Christian Experience -Sin and Redemption - Essay Example

Variety of Christian Experience - Test 2 As I shall have a great deal to say about these consolations which the Lord gives to those who perseverein prayer, I am saying nothing here: I will only observe that prayer is the door to those great favours which He has bestowed upon me. Once the door is closed, I do not see how He will bestow them; for, though He may wish to take His delight in a soul and to give the soul delight, there is no way for Him to do so, since He must have it alone and pure, and desirous of receiving His favours. If we place numerous hindrances in His path, and do nothing to remove them, how can He come to us' And yet we wish God to grant us great favours! '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''.. (a) Faith and Prayers Christianity preaches saintly faith, which is essential for everyone to receive favours from God (cf. Hebrews 11:6). It is safe to state that faith is the bedrock of Christianity as a religion. "As a system of faith, Christianity manifests 'faith' in all the various meanings that this term has acquired in the history of religion: as loyalty to the divine, based on the prior loyalty of the divine to the world and to humanity; as the confidence that God is trustworthy in truth and love; as dependence on the Father of Jesus Christ, who is the source of all good in this life and in the life to come; as the commitment to direct thought and action in accordance with the divine word and will; and as the affirmation that certain events and declarations, as given by divine revelation, are a reliable index to that will and word. It is the last of those meanings that provides a basis for describing in an epitome what it is that Christianity believes, teaches, and confesses. It is all about having faith in God," (Pelikan 2005). Prayer is the door that opens unto a storehouse of treasures. Even Jesus Christ openly confessed that, "ask and it will be given you; seek and you find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened," (cf. Matthew 7:7-8). (b) How Should One Pray The consolations available to those who seek the face of God may come in different kinds: Augustine bubbled with joy as he expressed the extent of love his association with God has brought him (cf. Confessions, II, 2). Therese Elizabeth enthused about the sweetness and the wonder of the divine guidance she received from God (cf. J.M.J.T, p.14). No better way to summarize the magnanimity of God's consolations towards mankind than in these words of Kempis: " Christ will come to you offering His consolation, if you prepare a fit dwelling place for Him in your heart, whose beauty and glory, wherein He takes delight, are all from within'. His peace great and His intimacy wonderful indeed," (cf. Imitation, II, p.208). Certainly, from these primary experiences, it could be noted that the individuals who have realized the importance of prayer naturally make it easier for people back then up until the present time to actually be able handle life challenges successfully. Being the main channel of communication between God and his faithful followers, prayer plays a great role on the process by which true Christian s are able to create a fine relationship between them and the God that they worship. It is undeniable that prayer indeed plays a huge role within the development of the belief and faith that Christians put upon God. SINCE earliest times men have felt the need to pray to God. Realizing their own insignificance and inability to reach him without help, they have invented numerous "aids" to prayer. Some persons use prayer books. They read prayers that have been written for various occasions, hoping that these will help them to gain God's favor. Others pray to saints, asking them to intercede with God in their behalf. Another common practice is that of memorizing prayers and using a rosary to keep track of how many times these are said. However, even some religious leaders in churches that use these aids consider them insufficient. They believe that human language is inadequate in praying to God, and they pray in tongues, using words that they do not understand. Roman Catholic priest David Geraets, prior of a Benedictine monastery in Pecos, New Mexico, said: "The longer I live, the more I find out that we don't know how to pray." He suggested that praying in "tongues" might let the holy spirit "place with you a perfect prayer," and remarked: "You see, there is a communication gap between the individual and God and this must be bridged, and speaking in tongues may be one way to bridge it." (5 kinds'2007) However, it is interesting to note what the Bible indicates. It tells about the teachings and customs of Jesus and his apostles and recounts the acts of other faithful men of ancient times. But the Bible does not indicate that there was a "communication gap" between early Christians and God. But, at times, it takes perseverance in prayer to reap the labour of God-given consolations; like the case of the Canaanite woman whose unrelenting spirit was crowned with a miracle from Christ (cf. Matthew 15: 27-28). But do men often receive what they prayed for' The Scriptures do not silent on the answer to this pragmatic question. James exposes the conditions necessary for receiving God's consolations: "'but when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does," (cf. James 1: 7-9). And it is imperative that those that approach God for blessings and consolations must obey all his commandments and do what pleases Him (cf. John 3:22). Then if prayer is reckoned as the only door to enter into productive communication with God, what can make this door closed' When does pray cease to be a vehicle of interrelationship between man and his creator' Sin is the barrier that constantly keeps the door of robust interrelationship between God and his handiwork shut. For sin makes a man dirty and ugly to his maker. Jesus explains this issue clearly by saying, "For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what make a man unclean'." (cf. Matthew 15: 19-20). The state of sinfulness turns a man into an unclean child no one wants to embrace. It separates