index

Since the end of the semester is coming so quickly and with the complications of the Easter break, I have decided to give comments here on: the Problem of Evil, Morality, Quest for Salvation, and Course Goals, even before we see them in class; see what follows:

First a brief overview of our text, the Sacred Quest and the topics we have seen thus far. Earlier chapters (chapters on the notion and appearance of the Sacred, about ways of speaking about and of relationship to the Sacred) have focused on one aspect of our definition of religion as "ways of thinking, feeling, and acting." At this point (chapters 7, 8, and 9) we address another part of our definition of religion as we consider religion as "addressing problems of ordering and understanding human existence" (see chapter one on definition). Thus the two chapters we are analyzing in this installment concerns first the problem of evil or how human existence and especially suffering relate to various notions of the Sacred and secondly the issue of morality (ethics) or what we might describe as proper behavior and its motivation.

We must begin our discussion by acknowledging the existence of something or some realities we would call "evil." In effect evil involves a series or cluster of problems or issues that either do not make sense or that cause suffering to many. Somehow evil relates to things that should be but are not, of things or events that unfairly disrupt life or its experiences. Good people suffer and die, just like the evil. In the best of all possible worlds, the good, at least, should not suffer, should not get cancer or aids; nor should little kids die of leukemia, nor should they lose their parents to death nor even divorce. Why should evil people take innocent lives? Why should freak accidents occur?

            Beyond such brute facts of physical and social evil or cacophonous reality such as life and property - shattering earthquakes and hurricanes, of rampant, non-discerning disease or epidemics or of social and political incompetence and wickedness, beyond these one may ask more discerning questions. Who or what has brought about these evil circumstances? In a world-view that posits no God, one is left to wonder why the real is so for less than the ideal--one must deal with the world's inconstancies, imperfections, and down-right brutality. From a theistic perspective, one might express the problem as follows:
                    If God is good and powerful, what is the nature of evil? If God could prevent evil but
                    does not, can God be good? On the other hand, if God is good but cannot prevent
                    evil, can God be powerful? (109).
At best our definition of God as all-good or all-powerful is problematic in our attempt to explain the problem of evil.

Perhaps the most brutal and inhuman experience of evil in our time or, perhaps ever, must surely be the infamous Holocaust. One could rehearse its statistics, its history, and innumerable stories of humanity's inhumanity to other humans. One could also chronicle the many atrocities of the 20th century and even those of the (short) 21st. What these do is pose the question of the nature of evil and the challenge it offers to belief in a good and just Deity. If, as in western theology, one believes that God governs history how and why did the Holocaust occur? Why did so many innocents suffer not only death but the degradation of inhuman, bestial, and indeed satanic treatment at the hands of apparently cultured (even religious) human beings?

From the above one is led to conclude that evil is certainly not a simple nor a monolithic reality since it derives not only from human choice or willfulness but also owes to social and natural cause. Evil is thus moral, social, and anthropological in origin and nature. Humans may be the cause or agent of much evil, but (in modern terms) many of these evil phenomena relate to systemic inequities and deep human tendencies. In any case the problem of evil is pervasive and its challenge to the notion of the Sacred a real conundrum.

There exist, of course, traditional responses to this nefarious problem. 1) In an eastern (Hindu) context one can relate this problem to karma, whereby one's present status or caste depends on one's past good or bad karma. Evil then is explained as humans getting what they deserve from past actions (the seeming death of an innocent person is explained as punishment for past evil actions). Other, related responses are forthcoming from Buddhism and Vedantic Hinduism, which see evil as more illusory than real. 2) Monotheistic religions seek consolation in the promise of a better future, whether a kingdom-like "land flowing with milk and honey" (even Israel), a future paradisiac kingdom when Jesus returns, or an earthly or heavenly kingdom of justice. In essence evil is tolerated in view of greater, consoling reward. 3) In extending the previous response, one can appeal, like Job, to God's sovereignty as a justification for evil as being a reality beyond human comprehension and (certainly) control. 4) Finally one can appeal to a dualistic response, whereby evil is explained in structural terms as representing the constant, cosmic conflict between good and evil, an issue exemplified in the Zoroastrian belief in the constant combat between the gods of good and evil.

Thus the responses to the problem of evil are rather limited (in number or type), even is one considers eastern and western responses. But in light of these considerations and attempted explanations, one must ask whether these responses to the problem are in effect adequate? Indeed, the authors of the Sacred Quest ask pertinent rhetorical questions for each of the above responses. One must ask whether these responses are logical, or coherent or psychologically satisfying or especially what the moral consequences are. The impression one gets from examining these responses is that a negative response must probably be given for the first three questions and a host of unanswered questions for the last (see pp. 120f). There is then no satisfactory or coherent response to the problem of evil. One could of course point out that often good comes out of evil ("flowers of evil") but regardless this reality impacts greatly one's conception of the Sacred as well as the human condition.

