Primal Religions Chaper Review Questions

1. Primal religions are called primal because: multiple gods, belief that humans and gods comprise an interdependent universe, magical music, presence in small villages and tribes, closed system, religion of common people, diverse, Individualistic, animated world of spirits, concern for meaning of the present life, concerned with well-being and death, manipulative strategies such as amulets and shamans, and pursuit of a knowledge of the unknown to aid one's present life. 

2. Tribes, territories, culture (human) and landscape, landmarks, and cave paintings (natural

3. The spiritual essence of the Ancestors

4. A totem is an inanimate representation of the Ancestors, or any primal god. 

A taboo is a rule pertaining to a religious act that allows some to participate in it and/or forbids some from participating in it. 

5. Because they reenact and make present the myths which support the Aborigines' unique world. 

6. They are believed to have been taught to the Aboriginals by the Ancestors. 

7. The young learn essential truths about their world and how they are to act in it

8. Knocking out of the front teeth and circumcision

9.  The western regions of Central Africa

10. Orisha-nla first began to create the world there

11. The Yorubas believe in Olorun, the High God and a hots of Orishas, or lesser deities. 

12. Olorun is the high god of the Yoruba tradition, but he is not involved in human affairs. He is the source of the power of the universe. 

13. The orishas are lesser deities that are involved in human affairs and can harm or help humans. 

14. Esu is an orisha who embodies both good and evil and mediates between heaven and earth. Ogun is the god of iron and of war. 

15. A trickster figure is a mischievous supernatural being. 

16. family and deified

17. facilitating communication with a deity or ancestor

18. It is discerning one's future, and knowledge of one's future is considered essential for figuring out how to live one's life. 

19. between 20,000 and 30,000 years ago

20. It is representative of Native American religion in general because of the culture exchange that occurred on the plains due to a common sign language

21. Wakan Tanka is the supreme God and source of the universe (Lakota)

22. Inktomi is the Lakota trickster figure

23. Four souls depart from a person after death, one of which travels the milky way and meets an old woman who judges it and allows it to continue or sends it back to earth as a ghost

24. Spiritual power that will ensure greater worldly success

25. It is an airtight hut of animal skins and saplings and hot stones in the middle with water on them produce steam that purifies the spirit and body with sweat

26. An animal or force of nature arrives and communicates a vision which is interpreted by a medicine man to reveal a truth about that person's life. 

27. a woman

28. The center of the world. the tree in the center of the sundance hut

29. As a sacrifice to the supreme being. 

30. It occurred in a highly developed civilization with 15 million people, and it was in an urban area

31. Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica

32. Quetzalcoatl

33. He was the priest-king during the Toltec age that provided the Aztecs with a role model for their authority figures.

34. It was the fifth age that would end with a destruction of this age and an end to all time

35. They saw the world as emanating out from one point and emphasized the four cardinal directions and the center. 

36. Because each person was imbued with such powerful cosmic energy in the head and heart

37. They could communicate with the gods and make offerings through language

38. Cortez arrived on the day that Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl was expected to return to Earth and they were thought to be the same person. 

39. The aztecs used to perform a similar ritual to the popular day of the dead

40. totemism, taboo, the trickster figure, the vision quest, and the axis mundi. 

Lakota Sioux

The Lakota Sioux reside in North and South Dakota and Montana today, although they used to roam the plains in South Dakota, Wyoming, and Nebraska, following the buffalo herds.

The supreme being of the Lakota Sioux is called Wakan Tanka, which means "Great Spirit". They believe that Wakan Tanka is the spirit of Inyan, the deity of rock. Was the first of the Gods, and was there when there were no others. He spread himself into a disk with no edges, the earth. The Lakota have a long creation narrative stemming from Inyan that explains the creation of the sun, the moon, the sky, thunderstorms, wind, wisdom, and more.

The Lakota also believe in a pervasive and omnipresent energy called ton. Skan is the name for ton when the energy is active, which is manifested in our reality by motion. Skan is believed to be one with Wakan Tanka, who bestows the soul into each human upon birth with the breath of life.

The Lakota Sioux have a few sacred symbols to represent their beliefs:

Thunderbird:
The Thunderbird, also known as Wakinyan, is the guardian of truth. It nests at the top of the tallest peak in the Black Hills.

Uname:
This symbol represents the earth and wind. The four lines coming from each corner illustrate the four winds of the earth.

Medicine Wheel:
This Medicine Wheel also honors the four directions (with its four quadrants), a key concept in Lakota Sioux mythology. The circle behind the buffalo's head represents the never ending cycle of life, and the buffalo head itself is the locus of reality, or the Heart.

The main sacred location of this religion and people is called Pe' Sla. The Pe' Sla is located at the center of the Black Hills in South Dakota and is considered to be the center of the universe in Lakota Sioux mythology. In the fall of 2012, private owners of the area attempted to auction off the area but pressure from media and the Lakota Sioux forced the sellers to make a deal with the natives.

