Acedia

Acedia. Sometimes referred to as the eighth deadly sin. It is apparently a state of torpor (I had to look this word up too, it's like a depressed state or something that animals experience that is slightly different from hibernation) that is characterized by not caring about your life, position, or condition in the world. It sounds a lot like depression, but it's slightly different. It was common among monks and other ascetics and can be identified by a number of symptoms.

People with acedia may report having chronic sleepiness and sickness, and they may also experience pain and weakness in the knees and limbs as well as a fever. Psychologically, people have a loss of interest in daily tasks and a dissatisfaction with life, as well as boredom and laziness. This illness, to me, sounds a lot like a combination of depression and sloth...

Another definition I found of acedia described it as a disease that is characterized by people either stuck in the future or the past. They obsess about things to come and then are faced with terror when they realize their reality is much different from what they hope it to be. Or they brood over the past and miss out on valuable life chances.

Here's how you can cure acedia, according to this website:

1. Mind your own business. Know what is in your control and accept the things that are not.
2. Make decisions, don't spend all your life debating what to do. Just take a risk!
3. Reprioritize things. Do the things that matter the most first.
4. Forgive. Recall the past and make peace with it.
5. Set small goals.
6. Practice being present.
7. When you relax, use the time to develop parts of your personality that aren't employed in your daily work.
8. Be still, silent, and appreciative.
9. Perservere.

Mainly, though, I think the way to cure acedia is to really live in every moment. Don't let the past consume you, or hopes for the future overcome you. Be fully appreciative of every moment and recognize that your struggles are teaching you something in some way. I think after that, all your worries will dissolve.

The Sex Manual for Puritans

We mentioned the book "The Sex Manual for Puritans" by Vernard Eller the other day in class. The book is outlined by the following eight chapters:

1. Everything You Always Assumed About Sex
2. Sex for Fun and Profit
3. What to Look for in a Partner
4. Foreplay
5. Positions
6. The Climax
7. Afterword
8. Long Afterward

I couldn't really find any reviews about his book, but according to Dr. Richard Armour, Eller doesn't write "about sex in a slimy, prurient way" instead, his book "keeps within the bounds of good taste, though being frank and forthright." The book is apparently "practical, positive and decent" and Eller strives to make sex "both fun and funny". He basically tells us how to view sex in a "Christian" way.

According to Eller himself,
"God’s commitment, the character of his original creation, the thrust of this work in history, and the magnetism of his purpose and goal—all are in the direction of man’s becoming more human rather than less so…Sex can be human and humanizing because it can be a vehicle for expressing love.” He sees human beings as channels through which God's love can be expressed. 

The main purpose of his book, as I understand it to be, is so that, in the midst of a civilized Puritan society made up of people who are "deprived of this literature solely on the basis of a religious-philosophical prejudice," they can finally learn about sex without having to address the feelings of guilt that go along with owning a "sex manual." Eller makes this manual exclusively for Puritans so that they may go along with answering their pressing questions in a way that God would not frown upon. You can take a look at the book here.

Faith Healing

Faith healing is essentially how Christians believe someone can be cured from an ailment. They believe the "curing process" involves prayer and rituals that bring a divine presence and power to the ill person.

However, the sick person is often times not cured by "faith healing" and some deaths even occur. In May of last year, a 17 year-old boys appendix burst, but instead of taking him to the hospital, his parents had him anointed with olive oil and prayed over. The boy stayed in bed in agony for several days before he died. And this isn't the only case. The trend of "faith healing" as been going on for several decades, and it is usually by people of the Followers of Christ Church. Parents who chose to "faith heal" instead of taking their kids to the doctor are often convicted of manslaughter, as was the case when a sick infant was denied medical care by his parents in 2011.

It is extremely sad to me that these people think their religion is ordering them to neglect medical care. It's even more unfortunate that, on top of dealing with a dead child, these people also have to deal with being convicted criminals of murder. Hopefully more people will start to realize that medical care can actually make a difference with sick children, and maybe God would have wanted it that way.

Dirk Willems

In class the other day, we addressed Dirk Willems briefly. I thought his story was fascinating so I wanted to do a little more follow up research on him!

Apparently, Dirk was born in the Netherlands and was baptized in his older years, therefore going against the norm of infant baptism. To enrage the Catholics and Protestants even more, he practiced adult baptism in his home. He was condemned in 1569 by the Roman Catholics and arrested. He was sent to a prison that used to be a residential palace, but he soon escaped by fashioning a rope made of knotted rags.

From the rope, he was able to descend onto a frozen moat below and was able to walk without breaking the ice because of his emaciated state. However, a guard saw him escaping and he tried to pursue him. The guard, being much heavier, fell through the ice and cried for help. Dirk turned around and actually saved the guard's life. The guard apparently wanted to let Dirk go free, but the burgomaster reminded the guard of his oath and convinced the guard otherwise. After many trials and imprisonments, Dirk was burned at the stake on May 16th, 1569.

Dirk Willems remains one of the most celebrated martyrs of the Anabaptists, as well as a great folk hero for the Amish and Mennonites. A book titled Dirk's Exodus was later written about him in 1990.

