Fate and faith are two very similar words. You know, when it comes to pronunciation, spelling and such. They have different meanings and would be used in different occasions; but I learnt the hard way that these two words are inevitably linked together. Like the sky is linked to water, like water is linked to a human, like a human is linked to a Bengal tiger. See, the certain amount of power one has deciding whether they keep living or not, is a given, and taken for granted. When that power is taken away, reality and fiction are no longer distinguishable and the only thing keeping you sane is faith. And sometimes even that isn’t enough.
You know, being stranded on a lifeboat in the middle of a roaring Pacific Ocean, watching the person you love most being brutally murdered, witnessing the death of three people and having to wake up with the smell of rotting flesh and dry blood is a golden ticket to the insanity train. Life has become so ruthless and surreal that one second your mind is racing with thoughts, thinking about its next move and another second you are laying down on the dried blood of your Mother,
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Having your ship sink is just about as bad as the start of a story can get. And then my Mom dies, and I’m stuck in a lifeboat with a flesh-eating cook, and a poor sailor that doesn’t speak my language; you know, the trivial stuff. From the beginning, I said “Wow, slow down. Too much to take in,” and that’s why my mind made it even more unrealistic. Playing along with the cards of “I read a similar story so I will probably have a similar ending” just seemed way simpler back then. It’s always easier to make up a story in your mind, and make it go how you want to instead of facing the facts,
As I was watching the Frontline Video, Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero, I was immediately faced with the question about evil. It is hard to imagine how someone could do something so horrific in the name of religion. So many lives were forever changed during the events that transpired on Tuesday morning, Sept. 11, 2001. As a believer of God, I could certainly identify with the feelings of the people who lost loved ones during the 9/11 tragedy.
Faith in Christ has given me a unique life filled with optimism and purpose. From a young age, I have been raised in a home where I was taught about the love of Christ. Not only at home did I learn about Christ, but at school and at church. Thus, my life has been filled with experiences that have amplified my faith. For example, when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, I found that my relationship with Christ grew. Through all of the difficult circumstances that I have faced, faith in Christ has given me the encouragement that I need to persevere through any situation. Additionally, faith has influenced my decision making, which is why I strive to make all my decisions and live my life according to faith-based principles. This means
However, I do not believe in fate. I believe it goes against scripture. I believe God gave us free will. For example, when Adam and Eve were in the garden and they had the choice to eat from every tree except one but they chose to eat from the forbidden tree anyway. God has the power to make us follow him and do right but that is not what He wants. He wants us to choose Him because we want to in our hearts. Our actions will determine our ending. I believe that everyone’s fate will be either heaven or hell. Our conduct here on earth is what dictates us getting into heaven. God is the only one to judge and decide that for us. I do not think that wyrd is a ubiquitous principle that people live by today. I think we can see from our actions that we reap what we sew. I believe that the majority of people would agree that you can manipulate your fate exactly or close to how you want
As I finished reading the first three chapters of Courageous Faith, I found myself to be most identified with Abraham. The beginning of new things is hard and challenging, and it takes great faith and courage for a person to make a decision that can change his whole life. This was what happened with Abram. God told him to leave behind his whole world to move to Canaan. He had to face new and unfamiliar people and environment, but he believed in God and follow His will. Throughout my life, I have met with changes throughout the years. From elementary to high school, I always go to a school far away from the previous with new environment, and all the people there already know each other and are friends. Then I study abroad in the States, this
Theme in “Defender of the Faith” can be interpreted in many varying ways, some of which are life-long lessons and others to the relation between faith and the individual.
Faith and reason can be viewed as opposites. Faith is an element of belief, something an individual does not necessarily require a reason for accepting without reason. For example, an individual’s reason for believing in God may not seem too rational when they are trying to explain them. They may not even stand up to criticism. On the other hand, reason is constructed as a formula. Faith is basically something we believe in, like something we learn in church. Reason is something we learn in school, such as a math formula.
One argues that today we have a crisis of belief, not a crisis of faith. To explain this crisis, I will briefly examine the relationship between faith and belief, explain why cultural shift is important to note when trying to understand religious issues, go into detail on the three hallmarks of each of the two cultures by showing how they compare to each other, show how Tillich’s notion of correlation deals with this idea of culture and a crisis of belief, and explain how Marsh’s notion of a “theology of negotiation” (33) fits with Lonergan’s definition and allows him to argue that film can help us raise theological questions.
When you are insane, you are busy being insane - all the time... When I was crazy, that's all I was. - Sylvia Plath
What is faith? Scripture tells us in Hebrews 11:1 that “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (NIV) Faith means trusting that various situations will provide results best suited to help us in some way during our life. I’m sure others may have a different opinion; however, throughout my life, that has been the most accurate description.
The Epistle of James has an enduring message for the entirety of the Church and for each individual believer. James challenges its readers to live a life pleasing to God. The message of James 2 is vital for Christians to take root into one’s life. In James 2, there are two controversial topics addressed. James 2 addresses how to live out one’s faith by bringing forth action. The previous chapter addresses a phrase in James 1:22, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves”, which correlates with James Ch. 2:14-26. Being doers of the word and not hearers only is simply the only suitable response to the word of God. One would not be able to be a doer of the word if he does not fulfill the royal law of love (James
This section provides us with two selections from the essays of William K. Clifford (1845-1879) and William James (1842-1910). Clifford's essay, The Ethics of Belief, is based on the concept of evidentialism. This concept 'holds that we should not accept any statement as true unless we have good evidence to support its truth'; (Voices of Wisdom, 346). James wrote his essay, The Will to Believe, as a response to Clifford's essay where he endorsed a philosophy called pragmatism.
The Wanderer: A struggle with Faith In the Anglo-Saxon poem, The Wanderer, the narrator describes a man who is having a religious struggle between his old pagan traditions and the new Christian Philosophy. Anglo-Saxons believed in fate, fame, and treasure; and that one could not easily change his life. The Christian Religion believed of an afterlife in Heaven or Hell, and where one would go depended on their actions during their human life. Since Christians did believe in an afterlife, they did not believe in pagan philosophy; instead they believed God was in control of everything, and things in their life happened for a reason.
The Dynamics of Faith is an in-depth look at what faith is from a theological perspective. Tillich seems to be replying to all of the writers we have read thus far and placing their arguments within the context of faith. Nowhere is this more apparent than on page 24, in his discussion of community. He rightly acknowledges that faith is usually seen in its sociologic setting. He then proceeds to sort out the different claims, saying that
Pope John Paul II once said, “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth – in a word, to know himself – so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves.” (Fallible Blogma) Based on this significant and powerful quote, one can infer that faith and reason are directly associated and related. It can also be implied that the combination of faith and reason allows one to seek information and knowledge about truth and God; based on various class discussions and past academic teachings, it is understood that both faith and reason are the instruments that diverse parties
If so, then justification by faith would be of no need or value but if