Hey guys :) Megan’s right, we are awesome and we’ve done so much work this whole year. I’ve seen each one of us grow, get way smarter, and do hard things and even though we’ve had an upset here at the end of the semester lets pull it together and make a great finish. Right now, more than ever before, is reality hitting me square in the face. We must do all we can to stand together as leaders, to spread Truth, uphold and live by Principles and take care of each other and everyone around us.
I just got back from a ten day vacation in Utah where I was having fun, I caught up with relatives and kinda got behind in class, but I realized a couple things...
First of all it was eye opening to me to look around during the family gatherings and just think of how incredible it is that we were all safe, taken care of and happy. Although we consider it normal and take it for granted, its in fact a really special blessing.
Another thing that was way cool was a movie I watched about a hero. This guys was virtuous, kind, loving and humble and people were irresistibly drawn to his goodness. He treated everyone with patience and understanding, and helped everyone who was in need. Of course, he wasn’t perfect and he faced some tremendous obstacles, yet he was tough and inspired me to be a better person and uplift others.
I also realized how important it is to have balance in life. Before I left, my schedule was to do 10.5 hours of study a day, get 8 hours of sleep and have 5.5 hours to eat, play and exercise. Well, I could only keep that schedule for about 2 days. I began to study less effectively, I began to cut into my sleep time and my 5.5 hours became a total waste. It didn’t work, and then when I went on vacation, everything flipped and it was Social time all the time...I could totally feel the lack of balance. I realized that my life has four quadrants, Physical, Mental, Spiritual and Social, and that they should be equally balanced so that I can forget about worry and stress, and just be happy.
Anyways, the point of all this is that life is great and blessings are plentiful. As we’ve studied history, literature and human nature together we’ve learned how to live happier lives and also that work and sacrifice are required for greater happiness. So lets all buckle down for finals, study hard, work things through and help each other. We will not only be happy because we did great, but we’ll also learn and grow and the things we can take away will make us, and all the people we love, happier too. Work for it guys, and then have an awesome Christmas! :)
so guys, I was doing some catch up reading in roots and from the stuff that we have read this semester I have gathered this opinion/theory/thought/thing:
Rome was founded on their own religion, the religion being the polytheistic. It was very loose so to speak, sort of Spartan. It didn't have much morality to it but it gave them something else, it gave them patriotism, it gave them Honor they would not go back on their word, a promise was a promise. they were held together by this and when it started slipping away so did all of the things that Romans held dear. and so to remedy this Virgil wrote his Aeneid and it reminded The Romans what they stood for, it reminded them what their purpose was it reminded them of labor, pietas and fatum. Years later when Christianity began it 'threw off Rome's grove' so to speak this was not what they were founded on, they needed a dictator, for that was their Roots! that is how they began!
now, years later the founding father saw Rome and noticed that their core was good and all BUT that we needed something else, and so the very thing that had thrown off the Romans built up the Americans. Our roots go back to Christianity! That is how we began. Today we are going away from that, people forget our roots. The very core of our country is centered around Christ, we must turn to him in this time of need.
I could have used another 30 minutes to :) the philosophic questions were... oh, I don't know a few paragraphs? yeah... I wish they could have been longer! but I got every question answered so, it was a trade off... :) either get some yet have really long answers or get all and have shorter ones... :)
ok I have not said anything for a long time and am feeling like I should so... Hi every one!! and I am going to miss you all very much I will still hear you guys because I will be watching the recordings. So say lots ok!! :D
I am sad we had not class today :( but oh well. here is my paper hope you enjoy and learn something you did not know befor.
