Seminary Program

This is where we post the essays from many of our Universal Life Church Seminary students. When students finish a ULC course, they write a comprehensive essay about their experiences with the course, what they learned, didn't learn, were inspired by, etc. Here are their essays.

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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Which is the Original Universal Life Church?

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Many people get ordained through the Universal Life Church as a means to become wedding officiants, but also to study through our online seminary. If you need minister supplies or online ceremonies, we have a wide selection to choose from, as well as a place for spiritual articles and spiritual bookmarks.

Visit our FB Page at ULC Seminary.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Paganism

Comments of the Paganism Course

by Rev Daniel S. Irwin


The course on Paganism was informative and enlightening.  Paganism...ancient religions and new religions created from the old.  I particularly liked the historical perspective, the link with the old, the respect for different viewpoints.  Respect for different viewpoints in that, no matter the 'path' one chooses to follow, it can be "all good".

I, myself, have always had a healthy respect for the old religions/beliefs, particularly those originating in Europe.  Some modern day groups have revived the old religions/cultures showing that these beliefs are not just thrown away but actually are roots to one's heritage.

The lessons devoted to listing Pagan gods and helpers was exceptionally thorough for there are many gods, many beliefs.  Yes, as I remarked, there are many paths that one my follow as a pagan with a pantheon of deities and cultures.  The importance of ritual, sacred places and sacred spaces is stressed and noted for the binding power which each would exert over the group.  These are the things which give us value, teach, and create a religious sense of 'home', as well as, enrich our spiritual being.

The in depth coverage of celebrations and sabbats was, as the rest of the course, enlightening and full of information which one would be hard pressed to find and piece together one's self.  Some of these sacred days I was aware of and have participated in the ceremonies...particularly the solstices.  The lessons on sacred symbols and runes was, like wise, an in depth coverage of aspects of paganism.

The many pagan views/beliefs of/concerning 'afterlife' are as many and varied as the distinctive pagan religions themselves.  From an anthropological viewpoint, much can be learned about a culture or religion in the way they view life beyond death, the manner in which their dead are treated/regarded, and the rites and rituals performed in benefit for the dead and the living.

This course on Paganism was a twenty weeks of positive, informative lessons.  I would recommend this course to anyone who would wish to further their knowledge of Paganism.  After all, not every one is a member of, what is considered, the 'main stream' religions.  Nor should one who is a Pagan be regarded as an eccentric fool.  The world is full of different beliefs, different religions...all valid, all sacred to their followers.  Respect is due to all.   
  
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Many people get ordained through the Universal Life Church as a means to become wedding officiants, but also to study through our online seminary. If you need minister supplies or online ceremonies, we have a wide selection to choose from, as well as a place for spiritual articles and spiritual bookmarks. If you need any assistance in any area of your ministry, please feel free to contact amy@ulcseminary.org and we'll give you all the help we can. Visit our FB Page at ULC Seminary.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Confession and Absolution of Sins from ULC Seminary

Confession and Absolution of Sins


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Many people get ordained through the Universal Life Church as a means to become wedding officiants, but also to study through our online seminary. If you need minister supplies or online ceremonies, we have a wide selection to choose from, as well as a place for spiritual articles and spiritual bookmarks. If you need any assistance in any area of your ministry, please feel free to contact amy@ulcseminary.org and we'll give you all the help we can. Visit our FB Page at ULC Seminary.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Spirituality Course

 Dr. of Spirituality
Lesson 2
Homework
Brendan Cook

Prayer Exercise
1)    There is a prayer that I use every time I put on and take off my mala, called a gatha in the Buddhist tradition. The version that I use is vastly simplified, and is intended to draw attention to the act of putting the mala on and my role in bringing enlightenment more widely into the world. Currently, it goes like this: I vow to wake up and see the world as it truly is. I will save (that is, bring enlightenment to) all sentient beings.

In taking the perspective based on the understanding of what God, His Son and what I really am, I would rephrase it this way: I see the world as it truly is. I extend love to all beings.

2)    Dear Father, help me to grow into the fullness of your boundless, endless, all-encompassing Love. Help me to feel your Love in all things, in all places, and to see it in all people. Please help me to fulfill the promise you made in me: To be innately and authentically worthy of your Love, and to manifest that Love in the world.

