Part One / Huston Smith – The World’s Religions

Part One / Huston Smith – The World’s Religions

Do we know anything about the historical Jesus, according to Smith? Explain.

Smith highlights a few things about historical Jesus by not only reconstructing his life but also his teachings as well as the cultural and historical context. He argues that Jesus did exist, and his history was based on the Pauline epistles and the Gospel. He was also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth and lived in the first century. He was a Jewish preacher and a religious leader.

Smith points out that Jesus was wrong about the one thing he was most sure about. What is that one thing?

The commitment He made

How is the world divided for Jesus, according to Smith? Another way of asking this is, “What two types of substance are the world typically divided into?”

According to Jesus, the world is divided into two substances: good and evil. And one’s actions and deeds determine the side to which they belong because it is either one is on the left or the right side of the act.

What are the four groups which were competing around Jesus’ time?

Pharisees

Teachers of law

Kings

Other gods

How did the barrier between clean and unclean cause Jesus to act, according to Smith?

According to Judaism, the unclean or otherwise known as the Gentiles, were set aside from the Jewish who were deemed to be clean, and a curtain was stripped in the temple so that they cannot mix. But according to Jesus, everyone was equal, and he went around eating with the tax collectors and associated with the so-called unclean.

What was so shocking about the way Jesus spoke? (326)

What he spoke had never been spoken by man before as his teachings carried an extravagance that allowed individuals to see things from a different view. His confidently assured people that if they do as God asks them to, they will receive a prize, which is eternal life.

Why did Jesus’ teachings not end with his death?

First, Jesus resurrected from the dead after three days since he was buried. Secondly, he had formed a group of disciples who were filled with the holy spirit to continue spreading the teachings of Jesus and lead to the formation of churches across the world.

In your opinion, what was the most important/interesting/striking thing you learned about Jesus from this chapter so far?

After he received the spirit from God after his baptism in river Jordan by John the Baptist, he was led in the wilderness by the spirit to pray and fast for forty days so that his power would be manifested. Even after receiving these enormous powers, he went about doing good to people by healing them.

What is ‘good news?’

The good news is the core teaching of Jesus because it entailed the conventional love that has been provided for each person regardless of whether one is a Samaritan, outcast, sinner, or an enemy. And the reason for having a love for these groups is not to receive anything in return but show them compassion.

Smith thinks that there was an impressive transformative experience for early Christians. What are the two qualities exhibited by early Christians?

After the death and resurrection of Jesus, the early Christians believed that some of the intolerable burdens had been dramatically and suddenly lifted from their shoulders. These made them possess certain qualities such as the act of being free and showing love to one another, believing that doing good pleases God.

What are the ‘three intolerable burdens’ from which Christians had been released?

The cramping confines of the ego

The burden of guilt

The fear of death

What was the power which transformed these ‘intolerable burdens?’

The power of love. Jesus taught that God’s love was available for everyone and those who believe so will receive it.

How does Smith describe the ‘Holy Spirit’ (in the first century), and what are its effects on Christian followers?

Smith presents the holy spirit as a beautiful and influential part of God in the trinity, and when a Christian follower receives the holy spirit, it illuminates their minds, makes them yearn for God, and makes spiritual truth understandable to them.

What is the difference, according to Smith, between the worldly Church and ‘non’ worldly Church?

The worldly churches, which are often associated with the teachers of the law and the Pharisees, as described by Smith, only focused on purifying the outside while their hearts were full of hatred and selfishness. Contrary, the ‘non’ worldly churches preached the love of God and his kingdom with love and compassion for everyone.

Describe the doctrine of the Incarnation.

In Christ, God assumed a human body, which affirms that Christ was God-man, and similarly, he possessed powers no man had; therefore, fully God and full man.

What are the two ways that Jesus’ sacrifice was an atonement?

All people sin, and this is punishable before the eyes of God, and so, God brought Jesus to pay this debt and reconcile God and his people. After Jesus’s death, the curtain in the temple tears into two meaning that the unclean and the clean had been made one through his sacrifice

What is the doctrine of the trinity? What is the metaphor which Smith uses to explain the doctrine? And do you agree with the doctrine of the trinity, and can you come up with a criticism?

