Reflective Essay On Religion

I became a Christian when I was 8 years old in the summer between 1st grade and 2nd grade, I grew up in a Christian household, and we went/still go to First Baptist Church of Hendersonville, TN. As I grew up I found that I thought what it meant to be a Christian was by going to church, believing in Jesus, and being kind to others, that is what I thought until high school, I knew there was much more to it, but I did not know where to start. Once I hit high school, I became more grounded in my faith. I developed a great Sunday school group all four years that I was blessed to have and they were not afraid to go deeper and I also joined the last two years of high school growing in a Wednesday night group. I thought of my Sunday school teachers

As I grew up I attended a church daycare which taught us about the bible, Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed (AWANA), and other various church activities. I had always been around the Christian beliefs. However, my personal walk didn’t start until the summer after my freshmen year after attending a summer camp called Momentum; now, I am unashamed to claim that I am a Christian and I love to share my faith with other people.

Growing up, I attended church every Sunday. My mother and father would wake us (my two brothers and I) up at approximately 8:00am to get us ready for both morning service and Sunday school. As the years went on, the older we grew and there came a time when morning service was non-existent. Around the age of 16 is when I stopped attending church every Sunday because of the rigorous schedule I endured. It’s not that I don’t believe in God, because without him I would not be where I am today. He is the reason for my success, my hardships, and my life in general. Believing and installing my trust in him has gotten me to the point in my life where I want to be.

Growing up I identified with being Christian (Methodist) because my grandparents were members of a Methodist church and I often attended services with them. Once I graduated high school and went to college, I began attending a nondenominational church which was a huge change from the religious experiences I had as a child. After my first experience at a nondenominational church I attended services throughout my remaining 4 years. Although I adopted my parents’ ways of worship early on prior to any life experiences, I later became independent and developed my own spiritual identity that I still identify with.

I grew up in a Christian home and was baptized as an infant. And going to church every Sunday is a norm that we cherish in my household. Attending the mid and Sunday service was mandatory since my parents were very strict. Then I always feel excited attending the Sunday service and do not understand what it meant to be a Christian or believer. Those years, I always do everything that every non believer will do and do not understand what His sacrifice on the cross meant for me.

Growing up, I was your average church goer. I attended church because it seemed like the Christian thing to do. But I never really asked myself or understood why I attended that particular(s) church. And yes I had to put an s in parentheses because I was a "Church Hopper". Let me give you the definition of a church hopper before we continue. A church hopper is someone who faithfully attends different churches on a regular basis because they have not settled on a place where God wants them. Yep!! That pretty much was the story of my life.

I have grown up in the church, I don’t remember much from before I actually became a Christian. Being raised in a church is a great thing for kids because it provides a community that you know you can trust for them to grow up in. Statistically speaking, children who grow up in the church tend to leave the church behind because they think it is childish and just a story, however, this is not true for me. When I was a kid I thought they were great stories of a hero who saved everyone, this continued until my 8th-grade year when my Grandma became very ill, she had dementia, high blood pressure, arthritis, and the list continued on. The summer of my 8th-grade year she passed away. My great Grandmother was still alive. It was hard for me to see

Religion plays an important role in my life. I identify as catholic, but there are some thing that me and my family don’t follow. We don't go to church often and when we do it's only for important events. This is because we’ve had bad experiences with

Are You Lacking This Fearless Christ Conscience Mindset? If you want to experience the powerful blessings you'll receive from focusing all your attention on Jesus Christ in everything that you do, and on everything He has done for you, and understand why this is the key to total life transformation, abundant living, quick manifestation, wholeness and wellness, then listen to this. The simple truth is, living a Christ conscience life is about depending on Jesus for everything that you need and desire, according to His word by concentrating on what He said, also what the Bible says about him, and applying it to your everyday life, by the evidence of it coming out of your mouth.

I've been attending church for as long as I can remember. The earliest time I remember going to church was when I was in pre-school, and I attended the same church until high school. Sundays were routine, we attended church, went out to eat after with other members of the church, and then went home to watch either football or baseball (sports being my second religion). Skipping church was never an option, nor did I really want to miss it. I had good friends at church, and was genuinely interested in the bible and the stories we read.

When asked the question on my definition of religion, I decided to look at it in a way that goes beyond just my religion. Religion goes much deeper than being something that we just believe in, it is a relationship or a part of a person’s culture. My purpose of religion is something for me to try and understand what my goal in life is, as well as building a relationship with a higher being. Religion gives people that higher being that they can look to for guidance and comfort. I feel that you can also express your culture through religion as well as explain some of the reasons for some of the things that you have done in your life.

There are few people that I know who believe God is real and you can see it through the person they are. It is not determined by the way they dress or the music they listen to. How loudly one sings during church does not mean they love God, although it can be. One may say God loves everyone, yet why does he send many to Hell? Others could say God was caucasian or he was colored or he was an alien. Not one person believes in exactly the same thing as the next person. I definitely have my own belief on who God is just like how I believe in my own philosophy that surrounds him, love. Love is what destroys, encourages, and creates the things in our lives and constructs the way we are. The way one chooses to express it can make everything and everyone around them become a symbol of their love, or it can make everything collapse around them. That choice defines a person's life.

As a child raised in the bible belt people to assume I am religious, but they would be paper. When I hear the word bible belt I associate it with southern Baptist which I am not. I grew up in a household where we did not attend church on Sundays, instead we would go to the lake or do other fun activities. I always remember friends asking me what church I went to and when I told them I do not go to church they were shocked. My religious experience is being raised by a catholic dad, a Christian mother, going to church with friends on the rare occasion, and now just living life knowing there is a God but not feeling the need to be in a church to be a believer.

When it comes to religion and the way I feel, I don’t expect everyone else to feel this way. I also don’t judge others for the things they believe in. I allow them to freely speak and worship as they please. I don’t really know exactly what I believe in or if I believe in anything at all. When I think about religion I have a hard time accepting that someone is above all else and gets to pick who stays and who goes, what is right and what is wrong. In the definition of religion the words “superhuman controlling power” are used. How do we accept the fact that we as people have someone who at any time could make the decision to take our lives or someone from our lives. That someone above all else, has control and could do so and leave no reason. If there is a “God” or “gods”, why is the world filled with so much harm and hate. I have never understood why this “superhuman” gets to take parts of our lives as they please and leave us wondering about life and what its actual purpose is. I personally have endured incidents throughout my life that have made me question my religion and what religion really is. Often I am told to “believe harder” and that “everything happens for a reason” but I can't see a reason.

During the course of this class, I have learned a lot about different religions. I still have an unprejudiced view of religion. However, I did not suspend my belief to have an understanding of religion. I have been able to learn of other religious beliefs without feeling threatened of my own. I found there are many different practices in other religions, some I agree with and some I do not agree with. I have come to except others, ways of worship without getting upset. I have become humble in my conclusion now that I have a better understanding of others beliefs. The world seems to jump to conclusions and be judgmental about other religions. Postponing ones judgement on a religion is a difficult thing to do. Being raised and taught a certain religion and set of beliefs is distilled in to one’s mind. I, on the other hand, reserved my personal judgement until I have learned more about it.