Amish Paradise

This is a funny spoof on the Amish by "Weird" Al Yankovic that I found on YouTube. It parody's the life of an Amish person and it's pretty funny! It's not meant to be offensive towards the Amish, but I hope you enjoy his sense of humor and you can get some good laughs out of it!:)

Rumspringa

Today in class we talked about the Amish and their tradition of Rumspringa. I found an awesome video that details it all, and even though it says it's 8 minutes, you really only need to watch the first 4 (the rest of the video is a song spoof).

Here's the basic rundown of the tradition:

Rumspringa is a rite of passage and coming of age that is equivalent to that of the college experience for American teens. It has no set age or time period (that is determined by the parents) but it is characterized as a period in which an extended amount of time is spent away from the parents. Amish teens enter the "English" community and are free to experiment with drugs and alcohol and party like American teens. After this period is over, the Amish teens have the option of being baptized back into the Amish community, or leaving their friends and family forever and choosing to live in the English world.

The decision may seem easy enough, but here's the catch: the entire Amish community will shun you forever if you choose to leave. There is tremendous pressure to reenter the community from family and friends, as well as the thought that they need to be good role models for their siblings. The teens also fear losing such a tight-knit community, going to hell if they don't return to the Amish way of living, and facing guilt for the things they did during rumspringa. If they do decide to leave the community, their parents are still allowed to talk to them. They don't approve of their decision but they try to accept them nevertheless.

Only 10% of Amish teens decide to join the English world. I suppose it is important for them to get a taste of the world outside of their own and they must be given the freedom to decide on their own. I honestly think all religions should mirror this way of being. For example, we are born into a certain family with certain beliefs, but we shouldn't feel trapped or obligated to be "Christian" or "Muslim" all our lives. If all teens were given the opportunity to experience new religions and ways of being outside of their own community, then I think the world would be a much more tolerant place.

Unfortunately, blogger won't let me upload the video that I found from Youtube. You can access it by following this link.

Westboro Baptist Church and Bombings in Boston

Last Monday, a horrible tragedy struck Boston. Two crudely fashioned bombs were detonated at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing 3 and injuring 175 runners. This seemed to hit home for me: both my sister and Dad were in Boston on Monday, and although neither of them were hurt, the terror evoked on that day seemed very real to me. In a time when everyone is shaken by this act and in the process of mourning, there are people who see it differently.

The Westboro Baptist church are these people who see it differently. According to an article by Steven Nelson titled "Westboro Baptist Church Plans to Picket Boston Funerals", the members of the church "celebrated this carnage" and claimed that it was God's way of punishing the same-sex marriage that was first made legal in Massachusetts. They plan to picket the 3 funerals of those who were killed. A disturbing tweet was sent from one of the members of the church saying "Westboro Baptist Church to picket funerals of those dead by Boston Bombs! GOD SENT THE BOMBS IN FURY OVER FAG MARRIAGE! #PraiseGod".

I find it incredibly disturbing that these people are preaching such hate in the name of God. When families are in the midst of painful grieving, the last thing they want to hear is that God meant to kill their loved one out of spite and revenge for granting same sex marriage. I don't understand how anyone could see God as a wrathful being who should be feared, and how anyone could find inner peace and contentment with worshiping such a being. I really hope someone stops them from picketing the funerals, this is such a disgrace to Christianity and humanity.

If God had bombed and killed their children and relatives in the Boston Marathon race, would they react differently? We must give compassion and love to those who are grieving, because it could have happened to any of us.

Find the article I got my information from here.

Baba Yetu

This post is inspired by my good friend Alyssa. In between our Junior  and Senior year of high school, Alyssa spent a summer in South Africa working at a Health Care Clinic. As a devoted Christian, she continued to attend service, where they played the Lords Prayer in Swahili before and after every service. She found the music very inspiring and the overall experience was life changing. The song is called Baba Yetu and here is a clip of it I found on YouTube:

The Weeping Madonna

The weeping Madonna statue of Fatima is on tour in the United States! This concept is fascinating to me: apparently people report statues of the Virgin Mary that appear to be crying tears of blood, oil, or scented liquids. When people see the crying statue, they often have apparitions that accompany them. However, these are mostly proved as hoaxes. In the above video, the Virgin Mary was last seen crying on Easter weekend of 2002 (I don't know when the video was made, though, so she may have cried since). It apparently is relatively easy to create a crying statue hoax, though. Skeptics point out that they even make "do it yourself crying statue" kits. The "crying" phenomenon can also be explained by tiny cracks in the statue that create condensation and give the appearance of a more "shiny" face. It may also be due to group suggestion or people's state of mind.

Either way, it is an interesting topic to ponder! Check out the video:)

People Who See Jesus In Stuff...Continued

In keeping with my last blog, I decided to do some research on this 'Jesus-sighting' phenomenon. And turns out, there's a name for it.

 

Finding religious imagery in inanimate objects is called simulacra. It occurs when people see iconic or aniconic images or symbols in nature that can be related to certain organized belief systems.

 

Christians typically experience simulacra by sighting Jesus or the Virgin Mary in their food, whereas Muslims may report seeing religious script or verses from the Qur'an in food or other natural objects.

 

Believers see them as actual manifestations of the spiritual being that was created and brought to them by miraculous forces. They think this is the work of miracles. It gives them hope and faith. Perhaps they are just seeking proof that God is out there, and trying to get their attention.

