Book 3, Ch. 11-12 In one sense, faith merely means belief - the accepting of dogmas and doctrines and believing they are true. We must constantly remind ourselves of what we believe, and why we believe it. If it is not fed, it may consequently wither away. With the second sense of the word faith, we will only discover how we have failed as Christians if we try for quite some time to practice Christian virtues. We must not consider God in Himself reaping benefits as a result of a barter or trade-off.
Book 4, Ch. 1 Theology, though often seen as superfluous, is essential in having the most accurate depiction of God - who He is, what His role is in our daily lives. Although theology seems nothing but the neat little dogmas and forumula about Him, it is in fact a map that aides significantly in better understanding God and clearing up many misconceptions. The reason theology is valid rather than extraneous is that it is predicated upon experiences of those who were in touch with God.
Book 4, Ch. 2-3 Only Christianity offers an idea of how "human souls can be taken into the life of God" and become more themselves than ever before. Because we can not fully imagine a three-personal Being, it is only fruitful that we be led to Him rather than simply talk. We pray to God but He also motivates our prayers and is the means of reaching Him more fully. God hears all who pray as He is not confined to time. Every moment is now to Him.
Book 4, ch. 4-6 The three person of God exist simultaneously and through these three person we find the happiness for which we were made. We are all to become "little Christs". The spiritual life that we develop opposes our natural life and our motives that entail. Through God, happiness has been established and is accesable. We can only achieve it through living as God intended. When we become close to God, we attain salvation. Individuals are part of a larger entity and contribute different things.
Book 4, Ch. 7-8 The faulty nature of humans ultimately depends on God's saving grace to cleanse our souls. For this reason, though we must be thankful for our fellow humans, we are to "recognize the real giver" - God. Relying on humans will only let us down. Our desires centered our personal benefits get in the way of our trying to be Christians, and thus, we must make efforts to follow the path in which Christianity leads us.
Book 4, Ch 9-10 We cannot become wholely "perfect" but God sets out to see to it that we become perfect in that He is not only pleased but satisfied with His creation. He will never abandon this endeavor. We can choose to reject Him or embrace Him, but if we embrace Him we will be perfect - not in this life, but in heaven. Religion means nothing if it does not provide for a change in behavior for the better. Also, one who is drawn to Christ without accepting Christian doctrine completely is more of a Christian than one who call himself by that name without being drawn to Christ.
Book, Ch. 11 The steps toward beoming New Men are voluntary in that we can choose to take it or choose to be left behind. Christ is the first instance of a New Man because He is the origin and center and life of all New Men. He gives us the new life through contact with Him, thrugh "good infection." Lewis believes that the differences among Christians are a "disease of infancy. Thus, we have time to settle differences. Becoming New Men involves losing our present selves.
Brodd, chap. 1+2 Through studying different religions of the world, we come across similarities and differences between them. Monotheism is common to Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Primal religions on the other hand involve worshipping many gods who play particular roles in the earthly facets of the peoples lives. All religions however seek to answer questions about creation, ethics and seek to connect earthly existance with an ethereal humanity.
"Sacred" and "Profane" Eliade starts by pointing out that while definitions of religious phenonenoms all show that the sacred and religious are the opposite of the profance and secular life, this distinction becomes difficult when you start to set limits. The author also says that to study even one religion fully would take a life time, and that to study more than one would be exceptionally complex. He describes how all religions develop in a historical context, and that every hireophany, or manifestation of the holy, is affected by the age in which in occurs. He concludes that some religious views, or hierophanies, are of universal value and significance, while others are of local or time-limited value, because they are not open to other cultures.
Brodd, Ch. 11 Western civilization gave birth to religious beliefs and practices of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. There are however other religions than those of Western culture. Zoroasterism is very similar to Christianity and Judaism in that Zorastrans believe in the judgement of the soul after death and in an afterlife. Ethical dualism is its most distinctive feature. This is the belief in universal forces of good and evil. Ancient Greek religions worshiped many anthropomorphic gods.
Iliad reading 2 chap 6. As the battle of Troy ensues, both the Trojan and Achaian soldiers struggle and suffer. Much as Christians pray to God for strength and guidence, the warriors and their families pray to Zeus and Athena and even pilgrimage to Mount Olympus in praise. The gods are a major component of their daily life and their piety mirrors that of modern day Christians or Jews. A succesful warrior was said to be favored by the gods. For example, Bellerophantes was glorified because of his prowess in killing, but when he offended the gods, he was stripped of his glory.
