FINAL Flashcards
Non falsifiable realities
Propositions about the unseeable, the untouchable, and the unmeasurable, that may not be posible to prove true, but are also equally impossible to prove false
Why are non falsifiable realities no anti scientific
Science can’t prove anything about unseeable, untouchable, or unmeasurable things,. Religious propositions simply seek to explain the cosmos in its own terms as science does too. It does not agree nor disagree with science
Problems with the word primitive and why is indigenous better
Primitive has two meanings: pejorative and romantic
Romantic: a culture that has not been corrupted by the outside world, romanticized as a child like or naive culture
Pejorative: a culture that is backwards or lacks evolution, conveying inferiority
Indigenous is better because it is not romantic or pejorative. However, hard to determine which cultures are indigenous and which are not as original to the land implies a culture that has remained static and all cultures have migrated at some point
Why is orality important
Sacred stories are retold emphatically to be remembered, and oftentimes, oral myths are accompanied by a certain ritual or ceremony (ex: sun dance: ritual tied to the story of inyan)
Rituals and sacred stories depend on the language of the culture, without the language, the meanings of the stories and rituals disappear
Orality also means that stories are maleable. They can sometimes change
Myths
An explanation of the origin of the world around us told through a story. Usually are origin myths that contain motifs such as the disruption of order, tricksters, and sacrifice. Usually deal with non-falsifiable realities.
Syncretism
The merging of elements from different cultures
(has taken place among all religions; everything changes overtime and syncretism is one of those changes. Does not mean a religion is less legitimate than it was 1000 years ago)
Connections between ritual, material, experimental, and mythic realms
Rituals are connected to myths, materials to rituals
Experimental dimension connects humans to the sacred, without it, the previous 3 lose their meaning
Example: the sun dance
The sun dance is a ritual based based on the Inyan myth of the aboriginal people. Inside a specially created lodge participants dance to the point of exhaustion. The creation of the lodge represents the creation of the world, and the pole used in the dance is a newly cut tree; in its state between life and death and its physical positioning at the center of the lodge links the material world to the world of the spirits. Physically attached to this tree, the dancers are also tied to the spirits and the earliest times
Taboo
Meant to describe soemthing out of the norm or unacceptable by a culture
Can establish norms or roles
Gender roles: men cannot be weavers in Maori culture, women are not allowed in burial rituals, and men are not involved in birth rituals
Colonialism effects
Loss of language, land and rituals
Prohibited indigenous people from practicing their language
Affects orality= affects myth telling, rituals lose their meanings
Forced to leave their land
Indigenous cultures that have ties to specific locations suffer loss b/c the foundations of their religions, their ties to sacred places are severed
Colonial govt also sometimes outlawed indigenous religion
There was also syncretism and adoption, ex: conflict dualism replaces complementary dualism & cargo cult
Cultural appropriation
An exploitation of indigenous culture by the dominant colonial culture for commercial gain
A legacy of colonialism it is another form of exploitation brought about by a dominant colonial culture
Liminality
A state between states: happens during a ritual where one is after the death of the old self but before the birth of the new
Helps understand rites of passages
Young men/women must break out of this state to become a full adult member
Trickster
Character in a myth, usually lying, sneaky, and cheating that disrupts the social order. Exists within complementary dualism because the trickster is necessary for the cosmos to stay in order and to balance the cosmos
In conflict dualism, trickster would be seen as an evil that will eventually be defeated
Similarities between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam
Abraham is origins: overlapping mythologies w/ the character Abraham
Monotheist
Importance of sacred scripture
Importance of Jerusalem
Prophets that convey moral obligations through the divine, worship god through text
How did Christians view Jewish literature,
Christians believed that Tanaka was still the word of god, so it should be included in the Bible, by New Testament should supplement Old Testament. Christianity adopts Tanakh because they believe Jewish god is the god and thus it is truly the word of god. The coming of Jesus marks a new world where the covenant can now be universal so New Testament is needed for this new world where everyone can have a relationship with god
How did Muslims view Christian and Jewish text
Islam had positive relationship with both Jewish and Christian literature, but it does not add to them, instead, it reconfigures the myths into a poetic new format that still contains many of the same characters such as Abraham, Moses, and Jesus
(Islam could not include bible directly the way it was, as Christianity is believed in trinity monotheism but Islam believes in absolute monotheism
Reform Judaism
Understand Judaism to be a flexible, living religion that remains relevant because it evolves as the realities of human life change
Some observe dietary laws but most don’t
Allows women to serve as rabbis
Orthodox Judaism
Believe that the Hebrew Bible is the revealed word of god, and understand the Mishnah and Talmud to be written forms of oral law originated with Moses
Follow rabbinic halakhah
Observe laws of the Torah
Conservative Judaism
A mix between orthodox and Reform Judaism
From orthodox:
Generally follow dietary laws
View Jewish law as authoritative because they are divinely revealed
From reform:
Judaism develops throughout history, traditions should be open to moderate interpretations
Female rabbis allowed
Rejected strict interpretation of sacred texts from orthodox
From reform: rejects the idea of Jewish law as not binding and that it must be changed (still view as authoritative)
