Reflection #9: The Incarnation of God

“Bring a torch, Jeanette, Isabella 

Bring a torch, to the cradle run! 
It is Jesus good folk of the villiage; 
Christ is born and Mary's calling; 
Ah! ah! beautiful is the mother 
Ah! ah! beautiful is her son!”
-Bring a Torch Jeanette Isabella

Jesus is described as the Savior of the world and the long awaited Messiah for His people.  The stories, songs, and Scriptures also agree with this title and also give him other powerful names.  In my Christmas carol, Bring a Torch Jeanette Isabella, it tells of the excitement of the Christ’s birth.  It is calling people to come and worship the new-born baby Jesus, who is worthy of the praise along with his mother Mary for her dedication to God.  Faith in God was necessary for Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and the Persian astrologers for them to complete their role in the Christmas story and make the way for Jesus to come into this world.  The reason Jesus came to earth as a baby was to be able to one of His people and interact with them personally.  He wanted to live among us to know about our lives in a firsthand account.  This shows how He is a personal God and truly wants to have a relationship with each and every one of us.  

Reflection #8-Islam: Two Perspectives

Western Article: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/mosque_madness_at_ground_zero_OQ34EB0MWS0lXuAnQau5uL/0

Muslim Article:  http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2010/09/muslim-world-planned-mosque-near-ground-zero-seen-as-opportunity-to-correct-misconceptions-about-islam.html

In this news article by The New York Post, the writer talks about the mixed, especially the negative, views on the purposed building plans of a mosque 2 blocks away from Ground Zero in New York City.  The critiques feel like building a mosque there would be “a slap in the face” and that the Muslims are being insensitive to 9/11 and its victims.  The families of the victims feel like that putting a mosque there would be like reopening the wounds that have just started to heal.  Overall, the view of this mosque is negative and has not been taken well by the public.  However, the Financial District Committee of Community Board has approved the project to move forward along with President Obama.  Some citizens also support the project saying that America is founded that it has religious freedom and we should put the mosque there to express that along with recognizing that being Muslim does not mean being a terrorist. 

I looked up a second news article coming from The Jakarta Post that comes out of Indonesia which is the largest Muslim nation in the world.  In this article they are critiquing the critiques of the mosque at Ground Zero.  They think that the people who oppose are ignorant and don’t know the full story and it is all out hatred and prejudice.  The Islam religion and values are also examined on how Muslims don’t follow the same ideals as the terrorists and is actually an anti-terrorist and peaceful religion.  Lastly, it talks about America and its values.  They believe that America should stand by its freedom of religion and it is not known as “the Christian United States of America” and therefore should accept Islam.  

Both of these articles address issues with the mosque being built near Ground Zero and the view points on it.  The Western view of the situation is more negative towards Muslims and against the idea of the mosque.  The Muslim view is not as concerned with the mosque but is more focused on the opposition toward Muslims seen in Americans.  They back it up their religion through explanations of their religion and criticism of America.  Both articles find issues with the other side supporting them both with valid facts making the mosque on Group Zero an equal and heated debate.   

Personal Commemoration- Reflection #7

An event that I want to commemorate is the day I discovered the actor, Johnny Depp.  I first was introduced to this brilliant actor when watching the movie, Pirates of the Caribbean, with my mother.  The moment which he entered the movie, I gasped and asked my mom “who is that?!” and was told that he was Johnny Depp.  From that moment, Johnny Depp has become a big part of my life.  I have watched his movies over and over again and my room is decorated in Johnny Depp merchandise ranging from magnets and bobble heads to blankets and a life size poster.  To commemorate this event, I will celebrate this day starting on his birthday, June 9^th.  The event will include a Johnny Depp’s movie marathon, a Johnny Depp character dress-up party, and a gallery of his pictures.  This event will last for 3 days to commemorate Johnny Depp’s favorite number.  Each guest that comes to this event will have to bring their favorite Johnny Depp quote or movie line that will be read out loud during the party.  A phrase that will be said at this ritual will be “Just.  What a horrible candle-snuffing word.  That’s like saying he is just an actor” which is a parody of one of his quotes from the movie Finding Neverland.  Finally, the guests will be fed Sticky Toffee Pudding which is one of his favorite foods.  It is important to commemorate this event not only to remember the day I was introduced to this actor but also to admire Johnny Depp’s amazing acting skills and dashing good-looks.  

