Journey With God Through Time Analysis

Teach Me, Guide Me, Walk Beside Me: The Journey with God through Time In each of the “big three” religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the faithful worshipers have a sense of how they experience a journey with God through time. The intent of this essay is to explain how an individual worshiper in each of these religions experiences this journey with God through time, and in what sense these traditions say that they are with God. Judaism is the reasonable starting point for explanation as it is the oldest of the “big three” religions. The understanding in Judaism is that a person has the free choice of choosing between good and evil because each person has an individual relationship with God. The belief is that God established a …show more content…
In Judaism, these are the rites of Bris or Brit milah, the Bar or Bat Mitzvah, and the rituals for marriage and death. It is through these rites and rituals that an individual can say that they are with God. In addition to the above rites and rituals, there are also major and minor festival’s that mark various stories and events throughout the history of Judaism that shape an individual’s identity as a Jew. These include the major festivals of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Passover; and the minor festivals of Sukkot and Simchat Torah, Purim, and Hanukkah. It is through these festivals that a journey with God through time is unfolded as a great story form the beginning of time until the end of time. This is how, in Judaism, that life, as a journey with God, is given meaning (Esposito …show more content…
To be sure, much like Judaism – and even to a greater extent – there exist great diversity in the Christian concept of walking with God. Like Judaism there exist certain rituals and rites that are performed, albeit differently in the varying sects of Christianity. These rituals and rites mark the transition of a person’s journey with God. The Christian rites and rituals of Baptism, Communion, Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders, and Extreme Unction, provide assistance for a Christian through every stage of life from birth to death. These rites and rituals, commonly referred to as sacraments, help unite humans to God thus providing a way to walk with God throughout life and beyond. It is important to note that some of these rituals are rejected by various sects of Christianity, but the overall purpose and intent viz, journeying with God is still inclusively present (Esposito