Tucker Gorman Midterm

Tucker Gorman

Intro to Philosophy

21 Feb 2012

Dr. James Oliver

            Religion is a key aspect of many people’s lives. It drives them, it hinders them, gives them confidence, and gives them doubt. For some people, they do not really care about the religion they “believe” in, but simply do it to fit in. Others choose not to believe in a religion to fit in. Either way, religion plays an important rule in everyone’s life.

            For me, religion is not another option in life, but it is life. I was raised as a Christian, went to a Christian, and have always had Christian friends. Most people would say I am just a Christian because the choice was made for me as a child and I have never known anything else. If someone would have called me out on that two or three years ago, and I thought through it being perfectly honest I would have to agree with them. Recently, however, I have been faced with many questions about my faith and why I believe what I believe. The biggest reason for me lately is direct answer to prayer. A few of my friends have had the same questions in their head about their faith as I have and have handled it differently. Some choose to reject God because of suffering in this world; others are shallower and do it because they do not get what they want. The one thing I have noticed that they all have in common is that they try to be independent. Proverbs 3:5-6 tell us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.” I am not ashamed to say that I doubt my faith almost on a daily basis, whether it be for the slightest moment or if it lasts for days at a time. Most of the time I try to work through it by myself, I find that this rarely works out for the best. However, when I trust in the Lord’s and not my own wisdom, the results are much better. I believe that the doubt makes me stronger because I am so rooted in my faith. I think the same is true for anyone else who has strong beliefs and has a strong will. This type of person performs well under pressure. I have tried to imagine my life without Christianity many times and I like my life much better with it.

            I believe that this would be my life without Christianity. First of all, I would not have been in a Christian school as a child. I probably would have ended up going to a school near my hometown called Cordova Elementary School, which would have led me into the same middle and high school. These schools would not have prepared me in any way for southwest community college much less Middle Tennessee State University. I may not have even graduated high school. Most of the people I know who went to those schools were in gangs or were picked on gangs to the point where they did not go to school anymore. The others were just druggies who are not doing anything with their lives besides throwing it in the garbage. I doubt that I ever would have played soccer, swam, played golf, or played racquetball as all of these sports were introduced or influenced on me by my Christian friends. I probably never would have even fathomed the idea of becoming a pilot much less been able to find the resources to pay for it. My biggest influences for wanting to be a pilot were my dad suggested it but more so that he had many friends at church who were pilots. If I were not a Christian, why would I go to church? Because I would not have gone to church I never would have met those pilots and never would have learned any of the processes or schools for becoming a pilot. Now that I have no desire to become a pilot, there would be no reason for me to have joined the Air National Guard. Without the guard I would never have had my eyes opened to the rest of the world. I also would not have the extra money for school I receive from the Guard. I never would have made the friends I did and would not have had a friend to stay with when I went to Colorado over the winter break. Without that trip I would not have learned how to snowboard, which would be a shame if I do say so. Even if I had still gone to a Christian school and had the same experiences, I truly believe that I would not have been able to come to Middle Tennessee State University because of financial reasons. Through constant prayer and trusting in the Lord I received a scholarship that has allowed me to follow my dreams of becoming a pilot. I also never would have met the people I know now who I believe are constantly challenging me in every aspect of life. Whether it is religion, athletics, academics, family matters or whatever else you can think of; they have taught me a lot and shared experiences with me that have helped teach me even more. I honestly cannot fathom how much different and worse my life would be without my Christianity.

            This world is filled with pain and suffering and with people trying to find an answer or remedy to this pain and suffering. I find relief in my religion, more specifically my savior. Many people search this world for the answers, but it is right under there noses… literally. The vastness and beauty of the universe is enough for me to believe in God. Romans 1 has a take on this. It says,” For what can be known about God is plain to them. For His invisible attributes, namely His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” God makes Himself known through His creation. Because of this we are all without excuse. We cannot say that we did not know because no one told us. The origin of pain and suffering comes from the original fall of man. Because of the fall, sin entered the world and mankind became basically evil. We were first created as perfect, good beings. It is repeated over and over in Genesis that God created it, and it was good.

            For many people religion is just another choice or something that you have to do on Sunday morning. To me it is life and without it my life would be completely different in all the worst ways. The people I know, the experiences I have had with those people, and the feelings I have felt with those people are all because of my religion.