Models of God, Humanity, and Nature My Experiences, Thoughts, and Critical Analyses

Malala Yousafzai, 18 year old Nobel Prize winner and women’s rights activist, once exclaimed: “I raise up my voice- not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard...we cannot succeed when half of us are held back”. The idea of speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves is extremely important when it comes to striving for change, so being able to express the needs of marginalized people is a great and awesome power. Yousafzai’s quote specifically connects to women’s rights, therefore it can be used to support the feminist movement seeing as she is advocating for the equality, in treatment and opportunity, of men and women. Feminist beliefs do not only apply to society, but to theology as well, seeing as the teachings of the bible are extremely influential in the day to day lives and values of religious people. The text that I chose to highlight this idea comes from Elizabeth A. Johnson’s book Quest for the Living God, chapter 5 ‘God Acting Womanish’ because it directly connects spirituality and feminism.

From the time that we are born, we have different concepts or views that make up our own worldview. These views are shaped by our family and

“What is a worldview? A worldview comprises one 's collection of presuppositions, convictions and values from which a person tries to understand and make sense out of the world and life. A worldview is a conceptual scheme by which we consciously or unconsciously place or fit everything we believe and by which we interpret and judge reality. A worldview is, first of all, an explanation and interpretation of the world and second, an application of this view to life.” (Dr. John MacArthur, May 2006).

When it comes to viewing the world, there are many different ways to do so. Astonishingly, there is an abundance of ways to view the world and the existing power that dwell within it. Everyone develops their own view of the world, sometimes agreeing with other worldviews, and sometimes disagreeing. Having different worldviews causes people to interpret the world differently. According to the theistic worldview, God is the ultimate reality, but “Enuma Elish,” and “The Epic of Gilgamesh,” depicts that other deities maintain absolute power. Though an innumerable amount of world views exists, the Theistic worldview ranks superior.

perfect fulfillment on earth requires understanding, and a true understanding can be reached only through

A worldview is a set of assumptions or presuppositions that an individual constructs to answer questions about life. Ones worldview is found at the center of their being. Many compare a worldview to glasses, which provide the lenses through which one views the world. These lenses allow one to answer what Leroy Forelines refers to as “the inescapable questions of life.” Forlines suggests, “It is impossible for us to escape asking such

It creates a base for understanding and recognizing the world around us, along with everything it entails. It also gives an individual an opportunity to evaluate what shapes their personal choices and behaviors. This forges self-awareness and a belief system that leads one's future, whether it involves culture, religion, relationships, and/or decisions. A person's worldview may change and expand with each experience and factor faced. One interacts with people of all walks of life on a daily basis, and understanding the factors that make up their worldview helps a person communicate. Worldview is applicable in everyone and anyone's life, and strongly lays the foundation of influence for all. The questions perpetuated daily on the why, how, and the what of something are the principles of better understanding

“You don’t have to understand the desert; all you have to do is contemplate a simple gain of sand, and you will see in it all the marvels of creation” (127). This line from the famous book, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho really shows how mankind tries to focus on the bigger picture when they can’t even see what is close to them. This line applies to society nowadays because it shows how we are focused on future things and things that don’t change whether we have them or not.

Life is not viewed in just one perspective. Everyone has a different point of view when they are looking at the same thing. In “Two Ways of Seeing a River” by Mark Twain, he writes about how everything he saw on the river held beauty within it. Eventually, everything he saw soon became an indicator of possible problems that should be avoided so he could safely navigate a steamboat up the river. Twain talks about how once he was on the river long enough, everything had a new meaning to him.

I posit that God if [He] does exist is ageless, timeless, omniscient, and omnipresent insofar as He exists in a dimension outside time and three-dimensional space. Because of that, and given the limits of epistemic accessibility, it seems rather impossible to say with certainty what about God is objectively true. In fact, to say anything more than that outside of what is possibly or probably the case concerning God, is akin to poetry, a series of metaphors characterizing a hyper-dimensional being. In fact, it seems odd to attach a gender to the Divine, much less an anthropomorphic form with such certainty. From hereafter, I propose that we refer to God as either an ‘It’ or, if one felt so inclined, seeing as only a mother could incubate life prior to birth, I propose

Dr. Phillip C. McGraw once wrote, “No matter how flat you make a pancake, it’s still got two sides”. Humans have overcome many obstacles throughout our existence, but one of the biggest obstacles that we still face today is only looking at the world through our perspective. When you only look from your own perspective you miss a whole sea of different views. Whether people will admit it or not, being able to look at someone else’s point of view will bring us farther than only focusing on our own. Dr. Phillip also wrote, “It’s a skill you can cultivate, just like flipping a pancake”.

He is greater than the greatest of all. Comparing God to the gods or anyone, only shows our level how ignoramus we are, and the shallowness of our understanding of Him. God passes all. He is supreme and sovereign. Like Sennacherib, there are situations and circumstances that belittle God in our lives. They try to make us see God as minute, incapacitated, insignificant, powerless, frail, etc. Take tutorial from Hezekiah and deal with those taunting cases, like Sennacherib was dealt with (2 Kgs 19:35-37). More importantly, report them directly to God who has the best punitive measure. Do not subscribe to people, situation that make jest of your God.

Christian Theism, a very common worldview today. Christians take death at heart, and most plan to go to heaven when they die also. Christians believe there is one God and two places to go when you die. One is Heaven and one is Hell. Two places in the spirit world that are total opposites. One is the happiest places with God and Believers, peaceful, full of love, and the most beautiful place possible. Hell, keeps you eternally separated from God, and is the deepest, darkest hole, full of hate, fire, no water, smoke and full on Non-Believers of Christ. Once a person dies and draws their last breath, Christians believe their soul is already present with God. The capsule left, is nothing but a vessel which helped the spirit of this person while on earth in the physical form. The body is then prepared for burial or cremation, services planned and carried out according to the deceased and/or the family. The body is then buried in a couple of different ways. But the main thing is that if a Believer, the soul is

We view the world based on our passions. For example if you are passionate about food then you'll go through life relating random things to food. In Bend It Like Beckham, Jess is extremely passionate about soccer even though her family disagrees because it is unusual. Her passion causes her to view the world differently than her family. It is the same for us, if we are passionate about something, we will find a way. If it's imp we'll find

I can recall as a kid continually asking myself the "why" questions of life. What is the motivation behind life? What are we doing here? What is the reason for life? Why influence certain things to happen? What's more, is there truly a Divine being? I had constantly hushed up about these questions and in the long run, drove them insane through and through. I was brought up in a Christian family and you have simply been unallowed to make inquiries of that nature and uncertainty. The world is how it is because God made it that way and that is about it.