Declaration of Faith

Declaration of Faith

I believe in one God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth. I believe this is the same God of Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Mohamed. I consider myself to be a Christian, by the fact that I am a follower of Jesus and I believe in his teachings. I consider his words to be a command in respect for humanity, and the good will of all.  I do believe that the way to God is a patch available to all men, and that we should not put a restriction on His Mercy when we are speaking of salvation.

I am a woman of God, and I believe it is important to share our lives with others, carrying on a dialogue of what drives us to serve humankind. I do not believe that it is our duty to enter communities and try to convince others that the connection that they have with God is absolutely wrong.  If someone is going to get to know God through me, and see Jesus the way that I do, then I want it to be because I was a guiding light, not a driving force.

 I believe in Creation, but do not disregard science. I believe in the evolution of creation, that the world can be explained scientifically, but that there is diving inspiration behind it. Creation touches the soul in all its wonder that to me, it must be divine.

I do believe also that God can intervene through Revelations and Miracles. Unlike Thomas Paine did in his declaration of faith in the “Age of Reason”, I do not see Godly revelations as only personal communications between God and an individual, rather these revelations, through credible people, have been passed down as the word of God.  For example, we look at the Ten Commandments, and this moral code, to me, is universal , therefore, it must be Godly.

This leads me to mention that I also believe in the ninety-nine names of God.  This list can be found here , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_God_in_Islam/  . I believe that all of these names, such as Merciful, Just, Loving, are all things that are most precious in our lives, therefore are the ways of God, who’s image we are created.

I believe that there are only two kinds of people in this world, Good and Bad. I think that everyone deserves respect, and equality. I think that this is a very simple concept, yet the world makes it so complicated.  Like Paine also said in “Age of Reason”  our only religious duties should  “consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow-creatures happy.”   I feel that we should be reaching out hands in brotherhood, not engaging in battles of who is right and wrong.

Therefore when it comes to how we govern ourselves, it is important to draw out the good in our faith.  In the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom it is said “ that our civil rights have no dependence on our religious opinions any more than our opinions and physics or geometry.” Because with religion also comes behavioral code, where some are universal, and some are not, and it is important to come to the table and examine our beliefs and find the commonality so that we can all enable each other to pursue that which makes us happy, without infringing on the pursuit of happiness for others.  

And lastly, I completely concur with Paine, that it is important to share these thoughts and have this dialogue, with respect among each other, allowing each other to share their beliefs, because “He who denies to another this right, makes a slave of himself to his present opinion, because he precludes himself the right of changing it.” I believe that a major way that God intervenes in our lives is by the people in our lives. Therefore if we do not listen, or open our hearts to each other, then we might be missing out on the Revelations about life that we are looking for.  We are all in this life together, it is better to help each other, than to hinder. I pray for peace, for all of humanity, and that all people come together for the greater good of this world.

Sarasusan

 “Age of Reason” by Thomas Paine : http://www.ushistory.org/paine/reason/singlehtml.htm