Category: Blog Series

Uncovering Christianity: Exploring The Roots Of The West #3 – Rules And Morality

On By Joel AgiusIn Blog Series, Human Condition, Uncovering Christianity - Exploring The Roots Of The WestLeave a comment

The world is and always has been governed by rules. Although the rules currently in place may not bear exact resemblance to those that have existed at various points throughout history, they are nonetheless typically derived from the rules of the past that have worked effectively. That is not to say the rules as they currently stand are perfect. In reality, they are far from it, to varying degrees. Rules have a purpose in this world, but sometimes they need to be broken so as to allow society to progress, to get to a better place than it currently is or has been in. But in order to understand the necessity for breaking the rules, we first must explore the roots of rules and regulations themselves, and why they exist.

Since the Earth’s beginning, there has been a natural order to the world. In the view of Christianity, the world was created by God Himself over a period of six days, whereupon the seventh day He rested (this is what is referred to as the Sabbath, from the Hebrew “shabbat”, meaning “to rest from labour”). Within those first six days, He created all things: light, dark, sea, sky, sun, moon, stars, land, animals, plants, humans. Everything you see around you now came from these initial entities of creation; visually simple, but complex in nature. Now, we will discuss Creation in a future piece in this series, but we must return to the subject of this piece, rules and morality.

As mentioned, there has always been a natural order to the world in which we reside. From the beginning, God has been at the top, rulers, humans and the like in the middle, and plants and animals and any other inanimate nature at the bottom. However, order does not simply comprise of hierarchies, at least not when complex beings such as humans are involved. For order to be maintained, rules must be set in place for human beings to follow. Nowadays, these rules are typically decreed by lawmakers, democratically elected by the people of their respective nations to represent them in their respective government bodies, usually referred to as Parliaments. This differs for those countries under a dictatorship, whereby rules are set by a totalitarian leader. We will return to more modern times after we have discussed the history of rules, more so in Biblical times..

In Biblical times, rules were set down first and foremost by God, however there were certain groups who laid out rules of their own, steering society in a direction that was, in simple terms, the wrong one. In the New Testament, these were the Pharisees, a group of Jewish rabbis who we will discuss in just a moment. First, we must again go back to the very beginning, to the moment of the creation of the first human beings in Christianity, Adam and Eve. Upon their creation, Adam and Eve were told by God that they must follow one simple rule: Do not consume the fruit upon the tree of knowledge of good and evil. As we know from the first edition in this series, they chose to disobey this golden rule, thereby bringing sin, evil, into the world.

Now this was not what would be considered a necessary breaking of the rules, and thus God did not take it lightly. He cast Adam and Eve out of the paradisical Garden of Eden, leaving them to fend for themselves. This was not the only time God brought punishment upon human beings for breaking the rules. Take, for example, the Great Flood. You might be more familiar with the other name for this story: Noah’s Ark. The Great Flood was deemed necessary punishment for God’s people on Earth, given they refused to obey the rules and had thus created a chaotic environment. Now to be clear, God is not unreasonable; He did give them a chance to save themselves. However, many did not heed His warnings, and thus Noah, his family, and two of each kind of animal were saved from the Flood. Upon the ending of the Flood, God sent a dove carrying an olive branch in its beak to Noah as a sign of peace, promising never to do this again. He has, to this day, kept that promise.

But many may wonder, why would God punish His own people? The answer is, to some degree, simple. Punishment is a necessary part of maintaining and/or restoring order. Human beings must be conditioned in such a way that they will act in a socially acceptable manner. If they do not, they become isolated, cut off from society by their own hand. Now by no means am I seeking to justify harsh punishment. In fact, if a punishment is too harsh, it may paradoxically be deemed punishable itself. Reasonable, measured punishment is what human beings what is acceptable within society, and what is not. The difference between right and wrong is not always clear, yet for the right amount of order to be maintained, we must learn to be able to distinguish between the two.

Typically, when it comes to simple questions of right and wrong, it is an easy task to determine which is which. For example, is it right or wrong to steal? Anyone in good conscience could not say it was right, therefore it is deemed wrong. But what about questions of right and wrong that are more complex in nature. For example, let’s say the automatic teller machine (ATM) spits out an extra one hundred dollars in cash. Would you report it to the bank, or take it, walk away, and keep your mouth shut? It is an interesting dilemma. There is no doubt there would be people who would take the money, considering how tempting it is. But there are also those who would be willing to do without it and return it to the bank. This goes back to last week’s topic, choices. We can give in to temptation and potentially damage our ethical judgement, or we resist it and keep that intact.

