Judaism 101

If it's the end of May, which it is, the 2 Unit classes should be about to start Judaism. I've found an excellent resource that you should download and keep on your computer. It's a pdf file of the Judaism 101 website. Just go to the following link and download the file. It's zipped so you'll need to unpack it. Then save the document and use it when you need to clarify some point about Judaism.

http://www.jewfaq.org/archive/index.htm

BSC - SOR Wiki

This is a link to the Studies of Religion Wiki for Year 11. I'll go through this with the classes next week so that we can all use it. In case you don't know, a wiki is a web page that can be viewed and modified by anybody with a computer and access to the internet. It is basically a place where everyone in the class can add comments, links, pictures etc. so that we can all use them. It will also be available to other teachers and parents. Only members of the site will be able to edit and post so you'll have to join up. We'll see how it goes. Here's a video explaining what Wikis are and how they can be used.

Shinto Shrines

I've been trying to load my virtual Shinto Shrine virtual tour powerpoint presentation here but the file is just too big for me to move around. I'll show it to the 2 Unit Year 11 students soon, but in the meantime here is a site that has some very good information on Shinto Shrines. If you go back to the contents page there's also some good stuff on Buddhism.

http://orias.berkeley.edu/visuals/japan_visuals/shinto.HTM

BBC - Religion & Ethics

The BBC site is a wonderful resource for the study of all religions. Have a look.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/

The First Christians

This link will take you to the page for the PBS documentary series "From Jesus to Christ". It has excellent resources on the early Christian church, the formation of the gospels and life in 1st century Palestine.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/

Alan Watts tells the story of Zen Master Suibi

Christian Bioethics Summary

Bioethical principles in Christianity are based on

1. Scripture (Old and New Testament)
2. The example of Jesus’ actions (as related in the New Testament)

All Christians accept these. Roman Catholics also believe that the Pope and the Church has teaching authority – but this is always in line with scriptural values and the example of Jesus’ life.

Scriptural Principles Regarding Issues Surrounding Human Life

1. Genesis 1:27-28 human beings are created by God and in His image so Christians believe they each have dignity and must be protected and respected.
2. Thou Shalt Not Kill – Exodus 20:13
3. The Beatitudes in Luke and Matthew – “blessed are those who suffer persecution for the sake of justice” – Christians must stand up for the rights and dignity of others

Catholic teachings about bioethics include:

1. The 1994 Catechism
2. Various Papal Encyclicals – especially Humanae Vitae (On Human Life) which attests the dignity of human life at all states.

Disputes arise amongst Christians, even within denominations, over when human life begins. In the Anglican Church the Primate Peter Carnley (Bishop of Perth) says human life does not begin until “implantation” (14 days after fertilization does human genetic material becomes a person). The Anglican Bishop of Sydney Peter Jensen says that human beings exist from the moment of fertilization. Catholics agree with Jensen, as this is the argument outlined in Humane Vitae.

Understanding when human life begins is crucial to beliefs / ethics about stem cell research on embryonic material because if you believe human life begins at “implantation” then spare IVF embryos can be used for stem cell extraction without causing offence

Embryonic Stem Cell Research

A maximum number of types of cells can develop from embryonic cells so that all human cells can be produced for therapeutic purposes. But the removal of embryonic cells results in the destruction of the embryo that some Christians see as human beings or potential human beings. Some people see a difference between using “spare” IVF embryos and creating embryos for “harvesting” stem cells.

Christians, as a general principle, find embryonic research unacceptable ethically because of the inevitable destruction of the embryo and they believe it cannot be justified even on the grounds that the embryos are unwanted or that the destruction of the embryo will result in benefit to sick people.

Adult Stem Cell Research

This involves the “harvesting” of stem cells from humans any time after birth, or from the umbilical cord of newborns. The major disadvantage of this is that not all human cells will develop from this procedure. Roman Catholics say that this will improve with further research. Using adult stem cells is acceptable for a broad spectrum of Christians because it does not result in damage to, or death of, the donor. Dignity is preserved because the donor can give consent to the procedure.

Cloning

This is the creation of an exact genetic copy of a cell or cells. In religious bioethical terms it relates to human cloning. The advantages are that stem cells can be created for therapeutic application to sick and disabled people and that it does not involve emotional issues like “is an embryo a real human”.

The Christian ethical viewpoint is that cloning is unacceptable because it assaults the dignity of a human being because the clone is not a unique individual, not in the image of God and because the clone is created for the benefit of someone else.

Therapeutic cloning is the production of cloned cells, or whole bodies, for use to improve the health of already sick or disabled people.

Reproductive cloning is the production of exact genetic copies of highly gifted / extraordinary people so that their gifts or talents can be spread further.

Cloning is ethically unacceptable to all Christian denominations because it denies the cloned human the dignity of being unique and not being conceived by a natural process. It is seen as offending the dignity of the clone also, because it is created for the benefit of other people.

