today my professor asked us a few questions. I’m going to process through the thoughts as I answer the questions.
What about the creation of humankind helps us to understand where the world religions come from? Is there anything built into human beings and into the creation that helps to explain the world religions? What about the fall of humans into sin helps us understand the world religions? How does human sin contribute to the development of the world religions?
I’m going to answer the paragraph of questions kind of as a whole. My thoughts are often scattered and overlapping but you will see all the questions touched on in some fashion as I write.
First I want to say that the fall of mankind totally confuses me. If God is totally sovereign and totally holy then the fact that we “choose” or were aloud to “choose” to make our own decision of sinning.. seems impossible? I know He is holy AND sovereign so I just kind of go with it and have put it on my list of things to ask God when I arrive in His presence. Im also sure we have some sense of free will, we are NOT robots, but I dont think its much. Im ok not really understanding that part of the Bible and story of life.
Next I want to say, however it works, I DO beleive that we are totally depraved, wether its in Adam or not, clearly we are totally messed up in the heart, and the mind. BUT we also have eternity written in our hearts. Ecclesiates tells us that and ive read and heard stories from different peoples all over the earth by Don Richardson that proves it. We are on this hunt to understand who we are, where we really came from and what the purpose of life is. Some want to find out more than others and some take different avenues to find it, but religion, or the collection of belief systems, cultural systems, and worldviews that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values that is practiced is LARGELY based on the quest to find purpose.
I dont have all the answers, I dont even have very many but I DO know that the building of these religions is not only a way to find meaning of life but to take part in it. Everyone wants to be someone and so many of us, even followers of Jesus who try to live and preach the message of “it is finished” are still striving to DO, to EARN God’s love and favor. We dont want to BE charity. We want to give to charity.. well some of us.. we dont want to lose our dignity by being given something we thnk we can work for. We want something of our own to stand on. So much of the worlds religions and religious people are striving to DO good, or become something other than what they were designed and created to do and to be.
we need to rest and stop striving. Jesus paid it all.
Dear Samm, 