Examples Of Interreligious Dialogue

The complexity of mixed motivations does not negate, however, the usefulness of interacting hermeneutically with a religious tradition. It simply means that the interaction must be initiated on many levels, as would any secular discourse. Some people think of peace and conflict as a rational calculation of interests; others think in terms of ideological principles that necessitate conflict; and still others in deep emotional terms. Most people tend to envision the dialogue as a combination of cognitive and emotive constructs. It is exactly the same in religious life.

Johnson explains in his book that psychology and Christianity went hand-in-hand as a coalition. This is seemingly due to the church’s assumed responsibility of soul-care, and the belief that all problems were caused by sin, not necessarily mental illness (2010). However, there are currently several views of conflict between psychology and Christianity, similar to the conflict recurrently found between science and faith. There is importance in the correlation of psychology and Christianity for both scientists and Christians. When not examined and pondered on, the relationship between psychology and Christianity today can cause much confusion in an individual, potentially leading to atheism and evolutionism.

Another Milestone that effects the way we define the notion of “Good and Evil” is largely based on our religion. Therefore, the way we see right from wrong, heaven and hell, light and darkness, Good vs. Evil and God and the Devil comes from the moral criterion that we attempt to apply to our worldviews. However, given the conspicuous contrasts amongst religions, ranging from Christianity to Islam to Judaism. Many people believe that due to the simple fact of religious diversity, this provides the basis to discredit any assumption of moral truths. Some religions define evil as “the result of human sin” or that “Evil is the result of a spiritual being who opposes the Lord God”

In his essay "The Will to Believe" William James tells us that his purpose is to present "a justification of faith, a defense of our right to adopt a believing attitude in religious matters, in spite of the fact that our merely logical intellect may not have been coerced." Page2. I found his arguments also persuasive because he suggests the existence of God cannot be solve by our intellectual means. James argues that intellectual activity is motivated by two goals: to shun error and believe truth. The choice to believe or not is alive, forced and momentous.

In Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, he uses Christian symbolism and Shakespearian allusions to portray to the reader that it is not worth sacrificing the truth for a “happy utopian society”. In order to better understand most literature, you must first understand the religion behind it, such as Christianity in the case of BNW. Huxley uses Christian symbolism to elaborate to the reader how the new leaders of his society

Syncretism Throughout The Gospel of Mark Syncretism is defined as intertwining one 's beliefs together based on their rights and worship to become one new faith. Syncretism is a very touchy subject because it deals with religion. Based on the teachings of The Gospel of Mark, I argue that syncretism is very rare or even unheard of. To try to bring religion together without conflict is impractical. I argue this because syncretism was promoted so much in the Gospel of Mark in terms of bringing together the Jews and the Gentiles.

This can lead to extremism, which some might label as false piety or religious fanaticism. Looking at how these ideas might come into play can help us to better understand where Tartuffe and Orgon stood throughout the story, and to decipher what Molière was truly trying to project in this story of hypocrisy. Piety is defined as “devotion to God; fidelity to natural obligations; dutifulness

The Functionalist Perspective seeks to understand the role that religion plays in society, and is premised on how religion satisfies basic needs. One basic need for people is a meaning system. Religion provides a worldview and meaning system for the followers of the faith. But the ideals that a religion encompass alone are often not enough to compel one to follow the religion. Symbols and rituals are vital for helping the believer to take beliefs and make them understood internally in a way that compels them to follow the religion’s rules.

Through “Utopia” he carefully crafts an argument for this reform by creating the Utopian’s belief system in a way that is is similar enough to Christianity to be relatable for his readers, but also different enough so that readers are forced to challenge their own ingrained beliefs and ideals. In this fictional society More upholds fundamental elements of Christianity, like the existence of a singular, almighty God as, like Christians, the majority of Utopians believe in a “single power, unknown, eternal, infinite…and diffused throughout the universe, not physically, but in influence”(More 634). Qualities that are associated with classical doctrine and depictions of God like sovereignty, etherealness, and omniscience are retained in the Utopian’s beliefs. However, while these ideas are associated with the divine, they are not limited to the Christian interpretation of God and are instead attributed to an entity called “Mithra”, a divine being that’s meaning is interpreted by each individual(More 635). Such an idea would directly correlate with humanist principles, as it suggests that each person has their own valuable interpretations to make about the divine, without straying from the fundamental principles of faith.

It is essential for followers of Christ to know their Holy Book to avoid falling prey to false teaching. To fully understand scripture one must realize who gives scripture its authority, how accurate it is, its existence with science as well as how it is interpreted. Many of these topics can be seen as contradictory, and maybe there is no clear-cut answer to some of them, but these are topics that stretch ones ' faith and can facilitate growth. Inspiration The Bible, as we know, has gone through significant changes to get to its current stage. The majority of the bible was orally recited because only a few were learned while the majority of the old world was illiterate.

This meaning includes its meaning for the biblical audience and the theological principles behind that meaning…Typology are the only thing that comes close to being an exception. ”6 I must consider Duvall’s statement because typology operates from the prophetic which is an individual who is inspired by God to proclaim an accurate account of occurrences that would happen in the future. Therefore, I suggest that typology would be more favorable to Christians in the 21st century. Biblical interpretation operates from the origin of the text, that being said, God operates only in truth, and allegory has a tendency to capitalize on the interpreter thought process rather than the message that the author wanted to convey that was given to him by

But for Christians it isn’t about turning everyone into Christians but giving people a choice to hear other worldviews. In whole the purpose of the book is to help Christians free their faith from what others have deemed inappropriate for certain areas of life. That Christians need to take a stance to say that we will not sit aside and let others tell us what to do but to show others that what the truth of God is and how knowing God can change your life and your life outlook. In Repairing the Ruins Pearcey talks about how Christian education is important to show students how to repair the world.

In “Theology,” C.S Lewis discuss that in order to have the right understanding about God we must have not just experience but doctrines. He suggests that a person must have the clearest ideas that he or he can find about God. He compares theology and experiences. C.S Lewis states that people experiencing faith get excited but they don’t get the same excitement when theology is brought up. “People turn from something real to something less real” (364).

(Genesis 1:26-30). Just like Adam we are all capable of doing God’s will but we must also live by faith and obedience and I think that’s our purpose (Genesis 2:15, 17).

The drawing away from pre-established ideas had arguably led to an emphasis being placed on mankind and rationality instead of the abstract belief of God and the Church, as the individual were encouraged to gain independence in thinking through ideas to determine the meaning of truth. Martin Luther had to believe in his own skills of interpretation through the Bible passages he read, in order to have confronted the excess and teachings of the