Chaplaincy Program

Final Essay for Chaplaincy Course

By Robert Nelson

               This is a wonderful course.  As a former military chaplain I wondered if I would benefit from the course and I am very happy to say that I benefited greatly.  The course covered every aspect of being a chaplain from the calling, theology, and liturgics to the nitty-gritty logistics of this type of ministry.  I think there is enough detail here about the actual functioning of a chaplain that it would benefit anyone interested in this type of ministry including chaplains in the U.S. Army’s Basic Chaplaincy Course or even chaplains with several years experience, such as myself.

               For me personally there were several areas that were especially beneficial.  I thoroughly enjoyed the sections on the logistics of ministry.  I think this is a weakness for many chaplains who confine themselves to an office and seldom venture into the world of those they serve.  For me, ministry of presence is the essence of chaplaincy.  Reverend Moore highlighted this in several ways as he wrote of learning the institution.  But to conduct this ministry effectively it takes a certain amount of preparation and I think the concept of creating “tool boxes” is probably the best idea I have heard in a while for organizing and preparing for this type of ministry.  I have used this concept to a certain extent myself in the past but think I can do it much better with the intention and detail that Rev. Moore suggests.  In the past my tool box might have been whatever I threw in my pocket but now I think I can do much better by intentionally creating a tool box for the situations in which I will be serving.  My tool box for working with homeless people will be different from that I will use at a nursing home or the one I will use when working with veterans.  I am really excited about this concept and have great hopes for its application.

               I also found the lesson concerning sacred space, objects, and symbols to be particularly beneficial.  As a counselor I have long conceived of the creation of a safe space as an important step in counseling and now this concept has grown to involve the creation of a sacred space (and even a sacred time) as part of ministry.  Certainly this involves a certain logistical reality but to a greater extent it is a function of the attitude and spirituality of the chaplain.  Years ago I discovered that as a chaplain I was much more useful in the motor pool or on a road march than I was sitting in an office in the chapel.  I was able to provide more ministry to more people.  Now I see that when I was most effective I was creating a sacred space or perhaps more accurately, carrying a sacred space with me as I traveled around in my ministry of presence.  This involves logistical factors such as in some cases some sort of privacy and a certain amount of comfort but it also involves creating at least an illusion of having plenty of time and through symbols, actions, and interactions the creation of a sacred space.

               Sometimes this sacred space is created with little more than a smile and a prayer.  At other times it might involve more elaborate interactions and symbols.  But whether it involves a full-fledged altar and vestments or simply the reading of a scriptural passage and a prayer, it is essential to the ministry of a chaplain.

               The sections on counseling, especially grief counseling, were interesting to me since I have spent most of my professional life doing some sort of counseling.   Even at that I found that the section on grief counseling was both interesting and informative.  This highlights another aspect of the course which was valuable to me – the rehearsal of basic principles.  There is often little to be said that is completely new.  We are after all speaking of religion, spirituality, and ministry – ancient activities which are based in ancient traditions of wisdom and which at a certain level are fundamental to being human beings.  But newness is not a requirement for wisdom.  It may be important to fashion and marketing but for ministry it is less important than ancient, profound fundamentals such as compassion and spirituality.  I believe that the pursuit of excellence requires a frequent rehearsal of fundamentals.  This is certainly true in such things as sports where the athletes who are best at fundamentals such as running, jumping, blocking, tackling, and throwing are the ones who are usually victorious.  The same is true for other areas of achievement and such basics as reading, writing, performing arithmetic, and so forth.  So it is with ministry and especially chaplaincy.  Certainly there is a value to gaining as much knowledge as possible and exploring advanced aspects of hermeneutics, liturgics, and homiletics.  But in the end it is the basics of caring, connecting with others, and being present that will bring the most comfort to those we serve.  It is the remembrance of our calling and our personal spiritual foundation that provides depth and meaning to our ministry.  Rev. Moore has reminded me of that principle and has provided a useful handbook for the frequent rehearsal of some of those fundamentals.

               The section on avoiding traps is one of those important fundamentals.  Rev. Moore has spelled it out clearly and reminded me to beware of the temptations and even the appearance of evil.  I have seen far too many ministers who have ruined their calling and their lives through various traps involving sex and money.  I have seen many more flounder because of the trap of pride.  These traps are with us always and frequent, even daily reminders, are important to help us stay the course.

               I am not sure what I could improve in this course.  There are things I would do differently  but that is more a matter of personality and preference than of a critique of substance.  As I was going through the course there were times when I thought something should be added or expanded but on later reflection I felt that some of this was more cosmetic.  In other words, I liked this course.

               My personal goal is to shift gears in my career.  I have been mostly a counselor since I got out of the Army.  I have done some limited volunteer chaplain work with the Veterans Administration and among the homeless but hope to expand that aspect of my life.  I’m looking forward to completing the entire chaplaincy program and the D.Min. program and expanding this ministry with my wife into a holistic ministry and health education among several populations.   I hope to continue working with the homeless and to expand my ministry among the elderly and veterans.  Together with my wife I hope to also do ministry among people who are interested in improving their health.  I would like to get an endorsement from the ULC as a chaplain.

               Thanks for the inspiration and direction.

Rev. Bob Nelson, Ph.D.

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

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

Paganism Course

Universal Life Church FINAL ESSAY – MASTER OF PAGANISM

I have just completed the Master of Paganism course. I have been Wiccan for 14 years and am a high priestess of a coven. I have completed many 101 and advanced classes and spent 3 years in a seminary type training program for Wicca. This course is the best one I have taken to date. It covers far more material and in more detail. I call myself a Witch an Wiccan, but after this course, I realize Paganism is more like Witchcraft and is the path I follow more than Wiccan. I enjoyed the lesson on the Great Rite, it described it better than anything else I have read. I liked the way the author did not tell you “this is the only way to believe” etc. He gave the information and let you determine how to make it work for you. So many pagans and Wiccans only use/worship the Goddess, it was refreshing to have someone teach about the polarity and give the God as much credit as the Goddess. The information was easy to read and easy to understand. It was not delivered in a way to make the author superior. The lessons flowed very well and went in a progressive organized order.

