Week 5 Post

This week we read a chapter by James Crossley on Reading Historical Documents Historically. This chapter gave me new insight and affected how I look at the gospels now. The gospels of Mathew, Mark, John, and Luke need to be read with the mindset that these writers had certain ambitions when putting together each book. These books have a central meaning where the writers aim to tell readers about the life and story of Jesus and the time in which he served. If we look at the books with all the knowledge we have acquired, we might miss the context of the stories simply because over time, context shifts and molds to the different generations. We might not be able to understand some things because the works were composed in a different era than that of what we are used to. The changing of generations causes a buffer or a challenge to understand the written materials because each generation has its differences. These differences may cause trouble for present day readers and lead to a misinterpretation of the readings. We will never know the absolute context of these readings; however, we have been able to put together an idea of what their intentions are. The gap between us and when the gospels were written is too large to overcome and an exact interpretation, or the correct interpretation, can never really be made.

Week 4 Post

This week we read deeper into Marcus Borg's, Jesus. In this section, Borg discusses how Christians take the readings of the gospels in a metaphorical matter. Rather than looking at the readings of Mark, Mathew, Luke and John factually, Borg explains how Christians see the readings metaphorically. All of the narratives are not based on the memory or particular events, but instead they are created because of their metaphorical meaning. Take the Wedding at Cana. The story of Jesus changing water into wine is purely a metaphorical narrative not a memory of a historical event. This then leads us to question what the narratives are saying, and what is the parabolic meaning behind them all. Well, they all differ, aiming at different parts of living, but they all have the same content. That being a message behind everything, which is what Christians look at and reflect on. Borg reminds us that we need to continue to look at them metaphorically and stray from taking the readings as historically factual.

As a Christian, I have no trouble seeing the metaphorical meaning behind these narratives. For an outsider though, or someone who is not Christian, I can see how difficult it might be to understand what these narratives are saying. They are, in some cases hard to believe, but the key to Christianity is not to believe but more so to understand. We do not need to believe them factually, instead what we need to do is look at the morals we can deduce from the actions played out, and we can then apply that to our lives. Not all of Jesus' stories are going to be true. It is part of the faith, which makes the narratives valid and gives Christians the backbone to understand Christ's intentions.

Week 3 Post

  In this week's readings we discussed Jesus, and how the image of God is reflected through Jesus' actions. In Marcus Borg's, Jesus, he makes important claims as to what Jesus is in the eye of a Christian. He claims, "Jesus reveals, discloses, what can be seen of God in a human life and what a life filled with God looks like" (Borg 6). I fully agree with Borg's claim because in my mind, Jesus is simply an extension of God, in human form. What we see through the actions and teachings of Jesus are: passion, character, nature, and will, which is exactly what God intends on us to see. Throughout Jesus' lifetime certain events such as the sermon on the mount or the turning of water to wine give us concrete examples to understand the true divinity of the robed man. Take Jesus' crucifixion. He was put to death, He rose again, and in doing so, He solidified Christianity. In reality, we are all sinners; however, God still loves all. When we sin, whether we know it or not, we want to be forgiven. God cannot and will not forgive us unless an atonement is made. The crucifixion of Jesus serves as this atonement and therefore, we can be forgiven by God. This is the basis of Christianity and this belief is very strong in my mind.  

 
    This weeks readings made me think again about what I believed Jesus to be. I knew, as the son of God, Jesus' divinity was strong and what he stood for was what God would stand for. Knowing this, I look deeper into myself and make sure that the qualities God would agree with are present in my everyday life. I am proud to be a Christian and if I do not practice my beliefs the way God would, I would be doing a disrespect; so therefore, I will continue to live with passion, character, and good nature and will.

Week 2 Post

The most interesting part of this week was indeed the video we watched in class about slowing down. Carl Honore and his message to slow down, sparked a strong interest in my mind. He started off the lecture by claiming that we as a society are stuck in fast forward. I strongly agree with Honore, because as I look at my daily routine, I notice that I intend to get through my day as fast as possible. Like many Americans, I take shortcuts to complete tasks and try to do things efficiently. He goes on to talk about speed reading to his son and how it was unhealthy that he wanted to speed through this particular time of the day. After he realized that reading to his son should be the thing he looked most forward to, Honore made a change in his life and reading to his son is now the most important part of his day. Learning and changing is a part of humanity and once we make a mistake we should be able to correct it for the next time. Learning to slow down is a perfect example of this and Carl Honore's lecture has inspired me to look at my life, slow down, and enjoy it because life is short.