Some people think that being a follower of Christ gives you something to believe in and someone to use as a role model, to mould their behaviour on. This would have a good effect because they would be spreading the word of God and also, they would be helping people, by setting a good example of how to conduct themselves. On the other hand, some people may argue that being a follower of Jesus presents false hope in life after death and resurrection.
Mother Teresa is an example of Jesus having a good effect on a person’s life. She devoted her life to helping the poorest of the poor in India. Some may say she lived in extreme poverty and that therefore following Jesus did not have a positive effect, but she lived until she was 88 and when she died, her life had been fulfilled. Through her self sacrifice of a rich and comfortable life, many poor people were helped and she really made a huge difference to so many lives.
Martin Luther King is another key example of Jesus’ good influence. At the age of six he was told he could no longer play with his friends because they were white and he was black. In 1941, a pregnant woman called Rosa Parkes, was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white person. This began his 13 year fight against racism and segregation. Although he was martyred for what he believed in, he stood up for what was right through the influence of God.
Alternately, being a follower of Jesus makes some people think that they have the right to do whatever they like without getting punished for it. Take for example, the ex Roman Catholic priest mentioned in the March 2004 edition of the mercury news. The headline reads “Former Priest pleads innocent to molestation charges.” The article describes a young boy who was repeatedly sexually abused by a catholic priest. In this case, following the life of Jesus did not have a good effect on the life of the individual. He is using his position as a man of God to not get blamed for what he has done wrong. Not only has he abused the trust of the church and God, but he has also contributed to the lack of trust between priests and young people. However, some people argue that these paedophiles were not actually genuine catholic priests, but people who used the position of trust between the church and young people to get close to them.
Another example of Jesus not having a good effect is the man named Joe, featured in the catholic newspaper, The Universe.” He wrote in to say that he “cant see the point of going to confession because he just goes home and commits the same sins again.” Following Jesus has not had a good effect because the man is not learning from what he has done wrong. However some people can say that the man may not be a devout catholic, he may just have been baptised into the faith by his parents, and therefore he shouldn’t have to learn from his mistakes, or from confession.
Overall it appears that following Jesus does have a good effect on people’s lives. Those who do good work in Jesus’ name are promoting how good being a disciple can be. Jesus is a role model for their behaviour. However, many Christians are still persecuted, and some people feel that even though they are Christians, they can use their religion as and excuse for things, make themselves “above the law” and abuse their trust in God.
