a) Zach Piepmeyer

b) zacharytie

c) I completed 13 posts.
    Post 1     03/10     Post 8     04/17     
    Post 2     03/13     Post 9     04/17
    Post 3     03/13     Post 10   04/18
    Post 4     03/18     Post 11   04/19
    Post 5     03/18     Post 12   04/20
    Post 6     03/18     Post 13   04/21
    Post 7     03/24

d) Vedanta Society of Southern California, Hollywood
    Islamic Center of Claremont

e) I received an A on the midterm, with no material to make up.

f)  Completed readings: The Enchanted Land, Huston Smith’s The  Illustrated World’s Religions chapters 1-8, The Five Great Vows of Jainism, Jain Gods, Jainism Simplified Chapter 1 - Navkar Mantra, Jainism Simplified Chapter 9 – Kashayas (all from the provided Jain article links), Why I Don’t Eat Faces, the Background and Philosophy and Practices of the Vedanta Society of Southern California (from vedanta.org website), Lions in the Punjab, The Wisdom of Buddha, The Tao te Ching, The Analects of Confucius, The New Testament, The Koran, The Gnostic Mystery, islamworld.net, religioustolerance.org/islam, jewfaq.org, religioustolerance.org/jud_desc, i-cias.com, False Testament article, Triumph of Christianity, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography

    Uncompleted readings: The Bhagavad Gita, holocaust-history.org, Ancient Jewish Accounts of Jesus website.

g) I would really recommend each reading. Of course I feel the first articles about the study of religion and meme theory were so lame at first, but then I loved them! I finally understood how foundational and intrical they are to studying this field. I did like the non-religious articles; I pulled a lot from them and even got some deeper insight. I think Smith's book was an excellent resource. No, it doesnt offer any critical views of any religions, however I think it helps to be able to really pull what each religion is really about. I am definitely keeping my book for my library and future reference. It would have been nice to have more literature regarding the non-religious views of the Eastern religions and Islam. Plus, that would seem to balance it out a little, even though I recognize that American students are much more fluent in the teachings of Christianity and Judaism.

h) No Extra Credit.

Posted by zacharytp at 10:27 PM PDT

Updated: Saturday, 21 April 2007 10:51 PM PDT

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Gnosticism is a very organic movement with basic principles, but varied applications and directions.There are many different schools of thought regarding Gnosticism. And interestingly, it isn't an organized religion either. I guess that is why it is referred to as a movement, not necessarily a tradition. This, of course, will make it more difficult to study and compare/contrast without medial reference points. These reference points are Ninian Smart's seven dimensions that bring a general structure to such a subjective and organic field. These dimensions will help us study and understand this movement as well as its closely connected counterparts. Especially in comparison to Christianity and the diverse paths each has taken through the history books and cultural environments. The foundational pursuit of Gnosticism is that of gnosis, the knowledge of the spirit world. Each sect can vary highly in the modes and rituals to obtaining this enlightened knowledge, however the final goal is fairly universal. This highest form of gnosis ultimately comes down to the knowledge of the Divine. This is a highly experiential movement that has little to do with scriptures, but more reliant upon the participants direct knowledge of God and knowledge of the special techniques (passwords) to reaching the final God. "The underlying goal is to raise one's consciousness beyond the physical world to the higher, spiritual world." This movement is rooted in the first and second centuries with the main schools divided by founder: Marcion, Basilides, Valentinus, and Mani. These taught that the soul is essentially the same essence of God and must deliberately attain to the primordial home. It is this Unknown, Nameless God that is above all other gods and creation that one must reach to be fully conscious and free from the entrapment of this world. Plato's allegory of the cave is of course used to illustrate this idea (used in so many religions). To piece this together a little more, this idea is confirmed by Luke in the Book of Acts of the New Testament when recounting Paul's encounter with the Greeks and their Unknown God alter. Gnostics highly value the human soul, which is in peril need to find the light of consciousness or will get to watch a private screening of Plato's newest lame 50's film Shape-Shifters Attack!, forever! Without popcorn! In the cheap theatre off Foothill and Citrus! Talk about eternal hell! But, luckily there is a sleeping spirit that awakens to human form, Divine Man or Redeemer, to call back the souls into divinity. This has been an association with Christianity, especially up until the second century. Jesus was a commonality with the title Redeemer, as well as other writings from the Old Testament. Gnostics find that the god of the Old Testament is actually a sick, demonic being that tries to enslave humanity. They have established a succession of levels on the pathway to the True Father. There are other gods that try to lead souls astray. This process is very similar to that of the Sant Tradition, a primarily Eastern thought. Gnosticism, however, can be more categorized as a Western thought due to its evolution and development within the West. The Sants practice meditation and bodily discipline to attain to the God-Realization. This philosophy is very prevalent in the Gnostics, both in the dualism of physical vs. the spiritual and the oneness of the consciousness with the enlightenment. Doctrinally, the two traditions parallel in their Transcendent God of immeasurable, unnamable, illimitable, and immovable nature. This is opposed to a lower demiurge, a deity that lacks the creative power of the Transcendent, yet reigns in darkness to entrap souls by the pleasures of this world. The cycle of reincarnation is also apparent in both movements, along side the idea of karma and suffering for punishment for sins. Interestingly, the Gnostic is also deeply involved with the mystic meditative experiences. However, it is described as a cognitive learning state, compared to the Sant who is also detaching from the physical world and into a realm of light and sound, guiding the soul into the enlightened state of unity with the Transcendent One.

