God translates himself

Religions were formed throughout history; in various times and in a variety of places all spread out in the world. My learning through research and discussion has lead me to believe that although these religions seem vastly different in time and place, they were not exposed to each other in time of creation but they all have similarities in beliefs, community, rituals, ethics, and relics. In class, this topic was brought up through the verse Luke 23:34, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing". In the conversation, the topic of truth arose; how all people are exposed to the truth because god gives them this knowledge, meaning that due to this statement there is a possibility that all religions are based on one god. One god but different forms of worship because of background, culture, and time period.


There are 6 major aspects of religion; belief system, sacredness, community, rituals, ethics, and relics. The most important being belief system since it is the foundation of every religion.

Christianity's belief system is based on the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus. This belief is mainly universal but the use of terms for Jesus, God, or heaven differs. These beliefs originated from Judaism in which Christianity was formed out of. A commonality between Christianity and Judaism is Buddism having the belief in Nirvana after death, a heaven. Resting places being a crucial part of religion it is amazing to see the connection between not only Buddism but Islamic, Hinduism, and Confucianism.

The Buddist belief system is based on reincarnation and nirvana as well as Sila, Samadhi, and Prajna. Sila is one's virtues, good conduct, and morality. The well-known principle, "Do unto others as you wish them to do onto you" is introduced in this section of Buddism belief system; identical to the Christian fundamental and many other religions.
Samadhi is putting religion into practice by concentration, meditation, and mental development; doing these things makes one stronger and helps to maintain good conduct. Meditation is also referred back to Hinduism which has physical meditation called yoga. Prajna is the impact you receive from worship; discernment, insight, wisdom, and enlightenment. Wisdom in Buddism is what makes the mind pure and calm. Romans 1:18, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth", this is quoted because your truth is in your heart and mind which brings you peace. For Christians, this truth is the bible, gods word.

The Confucian belief system is more based on ethical principles because it tends to take from religions like Taoism and Buddism instead of forming religious fundamentals of their own. As for Heaven, Confucians believe it is a positive personal force in the universe. The Hindu Belief for heaven is similar to this because, like a force that is not tangible, they believe it is more joining in unity with god; Moksha.

The Hindu belief system is through 4 main points. Dharma, which requires one to be faithful to god, maintaining their religious rituals and attending to family needs as well; this is to be played out in all areas of life: religion, social, and familiar. Karma is the next belief. The saying 'what comes around goes around' is the main belief in this section. Similar to "Do unto others as you wish them to do onto you", a connection to Christianity. Samsara is known as reincarnation, this idea is closer to Christianity's version of heaven (which is surprising since it is closer to the origins of Buddism). Karma refers to the actions you do on earth and how those actions decide your balance in the next life, the question 'are you genuinely pure or evil'. This heaven is referred to as Moksha, which means unity with god.

The Islamic belief system is based on there being 'one, unique, incomparable god' but Jesus is not to have existed because it is the Muslim belief that a higher power such as god would not have lowered himself to a form lower than himself: that of a bondservant. No other gods or idols are to worshiped other than the one true god is another major point. Allah is the term used for god in this setting; this is used by both Arab Muslims and Arab Christians. This surprised me.

Other than the belief in Jesus and the extraordinary activists in the Islamic religion; Christians and Muslims both have the same belief system which is surprising because they do not seem to get along.

The sacredness and community are one and the same for Christians, Buddhists, Confucists, and Hindi's. Each having a sacred place whether it be a church, temple, mosque, or living room they all gather for the same reason; to worship together. "For where two or three gathers in my name, there am I with them", Matthew 18:20, I believe god is present with these groups but in a way that is familiar to them all.

The same is true for ethics; each agrees with one another in having virtues, values, and good moral conduct although Buddhists are looser in ethics being more free-wheeling and Muslims taking ethic to a whole new level but altogether, 'what would a godly person do?' (wwgpd?) would work for them all.

