Islam and the Koran for 12/9/11 I felt like I talked too much during the discussion on Friday, but I had so much that I wanted to say. I'm very interested in the similarities and differences between Islam and Christianity. After reading excerpts from the Koran, I may have to read more of it and compare it to the Bible. A few months ago, a recent Ball State grad, Sara Sorrell (no relation to me...) came and spoke at my church. She is studying at Oxford University and during her time there has met people from all sorts of cultures and religions. About two years ago, she dated a Muslim man, and she was able to experience the religious differences first hand. Her relationship did not pan out, but it did give her a desire to study Islam and it's implications for Christians. When she spoke with us, I remember that she stressed how much faith Muslims have. As was said in class, Muslims believe the Koran to be infallible, that the words in the book are the very words of God. This is comparable to the Bible, but, like was said in class, the Bible tends to give evidence backing itself up: the Old Testament presents prophesy and the New Testament fulfills it. The Koran, however, comes across as more of a "believe it because I said so" book.
I'm getting off topic. I actually wanted to focus on a point not brought up too much in class.
Here's the thing:
I brought up a book in class called So What's the Difference? by Fritz Ridenour. (It's a good "thinking book.") In the chapter about Islam, one of the points the author makes is that the difference between Islam and Christianity hinges on who Jesus really was. Was he just a prophet? A good teacher? Or was he the Son of God, both fully man and fully God? Hmmm... that question, my friends, is not one I can answer for you. You must look at the information and make a decision for yourself.
Info I have come across:
Ironically, the name of Jesus is mentioned more in the Koran than the name of Muhammad. Also, Jesus has a second coming according to the Islamic faith. The most notable and crucial point, though is that in Islam, the crucifixion of Jesus is rejected. Flavius Josephus, a historian who was born around AD 38 and served Roman commander Vespasian in Jerusalem until the city's destruction in AD 70, is one of several sources outside of the Bible that confirms that Jesus of Nazareth was, in fact, crucified. The Koran, on the other hand, says, "...but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them..." The crucifixion (and resurrection) of Jesus is what makes Christianity... well, Christianity. It is on this hinge that the greatest divide lies. If the Koran is right, and all four separate authors of the Gospels were wrong, and Jesus did not die and rise again, then the whole concept of Jesus being the Savior of the world by being the ultimate sacrifice goes down the tubes, and over 2 billion Christian people worldwide are left without any reason to have hope. But if Muhammad was mistaken as he dictated the Koran, and Jesus really did die on a cross and come back from the dead three days later, then the beliefs of 1.5 billion Muslim people worldwide would shift dramatically.
Who's right? I can't say for sure. I don't know that there is a definite answer.
But given the evidence that I have, I side with the team that backs up its claims by referencing ancient texts, has historical documentation, and has not one, but four separate accounts from four completely different men that give 4 perspectives on the same story but ultimately make the same point.
And just as a note to anyone who reads this: I'm not attacking Islam or the Koran... I'm just trying to make sense of things from my perspective. If you see flaws in my logic or you just want to pick my brain and ask why I believe what I believe, just talk to me. I love hearing new perspectives and learning about other people's opinions. :)
Response to Peer's Paper for 12/2/11 I read Tory's critical essay about Hinduism and the Bhagavad Gita. I was immediately drawn into her paper by the introduction. It effortlessly drew me in because I related to it so well. She talked about how Americans generally don't know too much about Eastern culture and that, because of this lack of background knowledge, the Bhagavad Gita was confusing at times. Tory threw in some dates to give a chronological perspective on Hinduism and when the Gita was written. She explored the topic of the caste system in India as well too.
I was drawn in by this. Way back in seventh grade, the three seventh grade history teachers teamed up and created a simulation that would help all of us 12 and 13 year olds to better understand the caste system. Each student drew a slip of paper out of a hat, and on that paper the name of the caste that you would be a part of for the next week. To tell everyone apart, we received colored dots on our hands that corresponded to our specific castes. For 5 school days, we could only associate with people in our castes, "untouchables" had to stay by the walls and walk with heads down, and brahmins could do basically whatever they wanted.
Anyway, so I was pretty familiar with the caste system, but Tory presented it in a way that made it simple to understand, but she also highlighted the inequality of it all. She also explored the symbiotic relationship between the two highest castes... something that I had never thought about. That definitely piqued my interest.
The explanation of the castes tied into the discussion about the Gita seamlessly. I hadn't realized that the Gita could be looked at as a means of keeping the lower castes complacent. The idea is that the heroes of the Gita followed their sacred duty and were rewarded in the next life, so lower caste members could look upon this and say, "Hey, I got the short stick in this life, but if I do what my caste role demands that I do, I will be rewarded. No use trying to rebel and end up coming back as a bug."
All-in-all, Tory's essay is beautifully written, but not in a way that is over people's heads. It's clearly and simply written, without fluff or jargon, without ridiculously huge words or lengthy, confusing sentences. It's elegant. It was a pleasure to read.
Critical Essay Draft for December 2nd Memo: What were the expectations of Hebrew women, and what can we learn from them?
My ideas for revision: Add another paragraph of research...
Feedback: What, if anything, should I go into more detail about? What kind of improvements could I make to make the paper more engaging and informative? If you find typos or horrendous grammar please point those out too. :)
Daniela Sorrell Hebrew Women: What Was Life Like? Honors 201
Growing up in a Christian household, I attended Sunday school and church from the time I was a little girl. I learned the stories Adam and Eve, Abraham and Isaac, Moses and Pharaoh, and countless others early on. As I have grown older, however, I have begun to delve deeper into these Old Testament accounts. Now, these characters are more than words on the pages of an old book, and I like to put myself in these people’s sandals and ponder what my life would have been like had I been born on the other side of the globe a few thousand years ago. In Honors 201, reading excerpts of Exodus from a literary standpoint allowed many questions, ideas, and observations to form in my mind. Some inquiries came from a faith standpoint, contemplating the supposed impossibility of the many wondrous and unlikely events in Exodus and trying to wrap my mind around the miracles and mysteries that were written down many millennia ago. Others, however, stemmed from my aspiration to relate to the characters on a personal level and my desire to know what happened in between the verses. What sorts of daily duties did Moses’ mother have to perform before she set him in a reed basket and floated him down the river? What were the Hebrew people’s cultural and religious expectations of his sister Miriam? In short, the question that came to mind over and over again was, “What was life like in ancient times for Hebrew women?” Some sources have compared the lives of these archaic women to the Afghani women during the time of the Taliban’s extremist rule over the country of Afghanistan. In ancient Israel, unmarried women could not leave their father’s home without his authorization, and married women could not leave their husband’s home without his approval. Women could not testify during a legal trial, could not talk to strangers, and could not go out in public un-chaperoned (Robinson,1 of 5). In addition, “Having children was… the ultimate aim of all women in Israel (“Daily Life in Ancient Israel” 1 of 2).” Childlessness was among the top reasons that husbands would seek to divorce their wives (Thompson 1 of 5). According to another source, however, common perceptions regarding the ancient Hebrews may be rather skewed, that a woman’s role in traditional Judaism has been misconstrued and distorted. “The position of women [under Jewish Law] that dates back to the biblical period is in many ways better than the position of women under American civil law as recently as a century ago (Rich 1 of 7).” ? According to traditional Judaism, God is neither male nor female but has qualities of both. Men and women were created in the image of this gender-neutral God. Adam, the man was created first, but Jewish scholars have stated that the man created at the beginning of Genesis had “…dual gender, and was later separated into male and female (Rich 1 of 7).” Since biblical times women have held positions of authority and respect. Out of the fifty-five prophets of the Bible, seven were women. Women served as liberators and judges as well. When it comes to the family unit, the Ten Commandments demand that people respect both mother and father. Interestingly, when Moses first presents the commandments in the book of Exodus, the word “father” comes first, but when the commandments are reiterated in Leviticus, “mother” comes first instead. “…Many traditional sources point out that this reversal is intended to show that both parents are equally entitled to honor and reverence (Rich 2 of 7).” In the household, the men and the women had their own duties and obligations. For most women, their family’s home was a small house of clay and straw brick. She would have swept her the floor, (or, if she were wealthy, have her servants do it,) cooked the meals, taken care of her children. Children of both genders were loved the same, but boys were usually preferred because they stayed with the family permanently. Daughters, on the other hand, left home and became part of another family when they married. “While there may have been a greater rejoicing for a son, particularly a first-born, daughters were cherished just as much while they were growing up (“Daily Life in Ancient Israel” 1 of 2).” Undoubtedly, the main role of a woman in the traditional thinking of the Hebrews is that of a wife and mother. It must be noted, however, that Judaism has perpetuated the respect for the spiritual impact that a woman has on her family (Rich 3 of 7). No doubt the ancients would have held women in a high respect in this aspect. According to the Talmud, a holy book of Judaism, “…when a pious man marries a wicked woman, the man becomes wicked, but when a wicked man marries a pious woman the man becomes pious.” Also, it is necessary to point out that Judaism is matriarchal in the sense that both the religion and cultural knowledge are deemed to pass through the mother. If a child has a Jewish mother and a gentile father, the child is considered Jewish. If a child has a gentile mother and a Jewish father, he is not considered to be Jewish. The overall gist that I get from everything I read is that women in Hebrew society were incredibly important. They provided a firm, positive spiritual example, kept the family and household together, and at times were called by God to be in positions of authority and leadership. All too often, people look at the story of Moses in Exodus and think of it as a one-man show. It is imperative that we not overlook supporting players in this incredible story. To start, we meet Moses’ mother. At the beginning of the second chapter of Exodus we are told she is a woman of the house of Levi, that she conceived a son with her husband, and she hid her son for three months from Egyptian forces who had been ordered to kill every baby boy born to Hebrews in Egypt back in the first chapter of Exodus. She was probably, for all intents and purposes, an average Hebrew woman living in Egypt while the Hebrew people were slaves there. No doubt she continued to care for her family, household, and obligation to God in addition to doing whatever slave labor she had to do. As mentioned above, being a mother was one of the main roles in a Hebrew woman’s life. Her dedication and love for her baby son caused her to make a very risky decision. It is not every day that a woman decides to go against the all-powerful hand of a supposedly divine pharaoh. Nevertheless, she did. Exodus explains that she made a small ark or basket, put her son in, and set it in the river. This woman had faith. She was probably scared to death that something was going to happen to her precious child, but it was because of that faith and her loyalty to her family that Moses lived.
