SACreligiousEd

The Enlightenment transformed the way people thought about various moral issues. As traditional forms of thought were challenged and a human rights culture emerged, interpretation of previously acceptable practices like war and capital punishment changed dramatically. Pre-Enlightenment capital punishment is widely accepted as a legitimate means of dealing with serious crimes. It is seen as a form of self-defence, a means of society protecting itself against dangerous individuals. After the Enlightenment, and more specifically the Reformation, there is a movement towards a much more forgiving attitude in Christianity. Jesus is gracious and forgiving towards the sinner (condemn the sin, forgive the sinner). Every human life has dignity, no matter what they do. Society has no right to take that life from them. Attitudes to war have seen a similar transformation, with the religious justification, in the form the Just War Theory of Thomas Aquinas and Francisco Suarez, giving way to t...

All religious traditions have specific moral visions. They outline what constitutes the good life, and how to live our lives responsibly and ethically. Both Judaism and Islam are monotheistic faiths – committed to belief in one God. They believe that God, through the process of divine revelation had given instructions on how to live our lives. Past Exam Question Outline the principles of the ethical systems of two non-Christian religious traditions In Judaism morality is part of a person’s relationship with God. The God that is portrayed in the Hebrew Scriptures is a God who seeks repentance and desires justice. The God of Justice is a powerful theme in scripture: personal and social injustices are condemned as sinful, in the psalms we hear a cry for justice in the community, and God is concerned for the powerless – suggesting that the community must take care of the poor. The Torah (which comprises the first five books of the Bible) tells of God’s actions for the people and ...

Early civilisations, like the Hebrews, Greeks and Romans, played a major role in setting the agenda for Western civilization, and their ideas have an enduring influence on the Western mind-set. Each civilisation had clear ethical concerns, shaped by their experience of the world Past Exam Question The Hebrews, The Greeks, The Romans : Outline how a moral issue caused concern for two of the above ancient civilisations. By exploring the moral concerns of these ancient societies it becomes apparent that morality is a human phenomenon common to every age and generation. The above groups have had an enduring influence on western civilisation and their moral concerns, though shaped by the context of their time, have formed the basis of our contemporary sense of morality. With regard to the Hebrews it’s clear that their chief moral concerns are informed by their experiences of persecution throughout the ages. Freedom and justice are fundamental rights for the Hebrews, precisely...

In the medieval world communal values were shaped, almost exclusively, by institutional religion. In the case of mainland Europe Christianity cast a particularly long shadow – dictating cultural and behaviour norms, as well as codes of ethics and moral theories.  The Enlightenment heralded the emergence of a secular worldview – and in doing so, severed links between values and religious belief. Beginning in the 16th century we can identify a number of cultural changes that led to the development of non-religious communal values. Past Exam Question The development of non-religious communal values can be traced back to moments such as the rise of humanism, existentialism etc. Profile how any two such moments contributed to the development of non-religious communal values Renaissance The Renaissance is a time of innovation in the arts and human sciences. It represented a 'rebirth’ after the long slumber of the dark ages. The scientific discoveries of Co...

Past Exam Question The existence of God is something about which I cannot be certain. Outline what you think Anselm and Aquinas would each say in response to the above statement. Both Anselm and Aquinas believed it was possible to prove God’s existence through the application of reason and logic. St Anselm was an 11th century Christian theologian who believed he could prove God’s existence by looking very carefully at the idea of God. St Thomas Aquinas was a 13th century C hristian philosopher and we encounter his ideas in other areas of the course. Ontological argument Anselm begins by asking; what do we mean by God? For Anselm the term ‘God’ refers to that than w hich nothing greater can be conceived – this essentially means that God is the most perfect being t hat can be imagined. Secondly, Anselm affirms that existence in reality is greater than existence in understanding. Things that exist in the imagination only are lesser. Therefore, perfectio...

Monotheism occupies a peculiar place in the global faith landscape. Among the endless variety of religious devotions and practices found throughout the world, only three are monotheistic: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. However, these three religions account for roughly 55% of the world’s population, and therefore the concept of devotion to a single divine figure looms large in the popular imagination.  Prior to the emergence of monotheism, polytheism was the norm. Most ancient societies believed in spiritual beings, greater than humankind, who controlled the elements. Sometimes these conceptions of God were heavily personified as in Ancient Egypt and Babylonia, but they were often abstract concepts that resisted the temptation to personify divinity. Past Exam Question Profile one example of how a monotheistic understanding of God developed in a context where polytheism was widespread. Monotheism emerged in the ancient near-East, over 4,000 years ago....

