TAOISM

Taoism, along with Confucianism, is one of the two major indigenous religio-philosophical traditions that have shaped Chinese life for more than 2,000 years.

Taoist philosophy and religion have found their way into all Asian cultures influenced by China, especially those of

Japan, Korea, Vietnam.

Buddhism is the third important tradition that influenced China.

No civilization is monochrome. In China, the classical tones of Confucianism

have been balanced by the spiritual shades of Buddhism and by the romantic hues of Taoism

Taoism and Confucianism - There is a tendency among scholars today to draw a less

rigid line between what is called Taoist and what is called Confucian.

The two traditions share many of the same ideas about man, society, the ruler, Heaven, and the universe - ideas that were not created by either school but that stem from a tradition prior to either Confucius or Lao-Tzu.

Circling around each other like yin and yang themselves,

Taoism and Confucianism represent the two indigenous poles of the Chinese character: Confucius represents the classical, Lao-Tzu the romantic.

Taoism teaches: Follow the flow Be natural and spontaneous The secret of happiness is to stop controlling things and

people around you!

To experience the Tao, one must let go and pursue the path of non-interference (wu-wei):

“do nothing and nothing will be left undone.” The best teacher is the example of water that flows with the

natural forces and circumstances yet can overcome all obstacles.

TAO CHIA and TAO CHIAO

Taoism has - a philosophical dimension called TAO CHIA- a religious dimension (TAO CHIAO) Religious Taoism (Tao Chiao) has many components, especially

the quest for longevity, prosperity, and posterity through a variety of rituals1. Veneration of ancestors2. Worship of gods by prayers, incantations, sacrifices3. exorcism

Rituals of longevity include

1. Breathing exercises

2. Vegetarianism

3. Simply not eating

Exorcism and healing process1. The Taoist priest first ascertains the person’s animal sign

from the year of his birth

2. Takes a paper image of that animal (for instance a dog, if the person was born in the year of the dog)

3. By means of prayers and incantations, he transfers into the paper image of the animal any illness or evil present in the person

4. and then burns the image

Founder of Taoism:

LAO-TZU (Lao Zi, 604B.C.) “the Old Fellow,” “the Grand Old Master” “Old Sage”

A shadowy figureWe do not know his name! He never preached, did not organize or promote his religion.

Sacred Text:1. TAO TE CHING

DAODEJING (=The Way and Its Power)

A small volume of five thousand characters Can be read in half an hour or a lifetime

2. The second classic of Taoism:

“ZHUANG-ZI” Book attributed to ZHUANG-ZI or

CHUANG TZU (365-290 B.C)

DOCTRINE OF TAOISM

Doctrine and Taoist Values1. The Tao2. The Man of Tao3. Wu-Wei4. Pacifism and Militarism5. Art of Government

6. Naturalness, Spontaneity 7. Follow the Flow, slow down, Let go 8. Humility and the rejection of

competition and “big ego.” 9. Rejection of “conventions.” 10. Centrality of Love

The Spirit of Taoism Follow the flow Be natural and spontaneous The secret of happiness is to stop controlling things and

people around you! Be simple and humble

=> The highest calling for humans, argued the Daoists, is not state service, but retreat into the mountains where the reality of the Dao can be felt more clearly.

The Spirit of Taoism

(in ten points)

The Spirit of Taoism

1. A LESSON IN APOPHATIC THEOLOGY(Against Anthropomorphism, and Civic Religion)

“God is Ineffable”

“The Tao that can be expressed is not the Eternal Tao” (Tao Te Ching)

The aim of the TAO TE CHING is to express the nature of the Tao.

But the book begins with a mind-boggling paradoxical language:

The true Tao cannot be spoken or adequately defined,

The Tao that pervades all reality can be known onlythrough silence and

through experiences that transcend words.

The Tao is the ultimate Reality As such it is transcendent, beyond the reach of human

understanding and human language. By its nature the Tao transcends all human concepts and

forms of thought. It can’t be understood It can’t be named. “The Tao that can be named is not the true Tao.”

The Dao is the prime source of creation from which the yin and yang forces emerge in ever-shifting harmonies.

Dao determines all things And flows naturally as the mysterious and spontaneous energy (Te) of

the universe, functioning without the will or purpose of a creator god.

