Paul of Tarsus

history
Originally Saul
Jewish, instructed in tradition of the Pharisees.
Very thorough knowledge of old testament.
Opponent of Christianity. Persecuted Christians
Acts 9:1-19- On way to Damascus to persecute the Christians Christ appeared
Revelation. Saw this as his calling
A specific call to evangelise the gentile world
He became a Christian
Devoted life to spreading the Christian faith
Preached to both Jews and gentiles
Had great deal of authority in the early church
Recognised apostle
Journeys
Missionary journeys
Three journeys are documented.
First: through Syria, island of Cyprus, south to Galatia
Second: revisited Galatia, west to Achaia and Macedonia. Great city of Ephesus
in Asia minor, and Corinth and Athens in Greece.
Third: again Galatia. More extensive travel through Asia Minor and Greece.
Taken to Rome as prisoner.
Many bibles have maps of pauls missionary journeys.
Contribution
Established local churches got elders to run them. (acts 14:23)
Supported them by writing letters, further visits, and sending others (eg timothy)
Leading role in confirming that Christianity was a separate religion from
Judaism.
Maintained that the laws of old testament were fulfilled by Jesus
Concern for racial division between Jews and gentiles (Gal 3:28)
Letters take up quarter of new testament
Gave authoritative statements about Christian belief and conduct
Peter write our dear brother Paul who writes with the wisdom that god gave
him
Peter described his writings as scriptures.
helped consolidate Christian beliefs
took teachings of jesus explained them applied them to new situations
in the church.
Provided coherent set of beliefs and practices.
Impact
Influence of expression of Christianity today.
Evangelic churches regard Pauls letters as authoritative.
Conservative scholars claim there are no differences between Jesus and Pauls
teachings
In shaping Christianity, his writings have been central to the division
between catholic and protestant churches.

Even amongst the protestants who accept Pauls writings as scriptures, there
is disagreement on how some of the writings should be interpreted, based on
topics like babtism, church government, salvation, spiritual gifts, and the role
of women.
Many of Pails passages are frequently read at weddings, funerals and other
important occasions.

Asoka
history
3rd generation king mauryan empire
gfather Chandragupta. First to unify India. 1st king. Ruthless. Spread
boundaries.
Father Bindusara. Established rein like father. Army increased.
Asoka seventh in lie for thrown.
Can be described as Machiavellian villain
Oddly- other siblings went missing coming up to crowning.
Ruthless, stop at nothing
Battle of Kalinga- based on pretext of the Ganges river
Witnessed devastation first hand, on the front line.
GUILTY CONSCIENCE
Contribution
Compassion, truth, kindness, honesty
Instituted egalitarian state Equality for all between classes (king/ lay/ servant)
Gave back peoples land & Released hostages
Education/ hospitals/ universities/ Monasteries
Missionaries to Japan, Sri Lanka, Persia
Standardised Tripitaka
Wrote 33 Edicts- Buddhist guidelines in scripted where pilgrims would see
and recognise. (birth place of Buddha)
Showed Mercy on those in prison, released them 1 day a year
Planted forests
Set up irrigation systems for trade and agriculture.
impact
Edicts contained words of support.
Specifically placed pillars where the religious pilgrims gathered (birth place of
buddha)
Encouraged people to live in peace through these edicts.
Established couscil of the sangha at pataliputra- to determine real nature
of dharma practices.
He showed great ecological awareness of the social and physical world of his
time and showed an observance of the ethical precepts of Buddhism.
He formalised principles and guidelines which dictate the daily life and
worship of adherents, still followed today.
Lived his beliefs and acted upon the.
His missionary work resulted in the spread of Buddhism

Under asokas influence, Buddhism spread to the greek empire (most

influential and powerful empire in Europe at the time)

