Exodus and Esther

October 3rd (Fall 2008):

1. There will be no lectures.

2. Students should independently read the Book of Exodus and the Book of Esther (in the Bible). These Biblical Books are readily available from http://www.devotions.net/bible/00old.htm Students should explore:

1. The ten plagues and the Passover festival mentioned in the Book of Exodus. The ten plagues are:
a. The plague of the river Nile turning red – 7:14-25.
b. The plague of frogs – 8:1-15.
c. The plague of gnats – 8:16-19.
d. The plague of flies – 8:20-32.
e. The plague of livestock disease – 9:1-7.
f. The plague of boils – 9:8-12.
g. The plague of hail – 9:22-35.
h. The plague of locusts – 10:1-20.
i. The plague of darkness for three days and three nights – 10:21-29.
j. The plague of first-born in Egypt – 11:1-8.

2. The background to the Purim festival that is celebrated in the Jewish community with much fun.

Questions to Explore:

1. List four themes you encounter in Torah and explain two of them in detail. [Please read LR, pages 271-275.]

2. Discuss the Jewish concept of God commenting on “YHWH or YHVH”, known as “tetragrammaton” and the Hebrew word “Adonoi”. [Please read LR, pages 238-242. Also read from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahweh and other sources found in the library or Internet.]

3. What is Zionism? Explain. [Please read LR, pages 267-271.]

Jewish Movements - (Denominations?)

A writer on Judaism once said, “Judaism is about argument. For as long as anyone can remember, Jews have been arguing about how to be Jewish, why to be Jewish and what to have for lunch. In the exact middle of the Torah (Leviticus 10:16) we read an account of an argument between Moses and his brother Aaron. The Talmud (oral law codified between 200 and 600 CE), the basis for Jewish law, records arguments between rabbis and scholars about the practice of Judaism.”

Ancient Times:

During the time of Jesus (4 BCE – 29 CE) the Jews had at least four different movements to choose from to follow! Please read “Return to Jerusalem” in LR, pages 248-252.

1. Sadducees: Religious and political elites of Jesus’s time. They were very conservative, holding to the written Torah.

2. Pharisees: They are a populist movement, liberal, promoting interpretation and adaptation of the Mosaic laws to the times. Believed in oral traditions.

3. Essenes: They are anti establishment. They are a part of an ascetic community with an eschatological outlook. Some believe the ancient library known as Dead Sea Scrolls unearthed in 1947 in Qumran belongs to this group. John the Baptist, a cousin and a contemporary of Jesus, perhaps belonged to this! May be even Jesus was a Jew from this group!

4. Zealots: Extremely anti-Romans even promoted an armed rebellion against Rome. You can briefly read about their different rebellion in LR p. 252.

Today:

Today we do speak of two Jewish groups – not movements or branches, as further below:

a. Sephardim – Jews of Spanish ancestry!
b. Ashkenazim – Jews of East European ancestry!

There are four “Movements”, or “Branches” or some may use the term, “Denominations” of Judaism. Please read on “Contemporary Judaism” in LR, pages 283-291.

1. Orthodox: In opposition to the increasing trend in secularization the Orthodox Jews have insisted on standing by the Torah. Modern Orthodoxy, however, is not opposed to secular knowledge or integrating with non-Jewish communities. It is dedicated to “the national and religious significance of Israel and to Jewish law as divinely given”. According to a 1990 survey 7% of the American Jews are Orthodox Jews. They reject the reforms introduced by the reform movements and stand by traditions – prayers, ceremonies, dietary laws and so on. The North American Orthodox Jews are organized into the Orthodox Union that spends significant part of its resources to certify 660, 000 products as kosher food!

2. Reform: Some call this the Liberal movement. This began in the 19th century in Germany in opposition to the rigidity of the Orthodox movement. According to a survey in 1990, 42% of the American Jews consider themselves as member of the Reform movement. The Jews of this movement consider synagogues as places “for spiritual elevation”. Sabbath services are shortened and translated into vernacular. Returning to Zion and animal sacrifices are dropped. Segregation of male and female are absent. The theology here is more inclusive and members of this movement involve themselves in inter-faith dialogue.

3. Conservative: This group or the movement tries a middle path between the “extremisms” of the above two! They like to preserve some of the traditions and also permit some amount of modernization. Zecharias Frankel (1801-1875) is one of the founder leader of this movement. He actually broke away from the Reform movement arguing that Jewish traditions have not become “non-essentials”, accepting both the Torah and the Talmud. They observe the Sabbath and use a modified version of the dietary laws. Like in Reform movement they permit women to perform leadership roles in the synagogue. They uphold the Jewish nationalism and encourage the study of Hebrew language.

4. Reconstructionism: It is is a modern American-based movement guided by the ideas of the Mordecai Kaplan (1881-1983). For Kaplan Jewish community is a progressively evolving community. This movement has permitted a substantial theological diversity. Jewish religious laws are not considered as binding. They are treated as a valuable cultural remnants and are upheld unless there is reason for the contrary. Blessings and goodness of modernism are greatly emphasised. “Reconstructionists find traditional theistic views found in Judaism to be incompatible with modern thought.” Generally for the reconstructionist Judaism the contemporary Western secular morality has precedence over Jewish law and theology.

Useful Sources to Consult:

Raphael, Marc Lee, Profiles in American Judaism: The Reform, Conservative, Orthodox, and Reconstructionist Traditions in Historical Perspective, San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1984. You should find this in the reserve shelf.

Hirsch, Ammiel, Yosef Reinman, and Yaakov Yosef Reinman, A Reform Rabbi and an Orthodox Rabbi Explore the Issues That Divide Them, Schocken Books, 2003. This is not to be found in the University of Alberta library.

Question to Explore:

Explain the different Jewish movements found in North America. Which of these movements are open to contemporary concern for feminism. Explain your answer with examples. To answer this question please read a little more than the class notes and Fisher’s LR.

