religion

2778 Words6 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Jews culture and traditions

My Religious Odyssey

You can take the girl out of Catholic School…

Most people grow up with some type of belief system. Judaism, Christianity, Islam and even Agnosticism are some examples. It wasn’t until I had a child that I realized that religion was just man’s way of explaining God. Even as a kid, however, I always believed in a higher being. Not just because of my very heavy-handed Catholic upbringing. I questioned many things about my religion. Since I loved science, I was confused about how the “Big Bang” and Adam and Eve coexisted, but I always knew that God existed. I had no scientific irrefutable evidence – I just had faith. You know how they say everything you ever really need to know you learned by first grade? Well it wasn’t until I had both my faith and my life tested, that I fully came to realize that one’s spiritual journey in life doesn’t have so much to do with what religion one surrounds herself with, as much as the faith that one has in God. Faith is what defines a person’s spirituality as opposed to specific religions.

I was raised in a Catholic upbringing. I grew up in Chicago, which has the second largest archdiocese in the U.S. I was baptized as an infant at St. Sabina’s and attended high school at Mother McAuley Liberal Arts, run by the Sisters of Mercy nuns. Catholicism is a religion steeped in ritual and tradition and so I vividly remember my first holy communion in the first or second grade, and my Confirmation, when in the seventh grade I reaffirmed my decision to be both a Catholic and a Christian. I also remember the many hours of study, every year, in religion classes that were required in each grade level. I had cousins who weren’t Catholic who spoke of religion classes taking place only in Sunday school. I did not have Sunday school. I had

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday school. Every class attended mass at least one other day during the week, in addition to Sunday. I remember learning how to pray the rosary beads and knowing certain holy days and saints, important to the Catholic religion. We also participated in confession, where we told a priest about our sins and transgressions, and he gave us a penance to absolve us from guilt. If one is looking for a pomp and circumstance religion, then Catholicism is the one for you. Since about eighty-five percent of the school also attended the church, th...

... middle of paper ...

...c ministry featured both the gospel music I had come to love at Lincoln Heights in addition to the hymns I grew up with at St. Margaret. The pastor believed that he was a sinner just like me and spoke of the church in terms of God’s people, versus a building. Most importantly, I felt a strong connection between myself and God and the other worshippers. They seemed to sense that I needed assistance in my spiritual odyssey, and reached out to me. Most of the congregation had attended Carmel Presbyterian for generations and were looking for new people to help rejuvenate the church. They openly embraced my family and we happily reciprocated. I had finally found a church home.

Throughout my religious odyssey, from Catholicism to Baptist beliefs to Presbyterian creed, faith in God remained the one consistent sustaining value in my life. Faith helped me determine that religion by itself is not the most important qualifier in a person’s spiritual odyssey. Faith also helped me to develop a closer relationship with God and is what helped fortify my spiritual growth throughout difficult life struggles. Faith in God versus faith in religion is what most matters on life’s spiritual journey.

Show More
Related

  • Into the Wild, by John Karkauer and Jack London's To Build a Fire

    565 Words  | 2 Pages

    Christopher during the course of the text of the novel learns to disregard other people’s judgments.

    Read More

  • The Relationship Between Parents And Children In Into The Wild By Jon Krakauer

    1008 Words  | 3 Pages

    In a lot of ways Krakauer relates to Christopher like their complicated relationship with their father’s,”Like McCandless, figures of male authority aroused in me a confusing medley of corked fury and hunger to please” ( Krakauer 134). Using words like “Fury” and “hunger” both describe christopher, they convey Christopher’s anger towards his parents ( more so his father) and his undying will to fool them into thinking that they are all he needs in this world. Krakauer like McCandless has the unconscious behavior to please but also defy at the same time. Krakauer says,” The boy could not pardon the mistakes his father had made as a young man, and he was even less willing to pardon the attempt at concealment. He later declared to Carine and others that the description committed by Walt and Billie made his “ entire childhood seem like a fiction “ ( Krakauer 122-123). The word “ fiction” was used to describe how much of a convoluted story was that Walt had described being that the relationship was nothing that was described. This sheds light on why Christopher was headed towards the adventurous life and why he greatly despised his parents. Krakauer also uses anecdotal evidence to examine Christopher and his parents

    Read More

  • Christopher Boone Analysis

    1413 Words  | 3 Pages

    From the start of the novel, Ed Boone is shown to be a very loving and diligent father through examples such as carefully preparing Christopher’s meals according to his son’s particular preferences. However, Christopher’s investigation leads to an argument between him and his father which sparks the deterioration of their relationship since Christopher’s sense of security in the presence of his father is lost. As the investigation unfolds, Christopher learns that his father killed Wellington and Ed’s anger, temper and vengeance become apparent in his presence with his use of expletive language and actions as he “…grabbed hold of…” (Haddon 82) Christopher during their argument. This revelation led Christopher to be “…really frightened.” (Haddon 122) of his father and prompts him to seek his mother in London. This series of events occur due to the lies Ed tells Christopher which breaks the trust between them. Emily McRae explains that “…anger will ultimately increase our (and others’) misery because it destroys our peace of mind and harms others.” (McRae 469) in Metabolizing Anger: A Tantric Buddhist Solution to the Problem of Moral Anger, as it did for both Ed and Christopher. The broken relationship between Ed and his son causes Ed to realize the catastrophic mistake he made by lying to Christopher, believing it was to protect his son when in

