SoliDeoGloria

Television is one of the greatest life-wasters of the modern age. And, of course, the Internet is running to catch up, and may have caught up. You can be more selective on the Internet, but you can also select worse things with only the Judge of the universe watching. TV still reigns as the great life-waster. The main problem with TV is not how much smut is available, though that is a problem. Just the ads are enough to sow fertile seeds of greed and lust, no matter what program you’re watching. The greater problem is banality. A mind fed daily on TV diminishes. Your mind was made to know and love God. Its facility for this great calling is ruined by excessive TV. The content is so trivial and so shallow that the capacity of the mind to think worthy thoughts withers, and the capacity of the heart to feel deep emotions shrivels.

Rosendo Del Rio
December 14th, 2011
Religious Studies
Ramona Silver
Augustine, of True Religion
All people seek truth, in the food we eat, in the products we buy, in our relationships, & most of all in finding our purpose. Truth is absolute, & to say that there is no truth or that everything is true is a contradiction. Truth is discovered, not invented. (Gravity existed prior to Newton.) If something is true, it is true for all people. (2+2=4 for everyone, everywhere, at every time.) Truth is unchanging. Beliefs cannot change a fact, no matter how sincerely they are held. In the realm of spirituality, most religions have some beliefs that are true, not all religious belief can be true because they are mutually exclusive -they teach opposites. In other words, some religious beliefs must be wrong. In this paper I will examine Augustine’s text “of True Religion,” & relate it to my perspective of spirituality in Christianity.

The path to seeking the truth might seem hard to a lot of us. Most never find it. But by reasoning, logic & testimony, I for one have. “You have persuaded me that truth is not seen with the bodily eyes but by the pure mind, & that any soul that cleaves to truth is thereby made happy & perfect,” states Augustine. I once was lost in the dark of the cave, but by the grace of God He is sanctifying me & has opened my eyes to His truth. We do not attain this by a certain achievement but only from having faith in Christ. “He who sows in the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption. He who sows in the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life.” God gave us free will & we either use that free will to cleave on Him or rebel against Him. Now I sow not to attain righteousness but because He did the work & made me righteous by the blood of Christ.

One of the most impacting part of my conversion was the fact that the people that followed Christ, were changed, not just in speech but in action as well. & the emotion I saw put into a song or story was compelling. & this was not just in one person but in a congregation. “Let us turn to God so that we may deserve to be illuminated by His word, the True light, & that darkness may not take possession of us,” declares Augustine. He continues later on, “If you do not grasp what I say or doubt whether it is true, at least make up your mind whether you have doubts about your doubts.” Doubts are always there but it never stopped me from pursuing Christ. When questions came, whether from a unwavering atheist or even from my mind, that seemed to destroy the very fabric of Christianity, it wasn’t worth it to give up Christianity. I’d rather live my life following Christ & find out later that it isn’t true than to live a life that doesn’t follow Him & find out that it is true.

I believe that community is one of the most important factors of being a Christian. God made us to be relational. When God created everything, there was only one thing that God said was not good, “for man to be alone.” We live others to reflect who God is. Be in love, grace, forgiveness, justice, truthfulness, & the like. “Whoever has God as his chief good, helps me in him, & can not grudge my sharing n Him.” We continue, “one God by whose creative work we live, by whom we are remade so that we may live in wisdom, & by loving & enjoying whom we live in blessedness, one God from whom through whom, & in whom are all things.” I am with those who& is blessed by being with those who believe the same. Those in God receive wisdom & enjoy Him. Because God is the ultimate satisfaction. He is thus most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.

The truth is knowable. It is in Christianity, this is I what will believe & stand for until the day I die. I live my life in light of this. By the grace of God I am who I am. I am not closed minded, Christianity just wins me over in all circumstances. In closing, this class has truly strengthened my faith in Christianity by critical thinking & analysis. Now even the more, Christianity is the only belief that makes sense to me. I hope in all my endeavors I will look to the Cross of Christ, as I did going through this class.