In October of 2009, I had what some would call a spiritual transformation. For me, it was merely a switch in beliefs. Until that time I grew up never fearing the God, I always heard of and for several years prior to my switch I was staunchly an atheist in belief and practice. Though, I am not going to tell you exactly what occurred to make that switch but what I would like to tell you is my journey as a professed Christian, after my switch. My fight through religious error and the way out of it is a blessing I can only give credit to Gods Word for doing so. God’s Word is the only source of truth to be used in spite of the traditions of men, and it has led me to be saved in Christ. With that said I will proudly tell you the best gift I ever received and still do to this day is salvation; however, it had taken a thorough search in truth, a response of obedience, and God’s grace to receive it. …show more content…
I arrogantly thought, “God, if you have the audacity to tell me you are the only way, then prove it!” And so the journey began. With light bible study, I now understood our great universe has been made from a creator. From the mighty expanse of our universe down to the smallest microbe of microbes all I could witness was an intelligent design. No accidentals, no evolution of intelligence from non-intelligence, just a pure creation is all that could be explained; indeed it was explained. Psalm 19:1 tells us,” The heavens declare the glory of God: and the firmament shows His handiwork.” To also find out where I fit with the whole picture, Romans 1:19-20 says this, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.” I am without excuse to not know there is a creator and God because of this great universe; His
...e teleological argument is doomed to failure, unless some more concrete empirical evidence is discovered that would perhaps strengthen the inference, for there seems no reason for one to accept God as the intelligent designer, even if one accepts there is a divine designer.
Thomas Aquinas theorized five different logical arguments to prove the existence of God utilizing scientific hypotheses and basic assumptions of nature. In the fifth of his famous “Five Ways”, Aquinas sets forth the assumption that all natural bodies move toward an end. Since bodies are constantly moving in the best way possible to achieve that end, the path must be designed. God, of course, is the ultimate designer of the universe. The natural hypothesis that follows is that God created the universe, including the human race, for a purpose or to achieve an end, and thus the universe and all life moves toward that end constantly and in the best manner possible.
The Souls of Black Folk are a collection of essays composed by W.E.B Du Bois’ highlighting the problems that the African-American race faced in American society. Du Bois describes the feeling of being “shut out from the[ir] world by a vast veil” (4). The veil is a metaphor that Du Bois presents representing a symbolic wall that separates the “whites” and “blacks”. To Du Bois, the veil emphasises the racial boundaries that the African-Americans faced, as well as their invisibility within society in U.S history. Throughout the text, Du Bois makes it evident that the most important issues are education, economic opportunities, as well as the emotional journey being shared. Du Bois states, “He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both
The word enlightenment can mean different things to different people. But according to Immanuel Kant, enlightenment is when a person grows out of his or her self-imposed immaturity. He defines it by saying, “Immaturity as one 's inability to use their own understanding without the guidance of another”(Kant, 1). Having our reason instead of following the in the footsteps of people who influence us. Also, that people impose immaturity on themselves because they fear the use of their own understanding without someone else 's help. In this essay, I will argue my own immaturity that I had with the church, showing how t being brought up in the Catholic Church can inflict this kind of immaturity without knowing, with issues arising that helped me see past my own immaturity, and the transformation of breaking out into my own enlightenment.
A personal change I would like to make is my approach and the response I display to my teammates and the organization. I am a very independent person at work, I tend to be a controlling person in every aspect. However, I am trying to overcome this debilitating trait by learning new techniques and reflecting on the other person’s ideas, comments, efforts and suggestions without taking control. I do complete my task with little or no assistance, but it causes me to be detached, indifferent, and uninvolved from my teammates causing conflicting issues. I do sense a distance between myself and my teammates, but I continue to work hard and remain focus.
Instinctually, humans know that there is a greater power in the universe. However, there are a few who doubt such instinct, citing that logically we cannot prove such an existence. St. Thomas Aquinas, in his Summa Theologica, wrote of five proofs for the existence of God. The Summa Theologica deals with pure concepts; these proofs rely on the world of experience - what one can see around themselves. In these proofs, God will logically be proven to exist through reason, despite the refutes against them.
Many religious followers today would classify themselves of “Christian” theology and adherence. If there was a phenomenon that diminished Christian teachings to inaccuracy and abolished its presence from civilization there would be several alternative religions to consider. Of the other four major religions that we have covered this semester it would be a close race to decide which belief system would be the best substitute to prior knowledge taught about Christianity. It would be difficult to forget years of information that Jesus is the Son of God and choosing another religion would have to have some representation of Christianity. The decision has to compare the pros and cons of each alternative between Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and Islam. Doing so provides a template that proves there would be no definitive winner between the four. If another religion had to be chosen besides Christianity it would be a close decision but Islam would edge out the others slightly.
