Reflective Essay On My Religious Experience

I grew up in a Hispanic Catholic household. In my younger years my family attended a Catholic church every Sunday, and my sister and I also went to Sunday school right before the service started. As a child, I didn't really think about church and the idea of religion because I mostly just followed the beliefs of the adults around me. To me, church and Sunday school were just things that my parents required me to go to. My older sister on the other hand, did not really appreciate the idea of church and Christianity and I really did not understand why she didn't want to go to church or just listen to my parents. Over time I learned that she considered herself an atheist and she had always questioned religion and most importantly Christianity. About the same time, my family stopped attending church and we disconnected ourselves from religion. I was still use to my mother praying during meals and speaking about God but we never took the time

Evidence has linked a strong relationship between spirituality and medicine. There is a positive correlation between a patient’s spirituality or religious commitment and health outcomes. A spiritual assessment as a part of a health assessment is a practical step to incorporating patient’s spiritual needs into practice. The FICA Tool and HOPE Questions provide serve to assist clinicians in the spiritual assessment process. By examining the research done using these tools, it has been determined that the FICA Tool is easy to use and provides basic data on a patient’s spirituality. The FICA tool is both reliable and valid. The HOPE Questions are

Of all the incredible divine qualities Jesus Christ exemplifies, the one I love most is His constancy. He is the same “yesterday, today, and forever,” and as Moroni teaches us, from Him cometh “every good gift.” Because Jesus Christ is constant, all of God’s children who have ever lived or ever will live on the Earth can look to the scriptures and prophets to identify patterns of obedience by which they may obtain every one of these good gifts, This is in accordance with that law decreed in heaven, that “when we obtain any blessing from God, it is by obedience to that law upon which it was predicated.”

Mark R. McMinn’s (2011) Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality in Christian Counseling establish a way to bring Psychology, Theology, and Spirituality to Christian Counselors. He introduces a replica of how to integrate the three disciplines in the counseling office. The purpose of the book is to instruct counselors how to integrate categories of Psychology, Theology and Spirituality into Christian Counseling. McMinn (2011) contends that many challenges both professional and personal face Christian Counselors on the frontier of intradisciplinary integration. (Intradisciplinary integration is the new emerging frontier for Christian Counselors).

When I was growing up, religion was around me but I didn’t really pay too much mind to it. I would go to church rarely, a couple of times with my grandma and sometimes with my dad. My mom didn’t care about

| |the intellectual conversation of topics that were discussed. I also enjoyed the learning |

Just what is theology? This question can have a wide variety of answers, from irrelevant facts about God thought up by men centuries ago, to complicated theories discussed by scholars. Typically, the average 21st century man does not consider theology as relevant. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. Theology by definition has the characteristics of both expounding the truth, and impacting the believer with that truth (Himes, 2011). Therefore, theology and the church are intricately combined, in that the church embodies the revelation of God, and is reality, not theory (Himes, 2011). A personal practical theology must begin with revelation, not the individual (Himes, 2011), and proclaim

Throughout the semester I have developed an understanding for the spiritual disciplines; silence, solitude, and Sabbath; which has taught me how to live an intention Christ-centered life. The disciplines have not only helped my personal daily life, but they have also helped me better understand Christ himself. I can, without a doubt, say that I know that God gave us the gifts of spiritual disciplines to help guide us in the crazy culture we live in. I have gained a new appreciation for the maker of our world as He has gone out of His way to love on us, and all He asks us in return to practice disciplines and grow closer to him. The disciplines have have taught me that seeking God is about more than just saying a prayer before bed. Instead, it is practicing the disciplines and seeing His faithfulness through the actions. My practice of silence has taught me that the world is a loud place full of so many distractions. This specific practice has helped me seek God, in a deep way, by committing to listening to him in silence rather than wondering why I could never here him in the midst of the crowds. My practice of solitude has become a sort of Bible study time for me. A time to be alone and remember all the good our King has done and will continue to do for us. My practice of Sabbath has helped me start of each week with a positive outlook. Surprisingly it has also given me a deeper understanding of academics as well as it forces me to get my homework done before my day of

Spiritual practice and theological inquiry are not mutually exclusive, rather they possess an intrinsic connection. This relationship also exists between spirituality and self-reflexivity, promoting an examined life which connects to a larger moral vision that extends beyond the self into the community. Spirituality, theological inquiry, and self-reflexivity interact as a paradox of religious identity rooted in one’s being while also being critically open, fair-minded, and participatory in dialogue. Karl Rahner’s “The Hearer of the Message” delineates the inherent connectivity between academic and spiritual life, religious tradition and community, theology and self-reflexivity. Through the lense of Rahner, I will argue that the self-reflexive writing and pursuit of philosophical theology in both religious and academic contexts is a spiritual practice.

Religious Experiences are in the Mind of the Believer “A religious experience is a spontaneous or induced mental event over which the recipient has relatively little control. It is often accompanied with the gaining of certain knowledge and the experience is always unique. ”[1

Christianity is the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Most followers of Christianity, called Christians, are members of one of three major groups--Roman Catholic, Protestant, or Eastern Orthodox. These groups have different beliefs about Jesus and His teachings. But all consider Jesus central to their religion. Most Christians believe God sent Jesus into the world as the Savior. Christianity teaches that humanity can achieve salvation through Jesus.

Growing up, my parents taught me the basic of Roman Catholicism because it was the right thing to do according to our ancestors. We weren 't religious, but rather lived by a good moral code and felt spiritual in our family. Church and

Spirituality plays a very sub sequential role in my personal life. First of all, spirituality helps me govern what is right and what is wrong in my life. Many of the decisions that I make everyday, I believe are a direct result of my spirituality. For as long as I can remember I have been raised to believe that I should live my life the way God would want me to live it. Therefore, whenever I have a decision to make, I have to consider, what is right? And what is wrong? Second of all, it also helps me to feel more secure about what will happen to my spirit once my life here on earth is over. I believe that there is a better place for our spirits once we leave this earth.

What religion am I? In my life, I have been told many things about my religion. My mother is a Roman Catholic, while my father is Jewish. I have learned about both religions, and I have tried to practice both as best I could, but I am now faced with the decision; which one am I?

According to Hill, faith is a human act of will and a gift from God, involving deep emotions and trust in ourselves and others, and requiring us to be involved with other groups and communities. As it stands today, I believe that I can place myself in the middle range of Stage 4 of faith development. However, I wasn't always this confident in my relationship with God. Until recent changes in my life, there is no doubt in my mind that my faith could be categorized only in low Stage 3. Hill points out that faith is about the human response to experience, and after several turning points in my life I agree.