According to the second chapter of Exodus, Miriam, Moses’ sister, watched from a way off as her baby brother’s basket floated in the water. Miriam was an intelligent girl. Not long after seeing one of Pharaoh’s daughters find baby Moses, Miriam piped up, asking if Pharaoh’s daughter wanted a Hebrew slave woman to be the child’s nursemaid. Pharaoh’s daughter accepted the offer, and Miriam came back with Moses’ real mother. Miriam was learning early on to have a deep sense of commitment to her family. Also, when Miriam became an adult she was called to be a prophetess, proclaiming the words of God to the Hebrew people after they were freed from captivity in Egypt. She “… is considered one of the liberators of the Children of Israel (Rich 2 of 7).” A position of incredible respect among her people, being called a liberator suggests how courageous, intelligent, and committed to her faith she was. In effect, she was a mother-like figure to the Hebrew people.
These two ladies represent just a sliver of the many crucial women whose stories appear in the Bible. Although they may have had to follow some firm laws regarding aspects of their conduct, they were certainly not victims of oppression. These women were resilient, tough, courageous, spiritual, dedicated, cherished, and respected. If we could transport ourselves back to the days of Exodus and stand in the sandals of either Moses’ mother or Miriam, how would we fare? Would we be able to juggle the demands of our culture and religion and impact the world for generations to come? People today could learn a lot by exploring the stories of these historic and significant Biblical women.
Robinson, B. A. "The Status of Women in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) Passages Treating Women as Inferior to Men." ReligiousTolerance.org. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, 1 Jan. 2011. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://www.religioustolerance.org/ofe_bibl.htm>.
11/18 Art Museum
Walking up to the BSU art museum, I felt very small. The building reminds me of Notre Dame (the French cathedral... not the university.) Regal, majestic, classic, impressive, beautiful... I could go on with adjectives that describe the outside of the building, but that's not the focus of this response.
Every time I walk around in the museum, I feel a sense of awe at the sheer talent of everyone whose art is on display, not to mention the amount of art available for viewing. I overheard some of the workers talking and they said that what we see on display represents only ten percent of the art that the museum has. There is another ninety percent of beautiful creativity that we aren't even seeing!
The layout is really conducive to getting people to explore. I'm the sort of person that can't resist peeking behind doors or going into adjacent rooms. (Curiosity killed the cat, I know... but I'm still alive, right?) But from the "main rooms" there is usually at least one more doorway that leads to yet another collection. Being the curious child at heart that I am, those open doorways invite me to walk in and explore. I spent over an hour walking from room to room, examining vases, looking at the intricate details in the paintings, and trying to make sense of the modern art. (I respect the talent. Honestly, I do, but modern art isn't really my cup of tea. I'm definitely more partial to the "classics." My favorites are paintings that are so detailed that they look like photographs. It's breathtaking.)
The highlights of the collection... well, my personal favorites were "The Calm After the Storm" and a painting of a river in the late afternoon, as well as many of the statues.
"The Calm After the Storm" is a painting that shows a man lying (perhaps he is dead after drowning?) in the sand at the ocean's edge. It's simply extraordinary. The painting of the river is just really calming, and I noticed that the water isn't blue. It's brown and reflects the colors of the autumn leaves on the trees in the surrounding scenery. It really made me think about how our perceptions on the colors around us aren't always true. Rivers may not be blue, grass normally isn't kelly green, and (on a grander scale) people aren't really red, yellow, black, or white. The sculptures in general amazed me, mostly because I could never craft something like that. The busts of certain people looked so lifelike! I half-expected them to turn and look at me when I walked away.
So, to make a long story short, I really, really, really like our art museum.
11/11/11 (!)
Proposal ideas for the paper...
-The daily life/role of women in Ancient Greece or Rome
-Asian cultures' views on respecting elders & ancestor worship
About the Aeneid:
I've got to throw this out there: I prefer the Odyssey over the Aeneid. Maybe it's because it was actually completed instead of left unfinished because of untimely death. Maybe it's because the main characters of the Odyssey are more relatable. Or maybe it's because Penelope is tough and holds on, but Dido just throws in the towel for what seems to be no good reason. The Aeneid is more of a large-scale view, telling more that just one man's tale, while the Odyssey is very focused in on one man and his trek home.The story of Dido's suicide really struck me. It's such a stark contrast to Penelope hanging on for 20 years, waiting for her husband. Also, Aeneis doesn't display as much emotion. He seems more stoic and seems less human.
...oh wait, he's half god. That explains it.
But still, where are the tears? The dramatic staring into the ocean? The heartbreak? Maybe being the son of the goddess of beauty means that you don't have to worry with matters as insignificant as feelings...
If Aeneis and Odysseus were pitted against each other one-on-one, I'd think that Aeneis would have an unfair advantage... he's technically a demigod of sorts. Odysseus, as strong and powerful as he is, is, as far as I remember, completely human. Maybe that's why I find Odysseus more relate-able: he's human. He has low points, he makes mistakes, and he picks himself up and keeps going.
When Aeneis visits the Underworld and sees Dido, I would've expected more from him...
Had it been Odysseus visiting Penelope... well, it would've been a different story.
November 4, 2011
Jacob brought up a good point today when he talked about his pre-conceived notions regarding Confucius. I was right there with him. The second that I saw we were reading writings inspired by Confucius, I thought to myself "Confucius say..." Stereotypical? Yes. Politically incorrect? Yes. A little bit humorous? ...Maybe.
But I was surprised at how it was written in prose. I was expecting it to be more like the book of Proverbs in the Bible, with hundreds of sentence-long bits and pieces of wisdom. I didn't expect there to be anything more than that, certainly no stories with central themes...
Oops.
On another note, one thing I picked up on in some of the reading is the idea of honor, especially honoring one's family and one's elders. I really like the Asian thoughts of bringing honor to the family. In present-day America, we often get caught up in the "Me, Me, Me"s. Traditionally, we've been a nation which values independence and the individual. There are a lot of benefits to valuing family and the family unit, however. Knowing that stupid actions will result in shame for not only oneself but for one's family makes a person think twice before embarking on a path of carelessness and unintelligence. I'm thinking if America adopted a similar attitude we'd have a downturn in teen pregnancy, drug addiction, and reality television. Really. Do people realize how horrible they look when they're parading around intoxicated and half-dressed in the name of entertainment? Do they know how many people shake their heads and sarcastically say,"I bet their parents are proud." There are so many other wise sayings and thought-provoking themes that could be discussed, but this is the one I liked the best.
