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NAKED FAITH

Former American Press staff writer Sunny Brown Farley writes "Naked Faith," a look at faith in its natural form: lived out in the day-to-day lives of ordinary people.

 Meet the Blogger

In the Light

Posted September 21, 2009 at 8:14 am
Filed Under Faith & Religion | 2 Comments

As Christians, we should hold up everything in our lives in the Light for careful examination.

This week, I held up a game I play and questioned whether it was really in line with my faith. The game is Mafia Wars. Because it is a game on Facebook, I posted to my friends that I was wrestling with the issue.

A friend of mine from seminary wrote about this in his blog – something worth reading. The blog can be found at http://fumc-rr.ctx.umportal.org/main/article.asp?id=5901.

Check it out! Also, let me know what you think!

Comments

2 Responses to “In the Light”

  1. Caracalla on September 26th, 2009 10:39 pm

    Dear Sunny: First of all I’m a Wiccan & Why do christains think there way is the only ones who think they are the only way to get to heaven.

  2. sbrown on September 27th, 2009 8:48 am

    Dear Wiccan friend,

    I can only speak for myself. As a Christian, I believe that all of humankind was created in the image of God (Gen 1:27). As such, I believe that we are all very special. I also believe in free will. Throughout the Bible we find that God gives us the opportunity to choose how we will live. In terms of religion, we are afforded the opportunity to invest our very special lives in whatever way we want. Some invest in Christianity, others Islam or Wicca. I have a great deal of respect for other religions because I see that those who adhere to them have invested their lives in these faiths. I also must point out that the reason we say “faith” or “faiths” is because we believe with everything we have in them. However, none of us knows for sure we are right. That is the difference between faith and knowledge. I believe in Christianity. I have placed my faith and trust in God through Christ Jesus. I believe Jesus is the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6).

    In the beginning, humans used their free will to make decisions contrary to the will of God and that resulted in a fallen and corrupted world in need of reconciliation with God, or redemption. Jesus has made a way for reconciliation by offering himself a sacrifice for atonement (at-one-ment) with God. All I have to do is believe in him and invest my life in him and I receive this salvation. Salvation is now, but a lot of times we talk about it in terms of afterlife, too, because as Christians we hold out hope that our lives will continue after this one and we will spend all of eternity with our God. This is heaven.

    Now, a couple of things … . I often wonder why some people would want to go to heaven? If one doesn’t want want to be with God now, why would one want to be with God later and forever?

    Are there other paths to eternal life with God? What about other religions? I don’t know! That falls under the category of “knowledge.” I am a person of faith. I also might add that our Bible teaches us that there is but One judge and that judge is not me.

    After studying Christianity for many years, I have concluded that it is the religion for me. For me and for the many who share in this faith, Jesus is the way and the truth and the life. Because it is the way and truth and life that we know and in which we have invested our lives, we often share it with others in hopes they will find it to be the way, truth and life for themselves.

    I would be interested to know what wiccans believe about heaven. I have heard that Wicca is very connected with nature. Christianity also holds a special place for nature in that we believe everything was created by God and bears the mark of the Creator … .Psalm 19 says all of the earth declares the handiwork of God.

    Please let me know if this response was helpful.

    Sincerely,

    Sunny

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