As I begin to accept my place as a part of God’s Love, existing within his boundless Love, that love will start to pour over into all aspects of my life. My work will benefit because I will be more easily able to connect with my clients, and I will manifest that Love as a part of my treatments. My family relationships will benefit as the Love will permeate my relationships with my children and especially with my wife. Our levels of understanding and love will grow as God’s Love infuses those relationships.

As I grow to accept my worthiness and my lovedness, old hurts will be released and healed. Any sense of lack, stemming from a feeling of unworthiness, will be released and be replaced by a sense of complete worthiness. This will manifest in numerous ways, in friendships, finances, familial relationships and more.


 
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Many people get ordained through the Universal Life Church as a means to become wedding officiants, but also to study through our online seminary. If you need minister supplies or online ceremonies, we have a wide selection to choose from, as well as a place for spiritual articles and spiritual bookmarks. If you need any assistance in any area of your ministry, please feel free to contact amy@ulcseminary.org and we'll give you all the help we can. Visit our FB Page at ULC Seminary.

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Spirit Quest

Comments on the Spirit Quest course
 
by Rev Daniel S. Irwin
 
 
Spirit Quest, a course which truly assists one on their spiritual journey.  A spiritual journey that embraces one's spiritualism no matter to which or what 'established' faith group one may belong.  Even those referred to as being members of 'the other church', meaning atheists, can find value and useful insight and information in this course.
 
Thirty weeks and each week I anxiously awaited the next lesson.  In this course, there were a marred of helpful ideas presented in the lessons.  Setting spiritual goals, spiritual growth, and awareness of the world around one (tangible and intangible elements) can lead to an unexpected enrichment of the spirit.
 
Not only have I learned (in my way, at my 'beginner' level) how to use this information, but it will prove quite valuable in my attempts to help others.  I could use the phrase "I particularly liked' referring to a lot of things here in the course.
 
I was taken with the brake down of 'tools' in facilitating a healthy spiritual awareness.  The grounding chord, golden sun, protection rose are invaluable tools in dealing with one's own spiritualism and psyche as well as establishing a healthy relation with the world.  Setting spiritual goals and a timeline for same is just a part of establishing harmony in one's life.
 
Harmony in one's life, in body and spirit, enabling spiritual growth is the goal of meditation.  Meditation set to dealing with the world, dealing with others, dealing with the self for, as noted in the lesson, change basically comes from the changes one makes in one's self.  For others to change, you must change.  And if the change you make in yourself does not suit those around you, then ,perhaps, it is better to not have those people around.  Conflict with others creates negative energy.  In our spiritual growth, we work to eliminate negative energy.  Negative energy disrupts the peace and harmony of our spiritual goal.
 
Forgiveness was a particularly interesting subject covered in the lessons.  A matter of forgiving and, as they say, 'letting go' of the negative memories/aspects.  Revenge is to be avoided in thought and deed.  Actions in retaliation take away from one's own spirituality and hampers spiritual growth.  People make mistakes, people are often cruel, people are subject to unwise acts.  The question that should be asks in these instances is, "What made them do or act as they did?".  Perhaps there are unknowns to the act.  Still, to respond to an unkind act is to further the negative aspect  in a snowballing effect and, no matter how much or well you 'got back at them', you, yourself are damaged in embracing the negative.
 
The lessons on competition, chakras, and karma were very enlightening.  I, myself, was unfamiliar with the Chakras and how they effect us.  Karma, I have had some insight into but the lesson presented clarified some questions that I had about it.  Being an artist, I was very much taken with the 'color' in relation to spirituality.  And the 'pictures' lesson was, indeed, a very well thought out and presented lesson on how the world can perceive those around them.  As it noted, even a large number of words in a conversation/presentation can be summed up in one basic 'picture'....very much like a 'first impression'.
 
Reincarnation was discussed in a positive aspect.  Well, if one is discussing reincarnation from the stance that they believe in it, it should be discussed in a positive aspect.  But, what I found intriguing was the noting of the soul aging and, if on the right path, growing.  Here, timeline was addressed in so many words.  As with the soul, life , itself, can be seen as past, present, and future.  With me, 'past time' is, and has always been, the least important.  The present, of course, has value in that that is the 'now', but, I have always looked to the future.  Most everything that I undertake has been toward a goal...gaining knowledge at work, furthering scholastic studies, writing, acting, whatever.  And, without realizing it, spirituality.  I feel my sense of spirituality has progressed over time with many changes...and these changes always came from the future.  Not like science fiction, but in becoming aware of spiritual things as I pass on my journey through time.
 
