Essay Example on Being a Christian: Exploring the Definition of Faith

Introduction

First, it would be appropriate to appreciate the author's ability to construct his ideas within the most comprehensible structure best befitting the subject. His ability to present and support the topic of discussion is observed in the introduction part as he tries to demonstrate the real meaning of being a Christian (Russell, 2018). He uses different religions to clarify that being a Christian entail believing in Jesus Christ as the wisest of all men. The other factor that the author considers to be crucial for an individual to be considered a Christian is a belief in God and immortality, a concept that he would later dispute subtly.

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As the main subject of the article suggests, the author engages himself in the process of repudiating Christianity by evaluating the two main concepts of Christianity (the dogmatic nature and Christ's wisdom). There are various arguments brought forward to help justify the existence of God that the author disproves through reason (Russell, 2018). He begins by observing the first-cause argument, which suggests that the different structures within the causal chain can be traced back to God as the original cause. The author argues that there is a fallacy in this belief since it neglects God's cause.

The natural-law argument is the second one discussed in the essay. In this section, the author tries to interpret the different aspects of law as he attributes them to human conventions (Russell, 2018). As a supporting contribution to his idea that there is no lawgiver to the natural law, he argues that natural law is just a representation of statistical averages, and so are the laws of chance. In this case, law-giving is disputed by considering that some aspects of nature may not fall in line with any laws, hence interrupting the natural law chain of thought (Russell, 2018). His further elaborations question God's reason for giving some laws and not others. He argues that any answers to the question define God as a subject of the law, hence disregarding any advantages of introducing God as an intermediary (Russell, 2018).

As the author disputes the argument of design, he utilizes Darwin's theory, which implies that living creatures have adjusted with time as they try to cope with nature but not the other way around. Moreover, the author does not seem to appreciate the imperfections found on earth, regardless of the omniscience associated with God (Russell, 2018). The Moral Arguments for Deity, on the other hand, are disregarded as per their relationship to God's fiat, based on whether he created both of them and yet considered good at all times. While discussing The Argument for the Remedying of Injustice, the author argues that justice could not be guaranteed in the next life if a scientific approach was used as an example. In this case, he argues that a bag with rotten fruits on top is likely to contain the same bad fruits down below. Therefore, the unfairness observed in this life would be difficult to justify in another (Russell, 2018).

As established earlier, believing in Jesus Christ as the wisest of all men is one of the main characteristics of Christianity. For this part of the discussion, the author seems to identify various issues that can be obtained from some of Christ's teachings. He uses these teachings to identify how much they have not been respected by humanity over time. He also identifies the defects found in some gospel teachings while finding fault in some of the teaching strategies used (Russell, 2018). He also seemed to disagree with how Jesus used to condemn those who would not act according to his father's law. Fear is also established in his essay as one of the primary causes of why people opt for religion. In the end, he recommends the use of free intelligence as the best approach towards which humanity can handle issues that they face as they ignore ancient teachings.

Laughing At Death By Neil J. Elgee, M.D

This essay is a demonstration of the different advantages of humor as an aspect of humanity. The author begins by establishing that it can be used to do away with fundamentalism and negativity in life. As people grow up, there are exposed to different death-related truths whose impacts can only be regulated by the different cultural beliefs fabrications that help give meaning to our lives (Elgee, 2003). The author uses Freud and woody Allen to help him further explain the essence of humor in human life.

As the author describes irony, he argues that the people confine themselves within cultural belief systems to try and stay away from the fullness of life. One of the most critical aspects of irony, as described by the writer, relates to the human's ability to use it to enjoy life and change our perception of the different disappointing aspects of life (Elgee, 2003). Irony also helps us build harmony between certain negativities that may include incongruity, discordance, and ambivalence.

The author also represents a critical aspect of humor, where he utilizes the symbol of a cutting edge to help elaborate on how it can be used against others. For instance, humor can be used by individuals who would wish to imply that their lives are better than those of others. Such is an ostracizing aspect of humor (Elgee, 2003). On the other hand, affiliative humor is utilized as a tool that brings a group of people together. An example given by the author involves how humans would use ostracizing humor to denigrate them.

Later in his arguments, death is said to be the critical motivator towards the creation of our belief systems. Some religions are believed to use laughter in different ways. The author suggests the need to investigate ways in which these religions use it to their advantage. The concluding section invokes the need for all humans utilizing different belief systems to try and benefit from the diversification (Elgee, 2003). This could be achieved by utilizing our neurotic angst in which imagination, whimsy, irony, and paradox are utilized.

Nonreligious spirituality and death rejection.

This paper assumes a research approach to try and determine the different meanings of spirituality among different populaces as they relate to life. Furthermore, critical evaluations are applied to different theories of existence to help clarify how different groups of humans relate to the universe while putting spirituality into consideration (Cicirelli, 2011). Some of the groups investigated include religious groups and scientific groups. One of the most appealing definitions of spirituality is a systematic procedure where a person first identifies recognizes suitable characteristics of another. Secondly, the person finds the object, idea, or person more powerful based on what they could accomplish. The third step involves identifying with the object or idea and, lastly, recognizing it as one that provokes emotional experiences that are beyond the ordinary.

With religious spirituality, a person would depend on God to define the meaning exhibited by their lives. I this case, a person identifies with a supernatural being and in which they believe would guarantee immortality (Cicirelli, 2011). Nevertheless, the author recognizes the different controversies existing as far as the existence of God is concerned. Furthermore, Christians adhere to the gospel of Jesus Christ, which has been translated into numerous languages. The translations are believed to have induced very literal meanings of the scriptures while others doctored to meet human purposes. Faith stands out as the critical guiding principle above which different religions have been constructed.

The author also evaluates nonreligious spirituality, which is fundamentally built on science. The difference between religious faith and scientific faith is that science utilizes empirical evidence to help validify an idea or belief, while religious faith depends on prayer and scripture content(Cicirelli, 2011). The author touches on different ideas, primarily resulting from different spiritual perspectives. For instance, a reduced mortality rate would be possible if particular inventions were made through science. He refers to specific scientific ideas that would increase the maximum life expectancies to 200 years. This idea is reputed by religious groups that argue that such initiatives would go against God's original laws of existence.

The quantitative section of the research focused on the elderly indicated certain levels of enthusiasm and curiosity as well. However, the two groups (religious and nonreligious) used for the study indicated different views on death and the extension of life. Elders whose faith was religious held higher levels of positivity as far as their approach to death was concerned. This group also seemed to show significant negativity towards a scientific extension of life (Cicirelli, 2011). The nonreligious group displayed characters opposite to those of the religious group. An ethical view of the research indicates that both religious and nonreligious groups demonstrate the need to help others but guided by different motives.

References

Cicirelli, V. G. (2011). Religious and nonreligious spirituality concerning death acceptance or rejection. Death Studies, 35(2), 124-146.

Elgee, N. (2003). Laughing at Death. The Psychoanalytic Review, 90(4), 475-497. https://doi.org/10.1521/prev.90.4.475.23917

Russell, B. (2018). Why I am not a Christian. Lulu Press, Inc.