What does studying religions that aren't your own help you with?
Could a well-informed clergy person help you with questions of a spiritual nature? Explain.
Do all of us, regardless of particular faith, include agnostic & atheist, have spiritual needs? Identify some of those needs and elaborate on how clergy can help (or not).
Studying religions that aren't our own help us to better understand others. I think it also helps us to open our minds to ideas that we previously may not have thought of or understood. Also it might help us to gain a new concept of ideas from these religions.
ReplyDeleteI think that a member of clergy would be able to help with spiritual questions in some ways. A member of clergy would be able to give you a new perspective on certain issues that you may not fully understand. I especially think a clergy member would be helpful in a difficult time in someones life. During hard times people tend to question God and question their faith, so I think that would be one of the most important times to speak to a clergyman.
I think all of us , no matter what religion, have spiritual needs. Even if they do not realize it. Especially during times when we are alone, I believe that having a side of spirituality helps us through that. having a sense of spirituality in your life can help you through anything If you let it. I think spiritual needs include love and acceptance, as well as believing in yourself.
By studying various religions, one is forced to understand that there are multiple viewpoints on life and, subsequently, death. I feel that when one is exposed to only one way of looking at death, one comes to accept that view only and not care to look at others’ views. When I look at other cultures’ ideas, I am always amazed at how the afterlife ideas vary but the ultimate purpose stays the same – how to shape our lives so that we can be satisfied in death. As stated by Barry, “Although Western and Eastern beliefs in life differ, they do share a notable feature…Each tells us how to die in the best possible spiritual state and, therefore, how best to live” (Barry 119). Each tradition has its own set of moral statues that dictate a “good” life and, surprisingly, those morals are usually quite similar across the globe. All these morals seem to point to one truth: love others. Because of this, I feel that the study of other religions should not be a dividing ground, but rather a place to celebrate the ultimate truths that hold through all time and age.
ReplyDeleteBy listening to the various speakers, I do believe that a well-informed clergy member can help people of all faiths with their spiritual needs. Because there are ultimate truths that hold true through all religions, there are certain questions that plaque everyone’s hearts in death. As the Chaplain for Hospice mentioned - there are only two concerns that plague every dying person, “Who loves me?” and “What have I done to make the world a better place?” Because of this, I believe that even those who believe in no afterlife (atheists and maybe agnostics) have spiritual needs. These “spiritual needs” are not of a “spirit” that will pass on into a next life, but are needs that each human has simply by being human. Humans are built to love and be loved, and regardless of faith, have questions that need to be answered and fears that need to be calmed. As we saw in class, a well-informed clergy member can fill that void for that person and help to bring them peace in their last days, hours, and minutes on earth.
I agree with both Sarah and Michelle on the matter of the clergy, but I think that the reason for learning about other religions is different. It is true that learning about other ways of life and beliefs can lead to an open mind, it is more important to first come to what you personally believe. As a cradle Catholic, I have had the same basic beliefs all my life. However, through the influence of other clergy and ways of thinking, my beliefs have been expanded and changed in subtle ways. The more I learn about my religion and other ones, the more solid my faith becomes. It is important to use the Clergy from these religions because for the most part, they won't lead you wrong. One of the things I have learned along my faith journey is the amount of education needed to be a part of the Clergy of any faith system. And ultimately all of us need the spiritual understanding. It may not be a universal spirituality that we all understand, but no matter how much science evolves, there will always be questions left up to a supernatural longing. This is where we appeal to religion.
ReplyDeletefrom Jenny:
ReplyDeleteReligion, metaphysics, possible afterlife: Spiritual needs aren't necessarily religious. Feelings of connectedness, to other people, to the earth; the way good music, art or literature and lift, move and change you; the way the beauty and mystery of nature can inspire moments of breathless awe; the fullness of your heart when you've helped someone, made their day brighter or eased their burden even a little--these are all spiritual experiences. You don't have to be a believer to have them.
Studying other religions and philosophy only make me question more what I believe in and often leave me with mixed feelings. I sometimes feel so strong in what I believe in and then other times I feel sick to my stomach with the idea of what I have believed in is all wrong and that there can't be any life after death because of so and so philosopher. I think that clergy can help comfort a person in there beliefs, but most the time (when I think about personal experience) I walk away with the knowledge of what they believe in and not what can help me find out what I believe in. I think that this class has really made me sit down and ponder about a lot of uncomfortable questions about my religion and what death is to me. What truly is heaven? What will my afterlife be like? I only wish that there were more definitive answers out there.
