Date post: | 15-Jan-2017 |
Category: |
Education |
Upload: | nathan-roher |
View: | 428 times |
Download: | 1 times |
CLASSICAL BELIEF
SYSTEMSIntro
Hinduism, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Greek Rationalism, Legalism, Confucianism, Daoism & Christianity
Belief Systems of the Classical Period
Belief systems in CONTEXT Historians view belief systems in the
context of time and place. For example: Buddhists in India in the 300s ce were
not the same as Buddhists in Southeast Asia in the 1800s ce though some of the core beliefs remained unchanged.
Historians view belief systems as an influence ON culture AND influenced BY culture. For example: Christianity changed Roman culture
and Roman culture changed Christianity
Hinduism
OldestBelief System
Judaism . . . Monotheism
Greek Rationalism – Emphasis on Human ReasonSocrates, Plato, Aristotle
ZoroastrianismGood vs Evil / Heaven & Hell
Confucianism – Influenced Government, Social Structure, & Family
Siddhartha Gautama - the founder
Emerges from Hinduism
Changes as it spreads from South Asia to South East and East Asia
Buddhism
Jesus of Nazareth- the founder
Began as a Jewish sect & spread through the Roman World
Changes as it spreads from the Middle East to Roman World and Africa
Christianity
Christianity Jesus of Nazareth – Founder
Hinduism, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Greek Rationalism, Legalism, Confucianism, Daoism & Christianity
Belief Systems of the Classical Period
Foundations Which religions was the oldest
institutional religion of the early belief systems.
Which religion began in the Middle East around the 1200s monotheistic religion
Foundations There is no recorded founder of
Hinduism – it is the oldest institutional religion of the early belief systems.
Judaism began in the Middle East around the 1200s bce when it had its own political empire.
First monotheistic religion
Foundations Which religion emerged in East
Asia in the 600s to 300s BCE from the teachings of Laozi / Laotzu
Which religion arose in Persia in the 500s BCE from the teachings of Zarathustra with a concept of good and evil forces fighting for control of the world?
Foundations Daoism emerged in East Asia in the
600s to 300s BCE from the teachings of Laozi
Zoroastrianism arose in Persia in the 500s BCE from the teachings of Zarathustra
Foundations _____ the founder of Buddhism,
was originally a ______ in the upperclass.
Foundations Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha),
the founder of Buddhism, was originally a Hindu in the upperclass.
Buddhism emerged in South Asia out of Hinduism starting in the 500s bce.
Foundations ______ the founder of Christianity,
was a lower-class ______ living in Roman controlled Middle East at the beginning of the common era.
Foundations Jesus of Nazareth, the founder of
Christianity, was a lower-class Jew living in Roman controlled Middle East at the beginning of the common era.
The Jesus movement became Christianity with non-Jewish converts.
Existence after Death
Hinduism and Buddhism – Existence is cyclical until one breaks from the cycle and becomes eternally spirit.
Reincarnation
Zoroastrianism & Christianity – Existence is linear; one lives and then becomes eternally spirit.
“Heaven / Hell”
Challenges to Society
Both Buddhism & Christianity, more than the other belief systems, challenged the social class systems and women’s status. Buddism in South Asia, Han China Christianity in the Roman world.
Especially in the early centuries, these religions appealed to lower classes and women. Why?
Spread
Groups within Buddhism and Christianity supported missionaries – men and women who purposely took the message of a religion into different regions.
Both developed MONASTIC ORDERS – Communities of Monks and Nuns
Religions also spread through conquest, along trade routes, and through migrations.
Spread
Religions also spread through conquest, along trade routes, and through migrations.
Spread
Buddhism spread from South Asia into East and SE Asia.
Buddhism by the 500s ce was stronger in areas where it spread than where it originated.
Spread
Judaism spread after the Romans exiled Jews to new territories in Europe
Christianity spread into the Roman Empire, into North and East Africa, and beyond.
Christianity by the 1200s was stronger in areas where it had spread than in where it originated.
Spread & CHANGE
As religions spread and new interpretations arose – there were changes, splits into different sects (or groups), and new influences
In classical period – Buddhism split into Mahayana and Theravada
Texts The founders of Buddhism and
Christianity did not record their own statements or life story.
Which belief systems are connected to these texts?
Vedas and UpanishadsTorahGospels & EpistlesAnalectsSutras / Dhammapada
Greek Rationalism…What’s up with that???
In Greece, some intellectuals like SOCRATES, PLATO, and ARISTOTLE abandoned mythology and created a philosophy that emphasized. . .
Natural laws govern the world & humans can understand those laws through reason
Using reason to describe human behavior (first histories – Herodatus)
questioning of earlier “wisdom” and assumptions
---had a major influence on Western Civilization
Hinduism, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Greek Rationalism, Legalism, Confucianism, Daoism & Christianity
Belief Systems of the Classical Period