Nicole M. Diaz
PHIL8 – Final
August 1, 2008
Nickki53
Nickki53@yahoo.com
Mystical Life
http://nikkid76.blogspot.com
All the assigned readings were completed and all required films have been viewed.
Midterm: C+ at http://nikkid76.blogspot.com
12. Due to the cancellation on Google, I was unable to view the interview on Professor Mark Juergensmeyer. I did however; research his work on religious terrorism. Mark Juergensmeyer; a Professor of sociology and religious studies, has written countless books and articles in the realm of religious terrorism. In his book; Terror in the Mind of God”, Juergensmeyer explores the violence that occurs amongst the elite religions. He is concerned with the holy justifications that these groups contain as their given right or authority. The most obvious examples of this type of behavior are the attacks on the Twin Towers and the suicide bombings that occur daily in the Middle East. It seems to me that these religious disciples are trying to seek acknowledgement from the world and acceptance from their God. This is a suggestion that Mark shares as well in his book. Professor Juergensmeyer proposes that the remedy for religious violence lies in the appreciation of it and a renewed affirmation of the various religions in our world.
13. The sleeping prophet; Edgar Cacey, was a spiritual man with psychological insight. Through scientific investigation one can decipher the accuracy of Mr. Cacey’s claims of foretelling. The basis of investigation would be to distinguish the truly paranormal from any logic and analyzing his followers. Sadly Edgar Cacey’s prophecies have been proven invalid, yet he still contained a vase fan base. It is my opinion that the hope that his visions brought to the individual is what triggers the mind to accept these intuitions.
14. The immense deception that occurs within many religious cults is the motivation behind Professor David Lane’s criticism. These quasi religious leaders will create groups that prey on the weak minded and gullible in hopes of obtaining omnipotence and wealth. The promises of benediction, the elaborate showcases of worship are really quite ridiculous in their demeanor. Mr. Lane portrays a detective in the philosophical world to reveal the truth and protect the nieve from being victimized by these phony religious deities.
15. Caught on tape, film is the one form of evidence that is difficult to falsify. It is notably apparent that Sai Baba has no inclination of any mystical, paranormal power. He is merely a magician trying to deceive his followers with the oldest trick in the book. It is with much uncertainty as to what is more pathetic; the fact that he is so horrible at the slip of the hand trick or the people that actually accept this ludicrous form of preaching. Apparently the more astounding and elaborate the setting is the easier it is to exploit.
16. According to the Guru Thakar Singh, the human soul must be cleansed of its impurities. Children from birth to age five are blindfolded as part of a meditation process in an attempt at bringing them closer to God. Through this cleansing Thakar believes the children are not blinded by any external influences that could possibly contaminate their young souls. When it comes to religion many people are either coached in a certain belief
or are so desperate for a spiritual self they will accept anything as truth. Our minds are so dominating and are apt to being deceived by ridiculous declarations.
17. John Polkinghorne is an extraordinary man that is quite influential to my thoughts. As a Professor of Mathematical Physics, John is knowledgeable in the scientific processes of our world. He spent many years investigating and asking why things are what they are. Yet being the spiritual believer he is, Sir Polkinghorne resolved to follow his heart and veered towards Priesthood. He feels that although there can possibly be an explanation for many events in our world. The true magnificence and beauty is a mystery. Even the smallest molecular ion could only be the creation of a higher being. John Polkinghorne finds simplicity in allowing reason and spirituality to coexist in his world.
18. The collation of differences that exist between good and evil is Nietzsche’s way of critiquing religion. He explains how the Christian church is so pharisaic in its descriptions of God and many other supposed miraculous events. Nietzsche was so critical in regards to this topic that he was accused as being a German. He could not comprehend how a divine God and its disciples could cause such havoc on society and use such extreme scare tactics to gain their trust in them. Yet they spoke of a God that was all loving and forgiving.
20. Intelligent Design does not stem from a scientific background. It is for these reasons many evolutionists consider intelligent design to be nothing more than scientific waste. For many years Christians have tried aimlessly to have the ID theory taught in the classroom in place of Darwin’s Evolutionary Theory. The evolutionary biologists argue that this concept of intelligent design does not teach students any truth in regards to the creation of mankind. It is purely speculation and a disguised attempt to admitting religion into the schools. On a personal level I am empathic to intelligent design, as a spiritual person I can conceive the beauty of this theory. Yet there is no educational thought to it that would constitute it being part of any curriculum.
