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Notes
from Wayne Ham’s Class Visit on Sunday, October 31, 2004
| Most comparative religion courses cover 12 major world
religions. Huston Smith has chosen to cover only 7 plus the
Primal Religions. Smith defines religion as “a way of life woven
around a people’s ultimate concern.’ Paul Tillich says “Whatever
is your ultimate concern is your god.” Someone in class said,
“God is the duct tape of the world.” J |
All of the following are undergirded by the primal Religions.
Printable copy (PDF
file)
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India (Belief system incorporated into the religion) |
Orient (Belief) |
Mid-East (Belief) |
Europe (Belief) |
America |
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Hinduism (Monism) |
Mahayana. Buddhism
(Agnostic) only concern is how do believers avoid suffering. |
Judaism (Monotheism) |
Humanism
(Agnostic/Atheism) |
Mormonism[1]
(evolved from Christianity, everything is matter (materialism).
God has flesh and bone, was once man. |
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Jainism (Atheism) |
Taoism (Animism) |
Christianity[2]
(Monotheism)[3] |
Scientism
(Agnostic/Atheism) |
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Sikhism (Monotheism) |
Confucianism
(Agnostic) |
Islam (Monotheism)
Allah means “the God.” |
Marxism—Dialectic
Materialism (Atheism) |
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Shinto (Animism) |
Zoroastrianism
(Monotheism) |
Maoism (Atheism) |
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Baha’i (Monotheism) |
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Everything is
Spirit; Maya (the physical world) is illusion |
Spirit and Matter
worlds exist together (yin / yang) both are real & important and
exist together in mutually harmonious state |
Spirit is opposed to
Matter. “Spirit vs. Flesh.” |
Everything is
matter; no spirit world. |
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Classifications of Belief Systems |
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Agnosticism: |
We don’t have knowledge if there is a
God. |
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Animism: |
Spirits populate the world and
everything in the world has a spirit. Example: lake, stone,
trees, oranges – all have spirits. Similar to primal
religions. |
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Atheism: |
We know that there is no God. |
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Deism: |
Form of Monotheism, a creator God set
everything in motion, creating the foundation for the
universe (setting up natural law) and then allowing natural
law to take control. God then took a step back or away.
(Some of the founders of the United States were deists.) |
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Great Mystery: |
There is a great force in everything.
Something beyond the created order, but we don’t know what
it is. |
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Henotheism: |
There are many gods, but the tribe is
responsible to one tribal God. |
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Kat henotheism: |
Multiple gods exist (e.g. God of war,
God of Harvest, God of Love) (the Trinity?) |
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Monotheism: |
One God or Supreme Being, God who can
be named and/or related to. |
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Monism: |
One force in universe, cannot be named
(a la Star Wars “May the Force be with you.”) |
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Pantheism: |
Everything that is, is God and God is
everything that is. |
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Panenthesim: |
Everything is in God, but God is
outside (beyond) the created order. |
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Polytheism: |
when spirits have enough power, they
become gods. There are many gods. |
Community
of Christ: We have “cutoff” the Mormon materialism
component and returned to more orthodox Christianity.
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