A History of Religion East and West: An Introduction and Interpretation

493 Pages·1968·46.619 MB·English

by  Trevor Ling (auth.)

A HISTORY OF RELIGION
EAST AND WEST
By the same author
The Significance of Satan (s.P.C.K.)
Buddhism and the Mythology of Evil (ALLEN AND UNWIN)
Buddha, Marx and God (MACMILLAN)
Prophetic Religion (MACMILLAN)
A History
of Religion
East and West
AN INTRODUCTION AND INTERPRETATION
Trevor Ling
SENIOR LECTURER IN COMPARATIVE RELIGION
UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS
Palgrave Macmillan
1968
© Trevor Ling 1968
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1968
Published by
MACMILLAN AND CO LTD
Little Essex Street London wc2
and also at Bombay Calcutta and Madras
Macmillan South Africa (Publishers) Pty Ltd Johannesburg
The Macmillan Company of Australia Pty Ltd Melbourne
The Macmillan Company of Canada Ltd Toronto
StMartin's Press Inc New York
ISBN 978-0-333-10172-8 ISBN 978-1-349-15290-2 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-15290-2
Contents
Acknowledgements xv
Introduction xvii
Chronological Table xxv
CHAPTER ONE: NOMADS, PEASANTS AND KINGS I
1.1 Religion in the early city-civilisations ofA sia I
1.10 The area of concern
1.11 The making ofM esopotamia's civilisation
1.12 Religious aspects ofM esopotamia's civilisation
1.13 The civilisation ofEgypt
1.14 The religious aspect ofE gyptian civilisation
1.15 Kingship, myth and ritual in the ancient Near East
1.16 Myth, ritual and magic
1.17 Magical rituals and creation myths
1.18 The Indus valley civilisation
1.19 Religious aspects oft he Indus valley civilisation
1.2 Out of Mesopotamia and out ofE gypt I2
1.20 The significance oflsrael
1.21 Weber's view oft he essence oflsrael' s religion
1.22 Sources for the study oflsrael' s religion
1.23 The earliest outline oflsrael' s history
1.24 The patriarchal background to Israel's beginnings
1.25 The status ofc reation-beliefs among the Hebrews
1.26 The distinctive character ofYa hwism
1.27 The event oft he Exodus
1.28 The prophetic role ofM oses
1.29 Prophetic interpretation ofhistorical events
1.3 Religion in India during the early Vedic period (1500-1000
B.c. approx.) 25
1.30 Pre-Aryan India
1.31 Religious features ofp re-Aryan India
1.32 The Dravidians and the notion ofkarma
1.33 The coming oft he Aryans
vi ~ontents
1.34 The gods oft he ~g-veda
1.35 Vedic sacrifice
1.36 Career patterns oft he Vedic gods
1.37 The importance oflndra
1.38 Indo-Aryan social structure
1.39 Aryan expansion eastwards
1.4 Yahweh and the Hebrew monarchy, to 926 B.C. 36
1.40 The Settlement, and the emerging tension in Ya hwistic religion
1.41 Ya hwism, and Israel's territorial integrity
1.42 The theocratic character oft he Israelite league
1.43 Early demands for a monarchy
1.44 Samuel, and the twilight ofYa hwistic theocracy
1.45 The controversy over kingship
1.46 The reign of Saul
1.47 The reign ofDavid
1.48 ThereignofSolomon
1.49 Ya hwistic religion during the early monarchy
1.5 Religion in India during the later Vedic period (1000-500 B.c.
approx.) 48
1.50 The Dravidianisation ofA ryan culture
1.51 Religious speculation in the later Vedic age
1.52 The brahmans and the cosmic order
1.53 The concept ofr ta, or cosmic law
1.54 The Brahmat}.as
1.55 The emergent caste system
1.56 The forest-dwellers
1.57 The emergence oft he Up~ads
1.58 The religious ideas oft he Up~ads
1.59 The Atharva-veda
Summary and comment on ~hapter One 58
CHAPTER Two: PROPHETS AND PHILOSOPHERS 62
2.1 The prophetic tradition ofI srael (926-520 B.c.) 62
2.10 The parting oft he ways within Hebrew religion
2.11 Prophetic opposition to the monarchy
2.12 The significance ofElijah
2.13 Hebrew prophets oft he eighth century B.C.
2.14 The prophets and the corruption ofw orship
Contents vu
2.15 The prophets and social corruption
2.16 The prophets and political opportunism
2.17 The traditionalist character ofe ighth-century prophecy
2.18 The growth oft he idea ofG od as potentate
2.19 The divine monarch, and the Hebrew idea ofs in
2.2 Zarathustra, the prophet ofI ran (618-541 B.C. approx.) 75
2.20 The historical importance ofZarathustra
2.21 Light from the East?
2.22 Zarathustra as prophet-reformer
2.23 Zarathustra's cosmic dualism
2.24 The special nature ofZ oroastrian dualism