For most people the concepts of religion and morality are inextricably related or interconnected. For many they are even the same; and some would reduce the former to the latter, i.e., that religion is about proper behavior or at least about personal values and humanism.

At this point we would discuss the difference between and yet interconnected relation between religion and morality (see SQ 125f). But owing to time and effort, I will at this point conclude my observations and post class outlines for the chapters on "Morality" and the "Quest for Salvation," as well as for our last class on the "Goals of the Course." You might use these handouts as guides for re-reading (or reading for the first time) the discussion in the Sacred Quest and perhaps to investigate the statements given as "study guide" for the exam: #s 15, 16, and 17 for "Morality," and 18, 19, and 20 for "Salvation." The reflections related to the "Goals" are really in the first place, a review of the religious traditions seen in the Religious World (Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, ahd Islam--the data), secondly a focus on the topics or patterns covered in the Sacred Quest, and for the remaining goals an attempt to examine the knowledge obtained on the general topic of "religion," its large variety of traditions, its social and personal character and, beyond that, a quest for wisdom and insight.

What follows then are the class handouts for: Morality, Quest for Salvation & Course Goals:

           Intro & Defining the Issues: interconnected but distinguishable (126)
                    1. religion as providing foundation for morality
                    2. religion & definition (thinking/feeling/acting) --> acts that concern behavior toward others
                                conclusion: religion --> activity the Sacred; morality --> activity & others
                    3. priority of & conflict between two --> in cases of conflict, which has priority?

           Religion, Morality & Justification (127)
                    discussion of two as related to ethics (= inquiry about the nature of the good life) --> use of
                                theories of right human behavior, plus justification (reasons from religion & morality)
                    e.g. discussion of abortion (pro-choice & pro-life: passion/scriptures/values)

           Justification--General Considerations (128)
                    --religious reasons as rules of thumb + three added factors:
                    --1. appeal to duty (deontological: standard/rules regardless of consequences) or appeal to
                                consequences (teleological: results/consequences)
                    --2. appeal to motivation (religious motive of reward/punishment) or to rightness of action
                    --3. principles/rules/action as guides for justification: appeal to rule or consequences
                                as guide

Practical Justification--3 cases of justification as broader examples providing data (130)
Hinduism & castes; Islam & justification of war/violence; Christianity & prayer/worship

Religion & Morality: Patterns (138)
1. in tension: Hindu; 2. complementary: Islam (war); 3. religion as animating morality

           Concepts of Salvation: who is saved, where occurs, deliverance from what? need for (143)
                    individual: in this or other world; group: in this or other world
                    salvation from what/to what end? --> meaning/remembrance/completion

           Individual Salvation: This World (existence after death plays little or no part) (144)
                    search for meaning--struggle with despair, focus on meaning of Holocaust --> founding of
                            Israel (victims did not die in vain), life counts for something--meaning vs ambiguity
                    desire to be remembered--Renaissance desire for glory/fame as humanist ideal, other
                            examples through memorials, legacies, even children as ensuring one's heritage
                    ideal of completion (Taoism/Buddhism)--Nirvana as mystical completion

           Individual Salvation: Other World (with notion of existence that transcends death) (146)
                    joining spirit world--rebirth into new existence--sheol, shades, Hades/Dis
                    cosmic cycling or expansion (H/B)--leaving/journeying or renewal & reentry, notions of
                            karma, reincarnation/transmigration or salvation as joining larger consciousness
                            (joining infinite/Brahman), Greeks & spirit world [Gnosticism]
                    idea of judgment (western traditions): reward/punishment of eternal soul/after resurrection,
                            account for deeds: fear & hope (also motives for moral conduct)

           Group Salvation: This World (150)
                    salvation through people--identity in group --> survival of race/people --> patriotism
                    salvation through tradition--maintain existence of group/preserve its tradition & existence
                    kingdom here--justice & equity, messianic promise --> goal for this world, as social
                    movement/gospel, liberation movements [new earth]

           Group Salvation: Other World (152)
                    kingdom of God--community of blessed with God, ideal society beyond time, after apocalypse
                    Jewish & Christian concepts of millennium--prior to eternal existence

