Hi all! Our school is taking a winter break, and since we won't be able to communicate frequently, our blog will not be posting an article every day. However, we still plan to post several articles so check our blog occasionally if you can. We'll be writing about Islamophobia and Baha'i next, and also hope to take some interviews.
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Happy Holidays from Religion Rethought
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Religious Holidays
by Nate
If religion has not affected you directly, by going to church or temple or some other form of participation, it has probably affected you indirectly, through religious holidays such as Christmas and Hanukkah.
In American society, Christmas is widely celebrated with things like Santa Claus, colorful lights, and gift exchange, but this is not how Christmas started. Christmas Day is celebrated on December 25th, which to Christians means something more – the birthday of Jesus. It is written in the Bible that Jesus was born in an animal manger in a stable. You can read more about this in our article about Christianity: http://religionrethought.blogspot.com/2010/11/christianity-brief-summary.html
Have you ever noticed Jewish kids getting presents for eight straight days during Hanukkah and wondered why this is? A holy Jewish temple in Jerusalem was once captured by Syrian-Greek soldiers and dedicated to the worship of Zeus. It took the Jews about a year to reclaim their temple, and by that time it had been horribly defiled by the sacrifice of pigs and the worship of what they considered to be false gods. To purify the temple, they decided they must burn ritual oil in the temple for eight days. Sadly they only had enough oil for one day, but this one day’s worth of oil miraculously lasted for all eight days.
Now that you know the history behind Christmas and Hanukkah, maybe this time of year won’t be confusing for you anymore. Happy Holidays!
Works Cited
Fairchild, Mary. "The Christmas Story - This Bible Story Summary Tells the Christmas Story of the Birth of Jesus." Christianity - About Christianity and Living the Christian Life. Web. 11 Dec. 2010 http://christianity.about.com/od/biblestorysummaries/p/christmasstory.htm
"Judaism - ReligionFacts." Religion, World Religions, Comparative Religion - Just the Facts on the World's Religions. Web. 10 Dec. 2010. http://www.religionfacts.com/judaism/index.htm
"The Land of Israel." Judaism 101. Web. 13 Dec. 2010. http://www.jewfaq.org/israel.htm#Promised
Pelaia, Ariela. "Hanukkah - What Is Hanukkah." About Judaism. Web. 11 Dec. 2010. http://judaism.about.com/od/holidays/a/hanukkah.htm
If religion has not affected you directly, by going to church or temple or some other form of participation, it has probably affected you indirectly, through religious holidays such as Christmas and Hanukkah.
In American society, Christmas is widely celebrated with things like Santa Claus, colorful lights, and gift exchange, but this is not how Christmas started. Christmas Day is celebrated on December 25th, which to Christians means something more – the birthday of Jesus. It is written in the Bible that Jesus was born in an animal manger in a stable. You can read more about this in our article about Christianity: http://religionrethought.blogspot.com/2010/11/christianity-brief-summary.html
Have you ever noticed Jewish kids getting presents for eight straight days during Hanukkah and wondered why this is? A holy Jewish temple in Jerusalem was once captured by Syrian-Greek soldiers and dedicated to the worship of Zeus. It took the Jews about a year to reclaim their temple, and by that time it had been horribly defiled by the sacrifice of pigs and the worship of what they considered to be false gods. To purify the temple, they decided they must burn ritual oil in the temple for eight days. Sadly they only had enough oil for one day, but this one day’s worth of oil miraculously lasted for all eight days.
Now that you know the history behind Christmas and Hanukkah, maybe this time of year won’t be confusing for you anymore. Happy Holidays!
Works Cited
Fairchild, Mary. "The Christmas Story - This Bible Story Summary Tells the Christmas Story of the Birth of Jesus." Christianity - About Christianity and Living the Christian Life. Web. 11 Dec. 2010 http://christianity.about.com/od/biblestorysummaries/p/christmasstory.htm
"Judaism - ReligionFacts." Religion, World Religions, Comparative Religion - Just the Facts on the World's Religions. Web. 10 Dec. 2010. http://www.religionfacts.com/judaism/index.htm
"The Land of Israel." Judaism 101. Web. 13 Dec. 2010. http://www.jewfaq.org/israel.htm#Promised
Pelaia, Ariela. "Hanukkah - What Is Hanukkah." About Judaism. Web. 11 Dec. 2010. http://judaism.about.com/od/holidays/a/hanukkah.htm
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Buddhist Church
by Gloria
I recently visited my friend’s Buddhist church in Seattle. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and I was a little nervous about going. I went with Stella; this was the first time either of us had visited a Buddhist church.
