Founders
Who is the founder of Christianity?
Jesus
Main Christian Sects: Catholic (Pope is the leader) and Protestant (mainly in England & the monarch is the head of church...no Pope)
Specifically, the Holy book of Christians rather than the Jewish people
New Testament (New Law) specifically because it's about the life of Jesus, who taught new laws such as "love thy neighbor," "forgive thine enemy," and "turn the other cheek"
The Old Testament (Old Laws such as an "eye for an eye" and "don't mix meat and dairy"), is Jewish history. When the two books are combined it becomes the Bible.
Love thy neighbor, Love enemies, forgiveness, Golden Rule, charity toward others, etc.
Christianity
Main religion of India and Bali (an island in Indonesia...Southeast Asia)
Hinduism
Christianity started in the Middle East but spread out to many surrounding areas. Name 3 modern-day nations that adopted Christianity.
**remember in the early days of Christianity, North and South America were "not on the map"
England, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland, Russia, Scotland, Ireland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland, and nearly all of Europe
Many religious and cultural calendars that are very old, such as Judaism and it's Old Testament.
What do the initials BCE mean?
Before Christian Era (if one's Christian)
Before Common Era (for non-Christians)
**It basically means before the year zero...for instance, the Egyptians, Romans, Chinese, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, etc. all have calendars a lot older that 2024 years.
Who is Siddhartha Gautama?
**What he is called by his Buddhist followers
The Buddha
Holy book of Islam
Koran / Quran (two different spellings)
**brough monotheism to the Middle East - that there is only one God (the Christian and Jewish God) and that Mohammed is the final prophet
In Buddhism, what are these teachings called?
suffering exists (to be human is to suffer)
suffering has a cause (desire)
suffering can end (end wanting)
the path to end suffering (it's an eight-fold path)
The 4 Noble Truths
Modern day country in which Islam began
Saudi Arabia
**specifically the Arabian Peninsula
**By the way, the country with the highest population of Muslims, isn't in the Middle East...it's in Indonesia (Southeast Asia)
Name 3 countries to which Islam rapidly spread
Egypt, Yemen, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Libya, Bosnia, Indonesia, Tunisia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Oman
A.D. stands for Anno Domini (year of our Lord) in Latin. So, the year is 2024 in the year of our Lord (A.D.)
What do the initials C.E. mean?
Christian Era (if one's Christian)
Common Era (for non-Christians)
**It basically means in the time since Christians started a calendar with the birth of Jesus, and began it with zero.
Which two religions are polytheistic (belief in more than one God...poly = many)?
Hinduism & Buddhism
Holy book of Judaism
Torah
**Specifically it's more or less the Old Testament (old law) minus the New Testament (new laws) taught by Jesus, since Jews don't believe in the divinity (God-like nature) of Jesus Christ
5 Pillars of Faith
Belief in one God (Allah means God in Arabic)
Belief in Mohammad as the prophet
Pray 5 times a day
Give charity to the poor
Make a Haj (journey) to the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia if possible
Islam
Buddhism came from Hinduism, and started by Prince Siddhartha Gautama, who was from what modern-day country?
India mainly...but on the Nepal border
Hinduism & Buddhism began in India & Nepal but was brought to the Far East by Buddhist ______.
Monks
(cultural & religious diffusion...spreading out)
Founded in 610 C.E., what is the world's youngest world religion?
Islam
Who is the final prophet and founder of Islam?
**followers of Islam are called Muslims
Prophet Mohammad
Name the 3 monotheistic (belief in one God) religions
Judaism, Christianity, Islam
Which religion has a Caste System in which each person is reborn into the position that they deserve and obedience to one's class brings about peace in a society
Brahman = highest
Untouchables = lowest
Hinduism
What is the Jewish State (country) called today?
Israel
**used to be Palestine until the region was split after World War 2 so the persecuted Jews could return to the Middle East...their homeland. BUT, this has given rise to the on-going Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Judaism, Christianity, & Islam spread out (diffused) all over the world out of what REGION (not country)?
Middle East
What 3 world religions and cultures date back to BCE?
Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism
Who is credited with being the main founder of Judaism (Jews, a.k.a. Semites - sometimes the term Anti-Semitism is used as a hatred of Jews)
Moses
The Vedas contain the sacred teachings of what religion?
Hinduism
What 2 religions don't eat pork?
Islam & Judaism
**Muslims are also forbidden from drinking alcohol
Religion most practiced in Far East nations such as China, Korea, and Japan
Buddhism
What are the two MAIN ways in which culture and religion are diffused (spread out) across the world...THINK!
Trade and war
**whenever interaction between two cultures occurs, each side adopts the customs of the other and often converts to new religions
The Chinese culture (which includes Buddhism & Hinduism) is almost 5,000 years old.
Given that it is currently 2024 C.E., in what BCE year did the Chinese start "keeping track of time?"
**Use logic and do the math!
4722 - 2024 = 2698 BCE
**That's almost 3,000 years before Jesus and the year zero! Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism are also about 3,000 BCE.