RELIGST 2QQ3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Net., Social Cost

• School: McMaster University
• Department: Religious Studies
• Course: RELIGST 2QQ3
• Professor: David Penner

Document Summary

Religious life is foreig(cid:374), especially for the wester(cid:374) religio(cid:374)s (cid:894)christia(cid:374)ity, judais(cid:373), isla(cid:373)(cid:895). Strange to our ordinary life: different than cults, a paradox, many people think of religion as a refuge for the weak; something that weak people are drawn to. Positive: religion tells people that there is hope, that they are loved, offers sense of hope - heaven, paradise, negative: "religion is for people who cannot handle life; those who cannot think for themselves. " Considered a crutch that the weak use to feel better about themselves: weak, difficult, god expects you to give all of yourself to the divine; get rid of your own ego; submit your will. You don"t have to make a lot of changes in your lives to accept this. You don"t have to change your shopping habits for god: we want to be proud of ourselves; have personal ambitions/accomplishments, when we get overwhelmed, we pray for help.