           Paths to Salvation (who/where/what -- how & relation of these) (153)
                    knowledge--enlightenment, discipline ("see as is"), study & understanding --> withdrawal &
                            renunciation
                    action--in the world, esp for individual/this world notion of salvation: duty, stages of life,
                            even with detachment, or action in quest of salvation
                    aesthetics--a special type of action with focus on beauty
                    submission--dependence on Sacred: following model/pattern/way to Sacred, submission,
                            will/plan of God
                    grace--contrasts with action/path, esp Protest emphasis (grace/election)

Closing Reminder--interrelatedness of concepts of salvation, make sense & provide goal for
meaning of human existence vis-a-vis Sacred

Review: phenomenological method: collect data, search/analyze patterns --> generalization (5)
           definition of religion: "Religion signifies those ways of viewing the world which refer to (1) a notion
                    of sacred reality (2) made manifest in human experience (3) in such a way as to produce
                    long-lasting ways of thinking, feeling, and acting (4) with respect to problems of ordering and
                    understanding existence." (22)
           nature of Sacred:   set apart (transcendent or immanent) (29f)
                                            beyond volitional human control--but reachable
                                            especially concerned/has impact on human welfare
                                            requires an ordering of human existence

1. "to explore with some depth a few major, living religious traditions" --> for data (see Religious World)

            focus:    eastern religious traditions
                                       Hinduism: reincarnation/quest --> the Sacred
                                       Buddhism: types --> nirvana/self or assistance
                          western religious traditions
                                       Judaism: revelation of Sinai, the prophets --> covenant people/here
                                       Christianity: Jesus as revelation of God & source of salvation/reward
                                       Islam: submission to Allah & the Quranic revelation --> heavenly reward
            much detail about traditions: history, culture, beliefs & practice
            + early religious tradition (historical/anthropological) & paper

2. "to examine the nature and characteristics of the phenomenon called 'religion'" (see Sacred Quest)

            varying notions of the Sacred & traditions of experience of the Sacred
                    God as one who speaks, reveals, sends envoys, etc
                    the Divine as underlying reality, as constituting the source & goal of all existence
            definition of religion: involves the Sacred & human relation to the Sacred & other creatures
            special character of language in a religious context
            human relation to the Divine, esp ritual
            social character of religion: communities & their traditions
            challenge of religion:      evil, the Sacred & answers
                                                       religion & morality (treatment/relation to others)
                                                       quest for salvation--whether meaning, reward, immorality, fulfillment

3. "to foster critical thinking about the understanding of different religious beliefs and customs"

religious traditions as the product of historical circumstances & development
customs & culture as closely related to beliefs & aspirations

4. "to understand the role religion plays in the social, cultural, and personal areas of life"

            religions as social movements with varying degrees of relationships to the dominant culture
            religions as cultural entities with distinct, complex traditions
            religion as a major component of the individual's makeup in terms of belief-system & source
                    of motivation & goals

5. "to initiate a critical evaluation of one's own religious beliefs and commitments"

           goes beyond course in addressing personal commitment
           but focuses rightly on obtaining knowledge, clarification, and insight
           religion too, among other things, is an area of knowledge whose insights have long-range
                     consequences

Despite modern tendencies, indeed obsession, to view religion as a private matter and as eminently personal in nature, one must insist that a major characteristic of all religions is the social character of religious experience and activity. Groups or communities constitute religious movements. Religion is an eminently social entity. All religions focus on and thrive in assemblies and social gatherings. This chapter is first about the social nature or character of religious movements and secondly about the social dynamics and consequences that result from such a characteristic. Further, the peculiar character of each religious tradition is inherited or defined by the early community of disciples of the respective traditions, whether the sangha of the Buddha, the wide-spread churches (ecclesia) of the Jesus movement, or the ummah of Medina and Mecca during the time of Muhammad. Of course one thinks immediately of Israel as a people of the covenant, the "children of Israel, and therefore as a social movement involving complex structures and historical evolution.

Our study of the social character of religion focuses initially on the work of prominent sociologists or social philosophers: E. Durkheim and E. Troeltsch. The work of these two scholars has helped to focus scholarly research on the social character and dynamic characteristics of religion more generally. In the case of Durkheim it was his insistence that "religion expressed not theological but sociological reality" (92) that has had great influenece on the study of religion as a social entity. In other words religion, especially in tribal societies, is the glue that holds the tribe or society together. Religion is a human creation, in the words of Durkheim, to assist in the functioning and preservation of society; religion preserves and conserves the cohesion of the whole. The function of religion is social (gives cohesion to the whole) rather than theological. From Durkheim scholarship and people involved in religious activity have come to appreciate the fundamentally social character of religious phenomena.

