Religious Experience Paper

Religious experience paper

Christians believe in God as the Bible mention, "He is from all eternity" (Ps 93:2). The practices of worship involve speeches, music, reading of scriptures, praying and sermons. Although Christians can perform worships alone, but on special days they prefer to perform them in the form of groups. Carol singing is organized by different churches during the holy days. The pope wears a purple and white colored cassock. Christians engage themselves in worships during Christmas and Easter. Christianity associates Christmas with the birth of Jesus and Easter with the martyrdom and resurrection. Other worships are associated with the births of saints and celebrated as festivals. Christians take full participation in worships depicting their bonding with religion and Christian beliefs. The worship reflects the customs and traditions of the Christian religion leading to a unique experience for the followers.

Charismas are one of the most celebrated days in the Christian calendar. The followers of the Christian religion do worship to celebrate Christ’s birth. Christians have a belief that Jesus Christ was born on the very day, so followers throughout the world have a feast on this particular day. The followers recognize Christ as the father of religion, so they don’t leave any opportunity to celebrate the event. Charismas represent the religious beliefs and the culture of Christian as the followers recognize Christ as a savior of humankind. Christians believe in the magic of the event as they consider it as a source of joy and inner satisfaction. Through the ways of celebrating the event changed with time but the spirit of Christmas remains the same. No Christian can deny the significance of the event and celebrates with certain rituals such as going to the church for prayer. The traditions associated with the Christmas include decorating the Christmas tree, star, Santa Claus and gingerbread man. Another tradition connected to Christmas is giving and receiving gifts. People share the bonding of love and positivity is presenting gifts to their loved ones. Christmas spreads the joy, happiness, and spirits of humanity connecting people and societies CITATION Jac171 \l 1033 (Bernhardt).

I visited the Trinity Church in New York for attending the Christmas worship. The church contained hundreds of Christians, and everyone was participating in the singing activity. Many songs were sung in the church including; "O Come All Ye Faithful," "Joy To the World! The Lord Comes" and "Christ has Come." Carol singing is common worship practiced by Christians on the Christmas day. Carol singing is linked to the oldest tradition of Christianity. Everyone at the church was part of this singing activity that included children, men, and women. The songs were so perfect because everyone has rehearsed for that day. In the church, I realized the togetherness of the people as they all were participating in the carol singing. The group of students was standing at one side including both girls and boys. The girls were wearing skirts in green cheque, stockings, and jackets of black color. The boys were wearing trousers and black jackets. Everyone was wearing a Santa cap. Other people in the audience were wearing different dresses. Most of the women wore skirts and shirts. While males wore shirts and trousers. I observed the pope was wearing cassock and a small cap.

Another event that I attended was Easter at the Apostolic Church of God in Chicago. The worship songs were sung in the Easter. Most of the people were wearing purple color dresses while the pope wore white colored Cassock. The church had organized food donation activities. The local food bank was giving canned food to the people. The people were singing the song "Because He Lives" in perfect coordination. It seemed that everyone had rehearsed the song well. Women were wearing skirts and shirts while men were wearing trousers and shirts. Christians sing songs in Easter to regard the resurrection of Christ. Easter is celebrated on Sunday and followers attend churches for the collective prayer. The event communicates the belief that Christ was reborn and raised from the dead. The Friday before Easter was the day of Christ’s crucifixion when he died. Christians symbolized it as Good Friday. Easter associated with the resurrection of Jesus reflects the belief that the sufferings take him to the eternal life granting Jesus, a status of humans. Christian calendar contains a 40 days period Lent. The forty days are between Ash Wednesday and Easter. Lent is forty holy days when Christians fast to regard the fasting of Jesus. Fasting shows the patience and the strength of the Christians as they manage to remain hungry for many days. The period reflects the meditation and patience of Jesus; however, the fasting as strict as people eat one meal in a day.

I also attended the Ash Wednesday before that was followed by Easter. The church was full of people, and everyone was reading the Gospel. The pope raised his voice and gave the sermon to the people. The verses of the scripture were read louder, and everyone was listening to it keenly. The people who were part of the worship were having fast. Fasting is to build their relationship with God. Christian follow another worship on a holy day Ash Wednesday that arrives forty days earlier than Easter. The identified date of Ash Wednesday is from February 4 to March 10. I witnesses the Christians on that day celebrated the ritual of rubbing ashes of the palm fronds burnt on Palm Sunday. People were doing that in peace and harmony. The Christians were also singing songs in the church. The pope read the scripture from the Bible that was a call to worship. The holy day reminds Christians about the self-examination, sufferings, and resurrection of Jesus. The calendar marks it as the first day of Lent that leads to the Easter Sunday. A clergyman from all over the world dispenses ashes emphasizing on the themes of human sins and morality. The Christians self-examines their acts of the year and assess their sins and morality. Christians make a cross from ash over their foreheads CITATION Kim151 \l 1033 (Winston).

The worships follow the Christian calendar that involves two main cycles; the Easter cycle. Lent, Holy Week and Pentecost complete the Easter-cycle. The Easter cycle comprises the period from March 22 to April 25. Palm Sunday also was known as Passion Sunday is another worship performed by Christians. It is the Sunday that follows after the end of Easter. The religion associates Palm Sunday with Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem, and the ceremonies include palm fronds procession while the ashes of the burnt palm fronds proceed to another holy day Ash Wednesday. The burnt palm fronds are used on the Ash Wednesday approaching next year. Maundy Thursday is another holy day when that advises the clergy to wash their feet. The day is identified on a Thursday before the Easter. Maundy Thursday is a holy day as Christ passed the final words to his disciples on the same day. Christ washed the feet of his disciples on the same day, and he advised everyone to do the same with others. The purpose of the event was to spread the message of humanity and freeing humans from the evils of pride. His words are recorded as, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another" (John 13:34). The holy day carries the theme of forgiveness and brotherhood CITATION Ale15 \l 1033 (Crain).

The history of Christina worships indicates that it is a product of Jewish worship. Jesus Christ celebrated many Jews festivals, so the Christians adopted those rituals and traditions. The central reason for Christians to worship is to accept the existence of God. They celebrate the holy days and engage in different worships for showing their connectivity with Jesus. Salvation is important for the Christians because it saves the people as christens claims "we have been saved" (Erickson 1992, 31). Salvation is linked to the themes of justification, sanctification, and glorification. It highlights the prevalence of worldly curse that threatens the lives of the people. The journey of the temporary world will last. The philosophy relies on the notion of influencing people to stay good to others and not only care about this world but also remember the concept of punishment. On common accounts, salvation is a physical process that can be obtained through a physical object. The principles explained by Jesus apply to the daily lives of human beings that discourage the desires for riches. People can live good lives by adopting these principles as it eliminates the elements of greed, corruption, and temptation and allows them to focus on humanity.

Christens are strong in faith and they engage in worships defined by their religion. It is crucial for maintaining one's relationship with God, and the most common method is by following the teachings of Jesus. There are different ways of establishing an association with God such as by offering help in a different form.