Religion Is Not Dogma, By Paul Tillich

The first of four segments dives into the historical perspective with the famous quote from Tertullian (p.8), The Middle Ages, Augustine, Roman Catholic influence and the barbaric bridge between reason and religion is leveled by the awareness that, “All truth is God’s truth” (Entwistle, 2015, p. 8, 14, 24-25, 41). The genesis of integration and the connection between theology and psychology begins with understanding the secular history of humans and the Creators vantage point of loving His creation (Entwistle,

Within many known religions, the devotional practices has been known to acquire great importance. The essence of practicing what you preach has scolded many religious groups, introducing true beliefs, righteousness, and a wider connection to the supreme being . In the book entitled “ Living religions” by Mary Pat Fisher, clarified and firm descriptions were introduced about religious rituals. Surprisingly; the author utilized small parts of modern concepts, limiting the reader from a full comprehension of religious practices today, therefore; I will only discuss the basic and traditional rituals. To elaborate; in this paper, I will be providing an opinionated but also, comparative description of the major practices and rituals that undergo in both the Abrahamic and indigenous religions.

Many people would agree that without faith, the world would be in chaos. The book Christian Foundation by Kathleen Fischer and Thomas Hart gives an interpretation on faith in our time. Many people would question the definition of faith. Faith is a gift, which is given by God to have trust in him and belief in him. This book is a great entry in anyone's life that has speculation on his or her own faith. The book has many ways into understanding ones own religion. It discusses the Bible, Jesus, Church, God's existence and Images of God. All of these chapters helped me get a better interpretation of what my religion entailed.

Question 3. 3.(TCO 2) Who was the German theologian who argued in The Idea of the Holy that religions emerge when people experience that aspect of reality which is essentially mysterious? (Points : 4)

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.

This will be based on the chapter 4 Religion as "Truth-Claims", posted on Blackboard. First of all, Dianne L. Oliver makes a preface about her writings saying that religions claim to get the truth, and followers of diverse religions say that their truth is the only one true, and cannot be compare with any other. Also, she remarks that many of those religion followers use violence to uphold their own version of truth. Moreover, she let us know that she is going to consider the "True-Claims" of different religions, and show how those claims can influence the practices, behaviors, and ideas of religion followers. Next to the introduction, she considers that religion is very essential for understanding the fundamental questions in our daily lives.

Question 3. 3.(TCO 2) Who was the German theologian who argued in The Idea of the Holy that religions emerge when people experience that aspect of reality which is essentially mysterious? (Points : 4)

Throughout his book, Tillich references faith as an ultimate concern to emphasize the importance of faith in the personality of individuals. Furthermore, Tillich believes faith is a vital part of human nature and that even the rejection of faith is, in itself, an act of faith. This displays Tillich’s understanding that faith will never disappear from society because it is a piece of the puzzle in what makes up humanity (Tillich).

For purpose of this essay, religion will be defined as a collection of institutional beliefs and customs concerning humanity and the purpose of the universe [1]. Key beliefs within religion that will be explored, as well as there relation to reason, are:

The Narrow Line of Belief Godliness, as well as the doctrine of one’s faith, is always a mystery. Many believe that man comes nearer to God through their piety and doubt given towards Him. From this rests faithful talk. One’s faith and doubt leads to humanity asking for answers. Yet, sometimes one’s faith may not reveal the true answers, moreover, recognize answers relinquished to them.

Lewis’ essay relates to this course as Theology provides a perspective on understanding creation, the transcendent power, and humanity around us. He acknowledges that multiple viewpoints exist from the inside and outside perspectives. Also, one cannot ignore or discount specific inside experiences as it helps us think about something. Therefore, in Theology 205, there will inevitably be many ways to understand life, our purpose, and the people we are becoming. We are also covering the Bible in depth, so some of us will look “at the beam” if they have never read it, while others will look “along the beam” if they are familiar with its interpretations. The students who will look along the beam are those who are Christian or Jew, since they already use the Bible as some guidance in life. In contrast, those who look at the beam are ones who are new to this subject, those willing to view this course from a new lens, and those who do not practice Christianity or Judaism.

February 28, 1993 would haunt the nation’s government for what they have done. For 51 grueling days, the Waco, Texas siege would confuse our nation on who to defend; the Branch Davidians at Mount Carmel or the FBI. In this essay, I will argue that the FBI had to be the main culprit in this event by ending the standoff in flames from the tear gas used. But first, I want to discuss how David Koresh got sealed in the world of religion.

When Moses asked God for his name, God responded “I am who I am” which vaguely avoided answering the question. It led Otto to the idea of a “wholly other” creating a “sui generis” and “a priori” understanding of God. Otto translates the phrase: “Mysterium (wholly other) Tremendum (fear) Et (and) Fascinans (fascination),” these emotions explain all reactions to interacting with God. Interactions with God are paradigmatic, according to Otto, which means the basis for the way we shape our reality. In the past, people would model their homes after their place of worship to create a sacred place in their homes. This homology was an attempt to “develop our personhood around the experience of the numinous” and resemble Christ. However, over time,

Patrick Giddy discloses a misunderstanding, confusion, and a vagary of the perception and significance of God. Henceforth, it is essential to Giddy to attempt to clarify how God creates a transformation in this world. Giddy studies established thesis of earlier writer philosophers; being, the sense of an interventionist God isn’t logical for a modern philosopher, secular society, or a scientific mentality. Additionally, Giddy believes the following requires attention: the secularized Deist account of God unlocks questions to do with the conditional agreement of people and the prospect for the progress, the supremacy of being conscious and proceeding in the sense inferred in the conception of intellectual integrity. Giddy finds an inadequacy in many concepts and theories such as, “Brenda de Wet’s religious believer that seem to fail to make the grade of intellectual integrity, and argues that starting from creedal and popular formulations of the notion of a god, as she does along with most standard textbooks in the philosophy of religion, reveals an oversight of self-knowledge characteristic.

A religion can be seen as a unified system of beliefs and practices which are relative to sacred things and beliefs (Giddens 1972, p.224). It can shape ones thoughts and feelings and gives people a sense of hope and something to believe in. All three main sociologist writers Karl Marx, Max Weber and Emile Durkheim offer different perspectives on religion and how important it is to society. Some of the theorists chose to have a positive view whilst others argue the unimportance of religion. This essay attempts to discover which theorist has the most accurate perspective of religion in modern times. This is done by firstly explaining the basic ideas regarding to religion put forward by Marx, Weber and Durkheim. Then both Marx's and