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These are some of the most amazing stories about what a great job our Universal Life Church ministers are doing. These are stories of why they became ordained, the courses they've taken, and the great things they are doing with their ministries.

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Druidism

Druidism with the ULC seminary
Druidism Final Essay
Rev. Lucinda Parker

Everyone interested in the roots of paganism, animism or polytheism should take this class. I found Druidism to be far more than just a religion. It was a whole way of life, a societal structure, a way to be. The author of this class did a fine job of covering this huge and diverse topic!

I took Druidism, Paganism and Wicca classes at the same time. I'm so glad I did as the similarities and differences are much easier to see when you are studying all three classes. I really enjoyed all three classes as well.

One of the best lessons in Druidism was on the Sabbats. It was clear, concise and very interesting. The hardest lesson was the lesson on Deities. It is basically on big long list and I'd never remember half of them. Good reference info but a tough lesson.

The lessons were very sporadic near the end, and I found that very frustrating. The class interested me and I tired of waiting for lessons which were far more than a week apart near the last third of the class.

I enjoyed this class so much and wanted to know more without waiting for emails so I went and bought a couple of books on Druidism to learn more. Keep up the great work with these seminary classes!

Respectfully,
Lucinda Parker

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. I have been a proud member of the ULC for many years and the Seminary since its inception.

The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge selection of Universal Life Church  minister supplies. Since being ordained with the Universal Life Church for so many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've watch the huge change and growth that has continued to happen.



Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Spirit Quest

Master of Metaphysics
A perfect spiritual being on a unique course

In reviewing my life I find that I have been on a Spiritual Quest since my childhood. I would seek the elders of my family for words of wisdom and direction for many of my endeavors. At the age of nine I remember a time when I asked my Grandfather if he knew Jesus. He answered me with these words.

“I’m just a simple man (a retired coal miner of 50 years) if I didn’t know him I wouldn’t be standing here.” “Your Grandmother was sure to read me the Bible every night at dinner as we thanked him for our food and our happy home.” “I was thankful that we had a well that pumped sweet water for my bath and of course for us to drink.” “I was thankful that when the big mine collapsed I was just outside when many of my friends were still in the ground.” “I look around and see the grass growing on the side of the mountain that keeps the dirt in place so that our home doesn’t slide down the hill.” “I see the dew in the morning watering the world and your Grandmother waiting for me with a smile every day as I came back from the mines.” “Yes, I know Jesus, I know him very well”

As my life went on I see that the same pattern continued as I went into my teens. My Dad and I were working in the garden when I asked him “Dad, do you know Jesus?” He kept on hoeing and said these words to me. “Do you see that blossom on that tree over there?” “That’s the first sign that apples are gonna grow on the tree.” “Before that, the tender buds of the leaf were on it and then the leaves filled it to full with color. “You remember last year when we dug that hole to put your dog in his grave?” “Well look at it now it’s all covered with beautiful grass and that tree is its shade from the hot sun.” “Your mother and I lost your brother to Typhoid two years before you were born but now we have a son who’s working right here in the garden with me now.” Yes son, I know Jesus. I wouldn’t have the strength to carry on if I didn’t.”

Many years later I was driving my rig through the desert when I came up on a hitchhiker. It was too hot to be walking so I pulled over and let him in. Not much time after he was in the truck he asked me if I knew Jesus. I was a little shocked, as my mind had been on the company just before I saw him and it wasn’t in a positive direction. I was upset about some pay they had bilked me out of. I thought for a moment and said to him. “If being thankful for the air I breath and the lungs I have to breath it with with means I know Jesus, then yes I know Jesus.” He sat for a few moments then said this to me. “Jesus is the Son of God.” “God made himself flesh and then sacrificed himself on the cross that guys like you could be saved.” I looked over to see an empty seat where the hitchhiker had been setting. To say the least I was shocked. I pulled he truck over and got out, looked at the side of the truck and then back down the road. There was no one in site for fifty miles in any direction. I stood there scratching my head and jumped back in the truck. On the floor was a small Bible, which I saw had John 3:16 circled in red.

Over the course of the next year I read that Bible from cover to cover and saw the reason for this persons/angels visit with me. I hadn’t really known Jesus. I just knew about him. In the Bible I found many answers to my many questions and accepted Jesus (The Christ) as my savior.

As many of you would guess, I now had more questions. I wanted to know why things were as the are and how many things worked. I understood about Powers and Principalities but was finding no references to the roots of these subjects. Everything has roots….where are the roots? I was finding a lot of do’s and don’t do’s but the reasons for them were all so superficial in there answers. I needed the darn roots. What makes things tick so to speak. I mean the real things in life, like why does my brain work the way it does. Just telling me about the parts doesn’t tell me why they are there or what pattern they took to come to be in the form that they are in. Again I need the roots.

ROOTS

I took a course in Metaphysics through an online college and started reading about making roses and grounding cords and blowing them up. Sheesh, This writer had to have one heck of a drug supplier I thought to myself. I continued the course till one day it started to all come together. “Woe, what have we here?” “Creating Your Own Reality” That’s the title I read “Let’s start off by saying that there are no accidents and there are no coincidences in the world.” Now this person was talking like they knew what they were saying. Tell me more “God doesn’t work in mysterious ways, either. There’s nothing mysterious about it. There is a plan for everything, which continually unfolds.” Ok, Now we’re getting to some roots.” I continued to read till the lesson ended and a new plan of attack was in place. I would put this person’s idea to the test. I had already learned about the roses, the grounding cord, Forgiveness, Meditation and all the incidentals up to this point. I was on the same Quest I was before but with a different approach.

The course went on for another few months with more and more input from Competition, Chakras and Karma to Dreams, Reincarnation, Time, pain and even money.

Although the journey for understanding these questions in my life are far from over I now venture down a highway that actually gives to me what I put into it. Some of you are thinking boy this was an easy way for him to write his dissertation and just leave us hanging. On the contrary I wouldn’t do that. I will fill in the one question I hope some of you have asked by now. If he already has the answer about Christ then what is he looking for? My journey actually started as I said before at about nine. I had a vision. Yes a vision. I saw a world so overtaken with problems and food supply was very limited and very expensive. I saw a dinosaur (Brontosaurus) nibbling on a tree top that was 100 feet in the air, I heard a voice in my head saying that everything had a frequency and I had an overwhelming desire to find he how and why. Now let’s not forget I was just nine years old. I had no idea about anything much other than playing with my little cars in the dirt.

