This week we looked at the way religious beliefs and actions can be seen to make a legitimate claim upon life in law, martyrdom and war. Compare the ways different religious traditions/communities do that EITHER in law (making references to Cover and/or Girard) OR in war (referencing Juergensmeyer's piece). How are lives put on the line? What is 'religious' about it? What does it tell us about identity and community? About free will and the need for voluntary action? Why is it perceived as necessary? (While no set number of traditions need to be discussed, you should address similarities and differences in at least 2.)
According to Rene Girard, law is the only way to stop violence. Violence is a heavy cycle, when one violent act is committed, it is usually followed by another violent act in vengeance. Punishment, one final vengeance, by a figure of authority who represents the community and takes command but isn't directly involved in the situation, would work to stop the cycle of violence, and prevent any further violence from occurring.
Punishment by law serves to end violence, either by putting someone away for many years, so they cannot commit any further violent acts or in some cases, violence is stopped by putting the perpetrator to death.
One example of this can be seen in the Buddhist Liberation Rite. After a person commits an impure and irredeemable act against Buddhist tradition and teachings, they are subject to the liberation rite, where they are quickly beheaded by a ritual master. This is a compassionate tradition that allows the victim to achieve enlightenment despite their prior wrongdoings.
On the other hand, some religions choose to exert their vengeance for the greater good of the community on a figure that is part of the community, but not exactly wanted, otherwise known as a scapegoat. The idea of the scapegoat began in Ancient Jewish tradition, where the sins of the community would be put into an animal, who was not directly killed, but is banished from the community and left to die. The death of the animal is crucial because it carries with it all of the sin and violence of the year, and its return would also mean the return of past sins.
Similarly the Greeks and the Aztecs practiced sacrifice of a scapegoat for the greater good of the community. Yearly the Greeks would choose the pharmakos, who were often criminals or undesirable people, to be stoned by the community, banished, and often killed in order to release any anger or violence the community might hold within. The Aztecs chose their scapegoats among their prisoner of war. They would brutally sacrifice their prisoners, tearing them apart, to their gods, who required blood offerings.
Girard notes how our laws and were derived from religious ideas, and that violence is legitimated by religion as well. Our system of laws and punishment replaces these religious ideas of a scapegoat and of sacrifice to stop the ongoing cycle of violence for the greater good of the community.
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
RGST12 Week 4 Blog
Discuss the mourning practices of either Judaism or ancient China in terms of the 3 dimensions of religion we have worked with to this point (Mythical, Ritual, Social). What is ritualistic in mourning, and what purpose does the ritual serve? How are the narratives of the tradition employed in mourning practices or in the shape given to mourning? What social effects does/can mourning have? How do these dimensions work together/against each other? Focus on one tradition from Tuesday's readings, but feel free to make references to others as need be.
According to Emile Durkheim, ritual is much more essential to religion than belief. Mourning itself is a ritual that isn't just done privately, its purpose is to grieve along with the community, through which the community may repair itself and be whole again. The ritual of mourning brings people together and religion grows stronger and more powerful through it.
Myth also support the community because it creates social groups. Judaism was created based off of the myth of Abraham. Jews come together as the descendants of Abraham and form a strong community of people who share the same beliefs, customs, rites and rituals.
One social aspect of the Jewish religion that draws from myth is the annual ritual of Passover. Passover began as a ritual dinner inspired by a story from the Old Testament. The Egyptian King feared the rise of the Hebrews so he sent his men to kill all newborn males of Hebrew women. Moses was saved, and later grew and returned to Egypt to warn the Egyptians that if they did not stop, God would punish them severely. Since the Egyptians did not listen, God sent down 10 plagues, and Passover is derived from the 10th plague, when the Angel of Death passed over Hebrew homes that were marked with lamb's blood on the door in order to show their allegiance to God. The Jewish tradition of Passover then carried on to symbolize Jesus as the lamb of sacrifice. This tradition is a very social aspect of the Jewish religion because it brings the community together to celebrate the sacrifice Jesus made, and to ultimately to show their powerful beliefs through a strong community.
The Kaddish is a traditional Jewish prayer of mourning, that praises God and asks for the God's kingdom to be established on earth. The Kaddish is traditionally said at funerals at the time of burial. If a man loses one or bot parents, even adoptive parents, he must recite the Kaddish for eleven months. The opening words of the Kaddish were inspired by a myth from the book of Ezekiel describing a time when "God will become great in the eyes of all nations," and the response from the mourners is a declaration of their belief in God, his greatness and his holiness. (http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/kaddish.html)
When Jewish mourners recite the Kaddish, it works to bring the community together. Mourners recite the Kaddish in unison, showing the strong ties within the Jewish community and interconnecting everyone in it. Looking back to what Durkheim said on mourning as a ritual, the Kaddish, helps the community to repair itself by mourning with one another,and providing social support. It strengthens the community, brings people together to fill a void present due to the loss of one of its members.
