Final Exam
a. Travis Taylor
b. Trt8605
c. Post 12: 2/7. Post 11: 2/7. Post 10: 2/5. Post 9: 2/1. Post 8: 1/31. Post 7: 1/24. Post 6:
1/22. Post 5: 1/20. Post 4: 1/18. Post 3: 1/18. Post 2: 1/14. Post 1: 1/11. I also did an optional post on the Holocaust.
d. I did my report or field trip on the Hindu Temple in Hacienda Heights.
e. Since the Midterm I have watched all of the required videos. Which are the all six of
the videos on Islam from youtube, as well as the history of Islam from the History Channel. I also watched all of the 12 documentaries from the History Channel on who wrote the Bible.
f. I believe that I got a C on the Midterm.
g. I have done all of the reading required for the class, since the midterm I have read the
paper on Eastern and Western religions from week four, in that week I also read chapter 6 in Smiths book, I also viewed the websites that were recommended for Islam. I did not read the Koran I didn’t have time that week. For week five I read chapter 7 in Smith’s book, I viewed the websites on Judaism that were recommended, as well as the online book on the Holocaust and the False Testament articles. For week six I read chapter 9 in Smith’s book, the article Triumph of Christianity, I read parts of the four gospels of the New Testament. And finally read Crosses book on Jesus.
- Of all the reading I have done for this class I really liked the article why I don’t eat faces. I also liked Smith’s book I enjoyed the pictures but I wished that he would have wrote it concentrating more on the basics of the religions studied. For example I wish he would give like a basic outline of the history of the different religions, what they believe, what they consider Holy, what the rules are. Their traditions as well as holidays. I think the book could have been more simplified.
- The only extra credit that I had time to complete was the reading and the post on the Holocaust.
1. Gnostics and Triumph over Christianity
The Gnostics belief in God is different from any other religion.
Gnosticism is not really considered an official religion, because it is not very organized. For example Gnostics fall under a large umbrella there is not one set way of Gnosticism, however there are various different sects, which all have their own twist and turns that differ form each other.
One thing that all Gnostics have in common or share is gaining
knowledge of the spiritual world. For many Gnostics their overall goal is to raise their level of consciousness to that of the spiritual world.
Many sects of Gnosticism are associated with Christianity, as well as
Judaism, which has several comparisons to the Old Testament also known as the Hebrew Bible. But the over all goal for Gnostics is to return to the days of Adam and Eve where their was not much known about God.
There are three main reasons why Christianity has become much more
popular than Gnosticism. The first is that at this time in history Gnosticism, which was based in Roam, did not appeal to as many people as Christianity did. In Gnostic religions or sects at this time promised its followers that they would to be able to reach a higher spiritual level, they also believe in people being able to live after death (ex in Heaven), and finally many followed some sort of ethics. Christianity was able to provide all three of these things for Gnostics.
The second reason why Christianity was able to triumph over Gnostic
religions is because it is not exclusive to anyone no matter what background you come from, you can become a Christian. Also Christianity have fewer hoops that one would have to jump through for example in order to be Jewish, a man would have to become circumcised which was quite painful without anesthetic, not to mention the strict Kosher dietary rules. Gnostic religions were in some cases only available for the wealthy, not so much the poor servants or slaves.
The third and final reason why Christianity has flourished over
Gnosticism is when a Christ follower dies he or she receives eternal life in Heaven also known as the Kingdom of God. Eternity in Heaven is a new concept for many religions and through becoming a Christian is one of the easiest ways to receiving that, compared to many other religions.
2. Crossans starts out his book by noting the comparisons between John the
Baptist and Jesus. He basically says the John was the key to the past that brought truth to the Hebrew Scriptures and that Jesus was more focused on the future then he was for the past. After comparing Jesus’ life to John the Baptist’s life he then goes on to compare Jesus childhood and birth to that of Moses take for instance at the time of both of their births male Hebrew infants were being ordered to be put to death.
Following this Crossan begins to talk about how the virginal birth may have been
a far stretch because of the fact that the writers of the Gospels were not around Jesus around the time of his birth in fact they did not know him until much later in life. Crossan then goes on to talk of how the story of Christ that Luke presents may very well be false because Crossan says that their was not a census going on at the time of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, he also says that King Herod (who wanted to have baby Jesus killed) died four years prior to the birth of Jesus. Following this Crossan studies Roman culture at this time and he says that carpenters (Jesus was a carpenter) were on the border of middle class and lower class and that no one form either of the these class could have been considered divine.
Crossan then moves into the scholarship as well as the philosophy of Jesus. He
talks of how Jesus tried to work by starting with individuals the individuals would then show it to their family members and the families would then spread it into the community and eventually changing the society. Moving from that Crossan focused on the twelve disciples who according to Crossan represent the twelve tribes within Israel, and how they are missionaries who were said to be healed healers. From their Crossan goes on to talk about what normally happened to people who were crucified how their bodies were left to be eaten by wild beast, and that their was rarely anything left of the body to be buried.
