Final Essay on the course for Dr. of Spirituality by Rev. Adam Rocke

Final Essay on the course for Dr. of Spirituality: Rev. Loretta Siani     Now usually one writes about the content of a course and what one learns. But my personal experience while taking this course showed me its value to me and what I learned became reality. I share this personal experience as my essay on the power of this thought and what I was able to see in my own case. I hope it shows what I have learned and how it worked through my saga.   So I start by saying I have had an interesting time during the passage of time of taking this course. The lessons learned were complex and I am still dwelling on the elements placed in front of me in the course on Spirituality. For during this time, my personal life has been challenged in my heart. I have lost the life of my hero, my father, who succumbed at 87 years old and my mother was injured in the family home while my dad was fighting for his known life in the hospital. My dad lived long enough at, I hope my urging, to celebrate his 87th birthday and then when at the sickest moment he lived to see in my parent's 65th wedding anniversary one month later.   Now one could ask me what happened during this time and how this course worked for me? Well, an hour before their anniversary day came to be I was with my father at 11:03 p.m. Dad coded and there was a DNR note. However, due to some confusion in the directive, they revived him. I prayed like never before in my life for him to pull through to be able to be alive for he and mom to reach such a huge day of value and meaning for them. Dad was on a ventilator, suffering the beginning of renal failure and he was a victim of pneumonia, heart failure, renal shutting down and blood septicemia, just to mention the most important issues.   Although he was in what was a drug induced state, I held his hand and told him it was okay and that if he wanted to God would let him live long enough to reach such a huge momentous occasion of 65 years of wedded bliss.   Well, I need not tell anyone who has taken this course that I opened my soul to God and told my dad to do the same. The nurses told me they knew he could hear me and he did it,  although never opening his eyes. I cleared myself of all self interest and just prayed. And so the miracle was given to me and my parents. Something no one else probably understood or even cared about, but I was granted such through the grace of the Almighty for opening myself to pure love and affection to the most important person in my life and my hero to boot. I did not ask for me, I asked that God give my dad this one gift and miracle when all the odds were against it and he was basically going to leave his human form. Somehow, it happened and he celebrated his anniversary with just me in the room. My mom was in a rehab facility with a broken vertebra as she slipped while alone in their home and dad was in the hospital. So she could not be there to share in this blessed event. With open heart and all love I had, I let God guide my words to my father to hang in to make it to the day he married my mom.  There was no reason why this happened. I just prayed and gave myself to God's hand.   Three days later I again was alone in my father's hospital room and he was now in renal shut down and going to die naturally. It was about 2:10 p.m. that I felt something inside while visiting my mother. I told her I had to go and see dad. So I drove the few miles to his room and once again I saw that this was his time to join the life in God's arms. I went to his side and told him to fear not as he was in God's hands now and that he had met his mission of life here on earth and it was okay as he had succeeded at everything he had wanted and it was time for him to find his peace. Of course, this was in prayer, but it was prayer aloud for him to hear and for me again to give of myself and let my dad be given continuing life with God as his holder. I could see that his body was giving up and he took two breaths as I spoke to him and asked him to let God enter his heart to guide him further in everlasting life. Well, there was no fear, no pain and no tears, but he calmly took those two breaths and turned his head a bit and then he was on his way to what stood in front of him forever.   I sat in his room for two and a half hours and the nurses cleaned him up and removed all of the tubes and such. They combed his hair and placed his hands and arms across his abdomen with his wedding ring finger on top of his other hand. I should note that this is so hard to write through my tears as I complete this essay. I was trying to think of how to show what I found out of this course. But, while taking it, the contents found me and provided me with what I needed to handle this process of loosing the most revered person I have ever known.   I prayed continuously for dad to fight when needed and he did so and then I prayed for God to enter his body and cure him of his earthly illness and take him with open arms to his new life. I found the fear I had of seeing him go was nothing. I had prayed for God to help and guide me through the process I was experiencing. I asked for nothing but for God within me to guide my heart and soul/mind to accept this happening. I guess I can say without reservation that the element of the course were not coincidental to my needs for love and to let that miraculously happen. And so it did! I do not know how I was given such strength and guidance, but it came and it came through prayer as the course so indicates and I was given the gift of such. Now it is a month past and I still wonder how I was given such a course and what brought me to take it at the time I did. I did not know in advance hat was waiting for me. I read the course lessons earnestly and took all I could and as things unveiled in front of me I tried my best to use them so I could handle what was given to me. I guess God just decided I needed my miracle and provided me a vehicle to read to help me understand how to find it.   Now I had to speak at one of my dearest friend's funerals back in January when I first started taking the course.  I thought I did good for the family of my departed friend and colleague and was given various accolades for such a meaningful tribute to a man who I cared about like a brother. But, I had not yet reached the spot of using it for more and now I find I can give so much more to those in need by prayer and the gift of God's graces within.   So that is my story about this course. I was going to delineate all of the various lines and sections as I found them relevant, but they found their way into my reality and I hope this summary of events in my life, shows the value I found in this course and its contents. I found things about me I did not know existed within and I do believe that miracles can happen through prayer and love… and God gave them to my father, who by the way was not a particularly religious man. But, as these events unfolded, I kept telling him to realize the God and Great Spirit within himself. And, I found the love and miracles in my heart that were there with God within me….   Amen and thank you for this course!   Sincerely,   Adam Rocke, Reverend ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Instant Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials and seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years being the founder of the Seminary, I've had the privilege of watching our Seminary grow. I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials.

Final Essay for the Master of Comparative Religion Course By Rev. Daniel L. Moore

Gaining a Global Perspective Final Essay for the Master of Comparative Religion Course By Rev. Daniel L. Moore               The world is changing.  The United States is becoming less and less a "Christian" nation.  Neighborhoods that used to be predominantly Protestant, Catholic, or Jewish are now receiving those who are Muslim, Buddhist, or Hindu.  Further, there has been an increase in interest in older religions such as Wiccan and various types of paganism.             As a minister, I believe we must be able to work with those of other faiths.  We can easily go into our own religious or denomination corner with the idea of separation for "purity" sake or we can actively engage all we come into contact with.  Religions that emphasize conversion require its followers to "go into the world and make disciples of all nations."  But to do so does require some knowledge of the other religions.              This course is an absolute necessity for any minister of any faith.  As the communities and work places become more mixed, we need to be aware of the differences and similarities between the various religions.  Further, as a part-time Protestant chaplain I encounter people seeking guidance who are not Christian.  So this course comes to me as a welcome addition to my education.             One of the strengths of this course was the wealth of resources I was directed to.  I was able to find many of the various sacred texts needed to study.  I have been studying these other texts in between lessons to help me gain a broader understanding of the world's religions.             This course was very in-depth in content.  I realize that this was a very challenging task for the course developer to take on.  The material and the scope of this subject are such that it is possible to make two courses to cover a total of 40 weeks between the two.  I must congratulate Rev. Kythera Ann for her ability to put together such comprehensive course and avoid the temptation of just skimming a topic here and there.             The illustrations given in each lesson were very helpful.  They added "flavor" to the lessons.  Along with the illustrations were the many scholarly quotes and footnotes that I found useful as well.  The charts were all helpful.  For me, I like to see things as part of my learning style.  Having a chart gives me something to evaluation in a simple, direct fashion.  The chart in lesson 20 was real illuminating to me.             One criticism I have of this course is the occasional website links provided were broken.  This is not the fault of the course developer.  The Internet is dynamic place with new sights being posted, old ones being updated, and some being deleted.  The one recommendation I would have is that this course's links be reviewed quarterly.  Also, I would recommend the first lesson include some administrative instructions about notifying ULC about links that are broken or no longer active.  This is the only criticism I have.             I highly recommend this course to any minister of any religion.  I would also encourage Rev. Kythera Ann to develop other courses and would be happy to study the material.  Blessings to all who take this course.             ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Instant Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials and seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years being the founder of the Seminary, I've had the privilege of watching our Seminary grow. I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials.