The second mentioned, Troeltsch, after much study of religious typology, proposed decades ago a series of social categories or groupings that might assist the modern student to appreciate the social dynamics of religious groups and traditions. Different religious groups present a variety of attitudes and relations vis-a-vis non-religious culture and other religious or sacred communities. Three terms are of importance for our study of religious communities and their relations to other cultural entities. Religious communities may be classified as churches, sects, or cults. All three terms are technical categories and represent specific social, structural, and dynamic characteristics which help us to analyze religious groups and their relation to society and its values.

1) Church. Though this term relates to Troeltsch's christian background, it nonetheless designates non-christian entities as well, whether the Jewish, Muslim, or other established communities. This category refers to "a religious community of some social standing, which appeals to all members of a society to take part in its activity, which has a stake in the well-being of the larger social community, and which claims to be the bearer of religious truth" (93). Despite its origin as a means to distinguish German state-sponsored religious entities from dissident groups, the category is a handy one to describe established communities that participate in the mainstream activities of the general society, communities that reinforce the social norms and ideals of the majority culture even though at time or often these religious communities or churches may act in a prophetic way to criticize or call into question policies and moral standards espoused by general society or governmental entities.

2) Sect. This term is soften or usually used in a pejorative sense in the popular culture and media. "A sect, by contrast [to the Church], tends to demand more conformity of its members, is exclusive in its membership, distances itself from the concerns of the larger society, and also claims to be the bearer of religious truth" (94). Perhaps the major characteristic of this category is a relative one, namely, the more "restrictive" character of many of its elements, whether membership or beliefs. Having found its origin in dissent it usually, in its turn, does not tolerate dissent. But more particularly, "it is exclusivist, inward looking, and in some tension with the larger culture in which it finds itself" (94). Sects tend to be one or limited-issue groups, when they interact with the larger culture, while churches form part of the give and take of the mainstream life of the nation.

            3. Cult. While the terms "sect" and "cult" are often used interchangeably in the media, they both, while referring to rather restrictive social entities, in fact, in a technical sense, describe quite dissimilar realities. "A cult has three characteristics, which we list in descending order of importance:
               "1. A cult is founded by a charismatic leader, a person whose powerful personality is the focus of the followers.
                                It is through the person that the message comes through.
                    "2. A cult normally claims that it has had a new revelation from God or a new insight into the sacred which either
                                perfects or changes an older religious tradition or invigorates it.
                    "3. Cults, at least in their beginnings, are viewed with extreme suspicion by the older, more established religious
                                communities; they usually regard the 'new revelation' as heretical or sacrilegious or blasphemous" (94-5).

These three categories help greatly in understanding the growth of religious movements, on the one hand, for these movements may start as cults or sects and evolve or even seek to become "respected" or generally-accepted churches as their members move into the mainstream of society. On the other hand, those categories assist us in understanding the various stances taken by religious groups vis--a-vis religious, social, and political issues, whether the fundamentalist right, the one-issue religious lobbies, or the frequent coalitions of churches involved in social and economic reform and planning. Religion often acts as a resisting or reforming element within society as churches or more sect-like or ethnic groups within religious movements demand or bring about change in the fabric of society: the Catholic Church recently in Poland or the Shiite Muslims under Khomeini in Iran--a radical change of government resulted in both cases.

At the same time one should note that sects and cults usually act as refuges for people who resist the disruptive tendencies of modernity. New religious movements, often under autocratic, manipulative leadership, draw the dissatisfied and the fearful and provide security and protection against social, disruptive changes of a modern, permissive society and its culture of violence and promincuity.

Other social factors could be examined here--we did not have much time to do so in class. One could look at the dynamics that take place within communities as they examine their truth claims: who are true members, what does one do with recalcitrant or heretical members? What happens when movements are deeply split over doctrinal or moral issues; who represents the community's heritage? Who is considered to be a secessionist and who the bearer of the community's tradition; e.g., did Protestant groups break away from the official Christian Church or did the Catholic movement betray and therefore forfeit its membership in the mainstream christian movement? Or more ecumenically, should one consider the "Protestant Reformation" as a relatively "even split" within the Christian movement? The dynamics of heresy, schism, and division make for interesting sociological study as older religious movements encounter intra reform movements, as dominant intra groups take formal action to dispel heretical elements from within their ranks, or as new, diverse groups emerge from traditional religious movements (SQ 97); see the examples given on p. 98: orthodox debates within Judaism, fundamentalist crises within the Lutheran and Baptist conventions, the orthodoxy of Catholic theologians, and conflicts between fundamentalist and moderates in regard to the role of government in Muslim life.

