The Volcano

I had everything I could ever want; my family, friends, a house, money and I had all this in our paradise. Our paradise however had one flaw, the volcano. Yes it's seems crazy now that we would build up our whole town and our whole lives right next to a volcano but it had been dormant for over 300 years and well it couldn't possibly erupt after 300 years of dormancy, could it? We were so very wrong, but what do people know, we shouldn't have to know when we have a omniscient, all seeing/all knowing, God. I always believed that if anything traumatic happened God would be there to protect us, I'd prayed to him every morning and night since I could talk but where was he when I needed him on the fateful day that changed everything?

When I awoke that morning nothing was different or strange but by midday it became very dark, never in our lives had we seen it dark before the sun had set, something was wrong. Then we heard it, there was a great bang and clouds of ash billowed up into the air, the evacuation sirens sounded and police frantically knocked on doors. She was going to blow and we didn't know when but we had to get out fast. We each grabbed a small bag or holdall and crammed in important possessions such as photos, jewelry, etc and made our way to the other end of the Island where my sister lived and she welcomed us with open arms. Just a few days after, the volcano blew and wiped out our homes, our crops, the airport, the shops, and well everything. Everything we had worked hard for was gone.

We couldn't go back to even see what was left because it was too dangerous, my happiness was wiped away along with our town. Every night I continued to ask God for something, anything, a sign just to let me know he was listening but nothing.If there was a God this natural evil wouldn't have been imposed on my family, my friends, and my village. If God was omnipotent and omnibenevolent like they say he is he would have loved us and been powerful enough to stop our pain but he didn't. Now we have nothing and I can't believe there is a God anymore.

MHG

Twin Towers

On the 11^th September 2001 I was one of the many people who survived the Twin towers attack. But I was only lucky as I was on the third floor of the building so it was a lot more easy to escape compared to others. But I still wasn't able to breathe as the amount of smoke in the building was toxic. People around me were losing arms and getting fatally injured and paper was flying around everywhere. I was listening to people make phone calls to their loved ones saying goodbye on my fight out of the building, it was horrible. In my head I was praying to God to protect me and keep me alive as I thought I would be one of the people who couldn't make it out of the building.

I was wondering to myself, why would God let this happen to me? Why did he let me come into work today? Why would he let all the people in the building have their lives taken? If God’s omnipotent and all powerful why could he not convince the terrorist bombers to change their mind and respect other people’s lives? If God is also omniscient and saw and knew what was going on why was I and about nineteen others the only survivors? If God is all loving why did he let the other workers in the building lose their lives in such a tragic way? I was upset because all of my work friends and people I did not know was not able to make it out alive like I did, and telling their loved ones the news broke my heart. If God is all loving why did many of their lives get taken so quickly? This was mostly a moral evil as the terrorist bombers were responsible for making two planes crash into both of the buildings taking many lives but why would God let these people do that?

God is the creator and ruler of the Universe, as a Roman Catholic I agree that Jesus suffered and maybe God wanted us to because we need to know the understanding of the suffering like he did. God also gave us free will which means people can choose therefore humans create the evil and suffering but maybe the terrorists that day thought that bombing the world trade center was the right thing to do to. They must have liked the thought of people suffering to show their belief in their own faith and that they would do anything for their own God. Jesus also argued for change and we can do the same, the prayer I said in my head that day was the prayer that saved my life. We don’t know why most people’s lives got taken so quickly that day. God probably wanted their suffering to end and they would've got the reward of eternal paradise when they died and if you were on the higher floors, God may have thought it was better to die quicker than suffer in pain for a longer time; he wanted them to be at peace.
HL @harl3yl

This is why I still believe in God because even though many other people in the building lost their lives, and he let this happen. The best explanation for it was that God gave us free will, we could avoid the evil and suffering by doing god acts and loving one another and showing God that we don’t deserve to suffer. God also spared my life because in my prayer I was telling him how I wasn't ready to die and he saved me. The terrorists may have been tempted by their own God or the devil to bomb the buildings. For the people that did lose their lives, God put them at peace they got the reward of eternal paradise. 

Bringing up Children

Dear diary,
                         I am worried for my children.

