Today in class, we were introduced to Taoism. For an overall introduction, we watched a video about the different backgrounds of the diverse Asian-American community. The video portrayed certain customs of immigrants from different Asian countries. We learned about some interesting different forms of respect from Asian countries, for example Vietnamese people tend to avoid eye contact while speaking with them as a sign of respect.
After the video we moved onto Taoism, first and formost to the Tao of Pooh. Winnie the Pooh is famous for his chubby cheeks and love of honey, but what many don't know about Pooh is that he is an example of a Taoist Sage.
While examining a famous painting, "The Vinegar Tasters", Pooh offer's his insight in a conversation with Benjamin Hoff.
In the painting, three men each taste from a bowl of vinegar, showing a different expression on his face. We learn that the three man represent Confucius, Buddha, and Lao-Tse; the vinegar represents the Essence of Life, and each expression represents each religion's attitude towards life.
Confucious wears a sour expression. Confucianism expresses the belief that life started out being good, and things have turned sour. It enforces strict rules in an attempt to help regain order and get things back to goodness; to the way they are in heaven.
Buddha wears a bitter expression. Buddhism believes in the concept of life being naturally bad. We are to go through many lifetimes of bad and suffering, until we achieve Nirvana.
Lao-Tse, in contrast to his dissatisfied comrades, wears a smile. Taosim survives by the idea that life is good if man interprets it as a good thing. When we decide to make things bad, then they are bad. Life is what it is, leave it alone. The goal of a Taoist is to be "like a leaf on a stream."
We finished off the class with a quick Tai Chi exercise. It revolved around "effortless effort"; we would be instructed to "punch", while moving slowly and calmly (we would in no way injure anyone with the punches thrown in Blue 4's Tai Chi class). It was an overally enlightening and relaxing experience, hopefully we can do more Tai Chi next class!
Oct 25, 2010
Today we began class praying a Hail Mary. The opening question we answered was "What is bothering you?" We then were introduced to the three "ways of life" of China. Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. Taoism has no absolutes and Confucianism gives China its formal rules of society. We also learned that Buddhism is the embracement of human suffering. Most Chinese follow all three doctrines.
The Noble Truths of Buddha say that the human condition is suffering. The class watched several scenes from the movie "The Little Buddha". The movie portrayed the creation story of Siddartha, who became Buddha. Buddhists believe that Siddartha turned away from the wealth of his family when he experienced suffering. On Siddartha's path to enlightenment, he was tested by temptations and passed all of the challenges. The final test was for him to overcome his own ego, which he passed.
The Noble Truths of Buddha say that the human condition is suffering. The class watched several scenes from the movie "The Little Buddha". The movie portrayed the creation story of Siddartha, who became Buddha. Buddhists believe that Siddartha turned away from the wealth of his family when he experienced suffering. On Siddartha's path to enlightenment, he was tested by temptations and passed all of the challenges. The final test was for him to overcome his own ego, which he passed.
October 19
After prayer, Mrs. Egan reviewed the format for the test next class (Thursday 10/21). Each question will have either a quotation or a picture to be used as a "hanger" to answer a 3-mark question about its nature/definition and then a 7-mark question with regards to its significance/greater connection. In our circumlectio groups we formed some of our own questions with answers (below) about the pictures in the textbook on pgs. 320, 323, 331, 347, and 350
pg. 320: What are these people doing? Describe.
pg. 320: What are these people doing? Describe.
- Salat (daily prayer)
- Rak'a (ritual movements involving standing, bowing, kneeling, and touching one's head to the ground)
- Represents submission to Allah
- Salat is one of the Five Pillars
- Relationship of constant submission to Allah
- Performed 5 times a day, so a constant part of daily life
- Shirk is their worst sin, which is to forget humanity's relationship to Allah. This helps to prevent this from happening
- Ritual cleansing must be performed before Salat
- Mihrab points to Mecca, central part of Muslim life
- Men and women sit separately so as to prevent distractions
- Prayer can be carried out with the Ummah in the Mosque or privately
- Pilgrimage to Mecca
- Required of all reasonable Muslims who are financially and physically able
- One of the Five Pillars of Islam
- (Founding) Give examples of connections to Muhammad, his pilgrimages, etc.