Well here it is 44 years later and I have the food problem almost licked. A few associates and I will put this information into the world’s hands this summer. The problems of this world are going to be there till Christ returns and in my opinion that won’t be very much longer. As for the dinosaur …. I don’t know! All I know is that the tree it was nibbling on was 100 foot tall in the vision. I was nine and that tree was only four-foot tall at the time. The tree is 90 foot now and still stands strong at my parent’s old house. You figure it out.

In closing I would like to leave you all with this. The world is a beautiful place and people will be people. If you let them get under your skin then you lost that battle. Fight the good fight and endure till Christ comes again. God Bless.


Rev. Michael Bland

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To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for free, for life, right now, click on the Free Online Ordination link.

Rev. Long created the ULC seminary site to help ministers learn and grow their ministries. The Seminary offers a huge catalog of materials for ministers of the Universal Life Church, as well as an online seminary program and a chaplaincy program.


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Comparative Religion

Comparative Religion Course

Let us look at what we have learned; comparative religion is a field of religious study that analyzes the interpretive differences of common themes, myths, rituals and concepts among the world's religions. The origin beliefs are Mythos-Religious stories which typically explain the beginnings of the multi-cosmos as a deliberate act of creation by a supreme being (the Lord our God).

The term creation myth is sometimes used in a derogatory way to describe stories which are still believed today, as the term myth may suggest something which is absurd or fictional. While these beliefs and stories need not be a literal account of actual events, they may yet express ideas that are perceived by some people and cultures to be truths at a deeper or more symbolic level. Many accounts of creation (which the class pointed out in functional details) share broadly similar themes. Common motifs include the fractionation of the things of the world from a primordial chaos (demiurge); the separation of the mother and father gods; land emerging from an infinite and timeless ocean.

Several religions have creation stories, some of which account for the existence and present form of the universe by the act of creation by a supreme being or the Creator God. Most of these accounts depict one or several gods fashioning things out of themselves, or from pre-existing material (for example chaos or prakriti).

The scholastic traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam for the most part speak of creation ex nihilo. This is typified, for example, by the view that the first verse of the Christian and Jewish Scriptures ("In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth") indicates the only self-existent entity is God with all other things deriving from God. The 2nd Maccabees 7:28 indicates that this philosophy may have been a common Jewish understanding of creation: "I beseech thee, my son, look upon the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, and consider that God made them of things that were not ...". Similar to this is the language found in the Book of Hebrews,

which states, "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear". Some (notably Augustine of Hippo) also hold that God is altogether outside of time and that time exists only within the created universe.

However, in these traditions, the belief that God gave shape to pre-existing things was not unheard of, and that idea became more fully articulated especially under the influence of Greek philosophy. In both Judaism and Christianity, belief in creation "from nothing" clearly dominated the traditions sometime in the second century AD, in part as a reaction against classical philosophy. The following story from the Talmud illustrates this: A philosopher said to R. Gamiliel: Your God was a great craftsman, but he found himself good materials which assisted him: Tohu wa-Bohu, and darkness, and wind, and water, and the primeval deep. Said R. Gamiliel to him: May the wind be blown out of that man! Each material is referred to as created. Tohu wa-Bohu: "I make peace and create evil"; darkness: "I form the light and create darkness"; water: "Praise him, ye heaven of heavens, and ye waters" -- why? -- "For he commanded, and they were created"; wind: "For, lo, He that formeth the mountains, and created the wind"; the primeval deep: "When there were no depths, I was brought forth". BR 1.9, Th-Alb:8

Departing from this tradition, some modern scholars have argued that these statements and all others are still susceptible to ambiguous interpretation, so that creation ex nihilo may not be clearly supported by ancient texts, including the Bible. They point out the similarities of the biblical account, to other ancient religious beliefs that the universe was created by God or the gods out of pre-existing matter (demiurge), as opposed to "out of nothing". Some scholars see evidence that the biblical account, like other ancient religious views, presumes pre-existence of some kind of raw material, albeit without form: "Now the earth was formless and void, darkness was over the face of the deep, and the spirit of God hovered over the waters." God then fashions the disordered material, to create the world.

Creation stories at their outset being with either of two possibilities: demiurge or creation ex nihilo (Latin: out of nothing). In the first case, the Multi-Cosmos is assumed infinite in existence, though the present order of the universe is derived from some organizational initiative, often precipitated by a deity, as is found in the Abraham Religions. In an example of demiurge creation, ancient Greeks believed that the present order was borne out of an initial state of chaos in a process known as the demiurge.

Humanism is a broad category of ethical philosophies that affirm the dignity and worth of all people, based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appeal to universal human qualities—particularly rationalism. Humanism is a component of a variety of more specific philosophical systems, and is incorporated into several religious schools of thought. Humanism entails a commitment to the search for truth and morality through human means in support of human interests. In focusing on the capacity for self-determination, humanism rejects the validity of transcendental justifications, such as a dependence on faith, the supernatural, or divinely revealed texts.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines fundamentalism as a usually religious movement or point of view characterized by a return to fundamental principles, by rigid adherence to those principles, and often by intolerance of other views and opposition to secularism.

Religious pluralism is a loosely defined term concerning peaceful relations between different religions, and is also used in a number of related ways: Religious Pluralism may describe the worldview that one's religion is not the sole and exclusive source of truth, and thus recognizes that some level of truth and value exists in at least some other religions.

Religious pluralism often is used as a synonym for ecumenism. At a minimum, ecumenism is the promotion of unity, co-operation, or improved understanding between different religions, or denominations within the same religion

As a synonym for religious tolerance, which is a condition of harmonious co-existence between adherents of different religions or religious denominations.

Adherents of religious pluralism reject religious relativism.

They do not believe that religious truth is relative. Adherents of religious pluralism recognize that different religions make different truth claims. Those religions may apparently contradict each other but on closer examination may be widely different claims. Therefore all religions can be true as far as their own truth-claims are concerned.

For example, most Christians believe that Jesus was God incarnate and that he died for the salvation of humanity. While Buddhists believe that meditation is the path to enlightenment which liberates the soul from the cycle of rebirth so that it may enter into Nirvana. Christians do not claim that Christ leads to Nirvana nor are Buddhists claiming that Buddha is the son of God. Therefore neither Christianity nor Buddhism can claim absolute truth but both can be true.