Jew and Gentile by Brooklyn Trotter 12/13/10 I would like to explore the differences between Jews and Gentiles and in the process answer some basic questions. How long have Jews been around and what is going on today with Jews? Who are the Jews and what is Judaism? The Jews are one of the most persecuted races known to man. Why is this? There are many books written by or about Jews. There are many wonderful people who are Jewish who have changed the world and changed the way people think. Anne Frank and Albert Einstein are two of the most known. These are all questions that will be addressed in this essay. First I will go over some basics about Jews. In Jewish tradition, Jewish ancestry is traced to the Biblical Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the second millennium BC. The Jews currently enjoy political self government in the State of Israel, an independent state which is located in their national homeland, the Land of Israel. It officially defines itself as a Jewish state in its Basic Laws, and is the only country in the world where Jews constitute a majority of the population. There are Jews throughout the world. Judaism is the religion of the Jews, and defines who they are. There are an estimated 14 million followers of the Jewish religion around the world. There are 613 commandments included in the Torah, which also includes the "Ten Commandments." These govern Jewish law, covering such areas as philanthropy, sacrifices, prayer, ritual purity, dietary laws, and observances of the Sabbath and other holy days. The Torarh is made up of the five books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, which forms the first part of the Old Testament. The Talmud is also a central text of mainstream Judaism, it is comprised of the Mishnah and the Gemora. The Mishnah, is the first major thing written of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah” or “Oral Law” and the Gemara is a discussion of the Mishnah and related writings. There is no single governing body or single authority with responsibility for religious doctrine. Instead, a variety of secular and religious institutions at the local, national, and international levels lead various parts of the Jewish community. Most have a Rabbi: A Jewish scholar or religious leader. The Rabbis are trained in special schools and are well learned in the Jewish laws and cultures. There are many forms of Judaism. There are: secular, Orthodox, Reform, conservative, Re-constructionist, and Hasidic Judaism. There are also Zionism and Zionists. In the book The Chosen by Chaim Potok it tells the story of two Jewish boys. Danny Saunders is a Hasidic Jew and Reuven Malter is an Orthodox/Zionist. This is a great book to see the differences and the similarities of the two. And how they learned to look past certain things and become truly good friends despite differences.
Jews have been hated, persecuted and reviled from their beginning. World War II also known as the Jewish Holocaust was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland lost 90 percent of their Jewish population or about 3,228,000 people. Two-thirds of the population of nine million Jews who had resided in Europe before the Holocaust where killed. Christians, followers of Christ, have always hated Jews because they killed the Savior. Jews do not believe that Christ is the Messiah, or that his sacrifice in dying on the cross was a redeeming sacrifice. They do not believe that a person’s death can atone for someone’s sins, and that God would accept a human sacrifice like that of Christ’s. Jesus Christ himself was a Jew but his own people had him killed for speaking blasphemy, because he said he was God’s son. He also taught things contrary to the Law of Moses and other Jewish laws. Christians profess to worship and love Jesus the Christ, who was the utmost example of love, forgiveness and compassion, yet Christians have through the ages persecuted the Jews. Shylock stated in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice: “Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means warm'd and cool'd by the same winter and summer as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die?” So there is a short run down of, who Jews are, and what they believe. I am a Christian and know that Jesus Christ is the Messiah and my Savior. But Jews should not continue being punished for an act carried out so long ago. Let ever man worship who and what he will. Religious freedom is the greatest prize. It is my belief we can live in the same world, same country, same community, in peace. Anne Frank wrote:“It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart."
Nathan Owens, October 8th 2010 The Path of the Hero Heroes, everyone has them. They can be big or small, young or old, but what happens, what is the change, or the difference between a person and a hero? The path of the hero is a long and hard path, but it is worth it. The path of the hero is the furnace of affliction. T purifies you, it melts you down so that you can remove the dross and rebuild. What IS a hero? Does money make one a hero; how about power or amazing athletic abilities? None of these will make someone a hero; for the question is what is a hero, not a legend.. So what does a hero consist of, what is the path to becoming a hero? This is what will be shared today the path of the hero.
The first item that must be discussed is this: what is a hero? For how can describe the making of a hero if do not even know what a hero is! A hero is someone who others look up to, who has “passed the test” so to speak, and joined the ranks of people who wish are changing the world for the better. A hero is someone who received a call, answered the call and will overcome all obstacles – even death - to complete their mission in life. What do mean by overcoming death? This is someone who, in spite of dying, has their work go on or someone diagnosed with cancer who continues to complete their mission. A hero is simply someone who becomes the change they want to see in the world. What is the difference between a legend and a hero? A legend is someone famous, anyone famous. You could argue that Hitler was a legend, or maybe Bill Gates or the “MVP” of football this year. The point is, anyone who has gained a name for themselves is a legend. Now, a hero is something different, somethingmore noble. Some words that go with Hero are; honor, truth, trustworthiness, loyalty and passion. A hero doesn’t have to be famous, whereas a legend is, by definition, a celebrity. There are many heroes; Christ, Ghandi and Greg Mortenson. But a hero doesn’t have to be remembered or be famous. There are many more unspoken heroes who change the world, one mission at a time.
This brings us, finally, to our original question, what is the path of a Hero? The path of a Hero is the same as the path of a true leader. There are three types of leaders; a controller, a bent leader and a true leader. A true leader is also a hero. You may argue that Hitler was a “leader,” but he was not the type of leader am referring. He is a perfect example of a bent leader. Here is the way of the true leader, the path of the hero. First comes the call, next is the acceptance, then comes the mentor, then the unknown, then a trial and finally a long journey “home” (mentally or metaphysically) You can see examples of this in history; Christ, Telemachus and Thomas Jefferson.
