keep the faith
the San Diego Padres Major League Baseball team has a slogan for it's team "keep the faith". Their mascot is "the friar", wearing a long robe, modeled after a byzantine monk; with the team name "padres" meaning "fathers" in Spanish, and referring to a priest or holy person. Right now in America it is Spring Training Baseball season, the "warm-up" games preceding the regular season, and as mentioned on a previous blog, attending these games is a tradition for my friends and I. March is an exciting time overall in American sports, my favorite time of year. Besides Spring Training, there's March Madness (NCAA basketball), NBA (professional basketball), and the end of the NHL (hockey) season.
This religious metaphor ("keep the faith" in relation to loyalty to one's favorite team) popped into my head this week as I have been focusing on my own personal faith. As a Christian living in a Jewish state, its hard to keep the faith. Heck, its challenging enough while living in America, a supposedly "Christian" nation. So you could just imagine being surrounded by people who don't believe in Jesus, and who do not even INCLUDE the New Testament in their Bibles. Ironically, however, the majority of the people who live in Israel are "Jewish" by race only (as I am) and do not actually practice Judaism but are secular... just like most of the US does not actually practice the principles of Christianity.
I have been reading parts of the Bible lately (the Bible containing BOTH Old AND New Testaments), which has a whole new meaning after LIVING in the area in which it takes place. Even though I am learning a lot about the beliefs of Jews and Muslims, my Christian foundation will remain solid, while remaining open to learn about other religions. I am currently taking a class on Islam, which is perhaps my favorite. Learning so much about the Muslim faith and the ways in which it is REinterpreted by radical Islamist groups (they create their own "version" of Islam to justify violent acts), and MISinterpreted by the West (who thinks ALL Muslims are terrorists). Like Christianity, Islam is a religion of peace. I will continue to explore its rich cultural heritage as I "keep the faith" in God also known as "Allah". Without Him, we can do nothing.
This religious metaphor ("keep the faith" in relation to loyalty to one's favorite team) popped into my head this week as I have been focusing on my own personal faith. As a Christian living in a Jewish state, its hard to keep the faith. Heck, its challenging enough while living in America, a supposedly "Christian" nation. So you could just imagine being surrounded by people who don't believe in Jesus, and who do not even INCLUDE the New Testament in their Bibles. Ironically, however, the majority of the people who live in Israel are "Jewish" by race only (as I am) and do not actually practice Judaism but are secular... just like most of the US does not actually practice the principles of Christianity.
I have been reading parts of the Bible lately (the Bible containing BOTH Old AND New Testaments), which has a whole new meaning after LIVING in the area in which it takes place. Even though I am learning a lot about the beliefs of Jews and Muslims, my Christian foundation will remain solid, while remaining open to learn about other religions. I am currently taking a class on Islam, which is perhaps my favorite. Learning so much about the Muslim faith and the ways in which it is REinterpreted by radical Islamist groups (they create their own "version" of Islam to justify violent acts), and MISinterpreted by the West (who thinks ALL Muslims are terrorists). Like Christianity, Islam is a religion of peace. I will continue to explore its rich cultural heritage as I "keep the faith" in God also known as "Allah". Without Him, we can do nothing.
posted by :: Lisa :: at 9:08 AM
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