Category: Christian Worldview

According to (‘Same-Sex Marriage – Definition, Examples, Cases, 2015) “The state or condition of being married to another person of the same gender is known as “Same-sex marriage”. It is the legal union between two people of the same gender. Throughout history, same-sex unions have taken place around the world, but laws recognizing such marriages did not start occurring until more modern times. As of 2015, only 17 countries around the globe have laws allowing same-sex couples to become legally married. Support in some countries that do not allow same-sex marriage is rising, however, which leads many to believe that acceptance will continue to grow.”

“Same-gender partnerships in the U.S. have had a very tumultuous history. Notably, the 2010 census reported the existence of same-gender couples in 99% of the counties in this country however, currently only 13 states recognize same-gender marriage. Existing without legal and social recognition and support for their family unit is a constant, harsh, and exhausting strain on many same-gender partnerships in this country. These couples are often denied certain privileges and rights that are considered basic for heterosexual marriages. Indeed, some 1,100 legal privileges have been identified as stemming from the institution of legal marriage. There are also often negative consequences for the mental and emotional well-being of the individuals within these family units, which, many times, include children. This is sometimes referred to as minority stress theory. The 2010 Census Bureau reported that 115,000 same-gender couples out of 594,000 have at least one child. Some studies have revealed that partners in same-gender relationships desire the recognition of marriage for their relationship regardless of whether or not such recognition is accompanied by additional benefits. Social work practitioners have a broad opportunity to apply their practice to the many areas of need facing same-gender partners, using their training as practitioners, advocates, and researchers to intervene effectively at multiple levels. For social workers committed to social action and legislative change, it is useful to be aware of the various demographic subgroups that support marriage equality, as reported by national polls. As such, this knowledge would provide a beginning point to focus on populations within states that have not approved same-gender marriage. Regarding religious affiliation, the strongest support for same-gender marriage comes from the following demographic groups: Jewish Americans (81%), religiously unaffiliated Americans (76%), Catholics (58%), and mainline Protestants (55%) (Jones, Cox, Navarro-Rivera, Dionne, & Galston, 2013). Social workers may wish to look to these groups as their support base as they advocate for marriage equality. The results from these national public opinion surveys may be useful for social workers who seek to advance social justice and marriage equality for the gay and lesbian population (National Association of Social Workers, 2012). There is a great deal of evidence that public opinion can directly influence public policy (Burstein, 2003; Kenworthy, 2009; Silver, 2013). For example, DOMA was approved under the Clinton Administration, when public opinion did not strongly support same-gender marriage. However, recently, the Supreme Court, some would argue, was influenced by public opinion, when it struck down DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) and took no action on California’s Prop 8 with a near majority supporting same-gender marriage. Some would also suggest that the 13 states that have approved same-gender marriage were influenced by national and state-wide public opinion supporting same-gender marriage. Many practitioners are challenged to think outside of their comfortable and familiar heterosexist constructions of family life, thereby promoting a more gay- and lesbian-affirmative therapeutic stance. Also, same-gender marriage partners often need counseling or therapy to assist with their constant struggle amidst layers of unsupportive laws, policies, and social attitudes. The development of programs to address these and related issues could be strengthened by linking same-gender and bisexual couples with successful couples who have experienced and resolved various challenges related to their sexual identities. Social workers also have an important role in addressing the “minority stress” that same-gender couples experience as a result of the lack of marriage equality. Researchers have reported in recent years that homophobic attitudes are decreasing; however, it is unclear whether attitudes are actually changing, or whether instead, it is less socially desirable to admit having these attitudes. Although intentional anti-gay behaviors are common, more common are unintentional anti-gay behaviors that some people engage in without conscious awareness. The impact of homophobia on gays and lesbians can be devastating, resulting in feelings of inadequacy, self-hatred, guilt, and a general lack of optimism. This is an important observation since it can impact social work practice, particularly if social workers or their homophobic clients hold such attitudes and unintentionally harm LGBT individuals. Therefore, it is critical that social workers engage in serious self-reflection regarding their personal attitudes toward LGBT clients and how those attitudes may negatively impact the clients they are seeking to assist.” According to (Yurtoğlu, 2018) (Borngraber, 2015) “As social workers, we value our client’s right to self-determination in shaping their goals and life decisions, which is why the SCOTUS decision is so important to our practice. Clients who are engaged in same-sex relationships will now have the choice to marry and social workers will not have to navigate the strange space between our professional obligation to support social justice and a system that inherently denies a client’s rights. Within the old system, and in many places that are still fighting the implementation of these laws, social workers were tasked with operating within the context of a law that did not support our code of ethics. When this happens, we are faced with the ethical dilemma of either siding with an unjust law or upholding the values of our profession, a choice many social workers will hopefully no longer have to make. While this is now the case, it should also be noted that in places of continued discrimination, it is the role of social workers to facilitate change and understanding among citizens in the fight for human rights and positive social change.”

According to (Ngole & Care, 2016) “A young man shared his story about social work and the implications of same-sex marriages as on the practice ‘I came to this country because of the opportunities I thought it offered. Britain once led the world in freedom and justice and is iconic in my homeland of Cameroon. So many of us in Cameroon aspire to the kind of possibilities that we believe only Britain can give us. We think of it as a nation that protects freedom of speech, religion, and our ability to be who we want to be. It therefore came as quite a shock to find myself expelled from a social work course at a prestigious Russell Group University just because I stood up for someone’s right to exercise freedom of conscience at work. The case of Kim Davis, the Kentucky Clerk who felt herself unable to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and found herself in jail for contempt of court, was all over the media. There was a lot of discussion about the case on and off the university campus. I entered into the discussion on my personal Facebook account. I wanted to defend her; because she, like me and millions of others across the globe believes that marriage is the lifelong union of one man and one woman. Studying for a master’s degree in social work, you’re constantly reminded of the importance of fairness, of treating everyone equally, and of not discriminating against anyone. I chose the course because I come from a nation where I have witnessed poverty and hardship. I have been given a chance in this nation; I have a personal and vibrant faith in Jesus Christ and am motivated to serve people in my community and in my work and to give back to this country. Just because I disagree with a homosexual lifestyle, it doesn’t mean that I won’t act in a professional, kind, and compassionate way when dealing with homosexuals. We all disagree on many, many issues; governments rise and fall off the back of that process via the ballot box. If my freedom to express my opinion is removed on this matter, then why not on any and all other matters where the present government disagrees? The University of Sheffield didn’t seem to want to give me a chance. If you hold that kind of opinion they seem to say ‘You’re not fit to be a social worker’. They couldn’t see beyond that; they couldn’t see the irony of their own intolerance of my views. If this is the way, the system operates then it means that people like me and followers of Christ everywhere will be ‘barred from professions’; and deemed ‘not fit for practise’. What a shame when I believe I have so much to offer; a heart and a willingness to get on with the job, and people and to facilitate the existing laws. The new political orthodoxy coerces and compels a ‘way to think and a way to speak’ – if you disagree you’re left out in the cold. I’m just me. What frightens me is that I’m perhaps just one of many. I’m the one who founded the Christian Legal Centre and they encouraged me to fight my case. I was all for just letting it go and quitting my dream. I realize that would have been a mistake. How many have just let their dreams go because of the new cultural Marxism that censors and punishes any view that does not accord with the new orthodoxy of the law and state? So I am now taking my case forward for students just like me everywhere; for social workers, teachers, and nurses who love and are motivated by the love of Jesus to continue to be free to work in this nation that I love, Great Britain.”

In conclusion in my perspective as a social work major, individuals in the helping professions, as it relates to same-sex marriage it’s up to us to know our values and go by them. But imagine you had a child who is attracted to the same sex would you love that child any less, would you hate or discriminate against that child? Of course, some parents do but is that really love? By all means, we must live up to our expectations as helping professionals and that’s to never discriminate against others. The helping professions overall have evolved as time went by and it seems as though we either have to get with it or choose to go by one’s own morals. If you believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman only then that’s your view if you believe otherwise, then so be it, but it makes no sense to go against your belief.

