Category: religion

Essay Pt. 2

graceovsLeave a comment

The other half of last week’s essay:

Salem, being rigidly devout, is also a town of social restraints and inhibitions. “‘There is either obedience or the church will burn like hell is burning,’” Minister Parris threatens. Novels, theater, celebration, and any ‘vain enjoyment’ are forbidden, as is the Puritan way. The narrator observes: “Evidently the time came in New England when the repressions of the order were heavier than seemed warranted by the dangers against which the order was organized.” Order is the foundation holding society together, but it also causes frustration in those who are oppressed. Abigail and the other girls, who have been inhibited by the constraints of Salem’s theocracy, are inspired to rebel by dancing and running naked in the woods. Suddenly, they are granted power that has been withheld from them previously, and the Witch Trials occur as a result.

PC: https://mdtheatreguide.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/The-Crucible-550×361.jpg

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, The Crucible showcases the Puritan importance of a moral reputation. For example, when Parris suggests that Abigail’s name may be ‘soiled’, she is outraged at the prospect. “‘My name is good in the village! I will not have it said my name is soiled! Goody Proctor is a gossiping liar!’” comes her outburst. Abigail is not the only villager concerned with her reputation. Reverend Parris, himself, worries incessantly about his notoriety, as any bad word could threaten his ministry. “‘If you trafficked with spirits in the forest, I must know it now, for surely my enemies will, and they will ruin me with it,’” he frets. It is evident that a reputation devoid of sin is of utmost importance to the villagers. To preserve their own good standing, they will not hesitate to bring down others, setting the stage for the brutality that is the Witch Trials.

This stress of maintaining a ‘clean’ name, together with an emphasis on the supernatural and strict social restraints, is at the core of Salem’s Puritan society. Ultimately, it is due to these characteristics that mass hysteria is able to take root in the town and spread like wildfire. Otherworldly explanations are sought out, social restraints encourage rebellion, and the concern of a reputation pits neighbor against neighbor. Miller’s writing reveals the forces at work in Salem, Massachusetts, and their dire consequences.

Essay

graceovsLeave a comment

I’m so tired, so here’s part of my English Essay on The Crucible:

Puritan Attitudes in The Crucible

The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, is a semi-fictionalized play based on the Salem Witch Trials of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (1692-93). Salem is Puritanical, meaning they follow a strict moral code and disapprove of pleasure and luxury. Within this culture, Miller tells the story of a lustful girl, a skeptical farmer, a corrupt minister, and a village brewing with secrets and vengeance. After a strange incident in Salem’s forested outskirts, all become embroiled in a Witch hunt that proves deadly. Through well-crafted characters and other story elements, the author manages to capture the Puritan attitude of the time period. 

PC: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjE1MDUxMjg3Nl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTYwOTA3OTg2.V1.jpg

It is clear from the start that Salem society places an emphasis on the supernatural. Its residents see evidence of God and Satan in all aspects of life. For example, a farmer named Walcott purchases a pig from Martha Giles and blames its prompt death on otherworldly causes. “‘Now he goes to court and claims that from that day to this he cannot keep a pig alive for more than four weeks because my Martha bewitches them with her books,’” Martha’s husband explains in disbelief. Like so many other townsfolk, Walcott is unwilling to hold himself accountable for his mistakes and faults, preferring to lay the blame on witchcraft. Goody Putnam likewise finds the supernatural at the root of unfortunate events, condemning her midwives for a series of seven miscarriages. This habitual blame is wielded as a weapon, and accusations eventually lead to hangings.

Fate is Fatuous

jared315Leave a comment

Albert Camus, a philosopher, once said “accepting the absurdity of everything around us is one step, a necessary experience: it should not become a dead end. It arouses a revolt that can become fruitful.” Camus is stating that there is meaninglessness in life, but we must accept that fact, and despite its meaninglessness we must not become depressed. The only real answer to the newfound meaninglessness is acceptance, and with the acceptance of lack of meaning one cannot become depressed or stressed. Every situation no matter how difficult or troublesome it may seem, becomes simple. All that is necessary is to simply live, it is not a necessary reaction to feel that the task is useless or difficult, because everything is useless regardless. Camus talks about the “Myth of Sisyphus,” a greek myth in which a king is condemned to roll a rock up a hill for eternity. Every time he pushes the boulder all the way up the hill it rolls down again, forcing Sisyphus to start over once again. Camus stated that if Sisyphus simply accepted his menial task as absurd and fatuous that the task would no longer have ay level of difficulty, all that is left for Sisyphus to do is to push the rock and live his life.

photo credit: WRITE NGEOW

Avoiding Politics

karolineticoLeave a comment
Photo Credit: http://www.khou.com

I was shocked when my friend told me that she thought I was really into politics because I never considered myself a political person.