I toughly enjoyed this course. I found it enlightening and presented many tools to help me and others as I can.  'Spirit Quest', itself, was a remarkable journey.   

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Many people get ordained through the Universal Life Church as a means to become wedding officiants, but also to study through our online seminary. If you need minister supplies or online ceremonies, we have a wide selection to choose from, as well as a place for spiritual articles and spiritual bookmarks. If you need any assistance in any area of your ministry, please feel free to contact amy@ulcseminary.org and we'll give you all the help we can. Visit our FB Page at ULC Seminary.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Gospel of Luke

                                                            Gospel of Luke 



The debate over who actually wrote the Gospel of Luke is one of the most lively exegetic topics in modern theology. Although some scholars insist that Luke, a companion of Paul who was named in Colossians, is highly likely to have been the author, the debate is by no means settled and there are many who believe that the issue of Lukan authorship is very much up for further research. One of the few things that most scholars do agree upon is that the author of the Gospel of Luke is likely to be the same person who wrote the Acts of the Apostles, since there are many philosophical and stylistic similarities between the two. Beyond this, there is very little agreement, with some scholars even doubting that the author of the books was named Luke.

The most common theory is that the Gospel of Luke was written by Luke the physician.



 Luke was a companion of Saint Paul the Apostle and is mentioned on a number of occasions in epistles attributed to Paul. Most early Christian documents assume that Luke was the author of the gospel bearing his name, but it is unclear whether this theory gave rise to the title The Gospel According to Luke, or whether the title gave rise to the theory (Green, 1995). Nevertheless ancient source are almost unanimous in their belief (or assumption) that the Luke referenced by Paul must be the same Luke who wrote the gospel in his name. Supporting this belief is the existence of certain passages in the gospel where the term 'we' is used to referred to activities surrounding Paul, strongly suggesting that the author was an associate of Paul's and therefore tying in with the belief that it was Luke.



However in the preface to Luke there is explicit mention on having eyewitness accounts 'handed down to us', strongly suggesting that the author was not present at the time. This raises the question of why the author would then use 'we' in certain parts of the text, but there are numerous possible explanations for this that, although unlikely, cannot be discounted. It is possible that the preface was written after the gospel, by another author, but in this case the subsequent author clearly went to great lengths to copy the style of the rest of the gospel. Again, however, this cannot be ruled out. It is equally possible that the 'we' portion of the gospel could have been from another author and was simply included by whoever was responsible for the majority of the gospel. A small number of critics have advanced the theory that the author of Luke may have been female.

This is based on the fact that the gospel spends considerably more time dealing with the roles and lives of women, affording more time to the lives of Elizabeth, the wife of John the Baptist, and the Virgin Mary than is the case in the other gospels (Reid, 1996). However, as evidence of female authorship of the gospel, this is clearly extremely thin: there is no reason to think that the author of Luke may not simply have chosen to cover this because he recognised that females were unfairly underrepresented in the other gospels, and this may have even been the reason for the decision to write this gospel in the first place. There is no specific reason to assume that the author was male, but nor is there any firm evidence to support the idea that the author was female.

Most of the debate over the authorship of the Gospel of Luke returns to the use of the term 'we' when discussing parts of the journeys undertaken with Paul. There are those who suggest that this was a stylistic convention of the time, used to refer to long journeys. However there is little evidence to support this idea. Some believe, instead, that the author used the style in order to add an element of historic accuracy to the gospels and perhaps even to misguide readers into believing that he was present when he was not.



 Since such practices do occasionally occur today, there is no reason to assume that they could not have occurred at the time that the gospel was written, which is believed to be between 80-90 CE.

There does seem to be a great deal of evidence to support the idea that the Gospel of Luke was indeed written by Luke the physician. Questions surrounding the question of authorship are a popular topic among theology discussions, and many Religious Studies classes focus on this issue. While the arguments in favour of another author can be made to work, they depend on a number of assumptions that seem to exist primarily in order to challenge the popular assumptions of Lukan authorship.















The Gospel of Luke like the other three Gospels depicts the life, teachings, death and the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. This is the largest of the four Gospels.