The lessons I enjoyed the best were the first lesson’s creation story, it was one of the best I have seen, the great rite and the rituals. So many do not truly explain the parts of a ritual and I thought this one did a good job. The mediation section was very delivered. And I loved the last lesson. No one ever tells about how to incorporate what they teach into your daily life. Some touch on it but fall short.

I would have loved to have seen more on the different traditions, maybe even a comparison. Maybe that could be a different course someday.. a comparisons of Pagan religions or Wiccan tradition.

Overall I did not expect to learn much from this course and was pleasantly surprised to find out I did learn things ans enjoyed each lesson and found myself looking forward to the next.

Bright Blessings,

Rev. Debbie Hawkins

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

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

Spirituality

Universal Life Church Seminary

Master of Spiritualism

“Defining Spiritualism”
Rev. Justin Oles

            The basis of this course was first and foremost a philosophical look at religion, ideas, and spirituality throughout about the past 3000 years and then explaining how these same ideas are woven into your daily world.  Small sections of the course also went beyond just explaining the philosophical ideas to showing practical uses and placements of those same ideas in modern spirituality and society.

            I liked that the author covered various philosophies some of which may not have explicitly been directly related to religion, such as socialism.  The author does bring up good arguments for all of the theories he covers including socialism, which once looked at through the right lens does relate very well to spirituality and religion.

            It was also nice of the author to bring their personal experience in views into the lessons.  It’s unfortunate that the author has had to go through some of the trial and tribulations that they have but they seems to have grown from it.  Hopefully all of the students taking the course are also able to learn something vicariously through their experiences.

I can personally say that while I have not lived anything to the extremes that the author has, I did see certain parts of the story that related to me.  For example, I’ve been lost in the woods alone in the winter in New York State before, true I was not lost for days I was only lost for hours but it gives me an inkling of the feeling the author must have felt.  I’ve never dealt with an abusive lover but I was a child that had to listen to his parents fight all the time.

These things cause us to grow over time and lead us to be the people that we are today.  We have a choice, we can either learn from our life, from our successes and failures; or we can choose to keep doing what we’ve always done, the only problem with that is, as the saying goes, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always gotten.

Universal Life Church - Online Seminary Program 

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

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site 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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The Four Gospels

Dr. of Christian Studies - The Four Gospels - final essay
By Rev George Parsons

The Four Gospels course has been a great delight to study.  At first, it throw me for a loop with the terminology used.  I have been so accustomed to the King James Version that the verbiage in “The Unvarnished Gospels” cause me to set it aside.  I thought that it was wrong.  I finally picked the book back up and, using the weekly discourses, I started seeing how the book was speaking in layman’s terms and a manner in which to communicate the gospels to everyone.

I am required to write a short paper of 300 or more words about one area of the four gospels that gave me the most comfort or the most trouble to receive credit for this course.  I hope and pray that the following will suffice:

As with most people/students, the Sermon on the Mount definitely touches my heart and soul.  Statements made by Jesus in this location formed a basis for Christianity.  You can feel the love in His words as you read them.  They make my heart soar.  But this is not the area I wish to write about. 

I am rather perplexed and disturbed with the Gospel of John.  This gospel was written approx. 85 AD.  This is 85 years after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.  Eighty-five years of trying to remember the life of Jesus Christ.  Eighty-five years of trying to remember His ministry (some say it was on two years while others say three years).  Eighty-five years of “filling in the blanks” with John’s own words.  Eighty-five years of bias. 

Too many contradictions for what we learn about Jesus from the other gospels.

Examples:

Jesus is depicted as a weakling and coward, running away from the Jews in the temple instead of confronting the issues at hand.  (John 8:59)

John uses the word “signs” instead of miracles throughout his gospel.  In fact, 17 times it is used instead of stating that Jesus performed miracles, stated in the other gospels.

John glamorizes every “sign” or miracle that Jesus performs whereas in the other gospels, Jesus states that He does not want His presence known when He performs a miracle.  


I am not trying to dishonor John, because he was a disciple of Jesus, but I read overtones of John trying to “out-do” Peter.  John perceived the betrayal of Judas (John 13), John is the first to recognize Jesus in the boat while Peter jumps in the water (John 21), Peter asks Jesus “What would John do?” (John 21). 

I realize that John was preaching the teachings of Jesus in his own manner and this was how he related to anyone who would listen.  He made Jesus out to be “larger than life” or a superhero.   But yet, if Jesus was so much of a “superhero” in John’s gospel, why would Jesus run away from the Jews?  Why is there so much anger in this gospel and less love?  God is unconditional love, or at least I thought so.

As I said, I am not trying to judge John and his gospel because it does contain some profound scripture (“BELIEVE ME THAT I AM IN THE FATHER, AND THE FATHER IN ME: OR ELSE BELIEVE ME FOR THE VERY WORKS’ SAKE” John 14:11).  My concern is over the validity of John’s scripture.  As a Christian, I have to believe that what was written in the bible, specifically John’s gospel, are words straight from God.  The problem is that the majority of John’s gospel has the theme of story-telling.  Each time told the story gets more and more immense, the main characters becoming larger and larger until it becomes folklore.  John uses too much story-telling to tell his gospel, leaving out parts much needed for the story.  He leaves God out of much and instead relates that through Jesus things will happen.  Jesus's words not God’s Word.  Argument has it that Jesus and God are one in the same so the words spoken by Jesus are the same Words of God.  But, should you believe that Jesus was a prophet, then what John is saying is contradicting the other gospels in the bible.  Yes, John is not a synoptic gospel.  It is more literal and uses symbolism to get its point across.

