Intro to Religion Blog

For my final blog I thought it would be appropriate to discuss my personal religion, Christianity, and my personal relationship with God.  There came a time in my life where I was mad at God. I felt as if he had placed me on the wrong path in life. One bad thing after another fell in my path, and I felt as if God had turned on me. Although, throughout the struggles, I never stopped believing he would always be there for me, and would someday, sooner or later, turn everything around for the better.

Last January my dad was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, and I thought my life would never be the same. I was right, but in a different way than I previously assumed. Although I originally reacted by being mad at God, I realized he was the person I should be turning to for help in my time of need. This strengthened my relationship with God and ultimately led me through my struggles. I knew I could talk to God at anytime, about anything, and he would understand, and guide me with the right mind-set.

This impacted my life by allowing me the chance to change my life forever. I have gained a whole new perspective on the life God had given me. When my dad was sick, I found a new appreciation for the life I was living, because you never know when it may end. I learned to take nothing for granted, because the next day it may not be there. I also was enlightened with the knowledge that everything does happen for a reason. And although at times it seems as if there is no way to justify it, in the end it may change your life. I know that God will always be part of my life, and I know he will continue to be there for me, as long as I continue to believe in his unending powers.

Can a singer receive the honor to have a religion based upon them? Can the “King of Rock-and-Roll” receive this honor? What do you think? Going into class today I would have never believed there was religion defined as the “Elvis Religion”. But after leaving class I have put this belief into a different perspective. I believe that there is such thing as an Elvis religion and an Elvis Pilgrimage.

Many embark on pilgrimages to Israel and Jerusalem to experience God and Jesus through the Christian religion, so how would this differ from people enduring a pilgrimage to Graceland to worship Elvis? It doesn’t. If worshiping God and Jesus through pilgrimages is considered to be a religion, than travelling to Graceland for Elvis should be considered a religion as well.

When reading the Elvis article I found many relationships between our studies in Introduction to Religion relating to the pilgrims definition of an Elvis religion. For example, the text of the religion is considered to be his lyrics, they cross a limin to relate to the Turner model, and Graceland as a whole, is considered to be sacred space, where one feels safe and without chaos. So I will ask the question again. Do you believe a religion can be based upon a famous singer?

Although I am a Christian, I can justify the belief of reincarnation by symbolizing aspects throughout my own life. I feel that certain routines and situations of our lives could be considered as having a circular worldview. For example, I believe that January 1^st, New Years, marks the beginning of this circle, only to begin the circle again when celebrating New Years a year later.

Annual happening justify this belief due to the fact that each year we celebrate the same holidays, on the same days. Seasons cycle occur throughout the same time period each year, and allows us to predict this cycle the following year because of the rotation in a circular cycle by beginning and ending once each year.

Another powerful example is the process of starting school. School shopping begins in early August, you begin school in late August, and are released in late May. Summer break allows three months of freedom, and when August comes this circular routine begins once again.

Although as a Christian I was raised to look at situations in a timeline prospective, the class Introduction to Religion as allowed me to develop and form other opinions through learning other religions and beliefs. Each day we live through a circular worldview without recognizing it. We wake up each day and perform the same routines each day, week, month, and year.

I was raised in a Christian church of a Lutheran denomination. It is a small country church five miles from town that averages thirty to forty members for attendance each week. By the time I was old enough to stay awake through the entire service, I had the entire service memorized from start to finish. Our services were very routine, with traditional hymns and a predictable order. We always said the same prayers and creeds in unison, and were dismissed at almost the exact same time each week.
Due to being raised in such a manner, I am amazed at the ways of worship introduced to us through the Hindu culture. They have multiple services to attend weekly, whereas mine were each Sunday, and Wednesday nights while in Confirmation classes.

