What has taken the place of religious commitment is the "economy" in the form of an even greater consumption of the goods that science in the service of technology and industry delivers. Combined with an ever more malleable and mercurial "self" defined in terms of the fufillment of material desires, the urge for infinite acquisition has become the default religion even of believers. This "religion" prevails even though in acting it out Christians violate their own religion's claims that self-love and covetousness are close to the essence of sin. The religion is that of Cole Porter's "Anything Goes," or, more recently, "Whatever."
Dale Van Kley, professor of history at Ohio State University
Showing posts with label Religion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Religion. Show all posts
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Saturday, March 5, 2011
C.S. Lewis on the need for Theology
In a way I quite understand why some people are put off by Theology. I remember once when I had been giving a talk to the R.A.F., an old, hard-bitten officer got up and said, "I've no use for all that stuff. But, mind you, I'm a religious man too. I know there's a God. I've felt Him: out alone in the desert at night: the tremendous mystery. And that's just why I don't believe all your neat little dogmas and formulas about Him. To anyone who's met the real thing they all seem so petty and pedantic and unreal!"
Now in a sense I quite agreed with that man. I think he had probably had a real experience of God in the desert. And when he turned from that experience to the Christian creeds, I think he really was turning from something real to something less real.
In the same way, if a man has once looked at the Atlantic from the beach, and then goes and looks at a map of the Atlantic, he also will be turning from something real to something less real: turning from real waves to a bit of coloured paper. But here comes the point. The map is admittedly only coloured paper, but there are two things you have to remember about it. In the first place, it is based on what hundreds and thousands of people have found out by sailing the real Atlantic. In that way it has behind it masses of experience just as real as the one you could have from the beach; only, while yours would be a single isolated glimpse, the map fits all those different experiences together.
In the second place, if you want to go anywhere, the map is absolutely necessary. As long as you are content with walks on the beach, your own glimpses are far more fun than looking at a map. But the map is going to be more use than walks on the beach if you want to get to America.
Now, Theology is like the map. Merely learning and thinking about the Christian doctrines, if you stop there, is less real and less exciting than the sort of thing my friend got in the desert. Doctrines are not God: they are only a kind of map. But that map is based on the experience of hundreds of people who really were in touch with God—experiences compared with which any thrills or pious feelings you and I are likely to get on our own are very elementary and very confused. And secondly, if you want to get any further, you must use the map.
You see, what happened to that man in the desert may have been real, and was certainly exciting, but nothing comes of it. It leads nowhere. There is nothing to do about it. In fact, that is just why a vague religion—all about feeling God in nature, and so on—is so attractive. It is all thrills and no work; like watching the waves from the beach. But you will not get to Newfoundland by studying the Atlantic that way, and you will not get eternal life by simply feeling the presence of God in flowers or music. Neither will you get anywhere by looking at maps without going to sea. Nor will you be very safe if you go to sea without a map.
In other words, Theology is practical: especially now. In the old days, when there was less education and discussion, perhaps it was possible to get on with a very few simple ideas about God. But it is not so now. Everyone reads, everyone hears things discussed. Consequently, if you do not listen to Theology, that will not mean that you have no ideas about God. It will mean that you have a lot of wrong ones—bad, muddled, out-of-date ideas. For a great many of the ideas about God which are trotted out as novelties today, are simply the ones which real Theologians tried centuries ago and rejected. To believe in the popular religion of modern England is retrogression—like believing the earth is flat.
Now in a sense I quite agreed with that man. I think he had probably had a real experience of God in the desert. And when he turned from that experience to the Christian creeds, I think he really was turning from something real to something less real.
In the same way, if a man has once looked at the Atlantic from the beach, and then goes and looks at a map of the Atlantic, he also will be turning from something real to something less real: turning from real waves to a bit of coloured paper. But here comes the point. The map is admittedly only coloured paper, but there are two things you have to remember about it. In the first place, it is based on what hundreds and thousands of people have found out by sailing the real Atlantic. In that way it has behind it masses of experience just as real as the one you could have from the beach; only, while yours would be a single isolated glimpse, the map fits all those different experiences together.
In the second place, if you want to go anywhere, the map is absolutely necessary. As long as you are content with walks on the beach, your own glimpses are far more fun than looking at a map. But the map is going to be more use than walks on the beach if you want to get to America.
Now, Theology is like the map. Merely learning and thinking about the Christian doctrines, if you stop there, is less real and less exciting than the sort of thing my friend got in the desert. Doctrines are not God: they are only a kind of map. But that map is based on the experience of hundreds of people who really were in touch with God—experiences compared with which any thrills or pious feelings you and I are likely to get on our own are very elementary and very confused. And secondly, if you want to get any further, you must use the map.
You see, what happened to that man in the desert may have been real, and was certainly exciting, but nothing comes of it. It leads nowhere. There is nothing to do about it. In fact, that is just why a vague religion—all about feeling God in nature, and so on—is so attractive. It is all thrills and no work; like watching the waves from the beach. But you will not get to Newfoundland by studying the Atlantic that way, and you will not get eternal life by simply feeling the presence of God in flowers or music. Neither will you get anywhere by looking at maps without going to sea. Nor will you be very safe if you go to sea without a map.
In other words, Theology is practical: especially now. In the old days, when there was less education and discussion, perhaps it was possible to get on with a very few simple ideas about God. But it is not so now. Everyone reads, everyone hears things discussed. Consequently, if you do not listen to Theology, that will not mean that you have no ideas about God. It will mean that you have a lot of wrong ones—bad, muddled, out-of-date ideas. For a great many of the ideas about God which are trotted out as novelties today, are simply the ones which real Theologians tried centuries ago and rejected. To believe in the popular religion of modern England is retrogression—like believing the earth is flat.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Scientology
The Church of Scientology and Christianity
1. Introduction to Scientology
• Founded by Science Fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard in 1962
• Scientology is the study and handling of the spirit in relationship to itself, others and all of life
• In Scientology no one is asked to accept anything as belief or on faith. That which is true for you is what you have observed to be true. An individual discovers for himself that Scientology works by personally applying its principles and experiencing results
2. The Nature of Man
• Man is an immortal, spiritual being. His experience extends well beyond a single lifetime. His capabilities are unlimited
• Man consists of three parts. The first of these is the spirit, called the thetan, which is the individual himself.
• The second is the mind. The thetan uses his mind as a communication and control system between himself and his environment.
• The third of these parts is the body. The body is not the person
• The thetan has lived through many past lives and will continue to live beyond the death of the body.
• Through the Scientology process of "auditing," people can free themselves of traumatic incidents, ethical transgressions and bad decisions which are said to collectively restrict the person from reaching the state of "Clear" and "Operating Thetan." Each state is said to represent the recovery of native spiritual abilities and to confer mental and physical benefits.
• A person is basically good, but becomes "aberrated" by moments of pain and unconsciousness.
• Psychiatry and psychology are destructive and abusive practices
3. The Dynamics of Existence
• The basic command followed by all life, "Survive!" is subdivided into eight dynamics (dynamic meaning urge, drive or impulse). All activities in one’s varied life can be inspected, understood and harmonized with all others to increase survival.
• 8th Dynamic INFINITY, also commonly called God, the Supreme Being or Creator.
• 7th Dynamic SPIRITUAL dynamic — anything spiritual with or without identity, life source.
• 6th Dynamic PHYSICAL UNIVERSE with its four components of matter, energy, space and time.
• 5th Dynamic LIFE FORMS including all plant and animal life.
• 4th Dynamic MANKIND as a species.
• 3rd Dynamic GROUP SURVIVAL whether friends, a club, company, nation or race.
• 2nd Dynamic FAMILY and children and all other creativity.
• 1st Dynamic SELF — the individual, including his body, mind and immediate possessions.
• Through Scientology, a person realizes that his life and influence extend far beyond himself. By understanding each of these dynamics and their relationship, one to the other, he is able to do so, and thus increase survival on all of these dynamics
4. ARC, KRC and the Tone Scale
• The Scientology symbol contains two triangles which Hubbard called the "ARC triangle" and the "KRC triangle", respectively. The points of the lower triangle are said to represent Affinity (emotional responses), Reality (an agreement on what is real) and Communication. Improving one aspect of the triangle increases the level of the other two. The points of the upper triangle represent Knowledge, Responsibility and Control
• These two environments may not actually agree. Therefore, a therapy which asks man to adapt to the environment rather than adapt the environment to man is a slave philosophy and is unworkable simply because it is not true
• The tone scale places human moods and behaviors a scale from -40 ("Total Failure") to +40 ("Serenity of Being")
• Communication is the solution so a person will climb from the bottom to the top by improving his ability to communicate
5. The Auditing Session and the Bridge to Total Freedom
• Scientology practices are structured in sequential levels because rehabilitation takes place on a "gradient", that is, easier steps are taken first and only then greater complexities are handled
• In auditing, the member discloses specific traumatic incidents, prior ethical transgressions and bad decisions to his assistant
• Members are helped across this bridge by the help of an assistant who asks them many questions and assigns readings
• Most auditing requires an E-meter, a device that measures minute changes in electrical resistance through the body when a person holds electrodes, and a small current is passed through them; Scientology states that it helps locate an area of concern.
• Scientologists follow The Way to Happiness, which defines morals as "a code of good conduct laid down out of the experience of the race to serve as a uniform yardstick for the conduct of individuals and groups"
• An action must contain construction which outweighs the destruction it contains in order to be considered good. "Good is any action which brings the greatest construction to the greatest number of dynamics while bringing the least destruction
6. The States of Existence
• Exteriorization as it is known in Scientology is to "be three feet back of your head"
• In 1952, Hubbard reported he was able to stand as a unit of life independently of the physical body
• One being can attain several different states of existence in just one lifetime. Some savants amongst the Himalayas have worked in this direction, and Buddha spoke of it. Fifteen or twenty years of hard work were said to result in a nebulous conclusion. With Scientology, there are no such uncertainties. These higher states can be attained through Dianetics and Scientology auditing
7. Past Lives and Extraterrestrial Beings
• The cause of "aberrations" in a human mind was an accumulation of pain and unconscious memories of traumatic incidents, some of which predated the life of the human. He extended this view further in Scientology, declaring that "thetans" have existed for tens of trillions of years, during which time, they have been exposed to a vast number of traumatic incidents, and have made a great many decisions that influence their present state.
• Some past traumas may have been deliberately inflicted in the form of "implants" used by extraterrestrial dictatorships such as Helatrobus to brainwash and control the population. Hubbard's lectures and writings include a wide variety of accounts of complex extraterrestrial civilizations and alien interventions in earthly events, collectively described by Hubbard as "space opera."
• Xenu, an alien ruler of the "Galactic Confederacy," 75 million years ago brought billions of people to Earth in spacecraft, stacked them around volcanoes and blew them up with hydrogen bombs. Their souls then clustered together, stuck to the bodies of the living and continue to do this today. These clustered spirits are called" Body Thetans," and advanced-level Scientologists place considerable emphasis on isolating these alien souls and neutralizing their ill effects
• One can move through the levels of existence: Communication, Problems, Relief, Freedom, Ability, Power, Clear, Operating Thetan
• "Operating" in this context means "able to act and handle things" and a "thetan" is the spiritual being that is the basic self. An Operating Thetan then is an individual who could operate totally independently of his body whether or not he had one or didn't have one. He's now himself and is not dependent on the universe around him
8. The Aims of Scientology
• A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights
9. Scientology and Christianity
Books by L. Ron Hubbard
Fiction
Buckskin Brigades (1937), ISBN 0-88404-280-4
Final Blackout (1940), ISBN 0-88404-340-1
Fear (1951), ISBN 0-88404-599-4
Typewriter in the Sky (1951), ISBN 0-88404-933-7
Ole Doc Methuselah (1953), ISBN 0-88404-653-2
Battlefield Earth (1982), ISBN 0-312-06978-2
Mission Earth (1985-87), 10 vols.
Scientology and Dianetics
Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, New York 1950, ISBN 0-88404-416-5
Child Dianetics. Dianetic Processing for Children, Wichita, Kansas 1951, ISBN 0-88404-421-1
Scientology 8-8008, Phoenix, Arizona 1952, ISBN 0-88404-428-9
Dianetics 55!, Phoenix, Arizona 1954, ISBN 0-88404-417-3
Dianetics: The Evolution of a Science Phoenix, Arizona 1955, ISBN 1-4031-0538-3
Scientology: The Fundamentals of Thought, Washington, DC 1956, ISBN 0-88404-503-X
The Problems of Work, Washington, DC 1956, ISBN 0-88404-377-0
Have You Lived Before This Life, East Grinstead, Sussex 1960, ISBN 0-88404-447-5
Scientology: A New Slant on Life, East Grinstead, Sussex 1965, ISBN 1-57318-037-8
The Volunteer Minister's Handbook Los Angeles 1976, ISBN 0-88404-039-9
Research and Discovery Series, a chronological series collecting Hubbard's lectures. Vol 1, Copenhagen 1980, ISBN 0-88404-073-9
The Way to Happiness, Los Angeles 1981, ISBN 0-88404-411-4
Famous Scientologists
L. Ron Hubbard - best-selling science fiction author; founder of Scientology
John Travolta - actor
Chick Corea - influential American jazz pianist and composer
Brandy (Norwood) - R&B singer, actress
Tom Cruise - actor, movie star
Nancy Cartwright - voiceover artist best known as voice of "Bart Simpson" on The Simpsons
Jason Beghe - actor
Xavier Deluc - actor
Jason Dohring - actor
Michael Fairman - actor
Geoffrey Lewis - actor
Christopher Masterson - actor
Danny Masterson - actor
Haywood Nelson - actor
Eduardo Palomo - actor
Jeff Pomerantz - actor
Patrick Renna - actor
Giovanni Ribisi - (a.k.a. Vonni Ribisi) actor
Michael D. Roberts - actor
Bodhi Elfman - actor
Jason Lee - actor and professional skateboarder
Kirstie Alley - actress
Mimi Rogers - actress (2nd generation)
Anne Archer - actress
Jennifer Aspen - actress
Catherine Bell - actress
Erika Christensen - actress
Jenna Elfman - actress
Katie Holmes - actress
Kimberley Kates - actress
Juliette Lewis - actress
Priscilla Presley - actress
Leah Remini - actress
Marissa Ribisi - actress
Michelle Stafford - actress
Karen Black - actress
Kelly Preston - actress
Kate Ceberano - actress and musician
Judy Norton-Taylor - actress and musician
Lisa Marie Presley - singer; daughter of Elvis Presley
Billy Sheehan - rock and fusion bass player
David Campbell - musician
Dave Davies - musician
Isaac Hayes - musician
Nicky Hopkins - musician
Mark Isham - musician
David Pomeranz - musician
Rob Thomas - musician
Patrick Warren - musician
Edgar Winter - musician
Beck - singer (a.k.a. Beck Hansen)
Carina Ricco - singer, actress, composer
Gloria Rusch-Novello - singer, writer, composer
Karen Nelson Bell - producer, director and musician
Robert Zoller - author
Floyd Mutrux - screenwriter, director, producer
Terry Jastrow - TV producer and director
Peter Medak - film director
Carl W. Rohrig - (a.k.a. Pablo Roehrig) painter
Franca Cerveni - radio and television announcer
James T. Sorensen - photographer
Keith Code - motorcycle racing instructor
Megan Shields - physician and author of health books, incl. Arthritis: The Doctor's Cure, etc.
