Historical Jesus Course from ULC

Historical Jesus

By

Rev. Ronald L. Catherson

 

 

What surprised me most about these lessons is that there is little that we know of Jesus other than what is written in the Gospels.  But after some thought, I realized why would there be a detailed history of the man Jesus?  After all, He was not born in the palace of a King or in any sector of the ruling class.  He was not even born into a family of a leader in the Jewish community.  He was the son of a carpenter and of a peasant girl from the northern outer portion of Israel.  Why would anyone think of Him any differently as any other Jewish male in a Roman controlled country?  So all we really have are the Gospels to tell us who Jesus was.  And that they do.

 

Jesus started and ended life here on earth at the "bottom" of society.  His birth was in a stable, not even a good Inn.  His death was as a common criminal on the cross of execution by the Roman officials.  Even His own Jewish comrades were against Him.  This was surly not a person that books would be written about the details of His life.  But a few books were written and they changed the world, the Four Gospels.

 

The reason these four books changed the world is because, as the Gospel of John clearly tells us, Jesus was God and God was Jesus.  They were one and the same.  If you saw Jesus you saw the Father and if you saw the Father you saw Jesus.  God does not need, and thus Jesus does not need, a lot of written historical documentation to change the world.  What Jesus needed was a few good men and women.  And He chose them very well.

 

These men and women told the stories of their lives with Jesus and the events they saw with their own eyes that the man of Jesus accomplished.  He was truly a man of love and compassion for all human kind to include children and women and the outcasts of the society of that time.  He was a healer of not only illness and of being possessed, but He healed the souls of many that His life touched. His teachings touched many for years after His death and they continue to touch others to this very day and will continue to touch lives forever. 

 

Jesus did not only teach by parables and miracles; He taught by His own behavior and actions.  He did not just say to love one another, but He did love one another.  He loved all humankind to the point of death.  Also, not only did He love all humankind but He loved God, His Father.  Jesus, being fully human while being God (what a mystery this is!), felt all of the hardships of human life.  He knew what it was like to be rejected by the people He grew up with because a prophet is not accepted by his own kin.  Also, He was rejected by the people, the Disciples, who knew Him the best.  They saw and heard everything that He did and said.  Yet, when the time came, they ran!  They ran and locked themselves in the upper room.  They left Him alone to face the rulers of the time, Roman officials.   John was the only Disciple at the foot of His execution.  But even during this time, Jesus continued teaching.  What a great teacher He was and is.  His lessons were also about forgiveness as well as love. 

 

Jesus' message to the world was one of love with forgiveness.  There is nothing greater than this degree of love and nothing else needs to be written about Him. Any details of His life would be useless words compared to what we do have about Him, the Son of God.

Spiritual Development Course

When I began to mentally outline this essay, I struggled to present something that fit the requirements; what I liked, didn't like;  learned, didn't learn;  how it affected me, etc. I reviewed all the lessons and refreshed the concepts in my mind.  I tried to visualize the teachings as a single unit not separate parts.   Surprisingly, that became the defining moment of the last 22 weeks of study.  That is because it was during those deliberations that I was struck with an epiphany that cut to the core of my quest: What do I really want?  And, in other words, because I believe that we are all very much alike, what do we all really want? 

 

This course does not answer that question directly but, instead, allows the student, through a series of exercises, to reveal that outcome for themselves. 

 

All the techniques presented are effective at achieving their stated goal.  In short, the course works, you can achieve outstanding results and I have. I have used them to achieve exactly what is promised by the course.    I have not been greedy but that doesn't mean one shouldn't be.  I was more comfortable proceeding cautiously.  But, I have changed my circumstances, overcome physical limitations that the medical community has referred to as "miracle", and, I have influenced and enjoyed the unfolding of my future knowing that I controlled the outcome through a reliance on the energy and power of the universe.

 

This course begs one to accept only that your  Paradise exists and nothing more.  With that firmly in grasp, the exercises open doors to the power and influence that flows from this Paradise.  Call it faith, call it conviction, call it clarity but, regardless,  all things are possible.  Within it are the tools to tap that power to achieve your goals.  Tools that work.  But the guidance falls short in one important respect.

