Class notes 12/7

1. Prayer
2. Exam- room 237
 4 questions: First 2 Part A&B ( normal test questions)
Second 2: 1 1/2 pages, 40 marks

Test: Same format
3. Quiz #4
4. Hangers "Vinegar tasters" Yin- Yang, Pooh, I Ching, Leaf. Create 5 test questions
5. Picture book Review of Taoism.


HW: Test Thursday, Study Guide Online

Class Notes 11/18

Today in class we looked over all of the pictures taken on Wu Wei Day, and picked which ones looked most like Wu Wei. Our opening question was to pick the one that you think most represents Wu Wei and why. The picture of the water fountain was the most commonly used throughout all of the groups. We also answered the questions on the Te of Piglet story. Our answers were:
1) The main purpose of this article is to show how Piglet is the epidimy of the Te.
2) The key question that the author is addressing is how did man's Ego get in the way of his relationship with animals?
3) The experience of man seperating himself from nature is due to his Ego. The definition of the DEHr which means virtue in action.
4) Piglet has DEHr because she has special character, spritiual strength and hidden potential unique to the individual.
5) Some of the key concepts are the history that brought back Daoism and the history of the Seperation and what Daoism is now and the DEHr.
6) The main assumptions are that characters are animals in a story so they are hard to relate to our lives. Also Daoist concern themselves with perfecting the harmony of the Dao and by doing so they are not in the spirit of the Dao.
7) If we take this seriously the implications are that most wars won't occur. and no one would assert themselves with other people's behaviors. However no advancements in any area would be made because they live by the exact opposite philosophy. We would be simply like cavemen.
8) If we fail to take this seriously, the implications are that we would live in a state of continuous chaos: war and disaster. People would be searching for happiness through material goods instead of through relationships.
9) The main points of view are the destruction man kind has caused by ego, the harmony of the Dao, and the hidden potential unique to Piglet called the DEHr.
The rest of the class was a study hall. Have a good break! Happy Thanksgiving!

Class Notes 11/16

1.  Prayer
2.  Quiz #3--> Yin Yang
3.  Religious taoism--> handout
4.  Question: Jiao video--> cosmic ritual for village peace
5.  Collect 5 questions/ do fifth question= What elements of Taoism , religious physical, are in the Jiao ?video
6.  Read "Te of Piglet"

 brilliant minds

mr. gray

waiting for the copy machine 

doing homework and relaxing 

Class Notes 11/12

Today, we had Wuwei day and so walked around the school for about 20 minutes taking pictures of objects and people that represented Wuwei (Daoist principle of acting without action). Some of our pictures were of a plant, a flag blowing in the wind outside, Mr. Kohler, Mr. Gray, Mr. Dalphonse, the water fountain, art that depicted nature, and many other things.

After doing this, we went to the chapel and listened to a guest speaker, Brother Jim who spoke to us about vocations. The 4 vocations are marriage, holy orders, the consecrated life, and the single life. He talked about the importance of these vocations and we watched a short clip of who "brothers" are and their importance in religious life. He also connected it to XBSS as he is a part of the Xaverian Brotherhood.

Class Notes 11/8

1. Took quiz #2: Wu Wei, Lau Tzu, and Taixi
2. Taoism Notes

• Tao- the path or the way
• followers mainly in Taiwan
• Lao-Tse- founder and contemporary of Confucius
• Dao de Jing- “the way and it's power”
• describes the nature of life, the way of peace, & how a ruler should live his life
• focuses on the harmony of opposites, and peaceful flow of the Tao
• artificial structures in societies create discord
• Tao is transcendent, indistinct and with out form
• Different from other religions: no formal worship or prayer, no creation of universe, and no personal deity
• time- cyclical not linear
• concept of wu wei: quietism and avoids aggression. 
• natural order of the universe
• The Absolute: I Ching
• impersonal/invisible way of the universe
• Indifferent to human desires and artificial structures
• Humans can only discern it because it doesn't reveal itself
• The World:
• is beyond good/evil
• no sense of design or what “ought to be”
• trying to conquer or improve world is futile
• provides everything humans and animals need
• Humans:
• are essentially good
• can enjoy a good life in the world
• old age; wisdom, sage
• humans are best as they were born- weak and simple
• disharmony with the universe is the greatest challenge for humans
• suffering comes from trying to conquer nature
• civilization is the enemy of the contented human
• Humans resolve their problems by:
• returning to the simple life, in harmony with nature
• long life in accord w/ Tao
• practice of taixi--- goal of taoist meditation is the harmony of the human, divine, and cosmos
• Community and Ethics:
• inaction is the secret to a good life
• "live and let live"
• trying to do good leads only to trouble
• I Ching:
• symbol system designed to identify order in what seem to be chance events
• attempts to relate day-by-day life of the individual to the ways of the universe

