Interview 3
1. I am a Christian
2. Catholic (Roman Catholic)
3. I believe in God as a Trinity i.e. one God but three Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God is a reality of personal relationships, who reaches out to build real relationships with humans created by Him/Her.
4. It does. As soon as I get up in the morning I say a short prayer offering my day to God.After dressing, I spend 20 minutes reading and reflecting on Biblical passages, mostly from the Gospels, and Epistles of the New Testament and the great prophets from the Old Testament.My central focus is on the life and example of Jesus, whom I believe is the Son of God become human. Jesus in his life and death gave us an example of how to live our lives
These reflections and prayer nourish my commitment to social justice and concern for the poor, the disadvantaged, the sick and the families disadvantaged in any way.I do that as a member of my parish community.
Before I go to bed at night, I spend a few minutes reflecting on my day, apologizing to God for my lapses of bad temper and unkind acts and asking God to forgive me and to look after my wife, my daughter and sons and their kids.
5. I believe in an after-life. I can’t prove it. I accept it as true because of the promise made by Jesus. I don’t think that only Christians will get to heaven.I think it will be the test of a person’s love and care not just for their own family but for others will be the real test.I see the Christian’s role as one of encouraging all people to care not just for their own family but for others as well.
Some people think that people who don’t go to heaven will go to hell, but I think they will just not share in the after-life. I don’t think a loving God would want to punish people like that
6. I want people to know that love and care for people other than just one’s own family is the key to building a well-functioning society.Even when we do have a right attitude, it is still a struggle.Many people who are not religious still have those attitudes but if there is a strong Christian model in society, it encourages others to follow the example of Jesus.
I also want young Australians to know that God has given us the ability to think.This understanding among Jesus’ early and present disciples has encouraged us to learn more and more about this world in which we live and rethink how Jesus would act today.
7. Belief that Jesus who is the Son of God, a member of the Trinity, became man and was put to death because of what he taught.
8. I attend Sunday Mass 90% of the time, spend 20 minutes most days in formal meditation and fast from drinking alcohol on one or two days a week during Lent. Thanks for inviting me to share my beliefs.
Interview 4
1. Jewish
2. I don’t formally belong to a congregation at the moment but am in contact with the local Orthodox group. I also am in contact with the Rabbi
3. I believe G-d is a caring compassionate being
4. I somewhat follow a lot of the festivals and rituals involved in Jewish life. I read up on news from Israel and I read Jewish texts regularly. I feel supported by my Jewish friends, in particular a friend who regularly shares spiritual snippets on her Whats App
5.I hope that G-d indeed exists but I don’t really feel I know with certainty. Hopefully our souls all ascend to heaven to be reborn.
6. I belong to multi-faith organisations where different religions meet and share information about their own faiths. And so I like to share aspects of Judaism but unfortunately I am not an expert in the religion. That would take many, many, many years of learning and studying.
7. I think the Golden Rule which is in all religions.
8. I do try and study and pray regularly and often celebrate a modified form of Shabbat, our Friday night service and meal to welcome in a day of rest and spiritual nourishment.
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