 

My personal quest was a quest for the truth.  For those insights that are absolute.  For those conclusions that are as true for one set of circumstances as they are for all sets of circumstances.  For as long as I remember, I have always wanted the truth.  This was not always an intellectual or, even, a philosophical pursuit.  I wasn't amassing lofty ideas or ideals.  Instead,  I was looking for a feeling.  And here, the course misses the mark, perhaps deliberately.  It does not emphasize that achieving focus and using the power from your connection to the universe, your Paradise, does not come from intellectual focus, it comes from emotional focus … from feeling.  One focuses their thoughts, refines their wants, clarifies their outcomes to strengthen their feelings.  That cannot be stressed enough.  My Paradise contains the answers to all questions.  Even the question, How do I tap into the power of the universe?  Or, How do I shape the life force?  But, none of that would be revealed to me if I did not feel the need for, in my case, the truth.  Not wishing for the truth.  Not demanding the truth like a petulant child.  Feeling the need for it in the very core of my existence.  Not a concept but a feeling.  That is the key to successfully applying the techniques presented; mentally visualize the outcome and feel it … totally … completely.  It will come to pass.

 

As I began to apply the techniques contained in this course, I began to visualize and feel what lay behind my quest for the truth.  The classic removing of another layer of the onion was within my grasp.    And, as I sat to write this paper,  I was visited by an epiphany:  the truth was comfort.  Of course, intellectually, this is obvious.  The great religions, the great philosophies, even the great politics, all seek the same thing … comfort, the putting of one's mind at ease.  True my comforts may be your discomforts.  Another layer of the onion must be pealed away to reveal the truth behind comfort.   But I am well equipped to begin that journey.

Rev. Donald Brown

Universal Life Church

Spiritual Development Course

Final Lesson - Dr. of Spiritual Development

When I decided to take this course of Spiritual Development I was in for a surprise to know I had to become disconnected from my own spiritual path I had selected I was to find a way to go through brush those flames that I had to deal with in life. Sometimes I became upset of all situations and started not to believe and stop using the lessons that I learned over the years to guide me through this time. I even thought I lost my connection of Divinity so all this happen leaving me alone and lost I felt sorry for myself hoping that  I would never feel this way again. I had to make better choices in seeking new people around me that I can trust beyond to see if they could help.I was going through some tough times,but they could not give me any insight that made sense so, I decided  to look and see if  could I find  better light. All I could do is to be strong and learn some new things ULC kept coming up in my mind I am member there is a choice to see what they had to offer. Well I found that the ULC had exactly what I needed this course Dr. of Spiritual Development I knew right there and then that my divinity had not stopped but,once that connection had been realized within me the fire of my spirit sparked and began to burn through with a flare. 

I did learn so much more interesting new things in my studies it give me spiritual wisdom and  knowledge for a bright  future.  Now I know I am fulfilling my vision of choice, not the wrong choice, but everything in life + become even more spiritual connected in my practice and a balance universe. By becoming aware of all this I realized that the course was teaching me things learned in my spiritual path in my past life. I have great opportunities arise that I thought I would never have in this life span. I have also made some interesting new development in my meditations in certain interaction in mind it becomes difficult sometimes I have to focus and understand  how to connect I felt my energy went freely where I want it to go. I am able to accept those conditions I wish to accomplish. Finally I had completed the twenty two lessons in this course I chose to continue to study.

In fact I am now thinking about some upcoming items that need to consider  now is a good time step inside. The conditions that I need to accomplish my special task in this life. By becoming more of my life and truly looking at it  now holding in mind until more information come through. Because our total calculation of this universe is many I believe there is beginning or end.

Rev. Etheridge

 

                                                                                                                                                    

Copyright Notice   Copyright 2009 by Dr. Dave Crouch. All rights reserved. No part of this lesson may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.

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Final Essay for Master of Mystical Christianity Course