You now know what a hero is: someone who has a mission and will not let anything, not even death, stop them. Though he died Martin Luther King Jr.’s work carried on. You now know the difference between a hero and a legend: a legend is someone famous. Agamemnon was a legend because he killed a lot of people. A hero is someone who stands for something and does not give way, Telemachus was a hero who stood for something, his home and his family, and he did not give way. And finally, most importantly, you know the path of the hero; the call, the mentor, the road block, (this list isn’t quite the same as the previous list) the overcoming and the return. Greg Mortenson followed this path almost to the letter. Think of YOUR hero. Have they traveled the path? Have you? You have heard the call, that inspiration, the fire within you! Now, follow the path. The path of the hero.
The thing posted above was not my midterm essay, it was an essay I wrote at the beginning of the semester and I am just fulfilling an SIS assignment :)
Faith or Fear? Nathan Owens December 16th 2010 “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” This quote from FDR is so true. Fear will drag America down; it will influence the people to make snap decisions that aren’t very wise. Today, people are very scared and fear has a strong grasp on America. In fact, the people have good reason to worry, the world is falling apart and the solutions that worked50 years ago no longer work. That’s because 50 years ago, the problems were very different. While the problems are clear and the solutions are within our grasp (the solutions being to look at history), there is something that still has the power to drag this country down. That something is fear. Fear begins with doubt.* There a lot to doubt In this day and age. In America, right before the Great Depression, there was much fear. People were worried about their money in the banks. A few banks had gone under, and people had started to worry, they wanted their money out of the banks. A lot of people would want their money at one time and since the banks don’t always have all of the money on hand something happens called a ‘run on the bank.’ This generally drains the banks money supply and, if the bank can’t get more money soon, it will fail which will make all its investors fail. This happened many times until there were many people without much money. This was one of the main causes of the Great Depression. Sadly**, Poor, perishing, people*** would take a long time to raise themselves back up. Fear caused the Great Depression, while faith in the banks would have stopped it. During the time of the Israelites there is another example of fear taking over. The Israelites had been ruled by judges, who were very wise, for years and they had grown large, compared to what they had been. The other nations had risen around them to be fierce, formidable††, foes. Years earlier the lord had told them to trust in him and they would be unbeatable. But they lost their faith. After much begging the prophet finally consented to give the Israelites a king. This was good for them for a few years but then the old king died and the reign of the kings began, most of these kings were NOT good and dragged them down. The Israelites had been God’s chosen people. Shamefully†, since the Israelites lost faith, they were eventually conquered. Fear of other countries had conquered again. Fear had won.
More recently something happened. On September 11th 2001 about 6 planes were taken over by terrorists who crashed two of the said planes into the Twin Towers. Hundreds of people died, it was terrible. The impact was fear, even terror. America went to war. Our army attacked the home country of the terrorists who instigated the crash, but they weren’t even there. The futile war continued for 9 years until now, in 2010, no one even knows, or even cares, what we are fighting for any more, because we were never fighting for anything other than fear in the first place. The war and the crash were terrible but, something else happened as well. It was worse than both of the other things put together. The Patriot Act was barely passed not long after 9/11 and it gave the government “emergency powers.” They could listen in to phone calls, make unreasonable searches and seizures and everything happening with the airports with the searching and x-raying all came from the Patriot Act. Although* this may have given us temporary safety it significantly lowered our liberties. This is all a result of fear, the government took advantage of the fear and took more power. Again, fear had triumphed.
“They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty nor security” These words from Benjamin Franklin ring true at this time. We as Americans have given up our liberty in exchange for a bit of ‘security’ and in turn, have lost them both. If fear is the downfall then faith is the savior. Faith is the opposite of fear, with faith nations can rise and with fear they will fall. In these trying times ahead we can stand back and let fear triumph again or we could stand up and do something more to combat the fear seeping into our lives. We must have faith in god that he will help, for this is what America is all about. We can choose fear or faith.
