<Student’s name>
<University>
What is the ultimate reality? What is the source of everything?
The problem of the meaning of life - it is a problem of the desired ideal, or the truth. Her understanding of the defined purpose , direction and nature of all human activities . However, the very solution to the issue , if we essentially due to the existential -personal setting man: his freedom , his spiritual and moral condition . On the historical stage three main forces claim to address these issues: religion, philosophy and science. Summarized their responses can be expressed as follows. Religion, which refers to a complete system of beliefs, where the idea of God and eternal life are central - sees the meaning of life in union with God. Philosophy , in the long run - in the rational comprehension of the truth. Science - a maximum knowledge of the world . Naturally, each of these responses requires a wide interpretation.
What is special about the Orthodox understanding of the issue ?
It sees the meaning of life in the eternal life of God , otherwise referred to as salvation. This means, first , the belief that God exists and that He is not only a source of life, but also by being, in whom only possible benefit of being all that exists, perhaps a full comprehension of truth and knowledge of the created world in his being. Secondly - it involves understanding that this (the Earth ) life is not self-sufficient value, but a necessary condition , transient form of being the person to achieve her perfect life in God. Christian consciousness so unnatural atheist slogan: " Believe me , man, you expect eternal death ! " - Because it does not make sense to remain the most important - life, in which only and may be carried meaning.
The essence of the Christian faith can be expressed in two words: "Christ is risen ! " - As in them lies all the infinite and at the same time a very specific perspective of life. Her sense - in the likeness of Christ and union with Him , otherwise - deification , Theosis . What does this mean ? The short answer is it is the perfection of a kenotic (sacrifice, humility ) of love, the very essence of God, for "God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God and God in him" ( 1In.4 , 16 ) . The Apostle Paul writes in some detail about this condition in his letter to the Galatians , when lists the fruit of action of God in man. He describes it as love , joy, peace, patience , goodness, meekness , temperance ( Gal.5 , 22-23) . In another letter, he describes this state as follows: " No eye has seen , nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for those who love him " ( 1Cor.2 , 9) . The apostle , as we see, writes that the man spiritually cleansed, healed of the passions , that is, spiritually healthy , is in deep joy , love and peace of the soul - speaking in modern terms - in happiness, but not fleeting , accidental , caused by the action of the nerves and the mind and the soul have become the property of the "new" person , and therefore inalienable , eternal. It should be noted, however, that this is not the condition itself is the purpose and meaning of human life , according to Christian teaching. It is just one of the consequences of the goal - salvation, deification, of communion with God , in which the identity of the person reaches the fullness of his disclosure likeness .
But perfection in love is not only a moral and emotional human benefit. Love , no less , and is the perfect " tool " knowledge of the truth , and the created world . It is no accident those whom the Church by virtue of their distinctive spiritual purity refers to the monk, called the spiritual life of true philosophy , the art of arts , the science of sciences. They are so called because of her that the proper penance , restoring the unity of the soul with God reveals to man and maintain the Truth, and the contemplation of her imperishable beauty , and knowledge of the substance of all creation . The experience of the Church clearly shows that the spiritual perfection of the person to whom the Gospel calls - not overheated imagination of dreamers , but the reality is the fact infinite , in practice, the number of time -tested in the life history of the world, and to this day looking for the person proposed as the only reasonable goal of being .
Is the nature of the world eternal or does it have a beginning?
Creation of the world by one God , depicted in the Bible , is one of the central tenets of the faith of Christianity. The main narrative of the creation is the first book of the Bible - Genesis . However, the interpretation of this history and understanding of the process of creation of the believers are very different.
The main biblical text of the creation narratives found in two of the first and second chapters of Genesis .
The first story is about the creation of the entire first chapter of the book of Genesis and the beginning of the second chapter. It describes the process of creation as the work week and weekend ( Saturday ) of the day . The text says that on the first day God created light and separated it from darkness, on the second day - he created the firmament , and water , on the third - the land and the plants on the fourth - the heavenly bodies , in the fifth - birds, fish and reptiles, and finally , the sixth - animals and humans. The narrative ends with the first three verses of the second chapter of the book of Genesis, where it is said that the Creator "rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done ," and " God blessed the seventh day, and lit it, because in it He rested from all His work which God created and made " (see Genesis 1 :1 -2 : 3).
The second narrative of creation is found in the second chapter of Genesis from the fourth verse. The text says the creation of the Garden of Eden , and two trees in it : the tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil, about the first commandment given to man - not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil , and also contains the story of the creation of Eve from Adam's rib ( cm . Gen.2 :4 -25).