Final Essay for Master of Mystical Christianity Course;   The Master of Mystical Christianity course has had impact on my spiritual thought, prayer life and academic knowledge. I found much of what Mother Maryesah Karelon OMM taught through the lessons to be thought provoking.  The format of Questions for the Heart and Mind inspired me to view the lessons with prayer and reflection, as well as from the academic point of view.   The lessons clarified issues which had been in my mind at the start of the course. In the first lesson, I realized just how important the Scriptures and Sacred Writings are for me. They are my daily spiritual bread. I now have deeper understanding of further dimensions to the Genesis story after studying the teaching of Mother Maryesah. This has been reflected in the blog post I wrote; http://churchinterfaith.blogspot.com/2012/04/in-beginning.html   The second lesson highlighted for me the necessity of ecological respect as a part of spirituality. The third lesson deepened my understanding of each of us being called through the inspiration from God to be priest, prophet and king in our personal lives.   As the course progressed, I learned much about Gnosticism and other movements in spirituality over the years. I relived experiences in myl life through reflection on the lessons and questions. I learned more about myself and my personal spiritual road. I understand more clearly now that God has had a plan in my life, while leaving me free to make decisions.   I realize how important Jesus Christ is to me, and just how much I love and admire Him. Reflections about His Life as put before me by Mother Maryesah led me to spend much time in reading the Bible and Sacred Writings. The understandings I came to during the courses are beneficial resources to me in my ministry.   I derived much benefit from learning more about the mystics Julian of Norwich, Meister Eckhart and Teresa of Avila. The writings of the mystics seemed so difficult in the past for me to understand; Mother made them simple. The mystics are simply writing about their experience. The further we move in spirituality, the more we understand of how God moves profoundly and deeply within our souls as He leads us to growth and wholeness. God leads us to reincarnation of our inner selves as we constantly grow in our spirituality.     The teachings of Mother Maryesah on the mystics inspired in me the thought that God manifests full intelligence in harmony with compassion and emotional intimacy. God is able to reach out to all without over harshness or over emotionality. God is thus balanced, and I believe upon completing the course that it is our life's work to continue to seek harmony within our personal beings.   The overriding lesson I have learned from Master of Mystical Christianity is the reality that: God is not outside me. God is not at the end of a long life road God is not in another heaven that I must move forward to attain. God is within me, and has always been within me. In the final lessons of Mother Maryesah I reflected on all I was learning. I realized that I I simply need to turn within and contemplate the God Who has been in my heart, soul and mind all the time I have been seeking with Him without.  "The kingdom of God is within you," Luke 17;21. (The great Jesus)  "You were within me, but I was outside, and it was there that I searched for you." (Augustine, Late have I loved Thee)

ULC Biblical Egyptology Final Essay

Dr. of Biblical Egyptology Assignment 22: Final Essay

Pick any topic from the course.

Akhenaten's variety of Monotheism

It's the 18th dynasty; Pharaoh finally succumbed to the powerful Hebrew God and gave Moses permission to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt. Pharaoh's decision not only influenced Pharaoh's royal court and the master builder but affected the everyday citizen as well.

The traumatized Egyptians witnessed the most spectacular supernatural events in history. Not only did a once prince of Egypt come back, out of the desert, after being gone for 40 years, but he brought with him proof of the most powerful god the world has ever seen. And this God happened to be the God of the Hebrews, the people whom they've mistreated for so many years.

Yes, Pharaoh did let the Hebrews go after enduring tremendous calamities, but what happened to the Egyptians afterwards? Their own faith in shambles, they realized that their Gods were too weak to protect them; the people were looking for answers. The Egyptian priests wondered if they could promote their religious beliefs and rituals. For the first time, the Egyptian people began to lose faith in the Gods of their ancestors and started to seek the truth. Who is the God of the Hebrews? How was this one god more powerful than all of theirs?

As the years went on, these questions beleaguered the priests and the people of Egypt. But without truthful answers to their questions, the priests continued to preach what they have preached for thousands of years and the people continued to worship the gods of their lineage. What of the Egyptian Royal Court, what did they think? Did they secretly doubt the gods? Was this doubt bred into the children of the pharaoh and his royal court?

A hundred or so years later, what may have started as a small doubt in their minds may have led to the biggest change to the Egyptian religious philosophy, the revolutionary new belief that there was only one true God and not a pantheon of gods.

One day a young pharaoh had a vision. He saw a sun disk between two mountains. God was guiding him to create change within Egypt. He was shown God, the Aten, as a sun disk with light rays emanating down from the sun. The Aten meant disk of sun in Egyptian. But, to Amenhotep IV, the Aten was different; it wasn't a mere sun disk, but a living representation of God.

At first, Amenhotep IV allowed his God, the Aten, to be personified in the form of a man with a falcon head. It's possible that he thought that if he humanized the Aten like the other gods in the Egyptian pantheon that he could obtain more support from the Egyptian priests and people. That characterization ceased abruptly and subsequently the Aten was represented by the hieroglyphic symbol of a disk with radiating rays that terminated in hands, which held the ankh, the symbol of life.