- (Allah) Describe how Muslims become close to and discover Allah while on the Hajj
- (Humanity) Describe how aspects of the Hajj promote characteristics of Islam regarding people; equal treatment, etc.
- Sacred book of the Muslims
- Given by Allah to Muhammad over the course of 20 years
- States the requirements of the Five Pillars
- Provides principles of Islam life
- Describes humanity as God's special representatives on Earth--therefore must be sacred
- Includes story of Hajira running between the two hills of Safa and Marwa, which pilgrims themselves perform on the Hajj
- Includes necessity of caring for the underprivileged (ie. widows, orphans), which is practiced through the Five Pillars
- How relates to Salta, Zakat, Shahada, Sawm, and Hajj
- Founder of Islam
- Allah's rasul
- Qur'an is only miracle attributed to him
- Both of his wives were widows (demonstrates social justice)
- Spent time in meditation
- Islam is a religions that focuses on making converts--Muhammad himself went to Mecca to destroy idols
- Made several pilgrimages to the Ka'bah and made his farewell speech from the Plain of Arafat (both are required places to go on the Hajj)
- One of the qualifications for being a Prophet is to be a morally upstanding member of the community PRIOR to the revelation
- He acted as a political leader, which represents the Islamic philosophy of no separation between Church and State
- The Sunnah (what Muhammad said or did) and the Hadiths (sayings of Muhammad) help instruct Muslims how to live their lives
- Modesty
- Optional
- Helps to prevent shirk
- Takes gender out of the equation so that there can be more focus on the id. of the person
- Learn the Qur'an
- Enforcing modesty
- Encouraging ways of life
- Enthusiastic attitude of Islam
Today in religion class we reviewed for the test by creating study questions. Our questions were :
- "I am indeed close to everyone, I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calls on Me." (Qur'an 2:186) What are the 5 pillars of Islam?
- "Faith is that which resides firmly in the heart and which is proved by deeds." (the Prophet Muhammad) Chose 2 pillars and how they are related to each other.
- "Say! He is Allah, He is the One." (Qur'an 112) How do Muslims view Allah?
- "Enlightenment must come little by little, otherwise it would overwhelm." (Sufi quote)What is Sufism?
- "The Messenger and all those who believe with him strive hard and fight with their wealth and lives in Allah's cause." (Qur'an 9:88) Describe Muhammad's relationship with Allah. Describe Allah's relationship with the Qur'an.
After working in groups, we watched a movie, Islam.
- In the movie we laerned that Islam was a fast-growing religion, it encompased all of Arabia within 20 years. Islam means "peace" in Arabic. Islams is the 2nd largest world religion and Muslims make up 1/5 of the world's population. Indonesia is the largest Islamic country.
- We learned that Muhammad's role in Islam is very differant from the role of Jesus in Christianity. Musliams believe that Muhammad is a messenger (rasul) of Allah, while Christians believe Jesus to be the incarnation of God. Musliams believe that countless prophets have appeared in the past, Abraham, Issac, and Jesus being among them, but Muhammad is the final prophet.
- Muslims believe that the Torah, the Psalms, and the Gospels are books of God, but they have been changed over the years and so they are now imperfect. The Qur'an is the final book of God and it is without error and is unchanged (it is only read in Arabic, the language that it was revealed to Muhammad in). The Qur'an is not placed on the ground nor allowed to touch anything dirty. The Qur'an means "something to be recited".
- Sharia is the "well trodden path"; it is Islamic law/moral code. There are five classes of acts :mandatory acts, recommended acts, neutral acts, dissaproved (but permitted) acts, and forbidden acts.
