Workshop: Human Emotions and Their Relation to Religious Purposes

Date: 2017-12-14

Workshop | | 2017-12-14

The King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies held a workshop by Dr. Paul Heck, Professor of Theology at Georgetown University, entitled: "Human Emotions and their Relation to Religious Purposes" on Thursday, December 14th, 2017. It was held at the Alfaisal Institute for Human Resources Development and Training in Riyadh, attended by the Secretary-General of the Center, Dr. Saud Alsarhan, and a number of specialists, researchers and academics.

Dr. Paul Heck explained during his lecture that disorders within human beings push them in opposite directions, either to evil or good, based on their mood and psychological state. He pointed out that clerics codify feelings and do not deal with manifestations of them. because they may be deceptive and vary from person to person, explaining that the religious discourse in all religions may deceive ordinary believers, even if they are not expressing the reality of it.

Dr. Heck explored inner and outer emotions (in a religious context) and whether they are for ‘self’ purposes or religious purposes, in that crying can be considered a religious act. He explained that crying is considered negative when it is for the soul, and positive when it for the person's faith.

The workshop is part of the Center's regular programs of organizing seminars, lectures and workshops, and hosting Saudi and non-Saudi specialists to discuss various intellectual, social, political and economic issues.