World Religions Final

Front 1

1. Compare and contrast the Council of Trent and Vatican II on non-Christian religions.

Back 1

Council of Trent
-response to Protestantism & New World peoples
-1st Inclusivism: salvation despite other religions, knowledge through conscience
-problem: how to separate knowledge of good & evil from religion

Vatican II
-Response to exposure to world religions (E. Orthodox, Islam)
-1st Inclusivism expanded: (partial) knowledge in other religions (unlike Trent) that need Christianity to purify
-lacks complementarity, appreciation of learning from other religions

Front 2

2. Distinguish cosmic revelation from historical revelation.

Back 2

x

Front 3

3. Describe the Christian eschatological solution to the problem of evil and suffering.

Back 3

-final destination of individual person & world as whole
-resurrection=complete merging into life with God
-will be an end to evil & suffering
-end will infinitely compensate for suffering now
-Tapestry: as long as we are here, we can't see the grand design which the end will reveal

Front 4

4. The five “requirements” for being a Hindu.

Back 4

1) Vedas
2) Reincarnation & karma
3) Acceptance of caste system
4) Plurality of spiritual paths within Hinduism
5) Spiritual, cultural orientation to Mother India

Front 5

5. The four castes.

Back 5

1) Brahmins - priests, teachers
2) Kshatriyas - warriors, rulers
3) Vaishyas - merchants, farmers
4) Shudras - menial laborers, servants
(5) Dalits - outcasts

Front 6

6. The four ideal stages of life.

Back 6

Student -> Married/Parent -> Retired -> Wanderer

Front 7

7. The four levels of consciousness.

Back 7

1) Deep
2) Dream
3) Waking
4) Enlightenment

Front 8

8. Who or what are Brahman, Atman, and Purusha in the Upanishads?

Back 8

x

Front 9

9. How did the Indus Valley culture (three points) and the Aryan culture (four points) contribute to what later became known as Hinduism?

Back 9

Indus Valley
1) Yoga
2) Proto Shiva
3) Goddess worship
Aryan
1) Sanskrit
2) Sacrifice
3) Caste system
4) Great # of gods

Front 10

10. The three ways (margas) of Hindu spirituality.

Back 10

1) Jnana - marga: knowledge (Upanishads, yoga)
2) Bhakti - marga: selfless devotional path to God of love
3) Karma - marga: 1st follow caste law, now selfless service to one's neighbor in need

Front 11

11. Compare and contrast the spirituality of the Upanishads with Christian spirituality. How does the story of Svetaketu in the Chandoga Upanishad illustrate Upanishadic spirituality?

Back 11

x

Front 12

12. The significance of the Bhagavad-Gita in the history of Hindu spirituality.

Back 12

x

Front 13

13. Distinguish the five differences between the Hindu notion of avatar and the Christian concept of incarnation.

Back 13

1) Many avatars vs. One incarnation
2) Human & non-human avatars vs. only human incarnation
3) No suffering avatars vs. suffering incarnation
4) Morally ambivalent avatar (Krishna) vs. moral incarnation
5) Mythical avatars vs. historical incarnation

Front 14

14. Meaning of the term “Buddha.”

Back 14

"He who is awake" (enlightenment)
-He knows by experience the truth (that we don't)
-He is set free

Front 15

15. The Four Passing Sights.

Back 15

1) Old age
2) Disease
3) Death
4) Renunciation
-Servant Channa doesn't clear streets
-Siddartha now sees everything as passing away
-no longer finds joy in anything

Front 16

16. The Four Noble Truths. How does the root cause of suffering here compare with the root cause taught by Hinduism?

Back 16

1) All life is full of suffering
2) The cause of suffering is craving
3) Suffering can be eliminated through the uprooting of craving
4) The way to overcome craving is through the Noble Eightfold Path
Suffering in Hinduism?