The Tao expresses itself in 3 ways: 1. The way of ultimate reality 2. The way of the universe (Nature’s orderer) 3. The way of human life or human heart

2. WU-WEI

WEI= Action WU = not

= “inactive action,” = “creative quietude.” = “the way to do is to be.” The man of wu wei “works without working.” Does not mean “do-nothingness” or “inaction.”

WU-WEI

The supreme good is like water, Which nourishes all things without trying to. It is content with the low places that people

disdain. Thus it is like the Tao

(chap.8).

WU-WEI

“Nothing in the world Is as soft and yielding as water: Yet for dissolving he hard and inflexible, Nothing can surpass it.

The soft overcomes the hard;The gentle overcomes the rigid.Everyone knows this is true,But few can put it into practice.

(Tao Te Ching, chap.78)

3. SPONTANEITY =>Follow the flow,

be natural and spontaneous. Take water as your teacher.

=> “Let go!” => “Do nothing and nothing will be left undone”

To experience the Tao, one must let go and pursue the path of non-interference (wu-wei).The best teacher is the example of water that flows with the natural forces and circumstances yet can overcome all obstacles.

4. SIMPLICITY AND HUMILITY

Be humble, and you will remain entire. Be bent, and you will remain straight. Be empty, and you will remain full...

=> “The secret of the good life is to stop trying to control

the world around you.”

5. ON THE FOLLY OF RULES AND REGULATIONS Do away with learning, and grief will not be known. Do away with benevolence and eject righteousness,

And the people will return to filial duty and parental love. (Tao Te Ching, chap. 19)

=> Taoist felt that the Confucians harmed society through the imposing of rules and artificial practices that interfered with humanity’s natural inclinations.

Its political message was to return to primal simplicity, with the state interfering as little as possible with the lives of the people.

6. ON WISDOM A. Do away with sageness and eject wisdom,

And the people will be more benefited a hundred times.

B.The sage does not display himself; therefore he shines

He does not approve himself; therefore he is noted.

He does not praise himself; therefore he has merit.

He does not glory in himself; therefore he excels."

7. “The Best Soldier is not Soldierly.” The best fighter is not ferocious; The best conqueror does not take part in war; The best employer of men keeps himself below them."

8. ON GLOBAL LEADERSHIP

“Because of not daring to be ahead of the world, one becomes the leader of the world.”

9. The art of government A good government does not impose

preconceived pattern on people's lives, does not meddle in people's affairs, or interfere with their activities, but will seek only to prevent harm from being done and will allow each to prosper and flourish in his own way.

A leader is bestWhen people barely know that he exists.Of a good leader, who talks little,When his work is done, his aim fulfilled,They will say, “We did this ourselves.”

(chap. 17)

In ruling men the sage serves Heaven, therefore he must rule with moderation and kindness

The government should be like the Tao : It must seek the people's good, not its own.

ART OF GOOD GOVERNMENT

"Govern a great State

as you would cook a small fish.”“In ruling men and in serving heaven,

the sage uses only moderation.”

(Taoist teaching)

The best government is the one that governs least.

“The more laws and regulations are given, the more robbers and thieves there are.” (chap. 57)

“When the government is blunt and inactive, the people will be happy and prosperous.” (chap.58)

“The people are hard to rule because their officials meddle with affairs, therefore they are hard to rule.” (chap. 75)

"The people starve because their officials take heavy taxes from them, therefore they starve.

10. Pacifism

Taoism is radically averse to violence and militarism.

In China the scholar ranked at the top of the social scale, and Taoism is responsible for placing the soldier at the bottom.

For Taoism,

“the way for a vital person to go is not the way of a soldier.”

Lao-Tzu taught that

“Only one who recognizes all people as members of his or his own body is qualified to guard them… Heaven arms with compassion those whom she would not see destroyed.”

“One who would guide a leader of men in the uses of life will warn him against the use of arms for conquest. Even the finest arms are an instrument of evil: an army’s harvest is a waste of thorns.”

(Tao Te Ching, chap. 30)

“Weapons are the tools of violence; All decent men detest them. Weapons are the tool of fear; A decent man will avoid them Except with the utmost restraint…

Peace is the highest value…He enters a battle gravely,With sorrow and with great

compassion,As if he were attending a funeral.”