Master of Metaphysical Healing Essay by Rose Palaez

Master of Metaphysical Healing           From the introduction phase of metaphysical healing to the ending lesson of this course has been knowledgeable to me. I will begin by saying that learning the techniques that go hand in hand and the step by step of the physical works before studying the esoteric physiology, have given me an extended insight of what and how metaphysical healing came about and how it is interpreted.           With that in mind I enjoyed every single lesson, the human energy fields which teaches about the chakras and how the aura is an extension of the physical body was absolutely something extremely new and interesting. Getting ready and learning to use the universal energy field and experimenting in with my self was a new experience and enjoyed every minute of it. Learning of other healing methods allowed me to understand why different culture does what they do.           In all truthfulness there is no lesson in this course that was boring per say or of no interest. Once more I will reiterate that learning the power of energy to heal is an out of the ordinary process that should be learned by every one. I wanted to investigate the techniques for my self and for my own breath of knowledge. I have been healed before by my mother-in-law that have the gift of energy healing with out the proper training or literature. That is more the reason why I was brought to the website which lead me to start the course my self.           With this course, I must say that I have been educated that in this matchless world that we are in, that illness of countless people lies in the emotional mental field. Metaphysical healing has brought to my attention that we can give attention to illness beyond just the physical symptoms. That the cure is in the hand of the healer beside medical field lays the valuable and unrestricted universe with the energy for all of us to have.           I am obligated to say that all that is needed is taught in this course; however there is always space for us human being to increase our awareness a bit more than we think. I have experienced that with self healing motivation one can come out of any illness. Particularly if one has sufficient faith in the energy of the universe which can freely be provided us all without limitation.   Best wishes and May the positive energy of the universe be with you.     ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Instant Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials and seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years being the founder of the Seminary, I've had the privilege of watching our Seminary grow. I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials.

The Unvarnished Gospels by Rev. Mark A. Weinstein

"The Unvarnished Gospels" Mark A. Weinstein   One of the primary and most prominent things as a theological student that I have come to learn is that people interpret the Bible to meet their needs.  This is not to say that they purposely distort gospel for personal benefits, but it can rather be likened to wearing goggles underwater.  What I mean is this; while sight does remain when donning the goggles and going underwater, the vision is cloudy.  So too are people's perceptions when it comes to understanding the true intent of the Bible.  Because we as humans carry with us a large amount of baggage, we often see situations through a fog.  This fog works on everything we see, hear, and learn, and only in its context do we take in new information.  Hence, the word interpret comes into play.  Four letter words are wrong and should never be used in public that is my thought exactly when I hear the word interpret in conjunction with the Bible.             People will do one of several things to "interpret" the Bible to fit their needs.  First, they simply pick out a word or two that meets their situation, and use it as a foundation for their actions.  Nothing wrong with this mind you, except that the truth is often times lost when this is done.  Secondly, they put off the meaning that they do extract from the text as simply being outdated, or caused by a language barrier.  Again, to each his own, but to play off changing the intent of scripture to an inability to truly comprehend the intended Truth is simply laziness.  If you don't understand the intent, study and learn.  Finally, we have those who profess that only portions of the text are really God spoken, with some simply being the thoughts, wishes, and direction of the author (not God but the actual writer).  To these I say, "Which brick do you take from a foundation and hope to maintain the integrity of the building?"  How can we decide which of God's words to remove from the Bible and still insure that we have kept its intent?  In the end Christ himself told us that we are either with Him or against Him, nothing in between.             To that end, I make my segue to the text at hand.  The Unvarnished Gospels (UVG) addresses these aforementioned conditions in a way that I have not seen before.  Many translations of the Bible go a long way in helping one understand the true intent, but this book takes it one step further.  When reading this text there is no difficulty in understanding, a need to dig deep for jewels of content, or struggle to understand outdated contexts.  One can simply sit down, enjoy the content, and truly gain an understanding of the Word of God and He intended.  I am thankful to have read this book and will undoubtedly use this text for reference far into the future.  There were many instances during the reading of this book that I might say was an "AHAA" moment; I will mention just a few.             One thing that many struggle with is whether Christ came to judge, be judged, or save.  Yes, is the final answer.  Many times in my choice of translations, the KJV, it is difficult to decipher Christ's words due to the language it is written in and with.  The UVG takes away that barrier and in plain, understandable, and infallible, language tells us that Christ came not to judge, but to be judged, yet He will be that by which others will be compared.  We must come to Christ or spend an eternity in Hell, end of point.  There is no argument against this point when read in the plain text put forth here.  Christ came to give us eternal salvation and only through his death and resurrection can that be a possibility.              A second point that is often argued is that of eating the Bread of Life.  Some argue that this is symbolic and open to all; others that this is actual and therefore one must be righteous do partake.  This is the first text that I know of that explains Christ's words in a way that makes it indisputable.  Symbolically we take of the sacraments in honoring all that Christ gave for us and in professing our commitment to Him and His ways.  Of course we cannot be righteous prior to accepting, or many times after taking, the Body of Christ, that is exactly the idea.  If we were righteous then there would be no need for Christ to have given His life and suffered in death for us.  Only because this book is so well written can one put to rest this age-old argument.              There are so many more things that come to light as one reads this book, more than I can remember.  What I will do is keep this book handy as I prepare my sermons so that this vivid and clear perspective is always available to shed some Light on whatever subject I choose to explore.  I applaud you for a well written book and class; one that I would recommend to others should I be asked.                 ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Instant Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials and seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years being the founder of the Seminary, I've had the privilege of watching our Seminary grow. I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials.

