I can honestly say that this Religion class has delivered beyond my wildest expectations. By delivered, I mean in the sense that I was not expecting this much depth for a class. I must say, I enjoyed the way our teacher presented all the information with little to no bias at all. Religion was always something I looked at through one, and only one peephole. I never cared or bothered to delve deeper into other religions farther than the stereotypes and tropes that were prevalent. There is so much I was (and still am) oblivious to.
First off, I'd like to mention my Christian background. At an early age I was force fed all of the Christian doctrines to the point where I could recite bible verses like it was the Pledge of Allegiance. I was in a private school from elementary all the way up until the start of High School, so I was a zombie to the good word. It was all I knew as I grew up, and yes, I had a bias for it against any outside religion to the point where I ignored everything else and considered the other main religions of the world to be flat out wrong.
Basically up until this class, I was ignorant of every other religion. I considered myself pretty well educated in most subjects of Christianity, even the topics that most Christians do not like to speak about or bring up. I have a good friend who likes to question Christianity, so he did open up my eyes before I wound up in this class. I started to ask simple questions and take a deeper look at the religion as well. There were several instances where I was left empty handed, and my doubts started to grow.
I am currently unsure where my views lie exactly. All my life I was forced to believe Jesus Christ died on the cross for my sins, but the more I examine that doctrine, the more holes I see unfilled. I do not know if I would even be considered a Christian by my pastors if they would ever get inside my head nowadays. I believe Jesus existed, but that is as far as my will allows me to go. Judaism and Islam seem like much more plausible religions to me now that I know more about them.
This class has opened my eyes. All the major religions of the world are fascinating. Save for a couple of games I have played that referenced Hindu and Buddhist mythological characters, I knew very little about any of the history and backgrounds of any of them. I told myself I was going to enter this class with an open mind and not look at any of these outside religions from my Christian backings. They used to all be huddled up in one large group, but now I can see all the individuality each brings. I can admit my faults. I was ignorant enough to have the sense of superiority in the sense that I saw people of other religions as wrong or misguided.
I enjoyed seeing the similarities that these other religions have to Christianity as well. Islam and Judaism both are much more similar to Christianity then I had ever imagined. I mean, basically all that separates these three religions is the fact that Islam and Judaism do not see Jesus as being the physical representation of God in human form. These two religions both believe everything in the Old Testament as factual and part of their own religion. I wonder why I never knew these things. Why was this left out at Sunday school when I was taught so many things about my own religion? Isn't Christianity's goal to unite the lands? I think they should start with the ideas and historical facts that coincide with some of the other major religions, not alienate themselves as the one true religion.
There is still much left on the table when it comes to my understanding of religion as a whole. I feel I have a better understanding of the larger religions of the world, but I should not end with this one class. This was just the appetizer for me when it comes to learning about this topic. It intrigues me how the world basically revolves around religion, even if most world parties do not want to admit this fact. Everyone wants to keep religion away from politics, and I think they should, but it hits closer to home then that. I am thankful for selecting this class, and having this particular professor as my tutor. I think any other person would not have given me this perspective for this topic and I am grateful for any higher authority that made it so. Thank you for helping me get my feet wet.
