So...this is part of my notes today from my Sociology of Religions class. I felt like a dork because when we were watching this video on world religions, I was frantically taking notes while everyone else was sleeping or texting, or perhaps wracking their brains in attempt to remember why they chose to be sitting in a classroom on such a beautiful May day. But...it was so interesting.
We talked about the major religions of the world. These are all intriguing to me because they just further convince me that Jesus is the only way.
Talking about all of these other religions though, makes me so incredibly thankful that I was born into a family that wholeheartedly believes that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, & the Life. Imagine being born into a family of another religion. You grow up hearing these "truths," so of course, they seem real. I've thought about that before & have come to the conclusion that, as real as any religion may seem, there is proof that Christianity is the real deal. I guess this is one of those obvious "duh" kind of things that I just had an epiphany about one day. Every other religious figure is dead. Pick any religion in the world that has been around long enough for its "founder" to have died...they're dead. Those new, made up religions...just give them time. They'll die too. Yeah, Jesus died. But He was resurrected. And then went to Heaven...He didn't die again; He is alive. He is the only one who is victorious over death. A.k.a., proof.
The thing that really grabbed my attention was when we were talking about Buddhism. Siddhārtha Gautama, a.k.a., Buddha, before he was "Buddha," felt that his life was empty. This is why he began his quest for enlightenment &...lots of yoga & meditations later, he reached his "enlightened" state & traveled to preach about it. But what about this emptiness that he felt? That was the exact word used: empty. He lived in a world where Hindu was the man religion (Buddhism is a "spin-off" of Hinduism). There probably weren't a whole lot of evangelists around telling him about Jesus. Was the emptiness God calling him? Possibly. It makes sense to me. We've heard the stories about people in the most remote villages of the world who have never seen a Bible, never heard of Jesus...& yet they believe. I think it's very possible that this emptiness that this young man felt was God calling him. Obviously if that was it, he didn't get it...instead he started his own religion.
So this leaves me here: so thankful that I grew up knowing that Jesus lives, but also thankful that even if I hadn't, my God is bigger than that & would have reached me anyway.
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long; This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long.
We talked about the major religions of the world. These are all intriguing to me because they just further convince me that Jesus is the only way.
Talking about all of these other religions though, makes me so incredibly thankful that I was born into a family that wholeheartedly believes that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, & the Life. Imagine being born into a family of another religion. You grow up hearing these "truths," so of course, they seem real. I've thought about that before & have come to the conclusion that, as real as any religion may seem, there is proof that Christianity is the real deal. I guess this is one of those obvious "duh" kind of things that I just had an epiphany about one day. Every other religious figure is dead. Pick any religion in the world that has been around long enough for its "founder" to have died...they're dead. Those new, made up religions...just give them time. They'll die too. Yeah, Jesus died. But He was resurrected. And then went to Heaven...He didn't die again; He is alive. He is the only one who is victorious over death. A.k.a., proof.
The thing that really grabbed my attention was when we were talking about Buddhism. Siddhārtha Gautama, a.k.a., Buddha, before he was "Buddha," felt that his life was empty. This is why he began his quest for enlightenment &...lots of yoga & meditations later, he reached his "enlightened" state & traveled to preach about it. But what about this emptiness that he felt? That was the exact word used: empty. He lived in a world where Hindu was the man religion (Buddhism is a "spin-off" of Hinduism). There probably weren't a whole lot of evangelists around telling him about Jesus. Was the emptiness God calling him? Possibly. It makes sense to me. We've heard the stories about people in the most remote villages of the world who have never seen a Bible, never heard of Jesus...& yet they believe. I think it's very possible that this emptiness that this young man felt was God calling him. Obviously if that was it, he didn't get it...instead he started his own religion.
So this leaves me here: so thankful that I grew up knowing that Jesus lives, but also thankful that even if I hadn't, my God is bigger than that & would have reached me anyway.
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long; This is my story, this is my song, praising my Savior all the day long.
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