According to Emile Durkheim, ritual is much more essential to religion than belief. Mourning itself is a ritual that isn't just done privately, its purpose is to grieve along with the community, through which the community may repair itself and be whole again. The ritual of mourning brings people together and religion grows stronger and more powerful through it.
Myth also support the community because it creates social groups. Judaism was created based off of the myth of Abraham. Jews come together as the descendants of Abraham and form a strong community of people who share the same beliefs, customs, rites and rituals.
One social aspect of the Jewish religion that draws from myth is the annual ritual of Passover. Passover began as a ritual dinner inspired by a story from the Old Testament. The Egyptian King feared the rise of the Hebrews so he sent his men to kill all newborn males of Hebrew women. Moses was saved, and later grew and returned to Egypt to warn the Egyptians that if they did not stop, God would punish them severely. Since the Egyptians did not listen, God sent down 10 plagues, and Passover is derived from the 10th plague, when the Angel of Death passed over Hebrew homes that were marked with lamb's blood on the door in order to show their allegiance to God. The Jewish tradition of Passover then carried on to symbolize Jesus as the lamb of sacrifice. This tradition is a very social aspect of the Jewish religion because it brings the community together to celebrate the sacrifice Jesus made, and to ultimately to show their powerful beliefs through a strong community.
The Kaddish is a traditional Jewish prayer of mourning, that praises God and asks for the God's kingdom to be established on earth. The Kaddish is traditionally said at funerals at the time of burial. If a man loses one or bot parents, even adoptive parents, he must recite the Kaddish for eleven months. The opening words of the Kaddish were inspired by a myth from the book of Ezekiel describing a time when "God will become great in the eyes of all nations," and the response from the mourners is a declaration of their belief in God, his greatness and his holiness. (http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/kaddish.html)
When Jewish mourners recite the Kaddish, it works to bring the community together. Mourners recite the Kaddish in unison, showing the strong ties within the Jewish community and interconnecting everyone in it. Looking back to what Durkheim said on mourning as a ritual, the Kaddish, helps the community to repair itself by mourning with one another,and providing social support. It strengthens the community, brings people together to fill a void present due to the loss of one of its members.
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Blog Week 3
For your blogs this week I'd like you to compare and contrast 2 different traditions (1 'Abrahamic' and 1 'Eastern') on the question of postmortem judgment. Do they both have a concept of judgment after death? How does it operate? How are they similar/different? How do the myths of the religion support their view? Is there a role for ritual in the judgment? Defend your analysis with material from readings and/or lectures.
Christianity really puts an emphasis on postmortem judgement. Christians have a duty to God to live their lives according to the teachings in the Bible. They should live in fear and awe of God, and show their true devotion to him everyday. When someone dies, the fate of their soul comes down to whether or not God believes that you are a true Christian. You stand before God and your life is judged to determine whether your soul will travel up to heaven or down to hell. Before Jesus sacrificed himself for our sins, the souls awaited his resurrection for their judgement. The Bible even speaks of a huge judgement day during the end times, when Jesus comes a second time, where everyone on Earth will be judged and separated accordingly. Once judgement comes, souls can be sent to heaven, a paradise where you will want for nothing, or hell, a torturous inferno where you will suffer for the rest of eternity.
Buddhism, on the other hand doesn't really concentrate on judgement, but does have guidelines for how you should live your life in order to fulfill enlightenment and rid yourself of any suffering life may bring to you. There is an Eightfold Path you must follow in order to achieve enlightenment, and this path requires you to resist all evils, (just as Christians must resist temptation from Satan) be kind to every person, creature, and organism that exists. practice meditation and more. The Eightfold Path works to release the mind from the suffering that is life, and help the person to achieve Nirvana, and join the universe. If Nirvana is not achieved in this life, you are reborn and depending on how you lived your previous life, you may be reborn as a human, or god in the good realm, or as an animal, ghost, or demon in the bad realm. You must be reborn again and again until you achieve Nirvana, and free yourself from the suffering of life.