 

I found a study that said religious people tend to see faces in inanimate objects much more than nonbelievers, but this is most likely people experiencing pareidolia. Pareidolia is "a false perception of imagery due to what is theorized as the human mind's over-sensitivity to perceiving patterns, particularly the pattern of a human face, in otherwise random phenomena." The fact that religious people tend to see these patterns much more may represent the fact that they believe that we live in a world of supernatural phenomenon, and thus are more susceptible to interpreting everyday encounters as miraculous.

 

Next time you see Jesus in burnt toast, don't be afraid to speak up. You just may be able to sell that baby to some desperate religious fanatics seeking proof in miracles. 

Stuff that Looks Like Jesus

Today I thought "why don't I surf the internet a little and find things that people thought looked like Jesus?" So here it goes. If you're reading this and you've already blogged about this before, I apologize. If no one in our class has yet, then I hope you enjoy! (And perhaps you can do a little internet surfing of your own and find other pictures!)

 Jesus in a guitar! Clear as day...

 It's Jesus in a weird rotting apple!

 Mmm...Jesus shadows

 A nice dead sting ray that washed up on shore and sure as hell looks like Jesus.

 Jesus light rays!

Aww, Jesus on a kitty belly.

I got most of these pictures from the website stuffthatlookslikejesus.com. Good stuff.

K-Love radio

Do you listen to K-Love radio? I found this short video documenting the radio station's history and how it is a station dedicated to Jesus Christ. Its goal is to open people's hearts to Jesus and give hope to those who need it most. Check it out!

Jealousy

My mom and I have been talking a lot about jealousy and how it can basically be tied to most of our problems. She reminded me of the 10th commandment:

"You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s."

What is interesting about this quote is the fact that a man's wife is treated just as much of a piece of property as is his "maidservant" or "ox." After reading "When Women Were Priests," is it pretty much apparent to me that men viewed their wives as one of their possessions, and the wife was to be kept within the "private" realm and hidden from all other men.

But anyways, it is especially intriguing to think that jealousy basically gives rise to commandments #6-#9: You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

If you really think about it, murder is a product of jealousy because we have an extreme hatred for those that we think are better than us/have more of what we want.  Adultery is basically coveting someone else's wife, stealing from someone can be because you are jealous of their possessions, and accusing someone of a false wrongdoing can also be an underhanded scheme to bring their downfall that stems from some sort jealousy. Essentially, by living your life out of fear, you begin to believe and fear that your life is lacking in friendship or love or whatever it may be. By having a mindset that there is only so much of these things in the world, then you begin to feel jealous towards those who you think have too much of it. This breeds stealing, murder, adultery, and false accusations to bring their downfall.

Another interesting point is the fact that in commandment #2, God says "For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God." Does God really demonstrate such human traits such as jealousy? Even in his supposed perfection? I find it fascinating that humans chose to personify God as a being that lives out of fear, just someone else also competing for love and survival.

If we could only recognize that most of our actions and thoughts stem from fear, we could work to transcend them and live much happier and fulfilling lives. We wouldn't have to worry so much about not getting enough love.

Sin

Over spring break, my mom and I looked up the definition of the word "sin." Apparently it actually stems from the Greek word "hamartia" which literally translates "to miss the target" or "to miss the mark." The word "sin" was used in archery when someone missed the target with their arrow.

So my mom and I pondered over this newly found definition of sin. To say that someone has "sinned" really only means that they have missed the mark, or they have trailed off course in their discovery of God or themselves. A "sinner" could be someone who has an affair or who is jealous or greedy. But don't we partake in all these activities when we don't have a true sense of ourselves? Instead of living our lives out of love and compassion, we live out of fear. We fear that there is a limited amount of love in the world, and this fear translates into actions that hurt others (so that we may deny them love, and hopefully gain more love because of it). But fortunately, when you discover God/yourself, you will come to realize that the love you give is equal to the love you receive. And you will find no need to "sin" out of lust, greed, anger, gluttony, etc. So therefore we only "sin" when we stray from the "target," in which case the target is God's intended path for you to come to know yourself.

These are just some of my thoughts, feel free to interpret this definition of sin however you see fit. :)

Indulgences

Since we watched the Martin Luther movie in class, I have been especially intrigued by the concept of indulgences. Apparently, indulgences are ways you can decrease the time you spend in purgatory for your sins.

I found a website that had some pretty interesting examples of indulgences. There was one that said if you recite a prayer everyday for a month, five years will be removed from a person's time in purgatory.

Another example was given, saying that if a faithful Christian devotes 20-30 minutes each day studying or teaching Christian doctrine, they will get three years off their sentence in purgatory.

This just sounds ridiculous to me! Who is responsible for deciding what counts as an indulgence or not? It seems like the Catholic Church is using fear tactics to exert their power over the people. Indulgences are nothing more than a way to keep people dependent on the Church.

The passage I read today in "Readings in Christianity" was very fascinating to me. It was a marketing technique and sermon given by John Tetzel and it goes as follows:

"Do you not hear the voice of your parents and other deceased loved ones crying loudly and saying 'Have mercy, have mercy on me, especially you my friends, because the hand of the Lord as touched me! We are in strong punishment and torment, from which you are able to rescue us with only a little money, but yet you do not want to!' Open your ears, as the father says to his son and the mother says to her daughter, 'Why do you punish me, and are not satisfied with my flesh?' It is as if they were saying, 'We gave you birth, we fed you, we raised you, we left you our earthly goods, and yet you are cruel and hard to us. You are able to free us easily [by purchase of indulgences], but you let us lie in flames, and delay the glory promised to us."