When we got to the church, my friend’s mom, who is a Dharma school teacher, showed us around. I was surprised – I had been imagining a gilded temple with monks in robes everywhere, like the ones you see in movies, but the layout was surprisingly similar to some Christian churches that I’d been in before—bright classrooms filled with cheerful kids of many ages, walls plastered with colorful crayon drawings done by the Dharma school students. One of the major differences was the room where the service took place. There were still rows of benches with an aisle down the middle, but the front of the room was slightly more elevated than the rest and it had a stand with gold decorations surrounding a statue of the Buddha. There was also a small stand at the foot of the platform for burning incense. The smell was rich and pleasant and lingered in the air of the whole church.
I had a great time, and I also learned a few things. The church was of a branch of Buddhism called Jodo-Shinshu Buddhism. Jo means “pure”, do means “realm”, shin means “true”, and shu means “teaching”. The branch is mostly Japanese. When the service began, we chanted sutras from the prayer book. A gong was sounded whenever the prayer book dictated. The sound of the whole room chanting in unison created an atmosphere that was unique and very spiritual.
I recently visited my friend’s Buddhist church in Seattle. I wasn’t sure what to expect, and I was a little nervous about going. I went with Stella; this was the first time either of us had visited a Buddhist church.
When we got to the church, my friend’s mom, who is a Dharma school teacher, showed us around. I was surprised – I had been imagining a gilded temple with monks in robes everywhere, like the ones you see in movies, but the layout was surprisingly similar to some Christian churches that I’d been in before—bright classrooms filled with cheerful kids of many ages, walls plastered with colorful crayon drawings done by the Dharma school students. One of the major differences was the room where the service took place. There were still rows of benches with an aisle down the middle, but the front of the room was slightly more elevated than the rest and it had a stand with gold decorations surrounding a statue of the Buddha. There was also a small stand at the foot of the platform for burning incense. The smell was rich and pleasant and lingered in the air of the whole church.
I had a great time, and I also learned a few things. The church was of a branch of Buddhism called Jodo-Shinshu Buddhism. Jo means “pure”, do means “realm”, shin means “true”, and shu means “teaching”. The branch is mostly Japanese. When the service began, we chanted sutras from the prayer book. A gong was sounded whenever the prayer book dictated. The sound of the whole room chanting in unison created an atmosphere that was unique and very spiritual.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Seattle Buddhist Church
by Stella
I am always excited when I visit a church or temple, because it's kind of like a whole other world. The Buddhist temple that Gloria and I visited on Sunday was very different from other churches or temples. This is how I remember our visit:
As we walk in, a lady hands us books filled with songs and chants. We sit down and she explains some of the things that are going on. There are people burning incense at the front of the temple, and the scent wafts through the whole building. The lady explains to us that it's meant to soothe and relax you. I expected everyone to be Asian, but there are a surprising number of white people around. Everyone wears a sort of a cloth necklace, to symbolize the Buddha's robes. Monks, the dedicated followers of Buddhism, wear full robes. A bracelet which you put around your hands when they are in prayer position symbolizes being one with the Buddha.
As service goes on, I start to feel the relaxed atmosphere of the temple. Following the introductory song and prayer, the priest has a talk prepared about different symbols of Buddhism. He goes on to talk about how not all Buddhists celebrate the same holidays, and why this is a negative thing. Afterward, all of the kids are sent to Dharma school (like Sunday school) so we follow along. This is even more laid back, with kids talking about pop music and dancing.
Overall, going to a Buddhist temple was a very interesting and exciting experience. I learned a lot about Buddhism and it's similarities and differences to other eastern religions.
I am always excited when I visit a church or temple, because it's kind of like a whole other world. The Buddhist temple that Gloria and I visited on Sunday was very different from other churches or temples. This is how I remember our visit:
As we walk in, a lady hands us books filled with songs and chants. We sit down and she explains some of the things that are going on. There are people burning incense at the front of the temple, and the scent wafts through the whole building. The lady explains to us that it's meant to soothe and relax you. I expected everyone to be Asian, but there are a surprising number of white people around. Everyone wears a sort of a cloth necklace, to symbolize the Buddha's robes. Monks, the dedicated followers of Buddhism, wear full robes. A bracelet which you put around your hands when they are in prayer position symbolizes being one with the Buddha.
As service goes on, I start to feel the relaxed atmosphere of the temple. Following the introductory song and prayer, the priest has a talk prepared about different symbols of Buddhism. He goes on to talk about how not all Buddhists celebrate the same holidays, and why this is a negative thing. Afterward, all of the kids are sent to Dharma school (like Sunday school) so we follow along. This is even more laid back, with kids talking about pop music and dancing.
Overall, going to a Buddhist temple was a very interesting and exciting experience. I learned a lot about Buddhism and it's similarities and differences to other eastern religions.
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