Muslim.. ish?

I have read the excerpt The Modern Martyr, A radically peaceful vision of Islam, and some of the literature seem very grey in terms of the principals of the Koran. Naim, a student who defined himself as muslim said that he himself found it hard to accept Sharia- Islamic law. the article suggest also that some of Sudanese Constitution (built on islamic principles) could use some refinement.

I think that we see these patterns occurring a lot generally in society today. America itself, a nation built on the principles of christianity, has been refining its laws and amendments a lot lately. so what does this say about religion? Is it something to be said about the principles of religions? Is there a rolling cap on how the individual should practice in their society or has society created it so the individual has to re evaluate their practice.

last time ..Comment away!

The Feminist and li..

I have tried my best to not talk about the audience of which confucius is addressing but now that we are about to wrap it up. I think its safe to talk about it now. the author describes confucius as a man who describes man as "A special being with a unique dignity and power, deriving from and embedded in li.".. So heres my problem... what does he describe women as?

Does he not wish to recognise that parenting as he so highly exalted is a partnership expounded beyond the Male? .. I'll stop there.

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What my parents say about me.

During this week we spoke a little about how our relationship with our parents reflects the type of lifestyle we live. Confucius stressed that we should love our parents out of abstract duty. Ultimately meaning  that if we love ourselves, we should love our parents.  We also spoke of the ideology of the fact that growing matures us as well as our parents. The professor brought up the point “The child is the parent of the parent.” Ultimately meaning maturity is obtained through parenting. This made me begin to reflect on my life. I was very self dependant at an early age and many times wondered why my parents didn't care about me. Today I appreciate these things they made me go through. But I always wonder, because we live in a society where primarily everything is handed to the next generation, will this enablement handicap us for future development?

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MLK Presentations

I have to say that today's class was really awesome. I felt as thought we where making a part of history that someone will read and actually apply to their lives one day. My favorite presentation was Anthony's group where they crafted the most imaginative story about the birth and death of MLK. I jump started my train of though to, what happens if I write an elaborate gospel on myself. If an ordinary insignificant
   person like myself wrote a gospel and left it behind for others to see will I become an icon years from now? The childhood stories about Catcher Freeman, Django, and Harriet Tubman Simply my ancestors flexing their imaginations? This led me to my biggest question. Is History fiction?

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Confucism/ Altered states.

 I have decided to split this blog in half and cover two topics.  The first one is in Confucism. I don't know too much on the philosophies other than the fact that they where developed in the ancient Hog dynasty. But from what i have grasped int the first chapter, Confucius believed in the magic of proclamation. That's pretty much all of that.

I want to continue our Conversation on altered states of cautiousness. I believe There is a lot to be said in terms of what has been accomplished in human history because of these discoveries. as for it being a human trait I think that is a far stretch due to the fact that ewe are still referring to harmful and life threatening drugs. but what do you think.

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Jesus wrap up !

I hope everyone is enjoying their vacation!

I wanted to focus this blog on the epilogue of the book. The author really makes me appreciate The "reconstructed historical Jesus" There's a section on page 220 that talks about how Jesus is crucifixion was more of a political execution and that it was predicted amongst the people I wanted to know if anyone could Think of a person that society will politically execute today that perform similar to the ones in the stories told about Jesus.

The author also discusses in the section "The One Who did Not go Away" how there will always be a divergent of "historical Jesus" to distract us from social powers and imperialistic control.  I'm also curious to know if that is true, then what is the modern day Jesus? Could it be technology? social media, disease, doctors scientist, Celebrities?

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Our Oral society

In today's class, we had a conversation about what it means to live in a Oral society. We discussed how difficult it is for some people to navigate or function without a technology with the example of people having issues of giving directions to their homes without a GPS. I connected this in my mind to how the gospels may have changed or not even existed had the technology of today been available to philosophers of Jesus time(s). It also made me thing about how much of a negative effect that this has on Our current society. We are missing out on so much historical documentation because we rely less on the journey and work that goes into finding these documents. Have we stop  the development s of the evolution in the gospels? I'm curious to know if anyone feels this way or even disagrees.

