Religions - A Decision Tree View

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worldviewtheologyontologymetaphysics

The Religious Decision Tree

1. The Primacy of the Transcendent

Q: Is there an ultimate reality?

  • NO
    ↪\hookrightarrow Non-theistic worldviews: Reality is self-contained.

    • Philosophical Naturalism: Reality is composed entirely of physical matter and governed exclusively by natural laws.
      • Secular Humanism: Human reason, agency, and social cooperation are the sole foundations for ethics and meaning. ∎
      • Atheism: Deities and supernatural entities do not exist. ∎
      • Nihilism: Nothing is meaningful. ∎

  • YES
    ↪\hookrightarrow Go to 2. The Nature of the Ultimate.

Atheism vs. Humanism
  • Atheism: Absence of belief in deities. “Uh, I don’t see a god, so it doesn’t exist.”
  • Humanism: Belief in humanity. “No god? Okay, we will count on ourselves.”

✨ Vocabulary

  • Naturalism: 自然主义
  • Secular Humanism: 世俗人文主义
  • Atheism: 无神论
  • Nihilism: 虚无主义

2. The Nature of the Ultimate

Q: Does this ultimate reality possess personhood (will, agency or consciousness)?

  • NO
    ↪\hookrightarrow Impersonal Ultimate Reality
    Q: Is the ultimate identical with the reality itself?
    • YES
      ↪\hookrightarrow Transtheism/Monism: There is no divine will, no judgement, no command, only insight and awakening.
      • Buddhism: Existence is a cycle of suffering caused by attachment, which is overcome through the realization of “no-self” and emptiness. ∎
      • Daoism: Harmony is achieved by surrendering the human will to the effortless, spontaneous flow of the cosmic principle. ∎
      • Advaita Vedanta: The apparent plurality of the world is an illusion; only the singular, undifferentiated consciousness is real. ∎
    • NO
      ↪\hookrightarrow Pantheism: The universe itself is the divine, and there is no distinction between God and nature. ∎
  • YES
    ↪\hookrightarrow Go to 3. The Numeric Structure of the Divine.

✨ Vocabulary

  • Transtheistic: 超神论
  • Monism: 一元论
  • Pantheism: 泛神论
  • Advaita Vedanta: 吠檀多不二论

3. The Numeric Structure of the Divine

Q: How many supreme personal agents exist?

  • Many
    ↪\hookrightarrow Polytheism
    Q: Is there a supreme god among all?
    • NO
      ↪\hookrightarrow Hard Polytheism: The cosmos is governed by a plurality of distinct, sovereign divine wills with specific powers.
      • Ancient Greek Religion ∎
      • Norse Religion ∎
      • Shinto ∎
    • YES
      ↪\hookrightarrow Henotheism/Monolatry: Multiple gods exist, but devotion is rightfully directed toward one supreme or chosen deity.
      • Hinduism (sects vary)1 ∎
  • Single
    ↪\hookrightarrow Monotheism. Go to 4. The Relationship Between Creator and Creation.

4. The Relationship Between Creator and Creation

Q: Is the Creator separate from the material universe?

  • NO
    ↪\hookrightarrow Panentheism: The world exists within the being of God, though God’s nature remains greater than the sum of the world. ∎
  • YES
    ↪\hookrightarrow Traditional Monotheism: A single, perfect, and personal Creator exists as a being entirely separate from the material universe.
    Go to 5. Interference.
Pantheism vs. Panentheism
  • Pantheism: God = World
  • Panentheism: World ⊂\subset God

✨ Vocabulary

  • Panentheism: 万在有神论

5. Interference

Q: Does God intervene and reveal moral law?

  • NO
    ↪\hookrightarrow Deism: A rational Creator initiated the universe but operates it solely through immutable natural laws without further intervention. ∎
  • YES
    ↪\hookrightarrow Revelatory Monotheism. Go to 6. Mechanism of Resolution.
Reveal vs. Discovery

Revealed religions (Abrahamic) believe God invents the rules and tell us, which is opposite to Deism which believes God invents the rule and leaves us to discover.

✨ Vocabulary

  • Deism: 自然神论
  • Revelation: 启示

6. Mechanism of Resolution

Q: What is salvation based on?

  • Correct belief of the God
    ↪\hookrightarrow Orthodoxy: Salvation depends on correct belief and divine mercy.
    • Christian ∎
    • Islam ∎
  • Correct action
    ↪\hookrightarrow Orthopraxy: Focus is on living according to law or covenant.
    • Judaism ∎
  • Insight
    ↪\hookrightarrow Gnosticism: Spiritual knowledge into humanity’s real nature as divine, leading to the deliverance of the divine spark within humanity from the constraints of earthly existence. ∎
Orthodoxy vs. Orthopraxy vs. Gnosticism
  • Orthodoxy: Target is Faith (Assent to Truth).
  • Orthopraxy: Target is Action (Adherence to Law).
  • Gnosis: Target is Knowledge (Self-Realization).

✨ Vocabulary

  • Orthodoxy: 正统
  • Orthopraxy: 正行
  • Gnosticism: 诺斯替主义

The Ultimate Summary

NodeCore Philosophy
Secular HumanismHuman reason and agency are the sole foundations for ethics and meaning.
AtheismDeities and supernatural entities do not exist.
NaturalismReality is a closed physical system governed exclusively by natural laws.
PantheismThe universe and the divine are identical; no distinction exists between God and nature.
BuddhismExistence is a cycle of suffering solved by realizing “no-self” and emptiness.
DaoismHarmony is achieved by surrendering human will to the spontaneous cosmic flow.
Hard PolytheismThe cosmos is governed by multiple, distinct, and sovereign divine wills.
HenotheismMultiple gods exist, but devotion is directed toward one supreme deity.
PanentheismThe world exists within God, but God’s nature exceeds the sum of the world.
DeismA creator initiated the universe but operates it solely through natural laws.
OrthodoxySalvation is secured through mental assent to specific divine revelations.
OrthopraxySpiritual life is defined by the observance of laws, rituals, and community duties.
GnosticismLiberation is achieved by gaining secret, experiential knowledge of one’s divine origin.

Footnotes

  1. Hinduism has a lot of sects with wildly different doctrines. Your mileage may very depending on which sect you are evaluating. ↩