Reflecting

Going into this class, it was going to being the first time I ever focused on religious text. As odd as that is to say from a religion major, it is unfortunately true. Growing up, the closet church that was the Lutheran denomination that my family followed was 3 hours away. As a result, I grew up only saying I was "christian", and did not really know anything about the actual text of the Holy Bible. Needless to say, I was anxious to dive into this class and explore this untouched territory of my life.

First and foremost, what I enjoyed most about the class was the actual interpretation part of the course work. From the Mid-rash, to reading the Surah's, and finally creating our own sermons, I think they had the largest impact out of the course. I say this because it put us in the shoes of scholar practitioners within the respective religions, but it also has had an impact on the way I look at things in my everyday life.
For example, the four points that Samuel Proctor lay out for the sermon not only helped in writing the sermon, but I have begun to apply it to various parts of my life. Fun hobbies I have, or games I play with my friends I now see with the lens of his third point of genuine community. Not only that, but the four points inspired me to apply them to my other classes. Such as, I wrote about how a blog post called, Poetry is Not a Luxury, but Audre Lorde is is akin to its own religion, but also the recitation of the poetry is its own sermon. In other words, religion and scripture is everywhere, we just have to see it.

The Sermon

In the beginning, writing the sermon was a difficult task to say the least. I've never personally gone to church and been present for one. And looking through the Bible and writing my own in my eyes was going to be a mess. How was I going to start it? What would I be talking about? How would I make it convincing? These were the lingering thoughts I had as I attempted to write it. Thankfully, Samuel Proctor laid out four points that immensely helped in the process.

1. Is the universe friendly place?

2. Can this package of urges be reconciled to the will of God?
3. Is true community possible?
4. Is our space time frame of reference the only one, or is there more?

First and foremost, writing the sermon came right before finals week. My mind was almost entirely focused on what I had to do for that week. I knew I was going to stress, and I knew I would keep pushing this off because of procrastination. With that said, I began to think about the idea of procrastination and that of the second point of carnal urges being reconciled with. It was with this connection that I found my inspiration for my sermon, but I also found that focusing on that could branch out to all four as well. 

In my sermon, I quote Ephesians 3;14-19, in which it shares;

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith- that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

The fullness of God, the power he gives us to overcome difficulty, and the ability to live a more diverse life nails the first point because in overcoming difficulty we know God is there. Then, my sermon was about overcoming procrastination, in which fulfills the second. Next, the ability to live a full and accomplished life is that of the fourth point, our space time frame of reference. Finally, because of finals week, the sermon was relatable and in doing so made it readily assessable for genuine community to occur.

At the end of the day, it was at first difficult to compose a sermon. However, after reading Proctor’s four points, it was much easier to set my own base line, but also become inspired by the ever looming evens that were about to unravel. It to me, set the foundation for my finals week and honestly helped my through it. In other words, I found my own religious inspiration this project.

What is Scripture

At the beginning of class, if we were to answer the question; what is scripture? The answer that most likely would be given is that scripture is the written text of a given religion. By all means, this is a good answer and for the most part is accurate. However, as the course of the class unraveled we quickly uncovered that scripture does not necessarily pertain that of religious text, but instead is what we actually scripturalize. This is to say,  we can actually give something in our own lives great meaning, and in doing so that something can begin to transcend its initial meaning. It possess great depth and meaning for you, or perhaps a given community that you are a part of, but to other is may be insignificant. Therefore, it becomes its own form of scripture. In so far as, this means anything can become scripture.

With that said, I have recently been playing a video game that has had a lot of value in my life for the last decade. Shun me if you will, but I am an avid Call of Duty player. However, something that has exploded within this series is what is known as Call of Duty Zombies. It is a survival wave based mode where you fend off the endless waves of the undead. It seems mindless and dull, but over time the developers of the game created its own universe and story associated with the game mode and as a result a massive community blossomed from it. Over the years, we have been given new maps, new easter eggs to complete, and comics to read that have slowly given us more lore to this universe, but there has always been this provocative mystery around it as well. The developers have purposefully sprinkled ambiguity into the story in a way that has caused the community to interpret and challenge everything we are given. It in some ways has become its own religious community in some ways.

