Religion Test: Monotheism (J&C) Test

10 Commandments

10 COMMANDMENTS - a code of moral laws believed to have been given by God to Moses, which serve as the basis for Jewish law. They are rules that came from God and were given to Moses, and they represent the covenant, keeping those commandments are part of one side of the covenant.

Abraham

ABRAHAM: chosen by God in the Torah to be the "father" of the Jewish people a prophet of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam the first of the great biblical patriarchs a shepherd who lived in the city of Ur, in Mesopotamia

Answering Big Questions (Giving Meaning to the Mundane)

ANSWERING BIG QUESTIONS (Giving Meaning to the Mundane): Provides emotionally meaningful and satisfying answers to big questions about human existence/purpose Helps people make sense of the world

Messiah

According to biblical tradition, God had promised that a savior known as the Messiah would arrive and restore the kingdom of the Jews. The Messiah is a savior sent by God and is the Lord's Anointed. Jesus is regarded by Christians as the Messiah of the Hebrew prophecies and the savior of humankind. The Messiah is the Son of God.

Concept questions: Why do all human societies have some form of religion?

All human societies have some form of religion because religion teaches people what is right and wrong. It includes beliefs and practices that serve the needs of society. Religion helps form stable societies, as it helps bring people together, helps people make sense of the world, helps control people, psychologically supports people, and acts as a force for change within secular society.

Bringing Change (Prophetic Function)

BRINGING CHANGE (PROPHETIC FUNCTION) Religion can act as a force for change within secular society Several great social movements have been started by religious authorities standing up against unjust or corrupt political systems Not all changes that agents do are positive, can go both ways (change in the society)

Covenant

COVENANT a deal with God an agreement The new covenant that Moses made with God was that as long as God promised to protect the Israelites, the Israelites promised to keep God's commandments.

Canaan

Canaan was a region at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. Canaan is important to Jewish people because it was the ancient home of the Israelites, later called the Jews, in this area. This is the land promised to them by God. There are lots of holy sites in Canaan, and it's where lots of important historical events took place.

How did Christianity grow / gain so many followers?

Christianity grew and gained so many followers because it's easy to join and follow, Christians are inviting you to join, and it promises heaven (an afterlife) and salvation. Jesus's message appealed the most to the poor, who made up the majority of the population, and it has the idea of forgiveness. As a Roman citizen, Paul could travel freely and preach about Christianity, helping to spread Christianity. As the Roman decline continued, Emperor Constantine allowed the worship of Jesus and then eventually converted to Christianity himself in CE 312. And then the religion really took off because everybody wanted to be like the Emperor. appeals to people who lost loved ones, people who are not the richest, people who have suffered love message of Christianity, material things don't matter, all you have to do is believe and live right to go to heaven People were attracted to Jesus's message at the time he taught because there was the idea of an afterlife. People liked the idea that their dead relatives are somewhere and that they can reunite with their dead loved ones and friends when they die. People felt better about themselves when thinking about dying. It was inclusive, anyone can easily join and follow the message. His message also had the idea of forgiveness. His message was psychologically supportive

How did Christianity originate?

Christianity originated from Judaism. Monotheism acts as an origin for Christianity. Jesus was the founder of Christianity. Christianity originated from Jesus talking about his beliefs, teachings, and how he would like to improve Judaism. Christianity was first a sect of Judaism before it became its own religion. Christianity arose in Roman-occupied Judea and spread throughout the Roman Empire and later the world. The decision to open up their religion to non-Jews, people who weren't part of the covenant, is the central reason that Christianity could become a world religion instead of just a sect of Judaism.

Emperor Constantine

Emperor Constantine was Rome's first Christian emperor. He played a really important role in turning Christianity into a powerful world religion by removing bans of practicing Christianity, but he allowed people to practice other religions too. Under Constantine, Christianity quickly became the dominant religion.

Nicene Creed

Establishment of the Roman Catholic Church: The Nicene Creed 381 C.E. The Nicene Creed is a statement of Christian faith accepted by almost all Christians (Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and most Protestant Churches). There is the Council of Nicaea in CE 325 that leads to the Nicene Creed. The Nicene Creed tries to reconsolidate Christian beliefs into one strong set of things. It's important for setting up Christianity or what's going to happen if the Roman Empire falls and how Christianity developed in the Middle Ages. The Nicene Creed is going to try to attempt to create a set of Christian beliefs that's more orderly and more unified. a Christian creed expanded from a creed issued by the first Nicene Council, a formal statement of Christian beliefs

Holy Trinity

Holy Trinity - Father, Son, Holy Spirit In the trinity, there is said to be three distinct persons and each of the persons is fully God. the Christian Godhead as one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus's teachings contained many ideas from Jewish tradition, such as monotheism, loving others, and the principles of the Ten Commandments. Jesus emphasized God's personal relationship to each human being. He stressed the importance of people's love for God, their neighbors, their enemies, and even themselves. He also taught that God would end wickedness in the world and would establish an eternal kingdom after death for people who sincerely repented their sins. Jesus was a homeless preacher and carpenter, and he views himself as a Jewish prophet.

Jesus: how did he try to change Judaism?