Master of Christian History Essay by Rev. Graham Louden

An evaluation of the Synod of Whitby  (AD 664)  with reference to the political and historical context of contemporary Northumbria.                                                             by Rev. Graham Louden,  M.A., Dip.Ed. (Oxon), B.A., A.C.P.,  (Hon.) D.D. It has long been traditional amongst historians of the period to  represent the Synod of   Whitby and its outcome as a momentous event in English history and a  definitive    turning   point in the identity and allegiance of the English church.   This  inter-   pretation of  the Synod has endured  over   the centuries to the extent that, only   recently,  the historian  Patrick Wormald expressed  his frustration trenchantly in   the  following paragraph  written in 2005,           'From the days of George Buchanan, supplying the initial propaganda for the         makers of the Scottish kirk,  until a startlingly recent date,  there was warrant         for  the anti-Roman,  anti-episcopal and, in the nineteenth century,  anti-         establishment stance  in the Columban or 'Celtic' church…..The idea that there         was a 'Celtic  Church'  in something of a post-Reformation sense,  is still         maddeningly  ineradicable  from the minds of students.'     This enduring interpretation may well be due to the limited scope and intent of the   source material available  and also to the desire of ecclesiastical historians over the   centuries to  give primacy to the overarching theme of the  evolution of the church   universal and its relentless expansion.  Any detailed account of the Synod derives   almost  exclusively from that provided by the Venerable Bede   in his  Historiam   Ecclesiastical  Gentis Anglorum  completed in 731  supplemented by a hagiographical   Life of Wilfred  written by  Eddius Stephanus  (Stephen of Ripon)  around 710.  Both    of these works were written at some distance although Bede   did have access to  the                                                                   2   the work by Eddius and is also said to have   known     surviving participants in   the synod such as Acca of Hexham whom he described as the 'dearest of all prelates   upon earth',   It is also possible that Bede's reputation and stature as  an historian, to   an extent the 'father' of history,   has come to overshadow  and repress   informed   scrutiny of the Synod.  Bede's  insistence on  the importance of accurate chronology   wherever possible,  his  elegant and stylish deployment of the Latin language,  his   faithful attribution of sources and his  ability to blend homiletic material seamlessly   into the narrative  all mark him out as  a  biblical scholar and historian of  renown but   his work was  intended as an 'ecclesiastical' history and it would not be surprising if   he had been minded to  give additional prominence to those  events which he    considered  important staging posts in the advancement of the church.  The  Paschal   controversy was,  indeed, an issue in which Bede, as  a biblical scholar, especially   interested himself  and had addressed in  his works,  De Temporibus  (703) and  De   Temporum  Ratione  (725).      A corrective to the assumption that Bede's account of the Synod  is accepted as being   an accurate record of the proceedings may be found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle,   prepared around  891  in the time of Alfred which, curiously, makes no mention of the   Synod;   instead, both the  Parker Chronicle and the Laud Chronicle  include the same   entry for the year 664, viz.   'Colman with his companions went to his native land' but   provide  no explanation for this happening although interestingly,  the year 671 was   noted as the year of  'the great mortality of birds'!   Given the quantity of material   pertaining to  Northumbrian history that is detailed in the Chronicle,  this omission   does appear odd if the Synod was contemporaneously regarded as a pivotal moment.                                                                3   In general, historical events involve a complex mixture of antecedents,  motivation   and personalities.  The Synod of Whitby needs to be studied and understood against a   background of  political instability in Northumbria and   parallel  uncertainty  in the   sphere  of  shifting   religious allegiance.  The  kingdom of Northumbria had come   into  being  after the victory of Aethelfrith at the Battle of  Degsastan.  After his death,   he was succeeded by Edwin of Deira (a Roman  Christian) and the Bernician dynasty   founded by  Aethelfrith was forced to take refuge in  Pictish and Scottish territory    where many were baptised into the 'Celtic' Christian  faith  practised by their hosts.    In 633,  the Bernician prince Oswald regained the throne and turned to Iona for help   with the conversion of his people.  Aidan  and a small band of monks responded and   founded a monastery at Lindisfarne; later they were joined by many more  Scottish   monks and began to extend their missionary activity into Mercia (where the baptism   of Peada in  653 was a signal success)  and  the East Saxon lands.  Their work was   zealous and  effective  and it is well nigh impossible to say  how much of  the    conversion of the   English was achieved by Roman or Celtic missions.  The pure and   ascetic life style of the Celtic missionaries was greatly admired and contrasted    strongly with the  organisation and panoply of the Roman church  with its growing   desire for universal authority.  The Celtic church had been largely isolated from Rome   for  150 years and was possibly offended by the assumptions and perceived arrogance   of the papacy as indicated in the attitude of Augustine towards Celtic bishops  whom   Pope Gregory had  described   (probably out of ignorance)  as  'unlearned, weak and   perverse'.    Nevertheless, by the mid-seventh century,  the Roman church had come to realise the   value of uniformity and of a universal church ruled from Rome  and  felt that the                                                                   4   existence of a powerful group of Christians who did not acknowledge papal                                                                   supremacy could no longer be tolerated    Already, too, some in the Celtic church    were beginning to realise that they could not ignore indefinitely   the benefits of                                           closer linkage with Rome and an emergence from their isolation.In addition,   Roman   practices were steadily advancing northwards as a result of the activities of Augustine   of Canterbury.   In 633, the southern Irish  had accepted the Roman method  for   calculating Easter  while  these practices were  often introduced into the Celtic  sphere   of influence  as a result of trade, travel and exile.  A prime example of this was the     wife of King Oswiu,  Eanfled,   who had been removed to Kent  during the reign   of  Oswald but returned on her marriage to Oswiu with her Roman entourage and   customs.  This precipitated a crisis at court  where it became necessary to celebrate   Easter twice at different times.  By this time, the saintly Aidan was dead and, without   the constraint of his presence,  it seemed appropriate to  resolve this anomaly  by   means of a Synod at which advocates of both  persuasions would argue the case   before the king after which he would  rule on the issue.  The occasion was the   Synod of Whitby in 664   (or 663 according to  Stenton  chronology).      Bede's account of the proceedings at Whitby suggest a stylised and  highly civilised   debate  which is not altogether convincing given the controversial nature of the   issues and the  heat which such matters could generate.  One has only to study the   records of debates involving Martin Luther at the time of the Reformation to  discern   the passion and  polemic that they could engender.   At Whitby, the Celtic persuasion   was represented by  king Oswiu,  bishop Cedd of the East Saxons,  the Abbess Hild at   whose monastery  at   Streanaeshalch the meeting was held and Colman, bishop of                                                                5   Lindisfarne who  acted as their spokesman.  The Roman party comprised  Alchfrith                                                            son of Oswiu and sub-king of  Deira,  Agilberht , bishop of the West Saxons,  James   the  Deacon and Wilfrid of Ripon  who was then ruling a monastic community at   Ripon.   Alchfrith's motives in playing a prominent role in the summons of the synod   are not touched upon but it is,  perhaps,   legitimate to speculate that he wished to   enhance  his power within the kingdom and  considered that closer links with Rome   and the patronage of the ambitious Wilfrid  would  forward his ambitions.     In the course of the debate as contained in Bede's historical narrative,  the two   principal advocates,  Colman and Wilfrid,  both argued forcefully that their method of   calculating Easter was  based upon  worthy precedent.  According to Colman, the   Celtic practice  could be traced back to  the apostle John   to which Wilfrid retorted   that the Roman practice  had been handed down by  both Peter and Paul  and had been   followed from the outset by their churches.  He also argued that, even if it were the   case that John had  used the Celtic practice, this would have been only a provisional   dispensation  to suit a particular   congregation at a particular  period in the evolution   of the church.  