I'm discussing this because over the last month we received 8 HD remasters of zombie maps. With these maps, the developers released a physical timeline to the story that we have never had before. Up until this point, we have been interpreting and piecing together pieces here and there, but it was never defined. Its truly amazing seeing this for the first time. With that said, to the naked eye the timeline looks like swirls of information that do not piece together a clear story. However, to me and the zombies community it makes perfect sense. It has simultaneously answered hundreds of questions we have had but also raises more, causing a further re-invigoration of our passion for this game. We have our own scripture, and its tangible now which to me is quite odd to say I'm a part of. However, this is incredible to because it really points ot the idea that scripture can be anything.

The "Aha" moment

Overall, the Academic Banquet was an invigorating and fun experience for the class. Baking the bread and the carrot cake was a lot of fun, however the discussion of the "Aha" moments continued to linger with me for some time after the the banquet itself. How do you instill the feeling of the "Aha" moment, and what makes an "Aha" moment so visceral?
To be honest, this question has been quite difficult to answer because the "Aha" moment to me is something that you generate on your own. An "Aha" moment to me, is a moment where you solve that puzzle you have been stuck on for days. The moment when you finally figure out why its bad to use a fork in a toaster. Its the moment when you finally beat the final boss in that video game you have been playing for the last three weeks. In other words, the "Aha" moment is a learning process which is why it fit so well for the Academic Banquet. However, it also invokes personal change, growth which is why its such a visceral experience.
With that said, getting that feeling of an "Aha" moment out others is something I am not entirely certain you can do. I say this because it is inherently a personal and physical experience and individual has to encounter. The "Aha" moment has to come from themselves. Basically, my initial thoughts are that simply speaking to others an drawing it out of them might be something that is not possible.
However, as we read Samuel Proctor's "How Shall They Hear?", I think the four points of the sermon changes that idea. The third point in particular, that genuine community is possible flips this idea on its head because instead of bringing the "Aha" moment out others, it makes it relatable. In other words, by utilizing the third point in Proctor's list, we begin to reminisce in our nostalgia. By remembering those moments it in turn brings the audience closer together. It now becomes a communal thing, and I think how JBK handled it at the banquet itself was the perfect way to do it.

The Qur'an

In my opinion, the Qur’an is one of the most fascinating things within Islam. At its core, the Qur’an is the Holy book of Islam, as is the Bible for Christianity and the Torah is for Judaism. However, the Qur’an possesses a unique aspect in that it is the spoken words of Allah, not just the written words. This is to say, as much as the various Abrahamic religions all have the word of God within them, the Qur’an takes it a step further in that it is spoken from God.

I find this notion fascinating because it not only legitimizes Arabic as Holy Scripture, but it gives the Qur’an a breath of life. For example, when you open the Bible and read it, within its pages it tells the tales of the Gospel, Deuteronomy, Ephesians, etc that all involve god and how he is intertwined in our lives. However, due to the fact that the Qur’an is spoken by Allah, a new kind of dialogue emerges between the Muslim and Allah. It’s a call and response dialogue between the devotee and Allah that makes Islam more personal. So much so, that when you open and read the first Surah of the Qur’an, Bismi Allahi alrrahmani alrraheemi, you are quite literally initiating a conversation between you and Allah through submission. It is as if the Qur’an is alive. That is an absolutely fascinating part of Islam.

Reflecting

After taking this course, I see a broader range of religion. My mind has always been so focused on my Catholic roots I never stopped to look at the beauty of other religions. After examining the Torah, Qur’an and Bible, I am now more aware of different religions and see beauty in all three. What surprised me the most were the similarities I saw in the three religions.

