Abbasaid Empire: Created in 750 of the Christian Era, named after Muhammad’s youngest uncle, Abbas ibn Abd Al­Muttalib. Changed the capital to Madinat al­Salam (City of Peace).  Mongols conquered it and it destabilised in 1258.

When is the abbasid empire created?

Abu Bakr: Father in law of Muhammad, rules from 632 to 634. A rightly first guided caliph. Abu Talib: Leader of the Hashim, Quresh clan, Muhammad’s uncle, 549 – 619. Allowed  Muhammad a job in his trading company.

Abraham: Father of Isaac, ancestor of the Jews, and Ishmael, ancestor of the Muslims.  Commanded by God to purify his house in Mecca. God calls him to leave his land to look for the promised land. No clear birthplace, placed at about the second millennium BCE. Acculturation: Describes the process of cultural and psychological change that occurs as  two cultures meet. Don't forget about the age old question of What is the ratchet effect?

Aisha: Called mother of believers, one of the wives of Muhammad, married at 9 years old.  Continued his message throughout the rain of the Caliphs. Led a battle on her camel and  lost.

Who is abu bakr?

Al Baqir: The 5th and 4th imam, Revered by Shia Muslims and respected by Sunni Muslims  for his knowledge and Islamic knowledge, leading jurist in Medina. 676 – 733 Al Ghazali: Muslim theologian, jurist, philosopher, and mystic of Persian decent. Single  most influential Muslim after the prophet. Brought Sufism back into the orthodox Muslim  path. Lived when the Muslim Ummah was approaching 500 years.

Ali: Cousin and son in law of the prophet. Chosen as the 4th caliph, assassinated, leadership disputed. His sons were both assassinated, and that started the faction the Shi’ites. Reign  from 656 – 661

Angelican: a tradition within Christianity comprising of the Church of England. Comes from  a Latin term meaning English Church. Founded by scriptures, and the traditions of the  Aposolitic Church. 

Who is abu talib?

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Antiochus Epiphanes IV: Ruled the Seleucid empire from 175 BC – 164 BC. Son of  Antiochus III The Great. Near conquest of Egypt started the rebellion of the Jewish  Maccabees. First king to use divine epithets on coins.

Apostles: After his resurrection Jesus sent 11 of them to spread his teachings. Resulted in  the Canon, accepted sacred writings of the New Testament, the Apostle’s creed, and the  structure of clergy leadership.

Archbishop of Canterbury: The senior bishop of the Church of England, symbolic head  worldwide of the Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Canterbury. Arius: Christian priest in Alexandria, Egypt.  He was of Libyan origins. Taught about the  nature of the God Heads which emphasize a father’s divinity over that of his son. Primary  topic of Council of Nicea, convened by Constantine in 325 AD.

Asia Minor: Modern turkey, denotes the westernmost protrusion of Asia. Ashkenazi: trace origins back to the tribe of Israelites of Canaan in the middle east. Names comes from Ashkenaz, the first son of Gomer.

Assyrians: People from Assyria, a Semitic Akkadian kingdom position on the north Tigris  river. Late 25th to early 24th century BC. Came to rule a number of powerful empires. Athanasius: 20th bishop of Alexandria , lasted for 45 years, a renowned Christian  theologian , exiled for 17 years by 5 different roman emperors. Remembered for his role in  the conflict with Arius.If you want to learn more check out What is export model?

Augustine: A father of the church whose writings are considered very influential in Christian philosophy. He was a Bishop of Hippo.

Ayatollah Khomeini: Iranian religious leader and politician, leader of the 1979 Iranian  revolution. Supreme leader of Iran til death.

Benedict XVI: Leader of the catholic church, pope and sovereign of the Vatican between  2005 and 2013.

Baal : northwest Semitic title meaning “master” or “lord”

Asherah: Semitic mother goddess appearing in ancient sources of Akkadian writings. Baal Shem Tov: a mystical rabbi considered to be the founder of Hasidic Judaism. Name  meaning Master of the Good Name.

Battle of Badr: Fought 623 CE in the Hejaz region of Arabia. Decisive victory due to divine  intervention. Killed several Quraishi leaders by breaking the Meccan lines. Signalled that  there’s a new power in the Arabian Peninsula. Strengthening Muhammad’s position as  leader.

Battle of Karbalah: 61 AH, in Karbalah, present day Iraq. Hussein refused to recognize  Yazid, a small group of Hussein supporters versus an army detachment of Yazid fought  ending in Hussein’s death. Considered a Martyr for Shi’ite islam.

Battle of Sifin: 657 CE. Occurred during the first Fitna. Fought on the banks of the  Euphrates river, in what is now Syria. The battle was indecisive,  weakened Ali’s position  and did not resolve the tensions in the empire. If you want to learn more check out What is primary research?

Battle of Uhud: Fought in 625 AH fought at the valley located in front of mount Uhud in  northwestern Arabia. Between Muhammad’s Medina and ibn Harb of Mecca. The second  battle between the muslims and meccans. A mistake by the archers almost caused the  Muslims the battle causing them to retreat up the mountain, Meccan’s declared victory.  Muhammad badly injured in the battle. 

Babs: a religious movement from Persia from 1844 to 1852 , title means gates. Babylonians: Ancient Akkadian speaking Semitic nation based in current day Iraq. 1894  BC emergence . Rival state of Assyria.

Bar Kochba Revolt: Third major revolt of the Jews against Roman Empire. Last of Jewish Roman Wars. Simon Bar Kochba was commander. 132 – 136 CE, the Roman victory saw  the banning of Jews from Jerusalem. Aftermath of the war differentiated Christianity from  Judaism as a distinct religion. 

Caliph: Ruler of the Islamic Ummah, head of state of a Caliphate, derived from word  meaning successor or representative.

John Calvin: A French theologian and pastor during the Protestant reformation. He was a  principle figure in development of Calvinism.  He was influenced by Augestinian traditions.  Led him to expand sovereignty of god in looking for human salvation from eternal  damnation

Canaan: a Semitic speaking religion in current day Israel, Palestine and Lebanon. 4th millennium BC. Canaanite nations of the bronze and iron ages are mention in the bible. Chalcedon: ancient maritime town in Asia. Now distinct city of Istanbul. Greek name  meaning “New Town”. Don't forget about the age old question of What are the recommended death notification and body identification procedures that are most helpful for families of homicide victims?

Christotokos: Greek title of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Means Christ­bearer.

Circumcision: Surgical removal of the foreskin of the penis. Taken up by jews as a  physical sign of their covenant with god.

Conservative Judaism: Arose in the early 1900, modern stream of Ashkenazi Judaism.  Developed as a reaction to more liberal views taken by reformed Judaism. Means that Jews should try to conserve Jewish tradition rather than abandon then. 

Constantine: Roman emperor from 306 to 337, first Roman emperor to be converted to  Christianity. Tolerance for all religions  in empire. We also discuss several other topics like What is beta-lactam ring?

Constantinople: Founded in 330 AD, it was the capital city of the Eastern Roman Empire,  Latin and Ottoman empire.

Covenant : an alliance or agreement, between God and humanity or religious communities. Abrahamic religions.

Crucifixion: painful method of execution, tied or nailed to a cross, left to hang until dead.  Abolished by Constantine I in 337.

Crusades: Religiously motivated military campaigns to restore Christianity to holy areas  near Jerusalem. Ordered by pope Urban II , conducted between 1095 and 1291 against  muslims in the Levant.

Cyrus: Founder of the Achaemenid empire. Eventually conquered most of Southwest Asia.  He respected the religions and customs of the lands that he conquered. Recognized for his  achievements in human rights, politics and military strategy. Defined national identity of  Iran.

Cyril: Christian missionary born in the 9th century among the Slavic People. Devised the  Glagolitic alphabet, writing Apostles to the Slavs which contributed to the cultural  development of the Slavs. Pope John Paul II declared him co­patron saint of Europe. Damascus: nicknamed City of Jasmine, Capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 – 750.  First settled in the second millennium BC.

Dar al­Harb: House of war.  House of the west. A country where muslim law is not in force  in the matter of worship.

David: Second king of the United Kingdom of Israel. An ancestor of Jesus. Considered to  be a prophet and king of a nation. Righteous.

Dead Sea: historically a place of Refuge for King David. It is a salt lake bordering Jordan to  the East and Israel to the West.

Dhikr: The remembrance of god. Islamic devotional act typically involving the recitation of  the Names of God. Silent Prayer.

Diet of Worms: an imperial diet, or assembly, of the Holy Roman Empire held in Worms,  Germany. January to May 1521. Effects of Protestant reformations.

Diaspora Judaism: the historical dispersion of Jews from the Kingdom of Judah. Began in  the 6th century BCE due to conquest of the Kingdom by Babylon and the destruction of the  first temple. Three groups of Jews, Babylon, Egypt, Judaea.

Divided Monarchy: The split of the United kingdom into Israel in the North and Judah in  the south. 921 BCE.

Docetism: the doctrine according to which the phenomenon of Christ, was just mere  semblance without true reality.

Dome of the Rock: A shrine located on the temple mount in the old city of Jerusalem.  Completed in 291 CE, it’s been refurbished multiple times. Religious significance is due to  the rock at the centre, known as the foundation stone.

Ecumenism: initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or co­operation. Single church.  Derived from Greek, “The whole inhabited word”. Used for reference to the Roman Empire. Edict of Milan: Constantine I and Licinius, controlling the Roman Empire and the Balkans  met in Milan and agreed to treat Christians benevolently.

Elijah Muhammad: The African­ American religious leader who led the nation of Islam  between 1934  until 1975.

Episcopalians: Members of the Anglican church use this word meaning having bishops in  their name.

Excommunication: religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a  religious community. Like in the Catholic church.

Exodus: Story of the enslavement of the Israelites in Egypt following the death of Joseph,  their departure under the leadership of Moses, the revelations at Sinai, and their  wanderings up to the borders of Canaan.

Ezra: Ezra the Scribe, He returned from Babylonian exile and reintroduced the Torah in  Jerusalem. His name means “God Help”.

Fana: A Sufi term for dissolution or annihilation of the self. A state of enlightenment,  intrinsic unity between Allah and all that exists.

Fatima: A title for the virgin Mary due to her reputed apparitions to three shepherd children  at Fatima, Portugal on the 13th day of six consecutive months in 1917. Filioque:  Latin for “and the Son”, used in Western Christian Churches, found in Nicene  Creed.

Ali ibn Abu Talib: The beloved, 600­661, first Imam, rightful successor of the prophet Hasan ibn Ali:  The chosen, 624­670, eldest surviving grandson of Muhammad through  Muhammad’s daughter Fatima

Husayn ibn Ali: Master of the Martyrs, 626 – 680, grandson of Muhammad and brother of  Hasan ibn Ali. Opposed Caliph Yazid.

Ali ibn Husayn: One who constantly prostrates ornaments of the worshippers, 658­712.  Author of prayers in Shahifa al sajjadiyya.

Solomon’s Temple: holy temple in ancient Jerusalem on the Temple Mount Zion.  Destroyed during siege of Jerusalem in 587 BCE.

Fivers: Shi’a muslims, who disagree with the majority of Shi’a on the identity of the fifth  imam.

Four Gospels: 4 accounts of the life of Jesus. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Galilee: A large region in Northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative  North District and Haifa District.

Gemarrah: rabbinic teaching and discussion that went on in Babylon. Further teachings on  the Mishnah known collectively as Gemarrah.

Genghis Khan: United nomadic tribes of northeast Asia forming the Mongol Empire.  Started Mongol invasions.

Golden Age of Islam: A historical period that began in the mid­8th century and lasted until  the Mongol conquest of Baghdad. During this time the Arab world became an intellectual 

centre for science, philosophy, medicine, and education. House of Wisdom in Baghdad.  Muslim and non­Muslim scholars sought to translate and gather the entire world’s  knowledge into Arabic.

Hagar: Meaning uncertain is a biblical person in the Book of Genesis. Egyptian handmaid  of Sarah who gave her to Abram to bear child.

Hanif: refers to one who maintained the pure monotheistic beliefs of the patriarch Ibrahim.  Rejected idolatry and retained religion.

Henotheism: Belief and worship of a single god while accepting the existence of other  deities that may be worshipped.

Heresy: any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs.  In alliance with the religions symbol of evil.

Hellenism:  any of the various beliefs and practices of people who lived under the influence of ancient Greek culture during the Hellenistic period of the roman empire. 300 BCE and  300 CE.

Hijra: the migration or journey of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina. June 21st and July 2nd in 622 AD.

Holocaust: mass murder and genocide of approximately 6 million Jews during the second  world war under Hitler’s Nazi Germany.

Homoousion: From the greek word meaning “same”, theological term used in discussion of Christian understanding of God as Trinity.

Homoiousion: Christological doctrine formulated at the first ecumenical council to affirm,  that god, son and the father are same substance

Iconoclast: destruction of religious symbols, established dogma or conventions. Iconodule: A supporter, or someone who is in favor of religious images or icons and their  veneration. Against use of religious images.

Imam: an Islamic leadership position. A worship leader of a mosque or muslim community.  Scholar.

Immaculate Conception: A dogma, stating that when the virgin Mary was in the Womb she was kept free of original sin and was filled with sanctifying grace usually not received until  baptism. Sainte Anne is her mother.

Interior Castle: was written by Saint Teresa of Avila, 1577 as a guide for spiritual  development through service and development. Practical “blueprints” for seekers who want  to understand prayer as mystical union with God.

Irenaeus: 202 CE, saint, Bishop of Lugdunum, early church father, apologist, his writings  helped development of Christian Theology.  Recognized as a saint. Feast day June 28th in  Roman Catholic Calendar.

Isaac: only son that Abraham had with his wife Sarah. Father of Jacob and Esau, one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites. Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born, Sarah  beyond childbearing years. Did not leave Canaan.

Ishmael: Abraham’s first son with Sarah’s handmaiden Hagar.

Ishmaelites: Descendants of Ishmael, elder son of Abraham.

Ismaili Shia: A branch of Shia Islam, also known as Seveners. Got their name from their  acceptance of Ismail ibn Jafar who was appointed as the spiritual leader. See Muhammad  as the final prophet and Messenger of God to all humanity.

Israelites: a Semitic­hebrew speaking people of the ancient Near East. Evolved into Jews  and Samaritans of the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Israelite derived from the Hebrew  word Yisrael.

Jacob: known as heel or leg­puller, renamed Israel by God meaning “God Contended”. Son of Isaac and Rebakah. Wrestles with angels.

Jahiliyya: Islamic concept of ignorance of divine guidance, or state of ignorance of the  guidance of God. Condition of pre­Islamic Arabia.

Jewish Christian: original members of the Jewish Reform movement later became  Christianity. Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah and thus equivalent to all Christians. Confession of Jesus as Christ, but still adhered to Jewish practices. New Testament. Jewish War: Sometimes called the Great Revolt, 66­73 CE. First of three major rebellions  by the Jews of Judaea province against the Roman Empire. Due to anti­taxation protests. Jordan River: 251 km long river in West Asia that flows to the dead sea. Jesus was  baptised in the River Jordan by John the Baptist.

Joshua: a figure in the Torah, one of the spies of Israel, moses assistant. Book of Joshua.  Leader of the Israelite tribes after the death of Moses. Name was Hoshe’a, the son of Nun.  Born in Egypt. Explored land of Canaan.

Judah: State in Southern Levant during the Iron Age. Southern kingdom vs the northern  kingdom of Israel. 9th century BCE. Jerusalem was the capital. Co­operative agreement with  the Assyrians.

Judah Halevi: Spanish­ jewish physician , 1075­1141, one of the greatest Hebrew poets. Kabah: The cube, the sacred house, it is one of the most sacred sites in Islam. Kabbalah: esoteric method, discipline and school of though meant to explain the  relationship between the eternal and mortal. Judaism  related.

Khadija: first wife of the Muhammad. Belonged to the Clan Banu Quraish. Regarded as  mother of Islam. Daughters married Caliphs.

Kharijites: Emerged in the late 7th century. Concentrated in Today’s southern Iraq. Means  “those who went out”. Rejected leadership.

Kristallnacht: referred to as the night of Broken Glass. Attacks against Jews on 9­10  November 1938.

Labarum: A military standard that displayed the first two greek letters of the word Christ.  Symbolizes the crucifixion of Christ.

LXX: The Septuagint, Greek Old Testament, an ancient translation of the Hebrew Bible and some related texts into Koine Greek. Dated as early as the late 2nd century BCE. Luther: launched the protestant reformation to change the theology and practice of the  Roman Catholic Church. Disputed the claim that freedom from God’s punishment for sin  could be purchased with money. Salvation a gift of God’s Grace.

Maccabees: means hammer. They were a jewish rebel army that took control of Judea.  Founded Hasmonean dynasty which ruled from 164 BCE to 63 BCE, reasserting Judaism,  expanding boundaries of the land of Israel by conquest, forced conversion, reduced  Hellenism.

Marcion: a bishop in early Christianity. Prompted church to develop a canon of scriptures.  He rejected the deity in jewish scriptures as inferior to god’s proclaimed in the Christian  gospel. 

Marranos: Jews living in the Iberian Peninsula who converted or were forced to convert to  Christianity. Continued being jews in secret.

Martin Luther King Jr.: A Baptist minister, helped to found the Southern Christian  Leadership conference in 1957.

Masada: an ancient fortification in the southern district of Israel, on top of an isolated rock  plateau, overlooks the dead sea. Herod the Great built places for himself on the mountain.  The Siege of Masada ended in suicide for 960 Jewish rebels holed up there. Mecca: birthplace for Muhammad, site of the revelation of the Quran, pilgrimage. Messiah: a saviour or liberator of a group of people most commonly in Abrahamic religions. Title of Jesus.

Midrash: a Hebrew term for the body of homiletic stories told by jewish rabbinic sages to  explain passages in the Tanakh. Method of interpreting biblical stories that go beyond  simple religious, legal or moral teachings.

Mishnah: the first major written redaction of the jew oral traditions. Redacted in 220 CE, in  fear that oral traditions would be forgotten.

Mitzvah: meaning commandment, 613 commandments given in the Torah. Moral deed  performed as a religious study. Human Kindness.

Mongols: central north­asian ethnic group. Religion Shamanism.

Monophysites: meaning only one nature, is a Christological position that after the union of  the divine and the human in historical incarnation, jesus, had only a single nature, either  divine or synthesis of the divine.

Monotheism: belief in the existence of one god or in the oneness of God. Mordecai Kaplan: 1881 – 1983, rabbi, essayist and jewish educator, the co­founder of  reconstructionist Judaism.

Moses: a religious leader, and prophet, author of the Torah. Most important prophet in  Judaism. Important to the story of Exodus.

Moses Mendelssohn: 1729­1786, a German, Jewish philosopher that the jewish  enlightenment is attributed to.

Moses Maimonides: medieval Spanish, Sephardic, jewish philosopher, a Torah scholar.  Known as the great eagle.

Hira: the location where Muslims believe that Muhammad received his first revelations from God through the angel Jabril, aka Gabriel.

Mt. Gerazim: one of the two mountains in the vicinity of the west bank city of Nablus.  Sacred to Samaritans who regard it as Jerusalem’s Temple mount. Having been the  location chosen by Yahweh for a holy temple.

Mt. Zion: a hill in Jerusalem just outside the walls of the Old City. City of David. Mu’awiyah: the second caliph from the Umayyad Clan. Brother in law to Muhammad.  Refused to obey Ali.

Mughal Empire: 1526 – 1757, an imperial power in the Indian sub continent. Architecture  and arts. Taj mahal and the Pearl Mosque.

Muhajirun: were the early, initial muslims, who followed Muhammad on his Hijra from  Mecca to medina. Called the Ansar, “Helpers”.

Muhammad Abduh: 1849 – 1905, egyptian islamic jurist, religious scholar and liberal  reformer. Key founder of islamic modernism, Wrote “treaties on the Oness of god” and a  commentary of the Quran.

Muhammad Iqbal: 1877­1938, British india, philospher, poet, politician. Inspired the  Pakistan Movement. Urdu lit. Knighted in 1922.

Mustafa Kemal: in office 1923 – 1938, was an Ottoman and Turkish Amry officer. First  president of Turkey. Revolutionist. Founded the republic of Turkey. Surname means “Father of the Turks” is forbidden to be used by anyone else.

Myth: a scared narrative explaining how the world and mankind came to be in its present  form.

Nation of Islam: syncretic new religious movement. Founder in Detroit by Wallace. D.  Muhammad in July 1930. The goals are to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and  economic condition of African Americans. Accused of being black supermicist, and anti semetic.

Nebuchadnezzar: 1126­1103 BC, was the fourth king of the Second Dynasty of Isin and  Fourth Dynasty of Babylon. Noted for his victory over Elam, and the recovery of the cultic  idol of Marduk.

Nestorius: the archbishop of Constantinople, rejects the title for the Virgin Mary “Mother of  God”. Did not believe that Christ was truly God. Accused of Heresy. His ideas were not far  from those that eventually emerged as orthodox.

Nicea: a Hellenic city in northwest Antolia, known as the location of the first and second  councils of Nicea, capital city.

Nicene Creed: profession of faith. Formed Nicene Christianity. Always was sung or recited. 95 Theses: Written by Martin Luther in Germany, regarded as the initial catalyst of  protestant reformation.

Occultation: A word used in astronomy, when an object is hidden by another object  passing between it and the observer.

Orthodox Judaism: a religious approach to Judaism which adheres to the teachings of the  Torah.

Orthodox Christianity: use the greek word ortho­doxa meaning “correct belief”, used to  express their belief to have an unbroken connection to the faith, doctrine, and practices of  the ancient Christian Church. Eastern and Oriental.