(Tao Te Ching, chap. 31).

TAOIST IDEAL PERSONHOOD

The Man of Dao Is different from other humans Is deeply humane Is guided by

1. Love 2. Deep Wisdom 3. Simplicity, humility (no big ego) 4. Balance 5. Harmony 6. Patience.

The Ideal Personhood

The Ideal man The man of Tao is very different from other men. He

judges things by altogether different standards. He looks at every event from the perspective of eternity :

The man of Tao clings to the Yin rather than the Yang :

- He knows the masculine and yet keeps to the feminine,

- Thus he becomes a channel drawing all the world towards it.

CENTRALITY OF LOVE: The perfect man is godlike... The man of Tao returns love for great hatred I have three treasures. Guard and keep them:

The first is deep love, the second is frugality, and the third is not to dare to be ahead of the world.

To the good I act with goodness To the bad I also act with goodness Thus goodness is attained" "The sage is always a good savior of men And no man is rejected” Because of deep love, one is courageous; because of frugality, one is generous; because of not daring to be ahead of the world, one becomes the leader of the

world.”

The best soldier is not soldierly; The best fighter is not ferocious; The best conqueror does not take part in war;

The best employer of men keeps himself below them.

HUMILITY and SIMPLICITY

Following the analogy of water, the Taoists reject all forms of self-assertiveness and competition.

Their almost reverential attitude toward humility led the Taoists to honor hunchbacks and cripples because of the way they typified meekness and self-effacement.

Humility

The ax falls first on the tallest tree. “He who stands on tiptoe Doesn’t stand firm. He who rushes ahead Doesn’t go far: He who tries to shine Dims his own light.”

(Tao Te Ching, chap.24)

Be humble,

and you will remain entire.

Be bent,

and you will remain straight.

Be empty, and you will remain full...

The sage does not display himself; therefore he shines.

He does not approve himself; therefore he is noted.

He does not praise himself; therefore he has merit.

He does not glory in himself; therefore he excels.

=======>> fin <<========

In order to better grasp the Chinese vision of genuine personhood, we have to look at the two fundamental indigenous religions of China, Taoism, and Confucianism, and at their critical notions of

1. Chun-Tzu (in Confucianism) 2. The Man of Dao (in Taoism) 3. Yin-Yang

The nature of a Chun-Tzu or that of the Man of Tao is better defined by the Chinese conception of an “ideal society” and its notion of the ultimate reality defined by 1. Tien and Tao 2. Yin-Yang

1. Simplicity,2. Balance 3. Harmony4. No “big ego,” 5. Patience.6. Humanness

10. Love and humaneness

I have three treasures. Guard and keep them: The first is deep love, the second is frugality, and the third is not to dare to be ahead of the world.

Because of deep love, one is courageous; because of frugality, one is generous; because of not daring to be ahead of the world, one

becomes the leader of the world.”

- Wisdom religions - way of life for the scholarly and governing class - A religious conception of Government - Harmony between Man, nature and Heaven

*Taoism focuses the attention on cosmic nature Confucianism focuses on human nature

A LESSON IN APOPHATIC THEOLOGY

(Against Anthropomorphism, and Civic Religion)

“God is Ineffable” “The Tao that can be expressed

is not the Eternal Tao”

(Tao Te Ching)

Major Characteristics of Chinese Religions:

1. Martial Art of the Spirit of Tao (Wu WEI) 2. YIN-YANG (and the Quest for Balance) 3. The concept of T’IEN and Sage King

- T'ien (Sky or Heaven) - T'ien Ming (the mandate of Heaven)

4. Belief in the interconnectedness of everybody and everything. 5. Ancestor Veneration 6. Divination

T'ien Ming (the mandate of Heaven) Chinese culture maintains that a person is good

when his heart follows “the way of Heaven.” Likewise Chinese believe that when a government

becomes morally corrupt, it looses the support of T'ien and the legitimacy to rule. The ruler rules only by the will of God and God gives his mandate only to the just, or the sage king.