    Read More

  • Christopher Boone Changes

    453 Words  | 1 Pages

    Many characters from the novel experienced change, I have talked through the changes of both Christopher and his father Ed Boone. Christopher definitely changes the most. This is highlighted by how Christopher was very stuck in his ways and unable to handle even the tiniest of change however he later pushed himself to break those barriers and ended up changing a lot.

    Read More

  • How Does Mark Haddon Present An Idea (Or Ideas In The Curious Incident Of The Dog

    1000 Words  | 2 Pages

    Through the use of first person narration, “Talking to strangers is not something I usually do. I do not like talking to strangers.” (Page 45 Chapter 67). This technique helps the audience to gain an understanding of how fearful Christopher is of strangers and the world around him. Another technique that is used to show the theme of fear is writing style. “I do not like people shouting at me. It makes me scared that they are going to hit me or touch me and I do not know what is going to happen.” (Page 4 Chapter 5). This technique helps the audience to see that Christopher writes in a literal way and doesn’t leave any details out. By adding “touch” as a scary thing the audience sees that he is afraid of violence. The techniques of first person narration and writing style are all helpful in making the audience understand how fearful Christopher is of everyone and everything around

    Read More

  • The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

    808 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” is a 2003 mystery novel written by a British writer by the name of Mark Haddon. With this novel Haddon was able to win three awards; one of which was the Whitbread Book Award for Best Novel and Book of the Year. Haddon writes the book in a first-person perspective, through the eyes of the protagonist Christopher John Francis Boone, a 15-year-old boy with behavioural difficulties. Throughout the novel Haddon uses numerous techniques to present this special world of Christopher’s to the reader enabling us to understand and see what he thinks and sees. To express this special world of Christopher’s, Haddon uses techniques such as language and symbolism as well as graphics to provide the readers with the foundation required to create this imagery in their mind.

    Read More

  • Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time Analysis

    1160 Words  | 3 Pages

    This was not a simple task as Christopher needs everything to have structure. This is told when Christopher said he had a hard time on vacation, as there were no schedules to follow. He heavily relies on logic and structure to navigate the world. In chapter 19 Christopher says that “Prime numbers are what is left when you have taken all the patterns away. I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them.” This shows that life does not have a structure; this makes it hard for Christopher who needs structure and stability. Throughout the novel the number of destabilized events that Christopher experiences increases, from finding out that his mother had an affair with Mr Shears and uncovering his father’s lies. In chapter 101 he said that “Mr. Jeavons said that I liked maths because it was safe. He said I liked maths because it meant solving problems, and these problems were difficult and interesting but there was always a straightforward answer at the end. And what he meant was that maths wasn’t like life because in life there are no straightforward answers at the end.” This shows that Christopher had a hard time with his mother’s affair as there was no straight answer on what to

    Read More

  • Informative Essay: Christopher The Brain Man

    902 Words  | 2 Pages

    Imagine walking down town on a nice sunny day and all of a sudden you collapse to the ground because there are too many people around you. Or you start hitting someone because they simply touched you. There’s no reason to why you do these things other than the fact that something in your brain makes it that way. These are the types of things Christopher Boone deals with everyday. Christopher will always need someone to take care of him, because he thinks logically and can’t infer emotions like what people need to survive in the real world.

    Read More

  • Christopher From The Curious Incident

    349 Words  | 1 Pages

    Throughout the novel Curious Incident by Mark Haddon, Christopher experiences dramatic changes in his life and his personality. At the start of the novel, Christopher is shy and scared of his surroundings. It scares him “that they [people] are going to hit or touch [him] does not know what is going to happen” (4). This shows that he needs to have complete control of himself, otherwise he does not feel comfortable. To get by with the people around him, Christopher uses his typical coping methods: “rolling in the grass,” “screaming,” and “what Father calls groaning” (7). These behaviors are not socially acceptable, but they are, as he tells us, his best efforts to keep himself contained and to not be overwhelmed by “information coming into [his]

    Read More

  • Pincher Martin: No Sanity When You'Re Stranded

    1391 Words  | 3 Pages

    While wrestling with the sea, Christopher displays valiant courage and determination to survive. He tells himself: "I won't die! I wont!"(17). Christopher's courage seems to falter for some time and he finds himself, "frightened again – not with animal panic but with deep fear of death in isolation"(10). At all times, Christopher is absorbed in thought; even when he is not conscious. While he was not externally aware, his conscious "was moving and poking about…among the shape-sounds and the disregarded feelings like an animal ceaselessly examining its cage"(32). Here, Golding depicts Christopher not as just a man stranded on a lonely rock, but also as an animal trapped in a cage. Christopher believes that, "In normal life to talk out loud is a sign of insanity. Here it is a proof of identity"(81). He continually talks out loud as a reassurance of his sanity and as his sanity goes downhill, his thoughts become inwardly expressed instead of being stated out loud. Christopher challenges the wilderness when he states: "I don't claim to be a hero. But I've got health and education and intelligence. I'll beat you"(77). However, to beat such a strong enemy, Christopher has to have a plan for survival.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis Of Christopher In 'The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night'

