Dreams

Many people believe that dreams tell someone about their inner thoughts and feelings. Unfortunately I’ve never been very religious oriented so I’ve never had a dream that involved any sort of religious experience. I wonder if people that incorporate religion into their everyday life, if they have dreams containing God? Then if they do, does anyone who doesn’t have a religious afflation ever have dreams about religion? And if so would this be some sign to them that they hold these beliefs although they don’t act on them. I believe that in order to truly believe in something it should plague your mind as an integral part of it. I know that for myself whatever is on my mind I usually dream about that night. Given some of my dreams are completely random I find that there is some reason for them. Sometimes the dreams are able to show me that I have stronger feelings about a subject then I expected. I think that the dreams would be a good indicator inside a person relationship with their religion. Although many dreams are based off experiences, religion seems to advocate a person’s action. I think it would be disturbing to find someone that has a tight relationship within their church to be void of these types of dreams.

Sexism in Reincarnation

There seems to be the idea in reincarnation that one can become human or animal in their next life. This allows for many options of existence. A curious instance is that the Dalai Lama has never reincarnated into a woman. The question is whether the Dalai Lama chooses to be reborn as a man or whether society plays a role in the decision of the new Dalai Lama. I don't think it really matters if the Dalai Lama is male or female but it is curious to think that they have always been male. I believe that people would have a hard time believing that the powerful ruler had reformed as a woman, women not being very respected until recent. I think that this would lead people to believe that when you are reincarnated your sex remains as part of your soul. I disagree. For the Dalai Lama to continuously reincarnate into a man there must be some pretty slim odds otherwise there's another force coming into play.

Evolution

There has always been a big disagreement between the belief in Darwin or God. Who is right and can they both be right? Could God have made an earth in which the '7 day' God spent creating the earth was actually a bad time scale and it allowed for the evolution of man? I know there are some people out there who believe in both, they know God created the earth but all the evidence for evolution seems undeniable as well. For some its hard to admit that we seem to be superior being but we are distantly related to inferior species. Then they think that why would God allow for this to occur when we were made in his image, did he plan for us to develop in this manner or was it by chance?
I think that I would be able to cope with the idea that God created the earth from the big bang, in which everything tha occured afterwards was out of his control. I understand that he is all powerful and all knowing but the chance of human existence seems so variable that I couldn't imagine that he would expect us to turn out this way. The evidence presented by the science sommunity makes too much sense to disregard. I've grown up with the notion that science has allowed us to understand more about ourselves and our surroundings then religion ever could. Knowing the mechanics to life and our world allows for so much more of a useful mind frame then just prayer and worship could. I know science isn't sure about everything but it definately describes many of the usual questions. Maybe the idea that God created man makes less sense as if God created the mechanics of the world; physics, biology and chemistry. This is an understanding I could come to terms with.

Scared places

US Weekly published an article about the most sacred places on the planet. These of course are chosen for their religious correlation. I think its interesting what makes a place scared. An event or experience that occurs at some place can hold this drastic effect on those who viewed the event as important. I think scared places can be evident for anyone from having an influential event occur in specific spot. Such as those who go on a romantic get away, that place will always have a significant meaning to the person. Therefore i think it is unfair to say that only certain places are truly scared, but instead only to those who believe in its significance. I know for me I would never be tempted to travel to the areas the magazine listed for the significance behind the area doesn't appeal to me for my lack of beliefs. But if I could go back to the place where i grew up as a child or my elementary school I would be overwhelmed with feeling and emotion. My point is that we cannot choose scared places for the mass but instead for the religious mass. People will find their own scared spots in relation to what they value, everyone being different it is hard to narrow it down into a few locations. I think Americans value the white house being our nations capitol, this being why it attracts so many tourists. Jewish young adults travel to Jerusalem for its religious significance. US Weekly shouldn't have been so bold as to say that everyone agreed on the most scared places in the world for their religious affiliation.