Rituals in the Catholic church include Baptism; an initiation and the other seven sacraments as well as things like ash Wednesday. The Religions Buddhism, Hinduism, Islamic, and Christian are similar. Hinduism, Islamic, and Christian being more prominent because these religions have a designated god and so the process of initiation is becoming one with god but due to Buddism and Confucianism being more a right of passage.

Without excuse, god has made himself known to everyone, throughout time; even before Christ. The evidence for god is endless. My thought is that god only gives you what he knows you can handle and in this timeline of religions, the Christian stories were not exposed to those in different areas,so god gave the people their own miracles. These miracles being the basis of the religions formed and the names used for god are in different forms but he has many forms so this is understandable. The Christian God is one, unique, imcomparable god, who comes in many forms and I have come to believe that the god/gods worshiped in other religions are all connected to one true god.

He's just so unqualified

  Donald Trump appointed Scott Pruitt as Environmental protection agency (EPA) administrator; a man with no environmental standing and a degree in political science and communications. Pruitt plans to actually sue the organization he is appointed on as well as a few other environmental regulation organizations because they have 'too much power'.

  The EPA has gained a lot of respect from all over the world due to work they have done. Due to EPA air pollution has gone down by 70%, this is amazing. They built a community worldwide working to make air, water,   and land up the environmental code. Eco-Campus was created as well, leaving a lasting effect on our youth in the United States and Taiwan; an expanded community. As for water, they've worked in places like Asia and Africa making it less polluted and safe to drink. Mercury levels have also decreased making fish safer to consume. Air has been regulated through programs working all over the world but mainly in places like China and other trouble areas because although they are far from the US, we are still affected. The land is being taken care of through clearing and cleaning contaminated areas. To lead this organization, Gina McCarthy was appointed by Barack Obama in his presidency, which was an excellent choice due to her background. She has a BA in Social Anthropology and a BS in Environmental Health Engineering both degrees perfect for the position she obtained. She also had experience as Connecticut's development of Environmental protection commissioner. She is surpassingly more qualified than Pruitt and I do not understand the reasoning behind his appointment.

The christian contradiction

 Christians are taught from tradition and scripture, applying these to their lives in order to live by the will of god. And once these traditions are broken, chaos rains through the morals of Christians everywhere. Jen Hatmaker is one who rocks the boat in the Christian community and threatens the Christian privilege.

   The Christian Privilege is their god given right to judge the "unholy" assuming they themselves are holy. Hatmaker is asked, "Do you think an LGBT relationship can be holy?". she answers yes, in ignorance I believe. As much as I support the LGBT community it is not Holy by any means. Holy by definition is one of god's most essential attributes, said by Albert Mohler. By this definition, same-sex marriage is just as holy as straight marriage because whether man or woman, you are not "holy". With Mohler definition he contradicts himself putting straight marriage above same-sex marriage, I disagree with him because how could something on the same level of holiness, none be above another. But holiness is not the question really, in the Christian community it is "how do we convert them" which frankly, is the wrong approach. The question should be "how can we welcome them into the church and let them choose for themselves". 

Hatmaker says, "Not only are these our neighbors and friends, but they are brothers and sisters in Christ. They are adopted into the same family as the rest of us, and they church hasn't treated the LGBT community like family. We have to do better."

On that note, Hatmaker is absolutely right. Welcome the LGBT community into your hearts as God welcomes you into his kingdom and all can begin to come to peace.

    On the hot topic of abortion, Hatmaker is pro-life all the way but this includes the lives of struggling mothers who decide to have the kid, refugees, and Muslims.  But she is not pro-church decision in these circumstances. What's puzzling is that the church pushes pro-life so heavily that they forget the woman behind the life, refusing to help the struggling mother. Not wanting to put her back on her feet.

Hatmaker also speaks about "Black lives matter" on the topic of her two Ethiopian kids. "It terrifies me", she says that she has to prepare her children for a racist world. She is scared that because of their skin color they will be thought of as criminals, dangerous, and threatening, in any situation. The church has nothing to do with this issue as well.

