Everyone has their own worldview, a special set of beliefs and a certain point of view they live by. As a seventeen year old teenager from a Christian family, I would classify my worldview as the Imperfect Christian Worldview, a worldview based on the foundations of Christianity but imperfect because of the unknown misconceptions that I have. As a result, it is important for me to continue learning about my own worldview and other worldviews to consolidate my belief . Therefore, by reading and discussing multiple articles with a variety of worldviews, it has given me an insight into why I believed in Christianity, a reminder about the importance of faith, and a lesson about the mindset I should approach my worldview with.
After reading and discussing the given articles, I realized two major reasons why I placed my faith in a Christian-based worldview. The first being that it was the only worldview I was exposed to at a young age. In The Lonely World Between the Hearing and the Deaf by Juliet Corwin (a deaf author), Corwin explains that her parents made the decision to have her wear cochlear implants at the age of one, and despite being stigmatized by it for most of those in the deaf community, she is not ashamed of wearing hearing aids as a deaf person. Her belief that wearing cochlear implants was not something bad came from her parents. Similarly, my parents began reading Bible stories to me when I was a toddler, and so naturally, I adopted the same worldview. However, despite my parents having instilled Christianity to me, I still had to make the decision to accept it when I grew older and began learning about different worldviews. I decided to be a Christian, not because my parents were Christians, but because I could see the positive impact it had on my life. Just like Lindsey Maesta, who wrote in her article What ‘Waiting’ Looks Like When You Already had Sex that God turned her life around during difficult circumstances and claimed that “He (God) displayed an unconditional love for me that I had never once received in my life”, I have also experienced God’s grace and endless love. An experience of this would be a year ago in which a car, travelling 40 kilometers per hour, hit me as I was foolishly running across the road.The doctors said I could have easily died and should have suffered some sort of major injury. However, because of God’s grace, I survived the collision with just a few scars on my face. I did not even break a bone!
Besides reminding me about why I chose to believe in Christianity, reading the articles allowed me to reflect upon the most important attribute the Christian worldview requires: faith. The idea of faith is highlighted in My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward by Mark Lukach. In the article, Lukach recounts his experience of handling Guila’s, his wife’s, mental illness. He explains that there were many arguments between them because Lukach did not trust that Guila had the ability to care for herself and wanted her to take a lot of medication while Guila was skeptical about the pill’s uses. The source of this problem was the lack of trust they had in one another. Later, when they finally placed their faith in each other and made a plan together, they were able to resolve their issues. This is identical to my situation with God. Whenever I fail to place my faith in God, it always turns out worse than when I do. For example, last summer, I went to an intense four-week long band camp where I had to practice five to seven hours a day. Going in, I trusted my own abilities, but by the end of the first week, I was burnt out, tired, and had already begun dreading the next three weeks. Desperate for help, I screamed to God for His strength, and I decided to trust Him moving forward. Almost immediately, I felt a sense of relief, and eventually, I was rejuvenatedwith God’s strength, I was able to make it to the end of the camp without burning out again.
While reading the articles has allowed me to understand the reasons behind my belief and the value of faith, the articles have also shown me what mindset I should have when it comes to approaching my worldview. Both The Lonely World Between the Hearing and the Deaf and What ‘Waiting’ Looks Like When You Already had shared a similar theme of not wavering from their core beliefs. In The Lonely World Between the Hearing and the Deaf, Corwin is not afraid to talk about wearing hearing aids as a deaf person, and in What ‘Waiting’ Looks Like When You Already, Maesta states she is secure in her beliefs about God even when she is scrutinized by others. The two articles demonstrated to me that I should never be ashamed of being a Christian and that I need to stay firm in believing the core values of Christianity. However, I should not be arrogant. In Stop Telling People Your Goals by Jeff Haden, he explains a misconception in regards to telling other people our goals. Reading this article reminded me that I may have misconceptions in regards to Christianity and the world, and I should be open-minded to fixing them. Therefore, it is important for me to be confident about what I believe in but also to be open-minded and to be ready to think critically.
Reading and discussing the different articles did not tell me everything I needed to know about my Imperfect Christian Worldview, and neither did it answer all the questions I had in regards to Christianity. However, it did allow me to pinpoint reasons I believed in Christianity, reflect on the significance of faith, and learn the mindset I should approach my worldview with.
Works Cited
Corwin, Juliet. “Opinion | The Lonely World between the Hearing and the Deaf.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 20 July 2018, http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-lonely-world-between-the-hearing-and-the-deaf/2018/07/20/6628571c-86d8-11e8-8f6c-46cb43e3f306_story.html.
Haden, Jeff. “Stop Telling People Your Goals. Tell Them Your Plans.” RELEVANT Magazine, 9 Jan. 2018, relevantmagazine.com/life/stop-telling-people-your-goals-tell-them-your-plans/.
Lukach, Mark. “My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward.” Pacific Standard, A Maven Channel, 12 Jan. 2015, psmag.com/social-justice/lovely-wife-psych-ward-95567.
Maestas, Lindsey. “What ‘Waiting’ Looks Like When You’ve Already Had Sex.” RELEVANT Magazine, 4 Feb. 2018, relevantmagazine.com/love-and-money/what-waiting-looks-like-when-youve-already-had-sex/.
Works Cited (For pictures)
Corwin, Juliet. “When Hearing Devices Cause Some To Be Considered ‘Not Deaf Enough’.” New England Public Radio, New England Public Media, 4 Sept. 2018, http://www.nepr.net/post/when-hearing-devices-cause-some-be-considered-not-deaf-enough#stream/0.
Lukach, Mark. “My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward.” Pacific Standard, A Maven Channel, 12 Jan. 2015, psmag.com/social-justice/lovely-wife-psych-ward-95567.
Maestas, Lindsey. “What ‘Waiting’ Looks Like When You’ve Already Had Sex.” RELEVANT Magazine, 4 Feb. 2018, relevantmagazine.com/love-and-money/what-waiting-looks-like-when-youve-already-had-sex/.
Reflection: I really enjoyed writing this essay because it was a chance for me to express my faith and some of my personal testimonies in my writing. At the same time I am grateful for the opportunity to read powerful stories by authors that had undergone hardships. The stories were not only emotionally powerful but also an exciting read, especially “My Lovely Wife in the Psych Ward”. The story was exciting and I found myself at the edge of my seat. Overall, this was a reflective piece that I liked a lot.
Samuel Kwan's Writing Portfolio 