Modern Religious Experience: Reflection #9: The Incarnation of God: "After viewing 'The Nativity Story', analyzing your chosen Christmas carol, and reading Philippians 2:1-7, reflect on the meaning of Christma..."
Jesus is described as the Messiah or Savior of the Jews. There are several prophecies that Christians believed in that led them to think that Jesus was the Messiah. Jesus is described as one born of a virgin. The prophecies that he does fulfill out the many described in the texts are that Jesus will be cruxified and that none of his bones would break during the process. He is also stabbed by the soldiers in the side by a spear, something foretold in one of the prophecies. The scriptures of the Bible claim that he is the chosen one, the Messiah, and the Savior of his people. He is said to be son of Joseph and the Virgin Mary. The scriptures say that he is a prohpet. Mary had to concieve the baby and not abort it. Joseph had to agree to stay with her and not get her stoned and save the baby by going to Egypt. The shepherds were also importnat because they spread the word of how almighty God was. The wise men were also importnat as they did not tell King Herod where the baby was and they gave Jesus three gifts, gold for the King of Kings, frankincense for the Priest of Priests and myrrh representing sacrifice. Jesus probably came to earth as a baby because Jesus was meant to originally come to Earth to experience the pains and other feelings of mankind. So to experience such feelings, he probably decided that being born a baby was probably the best way to experience what man experienced throughout the stages of life. What kind of God would come to earth as a baby? One that will eventually remove his peoples' sins and is willing to give up his life for such a cause. The song that I chose was the Angels We Have Heard On High. I will analyze the verse
Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be
Which inspire your heavenly song?
Shepherds were told by an angel that they should be happy because a Savior had been born to them. So in the verse, when is says Shepherds, why this jubilee?, it is the same as asking why are you shepherds so happy? The second phrase 'Why your joyous strains prolong?' is similar to the previous phrase except that it is reworded. The third phrase, 'what your gladsome tidings be' is like saying 'what is it that makes you happy, and finally the fourth phrase is what makes you so joyous that you sing of heaven and the glories of God. This verse deals with the behaviors of the shepherds after being informed of Jesus' birth and after seeing the baby just as the angel foretold which is part of the story of the Birth of Jesus.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Friday, December 3, 2010
Modern Religious Experience: Reflection #8 Islam: Two Perspectives
Modern Religious Experience: Reflection #8 Islam: Two Perspectives: "Find where Islamic religious beliefs intersect with current events. Research a Western news source on the story and summarize the article fr..."
The story of Daniel Pearl, his abduction in Karachi, and his subsequent murder is discussed in two different articles, one written by the Wall Street Journal and the other by Al-Ahram. Both articles talk about how Dnaiel Pearl, who was working on finding a link between Harry Reid, the shoe bomber, and Al-Qaeda, was set up by two fake associates and taken into custody by an Islamic extremist group. Following his kidnapping, an email was sent to media corporations stating that if the U.S. did not treat prisoners fairly, resume the supplying of F 16s to Pakistan, and return the Paskitan ambassador to Pakistan, Daniel Pearl would be killed. A search was conducted in the Karichi region and a few days later the US consulate in Pakistan recieved a tape. The tape showed Daniel Pearl admitting to be a Jew, the subsequent slashing of his neck and finally the beheading of Daniel Pearl. The stances or the way the two newspapers view the event is the sole difference in the two articles written by them
There are some subtle differences that can be shown as at a larger scale. The Al-Ahram takes a less aggressive stance whereas the Wall Street Journal starts the article with a belligrent tone. Al-Ahram later takes a partially aggressive stance by including quotes which display anger at the murderers. The Wall Street Journal uses quotes from the Journal chiefs, Bush, Musharrraf and the State Department which display a mix of feelings ranging from revenge to sorrow to anger. The sharp contrast comes when the Al-Ahram ends on a more passive note by including a quote from Pearl's wife, Mariane, who states that, "It is far more valuable in my opinion to address this problem of terrorism with enough honesty to question our own responsibility as nations and as individuals for the rise of terrorism." The facts were exactly the same in both articles. The main difference was that the WSJ took on a more angry persona while the AL-Ahram took on a more compromising attitude.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/575/in92.htm
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/pearl-022102.htm
The story of Daniel Pearl, his abduction in Karachi, and his subsequent murder is discussed in two different articles, one written by the Wall Street Journal and the other by Al-Ahram. Both articles talk about how Dnaiel Pearl, who was working on finding a link between Harry Reid, the shoe bomber, and Al-Qaeda, was set up by two fake associates and taken into custody by an Islamic extremist group. Following his kidnapping, an email was sent to media corporations stating that if the U.S. did not treat prisoners fairly, resume the supplying of F 16s to Pakistan, and return the Paskitan ambassador to Pakistan, Daniel Pearl would be killed. A search was conducted in the Karichi region and a few days later the US consulate in Pakistan recieved a tape. The tape showed Daniel Pearl admitting to be a Jew, the subsequent slashing of his neck and finally the beheading of Daniel Pearl. The stances or the way the two newspapers view the event is the sole difference in the two articles written by them
There are some subtle differences that can be shown as at a larger scale. The Al-Ahram takes a less aggressive stance whereas the Wall Street Journal starts the article with a belligrent tone. Al-Ahram later takes a partially aggressive stance by including quotes which display anger at the murderers. The Wall Street Journal uses quotes from the Journal chiefs, Bush, Musharrraf and the State Department which display a mix of feelings ranging from revenge to sorrow to anger. The sharp contrast comes when the Al-Ahram ends on a more passive note by including a quote from Pearl's wife, Mariane, who states that, "It is far more valuable in my opinion to address this problem of terrorism with enough honesty to question our own responsibility as nations and as individuals for the rise of terrorism." The facts were exactly the same in both articles. The main difference was that the WSJ took on a more angry persona while the AL-Ahram took on a more compromising attitude.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/575/in92.htm
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/pearl-022102.htm
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