What Is Religion Essay Example for Free

What Is Religion Essay Religion is a hard concept to comprehend. It is showing us a different side to look at our life. Instead of having hard facts that can be physically proven, religion shows us to take a leap of faith and believe the impossible. In The Nature of Existence Charles Messer says: â€Å"Religion is simply a system of actions meant to give you access to God and Heaven. (eternal Life)†. In my faith I am taught that we are created by a higher being; God. That He is omnipotent and he loves all human beings, even if we do not believe in him and follow him. That he sent his only son, to die on the cross for all of us. Other religions may say the opposite: that there is more than one god and that Jesus was not the messiah. Edward and people with similar beliefs say, â€Å"Religions are man-made world-views that help those in charge to control the masses. They are completely and utterly useless.†, but the only problem with this statement is that man also created science. Man has a lust for power and because religious leaders have so much power over so many people, others assume that religion is being used to gain power . (Your Thesis is not clearly visible, you are thinking with emotion instead of stating clear facts with passion) In today’s world there are too many religions to count. â€Å"There are as many ‘religions’ as there are believers since each person has a different understanding of what their religion is.†: as Nancy M has put it. Nancy brings up a great point by saying this. People might think they have the same views on religion but no one really does. That is one of the points of this documentary: to show different views on what they believe in. Free will gives us the power to choose our own paths, whether it is in speech or in religion. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy says, â€Å"Free will is to say that the agent has the capacity to choose his or her course of action.† We have the choice to believe in God or not to believe in God. That is the beauty of free will, that our decisions are our own. The biggest confrontation in religion is: which religion is right? People who have a strong faith in what they believe in, and will say that their religion is the true religion. I am one who believes that my religion is the correct. But like Nancy says; I have created my own religion. I discovered my own belief system, by challenging other religions and figuring out what others have to say about their own beliefs. Brother Jed Smock is one who challenges our faith, by going to college campuses and spreading his beliefs onto others. What he talks about at the colleges, causes the students to question and challenge Brother Jed’s beliefs. While asking these questions, the students have to also look at their own beliefs and may question them as well. To truly grasp our religion we need to ask questions and find answers. One of the best ways to do this is to challenge others and to break down the answer they have provided. It strengthens us and takes our beliefs to a whole new level. Believing in something is a way of life. Everyone has some kind of belief system. We can believe that there is a God or believe that there is no God. This is the same as an opinion: we all have opinions on everything no matter what. If no one had an opinion then there would not be discussions or arguments.(Without this progress could not be made) Whether or not we belive in a religion or science or even both, there is a reason why we do. It is a way to explain things we cannot explain (it is a way to ease our minds from fear of the unknown and to explain away the unexplainable). For example, where we go after we die or if something miraculous (Or tragic) happens in our life. We cannot explain these events, and therefore we look for answers (in a higher power, whether that power is religion or science) because as humans we do not like Uncertainty. (many people of faith turn to determinism, when something unexplainable happens, whether that something, is good or bad. According to Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, â€Å"Causal determinism is, roughly speaking, the idea that every event is necessitated by antecedent events and conditions together with the laws of nature.† Simply saying that everything happens for a reason. It is a way to avoid the confrontation, of questioning a belief system by putting life solely in the hands of a higher power. It is mainly used as a way to explain away tragedy and an attempt to console us in a time of grief. When something unexplainable happens, people (do not ) like to question why, they would rather move on with their life and accept what they believe to be inevitable. In my opinion I believe that I will make my own future and it is always changing and nothing is set until it happens. Nothing can determine our future except ourselves.