2.25 The question oft he originality ofZarathustra's dualism
2.26 The social factor in Zarathustra's dualism
2.27 The ethical element in the religion ofZarathustra
2.28 Zoroastrian eschatology
2.29 The Zoroastrian sacrament
2.3 Gautama the Buddha, the prophet ofI ndia (563-483 B.c.) 83
2.30 The social situation in fudia in the sixth century B.C.
2.31 The Buddha, his life and ministry
2.32 The essentials of early Buddhist doctrine
2.33 The Buddhist way
2.34 Buddhist monks and laymen
2.35 Nibbana, the Buddhist summum bonum
2.36 The Buddhist ideal: the man who is nibbuta
2.37 Nibbana as transcendent
2.38 The social dimension ofBuddhist doctrine
2.39 The significance oft he Buddhist Sangha
2.4 The sophistication ofp rimitive religion 98
2.40 The emergence ofJainism
2.41 Distinction ofJainism from Brahmanism
2.42 Distinction ofJainism from Buddhism
2.43 Confucius
2.44 Confucius and the popular religion ofa ncient China
2. 45 Popular religion in ancient China: ancestors and nature-spirits
2. 46 The Chinese state cult
2. 4 7 Taoist development ofp rimitive Chinese religion
2.48 The religion ofa ncient Japan
2. 49 The development ofs tate Shinto
Summary and comment on Chapter Two 108
viii Contents
CHAPTER THREE: SCRIBES, MONKS AND PRIESTS III
3.1 judaism from the Exile to the Fall of Jerusalem (587 B.C.-
70 C.E.) III
3.10 Historical perspective
3.11 Religious devdopments during the Exile
3.12 The revival oft he priestly tradition
3.13 The growing importance oft he Torah and the scribes
3.14 The emergence ofd ualistic ideas
3.15 Greek rule and Jewish resistance
3.16 Jewish piety oft he old school: Ben Sira
3.17 The desecration oft he Temple and the Maccabean revolt
3.18 Pharisees and Sadducees
3.19 Roman rule and Jewish apocalyptic ideas
3.2 Early Buddhism (500 B.c.-70 C.E.) 125
3.20 The Buddhist Sangha after the Buddha's decease
3.21 The routinisation ofBuddhist religion
3.22 The development ofA bhidhamma
3.23 The Personalists (Pudgala-vadins)
3.24 The Pan-realists (S arvastivadins)
3.25 Monks, laymen and devotional practices
3.26 Buddhism and the emperor Asoka
3.27 Buddhist missionary activity in Asoka' s reign
3.28 The Brahmanisation of the Buddhist Sangha
3.29 The early phases of the Mahayana
3.3 The reorientation ofB rahmanism (500 B.c.-70 C.E.) 142
3.30 Non-Buddhist India, from the rise oft he Magadhan empire
3.31 'Great' and 'Little' Traditions in India
3.32 The brahmans at a disadvantage
3.33 New roles for the brahman
3.34 Bhakti: or Hindu popular devotion
3.35 The cult ofVishnu
3.36 The cult ofKrishna
3.37 The doctrine ofa vataras
3.38 Factors in the emergence ofbhakti mythology
3.39 The development ofHindu ethics
3.4 The rise of Christianity, to 70 c.E. 151
3.40 Sources for the life ofJesus
3.41 The non-Christian testimony
Contents ix
3.42 TheNewTestamentdocuments
3.43 TheevidenceofStPaul'sletters
3.44 Two types of early Christianity
3.45 St Paul's view oft he significance ofJesus
3.46 How did the Jerusalem community think ofJesus?
3.47 A possible answer
3. 48 The fusion oft he two types ofe arly Christianity
3.49 The increasing importance ofRome
Summary and comment on Chapter Three I6I
CHAPTER FouR: CREEDS AND CONFORMITY 167
4.1 Christianity: from jewish sect to Roman state-religion (70-500
C.E.) 167
4.10 TheJ ewish basis oft he Christian concept ofs cripture
4.11 The development of Christian literature
4.12 The challenge ofG nosticism
4.13 Christian resistance to Gnosticism
4.14 The importance of Origen
4.15 The routinisation oft he Christian religion
4.16 Controversies concerning the nature of Christ
4.17 The emperor Constantine and Christianity
4.18 Monotheism, sin and St Augustine
4.19 The beginnings ofC hristian monasticism
4.2 The emergence of Hinduism (70-500 C.E.) 186
4.20 The caste system: further ramifications
4.21 The growth ofHindu philosophy and literature
4.22 TheBhagavad-Gita
4.23 Varying views oft he Bhagavad-Gita
4.24 The Ramayana
4.25 The Hindu Law Books
4.26 The golden age ofHinduism
4.27 The cult ofShiva
4.28 Shiva, Vishnu and their consorts
4.29 Brahmanism and South-East Asia
4.3 The Hinduisation ofB uddhism (70-600 C.E.) 195
4.30 The further development oft he Mahayana
4.31 In what sense was the Mahayana •Great'?
A2 L.H.R.