F2F Class Notes 15th August (Ben)

a religion

re-LI-gion, re-LI-gious “ra-LI-gious”
e-XIST
CA-tholic
au-THO-rity – “auTHOridy”
a ta-BOO

a belief
faith = trust
‘How do you pronounce “Christian” ?’
You pronounce it KRIS-tian

ChrisTINE is a CHRIStian.

a religious belief
agnostic = someone who thinks that God might or might not exist
atheist = someone who believes gods don’t exist

What do people believe in in your country?

Christian 基督教人 (Catholic or Protestant)
Jewish 犹太的 –> a Jew 犹太人

How can you know someone is Catholic when you meet them?
What is a sign that someone is Catholic?
Many Catholics go to church on Sunday mornings.

Since my mother isn’t Jewish, I am not either.

No matter what you believe in, if your mother is Jewish, then you are too.

Catholics pray in a church 教堂,
Protestants pray in a temple 庙,
Jews pray in a synagogue 犹太教堂

Muslims pray in a mosque 清蒸寺

基督教 Christianity
犹太教 Judaism
清真 Islam

Judaism is an ETHNIC religion. They claim that they are “the chosen people”.
an ethny 民族

Islam isn’t an ethnic religion. Anyone can CONVERT to Islam.
People who follow Islam are called Muslims.

to convert = to adopt a belief

Islam and Christianity both try to convert people. Judaism doesn’t.

A legal wedding / a religious wedding

They can marry legally but not religiously.

There is no black-and-white situation, everyone lives their faith (in) their own way.
Many people are not very religious, they don’t follow the book.

Pork is a big taboo.
a taboo = something forbidden

Religious books were written in a different background / context.
But traditional people say it’s dangerous to interpret the word of God and that we should stick to the rules.

Any religious leader has a position of authority.