Sacred Books of the Jewish People

Jews, like Christians and Muslims, are frequently considered “People of the Book”. Anita Diamant thinks that it is more accurate to call the Jews “The People of the Library”. Living a Jewish Life, 2007, p. 71. From Book to a library – is that a way of all religions? In addition to Tenekh there are the additional books - Mishnah, Talmud, Midrash, and Siddur. To get to know about Jewish books, particularly the Jewish Bible (Tenekh) you may visit www.judaism.com.

Tenakh

The Jews believe that Torah, with 613 commandments or mitzvot, a part of the Hebrew Scriptures, or the most Sacred Scriptures of the Jewish people, contains God’s conversations with Moses that was passed on to the people. Out of the 613 commandments 248 are the “to do” and the rest of the 365 are “not to do”.

Reading the Torah – the collection of five books, namely, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy – is a regular part of the Jewish community worship that takes place once a week. Torah is kept in the Ark of the synagogue. The Torah is always read in Hebrew language.

[A Jew uses a yad, a pointer to guide the reading.]

Jews believe that God spoke the Torah to Moses directly and Moses wrote them down without any error. No word of the Torah has been changed ever since then. However, this belief is modified among the different groups of Jews – Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Progressive Jews.

The Jews believe in prophets and other wise people who were raised from among the Hebrew people to call people to the “obedience of God”. Their writings were also collected and named Nevi’im and Ketuvim respectively. It is the collection of these writings – Torah, Nevi’im and Ketuvim – makes the Jewish Holy Scriptures Tenakh. The Jews read a part of Nevi’im every week after they read the Torah. During festival times they also read parts of Ketuvim. Psalms, part of the Ketuvim, are songs sung all the time.

Books that belong to the three categories of the Tenakh – Torah, Nevi’im, and Ketuvim are to be found in LR p. 236. You are expected to become familiar with these books and to which category they belong! You may note that Christians also use all these books but will categorize slightly different!

Consider the following quotes from the Tenekh:

From the Law:

1. For the “Ten Commandments” (Exodus 20:2-17), please read LR, p. 244.

From the Prophets:

2. “I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer me your burnt-offerings and grain-offerings, I will not accept them;and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals I will not look upon. Take away from me the noise of your songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” (Amos 5: 21-24)

From the Writings:

“I passed by the field of one who was lazy, by the vineyard of a stupid person; and see, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want, like an armed warrior.” (Proverbs 24: 30-34)

Mishnah

Jews believe that there are other writings of great importance. For hundreds of years the teachers and leaders of the Jewish community known as rabbi handed down oral traditions on how to keep the 613 mitzvot. These were later written down and came to be known as Mishnah. Jews studied the Mishnah very carefully and listened to the discussions of the rabbi on the Mishnah. It is a reference to a “process”.

Talmud

Around 500 C.E decided to write down the Mishnah all those discussions and called it Talmud, which is now very important for the Jews today. It is a collection of books. It is a reference to a “process”.


Please look at these quotes from Talmud:

1. “He who loves his wife as himself; who honours her more than himself; who rears his children in the right path, and who marries them off at the proper time of their life, concerning him it is written: “And you will know that your home is of peace.” (Yebamoth 62)

Here are some from Pirke Avot (Chapters of the Ancestors or Sayings of the Fathers):

2. “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I? And, if not now, when?" (Hillel)

3. “You do not have to finish the work but you are not free to neglect it!” (Tarfon)

4. “Who is wise? The one who learns from everyone. Who is strong? The one who controls oneself. Who is rich? The one who is happy with what he has. Who is honourable? The one who honours others.” (Ben Zoma)

Midrash

The Jews have another concept called midrash, explanation or interpretation, to the Tenakh. It is generally a story to explain what is in the Tenakh. It is the concept of “commentary” that you see among Christians or tafsir of the Muslims. One may say that the Talmud is a kind of a Midrash, a commentary to the Tenakh.

Please look at this Story from the Midrash:

This story explores how Abraham turned away from idol worship, a story that has resemblance to the story in the Holy Qur’an (21:51-64) of the Muslims!

“Abraham’s father was an idol merchant and left him in charge of the store one day. Abraham at all the statues, of different sizzes and materiels, then took a large hammer and smashed them one by one – all but the very biggest. His father was furious with him but Abraham pointed to the idol and said, “That one did it!

‘Don’t be stupid’, replied his father. ‘It couldn’t possibly … Idols have no power!’

‘Then why do you worship them?’ …”

Question to Explore:

Discuss how the Jewish community balances the growth with her rootedness in the "revelations" given to the ancient sages by discussing the concept of the sacred writings of the Jewish community.

Basic Jewish Vocabulary

BAR MITZVAH - A Jewish boy who reaches the age of 13 is a Bar Mitzvah. This means he is considered a man in Jewish law. He must keep all the laws that apply to Jewish men.

BAT MITZVAH - A Jewish girl who reaches the age of 12 is a Bat Mitzvah. This means that she is considered a woman in Jewish law. She must keep all the laws that apply to Jewish women.

CIRCUMCISION - The act of cutting off the loose skin at the tip of the penis known as the foreskin. It is a sign of the covenant Abraham made with God.

COVENANT - In the Tenakh (Sacred Scriptures of the Jews), a covenant is a solemn agreement between God and human beings. Usually, God gives a sign to show that he will keep his promise and the human beings do something important to show that they will keep their promise.

ISRAELITES - The name given to the people who were descendants of Israel, as Jacob was later known. The name 'Jews' was adopted much later. The Israelites were permanently divided into twelve tribes for every activity. Each tribe consisted of the direct male descendants of one of Jacob's sons, plus their wives, families and servants. Each tribe had its own place to live and duties to carry out.

KOSHER - Kosher food is food that the Torah lists as being suitable for Jews to eat. It includes any fruit and vegetables, cereals and other foods, which grow in the ground or on trees and bushes. Only fish with fins and scales, such as cod, animals, which eat grass and vegetables (and chew the cud) and have split hooves, such as cows, and a list of named birds, such as chickens, are permitted. Animals and birds must be killed in a special way called 'Shechitah' and all blood must be drained away before the flesh can be eaten.