Before we go back to Biblical times and discuss the Pharisees a little more, I would like to bring one more social dilemma to the surface. In a world where evil exists, crime is committed. Sometimes, in some countries, these crimes are punished by means of the death penalty. But is the death penalty morally justified? Again, this is one of those questions that divides society. Some would say the death penalty is deserved given the nature of the crime (usually something morally reprehensible). These people would likely argue that it is better the criminal is put to death rather than spending decades in prison leeching off the taxpayer dollar. On the other hand, those who oppose the death penalty would argue it is morally wrong. For transparency, I am one of those people. People like me (although I do not claim to speak for all of them), would typically be of the line of thinking that if we are to kill a man for what he has done, we are no better than he. As a Catholic myself, I cannot in good conscience condemn a man to death. That is not to say all those of the faith agree with me. There are some who would side with those in favour of the death penalty. But as someone who believes in the value of human life, life created by God Himself, I view it as morally wrong for us to take it. After all, one of the Ten Commandments given to Moses on Mount Sinai was “Thou shalt not kill”.

Back to the Pharisees. The Pharisees took the Ten Commandments and expanded them, creating in total 613 rules (6+1+3=10). However, they often failed themselves to follow the rules they imposed upon the people. They were, as Jesus labelled them, hypocrites. It is interesting given that even today, governments and politicians do the very same, failing to adhere to the rules they set down upon the general public. But the Pharisees’ hold upon society started to waiver when Jesus Christ began His ministry. Throughout this time, Jesus often broke the rules of the Pharisees. That is not to say He broke any of the Ten Commandments, but instead adhered to those and not to the interpretations made by the Pharisees to get to 613 rules. Jesus only ever broke the rules for the benefit of others, never for Himself. He healed a leper, an outcast of society, even though the people were told not to touch these individuals for fear of becoming unclean. As previously mentioned, He denounced the Pharisees, the religious rulers of the time, because they forewent more important things like caring for others and promoting mercy and justice to instead keep to the letter of the law. On one Sabbath, Jesus’ disciples were following Him through grain fields, and began to pick some of the grain. Being a day of rest, this was frowned upon by the Pharisees. We see this described in Mark 2:24, 27:

Then the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look! They are doing what is forbidden on the Sabbath!” – Then Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”

In this way, Jesus makes the Commandments originally given to Moses by God in the Old Testament perfect.

I would like to present one final example of Jesus breaking the rules to benefit others, one which goes back to the idea of moral dilemmas. This was an occasion where Jesus healed a man with a paralysed hand on the Sabbath. For the purpose of understanding and familiarity, the verse reads as follows:

On another occasion, when Jesus went to the synagogue, a man was there, who had a paralysed hand; and some people watched Jesus, to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so they could accuse Him. Jesus said to the man with the paralysed hand, “Stand here in the centre.” Then He asked them, “What does the Law allow us to do on the Sabbath? To do good or to do harm? To save life or to kill?” But they were silent. Then Jesus looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart. And He said to the man, ”Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out and his hand was healed. But as soon as the Pharisees left, they met with Herod’s supporters, looking for a way to destroy Jesus. (Mark 3:1-6)

I think this particular verse best sums up the whole idea of righteous breaking of the rules. Within it, we see Jesus, the Son of God, putting a man whose hand was paralysed front and centre for everyone in the room to see. Clearly, those within the room know that, by the rules laid down by the rulers, the Pharisees, it is unlawful to do work such as healing someone on the Sabbath. But Jesus does so anyway, acknowledging the moral principles in the law set down by God. Before He heals the man, Jesus turns to the people gathered there watching Him, asking them to think about the Law of the Sabbath. These are people who have been living under the rule of the Pharisees for so long that they seem to have lost all sense of morality, putting their faith in the hypocritical rulers rather than in God and His Law. They would have no issue with seeing a paralysed man continue to go unhealed to protect their law. Jesus is clearly dismayed to see how far God’s people have strayed morally. He then heals the man publicly, the Pharisees reacting by seeking to destroy Him, to protect their old ways.