The doctrine states that even though God is fully one, God is also three, that is, The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. According to Smith, “The Godhead is a Society of three divine persons, knowing and loving each other so entirely that not merely can none exist without the others, but in some mysterious way each is what the other is.”

What is the most difficult thing about these three doctrines (Incarnation, Atonement, Trinity) for you? Why?

The most challenging thing to me about these three doctrines is understanding Christendom’s presiding metaphor on Atonement, who has been released from the bondage that imprisons, ego. I find it challenging because this is an attachment to individuals that is catalyzed with fear and guilt now and then.

When was the split between Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox?

1054 during the East-West Schism, which is also known as the Great Schism.

When was the split between the Western Church and Protestantism (The protestant reformation)?

During the 16th century, when the Protestant Reformation or referred to as the European Reformation movement took place within western Christianity.

Why is it important to have the ultimate authority to interpret the Bible according to the Catholic Church?

The Bible is deemed to be sacred and holy, and it requires the power and guidance from the Holy Spirit to understand the book and have the ultimate authority to interpret it.

What are the two areas in which the Pope is infallible (God stays the Pope from Error) when he speaks?

After researching the question of faith or morality, the Church’s solution emerges-on certain unusual occasions; it is not merely speaking the response, it is the answer, and it is binding on Roman Catholics. The Holy Spirit safeguards him from the risk of mistakes in these times.

What is the point of the Church, the sacramental agent, according to Smith?

The Church empowers us to act in compliance with its teachings. Christ asked his disciples to lead a life well beyond the normal of charity and service. Support is required, therefore, and the Church offers it with the aid of her seven sacraments.

According to Catholic doctrine, is the blood and body of Christ actually present? What is this called? (351)

Transubstantiation – the belief that the bread and wine used during Communion will represent flesh and blood of Jesus Christ at Mass – is fundamental to the Catholic religion. Indeed, the Catholic Church believes that the “Eucharist” is the root and pinnacle of Christian culture.

Part Two / Jacob Neusner – World Religions in America

What do you make of the comment “Religion is poetry before it becomes prose. It is experience, image, story, ritual, and community before it becomes doctrine, code, and cult?”

As we have learned throughout the course by looking at different types of religions such as Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and others, most of these regions began as a story of their deity and how they came into being. These stories, rituals, and experiences are passed from one generation to the next, and when it has attained many followers, they become a  doctrine, cult, or code to be followed by the group and the coming generations.

What is the organizational structure of the Catholic Church? According to the author of this section, what is the true organizational structure of the Church (How does the Catholic Church really work?)?

The Catholic Church’s leadership is composed of its bishops, priests, and deacons. “Hierarchy,” in the ecclesiological context of the word, implies solely the “pure order” of the Church, the Body of Christ, in order to accept the plurality of abilities and ministries required for true unity (1 Cor 12).

There are seven Sacraments in Catholicism. What functions do they play in defining social order for Catholics?

The seven sacraments, which include baptism, confirmation, eucharist, reconciliation, anointing of the sick, holy orders, and matrimony, play an essential role in Catholicism. This is because, since the baptism stage to the last one, it entails the crucial processes in the regions such as purification of sins and accepting Jesus as personal God.

As we have seen in the first half of the semester, there are different religions that worship more than one God, such as Hinduism, Mahayana Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism. Which do you think is better, having many gods to pray to or a single god to pray to? Why or why not? (One small paragraph, please.)

I think having one God to pray to is better because apart from enhancing unity, peace, harmony, and a shared understanding among its followers, it fosters change. I conclude that monotheism is significant as it encourages the individual members of society to aspire to be the creator. Prior to this,  only the emperor, the pharaoh, the priest, etc., could interact with the gods. Only he could defend the nation, serve as a dictator, and be a voice, so to speak, of the peoples.

References

Neusner, J. (Ed.). (2009). World religions in America: An introduction. Westminster John Knox Press.

Smith, H., & Marranca, R. (2009). The world’s religions. New York: HarperOne.