21. The Zahir piggy backs off the old Twilight Zone premise of strange unexplainable mysteries and phenomena. The Rod Sterling impersonator at the carnival (a place of mystic wonder) depicts the enigma of labyrinths and the mythical Zahir. The Zahir is said to be an entity or object that has the capacity to cause memory loss when mused consistently and can eventually lead to insanity. It is no wonder the director choose a Carnival scenery in his decision to express his vision. He wants to portray the eerie, ominous phantasm of the Zahir.
22. Atoms of varying forms and sizes formulate all things around us. This infinitesimal matter creates larger objects that become mobile. According to Richard Feynman there are four main forces that can construe the Universe: gravity and the surrounding nuclear forces guide these objects, the nuclear interactions have the capacity to create or destroy any matter, while electromagnetism releases any stored energy triggering the item to move or “jiggle”.
Mr. Feynman’s paradigm of the universe and how we fit into it was entertaining and very absolute. The animated electrons and such reminded me of The School House Rock series. We should return this simplicity back to the classroom; it makes for a better understanding of the universe we inhabit.
23. Fundamentalists have been contaminated with the intelligent design theory. These folks believe that God is the sole designer of mankind and the worlds that surrounds us. The film shows the contrast between evolution and creationism and suggests that cellular level of mankind is far too intricate to be an accident of mere odds. The narrator states how ridiculous this form of reasoning can very easily be considered an ailment of the mind.
27. In the beginning, religion was said to be established to help humans apprehend “why” humans have a thought process. Darwin predicted that with every new generation, science would also establish their own theory or psychology. Evolutionary philosophy would eventually come into play with its preeminent focus on interpreting how we are capable of thought and reason. It is really alarming that we can accept Darwin’s theory of evolution of the conscious mind. I can envision that this miraculous process would be a gift of a Divine Being.
PHIL8 – Final
August 1, 2008
Nickki53
Nickki53@yahoo.com
Mystical Life
http://nikkid76.blogspot.com
All the assigned readings were completed and all required films have been viewed.
Midterm: C+ at http://nikkid76.blogspot.com
12. Due to the cancellation on Google, I was unable to view the interview on Professor Mark Juergensmeyer. I did however; research his work on religious terrorism. Mark Juergensmeyer; a Professor of sociology and religious studies, has written countless books and articles in the realm of religious terrorism. In his book; Terror in the Mind of God”, Juergensmeyer explores the violence that occurs amongst the elite religions. He is concerned with the holy justifications that these groups contain as their given right or authority. The most obvious examples of this type of behavior are the attacks on the Twin Towers and the suicide bombings that occur daily in the Middle East. It seems to me that these religious disciples are trying to seek acknowledgement from the world and acceptance from their God. This is a suggestion that Mark shares as well in his book. Professor Juergensmeyer proposes that the remedy for religious violence lies in the appreciation of it and a renewed affirmation of the various religions in our world.
13. The sleeping prophet; Edgar Cacey, was a spiritual man with psychological insight. Through scientific investigation one can decipher the accuracy of Mr. Cacey’s claims of foretelling. The basis of investigation would be to distinguish the truly paranormal from any logic and analyzing his followers. Sadly Edgar Cacey’s prophecies have been proven invalid, yet he still contained a vase fan base. It is my opinion that the hope that his visions brought to the individual is what triggers the mind to accept these intuitions.
14. The immense deception that occurs within many religious cults is the motivation behind Professor David Lane’s criticism. These quasi religious leaders will create groups that prey on the weak minded and gullible in hopes of obtaining omnipotence and wealth. The promises of benediction, the elaborate showcases of worship are really quite ridiculous in their demeanor. Mr. Lane portrays a detective in the philosophical world to reveal the truth and protect the nieve from being victimized by these phony religious deities.