Chaka Khan - singer
Sonny Bono - singer ("Sonny and Cher"), U.S. Representative
Mary Bono - widow of Sonny Bono; U.S. Representative
Heber Jentzsch - President of the Church of Scientology
Ernest Lehman - screenwriter of The Sound of Music
Greta Van Susteren - host of On the Record with Greta Van Susteren new show on FOX TV
Werner Erhard - former Scientologist who founded est
David Miscavige - important Church of Scientology religious leader; chairman of the board for Religious Technology Center
Jim Johnson - owner and founder of Mr. Jim's Pizza chain
Lee Purcell - actress, Big Wednesday, etc.
Michael Wiserman - Predator 2, etc.
Gary Imhoff - actor; Thumbelina, etc.
Manu Tupou - actor and acting teacher; Hawaii
Dror Soref - director; The Seventh Coin, etc.
Amanda Ambrose - singer, vocal teacher
Milton Ketselas - one of Hollywood's most successful acting teachers, who heads the Beverly Hills Playhouse
Jim Rogers - celebrity producer, manager (ex-husband of Mimi Rogers)
Linda Blair - actress best known for The Exorcist
Arnaud Boetsch - tennis player
Darius Brubeck - musician, member of "Brubeck Band"
Sharon Case - actress
Glenn Zottola - trumpeter
Andrew Loog Oldham - writer
Dick Zimmerman - celebrity photographer
Jeffrey Tambor - actor
Eddie Deezen - actor
Corin Nemec - actor
Anita Mally - actress, screenwriter
Julia Migenes - opera singer
Lightfield Lewis - actor, director
Charles Lakes - Olympic gymnast
Laura Prepon - actress
Helga Wagner - jewelry designer; dated Prince Charles and Sen. Ted Kennedy
Deborah Rennard - actress
Sofia Milos - actress
Placido Domingo, Jr. - singer
Robert F. Lyons - actor and drama teacher
Carolyn Judd - ad writer and producer
Paul Haggis - screenwriter, story editor, TV producer
Josele Garza - racing car driver from Mexico
Lenny Macaluso - musician, songwriter, producer
Phillipe de Henning - racing driver, fashion designer
Milton Katselas - acting teacher, director
Maxine Nightingale - singer
Mario Feninger - composer and concert pianist
Jeffrey Scott - script writer, grandson of Moe Howard
Pamela Roberts - actress, clothes designer
Elena Roggero - Italian singer, songwriter
Karen Nelson-Bell - producer
Lamia Khashoggi - wife of wealthy and famous Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi
Noelle North - dancer, voice-over actress
Misha Segal - composer
Andrik Schapers - singer from Netherlands
Cass Warner - writer
Jason Lee - actor ("Chasing Amy")
Michelle Stafford - actress ("The Young and the Restless")
Denice Duff - actress ("The Young and the Restless")
Lynsey Bartilson - actress ("Grounded for Life")
Tom Fair - (a.k.a. Tom Feher) lyrcist for the 60s rock group the Left Banke
Moon Martin - rock star; "Bad Case of Lovin' You"
Clive Clerk - actor, singer
Jim McMullin - actor
Michael Wiseman - child actor ("Predator 2")
Ludwig Fisher - actor and artist
Ryan Paris - singer, musician
Michael Schnitzler - violinist
Peter Winsnes - actor
Eric Sherman - director
Peter Schless - composer, synthetisist and producer
Diana Venegas - beauty queen; Miss Venezuela; lace-gowns boutique in Beverly Hills
Jackson Sousa - Hollywood celebrity trainer
Michael Sellers - concert pianist
Susie Coelho - actress
Hans Gunter Arenz - race car driver
Fermin Sanchez - race car driver
Kit Carson - motorcycle racer
Al DiMeola - jazz musician
Janet Greeson - owner of Diet Centers
Willie B. Wilson - oil billionaire
Tony Morales - drummer with the Rippingtons
Hossam Ramzy - North African percussion ensemble leader, played with Peter Gabriel
Amanda Rice - (formerly "Raven") stripper; previously Kiefer Sutherland's girlfriend
Current Status in Scientology Is Unknown:
Bernadette Peters - actress
Jerry Seinfeld - comedian
Nicole Kidman - actress
Neil Gaiman - science fiction and comic book writer
Shirley MacLaine - actress (may have never been a member)
Harry Kipper - (a.k.a. Martin von Haselberg) performance artist, husband of singer Bette Midler
Amy Heckerling - director
Gottfried Helnwein - graphic artist
Wings Hauser - actor
Melanie - folk singer
Gloria Swanson - actress
Eden Vanning - violinist
Helena Rojo - Mexican singer
Sasha Malinin - Russian pop star
Helaine Lembeck - actress
Kim Yates - softcore "adult film" actress
Tony Jacklin - pro golfer
Past Adherents not Currently in Scientology:
Oliver Stone - film director
J.D. Salinger - popular, acclaimed novelist for his novel The Catcher in the Rye
Brad Pitt - actor
William S. Burroughs - author and Beat Generation icon
Christopher Reeve - actor who played "Superman"
Van Morrison - influential singer, songwriter, musician (lapsed)
Soleil Moon Frye - actress best known as "Punky Brewster"
Sharon Stone - actress
Peggy Lipton - actress
Mikhail Baryshnikov - ballet dancer
Patrick Swayze - actor
Kate Capshaw - actress, Steven Spielberg's wife
Rock Hudson - actor, movie star
Emilio Estevez - actor
John Brodie - football player
Don Simpson - producer, Top Gun, etc.
Candice Bergen - actress, star of TV series Murphy Brown, Boston Public, etc. (may have not actually been a member)
Leonard Cohen - songwriter, poet
Stanley Clarke - jazz bassist
Darby Crash - punk rocker
Ricky Martin - singer
Olivia D'Abo - actress
Cathy Lee Crosby - actress
Gloria Gaynor - singer and "disco queen"
Howard Wilkins - founder of Pizza Hut
Diana Canova - singer, actress
Raven de la Croix - stripper, psychic, actress
Gabor Szabo - jazz guitarist and composer (died 1982)
A.E. van Vogt - science fiction writer
Ingo Swann - writer, psychic, painter
Barbara Carrera - actress
Frank Stallone - actor, singer, songwriter; brother of Sylvester Stallone
Michael Garson - musician who toured with David Bowie
Michael Edwards - male model, former boyfriend of Priscilla Presley
Peter Lupus - actor (Mission Impossible TV series)
Al Jarreau - singer
Wendon Swift - Hollywood author, manager
Bobby Lipton - actor
Dini Petty - talk show host
Demi Moore - actress
Kalle Pohl - comedian
Bert Salzman - producer; won Academy Award in 1975 for a short film and thanked L. Ron Hubbard in speech
Bernhard Paul - clown, manager of "Circus Roncalli"
Harold Puthoff - mathematician, physicist, ESP researcher
The Incredible String Band - musicians, band
Lee Konitz - jazz musician
Stephen Boyd - actor
Joan Prather - actress
Leif Garrett - pop star
Carlos Palomino - athlete
Bruce Penhall - actor
Lou Rawls - soul music, jazz, and blues singer
John Dalmas - science fiction writer
Michael Lembeck - actor, director
Mickey McMeel - Three Dog Knight drummer
Cynthia Sikes - actress
Gordon Lightfoot - singer, composer, lyricist
Dale Haddon - actress, model
Chick Vennera - actor
Joan DiVito Vennera - actor
Flo Allen - major Hollywood agent
Hunter Carson - actor
Penny Perry - casting director
Ed Love -
Steven Boyd -
Lisa Blount - actress
Aldous Huxley - writer
Josh Dohnen - agent
Anne Francis - actress
Eileen Brennan - actress
Horst Buchholtz - actor
Tom Skeritt - actor
Nan Herst Bowers - celebrity, publicist
John Longenecker - Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker
Kathleen Brown - ran for governor of California (not clear if she was official member)
Maude Adams - actress, model
Charles Manson - infamous serial killer
1. Introduction to Scientology
• Founded by Science Fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard in 1962
• Scientology is the study and handling of the spirit in relationship to itself, others and all of life
• In Scientology no one is asked to accept anything as belief or on faith. That which is true for you is what you have observed to be true. An individual discovers for himself that Scientology works by personally applying its principles and experiencing results
2. The Nature of Man
• Man is an immortal, spiritual being. His experience extends well beyond a single lifetime. His capabilities are unlimited
• Man consists of three parts. The first of these is the spirit, called the thetan, which is the individual himself.
• The second is the mind. The thetan uses his mind as a communication and control system between himself and his environment.
• The third of these parts is the body. The body is not the person
• The thetan has lived through many past lives and will continue to live beyond the death of the body.
• Through the Scientology process of "auditing," people can free themselves of traumatic incidents, ethical transgressions and bad decisions which are said to collectively restrict the person from reaching the state of "Clear" and "Operating Thetan." Each state is said to represent the recovery of native spiritual abilities and to confer mental and physical benefits.
• A person is basically good, but becomes "aberrated" by moments of pain and unconsciousness.
• Psychiatry and psychology are destructive and abusive practices
3. The Dynamics of Existence
• The basic command followed by all life, "Survive!" is subdivided into eight dynamics (dynamic meaning urge, drive or impulse). All activities in one’s varied life can be inspected, understood and harmonized with all others to increase survival.
• 8th Dynamic INFINITY, also commonly called God, the Supreme Being or Creator.
• 7th Dynamic SPIRITUAL dynamic — anything spiritual with or without identity, life source.
• 6th Dynamic PHYSICAL UNIVERSE with its four components of matter, energy, space and time.
• 5th Dynamic LIFE FORMS including all plant and animal life.
• 4th Dynamic MANKIND as a species.
• 3rd Dynamic GROUP SURVIVAL whether friends, a club, company, nation or race.
• 2nd Dynamic FAMILY and children and all other creativity.
• 1st Dynamic SELF — the individual, including his body, mind and immediate possessions.
• Through Scientology, a person realizes that his life and influence extend far beyond himself. By understanding each of these dynamics and their relationship, one to the other, he is able to do so, and thus increase survival on all of these dynamics
4. ARC, KRC and the Tone Scale
• The Scientology symbol contains two triangles which Hubbard called the "ARC triangle" and the "KRC triangle", respectively. The points of the lower triangle are said to represent Affinity (emotional responses), Reality (an agreement on what is real) and Communication. Improving one aspect of the triangle increases the level of the other two. The points of the upper triangle represent Knowledge, Responsibility and Control
• These two environments may not actually agree. Therefore, a therapy which asks man to adapt to the environment rather than adapt the environment to man is a slave philosophy and is unworkable simply because it is not true
• The tone scale places human moods and behaviors a scale from -40 ("Total Failure") to +40 ("Serenity of Being")
• Communication is the solution so a person will climb from the bottom to the top by improving his ability to communicate
5. The Auditing Session and the Bridge to Total Freedom
• Scientology practices are structured in sequential levels because rehabilitation takes place on a "gradient", that is, easier steps are taken first and only then greater complexities are handled
• In auditing, the member discloses specific traumatic incidents, prior ethical transgressions and bad decisions to his assistant
• Members are helped across this bridge by the help of an assistant who asks them many questions and assigns readings
• Most auditing requires an E-meter, a device that measures minute changes in electrical resistance through the body when a person holds electrodes, and a small current is passed through them; Scientology states that it helps locate an area of concern.
