I would like to begin by stating that chapter one of Paine’s The Age of Reason is one of the most powerful and candid statements on the involvement of the Church in religion that I have read in a very long time. I say this with such surprise because I have taken into consideration the fact that it was written in a time when freedom of speech didn’t present the same ‘freedom’ as it does today. I enjoyed it more so because I hold a very similar outlook on ‘dogma-contrived-beliefs’ and can relate to his frustrations with the church (regardless of the denomination).
I think if Paine was to view the world of faith today he would be happy to note that freedom of choice and freedom of speech has relaxed the creed-professed beliefs of churches and that attending these places of holy worship now is less about instilling fear into its patrons, and more about celebrating faith.
I am a true believer in one God. I also believe in modesty and the virtues we spoke of earlier, pillars which I live by and do my hardest to practice. However I can’t help but wonder where this world is headed to spiritually. Is it just me or does it seem that everyone has forgotten religion and our creator. Maybe they haven’t forgotten and they just don’t believe in God anymore? Maybe people never really believed in God anyway but only pretended to so as to fit in with church-going society as Paine had stated in his public profession?
All I do know is that when I watch the video clips of music artist these days, I can’t help but think ‘Godless industry’. When I hear the obscene lyrics of songs that are on today’s radio I can’t help but think ‘Godless society’. When I turn on the news and see malice and cruelty subjected on defenceless everyday people, I can’t help but think ‘Godless nation’. My point is that we need to find a balance between forced-religion and complete un-Godliness before our world turns into a wreck less and un-inhabitable place to live in. How we are supposed to achieve that in a society of people with such differing views and beliefs is beyond me. Maybe going back to our churches is a good place to start?
According to a recent poll conducted by Kirk Hadaway (minister for research and evaluation at the United Church of Christ’s Board for Homeland Ministries) weekly church attendance has dropped by 30% over the past 60 years. It is estimated that approximately 40% of Americans still attend Church (this includes Jewish, Christian and Muslim churches) however this number is slowly dwindling;
“Despite the rhetoric, active religious participation remains a minority interest
in American life." Tom Flynn, writer for Free Inquiry magazine, (1998).
I believe the declining number of church attendees is a result of many things. Firstly I deem it as the outcome of an absence of peer pressure. Just admit it; your neighbours will still love you if you don’t go to church (as long as you maintain the front lawn off course). I also feel declining number may be due to the aggressive approach the churches took in the past to ensure people came every week (threatening us with hell’s fury etc), it seems to have had the opposite effect and driven people away. I know from my own experience that when I am told I must eat piece of bread or drink a certain cup of wine to have my soul blessed I feel insulted because to me God is above these superficial man-created dogmas and rules.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Learning Reflection
I was not aware that prior to the thanksgiving dinners held by European colonists, Native Americans had been holding harvest festivals for centuries. I was also surprised to find that the bird of choice for dinner during the early period was in fact wild fowl and not turkey? After reading the two descriptions of the holiday (especially the quote from Edward Winslow) I was impressed to see the large emphasis on generosity and coming together of different people to give thanks to different Gods and how this still relates to contemporary situations today.
One thing that I am glad has changed over the years is the regulation concerning social status. In my home you get to eat whatever you please and it astounds me that things were any different in our history.
One thing that I am glad has changed over the years is the regulation concerning social status. In my home you get to eat whatever you please and it astounds me that things were any different in our history.
Second week virtues
Family: my family is continue to my life I have to take care of it
Growing up I lived under the same roof and ate at the same table as my parents and siblings until I was old enough to marry and start a family of my own. Because of my positive upbringing I have strong emotions towards the notion of family life and how things in a household should be. Spending time together is a very important staple in my life and it is something I press upon with my wife and children continually. My understanding of family has developed over the years and many experiences have helped shaped the beliefs I hold today.
The traditional notion of family has come a long way and as with all things, it has changed over time. Sometimes I wonder if it is just me, or does it seem harder to raise a family nowadays?
Regardless I make it my duty to provide and take care of my family and so far I believe I am doing ok. I try very hard to set a healthy example of how a safe family should coexist for my own children. By doing this I hope to instil in them positive notions on relationships so that when they are ready to start a family of their own, they too can set an example to their children. It’s sometimes hard to learn to collaboration with people in your family who have opposing ideas to you; but this is defiantly something I am working on. I also expect equal and valuable contributions in effort and time from every family member.
One thing I would like to improve on however is bridging the gap between members whom I feel distant to and involving them in my life more actively. Family to me is absolutely the biggest priority of my life and it is where the majority of my effort and time goes into, well worth the effort I believe.