Wow! Tetzel is appealing to people's emotions here in the biggest of ways! Apparently the church was in need of money to help rebuild the St. Peter's Church in Rome and this was the main way they went about it! It's super fascinating how gullible people can be, and good for Martin Luther for opening the people's eyes to this injustice.

Pagan Roots of Easter

Did you know the Christian Holiday Easter actually has Pagan roots? The word Easter comes from the Pagan word Eostre or Ostara who was the Goddess of fertility, sunrise, and the dawn. Apparently her sacred objects were the rabbit and the egg and her feast was celebrated on the Vernal Equinox to acknowledge rebirth. Stories were told how this Goddess would bring candy and treats to children. Ultimately the word "Easter" also correlates with the word "East" which is the direction the sun rises. Christians adopted this Pagan tradition to most likely help make the transition from Paganism to Christianity more smooth. Most Christian holidays actually have Pagan roots and revolve around the celebration of the seasons (think how close Christmas is to the winter solstice...).

Purple Cloth on Cross

Have you ever wondered why, during Lent, there's often a purple cloth draped over the cross? When I visited the Annex last week with my friend Alyssa, I was especially intrigued by this custom.

Turns out, the veil over the cross is symbolically hiding a portion of the cross, and of Jesus' suffering body, so that we may better appreciate the cross as a instrument of our redemption. It helps us acknowledge the device in which Christ died for our sins and it helps humble us.

By veiling the cross, we are also experiencing the loss of a sacred object in which is held very dearly in Christian culture. This imitates the loss that Christ experienced during his 40 day fast in the wilderness. The cloth doesn't completely cover the entire cross, for we are only losing a portion of the sacred object. Again, this is analogous to Christ's situation. At his death, he lost his pride and his earthly body, but he never lost his identitiy as the Son of God. The veil over the cross serves as a reminder that even in loss, there is still something that remains.

The purple color of the cloth is a symbol for Christ's royalty and kingship. The color purple is often associated with majesty, magic, mystery and royalty, all attributes to Christ. The veil is removed at the end of Lent on Good Friday.

Riverside Chuch Speech

We talked alot about Martin Luther King's "Riverside Church Speech" in which MLK comes out against the Vietnam War for the first time. I decided to YouTube the speech, it's 56 minutes long but if you ever have some free time, check it out!

First Catholic to Run for President

Al Smith was the first Catholic to run for President, and he did so in the 1928 election in which he was defeated in a landslide against Herbert Hoover.

Smith's dad died when Smith was only 13 years old, and as a result he was pulled out of school and never ended up going to high school or college. He instead worked at the Fulton Fish Market. Eventually, he traded this job for a position in an office of the Commissioner of Jurors and was soon elected to the New York State Assembly. He kept working up the ranks of the political life until eventually he was elected Governor of New York.

Smith tried to run for President in 1924, but he didn't succeed. When the 1928 election against Hoover came around, Smith was ready. He campaigned hard but was ultimately defeated because of his Catholic background. People were worried he would answer to the Pope instead of the Constitution and they also feared that he tolerated government corruption. He was also in favor of the repeal of Prohibition Laws, which frightened the citizens. However, Smith did succeed in getting many Catholics and women to vote for the first time. His mediocre campaigning, religious beliefs, relation to the corruption of Tammany Hall, and the fact that the power of New York City intimidated some people, ultimately lead to his loss at the Presidential election.

Here is a political cartoon that suggests the Pope is behind Al Smith:

Female Pope, Myth or Reality?

My mom recently sent me a link to this video over email because apparently it's woman's history month and she's super excited about it. But anyway, the video and article go into detail about a myth that there used to be a woman pope, Pope Joan. According to legend, she disguised herself as a man, exceeded all the men in their religious studies, and became pope.

Unfortunately, during a papal procession, she went into labor and exposed the fact that she was a woman. The crowd descended on her and her child, killing them both.

I guess it's nice to know that this disturbing tale is only a myth, and something that Hollywood capitalized on by making two movies on it. But they do explore another aspect of the story: the fact that chairs in which cardinals sit often have a big hole cut out of them. Could this be so you could "check" whether the person sitting on it was a man or a woman? Why would they even need chairs like this if there wasn't ever a threat of a woman cardinal?

It is unlikely that we will have a woman pope anytime soon; the Catholic church still remains a male-dominated hierarchy, and one in which 115 male cardinals vote for the next pope. However, woman still may be able to influence the church more indirectly, and they are still an important aspect of the religion. Here's the link to the video and article my mom sent me:
 Legend of Female Pope Endures As Men Decide Church's Next Leader

Mother Teresa

With all the hype coming out about Mother Teresa not really being as saintly as she had people believe, I decided to do some of my own research to clear some stuff up.

Mother Teresa was an Albanian, Indian Roman Catholic nun who founded the "Missionaries of Charity" which is a congregation that cares for people with HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis. The congregation also acts as a soup kitchen, orphanage, school, and family counseling program. However, Mother Teresa was often criticized for misusing charitable monies and refusing to give people medical care or painkillers because she felt they would impede with the suffering that was supposed to bring people closer to Jesus.

According to the article we looked at in class from the Huff Post regarding the sick and poor, Mother Teresa "was more willing to pray from them than provide practical medical care" and she left many people in poor and shoddy conditions after her missions, despite the amount of money she was given. Here's the article from the Huff Post, read it and decide for yourself!