3.) Watched clips from Mulan and compared them to Confucianism and Daoism

4.) Paper #1 Due Friday

11/3

1) Prayer
2) Quiz #1 on Tao, Tao Te Jing, Yang
3) More notes on Taosim
4) We went to the media center to learn about good databases to find information for our paper 2 project which is about religions. Our group has Christianity
5) Class ended while we were in the media center

Peace and Love!! :)

Class Notes 11/1

1.  Opening
: How could the image of a leaf on a stream help your life?

2.  Taoism vocab and reading guide--> turned in
p. 169-179

Homework: QUIZ #1

Wednesday 10/27

1) Prayer
2) Opening question: "A journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step." How does this apply to your life and what journeys do you expect to make in your life?
3) We watched a video about the Asian community and their social and religious practices.
4) We read an excerpt from Taoist book about Winnie the Pooh learning about the faith.
-Taoists believe that the earth is naturally sweet and free flowing and that there is no need for regiment or seeking refuge from suffering like Confucius and Buddha teachings.
5) We practiced a little bit of Tia Chi to finish up class.

Monday 10/25/10

1. Prayer
2. March for Life forms- due next time
3. Opening: What bothers you? Buddha says that complaining is the human condition
4. Scenes from "The Little Buddha"

• Baby is born
• Life of Buddha- formerly named Siddartha
• He is made king- but he goes to help people out who are suffering. A man died and he witnesses him being burned 
• He learns about suffering and compassion. He questions his Dad and his Dad wants him detained
• Buddha abandons his family
• a snake protects him from the rain- people who witness this become his disciples 
• He says "if you are too tight then you will snap, if you are too loose you will never get anywhere. We need to be in the middle"- people ignore him and he makes a bowl float upstream
• The children are tested under the tree

HW: March for Life forms

Class Notes 10/19

1. Prayer
2. Hanger Review
-- 4th CZ, HM
a) nature or defnition
b) significance/connection
-- look at the pictures in the textbook and create and answer questions relating to the picture.  This is practice for the text next class

 p. 320, 323, 331, 347, 350

HW: TEST THURSDAY (aka next class)

[320] picture of salat (ra'ka, mirab)
a) What is salat?
b) How does salat relate to a Muslim's spirituality?

[323] the Grand Mosque, Mecca (hajj, ka'ba)
a) What does the Ka'ba represent?
b) How is the Ka'ba related to the process of the hajj?

[331] The Qur'an
a) What id the Qur'an?
b) How does the Qur'an influence the dailt life of Muslims?

[347] The Ascent of Muhammad (razul)
a) Who is Muhammad?
b) How does he influence the faith?

[350] Old Woman Teaching Children
a) What is the role of women in the mosque?
b) How did Islam influence the role of women and children?

Class Notes 10/12

Class Notes

The Role of Shari’a in Islam

       Fiqh- Law (criminal or civil law)

       Shari’a- Law (moral and Islamic Law)

       Shari’a is the divine law in Islam

       Drawn from the Qur’an and the Sunna

o   Example of the Prophet Muhammad

       All encompassing- setting forth in detail the practice of Islam

Ethics and Society

       Development of Islam from the period of Muhammad, early Caliphs, and Umayyad period is the “golden age” in Islamic history

       Development of the Caliphate began in 632 to 661 (rightly Guided Caliphs) and provided an ideal period for Muslims- especially the Sunni

       Sunni- 85% of Muslims- selected Abu Bakr- adopted the belief that leadership should be given to the most capable leader

       Shi’a (Shiis)- 15% of Muslims- party of ‘Ali’- opposed that Abu Bakr should become the leader of the Islamic community

       Imam- political and religious figure in Shi’a Islam- Shi’a see Ali as the 1^st Imam- Sunni see imam simply as spiritual leaders

Resurgence of Islam in the World

       Public and Private life- Islam provides a sense of identity and guidance for everyday living

       Prayer and fasting, Islamic forms of dress, and family values

       Iran, Afghanistan, and Sudan tried to establish themselves as Islamic States

       Problem of radical Islamic organizations and their engagement in terrorism

       What is the future of Islam in the 21^st century?

