Constanza
A tourist book says: "God is everywhere, but He lives in Constanza."
About God:
We all have our different concepts of what God is. I tend to keep my personal thoughts on religion private, especially since I teach in a public school. But each day, the more I come to love God as a Christian, the more I understand how His ways shape who I am and how I serve others, even in my secular relationships with people. While I will share briefly some of my thoughts on God here, my intention is only to inspire you with a personal interpretation, not to convince you to accept what I believe. Each one of us has to come to our own understanding, and no one can be "forced" to experience a particular kind of faith.
For me, being Christian starts with the realization that there is more to us than our physical bodies. This "something more" is the Soul. When we sense that there is also more to the universe than its physical forms, this becomes our first notion of God. Christian theology is the direct descendent of ancient Greek philosophy, and it is far too complex to summarize here (nor do I understand it all). But I have found that the experience of knowing God starts with knowing my own Soul, or Personhood, to be the higher reality upon which the physical body takes form. Then I take that knowledge a step further: since we are created in God's image and likeness (Genesis 1:26), Personhood is God's ultimate reality as well. In other words, God is a Person. God's creation of humankind is a personal, intentional act, and we exist because of it, just as children exist because of their parents. In order to experience a personal relationship with our Creator, we must know God fully incarnate as a historical Person: Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ.
For further knowledge of God:
1. Read the New Testament. I suggest starting with the Gospel of Luke. If you want to read the Old Testament, start with the Book of Job.
2. Watch high-quality sermons online. Some speakers I like are Darlene Strickland, Ravi Zacharias, and Francis Chan. If these don't resonate with you, find others that do.
3. Pray out loud, and take prayer seriously. Ask God for specific blessings for other people, and use their names.
4. When you're comfortable, go to church. If a church doesn't resonate with you, try a different one, and don't give up.
5. Do charity work as a volunteer. Do it lovingly, in a way that lets you use your spiritual gifts.
For me, being Christian starts with the realization that there is more to us than our physical bodies. This "something more" is the Soul. When we sense that there is also more to the universe than its physical forms, this becomes our first notion of God. Christian theology is the direct descendent of ancient Greek philosophy, and it is far too complex to summarize here (nor do I understand it all). But I have found that the experience of knowing God starts with knowing my own Soul, or Personhood, to be the higher reality upon which the physical body takes form. Then I take that knowledge a step further: since we are created in God's image and likeness (Genesis 1:26), Personhood is God's ultimate reality as well. In other words, God is a Person. God's creation of humankind is a personal, intentional act, and we exist because of it, just as children exist because of their parents. In order to experience a personal relationship with our Creator, we must know God fully incarnate as a historical Person: Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ.
For further knowledge of God:
1. Read the New Testament. I suggest starting with the Gospel of Luke. If you want to read the Old Testament, start with the Book of Job.
2. Watch high-quality sermons online. Some speakers I like are Darlene Strickland, Ravi Zacharias, and Francis Chan. If these don't resonate with you, find others that do.
3. Pray out loud, and take prayer seriously. Ask God for specific blessings for other people, and use their names.
4. When you're comfortable, go to church. If a church doesn't resonate with you, try a different one, and don't give up.
5. Do charity work as a volunteer. Do it lovingly, in a way that lets you use your spiritual gifts.
There are many interpretations of the Old Testament. Personally, I do not find it necessary to believe in all of the Old Testament miracles in order to be a Christian. Old Testament literature serves to open our minds and inspire us with what may be possible through a relationship with God. But the New Testament is different. Jesus of Nazareth was a once-in-history miracle-worker whose acts literally defied physical laws (walking on water, curing diseases, etc.); social laws (sitting with the lowly caste, eating what was unclean, etc.); and spiritual laws (forgiving sins and debts without ritual sacrifices). Most people who witnessed Jesus breaking the laws of physics couldn't believe it. It didn't fit with their mental understanding of reality. Even today, despite hundreds of Christian saints having performed documented miracles with a direct line to Christ, we have to constantly remind ourselves these things happened. I have found my Christian faith to be essential to overcoming the hubris of
Today especially, it can be easy to dismiss what the New Testament authors witnessed by either denying it or explaining it away using our own understanding (ego). Descriptions of Jesus's miracles appear to go against everything current scientific theories tell us about reality. But they don't go against Science itself. The scientific method requires us to incorporate all evidence into our theory, including the miracles of Jesus (and those of more than a thousand Christian saints since then). What does a good Scientist do when a counterexample completely blows the theory out of the water? They must accept the Null Hypothesis: There is no significant difference between...
Today especially, it can be easy to dismiss what the New Testament authors witnessed by either denying it or explaining it away using our own understanding (ego). Descriptions of Jesus's miracles appear to go against everything current scientific theories tell us about reality. But they don't go against Science itself. The scientific method requires us to incorporate all evidence into our theory, including the miracles of Jesus (and those of more than a thousand Christian saints since then). What does a good Scientist do when a counterexample completely blows the theory out of the water? They must accept the Null Hypothesis: There is no significant difference between...