Works Cited

1. Same-Sex Marriage – Definition, Examples, Cases. (2015, August 19). Retrieved March 17, 2019, from https://legaldictionary.net/same-sex-marriage/
2. Borngraber, E. (2015, July 23). Marriage Equality is Just the Beginning. Retrieved March 17, 2019, from http://swrj.org/marriage-equality-is-just-the-beginning/
3. Ngole, F., & Care, C. (2016, March 10). My views on gay marriage shouldn’t stop me from being a social worker. Retrieved March 17, 2019, from https://www.communitycare.co.uk/2016/03/10/views-gay-marriage-shouldnt-stop-social-worker/
4. Yurtoğlu, N. (2018). Http://www.historystudies.net/dergi//birinci-dunya-savasinda-bir-asayis-sorunu-sebinkarahisar-ermeni-isyani20181092a4a8f.pdf. History Studies International Journal of History, 10(7), 241-264. doi:10.9737/hist.2018.658

As humans, we live in a world where several religions exist, each with its own set of beliefs. So, what exactly does religion mean? Religion is defined as the belief in and worship of godlike controlling power, especially a personal God or gods. Almost everyone on the earth has some sort of religious or social belief. Each belief has a deep history that may be traced all the way back to the beginning of time. Those concepts were created by people, and they are still used today. Religious diversity grows as civilizations interact, which often leads to corruption among communities. Some people, such as (Toynbee, 2001), feel that religious beliefs should be removed and that no beliefs at all should remain.

Challenges for religion use in society

People will be more united without religion, according to supporters of this view, because religion typically says that anyone who does not act in accordance with its values should be socially excluded or even discriminated against.

There are still those who face discrimination due to their religious beliefs nowadays. Many examples exist throughout the history of minorities with different belief systems suffering significantly, and people are still discriminated against due to their religious beliefs. As a result, they argue, there should be no religion. They also suggest that religion restricts people’s freedom since they must follow religious regulations. Religion influences and shapes a person’s life choices, making them feel as though one authority is telling them what to do and what not to do, and that they are never completely free to live their lives as they would like to. As a result, they believe that if religion is eliminated, they will be free, joyful, and at peace with the rest of humanity.

Purpose of the study

Removing religion from society can be a big mistake so this study will find out Religion’s role in society and why religion should be valued.

Research questions

Assess the role of religion in society

Literature review

This essay begins with an overview of some literature about religion in society and its impact on society’s lives, the effect of religion on harmony, uniting communities, and benefits society as a whole. The next section will discuss the relevant literature related to religion that demonstrates a benefit to people’s health. Finally, there will be a discussion about the ability that religion has in terms of knowing the big questions and guiding people in a good manner.

Religion uses in society and it benefit

Religion often helps society by playing an important role in peace-making, building communities, and unity. It creates social interaction and the information of the same groups. Researcher Maddox mentioned that “by uniting people with the same beliefs, customs, and moral codes, religion can create tight-knit caring communities that benefit society as a whole.” Durkheim who was generally considered the first sociologist who analyzed religion in terms of its societal impact believes religion is about community: it binds people together, promotes behavior consistency, and offers strength during life’s transition and tragedies.

For example, today, we find Christians sharing like in times of Christmas, in the Easter season, and other major Christian days and holidays. Furthermore, they spend time together and help those in need as Dawn stated that, “different health share programs where Christians contribute monthly under different plans all aimed at helping another Christian in need of meeting medical care costs.” Often religion not only benefits those who have the same belief but benefits society as a whole. For instance, Salvation Army to Samaritan’s purse to Compassion International offers countless religious outreach designed to help the poor and needy. Caring for the sick is part of giving.

One said in the Doctrine of the Mean is a doctrine of Confucianism which goes, “All things on earth grow together without one doing harm to another and all doctrines in the world develop in parallel with each other without coming into conflict.” People practice different religions, with different rituals and teachings but they have the same moral ideas. All teach that life has a spiritual dimension and that connecting with that dimension through meditation or prayer or other practices is good. It is a way to unite groups of people globally, based on common values, even if religious groups are different. Therefore, religion unites people together with the same belief, and often it also unites people with different beliefs as some religions practice the same or similar moral ideas.

Religion uses in school and its benefit

Even when we look at Functionalists, they stated that “religions provide answers to spiritual mysteries.” Religion is one of the major resources used to generate meaning in life. Oftentimes, people were too stressed about what is the meaning of life. Why is there suffering in the world? Religion can give some answers, yet different religions give different answers so there is no general answer at all.

For instance, “do we live after death” will be answered differently by Christians, Buddhists, and Jews. As each religion had its own interpretation of the questions. So, I have looked at some of their own views on the meaning of life. For Hinduism they say that it is the gain release from the cycle of rebirth and merging with the eternal divine, thus escaping an inhospitable world. For Christianity, they say that try to love the way Jesus loved. In Islam, they say to submit oneself to the will of Allah.

Specifically, religious students have improved their critical as one researcher stated that, “students who frequently attend religious services scored 2.32 points higher on tests in math and reading than their less religiously-involved peers and more than 75% of students who become more religious during their college years achieved above-average college grades.” According to the National Survey of Children’s Health, parents whose children attended worship at least weekly were less likely to be contacted by their children’s school about behavior problems than parents whose children worshiped less frequently. Religion improves their learning ability to comprehend their actions not only from the perspective of their own advantages but also from the point of view of moral norms Norenzayan’s (2011) study where found that individuals are more likely to behave in a moral or honest manner when they believe in fearsome and punishing supernatural agents.

Often, beliefs influence our behavior and determine our actions. Religion plays a vital role in the formation of self-identity, which then shapes attitudes, and cultural norms and influences individuals. Often they have some thematic principles, namely concepts of god and love, honesty, and peacemaking. Most religions enforce moral behavior through positive reinforcement such as the concept of karma, and reincarnation in Hinduism, heaven-hell and salvation in Christianity, paradise, and hell in Islamism, peaceful afterlife, and reincarnation in indigenous. In their subsequent studies, they concluded that the concept of hell exists to make people act in a moral and ethical manner, whereas the concept of heaven exists to make people feel good and has a direct and positive relation with happiness. As a result, religion often improves a person’s knowledge, and apparently, it offers some answers that no one can answer. So, it gives satisfaction to people in the long run as people often go through these questions in life, and often religion was able to guide an individual’s manner.

Religion’s role in health

For example, according to a 2011 study out of Norway people who attend church often have a lower blood pressure than those who don’t go at all. In especially difficult times, religion plays an important role in human life.

For instance, Christian believe that they have found the meaning of life, and they taught people to know their value and not to kill themselves because it is sin against God. Whenever religious people are faced with problems, they can turn to their god for consolation from communities or family. Even studies have often stated that “religion makes people happier and more engaged in their communities.”

In the US, 36% of the actively religious describe themselves as very happy compared with 25% of the non-religious. In fact, Kosmin and Lachman indicated that “people without a religious affiliation appeared to be at greater risk for depressive symptoms than individuals affiliated with a religion.”

Continuing on, researchers at the Mayo Clinic concluded, “most studies have shown that religious involvement and spirituality are associated with better health outcomes, including greater longevity, coping skills and health-related quality of life (even during terminal illness) and less anxiety, depression, and suicide.” To add on, there are 3 countries out of the 26 where the actively religious are likely to report better health than everyone else because religious people are generally less likely than non-religious to smoke and drink. This leads many individuals to actually take better care of their bodies by abstaining from excessive drinking, prioritizing meditation, or not partaking in activities that may have negative consequences on the body.

Factors that influence the use of religion in society

• Humanity
• Improve a person’s knowledge
• Improve a person’s health

Summary

To include all the points, while removing religions in society may seem like a simple solution, religion may not be the most important in society but like we need science to know what’s going on the Earth, we need religion to see what are the unseen things. Religion is important as it leads us to new ways of thinking and greater thinking. Religion plays a role in peace-making in society and it can help individuals to live more healthily. In many areas, religions play a role in improving a person’s knowledge and often it helps to answer some hard questions in life.

Religious experience can generally be explained or characterized as an experience that someone has had, which they may feel has some religious importance to them. That reality of the experience will vary depending on the religious tradition that the experience is a part of. Religious experience is not the same thing as Mystical experience, even though they are quite close, not all of the religions qualify as mystical.

The Beginning Of Christianity

The beginning of Christianity started about 2000 years ago in Judea (now what we call Israel), with someone named Jesus Christ as well as a group of his faithful 12 disciples. Jesus was a Jew, he observed the Jewish faith and very well knew the Jewish law. In Jesus’ early 30s, he would travel from one village to another and teach to people who were sick or heal those who are suffering. As Jesus started to teach more often, it would start to stir the hearts of many, many people and create instant instability in the cities and towns. When Christianity first started it was only the Catholic religion but soon over time it expanded to many types of groups, called denominations. For example, the major ones are:

• Catholic
• Orthodox
• Lutheran
• Reformed/Prebystyrian
• Methodist/Wesleyan
• Anglican/Episcopalian

Compare and Contrast the experiences of Christianity in the time of the Middle Ages and Today

Christianity in the present time now is remarkably different from how it was in the Middle Ages, however, there are also some things that stayed relatively the same. One of the major things that have changed over the years is Dissent however, The concept that has not changed as much as the others is the Church’s system.