10/28/11 The Good Life
If I could put together the perfect life for myself what would I have?
It'd be quite the list: perfect hair, completely-clear skin that tans easily, happily-married parents, a very comfortable cushion of money, full-ride scholarship, a 4.0, a well-paying job, hairless legs, a high metabolism, no wars, no famines, no droughts... you get the picture. There are a lot of "ideals" that come to mind.
The question is, would that really give me lasting fulfillment and joy?
Oh sure, looking great all the time would be wonderful and would do great things for my confidence, but that could easily creep into cockiness territory, leaving me with few people who would want to hang around me.
Sadness.
Happily-married parents would be incredible, but then I might grow up believing that relationships are easy, that couples never disagree, and that a happy relationship is effortless. That would certainly cause a shock when I'd fall in love. I may not be a very good girlfriend or wife because I wouldn't have had an example of how to work through tough times.
Sadness.
Extra money would be lovely, but what happens when money starts climb up the priority list? What if suddenly, I've made it a priority over dear people and God?
Sadness.
Hairless legs? ... Actually, that sounds pretty good.
But in all seriousness, the "good life" isn't one standard. Rather, it's a million little things coming together and lining up in the correct order of priority. It comes from being grateful, joyful, and realistic. I believe that unselfishness plays a big role in the "good life" as well.
10/21/11 Reflection
Walking into Robert Bell on August 22nd for the first meeting of Honors 201, I had no idea what to expect. I wasn't so much nervous as I was curious about what I was about to start. Would there be insane exams? Really long papers? Hours of reading? I wondered if the class would turn out like the notion I had in my head. My 8am class certainly didn't feel like "college" ...whatever that really means. What would this class feel like?
Well, that day, I remember thinking, "This is going to be a good class."
And it's true.
I learn so much from our class discussions. I'm really fascinated by people and their unique opinions, so I really enjoy hearing different views on material we've read. People bring up new points of discussion or new takes on a concept and it makes me think about my own opinions.
My goal from day one has been to say at least one thing during every discussion. I don't consider myself to be shy, but it can be easy to sit back and listen rather than talk, so I make sure that I participate in discussions.
I like how the class is set up: mostly reading and discussion. I have friends in other 201 classes, and their professors put more focus on writing and projects. There is nothing wrong with that, but I like how our class is more discussion oriented. I learn really well that way.
I also think that it's easier to connect with people when you have a lot of group discussions. I have some classes where it is nearly 100% lecture, and I haven't connected with many people in those classes simply because there aren't many opportunities. In this class, however, I feel like I know more people because we connect more. We're not merely students who happen to be in the same room, we're classmates.
My one suggestion for improvement? There are some people who rarely or never speak, and I wish they would open up a little. Again, I'm very curious about their opinions. Obviously, you can't force people to speak, but if everyone made it a goal to speak once during each discussion, it would make our discussions that much richer.
10/12/11 Response to the Parodies and Antigone
Wow. Wow. Wow.
I was completely blown away by the creativity of our class. The Facebook profiles, song parodies, hilarious journal entries, a children's book, artistic talent, and a Scooby Doo episode?
Well played, Honors 201 students. Well played.
Now onto Antigone...
I studied this briefly in 6th grade, and then read it again in 10th grade, so I was pretty familiar with the whole storyline. I really like what someone said in class today about Antigone's motives not being 100% selfless to benefit her brother's soul... That somewhere she had a true desire to die. It got me thinking: now that I'm older, what else is questionable in the story? One point that I continued to make under my breath, much to the amusement of the people sitting next to me, was that a lot of Antigone's problems stemmed from the fact that her dad was also her grandpa. The girl was part of one big, dysfunctional, tragic, inbred family. Honestly, why do you think incest is so highly frowned upon? (Besides the fact that it gives most people the willies. Gross.) Aside from the obvious "that's absolutely disgusting" factor, from a purely biological standpoint, inbreeding is not a good idea. Ideally, a person would choose to procreate with someone completely different from himself. That way, unfavorable genes carried by one population would be unlikely to match up with the unfavorable genes of the other population.
Unfortunately for Antigone, her papa Oedipus hit the Gene Pool Jackpot by sleeping with his own mother.
Actually, I'm more pleasantly surprised that Antigone wass fully-functional and had only 10 toes. (Gosh, that came out a lot less politically correct than I intended.)
I guess what I'm trying to get at is that Antigone did not have much in her favor starting out. The odds were against her. Even if she had a secret motive to die when she buried her brother, I still respect her for sticking to her convictions. She must have had a really stressful life, and on top of the parent/grandparent drama, both of her brothers had died at the hands of each other. They were two of the few people in the world who probably understood what her life was like growing up: being a freak because your dad was the local prophesy-fulfilling awkward guy who killed his father and married his mother. Antigone probably felt more alone than ever when the only person she had left, her sister, turned her back. I feel sorry for her. If only she could have had the Disney happy ending and married Haemon.
But then again, that would make Creon her father-in-law.
I guess that's not a big deal, though... he was already her uncle.
10/5/11 Ag(amemnon) and Cly(temnestra)
Oh, Ag and Cly... not a happy marriage. I was surprised by how our class responded to Ag's sacrifice of his daughter, and then doubly surprised at the irony of how we responded to Cly's murder of her husband:
Killing your innocent child as a sacrifice to the gods so your sails can get a nice breeze? Makes sense.
Killing your child-sacrificing husband after he brings home a slave girl and rubs even more salt in the wound? WHOA! LET'S NOT GET CRAZY! Murder is wrong!
Uh, what?
First off, I'm not a big proponent of the death penalty. Why do we kill people to show other people that killing people is wrong? I will say that there are instances when I could justify using the death penalty, but I believe in forgiveness and the opportunity to repent.
From prison.
Serving a life sentence.
Anyway, back to Ag and Cly. What I'm saying is, if we're going to be appalled by Cly's murder of her husband, then we should be just as appalled, if not more so, at the murder of the daughter. But really, both Cly and her husband made really poor decisions. Cly got power-hungry and got way too excited about wearing the pants in the relationship and thought that it was ok to be sleeping around with Ag's sleazy cousin. (Ok, I didn't really know him, maybe he was a nice guy.) (But probably not if he liked the idea of killing his own cousin so he could continue canoodling with his cousin's wife.) Ag was a wishy-washy man, except for when it came to killing his kin... he could follow through with that. He also had no problems sleeping with the enemy (clever, huh?) but he probably would have killed his wife without batting an eye if he'd caught her being unfaithful. How did these two get together in the first place? Talk about a dysfunctional relationship.
I guess my question is still there: why were we so quick to forgive Ag, yet so quick to condemn Cly?
9/28/11 Abraham and Moses
It's kind of funny how desensitized people can become toward some of the stories in the Old Testament. Reading the story of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac in class really brought it to my attention how harsh some of the stories can be. These stories are built into Sunday School lessons that children hear from a young age, and I think we've lost some of the shock factor of them. [I think this is a great point. MH] When you look at the Bible, especially the first half of the Old Testament, it's pretty much R-rated. There's violence, death, destruction... the list goes on. And even though we can look back on the heroes of the stories as good and seemingly infallible men, that wasn't the case at all. Even King David (I know we haven't talked about him in class...) who was called, "A man after God's own heart," did horrible things: sleep with a woman who was married to someone else, murder, and backslide on a regular basis. Moses was probably a spoiled child growing up in the Egyptian royal class, and Abraham threw God's plans out the window because he thought his way was better and more likely to work.
... I guess the point I'm trying to make is that these people were all just as messed up as we are, some even more so, but the incredible thread woven into each of their lives was that God was able to use them and turn them into heroes despite their failures and flaws. I think it just goes to show that you don't have to be perfect to be an epic hero, and that anyone can do great things with the support of a great Power.