MATZO - Unleavened bread made only of flour and water, but no yeast. It is the bread that slaves used to eat in Egypt. It is flat and crispy.

MENORAH - A seven-branched candlestick that is one of the oldest and also a common Jewish symbol.

MEZUZAH - A scroll containing the Shema mounted on the doorpost. Mezuzah designates that this is a Jewish home, reminding the Jewish inhabitants of their connections to God and the Jewish heritage.

MIKVEH - A pool of 'living' water, from rain, a river or the sea. Objects or people are completely dipped in mikveh water as a sign of religious purity.

PASSOVER - This refers to the festival of freedom from slavery. In Israel it lasts for seven days and eight days outside Israel, beginning on 15 Nisan. It commemorates the Exodus of the Children of Israel from slavery in Egypt.

SABBATH - The seventh day of Creation. On this day, God rested from doing any further work. In the fourth of the Ten Commandments, Jews are told to remember this day every week, to rest and keep it holy.

TABERNACLE - The Tabernacle was the magnificent tent of meeting, prayer and sacrifice, which was made by the Israelites in the Wilderness, at God's command. It was the original home of the two stone tablets engraved with the Ten Commandments, located inside their precious golden box, the Ark. The Tabernacle was portable and was taken with the Israelites wherever they went. The Ark was always taken with the Israelites when they fought wars, to give them courage and strength.

TALLIT - A prayer shawl with fringes at each of the four corners. Orthodox men wrap themselves in a prayer shawl for many prayer services. Progressive Jews permit both men and women to wear the tallit.

TALMUD - A collection of 63 books containing interpretations of the Bible and rabbinical commentaries. Rabbi Aaron Parry’s The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Talmud is a useful introduction!

TEFILLIN - Tefillin are two small square boxes that contain the Shema prayer and other paragraphs from the Torah, attached to the head and arm by leather straps.

TEMPLE - King Solomon, the son of King David, built the first Temple to be the holiest place for prayers and sacrifices. It was where the two stone tablets engraved with the Ten Commandments inside the Holy Ark were housed. The Greeks destroyed it. A replacement was built which the Romans later destroyed. Orthodox Jews pray every day for the Temple to be rebuilt.

TORAH - The first written part of the Jewish bible. It consists of the Five Books of Moses. The books in Torah are: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

YARMULKE (or kippah ) - A small round cap that Jewish boys and men wear on top of their heads. Some wear a yarmulke when praying, some wear it all day.

Question to Explore:

Explore, from various Jewish resources known to you, in what way the Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah rituals are performed in the different Jewish denominations.

An Overview of the Jewish History

Jews and Judaism are part of a long history. Jews are very proud of their religious tradition. All Jews are linked to one another through this tradition, which is very diverse and always evolving. They have lived and suffered from the time of Abraham, whom they consider as their father and themselves as a family where there is also “disagreements”! Beginnings of Judaism, Jews believe, is with God promise to Abraham: “I will make you a great nation and I will bless you; I will make you your name great, and you will be a blessing, I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse, and all people on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:2f)

BCE

c. 2000 - Abraham and his people journey from Ur to Canaan.

c. 1200 - Escape from slavery in Egypt with leadership provided by Moses; giving of the Torah; entry into Israel. Please read "The Ten Commandments" in LR, p. 244.

c. 1000 - King David makes Jerusalem the capital of Israel. Please read "David and Goliath" in LR, p. 247.

c. 900 - King Solomon builds the First Temple in Jerusalem. The Jewish community in Ethiopia may date from this time.

586 - Babylonians destroy the temple and deport Jews.

c. 500 – Re-building of, or building of the Second Temple in Jerusalem.

c. 200 - Jews settle in India (?).

168 - Syrian Greeks occupy Israel, take over the temple for idol worship, and try to make Jews abandon their religion. The Maccabees, Jewish freedom fighters, defeat them.

CE

70 - Romans destroy the Second Temple and Jews are dispersed.

200 - Yehudah HaNasi compiles and edits the first part of the Talmud, the Mishnah. The Talmud text is completed in the year 500.

711 - Muslims rule Spain, and Jewish life flourishes freely.

1040 - In France, Rabbi Shlomo ben Yitzhak (Rashi) explains the Torah and 1105 Talmud in clear language. His commentaries are the most important in the Jewish world.

1135-1204 - In Spain, Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (The Rambam or Maimonides) creates many works to explain Jewish laws and beliefs. These codes are still used today.

1215 - The Pope orders Jews in Europe to wear a yellow badge and an ugly hat so that Christians can recognize and avoid them. Over the next centuries, Jews are forced to live in closed areas, which become known as ghettos.

1492 - The Christian King and Queen of Spain expel Jews and Muslims, Jews move to Turkey to live under the Ottoman Empire.

1654 - Jews begin to settle in North America.

1700-1760 - The Baal Shem Tov (Master of the Good Name) becomes the founder of the Hasidic movement in Poland. Hasidic Jews stress the joy of living a Jewish life, expressing this in song, story, and dance. Reverence for the rabbi is very important.

1806 - Napoleon encourages a Jewish assembly to be created in France, show­ing that Jews are equal to others.

1835 - Abraham Geiger, a German rabbi, recommends many changes in Jewish practice. Reform Judaism dates from this time.

1881 - Pogroms, organized attacks on Jews, take place in Russia and neighboring countries. Many Jews are killed or expelled; many emigrate, mainly to the United States.

1897 - In Switzerland, Theodor Herzl convenes the First Zionist Congress, an international meeting of Jews to discuss ideas for a modern Jewish homeland in Israel.

1917 - The British government issues the Balfour Declaration, promising the Jews a national homeland in Palestine.

1933 - Nazis come to power in Germany; Holocaust begins. Six million Jews were killed.

1948 - The State of Israel is created and declared as a homeland for all Jews. Refugees arrive. Surrounding countries declare war on Israel and cap­ture the Old City of Jerusalem.

1967 - The Six Day War: surrounding countries attack Israel. Israel captures the West Bank from Jordan and the Gaza Strip from Egypt. The Old and New Cities of Jerusalem are reunited.

