Could everyone help please?

[Donnagg123]

Hello! I am in a Philosophy of religion class. Our professor gave an assignment this week involving a questionnaire and I would appreciate everyone filling it out. The questions are open to ANY religion including non-religion people. The responses are being requested as part of a classroom assignment and will not be a part of a paper or will not be published anywhere, it is for classroom use ONLY. No one need put their name or any personal identifying information on here. There is no right or wrong answers and please no fighting with others who believe differently from yourself. I appreciate everyones help, and it should take no more than 5 minutes. If you do not feel comfortable answering this here, feel free to e-mail me @ weevilbump@yahoo.com with "Philosophy of Religion" in the subject field. Thanks again!!
Here we go!

1) Do you believe that you have had a religious or mystical experience? If so, please describe it and use as much detail as possible including was anyone with you at the time the event occured. Please only include incidences that are isolated, and not everyday occurences.

2) Do you feel that you are a person that has religious faith? If so, describe what that is and how that feels. If you are non-religious please explain what beliefs or philosophy about life you subscribe to.

3) What is your idea of faith and what does faith mean to you?

4) Do you believe that faith and reason are the same or completely different? Why do you believe the way you do?

[tsquared]

1). None that really stand out as far as earth shattering experience as some have had.
2). Yes i do.......Religious faith is how a person leads thier lives. We reap what we sow and by our sins we ask for forgiveness our sins are forgiven without any questions asked. None of us are perfect and if we were we would have nails in our hands and feet.
3). Faith is how we lead our lives and what we believe in. God helps those who help themselves and those that ask him for help....however he will not do things for a person but give them the resources to achieve what they are after. We have to have faith in the Lord for him to help us and too many times things dont go our way and we blame him for it when we didnt even try. Things wont just be handed to us. We have to believe and have faith that God will help us and guide us.
4). No i don't......Faith is believing in God and that he will help you and guide you to take the right path and make the right decision. Reason can be from our own reasoning being it a good or bad reason....God only has good reasoning and in our human minds we can have bad and good reasoning. With faith in God we will only have good reasoning.
Hope this makes sense.

[Donnagg123]

thanks for your help tsquared :)

[Trishntx]

I have had a "religious" experience, but it is kinda weird. Not sure it even fits your question. If interested, let me know, I'll tell ya.

[queenangie]

) Do you believe that you have had a religious or mystical experience? I can share this: once when the boys were young in car seats, DH was driving along a rural highway. We could see a car driving very fast from a side road with a 'huge rooster tail' of dust behind him. We were going 55, the speed limit, and the other car was going much, much faster on this side road. The other car had a stop sign where our road intersected with his side road. He did not stop or even slow down. He blew right through it. My husband swears to this day that an angel saved our lives at that moment. We should have t-boned and probably died. Neither of us can explain how or why our lives were saved that day. That is what Faith is all about.

2) Do you feel that you are a person that has religious faith? Yes, I am a religious person. I do not believe it is a 'feeling' to have faith, it is an understanding, a belief,& love. Faith comes from God. Love comes from God.
Sounds like a country n western song...."You come from a long line of love" My grandmother read the Bible daily and she and my parents all shared their love of the Lord on a daily basis with me. My Dad is a retired minister, btw.

3) What is your idea of faith and what does faith mean to you? Faith comes from God. Love comes from God. 'Faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love.' Faith is my belief in the Father, Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit.

4) Do you believe that faith and reason are the same or completely different? They are different. Faith is the belief in things 'unseen'like God. Reason is based upon facts 1 + 1=2. Just because you can't see germs, doesn't mean they are not present when you eat spoiled food.....and later you become ill. (That's not a great example, but the only one I can state quickly.)
'I believe in God the Father Allmighty,
Creator of Heaven and earth.....'

[Donnagg123]

I would love to hear about your experience Trishntx :) If you do not feel like posting it here, feel free to e-mail it me at the e-mail addy above :) Thank you!

Thank you queenangie for sharing :)

[Donnagg123]

Just bumping :)

[Taegus]

1) Do you believe that you have had a religious or mystical experience? If so, please describe it and use as much detail as possible including was anyone with you at the time the event occured. Please only include incidences that are isolated, and not everyday occurences.

Nope, can't say this has really happened

2) Do you feel that you are a person that has religious faith? If so, describe what that is and how that feels. If you are non-religious please explain what beliefs or philosophy about life you subscribe to.

I don't believe I have a "religious" faith....I am a spiritual person, but the religious thing...NO!

3) What is your idea of faith and what does faith mean to you?

Faith to me is a belief of something beyond yourself that you can rely on...a "supreme being" or a "force" or karma.

4) Do you believe that faith and reason are the same or completely different? Why do you believe the way you do?

Faith and reason are two seperate things. Many unreasonable things have been done in the name of faith (the whole 9/11 thing was done in the name of "faith" and to most people ~in the same faith or not~ would find that an unreasonable act).

[Donnagg123]

Thank you Taegus :)

[ang in NC]

E-maile you!