The Gospel of Thomas should have been the gospel in the bible instead of John.  Most of the sayings written in the Gospel of Thomas, also appear in Matthew and Luke.  None appear in John.  Why is that?    

The gospel of Thomas cannot be entered into the bible so in order to study it more clearly one must go to other sources, like the internet, and research for answers. 

The fact that the Gospel of John is so different than the rest of the gospels is what causes it to remain controversial but is included in the bible.  As I stated in the beginning, I was taken back by the relaxed version of the gospels in “The Unvarnished Gospels”.  With the manner in which the Gospel of John is written, I am again taken back yet believe it is correct since I am a Christian.  With free will, I can at least question it.

I wholly recommend this course to any and all students who wish to try to understand the gospels.  It will definitely get your mind thinking as it did mine.

Thank you,

Rev. George Parsons

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

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

Metaphysical Healing

As a Reiki Master and long time Reiki practitioner who has studied other alternative healing modalities I thoroughly enjoyed this course although most of the information was familiar to me. It is, however, the most comprehensive of any metaphysical healing course I have read and would be beneficial to all spiritual healers, experienced or new to the practice. It certainly was a great refresher for some of the material I had forgotten. Valerie Archer's “The Healer's Oath” is exactly what I have needed to add to my Reiki classes as a guideline for attitude and action.

The most important aspect of what I learned from this course was the lesson on determining our own reality. The New Age Movement in general, of which I consider myself a member, often promotes the idea that we are totally responsible for what occurs in our lives; we brought all situations and conditions on ourselves by our either rightful or wrongful thoughts. This ideology has never made sense to me and I have seen the damage it has done to already wounded people. I have worked with young women who were victims of rape as little children and had been told they didn't have enough Jesus in their hearts or they wished the rape on themselves or their actions somehow caused it. I have seen how much despair, unhappiness and further loss of sense of self-worth this type of preaching has had on these women. I always counseled them that, as children, they did nothing to cause a criminal act to be committed on them. I explained that they, most unfortunately but absolutely through no fault of their own, just got caught up in the misguided life of someone else. Instances of rape and other abuse were easy to discuss in this way but there have been times in my own life when something really dreadful has occurred and I was vulnerable to the thought that I wished for myself a particular disaster, like a serious, permanent health problem. Logically, I couldn't believe I would have done that willingly but several people would tell me that I had and, as I said, some books I read agreed. It was extremely gratifying to have Rev. Kruger validate what I have told abused women for years. I also tremendously appreciated the opportunity to read Ted Andrews' calculation of approximately what percent of our lives we can control and Leo Rutherford's comments explaining why that is so.

I also found the information regarding the “Shadow” concept most interesting, especially, the suggestion that one can use his/her “Shadow” to assist in personal enlightenment. Perhaps teaching others to realize that their “Shadows” are archives of negativity could help them to avoid visiting that place or dwelling on what is inside it extensively and, instead, focus on more pleasant experiences.

As stated above, the entire course is relevant to my work as a Healer, was interesting, comprehensive, extremely informative and well presented. There was nothing I disliked regarding the course.

Rev. Mary McGar

This course was made available through the Universal Life Church and its online seminary.

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

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site 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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Comparative Religion

Final Essay for Comparative Religion

               I have a bachelor’s degree from a traditional university in Asian Studies with an emphasis on comparative religion and history.  I have been fortunate enough to have done field research on Buddhism and Shamanism in Korea, Japan and Okinawa.  I have also been a chaplain in the U.S. Army and so been exposed to a number of religions through classroom instruction and through direct contact as their advocate and minister.  I am happy to say that even with this background I have been very impressed with the Comparative Religion course from the ULC Seminary.

               I particularly enjoyed the way each lesson took a different component of religion as the basis for comparison.  This was much more meaningful and instructive than the usual approach of devoting a lesson to one religion and then another.  I think in many ways this course was much more truly comparative than many other courses and texts I have experienced.  The lesson on ceremonies for example allowed me to actually compare and ponder the nature of sacred ceremonies among various worshipers.  The idea that religious ceremonies among different religions can share the “sacrament” I think is insightful and allows a much deeper understanding of religious activity and experience.

               Each lesson included an impressive array of suggested readings and activities.  This supplemental information was invaluable.  It allowed me to hear and in a way participate in the experience of other traditions.  I have yet to exhaust the potential of these resources and am very grateful for this part of the lessons.  I have discovered a whole new world that is much more complete than I had previously known.  This includes in particular my appreciation and understanding of Zoroastrianism and the connections or parallels between Zoroastrianism and Taoism.

               There was so much information in this course that I will be pondering it for some time to come trying to internalize it and incorporate it into my own ministry.  I think to a certain extent this course has already helped me move beyond the “exotic other” aspect of other religions and into an awareness of the true commonalities.  

There remains the issue of how to incorporate these insights into my own personal spiritual practice and ministry.  I am not interested in picking and choosing to create a hodgepodge or “cafeteria style” religion.  But I am interested in understanding how fundamental truths can be approached through different venues and tools.  For example, it is clear that certain Western religions can benefit from the inward-looking approaches of certain Eastern religions.  

At the same time, I see that certain Eastern religions can benefit from the outward-looking service orientation of certain Western religions.  To a certain extent I can see that these various approaches – like the various types of yogas – may depend upon the individual’s personality, strengths, and preferences.  It may be that as a minister I might want to focus on contemplative approaches with one person while emphasizing activity and service with another.  Still another might benefit from an intellectual approach.  Some might benefit best from certain types of ceremonies and liturgy while others might be served best with quiet and meditation.  Clearly the more I understand, the more I will be able to assist others along their spiritual path.

Thanks for a great course.