1982 - Israel signs a peace agreement with Egypt. The Peace Process begins.

1994 - Israel signs peace agreements with the Palestinians and with Jordan. Palestinians begin limited self-rule in part of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Conflicts and peace process between Israel and Palestine continue!

Question to Explore:

Discuss separately the developments within the Jewish community under the different Muslim rules and within the various Christian nations. You may read LR, pp. 236-271 to explore and discover the various high points of the Jewish history.

You should be ready to write brief notes on those in bold letters.

Some Sources to Explore Judaism

* Books found in the reserve shelf! This is not a detailed bibliography. For a more detailed bibliography you may refer to pages 291-293 of LR.

Beker, Avi, Chosen: The History of an Idea, the Anatomy of an Obsession, 2008. *

Diamant, Anita, Living a Jewish Life: Jewish Traditions, Customs, and Values for Today’s Families, (Updated and Revised Edition of 1991), Collins, 2007.

Dorff, Elliot N. & Louis E. Newman, editors, Jewish Choices, Jewish Voices, 2008. *

Hartman, Donniel, The Boundaries of Judaism, 2007. *

Neusner, Jacob, Judaism: The Basics, 2006. *

Olitzky, Kerry M., and Daniel Judson, Jewish Rituals: A Brief Introduction for Christians, Woostock, Vermont: Jewish Lights Publishing, 2005.

Olitzky, Kerry M., Jewish Holidays: A Brief Introduction for Christians, 2007.
*

Shafiroff, Ira L., Every Christian’s Book on Judaism: Exploring Jewish Faith and Law for a Richer Understanding of Christianity, Torrance, California: Noga Press, 1998.


Internet Sources:

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/

http://www.thewjc.org/jewishhome.htm

http://www.jewishlink.net/

http://www.jewishnet.net/

Exploring Judaism Through Film and Novel

1. Please go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiddler_on_the_Roof

Read about the musical movie “Fiddler on the Roof”, parts of which we will watch in the class on September 22nd. From the above mentioned website you may go to other links at the bottom to explore further on Jewish Spirituality!

What kind of Jewish thoughts and Jewish practices do you learn from that movie? What kind of thoughts does Tevye, the main character of the movie, express on “Jewish family”? When traditional religious thoughts clash with contemporary concerns what happens to religion?

2. You may browse the web or pick up the book The Red Tent: A Novel, (New York: Picador, 1997), a novel by Anita Diamant to explore the aspect of family in the Jewish community of the ancient biblical times.

Can you consider Anita Diamant a Jewish feminist? Is she critiquing the Jewish Patriarchy of the Jewish patriarchs, Isaac, Jacob, and his sons? Has Diamant got any thoughts on “Jewish family”?

Some Features that Makes Judaism a Religion

Judaism began about 4000 years ago. And there are little over 13 million Jews living all over the world. The greatest number (5.8 million) of Jews lives in USA. There are about 4.8 million in Israel and 1.2 million in Europe. There are about 550 thousand Jews in Russia. There are smaller Jewish communities in other parts of the world including 100 thousand in Australia and 120 thousand in Africa.

There are two major symbols in Judaism. One is the six-point star, known as the Star of David and the other called menorah, a seven-branch candlestick.

Judaism has the following four aspects: religious, cultural, historical and political!
a. A Jew believes in God, prays to God and observes the Shabbat (Sabbath).
b. A Jew enjoys the Jewish songs and eats kosher food – food fit for eating!
c. A Jew belongs to “a people” with a long history (around 4000 years) and looks at the present life in the light of “events of the past”! Hence the stories of Abraham and Moses are very important to a Jew.
d. A Jew belongs to a part of a people, scattered all around the world but with a single “spiritual home” in Israel!

To understand Judaism one must know the story of Abraham and Moses. (Please read LR pages 236 – 246).

a. Jews says that Abraham is a man “who obeyed God’s calling”. Read his story in the book of Genesis, the first book of the Jewish Bible. He is considered as one of the “founders of the Jewish faith”. Abraham, earlier Abram, was a wealthy man from Ur (in modern Iraq) leaves the security of his “homeland” and goes to the “to promised land” (present day Israel). Abraham’s wife, Sarai, also became Sarah! The name change, the Jews believe, was part of the covenant Abraham had with God! As a sign of this covenant circumcision, “removal of the foreskin from a boy’s penis”, is introduced to the Jews. The covenant has two sides – human side of “obedience to God”, and the divine side of God showering special favours on this people. Abraham becomes the model of human obedience to God and this is illustrated in Abraham’s willingness to “sacrifice” his only son Isaac of his old age. A severe famine takes Abraham’s descendents to Egypt and the subsequent slavery. But this happens during the time of Jacob and his sons. Jacob is the grandson Abraham through Isaac. Jacob also underwent a name change after the re-establishment of the covenant. He was given the name Israel whose 12 sons make up the 12 tribes of Jacob.

b. The story of Moses – can be read in the second book of the Bible called Exodus – begins with the “liberation” of the Hebrew people and a return to Canaan. Ten plagues and God’s presence and guidance become part of this liberation. The covenant is renewed at the Mount Sinai with the Ten Commandments. Now the Hebrew people are expected to live their “obedience to God” by the observance of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:2-17, again the same covenant re-established. Here they also received other social norms and the prescribed religious feasts. The portable Ark was also provided here for the Hebrew people. The Jews believe that Torah, with 613 commandments or mitzvot, a part of the Hebrew Scriptures, contains God’s conversations with Moses that was passed on to the people. Out of the 613 commandments 248 are the “to do” and the rest of the 365 are “not to do”.

Among the three Middle Easter Religions – Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – Judaism is the oldest. I think it is possible to look at Christianity and Islam as a “re-working” or “re-forming” of the original one, which is Judaism!

Below I give some basic features we see in Judaism that makes it an “organized religion”. In this I am indebted to Professor Kedar Nath Tiwari of India from whose book entitled I have borrowed the following. Cf. Comparative Religion, (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1997), p. 108f.