Ottoman Empire: historically referred to as the Turkish Empire. Founded by Turkish Tribes  in Anatolia in 1299. Gone in 1924.

Persians: people of Persia. Persian speaking. Iranic people. Current day Iran. Pesach: also known as Passover, biblically derived Jewish festival, Pilgrimage to the  Temple in Jerusalem. Celebrate the liberation of the Jews from ancient Egypt 3300 years  ago.

Pharisees: a school of thought, a political party. 140­37 BCE in the wake of the Macabee  revolt. Conflicts between them and John the Baptist. After the destruction of the second  temple, they are believed to be Rabbinic Judaism. Believed in the literal resurrection of the  body, were monotheist.

Pope: is the Bishop of Rome. Leader of the World Wide Catholic church. Successor of  Saint Peter. Called the “Holy See”.

Priest: a person authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion especially as a  mediatory agent between humans and one or multiple deities.

Prophet: an individual who has been contacted by the supernatural or the divine. Delivers  this new knowledge to Humanity. Advocate.

Prophecy: the process in which one or more messages have been communicated to the  prophet, then communicated to others. Messages involve divine inspiration, interpretation or the revelation of conditions to come.

Protestants: follows or Protestantism, one of the major divisions of Christianity. Deny the  universal authority of the pope. Affirm the reformation principles by faith alone. Originated  from Martin Luther’s 95 theses.

Qur’an: literally meaning the recitation. Believed to the verbatim word of god. Revealed by  Gabriel to Muhammad in the cave of Hira.

Quraysh: a powerful, merchant tribe that controlled Mecca and its Kaaba. Rabbi: derived from the Hebrew word “My Master”, a teacher of the Torah. 

Jewish Scriptures, Beliefs, Theoloy Summary 

­ Jewish religious thought is commitment to monotheism.

­ The religion of Abraham and the ancestors of Israel was not monotheistic, but a distinctive practice. ­ Stories of Prophet Elijah(the guardian of the covenant), highlight the struggle between allegiance to  Yahweh and worship of Ba’al, god of the land.

­ Ba’al was in charge of life giving and rain.

­ Yahweh is the one god, the creater and director of all

­ Marduk: god Babylon

­ Devout jews recite the Shema daily “Hear O Isreal”.

­ Unity of god is fundamental in Jewish theological assertion.

­ Shema means that god is not many, all if reality is a unified order, one universal law of righteousness  ­ Jews do not accept the Christian idea that god is triune, father , son and spirit.

­ God purely in Godself is En Sof, absolute and without limit.

­ God manifested in ten emanations known as the sefirot because he cannot reveal his true nature ­ God is transcendent, far above and beyond the created world. IN total contrast to everything that has  been created in time and space. Eternal, no beginning or end, no limitations.

­ God is imminent, near and present to all creatures.

­ Evil can be the result of a previous sin of an individual or community. Discipline or testing from god. ­ God created the world from a dark watery chaos and by divine command made it s agood purposeful  world.

­ Role of humans is to serve the creator and fulfill God’s will in the world.

­ Jewish belief elevates humans to a little less than god, cared for and lobved by God, given great  responsibility of being masters over all of God’s Creatures.

­ Humans are to serve god, but at the same time are partners with god in preserving of creation. ­ Animals are to be respected and treated fairly and humanely.

­ No worshipping idols, murder, adultery and incent, eat limb torn from living animal, blaspheme, steal ­ Human sin is called averah, Jewish traditions have no delusions about human nature to sin ­ Sin is any act or attitude whether of omission or commission which nullified God’s will, obscures his glory, 

profanes his name opposes his kingdom or transgresses the mitzvoth ( Commandments) ­ Yetzer hatov: the good inclination, and yetzer hara, the evil inclination.

­ Evil inclination is essential in providing motivating power of life.

­ Jewish tradition has the view that life is a continuing struggle to control the evil inclination. ­ Jews believe that humans have free choice and the ability to avoid Satan.

­ Jewish beliefs that some punishment for sin can be in this life or the final punishment in the life to come. ­ God not only the creator but also the redeemer who forgives and restores and thus makes it possible for  humans to turn back to the life god intended.

­ God redeems and saves by being God for humans that is god continually searches and calls for humans ­ God delivered them from Egypt, , brought them to the holy mountain, and entered into a covenant with  them, gave them the torah and led them to the promise land.

­ The initiative to seek god must come from humans.

­ Teshuvah, Hebrew word for repentance means to turn around, make a complete change in life. ­ Repentance involves 4 seps, the readiness to acknowledge an wrongdoing, act of compensation, genuine resolve, praying for forgiveness.

­ Yom Kippur set aside for repentance, day of atonement

­ Mitzvoth: commandments which god has given through the Torah.

­ Halakhah is a the way the code of life is spelled out in the Talmund and how the mitzvots apply to life. ­ Jews have never felt that it was their mission to bring people into Judaism

­ The righteous will be rewarded in Gan Eden ( Paradise )

Jewish Praxis, Holy Days, Culture Summary  

­ Mitzvoth commandments deal with both ritual actions and ethical behavior.

­ Halakhah, the path or code, that provides the blueprint for everything about life from cradle to grave. ­ Sabbath the only festival prescribed in the ten commandments, it is a supreme symbol of the covenant  relationship with god.

­ God rested on the 7th day after finishing the creation >> Sabbath

­ Reminder of the deliverance from slavery in Egypt.  >> Sabbath

­ Rejoicing with god in creation, celebrating freedom in human society.  >> Sabbath. ­ Special Sabbath prayer is called Kiddush, said over a glass of wine.

­ Rosh Hashanah – New year, on the first of Tishri, early Autumn.

­ Everything a person does is recorded in God’s books and these are opened for examinations at the  beginning of the new year, weighed and judged and a verdict inscribed.

­ Rosh Hashanah has a special ritual blowing of the shofar, the ram’s horn, during a service. ­ Ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are days of repentance

­ Yom Kippur: day of atonement, called the Sabbath of Sabbaths.

­ Evening service for Yom Kippur Kol Nidre prayer. During this day Jews confess sings and ask for  forgivness. Conluding Service is called Neilah referring to the closing of the gates of heaven. Concludes  with a final blast of the Shofar.

­ Sukot – the festival of booths, 5 days after yom kippur, 15th of Tishri, Lasts for seven days during which  jews build a hut (sukkah) and make it their home.  Festival of ingathering of harvest, ritual use of citron,  palm branches, myrtle and willow. The hut reminds jews of wandering in the wilderness.

­ Follow Sukkot there’s a celebration of Simhat Torah, on this day the annual reading cycle of the Torah is  complete. Followed by reading opening verses of the Torah.

­ Hannukkah: the feast of lights, eight day festival, recalls the victory of Maccabbeus and the Jews of the  Selecuids in 165 BCE. Lighting of the Menorah, letting it burn for eight days.

­ Prium: coming in early spring, talks about Mordecai and his grandniece Esther risking their lives to save  their people from the Persians.

­ Pesach (Passover) celebrates Israel’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt. “festival of our freedom” ­ Passover also symbolizes the deliverance of all nature from the bondage of winter. Preparing involves  cleaning and purifying the house, only Matzah ( unleavened bread )a nd other unleavened food can be  eaten for the 7 day festival due to the Israelites fleeing in haste from Egypt.

­ Passover ritual meal called seder ( order ) celebrated in evening of the first two days. ­ Haggadah ( story) is a written guide for the seder.

­ Seder includes 4 cups of wine, a special cup for Elijah , salt water to remember tears, drops of wine split  in sorrow, and 4 questions to be asked of the youngest child present.

­ Shavuot: the festival of Weeks (Pentecost) , final festive, sevens weeks after Passover, celebration of  abundant spring harvest. It remembers especially the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai. ­ Yom Hashoah – holocaust memorial day.

­ Duty of worshipping god is at the heart of the Jewish Tradition.

­ For festival worship many wear a tallith (prayer shawl) , jewish men may also were tefillin, small black  boxes that contain words of the Torah.

­ Important prayers are the 18 benedictions, said in the morning, noon and evening prayers. Have to do  with repentance, redemption, healing and blessing.

­ The act of studying the Torah is also an important ritual for jews.

­ Women are generally exempt from Torah studying obligations for the reason that their role as the  homemaker does not allow them time.

­ Kashrut ( ritual fitness) – kosher food, all vegetables and fruits are permissible, no horses, pigs or birds of  pray.

­ Must be killed in shochet ( ritual slaughter)

­ Meat and dairy products can’t be prepared or eaten together.

­ Covenant between god and Israel is circumsicion, brit milah, done on the 8th day after birth. ­ Passage into puberty is the Bar Mitzvah ( son of the commandment ) , young Jewish boy is expected to  progress in studying the Torah. Bat Mitzvah for girls.

­ Sacred duty of marriage is spelled out in the Talmund. One who remains unmarried impairs the divine  image.

­ Marriage ritual performed under huppah (canopy) . Blessings over two goblets of wine. ­ Death: members sit with dying person reciting the Shema.

­ Shivah: period of mourning for seven days. Body is to be wrapped in white shrouds before burial. ­ Jewish law prohibits suicide or any action that might harm or desecrate someone’s body. ­ Cremation is prohibited.

­ Kelal yisrael – the total community of Israel.

­ People are jewish either by birth or conversion, one who is born Jewish can never ben deprived of that  identity even if he/she abandons jewish practices.

­ Biblical laws segregate women from men in synagogues.

­ Halakhah designates that code of laws that prescribe how a Jew should live every aspect of life. Means  “way” , drawn from the Torah and Talmund.

­ All actions should be infused with awareness of the presence of God.

­ Halakhah not a burden but a great gift from god.

­ It is a mitzvah to get married. One should not over indulge in food, drink and have lack of cleanliness. ­ Tzedakah – important principle of charity. Giving to those in need.

­ God chose Israel but Israel chose to be chosen. Higher responsibility and higher standards are expected  of the Jewish people compared to others.

­ The important mitzvah of pursuing peace (shalom) is extended to conflict and warfare between people  and nations. 

Christianity Scriptures, Beliefs, Theology Summary 

­ For Christians the way to know god is through the revelation in Jesus Christ. God’s divine face is shown  for all to see.

­ God’s eternal brilliance is reflected in the “image” of god, Jesus Christ.

­ Jesus favorite term for god was “Abba”

­ God is involved in human existence to make sure that mercy is what wins out of the dirt and grime. ­ Christians see god as the loving father and mother wanting to create humans in order to show them love. ­ Christian’s see the suffering of Jesus as god’s way of becoming the “friend of sinners”. ­ Christians: God was incarnated in Jesus, became flesh and dwelt amongst us. ­ Trinity: god is one god in three persons. Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

­ Nicenene creed guide Christians to understanding god’s triune nature.

­ Creation account: God created the universe, determined it all to be good, and placed humans as the  crown of creation to play as god’s representatives within this good world.

­ God created the first human from dust of the ground and breathed spirit into him. ­ Jesus: loving god, one’s self and neighbor sums up all the law.

­ God gives the world not only its existence but also its value

­ Christians emphasize the sinfulness of human nature more forcefully than Jews or Muslims. ­ Christians view the story of adam and eve as the story of all humans. Inevitable human sin. ­ Originating sin is due to the fall from heaven to earth.

­ The belief that the only way to fix originating sin is to get help from God.

­ Death is not the end of human existence. Humans enslaved by sin, saved by Jesus Christ. ­ Recognizing sinfulness it the first step in turning toward the redemption that comes from God. ­ Pattern of atonement reaches its fulfillment in Jesus Christ atoninig for the sins of all humankind by his 

sacrifice on the cross. His atonement returning the loving relationship between humans and god. ­ Muslims and Jews are against the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ.

­ Soteriology: the belief in salvation through Jesus Christ. Experience the love of God through Jesus Christ. ­ Arius was teaching that Jesus was actually human created to be god’s son and savior of the world. ­ Docetists: taught that Jesus Christ was fully god but just seemed to be human. ­ Faith is saying yes to God’s love, and accepting the divine promise. Christians calls this justification by  faith.

­ Baptism is an important ritual for Christians symbolizes the inclusion of the new person in the family of  god. Removes a person’s sinful nature and the person is born again.

­ Sharing in the Eucharist Lord’s Supper is a concrete experience of being united with Christ through this  sacred meal.

­ Christians believe throughout a person’s life they will be sinful and redeemed humans. ­ Christ speaks of sanctification: making holy of our lives.

­ Resurrection, judgment day, and eternal life in heaven. Heaven last image of Salvation. 

Christianity Praxis, Holy Days, CultureSummary 

­ Christians live based on the teachings of Jesus Christ.

­ Earliest practices are the Sunday service of prayer and Eucharist

­ Canon law: governs the conduct of public worship.

­ Liturgical: place a good deal of emphasis on the traditional liturgy ( order of public worship) and properly  ordained clergy.

­ Non Liturgical : emphasize a free and spontaneous approach to prayer, reading the bible, testifying to  faith and exhorting others in worship together.

­ Liturgical denominations: Roman Catholic, orthodox, angelica and Luther churches. ­ Non liturgical: Baptists, Quakers and free evangelical churches.

­ Sunday Worship: Communal worship, Sunday is the day of Christ’s resurrection, consists of Liturgy of the word and liturgy of the Eucharist. Begins with a call to worship, communal confession of sins, hymns and  prayers.

­ Liturgy of word: reading of the Old Testament, gospels, and Epistles.

­ Non liturgical churches have more emphasis on reading the bible, preaching, songs and prayer.  ­ Sacraments: the Eucharist is considered by many to be a sacrament, a sacred ritual. ­ Ceremonies called sacraments include baptism, the lord’s supper, confession, forgiveness and anointing  the sick., confirmation, marriage, and ordination of clergy.

­ Eucharist: Roman Catholid believe in transubstantiation, where the bread and wine change into the body  and blood of Christ. Radical reformers like Zwingli held that the bread and wine only symbolize christ’s  body and blood.

­ Lent and Easter: celebrate the events of christ’s entry into Jerusalem, last supper, crucifixion and  entombment. 

­ Ash Wednesday: putting ashes on forehead, Lent is devoted to special disciplines of prayer, repentance.  Fasting and voluntarily giving up certain pleasures.

­ Maundy Thursday: celebrates Christ’s last supper with his disciples when he used the bread and wine of  the Passover.

­ Sunday morning is to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Continues for the next 6 weeks ­ Nativity celebrated on January 6th , Advent is observed 4 weeks before Christmas, Epiphany for some  weeks after Christmas. Celebrates God’s love in the incarnation of Christ.

­ Advent celebrates events from Christ’s life.

­ Epiphany has becomes associated with the story of the wise men from the east coming to Bethlehem to  present gifts to the newborn king.

­ Pentecost: celebrates god giving the spirit to give guidance to the church.

­ Short services throughout the day: prime, matins, lauds, terce, sext, none, vespers and compline. ­ Confession is a sacrament.

­ Initiation into the Christian community is baptism. Used water to symbolize cleansing.  Through this ritual  the child is born again having participated in the death and resurrection of Christ.

­ Eastern Orthodox churches the infant receives Holy Communion as a full member of the church. ­ Today Christians use prayers, rituals and sacraments for the purpose of healing the sick. ­ Jehova’s witnesses plae restrictions on the practice of modern medicine such as blood transfusions. ­ Controversy about using religious icons in art

­ One does not become Christian by birth, rather by choosing to belong by believing and being baptized.

­ Significant development today are the ecumenical movement in which Christians are trying to make real  the unity of the world

­ Pricilla: prominent women in Christianity.

­ Antinomians ( people against the law) who taught that since Christ abolished the law that Christians are  free to do whatever they want.

­ Jesus identified neighbor as anyone in need, the sick, prisoner, hungry and thirsty strangers. ­ God’s kind of love shown in Christ is agape: unconditional, non discriminatory, self giving love. ­ War: a just cause of defense or protection declared by a lawful authority.

­ Dualist view sees this world as just a preparation for the next with the conclusion that Christians have no  special role . 

Islam Scriptures, Beliefs, Theology Summary 

­ The tawhid, the assertion of the oneness of god.

­ Shahada: there is no god but god and Muhammad is the prophet of god.

­ Allah in Arabic simply means “God”

­ The greatest sin according to the Quran is shirk, associating something else with god, this is the great sin  of polytheism. No divine power rules and directs our lives.

­ Rab al alamin : god of the world. Also called Rabb. Muslim is a “abd” ( worshipper, servant ) ­ Creation: god breathed the spirit into humans providing the breath of life, the animating spirit and humans were created male and female.

­ Khalifa means deputy or representative.

­ Humans differ from all three creatures because of three qualities: intelligence that can discern between  true and false, a will freely to choose, and the power of speech to worship god.

­ Those who achieve completeness by using reason, free will and speech to follow god are perfect. ­ Forgetfulness and negligence is behind human sin and evil doing.

­ Two inclinations given to humans by god: spiritual that directs the intelligence to follow god’s laws and the inclination to fulfill the desires and passions with which God has endowed humans. ­ A person who denies god is called a kafir. Kufr means to cover or conceal.

­ Kafirs become mushriks. Those who associate other things with god, and thus commit the great sin of  denying the unity of God. Use God’s bountiful gifts while denying his existence.

­ Falah – muslim word for felicity.

­ Path of Islam is fundamentally a path of knowledge. Islam means submission to god. ­ Muslim word for faith is iman, leads to the submission to god.

­ Shariah law, is the code of behavior in Islam, same as halakhah.

­ Jihad , spiritual struggle. Continual holy war against unbelievers and evil doers. 

Islam Praxis, Holy Days, Culture Summary 

­ God is rab, muslim is abd, life in service of god is ibadah.

­ Muslim rituals not geared towards the cucles of nature in the seasons of the year. Follows lunar pattern.  12 months, 29­30 days each.

­ Five pillars: confession, prayer, alms, fasting and pilgrimage.

­ Prayer is an expression of praise and submission to god. Muslims also use dua’ ­ Praying in group, one person acts as an imam. It’s important to perform the prayer in harmony. ­ Allahu akbar: god is great, bowing hands on knees saying glory to my lord, in a position of submission  “glory to my lord, the most high”.

­ Close of prayer, blesses the prophet and his family , peace be upon you all fellow Muslims. ­ Friday noon prayer: special sermon called khutba.

­ Alms giving required of Muslims over 16 who can afford it. 2.5 percent general annual rate. Not to be  given to relatives.

­ Fasting: Ramadan >. Time to break bad habits and regain control. Submission to god. One learns  appreciation of the material pleasures.

­ Fasting not permitted to impair one’s health.

­ Hajj – once in a lifetime, must be physically and financially capable, spiritual state called ihram.  Wearing  of special garmnets. No sex, cutting hair, uprooting living things, wearing jewelry etc. ­ Circle the kabah ( tawaf) saying “I am here o god I am here ) , seven time, in a counter clockwise  direction. Pilgrims to reach out and touch the black stone.

­ Running in memory of Hagar and Ishmael, pilgrims run seven times between two hills. Then they drink  from the well of zamzam.

­ On the 8th day everyone moves out into the desert to live in tents, on the ninth day the ritual of standing  ( wuquf)  at the plain of arafat, and the mount of mercy. From noon until sunset.

­ Next comes ritual of stoning and feast of sacrifice.

­ Pilgrims throw 49 pebbles at three stones representing satan .

­ Mawlid al Nabi – twelfth day of the third month.

­ Two eids

­ Muharram is the beginning of the Muslim calendar.  Associated with Hijra. Tenth of muharram is a day  called ashura involves fasting.

­ Shiite attached the martyrdom of imam husayn to this day remembering the battle of karbalah. ­ Birth: 7th day named, and a sacrifice may be performed. Khitan ( circumcision ) is an important purification  ritual.

­ Marriage , bridal gift , mahr, for the bride to keep.

­ Death , prayer is performed around the dead person with the entire service standing. Laid to rest facing  Mecca on the right side of the body.

­ Calligraphy is important in islam to show holy words and passages.

­ Iran Mulas – religious scholars, everywhere else ‘ulama.

­ Muslims have a duty to engage in da’wah, missionary activities directed to converting the world. ­ God’s gift of free will means no coercion or forcing people to accept islam. 

Jewish History 

∙ Synagogue ­ jewish place of worship, means gathering

∙ Bar Kochbah ­ Thid major rebellion agaist roman empire, jews of Judea. Last of wars ∙ Conservative Judaism  ­ traditional jewish practices

∙ Epic of Gilgamesh : mesopatamian flood story

∙ Exodus = salvation journey from egypt to palestine

∙ Reform Judaism  ­ new modernized jew practices

∙ Rabbinic Judaism  ­ mainstream of Judiasm, 

Jewish Scriptures, Beliefs, Theology 

∙ Moses ­ led the Israelites from Egypt to the promise land, away from salvery ∙ Henotheism  ­ worshipping of one god but admitting there are other gods ∙ Tanakh ­ Hewbrew bible consisting of Talmund Nevim , Ketivim,  ∙ Midrash = explanation of the tanakh

∙ Torah ­ laws

∙ Halakhah  =  the way/laws to describe how to practice the mitzvot in daily life ∙ Haggadah = jews stories, used to get laws e.g.the story of exodus ∙ Mishnah ­ written oral torah

∙ Oral Torah  ­ oral torah

∙ Talmund ­ Mishnah + gemarra, babylonion and palestinian 

∙ Shema = like shahada to muslims, jews used to said twice daily for two thousands  years

∙ Mitzvah/Mitzvot = commandments of the covenant for jews

∙ Adonai/Elohim/Yahweh  ­ God

∙ Covenant  ­ an agreement between god and people

∙ Five books of the Torah ­ 

∙ Gemara  ­ mishnah translation 

∙ Ketuvim ­ part of the Tanakh

∙ Nevi'im  ­ part of the Tanakh

∙ Kingdom of God  ­ Israel

Jewish Praxis, Holy Days, Culture 

∙ Sabbath = jew holiday, celebrate the 7th day of creation and rest and celebrating  freedom from egypt,exodus.

