Rels 312 1st Edition Exam 1 Study Guide Lectures 1 3 Lecture 1 Introduction to Religion 1 14 Don t confuse ultimate concern with universal concern God can t be defined We only have the capacity to know to define that which is finite The idea of God can never be completely understood because to be God is to be infinite Religion originates with humans Hidengar says We are thrown into existence towards death Anxiety of the threat of not being i e the threat of imminent death or facing our finitude is unique to humans We have the hope of religion We want to feel that we have some control over Tillich says that we are constantly in a state of tension between humanity our everyday struggles and stresses and transcendence our legacy beyond this human life life after death We are threatened by not being As a result we search for something to overcome the threat of not being which he refers to as our ultimate concern Our subjective relationship to our ultimate concern drives our actions and ambitions Our quest is to find the ultimate that says Relax you re accepted which is actually hard to subscribe to because it requires that we relegate our control to trust a supernatural omnipotent being Berger says that we have a tendency to project purpose and humanness of our human creations It s a form of self externalization How do we get knowledge of God Revelation we know through top down information to a select group of people to make God known Reason we know through education and learning We do the seeking to find knowledge of the universe This view is rationality on a pedestal it s Jefferson s Deism Human rationality is the source of all religiosity Lecture 2 Introduction to Religion cont 1 21 Concerning Religious Texts Humans are ambiguous We are capable of doing both the best and the worst We can do good in the midst of bad and bad in the midst of good Christian concept of sin shows that though we are made in the image of God good we are born sinners Adam s first sin bad When looking at religious scripture from this perspective we can see the heights of dignity and the depths of depravity Religion Non theism Polytheism Theism Henotheism Judaism Monotheism Christianity Islam Reform Crazy needs to modernize Judaism Orthodox Lazy stay the same as old days Conservative Hazy conserve relavant parts Christianity Latin Church Eastern Orthodoxy Protestantism Roman Catholic 1000 C E split resulting in Eastern Orthodox Church Constantinople 1500 C E split resulting in Protestant Reform Church The Reformation period Martin Luther began to read the scriptures for himself leading to many interpretations and more sects Islam Sunni Shiite Sufi and other minority sects Philosophy of Religion PPT on BB Burial rituals and symbolic representation of supernatural agents were apparent as early as 100 000 B C E The Upper Paleolithic Revolution is characterized by Behavioral Modernity o 5 000 B C E o Complex social grouping social identification Ethnicity in group affinity out group animosity o Abstract language forethought planning cooperation art Shults says that gods emerged as a result of cognitive and coalitional tendencies that gave humans a competitive advantage Huyssteen says that the concept of God itself follows from the ability to mentally conceive the idea of a person The Axial Age is characterized by the use of religion as a means to political mobilization God legitimizes the monarchy oligarchy the divine right of kings to maintain order of the country In other words God put me in charge and therefore my word and will has the weight of God s full support These leaders also believed that God preferred their country thereby legitimizing violent acts like wars David Hume reference Hume on the origin of religion and the origin of gods on BB Fear Imagination God 1 Polytheism 2 Monotheism self interest There is evidence that religion has negative consequences but if the source is true i e if God is real then maybe the consequences are validated Maybe it s worth it Hume didn t know if God existed he was agnostic Hume concluded that fear anxious concern for happiness the dread of future misery the terror of death the thirst of revenge the appetite for food paired with imagination results in religion before he had any of our modern information Remember the monster soccer ball in the closet analogy Religion is natural so that means it is good whether true or imagined Tribal monotheism is characterized by the belief in one god who is focused on the interests of the in group To Hume ALL monotheism is tribal monotheism H R Niebuhr Humans are naturally religious we have a center of value ultimate concern 1 Henotheism recognizing that there are other gods for other people 2 Polytheism no coherence Don t confuse universal concern with ultimate concern To Niebuhr all religions contain some elements of monotheism and polytheism which he calls henotheism Niebuhr concludes that we start as henotheists but then we move from god to god based on benefit until we scatter our loyalties and don t choose just one Monotheism is an elusive minority position that rarely occurs and doesn t last Radical monotheism is characterized by the notion that one god is not my god but rather the god of everyone Furthermore this one god has a universal concern It is centered on God not individual will o Motto Everything that is is good o Being and value are unified i e to be is to be good Bible prophets were harbingers of the ideal of radical monotheism and were therefore often unwelcomed in society Lecture 3 Introduction to Religion Judaism 1 14 What is Religion Definitions from BB 1 Religion is the belief in an ever living God that is in a divine mind and will ruling the universe and holding moral relations with mankind James Martineau 2 Religion is the feeling of absolute dependence the consciousness that the whole of our spontaneous activity comes from a source outside of us Friedrich Schleiermacher 3 Religion is a set of rituals rationalized by myth which mobilizes supernatural powers for the purpose of achieving or preventing transformations of state in man or nature Anthony Wallace 4 Religion is only the sentiment inspired by the group in its members but projected outside of the consciousness that experiences them and objectified Emile Durkheim 5 Religion is a propitiation or conciliation of powers superior to man which are believed to direct and control the course of nature and of human life James Frazer Substantive definitions