Group 1: Reflection 1
1) I сan say that I believe in God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. I many times witnessed miracles and unusual things, which cannot be explained by the laws of physics. It not only makes me confirm in my beliefs, but it also makes my views open to all possible options. I acknowledge that my presuppositions and convictions may turn untrue and that all people in the world may be wrong concerning the origin of our existence, the superpowers controlling our lives, or the afterlife. As for me personally, regarding the origin of the world, I rather adhere to religious viewpoint about the divine creation of the Universe. However, since neither of the theories is proved 100%, I do not exclude other variants. As for the nature of man, I feel rather far from the anthropological approach, with the man as the centre of the world, I believe we are a part of the world, but not the largest one. Man is another creature of God and his destination is disguised for us at the moment. As for social responsibilities and personal interactions with other people, I think that a person cannot exist without the society and it rests certain rights and responsibilities to him/her – a man must follow the rules of the society and its moral code in order to live with other people and with himself in harmony and peace.
2) I came to these ideas and conclusions basing on my life experience and different events which have happened to me so far. Moreover, I can say that reading many books devoted to sociology, religion (including the Bible), philosophy made me ponder over these questions much, and now these are my viewpoints. But I cannot guarantee that they will not change in future. Gaining experience, reading, and education let me study these questions from different perspectives but who knows how many perspectives there are all in all.
Group 1: Reflection 2
1) I should say that my attitude to people has been changing for all my life and now I feel new waves in this aspect. If earlier I used to judge people and even criticize them, now I am much kinder, on the one hand, and indifferent, on the other. I lost interest in their personal life and never intrude into their personal sphere unless asked to. And when I’m asked about my opinion, I always try to stay positive and hopeful and try to find something good in each person and each action he/she does. It calms my mind and makes my life better, too.
2) When something bad happens to me, I try to treat it not as a trouble or a misfortune, but a challenge which can be undertaken or a task which must be completed. If there is a failure, I prefer to treat it as a lesson and try to make conclusion which may help me in future. But I never respond with anger or other negative emotions to such events, since I understand that it won’t help anyone but will only spoil my soul.
Group 2: Reflection 1
1) a. The idea of Trinity can be found in the following passages:
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Gen. 1.1).
“Draw near to me, hear this: from the beginning I have not spoken in secret, from the time it came to be I have been there. And now the Lord God has sent me, and his Spirit” (Isa. 48.16).
“And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am” (Matt. 3.16-17).
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28.19).
b. I believe in the concept of trinity, since I think that God must have a representative closer to people if he wants to contact with them and help them. On the other hand, there must be an immaterial part as another representative of God.
2) a. The idea of divine origin of the world can be found in the following biblical passages:
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Gen. 1.1).
“I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, [even] my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded” (Isa. 45.12).
“For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether [they be] thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him” (Col. 1.16).
“All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made” (John 1.3).
“And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought [them] unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that [was] the name thereof” (Gen. 2.19).
b. As I have already said, I have a firm conviction in the divine origin of the Universe, the Earth, and the creatures living on it. However, if we recollect history, we may see that ancient people firmly believed in what can be called nonsense today. Then we cannot be sure that our belief is the only one possible and reasonable variant and it can be attributed to all possible theories existing today – scientific, religious, and even the least possible ones. By now I tend to believe that God was the one who presented us with life and created this world for us to live here and thrive.
Works Cited
The Holy Bible: Containing the Old and New Testaments with the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books: New Revised Standard Version. New York: American Bible Society, 1989. Web.
