Religious Sources for your Essay

Anne Hutchinson: Revolutionary Religious Leader


Anne Hutchinson In a very real way Anne Hutchinson was breaking the so-called glass ceiling by preaching / teaching through "devotional prayer and bible study meetings" (Lippy, 25)

Anne Hutchinson: Revolutionary Religious Leader


Anne Hutchinson's Legacy Hutchinson got into conflict with Puritans in Massachusetts because by reporting that she was in direct communication with God, and by preaching instead of "teaching," several issues resulted: a) Puritans believed God's grace was linked to the ministry of the church and to the ministers, hence, Hutchinson was bucking the system because she was not an ordained minister (besides being a woman; there were no female pastors at that time); b) Hutchinson's assertion that God's grace can flow down "directly to all people" -- which removed the clergy from the equation; and c) by asserting that she had direct communication with God, she was also denying what had been written in the Scriptures, which was seen as heresy (Lippy, 26). Paul Reuben explains that Hutchinson was "brilliant" and "articulate" and that she went her own way in terms of the religious laws that the Massachusetts Bay Colony had laid down; she insisted, Reuben recounts, that "…true Godliness came from inner experience of the Holy Spirit" and not necessarily from conforming with the laws of the Church at that time (Reuben, 2011)

Religious Field Research -- Interview With a


My understanding of the Mormon faith was not altered dramatically by my interview, but by digging into the research to prepare me for asking the questions I did learn more about Mormonism than I had known before. For example, in Terryl Givens' book, The Viper on the Hearth, he explains that the practice of polygamy, the belief in the "…irksome doctrine of exclusivity," and other controversial policies "…contributed to the 'Mormon problem" (Givens, 1997)

Religious Field Research -- Interview With a


" Question: Mormonism is based on golden plates that Joseph Smith was said to have been led to by Angels. Why are those golden plates never seen by the public or members of the Church; and are they really buried deep in the earth in upstate New York? Also, Joseph Smith was said to be "…a counterfeiter, fortune-teller and treasure hunter" (Gordon, 2001)

Religious Field Research -- Interview With a


Question: There is rumor that the Mormon Church is racist against African-Americans. History shows that Bringham Young banned Backs from the priesthood in 1849 (White, 1992); and African-Americans were not allowed into the Mormon priesthood until 1978

Training and Religious Practices of


In fact, in this area particularly, the Shaolin monks seemed to have differentiated themselves from other Buddhist sects (Campany 2001). During the Tang era, some 2,500 Shaolin monks lived under the protection of the palatial roofs of the immense Shaolin monastery not far from Loyang (Anderson 1990)

Training and Religious Practices of


The gathering of monks at Shaolin temple to overthrow a dynasty is an indisputable manifestation of the Triad tradition of secret society-led political resistance (Hardacre et al. 1994), and the "good service" that was the basis for this event was recorded in part in the "Xi Lu Xu" or Shouxian Version, which first appeared in the Shouxian Manuscript (Baoqi & Murray 1994)

Training and Religious Practices of


Thirteen such Shaolin monk-soldiers and their "fists of steel" had once saved Tsung's life on the battlefield; as a reward, he granted the Shaolin order an immense tract of land and the unique right to consume the meat and wine that were forbidden to other monks. In fact, in this area particularly, the Shaolin monks seemed to have differentiated themselves from other Buddhist sects (Campany 2001)

Training and Religious Practices of


(2002), although the Buddhist sects around the world all tend to embrace certain traditions and practices in common, there are some important differences that have emerged among the different practitioners over the centuries. The Chinese leader Tai Tsung was a patron of Buddhism in general, and the Shaolin order in particular, possibly because he was indebted to the Shaolin "fighting monks," the inventors of the famous lethal kung-fu martial arts of self-defense, for their assistance at the time of his early conquests (Hardacre, Kendall & Keyes 1994)

