Post 3/4 Wk 3

Post 4 WK 3
I read “Faquir Chand Meets The Tibetan Book Of The Dead” it a chapter from a book written by David Lane. It was basically about Faquir experiences through his search for a higher being and understanding. When he realized his search would not be fulfilled he turned his search into a quest for enlightenment. In this chapter I read that the belief of seeing lights and having a feeling of inner peace while dying has a lot to do of what we believe. That what actually happens is our mind is producing an illusion.
I though this chapter I read from this book was interesting. I am really enjoying this class the assigned reading can be challenging but it is truly intriguing. I do believe that there is something after death what it is I do not know. The mind most likely does produce an illusion of what the person holds most dear; it sounds logical. I don’t know about meditating, can it really put someone at a state if mind that is close to death? Can this state of mind truly put someone more at ease for their own death? I enjoyed this reading assignment it makes me wonder about the possibilities of meditation.

Post 3, WK 3
I read an essay called “Why I Am Not A Christian” by Bertrand Russell. He wrote about how he believes that the word Christianity which is a religion is a word that is used very loosely. He also wrote that Christianity is more of a term used to describe people who attempted to live a good life and if that was the case anyone who was not a Christian was not living a good life. Further into the essay he gave examples of arguments that the church set up to prove the existence of God even though they had said his existence can be proved by unaided reason.
This was an essay that I found very interesting but I felt almost bad reading it. I think that this essay had great questions and proved some really good points. One point that I found interesting is when he wrote that “religion is based primarily on fear, partly the terror of unknown”. In a sense I feel he is right. Most people probably do believe in God because they fear that there will be no point to their lives. That life here on Earth is pointless. Believing gives a sense of hope. We live our life believing and attending religious function because it gives guidelines and hope that there is something more to life. A hope that there is something after life. If this hop is taken away then what is the purpose of life?