Growing up I lived under the same roof and ate at the same table as my parents and siblings until I was old enough to marry and start a family of my own. Because of my positive upbringing I have strong emotions towards the notion of family life and how things in a household should be. Spending time together is a very important staple in my life and it is something I press upon with my wife and children continually. My understanding of family has developed over the years and many experiences have helped shaped the beliefs I hold today.
The traditional notion of family has come a long way and as with all things, it has changed over time. Sometimes I wonder if it is just me, or does it seem harder to raise a family nowadays?
Regardless I make it my duty to provide and take care of my family and so far I believe I am doing ok. I try very hard to set a healthy example of how a safe family should coexist for my own children. By doing this I hope to instil in them positive notions on relationships so that when they are ready to start a family of their own, they too can set an example to their children. It’s sometimes hard to learn to collaboration with people in your family who have opposing ideas to you; but this is defiantly something I am working on. I also expect equal and valuable contributions in effort and time from every family member.
One thing I would like to improve on however is bridging the gap between members whom I feel distant to and involving them in my life more actively. Family to me is absolutely the biggest priority of my life and it is where the majority of my effort and time goes into, well worth the effort I believe.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Patrick Henry
St. Johns Church:
Walking up the hill towards St. Johns Church, where the world has been set, then repeated by thousands of politicians in the world, “Give me liberty or give me death.” When I walked up the steps to the church, I felt that the people were still there. You feel like Patrick Henry is saying his speech to them over and over again. Walking inside the church, I saw a guy dressed from the 1800s that was explaining to the groups of people and tourists about this moment in history, but I didn’t give any attention to him. I felt the spirit in the church and I kept hearing Patrick Henry giving his speech.
Walking up the hill towards St. Johns Church, where the world has been set, then repeated by thousands of politicians in the world, “Give me liberty or give me death.” When I walked up the steps to the church, I felt that the people were still there. You feel like Patrick Henry is saying his speech to them over and over again. Walking inside the church, I saw a guy dressed from the 1800s that was explaining to the groups of people and tourists about this moment in history, but I didn’t give any attention to him. I felt the spirit in the church and I kept hearing Patrick Henry giving his speech.
Extra Credit
Edgar Allen Poe Museum:
5 dollars with a AAA card is all you have to pay to learn more and see the interesting pictures and life stories of Edgar Allen Poe. Walking inside, you feel the spirit of sadness in the atmosphere. There is no life inside the rooms. It is quiet and dark. Whatever we say or talk about Edgar Allen Poe, is not enough words to show how he expresses his feelings and writes his poems. He provides to the world genuine writing that we will never be able to forget. His poems and stories will be taught throughout the future.
This is what I thought after I read the Raven.
"The Raven: is a symbol of imagination for a man that imagines a raven is a message from God, intended to relieve him from the pain because of how much he has suffered with a great loss. Also, the raven reflected Poe’s life experiences, including living a life of poverty and being orphaned at a young age and the losses of his beloved wife, and death after a long illness. As he lived a life full of negativity, he had a depressive state of mind over his loss. He lives in deep darkness.
The dark night remind him how weak, lonely and sorrowful he felt. It also reminded him of his lost love, Lenore. He gets a feeling and accepts what has happened in his life and he will accept the end. His wife soul and his past are constantly tapping at the door and then the window in order to make him remember.
"The Raven" is a sign of death. Also, the word, “Nevermore” shows that the narrator had enough pain in his life.
If we look to the raven as a massage from his wife, we will find the beauty and love of how he wanted to remember her or how her soul came back to visit her beloved husband.
If we look to the raven as sad and dark tale, we will see the death that came to take him away or to remind him the painful past?
Monday, November 16, 2009
Learning reflections for week 12
Virtues would be important to the well being of our society for many reasons except for the fact that we can hardly ever use it. If people used virtues all the time society would be in a very different place. I realize that no matter how skilled I am, I can always improve my abilities to prepare better to solve problems, make decisions, or decide in a reasonable and reflective way and make better choices.
Short List of My virtues
1) Family; your family is your life, therefore you have to take care of it
2) Temper; negative temper puts you down, positive temper cheers you up
3) Society; treat every person the way you want to be treated
4) Honesty; Be honest with yourself before you can be honest with others
5) Self content; internal determination means you should never give up
6) Destiny; if you want to liver, you destiny answer your call
7) Successes; Look behind and learn and Look to front to achieve
8) Personality; by knowing yourself you will able to know the others
9) Religion; belief in your heart and between you and God, talk about Abraham “Father of the Profits”
10) Communication; count till 10 before you say the world
11) Peace; starts in the humans mind not in humans acts
Hard work, self- discipline and a yearning for success have been some of the virtues I have maintained my entire life. I longed to be like those great people from the past who have achieved something and left their mark in our history.