1. Judaism is a classical example of a revealed religion. Here God speaks and reveals to humans “the path” to “redemption”. Concept of “chosen people” becomes part of this religion, which gets “re-interpreted” later!

2. Monotheistic religion in a strict sense! God is a person in the sense of consciousness, speaks, listens and answers human prayers!

3. God’s metaphysical characters such as “omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence” is emphasised along with moral qualities such as justice, mercy, kindness, love, holiness and so on!

4. Greater emphasis is put on God’s moral qualities and therefore Judaism is primarily an ethical religion with greater emphasis on the observance of the Torah, the law – a summary of it is found in the “Ten Commandments” – found in LR, p. 244. Humans are expected to love God – pray to God and so on and serve the fellow humans with a sense of justice, mercy, humility, modesty and so on.

5. World is real. God created the world, and sustains the world through God’s providence. The world is created for humans to establish righteousness and serve the purpose of God.

6. Judaism believes in God raising many prophets of whom Moses is treated as “the greatest and the most favoured messiah of God”. Not that one prophet is more important than the other. But each one had an equally important task to perform.

7. Belief in angels and spirits, both good and evil are found in Judaic tradition. Satan or the devil is the chief evil spirit, spreading evil in God’s world. God still has control over the devil.

8. Belief in life after death is present in Judaism. But it is not very clear. Belief in the resurrection of the body is found in Judaism. Probably (?) the “immortality of the soul” too is found here and there in Judaism!

9. Though Judaism is an ethical religion, with emphasis on moral conduct of humans, still it abounds in ceremonies, religious festivals, ritualistic ways of prayer, worship and so on.

Question to Explore:

What relationship does the nation of Israel have to Jewish identity and faith? To answer this you may want to read on “Judaism” in LR, pp. 235-294.

Perspectives on Religions & the Ultimate Reality

For this section you will want to read LR, pages 6 to 14 and pages 18 to 20. You will need to look up the terms used below in Fisher’s glossary at the end of the chapter. You may also look at other sources on these concepts introduced below. These are discussed here briefly and will be dealt in greater length as we explore religions further.

Three Perspectives on Religions:

Dalai Lama, leader of the Tibetan Buddhists, once said: “I look on religion as medicine. For different complaints, doctors will prescribe different remedies. Therefore, because not everyone’s spiritual ‘illness’ is the same, different spiritual medicines are required.”

Elsewhere, Dalai Lama viewed Blessed Teresa (Mother Teresa) as a “Bodhisattva”, an enlightened one who cares for living beings!

Consider the different perspectives on religion introduced in Dr Azad’s letter in LR, p. 12.

It is possible to speak of three perspectives: exclusivism – a more absolutist interpretation of the religion, inclusivism (or universalism?) – a more liberal interpretation, and pluralism a broader accommodation of other religions. Hindus take pride in their pluralistic proclamation: “truth is one, but the sages call it with many names”.

Exclusivism refers to a belief that one’s own faith, religion, or tradition is the only true religion. It could also mean considering one’s own tradition superior to other traditions.

Inclusivism while affirming the truth of one’s own religious tradition does not dismiss the possible validity of other religious tradition for the believers of those religions.

Pluralism generally accepts that all religions have the same ultimate purpose of creating order and enabling people. It is an extreme form of inclusivism.

Generally all religions speak of a mission to the larger world – the Gospel message, for Christians, needs to be announced to every generation of the entire world! Christians, then, are likely to refer to the Gospel message as “universal”. Most religions consider their message “universal”! This often leads to “religious exclusivism”.

Religion and Reality:

Religions refer to “an underlying reality” beyond “human perception” – referred to as “Unseen Reality” or “Ultimate Reality” or “Sacred Reality” or “God”. In speaking of this “reality” religions use two concepts, “transcendent” and “immanent”.

One who says that there is no such “ultimate reality” – “no deity” is an Atheist!
One who says that he or she does not have adequate evidence to accept or reject the notion of “a deity” is an Agnostist.

It is possible for some to speak of the “ultimate reality” not in terms of a deity but in terms of “Changeless Unity” or simply as a “Way”. Such is called “non-theistic”! And when you speak of that reality as only one then it is referred to as “monotheistic” religion. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are typical “monotheistic” religions. Different from this is the belief that there are many “deities”. And such thinking is known as “polytheism”. Some refer to Hinduism as polytheistic because of the reference to many names, and shapes of the “deity” in the Hindu traditions. But it is possible to speak one “substance” or “essence” behind the multiplicity of “forms”. Then it is knows as “monism”!

Three Paths to Religious Knowledge:

These are not distinctively different paths. Most religious persons more or less combine the three with greater emphasis on one or the other: Belief, Rationalism, and Mysticism – a belief that knowledge of the ultimate reality is obtainable directly.

Question to Explore:

In their attept to understand the negative side of the institutionalized religion, some argue that religious violence is carried out when people abuse or misinterpreted their own religion. Other may affirm the widespread religious violence suggests that religion itself may be the problem. Which view do you find more convincing? Why?

To Reflect

Following quotes were taken from Akram Khan-Cheema’s paper titled, “Religious education within a plural society: one person’s views and values” in Teaching World Religions (A teacher’s Handbook produced by the SHAP Working Party on World Religions in Education), edited by Clive Erricker and et al, Oxford: Heinemann Educational, 1993.

“… Equally clear in my mind is the fact that it must remain an undeniable right of every child to expect the education system to affirm his or her linguistic and religious heritage. When the educator says it’s OK, it becomes legitimate, affirmed. When the school ignores it or errs by omission, it is telling the child that his or her faith and languages other than English are not important”. (P. 40)

“I have observed a fear of other religions amongst many who were raised in exclusivist religious traditions … I have observed a climate of openness to spirituality among a growing number of young people, and an openness to others. Isolation or separateness is a diminishing preference. What has been disheartening, however, is the fact that many professional colleagues do not appear to take religion, and particular those who are committed to a faith, seriously”. (P. 40)

“We must accept that for an enlightened multicultural future we cannot completely separate culture from religion. Some understanding of religions is absolutely vital if we are to seek to provide an appreciation of different cultures for our future generations”. (P. 42)

Some Approaches to the Study of Religions

How one approaches the “study of religions” depends much on how one “defines” religion. Possibly ones “definition” of religion was determined by the way one had approached “the study of religion”. “Definitions” tell us a lot about the interests and orientations of the people who make them.