Fundamental Spirit of Chinese Religions:

1. Simplicity,2. Search for Balance 3. Search for Harmony4. No “big ego,” 5. Patience, “slow down.”

Yin Yang

YIN-YANG DOCTRINE

“Yin-Yang” worldview is central to both Taoism and Confucianism,

and constitutes the soul of the Chinese character.

Drawn from an ancient tradition, this doctrine was formulated during the 4th century B.C. in the form now known to

us.

According to this elaboration the doctrine of Yin-Yang is the view that everything in the universe is composed of two different but complementary cosmic forces.

As the Chinese symbol shows Yang and Yin interpenetrate one another.

Yang represents a hillside illuminated by the sun,

while the character for Yin is the hillside in the shade.

“Yin-Yang” is the doctrine of “the harmony of opposites”:

YANG is male, bright, warm, active, positive.

It is embodied in the sky, summer, the sun, day. The Yang principle is the male side of reality. It is central in all those things that are hot, dry, bright, or

active.

YIN is - female, shady or misty, cool, passive, negative.

It is embodied in the earth, winter, the moon, night. The Yin principle is the female side of reality. It expresses itself in things that are dark, cool, and moist.

Yang is born at the winter solstice, and waxes until it reaches its apogee at the summer

solstice.

Yin is born at the summer solstice, and waxes until it reaches its apogee at the winter solstice.

It is not that one of these forces is bad and the other good.

Neither is superior to the other, and neither is better than the other.

Both are essential and indispensable.

Both forces are necessary and are present in everything that exists.

All objects in the universe, including male and female human beings, are made up of both.

Evil results from an imbalance between them.

Each of us is an ever moving blend of Yin-Yang. The interaction extends beyond this world.

Even heaven and earth are linked together: heaven is Yang and earth is Yin, and the two are inseparable.

Yin-Yang is everything, Yin-Yang is in everything.Even the Tao is both male and female, according to Lao-Tzu.

I. The four Religious Traditions of China Chinese culture is marked by four main religious traditions: 1. The traditional folk religion 2. Taoism 3.Confucianism (had state patronnage) 4. Buddhism

Taoism, along with Confucianism, is one of the two major indigenous religio-philosophical traditions that have shaped Chinese life for more than 2,000 years.

Taoist philosophy and religion have found their way into all Asian cultures influenced by China, especially those of Japan, Korea and Vietnam.

Buddhism is the third important tradition that influenced China.

Taoism and Confucianism - There is a tendency among scholars today to draw a less rigid line between

what is called Taoist and what is called Confucian. The two traditions share many of the same ideas about man, society, the ruler, Heaven, and the universe - ideas that were not created by either school but that stem from a tradition prior to either Confucius or Lao-Tzu. Circling around each other like yin and yang themselves, Taoism and Confucianism represent the two indigenous poles of the Chinese character. Confucius represents the classical, Lao-Tzu the romantic.

KEY CONCEPTS OF CHINESE RELIGIONS 1. TIEN 2. TAO 3. YIN-YANG

Ten Major Characteristics of Chinese Religions:

1. Belief in “the Path of Heaven” 2. Belief in Divination, Exorcism, Magical

Power. 3. Veneration of the Ancestors

4. Quest for Harmony and Balance 5. Belief in the interconnectedness of everybody and everything. 6. “Following the Flow”:

Trust in the virtues of “naturalness,” “simplicity” and “Patience.” (“slow down,” if you want to achieve happiness).

7. Rejection of “Big-Ego.” (trust in the virtue of simplicity)

8. Belief that true Strength resides in “Weakness.” 9. Focus on the value of “Education.” 10. Belief in the need for Ethics in Government. (The

Mandate of Heaven).

Ten key Concepts of Chinese Religions

1. TIEN2. TAO3. YIN-YANG

4. CHUN-TZU (the Princely or Noble man) : 5. Ren or Jen (good heart) 6. WEN 7. WU-WEI 8. LI (good manner toward others) 9. TE 10. HSIAO

Seven Major Doctrines

1. The Ultimate Reality (TIEN and TAO) 2. “Yin-Yang” and the Doctrine of Five

Elements 3. Doctrine of the Mean 4. Doctrine of “Five Relationships.” 5. The Art of Good Government.

