World Religions Tu

Introduction

Make sure to hand out syllabus and survey.

Welcome to World Religions and Perspectives.

I know that there is going to be some overlap in what was taught in the first semester, but I hope that in this half semester, we can learn together about the various religions in the world and how they stack up compared to Christianity.

While I understand that not everyone in here is Christian, this is a Christian school, so the course will be taught from a Christian perspective.

I will be fair to each religion that we study, it won’t be a “I’m right, they’re wrong” thing, rather, I will teach the core precepts and practices of that religion. I will also teach why certain beliefs are problematic in light of Christianity.

I cannot stress enough that in this course we will debate and argue topics, but we will do so respectfully and with acknowledgement that it is the idea being critiqued, not the person.

As such, personal attacks, insults, hurtful words will not be tolerated at all.

If you feel personally attacked, reach out to me and I will handle it.

So with that in mind let’s discuss worldviews.

What is a Worldview (Perspective)?

Do you think that it is possible to have no beliefs at all?

What beliefs do people your age tend to assume are just true?

Where do you think that people tend to get their beliefs from?

Most people tend to gain beliefs from their family, culture, media, and their lived experience.

For instance, if I say that the sky is blue, we are inside, so there is no way to verify that claim except that I know that from my lived experience.

Let me ask, do you think that things like faith or belief need proof to believe it? Or can there be things we believe with limited or no proof?

Whether we recognize it or not, all of our views form a worldview.

A worldview is best described as our perspective on subjects like reality, meaning, morality, and truth.

There are some core questions that we can ask to help in forming our worldview (Write on Board):

What is the ultimate reality?

What does it mean to be human?

How do we know truth?

What is right and wrong?

Is there life after death?

What solutions are there to humanity’s problems?

It is important to know that each religion makes an attempt to answer these questions.

Also, non-religious ideologies try to answer these questions as well.

These questions are going to be the guiding lights that take us through this course.

We will begin to explore these questions together. Split into some small groups.

Activity

I want you to pick one of the questions from the board. In your groups I want you to discuss and come up with how some different groups might answer the question that you picked. Then I want you to come up with where you think that view came from (i.e. If the group picked the truth question, they would say that someone may think that truth is subjective and got that view from their family).

The reason I had you do this exercise is because I want you to see how worldviews can shape ethics, laws, culture, and personal decisions.

You see, the more we study worldviews we will encounter both truth claims and contradictions.

Truth Claims and Contradictions

Realize that all religions make an exclusive truth claim.

Two beliefs that contradict each other cannot both be true.

For example, if I say that the light in this room is off, and you say “No, the light is on.” This creates a dilema.

Both statements cannot be true at the same time and in the same sense.

Therefore, one statement must be true, and the other false.

Contradiction is not about our opinion, rather it is about reality.

So, why do you think it matters what someone believes?

Do you think that behavior can be influenced by beliefs?

Do you think that we should evaluate our beliefs or leave them unquestioned?

See, our ideas do have consequences. (i.e. Nazis).

Our beliefs also can shape our lives and societies.

Wrap-up

So after seeing the importance of our worldviews, we can see that everyone has a worldview

We can also see that worldviews attempt to answer the same questions, just in different ways.

Our journey through religions and perspectives will look at and compare each system of belief using a consistent framework.

Tomorrow, we will discuss that framework in a more detailed way.

And next week, we will begin with our first religion which will be: Islam.

PRAY

Our Father in heaven, I bless your Holy name. I ask that as we journey through this course that you will guide our steps, methods, and framework. Although not everyone knows you yet, I ask that you reveal yourself through this course. Make yourself real to each of these students. Father I just thank you for all you will do this semester. In your name I pray, Amen.