Shannon Corcoran Blog #5 The Decalogue

The Midrash in the first segment of the film can be the computer compared to a false god. The father trusted the computer for detailed calculations while not putting his faith in God. The father believed in everything the computer said but he did not believe in God. When his son went out ice skating, the ice cracked and the boy drowned. The father paid an ultimate price for putting is faith in the computer, a false god. Although the meaning of the film was not obvious because it was a little hard to find out what the other god was and what the punishment was.
The Midrash in the second segment of the film is the act of killing. The main character killed a person but later on he regrets the killing. He kills not thinking on the crime he did nor what the reactions were going to be. To me it was harder to find the meaning behind the story and how it will affect the characters in the story.
Some of the visuals that gap the understanding of the film are the snow in the first segment. The snow is a symbol of death. Also snow is a symbol of sadness. The death and sadness is of that of the little boy. The ice breaks killing the boy. With the ice breaking also can symbolize in the film the breaking structure of truth the father had with the computer. Once the ice broke the truth in the computer also broke.
A visual in the second segment of the film is rope. Rope ties us together and shows where it have been. When the main character kills with some rope. Later, when the main character is being executed, he dies by being hung. The material on which he is hang is rope.
The films relate to feeling because we know what death is and the fear of death. The films shows how some people try to avoid death, either by trusting in a computer or fighting to avoid being executed. The films also shows the effects of death, either it is new or been a while. They show people are sadden by the deaths.
With the flux of the moment people do things on what they think is right or fun. But with the eternity on their hands people will regret the actions they did. In the first segment the action the father regretted is trusting solely on the computer and nothing else. While in the second segment the main character regretted killing the person because now he has to die. The father has to live with eternity regretting his actions. While the eternity of the main character in the second segment is death. He will forever be dead.

Shannon Corcoran Blog #4 Northfork

The story about Northfork is about about a town that is about be flooded and the town is dealing with the situation. When the film starts most of the town is deserted and the last few people are packing up and moving away. One scene of this is when there are three cars that take different paths in three different paths at a crossroad. This is like the people of the town are scattered into the four winds. The father and son have the job to eventuate the people from the town but they have some of their own trouble about the moving. The trouble is whether or not move the father's wife from her grave. They don't know what is better, move her from her resting place to move her to a better place or leave her in her resting place but have it covered in water.
The film Northfork had several different religious symbols. Some of the symbols are obvious like an ark with two of everything (including two wives), some angels, and a great flood. Some of the symbols are not too obvious. One of the symbols is when the boy dies, he takes a plane ride. This could symbolize him flying off to Heaven. Also it shows that the other angels can too “fly”.
One of my favorite symbols is the term of moving to a higher ground. The term higher ground could mean a better life. With some people the higher ground can mean heaven. The people move to heaven in order to get safe. They are going to be saved from the flood. The flood can be the great flood in The Bible but this time the people are saved.

Shannon Corcoran Blog #3 Witchcraft and Religious Services

Every year the Harry Potter books are up on the list of books of people wanting to ban. A main reason for this is because people believe the books are promoting witchcraft. But what is really witchcraft? To me, witchcraft is just a form of a ritual. A ritual is a set of actions performed with symbols. With witchcraft the ritual is casting of a spell, even though it is a very fast ritual. One would have to cast the spell in a certain way, saying certain words, and for potions mix certain items together in a certain way. When one is casting a spell they have to pay attention to the signs and symbols because if the signs and symbols are wrong then the spell is no completed.
With religious services, they are mainly based on rituals. The religious leader says certain words and act in a certain way. The way on how the religious leader conducts is based on symbols. Some people believe if one performed the service based on the symbols then there be a result. The results will be slower and not in a way someone would expect.
To me, religious services and witchcraft are both rituals. Although they are both very different and used for different reasons. They both had to be performed in certain ways, have words said in a certain way, and both have symbols. They both are used to get results even though the results are different. The results may for different things and may have different timely for the results. So some religious services may count as a ritual as the same for some witchcraft. In the end they are loosely based on the same foundations of a ritual.
If some people want to banned the Harry Potter book because they have witchcraft in them then the same people should look at the religious services and then try banned them.

Willie Mears, blog 15 personal choice

I am very excited to hike the Appellation trail in 10 days. As I have already begun preparing myself physically and have already invested time and money into the endeavor it is save to say that I am locked into going. It is strange though that although I am getting closer and closer to leaving the trip is still very far out of my mind. Maybe it is because finals are in full swing right now or maybe it is because I just don’t look very far ahead, but either way I have not really thought at all about the fact that I am going to be out in the wilderness for two week very much at all. Maybe that is a good thing because there is a lot to worry about, but there is also a lot to be excited about. I am hoping that the trip is truly a chance to rest, not physically, but mentally and spiritually. Rest is a very difficult thing to truly achieve, I can sleep for 12 hours and still wake up not feeling like I am ready for the day, I need to be alone, I need to think and to pray, it is only then that I will find true biblical rest.

Willie Mears, 14 personal choice

Easily one of the move embarrassing things that can happen from the day to day is when you and a buddy are sitting in a car, driving, and listening to a song. It’s a really nice day out so the windows are down, the wind is blowing and man life is good. You are rocking out to a sick song on the radio and singing at the top of your lungs and just when you get too comfortable, boom you accidently scream one of the wrong lyrics. I know it sounds totally stupid but when/if it has ever occurred to you, it is surprisingly embarrassing. Not that anyone else cares, and not that anyone else even notices, but regardless when it happens you fill with shame at the fact that you got a little overconfident with your memorization of a pop hit song and botched your shot to sing it loud and proud.
Now this event is not all that uncommon for myself because I enjoy driving and do it quite a lot, I am involved at Grafton High School in York county and drive there daily; and I also really enjoy singing tunes with the windows down. So from experience I can tell you that when it happens you feel like a total idiot.
All I am gonna say is be responsible, learn the lyrics.

Willie Mears, Blog 13, Personal Choice

Good Will Hunting is a really fantastic film. It was the one that brought Matt Damon and Ben Affleck to fame. The two, now famous actors, wrote the script when they were still dirt poor and trying to scrape by. Now both are hugely famous actors that make multiple movies a year and are known by just about everyone in the country. The film is about Will Hunting, a janitor at MIT who has an amazing gift for mathematics, however problems with an abusing family have kept him trapped in a low paying job so that he can remain by the comfort of his childhood friends.
The film has aspects that make you laugh, and it certainly has no shortage of emotional scenes as well. Throughout, Matt Damon’s character, Will Hunting, is working with a respected mathematics professor from MIT. Will is a genius and organizations from all across America are looking to hire him for high paying positions. Will though doesn’t want to take any of them, he doesn’t want to because they will require him to leave his three best friends, Sean, Morgan, and Billy who are a source of comfort and love for Will. It is powerful in the sense that, for those of us that don’t have any personal experience with physical abuse it is crazy to think of how long it can affect someone. Will is well into his twenties in the film, and was abused as a teenager, and still he is very much trapped because of what his father did to him. It is only when he falls in love with a girl named Skylar and decides to follow her across the country that he breaks out of his shell. He sets himself free, but he also sets his friends free who only want the best for him and want to him take advantage of his brain. Overall, maybe my favorite movie of all time.

Willie Mears, Blog 11, my Choice

I saw that someone else did a blog on the movie Book of Eli, and immediately knew that I had to do one on it also, it is such a sweet flick. It is one of those movies that are so good the first time you watch it; the shock value is unparalleled. Throughout the movie you are in awe at Eli’s ability to thwart his enemies, and that is the filmmakers idea. He is trying to get the viewer to think that Eli is the biggest, baddest killing machine the post-apocalyptic world has ever seen. Then, at the end of the movie, you find out he has been blind the entire time! It is an awesome picture of the power of the Holy Spirit, which was Eli’s driving force, and also the importance and power of scripture. Eli had no fellowship, he did not have the luxury of going out two by two, as the disciples did, but rather his only weapon was the brail bible that he had.
It is also powerful when you see the way the Carnegie, the bad guy, viewed the Bible. Although he view was totally corrupt, there is still power in seeing that he recognized the impact scripture can have. He doesn’t understand the gospel at all, but still knows that the Bible is powerful. For a movie to be freakin action packed, and spiritually eye opening, cannot beat that.

Willie Mears: Blog 10, outside reading

Outside Reading: The Reason for God, by Timothy Keller

I recently read the book The Reason For God, which is a series of chapters that attempt to answer the difficult questions of Christianity. I read it because I feel like if I am going to talk to skeptics about Christianity, I better be able to back-up my talk. As I waded through the book of concepts, which I usually don’t even think about, I realized just how many difficult questions there are about the Christian faith, and for some reason none of them really bother me. Now why is that? One idea is that it is because the Holy Spirit has blessed me with a faith that is confident in my God, and other would say it is because I have been raised a Christian and since it has been spoon-fed to me I haven’t addressed the questions that are difficult to answer. Well whichever it is (I’d like to think the former) I think that every difficult question has an answer, some people just don’t like them.