There is an unprecedented spiritual hunger in our times. The increasingly irrelevance of religion in contemporary culture may be perceived as evidence of a lack of interest in spirituality. However, it could be argued that the disappearance of religious institutions and the erosion of a shared religious identity has created a spiritual hunger in modern Ireland. Past Exam Question In society today an interest in spirituality can be seen in different ways. Assess the evidence for this statement making reference to two ways that an interest in spirituality can be seen in the lives of people today. Eastern spirtuality In the absence of traditional forms of worship an increased interest in Eastern spiritual practices is evident. This may be seen as a mystical approach, desiring to interpret mystery outside of organized religion and restrictive moral codes. One can clearly see why Buddhism (more akin to a philosophy than an institutional religion) would seem more appealing in our inc...

Religious behaviour is founded upon belief in a power greater than ourselves and manifests itself in codes of moral conduct and rituals that offer praise or worship to this higher power. Archaeological studies of ancient civilisations have uncovered behaviours and practices which can be considered religious in nature. Examples of burial rites, sacrifices and rituals that mark times of transition point to a sense of spirituality in pre-historic societies. Past Exam Question Since ancient times people have used rites to mark key events in life - rite of burial, rite of sacrifice, rite of passage : Explain how evidence of religious belief can be seen in one of the above rites associated with people who lived in ancient times. Through archaeology and historical research we find much that suggest religious behaviour on the part of ancient people. ‘Religious’ means they attached meaning to key moments in their lives, both as individuals and as a community. Events marked thr...

Myths are symbolic stories that act as a means of interpreting mystery. They often identify questions of meaning and provide commentary on the goal and purpose of life, the existence of good and evil and the experience of suffering.  It is clear from exploring myths of ancient societies that people in every age and civilisation have asked questions of this nature Past Exam Question Compare the way in which questions about the meaning of life are addressed in two myths from ancient times that you have studied. Prometheus and Pandora’s Box These are two interconnected myths from ancient Greece, they explore the following questions about the purpose of life and the experience of suffering: Where do we come from? What is our purpose? Knowledge of our origins influences how we view the meaning of life. In this myth the gods are rsponsible for the creation of humans. We were designed and fashioned by Prometheus in the image of the Olympians. This has a ne...

From the earliest recorded civilisations, the search for meaning has found expression in the language of symbol and myth. Symbols can serve as a means of representing abstract concepts and interpreting mystery. They emerge as a response to life’s great questions, particularly when those questions bring us face to face with the unexplainable (e.g. the existence of good and evil, and the experience of suffering).  For this reason, symbolic language is used by those seeking to express their fears, desires and hopes about suffering and immortality. The symbol of ascent is used to mark a breakthrough to another level of existence. Death is viewed as transcending the human state and passing onto the beyond. Typically the journey to a ‘higher sphere’ is understood as an upward journey. This is seen in various mythologies, for example, in Indian myth Yama, the first person to die, leads others through mountain passes. In Egypt, Ra uses a ladder to climb from earth to heaven. Austr...

Though the emergence of philosophy in ancient Greece is undoubtedly a ‘key moment’, when you’re asked about key moments in the development of philosophy you’re expected to answer on; the emergence of a Christian philosophy, the Age of Enlightenment, and Existentialism. Past Exam Question 1.2 Identify two key moments in the development of philosophy and outline the way that philosophical thinking changed at each of these moments. Christian philosophy The fusion of Greek philosophy and Christian theology occurs after the Romanisation of Christianity in the 4th and 5th centuries. The medieval worldview is essentially a synthesis of these two schools of thought. In this era there are two sources of knowledge – often described as the two great books; (i) the book of God’s word: The Bible, and (ii) the book of God’s work: the created universe. Both scripture and the world around us can provide us with knowledge of God’s intention for us – it is necessary to study bo...