By Rev. Robert Nelson

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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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Chaplaincy Studies

Master of Chaplaincy Studies

Final Essay by Mary McGar

Universal Life Church

The Master of Chaplaincy Course is deserving of being the core course of the Chaplaincy Program. It is very comprehensive and covers all aspects how Chaplaincy came into being, the calling that is necessary to minister to others, both material and personal “tools” to be able to serve all people regardless of their beliefs, a wide variety of career opportunities, detailed job descriptions and qualification requirements of a chaplain in specific organizations, mistakes to avoid, critical personal responsibility issues and much more. The course offers enough direction for one to be able to decide if this is truly the path that is best for her/him.

Becoming aware of the history of one's chosen field is always an advantage for both the Chaplain and anyone receiving her/his services because relating historical information is an excellent method of initial communication. For some one who desires comforting words but may be hesitant or shy regarding praying with another initially, a little background of how the field of Chaplaincy began can break the ice and be non-threatening. By speaking of something intellectual and pragmatic one can often reduce the emotional tension in the room. I think this would also help people who are searching for answers be more at ease and may pique their interest enough to be more receptive to comforting. This course provided excellent background information regarding the origin of Chaplaincy and how it has grown over the many years of its existence.

I found the lessons regarding necessary personal skills and abilities an excellent reminder of the gifts and virtues needed by a chaplain. Chief among the skills needed is that of a good listener. When a chaplain in present a person needing his/her ministering must feel that the chaplain is truly listening so he/she will accurately understand the situation, thoughts and feelings involved. The next most important skill is being perceptive and observant of the person or persons who are in need of the chaplain's ministering A chaplain would benefit by developing strong skills regarding reading body language.

The lesson regarding both the basic and the finer points of counseling from the first encounter to the last was very helpful. As an example, knowing what information to gather during the first visit,asking how I can help, how to discover the nature of the problem, how to develop a plan to help and recognizing when I can't help were all very instructional. I also appreciated learning detailed steps involved in helping someone change a bad habit to a good habit and exactly what is required of both the chaplain and the other person.

Although I have done volunteer work from the time I was a teenager to the present time and enjoyed fulfillment from each different volunteer activity I felt compelled to become a chaplain late in life. As I am also a Reiki teacher and practitioner each year my spirituality has grown. For years and years I searched for a church group in which I truly felt at home. I have been unable to believe in many beliefs necessary to be considered one of the flock of most churches. For the last two decades the Unity church and the Unitarian Universalist church have been my church homes. Having enjoyed volunteer positions that covered a broad range I learned that I most loved working with individuals one on one or in small groups where I could actually see that people benefited from my actions. 

Along with that I learned how to use different methods to help different people. I am not intending to belittle administrative or retail or any others type of volunteer work. I just learned what suits my personality better. Everyone has something to offer and volunteer organizations, especially, could not survive without the different talents of all concerned. Lately I felt called to broaden my efforts to include the counseling and comforting that a Chaplain gives. From another course I took from ULC I learned one reason I did not feel comfortable with certain belief systems for myself was because, in addition to a few Christian beliefs, I share some of the beliefs of Humanists, Pagans, Druids, Buddhists and quite a number of other religious groups. 

When I realized that I could pick and choose what I believed without feeling that I had to believe everything, or even, the majority of the doctrine of one group, I decided I wanted to be a chaplain. Because my belief system is very inclusive I feel I can minister to people regardless of their beliefs. I also feel that many people are also unable to settle on one religious group with all their heart and perhaps would benefit from a chaplain with similar beliefs. Most chaplains believe, primarily, in one religion and are very adept at ministering to those of other faiths but I think a “mixed breed' chaplain could fill a need. 

Having volunteered in a county jail as a tutor, lay counselor and life skill teacher I decided that was one place I would like to be a volunteer chaplain. Having also had experience in nursing homes I feel that I can be of service there, too. I am already making connections to serve in the capacity of a volunteer chaplain in both institutions as soon as I graduate from the Chaplaincy program. This course educated me as to exactly what would be expected of me as a chaplain in these institutions. Hospitals are other institutions familiar to me through previous volunteer work; they, too, are a possibility. It, however, was most illuminating to me to learn of the great number of institutions that now have chaplains. I would never have thought of some of the options mentioned in the lessons.

The lesson regarding the “chaplains toolbox” was my personal favorite. What a fantastic idea! The items to carry are so practical and, again, I would never have thought of all of them. I will adopt the list of material items and add to it some personal favorite prayers, verses or sayings of as many religions as I can so I can use what is most familiar to the person I am trying to comfort or advise. The reminders regarding appropriate demeanor and ways to demonstrate compassion were also appreciated.

In conclusion, this course will serve as my guide for many aspects of my future position as a volunteer chaplain. It was well-written, extremely informative, useful and highly interesting. I am not aware of anything that would improve this course. It will serve as my “work bible”. On a personal level, it would have been interesting to me to read, at the beginning of the course, a brief autobiography of the author, Rev. Daniel Moore.

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

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site 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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Gnosticism

Essay for the Master of Gnosticism Course
Joseph H Kovacic


Having dabbled in the study of Gnosticism for several years, a formal examination of the subject seemed in order. The course, "Master of Gnosticism," offered at Universal Life Seminary appeared to be a  means of satisfying that goal. Early on the World Wide Web provided a plethora of information on Gnosticism. Ecclesia Gnostica offered an abundance of data on their web site (ww.gnosis.org/gnintro.htm). Bishop Dr. Steven Hoeller, is a prolific writer, scholar and Bishop of the "Ecclesia Gnostica" Diocese in Los Angeles, California and the expanded Diocese consisting of parishes in several western states. There were reams of data on Ecclesia's Web Site, including a  Gnostic Catechism (http://www.gnosis.org/ecclesia/catechism.htm). Various texts on Gnosticism were used to supplement a wealth of information from other sources such as: The Gnostic Bible (Meyer, Barnstone); The Nag Hammadi Scriptures (Meyer) and works by Erhman; Freke and Gandy; Tabor; Krosney; Pagles: Starbird; Nahmad and Bailey; Jacobovici and Pellegrino; Leloup; Baigent, Leigh and Lincoln, et. al. The Gnostic Bible and The Nag Hammadi Scriptures were used primarily as references and The Catholic Encyclopedia was also consulted. It is a good source of information about Gnosticism. One, however, must read the material cautiously and filter out all of the negative propaganda and focus on the history.