Dissent, Dissent is the concept of physically punishing or even killing people who disagree with the church’s teachings. People of other faiths were also treated quite harshly. Jews, who lived within Christian land were, at the very best, just tolerated. Through more harsh conditions Jews would be forced to leave England by Edward the First, in 1290. However, at the current time, in Australia, the conditions are completely different. Currently, we DO NOT punish people for their race or religion and we accept people for what they believe in.

Church System, the church system is often thought of as quite a dominant force, this participated in its highly developed organization, which, in the Middle Ages developed a system of law and economy that was quite sophisticated and still is today. During the Middle Ages, the church was split into two unequal sections. The larger of the sections was the secular church, the secular church was attended by general, everyday People. The smaller section was the regular church, the regular church consisted of people who has sworn to vows of obedience and poverty. Most of these people lived in places that were governed by a ‘rule’ book of instructions.

Comparing these situations and catholic living experiences to our current world today they are quite similar in many ways, but also a bit different. The section above talks about how the law and economic systems in the church were quite sophisticated in the Middle Ages, thus relating to our current church because we are very sophisticated in our economic systems and take great pride in that. But the difference between the church systems nowadays is that the people living in the smaller section (the regular church) do not have to live by a ‘rule book’ of instructions.

So, overall, in the church’s systems almost 2000 years ago compared to now, we can see major changes, but also some surprising similarities contrasting them.

Reflect and Evaluate the good contributions Christianity has on individuals and society

The actions and movement of Christianity have changed our world entirely. In fact, some people would say that Jesus, the teacher of Christianity has had more impact on the world than any other person in history. Christianity has had a major impact on what we Christians believe today, because if the Jews, nearly 2000 years ago didn’t believe that they had known a great, then the world would not be where it would be today.

All over the world, there have been approximately 2.5 billion copies sold in more the. 2,200 languages. If you think about it, there are around 2 billion Christians in the world, 14 million Jews, and Approximately 1.3 billion Muslims. That means that more than half of the world’s population considers the Bible a major influence on their faith. If that doesn’t say that Christianity has impacted the world then I don’t know what does. But the main question is, how has it impacted the world?

Christianity has had a positive effect on individuals by giving people a feeling of being a part of something. It gives a group of people access to other people who believe in the same God as you. This is something very powerful because you are a part of something much greater than yourself. Christianity has created a very powerful hope, belief, and faith that not many other social aspects are able to recreate. The Bible also talks about faith and how strong it can be in the Bible verse Isaiah 41:10.

As well as having a positive effect on individuals, it has also had a very positive and major effect on larger aspects of life, particularly education. In the 16th Century, there was a driving force for public education in Europe. Protestants particularly promoted literacy because people needed to be able to read the Bible, which they viewed as an essential authority on certain matters. By doing this they have written the Bible in around 2,20p languages, which opens up Christianity to even more people. And, because of that major movement of Christianity in schools, currently in private schools and some public schools they offer education on Christianity which widens the faith of Christianity. The Bible also talks about this but in a more spiritual sense. In verse Proverbs 18:15, it says “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”

In conclusion, due to the past actions in medieval times, it has widened our hearts and our eyes to how important Christianity is in our lives, and how much it has impacted our growing and developing society.

Peace has two concepts: world peace (the lack of war and absence of conflict), and inner peace (the lack of conflict with oneself and one’s community). To Christians both of these aspects of peace are important. They draw from the teachings of the Bible and interpretations of it by the Church to respond to the call of their sacred text to live in peace: using Jesus, the ‘Prince of Peace’, through the New Testament, as a guide to promote inner and world peace, proclaiming “peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near”. Through interpretation of Jesus’ life and teachings in the Bible, the ideas of agape, reconciliation, the just war theory, pacifism, and Pax Christi, were developed as the principal teachings of peace in Christianity.

Agape is the love of all humanity. It is crucial to the attainment of inner peace for Christians, as adherents “who were far off and those who were near” follow Jesus’ commandment to love in John 13:34: “Love one another as I have loved you”. It is through agape that Christians are able to promote selflessness that results from the individual’s integrity and fidelity, which significantly impacts one’s ability to achieve inner peace. This guidance to inner peace, developed from sacred text, outlines that it would not be possible to achieve inner peace whilst experiencing turmoil due to compromising personal values. However, through the revelation of Jesus as both human and divine in the Bible, adherents are able to learn from Jesus’ own temptations of compromise. For example, when he is tempted by the Devil in the wilderness in Matthew 4:1, he says: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God”. From this, all Christian variants now celebrate Lent to ensure that they are remaining faithful to their commitment to the ministry of Christ. Though there is struggle involved with the extremities of Lent, adherents remain faithful as Jesus brought salvation to “those who were far off and to those who were near”. Thus, reiterating that to experience inner peace, a follower must live in a close relationship with Jesus and his teachings; using the teaching of agape to overcome compromise, embrace the love of Christ and diffuse it amongst humanity.

Pacifism teaches Christians that war and violence are unjustifiable and that all disputes should be settled by peaceful means. Thus, being a vital teaching in the accomplishment of world peace, as Jesus will “proclaim peace to those who were far off and peace to those who were near”. From the New Testament, it is outlined to adherents the importance of world peace as Romans 12:18 states, “Do everything possible on your part to live in peace with everybody”, and they are also taught that violence is unnecessary from the fifth of the Ten Commandments, “thou shalt not kill”. To follow this teaching of pacifism many, Christian denominations have developed programs and organizations to advocate peace and non-violence. The Catholic Worker Movement is a prominent example. They aim to “live in accordance with the justice and charity of Jesus Christ”, as he says in Matthew 26:52, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword”. To comply with Jesus’ model of peace, the Catholic Worker Movement teaches to fight against violence with prayer, fasting and refusing cooperation with evil, reminding Catholics that Christ brought humanity, both “those who were far off and those who were near”, salvation, thus removing the need for violence. Further proving that it is through a relationship with Christ and his teachings through the Bible that world peace can be promoted.

Therefore, through sacred text, Christian adherents are called to advance experiences of both inner and world peace. The principal teachings of peace, agape and pacifism, developed from Jesus’ experiences and teachings evident in the New Testament, provide a silhouette for adherents to follow in the attainment of this peace. These teachings recapitulate the necessity of adherents to have a close relationship with Jesus and his teachings in the journey of achieving peace, as ultimately through his revelations as both human and divine, bringing salvation to humanity, he “proclaims peace to those who were far off and those who were near”.

Every religion around the world preaches the concept of being peaceful and shares the ultimate goal of obtaining peace worldwide. However, in order to achieve a sense outer peace, inner peace must first be attained. Islam and Christianity both place an emphasis on the importance of obtaining peace internally and externally. In the Qur’an and Bible, the message of peace is taught and understood by adherents, but its true meaning is open to interpretation. It is important to understand the different approaches adherents may take to religion, allowing everyone to seek and obtain peace in various ways. Inner peace and outer peace are intertwined, hence given equal emphasis in texts. Inner peace is a personal struggle that adherents go through to assist in pushing to attain outer peace. Moreover, Christianity communicates peace in salvation and peace as a way of life. Islam preaches peace through the concept of unity and forgiveness. Ultimately, all religions are committed to the idea of obtaining outer peace through inner peace.

Everyone is always on their own journey to find peace, however some struggle to find it. Peace can be defined as “tranquility, harmony or security”. Variations of the word ‘peace’ are found 429 times in the King James Version of the Bible and in different forms. Including false peace, inner peace, peace with God, and peace with man. The prime, Hebrew word for peace is ‘shalom’, and refers to the sense of inner completeness and wholeness. The word ‘peace’ was used as a standard greeting among friend and companions and still is used nowadays. “Let the peace of God rule your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. Be thankful” (Colossians, 3:15). It is important to understand the context of this verse. Paul discusses virtues that Christians need for everyone to be in unity. With Christ as the head, everyone falls into being part of a ‘spiritual’ body of the Church. Peace within the body requires peace within its parts, therefore adherents should strive together to avoid conflict, but seek peace from Christ if conflicts arise. In addition, peace is found by adherents are they are taught Jesus died for their sins. Through Him, the promise of an eternal life with God becomes effective through faith and belief in Jesus. The world will continue to have wars and interpersonal conflicts until Jesus comes to establish true, lasting peace, but God will give His peace to those who trust Him.

