The purpose of this blog is to open a dialogue among friends about our faith(s). My hope is that this will help us understand each other better and be edified together. While I am not opposed to confronting our beliefs and understanding of doctrine, I think the main purpose of this blog should be to share rather than to confront or to convince. May that sharing strengthen our friendship, enlighten our minds and bring us each closer to God.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
What is your religion all about?
I am curious to see your responses to this: How would you explain your religion to someone who knew nothing about it? Starting from scratch, how do you articulate the message of Christianity?
In the beginning God created the world and everything on it. He created humans who resembled Him and were like Him because they could make choices. The ability to choose was a great responsibility—it is what makes humans different from the other animals; but they can be different in very good ways or in very bad ways. They can use their ability to choose to love or to hate, to help or to hurt, to build or to destroy. The first humans lived in a beautiful garden where they walked and talked with God. Sadly, they used their ability to choose to disobey God. Although they may not have understood their choice entirely at the time, choosing to disobey God meant choosing to leave His presence. They left the beautiful garden and were not allowed to come back. God knew that humans could use their ability to choose to do this. He was sad that they were disobedient, but He is able to make all of our bad choices help us to learn and grow. Since before He created the world, God had a plan for how He would save humans from their bad choices. He sent His son to the world. His son was never disobedient. He showed us how to use our ability to choose to obey God. Although the Son was perfectly obedient, He chose to suffer all of the consequences of all of mankind’s disobedience. This meant that He suffered infinitely and died. He underwent all of the bad things in the world, even death, but He overcame them. Although He died, He was resurrected. Because He was innocent but chose to be punished for the guilty, He is able to help us overcome the consequences of our bad choices. He will also help us overcome death. Through the Son, we can be saved from both sin and death. We cannot do this by ourselves. We need the help of God’s son. Because we are helpless without Him, we must choose to come unto Him. Because He overcame an infinity of bad, He can help us overcome all of our problems—even death. We should be grateful for God’s son and try to follow Him.
(This explanation is based on the following section of the Book of Mormon, Alma 22:12-14, in which a Christian named Aaron teaches a pagan king about the gospel.)
“And it came to pass that when Aaron saw that the king would believe his words, he began from the creation of Adam, reading the scriptures unto the king—how God created man after his own image, and that God gave him commandments, and that because of transgression, man had fallen. And Aaron did expound unto him the scriptures from the creation of Adam, laying the fall of man before him, and their carnal state and also the plan of redemption, which was prepared from the foundation of the world, through Christ, for all whosoever would believe on his name. And since man had fallen he could not merit anything of himself; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth; and that he breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shall have no victory, and that the sting of death should be swallowed up in the hopes of glory.”
In the beginning God created the world and everything on it. He created humans who resembled Him and were like Him because they could make choices. The ability to choose was a great responsibility—it is what makes humans different from the other animals; but they can be different in very good ways or in very bad ways. They can use their ability to choose to love or to hate, to help or to hurt, to build or to destroy. The first humans lived in a beautiful garden where they walked and talked with God. Sadly, they used their ability to choose to disobey God. Although they may not have understood their choice entirely at the time, choosing to disobey God meant choosing to leave His presence. They left the beautiful garden and were not allowed to come back. God knew that humans could use their ability to choose to do this. He was sad that they were disobedient, but He is able to make all of our bad choices help us to learn and grow. Since before He created the world, God had a plan for how He would save humans from their bad choices. He sent His son to the world. His son was never disobedient. He showed us how to use our ability to choose to obey God. Although the Son was perfectly obedient, He chose to suffer all of the consequences of all of mankind’s disobedience. This meant that He suffered infinitely and died. He underwent all of the bad things in the world, even death, but He overcame them. Although He died, He was resurrected. Because He was innocent but chose to be punished for the guilty, He is able to help us overcome the consequences of our bad choices. He will also help us overcome death. Through the Son, we can be saved from both sin and death. We cannot do this by ourselves. We need the help of God’s son. Because we are helpless without Him, we must choose to come unto Him. Because He overcame an infinity of bad, He can help us overcome all of our problems—even death. We should be grateful for God’s son and try to follow Him.
ReplyDelete(This explanation is based on the following section of the Book of Mormon, Alma 22:12-14, in which a Christian named Aaron teaches a pagan king about the gospel.)
“And it came to pass that when Aaron saw that the king would believe his words, he began from the creation of Adam, reading the scriptures unto the king—how God created man after his own image, and that God gave him commandments, and that because of transgression, man had fallen. And Aaron did expound unto him the scriptures from the creation of Adam, laying the fall of man before him, and their carnal state and also the plan of redemption, which was prepared from the foundation of the world, through Christ, for all whosoever would believe on his name. And since man had fallen he could not merit anything of himself; but the sufferings and death of Christ atone for their sins, through faith and repentance, and so forth; and that he breaketh the bands of death, that the grave shall have no victory, and that the sting of death should be swallowed up in the hopes of glory.”