Click

Today I watched the movie Click, which poses a very interesting idea. In the movie the man was given a remote control that would control hos world. Not only the options of pause, mute or fast forward were used but also there was a main menu. In the main menu the person could skip to any part of their lives to watch what happened. Although this is a little like playing God at the same time the man was unable to control the remote control, given to him by the angel of death. Auto-pilot got the better of him and fast forwarded him through the bad parts of his life. Ultimately he missed out on all the good little things that make up for the bad.
What I don't understand is why he never thought to hit rewind during the times when he wanted to go back to the past...but maybe it didn't work that way.
I really like this movie for i think it poses an interesting idea. What I got out of seeing the movie is that we are unable to pick out the parts of our lives that are important to our being. We cannot chose which experiences will affect our lives, therefore if we were to try we would mess up and completely change who we are and what we would become. I know that for myself I have a hard enough time making any choices about my life that if I had to try to structure it on my own it would be too much for me. Many of the bad experiences I've had I may not have chosen to go through although they shaped my character and the lessons I've learned are priceless.
The movie Bruce Almighty has a similar theme, a man is granted with god's powers. This story is a little more intense for he has to take on the role of God for his whole city. The same ending is reached that we don't like having so much control and that the power always ends up destroying ourselves. We are not capable of being all powerful, I believe its because we aren't all knowing. The knowledge is what really distinguishes the good and bad decisions.

Is God on our side?

Discussion in class confirmed that the God in the bible is a jealous one. It states that he wants the best for humanity and yet there is so much evidence against that. Such as the pain and suffering that we see everyday, not to mention tragic events such as natural disasters. God is said to be 'all powerful, all knowing and all good', therefore by believing in him it is confirming that everything that happens is because he decided it would be so. But this cannot be true if he is allowing terrible events such as the Holocaust. If God were truly good he wouldn't support such pain and suffering.
My thoughts are that if God created us in his image, which brings along some similar characteristics. The creator is able to view our world and our problems, much like watching a drama series. Humans have a history of loving violence, although we don't agree with it we cannot tear out eyes away from the torture. Evidence of this is can be seen from countless events from gladiator shows to the present times of movies like saw or hostile. These events focus on the torturing people. God obviously receives some joying in watching the suffering of human kind. In the beginning he could see that man was making strides in learning, therefore he decided to interfere and make things harder. This is when he knocked people off the tower spreading them across the world with different languages. What other reason would he do this except for that he enjoys watching us struggle. By separating us across the world made us lose our unity and instead create different groups of which there was turmoil between. If we were left being one community there would be less problems in our world, which god wouldn't allow. He knew what would happen and our troubles are obviously what pleases him.

God or Gods?

Its interesting to access the different religions and see their views on there being one god or many. It seems as though if there are many gods then the people who believe this more or less think in a way that they can relate to these gods. People being created in the image of a god are all very diverse so it seems probable that there would be many different types of gods to account for these different traits. Although the point of a god is that they are so much more then we could ever be that any relationship between them and us would lower their standing. Humans are seen as very imperfect and we strive to be better then how we were made to be, trying to be more like those we immolate. If we had gods that we could understand better by having qualities similar to our own then the quest to be better would be much easier then the singular all knowing god. The Jewish believe that there can be no physical comparison between the creator and mankind. This is putting a definite distinction between the creator and the limit of our own being. We can never achieve a status even close to that of a god which makes the effort a little more depressing.
I believe that for there to be one creator then it only seems rational that there would be others of that kind. Maybe the other gods have nothing to do with our existence or have no involvement in our being but they must still coexists. Maybe this idea doesn't matter for if they have no part in our existence then it doesn't help us explain the reason why we are here. Except maybe for the fact that our creator got bored from not being able to hang out with the others of that kind and therefore created existence for self entertainment. Which leads to my point that if there is a singular god then his gift of creation was not for us but more as a science project for the child that got singled out. This explains his allowance for evil, we cause it and for a true experiment to play out there is no interference from outside sources. Therefore we cannot expect that any effect on our life will result from his will. These aren't my beliefs in religion but more or less a random tangent that I thought was interesting.