• Scientologists follow The Way to Happiness, which defines morals as "a code of good conduct laid down out of the experience of the race to serve as a uniform yardstick for the conduct of individuals and groups"
• An action must contain construction which outweighs the destruction it contains in order to be considered good. "Good is any action which brings the greatest construction to the greatest number of dynamics while bringing the least destruction
6. The States of Existence
• Exteriorization as it is known in Scientology is to "be three feet back of your head"
• In 1952, Hubbard reported he was able to stand as a unit of life independently of the physical body
• One being can attain several different states of existence in just one lifetime. Some savants amongst the Himalayas have worked in this direction, and Buddha spoke of it. Fifteen or twenty years of hard work were said to result in a nebulous conclusion. With Scientology, there are no such uncertainties. These higher states can be attained through Dianetics and Scientology auditing
7. Past Lives and Extraterrestrial Beings
• The cause of "aberrations" in a human mind was an accumulation of pain and unconscious memories of traumatic incidents, some of which predated the life of the human. He extended this view further in Scientology, declaring that "thetans" have existed for tens of trillions of years, during which time, they have been exposed to a vast number of traumatic incidents, and have made a great many decisions that influence their present state.
• Some past traumas may have been deliberately inflicted in the form of "implants" used by extraterrestrial dictatorships such as Helatrobus to brainwash and control the population. Hubbard's lectures and writings include a wide variety of accounts of complex extraterrestrial civilizations and alien interventions in earthly events, collectively described by Hubbard as "space opera."
• Xenu, an alien ruler of the "Galactic Confederacy," 75 million years ago brought billions of people to Earth in spacecraft, stacked them around volcanoes and blew them up with hydrogen bombs. Their souls then clustered together, stuck to the bodies of the living and continue to do this today. These clustered spirits are called" Body Thetans," and advanced-level Scientologists place considerable emphasis on isolating these alien souls and neutralizing their ill effects
• One can move through the levels of existence: Communication, Problems, Relief, Freedom, Ability, Power, Clear, Operating Thetan
• "Operating" in this context means "able to act and handle things" and a "thetan" is the spiritual being that is the basic self. An Operating Thetan then is an individual who could operate totally independently of his body whether or not he had one or didn't have one. He's now himself and is not dependent on the universe around him
8. The Aims of Scientology
• A civilization without insanity, without criminals and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights
9. Scientology and Christianity
Books by L. Ron Hubbard
Fiction
Buckskin Brigades (1937), ISBN 0-88404-280-4
Final Blackout (1940), ISBN 0-88404-340-1
Fear (1951), ISBN 0-88404-599-4
Typewriter in the Sky (1951), ISBN 0-88404-933-7
Ole Doc Methuselah (1953), ISBN 0-88404-653-2
Battlefield Earth (1982), ISBN 0-312-06978-2
Mission Earth (1985-87), 10 vols.
Scientology and Dianetics
Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, New York 1950, ISBN 0-88404-416-5
Child Dianetics. Dianetic Processing for Children, Wichita, Kansas 1951, ISBN 0-88404-421-1
Scientology 8-8008, Phoenix, Arizona 1952, ISBN 0-88404-428-9
Dianetics 55!, Phoenix, Arizona 1954, ISBN 0-88404-417-3
Dianetics: The Evolution of a Science Phoenix, Arizona 1955, ISBN 1-4031-0538-3
Scientology: The Fundamentals of Thought, Washington, DC 1956, ISBN 0-88404-503-X
The Problems of Work, Washington, DC 1956, ISBN 0-88404-377-0
Have You Lived Before This Life, East Grinstead, Sussex 1960, ISBN 0-88404-447-5
Scientology: A New Slant on Life, East Grinstead, Sussex 1965, ISBN 1-57318-037-8
The Volunteer Minister's Handbook Los Angeles 1976, ISBN 0-88404-039-9
Research and Discovery Series, a chronological series collecting Hubbard's lectures. Vol 1, Copenhagen 1980, ISBN 0-88404-073-9
The Way to Happiness, Los Angeles 1981, ISBN 0-88404-411-4
Famous Scientologists
L. Ron Hubbard - best-selling science fiction author; founder of Scientology
John Travolta - actor
Chick Corea - influential American jazz pianist and composer
Brandy (Norwood) - R&B singer, actress
Tom Cruise - actor, movie star
Nancy Cartwright - voiceover artist best known as voice of "Bart Simpson" on The Simpsons
Jason Beghe - actor
Xavier Deluc - actor
Jason Dohring - actor
Michael Fairman - actor
Geoffrey Lewis - actor
Christopher Masterson - actor
Danny Masterson - actor
Haywood Nelson - actor
Eduardo Palomo - actor
Jeff Pomerantz - actor
Patrick Renna - actor
Giovanni Ribisi - (a.k.a. Vonni Ribisi) actor
Michael D. Roberts - actor
Bodhi Elfman - actor
Jason Lee - actor and professional skateboarder
Kirstie Alley - actress
Mimi Rogers - actress (2nd generation)
Anne Archer - actress
Jennifer Aspen - actress
Catherine Bell - actress
Erika Christensen - actress
Jenna Elfman - actress
Katie Holmes - actress
Kimberley Kates - actress
Juliette Lewis - actress
Priscilla Presley - actress
Leah Remini - actress
Marissa Ribisi - actress
Michelle Stafford - actress
Karen Black - actress
Kelly Preston - actress
Kate Ceberano - actress and musician
Judy Norton-Taylor - actress and musician
Lisa Marie Presley - singer; daughter of Elvis Presley
Billy Sheehan - rock and fusion bass player
David Campbell - musician
Dave Davies - musician
Isaac Hayes - musician
Nicky Hopkins - musician
Mark Isham - musician
David Pomeranz - musician
Rob Thomas - musician
Patrick Warren - musician
Edgar Winter - musician
Beck - singer (a.k.a. Beck Hansen)
Carina Ricco - singer, actress, composer
Gloria Rusch-Novello - singer, writer, composer
Karen Nelson Bell - producer, director and musician
Robert Zoller - author
Floyd Mutrux - screenwriter, director, producer
Terry Jastrow - TV producer and director
Peter Medak - film director
Carl W. Rohrig - (a.k.a. Pablo Roehrig) painter
Franca Cerveni - radio and television announcer
James T. Sorensen - photographer
Keith Code - motorcycle racing instructor
Megan Shields - physician and author of health books, incl. Arthritis: The Doctor's Cure, etc.
Chaka Khan - singer
Sonny Bono - singer ("Sonny and Cher"), U.S. Representative
Mary Bono - widow of Sonny Bono; U.S. Representative
Heber Jentzsch - President of the Church of Scientology
Ernest Lehman - screenwriter of The Sound of Music
Greta Van Susteren - host of On the Record with Greta Van Susteren new show on FOX TV
Werner Erhard - former Scientologist who founded est
David Miscavige - important Church of Scientology religious leader; chairman of the board for Religious Technology Center
Jim Johnson - owner and founder of Mr. Jim's Pizza chain
Lee Purcell - actress, Big Wednesday, etc.
Michael Wiserman - Predator 2, etc.
Gary Imhoff - actor; Thumbelina, etc.
Manu Tupou - actor and acting teacher; Hawaii
Dror Soref - director; The Seventh Coin, etc.
Amanda Ambrose - singer, vocal teacher
Milton Ketselas - one of Hollywood's most successful acting teachers, who heads the Beverly Hills Playhouse
Jim Rogers - celebrity producer, manager (ex-husband of Mimi Rogers)
Linda Blair - actress best known for The Exorcist
Arnaud Boetsch - tennis player
Darius Brubeck - musician, member of "Brubeck Band"
Sharon Case - actress
Glenn Zottola - trumpeter
Andrew Loog Oldham - writer
Dick Zimmerman - celebrity photographer
Jeffrey Tambor - actor
Eddie Deezen - actor
Corin Nemec - actor
Anita Mally - actress, screenwriter
Julia Migenes - opera singer
Lightfield Lewis - actor, director
Charles Lakes - Olympic gymnast
Laura Prepon - actress
Helga Wagner - jewelry designer; dated Prince Charles and Sen. Ted Kennedy
Deborah Rennard - actress
Sofia Milos - actress
Placido Domingo, Jr. - singer
Robert F. Lyons - actor and drama teacher
Carolyn Judd - ad writer and producer
Paul Haggis - screenwriter, story editor, TV producer
Josele Garza - racing car driver from Mexico
Lenny Macaluso - musician, songwriter, producer
Phillipe de Henning - racing driver, fashion designer
Milton Katselas - acting teacher, director
Maxine Nightingale - singer
Mario Feninger - composer and concert pianist
Jeffrey Scott - script writer, grandson of Moe Howard
Pamela Roberts - actress, clothes designer
Elena Roggero - Italian singer, songwriter
Karen Nelson-Bell - producer
Lamia Khashoggi - wife of wealthy and famous Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi
Noelle North - dancer, voice-over actress
Misha Segal - composer
Andrik Schapers - singer from Netherlands
Cass Warner - writer
Jason Lee - actor ("Chasing Amy")
Michelle Stafford - actress ("The Young and the Restless")
Denice Duff - actress ("The Young and the Restless")
Lynsey Bartilson - actress ("Grounded for Life")
Tom Fair - (a.k.a. Tom Feher) lyrcist for the 60s rock group the Left Banke
Moon Martin - rock star; "Bad Case of Lovin' You"
Clive Clerk - actor, singer
Jim McMullin - actor
Michael Wiseman - child actor ("Predator 2")
Ludwig Fisher - actor and artist
Ryan Paris - singer, musician
Michael Schnitzler - violinist
Peter Winsnes - actor
Eric Sherman - director
Peter Schless - composer, synthetisist and producer
Diana Venegas - beauty queen; Miss Venezuela; lace-gowns boutique in Beverly Hills
Jackson Sousa - Hollywood celebrity trainer
Michael Sellers - concert pianist
Susie Coelho - actress
Hans Gunter Arenz - race car driver
Fermin Sanchez - race car driver
Kit Carson - motorcycle racer
Al DiMeola - jazz musician
Janet Greeson - owner of Diet Centers
Willie B. Wilson - oil billionaire
Tony Morales - drummer with the Rippingtons
Hossam Ramzy - North African percussion ensemble leader, played with Peter Gabriel
Amanda Rice - (formerly "Raven") stripper; previously Kiefer Sutherland's girlfriend
Current Status in Scientology Is Unknown:
Bernadette Peters - actress
Jerry Seinfeld - comedian
Nicole Kidman - actress
Neil Gaiman - science fiction and comic book writer
Shirley MacLaine - actress (may have never been a member)
Harry Kipper - (a.k.a. Martin von Haselberg) performance artist, husband of singer Bette Midler
Amy Heckerling - director
Gottfried Helnwein - graphic artist
Wings Hauser - actor
Melanie - folk singer
Gloria Swanson - actress
Eden Vanning - violinist
Helena Rojo - Mexican singer
Sasha Malinin - Russian pop star
Helaine Lembeck - actress
Kim Yates - softcore "adult film" actress
Tony Jacklin - pro golfer
Past Adherents not Currently in Scientology:
Oliver Stone - film director
J.D. Salinger - popular, acclaimed novelist for his novel The Catcher in the Rye
Brad Pitt - actor
William S. Burroughs - author and Beat Generation icon
Christopher Reeve - actor who played "Superman"
Van Morrison - influential singer, songwriter, musician (lapsed)
Soleil Moon Frye - actress best known as "Punky Brewster"
Sharon Stone - actress
Peggy Lipton - actress
Mikhail Baryshnikov - ballet dancer
Patrick Swayze - actor
Kate Capshaw - actress, Steven Spielberg's wife
Rock Hudson - actor, movie star
Emilio Estevez - actor
John Brodie - football player
Don Simpson - producer, Top Gun, etc.
Candice Bergen - actress, star of TV series Murphy Brown, Boston Public, etc. (may have not actually been a member)
Leonard Cohen - songwriter, poet
Stanley Clarke - jazz bassist
Darby Crash - punk rocker
Ricky Martin - singer
Olivia D'Abo - actress
Cathy Lee Crosby - actress
Gloria Gaynor - singer and "disco queen"
Howard Wilkins - founder of Pizza Hut
Diana Canova - singer, actress
Raven de la Croix - stripper, psychic, actress
Gabor Szabo - jazz guitarist and composer (died 1982)
A.E. van Vogt - science fiction writer
Ingo Swann - writer, psychic, painter
Barbara Carrera - actress
Frank Stallone - actor, singer, songwriter; brother of Sylvester Stallone
Michael Garson - musician who toured with David Bowie
Michael Edwards - male model, former boyfriend of Priscilla Presley
Peter Lupus - actor (Mission Impossible TV series)
Al Jarreau - singer
Wendon Swift - Hollywood author, manager
Bobby Lipton - actor
Dini Petty - talk show host
Demi Moore - actress
Kalle Pohl - comedian
Bert Salzman - producer; won Academy Award in 1975 for a short film and thanked L. Ron Hubbard in speech
Bernhard Paul - clown, manager of "Circus Roncalli"
Harold Puthoff - mathematician, physicist, ESP researcher
The Incredible String Band - musicians, band
Lee Konitz - jazz musician
Stephen Boyd - actor
Joan Prather - actress
Leif Garrett - pop star
Carlos Palomino - athlete
Bruce Penhall - actor
Lou Rawls - soul music, jazz, and blues singer
John Dalmas - science fiction writer
Michael Lembeck - actor, director
Mickey McMeel - Three Dog Knight drummer
Cynthia Sikes - actress
Gordon Lightfoot - singer, composer, lyricist
Dale Haddon - actress, model
Chick Vennera - actor
Joan DiVito Vennera - actor
Flo Allen - major Hollywood agent
Hunter Carson - actor
Penny Perry - casting director
Ed Love -
Steven Boyd -
Lisa Blount - actress
Aldous Huxley - writer
Josh Dohnen - agent
Anne Francis - actress
Eileen Brennan - actress
Horst Buchholtz - actor
Tom Skeritt - actor
Nan Herst Bowers - celebrity, publicist
John Longenecker - Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker
Kathleen Brown - ran for governor of California (not clear if she was official member)
Maude Adams - actress, model
Charles Manson - infamous serial killer
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Major Christian Denominations
Christian Denominations
Catholicism
The Roman Catholic Church, with 980 million followers, is the largest Christian church in the world. It claims direct historical descent from the church founded by the apostle Peter. The Pope in Rome is the spiritual leader of all Roman Catholics. He administers church affairs through bishops and priests.