Willie Mears Blog 9, Kpax

K-Pax was a sweet movie. I had seen bits and pieces of hit on television before but never got that roped into it, but when we watched it in class I was hooked. Throughout the entire film I was trying to figure out whether or not he was a crazy smart but also just plain crazy guy, or if he was in fact an alien. I don’t know if it is really debated but my take on it is that he is from K-Pax, and he used that guy’s body as a means to being on Earth. The scene when the water freaked out Prot was especially powerful. Up until then Prot was completely peaceful, didn’t hurt a fly, however the memory of the sprinkler when his family was murdered triggered something inside of him that made him go bezerk. Now he still was not violent, he was trying to protect the little girl, however he reacted in such a harsh way that it scarred the family mightily.
Another powerful element of the film was Prot’s ability to help people in the ward. The film portrayed it as though everyone that society deems as ‘crazy,’ has a very real and very fixable issue going on. The most prevalent example is with inmate Howie, who Prot gave three tests. Each test Howie took very seriously, and he thought they were to get him off of planet Earth when in fact they were to help him grow out of his problem. It painted a positive picture of the clinically insane; society often paints them as crazy people who are dangerous to society, and often are viewed as sub-human. However Prot is able to reach them, he is able to get onto their level and help them with their problems. His approach is not as a superior helping an inferior, which is how I think most people view that kind of relationship, but since he is an inmate just like them they are willing to take what he says seriously, and the fact that they think he is an alien doesn’t hurt either!
Overall it was easily my favorite film of the semester, a very entertaining movie, in English, and color! So what’s not to like?

Shannon Corcoran Blog 2 Source Code

The film Source Code seems like Groundhog Day mixed with The Matrix. The main character Colter finds himself in a chamber one which he is alone. He keeps on going back to the same eight minutes in which a bomb explodes. His job is to find the bomber and the bomb. Each time he goes back he learns something new from the first eight minutes. Even though he is keeps on going back to the present time, he is trapped in profane time. He learns that the eight minutes he is given are sacred time to find the bomber.
The profane time is the same eight minutes on the train. Even though he tries to save other people on the train, he fails each time resulting in his “death” or termination of the eight minutes and the same outcome occurs. The people on the train die. It was not until when he finds out who the bomber is; he wants to try to act as God and save the other people on the train for good. The way he tries to act like a god is to stop the bomb on the train from going off. It became his mission to save the other people on the train.

Whitney Hendricks Reading #1

On Friday April 22, I was reading the DailyPress and came across an article called “Last Supper was not Jesus' last supper, researcher says”. I thought this was really interesting, especially being in the paper on the day Jesus was crucified. In the article a British researcher has concluded that “The Last Supper was probably the next-to-last supper of Jesus' life”. He has been using ancient calendars and astrological data to rethink Holy Week. A scientist explored Exodus and believes that the day Jesus gathered his disciples for the Last Supper was actually on a Wednesday not a Thursday. “The Last Supper was on Wednesday April 1, AD 33 and Jesus was crucified April 3, AD 33”. They exclaim that this resolves an apparent conflict with the Gospel accounts of Jesus' last days alive. There were many more details about all different types of calendars and confusion on when the actual date it. I think it is all really confusing with the many different types of calendars there are. Makes me think, how do they know the world is going to end in 2012, the same thing could have happened with the Mayan calendar that happened with the calender we went by for the Last Supper.

Whitney Hendricks Personal #5 Return to Me

Recently when I was at home my mother and I watched one of our favorite films, Return to Me. This movie is a definite tear jerker! The film open with a husband Bob and his wife Elizabeth going to an important fund raiser for the zoo she works out. Elizabeth works at the zoo as an animal psychologist, working with a specific gorilla for several years. The evening ends with a horrible accident and the loss of his wife. Meanwhile there is a woman named Grace in the hospital dying and in need of a new heart. Bob's wife's heart saved Grace's life. Because of confidentiality and such, Bob did not know where her heart ended up. A year later Grace is adjusting to her new life where she isn't counting her days and actually being able to go out and do things. One day Grace went to the zoo and the gorilla that Elizabeth worked with came out and gave Grace a high five through the glass, something only the gorilla did with Elizabeth. Bob is still trying to adjust to life without his wife, his friends are trying to get him away from working so much and set him up on blind dates. As he was on a blind date he ended up being more attracted to the waitress than his date, there is just a spark. They both still don't know that Grace has Bob's wife’s heart. They end up falling in love, but she did not want him to know that she had heart surgery. One night she was over at his house and discovered the letter she had written to the donor family, she now knew that she had Bob's wife's heart. She quickly grabbed the letter and left, he came after her and after finding out the news he ran away too. She ends up going to Italy to paint but has no inspiration, all she can think about is Bob. He ends up coming to Italy because he couldn't stop thinking about it. We just have to ask, it is Grace he is in love with or is it Elizabeth's heart? A mere coincidence?

Whitney Hendricks Personal #4 Toy Story 3

Like I mentioned in my last blog, I love cartoon movies especially Disney Films. Toy Story 3 is another Disney-Pixar movie that parallels to Christianity. First we can look at the characters and settings as biblical references ; Andy is seen as God, Woody is his prophet, Lots-o is satin, Andy's room is heaven, and the dumpster is hell. We first see Andy has Woody's God in the first movie when he writes his name on Woody's boot, he is the owner and it's proof of Andy's love and commitment to Woody. The ideology of the toys is to be owned and played with. When Andy started to get older he paid less and less attention on his toys. As college soon approached Andy cleaned out his room and put his toys, with the exception of Woody, in a black bag to put in the attic. The toys have doubts about Andy's loyalty to them, with Woody's beliefs based on his faith, he assures them that they are just going to the attic. Some how by accident or change in fate they end up going to the curb. Woody saw the whole thing and knew it was just an accident, the toys feel abandoned and question Andy's faithfulness. The toys end up going to “Sunnyside Daycare” where they meet Lots-o the teddy bear. He explains to them that “no owners means no heartache... we don't need owners; we are our own owners. Masters of our own fate”. This makes Lots-o seem like an atheist. He has the belief of no higher power because he feels angry that his owner abandoned him causing him to become a villain with no remorse and self-preservation. Woody knows what Lots-o is up to so he tries his hardest to get the other toys to regain their faith and Andy so they can go back.

Whitney Hendricks Personal #3 UP

Truthfully I am a sucker for cartoon movies, they are just so amusing and exciting to watch. One of my favorites that has come out in the past couple years is Disney-Pixar's UP. This movie was a lot different than most cartoon movies, the symbolism focused on death and old age. I viewed this movie as a spiritual love story of an old man Carl and his wife Ellie. The film first starts off in the past, showing Charles Muntz with his blimp called the “Spirit of Adventure”. Carl and Ellie first met when they were kids, Carl was walking down the street and heard her voice coming from an abandoned house. He goes inside to find a little girl his age wearing the same goggles and flight helmet he is, just like adventurers. His accidentally lets go of his balloon and falls, causing him to go to the hospital. From then on, Carl and Ellie were inseparable. Ellie always had the dream to go to Paradise Falls in South America, Carl “crossed his heart” that he would take her there. They became soul-mates, got married, and fixed up the abandoned house to make it theirs. After many years of being happily together, Ellie passed away. Carl was devastated, he didn't know what to do with his life now that his true love was gone. When she passed Carl believed that she was still alive in the house and her spirit was still there, the house was a representation of her. Losing his wife caused him to live a very isolated life alone in the house until he was being forced to move into a retirement home. This was not an option for Carl so he decided to carry out Ellie's dream of going to Paradise Falls, attaching balloons to the house and floating away. Balloons were a major symbol in UP, they floated like angles. I saw this situation as the balloons lifting Carl's spirit, getting him out of the sad funk he was in. Soon Carl found out that Russell, a little wilderness explorer was on his porch when he floated away, he was stuck with him on this trip. Russell annoyed him at first but then Carl got used to him and started to appreciate him. After hardship in Paradise Falls, Carl realizes two things: 1. Paradise Falls isn't what he was expecting and hoping for, and 2. Ellie isn't the house, she is in his heart. He doesn't need to be obsessed with the house and all the old artifacts, he can let go and have fun again with still having Ellie close to his heart and in his memories.