I promised myself before Kirsty and Katie were born that I would never be the kind of parent to force my own beliefs onto my children, as my parents did to me, and I am not. Believe me, I am not. However, all the same I feel that my daughters are too young to be making an important decision about faith by themselves.They are ten and eleven years old, and I don't feel they know enough about the world's religions to be able to make awell-informed choice and to stray away from Christianity. Both John and I felt that a strict Roman Catholic school might stifle them, so we did not send them to one, but now I am wondering if this was a mistake.

Also...well, I admit, this isn't all just about them. It's about me too. Catholicism is all I have ever known. If they turn to Buddhism, Sikhism, Judaism, or any other religion? I'm not ignorant, I do have a working knowledge of most of the biggest religions in the world today, but I am by no means an expert. I won't be able to guide them through it, help them, show them what they must do, because it is simply not something that I have experience in. That thought scares me very much.
Futhermore, the fact is that religious discrimination is everywhere in today's world. I have not experienced it firsthand myself, I admit, but I see it everyday and there is not a thing that I, myself, as one person, can do about it. I want the best for my children and cannot bear the thought of allowing them to take their own religious route knowing full well what they are exposing themselves to. People can be cruel. I do not want my children to lead a life of being insulted, blamed, discriminated against because I did not give them enough guidance when they were young. 
Ultimately, if my children choose to follow a religion that is different from mine, it is their choice, and it is okay. But I worry about the consequences.

Bringing Up Children in a Multi-Faith Society - ES

I am going to be taking the role of a Catholic Christian Mother who is worried about her children questioning the Roman Catholic faith and the existence of God.

Dear diary, 
                  I have made a huge mistake, ever since I allowed Lucy and Oliver to go to a mixed faith secondary school they have been questioning our faith. I was having second thoughts at the time, I should have just followed my instincts and sent them to a Roman Catholic school. 
                  It was a few weeks ago, I wasn't paying attention but they were discussing their school day over dinner and gradually they got on the subject of their Muslim friends Abdul, Nafiah and Rashida (I think these are their names) and they began telling me about their culture and traditions. I wasn't really paying attention at the time as I was doing some cleaning, until they began asking me "does God really exist?" and "could Allah be the true God?" I brushed it off but ever since they've been questioning me on how I know God exists and why I don't believe in Allah. I brush it off and try to change the subject but they're at that time in life where they have all these questions and decisions to make. 
                  I know for a fact going to both a Roman Catholic Primary and Secondary school was one of the best experiences of my life, and it brought me closer to God as my faith grew over the years. However, I'm worried Oliver and Lucy are going to disagree with our faith, and now I feel they've missed out on a wonderful Christian Catholic upbringing. One of my tasks in life was to spread the word of God and now I feel I've failed. John (my husband) doesn't seem to be concerned, however lately I've been quite upset about the whole situation. I mean I've been trying to teach them to follow the Christian faith for the first 11 years of their life, and now they've only been at Secondary school for several months and they're already questioning our faith. I don't know whether to feel extremely proud of their intelligence and strength to explore other faiths or whether I have failed to raise them as good Catholics who believe in God. I was certain I was going to send them to a Roman Catholic Secondary school but I felt bad I was separating them from their friends, although now I feel I've made a bigger mistake.
                 I always knew I would face issues when raising my children in a multi-faith society, however nowadays I just feel they're slipping away from God and not appreciating the things he has and is doing for us. I know I cannot force them to be a Catholic Christian, but if there was just a way I could get through to them so they too believe God has and always be there for them, of course I would do it. I just pray that God will reach out to them and help them to discover their faith once again. 


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Muslim and Catholic Marriage - OK

My name is Adila and I am a practicing Muslim. I have been married to my Catholic husband Simon for a year now but this did not come about without any difficulty. Many members of my family still do not speak to me or even acknowledge my existence just because I did not marry a fellow Muslim.

Why should all Muslim girls be forced into marring someone they barely even know and maybe do not even love? Marriage is permanent and frankly I would rather spend the rest of my life with someone I fell in love with not who my parents put me with just to make sure I am a married woman.