Other issues could be examined: religious tradition and innovation in a pluralistic society (kosher laws, dress, education, values--the wearing of the veil in France). Should religious look toward accommodation or resist change? At this point one should look to the categories noted earlier to see how groups will react to change and cultural influences.

            We might conclude our discussion concerning the social character of religion as follows:
                    An informed observer will quickly note that the social dimension of religion has at least two sides. Religion can be a
                    sustainer of family and state; it can also serve as a tool of revolutionary change. Religion can motivate progressive
                    inquiry; it can also be a force for obscurantism. History affords examples of both tendencies. The one thing which
                    is very clear is that the social reality of religious belief is a force in human culture. To find the best evidence for
                    the truth of this statement, read the newspaper for a week (106).

Religion is certainly more than intellectual content and more than the espousal of moral values and behavior, for it also involves religious activity, ceremonial acts, and, in general, a multitude of rituals that "serve as a way for people to participate in the creative power of the Sacred." Since ritual itself, whether in familial, civic, legal or other contexts, is so basic to human activity and culture, it is important to treat religious activity and its various ritual characteristics.

One of the most common forms of ritual involves acting out or dramatizing religious stories (a topic described as "myth and ritual"). Ancient societies frequently acted out their religious stories, especially their myths concerning origins or creation, birth and death. Indeed early Greek drama and thus modern theater, have their origins in such religious ritual. Modern religious studies employ such terminology to describe the relationship between important religious stories and the rituals that evolve from them. For example in Judaism, modern celebrations of the Passover or even the seder, the formal ceremonial meal during Passover, derive from and constitute an acting out of the Exodus stories from the Book of Exodus. This myth and its ritual enactment celebrate God's freeing of Israel from slavery in Egypt. In a highly ritualized fashion, Jews demonstrate continuity with their religious and ethnic past by worshipping the God who freed them from bondage, thereby expressing their hope for future freedom and divine blessings. In a similar fashion the eucharistic celebration or mass is an enactment in a similarly complex manner of Jesus' last supper or ceremonial (probably Passover) meal with his disciples, a meal which itself had its roots in the Jewish Passover tradition. This eucharistic story is found in varying forms in the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke and in Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians (chapter 11). It too is a memorial of a significant episode in the religious tradition's formative years. During this meal/sacrifice believers read texts from the community's Scriptures, receive some instruction, attend a ritual meal and receive bread and wine as a representation or actualization of Jesus' body and blood. Other such myths and rituals would be a Shiite passion play celebrating the death of Husayn, son of the Patriarch Ali or a Shinto ritual enactment of the struggle between the sun goddess and the storm god, activities that represent or relate to stories from their respective traditions' sacred writings (see SQ 78-79).

Other well-known forms of ritual are described as "rites of passage," ceremonies associated with the transitional moments in a person's life." While such rites or ceremonies are often reduced to social events in the culture of many modern communities (whether circumcision, baptism or wedding ceremonies) they nonetheless play a significant role in many religious traditions. These include various birth rituals which celebrate the creative power of the Sacred, symbolic activity which mark human participation in the process of the creation and nurturing of life. Other rituals focus on the rites of initiation, whether the passage from childhood to adulthood, to the initiation to sexual activity or maturity or to married life and family. Such rituals emphasize ritual separation from childhood contexts, the testing of candidates, reentry into the community in a new capacity and with new responsibilities. Such rituals often involve complex traditions regarding initiation or marriage. Finally, another series of rituals deal with the themes of death, burial and mourning of the dead. These rites focus on the emotions one encounters vis-a-vis death, passage into after life, burial ceremonies, and a variety of purification, penitential, and sacrificial activity related to death, burial, and mourning of the dead.

Such rites of passage mark the human journey from birth to death and indeed into the world of after life. But additionally, "this human journey takes place in the world of time and seasons." Rites tend to be associated to various seasons of the year whose origin is clearly the agricultural cycle and symbolize the fertile power of the cosmos. Traditions which once upon a time celebrated the action of insemination in Spring, of gestation in Summer, of birth in Autumn, and of death in Winter, have left traces or greatly influenced more recent rituals or ceremonies: Easter as a Spring feast that celebrates resurrection or new life, Thanksgiving as an Autumn harvest festival, and the various New-Year celebrations that mark the end of the old (death in Winter) and the beginning of the new (beginning of Spring). These rituals acquire a variety of life-related rituals such as purification, thanks for new life, prayers for renewal.

