RELG 102 1st EditionExam # 1 Study Guide Lecture: 1Lecture 1 (January 16)Introduction to Roots of Western ReligionsWhat are the three major world religions studied in this course?-Judaism-Christianity-IslamWhat ancient cultures are studied?-Egyptians-Mesopotamians-Persians-Greeks-RomansTheriomorphic images: images of animals portrayed as gods- Theriomorphic literally means “wild animal form”- Animals were chosen as great, courageous, and fierce.o Lions, horses, bulls- Many cultures portrayed animals as gods- Egyptians were doing this some 5,000 years agoEgyptian God Bes- A god portrayed as a fierce-looking dwarf- He scared away demons during childbirth- Also associated with humor and music- Sometimes depicted surrounding by monkeys, or wearing a monkey on his back. This is showing the link between humans, animals, and gods.- Also a god of good fortune and fertility.One of the earliest religious cave drawings from France appears to show a human dressed up in animal’s skins.- This drawing is called “The Sorcerer”- Dating back 15,000 years ago- May be intended as a religious leaderVirtually, all ancient religions were polytheistic.- Meaning they believed in more than one god- It was simply the normative form of religion 3,000 to 4,000 years agoAncient Pharaoh, Akhenaton- This pharaoh was the first to attempt to change the Egyptian system of worship from polytheism to monotheism o Monotheism meaning one god- Ordered everyone to stop worshiping all god except the sun god, “Aton”- He believed Aton was creator of all things- This attempt was a failure, his own son changed his name to avoid the embarrassment- After his death around 1362 his successor destroyed any and all statues or references to Akhenaton Egyptian Religion: One of the first great cultures to arise from the ancient world.- Written documents appeared 5,000 years ago and the pyramids were completed over 4,500 years ago.- The pyramids were built by Khefra and Khufu- Brilliant engineers and builders but lacked critical thinking and reasoning skills- There was belief in the afterlife- Egyptians were one of the first to think about the happenings after death- More concerned about living rather than dying- Viewed the world literally and saw everything in it the same way- Everything was either male or female, and full of life- Many god and goddesses, such as Horus and Isis performed many functions and sometimes more than one god could perform the same function- Gods made Egyptians feel secureThree levels of existence:- The heavens- The earth- The afterworldThe book of dead was written as a guidebook 3,000 years ago to help a dead person navigate the very treacherous and frightening terrors that awaited one after death- The ultimate goal was to stay alive foreverAnubis, under the watchful eye of Osiris, was the god of the deadThere are two sides of the afterlife:1.If your judgment was favorable, you went to a paradise where you could dwell forever.2.If it was bad you were eaten by a horrible beastEgyptians would worship many gods that would help them achieve their goal of eternal life; thatis why there are so many temples in ancient