October 12th
Today Started off with a prayer by Michelle. Then we finished up the class presentations with the Middle East. We took notes off of their slides:
Regions: Mesopotamia and Sumerior
Geography: Arid and Dry, Fertile crescent, The religions in the different regions are centered around the geography. Stories explain why things happen agriculturally.
Basics: polythesitic, St. sponsored religions, purification and cleansing rituals, regional, sacrifices, Divination, Conjuring and Talismans( Dreams tell the future and smoke is an important symbol)
Euphrates and Tigris Rivers: "flood myths", Gods seen as capricious and uncaring, the gods are responsible for the floods(when they are angry at the people)
Mesopotamia:(Babylonian and Assyrian Religions)
Gods-astrology-what happens on earth happens in the heavens
religions had conceptions of traits associated with god and duties that men were to fulfill.
Gods were easily angered
Demons influenced everyday lives
Humans listening to gods influenced afterlife
Beliefs played part in the viewpoint of the king
Egypt:
Positive view on religion
Nile river was the center of prosperity
Return of the snake=end of the world
Nature would rebel
Zoraastrianism:
Existence of Ahura Mazda= one holy god
Believed in a day of judgement
Good vs. Evil
Really important concept in the Middle Eastern religions
Sumerian and Babylonian Theology:
Enuma Elish-creation
Ish Tar's descent into the underworld-seasons
Gilgamesh-Fate of Humanity
Role of Humans:
They were at the mercy of the gods
The Priests were given important roles in society and played an important role in religion
Religious Governments-Theocracy
After that Presentation Jenn Prayed. We then Discussed the test format(test is on Thursday). The questions will contain a quote, Having to define a term and then make a connection. The format of the questions are very similar to the format of the questions on the four quizzes we have had on Islam vocab. We then had a powerpoint where Shari'a and Esposito were discussed. The main topics discussed were: Resurgence of Islam in the World(future of their society) and Ethics in society.
Our Homework for next class is test prep. Next class we are supposed to have a sub and create 5 or 6 Questions that might be topics on the test and then post them on circumlectio.
Regions: Mesopotamia and Sumerior
Geography: Arid and Dry, Fertile crescent, The religions in the different regions are centered around the geography. Stories explain why things happen agriculturally.
Basics: polythesitic, St. sponsored religions, purification and cleansing rituals, regional, sacrifices, Divination, Conjuring and Talismans( Dreams tell the future and smoke is an important symbol)
Euphrates and Tigris Rivers: "flood myths", Gods seen as capricious and uncaring, the gods are responsible for the floods(when they are angry at the people)
Mesopotamia:(Babylonian and Assyrian Religions)
Gods-astrology-what happens on earth happens in the heavens
religions had conceptions of traits associated with god and duties that men were to fulfill.
Gods were easily angered
Demons influenced everyday lives
Humans listening to gods influenced afterlife
Beliefs played part in the viewpoint of the king
Egypt:
Positive view on religion
Nile river was the center of prosperity
Return of the snake=end of the world
Nature would rebel
Zoraastrianism:
Existence of Ahura Mazda= one holy god
Believed in a day of judgement
Good vs. Evil
Really important concept in the Middle Eastern religions
Sumerian and Babylonian Theology:
Enuma Elish-creation
Ish Tar's descent into the underworld-seasons
Gilgamesh-Fate of Humanity
Role of Humans:
They were at the mercy of the gods
The Priests were given important roles in society and played an important role in religion
Religious Governments-Theocracy
After that Presentation Jenn Prayed. We then Discussed the test format(test is on Thursday). The questions will contain a quote, Having to define a term and then make a connection. The format of the questions are very similar to the format of the questions on the four quizzes we have had on Islam vocab. We then had a powerpoint where Shari'a and Esposito were discussed. The main topics discussed were: Resurgence of Islam in the World(future of their society) and Ethics in society.
Our Homework for next class is test prep. Next class we are supposed to have a sub and create 5 or 6 Questions that might be topics on the test and then post them on circumlectio.
