(no subject)
Nicolas Rodgers
Sociology of Religion
Dr. Miller
1-28-07
Religion has always played an integral role in my family’s life. I can recall being babysat by my grandmother who was physically unable to make it to church. She did not let this stop her from worshipping every Sunday in her own way. She had the minister of our church record his sermons and she would follow along in her own home with the tapes. I use to wonder what was so great about what the man on the tapes were talking about that it would compel her to listen to him every week. I believe this kind of curiosity would be the start of future inquiries that I would have.
After hearing that God was all-knowing, I immediately pictured God as this strange being with over a billon ears and eyes since I was told he saw and heard everything on account of my child-like imagination. My parents were divorced when I was around six so I equally spent time with the two of them.
My father, following in the footsteps of the majority of his family, was Church of Christ. Features of Church of Christ that separated it from other religions was the fact that they did not believe women should be preachers, music during service is to be conducted with voice only and not the addition of instruments and smoking, drinking, premarital sex and a few other behaviors were not acceptable. The central themes also seemed to be that there is only one church which is the Church of Christ, the other ones are manmade and the only way to heaven is to repent for your sins, confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior as well as being baptized. There was rarely a day that my father would miss which meant that my brother and I had no other choice but to attend as well. The only situations that would prevent us from attending would be a funeral or extremely bad weather.
My mother went the route of attending a Baptist church. I noticed some of the same elements about the Baptist church that were present in the Church of Christ with a few differences such as the inclusion of musical instruments, women preachers, and displaying having the Holy Ghost in them which could lead to either speaking in tongues or dancing. I also noticed that the Baptist church never really spoke against other religions as being the wrong decision. My mother attended every now and then. I believe whenever she was going through a rough time or believed she needed to get back into the swing of attending church.
My first experience with death was the death of my grandmother. I can recall feeling responsible when she laid in her hospital bed and I asked the question, “Are you going to die?” When she passed and I felt a bit guilty, I was told that it was her time to go because God made the decision for her to go and we have no control over when we die. I simply accepted that explanation and left it at that. At the funeral, we were allowed to view the casket if we wanted to and there was also a reception at some point in the event. When it came to matters of natural disasters or accidents, I was told, “Some things are just out of God’s control.”
From being exposed more to the Church of Christ through consistent attendance and thinking some of the elements of the Baptist church were more about entertainment and not actual worship, I chose to follow the Church of Christ. Something else that compelled me to join was a dream I had when I was 12. In this dream, judgment day occurred the way I assumed it would happen. There were two long lines and I could recall my father being in one line and me being in the other one. I always thought of my dad as a truly good person who would follow God’s word without hesitation. Therefore, I knew I had to be in the line for those descended to populate hell. In the dream, I was told that I did not do what was required of me and would be sent to hell. My father stepped out of line and asked that the two of us switch places. It was allowed in the dream, but I had always been told that such a request would not be allowed during the actual event. I woke up in fear that my soul was in danger and got baptized the following week.
Initially, I felt like I had to be more responsible for my actions and refrain from doing things such as lying to people. I was able to exclude a great deal of sins from my life because being baptized was only the beginning and one had to continue to do good to get to heaven. Much like everything it affects, time eventually wore into me and my beliefs. I got older and my mind matured. High school allowed me to be exposed to more denominations and religions than before that I never knew existed. When I would get into a disagreement about someone not following my religion, the other students thought I was crazy. So I began to question religion. A great deal of my time in high school was spent in my room thinking or writing because I did not have much of a social life. It would all start with asking why about every aspect of religion and I figured what better way to start than with my own.
Whenever I felt there was something I could not clear up, I would ask my father who usually had the right answer. This was the first time I noticed that I could not get a concrete answer when it came to my queries about religion. I would ask my father and myself questions such as, ‘What need is there for religion?’ ‘How does God benefit from us worshipping him?’ How do we know what we follow are the teachings of God when it was written by man? What proof do we have to say those men were influenced by God when writing his word and not adding or subtracting material? If God was lonely, why could he not have made a mate for himself? What exactly takes place in heaven? On this mortal plane, we are taught that everything has an end and I could not fathom the idea of something continuing forever. I also wondered where God’s creation began? How did he come into existence? This was because most of us are taught that everything originated from somewhere. It was impossible for me to think of Him as the beginning. Answers given to me were either, ‘Have faith’ or ‘I don’t know. Maybe you can ask Him when you meet Him?’ How do we even know if he is a male or is a gender in the first place. This was also the first time in my life that I thought thinking was bad. The more I thought, the more confused and lost I felt until I eventually ceased doing it as much.
I knew that there were certain things that are considered sins that I enjoy. If I did not indulge in some of them, I saw myself not being able to enjoy life.
This easiest route from there was to just retreat back to my initial beliefs, but I have still retained some of my worldly ways as my father would put it. Even now it still has a hold on me, I believe in God but still continue to have my doubts and queries. I rarely attend church now unless I am at home. At the same time, I try not to think of all aspects of religion or at least my religion as a burden upon me but a way of life as well in some cases. I have still retained plenty of the values that were instilled in me as a youth and after my baptism. In other words, it influences some of my decisions and broad behavior traits such as being kind to people and helping others however I can, but I do not let it dictate my life.
