Monday, December 17, 2007
Father John Martin
Who is Father John Martin? He is the current leader of Saccidananda Ashram religion. This religion was established 1950 by two French monks who were to study the Christian scriptures and inter grade their worship with their indigenous population of India, which was very different from the monasteries during that time.Father Martin believes that there is active and sensitive connections between Christianity and Eastern religions (particularly Hinduism), without minimizing differences between religions, and without losing its identity.He once said "Experiencing the Christian scriptures interpreted in worship and other settings at the Shantivanam is like watching your favorite film shot through a lens with slightly different focus, angle, and focal length. It's enthralling to find certain things you're used to seeing only in the background brought to the foreground, and vice-versa. And viewing familiar stories and sayings shot from "another other side of the set" provides quite a bit of food for thought".I do agree with Father martin. This is exactly what I think he meant when he told the parable of the hikers that there are many religions, all worship differently, but to the end they are all worshiping the same supreme being. We are all climbing the same religious mountain just hiking different path, with the hope of going to the same place.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Moravian
Reading the assigned chapter I find it very interesting the many different types of Christianity, how they started and even more surprising is how many different Protestant denominations they are, all base on the life of one man, Jesus Christ. What I find confusing is that they all believe the same thing, just different ways of worship. Most of the movements I have either heard of or had some form of exposure to. The Moravians I have never heard of. I choose this religion because I wanted to learn about their faith, and that they were the first to send large scale of missionary to the Caribbean Islands. They were also the first protestant missionary that would associate, and assisted slaves while teaching their doctrine. They believe in baptism, the trinity that God is one being who exists, simultaneously, three persons in one.
The Moravian was started by one Jan Hus in the late fourteenth century. This started when he objected to some of the Roman Catholic teachings. His punishment was death by been burnt at the stake by the Roman’s authority. It was 50 years later that the organization regrouped, operating under ground through out northern Europe as the Bohemian Brethren or the Brethren of unity. Of course like all other movements they had major disagreements among themselves. They went through a dramatic transformation which they clamed was a visit from the Holy Spirit telling them to learn to love each other. The foundation of their faith is spirit of harmony, good will, congeniality, and forgiveness. Today it is reported that they have the largest amount of Protestants in Tanzania. It would be interesting to attend their temple to observe how they worship.
The Moravian was started by one Jan Hus in the late fourteenth century. This started when he objected to some of the Roman Catholic teachings. His punishment was death by been burnt at the stake by the Roman’s authority. It was 50 years later that the organization regrouped, operating under ground through out northern Europe as the Bohemian Brethren or the Brethren of unity. Of course like all other movements they had major disagreements among themselves. They went through a dramatic transformation which they clamed was a visit from the Holy Spirit telling them to learn to love each other. The foundation of their faith is spirit of harmony, good will, congeniality, and forgiveness. Today it is reported that they have the largest amount of Protestants in Tanzania. It would be interesting to attend their temple to observe how they worship.
Jewish roots of the Christian story
Listening keenly as Joel Marcus was being interviewed on NPR radio it reinforced the course content that was taught in our last religious class. The relationship between Jews and Christians, the controversial surrounding Jesus’ life, his ministry leading up to his death and resurrection, including the many events that followed after his resurrection as it relates to his followers.
I have also heard many preachers preached that the Jews were responsible for his death. I believe that many of them know that his death was caused by both Jews and Gentiles, but it is most often said that it was the Jews who handed him over to the Romans, because he often disagreed with many of their teachings especially the Pharisees. The type of death by crucifixion was a Roman punishment. After the death of Jesus, Christianity which started as a sect within Judaism struggled to survive during the Roman Empire.
I was amazed to understand that during the first century of the church that the movement was entirely Jewish. It was after sixty to seventy years after the death of Jesus when the Jews started to rebel against the Romans, leading to the destruction of the temple in Jeruslem.Jews and Christians got together after been crushed by the Romans, they concluded that it was impossible to be a good Jew and a Christian at the same time. I believe this was the beginning of the conflict between Jews and Christians. I find Christianity to be very controversial. There are so many different believes as it relates to Jesus’ teachings, mainly baptism, forgiveness of one’s sin, where one would spend eternity after death, and the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit
The interview was interesting it made me more aware of the sensitivity of the Jews as it relates to the death of Jesus and who was responsible.
I have also heard many preachers preached that the Jews were responsible for his death. I believe that many of them know that his death was caused by both Jews and Gentiles, but it is most often said that it was the Jews who handed him over to the Romans, because he often disagreed with many of their teachings especially the Pharisees. The type of death by crucifixion was a Roman punishment. After the death of Jesus, Christianity which started as a sect within Judaism struggled to survive during the Roman Empire.