The Gospel opens with a salutation to Theophilus and proceeds to tell the story of the appearance of Angel Gabriel to Zachariah, whose wife Elizabeth did not have the ability to bear a child. The Angel announces to Zachariah that his wife will bear a child and that “he will bring back many people of Israel to the Lord their God. He will go as God’s messenger, strong and mighty like the prophet Elijah. He will bring fathers and children again; he will turn the disobedient people back to the way of thinking of the righteous; he will get the Lord’s people ready for him”. The dumb founded Zachariah could not believe the words of the Angel Gabriel. Zachariah was spending a long time in the Temple and when he came out he could not speak. He was punished with the dumbness till the miracle was realized by him. People knew that he had seen a vision in the Temple since he was making signs to them with his hands and unable to say a word.

Gabriel then appears before Mary, who was promised in marriage to Joseph and proclaims that the Holy Spirit will come on her and she will give birth to a son who is to be named Jesus. He adds that “He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God” and that the Lord God will make him a king, as his ancestor David was, and he will be the king of the descendants of Jacob for ever and his kingdom will never end”.

After a few months Mary visited her cousin Elizabeth, and when Mary greeted her, the baby in Elizabeth’s womb “jumped with gladness”. In due course Elizabeth gave birth to a baby boy and he was circumcised and named John. Zachariah regained his speech at that time, as he was filled with the Holly Spirit. The baby grew up into John the Baptist.

Joseph and Mary went to Becklehem to register their names for the census and ordered by Emperor Augustus. There Mary gave birth to Jesus and laid him in the manger. An Angel announced the birth of Christ to the shepherds. The shepherds visited the Holy Baby and spread the word around.

The baby was named Jesus, as preordained, was circumcised, and was taken for the ceremony of purification. There Simeon, a God-fearing man, filled with Holy Spirit, held the baby in his hand and praised the Lord for bringing glory to the people of Israel.

When Jesus was twelve years old his parents took him for the Passover ceremony as usual, but that year he did not return with his parents, and stayed back in the temple, with the Jewish teachers listening carefully, and asking intelligent questions. Jesus grew into a boy of great wisdom.

While Herod was the ruler of Galilee, John the Baptist was appealing to the people to turn away from their sins and to get baptized. He also preached the Good News that one much greater than him is coming to baptize them with the Holy Spirit. He also spoke critically of Governor Herod and subsequently became imprisoned.

When Jesus was about thirty years old the power of the Holy Spirit started radiating from him very powerfully and he was revered and praised by all. The Devil tried his level best to tempt Jesus through many tricks, but Jesus did not succumb to any of the tricks.

But when Jesus went to Nazareth to read from the scriptures, He was not appreciated there. There is a saying that the darkest place is under the candle. Nazareth was the place where Jesus had been brought up. Yet people failed to recognize the Holy Spirit emanating from Him.

The power embedded in Jesus started performing miracles. At Capernaum, a town in Galilee, He drove away the evil Spirit that had possessed a man. He cured the high fever of Simon’s mother-in-law.

Learning about His miraculous powers, sick people started flocking to Jesus. A touch by his hand cured every one of them. He cured a leper of his leprosy. Once a paralyzed man was carried on a bed and brought to Jesus. He told the man that “your sins are forgiven you, my friend”. The listeners were puzzled by this, thinking that only god can forgive sins. They thought Jesus was impersonating God. The paralyzed man walked back home.

Jesus was unconventional in many of his acts. He kept company with outcasts, supported and eating on Sabbath days, and even cured the crippled hand of a man on a Sabbath day. Gradually anger hatred and fear started building up against Jesus among the Pharisees and the teachers of law.

Jesus went on healing and teaching the people who flocked to him. He even breathed life into a dead man. He assured the poor and the sorrow-stricken that there is a great reward awaiting them in Heaven. He taught them to shun violence. He spread the gospel of love. He warned people against judging others. Through powerful parables Jesus started driving great ideas into the minds of the people.

As time passed, the number of miracles performed by the spiritual power of Jesus grew unbelievably. The fisherman who could not net any fish in spite of a hard day’s labor, caught netfuls of fish at the order of Jesus. A mob of evil spirits had been driven away from a possessed man into a group of swine. He calmed a storm in the ocean with a single command. A woman who had been sick for twelve days touched the robe of Jesus and got cured instantly. He raised from death the daughter of Jairus. Once He fed a crowd of five thousand with just five loaves of bread and two fish.

Jesus had gathered His disciples from among the fisherman. He gave them power and authority to drive out demons and to cure diseases. In due course of time He told His disciples about His impending death and resurrection. He recruited more disciples and sent seventy two of them to different towns with the message of God’s love.

