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Lamott's journey towards faith is long and complicated. What are the most important things that contribute to her ultimately becoming a committed believer? Be as specific as possible and be prepared to discuss your response in class.
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Lamott says,"I bowed my head in bed and prayed, because I believed-not in Jesus-but in someone listening, someone who heard." The fact that she did indeed believe in something or someone greater and more powerful who could hear her and possibly guide her through life was a good starting point moving toward having faith. Another important contribution in her life was the conversations she had with the new guy at St. Stephen's. He clearly had a good handle on his life and had faith in God and he was a good influence on Lamott when she needed someone most. He said to her,"You said your prayers weren't working anymore, and I could see that in your desperation you were trying to save yourself: so I said...let me pray for you. And right away you seemed to settle down inside." He gave her good advice. He didn't push anything on her or try to preach about Christ, if anything he took a load off because her prayers weren't working so maybe if she stopped and he took over, things would be better. Lastly, I think her body was just slowly losing it's strength. She'd done so much damage with the drugs and alcohol, and then the abortion, and more drinking and drugs. It was almost like the only thing she could do was to believe, because nothing else proved to work for her; those "influences" were only temporary and always ended up making her worse afterwards. It seems like it was a subconscious decision her body and mind made for her. She'd been so against religion because of stereotypes and what others might think of her suddenly being faithful to God, that she could never have consciously chosen that on her own. It was kind of a last resort that would eventually save her from herself.
ReplyDeleteI believe that one the most important factors that influenced Lamott to become a believer was the fact that her journey towards faith was composed of many little “baby steps” opposed to just taking a leap a faith. It is unlikely for someone who is ardently against Christianity and religion as a whole to suddenly wake-up one morning and decide to believe and to follow the footsteps of faith. Instead, coming to faith is a gradual journey, propelled in Lamott’s case by her desperate, harsh circumstances and the people in her life that guided her a long the way.
ReplyDeleteOne of the main reasons that Lamette was against any sort of religion was the stereotypes of those who believed. But throughout her whole life, she respected and was loved by many people of different religions, for example the catholic family, Lee the Christian scientist, Sue the Christian English teacher, the Jews in her dorm, professor Grossman, and Pastor Bill from St. Stephen’s Church. Each person influenced Lamette’s life and broke down those stereotypes. She was exposed to different religions through these people and finally out of her desperation came to believe herself.
The most importatnt factors that contributed to Lammot becoming an ultimate believer was her struggles throughout her journey to find faith. Growing up her friends were of different religions: catholic, christian, and jewish. Her family was more athiest. She started beliveing when she heard the story of Abraham and Issac. When she heard this story it was her first religious awakening. Another thing that showed her leap of faith was the christian boy at st. Stephens. He made her believe that God has to love her and he told her of she doesnt think her prayers are working he will pray for her. She said after talking to him she "slowly came back to life." I think her friends and their strong religious beliefs had influenced her to see the differences between the religions and that helped her find the religion that was right for her.
ReplyDeleteFrom what i read it wasn't exactly one thing that made her a believer but rather an accumulation of other problems. One being the fact that she was an alcoholic and tried to hide it as best she could because she was afraid of how she would be viewed. The second was that she was sleeping around with married men and actually got pregnant by one of them, she had to abort it, which i think made her feel very dirty. When it finally reached a tipping point and she felt the presence of God in her room and also her love for singing at Church ultimately led her to become a believer.
ReplyDeleteComing from reading this article, I think that Lamott became a believer from an intense build up of events in her life that were horrifying and traumatic at the same time. From these experiences, she realized that life's choices were becoming too easy and her decisions were rapidly changing from day to day. This epiphany led her to realize that this current lifestyle wasn't the life she wanted. She came to the conclusion that she wanted a deeper fulfillment in life which she acquired through religion and finding God. Through this, she feels more wholesome and therefore has a better outlook in life to become a warrior for Christ.
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to read a story about having a harsh life and yet still keep faith. I believe that everyone wants to be happy and that is what she wanted to say throughout her article. Throughout her whole life it seemed that she was encountering difficulties and times when life was not worth living anymore. Desperate for happiness and love, she started having lots sex and experimenting with drugs. Numb from the pains in her self, this was the only way she knew how to escape. But, deep down, she knew that faith could be the guideline for true and lasting happiness.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the most important things that contribute to her ultimately becoming a committed believer was her struggles in life. Many people today who struggle with harsh issues tend to strive for a love, and I feel she called out for God to help her feel more pure and comforted with herself. I also believe that the stereotypes and knowing people with different religions made it hard fo her to believe in a higher being but she never was one to judge. The talk with the guy at St. Stephen's helped her feel more comfortable with believing. I feel as if he helped her have the hope she needed in believing. She slowly took her time to become a believer. she has had many influences in her life that helped her find God.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the most important thing that contributed to Lamott's journey to believing in God was her college life and taking that course with the "tiny Czechslovakian woman," named Eva Gossman. In that course she tells how her Professor Gossman gave them "Fear and Trembling" by Kieregaards to read and that [story about Abraham, who heard God's angels tell him to take his son Isaac up to the moutain and sacrifice him.](634) This story surely made Lamott a believer in God and from that day forward she was changed and a bit more crazy.
ReplyDeleteLammott's life has always been rocky. When she was young, she secretly believed in God when the rest of her family didn't believe in anything. Ever since then, she has done nothing but smoke and drink at every chance. But through her long, dark journey she always had faith but was never a committed believer. The most important thing that contributes to her ultimately becoming a committed believer was everything bad that happened to her. For example, her father's death, her abortion, her hookups with married men at X-rated motels, and being an alcoholic through it all. However, she has always had that hope some where inside of her which might have led to her realization. St. Stephen's advice towards the end really brought her back to reality. It still took her years to stop drinking, but she mentioned that she stopped doing some things, like meeting the guy at X-rated motels. And to hold her together, I believe that her son made her become the person she is now, a firm believer in God.
ReplyDeleteLammott's faith began when she began to believe in God at a young age despite her family who didn't believe in anything. Her life has always been rocky which contributed to her to become a believer and have faith in God. Often, when people struggle, the seek hope in another being such as God. Her previous lifestyle of alcohol and promiscious hookups caused her to resent her life. I think her son had made her change and she is looking to God to stay strong.
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