The Philosophy of Religion By Nola MacDonald

Fora long time, well into the nineteenth century, theology and philosophy were very closely linked. They studied the same concerns, and philosophy was even thought to be pointless. Today, however, there are basically three theological questions studied by philosophers.

The first question is ‘‘Can we prove that God or gods exist?’’. There have been several attempts to prove the existence of a supreme being. One philosopher, St. Anselm, defined God as something that can have nothing greater than it. If we suppose that there is no God, then there must be something greater than God -- which contradicts the definition that there is nothing greater than God. Therefore there must bea God. Another attempt to prove the existence of God is that when you look at the universe, you see order and design. Although it is possible that this could have just occured, it is much more likely that there is an “‘orderer’’, i.e. someone to arrange things. There- fore, it is probable that there is a God.

The second question dealt with in the philosophy of religion is that of phenomonolgy, existentialism and hermeneutics. Soren Kierkegaard, a nineteenth cen- tury Danish philosopher was an existentialist. He believed in the personalization of religion. He felt that religion in a private matter of faith that comes out of the anxiety of being in the world. He said that there is truth in the Bible, but not the kind of truth that you _ get in organized religion.

Hermeneutics is interpretation. Similar to literary interpretation, it isa way of reaching understanding. Hermeneutics arose out of Biblical interpretation. It is basically a matter of literal versus metaphorical interpretation.

The third question is ‘‘ Does morality havea religious supposition?’’. Some philosophers say that if there was no God, everything would be permitted, and that all ethics come from God. They maintain that Atheists have no morality. These philosophers would say that without God as objectivity, ethics boils down toa shouting match between people; that humans amongst themselves cannot answer moral questions. On the other hand, some would say that founding morality of religion is founding the more clear on the less clear -- it is easier to say whether something is morally right or wrong than it is to say that God exists and that what is right or wrong is so because of the existance of God.

UPEI X-P RESS

March 26, 1992 ©

Wicca Craft By w. Nicholson

Wiccan is a pagan or nature based religion, with an emphasis on brotherly love and harmony between people and nature. The term witch can be used to describe the members ofacovent, but many members © are offended by this termas it is usually followed by misconceptions and incorrect images.

Wiccans do not practice black magic, or any other kind of evil, nor do they try to convert members on the basis that they are superior. Wiccans respect other religions, and feel that a person must hear the call of the Goddess before joining the religion.

The members form groups called coven, which may be up to 13 people,. each coven hada high priestess and the group members are called coveners. The gather to worship the Goddess, preform ceremonies and work white magik.

Wiccans celebrate 8 Sabbats each year, at the chang- ing of the seasons. There are 4 major Sabbats and 4 minor Sabbots. The 4 major ones are; Candlemas, Beltane, Lammas and Samhain. The 4 minor ones are; Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, Autumn

_ Equinox, and Winter Solstice. A coven meeting ;

(Esbat) isa monthly coven meeting held oneach full _ moon. Here they discuss problems, swap ideas, and ; have ceremonies praising the Goddess and the Horne God (the male aspect).

The Christian church has perverted many wiccan concepts over the centuries, for example, theymade —

an attempt to eradicate the pagan worship of the ; Horned God by making him their symbolofevilan — calling him the devil. Wicca had also been misrepre- § sent right here on the pages ofthe X-Press, bythe infamous Joseph Murphy (Nov. 28, 1991 issue), who f takes if upon himself to discredit an ancient religion — with a few out of context (but well documented) quotes.

The Baha’i Faith

The Baha’i Faith was founded by Mirza Husayn Ali, 4 known as Bahaullah or ‘‘splendor of God’’, during the middle of the 19th century in Persia.

The essential tenets of the Baha’i Faith as revealed by Bahaullah are: -the oneness of God is unknowable, but his will is expressed through Manifestations or the prophets; -the spiritual oneness of the prophets; 4 the progressive character of revelation; -the unity of j mankind; -the equality of men and women; -the essen- tial harmony of science and religion; -the assurance of ; immortality fo the human soul e

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