Islam is essentially a religion of peace. However, there is an unfortunate misconception about the nature of Islam. The very first verse in the Qur’an states: “In the name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate”. This verse is repeated in the Qur’an 114 times and clearly shows that God is merciful and compassionate. This raises the question: if God is merciful and compassionate, shouldn’t His believers? Most teachings in Islam are orientated towards the goal of peace, as the Qur’an states: “Enter here in peace secure!” (15:46) This verse directly demonstrates how Muslims wish peace upon others when entering a room, securing it from any conflict that may enter with it. The word ‘Islam’ is derived from the Arabic word ‘salaam’, meaning peace, purity and submission to the will of God. “Peace a word from a Merciful God” (Qur’an, 36:88) This implies that there is a strong connection between believing in God and obtaining peace. It is believed that the most peace if obtained by Muslims by submitting to Allah, as Allah can provide all His servants with the most peace.

Prayer in Islam is a great way for the adherent to be able to gain inner peace with themselves, as the adherent is able to connect to Allah, not only through physical prayer, but also through the recitation of the Qur’an and the recitation of praises of Allah and his massager. By doing these things it builds the adherent to having and finding inner peace with themselves, and when they do, this it is conveyed into the adherent showing outer peace by giving charity, being more active in the community. The way in which this relates to the quote is that the adherent at first had to find inner peace before going on to find outer world peace. “But if they incline to peace, you also incline to it” (Qur’an, 8:61). This quote directly relates to the adherent following the teaching of the Qur’an, as it says, if they incline to peace, you also incline to peace, meaning that the adherent should have inner peace with themselves not to push for no peace, but to have outer peace with not only normal everyday people but also with their enemies. The way in which this relates to the quote of Dalai Lama is that is show that Islam does not only promote inner peace with their adherent, but also promotes outer peace with everyone, including the enemies of the adherent, which will conclude into a society of peace.

Prayer within Christianity is not only an individual thing, but it can also be a communal thing, therefore achieving outer peace is a very important part in the faith, but the only way you can achieve outer peace is by the adherent having inner peace. Getting inner peace can also be done through prayer, because through prayer the adherent is about to gain a deeper and closer connection to God, which will then part a stronger faith in the adherent heart, which then will lead on to the adherent to having a strong outer peace connection with other, not only during communal prayer, but through daily life, such as in everyday situations. “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven” (Colossians, 1:3-18). This speaks about how prayer connects you to God, but not only God, it also connects you to Jesus, which there provide the adherent with inner peace to be able to have self-confidence and be able to have a strong faith, which then all connects to the adherent being able to have outer peace, because if the adherent is able to feel the connect to God and Jesus, then they should what to follow in Jesus’ footsteps. The way in which prayer connects to Dalai Lama’s quote is that prayer is something that brings inner peace to all adherent, and also that the adherents knowing that Jesus died for their sins all play a major factor in the adherent wanting and wellness to show outer peace to other due to the fact the Jesus did it and that they feel special connection to God and Jesus when the pray.

Forgiveness within Islam can be done through many ways, such as praying and preforming the Hajj pilgrimage. All these ways of forgiveness include inner peace that leads to outer peace. Prayer is the most common way for an adherent to ask Allah for forgiveness. The adherent does not only prayer the five mandatory prayer, but also increase their prayer to seek Allah’s forgiveness. His way of asking for forgiveness requires the adherent to have inner peace with themselves to be able to perform the prayer with God’s consciousness. The adherent can also ask Allah for forgiveness through performing the Hajj pilgrimage. Hajj is when the adherent travels to Makkah and involves themselves in activities that purify the soul. After Hajj is complete, is it as if the adherent as been born again, as all his sin have been wiped clean. To be able to reform Hajj, the adherent must have inner peace due to the fact that it is a time of self-reflection and connecting with Allah, with having inner peace with yourself, which atomically bring outer peace, as the adherent will be at peace with themselves, which will therefore allow for the adherent will treat and act in a peaceful manner with others. “Those are the people who will have blessings and mercy from their Lord; they are the ones who are guided” (Surat Al-Baqarah, 157). This quote is telling the adherent that the one that forgive will have the blessing and the mercy of Allah. This also relate to the adherent having inner peace, because being able to forgive someone require the adherent to have inner peace to be able to show outer peace. This directly relates to the quote of Dalai Lama, because without the adherent having forgiveness, that eliminates the concept of them having inner peace with themselves, which therefore will eliminate the outer peace. Dalai Lama’s quote and forgiveness both go hand in hand with each other, as the both require having inner peace to be able to have and outer peace.

Many organizations work towards tolerance and unity, development a notion of true peace. The Columban Mission Institute engages in and promotes the Catholic Church’s teachings on interreligious dialogue, especially between Christians and Muslims. The New Testament records: “You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew, 5:43-45). The work of this group reflects this Christian belief in equality of all people created in God’s image. They are working towards building better relationships between people of different religions, promoting mutual understanding, justice, compassion, and cooperating for the common good of society. They organize conferences, seminars and activities to enable Christians and Muslims to meet each other and learn about the others’ belief and practices, to network with inter-faith and multi-faith groups, coordinating a network of Christian women who wish to develop stronger relations with Muslim women, and provide speakers and workshops. Informed by sacred texts, this organization shows a distinctively Christian response to peace.

Every religion around the world preaches the idea of being peaceful and shares the same dream of ultimately reaching world peace. Christianity and Islam share the same goals of ultimately aiming to obtain inner peace to be able to gain outer peace. Christians are able to gain inner peace by believing in the salvation of Jesus and praying, additionally by working together and engaging in communal service ‘true peace’ is developed, increasing the chance of adherents achieving outer peace. Similarly, through prayer and unity, Muslims are able to obtain inner peace that assists them in engaging in activities that encourage outer peace. Through prayer, salvation and belief in God, Christianity and Islam has proven that adherents can obtain inner peace, that assists them in ultimately attaining outer peace.

From being the most despised, oppressed, illicit religion to becoming one of the worlds most noticeable and practised religion in the world. After enduring 300 years of hostility, Christianity conquered and overcame social suffering and persecution as one emperor named Constantine the Great came to power. This dates back to the year of 272 CE when ‘Flavius Valerius Constantinus’ was conceived by Saint Helena empress of the Roman Empire. Constantine the great was one of Rome’s most powerful and successful emperors to have ever lived and to identify himself as a Christian. He is most recognised for his major changes and political, economic and military achievements as well as his religious reforms. According to a legend, Constantine had a vision and also a dream which leads to the acknowledgement and acceptance of Christianity within the Roman Empire, as well as its recognition in the Middle Ages to present. Christian historian, Eusebius who was also a personal friend of Constantine writes that in later life the emperor had talked to him about a vision which he had seen as he went into battle against Maxentius. Constantine said that, as his army advanced, he could see with his own eyes, a vision of the Christogram (XP) in the heavens above the sun beaming with light. Underneath it written these words: ‘By this sign shall you conquer’. He believes that this vision assisted in helping him win the historical battle at the Milvian Bridge. Persecutions against Christians would have been ongoing, The edict of Milan would have never been written and Christianity as a religion wouldn’t have played a major aspect of the lives of people during the without Constantine.

The despite towards Christianity was started by Emperor Nero who ruled from 54-68 CE when he falsely blamed the Christians for causing the Great Fire of Rome. A man named Tacitus, who is thought to be one of Rome’s greatest philosophers said, “Nero watched Rome burn while merrily playing his fiddle” (www.pbs.org). Emperor Nero utilised his despite towards Christians and controlled and manipulated society, persuading them into thinking the Christians were responsible for the destruction created; eventually making the religion officially illegal. This is what began the suffering and oppression of Christians and what made the general public have such a negative perspective of Christians.

Besides Nero, government officials at the time were often somewhat ‘against’ the practising of Christianity and even the religion itself. Religion to the Romans advertised solidarity and reliability through public activities known as ‘pietas’ or ‘piety’. According to Roman politician and lawyer, Marcus Tullius Cicero, “If the piety in the Roman sense were to disappear, social justice and unity will too.” (Robert L. Wilkin, “The piety of the Persecutors.” Christian History, Issue 27 (Vol. XI, No.3), p.18). Several Romans of significance, for example, Tacitus and Pliny looked at Christianity as a superstition and not pietas. (Robert L. Wilkin, “The piety of the Persecutors.” Christian History, Issue 27 (Vol. XI, No.3), p.18). ‘Superstition’ was derived from a Latin word for something foreign in a negative way. Constantine was the person who changed society’s perspective of the Christian faiths and practices. After his vision of the Chi Rho (XP) and the words “by this sign shall you conquer”, he at that point considered himself to be the “Emperor of the Christian People”.