As touched on previously, Christianity shares many associations and parallels to Gnosticism. Both are highly spiritual and transcendent of this shared physical realm compared to the heavenly or divine realms. Gnostics find salvation in knowledge, Christians find salvation in the resurrection of Jesus. Both have deep histories of divinity and mysticism, yet Christianity has been resolved to three specific reasons for its quantitive success. The Triumph of Christianity outlines the appeals of Christianity in light of the lacking state religion of Rome, its acceptance unbiased of race, gender, or social status, and the overarching belief of the Kingdom at hand. Both Gnosticism and Christianity provide an inclusion for those of the religion, a sense of belonging and important status. This can be a fundamental aspect of each movement, however attaining that status is what creates a divide. Christianity’s has successfully removed most of the barriers that other related religions hold to as purity and proof for true conversion. There are no physical alterations (Judaism), no necessity for special rituals (mystic religions like Gnosticism) or prolific vows of abstinence (many Eastern religions). Gnosticism demands certain successive passages into membership. This is also a fundamental principle of Blackburn’s meme theory. A successful meme is one with survival characteristics. The meme must be adopted easily and transferred easily as well as free from conditional barriers that would inhibit the continuation of progress. Perhaps Gnosticism just needs more refining and evolution. However, it is clear that Christianity possesses highly adapted attributes that have been most successful in light of humanities fears and desires.

Posted by zacharytp at 10:26 PM PDT

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What blows my mind the most is just the intense amounts of study and analysis that this man must have dived through to come to his extremely deviant (in respect to mainstream assumptions) conclusions and responses. His research also seems to stay true to the original particulars mentioned as the three approaches for contextual study. The cross-cultural anthropology looks into the comparable societies of history. Crosson also specifically looks independently into the Greco-Roman and Jewish histories and the literary or textual accounts free from distorted bias. These are extremely great components to study, however they are also completely unattainable to the purist form. This of course is just what we face as humans. The bulk of the summary was comprised of Crosson’s conclusions, however the simplified processes that were mentioned did seem to possess the necessary components to align with his three independent vectors. He utilized the texts of Mark and other New Testament writers as well as the Old Testament books. He incorporated the historical accounts of the times such as the story of John the Baptist’s beheading in relation to Flaminius’s similar account previously performed. The author is a great historian. The amazing parallels he explains between Octavius and Jesus, Jesus and John the Baptist, Luke's writings and Matthew's writings, the New Testament and Old Testament, Jesus and Moses… it's a dualism frenzy! Am I back in the Wild West or what?! At any time the author could have screamed "DRAW!" and I would've ducked into the ole saloon. Basically, Crosson concluded that Jesus' radically divine life is a hoax, developed by the early century writers and followers to establish power and authority. I liked how Crosson worded it when he said that the biblical passion accounts are `not history remembered but prophecy historicized.' This lines up pretty accurately with the False Testament article. If in fact what we have here is a misconstrued historical account based on the motives of power and authority, then what we perhaps ultimately have are the most brilliant `Peasants and Expendables' (assuming Jesus surrounded himself with those of consistent class status) to have created the most successful meme in all of human history. Crosson's central point is then summarized that Jesus’ movement was ultimately the shared egalitarianism of the healings and dinings that he partook in. He theorizes that Jesus' open commensality is the symbol and embodiment of radical egalitarianism, or social equality, which is extremely prevalent throughout the Scriptures when he dines with and touches the untouchables. Along the same vain, Jesus used healing to "stick it to the man" to arouse the support and adornment of the lower classes. Another immensely radical deduction of Crosson is the hypothesis that Jesus was actually a follower of John the Baptist. Jesus then learned from John the Baptist's evangelical model to present another route to conversion, the eschatological direction we read.