She also said she has always been told by her parents never to mention politics with friends.

Why is politics such a taboo?

We all have come from different backgrounds, received different education, and read different books. Even within the same country, there are left-wing and right-wing, communist and green parties. Of course, people will have disagreements.

While it is true that many people don’t care about politics at all, we are given the right to believe in what we believe.

Another friend of mine met her ex-boyfriend online, my friend is from China and the ex-boyfriend is German. They argue constantly over political issues. Eventually, they broke up, and neither side changed their beliefs.

Does that mean we should try to not mention it in daily conversation? I, at least, believe that gives us more reason to talk openly about it and learn from different perspectives.

Why Fear Death?

jared315Leave a comment

Death is one of the many anomalies of this world, and with this lack of knowledge comes an innate fear of dying. People have feared death for ages, so to combat this trepidation people created images of afterlives to live on so their consciousness never truly disappears. This is my idea of why heaven and hell were created. Personally, I find more comfort in believing that there is nothing past death. You and whatever your consciousness is just disappears. From this assumption, I can live a generally stress and anxiety-free life, because in my opinion nothing actually carries meaning, worth, or consequence. I’m just here kickin it. I have a firm belief that if everyone thought a similar way, and cared more about living their actual life rather than worrying about their life after they die, then the world would be a happier place. People need to live in the moment, not in the afterlife.

Where Does the Concept of a “Grim Reaper” Come From? | Britannica
https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.britannica.com%2Fstory%2Fwhere-does-the-concept-of-a-grim-reaper-come-from&psig=AOvVaw2nmkjSKaMMzL6vgczA-WTX&ust=1643411148529000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCLiqqOCF0_UCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

Creation

cannassuerLeave a comment

Recently, I started watching Loki, the Marvel Miniseries. Of these four miniseries that have come out, Loki is by far my favorite. Although all of these shows deal with very tangible real-world problems such as succession, loss of a loved one, inclusion, and facing failure. However, Loki easily has been the one that made me think the hardest a show has made me think in a while. Basically, without spoiling it, Loki gets arrested by a bureaucratic organization called the TVA(Time Variance Authority) that deals with variants which are basically just people that mess up the timeline.

The TVA and their employees all blindly follow the time keepers as they believe they are the highest power in the world as they protect the timeline and created everyone in the TVA. However, Loki raises the question “but then who created the Time Keepers?” and his agent responded with something along the lines of “if you keep thinking about the origin of everything you’ll go insane”. The thing is, even in our world, that statement is equally true.

I mean if we just take the two most popular theories, that there was some sort of singular being or legion of beings created the universe OR that some random explosion came out of literally nothing, catalyzing the creation of the universe. Even though I’m more of a science kinda guy than a believer of deities, both theories are completely unbelievable. First of all, what kind of sentient being has even half the mental capability to create an entire universe that’s so big that human’s just deem it to be ‘infinite’. IF that is true than whose theory is true? There are thousands upon thousands of different theories on who or what created us and who knows which one could even scratch the surface. And even if there was such a being then something would have to have created that being too, one even smarter and even more capable of creating such a complex existence.

Then there’s the theory that some explosion just happened out of nowhere, and even though that’s the one that I prefer to believe, that one is also a whole lotta B.S. I mean there is literally no way that something can come out of nothing it’s impossible. Something had to have been there to catalyze the reaction but then what was that something? I mean at this point, it’s just as possible to think that we live in some simulation or that we’re just stuck in a never ending time loop of our universe blowing up to create itself and then blowing up to destroy itself.