This is another essay that I am posting on the blog for SIS
Beowulf and Christ
Nathan Owens - November 16th 2010 “I believe in Christ; so come what may, with him I’ll stand in that great day.” The words from this amazing hymn give the essence of what mankind should be preparing for, for “that great day.” The world is getting more and more wicked. But, “it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things.” So, as much of the world is becoming wicked there must be some who are becoming more righteous. [VSS] And there are. The trials and persecutions of this time are strengthening many of the believers and they are becoming more righteous and soon Jesus Christ will come to this earth and the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory. How does Christ and the end of the earth relate to the Scandinavian epic, Beowulf? Christ and Beowulf defeated an Evil being who was plaguing* their land. Sadly** heroes are left alone by their people in the end. And with both Christ and Beowulf too few stood beside them when it mattered most. *strong verb in who clause **“ly” word Beowulf is a story of a Scandinavian prince who lives a life of heroism and honor. Towards the end of his life he defeats the evil dragon who is terrorizing his people and gains the treasure that the dragon was hoarding, then gives it to his people that they might be prosperous. [VSS] In the process, Beowulf dies. You may already see the relation to Christ in this: Christ lived a life of honor and righteousness. Towards the end of his life he suffered and died for mankind, thus defeating the evil (death). Because he defeated death, he gave us the blessing or treasure that man might live or gain resurrection. After examining the fight of the dragon and the death of Beowulf, one can see even more similarities between these two heroes. Beowulf takes 11 handpicked men and goes off to fight the dragon. He then tells the men that he is going to do this alone but to stay near and to not leave. This can be compared to the Garden of Gethsemane when Christ goes off to pray and asks the 11 apostles to wait and they all fall asleep. After telling his men his orders Beowulf enters the dragon’s lair alone and starts fighting. Most of his men run away. [VSS] He was “rejected by his own.” In the end, even Beowulf’s sword fails him, he is alone. Just like God left Christ in the last few moments, alone.
Today there is something coming, it is the second coming. Christ came once and he is coming again, soon. While Beowulf is fighting the dragon ten out of eleven men start to run away and the one who stays realizes that their leader needs their help and basically said: “He [Beowulf] handpicked us out from all the rest of his men! He honored us and judged us fit for this action. He gave us these helmets, swords, shields and armor! He considered us the best. And now the day has come when our shepherd, this lord we serve, needs sound men to give him support. [VSS]Let us go to him! And help our leader through the flame I would rather fight and die defending our leader then to go home unscathed without a fight. And so, we cannot go home until we have slain the foe and defended out lord’s life!” After ending his speech, he went into the cave to defend his leader, but he went alone. None of the other men followed him. They were too afraid of the terrible dragon. The lone soldier, Wiglaf, fought next to Beowulf and by stabbing the dragon in the belly and weakening the flame, enables Beowulf to defeat the Evil that infested their lands. Sadly, since only one man stood with Beowulf, the prince died. Now, compare this to Christ’s story. Christ suffered and died also when the time came, too few stood by him and he was killed by his own people. But both Beowulf and Christ gave the treasure that they earned to the people even though those people did not stand with them or defend them. And so, how much more “treasure” will one earn if they stand by Christ in that great day when he comes again. The words to the hymn above say “with him I’ll stand in that great day.” But, is standing really enough? Is just being on the lords side enough? In another Hymn is says “Let us all press on in the work of the Lord, that when life is o’er we may gain a reward; in the fight for right let us wield a sword, the mighty sword of truth.” According to this hymn we must “press on” and not just stand with the Lord “in the fight for right let us wield a sword.” In the next verse of this hymn it ways that “we not retreat though our numbers may be few.” And so, unlike the men who, faced with a large task, ran away, men must be like the one who did not run away and we mush “wield a sword” in the battle for right. In the final days the lord will come and will mankind follow him or break against him. After Beowulf dies Wiglaf is talking to the men chastising them for not helping Beowulf he says, “but when the worst happened too few rallied around the prince.” [VSS] Christ is also the prince. The first time he came too few rallied but this time, the second time, will it happen again? The real question is if YOU will stand by the lord when he needs you the most. As one last hymn says “will we shrink or shun the fight? No!” as it says men must not run away when things are hard! When things are hard is when men must work their hardest. You must rise up and fight with Christ in these final days.
hey everyone, just want to shout out that you guys are awsome and we'll pull through this week, i promise.
ReplyDeleteMr. Jensen:
so for World History on Wednesday, all we have to have ready is our final paper? no other homework?
also, Mr. Jensen, are we supposed to send our diagrams to you via email? or are we supposed to send them via SIS?
ReplyDeleteHey guys :) Megan’s right, we are awesome and we’ve done so much work this whole year. I’ve seen each one of us grow, get way smarter, and do hard things and even though we’ve had an upset here at the end of the semester lets pull it together and make a great finish. Right now, more than ever before, is reality hitting me square in the face. We must do all we can to stand together as leaders, to spread Truth, uphold and live by Principles and take care of each other and everyone around us.
ReplyDeleteI just got back from a ten day vacation in Utah where I was having fun, I caught up with relatives and kinda got behind in class, but I realized a couple things...
