I think if you don't have a religious belief or have rejected it, that you have a perfectly valid paper. Respond with the reasons why you DON'T believe, the experiences that led up to it, how it makes you feel etc. Me, I regret that I am afraid to give myself up to faith in God anymore, since it is so messed up with belonging to a religion.
What to say?
by Sparkplug 19 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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littlerockguy
what undercover said or along those lines
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BizzyBee
Yeah, go with undercover and JWdaughter.
You believe in honesty and kindness, yes? You believe in your children, yes? You believe in treating others as you would be treated, yes? Add some more and describe them in spiritual terms....................maybe a little about being anti-organized religion, if you are. Start writing - stream of consciousness. You can do it!
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Terry
Write a 1050-1400 word paper that defines the elements of your religious belief system. Include a brief discussion of each of the following topics: a. How your beliefs make up a religious belief system. b. How you acquired your religious belief system. c. The benefits and disadvantages of having your particular belief system. d. The role of tradition in your religious belief system. e. The role of tradition in religion in general. f. Why it is important to be knowledgeable about other people's beliefs and attitudes towards religion." a. What one knows comes from evidence while what one believes comes from wishful thinking. I have many desires for a world which does not exist because I live and must cope in a world that does. The decision I have faced is this: is it better to retreat into belief, hope and wishful thinking or; should I set to work making the real world as good as my efforts can obtain? I have chosen the latter. "
b. Most of us are given beliefs before we have developed the ability to filter, analyze or examine what we are told. Belief or Faith becomes the "default" setting in our consciousness. But, as the real world intrudes upon belief we must make rational comparisons with what fails to validate those beliefs. When belief fails to be more than a default coping mechanism the resort to rational living takes precedence. That is when improvement begins. Progress among humanity began historically when mere belief was abandoned in favor of science, technology and hard work in a practical setting. This is the route I have chosen.
c. The "benefit" to belief is reliance on an outside mysterious power for rescue, while the resort to actual knowledge gives us self-confidence to overcome obstacles. For two thousand years Christianity has looked to heaven to stop evil and sweep away everyday problems. In the meantime scientific advances have eliminated scourges of disease and early death, improved knowledge of how the universe operates with a view to harnessing that knowledge for self-benefit. By not biding my time awaiting invisible rescue I am able to wisely use my time to create a life for myself and my loved ones that is practical and manageable with options and contingencies that provide realistic hope for a better future.
d. Tradition actually comes down to performing empty rituals just because they have always been performed. I prefer to spend my time avoiding ritual and, instead, select meaningful pursuits which don't squander precious time.
e.Relgious tradition is a way of tying the future with the past. The core of religous tradition is that man is a helpless and unworthy; (being doomed by imperfection) who must engage a higher power to beg piteously for undeserved mercy. In the final analysis, religious tradition comes down to people looking to a human authority who will act as a conduit of mysterious knowledge. For a price, (usually monetary or servitude) that authority will grant temporary relief from guilt or fear.
f. Knowing how intemperate and delusional your neighbor is will prepare you for a life in a world that is steeped with superstition and irrationality. It will steel your will against the vicissitudes of whimsical prejudices and animosities. Knowledge is the greatest asset a man can possess who would choose his own fate in a world of slaves.
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kgfreeperson
Oh, good heavens. What is the class? Do you have a model or theory of religion to work from?
I'm hyperventilating so you won't have to. Best of luck! -
Sparkplug
So, the person I was to talk to and I missed paths. I will have to wait on the process till another arranged time. I was a bit disappointed.
BUT............
Class tonight was most excellent. I cannot stand what I am learning and yet I am drawn to it in a very sick kind of way.
In a nutshell my mind is spinning over Siddhartha and the beginning of the Buddhist beliefs that stemmed from the separation from Hinduism. Now if I am reading and learning this correctly, Siddhartha did not leave his cushy world until he was 29. Upon venturing out of his protective realm he saw such things that of course he never would have in his privileged life he had led.
So he has a terrible guilt and goes on a separation from this lifestyle and comes up with the four noble facts about life. The way to realize this state is to follow the eightfold path of liberation. Now I cannot help but wonder how a man that splits off of Hinduism because of the terribleness of the cast system can end up being a leader unknown even to himself of a movement that has taken the cast system and made it a democracy of sorts. Instead of having no choice in your future reincarnations, you can do enough homage and good deeds and perhaps raise your religious status by the amount of good things done.
