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tabular_rasaThis Harry Potter book is really good. You know, not that I haven't thought about most of this before, and made a lot of these parallels myself, lol, but I did it in a less of a "I've got a PhD in Philosophy" sort of way.
You are a true throwback, a swordsman out of your
time.
What's your ideal weapon?
brought to you by Quizilla
I'm a total quiz whore today.
At least I'm not a dance whore, like "Michael" in that song, lol . . . Tory and I had way too much fun with that.
World History really is an interesting class-- though it still is awfully eye-opening . . . if you make it that way. I think a lot of focus has been on religion in my class, for some reason (it's not like the kids in the class have been pushing for it-- though I find it fascinating-- but I don't know whether the class is usually this heavily focused on religion or not). Which is more reliable, History or Faith? History doesn't necessarily always follow faith . . . or at least assumptions often associated with it. For instance, Christianity, historically, didn't just pop out of the sky in full form, which, when I was little, was what I had always thought it had done . . . you know, God just like told everyone what to do in one fell swoop. Yet God seems to have planted hints throughout time, instead, and the religion continues to be shaped.
I mean, the accepted Christian doctrine, the Nicene Creed, the whole concept of the Trinity, Jesus's dual divinity and humanity, and even the establishment that Mary gave birth to Jesus and not to God (which when I read that was like, "Wait . . . Mary giving birth to God? If He was given birth to by Mary, where was He for the whole Old Testament? Does that make Mary God?" and then it made my head hurt so I stopped thinking about it), were all established by a league of scholars appointed by Constantine, the first Christian emperor of Rome, rather arbitrarily. There were many conflicting views among the early Christians of Rome--they were too busy trying to stay alive and Christian in a persecuted environment to be organized enough to bother about arguing over detailed doctrine; they were just Christian, that was all that was necessary at that point-- like the Arians, who believed Jesus was not divine and only human, and was not resurrected (rather like the Deists and such), and the other, opposite group, which believed he was solely divine. So Constantine decided it, and people who believed otherwise were obviously traitors and heretics (double whammy . . . don't you LOVE the lack of separation between church and state? Lol . . ), and annihilated-- or at least hidden until they could start a small minority sect under the cover until the Holy Roman Empire fell.
So it was Constantine . . . not God . . . who defined Christianity into what it is today?
It's crazy. It's a good thing I'm not really stuck in one particular view, or that at least I don't mind if it turns out what is traditionally accepted as right turns out to be-- well, not wrong-- but a little off what I thought. There's got to be some kids out there who would be positively offended.
Yet, really, it's not such a big deal. I mean, Jesus was a good guy who was martyred and started a religion, whether He was divine or not. God exists in any which way or form. It really doesn't matter whether they show up in threes, or just one, or whether Mary was divine or the mother of God, or even if Jesus had a wife (lol Da Vinci Code . . .). It's still the same basic concept.
Yet, unfortunately, it is over the details people get needled up so much.
I think I remember singing some song in church choir about it back in the day . . . something about "So many churches and denominations got their opinions, and their documents and statements and beliefs, sometimes there's a miscommunication, and we complicate the truth, and we convulute the story . . . but as far as I recall, I do believe it all comes down to man, dying on a cross, saving the world."
Wow, I didn't even realize I remembered that much of it. Come to think of it, I think that song has been haunting me in the back of my head for all of these years. Crazy.
Speaking of The Da Vinci code, I noticed Vidhi was reading it on Friday. I wonder how she'll interpret it. I mean, she's been raised in America long enough to understand-- and even be somewhat indoctrinated with-- Western culture, but with her Indian background, a lot of the Christianity-- and even concepts like chivalry and such from Western Europe . . . it would be very interesting to hear her take on it, just as I would love to read a controversial book about Buddhism or something. It would actually seem less controversial, since all the assumptions would not be there.
It's a test of blind faith, isn't it?
HOkay, anyway, on a less potent note, I like this song. I also like the remake-- actually, I like it better, which is crazy . . . you know, the one about death? Though this song . . . this song reminds me of you, Nichole . . . kind of. Maybe. I STILL need you to hear your actual song, though.
