JonNecia Kane Intro to Theology December 4, 2008 Paper #4 When I signed up for your class I was anticipating learning some things that would be quite challenging and eye opening. I never thought I would be faced with so many different issues concerning the way I currently live my life. I had always heard that we were all sinners but I never really understood to what extinct. Psalms chapter 1 verses 1 through 6 it states: 1 Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. 2 But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. 3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. 4 But not the wicked! They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind. 5 They will be condemned at the time of judgment. Sinners will have no place among the godly. 6 For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction. This is a very touching chapter however it concerns me more, at times I myself am among what is considered the wicked, although I am extremely God fearing I do sin. I have learned in this class and from my readings that I shall be forgiving for my sins; however I must begin the process of limited how often my sins occur. I’m not referring to breaking the law, but sinning is an offense of the law of the Lord. My experience in this class has afforded me the opportunity to further my knowledge of scripture as well expand my vocal ability to speak about the Bible. One of the key issues I would love to speak about someday is a quote from Matthew I read and wrote about. The scripture states that, anyone who divorces his wife for any reason other than adultery causes her to become an adulteress and anyone who marries the divorce woman comments adultery. This topic really resonated with me because divorce runs so ramped in our society. It troubles me to think about it and realize that it is so frequent in our society. As much as I thought I knew about God, I was blind to so many topics. My favorite is the Golden rule, “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” I believe that one should live by this rule as long as they should live because, if followed through, the world would definitely be a much better place. So many topics that I can use in my life instead of just learning it to earn a good grade stood out to me such as, ultimate questions which helped me to understand more about our reason for being and also how we all arrived here. Also, the Ten Commandments stood out because even though I already knew them, I never internalized what each one actually meant and where they came from and I feel they have helped me to realize some wrong I have done in my lifetime and what I need to do for the Lord to accept and forgive me and my wrong doings. The topic that has had the most impact on me was the church’s teachings and the reason behind her teachings. The church’s teachings are real life situations that has happened to the majority of humans on this earth and it has shed open a light as to where I am in my life and what I am doing right and wrong. I have no regrets with this course because I actually learned a lot that I can take with me and use it in my everyday life. Professor, I thank you for your time and enthusiasm in the class because without you showing any interest in what you teach I probably would not show any interest in what I am learning. I can’t possibly sum up all that I have learned from you professor Ivancic, but I will say that it is often your words and prayer thoughts that I hear in the beginning of every class that inspired me and put me in a calm state of mind through my times of trouble. Thank you.