Most religions have religious texts they view as sacred. Many religions and spiritual movements believe that their sacred texts are wholly divine or spiritually inspired in origin. Monotheistic religions often view their sacred texts as the "Word of God", often contending that the texts are inspired by God. Even non-believers often capitalize the names of sacred scriptures as a mark of respect or tradition. Another interpretation of the "Word of God" is that it was with the power of the Word that God brought into existence Heaven and Earth, and that this power continues to maintain a balance (i.e. the movement of the planets and stars, cycles of nature). This is akin to the concept of the Greek Logos or the Chinese Tao.

In English language, the term scriptures can be used to describe any religion's sacred text as in Hindu scriptures, Jewish scriptures, but when capitalized, in English literature, the word Scriptures generally refers to the sacred texts of the Holy Scriptures. These are the various things I got out of the course and the discourse which the class brought to me and I enjoyed the details of the Professor and how she presented the concepts to her students.

What you gained from this course.

Based on what I have said above the class opened my mind and heart to the facts and hope of truth in all forms of faith.

What you liked best in this course.

The details which I have spoke about above.

What you liked least about this course.

Believe it or not most of the pictures were very nice and had a lot to offer but I felt it took away from the text.

How you think these discourses could be improved.

Prayer and acceptance of the gifts of the Lord (your high power)

Any other comments?

None at this time

Would you be interested in taking other courses from Rev. Kythera Ann?

Yes, and I will be considering these classes after a short break

Dr. Hook, Louis Charles

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more.

Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free,  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button.

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary.


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A Course in Miracles

A Course In Miracles
A Course in Miracles
I have started this many times and find it hard to get started. So much was covered. To accept things as they are, to share what I see, my joys, my knowing we are all connected with each others is not an easy task.

I found at a very early age that no one seemed to care about what I thought. Throughout my life I was reminded that although I did good, I could have done better. A lifetime of this and being around negative people had put me in a state of insecurity. This was a long journey to correct. ACIM has reassured me that I am fine the way I am. I have much to share with others. My knowledge, my talents, my giving and my love.

I give thanks every day for all I have in a material nature, my friends, my family, nature itself, and my gift of healing. I also review my day to see if I was happy, angry, caring and hope that I did not worry.

Although I always felt everything happens for a reason so that I might have the opportunity to learn. I sometimes make the wrong choice. Both good and bad are necessary and without these lessons I would not been here in the now. I have many stories but I have let the past go. What I am trying to say is that I am already in the process of healing, forgiving myself allows me to forgive others. I have let go of the past for I need to live in the now.

One of my biggest problems was not doing the things I wanted because I didn't have enough money.This obsession is gone, bills get paid and I have everything and more such as travel (something I thought I would never get to do). AICM has shown me why this has happened. You write that addictions have power over us. This happens because of "a lack of". This I understand. In lesson you write that addictive substances are false gods. I don't see them as gods, only destructive in nature. I don't give them the status of gods. I have been blessed that I have no addiction to smoking, drinking, or drugs.Just as our ego has power over us which is destructive, the need to remember that asking for help will assist us to heal and help us find the answers we seek.

The next statement is not to be taken as arrogant. ACIM has taught me that it is all about me - my giving to others, my love of everything and everybody without judgment. Accepting that everything is as it should be is very peaceful.

Thank Loretta for her research and her writings. This will help me greatly in helping my clients. I am a Reiki Master.


Love & Light

Rev Diane L Orr



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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. I have been a proud member of the ULC for many years and the Seminary since its inception.

The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge selection of Universal Life Church  minister supplies. Since being ordained with the Universal Life Church for so many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've watch the huge change and growth that has continued to happen.



Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Metaphysics Course

Master of Metaphysics Course
Rev. Carol Birdwell

I have just finished the 30-lesson course called Spirit Quest. I enjoyed this course of study very much. Throughout the months of this course, I found myself looking forward to the next lesson. In looking back, I am very surprised it has been so many months I have spent on this course.

I learned a number of lessons in this course and re-visited one I have learned elsewhere but have not used in a long time.

The tool that was re-visited, I first learned about 7 years ago in a Reiki Master workshop, and that is the use of the Grounding Cord to drop down into the center of the earth. I have never heard of this tool anywhere else but in that workshop and now, again, in this Spirit Quest course.

This has been a long course and there has been a lot of material to learn in this course. The one most important thing to me in this course has been the actual sign-off every time: You are a perfect being. God Loves You. You were created in perfection, by perfection, for perfection. Your success is guaranteed. I thrilled with this, and was overjoyed for the regular, routine reminder of it at the close of each lesson.

We started this course with setting personal goals, including a timeline for when we want the goals to be met, and taking a very deep look at ourselves, and at how hard we often are on ourselves, much harder than on other people.

We looked at our negative thinking and then at a saying my grandfather raised my mother on and she passed along to me, that “Your word is your bond.” And that was well elaborated on. We wrote other lists in our personal soul-seeking. My grandfather was born in 1881, my mother in 1918, and me in 1943, so it has been in my family a long time and in my consciousness since my early childhood in the 1940s.

I don’t have enough room to elaborate further on the course, and the lessons, but I want to be sure to tell about my favorite tool I have gained in this course.

I have enjoyed creating roses and exploding them, sending down my grounding cords, putting gunk into a golden sun and shoving it over to the ocean (400 miles from me) and seeing and hearing it go ssssssss down into the water.

The most favorite tool I learned here in this course is my little Lightworker. I created a little beauty to insert into my body to help it with healing. She looks a bit like a small fairy. She chips away at the gunk, the debris my body has built up and holds. She places the debris and gunk in something that I can take it out of my body with. Then she lovingly rubs pink healing salve all over the spots that need healing. I use her often and I greatly value that I learned about her in this course.

Thank you,

Carol Birdwell


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To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for free, for life, right now, click on the Free Online Ordination link.

Rev. Long created the ULC seminary site to help ministers learn and grow their ministries. The Seminary offers a huge catalog of materials for ministers of the Universal Life Church, as well as an online seminary program and a chaplaincy program.


Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Wiccan Studies

Master of Wiccan Studies
Wicca Final Essay

Thank you Lord Starwalker and Amy for all your work. This course was well written. It was very interesting and informative to me. Even though I’m a Christian, I’ve found it enlightening to take different courses on different types of religion. Just before this course I took the one on Buddhism. Taking these courses will make my walk as a minister better.

I have a couple of close friends who are wiccans. Before this course we talked about their beliefs and some of their rituals. We talked about their views of their God and Goddess. This course gave me a much better understanding of them and their ways.After taking the Wicca course, I realized I basically knew almost nothing about Wiccans.

