[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.When I died, I would be judged and sent to heaven, hell orpurgatory, based on my actions in life.This left me scared.I never knew if I wasgoing to spend eternity in bliss or would be tortured in the fiery pits of hell.Iknew that I had to behave.If I wanted to go to heaven, I had to listen to my 110 Writing on Religion and Deathparents and the priests.I must confess my sins every week and be forgiven by thepriest.As I got older, I began to reject these ideas and practices.I did not like thefact that I did not know what was going to happen when I died.I did notunderstand how the priests knew what was right and wrong.How did they knowhow to get into heaven and why could they forgive me for my sins?As I became a teenager, I wavered between adamantly denying God andnot knowing or caring one way or the other about his existence.I could notfathom that if there was a God he would not care if a person went to heaven orhell.My thought was that if there were a God that loved us, he would tell us howto enter his kingdom.If we were the children of God, why wouldn t he love usenough to let us be with him in paradise regardless of our behavior on earth? Ihad many reservations about a God like that.My reservations made me believethat he did not exist.I thought religion was just something people used to makethemselves feel better about their lives.The idea of a God and heaven was just avery creative way to reason away earthly misery.I thought the people thatsubscribed to a God did so to make themselves feel better about themselves andto provide themselves with a false sense of security.Then I went away to college.I drank to excess, I dressed provocativelyand I stayed out late.I was the stereotypical college kid.Then I went to church.Iwish I could say I went to get closer to God, but I did not believe he existed.I went to church because my boyfriend s family wanted me to go.Of course, Iwanted to impress them so I put on a skirt and went to church.After service, Ifound there was something that I liked about it.So the following SundayI used the excuse of wanting to impress his family to explain my desire to go tochurch again.Before the service, his grandmother told me how excited she wasto see me at church again.As the pastor began to speak, he welcomed everyone.He said he wanted to welcome the new people and to let us know that God lovesus and wants a relationship with us.As the service continued, I felt something.Ieagerly listened to every word the pastor said.The music was lively, filled myheart and had a purpose.The purpose was to glorify God.Near the end of theservice, the pastor told everyone to bow their heads and close their eyes.He thensaid a prayer.He asked people that wanted a relationship with Jesus to pray theprayer with him.I prayed the prayer with him, and began to cry.He then saidthat anyone that wanted to kneel before the Lord, to ask for guidance, forgive-ness or help to come to the front of the church and kneel.I did.From that moment on, I began to walk as a Christian.I sat with the pastorand his wife and we discussed all of my problems with God, organized religionand salvation.We spoke for hours.I pummeled them with question after ques-tion, trying to wear them down.For every question I asked, they showed me aBible verse to support what they were saying.Of all the verses we went over thatnight, one stood apart.Ephesians 2:8 9 says, For by grace are ye saved throughfaith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man Writing on Religion and Death 111should boast. This verse answered my questions on salvation.God did make iteasy for us to enter his kingdom.All we have to do is believe in him, and we aresaved.We do good works to show God we love him, not so that we can enterheaven.As I read the Bible more, and began my walk as a Christian, more of myquestions were answered.Priests do not have the ability to forgive me: they aresinners just like me.God is the only one that can forgive my sins.I am a born-again Christian.I am a fundamentalist Baptist.This does notmean that I stand in the street screaming at people, telling them they are goingto hell.It does not mean that I cannot mix into the unsaved world.I am anexample.I try to live a Godly life and be a light to people, both saved andunsaved.I want to help those that do not believe in Jesus as their savior to seethe light.I have unsaved friends and saved friends.Being a fundamentalistBaptist means that the Bible is the untainted word of God.This belief allows meto know that I will go to heaven when I die [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.When I died, I would be judged and sent to heaven, hell orpurgatory, based on my actions in life.This left me scared.I never knew if I wasgoing to spend eternity in bliss or would be tortured in the fiery pits of hell.Iknew that I had to behave.If I wanted to go to heaven, I had to listen to my 110 Writing on Religion and Deathparents and the priests.I must confess my sins every week and be forgiven by thepriest.As I got older, I began to reject these ideas and practices.I did not like thefact that I did not know what was going to happen when I died.I did notunderstand how the priests knew what was right and wrong.How did they knowhow to get into heaven and why could they forgive me for my sins?As I became a teenager, I wavered between adamantly denying God andnot knowing or caring one way or the other about his existence.I could notfathom that if there was a God he would not care if a person went to heaven orhell.My thought was that if there were a God that loved us, he would tell us howto enter his kingdom.If we were the children of God, why wouldn t he love usenough to let us be with him in paradise regardless of our behavior on earth? Ihad many reservations about a God like that.My reservations made me believethat he did not exist.I thought religion was just something people used to makethemselves feel better about their lives.The idea of a God and heaven was just avery creative way to reason away earthly misery.I thought the people thatsubscribed to a God did so to make themselves feel better about themselves andto provide themselves with a false sense of security.Then I went away to college.I drank to excess, I dressed provocativelyand I stayed out late.I was the stereotypical college kid.Then I went to church.Iwish I could say I went to get closer to God, but I did not believe he existed.I went to church because my boyfriend s family wanted me to go.Of course, Iwanted to impress them so I put on a skirt and went to church.After service, Ifound there was something that I liked about it.So the following SundayI used the excuse of wanting to impress his family to explain my desire to go tochurch again.Before the service, his grandmother told me how excited she wasto see me at church again.As the pastor began to speak, he welcomed everyone.He said he wanted to welcome the new people and to let us know that God lovesus and wants a relationship with us.As the service continued, I felt something.Ieagerly listened to every word the pastor said.The music was lively, filled myheart and had a purpose.The purpose was to glorify God.Near the end of theservice, the pastor told everyone to bow their heads and close their eyes.He thensaid a prayer.He asked people that wanted a relationship with Jesus to pray theprayer with him.I prayed the prayer with him, and began to cry.He then saidthat anyone that wanted to kneel before the Lord, to ask for guidance, forgive-ness or help to come to the front of the church and kneel.I did.From that moment on, I began to walk as a Christian.I sat with the pastorand his wife and we discussed all of my problems with God, organized religionand salvation.We spoke for hours.I pummeled them with question after ques-tion, trying to wear them down.For every question I asked, they showed me aBible verse to support what they were saying.Of all the verses we went over thatnight, one stood apart.Ephesians 2:8 9 says, For by grace are ye saved throughfaith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man Writing on Religion and Death 111should boast. This verse answered my questions on salvation.God did make iteasy for us to enter his kingdom.All we have to do is believe in him, and we aresaved.We do good works to show God we love him, not so that we can enterheaven.As I read the Bible more, and began my walk as a Christian, more of myquestions were answered.Priests do not have the ability to forgive me: they aresinners just like me.God is the only one that can forgive my sins.I am a born-again Christian.I am a fundamentalist Baptist.This does notmean that I stand in the street screaming at people, telling them they are goingto hell.It does not mean that I cannot mix into the unsaved world.I am anexample.I try to live a Godly life and be a light to people, both saved andunsaved.I want to help those that do not believe in Jesus as their savior to seethe light.I have unsaved friends and saved friends.Being a fundamentalistBaptist means that the Bible is the untainted word of God.This belief allows meto know that I will go to heaven when I die [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]