Orthodox Eastern Church
With 250 million followers worldwide, the Orthodox Eastern Church is the second largest Christian community in the world. The followers of the Orthodox Church are in fact members of many different jurisdictions, including the Church of Greece, the Church of Cyprus, and the Russian Orthodox Church. It began its split from the Roman Catholic Church in the fifth century. The break was finalized in 1054 with the Great Schism. The Orthodox agree doctrinally in accepting as ecumenical the first seven Ecumenical councils (Doctrine was established by seven ecumenical councils held between 325 and 787, and amended by other councils in the late Byzantine period.), and in rejecting the jurisdiction of the bishop of Rome (the Pope). Orthodox religion holds biblical Scripture and tradition-guided by the Holy Spirit as expressed in the consciousness of the entire Orthodox community-to be the source of Christian truth. It rejects doctrine developed by the Western churches. The word Orthodox became current at the time of the defeat (753) of iconoclasm in Constantinople. It also involves holding a sacramental doctrine of grace, and of veneration of the Virgin Mary-two points differentiating the Orthodox from Protestants. Relations between the Orthodox churches and Roman Catholicism have improved since the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965).
Anabaptists
Anabaptists are Christians of the Radical Reformation. Various groups at various times have been called Anabaptist, but the term is most commonly used to refer to the Anabaptists of 16th century Europe. Today the descendants of the 16th century European movement (particularly the Amish, Hutterites, Mennonites, Church of the Brethren, Brethren in Christ, and other respective German Baptist variants) are the most common bodies referred to as Anabaptist.
Baptists
Founded by John Smyth in England in 1609, and by Roger Williams in Rhode Island in 1638. The Baptist Church has 32 million members, and no creed; authority stems from the Bible. Most Baptists oppose the use of alcohol and tobacco. Baptism is by total immersion.
Brethren Church
Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination organized in 1708 by eight people in Schwarzenau, Germany. The Brethren movement began as a melding of Pietist and Anabaptist ideas. The first of its churches in America was established in 1723. These churches became commonly known as German Baptist Brethren. The denomination holds the New Testament as its only creed. Historically the church has taken a strong stance for non-resistance or pacifism. Distinctive practices include believers baptism by trine immersion; a threefold Love Feast consisting of feet washing, a fellowship meal, and communion; anointing for healing; and the holy kiss.
Church of Christ
Organized by Presbyterians in Kentucky in 1804, and in Pennsylvania in 1809. It has 1.3 million members. Members believe in the New Testament, and they follow what is written in the Bible without elaboration. Rites are simple. Baptism is of adults.
Church of England
King Henry VIII of England broke with the Roman Catholic Church with the Act of Supremacy in 1534, which declared the king of England to be the head of the Church of England. The Church of England has 6,000 Anglican Orthodox Church members in the U.S. Supremacy of the Bible is the test of doctrine, but The Episcopal Church grants great latitude in interpretation of doctrine. Although it subscribes to the historic Creeds-the Nicene Creed, and the Apostles' Creed-it considers the Bible to be divinely inspired, and holds the Eucharist or Lord's Supper to be the central act of Christian worship. It tends to stress less the confession of particular beliefs than the use of the Book of Common Prayer in public worship. This book, first published in the sixteenth century, even in its revisions, stands today as a major source of unity for Anglicans around the world. The Church of England is part of the Anglican community, represented in the United States mainly by the Episcopal Church.
Episcopal Church
This U.S. offshoot of the Church of England has 2.7 million members. It installed Samuel Seabury as its first bishop in 1784, and held its first General Convention in 1789. The Church of England broke with the Roman Catholic Church in 1534. Worship is based on the Book of Common Prayer and interpretation of the Bible using a modified version of the Thirty-Nine Articles (originally written for the Church of England in 1563). Services range from spartan to ornate, from liberal to conservative. Baptism is of infants.
Evangelical Free Church
The Swedish Evangelical Free Church and the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Free Church Association merged in June of 1950 to form the Evangelical Free Church of America. The merger conference took place at the Medicine Lake Conference Grounds near Minneapolis, Minnesota. The two bodies represented 275 local congregations at the time of the merger. The Swedish group formed as the Swedish Evangelical Free Mission in Boone, Iowa in October of 1884. Several churches that had been members of the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Ansgar Synod and the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Mission Synod, along with some independent congregations, were instrumental in organizing this voluntary fellowship. Also in 1884 two Norwegian-Danish groups, in Boston, Massachusetts and Tacoma, Washington, began to fellowship together. By 1912 they had formed Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Free Church Association.
Lutheran Church
The Lutheran Church has 8 million members in the U.S. It is based on the writings of Martin Luther (1483-1586), who broke with the Roman Catholic Church, and led the Protestant Reformation when he nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Church. The first Lutheran congregation in North America was founded in 1638 in Wilmington, Delaware. The first North American regional synod was founded in 1748 by Heinrich Melchior Muhlenberg. Faith is based on the Bible. Salvation comes through faith alone. Services include the Lord's Supper (communion). Lutherans are mostly conservative in religious and social ethics; infants are baptized, the church is organized in synods. The two largest synods in the United States are the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.
Mennonites
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after Menno Simons (1496–1561), though his teachings were a relatively minor influence on the group. As one of the historic peace churches, Mennonites are committed to nonviolence, nonviolent resistance/reconciliation, and pacifism. There are about 1.5 million Mennonites worldwide as of 2006.[1] Mennonite congregations worldwide embody the full scope of Mennonite practice from old fashioned 'plain' people to those who are indistinguishable in dress and appearance from the general population.
Methodist Church
Methodism has 13.5 million members in the U.S. It was founded by the Reverend John Wesley, who began evangelistic preaching with the Church of England in 1738. A separate Wesleyan Methodist Church was established in 1791. The Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in the United States in 1784. The name derives from the founders' desire to study religion "by rule and method," and follow the Bible interpreted by tradition and reason. Worship varies by denomination within Methodism (the United Methodist Church is the largest congregation). The church is perfectionist in social dealings. Methodists have Communion and they perform baptism of infants and adults.
Pentecostal Churches
The churches grew out of the "holiness movement" that developed among Methodists and Protestants in the first decade of the twentieth century. There are some 3.5 million followers today in the U.S. Pentecostals believe in baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, faith healing, and the second coming of Jesus. Of the various Pentecostal churches, the Assemblies of God is the largest. A perfectionist attitude toward secular affairs is common. Services feature enthusiastic sermons and hymns, and Pentecostals practice adult baptism and communion.
Presbyterian Church
Presbyterianism in the U.S. grew out of the Calvinist Churches of Switzerland and France. John Knox founded the first Presbyterian Church in Scotland in 1557. The first presbytery in North America was established by Irish missionary, Francis Makemie, in 1706. For 3.2 million members of the Presbyterian Church, faith is in the Bible. Sacraments are infant baptism and communion. The church is organized as a system of courts in which clergy and lay members (presbyters) participate at local, regional, and national levels. Services are simple, with emphasis on the sermon.
Catholicism
The Roman Catholic Church, with 980 million followers, is the largest Christian church in the world. It claims direct historical descent from the church founded by the apostle Peter. The Pope in Rome is the spiritual leader of all Roman Catholics. He administers church affairs through bishops and priests.
Orthodox Eastern Church
With 250 million followers worldwide, the Orthodox Eastern Church is the second largest Christian community in the world. The followers of the Orthodox Church are in fact members of many different jurisdictions, including the Church of Greece, the Church of Cyprus, and the Russian Orthodox Church. It began its split from the Roman Catholic Church in the fifth century. The break was finalized in 1054 with the Great Schism. The Orthodox agree doctrinally in accepting as ecumenical the first seven Ecumenical councils (Doctrine was established by seven ecumenical councils held between 325 and 787, and amended by other councils in the late Byzantine period.), and in rejecting the jurisdiction of the bishop of Rome (the Pope). Orthodox religion holds biblical Scripture and tradition-guided by the Holy Spirit as expressed in the consciousness of the entire Orthodox community-to be the source of Christian truth. It rejects doctrine developed by the Western churches. The word Orthodox became current at the time of the defeat (753) of iconoclasm in Constantinople. It also involves holding a sacramental doctrine of grace, and of veneration of the Virgin Mary-two points differentiating the Orthodox from Protestants. Relations between the Orthodox churches and Roman Catholicism have improved since the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965).
Anabaptists
Anabaptists are Christians of the Radical Reformation. Various groups at various times have been called Anabaptist, but the term is most commonly used to refer to the Anabaptists of 16th century Europe. Today the descendants of the 16th century European movement (particularly the Amish, Hutterites, Mennonites, Church of the Brethren, Brethren in Christ, and other respective German Baptist variants) are the most common bodies referred to as Anabaptist.
Baptists
Founded by John Smyth in England in 1609, and by Roger Williams in Rhode Island in 1638. The Baptist Church has 32 million members, and no creed; authority stems from the Bible. Most Baptists oppose the use of alcohol and tobacco. Baptism is by total immersion.
Brethren Church
Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination organized in 1708 by eight people in Schwarzenau, Germany. The Brethren movement began as a melding of Pietist and Anabaptist ideas. The first of its churches in America was established in 1723. These churches became commonly known as German Baptist Brethren. The denomination holds the New Testament as its only creed. Historically the church has taken a strong stance for non-resistance or pacifism. Distinctive practices include believers baptism by trine immersion; a threefold Love Feast consisting of feet washing, a fellowship meal, and communion; anointing for healing; and the holy kiss.
Church of Christ
Organized by Presbyterians in Kentucky in 1804, and in Pennsylvania in 1809. It has 1.3 million members. Members believe in the New Testament, and they follow what is written in the Bible without elaboration. Rites are simple. Baptism is of adults.
Church of England
King Henry VIII of England broke with the Roman Catholic Church with the Act of Supremacy in 1534, which declared the king of England to be the head of the Church of England. The Church of England has 6,000 Anglican Orthodox Church members in the U.S. Supremacy of the Bible is the test of doctrine, but The Episcopal Church grants great latitude in interpretation of doctrine. Although it subscribes to the historic Creeds-the Nicene Creed, and the Apostles' Creed-it considers the Bible to be divinely inspired, and holds the Eucharist or Lord's Supper to be the central act of Christian worship. It tends to stress less the confession of particular beliefs than the use of the Book of Common Prayer in public worship. This book, first published in the sixteenth century, even in its revisions, stands today as a major source of unity for Anglicans around the world. The Church of England is part of the Anglican community, represented in the United States mainly by the Episcopal Church.
Episcopal Church
This U.S. offshoot of the Church of England has 2.7 million members. It installed Samuel Seabury as its first bishop in 1784, and held its first General Convention in 1789. The Church of England broke with the Roman Catholic Church in 1534. Worship is based on the Book of Common Prayer and interpretation of the Bible using a modified version of the Thirty-Nine Articles (originally written for the Church of England in 1563). Services range from spartan to ornate, from liberal to conservative. Baptism is of infants.
Evangelical Free Church
The Swedish Evangelical Free Church and the Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Free Church Association merged in June of 1950 to form the Evangelical Free Church of America. The merger conference took place at the Medicine Lake Conference Grounds near Minneapolis, Minnesota. The two bodies represented 275 local congregations at the time of the merger. The Swedish group formed as the Swedish Evangelical Free Mission in Boone, Iowa in October of 1884. Several churches that had been members of the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Ansgar Synod and the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Mission Synod, along with some independent congregations, were instrumental in organizing this voluntary fellowship. Also in 1884 two Norwegian-Danish groups, in Boston, Massachusetts and Tacoma, Washington, began to fellowship together. By 1912 they had formed Norwegian-Danish Evangelical Free Church Association.
Lutheran Church
The Lutheran Church has 8 million members in the U.S. It is based on the writings of Martin Luther (1483-1586), who broke with the Roman Catholic Church, and led the Protestant Reformation when he nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the Wittenberg Church. The first Lutheran congregation in North America was founded in 1638 in Wilmington, Delaware. The first North American regional synod was founded in 1748 by Heinrich Melchior Muhlenberg. Faith is based on the Bible. Salvation comes through faith alone. Services include the Lord's Supper (communion). Lutherans are mostly conservative in religious and social ethics; infants are baptized, the church is organized in synods. The two largest synods in the United States are the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.
Mennonites
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after Menno Simons (1496–1561), though his teachings were a relatively minor influence on the group. As one of the historic peace churches, Mennonites are committed to nonviolence, nonviolent resistance/reconciliation, and pacifism. There are about 1.5 million Mennonites worldwide as of 2006.[1] Mennonite congregations worldwide embody the full scope of Mennonite practice from old fashioned 'plain' people to those who are indistinguishable in dress and appearance from the general population.
Methodist Church
Methodism has 13.5 million members in the U.S. It was founded by the Reverend John Wesley, who began evangelistic preaching with the Church of England in 1738. A separate Wesleyan Methodist Church was established in 1791. The Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in the United States in 1784. The name derives from the founders' desire to study religion "by rule and method," and follow the Bible interpreted by tradition and reason. Worship varies by denomination within Methodism (the United Methodist Church is the largest congregation). The church is perfectionist in social dealings. Methodists have Communion and they perform baptism of infants and adults.