Whitney Hendricks Personal #2 Cast Away

The other night while I was going through the guide on TV I saw the film Cast Away staring Tom Hanks was on, I hadn't seen it in a couple years so I decided to go ahead and watch it. I had never realized how much the meaning of life was depicted in this film until I watched it recently. It starts off with Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) being consumed in his busy corporate life working for FedEx. He lived his life by the clock, always being on time and sticking to his plans. Chuck was so consumed within his work that he paid little attention to his girlfriend. He was always traveling for work and ended up having to go on a business trip on Christmas Eve. While flying they hit a bad storm and crashed somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Chuck was the only survivor, washed up and deserted on an island. Realizing that there was no one on this island he had to choose between dying or fighting for survival. He cared a lot for his girlfriend, had to do what he could to get out of there. He now had all the time in the world which was something he was not used to. Adapting was also probably the hardest thing for Chuck, he had to figure out how to get the means of survival such as food and shelter. As FedEx boxes started to wash up on shore he used what was in them to help him, such as an iceskate used as a knife to make a sphere for hunting. He didn't open all of the boxes however, there was one with wings on it that he saved and wanted to take it to the woman as soon as he returned home. This box can be viewed has hope, hope that he will make it back home to deliver it. Companionship was another thing he lacked on this island, in one of the boxes he found a volleyball and named it Wilson. The ball had a hand print of Chuck's blood on it that made the appearance of a face, being that there was no one else, Wilson become Chuck's only friend on the island. After four long years on the island Chuck was able to go back home, back to civilization. It was not an easy transition for him, I saw it as he was reborn. When he was back and settled he decided that he was going to return the box with wings that he had been holding on to for all that time. He left it at the house with a note saying “This saved my life”. It's crazy to think that a mere box with no direct connection to him motivated him to survive and live through the hardship of being castaway. At the end they show him at a crossroads, his life back home had completely changed due to everyone thinking that he was dead, so this was a point where he had to choose where to go. We are left with the saying “Tomorrow the sun will rise and you never know what the tide will bring”.

Whitney Hendricks: K-Pax

When I first saw the previews for the film K-Pax I thought it looked rather boring and poorly made, after watching it in class last week I changed my opinion. I realized at the end that I didn't want it to be over just yet, my question of weather or not Prot was actually an alien from K-Pax or if he was just a “touched” person was not fully answered. I made the parallel between Prot and an angel because of the impact that he had on everyone at the hospital, including the doctors. It almost seemed like Prot was sent to the hospital (or earth) to give hope to the patients and help them cure themselves. K-Pax can be viewed as some sort of spiritual or heavenly place. It was a place that everyone wished they could go to, somewhere they could be happy and carefree. The connection came clear when one of the Patients asked Prot, “Are you really from up there”? It almost seemed as if it was just Prot's spirit in the body of this man, and the spirit left when he completed what he came to do, place hope and faith into the people who needed it. He did this when he chose Bess to come with him to K-Pax, she was in fact gone when he had told everyone they (not Bess in particular, but him and who he chose to come) were leaving and she was gone. The interesting thing about this film is how open for interpretation it is, I viewed it this way but there can be many other ways in which the meaning can be seen.

Whitney Hendricks Personal #1 Snow White

I thought that our discussion on myths and fairy tales was really interesting and something I could definitely relate to. I grew up watching Disney movies, reading fairy tales, and playing make believe, as most children my age did. My favorite characters were princesses, so when we were discussing fairy tails I thought of one of my favorites, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Although I never noticed at the time, Snow White contains some apparent biblical content. I remember in particular learning in Sunday School about some of the references we could find in some of the Disney movies. I believe that the most prominent religious symbol in Snow White would have to be the apple. We were first introduced to poisonous fruits in chapter two of the book of Genesis, the story of Adam and Eve. God warns Eve that she is not to eat the forbidden fruit form the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil or she will die. Eve did not have the intentions of eating the fruit God told her not to touch until a snake in a tree told her that it was okay. The witch in Snow White reminded me of this snake, they were both evil creatures that wanted to harm an innocent woman. The witch offered her an apple, even knowing she shouldn't eat from a stranger, Snow While decided to take a bite anyways. After tasting the poisonous apple, Snow White went into a deathly sleep. Although Eve did not die, she no longer had God's spirit with her. I found the meaning of the word apple to be very interesting and has a deep connection to the film. Apple comes from the Latin word “malum”, which means evil. It has never been said what kind of fruit it was that Eve ate, but we have always seen it as something sort of like an apple.

# 15 Michael Romett - reading 5 - homeless

I want to talk about an article that I read a few months ago about homeless people within the United States. I cannot find the exact article again but I have the main idea down. First I want to state that I believe God created everyone the way they are and the world around us today. Whether we are environmentally killing out planet or not that is another topic of discussion. Everyone in the United States has right and I believe with the evolution that we have taken over the past 100 years there should be no issue with people sleeping on the streets. We spend trillions of dollars each year trying to keep drugs off the street when in turn we have people sleeping on the same streets and when we spend all of this money then that leaves less money to help other problems. Medically, when a homeless person has to go to the hospital and does not have insurance, then tax dollars are going to pay for health care for that individual. In turn, the same tax dollars that we are paying to keep drugs off the street are the same tax dollars that are paying for this health insurance. Which is why taxes raise when there become more homeless or more drug problems. This article talks about creating a home for these homeless people giving them the minimal medical benefits. This is going to be saving money when the homeless go into hospitals and they have some benefit compared to the zero benefits that they had before it will save tax dollars. Religiously I believe that this is a silent act of God working his magic. Helping out these individuals that cannot house themselves, and solving one of the biggest problems in our country is a big step. When all you hear about is the criminals and problems with our country on television, religion I believe is what has given this country the power to help out these individuals. We all have rights, and I believe in treat others the way you want to be treated, and it that means possibly saving a life by creating homes for homeless, then I believe my religious background will help voice my opinion about taking care of the people in this country who cannot take care of themselves.

# 14 Michael Romett - reading on religion is schools

I recently read an article about religion in school systems. I know that being a philosophy major, I have learned about different religions from different regions all over the world. The topic of discussion that is brought forward is should there be specific religions that are mandatory for students to learn about, maybe not in college but especially grade school. I believe that this is going to be a topic for years to come. There is no plausible solution that could verify to make everyone happy in this situation but I believe that a trial and error system could bring some solutions. There are a lot of questions regarding regulations that would have to be place in effect and terms that deal with separation between church and state. I know that this is not a topic that we have discussed during our semester of class but I think it is an important one to put some thought toward. Religion to me is a means to base the way we live our lives, the things we do, what we believe in, what we stand for, etc. and should be recognized on the same level as other problems in our country. There are going to be different opinions on the subject and there is no saying that mine is anymore justifiable that another, but since our country is so diverse in religion then I believe that there should be a policy in order to make student learn about various religions at a younger age. I am not saying that there needs to be a plethora of classes for each one, but a basis that generalizes the beliefs would be beneficial.

#13 Michael Romett- reading 3

I want to bring up the topic of change and the way that it has formed the world around us today. If you look at our culture, we are one of the most evolutionary civilizations on Earth. We are constantly changing the way we live, which is different than the rest of the world in some cases. Religion is something that has been around us since as long as I can remember, however, the way we view religion is up to the individual to decide. I read an article on yoga and the way that it differs in America than in other religions like Hinduism and Buddhism. This was a very interesting topic in my opinion because, the two ways that yoga is view is similar in characteristics but far from relative in the way it is used. In the Hindu religion, yoga is a way of life, something that is seen within every member of their culture. When you think about yoga in America we think of different stretches, poses, etc. that can help one with sports, physical therapy and things of that nature. After reading about yoga and where it came from I realize that the yoga we took from Buddhism, is the way they live their lives. Yoga to Buddhist is a for of enlightenment, a way to become one with Self by ways of stretches and meditation. The important factor that I want to get to is that yoga means so much more in the religion of Hinduism and Buddhism, an act that they could not live without, serving as a detail within their common goal in life. In America, it is something that you can go down the street and pay someone for an hour session to help loosen your back. I know that the two difference are not right and wrong by any means, I believe that each use is solely representative of the culture that it belongs to I just thought it was interesting in this article to compare the way that Americans use yoga and the way that Hinduism and Buddhism live their lives and their religious beliefs around yoga.

# 12 Michael Romett - reading 2

Environmental Ethics

Aside from the discussion and themes that we have made throughout this semester I read an article on environmental ethics that I believe can be thrown into the themes of this class and how we view our world. We have talked about religion in many different forms, from love, to technology, to simply religious symbols, but in my opinion the largest religious symbol that we physically have today is the world that God created for us. It is up to the individuals of this planet to ensure the longevity of this planet for further generations. This article talks about is it ethically acceptable for human civilization to be cutting down trees to make paper, if it is going to systematically kill our planet. There are many opinions that can be brought forward with this article because I for one believe that using hemp, which is what the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and many other important documents, are made of, can eliminate some of the problems we have with cutting down trees. Now the article goes into global warming and the greenhouse effect which is slowly raising the temperature of the Earth, but I will not get into that to much. The idea that I want to bring forward is this question, The world that God has given us to preserve, in order to sustain life, when do you draw the line that ethically the human race is slowly destroying what God has given us?