Creation Stories (For 9/23/11)
One point that kept coming up in class discussions was the polytheism versus monotheism issue. We talked about which stories sound more credible and believable and which ones come across as (in my words) a twisted science fiction movie. When I look at Greek mythology or Egyptian mythology, I feel bad for the people of those ancient societies. They couldn't have had much hope in their religion. Rather than calming the chaos of life, I think the thought of hundreds of gods, goddesses, and demigods quarreling and fighting for power would have made things a lot worse. A person may feel bad that there is famine in the land, but he'll feel even worse when he realizes that his favorite god doesn't have the power to fix it or that the problem does not lie in his particular jurisdiction. A monotheistic religion seems a lot more believable and less chaotic. One all-powerful, all-knowing God who doesn't have to answer to other deities. I suppose that the monotheistic view only works well when the all-powerful, all-knowing God in question is just. A single, spiteful, hateful god would be horrible, and if that were who ruled over the universe I doubt we'd all still be here...
But anyway, one of the great things about the God of the Hebrew scriptures is that He is outside human understanding. He made man in His image; we didn't make Him in ours. Like I said in class, if man can put God in a little box and control Him, then what kind of God is He? Someone said in class on Friday that she thought the Hebrew God was easier to understand than the many gods and goddesses of other religions. I disagree. The other gods and goddesses are pretty much supercharged humans. They whine, they make rash decisions, they certainly aren't pure or holy. That's easily understood by people. After all, we're like that too. But a holy, omniscient, omnipotent God? Good luck finding anyone who can fully wrap his mind around that. (Great point! -MH)
9/17/11 THE ODYSSEY (3.5)
Unfortunately, this journal is a day late. I apologize.
From start to finish, The Odyssey is a compelling read. I wish I had more knowledge on the details of the Iliad because I could probably make a lot more informed opinions on this epic. But just by reading the Odyssey I have learned a lot, not only about the details of this legendary hero's adventures, but about my own thought processes and what I value. Generally, when it comes to literature, I start to appreciate what it only when I'm nearing the end. In the Odyssey, for instance, I got hung up on my own frustrations and limitations on understanding various characters and themes in the story. However, looking back on it, I can say that I enjoyed reading it, and I have a greater respect for the Ancient Greeks and their ability to craft a great epic. When it comes to putting together a tale, Homer wrote it down very well. This epic has everything: life vs. death, a love story, a coming-of-age story, incredible mental imagery, a beautiful setting, and a cast of characters that ranges from cunning and intelligent to oafish and ridiculous. I feel really fortunate that this traditionally oral epic was written down so it could be preserved for future generations. I may have belly-ached about the unjustness of double standards rather than appreciating such a well-told story as it was sitting before me, but hindsight is 20/20. The Odyssey was wonderful to read again. After studying it fairly in-depth about 4 years ago, it was so interesting to go back and see what else could be dug out of it. This, unlike Gilgamesh, with be an epic that I recommend to everyone.
Friday, 9/9/11 THE ODYSSEY (2.0)
I have got to say, Penelope is a great woman. Throughout this whole story, she has remained faithful to her husband. Loving him long after everyone else gave up hope. She has put up with annoying suitors, has come up with incredibly clever ideas, and has basically raised Telemachus as a single mother for 20 years. This woman deserves some praise.
Ok, now onto the main topic.
So, Odysseus is a hero, eh? As I've read this, I have seen him act out cruelly, irrationally, boastfully, disloyally, and straight up idiotically, and I have not been impressed. But then again, he is very witty, extremely clever, obviously intelligent, and very loyal (deep down.) He's definitely flawed, but I do believe that the man falls into the Heroic Greek category. His shortcomings make him seem less like an unattainable standard of a man and more like an average man who does great things but still makes huge mistakes from time to time. He also stands out in the sea of unintelligent, brutish, blundering, unthinking males from the Odyssey. Because, let's face it, in the Odyssey, there are two main categories of males. Number one consists of savage brutes like the Cyclopes, who follow the "I am big, I am bad, I do what I want, and I dare you to stop me" way of dealing with conflict and life in general. Number two consists of Odysseus' men, who tend to use the reasoning of "Wow, this looks like a horrible idea, and Odysseus commanded us not to do it... let's do it!" Remember the incident with the bag of winds. I give kudos to Ody for not strangling the ones responsible. I might have. Or perhaps we can look at the incident with Helios' immortal animals... there are several examples. Ody is in a league of his own. He uses his brain (sometimes...) I'd say that is a pretty big deal.
Friday, 9/2/11The Odyssey
Oh, Odysseus, what a journey! What started out as going out to fight in the Trojan War turned into a ten year war nightmare followed by a horrible 10 more years. There's so much to this story. We have additional plot lines, like the one with Orestes and Agamemnon. That one in particular was interesting to me. At first, I thought, "Poor Ag, first he's gone for 10 years fighting, and then when he gets back his wife's new lover kills him." Then I started putting pieces together. She was probably still really bitter that he had killed their daughter several years before as a sacrifice to the gods so that the gods would provide wind for Ag's ships. If I were a mother, I'd feel absolutely broken. Whatever happened to "daddy's little girl"? Clearly, Ag didn't get the memo. Either that, or he didn't value his daughter's life enough to say, "This war is not worth my child. Someone find something else to sacrifice, because you'll have to pluck her from my cold, dead arms."
I can understand Ag's wife's dilemma. Marriages tend to fall apart after a spouse kills one of the children. She had no desire to remain faithful to a man who had hurt her so horribly. So when she met this new guy, who knows? Maybe they met at the local royal well, started up some small talk and they found out that they had same favorite gods. I'm half-joking of course, but really, maybe this new guy was everything that she had wanted in a husband but didn't get. Her marriage to Ag was probably arranged anyway. I'm not saying she was right, but I do understand why she would've been inclined to cheat.
Then Orestes comes along to avenge the death of his father.
He kills his mom's lover (but wait, that's not enough) ...and then he kills his mom.
HIS MOM.
The men in this family seem to have no problem killing off their close female relatives. (Like father, like son...?) Wow. Hey, Orestes, you're an orphan now. AND you don't have your sister anymore. You're alone. Did you ever think to look past your idealized view of your father to see that maybe your dad made your mother's life miserable? Oh, what's that? You don't care and you just like killing people? Oh ok. Good to know.
And Orestes is Telemachus' role model. Awesome.
Watch out, Penelope. Even though you love Odysseus way too much to ever consider cheating on him with one of those low-life suitors, just know that if you do, Telemachus might feel inclined to kill you.
Cheerful, eh?
Thursday, 8/25/11 Gilgamesh
Going into reading Gilgamesh, I didn't know what to expect. I had heard of the epic but not much about it. I can see why. I respect the fact that it's an ancient work, passed down orally for generations before being carved into clay tablets. I can appreciate the themes of the story, themes which pop up all the time in literature: heroism, religion, friendship, conflict, and even some sexual references. I do not, however, get enjoyment from the story. It's not one that I will recommend to my friends when they ask for good books to read...
Friend: "Hey, I'm going on vacation and I need a bunch of books to read while I'm sitting on the beach getting super tan. Any suggestions?"
Me: "Gilgamesh, duh! The story is so clear, and it never jumps around. Plus, Gilgamesh is, like, the nicest guy ever! He never steals people's sons, and he never demands to sleep with other people's fiancees. It'll give you the warm fuzzies the whole time!"
Um, no.
In all seriousness, I'm pretty unimpressed with Gilgamesh. He thinks that just because he is two-thirds god he can do whatever he wants. And maybe that is true... but just because he can, doesn't mean he should. On his quest to find immortality, he's forgetting to live well. I feel that he lacks decency, at least what I would consider to be good and moral. I am aware that the rules of society and the social norms of the that ancient time are different than what I am used to. However, it does not stop me from feeling frustrated with his character.
Also, we briefly compared the poem version with the prose version of Gilgamesh, and I'm seriously wondering how accurate our version is. Furthermore, how were the original clay tablets translated in the first place? Is this really the story that the ancient anonymous scribe wrote down, or do we have it all wrong?
In addition to other thoughts, I see a lot of parallels between Gilgamesh and some Biblical stories. The most obvious of which is the great flood. I've read that nearly every ancient civilization has a "giant flood" story. Could it be that all of these parallels exist because events really did happen to inspire their stories? I think it's possible.
