Historical Shifts in Religion

1
Historical Shifts in Religion
2
Development of Ascetism
3
Ideal Early Vedic Man

• Had Sex
• Many children
• Wealth
• Was ethical

4
World View

• Belief in this world and the World of the Gods
• This World was Good.

5
Buddhism and Jainism

• Ideal Man
• Was a monk
• Had no Sex
• Had no Permanent Home
• Ate Little
• Had few Possessions.

6
Story of the Buddha

• Written By Followers of Buddha After His Death.
• Mythic Expressed the Values and Beliefs of the
  Early Buddhist.

7
Nature of the Buddha

• Later debates over Whether He was a Man or God.
• Today Still considered a Man by Some, Regarded
  More as a god by Others.

8
Development of Monasticism

• Monks and Nuns Left Families and lived Together
• Monastic Rules
• Monastic Vows
• 10 for novices
• More for ordained monks

9
Three Vows

• Poverty
• Chastity
• Non-harm to others

10
Ten Precepts

• abstain from harming living beings, taking things
  not freely given, sexual misconduct, false
  speech, intoxicating drinks and drugs causing
  heedlessness, taking untimely meals, dancing,
  singing, music, the use of flowers, perfumes and
  personal adornment, the use of high seats, and
  the use of gold and silver
• More rules developed.

11
Rules for Buddhist Laity

• ?(1) to refrain from killing
• (2) to refrain from stealing
• (3) to refrain from false speech
• (4) to refrain from sexual misconduct(5) to
  refrain from using intoxicants

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World View

• This world is not the Ultimate Reality
• This world is suffering

13
To consider

• Buddhism and Jainism are considered Reform
  Movements Out of Vedic Religion.
• They are a rejection of the Vedic World View
• Why did these Ideas emerge When they did.
• We have Little Information and A lot of
  Speculation.

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Other Development

• Shift from Deities Associated to Nature to
  Deities With Human Characteristics.

15
Deities Become More Human

• Vedic deities of Nature
• Deities of Complex Society
• Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu, etc.
• Have wives, children, personalities, Histories
• They are fleshed Out.

16
Incarnation on Earth

• Instances of Gods taking on Earthly Forms,
  Becoming Human.
• Krishna is Both God and Human. He dies from Being
  Shot with An Arrow.

17
Roman and Greek Gods

• Shift From Worshipping Natural Forces
• To Personification, humanization of forces
• Gods take On Human Characteristics

18
Rise of complex Society

• Humans no longer subject to Forces of Nature.
• Humans Now Project themselves Out Into the Cosmos.

19
Roman Deities

• Jupiter, High god
• Mars war
• Ceres Grain
• Janus Watched the Threshold of Homes
• Vesta Goddess of the Hearth

20
Division of Labor

• Division of labor in Society
• Hierarchy in Society
• Division of Labor Among the Gods

21
Ideal Man in Jewish Tradition-

• Believed in One God
• Studied and Adhered to the Torah The Law.
• Could Debate, even with god

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Ideal Man in Jewish Tradition

• "And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be
  fruitful, and? multiply, and replenish the earth,
  and subdue it and have dominion over? the fish
  of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and
  over every living thing that moveth upon the
  earth." King James Version, Genesis 128

23
Ideal Man in Jewish Tradition

• Had Sex (Within Marriage)
• Had a home
• Prospered in This Life
• Was ethical Kept the Law of God

24
Jesus of Nazareth

• No historical evidence of Jesus
• Was a religious Teacher Who Lived in a Time of
  Occupation by A Foreign Power.
• Lived in A time of Rebellion.
• He was Jewish

25
Story of Life of Jesus

• Written by early church after the time of Jesus.
• Mythic Expressed the Values and Beliefs of the
  Early Christians.
• What values are expressed?