Jeffrey Benson - Blog 3

Student Choice

1. Bruce Almighty does a fantastic job of portraying the transformation of Bruce Nolan. At the start of the film he lacks both grace and salvation but as the film progresses we see him change and begin to gain a new perspective on life and as he does so he begins to gain both grace and salvation. “Grace was defined for us as “another word for God’s life and holiness, which he shares with us. Grace is free, unconditional, and undeserved help that God gives us.” There are two types of Grace: actual and sanctifying. Actual Grace is a gift from God that helps us to do what is right, and Sanctifying Grace is a gift from God that reinforces our ability to live and do God’s Will” (Bruce Almighty, 2007). In the movie, religious symbolism is used as the viewer is able to interpret Grace (his girlfriend) as the actual representation of grace. She embodied the concept of grace because she was a gift from God given to Bruce in an attempt to impact him for the greater good (Bruce Almighty, 2007). I believe that we see two examples of sanctifying grace in Bruce Almighty; they come in the form of his girlfriend and God’s decision to save him after he was hit by a truck. As the movie progressed Bruce becomes aware of the positive influence Grace has upon him. He also begins to realize her importance in his life and comes to the realization that he wants to be the best possible person for her (Bruce Almighty, 2007). In addition it becomes clear that God saved him for a greater purpose. God’s grace was overwhelming and he decided to save Bruce because he knew Bruce was going to learn his lesson and go forth and do his will. This could be seen in the transformation of his character as at the end of the film he was living life to better others and not just himself---seen when he is reporting on the Blood Drive.

2. Limitless was a movie we saw that displayed interesting symbolism. I throughly enjoyed the movie and loved the concept and idea behind the movie. The idea of being under a pill to achieve everything you could imagine is frightening yet exciting at the same time. I can't say one way or the other if I would take the pill because I'm not sure how I'd feel about relying on something other than my natural state. It was cool to watch the transformation in terms of looking at all the cool stuff he was able to do while on the pill yet we also saw the harsh reality when he was not on the pill. The movie speaks to American's in that the pill is probably the easy way out because you are in a way given things and don't have to work for them. It shows the materialism and immediate gratification we strive for as Americans. The addiction to the pill seen in the movie allows the viewer to see the power of the drug while also see its harsh effects when not having it. I probably would not take the pill because it ultimately changes who you are artificially which I wouldn't want.

3. K-Pax was a film we watched in class that I really liked. I thought the movie was filled with symbolism and had plenty of humor from the main character. I really felt that Kevin Spacey did a fantastic job in portraying the main character. I believe the most interesting part of the film is the significant amount of influence he (Prot) has on others in the movie. I believe that Prot was indeed an alien. This could be seen because from the evidence such as time travel and knowing so much about where he came from. I like the mystery of the film as you are left to question certain aspects of the movie. The end was confusing because at first I thought he left but then they found he body under the bed and it was determined that Bess had left. Maybe it was him who left through her body? The film shed light on our existence on earth and the possibilities of other things in space. The movie definitely makes you think critical about your place in this earth.

4. The Batman and Superman movies focus much like The Boondock Saints on an earthly figure saving us. Batman and Superman are both characters in the human fleshy that take it upon themselves to save those around them and protect us from evil. It is interesting to note the underlying religious symbolism in these movies and how it connects to the Bible. Much like Christ came in the humanly flesh to save and protect us, these fictional characters do the same thing apart from their jobs and protect us. These characters take it upon themselves and view it as their duty to protect us much like our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ does. I have learned much from this class and one thing is that religion can be applied to all things. When I watched Batman for the first time the last thing I thought of was how religion tied into the movie but after taking this class I have learned to analyze films and see the symbolism.

5. Another recent film I saw that I believe to demonstrate religious concepts and symbolism is the Book of Eli. In this film Eli travels to the West Coast of the US with a scared book in the hopes of getting it there safely. The movie much like Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind focuses on the concept of faith. Eli charged by his belief in his faith and the protection from God travels on the journey to bring the bible (as he later finds out) to a safe place. He looses the Bible to his rival but because he has had faith in the journey and protection makes it to Alcatraz where he is able to successfully orate what was in the braille bible from memory. The movie harps on believing in something and following that belief. Eli was blind yet still listened to the voice in his head and was rewarded in the end by making it to the place where he could share the information. It speaks to the importance of faith because he though he couldn't see he still had the belief that with the help of God he would transport the word and that he did. The movie was powerful and made me realize the importance of having a strong faith and not letting anyone get in the way of that belief.

Welsey Crusberg, (Dave Matthews) Blog # 8

in another course of mine I am writing a paper on the relationship between Christianity and music. I chose to go a different route in this regard because I wanted to relate how chiritian stories are projected in more modern ways to gain a younger audience. My paper dicusses three songs by Dave Matthews and how these songs tell famous Christian stories just in a more modern way, and in turn gain a more younger audience that is interested in religion because of the lyrics. The songs I chose were “Christmas Song,” “Save Me,” and “Bartender.”
“Christmas Song,” is a story of Jesus Christ. The song goes through detail of his birth, some of his life, the last supper and eventual his death. It is a powerful song that Matthews plays on occasion. He rarely plays this song at all and when he does it is usually with his friend and fellow guitar player Tim Reynolds. The two both play guitar and when they do it together the sound is amazing. The song is directly an interpretation of what Dave Matthews thinks actual scripture is saying. His personal take on scripture is interesting in its own way. The paper goes back and forth between scripture and lyric and compares the two.
“Save Me,” is Dave Matthews’s interpretation on the temptation of Christ. Like previously stated I managed to find scripture within the bible and how it relates directly to the song. Dave Matthews wrote this song as he was the one providing temptation to Christ. He is not the devil though; instead he is a lost man just asking for help. In this way the scripture is different than the song but nonetheless the point of the song is still there and an audience can appreciate the symbolism.
“Bartender,” is the final song I chose to describe by Dave Matthews. The song does not necessarily describe a certain event within Christianity, but instead provides examples within Christianity using symbolism. The first symbol is the bartender itself. The bartender acts as a symbol for God and the man drinking is the sinner asking for forgiveness. This is powerful within the song because throughout the man is asking his brother, his sister and his mother for forgiveness. This is a form of another symbol. The brother can serve as man as a whole. Sister can serve as the land and the other can serve as the soul for it is your mother that grants life. The wine is also another symbol within the song. Not only does it represent Christ but it also represents poison and medicine. I do not want to give away all of my paper but if anyone is interested in the paper I will send you a copy.
Song and lyric are important within society and they help people in lots of ways. I just wanted to write on an artist who has affected me in my life and point out the types of lyrics that directly refer to Christianity.

#11 Michael Romett - Big Fish

In this film we see a boy who grows up listening to the stories that his dad tells him repeatedly. This is what he knows his dad as, a storyteller. A common theme that surrounds this movie is the idea of fantasy. His dad tells the stories and most people like to hear them because they have a lot of fantasy and unrealistic details thrown into them. It is not until the end that we find out that the stories were actually true. The details that were surrounding them were slightly skewed, but the people that his father talked about and the main ideas were true, which we see at the end of the film when all of the members of the stories are attending the funeral. We find out that his father has lived a life of telling stories and the stories are what tells his life. When he is on his death bed he asks his son to do one thing and to take him to the river, where we find out that all of the people who have any relation to him are waiting to see him off into the lake, as he is characterized as the Big Fish that he has been his whole life. His son now realizes that all of the stories that Edward had told are true, and everyone was there to help him finish the way the story ends. Edward goes in peace knowing that now that his son is a believer in what he has done his whole life, that his stories will never die, which we see when Will has a son of his own and starts to tell the stories to him. Fantasy is not just a characteristic of children and their world. Fantasy is all around us today and even as adults, it is good to take a step back and realize that the ideals that have made us who we are today are important and mean something not only to us but to others around us. What we make of ourselves and friendships that are made are important and stories are how to keep them alive.

Aaron Hackett Video Blog 5

K-Pax is a movie that provokes interpretation and thought. The viewer is thrown into the conflict of whether or not Prot is in fact an alien. By the end of the movie some might claim that Prot is obviously just Robert Porter, a man who is dealing with a terrible life experience by creating an alter ego. However there are undisputable facts that counteract this. First, Prot can see ultra-violet rays, which no human can do. Next, he knows things about the universe that not even the greatest minds in astrology were able to figure out. Further, he is able to communicate with animals on a different level than anyone else, as shown by his interaction with his therapist’s dog that “doesn’t like anyone”. Finally there is the mystery about the disappearance of the catatonic patient on the exact same time that Prot claimed he would be taking one person with him. This moment is also accompanies by the mysterious blocking out of the camera in Prot’s room and the catatonic state he is left in after the incident. Although there can be no physical proof that Robert Porter was possessed by an alien, I believe that there are some things that you just know.

Aaron Hackett Video Blog 4

Big Fish is a film that depicts how important myth can be in the act of story telling. For the most part, everyone can agree that telling a story will not be able to get across the same feeling. Myth is then the best way for the storyteller to get the listener’s to feel the same thing they felt. Big Fish demonstrates myth through extravagant tales. For example, the Asian twins were not actually two people on one set of legs, but they did spend all of their time together or “joined at the hip”. The giant also wasn’t actually a giant but a very tall man. The fact that these people weren’t what he said they were isn’t important, what is important is that the listener or viewer had they same feeling that he did when he encountered these people.

