Journal 6
I believe that everything that has occurred in history has been influenced by religion in some shape or form. Everything that has occurred in history is not necessarily done in the name of religion but somehow God has played a role. For example in the Crusades was war between Christians. The Holocaust was persecution of Jews. The current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, although they are not wars against a certain religion, often times religion is mentioned. These are just a few examples of how human history is holy.
When I look back at history one thing that stands out to me as sacred is the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages was a time when the Christian church played a major role in the culture of Eastern and Western Europe. Christianity was dividing at this time in the different countries (Hopfe & Woodward 2009). It is obvious that this is an even that the humans encountered God, depending on how each individual encountered God he or she would stand up for a different view. During this time, people like John Calvin and Martin Luther stood up for their beliefs. The two men would try to get their point across to their fellow Christians. Luther is founder of the Protestant Reformation and
2
Calvin helped Reform the Church (Hopfe & Woodward 2009). This event is a perfect example of how God is present in history.
In my personal life events that I believe are sacred and holy are the birth of my baby sister. My mother was seven months pregnant when her feet were getting very swollen. No one was home; my father was on a business trip. I was ten years old at this time. I was busy playing on my XBOX in the basement. My mom called my name and told me she was not feeling well and I should call my aunt. I called my aunt so she could come over.
When she came over she looked at my mom’s feet and they were so big that she could not put on her shoes. My mom and aunt were worried about the baby, we immediately took her to the hospital. When my mom got to the hospital the doctor said if we had reached the hospital five minutes later my sister would not have made it. There was not oxygen going to the baby and it was causing medical problems with my mom.
My sister was born one hour later and she was two pounds. She was premature; her lungs had still not developed completely. She could fit in the palm of your hand. After three months at the hospital, she came home. My baby sister is a happy, healthy teenager now. That was one of the scariest things I have been through and I view that as truly a holy and sacred moment in my life.
