feldmekjlavcedu Office hours Before Class Recap Where have we been where do we go The plan discuss different ideas about gods and spirits Look at Buddhism amp Hinduism Polytheism Then Witchcraft ID: 735843
Download Presentation The PPT/PDF document "Gods & Spirits Kenneth Feldmeier" is the property of its rightful owner. Permission is granted to download and print the materials on this web site for personal, non-commercial use only, and to display it on your personal computer provided you do not modify the materials and that you retain all copyright notices contained in the materials. By downloading content from our website, you accept the terms of this agreement.
Slide1
Gods & Spirits
Kenneth Feldmeier
feldmekj@lavc.edu
Office hours: Before ClassSlide2
Recap: Where have we been, where do we go?
The plan; discuss different ideas about gods and spirits
Look at Buddhism & Hinduism (Polytheism)
Then Witchcraft Slide3
Kinds of Religion
Religious forms vary from culture to culture, but there are correlations between political organization and religious type.
Religious Practitioners and Types:
Wallace defined religion as consisting of all a society
’
s cult institutions (rituals and associated beliefs) and developed four categories from this.
Shamanic religions
shamans are part-time religious intermediaries who may act as curers--these religions are most characteristic of foragers.Slide4
Kinds of Religion (continued)
Communal religions
have shamans, community rituals, multiple nature gods, and are more characteristic of food producers than foragers.
Olympian religions
first appeared with states, have full-time religious specialists whose organization may mimic the states, and have potent anthropomorphic gods who may exist as a pantheon.
Monotheistic religions
have all the attributes of Olympian religions, except that the pantheon of gods is subsumed under a single eternal, omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent being.Slide5
Spirits
What is a Spirit?
2 types;
Non-individualized
Individualized Slide6
Non-individualized
Spirits without a connection to an individual
Turn to page: 192Slide7
Individually recognized
Connected to an individualSlide8
More About Spirits
Complex personalities
Live in Human World
Bad or Good
Can be Influenced
Turn to Page 190Slide9
Find Your Spirit Animal
http://www.jerismithready.com/quiz/#
Type: how can i figure out my spirit animal
First Website to come up, Find Your Spirit Animal
Write Down; What animal are you, Powers, Best Matches, & Who to Watch out forSlide10
Gods & GoddessSlide11
Anthropomorphic
GodsSlide12
What is and Why are Gods, Anthropomorphic?
Anthropomorphic: resembling peoples personalities and physical characteristics
Gods —- a lot like us
Love, Lust, Hate, ect..
Well, what do you think?Slide13
Usually Gods will resemble the society they control
Read pg. 198-200
How do gods have a function in society?
What is Anthropomorphic?
How are gods Ascribed or Achieved?Slide14
Types of Gods
Pantheon: a collective of gods
Usually a HierarchySlide15
Supreme God
Head Dude/Lady in ChargeSlide16
Attribute Gods
http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/seven.shtml
Specialized deities: associated with needs of the societySlide17
Creator Gods
Make the worldSlide18
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004AH83CQ/ref=avod_yvl_watch_nowSlide19
GoddessesSlide20
Isis
Egyptian
Great Mother
Women held favorable positionSlide21
Ishtar
Worshiped in Mesopotamia
Arid region, what do you need?Slide22
–
Chuck Palahniuk
,
Lullaby
“Experts in ancient Greek culture say that people back then didn't see their thoughts as belonging to them. When ancient Greeks had a thought, it occurred to them as a god or goddess giving an order. Apollo was telling them to be brave. Athena was telling them to fall in love.
Now people hear a commercial for sour cream potato chips and rush out to buy, but now they call this free will.
At least the ancient Greeks were being honest.” Slide23
Monotheism & Charismatic AuthoritySlide24Slide25Slide26
Charismatic Authority
Max Weber
defined charismatic authority
as "resting on devotion to the exceptional sanctity, heroism, or exemplary character of an individual person, and of the normative patterns or order revealed or ordained by him".