Much like this event in the Biblical era, in the modern day we see people putting blind faith in their leaders, in systems, in institutions. They do this to the point where they are willing to part with good judgement to protect themselves, casting out anyone who does not strictly adhere to the rules. They do this at the detriment of society and their own morality. Throughout the time of COVID-19 in particular, there has been a noticeable decline in social acceptance, and thereby public morality. I have seen, read about, and heard of countless occurrences of people showing great disdain for others, casting them out like lepers if they are do not so much as wear a mask, or even reporting their neighbours if they have more people over than is permitted by certain restrictions. Even before COVID-19 people were actively attempting to bring others down to make themselves happy. For example, people would trawl back through social media feeds to find something someone said years, even decades, ago to get them fired or turn their life upside down in any manner of ways. We should never seek to destroy other peoples’ happiness to improve our own self-worth.

I have on numerous occasions, more so in recent times, looked around wondered: how did society fall this far? How did we become so horrible to each other? The answer, I think, is clear. We have allowed our lives to become dictated by the rules. We are, too often, ruled by the rules, to the point where we have begun to worship them more than we worship God. We have strayed from the Commandments set out by Him, the only rules that should never be broken. We have put the rules above God. We have preferenced the rules over loving our neighbours. Our world has become worse for it. These kinds of things allow evil to pervade society, to take a hold on humanity.

Human beings are not perfect. We are all flawed. We are all susceptible to the temptations and corruption of evil. We do need rules to give structure to society and the way we live, but not to the point where they become subversive of the values and morality stemming from Christianity that provide the foundation upon which society has been built.

What people need to understand is this: it is ok to break the rules so long as doing so will benefit others. I know breaking the rules sounds wrong, but sometimes it is the best option. If you need a guide on how or when to break the rules, look no further than the Bible, in particular the Gospels, those four incredible Books that relay the ministry of Jesus Himself. And if you need to practice by example, look no further than Jesus Christ. He was one of the first great rule-breakers on this Earth. His working demonstrated that the rules are not the be all and end all. We can still abide by rules and maintain order while bending or breaking some of them in order to maintain morality.

And if you ever find yourself uncertain of whether or not the rule-breaking you are considering is morally right or wrong, just ask yourself a simple question:

What Would Jesus Do?

This is the third Part of a Series entitled Uncovering Christianity: Exploring the Roots of the West. This series explores the values and ideas originating from Christianity, looking back at Biblical times, and relating them to the modern world. There are central themes to each piece in this series, with key messages throughout to guide you in your own life. The series also looks at some of the threats to the roots of Western Civilization and discusses what can be done to placate them and protect the foundation of society. Keep an eye out for new series pieces each week.

Uncovering Christianity: Exploring The Roots Of The West #2 – Reflection, Suffering, And The Power Of Love

On By Joel AgiusIn Blog Series, Human Condition, Inspirational, Personals, Uncovering Christianity - Exploring The Roots Of The WestLeave a comment

Before we begin this week’s piece, I would like to add a little tidbit about it. Prior to last night (Monday night) I had already written a piece for this week and had begun a new one for publication next week. However, when I was writing part of next week’s edition, I found that what I was writing could be its own individual part, and from that paragraph (which is the paragraph directly after the first Bible Verse quoted in this piece), this piece was born. I was originally going to publish the previously written piece last night, but I decided against it, and this came about late last night and into the early hours of this morning. I am not exactly certain what inspired it, what inspired me, but I think it may have been God once again working in His mysterious ways. I think there is a reason God wanted me to write and publish this piece instead, and I hope it will reveal itself soon.

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I loved writing it.

Throughout our lives in the Western world, we find ourselves experiencing times of suffering and times of reflection. At times, we are also blessed to feel the power of love in our lives, that remarkable thing that is often beyond description, at least from our human perspective. It is something that has the power to bring people together, to bind one person with another, to change lives, to enflame the heart and soul and fill us with the greatest joy. These three things: suffering, reflection, and love, are essential to humanity, and to a stable society. So, let’s explore them a little more in depth.

When God created man and woman, He created them for each other, so that they may join together as one and create a family (we will look at family in the next edition of this series).

There is a verse from the book of Genesis, 2:24 that says:

That is why a man leaves his father and mother and becomes attached to his wife, and they become one flesh.

Essentially, when a man finds a wife, he would leave the loving care of his mother and father and become one with the woman he marries. Their hearts and souls would be united. It is quite a beautiful thing to think about, the joining of two hearts and souls as one. It is as if each of us as individuals possesses one half of a heart and one half of a soul, yearning to find their counterparts, their other halves. We go on a journey in our life to find the missing piece of our own internal puzzle, that piece that without which we are lost, not our best selves, not enough. But when we find it, it completes us, enlivening our lives, and a bright light bursts forward from within the deepest confines of our very soul. I like to think that two souls that are meant to be together will attract to each other, almost like they have a magnetism to them, at the perfect time.