I felt like I talked too much during the discussion on Friday, but I had so much that I wanted to say. I'm very interested in the similarities and differences between Islam and Christianity. After reading excerpts from the Koran, I may have to read more of it and compare it to the Bible. A few months ago, a recent Ball State grad, Sara Sorrell (no relation to me...) came and spoke at my church. She is studying at Oxford University and during her time there has met people from all sorts of cultures and religions. About two years ago, she dated a Muslim man, and she was able to experience the religious differences first hand. Her relationship did not pan out, but it did give her a desire to study Islam and it's implications for Christians. When she spoke with us, I remember that she stressed how much faith Muslims have. As was said in class, Muslims believe the Koran to be infallible, that the words in the book are the very words of God. This is comparable to the Bible, but, like was said in class, the Bible tends to give evidence backing itself up: the Old Testament presents prophesy and the New Testament fulfills it. The Koran, however, comes across as more of a "believe it because I said so" book.
I'm getting off topic. I actually wanted to focus on a point not brought up too much in class.
Here's the thing:
I brought up a book in class called So What's the Difference? by Fritz Ridenour. (It's a good "thinking book.") In the chapter about Islam, one of the points the author makes is that the difference between Islam and Christianity hinges on who Jesus really was. Was he just a prophet? A good teacher? Or was he the Son of God, both fully man and fully God? Hmmm... that question, my friends, is not one I can answer for you. You must look at the information and make a decision for yourself.
Info I have come across:
Ironically, the name of Jesus is mentioned more in the Koran than the name of Muhammad. Also, Jesus has a second coming according to the Islamic faith. The most notable and crucial point, though is that in Islam, the crucifixion of Jesus is rejected. Flavius Josephus, a historian who was born around AD 38 and served Roman commander Vespasian in Jerusalem until the city's destruction in AD 70, is one of several sources outside of the Bible that confirms that Jesus of Nazareth was, in fact, crucified. The Koran, on the other hand, says, "...but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them..." The crucifixion (and resurrection) of Jesus is what makes Christianity... well, Christianity. It is on this hinge that the greatest divide lies. If the Koran is right, and all four separate authors of the Gospels were wrong, and Jesus did not die and rise again, then the whole concept of Jesus being the Savior of the world by being the ultimate sacrifice goes down the tubes, and over 2 billion Christian people worldwide are left without any reason to have hope. But if Muhammad was mistaken as he dictated the Koran, and Jesus really did die on a cross and come back from the dead three days later, then the beliefs of 1.5 billion Muslim people worldwide would shift dramatically.
Who's right? I can't say for sure. I don't know that there is a definite answer.
But given the evidence that I have, I side with the team that backs up its claims by referencing ancient texts, has historical documentation, and has not one, but four separate accounts from four completely different men that give 4 perspectives on the same story but ultimately make the same point.
And just as a note to anyone who reads this: I'm not attacking Islam or the Koran... I'm just trying to make sense of things from my perspective. If you see flaws in my logic or you just want to pick my brain and ask why I believe what I believe, just talk to me. I love hearing new perspectives and learning about other people's opinions. :)
Response to Peer's Paper for 12/2/11
I read Tory's critical essay about Hinduism and the Bhagavad Gita. I was immediately drawn into her paper by the introduction. It effortlessly drew me in because I related to it so well. She talked about how Americans generally don't know too much about Eastern culture and that, because of this lack of background knowledge, the Bhagavad Gita was confusing at times.
Tory threw in some dates to give a chronological perspective on Hinduism and when the Gita was written. She explored the topic of the caste system in India as well too.
I was drawn in by this. Way back in seventh grade, the three seventh grade history teachers teamed up and created a simulation that would help all of us 12 and 13 year olds to better understand the caste system. Each student drew a slip of paper out of a hat, and on that paper the name of the caste that you would be a part of for the next week. To tell everyone apart, we received colored dots on our hands that corresponded to our specific castes. For 5 school days, we could only associate with people in our castes, "untouchables" had to stay by the walls and walk with heads down, and brahmins could do basically whatever they wanted.
Anyway, so I was pretty familiar with the caste system, but Tory presented it in a way that made it simple to understand, but she also highlighted the inequality of it all. She also explored the symbiotic relationship between the two highest castes... something that I had never thought about. That definitely piqued my interest.
The explanation of the castes tied into the discussion about the Gita seamlessly. I hadn't realized that the Gita could be looked at as a means of keeping the lower castes complacent. The idea is that the heroes of the Gita followed their sacred duty and were rewarded in the next life, so lower caste members could look upon this and say, "Hey, I got the short stick in this life, but if I do what my caste role demands that I do, I will be rewarded. No use trying to rebel and end up coming back as a bug."
All-in-all, Tory's essay is beautifully written, but not in a way that is over people's heads. It's clearly and simply written, without fluff or jargon, without ridiculously huge words or lengthy, confusing sentences. It's elegant. It was a pleasure to read.
Critical Essay Draft for December 2nd
Memo: What were the expectations of Hebrew women, and what can we learn from them?
My ideas for revision: Add another paragraph of research...
Feedback: What, if anything, should I go into more detail about? What kind of improvements could I make to make the paper more engaging and informative? If you find typos or horrendous grammar please point those out too. :)
Daniela Sorrell Hebrew Women: What Was Life Like? Honors 201
Growing up in a Christian household, I attended Sunday school and church from the time I was a little girl. I learned the stories Adam and Eve, Abraham and Isaac, Moses and Pharaoh, and countless others early on. As I have grown older, however, I have begun to delve deeper into these Old Testament accounts. Now, these characters are more than words on the pages of an old book, and I like to put myself in these people’s sandals and ponder what my life would have been like had I been born on the other side of the globe a few thousand years ago. In Honors 201, reading excerpts of Exodus from a literary standpoint allowed many questions, ideas, and observations to form in my mind. Some inquiries came from a faith standpoint, contemplating the supposed impossibility of the many wondrous and unlikely events in Exodus and trying to wrap my mind around the miracles and mysteries that were written down many millennia ago. Others, however, stemmed from my aspiration to relate to the characters on a personal level and my desire to know what happened in between the verses. What sorts of daily duties did Moses’ mother have to perform before she set him in a reed basket and floated him down the river? What were the Hebrew people’s cultural and religious expectations of his sister Miriam? In short, the question that came to mind over and over again was, “What was life like in ancient times for Hebrew women?”
Some sources have compared the lives of these archaic women to the Afghani women during the time of the Taliban’s extremist rule over the country of Afghanistan. In ancient Israel, unmarried women could not leave their father’s home without his authorization, and married women could not leave their husband’s home without his approval. Women could not testify during a legal trial, could not talk to strangers, and could not go out in public un-chaperoned (Robinson,1 of 5). In addition, “Having children was… the ultimate aim of all women in Israel (“Daily Life in Ancient Israel” 1 of 2).” Childlessness was among the top reasons that husbands would seek to divorce their wives (Thompson 1 of 5). According to another source, however, common perceptions regarding the ancient Hebrews may be rather skewed, that a woman’s role in traditional Judaism has been misconstrued and distorted. “The position of women [under Jewish Law] that dates back to the biblical period is in many ways better than the position of women under American civil law as recently as a century ago (Rich 1 of 7).” ? According to traditional Judaism, God is neither male nor female but has qualities of both. Men and women were created in the image of this gender-neutral God. Adam, the man was created first, but Jewish scholars have stated that the man created at the beginning of Genesis had “…dual gender, and was later separated into male and female (Rich 1 of 7).”
Since biblical times women have held positions of authority and respect. Out of the fifty-five prophets of the Bible, seven were women. Women served as liberators and judges as well. When it comes to the family unit, the Ten Commandments demand that people respect both mother and father. Interestingly, when Moses first presents the commandments in the book of Exodus, the word “father” comes first, but when the commandments are reiterated in Leviticus, “mother” comes first instead. “…Many traditional sources point out that this reversal is intended to show that both parents are equally entitled to honor and reverence (Rich 2 of 7).” In the household, the men and the women had their own duties and obligations. For most women, their family’s home was a small house of clay and straw brick. She would have swept her the floor, (or, if she were wealthy, have her servants do it,) cooked the meals, taken care of her children. Children of both genders were loved the same, but boys were usually preferred because they stayed with the family permanently. Daughters, on the other hand, left home and became part of another family when they married. “While there may have been a greater rejoicing for a son, particularly a first-born, daughters were cherished just as much while they were growing up (“Daily Life in Ancient Israel” 1 of 2).”