Mother Teresa

Saint Patricks Day!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day everybody!

Saint Patrick lived during the 5th Century and was the Patron Saint and apostle of Ireland. Apparently he was kidnapped at age 16 and brought to Ireland as a slave. He escaped, but later returned and brought Christianity to his people. He died on March 17th, 461, and his legacy and legend grew in the years after his death.

He is most well known for explaining the Holy Trinity using the 3 leaves of a shamrock. A weird fact: Even though feasts were held in Ireland since the 10th century to celebrate the holiday of Saint Patrick, the first Saint Patrick's Day Parade was actually held in the United States. It was a parade of Irish soldiers serving in the English Army in 1762, and it inspired many Irish Immigrants to connect with their roots with bagpipes and celebrations from that day forward.

May the luck of the Irish be with you!

Abelard and Heloise

We talked about the love story of Abelard and Heloise in class the other day and I found it so fascinating and tragic, I had to do my blog on it. Apparently Abelard was a philosopher and Heloise wished to expand her knowledge of the world, so she sought out Abelard as her teacher. Abelard asked permission from Heloise's uncle to be her teacher, and he soon moved into Heloise and the Uncle's house. Eventually, the two fell in love and started having a secret affair.

However, when the Uncle found out about the affair, he was so grief stricken that he tried to end it immediately. The twist here: Heloise was pregnant. She ran away from her uncle's house to live with Abelard.

Abelard knew that in order to save both their reputations, he must ask the uncle's permission to allow them to get married. The uncle complies, but soon it is uncovered that the Uncle's real plot is to get Heloise to come home to him where he will keep her for his own, and have Abelard killed.

Heloise flees to a convent in Argenteuil, but Abelard gets brutally attacked in Paris (where I think he is castrated). As a result, Abelard feels he can no longer continue as a teacher, and he thinks it is necessary that he and Heloise become Monks and Nuns.

Heloise must give up her child and accept the fact that she may never see Abelard again. However, they keep their love alive through writing letters for over 20 years. Then, by chance, they are briefly united in Paris where they promise to stay  "Forever One" and they realize that their love is the meaning of human existence.

They are never reunited again, but they continued writing to each other through their love letters. This has got to be the sweetest, saddest, love story ever!

DJesus

Have you seen Django Unchained yet? If so, check out this funny spoof they did the other night on Saturday Night Live. It's a movie trailed for "DJesus: Uncrossed" and it just goes to show how contemporary media can bend ancient tradition just to get some laughs!

Sorry the video is slanted :/

Food Poisoning Leads to Witch Trials?

So since we were discussing the Salem Witch Trials briefly in class the other day, I decided to do a little research of my own! I found this youtube video by the History Channel that is only a minute long, and it talks about possible theories of why some women were accused of being witches.

Apparently girls were condemned as being "witches" because they had suspicious behavior (like seizures, delusions, and contortions). But one theory explores the possibility of these girls just having a rare case of food poisoning! Check it out:

J.K. Rowling, A Christian?

Surprise! Turns out J.K. Rowling actually is a Christian and believes in God, but she didn't want to reveal this to her audience for fear they would expect the endings to her books. When asked if she was Christian, here's what she has to say:

“Yes, I am,” she says. “Which seems to offend the religious right far worse than if I said I thought there was no God. Every time I've been asked if I believe in God, I've said yes, because I do, but no one ever really has gone any more deeply into it than that, and I have to say that does suit me, because if I talk too freely about that I think the intelligent reader, whether 10 or 60, will be able to guess what's coming in the books.”

Interesting, eh?  She also says that she doesn't believe in magic, only the magic that takes place in her books. Hopefully this helps clarify the widely held belief among Christians that the Harry Potter series actually endorses witchcraft...

I got these quotes from an interview Rowling had with Evan Solomon and excerpt from an article called the Vancouver Sun by Max Wyman.

Harry Potter as a Christ Figure

So most of us know that the Harry Potter series was greatly rejected in the Christian community for its use of magic and "witch craft" but could you ever believe that Harry is actually an allusion to Christ?

Most of the people condemning the Harry Potter books haven't actually read them well enough to know that the magic taking place in the books isn't actually the "witchcraft" that is commonly associated with the Wicca religion, and that often the magic is done to do good, like saving an innocent animal in danger.

If these reasons aren't enough for Christians to believe that Harry Potter is a wholesome character and book series, then imagine that Harry is actually an allusion to Christ. Harry's mom sacrifices herself to the Dark Lord for Love, and this selfless sacrifice for the protection of the innocent is an important theme in Christianity. Harry is the Chosen One, like Christ, and at times he doesn't want to do what he's being asked to do but he chooses to do it anyway. At the end of the series (spoiler alert!) Harry sacrifices himself to Voldemort because of love (this relates to the salvation of human beings) and only decides to come back by choice (resurrection). Rowling also teaches us what it means to be "good" through Dumbledore who argues that we aren't born good but it is through our choices that make us good. Harry chooses to love, which is a power that the Dark Lord doesn't know. It is Harry's choice to love that is an essentially christian message.

This video sums this all up very nicely!

Naropa University

So two blogs ago I researched Matthew Fox and how he created and ran Naropa's Master Degree Program.