Different approaches mentioned below are taken from Chapter 2, “How is Religion Studied?” (Pp. 9-21), of Robert Crawford’s What is Religion? London and New York: Routledge, 2002. To this I have also added approaches mentioned in “Approaches to Religion” Chapter 2 (Pp. 6-27) of Richard E. Creel’s, Religion and Doubt: Toward a Faith of Your Own, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1977. For a more serious student I will suggest Walter H. Capps, Religious Studies: The Making of a Discipline, Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995. Pp. xxiii+368.

1. Theological Approach - Theology explains and validates a particular “faith” justifying and promoting the religion that prompts that faith! Christian Theology, Hindu Theology, Islamic Theology, etc! (Not Buddhist Theology!) Theology produces creeds and confessions, and articles of faith and explicates further the creeds, confessions, and the articles of faith! It is possible to explore “other religions” from these particular theological perspectives! What is good about this? And what is bad about in this?

2. Historical Approach – This approach “relates what has happened and tries to interpret it.” It examines the literary and archaeological sources of a given religion. Other secondary sources are also considered but does not probe the truth or validity of religious claims. It adopts a scientific and objective approach that tends to treat the sacred books of the religions in the same way it would treat any other book often offending believers. You may want to read Fisher’s “Historical-Critical study of scriptures”, in LR, p. 20 as an example to this approach.

3. Philosophical Approach – This is a useful tool to understand and clarify “the truth or otherwise of belief statements” of religions. Philosophy can explore “a great variety of expression” religions use: “metaphor, simile, analogy, symbol, allegory”.

4. Psychological Approach – William James (1842-1910), Rudolf Otto (1869-1937), Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), and Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961) are some scholars who used this approach. This approach to the study of religion accepts the role of emotions and other mental factors in the making and sustaining of religions. Some scholars treat the religious experience of humans as normal human experiences while others consider and explore the “extraordinary” of the trances, ecstasy and visions. This approach is useful to probe the “religious instinct” of masses and the “charisma” of the religious leader!

5. Sociological Approach – Emile Durkheim’s Elementary Forms of Religious Life (1912) is a classic for this discipline. Max Weber, Karl Marx, Peter Berger and many others adopted this approach. Religion here is taken as social construct evolving from and fulfilling a human need. Sociologists explore the social structure and social function of religions.

6. Phenomenological Approach – In this approach the student is plainly “descriptive, looking at similarities and dissimilarities”; “free from value judgments”; shows empathy with the culture and beliefs”; “it walks in the moccasins of the faithful”; looks at the phenomenon of “religion x” from the perspective of the believer/practitioner to discern pattern and meaning. Phenomenological study does not examine the truth claims or validity of the “religion” examined or explored. In this sense it is neutral! You would notice Fisher advocating this approach in her LR, p. 13f.

7. Feminist Approach – This is fairly a new approach used quite a bit to interpret “religion” and “religious data” becoming aware of the patriarchal context in which “religious” teaching was done. Some of these studies bear fruit in areas such as translation of the scriptures, revisions of prayer books, etc and have promoted feminist interpretations to the bible. Please read Fisher’s “Women in Religions”, LR, p. 25ff.

8. Anthropological Approach – This approach involves studying religion in its cultural context and closer to the historical approach. It explores how a particular religion thrives in a particular culture.

9. Existential Approach – This approach is neither completely cerebral nor totally impersonal. “It is at one and the same time emotional and intellectual, subjective and objective”. Richard E. Creel, p. 26. Mary Pat Fisher in her Religion in the Twenty-First Century appears to suggest that her approach is one of existential.

10. Comparative Approach – Comparing of religions went on for thousands of years but Comparative Religion as an academic discipline was established in 19th century and attributed to Max Muller. Christian missionaries used this much, in whose hand Comparative Religion had more of an apologetic purpose than an informative one. Today scholars use this approach to communicate the diversity of forms in such categories as ritual, myth, sacrifice, symbolism, etc to be found in religions. Today comparisons and contrasts are done in a “non-judgmental” manner. Amanda Porterfield’s (The Power of Religion, New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998) can be considered to fall into this category! Fisher says that this discipline “attempts to understand and compare religious patterns found around the world” (LR, p. 10) Please read the story of the “Descendants of the Eagle” in LR, p. 17 and compare it with the “Flood Story” in the Bible (Genesis, chapters 6 to 9). To read the biblical flood story you may go to http://bible.oremus.org/?passage=Genesis

Question to Explore:

Look at the following two quotes and discuss the two different approaches they may suggest for the study of the religious phenomenon of the humanity. Among the two which will you prefer to adopt. Explain your answer.
- "He who knows one knows none” Max Muller (1823-1900).
- “Anyone who does not know this religion (Christianity), knows no religion, and anyone who knows Christianity, together with its history, knows all religion” Adolf von Harnack (1851-1930).

Defining Religion

Here are some categories similar to the category “religion”:
- Faith
- Spirituality
- Philosophy
- Ideology

You may read on the subject of “Defining Religions” by visiting the following site that says, religion is “notoriously difficult to define”: http://www.studyreligion.org/why/index.html

Definitions, we may note, direct the approach of the study! Some classical definitions of Religion you find it below, not in any particular order.

a. “Religion is what the individual does with his solitariness …” (Alfred North Whitehead)

b.“Religion is a sense of the numinous, the ‘wholly other’ …” (Rudolff Otto)

c. “Religion is a ‘feeling of absolute dependence’. Religion is the ‘consciousness that the whole of our spontaneous activity comes from a source outside of us’”. (Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768-1834)

d. “A religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden, beliefs and practices which unite into one single community called a church, all those who adhere to them.” (Emile Durkheim)

e. “Religion is ‘a set of symbolic forms and acts that relate man to the ultimate conditions of his existence’”. (Robert Bellah)

f. “A religion is a seven-dimensional organism, ritual, doctrinal, mythical or narrative, experimental or emotional, ethical or legal, organisational or social, material or artistic.” (Ninian Smart)

Many religionists, those who promote religions, including Pat Fisher, believe that in religion there is “the human recognition that there is an ultimate order and meaning, within the mystery of our lives.” (Ring and et al, Introduction to the Study of Religions, p. 4). What we may learn from all these is: “Religions … are systems of symbols in which the ideals, the aspirations, and the experiences of a community are represented.” Ring, p. 13.