Sociology of Religion
Dr. Miller
1-28-07
Religion has always played an integral role in my family’s life. I can recall being babysat by my grandmother who was physically unable to make it to church. She did not let this stop her from worshipping every Sunday in her own way. She had the minister of our church record his sermons and she would follow along in her own home with the tapes. I use to wonder what was so great about what the man on the tapes were talking about that it would compel her to listen to him every week. I believe this kind of curiosity would be the start of future inquiries that I would have.
After hearing that God was all-knowing, I immediately pictured God as this strange being with over a billon ears and eyes since I was told he saw and heard everything on account of my child-like imagination. My parents were divorced when I was around six so I equally spent time with the two of them.
My father, following in the footsteps of the majority of his family, was Church of Christ. Features of Church of Christ that separated it from other religions was the fact that they did not believe women should be preachers, music during service is to be conducted with voice only and not the addition of instruments and smoking, drinking, premarital sex and a few other behaviors were not acceptable. The central themes also seemed to be that there is only one church which is the Church of Christ, the other ones are manmade and the only way to heaven is to repent for your sins, confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior as well as being baptized. There was rarely a day that my father would miss which meant that my brother and I had no other choice but to attend as well. The only situations that would prevent us from attending would be a funeral or extremely bad weather.
My mother went the route of attending a Baptist church. I noticed some of the same elements about the Baptist church that were present in the Church of Christ with a few differences such as the inclusion of musical instruments, women preachers, and displaying having the Holy Ghost in them which could lead to either speaking in tongues or dancing. I also noticed that the Baptist church never really spoke against other religions as being the wrong decision. My mother attended every now and then. I believe whenever she was going through a rough time or believed she needed to get back into the swing of attending church.
My first experience with death was the death of my grandmother. I can recall feeling responsible when she laid in her hospital bed and I asked the question, “Are you going to die?” When she passed and I felt a bit guilty, I was told that it was her time to go because God made the decision for her to go and we have no control over when we die. I simply accepted that explanation and left it at that. At the funeral, we were allowed to view the casket if we wanted to and there was also a reception at some point in the event. When it came to matters of natural disasters or accidents, I was told, “Some things are just out of God’s control.”
From being exposed more to the Church of Christ through consistent attendance and thinking some of the elements of the Baptist church were more about entertainment and not actual worship, I chose to follow the Church of Christ. Something else that compelled me to join was a dream I had when I was 12. In this dream, judgment day occurred the way I assumed it would happen. There were two long lines and I could recall my father being in one line and me being in the other one. I always thought of my dad as a truly good person who would follow God’s word without hesitation. Therefore, I knew I had to be in the line for those descended to populate hell. In the dream, I was told that I did not do what was required of me and would be sent to hell. My father stepped out of line and asked that the two of us switch places. It was allowed in the dream, but I had always been told that such a request would not be allowed during the actual event. I woke up in fear that my soul was in danger and got baptized the following week.
Initially, I felt like I had to be more responsible for my actions and refrain from doing things such as lying to people. I was able to exclude a great deal of sins from my life because being baptized was only the beginning and one had to continue to do good to get to heaven. Much like everything it affects, time eventually wore into me and my beliefs. I got older and my mind matured. High school allowed me to be exposed to more denominations and religions than before that I never knew existed. When I would get into a disagreement about someone not following my religion, the other students thought I was crazy. So I began to question religion. A great deal of my time in high school was spent in my room thinking or writing because I did not have much of a social life. It would all start with asking why about every aspect of religion and I figured what better way to start than with my own.
Whenever I felt there was something I could not clear up, I would ask my father who usually had the right answer. This was the first time I noticed that I could not get a concrete answer when it came to my queries about religion. I would ask my father and myself questions such as, ‘What need is there for religion?’ ‘How does God benefit from us worshipping him?’ How do we know what we follow are the teachings of God when it was written by man? What proof do we have to say those men were influenced by God when writing his word and not adding or subtracting material? If God was lonely, why could he not have made a mate for himself? What exactly takes place in heaven? On this mortal plane, we are taught that everything has an end and I could not fathom the idea of something continuing forever. I also wondered where God’s creation began? How did he come into existence? This was because most of us are taught that everything originated from somewhere. It was impossible for me to think of Him as the beginning. Answers given to me were either, ‘Have faith’ or ‘I don’t know. Maybe you can ask Him when you meet Him?’ How do we even know if he is a male or is a gender in the first place. This was also the first time in my life that I thought thinking was bad. The more I thought, the more confused and lost I felt until I eventually ceased doing it as much.
I knew that there were certain things that are considered sins that I enjoy. If I did not indulge in some of them, I saw myself not being able to enjoy life.
This easiest route from there was to just retreat back to my initial beliefs, but I have still retained some of my worldly ways as my father would put it. Even now it still has a hold on me, I believe in God but still continue to have my doubts and queries. I rarely attend church now unless I am at home. At the same time, I try not to think of all aspects of religion or at least my religion as a burden upon me but a way of life as well in some cases. I have still retained plenty of the values that were instilled in me as a youth and after my baptism. In other words, it influences some of my decisions and broad behavior traits such as being kind to people and helping others however I can, but I do not let it dictate my life.