Now I'd like to delve a little more into Naropa University itself! Naropa University was inspired by Nalanda University in India that was established in 4 C.E. and it explored Buddhist philosophy and meditation. Now, Naropa University strives to "achieve wisdom and a deep understanding of the world" and they know that simply acquiring knowledge isn't enough. This search for a greater understanding is what Naropa bases most of their educational curriculum off of and they welcome all kinds of people; from the musician, writer, environmentalist, and poet to the activist, peacemaker, and bookworm. Along with a vigorous academic curriculum, Naropa also addresses "the body, the heart, and the totality of one's consciousness" and teachers aim to give each person a transformative experience. Now, I know this seems like a stretch from "Christian Traditions," but it seems Naropa also deals with the spiritual side of our world.

And here's the link to their website!
Naropa University

Women Priests

I did my book report on "When Women Were Priests" the other day and I didn't get a chance to play the youtube video I inserted at the end (my presentation was a little lengthier than I expected...sorry guys).

But anyways, here it is now! It's about women starting a revolution and becoming priests and deacons in Florida. The Roman Catholic church is excommunicating these women, and making the point that God didn't intend for women to be built in his image. The women claim that they are following the Spirit of God and violating an unjust Church law. The Vatican released this statement:

"This situation is sad for the entire Church....the attempt to ordain women...brings division, and fractures unity in the Church."

I hope these women realize their power and inspire many more women!

Matthew Fox

Matthew Fox (the one inspired to create the Techno Cosmic Mass that I did my last blog on) is a priest and theologian who is the main component of Creation Spirituality. He is known for his belief in Original Blessing, rather than Original Sin, and his teachings have feminist, ecological undertones. He is also very accepting of homosexuality. He used to belong to the Roman Catholic Church but was soon expelled because of his controversial teachings (also because he referred to God as "Mother", didn't condemn homosexuality, worked with Native American spiritual practices, and taught the four paths of creation spirituality (via positiva, via negativa, via creativa, and via transformativa)).

After he was dismissed from the Roman Catholic Church, he became inspired to start the Techno Cosmic Mass and he founded the University of Creation Spirituality in Oakland in 1996 (this was later renamed Wisdom University). In 1999, he created and ran the Naropa Institute's (in Boulder, CO) masters degree program. Now, Fox still writes books and continues to teach the youth and the elderly about creation spirituality, while also instructing them in meditation and tai chi.

I hope for my next blog to do a little research on the Naropa Institute!

Techno Cosmic Mass

I was especially intrigued by the video we watched in class today that featured a short bit on Matthew Fox and his series of Techno Cosmic Masses. These dance raves aim to connect our breath with the spirit and the Earth while meanwhile creating community and incorporating pop culture to keep the services fresh and invigorating. These Techno Cosmic Masses consist of three parts: First, there is the positive period in which participants take place in a dance of Joy and Delight. Then is the dance via negativa which features a grieving period, in which members grieve and lament the suffering in the world and in their hearts and are therefore able to accept it so they can access their creativity.
The service is ended with a transformative dance which prepares each person to enter the world as healers and defenders of compassion. The members also take part in Communion.

These spiritual raves incorporate all religious backgrounds (Christianity, Judaism, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, and Pagan) and musical tastes and a variety of ages are welcome. I am so fascinated by this whole concept, and I hope we can learn more about Matthew Fox and Creation Spirituality!

Here is the link to the homepage for the cosmic mass:
Cosmic Mass

And here is the video we watched in class on Cosmic Mass:

The Christian Oscars

As most of us know, the Oscars were last night. But what some of us may not know, is that there also exists such a thing as the "Christian Oscars" (or more formally known as MovieGuide) in which filmmakers and actors are honored for their role in spiritually uplifting and inspirational films that convey Christian values. These family friendly movies average $40.7 per movie, whereas the most obscene and violent anti-family movies average about $19.8 million per movie, according to the article.

The article throws out a bunch of statistics about how more patriotic, Christian movies tend to make more money than movies with immoral or atheist world views. The article also contends that the United States is viewed unfavorable among other countries, and this is solely because our vulgar movies portray American's as the "Great Satan." It's not perhaps because we consume 26% of the worlds energy even though we make up only 5% of the total population, or because we meddle in other countries affairs. It is because of our movies.

Either way, the "Christian Oscars" make the statement that more movies need to be family-friendly and portray good, Christian values.

Here is the list of the top 10 Best Movies for Mature Audiences honorably mentioned by MovieGuide from 2012 (They are in alphabetical order, with "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" coming in first):

•  ”The Artist”
•  ”Captain America: The First Avenger”
• “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”
• “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol
• “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides”
• “Sarah’s Key”
• “Seven Days in Utopia”
• “Thor”
• “The Tree of Life”
• “The Way”

Check out the article here!

Blindness, Bibles, Braille, Oh My!

Well. Since we haven't had class in over a week, I'm running low on ideas here. So don't get upset if my blogs take a turn for the random...

In other news, a complete version of a Braille Bible has finally been completed! Shockingly, there has never been one until now. When it came to Braille Bibles, certain books and chapters were always left out but now the blind can finally foster their spirituality without the help of eyes. Since Braille is usually in large print, this Braille Bible consists of many different books. They together fill about 7 boxes!

"Let me just go get my Bible real quick" may now take on new meaning as the blind struggle to lug 7 boxes into the room. (Sorry, too far?)

