Modern Religious Experience: Reflection #9: The Incarnation of God: "After viewing 'The Nativity Story', analyzing your chosen Christmas carol, and reading Philippians 2:1-7, reflect on the meaning of Christma..."
Jesus in the Christmas carol that I chose is described as the King if Israel. He is also described as the Holy Spirit in the movie, when the angel Gabriel was telling Mary and Joseph in separate encounters about what will happen. The songs and stories all say that he is God, and that he is the new King coming. The Christmas carol I chose to analyze is the First Noel, and it is a song basically telling about how the shepherds and the wise men came to Jesus when he was born. The first two lines of the song, "The First Noel, the Angels did say, Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay," describes how the angel came to the shepherds and told them to follow the star, and visit Jesus. A few verses after, the song sings, "Then entered in those Wise men three, Full reverently upon their knee, And offered there in His presence, Their gold and myrrh and frankincense," is what the Wise men did when they went up to Jesus after following the star for many months. The chorus of the song is repeated throughout the song. "Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, Born is the King of Israel," which is the angel saying to the wise men and the shepherds that Jesus is the King of Israel. I think that god would come to earth as a baby because he wanted to experience life like a human.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Modern Religious Experience: Reflection #8 Islam: Two Perspectives
Modern Religious Experience: Reflection #8 Islam: Two Perspectives: "Find where Islamic religious beliefs intersect with current events. Research a Western news source on the story and summarize the article fr..."
[ http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/11/20/afghanistan.violence/index.html ]
[ http://www.hindustantimes.com/Cycle-bomb-kills-three-in-Afghanistan/Article1-628723.aspx ]
Both of these articles are about a recent bicycle bomb in Afghanistan.
The western article (cnn article) says that the bicycle bombers were back-to-back, and that 3 people were killed and 36 injured. The first bicycle bomb was exploded near a hospital, killing the three people and injuring 25. Another bomb injured 11 people.
The article from the Islamic country's point of view is similar to the western, stating that 3 people had died and 25 people were injured. Unlike the western article, however, this article told that two of the three people who died was a child and a woman. This article was also more focused on the main location of the bomb, with details of the general area it was in.
The role that Islam played in this story is the suiside bombing, or the idea that Muslims should kill themselves for Allah.
[ http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/11/20/afghanistan.violence/index.html ]
[ http://www.hindustantimes.com/Cycle-bomb-kills-three-in-Afghanistan/Article1-628723.aspx ]
Both of these articles are about a recent bicycle bomb in Afghanistan.
The western article (cnn article) says that the bicycle bombers were back-to-back, and that 3 people were killed and 36 injured. The first bicycle bomb was exploded near a hospital, killing the three people and injuring 25. Another bomb injured 11 people.
The article from the Islamic country's point of view is similar to the western, stating that 3 people had died and 25 people were injured. Unlike the western article, however, this article told that two of the three people who died was a child and a woman. This article was also more focused on the main location of the bomb, with details of the general area it was in.
The role that Islam played in this story is the suiside bombing, or the idea that Muslims should kill themselves for Allah.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Modern Religious Experience: Personal Commemoration- Reflection #7
Modern Religious Experience: Personal Commemoration- Reflection #7: "Think of an event in your life- past, present or future. You are going to create a commemorative ritual for this event. First, describe the ..."
The event that I would commemorate would be the day winter vacation starts. I would make that the event to commemorate because in winter vacation, many things happen that are commemorated in my family. The commemoration will last until the day after winter vacation starts. My birthday, Christmas Eve & Christmas Day, new years eve & new years day are all events that we celebrate throughout the winter break. We would do this commemoration to celebrate the upcoming events that we will be celebrating together. A phrase that we will recite during the commemoration will be, "Yay, winter vacation is here!". The ritual for this event wont be very big, just something like baking a simple cake or cookies, and eating them with the company of each other. The pilgrimage we will do is either when my other family members come to visit us or my family travels to visit them. There will be no ritual clothing. A physical action that we will do is just to hug each other or something simple like that.