Pentecostal Churches
The churches grew out of the "holiness movement" that developed among Methodists and Protestants in the first decade of the twentieth century. There are some 3.5 million followers today in the U.S. Pentecostals believe in baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, faith healing, and the second coming of Jesus. Of the various Pentecostal churches, the Assemblies of God is the largest. A perfectionist attitude toward secular affairs is common. Services feature enthusiastic sermons and hymns, and Pentecostals practice adult baptism and communion.
Presbyterian Church
Presbyterianism in the U.S. grew out of the Calvinist Churches of Switzerland and France. John Knox founded the first Presbyterian Church in Scotland in 1557. The first presbytery in North America was established by Irish missionary, Francis Makemie, in 1706. For 3.2 million members of the Presbyterian Church, faith is in the Bible. Sacraments are infant baptism and communion. The church is organized as a system of courts in which clergy and lay members (presbyters) participate at local, regional, and national levels. Services are simple, with emphasis on the sermon.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Roman Catholic Church
The Roman Catholic Church
1. A Brief History of the Roman Catholic Church
• As the early church grew, the bishop of Rome gained more and more influence over the other churches, especially after Constantine made Christianity the official language of the empire
• After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, the Catholic faith competed with Arian Christianity for the conversion of the barbarian tribes
• The 496 conversion of Clovis I, pagan king of the Franks, marked the beginning of a steady rise of the Catholic faith in the West
• In 530, Saint Benedict wrote his monastic Rule, which became a blueprint for the organization of monasteries throughout Europe
• From 590 Pope Gregory the Great dramatically reformed church practice and administration, launching renewed missionary efforts
• In 800, continuing disagreements with the east culminated when the pope crowned Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor in the west, who attempted to unify Western Europe through the common bond of Christianity, creating an improved system of education and establishing unified laws
• In 1095, Byzantine emperor Alexius I appealed to Pope Urban II for help in warding off a Turkish invasion, so Urban launched a military campaign known as the First Crusade, believing that it might help to bring about reconciliation with Eastern Christianity
• King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella formed an inquisition in 1480, originally to deal with distrusted ex-Jewish and ex-Muslim converts, and over a 350-year period, this Spanish Inquisition executed between 3,000 and 4,000 people
• In 1517, Martin Luther included his Ninety-Five Theses in a letter to several bishops, protesting key points of Catholic doctrine as well as the sale of indulgences
• At the Council of Trent (1545–1563) the Catholic Church launched a counter-reformation, reaffirming core doctrines as well as instigating some important reforms
• Vatican II (1962-1965) encouraged more active participation of the laity and allowed mass in the vernacular
2. The Bible and Church Authority
• The Roman Catholic Bible consists of 73 books and includes some Apocryphal books: Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, First and Second Maccabees, Additions to Esther and Daniel
• The Authorized Roman Catholic Bible, the Douay-Rheims Bible, is an English translation of the Latin Vulgate
• The Catholic Church believes that it is guided by the Holy Spirit and so protected from falling into doctrinal error
• The Church teaches that the Holy Spirit reveals God's truth through Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition and the Magisterium
• The Catholic Church has been entrusted with the seven sacraments, which are Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Holy Matrimony
3. Theology
• The Catholic Church is trinitarian in that it holds that there is one eternal God who exists as a mutual indwelling of three persons: the Father; the Son, Jesus; and the Holy Spirit
• God is the creator of nature and all that exists and he loves his creation and desires to have a relationship with it
• Satan rebelled against God, taking many angels with him, and then deceived Adam so that he and Eve sinned
• Jesus is the Savior of the world who is the only begotten son of God, one in being with the Father, and through whom all things were made
• Jesus was born without sin of the Virgin Mary, who also was conceived without sin (the immaculate conception)
• Jesus died on the cross as the sacrifice for man’s sin
• All men will be resurrected and face a final judgment before God and spend eternity in Heaven, Hell or Purgatory
4. Salvation
• Forgiveness of sin comes when one believes in Jesus, confesses his sins and is baptized
• Subsequent sins require penance, confession to a priest and a penance appropriate to the sin
• The Holy Spirit is one with God the Father and God the Son and is received through the sacrament of Confirmation
5. The Church and Worship
• The Church is the continuing presence of Jesus on earth and has been given his authority by Christ himself
• Church hierarchy consists of the Pope, Cardinals, Bishops and Priests (clergy) and deacons (laity)
• Catholic worship consists of the Eucharist and Mass, the other sacraments, and the Liturgy of the Hours
• The Eucharist is celebrated at every Mass where the elements are transformed into the real body and blood of Jesus
• Prayers are said to God, Jesus, Mary and the Saints, and the three main prayers are are The Lord's Prayer, the Rosary and Stations of the Cross
• There are over 300 Catholic religious orders for both men and women
1. A Brief History of the Roman Catholic Church
• As the early church grew, the bishop of Rome gained more and more influence over the other churches, especially after Constantine made Christianity the official language of the empire
• After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, the Catholic faith competed with Arian Christianity for the conversion of the barbarian tribes
• The 496 conversion of Clovis I, pagan king of the Franks, marked the beginning of a steady rise of the Catholic faith in the West
• In 530, Saint Benedict wrote his monastic Rule, which became a blueprint for the organization of monasteries throughout Europe
• From 590 Pope Gregory the Great dramatically reformed church practice and administration, launching renewed missionary efforts
• In 800, continuing disagreements with the east culminated when the pope crowned Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor in the west, who attempted to unify Western Europe through the common bond of Christianity, creating an improved system of education and establishing unified laws
• In 1095, Byzantine emperor Alexius I appealed to Pope Urban II for help in warding off a Turkish invasion, so Urban launched a military campaign known as the First Crusade, believing that it might help to bring about reconciliation with Eastern Christianity
• King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella formed an inquisition in 1480, originally to deal with distrusted ex-Jewish and ex-Muslim converts, and over a 350-year period, this Spanish Inquisition executed between 3,000 and 4,000 people
• In 1517, Martin Luther included his Ninety-Five Theses in a letter to several bishops, protesting key points of Catholic doctrine as well as the sale of indulgences
• At the Council of Trent (1545–1563) the Catholic Church launched a counter-reformation, reaffirming core doctrines as well as instigating some important reforms
• Vatican II (1962-1965) encouraged more active participation of the laity and allowed mass in the vernacular
2. The Bible and Church Authority
• The Roman Catholic Bible consists of 73 books and includes some Apocryphal books: Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, First and Second Maccabees, Additions to Esther and Daniel
• The Authorized Roman Catholic Bible, the Douay-Rheims Bible, is an English translation of the Latin Vulgate
• The Catholic Church believes that it is guided by the Holy Spirit and so protected from falling into doctrinal error
• The Church teaches that the Holy Spirit reveals God's truth through Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition and the Magisterium
• The Catholic Church has been entrusted with the seven sacraments, which are Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Holy Matrimony
3. Theology
• The Catholic Church is trinitarian in that it holds that there is one eternal God who exists as a mutual indwelling of three persons: the Father; the Son, Jesus; and the Holy Spirit
• God is the creator of nature and all that exists and he loves his creation and desires to have a relationship with it
• Satan rebelled against God, taking many angels with him, and then deceived Adam so that he and Eve sinned
• Jesus is the Savior of the world who is the only begotten son of God, one in being with the Father, and through whom all things were made
• Jesus was born without sin of the Virgin Mary, who also was conceived without sin (the immaculate conception)
• Jesus died on the cross as the sacrifice for man’s sin
• All men will be resurrected and face a final judgment before God and spend eternity in Heaven, Hell or Purgatory
4. Salvation
• Forgiveness of sin comes when one believes in Jesus, confesses his sins and is baptized
• Subsequent sins require penance, confession to a priest and a penance appropriate to the sin
• The Holy Spirit is one with God the Father and God the Son and is received through the sacrament of Confirmation
5. The Church and Worship
• The Church is the continuing presence of Jesus on earth and has been given his authority by Christ himself
• Church hierarchy consists of the Pope, Cardinals, Bishops and Priests (clergy) and deacons (laity)
• Catholic worship consists of the Eucharist and Mass, the other sacraments, and the Liturgy of the Hours
• The Eucharist is celebrated at every Mass where the elements are transformed into the real body and blood of Jesus
• Prayers are said to God, Jesus, Mary and the Saints, and the three main prayers are are The Lord's Prayer, the Rosary and Stations of the Cross
• There are over 300 Catholic religious orders for both men and women
Friday, August 15, 2008
Faith and the Presidency
Believer in Chief
In his review (Books & Culture, July/August 2008) of Randall Balmer's book, God in the White House: How Faith Shaped the Presidency from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush, Gary Scott Smith agrees that modern politics has become religousized and religion has become politicized, much to the harm of both religion and politics. Balmer evaluates the faith claims of the presidents from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush and compares them to their actual policies and lifestyle. His conclusion is that no clear connection exists between a president's faith and personal morality and his policies. The record of the last four and half decades suggests that candidates' professions of faith are "a fairly poor indicator of how they govern."
Smith agrees with Balmer to a certain extent, but feels he has overlooked all the positive contributions the faith of the presidents made to their character, conduct and policies:
“Indeed, although the politicizing of religion involves dangers, and though presidents have often misused religious rhetoric to woo voters, win support for policies, and please various constituencies, their personal faith has generally helped them perform their duties more effectively. Moreover, at times in American history the participation of religious groups in the political process has helped make our nation more compassionate and just (such as the abolition of slavery, the promotion of civil rights, and various policies to aid the poor). Therefore, while criticizing the political misuse of religion by politicians, religious groups, and voters, we should encourage all three groups to consider carefully how biblical values and personal faith can help shape and direct the political process in ways that benefit our nation and the world.”
You can read the whole article at: http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/2008/004/5.35.html.
In his review (Books & Culture, July/August 2008) of Randall Balmer's book, God in the White House: How Faith Shaped the Presidency from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush, Gary Scott Smith agrees that modern politics has become religousized and religion has become politicized, much to the harm of both religion and politics. Balmer evaluates the faith claims of the presidents from John F. Kennedy to George W. Bush and compares them to their actual policies and lifestyle. His conclusion is that no clear connection exists between a president's faith and personal morality and his policies. The record of the last four and half decades suggests that candidates' professions of faith are "a fairly poor indicator of how they govern."
Smith agrees with Balmer to a certain extent, but feels he has overlooked all the positive contributions the faith of the presidents made to their character, conduct and policies:
“Indeed, although the politicizing of religion involves dangers, and though presidents have often misused religious rhetoric to woo voters, win support for policies, and please various constituencies, their personal faith has generally helped them perform their duties more effectively. Moreover, at times in American history the participation of religious groups in the political process has helped make our nation more compassionate and just (such as the abolition of slavery, the promotion of civil rights, and various policies to aid the poor). Therefore, while criticizing the political misuse of religion by politicians, religious groups, and voters, we should encourage all three groups to consider carefully how biblical values and personal faith can help shape and direct the political process in ways that benefit our nation and the world.”
You can read the whole article at: http://www.christianitytoday.com/bc/2008/004/5.35.html.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Mormonism and Christianity
1. A Brief History of Mormonism
• Joseph Smith (1805-1844) was the son of a mystic and treasure hunter who also counterfeited currency
• God the Father and the Son appeared to him in 1820 telling him they were upset with the corruption of the church and they wanted him to restore the church to authentic Christianity
• The angel Moroni appeared to him in 1823 revealing where the gold tablets were hidden that later became the basis for the Book of Mormon
• Joseph Smith translated the gold tablets in 1827-29 using special glasses which he published as the Book of Mormon in 1830 and then founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
• Joseph Smith and Oliver Crowdery received the Aaronic priesthood from the hand of John the Baptist May 15, 1829 and the Melchizedek priesthood was conferred on them shortly after by Peter, James, and John
• Joseph Smith received 135 more revelations between 1831-44 as he and his followers moved around Ohio and Illinois because of persecution, finally building the town of Nauvoo, Illinois, where Smith was killed while being held for trial for polygamy and treason against the state of Illinois
2. The Book of Mormon
• The Mormons hold 4 books as being divinely inspired: the Bible, the Pearl of Great Price, Doctrine and Covenants, and the Book of Mormon (the last 3 being written by Joseph Smith)
• The Book of Mormon purports to be the history of two ancient civilizations located on the American continent, the first emigrating after the tower of Babel (around 2250 BC), called the Jaredites and the second from Jerusalem (around 600 BC), called the Nephites.
• The Nephites split into two warring camps, with the second being called the Lamanites, who became the native Indians
• The Nephites were annihilated by the Lamanites in 385 AD in a battle near Palmyra, New York
• Problems: No archaeological evidence, Indians are not of Semitic descent, many errors and contradictions, plagarism, and anachronisms
3. Theology
• God once was a man who is now exalted and has a physical body who had to grow and develop, grow and learn
• Jesus was conceived through the physical sexual act of God the Father with Mary
• Jesus is a created being, the older brother of Lucifer, who was once sinful and imperfect but who earned his exaltation to godhood through his virtuous life
• Men are beings created through the sexual relations of the gods who must grow and develop to become gods themselves who will govern their own planets and populate them with celestial babies through sexual relations
4. Salvation
• The goal of life is to achieve exaltation to godhead and rule over one’s own planet
• Salvation is found only in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
• There are two levels of salvation: general salvation is only resurrection, either to damnation or to a lesser existence, while individual salvation is the entrance into the Celestial Kingdom and exaltation to godhood
• While Mormons speak of faith in Jesus, it is a false Jesus and faith is intermingled with works, so that while they use terms like “faith,” “grace,” and “justification” they mean different things than what the Bible teaches
• One is “saved” through personal revelation, physical labor, obedience to leaders, overcoming temptation, intelligence and knowledge, prayer, baptism, laying on of hands, marriage, church membership, tithing, and temple work
5. Ethics
• No gambling, tobacco, alcohol, coffee, tea, drugs, vulgar language
6. Religious Practices
• Baptism for the dead
• Temple Ceremonies
• Undergarment: Having made covenants of righteousness, the members wear the garment under their regular clothing for the rest of their lives, day and night, partially to remind them of the sacred covenants they have made with God.
