Adult Religious Education Groups
Discussion Group
ARE (Adult Religious Education) is taking a hiatus. Check back in 2009 to see the status of this group.
2008 Schedule
January 17 we will meet at Merle Wenger's home for a movie.
February 7 and 21 we will meet at Ralph Grove's home. Topic is Comparison of Eastern Religions. Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and Shintoism are very different religious belief systems, but from our more distant perspective they all fall into a category of Eastern Religions that is generally considered mystical and enigmatic by western standards. These sessions will be a combination of learning more about the history, meaning, and practice of these religions and discussing how they impact our own beliefs and personal philosophies.
March 6 and 20 will be at Mary Hahn's home. Discussion will be Mormons: History/ Theology. We will discuss the history, theology, and community life of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the fourth largest religious denomination in the United States, which is better known as the Mormons. Topics will include major events in 19Th century Mormon history: the founding of the church, the coming forth and content of the Book of Mormon, migrations under pressure from New York to Missouri to Illinois to Utah, and the practice/discontinuance of polygamy. What Mormons call "the plan of salvation" will be discussed, along with related theological topics such as Mormon Christology. Contemporary community life – how the average Mormon lives today.
April 3 and 17 will be at Merle Wenger's home. His topic will be The Law of Attraction~Relevance to the Development of Religious Thought. Some quotes from Thomas Losier and others on the Law of Attraction. Definition: I attract to my life whatever I give my energy, attention and focus to, whether positive or negative. Thought: Electrons of atoms can align themselves to produce positive and negative charges as in electricity or magnetism: why would that not be the same for our own emotions and desires--that we create physical electronic forces by such mental exercises, including prayer and meditation? Losier quotes another author: "Never expect a thing you do not want and never desire a thing you do not expect. When you expect a thing you do not want, you attract the undesirable and when you desire a thing that is not expected, you simply dissipate valuable mental force." Finally, "What you radiate outward in your thoughts, feelings, mental pictures and words, you attract into your life."
May 1 will be hosted by Tom Endress at his home and the topic is Patrick O'Neill's article "What is sacred?" from the UU World as a focus for the discussion.
Even if no divinity exists, for me the relationship of all living things, each to the other and to the world which sustains us, is sacred. Whatever violates that relation violates the sacred. Whatever nourishes that relation increases it. Whatever calls us to an appreciation of that relation, calls us to holiness, invites us to the sacred. The the complete article can be found on the Internet at: http://www.uuworld.org/ideas/articles/50588.shtml
May 15 we are back at the Endress home where Nancy will lead us through the topic: Guilty Pleasures.
June 19 will be hosted by Beryl and Norman Lawson. Their topic is Intelligent Design~Does It Have to Be God? Intelligent Design: Must this mean God? The choice between Creationism and Darwinism has divided many a thinker. Is there a third choice? How do we explain what Darwinism doesn't explain? Is there Intelligence in the Universe without it being an anthropomorphic god?
July 17 Ginny will host the group for a discussion on the Comparison of Christian, Jewish, and Islamic Fundamentalism. Is fundamentalism a mostly 20th-century response to the "painful transformation" of modernity. Armstrong argues that in the modern world "we can not be religious in the same way as our ancestors," and yet without any religion at all, life feels as if it has no meaning. And so all of us, whether devout, agnostic, or atheist, search for meaning, for "new ways to be religious." Fundamentalism represents one of those searches, but it is a way that grows out of fear." * Suggested reading The Battle for God by Karen Armstrong.
August 21. We will meet at Jim Geary's to discuss a timely subject: Reflections on the political primaries, the upcoming conventions, and speculation re the General Election.
We welcome you to join us!
- Over most of the years of HUU’s existence, this open-ended group has discussed
readings by a range of authors including Plato, Marx, Dostoyevski, Shakespeare,
Frank McCourt, Barbara Kingsolver, Deepak Chopra and Daniel Quinn.
- We’ve also examined Buddhism, Confucianism, Theosophy, Islam and early Christianity, and discussed contemporary crises.
All are welcome to participate, and to help choose future study topics.
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