In to day’s society there has been a lot of bad things happening within the church with regards to child abuse etc. This has since turned people away from the church and has made people’s faith weaken. They just feel that they cannot trust the church and eventually turn away from prayer altogether.
Some people also suffer a lot of great difficulties in their life! Such as people who are victims of abuse, violence and greed. They surely must think to themselves, why is this happening to me? Why is God not doing anything to help me? Where is God? There thoughts like this there faith weakens and eventually will probably turn away from their religion altogether.
Another reason why I would agree with the statement is the fact that young people are easily influenced by the various temptations in society which often leads them away from God rather then bring them closer. In today’s society it is not uncommon for a child of twelve to start consuming alcohol or to even have an encounter with drugs. The influence of peers often lead to young people doing things, which they know are wrong and would not normally do.
The media also plays a great part in leading people astray. In today’s society the media plays a great part in everything and how people regard different topics. The media can portray religion in a negative way. In fact religion is held in a very poor light, which therefore influences large numbers of people to disregard God. For instance take into account the recent statement by the Pope in which he quoted an ancient scripture, which Muslims took great offence to and are believed to have killed a nun over.
There is just so much evil in the world that people do not know how to go about religion and who they can trust. People are even afraid to practice their religion due to fear of been attacked by people who do not support the teachings of their religion.
On the other hand there are also a lot of good things happening in the world that may influence people to disagree with my opinion. For instance take in to account all the Missionaries in the third world who give up their whole life to other people. They work in very dangerous conditions but still are prepared to risk it to help other people and follow what Jesus taught.
Take into account the lay people both Catholic and Protestant who give up their time to attend Church and even take part in the liturgy. Despite all the scandals and negative reports, these people continue to let their light of faith shine.
Consider the number of Priests, Nuns and Monks in the world who try and teach the word of God, even though many have been persecuted, sent to prison and even been killed.
For instance they may argue and say how could it be possible to be a disciple they way Jesus intended in today’s world. There have been many great Christians who many people who consider to be disciples of the modern day world. People such as:
Mother Teresa: who founded the Missionaries of Charity in India. She gave up her entire life to work with the the poor and sick people in India.
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela: he was a prominent anti-apartheid activist who, was imprisoned for 27 years. He was prepared to die for his rights and to speak up for everyone else who were too afraid to speak up. He achieved his aim of getting black people equal rights.
Veronica Guerin: was an Irish journalist who was murdered in 1996 by Irish drug dealers. She knew that there were people out there who were making money from selling and dealing drugs, causing misery and death to thousands of people. She tracked down one of the drug lords and when they found out she was shot. She gave up her life to try and fight for something she believed in and to stop profit being made from illegal transactions that affect other people greatly.
From my investigaion I can conclude that many people believe that it is still possible to be a disciple the way Jesus intended. Even with all the bad things that go on they believe that it is very difficult and they must be prepared to try and fight the modern day temptations of life for their religion and to be a good disciple of Jesus. However, I believe that most Chistians find being adisciple very challengings in our moder world.
