Religious Studies

Summary

The Religious Response

•Why are there religions?•Modes of encountering Ultimate

Reality•Understanding Ultimate Reality•Absolutist & liberal interpretations•Science –vs- religion•Women & the Godess in religions

Goddess Myths that Survived

Isis Madonna Maya-Shakti-Devi

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Male Myths Dominate

Why are there religions?

•Materialist perspective

•Functional perspective

•Faith perspective

Materialist Perspective

Freud described religion as a collective fantasy, a “universal obsessional neurosis”.

Functional Perspective

Emile Durkheim saw religion as the glue that held society together. Religions phenomena were symbols and reinforcers of the social order.

Emile Durkheim - 1917 French sociologist

Considerations…

Some religions demand obedience to dogma and discourage critical thinking.

Other religions demand critical thinking and discourage dogma.

Considerations…

“Fundamentally it is the outsider who names a religious system… The participant is concerned with God; the observer has been concerned with religion.”

Wilfred Smith, scholar

Considerations…

Catholic monk, Father Bede Griffiths

“In each tradition the one divine Reality, the one eternal Truth, is present, but it is hidden under symbols…”

Swami Kriyananda

“There is a saying in India that it is often blessed to be born into a religion…but unfortunate to die in one.”

The Power of Myth

“Read each other people’s myths, not those of your own religion, because you tend to interpret your own religion in terms of facts—but if you read the other ones, you begin to get the message.”

Joseph Campbell, author & philosopher

Absolutists & Fundamentalists

Orthodox – refers to those who stand by an historical form of their religion

Fundamentalists – refers to those who tend to insist on certain traditions and apply violence to people of other religions.

17th to 19th Centuries

Knowledge of nature became more secularized because scientist developed rational models of the universe.

Considerations…

Today’s Hubble Telescope

Native Sacred Ways

•Barriers to understanding•Cultural diversity•Circle of right relationships•Spiritual specialists•Group observances•Contemporary issues

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“Everything is alive.”

Indigenous spirituality is a particular approach to life, not a separate experience like going to church.

Hindu Teachings•Harappan civilization & Vedic

religion•The Upanishads & the luminous self•Reincarnation & karma•Bhakti and the Puranas•Krishna & The Bhagavad-Gita•The Four Paths to God•Major philosophical systems

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“Truth is one;

sages call it by various names.”

Rig Veda, 2,500 B.C.

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Arjuna Confused By Sorrow

“I can find no means to drive away this grief which is drying up my senses. I will not be able to destroy it even if I win an unrivalled kingdom… I shall not fight.”

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Arjuna Asks For Teachings

Karma Yoga -- Work

Bhakti Yoga -- Devotion

Ghyana Yoga -- Study

Raja Yoga -- Science

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The Guru

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Mantras

The Jains

•Tirthankaras & ascetic orders

•Freeing the soul: ethic pillars

•Spiritual practices•World Jainism

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Considerations…

The virtuous have no need for religion.

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Truth has many facets…

Buddhist Teachings

•From Prince Siddhartha to the Buddha

•The Four Noble Truths•The Eight-Fold Path•The Three Jewels•The spread of Buddhism

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Prince Siddhartha

Who Became A Buddha…

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The Four Noble Truths

1 - Life has pain & suffering

4 - The Eight-fold Path provides a way out of our karmic predicament of continuous re-births that result in continuous suffering

3 - Reducing desire reduces suffering

2 - Suffering is caused by ignorance & desire

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The Three Jewels

Buddha

Dharma Sangha

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The Two Truths: The Question of Inherent

Existence

Ultimate Wisdom

Conventional Wisdom

Taoism & Confucianism

•The Unity of opposites•Flowing with the Tao•Tai Chi•The Practice of Virtue - Confucius

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Religion in China

•A radical humanism with a desire to live in the world in harmony

•Humanity has no need for a savior since humans are not born in sin

•Humanity is basically good but needs proper education

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Yin & Yang

Yin is the dark receptive female aspect of chi, and yang is the bright assertive male aspect of chi.

