Meaning in Religious Traditions (SAC 1)

Question 1

What is the nature and purpose of religion in General?

Answer 1

The purpose of religion is to find meaning in our everyday lives, offer a framework to help understand human existence and determine the way in which we must live to live good lives. Religious traditions also focus on our origins and creation to help determine these fundamental questions. Religion offers positive, life-affirming answers that give meaning answers to human existence, ascribe human existence to purposeful creation and design. Religions offer these explanations through an Ultimate Reality which is understood to be a dynamic power central to religion that is a supreme being that is omnipotent and establishes meaning for all existence.

Question 2

Generic. Nature and purpose of human life.

Answer 2

religious traditions offer a framework to help understand the fundamental questions such as human existence.
Gives adherents a greater sense of purpose and belonging.
religion suggests human existence to purposeful creation and design.
Through living out a life focused on 8 aspects, people may live out the vision of their society. Purpose is to find meaning in our life and understand tasks set by Ultimate reality.

Question 3

Catholicism Nature and Purpose of Human Life.

Answer 3

In Genesis chapter 1 and 2 relate the Bibles version of the nature and purpose of human life in creation through Adam. Catholicism also searches to find meaning in life.
Catholic teachings emphasise the meaning to be found in human existence.
Our meaning in life is to discover that we are true children of infinitely loving and merciful God.
We must live in the way of God, love and help others and participate fully in the world.
Golden rule: Treat others the way you would want to be treated. (New Testsment.)

Question 4

Catholicism quotes.Nature of humanity

Answer 4

God-Like (Genesis 1:26)
Made from the creative word of God (Genesis 1:26)
A social being (Genesis 1:27;2:18)
A noble being (Genesis 1:28,31)
Has the potential to differentiate right from wrong (Genesis 2:16-17)

Question 5

Catholicism quotes. Purpose of humanity

Answer 5

To have dominion over the world and all in it (Genesis 1:27,28; Genesis 2:20)
To look after the world and all in it (Genesis 2:15)
To Populate the world (Genesis 1:28; Genesis 2:24)

Question 6

Generic. Meaning of Death.

Answer 6

Most traditions have created a theodicy to explain and justify death and afterlife in adherents.
Often see death as mystical union of reality with the divine.
Religious traditions since time have immemorial have constructed beliefs, rituals, codes of behaviour and prayers to mark the death of human beings.

Question 7

Catholicism. Meaning of Death

Answer 7

• Death is not the end but the gateway to the Kingdom of God.
• Afterlife is an integral component of christian belief.
• In the way of righteousness is life and in the pathway there is no death. (Proverbs 12:25)
• The gift of external life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
• Though he were dead yet shall he live. (John 11:25)

Question 8

Generic. Meaning of Life.

Answer 8

Many religions describe inexplicable phenomena not as an accident, but as a purposeful act of the supreme being.
Through religious beliefs people are able to find meaning in their everyday life.

Question 9

Catholicism. Meaning of Life.

Answer 9

Catholic teachings emphasise the meaning to be found in human existence.
We must live in the way of God, love and help others and participate fully in the world.
-“The meaning of life is for us to discover that we are true children of an infinitely loving and merciful God, to find out what our responsibilities are to our creator and to fulfil those responsibilities.” Catholic Catechism
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33)
“He calls man to seek him, to know him, to love him with all his strength.” Catholic Catechism. By doing these catholic tradition dictates that we will have a better life.
Ultimate goal in our life is that we may prove we are worthy of salvation and can have eternal life.

Question 10

Generic. Relationship between Ultimate Reality and Humanity.

Answer 10

Often seen as having an unequal relationship which can be immanent and personal
Often sees as transcendent- beyond the range of secular physical human experience, other worldly.
Resides in wisdom, omnipotence and is a cosmic force beyond understanding.
In religions around the world, Ultimate Reality takes on many different relationships, i.e parent-child, master-servant, or spiritual guide-faithful follower.

Question 11

Catholicism. Relationship between Ultimate Reality and Humanity.

Answer 11

A catholics relationship with ultimate reality is both personal and caring. This is illustrated in the excerpt from the Catholic Catechism;
Personal:The invisible God, from the fullness of his love, addresses men as his friends.
Caring: God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) Gave up his only son to save humanity.