This course covered may areas, such as: history, philosophy, holidays, mythology, theology and rituals. The part on dowsing was especially interesting to me, since it brought back childhood memories. My grandparents owned a ranch and whenever they wanted to dig for water they would use dowsing. Using two sticks about three feet long; they would hold them loosely straight out. When the sticks crossed each other, they usually found water when they dug. To me as a child it was magic. Another part of the course was the charts. I made all the charts and one of my friends made me a real nice pendulum. I practiced with it until I got good enough to ask questions I would trust the answers. It really worked! I still use the charts.

I read some great books about Wiccans. Without this course I never would have gone to that section of the bookstore. One of my favorite authors was Scott Cunningham. Mr. Cunningham had several great books.

Another interesting phase in the Wicca course was on Bioelectric energy. It is the energy that every living thing has. It is what carries the instructions from our brain to our fingertips. This energy can be channeled externally. One assignment was to put one hand above the other (palm to palm). Close your eyes and think of a flow of light. After a few moments of concentration you should have felt some tingling or coldness or a hot sensation. If it didn’t work try again by rubbing your hands together in a circular motion, then proceed as written above. This is manipulating your field or aura. I was so fascinated I went to a lady who takes pictures of your aura. It was of my head and chest. She explained what all the colors and chakras meant in my picture. I got to keep the picture and the written explanation of the colors. This led me to read some books on auras and chakras. My favorite author on these was Anodea Judith.

I enjoyed this course very much and would definitely recommend it. Lord Starwalker explained it in such a way a novice like me could understand it. Even as a Christian you need other views to have a successful ministry. My favorite saying was from discourse 15. "May your right hand always be stretched in friendship, and never in want."

Blessings to you all,
Rev. Nancy Rutledge

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. I have been a proud member of the ULC for many years and the Seminary since its inception.

The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge selection of Universal Life Church  minister supplies. Since being ordained with the Universal Life Church for so many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've watch the huge change and growth that has continued to happen.



Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Spirit Quest

Spirit Quest at ULC Seminary
I have to say that I looked forward every week to the Spirit Quest lessons. I had no idea what to expect and I was never disappointed. I have been taught how to ground myself in a number of different ways but none of them worked like the one in the lesson. I had never known that I could ground a room, a building, an area or even body parts! I love that and I use it all most everyday and I am working on making that every day. And yes I can ground with my eyes open too!

Ahh the roses and golden suns. I love them too. The more I practice creating and destroying the more beautiful each rose becomes. I can see the veins, the deep red color and even the drops of dew from time to time. Once I swear that I could even smell it! Sometimes remembering to do the protection rose is not as easy as I thought it would be but I am getting better at it. I just have to be and stay present then I can do it. The first time that I actually felt like I had blown up a rose was odd but I like doing that now. The golden sun makes me feel warm and soft. Now I don’t really have to anything but just think of the golden sun and it is there for me.

I did get stuck on the mock-ups though and I think those are very important for me. I am going back over that part to try to learn it better. It is odd that sometimes we “check out” in areas of our lives that we need that most. I think this part was harder than I had expected and actually my life was getting a little bit crazy then. But things are better now so I can do some more work on it.

A lot of the rest of the lessons I had a bit of knowledge on but I still learned plenty. I copied and read ever article that was sent along with the weekly lessons. These I liked a lot. I am planning on taking more courses on line in the very near future because for me this one was so good.

Thank you for putting this together so we can learn.

Rev. Jen Dearborn


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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. I have been a proud member of the ULC for many years and the Seminary since its inception.

The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge selection of Universal Life Church  minister supplies. Since being ordained with the Universal Life Church for so many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've watch the huge change and growth that has continued to happen.



Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Comparative Religion

Comparative Religion Course from ULC Seminary

I have learned many things from the lessons that were set forth in front of me. But by far the greatest lesson is that which one learns of one's own self. I, as well as others who take this course, have learned a great deal more about myself and of how the world is viewed by others throughout history. It is a great deal harder than one might think to remain unbiased and not become skewed when studying religious philosophy. Through my studies, on this course and independently, I have gained a greater understanding of the will and determination of belief systems in the world today as well as throughout history. As I sat and read each lesson, I found myself asking the fundamental questions that are spoken about. Such as; what is religion? Why do people believe what they do? And so on. A higher understanding has been achieved. The need for religion will always be here and for most it will lead them to a richer and fuller life. The unanswered questions of ones life will be sought out and they will perceive their surrounding in whatever way they choose. Had this been a course on comparative religion I might have had a great deal to argue about or say, but alas it is not.

My hope is that one day others will learn to have compassion and respect not just for each other, but for their beliefs as well. Albeit, it is human nature to argue truth and try to make others understand what one cannot fully comprehend themselves. I have faith in the human race. I foresee an acceptance and understanding coming in the future among all mankind.

I cannot argue to any point contained in the lessons nor can I relay what I have learned without sounding biased as I have not the gift of separation between what I believe and how speak. I am a secular humanist and often disregard what most have to say on the subject of religion, for they are biased as well as me. I have found this course enlightening and enjoyed all the lessons. I appreciate the great lengths of research you have gone through to bring all this great information to the masses in the way that you have presented it. I thank you for your efforts and time and bid you long life and happiness.



Jay S. Barry

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. I have been a proud member of the ULC for many years and the Seminary since its inception.

The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge selection of Universal Life Church  minister supplies. Since being ordained with the Universal Life Church for so many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've watch the huge change and growth that has continued to happen.



Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Metaphysics Course

Dr. of Metaphysics at ULC Seminary
May I Be an Instrument of Your Peace
Rev. Claire Morgan

I have studied spirituality and energy for many years. I am trained in many types of healing and energetic techniques. They work well, and I am content with how I am able to help my clients to heal themselves, and gain more peace and happiness in their lives. But there is not always ease and clarity when it comes to my own life, and I don’t always have someone like myself to turn to. When I read the lesson about how people don’t know how to use prayer, it truly changed my life.

We may know what we want, and we may think we know what is best, but how can a single mind know better than God? To wish for a specific outcome may not be ultimately in the best interest of all (or any) involved. And I have noticed that it is very easy to become myopic when looking at one’s own life and family. It was such a relief to read the words, “May I be an instrument of Your peace.” I can give up trying to figure out what is best or what is right, and I can relinquish control to a higher power.

