The Encyclopedia of World Religions

406 S Samaritans

nizes the hostile relations between the two groups (Luke 10.29–37). Today only about 650 Samaritans survive. Roughly half live near Tel Aviv and are citizens of Israel. The other half live in the area of Nab lus, near Mount Gerizim, a strongly Palestinian area. The Israeli-Palestinian Peace Agreement of September 28, 1995, guaranteed all Samaritans freedom of religion and access to holy sites. The Palestinian Elections Law approved in December 1995 reserved one seat on the 83-seat Palestinian Council for the Samaritans living near Nablus. samsara Sanskrit word for the continuous cycle of redeath and rebirth in which all beings live; thus, ordinary existence. The notion of samsara is shared by both H INDUISM and B UDDHISM . Notions of rebirth are probably age-old on the south Asian subcontinent, but the idea of samsara came to prominence in both Hinduism and Bud dhism roughly in the sixth century B . C . E . For centuries priests who performed the sacrifices described in the V EDA had detailed the benefits of the sacrifices to their wealthy patrons. The primary benefit was a long number of blissful years spent in svarga, heaven. Around the sixth century B . C . E . certain sages began to speak of what happened when those benefits ran out: redeath, followed by rebirth. The conditions of rebirth were determined by the qualities of one’s action (Karma). About the same time, the B UDDHA was ana lyzing the condition of all sentient or conscious beings. On his analysis, all beings experience a continuing process of rebirth as a result of their craving-motivated acts, acts characterized by hatred, greed, and ignorance. Hindus explain the process of rebirth in a vari ety of ways, but key to all of them is the notion of an eternal, unchanging self, sometimes called the ATMAN , which undergoes the various births. The situation in Buddhism is more difficult, because Buddhists deny that there is any eternal, unchang ing self. They tend instead to speak of samsara in terms of a continuity of causality, a continuous

to discuss issues that might confuse the unedu cated. Its WORSHIP services are designed for popular appeal. What is most distinctive of the army is the thorough way in which it carries out the military image. Its officers wear uniforms. Its members play Christian hymns in military-style bands. Its publication is The War Cry. The Salvation Army continues to be very active in “rescue mission” work. It seeks not just to convert the poor but also to assist those who, for whatever reason, need material support. Unlike more liberal branches of P ROTESTANTISM , it has shied away from social reform—that is, the attempt to reorganize society in a way that eliminates the causes of poverty and other evils. Samaritans A people in central Israel who claim to be descended from the Israelite tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh; indeed, they call them selves Israelites as well as Shamerim, “keepers of the law.” The English name comes from Samaria, the name of the capital of the ancient kingdom of Israel. According to Jewish tradition, the Samari tans are not Israelites but are descended from peoples transplanted to the region when Assyria conquered Samaria in 721 B . C . E . Samaritans are strict monotheists. They WOR SHIP God under the name YHWH (“the Lord”). Their SCRIPTURES contain only the T ORAH or Pen tateuch, that is, the first five books of the B IBLE . They also revere M OSES and look forward to a final day in which God will restore their claims and take vengeance on the wicked. The most sacred site for Samaritans is Mount Gerizim. They built a temple there in the late 300s, but it was destroyed by the Jewish priest and ruler John Hyrcanus in 128 B . C . E . The Samaritans still celebrate P ASSOVER at Mount Gerizim. They also strictly observe the Sabbath. In the ancient world there was considerable animosity between Samaritans and Jews. Those who returned from exile in Babylon saw the Samaritans as interlopers and refused Samaritan help in rebuilding the Temple in J ERUSALEM . J ESUS ’ well-known parable of the good Samaritan recog