WORLD RELIGIONS

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WORLD RELIGIONS

• Basic CLASS PROCEDURES
• PRAYER, BOOKS, NOTES, CARDS
• CLASS REQUIREMENTS
• Taking notes
• Writing terms
• Doing Homework
• HANDOUTS
• OUTLINES
• HOMEWORK

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STARTING PLACE "In the Middle of Things"

• We are NOT starting at the normal place for
  most religion classes NOT starting with
  doctrine, beliefs, scriptures, practices, etc.
• We are starting with YOU

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In the middle of YOUR LIFE

• Your life has three parts

PRESENT
PAST
FUTURE
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2. Human History

• How many parts ?

PAST PRESENT FUTURE ?
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3. IMAGINATION

• How many parts ?

PAST PRESENT FUTURE
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3. REALITY

• How many parts ?

PAST PRESENT FUTURE
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II) PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

• THE PASTA. 3 SOURCES OF KNOWLEDGE

• YOUR EXPERIENCES
• DIRECT INDIRECT

• EXPERIENCES OF OTHERS YOU KNOW TRUST
• (based on ?)

• ACCUMULATED EXPERIENCES
• OF SOCIETY

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B. THERE ARE THREE KINDS OF PAST KNOWLEDGE
1 SCIENCE
HOW the PHYSICAL WORLD OPERATES
2 CULTURE
HOW the SOCIETY OPERATES
3 RELIGION
ATTEMPTS TO ANSWER QS OF WHY Fundamental Qs
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EXAMPLE belief in God

• Why do you believe in God ?
• DIRECT experiences ?
• EXPERIENCES OF OTHERS YOU TRUST ?
• EXPERIENCES PASSED DOWN THROUGH HISTORY ?

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Basic FQs

• WHY does ANYTHING exist ?
• WHY DO I EXIST ?

• WHY is it THE WAY it is ?
• WHY Death ? Evil ? Suffering ?

• IS THERE MEANING to existence ?

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How is science different than religion ? (how
does science approach the FQ's differently ?)

• SCIENCE deals with HOW (based on physical
  evidence), NOT WHY
• Example DEATH

RELIGION deals with WHY and the MEANING of events
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How is culture different than religion ? (how
does culture approach the FQ's differently ?)

• CULTURE deals with HOW to DEAL with events
  (SECULAR SOCIETY)
• Example DEATH

RELIGION deals with WHY and the MEANING of events

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DEF Religion

• An organized, ritualized and agreed upon way of
  answering/understanding FQs
• A human response to whatever the Answer to the
  Mystery of Life is for a person
• A faith/trust that life IS worthwhile/worth
  living based on God or Trustable reality

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FINAL NOTE ABT. PAST

• You cannot CONTROL or CHANGE the past
• Once it has happened,
• you can ONLY learn from it and
• change the way you SEE it
• how it AFFECTS you

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2. THE FUTURE

• BECOMES THE PRESENT one moment at a time
• YOU CANNOT CONTROL the FUTURE,
• THOUGH YOU DO HAVE SOME ABILITY
• TO INFLUENCE IT/ GIVE DIRECTION

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3. THE PRESENT.
THE ONLY PART OF YOUR LIFE THAT YOU CAN CONTROL
AND CHANGE (TO SOME LIMITED EXTENT)
THEREFORE, WHAT YOU DO IN THE PRESENT IS
EXTREMELY IMPORTANT !!

• OPPORTUNITY COST DEF
• Once you spend a resource, you cannot
• spend that SAME resource on something else
• most valuable resource TIME
• esp. THE PRESENT

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III) On the Road to Find Out" RELIGION LIFE
AS A JOURNEY

• Life is a journey we are in the PROCESS of
  finding the meaning
• PURPOSE of ORGANIZED RELIGION is to take
  advantage of exps of others who
• provide signposts
• ALSO, the journey IS the dream

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FINAL POINT

• The answer lies within
• WIZARD OF OZ

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IV) BACK TO OUR STARTING PLACE putting it all
together