Jesus tried to change Judaism by making it better, improving it, and editing it. He taught people to have good actions and thoughts and pure hearts and minds. He wanted the relationship between a human being and God to be more personal, and he wanted the religion to have more love and forgiveness. He taught people that the big picture, the spirits of the law, and the belief in one god matter more than the letter of the law.

Jesus: why was he a threat to the Jewish religious authorities?

Jesus was a threat to Jewish religious authorities because if more and more people followed and listened to Jesus, then Jewish religious authorities would fear that people would stop listening to them. They would lose followers, so this would make Jesus problematic. Jesus had different beliefs than the Jewish religious authorities.

Jesus: why was he a threat to the Roman government?

Jesus was a threat to the Roman government because more and more people followed Jesus's message, so it looked like Jesus was going to start a revolution, making him problematic to the Roman government.

How do Judaism and Christianity provide each of the Five Functions of Religion?

Judaism and Christianity provide each of the five functions of religion by using the Ten Commandments to provide social control, using holidays, prayer, and sabbath observances to provide social cohesion, making people change their lives to be good and morally right to provide prophetic function (bringing change), giving people a set of beliefs that can comfort them during bad times to provide psychological support, and they both answer big questions by explaining where the world and humans came from (in Genesis in the Torah/Bible).

How did Judaism originate?

Judaism originated in the Middle East. Judaism originated from the covenant that God and Abraham made. God chose Abraham to be the "father" of the Jewish people. Abraham had promised to obey God for God would protect Abraham and his descendants and would look after the Israelites.

Moses

MOSES: the man who led the Israelites out of slavery (the Exodus), according to the Torah the most important prophet in Judaism, an important prophet in many Abrahamic religions

Key terms / people: Monotheism Polytheism

Monotheism is the belief in one god. Polytheism is the belief in many gods.

Psychological Support

PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT Great in a time of crisis to provide stability during uncertain times Gives meaning to deal with painful events like death

Proselytize

Proselytize means spreading the faith, missionary work, the travels of the disciples. It's the act of attempting to convert people to another religion or opinion. Disciple: a personal follower of Jesus during his life, especially one of the twelve Apostles. While a disciple is a student, one who learns from a teacher, an apostle is sent to deliver those teachings to others. bringing people into the faith is one of the missions of Christianity, part of why grew so much

How are Judaism and Christianity similar and different?

SIMILARITIES: They both believe in one God, so they are both monotheistic. They both believe that the word of God was communicated by prophets. Jerusalem is an important and sacred city for both of them. They both have similar beliefs about how to live a good life, like following the Ten Commandments. DIFFERENCES: Christianity was easier to join and easier to follow than Judaism. Christianity actively seeks to spread itself or convert people and Judaism doesn't. They have different ideas of the afterlife. Christians believe in the resurrection of the body in heaven. Judaism is more focused on life here on Earth. In Christianity, Jesus is trying to move people away from the idea that "an eye for an eye" is an appropriate response and instead is focusing more on forgiveness, whereas in Judaism, they believe that justice is "an eye for an eye."

How are monotheism and polytheism similar and different?

SIMILARITIES: They both require for a god(s) to be worshiped. Polytheistic and monotheistic religions give people answers about life, love, war, creation, the seasons, and death. They both have the belief in god(s) or divine being(s). DIFFERENCES: Polytheism is the belief in or worship of more than one god, whereas monotheism is the belief in or worship of one god. Polytheism for most cultures in the ancient world was natural, whereas monotheism in the ancient world was rare. A monotheistic god is omnipotent and omniscient, and there are no limits to a monotheistic god, whereas polytheistic gods are not and are weaker than a monotheistic god.

Social Cohesion

SOCIAL COHESION: Brings society/people together Unifies people in a binding group together with a common set of values Builds communities

Social Control

SOCIAL CONTROL: Norms of society are very often intertwined/descendent from a set of religious beliefs Rules about what you can and cannot do Rules to protect and help us

Secular

Secular - Nonreligious

Torah (Tanakh)

TORAH (TANAKH): the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, which recount the origins of humanity and Judaism and contain the basic laws of Judaism. It's considered the most sacred writings in Jewish tradition. Tanakh is the Hebrew name for the Hebrew Bible, known to most English speakers as the Old Testament.

Bible

The Bible is the holy book of Christianity.

What are the Five Functions of Religion?

The Five Functions of Religion are social cohesion, answering big questions (Giving Meaning to the Mundane), social control, psychological support, and bringing change (prophetic function).

Diaspora

The Jewish Diaspora is the dispersion or spread of Jewish people across the world. The Jewish diaspora or exile is the dispersion of Israelites or Jews out of their ancestral homeland (the Land of Israel) and their subsequent settlement in other parts of the globe.

Sermon on the Mount

The big overall message of the Sermon on the Mount is that religion should be top priority, can help you if you follow religion, be good to be a good person and not to impress, do right because it's the right thing and not for credit or reward, follow the Golden Rule, in this life, the material world doesn't matter as much as having faith and believing in heaven is what really matters, important to have pure and right hearts and minds not only deeds, justice is not "an eye for an eye," be kind and forgiving instead, don't judge others, and forgiveness.

Pope

The pope is the bishop of Rome, head of the Roman Catholic Church. Peter was said to be the first pope, the father or head of the Christian Church.