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Mar. 25, 2006 Over the past year, my mind has been overcome with thoughts of religion, spirituality, and faith. The first catalyst that triggered my curiosity in God was the Atlanta courthouse killings. Brian Nichols held a woman named Ashley Smith hostage, and in those hours that she was his captive, she read a chapter to him from “The Purpose Driven Life”. I decided that this might be a book worth my time, and my mother bought it for me. After reading a few chapters, I started asking myself one question, “Is God real?” A few weeks past, and Pope John Paul II died. I know that he was truly a holy man, but does that mean there is a God? I was determined to find out. Three out of four people believe that there is a God. Of course, this majority vote does not prove that God really does exist. Sometimes I have my doubts in him, and I wish that I could have a definite answer. My dilemma would be solved if only I could just pick up the phone and call him, or drive by his house and see if a car is parked there. Unfortunately, there is no physical evidence that God is real. He is in the eye of the beholder, and is perceived differently by many religions. If you believe in God, then you must play the game of life by his rules. I’m not always sure if I want to be told how I should live my life, but I know that I soon must decide if I want to be a follower of God or not. The seven deadly sins according to the bible are gluttony, greed, pride, anger, envy, lust and sloth. Things valued in the bible are charity, courage, caution, hope, justice, restraint, and faith. I always wondered when you die, if you have lived a life that did not include all the seven heavenly virtues, would God still welcome you into his Kingdom. The world was crafted very intricately and intelligently. I don’t believe that the Big Bang theory is correct, and that the earth was just THROWN together. I think that a greater force created the earth however many billions of years ago, and that greater force could in fact be God. Supposedly, God makes all of his decisions for a reason. If a relative died suddenly, people always say, “God had his reason”, a reason that no one ever finds out. Everyday, from one media source or another, we hear about bad things happening to good people. I think about abused children, innocent victims of war and victims of domestic violence. What is God’s purpose for them? If there really were a God, wouldn’t he prevent at least some of these things from happening? I went to a summer camp with my friend Ada this past July, and I was a bit apprehensive because it was a Christian-oriented camp. I was really glad that they didn’t really preach anything, but the camp leaders did offer counselling if anyone had questions about God, so on and so forth. At this time, I wasn’t thinking too much about my faith. The lady that ran the camp, Jocelyn Cameron, told the girls a story about her relationship with God one night. She told us that when she was questioning her own faith, she asked God for a sign that he existed. She was supposed to go paint houses that day, and prayed for rain so she didn’t have to go. Instead, the throbbing sun appeared through the clouds, and she was certain that God didn’t exist. A minute later, the Sun was covered with grey clouds, and a thunderstorm came. This was her sign that God did exist. I feel so overwhelmed to find the answer to this question. When will I get my sign that there is a God? It will take more than a rainstorm, that’s for sure. ------------ About the author: Taylor Abbott resides in Seattle, Washington. She is majoring in political science at the University of Washington. Email: ttaayy_@hotmail.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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