I believe in God. I believe God created the world for all to live in and prosper. I believe that God is God. God is neither he, nor she. God is God.
I believe that God is clever. I believe that God is too clever to only have revealed himself to one group of people. I believe that God revealed himself to different people in different ways. I believe that Jesus is the fullness of revelation sent for all to see.
I believe that Jesus is the Son of God and Son of Man. I believe that Jesus came to teach the world of acceptance, compassion and above all, LOVE. I believe that Jesus died and rose from the dead to save all people from sin if they only accept the gift of grace that he gives.
I believe that each of the major world religions that have a moral base is no more right or wrong than another. I believe each different religion holds some truth and is searching for the truth. I believe that Jesus is the utmost of truth, but that we can not condemn other people who have not found that truth.
I believe that faith communities and churches are important for humans because we crave community. It is an uplifting experience to worship with other people with same beliefs and traditions.
I believe in God. I believe in Jesus. I believe in Love.
This is my creed. These are the basics of what I have come to believe through this class and through my journey of life. True my beliefs could be wrong, but I believe them and for me they are true.
“What a person says or thinks as a result of experiencing God – indeed, the very way a person experiences God – is conditioned by the worldview the person has”(Sheard 25). This pertains to the ancient world as well as the world today. In ancient times before history was recorded, religions began. These religions were based on experiences of the divine, which in turn were based on their view of their surroundings, which was their world. God could not very well reveal himself in the same way to people in China as he did to people in Africa. These peoples problems, trials, and joys were different, therefore God had to reveal himself to them in ways that they would understand.
One way to illustrate this point is to use an example of a person. Take me, for example. My name is Corinne. My parents know me as Corinne, and refuse to accept the name RiN. Most of my friends call me RiN. Some people don’t even recognize that RiN and Corinne are the same person. The people on one of my e-mail groups know me as “The Blue Canary.” Another e-mail group knows me as “Kassa.” These groups don’t even know my real name. Each group of people sees different qualities of who I am. I reveal different parts of my personality to my family, my friends, the e-mail groups, but the fact remains that I am me. I don’t change. I am still Corinne Marie Waigand. I am called by different names, but that doesn’t make me different people. If this can work for me, a simple human, how much more can it work for the complexity of God?
This also pertains to the modern world. Today a person could be raised Catholic, Muslim, or Jewish. The way a person is raised conditions his experience of God. I was raised Catholic, and I believe with all my heart that Jesus is my Lord and Savior of the world. Someone who was raised in another faith would believe just as strongly that her traditions and beliefs are right. Who is to say who is right or wrong? Only faith can say.
I suppose this would make me a Pluralist when it comes to viewing other religions. I also agree with Sheard when he says, “The most appropriate attitude includes commitment and faith”(55).
“If anything can be gleaned from the gospels about the attitude that Jesus expected of those who listened to him, it is the primacy he placed on love. Jesus called on his Jewish audience to remember their own tradition: they were to love God with their whole heart and minds and souls, and their neighbors as themselves”(Sheard 105).
Jesus taught of LOVE. Contained in love is compassion and acceptance. Jesus taught of this through his actions. Jesus loves all his children regardless of sin. A quip I heard once was “Love the sinner hate the sin.” I believe that Jesus holds this true as well.
“Whatever he had lost, be it money, his friends, his reputation, his self-respect, his inner joy and peace – one or all – he still remained his father’s child”(Nouwen 48). The key phrase is “He still remained his father’s child.” No matter where we are in our faith journey or search for truth, the fact remains that we still remain our father’s children. Each person is a child of God weather they know it or not. Knowing it is what lets us accept the gift that Jesus gave us of Grace.
In these times of a shrinking world, due to higher technology in communication and transportation, these insights are meaningful. It is important for Christians and members of other religions to live together in peace. In order for this to happen, people of various religions must realize that we are all searching for truth and that we all have the same goal: eternity with God, or whatever name we give him.
It is also important for Christians to understand that Jesus taught of Love first and foremost. DC Talk says, “The single most prevalent cause of atheism in the world today is Christians who preach love and then go around condemning everyone.” It is important to minister with love, to follow Jesus’ teaching of love and compassion in order to minister as He would have.
I live my life as a minister. I try to minister with love. My future career goal is to be a youth minister. I hope that I can bring teenagers to a better relationship with Christ by being a living example of Christ. I try to accept all people as Christ would. I try to love all I see based simply on the fact that they are children of God weather they know it or not.
These are my beliefs. These are the beliefs that affect the way I live. These are the beliefs that I have come to believe in my journey of life. Though they may not be completely accurate in the grand divine scheme of things, God knows I am only human and doing the best I can.
