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How Do You Imagine God?
God in America and USA WEEKEND Magazine are partnering to explore Americans' images of God.
How do you imagine God?
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I think of God as real, more real than the world we sense around us. God is spirit as well as body; He is eternal, without beginning or end. He is all-loving, all-powerful, and all-knowing. I believe that God created the entire universe from nothing and that He created all men, whom He loves unconditionally. God has no flaws; flaws and all evil come from Satan, who fights God but will lose in the end.
My Beliefs
My most powerful moment of belief was ...
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When I found out through extensive reading that evolution was not based on science but on a philosophical position. This meant that I could take the Bible as literally true.
My greatest moment of doubt was ...
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Prior to my most powerful moment of belief, I had accepted evolution as fact, which meant that portions of the Old Testament could not be true. I was troubled by the aspect of having to reject the historicity of any part of the Bible.
My spiritual life means...
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That I have a tangible, beneficial connection to God and a Christian view of all people, meaning that God loves everyone and desires that all of us, after our present body passes away, rise to a new and glorious life with God in the heaven He has created for all men.
The biggest misconception about my faith/belief system is ...
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Directly related to my previous belief in evolution. Discovering beyond doubt that evolution is based not at all on proper scientific observation but rather on a devious attempt to discredit Christian thought was the biggest misconception of my life.
My spiritual role model is ...
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Jesus Christ, revealed in the Bible as God Himself.
The tenet/practice/teaching I appreciate most about my faith is ...
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God's unconditional love for all men and His ability to restore the broken relationship between us.
My Faith History
As a child I believed ...
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Nothing in particular; I did not consider serious belief in God and how it might impact my life until I was almost 13.
My spiritual journey has been ...
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Fascinating and rewarding. God as omniscient and omnipotent possesses an infinity of wisdom, and I can spend infinity at His feet and never exhaust His fellowship or His revelations.
I was raised as ...
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Protestant; specifically, Church of God, Anderson IN.
Are your beliefs or practices different from your parents? If so, how and why?
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My parents provided a foundation for my faith; I hope that I have found a richer, deeper and more inclusive faith than they had, and one that is based on truth rather than on feelings or biases.
If you have children, did becoming a parent change your relationship to faith? If so, how?
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Not immediately; it increased my workload and subtracted from my sleep. Only later have I realized that my seven children enriched my life beyond calculation; God gave them into my care only long enough to raise them in as godly a manner as I could; now they are their own men and women, and responsible directly to God's call.
How I Practice My Faith
Where and when do you practice your faith?
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I play piano and organ at a local Methodist church every Sunday; I teach a Sunday school class there, and accompany the choir. I teach at a Christian university where both the faculty and students are alive to the reality of God in every area of life.
Does your family practice more than one religion or faith? If so, how do you blend the traditions?
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We are uniformly Protestant though not in the same denomination.
How easy or difficult is it to live your faith? Why?
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I find it easy to live my faith through the written word; more difficult when I act and speak in public. I have a natural reticence in public forums unless I am around those I know well.
In my house, the thing that most represents my faith is ...
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Copies of the Bible which represent the written essence of what we believe.
The song/book/film that most represents my faith is ...
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The Bible.
Religion & the Public Square
What should be the role of religion in politics?
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The Consitution has it right by saying that Congress shall not make any laws concerning religion or prohibit its free exercise. Politicians should be free to share publicly what they believe and to let their belief shape their views on policy, while considering the greater good of the public they represent.
Should courses about religion be taught in public schools? Why or why not?
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Yes, especially because the Judeo-Christian faith is a foundation of everything our country stands for: its laws, its economy, its freedom to worship, and the common liberties enjoyed by all of its citizens. The morals and beliefs set forth in the Bible are directly related to our culture and national identity.
Should the Bible, Torah, Quran or other religious texts be taught as works of literature in public schools? Why or why not?
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Yes, as electives, although a required course in the Bible would be particularly beneficial, since the great majority of those who founded our country were believers of scripture.
Is interfaith dialogue important? Why or why not?
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Yes, because the more we get to know each other, the more we can respect and value what other people believe. Much of what passes as prejudice is founded in ignorance.
Do you feel comfortable discussing your faith with others? Why/why not?
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Yes, because my religious faith gives me a mandate to do so, and because I believe Christianity has eternal, incalculable benefits for everyone.
Do you feel that you have a duty, because of your faith, to put your beliefs into action? What are some of those actions?
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Yes, I have a duty. Such actions include modeling the love of God toward all men, to treat them as those for whom Jesus Christ died. They include tithing to the church, being a responsible citizen, working productively, being faithful to my wife and a good father to my children.
Are religious beliefs compromised by engaging in politics?
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They can be if the politician disregards his own firmly held beliefs for the sake of bowing to pressures against them. It is quite difficult to carry set beliefs into the public arena and then try to satisfy all of one's constituents.
Has 9/11 had any impact on your thoughts about religion? Are you more/less interested in learning about other religions? Do you feel more/less comfortable expressing your religious beliefs?
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It has had a strong impact; I suspect that Muslims are diverse enough that many, or most, object to the jihad practiced on 9/11. I am more interested in learning about other religions, and I feel more comfortable expressing my beliefs.
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