Jesus’ death was historicized by three passion stories. The first was the historical passion based upon what actually happened to Jesus from what people had seen. The second is the prophetic passion where followers searched through the Scriptures to justify such an unwanted event of shocking proportion. The third was the narrative passion where followers placed prophetic fulfillments within a plausible historical framework to essentially become what the New Testament is today. It was also in Jesus’ death that the apostle’s then continued in a power of vast proportion. The dramatized impartation of power to one specific leader and leadership group over a community could have been created. This was Peter and the Twelve Apostles (who where also fittingly made up to symbolize the unification of the twelve tribes of Israel) and everyone else. It was the establishment of Jesus as Deity that made for ultimate power of the church who then became the only mediator between God and the people.

Posted by zacharytp at 10:25 PM PDT

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This article was very much the open refute of the historical accuracies of the Bible and mainly those of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. It was a heated article, and not based solely on the topic and perspective, but much more upon the language and approach of the writer. The ideas were that the Western perceptions of Eastern history, versed overwhelming upon the Bible, are not only wrong, but even vainly created by power-hungry priests. It was suggested that the fathers of the Hebrews beginning with Abraham were made up. This ‘choreographed history’ also included Moses, once thought of as a powerful personality of vision and direction, yet proved through archaeology to be a mythological depiction. No Egyptian records account of this figure of such high repute, nor do they imply any type of escape of thousands of Hebrews. The Exodus is one of the most glorified and respected histories within the traditional religious view. It is a great story of countless worth in imagery and symbolism, yet it’s true might is found in its historical truth. It is one thing to read a good story, but another to think that this actually happened! Yet, with the new evidence of respectable archaeologists, the trees of old are fallen. Judaism, rather than its establishment in the second millennium B.C., is a product of the mid-first millennium B.C. This is due to the aspiration of political and religious figures who attained to the greatness of the surrounding empires of Babylon or Egypt. The author, Lazare, also points out the supposedly poor scientific arrangements of the first archaeologists to the area. In 1838, Edward Robinson was biased of his Calvinist devotions and so tainted his perspective of any findings. The walls of Jericho have also been a traditionally held account of the Joshua-led invasion. Yet they are believed by some to have been destroyed nearly 70 years before the event could have happened. This research definitely flies right in the face of what can be seen as fundamental views of the West. Even amongst the secularization backdrop, the Bible is still seen as a good piece of literature with historical importance. Yet, contrary to traditional religious views of Abraham, archaeology not only lacks any proof of this figure, but he doesn’t fit into the ancient Israelite origins. This is a central figure on which Judaism stands, as well as Islam and Christianity. Also, the story of Abraham’s son, Isaac, and his servant’s quest for a wife has inaccuracies that can be determined through in depth historical review. The quest began on top of camels with an array of good things, yet analysis of ancient animal bones suggests that camels weren’t even used as transportation in that particular region until well after 1000 B.C. I assume that the archaeologists have placed this event earlier than this time, however there is no mention of the time period proposed. Once again, these findings support the conclusion that perhaps a few priests were able to concoct these stories from local lore and need for impressive deity. Even the mighty King David so displayed as wise and powerful, conquering and humble, is nothing but a scrapped historical leader. He was actually a small-time ruler with a small clan carved into the highlands. It is a little depressing to see such glorified stories and pictures of integrity and might so deflated into quiet shame. King Solomon, the previously believed richest man to have ever walked the earth, strode through even richer glory as a historical figure so attained to through the Scriptures. He is depicted as the wisest of them all, creating and establishing a glittering city of regional repute. However, once again, Jerusalem can be found as nothing more than a rural village. Something you pass on the highway and miss as you blink. It was actually a century or more later that the mighty palaces were built, according to carbon dating. This historical view is definitely a complete contrast to the traditional religious viewpoint. There are notable comparisons of historical facts to the accounts in the Scriptures, however it is the extravagance and timing that causes one to presume the alterations. 