[christianw27]

1) Do you believe that you have had a religious or mystical experience? If so, please describe it and use as much detail as possible including was anyone with you at the time the event occured. Please only include incidences that are isolated, and not everyday occurences.


Yes. My grandma died a couple of years ago, I was very close to her. I can sometimes smell her perfume like she's in the room with me.

2) Do you feel that you are a person that has religious faith? If so, describe what that is and how that feels. If you are non-religious please explain what beliefs or philosophy about life you subscribe to.

Yes, I believe in my own way. I don't want anyone elses beliefs shoved on me. I want to believe in my own way.

3) What is your idea of faith and what does faith mean to you?

that you believe in something/someone infinitely.

4) Do you believe that faith and reason are the same or completely different? Why do you believe the way you do?

different.

I think that faith is based on your belief.

Reason is based on an idea...??

hope this helps

CLICK HERE to

[NINK]

1) Do you believe that you have had a religious or mystical experience? If so, please describe it and use as much detail as possible including was anyone with you at the time the event occured. Please only include incidences that are isolated, and not everyday occurences.

yes, i've had 2 that stand out. once i had a cat that was dying, it's eyes were in the back of it's head and there was blood and spit coming out of it's mouth and i asked God to save it and just like that it stood up, no blood or spit anywhere to be found and it's hair was completly dry and it was fine. the otehr one was i wa scrying, alone and i asked God what i was suppose to do now, and a vision of my current husband came in to my mind and i didn't know him, he went to my school but i didn't even know his name or anything . i told God he was nuts, he must be wrong, how on earth was i suppose to be with this person i didn't even know, it just made absolutly no sence, with in a week we were engaged and almost 11 years later we are still completly in love.

2) Do you feel that you are a person that has religious faith? If so, describe what that is and how that feels. If you are non-religious please explain what beliefs or philosophy about life you subscribe to.

yes, i am christian, no specific denomination, i just belive in God and Jesus and that he died for us and rose again so we could be forgiven of our sins. and it feals great, very safe and secure, it feels like you are never alone. it feels like you have a blanket of protection over you.

3) What is your idea of faith and what does faith mean to you?
faith is believing in something you have no concreate proof of, like you can not see or touch or prove it. trust.

4) Do you believe that faith and reason are the same or completely different? Why do you believe the way you do?

diferent, they have completly different meanings. reason is a cause for something, an example of why soemthing is the way it is. faith is more abstract, like your interpertaion or your feelings. but faith can be a reason , for example my faith is the reason i act the way i do.

[Donnagg123]

Thank you Nink! :)

[Donnagg123]

Just bumping! I only have this week left to get replies! :)

[schsa]

1) Do you believe that you have had a religious or mystical experience? If so, please describe it and use as much detail as possible including was anyone with you at the time the event occured. Please only include incidences that are isolated, and not everyday occurences.

I was in therapy suffering from major depression as well as PTSD. My psychiatrist and I had been working on visualization for about 4 months and some days it worked better than others. This particular day he was guiding me and he had me visualizing a wall. The wall was made up of rocks that said things like Rage, Anger, Hate, etc. He asked me to take down one of the rocks and crush it. As I started to imagine doing this, I could see a beautiful light coming through from the other side of the wall. I was crushing more and more rocks and I was crying in pain as I did it. He asked me what I was seeing and I told him I had to go through the wall. He said to go ahead. I saw a green field with a tree, tons of sunshine and I started crying from joy. My doctor had no idea what was going on but I knew at that moment that I was going to be taken care of. The next morning when I got up, it was as if I had spent years looking through a dirty screen to see the world. The screen was gone and everything looked crisper and clearer than it ever had before. That's when I realized that there was so much more to this world than just what we saw.

Prior to this I was having a crisis and was hearing voices. The voices were telling me to take my life. I was almost at the point of downing a bunch of pills and a few other things when the phone rang. It was a friend who should have been at work at that time but just happened to leave early and decided to call me. A few minutes later and I would not have been alive to take that call. I know that someone or something intervened at that moment. It was far too much of a coincidence.

2) Do you feel that you are a person that has religious faith? If so, describe what that is and how that feels. If you are non-religious please explain what beliefs or philosophy about life you subscribe to.
I don't see myself as religious as much as someone who knows that there is something greater than me in this world. I know that there is a reason why I am here although I may never know why. I don't follow any particular religious doctorine.

3) What is your idea of faith and what does faith mean to you? Faith is knowing that things will work out the way they are suppose to.

4) Do you believe that faith and reason are the same or completely different? Why do you believe the way you do? Reason requires a logical end with a logical conclusion. Faith does not need to be logical. It is a feeling. It is a knowledge that has nothing to do with what is logical. I believe the way I do because things have happened that lead me to believe that there is more to life than what I see with my eyes or I can reason with statistics. I don't need a Bible or the Koran to tell me that there is more to this life, I know it. And that is faith.

[Donnagg123]

Thank you for answering schsa :)