Religious Site Reflection

Overall I had a very good experience visiting all of the religious sites. I learned a lot of information and got a lot of information that really broadened my horizon on the religions and opened my mind to understand their perspective of the world. At the Islamic Center of Raleigh I liked how they provided us with a basic overview of Islam and how we got to hear some of their students recite the Quran. At the Buddhist Center I really liked how colorful the center was and how we got to walk around the stupa even though it didn't really bring me any type of good fortune. I did find it frustrating however that everyone was only really concerned with the Dalai Lama and didn't focus on some of the other beautiful aspects of Buddhism. The Hindu temple was the prettiest by far. The statues of all the gods and goddesses were quite intriguing to look at. The synagogue was also one of my favorites. I really enjoyed the Rabbi's comparison of Judaism to Buddhism. I wish that I would have asked more questions and actually used each of these places to my advantage so I could get a practitioner of the religion to answer the questions revolving around the 3 questions in IB. One thing I would recommend is that for World religions this field trip would be most beneficial if it was taken at the beginning of the year as an introduction to the course. This is definitely a field trip that I would love to go on again.

Doctrines and Beliefs

Different Schools of thought/denomination:

• There are countless numbers of different denomination within Christianity. Some of the larger branches for example include those such as Catholic, Orthodox, Lutherans, Anglicans, and Baptist. These differences between conservatives and liberals are naturally reflected within Christian denominations. Many Christians now hold diverse beliefs about the nature of sexual orientation, the role of women, and other topics. Some hold traditional gender and theological views; others have adapted their theology to accommodate findings of human sexuality and biblical criticism. Many members want to remain in the denomination in which they were raised. The result is that liberals and conservatives within many denominations have different visions of the future for their faith group. Examples of division between the different denominations would be the Roman Catholic Church. Their dissention is  largely related to sexual matters: female ordination, married clergy, birth control, abortion, pre-marital sex, etc. Here the split is largely between the People of God (the general church membership) and Vatican policy. Protestants are another example of a denomination in which an offset occured. Martin Luther was a German friar in the 15th and 16th century who is responsible for the Protestant reformation. Luther taught that salvation and subsequently eternity in heaven is not earned by good deeds but is received only as a free gift of God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ as redeemer from sin and subsequently eternity in hell. His theology challenged the authority and office of the Pope by teaching that the Bible is the only source of divinely revealed knowledge from God and opposed sacerdotalism by considering all baptized Christians to be a holy priesthood. Those who identify with these, and all of Luther's wider teachings, are called Lutherans even though Luther insisted on Christian as the only acceptable name for individuals who professed Christ.

Sacred Texts: Christianity

The Bible:

• The Bible's authority is given by God. The Old testament talks about life before Jesus and discusses how humanity was really bad and God destroyed us several times because he was not happy with our worship to Him. The New testament talk about the life of Jesus and all of teh good things He did while he was here on earth. It also talks about the sacrifice Jesus makes to save us from our sins. This is another way to show the authority of the bible. Within the Bible there are many points the writers trying to explain an important aspect to the Word of God and he has to use a metaphor to explain it. Roman ,Protestant, and Catholics use a slightly different version of the Old testament. This can account for the tensions that can be seen among the different denominations in Christianity. Moses, in Exodus 15:5-28; Joshua, in Joshua 3:14-17; Elijah in 2 Kings 2:7-8; and Elisha in 2 Kings 2:13-14 actually called upon God to part the waters. Each time, God responded by physically separating the water with, at least in the first three stories, dry land under foot. These were real, miraculous events which happened at a specific time and location. If we were there with a camera, we could have recorded the miracle. God temporarily suspended normal physical laws, such as gravity, and the ability of the sea/river bed to absorb water. The Bible is recording real miracles. One could also interpret the bible as a historical document or using the Midrash. Jesus is a very important figure in Christianity. His life death and resurrection plays a key role in understanding why God sent him.Jesus was sent to ultimately die for our sins because "the wages of sin is death.." (Romans 6:23). He was sent to teach people about God and lead them back down the right path. His death is crucial because it is the ultimate sacrifice made for our sins. His resurrection shows that there will be a second coming and that God will judge your actions. Interpretation of the text can change when you explore group versus individual worship. In your own private worship you are free to explore and interpret the text so it fits into your life. When you are worshipping with a group a general interpretation is applied and and a different meaning could take place. 

Text Excerpts:

John 3:16: For God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

• This excerpts means that God gave His only Son so we would have a chance to reach salvation. This text has a more literal meaning than others because it is so importance to the religion. This excerpt is important because without the sacrifice Jesus made we would still have to pay the price of sinning, which is death.

Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

• This excerpt means that the price we had to pay for our sins was death. It is important because it shows that overtime God has shown us great mercy and compassion. 

John 1:1: In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God

• This excerpt helps to explain where the bibles authority comes from. It also explains how God is the word and word is what God wants us to do. This is important because this is the quote that many people use to help explain why the bible is so important and why we should care to read it. 