From the historical perspective, it is quite clear that both practices had   co-existed for some centuries but that the tide was already turning in favour of the   Roman method.   The calculation of Easter involved a complicated  system intended   to reconcile the solar and lunar years  by means of  a cycle of  years.  At various   times, cycles of  8,  11,  19  and 84 years had been used for this purpose and it seems   probable that the tables based upon an 84-year cycle had been  brought to Britain by   Celtic bishops who had attended the Council of Arles in 314.  In  455,  Rome accepted   and  ordered the use of the 19 year cycle  as advocated by Victorius of Acquitaine and   this was  implemented by  those parts of England controlled by Canterbury and, after                                                            6   633, by the southern Irish.   Clearly, by the time of the Synod,  there was absolutely                                                                  no possibility that the Celtic tradition could supplant the Roman within the wider   church  and this  was  underlined by Wilfrid in the speech attributed to him when he   stressed the folly of  resisting the authority of St.Peter  and  refusing to follow the   example of all the rest of Christendom.  Although Bede  states that the only point   at issue in the Synod was  date of celebrating Easter  (and the tonsure issue),  the fact   that  he  records Wilfrid as  emphasising this wider context and  significance,    suggests that he was fully aware of the implications of   any decision on the  Celtic   branch of the church.  Wilfrid's   'triumph'  was based upon two main points:  firstly,   he  referred  to contemporary practice and    pointed out that  even the followers of   the apostle John  now celebrated Easter according to the Roman fashion and,   secondly,  he rebutted Colman's  question as to how such holy men as  Columba   and  Anatolius  could have erred so greatly as claimed over the Easter dating  by   stating that  Peter,  as the rock on which the church is built and the keeper of the   keys,   must  be a superior authority.   Oswiu reportedly  turned to Colman  and   asked whether he could say properly attribute any similar authority  to  Columba;   Colman's   'nihil'  was conclusive and   Oswiu  ruled in favour of the Roman   practice saying that he  would not risk  a hostile reception from Peter himself at   the gates of heaven.   After a brief  visit  to Lindisfarne  to  bid farewell to his   community,   Colman and his fellow monks returned to Ireland where they could   still practice their religion according to their preference.   The 'Roman' victory was   complete.    The scale of this victory, however, is debatable  as Oswiu's  decision applied only   to Northumbria and  many decades were required for the complete implementation                                                                    7   of the Roman ways.  At the centre,  York immediately supplanted  Lindisfarne as                                                                the episcopal   centre of Northumbria  with Wilfrid as its bishop  (664-78)  but  even   within  the kingdom and  more so beyond the borders, the process of Romanisation   was slow and painstaking.   Britain was a complex patchwork of  shifting kingdoms   (twelve existed around 600 AD)  with   disputed boundaries and   frequent  changes of   ruler.   Strenuous efforts  and reforming zeal were required to extend the Roman   mandate throughout the lands and much of this  work was carried out by Wilfrid,   Theodore of Tarsus  and Benedict Biscop.   Their especial concern was the lack of    effective leadership  at a time  (669) when only three men were known to have been   in bishop's orders in the whole of England.   The Synod of Hertford, summoned by   Theodore in 672   issued a number of canons relating to the conduct of bishops,  in   particular enjoining them to remain within their sees  and concentrate on their duties.   After 669,   Theodore  appointed a number of new bishops  (initially to Winchester,   Dunwich and   Rochester and then proceeded to create new sees  at North Elmham,   Worcester,  Hereford and  Lindsey  to supplement the existing ones.   This work was   the key to disseminating the messages of Whitby and Hertford and the broader thrust   of the Roman  establishment.   Paradoxically, it was in  Northumbria  that the task was   most difficult due to the stubborn stance of Wifrid who opposed any  diminution of   his immense power as sole bishop of Northumbria.   A  love of pomp and panoply   which  would not have disgraced  Cardinal Wolsey  centuries later,  did not  endear   him to his contemporaries and he was twice expelled from Northumbria  (in 677 and   691) and only half-heartedly  supported  by the Pope to whom he appealed on both   occasions.    The work of  Romanisation   proceeded, apace despite the distraction   posed by Wilfrid who was often his own worst enemy;   his  first  expulsion, for                                                                       8   example came about when he persuade the king's beloved wife to retire to a convent,                                                            a  triumph which, unsurprisingly was not pleasing to  Ecgfrith  !   Nevertheless, by   the second decade of the eighth century, when Nechtan,  king of the Picts  enforced   the  recommended  Easter tables on the Pictish  Church  after consultation with    Ceolfrith, abbot of  Monkwearmouth and Jarrow   (Bede's home  monastery),  the   authority of Rome was almost universally acknowledged, except for some areas of   the north of Ireland.  Iona, itself, had capitulated  around 716   due to the efforts of   Adamnan and Egbert.     The importance of Whitby, therefore, lies not so much in an immediate  and wide-   spread change of allegiance but in the  clear message that it gave to the Celtic church   that the tide was turning against it  and that it faced a future of isolation and retreat   accompanied by increasing pressure from the Roman church.  Over the next fifty   years,  the Celtic church became more peripheral and, by its very nature,  it was   unable to organise itself with the same flair and  zeal  that was second nature to the   Roman church.   We cannot easily say what was the most important  issue at the   Synod of Whitby;  to some, no doubt, it was the  embarrassing schism  at court, to   others such as Alchfrith, it  involved political manoeuvring,  for many it did focus   upon the  central  issue of the celebration of Easter and, by extension, the  universalist   aspirations of the  Roman pontiff.      Bede, himself, seems quite clear that the Easter controversy was the  fons et origo of   the Synod  despite the fact that his own account  alludes to  the wider issue of   a   uniform doctrine and  papal authority.  Even his most distinguished  editor,, Charles   Plummer, in the  introduction to his  magisterial  edition of 1896,  professes himself                                                                  9   puzzled by Bede's  insistence on this point and  a degree of unwonted asperity in his                                                              style.  He writes,                 'And yet we cannot help feeling that the question occupies a place in Bede's               mind  out of all proportion to its real importance.  It is sad that he should think               it necessary to pause in the middle of his beautiful sketch of the sweet and               saintly character of Aidan to say that 'he much detests'  his mode of keeping               Easter;   it is strange that he should apply to this question the words which               St. Paul used with reference to   such  infinitely more important matters,               expressing the fear  lest he 'should run or have run in vain'…..But the holiest               men   have their limitations, and questions even less important have divided               Christians  ere now.'       Bede is a wonderful literary and historical source  and starting point for any study   of the Synod of Whitby  but, as ever,  it underlines the need, wherever possible, for   the widest possible array of sources in order to arrive at a balanced   verdict.   The   spread of the early church in Britain followed by the  imposition of the Roman   dispensation  is a long and complex  story  further complicated by the  plethora of   kingdoms,  the  paucity of  source material   and the  fragmented nature of  society   at the time.  Without  Bede, however, we would lack  an introduction to this event,   couched in  impeccable Latin and  underpinned  by  an unwavering desire to  write   truthfully for the benefit of posterity.   At the very least,  his account of the Synod   is  exactly how we would wish the event to have proceeded,  in the spirit of Christian   humility and  informed debate.                                 Bibliography     Baedae Opera Historica,   Plummer,  Oxford  1896     Anglo-Saxon England,     P. Hunter Blair,  Cambridge  1962     Anglo-Saxon England,      F.M.Stenton,      Oxford  History of England   vol. II     Life of Bishop Wilfrid,       B.  Colgrave,     OUP  1969                               ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Instant Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials and seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years being the founder of the Seminary, I've had the privilege of watching our Seminary grow. I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials.

