Theology

Theology

Introduction
A well-known quote by an anonymous author is “spiritual people inspire me, religious people frighten me”. The purpose of this synthesis paper is to analyze this quote and why people believe it is true. Nowadays, when people define themselves as religious they either associate them with being a religious “freak” who attacks one’s personal beliefs or a walking insert name of your religion text. People instead csll themselves “spiritual” to avoid these labels and instead be seen as someone who is identified with being influenced by themselves rather than a God. In one of America’s most devastating events, Al-Qaeda crashed a plane into the twin towers in name of Islam. Members of the Westboro Baptist Church are wildly known for their anti-gay beliefs and protesting at fallen soldiers funerals in the name of religion. Compared to people such as Nelson Mandela and the Buddha who are greatly respected for their spiritual influence in the world, it seems unsurprised that organized religion would have a negative connotation. In our culture today, religion receives a ridiculous amount of negative press, because the media focuses solely on the most radical instances of people misinterpreting their faith.

My thesis will argue the belief that although spiritual and religious people can be both inspiring and frightening, religion is more negatively portrayed due to the media. The problem lies in the preconceived notion that is embedded in the words “religious” and “spiritual” themselves. While many consider religion to be the organized following of a higher power along with lifelong devotion to it, spirituality is typically thought of as having a deeper connection with oneself and the world and people around them, in contrast with the focus on a higher power with religion. However, these words can be interchanged or left by themselves and therefore there should be no line drawn between the two.

To explore my thesis, my paper will be broken into three...

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