Aaron Hackett Video Blog 3

Limitless is a film that shows the potential that everyone has. It seems for the most part to be a simple display of cool “what if” situations. There seems to be a greater theme throughout the movie to me, though. To me it seems to point out the general stigma of “ignorance is bliss”, “the devil is in the details”, and that there are some things that we simply shouldn’t be able to do. This arises by the negative feelings from the protagonist’s girlfriend about the drug that the protagonist takes. The inherent badness of knowing everything is shown when she takes the drug and uses a little girl to cut her pursuers face. Although taking the drug saved her life, it is the drug that got her in this situation in the first place. Further, using the little girl was something she never would have done in her normal state of mind and this is seen as a terrible thing to do because she is using something pure and innocent to do something that is neither pure nor innocent.

Aaron Hackett Video Blog 2

Northfork is an interesting film with thought provoking images and symbolism. The most interesting symbolism I found in the film was that of snow falling into a gap in the middle of a house. The character Walter looks at the snow and knows it as important, but the film does not explain why, leaving interpretation up to the viewer. To me this seems like clear symbolism of death. Death can pop up in the middle of anything. The white snow symbolizes the purity that is death. This has further implications for Walter as a character because he is the oldest character in the film and therefore closest to death. Further he is currently at odds with an act he has to fulfill, digging up his dead wife to move her out of a flood zone. Walter demonstrates that he can handle his current state by jumping over the gap and through the snow to join his son, who represents the continuation of life.

Aaron Hackett Video Blog 1

Bunny

This video was about a bunny. The feeling around this clip is that of the relationship between life and death. This is brought about first by the old age of the bunny that moves slowly and has a tired expression. The strongest symbolism occurs in the oven. First, general symbolism of an oven is a place of transformation. This is obvious as everyone uses an oven to transform food from one state to another. In the film the oven is a site of transformation for the old bunny. After the bunny has already put in the food and taken a short nap, the oven glows with a bluish light. When the bunny goes inside, it starts to fly and is surrounded by moths like the ones it finds in its house. They all fly toward a unifying light and disappear. This could be a clear symbolism of the unifying process of death.

Aaron Hackett Reading Blog 5

In Tom Brown Jr.’s Field Guide to Nature Observation and Tracking there lies great lessons in perspective of your surroundings. Tom teaches the reader about how they can become part of the landscape rather than an intruder. To illustrate this he tells a story about entering into the wilderness and sitting in one spot for hours. During this time he observed an immense amount of life coming and going around him, sometimes even walking over him. All of sudden the entire area exploded in frantic movement and all of the animal life disappeared. A few minutes later a couple of hikers passed through with huge packs carrying on a conversation.

As a person who really enjoys the wilderness as a hiker, I found this quite shocking. I had never considered before this time that there was anything that I might be missing. This story really opened my eyes to the potential that lies in the wilderness and become more in synch with it.

Aaron Hackett Reading Blog 4

Tom Brown’s Field Guide to Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants gives the reader a greater appreciation for God’s Creation. The introduction gives a good lesson in this appreciation. It tells the story of Tom killing and animal with his hands for the first time. Tom spent weeks tracking and getting to know the deer he was to kill, waiting for the ideal moment. The first strike he took on the deer failed to kill it so he had to choke it to death. As the deer slowly died he at first saw the utter terror it felt in its eyes, but this gave way to a look of knowing that it was to become Tom’s lifeblood. When he finally succeeded in taking the deer’s he felt a great wave of guilt and regret as he looked into the eyes of what he had grown to know as not just a beast, but a close friend and even family. When he returned to his teacher in tears, Stalking Wolf simply told him that when he could feel the same remorse for every blade of grass he destroyed, then he would truly understand the oneness of all things.

This seems to me a great lesson in life. How often do we eat a steak without giving a single thought to the life of the animal that was sacrificed for the meal? Even further, when, if ever, have we felt remorse for the loss of life of a blade of grass? I see in these instances a great potential for appreciation of life that is lost in modern life. Fewer and fewer things are sacred, as they become mere means to our ends.

Aaron Hackett Reading Blog 3

Awakening Spirits by Tom Brown Jr. presents a unique perspective on religions. The book tells the story of how Tom’s teacher, Stalking Wolf, came upon a simple truth of all religions. The vision of this truth was passed down to him from his great-grandfather Coyote Thunder who had interacted with the white man’s religions and as a result saw that there was something beyond the ceremonies and rituals of all religions. Stalking Wolf’s philosophy is best depicted through the story of “hairs”. In the story there is a man who wishes to have the powers of a shaman so he captures a sorcerer and in exchange for releasing him he would be given the demon that does the work of a shaman. The sorcerer agreed only as long as the man could keep the demon busy at all times, otherwise the demon would eat him. The man agreed and the demon he received would accomplish his tasks as soon as he demanded them. As he ran out of tasks to give the demon it grew bigger and meaner. Luckily the man found a shaman that helped him. The shaman gave him a curly hair to give to the demon with the task of straightening it out. The man did so and the demon straightened the hair only to find that it would curl right back up. The demon then shrank in size and became tame again.

The demon here represents the physical mind. The hair represents the crutches that man uses to distract the physical mind in order to access the pure or spiritual mind. Crutches are things such as meditations, rituals, ceremonies, or hymns. In place of hairs that are dependent on things occurring outside of the self such as having a ritual performed in the right way or a hymn sung in the right way, Stalking Wolf suggests internal hairs. Internal hairs could be things such as focusing on the breath, anything that is solely reliant on the self. Eventually though, even these are to be discarded in replace of the ultimately simple “choice” to enter into the pure or spiritual mind.

Aaron Hackett Reading Blog 2

Upon reading Tom Brown Jr.’s Field Guide to Wilderness Survival I enjoyed most the lesson that one learns from the wilderness and its creatures. The one that stands out most in my mind is the story of how Tom and his friend Rick learned how to make a debris hut. When asking their teacher, Stalking Wolf, he did not tell them how to do it step by step, but instead told them to learn from the squirrels. This resulted in many instances of trial and error that left the two cold, wet, or sweating. It wasn’t until they really looked at the squirrel’s shelters and learned from their mistakes that they were able to construct an ideal shelter.

I see this as an important lesson in life. There is much that we overlook that we could learn from. I imagine that there are things about the wilderness that we will never discover or learn from, but that doesn’t mean the lesson that we can learn are not valuable.

Aaron Hackett Reading Blog 1

I recently read an article about feminism. It wasn’t what would normally except from a feminist write. It didn’t claim any sort of female superiority or advocation of woman’s rights. Instead it addressed the importance of the feminist viewpoint on the nature of a person in the context of religious pluralism. The viewpoint is called hybridity and takes into account both the uniqueness and sameness of whatever the object of analysis may be. This is a very important idea to present to interfaith dialogue because problems arise when faiths try to communicate and focus too much on either sameness or uniqueness. The result of focusing only on sameness is that the faiths communicating lose their identity and will rarely gain any new knowledge of themselves. The result of focusing too much on uniqueness is that the faiths communicating never find a productive topic of discussion and eventually each is just trying to depict to the other why they should convert. In the case of focusing too much on uniqueness, neither of the faiths learn any knowledge of the other. I think it is extremely interesting that a viewpoint from a perspective usually not considered spiritual can have such a positive affect on interfaith dialogue.

aaron Hackett Miscellaneous Blog 5

Depending on what was cooked and how I cooked it they could have been missing out on the power of living food! Raw, living foods are the most abundant in vitamins, minerals, and enzymes, which are some of the most important tools our bodies need to function! Cooking, from the perspective of living foods, almost always reduces the living vibration of the energy we eat (Cousens, Spiritual 305). Because of this, a balanced diet based on raw, living foods is the most effective way to feed the body, mind, and spirit the foods they need to realize their highest expressions.

-This is an excerpt from an essay that my friend at MUM wrote. I have heard the argument for raw food before and found it very compelling. I have heard many times that cooking foods takes out many of the nutrients of the food in sacrifice of making it more palatable. This seems like a foolish thing to embark on with the knowledge that one can change their taste preferences over time. I feel like this is something that is overlooked often because people just look at the fact that nobody is dropping dead after they eat a hamburger. I feel that this is something that one has to look into on their own and study their own reactions to eating raw versus eating things like fast food. Ultimately this is one of those things that if raw foodists are wrong, who cares? On the other hand if raw foodists are right…

Aaron Hackett Miscellaneous Blog 4

Glen Beck is a particularly interesting study. I recommend watching his television show... absolutely NOT in the sense that you should believe what he's saying, but rather on the contrary, in order to “know thy enemy.” Glen Beck is an absolute master of manipulation. He is so skilled at it that he is actually able to manipulate not only his own audience, but all the lefties and centrists who don't even watch his program as well!! He accomplishes this by seamlessly mixing the Truth into his lies. Believe it or not, a significant portion of the things he's saying are actually True. Of course, he completely redirects those facts to deceive his audience, but at the same time, he willfully comes off as whacked-out-of-his-mind-lunatic-crazy to anyone who hasn't been watching his program (who thus hasn't come under his hypnotic spell). He does this intentionally in order to produce the desired result in the lefties and centrists, that being to write him off as a crackpot and dismiss those things which he says which actually ARE True as absurd conspiracy theories. The net result is that he is able to manipulate and deceive upwards of 90% of the American population.