∙ Rosh Hashanah = jews celebration for their new year, day of justice, right and  sinners.

∙ Yom Kippur =(the atonment) one of the most holy days for jews, for repentance ∙ Shofar = horn blown in the in ‘Rosh Hashanah’, to arouse the sleeping souls for war  against sins.

∙ Sukkot = jews holiday 5 days after yom kippur, rejoice the Torah. ∙ Hanukkah = jews 8 days of celebration(Fest of light),Judah Maccabeus over  Antiochus Epiphanes.. oil lasted 8 days instead of one in the temple

∙ Purim = jews holiday to celebrate the survival, story of Eshtar, from the persian  Haman.

∙ Passover/Pesach = high points of jews year, “the festival of our freedom” , Israel  salvery from egypt, only allowed to eat bread on that day.

∙ Shavuot  = pentecost, festival of the weeks, final major festival, remembrance of the  covenant and the gift of Torah on Mt.sinai. marriage between god and ppl. ∙ Kipah = jews mens head cap, they wear during prayer 

∙ Tallith = jews prayer shawl

∙ Tefillin = Jewish observant men wear while praying, small black boxes containing  words of the Torah, attached to the head or arms with leather bands.

∙ Kashrut = jewish dietry laws, Torah prohibition of food, horse flesh , pigs and  shellfish. meat and milk can’t be eaten together.

Christianity History 

∙ Book of Mormon

∙ Apostles’ Creed : 

∙ Christotokos ­ bearer of Christ, virgin mary , Greek name

∙ Luther ­ 95 theses, against the roman church, make the protastants. ∙ The Passion = the journey of jesus to jerusalem where he was caught and crucified. ∙ Good Friday  ­ commemorating crucifixation of jesus

∙ LDS = latter day saints, a christian movment, they also a have their churches ∙ Brigham Young = He was the President of The Church of Jesus (LDS Church) 19th cent. ∙ Joseph Smith: founder of the LDS 19th cent.

Christianity Scriptures, Beliefs, Theology 

∙ Jesus ­ Duh

∙ New Testament ­ 

∙ Messiah/Christ ­ saviour

∙ Nicene Creed = explanation of the trinity in 4th and 5th centuries ∙ Baptism ­ Full body immersion in water, can be done at adulthood, naming of the  child. 7 ­ 8 days after birth

∙ Canon ­ a set of religious laws

∙ Disputed Letters of Paul ­ lletteres that scholars do not believe were written by Paul  ∙ Council of Trent  ­ important council, condeming protestant heresey  ∙ Ecumenism ­ initiatives aimed at greater christian unity

∙ Justification by faith  ­ duh

∙ Eucharist ­ Lord’s supper

∙ Immaculate Conception  ­ virgin mary sinless

∙ Gospels ­ stories about jesus

∙ Theotokos ­ Greek name for Mother of Christ, the Virgin Mary. ∙ Mormon Articles of Faith  = LDS

∙ Undisputed Letters of Paul 

∙ Incarnation = embodied in flesh,God incarnation in Christ

∙ Sacraments ­ sacred rituals, Eucharist example

∙ Sola fides ­ faith alone,one  of the the theologies during the protestants reformation ∙ Sola gratia = grace alone

∙ Sola scriptura ­ scripture alone 

Christianity Praxis, Holy Days, Culture 

∙ Epiphany  ­ celebration of god’s revelation as jesus christ

∙ Ash Wednesday ­ putting ash on forhead, used for repentance and fasting ∙ Christmas ­ preparing for the birth of jesus

∙ Feast of Ascension  ­ holy thursday, symbolizes jesus rise to heaven ∙ Lent ­ give up a pleasure for 6 weeks before Easter , and it’s time for repentance ∙ Easter ­ resurrection of jesus christ

∙ Feast of Epiphany ­ just a feast

∙ Pentecost  = celebration of the holy spirit and establishment of the church ∙ Soteriology = the study of the religious doctrines of salvation

Islam History 

∙ Al­Ash‘ari= mutazila theologian, islamic golden age 

∙ Al­Ghazali = ­ second most influential islamic figure after the, prophet brought sufism back into the main stream

∙ Ali­Mohammad 

∙ Anno Hijra = 622 C.E 

∙ Ansars = the ppl who took in the prophet in madina

∙ Bab = religion movement from perisa

∙ ‘Ashura  = 20h of moharram to memorize the battle of karabala ∙ Mecca = duh

∙ Medina = duh

∙ Mughal = empire in 16th cent. muslim

∙ Mu‘tazilites= Islamic school of theology based on reason and rational thought[1] that flourished in the cities of Basra and Baghdad, both in present­day Iraq, during the 8th–10th centuries. ∙ Muhammad ibn Abd alWahhab  ­ established first Saudi state 1792 ∙ Ottoman ­ Duh, Turkish ,

∙ Yathrib ­ name of Medina before Hijra

∙ Zaydis ­ shiite, fivers, school of thought, islam,

∙ Shiat Ali ­ people of ALi

∙ Shaykh Ahmad  ­ persian dude, he claimed that he got word directly form the imam.

Islam Scriptures, Beliefs, Theology 

∙ Five Pillars of Faith= shahada, 9ala,hij,zakat,9yam 

∙ Shari’ah  ­ islamic law, way of life.

∙ Hadith  ­ stories told by the Prophet and his companions 

∙ Fiqh  ­ study of religion

∙ Fatiha ­ the opener of the Quran

∙ Fasting ­ not eating

∙ Fana ­ mortal life

∙ Hajj ­ pilgrimage

∙ Hijab ­ head cover

∙ Ijma = the agreement of the scientists of the umma on the decision ∙ Kab‘ah  ­ built by Abraham and Ishamal. holy site, haj, islam, black stone, mecca ∙ Jihad ­ holy war

∙ Mahdi ­ 12th imam

∙ Mohammad ­ prophet BBUH

∙ Qur’an ­ holy book of islam, muhammad, cave, gabriel

∙ Nabi ­ prophet with scripture 

∙ Rasul ­ messenger

∙ Qiyas  ­ one of the teaching of the hadeeth

∙ Sayyid Kazim = he led the shaykhi movment till his deat, he was mulla told about the coming of the mahdi

∙ Shahadah ­ duh

∙ Shirk ­ denial of the existence of god.

∙ Tawhid = there’s only one God, opposite of shirk.

∙ Sufis ­ inner,mystical dimension of Islam 

∙ Averoes= aka ibn rushud, 12 cent. master of philosophy 

∙ Avicenna = aka ibn seena,11th cent. philosophy and medicine

Islam Praxis, Holy Days, Culture 

∙ Jum‘ah ­ friday prayers

∙ Eid al­adha ­ duh 

∙ Eid al­fitr ­ duh 

∙ Muharram ­ 1st month of islamic lunar cycle

∙ Ramadan ­ duh 

∙ Sawm  ­ duh

∙ Salat  ­ duh 

∙ Raka’ah ­ duh 

∙ Wudu  ­ ceremonial cleansing before prayer, heads, ears, eyes, nose, arms, feet,  back of neck

∙ Zakat ­ Alms , money giving, annual islamic tax

∙ masjid ­ Double duh

∙ Muezzin ­ ghadieh’s way of saying muethin 

∙ Mihrab  ­ hole in the wall

∙ Minbar ­ pedestal for kitbah

∙ Sura ­ a division of the quran

∙ Stoning of the Jamarat  ­ haj, 49 stones at 3 pillars representing

NOT RELIGION SPECIFIC

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ ∙ Polygamy ­ marrying more than one girl, islam, men allowed, women are not

∙ People of the Book  ­ jews, christians, muslims

∙ Prayer 

∙ Myth 

∙ Orthodoxy = by doctrine and believe, christianity

∙ Orthopraxy  = by practice, doing activities over conduct, islam and judism ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ UNDEFINED WORDS:

∙ Acts 

∙ Advent = holiday for chris. preparation of the celebration nativity of the jesus  ∙ Anselm = saint of canterbury, responsible for the theory about the existence of god  and the satisfaction theory of atonement. 

∙ Apocalypse ­ Pretty clear what it is :P 

∙ Aquinas = saint in 13cent. 

∙ Aquinas’ Proofs = 5 proof’s about the existence of god 

∙ Asia Minor = perisa, turkey and iraq maybe sham as well.

∙ Augustine = : A father of the church whose writings are considered very influential in  Christian philosophy. He was a Bishop of Hippo. 

∙

∙ Brit milah =covenant of circumcision  

∙ Calvin = calvinism, reformation christians broke with the catholic church ∙ Consubstantiation = theological doctrine attempts to describe the nature of the  christian Eucharist.

∙ Deutero­Pauline Letters  = ppl think the disputed letter od paul where written by this  guy, they represent the value of the women in the catholic church

∙ Documentary Hypothesis 

∙ Enlightenment  ­ duh

∙ Epispasm ­ Foreskin restoration, jews under greek rule, breaks covenant with go,  opposite of circumcision

∙ Eschatology: The department of theological science concerned with ‘the four last things: death,  judgement,heaven and hell’ 

∙ Faqir: Muslim ethnic groupfound in India. 

∙ Filioque clause : and the son , a phrase included in the nicene creed ∙ Guide for the Perplexed: relationship between philosophy and religion, written by  MAY MOON 

∙ Immanuel Kant  ­ german philosopher 

∙ Intercalary month ­ insertion of a leap day to match things with lunar calenders.  ∙ Job: 

∙ Kaballah :  Jewish school of thought 

∙ Kirland  ­ cant find

∙ Liturgy  ­ public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions. 

∙ Manicheism 

∙ Maundy Thursday: celebrates Christ’s last supper with his disciples when he used  the bread and wine of the

∙ Moroni 

∙ Moses Maimonides  ­ jewish scholar

∙ Moses Mendelssohn = german jewish philosopher,father of reform jew, whose ideas  the jewish enlightenment in 18th and 19th cent. 

∙ Mountain Meadows Massacre : LDS and Mormone attacked a train in south Utah  19th century

∙ Nauvoo  : a place of gathering for LDS

∙ Occultation : An occultation is an event that occurs when one object is hidden by another  object that passes between it and the observer. 

∙ Ontological argument : An ontological argument is any one of a category of arguments for  the existence of God appearing mainly in Christian theology 

∙ Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter ∙ Q ...

∙ Rabbi Judah Ha­Nasi = editor of the Mishnah in its final form. He is referred to as  “Rebbi,”

∙ Rashi  ­ delicious food =haha very funny ­_­

∙ Rumi  ­ wrote on the right side of the Gemarrah

∙ Safavid = dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynsaties of iran 16th to18th Cent 

∙ Seven Commandments of the Children of Noah ­ basically like 10 commandments ∙ Shabbatai Zvi ­ claimed to be the long awaited jewish messiah ∙ Sheol ­ garment used during haj ?????

∙ Simhat Torah :is a celebration marking the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah  readings,  

∙ Synoptic Gospels  ­ mathew, mark and luke, called this because they include many  similar stories

∙ Tanjakh : head thing

∙ Theodicy an attempt to resolve the evidential problem of evil by reconciling the traditional divine  characteristics of omnibenevolence,omnipotence, and omniscience with the occurrence of evil or  suffering in the world. 

∙ Tisha B’Av :  is an annual fast day in Judaism, named for the ninth day (Tisha)  ∙ Transubstantiation : replacing wine and bread, for jesus body and blood.  ∙ Ulama’ = educated class of muslim legal scholars 

∙ Ulrich Zwingli : held that the bread and wine only symbolize christ’s body and blood  ∙ Universal House of Justice : duh 

∙ Yarmulke: jew cap 

Abbasaid Empire: Created in 750 of the Christian Era, named after Muhammad’s youngest uncle, Abbas ibn Abd Al­Muttalib. Changed the capital to Madinat al­Salam (City of Peace).  Mongols conquered it and it destabilised in 1258.

Abu Bakr: Father in law of Muhammad, rules from 632 to 634. A rightly first guided caliph. Abu Talib: Leader of the Hashim, Quresh clan, Muhammad’s uncle, 549 – 619. Allowed  Muhammad a job in his trading company.

Abraham: Father of Isaac, ancestor of the Jews, and Ishmael, ancestor of the Muslims.  Commanded by God to purify his house in Mecca. God calls him to leave his land to look for the promised land. No clear birthplace, placed at about the second millennium BCE. Acculturation: Describes the process of cultural and psychological change that occurs as  two cultures meet.

Aisha: Called mother of believers, one of the wives of Muhammad, married at 9 years old.  Continued his message throughout the rain of the Caliphs. Led a battle on her camel and  lost.

Al Baqir: The 5th and 4th imam, Revered by Shia Muslims and respected by Sunni Muslims  for his knowledge and Islamic knowledge, leading jurist in Medina. 676 – 733 Al Ghazali: Muslim theologian, jurist, philosopher, and mystic of Persian decent. Single  most influential Muslim after the prophet. Brought Sufism back into the orthodox Muslim  path. Lived when the Muslim Ummah was approaching 500 years.

Ali: Cousin and son in law of the prophet. Chosen as the 4th caliph, assassinated, leadership disputed. His sons were both assassinated, and that started the faction the Shi’ites. Reign  from 656 – 661

Angelican: a tradition within Christianity comprising of the Church of England. Comes from  a Latin term meaning English Church. Founded by scriptures, and the traditions of the  Aposolitic Church. 

Antiochus Epiphanes IV: Ruled the Seleucid empire from 175 BC – 164 BC. Son of  Antiochus III The Great. Near conquest of Egypt started the rebellion of the Jewish  Maccabees. First king to use divine epithets on coins.

Apostles: After his resurrection Jesus sent 11 of them to spread his teachings. Resulted in  the Canon, accepted sacred writings of the New Testament, the Apostle’s creed, and the  structure of clergy leadership.

Archbishop of Canterbury: The senior bishop of the Church of England, symbolic head  worldwide of the Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Canterbury. Arius: Christian priest in Alexandria, Egypt.  He was of Libyan origins. Taught about the  nature of the God Heads which emphasize a father’s divinity over that of his son. Primary  topic of Council of Nicea, convened by Constantine in 325 AD.

Asia Minor: Modern turkey, denotes the westernmost protrusion of Asia. Ashkenazi: trace origins back to the tribe of Israelites of Canaan in the middle east. Names comes from Ashkenaz, the first son of Gomer.

Assyrians: People from Assyria, a Semitic Akkadian kingdom position on the north Tigris  river. Late 25th to early 24th century BC. Came to rule a number of powerful empires. Athanasius: 20th bishop of Alexandria , lasted for 45 years, a renowned Christian  theologian , exiled for 17 years by 5 different roman emperors. Remembered for his role in  the conflict with Arius.

Augustine: A father of the church whose writings are considered very influential in Christian philosophy. He was a Bishop of Hippo.

Ayatollah Khomeini: Iranian religious leader and politician, leader of the 1979 Iranian  revolution. Supreme leader of Iran til death.

Benedict XVI: Leader of the catholic church, pope and sovereign of the Vatican between  2005 and 2013.

Baal : northwest Semitic title meaning “master” or “lord”

Asherah: Semitic mother goddess appearing in ancient sources of Akkadian writings. Baal Shem Tov: a mystical rabbi considered to be the founder of Hasidic Judaism. Name  meaning Master of the Good Name.

Battle of Badr: Fought 623 CE in the Hejaz region of Arabia. Decisive victory due to divine  intervention. Killed several Quraishi leaders by breaking the Meccan lines. Signalled that  there’s a new power in the Arabian Peninsula. Strengthening Muhammad’s position as  leader.

Battle of Karbalah: 61 AH, in Karbalah, present day Iraq. Hussein refused to recognize  Yazid, a small group of Hussein supporters versus an army detachment of Yazid fought  ending in Hussein’s death. Considered a Martyr for Shi’ite islam.

Battle of Sifin: 657 CE. Occurred during the first Fitna. Fought on the banks of the  Euphrates river, in what is now Syria. The battle was indecisive,  weakened Ali’s position  and did not resolve the tensions in the empire.

Battle of Uhud: Fought in 625 AH fought at the valley located in front of mount Uhud in  northwestern Arabia. Between Muhammad’s Medina and ibn Harb of Mecca. The second  battle between the muslims and meccans. A mistake by the archers almost caused the  Muslims the battle causing them to retreat up the mountain, Meccan’s declared victory.  Muhammad badly injured in the battle. 

Babs: a religious movement from Persia from 1844 to 1852 , title means gates. Babylonians: Ancient Akkadian speaking Semitic nation based in current day Iraq. 1894  BC emergence . Rival state of Assyria.

Bar Kochba Revolt: Third major revolt of the Jews against Roman Empire. Last of Jewish Roman Wars. Simon Bar Kochba was commander. 132 – 136 CE, the Roman victory saw  the banning of Jews from Jerusalem. Aftermath of the war differentiated Christianity from  Judaism as a distinct religion. 

Caliph: Ruler of the Islamic Ummah, head of state of a Caliphate, derived from word  meaning successor or representative.

John Calvin: A French theologian and pastor during the Protestant reformation. He was a  principle figure in development of Calvinism.  He was influenced by Augestinian traditions.  Led him to expand sovereignty of god in looking for human salvation from eternal  damnation

Canaan: a Semitic speaking religion in current day Israel, Palestine and Lebanon. 4th millennium BC. Canaanite nations of the bronze and iron ages are mention in the bible. Chalcedon: ancient maritime town in Asia. Now distinct city of Istanbul. Greek name  meaning “New Town”.

Christotokos: Greek title of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Means Christ­bearer.

Circumcision: Surgical removal of the foreskin of the penis. Taken up by jews as a  physical sign of their covenant with god.

Conservative Judaism: Arose in the early 1900, modern stream of Ashkenazi Judaism.  Developed as a reaction to more liberal views taken by reformed Judaism. Means that Jews should try to conserve Jewish tradition rather than abandon then. 

Constantine: Roman emperor from 306 to 337, first Roman emperor to be converted to  Christianity. Tolerance for all religions  in empire.

Constantinople: Founded in 330 AD, it was the capital city of the Eastern Roman Empire,  Latin and Ottoman empire.

Covenant : an alliance or agreement, between God and humanity or religious communities. Abrahamic religions.

Crucifixion: painful method of execution, tied or nailed to a cross, left to hang until dead.  Abolished by Constantine I in 337.

Crusades: Religiously motivated military campaigns to restore Christianity to holy areas  near Jerusalem. Ordered by pope Urban II , conducted between 1095 and 1291 against  muslims in the Levant.

Cyrus: Founder of the Achaemenid empire. Eventually conquered most of Southwest Asia.  He respected the religions and customs of the lands that he conquered. Recognized for his  achievements in human rights, politics and military strategy. Defined national identity of  Iran.

Cyril: Christian missionary born in the 9th century among the Slavic People. Devised the  Glagolitic alphabet, writing Apostles to the Slavs which contributed to the cultural  development of the Slavs. Pope John Paul II declared him co­patron saint of Europe. Damascus: nicknamed City of Jasmine, Capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 – 750.  First settled in the second millennium BC.

Dar al­Harb: House of war.  House of the west. A country where muslim law is not in force  in the matter of worship.

David: Second king of the United Kingdom of Israel. An ancestor of Jesus. Considered to  be a prophet and king of a nation. Righteous.

Dead Sea: historically a place of Refuge for King David. It is a salt lake bordering Jordan to  the East and Israel to the West.

Dhikr: The remembrance of god. Islamic devotional act typically involving the recitation of  the Names of God. Silent Prayer.

Diet of Worms: an imperial diet, or assembly, of the Holy Roman Empire held in Worms,  Germany. January to May 1521. Effects of Protestant reformations.

Diaspora Judaism: the historical dispersion of Jews from the Kingdom of Judah. Began in  the 6th century BCE due to conquest of the Kingdom by Babylon and the destruction of the  first temple. Three groups of Jews, Babylon, Egypt, Judaea.

Divided Monarchy: The split of the United kingdom into Israel in the North and Judah in  the south. 921 BCE.

Docetism: the doctrine according to which the phenomenon of Christ, was just mere  semblance without true reality.

Dome of the Rock: A shrine located on the temple mount in the old city of Jerusalem.  Completed in 291 CE, it’s been refurbished multiple times. Religious significance is due to  the rock at the centre, known as the foundation stone.

Ecumenism: initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or co­operation. Single church.  Derived from Greek, “The whole inhabited word”. Used for reference to the Roman Empire. Edict of Milan: Constantine I and Licinius, controlling the Roman Empire and the Balkans  met in Milan and agreed to treat Christians benevolently.

Elijah Muhammad: The African­ American religious leader who led the nation of Islam  between 1934  until 1975.

Episcopalians: Members of the Anglican church use this word meaning having bishops in  their name.

Excommunication: religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a  religious community. Like in the Catholic church.

Exodus: Story of the enslavement of the Israelites in Egypt following the death of Joseph,  their departure under the leadership of Moses, the revelations at Sinai, and their  wanderings up to the borders of Canaan.

Ezra: Ezra the Scribe, He returned from Babylonian exile and reintroduced the Torah in  Jerusalem. His name means “God Help”.

Fana: A Sufi term for dissolution or annihilation of the self. A state of enlightenment,  intrinsic unity between Allah and all that exists.