In Hindu services noise is classified as the norm, but in my church if someone yells or screams everyone turns their head to see who it was and laugh in reaction. In my typical church service we sit and stand when told to do so, but in Hindu services there are no other options but to stand. Many people who worship in this manner chose to reach their hands upwards, and many jump up and down to present their passion. To me these worship ceremonies would be considered chaos because it is on the opposite end of the spectrum from my rural, small town, church in the country.

Can you imagine living your life through a circle perspective rather than a timeline that abruptly begins and ends? I have never considered the belief of reincarnation to be true, until Tuesday that is. In reincarnation an individual is born, lives a normal life, dies, and then soon returns as something “new” to the ultimate reality of the whole universe. The keys word in that definition is “new”. We as students need to note that in reincarnation something is made new, and not made as an original. Throughout my life I have heard the basic definition to be something along the lines of, “When you die, you live again, but through another life.” Although, after grasping and comprehending the real understanding, I understand where individuals set the guidelines to believe in this.

I am a teenage girl therefore I believe in karma, but now in a scholarly way rather than in a catty way. Karma is the mechanism to “workout” damage, errors, or mistakes made in your first life, and being allowed the chance to “redo” them in your second life. These particular corrections may take up to multiple lifetimes to fully amend.

Although I am a Christian and believe that death results to the same life carried through to Heaven, I now have an understanding to individual’s reasoning behind the belief of reincarnation, to return to Earth as a “new” aspect.

Everyone is open to misconceptions because they believe what they hear on the news, and what they read in the newspapers. I will admit I am a person who often falls to misconceptions. I feel that misconceptions come from lethargic attitudes to find the whole truth of certain matters.

When discussing the major misconceptions of the Islamic religion I was shocked. I was appalled with the first topic relating to the misunderstanding of the God Muslims worship. I feel that it is unethical and inhuman to question. Muslims worship to the same God Christians do, they just chose different worshiping techniques, and as Americans, we tend to react to changes throughout the social norm, resulting in misconceptions beyond our own religions. All Muslims are part of the family of Abraham. They may speak a different language or read with various methods, but that doesn’t divide religions between God.

I feel that we all need to take control of our own beliefs and the filter in which other’s beliefs come through. If we “hear” something we are unsure about or further curious about, we need to use our resources to avoid misconceptions that can be discriminating towards religions or specific individuals.

When pondering about Judaism and the Jews, we often always think about the horrendous years in history, known as the Holocaust. I am glad I have expanded my horizon of the knowledge relating to Judaism, to learn more about this particular monotheistic religion.

When learning and discussing the topic of Judaism, I was most fascinated with the Hebrew language they speak. It is hard to believe that we read the “wrong” way by reading left to right, and the Jewish read the “right” way by reading right to left. I was also amazed that their writings do not contain any vowels.

I also found our discussion about Seder meals interesting, because I have attended Seder meals before. Although I am Lutheran, my rural country church prepares a Seder meal for the community every year. This has been a tradition in our church for five years now.

When attending Seder meals I find the readings to be interesting. Each guest must read at least one passage, and the readings often call on particular individuals, such as the eldest person attending and the youngest person attending. These readings prompt the event’s order, such as when it is proper to eat which foods. Although the foods do not seem appetizing, it is a great experience to step out of your comfort zone, to have a taste of other cultures.

Everywhere you go there will be a set of rules. But when do rules reach too high of an extreme? I feel that in the book The Unlikely Disciple, Liberty had a radical amount of rules to follow, in order to live your life “the liberty way”. But on the other hand, in order to maintain a superior status such as that, a large set of strict rules is necessary. I feel that the students at Morningside would have a completely different outlook on the rules and guidelines here if they were to read this book, or live out an experience such as Kevin did.

For example, many of our professors use profanity throughout their lectures, while at Liberty if a student were to use profanity; they would be reprimanded and most likely presented with a large fine. Now, can you imagine signing and checking out every time you leave campus? I know some of us take our Wal-Mart trips for granted after hearing that rule! I feel that some of the rules invaded on personal space. For example, Morningside students complained about one or two room checks throughout the year, where at Liberty your room was checked at least three times a week, and had to be clean.

