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209579 Responseshttp://www.racerelationsproject.org/2010/04/what-are-our-gods-thinking/What+are+our+gods+thinking%3F2010-04-09+01%3A45%3A52Sam+Richards to What are our gods thinking?
I’m really glad that this question was asked because I feel like when you address such intense topics of slavery and injustice, you can’t not bring into the discussion the concept of a greater power and its influence upon these types of acts. When people begin to think about a greater power: the creation of us as human beings, as well as the creation and evolution of this world, its important to not only address those broad topics, but to also ask those tough questions about injustice and the fact that the world we live in is not a fair, equal place. Just speaking out on my personal beliefs, Jesus Christ provides the exact reasoning as to why this type of injustice occurs throughout the world we live in. Not to turn this blog into a sermon or bible study, but in Genesis God created this perfect world, that was meant to glorify and praise Him, and the creation of human life, Adam and Eve, was the crowning piece to all his work – Adam and Eve were exposed to temptation therefore letting sin enter into this perfect world – because of this, God’s creation has been broken (in every facet) ever since and will continue to be. The only way against this sin and brokenness within our world is to recognize what Jesus Christ does for sin and believing in Him, so that when he returns, those who believe and live in faith will be given eternal life in God’s kingdom and all that is sinful and unbelieving falls short of God’s perfection and will spend eternity in hell. Taking the gospel and applying it to the slavery seen across the world is especially difficult, within our society, where these types of trials are rarely seen. But with the understanding that this world is completely broken (each individual, governments, cultural systems), it makes sense that such a stark difference can exist between those who live in extravagant wealth versus those who are enslaved their entire lives. This doesn’t make either circumstance ok or justified, but it brings understanding as to why it is present and reasoning as to why it will never be fixed (until Jesus returns and eliminates sin from this earth). So I know a lot of people will be upset about that and completely disagree with my beliefs, which is totally ok, but I would hope people could take the time to ask those deep questions of themselves and their beliefs to see what fits and what doesn’t. If discrepancies are present then wrestle with those and see what belief/faith makes sense and I personally think it will lead you to Christianity. Anyways – I really enjoyed the fair trade lecture and it was a good reminder of how messed up this world really is, and as we are a part of it, it’s important to think about why these problems exist and what we can do to fix or help them.
I definitely question the degree to which god is in our life and the specific things that happen to us. There have been many times where something that was not important in the big picture, but was upsetting to me at the time happened and I did not know who to blame. I do believe that god has a big plan and that might be the only affect he has on our lives. How we get to the end road and what happens in between may not be up to god and it may just be that we have to lead our own lives, make our own mistakes but no matter what we will end up at the end where god wanted us to be. I think it is natural that people in tough circumstances question their faith because their life is not easy and they may look around and see other people who have a “better” life and ask why, and are looking for someone or something to blame.- march 12
To preface my comment, since most people are putting out what religion they are, I am Jewish. However, I'm WAY more in touch with the cultural side of Judaism than a religious side. I'm constantly kind of sliding back and forth along a continuum as to whether or not I actually believe in god. I'm definitely never far enough to one side to say I am an atheist, and at the same time I can't say with my full being that I truly believe in a higher power. I can see how religious people would be taken aback by Sam's comments, and that's fine because religion is a very powerful thing in our world. However, it didn't offend me, probably because I don't hold as much weight on the topic as many others in the class may.
I don’t get offended at all when Sam talks about his perception of god. I think whenever Sam talks about god; he’s just trying to make us think, like he said at the beginning of the semester. He admitted at the beginning that we will be offended at some of the things he says and I don’t really see a problem because it’s not like he is forcing us to think like him, he is just telling us his point of view. I don’t know if this only happens to me but sometimes when I am in the hub in between classes, there will be people who will come up to me and start talking to me about god and trying to get me to go to their events. I find that to be more uncomfortable than when Sam talks about god in class because when that happens I am dealing with them one on one and when Sam makes his point he is saying it to the whole class and if you are offended then you just don’t have to believe him and ignore him. I read some comments about being offended when he showed the picture of Jesus and Saddam Hussein and how they are similar in their features. I understand for some people who grew up to believe Jesus looks white will be offended but he was just saying if you take the DNA it would look like Saddam Hussein, he wasn’t trying to say that’s how Jesus looked like. Even if he does look like Saddam Hussein, just because one person who looks like that did a lot of evils doesn’t mean everyone who looks like him has to have the same personalities and values. What Sam said about sweatshops I think it made sense to me. I think the world is unfair because it just is and not because god has good plans for them after they die. Even if that’s the case, that God has something good planned for those people in the video, it is still unfair because if I were those people in the video, I would rather enjoy life now as it is rather then enjoy it later somewhere that I don’t’ even know if it exists. It’s also unfair because if it’s all god’s plan and that those boys from the video will be rewarded later but not now, and those of us who live in the US who are good citizens like will we be punished then? I think it was good when Sam called out people’s god after that video because it made a lot of people think. I know it’s weird but I actually have not been offended in his class yet and I agree with a lot of the things he says.