It is easy to see the differences in these religions. One main difference being that in Christianity, you remain an individual even after death, while in Buddhism you join in the eternity of the universe and become part of it. You are the universe. Christianity and Buddhism do have some similarities. They both strive to live a life free from sin and temptation in honor of a greater being. These two religions have a similar view of a peaceful afterlife. Buddhists believe that once Nirvana is achieved, you will desire nothing. The Christian idea of heaven is very similar to this in that when you reach heaven, you will have everything you could ever want, you'll have no desired because you are truly in paradise, joined with God. When Buddhists achieve Nirvana they join the rest of the universe, and all suffering ceases as desire is abolished. They are also similar in that there is a specific way you should live your life in order to reach paradise, you should be humble, kind, and rid yourself of any sin or worldly desires you may have. The Christian idea of hell could be compared to the bad realms of rebirth, you may be reborn as an atrocious ghost, or a hell being, just as in Christianity you may be sent down to a place where you are subject to all sorts of suffering and atrocities.
Myths in Christianity give a guideline for how their lives should be lived. Stories from the Old and New Testament give lessons on how a Christian should live their live, humbly and graciously, and in God's honor. In Buddhism, ritual plays a role in that when a person dies 49 prayers are said for them in order to wish them an end to their suffering, and a straight path to Nirvana. They pray that the person achieve Nirvana or at the very least be reborn as a greater being so that they may be closer to Nirvana.
Christianity really puts an emphasis on postmortem judgement. Christians have a duty to God to live their lives according to the teachings in the Bible. They should live in fear and awe of God, and show their true devotion to him everyday. When someone dies, the fate of their soul comes down to whether or not God believes that you are a true Christian. You stand before God and your life is judged to determine whether your soul will travel up to heaven or down to hell. Before Jesus sacrificed himself for our sins, the souls awaited his resurrection for their judgement. The Bible even speaks of a huge judgement day during the end times, when Jesus comes a second time, where everyone on Earth will be judged and separated accordingly. Once judgement comes, souls can be sent to heaven, a paradise where you will want for nothing, or hell, a torturous inferno where you will suffer for the rest of eternity.
Buddhism, on the other hand doesn't really concentrate on judgement, but does have guidelines for how you should live your life in order to fulfill enlightenment and rid yourself of any suffering life may bring to you. There is an Eightfold Path you must follow in order to achieve enlightenment, and this path requires you to resist all evils, (just as Christians must resist temptation from Satan) be kind to every person, creature, and organism that exists. practice meditation and more. The Eightfold Path works to release the mind from the suffering that is life, and help the person to achieve Nirvana, and join the universe. If Nirvana is not achieved in this life, you are reborn and depending on how you lived your previous life, you may be reborn as a human, or god in the good realm, or as an animal, ghost, or demon in the bad realm. You must be reborn again and again until you achieve Nirvana, and free yourself from the suffering of life.
It is easy to see the differences in these religions. One main difference being that in Christianity, you remain an individual even after death, while in Buddhism you join in the eternity of the universe and become part of it. You are the universe. Christianity and Buddhism do have some similarities. They both strive to live a life free from sin and temptation in honor of a greater being. These two religions have a similar view of a peaceful afterlife. Buddhists believe that once Nirvana is achieved, you will desire nothing. The Christian idea of heaven is very similar to this in that when you reach heaven, you will have everything you could ever want, you'll have no desired because you are truly in paradise, joined with God. When Buddhists achieve Nirvana they join the rest of the universe, and all suffering ceases as desire is abolished. They are also similar in that there is a specific way you should live your life in order to reach paradise, you should be humble, kind, and rid yourself of any sin or worldly desires you may have. The Christian idea of hell could be compared to the bad realms of rebirth, you may be reborn as an atrocious ghost, or a hell being, just as in Christianity you may be sent down to a place where you are subject to all sorts of suffering and atrocities.
Myths in Christianity give a guideline for how their lives should be lived. Stories from the Old and New Testament give lessons on how a Christian should live their live, humbly and graciously, and in God's honor. In Buddhism, ritual plays a role in that when a person dies 49 prayers are said for them in order to wish them an end to their suffering, and a straight path to Nirvana. They pray that the person achieve Nirvana or at the very least be reborn as a greater being so that they may be closer to Nirvana.
Thursday, July 3, 2014
RGST 12 Blog Week 2
The religious traditions we're looking at this week all have a special place for their narrative stories. Using your understanding of the mythic dimension, describe some of the ways myth operates in one of the three Abrahamic religions. What does myth do for the religion? What connections can you make to the other religions we've examined thus far? What connections can you make to the use of myth outside those we've discussed?
As we learned this week in class, myth isn't about the amount of truth that lies within the story, it is actually about finding yourself, your personal beliefs and morals, and putting them into practice in your day to day life. Myth unites people, and gives identity to the groups that associate themselves with a particular mythic tradition.
Judaism, along with the other Abrahamic religions utilized myth to identify themselves as a chosen group. As told by the myth, they are people specifically chosen by God and are descendants of Abraham.
