Hello, everyone!
Last time, I got a bit political and gave some advice to Andrew Yang. Today, we're going to talk about another topic that shouldn't be mentioned in the workplace: religion.
Since it's religion, I'll try to talk about it as objectively as possible. It's a very personal subject for many people, but some of the beauty of history comes from religion and how the teachings of religious leaders still lives on today.
Today, I'll talk about the entirety of Chapter 4 and a Close Reading, Serving is Different from Helping and Fixing.
The Beginning of Chapter 4
No matter how hard rulers try, religion can never be completely eliminated. Judaism is a great example of this, but the book also states that Confucianism had deal with its attempted replacement, the Communist Party. This failed greatly, as Confucianism and its teachings still survives to this day.
And that's not a bad thing at all. It's admirable how some religions have attempted to be eliminated, but have survived those efforts. As the Jewish saying goes, "They tried to kill us, we survived, let's eat."
And let's not forget how religion attempts to answer the seemingly impossible answers, such as, "What is the meaning of life?" and "What happens after we die?" So religion is also philosophical, not just a list of rules on how to behave.
This chapter focuses on how religion has shaped the human race, in some good ways... and a few bad ways.
China and the Search for Order
This book talks a lot about China, and that's because China, for most of history, has been powerful. So why wouldn't the book talk about the beliefs of China?
Legalism is the belief created from the era of the warring states. Legalists thought that most people were "stupid and shortsighted" and could not function correctly without having high rewards and harsh punishments. They would be the people who support the death penalty and a strong government. As you can tell by the book's description, this belief was mostly discredited and replaced with Confucianism.
Confucianism is all about the classes doing their part to create a functioning society. This meant that it focused on class inequality, but at the same time, focused on respect between superiors and inferiors. Confucius's teachings are still used widely in China today (otherwise, why would I create an entire blog post on Confucius's teachings?).
Finally, there's Daoism (or Taoism), which focuses on getting away from society and just enjoying nature. Surprisingly, despite Confucianism and Daoism being "opposites" of each other, they complement each other in modern Chinese society. It's just like the yin and the yang; opposites can work together.
Cultural Traditions of Classical India
You know Hinduism? Do you remember how in school, when they taught about the different religions, how they taught about the multiple gods of Hinduism?
What if I told you Hinduism isn't a single religion?
That's right, the term "Hinduism" was invented by Westerners to merge the several Indian cultures into one "recognizable" system. Sure, they shared the Vedas, but to call them one religion would be like saying that Native Americans shared a religion.
Still, they did believe in a common thing, and that's karma. With karma, if you did good deeds in your lifetime, you would be higher up the caste system in your next life. The higher up the caste system, the higher chance you would achieve moksha, or the end of rebirth.
But there was one religion that came out of Hinduism, and that's Buddhism. While Buddhism isn't as popular in India as you would think, it did spread to other cultures due to its lack of inequality.
And if the book accidentally makes you belief Buddhism isn't a world religion anymore, it's still popular. Japan is one of the countries where Buddhist traditions are still popular.
Toward Monotheism: The Search for God in the Middle East
This part talks about Zoroastrianism and Judaism, and after reading this part, I thought that out of the two, Judaism survived. This is wrong; Zoroastrianism still exists to this day.
Zoroastrianism is the religion of good and evil, Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu, respectively. They would fight constantly until the final day, where a savior would help Ahura Mazda win. It's basically Judgement Day from there; the good people go to Paradise, while the bad people are punished eternally.
Sounds familiar? That's because Judaism borrowed some ideas from Zoroastrianism to create the concepts of Heaven and Hell, God and Satan, and the Messiah.
Later, Judaism would live on to help create two other religions: Christianity and Islam. That's why if you're Christian, you would recognize some stories from the Torah, and if you're Jewish, you would recognize some stories from the Bible.
That's why when they mentioned the story of Adam and Eve, I immediately recognized it.
The Cultural Tradition of Classical Greece: The Search for a Rational Order
So Greece is amazing. They were able to predict eclipses and advanced scientific concepts before we even knew what a microscope was.
I mean, they predicted atoms! How could they do that? And Socrates questioning his students learning made them question themselves... and that's what scientists do! Sure, they believed in the four humors, but the scientific and mathematical contributions Greece gave are valuable today.
... also, Greece believed in gods. That's how it ties into the chapter. If you want to read Greek mythology, I highly recommend it, because many people enjoy it for a reason.
The Birth of Christianity... with Buddhist Comparisons
I'm going to be talking about Christianity more here, because this post is getting long, but Christianity eventually spread everywhere.
Like Buddhism, one appealing thing about Christianity was its freedom. Early Christianity did not care about gender or slave status; Jesus Christ always welcomed you. This may have contributed to the conversion and spread of Christianity, and why it's so popular today.
I live in a Catholic family, and I can say some of early Christianity doesn't apply today, such as modern Catholicism not allowing women to become priests. Still, there is still a sense of freedom and leniency with Catholicism at least, so the appeal of freedom is still relevant today.
Also, I found it funny how the Romans called Christians "atheists." Now, atheists and Christians fight with each other, so calling Christians "atheists" is like calling Democrats "Republicans."
Serving is Different From Helping and Fixing
This section is not in the book, but is in a blog post online. Basically, "helping" implies inequality, while "serving" implies a more mutual status. Also, there is no "I helped you, so you help me" in serving. It's just giving the person what they need.
Also, it's really sad that the author had to state that "fixing" someone is wrong. How many people think that the phrase "I'm going to fix you" is okay to say?! Where I come from, if you go up to a person and say that, people will think you're rude. And say that about an autistic person, well, let's just say people might not want to hang out with you anymore.
And that's it for this long post! Hopefully, I didn't get too controversial, but it's important to talk about world religions. Next time, I'll talk about society and its inequalities.
Until next time!
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