First of all it was eye opening to me to look around during the family gatherings and just think of how incredible it is that we were all safe, taken care of and happy. Although we consider it normal and take it for granted, its in fact a really special blessing.
Another thing that was way cool was a movie I watched about a hero. This guys was virtuous, kind, loving and humble and people were irresistibly drawn to his goodness. He treated everyone with patience and understanding, and helped everyone who was in need. Of course, he wasn’t perfect and he faced some tremendous obstacles, yet he was tough and inspired me to be a better person and uplift others.
I also realized how important it is to have balance in life. Before I left, my schedule was to do 10.5 hours of study a day, get 8 hours of sleep and have 5.5 hours to eat, play and exercise. Well, I could only keep that schedule for about 2 days. I began to study less effectively, I began to cut into my sleep time and my 5.5 hours became a total waste. It didn’t work, and then when I went on vacation, everything flipped and it was Social time all the time...I could totally feel the lack of balance. I realized that my life has four quadrants, Physical, Mental, Spiritual and Social, and that they should be equally balanced so that I can forget about worry and stress, and just be happy.
Anyways, the point of all this is that life is great and blessings are plentiful. As we’ve studied history, literature and human nature together we’ve learned how to live happier lives and also that work and sacrifice are required for greater happiness. So lets all buckle down for finals, study hard, work things through and help each other. We will not only be happy because we did great, but we’ll also learn and grow and the things we can take away will make us, and all the people we love, happier too. Work for it guys, and then have an awesome Christmas! :)
Totally agree with you David. We have so many blessings to count, the opportunity for a great education being one of the most important.
ReplyDeleteI look forward to reading some very inspiring final exams from this group!
Yes, Megan, the only homework due on Wednesday is the latest draft of your Final Essay.
ReplyDeleteI will accept diagrams & other assignment via SIS or email. However, I prefer SIS if you can do that.
ReplyDeleteahh, okay :)
ReplyDeleteso guys, I was doing some catch up reading in roots and from the stuff that we have read this semester I have gathered this opinion/theory/thought/thing:
Rome was founded on their own religion, the religion being the polytheistic. It was very loose so to speak, sort of Spartan. It didn't have much morality to it but it gave them something else, it gave them patriotism, it gave them Honor they would not go back on their word, a promise was a promise. they were held together by this and when it started slipping away so did all of the things that Romans held dear. and so to remedy this Virgil wrote his Aeneid and it reminded The Romans what they stood for, it reminded them what their purpose was it reminded them of labor, pietas and fatum. Years later when Christianity began it 'threw off Rome's grove' so to speak this was not what they were founded on, they needed a dictator, for that was their Roots! that is how they began!
now, years later the founding father saw Rome and noticed that their core was good and all BUT that we needed something else, and so the very thing that had thrown off the Romans built up the Americans. Our roots go back to Christianity! That is how we began. Today we are going away from that, people forget our roots. The very core of our country is centered around Christ, we must turn to him in this time of need.
so, how did finals go you guys!?!?!?!
ReplyDeleteWERE THEY AWESOME?!?!
because I know MINE were!!
Nathan! mine were too! i could have used another 30 minutes though. How long, on average, were your philosophic answers?
ReplyDeleteI could have used another 30 minutes to :)
ReplyDeletethe philosophic questions were...
oh, I don't know a few paragraphs? yeah...
I wish they could have been longer! but I got every question answered so, it was a trade off... :)
either get some yet have really long answers or get all and have shorter ones... :)
I answered every question as well, but some of my philosophical answers were very short.
ReplyDeletehmmm... the blog is pretty quiet today, wouldn't you say?
ReplyDeletehas anyone eles had their assignments graded yet?
ReplyDeleteelse*
ReplyDeleteok I have not said anything for a long time and am feeling like I should so... Hi every one!! and I am going to miss you all very much I will still hear you guys because I will be watching the recordings. So say lots ok!! :D
ReplyDeleteWe WILL!
ReplyDeleteI am sad we had not class today :( but oh well. here is my paper hope you enjoy and learn something you did not know befor.
ReplyDeleteJew and Gentile by Brooklyn Trotter
12/13/10
I would like to explore the differences between Jews and Gentiles and in the process answer some basic questions. How long have Jews been around and what is going on today with Jews? Who are the Jews and what is Judaism? The Jews are one of the most persecuted races known to man. Why is this? There are many books written by or about Jews. There are many wonderful people who are Jewish who have changed the world and changed the way people think. Anne Frank and Albert Einstein are two of the most known. These are all questions that will be addressed in this essay.
