The gospel is a work that allows a person to learn how the soul’s salvation takes place despite sins committed. In my opinion, the gospel has served as a guide for society and has skillfully guided it along the path of virtue. It has significantly changed life for the better, and ennobled humanity; it has brought much good into the hearts of men. Millions of people have drawn the strength to live for good and truth from it. It seems that the gospel teaching makes me feel free to serve God. I became kinder, more righteous, and wiser as I began to deepen my understanding of the Nature of things. These changes in me have made me more open to people, and this characteristic is consistent with God’s moral teachings.
I first noticed the influence of the gospel when I had to make a difficult decision. It involved a conflict with my friends, and I needed to take one side. It was a tough choice, so I considered two possible outcomes. I was surprised that I was calm and balanced in my decision, trying to avoid making a mistake with my words. Another example from my life is family relationships: after deepening in the gospel teaching, I began to love my parents and relatives more. I saw that my support was people who believed in me. I now realize that my new worldview resulted from understanding the gospel as a doctrine.
I think the gospel also allows me to perceive culture and history differently. Culture is constantly changing, and I used to be suspicious of sudden cultural upheavals in society. However, I now understand that cultural transformation is expanding consciousness and changing world perception. The gospel teaching made me realize that change is a driving force in historical events. Moreover, culture generally becomes another spiritual component of the human person.
Faith is a tool to influence scientific research, becoming either a catalyst to action or stopping the process. Faith drives researchers to uncover the characteristics of human beings’ physical and psychological worlds. Consequently, science develops through the gradual expansion of its fields, so faith raises those questions that prove relevant to research. Faith enables researchers to continue to explore the physical world from a new angle, establishing that the physical world is just as important as the spiritual world (Poe 114). Science becomes nobler and directed, so beliefs allow the spiritual and physical connections to be evaluated together.
The naturalistic worldview is based on the idea that the human will and consciousness are tools for achieving righteous service to Nature and comprehending her law. In this sense, faith creates the conditions for realizing this worldview because it points to the need for recognition of the physical world (Poe 132). This recognition is achieved through the pragmatic and naturalistic approaches that often underlie scientific research. Understanding the laws of Nature and considering the influence of external space on behavior are the points at which science, faith, and naturalism come together.
In every epoch, there are unique common goals, the pursuit of which keeps the spiritual forces of society in a state of tension. The more general goals are discussed and disseminated in society, the easier the spiritual and material ideals are achieved. One might think that the scientific approach to the world becomes part of these aspirations because, like faith and naturalism, the research seeks to serve society and nature.
Work Cited
Poe, Harry Lee. “The Gospel, Worldview, and Christian Higher Education.” In David Dockery (eds.) Faith and Learning: A Handbook for Christian Higher Education. Nashville: B&H Academic, 2021, pp. 106-134.