Comparative Religion

Comparative Religion

Final Exam

What I gained from this course was a more complete understanding of world religions and the persons whose beliefs were taught. I learned about different culture’s ideas of religion, deities, traditions and mores. The evolution of religion of various traditions in a historical and even geographical sense was taught in great detail in a concise and understandable manner. I learned that there was a sense of truth in all traditions. I also learned that a person’s age, location and societal traditions will have a great effect upon their own particular religious beliefs.

Many traditions share similar core beliefs and mythology. Many such religions will have a good/evil stand point or a trickster/hero perspective such as God/Jesus/Angels and Satan/Devil/Demon. Many of these stories were based upon proven historical events and were instrumental in social changes. Other unproven or not historical events were used to inspire and teach people. All religions seem to want to give their populace inspiration and a hero worthy of emulation.

I learned that to be an effective minister that I should learn to have a greater understanding a person’s religious traditions. To learn and understand about various religious perspectives helps me tremendously in understanding that person and helping to create an ecumenical atmosphere and to help eliminate bias or bigotry based upon misconceptions or misunderstanding.

The best part of this course for me was learning of little known religions. Here in West Texas or other parts of the deep South where I have lived we have little religious variety. It was very interesting to learn about American Indian, Indian, Asian and other traditions. It was especially nice to find some of the recommended reading. The books and web sites were very well done and usually led to an even greater curiosity.

The course itself was outlined well. There was a general overview usually followed by a more in-depth explanation in later discourses. There were beautiful and colorful pictorial illustrations included within the lessons. There were always interesting websites listed in the recommended activities for the week. The graphs and tables shown were well drawn, well thought out and in simple yet effective terms.

Many lessons were about religious terminology. Kythera Ann was very methodical about her definitions and illumination of these terms. Her tremendous grasp of vocabulary and terminology shows in her ability to explain these terms to a layman in an easy to understand and very interesting format. She was instrumental in doubling the size of my religious vocabulary as well as my personal religious library. She explained such formerly abstract terms such as esoteric and exoteric, theology, theosophy, Angelophany, Hermeticism, Alchemy, symbolism, religion, and religious titles. Due to her vivid explanations I became interested in Gnosis and was able to hear one of the leading Gnostics of our time, Dr. Stephen Hoeller, on a recording. Her explanation of the Jewish faith, rabbinical translations and the explanation of “What is Sacred Text” led me to study the Interlinear Greek Translation of the Bible as well as learn more about Kabala.

Because of her inspiring descriptions and sensitive explanations of various traditions I was inspired to broaden not only my mind but my horizons as well. I was able to ask a number of foreign students about their own religious traditions. Due to this I learned a great deal about the Hindu religion, Rastafarianism, Buddhism, Catholicism, Gnosis, and a few various fundamental Christian sects. By doing so I was able to begin a few new meaningful and interesting friendships.

After every lesson there were recommended web pages. By reading these pages I was fueled to read other similar pages. It was doing this after her lesson on interfaith that led me to The Dance of Universal Peace and from there to learn about Inayat Khan, whose teaching remains with me until today. He said “Baga is the original state of God. At this state every being must arrive someday, consciously or unconsciously, before or after death. The beginning and end of all beings is the same, difference only being in the journey”. This must surely sum up the study of comparative religion. That is to say, as I understand it, we are all going toward the same place, on different roads, together.

What I liked least about these courses was that some of the listed links were dead and I was unable to find them elsewhere. I also was saddened a bit when the course was over. It is a truly enlightening experience.

I believe that although it has been said there is always room for improvement, that Kythera Ann has done such a marvelous job on these discourses, that perhaps perfection is best left as is. I am looking forward to a possible second part (CR201) with great anticipation.

Thank you for this enlightening and illuminating discourse. Thank you Amy for offering it and for the patience required in helping me with lost lessons. Thank you to Kythera Ann for the mind expansion. Special thanks to my new friends at ULC seminary online discussion for the endless encouragement and support.