P.D. Devanandan, an Indian scholar of Hinduism, died in 60’s, used to say every religion (somewhat interchangeable with “faith”) has three basic parts and they are “cultus, culture, and creed”. Cf. M.M. Thomas, The Acknowledged Christ of the Indian Renaissance, Madras: CLS, 1976. p. 287. Some scholars debate the order or the priority of the three. For example Peter Munz, Problems of Religious Knowledge, 1959 or R.H.L. Slater, World Religions and World Community, 1963. Which of the three is more important?

Cultus: “Cultus includes the liturgy, the sacramental and other rites and festivals involving religious symbols and myths, and the community bound by them. Through them, we express our faith-response in worship and devotion and in our apprehension of God in imagery. Here we are dealing with the levels of feeling and imagination.” M.M Thomas.

Culture: “Culture deals with the patterns of human existence, the ethics and ethos characteristic of a faith. This is the sphere of values and structures of personal and social behaviour, expressing the faith in human relations.” M.M. Thomas.

Creed: “Creed is faith in search of understanding. It formulates faith and its cultic and cultural manifestations in terms of intelligible concepts and beliefs.” M.M. Thomas.

The three above “Cultus, Culture, and Creed” may suggest what is that we need to look when we explore the phenomenon called “religion”!

Here is another paper – http://www.geocities.com/mikkon463/exoteric.html - written by an American Agnostic person. You may read this to clarify between “religion” and “spirituality” that the author calls “exoteric” and “esoteric” religions! This essay may give you a clue why some protest, vehemently, organized or institutional religions.

Question to Explore:

Explain the importance of “worship, symbols, and myths” for a follower of any religion. For this you may read LR, pp. 14-18.

Religious Inclinations of Students

Religious Categories of Students: Variety

Following numbers were derived when students were asked to write down their inclinations towards religions, or a particular religion, first thing on the first day of the class. The large variety can be fascinating! What can we learn from these variety and numbers? These are shared here for further speculation!

Atheists 01 - 02%
Agnostics 05 - 10% (3)
Baha’i 01 - 02%
Catholic – Baptized (Trying to Recover?) 01 - 02%
Catholic – Reject Church 01 - 02%
Catholics 09 - 17% (2)
Christian (Presbyterian) 01 - 02%
Christian (Non-practicing Presbyterian) 01 - 02%
Christian (Orthodox) 01 - 02%
Christian (Anglican) 02 - 04% (4)
Christian – No Denomination 01 - 02%
Christian (Lutheran – Baptized?) 01 - 02%
Declined to Declare 01 - 02%
Hindu 01 - 02%
Judaism 01 - 02%
Muslim (Ismaili) 01 - 02%
Native Spirituality 01 - 02%
No Religion 17 - 33% (1)
Pagan (Wicca) 01 - 02%
Searching 01 - 02%
Shinto 01 - 02%
Spiritual (Opposed to Institutional Religion) 02 - 04% (4)

Total 52 100%

Why Study Religion

Religion, Huston Smith said, is not a “dull habit” but an “acute fever”. Many consider that religion is a very “personal” matter and a “touchy subject”. And discussion on religion may lead to an endless argument. Therefore, they will insist on the need to avoid discussing religion in public. If we take that line of argument then it is not possible to study religion in the university.

Why study “religion” or “religions”? Richard E. Creel, in his Religion and Doubt: Toward a Faith of Your Own, (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1977) provides three reasons for the study of religion:

1. He believes that religion “is one of the most ancient, universal, and enduring components of human existence”. Humans are “incurably religious”. You cannot understand the “human phenomenon” without understanding the human religion.

2. Understanding of religion is essential to understand and communicate with our contemporary humans. Prudence, and solidarity requires our understanding of the human religious factor. “The study of religion is an excellent way to enter the worlds of other people and thus to see your own world from a new perspective”. This would also include an effective way of carrying on your vocation as a medical doctor, small business, caterer, etc.

3. Religion is intensely concerned with the very human existence – meaning and meaninglessness; good and evil; right and wrong; love and hate; community and loneliness; war and peace; life and death; illusion and reality; etc.

You will find more reasons for studying religions in the following website: http://www.studyreligion.org/why/index.html

Harriet Crampton who wrote the “Foreword” for Creel’s book considers both “religion” and “doubt” as “dandelions”! Both will co-exist!

Religion, particularly the “organized religion” has a negative side. To explore “Negative aspects of organized religions” read Fisher, LR, 2008, p.27f.

1. Religions have split rather than unified the humanity.

2. Religions have oppressed rather than freed the humanity.

3. Religions have terrified rather than inspired.

4. Religious power dominates and controls the followers.

5. Religious power, like secular power, is frequently corrupt.

6. Religions have been a rallying point for major wars

You may also benefit from reading Ring’s, chapters 1-3.

Question to Explore:

Discuss the different types of responses to religion, or religions, you are likely to encounter in the community you live. For this you may read Fisher, LR, p. 1-14.

Some Basics of Religion

Beginnings:

Human Experience, or perceptions of the human experience is the beginning of religious faiths. Humans are “fascinated” by that which is “beyond”, “the greater”, “the more” that:

1. Mircea Eliade called “the Sacred” – Cf. his The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion, 1959 [A classic introduction to the history of religion!]