Master of Metaphysics essay by Rev. Daniel Moore

Final Essay – New Tools For My Journey               I found this course to be very useful.  It took me to a new level in my spiritual journey.  I was exposed to different views on spirituality that did challenge and stretch me – all for the better.             Centering was found to be very useful in my prayer and meditation skills.  I took a different center than the course.  Rather than center in the earth, I chose to center in Christ per John 15:4-5.  As I would center, I would focus on armor (Ephesians 6) rather than creating (and then destroying) roses.  Negatives were imagined as fiery arrows being quenched by the spirit.  Creating and destroying skills in the mind helped me in building up the spiritual muscle – submitting to the Spirit's power to create and destroy – not for evil but for good.             Running my energy was very useful.  It has helped me clear out a lot of clutter in my mind when praying and in meditation [now if I can keep the clutter off my desk, I will have another victory].             Creating your own reality was similar a skill I have developed along the way.  I call it visioning.  It is something we do as children in an unorganized or creative way.  With this course, I have gained every more skills in developing and improving this.              Healing is an area that I need to work on.  Forgiveness (one of the early lessons) is life-long learning skill.  Coupled with that, a positive, winning attitude goes a long way in the healing process.  Affirmations are also useful in healing and maintaining spiritual health for me.  The right word at the right time is a powerful tool.  The power of the word is often underestimated but in the spiritual realm – it can heal, turn situations around and bless.              Asking the right question is a skill we all need to develop.  "Why me?" is one of the most self-defeating questions a person can ask.  It is one of the walls a counselor needs to help the counselee to knock down.  It is teaching the person to let go the lies and grasp the truth.  The exercise in this lesson is powerful.  It teaches the strength of the truth over the lie.             As I complete this course, I have seen a positive trend in my ministry.  I have not implemented any new programs.  I have simply meditated, created the reality, and focused on healing affirmations.  I kept myself grounded deeply.  Within the past six weeks, I have witnessed increased financing of the ministry, added several families to our congregation, baptized several more, and have more awaiting counsel.    ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Instant Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials and seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years being the founder of the Seminary, I've had the privilege of watching our Seminary grow. I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials.

Master of Metaphysical Healing by Rev. Pedro Vallejo

I had been surfing the net when I came across the monastery site and it was exactly what I had been seeking. The ULC provided a unique concept and idea. So, I got ordained right away in 1999 and have served as a Reverend and Minister of Peace since. It was personal achievement to be ordained and this really helped me to grow spiritually and it opened my mind to thirst for the truth. I've always been interested in the subconscious, conscience, man's true nature and the personality of man since I was child … looking for my true self you might say. Your course was of special interest to me so I took it. To me, it was a natural step to learn from the lessons offered.      I've surpassed many ordeals since signing up for your course and I have invested time to go through the lessons and ponder. For a long time after my separation, I was wreck and totally out of balance. It felt like the ground beneath me had disappeared. I kept sinking into dark hole and eventually fell to my knees in pain and cried. My brother without one word just lightly touched my shoulder and I felt a sensation of warmth, love and peace. It was a similar situation to what was mentioned in one of the lessons and now I understand what my brother did.  He used the "Laying of hands" whether he was aware or not.      The information on your course brought many things to light and helped me in spiritual journey and has aided me in understanding what is meant by spiritual healing and energy fields. I find that I project a different way of being since reading and meditating on your information. The thing I like most about your course is that it has helped to become a more spiritual being with a new mindset. It has even reinforced proper nutrition and exercise for the physical.     I would like to say it has taken me a while to send you this essay only because I kept getting side-tracked until now. I would like to share that your program was timely and it has helped me to become more open minded to energy fields and manifesting healing.     I have always felt like plant and I grow when I learn and that's exactly what your program did for me. Though Many times, I found myself going off on tangent researching additional information and being baffled by how much there is to know … so many disciplines that intertwine. I noticed in my research that I was delving more into more holistic cures for disease. The spirit, mind and body present a plethora of disciplines and paths for practitioners.       I personally found the Endocrine System very interesting as it relates to chakras.      I was fascinated by a book I came across named "Adrenal Fatigue" by Dr. J. Wilson. I found it very informative plus it can be used as a scientific tool to aid in healing.  The book is a great read with contains self-help exercises.     I am somewhat of an orator by nature and have also researched, as a hobby, information on NLP, general-semantics, Tarot, Birth Bio-Rhythms and Etymology. I find this other knowledge compliments your program beautifully. I realize and acknowledge the world is more than meets the eye. The concepts and ideas in the course also gave me a new drive and pragmatic exercises which have caused my new personal mission to be a personification of a gentle smile with eyes that can only project pure intention. On a more serious note I've started looking into becoming a Registered Massage Therapist or Personal trainer.      The mix of your program, my life's learning keep directing me towards helping others.      The Master of Metaphysical Healing lessons were great. Rev. Pedro Vallejo ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Instant Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials and seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years being the founder of the Seminary, I've had the privilege of watching our Seminary grow. I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials.

Dr. of Christian Studies by Rev. Richard Helmersen

The Reverend Richard Alan Helmersen D.D. The Four Gospels, Final Essay             Although my perception of God has changed through the years, on a personal level, I still find comfort in the notion of God as loving and caring regardless of the way we humans respond to that love.  I began my ministerial career more than thirty years ago with a sermon centered on the parable of the prodigal son, and the story still resonates with me today.  It is a simple illustration of the agape principle of love that requires nothing in return, and we can find practical applications in our life as we relate to others.             Being a parent and a teacher of teenager's tests that principle daily.  Teens are going through great changes and frequently show little consideration toward authority figures or anybody else, yet as parents and teachers we are called to love and understanding regardless of the way our teens treat us.  Jesus' stories are powerful because they are real.  In this story, a young man shows a typical lack of consideration, yet his father allows him the freedom to explore and learn.  There is never a sense of anger, but only one of sadness that his son has chosen a difficult path.  As God loves us regardless of our actions, we need to respond in love rather than anger when our children behave in ways that are not thoughtful.             As is frequently the case with people who have made unwise choices, the young man lost all his money and found himself hungry and doing a job that was unacceptable to a Jew, caring for pigs, which would be considered unclean.  He soon came to his senses and returned to his father, hoping to be employed as a farm laborer, because he knew his father was fair and he would be better off working for him than starving in a foreign country dealing with unclean animals.        As parents, we have to allow bad choices to have their normal consequences, allowing children to make mistakes and pay for those mistakes.  That doesn't mean that we shouldn't give good advice and encouragement, but teens don't always listen to that advice.  We don't know the path of our children and there may be lessons that need to be learned.  After giving the best advice and support we can, we have to turn them over to God.  God took care of the prodigal son and will take care of our children.  When they return to their senses, we need to be there for them as the father in the example was there for his son, and God is there for us.             This story doesn't just apply to us as parents or teachers, but it can apply to all interactions during our busy days.  In everything we do, we need to respond to others in love rather than anger.  If God is personified as love and we are all children of God, every action we take reflects that family relationship.  We are in effect the eyes and ears, mouth, arms and legs, of God.  The Kingdom of God is among us and we are the ones to bring that about.  The only way that the Kingdom of God can become a reality in our lives is for us to behave out of love when responding to those around us who may not remember who they truly are.  When we respond in love, we create a better world.   Shalom.     ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Instant Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials and seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years being the founder of the Seminary, I've had the privilege of watching our Seminary grow. I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials.

Master of Metaphysics essay by Carol Mayhall

SPIRITUAL QUEST INSIGHTS   Wow!! Where to begin? This course has helped me in so many ways that I am not sure where to even begin. I have only been "awake" for two years now and I have had wonderful angels to assist me. At the beginning they were human (and even now they are still with me but not to the extent they were at first).   Over the past few months, however, they have been more on a spiritual level. Granted, with this last lesson you mentioned a little more about the Spirit Guides. I guess I really should have asked you to go into more detail about them but time gets away from me and the next thing I knew, we were off on another topic. In any case, I have learned that Archangel Raphael is my special protector as he is the Patron of Healers.   One of the biggest things I have learned from this class is that I am meant to work in the healing arts of some sort. It has been reinforced that I am a Lightworker and recently I feel like I am being led in the direction of being an assistant in Cutting Cords. My Spirit Guides are not only here on this planet, but they also in the Universe and love to take me flying with them. On many of these excursions they have shown me the lovely colors of the Chakras. Even now, however, I still have trouble getting them aligned, remember the order they are in, and what they do.    Another thing I have had to "deal" with is trying to figure out why you used a rose to blow things up. To me, a rose is a beautiful thing. Why would you want to blow something up that is so perfect? At first when it was time to blow the rose up, I would substitute it with the old fashion, cartoon type of bomb with the fuse sticking out of the top.   ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Instant Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials and seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years being the founder of the Seminary, I've had the privilege of watching our Seminary grow. I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials.