The above is part of a facebook conversation I had with a friend who is very into conspiracy theories. I find it very interesting that he points out that Glen Beck is fooling up to 90% of the population by acting like a lunatic. The idea of spinning truth is interesting as well because as soon as critics set in on him, he can just point to the facts. However, the truth can be used for bad things. I don’t really know how to take this information because I am not very involved in politics or conspiracy theories because I am busy with other things. I am interested what others think though.

Aaron Hackett Miscellaneous Blog 3

A person living today is either sinking or rising, clinging or letting go, bound or emerging, crumbling or healing. There is no middle ground, no room for sitting on the fence. Everyone has to make a choice, right now, during this time. Which road will you walk? Look at the Hopi prophecy rock. Two roads. One leads to the next world, the other leads no where.

The ones who choose materialism, atheism, apostasy, degradation, emptiness, darkness, self-destruction, greed, self-interest, immorality, sadism, slavery (either end of it).... they're not going to be here much longer.

Those who choose to walk the Red Road, the Straight and Narrow, who choose spirituality, peace, love, brotherhood, light, positivity, sharing, community, freedom (real freedom), courage, healing... they will see a better day. They will become bigger and greater than they have ever been, and they will walk on a world that is healed and beautiful. They will come home to the Garden that is Eden.

This is an excerpt from a conversation I had with a friend that I met in New Jersey during tracker school. There is much more to the conversation and a lot of it is extremely controversial to some. Much of it had to do with government corruption and things occurring around the world that are utterly devastating to our future. However, the above statements gives a large dose of encouragement to those who know that they are at least trying to make their life a contribution to the betterment of the earth.

Aaron Hackett Miscellaneous Blog 2

As I scrolled down my facebook profile page, I felt a strange sense of alienation to the details, descriptions of myself, of my interests, and all the comments from friends that were begging to hold significance as I scrolled by them. One thing I realized was that previously this morning, as I was going through them and commenting back to a girl from CNU, is that there is no fullness there at all, no warmth or truth. I kept thinking that I must think of the right thing to say, and I was resistant to the feelings of lack which arose in me while I was engrossed in this whole game of performing and competing for who could be the best, get the most girls, be the coolest, the most liked.

So I think this realization came to me because throughout this experience I still realized my perfection but I wasn’t getting any lasting peace from it. The problem was that I was forgetting the holistic perfection that this entire facebook game, popularity game, get the most sex game, was merely a part of. I was completely absorbed by it—an egoic-made world that begged for my effort and total attention. I needed to step back from it, realize where I actually was—in a peaceful quiet room with myself on a beautiful day.

Aaron Hackett Miscellaneous Blog 1

I was thinking about writing an essay on Stalking Wolf, a native-american scout who developed a unifying philosophy of spirituality. I chose this topic because I have a great interest in the teachings of the Lipan Apache scout Stalking Wolf. I learned about Stalking Wolf and his only disciple Tom Brown Jr. from a friend who attended Tom Brown Jr.’s Tracker School. The Tracker School teaches the art of wilderness survival as it was taught to Brown from Stalking Wolf. This style of living is one with the spiritual teaching of Stalking Wolf to the point that the two are inseparable. There is no other religion or philosophy that holds the level of communion with the earth as Grandfather’s lifestyle.

This topic matters to me because it is one that I am currently trying to experience to its maximum degree. I see the importance of it, mostly, as a way of life. When I first heard about the philosophy of Stalking Wolf I was in the middle of trying to figure out how to formulate a lifestyle that every person could live by that would be sustainable and promote oneness. Stalking Wolf’s philosophy was a perfect solution as it involves living in perfect communion with the earth. This is not a oneness only of awareness but also every action that one takes in ones life from the way they walk to the way they drink water.

Relevant background material includes any pluralistic writings. Also any writings that point out the meditative practices or the presence of nature in every religion are relevant.

Going into this project I assume that there are meditative aspects and lessons drawn from nature in each religion. These assumptions are well grounded because every major religion is in some way affected by nature and contains some aspect of meditative practice whether they call it meditation or not. The terms wilderness, meditation, sacred silence, and internal and external hair will be defined and used throughout the project.

Tyler McElhenny- Josh Hamilton

I recently read an article on ESPN, which was written about Josh Hamilton and his struggle to get back to baseball. Josh was drafted as the number one pick in the 2003 amateur draft. He signed with the Tampa Bay Rays and was one of the promising young players in the game. He eventually fell under the influence of drugs and alcohol. It wasn't until he accepted God into his life did he begin to turn things around. He claims that his relationship with God and his family are the reasons as to why he has changed. He attributes his turn around to those two things along and without them, he wouldn't have been able to get back to playing professional baseball. While in rehabilition, he came to a realization. He began to accept God and finally believe in something. He had lacked stability in his life. He was given the world as an 18 year old kid with so much potential. He took advantage of everything and it wasn't until everything was gone did he finally become the person he wanted to be.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2926447

#10 Michael Romett - Transformers

The series that we have seen over the past few years dealing with robots have been the two films called Transformers. Much like our relation to Blade Runner when technology seemed to be catching up to the human race and possibly surpassing it. In Blade Runner, the idea that androids can serve as human workers quickly backfired when some of them found out that they had a specific lifespan and were going to be terminated after that time period was over. Relating this is a little bit of a different way to the Transformers, we see that cars and trucks transform into these beings that have humanistic qualities that are helping save the world. The way that technology has evolved over the years is amazing when we look at the progress that we has 50 years ago compared to the progress that we have made today. These films show that not only the way evolution with technology has changed but also the evolution with the way our society is today. I believe that it is not unrealistic to think that one day we might be able to control the mind and send it to different places, much like the relation to The Jacket and the fantasy behind that movie. This gets me to my next point, fantasy was a theme that we looked at most recently in the past few movies that we saw, K- Pax and The jacket, were both examples that use different kind of fantasy to get their point across. I think that even in the film, Big Fish, the fantasy behind the stories that are being told are what make the movie worth watching. Much like the Transformers, taking fantasy to a different level is what gets most of us to watch movies like this.

Tyler McElhenny- A Christmas Carol

Charles Dickens is one of the most famous authors of all time. Argueably his most famous work, A Christmas Carol, shows the value of helping others and living a selfless lifestyle. Death is also a main theme in the book, showing how Ebenezer is willing to just about anything to avoid death. Throughout the book, he is scared of Death and doesn't want to ultimately spend his life alone. It isn't until he sees his past, the present, and the future via the three spirits does he start to understand the meaning of companionship and selflessness. Scrooge goes through a transformation and is grows a person. He becomes genuine and tries to help others like Tiny Tim, regardless of the impact it has on himself. The book also highlights the Christmas season in which kindenss and given is shown by everyone that celebrates the holiday. It is supposed to be filled with love and genorosity that Scrooge doesn't develop until the end of the book. Dickens' classic is able to capture the essense of Christmas and the meaning of caring.

Wesley Crusberg, (Lagan) Post # 7

Lagan is a movie I watched in my Religion and the arts class. The movie is a musical and I have to say it was not that bad. I am not a fan of musicals but this movie played with my interests. The film is a bout a group of men who want to fight the British government for rtying to raise taxes in India. The group of men are told that if they can win a game of Cricket against the British then they will have no taxe for three years.
Throughout the movie you see the pride within the characters. They are not just fighting to stop the taxes in India but they are fighting to prove a point that India will nto fall under tyrant law. the main character whose name excapes me leads a group of ragity men everyday to paractice and they eventually beat the British heads up in a game of Cricket. Now I could not tell you the first thing about the game of Cricket but I do knwo that the game can last for days and it is entirely to complicating to discuss through blogging.
what strikes me as interesting thoughout the film is the music. It is a musical but it is done almost like balliwood the entire time. People move in ways you can't describe and you feel a type of emotion that is hard to explain. You feel the love within the film. There are all types of songs within the film as well. Love songs, power songs, emotional songs, conqueriing songs and even funny songs. the movie does a great job in selling the emotion of the film and you can't help but enjoy it and at times move with the music.

#9 Michael Romett - Batman

I know all of us have seen or heard about the Batman movies. They all deal with evil and this symbolic figure that is saving the day. Batman in all of his movies, played by different characters, uses the skills and technological advances that he has at his disposal to solve a common problem in each of the three films. Even though we know that superheroes are not real, these movies gain a lot of significant consideration from people of all ages. Specifically in the most recent one, the action and mystery shows how our world has evolved not only with technology but also with mythology. Fifty years ago, our parent and grandparents would not have said that they had films like this that were considered some of the best films of their generation, but with the day in age that we are in today, the realistic analysis of superheroes being real is a large part of our society, including Superman, Spiderman, etc. In all of these films, Batman is single handedly cleaning the streets of evil by himself. Now we know that there are law enforcement that due this every day, but for the sake of entertainment, having one individual that wreaks havoc on evil and makes the world a better place is symbolic of God-like intentions. Relating to themes that we have talked about in class this semester, symbolism, technology, and God are all apparent In not only the batman films but also films of the same kind. They all make for entertainment but it was not until I took this class that I was able to make some of the comparisons that I can truthfully make today.