Another important aspect of ritual concerns the variety of motivation for these ceremonies, whether adoration or acknowledgment of the sovereignty of the Sacred as the source of all things, or thanksgiving or the acknowledgment of bounty from the world of the Sacred, or petition or requests for "daily bread" or the necessities of life and happiness, or finally the need for penance or purification as one attempts to approach the Sacred. Such motivation enhances worship, fosters a reverent relationship to or acknowledgment of the world of the Sacred. These various motivations form, of course, part of ritualized ceremonies, festivals or the extensive pageantry of religious traditions.

Finally, a brief word about the power of ritual. On the one hand ritual can generate great emotion and lead to committed action. On the other it can lose its meaning and lead to empty gestures or magical attempts to control the Divine without moral commitment or sincerity. The history of religion presents numerous examples of prophetic protest against dead or magical religious rituals (ritualism), whether overly formal, meaningless or magical temple rites, sacramental practices, or spiritual guarantees such as indulgences.

Thus, ritual attempts to frame, interpret or give meaning to life about us. It tells us who we are, how we relate to our tradition, to the Sacred. Indeed it is a dramatic interpretation or enactment of human relations to and desire for relationship with world of the Sacred. So "rituals, from the most intimate...to the most elaborate..., are markers that intrude into the daily round of life to signal the relationship of persons to, and their awareness of, the place of the Sacred in their lives." Indeed life is a jungle but ritual transforms that reality into a garden, a culture of the Sacred that actualizes in human activity humanity's relation to the Sacred.

Religion: Language of the Sacred (SQ 58-74) (Rel 3)

(3/5/06)

One of the peculiarities of religion is certainly its frequently-odd use of language, whether its insistence on using old forms of expression, its fondness for stories (often mythological or fantastic in character), or its liking either for poetic expression or abstract terminology (e.g., for prayer and theology, respectively). We turn then to the nature of religious language, namely, the language employed in religion to speak of the Sacred or to express or describe the experience of believers. How does one describe the indescribable? Indeed, God or the Divine is "everything and yet is nothing" (in the words of John of the Cross). The Divine is beyond all language--like a person to a westerner or an all-encompassing power or entity to an easterner. Your textbook suggests that even the names of the Sacred reveal both a language and a conceptualization problem, for when we speak of the Sacred we hear of the following: "God, Brahman, Nirvana, Heaven, the kami"--all referring to the Sacred as separate or "'set off' from ordinary experiences and relations" (58)--my language in class today was not as good as the above.

Ancient cultures have invariably turned to stories, in the form of myths and sagas, to express their deepest sense of the world beyond, that is, of the Sacred that pervades all existence, to search for life's meaning, and for the relationship of the "world beyond" to human needs and goals. All ancient cultures have creation myths that attempt to explain the struggle between good and evil, between order and primordial chaos. These stories, as fanciful as they may seem today, had a purpose and a depth of vision that addressed the human being's relation to the Divine and to the world about. These ancient stories were and continue to be powerful vehicles for life and action, but they must be viewed and interpreted as expressions of imaginative language about God, the world, and humanity at the center of this universe (see SQ 58)--remember, especially our discussion of the stories of Genesis 1-3--problems of culture, language, and the perennial challenge of expressing religious experiences and realities in "human" language.

Here are topics we did not cover or only slightly in class, namely: stories and their character, parables, etc. These stories and others of a more "historical" and epic character record the experiences of various religious communities in very personal terms, especially through the lives and experiences of the great figures of those very communities, whether Abraham and his descendants or the early followers of Gautama. These stories, now primarily incorporated into the communities' sacred books, serve the purpose of passing on information to later generations, conveying insights or lessons about life, about commitment to the Divine. They pass on lessons to remember experiences of the Divine's benevolence, moments of revelation (often through the vivid imagery of poetry--a burning bush, a trip to heaven). These stories, not to be taken in an overly literal manner, present models for later generations, paradigmatic moments or persons for the benefit of later generations of believers. These stories often are marvelous tools for teaching of or for the correcting and reforming of behavior (e.g., use of the well-known form, the parable).

Not only are these stories told in old, unusual and often picturesque language (whether stories about paradise, about sinful rebellion, and widespread cleansing with water--stories about Eden, Adam & Even, or Noah, respectively) but they are preserved as providing the formative beliefs and practices of the believing community. Especially in oral cultures, but later in "Bible religions," these stories play a number of important functions. They become normative and serve as paradigms for the community's worldview, whether its belief in a benevolent creator or its view of humanity as a fallen or rebellious creature. Indeed, these stories and other writings provide a yardstick for the community's beliefs and practice. In these stories the community encounters or evokes the presence of the Sacred, either as revelation (sacred books) or as participation or enactment through its ritual retelling and reliving of the seminal experiences that gave birth to the stories (the seder, the eucharist, the hajj and their origins in the lives of Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad). Thus these stories serve to
connect later communities to the initial revelatory experiences of their traditions. These stories both preserve a religious community's tradition and provides a framework, be it symbolic or literal, for that community's view of the Divine, of itself, and of the world.