            I noticed that in each of the sacred texts there is some sort of story to follow. One of my favorite things about the Holy Bible is the stories. And what I quickly noticed was that there were songlike stories sewn into the pages of the Qur’an. In that I saw a similarity.

            Another interesting text I found was the Jewish Midrash. Creating my own Midrash helped me see allegories found in the bible. Writing a Midrash was like writing a story linking together facts from the Holy texts. In doing this, I was able to understand this ancient art of rabbinical literature.

            After learning about the sacred texts in all three of these religions, I am pleased to say my eyes have been opened to a whole new beauty within religion.

Changing old ways

After watching a movie and delving deeper into gender in the bible, the idea of women in religion came up. What the whole class noticed was the lack of women in religious rituals and practices. Growing up Catholic, I have only seen male priests, bishops and reverends. And I have only seen women in the choir and as Sunday school teachers. I have never really thought about this growing up or even now as a young adult.

            During class time we discussed the lack of women it religion and how some women are actively pushing for change in the religion. The majority of the class agrees that there needs to be more of presence of women in religion, however I beg to differ.

            I think it is wrong to change the principals of a religion that has been thought the very same way for years and years. By changing the religion to include more women changes the way our ancestors practiced and believed. We have not been on the planet very long, and we are trying to change an ancient art.

            Instead of looking at the negatives of the religion we should all take a step back and be thankful for what God had blessed us with.

God's blessings

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

After writing a sermon, I felt more inclined to write another one. After writing about how God protects me and makes a path, I thought about how fortunate and blessed I am. After listening to my peers sermons, I decided to write a blog about one of my favorite memories including a mini pony and my mum. That way, it added more of a community element

All of a sudden I turned around to the sound of tiny hoofs striking the cement. My eyes widened with joy. I was stunned with excitement. The tiniest little horse was gazing up at me. Her little doe eyes just blinked and I knew I had found my new best buddy. My mum exclaimed, “Surprise!” and handed me the hot pink lead rope. I looked closer at my new best pal and saw the name “Jelly Bean” in gold across her purple noseband. Jelly Bean was my new miniature horse. She was the prettiest little strawberry roan pony and her mane was as white as a swan. She had four perfect white socks each sparkling clean. She was so small she barely hit my thigh even when I hardly was four feet tall.

            I gently lead my pony to a French patch of clover. There I looped the lead line over he neck and sat down right beside her. I listened to her peacefully much on the emerald clover and ran my pink painted fingernails through her long mane. I traced the outline of every muscle with my palm and tied bows and braids in her wavy tail. I just sat there with the sun kissing my forehead and the grass tickling the backs of my earlobes. All I could imagine was how picturesque that afternoon was and how warm and magical it felt.

            As I crawled into my canopy bed that night, I replayed the events of my fairy-tale day back in my head. All I could think about was returning back to the stable on Saturday and spending the same kind of say again. Just sitting there enveloped by sun and fresh grass, looking up at the golden sun, smelling the fragrance of fresh roses and alfalfa and laying with my very own unicorn. God’s perfect creation.

Relgion in Sports

So for me as an athlete I have been fortunate enough to meet many different people from across the world who are very religious. And  this post is more about how sports and religion are connected. So with that being said I will give an example on how it is so important with one another.

Overall the people that I will be talking about I will leave their names out and I will just say them or him or her. So before soccer games a friend of mine who is from Brazil, would always take his cross out and do a prayer before warmups, it was his way of saying to god help me and protect me. Now when I asked him why he was doing such a thing, his answer was because he as a kid only was told that god and soccer was important coming and growing up from Brazil. So to him all he knew was soccer and god. And whenever for an example he did not do a prayer or did not read the bible before the games, he thought he played bad because of it. And that right there is how important to some athletes religion is to them. It is so important to a lot of athletes that they pray before soccer games, football games, or any sport. I think each sport some sports are more religious than others and for sure soccer is up there.