In addition, the ULC Seminary's course provided, not only reinforcement for previously learned material, it offered new Concepts. Myth is presented throughout the "Master of Gnosticism" course. Evidently, certain movies reflect the Gnostic Experience. "Matrix" was alleged to contain "many" elements of Gnosticism. Science fiction? Well, . . . don't know about that. This writer saw the movie  after reading its reference in an early lesson (lesson two) of the "Master of Gnosticism" course. The movie was alleged to offer many examples of Gnosticism; that, however was not recognized by this student. Only "bits and Pieces" were observed; the movie was found to be boring. It was probably someone's loss having not focused during the preponderance of the "flick."

There were many terms presented, id est: demiurge, aeons, archons, Basilides, Valentinus, Marcion, Docetae, monad, pleroma, Sophia, Jaldabaoth, Jao, Sabaoth, Adonaios, Astaphaios, Ailoaios, Oraios and many others. Basilides, Valentinus, and Marcion were bishops who were excommunicated by the orthodox Roman Church. Having became disillusioned by the narrow views ordered by the orthodox, they drifted to Gnosticism and founded important Gnostic schools. Actually, they drifted prior to excommunication.

This observer finds the KISS principal (keep it simple, stupid) more than adequate for consideration of the Gnostic phenomenon. The many myths seem to be an encumbrance.

Basilides, Valentinus, and Marcion were involved with establishing various schools of Gnosticism. Egypt, Alexandria, and Syria were some of the areas these men congregated and disseminated Gnosticism. Gnostic is from Greek and means knowledge. This is not knowledge one embraces via a book. Here one does not need to search for knowledge outside of oneself. Seeking knowledge from others, priests, bishops, etc. is not necessary. All one need do is look inwardly and commune with God directly. This did tend to pose a threat to the orthodox establishment. Therefore the establishment sot to eliminate the Gnostics. Solitary worship is what is practiced by most Gnostics according to Bishop Hoeller.

Gnosticism is dualistic; good, bad, evil, etc. The Demiurge would be equivalent to the creator god of the universe, earth and all material things encompassed therein. That would be concomitant to the Jewish people's god; angry, punitive and a "witz-vogel", so to speak. Space alien maybe; that was Yahweh. The Absolute God is far above the Demiurge and projects love rather than the hatred and meanness as do the lessor gods.

The Supreme Being was unknowable, a pure Spirit. Jesus was, perhaps, associated with this "loving" God. Love is what Jesus represented, and thus the all powerful God made its appearance through and in Jesus. That would be the basis for the concept of duality, two gods, the materialistic evil god and the Supreme Spiritual Good God of Love; the Trinity, Father, Son and the Holy Ghost with Sophia representing the Holy Ghost; Wisdom.

Bishop Hoeller in one of his homilies mentioned that many people consider themselves Gnostic, but there are few who actually are. Clarification would be helpful. This writer considers himself a Gnostic Christian. Where did he go wrong?

One of the possible authors (there were obviously several writers involved in the course construction) of the "Master of Gnosticism" course drew some outstanding contrasts between Gnostic Christianity and Orthodox Christianity in lessons fourteen and fifteen. Perhaps the author overdid the comparisons in lesson fifteen. This writer took offense at the very extreme presentations and called it "tommyrot." Although, there were obvious errors in spelling, grammar and syntax, etc., the information was thorough. Yet, there may have been a bit of redundancy, but that is expected. Driving the issue home may be crucial. Repetition is of value to the student. So, that was, perhaps, a favorable technique. 

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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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Shamanism

I began this journey to intellectually know what and who I was. I found that the academic world does not have a fundamental grasp on the foundations of what it is that makes up a Shaman. The best I can say I found is I have a label for myself, I am a Shaman. I have a great deal of indigenous North American ancestors, for which I have access to their guidance for they speak through the blood, on a subconscious level, thus I come from a long line of “shamans”. The concept that we are all interconnected still with all the research eludes the scholars, they do not full grasp this concept with gnosis, (that is the experiential knowledge)they approach shamanism with the same analytical skepticism that they do for all their science as if the human condition is some lab experiment. The world of the shaman is very real, the spirit world the different dimension that one can travel they all exist if the individual would open their perception to receive some thing other than the ordinary mundane drudgery of their materialistic overly automated socially inept existence.

The society that has been built is there to make the individual feel alone and separated form one another, God, the animals, the plants and the very earth that gives them life, this is all separate for a person who lives in our society without even getting to the universe and the vast cosmos out side our atmosphere.

By the very nature of design this social structure is designed to keep you alone, sick and diseased. If you are not in need of out side influence to heal your mental and more importantly spiritual ills this society could not function at the economic and power hungry level it does. Shamans gave the people the connectivity they needed to feel strong, important and very much so as if they belong in the bigger picture of the cosmos thus ending the separation of the spirit form the creator.

This has been lost in time through our over eagerness to progress with technology, mechanism and materialism all in the name of making our lives easier but we have lost our connection to the earth and the creatures and the heart beat of all the universe that makes us who we are for the sake of all these convinces. Some of these things are nice but they keep families form spending the time together they would have otherwise been together collecting forage or make necessities for every day living these thing let them know they were important and needed by their other family members and even their tribe.