Posted by zacharytp at 10:24 PM PDT

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Smith distinguished Judaism by heightening their ‘passion for meaning.’ He broke it into eight simplified meanings. The first was the meaning in God. The God of the Jews was the Supreme Being, the Creator, the Other in comparison to all that humans could possibly imagine. This God is also much more like a person than a thing. Hebrews focused on the personal traits of God in contrast to neighboring religions. It is a monotheistic approach, however could have been categorized as Henotheism because the people recognized other gods, but only worshiped One. This Other One differed from all other gods thus far in history because there was a concern for humans and a distinct moral direction of extreme importance. The meaning in creation was something ‘very good.’ Most other views saw matter as a foe, something that only impedes the true destination of humanity. Jews could possibly have a more optimistic approach to the physical world and physical attributes of mankind. Food is good, nature is good, sex is good, the body is good, wealth is good; its all good.  This idea brings value and meaning to not only the physical creation, but also to all that humanity is created to do. There is a draw for humanity to grow and advance in moral construction while developing those beliefs in continuing generations. This leads to the meaning in human existence. Yahweh gave man a self-image that must be unmistakably good too. Yes, man pales in comparison to God, as dust in the wind or the life span of grass. Man is by no means evil in nature, just evil in deeds. These are what need to be covered. However, it is by this personal, moral God’s grace that mankind is allowed to be toddling infants to the Creator. There is also meaning in history. It is only by this fundamental view that there can be any value placed on social, political and cultural aspects of life. The Jewish Tradition places history as a foundational principle to life and the succession of life. It is by history that Abraham answered Yahweh’s call to ‘chosen’ status and began the Hebrew nation. It is by history that Moses answered Yahweh’s call to ‘supernaturally’ unite a people under one belief. Jews live by the word of history and its power to remind the created of the power and love of the Creator. The meaning in morality is to bring unity and not disruption to the community. The purpose of morality is not necessarily for individual gain to enlightenment, but for the good of the whole. The Ten Commandments set guidelines for proper behavior to maintain a focused nation. “Thou shalt not murder.” This leaves room for disagreement and even inner struggles of anger and hatred, however to instigate blood feuds and outward actions would disrupt the community. “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” This leaves open for play any sexual act outside of the confines of marriage according to Smith, however leave what is confined to the sanctity of unity. “Thou shalt not steal.” Wealth is good, possessions are good, and getting them however you choose is good; but taking from someone else causes communal upheaval. “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” Little white lies, no problem, but when under such terms as a judge, deliberately lying affects the entire population. This leads to the meaning of justice within the Jewish Tradition. This can be seen through the lives of the Prophets. They lived social justice and called the nation to a higher standard, or at least a standard somewhat better than what was presently going on. It was only in this Jewish context that one can see a completely illegitimate man speak into a royal situation. Elijah, of no credentials or standing, speaks God’s judgment to King Ahab with authority. “The prerequisite of political stability is social justice, for it is in the nature of things that injustice will not endure.” The meaning in suffering describes the seemingly disastrous and disheartening history of the Jews. Because of the chosen status of the Jews, they are then responsible for much more. They must feel the suffering and anguish by personally living it. They must experience exile and slavery, hardship and seclusion. In a way they chose it for themselves by not choosing the life that God set before them. However, it can also be taken as a necessary lesson into the history of remembrance Yahweh continually calls His people into. They also find meaning in messianism. I like Smith’s description of this. He explains that the Jews were underdogs, and underdogs have only one direction to look and that is up. That embodies the entire outlook, viewpoint, stance and angle in which the Jewish faith takes. And this optimism is so securely established within the Western world as well. It correlates to capitalism and the entrepreneurial mentality that courses through our veins. Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow. What was impossible today, can be possible tomorrow. This possibility, however, lies in the hands of a messianic power. Somehow there must come a breakthrough in some form, whether a monarch or an age of blessings and universal harmony. It is in this hope for glory that the Jews have such sanctity of life and their own nation, Israel.