The Bible Society hopes this will lead to a surge in churches for the blind and they predict more blind people will minister the word of God.

That's it for randomness this week. Peace until Monday!

Read for yourself about blindness, Bibles, Braille and more:

Blindness, Bibles, Braille, Oh My! This is the article I accessed my stuff from

St. Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church

Last night, we visited the St. Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church and it was fascinating! I loved seeing all the icons and hearing their individual stories. I looked up the church on the internet and found its website:

St. Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church

The website features a message from Fr. George about the installation of new icons in the dome this summer. The church takes pride in it's beauty, as the Kingdom of God should be as beautiful as possible, and therefore the icons are a major addition to this beautiful church. And, let me tell you, the church was nothing less of beautiful. The pale blue walls and small interior create a sense of calmness, serenity, and comfort upon entering. The smell of incense seeped in the walls and again gave a feeling of coziness and welcome. The icons no doubt added color and fascination to this little church. They were bold and simple, which made them not too heavy on detail and easier for the eyes to linger on. Overall, the church visit was a great experience and I encourage you to check out their website! 

Sex Scandals in Catholic Church

So as promised, I decided to do my blog today on sex scandals in the Catholic Church. Since I'm still reading my book "When Women Were Priests," this topic of sexuality in Christianity ties in nicely with what I'm reading.

Every now and then, we hear stories about little boys who were sexually assaulted by their Priests in the Church but these stories are often suppressed and don't resurface until years later. Often by then, the young boy who experienced it is now a man and able to make sense of what happened. I can't even begin to think about the psychological trauma that they were put through and how this may have translated into their adult life.

I ran across an article that interviews the Catholic Priest Father Benedict Groeschel, who believes that Priests are, in fact, "tempted" by young boys and even seduced. He refers to a convicted pedofile as a "poor guy" and he also says:

"Suppose you have a man having a nervous breakdown, and a youngster comes after him. A lot of the cases, the youngster -- 14, 16, 18 -- is the seducer," he told an interviewer.

I am in disbelief about all of this. In my "When Women Were Priests" book, a lot of discussion goes on between ancient theologians who believe that women can't seperate themselves from their sexuality, and any woman who asserts herself in public is basically a whore. I'm not kidding. Even Paul believed that women should wear a veil at all times to express her chastity and shame. But I'm making sense of all this now:

Men (and homosexuals/ pedofiles) may feel tempted by women (or little boys, etc) because, by nature, they have a more powerful sex drive. Instead of recognizing this, they blame the woman (or boy) for seducing them. Perhaps homosexuals or pedofiles are also confused or ashamed of their sexuality and therefore think that they may "cure" themselves by becoming celibate Priests in the Catholic Church. Obviously, that's not a solution. These sex scandals need to be recognized and addressed before more victims get hurt or blamed for them.

Here is the article about Father Benedict Groeschel:

 Father Benedict Groeschel  

"Love Wins"

"Love Wins" was the book we discussed in class last Thursday, and I thought it sounded like a pretty interesting book!

From the reviews I read online, apparently the book centers around trying to get people to rethink their prior held convictions about heaven, hell, and Christianity. It addresses people who feel they have been wronged (exploited, assaulted) by people who claim to be Christians (this reminded me of sex scandals you hear about from Priests in the Catholic churches. Maybe I will do my next blog on this topic...) and Bell aims to correct those views.

The book explores the concept of heaven, which Bell views as an expression of God's love and constant incentive that what we do with our lives matters. Bell also reviews the concept of hell as a reality that consists of all the evils we see and experience.

The whole book review was pretty lengthy so I didn't get a chance to read it all, but here's the link:

"Love Wins" book Review

Happy Valentines Day everybody! As we speak, I'm nibbling on some candy hearts and a Chocolove chocolate bar as most people all over the United States have probably done at some point today. But do you know where this tradition stems from? We watched a short video in class about Valentine's Day, but I thought I'd do some of my own research to inform the rest of the blogging world.

There are lots of different stories about who St. Valentine was, but one particularly interesting one caught my attention. The Catholic Church recognizes a Priest named Valentine who served during the 3rd century in Rome. Apparently, during this time the Emperor of Rome realized that married men made bad soldiers, so he did the only reasonable thing, he outlawed marriage (as if that would keep men from pursuing women). Valentine was outraged by this decree and continued to preform marriages for young lovers. When the Emperor found out about this, he put Valentine to death.

In the video we watched in class, it was a different story. They made Valentine out to be a prisoner who fell in love with the jailor's daughter. He sent her the first valentine, and at the end it was signed "From your Valentine." Aww. He was put to death, too.

Either way, St. Valentine sounds like quite the romantic figure and we still celebrate his martyrdom today by stuffing our faces with chocolate and sometimes crying about our sad lives (for those of us (like me) who are single). Well. Go out and treat yourself to some candy and roses. And don't feel guilty for the extra carbs, it's all in honor of St. Valentine. Cheers!<3

W.W.J.D. Fad

We talked a little in class about the W.W.J.D. fad and I decided to do some follow-up on it.

W.W.J.D. stands for "What Would Jesus Do" and it is a way that people find ethical guidance when they are faced with life's many dilemmas. 

However, it has become more of a fashion fad than anything else. It's now a popular trend to don W.W.J.D. wrist bands and many athletes even wear them to their competitions.