Myths in the Jewish religion are the source of their personal beliefs. Jewish rabbis teach their people about G-d's power and their duty as religious peoples to him. Myth in Judaism unites them as a people, makes them special, a specifically chosen group. It gives members of the group a strong personal identity and people with which to relate to.
Many other religions work off myth as well, and that is easily seen when comparing the texts that each community holds sacred. The Jewish Tanakh, the Christian Bible, the Islamic Qu'ran all have very similar, if not identical stories, that give meaning to their religious teachings and help them to form their own scared beliefs and rituals. The Islamic and Jewish traditions also share the idea of a divine prophet, a direct messenger from God.
Myth can also be found in many Native American cultures, animal myths were often told to provide a moral or value by which one should live by to the listener. These myths also praise the gods, and give a solid identity to a community of peoples.
As we learned this week in class, myth isn't about the amount of truth that lies within the story, it is actually about finding yourself, your personal beliefs and morals, and putting them into practice in your day to day life. Myth unites people, and gives identity to the groups that associate themselves with a particular mythic tradition.
Judaism, along with the other Abrahamic religions utilized myth to identify themselves as a chosen group. As told by the myth, they are people specifically chosen by God and are descendants of Abraham.
Myths in the Jewish religion are the source of their personal beliefs. Jewish rabbis teach their people about G-d's power and their duty as religious peoples to him. Myth in Judaism unites them as a people, makes them special, a specifically chosen group. It gives members of the group a strong personal identity and people with which to relate to.
Many other religions work off myth as well, and that is easily seen when comparing the texts that each community holds sacred. The Jewish Tanakh, the Christian Bible, the Islamic Qu'ran all have very similar, if not identical stories, that give meaning to their religious teachings and help them to form their own scared beliefs and rituals. The Islamic and Jewish traditions also share the idea of a divine prophet, a direct messenger from God.
Myth can also be found in many Native American cultures, animal myths were often told to provide a moral or value by which one should live by to the listener. These myths also praise the gods, and give a solid identity to a community of peoples.
Saturday, June 28, 2014
RGST 12 Blog Week 1
What piece of art, music, literature or other art form helps you understand death? How does it help your conception? Do you see any connections with the ways the ancient people we talked about this week approached death? Why or why not?
Emily Dickinson, a well-known American poet, has written several poems on the subject of death including Death is a dialogue between, and We cover thee sweet face. These poems all contain messages that have helped me understand death, and how to feel about it. Death is a dialogue between distinguishes the difference between body and spirit. Although the body may be dead, the spirit can still live on, and does live on. In We cover thee sweet face, Dickinson expresses how it feels to lose someone, missing them even though they can't miss you, sending them love even though they can't send any love back. This helps my conception of the afterlife, and how, at death, the spirit separates from the body, and leaves just an empty shell for those who are still living to grieve over.
It is easy to connect the concept of teh spirit leaving the body to how ancient peoples approached death. In the Epic of Gilgamesh for example,Gilgamesh tries to preserve Enkidu's body long enough so that he may revive him, but unfortunately, Enkidu is gone indefinietly and although his body still remains, his spirit has left, and will not return.
The Ancient Egyptians, on the other hand, believed that death is still an existence, and because of that preservation of the body became very important, the reason for mummification. Contrary to what Emily Dickinson was saying in her poem, the body doesn't separate from the spirit, but is the only connection they have left with the person, and through the body they may communicate with the deceased's spirit.
Emily Dickinson, a well-known American poet, has written several poems on the subject of death including Death is a dialogue between, and We cover thee sweet face. These poems all contain messages that have helped me understand death, and how to feel about it. Death is a dialogue between distinguishes the difference between body and spirit. Although the body may be dead, the spirit can still live on, and does live on. In We cover thee sweet face, Dickinson expresses how it feels to lose someone, missing them even though they can't miss you, sending them love even though they can't send any love back. This helps my conception of the afterlife, and how, at death, the spirit separates from the body, and leaves just an empty shell for those who are still living to grieve over.
It is easy to connect the concept of teh spirit leaving the body to how ancient peoples approached death. In the Epic of Gilgamesh for example,Gilgamesh tries to preserve Enkidu's body long enough so that he may revive him, but unfortunately, Enkidu is gone indefinietly and although his body still remains, his spirit has left, and will not return.
The Ancient Egyptians, on the other hand, believed that death is still an existence, and because of that preservation of the body became very important, the reason for mummification. Contrary to what Emily Dickinson was saying in her poem, the body doesn't separate from the spirit, but is the only connection they have left with the person, and through the body they may communicate with the deceased's spirit.
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