Believing in God
Around the world, many people have different forms of believing in God. Some people say that God is almighty
and powerful spiritual being. Others see Him as another name that is just an image described in the Holy Bible. He lives within
us and whenever we do, He knows. We live in a world that there are hundreds of religion to choose from, such as the Book of
Koran. Muslim people believe, "There is no other god but Allah", while the Jewish people believe, " The Messiah will
return to the earth to restore peace in mankind." Christians on the other hand, believe that God is the father of all human
being. His son, Jesus Christ, came down to earth to spread God's gospel and died for our sins.
I was
born and raised in the Philippines, where majority of the people are Catholic; Therefore, growing up in a belief that it
is the only true religion. As a child, questions had fiddled my mind whether God exist or not. Going to church every Sunday
was supposed to be an obligation to worship and give thanks for all the blessings and grace He had given me. In addition to
my parents wisdom and knowledge, they want to broaden my virtues to learn more of the morals and values of
living a good christian by sending me to Colegio de Santa Rosa, an exclusive private school for women only. At first
I thought "Hey, I'm here on earth to fufill my obligations, so all I have to do is live by it every single moment," I
was wrong. At the tender age of thirteen, I started to ask myself some questions: Why do we have to worship a God graven image?
Why Sunday is considered Sabbath? Is December 25th Jesus Christ's birthday? How come Catholic people worship and pray more
to the Saints and Virgin Mary, than to God and Jesus Christ? Did Jesus really died on Good Friday and resurrected on
Easter Sunday?
To answer these questions I went to the Library and did some research. Though some of the questions were answered, it enlightened
my view on Christianity. The combination of researching and reading the bible opened my eyes to the whole truth of being a
Christian and seeing the dark side of Catholicism. It wasn't the one and only religion people practiced; Instead, there are
hundreds of them. Therefore I decided to become a non-denominational, who only believe in one thing: God.
Though
I don't go to church anymore nor practicing the Sign of the Cross before praying, God will always be there for me no
matter what happen. In the century we live today, nobody knows which is the true church. People are becoming skeptic about
His existence through advance technologies such as finding cure in any disease, and problem-solving skills
we deal everyday. Unfortunately, people will lead to say, "Who needs God when we have all this tools to survive?"
Do most
people think the only correct way to worship God is to attend Church every Sunday? Most of my readers will agree. On the other
hand my answer is yes and no. Yes, we need a place of worship, but the "no" part is why do we need to pray in public? The
question is do you need to show-off so everybody can see you as a religious person who doesn't sin everyday?
What a bunch of hyporcrites! If a person really wants to worship God is go to a place that is quiet, peaceful,
and where you can be alone. A person can actually pour out his/her soul when nobody is around listening. He
is always be there to hear our angst, whether it's good or bad. It also doesn't matter where we pray because He is everywhere.
When
I shared my beliefs to my friends and colleagues, some agree with me, some don't. My former co-worker Ron Miljies, a waiter
from the Rochester Marriott said, " No one knows what is the true religion. Instead, people will do crazy things such
as creating a cult. In the late 90's, David Koresh and his followers, who believed that the Armagedon is coming soon,
decided to kill themselves by suicide in order to be rewarded in heaven." Another of my former co-worker name Aman, who is
African born said, "It doesn't matter what religion a person belongs as long as he or she believe in God. He have many
names like Allah, Messiah, or Jehovah. God is God."
Believing
in God by praying and reading Bible or Koran or other Holy books is the greatest gift a human being could ever had because
it teaches us how to be humble, to be kind to one another, and following the right values and knowledge of becoming
a good Christian. It doesn't matter what kind of religion a person belongs to nor who has the strongest faith. What
matters is that we have a choice: To live in a straight path or narrow path to life. Having a spiritual devotion can lead
us closer to God, not because of having to choose one true religion, but to remind us everyday that He exist. God doesn't
want us to walk through the unknown and not knowing we could we go. He will certainly guide us to the path of righteousness,
even unto the end of time.
Works Cited
Clayton, John. Don't Be Religious, Be Spiritual. 2002
July/August.
Truak, August. "Faith and Doubt at 40 below." Spirituality
Is Searching For The Truth As If Your Hair Were On Fire. Vol.5, Number 1. 2002 August.
Valea, Earnest. A Comparative Analysis of the Major World
Religion from a Christian Perspective. 18 May 2002.