Science and Religion

Here's a good blog you might want to take a look at. It examines issues to do with science and religion, with a focus on Islam. It has a post on creationism and biology teachers in America.

http://www.sciencereligionnews.blogspot.com/

After looking at the Rapture I thought I might take a look at Creationism and Intelligent Design. As ever Wikipedia is a good place to start.

http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creationism

http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligent_design

There's a lot out there on these topics because they're very popular in America's conservative heartland. If you decide to trawl through the sites you'll find many that seem to offer scientific proof, but be wary. Everyone knows that 15% of all statistics are made up, and its whats left out of the argument that is most important.

The Creation of Japan According to Shinto Texts

The following podcasts outline the creation of Japan in the Kojiki and Nihonshoki. These texts are the closest approximation to scriptural texts that the Shinto religion has.

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The Rapture and The Simpsons

Strap yourselves in, it's nearly time for the Rapture. Now unless you already know about the Rapture you're probably asking, "What's the Rapture?" To find out go to this Wikipedia link, then go to Rapture Ready and check out the Rapture Index.

http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture

http://www.raptureready.com/

Don't get too freaked out, the Rapture has got a way to go yet. People have been predicting the end of the world for a long time now and we're still here. Christian groups in America have specialised in making films about the Rapture, my favourite is "Left Behind: The Movie". It almost became my worst religious film ever except it didn't seem fair to compare it to such megabuck religious movie disasters as Battlefield Earth.

Remember the episode of the Simpsons where Homer predicts the Rapture. It's called "Thank God It's Doomsday". In it Homer takes Bart and Lisa to the movies and sees "Left Below", a parody of "Left Behind". There's a summary here at Wikipedia.

http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thank_God_It%27s_Doomsday

It's probably also on YouTube but I couldn't find it. Eschatology is fun!

Spot the Daibutsu (that's Japanese for Big Buddha)

This is a photo of the Daibutsu in Kamakura.

The Great Buddha (Daibutsu in Japanese) is a monumental outdoor bronze statue of Amida Buddha in the city of Kamakura, Japan. Seated in the grounds of Kotokuin, a Buddhist temple of the Pure Land sect, the Great Buddha is one of the icons of Japan.

At 13.35 meters high and weighing 93 tons, the Daibutsu is the second largest monumental Buddha in Japan (after the one in Nara) and to many, it is the more impressive.

The Daibutsu was cast in 1252 in the Kamakura period and was originally housed inside a temple. But a huge tsunami washed away the wooden structure sometime in the late 15th century, and the statue has sat out in the open ever since.

The Great Buddha is seated in the lotus position with his hands forming the Dhyani Mudra, the gesture of meditation. With a serene expression and a backdrop of wooded hills, the Daibutsu is a truly spectacular sight.

The Daibutsu depicts Amida Buddha, who is the focus of Pure Land Buddhism. Originating in China, this sect gained prominence in Japan in the 12th century and remains very popular today. The central teaching is that through devotion to Amida Buddha, expressed through mantras and sincerity of heart, one will go to the Pure Land or "Western Paradise" (Sukhavati) after death — a pleasant realm from which it is easy to attain nirvana.

Most Pure Land Buddhists focus on chanting or repeating a mantra of devotion to Amida, "Namu Amida Butsu", as often as possible to reinforce a proper and sincere state of mind that will gain them admission to the Pure Land at death. This simple form of practice has contributed greatly to its popularity in Japan.

By the way, that's me on the left.

A Good Resource for Studies of Religion Students

I didn't create this early enough to wish you all luck in your Semester One exams but if I can do so retroactively I will, so Good Luck in your Semester One exams. I actually have the papers on my desk now and I am looking for distractions so that I can postpone the pain of marking.

I would like you all to take a look at the following website.

http://www.religioustolerance.org/

It's a very good resource because it doesn't have a barrow to push. It's not Catholic or Moslem or Buddhist, or Jewish or Hindu or Pagan or anything. Be warned, I may say it doesn't have a barrow to push but that doesn't mean there's no bias in any of the articles.

You need to start developing good research skills. I was at a conference today and they were praising the internet for containing more information than you could ever possibly need and condemning users who didn't use it properly and who took the first thing they discovered as gospel. They said that when researching "Wikipedia" is a good place to start. But if you stop there then you are making a big mistake. Good research involves the skill of evaluating the worth of information, looking for bias and innacuracies and making a judgement as to its value. This is a skill that is worth developing now. It might take more time, but you will undoubtedly learn more.

Now I had better get back to the papers. See you after the exams.

Welcome to the Brigidine College Studies of Religion Blog.

Now I suspect that you already know what a Blog is. If you don't then the short video below will explain it. What I want you to do is to use this Blog as a resource for Studies of Religion. The posts will sometimes be about direct curriculum content, other times they will just be things that I find interesting and sometimes they will be things that others have suggested. You can use this Blog in tandem with the BCR Wiki, which gets its own video on a later post. Don't feel you have to follow every link, just dip in occasionally to increase your knowledge and interest in Studies of Religion.