In the Eyes of a Child
Salvation is the deliverance from sin and its consequences, believed by Christians to be brought about by faith in Christ. There comes a time in people’s lives, when their perception changes on various things that they previously looked at differently. In the story, “Salvation” by Langston Hughes, Langston is pretty much forced upon being saved, with that his viewpoint of his aunt, God, specifically “Religion” changes abruptly.
Hearing many stories from my great-grandparents, grandparents, and even my parents, it is quite evident church was not a choice. Not going to church or being involved in the church never once came across their mind. My elders and many other older women and men look at church much more than just church. With the connection with Christ, the church as a whole was a family. In today’s society, children have their own opinions about church. Growing up in the 90’s, my grandparents and mom had instilled Christian ethics and moralities in me. I was very involved in our church, from: Youth choir, Ushering, participating in pageants, Bible Study, and Christmas and Easter speeches. Anything I could possibly join and participant in my mom made sure I was there. Unlike some children, I honestly loved church, mostly because my friends were there. As a child I knew about Christ and the Bible, however my perception of Christ and Religion was way off. Too afraid to ask anyone, I just went and sat by my friends not really paying attention to what the sermon was about. In the story when it came time for Langston’s time to get saved, he was confused on a lot of things about Christ. He got saved for the sake of his aunt, church family, and society just like many other children including myself. “Sa...
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...ll. However, unlike the children at my church there are many children around the world that do not know much about God, they are just pleasing others. With no guidance, you just see church as an event to attend, and believing in God is something you have to believe in. With wisdom, you start to see the importance of Church and Christ. Nothing can be forced upon anyone, they have to find it and actually have a full understanding of it themselves.
Salvation is deliverance from sin and its consequences, believed by Christians to be brought about by faith in Christ. There comes a time in people’s lives, when their perception changes on various things that they previously looked at differently. In the story, “Salvation” by Langston Hughes, Langston is pretty much forced upon being saved, with that his viewpoint of his aunt, God, specifically “Religion” changes abruptly.
After reading the short story “Salvation” by Langston Hughes and an excerpt from Black Boy by Richard Wright, it is apparent to the reader that both stories reflect how young African American males perceive church. Both experiences in church talk about how the idea of God/ faith is imposed upon young Hughes and Wright by loved ones as well as society. However, each character undergoes the internal conflict of whether or not to conform. The validity of the central idea, individual versus society, is revealed through both character’s choices to either be the pariah within their community or fall under peer pressure in order to attain false acceptance.
He is saying that basically the social gospel is an aid to help people understand what their salvation is and how to achieve salvation, but while doing this not using complicated jargon to confuse the laymen.
An analysis of “Salvation” Langston Hughes, in his essay “Salvation” writes about his experience as a young boy, at the age of 12, where he finds himself being inducted into a local church. An analysis of Hughes’ essay will describe and elaborate on both emotional and social pressures. He reaches out to an audience of adults find themselves in the position to influence a child’s thoughts, or ideals. Hughes’ message to the reader is that adults can easily manipulate a child’s ideals by pressuring them into doing something they do not truly wish to do.
...lvation is achieved differs significantly among the various Christian groups, for example, the Catholic Church believes that salvation is attained through good works such as acts of charity and almsgiving, while the Anglican Church as a deeper focus on personal faith and acceptance of Jesus as the Savior. The concept of salvation is a driving factor in the formation of ethics and morals in the Christian faith, as individual desire to receive eternal life in heaven underpins many actions and choices that they make, such as the choice to attend church or participate in aiding the poor and helpless.
2. One needn't be taught in the Bible or in the Puritan writers in order to be saved. 3. The ministers are all under the covenant of works, except John Cotton, who is under the covenant of grace. Inner light is the guarantee of salvation.
With Langston refusing to get up to be saved, he created a conflict between him and everyone in the church. He felt that if he got up, it would be degrading to his character. Not everyone can believe that what you tell them is automatically true, no matter how many stories you tell them; they have to find that out for themselves.
Throughout the reading, the author explains the process that these young children are put through during a ritualistic ceremony. The process according to the author is the path to righteousness, or the way to God. “My aunt told me that when you were saved you saw a light, and something happened to you inside! And Jesus came into your life! And God was with you from then on! She said you could see and hear and feel Jesus in your soul” (1). The last passage really tells the reader what the ritual entails, or what young Langston and his peers should and will be experiencing during this process to “salvation.”