To the skeptical teacher of law, He gave the parable of the Good Samaritan. He advised the Pharisees to keep their minds clean and worthy. He even told them that they “are like unmarked graves which people walk on without knowing it.” When one of the teachers of the law protested saying that Jesus was insulting them, Jesus accused them of holding the keys to the house of knowledge, neither themselves going in, nor allowing anybody else to go in. This infuriated the teachers and they wanted to wreak vengeance on Him.

In the meanwhile Jesus went on enriching the peoples’ minds through the parables of the Yeast, Mustard Seed, the Narrow Door, the Unfruitful Tree, Faithful and the Unfaithful Servant, the Great Feast, Worthless Salt, the Lost Sheep and many more. His healing miracles continued as ever. He taught the people that the kingdom of God is within themselves. He reminded them that it is harder for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God than for a camel to go through the eye of the needle.

Jesus drove the merchants from the Temple, and warned people to watch out for the Teachers of Law who take advantage of the weak. They wanted to kill Jesus and finally Judas under the devil’s influence agreed to betray Christ. During the Feast of the Unleavened Bread, Jesus broke the bread and gave it to His disciples saying that it was His body, and gave them the wine as new covenant sealed with His blood. He added that “the one who betrays me is here at the table with me”. Jesus also predicted the denial of Peter.

Jesus was arrested after being kissed and identified by Judas, and Peter three times denied knowledge of Him, as predicted by Jesus. The elders of the Jews, the teachers and the Chief Priests asked Him if He was the “ Son of God “ and He answered “ you say that I am “. For claiming Himself to be God, they decided to punish Him and took Him to Pilate. Pilate sent for Herod. Pilate told the crowd that he did not find Jesus guilty, but the crowd shouted that Jesus must be killed. He was nailed on the Cross along with two criminals.

At Jesus’ death, noon turned into darkness, and the curtain in the Temple tore into two. His body was received by Joseph of Arimathea and some ladies who were with him and He was buried. But the third day Jesus resurrected, as He had foretold earlier. Jesus later appeared before His disciples and then was taken into heaven.

Conclusion:

The word Gospel literally means “Good News”. But the Gospels in the Bible are more than “Good News”. They belong to the genre of biography and historiography. As biography it races the birth, growth, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus. As historiography it draws a continuous line from the scriptures, from Abraham, through Moses, David, and Isaiah to the age of Jesus.

The gospel of St. Luke, from another perspective, is the exposition of God. Its power as scripture is simply unique.

References



Green, Joel. The theology of the Gospel of Luke. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1995.



Reid, Barbara. Choosing the better part? Women in the Gospel of Luke. Collegeville, The Liturgical Press, 1996.

Andy Gaus  The Unvarnished Gospel , 2001.



Rev. Steve Dunkley



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Many people get ordained through the Universal Life Church as a means to become wedding officiants, but also to study through our online seminary. If you need minister supplies or online ceremonies, we have a wide selection to choose from, as well as a place for spiritual articles and spiritual bookmarks. If you need any assistance in any area of your ministry, please feel free to contact amy@ulcseminary.org and we'll give you all the help we can. Visit our FB Page at ULC Seminary.

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Wedding Training For Ministers




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Many people get ordained through the Universal Life Church as a means to become wedding officiants, but also to study through our online seminary. If you need minister supplies or online ceremonies, we have a wide selection to choose from, as well as a place for spiritual articles and spiritual bookmarks. If you need any assistance in any area of your ministry, please feel free to contact amy@ulcseminary.org and we'll give you all the help we can. Visit our FB Page at ULC Seminary.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Metaphysical Healing

Below please find my Master of Metaphysical Healing Course Essay for submission for completion of this course and for issuance of the degree, as noted at the end of the Lesson 20:


The Master of Metaphysical Healing Program by Rev. Katherine Lee Kruger, while not as expected based upon the program description in the catalog and the course overview, was definitely of great value and benefit.  A result of completing this home study course is that it has reinforced my own understanding of the special nuances of the healer - client relationship and the absolute importance of always being of the highest integrity and highest intent when working within clients’ energy fields.  The inclusion of a reiteration of the necessity of being prepared on all levels prior to beginning a healing session was most beneficial, as was The Healer’s Oath at the end of the program, which was appreciated and heartfelt.  Where I found the background history of Traditional Healers in South Africa a most informative and interesting glimpse into another culture, and appreciate the hard won accomplishments attained by the author and her fellow practitioners, the beneficial relevancy did not match the expectations of this program as described, nor was I able to find agreement with her declamation verging on diatribe regarding creating realities.   