  Christians need to ask themselves what the issue at hand is and adapt their tradition to fill the need accordingly. All three of these issues are major and need to be addressed by the church in a similar manner. In a manner of kindness, patience, and godliness and as quick as possible. These groups are seeking resources and comfort in the church and most often turn away from god because their needs are not meet, this is something the church needs to work on, making a home for all.

disappointment

In less than a week, the choice between an unreliable liar and an asshole of a man must be voted upon. A vote which may jeopardize the lives of many foreign countries that depend on us and honestly, this nation could not care less.

When adding a gum wrapper to the positive and negative sides of a battery, fire is known to occur. This country is a battery, having positives and negatives depending on which side one stands for, embraced by either one of these candidates will leave the flame unlit. This nation needs that burning flame to make it work, that flame is lacking.

Other countries have respected our nation above their own but due to the path we are headed down and the news being translated into ally and enemy language, they all know we are in trouble.

To compare our candidates purely by what I have heard and from my own opinion, each will plummet in their own way. Trump, leading us back into isolation, closing a lot of foreign trade causing inflation. Hilary, leading us into war with Russia but not for long due to this reopened investigation which should not take too long to put her behind bars and have her incompetent vice president in office. Either way, we are screwed or more so, our allies are screwed.

                        

Dude, come on

                          
    
     Gretchen Carlson, former Miss America, and Fox news star come forward to talk about her experience with sexual harassment and how as a woman she was demeaned. Reading the article, Gretchen Carlson Next fight by Belinda Luscombe brought many issues to the table including sexual harassment in the workplace, over-sexualization of simple tasks and how degrading  men are to women.


    Carlson tells the story of how she was sexually harassed on one of the first days of work by a cameraman. The man had attached the mic to Gretchen before broadcasting a show and afterward approached her and had the audacity to ask if she liked him attaching that mic under her shirt. “I touched your breasts”, he gladly noted. A simple task like attaching a mic was taking so out of proportion to the point of that cameraman losing his job.


    On many episodes of Fox and Friends, in which she hosted, along with her sexist co-hosts who thought it appropriate to make uncomfortable comments on Carlson's appearance and wardrobe.

  “I am saddened by the prevalence of powerful men disrespecting and objectifying women- and getting away with it for years. I am particularly distressed when people in the public eye who influence our culture perpetuate sexism.”-Gretchen Carlson says regarding Trump


This statement is powerful because it not only focuses on the inappropriate humor of Donald Trump but sheds a much broader picture of today's media, gossip, and cause of/to many cases involving sexual harassment and rape


     Carlson is a powerful figure in today's society with a large platform to do whatever she wishes and by all means, she takes advantage of this wonderful privilege. May it be noted that because she is a woman, this platform is not taken as seriously as it should due to her impressive knowledge and status. For example; in interviews, she has done (with men) involving politics or topics like it, she is looked down on because of her appearance. Those she has interviewed question her intelligence to the level where it is quite degrading.


    In an interview I watched, Carlson states she was not allowed to wear pants. I believe this is because pants are regarded to be a manly garment and on a woman, ‘it would give them the equivalent power/status. Which the powerful woman image is not the ideal image Fox would like to show. 


    Carlson is a committed feminist and due to her appearance (dresses, makeup, feminine things) something this is hard to believe but because of how she pushes forward on the issue of sexual harassment it is very evident. 


“I’ve been for women empowerment my entire life”


To conclude, I will say again that Carlson is a powerful woman and what she has chosen to do about this distressful situation is remarkable. Coming forward is always the hardest part. She and other women do not deserve to be treated in an over sexual way without proper consent, which is not given.