Body and Soul

During the reading for this week regarding the Halocaust was a part saying "befoulment of the body is experienced as a befoulment to the soul." This link between body and soul are evident in religion as to unite them as one for an overall consistency of being. Yoga is practiced as to achieve this goal. There is much that can be said on how the soul is connected to a persons physical being. One basis much of who they are on how they look and function. Someone who loses functioning of a part of their body can feel like they lost a part of who they are, a part of their soul. The soul can become damaged with increasing torture and pain, both physically and mentally. Everything that impacts us will have an overall effect. In the case of the Halocaust people were subjected to such physical degradation that they changed who they were as to be able to cope. The soul lost what it once was because of this strain. It's evident that no matter how strong we are there is a breaking point, a point where we shut a part of ourselves off for protection. It becomes lost along with the belief that there was reason for it. One may hold something dear to themselves but if an event changes this perspective, the value is lost. This can also be seen when people come back from war. They are changed from this experience, body with soul. People lose their religious ideals maybe believing that not God could allow something like what happened to occur. After reading about the Halocaust its hard for me to believe that something so terrible could happen without cause or reason. The reason of religious plague emphasizes the fact that if there is a God then obviously he's not concerned with the welfare of mankind.
Few examples can be made against this. Many disabled persons lack functioning of body parts but refuse to let it impact who they are. A few years ago there was a young teenage surfer that had her arm bitten off by a shark while surfing. In an interview after the incident she reflected that it barely had an affect on her, and that she was still going to be a surfer and live life just the same. This shows strength in the soul, allowing it to overcome injustice done to the body.

Scientology

For a group project that is coming up my group decided to pursue all that is Scientology. Wanting to get a general insight into their beliefs and background I read up on wikipedia. This is not a creditable source but I think its good at painting the right picture. First of all this is what it said about their general ideas, "Scientology believes man to be basically good and that his experiences have led him into evil. That he errs because he seeks to solve his problems by considering only his own point of view. And that man can improve to the degree he preserves his spiritual integrity and remains honest and decent. (wikipedia, 11/5/07). Now it makes sense to me why celebrities would be so taken with this opportunity, to be able to blame your sins on everything else because deep down everyone is good. This religion is set up to allow people who have a bad past to be able to repent and move on, unlike other religions this one is guilt free. Once again this religion focuses on expanding one's knowledge and becoming more enlightened while immersing yourself in the religion. The method they speak of to achieve these goals sounds similar to a plan to help people lose weight. "Scientologists believe that an individual would discover for himself that Scientology works by personally applying its principles and observing or experiencing results" (wikipedia, 11/05/07). That quote referenced from a general Scientology website. The rest of the reading sounded more like a 'self-help' guide more then a religion. Believing that you can be a better person is one thing, turning it into worship is another.

Religion for Love

Last week in class there was a news article presented about a couple in which one had to change their religion to be married to the person they fell in love with. The problem is that religious beliefs can't be so easily converted, the true beliefs can't be constructed from nowhere. These beliefs need to be accepted by a person and incorporated into their life to show their true devotion to the idea. If one agrees to become part of the church as to be able to get married, this is worse as being a lie. I don't understand how the family and church could accept this person knowing that the sole reason she has joined the church is to be allowed marriage. I would think that either there would be some extreme conviction that would be made by the person or else they wouldn't allow it. referring to 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' the man was baptized into the Greek orthodox church to be able to marry one of the members. Once he was baptized he was accepted by the family and church as if his whole belief system had changed. I just don't understand the difference. People that accept this must not take much pride in their beliefs if they think it only takes one ceremony to convert a persons set beliefs.
Personally if I was put in the situation of choosing to let the love of my life go or joining some church so that the marriage was allowed I would do it. It would probably be the only day I attend the church but if that is the only way I can be with that person then its not that big of a step. The only thing that would prevent me from doing it would be if my being part of the church separated me from my family. My family is the one thing that I will always put first, no man or religion could tear me away from them.

Wedding Flaws

A few days ago was my brothers wedding, jam packed with family and friends. Everyone made their best effort to come down except for my mothers sister. She said that she was too busy with church events to attend. Growing up I always assumed that religion had a lot to do with family and strengthening that relationship within the group. I was completely appalled to hear that she found that church events were more important then her sisters' sons marriage. Maybe its because I'm not in the church so I don't understand the importance of these events but I can't imagine what could be going on at the beginning of November that would take precedence over this event. The cover could be caused by my aunt knowing that the ceremony wouldn't be held in a church as a traditional wedding. How could someone create this barrier between their family because of a disagreement of religious beliefs? Religious differences between family members shouldn't create walls between people. There should be understanding and compassion for your loved ones and eventually acceptance. My aunt has separated herself from those who don't share her beliefs, which has caused her to be completely non-accepting of others. I fear that this happens too often between communities and in families. The whole idea of love thy neighbor is interpreted by them as to surround themselves with people who share their church, so that no disputes will be made.