Since the birth of my son 19 months ago, I have found it difficult to maintain the same type of relationship with my husband that we had before we were parents. I have struggled with ways to give my husband more attention, and to find the long lost spark. But I always ended up feeling like the relationship was yet another of my obligations. I just wanted to be alone, at peace. When I read the aforementioned lesson, though, things shifted. I began to say to myself, “May I be an instrument of Your peace in my relationship.” I slowly began to have more interest in spending time with my husband. I found more loving words for him. And he has responded in kind.

The beauty of a solution lies in its elegance and simplicity. Physicists will give much more weight to a theory that is simple rather than to one that is complex, even if the complex one seems, on the surface, to better explain the phenomenon. And Occam’s Razor tells us that the simplest solution is usually the correct one, to any problem.

Life has its ups and downs, and seems very complicated at times. Peace can be found anywhere, though, if you know you are on a path of love and gratitude. The best way I have found to do that, is by repeating the simple prayer, “May I be an instrument of Your peace.”

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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. I have been a proud member of the ULC for many years and the Seminary since its inception.

The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge selection of Universal Life Church  minister supplies. Since being ordained with the Universal Life Church for so many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've watch the huge change and growth that has continued to happen.



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Comparative Religion

Comparative Religion Essay
What I gained from the "Comparative Religion" course.

Being inspired was the main thing I learned and gained, there where many things I truly enjoyed in this course, the fact that it opened my eyes to a world I thought only to existed in books. I truly appreciated how this course touched on many religions and their beliefs and ways of thinking, how similar some religions are to each other, yet how different others are. I learned how important religion can be and is in many cultures, In fact something that fascinated me was learning a little bit more about prayer and meditation and to learn that the oldest prayer in the world was recorded in Egypt's "Book of the Dead" inspired me to run out and purchase the book.

Another thing that fascinated me about this course was learning about all the different religious titles, I had no idea there where so many.

One of my favorite parts of this course was lesson 2 "Ecumenicalism & Interfaith" learning the religious Observances and the symbols that followed, although knowing a few of them, I was so excited being able to learn so many more, I was really amazed so many existed.

I honestly cannot say that there was anything I didn't like about it this course, I had some troubles pronouncing some of the words, how ever I did find a handy helper on the internet to help me with that problem, it made my life a lot easier.

And beings that I'm interested in meditation I wish that the course would of covered a little bit more on that subject, however it did give me basics to help me start out, I'm not sure how you could really improve this course, you offer so much valuable information anything more might be an over kill.

I will be the first to admit, I've always been a "Believer" but have never been really into Religion, but after taking this course it has really opened my eyes to a lot of interesting information, I can't wait to take other courses on individual religions in the near future.

Eventually I would be interested in taking other courses from Rev. Kythera Ann. I think she did a wonderful job on this course!



Rev. Christine M. Lahnala-Brandau


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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more.

Ordination with the Universal Life Church, is free,  and lasts for life, so use the Free Online Ordination, button.

The  ULC, run by Rev. Long, has created a chaplaincy program to help train our ministers. We also have a huge catalog of Universal Life Church materials.  I've been ordained with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning and have loved watching the continual growth of the seminary.


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Christian Studies

Dr. of Christian Studies
Final essay by Draco (Rev. Stephen Larrance)
Subject ” Disciples on the boat crossing the sea.”


I have read this story over and over many times and I have always found the story very interesting. I have many different views of the story that I will not indulge everyone with, but the one I will may or may not open eyes to the true meaning of the story. So now I will begin my final essay.

When we read the New Testament, Jesus had twelve disciples that were following him on a daily basis, as we should during our lives. If we aren’t maybe we should look at our priorities in our life. To live by faith, we must listen, do what God tells us to do, if not we aren’t then we are just fooling not only our selves but God also, but that is impossible for God know all things. All through Jesus’ ministry, the disciples questioned a lot of what He did, often saying,” Who can this be?” For example we will turn to the story of the storm on the sea in Matthew 14:22-33. This story tells now the disciples reacted on the adventure across the sea , and how we do when things get tough in our daily lives. First off Jesus dismisses the disciples to the boat and to leave without Him, while He goes up the mountain to pray. So off go the disciples on the boat across the sea, just as we do on a daily basis going off to our jobs, marriages, and what ever else we do during a time.

As they were crossing the Sea of Galilee a great tempest (storm) arose, and frightened the disciples, they were perplexed, full of fear, and at a loss. And in the middle of all this, they looked up and saw Jesus walking towards them on the water. This frightened them even more because they thought they were seeing a ghost. But Jesus sensing this spoke to them to be not afraid for it I, Jesus. But Peter not believing any of this spoke back to Jesus saying “If it is I, command me to come to you.. Jesus answered Peter by saying “Come”, it is now time for Peter to show not only Jesus but also the disciples, and to us the amount of faith the Peter had. Peter then stepped out of the boat and started walking on the water just as Jesus had previously done.

Then Peter sensing the storm that was surrounding them he decided to look away from Jesus and at the storm. And at that time Peter sank into the water crying out to Jesus to save him, Jesus then stretched out his hand and grabbed Peter and brought him back up out of the water saying, “ O ye of little faith, why did you doubt? Then Jesus steps into the boat and the whole storm ceased.

This is how we as people continue to live our lives, instead of focusing on our spirituality; we allow the things of this world to take over our thoughts and how we conduct our lives. I as well as all of us have done this, we all can walk on the water of life, heal ourselves and others if we don’t allow the things of this world to take over our thoughts of spirituality. Jesus said “Do not be afraid, for it is I. So the next time perplexity, fear, or any other thought that comes to mind that attempts to make you lose focus, just remember that Jesus lives within us, not outside us.

But that is a whole other topic.

End of essay.


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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. I have been a proud member of the ULC for many years and the Seminary since its inception.

The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge selection of Universal Life Church  minister supplies. Since being ordained with the Universal Life Church for so many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've watch the huge change and growth that has continued to happen.



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Comparative Religion

Overview of Master’s Degree Class on Comparative Religion
By Rev. Nita Wolf

I am very impressed with Rev. Kythera Ann’s information in this course ‘Comparative World Religions.’ So much so that I contacted her to ask for further suggestions on teaching a class as a part of my Master’s Degree for the ULC Seminary. My interest became a quest and I read many books on this topic this past year. Among the most impressive books, that I would highly recommend to others, are: Karen Armstrong’s books: The History of God and The Great Transformation: the beginning of religions; Manly Hall’s The World Religions and Twelve World Teachers: a summary of their lives and teaching; William Young’s The World’s Religions: world views and contemporary issues; The Encyclopedia of the World’s Religions; and Robert Pollock’s The Everything World’s Religions Book. I also did some research on a free, on-line encyclopedia web site: www.wikipedia.org. These formed the basis for the information I taught.

