Of Tara Isabella Burton's 'Study Theology Even If You Don' T Believe In God

Malala Yousafzai, 18 year old Nobel Prize winner and women’s rights activist, once exclaimed: “I raise up my voice- not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard...we cannot succeed when half of us are held back”. The idea of speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves is extremely important when it comes to striving for change, so being able to express the needs of marginalized people is a great and awesome power. Yousafzai’s quote specifically connects to women’s rights, therefore it can be used to support the feminist movement seeing as she is advocating for the equality, in treatment and opportunity, of men and women. Feminist beliefs do not only apply to society, but to theology as well, seeing as the teachings of the bible are extremely influential in the day to day lives and values of religious people. The text that I chose to highlight this idea comes from Elizabeth A. Johnson’s book Quest for the Living God, chapter 5 ‘God Acting Womanish’ because it directly connects spirituality and feminism.

The first chapter of Christian Thought and Practice, by Natalie Kertes Weaver introduced theology of Christianity. This was broken up into five major topics. The topics are: terms used in the study of religion, a functional understanding of Christian theology, facets of Christian theology, types of theology, and audiences and practitioners of Christian thought. The author explains the importance in detail of all of the above points.

The books that we were required to read for Bible 115 class were Engaging God’s World – A Christian Vision Of Faith, Learning And Living by Cornelius Plantinga Jr. and The Call – Finding And Fulfilling The Central Purpose For Your Life by Os Guinness. Both books offered very useful advice for today’s Christians. Engaging God’s World is written for students and will help them make sense of their education in a Christian perspective. Both authors use scripture, humor and common sense to validate their points.

As Christians we often believe certain things simply because it’s what our parents and the people around us believe. We often go about our Christian walk without ever giving thought or reason to why we believe what we do. The world of Christian Theology is a place where Christians can find answer to the ‘what and why’ of Christianity. If we are able to begin comprehending Christian Theology and the rudimental knowledge of it, then we can take it with us into more in depth books and discussions about theology, know the importance of it and how vital it is for Christians

The meaning of theology is simple; it is the study of God and religious belief. The definition is plain to see but it’s important to go beyond what is already known. On a deeper level, what is the meaning of theology in respect to a religious community and to a person trying to find themselves in God? How is everyone involved in doing theology all the time? In this paper, there will be an in depth analysis on what theology is, why it is important, and how people are engaged in theology all the time.

Empathy is the ability to understand and experience the feelings of others, particularly others’ suffering. Humanity’s gift of understanding complex emotions ushers in a new way of understanding ourselves and how we react to stimuli. This ultimately leads to questioning of everything, leading us to one strong notion: Does empathy guide or hinder moral action?

Karen Armstrong's first chapter in "The Case of God", "Homo Religiosus", provides readers with the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the idea of religion as being a dominant concept in human nature. Armstrong apparently wants to emphasize that humans were designed so as for them to be religious and thus concentrate on taking on a series of attitudes meant to provide them with the chance to develop religious ideologies. It is practically as if the need to connect with a higher force is in people's DNA, taking into account that most communities throughout history have concentrated on reaching a higher state of mind by trying to develop a relationship with the divine.

Religion, this is a word that has created many debates and arguments due to the world having multiple viewpoints and beliefs. C.S. Lewis decided that he would write about multiple views of Christianity, in his book “Mere Christianity.” Lewis writes about some of the main issues in Christianity, such as, ethics and humanities evident conscience. The deeper into his work one goes, the writing opens up the eyes of the reader to new views and new rationales of Christianity.

“We are all frogs or cows; we wander through life in a state of perpetual bafflement because empathy is so hard – harder than anger, harder than pity” (Fadiman, 1988, p. 300).

Professor Paul Bloom states he is against empathy. He believes it is wrongfully used in our society and should not be used in certain situations. He still thinks it is important sometimes, but should not be primarily used as a result of anger, depression or retaliation. He believes compassion is the solution to empathy. In the long run, Bloom states that empathy will fail or burnout in a person. Hannah the extremely empathic person will eventually burnout according to Bloom. The use of empathy everyday as a core moral code will eventually be overwhelming and burned out and used up. The person will change direction and use empathy less in their lifetime. This essay will explore Paul Bloms opinion of empathy in his article, “Against

Religion can impact a person's life through the teachings, and the values and attitudes presented. The effect which religion can give can either be positive or negative. The effect of the Catholic religion on mother Teresa was a positive influence, an influence whichever inspired others to follow her. Agnes Gonxha, or ‘flower bud’, the translation of Gonxha, was the birth name which Mother Teresa was given by her parents. Her family took religion quite seriously, and which in turn lead Agnes to be a religious person known by many. Though Mother Teresa sparked the world with her attitude of helping others and showing the example of God’s love, she never claimed to be anyone special, just another being following in Jesus’s words. Within her

Next is Jeremy Rifkin’s book The Empathic Civilization: The Race to Global Consciousness in a World in Crisis. This book explores the development of empathy from the beginning of studied history to modern time. Rifkin makes predictions about what the world will become as humanity moves towards the Age of Empathy. Rifkin uses many areas of study to prove his point including, but not limited to, psychology, philosophy, biology, anthropology, history, etc. Rifkin stresses the “Age of Faith and Age of Reason” becoming the “Age of Empathy, without, however abandoning the special qualities of the previous worldviews.” Therefore when the Age of Empathy arrives, there will still be faith and reason. It is not an all or nothing situation.

As I thought about all the topics we have read and studied in this class there was one topic that I really did enjoy and changed the way I thought about the topic and gave me a whole new perspective on how I look at religion now. I chose the topic of feminism and Christianity and how the authority of the women gender role in religion has been a struggle for many years. I think Lynn Japinga did a very good job in writing about this topic in her book, “Feminism and Christianity: An Essential Guide”. Japinga includes in her book the use of the male dominated language in the Bible, the blame for the original sin, and the lack of women gender clerical role authority within the religion world.

Have you ever heard the saying that goes “place yourself into the shoes of others”? Let’s analyze and take a deep look into the phrase. By placing ourselves into somebody’s shoes we develop a feeling of connection with them, better known as empathy. The question is, what is empathy? Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. People often confuse empathy with pity, but it is actually aiming the understanding of people’s feelings and perspectives. And by understanding them we learn how to use them to guide our actions. I believe that in order to change our society, people should be able to learn how to feel empathy or compassion for others. The Bible tells us in Romans 12:15 to "Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep.”

Objective: After this lesson, the student will be able to reflect on one’s experience of everyday life, especially on a “depth experience”