I feel a greater benefit would have been met if the program had delved deeper into the actual energy work processes and techniques.  However, I believe I will be able to incorporate most of the processes and techniques into my own healing practice, and especially hold value for the Aura Reading with its “expedition into the body” process, all of the “induction” processes, and the diagrams and discourse on the Chakras and the Human Energy Fields.  The meditations and the self-healing process were also found to be of great value.   I have, after reading about the author, a respect for what she has accomplished for not only Traditional and Spiritual Healers in South Africa, but also for the time and effort put into providing this home study course.

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Many people get ordained through the Universal Life Church as a means to become wedding officiants, but also to study through our online seminary. If you need minister supplies or online ceremonies, we have a wide selection to choose from, as well as a place for spiritual articles and spiritual bookmarks. If you need any assistance in any area of your ministry, please feel free to contact amy@ulcseminary.org and we'll give you all the help we can. Visit our FB Page at ULC Seminary.

Tuesday, November 08, 2011

Shamanism Course

Master of Shamanism Final Essay by Russell GreWolf Mauck

I have really enjoyed taking this course, and have learned alot about the history of Shamanism throughout the world, and in other cultures. I was hoping that there would be more details about healing techniques though. In all, the whole course was very educational and informative, and well presented. Bishop Pat has done a fine job with the writing of this course.

As a child, I lived in the four-corners area of Utah, until I was 5 years old. My Dad worked for an oil company and we lived in a oil camp on the Navajo reservation area near Montezuma Creek. I remember having a very high temperature and having a "vision" of cloud pictures crossing the mountains near us. I have always been drawn to the Native American culture and "oneness" with Nature religious views. I never knew what to call my personal religious beliefs, but knew that the mainstream was not what I felt in my heart.

Balance is the key to all things. Balance in the human body, balance in nature, balance in the universe. In today's world everything seems to be out of balance and needs to be put back into balance if we are going to survive as a species. In the Hopi language, the word Koyaanisqatsi means "crazy life, life in turmoil, life out of balance, life disintegrating, a state of life that calls for another way of living". If a person is out of balance, either physically or spiritually then you become sick or ill. Through Shamanic Journeying and other techniques one can start putting their life, and help others to start putting themselves back into balance. We can also do this to help get the Earth back into balance also. In order for us to achieve balance we must use our inner senses to observe the world around us. By using these inner senses with our outer senses we can "see" what needs to be put back into balance. This can be used in both physical healing and emotional/mental healing. We can learn to access, hone and use these inner senses by meditation and spirit journeying.

I have found that Shamanism/Animism is the exact way of my beliefs, in that everything has a spirit and is inter-connected with the Great Spirit. The healing of mind and body is the main purpose of the Shaman. I have experienced first hand how powerful this can be, and that was before I started studying Shamanism. Now that I have taken this and other courses, I can appreciate what energy was actually behind this, and how to use this healing energy in the future. I have learned how to use spirit journeying to learn more, and  to heal/help myself and to help others. I am also learning more about herbalism to further expand my Shamanic Path, and find this to be very useful in everyday life.

Thank you so much for offering this course. I have learned very much and will recommend it to others.
 
Namaste - hindu - "I honor the Spirit in you which is also in me."

Russell GreWolf Mauck
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Many people get ordained through the Universal Life Church as a means to become wedding officiants, but also to study through our online seminary. If you need minister supplies or online ceremonies, we have a wide selection to choose from, as well as a place for spiritual articles and spiritual bookmarks. If you need any assistance in any area of your ministry, please feel free to contact amy@ulcseminary.org and we'll give you all the help we can. Visit our FB Page at ULC Seminary.

