Many people in society have trouble at times from breaking away from conventional beliefs. When someone references beliefs, it is usually in reference to God or something supernatural. However, that is only one expression of a belief. Beliefs are what we use to form our safety, sense belonging, or our sense of what is worth fighting for. And they accomplish this, even if the belief isn't true. We hold beliefs about so many things. Some of them are supported by evidence and some of them are not. Many times the evidence isn’t available, and perhaps denied because of ignorance, fear, or because it might threaten or identity.We are scared of being outcasts. Haunted by this possibility, we lock a part of ourself in a dark closet and pretend to be something that we are not.
When something of you is threatened, by illness, by loss, by anything that would try to take away who you are, a natural response is to try to look into that thing with deeper meaning. And at times, attempt to deny the threat itself because of the possible outcome.
I never really disliked going to church during the early years of my life. Church brought a sense of community with friends, family, vacation bible school, and the singing of church hymns that would be stuck in my head for the entire week.
As time went on and I grew up, I started to understand the principles of my faith more clearly. With more understanding came with more questions. It seemed to be that the more I thought about my faith, the more questions I had. I started to really think about my faith and analyze the reasons behind why I believed during my mid-teens. I had trouble understanding religious concepts such as heaven and hell. Why would anyone condemn someone not to a place of eternal, ...
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...words, I had to recognize that I was valuable, and a good person regardless of a belief or the associations attached to a stigmatized label. During this time I slowly began to accept where I stood on my faith.
The experience exposed to me to a reality life. A reality in which we will always question our beliefs and things in life. Whether it be political, social, moral, or religious aspects. Questioning ourselves allows us to take part in a life in which we don’t lie to yourself. A life where there is excitement, there are smiles, and there is love. A life where there is the humility of being wrong. Of have the pieces of your identity blown apart and reassembled. A life where there is the appreciation of the vastness of a world, that is profoundly not black and white.
Be who you are, and embrace that. Even if, especially if it means letting go of a part of you.
This experience confirmed in my heart that I was placed on this earth to help others. I want to work in a field where I can counsel, be a role model, and provide clinical help to those who want to turn their lives around. I want to make a difference. I know why God allowed me to face all I did growing up, so I could have compassion, not only compassion, but understanding, relate-ability. Be the person you needed when you were
...ting, a person can look at an experience from both sides. It has opened up my eyes to a new way of life.
provided me with a different outlook of myself, and brought about new responses to some of
Human beings’ belief systems don’t always work according to evidence. Belief is made up of
I loved church. From belting "Father Abraham" to watching Gospel Bill videos to coloring pictures of David and Goliath, it was endless fun. The Sunday School teachers seemed immortal, and I loved talking to them, and I wanted to be just like them when I grew up. I learned to obey my parents and love my neighbor and speak in tongues. And of course I learned to love Jesus.
It also learned that the past is unforgettable and immutable. It made me realize that we are all capable of becoming our own hero’s, by simply accepting the call to action and transforming ourselves to return as the best version of who we are. While giving us the chance to explore the
Growing up in Jamaica, I enjoyed worship. I remembered looking forward to church. We clapped our hands and stomped our feet and made a joyful noise unto the Lord. We didn't have keyboards and drums. We clapped and sounded like timbrels. I remembered when I learned to testify and it helped me and several others to build our confidence. I would sing in the local churches when they have special events. I watched young people being filled with the Holy Ghost and I wanted it so badly that I would pray and ask God to give it to me. I remembered watching my mother and my sister speak in tongues and I so wanted to do it.
Beliefs can be a very powerful thing. Usually we want to think of them as positive influences on our lives, but just as easily beliefs can have negative effects. Examining the latter, Garrison Keillor describes in his work “Protestant” how family beliefs separated him from the rest of society. Arguing the opposite point, Martin Luther King, Jr shows how beliefs can be used to try and unify people in his speech “I Have a Dream”. Both of these works exemplify the power beliefs hold, but the results of their beliefs are drastically different. The difference in results shows the importance of questioning how a belief manifests itself in reality.