We go to our jobs in our cars by our selves to get on our computers by ourselves to leave to go to lunch by our selves to leave to go home in our car by our selves to check out at the grocery store in the self serve line by our selves, you get the picture, there is very little human contact with one another and rarely if ever does another person have physical contact with you that is not a family member. It is amazing to me that we have got this far with this kind of behavior without the majority of the population totally insane, oh ya that is right most of the people in America are heavily medicated on some kind of mood altering serotonin inhibitor substance like Prozac. We are in need of understanding exactly who we are and exactly how connected to each other we really are and that we matter to everything that exists on this earth and the cosmos at large before we self destruct.

The essential connection that brings all this together is the shaman for they have a real sense of all this and are able to lead others to this connection through various techniques and even entheogens if necessary to bring about the connective gnosis that is necessary to end the separation from all that is our creator. I know who I am, I am a shaman and I know that we are all related . I know I can not be studied like some lab rat, for you will not see the energy of the universe , the earth ,the people nor the creatures through a micro scope. I know that an atom has a nucleus and electron and in side each one of those is the same thing that they will see under that microscope, a whole lot of nothing. Man has not yet been able to measure the quantitativeness of the spirit that exists in all of creation. That can only be experienced.

Cheryjn Carson

Man has yet to create chains that can fetter the mind!

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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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Spirituality

 Universal Life Church Seminary

Master of Spiritualism

            The basis of this course was first and foremost a philosophical look at religion, ideas, and spirituality throughout about the past 3000 years and then explaining how these same ideas are woven into your daily world.  Small sections of the course also went beyond just explaining the philosophical ideas to showing practical uses and placements of those same ideas in modern spirituality and society.

            I liked that the author covered various philosophies some of which may not have explicitly been directly related to religion, such as socialism.  The author does bring up good arguments for all of the theories he covers including socialism, which once looked at through the right lens does relate very well to spirituality and religion.

            It was also nice of the author to bring their personal experience in views into the lessons.  It’s unfortunate that the author has had to go through some of the trial and tribulations that they have but they seems to have grown from it.  Hopefully all of the students taking the course are also able to learn something vicariously through their experiences.  

I can personally say that while I have not lived anything to the extremes that the author has I did see certain parts of the story that related to me.  For example, I’ve been lost in the woods alone in the winter in New York State before, true I was not lost for days I was only lost for hours but it gives me an inkling of the feeling the author must have felt.  I’ve never dealt with an abusive lover but I was the child that had to listen to his parents fight all the time.  

These things cause us to grow over time and lead us to be the people that we are today.  We have a choice, we can either learn from our life, from our successes and failures; or we can choose to keep doing what we’ve always done, the only problem with that is, as the saying goes, you’ll keep getting what you’ve always gotten.

Rev. Justin Oles

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

As a long time member of ULC, Rev. Long created the seminary site 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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The Historical Jesus

Universal Life Church Seminary

Master of Historical Jesus

Rev. Justin Oles

            This course, Master of the Historical Jesus, is rather intriguing but is certainly not what I expected.  I was expecting more of a scientific look at the life of Jesus.  Instead it is a course that demonstrates the proof of Jesus’ existence through the gospels, both canonical and Gnostic, through analysis of the texts.  The author goes through the various ancient texts and by comparison is able to show what Jesus may have actually said or done and not just what the Bible says he did.  It also explains the different periods of learning and research (“quests”) during which Christ was studied and the rationale behind it.

The course begins by trying to help you understand the world Jesus must have lived in (historically, anthropologically and socially) during the first century of the Common Era (CE).  Then it goes on to explain how common words or phrases had different meanings.  For example, in Jesus’ day the word “time” meant something more like “age” or “era” now.  That is to say that time was not a precise measure of minutes and seconds but rather a length of time during which a discernable and important even was taking place, a time for grieving for example.  There is no set length of minutes and seconds during which one might grieve the loss of a loved one and everyone deals with its separately.  Therefore when Christ said things like “the time of the Kingdom is here”, he meant not literally now, or even in the next few hours, days, weeks of months.  He meant that this was the age or era in which it was to take place.

Further, the course explained where Christ might have gotten his ideas and why the translations should not be taken at face value.  Christ lived during a time when almost all Jews, Christ was undoubtedly a Jew, fell into one of three categories (the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes).  Christ was most likely an Essenes based on the area he lived, his upbringing, etc.  This would have influenced his beliefs.  He also chronologically came after John the Baptist and was most likely a follower of his teachings or at least affected by them.  Lastly, the gospels were originally written in Aramaic, Hebrew, and some Greek.  Later these were translated into Hebrew, Greek and Latin and some information was lost or changed, this was further compounded when they were later translated into the modern languages. 

Research on Christ has been broken into five difference periods or quests.  The first period, called the “pre-quest”, occurred before 1778; the main theory behind this period was that the Jesus of the bible was the Jesus of history.  People felt that although there were discrepancies in the gospels that this must be allegorical, or simply to test the faith of the believer.  The “first quest” or “old quest” lasted from 1778 – 1906.  This period falls into the lanes of conspiracy theory, it postulates that Christ never actually intended to die and did not expect it.  It goes on to think that in all likelihood the disciples stole Jesus’ body off the cross and hid it in order to fake the resurrection.  The third period is referred to the “no quest” period and went from 1906 – 1953.  During this period went the opposite way from the last and simply said that since he had risen the historical story and context didn’t matter, all that mattered was the spiritual Jesus himself.  The second quest went from 1953 – 1985 and never got very in-depth. 

The theory being that while the quest was necessary all that was need was to prove the historical accuracy of the Christ sayings but that it fell solely on the historian to prove it was so.  And the last period is referred to as the third quest and goes from 1985 to the present.  This last quest follows the finding of the Lost Sea Scrolls and the gospels of Q and Thomas thereby leading to a more in depth historical analysis of the gospels with relationship to the time of each gospels creation as well as its interrelation with the other gospels.  One can only guess where this might go from here or what further research might prove about the actual Jesus of Nazareth in the future.