Freedom and the Bible

I have recently been thinking about the idea of freedom and how it applies to the bible. It seems to me that the freedom God is supposed to give is not as open ended as it seems. Freedom is the right to do what you want when you want withing the bounds of common sense and basic human rights, like the right to life. In many places in the Hebrew Bible it seems like God is giving the Jews freedom but to me it seems more like God is giving the Jews conditional freedom, rather than unconditional freedom.

One of the biggest examples of this is when God frees the Jews from Egypt. At first glance it seems like God is freeing the Jews entirely and without reserve. But when you look closer you find that everything is not quite as it seems. Firstly, God waits a very long time before actually freeing the Jews. It is quite obvious, from what He has done in the past, such as destroying Sodom, and causing the great flood, that He could have just waved his hand and with very little effort, freed the Jews much sooner than He did. It seems like He waited so that the Jews would be in enough despair that they would do what he asked without questioning it at all. After He gets them out of Egypt he then starts to lay down laws that everyone has to follow. While the ten commandments do seem like just a restatement of basic human rights, the laws he puts forth after that are all about exactly how one should live. These laws effectively control the Jewish people and seems just like another form of slavery.

I do not know if this is right but with everything that is happening in the government these days it bears to keep this in mind.

The Cons of Not Showing Up

I have found, though both personal experience and observation, that if you say you are going to be somewhere at sometime, it is best if you honor your word. This applies to many things. Things like doctors appointments, sporting events, just hanging with friends, and even being in class every day class is held and being on time for it. When you keep to your word the benefits are very good. they include things like respect, influence, and not having to take finals.

 

But I am not the only one that has seen the benefits to showing up on time at the right place. There are a number of times in the Hebrew bible that God rewards those who go where He asks them to go when he asks them. the first is Abraham. God tells Abraham to take hi son, Isaac, and go to the top of a mountain and sacrifice him to God. Instead of complaining and not going or going late, he does what God asks and is rewarded by having a golden ram show up and take the place of his son.

The second person is Lot. When Lot was in the city of Sodom, he was told by God to leave. Lot listened to God and because he left when God asked him to he survived God destroying Sodom

The final person is an example of what happens when a person does not show up when asked. This person is Jonah. Jonah was asked by God to go to the city of Nineveh and warn them that they were being wicked and if they did not stop God would destroy them. Johan did not want to go. So he boarded a ship and tried to sail in the opposite direction. God punished Jonah by having him swallowed by a whale for three days and nights. If he had listened to God he would not have been punished so.

This is why it is good to show up where we have said we would and at the time we have said.

Sermon requirements

1. Is the universe a friendly place?
2. Can this package of urges be reconciled to the will of God?
3. Is true community possible?
4. Is our space time frame of reference the only one, or is there more?

I was struck by how profoundly applicable these questions were while writing the sermon. These are questions that we all struggle with, which relates to the concept that religion is universal at the level of the person. And each can be approached both through secular means and through religious ones, which is extra intriguing.

We all want to feel safe in the world.
We all struggle with our base desires and attempting to overcome them.
We all look for spaces where we feel at home, supported, and loved.
In a very neutral sense, perspective is a space time frame of reference. Simply trying to understand another's point of view is a reach towards a different reality. Science itself tells us of the relativity aspect, and how flawed all sense of reality are. So there must be infinite frames of references, as many as there are sentient beings on the earth.

Rituals of the Earth

I have recently been considering the ways rituals manifest outside of the strictly human. As religion is being removed from institutions and secularity abounds, the challenge becomes finding the religious in the secular. As theology as a process is applied outside of the realm of human society, there must be strategic thinking to understand its emplacement in non human systems. I have recently been considering what a theology of the earth looks like.

Religion is often defined via ritual. This is Roy Rappaport's definition, along with many other aspects, but primarily the synthesis of the indexical and the canonical create the ritual of religion. In the Earth, the canonical, or the structure, are things like the geologic processes that abound. The tides, pulled by the moon, the cycling of the magma within the crust of the earth, the day and the night are all rituals.