The Mortality of Greek Myths-Reflection #6

Spinx

The Greek myth I preformed was the story of Damon and Pythias.  The story was about two loyal, devoted friends named Damon and Pythias.  One day the tyrant king had a dream that Pythias was trying to overthrow him so he sentenced him to death.  However Pythias asked if he could go and settle his affairs and the king agreed but only if he left someone in his place who would be killed if he didn’t return.  Pythias asked Damon to take his place and he accepted right away.  Even though Pythias was delayed in his return, he was still able to make it at the last moment to save his friend’s life. 

Along with being a good story, this Greek myth also presents life morals, answers, and virtues.  A moral that I found that was illustrated in this myth is a moral that came from one of Aesop’s fable. It states that “we must make friends in prosperity if we would have their help in adversity”.  This was seen in Damon and Pythias’s friendship because they already trusted each other completely and were loyal to their friendship before hardships came around.  When a conflict did show up they already had the trust and loyalty needed to help each other over come it.  If they had not had such a strong friendship prior to the death sentence, the story would not have had a happy ending.  The life mystery that this myth attempts to answer is the key to happiness and, in a way, the purpose of life.  In the myth, Damon and Pythias are loyal friends and are shown as leading happy lives while the tyrant king who does not have friends lives unhappily.  Even though this myth does not say that the purpose of life is to have friends, they do show that having good relationships are an important part of life and make the quality of life better as well.  From this story, it can be seen that an important value for the Greek was loyalty.  In the myth, loyalty can be seen in the friendship between Damon and Pythias.  Damon was loyal to Pythias by agreeing to take his place and Pythias was loyal to Damon by returning to save his life.  It shows us the importance of loyalty in relationships for them to work and be meaningful to our lives. 

Reflection #5: Bongwonsa Temple and Nature Walk

        I believe that people spend their lives seeking our religion, nurturing their faith, and worshipping creation for a variety of reasons.  One of the main reasons I think people seek out religion is to find answers to the meaning of life and what happens after death.  Humans always want to know the answer to the question “why?” and want to have a sense of what is going to happen.  Without a definite answer to these questions, it is unnerving for us.  We have had to interpret life as it appears to us which then leads to the formation of a religion as a solution to the lack of answers to these questions.  As seen by the existence of the many religions in the world, there are any ways people have interpreted the meaning of life and have created their own views on what happens after death.  At the Buddhist temple we got to hear firsthand of what Buddhist believe the meaning of life is.  We spent a lot of time hearing about enlightenment and the path to enlightenment through the elimination of worldly desires.  In one case, we walked around a temple that had paintings of the finding of a cow, taming the cow, and then letting the cow go again which is used as a representation of the path to enlightenment.  This set path of enlightenment and life helps set a clear meaning of life and understanding what is to be done to get to the afterlife and is calming to humans to have this answer and path to follow.  Another reason I believe people seek out religion is as a response to their amazement of the complexity and wonder of the natural world.  On the fieldtrip yesterday, we had a nice hike to the Buddhist temple and got to be outdoors.  Just looking around at the changing leaves, flowers, landscape, and plants, it is mind-blowing to think about the complexity of our world and how amazing it is that we are even alive.  It then makes you wonder how all of these things came to be because everything is so beyond anything that humans could ever create.  This then brings the idea of a supernatural and the worship of nature.  We have learned that in Taoism and Buddhism there is a strong emphasis on nature and that in Korea the people use to worship mountains and their Gods.  This practice is not absurd when just spending the time outdoors shows us how wondrous and supernatural the world around us is.  Overall this fieldtrip not only taught me more about Buddhism but also gave me a sense of appreciation and understand on why people seek out religions.    