Fatima: A title for the virgin Mary due to her reputed apparitions to three shepherd children  at Fatima, Portugal on the 13th day of six consecutive months in 1917. Filioque:  Latin for “and the Son”, used in Western Christian Churches, found in Nicene  Creed.

Ali ibn Abu Talib: The beloved, 600­661, first Imam, rightful successor of the prophet Hasan ibn Ali:  The chosen, 624­670, eldest surviving grandson of Muhammad through  Muhammad’s daughter Fatima

Husayn ibn Ali: Master of the Martyrs, 626 – 680, grandson of Muhammad and brother of  Hasan ibn Ali. Opposed Caliph Yazid.

Ali ibn Husayn: One who constantly prostrates ornaments of the worshippers, 658­712.  Author of prayers in Shahifa al sajjadiyya.

Solomon’s Temple: holy temple in ancient Jerusalem on the Temple Mount Zion.  Destroyed during siege of Jerusalem in 587 BCE.

Fivers: Shi’a muslims, who disagree with the majority of Shi’a on the identity of the fifth  imam.

Four Gospels: 4 accounts of the life of Jesus. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Galilee: A large region in Northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative  North District and Haifa District.

Gemarrah: rabbinic teaching and discussion that went on in Babylon. Further teachings on  the Mishnah known collectively as Gemarrah.

Genghis Khan: United nomadic tribes of northeast Asia forming the Mongol Empire.  Started Mongol invasions.

Golden Age of Islam: A historical period that began in the mid­8th century and lasted until  the Mongol conquest of Baghdad. During this time the Arab world became an intellectual 

centre for science, philosophy, medicine, and education. House of Wisdom in Baghdad.  Muslim and non­Muslim scholars sought to translate and gather the entire world’s  knowledge into Arabic.

Hagar: Meaning uncertain is a biblical person in the Book of Genesis. Egyptian handmaid  of Sarah who gave her to Abram to bear child.

Hanif: refers to one who maintained the pure monotheistic beliefs of the patriarch Ibrahim.  Rejected idolatry and retained religion.

Henotheism: Belief and worship of a single god while accepting the existence of other  deities that may be worshipped.

Heresy: any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs.  In alliance with the religions symbol of evil.

Hellenism:  any of the various beliefs and practices of people who lived under the influence of ancient Greek culture during the Hellenistic period of the roman empire. 300 BCE and  300 CE.

Hijra: the migration or journey of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina. June 21st and July 2nd in 622 AD.

Holocaust: mass murder and genocide of approximately 6 million Jews during the second  world war under Hitler’s Nazi Germany.

Homoousion: From the greek word meaning “same”, theological term used in discussion of Christian understanding of God as Trinity.

Homoiousion: Christological doctrine formulated at the first ecumenical council to affirm,  that god, son and the father are same substance

Iconoclast: destruction of religious symbols, established dogma or conventions. Iconodule: A supporter, or someone who is in favor of religious images or icons and their  veneration. Against use of religious images.

Imam: an Islamic leadership position. A worship leader of a mosque or muslim community.  Scholar.

Immaculate Conception: A dogma, stating that when the virgin Mary was in the Womb she was kept free of original sin and was filled with sanctifying grace usually not received until  baptism. Sainte Anne is her mother.

Interior Castle: was written by Saint Teresa of Avila, 1577 as a guide for spiritual  development through service and development. Practical “blueprints” for seekers who want  to understand prayer as mystical union with God.

Irenaeus: 202 CE, saint, Bishop of Lugdunum, early church father, apologist, his writings  helped development of Christian Theology.  Recognized as a saint. Feast day June 28th in  Roman Catholic Calendar.

Isaac: only son that Abraham had with his wife Sarah. Father of Jacob and Esau, one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites. Abraham was 100 years old when Isaac was born, Sarah  beyond childbearing years. Did not leave Canaan.

Ishmael: Abraham’s first son with Sarah’s handmaiden Hagar.

Ishmaelites: Descendants of Ishmael, elder son of Abraham.

Ismaili Shia: A branch of Shia Islam, also known as Seveners. Got their name from their  acceptance of Ismail ibn Jafar who was appointed as the spiritual leader. See Muhammad  as the final prophet and Messenger of God to all humanity.

Israelites: a Semitic­hebrew speaking people of the ancient Near East. Evolved into Jews  and Samaritans of the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Israelite derived from the Hebrew  word Yisrael.

Jacob: known as heel or leg­puller, renamed Israel by God meaning “God Contended”. Son of Isaac and Rebakah. Wrestles with angels.

Jahiliyya: Islamic concept of ignorance of divine guidance, or state of ignorance of the  guidance of God. Condition of pre­Islamic Arabia.

Jewish Christian: original members of the Jewish Reform movement later became  Christianity. Jews who accepted Jesus as the Messiah and thus equivalent to all Christians. Confession of Jesus as Christ, but still adhered to Jewish practices. New Testament. Jewish War: Sometimes called the Great Revolt, 66­73 CE. First of three major rebellions  by the Jews of Judaea province against the Roman Empire. Due to anti­taxation protests. Jordan River: 251 km long river in West Asia that flows to the dead sea. Jesus was  baptised in the River Jordan by John the Baptist.

Joshua: a figure in the Torah, one of the spies of Israel, moses assistant. Book of Joshua.  Leader of the Israelite tribes after the death of Moses. Name was Hoshe’a, the son of Nun.  Born in Egypt. Explored land of Canaan.

Judah: State in Southern Levant during the Iron Age. Southern kingdom vs the northern  kingdom of Israel. 9th century BCE. Jerusalem was the capital. Co­operative agreement with  the Assyrians.

Judah Halevi: Spanish­ jewish physician , 1075­1141, one of the greatest Hebrew poets. Kabah: The cube, the sacred house, it is one of the most sacred sites in Islam. Kabbalah: esoteric method, discipline and school of though meant to explain the  relationship between the eternal and mortal. Judaism  related.

Khadija: first wife of the Muhammad. Belonged to the Clan Banu Quraish. Regarded as  mother of Islam. Daughters married Caliphs.

Kharijites: Emerged in the late 7th century. Concentrated in Today’s southern Iraq. Means  “those who went out”. Rejected leadership.

Kristallnacht: referred to as the night of Broken Glass. Attacks against Jews on 9­10  November 1938.

Labarum: A military standard that displayed the first two greek letters of the word Christ.  Symbolizes the crucifixion of Christ.

LXX: The Septuagint, Greek Old Testament, an ancient translation of the Hebrew Bible and some related texts into Koine Greek. Dated as early as the late 2nd century BCE. Luther: launched the protestant reformation to change the theology and practice of the  Roman Catholic Church. Disputed the claim that freedom from God’s punishment for sin  could be purchased with money. Salvation a gift of God’s Grace.

Maccabees: means hammer. They were a jewish rebel army that took control of Judea.  Founded Hasmonean dynasty which ruled from 164 BCE to 63 BCE, reasserting Judaism,  expanding boundaries of the land of Israel by conquest, forced conversion, reduced  Hellenism.

Marcion: a bishop in early Christianity. Prompted church to develop a canon of scriptures.  He rejected the deity in jewish scriptures as inferior to god’s proclaimed in the Christian  gospel. 

Marranos: Jews living in the Iberian Peninsula who converted or were forced to convert to  Christianity. Continued being jews in secret.

Martin Luther King Jr.: A Baptist minister, helped to found the Southern Christian  Leadership conference in 1957.

Masada: an ancient fortification in the southern district of Israel, on top of an isolated rock  plateau, overlooks the dead sea. Herod the Great built places for himself on the mountain.  The Siege of Masada ended in suicide for 960 Jewish rebels holed up there. Mecca: birthplace for Muhammad, site of the revelation of the Quran, pilgrimage. Messiah: a saviour or liberator of a group of people most commonly in Abrahamic religions. Title of Jesus.

Midrash: a Hebrew term for the body of homiletic stories told by jewish rabbinic sages to  explain passages in the Tanakh. Method of interpreting biblical stories that go beyond  simple religious, legal or moral teachings.

Mishnah: the first major written redaction of the jew oral traditions. Redacted in 220 CE, in  fear that oral traditions would be forgotten.

Mitzvah: meaning commandment, 613 commandments given in the Torah. Moral deed  performed as a religious study. Human Kindness.

Mongols: central north­asian ethnic group. Religion Shamanism.

Monophysites: meaning only one nature, is a Christological position that after the union of  the divine and the human in historical incarnation, jesus, had only a single nature, either  divine or synthesis of the divine.

Monotheism: belief in the existence of one god or in the oneness of God. Mordecai Kaplan: 1881 – 1983, rabbi, essayist and jewish educator, the co­founder of  reconstructionist Judaism.

Moses: a religious leader, and prophet, author of the Torah. Most important prophet in  Judaism. Important to the story of Exodus.

Moses Mendelssohn: 1729­1786, a German, Jewish philosopher that the jewish  enlightenment is attributed to.

Moses Maimonides: medieval Spanish, Sephardic, jewish philosopher, a Torah scholar.  Known as the great eagle.

Hira: the location where Muslims believe that Muhammad received his first revelations from God through the angel Jabril, aka Gabriel.

Mt. Gerazim: one of the two mountains in the vicinity of the west bank city of Nablus.  Sacred to Samaritans who regard it as Jerusalem’s Temple mount. Having been the  location chosen by Yahweh for a holy temple.

Mt. Zion: a hill in Jerusalem just outside the walls of the Old City. City of David. Mu’awiyah: the second caliph from the Umayyad Clan. Brother in law to Muhammad.  Refused to obey Ali.

Mughal Empire: 1526 – 1757, an imperial power in the Indian sub continent. Architecture  and arts. Taj mahal and the Pearl Mosque.

Muhajirun: were the early, initial muslims, who followed Muhammad on his Hijra from  Mecca to medina. Called the Ansar, “Helpers”.

Muhammad Abduh: 1849 – 1905, egyptian islamic jurist, religious scholar and liberal  reformer. Key founder of islamic modernism, Wrote “treaties on the Oness of god” and a  commentary of the Quran.

Muhammad Iqbal: 1877­1938, British india, philospher, poet, politician. Inspired the  Pakistan Movement. Urdu lit. Knighted in 1922.

Mustafa Kemal: in office 1923 – 1938, was an Ottoman and Turkish Amry officer. First  president of Turkey. Revolutionist. Founded the republic of Turkey. Surname means “Father of the Turks” is forbidden to be used by anyone else.

Myth: a scared narrative explaining how the world and mankind came to be in its present  form.

Nation of Islam: syncretic new religious movement. Founder in Detroit by Wallace. D.  Muhammad in July 1930. The goals are to improve the spiritual, mental, social, and  economic condition of African Americans. Accused of being black supermicist, and anti semetic.

Nebuchadnezzar: 1126­1103 BC, was the fourth king of the Second Dynasty of Isin and  Fourth Dynasty of Babylon. Noted for his victory over Elam, and the recovery of the cultic  idol of Marduk.

Nestorius: the archbishop of Constantinople, rejects the title for the Virgin Mary “Mother of  God”. Did not believe that Christ was truly God. Accused of Heresy. His ideas were not far  from those that eventually emerged as orthodox.

Nicea: a Hellenic city in northwest Antolia, known as the location of the first and second  councils of Nicea, capital city.

Nicene Creed: profession of faith. Formed Nicene Christianity. Always was sung or recited. 95 Theses: Written by Martin Luther in Germany, regarded as the initial catalyst of  protestant reformation.

Occultation: A word used in astronomy, when an object is hidden by another object  passing between it and the observer.

Orthodox Judaism: a religious approach to Judaism which adheres to the teachings of the  Torah.

Orthodox Christianity: use the greek word ortho­doxa meaning “correct belief”, used to  express their belief to have an unbroken connection to the faith, doctrine, and practices of  the ancient Christian Church. Eastern and Oriental.

Ottoman Empire: historically referred to as the Turkish Empire. Founded by Turkish Tribes  in Anatolia in 1299. Gone in 1924.

Persians: people of Persia. Persian speaking. Iranic people. Current day Iran. Pesach: also known as Passover, biblically derived Jewish festival, Pilgrimage to the  Temple in Jerusalem. Celebrate the liberation of the Jews from ancient Egypt 3300 years  ago.

Pharisees: a school of thought, a political party. 140­37 BCE in the wake of the Macabee  revolt. Conflicts between them and John the Baptist. After the destruction of the second  temple, they are believed to be Rabbinic Judaism. Believed in the literal resurrection of the  body, were monotheist.

Pope: is the Bishop of Rome. Leader of the World Wide Catholic church. Successor of  Saint Peter. Called the “Holy See”.

Priest: a person authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion especially as a  mediatory agent between humans and one or multiple deities.

Prophet: an individual who has been contacted by the supernatural or the divine. Delivers  this new knowledge to Humanity. Advocate.

Prophecy: the process in which one or more messages have been communicated to the  prophet, then communicated to others. Messages involve divine inspiration, interpretation or the revelation of conditions to come.

Protestants: follows or Protestantism, one of the major divisions of Christianity. Deny the  universal authority of the pope. Affirm the reformation principles by faith alone. Originated  from Martin Luther’s 95 theses.

Qur’an: literally meaning the recitation. Believed to the verbatim word of god. Revealed by  Gabriel to Muhammad in the cave of Hira.

Quraysh: a powerful, merchant tribe that controlled Mecca and its Kaaba. Rabbi: derived from the Hebrew word “My Master”, a teacher of the Torah. 

Jewish Scriptures, Beliefs, Theoloy Summary 

­ Jewish religious thought is commitment to monotheism.

­ The religion of Abraham and the ancestors of Israel was not monotheistic, but a distinctive practice. ­ Stories of Prophet Elijah(the guardian of the covenant), highlight the struggle between allegiance to  Yahweh and worship of Ba’al, god of the land.

­ Ba’al was in charge of life giving and rain.

­ Yahweh is the one god, the creater and director of all

­ Marduk: god Babylon

­ Devout jews recite the Shema daily “Hear O Isreal”.

­ Unity of god is fundamental in Jewish theological assertion.

­ Shema means that god is not many, all if reality is a unified order, one universal law of righteousness  ­ Jews do not accept the Christian idea that god is triune, father , son and spirit.

­ God purely in Godself is En Sof, absolute and without limit.

­ God manifested in ten emanations known as the sefirot because he cannot reveal his true nature ­ God is transcendent, far above and beyond the created world. IN total contrast to everything that has  been created in time and space. Eternal, no beginning or end, no limitations.

­ God is imminent, near and present to all creatures.

­ Evil can be the result of a previous sin of an individual or community. Discipline or testing from god. ­ God created the world from a dark watery chaos and by divine command made it s agood purposeful  world.

­ Role of humans is to serve the creator and fulfill God’s will in the world.

­ Jewish belief elevates humans to a little less than god, cared for and lobved by God, given great  responsibility of being masters over all of God’s Creatures.

­ Humans are to serve god, but at the same time are partners with god in preserving of creation. ­ Animals are to be respected and treated fairly and humanely.

­ No worshipping idols, murder, adultery and incent, eat limb torn from living animal, blaspheme, steal ­ Human sin is called averah, Jewish traditions have no delusions about human nature to sin ­ Sin is any act or attitude whether of omission or commission which nullified God’s will, obscures his glory, 

profanes his name opposes his kingdom or transgresses the mitzvoth ( Commandments) ­ Yetzer hatov: the good inclination, and yetzer hara, the evil inclination.

­ Evil inclination is essential in providing motivating power of life.

­ Jewish tradition has the view that life is a continuing struggle to control the evil inclination. ­ Jews believe that humans have free choice and the ability to avoid Satan.

­ Jewish beliefs that some punishment for sin can be in this life or the final punishment in the life to come. ­ God not only the creator but also the redeemer who forgives and restores and thus makes it possible for  humans to turn back to the life god intended.

­ God redeems and saves by being God for humans that is god continually searches and calls for humans ­ God delivered them from Egypt, , brought them to the holy mountain, and entered into a covenant with  them, gave them the torah and led them to the promise land.

­ The initiative to seek god must come from humans.

­ Teshuvah, Hebrew word for repentance means to turn around, make a complete change in life. ­ Repentance involves 4 seps, the readiness to acknowledge an wrongdoing, act of compensation, genuine resolve, praying for forgiveness.

­ Yom Kippur set aside for repentance, day of atonement

­ Mitzvoth: commandments which god has given through the Torah.

­ Halakhah is a the way the code of life is spelled out in the Talmund and how the mitzvots apply to life. ­ Jews have never felt that it was their mission to bring people into Judaism

­ The righteous will be rewarded in Gan Eden ( Paradise )

Jewish Praxis, Holy Days, Culture Summary  

­ Mitzvoth commandments deal with both ritual actions and ethical behavior.

­ Halakhah, the path or code, that provides the blueprint for everything about life from cradle to grave. ­ Sabbath the only festival prescribed in the ten commandments, it is a supreme symbol of the covenant  relationship with god.

­ God rested on the 7th day after finishing the creation >> Sabbath

­ Reminder of the deliverance from slavery in Egypt.  >> Sabbath

­ Rejoicing with god in creation, celebrating freedom in human society.  >> Sabbath. ­ Special Sabbath prayer is called Kiddush, said over a glass of wine.

­ Rosh Hashanah – New year, on the first of Tishri, early Autumn.

­ Everything a person does is recorded in God’s books and these are opened for examinations at the  beginning of the new year, weighed and judged and a verdict inscribed.

­ Rosh Hashanah has a special ritual blowing of the shofar, the ram’s horn, during a service. ­ Ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are days of repentance

­ Yom Kippur: day of atonement, called the Sabbath of Sabbaths.

­ Evening service for Yom Kippur Kol Nidre prayer. During this day Jews confess sings and ask for  forgivness. Conluding Service is called Neilah referring to the closing of the gates of heaven. Concludes  with a final blast of the Shofar.

­ Sukot – the festival of booths, 5 days after yom kippur, 15th of Tishri, Lasts for seven days during which  jews build a hut (sukkah) and make it their home.  Festival of ingathering of harvest, ritual use of citron,  palm branches, myrtle and willow. The hut reminds jews of wandering in the wilderness.

­ Follow Sukkot there’s a celebration of Simhat Torah, on this day the annual reading cycle of the Torah is  complete. Followed by reading opening verses of the Torah.

­ Hannukkah: the feast of lights, eight day festival, recalls the victory of Maccabbeus and the Jews of the  Selecuids in 165 BCE. Lighting of the Menorah, letting it burn for eight days.

­ Prium: coming in early spring, talks about Mordecai and his grandniece Esther risking their lives to save  their people from the Persians.

­ Pesach (Passover) celebrates Israel’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt. “festival of our freedom” ­ Passover also symbolizes the deliverance of all nature from the bondage of winter. Preparing involves  cleaning and purifying the house, only Matzah ( unleavened bread )a nd other unleavened food can be  eaten for the 7 day festival due to the Israelites fleeing in haste from Egypt.

­ Passover ritual meal called seder ( order ) celebrated in evening of the first two days. ­ Haggadah ( story) is a written guide for the seder.

­ Seder includes 4 cups of wine, a special cup for Elijah , salt water to remember tears, drops of wine split  in sorrow, and 4 questions to be asked of the youngest child present.

­ Shavuot: the festival of Weeks (Pentecost) , final festive, sevens weeks after Passover, celebration of  abundant spring harvest. It remembers especially the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai. ­ Yom Hashoah – holocaust memorial day.

­ Duty of worshipping god is at the heart of the Jewish Tradition.

­ For festival worship many wear a tallith (prayer shawl) , jewish men may also were tefillin, small black  boxes that contain words of the Torah.

­ Important prayers are the 18 benedictions, said in the morning, noon and evening prayers. Have to do  with repentance, redemption, healing and blessing.

­ The act of studying the Torah is also an important ritual for jews.

­ Women are generally exempt from Torah studying obligations for the reason that their role as the  homemaker does not allow them time.

­ Kashrut ( ritual fitness) – kosher food, all vegetables and fruits are permissible, no horses, pigs or birds of  pray.

­ Must be killed in shochet ( ritual slaughter)

­ Meat and dairy products can’t be prepared or eaten together.

­ Covenant between god and Israel is circumsicion, brit milah, done on the 8th day after birth. ­ Passage into puberty is the Bar Mitzvah ( son of the commandment ) , young Jewish boy is expected to  progress in studying the Torah. Bat Mitzvah for girls.

­ Sacred duty of marriage is spelled out in the Talmund. One who remains unmarried impairs the divine  image.

­ Marriage ritual performed under huppah (canopy) . Blessings over two goblets of wine. ­ Death: members sit with dying person reciting the Shema.

­ Shivah: period of mourning for seven days. Body is to be wrapped in white shrouds before burial. ­ Jewish law prohibits suicide or any action that might harm or desecrate someone’s body. ­ Cremation is prohibited.

­ Kelal yisrael – the total community of Israel.

­ People are jewish either by birth or conversion, one who is born Jewish can never ben deprived of that  identity even if he/she abandons jewish practices.

­ Biblical laws segregate women from men in synagogues.

­ Halakhah designates that code of laws that prescribe how a Jew should live every aspect of life. Means  “way” , drawn from the Torah and Talmund.

­ All actions should be infused with awareness of the presence of God.

­ Halakhah not a burden but a great gift from god.

­ It is a mitzvah to get married. One should not over indulge in food, drink and have lack of cleanliness. ­ Tzedakah – important principle of charity. Giving to those in need.

­ God chose Israel but Israel chose to be chosen. Higher responsibility and higher standards are expected  of the Jewish people compared to others.