If Constantine was to never have lived, Maxentius would stay as the Emperor of the Western Empire, since he too was an authorised heir, and would run alongside Licinius. Maxentius wasn’t a ‘brutal tyrant’ as some historical writings depict him to be. (www.britannica.com)and Licinius agreed with assigning Christians with lawful rights in the Edict of Milan. In this way, even without Constantine, their reign wouldn’t have been similar to previous Roman Emperors, however, society may, in any case, see the Christians in the same, negative way. On a similar note, while both Maxentius and Licinius weren’t against Christianity, they wouldn’t have advanced it the way Constantine had. If Christianity had not become as prominent/popular as Constantine created it, it (Christianity) wouldn’t have gained such interest to the general population in the Middle Ages, and pagan religions would’ve risen.

After his triumph and title as the ‘Emperor of the Western Empire’, Constantine and Licinius agreed upon a political agreement. In which the year 313 CE, the Edict of Milan was established. (www.britannica.com). It was “a proclamation that permanently established religious toleration for Christianity within the Roman Empire.” (www.britannica.com).This implied Christians, at last, were gained lawful rights and were allowed to create places of worshipping. An outcome of this was the development of the previous known, Basilica Constantiniana (now known as San Giovanniin Laterano). The establishment of places of worship around this time implied that Christianity increasingly gained more followers and turned out to be more recognised among the general population. After the fall of the Roman Empire, there was no bureaucratic solidarity between the nations in Western Europe. The main aspect of life that unified the general population was Christianity, which was Constantine’s doing. Without his establishment of the Edict of Milan and seeking after the development of churches, Western Europe after the fall of Rome wouldn’t have anything to unite the general population as one entire community.

Another outcome of the Edict of Milan was the sudden outburst of monastics. (Timothy Ware, The Orthodox Church (New York: Penguin books, 1964) pg,45) Since Christianity was socially acknowledged, monasticism developed. Monasticism is derived from the Greek word monachos which mean ‘to live alone’. However, this definition is somewhat deceptive because numerous monastics live in cenobitic groups. The term ‘to live alone’ relates to living without a spouse or romantic partner. Monasticism is essential for passing down religious information to more youthful ages to preserve religious traditions. If Constantine never lived, Christianity’s lessons and customs wouldn’t have been passed down to future generations, having its effect on the Middle ages not as important.

Constantine formed the Nicene Creed to express the Christian. Constantine wanted to unite the church as one and share their purpose. The Nicene Creed was important because it made it very clear what Christians believed in. Constantine got the Church to agree upon and articulate their beliefs about Jesus, Salvation and God in a statement called the Nicene Creed. The greatest effect Constantine made was making Christianity the state religion of Rome. While he didn’t actually make Christianity the main religion, he influenced the following Emperors to convert. In the year 380 CE, Emperor Theodosius “proclaimed himself a Christian of the Nicene Creed” (www.christianitytoday.com). He was the emperor who resulted in making Nicene Christianity the official religion of Rome. Without Constantine’s impact, Theodosius wouldn’t have been baptised at all since Nero made Christianity unlawful. In the event that Constantine never existed, Christianity would stay unlawful and could never have turned into Rome’s state religion. In the event that Christianity was never legitimized, it wouldn’t have been in the Middle Ages either.In the Middle Ages, some portion of Christianity because so mainstream was that of the lessons that the book of scriptures depicted. In the Bible, God treasures everybody even poor people, which is the thing that the vast majority were at the time. In any case, they would’ve never thought about these lessons if monastics didn’t save these antiquated lessons. Additionally, priests and nuns wouldn’t have made due up to the Middle ages at any rate since Christianity was made unlawful and Christians didn’t have any legitimate rights. This is the thing that would’ve happened if Constantine never existed. His reality is of such significance to the Catholic church since he is the reason Christianity is as noticeable as it is today. The political assertion amongst him and Licinius which conceded Christians lawful rights and benefits partook in some kind of butterfly impact. The decree of Milan brought about the establishment of spots of love, at that point devotion thrived, which prompt the going down of Christian learning, years not far off, and Theodosius made Nicene Christianity the state religion, after a century, Rome fell, Christianity was the main thing that united individuals, the ones in control controlled this opportunity and the Catholic Church turned into the most critical thing in individuals’ lives amid the Middle Ages.

Because of its importance, sex has become one of the most debated topics in the modern world. Various religions restrict their followers from taking part in this activity. In Christianity, sex is widely accepted, even though marriage is used to control people’s morals. According to belief, sex is essential because it helps individuals reproduce and derive pleasure.

Understanding the concept of Christianity requires one to consider the Jewish population that existed during Jesus Christ’s time on earth. Most of His movements when he was alive involved this community.Today, it has become the most popular religion, with about 2 billion people subscribing to it. Importantly, this faith revolves around the life of Christ from birth to resurrection. Some of the most common beliefs in the creed include the conviction that only one God exists, and all people should worship Him; Jesus will one day come back; and The cross is the main symbol of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.

Many people consider Christianity an anti-sexual religion because its followers have strict rules about the practice. However, there is little evidence in the bible that god prevents people from having sex. In fact, the Holy Book posits that sex is such a sensitive and powerful activity that people need to use boundaries such as marriage to ensure they engage in it for the righteous reasons (‘The Biblical View of Sexuality,’ 2017). In addition, the Bible asserts that the human body is important to the creator; thus, they should treat it with care because it is His temple. Moreover, the scripture dissuades people from using sex for sinful activity in the verse, “Put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual sin, impurity, lust, and shameful desires” (‘Bible Gateway passage: Colossians 3:5 – New International Version,’ n.d.). In such a way, the individuals that sin through sex are considered to have fallen short of God’s eternal kingdom and are deemed to perish.

The right time for people to engage in sexual activity has long been divisive. Many biblical texts use terms like ‘sexual sin’ and ‘sexual immorality’ to refer to sexual behavior that contradicts biblical rules. According to many accounts of the Christian faith, an individual should only have sex after marriage (Farah, 2001). In as much as the Bible does not set an age limit on sex, it alludes to the need for people to wait until they are married to have intercourse. This point is illustrated in the verse, ‘Marriage should be honoured by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral’ (‘Bible Gateway passage: Hebrews 13:4 – New International Version,’ n.d.). Thus, people should respect each other’s bodies by waiting until the time when they have a matrimonial union to have sex.

Furthermore, it is important to understand the sexual purposes of christians in the bible. It’s worth noting that the bible encourages people who believe in the bible to engage in ongoing sexual activity for a variety of reasons. First, people should use it to give birth. For instance, the Bible states, ‘And God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth’ (‘Bible Gateway passage: Genesis 1:28 – New International Version,’ n.d.). The excerpt means that God has given His people permission to have sexual intercourse for them to give birth to children and multiply the world population. Therefore, this explanation mirrors the happiness that people have once they get a child in their families.

Secondly, Christians use sex for intimacy. In a world full of disagreements, two married people find the happiness they need in marriage through sexual intercourse. The act of sleeping together alone is enough to help them solve their differences within a short time. In addition, it is an appropriate way for people to appreciate the value of their loved ones. Many Biblical verses support the assertion. For instance, the scripture states, ‘Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. In his shade, I took great delight and sat down, and his fruit was sweet to my taste’ (‘Bible Gateway passage: Song of Solomon 2:3 – King James Version,’ n.d.). This verse illustrates a woman’s joy and happiness in the presence of her lover. In such a way, sex helps strengthen the bond between two people who love each other.

Furthermore, Christians use sex for companionship. In the Bible, God created Adam and Eve and left them naked to emphasize the holiness and wholesomeness of the state. Impliedly, two loved ones derive a sense of companionship when they are naked in the presence of each other. In addition, the Book of Hebrews uses the term ‘knowing’ to refer to sex, implying that people understand each other more closely through sex. By helping individuals to appreciate a partner’s emotions and feelings, sexual intercourse promotes a sense of unity and companionship.

Lastly, Christianity views sex as the means to derive physical pleasure. In as much as many people believe that it was only meant for procreation, the act also helps them to relax. In fact, the Bible forbids two married people from denying each other the opportunity to use their bodies. This point is illustrated in the verse,

‘Do not deprive each other of sexual relations, unless you both agree to refrain from sexual intimacy for a limited time so you can give yourselves more completely to prayer. Afterward, you should come together again so that Satan won’t be able to tempt you because of your lack of self-control’ (‘1 Corinthians 7:5,’ n.d.).

From the given statement, sex makes people happy because it enables them to have pleasure, relax, and control their emotions.

In conclusion, the above-presented discussion has illustrated the Christian view of sexuality. As indicated, the act is widely encouraged by the Bible for reasons such as procreation and the derivation of pleasure. The only restriction is that people should practice it after marriage because it helps them to observe societal moral standards. Thus, sex is fundamental to the survival and sustainability of Christian marriages.