Towards the end of his book Crossan calls Jesus a peasant Jewish cynic. Meaning
that Jesus was a poor Jewish man who thought that people only did good things for selfish reasoning. I do believe that Crossan makes some valid points however I do not believe in some of the arguments that he makes. I believe that not everything in the Bible is to be taken literary I think that a great deal of it should be taken figuratively.
3. False Testament
According to the False Testament article from Harper’s Magazine, there are
many reasons why the Old Testament is considered false or untrue. The first thing the author of the article mentions is how the kingdom of King David was thought to be very large as well as powerful similar to that of the Roman empire. However after archeology research it appears to the author that King David’s kingdom was simply made up by some Jewish priests.
Following that the article goes on to talk about how Abraham who is a major figure in the Old Testament was a made up figure, simply because there is no archeological evidence to support the existence of Abraham or even a figure similar to what is said about Abraham. After focusing on Abraham the article moves on to talk about the Exodus the second book of the Old Testament where Moses leads his people (The Hebrews) to freedom and out of slavery in Egypt. There is no archeological evidence to find where the passage talks about were they camped on their voyage to the Holy Land. Not only does he say that the Exodus is false he then goes on to talk about why he believes Moses is also made up, or historically unreal.
The article then goes on to argue that the first five books of the Torah or the Old Testament were not written by Moses as they are claimed to be. In fact scribes who were just released in the exodus form Babylonia and put in a sequential order wrote them. They also say that the people mention throughout Genesis were made up much like the gods of ancient Greece.
Another reason as to why the article believes that the Old Testament is false is because in the book of Joshua, it is claimed that the Hebrews went to war with the Palestine’s prior to them taking it over, however there is no evidence to support a violent war or altercation form ever happening, now the author believes that the Jews entered Palestine peacefully.
Those are just six or seven examples as to why the author believes that the Old Testament is false.
4. Christianity
Today Christianity is the world’s largest religion, there are three main branches of Christianity: Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestantism. After the crucifixion of Jesus Christianity was mainly spread threw the twelve disciples and eventually became the Catholic Church.
In 313 AD. Christianity became the official Roman religion, and it quickly became a powerful institute becoming the supreme law of the land. The church became so powerful that a government style was needed to keep it running efficiently so a pope was installed along with his cardinals and bishops. For hundreds of years the Catholic mass was only to be done in Latin and all of the Bibles were transferred form Hebrew and Greek into Latin. Catholics were not encouraged to read their Bibles they were encouraged to attend mass and do as the priest told.
Around seven hundred years after the formation of the Catholic it faced a large split between the East and the West. The Catholics in Eastern Europe were not fully satisfied with the Catholic Church so they broke away to form their own branch of Christianity known as Eastern Orthodox. One of the main differences between the two branches of Christianity is unlike the Catholic Church the Eastern Orthodox church does not have a pope they have what they call the consensus of the Church. It did not take the Eastern Orthodox along time before they developed their own traditions.
Not too long after the Eastern Orthodox Church separating form the Catholic Church when a new branch started to develop from within the Catholic Church, which is known as Protestantism. Protestants started to develop their new church in the middle of the renaissance. It was a time in history where people wanted to be enlighten and they wanted to learn things and they started asking questions and wanting to find the answers themselves. In the Catholic Church they were strongly discouraged to read the Bible or to have Bible studies, because the Catholic Church wanted to control their beliefs. As this new branch of Christianity was formed it encouraged its followers to investigate, and question as well as to come up with their own interpretation of scripture.
I really enjoyed watching the film from the History Channel on who wrote the Bible I actually watched all twelve parts. Some of it was kind of confusing but very interesting. I found the history of the Old Testament to be really neat because of the fact that these stories have been around for thousands of years and yet they still are relevant in the year 2008. The majority of the principles are pretty basic and straightforward. I also learned a few things about the New Testament that I did not know prior of watching the film. For example I did not know how the Bible was put together by priest and I learned more about the books that were omitted from the Bible and why they might have not been put in what we call today’s Bible.
5. Judaism
Judaism has a long and eventful history, which includes much suffering. The Jews have been prosecuted against since the beginning when, they were forced into slavery by the Egyptians. According to Smith there is meaning behind the suffering, that suffering enters some lives by those who are willing to endure it while others may be sparred the suffering.
Because the Jews have always been considered the underdogs their faith came in hoping for someone to come and save them this person is known as the Messiah. It is believed that the Messiah would lead them back to the Holy Land. However there has been much debate as to when, and how the Messiah would come.
Jews often refer to themselves as God’s chosen people, because of this marrying into another race or religion is strongly discouraged. The thought is to keep the race pure and continue to raise the children in the temple. The Hebrew Bible consists of the Christian Old Testament, also known as the Torah. The first five books of the Torah are said to have been written by Moses or as the video proclaims his assistance.