Apparently this idea originated with the book In His Steps by Charles Sheldon in which many characters face moral dilemmas and are forced to think "what would Jesus do?" The shocker is this: Sheldon was in fact a liberal who believed in evolution, accepted criticism of the bible, and didn't observe many essential doctrines of Christianity.

Interesting, huh? I bet not many people knew that! To learn more about how the W.W.J.D. bracelets are not true evangelism, click here to read the article I got my info from!

Father Guido Sarducci

So obviously the big buzz right now is about Pope Benedict XVI's resignation. Apparently a resignation from a Pope hasn't happened for about 600 years! (I think that was the number we discussed in class...).

Anyways, Dr. Valeta recommended we watch the SNL skit from the 80's with Father Guido Sarducci, who is an Italian, chain-smoking priest. He is a gossip columnist and a rock critic for the Vatican Enquirer. He is known for his "shrinemobiles" where he takes the shrines to people.

A little tidbit of interesting information I gathered from Wikipedia: The actor who plays Guido Sarducci actually went to the Vatican in his priest costume for a photoshoot with Time magazine. Unfortunately, they took photographs in a section that was prohibited for photography, and the Swiss Guards arrested him for impersonating a priest. Guess those guards really don't have a sense of humor! The charges were later dropped.

The skit I've included below is pretty funny, it profiles the Secret of Life according to Sarducci. Check it out :)

 Father Guido Sarducci

Purity Ball

I've been doing a lot of research on female roles in Christianity lately (my book report is on "When Women Were Priests") and my roommate is taking a Gender Studies class, so she introduced me to this short YouTube Video.

Basically it profiles a Christian family with 6 daughters and a baby boy who are all home schooled by the mom. The family believes in abstinence and purity before marriage, and they believe that the relationship between the father and daughter is most important. The dad takes the girls on "dates" and gave the eldest one (who is 15) a purity ring.

The daughter says she won't take the ring off until she is married, in which case she'll replace the ring with her wedding ring. The mom believes that "females were created to feel accepted by men" and the daughter hopes that she never partakes in any impure behaviors, like kissing, or she will pray for forgiveness from God. It seems like the daughter is being passed from one man to the next (from father to husband) and her finger is never without a ring. Seems to me that she can never belong to herself and she always needs a man's approval. 

Check out the video of the "Purity Ball" that the husband takes his daughters to, it is pretty fascinating to have a look into these people's lives!

More on Mack

I did some more research on Macklemore and how he views religion and I found his stuff very interesting!

I found a blog by John Weirick that nicely sums up Macklemore's views on Church.  Here is the link to the blog:

John Weirick Blog

Basically, I took it all to mean that Macklemore sees God in all human beings- a philosophy I'd like to say I believe myself. The blog is very insightful and includes lyrics from Macklemore's song "Church." Check it out some time!

Controversy in "Same Love"

My last blog was on Macklemore's song "Same Love" (watch the music video I posted if you haven't already!) and now I would like to address the religious undertones and therefore the religious controversies that accompany it.

In his lyrics, Macklemore says

"Playing god, aw nah here we go
America the brave still fears what we don’t know
And god loves all his children, is somehow forgotten
But we paraphrase a book written thirty-five-hundred years ago"

This section refers to the fact that we think we can "play God" and change homosexuals into heterosexuals. Some argue that homosexuality is a choice that can be forced out of people. He also references the fact that America fears homesexuality and change/ progression as a whole. He reminds us that "God loves all his children," but then why do certain people preach that "God hates fags"? He brings it into perspective when he says that "we paraphrase a book written thirty-five-hundred years ago" and that people pick and choose what they want to believe in the Bible. The Old Testament itself condemns homosexuality, whereas the New Testament promotes God's love for all his children. Macklemore is making the point that it's interesting that we choose which parts to believe/follow.

Next, he says:

"It's the same hate that's caused wars from religion,"

indicating that by failing to accept people's differences and ways of life, we create wars and destruction. War is all about hating people who are different from you.

He goes on to say:

"When I was in church

They taught me something else
If you preach hate at the service
Those words aren't anointed
And that Holy Water
That you soak in
Is then poisoned"

Churches outwardly say that hate is poisonous and wrong, but then they go on to instill prejudices in people with their hate rants against homosexuals. Isn't that then poisoning their own meanings?

Macklemore ends his song with:

"Whatever god you believe in
We come from the same one"

This implies that we are all human, whether we are gay, straight, Jewish, Muslim and Christian. We need to recognize our interconnectedness with everyone in order to bring the judgement, hate, and suffering to an end. He ends the song with the verse from I Corinthian 13:1-13: "Love is patient; Love is kind."

Here is the link to the lyrics:

Macklemore Lyrics

After I watched the YouTube video, I scrolled down to read some of the comments. Even after the bold message that Macklemore makes that we should be accepting and loving towards everyone, people still posted some interesting comments:

"Fags aren't human nor will I ever acknowledge them as human beings they are garbage that spread disease and immorality and the word of evil and corrupt what is meant to be normal ( man and woman )."

"everyone it born innocent and pure. people have to take responsibility for them selves and make the right decisions in life. I could care less what the mass majority would say because they are all brain washed sheep thinking sick things like fags are ok."

I guess the message didn't really resound with these people. To each his own! I just hope someday these people will realize that their hate and judgement isn't making the world a better place. Nor is it living up to the idea that God loves all his children.