    636 Words  | 2 Pages

    I understand his condition that enables him from social interaction due to the human nature of people and how certain things in social interaction is scary. I also understand that his condition is the thing that limits him and not his personality, which is why I can understand a lot of the things he does and why he does them. The likeableness of his character is due to his inability to see certain situations that are rather obvious and results in his innocence. The blunt way he puts things, because of his condition that only allows him to see logical things, puts him in rather hilarious situations that makes people like him. This likeableness yet empathy towards Christopher makes the ending of the novel to be satisfactory due to it illustrating how the character will always struggle with certain aspects of his condition and creates a sense that perfectly happy endings do not normally exhibit and situations and problems will always continue to rise. In this way, Christopher may see the ending to be logical and not trying to illustrate a false ending or ending primarily focused on happy

    Read More

  • Nighttime Theme

    688 Words  | 2 Pages

    Christopher's methods of explanation might seem sporadic and unnecessary, but each and every digression chips away at the alienated facade that surrounds who he is. You can see this trend beginning to form even after the first chapter of the book, whenever Christopher said, "I stroked Wellington and wondered who had killed him, and why" ("Chapter 1") and then immediately shifts to, "Then she showed me this picture ':-)' and I knew it meant 'happy,' like when I'm reading about the apollo space missions, or when I am still awake at 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. in the morning and I can walk up and down the street and pretend I'm the only person in the whole world." ("Chapter 3") This digression in specific immediately presents the information that Christopher isn't a 'normal' child, and because of this derailed train of thought you are brought closer to who Christopher really is. This point is emphasized even further into the novel whenever Christopher states, "and then the train started going again." ("Chapter 197") and then follows that up by saying, "people believe in god because the world is very complicated and they think it is very unlikely that anything as complicated as a flying squirrel or the human eye or a brain could happen by chance." ("Chapter 199") in the very next chapter. This second example of digression only furthers the evidence of Christopher's train of thought, showing that whenever certain events happen to

    Read More

  • Characters Dealing with Depression in Two Popular Contemporary Novels

    1008 Words  | 3 Pages

    Christopher Boone is an autistic teenager who is coping with depression. Some people think depression is when someone is feeling melancholy, or gloomy, but depression is a long-term illness that affects someone and the people around them by obstructing that person to live a normal life (“Depression” 1). Christopher cannot live an everyday life because of his condition. He has the inability to comprehend what people tell him. This is exhibited when he does not understand his father’s joke (Haddon 8). In addition to not being able to comprehend, he also feels trapped when he is around a crowd of people. This is revealed when he is on the train and he states, “There were lots of people on the train and I didn’t like that because I don’t like lots of people I don't know and I hate it even more if I am ...

    Read More

  • "My Faith"

    625 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout my journey in faith, I have realized a few things. Having faith in something or someone is a strong commitment, involving deep thought and powerful emotions. Faith not only demanded that I put my trust in places it has never been before, but it required me to give up a part of myself physically, emotionally, and spiritually in order to fully perceive the sensation. Through recent changes and new experiences, I have been able to develop my faith into something it hasn't been before. However, I know that I am young and that my faith still has much room to grow. I have many experiences left to discover in my life and I am ready to let God take me where I need to go to further develop my faith.

    Read More

  • Reflective Faith Development

    1354 Words  | 3 Pages

    Which brings me to Fowler’s Theory of Faith Development, specifically Individual-Reflective Faith which occurs in early adulthood. Growing up as a family we went to church every Sunday and sometimes even twice a week, everyone in my family was a catholic and that was expected from all of us, no questions asked. I even got baptized as a baby and did my first communion when I was about nine years old. I did not mind the expectation from my family when I was little because I loved church, especially the singing. Then came a time where both of my parents started to work on Sundays, so did my sister, and so my brother and I helped out at my parents restaurant. Ever since then we really have not made church a priority, I believe this is what effected my encounter with my mother when I was eighteen years old. I was currently taking a class called “religion in the modern world” and learned about all rituals and how different religions support different things than others, and it got to me to reflect on what religion I grew up learning about. Some things I liked and some things I was horrified by. So talking to my mother, I was telling her my opinions and what I believed in and that there is not just one way to believe or think. She was furious, I was stepping out of the norm, but it had been because of my Individual-Reflective Faith than lead me to this stage. I am very thankful I was able to reflect on my faith, I now have a stronger bond on my beliefs and now my mother totally supports me on it, so it was all for the best that I went through this

    Read More

More about religion

Open Document