References

1. Corinthians 7:5. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/7-5.htm
2. Bible Gateway passage: Colossians 3:5 – New International Version. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Colossians+3%3A5&version=NIV.
3. Bible Gateway passage: Genesis 1:28 – New International Version. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis+1%3A28&version=NIV.
4. Bible Gateway passage: Hebrews 13:4 – New International Version. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews+13%3A4&version=NIV.
5. Bible Gateway passage: Song of Solomon 2:3 – King James Version. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Song+of+Solomon+2%3A3&version=KJV.
6. The biblical view of sexuality. (2017, May 22). Retrieved from http://www1.cbn.com/biblical-view-sexuality.
7. Editors, H. (2019, March 13). Christianity. Retrieved from https://www.history.com/topics/religion/history-of-christianity.
8. Farah, G. (2001, March 14). What does the Bible say about sex before marriage? Retrieved from https://www.crosswalk.com/family/marriage/what-does-the-bible-say-about-sex-before-marriage-510492.html.

For the last four years, I have been working to complete my bachelor’s degree in Psychology. I plan to continue my education and become a licensed professional counselor. Psychology is defined by the American Psychological Association as “the study of the mind and behavior” (n.d., Frequently Asked Questions). The field of psychology perfectly manifests man attempting to figure out things for himself and potentially find the ultimate purpose for living. However, for years many Christians have viewed psychologists as scientists that are simply trying to transcend the hand of God that created, they the way they are. However, psychology does not have to be the attempt as ascending from the hand of God, but instead a positive ground for growth. Despite the common belief of many Christians, I believe that psychology is not antitheological but instead simply a tool that God has provided to us to better understand his greatest creation: man.

Truth, Goodness, and Beauty in Psychology

It is worth acknowledging that the study of mankind simply that: the study of God’s creation. We are created and embodied in his image, we are embodied individuals, we develop both physically and mentally because God created us that way. In Exploring Christianity and Psychology, Moes and Tellinghausen mention, “Being made in God’s image has traditionally implied that we are made for at least three kinds of relationships (2014, p. 3). This naturally embodied desire for relationships is what I see as a large reason for the development of psychology. This leads to another argument Psychology posits: we are relational beings. We have been created as individuals who hunger for relationships with other individuals; this is one of the defining factors of what makes us human. As God himself said when creating Eve for Adam, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him” (Genesis 2:18, NIV). God created this “helper” for Adam for many reasons, but the greatest reason is the companionship brought about by the relation of his partner. While Eve was created to be Adam’s wife, the bigger picture is shown humanity is not made up of several individuals remaining separate from each other, but rather individuals who come together for their sanity.

“What is evil or false in Psychology? What is missing in psychology? What is broken or ugly in Psychology?”

As mentioned before, it is a common belief that Psychology is a secular science; devoid of God and focused solely on humanism. I have had countless interactions with people who held this belief, especially when I was a waiter interacting with traditional Christians every day. They would ask: ‘How can you be Christian and practice Psychology? Psychology isn’t Christian.’ That is (sadly) a common belief held by many Christians since the founding of Psychology. Major figures of psychology such as the controversial Sigmund Freud or humanist Carl Rogers are looked at as faces of psychology, with their theories defying God’s plan causing a misconception speaking for all in the field. When speaking about religion, Freud said, “Religion is an illusion and it derives its strength from the fact that it falls in with our instinctual desires.” (Freud, Strachey, & Gay, 1989).

It is not a huge surprise that we have deviated so much from God. We have a natural tendency to try to find out our understanding. We are created with a desire to understand ourselves and others. Humanity is a naturally curious species of being, always testing and creating things. One of the greatest questions since the beginning of humanity has been ‘how and why do we exist?’ and ‘what created us?’ Despite what I or others believe, one thing remains true, mankind is curious. Moes and Tellinghausen state that “Humans are Meaning Seekers” (2014, p. 15) and have a hunger for knowledge. While this hunger for knowledge may hurt us in some respects (i.e. Adam and Eve in the garden, Genesis 3), it can also help further our faith and relationships with others. In The Confessions, Augustine speaks about furthering his faith after years of searching: “What I now longed for was not greater certainty about you, but a more steadfast abiding in you” (Augustine & Boulding, 2012, 7:6-7). I believe we should follow Augustine’s model and learn all that we can, not only about God but also about his creation. As stated before, we are embodied and created in the image of God. Therefore, the study of ourselves and others that psychology focuses on can bring to light the good and Godly aspects of humanity.

I believe there is a painful absence of Christian principles that should be further applied in Psychology. Because we are made in his image, we have a desire to help others, and I believe the best way to do that is to help them reach spiritual maturity. Conn and Conn state in Christian Spiritual Growth and Developmental Psychology that “the gospel vision of spiritual maturity is one of deep and inclusive love” (1989, p. 5). If this is true, then we should take every action that we can to not only show the love of God to others but also help them to grow. While this is a very spiritual topic, it can be applied to psychology. Depending on the setting of their work, one may not be able to openly speak about their faith with client, but they can help them start taking the right steps towards faith. A counselor can show love for a client that may have never been seen by them before. Of course, there are many psychological issues that can potentially harm the greater good of society, but the more clinical fields of psychology focus on issues of that matter. Counseling psychology exists for the common individual that is having a difficult time or is needing to work through something. The existence of counseling for individuals in demanding situations such as divorce or the loss of a loved one serves alone as proof that helping professions are some of the most personal and relational professional fields in the world. This reason alone leads me to believe that psychology is undeniably open for the integration of Christian ethics and principles. The biggest theme of the bible (in my opinion) is love. God created us out of love in the beginning and he sent his son as the ultimate sacrifice so that our sins are forgiven, I am not sure God would’ve done that if he didn’t love us. Therefore, it is our duty to not only love him in return but also love one another and care about the good of mankind. In a time of terrible Roman persecution, Peter wrote to scattered believers a letter of encouragement and advice. Perhaps the greatest advice he gave them is: “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sin. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling” (1 Peter 4:8-9, NIV). As Peter said, we are created to love one another, and psychology can and should be an environment for this love and hospitality.

Summary

God created us not as isolated beings competing for resources, but rather as people who depend on each other for comfort and companionship. To be good stewards of God’s most proud creation, we should strive to treat others with the love God shows us. As meaning seekers who want to see a greater purpose in life, we should find that purpose through further studying and worshiping God. We should also look to have a greater understanding of his creation. Psychology exists for manly reasons, but the best reason is to help individuals who have been hurt by society. Individuals who think they have nothing left, on the brink of depression or suicide. Psychology can be the work of God if we as Christians allow it to be. As Christians desiring a career in a helping profession of psychology, we should be ready to accept others for who they are and apply the same love to others that Jesus Christ gave to us when he made the ultimate sacrifice on the cross.

References

1. A., & Boulding, M. (2012). The confessions. Hyde Park, NY: New City Press.
2. Conn and Conn (1989). Christian spiritual growth and developmental psychology. Accessed April 12, 2020
3. Freud, S., Strachey, J., & Gay, P. (1989). Introductory lectures on psycho-analysis. New York: Norton.
4. Moes, P., & Tellinghuisen, D. J. (2014). Exploring psychology and Christian faith: An introductory guide. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
5. (n.d.). Retrieved 2020, from http://www.apa.org/support/about-apa.aspx

There are many verses in the bible that talk about the protection of our environment. Christians therefore have some sort of responsibility of encouraging positive change for the benefit of the future. There is a way to be environmentally conscious while still maintaining a strong faith relationship between you and God. Christian environmentalists emphasize the ecological responsibilities of all Christians as being in charge of God’s earth. However, “Much of the contemporary debate about Christian attitudes towards the physical environment has tended to devalue the importance of human beings in relation to the rest of creation.” Beginning with the Genesis 1:26-28, God instructs humanity to be responsible of his creation in different ways, “ And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.’ In today’s more modern and current times some Christians focus on the widespread use of non-renewable resources, habitat destruction, pollution, and many other components that directly causes damage to the health of the ecosystem as well as climate change.

Nevertheless many conservative Christians choose to not be concerned with issues regarding the environment since many Christian environmentalists have disagreed with conservative political leaders as a result of what they believe in. They want to dismiss the environment as a less significant issue compared with the importance of the Gospel. The Bible says that “all things were made through Jesus and that without Him, there is nothing made that was made” which leads the more conservative Christians to believe that God will continue to sustain the earth and their harm will not affect the community around them. Climate change is currently happening yet over a third of evangelical Christians say there is no solid evidence that climate change is happening.