Shamanism Final Essay by Rev. Jean Pagano

Shamanism Final Exam Rev. Jean Pagano                 I am not a shaman. I can never really be a shaman. In my opinion, there are two approaches to shamanism. One is to study and appreciate the history, development, and philosophy of the phenomenon called Shamanism. The other is to emulate what shamans do in order to approximate shamanism. The first of these approaches is rather easy – one puts one's mind to it, one does the research, and finally one obtains the knowledge and/or understanding. The latter of the two is much more difficult: how does one emulate a way of life that is so deeply entwined within a particular culture? By way of analogy, does a person become a Native American by emulating one? I do not think so.             The term Paleo-Siberian, when relating to the Koryak and the Chukchee peoples, tells the whole of the story. The term "Paleo" suggests a prehistoric or early context. Paleo-Siberian shamanism is the earliest and simplest form of shamanism, and perhaps the purest form. Simple does not indicate simple-minded, but an uncomplicated approach. Shamanism is an animist religion which believes that everything is imbued with spirit and it is the shaman's job to interact with the spirits. This interaction is used to heal, to portend, and to guide.             The shaman heals by interacting with the spirits in a non-ordinal reality. This non-ordinal reality is entered either by trance, by hallucinogenic drugs, or in a dream state. While in the non-ordinal reality, the shaman can see and reach the spirits that are causing illness or harm in an organism. The shaman can speak with the spirits that are at the root of the problem or the shaman may also extricate them from the individual that is being healed. The methodologies that the shaman employs are handed down from shaman to shaman across the many generations.             The shaman may also portend the future. By entering into non-ordinal reality, once again, the shaman will use his/her relationship with the spirits to learn about the outcomes of some situation in this world. There is no guidebook for this interaction, but the shaman, over time, either learns to interpret these events, or has an a priori understanding of what is seen in the spirit world.              The shaman also acts as a guide – both in this world and in the spirit world. The shaman acts as a spirit counselor. A person may come to the shaman with a question about issues that are not related to health or to future events. The shaman then consults with the spirit world and gains an understanding of the situation and reports it back to the person seeking advice. Additionally, there may be occasions when spirits are lost, in this world or the next, and the shaman acts as a guide, helping them to find where they need to be.             While these skills may not necessarily be unique to Paleo and Neo-Siberians, the approach and methodology is related to their culture. This is not to say that shamanism may not be found in other cultures – it surely is pan-cultural using different names – but, the approach used by the Paleo and Neo-Siberians is unique and has arisen in reaction to cultural paradigms and approaches that have developed over many generations. This is evident in the successions of shamans that are found in Neo-Siberian lineages where shamans are considered true shamans after nine generations of blacksmiths. Sadly, with the advent of modern technology and a distancing from traditional ways, I would venture to guess that the number of blacksmiths, shamans, and especially shamans that are blacksmiths, has greatly diminished.             While I have voiced skepticism concerning the fact that one may just become a shaman, especially the New Age variety, I do believe that some may find themselves called to shamanism, especially if they experience the same events that gave rise to shamans in traditional cultures. I do believe that becoming a shaman is in response to a calling, not a desire. Shamanism seems to have developed in closely proximity to the natural world and must be exceptionally hard to manage in an industrialized or urban environment – in fact, it may be basically impossible to undertake and maintain in such an environment.             This course is an exceptional course. I felt from the very beginning that perhaps the information presented over many of the twenty weeks was culled from a doctoral dissertation because of the in-depth analysis and scholarship of not only the material, but of the sources. I came into this course not knowing what to expect. I leave this course with a wealth of information that I will refer to time and again. This is truly a first-rate course and I would recommend it highly to anyone who is curious about shamanism from a scholarly perspective. ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Instant Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials and seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years being the founder of the Seminary, I've had the privilege of watching our Seminary grow. I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials.

Master of Metaphysics by Rev. Glendon Ricker

Spirit Quest Review I just finished the final module in the Spirit Quest Course and I feel enlightened, free and a bit more prepared to face the world in to which I have been reborn.  The mission I have been assigned to complete has been elusive, but at this time clarity has been bestowed upon me. After my first near death experience there was an abundance of confusion, my thought processes were almost abstract. I had a sense of what happened but could not find relevance for my life. You see I had never been a religious person; until the age of maybe thirteen, I was raised as a catholic. I attended church services infrequently but I did complete the childhood sacraments christening, first Holy Communion and confirmation. Christmas was always special and even at a young age there was a distinct feeling within that was far more than just the enjoyment of being gifted with all of the worldly delights of a child. There was one more special time of the year when I would actually attend mass and other ceremonies namely The Stations of the Cross, which were celebrated during the Lenten season before Easter. During the Stations of the Cross I would again sense something very enjoyable and comforting and it was deep. I realize today that it was a very Spiritual sensation. I think my confusion stemmed from the discourse I had felt while attending mass on Sundays and the classes I needed to attend to complete the sacrament of confirmation. By this time I had developed the cognitive abilities to Question. The things that I questioned the most were the way the Church (Catholic) would change the rules in mid stream to suit their needs. The time was the 1960's there were a lot of changes going on in the world and here in the United States. Technology was at its birth stage, television was more readily affordable for more of the population. The drug culture was in proliferation and people were getting busy with things other than going to Sunday Mass, at least that was the way it was for Catholics. This may sound petty maybe even a bit insincere but believe me this was the onset of my discourse with the Catholic Church and organized religion as a whole. Scenario, census in the Catholic Church had been dropping off for month's maybe even years; during this time the Church decided they could re-write Gospel and church law to suit their needs. While I was growing up we were prohibited from eating meat on Friday now this may sound trivial but it was profound to me. All of a sudden, it's fine now we can eat meat on Friday. They changed God's law. What Spirit Quest did for me, was to bring my focus back to my own spirituality and made me realize that God lives in me and even though I am more tolerant now of organized religion (I just opened Port St. Lucie Church of Spiritual Enlightenment) fully operational and all the legalities covered and Incorporated. So thanks to this course I obtained the strength to forge ahead. So from the very first lesson it was stated "Overcome the roadblocks that keep you from reaching your goals".  I found things in every lesson that helped me overcome my roadblocks. Thank You, Rev Glendon Ricker Pastor, Port St. Lucie Church of Spiritual Enlightenment ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Instant Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials and seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years being the founder of the Seminary, I've had the privilege of watching our Seminary grow. I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials.