As I am a determined person, I was determined to make these virtues a part of my daily routine. By organizing my thoughts into positive feelings I could maintain control (to some degree) of the days’ outcome. Sometimes I would try to place each one of the virtues I would like to work on in a particular day on a separate page in a small book (I learnt tis from the great Benjamin Franklin) and it is something that I must work harder on doing because that precise mental exercise really does work. It gets me thinking about how to achieve the particular virtue I have chosen for the day and I remain focused on achieving that goal and carrying it out. I also try to evaluate my performance with regard to each of the virtues on a daily basis however I aim to only have one main virtue to focus on for each week so that my goal is realistic and achievable. Furthermore by realizing that no one is perfect it actually inspires me to persevere when I have been feeling out of touch with my virtuous side and therefore I have the strength to keep going. I have promised myself to work on them for the rest of my life and make them a guide and support of my character. It is my own personal battle to improve on them every day in my life and it is a war that I am winning.
Honesty; be honest with yourself before you can be honest with others (this is what I am trying to improve)
Being honest with each other is getting harder these days; almost as hard as being honest with yourself. It’s not rare to find ourselves lying to our own minds let alone the dishonesty we express towards other people.
Unfortunately it is so much harder to tell the truth when you know what you are about to say may cause hurt to someone. I know lying is wrong and that regardless of the situation I should always tell the truth, however in some circumstances it just seems out of the question. One example is in my work place (as I am a hair dresser) I have to lie to keep my customers happy. For example if a customer picks a hair colour that I know will look ridiculous on him/her, I can only give my honest opinion to a certain degree or I will risk losing their business.
By stating ‘be honest with yourself before others’ I mean to say that once we have conquered our own demons inside we are strong enough to face the truth on the outside. If I am honest with myself then I can trust myself; and if I trust myself then I know myself better and have a stronger understanding of what is right and true. Therefore I can more easily portray this notion of truth through my communications with others and be honest with them completely. It is my goal to maintain this practice of refining my stance on telling the truth without hesitation, I would like it to become a second nature and something that flows easily as it should be.
2) Temper; negative temper puts you down, positive temper cheers you up
3) Society; treat every person the way you want to be treated
4) Honesty; Be honest with yourself before you can be honest with others
5) Self content; internal determination means you should never give up
6) Destiny; if you want to liver, you destiny answer your call
7) Successes; Look behind and learn and Look to front to achieve
8) Personality; by knowing yourself you will able to know the others
9) Religion; belief in your heart and between you and God, talk about Abraham “Father of the Profits”
10) Communication; count till 10 before you say the world
11) Peace; starts in the humans mind not in humans acts
Hard work, self- discipline and a yearning for success have been some of the virtues I have maintained my entire life. I longed to be like those great people from the past who have achieved something and left their mark in our history.
As I am a determined person, I was determined to make these virtues a part of my daily routine. By organizing my thoughts into positive feelings I could maintain control (to some degree) of the days’ outcome. Sometimes I would try to place each one of the virtues I would like to work on in a particular day on a separate page in a small book (I learnt tis from the great Benjamin Franklin) and it is something that I must work harder on doing because that precise mental exercise really does work. It gets me thinking about how to achieve the particular virtue I have chosen for the day and I remain focused on achieving that goal and carrying it out. I also try to evaluate my performance with regard to each of the virtues on a daily basis however I aim to only have one main virtue to focus on for each week so that my goal is realistic and achievable. Furthermore by realizing that no one is perfect it actually inspires me to persevere when I have been feeling out of touch with my virtuous side and therefore I have the strength to keep going. I have promised myself to work on them for the rest of my life and make them a guide and support of my character. It is my own personal battle to improve on them every day in my life and it is a war that I am winning.
Honesty; be honest with yourself before you can be honest with others (this is what I am trying to improve)
Being honest with each other is getting harder these days; almost as hard as being honest with yourself. It’s not rare to find ourselves lying to our own minds let alone the dishonesty we express towards other people.
Unfortunately it is so much harder to tell the truth when you know what you are about to say may cause hurt to someone. I know lying is wrong and that regardless of the situation I should always tell the truth, however in some circumstances it just seems out of the question. One example is in my work place (as I am a hair dresser) I have to lie to keep my customers happy. For example if a customer picks a hair colour that I know will look ridiculous on him/her, I can only give my honest opinion to a certain degree or I will risk losing their business.
By stating ‘be honest with yourself before others’ I mean to say that once we have conquered our own demons inside we are strong enough to face the truth on the outside. If I am honest with myself then I can trust myself; and if I trust myself then I know myself better and have a stronger understanding of what is right and true. Therefore I can more easily portray this notion of truth through my communications with others and be honest with them completely. It is my goal to maintain this practice of refining my stance on telling the truth without hesitation, I would like it to become a second nature and something that flows easily as it should be.
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