26
Against Wealth

• "Except a man forsake all that he hath, he cannot
  be My disciple" (Luke 1433)
• And again I say unto you, It is easier for a
  camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for
  a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
  (Matthew 1924)

27

• 25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your
  life, what you will eat or drink or about your
  body, what you will wear. Is not life more
  important than food, and the body more important
  than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air
  they do not sow or reap or store away in barns,
  and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you
  not much more valuable than they? Matthew 6

28

• 28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how
  the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor
  or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon
  in all his splendor was dressed like one of
  these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of
  the field, which is here today and tomorrow is
  thrown into the fire, will he not much more
  clothe you, O you of little faith? Matthew 6

29
Believed in another Reality

• 19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on
  earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where
  thieves break in and steal. 20But store up for
  yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and
  rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not
  break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is,
  there your heart will be also. Matthew 6

30
Had No Home

• Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes, and the
  birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man
  has no place to lay his head. (Luke 958)

31
Disciples Had Few Possessions and Begged

• Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in
  your purses,
• Nor script for your Journey, neither two coats,
  neither shoes, not yet staves, for the workman is
  worthy of his meat.
• And into Whatever City he shall enter, inquire
  who is worthy and there abide till ye go thence.
  Matthew 10 9-11.

32
Apparently Had No Sex

• Disciples were told to Leave Wives
• Jesus is Portrayed as A single Man

33
Taught Non-violence

• Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for
  an eye, and a tooth for a toothBut I say unto
  you, That he resist not evil but whosoever shall
  smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the
  other also. Matthew 5 38-39.

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Ideal Early Christian

• Celibate
• Had Few Possessions
• Gave up Attachments to Worldly Things
• Sought another reality other than this one.
• Had no Sex
• Was non-violent

35
Early Christian Ascetics

• Hermits living alone in Celibacy and Poverty
• Austerities Practices of Self-Mortification
  fasting

36
Later Development of Christian Monasticism

• Monks and nuns living giving up families to Live
  together
• Vows of Monks and Nuns Poverty, Chastity and
  Obedience

37
Early Christian Laity

• And all that believed were together, and had all
  things common And sold their possessions and
  goods, and parted them to all men, as every man
  had need. (Acts 244-45)...Neither was there any
  among them that lacked for as many as were
  possessors of lands or houses sold them, and
  brought the prices of the things that were sold,
  and laid them down at the apostles' feet and
  distribution was made unto every man according as
  he had need. (Acts 434-35)

38
Early Church Belief

• 1Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto
  me It is good for a man not to touch a woman.
• 8I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it
  is good for them if they abide even as I.9But if
  they cannot contain, let them marry for it is
  better to marry than to burn.I Corinthians 7
  (Paul)

39
Nature of Christ

• Early debate Over Whether was a Man, A God, or
  Both.

40
Ebion Christianity

• Ebion Hebrew for Poor
• A Specifically Jewish Form of Christianity
• Saw Jesus as a man normally born of Joseph and
  Mary
• He was the predestined Messiah, and in this
  capacity he would return to reign on earth

41
Adoptionism

• Jesus was Such a good Man That god adopted HiM.
  He remained a man Until He was Resurrected.

42
Docetism

• Believed that Jesus only appeared To Be Human.
• He was not human At all
• He was Divine.

43
Arianism

• Jesus was not divine.
• God is a single, transcendent being.
• Jesus was created by God
• Jesus had a relationship with God that was like
  the relationship between father and son.

44
Apollinarianism

• God Entered the body of Jesus.
• Took control of Mind and Soul.
• Zombie?

45
Nestorianism

• Believed that Jesus was God and Not Human.
• Believed that God Had Entered the Womb of Mary

46
Monophysitism

• Believed that the Humanity of Jesus was completed
  Consumed by His Divinity.

47
To consider

• How did these ideas correspond to Judaic
  tradition?
• Early Christianity is Regarded by Some as a
  Reform movement That developed out of Judaisim.

48
To consider

• How did the development of these ideas Relate to
  the Social Realities of the Day?