Undoubtedly, the main role of a woman in the traditional thinking of the Hebrews is that of a wife and mother. It must be noted, however, that Judaism has perpetuated the respect for the spiritual impact that a woman has on her family (Rich 3 of 7). No doubt the ancients would have held women in a high respect in this aspect. According to the Talmud, a holy book of Judaism, “…when a pious man marries a wicked woman, the man becomes wicked, but when a wicked man marries a pious woman the man becomes pious.” Also, it is necessary to point out that Judaism is matriarchal in the sense that both the religion and cultural knowledge are deemed to pass through the mother. If a child has a Jewish mother and a gentile father, the child is considered Jewish. If a child has a gentile mother and a Jewish father, he is not considered to be Jewish.
The overall gist that I get from everything I read is that women in Hebrew society were incredibly important. They provided a firm, positive spiritual example, kept the family and household together, and at times were called by God to be in positions of authority and leadership. All too often, people look at the story of Moses in Exodus and think of it as a one-man show. It is imperative that we not overlook supporting players in this incredible story.
To start, we meet Moses’ mother. At the beginning of the second chapter of Exodus we are told she is a woman of the house of Levi, that she conceived a son with her husband, and she hid her son for three months from Egyptian forces who had been ordered to kill every baby boy born to Hebrews in Egypt back in the first chapter of Exodus. She was probably, for all intents and purposes, an average Hebrew woman living in Egypt while the Hebrew people were slaves there. No doubt she continued to care for her family, household, and obligation to God in addition to doing whatever slave labor she had to do. As mentioned above, being a mother was one of the main roles in a Hebrew woman’s life. Her dedication and love for her baby son caused her to make a very risky decision. It is not every day that a woman decides to go against the all-powerful hand of a supposedly divine pharaoh. Nevertheless, she did. Exodus explains that she made a small ark or basket, put her son in, and set it in the river. This woman had faith. She was probably scared to death that something was going to happen to her precious child, but it was because of that faith and her loyalty to her family that Moses lived.
According to the second chapter of Exodus, Miriam, Moses’ sister, watched from a way off as her baby brother’s basket floated in the water. Miriam was an intelligent girl. Not long after seeing one of Pharaoh’s daughters find baby Moses, Miriam piped up, asking if Pharaoh’s daughter wanted a Hebrew slave woman to be the child’s nursemaid. Pharaoh’s daughter accepted the offer, and Miriam came back with Moses’ real mother. Miriam was learning early on to have a deep sense of commitment to her family. Also, when Miriam became an adult she was called to be a prophetess, proclaiming the words of God to the Hebrew people after they were freed from captivity in Egypt. She “… is considered one of the liberators of the Children of Israel (Rich 2 of 7).” A position of incredible respect among her people, being called a liberator suggests how courageous, intelligent, and committed to her faith she was. In effect, she was a mother-like figure to the Hebrew people.
These two ladies represent just a sliver of the many crucial women whose stories appear in the Bible. Although they may have had to follow some firm laws regarding aspects of their conduct, they were certainly not victims of oppression. These women were resilient, tough, courageous, spiritual, dedicated, cherished, and respected. If we could transport ourselves back to the days of Exodus and stand in the sandals of either Moses’ mother or Miriam, how would we fare? Would we be able to juggle the demands of our culture and religion and impact the world for generations to come? People today could learn a lot by exploring the stories of these historic and significant Biblical women.
Works Cited
"Daily Life in Ancient Israel." Home Page. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://www.womenintheancientworld.com/daily_life_in_israel_at_the_time_of_christ.htm>.
Davis, Paul B. "Text In Context: The Hebrew Scriptures." The Bedford Anthology of World Literature. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. Print.
Rich, Tracey R. "The Role of Women." Judaism 101. Web. 28 Nov. 2011. <http://www.jewfaq.org/women.htm>.
Robinson, B. A. "The Status of Women in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) Passages Treating Women as Inferior to Men." ReligiousTolerance.org. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, 1 Jan. 2011. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. <http://www.religioustolerance.org/ofe_bibl.htm>.
Thompson, James C. "Women and the Law in Ancient Israel." Women in the Ancient World. July 2010. Web. 28 Nov. 2011. <http://www.womenintheancientworld.com/women%20and%20the%20law%20in%20ancient%20israel.htm>.
11/18 Art Museum
Walking up to the BSU art museum, I felt very small. The building reminds me of Notre Dame (the French cathedral... not the university.) Regal, majestic, classic, impressive, beautiful... I could go on with adjectives that describe the outside of the building, but that's not the focus of this response.
Every time I walk around in the museum, I feel a sense of awe at the sheer talent of everyone whose art is on display, not to mention the amount of art available for viewing. I overheard some of the workers talking and they said that what we see on display represents only ten percent of the art that the museum has. There is another ninety percent of beautiful creativity that we aren't even seeing!
The layout is really conducive to getting people to explore. I'm the sort of person that can't resist peeking behind doors or going into adjacent rooms. (Curiosity killed the cat, I know... but I'm still alive, right?) But from the "main rooms" there is usually at least one more doorway that leads to yet another collection. Being the curious child at heart that I am, those open doorways invite me to walk in and explore. I spent over an hour walking from room to room, examining vases, looking at the intricate details in the paintings, and trying to make sense of the modern art. (I respect the talent. Honestly, I do, but modern art isn't really my cup of tea. I'm definitely more partial to the "classics." My favorites are paintings that are so detailed that they look like photographs. It's breathtaking.)
The highlights of the collection... well, my personal favorites were "The Calm After the Storm" and a painting of a river in the late afternoon, as well as many of the statues.
"The Calm After the Storm" is a painting that shows a man lying (perhaps he is dead after drowning?) in the sand at the ocean's edge. It's simply extraordinary. The painting of the river is just really calming, and I noticed that the water isn't blue. It's brown and reflects the colors of the autumn leaves on the trees in the surrounding scenery. It really made me think about how our perceptions on the colors around us aren't always true. Rivers may not be blue, grass normally isn't kelly green, and (on a grander scale) people aren't really red, yellow, black, or white. The sculptures in general amazed me, mostly because I could never craft something like that. The busts of certain people looked so lifelike! I half-expected them to turn and look at me when I walked away.
So, to make a long story short, I really, really, really like our art museum.
11/11/11 (!)
Proposal ideas for the paper...
-The daily life/role of women in Ancient Greece or Rome
-Asian cultures' views on respecting elders & ancestor worship
About the Aeneid:
I've got to throw this out there: I prefer the Odyssey over the Aeneid. Maybe it's because it was actually completed instead of left unfinished because of untimely death. Maybe it's because the main characters of the Odyssey are more relatable. Or maybe it's because Penelope is tough and holds on, but Dido just throws in the towel for what seems to be no good reason. The Aeneid is more of a large-scale view, telling more that just one man's tale, while the Odyssey is very focused in on one man and his trek home.The story of Dido's suicide really struck me. It's such a stark contrast to Penelope hanging on for 20 years, waiting for her husband. Also, Aeneis doesn't display as much emotion. He seems more stoic and seems less human.
...oh wait, he's half god. That explains it.
But still, where are the tears? The dramatic staring into the ocean? The heartbreak? Maybe being the son of the goddess of beauty means that you don't have to worry with matters as insignificant as feelings...
If Aeneis and Odysseus were pitted against each other one-on-one, I'd think that Aeneis would have an unfair advantage... he's technically a demigod of sorts. Odysseus, as strong and powerful as he is, is, as far as I remember, completely human. Maybe that's why I find Odysseus more relate-able: he's human. He has low points, he makes mistakes, and he picks himself up and keeps going.
When Aeneis visits the Underworld and sees Dido, I would've expected more from him...
Had it been Odysseus visiting Penelope... well, it would've been a different story.
November 4, 2011
Jacob brought up a good point today when he talked about his pre-conceived notions regarding Confucius. I was right there with him. The second that I saw we were reading writings inspired by Confucius, I thought to myself "Confucius say..." Stereotypical? Yes. Politically incorrect? Yes. A little bit humorous? ...Maybe.
But I was surprised at how it was written in prose. I was expecting it to be more like the book of Proverbs in the Bible, with hundreds of sentence-long bits and pieces of wisdom. I didn't expect there to be anything more than that, certainly no stories with central themes...
Oops.