Spiritual formation is a process that morphs as we grow and change. There is no one singular correct path this type of journey takes because each journey is as individual as the person who is experiencing it. Most obvious, the journey will be different from those who identify as religious and those who do not and will diversify with in each category. For example, the spiritual journey a Buddhist takes will be different from that of a believer in Judaism or Christianity. In fact, the journey will continue to diversify between Christians, male and female, age groups, even by demographic location. Consequently, the spiritual formation process is as diverse as it is intricate and we may never be able to discover all the journey options. Although individuals may not actively recognize they are experiencing spiritual formation it is a process that affects all. Because it is in human nature to question, learn, grow, and act, everyone to a certain extent is exposed to a unique spiritual formation journey.
I grew up as a Southern Baptist. My family has always belonged to the same church and to this day my parents and my brother’s family still attend First Baptist Church in Forest City, North Carolina. One of the reasons Baptists are given this name is because they are not baptized as infants, but when they are old enough to understand the full concept of Jesus and the sacrifice He made for us. I accepted the Lord as my personal savior when I was thirteen and made a public profession of my faith by walking to the front of the church one Sunday morning. Many factors in the past have influenced my relationship with God and continue to do so daily.
I’d like to state the most obvious observation that I’ve made about spiritual formation; that is that I will always need to be seeking for ways to nurture my personal spirituality throughout my life. I know that to most people this may sound like a “duh” statement, but for me it has truly become a reality and one that I must admit I have been struggling to embrace. I was brought up in a church that, like most traditional churches, stayed happy living in the “comfort zone” of their Christianity. They took everything that the Bible said at face value without digging in to find out why they believed what they believed. I had never been challenged to look deeper into the text. In the past few years I have felt the need to tunnel out of this cave of what I feel is best labeled “Christian ignorance”. In the process though, I have had to come to terms with letting go of the things that brought me comfort and provided me with what I thought it took to have a close relationship with God. Some of those things were tangible. Most were not. The things that were the least tangible actually ended up being the hardest to let go of.
The Spiritual Exercises: not only speak to the Jesuits but also to the religious of other congregations; not only to the religious but also to the laity; not only to Catholics but also to the Protestants. In other words, the Spiritual Exercises speak to all who believe in God and base their spirituality on the gospel message. First I will define what a spirituality of vocation is. Second I will explain what the Spiritual Exercises mean. Third I will try to show how the Spiritual Exercises are a representation of a universal call to the Christian gospel. Then I will conclude by stating my stand.
According to Witkavitch (2010) life is about change and as human beings we’re always changing, growing, transforming and transitioning our lives. Our whole life is made up of change. It is relative to time and a natural component of our everyday life. Things change, they grow, they develop, they die, and something else shows up. There are many changes that can occur during a person’s lifetime. For instance, we all were once kids who changed into adults. With that said, as we age, dreams change. There will always be something new in life and we can’t expect everything to fall in place as we wish because the future is constantly changing. In the age of globalization, information and communication revolution changes are affecting our lifestyles, our ways of thinking, feelings and the way we act. Life changes everyday for a person in some way. Just like we expect the seasons to change and children to grow older. Some changes are very small and can affect your life in an enormous way. However, other events can be very important and could change your whole life such as getting married, getting arrested, having a baby, and even losing a close friend or relative. The important events that altered my life are coming the United States, playing club soccer, becoming a U.S. citizen, going to graduate school and studying abroad. In this in paper, I will discuss how these phases transformed my life physically and mentally.
Everyone has their own definition of word health. For example, a woman may be worried about her son’s health when he drinks 10 bottles of beer every night. This woman may be referring to her son’s psychological, physical, and emotional health. My own definition of health is someone who is physically, emotionally, mentally, socially, spiritually, intellectually, and professionally stable and free of diseases or injuries. However, if one’s of these components of health are affected and it can cause a distress in other parts of the body. Therefore, word health or healthier can also be used in non-medical context. For example, Working at Ohio Health is healthier than working at Select Specialty Hospital. Also, word health can also
Spiritual health is the capacity and ability to seek, experience, and express meaning and purpose in our lives often through love, hope, gratitude, forgiveness, peace, and community in order to enjoy a sense of the Sacred (as you understand it). Spiritual health provides the sense that life is meaningful and has a purpose and is defined by the ethics, morals and values that guide you and give meaning and direction to your life.
When I was at the age of seven, I found out that my Grandmother, from my dads sisde of the family was very ill, her kidneys gave out, and she needed a transplant. I remember that day very vividly, i remember walking into the hospital room where she was placed at the time, and a sort of silence with a mixture of darkness in the room. We entered and the Doctor had told my family and I that there was no kidney transplant available for my Grandmother. It was a shock to my family and me. Everyone knew if there wasn't a transplant that she wouldn't make it. Yet my family did not loose faith, they kept on praying and praying just so that she wouldn't die. The next day my father recieved a call, and that call changed the way I felt about my religion and God. The doctor had told my father that my uncle that has been living in another country for over the past twelve years was going to donate one of his kidneys to his mother. I could not believe it but this event, and experience changed the truth.