Anyhow, my learning team should be really interesting. I have a Catholic woman, A Muslim woman, and an agnostic male, myself a hopeless skeptic of religion and oh...I think a Christian male who was not there tonight. I hate to be a witch, but I really cannot stand the Muslim woman. She is trying so hard to be superior. I did tell her that I though the boy that was my son’s friend was funny. I told her that this young boy was trying to convert my son to being a Muslim so that he could get an automatic 7 virgins in heaven of sorts....
She really thought fast when she corrected me and let me know it was 17. I laughed out loud and said that was some incentive! I then told her that oops, it must have been the 7th level of hell that he said I was going to. Oh and my son is a very bright and thinking child and thought the idea of 17 virgins was hogwash. Then also that he was not as interested in sex as this Muslim boy was, so he fortunately did not convert. I bet I am on her hit list for the next three weeks. It was really funny though.
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Sparkplug
a. What one knows comes from evidence while what one believes comes from wishful thinking. I have many desires for a world which does not exist because I live and must cope in a world that does. The decision I have faced is this: is it better to retreat into belief, hope and wishful thinking or; should I set to work making the real world as good as my efforts can obtain? I have chosen the latter. "
b. Most of us are given beliefs before we have developed the ability to filter, analyze or examine what we are told. Belief or Faith becomes the "default" setting in our consciousness. But, as the real world intrudes upon belief we must make rational comparisons with what fails to validate those beliefs. When belief fails to be more than a default coping mechanism the resort to rational living takes precedence. That is when improvement begins. Progress among humanity began historically when mere belief was abandoned in favor of science, technology and hard work in a practical setting. This is the route I have chosen.
c. The "benefit" to belief is reliance on an outside mysterious power for rescue, while the resort to actual knowledge gives us self-confidence to overcome obstacles. For two thousand years Christianity has looked to heaven to stop evil and sweep away everyday problems. In the meantime scientific advances have eliminated scourges of disease and early death, improved knowledge of how the universe operates with a view to harnessing that knowledge for self-benefit. By not biding my time awaiting invisible rescue I am able to wisely use my time to create a life for myself and my loved ones that is practical and manageable with options and contingencies that provide realistic hope for a better future.
d. Tradition actually comes down to performing empty rituals just because they have always been performed. I prefer to spend my time avoiding ritual and, instead, select meaningful pursuits which don't squander precious time.
e.Relgious tradition is a way of tying the future with the past. The core of religous tradition is that man is a helpless and unworthy; (being doomed by imperfection) who must engage a higher power to beg piteously for undeserved mercy. In the final analysis, religious tradition comes down to people looking to a human authority who will act as a conduit of mysterious knowledge. For a price, (usually monetary or servitude) that authority will grant temporary relief from guilt or fear.
f. Knowing how intemperate and delusional your neighbor is will prepare you for a life in a world that is steeped with superstition and irrationality. It will steel your will against the vicissitudes of whimsical prejudices and animosities. Knowledge is the greatest asset a man can possess who would choose his own fate in a world of slaves.
I am printing this so I can read it slow. I like how you write and I need to read it at a pace I can savor.
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RichieRich
yea, but what if you get 17 horrificly ugly virgins?
or 17 stubborn, frigid virgins?
or 17 dude virgins?
haha, you're on the muslim's hit list.!!
And as far as writing all those papers goes- i would just slip terry a 20 through paypal and have him email it to you.
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silentWatcher
so that he could get an automatic 7 virgins in heaven of sorts....
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I will gladly practice any religion with a God providing me with 7 virgins here on EARTH.
Interestingly, that scripture where you get the virgins as a martyr in the Koran could be translated two ways: "72 virigns" or "bowl of glass fruit". It seems ancient arabic (like ancient hebrew) doesn't have vowels in written form; the reader knew where to stick them in. Suprised that nobody mentions it more often.
-silent (of the "waiting for my program to compile class") -
deeskis
OMG, I wish I said what Terry did!
((((Sparkie)))), you can do it