When Simon proposed to me I immediately knew that my parents would not agree to the marriage but this would leave me heartbroken so I said yes as I love him and nothing would get in the way of us living the rest of our lives together. I told my parents that Simon and I were to be married and as I suspected they immediately disagreed and said that the marriage would never take place or they would never speak to me again. Of course I took this into consideration but I love Simon and I am an independent woman who has her own mind and can make her own actions and decisions so I went against my mother and father's wishes and married Simon.

Eventually my parents came round and are now speaking to me and Simon. They have learnt that tradition is not always the answer and sometimes it can be broken and have got to know Simon and really like him! I am so happy with the way things turned out. I have my mother, father and husband who all love me and care for me and that is all I need!

Adila

Muslim & Catholic Marriage - SOK

Dear Diary,

I am so confused. This morning, I was discussing wedding arrangements with my fiancé Abdul-Rashid who is a Muslim. He wants to have a traditional Muslim wedding in a mosque but I prefer a Catholic one because I have been a Catholic all my life and my whole family are Catholics as well. I really want any children we have to be baptized, brought up in the Catholic faith and have the Catholic education. Even the Roman Catholic Church says that if one parent is Catholic, all children in that relationship should also be brought up in the Catholic faith. Abdul-Rashid however, wants them to be Muslim as in their religion they believe that the children should follow their father’s faith. I can’t imagine my beautiful future kids being forced to wear headscarves to conceal their lovely hair and wear clothes up to their ankles and wrists all the time-even during summer! It just wouldn’t be fair on them or me because he would try to convert me to Islam. I am seriously having second thoughts…

Maybe this marriage isn’t going to be such a good idea. It would put a lot of strain on both of us and our children. I don’t think this marriage will work, so it’s probably best to end it now. I will talk to him this evening. I should have thought about this before. This is a lesson for everyone and an experience for me.

Goodnight diary,

Amanda

S.O.K. 

Christian & Hindu Marraige - JN

I am going to be taking the role of a Christian man and his struggles as his faith prevents him leading a happy life with the woman he loves.

I am a man who is in love with a beautiful girl, we wish to marry, have kids and grow old together as any loving couple would.  Yet it is not that simple. I am a Christian man and my girlfriend Alisha is a Hindu woman. We have been dating for many years now and I wish to propose, but there are a mounting number of issues that I’m not sure we can deal with as a couple. Our clashes in faiths are the only things holding us back.

Firstly the marriage ceremony, Alisha’s family wishes for her to have a Hindu shaadi in India whereas I want a Christian marriage in a church with all my family. Then if we make a choice there is also the issue of raising our children, would we make them choose between faiths or make desictions for them?  Would we get them baptized or not, would we have them educated in a Christian or a Hindu school? This could not only cause tension between us but in our families as well, which is something me and Alisha do not want to risk.

Faith plays a great part in both mine and Alisha’s life and I am not certain we can both carry out good lives in the eyes of our Gods if we marry.

J.N.

Muslim & Christian Marriage - MG

I will be writing a diary entry as a young Muslim girl dealing with the problems faced when different views from different religions collide within society:

Dear Diary,

I told everyone at school today about my parent's plans for me. Honestly, I was really surprised at their reaction! They said it wasn't normal for your parents to choose who you marry, and that you should only marry someone you love! They said that my marriage will be forced, not arranged. But all my friends are Christian, and their parents don't care who they marry. They don't understand the Muslim culture. 

Although I told my friends what they said was offensive, their opinions made me think. I mean, I've never met Abdul before. What if I don't like him? He could be really boring, or annoying, or grumpy. We might not have anything in common.

But my parents know what's best for me. They've met him and they say he's nice. They would NEVER marry me to someone I wouldn't like. NEVER.

I still worry, though. Sometimes, I imagine what it would be like to be a Christian, and not have to marry Abdul. I would be able to marry whoever I choose. None of my friends are even thinking about marriage yet. It might be nice to go out and meet new people before I get married. 

I know that what Mum and Dad have done for me will provide me with a stable future, but talking to my friends has really opened my eyes to different beliefs and faiths. In a way, I'm glad I am able to talk to my friends to help me understand different religions. It has really widened my cultural knowledge within society.

Sincerely, Aisha

M.G.