Paper Sample on Living Better: The Key to Unlocking the World's Harshness

You have seen a variety of ways through which life can be lived out. Are some ways of life better than others? If so, which kind and why? If not, how come? Do the beliefs that people hold have any impact on the way they act out in the world, and beyond that, on the grand historical narrative of humanity?

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The world is harsh, and everyone is exposed to its harsh conditions, but still, some people live better than others. The key to this phenomenon is that these individuals understand that life is harsh, and therefore they take this to their advantage. As a result, they view the world from a clearer view and therefore perceive it as a place where they can take the opportunity and live powerful lives. For instance, they understand that those things that matter most are spiritual as opposed to physical—for example, love, empathy, and morality matter more than money.

The beliefs that people hold directly influence how they view and act in the world. The actions of people are usually cemented on their beliefs, and this is why beliefs matter and explain these actions. For instance, there are people who believe that immunization is not right. This, to a larger extent, highlights that these individuals are likely to act against science because they largely believe in superstitions.

How would you define religion? What is the goal of religion? Is it “man-made?” Is there a kind of religion or religious system that you would consider credible and wholesome? What does that look like? What religion or religious system you would consider foolish or destructive? What does that look like?

Religion can be defined as a system of belief in a God or gods that have supernatural powers that humans cannot comprehend. Its aim is to give individuals awareness of their spiritual dimensions and therefore give them a sense of morality. Religion is created by man as a social construct largely because a group of people wants to create their own morality that sways away from the morality of those people who persecute them. It is a phenomenon that is reflected in the history of Christianity, where, as a religion, the Protestants created their own branch away from Catholicism. I would gauge how good or bad is a religion using the criteria of tolerance and open-mindedness. There is no way religion can be quantified as good if it is intolerant to other religions, and this makes Buddhism the best religion. This religion tolerates the beliefs of other religions as opposed to Islam, which, in this case, is destructive. Historically, Muslim-majority countries Syria persecute people because they are non-Muslim.

Are all religions the same? Why or why not? Is there a religion that you might consider to be better than the rest? If so, which? If not, why not?

All religions are not the same, although a great number of people believe that it does not matter which religion a person believes in, even if they all head in the same direction of achieving greater good or force. The fact is that religions always contact each other. For instance, in the case of Judaism, Islam, or Christianity, there is only one Supreme Being who is God as opposed to a religion such as Hinduism that teaches that there are millions of them. Therefore to say that all religions are the same seems like an insult to religions that exist. However, it is clear that no religion is superior or superior to the rest.

All religions are equal in that they all go in the same direction of connecting with the supernatural. The problem is that people tend to be judgmental of other people’s religions, and this becomes a problem. For instance, it is easy to find a Christian demeaning a Muslim, and this happens because they are short in their minds only because they think because they are Christians, then Christianity should be the natural order, which is wrong.

Should religion be taught in schools in the USA? If so, which religion should be taught, and how should we decide? Has removing religious education from schools brought about positive or negative results to the ethics and morality of our recent generations?

Religion should be taught in schools as I believe it is one of the means of letting students understand and appreciate others as well as eliminating prejudices and hate that students may have on various religions. For instance, it is common to find many students associating Islam with terrorism, and this breeds hate for those from this religion. However, if they learn the basics of this religion, they will understand that a person does not become a terrorist on the merit of being a Muslim.

Students should only learn the basics of major religions in the world, including Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism. Religion also contributes to morality and ethics, but this does not mean that without it, these virtues are useless. Instead, it implies that religion supplements law in cementing moral values and ethics in students, and therefore removing religious education from schools has brought about neither positive nor negative results. Students, like any other citizens, fear punishment from the law, and this is the main reason they maintain morality, this religion has an insignificant impact on morality and ethics among students.

What is the eschatological or “end” goal of the life of a human being? Can people live virtuous lives without the influence of religion or religious beliefs? If so, how does one develop a grounded sense of ethics and morality? If not, why not?

The end goal of the life of human beings is to live and let others live. It is only possible to live and let others live when one creates harmony and an environment of love in society. To live, there must be peaceful coexistence among people. I understand that society is always divided into those who have and those who do not have, but the key is to show a philanthropic attitude to the ones who do not have. In this way, one will not only live but also let others live happily. Although religion impacts morality, it is untrue that it is the only source of morality as other beliefs, other than religion, also play an important part. Societies, even without the presence of religion, have their norms, and in any case, religion only comes to supplement the norms. Furthermore, morality is largely influenced and cemented by law in that people are afraid of punishments and therefore show moral behaviors as advocated by society.

In your estimation, which has more positively influenced the world, atheism, or religion? Which of the two has had a more negative impact? How so?

Both religion and atheism have positively influenced the world in their own way. However, atheism has had a more positive impact than religion. Atheism, in my case, would mean that a person has no individual religious affiliation and, therefore, is not subject to specific beliefs. It is on this basis that atheism directly positively impacts on science. I have read stories of early scientists like Galileo that existed in a period where scientists were persecuted by religion for their scientific claims. For instance, were it not for him and his courage, people would probably believe that the earth was stationary, but this is not the case as it has been proven that it revolves around the sun.

Additionally, since atheists largely believe in science, they are less likely to stand in the way of scientific progress as they tend to be more rational. Religion, on its part, has had a more negative impact by standing in the way of scientific progress. For instance, I have witnessed some people who are adamant that their children will not be immunized as it is against their religious beliefs, and this is a setback to progress. Additionally, religion has contributed to violence and deaths. For instance, the war in Arabic countries mostly boils around religious affiliations, either Sunni or Shia Islam.

Is the physical world all there is, or is there something spiritual that exists beyond the physical, impacting it along the way? How have you come to this conclusion?

Numerous people believe that there is only the physical world, and the spiritual world is only a myth. However, in my view, spirituality exists way beyond the physical world, and this is the reason why some things cannot be explained by science. Precognition is an example of a phenomenon that can only be explained by spirituality rather than science. I have witnessed scenarios where some people know more than others in terms of predicting the future. It is impossible to understand how in a physical world, where people have similar attributes in terms of their senses, some have better information about what is to come. It means that there is something extra that flows into these people, and although it might be flowing naturally in their brains, to other people, it is a supernatural power. In my case, there are times when I feel the hunger for something more that I cannot understand. It is as if there is another dimension of reality that I need to contact to understand more.