First I will go over some basics about Jews. In Jewish tradition, Jewish ancestry is traced to the Biblical Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the second millennium BC. The Jews currently enjoy political self government in the State of Israel, an independent state which is located in their national homeland, the Land of Israel. It officially defines itself as a Jewish state in its Basic Laws, and is the only country in the world where Jews constitute a majority of the population. There are Jews throughout the world.
Judaism is the religion of the Jews, and defines who they are. There are an estimated 14 million followers of the Jewish religion around the world. There are 613 commandments included in the Torah, which also includes the "Ten Commandments." These govern Jewish law, covering such areas as philanthropy, sacrifices, prayer, ritual purity, dietary laws, and observances of the Sabbath and other holy days. The Torarh is made up of the five books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, which forms the first part of the Old Testament. The Talmud is also a central text of mainstream Judaism, it is comprised of the Mishnah and the Gemora. The Mishnah, is the first major thing written of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah” or “Oral Law” and the Gemara is a discussion of the Mishnah and related writings. There is no single governing body or single authority with responsibility for religious doctrine. Instead, a variety of secular and religious institutions at the local, national, and international levels lead various parts of the Jewish community. Most have a Rabbi: A Jewish scholar or religious leader. The Rabbis are trained in special schools and are well learned in the Jewish laws and cultures. There are many forms of Judaism. There are: secular, Orthodox, Reform, conservative, Re-constructionist, and Hasidic Judaism. There are also Zionism and Zionists. In the book The Chosen by Chaim Potok it tells the story of two Jewish boys. Danny Saunders is a Hasidic Jew and Reuven Malter is an Orthodox/Zionist. This is a great book to see the differences and the similarities of the two. And how they learned to look past certain things and become truly good friends despite differences.
Jews have been hated, persecuted and reviled from their beginning. World War II also known as the Jewish Holocaust was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland lost 90 percent of their Jewish population or about 3,228,000 people. Two-thirds of the population of nine million Jews who had resided in Europe before the Holocaust where killed. Christians, followers of Christ, have always hated Jews because they killed the Savior. Jews do not believe that Christ is the Messiah, or that his sacrifice in dying on the cross was a redeeming sacrifice. They do not believe that a person’s death can atone for someone’s sins, and that God would accept a human sacrifice like that of Christ’s. Jesus Christ himself was a Jew but his own people had him killed for speaking blasphemy, because he said he was God’s son. He also taught things contrary to the Law of Moses and other Jewish laws. Christians profess to worship and love Jesus the Christ, who was the utmost example of love, forgiveness and compassion, yet Christians have through the ages persecuted the Jews. Shylock stated in Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice: “Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, healed by the same means warm'd and cool'd by the same winter and summer as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die?”
ReplyDeleteSo there is a short run down of, who Jews are, and what they believe. I am a Christian and know that Jesus Christ is the Messiah and my Savior. But Jews should not continue being punished for an act carried out so long ago. Let ever man worship who and what he will. Religious freedom is the greatest prize. It is my belief we can live in the same world, same country, same community, in peace. Anne Frank wrote:“It's really a wonder that I haven't dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart."
Wow!! Great job Brook! This is good!
ReplyDeleteNathan Owens, October 8th 2010
ReplyDeleteThe Path of the Hero
Heroes, everyone has them. They can be big or small, young or old, but what happens, what is the change, or the difference between a person and a hero? The path of the hero is a long and hard path, but it is worth it. The path of the hero is the furnace of affliction. T purifies you, it melts you down so that you can remove the dross and rebuild. What IS a hero? Does money make one a hero; how about power or amazing athletic abilities? None of these will make someone a hero; for the question is what is a hero, not a legend.. So what does a hero consist of, what is the path to becoming a hero? This is what will be shared today the path of the hero.
The first item that must be discussed is this: what is a hero? For how can describe the making of a hero if do not even know what a hero is! A hero is someone who others look up to, who has “passed the test” so to speak, and joined the ranks of people who wish are changing the world for the better. A hero is someone who received a call, answered the call and will overcome all obstacles – even death - to complete their mission in life. What do mean by overcoming death? This is someone who, in spite of dying, has their work go on or someone diagnosed with cancer who continues to complete their mission. A hero is simply someone who becomes the change they want to see in the world.
What is the difference between a legend and a hero? A legend is someone famous, anyone famous. You could argue that Hitler was a legend, or maybe Bill Gates or the “MVP” of football this year. The point is, anyone who has gained a name for themselves is a legend. Now, a hero is something different, somethingmore noble. Some words that go with Hero are; honor, truth, trustworthiness, loyalty and passion. A hero doesn’t have to be famous, whereas a legend is, by definition, a celebrity. There are many heroes; Christ, Ghandi and Greg Mortenson. But a hero doesn’t have to be remembered or be famous. There are many more unspoken heroes who change the world, one mission at a time.