Sacred stories serve important functions (see SQ 68f) and they serve both the ordinary believer (as indicated above) and the tradition's theologians. The latter use a different type of language but nonetheless engage in a systematic study of the community's tradition and theology, studying both its sacred stories and the views and theology which they generate. The language of these theologians is considerably different from that of the traditional stories and present a challenge to the modern religious person. Whether the highly symbolic language of the sacred stories or the highly technical and philosophical language of contemporary theology, the language of the Sacred is truly a challenge to the modern believer and non-believer, for within this human system of communication are couched the community's beliefs, system of rules, worldview, and tradition more generally. It is at this point that one encounters the difficult task of making sense of one's claims and the extend to which they are justifiable, coherent, consistent, and accurate. Language is a complex entity and its use in religious traditions is equally complex--considering these factors is crucial to an understanding of religious traditions and their claims. Believers and non-believers alike need to give serious thought to the nature of language, its use as sacred tool, and the situation of the modern reader, believer, or practitioner vis-a-vis both ancient and modern modes of "language of the Sacred."

Much of the above summary or discussion owes to a rereading on my part of the SQ's chapter on language. Reread the chapter and see what emerges.

Religion: Appearance of the Sacred (SQ 39-57) (Rel 2)

4/3/06

At this point of our study we are interested in "the ways in which the Sacred is manifested [hierophony] in the world of human experience" (39). Different religious traditions experience and express that experience of the Divine or Sacred in diverse ways. Usually the expression, the tone, and peculiar character of this phenomenon is captured by and in turn gives a distinct expression to a tradition's view of the Sacred. Two excellent examples are given in SQ: that of Muhammad and of Siddhartha Gautama. In the first case, a man who is searching encounters reluctantly an unusual experience of the Sacred. He resists and only with much and repeated persuasion by the heavenly envoy does he finally submit to the divine initiative. He becomes a "submitter" (a muslim) to the will of God/Allah and sets in motion a movement whose task is to live and to present to others God's call, as seen in the story about Muhammad, to "humanity to submission through the revelation of the Qur'an, 'the speech of God'" (40). The second example concerns a a man whose quest through meditation proves to not be enough. Instead he is led to the realization that attachment to the world's illusions does not lead to the truth but only detachment can lead "to Nirvana--the cessation of birth, old age, death, and all kinds of ill" (40). It is at this point that his story becomes a model for the Buddhist and that he becomes a teacher to the masses.

These examples are unique and yet they lead to an important discussion of types of hierophanies. On the one hand, one can consider the phenomena according to media or means through which the Sacred is manifested: whether persons, objects, time, or space. Indeed, the rest of our discussion focuses on these primary vehicles or ways to view, encounter, or experience the Sacred. On the other hand, these various manifestations of the Sacred, while diverse and conditioned by the experience and history of the various traditions, reveal a threefold pattern that can be characterized as: prophetic, sacramental, and mystical. The first of these, the prophetic, centers on persons who receive revelation in particular historical contexts, such as in Judaism and Islam--the central focus of the former is Moses and the revelation of Sinai (Torah) and of the latter the experience of Muhammad in receiving the word of Allah (the Quran). The religious tradition itself is greatly influenced by the views and activity of these figures. In the second case the presence of the Sacred is mediated in and through material reality or sacraments and stresses the part played by priests or shamans--the principal examples are Christianity, Shinto, and various tribal traditions. The third or "last thinks of the importance of a certain state of being or consciousness in the quest for enlightenment or union with the sacred and is most characteristic of certain types of Buddhism and Hinduism" (41).

Each of the above, whether types of media (persons, objects, time, and space) or patterns of manifestation of the Sacred (the prophetic, the sacramental, or the mystical), merit some attention in helping us discern patterns in discussing how the Sacred is viewed by various religious traditions.

Discussion of persons, especially founders and central figures within the tradition's practice, as mediators of Sacred Reality would require much attention (see SQ 41-46). Here one could speak of Moses as a prophetic figure who not only encountered God "face to face" but became God's spokesman. Much could be done there to understand the role played in Judaism by its rabbis. One could focus on Gautama the Buddha as a mystical figure, the one who has attained nirvana and becomes a teacher to others in their quest. He becomes a teacher of the truth about human existence and guide to the experience of nirvana. Lastly, while Jesus could be viewed (and is in the early tradition) as a prophetic figure, Christianity finds in him the sacrament of its encounter with God, for Jesus becomes a sign or sacrament of the Divine--the Christian encounters God and God's power and salvation through Jesus.

