I think that the main idea of this section was to learn how other moral systems have much in common (and those things which differ) with that of Christianity and by this, we are able to learn more about other religions (an opportunity not offered frequently at SLUH). To examine this correlation, I chose Judaism for my project. There are those obvious similarities from Judaism to Christianity that lies in its origin (since they were the same until Jesus’ emergence) with the story of Abraham, Moses, David, and all the other famous patriarchs. The histories between the two religions differ, though, when we consider the Ten Commandments. While many of the Jewish people believe that the commandments God gave Moses are more guidelines to the 613 mitzvah of proper living, most Christians believe that they are the rules by which we must follow to be considered completely moral. The Jewish people also have a lot of guidelines to morality that concerns things we don’t think about much, like treatment of animals, charity, and speech. They believe that we should treat all of God’s creations with respect (and should kill animals only in necessity and in a humane fashion), that it is our responsibility to watch out for our brothers and sisters in need, and that we should watch our speech and its sometimes negative effects. I learned from this project the detail that Jewish law goes into specifying all those things they are required to fulfill for an acceptable life. I also noticed how many of the ideas of acceptable behavior and actions could also be acceptable for Christians. I was able to find for myself strong evidence for a natural law and a universal moral code by studying other religions and moral systems.
2. List and explain three of the most important ideas you want to remember from this week.
a. Buddhism
Buddhism was created by a man named Siddhartha Gautama in around 500 BC. As a prince of Nepal, he was sheltered from the world’s pain and suffering until the day he witnessed the pains of age, death, sickness, and poverty. From then on, he became a prophet for a new religion that sought to gain enlightenment. He explained the four noble truths (life is suffering, suffering comes from selfishness, there is an end called Nirvana, to reach Nirvana follow the eightfold path) which would help people to gain enlightenment. The five precepts of Buddhism are as follows: do not kill, do not steal, do not lie, do not misuse sex, and do not drink. These are important because they reveal how even in Northern India, people have the same ideas of morality as those people in Israel, China, etc. in the same time period. To reach Nirvana, you must follow the eightfold path, which stresses right: view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration. To live these out will lead a Buddhist person to Nirvana (because he followed a good moral system).
b. Confucianism
Confucius was a Chinese philosopher who created a good moral system in around 500 BC (the same as Buddha!). His main goal in life was to unite China as one great nation by emphasizing proper relationships, good government, and personal morality. The first part he clearly outlined as how a husband/wife, parent/child, elder/younger brother, ruler/subject, and friend/friend should treat each other. The most important part of these was that every person should treat each other with love and caring. Then, personal morality of Confucianism was covered by four terms: jen, chun tzu, li, and te. Jen is described as humaneness to everyone or a “golden rule” of Confucianism. Chun Tzu is the ability to make decisions confidently and with good certainty. Li means everything has a place and order and it should be used such. Finally, Te means the power by which men are ruled (or good government is required for a person to live right).
c. Islam
Islam was created by Muhammad in about 570 AD when Gabriel came to him in a vision and gave him the Koran. From then on, he became the prophet for a religion called Islam. In this, there are five pillars that are necessary to follow the religion. They are: Shahada, Salat, Sawm, Zakat, and Hajj. Shahada is the proclamation that Allah is God and Muhammad is prophet. Salat is the act of praying five times a day towards Mecca. Sawm is the vow to fast during Ramadan. Zakat is the promise to give alms of 2.5% every year. Finally, Hajj is the promise to pilgrimage to Mecca (the holy land) at least once in a lifetime. One of the most important moral issues in Islam is the idea of Jihad. Jihad is the holy war (or the quest to please Allah). They are supposed to defend the faith with the heart, tongue, hand, and finally sword. It is an internal and external struggle, meaning that it is the fight against temptation as well as physical enemies. The fact that Islam means “surrender” shows how it is not a violent religion at all, but stresses placidity.
3. One image that reminds you of key ideas.
A picture from Saint Louis University High's production of Fiddler on the Roof. Picture from Sarah Pilliod.
I think this image is a perfect example of Jewish life. It portrays Tevye (Eddie Szewczyk), Golde (Ana Llewellyn), and the rest of the family in the midst of their Sabbath dinner while they are praying. Because it is a commandment to keep Sabbath, they must do this to remain a morally correct Jewish family. Participating in Fiddler on the Roof has helped me to better understand their culture and customs much better.
4. One question you should keep with you to ponder.
How can I use the information I learned from this section to better improve my own morality?
5. What should you try to do to make you a better person, a more faithful person, from this study?
I think that by studying other cultures, religions, and moral systems, I have a much better understanding than I used to on what they believe is morally correct. Because of this, I think I can (with greater understanding) decide for myself what I think is good moral behavior. And because of this, I think I should try to determine what my current morality is and what I can improve upon (by thinking about what they find the most important) to make my morality the best I can be.