Religion in School

Recently I received a call from an old high school friend that I hadn't spoken to for about five years. Being a Mormon she attended Brigham Young University in which she told me about some of the religious influence it has had on her life. Pert of the reason it had been so long since we talked was because she went on a mission where she was only allowed to contact her family twice a year, on Christmas and mother's day. She was one of few women to go on a mission, usually the men go although none of her three brothers did. At the university she explained that things are very different. The school strongly encourages dating. She was surprised to hear that I have asked a man out, apparently this is foreign there. The whole culture in the school is based around the religion, including mandatory church attendance. Although her lifestyle could never suit me I respect that she is fully committed and values her beliefs.
Another childhood friend was Christian and attended Bob Jones University. Her sister previously attended the college and settled down shortly afterwards. A few summers ago she told me about the regulations the school has. When she moved into her dorm all of her belongings were searched for material that could be considered inappropriate. Such as posters of girls in bikini's or music will foul words. Dating was also encouraged at this school. She once told me that if she sat at lunch with just her and a man then it was considered a "date."
I just think its odd that these religious schools focus on creating marriages between their students. Of course everyone at these places uphold the same religious beliefs so a union would be more appropriate. It seems to me that these places segregate themselves as if trying to avoid scrutiny or questioning from others. I don't understand how some people can have a belief but are not willing to debate about other opinions and options. Its as if they want to create their own communities where outside influence doesn't have to be tolerated.

Reincarnation

Could we really have past lives? When I was little I was sure that I was a man in my past life. I remember one time at age four or five lifting the toilet seat to go to the bathroom. Then I thought why I had done it, coming to the conclusion that it seemed natural. Another thought of my childhood was that once someone died they were able to go back through their lives and find out all of the mysteries. Such as you would have the chance to ask questions with them all being answered. Then in your next life you would be able to learn from what happened in your previous ones. At this time my idea was that I would ask what happened to my favorite shirt, this being very important question at the time. I think myself as a child was more curious and thoughtful about what happens after death then the present. I was so sure of it back then, like without a doubt that was what happens. I'm not sure I ever discussed it with anyone, since my opinion wasn't highly acknowledged back then. I think now I don't believe it but I would like to. I would love to be able to find out what happened to people, or why certain things occurred. Although now I would find more meaningful questions to ask then just where my old shirt went. It reminds me of a movie, "Defending your life" where after death there was a judgment on weather you would move on or relive life on Earth. They would review instances in your life and evaluate how you dealt with them. This somewhat relates to a Buddhist belief, being reincarnated until you reach enlightenment. I think this belief would take away from the specialness of each individuals existence. Knowing that you are not created from your parents but they are just a pathway. Such as if they never had you someone else would have. I like to think that nobody else could have been my parents and I am only who I am because I am their decedent. Therefore I must reject the idea of reincarnation even though there seems to be some sort of evidence for it. The choosing of the new Dalai Lama seems too unlikely to be explained as any other possibility.

Help from God

It seems to me that people only turn towards God in times of trouble and despair. We call on him for help when we a scared of what is to come. The prayers we make are for him to guide us or give us good fortune. I know that when we hear speeches made for winning awards the people do thank the lord and give him credit. Yet I don't think that during the moment of success we take a minute away from the cheers and glory to pray and give forgiveness. People acknowledge the situation and the glory is their reward which they are not to keen to give up so easily. Instead they take their time to enjoy the moment, the party, the congratulations; then later they reflect and pay their respects. I can't say personally that I've ever blamed God for my good or bad times but I know others constantly do. I think usually it happens when their prayers have been answered, such as in the case of a miracle. Mostly I'm referring to sports since this is what I have the most experience with. Although in sports most of your success is due to your own training and effort, which may be why people only thank themselves at these times. I have heard people say thanks to God for making them stronger but not much more then this. I came from a somewhat religious community where devotion came in times of need instead of glory. I think that it should not be a one way street and I hope to see people give prayer for both situations instead of just asking more and more for themselves.

