Prompt: The major religions of the West, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, all promise some sort of future salvation. However, all are inextricably linked to the past. Does history contribute/bolster faith, or does the past limit faith?
History undoubtedly has the capabilities of affecting religion. Whether or not history bolsters or limits faith is how the individual uses the information offered. Without history, we would not have documentation of Jesus who walked the earth, Moses who led the Jews away from the power of the Pharaoh, and the knowledge of how religion has progressed over time. I can tell you now that I do not know the deep roots of Christian, Jewish, or Islamic religions or have enough background to go into each of their historical pasts. However, in a broader perspective, history has created the texts and stories we follow today and makes up the foundation of these faiths. Without the history, what basis would we have our faith on? Christians would not be waiting for the second coming of Christ, Jews would not celebrate Passover, and Islam would not celebrate Ramadan.
On the other hand, people can also receive negative connotations from the history of religion. Religious persecution, wars, and the Holocaust are all examples of religious events that portray downfalls in humanity. However, is this history limiting faith if we have also learned from the treacheries of the past? Religion, at least what I have been taught in Christianity, does teach us to forgive and move past previous transgressions. After all, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are all looking ahead towards salvation in which God passes judgments upon mankind, not us passing judgments upon each other and our ancestors.
In addition, the promise of future salvation keeps us looking ahead. So how is it that the past could hinder us from looking ahead towards the future? Instead, the past shows us God’s promise that keeps us looking forward and striving towards His love- the promise that keeps humanity willing to be good and abide by God’s laws given to us. The Torah, the Bible, and the Quran teach us to live properly now in order to be saved later. When looking at Christianity, in the first letter of Peter, he wrote, “…Christ suffered for you and left an example for you to follow the way he took.” By following these historical texts and beliefs, we improve our treatment of one another, bolstering our faith and sense of community.
Granted, history does prefer solid facts and concrete evidence. As a result, religious texts become myths and complex stories rather than being documented as positive truth. You do not open a history book and see “And then God created man.” Creation of man and spiritual beliefs are left for interpretation to those individuals who seek God and faith. Putting that into consideration, it may be taken as another positive history brings upon religion. If history made something a solid truth, people would dispute and battle constantly about what that truth is. The miniscule details of each text would be the focus rather than embracing the meaning behind those words. The religious divisions would be under constant attack and defense over what they believe to be true. History protects that freedom of belief by simply stating who lived in what year, the known occurrences and actions of those people, and stops from going into the depth behind them. History allows an opening for a further story to be told and interpreted on a more individual, subjective point of view.
Even if history did in some way inhibit the full force of faith, what are we to do about that? Are we to try and erase the past and start over new? Pretending history did not happen could be toxic to society. Mistakes would be repeated, people would not have as strong of an understanding, and faith would stop evolving. Society has never agreed upon a single truth, but we may still be headed together in the right direction. We have no choice but to listen to the past and let it help dictate who we are today. History, as long as it is used correctly, is vital to all that makes us faithful to begin with. Had we not read these miraculous texts and heard these beautiful stories of God and salvation, we would not be who we are. We are transforming, through history, to be better people for God upon the coming of salvation. It is a brand new day and we should move forward with our faith to leave a great history behind for the future generations.
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