Moreover there are other Christians that believe climate change is causing this certain phenomenon called “eco-anxiety”. Eco anxiety happens when “climate change causes direct psychological and existential impacts to a vast number of people already experiencing indirect impacts in the form of depression, socio-ethical paralysis, and loss of well-being.” The author talks about how this can happen to anyone and add onto their already existing life problems. An example would be when a person feels depression coming on because first and foremost they lose their his job, but in the background is also anxiety about the state of the world and climate change. This source is not about how to ignore the effects of climate change but to address how it is affecting us mentally, physically, and even how it plays a role in the community. This means that when there is some sort of physical impact like the rising sea levels, stress on freshwater resources and other environmental problems it affects the human systems such as urban infrastructure, human security, and transportation networks, which in turn affects everyone in the community.

Conservative Christians may say things such as “We agree, we’re called to care for God’s creation,” or “we’re called to be stewards of the planet.” But that does not correlate to: “We should do something about it.” They seem to be really disconnected from the concern about climate change and politics has a lot to do with it. They believe that environmentalists as a whole are so unfriendly to humanity because they think humans are a menace to nature, which they see as best untouched by humans. Sin, for environmentalists, is interfering with nature which is the exact opposite of the Bible’s definition of “sin is unlawfulness”.

We as a society however trust environmentalists with some sort of authority on their knowledge of what we can do to take better care of our environment. Things such as “to decide the temperature at which to set our thermostats, the kinds of light bulbs we use, to dictate whether we’ll use disposable or cloth diapers, and plastic or cloth grocery bags, and many more things” that they emphasize we need to integrate into our lives. Many young people in our society are seeking an improved environment, yet they think that most Christians don’t care about ecological issues and that most churches offer no opportunity for involvement. Since the beginning of the modern environmental movement, non religious environmentalists have claimed that historic Christianity is largely responsible for today’s environmental problems. There are two relevant teachings in Scripture that establish a foundation for developing a theology of nature and environmental stewardship. Although God gave the family of man the authority to ‘Rule over’ creation, Scripture reveals that nature and wildlife are valuable to God independent of humanity. Numerous biblical passages reveal God’s provision and care for wildlife as well as his concern for the treatment of domesticated animals.

Something that relates to both Christ and animals that the general public knows about is the story of Noah’s Ark. As stated in this journal article,“While offering a dire warning about sin, disobedience, and their consequence—the destructive judgment of God, who sends a flood to cleanse the earth of human wickedness while preserving the obedient and righteous Noah and his family—it is also a story of hope, regeneration, and new beginnings.” The story of Noah’s Ark also proves to be an example of environmental consciousness, and showing the ideas of social and political agreeance. In Hong Kong they came up with this idea of combining the education of religion and environmentalism by creating a theme park based on Noah’s Ark. Complete with life size replicas of the actual ark itself along with animals, there are also many references to scripture throughout the park. There are also informational installations regarding environmental ideas such as solar energy and how much of an impact it can have politically.

However this theme park has been disregarded for the use of Christianity as a gimmick to attract as many people as they can to come to the park itself, as well as dismissing the significance of the story, “Noah’s Ark”. For example, one of the panels in the exposition hall interprets the Noah story as one of the “destruction of harmony” due to a human society “full of corruption, violence, family and social problems.” The pessimistic and apocalyptic note in the Noah’s Ark’s exhibits stands at odds with the more ideal hopeful and positive message embodied elsewhere in the theme park’s exhibitions and physical environment. In a way, this is because the whole Christian view of divine creation does not line up with environmental ideas. The resort’s message of environmental responsibility is overshadowed by the negative and apocalyptic notes sprinkled in some of the galleries. The resort and park as a whole, while utilizing the environmentalism theme, actually create a bad setting whose project and ideology is only to promote pop environmentalism. It seemed like a great concept on paper but when it was actually put into action it turned out to be another great example of when environmentalism and evangelical Christianity begin to part in opposing views.

Christians also blame the use of technology as environmental damage. This article is about the author’s response to a man named Lynn White Jr. who blamed Christianity for the world’s environmental problems. White’s article begins by describing the technological progress of Western culture since the mid-1800s, and its resulting in various problematic effects. White also argued Christians brought environmental destruction and crisis. It is the question of where the thought originated that caused White’s article to provoke the Christian community. He routinely analyzed examples of thought and behaviour processes of Christians and secular people. For White, since the historical majority religion of both Europe and the Americas was Christianity, all of Western scientific discovery and ethics carried the impact of Christian theology.

On the other hand, there must be some way Christians and environmentalists can come together and use their good qualities to live in harmony. This journal proves how Christian faith can help us care for the earth by using some of its core beliefs “The Christian religion can with great traditional weight argue that we have a responsibility for planet Earth and life on it, because planet Earth has become our neighbour in the sense that we have received the commandment to love our neighbour. Your neighbour is the one who is in distress and needs your help. Planet Earth and life on it have become vulnerable to human activity; therefore, we have a responsibility to that which is within our domain.” Natural scientific ecology describes the natural world as made up of mechanical, impersonal systems. The ecological aspects of the natural world are described in terms “such as ”food chains”, ”biomass”, ”energy flows” and so on.” Before taking a natural scientific view of humans, animals and plants, we see them as living, vulnerable creatures that are valuable in themselves. Nobody should destroy humans or animal or plant species without good reason.

Continuing with the idea that Christianity and environmentalism should coexist in harmony is that there are many practical reasons why Christians should care for the earth. It is increasingly clear that our use of oil and gas in the West is driving rapid climate change in the whole world. It may not have much effect on us in the short term, other than maybe giving us longer and hotter summers in the US, but the effects of more extreme weather events will fall disproportionately on the very young and very old, on the poor and the marginalised in places such as sub-Saharan Africa. One quarter of the planet’s population lives in poverty and is extremely vulnerable to changes caused by drought or flooding, to the failure of agricultural crops or to rising sea levels. “If we take caring for our global neighbour seriously, we need to consider the impact of our lifestyles on them.”

In conclusion, some Christians however do not believe in environmentalism because of traditional values. There are many opposing views on the idea of environmentalism and Christianity but there also some that agree with each other. Christians will want to do all they can to tell others the good news of Christ. But we need to model that by caring for the world God has entrusted to us which means taking care of the environment.

Celtic mythology can be defined as a collection of myths related to Celtic polytheism and is the religion that was practiced during the Iron Age. The people of Celtic maintained a polytheistic religion, and tradition set-up (Cunliffe, 2018). The scientific study of Celtic beliefs in antique is, however, the activities related to current development due to the shortfall of materials of study as well as the writers involved in the wildest speculative flights. The surface observation within the Romano-Celtic zone of deities mostly related to the spirits of conquers that took part in monuments such as the discoveries made at the same time, symbols, coins, and individual titles. Among the Celts found in Ireland, exists massive information that was recorded and preserved during the 11th and 12th centuries. A better part of the recorded information is based on myths, and so is the rest of the essay. Worthy clues are corrected through ancient religious papers, better still, there exist several others on traditional customs that were retained under the old cult. Folk tales are inquired to distinguish amid what Celtic is and what is common. Lastly, that Celtic funeral-mounds and others remnants yield evidence for ancient beliefs cum customs. Available sources show that the Celtic non-believers are left to speculate on the internal spirit, although we are operating in the line of a massive fragment. The myths of Celts have left no records of faith and practices for the unrecorded poetry works amongst the Druids did not provide any evidence.

Today, Celts are seen as seekers of God, connecting themselves through strong links to the invisible and very anxious over the defeat of the unknown through religion or the art of magic. With the Celts, they believed that nothing in spirit form appears or happens in vain in their souls. In the same period, conventional viewers were trapped within the religious beliefs of the Celts. The Celts were also known not to forget or transgress the laws of the gods, and so they believed that no god befell the man, if at all they never wanted it. The submission of them to Christianity however, is through authority form the druids, where the religion of Celts has been categorized under religious dedication by easily overlooking superstitions, and through devotion to principles and forgotten causes. It is from all those statements that the Celts have been seen to be born dreamers, for their exquisite Elysium beliefs will be seen later in the context, and so is the spiritual and romantic European literature about them.

The earliest aspect of the Celts before they turned out to a divided people, was a spell of natural forces, as well as the life of those demonstrated naturally. Both genders appeared to be of separate cults with those of the women being more important. The men were supposed to worship the animals they slew, as an apology for slaughtering them. The act was done because men were mainly hunters. This apologetic attitude is due to their primitive nature which was due to the cults they believed in. other animals hunted were identified as sacred thus were not supposed to be slain (Gantz, 1981). The animals would, therefore, be kept and worshiped in accordance to the cult. The act of keeping animals was the root cause of pastoral life, with totemism as a notable factor. Under the aspects of earth, the women were supposed to take care of the vegetables, for it was against the cult for the man to take care of the plants. Sooner, men started building interest in farming which resulted in the exchange of the spirits worshiped, going against the cult. Thereafter, an Earthly deity took over the duties of the earthly mum, and in other instances took the place of the male offspring. Vegetable plantations and good spirits would in most times be male however many spirits who were changed into divinities, remained female.

