Humans were created different– to wonder and to ask. That is a good question– What is it all about? Is there any more to life than ‘eat, survive, reproduce’? Who says?
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A story from the website of a course called Christianity Explored. More stories (and questions and answers about Christianity) can be viewed at:
http://www.christianityexplored.org
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A young woman from London describes her faith journey:
I got into Tai Chi and Yoga, and then into things like Buddhism and meditation and all different kinds of New Age things. I was just taking all the nice bits of all the different kinds of religion, and they really do speak into your life and the issues that you have. I wanted to do more of that, so I went to an inter-faith seminary where you learn about the five major religions, and you try and put them all together, and see if we can all live nicely together. And that was great.
While I was there I made a friend. Then she got breast cancer and was dying. She asked me to help do her funeral, so we got together to think about that. She wanted the funeral to say something to her family about her spirituality and what that meant to her and where she was going. So we started thinking about how we would put that all together. But then we realized that we had Jesus taking her to heaven, and then as a Buddhist she was being reincarnated and having another life, and as a Taoist she was going to become some sort of a spirit– and we just couldn’t make it hang together. Five days before you die is no time to realize that you don’t know what’s happening.
My brother is a Christian, and while I was looking into all the New Age beliefs I would go to church with him, and that was okay. Christianity was fine with me too, along with everything else. My brother would listen to all the things I had to say about my New Age beliefs, and he was really patient with me. He would just say “I think there is more.” After a while I began to realize that he knew Jesus as a real person, and he had something that I didn’t.
I went to a course in London called Christianity Explored, and we started reading the Bible. I realized that I had an opinion about the Bible, but I had never read it. When I did, it was great to learn that Jesus was a real and living person who loved me. It was such a relief, and made all the difference in the world to know that he was the way and the truth and the life. I couldn’t ignore it any more.
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Exodus 20:3 — Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
John 14:1-6 — (Jesus said), “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Acts 4:12 — Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.
Acts 17:22-23 — Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: To an Unknown God. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship— and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
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Lord Jesus, give us the grace to follow you, the Way, to learn from you, the Truth, and to live in you, the Life.
–Erasmus
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