Beautiful Artwork by a ULC Minister

Blessed Day to you Sister Amy,   I am thrilled that I have finally been able to enroll in ULC's Doctor of Religious Humanities course. I ordered it last night and eagerly await the material so I may get started. It's been over a year and a half since becoming Ordained and I feel Blessed at finally being able to financially afford this (and two more courses later!!) as one of my father's last wishes. I was elated that he had made a small fund available to me for the sole purpose of enrolling in ULC courses. Even though he was a devout, ordained Evangelical Pastor, I was honored to get his verbal blessing for this only days before he passed. It was an awesome gift that we were able to share our individual beliefs with each other without any condemnation or "right way" speeches he was so famous for in the past. Our communing in this manner is the best, and most honored, gift I have ever received from him or my parents. I even look past it being so late in his Life and will cherish this for the remainder of mine.   Anyway, I suppose I digress due to my light heart and fulfilling experience!   I recently found the ULC message boards and have spent hours reading the posts and that way getting to know some of our Membership. I knew this segment of communication was there, I simply neglected getting to involved until I could contribute more and was able to enroll in some sort of course within the ULC educational channels. I have benefited greatly from the course samples you have faithfully sent me and truly appreciate that opportunity to participate.   I believe I informed you awhile back that it was Dr. Hensley's little church on 3rd Street in Modesto that turned my life around some 30 years ago. I plan on writing a short introduction/bio including this little tid-bit for the Membership soon. I do truly enjoy the message boards and find it a wonderful means for members to fully explore any given topic. The MSN group my wife and I formed was great when everyone got together on PalTalk, but the message boards always seemed to be where we got into the meat and potatoes of any issue as we were able to respond at will.   Attached is a little piece of artwork I was inspired to draw up last night and I would like to offer it to the ULC Membership as a customary thing I do. Naturally it is offered copyright permissions granted and free for all ULC members to use, download or copy. While Wanda and I lived on Maui I spent a great deal of time with local artists, shaman and healers. There is a simplistic beauty in Polynesian art and I genuinely put my mind and heart into learning the make up of this medium.   The picture for ULC is representative of the bounty of the Earth (aina) the blessings of the sky and sun (ka) and the many wonders of the sea (kai) and how important our belief in Spirit (mana/manau ke nui) is towards living a fulfilled and joyous Life. The wind bars send us towards a blessed future and the enclosure line represents our community of good folks which "Do only that which is right".    I didn't want to just post it without running it by someone on staff first and to be honest I'm a bit "new fangled thang challenged" when it comes to more than copy and paste! So if you wouldn't mind please offer this up to the Membership on my behalf (My Thanks in advance) .....ORRRRR......you could get Murph or someone that knows what's going on to help me do it the first time (I am a quick study and I usually only need one or two lessons on such things. And of course, if you feel its best I don't poet it at all, I completely understand and respect ULC's regulations (if there are some) on these type requests.   Blessings of Peace and may your Path be filled with Light,   Dave "Rev. Al" Kjono

Master of Religious Philosophy by Rev. Patricia Buben

Master of Religious Philosophy Final Essay By Rev. Patricia Buben The Master of Religious Philosophy is a great class.  It describes what religion is, how it developed historically, and even discusses a study in which religiosity can be viewed as genetic in nature.  I loved the definition of religious legitimacy.  Basically it says 'although a religion may seem obnoxious or illogical to some, it need not be acceptable, logical, consistent, or comprehensible to others in order to be considered legitimate'.  In other words, you can open up any kind of a church you want and it is legitimate. The course goes on to describe how to identify cult.  Essentially, most anthropologists adhere to a 'five point system' in determining whether or not a specific group — religious or otherwise — should be classified as a cult. These five points can be presented in the form of questions about the group. These are: ·         Does the group have a charismatic, powerful leader (or leaders)? ·         Does it display a group mentality that denies individuality and personal, independent thought? ·         Is there a denial of intimacy by excluding or alienating friends and relatives? ·         Do they apply financial pressure and abuse for the welfare of the group, even at the personal expense of the adherent? ·         Is there a separation and isolation from the surrounding community? The more affirmative answers you get, the more likely the group is to be a cult.  Unfortunately, many conservative religions will call others "cults" simply because they don't like the other religion. There are approximately 5,000 different religions in the world today.   So, how do they differ?  Some ways in which they can differ are by: ·         Myth; ·         Doctrine (dogma); ·         Scripture; and, ·         Sacred Space. Although there are many religions out there and a lot of variation, it inevitably means that humans are looking to connect with God in some way and develop a sense of communion with something greater than themselves.  I like the course because it presents so much data.  You can research it, believe what you want and take what makes sense.  In summary, there is a lot of information presented and the author does a great job in making it as objective as possible. ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Instant Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials and seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years being the founder of the Seminary, I've had the privilege of watching our Seminary grow. I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials.

Master of Buddhism by Rev. Nitza L. Melgar

Master of Buddhism by Rev. Nitza L. Melgar   When I think of life and it's meaning, I picture myself on the top of a very tall mountain.  I stand there alone, overlooking the clouds that float slowly beneath me.  I see the birds flying freely to their next destination down below.  I am at the very point where the world ends and eternity begins.   There, there way down below the clouds, live the humans.  Those beings, I am suppose to love and care for without constraint.   I stand dressed in a white hooded robe.  No markings at all, as to indicate my station.  My body is entirely covered, so my gender is not known, the color of my skin is hidden.  My face, deep inside the white hood, is invisible.  Here, I ponder, the question, regarding what I must do, to reach enlightenment?   I must empty myself.  Disappear, if you will.  I must love every living creature, as it is and not as I would like it to be.  I must erase all anger, resentment, or feeling of hatred towards anyone.   I must walk away from all I have, and think more of others  than myself.   I must dissolve myself and become part of the oneness that is humanity.   I am not black, white or any color.  I am not male or female.  I am not rich or poor.  I am not tall or short.  I am open to all things.  Accepting all things as part of the greater picture, the tapestry that is life.   This, to me, is what Buddha, Christ and all those like them were trying to teach us.  There is something greater than ourselves that rules all things.  We must become less, in order to become more.  It is only in dying to oneself, that one can live.  It is only in reaching out to others, that we can receive.   We must accept ourselves, just as we are and strive continuously to do good.   It is only in emptying yourself that you can become a vessel.  A vessel to be filled with love, and selflessness.   The more I read the teachings of Buddha, the more I realize, how similar they are to Jesus teachings in the New Testament.  It has been said, "that there is nothing new under the Sun."  I began to think about this, and try to see why this happened.  It seems to me, that whenever the world becomes full of anger, war and violence,teachers such as Buddha, Jesus Christ, Mohamed and others would come and remind us what the True Path should be for us to follow.   In our lifetime, people like Martin Luther King, tried to do the same thing.   If we stray from the Path, we will be damned to relive our mistakes.  I do believe in reincarnation and I do believe a soul returns over and over till he gets it right.  To me enlightenment is the only Path to Ascension and eternal reunion with the essence from which we came.   I thoroughly enjoyed this course and highly recommend it to other ministers.   Thank for this opportunity to learn and share ideas.   God Bless, Rev. Nitza L. Melgar ULC Minister,SBT ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Instant Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials and seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years being the founder of the Seminary, I've had the privilege of watching our Seminary grow. I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials.

