Major World Religion’s
Charts
Western: Judaism, Islam, and
Christianity
Eastern: Hinduism, Buddhism,
Confucianism, and Taoism
2006
Rick Allbee
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God/Prime Reality |
God: Transcendent Creator, Sovereign, Almighty,
Yahweh, One “Hear Oh |
Allah: Monotheism; All Powerful, All Knowing,
Merciful, Compassionate Tawhid
(God’s absolute unity; and Allah’s
sovereignty over the world) 99 Beautiful Names Creator; Sovereign Judge |
Fullness of the Godhead: God the Father Creator,
Christ the Son (Creator, Lord, Redeemer), and The Holy Spirit Holy Trinity |
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Nature of World And Nature of
History Nature of Knowledge |
Real Created World: Structured, Dynamic Linear History God is sovereign over the world, and immanent in Truth: truth integrated with concrete life |
Real Created World Linear history Prophets bring new dispensations Angels involved in history Knowledge: knowledge of Allah (religious
commitment and the knowledge of his will) Also, true knowledge is the true
nature of reality |
Real Created World: Structured, Dynamic. Fallen.
Linear History God is sovereign over and immanent in history; Redemptive in history through Christ the Promised One Faith and Reason: faith seeks reason; or (2nd)
reason plus faith Truth: Integrity between belief & behavior |
Nature of Humanity |
Created in God’s image: Self-Transcendent,
Creative, Biological/Psycho/Social/Spiritual Unity, Intellectual
moral being Exercises limited sovereignty via the Creation
Mandate |
Created in God’s image Sovereign next to God |
Created in God’s image: Self-Transcendent,
Creative, Tripartite (body, soul, spirit), Intellectual moral being, Exercises limited sovereignty via the Creation
Mandate, Fallen and in need of redemption |
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Goal: Salvation or Liberation |
“Salvation” from God’s judgment via obedience to
the law Human society advanced and healed via following
God’s revealed and natural law (“Torah”) |
Salvation via deeds, and Allah’s mercy Day of Judgment Heaven/Hell |
Salvation from sin and its ultimate consequence
(death) via Christ Reconciliation to God Summing up all things in Christ Judgment Heaven/Hell |
Ethics |
Torah Ten Commandments (apodictic law) 613 commandments (casuistic law) Prophetic Ethics: Justice, mercy, etc Talmudic and Midrashic’ Halakah and Aggadah Wisdom |
Submission
to Allah Practice
the Five Pillars of Islam Follow
the example of Muhammed (Sunnah) Live
all of Life according to Islamic Law (Shariah):
5
categories of behavior (required, recommended, permitted, discouraged,
prohibited) Jihad (“Greater” and “lesser”)
Dietary Rules: Surah 5:3
(Prohibited foods- especially swine, and unblessed food) |
Faith in God and Christ Repentance Love of God & Love of Neighbor Discipleship Imitatio ChristiBeing transformed into Christ’s image Life in, and in accordance with, the Holy Spirit |
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Country of Origin and Practice |
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The |
The Nations: Western Civilization, Global ( |
Sacred Texts |
Hebrew Bible (Tanak):
-Torah -Prophets -Writings Rabbinic Writings
: Mishnah, Talmuds, Midrashim, Tosefta, Halakah and Aggadah |
Koran (Supreme Revelatory Authority) Hadith—Muhammad Traditions Shariah—Comprehensive Law Codes Tafsir—Commentary Previous Revelations (now partially corrupted):
Hebrew Bible, the Gospels Sufi Poetry |
Hebrew Old Testament New Testament: -Gospels (biographical narratives) -Acts (early church history) -Apostolic letters -The Apocalypse |
Important Dates |
Abrahamic
Tradition (1800-1500 BCE) Mosaic
Tradition (15TH Cent BCE) Prophetic
Tradition (9th-5th Cent BCE) Wisdom
Tradition (9th Cent; and the Inter-Testamental period) Exiles
and destruction of temples; Rise of the Synagogue (586 BCE) Roman
dispersion (70 CE) Re-founding
the Nation of |
571 CE: Birth of Muhammed 622 CE: Hijra (considered birth of Islam;
Year one) 630 CE: 7th
CE: Sunni/Shiite Split |
Old Testament Dates Birth of Christ Easter Day of Pentecost (birth of the church) 1004 East 1517 Protestant Reformation |
Important People |
Abraham and Isaac Moses David The Prophets (major and minor) Major Rabbis and Philosophers: Antiquity (e.g.
