Spirituality and Truth - Long course R.E

Spirituality and Truth.…read more

Spirituality
· Concern with anything relating primarily to the spirit (or soul) ­ this isn't necessarily to do with religion.
Someone whose mind or emotions work `higher plane' may be described as a spiritual person.
· An expression of faith ­ anything relating to the way in which a person demonstrates his or hers spiritual side ­
something which is built up through religious practice.
Spirituality is hard to explain:
· 1) An important part of spirituality for many people (whether it's religious or not) is the search for the meaning of
life. This may involve thinking about questions such as `where did I come from?' or `why am I here?' ­ questions
that are difficult to find answers to.
· 2) A spiritual person might also be described as someone who's more aware of things that aren't simply physical ­
they feel there's another dimension to life.
· 3) It's about feelings of awe and wonder, or a sense of inner peace. Some people might get these kinds of feelings
from a beautiful sunset, a wild sea or a rugged mountain range.
· 4) Spirituality could also be described as being self-aware ­ aware of your actions and their effects on others, or
having a deeper understanding of your self-worth or purpose in life.
· 5) This might lead to a more refined recognition of the value of the world, of our place within it, and those we share
the planet with. A less selfish world-view perhaps.
· 6) For religious believers, spirituality is linked strongly to their beliefs in God. Others say that although they don't
believer in God as such and don't belong to a specific faith hey do believe in `something'…read more

Different ways of expressing
spirituality
Christianity Islam
· Reading the Bible ­ this helps them focus · Reading the Qur'an ­ this helps them to
on the word of God. focus on the word of God.
· Worship ­ in church Christians use a · Worship ­ in the mosque Muslims perform
variety of symbols and rituals, the bread a salah (prayers of prostration).
wine are central. · In the home ­ they may read the Qur'an,
· In the home ­ they may read the Bible, meditate, or think about specific passages or
meditate, or think about specific passages, say set prayers using payer beads.
focus on an image, cross or say set · Belonging to a mosque ­ they share their
prayers using a rosary. faith, worship together, learn from each
· Belonging to a church ­ they share their other.
faith, worship together, learn from each · The ummah ­ is the worldwide community
other. of Muslims, it provides a sense of security,
· Joining a religious community ­ some strength and compassion based on the
choose to devote themselves to God by belief that everyone is equal before Allah.
joining a religious community as a monk or · Being a volunteer ­ they have a duty to
nun. care for each other, even non- Muslims, they
· Being a volunteer ­ they express the love help the elderly, disabled people, support
of Jesus in a practical way, help the charities, the Qur'an refers to orphans as
elderly, disabled people, support charities being in need of special care.
e.g. Christian Aid.…read more

The Nature of Truth
1) Scientific Truth 2) Historical Truth
· This is what people often mean by `truth'. · We work out what happened in the past by
looking at historical evidence (e.g.
· Scientists test their theories by observing eyewitness accounts, archaeological
things or performing experiments. But even evidence etc.)
if the same thing happens every time, does
that necessarily mean their theory is true... · But an eyewitness account might be biased.
· A more accurate measurement or · And other kinds of evidence can be
sophisticated experiment might give a misinterpreted, so it's difficult to say for sure
different result. that we know what went on.
3) Moral Truth 4) Spiritual Truth / Religious Truth
· A person's idea of moral truth is what they · Two different Christians (for example) might
believe to be morally right or wrong. interpret the Bible in different ways, and
each could claim that their interpretation
· They might arrive at this conclusion through
comes from God ­ their versions of truth are
thinking about life, watching or talking to
different.
people, or perhaps through thinking about
what their religion teaches. · This kind of truth is a matter of faith and
coincidence ­ it's not the kind of thing that
can be proved.
· But does that mean it isn't true...…read more

People look for religious proof in different
places
Christians Muslims
· Sacred writings ­ they look to the Bible for · Sacred writing ­ they look to the Qur'an for
religious truth, the Old Testament points to Jesus as religious truth ­ it was revealed to Muhammad by
Messiah, the New Testament contains the gospel of Allah ­ as it came directly from Allah it is to be
Jesus according to the saints ­ fundamentalists say obeyed rather than interpreted ­ the Qur'an is
the Bible is the Word of God and must be taken written in Arabic and translations are not considered
literally ­ liberals say it should be interpreted to suit to be true Qur'ans.
the times. · Religious authorities ­ the Shari'ah (Islamic law)
· Religious authorities ­ the Christian Church guides Muslims on how to live their lives ­
began with just a few followers of Jesus ­ as more differences of opinion can be settled by quadi, a
people converted to Christianity these followers legal expert.
began to meet in groups known as Churches. · Religious leaders ­ the worldwide community of
· Religious leaders ­ play an important part in Muslims is called ummah ­ all Muslims are equal
Christianity ­ Roman Catholics look to the Pope to but locally they are led by an imam, who is elected
find truth. to guide the ummah in spiritual matters.
· Conscience ­ some believe that inner truth comes · Conscience ­ This follows the same concept as
from your conscience ­ that little voice in your head Christianity and conscience.
telling you what is right and wrong ­ some argue
that peoples' ideas of right and wrong depend on
their personal circumstances i.e. their parents
viewpoint. Christians say that conscience is the
voice of God.…read more

Evidence isn't the same as proof
1) Evidence is a reason to believe a theory, the more evidence you have the more likely
it is to be true. With enough evidence you might be able to persuade someone that
something is true.
2) But even is you could persuade people of something does that make it true...
3) Also, people might interpret a piece of evidence in a different way ­ they may argue
that the evidence actually points to something else being true.…read more