When it comes to the topic of God and religion it is a hard conversation to have people to see eye in eye and try and be understanding. I identify as a Christian although I haven’t been religious since I started college in 2008. I was raised in a Christian home all my life and went to church every Wednesday (for choir), Friday (for missonettes), and Sunday (for church service). My last year of high school was not the best and I started witnessing some things that people who claimed to be Christians started to do. That is when all the questioning started to happen. I know people say it’s not good to question God but I don’t see why that would be a bad thing. My pastor of about 8 years committed adultery with different females in and outside the church and the church members found out. After this it made me question like if my pastor and the person who is running this church could do such a thing what am I getting myself into? Members of the church started to leave and didn’t want to come back. I am no person to judge and as much as I believe that there is a God I have questions now about different religions. I see people criticizing and attacking other people’s religions and to me they are just as bad. I took a Buddhism class last semester and have learned so much about their religion and so much more and I just can’t understand why we even have so much segregation between religions when we all have similar believes and we all do believe in God. Through being understanding, learning other religions and family problems I decided that even though I do believe in God that I can’t be engaged fully in any religion until I am ready to pick which religion I believe will best fit me if there is any. I believe in a higher being which is God but just do understand why everybody for the most part is against everybody’s religion. Once again I am not trying to judge anybody but there are certain things I just question like the Priests in the Catholic Church that molested little boys, the Muslim extremist that are suicide bombers all in the name of Allah. These are a few questions I ask but I don’t criticize their religion or beliefs. I just feel like maybe God wants us to look at the bigger picture and wants us to come together and just worship one God. But when it comes to God punishing me or me being a sinner because I wear clothes and eat food made by these modern day slaves, I don’t think it’s something that I feel I should be held accountable for especially when one is not aware. I am aware now but there’s still only so much I can do.
I’m really glad that this question was asked because I feel like when you address such intense topics of slavery and injustice, you can’t not bring into the discussion the concept of a greater power and its influence upon these types of acts. When people begin to think about a greater power: the creation of us as human beings, as well as the creation and evolution of this world, its important to not only address those broad topics, but to also ask those tough questions about injustice and the fact that the world we live in is not a fair, equal place. Just speaking out on my personal beliefs, Jesus Christ provides the exact reasoning as to why this type of injustice occurs throughout the world we live in. Not to turn this blog into a sermon or bible study, but in Genesis God created this perfect world, that was meant to glorify and praise Him, and the creation of human life, Adam and Eve, was the crowning piece to all his work – Adam and Eve were exposed to temptation therefore letting sin enter into this perfect world – because of this, God’s creation has been broken (in every facet) ever since and will continue to be. The only way against this sin and brokenness within our world is to recognize what Jesus Christ does for sin and believing in Him, so that when he returns, those who believe and live in faith will be given eternal life in God’s kingdom and all that is sinful and unbelieving falls short of God’s perfection and will spend eternity in hell. Taking the gospel and applying it to the slavery seen across the world is especially difficult, within our society, where these types of trials are rarely seen. But with the understanding that this world is completely broken (each individual, governments, cultural systems), it makes sense that such a stark difference can exist between those who live in extravagant wealth versus those who are enslaved their entire lives. This doesn’t make either circumstance ok or justified, but it brings understanding as to why it is present and reasoning as to why it will never be fixed (until Jesus returns and eliminates sin from this earth). So I know a lot of people will be upset about that and completely disagree with my beliefs, which is totally ok, but I would hope people could take the time to ask those deep questions of themselves and their beliefs to see what fits and what doesn’t. If discrepancies are present then wrestle with those and see what belief/faith makes sense and I personally think it will lead you to Christianity. Anyways – I really enjoyed the fair trade lecture and it was a good reminder of how messed up this world really is, and as we are a part of it, it’s important to think about why these problems exist and what we can do to fix or help them.
