Naples Florida Webmaster - Personal Diary

As some of you may know, 2008 defined me as my year of spiritual growth. Creating a list of universal questions, I spent most of 2008 finding my path throughout all the major world religions - Catholicism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Islam, and Baha'i. The video above is my story.

My Story (Text-Version)
I was on a quest for truth. I wasn't looking for "a" truth, but "the" truth, and what I found was Faith by Confirmation. My quest started by examining all the major world religions including Catholicism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Islam, and Baha'i, and what I found was fascinating. I created a list of universal questions and met with teachers and professors of each major world religion throughout southwest Florida.

Through these interviews, I found common beliefs amongst all of them. For example, they agree that murder is wrong. But they are also divided. They all claim to be the only "true" path. Ironically, my desire to unify all religions created division between myself and my devout Christian girlfriend, which led to a month-long period of non-communication between us. During this period, I went to church by myself for the first time. I attended Sarasota Baptist, and heard the sermon "Going Solo with God." This served as a confirmation to me on my quest for truth. I studied constantly, and had convinced myself that the Baha'i desire to unify all religions was the path for me.

On July 25th, 2008, I ended my silence with my girlfriend and I told her of my decision. She was devastated. Something inside of me told me this was not right. Why have I been with a devout Christian for over 2 ½ years? Why did I receive a confirmation from God at a Baptist church? I realized at that moment I was choosing the path and not letting God choose it for me. I then made a commitment to God to allow Him to choose my path. I asked him for confirmation that Christianity was Truth. The next weekend, Pastor Mike's sermon was about Gideon. I realized that I too was compromising with God. My Baha'i faith was Gideon's fleece. This was all the confirmation I needed. And now I am here today to publically profess my faith, and to demonstrate my eternal commitment to Christ.

Labels: baha'i, buddhism, catholic, christian, confucianism, hinduism, islam, quest, truth, world religions