But what sort of religion is at the idea of Professor Stephen Prothero that That is the provocative title of God is Not One. it? Let’s look his 2010 book. His idea is that, rather than different religions being different paths up the mountain, they are different paths up same different each religion can be conceived as having a different transcendent realm at the top of its mountains. Extending Prothero’s idea, mountain. The transcendent realm for Christians is heaven, and the path practitioners must take to reach it is loving as Christ loved (John 13:34-35). For Buddhists, the transcendent real is nirvana, and the path is the Eight-fold Path. In contrast, the transcendent realm of Aboriginal religion is the ancestral world. In the words of leading Australian anthropologist, Howard Morphy, the path for practitioners of this religion is ‘becoming ancestors.’ (Morphy, H. Ancestral Connections. University of Chicago. 1991, p138) Let us explore this Aboriginal ancestral world. Dreaming / \ Law – Country These concepts are the core of Aboriginal religion. They are closely connected. The Dreaming brings the Law and Country into existence. The Law tells how to look after Country, which is the land and everything in it. The connections are so close that, in some and are used interchangeably. contexts, ‘Dreaming,’ ‘Law’ ‘Country’ This holism in Aboriginal worldviews is really important. The very famous Emily Kame Kngwarreye of Utopia in the Central Desert, whenever asked to explain her paintings, would answer, ‘That’s whole lot ….. that’s what I paint, whole lot’. (this webpage further explains this holism) But that, though true, is not an easy way in for teachers or our students. So, to understand the connections, let us unpack one concept at a time. Dreaming Fundamentals
But what sort of religion is it? Let’s look at the idea of Professor Stephen Prothero that God is Not One. That is the provocative title of his 2010 book. His idea is that, rather than different religions being different paths up the same mountain, they are different paths up different mountains. Extending Prothero’s idea, each religion can be conceived as having a different transcendent realm at the top of its mountain. The transcendent realm for Christians is heaven, and the path practitioners must take to reach it is loving as Christ loved (John 13:34-35). For Buddhists, the transcendent real is nirvana, and the path is the Eight-fold Path. In contrast, the transcendent realm of Aboriginal religion is the ancestral world. In the words of leading Australian anthropologist, Howard Morphy, the path for practitioners of this religion is ‘becoming ancestors.’ (Morphy, H. Ancestral Connections. University of Chicago. 1991, p138) Let us explore this Aboriginal ancestral world. Dreaming / \ Law – Country These concepts are the core of Aboriginal religion. They are closely connected. The Dreaming brings the Law and Country into existence. The Law tells how to look after Country, which is the land and everything in it. The connections are so close that, in some contexts, ‘Dreaming,’ ‘Law’ and ‘Country’ are used interchangeably. This holism in Aboriginal worldviews is really important. The very famous Emily Kame Kngwarreye of Utopia in the Central Desert, whenever asked to explain her paintings, would answer, ‘That’s whole lot ….. that’s what I paint, whole lot’. (this webpage further explains this holism) But that, though true, is not an easy way in for teachers or our students. So, to understand the connections, let us unpack one concept at a time. Dreaming Fundamentals