Believing is a Human Need
What does it mean to believe?
“During the last few thousand years humans have progressed from technology on the scale of hand tools . . . to major engineering projects(island airports, great bridges, tunnels) many miles in size. If that trend is extrapolated, even at a greatly diminished pace, the time will come when the whole Earth, then the solar system, and eventually the stars will be “technologized.” The galaxy itself could be remodeled by manipulation, stars moved out of their orbits, created from gas clouds, or destroyed by engineered instabilities. Black holes could be formed or controlled at will as energy sources and/or disposal devices for the effluents of cosmic society. And if galaxies, why not the universe?”
— Paul Davies
The Spiritual
1. What do you believe?
a. define belief in relationship to
• faith
religious faith is the deeply personal relationship that each of us experiences with what is sacred in life.
• knowledge
• truth
b. religious beliefs.
religion is the sum total of all our attempts to celebrate our faith publicly through worship, to reflect on the story of our faith, and to live out the values of that faith as a community.
Truth
2. Why do we express our religious beliefs?
a. beliefs
• mystery
• life/death
• Who am I?
• Why am I here?
• Why is there suffering in the world?
b. practices
• creeds
• rituals
• teachings
• social experiences
Religious Community
3. Where do we go to find meaning?
a. sacred literature
b. religious traditions
c. culture
HINT:
Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism, Zoastrianism, Judaism, Islam, Christianity:
• Nature
• Society
• Self
• Ultimate Reality
• The Center