Rev. Justin Oles

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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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Religious Philosophy

We are asked, at the end of these discourses, to write an essay concerning the area of study that we have embarked upon, this one being the Master of Religious Philosophy. In this final essay, we are to express what we learned, liked or disliked, and why. Upon review, by the staff of Universal Life Church, we are issued a certificate of completion. So, here is my final essay:

Studying the Master of Religious Philosophy was an “eye-opening” experience. Robert Chamberlain did an outstanding job researching and promulgating the material used throughout this course. Learning the meaning of various words, as simple as the meaning of the word “religion”, truly helped in out in completing this course. I had preconceived definitions of many of these words which, as I have seen, clouded my perception of religion and philosophy.

A prime example is the difference in religion (religiosity) and spirit (spirituality) (week 5 discourse). Being filled with the Spirit, I thought made me a religious person. The two terms can be compared and seem like the same meaning, but, they do not. A person can be spiritual, believing in the metaphysical or beyond the physical, and still not be religious, or believing in the structured or organized belief system (a church for example). An some people may feel religious, but are not filled with the Spirit. An example of this is someone striving to become an Elder at a church. They may know the bible and can quote scripture, attend all church functions, and assist during Sunday sermons, but many times these people have a hidden agenda. They have this inner obsession to be in power. As an Elder, they have say in all church matters. Is this someone filled with the Holy Spirit. I think not.

Now, I can go through this essay and fill it with phrases, quotes, paraphrases from the course material, but I have chosen not to follow this type of essay. I may throw in a quote or two to support my reasoning, but for the most part, I’d rather try to get my point across in my own words and examples.

The Master of Religious Philosophy course goes into many different areas in order to support what it is teaching you. Delving into the different religions, talking about a “God Gene” and how some scientists believe that is what compels us to search for a “higher power”; touching briefly upon different religious expressions and faiths; how scriptures have been translated and possibly misunderstood and changed to fit the period or era when translated (studying the course, “The Four Gospels” you immediately understand how scriptures could have been translated with bias in mind. Is the written scripture truly the exact words of God? Food for thought!)

An area or topic that I truly enjoyed was the subject of Religious Theories in week 13. Mental, emotional and psychological projection of a person’s thoughts, feelings and beliefs have been a basis for many leaders and is in full use today. Take the presidential elections that we have every four years in the United States. Each candidate uses these projections to get you to vote for them over the other guy. They use past experiences of the other candidate’s lack of accomplishments to give you a mental image of how this candidate has failed (tax increases, support of war, infidelity, alleged corruption, just to name a few of the smear tactics used). Once the public has that mental picture in their mind, the candidate uses emotional projection to make you feel the pain in anguish the candidate feels because of his/her opponents misgivings and why you should vote for him/her. Finally, they use psychological projection to believe, or brainwash, you into thinking that only he/she can solve the problem if you vote for them.

These types of projections are commonly used by everyone and not just limited to the religious side of the house. And we all know how clergy uses these projections to accomplish the “needs of the church”.

The Master of Religious Philosophy course provided me with a base or foundation in which to reassemble my thoughts upon. As in Luke 6:48-49, a foundation needs to be constructed upon a rock, solid ground. If the foundation is built upon sand then the house shall tumble and fall in the storm, but on a solid and strong foundation, the house will not falter. This course is that “rock” for me. I guess the best method to explain it is in this story:

I have a friend whom has a 150 year old home that is in great disrepair and the over and acre yard has grown wild. My friend has been married and divorced and did not have the knowledge to maintain the home and yard. She left all that to her former husband. Once he left, the house started to tumble. My friend approached me asked if I could help her reclaim her home.

Growing up, my father was a carpenter and insisted that I learn the skills that he knew. As a result, I learned masonry, plumbing, electrical and woodworking. I later went to work for and went to school for landscaping. This is just to let you know what kind of experience I possess.

I agreed to assist my friend and, with the help of others, we rebuilt the foundation of the home on solid ground. It took a lot of work digging out the ground to firm, hard-packed soil and then laying the block underneath the home, but the effort was worth it. The solid foundation straightened the house and provided the base the home needed to persevere through another 150 years. Although the home is still being restored, this strong and solid foundation has increased the ease at which the remainder of the home is being restored. The sagging and leaning is no longer there. The squareness of the walls have been restored. The floors are no longer even. It is a pleasure restoring it to is original Victorian condition and redeveloping the landscape into a yard befitting of this home.

The complexities and concepts which are broadcast throughout this course, combined with the different religious theories and thoughts, gave me (since not everyone will agree with want I say) the knowledge to understand and question information from all means of communication. I am broadening my horizons by researching and not taking “face-value” of things presented to me. It may be contradicting, but the only thing that I push the “I believe” button on is my belief in God and my blind faith to him.

I highly recommend this as a starting course for anyone interested in taking any form of ministry serious. The knowledge and thought provoking questions presented in the course may become your foundation, as it has me.

Thank you, Robert Chamberlain for this course and Thank you, Rev Amy Long for offering this course at ULC Seminary.
 

Essay written by Rev. George Parsons

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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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Spirit Quest

Universal Life Church Metaphysics Course

Spirit-Quest, the course has been and will continue to be a valuable set of tools. I continue to cherish each one. They have a place in the library at our home. Like any teaching implement, they are referred to time and time again. I want to thank the many that have walked with me through this part of my life’s journey. Thank you Amy, thanks to those who helped put it together, the spirit guides that help me walk through my conscious and unconscious levels of understanding. Thanks to the Elemental Spirits for allowing themselves to be seen and worked with, thanks to the beings who have come to me through these studies and continue to walk with me on my path. Thanks to all.

I have searched to understand myself for as long as I can remember. Through this course, I have been able to identify energies and processes that eluded me.  My relationships with others have changed for the betterment of my self-growth. 