Stupa: dome shaped building, often used to protect important Buddhist relics.
Tripitaka: scriptures of Buddhism, three baskets, three volumes: 1- Teachings of
Buddha; 2- Explanation of teachings; 3- Rules of conduct for monks and nuns
Asoka: no regrets
Dharma: teachings of Buddha
3 jewels: dharma, Sangha, Buddha
Dharmavijaya: the true way, sometimes interpreted as righteousness.
Baptism
Description.
The purpose and role of baptism within Christianity are described very differently
between the variants of Christianity.
Two main variants within Protestantism:
Those who practice Adult baptism or believers baptism (water baptism)
Those who practice infant baptism, or paedobaptism.
Believers baptism usually fully immerse the believer in water, whereas
Paedobaptists generally sprinkle or pour the water.
Believers Baptism (adult baptism)
(Baptists, churches of Christ, Pentecostals)

Going under waterr represents dying of self and the old life (death and burial)
Coming up out of water symbolises new life, experienced through becoming a
Christian.
Whole process symbolises identification with the death, burial and
resurrection of Jesus.
Apostle Paul (gal 3:27) speaks of baptised Christians as having clothed
themselves with Christ.
New Christian fully connected to Christ.
Adult Baptists point out that in the new testament, those being baptised had to
demonstrate they had become Christians by exercising belief in Christ and
repenting of their sin,
The person is becoming a Christian and is prepared to acknowledge this
publicly.
Adult Baptists frequently take place in church buildings if they are
equipped for the purpose.
Often, particularly among Pentecostal groups, they take place in swimming
pools, rivers or other suitable outdoor places.

Paedobaptism
(Presbyterians, Anglicans)
Children of believing parents are baptised
Symbolic sign of childs entry into the covenant community (like Jewish
rite of circumcision)

Emphasises gods grace to the child, believing that the child will grow up in the
faith.
Paeobaptists generally practice another rite, confirmation.
Mediating between believers baptisms belief that the believe should have a
choice, this second right expresses the believers personal commitment to
Christ when they have reached an age of understanding.

Catholics
Unlike many protestants, describe baptism as a sacrament.
Child is seen to be reborn spiritually, freed from the power of sin, and joined
to the church.
Holy spirit works through the sacrament
Pouring of water and saying I baptise you in the name of the Father, Son
and Holy Spirit is both symbol and actual reality for Catholics.
The water, for protestants, is a symbol of the grave in which the old life is
buried.
For Catholics, the washing away of sins brings about the new Christian
life for Catholics.
A prayer is prayed that god will sent the power of the holy spirit through
the water.
The sign of the cross marks with the imprint of Christ the one who is going to
belong to him
Baptism is necessary for salvation
Makes person a member of the church.
Other symbols
Sacred chrism (consecrated perfumed oil) symbolises the gift of the holy
spirit symbolises as prophet, priest and king.
White garment- symbolised that baptised person has put on Christ (gal
3:27 Paul clothed themselves in Christ). This trend is also protestant
tradition.
Lit candle- signifies that baptised child has been enlightened by Christ, who
is the light of the world.

Christians believe that the holy spirit works through baptism and seals the
Christian with the indelible spiritual mark of his belonging to Christ (catholic
catechism).
This contrasts with the Protestant view that the Holy Spirit bring about
conversion and that baptism is an outward sign of that change.

Expresses the beliefs of baptism

Central belief the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus: having been
buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith.
Members of the baptised community

believers (adult) baptism

Reflects Conversion, repentance, and belief
Result of genuine conversion. Obeying Christ by being baptised is ofton the
first major step in the life of obedience.
Baptism is a public confession, that person has been saved by fhrist
Indicated that the person is going to serve Christ for the rest of their life
It is the genuineness of the spiritual experience, rather than the ritual itself that
matters the most.
Paedobaptism
Covenantal theology
Gods promises to believers extend to their children
Godparents often promise to support the parents in bringing up the child to
believe in Christ.
If child grows to be a believer, baptism is followed by the rite of
confirmation at age of understanding.
Catholicism
Authority and tradition of church
Only the ordained priest may perform the rite of baptism.
Expresses sacramental belief that the grace of god is impated through the
actual rituel itself.
Thus making the person both a member of the church and an adopted
son/daughter of God.
Baptism is one of three process of initiation, followed by confirmation and
Eucarist.

