bris): circumcision

Bar/Bat Mitzvah: The name for a child who has reached his maturity and must accept his responsibilities.  Bar for boys at 13 and Bat for girls at 12. 

Jewish Marriage: A ceremony to complete companionship and the security it provides.  This is done in a ceremony under a cloth to symbolize the home about to be made.  Then a legal document is signed and the groom checks to see if it his bride and they live happily ever after.

11. Holidays – Use this link to define the following:

Rosh Hoshanah Jewish New Year

Yom Kippur Days of fasting to celebrate atonement and repentance.  It is the most venerated day for Jews.

Hanukah Eight day celebration starting on Dec. 25 in honor of the "rededication" of the temple

Passover Jewish festival celebrating the release of the Israelites from Egypt.

12. What is something you knew about Jewish traditions that this confirmed? I am familiar with Jewish weddings and what occurs during them.

13. What is the most interesting or surprising information out of all of this? I did not know that Yom Kippur was the number one holiday celebrated by Jews.

14. What is one aspect of Jewish tradition which is similar to a tradition in your life? The idea that the synagogue is a place of study.  My church offers tutoring services and I help kids study all the time.

15. What is one aspect of Jewish tradition that is different from a tradition in your life? Praying three times a day is not something I make sure to do.

Buddhism Packet Questions

1. Siddhartha Gautama
2. Old man, sick man, dead man, and an ascetic.  The first three made him realize suffering and how it pertains to everyone in the world.  The ascetic made him see a way which he could escape these sufferings.
3. Siddhartha was starving to death and realized that starvation does not lead to salvation.  Therefore there is no need to completely deny one's self by not taking care of one's self.
4. He sat under a tree while being tempted by the three daughters of the demon Mara.  He resisted them all and reached enlightenment that night.
5. A sangha is a group of Buddhist monks or nuns.
6. Buddha, Dharma, Sangha.
7. Reincarnation and Karma
8. He did not like all of the gods and the idea of worship.
9. Anicca is the desire that causes Dhukka. Anatta is the cessation of Dhukka through the cessation of Anicca
10. Anatta is the exclusion of self while Atman is the complete external world for which self is given up
11. Karma determines into which thing your soul will be reincarnated
12. No killing, stealing, misconduct, lying/cheating, or intoxicants.  For monks: do not eat after noon, do not use cosmetics, do not accept money, no fine arts, no sleeping in nice places
13. Suffering- pain caused by desire, jealousy, hate
14. Tanha is the desire, jealousy and hate mentioned in question 13
15. Right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration, and right knowledge and liberation.
16. Buddhas refrain from Nirvana to help others achieve enlightenment
17. An Arhat is one who has become enlightened, probably Theravada
18. Nirvana means blow out.  Your spirit cease to exist when Nirvana is reached like a flame ceases to exist when you blow it out
19. Mahayana, Theravada, Vajrayana
20. Buddha's doctrines
21. Large vehicle- most popular branch
22. It uses desire to show the irrelevance of life
23. He leads Tibetian Buddhism. He is not chosen. When he dies, he is reincarnated and the high lamas try and find his reincarnation
24. Theravada- Southeast Asia; Mahayana- East Asia; Vajrayana- Tibet and Mongolia.
25. 

Buddha Intro

Siddhartha Gautama was once a wealthy man who lived inside of a castle because an oracle told his father that Siddhartha would either be a religious man or a ruler.  His father wanted him to be a ruler so Siddhartha was kept indoors to tempt him away from religious life by way of women and food.  However, after going outside of his palace he came to four sights that made him think over life and existence.  Eventually he left the castle to become a wandering holy man.
The 3 Jewels of Buddhism are the Buddha who is a teacher, the Dharma which provides moral laws, and the Sangha which is a Buddhist community.  The threefold path is a similar way to Nirvana through ethics, meditation, and wisdom.  Buddha's teachings are all based around four truths that he discovered about suffering: 1. all existence is suffering, 2. Desire is the cause of suffering, 3. suffering is ended when desire is ended, and there is a path that leads from suffering. The Buddha's extensive approach to Dharma is known as the eightfold path which is as follows: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration, and right knowledge and liberation.