While sometimes it may be hard to believe that there is a perfect time, it does indeed exist, just not in the way we think. It is important to understand nothing in this world is perfect. We are all human, we all have flaws. But that should not bring us down. Rather, it should lift us up. We should be grateful for our flaws, because they make us unique. If the world was made up of people who were all the same, this would be a very dull existence. God made us all in His image, but each one of us was made in a different way, with different personalities, features, gifts, ambitions, and, of course, imperfections. But that is where perfection lies, in our imperfections. Our imperfections are what gives us our edge, what allows us to stand out from the crowd.

In reality, there is no perfect time for anything, at least not in the human sense. But God’s timing is perfect. Even though at times it may seem as if God’s timing is wrong, it is always right. That timing may impact us in our deepest, darkest moments, but there is always a reason for it. It may be that we are pursuing a dream of ours, and something comes about that stops it short, putting us on a different path. We may not be pleased upon the initial occurrence of this change in our life, but, in time, we may see just why our path was changed. For it may just be that this new path leads us to something even greater than that which we were pursuing. This new path may lead us to meet someone who changes our life, and who we discover is the piece of the puzzle we have been missing. It is at such a point in our lives that we would look back and reflect on how we came to find this incredible person. And that is where we realise that if it had not been for the sudden and at first unwanted change in the direction of our life, we would have never found that person, that amazing human being that would change our life forever. That right there is God’s timing, and it is truly beyond words.

I often reflect back on my own life thus far these days, particularly on the last two or so years. For as long as I can remember, I have been an avid reader, and that love of books and stories turned into a passion for writing stories of my own. By the time I hit Year 9 in high school, I knew without a doubt that I wanted to turn that passion for writing into a career. After I graduated high school, I decided to take a year to figure out what area of writing I wanted to journey into. I had, for years, dreamed of writing a novel, something I still aspire to do today. But I had developed a penchant for politics, so I decided it might be better to go into journalism. I tossed up journalism and creative writing for a while, until I ended up deciding to study both. In the first half of 2019, my life was nothing short of a living nightmare. Dealing with the harsh return of my anxiety, I could not cope with study just yet, so I delayed from March to May. It took me some time, but I finally decided to seek help, and with the aid of a counsellor I got better. After a few more promising months, an assessment led to increased stress, and once again to increased anxiety. After another month or so, it had receded somewhat, only to be brought back on in the first half of 2020. After the passing of my pop, and the period of isolation that followed upon the arrival of COVID-19, I was in a pretty bad way again. Even after seeing a doctor, being put on medication, and starting psychology, it was still months before I really felt like I was back to myself.

It was not until about mid-September 2020 that I felt alive again. It was around this time that I became acquainted with someone new and like-minded, finding myself enthralled at this connection. Over the months to come, I learnt more that seemed too good to be true. It was either one of the most astounding coincidences, or God’s timing. I truly believe it was the latter. And I thank God for it, because without it, I would not have been able to see why I needed to go through all the pain and suffering I endured. I would not have been able to see why things happened the way they did. And I would not have found myself walking a different path that would truly change my life. If it were not for God’s timing, and the connection He brought into my life, I would not be where I am today. I would not be writing this. I have nothing but gratitude and awe for what God brought into my life.

See, that is how deep God’s love is for us. Yes, we go through times of hardship, times of great pain and suffering, but so did Jesus. Jesus, in the ultimate act of sacrifice and love, equal only to that of God the Father’s act of sacrifice and love (giving His Only Son so that we may have eternal life), went to His death upon the Cross, so that we would be saved from sin and be able to spend eternal life in paradise in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus suffered greatly in the lead up to His crucifixion, but He did so out of love for us. God the Father sent His Only Son down to Earth to live amongst us and die upon the Cross out of love for His people.

When we suffer, we may not know why this is happening to us at the time. But, in time, the reason for our suffering will reveal itself to us. Indeed, pain lets us know that we are human. Without it, we would be unable to measure the goodness, the happiness in our lives. We cannot merely do away with pain for the sake of pursuing some utopia in our lives with only the good. If we were to do that, we would eventually lose sight of what is good and what is not. And, most tragically of all, we would struggle to comprehend love.