Posted by zacharytp at 10:21 PM PDT

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Islam began with Muhammad in the sixth century. Of course it began with creation and the initial time-transcending state of God, however, for the sake of differentiating between every other religion and idea which automatically claims precedence (memes!) it will be simplified to Muhammad’s origins. Because he is also the complete fulfillment of prophecy (what Christianity calls the Holy Spirit) Muhammad is also the Seal of the Prophets, the last of the prophets and pinnacle of prophethood. He was born into the Koreish, the leading tribe of Mecca, and was raised by his caring uncle. He married an older widow, but found himself seeking after a fiery being continuously in a cave. The surrounding religion was an animistic polytheism, however Muhammad was revealed the truth of the one true God of whom he was anointed the proclaimer of this forgotten mystery. The angel Gabriel then began to feed him the words of the Koran, the incarnate manifestation of God. Muhammad and his Allah’s teachings threatened polytheistic beliefs and strangled the economic advantages of such a culture; it also upheld a righteousness that prodded the people and called for a just social order. From these obstructions, only 40 converts were seen in the first 3 years. Soon there were hundreds of families, then whole cities that followed after the teachings of Allah through the Prophet Muhammad. He was called into the city of Medina and assumed the role of administration and statesman. He flourished in wisdom and awakened the citizens to a cooperation and unity, miraculously. The Meccans and Medina fought for several years until Muhammad eventually became conquerer and regained his city of Mecca, which was deemed the geographical center for Allah’s worship.

Theologically, Islam is very similar to that of Christianity and Judaism. God is the invisible, immaterial, ultimate, singular, divine, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, and grace-giving being of eternity. However, this God differentiates between good and evil and gives consequences to each out of love and peace. The fear of Allah is a driving catalyst to the goodness of Muslims. Allah also created Creation, a completely real reality, in like fashion to the historical teachings of Judaism and Christianity. However, unlike these religions, Islam defines the human self as inherently good. Babies are born a Muslim, but outside teachings either lead them astray or enforce the truth within them. Here, people only forget their divine nature. This will then ultimately lead the finale, Heaven or Hell. The Day of Judgment awaits us all. This is the ultimate accountability session of all deeds done on the earth. This leads to the interesting question of why one must believe in the name of Allah and Muhammad if the judgment is only based on good works vs. evil works. I guess the only good works are those sanctioned by Allah through Muhammad, so one must be a Muslim to understand and implement the good deeds.

The five pillars of Islam are the guiding cairns of the straight pat. The first is the creed, shahadah, that “there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is His Prophet.” This is the life-giving, courage-thrusting, perspective-revealing decree of Islam. The second is canonical prayer. This is an ultimate awareness of perspective of man to that of Allah. The will of the created man vs. that of the creating Allah. There are 5 prayers a day. The third is charity. Every year, Muslims are to give 2.5 percent to the poor, those of immediate need, slaves, debtors, strangers, wayfarers and collectors. The fourth is the observance of Ramadan. This is the holy month in the Islamic calendar where the Koranic revelation commenced and Muhammad effected his migration from Mecca. Every able-bodied Muslim is to fast every sunlight day from food, drink, smoking, and sex. But night time is party time!! It teaches discipline, and reflection of the compassion humanity needs. Finally, there is pilgrimage. Every Muslim should travel to Mecca at least once during their lifetime. This heightens their commitment to Allah, and also promotes equality and international understanding.