6. Attitude toward Material Goods 7. Genuine Personhood:

- Shun-Tzu and the Man of Tao, - The Destiny of Man - The rectification of names - (The Five Relationships)

THE TAO (DAO)

TAO = THE WAY

- T'ien (Sky or Heaven) - T'ien Ming (the mandate of Heaven)

Tao = the way of Heaven= the way of the universe

The path of men (Ren Tao) must follow

the path of Heaven (T'ien Tao)

To follow the Tao means to be in harmony

with the ancestors and the spirits, with the forces of yin and yang and the

five elements.

4.CHUN-TZU (the Princely or Noble man) : 5. Ren or Jen (good heart) 6. WEN 7. WU-WEI 8. LI (good manner toward others) 9. TE 10. HSIAO

The Importance of ReligionToday.

“The twenty-first century is witnessing a resurgence and

globalization of religion. Around the world, religion has become an

increasingly more important and pervasive force in personal and

public life, and faith and politics now play a powerful role in international

affairs.” (John L. Esposito, Darrell J. Fasching, Todd Lewis, World Religions Today.

New York: Oxford University Press, 2002).

1.One God, many Gods, No God 2. Patriarchal and non Patriarchal 3. A divine model based on a human family:

Trinity Gods and Goddesses

The Divine Paradox: Immanence and TranscendenceGOD ad extra, ad nos GOD in se

DEUS DEITAS SAGUNA Brahman NIRGUNA Brahman

IMMANENCE TRANSCENDENCE GOD OF Abraham GOD OF The Philosophers

Isaac and Jacob,

Deus ex Machina Deus Otiosus The Husband of the Widow The Father of the Orphan

APOPHATIC THEOLOGY

(Against Anthropomorphism, and Civic Religion)

“God is Ineffable” “The Tao that can be expressed

is not the Eternal Tao”

(Tao Te Ching)

THE RELIGIOUS WORLD METEMPIRICAL WORLD METAPHYSICAL WORLD THE WORLD OF THE INVISIBLE THE SUPERNATURAL REALM THE WORLD OF THE TRANSCENDENT THE “BEYOND” (life after death)

The Sacred Space

1. Sacred Space/Places 6. Sacred food,drink 2. Sacred Time 7. Sacred Clothes 3. Sacred Beings 8. Sacred Objects 4. Sacred Body Parts 9. Sacred Art, Music, Dance 5. Sacred Attitude, Behavior 10.Sacred Language

SACRED SPACE AND PLACES

Churches, the Holy of Holies, Snakes, Animals, Birds, … plants, mountains, rivers, lakes,… Crossroads

The Religious Universe

Supranatural beings: - God, - Goddesses, - devil, - spirits, - ancestors, - saints.

1. THE CONCEPT OF GOD 1.THE ABSOLUTE 2.THE TRANSCENDENT 3.THE SUPRANATURAL BEING 4.THE ULTIMATE REALITY 5.PROVIDENCE 6.DIVINITY 7.DEITY 8.SUPREME BEING 9.THE CREATOR 10.THE GROUND OF BEING

THE CONCEPT OF GOD

11. THE GREAT SPIRIT 12. THE INFINITE 13.THE ALPHA AND OMEGA 14.THE INVISIBLE

SOME NAMES FOR GOD

1. GOD, GOTT, DIEU, DIO, DIOS,.. 2. YAHWEH, EL, ELOHIM,ADONAI, SHEKINAH, 3. ALLAH 4.T’IEN (China) 5. KAMI (Japan) 6. BRAHMAN (India) 4.WAKAN-TANKA 5. AMMA, LEZA, VIDYE MUKULU,

UNKULUNKULU

“What does it mean to have a God, or :What is God? A God is that from which we should expect every good and to whom we should have recourse in every distress... That to which you attach your heart and on which you rely is in fact your God.” (Martin Luther in his Grosser Katechismus).

1. the Alpha and omega of human’s existence and all life in the world;

the source and end of all existence,the origin and goal of our life. 2. the Ultimate Reality.

3. the ungrounded ground of all reality that sustains

and moves everything.

4. the Supreme Good in which all finite goods participate, and whichis the ground of all these goods.

5. the Ultimate End that directs and orders all things.