On another note, one thing I picked up on in some of the reading is the idea of honor, especially honoring one's family and one's elders. I really like the Asian thoughts of bringing honor to the family. In present-day America, we often get caught up in the "Me, Me, Me"s. Traditionally, we've been a nation which values independence and the individual. There are a lot of benefits to valuing family and the family unit, however. Knowing that stupid actions will result in shame for not only oneself but for one's family makes a person think twice before embarking on a path of carelessness and unintelligence. I'm thinking if America adopted a similar attitude we'd have a downturn in teen pregnancy, drug addiction, and reality television. Really. Do people realize how horrible they look when they're parading around intoxicated and half-dressed in the name of entertainment? Do they know how many people shake their heads and sarcastically say,"I bet their parents are proud." There are so many other wise sayings and thought-provoking themes that could be discussed, but this is the one I liked the best.
10/28/11 The Good Life
If I could put together the perfect life for myself what would I have?
It'd be quite the list: perfect hair, completely-clear skin that tans easily, happily-married parents, a very comfortable cushion of money, full-ride scholarship, a 4.0, a well-paying job, hairless legs, a high metabolism, no wars, no famines, no droughts... you get the picture. There are a lot of "ideals" that come to mind.
The question is, would that really give me lasting fulfillment and joy?
Oh sure, looking great all the time would be wonderful and would do great things for my confidence, but that could easily creep into cockiness territory, leaving me with few people who would want to hang around me.
Sadness.
Happily-married parents would be incredible, but then I might grow up believing that relationships are easy, that couples never disagree, and that a happy relationship is effortless. That would certainly cause a shock when I'd fall in love. I may not be a very good girlfriend or wife because I wouldn't have had an example of how to work through tough times.
Sadness.
Extra money would be lovely, but what happens when money starts climb up the priority list? What if suddenly, I've made it a priority over dear people and God?
Sadness.
Hairless legs? ... Actually, that sounds pretty good.
But in all seriousness, the "good life" isn't one standard. Rather, it's a million little things coming together and lining up in the correct order of priority. It comes from being grateful, joyful, and realistic. I believe that unselfishness plays a big role in the "good life" as well.
10/21/11 Reflection
Walking into Robert Bell on August 22nd for the first meeting of Honors 201, I had no idea what to expect. I wasn't so much nervous as I was curious about what I was about to start. Would there be insane exams? Really long papers? Hours of reading? I wondered if the class would turn out like the notion I had in my head. My 8am class certainly didn't feel like "college" ...whatever that really means. What would this class feel like?
Well, that day, I remember thinking, "This is going to be a good class."
And it's true.
I learn so much from our class discussions. I'm really fascinated by people and their unique opinions, so I really enjoy hearing different views on material we've read. People bring up new points of discussion or new takes on a concept and it makes me think about my own opinions.
My goal from day one has been to say at least one thing during every discussion. I don't consider myself to be shy, but it can be easy to sit back and listen rather than talk, so I make sure that I participate in discussions.
I like how the class is set up: mostly reading and discussion. I have friends in other 201 classes, and their professors put more focus on writing and projects. There is nothing wrong with that, but I like how our class is more discussion oriented. I learn really well that way.
I also think that it's easier to connect with people when you have a lot of group discussions. I have some classes where it is nearly 100% lecture, and I haven't connected with many people in those classes simply because there aren't many opportunities. In this class, however, I feel like I know more people because we connect more. We're not merely students who happen to be in the same room, we're classmates.
My one suggestion for improvement? There are some people who rarely or never speak, and I wish they would open up a little. Again, I'm very curious about their opinions. Obviously, you can't force people to speak, but if everyone made it a goal to speak once during each discussion, it would make our discussions that much richer.
10/12/11 Response to the Parodies and Antigone
Wow. Wow. Wow.
I was completely blown away by the creativity of our class. The Facebook profiles, song parodies, hilarious journal entries, a children's book, artistic talent, and a Scooby Doo episode?
Well played, Honors 201 students. Well played.
Now onto Antigone...
I studied this briefly in 6th grade, and then read it again in 10th grade, so I was pretty familiar with the whole storyline. I really like what someone said in class today about Antigone's motives not being 100% selfless to benefit her brother's soul... That somewhere she had a true desire to die. It got me thinking: now that I'm older, what else is questionable in the story? One point that I continued to make under my breath, much to the amusement of the people sitting next to me, was that a lot of Antigone's problems stemmed from the fact that her dad was also her grandpa. The girl was part of one big, dysfunctional, tragic, inbred family. Honestly, why do you think incest is so highly frowned upon? (Besides the fact that it gives most people the willies. Gross.) Aside from the obvious "that's absolutely disgusting" factor, from a purely biological standpoint, inbreeding is not a good idea. Ideally, a person would choose to procreate with someone completely different from himself. That way, unfavorable genes carried by one population would be unlikely to match up with the unfavorable genes of the other population.
Unfortunately for Antigone, her papa Oedipus hit the Gene Pool Jackpot by sleeping with his own mother.
Actually, I'm more pleasantly surprised that Antigone wass fully-functional and had only 10 toes. (Gosh, that came out a lot less politically correct than I intended.)
I guess what I'm trying to get at is that Antigone did not have much in her favor starting out. The odds were against her. Even if she had a secret motive to die when she buried her brother, I still respect her for sticking to her convictions. She must have had a really stressful life, and on top of the parent/grandparent drama, both of her brothers had died at the hands of each other. They were two of the few people in the world who probably understood what her life was like growing up: being a freak because your dad was the local prophesy-fulfilling awkward guy who killed his father and married his mother. Antigone probably felt more alone than ever when the only person she had left, her sister, turned her back. I feel sorry for her. If only she could have had the Disney happy ending and married Haemon.
But then again, that would make Creon her father-in-law.
I guess that's not a big deal, though... he was already her uncle.
10/5/11 Ag(amemnon) and Cly(temnestra)
Oh, Ag and Cly... not a happy marriage. I was surprised by how our class responded to Ag's sacrifice of his daughter, and then doubly surprised at the irony of how we responded to Cly's murder of her husband:
Killing your innocent child as a sacrifice to the gods so your sails can get a nice breeze? Makes sense.
Killing your child-sacrificing husband after he brings home a slave girl and rubs even more salt in the wound? WHOA! LET'S NOT GET CRAZY! Murder is wrong!
Uh, what?
First off, I'm not a big proponent of the death penalty. Why do we kill people to show other people that killing people is wrong? I will say that there are instances when I could justify using the death penalty, but I believe in forgiveness and the opportunity to repent.
From prison.
Serving a life sentence.
Anyway, back to Ag and Cly. What I'm saying is, if we're going to be appalled by Cly's murder of her husband, then we should be just as appalled, if not more so, at the murder of the daughter. But really, both Cly and her husband made really poor decisions. Cly got power-hungry and got way too excited about wearing the pants in the relationship and thought that it was ok to be sleeping around with Ag's sleazy cousin. (Ok, I didn't really know him, maybe he was a nice guy.) (But probably not if he liked the idea of killing his own cousin so he could continue canoodling with his cousin's wife.) Ag was a wishy-washy man, except for when it came to killing his kin... he could follow through with that. He also had no problems sleeping with the enemy (clever, huh?) but he probably would have killed his wife without batting an eye if he'd caught her being unfaithful. How did these two get together in the first place? Talk about a dysfunctional relationship.
I guess my question is still there: why were we so quick to forgive Ag, yet so quick to condemn Cly?
9/28/11 Abraham and Moses
It's kind of funny how desensitized people can become toward some of the stories in the Old Testament. Reading the story of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice Isaac in class really brought it to my attention how harsh some of the stories can be. These stories are built into Sunday School lessons that children hear from a young age, and I think we've lost some of the shock factor of them. [I think this is a great point. MH] When you look at the Bible, especially the first half of the Old Testament, it's pretty much R-rated. There's violence, death, destruction... the list goes on. And even though we can look back on the heroes of the stories as good and seemingly infallible men, that wasn't the case at all. Even King David (I know we haven't talked about him in class...) who was called, "A man after God's own heart," did horrible things: sleep with a woman who was married to someone else, murder, and backslide on a regular basis. Moses was probably a spoiled child growing up in the Egyptian royal class, and Abraham threw God's plans out the window because he thought his way was better and more likely to work.
... I guess the point I'm trying to make is that these people were all just as messed up as we are, some even more so, but the incredible thread woven into each of their lives was that God was able to use them and turn them into heroes despite their failures and flaws. I think it just goes to show that you don't have to be perfect to be an epic hero, and that anyone can do great things with the support of a great Power.