Oct. 5, 2010
Class was started off today by the opening prayer of Brian and Ryan. The prayer incorporated the song "Let it Be" and than we said a Hail Mary. Since the IIP's were due today, we, the Australia group, presented our powerpoint first. After our presentation two other groups presented their regions.
The India region went after us. The class learned that Hinduism is the world's oldest religion and about 80% of Indians are Hindu. There are seven sacred rivers with the Ganges River as the most sacred. Bathing in the Ganges is said to wash away all sins. In Hinduism, dharma is ethics and duties, samsara is the rebirth, karma is the right action, and moksha is the liberation from the cycle of samsara.
Hinduism has no unified system of beliefs but most believe in idol worship and reincarnations. Hindus pray to 330 million gods. The Indian culture and Hindu beliefs are interchangeable. They have Brahma as their creator, Vishnu as their protector, and Shiva is the destroyer of the bad and good in the world.
The next group to present had the African continent. The first region they presented was Egypt. Egyptians relied heavily on the nile and the seasons. They believed that gods were in the elements around them. Their Pharaoh was divine and human, he was also related to the gods. The temples were only for priests.
The next region in Africa that was presented was Eastern and Southern Africa. The class was taught that Ethiopia is the oldest christian state and that Islam came to Ethiopia by the trade routes. The Southern Africans believed in ancestral spirits with the sun and moon as gods. Different religions like Islam and Hinduism was brought to Southern Africa.
The last regions that were presented were Central Africa and Western Afria. In Central Africa, the group focused on Congo. The Bantu people in Congo were Basongye and they believed in magic. Now in Congo, most of the people are Christian. Similar to Congo, Western Africa was home to the Bantu people. Another group were the Yoruba. They had the oba which was their cheif. They reached the ancestors through meditation, and they believed in multiple gods.
The India region went after us. The class learned that Hinduism is the world's oldest religion and about 80% of Indians are Hindu. There are seven sacred rivers with the Ganges River as the most sacred. Bathing in the Ganges is said to wash away all sins. In Hinduism, dharma is ethics and duties, samsara is the rebirth, karma is the right action, and moksha is the liberation from the cycle of samsara.
Hinduism has no unified system of beliefs but most believe in idol worship and reincarnations. Hindus pray to 330 million gods. The Indian culture and Hindu beliefs are interchangeable. They have Brahma as their creator, Vishnu as their protector, and Shiva is the destroyer of the bad and good in the world.
The next group to present had the African continent. The first region they presented was Egypt. Egyptians relied heavily on the nile and the seasons. They believed that gods were in the elements around them. Their Pharaoh was divine and human, he was also related to the gods. The temples were only for priests.
The next region in Africa that was presented was Eastern and Southern Africa. The class was taught that Ethiopia is the oldest christian state and that Islam came to Ethiopia by the trade routes. The Southern Africans believed in ancestral spirits with the sun and moon as gods. Different religions like Islam and Hinduism was brought to Southern Africa.
The last regions that were presented were Central Africa and Western Afria. In Central Africa, the group focused on Congo. The Bantu people in Congo were Basongye and they believed in magic. Now in Congo, most of the people are Christian. Similar to Congo, Western Africa was home to the Bantu people. Another group were the Yoruba. They had the oba which was their cheif. They reached the ancestors through meditation, and they believed in multiple gods.
Oct. 1, 2010
Today, the class began with prayers by Luke and Bridget. The class than viewed the powerpoint slides on the Jihad. We learned about the greater and lesser Jihad and the origins of terrorism in Islam. Historical factors, like the borders of the middle-east, have caused militarist groups to form.
The class than watched parts of a video about Malcom X. We learned that he was very controversial in the Muslim community. He was also considered a "thug" before his move to Islam.
The class than watched parts of a video about Malcom X. We learned that he was very controversial in the Muslim community. He was also considered a "thug" before his move to Islam.
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