6. The Ultimate Meaning of human existence.

God is the Supreme, the Ultimate, the Absolute reality, Source and Goal of all

existence, Alpha and Omega. The Supreme Good, Happiness,

Eternal Peace and Rest.

-God is “id quo maius cogitari nequit”“That than which nothing greater can be thought,” that which is greater than anything that can be thought. (Saint Anselm of Canterbury).

“God is what concerns us ultimately” (Paul Tillich).

“God is ‘the’ reality determining all else” (R. Bultmann)

- “God is the holy mystery which is the term and origin of man and which is present in loving freedom as that which is nameless and which is not at our disposal, and at

whose disposal we exist” (Karl Rahner)

“God is the holy mystery which is the term and origin of man and which is present in loving freedom as that which is nameless and which is not at our disposal, and at whose disposal we exist” (Karl Rahner)

JESUS-CHRIST

27 different titles given to Jesus in the New Testament: The Christ, The Anointed One, the Messiah The Savior (“Soter”) The Son of God The Son of David The Son of Man The Good Shepherd The Light of the World

JESUS-CHRIST

The image of the invisible God The First Born of all Creation

“The full story of religion is not rose-colored; often it is crude. Wisdom and charity are intermittent, and the net result is profoundly ambiguous.

A balanced view of religion would include human sacrifice and scapegoating, fanaticism and persecution, the Christian Crusades and the holy wars of Islam. It would include witch hunts in Massachusetts, monkey trials in Tennessee, and snake worship in the Ozarks. The list would have no end.”

(Huston Smith, The World’s Religions. HarperSanFrancisco, 1991; p.4)

OBSTACLES TO GENUINE RELIGIOSITY

1. PHILAUTIA (Michel Foucault) 2. ETHNOCENTRISM 3. PATRIOTISM, NATIONALISM 4. COLONIALISM, IMPERIALISM 5. MILITARISM and MACHIAVELLIANISM

6. SEXISM 7. ANTISEMITISM AND RACISM 8. SOCIAL DARWINISM

(EVOLUTIONISM) 9. THEOLOGIES OF ELECTION 10. EXTRA ECCLESIAM NULLA SALUS

RELIGION, MACHIAVELLIANISM AND PATRIOTISM

1. THEOLOGY OF ELECTION

(Ideology of Chosen People)

Supreme Madness 2. EXTRA ECCLESIAM NULLA SALUS

GOOD CHARACTER IS THE ESSENCE OF RELIGION

Epistemological Foundation:Our Methodology

In order to better understand the nature of Religion and its role in our world, we shall use a method which is

* Interdisciplinary * Intercultural (Multicultural rather than Ethnocentric) * Holistic.

KEY METHODS USED

1. PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION 2. SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION 3. POST-MODERNISM Deconstructing Power and Hegemony

< Avoir-Pouvoir-Savoir > 4. Post-colonial EpistemologyDecolonization of knowledge about God, Religion, and People ’s history.

Challenging Animism, Paganism, Primitivism

5. Feminist ParadigmDeconstructing the lies of Phallocratic Theology, and Patriarchy.

Philosophy of Religion -Biblical Foundation of Critical Thinking (p.73) -Philosophy (p.75) -Allegory of the Cave (pp.76-77) -Apology of Socrates (pp.78-80) -Voltaire the Laughing Philosopher (pp.81-82) -“What is Enlightenment” (Kant, pp.83-87) -Michel Foucault (p.88) -Francis Bacon (p.90)

Sociology and Philosophy of Religion

Religion, Hegemony, and economic domination. Sexism, Colonialism, and Imperialism. -Mudimbe, Eboussi, Balasuriya (pp.7-8; 101-106), -Martin Luther King, Cheikh Anta Diop (p.135) -Theology of conquest (p.152) -Weber, Conrad, Achebe, Marx (pp.4-8) -Machiavellianism (p.95). -Patriotism (p.97).

Religion is not an isolated thing flying in a spiritual vacuum.

It is rather the faith of concrete human beings whose existence is rooted in a complex web of cultural, spiritual, intellectual, economic, and political situations.

Believers are citizen of Heaven and Citizen of Earthly Nations.

TEXT AND CONTEXT

Every Spiritual Text is grounded in a social, economic, and political Context.