Animals in Religion

This thought came from Buddhism where a person may be reincarnated as any living thing. Therefore the question could be posed at to weather or not animals could hold any idea of some spirituality. Some animals we hold at a higher regard for their humanistic qualities, such as a dog's moods. We can see that animals feel pain but are they aware of death, do they understand the meaning and if so do they fear it. This may be a completely ridiculous question, but if we are reincarnated how do we retain our spiritual beliefs if we don't have the brain capacity? Can we assume that these beliefs just remain throughout our existence? But then how do you explain an animals nature for survival. The Buddhists believe not to harm any living thing for it may have been a relative or friend in a past life, but animals have to for survival. I believe the Buddhists eat meat and therefore they must thank the animal for its sacrifice, this may be the same for hunting animals. I think its ludicrous to believe that animals have any idea, or care, what happens after death. They understand it, Koko the gorilla new when her kitten died. She grieved for the pet and this is evidence that on some level she understood the meaning. But how can we know that she wasn't pondering more, and wondering where her kitten had moved onto? Critical thinking has been researched on many animals, my sister is working on developing the dolphin's cognitive processes. All we can assume is that animals live based on their thinking therefore the more intelligent the animal the greater the possibility of it having deeper thoughts on life. Truthfully I don't believe animals would have anything we could relate to religious beliefs but studying their concept of life and death would be a very interesting study

Are Animals Aware of Death?

by Gary Kowalski
The Souls of Animals. 1999
http://www.kajama.com/index.php?file=articledetail&id=DC508A2E-0F28-42CA-882B-8B4818CFB53E&PageNum=1

Maureen Sheehan, a staff member at the Gorilla Foundation, interviewed Koko about her thoughts on death.

Where do gorillas go when they die? Maureen asked.

Koko replied, Comfortable/hole/bye [the sign for kissing a person good-bye].

When do gorillas die? she asked.

Koko replied with the signs Trouble/old.

How do gorillas feel when they die: happy, sad, afraid?

Sleep, answered Koko.

Gorillas not only mourn. Like human beings, they seem able to reflect on their own demise and struggle with the same sorts of questions that haunt us when a loved one dies.

Buddhism

Studying Buddhism has shown me that there are so many people who believe in world peace and being decent towards each other. I think the worst thing I found was that for being peaceful people they were so easily overpowered. I don't see the reason for trying to take over land where there is no threat. Obviously if China didn't, sooner or later another power would have dominated Tibet. I just feel that these people were secluded and not interfering with the troubles of the world, there was no point or benefit in adding them to another country. I was surprised that some of the Tibetans chose to fight for their country although this goes directly against their religious beliefs. I would have thought they although they are proud people and wanted to keep their way of life the same, they would be committing an action that would already disturb their lifestyle. If they did survive the battle how could they live with the thoughts of the crimes against their moral basis that they had committed. I would have thought that they would have just let China take over with an agreement that would have maintained their practices the best they could.
As for Buddhism in general, I believe strongly in most of their beliefs. Treating every living thing as if it were your mother in a former life is a little hard to accept. In America we give everything a place to determine its value. Just from being brought up this way I could never treat a plant with the same respect I give a stranger. Everything with human characteristics is given a moral obligation in my culture and everything else isn't. I admire the Buddhist way of treating nature with respect but I also believe in wellness for mankind which usually results in the destruction of nature. Its hard to balance, which is more important. I think a Buddhist in our society would have a hard time surviving, my fear is that they would be constantly stepped on. When those around you don't reciprocate the amount of respect you show them it makes them hard to deal with. This religion would be very successful in a culture of everyone sharing the same beliefs. Being an individual Buddhist would be so difficult, full of hardships on viewing how poorly the rest of society treats each other and the environment.

