Religion 101

From Allah to Zen Buddhism, an Exploration of the Key People, Practices, and Beliefs that Have Shaped the Religions of the World

Peter Archer

• Publisher: Adams Media
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9781440572630
• eBook ISBN: 9781440572647
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

Discover the origins and traditions of world religions!

With so many religions in the world, it isn't always easy to recall each faith's key influences, spiritual figures, and dogmas. Written in easy-to-understand language, Religion 101 offers a fascinating--and memorable--glimpse at the sacred stories, traditions, and doctrines that have influenced today's most popular religions.From Jesus and the Four Noble Truths to the Buddhist Wheel of Existence, this book provides you with thought-provoking insight into the customs and beliefs of common faiths like Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and Islam. Inside, you will also discover hundreds of important religious facts, illustrations, and thought puzzles that you won't be able to find anywhere else.So whether you're looking to unravel the mysteries of existence and meaning, or just want to find out what Kabbalah is all about, Religion 101 has all the answers--even the ones you didn't know you were looking for.

CHAPTER 1
EARLY RELIGIONS

The earliest religious rituals seem to have arisen simultaneously with the development of communities of humans. The cave paintings in Lascaux in France, for example, which were the product of bands of hunters and gatherers, may well have had a religious significance; it’s been argued by anthropologists that they are often found in the most remote areas of the caves — where the strongest magic resided. It’s possible that creating an image of an animal (particularly an animal that was in the process of being hunted) was an appeal to the Divine to give good fortune to the hunter in his quest for food.

With the rise of settled societies between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, we find the systematic worship of deities and particular powers ascribed to them. Mesopotamian religion was often dark and gloomy. The hero Gilgamesh in the epic poem of the same name does not look forward to any blessed afterlife; rather, he believes that the afterlife will be full of suffering and sorrow. This may well reflect the tenuous nature of Mesopotamian society.

By the time of the rise of ancient Greece, religious rituals and beliefs were well established, and a special order of people — priests — had been set aside to serve as intermediaries between ordinary people and the gods. The gods of Greece were seen as neither especially benevolent or evil. They just … were. Often they embodied natural phenomena:

GOD	DOMAIN
Zeus	Lightning
Apollo	The Sun
Artemis	The Moon
Poseidon	The Oceans and Seas
Others reflected human concerns and products:
Aphrodite	Love
Ares	War
Demeter	Grain
Athena	Wisdom
Hestia	The Hearth
Dionysus	Wine and Drunkenness

Unlike later religions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam), the gods were unconcerned with ethical issues. At most, they might punish pride, particularly if it took the form of blaspheming against them. But oftentimes their motivations were unknowable to humans.

To mourn avails not: man is born to bear.

Such is, alas! the gods’ severe decree:

They, only they are blest, and only free.

— Homer, The Iliad (trans. Alexander Pope)

People prayed to the gods not for divine guidance but so that either the gods would grant favor to them or — more often — that the gods would leave them alone.

Almost all ancient societies were polytheistic. Even the Jews, who worshiped a single god, Yahweh, did not initially deny the existence of other gods. They were merely exclusive in their worship. Other societies such as the Greeks, the Romans, and the Egyptians worshiped a broad pantheon of gods and seem to have frequently borrowed gods from one another. In the world of the Mediterranean and the East, myths and stories circulated freely, spreading religious beliefs across Europe and Asia.

THE RITES OF DIONYSUS

The God of Disorder

The ancient Greeks were polytheists (that is, they worshiped many gods). These included Zeus, lord of all the gods and bringer of thunder; his wife Hera, goddess of marriage; Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty; her brother Ares, god of war; and Dionysus, god of wine and revelry.

The religious rites of Dionysus were different from those held to honor other Olympian deities. Traditional rites honored the gods and goddesses in temples specially built for that purpose. Dionysus wandered among the people, and his cults celebrated him in the woods. In Dionysian festivals, worshipers became one with the god. This god loved people; he loved dance; and he loved wine. His festivals were like big parties.

Dionysus was usually accompanied on his travels by the Maenads, wild followers whose name means “madwomen.” The Maenads carried a thyrsus, a symbol of Dionysus, and incited people to join Dionysus’s cult and participate in his rites. Although everyone was invited, women were the most eager participants in Dionysian festivals.

What Was a Thyrsus?

A thyrsus was a long pole or rod covered in grapevines or ivy, adorned with grapes or other berries, and topped with a pinecone. It was a symbol of fertility and a sacred object in Dionysian rites.

Dionysus was the god of wine, and his rituals celebrated this drink. It was believed that wine gave people the ability to feel the greatness and power of the gods. Through wine, his worshipers achieved the ecstasy they needed to merge with the god. One of Dionysus’s names was Lysios, which meant “the god of letting go.” But the excesses of his festivals often led to frenzy and madness.

Dionysian rites were usually held at night. Women dressed in fawn skins, drank wine, wore wreaths of ivy, and participated in wild dances around an image of Dionysus (believed to be the god himself). Sometimes the women would suckle baby animals such as wolves or deer, and sometimes they would hunt down an animal, tear it to pieces, and devour the raw meat. Occasionally, the crazed women would tear apart a man or a child in their rites.

Wine in Ancient Greece

The Greeks have been cultivating grapes for winemaking since the late Neolithic period. As Greek society expanded, so too did its trade in grapes and wines. By the time classical Greek civilization was at its height in the fourth century B.C., the Greeks were exporting and importing wine from as far away as Spain and Portugal.

The wine and tumultuous dancing took worshipers to a state of ecstasy, in which they felt the power of the gods. Religious ecstasy was often heightened by sexual ecstasy. T...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Early Religions
• Chapter 2: Judaism
• Chapter 3: Taoism and Confucianism
• Chapter 4: Christianity
• Chapter 5: Islam
• Chapter 6: Hinduism
• Chapter 7: Buddhism
• Chapter 8: Other Faiths
• Appendix
• Copyright