Ziyi Gong 1002929094
Arti Dhand
RLG100Y1
Monotheism, as a prominent branch in religions, is considered by many thinkers as the superior one, comparing with all other forms. However, consider the historical aspects of Judaism, it seems that definite belief in one deity leads to violence. By studying both Jewish scriptures and observing present-day violent behaviour, I try to explore how intolerance and exclusiveness of monotheism can breed violence.
A widespread point of view is that monotheism is more advanced that other religious forms. As one of the thinkers supporting this idea, Frazer believed that human cultures are evolving through different stages, by making transitions from primitive traditions to religions. Traditions of early human are based on sympathetic magic, believing that one thing can influence another without any physical contact, such as rituals for cursing and controlling nature. Religions, however, are beliefs in super-beings or agents with powers that can modify nature and human fates. Eventually, the discovery of the inefficacy of magic would be followed by the transition from magic to religion. As Frazer wrote: “… it is natural that we should enquire what causes have led mankind, or rather a portion of them, to abandon magic as a principle of faith and practice and to betake themselves to religion instead.”
One obvious criticism towards this argument is that Frazer failed to interpret some religions that lack “theism”. For instance, in Jainism,
In today’s society, both Christianity and Judaism are two of the most practiced religions by people all over the world. Both religions have some similarities, they both value the ten commandments. Also, some religious practices used in Christianity such as baptisms were derived from Judaism (Brodd 2016). Although society sees these two religions as similar, they both have vastly different ultimate goals. In order to help believer’s attain these goals, Jesus helps Christians and Moses helps the Jewish fully understand these goals.
Martin discusses the uses of the hermeneutics of suspicion for his second step in his approach. He believes it is important to remain suspicious of the cultural element being examined and presume it is false. Geertz, in the second part of his definition, states that a system of symbols “acts to establish powerful, pervasive and long-lasting moods and motivations in men” (Geertz, 1993). This statement is in agreeance with the suspicious mindset provided by Martin, as Geertz also does not confirm any religious beliefs to be true. He uses the word “acts” to show that the cultural elements function in a specific way, not to prove their factual accuracy. His definition demonstrates the unity of individual components in a culture and how they function. Both methods do not approach religion with yes or no questions but rather seek the answer to why it functions in particular ways and how it continues to exist.
Arabia to Islam. All practicing Muslims accept belief in the ‘Six Articles of Faith’ and are
For Malinowski, religion arose as a response to emotional stress. When technical knowledge proved insufficient, human beings turn to magic and religion in order to achieve their ends. Talal Asad concluded that “there cannot be a universal definition of religion, because its constituent elements and relationships are historically specific and because that definition is itself the historical product of discursive processes” (Segal, The Blackwell Companion to the Study of Religion, 2006, p.5). James George Frazer constructed a universal
Throughout the course of history there have been numerous conversations and debates addressing religion, myth, and one’s ability to reason with both of them. The notion of one’s ability to reason with religion and myth has left openings in the conversations of moderations and the various interpretations within the two mediums. Many theorists have been a part of this conversation. Among these theorists are Sam Harris, Rudolf Bultman and Karen Armstrong. Initially when one first enters these conversations about religion and reason many resort to arranging these theorists in a way that would depict that they have conflicting views. An example of this method would be Benedict Farrell in his Call for papers version one. Farrell throughout his paper
Religion is an important and central issue both in the olden and modern society. It has been associated with beliefs on deities and supernatural beings. Historical facts exist which describe and discuss the philosophical and religious principles for different generations. Besides, the historical information brings out typical conformities and variations that exist across these dispensational periods. The two major religious periods and dispensations which exist in historical records include the Western ‘pagan’ religions as well as the Christian, Hebrew and Muslim religions.
