Around here you can’t drive five miles without seeing a church. My earliest memory is accepting Jesus into my heart. I was three. I’ve grown up in a Southern Baptist church, where I’ve learned all of the right things to say. Which is sometimes worse than just screwing up.…
I was raised in a loving Christian family that has contributed to my personal values of acceptance, caring, and understanding. My parents continue to be great role models in my life and show me what it means to be a servant leader to the community. My father has been a high school football coach my whole life. As a child in south Florida, I watched my father extend his hand to many young Haitian refugees fleeing an oppressive government. Some of the Haitian boys joined the football team and became a part of a family that was missing as a result of their travels and situation.…
In Childhood’s End by C.E Clark, religious archetypes such as devil imagery, biblical terms and relations between characters of the book and religious deities are used to examine the conflict between science and religion. The Overlords who represent scientific knowledge initially pose as a threat against the various religious beliefs and customs of the race of humans. The Overlords however see religion as a threat to not only themselves, but humanity. The Overlords deem it fit to defeat religion in order to preserve humanity and have no retaliation from the humans against their rule due to religious imagery.…
My religious community has played a profound role on my development as an adult, the three guiding principals of Zoroastrianism: "Good Thoughts, Good Deeds, and Good Words" guide my actions daily. Being part of such a small community while heightening my sense of being has also made me more appreciative and understanding of other cultures & groups. For me understanding others has become a key component in understanding myself. My community has also enabled me to be a better communicator- as often times questions are asked regarding my ethnicity and religion where I can act as a spokesperson for the…
I had similar experience, which was explained in No.1, on the edge of entering. I was church shopping when I came to the USA 20 years ago. I went to almost every church in the town. I didn’t feel welcomed, most churches wanted to convert me to Christianity in spite of telling them I am a Christian. For most of them since I am from India I am a Hindu and I need to be converted to Christianity.…
I started to lie to my friends so I would fit in. Peers would ask me about my religion, and I didn’t deny my Christianity but wasn’t thrilled about sharing it. I didn’t stand for anything, but I didn’t sit for anything either. It wasn’t until the end of my freshman year that I began to…
Bam! Bam! Bam! The door slams as my mother screams for my father to let us in, the reek of alcohol filling up my nose as I listen to his slurred words. My mother, brother, sister, and I have just arrived from a trip to see my grandmother in Mexico with no other choice we leave staying at my aunt’s house for two days.…
Growing up in a family that did not communicate that much, I was not very close with my mother of father. My mom and I did tend to talk more but not about personal things in our life. Me and my dad however always fought. I have a few good memories with him (he loved teaching me how to make home made biscuits.) which I always enjoyed on those rare occasions he was in a good mood. But, 90% of the time we were fighting.…
My father has been in the military for 30 years. His career has taken him and my family, to every corner of the world. The Air Force is a demanding career path to choose; often the spouse is left with the full weight of the chores to be done on the home front. During the course of my upbringing these duties were, in part, delegated to my sisters and I. While we never experienced “a life of almost tropical idleness’ (CITATION) like the children of Jane Smiley, we became effective and efficient members of our house hold. We learned to respect our house and our family.…
My life before my conversion consisted mainly of growing up in a Southern Baptist Church. Throughout my life I have heard the gospel countless times, but never accepted it as absolute truth to follow. Instead, my life until college was characterized by performing a lot of religious activity such as youth groups, church camps, and going to church on Sundays. I was in a tireless attempt to live out a religion that proved I was good enough to be declared righteous before God. It was a restless attempt to be whatever everyone else want me to be.…
My worldview closely resembles the Biblical Worldview described in the Charry text, but by no means is anywhere near where it could be. My Christian character will continue to develop and mature throughout my life as I continue to study the scriptures, commune with God in prayer, continually ask for repentance, and forgiving those who have showed transgressions toward me. L. Gregory Jones states, “Christian living requires a willingness to inquire after the God of Jesus Christ, an inquiry which shapes us a people of repentance and forgiveness” (Charry, 2000, p. 204). Repentance and forgiveness are two aspects of the Christian walk that I struggle with. There are many times that I get so busy with life that I forget to prayerfully repent…
As long as I can remember, I have been helping people. I grew up in a Christian home, and am the oldest of 9 children. When I was small, I was around my grandparents and great grandparents a great deal. I learned compassion and caring almost as a part of my very being. My life has brought many challenges.…
While I began to feel out of place in church as my sexual orientation became clear to me, the church instantly knew I was out of place when it became clear to them. Upon arriving, I remember people apologizing to my grandmother about the news. The sermon was about the sin of homosexuality. Feeling humiliated, I promised myself I would not go back. At 14, I began a two-year journey researching religions until I found the right path for me.…
Not many people know what it is like to Grow up in a home like mine but in many ways I used to envy them for that fact. As you can tell from my GPA I wasn't always able to make grades my main focus. Throughout my whole life I can always remember facing many obstacles and conflicts. Growing up I dealt with many issues whether they were with my dad, who is now a recovering alcoholic, or from the bullying I received from other students and even from my family. I even missed weeks of school at a time up until freshman year when I was able to Get my depression on track.…
I became the senior youth member that only came to the “fun” things. Soon after leaving my church, I had a fall out with my faith. Depression, sadness, and anger were the only feelings I could muster out of my system. A few months into my senior year, my mom finally realized that I was going down a dark path. Together we figured out my depression, sadness, and anger all started when I left the church and turned my back on God.…