Socially, Islam has four distinct characteristics. There is a drive for economical competition, entrepreneurship and profit; a very capitalist feel. Woman are given higher status in regards to most surrounding cultures. They hold rights as citizens and can be at full equality within the Koran. They are very protected within the sanction of marriage and has free consent when given to marriage. Polygyny is permitted, and its ok because woman have the right to opt out of the arrangement if they want to… I don’t think Smith’s argument with the Koran’s statement, “if you cannot deal equitably and justly with [more than on wife], you shall marry only one,” was very valid. Smith writes that by this statement, the Koran is actually promoting monogamy. Perhaps he has better contextual insight than me, but on face value it reads that have more than one wife is first choice and having only one is for the less adept. Islam is very welcoming to differing races and backgrounds. And now the most controversial topic, the use of force. Islam is not a pacifist religion, nor does the Koran call for militancy. It calls for a Just War, both internally and sometimes externally.

I found the whole religion very interesting, truly. I was able to read fairly accurate articles comparing and contrasting Christianity and Islam. That was very helpful, especially because it seemed to be from a pretty unbiased reference. It is very interesting to read about the debate between the two religions and war within Smith’s chapter. Its fascinating that the most similar religions are at the most distinct conflict. Perhaps this is the survival of the memes, because they are so similar in outward characteristics.

Posted by zacharytp at 10:20 PM PDT

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Islam, Judaism and Christianity are remarkably similar. Of course it is interesting to see how such a shared background can then filter into similar values and teachings. And yet there still remains the biggest of obstacles that bring distinct definition to each separate tradition.

Islam and Judaism share ancestral beginnings. God/Allah was first and foremost the uncreated but ever existing beginning. He then created the world and then the humans to inhabit the land. First Adam and Eve, then eventually Noah and finally Abraham is brought into the picture. He begins a nomadic life, following what is the voice of God or Allah. Abraham has a son, Ishmael, and then another, Isaac, each from separate wives. The tradition of Judaism then deviates from Islam when its lineage is followed through Isaac and eventually to Palestine. Islam takes the course of Ishmael into the land that gave rise to Mecca. Both continued their monotheistic worship, however Judaism has been sometimes subjected to a hedonistic category because of their acknowledgement of various forms of gods under authority of the God known as Yahweh. This deity is who they worship as Creator and Supreme. Islam, however, doesn’t even acknowledge the ability for other gods to exist, remaining consistent in awareness of only one true God, Allah. Either way, this true Deity has very similar characteristics of being sovereign, invisible, immaterial, ultimate, singular, divine, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, and grace-giving as well as eternal. The mouthpiece of Allah was the prophet Muhammad. He was the final prophet to walk this earth, and in the culmination of all other ‘divine manifestations’ (not God incarnate), the Koran was written. This document is the center of Islam, acting as a type of incarnation of Allah to the Muslim. Judaism has also had many prophets, in fact sharing some with Islam. These prophets would direct God’s people and bring reviving remembrance of His divine love and righteousness. These prophets of Judaism also prophesied of a messiah or a manifested salvation for the nation of Israel, Jews. This has come to be defined more as a messianic age, where all that Yahweh has promised to the Jews including power, land, freedom, property, and a nation to call their own will be restored in fullness to the people. These historical accounts and stories are recorded in the Torah for the Jewish people. Both religions also recognize the passing of this physical realm, and assert a heaven and hell for all souls in the eternal after-life. The final destination depends upon the works done on earth. The good vs the bad will be weighed by God, however it is only through each religion’s codes of ethics and practices that one can do true good in the name of God.

