Commitment to God is the personal act of binding all aspects of our individual existence to a transcendent entity.
We can be committed to our work, to our family and friends, and to our communities.
These commitments are established through, and maintained by, of our everyday reciprocal interactions with other individuals, and so they mimic rather equal what it takes to commit to God.
At the same time, however, many social scientists would suggest that our overall well-being depends on the extent to which we in fact make these sorts of inter-personal commitments.
I would agree, but I would also suggest that the fulfillment we strive for through all of our worldly commitments can only be attained through the more ineffable attempt to commit to God.
Throughout history, being part of a religious community has often been viewed as the ultimate expression of committed collective participation.
Religions provide meaning, codes of ethics, rituals and traditions - frameworks within which social commitments can take place.
However, commitment to religion is not the same as commitment to God.
Christianity, for example, is referred to as an orthodoxy, a religion that requires its adherents to subscribe to a particular set of beliefs, usually set out in a statement of faith, or creed.
Among the most fundamental beliefs associated with Christianity is the notion that Christ died so that people would be saved and thus be granted eternal life.
Of a more theologically complex nature, the doctrine of the Trinity declares that God exists as one being in three persons.
Islam, by contrast, is an orthopraxy, a religion whose adherents engage in a standard set of practices, such as praying five times a day and fasting during the month of Ramadan.
Great care is taken, for example, in instructing young Muslims in the precise bodily positions and movements that constitute the acceptable practice of prayer.
Deviation from the norm negates the efficacy of the action.
In Islam, less emphasis is placed on theological intricacies and elaborate statements of faith.
Irrespective of the nature of the particular religion, expressing belief, or going through the motions of various practices and rituals, might fulfill a social obligation and shield a person from censure, but they are not a sufficient indicator of commitment to God.
Genuine commitment to God goes beyond mere participation in one religious tradition or another, no matter how genuine and all-encompassing that might be.
Rather, it requires the recognition and acceptance not only of the fact that we are created, but that there is a creator.
Accepting such a notion amounts to an acknowledgement that we have limits and that we exist in a dependency relationship - one in which we can have no expectation of reciprocity and one in which we may not even recognize reciprocity should it ever occur.
God is often referred to as all-giving.
Commitment to God means to give God one's all, and in doing so the rest of humanity and the individual giver will benefit.
We can be committed to our work, to our family and friends, and to our communities.
These commitments are established through, and maintained by, of our everyday reciprocal interactions with other individuals, and so they mimic rather equal what it takes to commit to God.
At the same time, however, many social scientists would suggest that our overall well-being depends on the extent to which we in fact make these sorts of inter-personal commitments.
I would agree, but I would also suggest that the fulfillment we strive for through all of our worldly commitments can only be attained through the more ineffable attempt to commit to God.
Throughout history, being part of a religious community has often been viewed as the ultimate expression of committed collective participation.
Religions provide meaning, codes of ethics, rituals and traditions - frameworks within which social commitments can take place.
However, commitment to religion is not the same as commitment to God.
Christianity, for example, is referred to as an orthodoxy, a religion that requires its adherents to subscribe to a particular set of beliefs, usually set out in a statement of faith, or creed.
Among the most fundamental beliefs associated with Christianity is the notion that Christ died so that people would be saved and thus be granted eternal life.
Of a more theologically complex nature, the doctrine of the Trinity declares that God exists as one being in three persons.
Islam, by contrast, is an orthopraxy, a religion whose adherents engage in a standard set of practices, such as praying five times a day and fasting during the month of Ramadan.
Great care is taken, for example, in instructing young Muslims in the precise bodily positions and movements that constitute the acceptable practice of prayer.
Deviation from the norm negates the efficacy of the action.
In Islam, less emphasis is placed on theological intricacies and elaborate statements of faith.
Irrespective of the nature of the particular religion, expressing belief, or going through the motions of various practices and rituals, might fulfill a social obligation and shield a person from censure, but they are not a sufficient indicator of commitment to God.
Genuine commitment to God goes beyond mere participation in one religious tradition or another, no matter how genuine and all-encompassing that might be.
Rather, it requires the recognition and acceptance not only of the fact that we are created, but that there is a creator.
Accepting such a notion amounts to an acknowledgement that we have limits and that we exist in a dependency relationship - one in which we can have no expectation of reciprocity and one in which we may not even recognize reciprocity should it ever occur.
God is often referred to as all-giving.
Commitment to God means to give God one's all, and in doing so the rest of humanity and the individual giver will benefit.
Source...