Some material was used from several lessons contained in the ULC Seminary’s Comparative World Religions course. I greatly appreciated the research that Rev. Kythera Ann did and the format she used for study of the topics. I used the criteria of picking which religions and philosophies to cover in class based on contemporary ones that had the most participants throughout the world, and the probable interest of my class participants. I started with the oldest religion, Hinduism, and moved forward, through historical time, to teach about several spiritual and religious movements and their leaders. Besides Hinduism, this also included: various sects of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shamanism, Native American (and Animism), Paganism (including Wicca and Druid beliefs and practices), Islam (including the origins of Sufism and Baha’i beliefs), Judaism, and a broad view of Christianity. (I did not go into the various denominations.)

Each class was well received by participants and I felt very good about their comments. The classes stretched me. I had to do a lot of preparation and sorting to condense all the broad information to a two-hour class time each week. I am glad that I am a ‘seasoned’ teacher or this would have difficult to successfully implement. I have already been asked to teach this class again and I plan to this coming spring. I kept my preparation notes and I will do some revision; but mostly I am satisfied with the results. The minister of this center attended all of my classes. She told me how much it helped her understand information about other philosophies and belief systems and I have noticed some changes in the way she conducts the service and her philosophy. For one thing, she says a prayer for all of the religions of the world now at the beginning of the service and the Hindu expression ‘Namaste’ at the end of her talk each week. She also has left up the banner I found and hung on the podium for my ‘Spiritual Panel’ event that stated: ‘One God, Many Paths.’ The banner is still there.

At the end of the class series, I decided to have an event. I contacted several representatives from various spiritual philosophies to attend an ‘International Dinner and Spiritual Panel’ evening. I organized one a year earlier, as well, and that was the catalyst for my interest in studying comparative world religions. The religious/spiritual philosophies represented with both panels were: Muslim, Sufi, Baha’i, Hindu, ‘New Thought’ Christianity (with the minister of this Unity Center), Judaism, Zen and Tibetan Buddhists, Native American, and Wicca. They answered two main questions I posed to them about their philosophy and personal spiritual practice and they also answered questions from the audience. On both occasions, we had at least seventy people in attendance. Every one brought an ‘international dish,’ bought or homemade, to share and a cash donation. All money contributed for the evening went to worldwide charitable organizations. Both evenings were a ‘hit’ with many positive comments made to the panelists, others, and myself. The goal for the evening was to provide an atmosphere of commonalities (rather than differences), community, and information. This was an event that I always wanted to attend. I had not seen nor heard of it anywhere else so I put it together. I recommend that others consider doing the same. There were many rewards. It was somewhat difficult to track down, gather a variety of individuals to be on the panel, and then coordinate a time for all of them to attend. (For example, it was hunting season when I first wanted to schedule a date for this event with the Native American man. I held up the date for everyone until hunting season was over and he could attend.) A Hindu professor, Dr. Anantanand Rambachan, from St. Olaf’s College in Northfield, MN, was the most impressive and impactful panelist. Because of his appearance and message, he has been asked to return to the Unity center on two other occasions to present his spiritual philosophy and lead a special class on Hinduism. I also respect him so much that I asked that he mentor me in other questions I might have on Hinduism and his knowledge of other religious philosophies.

This course work, and my research, opened my eyes to the origins of religious movements and what historical events and spiritual and philosophical leaders promoted changes. I am a changed person! ‘Teach what you most need to learn!’ As a result of taking this course on comparative religions and my teaching a class on this topic, I am now calling myself an ‘Interfaith Minister.’ I no longer call myself ’religious’ or ‘Christian.’ Instead, I am a spiritual person benefiting from many beliefs and practices. I see comparisons and differences. Some I resonate with more than others, but I do honor many traditions and respect many paths.



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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. I have been a proud member of the ULC for many years and the Seminary since its inception.

The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge selection of Universal Life Church  minister supplies. Since being ordained with the Universal Life Church for so many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've watch the huge change and growth that has continued to happen.



Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar

Friday, February 02, 2007

Religious Philosophy

master of Religious Philosophy

This course took a very different approach than I first anticipated. So if I may, I would like to begin my comments by quoting the ending conclusion:

"The dictionary defines Religious Philosophy as being an ‘inquiry into the nature of things’. It also defines Religion as ‘the expression of man’s belief in and reverence for a superhuman power’. If we combine these two together to get a Philosophy of Religion, we might be able to define that as ‘inquiry into the nature of man’s belief in and reverence for a superhuman power.’

In essence, that is what we have been doing for the past 24 lessons ‘inquiring into the nature of those beliefs! The very core of inquiry is ‘a close examination of a matter in a quest for truth.’ The nature of any such inquiry, therefore, is that we are pursuing an area where there may be honest, but significant, disagreement. Such is the case here. You may be in total agreement with what has been reviewed in these lessons; or, you may consider it to be little more than a crude collection of blasphemous errors. Since the goal of this class at the outset was simply to initiate such an inquiry, the main purpose of the course has therefore been a success either way!"

Firstly, I had loosely accepted the 'meaning' of "Philosophy" as a type of 'attitude' that was able to view both sides of a troublesome disagreement. A kind of insight into an issue without actually having to "take sides"; a kind of "knowing" without the inquiry. And secondly, I expected the course to be one of studying a Philosophy of RELIGION, instead of RELIGIOUS Philosophy, a subtle difference. Thus this course became a deep journey of inquiry, challenging several attitudes and perceptions!

Over the course of 24 weeks, we inquired into many comprehensive views:
· Origins of Religion, history, fundamentals
· Various FORMS of Religion
· How Religion is Organized and Classified
· Various EXPRESSIONS (e.g., myth, doctrine, scripture, social, psychological, etc)
· Faiths that are ‘˜Western’, ‘˜Eastern’, ‘˜Southern’, ‘˜Shamanistic’, etc.
· Why ARE humans so innately religious?
Indisputably RELIGION has been a common and inescapable chord throughout the entire history of humankind. The introductions to the history and origins of religion in this course plays this out very well. Much, if not most of the recorded historical human events can be tied directly or indirectly to our religious beliefs and/or practices. Every generation is faced with these kinds of observations, always leading to the same questions ‘“ is religion ‘true’? Does God exist? Why am I here? Is there ‘˜life after death’? I’ll come back to these questions, as they seem to drive all humankind towards some ‘end’.