2. Rudolf Otto called “the Holy” – Cf. his The Idea of Holy, 1917 [Another classic that speaks of the non-rational aspect of religion!]

Two Aspects of Religion:

Religions – More precisely, Religious Persons – Speak through

(a) Stories to inspire and educate
(Example: Story of the Good Samaritan – Luke 10:25-37, Cf. Living Religions of Fisher, hereafter LR, p. 305; Great Hindu stories are known as the epics and puranas – Cf. LR, p. 90)
(b) Doctrines and Creeds to demark and defend
(Example: Kalima, Islamic Creed or Apostles Creed)

Religions – More precisely, Religious Persons – Act through

(a) Rituals
(Example: Hindu Pūja, worship, or Holy Eucharist)
(b) Ethical behavior
(Example: Obeying the Ten Commandments in Judaism Cf. LR, p. 244)

Religious Community:

Religions also prompt an organizing of the adherents into “religious communities”!

(a) Buddhists – Sangha
(b) Muslims – Umma
(c) Christians – Church

Dimensions of Religion(s):

“A religion is a seven-dimensional organism, ritual, doctrinal, mythical or narrative, experimental or emotional, ethical or legal, organisational or social, material or artistic.” (Ninian Smart)

The Seven Dimensions, we may rename as:

1. Rituals
2. Doctrines
3. Myths/Narrative
4. Experiences
5. Ethics/Legalism
6. Organisation
7. Symbols/Art and Architecture

We will explore some of the above-mentioned dimensions in the religions we have identified to study. All the above are developed in particular historical contexts both shaping history and being shaped by history. Hence we will pay attention to those changes as well.

Note:

1. We will not be studying the Holy or the Sacred but we will explore how the Sacred or the Holy is perceived, interpreted, and lived by different “religious communities”!

2. Perceptions and interpretations will make up the “Ideals” of a religion while the living of that “Ideals” will lead to the “Realities”! In almost all the religions of the world we are bound to see a gap, a discrepancy between the two!

3. When comparing two religions care should be taken that one does not compare the “ideals” of one – quite often ones own – with the “realities” of another – quite often the neighbours!

4. To continue our study of world religions you may want to begin reading Chapter 1 of LR, 2008.

Question to Explore:

Discuss, with examples, the role of a storyteller as a spiritual specialist in certain communities in the world. For this you may read LR, p. 49ff.

Sources to Explore Religion 101 - C2

Mary Pat Fisher, Living Religions, Seventh Edition, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2008.

Willard G. Oxtoby & Alan F. Segal, Editors, A Concise Introduction to World Religions, Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2007.

Nancy C. Ring, et al, Introduction to the Study of Religion, Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1998.

Websites for the Study of Religion:

http://www.studyreligion.org/why/index.html

http://www.religioustolerance.org/var_rel.htm - (This comes with advertisements, etc.)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/

http://www.adherents.com/ -

http://www.sacred-texts.com/world.htm - For most Sacred Writings

http://www.religion-cults.com/ - Site and commentary of Dr Dominguez, actively promoting Catholic faith!

http://wri.leaderu.com/ - World Religion Index (A Christian polemical site)

Religion 101-C2

Introduction to the Religions of the World

Instructor: Dr Henry Victor
Time: 14.00-14.50 on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays
Place: TB-87, University of Alberta

Email: hvictor@telus.net
Office: 343 Arts Building
Office Hours: Wednesdays 11.30 am -1.30 pm (Or by appointment)
Telephone: (780) 248-1442 [To leave messages (780) 473 – 5161]

Course Objective:

This course will provide an opportunity for students to survey the variety of religions found in the world both in its ideals and realities. It can also inspire to critically evaluate ones own religious, or non-religious tradition though that will not be one of the primary purposes.

Course Outline:

This course will include lectures, meeting with prominent religionists in the city, assigned readings and viewing short videos on different religions. The topics to be covered in this 6-credit course – two terms are:

First Term

1. Introducing the exploration of religion or religions as an academic discipline.
2. Jewish faith and practices.
3. Christians in their Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant traditions.
4. Islamic faith and practices in the Sunni, Shia, and Sufi branches.

Second Term

5. Diverse tradition of the Hindu faith.
6. Jainism.
7. Sikhism.
8. Taoism.
9. Confucianism.
10. Shinto Faith.
11. Zoroastrianism.
12. Indigenous Traditions.

The students will be expected to familiarize with concepts, themes and concerns connected to the above-mentioned topics through Mary Pat Fisher, Living Religions, (7th Edition). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2008. Other additional online readings and reserve readings at Rutherford library will be introduced to the class during lectures.

Requirements:

1. Mid-term exams – One for each term, on October 15, 2008 and February 25, 2009 (20%). These exams will include short essays and questions that will require one word or one-sentence answers.

2. Two seven-page research essays – One for each term, on a topic agreed with the instructor to be handed over each on the last class day of each of the term. These papers should include a minimum of four sources, with at least two of which should be printed books (40%). One of these research papers could be a field study report where a minimum of three visits is expected. Students who opt for field study should have signed a form obtainable from the instructor. Students could pick up marked papers when they come for the term-end exams.

3. Two two-hour term-end exams - Dates to be notified by the university (40%). These exams will include essays and questions that will require single word or single phrase answers. The term-end exams will cover areas dealt in that particular term.

4. Missed Exams: If you miss an exam on the scheduled date because of illness or emergency, you must contact your instructor as soon as possible. You will be allowed to write a missed exam only if proof of illness – a doctor’s note acceptable to the university – or emergency is provided.

5. Submission and Late Submission of Papers: Papers submitted after the due date is subject to a penalty of 5% per day. Email submissions of papers will not be accepted. All submissions should have an appropriately filled cover page in any of the accepted format. For further details on submission of papers you may visit the following web page: http://www.ualberta.ca/~ebenzvi/teaching.html

Grading:

Marks for assignments, tests, and exams are given in percentages, to which letter grades are also assigned, according to the table below (“OIS Undergraduate Grading Scale”). The percentage mark resulting from the entire term work and examination then produces the final letter grade for the course.