Religion

I was baptised at a few months old as a Christian Orthodox. That is the religon my grandmother practices and all the members of our family have practiced for some time now. I don't really feel that I am a Christian Orthodox, or a member of any religon for that matter because i havent yet grasped the idea why someone might need religon in thier life. My parents aren't at all religous, my mother goes to church on special holidays (i acompany and my dad has probably went 4 or 5

times, and that is for the batising of my siblings, god brother and I. So i was not really taught to be religous. I feel religion is a way of grouping people together and making them have something in common so they can feel safe within their own and gang up on others. BUT, religon can also bring light and meaning to a persons life like my grandmother who rarely misses church and never fails in here fasting.

The first photo I chose shows a woman being filled with the Holy Ghost and experiencing God first hand. This is significant to me, because it illustrates a living God, that interacts with His people,

and empowers them. The second photo I chose is significant to me because it portrays a side of religion that many don't see. It is my youth group fellowship, having fun, and loving one another; which is much more significant than emotionless rituals that most identify as religion.

The Greatest Commandment of all is to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. The second, is to love your neighbor as yourself. This is what religion is to me, and is the foundation of my life. Though I prefer to say I have a relationship with God rather than associate myself with the endless negative connotations of being a Christian, when labeled I inevitably fall into the Religious: Christian category. Since late 2004, I have grown to know Jesus and He has proven himself to be the realest thing I've ever experienced; because of it, I am madly in love with Him and aspire to live my for Him. -Jessica

When I was born I was baptized Catholic. My entire family have always been devoted Catholics and the older generation is very religious. During my childhood, my mother would teach us how to pray and how to pray the rosary, but for some reason I didn't see the importance of religion in my life because all I knew was that it was apart of a family tradition. By the time I became a teenager, I grew so far away from the Catholic ways that I stopped caring about it. A few years ago, I felt lost in my life. My sister told me to pray to God and say what was going on in my life and so I did. I never knew how powerful praying was until then, because I was so overwhelmed by so much emotion and when I was done, I felt that a burden was lifted from my shoulders and my grief was gone. I felt comforted and that God was there to help me through anything. From then on, I have never lost faith in the Lord and I will continue to pass on this tradition. -Jackie