Free The Journey Of Faith Essay Example

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Introduction
The concepts of spirit and soul are the structural elements of different faith models followed by the believers of different religions. The relevance of faith becomes a reality only when one anticipates the backing of some invisible power to execute the predetermined plans. An involuntary deviation of the path of progress or the absolute failure of an estimated experience becomes the subject matter for concern for the people who will insist on keeping faith in the invisible super power. Different religions have designed their own models of worship and patterns of rituals in order to complete the process of pleasing the deity of their worship. Generally, the faith journey of an individual commences and continues with the powerful inspiration he attains from certain exemplary incident that gives a rewarding break though. Even in case of Christianity, faith is all about believing in the unseen; however, Jesus himself had featured in miracles to reinforce the faith of the apostles and other followers. Hence, a true devotee will develop his humanity on the basis of the strength of his commitment to his faith journey. This paper will examine the principles and practices of believers (especially that of mine) on the basis of their (my) world view associated with the Biblical teachings.

Theism, Bible and Faith Journey

Despite the advancement in technology and improvement in lifestyle a large majority of the world population believes in the existence of one or other deity as the central power of their spiritual control. Theism teaches the people to believe in the concept of god and follow the perceived doctrines prescribed by the concerned religion. The concept of theism is relevant only for the believers in any of the various faith models. Theists believe that there is a universal power that controls the affairs of the living beings and keeps the order of all the nonliving things in the world. As such, the theists believe that pleasing the deity brings positive effect on their lives and eases their burdens that the worldly life brings upon them. The relevance of choosing the field of theological studies becomes useful when the students are able to view the world in theist perspective. Religious scholar Wells is of the opinion that the earlier views of the believers were polytheistic but all emphasizing the Abraham-centric pursuit of the first test of human faith by god (“How Did God Get Started?”). Keeping Hinduism and other Asian religions apart, the major religions of the Western continents such as Islam, Judaism and Christianity rely on the transition of the faith model that worshipped many deities to the modern monotheistic pattern of worship. Even though there are a number of faith models across the various religions in the world, the term theology affirms the studies based on the Bible. Each student of theological studies has the responsibility to interpret the teachings of the Bible and compare them with his real life situations.
My own journey of faith commenced at a very young age. Being the member of a conservative and orthodox Christian family, the young ones in had to follow the religious views of the elders. Usually the grandparents had the role in matters associated with spiritual aspects and worship models. Charity was the first thing I have learned from the family, particularly from my mother. Giving alms to the poor and helping the needy neighborhood children were those among the Biblical teachings I could compare with my own experience as a child. Charity by all means, is a way to express the affiliation between mankind and god. The religious view teaches that when a person extends his charitable arms toward fellow beings, it is an act of god himself. As charity is the best means to express humanity, Christianity firmly believes in the spread of this concept. From our community visits and personal exposure to different societies of the poor and ailing people, we understand that charity has a conceptual prominence in spreading the religion. Williams in “The Draft Supplementary Guidance on Public Benefit and the Advancement of Religion” opines that Christianity develops by preaching the gospel and the absence of spreading it can result in the eventual death of the religion. Therefore it is important to approach the people with a charitable mind rather than forcing them to adopt the fundamentalist views about a religion.
What makes a reliable faith model is the inspiring presence of a documented set of principles based on human values. Also the availability of effective service of the priesthood and the evangelical colleges make a productive design for the prospective growth of every religion. In my opinion, relying on the Bible gives a lot of opportunities for the believers to experience the real magic of divine power on human community. Geoghegan and Homan view that even though the Bible bases on a continuous form of narration, the compilation covers the views of geographically and culturally diverse populations (ch.2).This particular diversity features the comprehensiveness in the approach toward easy and interactive teaching of humanity principles. Secularism of humanity and emphasize of god’s own control over the human community as the creator are the important factors we understand about the Bible. The spiritual command of God is universal over mankind, and this concept is explained by the quote, “And God created human kind in His image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them” (Genesis.1:27). For a critical spectator of the world after the development of Christianity, there will be concerns about the way things have turned over the time. If the concept of remaking the God’s image through mankind is a truth, there must be equality among the people in every aspect. However, the social outlook on the basis of certain unfavorable religious responses does not agree with this concept completely. The impression of gender equality ceased to exist when Adam violated the God’s command against the consumption of the forbidden fruit. As a result, God commanded that men be living by sweating out and hardships to meet the ends while women be leading a life submissive to men (Terwilliger). In the event of God himself revoking equality, the social reality of gender bias is justifiable in the Christian perspective. This particular scenario is the contrasting feature that challenges the contribution of the Bible in incorporating equality. However, the social equality as emphasized by the Bible is of great significance in the world humanity. The Bible teaches the believers to love their neighbor as they love themselves through the example of Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) helps in removing the social barriers to universal love. From the vision I have absorbed from learning about the Bible and theism, I believe that the principle of equality is the fundamental requirement for the societies to ensure social justice and personal liberty.
Man does not have any single reference point to define or describe himself, and I am no exception. I must confess that my broader understanding of the differences among people has only been due to the course I underwent. I have been a victim of both stereotyping (from my side) and the errors in interpreting scriptures. There were times when I ignored Biblical concepts and relied on my hypothesis. On some occasions, my perspectives were different from that of my family. Identifying my friends too quickly has sometimes made me a stereotype. At times a problem is overshadowed by some insignificant matters. As Sue and Sue purport, in a multi-cultural setup, we require awareness, knowledge & skills to understand cultural competence (33). My observation as a believer now aims at being resilient towards mood swings. A doctor’s profession indeed needs a lot of attention towards attitude management. My career involves various risks like those related to time, location and psychology. My course materials have contributed enough to my way of reaching the goal. Very good ambience, motivational lectures and first had practices everything helped me a lot to stick to my objectives. Both Bible and other theories have great value in actual life as they are the rear mirrors for a backward view of our life.

Conclusion

As a recapitulation, I can reaffirm that theism and fear of the commands of God are the fundamental driving forces for the human community. Irrespective of the kind of theism or the religion they follow, people have always benefited from the concept of faith in their life. Rather than being a magic box of boons, faith works like a stimulant to inspire the spiritual life of people. From among the various religions and faith models, Christianity and Christian doctrines are prominent for promoting the social concepts like humanity, love, peace and equality. While the Bible gives strong lessons to inspire and evaluate our deeds, its versatility and diversity helps in regulating our social life on the basis of our perceive views about the world around us.

Works Cited

The Bible. King James version.
Geoghegan, Jeffrey and Homan, Michael. The Bible For Dummies. John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Google Books.
Sue, Derald Wing and Sue, David. Counseling the culturally Diverse: Therapy and practice. John Wiley & Sons, 2012. Print.
Terwilliger, Monnica. Christianity requires gender equality and respect for life. Web. 23 April 2015. http://www.fnsa.org/fall98/terwilliger.html
Williams, Andrea Minichiello. The Draft Supplementary Guidance on Public Benefit and the Advancement of Religion. The Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship, 2008. Web. 23 April 2015. http://www.christianconcern.com/sites/default/files/docs/LCF_FINAL_Response_to_Consultation_on_Public_Benefit_and_Religion_June_2008.pdf
Wells, Colin. How Did God Get Started? A Journal of Humanities and the Classics. Boston University. Web. 23 April 2015. http://www.bu.edu/arion/archive/volume-18/colin_wells_how_did_god_get-started/