Significance of Baptism for the individual and the community

Believers (adult) Baptism (Baptists, churches of Christ, Pentecostals)

Statement tat he/she is now a Christian

Shows person has repented in the past, believes in Christ, and is now
identifying with Christ through corresponding death, burial, and resurrection.
Since old life has been crucified, there is no going back
Motivation to live the holy spirit and an obedient life, and to become more like
Christ.
Adult Baptists see baptism as uniting believers together as a baptised
community.
All been baptised into Christ, baptised into the name of Christ, and baptised
into the body of Christ, the church.

Paedobaptists
Combined role of baptism and confirmation are similar to that of adult
baptism. Therefore, godparents (who are not present in believers (adult)
baptism) play a significant role in supporting the child.
Catholics
Belief: it is baptism that ultimately makes a person a member of the church.
Godparents play significant role
The catholic church sees all baptised Catholics as members of the church.
Belief that unbaptised babies do not enter heaven, but remain in an
intermediate state traditionally called limbo. this teaching was discarded in
2007.
Protestants have never believed into the existence of limbo.

Wesak

Celebration of the life, birth, enlightenment, and death, of the Buddhist

figurehead, Siddhartha Gautama.
Wesak is similar to the western concept of New Year.
Has been celebrated over 2500 years, seemingly following buddhas death.
Commemoration of the Buddha and the Dharma.
First full moon in may.
Made public holiday in may 1950.
Adherents reflect and recommit to their practices.
meditations, reading and chants are practiced for sticking to eight fold path.
Special effort is made to adhere to the 8 precepts.
Time is significant as it is said to coincide with the birth of Buddha on
Lumbini, the attainment of enlightenment under the Budhi tree, as well as
Buddhas death, or release from Samsara.
Celebrated differently throughout world, however there are common elements.
Laypeople congregate at local monastry early in the morning
Usually wear a simple white shirt to separate themselves from desires and stay
at middle way
Usually give offerings to the Buddha and Sangha that are placed infront of
statues of Buddha.
These offerings include flowers and lanterns, in remembrance of Annica that
just as the beautiful flowers would wither and the candle would soon burn out,
so to will our lives in the passing of time. Nothing exists in the same state for
more than a moment and nothing is permanent.
Raise awareness that Dukkha is among the community.

Individuals bring food in special effort to bring happiness to the unfortunate

(aged/homeless/poor). Money is donated to the monasteries.

circumambulating around the raising Buddhist flag created good kharma in

order to create chi. Red, yellow, orange, blue and white stripes.
Water is poured over the statue of baby Buddha n order to commemorate his
birth when spirits made heavenly offerings to him.
Pouring water over shoulder is symbolic of purifying the mind from greed,
hatred and ignorance, sticking to middle way.

Nuns, monks and Zen masters give reading from Buddhist texts (Tripitaka) to
ensure the teaching of Buddha is relevant.
Day to day scenarios are given to assist in the interpretation of the teachings
Eg. one injured skier may accept an accident gracefully, mature enough to
realise that when he or she choose to take up skiing that potential injury was
part of the package the other less mature individual could well be sent into a
frenzy of anger at the injustice of their accident. This person would suffer a
psychological hell of their own making
With Buddhism spread from India, it was assimilated into a cariety of different
cultures.
Festivals therefore vary throughout the world.
In china, traditional dancing dragons are incorporated into Wesak day
celebrations.
Nepalese government made it a public holiday in 1950, and called on other
Buddhist countries to do the same.
Most important day in the Theravada Buddhist countries of south east Asia.
In Sri Lanka all slaughterhouses are liquor stores are to be closed for two day
to avoid breaking the 1st and 5th precept (refrain from killing, refrain from
taking intoxicating substances).
Opportunity for individuals to purify themselves and move closer to rightmindfulness and enlightenment.
Wesak has spread into wider community, especially in the west, where new
age movements have incorporated elements of the celebration into their own
cultures.
Wesaks ability to transcend geographic and cultural barriers has seen the
Buddhist community grow and extend its influence.
Wesak is an incredibly important practice to Buddhists of all cultures and
schools of thought.
It honours the three jewels, encourages commitment to practice, and united
and united the Buddhist community through shared experience and shared
belief.