Specifics
Meditation as I understand it, has evolved so I may use it throughout my day and night. I visualize on a regular basis in most things that pass through my life. The exercises provided in the course have awakened senses or awareness that give strength to my Spiritual self.  My perception of my energies and the energies around me are growing and becoming more vivid. I am learning to distinguish between my personal energy, the earth energies and the “cosmos” energies. My drive to heal the creatures that come to me for rehabilitation continues with my understanding of the “purpose” or “abilities” of each type of energy. Instead of using my personal energy to try and heal one that is injured, I visualize the energies of the Earth and the Universe to work with the creature.

This course introduced me to the concept of the Astral Plane and my own astral body. I am learning to visualize the cleansing of the silver cord and the placing of my golden light within this astral body. The concept is new to me. I am sure over time, this will become second nature and many more opportunities will present themselves that deal with the ‘spiritual” or astral plane and the beings that live there. If I remember correctly, there are eleven levels that were introduced. As with any introduction, it is but a doorway through which I am entering.

I am learning different ways of perceiving the worlds around me, to release my fear of the unknown (which is taught), and to embrace others without judgment.

An added bonus to taking this course is getting to know Amy Long. Through the sharing of her life experiences and approach to subjects, she has given the blessing of herself. With this, I would like to say thanks to all who played a part in my journey through Spirit-Quest.

Rev. Sherri Roberts

Spirit Quest

Metaphysics Course

Universal Life Church

The very first sentences of this course have been the most important for me.  In these sentences I have grown in courage and understanding.  I have been able to embrace these words as a reality for my life. 

 1. You Are A Perfect Being. 

 2. God Loves You.

 3.  You Were Created In Perfection, By Perfection for Perfection.

4.  Your Success Is Guaranteed.

The content of this course for me has all been based in the above four sentences because in them I have found my true self.  My life, not unlike others, has been extremely difficult as I come from a very dysfunctional family and I am proud that I have.  The negative conditioning that I received as a child has made me value my growth process.  The very first sentence says, “You are a perfect being.”  The problem with the way I was raised is that I was taught to embrace my imperfections.  As I studied the discourses I now see that I have no imperfections and any flaw can be turned just by changing my view.  It had been easy for me to accept myself as imperfect and undeserving and while I saw myself with all these flaws my world continually supported those notions.  After practicing the meditations and taking off the veil of untruth I can easily accept that this world is made perfect and just as nature is perfect so am I.  My body (the spiritual as well as the physical) works in perfection and when I view myself as aligned with the universe then I can easily see myself as perfect or better yet as being, “created in perfection, by perfection and for perfection.

As a child I am the product of my mother and her union with a married man.  Now my mother didn’t know that my father was married, but when she found out it was too late.  So, since my mother could not punish the man she punished me by withholding love.  Coming from my experiences with my family and having a mother who did know about the value of forgiveness, I thought that God (Goddess, Source, The Creator) could not possibly love someone like me.  As I walked through the discourses and practiced Rose meditation and visualization, I began to see just how wrong I was in my assumption.  I saw (and see) that in everything that has been created in this world and in the spiritual realm there is no limit of the love that I am the recipient of.  I have learned how the source of the universe has given me genius and how she communicates this through the most basic and beautiful things (music, numbers, and color).  I was born under a unique set of numbers I see my talents I see the love that Goddess has for me in all that she created.  Just to know that there is no way I can fail gives me the courage to do those things I though impossible. 

When I started this course I knew certain things and was in the process of opening up to realize more of the Universal Truths.  Since my study I have grown to understand the reasons that I had not manifested in my life those things which I needed.

My biggest obstacle to growth had been my view on forgiveness.  I had always thought that to forgive those that, in my estimation, had hurt me meant to let them off the hook.  Now, I understand that it is not about letting them off the hook, but it is about realigning me with the divine.  It is about releasing and letting go. Forgiveness is what I do for me and is about no giving my power away to those who have caused me harm.  My biggest surprise while walking through this lesson is that I realized that I had been withholding forgiveness because I wanted revenge…I wanted them to feel the pain that I carried.  In reality (this is a shocker) the pain that I felt had been because I LET IT IN!  I made it my own personal pain.  I decided to use the forgiveness letter.  Now the forgiveness letter asks that you use compassionate and loving words to the offender.  This letter allowed me to first see my offenders as human, and then it showed me the power of compassion.  As I have held on to the un-forgiveness I had allowed myself to be cut off from the compassionate side of me.  I didn’t mail these letters, but I did burn them and visualized the smoke as carrying my forgiveness to the person.  I let go completely of the blame, shame, and need for revenge.

This course has strengthened my meditation and visualization skills.  It reminds me of a song sung by a very popular R&B singer R. Kelly.  The title is “I believe I can fly” and in the song there are some words that are the foundation of Metaphysics, “….if I can see it….then I can be it…, I believe I can fly.”  Metaphysics as detailed in this course works because we use visualization techniques to manifest.  What I can visualize in my mind, I can bring into my physical reality.  In past I have manifested negative (“if you don’t fill it, someone or something will fill it for you” – discourse four) but using guided meditation to ground I learned to fill myself with positive instead. 

There are so many things I learned with this course and It would take me another lifetime to talk about it all, but since I am learning about balancing my time and am practicing staying in the present I will say that this course has taken me though some horrible memories and because of that I have been able to release the negative emotions and learn the lesson.  I am now a better minister because I know how important letting go is.  I understand how holding on can manifest pain, and negativity into my life.  I can now teach others how to manifest a rose to dispel negative energy and bring in the beauty of love.  I can teach others how to tap into the divine and experience the type of unconditional love that we all deserve.  These lessons have taught me that this world in which I live was created in abundance and like all of nature I have all I need after all,

I AM A Perfect Being, Goddess Loves Me; I was Created in Perfection, By Perfection for Perfection and my Success Is Guaranteed.

Reverend Tammy J. Hamilton

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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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