When Hughes was thirteen he attended a revival with his Aunt it was his turn to "see Jesus," his entire community and church all waiting expectantly for the moment when he was finally saved from sin. Unfortunately for Hughes, salvation did not occur. His fellow peers that he would be delivered, to Jesus convinced him. He was so caught up in the idea that when it did not happen, and when it did not, he felt like an outcast amongst his religious community. People crying, and praying for him at his feet, Hughes did not want to be the reason for all the madness happening around him. He stood up and acted as if his salvation had come to him, although deep within he knew it had not. "My aunt came and knelt at my knees and cried, while prayers and songs swirled all around me in the little church. The whole congregation prayed for me alone, in a mighty wail of moans and voices” (Hughes 111-112). Influenced by the wales and the cries, Hughes started to feel as if he was the problem, that something was wrong and it was up to him to fix it. As the congregation prayed for him alone, and his aunt cried and prayed by his feet, a wave of social pressure came to him at once. To stop the crying, and the constant praying there was only one thing to be done, although he knew he was never actually saved, he stood to his feet, and the religious community and church all rejoiced as they
The Reformed Church also better known as Presbyterian, whose leader was John Calvin. John had many beliefs which had been adopted by the Presbyterian Church. Presbyterians believe in the Trinity as Catholics do but differ with the ideas like original sin, salvation, and penance. Presbyterians believe that original sin is rooted in faithlessness which brought man to fall. The idea of salvation to Presbyterians is that salvation is reached through the grace of God, rooted in the deep faith of a
When slave religion came on the scene in the late eighteenth century, the evangelical movement was forever changed. The African Americans of this time had a rich emotional connection to their faith that was contagious to their white counterparts. This deeply rooted emotion focused on the placement and preparation that God had designed for every man. Slaves depicted Christ as a peacemaker savior that cared deeply for them. This faith allowed them to accept their current situations and become a group of levelheaded believers. The faith that evolved during this time period made a cultural impact that is still seen today.
I think that is why Langston feel ashamed when he didn’t see the light, he felt as Jesus didn’t want him. However, he was confused because it’s more like they were forcing him to do something since he had heard other adults mention the same light that Aunty was talking about. So he decided to see this mysterious light and as well to be saved. It was not only Langston that was there to accept jesus it was another young teenager there as well and some of them was in the same situation as Hughes. One thing for sure is that all of them was there to see
In Langston Hughes’s Salvation, Hughes makes describes many differences between the his and the congregation’s perception of biblical acceptance. As a boy, Hughes was vividly told by his aunt that in accepting Jesus, he would “see a light, and something happened to you inside”. Being young, he believed that he had to actually see an incarnation of Jesus in order to be saved. When surrounded by the older crowd in church, Hughes anticipates a kind of “great awakening” but his expectations are met with nothing. He does not understand why he can not find Jesus while the congregation is in the midst of praising.
The Christian belief transpires as a prominent role in the short story “Salvation” By Langston Hughes and the novel Black Boy By Richard Wright. Both pieces of literature endeavor to convey the dichotomy present in the Christian church; furthermore, turning all its attention to the young African American male experience in the Church versus the rest of the African American population. In both the novel and short story the narrators’ struggles to conform to society deliver the reader to understand the pains of growing up. Just when the reader deems both the narrators as finally understanding the role of religion as being a virtue, it then becomes superficial. To young African American males, church was just hypocrisy. From the essence of both stories it is evident that both Richard and Langston have been secluded in a place that conforming to society is the only way out; moreover in their efforts to become what society wants them to be their adolescence plays a major role in their discovery, pain, and definitive loneliness; ultimately leaving them as not only the betrayer but the betrayed in society and the Christian religion.
God’s salvation is a common theme found in the gospels. Salvation in terms of being rescued from judgement because of our sins. Luke's gospel centers on God's plan to provide salvation to everyone. Luke emphasizes the Old Testament and its promises of a Messiah and clearly shows that it is Jesus. The gospel remains forever good news to anyone who realizes that he needs to be saved or he will eternally perish. It is believed that the world will not let you down if you give your life to it in faith because all other gospels will fail you in the end. This one saves you from the final wrath of God and leads you to the only true joy and fullness of His presence forever. John sums it up
Salvation or "being saved" means redemption from the power of sin. In practical terms, God 's salvation is what we need to get to heaven or attain eternal life. (Leitch, 2010) Salvation is a major theme in the many parts of the Bible and the Qur’an. It was written in to the stories so that followers of the religion would adhere to the rules and regulations set by God and achieve the common goal: eternal life in heaven. Salvation in religion will be explored through a brief overview of Salvation and what it means in the general sense, Salvation in the texts in the Bible, the teaching of salvation in Christianity and Islam and how this differs.