Anyway, off to Earlham tomorrow. I hope this is fun.
You are a true throwback, a swordsman out of your
time.
What's your ideal weapon?
brought to you by Quizilla
I'm a total quiz whore today.
At least I'm not a dance whore, like "Michael" in that song, lol . . . Tory and I had way too much fun with that.
World History really is an interesting class-- though it still is awfully eye-opening . . . if you make it that way. I think a lot of focus has been on religion in my class, for some reason (it's not like the kids in the class have been pushing for it-- though I find it fascinating-- but I don't know whether the class is usually this heavily focused on religion or not). Which is more reliable, History or Faith? History doesn't necessarily always follow faith . . . or at least assumptions often associated with it. For instance, Christianity, historically, didn't just pop out of the sky in full form, which, when I was little, was what I had always thought it had done . . . you know, God just like told everyone what to do in one fell swoop. Yet God seems to have planted hints throughout time, instead, and the religion continues to be shaped.
I mean, the accepted Christian doctrine, the Nicene Creed, the whole concept of the Trinity, Jesus's dual divinity and humanity, and even the establishment that Mary gave birth to Jesus and not to God (which when I read that was like, "Wait . . . Mary giving birth to God? If He was given birth to by Mary, where was He for the whole Old Testament? Does that make Mary God?" and then it made my head hurt so I stopped thinking about it), were all established by a league of scholars appointed by Constantine, the first Christian emperor of Rome, rather arbitrarily. There were many conflicting views among the early Christians of Rome--they were too busy trying to stay alive and Christian in a persecuted environment to be organized enough to bother about arguing over detailed doctrine; they were just Christian, that was all that was necessary at that point-- like the Arians, who believed Jesus was not divine and only human, and was not resurrected (rather like the Deists and such), and the other, opposite group, which believed he was solely divine. So Constantine decided it, and people who believed otherwise were obviously traitors and heretics (double whammy . . . don't you LOVE the lack of separation between church and state? Lol . . ), and annihilated-- or at least hidden until they could start a small minority sect under the cover until the Holy Roman Empire fell.
So it was Constantine . . . not God . . . who defined Christianity into what it is today?
It's crazy. It's a good thing I'm not really stuck in one particular view, or that at least I don't mind if it turns out what is traditionally accepted as right turns out to be-- well, not wrong-- but a little off what I thought. There's got to be some kids out there who would be positively offended.
Yet, really, it's not such a big deal. I mean, Jesus was a good guy who was martyred and started a religion, whether He was divine or not. God exists in any which way or form. It really doesn't matter whether they show up in threes, or just one, or whether Mary was divine or the mother of God, or even if Jesus had a wife (lol Da Vinci Code . . .). It's still the same basic concept.
Yet, unfortunately, it is over the details people get needled up so much.
I think I remember singing some song in church choir about it back in the day . . . something about "So many churches and denominations got their opinions, and their documents and statements and beliefs, sometimes there's a miscommunication, and we complicate the truth, and we convulute the story . . . but as far as I recall, I do believe it all comes down to man, dying on a cross, saving the world."
Wow, I didn't even realize I remembered that much of it. Come to think of it, I think that song has been haunting me in the back of my head for all of these years. Crazy.
Speaking of The Da Vinci code, I noticed Vidhi was reading it on Friday. I wonder how she'll interpret it. I mean, she's been raised in America long enough to understand-- and even be somewhat indoctrinated with-- Western culture, but with her Indian background, a lot of the Christianity-- and even concepts like chivalry and such from Western Europe . . . it would be very interesting to hear her take on it, just as I would love to read a controversial book about Buddhism or something. It would actually seem less controversial, since all the assumptions would not be there.
It's a test of blind faith, isn't it?
HOkay, anyway, on a less potent note, I like this song. I also like the remake-- actually, I like it better, which is crazy . . . you know, the one about death? Though this song . . . this song reminds me of you, Nichole . . . kind of. Maybe. I STILL need you to hear your actual song, though.
Anyway, off to Earlham tomorrow. I hope this is fun.