15. Caught on tape, film is the one form of evidence that is difficult to falsify. It is notably apparent that Sai Baba has no inclination of any mystical, paranormal power. He is merely a magician trying to deceive his followers with the oldest trick in the book. It is with much uncertainty as to what is more pathetic; the fact that he is so horrible at the slip of the hand trick or the people that actually accept this ludicrous form of preaching. Apparently the more astounding and elaborate the setting is the easier it is to exploit.
16. According to the Guru Thakar Singh, the human soul must be cleansed of its impurities. Children from birth to age five are blindfolded as part of a meditation process in an attempt at bringing them closer to God. Through this cleansing Thakar believes the children are not blinded by any external influences that could possibly contaminate their young souls. When it comes to religion many people are either coached in a certain belief
or are so desperate for a spiritual self they will accept anything as truth. Our minds are so dominating and are apt to being deceived by ridiculous declarations.
17. John Polkinghorne is an extraordinary man that is quite influential to my thoughts. As a Professor of Mathematical Physics, John is knowledgeable in the scientific processes of our world. He spent many years investigating and asking why things are what they are. Yet being the spiritual believer he is, Sir Polkinghorne resolved to follow his heart and veered towards Priesthood. He feels that although there can possibly be an explanation for many events in our world. The true magnificence and beauty is a mystery. Even the smallest molecular ion could only be the creation of a higher being. John Polkinghorne finds simplicity in allowing reason and spirituality to coexist in his world.
18. The collation of differences that exist between good and evil is Nietzsche’s way of critiquing religion. He explains how the Christian church is so pharisaic in its descriptions of God and many other supposed miraculous events. Nietzsche was so critical in regards to this topic that he was accused as being a German. He could not comprehend how a divine God and its disciples could cause such havoc on society and use such extreme scare tactics to gain their trust in them. Yet they spoke of a God that was all loving and forgiving.
20. Intelligent Design does not stem from a scientific background. It is for these reasons many evolutionists consider intelligent design to be nothing more than scientific waste. For many years Christians have tried aimlessly to have the ID theory taught in the classroom in place of Darwin’s Evolutionary Theory. The evolutionary biologists argue that this concept of intelligent design does not teach students any truth in regards to the creation of mankind. It is purely speculation and a disguised attempt to admitting religion into the schools. On a personal level I am empathic to intelligent design, as a spiritual person I can conceive the beauty of this theory. Yet there is no educational thought to it that would constitute it being part of any curriculum.
21. The Zahir piggy backs off the old Twilight Zone premise of strange unexplainable mysteries and phenomena. The Rod Sterling impersonator at the carnival (a place of mystic wonder) depicts the enigma of labyrinths and the mythical Zahir. The Zahir is said to be an entity or object that has the capacity to cause memory loss when mused consistently and can eventually lead to insanity. It is no wonder the director choose a Carnival scenery in his decision to express his vision. He wants to portray the eerie, ominous phantasm of the Zahir.
22. Atoms of varying forms and sizes formulate all things around us. This infinitesimal matter creates larger objects that become mobile. According to Richard Feynman there are four main forces that can construe the Universe: gravity and the surrounding nuclear forces guide these objects, the nuclear interactions have the capacity to create or destroy any matter, while electromagnetism releases any stored energy triggering the item to move or “jiggle”.
Mr. Feynman’s paradigm of the universe and how we fit into it was entertaining and very absolute. The animated electrons and such reminded me of The School House Rock series. We should return this simplicity back to the classroom; it makes for a better understanding of the universe we inhabit.
23. Fundamentalists have been contaminated with the intelligent design theory. These folks believe that God is the sole designer of mankind and the worlds that surrounds us. The film shows the contrast between evolution and creationism and suggests that cellular level of mankind is far too intricate to be an accident of mere odds. The narrator states how ridiculous this form of reasoning can very easily be considered an ailment of the mind.
27. In the beginning, religion was said to be established to help humans apprehend “why” humans have a thought process. Darwin predicted that with every new generation, science would also establish their own theory or psychology. Evolutionary philosophy would eventually come into play with its preeminent focus on interpreting how we are capable of thought and reason. It is really alarming that we can accept Darwin’s theory of evolution of the conscious mind. I can envision that this miraculous process would be a gift of a Divine Being.
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