Training and Religious Practices of


The Chinese emperor became fearful of the Shaolin's increasing prowess and influence and became determined to destroy them, and almost did. The surviving monks, known as the Five Ancestors, dedicated themselves to spreading the word of Zen Buddhism and the art of Shaolin kung fu (Hoh 2002)

Training and Religious Practices of


Nevertheless, by virtue of their firm commitment to their Shaolin ideals and their disciplined and regimented lifestyle, the survivors of the Shaolin massacre managed to keep their tenets alive and these have endured down to the present day, albeit in a somewhat different form (see the further discussion on this in the penultimate paragraph). The Buddha was a mendicant monk, and his teachings eventually became a great world religion with a number of sects, including the Shaolin (Mabbett 2002)

Training and Religious Practices of


When this author attempted to wander into the Shaolin compound later than night to gain even more "insights" into the sect's practices, though, he was barred by a pack of fierce dogs and quickly returned to his room. However, other observers report that although the Chinese authorities maintain a close watch on their religious activities, they are "more than happy with the money the temple complex generates as a place of pilgrimage for tourists and budding Bruce Lees" (Martial Arts, Now and Zen; Popular Kung Fu Movies Kick Up Exposure for Shaolin Monks 2002:A16)

Training and Religious Practices of


Through the centuries the two have often taken separate paths, but for a true Shaolin monk, Zen and kung fu remain one" (Hoh 2002:26). However, prior to the 19th century there was a paucity of reliable information in the West pertaining to Buddhism in general and the Shaolins in particular (Queen & Williams 1999)

Training and Religious Practices of


It was dominated by a great golden Buddha, and the only accommodation available to weary travelers was provided by Shaolin monks. But callers at their gate had to pass an exacting initiation test" (Smith 47)

Training and Religious Practices of


This is not to say, of course, that the Shaolin monks are like some sort of Luke Skywalker types with an absolute command of the "Force." It is to say, though, that any religion that reinforces self-discipline, self-harmony, physical fitness and physical grace will have some beneficial results, and such practitioners attempt to avoid violence even as they actively participate in combative activities (Reay 1985)

Training and Religious Practices of


When the monk died in 496, he made generous gifts of cloth to the Buddhist church and sponsored maigre (vegetarian) feasts and Buddhist observances in his honor. He also admired the monk Batuo or Bhadra and built the Shaolin Temple for him" (Tsiang 223)

Training and Religious Practices of


" In an excerpt from the treatise, "The Secrets of Pugilistic Combat of Shaolin Monastery" by Shaolin Master Lam Sai Wing (1943), monks would hold bricks in their left hand, and stroke at it with their right hand; the brick would then break into two halves with a crack. "Some easily broke solid stones into pieces with their 'iron' fists and twisted around their waist iron rods as if those rods were strings; they looked like the Eight Wizards crossing the sea, because each of them was permeated with divine spiritual power" (Wing 1943:17)

Political and Religious Grounds Upon Which the Crusades Were Based


Crusades: Religious and Political Antecedents The Crusades The Medieval Crusades represented an attempt by Western European Christians to retake and hold the city of Jerusalem, in part because it was the birthplace of Jesus (Hansen & Curtis, 2014, p

Political and Religious Grounds Upon Which the Crusades Were Based


The First Crusade (1096 to 1099) was extraordinary because 50,000 combatants left their homes in France, Germany, and Spain and trekked close to 2,000 miles to reclaim dominion over Jerusalem. The only pay the fighters could expect were the spoils of war and God's favor, but the religious fervor of the period provided the social impetus that would drive these men and their families to seek piety through the act of warfare (Rubenstein, 2011, p

Spiritual but Not Religious: An


"Americans tend to equate religion with Christianity. And especially, people think of guilt-inducing proscriptions on behavior, seemingly arbitrary rules, hell-fire preaching on sin and judgment, unreasoning insistence on dogma and doctrinal orthodoxy, divisive sectarianism, and aggressive proselytizing" (Brown, 2014)