Should I talk about Jesus?

Started by Iowafan180
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Iowafan180

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Hey all-
I have an interview at Iowa coming up and I have been reading the forums about the interview process and I came across this question:
What is your life purpose?
If I tell them straight up then I will say my life purpose is to live for Jesus Christ.

Do you think religion can interfere with them letting you into school? I think I am going to tell them how I feel but I am just wondering if you think I will lose points for being blunt.
 
Iowafan180 said:
Hey all-
I have an interview at Iowa coming up and I have been reading the forums about the interview process and I came across this question:
What is your life purpose?
If I tell them straight up then I will say my life purpose is to live for Jesus Christ.

Do you think religion can interfere with them letting you into school? I think I am going to tell them how I feel but I am just wondering if you think I will lose points for being blunt.
Click to expand...

you can just elaborate on that if they ask. saying your life purpose is to live for jesus christ is a pretty bad answer. what does that even mean. your life purpose is to be alive?
 
Just relate how Jesus was the true altruist and that you want to be like him and help people...with their teeth 👍
 
haha, sounds good. I will for sure say that. 🙂

No I will say more about it when the question comes up but do you think its hurts me to even mention my religion?
 
it depends on who you are IMO.
for me, religion is a very big factor (both for just my everyday life and my goal of becoming a dentist) so I did mention about it during my interview but not in a way of converting someone but what i truly believe and who i am as a person.
my father is also a pastor and i do lot of extra volunteering with my church and plays an instrument during the service so i also did mention that with my interviewer.
i believe my interviewer was non-Christian but he was able to understand why I was talking about the religion and he even told me after the interview that i did really well and i should relax and enjoy the rest of my day (so im guessing it went pretty well).

i wouldn't talk about jesus but i would talk about my character and what the religion means to me (if you know what i mean..)
 
i wouldnt talk about jesus, why would you alienate yourself or your interviewer? you need to find a common ground, what if they aren't christian? that is interviewing 101. plus you don't want to sound like a freaking preacher, nobody likes that.
 
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i feel in general in tactful,polite conversation you're supposed to avoid matters of contention like religion or politics... unless you know everyone in that room shares the same sentiment, i wouldn't risk alienating someone in the room cause it might be at your expense.
 
mueladeljuicio said:
i feel in general in tactful,polite conversation you're supposed to avoid matters of contention like religion or politics... unless you know everyone in that room shares the same sentiment, i wouldn't risk alienating someone in the room cause it might be at your expense.
Click to expand...

How exactly is the interviewer being polite by asking a "purpose of life" question?
I think the interviewer is expecting a religious answer...
 
I might bring up examples of service or leadership that are church related if they ask, but there really is a time and a place to bring up your belief in God.

If the situation seemed right and you included your religious beliefs in an answer, I would shy away from terminology or phrases that are unique to your own church. For example "live for Jesus" sounds like a phrase that you might repeat very often in your church, but may sound funny to an outsider and does not sound very professional. Instead you could explain how your ultimate goal in life is to live a life in harmony with your Christian beliefs, as a husband, a father, a doctor, a neighbor, a citizen,...

Essentially, you are saying the same thing, but you sound more down to earth than fanatical. Don't hide your religious beliefs, but don't flaunt them either.
 
maybe mention why you want to do dentistry and that religion is a big part of your life which is why u wnat to do volunteer work or etc but don't ramble on about it. you don't want to look like religious fanatic.
 
Are you interested in dental missions? Learn more about them, and if you are interested, be ready to talk about this interest enthusiastically and knowledgeably; you could mention the connection to your religious beliefs, or allude to it, or leave it unspoken. Of course, people of all faiths, agnostics and atheists participate in medical missions. Good luck!
 
I don't know if it is ever good to be blunt with an interview answer, you want to develop your ideas and explain in more detail... As for bringing up religion in an interview, I probably wouldn't. Say your purpose in life is to live like (qualities that you think Jesus stood for). Assuming that they know or should know what it means to live like Jesus seems a bit pretentious.
 
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almon said:
exactly. and your interviewer will be thinking the exact same thing.
Click to expand...

and if they catch you on this, and you either (a) don't have a clear answer or because you are not prepared for discussion or (b) unwittingly reveal some sort of ulterior motive that may be perceived as contradictory to the actions of Christ (i.e. you are pursuing dentistry to become wealthy, which some may fairly argue is not-Christ-like), consider the interview over and your rejection sealed.

the adcoms will be able to sense any sort of insincerity.

that's not to say that you should relegate your faith into some compartment of your life. just realize that coming off too strong from any perspective could very well alienate the adcom and frame you as being out of touch with the general society.
 
Thanks everyone! This is really helpful. I think I am going to say something about how I believe my purpose in life is to have faith and work out that faith through my daily interactions with people. If they want me to go into more detail then I will bring up my specific beliefs in Jesus.
Thanks all!
 
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