Similar discussions should occur regarding objects which are viewed as media of or for encountering the Divine, whether sacred books or Bible, statues, relics or food--one thinks here of the exalted views believers have of their sacred texts, of various object or of the bread and wine as means of communication with the Sacred. More attention should be given to both time (sacred feasts and weekly and yearly celebrations) and space (places of worship and their relation to the Deity) in one's study of the "appearance of the Sacred."

Finally, these various media for encounter with or experience of the Sacred can often bear a variety of patterns, some times related to one or all of the three principal patterns noted above: sacred scriptures as playing a prophetic role, the eucharist as being clearly sacramental in character, and certain activities and religious experiences as underscoring a tradition's mystical tendencies--all of these can be manifested, for example, in a Christian's religious experience.

The basic concern of the above (and the class that preceded this): how does the Sacred manifests itself in the world of humans, how does it appear in physical/human world, or how does the human perceive the Sacred?

On Friday (3/31/06) we began an important, final section of our course, the more general "study of religion"--for this part of the course we were to bring the text The Sacred Quest to class--from now on it would be most helpful. So we focused on chapters 1 & 2 as review (methodology and definition of religion--pp 1-10 and 11-26, respectively) and especially on chapter 3 ("the nature of the Sacred"--pp. 27-38). We spent a little time at the beginning of the course on chapter 2 ("definition"). Now we will attempt to address more general issues and patterns of religion, employing the data acquired during the course of our survey of five major living world traditions and other religious communities. I would ask individuals to focus on various issues raised by the authors in the chapters under discussion--it is the time to ask questions on the topic of the chapter and other related topics. The final exam will deal completely with these chapters and the issues discussed therein.

            The final part of our course then focuses more generally on religious topics or areas that concern all religious traditions. Just as we noted at the beginning of the course that our methodology would involve first a brief but academic study of 5 major religious traditions (eastern: Hinduism and Buddhism and western: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) to gather as much data and knowledge as possible about religion, religious thought and practice, and customs, so now that we have achieved that goal, at least minimally, we turn to the second part of our method. At this point we begin to examine the many patterns that our study should have discerned. Also, just as we employed a solid, academic text for our review of the 5 major religions (The Religious World), so now we will use a more schematic work for our search and discussion of major religious patterns (The Sacred Quest). Our study will follow the general outline of the book's chapters. Indeed, we began our study of the "Sacred Quest" on the first and second days of class, when we discussed the above phenomenological method, then focused on a proper definition of religion, one that involves beliefs or doctrine, as well as feelings and experience, also action or practice, as well as the social aspects of life and its values. Religion encompasses all of these. Indeed, we concluded that religion should be both theistic and functional, a concept or definition that included the following:
                    1) a notion of the Sacred,
                    2) which is manifest in human experience,
                    3) which produces powerful, long-lasting ways of thought or feeling,
                    & 4) which is related to ordering or understanding existence.

Briefly: the Nature of the Sacred (God, Brahman, Nirvana, the Ultimate Other, etc)

            Following the above and as a review today, we considered briefly the "nature of the Sacred" (see SQ 27-39). In speaking about the Sacred, we are careful to include eastern and western perceptions, as well as transcendent and immanent concerns of human and divine relations and social behavior. Thus the nature of the "Sacred Reality" is all-encompassing: east and west, set apart from yet related to the world of humans. I might reproduce here our convenient description--the Sacred Reality is:
            1) distinctive (i.e., transcendent and immanent [other-worldly/this-worldly], a person or power),
            2) beyond human control (i.e., operates through conduits/messenger),
            3) is concerned about human welfare (good life, judgment, harmony),
            & 4) influences human behavior & determines proper order of human existence.

It would be most profitable to reread the chapter; see the initial threefold examples of how different religioug traditions view the Sacred: a spiritual view (Judaism and the Psalmist), the Brahman (Hinduism and the Bhagavad Gita), and Nirvana (Buddhism on "the Nature of Nirvana"--see pp. 27-28). The notion of God or the Divine Reality/the Sacred goes far beyond the usual idea we propose in western terms (see the Hindu concept and description of the Brahman or the Buddhist idea of Nirvana). Each of the four issues raised by the above list is well worth examining and discussion, for they stretch our concepts and our understanding of what religious traditions view as the Ultimate. More on that later.

Please read chapter 3 (pp. 39-57) of The Sacred Quest: "The Alppearance of the Sacred." for next class and bring your text for quick reference and occasional citations.

Introduction to World Religions