Sunday, November 06, 2011

Gospel of Mark

                                                                             Gospel of Mark
               The Gospel According to Mark, one of the four Gospels in the New Testament which talk about the life of Jesus Christ, contains some of the heaviest usage of figurative language in the Bible. Whether making comparisons of normal folk, or describing God in allegorical ways, the use of metaphors and figurative language in general is very frequently seen.
               The best and most discernible example of use of metaphor is in chapter 4 of the Gospel According to Mark. As Jesus Christ teaches by the sea side to a vast number of people, he taught them in parables with common usage of metaphors. When Jesus says "Behold, there went out a sower to sow: And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side…But when the sun was up, it was scorched…and it withered away", he later explains to the confused people that the sower is sowing the message of God, but when they hear it, Satan will come and take away the message that lies in their hearts. By usage of metaphors, Jesus is teaching the people about the message of god, by using a sower and his seeds as an example. This is one of the best examples of figurative language in the Gospel According to Mark. Later, when Jesus continues on and says "is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed, and not to be set on a candlestick?", he is speaking of the message of god and how it should be told and spread among the people, instead of being kept to themselves and hidden away. Lastly, when Jesus says "Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God, or with what comparison shall we compare it," his usage of figurative language as a simile by saying in response "it is like a grain of mustard seed, which when sown in the earth…it growth up, and becometh greater that all herbs…" proves to be another instance of the apparent usage of figurative language in the Gospel According to Mark.
               Of the four Gospels in the New Testament, the Gospel According to Mark has significant usage of figurative language. In the teachings of Jesus Christ in this Gospel, he uses metaphors and similes in the form of parables while speaking to the people. Such figurative language usage is noteworthy because of the age of the text and is an example from which the origins of figurative language can be traced back to.
Jesus Christ lived a very full, if short, life.  He did and accomplished more in his thirty years than many men do in twice that.  The gospels each tell their versions of his life.  Of the four, I found the gospel of Mark to be the most interesting.  I enjoy the style of writing in this gospel more than the others.  I feel it gives a better summary of the events in Christ's life.  Whereas the other gospels tend to get bogged down with parables or spend too much time on specific events, the gospel of Mark moves along at a good pace and adequately gets the message across.
               A majority of Mark deals with Christ's travels throughout the area around the Sea of Galilee and the various miracles he performed during that time.  Most of these involved healing those with leprosy or other plagues, exorcising demons, or curing the blind/deaf/dumb.  The stories of Christ feeding thousands with but a few loaves of bread and a couple of fish are also told, as is the story of Jesus walking on water.  All of the miracles are described well, without getting too wordy.  The style of writing also makes them believable.
               Only a handful of Christ's parables are included in Mark.  One speaks of how "the sower soweth the word."  In this parable, Jesus speaks of himself as a sower and compares spreading the Word of God to planting seeds (the Word being the seeds).  He also compares people to the different types of ground you can plant seeds in.  At the end of the parable, Christ says that any man who spreads the seed also spreads the kingdom of God, and any man that withholds the seed shall see the kingdom of God withheld from him (Mark 4:24-26).  This is a beautifully written passage.  Without coming out and saying, it, Christ makes it apparent that it's not enough to merely worship; one must also go out and preach to the unsaved and try to help them see the light.
               Another parable tells of the rich young man who asks Christ how he may attain the kingdom of God.  Christ asks if he as followed the Ten Commandments, and the young man says he has.  Then Christ tells him that he has to give all his possessions to the poor because he will have no need of such things in Heaven.  This saddens the young man because he has many possessions.  After the young man left, Christ told his disciples that it is difficult for the rich to get into Heaven because they put too much faith into their riches.  "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God," (Mark 10:25).  This is a poignant message.  Christ then says that a man who gives up everything for his faith will be well rewarded in Heaven.  This parable is timeless.  It speaks of the downfall greed can force upon you.  In the end, no matter how much you have, you can't take it with you.
               One of the most widely told stories of Jesus is written in Mark.  Upon visiting the Temple in Jerusalem, Christ finds it is overrun with merchants and moneychangers.  Enraged, Jesus overturns the tables and calls the temple a den of thieves.  This angered the priests and scribes of the city, and they sought to destroy Jesus.  Perhaps it was this act, above all others, that truly set the priests in motion to bring about Christ's death.
               The last two chapters of Mark tell of Christ's trial before Pilate, his crucifixion, and his resurrection.  This was perhaps the only part of the gospel that I felt was rushed.  Surprisingly little (in this gospel) is written about such an important series of events, especially where the resurrection was concerned.  I feel this takes away from the importance and overall effect of Christ's return.
               I look at the gospel of Mark more as a biographical sketch than anything else.  While there is some dogma involved, it is held in check in favor of telling about the life of Jesus Christ.  Because of a heavier emphasis on biography, I find that Mark is more believable then the other gospels.