Taoism review

1. I find the concept of wu wei really interesting.I think that the concept of accomplishing things by basically doing nothing and following nature really plays a role into eliminating stress in ones life. I too found it difficult to understand the life of Lao Tzu. There are so many mysteries that it makes it seem as if the religion could have many starting points.
2. My understanding of Tao is that Tao is the way in which the universe works. It holds the explanation for the reason the way things are. The Tao is similar to God because Tao serves as the explanation for the universe, but it is different because Tao applies to everything, it doesn't necessarily take on a human form. 
3. There really is not a western equivalent to ch'i unless you consider living and maintaining a healthy lifestyle ch'i. Diet, exercise and health practices affect my own spiritual lifestyle because maintaining a healthy lifestyle helps me to focus more on my own spiritual relationship with God.
4. I do not really believe in magic but I do think there can be unexplainable things which can appear to have "magical" qualities. Just because you cannot explain something doesn't make it magic. There might be a logical answer that you just do not know. 
5. My understanding of wu wei is that you follow the path of nature to achieve you goals. Since nature is always perfect if you follow that you will not make any mistakes in following that path.
6. Yin and Yang are the light and dark forces that must be in agreeance for the universe to be in order. I think it is a hinderance to speak in "masculine" and "feminine" spiritual energies because it creates that sense of inequality between genders.
7. i think that some actions are instinctively good and evil because across the globe they are considered bad and looked down upon.
8. I think that life does bend back upon itself but when you come back around you are more experienced and have learned important life lessons and have grown in a way that has prepared you to go back to your origins.
9. I don't think that there are any other religions that can be considered lighthearted because they all are pretty serious when is comes to rituals and traditions and most are not very flexible.

Hinduism review

First stage: "Brahmacharya"-student stage

• Period of formal education
• Till age 25
• Male leaves to stay with guru to get spiritual/practical knowledge

Second stage: "Grihastha"-householder stage

• Starts when one gets married and has to support family

Third stage: "Vanaprastha"- Hermit stage

• no longer a householder (grandfather now: children established their own lives

Fourth Stage: "Sannyasa"- Wandering Ascetic stage.

• completely devotes to god (virtually merges with god)

Rituals for Christianity

Lifetime Rituals/ Rites of Passage

• Dedicating Children to the Church: In Christianity, children are considered gifts from God. Pastors and parents can express their full gratitude to God by dedicating the baby to God. Some churches perform a ceremony that is very similar to a baptism and others perform a "dry baptism." This ceremony shows that the parents acknowledge that God is almighty and can provide many blessings. Baby dedications are also performed so the parents can ask God for grace and wisdom in helping them carry out their parenting responsibilities. Dedication is linked back to the book of Deuteronomy, specifically chapter six verses 4-7. These verses commands the parents to love God and hold the commandments close to their hearts. In verse 7 it says to "impress them on your children" meaning the word of God and the commandments are to be taught to your children. This ritual shapes communal identity because when the ceremony is performed the pastor involves the whole family and instructs them to always be a part of the child's life and contribute to teaching the child the principles of God. 
• Communion: The purpose of Communion is to reflect on Jesus Christ's sacrifice for our sins and to look forward to his return. Communion is powerfully symbolic and brings to life deeply spiritual truths in very concrete ways. In 1st Corinthians 11:27-36, The apostle Paul gives us many rules and regulations to be mindful of before taking Communion. "This bread represents my body, as often as ye eat it, do it in remembrance of me. This cup represents my blood, as often as ye drink it do it in remembrance of me." These two verses compare the body and blood of Jesus Christ to bread and wine, two simple things in everyday life that are taken without thought just as Jesus' sacrifice was for some people. It also talks about how people who have not been saved should not take part in the Last Supper. Communion service can change depending on what denomination you are in. Some denominations in actually drinking from a large chalice and others pass out individual communion cups. If Communion was not observed than Christians would not have a way to remember the greatest sacrifice of all made by Jesus and they would not have a chance to fellowship with their brothers and sisters of Christ.

Key Concepts for Christianity

1. Trinity: The nature of God- God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit (Christian expression of monotheism)
2. Church: The whole community of the Church and individual congregations
3. Salvation: All who believe in God will be saved and live in God's presence (Heaven)
4. Kingdom of God: Both an earthly and heavenly closeness to God
5. Sin: Actions or beliefs that do not fit in accordance to God's Will
6. Redemption: Jesus is the redeemer because he dies on the cross for all of the sins of humanity. A Christian's sins are redeemed because of this sacrifice.
7. Repentance: Recognizing that one has sinned and asking God to forgive one of one's sins through prayer
8. Grace: God's love for humanity and his endless mercy that leads people to salvation
9. Agape: God's endless love for humanity that cannot be matched by humans in the world
10. Resurrection: Jesus rose from the dead after he died on the cross for humanity's sins.