Front 17

17. The Noble Eight-fold Path.

Back 17

1) Right Views
2) Right Intentions
3) Right Speech
4) Right Actions
5) Right Livelihood
6) Right Efforts
7) Right Mindfulness
8) Right Concentration

Front 18

18. Name the three “baskets” of Buddhist scripture and briefly describe their content.

Back 18

1) Rules & Regulations for monks & nuns
2) Dharma/Sutra - Basic Teachings of Buddha (Early Buddhism)
3) Abhi-dharma - "About" teachings (commentaries) & arguments against false views (apologetics - defenses)

Front 19

19. The two major differences between Soto and Rinzai Zen.

Back 19

1) Method
-Soto: zazen (sitting)
-Rinzai: zazen, cracking the koans (riddles)
2) Event of Enlightenment
-Soto: gradual
-Rinzai: Sudden bursts of enlightenment followed by new koans

Front 20

20. What does “dependent co-origination” attempt to explain? How does this teaching differ from the Hindu view of karma?

Back 20

-tries to explain suffering
-mutually conditioned existence
-no God, no soul-self
-doesn't explain why there is a world to begin with (God question irrelevent in terms of finding end to suffering)
-difference from Hinduism?

Front 21

21. Similarities and differences between Buddhist “nirvana” and the Christian understanding of “heaven”/”eternal life”/”Kingdom of God.”

Back 21

God relates to Brahman (Hindus deny because they see anthropomorphized Christian God)<BR>-eternal<BR>-changeless<BR>-non-caused<BR>-omnipotent<BR>-omnipresent<BR>Brahman relates to nirvana (eternal state of joy & rest) <BR>-similar to how God relates to Brahman<BR>-enlightenment = becoming Brahman<BR>-Christianity includes infinite as well as Kingdom now (active side, social justice, etc.)

Front 22

22. Meaning of the “Middle Way.”

Back 22

-avoid extremes
1) sensuous indulgence
2) extreme bodily mortification
-discipline body
-learn to let sprit control

Front 23

23. Differences between Theravada/Hinayana and Mahayana Buddhism.

Back 23

Theravada
-Elders faithful to Buddha, original teaching
-called small/narrow vehicle (Hinayana) by Mahayana
Mahayana
-prayer to bodhisattvas (some have walked the Earth, others haven't)
-add to original teaching (hidden teaching revealed at right time)
-Theravada says illegitimate because Buddha said he gave them everything)

Front 24

24. List and explain the basic doctrines or articles of faith.

Back 24

x

Front 25

25. List an describe the Five Pillars.

Back 25

1) Profession of Faith
2) Ritual Prayer
3) Legal almsgiving
4) One-month fast (Ramadan)
5) Pilgrimage to Mecca

Front 26

26. Explain the centrality of the Qur’an for Islamic and its role in dialogue with other religions.

Back 26

Authority
1) Qur'an
2) Hadith
3) Reason
4) Sharia - laws

Front 27

27. Similarities and differences between Islam and Christianity regarding a) the process of revelation and b) the formulation of sacred scripture. What physical form does the Word of God take on earth for each religion?

Back 27

a)<BR>-Islam: verbal dictation<BR>-Christianity: personal encounter with God<BR>b) <BR>-Islam: no creative participation or input by Muhammad<BR>-Christianity: human freedom, knowledge &amp; creativity under the inspiration of God
Islam: Qur'an
Christianity: Jesus

Front 28

28. Describe the Muslim view of Christ, Christianity, and the New Testament.

Back 28

x

Front 29

29. To which Christian doctrines does Islam most vehemently object? For what reasons?

Back 29

x

Front 30

30. List three ways in which Muhammad’s revelation advances the culture and ethic of his people.

Back 30

x

Front 31

31. Compare Jesus in the Qur’an with Jesus in the New Testament.

Back 31

x

Front 32

32. Three Christian interpretations of Muhammad.

Back 32

x

Front 33

33. What Muslims and Christians share by way of doctrine and spirituality. What might each religion learn from the other?

Back 33

x

Front 34

34. What ought our approach to Islam be? What is characteristic of Thomas Merton’s approach to Muslims?

Back 34

x