7. Mormonism and Christianity
The Mormon Articles of Faith
1. We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
2. We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression.
3. We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
4. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
5. We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
6. We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.
7. We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
8. We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.
9. We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
10. We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.
11. We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
12. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
13. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.
• Joseph Smith (1805-1844) was the son of a mystic and treasure hunter who also counterfeited currency
• God the Father and the Son appeared to him in 1820 telling him they were upset with the corruption of the church and they wanted him to restore the church to authentic Christianity
• The angel Moroni appeared to him in 1823 revealing where the gold tablets were hidden that later became the basis for the Book of Mormon
• Joseph Smith translated the gold tablets in 1827-29 using special glasses which he published as the Book of Mormon in 1830 and then founded the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
• Joseph Smith and Oliver Crowdery received the Aaronic priesthood from the hand of John the Baptist May 15, 1829 and the Melchizedek priesthood was conferred on them shortly after by Peter, James, and John
• Joseph Smith received 135 more revelations between 1831-44 as he and his followers moved around Ohio and Illinois because of persecution, finally building the town of Nauvoo, Illinois, where Smith was killed while being held for trial for polygamy and treason against the state of Illinois
2. The Book of Mormon
• The Mormons hold 4 books as being divinely inspired: the Bible, the Pearl of Great Price, Doctrine and Covenants, and the Book of Mormon (the last 3 being written by Joseph Smith)
• The Book of Mormon purports to be the history of two ancient civilizations located on the American continent, the first emigrating after the tower of Babel (around 2250 BC), called the Jaredites and the second from Jerusalem (around 600 BC), called the Nephites.
• The Nephites split into two warring camps, with the second being called the Lamanites, who became the native Indians
• The Nephites were annihilated by the Lamanites in 385 AD in a battle near Palmyra, New York
• Problems: No archaeological evidence, Indians are not of Semitic descent, many errors and contradictions, plagarism, and anachronisms
3. Theology
• God once was a man who is now exalted and has a physical body who had to grow and develop, grow and learn
• Jesus was conceived through the physical sexual act of God the Father with Mary
• Jesus is a created being, the older brother of Lucifer, who was once sinful and imperfect but who earned his exaltation to godhood through his virtuous life
• Men are beings created through the sexual relations of the gods who must grow and develop to become gods themselves who will govern their own planets and populate them with celestial babies through sexual relations
4. Salvation
• The goal of life is to achieve exaltation to godhead and rule over one’s own planet
• Salvation is found only in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
• There are two levels of salvation: general salvation is only resurrection, either to damnation or to a lesser existence, while individual salvation is the entrance into the Celestial Kingdom and exaltation to godhood
• While Mormons speak of faith in Jesus, it is a false Jesus and faith is intermingled with works, so that while they use terms like “faith,” “grace,” and “justification” they mean different things than what the Bible teaches
• One is “saved” through personal revelation, physical labor, obedience to leaders, overcoming temptation, intelligence and knowledge, prayer, baptism, laying on of hands, marriage, church membership, tithing, and temple work
5. Ethics
• No gambling, tobacco, alcohol, coffee, tea, drugs, vulgar language
6. Religious Practices
• Baptism for the dead
• Temple Ceremonies
• Undergarment: Having made covenants of righteousness, the members wear the garment under their regular clothing for the rest of their lives, day and night, partially to remind them of the sacred covenants they have made with God.
7. Mormonism and Christianity
The Mormon Articles of Faith
1. We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
2. We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression.
3. We believe that through the atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
4. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
5. We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
6. We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.
7. We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
8. We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.
9. We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
10. We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.
11. We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
12. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
13. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul—We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.
Satanism, Wicca, and Christianity
1. Satanism
• It generally refers to the worship of Satan and/or the practice of magic
• Reverse Christian Satanists worship Satan as he is depicted in the Bible
• The Church of Satan, founded by Anton Szandor La Vey, the author of the Satanic Bible, teaches its followers to reject God and Christ, follow their own passions and desires, to show kindness to friends but to attack one’s enemies
2. Wicca
• Wicca is a pagan, nature-based religion popularized in 1954 by Gerald Gardner, a retired British civil servant, who at the time called it Witchcraft and its adherents “the Wicca”
• It is supposedly a modern survival of an old witchcraft religion which had existed in secret for hundreds of years, originating in the pre-Christian paganism of Europe
• Wicca has distinctive ritual forms, seasonal observances and religious, magical and ethical precepts
3. Wicca Beliefs
• Though the vast majority of Wiccans believe in some form of God, and/or gods, most see Wicca as a duotheistic religion worshipping a God and a Goddess, who are seen as complementary polarities, and embodiments of a life-force manifest in nature
• Most Wiccans believe in reincarnation and an afterlife
• Wiccans believe in magic and use spells and rituals to manipulate the physical and spiritual world
4. Wicca Morality
• Morality is summed up in the phrase, “Do what you will”
• You are free to act on any and all impulses while accepting the consequences of those actions
• According to the “Law of Threefold Return” all of your actions, whether benevolent or malevolent, will return back on you in triple force
• Many seek to cultivate the eight virtues: mirth, reverence, honour, humility, strength, beauty, power and compassion
5. Wicca Rituals
• Magic and spells are performed in a circle, often marked by the four elements: air, fire, water, earth; some add a fifth element: spirit
• The pentagram symbolizes the four elements with the spirit leading at the top
• Often a set of magical tools is used: broom (besom), cauldron, chalice, wand, Book of Shadows, altar cloth, athame, boline, candles, crystals, pentacle and/or incensem which are placed on an altar in the middle of the circle
• Special rituals are held on specific days in each season based on the lunar calendar
6. Satanic Rituals
• Members meet Friday nights and at other times depending on the lunar calendar
• Members dress in black and meet after dark in remote locations near trees and water
• Rituals often include dancing, wild music, feasting, sexual acts, confession and renunciation of good deeds, renunciation of God and Jesus, unholy water (urine), toads, inverted crucifixes, incense, crucibles, sulfur and candles
• Sometimes an animal is sacrificed and the blood is spilled onto a naked girl tied to the altar
• Demons and other spiritual beings are called upon and Tarot cards, Ouija boards and crystals are used for divination
7. Satanism, Wicca, and Christianity
• Many people get involved in witchcraft because it offers them power over other people and things, secret knowledge, supernatural experiences, success, and freedom to indulge their desires
• Often a contractual obligation needs to be entered into with demonic forces, either explicitly or implicitly
• Those who delve into witchcraft and Satanism open themselves up to demonic oppression and possession
• Satanism, more than Wicca, is anti-Christian in that it seeks to pervert and contradict Christian theology and practice
• The Bible repeatedly condemns witchcraft, sorcery, spells, divination, magic and the like
• The powers behind witchcraft and Satanism are not friendly, but are opposed to God and will seek to destroy man
• Satan often transforms himself into an angel of light in order to deceive men into following him
• Much of what passes for witchcraft is fake but there are real forces behind some who claim such powers
Ex. 22:18 “Do not allow a sorceress to live.
Lev. 19:26 “‘Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it. “‘Do not practice divination or sorcery.
Lev. 19:31 “‘Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.
Lev. 20:6 “‘I will set my face against the person who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute himself by following them, and I will cut him off from his people.
Lev. 20:27 “‘A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads.’”
Deut. 12:31 You must not worship the LORD your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.
Deut. 18:10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft,
Deut. 18:11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.
Deut. 18:14 The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so.
1Sam. 15:23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king.”
1Sam. 28:3 Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in his own town of Ramah. Saul had expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land.
1Sam. 28:7 Saul then said to his attendants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her.” “There is one in Endor,” they said.
2Kings 17:17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sorcery and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to anger.
2Kings 21:6 He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to anger.
2Kings 23:24 Furthermore, Josiah got rid of the mediums and spiritists, the household gods, the idols and all the other detestable things seen in Judah and Jerusalem. This he did to fulfill the requirements of the law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the temple of the LORD.
1Chr. 10:13 Saul died because he was unfaithful to the LORD; he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance,
Is. 8:19 When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?
Is. 19:3 The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will bring their plans to nothing; they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, the mediums and the spiritists.
Is. 47:12 “Keep on, then, with your magic spells and with your many sorceries, which you have labored at since childhood. Perhaps you will succeed, perhaps you will cause terror.
Is. 47:13 All the counsel you have received has only worn you out! Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you.
Jer. 27:9 So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your interpreters of dreams, your mediums or your sorcerers who tell you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’
Jer. 27:10 They prophesy lies to you that will only serve to remove you far from your lands; I will banish you and you will perish.
Dan. 2:2 So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king,
Mal. 3:5 “So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me,” says the LORD Almighty.
Acts 8:9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great,
Acts 8:11 They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic.
Acts 13:6 They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-jesus,
Acts 13:8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.
Acts 16:16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.
Gal. 5:20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions
Gal. 5:21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Rev. 21:8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Rev. 22:15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
• It generally refers to the worship of Satan and/or the practice of magic
• Reverse Christian Satanists worship Satan as he is depicted in the Bible
• The Church of Satan, founded by Anton Szandor La Vey, the author of the Satanic Bible, teaches its followers to reject God and Christ, follow their own passions and desires, to show kindness to friends but to attack one’s enemies
2. Wicca
• Wicca is a pagan, nature-based religion popularized in 1954 by Gerald Gardner, a retired British civil servant, who at the time called it Witchcraft and its adherents “the Wicca”
• It is supposedly a modern survival of an old witchcraft religion which had existed in secret for hundreds of years, originating in the pre-Christian paganism of Europe
• Wicca has distinctive ritual forms, seasonal observances and religious, magical and ethical precepts
3. Wicca Beliefs
• Though the vast majority of Wiccans believe in some form of God, and/or gods, most see Wicca as a duotheistic religion worshipping a God and a Goddess, who are seen as complementary polarities, and embodiments of a life-force manifest in nature
• Most Wiccans believe in reincarnation and an afterlife
• Wiccans believe in magic and use spells and rituals to manipulate the physical and spiritual world
4. Wicca Morality
• Morality is summed up in the phrase, “Do what you will”
• You are free to act on any and all impulses while accepting the consequences of those actions
• According to the “Law of Threefold Return” all of your actions, whether benevolent or malevolent, will return back on you in triple force
• Many seek to cultivate the eight virtues: mirth, reverence, honour, humility, strength, beauty, power and compassion
5. Wicca Rituals
• Magic and spells are performed in a circle, often marked by the four elements: air, fire, water, earth; some add a fifth element: spirit
• The pentagram symbolizes the four elements with the spirit leading at the top
• Often a set of magical tools is used: broom (besom), cauldron, chalice, wand, Book of Shadows, altar cloth, athame, boline, candles, crystals, pentacle and/or incensem which are placed on an altar in the middle of the circle
• Special rituals are held on specific days in each season based on the lunar calendar
6. Satanic Rituals
• Members meet Friday nights and at other times depending on the lunar calendar
• Members dress in black and meet after dark in remote locations near trees and water
• Rituals often include dancing, wild music, feasting, sexual acts, confession and renunciation of good deeds, renunciation of God and Jesus, unholy water (urine), toads, inverted crucifixes, incense, crucibles, sulfur and candles
• Sometimes an animal is sacrificed and the blood is spilled onto a naked girl tied to the altar
• Demons and other spiritual beings are called upon and Tarot cards, Ouija boards and crystals are used for divination
7. Satanism, Wicca, and Christianity
• Many people get involved in witchcraft because it offers them power over other people and things, secret knowledge, supernatural experiences, success, and freedom to indulge their desires
• Often a contractual obligation needs to be entered into with demonic forces, either explicitly or implicitly
• Those who delve into witchcraft and Satanism open themselves up to demonic oppression and possession
• Satanism, more than Wicca, is anti-Christian in that it seeks to pervert and contradict Christian theology and practice
• The Bible repeatedly condemns witchcraft, sorcery, spells, divination, magic and the like
• The powers behind witchcraft and Satanism are not friendly, but are opposed to God and will seek to destroy man
• Satan often transforms himself into an angel of light in order to deceive men into following him
• Much of what passes for witchcraft is fake but there are real forces behind some who claim such powers
Ex. 22:18 “Do not allow a sorceress to live.
Lev. 19:26 “‘Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it. “‘Do not practice divination or sorcery.
Lev. 19:31 “‘Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.
Lev. 20:6 “‘I will set my face against the person who turns to mediums and spiritists to prostitute himself by following them, and I will cut him off from his people.
Lev. 20:27 “‘A man or woman who is a medium or spiritist among you must be put to death. You are to stone them; their blood will be on their own heads.’”
Deut. 12:31 You must not worship the LORD your God in their way, because in worshiping their gods, they do all kinds of detestable things the LORD hates. They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods.
Deut. 18:10 Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft,
Deut. 18:11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead.
Deut. 18:14 The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so.
1Sam. 15:23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has rejected you as king.”
1Sam. 28:3 Now Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned for him and buried him in his own town of Ramah. Saul had expelled the mediums and spiritists from the land.
1Sam. 28:7 Saul then said to his attendants, “Find me a woman who is a medium, so I may go and inquire of her.” “There is one in Endor,” they said.
2Kings 17:17 They sacrificed their sons and daughters in the fire. They practiced divination and sorcery and sold themselves to do evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to anger.
2Kings 21:6 He sacrificed his own son in the fire, practiced sorcery and divination, and consulted mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the eyes of the LORD, provoking him to anger.