Iliad reading 3 chap. 9 The Achaean warriors are despondent because they feel that they are losing the battle. Although some warriors want to retreat,diomedes and nestor urge to continue fighting and tries to convince achilles to persevere as well. To the troops dismay,Achilles expresses that he wishes to return home.
QUARTER 2
Iliad 3, chapter 11. With the absence of Achilles for most of chapter 11, the Achaean army suffered heavy losses initially. They were later inspired odysseus' and Diomedes'encoraging words. A harsh battle then ensued and During the course of the battle, Diomedes and Odysseus are injured. The Achaean army had suffered many casualties and when Machaon is seriously injured, Nestor coaxes Patroclus to persuade Achilles to re-join the war effort to fend off the Trojan soldiers and to fortify the Acaean army.
Brodd 3;Hinduism. Hindus believe in one God but believe you can worship him in any aspect as pleases you. This liberal approach to religion is drastically different from how the western religions view theology. The liberal view that Hindus have of God promostes for harmony between and tolerance for others. They value the concerns of human beings greatly and focus the destiny of humanity. Salvation, or Moksha, is what the Hindus believe to be the ultimate goal of man's existance. Moksha is said to be a release from the finite earthly existance into contact with the ethereal prescence or the divine. Hindus believe that most people to not attain Moksha in one life alone and for this reason they believe in reincarnation, where they live numerous lives in efforts to become pure enough to arrive at Moksha.
scripture 1. creation hymn similar to genesis, but different in that Hindu's believe in many many gods. Some beings were created from other. They believe that from the man, animals and other humans are created. As far as death goes, hindu's believed that the deceased would be reincarnated.
Iliad xii, chapter 12. In chapter 12,Homer talks about how the ancient Greeks and Trojans believed in omens and protents from the gods. Polydomas told Hectot that seeing an eagle ave to drop a snake after being bitten meant that the trojans should not attack the greek fort. Like in other chapters, the gods play active roles in the battles and they choose favorates.
Scripture 2
The upanishads. Rather than providing a factual creation story and story of existance, the upansihads, like the Judaeo-Christian accounts in the old testament, they serve as story to express how teh world was created. Also, much like parables, the upanishads are didactic stories meant to instruct people as to how they should live according to hindu beliefs. Just like the Christian goal is admittance into heaven, the Hindu goal is to be pure to the point where reincarnation is no longer necessary because near-moral perfection has been acheived.
Scripture 4-
Eliade. On Community. There is no religion of one. The community aspect of religion is one of the four essential componenst of religion- the others being creed, cult and discipline. In fact, relagri, the latin word from which religion gets its name, means community. Without a community and the shared common beliefs that are shared by that community, the " religion" lacks a following a following, which in turn, takes away from the dicispline aspect of religion. Religions as primitive as the tribal beliefs of the aboriginees or as rich in history as Judaism or Christianity, the aspect of community in religion is there. Just as a sense of community builds a society, it also builds a religion- or at least keeps it going. Seeking a community and surrounding yourself with people of similar beliefs is not only necessary for the functioning of a religion, it is also in many ways natural for humans to do, and essential in both the building up of and survival of religion and society.
Brodd ch. 4. Buddhism.
An interesting point raised in the reading was the mentioning of the "Middle Way". Rather than denying one's self certain pleasures in life, Buddhism embraces finding contentment through living in moderation without being overly indulgent. Buddhists believed that to be spiritually happy, the mind, body, and spirit must be happy as well. The effect that the "middle way ideology" has on Guatama was that because he was free of distractions he could focus and enter meditative trances. Thorogh these meditations it was said that he could find enlightenment and insight into human nature and the human condition. Some trances, the first watch in particular allowed guatama to "percieve his own preivious .... a continuous journey of sufffering." Enlightenment is the only freedom from the suffering that our earthly existance entails. One other interestion point mentioned was the similarity between Hinduism and Buddhism.
Brodd ch 5-6. Jainism, Sikhism.