Hindu Temple

Today I visited a Hindu Temple in Riverside. This experience really opened my eyes to the reality of people's devotion and practice. Today's experience was the first time I have been to any kind of religious congregation or prayer. First of all I have to say that I felt bad for being there, the whole time I found that I was just analyzing what they were doing and trying to understand why? These people really believe that if they throw flowers at a little statue, "wash" it, "cloth" it, and "feed" it that the spirit will come and bless them with its presence? That the gods will answer their prayers or bless them because they go through these motion? I felt bad because it just seemed like an idea that started out with good intention and most likely a very scared ceremony, but as preformed today I think that nothing was accomplished. Basically I blame the priest.
This priest was a man that I don't think I could ever show respect for and therefore it was hard to try to focus on his teachings. Personally when I'm really trying to learn I like to be talked to as a person with a decent understanding of the world. This guy even said that he was teaching 2nd grade basics of Hinduism... and then proceeded to speak as if he were talking to a group of 2nd graders. I think I completely discredited him once he started making gestures of a blow fish face with a huge round belly, showing a pregnant woman. How do you show respect for a man like this, especially for someone that is suppose to give you spiritual guidance. The funny part was that he was speaking as if focused towards the children yet he emphasized the fact that they had a library to put the children during this part of the meeting. Maybe he just assumed that we Redlands students had the same intelligence as 2nd graders since we were not well known in the practices of Hinduism. I truly felt bad for the people who came and look at this guy as a way to learn more about their religion, not saying that he doesn't know a lot but just the fact that he's not intellectual about the way he goes about his teachings. I was really looking forward to listening to how they view life and interpret ideas and opinions but instead it seemed more like 'story time' in grade school.
Overall i felt very welcomed and included in the whole ceremony. The priest did a good job of helping us understand what they were saying and why. For awhile I watched people walk around to the various shrines and give a prayer or offering. Being the terrible person that I am all I could think of was that who was going around after everyone left and collecting these gifts. Which is one of my problems with organized religions. I don't think people should benefit off of others worship. But I guess the church or temple needs to stay in business somehow.
Anyways what I was trying to say is that the whole experience just was hard for me to take in. I have a hard time reasoning the same way that these people do, but I felt no need to ridicule them for it. I'm very thankful that everyone has their own ideas and beliefs, in which the rest of us are able to learn from. The lesson I learned today was that even if an action makes no sense, if it helps a person in their troubles then it should be done.

Devotion

Everyone is devoted to something. Whether it be music, sport, family, religion..ect. We all find something to identify ourselves with. In doing so we create this connection between ourselves and whatever we hold dear. By doings so the actions and effects of these aspects of our lives impact us in a way that defines who we are. Upon losing these valued beliefs we loose part of ourselves, we have less to identify ourselves with. Religion is found and modified throughout everyones life. Events occur that change our perception of the world. We are unable to view it how it once was and sometimes in the worse cases are unable to live with the new realization. Becoming overwhelmed with the idea of the past and how things were can destroy us, make us believe that things should be different. No matter what happens in our lives we need to understand that things are constantly changing and that we need to accept the change, notice the bad and exploit the good.

In the movie Water, we see the freedom of a young girls life taken from her at age seven. No longer is there hope and promise in her life, but instead shame and poverty. All of this is a product of cultural influence, the destructive forces the societies ideals have on the individual. Once a person is cast out of society who would stay and live a life that was forced upon them. It was unknown if the girl held those Hindu beliefs but yet she had to live under those conditions due to lack of independence. She didn't know any better and was unable to seek a life that best suited her. Chuiya kept asking to return home, which is evidence that she did not hold the same ideals as the rest of the widows. How was she suppose to conform to a life that she herself was not devoted to? As a society, forcing ideals onto others should be what we are most ashamed of. Allowing people to live for what they are loyal to should be a driving effort in every community. I hope all of us try to provoke others to live based on their own beliefs, instead of ridiculing them for their differences.