God's creation of the world are also mentioned in many other places in the Bible ( in the books of the Prophets , the Psalms , Proverbs , the book of Job , in the deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament and in the New Testament ), but not as much detail as in the book of Genesis.
What is a human being? Do human beings have only a body, a body and soul or something else? Are we good or evil or amoral? Are we able to acquire knowledge of the world and of God? If so, how is this attained? What is the so the source of the problems that we face? What is the solution to the problem or problems?
Good and evil are the classic ethical issue in Christianity occupies a very prominent place . But it would be a big mistake to Christian teaching about good and evil only to limit the scope of ethics. Rather, the ethical meaning of the concepts of good and evil can be seriously distorted if you do not consider them in the context of the Christian doctrine as a whole.
According to the book of Genesis, man was created in the image and likeness of God . In Christian theology there is no unity in the interpretation of the Biblical position. Even the holy Fathers of the Eastern Church on this matter are different interpretations . However, they all agree on one thing: the approval of the divine in man. St. Irenaeus of Lyons, one of the first in Eastern Christian theology, declared that "the image of God - the Son , in the likeness of a man who has created . And that is why the Son, and has appeared in recent times, to show that his image is similar to Him." If so, then the logical conclusion would be perfect for that man was not created originally moral being : for Jesus Christ - it is not a moral teacher, not a moralist , and not even a moral ideal man. Christ - the Son of God , the second Person of the Blessed Trinity. He is the divine Logos and the Savior of the world. Consequently, the first man , Adam , created by God the Father in His image , there is also the son of God , called to filial love to answer God's love , to live under the cover of this divine love, to live as one of love, to live in unity with God. " And Adam lived an innocent, truly blissful and serene life. He gazed incessantly purity of his word , the image of God the Father, for he is created in the image of that image. When a person is clean , and his mind is not occupied corporeal objects, and collected in himself, he floating in mountain and looks to the Word of the Father sees in him the Word, and sweetens the contemplation of His renewed love for him. " The Fall distorted the image of God in man. " After the fall of man has ceased to see the image of God , that is, the Word became behold evil , that is not existent . Existence is good , because it is for yourself images of God in existence , while evil is carrying , as has his images in God, and created human ; industrial . err from the contemplation of the Word, man of sin contemplates only evil . "
The meaning of the myth of the Fall , apparently, is to be seen in the fact that people can not and should not know what God knows . Adam and Eve had to know , honor and love of God ( Absolute Good ) and thus remain in heavenly bliss . When aiming to become " like God, knowing good and evil" [ 5], the first people to have violated the prohibition of God, they would be seen as the wrong side of the world, themselves and each other, that is learned evil. Their darkened mind . They are torn away from God , and perhaps would have been hostile to him : "And the Lord God said , Behold the man is become as one of us , to know good and evil: and now, take also of the tree of life and eat, and did not to live forever. "
Knowledge of evil changed the nature of man. Adam and Eve in the Fall brought down the evil and have undergone its own , which was equivalent to the greatest anthropological catastrophe. This is reflected in the following. First, Adam and Eve ontologically changed: the loss of spiritual corporeality ( Eden 's body ) , they found flesh and plump physical body. Second, they are perishable creatures prone to damage , disease , aging, and , finally, the post-mortem decomposition. Thirdly , Adam and Eve became mortal - temporarily living on the earth. Fourth, they were condemned to hard labor and the birth of children who inherit their fate. Fifth, the fall of Adam and Eve was reflected in all of nature ( " cursed is the ground because of you" ), which has also become subject to the laws of death and decay . Thus, it is sin that is at the basis of all evil . But it is also a source of good and moral . This brings us to another important aspect of the problem of good and evil in her discernment of the spiritual and moral aspects.
What happens to a person at death?
The death of a man in Christianity is closely related to the theme of the Last Judgment. According to the Christian clergy , death - is a great mystery , "rebirth " of man in the new world . Life in turn - a preparatory stage for the transition of the soul to a new level . These ideas are shared by all the churches of the world - and the Eastern and Western rites and Protestant , and non-traditional .
As Christians believe , after the death of angels carry souls of the righteous in the " threshold " of paradise, and the souls of sinners go to the demons in hell. In heaven and hell, the dead are awaiting the Last Judgment : then , by the decision of God, survivors will be able to enter the Garden of Eden , and those convicted will be sentenced to eternal torment .