2Kings 23:24 Furthermore, Josiah got rid of the mediums and spiritists, the household gods, the idols and all the other detestable things seen in Judah and Jerusalem. This he did to fulfill the requirements of the law written in the book that Hilkiah the priest had discovered in the temple of the LORD.
1Chr. 10:13 Saul died because he was unfaithful to the LORD; he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance,
Is. 8:19 When men tell you to consult mediums and spiritists, who whisper and mutter, should not a people inquire of their God? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?
Is. 19:3 The Egyptians will lose heart, and I will bring their plans to nothing; they will consult the idols and the spirits of the dead, the mediums and the spiritists.
Is. 47:12 “Keep on, then, with your magic spells and with your many sorceries, which you have labored at since childhood. Perhaps you will succeed, perhaps you will cause terror.
Is. 47:13 All the counsel you have received has only worn you out! Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you.
Jer. 27:9 So do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your interpreters of dreams, your mediums or your sorcerers who tell you, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’
Jer. 27:10 They prophesy lies to you that will only serve to remove you far from your lands; I will banish you and you will perish.
Dan. 2:2 So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king,
Mal. 3:5 “So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me,” says the LORD Almighty.
Acts 8:9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great,
Acts 8:11 They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic.
Acts 13:6 They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-jesus,
Acts 13:8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith.
Acts 16:16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.
Gal. 5:20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions
Gal. 5:21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Rev. 21:8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Rev. 22:15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
Judaism and Christianity
1. Branches of Judaism
• Orthodox (Both the Written and Oral Torah were divinely revealed to Moses, and are binding and unchanging)
• Hassidic (Orthodox Jews who follow one rabbi, wear distinctive dress and follow strict customs)
• Conservative (Jewish Law is dynamic and modern developments embraced in order to accommodate modernity)
• Reformed (Liberal and open to individual choice since the oral law is not binding today)
• Secular (Jews, especially those living in Israel, who ignore religious practices)
2. Theology
• 13 Principles of Maimonides (1135-1204 AD)
3. Scriptures and Major Writings
• Tanakh (Torah, Neviim, Ketuvim)
• Targum (Translations and interpretation)
• Talmud (Jerusalem vs. Babylonian)
• Mishnah (Compiled oral tradition) and Gemara (Rabbinic commentary)
• Midrash (Rabbinic exegesis and interpretation)
4. Holidays and Holy Days
• The Sabbath (weekly day of rest lasting from sundown on Friday night to sundown Saturday night)
• Passover
• Pentecost or Feast of Weeks (First fruits of the wheat harvest)
• Feast of Tabernacles
• Hashashanah (New Year)
• Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)
• Hannukah (Festival of Lights)
5. Diet, Clothing and Lifestyle
• Kosher dietary laws
• Yarmulke (skull cap)
• Tzitzit (fringes or tassels)
• Tefillin (boxes containing scripture worn on the forehead and left arem during festivals)
• Kittel (white knee-length outer garment worn during prayer and holy days)
• Prayers are recited three times daily
• Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah
6. Messianic Hope
• Traditional thought and current Orthodox thought has mainly held that the Messiah will be an anointed one (messiah), descended from his father through the Davidic line of King David, who will gather the Jews back into the Land of Israel and usher in an era of peace
• Other denominations, such as Reform Judaism, perceive a Messianic Age when the world will be at peace, but do not agree that there will be a Messiah as the leader of this era
• Hasidic Jews tend to have a particularly strong and passionate belief in the immediacy of the Messiah's coming, and a belief that their personal devotion and actions have spiritual properties that can hasten the arrival
• Reform Judaism generally does not accept the idea that there will be a messiah. Some believe that there may be some sort of "messianic age" in the sense of a "utopia," which all Jews are obligated to work towards
7. Judaism and Christianity
• Approach each individual according to his or her denominational leaning
• Realize that it is difficult for Jews to convert to Christianity because of family pressure and historical mistreatment
• Study the Jewish festivals and practices so that you can find common ground and explain how Jesus fulfills the OT
• Focus on Jesus as the Messiah as the fulfillment of OT prophecy (if not Jesus, who else even comes close?)
• A true Jew is a Jew who is one inwardly not merely outwardly; good works and ritual will not save you
• Orthodox (Both the Written and Oral Torah were divinely revealed to Moses, and are binding and unchanging)
• Hassidic (Orthodox Jews who follow one rabbi, wear distinctive dress and follow strict customs)
• Conservative (Jewish Law is dynamic and modern developments embraced in order to accommodate modernity)
• Reformed (Liberal and open to individual choice since the oral law is not binding today)
• Secular (Jews, especially those living in Israel, who ignore religious practices)
2. Theology
• 13 Principles of Maimonides (1135-1204 AD)
3. Scriptures and Major Writings
• Tanakh (Torah, Neviim, Ketuvim)
• Targum (Translations and interpretation)
• Talmud (Jerusalem vs. Babylonian)
• Mishnah (Compiled oral tradition) and Gemara (Rabbinic commentary)
• Midrash (Rabbinic exegesis and interpretation)
4. Holidays and Holy Days
• The Sabbath (weekly day of rest lasting from sundown on Friday night to sundown Saturday night)
• Passover
• Pentecost or Feast of Weeks (First fruits of the wheat harvest)
• Feast of Tabernacles
• Hashashanah (New Year)
• Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)
• Hannukah (Festival of Lights)
5. Diet, Clothing and Lifestyle
• Kosher dietary laws
• Yarmulke (skull cap)
• Tzitzit (fringes or tassels)
• Tefillin (boxes containing scripture worn on the forehead and left arem during festivals)
• Kittel (white knee-length outer garment worn during prayer and holy days)
• Prayers are recited three times daily
• Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah
6. Messianic Hope
• Traditional thought and current Orthodox thought has mainly held that the Messiah will be an anointed one (messiah), descended from his father through the Davidic line of King David, who will gather the Jews back into the Land of Israel and usher in an era of peace
• Other denominations, such as Reform Judaism, perceive a Messianic Age when the world will be at peace, but do not agree that there will be a Messiah as the leader of this era
• Hasidic Jews tend to have a particularly strong and passionate belief in the immediacy of the Messiah's coming, and a belief that their personal devotion and actions have spiritual properties that can hasten the arrival
• Reform Judaism generally does not accept the idea that there will be a messiah. Some believe that there may be some sort of "messianic age" in the sense of a "utopia," which all Jews are obligated to work towards
7. Judaism and Christianity
• Approach each individual according to his or her denominational leaning
• Realize that it is difficult for Jews to convert to Christianity because of family pressure and historical mistreatment
• Study the Jewish festivals and practices so that you can find common ground and explain how Jesus fulfills the OT
• Focus on Jesus as the Messiah as the fulfillment of OT prophecy (if not Jesus, who else even comes close?)
• A true Jew is a Jew who is one inwardly not merely outwardly; good works and ritual will not save you
Islam and Christianity
1. God
• Muslims are strict monotheists who worship one supreme God named Allah
• Islam means submission to Allah and a Muslim is one who submits fully to God’s will
• Muslims believe Christians are polytheists since they see the Trinity as three separate gods
2. Quran
• The word Quran means “recitation” and refers to the oral verses in Arabic, but broadly refers to the written record also
• It is the literal word of God recorded by the prophet Mohammed through the angel Gabriel between 610 and 632 AD
• It is divided into 114 chapters, which combined, contain 6,236 verses.
3. Angels
• Angels, or messengers (malak), are crucial to Islam
• Angels do not have free will and must worship and obey God perfectly
• Angels' duties include communicating revelations from God, glorifying God, recording every person's actions, and taking a person's soul at the time of death
4. Mohammed
• Mohammed (570-632) was a religious, political and military leader who received revelations from God which were recorded in the Quran
• Muslims view him not as the creator of a new religion but the restorer of the original, uncorrupted monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham and others
• Mohammed preached in Mecca for 13 years calling the people to leave polytheism, only to be expelled and settled in Medina in 622. After a series of battles he captured Mecca in 629 and controlled the whole Arabian peninsula in 632
5. Resurrection, Judgment and Predestination
• All men will be resurrected to face judgment to be either rewarded or punished for their deeds done in life on this earth
• Some sins, such as unbelief, usury and dishonesty, will automatically condemn a man to hell
• Paradise is an eternal dwelling place of the righteous filled with physical pleasures and joy in God’s presence
• God has complete foreknowledge and absolute control over all events: “Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has decreed for us: He is our protector”
6. The Five Pillars of Islam
• The shahadah: “There is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is his messenger”
• Salah: ritual prayer performed five times a day
• Zakat: almsgiving is the practice of giving based on accumulated wealth, and is obligatory for all Muslims
• Sawm: fasting during the month of Ramadan
• The Hajj: the pilgrimage during the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah in the city of Mecca.
7. Law, Diet and Jihad
• Sharia is Muslim based on traditional Islamic scholarship and covers every aspect of life
• Like Jews, Muslims cannot eat pork, shellfish, and alcohol
• Jihad is “exerting one's utmost power, efforts, endeavors, or ability in contending with an object of disapprobation”
8. Major Branches of Islam
• Sunni (85%) believe that the caliph must be elected
• Shia (15%) believe that the caliph must come from the line of Mohammed through his son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib
• Sufism is not a denomination but a mystical-ascetic form of Islam which strives to obtain direct experience of God
9. Islam and Christianity
• It is very difficult for a Muslim to convert to Christianity because of severe social pressure
• Muslims believe the Old Testament is true and the Jesus was a prophet like Mohammed
• Allah tends to be viewed as very distant and unknowable, so focus on having a personal relationship with Jesus
• Islam is very legalistic and harsh, so win them through love and compassion and Christ’s forgiveness
• Muslims are strict monotheists who worship one supreme God named Allah
• Islam means submission to Allah and a Muslim is one who submits fully to God’s will
• Muslims believe Christians are polytheists since they see the Trinity as three separate gods
2. Quran
• The word Quran means “recitation” and refers to the oral verses in Arabic, but broadly refers to the written record also
• It is the literal word of God recorded by the prophet Mohammed through the angel Gabriel between 610 and 632 AD
• It is divided into 114 chapters, which combined, contain 6,236 verses.
3. Angels
• Angels, or messengers (malak), are crucial to Islam
• Angels do not have free will and must worship and obey God perfectly
• Angels' duties include communicating revelations from God, glorifying God, recording every person's actions, and taking a person's soul at the time of death
4. Mohammed
• Mohammed (570-632) was a religious, political and military leader who received revelations from God which were recorded in the Quran
• Muslims view him not as the creator of a new religion but the restorer of the original, uncorrupted monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham and others
• Mohammed preached in Mecca for 13 years calling the people to leave polytheism, only to be expelled and settled in Medina in 622. After a series of battles he captured Mecca in 629 and controlled the whole Arabian peninsula in 632
5. Resurrection, Judgment and Predestination
• All men will be resurrected to face judgment to be either rewarded or punished for their deeds done in life on this earth
• Some sins, such as unbelief, usury and dishonesty, will automatically condemn a man to hell
• Paradise is an eternal dwelling place of the righteous filled with physical pleasures and joy in God’s presence
• God has complete foreknowledge and absolute control over all events: “Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has decreed for us: He is our protector”
6. The Five Pillars of Islam
• The shahadah: “There is no god but Allah, and that Muhammad is his messenger”
• Salah: ritual prayer performed five times a day
• Zakat: almsgiving is the practice of giving based on accumulated wealth, and is obligatory for all Muslims
• Sawm: fasting during the month of Ramadan
• The Hajj: the pilgrimage during the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah in the city of Mecca.