­ The important mitzvah of pursuing peace (shalom) is extended to conflict and warfare between people  and nations. 

Christianity Scriptures, Beliefs, Theology Summary 

­ For Christians the way to know god is through the revelation in Jesus Christ. God’s divine face is shown  for all to see.

­ God’s eternal brilliance is reflected in the “image” of god, Jesus Christ.

­ Jesus favorite term for god was “Abba”

­ God is involved in human existence to make sure that mercy is what wins out of the dirt and grime. ­ Christians see god as the loving father and mother wanting to create humans in order to show them love. ­ Christian’s see the suffering of Jesus as god’s way of becoming the “friend of sinners”. ­ Christians: God was incarnated in Jesus, became flesh and dwelt amongst us. ­ Trinity: god is one god in three persons. Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

­ Nicenene creed guide Christians to understanding god’s triune nature.

­ Creation account: God created the universe, determined it all to be good, and placed humans as the  crown of creation to play as god’s representatives within this good world.

­ God created the first human from dust of the ground and breathed spirit into him. ­ Jesus: loving god, one’s self and neighbor sums up all the law.

­ God gives the world not only its existence but also its value

­ Christians emphasize the sinfulness of human nature more forcefully than Jews or Muslims. ­ Christians view the story of adam and eve as the story of all humans. Inevitable human sin. ­ Originating sin is due to the fall from heaven to earth.

­ The belief that the only way to fix originating sin is to get help from God.

­ Death is not the end of human existence. Humans enslaved by sin, saved by Jesus Christ. ­ Recognizing sinfulness it the first step in turning toward the redemption that comes from God. ­ Pattern of atonement reaches its fulfillment in Jesus Christ atoninig for the sins of all humankind by his 

sacrifice on the cross. His atonement returning the loving relationship between humans and god. ­ Muslims and Jews are against the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ.

­ Soteriology: the belief in salvation through Jesus Christ. Experience the love of God through Jesus Christ. ­ Arius was teaching that Jesus was actually human created to be god’s son and savior of the world. ­ Docetists: taught that Jesus Christ was fully god but just seemed to be human. ­ Faith is saying yes to God’s love, and accepting the divine promise. Christians calls this justification by  faith.

­ Baptism is an important ritual for Christians symbolizes the inclusion of the new person in the family of  god. Removes a person’s sinful nature and the person is born again.

­ Sharing in the Eucharist Lord’s Supper is a concrete experience of being united with Christ through this  sacred meal.

­ Christians believe throughout a person’s life they will be sinful and redeemed humans. ­ Christ speaks of sanctification: making holy of our lives.

­ Resurrection, judgment day, and eternal life in heaven. Heaven last image of Salvation. 

Christianity Praxis, Holy Days, CultureSummary 

­ Christians live based on the teachings of Jesus Christ.

­ Earliest practices are the Sunday service of prayer and Eucharist

­ Canon law: governs the conduct of public worship.

­ Liturgical: place a good deal of emphasis on the traditional liturgy ( order of public worship) and properly  ordained clergy.

­ Non Liturgical : emphasize a free and spontaneous approach to prayer, reading the bible, testifying to  faith and exhorting others in worship together.

­ Liturgical denominations: Roman Catholic, orthodox, angelica and Luther churches. ­ Non liturgical: Baptists, Quakers and free evangelical churches.

­ Sunday Worship: Communal worship, Sunday is the day of Christ’s resurrection, consists of Liturgy of the word and liturgy of the Eucharist. Begins with a call to worship, communal confession of sins, hymns and  prayers.

­ Liturgy of word: reading of the Old Testament, gospels, and Epistles.

­ Non liturgical churches have more emphasis on reading the bible, preaching, songs and prayer.  ­ Sacraments: the Eucharist is considered by many to be a sacrament, a sacred ritual. ­ Ceremonies called sacraments include baptism, the lord’s supper, confession, forgiveness and anointing  the sick., confirmation, marriage, and ordination of clergy.

­ Eucharist: Roman Catholid believe in transubstantiation, where the bread and wine change into the body  and blood of Christ. Radical reformers like Zwingli held that the bread and wine only symbolize christ’s  body and blood.

­ Lent and Easter: celebrate the events of christ’s entry into Jerusalem, last supper, crucifixion and  entombment. 

­ Ash Wednesday: putting ashes on forehead, Lent is devoted to special disciplines of prayer, repentance.  Fasting and voluntarily giving up certain pleasures.

­ Maundy Thursday: celebrates Christ’s last supper with his disciples when he used the bread and wine of  the Passover.

­ Sunday morning is to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Continues for the next 6 weeks ­ Nativity celebrated on January 6th , Advent is observed 4 weeks before Christmas, Epiphany for some  weeks after Christmas. Celebrates God’s love in the incarnation of Christ.

­ Advent celebrates events from Christ’s life.

­ Epiphany has becomes associated with the story of the wise men from the east coming to Bethlehem to  present gifts to the newborn king.

­ Pentecost: celebrates god giving the spirit to give guidance to the church.

­ Short services throughout the day: prime, matins, lauds, terce, sext, none, vespers and compline. ­ Confession is a sacrament.

­ Initiation into the Christian community is baptism. Used water to symbolize cleansing.  Through this ritual  the child is born again having participated in the death and resurrection of Christ.

­ Eastern Orthodox churches the infant receives Holy Communion as a full member of the church. ­ Today Christians use prayers, rituals and sacraments for the purpose of healing the sick. ­ Jehova’s witnesses plae restrictions on the practice of modern medicine such as blood transfusions. ­ Controversy about using religious icons in art

­ One does not become Christian by birth, rather by choosing to belong by believing and being baptized.

­ Significant development today are the ecumenical movement in which Christians are trying to make real  the unity of the world

­ Pricilla: prominent women in Christianity.

­ Antinomians ( people against the law) who taught that since Christ abolished the law that Christians are  free to do whatever they want.

­ Jesus identified neighbor as anyone in need, the sick, prisoner, hungry and thirsty strangers. ­ God’s kind of love shown in Christ is agape: unconditional, non discriminatory, self giving love. ­ War: a just cause of defense or protection declared by a lawful authority.

­ Dualist view sees this world as just a preparation for the next with the conclusion that Christians have no  special role . 

Islam Scriptures, Beliefs, Theology Summary 

­ The tawhid, the assertion of the oneness of god.

­ Shahada: there is no god but god and Muhammad is the prophet of god.

­ Allah in Arabic simply means “God”

­ The greatest sin according to the Quran is shirk, associating something else with god, this is the great sin  of polytheism. No divine power rules and directs our lives.

­ Rab al alamin : god of the world. Also called Rabb. Muslim is a “abd” ( worshipper, servant ) ­ Creation: god breathed the spirit into humans providing the breath of life, the animating spirit and humans were created male and female.

­ Khalifa means deputy or representative.

­ Humans differ from all three creatures because of three qualities: intelligence that can discern between  true and false, a will freely to choose, and the power of speech to worship god.

­ Those who achieve completeness by using reason, free will and speech to follow god are perfect. ­ Forgetfulness and negligence is behind human sin and evil doing.

­ Two inclinations given to humans by god: spiritual that directs the intelligence to follow god’s laws and the inclination to fulfill the desires and passions with which God has endowed humans. ­ A person who denies god is called a kafir. Kufr means to cover or conceal.

­ Kafirs become mushriks. Those who associate other things with god, and thus commit the great sin of  denying the unity of God. Use God’s bountiful gifts while denying his existence.

­ Falah – muslim word for felicity.

­ Path of Islam is fundamentally a path of knowledge. Islam means submission to god. ­ Muslim word for faith is iman, leads to the submission to god.

­ Shariah law, is the code of behavior in Islam, same as halakhah.

­ Jihad , spiritual struggle. Continual holy war against unbelievers and evil doers. 

Islam Praxis, Holy Days, Culture Summary 

­ God is rab, muslim is abd, life in service of god is ibadah.

­ Muslim rituals not geared towards the cucles of nature in the seasons of the year. Follows lunar pattern.  12 months, 29­30 days each.

­ Five pillars: confession, prayer, alms, fasting and pilgrimage.

­ Prayer is an expression of praise and submission to god. Muslims also use dua’ ­ Praying in group, one person acts as an imam. It’s important to perform the prayer in harmony. ­ Allahu akbar: god is great, bowing hands on knees saying glory to my lord, in a position of submission  “glory to my lord, the most high”.

­ Close of prayer, blesses the prophet and his family , peace be upon you all fellow Muslims. ­ Friday noon prayer: special sermon called khutba.

­ Alms giving required of Muslims over 16 who can afford it. 2.5 percent general annual rate. Not to be  given to relatives.

­ Fasting: Ramadan >. Time to break bad habits and regain control. Submission to god. One learns  appreciation of the material pleasures.

­ Fasting not permitted to impair one’s health.

­ Hajj – once in a lifetime, must be physically and financially capable, spiritual state called ihram.  Wearing  of special garmnets. No sex, cutting hair, uprooting living things, wearing jewelry etc. ­ Circle the kabah ( tawaf) saying “I am here o god I am here ) , seven time, in a counter clockwise  direction. Pilgrims to reach out and touch the black stone.

­ Running in memory of Hagar and Ishmael, pilgrims run seven times between two hills. Then they drink  from the well of zamzam.

­ On the 8th day everyone moves out into the desert to live in tents, on the ninth day the ritual of standing  ( wuquf)  at the plain of arafat, and the mount of mercy. From noon until sunset.

­ Next comes ritual of stoning and feast of sacrifice.

­ Pilgrims throw 49 pebbles at three stones representing satan .

­ Mawlid al Nabi – twelfth day of the third month.

­ Two eids

­ Muharram is the beginning of the Muslim calendar.  Associated with Hijra. Tenth of muharram is a day  called ashura involves fasting.

­ Shiite attached the martyrdom of imam husayn to this day remembering the battle of karbalah. ­ Birth: 7th day named, and a sacrifice may be performed. Khitan ( circumcision ) is an important purification  ritual.

­ Marriage , bridal gift , mahr, for the bride to keep.

­ Death , prayer is performed around the dead person with the entire service standing. Laid to rest facing  Mecca on the right side of the body.

­ Calligraphy is important in islam to show holy words and passages.

­ Iran Mulas – religious scholars, everywhere else ‘ulama.

­ Muslims have a duty to engage in da’wah, missionary activities directed to converting the world. ­ God’s gift of free will means no coercion or forcing people to accept islam. 

Jewish History 

∙ Synagogue ­ jewish place of worship, means gathering

∙ Bar Kochbah ­ Thid major rebellion agaist roman empire, jews of Judea. Last of wars ∙ Conservative Judaism  ­ traditional jewish practices

∙ Epic of Gilgamesh : mesopatamian flood story

∙ Exodus = salvation journey from egypt to palestine

∙ Reform Judaism  ­ new modernized jew practices

∙ Rabbinic Judaism  ­ mainstream of Judiasm, 

Jewish Scriptures, Beliefs, Theology 

∙ Moses ­ led the Israelites from Egypt to the promise land, away from salvery ∙ Henotheism  ­ worshipping of one god but admitting there are other gods ∙ Tanakh ­ Hewbrew bible consisting of Talmund Nevim , Ketivim,  ∙ Midrash = explanation of the tanakh

∙ Torah ­ laws

∙ Halakhah  =  the way/laws to describe how to practice the mitzvot in daily life ∙ Haggadah = jews stories, used to get laws e.g.the story of exodus ∙ Mishnah ­ written oral torah

∙ Oral Torah  ­ oral torah

∙ Talmund ­ Mishnah + gemarra, babylonion and palestinian 

∙ Shema = like shahada to muslims, jews used to said twice daily for two thousands  years

∙ Mitzvah/Mitzvot = commandments of the covenant for jews

∙ Adonai/Elohim/Yahweh  ­ God

∙ Covenant  ­ an agreement between god and people

∙ Five books of the Torah ­ 

∙ Gemara  ­ mishnah translation 

∙ Ketuvim ­ part of the Tanakh

∙ Nevi'im  ­ part of the Tanakh

∙ Kingdom of God  ­ Israel

Jewish Praxis, Holy Days, Culture 

∙ Sabbath = jew holiday, celebrate the 7th day of creation and rest and celebrating  freedom from egypt,exodus.

∙ Rosh Hashanah = jews celebration for their new year, day of justice, right and  sinners.

∙ Yom Kippur =(the atonment) one of the most holy days for jews, for repentance ∙ Shofar = horn blown in the in ‘Rosh Hashanah’, to arouse the sleeping souls for war  against sins.

∙ Sukkot = jews holiday 5 days after yom kippur, rejoice the Torah. ∙ Hanukkah = jews 8 days of celebration(Fest of light),Judah Maccabeus over  Antiochus Epiphanes.. oil lasted 8 days instead of one in the temple

∙ Purim = jews holiday to celebrate the survival, story of Eshtar, from the persian  Haman.

∙ Passover/Pesach = high points of jews year, “the festival of our freedom” , Israel  salvery from egypt, only allowed to eat bread on that day.

∙ Shavuot  = pentecost, festival of the weeks, final major festival, remembrance of the  covenant and the gift of Torah on Mt.sinai. marriage between god and ppl. ∙ Kipah = jews mens head cap, they wear during prayer 

∙ Tallith = jews prayer shawl

∙ Tefillin = Jewish observant men wear while praying, small black boxes containing  words of the Torah, attached to the head or arms with leather bands.

∙ Kashrut = jewish dietry laws, Torah prohibition of food, horse flesh , pigs and  shellfish. meat and milk can’t be eaten together.

Christianity History 

∙ Book of Mormon

∙ Apostles’ Creed : 

∙ Christotokos ­ bearer of Christ, virgin mary , Greek name

∙ Luther ­ 95 theses, against the roman church, make the protastants. ∙ The Passion = the journey of jesus to jerusalem where he was caught and crucified. ∙ Good Friday  ­ commemorating crucifixation of jesus

∙ LDS = latter day saints, a christian movment, they also a have their churches ∙ Brigham Young = He was the President of The Church of Jesus (LDS Church) 19th cent. ∙ Joseph Smith: founder of the LDS 19th cent.

Christianity Scriptures, Beliefs, Theology 

∙ Jesus ­ Duh

∙ New Testament ­ 

∙ Messiah/Christ ­ saviour

∙ Nicene Creed = explanation of the trinity in 4th and 5th centuries ∙ Baptism ­ Full body immersion in water, can be done at adulthood, naming of the  child. 7 ­ 8 days after birth

∙ Canon ­ a set of religious laws

∙ Disputed Letters of Paul ­ lletteres that scholars do not believe were written by Paul  ∙ Council of Trent  ­ important council, condeming protestant heresey  ∙ Ecumenism ­ initiatives aimed at greater christian unity

∙ Justification by faith  ­ duh

∙ Eucharist ­ Lord’s supper

∙ Immaculate Conception  ­ virgin mary sinless

∙ Gospels ­ stories about jesus

∙ Theotokos ­ Greek name for Mother of Christ, the Virgin Mary. ∙ Mormon Articles of Faith  = LDS

∙ Undisputed Letters of Paul 

∙ Incarnation = embodied in flesh,God incarnation in Christ

∙ Sacraments ­ sacred rituals, Eucharist example

∙ Sola fides ­ faith alone,one  of the the theologies during the protestants reformation ∙ Sola gratia = grace alone

∙ Sola scriptura ­ scripture alone 

Christianity Praxis, Holy Days, Culture 

∙ Epiphany  ­ celebration of god’s revelation as jesus christ

∙ Ash Wednesday ­ putting ash on forhead, used for repentance and fasting ∙ Christmas ­ preparing for the birth of jesus

∙ Feast of Ascension  ­ holy thursday, symbolizes jesus rise to heaven ∙ Lent ­ give up a pleasure for 6 weeks before Easter , and it’s time for repentance ∙ Easter ­ resurrection of jesus christ

∙ Feast of Epiphany ­ just a feast

∙ Pentecost  = celebration of the holy spirit and establishment of the church ∙ Soteriology = the study of the religious doctrines of salvation

Islam History 

∙ Al­Ash‘ari= mutazila theologian, islamic golden age 

∙ Al­Ghazali = ­ second most influential islamic figure after the, prophet brought sufism back into the main stream

∙ Ali­Mohammad 

∙ Anno Hijra = 622 C.E 

∙ Ansars = the ppl who took in the prophet in madina

∙ Bab = religion movement from perisa

∙ ‘Ashura  = 20h of moharram to memorize the battle of karabala ∙ Mecca = duh

∙ Medina = duh

∙ Mughal = empire in 16th cent. muslim

∙ Mu‘tazilites= Islamic school of theology based on reason and rational thought[1] that flourished in the cities of Basra and Baghdad, both in present­day Iraq, during the 8th–10th centuries. ∙ Muhammad ibn Abd alWahhab  ­ established first Saudi state 1792 ∙ Ottoman ­ Duh, Turkish ,

∙ Yathrib ­ name of Medina before Hijra

∙ Zaydis ­ shiite, fivers, school of thought, islam,

∙ Shiat Ali ­ people of ALi

∙ Shaykh Ahmad  ­ persian dude, he claimed that he got word directly form the imam.

Islam Scriptures, Beliefs, Theology 

∙ Five Pillars of Faith= shahada, 9ala,hij,zakat,9yam 

∙ Shari’ah  ­ islamic law, way of life.

∙ Hadith  ­ stories told by the Prophet and his companions 

∙ Fiqh  ­ study of religion

∙ Fatiha ­ the opener of the Quran

∙ Fasting ­ not eating

∙ Fana ­ mortal life

∙ Hajj ­ pilgrimage

∙ Hijab ­ head cover

∙ Ijma = the agreement of the scientists of the umma on the decision ∙ Kab‘ah  ­ built by Abraham and Ishamal. holy site, haj, islam, black stone, mecca ∙ Jihad ­ holy war

∙ Mahdi ­ 12th imam

∙ Mohammad ­ prophet BBUH

∙ Qur’an ­ holy book of islam, muhammad, cave, gabriel

∙ Nabi ­ prophet with scripture 

∙ Rasul ­ messenger

∙ Qiyas  ­ one of the teaching of the hadeeth

∙ Sayyid Kazim = he led the shaykhi movment till his deat, he was mulla told about the coming of the mahdi

∙ Shahadah ­ duh

∙ Shirk ­ denial of the existence of god.

∙ Tawhid = there’s only one God, opposite of shirk.

∙ Sufis ­ inner,mystical dimension of Islam 

∙ Averoes= aka ibn rushud, 12 cent. master of philosophy 

∙ Avicenna = aka ibn seena,11th cent. philosophy and medicine

Islam Praxis, Holy Days, Culture 

∙ Jum‘ah ­ friday prayers

∙ Eid al­adha ­ duh 

∙ Eid al­fitr ­ duh 

∙ Muharram ­ 1st month of islamic lunar cycle

∙ Ramadan ­ duh 

∙ Sawm  ­ duh

∙ Salat  ­ duh 

∙ Raka’ah ­ duh 

∙ Wudu  ­ ceremonial cleansing before prayer, heads, ears, eyes, nose, arms, feet,  back of neck

∙ Zakat ­ Alms , money giving, annual islamic tax

∙ masjid ­ Double duh

∙ Muezzin ­ ghadieh’s way of saying muethin 

∙ Mihrab  ­ hole in the wall

∙ Minbar ­ pedestal for kitbah

∙ Sura ­ a division of the quran

∙ Stoning of the Jamarat  ­ haj, 49 stones at 3 pillars representing

NOT RELIGION SPECIFIC

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ ∙ Polygamy ­ marrying more than one girl, islam, men allowed, women are not

∙ People of the Book  ­ jews, christians, muslims

∙ Prayer 

∙ Myth 

∙ Orthodoxy = by doctrine and believe, christianity

∙ Orthopraxy  = by practice, doing activities over conduct, islam and judism ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ UNDEFINED WORDS:

∙ Acts 

∙ Advent = holiday for chris. preparation of the celebration nativity of the jesus  ∙ Anselm = saint of canterbury, responsible for the theory about the existence of god  and the satisfaction theory of atonement. 

∙ Apocalypse ­ Pretty clear what it is :P 

∙ Aquinas = saint in 13cent. 

∙ Aquinas’ Proofs = 5 proof’s about the existence of god 

∙ Asia Minor = perisa, turkey and iraq maybe sham as well.

∙ Augustine = : A father of the church whose writings are considered very influential in  Christian philosophy. He was a Bishop of Hippo. 

∙

∙ Brit milah =covenant of circumcision  

∙ Calvin = calvinism, reformation christians broke with the catholic church ∙ Consubstantiation = theological doctrine attempts to describe the nature of the  christian Eucharist.

∙ Deutero­Pauline Letters  = ppl think the disputed letter od paul where written by this  guy, they represent the value of the women in the catholic church

∙ Documentary Hypothesis 

∙ Enlightenment  ­ duh

∙ Epispasm ­ Foreskin restoration, jews under greek rule, breaks covenant with go,  opposite of circumcision

∙ Eschatology: The department of theological science concerned with ‘the four last things: death,  judgement,heaven and hell’ 

∙ Faqir: Muslim ethnic groupfound in India. 

∙ Filioque clause : and the son , a phrase included in the nicene creed ∙ Guide for the Perplexed: relationship between philosophy and religion, written by  MAY MOON 

∙ Immanuel Kant  ­ german philosopher 

∙ Intercalary month ­ insertion of a leap day to match things with lunar calenders.  ∙ Job: 

∙ Kaballah :  Jewish school of thought 

∙ Kirland  ­ cant find

∙ Liturgy  ­ public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions. 