Regarded by many as the greatest philosopher that ever lived, Aristotle wrote on a diverse range of subjects. For some his contribution to the natural sciences is more significant than his philosophical output. He is seen as having laid the foundations of the biological sciences, and his contribution was not superseded for many centuries. Form and matter Aristotle took Plato's idea of the two worlds and reframed the concepts of 'ideas and senses' in the context of 'form and matter'. In contrast to Plato, Aristotle did not see one as more important than the other. Form and matter are interdependent and complimentary; we can't understand one without the other. 'Form' is the category which things are classified as, e.g. human, tree, dog, table, etc. 'Matter' is what makes something unique or individual For Aristotle, all the objects around us are combinations of matter and form. Without 'form' matter is unintelligible; unless m...

‘ Earthly knowledge is but shadow ’. Plato distrusted the reliability of the senses. He believed the world we are exposed to on a daily basis is one of falsehood and illusion. This discovery is the result of Plato going beyond the scope of Socrates’ moral philosophy, by exploring the nature of reality itself. Past Exam Question Outline one of Plato’s philosophical ideas about the nature of reality. Plato questioned the nature and substance of the cosmos, and explored how the immutable and eternal could exist in a seemingly changing world. He believed that the universe is ordered and accessible to human reason, but he also believes that our earthly knowledge is only a shadow of true knowledge. He explains this in his theory of the two worlds. The two worlds The world of ideas – this is the world of unchanging ideal forms – a reality that humans can only access through their ability to reason. Plato states that this realm of ideas is ‘reality’, and that the w...

Socrates is often referred to as one of the founding fathers of Western philosophy, and yet he wrote nothing, established no school and held no particular theories of his own. What he did do, however, was persistently ask the questions that interested him and in doing so evolved a new way of thinking, and of examining what we think. This is called the Socratic Method . Past Exam Question ‘ The unexamined life is not worth living .’ Based on your knowledge of Socrates’ thinking, outline two points that he would make about the purpose of life for people today. The purpose of life Socrates believed that understanding what we are is the first task of philosophy – ‘ Know thyself ’. His central concern is an examination of life and a ruthless questioning of people’s most cherished beliefs. In his defence at his trial Socrates chose death rather than face a life of ignorance – ‘The unexamined life is not worth living’. What is involved in this examination of life? For Socr...

' In the confident belief in the power of the human mind to unlock the secrets of the universe, the ancient Greek culture of the sixth century BCE can truly be said to be the birthplace of European civilisation .' Eoin Cassidy, The Search for Meaning and Values The Sophists are significant figures at this time of cultural change, but it’s difficult to discuss them without mentioning their frequent foe Socrates. The Sophists were a band of travelling philosophers, experts in statesmanship and rhetoric, who educated the children of the wealthy in ancient Greece. Their central belief, as Protagoras eloquently put it, that ‘ man is the measure of all things ’ was in direct conflict with Socrates ruthless pursuit of truth.  The Sophists were content to create truths through the practice of rhetoric – the art of persuasion. They believed if their opinions proved convincing, this was as good as having discovered truth – because it gave them power. Unlike Socrates, they vi...

Human beings are motivated by an innate sense of wonder. What is unique to the human species is the search for wisdom – through the ages we see questions of meaning reshaped by successive generations. The birth of philosophy occurred in ancient Greece in the 6th century BC. It started the movement away from a mythic culture to one founded on reason and logic. Philosophy strives to make clear through rational thought the nature of the universe and the nature of meaning and existence. It consists of five main branches; anthropology, epistemology, ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Each asks distinct questions about the human person and our relationship to the world around us.  Anthropology studies the human nature and can be seen as the root of practices such as psychology and sociology.  Epistemology is the study of knowledge, which we encounter when looking at age of enlightenment thinkers such as Descartes.  Ethics is the study of moral behaviour, th...

Each person’s search takes place in the context of their culture. Modernity has seen the emergence of a number of significant cultural developments – secularisation, individualism, technological worldview, instrumental rationality and liberalism. Each of these may prove to be obstacles for the individual in their search for meaning. Modern society, defined by an individualist culture, has seen a loss of anchor points – both horizontal (connection to each other in the form of community) and vertical (connection to the divine/religion as a source of meaning). Indifference to ‘ the search ’ is evident in several contemporary phenomena. Secularisation is the result of increasing challenges to tradition and authority and the subsequent erosion of meaning. Discarding the values of the past requires us to establish new ones. This can prove difficult in a pluralist society, where an endless conflict of values leads to confusion. This has the potential to contribute to the feeling of pess...