Experiencing Religion Around Me
Mike4545
5dayjournal.docxExperiencing Religion Around Me
Experiencing Religion Around Me
Kaleb Watson
REL 2011
March 7 2021
On day one, I woke up very early In the morning where I felt a bit tired. After saying the morning prayers, I went to the sitting room to eat breakfast with my brother. Immediately after that, my brother left for the job, and I was left there alone. I, therefore, decided to remain indoors the whole of that day. I immediately switched on my radio and tuned to rock music, which I love listening to. Therefore, I shuffled through my playlist and listened to some rock music. I like to listen to rock music, but I have often heard many people demonizing this music genre, saying that it is not godly. However, that has never stopped me from listening to it. While listening to it, I do not always think about whether it is attached to religion. Therefore, that day, I decided to listen to it, and I found myself saying the lyrics. The songs were so nice where I couldn't attempt to go outside. This made me feel comfortable because I was stressed about studies the previous week in school and took the scenario of listening to rock music as my stress reliever.
On the second day, I decided to move around with my friend, whom we stayed near to each other. In the afternoon, we took lunch and decided to go to the nearby market only to spend leisure time. On my way to the market, I saw different buildings decorated with the crucifix of Jesus Christ in front. From far, I thus saw a large crowd moving, standing closer to one another, moving side by side. Nonetheless, drawing closer to the crowd, I heard those people speaking in different languages, and others were singing praise and worship songs. I decided to draw very closer and stay for some minutes; people there reacted differently, where some had knelt, and others were standing, and others were even scrolling down praying. I decided to continue with my journey to the market where we never spend a lot of time, and we went back home. On our way back, a gentleman came who had seen me in the crowd, asked me some questions, and welcomed me to join the worship and praise team. I responded by telling him that I was to think about it. We proceeded home and continued with my rock music, where I had paused it from the previous day.
Moreover, on the third day, I remember that I woke up feeling unwell, and I decided to stay home that day. On that previous day, my dad had come with a newspaper that I decided to stay indoors and read a bit. Immediately I took it, and I opened a page that entailed different aspects about the way Christians and Muslims perceive the Bible. The story was so interesting, and I understood some norms about the two denominations. The Roman Catholics published that page in Rome, Italy, emphasizing the catholic doctrines.
On the fourth day, my friend visited me very early in the morning to check on me; hence, he missed seeing me on the previous day. We conversed together and told him he was not feeling good. We sat in the sitting room to watch some movies. We watched the Jesus movie, which illustrated His life on earth from birth to death. After some time, we switched the movie to horror movies which illustrated different aspects and were very scary. After watching the movie, I escorted my friend back home. On the way, we met a church pastor who asked us some questions about salvation. The conversation never concluded; hence my friend was in a hurry back home, and I also returned home.
On the fifth day, my parents decided to visit one of their friends, a pastor. On the way, we met different people, including drunkard men who were using very abusive language. On the way, we managed to pass through a nearby market where I saw many bars full of reggae music. On reaching the place, the pastor welcomed us, and the first thing he did was saying a prayer. We shared some stories on spiritual connect and how to change one to move out of non-believers. On those stories, I managed to connect with my religion where I found that, for one to be a full Christian has to accept Jesus as his or her personal savior.
Reflection
Art can be displayed in many ways, and rock music has a unique way of showing it, which I think does not have any relevance to religion. Nonetheless, as I continued to listen to the music, I managed to call myself back to my senses. I realized that rock music concerning religious life tends to use musical instruments producing rhythmical kinds of music. From my scenario that week also, religion tends to affect everything I do in my life. For instance, on the second day, as I walked around the features I saw, such as Jesus Crucifix in the churches, it connected to my spiritual being how Jesus was crucified to bring us our salvation. Additionally, as I walked around and met people worshipping, it inspired me to join the group to praise and worship my maker. Nonetheless, many individuals are always seeking to achieve the modern age's economic and material goals. It's indeed religion that has a vital role in establishing our relationship with the Divine and building the belief that supreme energy exists in everyday life as a regulator. Thus, prayer components, songs, hymns, etc., form spiritual bonds that influence my religion.
