Deck 3: Founders and Manifestations

Question 1

What is the definition of the following term:
-heretic:

Answer 1

One who teaches false and pernicious ideas within an established religion, apparently violating that religion's orthodoxy.

Question 2

What is the definition of the following term:
-incarnation:

Answer 2

Literally, to enter into flesh, thus the idea that the Ultimate Being may become a human being and reveal Himself or Itself to humanity.

Question 3

What is the definition of the following term:
-Nanak (1469-1539):

Answer 3

Founder of the Sikh religion.

Question 4

What is the definition of the following term:
-orthodoxy:

Question 5

What is the definition of the following term:
-prophet:

Question 6

What is the definition of the following term:
-rishis:

Question 7

What is the definition of the following term:
-sage:

Question 8

What is the definition of the following term:
-secondary founders:

Question 9

According to our text, the Ultimate Being is mysterious and unknown, and therefore

A) we must simply give up trying to know or describe the ultimate object of religion.
B) each person should invent and believe in whatever idea of Ultimate Being suits him or her best.
C) we can look into the world's religions for "founders" who have somehow learned of the transmundane reality and passed their knowledge on to others.
D) all of the above

Question 10

Our reading says that the actual historicity of some religious founders is a problem because

A) some religions depend on the actual historicity of their founder to establish the authority of their teaching.
B) some founders of some religions are very difficult, even impossible to verify historically.
C) Actually, this isn't a problem in some religions because historical basis is not so important.
D) all of the above

Question 11

Name four historical religious founders mentioned in text and lecture. For an extra credit point, add two more.

Question 12

According to Islam, Muhammad is considered to be a(n)

A) prophet.
B) angel.
C) god.
D) guru.

Question 13

Which religion considers Nanak to have heard the words of God and revealed those words to humanity?

A) Judaism
B) Islam
C) Sikhism
D) Mormonism

Question 14

According to the author, the idea of a "prophet" is found in religions

A) such as Judaism and Islam.
B) that focus on "God" as Ultimate Being.
C) that insist that some people, such as Moses and Muhammad, have received messages from God.
D) all of the above

Question 15

According to the author, the idea of a "prophet" does not really apply to religions such as Daoism or Buddhism because

A) in these religions there is no God that speaks.
B) Buddhism and Daoism are not really "religions."
C) Buddhism and Daoism are false religions.
D) neither Buddhism nor Daoism has an historical founder.

Question 16

Sages are religious founders who

A) hear messages from God or gods and pass those messages along to the rest of us.
B) rely upon their own great wisdom and insight to reveal to us the nature of Ultimate Being.
C) are only relying on their own wisdom and therefore are not really so great.
D) did not really exist in history, but stories about them are inspiring.

Question 17

According to the author, which of the following is not considered a sage?

A) Buddha
B) Confucius
C) Laozi
D) Muhammad

Question 18

Which of the following historical persons is considered by his respective religion to be an "incarnation of God"?

A) Sai Baba
B) Jesus
C) Swami Narayan
D) all of the above

Question 19

In the Secondary Founders section of the text, which of the following was the focus of the discussion regarding Christianity?

A) the Virgin Mary
B) Martin Luther
C) Pope John Paul II
D) Joel Osteen

Question 20

Discussion of the historical founders of a religion can raise some philosophical challenges to religion because

A) historical claims about the founders can be checked and perhaps found to be false.
B) there is so much evil in the world that it does not make sense to think God cares about giving us messages.
C) we know that people such as Moses and Laozi did not really exist.
D) Actually, it doesn't matter about the history of the founder because all that matters is that we believe in the founder sincerely.

Question 21

Nichiren of thirteenth-century Japan is considered a secondary founder of

A) Taoism.
B) Confucianism.
C) Buddhism.
D) Shinto.

Question 22

Which religion features seers known as "rishis," that is, those who have "heard the gods singing"?

A) Hinduism
B) Buddhism
C) Taoism
D) Islam

Question 23

A "secondary founder" is said to be secondary because

A) a secondary founder is always a direct disciple of the original founder.
B) he or she continues important teaching or reaffirmation of an established religion but does not start a new religion.
C) he or she just is not very important.
D) most followers of the religion do not take him or her seriously.