The Meaning of Life

First of all I think there is no meaning to human existence. I don't believe in a divine plan for our being alive. If we were to have some purpose for our lives it would be well defined, we would have figured it out by now. During the readings for class there was a part explaining that whether we die rich and powerful, or penniless and friendless there is no difference. If we were created for a point then I feel as though there would be some sign of it. But many of us just devote our lives to enjoyment and living for pleasure as the Hindus believe.
Religion in many ways solves people's problems with the unknown. People want answers to life's questions so they turn to believe in a greater being as to put their trust in. I don't understand how you would give up your own search for answers and instead just believe that it will all work out because someone else is in control. Don't confuse that I think we are able to understand everything about the world around us, yet I think we won't learn more if we stop looking. It is human nature to follow a leader, those who lack leadership or believe in another's ideas more then their own are destined to follow. Children are brought up learning to follow rules and standard imprinted upon them, in this way they also follow in their spiritual ideals. Its widely known that its easier to follow then lead, this is why we praise leadership in our society. But more we should praise those with new ideas and force others to think about their basis of ideas.
If there is a meaning to life then it seems as though we aren't suppose to know it. many think there needs to be a meaning to their life before they die to feel as though they have done something. In the end it won't matter. Yes you can impact people still alive and make life easier or better for them but does that really matter for your own benefit. Maybe our purpose is to work together as to constantly better our situation and quality of life. This is what most people try to accomplish everyday, at work or at home. Therefore people should focus less on their own purpose and look towards the whole human race. How we can help each other to be a success as a whole, to make everyone's life meaningful to someone?

Prayer

Recently I watch the movie the "Number 23." In it there was a line that said something to the effect that "People pray so that god will answer their prayers." I disagreed with this statement. If the only reason that people pray is so that God will do favors for them then that doesn't seem right. Also it is obvious that usually we don't receive what we pray for. Praying has a much more spiritual and cognitive effect then just asking for something.

Mostly I think prayer is wishful thinking. Stating your feelings so that they are known to you and to God. When a prayer is sent out the person usually feels at peace with their problem or worries. I think that we pray as to set a point of what we think should happen and for the benefit of ourselves. Even when we pray for good towards others it is usually because we want goodness for them so that they are more enjoyable people and have a good effect on ourselves. All prayer is, is coming to terms with our own feelings and our own thoughts on a topic, of what we think should be done. Whether or not God is listening or chooses to comply with our demands doesn't matter. We feel better after prayer because we know where we stand and have resolved our own thoughts on the matter.

Prayer can also be used a sort of a link between a person and their beliefs. Communication with others through our own thought process is a little much to ask. Not all people vocalize their prayer which implies that we believe that we are heard without sound but with feeling. Even so why should we have to make a formalized prayer to be heard. Should it be known that we have problems everyday and always are hopeful towards the best. Maybe all this wishful thinking is overloaded and can be blurred together with what we really feel is important.

I believe that a prayer does good for people allowing them to focus on their true feelings and really think out what they want and why. This does more for the person then having them wait for God to answer, for they are able to work out the problem based on their own thoughts. As for things out of our control, I guess it doesn't hurt to try in case someone is listening...

Death

a) Relate the death of a loved one or friend and the main emotions you
felt as a result of his or her death. (An option may be to remember a funeral
you attended and relate what happened there.).


Death is my only real connection with religion. I care what happens to my loved ones when they pass away. More recently this has impacted me due to the death of all my grandparents within two years. All I could feel was shock, to lose someone that was so connected to your being was the toughest thing I have ever been through. I felt like I lost self identity, self confidence and some of my sense of belonging. Without growing up with a religious background I found that in my family is where I felt my core. I identified everything in myself with those people related to me.
The most difficult death was of my hero, my grandmother. My fathers mom was the most amazing person I ever knew. Growing up I viewed her as indestructible, but at she got older and sicker I never lost that sense that she was above death. The day she died I was completely lost in life, I lost the reason to become the person I always wanted to be. Over a period of time I realized that she would have wanted the same things for me after her death as she did while she was still alive. I try my best now to honor those wishes and try to become somewhat like the person she was. The idea of her is spiritual to me, it is what I value the most.
During her death I would say I had the most thoughts about religion and what was to happen once we pass on. I believe that although many of my family members have passed on they still have an influence in this world by the way they impacted us. I can't explain what I believe will happen after death. All I know is that there is nothing to be scared of and that I hope to influence someone else as greatly as those before me have impacted me.