Buddhist Meditation

When trying the different eightfold meditation in class, I found that one of my favorites was the third step of right speech where we had to list eight positive things that we were thankful for and the repeat a short positive phrase eight times.  So when we were assigned to meditate for 20 minutes out of class, I decided to use this one.  My meditative place was on my floor in my bedroom where I sat cross-legged.  At first I just tried to sit quietly and settle my thoughts but I was having trouble concentrating because of my thoughts wandering to other things and to the noise outside my room. To solve this, I found some quiet meditative music and played that in the background to limit the distracting sounds.  I then listed things I was thankful for and all of the positive aspects in my life.  After that, I just sat there trying to focus my mind and not have my thoughts wander.  Once I was finished I felt peaceful and felt a lot happier.  By thinking of all the good things in my life, my thinking became more positive.  I thought of people who were less fortunate than me and I felt blessed to have all that I have.  On top of that, just sitting still in silence was relaxing and peaceful.  I had trouble focusing my mind though even with the music.  I felt like I never really connected with anything and my mind would always wander onto the next thing.  Overall I felt like I was able to connect with the right speech by being more positive and I was inspired by realizing how blessed I am however I need to work on controlling my mind so I can concentrate better which will come with regular practicing of meditating.  

Gandhi Movie Reflection

           Gandhi is a movie about the true story of Mohandas Gandhi who was an influential Indian man who practiced nonviolence civil disobedience to gain rights and independence for India and its people.  Throughout the movie, Gandhi’s ideas of Hinduism of the acceptance of religions was shown and affected many of his actions.  Hinduism believes that there is a supreme being which they call Brahman.  Hindus, especially Gandhi, were able to accept other religions because of this belief because they believe the supreme being is present in other religion but t is just called other names and worshiped differently.  In the movie Gandhi tells one of the protestors of the Hindu-Muslim conflict that “I am a Muslim and a Hindu and a Christian and a Jew and so are all of you” which shows how he has accepted the other religions as his own because of his belief that they are able to be apart of his faith because of this Hinduism idea.  Another way Gandhi was able to show this idea was through his extreme opposition to the dividing of India by fasting until the fighting stopped between the Muslim and Hindus.  He believed that Muslim and Hinduism should be able to accept each other and be able to practice their religions at peace because Gandhi was able to accept them both into his faith. 

                Not only have many of Gandhi’s quotes have given new perspectives and insight into many people on ways they should live their lives, but they also shows ways in which Gandhi lived out his life and his faith.  One of these quotes are “an eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind”.   This quote shows Gandi’s idea for nonviolence which is a reflection of Gandhi’s faith.  Gandhi was able to lead a whole revolution against the British rule and win without using an act of violence towards them.  He believed that by fighting would only lead the British to get mad and fight back which would eventually lead to a war which is the equivalence of making the world blind because it does no good when people are dying.  Instead of fighting Gandhi used methods of fasting to oppose violence that was occurring.  This shows the selflessness views of Hinduism that Gandhi chose to carry out as a result of his faith.  

Totem Pole Poem

As I gaze upon the totem pole standing grand and tall,

Crests representing the history and beliefs of all. 

Different animals look down and over me,

All of them made and carved into a tall mighty tree. 

Each animal is important and has a story to share.

The guardian of the world is the big, brown bear,

The bringer of light is the raven soaring high,

And the red fox is very sneaky and sly. 

The owl represents wisdom and the dove is love,

While the eagle always watches from above. 

The totem pole is more that a Cedar tree,

They are symbols of our tribe and always will be.  

MRE: Reflection Question #1

How has religion contributed to your own personal history?

Religion has not only changed the history of the world and has affected the world we live in now, but religion has also contributed to my own history and made me the person I am today. I have been a Christian my entire life and have been raised in a strong Lutheran family. Lutheranism has been in my family as long as I can trace back and many people in my family tree are Lutheran pastors. Their strong faith has then helped me to accept and grow in my faith. It has also helped me to live by the morals and mores of the Christian religion such as prayer, reading scripture, attending worship, and living out the life Jesus attended us to live. The constant influence and history of Christianity in my life has also made me the person I am today beyond someone that simply practices Christianity. I feel that because of having this religion in my life I am more positive, a better decision maker, and more trusting. I can be positive because of knowing that there is a life after death in Heaven and that I have a God that looks out to me and who I can go to. I am able to make better decisions because of wanting to live a life that reflects my faith and I can be trusting that there is a God because of having faith that God is real and present in my life. I know that my faith is a reflection of the history of the Christian religion that has been constantly present in my life and it has and will continue to shape my personal history.