7. Law, Diet and Jihad
• Sharia is Muslim based on traditional Islamic scholarship and covers every aspect of life
• Like Jews, Muslims cannot eat pork, shellfish, and alcohol
• Jihad is “exerting one's utmost power, efforts, endeavors, or ability in contending with an object of disapprobation”
8. Major Branches of Islam
• Sunni (85%) believe that the caliph must be elected
• Shia (15%) believe that the caliph must come from the line of Mohammed through his son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib
• Sufism is not a denomination but a mystical-ascetic form of Islam which strives to obtain direct experience of God
9. Islam and Christianity
• It is very difficult for a Muslim to convert to Christianity because of severe social pressure
• Muslims believe the Old Testament is true and the Jesus was a prophet like Mohammed
• Allah tends to be viewed as very distant and unknowable, so focus on having a personal relationship with Jesus
• Islam is very legalistic and harsh, so win them through love and compassion and Christ’s forgiveness
Hinduism and Christianity
1. The Hindu Concept of God
• There a many different schools of thought in Hinduism: Monotheism, Polytheism, Pantheism, Atheism
• The soul (Atman) is eternal
• For many Hindus, Atman is Braman and Braman is Atman (God and the soul are the same)
• Others see God as a supreme being separate from the soul and worship him as Vishnu, Brama, Shiva or Shakti
2. Devas and Avatars
• Heavenly beings or gods are very integral to Hindu culture
• Most Hindus distinguish devas from their Ishvara, their concept of a personal supreme God
• There are stories of God descending to earth in bodily form, called an avatar, to restore dharma (ethics) in society and guide men to moksha (liberation from the cycle of rebirth)
3. Karma and Samsara
• Karma means action, work or deed, and can be called the moral law of cause and effect
• Samsara is the cycle of action, reaction, birth, death, and rebirth
• Moksha is the liberation from samsara, the letting go of ephemeral pleasure for eternal happiness and peace (nirvana)
• One’s atman (soul) then achieves union with Brahman (the cosmic spirit)
4. The Hindu Concept of the Goal of Life
• Classical Hindu thought accepts two main life-long dharmas: Grihastha Dharma and Sannyasin Dharma
• The Grihastha Dharma recognize four goals known as the purusharthas. They are:
1. Kama: Sensual pleasure and enjoyment
2. Artha: Material prosperity and success
3. Dharma: Correct action, in accordance with one's particular duty and scriptural laws
4. Moksha: Liberation from the cycle of samsara
• The Sannyasin Dharma recognizes, but renounces Kama, Artha and Dharma, focusing entirely on Moksha
5. Yoga
• The methods one chooses to achieve the goal of life are called Yogas, and a person can follow more than one Yoga
• A teacher of one of these methods is called a Yogi
• Paths one can follow to achieve the spiritual goal of life (moksha, samadhi, or nirvana) include:
1. Bhakti Yoga (the path of love and devotion),
2. Karma Yoga (the path of right action),
3. Raja Yoga (the path of meditation) and
4. Jnana Yoga (the path of wisdom)
6. Hindu Scriptures
• Shruti (lit: that which is heard) refers to the Vedas which form the earliest record of the Hindu scriptures (There are four Vedas: Rigveda, Samaveda Yajusveda and Atharvaveda)
• All other Hindu texts are called the Smritis (memory) and include the Mahabharata, Puranas, and the Ramayana
• The Bhagavad Gita is an integral part of the Mahabharata and one of the most popular sacred texts of Hinduism
7. Hindu Practices, Rituals, Pilgrimages and Festivals
• Hindus can engage in puja (worship or veneration), either at home or at a temple
• Hindus perform their worship through icons (murtis) which serve as a tangible link between the worshiper and God
• Mantras are invocations, praise and prayers that through their meaning, sound, and chanting style help a devotee focus the mind on holy thoughts or express devotion to God
8. Hinduism and Christianity
• Realize that Hiinduism is rooted deeply in the culture so that religion and culture often cannot be separated
• Always look for common ground upon which to build bridges
• Don’t attack but seek to clearly present Christ in a way that is clearly understood and not misunderstood
• Be careful when using the phrase “born again” since it means something entirely different to a Hindu
• There a many different schools of thought in Hinduism: Monotheism, Polytheism, Pantheism, Atheism
• The soul (Atman) is eternal
• For many Hindus, Atman is Braman and Braman is Atman (God and the soul are the same)
• Others see God as a supreme being separate from the soul and worship him as Vishnu, Brama, Shiva or Shakti
2. Devas and Avatars
• Heavenly beings or gods are very integral to Hindu culture
• Most Hindus distinguish devas from their Ishvara, their concept of a personal supreme God
• There are stories of God descending to earth in bodily form, called an avatar, to restore dharma (ethics) in society and guide men to moksha (liberation from the cycle of rebirth)
3. Karma and Samsara
• Karma means action, work or deed, and can be called the moral law of cause and effect
• Samsara is the cycle of action, reaction, birth, death, and rebirth
• Moksha is the liberation from samsara, the letting go of ephemeral pleasure for eternal happiness and peace (nirvana)
• One’s atman (soul) then achieves union with Brahman (the cosmic spirit)
4. The Hindu Concept of the Goal of Life
• Classical Hindu thought accepts two main life-long dharmas: Grihastha Dharma and Sannyasin Dharma
• The Grihastha Dharma recognize four goals known as the purusharthas. They are:
1. Kama: Sensual pleasure and enjoyment
2. Artha: Material prosperity and success
3. Dharma: Correct action, in accordance with one's particular duty and scriptural laws
4. Moksha: Liberation from the cycle of samsara
• The Sannyasin Dharma recognizes, but renounces Kama, Artha and Dharma, focusing entirely on Moksha
5. Yoga
• The methods one chooses to achieve the goal of life are called Yogas, and a person can follow more than one Yoga
• A teacher of one of these methods is called a Yogi
• Paths one can follow to achieve the spiritual goal of life (moksha, samadhi, or nirvana) include:
1. Bhakti Yoga (the path of love and devotion),
2. Karma Yoga (the path of right action),
3. Raja Yoga (the path of meditation) and
4. Jnana Yoga (the path of wisdom)
6. Hindu Scriptures
• Shruti (lit: that which is heard) refers to the Vedas which form the earliest record of the Hindu scriptures (There are four Vedas: Rigveda, Samaveda Yajusveda and Atharvaveda)
• All other Hindu texts are called the Smritis (memory) and include the Mahabharata, Puranas, and the Ramayana
• The Bhagavad Gita is an integral part of the Mahabharata and one of the most popular sacred texts of Hinduism
7. Hindu Practices, Rituals, Pilgrimages and Festivals
• Hindus can engage in puja (worship or veneration), either at home or at a temple
• Hindus perform their worship through icons (murtis) which serve as a tangible link between the worshiper and God
• Mantras are invocations, praise and prayers that through their meaning, sound, and chanting style help a devotee focus the mind on holy thoughts or express devotion to God
8. Hinduism and Christianity
• Realize that Hiinduism is rooted deeply in the culture so that religion and culture often cannot be separated
• Always look for common ground upon which to build bridges
• Don’t attack but seek to clearly present Christ in a way that is clearly understood and not misunderstood
• Be careful when using the phrase “born again” since it means something entirely different to a Hindu
Buddhism and Christianity
1. Who was the Buddha?
• Siddhartha Gautama was an Indian prince who left the palace and encountered suffering, sickness, and death for the first time
• He followed a Yogi for six years in an intensive ascetic effort to achieve enlightenment and freedom from suffering, but found it only made things worse
• He realized that the true way lies in the middle path, avoiding both indulgence and asceticism
• He sat down under a tree and through meditation achieved freedom from suffering
• He then traveled for 45 years teaching others the Dharma, the way to achieve enlightenment, reach Nirvana, and gain freedom from suffering
2. The Four Noble Truths
• Suffering is the experience of all beings
• Suffering is caused by desire, grasping and struggling
• Suffering is eliminated by letting go of all desires and things
• The end of suffering (Nirvana) is achieved through the eightfold path
3. The Eightfold Path
• Right Understanding: See the world as it is and that all things change
• Right Attitude: Stop trying to manipulate others and the world and be open-minded and positive
• Right Speech: Speak the truth simply, gently, and boldly in a way that is kind and useful to others
• Right Action: Discipline yourself to live compassionately with all other beings and not harm others
• Right Livelihood: Support yourself through honest labor that does not bring harm to others but serves others
• Right Effort: Stop struggling and allow yourself to work effortlessly and experience all of life
• Right Mindfulness: Do everything with precision and clarity with total awareness
• Right Concentration: Always be fully engaged in the present moment with a quiet mind
4. The Buddhist Vow (Three Refuges)
• To take refuge in the Buddha (see Buddha nature of all creatures)
• To take refuge in the Dharma (truth)
• To take refuge in the Sangha (community)
• To take the five precepts of Compassion
* To not cause harm by killing, stealing, lying, misusing sexuality & intoxicants but revere life in all forms
5. Forms of Buddhism
• Southeast Asia (Theravada: the way of the elders, monastic)
• East Asia (Zen or Mahayana: lay practitioners, each follower seeks to become a Buddha)
• Tibet (Tibetan: devotion and prayer, many Buddhas such as the Dhali Lama)
6. Buddhism and Christianity
• Suffering is the experience of all beings and Christ embraced all of that suffering on the cross
• Suffering is caused by human ego and self-centeredness that is dealt with by Christ on the cross
• Love, compassion, kindness, gentleness, non-violence are teachings of Jesus and flow from the Holy Spirit in us
• Buddha could only show the way; Jesus is the way
• Buddha only found enlightenment in this world; Jesus brings us into eternal life
• Buddhism is based on human effort while Christianity is based on faith in Christ’s finished work on the cross
• Jesus is the Light of the world and He alone gives us true understanding and enlightenment
7. Talking with Buddhists
• Ask a lot of questions and seek clarification so you know exactly what he or she believes before saying anything
• Realize that Buddhism is rooted deeply in the culture so that religion and culture often cannot be separated
• Always look for common ground upon which to build bridges
• Don’t attack but seek to clearly present Christ in a way that is clearly understood and not misunderstood
• Buddhists tend to be polytheists or non-theists depending on which region they come from
• Siddhartha Gautama was an Indian prince who left the palace and encountered suffering, sickness, and death for the first time
• He followed a Yogi for six years in an intensive ascetic effort to achieve enlightenment and freedom from suffering, but found it only made things worse
• He realized that the true way lies in the middle path, avoiding both indulgence and asceticism
• He sat down under a tree and through meditation achieved freedom from suffering
• He then traveled for 45 years teaching others the Dharma, the way to achieve enlightenment, reach Nirvana, and gain freedom from suffering
2. The Four Noble Truths
• Suffering is the experience of all beings
• Suffering is caused by desire, grasping and struggling
• Suffering is eliminated by letting go of all desires and things
• The end of suffering (Nirvana) is achieved through the eightfold path
3. The Eightfold Path
• Right Understanding: See the world as it is and that all things change
• Right Attitude: Stop trying to manipulate others and the world and be open-minded and positive
• Right Speech: Speak the truth simply, gently, and boldly in a way that is kind and useful to others
• Right Action: Discipline yourself to live compassionately with all other beings and not harm others
• Right Livelihood: Support yourself through honest labor that does not bring harm to others but serves others
• Right Effort: Stop struggling and allow yourself to work effortlessly and experience all of life
• Right Mindfulness: Do everything with precision and clarity with total awareness
• Right Concentration: Always be fully engaged in the present moment with a quiet mind
4. The Buddhist Vow (Three Refuges)
• To take refuge in the Buddha (see Buddha nature of all creatures)
• To take refuge in the Dharma (truth)
• To take refuge in the Sangha (community)
• To take the five precepts of Compassion
* To not cause harm by killing, stealing, lying, misusing sexuality & intoxicants but revere life in all forms
5. Forms of Buddhism
• Southeast Asia (Theravada: the way of the elders, monastic)
• East Asia (Zen or Mahayana: lay practitioners, each follower seeks to become a Buddha)
• Tibet (Tibetan: devotion and prayer, many Buddhas such as the Dhali Lama)
6. Buddhism and Christianity
• Suffering is the experience of all beings and Christ embraced all of that suffering on the cross
• Suffering is caused by human ego and self-centeredness that is dealt with by Christ on the cross
• Love, compassion, kindness, gentleness, non-violence are teachings of Jesus and flow from the Holy Spirit in us
• Buddha could only show the way; Jesus is the way
• Buddha only found enlightenment in this world; Jesus brings us into eternal life
• Buddhism is based on human effort while Christianity is based on faith in Christ’s finished work on the cross
• Jesus is the Light of the world and He alone gives us true understanding and enlightenment
7. Talking with Buddhists
• Ask a lot of questions and seek clarification so you know exactly what he or she believes before saying anything
• Realize that Buddhism is rooted deeply in the culture so that religion and culture often cannot be separated
• Always look for common ground upon which to build bridges
• Don’t attack but seek to clearly present Christ in a way that is clearly understood and not misunderstood
• Buddhists tend to be polytheists or non-theists depending on which region they come from
Monday, April 2, 2007
America gets an F in Religion
Every once in a while a secular magazine publishes an article about religion that is worth reading. This week’s U.S. News & World Report, April 9, 2007, page 28 has an interview with Stephen Prothero entitled, “In America, an F in Religion.” Prothero, head of the department of religion at Boston University, laments that while America is the most religious country in the world, it has the lowest religious literacy. Even though 9 out of 10 believe in God, or some divine being, and two thirds believe the Bible is a source of answers for every day life, only half can name even one of the four Gospels and only 10% of teenagers can name the five major world religions.
America used to be the most religiously literate country in the world, with churches, schools, homes, Sunday schools, colleges, and Bible and tract societies all educating the public about Christianity and religion. The change started in the 19th century when religious groups couldn’t agree about which version of the Bible to use in public education.
The second major reason is the decline in Biblical education within American churches. When Evangelicals began to dominate America’s religious scene in the 19th century, they focused on experience at the expense of learning and reason. Before the rise of Evangelicalism, sermons focused on Biblical narratives and doctrine, while after sermons tended to focus on personal piety and religious self-help topics. By focusing on experience and emotion Evangelicalism was the major force in the decline of biblical knowledge and religious education. Text book companies try to stay away from controversial topics in order to sell their books in as many school districts as possible. So, while we tend to blame the atheists and secularists for the decline in religious literacy, the main culprit is the church.
Prothero feels that the Bible and world religions should be taught in the public schools in order to educate the public about religion. Because religious issues are at the core of many of the issues we face in our world today, we can’t afford to be ignorant about religion. I think Prothero is right on target.
You can read this article at: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/070401/9qa.htm
America used to be the most religiously literate country in the world, with churches, schools, homes, Sunday schools, colleges, and Bible and tract societies all educating the public about Christianity and religion. The change started in the 19th century when religious groups couldn’t agree about which version of the Bible to use in public education.
The second major reason is the decline in Biblical education within American churches. When Evangelicals began to dominate America’s religious scene in the 19th century, they focused on experience at the expense of learning and reason. Before the rise of Evangelicalism, sermons focused on Biblical narratives and doctrine, while after sermons tended to focus on personal piety and religious self-help topics. By focusing on experience and emotion Evangelicalism was the major force in the decline of biblical knowledge and religious education. Text book companies try to stay away from controversial topics in order to sell their books in as many school districts as possible. So, while we tend to blame the atheists and secularists for the decline in religious literacy, the main culprit is the church.
Prothero feels that the Bible and world religions should be taught in the public schools in order to educate the public about religion. Because religious issues are at the core of many of the issues we face in our world today, we can’t afford to be ignorant about religion. I think Prothero is right on target.
You can read this article at: http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/070401/9qa.htm
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