In Speeches, Schleiermacher counters the common perception of his audience that religion is simply an amalgam of morality and metaphysics. He argues, rather, that true religion is much more than an “unseemly form” produced by comingling a knowledge of how the universe functions with a list of rules as to how humanity must relate to it (19). What is often cited as religion is
Religion has existed for countless centuries. Christianity is one of the major religions in this world, which had people be criticized, battle in wars, and killed for, but it still survived to this day. The purpose of this paper is to study the source of the religion, recognize the teachings, observe its spread throughout the world, and to identify how it stands among people today. Approaching this paper by a factual report I will explain these major points and why we need to know about this religion and other religions that existed before our generation.
Known as the “father of modern liberal theology,” Friedrich Schleiermacher was a German theologian, philosopher and biblical scholar who directed his attention on the nature of religious experience from the viewpoint of the individual and human nature itself (Mariña 3). Influenced by German Romanticism, Schleiermacher attempted to settle the criticisms of the Enlightenment with conventional Protestant Christianity (Crouter 261). By doing so, he abandoned the pietistic Moravian theology that had neglected to gratify his growing reservations and he embraced the sensible outlook of Christian Wolff and Johann Salomo Semler. He then became accustomed with the methods of historical criticism of the New Testament and of Johann Augustus Eberhard, from whom he attained an adoration of the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. Consequently, he began applying thoughts from the Greek thinkers to a reform of Immanuel Kant’s system (Mariña 3). On this basis, this essay will articulate Friedrich Schleiermacher’s understanding of religion and its association to Christianity as expressed in Speech I: Defense and Speech II: The Nature of Religion of his work On Religion: Speeches to Its Cultured Despisers. The essay will explore Schleiermacher’s refutation of three notions of religion held by the despisers, clarify his recognition of the true religion with feeling and describe his understanding of the association involving religion and Christianity.
Frazer and Geertz are two of the theorists Pals writes about in the “Nine Theories of Religion.” Frazer writes about his approach to religion in the “Golden Bough,” and in this book Frazer writes about his idea of sympathetic magic. Frazer believes that magic preceded religion, and that magic actually lead to religion. Frazer believes that this advancement means an advancement in the cultural altogether, and after the advancement from magic to religion comes the advancement of religion to science. Frazer studied the history of religion and how intellectual changes lead to cultural changes in society. Geertz studied in a different method than Frazer, for Geertz would study changes in religion in person, and believed that studying this way was more effective than examining the history books. Geertz studied in Bali, where Geertz noted a firsthand conversion from traditional religion to rationalized religion. Like the change from magic to religion, Geertz saw that the change from traditional religion to rationalized religion marked a change in Bali culture. Both Geertz and Fraser studied the change of religion and how cultural changes affected those religions, but Fraser studied religion throughout history, while Geertz looked at the current culture he
Christianity is the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Most followers of Christianity, called Christians, are members of one of three major groups--Roman Catholic, Protestant, or Eastern Orthodox. These groups have different beliefs about Jesus and His teachings. But all consider Jesus central to their religion. Most Christians believe God sent Jesus into the world as the Savior. Christianity teaches that humanity can achieve salvation through Jesus.
One influential cult was based upon a mystical interpretation of Plato. Neo-Platonism was like a rational science that attempted to break down and describe every aspect of the divine essence and its relationship with the human soul. An Alexandrian Jew named Philo tried using Greek philosophy to interpret the Jewish scriptures. He wanted to unite the two traditions by suggesting that the Greek philosophers had been inspired by the same God who had revealed himself to the Jews.
For many generations, people around the world have adopted the idea of religion. There are hundreds of thousands of religions around the world and nearly all of them have one idea in common: devotion. A person’s devotion to religion is all about how they act and what they are willing to do for their beliefs. Though they may be shown in different ways, a true believer will always cling to their faith.
Religion can be the subject of theoretical question, as we saw with William James and John Hick. The conclusion that mystical experiences led to spiritual belief and the portrayal of religion as a vehicle of self-transformation both follow logically from the notion we discussed of religion. While it
“The great unmentionable evil at the center of our culture is monotheism.From a barbaric Bronze