In a vast world of different cultures and beliefs, we are united in one single goal. That goal is to strive for better life, good health, better jobs, a good spouse, good crops, a better car, etc. For this better life we look up to a higher power to help us to reach our needs. In the American Heritage dictionary the definition of spirituality is, ” relating to or consisting of spirit, Ecclesiastical; sacred.” Most cultures call this spirit, ” God.” Gods in all cultures, from the earliest recorded evidence, have the same characteristics. Gods must be perfect, they are the omniscient originators of the universe, they are the principle objects of faith and worship, and they are of supernatural powers.
I have chosen a portrait from the magazine, Christianity Today, December 9 th, 2002. The faces have eyes to show us that they see where they are going, but the faces are without features because they represent that all mankind is included in the goal of reaching a higher power with the help of the higher power. Evidence has been found that suggests that since the very earliest civilization, humans have looked to a higher power. There has to be some sense of guidance from someone that is trustworthy, someone who has never made a mistake, and someone who judges, punishes, and rewards human behavior.
In early Mesopotamia, in the order of the governmental hierarchy, the diviners would interpret signs in the universe that they considered signs from the Gods. Events such as floods and droughts, winning and loosing wars, good crops and bad crops. These things would be signs to let them know if the Gods were pleased or angry. The diviners would converse with the high priests that would advise the kings. The kings were looked at as second in power under the Gods.
The Essay on High School and Goals
Hello my name is Rick Brooks and this is my student story. What the on course book has helped me with the most is getting me to commit to my goals and dreams. I was once a bright eyed young high school student with the dreams of going to college and making something out of myself. My graduation year from High School was 1992, yes 20 years ago, and yes that makes me 38 years old. I grew up with a ...
Their life centered on pleasing their Gods for they lived in fear of making their Gods angry. In all beliefs, it is important to worship and look up to the Gods. The Mesopotamians built Ziggurat’s, which are temples to worship their Gods. It was expected of them to prepare big feasts for them. This was pleasing to the Gods and they were rewarded with an abundance in their crops, or winning a war, or in some way that was very important to them.
The Mesopotamians worshiped their Gods out of fear, not love or mercy. They believed that the deity interfered with human behavior. There was a sense of belief but not salvation, and they believed that when they died they went to a place where there was neither reward nor punishment. The Egyptian government was a theocracy. The Pharaoh was the leader of the people and must obey the laws of the Gods for the benefit of his people.
Some rulers claimed to be divinities. His behavior set a guideline to benefit his people. Proper ethical and moral behavior prepared them for an abundance in the next life. The Egyptians believed that they had to pass a test of one of their Gods to be reborn into the after life. The spirit had to pass judgment and prove that the soul was free from sin, there was confession and then the heart was weighed against the feather of Maat, goddess of truth. If the scale balanced he or she would be admitted to the afterlife, if not they would be devoured into death.
Egyptians would spend their whole life preparing for death. They lived a good clean life, and built elaborate tombs called pyramids to be buried in when they died. Everything of value would be buried in these tombs with them, even their slaves because they believed that these material things would pass with them. The Egyptians would build temples to worship their Gods. Just as it was in antiquity, today people are still worshiping a God of some kind.
Spirituality has withstood the test of time. It is such an important part of our lives. We have built temples to worship our God in. We have churches, or synagogues, or cathedrals, some sort of building for every different type of faith. People of all walks of life look to a higher power for guidance. If there was nothing to strive for we would wander aimlessly in the world, and we would be without order.
The Essay on Socrates Gods Worshipped By The State These Men
Socrates (470-399 BC) Socrates was born to a poor Athenian family in 470 BC He spent most of his time teaching others. One of his pupils was Plato. Socrates was a believer in absolute truth rather than relative truth. His main interest was the process by which people learned how to think for themselves. He would usually talk to whoever would take the time to listen. He asked many questions and ...
If we didn’t have anything to work for there would be no meaning to life. People have to have something to believe in. This has been proven by the fact that throughout time, from the very beginning, there has been worship of some form, and it is still with us today. In the Christian faith we believe that our God created the heavens and the earth. He created mankind to live on the earth with all other living creatures that are beneath our level of intelligence. We follow a book as our guide, and we communicate with him by prayer.
The Bible tells us that God sent us his son to die for us so that we may have an ever lasting life. We have only to believe in our God and accept him as our savior and we will have eternal life in a place where there is no evil or suffering. We ask that he come into our heart and be our savior and we will have a spiritual relationship with him. He has said that if we do this all of our sins will be forgiven and we will enter into his kingdom when we die. There are no rituals that we must do, and it is free. It doesn’t cost a thing because our God sent his son, Jesus, to die for us on the cross and wash away our sins.
When Jesus left us to go back up to heaven, he left with us a Holy Spirit to be the presence and power of God. We live by the guidance of this Holy Spirit and by the gifts the Holy Spirit has given us. We are not forced to do anything in this relationship, we are just asked just cooperate. When we die, we will go to heaven where our God has prepared a home for us. A place where there is no sickness, and no strife, hunger or pain. We will continue to worship God for eternity.
In the three examples, I have presented the similarities in spirituality. There are numerous other types of worship out there from all different cultures, to numerous to mention. We all have the same idea. We all have the need to believe in something greater than ourselves, we all worship a higher power and look to them for guidance in our world. All of mankind have a common goal and that is to worship a God that will lead us and lift us up to a place where we want to be. A God that will give us love, peace, hope, and faith.
The Essay on God’s Purpose for My Life
To truly understand one’s purpose in life he must look at the talents God has given to him in a particular field of study and comprehend how that occupation can be used to the glorification of God. The collection of this information isn’t always easy and usually requires a myriad of “talks” with God in the form of daily Bible reading and prayer. I like to think God has given me a great mind for ...
This gives us something to believe in, a guideline to follow. We all see where we are going and it is open for every one to join in. When Jesus comes we will all be united in a kingdom with one God and this will complete the cycle.
