RSG Discussion One

A.	About God
The objective of this Religious Study Group Discussion is to explore in-depth those aspects of our religious beliefs and heritage which we have most in common. This is one of a series of Study Group discussions. Note: While sponsored in part by the School of Religious Studies, this study group, as well as the various discussions and other activities, are open to all university students.
Our Religious Study Group consists of: A Southern Baptist A Roman Catholic An Orthodox Jew An Episcopalian A United Methodist A Lutheran A Presbeterian A Greek Orthodox A Mormon (Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints) A fundamentalist Christian A Muslim ~~Unitarian~~ (See Note 1.) ~~A Buddhist~~ (See Note 2.) ~~A Hindu~~ (See Note 3.) ... and a moderator (Study Group Engineer) who will lead the study group through the following discussion syllabus.
Session A. About God Session B. About the World Session C. About Knowledge Session D. About Man and Woman Session E. About Parallels Session F. About ...
Moderator:		Group Response and Discussion:	Comment
Is there anyone here who does not believe in God?		-	_Note 1 _Note 2
Is what you mean by "God," the all powerful, Supreme Being?		-	_Note 3
Did God create the whole world, i.e., the entire universe? If not, who or what created the Universe? (What part of the universe did God not create?)		-	-
Is there anything that God did not create (or enable)?		-	-
Do any of you have a different God?		-	-
Is your God not the God of the person(s) sitting next to you?		-	-
Who created God?		-	We will save this question for a more advanced study._Note 4
B.	About the World
Moderator:		Group Response and Discussion:	Comment
Is the world flat?		-	What does "to the ends of the Earth" mean?
Is the earth the center of the Universe?		-	-
Where is the center of the Universe? Whether or not the Universe is expanding (but if it is, from where is it expanding?)		-	-
Did your religious heritage ever teach that the earth was flat?		-	Was that relevant at the time? Is all of it relevant now?
Did your religious heritage ever teach that the Earth is the center of the Universe?		-	Was that relevant at the time? Is all of it relevant now?
Did your religious heritage ever teach that it was wrong to eat certain things?		-	Was that relevant at the time? Is all of it relevant now?
What heritage religious documentation was originally created by women?		-	Either yours or any other religion
Why have stone tablets and golden plates not survived, while biodegradable paper media has?		-	We will save this question for a more advanced study._Note 4
C.	About Knowledge
Moderator:		Group Response and Discussion:	Comment
Has the knowledge of mankind significantly increased since your religious teachings were first documented?		-	-
Were the teachings of your religious heritage documented at a time when the following things were not known: The Earth is round, The Earth circles the Sun, Our ability to see the Universe keeps increasing, Illness is spread by poor sanitation, Inadequately cooked meat can make you sick. Various foods (e.g., many mushrooms) and drinks can impair your mental and physical abilities. Pasteurization and refrigeration can preserve foods (and drinks) safely in their original, natural form. Clean water does not require fermentation to kill things that might make you sick		-	-
How do your religious teachings address the additional knowledge that mankind acquires?		-	We will save this question for a more advanced study._Note 4
D.	About Man and Woman
Moderator:		Group Response and Discussion:	Comment
Who was the first man?		-	-
Who was the first woman?		-	-
How many sons did Adam and Eve have?		-	-
How many daughters did Adam and Eve have?		-	Where is that recorded? (Hint: Not Genesis)
Did the sons of Adam and Eve have children?		-	-
Who was/were the mother of the grandchildren of Adam?		-	-
What other details does your religious document leave out?		-	We will save this question for a more advanced study._Note 4
E.	About Parallels
Moderator:		Group Response and Discussion:	Comment
When you were very young, did your parents tell you there was a Santa Clause?		-	Easter bunny? Tooth fairy?
When you were very young, did your parents read (tell) you fairy tales?		-	-
A Halloween story		-	Once upon a time on Oak Street ....
Does your heritage religious training include: Parables? Analogies? Illusions?		-	-
If so, are they "literally" true?		-	-
Are there various "translations" (to different languages) of the documented teachings of your heritage religion?		-	-
Are there various "translations" (interpretations) of the documented teachings of your heritage religion?		-	-
If so, how do you know which interpretation is the "correct" one?		-	-
Rather than simply translate previous documentation, if your religious teachings were to be documented anew (e.g., from scratch), what would the new documentation be like?		-	We will save this question for a more advanced study._Note 4
F.	About ...
Moderator:		Group Response and Discussion:	Comment

Note 1	Some Unitarians do not believe in God. Without sufficient unity of belief by members of their religion, the Unitarian candidates on campus have declined participation in this discussion.
Note 2	The Buddhist religion does not include a God per se. Consequently, no one on campus volunteered to participate as a representative of Buddhism for this study group discussion.
Note 3	The Hindu concept of God is extremely complex and quite unlike that of the Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Consequently, it is outside the scope of this particular study group discussion.
Note 4	If you are interested in more advanced study on this issue, please let your Study Group Engineer know.