Existential Questions
ERC IV
Religious beliefs are usually responses to human existential
questions (questions about existence) like:
#1 How/why are we here?
#2 Why does life include suffering, warfare and injustice?
#3 What happens at/after death?
#4 What is the ultimate destiny of the human race?
The world’s five major living religions (Hinduism, Judaism,
Buddhism, Christianity & Islam) have proposed a variety of
possible answers to these questions over the past 4,000
years – and most recently (over the past 200 years) some
non-religious ideas have gained popular acceptance.
A variety of prehistoric (before written history) spiritual
beliefs began to be formally organised and explained once
civilized cultures (Babylonian, Egyptian and Indian) created
alphabetic writing.
Each of the five above-mentioned
religions possesses ancient written texts documenting the
evolution of beliefs which have survived into contemporary
times.
We will scan these beliefs following their historical
chronology, followed by an overview of the Big Bang and
Evolutionary theories.
Student’s name: ______________________
Hinduism
ERC 404 (
)
#1 How/why are we here?
Beginning around 2,400 b.c.e., in India, nature’s energy
was believed to contain spiritual power that could take many
forms. Hinduism proposes that superior forms of life have
evolved through thousands of lifetimes (reincarnation) until
finally human perfection can be attained - and the soul can
return to Brahman (the invisible source of all life). Brahman
takes many forms - there are 1000’s of gods and goddesses.
#2 Why does life include suffering/ war / injustice?
For Hindus suffering is the result of karma – impure
thoughts or actions actually create negative situations – so
suffering must be endured in order to cleanse bad karma
from the soul. India’s caste system was originally based
upon this idea:
The Caste System
The Brahmins believed in
reincarnation – that each person’s
soul is continually reborn until it
becomes totally pure.
People’s
souls are perfected through
experiencing 1000’s of lifetimes.
Karma is the word used to
describe the ‘quality’ of someone’s
soul, so that good karma perfects
a person while bad karma corrupts
them.
Hindus hope that being
reborn into the higher, purer
castes prepares a person’s soul to
eventually be reunited with God.
#3 What happens at /after death?
Hindus believe that all living things possess a soul
(atman) which will experience thousands of lifetimes, being
purified through the accumulation of good karma by willingy
completing one’s life duties (dharma). Once this
transmigration of the soul is complete the soul is freed from
physical limitations (moksa) and returns to Brahman to
experience complete and limitless happiness (samadhi)
forever.
#4 What is the ultimate destiny of the human race?
Time is cyclical (not linear). Every world, like the
present one, passes through evolutionary cycles, matter
being created, destroyed and recreated in new forms.
These world cycles continue indefinitely.
Student reflections:
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
Student’s Name: ____________________________
ERC 404 (
)
Buddhism
#1 How/why are we here?
In India during the 6th century b.c.e. a Hindu prince named
Siddhartha Gautama struggled with the karma belief that suffering
must be experienced through thousands of reincarnations. While
practicing Raja yoga he had an experience of intellectual
enlightenment (Buddha means Enlightened One).
Siddhartha
rejected the Hindu belief in many gods, or that life forms have a soul
concluding that living things are mere compositions of energy.
Accepting this belief allows humans to let go of the ‘me’ (soul)
concept which creates selfish desires – and instead to see individuals
as parts of a larger universal composite energy.
#2 Why does life include suffering/ war / injustice?
Buddha’s Four Noble Truths
a)
b)
c)
d)
Suffering, anxiety and pain are basic to human life
Suffering is caused by desire and unrealistic expectations
Desire can be overpowered through mental discipline
Use your mind & will to follow the Eightfold Path
The Eightfold Path is designed to calm a Buddhist’s mind through a
simple, non-aggressive lifestyle (no lying, no stealing, no killing
(vegetarianism), no intoxicants, no abuse of sexuality etc.) combined
with meditation aimed at calmness - releasing the mind from anxiety,
stress, anger or other harmful or aggressive emotions.
#3 What happens at /after death?
Nirvana is the attainment of total calmness - when the mind
becomes completely detached from desire and attachment to earthly
things. Buddhists believe that a person’s energy can be released
from the requirement to be reincarnated, so that the individual
personality ceases to exist, since desire to be ‘someone’ is
extinguished. Nirvana literally means to ‘blow out a candle’. If
however a Buddhist ‘desires’ to be reincarnated as a teacher of
Buddhism - he/she may return as a bhodisattva.
#4 What is the ultimate destiny of the human race?
Like in Hinduism, the world goes through cosmic degenerative
and evolutionary cycles where both society and matter are constantly
changing.
Human personalities are irrelevant, while composite
consciousness remains: “There comes a time, my friends, sooner or
later . . . when the world is dissolved and beings are mostly reborn in
the World of Radiance. There they dwell, made of stuff of mind,
feeding on joy, shining in their own light . . .” Buddha (Digha Nikaya)
Student reflections:
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
Student’s name: _______________________________ ERC 404 ( )
The Star of David has become the
universal symbol of Judaism since W.W. 2
when the Nazis used it to identify
European
Jews.
Because
of the
Holocaust the United Nations gave
permission for Jews to settle in Palestine
and establish the new State of Israel.
David was the first Jewish king (1000 bce) to successfully occupy and rule the
area known as Israel. Jewish religious belief is monotheistic (one personal,
loving God) - founded on the traditions originating with Abraham (2000 bce) and
Moses (1200 bce) recorded in the Jewish Torah.
Judaism
#1 How/why are we here?
The biblical tradition insists that human ‘souls’ are created in God’s
image and are therefore are responsible to care for the Earth and for
each other. Because of free will people can choose their own
destinies, but must also accept the consequences of their decisions.
#2 Why does life include suffering/ war / injustice?
The Jewish God personally cares for, and speaks to his chosen
people. Through prophets God has persistently reminded Jews that
justice, kindness and humility are the highest possible human
attainments, with the power to minimize human suffering. Since
humans are creations of God (and therefore not perfect) - pride
blinds them to their human weaknesses – and humans mistakenly
believe that selfish choices can somehow produce happy results.
Suffering is therefore usually caused by people’s selfishness
- not inflicted upon us by God.
#3 What happens at /after death?
The Torah records incidents of people physically ascending into the
heavens or returning from the dead. Prophetic visions of heaven
(God’s Throne), angels and future events have created the belief in
an unseen world where justice, happiness and kindness are the
norm. Implicit in this belief is the understanding that a heavenly
reward can only be the consequence of a life lived following God’s
righteous commandments. Those pursuing an evil lifestyle, by their
own choosing, will be excluded from God’s presence.
#4 What is the ultimate destiny of the human race?
Judaism maintains that at the end of time God will establish his rule
on a purified Earth. Once humans have pursued their pride to it’s
ultimate sad consequences Israel’s Messiah will restore order and
health to a dying planet - and righteous humans will finally all live
here in peace - while unrighteous ones will sadly be punished.
Student reflections:
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
_________________________________________________
________________________________________________________