God and the Human ExperienceFall 2017

The following questions are individual questions!
1. After having watched the movie Iron Jawed Angels, how do you view the struggles for equality differently?  Where do you find the realities encountered by Alice Paul and the 19th century reformers still present today?
2. Are miracles always positive? The plagues of Egypt were presented as an example of a miracle. How might viewing something such as a natural disaster as a miracle change one’s perspective of what miracles entail.  Can miracles have negative effects or cause harm?
3. How does the expressing of one’s beliefs require courage and bravery?  Think wearing visible signs, using your voice, working towards systematic change.
4. Please watch the following video in preparation:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6JFv3R_vOoHow do people’s choices reflect what they believe even when no one is looking or nothing is visible?
5. How does music work to enhance, challenge, or degrade the religious experience?
6. What does it mean for Teresa of Avila and others we have looked (Ignatius of Loyola, Catherine of Siena, Sojourner Truth, Lucretia Mott) to integrate the shadow self? What are the struggles we might encounter in attempting to be integrated ourselves?
7. How might the mystics have influenced our understanding of a religious experience today?  Are there still mystics today? How do we know if visions are real?

8. Why do you think some might want to believe racism no longer exists?  Is there a potential link between racism and religion?
9. What do you think the Saints we have studied in class would say about today’s trend of spirituality over religion among millennials? Would they find blasphemy in answering to the Universe rather than to God? Or would they find value in it, as long as it is morally beneficial to the individual and those around him or her?
10. What are “spirituals” and how did they help slaves practice their faith without punishment and provide a source of hope while suffering?  Explain how a marginalized communities’ experience with God can help any individual find a source of liberation through their personal struggles.
In the spirit of Dorothy Day and Mother Teresa, play devil’s advocate and argue the other side!