Jainsim, like Hinduism and Buddhism, is based on cycles of time. In fact, reincarnation is a doctrine sahred by all three. The religious goal of salvation consists of liberation. Ahimsa, "nonviolence", is important to Buddhists and Hindus but is the central principle for Jainism. Because living like this is such a hard task, it can only be accomplished only by strict asceticism, or rigorous self denial, which is a major difference between Jainists and Buddhists. The Jainist belief about upward and downward cycles struck me as an interesting yet grimly humorous. Upward cyclical turning of the wheel brought about an improvement in the world, downward turn brought about a period of decay and decadence. They believe the world is currently is in the fifth stage, nearing the end of a downward turn because "people are meaner now" and that "people now lack the moral or spiritual competence to attain salvation." Sikhism is similar to Islam in that it is monotheistic. similarly enough to Hinduism as well, they believe that salvation is a mystical union with God. Sikhism involves teachings similar to both faiths. Closely related to Buddhisms' Buddha, is Sikhisms' Guru Nanak who found enlightenment. Ties to Christianity exist as well. The similarness of the life of Nanak to Jesus is explicitly striking, espesecially the bit about dying at the age of around thirty and coming back to earth three days later. The quotation about the cup, is so similar that had I not known better, I would think iwas reading an excerpt from the last supper
Whats Bred In bone- all three segments. Davies. To tell the truth, up until the last sentence of page 59, I had no idea what was going on and did not at all enjoy what I had read. On page 62, after reading the first paragraph, I became aware of what directions the book could go as it developed. That paragraph, about Francis' first encounter with beauty and glimpse into deeper things in life, was the turning point for me. Although at a young age, the peony incident shaped his life as an observer of life and creation. It shaped his life in that he would grow up observing the world around him- the beauty and splendor, as well as the spite and corruption that he encountered. Being fully aware of his surroundings and the occurances in his life allow Francis to see the world as it it really is. Later on in the book, art is introduced into his life. Francis preferred sketches that were seen as garbage by most others who largely preferred classic art by classic artists. It comes as no surprise however that Francis is attracted to art that is somehow imperfect though. Francis realizes that the world is not perfect and you must see it for what it is and not for what you would like it to be. It seems to me that the idea of imperfect things is quite attractive to Francis. The peony described on page 62 was "unchaste, dishevelled....and at its height of beauty"- surely Davies does this on purpose. Another interesting thing about Francis is how through being a seemingly passive spectator in life rather than an active participant, he in many ways, lives more fully than those who are active- In fact, through being a spectator he is more active than most people who live there life without taking hold off the significances in life. Francis is aware of how people act and how greedy or lustful or selfish they can be, but he is also more aware of the beauty that wonderful things posses, certainly more so than one who doesnt observe life constantlyAlot of who francis is comes from his upbringing which was harsh and very lonely. Without that lifestyle, francis would not have become the observer that he became.
ANTHROPOS
Entry 1 In order to write poems or intellectual musings or writings that acurately capture the emotions or significances of things in life, You have to be aware of things in a way that you might not normally be. This involves observation, reflection, open mindedness and a desire to exlpore the world that most people don't see. Not only is my anthropos project a observatory and thought drill, but a great a challenge is to document experiences in the form of art; in this case literature of various kinds. You told me to learn formal techniques of poetry, which I have not yet done. I do think that the anthropos project would mean more to me if I were able to go about my writings uninhibited and focusing on the emotions expressed in each writing rather than worrying about if what I have written is technically sound. Of course i plan on having well written peices however. Through practice, i will become better and better and i thik the progress will be evident. I chose to do this project because i felt i was capable of doing it and because the end product would be a nice token to have with me as it documents a part of my life. I'm eager to see what I pull together each update. Not everything I write will be used in the project
Entry 2 I've done quite a lot of work lately for my anthropos. ive written around 6 peices so far. Im not sure if I will use all the parts and im sure i will make changes, but I had to start somewhere and im making fine progress. A peice that I'm particularly proud of is actually a religious one. I have used symbolism and imagery so I guess you could say that it has a certain amount of literary technique. a tough thing to do is think to yourself or explain to someone else what prompted you to write it or for what purpose. I certainly didnt write it expressly for the anthropos project. I dont any of them will be forced in a such a way to produce material solely for grading purposes. I suppose I may try to add explanations of some sort to go along with my writings, whether they explain what im talking about, or to serve as a guide to find another meaning that may be particular to people individually. My 6 writings are quite diverse, and that pleases me. Rather than sitting down and writing a full composition all the time, I sometimes jot down notes so i can gather thoughts or peice things together and tie in various ideas together. I find it helpful to jot down these notes especially if I am too busy to take time to elaborate on them more fully or if I am afraid I might forget an idea that has popped into my head
Entry 3 Without doubt, i have been through a period or writers block. Not to worry however, because i am always able to take note of a line or two that i think of even if i draw a blank for everything else. although sometimes unintentional, this peacemeal process and slowed-down pace is helpful in that it keeps me from rushing or just cranking compositions out at a rapid rate. This way, they are at least inspired in some way b/c i have to wait for something to write about rather than just force myself to think of stuff to get the job done. As far as progress goes, despite the writers block, I have been able to get some quality work done in my slow approach. I don't have many more whole writings (a writing that i consider to be more or less complete before final revisions and changes) than I did at the time of my last update. But to be honest, the ideas and concepts I have up to this point have helped me find a firm basis from which to build from. I can at least say that my project is coming along nicely.