man from his creator, and creates a gap that may be dangerous if not covered within a short time. ( c) Man-Made Hindrances for Prayers' Effectiveness in One's Life Though a sinful man yearns for more of God's consolations, yet he could get them. He could retrace his steps back to his creator and forsake his evil ways. For God is kind and exhibits his loving-kindness towards all the works of His mighty hands. King David demonstrated the process of reconciliation with God after a fallout, as described in his words: "Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sins." (cf. Psalm 51:1-2) It requires humble and serious quest for forgiveness for a man to completely return to his fountain of life and joy. For God is generous and kind towards all people, and he would readily listen to their cries and pardon their sins. But there are occasions when a man wishes to return to his Creator, yet he increasingly finds it difficult to do so. Apostle Paul in his angry letter to the Galatians, he wrote, "For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want," (cf. Galatians 5: 17). In a situation like this, one has to pray fervently for the Holy Spirit of God to take control of his/her actions as he/she works towards reconciling with God. So, how can a man live constantly in good relationship with God' Apostle Paul didn't silent about how the Galatians could always remain holy and in good relationship with their Maker. He says, "So, I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature," (cf. Galatians 5: 16) What are the common desires of the sinful nature that could constantly create friction between a man and his God' "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissentions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the Kingdom of God," (cf. Galatians 5: 19-21). The sinful acts listed above are the common hindrances that could prevent a person from receiving continuous consolations from God. For God is always a cheerful giver, and He wants to listen to every prayer that His creatures offer. 2. In Adam's voice, before the fall, there was all the sweetness and harmony of musical art. And if he had remained in the condition for which he had been created, mortal man's frailty could never have endured the force and resonance of that voice. When the Devil learned that man had begun to sing through divine inspiration and would be urged to remember the sweet music of his heavenly home, seeing the failure of his perfidious plans, he became so frightened and tormented that he has never ceased to hinder, and even destroy, the utterance, beauty, and sweetness of divine praise and hymns of the spirit. He does this not only in man's heart, by wicked insinuations, impure thoughts and various distractions, but also in the very heart of the Church, wherever he can, by causing discord, scandals, and unjust oppressions. And so you, and all other prelates, must be extremely wary before issuing a decree, which closes the mouths of a community singing to God and forbids them to celebrate and receive the sacraments. Beware in your judgments not to be deceived by Satan who drags men away from celestial harmony and the joys of Paradise. ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' (a) The Beginning of Destroying Devine Worship In the dawn of creation, it is recorded that everything God created was beautiful and great. God looked over his handiworks and felt a wonderful satisfaction for making a beautiful world in which He puts the first man, Adam and his wife, the first woman, Eve to tender and nurture (cf. Genesis 2:7) In the beauty of a new world order, man has the unique opportunity to talk directly with his Maker (Genesis 3: 8-9). And as a benign Caregiver, God walks in the garden where He puts Adam and Eve to observe their conditions, and give them admonition and listens to their words in the coolness of the beautiful garden. All of a sudden Satan, a proud and fallen angel, crept in to cause confusion and sever a robust father-to-son relationship between Adam and God. So, when Adam heard the voice of God after falling into Satan's deception to eat out the trees of the knowledge of good and bad, which his Creator forbade him to eat, he was afraid and shameful. Adam said, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so, I hid," (cf. Genesis 3: 10). The fall of man cuts the hope of direct communication with the Heavenly God. And Satan would have been happy because he understood how powerful the human creature would have been if he hasn't fallen victim to his pranks. He loathed the beauty, glory and holiness with which the first man and woman radiate before God. He envied the position of man in the heart of a loving God. But the fall brought an end to all these good things, and man, temporarily, is separated from his Maker. Today, Satan has not given up disrupting the seemingly robust relationship human beings, the descendants of Adam and Eve, are having with God. He does so in human hearts by bring up evil thoughts that produce evil actions contrary to the wishes and tenets of God. He causes disagreements among Christians, and makes them fight against one another. The history of Christianity is incomplete without referring to several contentious stages it has gone through before reaching its current form. On some occasions, it leads to persecutions of the believers. "The earliest enemies of the Christians were the Jews, who regarded them as belonging to a dangerous, subversive movement in their midst. The martyrdom of Stephen in about 35 was followed by the persecution under Herod Agrippa around 42. Although Agrippa died in 44, over the next fifteen years Jews did everything possible to impede the preaching of Christianity by Paul and his friends among the synagogues of the Diaspora. They portrayed Paul as 'a mover of sedition among the Jews throughout the world' (cf. Acts 24:5), and first in Corinth and then in Jerusalem attempted to have him executed by the Roman authorities," (Frend 2005) The most disturbing aspect of this harsh Christian experience was when the disciplines attempt to tear apart the church due to division arising from heresies or religious practices different from the