       Islam remains the fastest growing religion in the world

       Expanding the learning and understanding of this major world religion is important

       Islam law, theology, and mysticism shapes 1/6 of the world’s population

       Revitalization of Islam is both a challenge and I threat to Muslim society and the “West”

       Islam shares many important links between Judaism and Christianity

o   Strict monotheism

o   Similar moral value

o   Believes in the accountability of people

Test Format

       Will have 5 questions- pick 4 to actually answer

       Will either have a quote or a picture

       Has 2 parts to each question

       First part make sure you have 3 key points (facts or vocabulary)

       Second part make sure you have 7 key points (facts or vocabulary)

       Answer will always need “what is the nature of…?” and “what is the significance of…?”

       You cannot use the same point twice on the test- once it is an answer it cannot be repeated

Islam Questions

Opener: What's something you repeat over and over & how is it helpful?

1. What's the importance of the Hajj to Muslims?

2. What is Ramadan & what pillar is associated with it?

3. What's the relationship between Allah and Muslims?

4. What's the significance of Yawmuddin?

5. Describe how the 5 pillars are integrated into the lives of Muslims?

6. How's Ihram related to Yawmuddin and the Hajj?

Class notes 10/7

1. Prayer
2. Quiz #4- last one
3. Presentations- Religions of North America

• Inuit- Canada, Alaska, believed in Northern Lights, Spirits they believed animals and plants had souls 
• Naskapi- believed in spirit in living things, reverance for the enivorment, suspended bodies from trees, nomadic, buried their dead facing west
• Powhatan- Jamestown, VA, polytheistic, worshipped fire, lighting, thunder, evil God, used magic
• Cherokee- 7 clans, 7 sacred directions, prayed to spirits 
• Hopi- Southwest, desert climate, worshipped for rain 
• Aztec- Mexico, 12th-15th century, trade, adobe homes, advanced military, agriculture. Had thousands of Gods, rain and sun God, had human sacrifices

4. Work on paper #2- What do Muslims believe about Allah? or what do Muslims believe about humans?

HW: Paper #2 

Class Notes 10/5

1. Prayer
2. Sufism- a branch of Islam; search for a development and personal relationship with God which is opposite to most main stream Muslims.
They are dedicated to a life of prayer and fasting.
3. Video on Sufi Whirling
4. Presentations

• Australia
• Aborigines
• language groups
• clans totem and territory
• no chief
• shared posessions
• Sacred Nature
• Not one invisible God
• numerous ancestral gods
• "oneness with nature"
• reincarnation
• sacrifice for bird
• Moiety
• based on Ancestral beings from creation
• "exogamous"
• Totem
• animal/plant/place related to person or group
• can't eat totem
• Tribes
• Alawa tribe
• est. 1960
• inhabited an area in western/southern Australia
• Kaurna
• Southern Australia
• lived in pangkarra
• circumcision
• Kalkadoon
• Mount Isa
• Beliefs
• Earth and figures are eternal 
• connected tribes with languages
• some groups believe in supreme being
• Dream Time
• time of creation
• spirits came into forms
• ancestor spirits come alive
• passed down by word of mouth
• Aboriginal Deities
• 70 common Spirits
• Creation being
• Ancestral being
• Totemic being
• Rainbow Serpent
• believed to control the water
• Main Rituals
• pray to the land
• Funerals and Initiation ceremonies
• Art is important to culture/religion
• Modern Day Australia
• Christian
• Religious Freedom
• India
• Hinduism
• Buddhism
• Gaiyism
• Rivers
• Ganges---> washed away sins, baptism, bathing
• Way of Life
• Dharma
• ethics and duties
• Samsara
• rebirth
• Karma
• right action
• Moksha
• liberation from the cycle of Samsara
• Beliefs
• no unified system
• interchangeable beliefs
• idol worship and reincarnation
• Brahma
• creator
• four heads
• lotus
• no weapon
• Vishnu
• preserver
• golden maize
• lotus
• spinning disk
• white conic shell
• Shiva
• many forms; trident, snakes, 2-sided drum, destroyer of world (good and bad)
• African Religion
• Egypt
• arid, rely on seasons, by the Nile
• Beliefs
• centered on rituals and myths
• early Dynastic period (3000 B.C.) --->unification of Egypt
• polytheistic
• Maat- fixed eternal order of the universe
• Pharaoh- human and devine
• Eastern Africa
• least urbanized
• "horn nations"
• Abdul-Baha wrote letters encouraging a start of religious community
• Southern Africa
• around the Great Lakes and forced East
• believe sun and moon were gods
• 3 main gods: Guab, Gauanab, Haitisi-aibib
• Central Africa
• Congo---> second largest rainforest
• Bantu, a major ethnic group
• most were Christians
• major god is Efile Mukula
• West Africa
• domestication of camel allowed more advancement
• Bantu people and Islam are mentioned in religious history
• Christianity is predominent
• Yoruba people of Nigeria
• Gelede Festival
• All believe in a supreme being