Entry 4 I had alot of down time over Christmas break in which i was able to spend time that is hard to come by when school is in session. I was able o work with a clear head and little distraction . you're probably interested in the subject matter of what I have done so far and what I plan to do. Personally, I have written lyrical peices that were not meant to be included in my project. I play in a band and write songs. although this project has nothing to do with music, I think I very well may include some of the lyrics in songs, depending on whether i think they are fit to be used or not. Songs are certainly similar to poetry but they serve a different purpose. Accompanied with music, the lyrics have a lesser need to be insightful or intelligent than a poem by itself does. For that reason i may just use the basic premise of them and work only with peices of them. So far In my writings, I have addressed subjects such as religion, intrapersonal conflicts, bitter fueds between people, satirical bits about the overly ambitious, two upbeat peice on armegeddon, reassurance when for those who doubt themselves, and of course there are a fistful of compositions that are chock full of teenage emotion (without sounding overly sappy or whinny, I assure you). There are definaltley recurring themes in alot of the writings, but not so that they sound repititive- each one cleasrly has a very different emphasis. As these songs are meant to capture the essence of emotions that we all experience in our lives, not all will be happy, not all will be sad, not all will be as easliy understood.
Third Quarter Circumlectio
In What's Bred in the Bone, some topics touched upon are notions of development of a person, the importance of relationships in that development, and the importance of being an observer in what is going on around you. At the end of the book, when Francis returns to Canada, Canada is not the same as it was when since he had left just as he is not the same person he was as he was growing up. The change that Francis, as well most people, undergoes comes naturally. But at the same time, change is in part the product or result of being subjected to different environments and surroundings and how one adapts to those surroundings and what one takes away with them from it altogether. Early on in his life, Francis could have been labeled as an introverted spectator of the world around him, never fully engaging himself with that world. Later on, Francis becomes engrossed in art. He sketched virally everything he saw. Simply more than recreation, Francis was creating a part of himself- as we would later find out from daimon Maimas that through creating art, he created or fulfilled his soul because it was his sense of purpose and his work deeply reflected and revealed who Francis Cornish was. So, in Francis' case, he grew into his own not by doing his job restoring paintings, but rather by creating/ forging art. It was not his job to paint, but painting is what made Francis who he became or who he was to become all along. In the case of the Nazi soldier who seeks forgiveness from Simon Wiesenthal, he did his job as it was to be done. In doing his job he was not fulfilled, be it spiritually, artistically, or emotionally. He was not fulfilled because his in his job there was no sense of becoming something, or no sense of creating something as there was with Francis. Although Francis' work was deceitful and dishonest, it still allowed Francis to grow because it was done with a purpose; to sell fraudulent art to Nazi Germany in exchange for high quality art. The nazi could never become anything more than a pawn that carries out orders from a leader. Another issue in Sunflower is the question of forgiveness. Does one have the authority to legitamately fogive a criminal for a crime that has not been commited against the person forgiving? and also, are there limits on forgiveness? The problem Simon Weisenthal and his fellow jewish prisoners had with forgiving the repentant Nazi soldier was that they were in no position to forgive b/c the soldier had commited crimes against a large number of Jews and possibly not against anyone from whom he had asked forgiveness. From a Christian perspective, the nazi soldiers' plea for forgiveness did not come too late but from the perspective of the Jews in the concentration camp it certainly. Tied in with life choices and circumstances, the nazi soldier made the right choice too late and sought forgiveness from he who was not qualified to forgive.