Pain is a necessary part of life. But it does not have to be a burden. Rather, it is a learning curve, albeit we often do not realise this until some time later. From pain comes love, from darkness comes light. Within my life, I have found a ray of light that has guided me out of the dark abyss I was lost in for the greater part of two years. I hope that each and every one of you who reads this will also find that light in your lives if you have not already. No matter what you are going through, trust in God and He will guide you through it. For God Himself is love, He is light, and He is the way.

To finish, I would like to share (although I have done so before in a different piece) my favourite Bible Verse, one that I keep close to my heart each and every day of my life:

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13:6-8, 13

This is the second Part of a Series entitled Uncovering Christianity: Exploring the Roots of the West. This series explores the values and ideas originating from Christianity, looking back at Biblical times, and relating them to the modern world. There are central themes to each piece in this series, with key messages throughout to guide you in your own life. The series also looks at some of the threats to the roots of Western Civilization and discusses what can be done to placate them and protect the foundation of society. Keep an eye out for new series pieces each week.

Uncovering Christianity – Exploring The Roots Of The West #1 – Choices

On By Joel AgiusIn Blog Series, Uncovering Christianity - Exploring The Roots Of The WestLeave a comment

For thousands of years, Christianity has existed not only as a religion, but as the foundation upon which society itself has been built. In particular, Western Civilization is based upon the values and ideas brought about through Christianity. The concepts of the family, of morality, and of law and order can all be sourced back to Christianity and its teachings. These are the ideas that hold society as we know it together. If these come under threat and begin to dissolve, which is occurring in the modern day, then society itself could collapse, leading to a dystopian world. The ideas brought about through Christianity are important in providing social stability, and so must be preserved and defended against new ideas that threaten their very existence. Political agendas and the quest for power seek to destabilize society, and, if permitted to pervade, will likely achieve as much. Thus begs the question: how do we protect the very foundation of society itself?

To answer this question, we must start at the beginning. Christianity obviously came about as a religion based upon the belief in God and His teachings. In the Old Testament, we see God as a loving Father who creates a beautiful utopia in the form of Earth. He creates the first humans, Adam, and then from his rib forms Eve. The two of them are left in the paradisical Garden of Eden with just one rule: they must not eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Yet they fail this task when a serpent comes along and tempts Eve to eat the fruit (in modern culture, the fruit is commonly represented as an apple, however we have no real indication of what type of fruit grew upon the tree). Eve then gives the fruit to Adam, who also consumes it. This is what could be referred to as the first temptation and is the moment that Evil entered the world. It is also the concurrent moment in which Original Sin came into existence, and the beginning of the journey through thousands of years that would lead to the coming of Jesus Christ, His time on Earth, and His ultimate sacrifice that would save us from sin and give us the chance to spend eternal life within the Kingdom of Heaven after passing from this world.

Adam and Eve began as innocent human beings made in the image of God. This is, indeed, how we all start out. The only significant difference between Adam and Eve and other humans is that we are born with original sin. Adam and Eve came into being as man and woman, in the absence of original sin, but gave into temptation. The situation they found themselves is not dissimilar to ones we find ourselves in in the modern day. Indeed, temptation often finds us in this world no matter how much we try to avoid it. Truly, it is not a matter of escaping it, but of confronting it. The origins of sin were brought about by just one human being choosing to give in to temptation. That is, in essence, what it all boils down to: choice.

Within each of us resides the capacity to make choices, including those relative to temptation. This same ability has transcended time, able to be found in most human beings throughout history. Many things that have come about in the world have resulted from the choices of those made before us. The times in which the world finds itself now are the resultants of choices made by certain people (oftentimes politicians and people in positions of power). But if we bring it back to the individual, even our own lives are written by the choices that we make.

The choices we make have the power to change our lives, to varying degrees. This goes back to Biblical times, when the disciples chose to follow Jesus. Jesus did not force them to follow Him but gave them the choice. The disciples made a life-changing choice which would ultimately result in their awakening to the wonders of God’s work, and lead to their deep connection with the Holy Spirit. Now that is not to say the journey they took was an easy one. In fact, Nicodemus, one of the Pharisees (I will explain what these are in the next part of this series) at the time, was also given the same choice but chose not to go (likely partially out of fear). But for the disciples, the journey they took with Christ was highly rewarding. There is an old adage that goes “no risk, no reward”. Oftentimes the toughest journeys are the most rewarding ones.