Islam and Christianity also share many similarities, yet border on distinct contrasts that have caused generations of wars and dissention. Christianity follows the same historical background of Judaism. Therefore it parts with Islam at the fork in the road of Ishmael and Isaac. Christianity then branches from Judaism in the beginning of the first century with the man of Jesus. Jesus is the official founder of Christianity, just as Muhammad is credited as the official founder of Islam. These two men have many similar paths, and yet again those blaring differences. Islam sees Jesus as the prophet of Allah, forerunning the ultimate prophet, Muhammad. Christianity places Jesus as God incarnate, fully man and fully divine. Both are categorized as monotheistic, however it is in this multiple persons of God that Islam views Christianity as polytheistic in nature. Both view God as ultimate, divine, omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, grace-giving and eternal. Both religions also highly esteem community and the human relational aspect of life. For Christianity, this community is found in the resurrection of Jesus. The Church becomes the Body of Christ on earth and gets life from the eternal life of the proven Jesus who overcame death. Islam also establishes the community of Allah through the binding power of the Koran, Allah’s spoken words manifested on earth. Through these powerful words, races, genders, and nationalities are conquered and a new perspective of humanity is restored to the true worshipers. Christianity, there is however very limited guidelines and procedures to membership. Due to the resurrection of Jesus, there is no weight of good works vs bad works to enter either heaven or hell. Instead, it is the simple belief in the Messiah that brings salvation. This contrasts Islam’s works path to heaven or hell, as well as its more tedious paths to membership.

Again, it so fascinating to compare and contrast the aspects of Christianity, Judaism and Islam, especially in the world of today, where one is confronted everyday with a conglomeration of views and perspectives. Perhaps it really is just the simple misunderstandings and ignorances of each religion that creates a vast chasm of separation and ultimately hatred and war. Yet, it’s the survival of the fittest out there, and the battle of the memes will keep warring.   

Posted by zacharytp at 10:19 PM PDT

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I am very attracted to mysticism, the supernatural, and also the very natural, nature. I absolutely love science fiction because it opens up a new and also old realm of the mystical and super-terrestrial that I feel so connected to. I love rock climbing and backpacking and miss so badly the accessible, beautiful landscape of my home state, Arizona. Of course it’s the physical that I enjoy to push, but also it’s the push into a more pure and divine world of balance and death and growth. I cannot help but gravitate towards the Chinese religions. I am intrigued by their holistic and simplistic lifestyle of discipline, diligence, excellence and humility in quest to find perfection and beauty in harmonious balance. In my midterm I mentioned my fascination by these religions, and specifically Confucianism. However, here I want to focus upon Taoism.

When I look into the artwork of the Taoist, there is that fusion of the natural and supernatural that at first seems so foreign and impossible because of the polarhood modernization has established. However, in reality, or perhaps just mine and the Taoists’, there is a synchronization and balanced dualism of the two. The yin and yang express this for the Taoists. The three meanings of Tao also exemplify this idea. The first is the way of ultimate reality. This is the vastness of inconceivable grasping that is within and without everything. The way of the universe is the second. This is the driving power in all of nature. It’s the rhythm in the trees and course of the trail. The third is the way of human life. As human as we are, this is still something so hard to explain or grasp even in light of years and years of age and experience on earth. Perhaps this is why the tradition looks to that of the universe and ultimate reality to shed light upon our own ways. Or perhaps it is only in the unity and balance of all three that each is made complete and whole in itself. Or maybe one fleeting lifetime really is just too short to discover so much.

In contrast to Confucianism that demonstrates the classical, Taoism searches the romantic. The spontaneity of nature and the purity of nature is where the human connects to the transcendent. Perhaps I am just in that lifestage as well, where the desire to wander beyond is the seemingly only real solution to a complexity that feels so alien. I really hate to get so ‘out of body.’ And it is definitely weird in American society. However, this religion is what impacted me the most. And it really caused me to reevaluate my values, beliefs and perspectives of myself and God… well, my God. Its funny because we’ve looked into so many different Gods and gods and Realities and Godheads and divinities and Knowledges. They almost seem to blur into one, just as Hinduism finds all paths leading to one. Yet, the distinction I find in Jesus compels me otherwise. So, as not to stumble into Christianity, I will end with this final contemplative, paradoxical, and mystifying summarizing statement: Taoism appealed to me the most. The End.  

