Wisniewski 2
BIBLICAL AUTOBIOGRAPHY
MY EVOLVING PERCEPTIONS OF THE BIBLE
As a child my primary understanding of the Bible came from a book of collected stories that my mother gave to me when I was about seven years old. My family, at this time, did not go to church, so I had no other point of reference or input to draw from. I kept this book until I was about age nineteen and would read from cover to cover at least 10 times during my childhood. As a younger child I viewed the Bible as a great action adventure book full of stories with heroes and villains. The heroes, although they would struggle would be rewarded by God and triumph in the end. The villains would be punished and would either change and become good or continue to suffer from their misdeeds. At this time I did not perceive the Bible to be anything more than a mystical and wonderful collection of stories.
As I grew into my teen years my parents moved to a small rural area which had an older established church in it. We began attending this church rather sporadically, however this where I got my first real taste of organized religion. This church used the Bible as a means to draw attention to the rules that God set forth in the Old Testament. Those who did not follow the rules were considered sinners and were called out in front of the whole church, so the remainder of the members could try to help them correct their deficiencies and hold them accountable to staying within the confines of God’s laws. The few times I went to this church made me feel sick. I felt as though no matter what I did I would be considered a sinner and I was terrified that I would be called out in this church.
Wisniewski 3
I was sure that I would be condemned to an ete...
... middle of paper ...
...ertently. I now feel confident in my own abilities to understand what it is that God wants me to do as an individual and also as a member of the Christian community. I have nothing fear as long as I seek and am open to His guidance. Since this class has begun, I have become inspired to take a more active role in my church and the outside community. My church was once a thriving congregation, but over time has lost members and has failed to grow due to everyone being stuck in a spiritual rut. I am now involved in a committee which is working to engage more of our members and get them excited again about what is going on at our church. Our group’s primary goal is to
Wisniewski 8
encourage everyone to be active participants instead of just attendees. I am excited to see the direction that this will take me in and what the future holds for our congregation.
Genesis chapter 1-3 shows just how awesome God was in his creation. These chapters sum up the seven days of creation as well as sin and evil. No one but God can speak and everything on earth comes into existence (universe, heaven, seas, water, dry land, the sun, the moon and creatures). The Bible should be read on a literal perspective than on a figurative perspective. When we do this, no one will have to debate on whether or not what we read is true or fictional. After all, accord...
Over and over I heard people say, “If you’re not meeting in a church you’re ‘forsaking the assembling of yourselves together’ (Hebrews 10:25), and therefore are living in sin.” It killed me (even while I was in my church) when a person became angry at someone for not attending an established church building but a home church or a Bible study. I never understood why they did that. But since I was on the outside looking into the situation, I could see the attitudes of both people during those conversations and tried to determine their heart condi...
I did not have a religious upbringing, excluding the few half-hearted attempts at taking my sister and I to church and the local church preschool, my parents largely left us to ourselves when it came to religion. My preschool experience was soured by the concerned teachers who wrongly assumed that I was drawing devils on my papers, when in fact, they were obviously vampires. My grandma cried when my parents did not baptize me, and my grandpa has called more than once, worried that I did not “know Jesus.” Regardless, religion has always been an interest of mine, probably because it is something so foreign and unknown. I have been to plenty of church services with friends after sleep overs, Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, even one of those churches that speak in tongues. My parents never let me stay over there again. In “The Year of Living Biblically,” by Jacobs, a similarly agnostic man, attempts to gain some sort of insight by living a year of his life according to the Bible. He
This course has opened my eyes to faults that I did not know that I was making when it involved evangelism. This has delivered a conviction that has incited my soul and desire to do and be a better witness for my God. When I was
Through this course I have come to learn that my personal tendencies are ones that have not been learned but that they are ones that have been placed within me by Him. By His Grace, He has made each of us unique and He has placed us in this world to work together without sin and without mal intent. Just as I have faith in Him, I cannot be a good leader for my team and employees if I do not have trust and faith that the organization strives to support a positive and healthy culture. Dr. Fischer’s (2006) insight into human nature and our natural tendency to sin is insightful to me. His article encourages me to continue to believe in God’s plan and to continue to develop my faith in God that, through Him, He will help to fight the negative influences and sins that exist in the world
Everyone always looks at the Bible as a loving book. It is considered God’s Word. It helps us live a better life and serves as a guidebook showing us how to live on the right path. The characters in it are ones to be looked up to. Moses, Noah, Abraham, etc. were all righteous followers of God and set good examples for us even today. However, those who read deeper into the Bible will find more than just the stereotype that I have already explained. The God of the Bible has many moods. The Bible has stories of murder, warfare, etc. in which the ones doing the acts are treated as good people that have done heroic deeds. What are we supposed to make of these situations? Can they still have good values and be applied to our daily lives to hopefully improve them? Let us take some examples from the Bible and examine them, while keeping the previous questions in mind.