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The Beauty of Myths

Tuesdays class has so far, been my absolute favorite in terms of open discussion. I really enjoyed talking about Myths VS. Lies and how they are mistaken for the same thing. We discussed how Myths can be broken down  in order to better receive core value. This made me think of how as a young child we are told the stories such as , the Tortoise and the Hare or Hercules and that depending on the stories you are told, they can mold you as a person. Because Matthew and Luke where storytellers of such a big audience, they have a lot to do with How society (particularly American society, with the foundation of this country being Christianity) Functions and handles disputes and differences amongst other societies. Keeping in mind that America is one of the most powerful countries in the world, do you think that these Myths help or hurt  american society?

Comment away :) !!

Jesus First post.

My experience so far reading Jesus by John Dominic Crossan has been very different from that of reading the Gita. The Gita was an entirely new experience and my first time being analytically exposed to Hindu Litterateur.  At this point in my life,  I have been overly exposed Christianity and the study of the Gospel. At this point, I have been presented to every side of the gospel, but this one. The author captures the historical incorrectness of each Gospel. After I read the first chapter I was automatically presented with a world of questions. My biggest questions where directed toward  how the author Spoke about Matthew and Luke in term of their interpretation of the birth of Jesus. I never realized how different the text actually was. Did this baffle anyone else? Comment below :)

The Gita wrap up (Before the preface)

Wrapping up the Gita, there is one chapter and verse that stood out to me. In chapter 12 in verse 17, Krishna says,

"He is dear to me who runs not after the pleasant or away from the painful, grieves not, lust not, but lets things come and go as they happen."

This presented an additional perspective to my views of Hinduism.

This verse speaks to me, highlighting the idea of absurdism amongst the principals. After reading the French novel, The Stranger, I can compare a lot of the protagonist thinking (Though his lifestyle is not one I think Krishna would agree with) to that of an absurdest, not bothered or troubled by the trials or daily snares life has to offer. He values the honesty  life presents, even though he does not value life.  Hinduism emphasise the value of truth and supreme goals.

This chapter also helped me to see that I understood more of the text that I was allowing my self to think I did. Because I was taking the idea of  Finding the Origins of Hinduism so literal I missed the obvious connection between what I already know and what I can find in the text.

The Bhagavad Gita 5-10 Dissection.

In this blog I find it helpful to post my my personal  dissection or the thoughts I channel in class to obtain a better understanding of the readings, in hopes that it will help me move forward with my thinking, the feelings, and understanding I have about the Bhagavad Gita in relation to the Hindi lifestyle. 

Concepts:

First I have found it more comforting to call Hinduism a lifestyle, rather than a religion or a faith. This idea is derived from a discussion we had in class about some of the principals in relation to real life. For example, some may look at life in seasons. some seasons last longer than the other but rather good or bad, they all will have purpose.  Krishna teachings all have an outcome. And In class we discovered that the outcome of the teachings will depend on the student. If the student does right the first time great, if not that's great too because now he has gained knowledge and see the right way to go. 

 Text: 

My favorite chapter "The Royal Path" Chapter 9 verse 22 says 

 "Those who worship me and meditate on me constantly, without any other thought, I will provide for all their needs." -page 49

This in translation to me is saying whoever lives in me in the great teachings and paths of Krishna will lead satisfactory lives. It first stood out to me as a a basic religious diagram, the typical 1 Deity, then the followers; But then the professor began to comment deeper on this concept. In my interpretation he explained that there is more learning in these principals than their are in alternate faiths. Hinduism challenges you to see for yourself with no condemnation that the teachings are right and true. Why do I feel this? Simply because unlike other religious text, theres not a negative ultimatum suggested after. This makes me see a more peaceful side to the Lifestyle. 

Self Introduction: World Religion

I can best describe myself as an emerging thinker, a person who possess a lot of thoughts and can generally process a lot of information.  I feel that I have the responsibility, as an artist, to move my society in a different way. I believe that before   I am anything else, student, scholar, woman, child, thinker, I am an artist.

Academically, I've always been strong in math. and social studies. My favorite Course of  study has always been History, Social Studies,  Geography,  or Humanities. Anything that explores the past with the intent of having an explanation for the present.  The largest academic challenge I have is writing and english.  I'm currently Undeclared but exploring the Fine and performing arts In hopes of one day become an artistic director of a company.

I'm taking this class for a few reasons. The biggest being that I need the credits to get a little bit closer to graduating. Although that is the main reason for me taking the class, I am excited to see where this course goes, and learn all the things this class has to offer.