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Why is it important to know what you believe and why you believe it? While reflecting upon this question I found myself turning to the scripture in 1 Peter 3:15 “But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,” (NIV) Can other’s see your hope in Christ? Are you prepared to tell them what Christ has done in your life? Christians should always be prepared to give an answer when asked about our faith (what we believe and why). 2 Timothy 2:25 states “in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God, perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, “(NKJV) By knowing what we believe and why we believe it, we, as Christians, are able to listen to question and respond respectfully, while avoiding debate, and those who oppose our belief will be more willing to …show more content…
So, what do I believe about God, the Bible, and Jesus Christ? I believe that God is the creator of all things great and small, he has a love for his creation like no other, and He is the only, one, true God. Colossians 1:16 ESV says “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” Also found in the book of Genesis is the step by step details of the creation of the earth and its inhabitance. Genesis 1:1 ESV “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” There are many scriptures in the Bible that speak of God’s love for us. Psalm 86:5 ESV is one of them “For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
Religion is “the belief in and worship of a god or gods, or any such system of belief and worship.” (Cambridge Dictionary) Many people believe in something else out of the evidential or scientific view, thinking that good things happen because God says so, or that the universe was not made by the Big Bang. Even though is something that was more present in history years ago, a lot of people still believe and practise a religion. According to Stephen Juan there are about 4,300 religions in the world. About a 75 per cent of the population of the world practises a religion and the two religions most widely spread are the Christianity and the Islam. (2006) They can be divided in believers, adherents or not adherents, agnostics and atheists. People who are believers are the ones who have faith in something great beyond and
A person’s worldviews enable him to understand the reality of life, and the purpose why he exists in the first place. Worldviews are like lenses in different glasses. Hence, people may put them on however, what their eyes see may be different from what the rest of the world sees. All of humanity’s beliefs, decisions, and actions are deciphered based on the set of glasses that people wear. They may not be aware of it, but people have their own worldviews. One of these worldviews is that of the Christian. When a person gets to experience the Lord, he yearns to follow Christ’s teaching and glorify Him only. The following paragraphs will discuss the important aspects in Christian worldview.
This section provides us with two selections from the essays of William K. Clifford (1845-1879) and William James (1842-1910). Clifford's essay, The Ethics of Belief, is based on the concept of evidentialism. This concept 'holds that we should not accept any statement as true unless we have good evidence to support its truth'; (Voices of Wisdom, 346). James wrote his essay, The Will to Believe, as a response to Clifford's essay where he endorsed a philosophy called pragmatism.
In addition to Atheism there are many other philosophies that have sought to provide man with another hope for eternal life rather than the life promised through Christ. All of the world’s counterfeit philosophies tend to bring confusion to man by either stating that man does not truly exist or God does not truly exist or that their existence cannot be proven through evidence. Man in all of his knowledge will do everything in his power to disprove the existence of God rather than believing by faith that God does exist. One cannot truly defend the Christian faith without understanding these false religions and philosophies. The Apostle Paul gives instructions in II Timothy 2:15 that the Christian should “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” It is of utmost importance that the Christian studies the word of God; it is also important to study and learn about the opposition facing the church that is represented in these false teaching. To truly defend the faith one must know his faith and the opposites of that
Peter wrote in 1 Peter 3:15 to always be prepared to provide a defense, or reason, for the hope that Christians. For that to occur, one must understand his or her worldview. This makes it easier for the Christian to effectively and clearly present his or her reasoning. Ed Hindson succinctly similarly stated, “[S]tudying worldviews helps us to better communicate our faith to others.” When one understands his or her worldview, one will most likely find efficient methods of communicating his or her worldview.
I honestly do struggle with my some aspects of my faith. I may end up teaching at a Christian school that holds different beliefs other than what I have been brought up to believe; however, all Christians hold the central belief that the Lord sent His only Son Jesus Christ to die and save us from our sins. I can always share this and the central belief of how it is to live a Christian and moral life. No matter what position I find myself in, or where I may be teaching, I can try to always live my life as an example of what it means to be a Christian.