Hillel, and Philo), Middle Ages (e.g.: Maimonides and his 13 principles), Modern (e.g. Issac Wise-Reformed) |
Abraham,
and Ishmael Muhammad,
Shia Ali, Husyan, The
Caliph Ulama (Religious scholars and
clergy) Imans
(Sunnis = leaders of prayers; Shiites = Religious/Political intercessory
successors of Muhammad) The
Hidden Iman. The Mahdi. Sufi
Masters Shaykh
(elder leader; also, head of Sufi Order) |
Abraham and David Jesus of The 12 Apostles Paul Popes Reformation: Luther, Calvin, Arminius |
Sacred PlacesSymbols |
The Tabernacle The Tetragrammaton, Star of David, Tablets of the
Decalogue, Torah scroll, Menorah, Harp of David, Shofar |
The Ka‘bah Sufi Master’s relics Tomb-shrines of Shiite Imans (at Star and Crescent, The Mosque |
The “ Orthodox Churches Catholic Pilgrimage Sites, etc The
Cross, Crown of Thorns, Dove and Olive Branch, Triqueta, the Fish, Stained
Glass Windows, Prayer Hands, The Rosary, The Eucharist Elements, the Alter,
the Nativity, the Halo, the Holy Family
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Worship and
Liturgical Practices |
Levitical Sacrificial (ancient) and Ceremonial
laws Dietary Regulations (prohibited foods, and proper
food preparation-Kosher) The Sabbath Synagogue Services The Shema Amidah and other Prayers Bar Mitvah |
The
Five Pillars of Islam: -Declaration
of Faith -Prayer
five times a day facing -Almsgiving
(2.5% of wealth) -The
Hajj (Pilgrimage required once
in a life time) -Fasting
during the month of Ramadan The
Fatiha (Koran 1:1-7) Friday
Islamic Mosque’s Services Reciting
the Koran; also formulaic Koranic pious expressions (e.g.: the basmalah) Shiites:
Martyrdom of Husayn (on ‘Ashurah) Sufi’s
ecstatic practices |
Sundays The Lord’s Model Prayer The 7 Sacraments of Roman Catholicism (baptism,
communion, penance, marriage, ordination, holy unction, confirmation) Catholic Sacerdotalism Eastern Orthodoxy’s use of icons |
Festivals and Pilgrimages |
The Jewish New Year Days of Awe Day of Atonement Feast of Booths Hanukah Festival of lots Passover Pentecost |
Hajj (the greater pilgrimage)
‘Umrah (visitation ritual, “lesser
pilgrimage”)
Islamic
New Year (1st of Muharram) ‘Ashurah (a beneficent holy day, 10th
Muharram) Muhammad’s
birth day (12th
of Rabi al Awwal) The
Night Journey (27th of Rajab) Feast
of Fast Breaking (at end of Ramadan) Feast
of Sacrifice (commemorating Abraham’s sacrifice (10th of
Dhu-l-Hijjah) Shiite:
birth and death anniversaries of Imans, pilgrimages to tomb-shrines of Imans.