CIRCUMLECTIO-QTR4
When taking a religion course in which a variety of religions from different regions in the world are discussed, it becomes hard, at the end of the course, to pick out the details of each religion and recall terms and figures important in developing a religion. It’s difficult to call to mind the various books and sacred texts and all of their subject matter. What I do know, and what I will remember from this course is the primary function of each religion as it pertains to its respective region/community. In the beginning of the year, I studied how certain religions came to be, studied the cosmology and order of the universe according to those traditions. Also, early on, the course established that although different in form and practice, religion virtually seeks a common goal. This goal has many names for it, but primarily it is an experience of something outside of yourself and outside of what you know life to be through your existence on Earth. Religion is not simply an identity but it is an experience of the Divine. Whether revealed in the case of Judeo-Christianity or found through enlightenment (known as immanence), it is a lived experience. Just because religions more or less move toward a common goal does not mean that they are not different in their approach in advancing to this goal. Different religions around the world have different conceptions of God (different names, and quite different in form and role as well). These particular conceptions lead to different lifestyles and perspectives on life, just as living in different global regions and societies leads to a different perspective on life. Aside from the external features of religion, I will now focus on internal aspects of Human Beings in regard to Religion. A large component of Religion stems from what it is to be Human. According to coordinating lecture II, being human is having consciousness. The way I understand this is being aware of one’s surroundings and asking questions about existence, about what exists outside of our world, our universe. Religions arise as people try to answer questions about life, how it is how it is, why it is how it is, and what one is supposed to do with it. The way we understand and interpret our divinity mirrors the way we organize our societies. In religions like Christianity and Judaism, Humans see themselves as the center of the universe and made in God’s image. The way we construct a particular anthropology is based on the goals and values of a particular religion and religious community. What a constructed anthropology seeks to bring to the forefront is knowledge and understanding about the source of human life, the status of the human person, the direction of life (that is, that certain religious move towards different things in different ways), and the role of others in the world, in a particular community and the role that you have in regards to them. Various anthropologies can only be constructed, however, when the people of a religion understand the Divine or at least have to come to grips with their concept of the Divine and how the anthropology surrounding it all ought to be constructed. In most cases, especially in the primitive religions including the religions of Native Americans and Ancient Greeks, the anthropology was constructed around what they needed, and also what they valued (food, glory, battle, survival).In a religion like Zen Buddhism, which is practiced alone rather than in a community, the focus is on one’s own enlightenment. Because of this, the sense of order in the Universe that surrounds the religion is different than that of Christianity, or other religions. Also, because of many different anthropologies among various religions, the focus and aim of a religion will not necessarily be the same as another religion. In most cases, there are glaring differences found between religions in the way they order the world alone, without getting into other aspects of the religion such as their traditions, etc. On a similar note, the way a religion, tradition, or rituals integral to a religion develop depends on what type of religion it is and how it was founded. For example, Hinduism has no true founder and they developed markedly differently from Buddhism- a religion with a solid founder. With religions without founders, traditions and all the things that go into a religion are born out of and integrated into social institutions. Buddhism is a good religion to use as an example of a figure who radically departs from society- someone who is on a journey or quest to find “something” (journey motif). As a result of the Journey, a new society along with a new set of principles and ideas that make up a new religion is brought to life. Something I have been confused about since the latter part of the first semester is the difference between Community and Society. It’s been a whole semester since I was introduced to them and I still probably do not have the grasp that you would wish I had with them, but what I do think I am clear about regarding them is that tradition within a community is more rooted in religion. Scripture, ritual (a non-literary way of telling a story) and law or set of rules are three components that make up tradition as part of a community. Tradition as part of society is more similar to a government or parliament and in approach, it is somewhat similar to them. The parts of tradition and society are social institution, law, and history. Ok, so this year in religion class I have studied numerous religions, discussed their take on life, their goals, the path they follow in reaching their goals and learned all about how religions in general are structured. I have been exposed to the many similarities that exist between religions and how some religions seem to be a mix of two or three other religions. I have also seen the differences that make each religion unique. Although I took a challenging high school religion course, I understand that there is a lot about religion and how it represents individuals and people within communities that I have not yet mastered. What I learned on the first day of class- the whole thing about how religion seeks to connect earthly existence with an ethereal presence that we devote our lives trying to experience- is probably what will stick in my head if everything else that I learned finds a way out