Class Notes 10/01/10

We had a powerpoint on the Jihad, and today we mainly focused on the Lesser Jihad and their influence in the Middle East. We also, learned about the extent of the Arab and Jewish conflict in the Middle East and how the creation of Islam escalated tensions and gave rise to more militant Islam. We also discussed how the interpretation of the Qur’an could have lead to the 9/11 attacks.

We also learned about Malcolm X by watching a few scenes in the movie, starring Denzel Washington. It portrayed how he became a Muslim and came to Allah during his time in prison and how he initially called for separation of races. His reasoning was that until African American’s were able to unite themselves and become cohesive then they couldn’t expect them to get equality among other races. After his pilgrimage to Mecca, he separated from the Nation of Islam and came full circle in the fact that he was more about the unity of all nations and that all should come together.

We were also given time to talk about our IIP’s which are due on Tuesday. This weekend we will finalize our powerpoint and then Monday we will regroup to talk about the last minute things.

Class Notes 9/27

vocabulary:
yawmuddin: (judgement day) what we are to hope for, how we have followed the Qu'ran, something to look forward to if we have been good
ihram- idea of being pure/ purification, changing mental state
umra- before Hajj, lesser pilgrimage, 7 times around Ka'ba, drink from well of Zam Zam

1. Prayer = Molly and Celine

2. Quiz  #2 on vocabulary: 3 words and then a connection between all  of them\
- Qu'ran
- tawhid
- shahada
- connection?

3.  Hajj Readings:
- theme today= Hajj
- handouts written by John L. Eposito on the hajj to read
- handouts of WS to fill in while following reading on 'mosque' and 'hajj', included in packet

4.  BBC in pictures --> hajj
- Mecca in Saudi Arabia

5.  Video from National Geografic "Inside Mecca"

Class Notes 9/23

1. Quiz on Vocabulary

• Allah
• Ka'ba
• Muhammad
• and connections

2. "My First Ramadan"

• Ramadan traditions

3. Opening Question:

• What is Ramadan?

4. Mrs. Erb

• Service Requirements

5. Powerpoint on 5 Pillars of Islam

• Shahada
• Salat
• Zakat
• Ramadan
• Hajj

6. Pictures

• ritual washing
• prayer movements

Class Notes 9/20

1.) Prayer
2.) Opening?
- Video: interview of muslim boy: his beliefs and what it means to him to be Muslim

Question- "What is a prophet?"
- class answers= a disciple of God who translates his Word and will, a messanger of God, mouthpiece, to help improve human behavior on earth

3.) Powerpoint of Prophet Muhammad
(from Islam: The Straight Path, A Brief History)
- historical background of Muhammad
-- Video on Muhammad

4.) 5 Pillars- Worksheet
- graph and questions on the five pillars of islam: shahada, salat, akat, sawm, hajj
- used laptops for research

HOMEWORK:
- circumlecctio check #2
- QUIZ #1 next class
 (quiz= any 3 vocabulary words out of the total 40)

Class Notes 9/16

1. Today we started the unit on Islam. We were to list as many things as we could that we knew about Islam as a religion.
2. YouTube video- A police officer informing his fellow police officers of the customs and sacred traditions of Islam and how they are to respect the religion.
3. We discussed the types of dress Muslims wear and the major points associated with Islam.
4. On the Powerpoint- As a class we discussed terms Allah, Qus'an, Hadith, Ka'bah, the Trip to Mecca and the Tawhid. (refer to vocab section)
5. We got our RAFTs back at the end of class.
6. We closed with a prayer keeping in mind the acceptance of other religions and beliefs beside our own.