The Lakota have a plethora of gods, but a few stand out above the others. Obviously, Wakan Tanka is the most notable because he is the spirit of the first god, Inyan, who represents the earth. Inyan's son, Iktomi, is a trickster god that taught the first humans their ways and customs, but also causes discontent and symbolizes defiance. Inyan also created the aforementioned Wakinyan, which represents contradiction and contrariness and is the god of truth. The Wakinyan is shapeless (although pictured in the form of an eagle) and terrifiying, striking down liars with bolts of lightining. Heyoka is the alternate personality of the bipolar Wakinyan, combating evil and fostering good among people and growth among nature. Tate is the god of the wind, a hugely important factor in the Lakota people, and Tokapa was the first man, sent by God to teach the humans how to live.

The Lakota Sioux carve fetishes from stone to symbolize various spirits and confer good fortune. One such carver, Delbert Charging Crow, carves bears that carry crystal for good health, arrowheads as direction finders, and beads for luck. He goes through a long and intricate ritual with each stone that he plans to carve prior to beginning the actual carving process, and the meaning of the finished piece relies heavily on the type of stone and the animal chosen. Here are some Lakota fetishes:

The Lakota do have medicine men, which play a shamanistic role in Lakota culture. They guide men and women on vision quests, or journeys intended to reveal a truth about life and reality to the one going on the quest. The medicine man spiritually prepares the candidate in the time leading up to the quest and helps the candidate take part in a ritual involving a sauna-like lodging and profuse sweating intended to purify the participant. Then, the participant retreats to a remote spot in the wilderness and endures the elements for a few days with no food or water. Usually towards the end of the journey, the candidate has a vision and reports it to the medicine man upon returning, who then interprets the vision and explains it to the participant.

Another interesting ritual performed by the Lakota, the sun dance, is communal in nature as opposed to the individualistic vision quest. The sun dance is performed by an honored and honorable leader at the beginning of the summer and occurs in a lodge built specifically for the dance. This lodge has a cottonwood tree at its center, representing the locus of the universe and the supreme being. Dancing, music, and self-mutilation are all integral parts of this ceremony performed in glorification of the life-giving powers of the sun.

I have some pieces of Lakota art in my home, interestingly enough:

Terms and Definitions

Introductory Unit

Heart – The center (locus) or the human person

X and Arrows – diagram describing how Christianity is the only religion in human history that claims that the divine comes down to reality to save man (as opposed to man attempting to ascend to the divine)

Desire – an external want or longing that a person has that originates from an uncontrollable cause

Reality – the state of the world as it really is rather than as you might want it to be; the quality possessed by something that is real

Ontology – the metaphysical study of the nature of being and existence

Being – the state or fact of existing

4 truths – I did not create myself; I have impossible desires; I have limited powers; I expect to be happy.

Anointing of the Sick

Original sin – sin inherited by all descendants of Adam

Viaticum – the Eucharist as given to a person near or in danger of death

Presbyters - An elder or minister of the Christian Church

Extreme unction - A former name for the sacrament of anointing of the sick, esp. when administered to the dying

Stations of the cross - a devotion consisting of fourteen prayers said before a series of fourteen pictures or carvings of Jesus’s passion

Who may administer? - Every priest, and only a priest, validly administers the anointing of the sick.

Who may receive? - The anointing of the sick can be administered to a member of the faithful who, after having reached the use of reason, begins to be in danger due to sickness or old age.

Reconciliation

Penance – The punishment undertaken in token of penitence for sin

Confession- A penitent privately admitting his or her sins to a priest

Forgiveness – the pardoning of one’s sins and starting anew in Christ

Conversion – 1. The act or an instance of converting or the process of being converted. 2. The fact of changing one's religion or beliefs or the action of persuading someone else to change theirs.

Ten Commandments –

1.Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

2.Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

3.Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

4.Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

5.Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

6.Thou shalt not kill.

7.Thou shalt not commit adultery.

8.Thou shalt not steal.

9.Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

Empathy - The ability to understand and share the feelings of another

Venial Sin - A relatively slight sin that does not entail damnation of the soul

Matrimony

Declaration of nullity - In the Roman Catholic Church, annulment is a canonical procedure according to the Church's Canon Law whereby an ecclesial tribunal judges whether the bond of matrimony in a particular case was entered into validly.

Polygamy - The practice or custom of having more than one wife or husband at the same time.

Divorce - The legal dissolution of a marriage by a court or other competent body

Fidelity - Faithfulness to a person, cause, or belief, demonstrated by continuing loyalty and support.

Nuptial blessing - Prayers for the blessing of a couple being married, especially of the bride

Natural family planning - any of several methods of family planning that do not involve sterilization or contraceptive devices or drugs

Abortion - The deliberate termination of a human pregnancy

Holy Orders

Diocese - A district under the pastoral care of a Christian bishop.