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K’ung Fu-tzu

• 6th century BC•Lord on High•Mandate from heaven

•Moral virtues•Orderly society

                                     

Shinto

•Kinship with nature•Honoring the kami spirits•Shrines & purification•State Shinto

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Shinto & Buddhism

Japanese go to Shinto for life-affirming activities, and Buddhist temples for death rites.

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The Sikhs

A Celebration of one of my teachers

Yogi Bhajan

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"It's not the life that matters…it's the courage that you bring to it."

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Judaism

A Covenant with God

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Old Testament Timeline

•1250 B.C. – oral history of the conquest of the land of Caanan

•1000 – united tribes under King David, stories written by J-author (Judah view)

•900 – death of Solomon sees kingdom split into Judah & Israel (10 tribes north). The northern view written by E-author that emphasize Moses

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•722 B.C. – Assyria conquers Israel and some flee back to southern Judah. Two versions combined into JE version document. Thus two creation stories, two Ten Commandments, etc.

•650 – Temple rites given in P-document, most is in Torah today

•609 – “lost” scroll of Moses found, called the D-document, book of Deuteronomy

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•580 – Judah conquered by Babylon and exiled for 50 years.

•450 – A “Redactor” with lots of cuts and pastes, combines JE, P, and D into one smooth flowing narrative. The five books of Moses are assembled. There have been no more changes since that time.

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Two Creation Stories

•Genesis 1 – poetic account of creation in seven days, man & woman placed as masters of the earth (Priestly source)

•Genesis 2 – Earlier version, supreme male diety, woman is offshoot and cause for man’s trouble (Yahwist source)

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Abraham

• Born Ten generations after Noah,

• Has son with Eqyptian slave woman Hagar – Ishmael isArab ancestor that gives birth to the Arab world and Islam

• Wife Sarah has son when 90 – Isasac , father of Jacob, who gives birth to Judaism and eventually Christianity

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Zoroastrianism

Satan, hierarchy of angels, reward or punishment in an afterlife, final resurrection of the body, and the Day of Judgment influence Judaism

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Ruth

Ruth acted in the highest standards of the Jewish Torah by caring for her mother-in-law. Ruth eventually re-married and had a son Obed. Obed had a son Jessie………the father of the future King David. (David was not full-blooded Jew!)

“…for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God

my God…” (Ruth 1:16)

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Jesus was born

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The Jews are dispersed again

•Judaism could have died then

•Many turn to the rabbis and the Torah

•Some turn to Jesus as the Jewish answer to the Messiah

•Both groups build on the Hebrew Bible

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The Holy

Kabbalah

Crown

Wisdom

Mercy

Glory

Under-standing

Strength

PowerBeauty

Intuition

The World

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Outward & Return Journey

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Christianity

“Jesus Christ is Lord”

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Primary Tenents

•Born in Original Sin (430 CE)

•Jesus is the Son of God who paid for this Original Sin

•Everyone must go through Jesus to get to God

•Everyone must go through the Church to get to Jesus

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Radical Ethics

•Jesus touched lepers and bleeding women

•He ate with tax collectors and prostitutes

•Sermon on the Mount taught love and forgiveness not revenge

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Key Event:Fall of Jerusalem - 70 CE

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A Jewish Movement•Christianity was a Jewish movement until 70 CE when Romans destroyed the Temple

•Jews lost their physical center•Scattered Jews used the law for a focal point for next 1900 years

•Christian Jews used Jesus for a focal point

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The Split – 90CE•Jews created new prayer called “Shemoneh Esreh” to curse new Christian heretics

•Jews blamed Jesus followers for subverting Judaism and brining forth God’s anger by the Romans

•Gospel of John encouraged Jews to follow Jesus

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Bible Scholarship•Matthew, Mark, and Luke together are called the Synoptic Gospels

