Worship Flashcards
What is worship?
The word Worship comes from “Worth-ship” meaning to give something of worth or value.
In most religions, it involves specific acts of praise, honour or devotion given to a supernatural being such as God, a god or goddess.
Buddhists do not worship a supernatural being, instead directing to merit-making and escaping the cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth.
Why Worship?
Positive Merits: Good Karma etc.
Purification, become more holy
Praising gods/goddesses or pleasing them in hope that their wishes will be granted
Christians, Muslims and Jews regard worshipping God as an essential part of their faith. Christians believe that worship enables them to thank God, ask forgiveness for sin and respond to the love of Jesus as shown through his death on the cross.
What is a quotation on worship?
Christianity:
“Through Jesus, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise- the fruit of lips that confess his name.”
Hebrews 13:15
Islam:
“I did not create the jinns and the humans except to worship me alone”
Qur’an 51:56
Judaism:
“Do not worship any god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous god.”
Exodus 34:14
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”
Psalms 107:1
Name some aids of worship, and their purpose
Singing Bowl:
Used in: Buddhism
When tapped with a stick, it makes a sound believed to aid with meditation
Mandalas
Used in: Buddhism, Hinduism
Mandalas have many forms, including sacred surcles etc. Each represents geometric designs of
the universe. It is used in meditation, and the idea is to spiritually enter the centre.
Rangolis
Hindus decorate the outside of their home with rangolis. This is a form of sand painting using finely ground white powder and colours. The beauty of the paintings, which are particularly created at the Diwali festival, and spreads joy and happiness all around.
Yad
When reading the Torah scrolls, Jews use a yad to point to the place on the parchment so the reader does not lose their place. This enables the scroll to be kept clean and undamaged. A yad is normally like a rod with a small hand and index finger pointing from it and is often made of silver.
Icons and Candles
The Eastern Orthodox church uses icons (Pictured of Jesus or the Saints) to help focus during devotions. The saints are not worshipped, but are held in high esteem. Several denominations use candles. Christians also use a crucifix or cross to help them remember the sacrifice of Jesus and his resurrection from the dead. Incense may be used to symbolise god’s presence, and hymn books used when singing sacred songs.
Prayer Beads
Buddhists, Christians, Hindus and Muslims plus sikhs all use forms of prayer beads, rosaries, wheels and flags to count prayers and similar things. They vary between religion, but are almost always an easily divisable number (99 in Sikh Mala Beads, Buddhist Japa Malas having 108) 108 is a common number.
Name some holy days in religions
Christianity (Sunday)
The New Testament doesn’t state a particular day for worship, but most regard Sunday as this day. Many Christians attend a Sunday service every week.
Judaism (Friday)
Sabbath Day, Friday is their special day. On Sabbath day, Jews observe the 4th commandment which is to keep the Sabbath day holy. It is referred to as Shabat.
Explain why religions choose their holy day
Christianity
1: The day they believe Jesus rose from the dead. Sunday as the day of resurrection enables Christians to give thanks, and celebrate their risen saviour.
2: Sunday is the day in which Christians believe the Holy Spirit came to the disciples in Jerusalem at Pentecost. Many celebrate this as the birth of the Church.
Judaism
1: Sabbath is given special status as a holy day at the very beginning of the Torah in Genesis 2:1–3.
2: Sabbath is commanded and commended many more times in the Torah and Tanakh; special sacrifices are to be offered on the day. Sabbath is also described by the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Amos, and Nehemiah.
What is Holy Communion?
The Eucharist also called Holy Communion, the Sacrament of the Altar, the Blessed Sacrament, the Lord’s Supper, and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance. It is re-enacted in accordance with Jesus’ instruction at the Last Supper, as recorded in several books of the New Testament, that his followers do in remembrance of him as when he gave his disciples bread, saying, “This is my body”, and gave them wine saying, “This is my blood.“
United Methodists in the United States are encouraged to celebrate the Eucharist every Sunday, though it is typically celebrated on the first Sunday of each month, while a few go as long as celebrating quarterly (a tradition dating back to the days of circuit riders that served multiple churches). In the United Methodist church grape juice is used instead of wine. The current Book of Worship of the United Methodist church says that “the pure unfermented juice of the grape, or an equivalent, shall be used during the service of Holy Communion.” The elements may be distributed in various ways. Communicants may receive standing, kneeling, or while seated. Gaining more wide acceptance is the practice of receiving by intinction (receiving a piece of consecrated bread or wafer, dipping it in the blessed wine, and consuming it). The most common alternative to intinction is for the communicants to receive the consecrated juice using small, individual, specially made glass or plastic cups known as communion cups.
How do Hindus Worship?
Hindu worship, or puja, involves images (murtis), prayers (mantras) and diagrams of the universe (yantras). Central to Hindu worship is the image, or icon, which can be worshipped either at home or in the temple.
Hindu worship is primarily an individual act rather than a communal one, as it involves making personal offerings to the deity.
Worshippers repeat the names of their favourite gods and goddesses, and repeat mantras. Water, fruit, flowers and incense are offered to god.
The majority of Hindu homes have a shrine where offerings are made and prayers are said. A shrine can be anything: a room, a small altar or simply pictures or statues of the deity. Family members often worship together. Rituals should strictly speaking be performed three times a day. Some Hindus, but not all, worship wearing the sacred thread (over the left shoulder and hanging to the right hip). This is cotton for the Brahmin (priest), hemp for the Kshatriya (ruler) and wool for the vaishya (merchants).
How do Muslims worship?
Muslims are united across boundaries of geography and culture through their observance of five practices known as the Five Pillars, or the Pillars of Islam. These include pledging one’s faith (witnessing, the shahadah), ritual prayer (salat), charity to the poor (zakat), fasting during the month of Ramadan (sawm), and pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca (hajj). The Five Pillars are mentioned in the Quran, and are required of all Muslims. Sunni and Shi’i Muslims agree that these are the essential duties of all Muslims. The Five Pillars are strong expressions of the Islamic ideals of equality and unity. The pillars of ritual prayer, the Ramadan fast, and the hajj are particularly powerful signs of Muslim egalitarian unity, since all Muslims in all places pray, fast, and go on pilgrimage at the same time.