According to James W. Sire, “A worldview is a commitment a fundamental orientation of the heart, that can be expressed as a story or in a set of presuppositions (assumptions which may be true, partially true or entirely false) that we hold (consciously or subconsciously, consistently or inconsistently) about the basic constitution of reality, and that provides the foundation on which we live and move and have our being” (Sire, page 20). With that being said a worldview can change, you may not always have the same worldview as you did when you were younger. A worldview can easily be changed by different personal experiences, education, and exposure to different cultures. A worldview consists of what you believe about prime reality, external reality, human beings, death, knowledge, morality, meaning of human history, and personal core
Another reason why standing up for your beliefs is important is because it helps you become independant. Even though we often hope there will be some sort of hero or heroine who will come to aid us, the one person we can trust will always help us stand up for our beliefs is ourselves. However, in some cases we do not do anything about it and just stay quiet which we should never do. In other words, the more we stand up for our personal beliefs, the less we will depend on others to validate them for
What do I believe to be true? I believe that God exists and that he is the creator of everything that exists. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, John 1:1” (NIV). This is biblical proof that God exists. The verse that explains that God has always existed is, “Revelation 22:13, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End” (NIV). God has been alive forever, since before my start and before the start of everything I know. God is the originator of creation itself. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, Genesis 1:1” (NIV). God created the heavens, earth, animals, humans and everything else that exists in six days and rested on the seventh day as stated in the Bible. “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matthew 6:26” (NIV). God created me and takes care of me day by day, and provides for all my needs.
“If we are to have knowledge then we must be justified in what we believe (Pritchard, 39).” Knowledge consists of three necessary and sufficient conditions: Knowledge is a justified, true, belief. Anything that has all three qualities holds knowledge and anything lacking justification, truth or belief cannot hold knowledge. Knowledge is a state of mind that asserts that x and y is the case. “For example, when we believe that P, we are in a mental state that takes P to be true. We cannot believe that P, and also believe P to be false (FULKERSON, PHIL 15: WEEK 4).” I will now explain what reason we hold for our beliefs.
Heb. 11:6 tells us…”Without faith, it is impossible to please Him.” Who is Him? GOD. Here we see the emphasis our Father puts on faith; although few seem to understand this. I believe He is showing us what our priority with faith should be. Our priority with faith should be to please Him.
Imagine a world where people are always silent, and only one way of living and believing is correct. Imagine a world where if you ask your friend how you look they say you look fine when in reality you look awful. They are just too afraid to say what they think. imagine being too hesitant to say your opinion because you're so afraid of being wrong. This is why people should not be fearful to say what they believe because then everyone would live in fear of being wrong or an outcast.
At an early age, I can remember attending church and learning about our God. It took some time to identify with what I truly believed about church, God, and ultimate reality, but overtime I realized what it was that I believed to be the truth. When a person believes in something that means they have faith in that belief whether it was learned from someone else or from themselves. Sometimes beliefs can change from what others may tell you. It is always good for a person to dive deep into their own beliefs and learn about them as much as possible. A few of my core beliefs are that there is only one God that created the heavens and Earth, and He sent his son Jesus Christ to live among the humans, and then later be crucified on the Cross to forgive everyone who believes in Him of their sins.
How we react to differing opinions illustrates whether or not we are serious about our search for the truth. To attack someone solely because they disagree, then to ignore them, to shout at them, and to place your own beliefs beyond question are all the characteristics of someone who is more interested in presenting themselves as someone righteous but who is afraid of the truth. To have a discourse that is calm and personable is how someone expresses they are genuinely cares about finding their personal
The more one knows the more one questions ones faith; but faith is intrinsic in humans, just as the ability to love. If we can love, then we can believe. Every individual has a different answer to the question “what is the basis of faith?” some would say it is Christ, others, the Bible, God, angels, etc. and some may even reject faith as a whole. However, if the basis of faith is Christ, why do so many individuals struggle to accept His truth, His word, and His evidences? If the basis of faith is the Bible, what does one do when they find out that there have been additions and subtractions to the Bible through out the years? And above all one many ask oneself: What Bible, if we have so many? If the basis of faith is God, why can His existence