Question 24

Matching: The letter of the correct definition is given in the space provided.
-Apostle

A) The appearance of the Ultimate Being "in flesh" especially as a person.
B) A person "sent" by the founder of a religion, particularly the Christian followers of Jesus.
C) A person who continues or reforms a subsect of a religion but does not start a new religion.
D) A person who reveals the Sacred to people through his or her own wisdom and insight.
E) A person who speaks for God, receiving a message and passing it along to the people.

Question 25

Matching: The letter of the correct definition is given in the space provided.
-Incarnation

A) The appearance of the Ultimate Being "in flesh" especially as a person.
B) A person "sent" by the founder of a religion, particularly the Christian followers of Jesus.
C) A person who continues or reforms a subsect of a religion but does not start a new religion.
D) A person who reveals the Sacred to people through his or her own wisdom and insight.
E) A person who speaks for God, receiving a message and passing it along to the people.

Question 26

Matching: The letter of the correct definition is given in the space provided.
-Prophet

A) The appearance of the Ultimate Being "in flesh" especially as a person.
B) A person "sent" by the founder of a religion, particularly the Christian followers of Jesus.
C) A person who continues or reforms a subsect of a religion but does not start a new religion.
D) A person who reveals the Sacred to people through his or her own wisdom and insight.
E) A person who speaks for God, receiving a message and passing it along to the people.

Question 27

Matching: The letter of the correct definition is given in the space provided.
-The appearance of the Ultimate Being "in flesh" especially as a person.
B) A person "sent" by the founder of a religion, particularly the Christian followers of Jesus.
C) A person who continues or reforms a subsect of a religion but does not start a new religion.
D) A person who reveals the Sacred to people through his or her own wisdom and insight.
E) A person who speaks for God, receiving a message and passing it along to the people.

Question 28

Matching: The letter of the correct definition is given in the space provided.
-Secondary Founder

A) The appearance of the Ultimate Being "in flesh" especially as a person.
B) A person "sent" by the founder of a religion, particularly the Christian followers of Jesus.
C) A person who continues or reforms a subsect of a religion but does not start a new religion.
D) A person who reveals the Sacred to people through his or her own wisdom and insight.
E) A person who speaks for God, receiving a message and passing it along to the people.

Question 29

In speaking of "historical founders," we are meant to understand that there is no doubt that these famous people really did exist.

Question 30

According to the text, religions often focus on important founders because the Ultimate Being is so far beyond us, and thus most of us have to rely on others more holy or wiser than we are to tell us about this higher reality.

Question 31

All religions have famous founders they point back to in history.

Question 32

What historians say about the origins of a religion may not always be what the religions themselves say about their own origins.

Question 33

Nature itself can be thought to have direct manifestations of deity.

Question 34

Because of its emphasis on the unique prophetic role of Muhammad, Islam cannot be said to have any secondary founders.

Question 35

In some Native religions, ancient mythic ancestors could be considered "founders."

Question 36

If a religion does not have a clearly historical story for its origins, it cannot be taken seriously as a religion.

Question 37

According to our text, Martin Luther founded the new religion named after him, Lutheranism.

Question 38

The importance of the founder is manifested in ways that will become evident in later chapters of the text.

Question 39

Joseph Smith might be considered the founder of a religion or a "secondary founder." Describe the difference in these two concepts and explain how it relates to the question about the relationship between Mormonism and orthodox Christianity.

Question 40

Using our text, explain the difference between a prophet and a sage. Using examples (e.g., Muhammad and the Buddha), explain why the terms fit one of the religious founders and not the other.

Question 41

It was suggested in class that Jesus is seen by Muslims as a "prophet" but by Christians as an "incarnation." Explain what this means as a difference between Islam and Christianity and suggest what difference it makes in how the two religions speak of God.

Question 42

Look up information about the life of Baha'u'llah, Satya Sai Baba, or even L. Ron Hubbard and discuss whether they are taken to be a prophet, a sage, or an incarnation of deity as they are understood by their own followers. Note that this is not a question about whether you agree with what any of these founders taught.

Question 43

Taking an example of an important prophet and an important sage, explain both concepts and how the persons reveal "truth" about Ultimate Being. Then consider whether you think it makes more sense to trust the words of a sage's wisdom or of a divine revelation through a prophet. Critique your own opinion.