Comparative
A very interesting inquiry was exploring the test between ‘˜organized religions’ and ‘˜cults’. As the course reveals, ‘... most anthropologists adhere to a ‘˜five point system’ in determining whether or not a specific group ‘” religious or otherwise ‘” should be classified as a cult.
These five points can be presented in the form of questions about the group. These are:
1. Does the group have a charismatic, powerful leader (or leaders)?
2. Does it display a group mentality that denies individuality and personal, independent thought?
3. Is there a denial of intimacy by excluding or alienating friends and relatives?
4. Do they apply financial pressure and abuse for the welfare of the group, even at the personal expense of the adherent?
5. Is there a separation and isolation from the surrounding community?’
What is striking about this ‘5 point system’ is that they basically define ANY organized group ‘“ religious or otherwise!! I can QUICKLY quote New Testament scriptures to CONFIRM each of these points, therefore ‘concluding’ that Christianity is a ‘cult’. Philosophically (there’s that word again!) you can show where Democrats and Republicans demonstrate at least 4 or the 5 points! The whole PURPOSE of organizing a group of people who SHARE the common goals of the ‘group’ is to BELONG to a group of people who think, live, and believe like I do! To BELONG, to be ACCEPTED, to be INCLUDED are FOUNDATIONAL needs in humans. To be EXCLUDED is like an emotional death sentence, resulting in many physical stresses and anxieties in us.

It would seem therefore, that this ‘5 point system’ is more along the lines of DEFINING any ORGANIZED group ‘“ period. If ANY group demonstrates these 5 points ‘“ they are ORGANIZED. Whether or not the group is a ‘cult’, is a function of degree ‘“ to what ‘extreme’ does a group go to ‘deny familial intimacy’, or to enforce ‘separation and isolation’? What is NOT provided by these ‘anthropologists is the ‘extremity scale’ by which we can assess the ‘cult status’ of one group versus another. For instance, The Davidians of Waco, Texas were quite EXTREME in all 5 points; The First Methodist Church on Main Street in downtown Waco, Texas is NOT ‘extreme’, but rather ‘conservative’ in expressing these 5 points. On the surface therefore, it is a little DECEIVING to the readers of this course to use ONLY this ‘5 point system’ as a guide for determining a ‘cult status’, without further determining ‘degree of enforcement’.

Controversy
Lesson 5 was probably the most ‘˜controversial’ lesson for me. Following lesson 4’s ‘˜intellectual summaries’ of men such as Marx, Freud, Durkheim, James which seem to have ‘views’ that religion is the mental/psychological projection of our own innate qualities, fears, needs and our innermost problems or issues, lesson 4 concludes with a tantalizing ‘promise’. Quoting again: ’These are several theories as to ‘why’ we have religion; there are many others, as well. These, however, are some of the best known to students of Religious Philosophy. Note that there is one remaining reason why we might have religion that has not been reviewed to date, and which has a totally different ‘take’ on the whole subject: religion exists because there is a God (or gods) who desire and deserve human adoration, reverence, and worship!’ {Emphasis mine.}
However, as Lesson 5 unfolds, instead of examining a reason that ‘there is a God’ (as to the evidence of God himself) it seems we’re taken down a biological inquiry into human genetics and the possibility of a ‘religiosity gene’! The natural conclusion to a ‘religiosity gene’ seems to imply there is NO God, but rather it’s carbon-based and DNA induced! I felt this was a bit of deception as to what Lesson 5 was ‘really’ about.

For years I have struggled with the fact that many brilliant people are ‘believers’ and the fact that many equally brilliant people were NOT ‘believers’. There seemed to be one difference in the ‘brilliance’ of these individuals and that was one of ‘faith’, a belief in an unquantifiable entity. Along these same lines I have wondered about the idea that ‘non believers’ seem to require a ‘physical proof for a spiritual truth’. But intellectually, can a spiritual ‘truth’ ever be physically proven? Thus the whole business of this ‘Religious Philosophy/Inquiry’ course!

From Dr Hamer’s work, and outlined in his book, ‘The God Gene: How Faith is Hardwired into Our Genes’, the author of Lesson 5 states: ‘One conclusion we can draw (after we take out all of the highly technical jargon) is that the serotonin system in the brain may provide a biological impetus for religiosity. Since the concentration of serotonin receptors is genetically determined, this is one possible way in which religiosity may be genetically based.’ I do not agree with this conclusion, and here’s why.

Dr. Hamer explains that serotonin level is a factor in the feeling of ‘euphoria’ or ‘transcendence’. Faith (as it relates to RELIGION only) is a BELIEF system in a ‘˜super power’ that is in charge of the ‘universe’. Faith is not a ‘euphoric feeling’ that results from a flood of serotonin. I can feel ‘euphoric’ winning a little league baseball game. I’m ecstatic ‘“ but it has nothing to do with ‘faith’. To connect the ‘euphoria’ felt from winning a ball game with sitting in a church service (or other Religious activity) is just another way of making it ‘guilty by association’. It does NOT suggest why we have Religiosity in people. It can, however, explain why they FEEL GOOD in their Religiosity, like I feel GOOD after winning a sporting event, or accomplish my sales goal at work, etc.

[sidebar ‘“ I had another ‘issue’ with a quote given in the ‘homosexual statistics’ portion of Lesson 5. The quote goes: ‘‘¦if neither genetics nor how parents raise children had an effect on their sexual orientation, we would expect about 6% of the siblings in each of these categories would be homosexual. But, they’re not. In fact, just being raised in the same household nearly doubles the likelihood that a child will be gay. If the two boys are also related, it makes it nearly 4 times as likely they will be gay. And, if they’re identical twins, then it grows to being nearly 9 times as likely.’ {Emphasis mine.} It just appears contradictory to say ‘how parents raise children had no effect on sexual orientation’ followed by ‘In FACT, just being raised in the same household nearly doubles the likelihood that a child will be gay.’ Perhaps this needs clarifying but it saying ‘how parents raise’ and ‘raised in the same household’ both seem to say the SAME thing. End of sidebar!]

Tolerance

Man! How important was this Lesson?? It seems just too easy to conclude that INtolerance has lead to so much injury, death and destruction ‘¦ and so often in the ‘Name of God’! This is probably the single biggest argument AGAINST the existence of a living, loving God! I mean, how could a loving God have so many divergent ‘belief systems’ that causes so much hate and anger in the world over eons of time?? It’s a question we can’t escape.