Vicar - A representative or deputy of a bishop

Synod of Bishops - A synod (also known as a council) is a council of a church, usually a Christian church, convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application.

Ecumenical council - a synod of the whole church.

Infallibility - The doctrine that the pope is incapable of error in pronouncing dogma.

Imprimatur - An official license by the Roman Catholic Church to print an ecclesiastical or religious book.

Dalmatic - The dalmatic is a long wide-sleeved tunic, which serves as a liturgical vestment

Stole - A strip of fabric used as an ecclesiastical vestment, worn over the shoulders and hanging down to the knee or below.

Baptism

Defn – Initiation into the church and birth into a life with Christ

Matter – Water

Form - I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Catechumen - A Christian convert under instruction before baptism

Concupiscence - Strong sexual desire; lust.

Conditional baptism – a baptism in which the validity of the original baptism is in doubt

RCIA process- avenue to converting to Catholicism, culminating in the baptism\

Confirmation

Defn - The rite at which a baptized person affirms Christian belief and is admitted as a full member of the church.

Matter - Hand on the person and anointing him with chrism (blessed oil)

Form - Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Minister – Bishop

Fruits of the Spirit – Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Gifts of the spirit – understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, fear of the lord, wisdom

Pentecost - The Christian festival celebrating the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples of Jesus after his Ascension, held on the seventh Sunday after Easter

Chrismation - A rite in the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches that is comparable and similar to confirmation in the Roman Catholic Church

Eucharist

Defn - The Christian ceremony commemorating the Last Supper, in which bread and wine (Jesus) are consecrated and consumed

Transcendence - Existence or experience beyond the normal or physical level

Transubstantiation - The conversion of the substance of the Eucharistic elements into the body and blood of Christ at consecration, only the appearances of bread and wine still remaining

Tabernacle - An ornamented receptacle or cabinet in which a pyx or ciborium containing the reserved sacrament may be placed in Catholic churches, usually on or above an altar

Consecrate - At the Mass, the act of transforming bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. 

Matter – wheaten bread and wine

Form - This is my body; for it is written: Whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and broke, and gave to his disciples, and said: Take and eat, This is My Body

Designated minister - priest

Call to Holiness

What does it mean to say, "if I need something, I chase after it if it goes away"?  How does this relate to the "Universal Call to Holiness"?  What do you think this quote implies for the everyday Catholic?  What do you think it means to "say who Christ is" without shame?

To say this is to profess a commitment to fulfilling the need for this "something". This "something" is, in this case, holiness. The human race has a need for holiness because Jesus tells us that holiness is the avenue to an everlasting relationship with God in heaven. Of course, we have a need for this everlasting relationship because it is the only thing that can fulfill our infinite desire. Humanity was separated from holiness, or holiness "went away", when Eve gave in to Satan in the garden of Eden. Original sin bifurcated man from his creator. Because we are separated from Him yet we have an infinite need for him, if we are seriously committed to fulfilling this need, we must answer our call to holiness. We must "chase after" God, aided by the undeserved gift of his grace and mercy. 

For the everyday Catholic, this quote has should embody the larger picture of his or her life. This quote should remind us that we are called to be holy, not just when it suits our worldly desires, but all the time, because we are separated from God all the time. This constant attempt at holiness should manifest itself not only through the act of saying "yes" to God and professing faith, but also through the actions of the believer. The call to holiness must be carried out into the world, effectively making Jesus present on this Earth. 

To say who Christ can refer to a verbal description of him and his life, but I think, in this context, it refers to a life lived in Christ. As Christians, we are called to say who he is through our actions every day ranging from small, lonely, ineffectual actions all the way to important, life-altering decisions. This emulation of Christ is associated with shame because Christ is radically opposed to the nature of society and the systems of power created by humanity. The man who lives in Him will likely be ridiculed or rejected by the world. This is only natural, for the the man in Christ will not be of this world; he will be of Christ. To shamelessly say who Christ is means living in Him, against the world, with pride and zeal. 

She Went By Gently

1. God's infinite mercy and forgiveness are shown in the woman's love for the girl. If we sin and repent to God, he will always grant us forgiveness and we will start anew. This correlates to the woman's interaction with the girl. The girl has sinned in the eyes of society (and God) but she is repentant to the woman. She genuinely feels remorse for her actions and promises to be a good girl. The woman unquestioningly acknowledges this and trusts that the girl will learn with time.

2. The woman means that she saved him from sin and Satan. She did this through baptism. By baptizing him in his very few seconds of life, she gave him new life in God. The child received the holy spirit because of her. This action saved him from our world and the original sin associated with being born into it. If he had not been baptized, he would not have had the time or ability to commit any sins, true, but he would be tainted with original sin as all humans are. He would not have been truly one of the Lord's.