For as long as I can remember, I have gone to church. My entire life I have known this concept of Jesus and who he was. And for some reason, that was supposed to be important to me. As a kid, I could tell you the majority of the Bible stories, after all, I heard them all the time. Even at a young age, though, I could tell there was more to the whole Jesus thing. It seemed that some people understood on a deeper level what all this church stuff was actually about. As I began to learn more about this Jesus, I began to question why he was important to me and what he had to do with the life change in the people around me.
My whole family has always tried to introduce me to all kinds of different religions. I have a split family. My mom, dad, and grandparents have different religions. I felt out of place at these different churches. I felt as if people knew I was different and knew that I didn't completely have a religion. It scared
First of all, church has greatly influenced many different aspects of my life and caused me to be the person I am today. I have always been taught to treat others with respect and to treat them how I would want to be treated. This has caused me to try to be considerate of others' feelings and thoughts as much as I can. I also respect other people's property and take care of it just as I would my own. I have also been taught at church to respect those in authority including my parents, teachers, and elders. I also have participated in church activities such as choir and video production. This has helped me to improve my social skills by interacting with other people. These things have influenced me and made me the person I am today.
When I look back at the story of Jonah, all his troubles could have been avoided if he would have accepted his assignment the first time. So, that is my mindset whenever it comes to things like that. Another fear I have is, if I am ministering to someone, whether it’s teaching, dancing or whatever, and it doesn’t encourage or convict someone then I feel like I’m a failure and I didn’t do the job that God wanted me to do. I am one of those people who wants to see everybody happy and growing all at the same time. But, I know as I continuing to grow these fears will leave
Worsley, Howard. "How Children Aged 9-10 Understand Bible Stories: A Study Of Children At A Church-Aided And A State Primary School In The Midlands." International Journal of Children's Spirituality 9.2 (2004): 203-217. Academic Search Complete. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
Prior to taking the time to learn about the origin of The Bible, and The Bible itself, I must admit that I was quite biased against it. Since taking the time to learn about The Bible, it provides to me guidance, valuable lessons, and a divine explanation. Reflecting on what I learned from reading the Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus and the remaining gospels, I now find myself to be enlightened and educated, holding the many works and terms in The Bible with value and meaning.
From the earliest I could ever remember, my parents have put me in church and kept me involved. In particular, my family chose to attend Baptist churches. I never fully understood why I was there, although I had thought I knew exactly what I was supposed to do. I assumed that I was a good person and that God was the center of my life. I believe, however, that I was not fully aware of what the concept of God really was. By the time I was teenager, while I was not completely rebellious, I was not living a life representing Jesus win a good manner. As I grew older and matured I began to realize what Christianity was all about.
As far back as I can remember, I have been raised around good Christian people with good Christian values. I felt safe in church, knowing that most of the families I had connected with had the same set of values and beliefs that I was educated on throughout my life. Learning what I have in
As grew older and more observant in the church, I realized that there was hierarchy and many of the times, it seemed as if it were tainted. I quickly grasped the concept that if you were connected to the “right” group of people, you would be given special treatment. It reminded me of the typical American high school cliques. For instance, there was always a group of people that were more known than others; they were liked by almost everyone, they were given special treatment, and put on a pedestal. When I finally decided to leave that type of environment, I recognized that it was a toxic atmosphere, especially if one didn’t agree with the majority or put the few on a pedestal. This season of my life helped me realize that I didn’t need to be validated by others. I actually preferred that I wasn’t alike and chose the rebellious, non-confirmative route instead. It was freeing and I’m grateful that I never looked