As religion evolved, unclear spiritual beings also turned out to be gods and goddesses. While the worshiped creatures became anthropomorphic theologies, with the creatures appearing as victims, symbols, and attendants. The cultural belief of vegetation, however, focused on the ceremonial sowing and harvesting, hence, the cult of theologies of development personalized during the monumental periodic and agricultural commemorations. This act led to the identification of the Celtic religion. The wandering Celts conquered new territories evolving theologies of warfare, and it is from this that the female influence is still on since most of those involved are female. Trade, poetry, and music resulted in culture spreading, which probably developed from deities of development, since the myth that followed contributed to the beginning of sculptures and crafting and the rearing of home animals by men. Cultural goddesses continued with their practices among other cultural gods regarding them as their mums. The high-class status of the said divinities concludes that the people of Celtic had extra to themselves, and not just the usual race of warriors.

The old nature of spirits and ‘holy’ creatures were not easily lost, specifically amongst the individual who was in charge of the ancient rituals of vegetable plantation spirits, while the spirits of development were honored at the great centenaries. The disposition of the Celt had them close to nature, making them not drop the original essentials of their faith. More so, the female cults of initial inspiration as related to spirits and divine beings was maintained toward the end as the source of principal factor. By then a good number of Celtic divinities were locals in characters with every society attaining its assemblage, and every deity is allocated duties, same as those in other assemblages. Besides, several had attained an extra universe personality, taking after divinities having related functionality. The Celtic religion is however not understood for it contains no information in regards to the inner spiritual life that has been splinted down. It is therefore important to note that the passionate welcome of Christianity and the commitment of ancient saints cum the behavior of the traditional Celtic church all included that the connection of the said church to non-believers was mostly prejudiced but not solely so.

The Celts were known to worship a chiefly god known as mercury. Of him were many symbols that refer to him as the founder of every artwork as the guide to explorers, as well as influencing bargains and commerce. After a while, the Celts changed their god and started worshiping Apollo and Mars, Jupiter and Minerva who had the same beliefs as other nations. Celtic divinities probably kept in touch with them in functions. Today, the Celtic gods are identified after Greco-Roman models carrying a native divine symbol and on other occasions is the type is virtuously inherent, following the example of the Cernuous. The transformation of the innate non-believer’s code was mainly done long before Christianity was introduced in Gaul. The Roman deities were mostly worshiped by the Romans in Gaul and the identification of the roots of the Oriental cults was affected by the Romans.

The god recognized as mercury was very prevalent in Gaul, as Caesar’s arguments derived from the Roman name of the god show. Several temples of the gods were present particularly in the zones of the Allobrogi, and his bronze statues have been discovered in the plenty. The instinctive titles of the gods related to mercury are in huge amounts, and in several cases, the local mercury was worshipped, with epithets having been derived from those mercury names, and others derived from some functions of the gods (Waugh, and Principal). Another god is known as Mockus, ‘swine’ was as well related to mercury. The swine was a constant representation concerning corn-spirit or the vegetation theologies in Europe. Just like with the Celts, acknowledgment of the god related to agriculture so was he important to the Greek Hermes, a god who caused fertility. The Celtic mercury was mostly adored on hilltops, is one of the epithets of the god. Dumas being connected with the Celtic word for hill or mound, so were the Irish gods related with mounds.

Another myth is seen when Celts related to the waters of Eridanus about the tears of Apollo, which is perhaps a native myth contributing to the creation of springs and rivers to the tears of a god, formulated by the Greek with Apollo. Besides, the “sun-god” of the Celtics was seen as a god of healing springs. A visible representation of the Celtic deities is their inordinate stature. The gods have also been seen to have the concept of invisibility, and are only important to those that hope to reveal themselves to or possess the command of disclosing themselves within a magical haze. With the Celts, the animal’s names of specific divinities conclude that the Celts ones had animals as pure and simple, but represented themselves to men in these animal shapes. This view of animals led to the transformation of myths. The gods are also immortal, though, through some myths, it is heard that they died. The information about the death of the gods in the animalist nature was mainly founded on ancient mythology which was also thought of ending is a short while. The myths were mostly linked to ritual acts where the human symbols of deities were killed. This passage of rites was an essential part of the Celtic faith. In other regions, the ceremonies of deities like Adonis or Osiris, about their functionality as deities of vegetation connecting them to intricate myths that talk about their revival and death.

The mythic Celtic kings kept in touch with the gods without any ecclesiastical involvement and Queen Boudicca was identified with holy functions. Without much emphasis, the identification of offices would not be done over the Celtic area. The culture of burying goods with the dead does not specifically reveal to the customs of the slain, yet during such occasions pull through over a long time, people tend to assume that it is a cult. These customs were mainly seen to survive with the Celts, and the association with the reverence for the sepulchers of the dead, this worship of ancestral spirits as well as of the great departed heroes. The cult of the dead culminated at the family hearth, in which the dead were buried, and the presence of ancestral ghosts around the hearth was largely distributed, as superstitions demonstrated. In the Celtic districts, a chain is placed over the spot where the violence or death took place. The purpose of doing that was to make sure that the ghosts were appeased, and a stone was added by passersby. This was symbolic of the Celtic culture.it has been noted that the Celtic earth goddess, to whom the Mattress corresponded was the relation of the dead with the female earth spirits being explained.

Some Celtic divinities were changed, with continuity of objects nature in themselves. This also included spirits or minor mysticisms. While bigger mysticisms of growth had changed, the Celts still kept to the minor spirits of vegetation, corn, and fertility. The Celts also believed in the sacred fish of the wells and streams and the fairies associated with the wells are now nameless and are in only a few cases of definite names. The frog was at times a sacred animal, a thing that was not peculiar to the Celts. It was not, peculiar because it was recognized as a divine guardian animal, which took part in a folk tale as a hero, specifically when well is a tabu is women (Lisa and Miller).

Horses were also sacrificed with the connection to the Celtic water divinities. But the issue of sacrificing horses’ in their horse form has experienced a curious deformation due to the later Christian impacts, as evident in the books of invasions. The forming water to some extent suggests another incarnation because the name of the Boyne in Ptolemy was obtained from a primitive ‘Ox’. The Celtic water monster, however, has a curious resemblance to the Australian Bunyip. In spite of the twenty centuries, Christianity and the anathemas of saints, the old pagan practices at the healing wells were still carried out meaning that there was human conservatism. It was years later that the papal placed saints at the old pagan wells, but part of the rituals remained unchanged. The oak and human beings representing the spirits of vegetation were burned down due to the new Christianity rules (Mills and Langley, Pg. 35, 2006). Ancestral and individual names pointed out to the beliefs in descent from the tree gods or spirits and possibly to totemism. The Bituriges had the mistletoe men connect with the name bile, to that of the ancestors of the Milesians, pointing out to similar myths of originality from a sacred tree, as it was the case of the Fir Bileor men of the tree. The tree myth was rooted in the oldest nature worship, hence making it difficult for the church to do away with it. The councils fulminated against the cult of trees, by cutting and burning them down to bring to an end to all the Celtic myths and beliefs (MacCulloch, 1991).

The Book of Invasions is used to show the Christian side of view, starting from when God made heaven and earth, as well as the formless mass. It is from the book that the people of God came and landed in a scene from the clear sea. This was to mean that the ancient cult had come to an end. The people had three chieftains, after the death of Agnomain at the surface of the great Caspian Sea. The three were Allot, Lamfhind, and Caicher the druid. Caicher the druid is identified as the main chieftain, for he gave the remedy to the people when sleep overcame the people. The medicine he found was for the people to melt wax in their ears. Caicher also spoke to the people and encouraged them when the great wind drove them into the ocean (Mills and Langley, 2006) (Gill, 2019).

Works cited

1. Celtic Mythology Anthology . Dr. Glen Gill, 2019.
2. Cunliffe, Barry. The Ancient Celts. Oxford University Press, 2018.
3. Gantz, Jeffrey, ed. Early Irish Myths and Sagas. London: Penguin, 1981.
4. MacCulloch, John Arnott. ‘The Religion of the Ancient Celts. 1911.’ CL Paton (1991).
5. Mills, Pat, and Clint Langley. Books of Invasions. 2nd ed., Rebellion, 2006.
6. The Táin: From the Irish Epic Táin Bó Cuailnge. OUP Oxford, 2002.