Sound familiar? These are also the time keeping processes as covered in the Sun Sura of the Q'uran. In this Surah, the disregard for these events due to human arrogance lead to the fall of civilization. We are disrupting these geologic processes through the Anthropocene- the term for an age in which humanity is geologically changing the earth. Rocks made of plastic are washing up in Hawaii as pollutants are sedimenting into the oceanic crust. We are changing the earth's circadian rhythms, and society may have to echo the Sun Sura and fall if we do not fundamentally change.

Writing A Sermon And Why Its Important

Writing A Sermon And Why Its Important.

 Before taking this course I myself had never created a sermon, I have heard many of them before but never sat down and created one. But thankfully that changed during this semester. I think its important to create and conduct a sermon by yourself in front  of others more often then not. I think its also important to sit back during life and to really take in everything that you have either accomplished, or everything that you can be thankful for. Examples, like if you are an athlete things that you have done in your sport, like make a team, win a championship, things of that nature. I also think sitting back and being able to realize what you have that you normally take for granted was one of the main reasons why creating a sermon was very meaning full.

As I was creating my sermon for class, I took the time to put everything that I should be thankful for, everything that I have been able to so far in my life into a 4 page paper. And when you finally get to read it out loud in front of other people, you realize how important and how grateful we all should be. Being able to wake up everyday being a healthy 21 year old man, who can chase any dream I choose to chase, who can be able to say I to college are little things that you do not think about when you are doing them, but for other people they cannot do. Simple little things like being able to walk, thousands and thousands of people cannot walk, being able to play soccer at a high level is something that again many people cannot do. The thing that really struck me the most was when you think about your family, I have a wonderful mom and dad and two amazing sisters. Some people grow up without a father, without a mother, and I am lucky enough to have both. 

The greatest reason about writing and making this Sermon was just the fact that I finally got to look at everything I have that I never truly understood how grateful I am and how lucky and blessed I truly am.  

  

            There are three reasons genna is a part of the Sheba-Solomon paintings: it is a concrete symbol of Ethiopian culture, it is similar to gladiators (showing men’s courage), and it provides context about Menelik’s paternity. Genna is significant because Ethiopia is controlled by Christians in all parts of society, even today. I found this surprising, as I have heard about the Jewish population in Ethiopia. Through imaging like genna, the Sheba-Solomon tale can be transmitted and passed along orally as well as through paint and textbooks.

            The use of sports as having meaning and being connected to ritual is something with which I am more familiar. Teams have group prayers before big games. Players acknowledge the presence of God by pointing to the sky and offering thanks for performing something of magnitude.

Pastor Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir

Meet Pastor Billy, the man being baptized in what is suppose to be oil by the people in green behind him which are the Stop Shopping Choir. This man leads a politically active theater troop based out of New York City with parishioners all over the world. There goal is to protect the environment.

Discussing Pastor Billy was interesting to me because I was first exposed to him last year in my social movements class. In that discussion we talked about how he uses religion to create a collective identity for people to claim and protest. He uses theatrics to get his point across as well.

In our class this morning we discussed how he descripturalizes or desecrates capitalism to demonstrate its evil force in the world. He does this by taking on the persona of a pastor and chanting things like "Monsanto is the Devil". He gets his church together to go to locations, like Starbucks or banks and yells and sings at the people there participating in the capitalist enterprises that he and his followers believe to be evil and hurting the Earth.

It was interesting to see the perspectives these classes had to offer. In Social Movements we did not take his church seriously as a church, we thought of Pastor Billy as a persona, we discussed how he was using this language to call attention to what he was doing or get more people interested in his work by using the familiar structure of christianity.  While in this religion class we took his church as real and analyzed how he was able to create and sustain a faithful protesting base of 'parishioners'. By giving certain companies the label of evil and making a group based on casting out that evil, Pastor Billy and his Stop Shopping Choir. http://www.revbilly.com/