Posted by zacharytp at 10:18 PM PDT

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I visited the Islamic Center in Clarement for their Wednesday evening prayer at sunset. This is the fourth of the five daily prayer times established within the religion through the prophet Muhammad, ordained by Allah in the Koran. I tried to make appointments to meet with the predetermined facilitators for new guests, however our schedules couldn’t match up and my class on Fridays interfered with the largest of services. I was, however, able to speak with two members. Upon entering the complex, I could immediately feel the community aspect of the tradition. There was the main prayer hall, as well as another building used for the school and basketball courts where a few boys were playing around. I met my first friend at the shoe rack. I wore my crocs that day so I had to walk around barefoot the whole time… my feet were freezing! We were both early so he showed me around the hall and gave me a little insight into the Islam faith. He was a fairly recent convert. He graduated from Fresno State a few years ago where I presume he had a roommate or friend that was a Muslim. He then studied the religion and ended up as a now active member of the community. He grew up in a Baptist home with pretty traditional parents. I thought that interesting and asked him to go deeper into the aspects of Islam that attracted him and how perhaps these paralleled with this upbringing or possibly helped in the religions shift. …I don’t think he really understood my point because he just began to explain to me why the Bible and Christianity are inconsistent, void, and unreliable especially in contrast to Islam. I thought his argument was very interesting. He assumed that the Bible was extremely erroneous because it was written by man and through translations it was contorted. I totally understand this argument, its widely used, and I agree with its validity to an extent. However, my friend compared this inconsistency to the perfection of the Koran. It was funny because he described it as if someone just reached through time, bypassing its times of translations and war and persecution, and just plopped the book onto his lap. He also assumed that the Koran was more divinely written because the words went in a perfectly straightforward, succinct and simple conversation from Allah to Gabriel to Muhammad to his scribes…. (that was supposed to be kind of sarcastic). Another proof of the divinity of the book is that Muhammad was illiterate, so he it had to be God to impress upon him such wisdom. That could definitely be a great point, however, what about the view that perhaps because he was illiterate, he wouldn’t even know what his scribes would have actually wrote down or if it was changed or translated differently. My intention isn’t to condemn Islam, and I definitely did not argue with the guy, but these thoughts were what was going on in my mind. And I am really trying not to ascribe to the greatness of Christianity; but, I think it interesting that its very easy to succumb to a ‘brainwashing’ in every religion. Everyone wants to believe in whatever they believe in, sometimes sacrificing logic and perspective. Religious Studies kind of rocks right now! So, my conversation ended and I was able to watch as the prayers were performed. It seemed that there was a beginning time for ‘personal’ prayer. Each man would recite scriptures from the Koran and do different types of bows and movements, I would assume to convey the humility and adoration for Allah. I never saw any women, they must have been behind the big screen, like an oversized hospital curtain. At first I was kind of curious to know what was behind there and I contemplated taking a quick peek…! The men then lined up at the front while one man would recite prayers to Allah while the others listened. Then they would all do the different bows and positions in unison as a more corporate prayer time. I do understand why they wouldn’t have the women join this location, it was awkward enough to be sitting in the back trying to look down at my notepad or something while everyone is doing the full bow. There really was a strong sense of community and belonging as the prayers ended and all the men greeted each other and talked. My latter friend told me about their huge buffets of food at sunset to break fast. As a college student I took special note of that. And we talked for another good 15 minutes about some other issues surrounding the Islamic faith and cultural differences between America and the Middle East. Of course he explained in depth their disgust of terrorism and his immense American patriotism. He really was thankful to be in a country like America. Overall, I had a good impression of Islam. It wasn’t an extremely spiritual experience. I understand I was just observing, but I still wasn’t really moved by a deep sense of mystery or awe. I think the most notable concepts that were engaged and pursued was that of community and family, something that modernization has definitely impacted.        

Posted by zacharytp at 10:17 PM PDT

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