3. The purpose of the description is to show the woman's grace. The author has her praying the rosary, referring to the sun as holy fire, thinking of her family before herself, and modestly deflecting a "thank you" for her child saving abilities. She is proved a devout, god-fearing, unselfish, and graceful woman by this description. The purpose of this section is to develop her character and provide an example of a true Christian to the reader: a dutiful, intelligent woman that supports her beliefs by her actions, both small and large.

P.S. - I think this story also says something about marriage - she clearly feels little to no love for her husband, only referring to the man as "himself", but yet she is still married to him, likely because she respects the sacrament andS institution of marriage.

Gifts of the Holy Spirit

1

I see the gifts of the Holy Spirit acting in my life as I gradually develop faithful habits and shed the routine of the secular world. I am beginning to recognize the presence of God through these habits. For example, I have begun trying to see Him in the people I don't like. A few years ago, I couldn't have imagined thinking this way. I would only focus on the bad qualities I saw in that person, and I wouldn't even stop to think that I was insulting God by doing so. While I do not always think to do this, when I do, it is evidence of the gifts of piety and understanding acting in my life. 

I also notice Fear of God in my life now as I never did before. I feel genuine remorse when I recognize that I have sinned because I now understand the implications of such a thing. The remorse is greatest when I only recognize a sin once it is brought to my attention by somebody else, and I would never have noticed it on my own. Because of this new fear of sin, I am more aware of my habitual sins, like telling small, insignificant lies or flaunting my mom. I think this is the work of the Holy Spirit, slowly bringing my closer to God by making me aware of my sins and helping me to stop committing them. 

2

I need wisdom the most. In my young age, I often make rash decisions for a number of reasons. Some include hormones, peer pressure, simple secular desires, stress, the list goes on. I need to learn to take a second, often. I need to take this second and think about the moral and spiritual implications of the impending action, and whether they are in line with my beliefs. I also need help looking deeper into my long term actions. I have no idea whether this thing I feel for that girl is a healthy love or mere affection or even sinful desire. 

Speaking of sinful desire, wisdom would help me repress the desires of the flesh that are so hard to resist at the hormonal age. Wisdom would let me separate what vices are truly sinful and what vices are just frowned upon by this world's society. Not that any vices are good, really... but, moving on. Essentially, wisdom would give me the ability to shape my life in the right direction. The key there is "in the right direction". There are other gifts that give the ability to shape one's life (counsel), but wisdom confers instead the sureness of the right direction. I need that. 

Chuck Norstadt became more certain of Mr. McCloud's identity by spending time with the man and sharing experiences with him. Two scenes in particular prove this point. The first one is the scene in which Chuck and McCloud are acting out the play and, upon being told to go home, Chuck says he wants to stay and finish the play. The second one is the scene in which Chuck finds out the truth about his father and runs to McCloud's house to cry in his arms. 

The first scene, mentioned above, shows how shared experiences strengthen Chuck's sureness of McCloud's identity because it is the first time that Chuck not only shows a fondness for learning, but also a fondness of McCloud. Prior to that moment, Chuck had only really been coming to see McCloud so that he could learn enough to pass the entrance exam, it seemed. Also, most of their interaction had been in the form of teacher-to-pupil discourse. The first time that barrier falls and they share an experience in which they are nearer to equals, Chuck begins to seem more comfortable with his teacher, and wants to return from that point on. I do not mean to suggest that this one moment was the only factor that caused Chuck to start liking Mr. McCloud, but rather that it was experiences like these that did so.

Another such moment was the second scene mentioned; this one is an experience of greater magnitude and importance than the acting of the play because it is a personal and life-changing discovery for Chuck. First, Chuck's decision to turn to McCloud in this time of need speaks to how much Chuck had already overcome his fears and doubts and preconceived notions about his tutor. The aftermath of this experience is more important, however. The next morning, Chuck attempts to resist the orders of the police officer that wants to take the boy home. Later that day, Chuck tells his mother that McCloud is his best friend. Clearly, that night has caused Chuck to grow closer and more sure of McCloud's identity.

However, the end of the movie throws a cog in the gears. Chuck learns from his mother that McCloud is supposed to have molested the boy that was killed in the car accident. This questions all of the things Chuck thought he learned about McCloud. Chuck is so disturbed that he steals the family car and drives to McCloud's house to ask him if he molested the boy. But, McCloud does not give Chuck the answer outright. He asks Chuck to think and to call upon all that Chack had learned about McCloud through their shared experiences, and to draw his own conclusion. Because of the plethora of those experiences they went through together, Chuck is sure that McCloud did not molest the boy. This is the ultimate evidence of the effect that their time together had on Chuck's confidence in McCloud's character, and one of the major themes of the movie.