As I opened the door leading into Guiding Light Mission, I felt a strong gust of air. I believe that was the breath of the Holy Spirit, filling my heart with love and compassion. In just a blink of an eye, the Holy Spirit changed my life.
Before walking into Guiding Light, I did not know it existed. Further, I had only vague notions about the Heartside Neighborhood, yet God would use those two locations, where suffering abounds, to change my life. In these locations, I found my purpose, my vocation, and my worldview. In short, I discovered who I was in Christ. The Holy Spirit gave me the ability to show love and compassion for those suffering. He showed me how to develop deep and lasting friendships, by being humble, listening well, and
…show more content…
The aim of this paper is to contrast my former worldview to my current worldview. The outline for this paper is first to describe what suffering is like in Heartside and Guiding Light. Next, I will contrast my newly discovered worldview with my old worldview. Last, I will share the challenge to my worldview because of my awareness of suffering among the marginalized in Heartside and in Guiding Light.
Suffering
I saw more suffering in Guiding Light and Heartside than I had over my entire life. For example, I saw two men passed out from drinking too much wine that is what I guessed when I saw one of them still clutching a wine bottle. It was only mid-afternoon and they were unconscious lying in the entry of an abandoned building. I also saw people milling about and smoking during normal working hours. However, instead of working, they were gossiping, commiserating about lack of work, or making drug deals. In Guiding Light, I saw young men whose lives were a mess due to addiction. I saw older men who had struggled with addiction all their lives. I realized addiction is a battle lasting a lifetime; some win the war, most lose the war.
A New Worldview
As stated earlier, my worldview was “the theology of glory.” Those who hold to the theology of glory expect a powerful God. Further, they expect God’s blessing and success in the world if they can follow God’s law without failure. This was true of the Pharisees in Jesus day and true among
During my preparation, I was able to discover more about my true self. It was as if I was looking at myself from above. I deepened my faith and felt closer to God every moment I heard something new.
Suffering is part of the human condition in which one undergoes pain, distress or hardships. When most people suffer from any sort of distress, they experience terrible agony. Depression, at times, is their end result. However, others attempt to escape suffering and become stronger individuals. They begin discovering inner strengths, which allows them to get past suffering rather than becoming weaker. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano and A Narrative of the Captivity by Mary Rowlandson are both narratives written by two individuals in which they are faced with the challenge of overcoming obstacles that refrain them from growing stronger and detaining from the affliction they are met with. These obstacles include of distress, struggles and difficulties.
All of humanity suffers at one point or another during the course of their lives. It is in this suffering, this inevitable pain, that one truly experiences life. While suffering unites humankind, it is how we choose to cope with this pain that defines us as individuals. The question becomes do we let suffering consume us, or do we let it define our lives? Through James Baldwin’s story, “Sonny’s Blues”, the manner by which one confronts the light and darkness of suffering determines whether one is consumed by it, or embraces it in order to “survive.” Viewing a collection of these motifs, James Baldwin’s unique perspective on suffering as a crucial component of human development becomes apparent. It is through his compassionate portrayal of
This essay is about the universal refugee experience and the hardships that they have to go through on their journey. Ha from Inside Out and Back Again and other refugees from the article “Children of War” all struggle with the unsettling feeling of being inside out because they no longer own the things that mean the most to them. Ha and the other refugees all encounter similar curiosities of overcoming the finding of that back again peaceful consciousness in the “new world” that they are living in .
We were engendered to live and interact with others because that’s what makes our lives consequential. In our world, there are many perpetual malefactions of human suffering that cadge for people’s attention. Surprisingly, not many of us avail others in any way, shape, or form and that might be due to different factors that circumvent us. Sundry authors distributed their opinion through articles and documentaries about the causes and effects of human suffering. During times of distress and suffering, people often times react in an unresponsive and careless manner which results in reinforcing the enemy, and perpetrators of iniquity.
As human beings everyone suffers but we all suffer differently. Some suffer emotionally, some suffer physically, some suffer mentally. And through suffering and pain we gain different experiences, we either overcome pain and sorrows or we break down waste our lives. Edwidge Danticat present the theme of suffering in each of her stories. In all the stories the characters have to go through pain, but they all over come it in different ways. This is true in real life too. in the children of the sea that characters suffer but the outcome is that, in 1937 the outcome is inner peace, and My outcome is discovering myself.
Human development is an ongoing process of not just, Hawkins concentric circle known as, the body, but the soul. His Temporal Systems circle that includes family, friends, church, society, government, economy, and education are what help shape and develop these areas of one’s life. During this process of human development painful things happen and if not dealt with can cause damaging results later. The title of Wilson’s book, Hurt People Hurt People, is a perfect description of what can happen. Wilson, knowing change is not easy, said it best when she said, “We must enter the change process with open eyes. When we do, we’ll see that the necessary truth requires tears, time and even some terror” (p. 96).
To sum up, I was amazed how the entire world carries on the same story. Looking at the addiction as the disease has made my life easier. I heard the same story of anger, guilt and love, which I needed to review in my mind. It was very refreshing for me, so I believe that newcomers would feel the same when they find the similarity of their experiences with other
This semester of Christian Worldview has been beneficial for me learning more about all different types of worldviews. I started this class with a Christian background but a clean slate of not knowing what my true worldview really was. As I went through the semester, I gained tons of new knowledge to help me understand how my opinions matched with the different worldviews.
The main theme in this book is that of individual experience, which is written as if the reader was looking through the eyes of the narrator, not knowing the context, but understanding how life is for those who have been through the experience.
The book is neither meant to be a theological treatise nor an academic exposition but a toolkit to unleash human potentials; a resource for intervention in dealing with human life hurts and as a channel of Gods healing and liberation through Jesus Christ.
As we look back on history we can see that human beings have made great strides as well as suffered many setbacks in our development of fundamental doctrines and/or beliefs by which we live and view the world. These foundational beliefs have provided the framework for which all civilizations preserve, cooperate, and govern their way of life. Certainly throughout history, the spread of Christian theology and doctrine has been influential in establishing and developing a deeply rooted theistic and biblical worldview foundation; thus being the center of much debate. In light of the various views within Christian theology, we will focus specifically on doctrine that is foundational to the Christian
Two central themes to understanding the human condition are suffering and morality. Humans contrive morality to be a set of values deemed right or wrong in a society, and are often defined by institutions. These guidelines shape the way people live and how they react to life’s circumstances. Suffering is one emotion crucial to the understanding of existence. In a time of pain, an individual often seeks direction from a higher power, like the church. Institutions such as religion are a way of expressing morality and a means to cope with suffering, a crucial understanding of the human condition.
“The Mission” is a motion picture, directed by Roland Joffe in 1986, about a Jesuit mission that is threatened by greed and imperialism in the late 18th century in the Brazilian jungle. Father Gabriel, played by Jeremy Irons, climbs the mountains of Brazil to bring Christianity to the natives. He is successful and brings about a golden age among them. Mendoza, played by Robert De Niro, a slave trader, kills his brother, Felipe played by Aidan Quinn, in a fit of rage over a woman named Carlotta, played by Cherie Lunghi. Only Fr. Gabriel's leadership prevents his suicide. Gabriel brings Mendoza to work at his mission with the natives, and Mendoza finds peace and asks to become a priest. The Church, under pressure, gives the land up to the
It assisted me in how to look closely at my journey, vocation, devotional and meditational times. As I take on this journey trying my best to stay on path with God, who will lead me in a righteous way I plan to stay close to him. What is my journey consisted of? Paying attention to my call, make sure I am aware that it is a journey that I will not along in, but I will always feel like I am in the presences of God.