Different than traditional authority—Revolutionary/unstable
Charismatic leaders, have a connection to the divine and have special skills
Promise changeUnstable form of authorityleader cannot put is money where his mouth isSlide27
Charismatic Authority
Charisma, is connected to the great founders of world religions: Moses, Jesus, Buddha, Joesph Smith & Muhammad
All thought to be extraordinary, supernatural powers, & divine origins
The followers regard the leader as charismatic
Key: connection of the leader to their followers
Build an emotional community/become your religious family (this maybe evolutionary ingrained via group selection)Slide28
Rise of Islam
Muhammad (570-632)
Born in Mecca, center of trade & commerce of Western Arabia
Four daughters, youngest Fāṭimah
Had two sons, both died young
Respected, Pious, & Important to the people of Mecca in his 20s & 30s
40 years old, something happensSlide29
Inspiration
Has a vision, Archangel Gabriel
1st Revelation
runs out of the cave, Giant Gabriel sky turns green
2nd Revelation
, the process of the revelation of the Qurʾān—lasts all the way until shortly before his death
Started to preach to his direct family membersThen started to preach to friends and community membersSome people believed/some not; things get tough in MeccaMove to Yathrib, around 622 (later called Medina)Members of this community came to visit, asked Muhammad to come and settle disputesTwo major tribes in Yathrib, who are constantly struggling also a large Jewish populationIslam is Born here, start of Islamic calendar & first Mosque is built The Ummah is founded (1st Muslim Community)Battles/Invasions, to end Islam do not workA lot of Arabs start to convert632, Muhammed falls ill and passes awayRoutinization of Charisma: Problem with charismatic authority, once that leader goes away what are you left with?After Muhammed, tried to keep somethings he left in place and at the same time choose new leaders—not easySlide30
Hinduism & Buddhism
PolytheismSlide31
900 million + adherents, primarily in India (4
th
largest)
Hinduism is an ancient term for the complex and diverse set of religious beliefs practiced around the Indus River.
HinduismSlide32
Hinduism
The four sacred texts are ancient hymns called the Vedas, but few Hindus historically could read.
Coastlines and river banks most sacred sites.
Many, many festivals, often surrounding harvest or spring or the birth of Gods.
Brahman is the divine creator but is manifested in literally hundreds of gods, of which Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu are most common.Slide33
Hinduism
Ganges River, Varanasi, IndiaSlide34
The first principle of Indian thought, therefore, is that the ultimate reality is beyond description. It is something that can be experienced only by bringing the mind to a stop; and once experienced, it cannot be described to anyone in terms of the forms of this world. - Joseph Campbell
Brahman
In the Hindu religion,
Brahman
is the eternal, unchanging, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality which is the Divine Ground of all matter, energy, time, space, and being.
Another important concept is that Hinduism believes in the omnipresence of the Supreme God in every individual. There is no "fall." Man is not cut off from the divine. He requires only to bring the spontaneous activity of his mind to a state of stillness and he will experience that divine principle within him. - Joseph CampbellSlide35
The Purusharthas or
The Four Aims of Human Life:
Dharma (righteousness)
Artha (wealth)
Kama (desire)
Moksha (salvation or liberation) – release from the endless cycles.
Hindu Beliefs and Practice
Reincarnation – the soul is immortal but the body endlessly cycles to higher or lower levels of existence, including the various castes of the rigid social caste system.Yoga – the practices or tools used to break from habits of past lives. Includes various meditations and physical practices.Slide36
Brahma (The Creator)
- depicted with four faces each continually reciting one of the Vedas. The force of creation and birth.
Shiva (The Destroyer)
- Shakti or power; the dissolving force in life; centrifugal force; entropy.
Vishnu (The Preserver)
- peace; balance; Sustainer of life.
The Trinity of BrahmanSlide37
300 million + adherents primarily in China and S.E. Asia
Originated near modern Nepal around 530 BC by prince Siddhartha Guatama.
Spread originally in India and Sri Lanka by Magadhan Empire (250 BC).
Indian traders brought it to China in 1st century AD.
By 6th century it had lost its hold on India, but was now in Korea and Japan.
BuddhismSlide38
Four Noble Truths:
1. All living beings must endure suffering.
2. Suffering, which is caused by desires (for life), leads to reincarnation.
3. The goal of existence is an escape from suffering and the endless cycle of reincarnation by means of Nirvana.
4. Nirvana is achieved by the Eightfold Path, which includes rightness of understanding, mindfulness, speech, action, livelihood, effort, thought, and concentration.
BuddhismKarma - your past bad or good actions determine your progress toward Nirvana through reincarnation. You are your own God.
Buddhism is in large part a rejection of the Indian caste system. It stresses tolerance, humility, and compassion for all.Slide39
Questions?
If a society has attribute gods, what does that say about that society?
What about a society’s belief in gods mirror about that culture?
What are the different types of gods?
What can the Goddess tell us about a culture? Slide40
Religion & Tragedy