I feel that if I was in Kevin’s position I would have a hard time adjusting to certain rules. We were all brought up and raised to believe what our parents believe, and act in the manners they consider appropriate. Our parent’s rules and expectations differ from person to person, but can you imagine changing every aspect of your life’s guidelines just to fit into an experiment such as this?

Each of us needs to take this adjustment into individual perspectives. We need to begin looking at the bright side of the rules that have been placed before us, while taking the time to be thankful for the freedom we are granted as individuals preparing our futures.

We all have chaos in our lives, but the way we cope and handle chaotic situations define who we are as a person in society. While discussing the Eliade reading we conversed about “the real” known as cosmos and evil threats known as chaos, throughout pilgrimage. When first reading this I was overwhelmed with the many different perspectives on what was considered to be “scared space.” After discussing the reading in class I found this concept to be very intriguing, while allowing each student in class to form their own individualistic opinion about their sacred space.

Cosmos are known as “the real” because they are the most sacred spots known to individuals. These sacred spots are the places that are closest to the center of the Earth, which is peaceful, safe ground with no chaos or conflicts. At this time they believe the Earth was flat so each group would attempt to find axis mundi, which is known as the connection between Earth and heaven. Examples of axis mundi are ladders, mountains, trees, stairways, and anything that may signify a pathway to heavens doors. For many of us our safe center is a place in our homes due to familiarity. My personal sacred space is my bedroom. This is where I feel most comfortable and at-ease.

Chaos can occur anywhere, but Eliade believed the closer you are to the center, the farther away you are from evil and despair. A section in our reading discussed the choices of sacrifice that may be needed in order to create to restore peace in a cosmo. An example of this would be drama during middle school. For example, many girls had to chose to be someone they were not, and sacrifice who they really are, or they were their own person, but made the sacrifice to be “shunned” from the popular group of girls. But while being in their sacred space, such as a bedroom or living room, they were free to be who they wanted to be without judgment or chaos.

I feel that everyone should be able to relate to this reading because everyone has, or will, go through chaos and conflict sometime throughout their lives. On the contrary, everyone has a sacred place to unfold, and be at peace in life.

Being born and raised in a small community has taught me to expand within myself and through others in order to work together to achieve anything. I have always had a great sense of community, whether it is related to volunteer work, or attending various events. I feel that my community has developed into what it is today through family, friends, and church groups.

Of the four men we have studied, my beliefs correlate most with Durkheim’s perception of religion thus far. As quoted in our reading, “Religion is a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to ‘sacred things’ that is to say, things sat apart and forbidden. These practices ‘unite into one moral community and church’”. I also believe a system of beliefs should be based upon ideas or spectrums in our lives that we consider sacred, such as the cross. Without community ethics and support I would not be the person I am today. My small community has taught me to give and serve as if there is no tomorrow.

In order to belong to a Christian church family or denomination, you must have a set of morals and values. Durkheim’s insight of taboo sets certain aspects to be considered “off limits”. The Ten Commandments represent spectrums considered to be “off limits” in my life, such as, not stealing and to not disobey parents and guardians.

While being placed within a church family I have surpassed many milestones in my life, known as practice. Durkheim believes in practices, acknowledges as rites and rituals. Rites are known as a significant happening in one’s life that only occurs once, such as baptism and confirmation. Along with rites, come rituals. Each Christian denomination practices with a set of rituals. In my church rituals would be considered, attending worship on Sunday, holidays, praying, and more. Rituals are any practices one may repeat, opposed to milestones occurring once.

Although the four men studied thus far have extreme beliefs, I find myself drawn to Durkheim’s definition to be the most compatible with my own.  Although a disadvantage may be the lack for evolution and change, I wonder why change is necessary. If his definition has remained significant in history this long, maybe an evolution to his beliefs isn’t necessary.