During the early years, Amenhotep IV allowed the traditional gods to coexist with the Aten, although they were reduced in status compared to the Aten. In the fifth or sixth year of his reign, Amenhotep IV further displayed his adoration and reverence for the Aten by changing his own name. Amenhotep IV would shed his name, which means "Amun is satisfied", to Akhenaten, which means "he who is of service to Aten".

At the same time, Akhenaten began searching for a suitable new capital that he could dedicate to the Aten. He found a patch of desert between Thebes and Memphis that hadn't been utilized by anyone ever before. He named the new capital Akhetaten, which means "horizon of the Aten".

Situated on the east bank of the Nile, the city was positioned north to south along a "Royal Road". The Royal residences were to the north, with a central administration and religious area and the residential suburbs were located to the south. The entire city was surrounded by 14 boundary stele that described Pharaoh Akhenaten's rationale for the creation of the new capital.

One of the Boundary steles states: "His Majesty mounted a great chariot of electrum, like the Aten when He rises on the horizon and fills the land with His love, and took a goodly road to Akhetaten, the place of origin, which [the Aten] had created for Himself that he might be happy therein. It was His son Wa'enre (i.e. Akhenaten) who founded it for Him as His monument when His Father commanded him to make it. Heaven was joyful, the earth was glad every heart was filled with delight when they beheld him."

After four years of construction, the new capital was ready to be occupied. However, before Pharaoh Akhenaten left his palace in Thebes, he decreed that all Egyptians would only worship the Aten. In addition, all citizens were required to change their names as the Pharaoh had done.

Once Pharaoh Akhenaten was completely transferred to the new capital, squads of workers were sent out to remove Amun-Re from all monuments, walls, and temples throughout Egypt. The statues of Amun-Re were destroyed, the Amun-Re temples were closed, and the assets that were amassed in the name of Amun-Re were confiscated.

Pharaoh Akhenaten started to lose sight of his governmental responsibilities and allowed corruption to slither into the Egyptian bureaucracy. At every level of his administration, officials were blinded by greed and self-indulgence while the pharaoh pressed his religious crusade.

Government in decline, other nations recognized Egypt's weaknesses. The Hittite kingdom sent their warriors down through the Egyptian Empire and eventually captured a large portion of the Egyptian empire.

Pharaoh Akhenaten died in the seventeenth year of his reign and the religion of the Aten died with him. The traditional religion was slowly reestablished by the priests. Amun-Re was restored to supremacy by the priests. The capital city Akhetaten was systematically torn down; blocks of masonry were transported for use in reconstructing the temples of Amun-Re. The pharaoh's statues were demolished and his name was removed from the history of Egypt.

Several years later, Pharaoh Akhenaten was referred as "the enemy" in archival records. Pharaoh Akhenaten was lost to history until the 19th century, when his capital Akhetaten was discovered by Egyptologist, Flinders Petrie.

Egypt would not welcome monotheism again until the early centuries AD with the acceptance of Christianity.

 

~RoseMarie Juricic

  Universal Life Church

 

Master of Religious Philosophy Lesson 3

Master of religious philosophy questions for lesson 3

 

Is the US marine corps a cult?

The US Marine Corps or USMC could fulfill several criteria

1)     Do they have a charismatic leader the answer would be yes this could be the commander or the president a person who is able to give a moral boost to his or her men.

2)     They display an impressive level of group and self thought to engage in rescue operation.

3)     Although family members cannot engage with the USMC i.e. combat and training they engage socially and wear the corps colors.

4)     The corps members do not give financially but may give their lives to defend their country family and friends.

5)     The corps is carefully segregated from the community for training purposes and to prevent injury or infiltration.

Although these answers would imply the corps is a cult the actual answer is the USMC is not a cult each individual male or female believes in his or her own religion not the same religion or the same following of a particular branch of the same religion .also the corps has numerous career opportunities which a cult would not the questions could answer either way when delved deeper into the role of a marine and their colleagues and family and friends.

 

               The USMC is and always will be a military unit and not a cult. It has religious believers and a charismatic leader but these criteria do not fulfill the religious aspects.

Rev. Andrew L.

Universal Life Church