The event that I would commemorate would be the day winter vacation starts. I would make that the event to commemorate because in winter vacation, many things happen that are commemorated in my family. The commemoration will last until the day after winter vacation starts. My birthday, Christmas Eve & Christmas Day, new years eve & new years day are all events that we celebrate throughout the winter break. We would do this commemoration to celebrate the upcoming events that we will be celebrating together. A phrase that we will recite during the commemoration will be, "Yay, winter vacation is here!". The ritual for this event wont be very big, just something like baking a simple cake or cookies, and eating them with the company of each other. The pilgrimage we will do is either when my other family members come to visit us or my family travels to visit them. There will be no ritual clothing. A physical action that we will do is just to hug each other or something simple like that.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Reflection #6 - The Morality of Greek Myths
The Greek myth that I was a nymph in was the Origins of Seasons. It is a story about how Persephone, the daughter of Demeter (the goddess of fertility, marriage, and agriculture), becomes Hades' queen. It is an explaination of how the seasons were created. When Persephone was kidnapped by Hades, Demeter refused to let anything grow because she was so heartbroken. When Hermes comes to take Persephone back to Earth, Hades begged her to eat something with him, and she ate a pomegranate. But when someone eats food from the underworld, it means that they can never leave. Since Persephone only ate seven seeds, she had to stay in the underworld for seven months which makes Demeter sad, so nothing can grow for seven months, which is like fall and winter. When spring and summer come though, it is when Persephone is freed from the underworld for five months, and Demeter is happy again. The Greeks used this story to understand the changing of seasons better, and how they originated.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Reflection #5: Bongwonsa Temple and Nature Walk
Modern Religious Experience: Reflection #5: Bongwonsa Temple and Nature Walk: "After visiting the Zen Buddhist Temple, Bongwonsa and attempting to see nature as a Taoist, answer this question: What is it about creation,..."
In my opinion, I think that many people look at things like nature and think that there is some kind of God creating it because, if you take time to actually question and look at something as simple as a mouse or a flower, you would realize that its actually really extraordinary, the way they naturally ended up living and looking like they do. That would probably lead to wondering if there is something that had created them to be so complex. People usually spend their lives seeking out religious truths probably because they want to have answers to all their unanswerable questions, find peace with themselves, such as in Buddhism and Hinduism, and also worship their God for all the creations it has made.
In my opinion, I think that many people look at things like nature and think that there is some kind of God creating it because, if you take time to actually question and look at something as simple as a mouse or a flower, you would realize that its actually really extraordinary, the way they naturally ended up living and looking like they do. That would probably lead to wondering if there is something that had created them to be so complex. People usually spend their lives seeking out religious truths probably because they want to have answers to all their unanswerable questions, find peace with themselves, such as in Buddhism and Hinduism, and also worship their God for all the creations it has made.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Reflection #4: Buddhist Meditation
Modern Religious Experience: Reflection #4: Buddhist Meditation: "Spend 20 mintues in a silent meditation; a place you won't be disturbed, your own 'fig tree' as was Buddha's inspiration. In those 20 mintue..."
Trying to sit still and trying to minimize all distractions around me was a lot harder than I thought it would be. For twenty minutes I sat at my desk chair, with my bedroom door closed to try and concentrate on meditating. When I thought about how I could attain "right thoughts", I thought about the people who gave up almost everything they had to try and follow all of the right steps. Just thinking about discarding everything I own made me realize how much these people gave up to achieve nirvana. I didnt exactly have the "right concentration", because even though I was alone and in a quiet space, I distracted myself from concentrating by concentrating too much on things that didn't even relate to this assignment. I found it hard to control my mind to stay focused on only one topic at a time without wandering off. I didn't really have any kind of inspiration, because I wasn't able to stay focused 80% of the time, but what I learned was that meditation is really time consuming, and only really works when you are willing to concentrate and let yourself relax.