Sufis: death anniversaries of Sufi Saints |
Christmas Easter Catholic Pilgrimages |
Social Institutions |
Bar Mitvah
Jewish
Community (identity as a people) Family Education Israeli
Government |
Ummah
(Islamic community) The Government Law (4 major schools: Hanafi, Hanbali Maliki, and
Shafi). Islamic family law Education; Madrasas
[4 Religious subjects: Tradition (Hadith),
law (fiqh), theology (kalam), Exegesis of Koran (Tafsir)] The Mosque Islamism and various “Fundamentalist”
Organizations (e.g. Muslim Brotherhood) |
Family Education Civic Government Paradigmatic Relationships between Christ and Culture: against, in paradox,
of, above, transforming, witnessing. Church (community of saints) Monasteries |
Paradigmatic Structure, and Religious Organization |
Four Divisions: Orthodox Conservative Reformed Hasidim (mystics) Zionists Levitical Priesthood Rabbis |
Three Divisions: Sunnis (90%) Shiites (party of Ali) Sufis (mystics) Imans (Sunnis = leaders of prayers, heads of Mosques;
honorific title of various leaders--e.g. heads of the schools of law; Shiites
= Religious/Political intercessory successors of Muhammad) Shaykh
(head of a Sufi Order) |
Four Divisions: Orthodox Catholic Protestant Anglican Several Denominations Preachers, Priests, Nuns, Bishops, Popes Saints, Elders, Deacons, Missionaries |
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God/Prime Reality |
Vedic Pantheon of Nature
Gods Way of Knowledge: Brahman Ishvara: Lord; Brahman as
object of worship in relation to the world; Also, expressed in the Trimurti Way of Devotion: Trimurti: Brahma (Creator), Vishnu (Preserver): 10
Avataras of Shiva Destroyer). Devi
(goddess), and Shakti Devotional
gods (found in Puranas, Ramayana, etc): Ganesha, et. al. |
Theravada: Nirvana Mahayana: Shunyata/ Emptiness (all things are devoid of
essences; inter-dependently arisen; mere appearances; total insubstantiality;
beyond existence and non-existence). Trikaya
body: the
three “bodies” possessed by a Buddha; transcendental reality, also the
manifest in the relative Zen: Shunyata: Absolute truth and Buddha
reality) |
Tien: Heaven (moral order) Neo-Confucianism: “The Great
Ultimate”-T’ai chi: Li in its
cosmic aspect; the ultimate principle; creative, unlimited. [Li (normative rational structural
principle) combines with chi
(primordial vital matter) to produce all else (yin and yang, the five elements-earth, fire, metal,
water, wood; and the world)] |
The Tao: Nameless, Self-So, Whole,
undifferentiated, formless, infinite, boundless; Source of all force and power in existent things;
the mother and matrix of all life:
Heaven, Earth, and human kind The way of the universe |
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Nature of World And Nature of
History Nature of Knowledge |
Karma Prakriti
(matter, nature) Maya:
Veil of being Samsara:
Cyclical Polyvalent.
A state of permanently unconstricted knowledge of the oneness of Brahman;
non-discursive |
Duhka: all is suffering Impermanence Mahayana:Metaphysical Trikaya Dharma:
factors of existence Cyclical
history Conventional
truth (relative), and Absolute truth (non-mediated). Zen truth: I am the
Buddha reality |
Harmonious
(ideally) The Tao (accounts for harmony). Yin and Yang
(accounts for being, becoming, and change)
The
world is a dynamic harmony Cyclical history, but meaningful Real knowledge possible |
All is manifestations of The
Tao Yin and Yang Chi
(breath,
primordial and vital energy) Heaven, Earth, & Humans Cyclical History Sage’s
Mystical knowledge of the Tao- the nameless. Epistemological
relativism |
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Nature of Humanity |
Atman: soul Brahman-Atman The Castes |
Theravada: Anatta (unreality of the
self; no atman); Karma and Dependent Origination: The 5 Skandhas (functional
unity in flux) Mahayana: Absolute Relativism Zen: all is Buddha reality |
Confucius:
Follow mandate of Heaven-Tien. Man
is a social being (in a social context); Li-
is a set of social relationships ideally realized Mencius: Humanity is naturally good: Jen, humanness Neo-Confucianism: the mind also exhibits Li, or it’s the source of reason |
Instantiation
of the Tao Exhibits
one’s te (power/virtue); also, one
obtains it by attaining to the Tao Relativism:
ontological, epistemological, ethical, and aesthetical |
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Goal: Salvation or Liberation |
Way
of Duty (Karma Marga): Better Rebirth Way
of Knowledge (Jnana Marga): moksha/Liberation; through Yoga meditation Way
of Devotion (Bhakti Marga): Ultimate devotion/ dependence |
All:
Enlightenment, liberation to Nirvana Theravada: Arhat (Buddhist Saint; completed the eight-fold path,
conquered the three intoxicants, attained the six perfections, and enjoys the
higher vision) Mahayana: Bodhisattva |
Classical -“salvation”: Idealized harmonious relationships Neo-Confucianism -identity with Li (cosmic) |
Classical: Accommodate the Tao Magico/Religious: Extend life; become a hsien- an immortal |
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Ethics |