ReplyDeleteStudying other religions is always interesting because of the beliefs and some of the similarities they share with my religion. It also makes for good conversation between people of different religions. For the most part I am confident about my religion so there are not too many questions that a clergy could help me with, although it would be nice to get a different perspectives. We all do have spiritual needs whether we admit it or not. There will come a time in our lives when we have lived out our lives and will search for meaning. If we look at many rich celebrities then we will see that once they achieve a certain status they even search for meaning whether it is through philanthropy. It seems as if everybody could use some spiritual assistance sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI believe that with studying other religions, we can see where other people are coming from when they make decision, like about how they want to die. Knowing other religions helps because we have to be respectful to what other people believe in and also knowing those beliefs will help us understand a decision especially if we are questioning that person's decision. I think a clergy member is a big help no matter what that person's religion is. Everyone just needs someone to talk to, but a clergy man can help with that spiritual side of a conversation many other people may not be comfortable talking about. Everyone needs reassurance that they are making the right decision, and a clergy man can provide that. I think we do have spiritual needs because sometimes our beliefs can get tested. Like Christy, I know that my beliefs have been tested. I just hope when I die Heaven is a great of a place as my church talks about it is. We all have some kind of spirituality because most of the time spirituality helps back up the morals we have for ourselves.
ReplyDeleteStudying other religions gives me a different perspective on people’s beliefs and why they follow certain customs. I believe that a clergy person would be able to help answer my questions if they were familiar with the religion. Since clergy people study religion, I feel they understand it better than I do and they would be able to direct me down the right path. I believe that we all have spiritual needs. I think that we all want to feel like we belong and that there is some sort of higher being that we are unable to see. Clergy can help by guiding us on a particular path depending on what our specific beliefs may include.
ReplyDeleteMy idea of what happens to the self after death is a little eccentric. I want to pose a hypothetical situation to describe it. There is an old man is on a beach, enjoying the scenery; he has lived a long enjoyable life. He went to this beach to die because that is where he feels the most happiness and he does not want to feel harm after he dies. If he died anywhere else he would have been unhappy and therefore felt harmed after he died. He lied on the ground and allowed the sand to swallow him. He sunk into it and felt its coldness surround him. While he lied there, he looked at a picture of his wife and recalled all the wonderful memories they had together. She had died some years earlier but he did not allow himself to shut down. He traveled the world and checked off all the remaining items on his bucket list. He missed his wife dearly through the years without her but he knew, in time, that they would meet again and this gave him joy and strength to continue in life. As he lied there on the beach he could feel his life slipping away and he did nothing to try to change it. He allowed himself to fall asleep and when he woke up, he knew he had died. His body was only a skeleton of what he had looked like before, but his soul had removed itself from that skeleton.
ReplyDeleteHe noticed something odd, time had stopped. He was able to move though. He stood up and walked slightly away from the body and stared at it. There was a whirlwind of sand surrounding the body and above there were seagulls flying around it in a circle but these were the only two things around him that were moving. He plucked pieces of sand out the air to examine them and then as soon as he released them they went immediately back into the whirlwind, without falling to the ground. He was stunned and amazed by this. He stood in awe as he watched the seagulls fly above his body. When the moment ended, the sand fell to the ground, burying his body deep within it and the seagulls disappeared. His soul was the only thing that was left of him. He knew his time on Earth was done and he would soon be face to face with God. He knew he had nothing to worry about though because he lived a good life, caring for others and putting his faith in God. He did not believe in heaven and hell in the sense that heaven was a place in the clouds where your soul would go to live with all the other souls if you had good faith and hell was a place which was underground, with fire, where your soul would go if you lived in bad faith. He believed that heaven and hell were just states of mind. You meet with God, you look over your life and if you have proven good faith then your soul will be put to ease. If you did not live in good faith while on Earth, then your soul will be restless forever and will never be able to relax.
I think that religion should be treated as intelligence is as well, with humility and empathy. In the blogs about intellectual humility, it was discussed as to why it is important to be humble in one's believes. One should also be empathetic towards other's believes. by doing this, one allows themselves to hear a new perspective as well as possibly be influenced by this. While religious beliefs are not going to be changed easily, one should still have a sense of religious humility and religious empathy. We need to be understanding that other's have different believes. We can also learn new things and improve our relationship with others if we are humble about our beliefs and accepting that other's have their own.
ReplyDeleteI believe that studying other religions other than our own is useful in the fact of being a "well-rounded", educated individual. Whether the individual is an atheist or a full-blown Christian, he/she can still learn about religions and if anything, take the knowledge as a history lesson. I also believe, like Sadie stated, learning of others' religions encourages a sense of religious humiltiy and religious empathy (like so many religions preach about: the understanding of others). I personally believe that when I hear of other clergy members from different relgions, generally I listen to what they have to say, however, I have my ideas made up about what I believe and I, so far, have not encountered a relgion that has changed my views. I do however, believe that the one thing that people can take away from listening to multiple clergy members of different religions, is that all Christians believe in a God, and generlaly, all other religions may not believe in a "GOD" persay, however, they do believe in a higher power/being that has the "final judgement" of their lives and they strive to "please" or work towards their "heaven".
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