THUS RELIGION HAS TO BE APPROACHED FROM SEVERAL ANGLES.

Only then can we grasp its tremendous power in shaping people’s attitude toward cultural, political, and economic institutions or ideologies.

There is more to Religion than Religion, than a direct relationship with the Transcendent.

Religion is more than the simple Love of God. Religion is a totalizing way of being in the world,

a general way of feeling and understanding who we are and our place and role in the World.

See the Definitions by 1. Clifford Geertz 2. Emile Durkheim 3. Max Weber 4. Karl Marx 5. Jung and Freud 6. Leonard Swidler

ETYMOLOGY

RELIGERE >= TO LINK

RELIGARE

RELIGION IS A RECIPROCAL CONNECTION (RELATIONSHIP) WITH THE TRANSCENDENT.

Orthodoxy + Orthopraxis (Knowledge + Behavior) RELIGION is - The EXPLANATION of - the ULTIMATE MEANING OF LIFE, - Based on the notion of the TRANSCENDENT, - And how to LIVE ACCORDINGLY.

Orthodoxy + Orthopraxis (Knowledge + Behavior)

Worldview + Program for Action

Religion is a system of symbols and worldview that is powerful in establishing long lasting moods and motivation in people.

Religion is the self-consciousness and Self-esteem of people.

Religion is- the general theory of this world, the conception

of a general order of existence- The encyclopedic compendium of our

knowledge about the world, - The logic of the world in popular form.

Religion is The world’s enthusiasm The world’s moral sanction, The world’s basis of consolation and justification. The heart of heartless world The soul of soulless conditions. It provides hope and psychological tranquility and

reassurance. (see Achebe, Weber)

When a man who is happy compares his position with that of one who is unhappy, he is not content with the fact of his happiness, but desires something more, namely the right to this happiness, the consciousness that he has earned his good fortune, in contrast to the unfortunate one who must equally have earned his misfortune.

Max Weber, The Sociology of Religion.

(Boston: Beacon Press, 1993).

Our everyday experience proves that there exists just such a psychological need for reassurance as to the legitimacy or deservedness of one’s happiness, whether this involves political success, superior economic status,… or anything else. What the privileged classes require of religion, if anything at all, is this psychological reassurance of legitimacy.

Max Weber, The Sociology of Religion. (Boston: Beacon Press, 1993).

Chinua Achebe: “Colonization may indeed be a very complex affair,

but one thing is certain: You do not walk in, seize the land, the person, the history of another, and then sit back and compose hymns of praise in his honor. To do that would amount to calling yourself a bandit. So what do you do? You construct very elaborate excuses for your action. You say, for instance, that the man in question is worthless and quite unfit to manage himself and his affairs…

Chinua Achebe in African Commentary, vol.1, n0.2, Nov.1989.

If there are valuable things like gold or diamonds which you are carting away from his territory, you proceed to prove that he doesn’t own them in the real sense of the word – that he and they just happened to be lying around the same place when you arrived. Finally, if worse comes to the worst, you will be prepared to question whether such as he can be, like you, fully human.”

Chinua Achebe in African Commentary,

vol.1, n0.2, Nov.1989.

The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much. What redeems it is the idea only. An idea at the back of it; not a sentimental pretence but an idea; and an unselfish belief in the idea-something you can set up, and bow down before, and offer a sacrifice to.

Conrad, Joseph, Heart of Darkness, in Adler, Mortimer J., ed., Imaginative Literature. Great Books of the Western World (Chicago, London: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 1994); p.137

4.THE HUMAN PREDICAMENT 1. SIN, EVIL 2. SUFFERING (DUKKHA), THE LACK OF PEACE OF MIND

3. MORTALITY

Solution: Salvation, Redemption, Nirvana, Enlightenment,

Liberation from Samsara.

