Blog Post 22- Ancient Western Religions

1.     It flourished in ancient Iran, which was known as Persia. It began to flourish during the Persian Empire, which was at the height of its power and influence during the 4^th and 5^th century.

2.     After Persia was conquered by the Greek general Alexander the Great in 328 BC.

3.     An angel called Good Thought appeared to him and brought him as a disembodied soul, before Aura Madam, the Wise Lord. He recognized him as the true God.

4.     The sacred text is the Avesta. The oldest material is the Gathas and was written by Zarathustra.

5.     Ahura Mazda, the wise Lord. The eternal and universal goodness, controlling the cosmos and the destiny of human beings. He is celebrated as the creator.

6.     The belief in universal forces of good and evil.

7.     The Lie is in Zarathustra’s theology the one God, Ahura Mazda, who is universal goodness. Depicted by Zarathustra as an evil, cosmic force.

8.     Truth and lie, between the beneficent spirit and the hostile spirit.

9.     Shortly after death, humans undergo judgment. This requires crossing the Bridge of the Separator, which goes over an abyss of horrible torment but leads to paradise.

10.  Centered on agriculture. Its ethical demands include such principles as caring for livestock and fields. Generally one is to lead and doing what is right.

11.  Combine a wide variety of features from the Zoroastrian tradition. They maintain the monotheism of its founder and continue to revere the Avesta as their sacred text. They are located in India.

12.  The lliad, Odyssey and Homer

13.  The gods have human attributes. No deity, not even Zeus, is all-powerful or all-knowing rather all the gods and goddesses have their own specific talents, functions and limitations. Their behavior is much more humanlike than godlike.

14.  He celebrated Zeus’ great power and wisdom. His works portray Zeus as ruling with order and justice. Example: the play Agamemnon explains human suffering as being a necessary part of the divine plan of Zeus.

15.  A shrine at which the revelations of a god are received, often through a human medium. Famous oracle is the Delphi. They came to the oracle to seek out wisdom.

16.  3 aspects of religions are 1.) Individuals choose to become initiates and went through some form of initiation ritual. 2.) experienced a personal encounter with the deity. 3.) Gained spiritual renewal through participation of the religion and with most mystery religions, hope for a better afterlife.

17.  Par excellence

18.  He is associated with the god of fertility, vegetation and specifically vine. He is depicted in Greek art with vines and grapes, and there are accounts of him miraculously turning water into wine.

19.  Practice of skilled athletics and the military arts.

20.  He believed that we know things in this life partly because we have experienced them in previous lives. Knowledge therefore is recollection.

21.  Wisdom lies in identifying oneself with the truth of the Forms, rather than with the changing and imperfect material world.

22.  Both were called Savior and the intimacy of worshipers’ relationship with Asclepius bore a strong resemblance to the relationship with Christ celebrated Christians.

23.  Supernatural powers that were ancient Roman equivalent of deities. They defined their gods vaguely.

24.  Zeus (Jupiter)

25.  Jupiter, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Neptune and Saturn.

26.  States would prosper if they had the favor of the gods “Pax Decorum”.

27.  Mithraism and Cult of Isis.

28.  Osiris was killed and hacked to pieces by his evil brother. His wife, Isis, found the pieces and mummified them, causing him to come back to life.

29.  Genius

30.  Because the emperor worship contradicted the Christian belief of monotheism.

Judaism Questions

1.     The first function of the Synagogue is House of Assembly. The House of Assembly is a place where Jews gather together as a community and a lot of special events happen here. House of Study holds Judaism’s most spiritual books and writings that people can study and worship from. The Torah is the foundation of all reflection and people can come together, read and learn from each other certain aspects of the religion. House of Prayer is where people come to pray and connect with God. It is also a place where people make special, spiritual bonds as an association.

2.     The designs of synagogues are different according to each location.  In Orthodox synagogues, they split the men and women up.  The Ark is located on the east side. The Ark holds the sacred documents that come from the Torah. There are a variety of different Torah Scrolls and in the middle of the Ark is where the Torah Scrolls are found.

3.     A Rabbi is someone who teaches the Jewish Law. A person becomes a Rabbi through serious training and tests of the mind and topic at hand. Must have at least attended college for 4 years, first hand experience as being a Rabbi and a few other things.  A clergyman who has the right to carryout special, spiritual rituals. A Rabbi is only allowed to minister the Jewish law to people. A Rabbi takes on the responsibility of heading certain faith ceremonies as well as serving as an advisor.

4.     The nature of the Shabbat is a special time between a person and God. Forgetting about everything and focusing on him and his work. Every week from Friday night until Saturday night is when Shabbat occurs

5.     The Torah means several different things in Jewish. It contains the first five novels of Moses. It also talks about Jewish values and rules of society. Talmud are writings to help analyze the passages and how to apply them to a normal life.

6.      Conservative was started because there were disagreements between the Orthodox and Reform advocates. Their commencements are different each time they happen. Some pertain to the Orthodox sect and others relate to the Reform group. In North America, there are 1.5 million members. 18-century beliefs are followed by the Reforms that date back to Europe. They believe that the Torah did not come from God but over the course of so many years. English is the official language that commencements are spoken in.  A little less than 50% of Americans that are Jews belong to this group.  Zionist started by Theodor Herzl, he was not a strict Jew. He thought that race discrimination was able to conquer absorption. Many Orthodox Jews did not like this group because the Messiah was not visible.

7.     Hebrew is a type of language. It was used back in the olden days but when Aramaic came about, that was the primary language. More than 1 million people speak Hebrew in Israel and more than 2 million speak it in other countries such as the United States.  You read and write Hebrew from right to left and there are 22 consonants.

8.     Yiddish also known as “Jewish” is another language of the Ashkenzaic Jews, which live in Eastern and Central Europe. Yiddish words are derived from Hebrew symbols. It is spoken in the United States and several other countries.

9.                1.  Mazal Tov:  Good Luck or congratulations!

                         2.  Shalom: Peace

                         3. Mitzvah:  Good Deed

       10.   Bar Mitzvah occurs when a boy reaches the age of 13. It is a day where the boy is mature enough for abiding by the commandments. A Bat Mitzvah is for when a girl reaches the age of 12, and a girl becomes this. The status that a girl/by takes on affects the society as a whole and it is always right to celebrate the rite of passage.  Jewish marriage is very sacred. It is seen recognized as a special connection between two people that completes Gods law. The Ketubah is the marriage contract. You do not have a Rabbi to minister a wedding but it is required to have 2 witnesses. Brit Milah is a ritual done for 8 eight-year boys that are being circumcised.

        11.    Rosh Hashanah: also known as “head of the year.” It is known as the New Year for Jews. This is a time for Jews to reflect on their past and try to make changes for the better.  Yom Kippur is the most valuable holiday for Jews.  Everything stops and you take time out for praying and fasting. Yom Kippur caters to sins committed against God.  Passover also known as “Pesach” includes festivals and starts the upcoming months of growing crops. Hanukah lasts for 8 days and is a Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple.

       12.  Something that I did know about Jewish traditions was on the Torah and what a synagogue is and the celebrations of a Bat/Bar Mitzvah.

        13.  The most interesting information was about the Hebrew writing. It was weird yet interesting that when Hebrew is written, it is written backwards.

         14.  One aspect of Jewish tradition that is similar to a tradition in my life is Rosh Hashanah. In my life I try to reflect on everything that happened but also set goals for the New Year to come.

          15.  One aspect of Jew tradition that is different is the Yiddish and Hebrew language used in Judaism.