    I would like to address another issue that somewhat has to do with the top of feminism, the transgender “issue”. As a woman, to identify as my given/chosen gender I wear clothes that suit me and make it known in some aspect that I am female. I also stand for female rights but this does not constrict the clothes I wear, nor the clothes of another feminist, who are not extremist. A transgender woman (man to woman), dresses to fit their pronoun(she, her, etc..) and vice verse for a transgender man. Concerning the bathroom situation, if a transgender woman comes into the men's room wearing a dress, makeup, and heels, I believe she will in a strongly opinionated straight man's words, “get the living shit kicked out of him”. In this day and age, we must recognize not everyone is “traditional” and even if one does not agree with others decisions, it should be respected. This is limited to those pretending a gender for pedophilic notions but this is not a necessary approach because in this situation it is evident. Besides that issue, this is to say that using the restroom behind a closed door regardless of gender shouldn't be so strange.  In conclusion, transgender people dress to fit the gender they identify as, not to offend.

Calm down, self-diagnosed conservative

 We now live in a hand-over-mouth/ears society, where anything you say can and will be taken offensive to. We are driven to the point of needing a physical safe place, one filled with puppies to calm our precious minds of all that is bad. Yeah, it has gone too far! Especially, to see that this sort of excitement takes place in a college setting not where you would expect controversial speech to be intolerable at times and limited far more than needed. A college is a learning place made to mature us and become more open minded to others opinions and worldly views. This is somewhat being terminated by "millennial pussies", who cannot stand to be triggered by anything and everything that they cannot fully wrap their heads around. The mention of Trump, gay, and/or sexual assault will have them running for the padded safe room provided to them by #concernedstudent1950. Taking away our right to say things that may offend these oversensitive adults takes away our freedom of speech and their own ability to go the f@ck up.

  In the article, "Can cries of 'free speech' be a weapon? students say yes"   by Jennifer Schuessler talks about how this generation may be turning against free speech because they just cannot handle the truth. Many are taking the "free speech or bust position", which is ironic because the goal is to limit our speech to fit their needs. I believe the generation that is being offended in this situation are significantly confused, also in Schuesslers article, a Gallup poll was showed an overwhelming amount in favor for freedom of speech which is not limited but also wanted to set restrictions on said 'unlimited' freedom of speech.

  Or are we the ones at fault? Maybe our middle-aged fellow persons need to be sheltered, it is a hard world out there and they do suffer the most (#thestruggle).
 Suppose a man is struggling right now in our local Starbucks because he heard that a homosexual black man was shot by the police, this is serious. I propose we build safe rooms filled with puppies on every street corner to support this minority.

   The world cannot be censored for our adults, although we try, it is too late to cover their ears to the world's filthy mouth. I mean words are just words until you self-diagnose yourself as a conservative.

  This is a ridiculous issue for something so large at hand, we won the freedom of speech and the right to express the 1st Amendment for what it is and to complain about it on the basis that it is offensive is not reason enough to revoke it. It is rather a reason to celebrate the amount of freedom we actually have. For example, I just said two cuss words and put homosexual, black, and shot into one sentence and have not been put behind bars, beaten to death, or even kicked out of school for such vulgar use of words because I am simply expressing my right to the 1st amendment.

Constitutional chaos

  The fight for independence was and still is a painful one. In the book, "American Creation" by Joseph Ellis, chapter 3 addresses Washington and Madison's struggle to welcome a new government style, one that would bring a compromise amongst all states in one central way. Argument filled the scene but essentially developed the American answer. A healthy democracy or tension among the people brought out the ideas and philosophies of which our country is built upon. 

   The Articles of Confederation was the "first constitution" between our 13 original states but being frank, a constitution that was not effective. A weak sense of government with no one to officially enforce it and having no authority to collect taxes and no given word for the people. "The people" being the main concern of the nation.

   The first issue needing to be addressed was the Articles of Confederation, a new government style was a necessity, so Madison went to work. He constructed a general constitution in hopes it would have all the states on board, the Virginia Convention was to enclose this argument with some seriously vicious words.