This brings us, finally, to our original question, what is the path of a Hero? The path of a Hero is the same as the path of a true leader. There are three types of leaders; a controller, a bent leader and a true leader. A true leader is also a hero. You may argue that Hitler was a “leader,” but he was not the type of leader am referring. He is a perfect example of a bent leader. Here is the way of the true leader, the path of the hero. First comes the call, next is the acceptance, then comes the mentor, then the unknown, then a trial and finally a long journey “home” (mentally or metaphysically) You can see examples of this in history; Christ, Telemachus and Thomas Jefferson.
You now know what a hero is: someone who has a mission and will not let anything, not even death, stop them. Though he died Martin Luther King Jr.’s work carried on. You now know the difference between a hero and a legend: a legend is someone famous. Agamemnon was a legend because he killed a lot of people. A hero is someone who stands for something and does not give way, Telemachus was a hero who stood for something, his home and his family, and he did not give way. And finally, most importantly, you know the path of the hero; the call, the mentor, the road block, (this list isn’t quite the same as the previous list) the overcoming and the return. Greg Mortenson followed this path almost to the letter. Think of YOUR hero. Have they traveled the path? Have you? You have heard the call, that inspiration, the fire within you! Now, follow the path. The path of the hero.
The thing posted above was not my midterm essay, it was an essay I wrote at the beginning of the semester and I am just fulfilling an SIS assignment :)
ReplyDeleteHERE is my midterm essay :D
Faith or Fear?
ReplyDeleteNathan Owens
December 16th 2010
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” This quote from FDR is so true. Fear will drag America down; it will influence the people to make snap decisions that aren’t very wise. Today, people are very scared and fear has a strong grasp on America. In fact, the people have good reason to worry, the world is falling apart and the solutions that worked50 years ago no longer work. That’s because 50 years ago, the problems were very different. While the problems are clear and the solutions are within our grasp (the solutions being to look at history), there is something that still has the power to drag this country down. That something is fear.
Fear begins with doubt.* There a lot to doubt In this day and age. In America, right before the Great Depression, there was much fear. People were worried about their money in the banks. A few banks had gone under, and people had started to worry, they wanted their money out of the banks. A lot of people would want their money at one time and since the banks don’t always have all of the money on hand something happens called a ‘run on the bank.’ This generally drains the banks money supply and, if the bank can’t get more money soon, it will fail which will make all its investors fail. This happened many times until there were many people without much money. This was one of the main causes of the Great Depression. Sadly**, Poor, perishing, people*** would take a long time to raise themselves back up. Fear caused the Great Depression, while faith in the banks would have stopped it.
During the time of the Israelites there is another example of fear taking over. The Israelites had been ruled by judges, who were very wise, for years and they had grown large, compared to what they had been. The other nations had risen around them to be fierce, formidable††, foes. Years earlier the lord had told them to trust in him and they would be unbeatable. But they lost their faith. After much begging the prophet finally consented to give the Israelites a king. This was good for them for a few years but then the old king died and the reign of the kings began, most of these kings were NOT good and dragged them down. The Israelites had been God’s chosen people. Shamefully†, since the Israelites lost faith, they were eventually conquered. Fear of other countries had conquered again. Fear had won.
More recently something happened. On September 11th 2001 about 6 planes were taken over by terrorists who crashed two of the said planes into the Twin Towers. Hundreds of people died, it was terrible. The impact was fear, even terror. America went to war. Our army attacked the home country of the terrorists who instigated the crash, but they weren’t even there. The futile war continued for 9 years until now, in 2010, no one even knows, or even cares, what we are fighting for any more, because we were never fighting for anything other than fear in the first place. The war and the crash were terrible but, something else happened as well. It was worse than both of the other things put together. The Patriot Act was barely passed not long after 9/11 and it gave the government “emergency powers.” They could listen in to phone calls, make unreasonable searches and seizures and everything happening with the airports with the searching and x-raying all came from the Patriot Act. Although* this may have given us temporary safety it significantly lowered our liberties. This is all a result of fear, the government took advantage of the fear and took more power. Again, fear had triumphed.
ReplyDelete“They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty nor security” These words from Benjamin Franklin ring true at this time. We as Americans have given up our liberty in exchange for a bit of ‘security’ and in turn, have lost them both. If fear is the downfall then faith is the savior. Faith is the opposite of fear, with faith nations can rise and with fear they will fall. In these trying times ahead we can stand back and let fear triumph again or we could stand up and do something more to combat the fear seeping into our lives. We must have faith in god that he will help, for this is what America is all about. We can choose fear or faith.
