Reflection Paper

In the history of Israel and the Church, there were many key historical moments that affected the way the Israelites interacted in their faith and the way the Church was shaped. In the early church, Gentiles wanted to become baptized and follow the example of Christ and become Christians. The process for becoming Christians was made more difficult because Jews saw themselves as the original Christians because Christ himself was a Jew. The Jewish people had two essential problems with Gentiles simply getting baptized and joining the faith; the first was that all Jews were circumcised but the Gentiles were not, and the second is that Jews had to adhere to particular dietary restrictions which were not eating animals that they considered unclean

In my life, I do not give as much emphasis to my spiritual life or to understanding the type of person I should become based on what God may want. In society, there is a pressure to adhere to what society wants you to become and less on individual goals and aspirations. I do not necessarily reflect on what God wants me to become and I think more about whom I want to be and what I can do assure my own happiness. I find happiness in modeling my parents and becoming the kind of people that they are. Some of the traits they possess are patient, gentile, understanding, trusting, trustworthy, academically inclined, and pleasantry to be around. This has led to their happiness and I want to follow this example in order to find my own happiness. However, it is difficult to be patient and understanding in a world where so many people are out for their own self-interest and will do anything to bring them to the top. In being generous and patient, you open the door for people to take advantage of you and to step all over you in order for them to attain their own personal goal. Trusting others is also difficult because it requires you to give yourself completely to a person in the face of the fear that they might abuse your trust. A lot of what I want to be requires me to interact with people in society and therefore I must find a way to incorporate society into the kind of person that I want to be. Monasticism is a perfect example on how to live your life in a fulfilling way even though society may want you to do otherwise. When the church was becoming corrupt all around them, they removed themselves from society and focused on their spiritual life. However, removing yourself from society is not possible in modern times but by following their example of meditation and reflection, one can find solace in the problems society faces