For homework we were to read Ch. 1 and take brief notes answering the questions:

• Who is God/ Who am I?
• Where am I going?
• How do I get there?

Class notes 9/14

1. Opening Prayer-Prayer for all 9/11 victims
2. PowerPoint- approaching the worlds religions obstacles and challenge
These are the obstacles and challenges with examples from the PowerPoint

• Out of hand dismissal (mocking foreigness or complexity, refusal to learn, and Clinging to stereotypes)
• Museum shelf (Perspective: distant, ideal, no relevance to contemporary, daily life, and impersonal)
• Premature Assimilation(Too much of a good thing, immediate connection, appropriation and Glossing over complexities and distinctions)
• Idealization(Medical School analogy)

What we need to overcome these:

• Respect for differences and complexities
• Maturity not to make inappropriate comments
• Awareness that there's lots of different people in the world
• Intelligence to learn

3. PowerPoint work, we continued to do research on the Middle east geography, and modern and ancient religions. We are coming along with our research at a good rate and we almost have enough to start putting together our presentation.
4. Closing prayer- Silent group meditation for 2-3 minutes to reflect upon ourselves

Class Notes 9/10

We worked on our individual IIP's. Our region is the Middle East and we decided to focus on three major religions in that region: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. We evenly distributed the religions so that each of us would research the background of each major religion and then the next class we would correspond them into one powerpoint.  we later found we did it all wrong.

Class Notes 9/8

Our class opener was "How family history has affected you religiously?" People had different answers that included their ancestral line and how that has affected their families current spirituality.

Prayer was done by Mia and it was a prayer for the victims and families affected by 9/11. We also watched a powerpoint by Dr. Wang about the purpose and how to study religion. It also explained the important themes of religion.

We also did a gallery walk where we answered the 5 major questions of Catholicism:

1. What's the human condition?
2. Who is God?
3. How did I get here?
4. Where are we going? (Positive and negative)
5. How do we get there & how should I live my life?
6. Whose considered spiritually perfect?

Some answers to these questions include:

1. Humans have free will, original sin, and are created in the likeness of God.
2. God is the creator, father, powerful, and loving
3. Mom & Dad, Adam & Eve, the stork, family experiences.
4. Positive: heaven, eternal life and happiness with God. Negative: Hell and eternal damnation, life without knowing God
5. The Golden Rule, living as Jesus' disciples, and following the 10 commandments.
6. Jesus, God, and Mary

Class Notes 9/2

We worked on our RAFT's today. We were meant to synthesize what we had learned up to that point, incorporating the introduction of our textbook, Dunne's article, and Eliade's article. After we were finished, if we had finished we could begin working on our IIP's. Our region is the middle east.

Class Notes 8/31

1. Prayer: Student Our Father in Spanish
2. Opening- Question? "Tourist vs. Pilgrim"
- individually brainstormed the differences between tourists and pilgrims
- collaborated our answers and drew pictures of how we each wanted to represent the definition
3. Groups- Drawings of Pilgrims and Tourists
4. Discussion on Dunne Article
- discussed main topics and worked over hard definitions

HW: Circumlectio #1
1. Set Up
2. Intro Vocab
3. 8/25
4. 8/27
5. 8/31
Bring in items for the food drive

Class Notes 8/27

Today, we started class with a discussion about whether religion was created, discovered, revealed, or other? After discussion we realized that religion had aspects that fit into each group. In order to fully understand religion, you first had to realize that there were parts of it that were revealed or discovered by people but that it also has a tangible aspect of it that was created by humans.

We also watched a music video that decided to spend its money on making a difference throughout the world in various countries and it really drove the point of how privileged we were and that any small thing could make a difference. We also discussed the article we read for homework and defined some of the many words that confused us.

delineate: draws the differenece between before and after something.
ontological: argument for God's existence
cosmogony: theory of the universe's evolution
theophany: God revealing and is appearance of God. ex=burning bush
demarcation: point in time marking the beginning of something
soteriology: study of salvation

Lastly, we received an article and worksheet for homework that talks about the "passing over and coming back".

Class Notes 8/25

Discussion about how most of the world lives in poverty and without many of the luxuries we have in our lives. We should be more conscientious about our decisions and how it will effect the less fortunate people of the world.

What is Religion? How does one define Religion? Religion is a relationship, not only between the person and a higher being but with other people and nature. Do a RAFT on the topic of What is Religion