  Madison was up against Patrick Henry, the most popular figure in America at the time and who opposed Madison's ideas almost absolutely. But as John Marshall said, "Mr. Henry had, without doubt, the greatest power to persuade, Mr. Madison had the great power to convince", this is relieving because in physical attributes Madison did not have much to offer.

  The new constitution exposed true citizenry, giving the phrase, "We, the people" meaning we would operate directly on the people's thoughts as a whole. 

   The point of Madisons argument was thus: "The genius of Madisons argument for a version of sovereignty that was at once shared and divides raised the wholly pragmatic and politically painful compromises reached at the constitutional convention to the level of a novel political discovery: to wit, the notion that government was not about providing a framework in which the salient questions could continue to be debated".

  Madison's goal was to create a republic among all interest groups to compromise needs. A republic that could effectively communicate and come up with solutions that would work in future situations. Madison set up a democracy and an effective constitution that helped unify all needs and a way to discuss issues in a manner of debate. A healthy debate that gave way to the nation we have today. 

   It seems today's society spends more time on social media than embracing themselves in the world around them. In the article, “We are increasingly thinking mobile first” it explains that so many people have resorted to life in the online world using snap chat as their new “photography” career, which brings a challenge to those who work in the profession. Photography dates back to 1826 when the first photograph was taken by Joseph Nicephore but smartphones with cameras did not come out until 2002, a great span between having the little history on the camera phone. I am not discouraging the use of phones (Snapchat) to take pictures but I believe it takes the sanctity of capturing a moment away. 

“Vertical is a symbol, whereas horizontal is a story”, said by Natalie Keyssar.

 Vertical being how pictures are taken and viewed via snap chat, horizontal being the way most photos are viewed via camera. This is important to understand because where a phone can simply be turned on and snap a picture, professional photographers take time and effort to make sure that artistically, the picture or moment is captured fantastically. Photographers put time and effort into their pictures; adjusting the lens, adapting the ISO to the lighting, fixing the focus, and setting up a scene or watching and waiting for one to present itself.
Smartphones also force us to be constricted to few filters that take away our artistic vision, which is discouraged in the photography world.

Tomas Van Houtryve explains, “ In the age of smartphones, I’m hesitant to encourage photographers to bend to the constraints of app engineers at the cost of their own artistic vision”.

As a human being and photographer, I believe that art is how we express ourselves and yes, much of art is influenced by others but, it is distracting I find that apps have a hold on our thought process. I encourage others to use whatever means of a camera they have but to not be confined by society's set imagination and grow as an artistic individual. 

What kids wish their teachers knew?

Many children go from home to school and seek to find a safe place but if the home is not that to them they look for it in school.  A School is mainly built upon the principles of learning but does not realize that for some, emotion can hold a restraint on the learning process. Thoughts impose the child's mind and distract them from the purpose of school and at times cannot think past it, in this case, the child needs you, the teacher to take an interest. In the article, “What kids wish their teachers knew?” the pictures of notes kids are sharing are heartbreaking.

It most likely took the author of this note many minutes to compose do to hushed emotions. I admire the teachers that start the day with a gentle greeting and a “how are you” or who have an open door policy for their students to feel welcome, I believe we should all be exposed to this kind treatment in primary school. I saw primary school because it's when we grow the most and need that affection not always given at home. Secondary school is different I believe, students should be given this greeting but not to the extent of those in primary because here we learn to be self-sufficient and how to deal with our emotions which would have been taught in primary school. The exercise of expression is a healthy one in which I believe should be practiced in all schools not just those of religious origin.

When I attended public school in both 3rd-6th and 9th-11th, teachers rarely took notice of the mental state of the students, other than some of the caring individuals I have encountered. This is sad because it's easy to read the students faces and see that they are not okay and just a simple act of kindness could have changed this. I cannot find much on the suicide that took place with the girl from Sutter but I am certain that if the love and support needed to get through whatever it was she was going through were given, this tragic event would have never happened. So I encourage those who have seen and thought about these events to look at your students and take an interest because sometimes you are their last hope.