Rachel Fralick - Blog #15: Student Choice 5

Last year, a tv show called "FlashForward" was introduced to the world. Though it is not on air anymore, I watched it every week and loved it. The show began on one sunny day when all over the world, suddenly a blackout hit and everyone was "asleep" for about 2 minutes. Everyone, everywhere, was blacked out. While this blackout was occurring, everybody saw a glimpse of their future. They foresaw where they would be on one particular day, and when they awoke, their entire lives were changed. They woke up with knew knowledge of the future. SOme wondered if it was real. Others wondered how individuals could doubt. Either way, everyone saw something and everyone was changed in some way because of it.

Being able to see the future is something I would bet that everyone desires to do at some point in their lives. What does the future consist of? Where will I be in 5 years? WIll I be happy? Will I be married, kids, wealthy, alone, etc? The list continues. We all wonder and we often all worry. In our case, there is nothing we can do that will change the course of the future. The only thing we can do to change the course of the future is to live it. Unlike in the tv show FlashForward, we cannot be guaranteed that our futures will be one specific way. God has planned out the future of every person in the world to be one specific way. Changing this plan is impossible because we simply just don't have the power. It is inevitable. It is coming.

The tv show really makes me think about my life. In general, what percentage of my thoughts consist of thoughts about the future? I would say that about half my thoughts deal with the life that I have yet to live. Though I cannot change it, it is sometimes comforting to think about it and what it might look like. This is an unpeaceful comfort, however. It makes me question more and more and, sometimes, it makes me doubt and worry. The people in FlashForward lived so scared. The nearer the date got, the more fearful they were of their vision either coming true or not coming true. They wanted to prevent some things while making sure some other things occurred. At the end of the show in the final episode, the audience was able to see that the events that the people saw in their FlashForwards did, inevitably, come to pass. Worrying did nothing. Trying to change it did nothing. It is just like the life we lead. Worrying and working to change things does nothing because our futures are coming regardless of what we do or say. God is in control. His almighty hand is on and over everything. Nothing we can do to change it will work. It is nice to know that His divine comfort will comfort those who trust in His plan. There is freedom in that. There is freedom to do, freedom to be, and freedom to live. Christ is freedom.

Tyler McElhenny- The Road Less Traveled

This book was written by a psychiatrist named M. Scott Peck. The story is how a human fulfills his God given role as human. Peck emphasizes three main aspect of life. Discipline is a means for spiritual evolution. It allows for you as a person to control yourself and have the capability to mature. The next is love. Love is one the basic human functions. It can be a love for a mate, action, or thing. Love comes in many shapes and forms. It can be both a positive and negative thing as well. The final aspect is grace. This would emphasize peace as well and the happiness that you must feel in order to have a successful life. I thought this book was very interesting because it was from the perspective of a psychiatrist as well as a devout Christian. You were able to see both sides of the human perspective and what life means.

Rachel Fralick - Blog #14: Blood Atonement (Outside Reading 5)

Theology is something that I like to, but do not always, understand the way that I would like to. J.I. Packer wrote several articles on the reasons and ways of atonement. Atonement, by definition, is the satisfaction given for an injury or wrong. God, in scripture, made it clear how He was able to atone the sins of the world. In one specific article entitled, “Blood Atonement,” J.I. Packer discusses how atonement through blood was absolutely necessary for the reconciliation of His people to Himself.

In the Old Testament teachings, people were “atoned” of their sins through the sacrifice of a spotless lamb. Once a year, there was a day of atonement where the people would go to the temple and ask forgiveness for their sins committed that year. This set the example of how the world was to be forgiven of their sins. God gave this law for a reason, and though, at times it seems gruesome, it is necessary.

There was no other way in which God could save us other than blood. This is not to say that He COULD not if He chose another way, but more-so that, because He chose this way, there was no other. The nature of God does not allow sin near holiness, and for this reason, it was necessary to bring atonement to a dirty people. God's nature is against sin and for justice. It often seems cruel that the loving God our culture talks so much about would be just. He is. God's justice called for there to be some blood atonement for reconciliation. Blood needed to be spilled in order for there to be right relationship with Him. Because God chose this specific way, if He had done it any other way, it would have been cosmic child abuse. He loves us too much to allow us to have to form of reconciliation with Him. This is why He sent Jesus to die for us and pay the price for our sins. He is a good God and wanted to show His love in this way. Therefore, blood atonement was the only way and He did it out of love.

Shannon Corcoran Blog 1: Various films in class

Blog #1 Various in films in Class
Bunny: I find in the short film "Bunny" to be somewhat a sad short. To me it seems like a depressing film and some question left unanswered. When we first meet the main character who is making some type of cake. When we do meet her, the room is dark and depressing. One thing that does not help the fact is the moth is treated badly. The only thing it want to do go towards the light, but it throw out the house. When it comes back into the house it is squashed and mix into the cake batter then put into the oven. In only a few minute the poor moth takes a very hard toll for being innocent. Another sad thing is it seems like the bunny is all alone with no one around her to share joy so she becomes a bitter bunny.
What makes this short even sadder it appears that the bunny dies. When it goes into the oven and having the oven door shut, it seems the shutting of the door ends the life of the bunny. But when the bunny do go into the oven one does know if the bunny is dreaming or not. Is the bunny dreaming and if so where does the dream began and ends? To me the dream ends when the bunny comes out of the oven and into "heaven". But is it really heaven because the only other creatures one sees are moths and not bunnies? It does seems like the bunny passes away because at the end of the short there is a reflection of two moths on a very old wedding photo and the wings line up with the back of the married bunnies to make it looks like the bunnies have wings. While the bunnies have wings the bunnies start to move and hug each other like they haven't seen the other one in a long time. The sad thing is all the characters are dead and only one character you learn on how it dies but not the other two. You also don't learn exactly when they died.
Northfork: The movie seems to be a very sad film. In the parts one sees I learned the town is about to be flooded. A sad scene and a very beautiful scene is when the pastor is giving one of his last sermons to the town in the background one sees huge mountains against an open church. The mountains and the open church can symbolize that the religion is going back to nature and being connected to nature. Another scene is when one sees three cars at a cross road and they all take different directions. It seems like the town and its people will never lived together again and be whole. You can't talk to an old neighbor because he might be on the other side of the country. One scene is one sees a boy running across a field with bison. The boy seems to be on a mission and needs to get the mission down fast and out of the way. The mission could be helping one, getting one things, or is about to leave and running to catch up to someone. One of the weirdest scenes is seeing a coffin on top a car and in the background are mountains. The mountains and the coffin can refer to everlasting time and a moment in time. The everlasting time is the mountains since they will be there long after you and I are gone. The moment in time is the coffin. Yes the person lived but is no longer with us. They were there for but a moment in time compare to the mountains.
Paris, Texas: In this film the main character seems distance and lost. He is trying to find out who he is and what happen to him. He learns out what happens but learns his wife is missing and goes out to find her. At the beginning of the movie, the main character seems lost and disconnected from the real world. The way he seems disconnected is the background is not smooth and is irregular. The way he "finds" himself is following a road. He seems to follow the roads no matter where they take him. To me it seems like he believe he will get to the place he needs to be by going down a road even though he doesn't know where he is going. The roads also can mean a form of commutation. It is commutation because information will travel down them and get to the place they need to be, eventually. Another form of commutation is phone lines, either very long ones or short line. The phone lines gives information and messages in a matter of seconds or even split seconds. When the main character finds his wife they talk over the phone through a two way mirror and discover who the person on the line is. The mirror is like a barrier, you don't see who is on the other side and you can't touch the person on the other side.
The Wall: To me, this movie is a just a weird film. With the opening song, I get the impression that there was WWII and England is getting attack. What is weird is when some of the machines turn into buildings. What is weird is when they turn into buildings, the buildings seems to resemble 1940s German pictures during the time where the Nazi ruled over Germany. The next thing we watch were when children were being put though a machine and turning into faceless children. The process of this is that the children had no control over what they were taught and learned. The song reminded me of Nazi Germany again. To me it seems even though England was trying to avoid becoming like the Nazi, they were turning into a Nazi state without realizing it. The schools were trying to teach the kids there is only one way and that was their way. If you didn't follow their way then you were punish, like people who lived a couple hundred years ago. The school was like a "church".
In the song "Wish You Were Here" deals with violence and sex. It seems like you can't have one without the other. You have sex but when it is too much or not enough it can lead to violence. It is shown on how some of the sexual images turn violent. But with the sexual images and violence it can tear one apart or have them build a wall around themselves. With building the wall around themselves (the last song we watched) other people try to get in. It seems like they are trying to take control over one's life and become the God of that person's life. The wall separates oneself from others, including god(s).
Cabeze de Vaca: In one of the scenes there is a Spanish group which is under attack. During the attack one can see a priest with multiple arrows sticking in his back as he walks into a light and disappear. This scene can symbolize the enduring faith of one and also death. It is the enduring faith because the priest is still walking tall even though he is about to die. It symbols death because the light "eats" the priest. He is no more like in death, once someone dies they are no more. Or the light means something else?
After the main character, Vaca, is captured and held by a shaman he tries to escape but fails. During the escape scene the shaman draws a circle in the dirt in order to keep Vaca from escaping. In the end Vaca runs around in a circle and comes back where he started. The circle can mean a higher power like the sun, since it is circular. But it can also mean that life is circular and it is hard to break free from a cycle that has no beginning or end. Another thing with the circle is unless everyone is willing to let go you will end up where up started. Same thing if you have no directions on where you are going. People need directions in order to succeed in life.
Chanting is one way of healing oneself and finding rhythm to most things. If done right it can calm people even though they don't understand what is being said. Chanting can get one into a state of mind where it goes through you and into you. It effects the actions of what one is doing and how they are doing it.