Jews celebrate many holidays which include Passover it has to do with the Exodus from Egypt it is a very symbolic holiday that includes bread without yeast and wine. Another important holiday is Yom Kippur in which Jews fast for twenty-four hours. And finally the most popular holiday Chanukah or the festival of lights. Chanukah last for eight days and for every day a candle is lit and gifts are exchanged, this holiday is to celebrate the rededication of the second temple. The Hebrew’s have a very long and eventful history in which they have endured much suffering.
6. Islam
The life of Muhammad was very interesting to me he was a normal person who claimed that angles that were sent from Allah appeared to him and told him that he was the new profit. He was born into a well to do family when both his parents died at a very young age; his uncle then raised him. As an adult he became a successful merchant and a very respectable man in Mecca.
One day Muhammad went to some caves for a couple of days just outside of Mecca where the angel Gabriel appeared to him. He then went back to Mecca and slowly started converting his close friends and family members. Eventually Muhammad and his followers were chased out of Mecca and led to Medina. For hundreds of years the people of Mecca had been worshiping hundreds of Gods that is why they rejected Muhammad’s teachings. After a few years Muhammad and his followers returned to Mecca and took control of the city. Muhammad came up with the five pillars of Islam, and he also wrote the Koran.
At the backbone of Islam is the Five Pillars of Islam. The five pillars of Islam are as follows: The first is to confess your faith, which is known as the shahaddah, which is saying, “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his profit.” The second pillar is that Muslims should pray at least five times a day. The third pillar is giving to charity. The forth pillar is fasting during the holiday of Ramada. And the fifth pillar is least once in a Muslims life they should make a pilgrimage to Mecca the only exception is they are handicapped or they are unable to afford it.
The video was very interesting I was surprised to find out how much Islam and Arabic culture has influenced European culture and architecture especially in Spain, and in parts of Sicily. There is so much that Islam has done for Europe during the dark ages many of which unfortunately get overlooked in European history.
7. Comparing the three religions
All three of the religions have some things in common and many things different. One thing that all three of the religions have in common is a belief in one very powerful monotheistic god. In Islam god is called Allah, in Judaism he is called Yahweh, and in Christianity he is referred to as God. They all also have a holy book. In Islam the holy book is called the Koran, the Hebrew’s call their Bible the Torah, and the Christians call their Bible the Holy Bible and it consist of the Old Testament as well as the New Testament. All three religions can be traced from Adam and to Abraham from their they split. Another thing that all three religions share in common is the fact that one man has completely formed their religions. For the Muslims this man was Muhammad, it was Moses for the Jews, and it was Jesus for the Christians.
Although theses three religions have a few similarities they also have quite a few differences. One main difference is that Judaism is much older than Christianity, as well as Islam. Another difference is in their diet the Hebrew’s have a very strict diet they have many rules when it comes to what they can eat like in Islam they should refrain from eating pork.
Another major difference between the three religions is their beliefs. Muslims believe in the Five Pillars of Islam as well as the teaching of Muhammad and the Koran. The Hebrew believe that they are God’s chosen people and they believe in the teachings of Moses as well as all of the stories from the Torah. They celebrate many holidays which all stand for various things. Christians believe in the teachings of Jesus and the New Testament, and they believe that the only way to reaching eternal life in Heaven is through the belief in Jesus, who was crucified for all of the sins of mankind. Christianity originally stemmed off of Judaism until Jesus came around (Jesus was Jewish) and he then started to revolutionize religion, eventually making Christianity the largest of the major world religions.
One final thing that the three religions share, is the belief that each of the other two religions are wrong, and that the other religions will never receive salvation because of their beliefs.
8.
If I were to change religions I think I would convert to Judaism because ever since I was young I have always been interested in the Jewish faith. I believe they have had a very long, and interesting history. It appears that they have endured a lot of suffering and there for I believe that they are stronger now because of it. I am one who when it comes to sporting events I always cheer for the underdog, and the Hebrew’s have always been the underdogs.
I admire all of their rules and traditions, such as there strict Kosher diet, how males must wear yamicas in the temple, and they are not suppose to shave the edges of their beards. I kind of like this rule because it would give me another reason not to shave. I also like the fact that they hardly ever try to convert non-Jews into Judaism, they believe that they are the chosen people and they take great pride in that.
One thing that I don’t really admire about them is how they encourage their children to only marry and date other Jews, simply because they want to keep their race pure. It makes since but coming from a multiracial family I don’t quit agree, I do however believe that it is somewhat important that marry someone with the same faith as you. Seeing how ethnicity and faith go hand in hand in Judaism I can see why Jewish parents encourage their children to marry within the Jewish culture.
Another thing that I admire about the Jewish faith is their Holy book, the Torah or the Old Testament. If one were to read the Old Testament and apply it to their lives they would contain a lot of wisdom. From Genesis, which explains how, things came to be. Through Exodus with the story of Moses and the Hebrews, to Psalms and Proverbs which give a lot of advice on life. The Torah is filled with lots of knowledge and wisdom.
