Religion has distinctive patterns

Religion has distinctive patterns: Set of beliefs, symbols, practices, and traditions that forms a meaningful guide. Elements of religion: Myths, rituals, doctrines, moral codes, institutions…etc Religion: A system of meaning embodied in a pattern of life, a community of faith, and a worldview that articulates a conception of the sacred and of what ultimately matters. Mount Kailas is a: Sacred (connected to god/an adequate symbol) mountain in China. To Hindus it is associated with god Siva. To Tibetan Buddhist it is the center of cosmos (universe). Religion resembles each other in: 1. A pattern of life or ethos (a way of living, including moods, shared attitude, rituals) 2. A community of faith (social structures and institutions) 3. A world view (a view of what is ultimate real and what ultimate matters) Types of sacred: Kami: Spirits of Shinto The concept of Israel as both land and a people What is sacred definition? Does sacred has a final definition? Why? What are the characteristics of sacred? It is a general tem devised to speak about a feature most religions share. It is the symbol of what is ultimately real. NO! Because religious movements perceive it differently. absolute, eternal, incomparable and unsurpassable. What does the definition of sacred include and exclude? Include/does not invalidate (cancel) the spirituality of individuals who don’t participate in a community of faith but who sees themselves as spiritual. Exclude the private faith from qualifying as a discrete religion. What makes an experience a religious one (Wayne Proudfoot opinion)? Interpretation What makes an experience a religious one (other’s opinion)? The sacred or the ultimate that distinguish religious experience from other experiences. The numinous/spiritual (Rudolf otto): Points to a none-traditional quality in the human experience of the holy, being under an overwhelming power. In Hinduism: Salvation in the religious consciousness, body and soul disappears and we unite ourselves with absolute nothingness. Are Religious experiences always positive? No! Religious experiences are not always positive. Religions are Soteriological which means that they are Mods of deliverance, alignment, and transformation. Protestant Christianity and pure land Buddhism proclaim that: We can’t save ourselves. That we are saved by a higher power. In Buddhism, Nirvana is a Form of consciousness that no words can adequately define or describe. In Buddhism, Brahman is the Reality that underlies and permeates all things. It can’t be known through language, nor by the mind, nor by sight. Symbols Words, gestures, or objects that mean or signify something. Metaphors Symbols that involve a likeness to what they symbolize. Sacraments Symbols that make present what they symbolize. Symbols that function sacramentally are believed to physically present the thing symbolized. Examples of metaphors God/father: doesn’t necessary mean that god is father but it is a metaphor for caring. Holy one/our mother: caring like a mother Sun/deity(ma3bood): both life giving Sky/infinite and incomparable Light/truth and internal wisdom Fire/transforming and the destructive power of the holy Christians believe that When they gather and pray in the lord’s name that lord is also present with them. Also, that Christ is present through the consecrated bread and wine of Holy Communion. Buddhist believe that Blessings flow from worship before a mandala (a visual art form) of the Lotus Sutra and recitation of the mantia Namu Myoho Renge kyo. Nuer in the east African people, The symbols used are not identical to the things they are representing. Although god (kwoth) is unseen, his presences can by symbolized by rain, crocodiles. So, it is acceptable to say it is god but not god is (rain/crocodile). In the Quran Allah had reviled his nature and what he would have humans do in the quran. Christian fundamentalists Contend/argue that the bible reveals a non-metaphorical knowledge of god, especially god’s will, and an inerrant and no mythical record if the course and ultimate end of history. Those who believe that language can be figurative and descriptive also believe that God is always something more than humans are capable of understanding. Detention of myths Refers to speech about the sacred whether it is articulated in nonstory form or in story form. It is not about being true or false it is more about stuff to live by. Types of myth: Non-story form: creed, sermon, or treatise Story form: myth, legend, or parable Origin myth speak of Beginnings of the world and of all living things. They include stories about the alienation of the divine and human and motifs such as the loss of paradise and humans who have survived a primeval flood. End-time myth or (eschatologies) speaks of Last things, ultimate destiny of human beings. Forms of religious expressions: Belief, morality, ritual, scripture, and community Belief A set of belief embodied in symbols, scared stories, doctrines, and code of conduct that provides believers with an orientation to life. Morality Includes principles concerned with right and wrong, good and bad. How to interact with people and how to live a good life.