∙ Manicheism 

∙ Maundy Thursday: celebrates Christ’s last supper with his disciples when he used  the bread and wine of the

∙ Moroni 

∙ Moses Maimonides  ­ jewish scholar

∙ Moses Mendelssohn = german jewish philosopher,father of reform jew, whose ideas  the jewish enlightenment in 18th and 19th cent. 

∙ Mountain Meadows Massacre : LDS and Mormone attacked a train in south Utah  19th century

∙ Nauvoo  : a place of gathering for LDS

∙ Occultation : An occultation is an event that occurs when one object is hidden by another  object that passes between it and the observer. 

∙ Ontological argument : An ontological argument is any one of a category of arguments for  the existence of God appearing mainly in Christian theology 

∙ Palm Sunday is a Christian moveable feast that falls on the Sunday before Easter ∙ Q ...

∙ Rabbi Judah Ha­Nasi = editor of the Mishnah in its final form. He is referred to as  “Rebbi,”

∙ Rashi  ­ delicious food =haha very funny ­_­

∙ Rumi  ­ wrote on the right side of the Gemarrah

∙ Safavid = dynasty was one of the most significant ruling dynsaties of iran 16th to18th Cent 

∙ Seven Commandments of the Children of Noah ­ basically like 10 commandments ∙ Shabbatai Zvi ­ claimed to be the long awaited jewish messiah ∙ Sheol ­ garment used during haj ?????

∙ Simhat Torah :is a celebration marking the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah  readings,  

∙ Synoptic Gospels  ­ mathew, mark and luke, called this because they include many  similar stories

∙ Tanjakh : head thing

∙ Theodicy an attempt to resolve the evidential problem of evil by reconciling the traditional divine  characteristics of omnibenevolence,omnipotence, and omniscience with the occurrence of evil or  suffering in the world. 

∙ Tisha B’Av :  is an annual fast day in Judaism, named for the ninth day (Tisha)  ∙ Transubstantiation : replacing wine and bread, for jesus body and blood.  ∙ Ulama’ = educated class of muslim legal scholars 

∙ Ulrich Zwingli : held that the bread and wine only symbolize christ’s body and blood  ∙ Universal House of Justice : duh 

∙ Yarmulke: jew cap 

Islam History 10/18/2012

 Islam

∙ Arabic – Hebrew words built on a three letter root; S, L, M

∙ Islam = complete trust of and surrender

∙ Muslim = the person who submits to the will of God

 Muslim

∙ Born to a Muslim family or converted by confessing Shahada, which  states that there is no god but God and Muhammad is his  

messenger – Niya is required when saying it, which is the  

INTENTION

∙ 80% of Muslims are not Arab – Arab does not equal Muslim

Origins of Islam

∙ Abraham  

∙ Sarah – his wife

∙ Hagar – maid – kicked out

∙ Ishmael – maid’s son – kicked out

∙ Isaac – wife’s son  

∙ Ishmaelites in Arabia – Hagar and Ishmael go South from Israel after being kicked out which is Saudi Arabia  

Arabian Religion and Society

∙ Before Mohammad, inhabitants in the Arabian peninsula worshipped many Gods but still believed there was one greatest of Gods – they  called him Allah (came from Il Alah) – he created the universe  

o They are henotheistic – Jews and Christians were “Hanif”

∙ Nostic Christians and Muslims both believed that Jesus did not really die on the cross, because he was not human, he was not matter

∙ Arab religion worshipped three daughters of Allah at Kabah, a black  stone of mysterious origins – before Mohammed – place of  pilgrimages for all Arabs  

∙ Pre-Muslim Arabian society did not believe in an after-life – they had a fear of death that Islam cured

∙ Arab social values: family and male honor, hospitality, defense of  the socially defenseless (poor, widows, orphans)

∙ Warlords and tribal loyalty

∙ Mecca was the capital of Arabia – religious centre due to Kabah –  political centre because of the Quraysh Tribe – economic centre  (trade routes and markets) – Mecca was very wealthy so they began to lose their defense for the socially defenseless  

 Theological Constructions

∙ This period before Islam is called: Jahaliyya = time of IGNORANCE

Life of Mohammad

∙ 570CE – he was born a Qurayshi (the tribe that controlled Mecca),  raised by his uncle Abu Talib

∙ He worked in the family business, had a good reputation ∙ He married Khadijah at 25 (595CE) – she was 40, wealthy, and a  widow

∙ So after he married her, he didn’t need to work as much so he  started to spend a lot of time alone in the mountains of Mecca,  praying in solitude

∙ One night, in 610CE in the month of Ramadan, the angel Gabriel  appears to Mohammad in Mount Hira (this becomes known as the  night of power) – Gabriel says “Recite!”  

o Quran = recitation

∙ Mohammad was troubled, wasn’t sure about it, his wife encouraged  it – he became depressed wondering if there was more – but he got  more messages, a lot about social justice

∙ Muhammad began his work in Mecca, addressing issues: o Social and religious reform

o Idol worship and polytheism

o Care for the poor

o Assist the oppressed  

o Give alms

∙ He was directly criticizing the practice, the morals, the life of  Qurayshis  

∙ He had few supporters: wife, Abu Bakr (close friend), Zayd (former  slave), Ali (cousin)… he had many enemies

∙ 619CE: The Quraysh go to Abu Talib so he can silence Mohammad  but he refuses, and they can’t cross Abu Talib

o When his uncle and his wife die, Muhammad’s support system collapses

∙ 622CE: he gets an invitation from Yathrib (later named Medina) –  this city has been experiencing many civil wars – they invited him to act as arbitrator  

∙ His flight from Mecca to Medina is known as the Hijra – it becomes  the start date of Islam (Anno Hijra) – in this city, the first Muslim  community was established (Ummah) – he made peace between the warring tribes in Medina and establishes Islam  

∙ Now Medina and Mecca are at war with each other – Muhammad  asked the Jews in Medina to just not conspire with the Quraysh but  they did and there was a massacre

∙ Battle of Badr – 624CE – Muslims are outnumbered by Meccans  and WIN – this gets interpreted such that Angels were on the field  helping the Muslims

∙ Battle of Uhud – 625CE – Muslims lose badly – Meccans pulled  back for some unknown reason

∙ Cleansing the Kabah – Muhammad and his army go to Mecca and  the Meccans give up without a bloodshed – they devoted the Kabah  to God alone

∙ Black stone , statue of jesus, only two things in the Kabah ∙ Muhammed returns to Medina and he makes two pilgrimages in  Mecca before he dies in 632CE

 Caliphate

∙ After the prophet’s death, the followers aren’t sure what to do ∙ One follower, Umar, threatened to beat anyone who said that the  prophet is dead – Abu Bakr said that they didn’t worship  

Muhammad, they worshipped Allah, who is immortal, always alive ∙ Division between Sunnis and Shias begins now

∙ Khalifah = steward, Caliph, watches over the place, didn’t own the  place – first Caliph was Abu Bakr (632-634CE) – people who  believed Ali was supposed to be the successor were not happy but  Ali recognizes and follows Abu Bakr nonetheless and was happy to  wait his turn

o Abu Bakr brought stability, and established Islam throughout  Arabia, reestablishing treaties of loyalties and peace

∙ Imam = prayer leader  

∙ The Quraysh didn’t want Ali to be the next Caliph because they  didn’t want Islam to be a monarchy

∙ Abu Bakr appointed his next successor: Umar (634-644CE) o Umar extends Islam into the Middle East and captures  

Jerusalem in 637CE – establishing the just treatment of Jews  and Christians – he was then killed by a Persian slave

∙ A hiring committee was formed to pick the next successor – Uthman or Ali? They went with Uthman (644-656CE)  

o He takes Islam into Asia Minor (Turkey) and North Africa –  o He oversaw creation of the Qur’an  

o He was assassinated in a coup  

∙ Ali was the 4th Caliph (cousin of Muhammad and son-in-law)  (656-661CE)  

o Ali announced an amnesty for the killers of Uthman to end  bloodshed – supporters of Uthman rebel against Ali for this,  including Muhammeds wife Aisha  

o Mu’awiyah is Uthman’s cousin who believed he should be the  next Caliph

o Battle with Mu’awiyah at Siffin (657CE) where he fights  against Ali for this – Ali was winning – so Mu’awiyah gets his  soldiers to put the Quran on their swords, so Ali was unsure  what to do – so he steps back and agrees to send the dispute  to arbitration – he allowed Mu’awyiah to get stronger because  of this

o By 660, Mu’awiyah was a self-appointed caliph  

o Ali’s supporters believed that for this, he was an enemy of  God so they kill him in 661 – killed by Kharijites (faction within the party of Ali that believed Ali lost divine favor , leading to  his assassination. )

 Islam Splits!  

∙ Hasan (Ali’s first son) – powerless, and not much of a fighter, loses  caliphate to Mu’awiyah – he was killed  

∙ Rise of the Umayyad tribe (cousins of the Quraysh)

∙ Husayn (Ali’s last surviving son) vs. Yazid (Mu’awiyah’s son) –  BATTLE OF KARBALA IN 680

o Shi’at Ali = party of Ali = Shia

o Husayn is killed by Yazid – his head was put on a spear

o Treating the grandson of the prophet like that makes Yazid an  enemy  

∙ At this point, there is a total split – Sunni and Shia o Quraysh + Umayyad Dynasty = Sunni  

o Shias laid low

 Shia Islam

∙ Thought caliphate should have always stayed in the family of  Muhammad

∙ Shias had no caliphs, just Imams (divinely mandated leader) – just  12 of them! Have a unique connection to God through the blood  they share with the Prophet

∙ Ali was Muhammad’s cousin and Fatima (prophet’s daughter)’s  husband

∙ First four Imams: Ali, Hasan, Husayn, Ali-Zayn

∙ 5th Imam: al-Baqir vs Zayad?! Disagreement over who should  follow:

o Zaydis: Shia who followed Zayad as  

o Al Baqir was the older son – his mother was a granddaughter  of Ali

o Zayad lead a revolt against the Umayyad, making people  think he was the better choice

∙ 6th Imam: Jafar

∙ 7th Imam: Musa vs. Ismail?

o Ismail is the eldest but he died before Jafar died

o Musa

o Isma’ilis: Shia sect that traces its Imamate through Isma’il’s  sons – also called “Seveners” – they thought you can’t take  away Imamate from someone just because he died

o Rest of Shia follows Musa

∙ 12th Imam: Mehdi – born in 869 and disappeared 5 years later,  874 CE – he didn’t die apparently – his followers are called the  Twelvers

o He went into hiding (OCCULTATION) and he is still hiding o This is when the “babs (gates is the literal meaning, they were people) concept comes in – the idea is that, even though he is hiding, the babs act as communication between him and his  community – THIS IS THE LESSER OCCULATATION

o Greater and Lesser Occultation  

 Greater Occultation = begins in 941 when the 4th bab  dies and there is NO form of communication with him  

and there is TOTAL occultation, TOTAL darkness

 The belief is that he could be anywhere and will return  

at the end of time (with Jesus) – consistent with the idea

in Judaism of a MESSIAH

∙ Shia make up about 20% of Muslims

∙ Ayatolla Khomeini (Iran) = his followers claimed he was the Mahdi

Umayyad Dynasty: 661-750CE

Islam spreads to Spain (west), Afghanistan and Pakistan (East), stopped from  taking France in 732

∙ 691 – Dome of the Rock on the Temple mount in Jerusalem was built where the Jewish temple was  

∙ Damascus is the Capital – Islam spreads  

 Abbasid Dynasty: 750-1258

∙ Massacred Umayyads in 750., took control

∙ Baghdad became their capital

∙ Height of this dynasty = 800’s – height of Muslim culture,  philosophy, learning, theology, math, science, medicine (500  doctors in 8th century in Baghdad)

∙ While this was happening, Christianity was going through the DARK  AGES  

 Sufism

∙ Mystical Islam – when Muslims encountered Christian ascetics  o Protests power, wealth, corruption of mainstream Islam

o Protest against legalism and motivation by fear –  Antinomianism!  

∙ Sufis embraced asceticism – poverty

∙ Suf – wool - uncomfortable

∙ Dhikr = remembrance – this is the their main principle  ∙ Language of sexual love and union common among mystics ∙ Mystical ecstasy – Fana = annihilation (consumed by God and  identity disappears)

∙ Four stages of mystical progression:

o Love of God

o Nearness to God

o Bliss

o Annihilation (fana) – completely overcome by God  “How great is my majesty?”

 “I am the absolute truth”

∙ Al-Ghazali, 11th century – legal scholar becomes a mystic  ∙ Rumi – well-known Muslim Sufi poet

∙ Whirling Dervishes: mystical union, ecstatic, out of body feeling,  

Islam in Crisis

∙ Fatimid / Seljuq mini-empires  

∙ Abbasid Dynasty seen as the Golden Age (esp 750-950CE) ∙ 1258 – Fall of Baghdad – no more Muslim empire

∙ Mongols converted: three empires (1500’s)

o Mughal Empire in India and east (Doesn’t exist anymore) o Safavid Empire in Iran (Doesn’t exist anymore)

o Ottoman Empire in Turkey and Eastern Europe (

 East and West

∙ The Muslims start to get into a conservative period

∙ The Christians have an enlightenment period – scientific and  intellectual growth

o Renaissance = rebirth

∙ Crusades – Catholic West vs. Muslim East

o Both sides have skewed ideas of each other

Political Islam

Islamism: political ideology, all Muslim

∙ Founding of Pakistan – formed from India – was peaceful, lead by a  poet  

∙ Afghan war against Russia – failed occupation of Afghanistan  ∙ Palestine/Israel conflict – Islamists have been trying to raise Jihad as one of the pillars of Islam, which is incorrect  

 The Quran

∙ Revelations came over 22 year period

∙ Context specific

o Early revelations in Mecca – short prophetic indictments –  context specific (treatment of widows, idolatry, treatment of  the poor – social and religious)

o Late revelations in Mecca – longer interpretations of past  prophets – when Mohammed began to come across Jews  

(interpretations of Jewish prophets)

o Revelations from Medina – arguments, discourses, legal  pronouncements – governmental in nature, law, legal  

arguments

o Some think that it preexisted humanity and came to  

Mohammed when he needed it  

o Mohammed’s recitations were orally transmitted and then  written on various materials  

 The oral transmission always results in variations and  

forgetfulness – Early Muslims realized it was becoming a

problem – Uthman oversees the writing and printing of  

the Quran – now there is one version (unline  

Christianity) because ALL competing versions were  

destroyed (nobody’s seen them)  

o 650CE - Quran fragments are collected

o Arranged in 114 Suras – each of them are a relevant event o Presented in order of length, not chronology, not genre, not  theme (exception of the first one)

 Sura 104 – The Slanderer – Al Hamza

∙ About greed and holding on to your money

∙ Give your money and be generous

∙ Dying rich won’t make you immortal

 Sura 103 - The Epoch – Al Asr

∙ The human is always at a loss  

∙ Humans are always forgetting – forgetting to submit to the will of  God – being honest, faithful, just, patient

 Sura 10.3 – Jonah

∙ God is the creator of everything

Sura 4.94 – The Women

∙ Muslims fought against their oppressors

∙ The point is that Muslims are not supposed to deny the offer of  peace or reject peace just because your enemy is not Muslims,  because everyone, at one point, was not Muslim and did not follow  Allah properly

Problem Texts – these passages exist but they’re contextual – the  context was war, thus resulting in statement as follows. One cannot take a  passage and call it the essence of Islam. These texts are not representative,  which is inaccurate.  

∙ Sura 8.60

o Striking terror into the hearts of the enemies

∙ Sura 47.4

o Cut the unbelievers’ throats

The Quran & Al Fatiha

∙ Quran means the “recitation”

∙ Every event, formal, mournful, etc., Quran is read – usually every  night before bed

∙ There is a hadith from Mohammed – reciting the Quran in a beautiful way to make it sound beautiful

∙ One with God, preexisted humanity – seen the same way that Jesus  is seen in Christianity  

Islam is a mix of orthopraxy and orthodoxy. There is submission of will and  submission of body. Muslims must abide by God’s law. Shariah law was  intended to limit the local differences from place to place in the world.  

Shariah Law – moral code and religious laws for Muslims - established in four steps:

∙ Quran – if it forbids something or says something is okay, end of  debate – doesn’t include much laws, however

∙ Hadith / Sunnah – most law is derived from the Hadith’s – words of Mohammed – do not have the status of the Quran but Muslims  believed that Mohammed was incapable of making errors –  sometimes they are stories ABOUT Mohammed – Muslims derive a  model of behaviour  

o Isnad = chain of transmission (so and so said that so and so  said that so and so said that Mohammed said…)

∙ Qiyas = analogy – a religious community must have a debate every time a new invention comes out – they try to find hadiths or some  statement in the Quran to make analogies and draw conclusions  about modern contexts  

∙ Ijma = consensus – when there is no hadith or Quran statement to  aide in the decision, consensus is used, since God will not allow His  community to agree on an error, thus consensus is basically divinely ordained.

 Legal Debates  

∙ Coffee – roasted – they debated if it was legal – Mohammed hasn’t  said anything and neither has the Quran – some argued that since  intoxication is forbidden, then maybe so is coffee? Coffee places  were shut down, reopened, shut down, and reopened – Qiyas was  inconclusive – they then realized that people were drinking coffee  for a century and no moral decay resulted, so coffee became legal  in Islam

∙ Khamr – Muslims were originally allowed to drink wine until  Mohammed forbade it through the Quran –  

o Hanafi argued that khamr referred exclusively to fermented  grapes and dates, thus other alcoholic drinks were okay

o Shafi’i argued that khamr was not meant to be interpreted  literally but metaphorically – it wasn’t what you drank that  was a problem, but it’s that intoxication led to social and  

moral decay, which is a problem  

o Fiqh – determination of rules and debates

 Muslim Theological Debates

Muslims believe that God is ONE and cannot be divided

∙ God’s attributes – caring, generous, understanding, grace, love,  wisdom – Muslims debated on the relationship between God and his  attributes  

o Knowledge, power, generosity  

o Speech

o Mu’tazilites – represent rationalist stream in Islam – faceless, without attributes (with secondary attributes) – no essence –  Quran was created by God as it was delivered to Mohammed  (did not exist before it was recited and it’s a second order  

down)

o On the other hand, the position is that God and his attributes  are one, his speech and knowledge are eternal (LIKE THE  

TRINITY) – SYNCHROTISM  

o If God’s speech is eternal like him, what does that make the  Quran? The other side would argue it’s his speech and eternal  like him – consubstantial  

∙ God’s hands?  

o Mu’tazilites – thought it was metaphors, not literal, God had  no hands, eyes, etc.

o Mainstream Islam thought it was literal, although not human like

 Hadith of Gabriel Summary

Islam = body, rites, practices, doing, law

Iman = mind, doctrines, belief, philosophy, theology

Ihsan = soul, heart, spirituatlity, seeing, mysticism  

 Muslim Theology

∙ Five Pillars of Faith

o Monotheism = Tawhid = there is no god but God, and  Mohammed is the messenger of God (Shahada) – God cannot  be separated in any way – Tawhid is never contradicted in  Muslim theology

o Prophecy  

 Nabi = prophet – warnings from God  

 Rasul = messenger – innovation, scripture – Rasuls are  still Nabis  

 Muslims do not worship Mohammed – but he is highly  

revered – they believe that was not capable of making  

errors – a lot of Muslims follow his example and imitate  

him

o Revelation  

 God reveals in stages -  

 People of the Book –  

o Angelic Agency – they are supposed to believe that there  are angels and that the world is shared by humans and spirits  – mediate between Allah and humans

 Jinns = made from fire – take any form – more  

ambiguous – invisible

 Gabriel and Iblis  

 Iblis = Shaytan (Satan) = didn’t bow down to  

Adam, so he was thrown out of heaven – some  

sides see it as SERIOUS devotion to God – he can  

tempt but never forces you to do anything

o Judgement and Afterlife

 Muslim ethical system – judgment, reward, and  

punishment – your salvation is at stake if you don’t  

follow Muslim laws  

 “The Day of Noise and Clamour” – people rushing about, anxious about being judged

 Hell temporary for all but religious hypocrites – you  

don’t go to hell forever – do time in hell then go to  

heaven

 Religious hypocrite – claim to be Muslim but don’t  

follow any Muslim laws

Islam is a combination of faith and practice – action infused with faith – the Five Pillars puts it more on the orthopraxy side (only one of the pillars are about faith)

 Five Pillars of Practice

∙ Shahada – confession  

o “I bear witness that there is no god but God, and I bear  witness that Mohammed is the messenger of God.”

o Shias have a third part about Imam Ali

o This is said 3 times when one wants to convert to Islam – must be with the INTENT (niyah) of conversion

∙ Salat – ritual prayer – not spontaneous – it is 5 times a day – dawn,  noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and after dark – prayer with the mouth and body – articulation of submission  

o Raka’ah – cycle of postures in prayer

o Meuzzin = caller to prayer  

 There was a debate whether it is okay to call to prayer  

through the speakers  

o Wudu is required for prayer – ritual washing

o Jum’ah = gathering for prayers = Friday afternoon =  

communal prayer  

o Masjid = mosque

∙ Zakat = to purify – alms (giving money to the poor) – 2.5% annual  “tax” – must have a minimum income in order to pay zakat  (otherwise you receive zakat) –  

∙ Sawm – fasting! In Ramadan – must have niyah to fast  o Spiritual awareness – it is the month where Mohammed  received his first revelation  

o For one month – except for the sick and pregnant

o Followed by Eid Al Fitr – giant feast  - include the poor!   1st of Shawal (10th month) – holiday (receive gifts, buy  

new clothes, off work and school)

∙ Hajj – pilgrimage – obligatory once in a lifetime – go to Mecca –  can’t be or risk being in debt. Hajj brings purification, re-birth, and a fresh start.

o Day before: 7 counter-clockwise circumambulations around  the Kabah + running between two nearby hills  

 Running between Safa and Marwa – Zam Zam Water

o Day One: 20km walk from Mecca to the Mount of  

Mercy/Arafat (sometimes stopping for the night at Mina)

o Day Two: constant prayer from noon – sunset – central ritual  of Hajj – at sunset, pilgrims move from Arafat to Muzdalifah  (cobine their sunset and evening prayers – gather pebbles  

o Day Three: Back to Mina – prilgrims throw seven pebbles at a white pillar that represents Satan – Stoning of the Jamarat  o Day Four: more pebble throwing – return to Mecca that  afternoon

o Hajj is followed by Eid Al-Adha

 Feast of sacrifice!  