This is another essay that I am posting on the blog for SIS
ReplyDeleteBeowulf and Christ
Nathan Owens - November 16th 2010
“I believe in Christ; so come what may, with him I’ll stand in that great day.” The words from this amazing hymn give the essence of what mankind should be preparing for, for “that great day.” The world is getting more and more wicked. But, “it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things.” So, as much of the world is becoming wicked there must be some who are becoming more righteous. [VSS] And there are. The trials and persecutions of this time are strengthening many of the believers and they are becoming more righteous and soon Jesus Christ will come to this earth and the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory. How does Christ and the end of the earth relate to the Scandinavian epic, Beowulf? Christ and Beowulf defeated an Evil being who was plaguing* their land. Sadly** heroes are left alone by their people in the end. And with both Christ and Beowulf too few stood beside them when it mattered most.
*strong verb in who clause
**“ly” word
Beowulf is a story of a Scandinavian prince who lives a life of heroism and honor. Towards the end of his life he defeats the evil dragon who is terrorizing his people and gains the treasure that the dragon was hoarding, then gives it to his people that they might be prosperous. [VSS] In the process, Beowulf dies. You may already see the relation to Christ in this: Christ lived a life of honor and righteousness. Towards the end of his life he suffered and died for mankind, thus defeating the evil (death). Because he defeated death, he gave us the blessing or treasure that man might live or gain resurrection.
After examining the fight of the dragon and the death of Beowulf, one can see even more similarities between these two heroes. Beowulf takes 11 handpicked men and goes off to fight the dragon. He then tells the men that he is going to do this alone but to stay near and to not leave. This can be compared to the Garden of Gethsemane when Christ goes off to pray and asks the 11 apostles to wait and they all fall asleep. After telling his men his orders Beowulf enters the dragon’s lair alone and starts fighting. Most of his men run away. [VSS] He was “rejected by his own.” In the end, even Beowulf’s sword fails him, he is alone. Just like God left Christ in the last few moments, alone.
Here is the second part of the essay above
ReplyDeleteToday there is something coming, it is the second coming. Christ came once and he is coming again, soon. While Beowulf is fighting the dragon ten out of eleven men start to run away and the one who stays realizes that their leader needs their help and basically said: “He [Beowulf] handpicked us out from all the rest of his men! He honored us and judged us fit for this action. He gave us these helmets, swords, shields and armor! He considered us the best. And now the day has come when our shepherd, this lord we serve, needs sound men to give him support. [VSS]Let us go to him! And help our leader through the flame I would rather fight and die defending our leader then to go home unscathed without a fight. And so, we cannot go home until we have slain the foe and defended out lord’s life!” After ending his speech, he went into the cave to defend his leader, but he went alone. None of the other men followed him. They were too afraid of the terrible dragon. The lone soldier, Wiglaf, fought next to Beowulf and by stabbing the dragon in the belly and weakening the flame, enables Beowulf to defeat the Evil that infested their lands. Sadly, since only one man stood with Beowulf, the prince died. Now, compare this to Christ’s story. Christ suffered and died also when the time came, too few stood by him and he was killed by his own people. But both Beowulf and Christ gave the treasure that they earned to the people even though those people did not stand with them or defend them. And so, how much more “treasure” will one earn if they stand by Christ in that great day when he comes again.
The words to the hymn above say “with him I’ll stand in that great day.” But, is standing really enough? Is just being on the lords side enough? In another Hymn is says “Let us all press on in the work of the Lord, that when life is o’er we may gain a reward; in the fight for right let us wield a sword, the mighty sword of truth.” According to this hymn we must “press on” and not just stand with the Lord “in the fight for right let us wield a sword.” In the next verse of this hymn it ways that “we not retreat though our numbers may be few.” And so, unlike the men who, faced with a large task, ran away, men must be like the one who did not run away and we mush “wield a sword” in the battle for right. In the final days the lord will come and will mankind follow him or break against him. After Beowulf dies Wiglaf is talking to the men chastising them for not helping Beowulf he says, “but when the worst happened too few rallied around the prince.” [VSS] Christ is also the prince. The first time he came too few rallied but this time, the second time, will it happen again? The real question is if YOU will stand by the lord when he needs you the most. As one last hymn says “will we shrink or shun the fight? No!” as it says men must not run away when things are hard! When things are hard is when men must work their hardest. You must rise up and fight with Christ in these final days.
Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteyes, that Greenman said :D
ReplyDeletealso, don't forget to read or start reading the Michelangelo book!
*what Greenman said, not that he said :)
ReplyDelete