Master of Paganism by Rev. Russell L Lamerson

The first thing to understand about my religion is that it focuses on the worship of and belief in the Gods and their place in the cosmos in relation to us. Every one of us is a potential God. Consider yourself God Larva; your body a temple or battlefield. The Gods are our Teachers and the narratives about them, a lesson to be learned. As with the Gods, what you do in this life echoes in eternity, if you do nothing the memory of you will fade; if you do great noteworthy deeds the memory of you will live for all time. My belief centers on my ancestors' Gods, the Gods of the Cruithne the indigenous peoples of Western Europe before the Romans invaded the land. I being by nature a skeptical person have researched and pondered the controversy of the old ways for quite some time. I found the answer to the controversy, for myself at least.             The methods and mechanisms of the Gods are done. What is left is for us. What I mean by the previous statement is that the future of our creed is left up to us. The Gods may lend help to us but it is best for us to develop our own strengths and find a cure for our own weaknesses. The Gods and your Family may lend aid, but it is you who ultimately need to evolve.               In respect and reverence for the Gods, we honor the holidays and festivals apportioned to them so they will not forget our existence. Every God has his or her own holidays, the ceremonies and rites of which have been written down for centuries in the mythological cycles. The holidays are based on some action of the God the holiday honors. These actions are presented in the narratives detailing the Gods' time on this world. Every clan and culture of the Cruithne had its own Oral Tradition, but the generalizations in all those traditions are so similar as to be from one larger Celtic culture. For instance, the tales of the deeds of the Gods I tell my children are slightly different from the written versions popularized, but the outcome is the same. I have come to realize the importance of written language and urge anyone if they have an oral tradition to write it down, even publish it, to save your culture. The pattern of ceremony and festivals honoring the Gods follow the wheel of the year, every holiday in its season and every God honored in his or her holiday.  Blessings are given by the Gods on special occasions and life changing events via the Priesthood. Geases and Divinations are also relayed through the Gods via the priesthood. A Gease is a Taboo that is given to an individual, and should be given at about age thirteen. This builds character, during youngsters' truly formative years. The religion also gives respect and proper attention to what is known as "The Seventh Son of The Seventh Son" That is to say that any child or person who bares special physical and paranormal gifts in this world, although they may be a lay person, shall be mentored by the priesthood, to channel and hone those special qualities and to lend the schooling of the priesthood to the subject. Therefore a person with these special qualities would always be versed in the ways of the priesthood and carries the office of a priest but may choose a non priestly life. Many Cruithne Demi-Gods have grown in this way, CuChullian for example was reared for his special qualities by Scartchach the warrior priestess.           The Priesthood was known to the Celts in history as Druids, as it is in our priesthood. The priest must be versed in the Oral tradition, Law keeping and judgments, Medicinal studies (herbal and First aid (tribal) Horticulture, Zoology, Metaphysics, Astrology and preside over marriages, blessings, birthings, holiday ceremony, sacred ritual and sacrifice, as well as maintain the sites held to be holy and sacred. Weather or not a given Priest is a magic (magick) practitioner is a personal choice and His or her school of Magic (magick) should not affect the function as a priest, although belief in "Magic" in the Religion is very common.                                  Although my religion may contain Wiccans in its midst, the religion itself is not Wiccanism. This is Paleo-Paganism.                "The Carnyx sounded upon the felling of Nuada, and it stirred Lugh from his Domain in the underworld and mounting his steed; out he strode to aid of the Tuatha De Dannan. To the East the Fomorians' felt the Sun sear the flesh on there backs and it was as the first rising of the sun for those who dwelt in the darkness and the first blessed dawn for those who defended against them" Rev. Russell L Lamerson. ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Instant Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials and seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years being the founder of the Seminary, I've had the privilege of watching our Seminary grow. I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials.

Dr. of Christian Studies by Rev. Nick Federspiel

Unvarnished Gospels End Of Course Essay   Rev. Nick Federspiel God's Country Fellowship Church     The course is a good chapter review of the four Gospels and valuable to people not well acquainted with them; to others it provides an interesting point of view.   First, I must say that the Andy Gaus' The Unvarnished Gospels translation is a bit "unique" to be polite, but there are so many translations these days.  I reference the KVJ and the NKJV and when I want to speed read I use the Today's English Version of the Good News Bible.  At first I did not think I would use the Gaus version in the future, but on reflecting perhaps it is good Sermon food.  I especially will never forget the paraphrase "canon-lawyers" which in the GNV is "teachers of the law."  It is indeed these canon-lawyers that failed to understand the long term consequences of their own actions – as many lawyers also fail at today. Secondly, the course identifies some of the inconsistencies and reporting details and styles between the four Gospels such as in lesson 6: "Also, in this book, Jesus carries his own cross, where in the book of Luke, someone else carries it for him."  Indeed in the other three books Simon at some point carries the cross (i.e. Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21 and Luke 23:26).  These apparent inconsistencies together with several others in the Holy Bible some inflate as errors that today's canon lawyers use to discredit the Bible.  In my view such trivia is irrelevant to His message yet in a way suggests that the stories are true indeed.  What if all four gospels, all books of the Bible, read alike?  Would you believe them as independently authored from witnesses to wars, miracles, and one crisis after another?  I would not.  I would conclude all four gospels were all the same as suggested by the "Q" book theory – another "missing book" assumed to be the four gospels reference text.  There is nothing like a shelf of missing books to argue over the Bible, if one is prone to such; as in my view that is a waste of intellectual time otherwise better spent.  The point is the message.  And the message to the irate and foolish fanatical Pharisees of the future is: "What goes around indeed comes around – just wait it out." One gospel message few pause to reflect upon is, I think, that the fanatic Pharisees were fools of the highest order.  They did about the only thing they could that would create the genesis of Christianity.  Assumed to be well acquainted with the old writings, which Josephus states were indeed in the temple, one would think common sense would have restrained them from compliance with the prophets.  They did not believe, as the Apostles even doubted, that such a thing as a resurrection could be or indeed was (Matthew 28:17, Mark 16:14 GNV).  Such doubt does not give much support to the concept that the brave disciples (sic), who coward at being associated with Christ (Matthew 26:74), later challenged the Roman guards for a dead body to steal away in the night or concocted an exceptional act of flawless deception as suggested in the Bloodline of the Holy Grail.  The lessons of history suggest that a whipping, banishment or exile and just about anything else the canon-lawyers could have impressed upon Pilate, now suddenly a friend with Herod (Luke23:12), would have ended for all of history any thought of the man Jesus, the "Christ," being the Messiah of the Torah.  Instead the canon-lawyers helped Pilate initiate his and Herod's demise along with three centuries of political turmoil for Rome resulting in Rome decreeing Christianity.  The Unvarnished Gospel page 66 says:  " … can we remember how the fraud said while alive, "I will RISE up after three days."  So order (Pilate) the grave to be guarded until the third day so the students (of Jesus the fraud) don't come and steal him …..Pilate said to them "YOU have custody… so they went their way and stationed a guard around the grave and marked the stone with a sign IN CUSTODY."  What is missing from most analysis of the four gospels is: what were they thinking!  BUT thank God for those canon-lawyers!  Amen. ******************************************** To ordain yourself with the Universal Life Church, for Free, for Life, right now, use the Free Instant Online Ordination, button -- Click the link! I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials and seminary courses. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years and it's Seminary since the beginning, I've enjoyed watching the continual growth of the seminary. The ULC Seminary has created an RSS Feed. RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication and through the magic of the internet, we can post articles and news stories and have them appear right on your personal computer screen through Yahoo, MSN, AOL or Google. It's a great way for you to keep in constant touch with what's new at the Seminary. Please use any of these buttons below, you can personalize your or Google page to give you a daily, self-updating feed of information from the Seminary. For more information on how to do that, go to the RSS Feed page or click the appropriate button. As an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church for many years being the founder of the Seminary, I've had the privilege of watching our Seminary grow. I've been a member of ULC for many years and our site has created a terrific ULC Forum. We also have the most extensive catalog of Universal Life Church materials.