World Religion reflection 1

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Apr 3, 2024

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Kaileigh King September 13, 2023 Reflection I have been raised as a Jehovah’s Witness since birth. Jehovah’s Witnesses is a Christian based organization that believes that the Bible is the Word of God. “Jehovah” is his personal name and refers to the almighty God and Creator of the universe. This is shown at Psalm 83:18, according to the King James version of the Bible: “That men may know that thou, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, art the most high over all the earth.” (jw.org, 2019) Most other Christian religious organizations use the bible and also believe that it is the inspired word of God. In the article, “The Bible and the Word of God: The importance of Biblical Theology” by Joseph Haroutunian, it states, “It has been the perennial conviction of Christians that the Bible is God’s Word to man: that the truth concerning God and his will and his “last end” are given in the Bible. (Joseph Haroutunian, 1947) I personally believe in God. As a Jehovah's Witness, our lives are built around serving Jehovah. This means associating through weekly meeting attendance where we continue to learn more about him and his purposes, fellowship with other bible students and share in the preaching work and ministry. In terms of “traditions” as a Jehovah’s Witness we are very careful about certain celebrations and ceremonies since many of these have pagan origins. However, we do commemorate annually the death of Jesus Christ which we were commanded to do by God. Many of my close family members are also Jehovah’s Witnesses and we spend time together learning and worshipping Jehovah together as well. When I was younger my parents were the ones who initially taught me information from the bible. They did this through taking me to the meetings, studying the bible with me, and using age-appropriate literature such as “My Book of Bible Stories”. As I got older, I began to read the bible on my own and study bible-based publications, such as the Watchtower and Awake magazines. Doing these things has strengthened and shaped my personal belief in Jehovah. As a result of this, I believe my values and morals have been shaped as well. Through the teachings of my parents and the bible I know the importance of not lying, stealing, judging, and treating others with respect. It also helps me form positive associations and helps me make better decisions.

I believe that religion can give life a sense of purpose and meaning. I have tried to imagine how my life would have been if I didn’t have faith in my God, Jehovah. However, it was difficult because I couldn’t see how I would navigate through life successfully. I would feel as if life had no purpose. Personally, my faith has helped me because it has allowed me to get through difficult situations through understanding Gods purpose and the sources of many tribulations. In the scholarly article, “Unique Contributions of Religion to Meaning”, it stated “In light of this evidence, we conclude that religion appears to make meaning more meaningful. Potential mechanisms include the comprehensiveness of religious beliefs and practices, the sacred as a way of providing significance, particular religious beliefs that speak to meaning, and social components of religion that support meaning.” Most people seek out meaning within their religion. My religion has impacted the way that I see the world. It has helped me understand what the source of much of the calamity and suffering that we see today throughout the world is. By understanding and knowing the source of these problems (Satan the devil) and what my God has promised to do in the future to rectify these things, I am able to cope better than some others. Another way that my religion has impacted the way that I see the world is through remaining neutral in regard to the political environments around me. As one of Jehovah’s Witnesses we do not participate in or support wars of any kind. Although our spiritual brothers and sisters are sometimes caught in the middle or are emersed directly in countries that are war torn we continue to stay neutral which is not always easy to do. Additionally, as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses I am fully able to appreciate Jehovah’s creations throughout the world. Jehovah is the creator of the earth and all things living. He has created such beauty in the plant and animal life around us. Take for instance the hummingbird. Most people take for granted the beauty and skill of this tiny bird but through my personal study of the bible I have learned to appreciate not only its beauty, but its aerobatic skill, strength and intelligence, and its fearlessness. (jw.org, 1999) My religion is very important to me and has been a major focus my entire life. It continues to be an educational journey and always will be. Although, like most people, I was introduced to learning about Jehovah because my parents and family are Jehovah’s Witnesses we are encouraged to learn about Jehovah on our own through our personal study. In this organization, we symbolize our dedication to Jehovah through water baptism. Unlike other religions, this step is not taken until we have ensured that we understand and believe the

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