WORSHIP: MEN’S RESPONSE TO THE CREATOR 1. TALKING TO GOD 2. PRAISING GOD 3. GIVING THINGS TO GOD 4. GIVING MYSELF TO GOD 5. GIVING MYSELF TO GOD by giving myself to my Neighbor

THE BUSINESS OF WORSHIP

1. PRAYER - SONGS, DANCE, TRANCE, TEARS. - INVOCATIONS - PRAISING GOD’S NAME - DEMANDS for Health, Posterity and Prosperity; and

curse for the enemies. - Meditating and reading Sacred Texts

The Business of Worship

2. SACRIFICES - BURNING ANIMALS, BIRDS, … - PERSONAL SACRIFICE: FASTING

(Giving up food, drink, sleep, time, leisure and sexual activities; modesty of eyes …)

TRUE WORSHIPSPIRITUAL WORSHIP: JUSTICE“I abhor the pride of Jacob, I hate his castels…I hate, I spurn your feasts,I take no pleasure in your solemnities;Your cereal offerings I will not accept,Nor consider your stall-fed peace offerings.Away with your noisy songs!I will not listen to the melodies of your harps…Let justice surge like water, and goodness like an

unfailing stream. (Amos 5,21-24; 6,8)

Spiritual Worship (Isaiah 58, 2-7):

“Like a nation that has done what is just and not abandoned the law of their God; they ask:

Why do we fast, and you do not see it?

Affict ourselves, and you take no note of it?

Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits, and drive all your labourers.

Yes, your fast ends in quarrelling and fighting, striking with wicked claw.

Would that today you might fast so as to make your voice heard on high!

Is this the manner of fasting I wish, Of keeping a day of penance: that a man bow his head like a reed, and lie in sackcloth and ashes? Do you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord?

This rather, is the fasting that I wish:Releasing those bound unjustly,Untying the thongs of the yoke;Setting free the oppressed,Breaking every yoke;Sharing your bread with the hungry,Sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your

back on your own.”(Isaiah 58,2-7)

Spiritual Worship (Isaiah 65,1-7) I was ready to respond to those who asked me not, to be

found by those who sought me not. I said: Here I am! Here I am! To a nation that did not call

upon my name. I have stretched out my hands all the day to a rebellious

people, Who walk in evil paths and follow their own thoughts…

People who provoke me continually, to my face, offering sacrifices in the groves and burning incense on bricks,

Living among the graves and spending the night in caverns, Eating swine’s flesh, with carrion broth in their dishes,

Crying out, “Hold back, do not touch me; I am too sacred for your!”

These things enkindle my wrath, a fire that burns all the day…

Lo, before me it stands written; I will not be quiet until I have paid in full Your crimes and the crimes of your fathers as

well, says the Lord. Since they burned incense on the mountains, and

disgraced me on the hills, I will at once pour out in full measure their recompense into their laps.”

(Isaiah 65, 1-6)

3. SPIRITUAL WORSHIP: “In praying do not babble like the

pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”

(Matthew 6, 7-8)

THE BUSINESS OF WORSHIP

SPIRITUAL WORSHIP “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites,

who love to stand and pray in synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them…When you pray, go to your room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.”

(Matthew 6, 5-6)

EXPECTED OUTCOMES OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES

THE GUIDING PERSPECTIVE OF OUR COURSE

THE GUIDING PERSPECTIVE OF OUR COURSE

HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOM OF RELIGION

THE GUIDING PERSPECTIVE OF OUR COURSE

THE GUIDING PERSPECTIVE OF OUR COURSE

THE GUIDING PERSPECTIVE OF OUR COURSE

THE GUIDING PERSPECTIVE OF OUR COURSE

THE GUIDING PERSPECTIVE OF OUR COURSE

THE GUIDING PERSPECTIVE OF OUR COURSE

THE GUIDING PERSPECTIVE OF OUR COURSE

GUIDING PERSPECTIVE

THE GUIDING PERSPECTIVE OF OUR COURSE

THE GUIDING PERSPECTIVE OF OUR COURSE

THE GUIDING PERSPECTIVE OF OUR COURSE

THE GUIDING PERSPECTIVE OF OUR COURSE

VIA SOCRATICA - VIA CHRISTI

VIA SOCRATICA-VIA CHRISTI

VIA SOCRATICA - VIA CHRISTI

VIA SOCRATICA - VIA CHRISTI

VIA SOCRATICA - VIA CHRISTI

LOVE THE ESSENCE OF GENUINE RELIGION

LOVE IS THE ESSENCE OF A GENUINE FAITH

LOVE IS THE ESSENCE OF GENUINE SPIRITUALITY