Creation Stories (For 9/23/11)
One point that kept coming up in class discussions was the polytheism versus monotheism issue. We talked about which stories sound more credible and believable and which ones come across as (in my words) a twisted science fiction movie. When I look at Greek mythology or Egyptian mythology, I feel bad for the people of those ancient societies. They couldn't have had much hope in their religion. Rather than calming the chaos of life, I think the thought of hundreds of gods, goddesses, and demigods quarreling and fighting for power would have made things a lot worse. A person may feel bad that there is famine in the land, but he'll feel even worse when he realizes that his favorite god doesn't have the power to fix it or that the problem does not lie in his particular jurisdiction. A monotheistic religion seems a lot more believable and less chaotic. One all-powerful, all-knowing God who doesn't have to answer to other deities. I suppose that the monotheistic view only works well when the all-powerful, all-knowing God in question is just. A single, spiteful, hateful god would be horrible, and if that were who ruled over the universe I doubt we'd all still be here...
But anyway, one of the great things about the God of the Hebrew scriptures is that He is outside human understanding. He made man in His image; we didn't make Him in ours. Like I said in class, if man can put God in a little box and control Him, then what kind of God is He? Someone said in class on Friday that she thought the Hebrew God was easier to understand than the many gods and goddesses of other religions. I disagree. The other gods and goddesses are pretty much supercharged humans. They whine, they make rash decisions, they certainly aren't pure or holy. That's easily understood by people. After all, we're like that too. But a holy, omniscient, omnipotent God? Good luck finding anyone who can fully wrap his mind around that. (Great point! -MH)
9/17/11 THE ODYSSEY (3.5)
Unfortunately, this journal is a day late. I apologize.
From start to finish, The Odyssey is a compelling read. I wish I had more knowledge on the details of the Iliad because I could probably make a lot more informed opinions on this epic. But just by reading the Odyssey I have learned a lot, not only about the details of this legendary hero's adventures, but about my own thought processes and what I value. Generally, when it comes to literature, I start to appreciate what it only when I'm nearing the end. In the Odyssey, for instance, I got hung up on my own frustrations and limitations on understanding various characters and themes in the story. However, looking back on it, I can say that I enjoyed reading it, and I have a greater respect for the Ancient Greeks and their ability to craft a great epic. When it comes to putting together a tale, Homer wrote it down very well. This epic has everything: life vs. death, a love story, a coming-of-age story, incredible mental imagery, a beautiful setting, and a cast of characters that ranges from cunning and intelligent to oafish and ridiculous. I feel really fortunate that this traditionally oral epic was written down so it could be preserved for future generations. I may have belly-ached about the unjustness of double standards rather than appreciating such a well-told story as it was sitting before me, but hindsight is 20/20. The Odyssey was wonderful to read again. After studying it fairly in-depth about 4 years ago, it was so interesting to go back and see what else could be dug out of it. This, unlike Gilgamesh, with be an epic that I recommend to everyone.
Friday, 9/9/11 THE ODYSSEY (2.0)
I have got to say, Penelope is a great woman. Throughout this whole story, she has remained faithful to her husband. Loving him long after everyone else gave up hope. She has put up with annoying suitors, has come up with incredibly clever ideas, and has basically raised Telemachus as a single mother for 20 years. This woman deserves some praise.
Ok, now onto the main topic.
So, Odysseus is a hero, eh? As I've read this, I have seen him act out cruelly, irrationally, boastfully, disloyally, and straight up idiotically, and I have not been impressed. But then again, he is very witty, extremely clever, obviously intelligent, and very loyal (deep down.) He's definitely flawed, but I do believe that the man falls into the Heroic Greek category. His shortcomings make him seem less like an unattainable standard of a man and more like an average man who does great things but still makes huge mistakes from time to time. He also stands out in the sea of unintelligent, brutish, blundering, unthinking males from the Odyssey. Because, let's face it, in the Odyssey, there are two main categories of males. Number one consists of savage brutes like the Cyclopes, who follow the "I am big, I am bad, I do what I want, and I dare you to stop me" way of dealing with conflict and life in general. Number two consists of Odysseus' men, who tend to use the reasoning of "Wow, this looks like a horrible idea, and Odysseus commanded us not to do it... let's do it!" Remember the incident with the bag of winds. I give kudos to Ody for not strangling the ones responsible. I might have. Or perhaps we can look at the incident with Helios' immortal animals... there are several examples. Ody is in a league of his own. He uses his brain (sometimes...) I'd say that is a pretty big deal.
Friday, 9/2/11 The Odyssey
Oh, Odysseus, what a journey! What started out as going out to fight in the Trojan War turned into a ten year war nightmare followed by a horrible 10 more years. There's so much to this story. We have additional plot lines, like the one with Orestes and Agamemnon. That one in particular was interesting to me. At first, I thought, "Poor Ag, first he's gone for 10 years fighting, and then when he gets back his wife's new lover kills him." Then I started putting pieces together. She was probably still really bitter that he had killed their daughter several years before as a sacrifice to the gods so that the gods would provide wind for Ag's ships. If I were a mother, I'd feel absolutely broken. Whatever happened to "daddy's little girl"? Clearly, Ag didn't get the memo. Either that, or he didn't value his daughter's life enough to say, "This war is not worth my child. Someone find something else to sacrifice, because you'll have to pluck her from my cold, dead arms."
I can understand Ag's wife's dilemma. Marriages tend to fall apart after a spouse kills one of the children. She had no desire to remain faithful to a man who had hurt her so horribly. So when she met this new guy, who knows? Maybe they met at the local royal well, started up some small talk and they found out that they had same favorite gods. I'm half-joking of course, but really, maybe this new guy was everything that she had wanted in a husband but didn't get. Her marriage to Ag was probably arranged anyway. I'm not saying she was right, but I do understand why she would've been inclined to cheat.
Then Orestes comes along to avenge the death of his father.
He kills his mom's lover (but wait, that's not enough) ...and then he kills his mom.
HIS MOM.
The men in this family seem to have no problem killing off their close female relatives. (Like father, like son...?) Wow. Hey, Orestes, you're an orphan now. AND you don't have your sister anymore. You're alone. Did you ever think to look past your idealized view of your father to see that maybe your dad made your mother's life miserable? Oh, what's that? You don't care and you just like killing people? Oh ok. Good to know.
And Orestes is Telemachus' role model. Awesome.
Watch out, Penelope. Even though you love Odysseus way too much to ever consider cheating on him with one of those low-life suitors, just know that if you do, Telemachus might feel inclined to kill you.
Cheerful, eh?
Thursday, 8/25/11 Gilgamesh
Going into reading Gilgamesh, I didn't know what to expect. I had heard of the epic but not much about it. I can see why. I respect the fact that it's an ancient work, passed down orally for generations before being carved into clay tablets. I can appreciate the themes of the story, themes which pop up all the time in literature: heroism, religion, friendship, conflict, and even some sexual references. I do not, however, get enjoyment from the story. It's not one that I will recommend to my friends when they ask for good books to read...
Friend: "Hey, I'm going on vacation and I need a bunch of books to read while I'm sitting on the beach getting super tan. Any suggestions?"
Me: "Gilgamesh, duh! The story is so clear, and it never jumps around. Plus, Gilgamesh is, like, the nicest guy ever! He never steals people's sons, and he never demands to sleep with other people's fiancees. It'll give you the warm fuzzies the whole time!"
Um, no.
In all seriousness, I'm pretty unimpressed with Gilgamesh. He thinks that just because he is two-thirds god he can do whatever he wants. And maybe that is true... but just because he can, doesn't mean he should. On his quest to find immortality, he's forgetting to live well. I feel that he lacks decency, at least what I would consider to be good and moral. I am aware that the rules of society and the social norms of the that ancient time are different than what I am used to. However, it does not stop me from feeling frustrated with his character.
Also, we briefly compared the poem version with the prose version of Gilgamesh, and I'm seriously wondering how accurate our version is. Furthermore, how were the original clay tablets translated in the first place? Is this really the story that the ancient anonymous scribe wrote down, or do we have it all wrong?
In addition to other thoughts, I see a lot of parallels between Gilgamesh and some Biblical stories. The most obvious of which is the great flood. I've read that nearly every ancient civilization has a "giant flood" story. Could it be that all of these parallels exist because events really did happen to inspire their stories? I think it's possible.