RELIGST 3F03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Positivism, Vedas, Comparative Religion
4 Oct 2016
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Document Summary
Remembers for instituting the new study of comparative religion. Takes a whole nuanced culture into a western box e. g. in christianity there is one god, one authoritative book; so when looking at another group one may look for a group"s equivalent to god, book, even religious leader. Was interested in ancient scriptures of the sub-continent. Believes both religion and language are intimately related in the human mind. Undertook a big project to publish the sacred books of the east: multi-volume of material was translated; not completed until after his death. First time these text available to english speakers: does not include the bible, jewish scriptures. Wanted to include them, but was left out in the end. Primary focus was india - where did religion come from: become closer to the beginning when you read the vedas (his theory) Present a worldview with three tier universe. Explain how to perform sacrifices to bring prosperity to oneself or community.