Rev. Nannette Mathews, ULC Minister

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

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

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

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Metaphysical Healing

Final Essay for Metaphysical Healing.

Sharon J. Mayer

This was a very interesting course that helped me understand the alternative aspect of faith and spiritual healing for all. The healing of mind, body, and spirit all working together for the person and the community is new to me. While I am not sure that being a healer is my calling I have come to better understand the use of such practices and have understanding of what practices work with other means to totally heal the patient. I am continuing my education in the field and exploring all the aspects of the many types of healing that are available in the world. Because of my new understanding I am more open to the ideas that the spirit must be healed as well as the body to have a whole and complete healthy life. 

I was most impressed with the manner the class was given and the questions at the end of each chapter reinforced the learning experience. I have seen these practices work when I lived in various parts of the United States and among the North American Indigenous. In the far spread areas of Alaska it is the native healers that serve the people most. They also use the concept of healing the whole body to bring it into harmony.

The concept of faith or spiritual healing does not come easy for people in the United States as the medical field in this country has relied so heavily on the sciences. The idea of using alternative means of healing is not one that is practiced by many. I can remember when we were given teas of herbs or poultices were put on injuries with plants taken from the woods around us or from the garden. People who used the old ways were considered out of the normal channels of healing for practicing what was really a normal healing method and were thought of as substandard health practitioners. When one realizes at one time the barbers were the healers (and that is why there were red and white striped poles outside the shops) and they used bleeding as a means of riding the body of illness before medicine was formalized with specialized training it is not hard to understand that different means of healing are looked at with suspicion until proven to be a good healing process. Healing has come a long way and each day a new cure can be found but we must understand that there are other ways than science to heal that have only recently been recognized and added to the specialties of medicine in some parts of the world. 

It seems that modern medicine has forgotten that these same herbs, barks, and plants are in the compounds of our modern medicines or a synthetic version of the same. Also it is just being recognized that laying-on of hands or using energy fields should no longer be frowned upon but used more to help the patient. The touch of one on another can create a feeling of love and promote the healing process in many ways. The used of the energy fields to clear negative forces is now being recognized not as something outside the box but a way to help the patient. Even those who advocated special diet were considered odd at one time and now that is a part of the whole process to heal. Granted many reasons include the actions of the few that were out to fleece the customer but to lump all of these practices into one basket because of a few is not using all the healing resources available to the community.

Now we are being given a choice of medical practices from many areas and the idea that other than what the doctor prescribes is wrong and won’t work is being replaced. This has lead to a more holistic form of healing the body and spirit. Many of the mainstream medical profession have started to understand that there is truth in alternate means of healing. Practitioners of many healing disciplines are now being covered by insurance in the United States that just a few years ago would not have been something that would be allowed.

I was interested in the community concept of healing one member to heal the whole. This was new to me but after many of the classes I have taken at ULC Seminary the idea is not as foreign because I have come to understand that we are One and what affects one of the whole affects all. The used of this understanding to heal the spirit gives me understanding of how wrongful thought can affect not only the patient but the community. 

The amount of time for training and the education that must be completed is very interesting. The concepts provided in the training are universal and the words used to help the person relax and the care to not harm the patient is very important. There are so many things to learn about and to do properly so as not to harm the patient further but to bring them back to the fullness of health. I myself have not seen an aura around a person. I think I have been looking too closely at the actual earthly body to see it but I have felt heat energy near persons. I did once see a dear friend of mine in ghostly pallor and a grey area about her. She was walking toward me and as she was with her boss who was speaking in a negative tone to her I was unable to speak to her. The next day she drove 20 miles in to work and died at her desk from heart failure. I now wonder if what I was seeing was the beginning of the spirit leaving her earthly body and taking the energy field with it. This was the turning point of my life and I have been seeking to learn and grow every since.

*******************************

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

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

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

Try our new free toolbar at: ULC Toolbar