References:  NIV Study Bible.  Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI. 1995.
Andy Gaus  The Unvarnished Gospel , 2001.
Rev. Steve Dunkley

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Many people get ordained through the Universal Life Church as a means to become wedding officiants, but also to study through our online seminary. If you need minister supplies or online ceremonies, we have a wide selection to choose from, as well as a place for spiritual articles and spiritual bookmarks. If you need any assistance in any area of your ministry, please feel free to contact amy@ulcseminary.org and we'll give you all the help we can. Visit our FB Page at ULC Seminary.

Thursday, November 03, 2011

ULC Religious Philosophy

Master of Religious Philosophy - Final Essay

 
Out of all the courses I have taken for the Chaplaincy program, this is by far the most interesting and close to my hart subject of all. I have truly enjoyed this material, and it has spawned my interest and studying of additional subjects raised in this course. That is why it has taken me quite a bit longer to complete it; as it has sidetracked me many times.
I just re-read the complete course and I have just realized how I have grown since the first time around, through my side studies, discussions with many others, and philosophizing.
 
Over the last few years, before I started my chaplaincy program and also during, I have found myself more and more of a “universalist”, and now even more I call myself an “amalgamist”.
Lesson 8 – “the Five ‘A’s”, really hit home for me. This lesson put into words and structure for me what I had come to realize over time. This is the subject matter I most often discuss with others, of many different faiths and denominations. It has gotten me “into trouble” several times, where people leave the dinner table, argue, or just do not want to discuss any further. I now realize that they are stuck in the first “A”: awareness and cannot even get to the acknowledgement step.
However, I have had many good discussions as this starts people thinking.
I make it very clear with every discussion that I am not proselytizing or try to doubt their own faith. However, I do believe that to strengthen their own faith they need to listen to others and use their own reasoning.
 
In order to go deeper into understanding the “religious philosophy” I have contacted local clergy, including one of my neighbors who is a Mormon Bishop, in order to discuss their point of view and how they interpret their faith vs. others. 
One of the concepts I still am trying to grasp is when one faith truly beliefs that when you are not part of their faith you will not be saved, how to they interact with another faith who beliefs exactly the same.
 
On a related note: twice now I have had a great opportunity to really get into other beliefs and learn more. Earlier this year I was working on a consulting project in Montreal Canada, and was part of a team mainly made up of North African Muslims. Now, just like Jews, you can be Muslim by birth or Muslim by faith. I had many discussions with both, and was able to ask more “intense” questions to the more moderate Muslims.
I was able to understand much more about Islam and the general foundation and beliefs of it.
The second thing that happened was that I have become involved as the president of a local non-profit organization called “International Festival”. Our mission is through events and an annual festival to promote understanding of the different cultures in our town (we are not focusing on the religious aspect but of course we have the Hispanic Roman-Catholics, the Somali Muslims, and the original Lutheran white population). Through that I have become very close with the local Somali Muslim population, and built a true friendship (their initial suspicion really goes away when I recite the Shahadah or parts of the Qur’an in Arabic—I am studying that as it really helps me understand that religion). This summer I was invited to the local mosque, together with the mayor, city manager, chamber of commerce, county officials and local clergy to discuss with the imams and Somali leaders how we can improve relationships between the Muslims and the original local population—I was very honored to be included in that discussion.
This has now lead to where I am actively planning with the Somalis and some Christian friends a series of “Common Word” discussions in town. I have attended some of those in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area and I believe this “movement” which is spreading worldwide helps understanding.
 
I also like to term “anthropologist of religion” as mentioned in this course. It kind of defines me who I am. Even though I have become of faith some years ago and consider myself close to God, I can use the philosophical aspect or religions to understand, and to explain to others how I feel and how others believe and feel.
Also, eventually in my role as Chaplain, I think it will help me guide people who are “seekers” to a religion or faith that they would feel comfortable in.
 
I can go on and on but that has been the story of my life lately… Several times when discussing with others, and running out of time, we mention it would be great to do for a week on a camping trip into the wilderness (with lots of coffee) and discuss and philosophize about religions and faiths.
 
I have already made the decision that once I finish the chaplaincy program I will continue my religious studies in the philosophy direction.
 
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Rev. Peter Paul


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Many people get ordained through the Universal Life Church as a means to become wedding officiants, but also to study through our online seminary. If you need minister supplies or online ceremonies, we have a wide selection to choose from, as well as a place for spiritual articles and spiritual bookmarks

Visit our FB Page at ULC Seminary.