I was amazed to understand that during the first century of the church that the movement was entirely Jewish. It was after sixty to seventy years after the death of Jesus when the Jews started to rebel against the Romans, leading to the destruction of the temple in Jeruslem.Jews and Christians got together after been crushed by the Romans, they concluded that it was impossible to be a good Jew and a Christian at the same time. I believe this was the beginning of the conflict between Jews and Christians. I find Christianity to be very controversial. There are so many different believes as it relates to Jesus’ teachings, mainly baptism, forgiveness of one’s sin, where one would spend eternity after death, and the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit
The interview was interesting it made me more aware of the sensitivity of the Jews as it relates to the death of Jesus and who was responsible.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Judaism
Judaism is the religion of Jewish people. It is religion where they belief that God created a covenant between the Isrealites and that he revealed his laws to Moses on Mt.Sinai in the form of the Torah and the Jewish people are descendants of Isreal. The Torah is of great value to their religion as it outlines the rules which govern them. Judaism is very unique they take prayers and studying very serious and they have a lot of different holidays their holidays mainly focus on creation and redemption one of their major holiday is called the Hanukkah- This known to be the festival of lights which may fall between November and December it all depends
. It is celebrated in homes with the kindling of candles one on each day of the festival.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Westen Religion
The following link provides insight on current topics covered in class.
www.cnn.com/godswarriors
www.cnn.com/godswarriors
Friday, October 26, 2007
Confucianism
(Top from left to right: picture of confucius grave, picture of Confucius, Picture of a conservative confucianist woman, another picture of confucius.)
(Bottom from left to right: Picture of a temple, Picture of confucianism symbols.)
The Confucianism Religion is often said to be more of a system of social and ethical philosophies rather than a religion.
Confucius was a famous thinker and social philosopher of China, whose teachings have deeply influenced East Asia for centuries. His philosophy emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, and justice and sincerity. This religion is one that did not attain world wide recognition but have impacted the lives of individuals in some way or another. Some of the beliefs that I practice regarding Confucianism is listening to my elders, expecting my elders to look out for my well being and I also follow the rules of government.
Some of Confucius quotes I admire and try to live by and hoping one day to achieve:
*Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes. (Confucius)
*Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it. (Confucius)
*It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop. (Confucius)
*Respect yourself and others will respect you. (Confucius)
*He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the northpolarstar, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it. (Confucius, Analects)
*Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous. (Confucius, Analects)
Visit to Hindu Temple
eg.Hindu Temple
My personal experience during my visit to the Hindu temple was enlightened. This was
my very first exposer to a Hindu temple, and of course I had plenty of questions hoping to get all the answers for myself and my class project. My friend and I started on our journey, we were fortunate to be driven by her husband, which gave me a sense of security knowing that a male figure was with us. As I mentioned earlier this was new to me.
Upon entering the compound my first admiration was the building, the architectural designs reminded me of those fairytale castles you read about in story books. The walkway to the main entrance had steps that had paintings on them. As we opened the main door there was a strong aroma of incense and the sound of male voices could be heard talking. The door to the inner temple was open we took the liberty to peek inside, of course I was unsure what to do, a bit nervous because I did not want to do any thing to offend their religion or their gods. There were about five pairs of shoes at the side of the side, we took ours off and waited.
As we waited a medium built men partially dress from waist down with painting on his mid fore head, and his right arm approached us. He wore a long bead and a string around his neck. He gave us a warm welcome; we then explained to him our reason for being there, he offered us chairs to sit which were very few, I counted about four. I was very appreciative of his offer because I was not in the frame of mind to sit on the floor especially on a rainy day like it was. Slowly I find myself less tense and my attention was drawn to the colorful paintings and statues, confirming the things I learnt in class regarding Hinduism their practices and rituals. I could not but notice the painting of Kushner dancing with the beautiful ladies, there were several alters with different statues, a total of about nine.
The statues were beautifully decorated with vibrant colors, they all had black faces both males and females. As a black woman I was curious, I could not but wonder why all the faces were black. In that very moment I reflected on my Christian faith and the paintings that are usually in the church they all had white faces. I was determine to find the answers. As we waited we were told that the clergy would be with us shortly. I was anxious to speak to him, but I was enjoying my visit by looking at the different paintings and statues. I felt like I was in an art museum. The clergy was ministering to a couple from the main alter in the middle of the temple. I noticed that the couple had something in their hands looking like a container of some sort. By this time I could actually taste and felt the numbness from the strong aroma of incense on the tip of my tongue.