 10th of Dhul-Hijja (last month of the calendar)

Hijra – Muslim new year! Flight of Muslims with Mohammed from  Mecca to Medina  

∙ 1st of Muharram – marks the new year - 1434 AH (started Nov. 14,  2012)

o Observed by Shia Muslims – recalls the martyrdoms of Ali and  Husayn  

o First 9 days is a mourning period

o 10th – Ashura – funeral procession: representations of  Husayn’s coffin, horse, weapeons, etc.  

 Shias express mourning and remorse  

 Women and Islam

∙ Female Genital Mutilation -  

∙ Hijab – comes from two Quranic passages – ensures purity of heart – modesty and “draw your cloak close around you” – from  

encountering Christianity?  

∙ Female infanticide – can bring the whole tribe down – Mohammed  prohibited it  

∙ Polygyny – Mohammed limited it to four – Quranic verse that says  “Unless he treats each equitably, he only marries one”

Jewish History 09/16/2012

All religions change… sometimes negative (fighting with other  religions). Contact with other religions changes religions (borrowing ideas).  

Judaism history starts in about 1800-1900 BCE. More time elapsed  between the founding of Judaism and the founding of Islam than the  founding of Christianity and the present day. History of the Jews is so long;  telling their history is like telling the history of humanity.  

Judaism is a small religion. Christians make up 33.3% of the world;  Muslims make up 20.4% of the world; and Jews make up 0.2% of the world. ∙ Theological explanation: God favors Christians and Muslims.  ∙ Sociological explanation: Islam and Christianity are missionary  religions – seeking to convert nations and the people around them –  Judaism is not a missionary religion  

The Israelites have interacted with Canaanites, Assyrians, Ethiopians,  Babylonians, Persians, Ishmaelites, Greeks, Pagan Romans, Christian  Romans, and Muslim Empires. The Jews have intermarried practically all of  those “races”. The Jews are NOT a pure race.  

Who is Jewish?

∙ Religious Judaism - a woman must be Jewish to have a Jewish child  (conservative) – if you have a Jewish mother, you’re Jewish even if  you convert (genetic?) – lacks central authority  

∙ Ethnic Judaism – don’t follow religion but call themselves Jewish –  cultural  

∙ Sephardic – Jews from Spain, North Africa, Palestine (ethnic groups  of modern Jews)

∙ Ashkenazi – Northern/Eastern Europe, Russia (ethnic groups of  modern Jews)

Orthopraxy = “practicing”

Orthodoxy = “thought, belief”

BCE = before common era; before Christian era  

BC = before Christ

AD = after Christ’s birth

AH = Al-Hijra = Islam

Old Testament = Hebrew Bible = Tunac = Torah

Three Elements of Judaism

∙ One God: Shema (prayer) – orthopraxy  

∙ Torah (First five books) as word of God – scripture is authoritative  ∙ Future Salvation – God will intervene in the human course

The Hebrew Bible is a chronological book of events – starts from the  beginning of the universe (Genesis 1-11) – biblical mythological/theological  record.  

Biblical Legend

∙ Genesis 12 – starts with Abram (who changes his name to  Abraham), and his wife Sarah, who gets a call from God, promising  him a land (1900-1700 BCE) – this is LEGEND, not myth – because  myths are implausible – however, Abraham picking up his family  and moving is plausible but since there is no record, it’s a biblical  LEGEND – Abraham may have never existed… First person to  answer the call of God after the Flood and all… he is a father figure,  the first patriarch – they get to a promise land and find that the  Canaanites already live there! The people of Abraham have to  conquer the land, with the belief that God gave it to them..  

∙ Abraham and Sarah are extremely old yet childless, unable to  conceive at this point – therefore, the father would impregnate a  housemaid from the household to provide him with an heir – so  Abraham impregnates Hagar, who gives birth to Ishmael (first born)  – suddenly, God allowed infertile, old Sarah to conceive at an old  age, giving birth to Isaac (second son) – Who is the inheritor? Sarah becomes jealous and asks for Hagar and Ishmael to be kicked out of the house  

∙ Isaac becomes the father of Jacob – the God they’re following has no name – Jacob has a dream where he wrestles with God – so he  changes his name to Israel (meaning wrestling with God) – when  these persons encounter God, they change their names… divine  change of person?

∙ 100’s of years later, the Israelites are in Egypt (stay for 400 years) – their community grows and resentment starts to build with the  Hebrews and the Egyptians – the Hebrews (Israelites) are enslaved  and persecuted by the Pharaohs in Egypt – killed all the boys in  order to cut off the lineage – only one boy is spared – put in a basket and into the river, where a princess discovers him, takes him into  the Royal household and raises him but he later discovers he is  Jewish – this is Moses

∙ Moses sees the Israelites being persecuted and he steps in one day  and kills an Egyptian overlord – now that he’s an enemy, he flees  into the desert – he finds a bush that’s on fire that isn’t actually  being consumed by the fire, not being burned up – the burning bush tells him to go to Pharaoh and stand up for his people – he is  concerned that the bush is talking to him, so he asks, “Who are  you?” and the bush goes, “I am who I am.” The bush said, “Tell  them I am sent you.” (I am = echyeh”) God gets called “yahweh”.  God sends 10 different plagues, one of which includes the killing of  the first born boys of the Egyptian households… The Pharaoh lets  the Hebrews go but pursues them later…  

∙ Then the EXODUS happens – 1250 BCE – Moses parts the Red Sea  and leads his people through, then the waters close, and the  Hebrews are free  

Biblical History

∙ The Jews had to go around homeless for 40 years, where once they  ended up in Mount. Sinai – that’s where the giving of the Torah to  the Jews by God took place – the Torah = LAW

∙ Mitsvah = commandment – ten commandments given to Moses by  God (Yahweh) – now we’re starting to move towards Judaism, with  the Torah, and the God’s name – BUT, these people are not yet  monotheistic (they weren’t polytheistic either) – they were  “henotheistic”, meaning recognizing other Gods yet only  worshipping one

∙ Mosaic Covenant (treaty)  

∙ 11th century BCE – Israelites have re-conquered Canaan –  archaeological records do not show records of war, they only show  demographical conquest, where people are moving in, etc…  

o The story told in the Book of Joshua, resettling of Canaan – he  sets up 12 tribes, equal to each other but not fully united –  over the tribes, he sets up a judge over each tribe – Joshua is  a military commander who helped found the Israelite country

∙ The period of the monarchy – moving into nationhood and a united  monarchy rather than the 12 tribes – Saul is the first monarch –  David is the second monarch, the KING (ruled 1000-960 BCE) –  

most famous and most beloved king, has the approval of God  himself:

o He successfully brought the twelve tribes together under one  nation… ISRAEL  

o Peace and prosperity – they’re suddenly powerful, wealthy,  and autonomous (for 80 years)

o Jerusalem – David had to pick a capital for his country, so he  picks a new city, non-Israelite city, inhabited by none of the  tribes, in order to avoid problems

∙ After David, his son, Solomon, rules (960-21 BCE) – he was known  for his wisdom as King, his wealth, and his international power – he  had many wives from other Kingdoms (the story of cutting a baby!)  – Solomon built the first Jewish Temple!  “First Temple Judaism”

∙ Monarchy Breaks Down… Solomon’s sons were not as great as him,  not as wise – they start making policies that are unpopular with the  people (including taxation), so he taxed the periphery cities more  than the popular cities – the monarchy starts to break up into two  (2) – Israel becomes the Northern Kingdom and Judah becomes the  South Kingdom (Jerusalem ends up in Judah) – The Assyrians  (gigantic empire) conquer the Northern Kingdom (ISRAEL) in 721  BCE 

∙ The Babylonians (from Iraq) in 587 BCE destroy Judah, lead by King  Nebuchadnezzar - ends period of the “First Temple”

o Nebuchadnezzar takes the wealthy and the elite and forces  them out of Jerusalem – either made them flee or kidnapped  them to Babylon – this is the start of The Diaspora Judaism,  meaning they get scattered in other people’s lands,  

developing outside of Israel

∙ Judaism encounters a theological problem, because their treaty is  destroyed (which said that if the people stayed loyal to God, they  would live there)… Thus a prophet comes along saying that God  wasn’t very happy with the people and was disciplining them using  the Babylonians – this guaranteed the continuation of the religion  after the First Temple is destroyed

∙ The Septeuagint (LXX) – translation of the Hebrew Bible into Greek  since many Jews could not read Hebrew anymore, due to Diaspora –  after the Persians conquered the Babylonians, the Jews still did not  want to go back –

o The Kind of Egypt was building a huge library and invited 72  (LLX) people from Jerusalem, scholars, religious leaders, etc,  and he would ask the Jewish translators Greek philosophical  questions like, “Can you teach a man to be good?” Or “Can  you teach virtue?” and they would reply with a perfectly  

Greek philosophical answer… so the King puts the 72 people  into separate rooms and they translate separately for 72 days  and they all arrived at the exact same translation… miracle!  Thus God was okay with this.  

 ∙     The Second Temple 

o The Persians (Iranians) were led by King Cyrus who went and  destroyed the Babylonians  

o The Israelites were invited to return (538 BCE)

o Temple was rebuilt, completed in 515 BCE

o Monotheism was developed due to the Diaspora, the  

realization that God is everywhere

∙ The Greeks pushed back the Persians, and bringing about the  Hellenization of the world – Hellenism became very attractive –  EPISPASM to compete in the Olympics! Which is a theological  problem because circumcision was part of the covenant with their  God  

∙ Even when Rome was in power, everyone still spoke Greek and  preferred Greek culture – Greco-Roman Period 

∙ 2nd century BCE, sects developed (a group of people with somewhat  different religious beliefs)  

o Sadducees - interested in stability, peace, working with  Rome

o Pharisees - believed in angels, resurrection, had instructions  from God, ORAL TORAH, whispered to Moses by God – thus  they redefine the religion

o Sicarii – rebel group – sprout up in 1st century CE – violent  resistant movements against Rome – named after their sickle shaped weapons

o Zealots – rebel group – willing to die for God

o Christians

∙ War of Independence I (66-73 CE) – Rome destroys Second Temple  in 70 CE – Bar Kochba Revolt (squashed by Rome)  

 Rabbinic Judaism

∙ 70-500 CE

∙ New religion? It was a very different form of Judaism after the  destruction of the Second Temple

o Synagogue vs Temple – the temple was a place of sacrifice  – Jews were required to go 3 times a year to sacrifice – the  synagogue replaced the temple, religion happened in the  

synagogue, in different communities - Priesthood disappeared from Judaism since they were only needed for sacrifice – priest was replaced with a Rabbi (“my teacher”) – the Rabbi leads  the synagogue  

o Prayer vs. Sacrifice – prayer becomes the primary, central  religious act in Judaism, with the disappearance of the temple  o Dining Room Table vs. Altar – sacrifice requires an altar –  dining room table becomes the central location of religious life – the family meal – where purity is controlled (as it’s a religion of purity) – purity is important so that you can enter the  

temple and do your sacrifices – purity does not disappear -  o Talmud – new religious writing  

 Medieval Judaism

∙ 500-1600 CE

∙ Encounter with Islam – as Islam spread and moved across the  Mediterranean, it was taking over Christian land which included  Jewish communities – for the most part, the Jews were happy about  this… living under Muslim rules was better than under Christian  rules for them – Muslims respected them whereas the Christians  viewed them as Christ-killers  

∙ Philosophy – starts to develop with – start to give nicknames  (Rabbi Moses ben Maimon = RMBM = Rambam) – self-reliance, free  will, independence? Or was everything pre-ordained and pre destined? (Divine omnipotence) Burning question in 12th century,  Jews discuss with Muslims – Guide for the Perplexed (in Arabic and  later translated to Hebrew) – Judaism was never anti-intellectual,  they believed that the human mind will rationalize intellectually ∙ Saadia  

∙ Judah Halevi

 Expulsion of Jews Eastward

∙ The Jews had no land, they lived in each other’s land  

∙ Because of the war between Islam and Christianity, the Jews were  expelled (as they were blamed) – also because of Christian rumours  that Jews were poisoning wells, kidnapping children (blood libel),  etc… kidnapping the Catholics’ bread (body of Christ) 

∙ Most of them end up in Poland (opened its doors to the Jewish as it  was a new country) – middle class! And settle in Germany as well…

Responds to Persecution

∙ Mysticism – Kabbalah is the Jewish school/form of mysticism –  mystics tend to reject the boundaries – they recognize the  universality of human life (think we’re all the SAME)  

o The Zohar is the main writing of the Kabbalah – believed to  be written by 3rd century Rabbi Simeon bar Yochai but it was  actually by 13th century Moses ben Shemtov of Leon

o Messiah = promised King to come free the Jews from foreign  rulers forgotten by the Jewish

o Shabbatai Zvi (17th century.. 1666 CE) – proclaimed messiah! He was captured by Turkish Grand Vissieh where he was  offered either conversion to Islam or death… he converts and  they all convert 

∙ Hasidism – Hasidic movement – Israel ben Eliezer (18th century)  = The Baal Shem Tov the master of the Good Name – can heal  people by laying his hands on people and saying God’s name  (Jewish aren’t supposed to say God’s name (Yaweh) as it’s  extremely powerful) = The Baal Shem = Besht – he urged people to  find joy in the middle of misery – he tried to persuade them that  God can be found everywhere even in the ghettos – communities  adored him and believed what he said  

∙ Modern Skepticism – sectarianism – the Jewish have lots of  boundaries (diet, dress code, etc) – they wanted to eat at  restaurants, dress normally, have Christian friends, etc – so Moses  Mendelssohn – they’re not the essence of the religion, it’s what  you believe so you can choose not to do these things! REFORM  JUDAISM – ethical kosher (according to ethics, not purity)

o Conservative: If it’s in scripture, you cannot DEBATE IT. If it’s a practice developed later culturally, you may give that away  (such as dress) - Zecharias Frankel in Germany – Solomon  Schechter in the US (19th century)

o Orthodox: Samson Raphael Hirsh (19th century) – strict  interpretation of the Torah – The Torah is God’s word and is  not to be negotiated with  

∙ Zionism – independence, security, language – nationalism –  Theodor Herzl (1860 – 1904) argued that until the Jews had a nation (land, army), they will be at the mercy of their host nation, no  security – people did not pay him much attention until the Holocaust – they were thinking humanity was getting better until the  Holocaust

o The Holocaust: 1933, Adolf Hitler is appointed Chancellor of  Germnany – increasing persecution and public harassment of  German Jews – racism and anti-Semitism – Shoah is the word  the Jewish use for the Holocaust (burning everything) – starts  Nov. 9/10 1938 (Kistallnacht = The Night of Broken Glass) –  

when a Jew living in Paris assassinates a German ambassador  for the persecution of Jews – so Hitler proposed the Judenfrage (what to do with the Jews) and his answer was called the Final  Solution – it was to exterminate the Jews – Auschwitz – 6  

million died in total ( 4m in extermination camps and 1.5 in  mass execution over the war)

o 1938 – League of Nations conference of 32 countries – 1939  the St Louis ship full of Jews was turned away by Cuba, US,  Canada

∙ Jews began to realize that they will never be safe in someone else’s  land and they need to set up a nation – they were setting up Israel  in Israel (1948) but one problem… people were already living there!  Palestinians! Muslim lands!  

Scripture

The Hebrew Bible includes the Torah (law/instructions), the Nevi’im  (Prophets), and the Ketuvim – TNK = TaNaK = Tanakh (all three sections) ∙ The Torah – Genesis

o Torah = first five books of the bible – Five books of Moses –  sometimes called Pentateuch

o Torah = law

o Gen 1:1 – “in the beginning, God created the heavens and  the Earth” is the first verse – talks about the creation of  

everything in the universe -  

o Gen 2:4 – “These are the generations of the heavens and the  Earth when they were created – two creation accounts?  

They’re not different versions of the same account; because in Genesis 1, the vegetation was created in day 1 and the  

humans were created in day 6, and God was called Elohim  (plural); in Gensis 2, humans were created before  

vegetation… as well as a different name for God, which is  “YHVH Elohim” (which they just say Adonay instead of  

Yahweh, because they can’t say the name of God, meaning  Lord God) – this is evidence that led scholars that we probably have multiple people that were involved in the  

writing/composition of the Five Books of Moses – we identify  them using the Documentaty Hypothesis which consists of:  E (Elohist) – they refer to God as Elohim (writing  

Gensis 1)

 J (Jawhist) – refers to God as Adony Elohim (Yahweh)

 P (Priestly) – wrote all about temple, how big, exact  measurements, exact details about the altar, exact  

instructions on sacrifices and purity

 D (Deuteronomist) – wrote Deuteronomy and Genesis  1

o In the Torah, you have etiological myths (myths of origins) – they are myths of explanations. You also have legends (which aren’t completely mythological, that’s why they’re called  legends, because they’re plausible). Once we get into the  exodus, entry in Canaan, tribes, monarchy, etc., we get into  Biblical History.  

o In these initial stories, we also learn the story of Adam and  Eve (story of where humans come from) – the story of Cain  and Abel (the sons) – Noah (the Flood Story – Noah is  

instructed how to save animals and humans when God  destroys everything - the rains fell for 40 days and the waters  rise for 150 days)

o The Epic of Gilgamesh – God decides to destroy the Earth  with a flood – he tells Utnapishtim to save animals before the  flood – this is a much older story, thus this is probably the  source of the Genesis flood story – God destroys the humans  in this story because the humans talked too much, they made  too much noise  

 Note: syncretism = when religions borrow ideas from  each other  

o Tower of Babel – humans build a gigantic tower in an  attempt to get closer to God – takes a lot of cooperation – as  they got higher and higher, God destroys the tower and he  scattered the people and gave them all different languages in  order to avoid this again

o Job – from later writings and later periods – Job is very  righteous, faithful to God, and everything is going really well  for him – so God takes everything away from this righteous  man – and Job believed that good things come to good people  – and now he has to figure out why bad things are happening  to him, why do bad things happen to good people? Job  thought it was the influence of Satan in the world.

o The five books:  

 Genesis - Bereshit (significant word, meaning Exodus)  Exodus – Egypt  

 Leviticus – priestly purity and other commandments  Numbers – from wilderness to Canaan

 Deuteronomy – more laws, death of Moses

∙ The Nevi’im – for the prophets

o Former prophets: Joshua, Judges, Samuel (one book), Kings  (one book)

o Later: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, The Twelve: Hosea, Micah,  Malachi (one book)

o Prophets in the Hebrew Bible speak for God (or God speaks  through him) – they don’t say anything on their own authority  – sometimes they may say something about the future but  this is not the main characteristic – they warn the community  about theological behaviors

o Prophets are sent when the Jews slack off

∙ The Ketuvim

o Literally means “Writings”

o 11 Books – very miscellaneous  

o You get all sorts of things in the Ketuvim – proverbs, psalms,  Job, Ruth (woman marrying a Jewish husband, story about  converting to Judaism)  

o Psalms are often about remorse and God’s mercy, because  they were written by King David out of guilt

 Other Important Writings

∙ Midrash – stories about the biblical characters that come from  people thinking about the bible, inspired by the bible, answers some questions that aren’t in the Bible

o Two different kinds of Midrash

 Halakhah – midrash about the LAW – kind of like  

commandments  

 Haggadah/Aggadah – midrash on narrative material

o Variety of voices

∙ Mishnah = oral Torah – idea of the Pharisees  

o Whispered into Moses’ ears by God

o Rabbi Judah Ha-Nasi or Judah I - C. 200 CE – he committed the oral Torah to writing and called it the Mishnah  

o Interpretation of Mishnah is called “Gemara”

∙ Talmud  

o Mishanah + Palestinian Gemara = Palestinian Talmud  

(completed 450CE) – shorter = viewed as less authoritative  and incomplete

 Nickname: Yerushalmi

o Mishanah + Babyonian Gemara = Babylonian Talmud  

(completed 500CE) –  

 Nickname: Bavli

o They think that miracles are not proofs or arguments – this is  also a way of defying Christianity (as Jesus performed multiple miracles) – consensus is extremely important

∙ Talmud Commentaries

o Rabbi Shlomo ben Yitshak (1040-1105CE) – nicknamed Rashi – he is the most famous of Talmudic commentators

 Theology of Judaism

∙ Monotheism – Judaism went through a process to get to  monotheism, as they started as henotheistic – the shift was a result  of the Babylonian conquest  

o Henotheism vs. Monotheism – two Gods in the text, where  they’re recognized but only one is worshipped  

o Orthopraxic  

o Shema – their creed – “Hear o Israel, the Lord is our God, the  Lord alone.” – statement of faith or belief

∙ Resurrection – communal resurrection of Israel at the end of time o Exchatological -  

o Sheol – what awaits after death – dark, gloomy, but neutral –  it’s not Hell – where everybody goes when they die – you have an afterlife when you die defending your religion or being  

righteous  

o Theodicy

∙ Messiah – literal meaning comes from the verb meaning to  “anoint” (kind of like baptism) – in the theological perspective, it  means that God is overseeing or guiding – you stop being a messiah when you die (living office) – sometimes objects are “anointed  ones” such as spoons – there is also a tradition saying that the line  of Davidic Kings will not end (ended by the Babylonians however) –  that’s when they stop thinking about a present office and they think about it as a future office, waiting to be fulfilled (‘cause God made  that promise in scripture) – Christians are the ones that end up  coming with the new idea of a Messiah (Jesus)

∙ Sin – Judaism holds the belief that you’re born without sin – but  sinning is a character of being human

o Halakhah (what you can do and what you can’t do) – breaking  these laws is sinning  

o “Building a fence around the Torah” – Rabbinic Judaism find  loopholes (for instance, no mixing milk and meat)  

 Maimonides’s 13 Principle of Jewish Faith

∙ God is the creator and guide of everything. He is the sole creator.  Nothing would be without him.  