Anne Taylor Robertson Blog 8: A Million Miles

A Million Miles in a Thousand Years is a book by Donald Miller, who wrote Blue Like Jazz a few years ago. I thought Blue Like Jazz was good, but there were elements of his writing style that I thought were pretentious and made him seem cocky. A few years after he wrote Blue Like Jazz, Miller had some life-altering experiences that led him to a more humbled identity, and on this he wrote a memoir. A Million Miles in a Thousand Years is that story. The underlying theme in his book is the concept of story. Story is not just something that you tell or write, and it is not for entertainment. Story is a way of life, a method through which vivid, true life can be discovered and experienced. This relates to mythopoeia. Through bluntly revealing many of his most humbling experiences, Miller challenges his readers to create story for themselves. A Christian, Miller does not believe in destiny so much as he believes that God created each of us for abundant life. That life is truly lived when we step out onto the threshold and take risks that throw us into the fantastic, glorious unknown where change and transformation occur. I liked this book because I was reading it at a time when I was thinking about graduation (and still am), and wondering what to do next. There’s a desire for adventure that I don’t want to tame by working in an office. The stories in this book made me realize that those mundane parts of life are not bad, and they are not necessarily settling. Sure, adventure can be found through crazy things, but story can be created in all parts of life.

Anne Taylor Robertson Blog 1: Decalogue

Kieslowski’s ten-part series known as Decalogue uses the Jewish technique of Midrash to bring the viewer into a more personal experience of the film. While peshat focuses on the literal meaning of the text, and sod focuses on the interpretive meaning, midrash is a method of making sense between the two. The episodes of Decalogue are beautiful in their own way - giving character and life to the tragedy in human experience. There is a sense of audience omniscience in these episodes, like when we can just know that something sad is going to happen to the little boy on the frozen lake. Midrash helps us understand that it is not the literal story of the film (though it is important) that is powerful, but rather a combination of the literal meaning and the underlying meaning. Kieslowski’s characterization and film technique brings the audience into a compelling and heart-wrenching story in each of his episodes, using darkness and quiet to bring the viewer into a more realistic type of film. There are few full-length feature films to which we can truly relate. Most movies have soundtracks, scores, lighting, animation and often unrealistic plot lines which are unable to relate to real life. Kieslowski adds reality through Midrash when he strips down film to the bare minimum, focusing more on what we see in our everyday lives. There are no soundtracks, there are no artistic animations and fabricated lighting or action sequences. Real life has only man-made law, consequences, and relationship. This is what it comes down to in Kieslowski’s films, making them quintessentially human.

Anne Taylor Robertson Blog 2: Northfork

Michael Polish’s Northfork hits on the importance of death in a community. Northfork is about a small Montana town in the 1930’s facing imminent danger as a local dam is about to flood, which will cause their entire town and valley to be submerged in water. The entire population of the town prepares to leave and move away, and the story focuses on their preparations as well as the emotional and physical difficulties they face in leaving. The town is being evacuated as the local priest reads a story to a sick young boy who is dying. No one will take the added responsibility of moving the boy out of town, essentially leaving him to die. The priest, therefore, stays with him, and retells the story of the town back in the day. The boy faces a more tangible death, while the rest of the town has more of a choice. Six men are sent from the government to evacuate the town, and they often struggle to remove its stubborn inhabitants. While all this is going on outside, the boy is reconciling his life with the afterlife by entering a dream-like state where a cast of odd characters comes to love him and take him far, far away. So far away, in fact that to him it is another world. It is left up to the viewer to decide whether this place is death, but ultimately, it seems that the boy is happy. The rest of the town, stubborn adults, are hesitant to leave and face decisions about what they should take with them. It is an ultimate picture of what we can truly take when we go, and what really matters when all is said and done.

Anne Taylor Robertson Blog 3: Big Fish

Tim Burton’s 2002 film Big Fish is truly a classic. This film is about the life of a man and his son. Elderly and sick, Edward Bloom recounts his life story to his once estranged son Will. Will has always had a difficult relationship with his father, as Edward told him fantastical, myth-like stories of his life growing up. When William got older, he got more and more frustrated with his father because the stories weren’t realistic. He felt that his father was just vying for attention. A few years after his wedding, William and his pregnant wife come back from Paris to be with Edward on his death bed. This situation brings William and Edward close together in Edward’s last moment of life. I thought this was a great film, describing what can often be a distant parent relationship. William has a chance to step back from the hustle and bustle of every day life to see the value behind his father’s stories. I loved the fantasy-like imagery and the style of story-telling the film employed. I felt like it made it a very personal viewing experience, that the film followed so closely the life of young Edward Bloom. William has to learn, what is most important at the end? It’s not the money you earn or the things that you have but the relationships you build and the stories you leave behind to share them.

Anne Taylor Robertson Blog 4: The Jacket

The 2005 film The Jacket starring Adrien Brody and Keira Knightley is the story of a Gulf War veteran who continually finds himself in mortifying experiences. Jack Starks keeps “dying”. Through a bunch of terrible situations where he is wrongly blamed for crime, Starks ends up in an insane asylum. Unfortunately, he also happens to be treated by a heartless doctor who is testing out a new treatment system, involving hallucinogenic drugs, a straight jacket and a body drawer of a morgue. Starks, not insane, understands what is going on and not only has to escape, but has to fight to get the other doctors and people he meets to believe him. The only problem is that he has forgotten his own story. The film drags viewers through a multitude of tragedies, but these ultimately lead to Starks’ full understanding of his circumstances, his escape, his reconciliation with the doctors and his experiences helping others. Unknowingly, he leads a very self-sacrifical life. His life ends up setting other families and individuals free from dangerous, hurtful lifestyles. I’m not a fan of psychological thrillers and this movie also had elements of violence, but it redeemed itself at the end when it indicated that Starks’ life was not in vain. It also had elements of self-sacrifice and learning that reminded me of Groundhog Day.

Anne Taylor Robertson Blog 5: Babett’s Feast

I really enjoyed this movie. It was a little frustrating to watch at times because it is an older film and it is not in English. The cinematography is also not the best, but that probably has to do with the time in which it was made, in the 1980’s. This movie tells the story of a young woman who ends up going to serve the people in a remote Norwegian town. She is French, and comes sort of mysteriously, with little reason as to why she is there. Here name is Babett. The people in the village are very conservative and very religious, they do not believe in procreation because it involves the pleasure of sex. That is just an example of how they live. They also live in primitive cabins, and eat the same cream of wheat-like food every meal every day. They abstain from all alcohol, and do not talk about their lives or struggles. Though they think they are living in righteousness, these people have created a dangerous, nuclear microcosm of a society. When Babett comes into town, she serves them over the decades and shows them a new kind of life they had never seen. I wonder what our society would look like if we all learned to love and serve like the example of Babett, and if a new kind of life would be introduced.

Anne Taylor Robertson Blog 6: Les Miserables

I saw the film Les Miserables, with Liam Neeson, a few months ago and have been intrigued by this story since. I tried to read the book, by Victor Hugo, over Christmas break but it is extremely long and I did not have time. While it is a weighty story, it is one that I find to be a fascinating reflection on the human experience. There is life and death, suffering and heartache, and the most mysterious of all, forgiveness. I think forgiveness is something that we are not used to. It is hard to forgive; it is hard to understand what it means to be forgiven. So much of our society is about “getting ahead”, “doing what’s best for you” no matter what the cost is. This is especially true in America. The people in this film were willing to lay down their own agendas to help others even to the most extreme extent, expecting nothing in return. The conflict in this film leaves viewers distraught, and thinking about what forgiveness really means. Any movie where you walk away challenged is a good movie.