The atmosphere was peaceful; they sat on the floor with their feet cross, with hands clasped in such humble position. I intensely observed their way of worship and comparing theirs with mine thinking how different. My god is supernatural cannot be seen by the natural eyes only by faith and here I was in the presence of their gods admiring them, the way they are dressed, the color of their faces, and how they are shaped. In that short moment I felt as though I was transformed into another world, it was then the main clergy approached us. He greeted us and of course me being from an English background I extended a hand shake while asking him permission to do so, which he accepted. My friend and I took turns to ask questions about his religion, the different alters and the different gods. He willingly explained as we went to each alter I noticed there were offerings of apples, banana, broken coconuts, and rice. He explained that this was a way of offering offerings to the gods. I saw this in a natural sense, that’s when I asked myself the question “how can a statue eat” that question I refrained from asking out loud fearing that I would offend his religion. There was the god of wisdom the one that they pray to during their studies. I thought I could use some knowledge while studying at Mercy. Finally there was the god of wealth and immediately I hope for some blessings of wealth for an early retirement, but as fast as these thoughts pop into my head they were out as fast because of my Christian faith. I felt as though there was a strong debate between my Christian faith and Hinduism. I quickly dismissed these thoughts and focus on the information the clergy was giving.
Upon completing our tour I asked the infamous question “why are all the faces black?” My question was answered in a simple and humble way, because we are from the southern part of India where the people have darker skin. We offered him an offering which he accepted in a humble manner. He did not verbally extend a return invitation, but his poster gave us the approval that we would be welcome to return. My experience was wonderful, I enjoyed my visit and the experience was awesome.
my very first exposer to a Hindu temple, and of course I had plenty of questions hoping to get all the answers for myself and my class project. My friend and I started on our journey, we were fortunate to be driven by her husband, which gave me a sense of security knowing that a male figure was with us. As I mentioned earlier this was new to me.
Upon entering the compound my first admiration was the building, the architectural designs reminded me of those fairytale castles you read about in story books. The walkway to the main entrance had steps that had paintings on them. As we opened the main door there was a strong aroma of incense and the sound of male voices could be heard talking. The door to the inner temple was open we took the liberty to peek inside, of course I was unsure what to do, a bit nervous because I did not want to do any thing to offend their religion or their gods. There were about five pairs of shoes at the side of the side, we took ours off and waited.
As we waited a medium built men partially dress from waist down with painting on his mid fore head, and his right arm approached us. He wore a long bead and a string around his neck. He gave us a warm welcome; we then explained to him our reason for being there, he offered us chairs to sit which were very few, I counted about four. I was very appreciative of his offer because I was not in the frame of mind to sit on the floor especially on a rainy day like it was. Slowly I find myself less tense and my attention was drawn to the colorful paintings and statues, confirming the things I learnt in class regarding Hinduism their practices and rituals. I could not but notice the painting of Kushner dancing with the beautiful ladies, there were several alters with different statues, a total of about nine.
The statues were beautifully decorated with vibrant colors, they all had black faces both males and females. As a black woman I was curious, I could not but wonder why all the faces were black. In that very moment I reflected on my Christian faith and the paintings that are usually in the church they all had white faces. I was determine to find the answers. As we waited we were told that the clergy would be with us shortly. I was anxious to speak to him, but I was enjoying my visit by looking at the different paintings and statues. I felt like I was in an art museum. The clergy was ministering to a couple from the main alter in the middle of the temple. I noticed that the couple had something in their hands looking like a container of some sort. By this time I could actually taste and felt the numbness from the strong aroma of incense on the tip of my tongue.
The atmosphere was peaceful; they sat on the floor with their feet cross, with hands clasped in such humble position. I intensely observed their way of worship and comparing theirs with mine thinking how different. My god is supernatural cannot be seen by the natural eyes only by faith and here I was in the presence of their gods admiring them, the way they are dressed, the color of their faces, and how they are shaped. In that short moment I felt as though I was transformed into another world, it was then the main clergy approached us. He greeted us and of course me being from an English background I extended a hand shake while asking him permission to do so, which he accepted. My friend and I took turns to ask questions about his religion, the different alters and the different gods. He willingly explained as we went to each alter I noticed there were offerings of apples, banana, broken coconuts, and rice. He explained that this was a way of offering offerings to the gods. I saw this in a natural sense, that’s when I asked myself the question “how can a statue eat” that question I refrained from asking out loud fearing that I would offend his religion. There was the god of wisdom the one that they pray to during their studies. I thought I could use some knowledge while studying at Mercy. Finally there was the god of wealth and immediately I hope for some blessings of wealth for an early retirement, but as fast as these thoughts pop into my head they were out as fast because of my Christian faith. I felt as though there was a strong debate between my Christian faith and Hinduism. I quickly dismissed these thoughts and focus on the information the clergy was giving.
Upon completing our tour I asked the infamous question “why are all the faces black?” My question was answered in a simple and humble way, because we are from the southern part of India where the people have darker skin. We offered him an offering which he accepted in a humble manner. He did not verbally extend a return invitation, but his poster gave us the approval that we would be welcome to return. My experience was wonderful, I enjoyed my visit and the experience was awesome.
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