one the Apostles have laid down for them. Apostle Paul got incensed when he addressed issue of congregational divisions in Corinth. He said, "I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united and in mind and thought," (cf. I Corinthians 1: 10). (B) Satan Opened the Doors Towards Sins Man is generally known in both psychological and theoretical aspect is imperfect due to his innate nature. This idea is mainly attributed to the fact that it is stated in the Bible that humanity themselves became imperfect though they are created to be the other way. This is actually because of the event of when the first man and woman committed the first and one of the most unforgivable sins in the whole theoretical history of man. This is the first defiance of the man to God's will and command in direct association with the two thus together with the fall of the first man and woman is the fall of the whole humanity following them in imperfection. From birth, man has already unconsciously committed sin through inheritance and this sin thus, originally he is already made imperfect. Also from this state, man's continuous pursuit in life is deeply embedded with many pitfalls and downfalls that from it man, through lack of faith and with imperfect discretion, is bounded to fall one way or another thus resulting him to committing sins. For human philosophy and even with the expression from the bible's historical events, sin or fault is naturally with direct connotation to the idea of punishment. This punishment principle is like a bargaining deal that states that whatever is loss through fault is punishable with compensatory damages to the one committed it (Newbolt, 2005). Thus, because of humanity's imperfection, they are more likely to commit sin and be punish for it because of which, they strongly needs divine guidance in their course for purification and atonement for their aim of salvation. Sin and Punishment min Relation to Satan It is embedded in the historical facts of the Bible that the first downfall of humanity through the state of imperfection is through the direct defiance of the first man and woman to the direct command of God. This action resulted to their punishment of stripping off their perfected state and letting them endure the hardship of life for survival and the atonement of their sin. However, in one aspect, this defiance that is explicitly stated in this paper can also be attributed to another intervention causing the enactment of the said serious sin. This is the temptation done by the devil generally called Satan in most religious principles. Satan, is originally and contextual mean accuser, slanderer, liar and an adversary of the truth and all the good things in life (Pagels, 1989). His aims and purpose is to cause humanity to commit sin and recruit them to his falsehood together with his condemnation. His main existence is to test the faith of humanity to God and their endurance to stay in the path of righteousness by creating pitfalls for them to stumble on. However, Satan is known to be purposely created by God to be his servant and one of his main servants. According to the Bible, Satan at first was created to be an angel with perfect and beautiful form to aid His biddings and His divine plan for the world and the humanity. However though, Satan the angel has fallen because of his own sin and started the rebellion for him to gain divined powers and superiority because of his aims to be the Supreme Being (Pagels, 1989). Thus, because of his own sin he was punished with condemnation that is equally commensurable to the crime and wickedness he committed in the first place giving him the title of the devil and an enemy of the truth. Just like what he did in his rebellion in heaven, which is his recruitment of allies to his own downfall, he is still doing the same though with different purpose and different targets. Satan the devil's presence is with the humanity leading them to the same path, which is in just like what he did with the first man and woman. He is continuously urging humanity to commit sin and punishable errors against God and His righteous Laws and setting up traps and pitfalls for them to prevent them from purifying themselves and atoning for their sins both that of they inherited and committed in their personal lives. From the previously stated argument, it is explicitly expressed that the sin and downfall of humanity in imperfection can be directly attributed to the intervention of Satan the Devil himself by shifting to different forms. In addition, since it is explicitly stated in the bible that Satan the Devil himself is residing in the world together with the humanity, his threats and the dangers he post is very evident with humanity's sin as also attributed by their imperfect discourse. Thus, Satan the Devil can be argue to have a direct connection with humanity as they are residing in the same place because of which, he can directly affect their minds and hearts and lure them to sinful lives and condemnation. Since humanity has already been made imperfect, their defense against Satan the Devil's lure and threats became apparently weak and they can be easily persuaded to commit sin. However, their faith to God and their adherence to the principles explicitly stated and deeply embedded in the Bible, they can strengthen this defense and resist against Satan's influences thus achieving forgiveness for their sins and be purified to perfection once again. References Frend, W. "Persecution: Christian Experience"'2005. Encyclopedia of Religion. Gale Virtual Reference Library, Gale, Toronto.'12 Sep. 2008' . 5 Kinds of Christians - Understanding the disparity of those who call themselves Christian in America. Leadership Journal, Fall 2007. New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. Bible Students Association. Brooklyn, New York. Linthicum, Robert C. City of God, City of Satan. Zondervan. ISBN: 0310531411. April, 1991. Newbolt, W. C. E. The Phenomena of the Punishment of Sin and of Redemption. Kessinger Publishing. ISBN: 1425476627. December, 2005. Pagels, Elaine. Adam, Eve, and the Serpent. Vintage; Vintage Books Edition. ISBN: 0679722327. September, 1989. Read More