Sexual ethics
Buddhism
Beliefs about sexThird precept to refrain from sexual misconduct
No masturbation, homosexual sex or pre-marital sex
Fifth precept also significant refrain from intoxicating drinks and drugs which lead to
carelessness
Important in matters that relate to sexual misconduct as it inhibits decision making.
Allows senses o take control over mind and body.
Non concentring behaviour (including rape, underage sexual activity, violence)
Consenting behaviour (questions of contracetion, masturbation, and homosexuality,
pre marital sex, extra- marital sex (adultery), and pornography)
Extramarital sexual relationships
Problem not in the act itself, but in the loss of trust, destruction of honesty, and the
breakdown in the original relationship. Also goes against the fourth recept of
refraining from incorrect speech. It allows the senses to take control over mind and
body.
Rape and Non- Consensual activity.
Physical attack of the person for the purpose of sexual gratification, or coercion or
physical or psychological pressure brought to bear to obtain sexual responses.
In either case the victim is forced against own will.

Is unacceptable against first precept not to harm living organisms and second not
to take what is not freely given and third to refrain from sexual misconduct.
Homosexuality.
No consensus against gay or lesbian relationships.
Most concerned with whether an action is helpful and based on good intention..
Buddha didnt leave any teachings on homosexual orientation or homosexual
behaviour.
be a lamp onto yourself
Theravada Buddhism- largest division. Southern school.
sexual misconduct?
do not harm others or ones self?
Any relationship considered personal matter of mutual consent.
If relationship promotes happiness and well-being of both parties, it is positive and
acceptable.
Many Buddhists believe that sexual orientation is beong a persons control.
Feel that gays and lesbians have the same civil rights and benefits as do all other
persons.
Heterosexual or homosexual consensual sex within a relationship is acceptable.

Sexual ethics
Christianity
Evangelic protestants
Evangelics try to follow the teaching of jesus and his disciples.
Christian scriptures form a basis of their ethical system and therefore their
attitude to sexual ethics.
(gen 1:26-27) let us make man in our image, in our likeness so male and
female he created them
sex is honerable and good, within the marriage relationship
both for mutual pleasure and procreation.
(Corinthians 7:4-5) a wifes body does not belong to her alone but also to her
husband. In the same way, the husband;s body does not belong to him alone
but also to his wife. Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent
Jesus taught that adultery is wrong.
Even to look lustfully at another person was a sin.
Prostitution is forbidden since the body is the home of the holy spirit, to be
sexually immoral is to betray Christ.
All nature of a sexual nature is limited to the marriage relationship.
Homosexuality stems from rejection of god, and is rejected by god. They tend
to reject the practice itself rather than the homosexual person.
Evangelics regard the entire bible as the word of god.
This affects how they view the 10 commandments.

Liberal protestants

Therefore there is a great flexibility on how its instructions of sexuality are

understood.
Liberals see god as gracious, accepting, inclusive and loving.
The absolute teaching of the bible is replaced by the absolute standard of love.
Whether the act is motivated by genuine love.
1997, uniting church document uniting sexuality and faith took a very
liberal view of pre marital sex and homosexuality
proposed that sexual relations can be part of close friendships
committed homosexual relationships should be fully accepted within the
church.
Inappropriate/ appropriate rather than wrong/ right

it is left to individual churches to decide whether they will accept a minister

who is living in a committed homosexual relationship.
Evangelic strongly appose this policy.

For liberal Christians, the bible is simply one source of ethics.

Tradition, reason, conscience, social norms, compassion, and experience.
Ultimately, there are intermediate views between the extremes of these groups.

Catholics

Catholics are very much like evagelics

Although their means of reaching those conclusions are not.
Based on faith, reason (enlightened by faith), and revelation (gods will
revealed through the bible and church tradition)
Natural law
Catholics take into account traditional teaching of the church and natural law,
aswell as teaching of the bible.

Catholic view of sex and marriage is almost identical to evangelic.

Rely on natural law for teachings on contraception.

Contraception against nature- therefore is forbiddon.
Often take into consideration with contraception that it might be for
separating the ages of children, or under a means of marriage.

Reject homosexuality, like evangelics based on the new testament, and for
catholics natural law aswell.

Abortion is accepted under means of rape.