How the prophets of the bible impact our lives

What did you learn and what do you know now that you didn't know before?
To begin, I learned that the spokespeople for God often lived unabashedly ordinary lives. Many of these individuals have many of the same problems, trials, and tribulations that society currently experiences today. For example, in the case of Hosea, his wife was very unfaithful, which required him to personally experience the ideas of repentance and redemption outside of the church. When thinking about God’s spokespeople, we often forget that they are human. We often read their text in reverence and apply to them a certain aura benefiting the lord. We often see this with John the Baptist for example. I learned that in many instances these are ordinary men who through time displayed great faith. Their relationship with God took many years to cultivate and develop.
What did you feel as you read the material?
As a read, I felt a sense of hope for the future. The year 2020 has been awful for many people around the world. Sickness, death, income inequity, and race relations appeared to all have gotten worse. We see an African America male have his neck kneeled on for 8 minutes and 42 seconds until he died in broad daylight. The surrounding cops did absolutely nothing to stop it. Meanwhile, we have seen White Supremacists literally marching through the capital, overwhelming law enforcement, looting the capital building. The contrast between how people of different races in society are treated is very alarming and seems to have gotten worse. We also have record levels of unemployment and wealth inequality. Nearly 400,000 people have died from COVID-19, with many millions becoming infected. We have civil unrest in the Middle East, and the list appears to be endless.
Reading the material allowed me to gain perspective that God will rectify this situation and help solve the issues that plague this world. The material helps me understand that God tends to use others to deliver his message and often works in mysterious ways. The prophet Amos spoke to the economic greed of society much in the same many others are speaking today. Other prophets spoke of repentance and a need to return to the fundamental principles of the bible. Reading the text emphasized how timeless these principles are and the need for society to return to God to heal.
Discuss any assumption(s) you held that was challenged by the reading?
I personally had no assumptions that were challenge by the reading. I did however question why God would allow the world to fall into the state that it is today? I questioned why God does not intervene on behalf of the downtrodden people he so vehemently advocates for. 2020 was the very year for God to help millions and millions of people avoid death, loss of jobs, sickness, homelessness, the inability to provide for families, and much more. I also questioned my faith as it does not seem to make sense when prayers appear to go unanswered. Tithes go to churches with pastors that preach the prosperity gospel but did little to nothing for those who are poor and need help. Even Joel Osteen has shut his doors to the downtrodden! Those who did provide aid often did so to simply promote themselves or to do damage control as oppose to genuinely helping others. I then asked myself, “Why do Christian churches need so much money to begin with?” Does giving 10% really prove or even indicate a person’s faith? History is littered with the church using money to exploit the very people they were expected to protect with funds that appear to be ill-gotten. The Catholic church has been known to heavily execute those who disagreed with them. The same goes for Christianity. So much for the “Thou shall not kill” commandment. This also got me thinking about the correct denomination of Christian beliefs. It simply is not enough to believe in God, but you also must have the correct interpretation of his word. This puzzles me as even interpretations of the bible vary wildly. So wildly, that other “Christians” may not even acknowledge other “Christians” believing their own beliefs to be true. I also wrestled with the idea that evangelicals were the catalyst that put a president in office who was a racist con artist (This is putting it lightly by the way). Where were the biblical teachings then? Where were all the elements we have learned about in the bible? How did Christians get suckered into electing a man that we all knew was not fit for office? Could it be the self-interests that the prophet Amos preached about?
I began to lose my personal faith and it started to read further into the history of man and the bible. I began to ask myself, “Why didn’t all powerful, all knowing God ban slavery within the bible?” We see instances of it through the old and new testament. In the 10 commandments, why are women mentioned in the same sentence as cattle and livestock, almost to imply they are property to be own? I started researching the history of human civilization as well. If the homo sapiens species has been around for almost 100,000 to 200,000 years, why then did God only intervene 2020 years ago? What about the other 98,000 years? When he did intervene, why did he do so in the most illiterate areas of the world at the time, the middle east? Why not China or Japan?
I then began to really look at the stories in the bible with an objective eye. Did Noah really collect two of every species on the face of the Earth? If so, why is there no evidence of Koala bones outside of Australia? If he collected two of every species shouldn’t we find evidence of remains of these animals outside of their main habitat of Australia? Also, is there really such thing as a talking snake? Can a man really get swallowed by a whale and live to talk about it? It appears that many of these stories were either embellished or fabrications. In another stroke of irony if you did not believe these stories, you were then killed or tortured. So much for turning the other cheek and thou shall not kill right? I then began to research the cosmos and all the destruction that is taking place within it. Aspects such as suns exploding, death to planets, and so forth. On our own planet, 99% of all species have become extinct which I find remarkable. Is all this death and destruction apart of God’s plan? What plan would allow so much suffering?
Was there a phrase/concept that grabbed your attention? Why?
No phrases grabbed my attention. I enjoyed reading the concepts as my faith was challenged as noted above. The reading overall helped to lessen some of the challenges that I was facing as it relates to face. It showed me that it is normal to question your beliefs and that it indicates a need for more self-reflection and bible study.
What relevance does this learning have for your faith journey?
The reading is very relevant to my faith journey. It allowed me to better understand the world and our place in it. I also helped me to understand that God moves in very mysterious ways that are difficult for mortals to understand. Although I believe his methods appear to be off, he has a much larger plan in his infinite wisdom. As human beings it is difficult for use to properly understand his plan and as such we need “Faith.” We must believe that God will do what he says he will do for his people. As noted above 2020 heavily challenged my faith. It was difficult for me to apply logic to the behaviors that I was seeing around me. However, through my faith and my relationship with God I was able to prevail and overcome my ineptitude. I learned that have a strong support network is critical in your walk with God. It is almost impossible to walk by faith alone. It is too easy to succumb to the worldly desire and experiences of man. It is too easy to simply give up. With a strong foundation rooting in the bible however, relief can be found. My faith journey is just beginning, and I will need the help of all those around me to overcome sin.