Solidifying My Catholic Identity Through Interfaith Experience
“One should attempt to be an outsider to one’s own tradition, and an insider to other foreign traditions (Harding, Rodrigues, 11).” World Religions has expanded my knowledge profoundly compared to my first semester of Theology and Religious Studies, primarily where I drew this quote. This quotation has challenged me to break down the boundaries I once had between my own faith tradition as a young Catholic Christian and other religious traditions that I had been quite unfamiliar with. But coming to my own religious identity set the foundation for further studies of religion. It is my faith journey, or my religious autobiography, that began this search for more understanding. Throughout
…show more content…
I can recall writing this within my first autobiography: “Ironically enough, I rediscovered my faith the moment I backed into my spiritual director’s car. I am currently a first year student in college but at this point in time I was a junior in high school, only a day into second semester. Up until this incident I filled my time with the day to day hustle and bustle of any busy high school student: the never-ending schoolwork, extracurriculars and sports, my daily routine, and situations I found myself struggling with. But at the same time, something was missing but I couldn’t put a finger on it. I just kept going and going and often found myself stuck with a purpose that really did not exist.” Rediscovering my faith gave me a purpose, even as cliché as it may sound. Although it would have been so much easier, this did not all happen in the snap of a finger. Even through finding my faith I had so many questions, and these questions did involve one big one: “Does God really exist?” I wanted answers and I found them within my tradition, but there was still something missing that needed to fill in the gaps but I couldn’t figure it out. Especially when I was struggling with my faith I needed other perspectives to help me put my own into better perspective. Someone recommended Children …show more content…
Paul. I came to find my favorite Bible verse to be 2 Corinthians 12:9: “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” As I said at the beginning of semester, “The idea of power being made perfect in weakness baffled me.” This was a door into my Catholic faith, a faith that was so profoundly complex that I couldn’t quite comprehend the beauty of the mystery within it. And we continued our understanding of Christianity through St. Paul near the beginning of semester, looking at Galatians. We discussed St. Paul’s notion of trusting in the Holy Spirit, about finding true Faith, which is finding God not through the physical presence of Christ, but through revelation or without that physical presence. We see these acts of faith in Catholicism through everything we do: the Mass, Reconciliation, the Eucharist, and all of the Sacraments and more. St. Paul emphasizes to act upon this faith, and we can find parallels to this notion of acting within Hinduism, Judaism, and in most religious traditions. Giving examples from my own journey of faith, I have had the chance to act by going on service trips, by taking the initiative to pray, by going to daily Mass, and through the simplest actions such as painting images that relate to
Russell, Bertrand. Why I Am Not a Christian: And Other Essays on Religion and Related
Paul Tillich. “What Faith Is”. The Human Experience: Who Am I?. 8th ed. Winthrop University: Rock Hill SC, 2012. 269-273. Print.
Molloy, Michael. Experiencing the World's Religions. 5th Edition. New York, NY: McGraw Hill, 2010. 320-322. Print.
Nichols, John. The. The Very Fundamentals of Christian Faith. Core 9 Lecture - "The. Shen Auditorium, Rensselaer, Germany.
Evans, C. Stephen. Critical Dialog in Philosophy of Religion. 1985. Downers Grove, IL. InterVarsity Press. Taken from Philosophy of Religion - Selected Readings, Fourth Edition. 2010. Oxford University Press, NY.
Smart, Ninian. "Blackboard, Religion 100." 6 March 2014. Seven Dimensions of Religion. Electronic Document. 6 March 2014.
Smith, Huston. World’s Religions: A Guide to our Wisdom Traditions. San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1994.
There are many knowledgeable books that introduce religions as well as specific religious traditions. However, students are naturally introduced to abstract methodological issues such as observer bias, rather than the religions themselves. If religions of the world are not approached with purpose and method, then students are likely to gain “stereotypes… of misinformation supplied by certain sectors of the media” (Chryssides & Geaves, 2014). Thus, in order to see how religion is lived in day to day life, one must “walk a mile in [the] moccasins [of religious people]” as Smart (1998) says. Therefore this essay will attempt to answer why it is important to study religion off campus and how this may challenge traditional understandings of religion.
Oxtoby, Willard G., and Alan F. Segal. A Concise Introduction to World Religions. Oxford, Canada: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Oxtopy, W., & Segal, A. (2007). A concise introduction to world religions. (1st ed., p. 258). New York: Oxford University press.
Jaoudi, Maria. Christian and Islamic spirituality: sharing a journey. Mahwah, N.J.: Paulist Press, 1993. Print.
Karen Armstrong’s A History of God is an extremely thorough and comprehensive piece of work which explores the complexities of how human beings have perceived God historically and presently. Karen Armstrong, a British journalist, is well-known for her published works, which include Through the Narrow Gate and The Spiral Staircase, typically concerning comparative religion. As a former nun, Armstrong is able to reflect not only about her experiences, but also her spiritual awakening in which she discovers and relates the intricate fundamentals of the three major monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The purpose of this review is to provide an elaborate analysis of how effectively Karen Armstrong was able to demonstrate her
Eastman, Roger. The Ways of Religion: An Introduction to the Major Traditions. Third Edition. Oxford University Press. N.Y. 1999
W. Andrew Hoffecker. Building a Christian World View, vol. 1: God, man, and Knowledge. Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., Phillipsburg, New Jersey : 1986. William S. Babcock. The Ethics of St. Augustine: JRE Studies in Religion, no. 3.
Paul tells us to “fight the good fight of faith” (Tim. 6:12). We must not hold on to unbelief. When we give ourselve...