What takes place after death, can be observed at the time of cardiac arrest activity of the organism . Clinical death lasts for 3 to 6 minutes, and, according to many Christians , at this moment the soul leaves the body . According to the evidence , you can look at your own body and from the side, and a black tunnel , and the heavenly meadow. All visions are strictly individual : some think it met with dead relatives , others say that they were visiting angels . Church to such evidence is ambiguous. One of the priests , mostly Protestant and Catholic , believe that it is - a direct confirmation of the existence of heaven and hell . Others, among them - the Orthodox, are these reports with skepticism , and refer to them as either fanciful or tricked the devil.
As Christians believe , immediately after the death of the soul , leaving the body for two days becomes free . At that time, she has the right to visit any place of her dear and even attend the prayer which is performed for the repose of her in the temple . Soul accompany angels or demons - depending on how it is clean . According to biographies of saints, many are still a few hours before his death, could contemplate how close to their body essentially invisible to us .
On the third day of the start of heaven " ordeal " - from the word " myto ," that is , rents. Simply put , the soul on the path to heaven goes through a series of peculiar customs , each of which - the demons . They have died in various ways , and , as a payoff from them, are the good deeds done on earth. If the good deeds will be too little, or one of the tests will fail , the soul immediately goes to hell . Sentence where the deceased will be up to the Last Judgement , neokonchatelen - possible that the Court will forgive him for , and he gets out of hell in paradise, but perhaps it will all happen vice versa.
Why is it possible to know anything at all?
God knows everything. The Bible says it this way:
"And there is no creation, hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him: He will give an account." (Bible, Heb. 4:13)
God not only knows all the information available, all the secrets, all the answers. But he also knows all the thoughts of all people. From Him nothing is hidden. He knows that maybe no one else knows about me. God knows me better than I know myself.
"If our heart condemn us, the more God, because God is greater than our heart and knows all things." (Bible, 1 John. 3:20)
Moreover, God not only knows all this, he also knows the future and the past. God created time, but He is timeless. Therefore, the future and the past for him as openly as the present. It's hard to imagine, but true. That is God.
What is the nature of our morality? How do we know right from wrong?
The moral value is not the most difficult to understand the phenomenon of value. At the very least, it is clearly visible to his social nature. Only the religious consciousness of the phenomena of nature may confer a moral sense, to see them as evil forces act or manifestation of divine retribution. We know that the area of morality entirely confined to the scope of the social laws.
However, where could be the idea that the moral evaluation is an act of immediate appreciation of the apparent "self-evident". In this appraisal report may present the everyday moral consciousness. Theorist suited to the analysis of moral phenomena and evaluate them in terms of their social value. A person experiencing emotions for a particular act, and may not be aware of the social conditions and the complex web of social relationships that make them valued good or evil deed.
What is the meaning of human history? Is there a Meta-narrative? Another way of asking this question is whether this world view believes that there is The Story that tells how we got here and why we are here.
The problem of the meaning of history is one of the main places in most areas of the philosophy of history , a number of philosophers have created a concept in which the problem of the meaning of history is the center of the ordinary.
The concept of a leading German philosopher Karl Jaspers (1883-1969) argued that the meaning of history is beyond the content of the story and the history of the foundation is the belief , common to all mankind, as ka it does not divide but unites humanity Such faith can offer no global or national religion .
There are other points of view on the content of the story Some philosophers , for example, believe that the story makes no sense , is a mystery to the people and pessimistic about the future of mankind ( Arthur Schopenhauer , James Burghardt ), others - that history is an irrational flow of events that defy rational explanation ( Friedrich Nietzsche , Edward Hartmann ) etc .
An important place in the history of philosophy is the idea of historical progress
Analyzing the history of society, it can be concluded that so far it has moved in the whole path of progress , and this statement agrees with most of the philosophers of history , however, all philosophers believe in the idea of progress in the joint su - some of them talk about the harmful effects of progress on the development of civilization, so , Aurelio Peccei notes the danger of progress - this anarchic , he said, the process is not n iddaetsya any external regulation and implementing new steps forward without any real connection with the needs of society , in any way despite the possible adverse consequences for the development of life on the planet and in convinced of this , and Alvin Toffler , who warns that progress brings stream of changes that destroy the institutions , values, and change the dried roots of our life .
Sources
Brettler, Mark Zvi (2005). How To Read the Bible. Jewish Publication Society. ISBN 9780827610019.
Carr, David M. (1996). Reading the Fractures in Genesis. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 0-664-22071-1.
Friedman, Richard Elliott (2003). The Bible with Sources Revealed. HarperCollins.
Kugler, Robert; Hartin, Patrick (2009). An Introduction to the Bible. Eerdmans. ISBN 9780802846365.
Max Heindel, The Rosicrucian Christianity Lectures (The Riddle of Life and Death), 1908, ISBN 0-911274-84-7
