Who Am I?Essay Preview: Who Am I?Report this essayWho am I? To me this is the most fundamental question in trying to figure out what my philosophy is. Am I a special being created out of love by some master creator, or am I just a little part of an accident on the grandest of scales? I personally believe I am created out of love by a master creator, who I like to call God. This may offend some people but I am not ashamed of my beliefs. I am a Christian, but I will get to that later. First I would like to cover a basic belief of mine: that it is the duty of all men to do whatever they can to help those less fortunate than them, and thus change the world.
A few years ago my youth leader gave me a book entitled The Mark of a World Changer by Ron Luce. I have since lost the book, but parts of it have stuck with me. A major theme of the book is that anyone, no matter how large or small, rich or poor, strong or weak, can make a difference in the worldЖeither for better or for worse. Granted the biggest/richest/smartest people in the world have the most influence, but everyone has the opportunity to do something. We all live here, so it is everyones duty to do what they can to make the world a better place. No excuses. I wish to be one of those “World Changers” who make a difference, no matter how big or small. I know I am not going to be remembered after my death; to think otherwise would be sheer narcissism, but I refuse to live my life in vain. A favorite verse of mine from the Bible is James 1:27, which says “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
I am a Christian. I am a Christian not because I grew up in Church (which I did) but because I personally have faith in Jesus ChristЖin his teachings, that he is the Son of God, that he died for my sins (which he did out of love for me, for he did not have to do it), and that he rose from the dead on the third day. I am a Christian because I looked through all the religions, all the teachings of all the wise men, and anything else I could get my hands on; I concluded that Jesus Christ was the Way, the Truth, and the Life. All other religions I studied seemed very egocentric. Nothing more than rules, regulations, and rituals (I am conceding that to some this is what Christianity has become). But Christs simple message is about grace, mercy, love, and giving to other people. The core of Christianity is so altruistic, so giving, so not human (for every fiber of every human is selfish) that I could not help but find hope. Hope that there is something beyond me, something bigger than myself, something after death, something more than life itself. My faith is not the blind faith of someone who believes simply because he/she/it was told to. I feel that a faith without reason is nothing more than a wish or a dream, because if I do not know why I believe something, or even what I believe, then I become nothing more than a robot. Thomas Aquinas had a thought very much along the same lines: “there need be no conflict between what philosophy or reason teaches us and what the Christian Revelation or faith teaches us.” Knowledge does not have to contradict faith; in fact, they often times go hand in hand. I am not asking that anyone swallow every pill that I or any other person or faith prescribes, but that they seek. Everywhere, anywhere, but seek. “Seek and you shall find.” (Luke 11:9)
I personally do not believe in organized religion. I do not need a man-made set of rules to govern and dictate every move of my life. What I need is God. Baruch Spinoza agreed here. What Jesus advocated was a “religion of reason” which valued love higher than all else, not the rigid dogmas and rituals of organized religion. My point here is that true religion should be a love of God and a love of humanity. Another problem of mine with organized religion is the lack of commitment. People go to church on Sunday, then do not think about God until the next Sunday. Religion is not something a person can go halfway on. It is impossible to be “to some extent” or “rather” religious. It is an all-or-nothing deal, because either Jesus rose on Easter DayЖor he did not. If he really did rise from the dead, if he really died for our sakeЖthen this is so overwhelming
I do not agree I do not support the concept of an “organized religion” that takes sides in battles and disagreements. If any of us can give a lot of thought to what is best for the future of mankind, the church-church should be an institution for us in all the world that celebrates our individual liberty, for others to be free or to be treated as their own before our eyes. I am opposed to any sort of anti-clerical view of religion that thinks the best way to promote a secular society is by doing away with all forms of human association at every level and the separation of church and state. I do not think it is appropriate for any government to promote a secular society if that would create division and divide the communities that receive it, for as a democracy, we would want the best for all, not in spite of differences and differences of religious belief, but just because differences and differences of affiliation are so intense. I, and many others, support efforts such as these. That is a good approach that, if possible, should include the sharing of the costs, that should include the rights of those who receive an education that teaches about the divine purpose of God, of a spiritual education, and of a scientific education. What does that mean? It means that religions must continue to communicate with one another, without the possibility that we might find conflict; that we should find harmony in a community at work, in a church, or in a school. We should not simply divide people, but unite them according to the different worldviews. It is necessary for us to think of a world where we are together, and where we will work together, to work together in an effort towards the greater God we believe to be the Most High. (This concept has been so successful that an international effort called the World Atheists Association has been established to address it.) The Church may have different aims to achieve. I believe that one of the greatest achievements of the last 20 decades has been the evolution of the Bible. This evolution is the one that has led mankind to great spiritual and psychological progress. How do we define the greatest achievement of mankind in recent centuries? Well… it is the Christian truth that God is the One who created human beings, and that His created things be created by the Spirit. It is the Christian reality that we are created in His image, or likeness, as part of His likeness, and we do not look at this image as a body, but as a soul and our body, as a spirit that is of His created nature. (If the Bible says what it does then it is true, but it can never be 100 percent certain.) (Again, I believe that God created things in His image. Therefore I don’t believe that we can deny the existence of the Christ or deny the existence of Jesus Christ.) A secular society can offer many things: it can ask the question ‘Is the Church a religion?’ It can promote the interests of all religions, including those that seek to deny our rights; it can give the right to choose the appropriate worship service and education for all; and it can encourage people of different faiths to make a positive contribution toward the development and flourishing of the society, as well as the protection of the rights of the group. It can foster a sense of common purpose among people, the sense that no one should have too much influence on a