I thought the 5 steps of toleration were especially helpful. To review, the 5 steps are:
· Awareness; 5 points
· Acknowledgement; 10 points
· Acceptance; 16 points
· Appreciation; and, 22 points
· Amalgamation. 28 points

These 5 ‘˜steps’ represent an excellent ‘scalability’ score and when I took the quiz, I scored a ‘17’. (From the above list, I’ve included the point system given for the quiz; so in my case, I’ve just gone past ‘˜Acceptance’ on my way to ‘˜Appreciation’.)

One of the ’issues’ I noticed in the way some questions in the quiz were worded was to pick a Religion that ‘˜was NOT your own’. The standard example was: ‘Christians, Jews, Muslims’. For a TOLERANCE lesson, including ‘Muslims’ was extra-aggravating. For obvious reasons, the Religion of Islam has made a MAJOR MAJOR impact on the United States over the past 5 years, starting with Sept 11, 2001. Before 9/11, most folks thought Islam was the Arab’s Religion, ‘over there’ somewhere. It has become an interesting ‘journey of Inquiry’ to me personally to see just how VIOLENT Islam really is, especially when preached by the extremists like Osama Ben Laden and other so called ‘clerics’. Mohammed was a very violent leader who was a very effective leader that rallied many Arab nations at time when they needed rallying. Unfortunately he has left ‘scripture’ that allows all non-Muslims 3 choices:

1. become Muslim by accepting Islam and the prophet Mohammed
2. submit to being an inferior, subordinate citizen, and pay the Jizrah tax or
3. die

That’s it. Those are the proselytizing orders for the Islam Religion. World domination, under Allah, is THE goal. There is no peaceful coexistence nor tolerance (outside of the inferior citizenship who pays the Jizrah tax ‘“ which is a slave status without being ‘owned’ by a master ‘“ other than the master of Islam). Talk about ‘tolerance!’ Wow. And here’s a REALLY bothersome, even disturbing issue: The United States, founded on Christian principles as a ‘Christian nation’ and under a Constitution that GUARANTEES Religious freedom for all, MUST, by law, allow the Religion of Islam, whose stated purpose is to rid the world of all Religions, save Islam! Therefore, the US must allow the practice of Islam under protected Religious freedoms, whose sole purpose is to ultimately eliminate the very Constitution and Nation that guarantees them the right to eliminate us! Islam even permits lying, stealing, cheating and deception, if it furthers the work of Allah, so you cannot fully rely on any promise to live peacefully, side by side with non-Muslims.

So to use Muslims in the questions of the ‘˜Tolerance Quiz’ was very troublesome to me! In REALITY, we cannot permit the sects of Islam that teach what I’ve outlined here below; as it could seal our destruction as a nation; yet the laws of our nation guarantee Religious freedom! So I probably would have scored higher on the quiz, but I’m much less ‘tolerant’ of a religion whose stated purpose is either my conversion or my demise!

Conclusion
I would like to conclude my essay with the questions I posed at the beginning: Is religion ‘true’? Does God exist? Why am I here? Is there ‘˜life after death’?
YOU must decide.

It seems to me that as we INQUIRE into man’s Religions, every person, whether or not they have an abundant supply of seratonin, to BELIEVE in a Supreme Being. Sociologically, it is well-known that every culture (that has been historically studied), has lived by a ‘code of ethics’ and collectively had a sense of ‘right and wrong’. Religion has provided a systematic, logical and organized way to present an acceptable overview of the ‘cosmos’, that there is a Supreme Being ‘out there’ who set in motion an environment that goes through the ‘cycle of life’. How you live in the ‘cycle’ can determine what happens in the ‘next world’ or next ‘life’ (e.g., rewards or punishment.)

To develop a system of ‘right and wrong’ or ‘code of ethics’ or ‘rules for living’, by definition, requires some foundational basis. What are these ‘rules’ based on? A living, all-seeing, all-knowing God seems a logical place to say, the ‘buck stops here’. If ‘God said it, that settles it’ is not a bad place to get the ‘˜roadmaps for life’. However, if God is nothing but a product of our fears and imagination, that we’re just a carbon-based entity, here accidentally, with neither purpose nor reason for even breathing, then the basis of my ‘code of ethics’ is just another figment of my imagination and means nothing more than body sweat, just a naturally occurring biological urge. To have a ‘˜system of laws’ based on a ‘Higher Being’ gives ‘authority’ and ‘stability’ and ‘purpose’ behind the laws. To base them on biological urges, is nothing. Laws formed under ‘lower being’ urges, is then a matter of opinion, your’s versus mine. Who’s right if it’s an opinion between you and me? I am of course! Unless you convince me otherwise.

Now segregate all the humans from all the cultures from around the globe over all recorded time, all focused on THEIR perceived ‘Higher Beings’, then in time, there will be a clash of cultures, all believing with equal ferocity, that MY opinion supersedes YOUR opinion ‘“ join OUR group and way of believing/living/existing! And when a culture or society has lived for eons of time (or as long as can be remembered), there IS only one right way of believing, and it’s the one I’M most comfortable with. After all, all my ancestors all can’t be wrong!
But to really conclude the matter, the bottom line for following a Religious Belief is an individual, personal decision. A decision to believe or not to believe should be based on ‘available evidence’, beyond a ‘REASONABLE’ doubt. Not beyond ANY doubt because God’s existence cannot be ‘proved’. Just as God’s existence cannot be ‘DIS-proved’, either. What remains is FAITH. Not a warm and fuzzy FEELING, as excess serotonin provides, but a decision made based on the accumulation of evidence, barring actual proof to the contrary. Therefore, if God can’t be proved or disproved, then it makes LOGICAL SENSE to take a step of faith and believe in God {just in case there IS a God on the ‘other side’}! What most folks totally deny is this: to NOT believe in God, IS ITSELF AN ACT OF FAITH! So one may correctly conclude that to not believe, is an act of Faith!

Yours, in the Journey,
Michael L. Disney


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The Universal Life Church is a comprehensive online seminary where we have classes in Christianity, Wicca, Paganism, two courses in Metaphysics and much more. I have been a proud member of the ULC for many years and the Seminary since its inception.

The Universal Life Church offers handfasting ceremonies, funeral ceremonies and free minister training.

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site to help train our ministers. We also have a huge selection of Universal Life Church  minister supplies. Since being ordained with the Universal Life Church for so many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've watch the huge change and growth that has continued to happen.



Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar