THE BIG QUESTIONS

Please leave any further thoughts or comments about religious experiences:  psychedelic, near-death, healing, possession, etc.

Please write your plans for the 2 film comparison paper here.

First, here are the links to the great video interviews Steve did:

www.bowesforalloccasions.com/part_a.mov
www.bowesforalloccasions.com/part_b.mov
www.bowesforalloccasions.com/part_c.mov
www.bowesforalloccasions.com/part_d.mov

Next, please your thoughts about any issues related to children and religion in the readings or films.

Do you think it’s possible to say that some forms of religion are psychologically more healthy for children than others?  Evangelical theology includes the kind of apocalyptic ideas that Capps linked to corporal punishment.   What sort of disciplinary philosophy do you think the parents in Jesus Camp practice?

Capps also argues that certain religious ideas are abusive to children.   He thinks that the Virgin Birth of Mary is a dangerous doctrine for children, since it makes Jesus childhood unlike any ordinary child and hides the possibility of Mary’s own troubled childhood.  What did you make of all that?

Do you think that Faith and Science are compatible in light of the film “Contact.” ?

Other questions to think about:

Pay attention to the importance of sound in the film.   What does the pulse sound remind you of?

Would discovering intelligent life elsewhere in the universe have an impact on humaniy’s religions?

Why are religious people threatened by science? Can science give us meaning?

How does the image of computers, science, and technology in “Contact” compare to how these are portrayed in “The Matrix.”?

Please leave your comments about the film in light of these questions.

Please leave your thoughts about Jung’s theory of religion and its relationship to the psyche.

Please leave thoughts about The Matrix here.   If you post your tentative thesis or outline, I will give you my reaction/advice about it.

How does Peck’s treatment of religion compare with the other authors we have read?   On what points would he agree or disagree with Freud and Fromm?    What is your reaction to his interpretation of the Adam and Eve story?    In some ways Peck’s understanding of the unconscious in similar to Freud’s and Fromm’s but in some ways it is very different.   What do you think of it?   Finally, the idea of grace is not something you expect to hear from a psychologist.  What does Peck’s view of grace add to his analysis of religion?

Please post your thesis about LTC and three main points you will make to support your thesis.

Leave your reactions and thoughts about Erich Fromm’s book on Psychoanalysis and Religion here

Please leave your comments about issues involved in film presentations of Jesus, particularly the Last Temptation of Christ.   Which depictions of Jesus conform the most to your own image of Jesus?   Which depictions of Jesus are most effective or appealing on other levels?   What would you focus on if you were a film director making a film about Jesus?   Are there dangers of offending people depending on how Jesus is presented?   Should a director even worry about offending people?