Trying to sit still and trying to minimize all distractions around me was a lot harder than I thought it would be. For twenty minutes I sat at my desk chair, with my bedroom door closed to try and concentrate on meditating. When I thought about how I could attain "right thoughts", I thought about the people who gave up almost everything they had to try and follow all of the right steps. Just thinking about discarding everything I own made me realize how much these people gave up to achieve nirvana. I didnt exactly have the "right concentration", because even though I was alone and in a quiet space, I distracted myself from concentrating by concentrating too much on things that didn't even relate to this assignment. I found it hard to control my mind to stay focused on only one topic at a time without wandering off. I didn't really have any kind of inspiration, because I wasn't able to stay focused 80% of the time, but what I learned was that meditation is really time consuming, and only really works when you are willing to concentrate and let yourself relax.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Reflection #3- Gandhi: Hindu and Activist
Ghandhi had many good values like non-violence, acceptance, and peace. Since he was a Hindu, he had mostly Hindu values too, and his idea of Hinduism was probably based off his values. I think that the way Hinduism allows you to accept many other religions and the way karma shows that if you do good, good will come back to you influenced Ghandi to make him think of non-violence. In the movie, there was a scene where Ghandi told the group of people that he was a Hindu, Muslim, Jew, and a Christian, which shows that Ghandi appreciated all of the different kinds of religions, and that he knows that there can be peace between all different types of cultures and people. In his little village, he tried to create equality between the different castes so there wouldn't be so much separation and differences with the people there.
Non-violence was what Ghandi showed that he mostly wanted that to spread throughout India. "An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind." This quote shows that Ghandi knew that revenge wasn't the best way to go against the British, and if they fought back violently, it would just go into a cycle of trying to get even with each other, which would end very badly. Ghandi lived this out by telling lots and lots of people not to fight back with violence, and that non-violence was the best way to go because it would make the British realize what they were actually doing to the Indians.
Non-violence was what Ghandi showed that he mostly wanted that to spread throughout India. "An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind." This quote shows that Ghandi knew that revenge wasn't the best way to go against the British, and if they fought back violently, it would just go into a cycle of trying to get even with each other, which would end very badly. Ghandi lived this out by telling lots and lots of people not to fight back with violence, and that non-violence was the best way to go because it would make the British realize what they were actually doing to the Indians.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Assignment #3 - Sacred Poetry
Ancient statues carved from stone
created by the Rapanui people alone
eight hundred and eighty seven statues stand
without many decorations, some think they are bland.
Looking out to the sea, and gazing in towards the land
resting upon the island's sand
hard work and effort of transporting and crafting is shown
with a mysterious purpose that is unknown.
Nobody knows why they are there
they could have been chiefs, decoration, or representing something
but the people of Easter Island handle them with care
so many tourists can visit them, and call them interesting.
information:
- created between 1250 and 1500 CE.
- they are monolithic human figres carved from rock.
- their heads are 3/5 the size of their bodies.
- they are on the Polynesian island of Easter Island in Chile, and in Ahu Tongariki.
- some people believe they could have been embodiments of former chiefs or important lineage symbols.
- there are about 887 moai statues.
- they were created by the Rapanui people, the Polynesian people in Easter Island.
- the creation and transportation of the moai statues is considered a phyical and remarkable feat.
- the average sized moai statue weighs about 20 tons.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Modern Religious Experience: Reflection Question #1
Modern Religious Experience: Reflection Question #1: "According to Mircea Eliade religion has 'not vanished without a trace; [it] has contributed toward making us what we are today and so, after..." In what ways has religion contributed toward your personal history?
In my family, religion doesn't take up a lot of space in our lives. One thing about religion that has contributed toward my personal history is the way my parents decided to send me to a christian school, so I could learn some of the values Christians have, since we don't go to church at all. We celebrate most holidays, like Easter and Christmas. One thing we sometimes do in the winter time is a religious Swedish tradition called Santa Lucia, which is a light festival. Another way religion has influenced my personal history is the way my family values coming together with our large family during the holidays. Since religion isn't a very big value in my life, I don't have any totems or religious stuff in my family's house.
In my family, religion doesn't take up a lot of space in our lives. One thing about religion that has contributed toward my personal history is the way my parents decided to send me to a christian school, so I could learn some of the values Christians have, since we don't go to church at all. We celebrate most holidays, like Easter and Christmas. One thing we sometimes do in the winter time is a religious Swedish tradition called Santa Lucia, which is a light festival. Another way religion has influenced my personal history is the way my family values coming together with our large family during the holidays. Since religion isn't a very big value in my life, I don't have any totems or religious stuff in my family's house.
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