Science and Religion

On Wed. Sept. 12th Dr. Townes, Nobel Prize winner in Physics, gave a lecture on Science and Religion. His own beliefs being babtist, his main opinion was that science and religion are converging. Dr. Townes point of view was that science and religion are much more similar then people think. As time goes on we are learning more and more about the world, as well as more of what is still unknown. He compared ideas that are seen to pertain to one area as being a focus for both; such as the siectific method, faith and experiments. Sowing that on a daily basis people test their faith by trying experiments. This will show them if there is a reason to believe. His definition of the two topis were;
Science~ "Attempt to understand how the universe works"
Religion~ "Attempt to understand purpose and meaning in the universe"
His talk in summary was ment to purswade people to keep an open mind, not be set on chosing either science or religion but to try to understand both.

Dr. Townes disscussion was influential because it showed the wrong of everyone. We all have set beliefs wheather they are towards scientific findings or religious history. Everyone believes in something and feels attached to it, enough to defend it. Yet by creating this wall of defining ourselves we force out other information that could change our beliefs. Myself I don't like having religious discussion with people because it creates such tension and is hard to have a civilized conversation when you are violating someone's beliefs. Dr. Townes himself said that he doesn't think what we know now should be set, that both religion and science are evolving. How can we set our beliefs on what was known thousands of years ago. It seems as though in the science perspective there is more of a willingness to accept change then in the religious view. I cannot justify this with my little knowledge of religion but it seems that most beliefs are the same today as they were hundreds of years ago. This makes things harder to understand if we figure we already know everything. Research i s what keeps our society growing and advancing, hopefully this is true in a person's religious understanding as well.
I agree with Dr. Townes that everyone should keep thier eyes open and search for discoveries in science and religion to futher our understanding of the universe and it's meaning.

Growing up with Religions

I never formally grew up in a religious setting. I have never been to church or ever heard a sermen. My parents both grew up with somewhat of a religious background, my mother more so then my dad. My mom's family is very into their churches, her brother and sister being a little too closed minded. I think that kept our relationship distant. My cousin and I were fairly close growing up but then once she reached high school she became annoyed at my beliefs and stopped associating with me. This was a shock for me, religion should be about love and family values. But in this case it tore our family apart. This is being a little harsh but it has truth behind it. Things like this have given me a bad prospect on religion. I couldn't be a part of a group that would potential separate me from society or the people I care about. Organized religion keeps this order of segregation from human traits of being part of a group and defending that group from strangers. This goes against the whole purpose of religion and therefore I find it hypocritical. One's own beliefs should be maintain though study and aide but in the masses I think it creates more problems then are intended.

Fear in Religion

Today while reading about world religions, I found that fear is a very common theme. I believe that many people are pressured into a religion as the result of fear. Fear of the unknown and what might happen if they refuse to accept the religion. People are always fearful of the unknown and therefore become weak to the beliefs of others.

I remember one of my closest childhood friends grew up in a super religious family. She was the only person I knew that had never been to McDonald's, but that's besides the point. She was keep under a tight watch and whenever she disobeyed her parents a harsh punishment was immediately inflicted upon her. I grew up watching this lively, free-thinking girl turn into a conservative woman with few thoughts of her own. Her sense of self was totally erased due to her conditioning to become exactly the same as her mother. I blame these changes on her parents scorn of any diffent thoughts she had on life. Eventually she was driven away from our friendship due to her belief that I was going to hell, this statement she rehearsed to me many times. I think this is a clear sign of her own fear of going to hell which kept her intimate with Christianity. I futile attempt she brought me with her to Awana Christian group, helping kids learn about the bible. I was only twelve but had noticed that during group conversation my thoughts were different from the group of kids where theirs was quite complementary. They all had grown up in the same settings and no longer held and of their own beliefs for themselves.

This story is not told to show negativity towards a religious group, but instead to show that some people are forced into beliefs against their will. This is my major problem with religion. One's beliefs should be synthesized on their own accord and be true to who they are. Otherwise they are living a lie, no one can believe something if its not in their own ideals, therefore there's no point living as if they do. If there is a God he will know that the person never really believed and so why force yourself, or worse yet, force your religion on others?