RLG100Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Israelites
Document Summary
The purpose of human activity is to engage with god. Missionary traditions: based on belief, propagated themselves through religion (buddhism, islam, Ethnic traditions: affiliation with tradition is passed down through heritage/ancestry (usually) Judaism emerges a long time ago, about 4500 years ago in babylonian times. Emerges to define itself as distinct from the religious culture of its environment. Many religions at that time were pantheistic (world and nature is the divine, e. g. sun god, moon god) and polytheistic (believed in multiple deities) Deities act with the same emotions as humans, like jealousy etc. Judaism constructs an image of god that is not anthropomorphized, or is nature. God is a dignified, moral, divine being, not involved in pettiness. Israelites and others are committed to one deity while others exist.