∙ God is oneness and the essence of oneness and there is no other  oneness like his.  

∙ God has no body; he is free from all the properties of matter.  ∙ God is the first and the last.

∙ It is right to pray to God, and only to God.  

∙ All the words of the prophets are true. They have a special access to God’s knowledge.  

∙ The prophecy of Moses our teacher was true, and that he was the  chief of the prophets.  

∙ The entire Torah that is now in our possession is the same that was  given to Moses.  

∙ The Torah will not be exchanged, and there will never be any other  Torah.  

∙ God knows all the deeds of human beings and all their thoughts.  ∙ God rewards those who keep his commandments and punishes  those who transgress them.  

∙ The Messiah will come, eventually.  

∙ There will be a revival of the dead at the end of time.  

 Distinctive Jewish Practices  

∙ Circumcision – 8th day of a boy’s life – this goes back to ancient  times -  

∙ Kashrut – rules of kosher eating – also goes back a long time –  collection of laws that makes food kosher – some foods have to be  the right kind, prepared the right way, and killed the right way –  these two practices go back to the Hebrew Bible, which lays out  what you can and cannot eat (bugs, reptiles, dogs, pork, etc.) –  eating things that eat dead things is not kosher (i.e.. Eagles) – can’t  eat shellfish either – the Hebrew Bible does not explain why some  things are kosher or not kosher, it simply lays out the laws – has to  be killed the right away (drained of blood – like halal)  

∙ Sabbath/Shabbat: a day without “work” – based on a Torah  command – rest one day of the week – like when God rested the 7th day after creating the universe – there is a lot of debate on “what is  considered work?” – you welcome the Sabbath by lighting a candle  

∙ Prayer – official prayer requires a minion (chorum – meeting that  needs a minimum number of people for it to happen) – Jewish  prayer is supposed to be focused on God only  

o Minyan –  

o Tefillin – small black boxed with a Torah scroll – go in symbolic  locations when praying – reminder that the Torah is close to  your mind and heart – entirely symbolic – reminds the prayer  that their ultimate focus is God  

o Tallith – developed in rabbinic Judaism – prayer shawl – goes  over the head when praying – cuts out the noise and  

peripheral vision to avoid distraction and maintain focus on  God – some Jews wear it all the time!

o Kippah/Yarmulke – if you’re going before God, you must cover  your head out of respect, fear, humility, etc. – wearing it all  the time recognizes that God is everywhere and one needs to  tremble before God

 Rules  

∙ Letter of the Law or the Spirit of the Law?  

∙ Charges of Legalism, no spirit or heart  

Holy Days

∙ Adapted lunar calendar – intercalary month allows the harvest  festival to stay rooted in the fall and the Passover would stay in the  spring – leap year every 4 years -  

∙ Relation to cycle of nature – holy days that have a relation to  agricultural times maintain their actual timing

∙ Relation to history of interaction with God

∙ Every holy day has an agricultural material level and a spiritual level and meaning  

∙ Jewish New Year – 5773 – began Sept. 16, 2012

∙ 1st of Tishri – September and October

o Serious focus on self-improvement – start of new possibilities  and expressing remorse for things that didn’t go so well –  

repentance for the things done wrong – eat Apple dipped in  honey (sweet upon sweet – sweet coming year symbolism) – a shofar is a goat’s horn that is blown, which goes back to  

ancient monarchy ceremonies – this blowing symbolizes God’s autonomy (God is King)  

∙ Yom Kippur – 10th of Tishri – Day of Atonement  

o When the Temple stood, Yom Kippur was the day on which, all  of Israel, would pray to God for the collective forgiveness on a  communal level, not individually – it would have two parts:   the high priest would gather all the sins of the people  

and drive the goat to the desert where it would die with  

the sins – SCAPEGOAT  

 The second thing is that the high priest would go into  

the Temple and into the Holy of Holies (where only he  

could enter on this day only) and speak the name of  

God (YHWH – Yahweh – sacred – sometimes called  

tetregrammaton (four letters)) – when you’re reading  

the YHWH, you say Adonay instead of God’s name  

o Most important Holy Day – fasting (for 25 hours) – somber,  serious, mournful – you beg God for forgiveness – you don’t  celebrate but you observe

∙ Sukkot - 15th of Tishri – Feast of Booths and Festival of  Ingathering  

o related to autumn harvest, sleeping in fields to protect crops – bringing the crops in (sukkah is a temporary tent/booth) -  o also called Feast of Booths and Festival of Ingathering  o lasts for 7 days  

∙ Simhat Torah – Joy of Torah

o Follows the last day of Sukkot – celebrates God’s gift/granting  of the law (Torah)

∙ Hanukkah – Festival of Lights – 25th of Kislev (Dec. 8 this  year) – festive!  

o Alexander the Great (d. 323 BCE) – he expanded the Greek  Empire - he outlawed  

o Antiochus IV Epiphanes – decided to outlaw judaism, by  making everything related with Judaism illegal – he went into  the Temple and sacrificed a pig in the Temple’s alter – the  Israelites fought back - 167 BCE – Abomination of Desolation  o Maccabean (tribe) revolt, Hasmonean (clan) rule

o Redication of the defiled Temple – rededicating the Temple to  God after the outrageous act

o Miracle of Light – the lamps burned for 8 days despite having  1 day’s worth of oil – THUS Hanukkah lasts for 8 days and a  candle is lit every day (8 in total by the end)

∙ Purim – Feb. 23 this year

o 14th of Adar – Feb.-March

o Most joyous and fun of Jewish Holy days – celebrates the  escaping of a genocide of Jews in Persia (when the King fell in  love with a Jewish) – Jam filled cookies are made at this time!  o Book of Esther  

o Purim means “lots” (as in straws, not much as in quantity) ∙ Pesach – Passover – 15th of Nissan (March-April) o When God sent down plagues on the Egyptians, the Pharaoh  lets the Jews go – recalls the Exodus

o Eating flat bread! They also have “Sedar” (meaning order,  because everything happens in a certain order because a  story is being told) – the story told alongside meal is called  Pesach Haggadah

o Symbolic meaning: spring! Emergence from winter and entry  into spring – related to spring equinox  

∙ Shavuot – 50 days after Passover (7 weeks + a day) (May June)  

o This year’s is May 14-16, 2013

o Feast of Weeks

o Two levels of symbolism and meaning: early harvest festival  and the second festival that thanks God for the giving of the  Torah  

∙ Tisha B’Av

o Ninth of Ab

o Held on the 9th of Ab

o Next is on July 15

o Collective day of mourning: both destroyed Temples,  Holocaust, for loves ones that have died

o 1st – 9th of Av - Weddings not permitted, no hair-cutting, no  make up, no new clothes – fasting, not bathing, not putting on perfume

Christian History 09/29/2012

All the followers of Jesus were Jewish and so was Jesus himself.  Different Jewish Sects: Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Zealots, Sicarii,  Christians.  

So many people claimed to be the Messiahs, when Rome was ruling  Judiah. They were each killed off by the Romans.  

Jesus of Nazareth was born in 4 BCE in the Galilee. He was critical of  Judaism although he was Jewish himself. He was performing miracles. He was born of a virgin. He went to observe Passover in Jerusalem. He protested and  is arrested by the Romans. He was executed the next day. He was killed in  the traditional Roman way of death… Crucifixion. You die of suffocation when you’re crucified. Three days later, he was raised from the dead by God.  Followers of Jesus kept following him after he died.  

∙ Paul: Apostle to the Gentiles = diaspora Jew – the risen Jesus  came to him as he was on his way to Damascus to persecute  

Christians – therefore his name changes from Apostle to Paul (divine encounter with God?!) – so he stops persecuting and becomes a  champion of Christ followers’ movement – he was arrested and  executed on his way to Spain - JEWISH FOLLOWER OF JESUS – he is  doing this travelling 40-50 CE

∙ Gentiles – no circumcision and no food restrictions!

Christianities

Gnostics / Docetics – form on knowledge

∙ Jesus only appeared to be human  

∙ Anti-flesh/anti-material

Marcion – argued that the world was created by an evil God (JEWISH  GOD)

∙ Demiurges (evil) were behind creation, Judaism, and the Hebrew  Bible

∙ Rejected Gospel of Matthew from his cannon

            Orthodoxy (proper belief) and Heresy (wrong belief) 

 Imperial Christianity  

∙ Constantine was Roman emperor 306-37 CE – he had a dream  before a battle with the sign of Labarum and Chi Rho – he puts it on  his battle stand and he wins – he issues Edict of Milan 313 CE – it  made Christianity legal in Roman Empire – Christianity grows  

exponentially -  

∙ Christians with armies and power as history shifted

 Debates and Creeds

∙ 4th century - Arius from Alexandria believed that Jesus was not  eternal but created

o That Jesus was homoi-ousion; similar substance to God

∙ Athanasius, from Alexandria, argued that Jesus always existed but  wasn’t revealing himself

o That Jesus was homo-ousion; same substance as God – son of  God

∙ Nicene creed established the concept of Trinity – Nicea = co-equal  Father, Son of God, and Holy Spirit – co-eternal and co-substantial  ∙ Ideas about Mary – Theotokos = bearer of God… Christotokos =  bearer of Christ (Bishop of Constantinople  leads to theological  development of the Immaculate Conception in 1854 – Mary was  born without sin immaculately  

∙ Jesus was fully human and fully divine – Nestorius argued that he  had two persons in him (human and divine) and that only the  human part was born and the divine part was coeternal –  

∙ Monophysites opposed Nestorius – human element of Jesus was  completely swallowed up into the divine one, he had one nature.  ∙ Council of Chalcedon, 451 – compromise between Rome and  Constantinople – Jesus was one person (mono) but with both human and divine natures in him – important point in Christian history  because it’s the high point of Christian dialogue – mostly important  for eastern orthodox  

∙ The next great political event is the FALL OF ROME – happens over a century – declared gone in 476 CE – this opens a power vacuum  that changes Christianity greatly as there is no longer a roman  empire or an emperor – there is church however – universal catholic  church (has a Roman bishop)  

∙ Holy Roman Emperor – bringing together of the church and the  empire! Any resistance to him becomes as resistance against the  church (kind of like resistance to God himself) – religion and politics  brought together inseparably

o The Roman bishop starts to extend missions – he becomes  powerful and wealthy – this results in two historical things:  Crusades (aka movements) – mostly about Christian  

imperialism and about internecine debate (debates in  

the same house, same religion)

 637CE Jerusalem fell to Umar  

 1010CE The Church of the Holy Sepulcher was  

burned down by Muslims

 1071CE – Turkish muslims persecuted Christians in

Jerusalem

 1095CE – first of many Crusades – happened  

because of Muslim persecution of Christians – they

went and fought – only reasonable and legible  

crusade because the rest were mostly about  

taking land

 1099 CE – Crusaders win back Jerusalem (they  

lose it again in 1187 to Muslims)  

 Split between East and West in 1054 – between the  bishop of Rome and Bishop of Constantinople – the  

Bishop of Rome excommunicates the Bishop of  

Constantinople over theological disagreement – the  

disagreement was over the word FILIOQUE CLAUSE –  

the bishop of Constantinople refused to say, “Holy Spirit,

God, and Son” because he believes everything derived  

from God and refused to say that in their creed but the  

Bishop of Rome wanted to add it

 Keep in mind the West spoke Greek and the East  

spoke Latin  

∙ Cyril (829-69CE) missionizes by learning THEIR language and  preaching to them in their own language which had a fantastic  result – vernacular! They made a new alphabetic based on Greek  letters, CYRILLIC ALPHABET (Russian)

∙ 7th century Debate – Iconoclasts vs. Iconodules – debate over  whether its okay to use religious pictures or icons (of Jesus, for  instance) in worship – The iconodules believed it was okay because  they weren’t worshipping the pictures, rather they’re helping the  worship, whereas the iconoclasts SMASHED THE ICONS; they  thought that it was idolatry (worshipping something other than God) – the Iconodules won  

 Social History:  

15th century – Europe is in the midst of social and technological  change

∙ Urbanization – increasing tendency of people moving to cities –  makes people more liberal and more accepting because they are  open-minded and learn more as they come more into contact with  cultural difference and exchange of ideas

 ∙     Literacy – people are more literate, education is becoming  prevalent, and people are more interested in reading – so they read  the Bible! However, churches are not allowing them to have the  Bible to read – especially since translating and owning the Bible was illegal!

 ∙     Growth of vernacular languages – Latin was the language for the  catholic church – other languages (vernaculars) were starting to  develop

 ∙     Printing press (1456) – invention of printing press – shift in  technology resulting in social shifts!  

          Martin Luther (1483-1546CE) – Catholic Priest

∙   Corruption in Rome  

o Exploitation of Northern European churches

o Indulgences – selling to the rich to build buildings

∙   95 Theses of Luther (1517CE)

o The theses were posted to the door of the church in  

Wittenberg

o Direct challenge and refutation of many Catholic ideas  

         Martin’s Ideas

∙    Sola fie/sola gratia – by faith alone/by grace alone – humans can  do nothing to affect salvation – humans were saved by God’s grace  alone and by faith alone and you don’t EARN it by buying or by  doing good

∙    Sola scriptura – by scripture alone – all practice and belief must be found in scripture – this separates prodestant Christianity and  catholic Christianity – different groups in the 3 religions believe this:

 o Jewish Karaites – believe that God revealed in scripture - the  Talmud was rejected by them

 o Christian Lutherans 

 o Muslim Wahhabis – anything that comes after the Quran has  no legitimacy  

          Diet of Worms

∙    Charges – 1521CE

 o Excommunication – rendered him unsavable by God

 o Political subversion - since his protest was not just theological but political as well

 ∙     Diet of Worms was his trial

 Effects of Luther’s protests

∙ Protestant reformation

∙ Local authority = multiple splintering into different types of  Christianity  

o Calvin/Calvinism

o Presbyterianism  

o Anabaptists

o Mennonites

o Puritans

o Quakers

o Baptists  

∙ He thought anyone can have the level of connection a pope has  with God

∙ People were starting to interpret scripture in their own way and start different kinds of protestant Christianity  

∙ Council of Trent – 1545-1563 – counter reformation – they took  away indulgences but it was too little too late for reconciliation  

 Anglicanism  

∙ Henry VII King of England – he decided that he wanted to divorce  one of his wives and the Catholic Church didn’t’ allow divorce so the Pope said no  

o That is why the Church of England broke away from the  Roman Catholic Church – over divorce

o 1534 CE -  

∙ The Americans call the Anglicans “Episcopaleans”

∙ Some Anglican churches are very liberal whereas there are some  conservative ones

Modern Catholicism

∙ Vatican II – 1962-1965 – the last time the council revisited  different aspects of Catholic theology - It was done to modernize of  some Catholic practices, not others – for instance, they didn’t want  to worship in Latin anymore – it also allowed the Minister, Pope, etc,  to stand facing the congregation with his back to the Cross and  Jesus  

∙ Infant Baptism – since humans are born sinful, baptizing babies  would allow them to go to heaven if they die as babies – Catholicism no longer believes this

∙ Ecumenical - this Vatican also reached out to other religions as it  ended praying against Jews, and it now recognizes Judaism as an  actual religion not to be prosecuted – and it also recognized  protestants and that they can go to heaven too

The New Testament: Genre – can be arranged chronologically or  canonically (genre order):

∙ Gospels – a form of biography (interested in getting into the  character psychologically and not mostly interested in facts) –  persuades people to emulate the character/hero – teaches virtue -  the following don’t make a claim of authorship:

o Matthew – 80-90CE – synoptic gospel (meaning they look  extremely similarly to one another)

o Mark – 66-72CE – synoptic gospel

o Luke – 80-90CE – synoptic gospel

o John – 90-100CE – fourth gospel – looks profoundly different –  different life and itinerary of Jesus (different depiction) – in this gospel, Jesus dies after Passover – this is known as the  spiritual gospel -  

∙ Acts – one act in New Testament – no authorial claim – an act is a  series of narratives of figures (not Jesus) in early Christianity -  o Name of the Book: Acts of the Apostles (apostles being  Peter & Paul) – the act represents the realization in  

Christianity that the end (Judgment day? Apocalypse?) is not  exactly near

o The Gospel of Luke and Acts likely have the same author o First “history of the church”

o Talks about the transition of the gospel from Jerusalem (where it opens) to Rome (where it closes) – Paul’s travel

∙ Letters –  

o Letters of Paul – come first in this section – 50-55CE – this  date means that everything Paul has done and his life was  done before the destruction of the Second Temple. His letters  say nothing about Jesus – his interest was mostly in the  RESURRECTION (not in the historical teaching, living Jesus)

 Undisputed letters – no one questions that they’re  Paul’s

1 Thessalonians

 1 Corinthians

 2 Corinthians  

 Galatians

 Philippians

 Philemon

 Romans

 Disputed Letters:  

 2 Thessalonians

 Colossians,

 Ephesians

 Deutero-Pauline Letters – someone writing in  

Paul’s name

 1 Timothy

 2 Timothy

 Titus

o Hebrews (no author)

o James (brother of Jesus)

o Peter (2) (Chief of disciples)  

o John (3) (Chief of disciples)

o Jude  

∙ Apocalypse - one – “John of Patmos” is the claimed author – Book  of Revelation  

o Something is revealed to a Seer – sometimes a Seer gets to  see Heaven (tour of heaven)  

o Other times what’s revealed to a Seer is the future – to tell the people to hold firm to their faith because God will eventually  intervene to save His community  

o Cosmic battle between forces of good (Jesus) and forces of  evil (Satan)

o Rapture – precedes the Apocalypse – certain people are  taken up (133,000 people) to avoid the Apocalypse  

 The Great Theologians

∙ Augustine (354-430CE)

o Manichean/Manichaeism – follower of manichy – had a  distinct view of the world – manickies believe in dualism (no  grey area in between anything, no middle ground) – Augustine brought this into Christianity and became extremely  

influential for the development of the Catholic Church -  

o Human guilt, sin – they punish themselves for being made  of flesh (which is not good, compared to the spirit world) and  punish their body or withhold things from it (food, even air) –  very negative view of humanity and human nature – darkly  pessimistic (goes back to Augustine and then the New  

Testament and Paul)  

o Graeco-Roman Philosophy – explicit introduction of  

philosophy in Christianity and comes up with 7 virtues -  

added three to Aristotle from the New Testament  

 7 Christian virtues: wisdom, temperance, courage,  

justice (from Plato), faith, hope, and love (from the New  

Testament)

o Reason vs. revelation - theological debate –  

∙ Anselm (1033-1109) – scholastic thought – argued that you can  only rely on the human intellect to a certain degree – “philosophy is  the handmade of theology” – philosophy works at the service of  theology – you can only use human intellect to serve revelation  

o “I believe so that I may understand” – revelation and belief  comes first – philosophy and knowledge are subservient to  revelation  

o Ontology = the study of being – God just IS – God exists  because he must – there can be no greater thing in the  universe than God – ontological argument – there’s a God  because there’s a God – it’s inconceivable  

∙ Thomas Aquinas (1225-74) – 5 proofs for the existence of God: o First Proof: The argument from motion – that nothing can  move itself – things are in motion, meaning they have been  SET in motion by something else – there cannot be infinite  regress (where there’s no beginning) – there has to be a  beginning to set something in motion and to start this chain  reaction – thus, there must be an unmoved mover, called God  o Second Proof: causation of existence – some things are  created by other things – nothing can create itself – no infinite regress – uncaused cause, called God – everything has a  cause and is caused by something before it, and God is the  uncaused cause.

o Third Proof: Contingent and Necessary Objects – contingent  beings are caused – not every being can be contingent – there must exists a being which is necessary to cause contingent  beings – this necessary being is God – necessary objects  MUST exist, can’t not exists – everything else is contingent  (doesn’t have to exist) – he argued if everything was  

contingent, then basically nothing would exist – one necessary thing in the world is GOD

o Fourth Proof: the argument from degrees and perfection –  recognize degrees of beauty, truth, goodness, knowledge, etc. – in order to have these degrees, the perfect form of these  things must also exist – these perfections are contained in  God – we can rank things in order – he argued that the only  way we can do that if there was an epitome for these sorts of  things – the perfect form of those things is God, against which everything is compared  

o Fifth Proof: the argument from intelligent design – universe  works in such a way that suggests an intelligent designer – he borrowed this idea from Seneca (German philosopher?) –  intelligent designer designed the universe