Question 12

Generic. Relationship between Humans.

Answer 12

• Religious traditions serve as a guide to correct relationships between human beings and the degree of responsibility people have to their fellow humans.
• All religious traditions include guidelines for peaceful and moral co-existence.
• Some religions focus on individual responsibility while others emphasise a strong collective accountability or stress the need for both in our society.
• There has been effort put into covering members to other faiths under the exclusive belief that only members of certain religions will have a right so salvation.

Question 13

Catholic quotes for relationship between humans.

Answer 13

• Do to others as you would have them do to you. Luke 6:31

- Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephisians 4:32)

Question 14

Generic. Relationship between human life and the rest of the natural world

Answer 14

-Relationships between humans and the natural world vary from each religion, often depending on cultures that need the land to survive and have developed complex belief systems regarding this relationship.

Question 15

Catholicism. Relationship between human life and the rest of the natural world

Answer 15

Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth. (Genesis 1:27-30)
The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to till it and keep it. Genesis 2:15
Calls us to stewardship and not domination. Life of all creatures is sacred and that the Church encourages such a perspective so that we may have greater respect for animals. “In every single creature a trace of the trinity is reognised.” St Aquinas.
Although the Bible instructs people to take care of the earth, until recently have been no emphasis in Christian Literature on attitudes to the Earth about this relationship.

Question 16

Generic. Ultimate Reality.

Answer 16

-One way of naming the cosmic force that is beyond human understanding.
-Dynamic power that creates and controls the universe.
-supreme power that resides in wisdom, omnipotence and moral values.
-all religions hold different beliefs about ultimate reality.
-Generally transcendent
Similarities
-All believe in continuity of life, all have a vision, most are monotheistic. All have aspects that comprise their belief.

Question 17

Catholicism. Ultimate Reality.

Answer 17

believe that the God is triune and consists of three persons, Father, son and Holy Spirit.
God has parental love For all his children as stated in the gospel.
Beliefs are contained in all sacred texts and other significant documents such as creeds and council documents and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Monotheistic religion.
Transcendent relationship as well as personal and caring.
God is Pre-existent, provident, omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient.
God loves intimately all he has created.
Jesus is the visible incarnation of God.
Jesus power was empowered by the Holy Spirit, God’s active presence in the world.
“In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God.”
“All things were made through him and without him was not anything that was made.”
Gospel of John 1:1-3
for there is one god” (Timothy 1:23).
Believe in one God, the father the almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible.
Maker of heaven and earth of all things visible and invisible” (Nicene Creed)

Question 18

Similarities between ,major religions.

Answer 18

All share aspects that comprise their beliefs. Believe in continuity of life. All have a vision for an ideal society.

Question 19

Generic. Meaning of suffering

Answer 19

Suffering of humans and animals has always been a challenge to all religious traditions and each tradition attempts to answer the question in its own unique way. The problem that is posed
to all religious traditions can be summed up thus:
There is no single satisfactory answer to this question, for every tradition it remains essentially a
mystery. But all traditions affirm that meaning can be found in suffering.
But for some, suffering especially innocent suffering, can lead a person to lose their belief in Ultimate
Reality …. It leads them to believe that a good God cannot exist who allows innocent suffering to take place. in the Christian tradition human beings are encouraged to turn to Jesus in their suffering as Jesus knows what it means to suffer rejection, isolation and death)

Question 20

Catholic meaning of suffering.

Answer 20

It may be that it is impossible to know why the innocent suffer, but in the Catholic Tradition it is believed that much human suffering is brought about by human sin. Catholics often answer this by referring to the Fall of Adam and Eve when they succumbed to their desire to control and to have power over everything and in doing so they “fell from Grace” Genesis 3 and this is where the concept of “original sin” (St Augustine”) and why we suffer.Human action is not the only cause os suffering; as it can be seen that God may allow suffering to open the hearts of those who have refused to hear God’s call. It may be that it is impossible to know why the innocent suffer, but in the Catholic Tradition it is believed that much human suffering is brought about by human sin. Theologian Roger Haight refers to sin as “the shadow side” of the human capacity for freedom and creativity. We have the freedom to create with God, so too, due to moral evil, we have the ability to destroy relationships, human lives and even creation itself.