We all face tough times in our own lives, again to varying degrees. Every one of us, at some stage of our existence, must face our demons if we wish to truly live a fulfilling life. Most of us are likely to have to confront darkness, pain, and uphill battles on multiple occasions. This is a necessary part of life. Indeed, this is what makes us human. As much as we would like to, we cannot just numb ourselves to pain all our lives. If we did that, we would have no means by which to measure the pleasurable moments, those times of joy, elation, excitement, love, of pure happiness. Without the lows, we have no way of measuring the highs.

In essence, we are only human. We are not perfect. We are susceptible to temptation, to pain and suffering. But it is how we deal with these parts of life that matters most. We all have choices to make in our lives. We must carefully determine which ones will take us down the path we wish to travel. Sometimes we will make mistakes. But again, that is a necessary part of life, because without making mistakes we will never learn and grow as human beings.

I have heard on many occasions that in the Old Testament, God was one of wrath, one who would punish His people. To be honest, this is something I could see to be true. However, upon further reflection, In the Old Testament, God  is just a loving Father trying to help His people to understand right from wrong, Good from Evil. He does not punish them without first attempting to have them see reason. He presents His people with choices, and has continued to do so throughout history, right up to the present day with us. In the Old Testament, God’s people were punished because they refused to learn and show gratitude. To provide one example, after Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt by parting the Red Sea and travelling forth through it into the desert, something which only occurred with the helping hand of God Himself, it was not long before the Israelites began to complain about being stranded in the desert. Even after they had been freed from slavery, they failed to show gratitude and to trust in God. And sometimes that is all we can do: Trust in God. He will guide us and put us where He wants us to be.

I truly believe this with all my heart. In fact, more so after the events of the last couple of years in my own life. Even yesterday, as I began writing this, I was unsure of the direction it would go in. I was thinking about God in the Old Testament, about how His people were punished. I was, I suppose, attempting to understand it better. I decided to take a break, to step away from writing this for a while. I went to church, attended Mass. It was here, during the homily (for those who are unfamiliar with the structure of the Mass, each weekend there are two readings from various Books of the Bible, and a Gospel reading taken from one of the four Gospels. After these are read, and after the priest has concluded reading the Gospel reading, he gives the homily, a reflection of sorts upon the readings we have heard, often with a central message for the congregation), that I was struck with understanding. For in the homily, the priest explained how God did not punish His people, those same people who wandered the desert. No, God did not punish them. They punished themselves. They did this by failing to learn, by failing to trust in Him. Upon hearing this, I began to better understand the Old Testament and the ways in which God works and grew in my faith.

I have written on previous occasions about how life works in mysterious ways. As a person of faith, I attribute these mysterious workings to God. There have been difficult times in my life where I have found myself questioning my faith. This is not a bad thing. Oftentimes it ends up leading to a deepening in one’s faith. Now, I know there are people who read this blog, who read what I write, who are not necessarily religious, or at least not of the faith. And I’m not going to force it upon you, because that is not my place. Rather, it comes back to choice. It is up to you to determine the way in which you live your life, those you are willing to put your trust in, and whether or not you wish to put your faith in God. I can only be a guide by providing context, deep dives, information, and inspiration on Christianity, on the stories of the Bible, on the faith, and on God and His incredible work.

So, I am endeavouring to begin a journey through the times, stories, and values of Christianity. Throughout the journey I will present Biblical stories, stories from my own faith journey thus far, and analysis on these with important, valuable messages for you to take on board in your own lives, if you so choose. This is going to be the first major series I undertake on this blog, and it’s bound to get interesting. But I hope in doing this I will be able to live their lives by the values found in Christianity, and maybe even to invite God into their own lives and begin a relationship with Him. So, I invite you all to come on this journey with me, to explore the foundation of Western Civilization, to learn more about Christianity, and to hopefully grow as human beings along the way.

This is the first Part of a Series entitled Uncovering Christianity: Exploring the Roots of the West. This series explores the values and ideas originating from Christianity, looking back at Biblical times, and relating them to the modern world. There are central themes to each piece in this series, with key messages throughout to guide you in your own life. The series also looks at some of the threats to the roots of Western Civilization and discuss what can be done to placate them and protect the foundation of society. Keep an eye out for new series pieces each week.

Short disclaimer so my university doesn’t get mad with me: The first paragraph of this piece was written as part of a weekly assessment for a subject entitled Creative Writing, Forms and Structures. It is still my intellectual property, however for reasons pertaining to academic integrity (ie. Prevention of plagiarism as the subject is still in progress), the opening paragraph, although slightly changed from its original form, began as an assessment task. Everything else has only ever been on this blog. This disclaimer will likely be removed at the conclusion of the unit of study.