Lesson 3. 31st Jan 2012. Semester 1. Research one (1) religious Symbol,Provide information that informs us of what the symbol represents to that religion and its importance to them...

Mr Morris. 

Lesson 3.
31st Jan 2012.
Semester 1.

Research...

Australia is a religiously diverse country and has no official religion.

Christianity is the predominant faith of Australia. According to the 2006 census, the largest religious denomination is Roman Catholicism, of which 25.8% of the population claimed affiliation. The next largest is the Anglican faith, at 18.7%. Members of other Christian denominations accounted for 19.4% of the population.
Minority religions practiced in Australia include Buddhism (2.1% of the population), Islam (1.7%), Hinduism (0.7%) and Judaism (0.4%). Two percent of the population stated a different religion, which includes Sikhism and Indigenous beliefs, and 18.7% claimed no religion, while 11.2% did not respond.

What is an example of a religious Symbol?

Research one (1) religious Symbol from one (1) of the religions below, there are 7 to choose from. You may work in pairs!

Put your name(s) next to the religion you will research below.
Aboriginal culture -Zak and Brodie
Hinduism - Jaiden
Buddhismalex kand nathancody/john
judaism- ashley and christina                                                
Anglican Faith- isaac-mitch- maddison
Islam  - coen and Josh Frew
Christianity - Cody/John
Roman Catholic- jarrod bowen

Start your work with a Title and Your Name: E.g. Islam - Shaun Morris.

Provide information that informs us of what the symbol represents to that religion and its importance to them...Jaiden - Hinduism:
Thus Om mystically embodies the essence of the entire universe.  This meaning is further deepened by the Indian philosophical belief  that God first created sound and the universe arose from it. As the most  sacred sound, Om is the root of the universe and everything that exists  and it continues to hold everything together.
http://www.religionfacts.com/hinduism/symbols/aum.htm

Josh and Coen - Allah
It is a known fact that every language has one or more terms that are used in reference to God and sometimes to lesser deities. This is not the case with Allah. Allah is the personal name of the One true God. Nothing else can be called Allah. The term has no plural or gender. This shows its uniqueness when compared with the word god which can be made plural, gods, or feminine, goddess. It is interesting to notice that Allah is the personal name of God in Aramaic, the language of Jesus and a sister language of Arabic.
http://allah.org/
The star and crescent is the best-known symbol used to represent Islam. The symbol is not Muslim in origin, it was a polytheistic icon adopted during the spread of Islam, and its use today is sometimes controversial in the Muslim world. The crescent and star are often said to be Islamic symbols, but historians say that they were the insignia of the Ottoman Empire, not of Islam as a whole.
http://www.religious-symbols.net/islam-symbols.html

Kane Nathan Alex -
http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/history/b_lotus.htm
Lotuses are symbols of purity and 'spontaneous' generation and hence symbolize divine birth. According to the Lalitavistara, 'the spirit of the best of men is spotless, like the new lotus in the [muddy] water which does not adhere to it', and, according to esoteric Buddhism, the heart of the beings is like an unopened lotus.


Cody/johno- Christianity
Crucifix
The Catholic faith's main symbol is the crucifix. A crucifix is a just a  regular cross that bears the image of Jesus being crucified. It also  symbolizes the release of the soul in death. Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Coptic and  other Oriental Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran Christians generally use  the crucifix in public religious services. They believe the crucifix is  in keeping with Scripture, which states that “we preach Christ  crucified:
http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/02016/c_symbols.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crucifix

ashley and christina-
 The Star of David - It is the best known symbol of the Jewish faith. The  sign is based on the shape of Davids shield or the symbol on shield.Some Kabbalists thought that the six points represented God's absolute  rule over the universe in all six directions: north, south, east, west,  up and down. They also believed that the triangles represented  humanity’s dual nature – good and evil – and that the star could be used  as protection against evil spirits.
 http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/02016/j_symbols.htm

Jarrod bowen
ALPHA AND OMEGA
These are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet.
In the book of revelation 22:13, Christ refers himself as the Alpha and the Omega, that is the first and the last. Christ is the beginning and the end of all creation. The Alpha and Omega symbols are used at various times in the Church liturgical year.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Alpha_and_Omega_book.png

Zak and Brodie  : There isn't just one symbol, there are so many different symbols from many different cultures from many many many many years ago. It's not like christianity how they only have a cross.
http://www.aboriginalartonline.com/culture/symbols.php

isaac- mitch- maddison-----The cross is the leading symbol in Anglicanism. After a history of disputes and trends, Anglican churches today range from austere to heavily ornamented with symbolic materials.the cross is still a heavy symbol even though its used in christianity. http://www.patheos.com/Library/Anglican/Ritual-Worship-Devotion-Symbolism/Symbolism.html

Choose another religion from the list that you have NOT researched yet, and find a symbol that has NOT been mentioned already... If there is not a symbol "variety" point out a differnt piece of information that is important to that religion. SAME GROUPS.