•There was a “Q” document that was the source of all of them

•Only Matthew and John of the Gospels ever knew Jesus

•Paul, Mark, and Luke never met Jesus

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Paul

•Kicked out of early Church twice•Roman citizen and thought a spy•Self-mutilator, women inferior, admitted self-loathing, anti-flesh

•His Christ offered unconditional love and forgiveness

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•1551 – Matthew Bible by Rogers•1569 – Great Bible by Cromwell•1560 – Geneva Bible•1606 – Bishop’s Bible•1611 – King James Bible•1718 – Catholic English version•1815 – Catholic Bible Society NT•1870 – idea of papal infallibility

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From the Hebrews to the Christians

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and dreadful day of the Lord.” Malachi 4:5

Jesus states ten times in the New Testament that John the Baptist is the reincarnation of Elijah.

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The Gnostics Teachings

Jesus had a secret doctrine. In Mark 4:11 he says,

“Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the Kingdom of God; but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables.”

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Gnostic Christians – 200 A.D.

“To become enlightened…

Remove physical desires,

Reduce chaos in the mind,

Open to internal visions,

Ponder what is seen,

Become troubled,

Go into isolation in the desert,

And receive the messenger of the light.”

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Emperor Constantine

United what was left of the Roman Empire in 315 A.D.

Made Christianity the state religion.

Chose the books that would be included in the Bible.

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Blavatsky on Constantine

Constantine, “…who drowned his wife in boiling water, butchered his little nephew, murdered with his own pious hand two of his brothers-in-law, killed his own son Crispus, bled to death several men and women, and smothered in a well an old monk. However, we are told by Eusebius that this Christian Emperor was rewarded by a vision of Christ himself…”

Isis Unveiled, page 304

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Emperor Justinian

Eight years Pope Vigilus his prisoner and finally murdered.

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The Dark Ages

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Paramahansa Yogananda

“It is true that Christ lived in India during most of the eighteen unaccounted for years of his life…”

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The Outward & Return Journey

OutwardReturn

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Islam

There is no God but God

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One-fifth of the world now belongs to the religion of Islam. Their creed is simple…

“There is no god but God, and Muhammad is his Messenger.”

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The Five Pillars

•Belief & Witness – (the Shahadah)•Daily prayers – five times•Almsgiving – percentage to the poor

•Fasting – daylight during Ramadan•Hajj – pilgrimage to Mecca

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“The Qu’ran taught that the Jews and Christians had distorted the pure monotheism of Abraham; Muhammad had been sent to restore and supplement the teachings of the apostles and prophets.”

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Ancient Baghdad

Science Philosophy Medicine Art Literature Freedom

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The Crusades

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Sufism

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Meher Baba

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electron

+ photon

- photon

gamma photon

Photon polarity has positive & negative states. States are unknown until one is measured. State of other photon revealed instantaneously!

Quantum Physics & Consciousness

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At this point…At this point…

There is definitely something beyond space-time.

The universe appears interconnected.

The universe may be a product of consciousness.

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Energy Follows Thought

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In quantum physics, objects are seen as possibility waves.

What converts possibilities into actuality?

Consciousness

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“Dying is a time when the deeper levels of mind manifest themselves.”- The Dalai Lama

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Quantum Bliss Body

Quantum Theme Body

Quantum Mental Body

Energy Body

Physical Body

The Five Bodies

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The Clear Light of Death

The Future

“Some day, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides, and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love. And then, for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire.”

Teilhard de Chardin

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NotesThese slides are designed to accompany an oral presentation

that compliments the book “Living Religions” written by Mary Pat Fisher and published by Prentice-Hall. The serious

student would benefit greatly by using this book as an excellent additional source of information.

Anyone duplicating this free presentation by One World Insight for educational purposes should be aware of copyright laws protecting some of the words and pictures and perform

due diligence to use them appropriately.

Please keep our URL at the bottom of the slides so the serious student can go to our web site to do additional research.