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.