Put your name(s) next to the religion you will research below.
Aboriginal culture -isaac-maddison
Hinduism -ashley and christina
Anglican Faith- Kane Nathan Alex
Islam  - Jaiden
Buddhism – Zak and Brodie
Christianity - Josh Frew and Coen Carius
Roman Catholic- cody/john
judaism- jarrod

juadism -jarrod

The menorah of 7 candles symbolizes the Burning Bush as God conversed with Moses in Exodus. The 8 candle menorah also known as a Chanukkeah symbolizes the miracle of the oil in the lamp of the temple, which was supposed to last one day but instead lasting eight days after the defeat of the Greeks by the Maccabees. This is celebrated during the festival of Chanukkah.
http://www.hadavar.org/drupal/sites/default/files/images/templemenorah.jpg


Buddhism  Zak and Brodie.
The Dharma Wheel or Dharmacakra is the oldest symbol in Buddhism, going back to the first sermon Guatama Buddha gave to his disciples in Deer Park. It symbolizes basic Buddhist concepts such as the Noble Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths. Buddhism is a world religion with many different schools of thought, but the Dharma Wheel unites all Buddhists
http://www.ehow.com/about_5075022_meaning-dharma-wheel.html


cody/john Roman Catholic:
Vestments. There are special clothes worn by the priest as a symbolic sign of the importance of the events celebrated. Here are the main ones:
The major vestment is the white gown called an Alb. The name derives from the latin “albus”  meaning white, and has the same derivation as the word “albino’ meaning white. It is a white garment reminding us of our Baptismal garment and that in Baptism each of us ‘put on Christ, like we put on a new white garment.’
http://www.parishes.bne.catholic.net.au/maryborough/symbols.htm

Jaiden - islam:
The  particular eight-pointed star (or octogram) pictured here is unusual in  that it has multiple meanings, depending on context. The original  emblem of two overlapping squares, often with a circular ornament, is  called a rub el hisb (Arabic, quarter-group),  an ornament used to mark the end of passages in the Q’uran. This symbol,  like all symbols related to Islam, is not official nor heavily  symbolic.
http://symboldictionary.net/?p=3106


ashley and christina- hinduism
Swastika:
The Swastika symbol which look like the Nazi emblem, holds a great  religious significance for the Hindus. Swastika is a pictorial character  in the shape of a cross with branches bent at right angles and facing  in a clockwise direction. The word SWASTIKA stems from the Sanskrit, an  ancient Indian language and means 'being happy'. In India the word is  related to things of good fortune because it means being happy. The  cause of all life and all manifestations of life is movement.
http://www.religious-symbols.net/hindu-symbols.html

Kane Nathan Alex, Anglican Faith: Candles, on the other hand, are commonly used in Anglican worship, symbolizing Christ as the light of humankind.
http://www.patheos.com/Library/Anglican/Ritual-Worship-Devotion-Symbolism/Symbolism.html

coen carius and josh frew

the thorn crown
http://kingsenglish.info/
When Jesus was on trial for his life, the soldiers twisted thorns into a makeshift crown and jammed it on his head (John 19:2). They hung a purple robe on him and ridiculed him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews," while they punched and kicked him.
The soldiers did it to amuse themselves, but the Gospels include this as a significant part of Jesus’ trial. I suspect that they include it because it has an ironic truth — Jesus is the king, and yet his rule would be preceded by rejection, ridicule and suffering. He has a crown of thorns because he is the ruler of a world filled with pain, and as the king of this corrupt world, he established his right to rule by experiencing pain himself. He was crowned (given authority) with thorns (only through great pain).
-content/uploads/2011/10/crown-of-thorns.jpg


The crown of thorns represents the sin and suffering carried by the King of Christianity.
http://christianity.about.com/od/symbolspictures/ig/Christian-Symbols-Glossary/Crown-of-Thorns.htm

isaac- maddison - mitch -----The Rainbow Serpent is also part of the beliefs of Aboriginal people in other parts of Australia, but is best known from Arnhem Land."The belief in the Rainbow Snake, a personification of fertility, increase (richness in propoagation of plants and animals) and rain, is common throughout Australia. its a popular symbol because of its use in the dreamtime stories and is used as their symbol for the creator.
http://www.aboriginalartonline.com/culture/rainbow.php