Looking back on my childhood, I have many memories shrouded in fear and self-loathing. I was raised in the Baptist church. My mother and grandmother made sure that I attended church every Sunday morning. My grandmother was from the mid-west. She carried her strict Bible belt background with her as she traveled west with my grandfather. The many lessons I learned from my grandmother and the minister at our church played a big part in how I began to see the world and my place in it.
Each of us had learned something from that trip. For me, this experience has taught me what gratitude is, the impact a good attitude has, what a servant looks like, and really how the relationships we make with our life are the most important aspect of life. It was the summer after my freshman year of high school. Earlier in the year, my parents had decided that they wanted to go on a mission trip as a family and serve somewhere.
Religion and faith have been a part of my life since the day I was born. My grandfather has been a pastor at Selma Church of God for 39 years and my mom, along with my grandmother and aunts, run our churches worship team. One could only assume, I have spent much of my life in the church. From years of children 's church and Sunday school, I learned of God 's unconditional love for me and His constant willingness to forgive me of my sins. My family and teachers explained the crucifixion and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. As a child, I knew all these things, these wonderful things about my God and my religion, but it was not until my early teens that I began to thirst for more.
Usually, the role of places of worship is to provide spiritual comfort, to become the staging ground for acts of veneration and to be a congregation for religious study. I grew up in a traditionalistic view on going to church. It was more or less: wear your neat conservative clothes, visit church every Sunday, follow the introductory rites, listen to the Liturgy of the Word, join the Liturgy of the Eucharist, wait for end of the concluding rites, then finally return home. I was stuck to that idea of that church stuck until the day I tagged along with my grandparents as they went to church.
Which brings me to Fowler’s Theory of Faith Development, specifically Individual-Reflective Faith which occurs in early adulthood. Growing up as a family we went to church every Sunday and sometimes even twice a week, everyone in my family was a catholic and that was expected from all of us, no questions asked. I even got baptized as a baby and did my first communion when I was about nine years old. I did not mind the expectation from my family when I was little because I loved church, especially the singing. Then came a time where both of my parents started to work on Sundays, so did my sister, and so my brother and I helped out at my parents restaurant. Ever since then we really have not made church a priority, I believe this is what effected my encounter with my mother when I was eighteen years old. I was currently taking a class called “religion in the modern world” and learned about all rituals and how different religions support different things than others, and it got to me to reflect on what religion I grew up learning about. Some things I liked and some things I was horrified by. So talking to my mother, I was telling her my opinions and what I believed in and that there is not just one way to believe or think. She was furious, I was stepping out of the norm, but it had been because of my Individual-Reflective Faith than lead me to this stage. I am very thankful I was able to reflect on my faith, I now have a stronger bond on my beliefs and now my mother totally supports me on it, so it was all for the best that I went through this
The question, “What is involved in being true to your self?” is very complicated. There are many aspects to this question. First you would need to know what is meant by being true. Being true is the act of putting forth sincerity, or being genuinely faithful. It is honesty, seriousness, and earnestness. Next you would need to realize what it means to be a self. In class we discussed the difference between animals, rational animals, and people. This topic also came up in the reading about the concentration camps. Frankl quotes,
For as long as I can remember, I have been attending the Immanuel Lutheran Church. As I was growing up, my mom was big on attending church every Sunday. If we would miss a service or we would be gone, she would make up for it! My mom would grab the children’s Bible and activity book and we would have our own Sunday school lesson. I loved listening to my mom read my favorite Bible stories. If we were on vacation, we would attend our relatives’ churches. Attending church from child years to teen years and then on to adult years has been very important. The stories that I got to listen to were wonderful, but the lessons I learned were absolutely incredible. The people and the lessons can teach a person a lot about who he or she is and who he or she can be. It helped me find who I am and who I want to become as an adult. There are important reasons why we choose to attend church as a family. There are also many effects that come from the great experience. Attending church since I was little helped me become the strong, absolute person I am today.