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I definitely question the degree to which god is in our life and the specific things that happen to us. There have been many times where something that was not important in the big picture, but was upsetting to me at the time happened and I did not know who to blame. I do believe that god has a big plan and that might be the only affect he has on our lives. How we get to the end road and what happens in between may not be up to god and it may just be that we have to lead our own lives, make our own mistakes but no matter what we will end up at the end where god wanted us to be. I think it is natural that people in tough circumstances question their faith because their life is not easy and they may look around and see other people who have a “better” life and ask why, and are looking for someone or something to blame.- march 12
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To preface my comment, since most people are putting out what religion they are, I am Jewish. However, I'm WAY more in touch with the cultural side of Judaism than a religious side. I'm constantly kind of sliding back and forth along a continuum as to whether or not I actually believe in god. I'm definitely never far enough to one side to say I am an atheist, and at the same time I can't say with my full being that I truly believe in a higher power. I can see how religious people would be taken aback by Sam's comments, and that's fine because religion is a very powerful thing in our world. However, it didn't offend me, probably because I don't hold as much weight on the topic as many others in the class may.
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I don’t get offended at all when Sam talks about his perception of god. I think whenever Sam talks about god; he’s just trying to make us think, like he said at the beginning of the semester. He admitted at the beginning that we will be offended at some of the things he says and I don’t really see a problem because it’s not like he is forcing us to think like him, he is just telling us his point of view. I don’t know if this only happens to me but sometimes when I am in the hub in between classes, there will be people who will come up to me and start talking to me about god and trying to get me to go to their events. I find that to be more uncomfortable than when Sam talks about god in class because when that happens I am dealing with them one on one and when Sam makes his point he is saying it to the whole class and if you are offended then you just don’t have to believe him and ignore him. I read some comments about being offended when he showed the picture of Jesus and Saddam Hussein and how they are similar in their features. I understand for some people who grew up to believe Jesus looks white will be offended but he was just saying if you take the DNA it would look like Saddam Hussein, he wasn’t trying to say that’s how Jesus looked like. Even if he does look like Saddam Hussein, just because one person who looks like that did a lot of evils doesn’t mean everyone who looks like him has to have the same personalities and values. What Sam said about sweatshops I think it made sense to me. I think the world is unfair because it just is and not because god has good plans for them after they die. Even if that’s the case, that God has something good planned for those people in the video, it is still unfair because if I were those people in the video, I would rather enjoy life now as it is rather then enjoy it later somewhere that I don’t’ even know if it exists. It’s also unfair because if it’s all god’s plan and that those boys from the video will be rewarded later but not now, and those of us who live in the US who are good citizens like will we be punished then? I think it was good when Sam called out people’s god after that video because it made a lot of people think. I know it’s weird but I actually have not been offended in his class yet and I agree with a lot of the things he says.
[Reply]
When it comes to the topic of God and religion it is a hard conversation to have people to see eye in eye and try and be understanding. I identify as a Christian although I haven’t been religious since I started college in 2008. I was raised in a Christian home all my life and went to church every Wednesday (for choir), Friday (for missonettes), and Sunday (for church service). My last year of high school was not the best and I started witnessing some things that people who claimed to be Christians started to do. That is when all the questioning started to happen. I know people say it’s not good to question God but I don’t see why that would be a bad thing. My pastor of about 8 years committed adultery with different females in and outside the church and the church members found out. After this it made me question like if my pastor and the person who is running this church could do such a thing what am I getting myself into? Members of the church started to leave and didn’t want to come back. I am no person to judge and as much as I believe that there is a God I have questions now about different religions. I see people criticizing and attacking other people’s religions and to me they are just as bad. I took a Buddhism class last semester and have learned so much about their religion and so much more and I just can’t understand why we even have so much segregation between religions when we all have similar believes and we all do believe in God. Through being understanding, learning other religions and family problems I decided that even though I do believe in God that I can’t be engaged fully in any religion until I am ready to pick which religion I believe will best fit me if there is any. I believe in a higher being which is God but just do understand why everybody for the most part is against everybody’s religion. Once again I am not trying to judge anybody but there are certain things I just question like the Priests in the Catholic Church that molested little boys, the Muslim extremist that are suicide bombers all in the name of Allah. These are a few questions I ask but I don’t criticize their religion or beliefs. I just feel like maybe God wants us to look at the bigger picture and wants us to come together and just worship one God. But when it comes to God punishing me or me being a sinner because I wear clothes and eat food made by these modern day slaves, I don’t think it’s something that I feel I should be held accountable for especially when one is not aware. I am aware now but there’s still only so much I can do.
[Reply]