Wisniewski 2BIBLICAL AUTOBIOGRAPHYMY EVOLVING PERCEPTIONS OF THE BIBLEAs a child, my first understanding of the Bible came from a book of collected stories that my mother gave me when I was about seven years old. My family, at that time, did not go to church, so I had no other point of reference or input to fall back on. I kept this book until I was about nineteen and read it cover to cover at least 10 times throughout my childhood. When I was younger, I thought of the Bible as a big book of action and adventure filled with stories with heroes and villains. The heroes, even if they struggled, would be rewarded by God and triumph in the end. The wicked would be punished and change and become good or continue to suffer from their misdeeds. At that time, I did not perceive the Bible as anything other than a collection of mystical and wonderful stories. When I was a teenager, my parents moved to a small rural area where there was an older church. We started attending this church rather sporadically, but it was there that I got my first real taste of organized religion. This church used the Bible as a way to call attention to the rules that God set forth in the Old Testament. Those who did not follow the rules were considered sinners and were called before the entire church, so that the rest of the members could try to help them correct their deficiencies and hold them accountable for staying within the bounds of God's laws. The few times I went to this church made me sick. I felt like no matter what I did, I would be considered a sinner and I was terrified of being called to this church. Wisniewski 3 I was sure that I would be sentenced to... middle of paper...... certainly. I now have confidence in my own abilities to understand what God wants me to do as an individual and also as a member of the Christian community. I have nothing to fear as long as I seek and am open to His guidance. Since this course began, I have been inspired to take a more active role in my church and the outside community. My church was once a thriving congregation, but over time it lost members and failed to grow because everyone was stuck in a spiritual rut. I am now involved in a committee that is working to get more of our members involved and excited again about what is happening in our church. The main goal of our group is to encourage everyone to be active participants rather than just participants. I'm excited to see where this takes me and what the future holds for our congregation..