Confucian Analects

1. Confucianism is not a religion. It is a philosophy. It is not a religion because it lacks the prevalence of a godly figure found in most religions during the time. The philosophy instructs how human beings should live their lives but there is no explicit mention of a God looking over them.

2. The first two chapters of the Analects suggest that a person is not born good or bad and that a person has the choice to be good or bad. For example, The Master explains that "If for three years he does not alter from the way of his father, he may be called filial" (9-10). This quote shows that a person can be good by being not altering from the way of his father but can be bad if he does alter. The Master also claims that, "...you will have few occasions for repentance" (18). This shows that people of that time were given second chances to get their act together which implies that people are capable of change. Finally, The Master gives insight on how to get people to revere their ruler by telling Chi K'ang to "Let them advance the good and teach the incompetent;-- then they will eagerly seek to be virtuous" (19). This quote explains that a ruler can teach bad people and get to them to strive to be good.