Theology & Religious Studies Assignment
15 Pages4667 Words185 Views
Added on 2020-05-11
Theology & Religious Studies Assignment
Added on 2020-05-11
ShareRelated Documents
Running head: THEOLOGY AND RELEGIOUS STUDY Theology and Religious Study Name of the StudentName of the UniversityAuthor Note
1THEOLOGY AND RELEGIOUS STUDYIntroduction:As I look back to a time when I was merely 21 years old, I remember a person who was agreat devotee to Christ, praising him and showing him gratitude for having helped me and all myfriends get cured of illnesses, and lead a magically wonderful life. My family is highly areligious one, and I was being made aware of the omniscience of Christ, right from a very tenderage. From the age of 5, I started attending the Church prayers on Sundays, and was being taughtto thank Christ for all the good life and grace he has showered on all of us. My parents kept onre-iterating the same thing each day, that Christ is our saviour, and as I would attend the Churchon Mondays, I would behold the Biblical scenes engraved on the walls of the Church. I was tooyoung to feel a sense of awe and inspiration for the allegorical significance of the pictures.Nevertheless, I would stand in awe and surprise, as I would appreciate the artistic detail of theeye of the painter, and the bright, colourful aspects of the Church paintings. By the time I was14, I knew that Christ is the saviour, and through intense suffering. At school, I got myselfacquainted with Julian of Norwich who would always believe in the goodness of the Almighty,and I was inspired to learn how she had a series of visions of Christ, that is said to have cured herof her deadly illness in a short while1. I had a school friend, named Robbin, who one day handeddown to me a famous book named The Book of Mergery Kempe, that carefully details thevarious domestic tribulations of the author, her extensivepilgrimagesto holy sites inEuropeandtheHoly Land, as well as her mystical conversations with God. Although I was alwaysencouraged to commit and dedicate myself to Christ, I was unable to feel a deep connection inthe beginning2. Merely attending the Church, and listening to the Biblical quotes would not1Smith, Kathleen E. "An old cathedral for a New Russia: The symbolic politics of the reconstituted church of Christthe Saviour."Religion, State and Society: The Keston Journal25.2 (1997): 163-175.2Lochrie, Karma.Margery Kempe and translations of the flesh. University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012.
2THEOLOGY AND RELEGIOUS STUDYsatiate my inner urge to be reconciled to the Almighty. Although worship was an integral part ofmy life, I would often feel deprived of the spiritual connection, the Bishop in the Church wouldtalk about. However, as I started reading about Julian of Norwich and her spiritual experience, aswell as The Book of Mergery Kempe, I started experiencing the spiritual calling both thesewomen felt, and how their own personal experience, and not any Christian theological speech,altered their life. As I came across a woman’s recounting of her spiritual tale, I was fascinated byhow a lay woman could experience the Holy Spirit, without the intervention of the Churchauthorities. For the coming Sundays, I would not ever go to the Church, unless compelled to. Iwould be able to experience the Holy Spirit, present in the world, surrounding me and myfriends, and even though none would feel it, I was able to make sense of the words exclaimed inwonder by Kempe, in the extracts of the book I had. I did not require the Bishop to interpret whatwas there written in the Bible as I was experiencing them on my own, and I did not require tohear the preaching as slowly I was learning to hear the unheard words of the Holy Spirit. Slowly,thus began my journey to move from a Roman Catholic to a Pentecostal, embarking on aspiritual quest to justify every question ever had about the universe and beyond. Discussion: While I was reading the passage of Matthew 28. 16-20, and I was trying to reflect on themeaning of the passage, my own attitude towards life was changing. In this paragraph, there isone line that has remarkably influenced my perception of the Holy Spirit, and it states : “Andbehold, I am with you always, until the end of age”. This helped me realize the unchangeabletruth of the universe-the divine existence of the powerful Almighty who shall guide andenlighten mankind unto the right path of life, and all that I need is to follow the guidance. WhileI had started reading the Biblical passage, I was merely reading how it narrates the reaction of
3THEOLOGY AND RELEGIOUS STUDYthe followers of Christ on his resurrection, and yet as I proceeded with it, I started experiencing asense of certainty about the unquestionable goodness of the Spirit, which has risen and shallcontinue to exist till the end of time. I could sense the world being wrapped in the light ofgoodness and benevolence of the Holy Spirit, the recognition of whose existence can be a greatsource of joy and pleasure for the followers. The revelation of Lord, and the resurrection of HolyChrist, helped in reinforcing the belief about the existence of the Holy Spirit, as well as my beliefin a just, virtuous world. While I am reading these lines aloud, I started feeling more emotionallyoverwhelmed than before. I started experiencing a profound realization of how in life have I feltdespised and others, including my friends have disdained me3. However, on keeping my headheld high, I have been able to surmount the obstacles of disbelief, mistrust and self-doubt. In thisparagraph, I read how some women have been afraid to hear about the resurrection of Christ, anddespite the prevailing sense of fear, they managed to visit Christ in Galilee. This helped in re-affirming my faith in the Holy Spirit that is not merely confined to the walls of the Church, butcan also be explored within my mind, and outside in the Universe as well. Gradually, I was exploring a highly distinct form of spirituality, which I have neverexperienced before. I was realizing that it is not sufficient to go to the Church on Sundays andoffer my prayer and devotion to Christ. I could not sense the spirituality permeating my mind,and although I would listen to the Biblical quotes, very often would I feel the same kind ofspiritual frenzy that I had experienced, while reading Michael’s quote from the Bible. I startedrealizing that if one is listening to religious paragraphs, and offering payer to Christ, because heis expected and asked to, he is not able to fill the spiritual void inside his mind. A first-handexploration of spirituality was needed in my case, as I was feeling thirsty for a kind of spiritual3Synan, Vinson.The century of the Holy Spirit: 100 years of Pentecostal and charismatic renewal, 1901-2001.Thomas Nelson Inc, 2012.
End of preview
Want to access all the pages? Upload your documents or become a member.