Humanities 450
What twentieth-century Christian theologian argued that atheism regarding the modern conception of God should be the starting point for theology?
paul tillich
. What are the only five religions that are officially recognized by the Chinese government?
Buddhism, Catholicism, Islam, Daoism, protestants
. What does the Buddha teach regarding the soul?
There is no soul
. Confucius taught his students to become a junzi, which translates in Eianitynglish as what?
A noble person, an exemplary person
What are the Upanishads?
A series of writings that tend to be philosophical
How did the Buddha regard metaphysical speculation (that is, speculation about those things which we cannot know from concrete experience)?
According to the buddha it is useless to speculate.
In Yoruba religious tradition, what has the power to make things change?
Ash
Which Hindu sacred text does Prothero characterize as "like something of a Hindu New Testament"?
Bhagvad Gita
difference between yin and yang
Black is yin and white is yang. yin is feminine and yang as masculine
According to Yoruba religious tradition each person has two souls called emi and ori. These souls are associated with which one of the following? (A) essence and transcendence (B) breath and destiny (C) birth and re-birth
Breath and destiny
Which of the following best characterizes the Buddha's insight upon his awakening at Bodhgaya? (A) Change is reality. (B) Change masks the eternal changelessness of the divine. (C) Change is an illusion.
Change is reality
Who is the author and what is the title of the book, published in 1859, that provided empirical support for the theory of evolution?
Charles Darwin-origin of species
Why is wandering so significant to Daoism?
Connect in a way of becoming more natural
Which of the following is NOT a translation for wu wei? (A) no action (B) contrived action (C) acting as nature does
Contrived Action
. "Analects" (as in The Analects of Confucius) literally means what?
Conversations or discussions
What two religions are grouped with Confucianism as China's "Three Teachings."
Daoism and Buddhism
Zen grew out of interactions among which three religions?
Daoism, Confusionism, Buddhism
In its original sense, what does the word "yoga" mean?
Discipline, training, yolk
What is the meaning of the Mahayana Buddhist term "shunyata"?
Emptiness
Which of the following orishas has often been confused, especially by Christians, with the devil? (A) Olodumare (B) Eshu (C) the Imp of the Perverse
Eshu
Who is the author and what is the title of the book in which the death of God is suggested through the Parable of the Madman?
Friedrich Nietische- the gay science
Explain the etymology of the word "agnostic."
Greek word gnosis- early christians believe they had naosticism
The most ancient roots of Hinduism can be found in evidence from what ancient cultures?
Indus river valley: aryans
How have the practitioners of Hinduism typically responded when they are introduced to outside influences and traditions?
Instead of rejecting them like most religions they except them and adapt to them.
Which Confucian term refers to ritual and etiquette and propriety?
Li
Daoists claim that we become more fully human by becoming which of the following? (A) spiritual (B) natural (C) social
Natural
. Is Confucianism recognized by the Chinese government as an official religion?
No
Does Hinduism have a founder? How does this make it different or similar to other major religious traditions?
No it does not have a founder. Many religions have a so called founder others do not.
What is the name of the Ultimate or High God in Yoruba religious tradition?
Olamudare
Which does Confucianism emphasize more? (A) relationship between the individual and the divine (B) relationships among individuals
Relationships among individuals
Which Confucian term is sometimes translated as "human-heartedness"?
Ren
Who are the New Atheists (name at least two of them) and why do both Prothero and Armstrong find their arguments to be unpersuasive?
Richard Dawking, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennet, Michael Onfray. They use a straw man fallacy to describe religion
What is known as the oldest of Hindu scriptures, dating to at least 1200 B.C.E.?
Rig Veda
Which of the following is NOT part of the Eightfold Path? (A) right mindfulness (B) right understanding (C) right belief in God
Right belief in god
Which of the following is a branch of Yoruba religion known as "the way of the saints"? (A) Voodoo (B) Santeria (C) Breesus
Santeria
What is a bodhisattva?
Someone who has achieved nirvana but continues to live on the teach others the main point
. Which of the following is NOT one of the Four Noble Truths? (A) Suffering is a sign of blessedness. (B) Suffering can be eliminated. (C) Life is marked by suffering.
Suffering is not a sign of blessedness
What Daoist text has been characterized as something one could read in an afternoon as well as throughout a lifetime?
Tao Ti Ching
. Siddhartha Gautama became known as the Buddha, which translates as what?
The Enlightened one
What is the Hindu term for the vicious cycle of life, death, and rebirth and what is the term for overcoming this problem?
The cycle is called Muksha and overcoming the cycle is called samsara
Prothero tells us the Dao shares much in common with the German theologian Paul Tillich's definition of God as "the ground of being" but is probably more accurately defined as which of the following? (A) the ground of non-being (B) the ground of becoming (C) the ocean of indifference
The ground of becoming
Confucianism is an eighteenth-century Western European term for what the Chinese refer to as what?
The school for scholars
Name the author and the title of the book in which we find the following statements: "I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of. My own mind is my own church."
Thomas Payne- The age of reason
