Western Religion Exam 1

Question 1

How does religion arise from the human condition? x4

Answer 1

1. Fear of death
2. hope for afterlife
3. control over nature
4. uncertainty

Question 2

spirituality vs organized religion

Answer 2

• Your own spiritual journey
• A group’s belief of the same spritiual journey

Question 3

How Western religion has been shaped by historical circumstances

Answer 3

Jews being exiled from Spain. Changed their views led to mysticism the Kaballah and Hasidism. The holocaust.

Question 4

Zoroastrians central to Western religion

Answer 4

• Belief that there is one universial supreme power.
• Active participation through good deeds.

Question 5

Why we can’t label jews as a race? x2

Answer 5

1. don’t share one common ancestor
2. jews have been dispersed throught the world for 2 thousand yrs.

Question 6

Inconsistencies in Genesis

Answer 6

1. who created heaven and earth. God?
2. or God and Jesus?

Question 7

Documentary hypothesis purpose?

Answer 7

• Wellhausen,
• to reconcile inconsitencies.

Question 8

What were Wellhausens 4 narratives

Answer 8

1. **J= ** Yahweh, 950 BCE S. Kingdom of Judah
2. **E= ** Elohim, 850 BCE Israel
3. D= Deuteronomy, 600 BCE Jerusalem
4. P= Priestly 500 BCE Exile into Babylon

Question 9

2 Exiles the Jews persued

Answer 9

1. Babylon
2. King Solomon’s Temple was destroyed
3. Israel split into north and south
   
   1. North was Judah,
   2. South was Bethlehem

Question 10

What and When Was Macabean revolt? What Holiday?

Answer 10

• Revolt against the Greeks- traditionalist vs assimilation
• 167-160 BCE
• Hanukah

Question 11

Pharisees

Answer 11

• hypocrits. Interested in outward form of ritual than inner substance.
• middle class, landowners, skilled workers.

Question 12

Zeolots

Answer 12

• Bandits
• rebels against the Romans
• Comitted suicide at Masada

Question 13

Samaritans

Answer 13

• Guardian
• rejected the prophets and writings of the hebrew bible
• “True religion” of the Israelites

Question 14

70 CE What happened?

Answer 14

• The Great Revolt against Rome.
• Destruction of second temple
• Good deed is replaced by sacrifice
• Harmony with Greek philosophy
• Jews lost political power until 1948

Question 15

What happened at Masada, What Jewish group?

Answer 15

• Jew’s committed suicide when realized they had been defeated by Roman Empire. The good deed was sacrificing their life
• Zealots

Question 16

Judaism Purity Laws

Answer 16

• eat animals that are considered clean
• Husbands were prohibited to have intercourse with a menstruating woman

Question 17

Moses Maimonide 1134-1204 CE

Answer 17

• no literal bible
• no confict between faith and reason
• Aristotelian tradition.

Question 18

1492 CE- Spark of mystical movements

Answer 18

• Jews kicked out of Spain
• Moved to Turkey and Balkan countries where they were treated better
• Led to

Question 19

Baal Shem Tov

Answer 19

• founder of tzaddik

Question 20

Tzaddik

Answer 20

righteous person

Question 21

Baal Shem Tov’s spiritual Message

Answer 21

• best way through communing with god was through humility, good deed, prayer, and joy

Question 22

When Hasidism spread to Latvia and Lithuania, how did it change

Answer 22

• fusion of Talmud Judaism and Hassidic Pietism
• Known as Chabad- Wisdom/ insight / knowledge

Question 23

Shema Instructions

Answer 23

• Love the lord with all your heart
• repeat morning noon and night
• to your children
• indoors and outdoors

Question 24

Solemn feast of Yom Kippur

Answer 24

A day of Atonement. Asking for forgiveness asking your neighbors for foriveness

Question 25

Passover Seder

Answer 25

* Celebration of journey to egypt * Eat standing * God came to moses and let the people out

Question 26

Passover Haggadah

Answer 26

the reading of the story

Question 27

Reform Jews

Answer 27

* non fundamentalist. * Update * dietary and purity laws were optional. * Willingness to change to conform

Question 28

Conservative Jews

Answer 28

* Pary in all hebrew * Maintain jewish tradition of service

Question 29

Orthodox Jews

Answer 29

* Fundamentalist * strong stance in government * strict kosher * Judaism passed down maternally

Question 30

Reconstructionist Jews

Answer 30

* Humanistic moral teachings * Hassids * Do good deeds

Question 31

Theodor Herzl 1860-1905 on assimilation

Answer 31

* Jews must have their own land and political state. * Developing a homeland not just for jews but for the world

Question 32

Why was Hitler's campaign against the jews effective

Answer 32

* That economic woes were to be blamed on the jews

Question 33

Emil Fackenheim's duty

Answer 33

* must be remembered and never repeated * People of Israel must look to their own survival * Live as Jews so that Jewishness can never be exterminated.

Question 34

Holocaust and Israel linked

Answer 34

* A Place in the world where Jews can be safe

Question 35

Cunningham on Religion without a supreme being

Answer 35

* Practicing rituals * repeated at specific times * independent search for sacred through experiences