“Middle ground is disappearing on the question of whether LGBT persons should be treated as full equals”

    David Gushee, the author of the article “On LGBT equality, middle ground is disappearing” addresses the Christian issue on whether the middle ground between the LGBT community and believers of Christ can exist, he does this in a very pessimistic tone as if this cannot be solved. There is a middle ground between LGBT and the Christian community, it is that “48 percent of LGBT Americans are Christian”, says Pew Research Center in The Washington Examiner. This is almost 50 %, a substantial amount that would not exist without some sort of general acceptance . Many churches have made it possible for both parties to coexist together in a nondiscriminatory manner.   
    Gushee talks about how there is an acceptance of LGBT that is becoming rapidly “intolerant” saying “Institutions where full LGBT equality is mandatory now include any entity associated with the federal government, including the military and the civil service”. In this quote, mandatory is emphasized as if worldwide acceptance is a bad thing. I believe that Gushee is doing the Christian community a wrong making it seem as the “Christian way” is the new “Aryan”, although I doubt Christians want to be portrayed in such a way that is so looked down upon. 
    Gushee states, “ federal regulation any kind of discrimination against gay people will have the same legal rights and social acceptance as any kind of racial discrimination. Which is, none”, when talking about the future election and presidential candidates. To describe it the way he did, saying it would be like racial discrimination rights then he is incorrect, when looking at the discrimination laws @http://civilrights.findlaw.com/discrimination/race-discrimination-applicable-laws.html , nowhere does it state sexual orientation but it does repeat race in every law stated. So, to say that there are no racial discrimination laws is false but to say that with the new presidency there will be laws to protect LBGT against discrimination is not only correct but just, in giving people basic rights they deserve, not limited to unjust treatment because of judgment made by ignorant persons.

    The only thing Gushee says that stands true are thus; ”Those who believe LGBT equality marks decadence are being left behind” because, like the fight for racial justice, LGBT stands strong in the fight for their human rights.

Into perspective

Abortion is an issue that needs to be addressed, but not in a way that makes the woman essentially the “villain” in the situation. Yes, killing an unborn child is not something to boast about like some do but if the circumstance is not looked into an unnecessary amount of guilt is pushed on to a woman, one does not know.

   Women are giving the gift of reproductive organs and have the ability to give birth but this ability should not be used unless consented by said woman; what I mean is if this woman is to be raped. This not only brings the guilt of a choice to rid of the child but the burden of memories that can cause further damage to both the woman and the child (if the child is born). Post-traumatic stress disorder is a real issue to women who have been in these situations and having a constant reminder of what occurred along with the memories makes these women slave to their pasts and to the responsibilities that is not willingly given.

   We do not know what a woman and her family are going through when something like rape occurs,/ unless we are there to experience it along side them, so I am going to put it into perspective.

   Imagine you are a mother or father to a daughter, she is 17 years old and you are extremely proud of her. She has her future set, is accepted to an ivy league college, has her license and a car; she is a phenomenal driver by the way, one of her many accomplishments. She is captain of the volleyball team; everything is going perfectly. You are more proud of her than you have ever been and did not believe anything could get in her way. Then one night she comes home balling her eyes out and hugging you. You ask what is wrong, and she answers…”I was raped”. You feel this empty feeling inside you, and so you squeeze your baby girl promising never to let anything harm her and you will take care of it. She is pregnant now. College is starting soon, and graduation is just around the corner. “I am not ready to be a mother, I did not plan this”, she cries. As a parent you have to analyze what is the best option for your child; are you going to make her put her life on hold her something that was out of their control or is you going to help them have a future and be a mother when it is the right time?

 I know I will not change minds on the issue because it is strongly detested, but I believe women should not be a slave to their pasts and have to face consequences for something that is ultimately their choice. I am not pro-abortion, but I do respect the decisions of the women whose reasoning is pure.

Based off of the article,  Abortion as a Positive Good: How the Abortion Movement Echoes Radical Slavery Rhetoric.