As humans, we are prone to question everything, to have the answers for everything. But the origin of everything is an impossible question to answer, and that’s why we have so many theories. We seek refuge from our own ignorance with whatever answer we can come up with, and the longer we stay in the dark, the more convoluted the discussion becomes.

Art Credit : Giovanni Di Paolo di Grazia, The Creation of the World and the Expulsion from Paradise

Minor Abuse in Religious Institute

karolineticoLeave a comment

Members of the Catholic Clergy in France sexually abused an estimated 216,000 minors over the past seven decades.

A CNN article suggests “the Catholic Church is the place where the prevalence of sexual violence is at its highest, other than in family and friend circles.”

There are many factors that lead to this shocking situation. Because of the Catholic tenet, children in churches are more likely to be obedient, submissive, and innocent. The Clergy or other adults linked to the church had “easy access” to these vulnerable children. Unaccompanied minors in the Catholic church are also clearly in a lower power position than church leaders because their parents or guardians are not with them. Church leaders have ultimate control over them.

It is ironic that the most degraded work has been done to children in the holiest place. And the Clergy’s position, which is expected to enlighten and save people, provided cover for the polluted immanence.

givingcompass.org

Chaos’ Defeat

icaruswithwarmwingsLeave a comment

For many infinities Chaos had held the burden of perfection,

and Time had sat silent and watched.

The immense weight of nothingness pressed down upon Chaos

Like cold black rocks piled one by one;

each stone pressed upon his empty chest

and he lay tense, unmoving, bracing against the pain.

The cool dull pain.

Chaos’ eyes were tightly shut

to keep the darkness from getting out.

He was honorable, 

quiet, 

still, 

and focused on the weight of that expansive void.

Alone he was,

save his cruel companion,

fighting an endless battle against light and the evil it illuminates.

Time turned his grey gnarled hand over.

Chaos turned his head to look,

and within him something buckled.

And the beautiful darkness was covered in blinding light.

And now there were things in places.

Time bowed his head.

And Chaos sank back in defeat.

And the clamoring symphony began.

from wikimedia commons

Sinister

mypetlobster1Leave a comment

On a train away we sailed,

slowly but at the speed of light,

we jumped into the cage called freedom.

oblivious but fully aware,

we jumped off of the cliff

and landed in a field of feathers.

soft and warm were the feathers

that were plucked off of the once flying birds.

and then came a hand,

and a voice

“come with me to The Good Place,” it said

so we took its hand and followed through the land on fire.

demons greeted us with open arms,

and we drank a sweet, red liquid.

“This doesn’t look like Heaven,” we said

A man with red horns smiled and replied

“oh trust me child, this is heaven for people like us.”

kwanumzen.org

A Much Needed Switch: Dying to Thriving

fatveganfrogLeave a comment
Photo credit: pinterest.com

I’ve been trying to get my dad to stop eating meat since I was four years old. We traveled to Ireland and I remember watching him eat bacon day after day and wanting nothing more than for him to understand the terrible health risks. I’ve always been worried about his health… His “weight loss” diets would always consist of meats and cheese (protein fads) along with Diet Ginger Ale… He would lose weight and looked fit so it worked for him, but I became more and more worried.

I tried to explain to him that natural sugars are okay and animal products were truly the problem. He was raised in a family of ten siblings so if he didn’t eat what was served (unhealthy crappy foods) he wouldn’t eat, period. Meats, processed foods and dairy was on the menu during his upbringing. So when I was young he was hard on me for my decisions because he simply didn’t have the proper knowledge. 

As I got older he started to support my lifestyle more and more, eventually taking me to vegan festivals and even dining with me to enjoy high quality vegan foods. He even asked me where he could get a metal straw to help with plastic pollution.  I figured this was as far as he would ever go. I accepted this reality and kind of gave up on him, sadly. I figured he would never change and that was okay…Because everyone is different right?

When I got the call last month…it was my dad on the phone telling me he is going plant based after watching “The Game Changers”  documentary on Netflix. I was in utter shock. Out of everyone in my life, he would have been the last person on my list I would ever expect to go vegan. For me, this showed me hope for humanity! He is the most “manly” guy I’ve ever met so for him to make this change is amazing.  With all the stereotypes about vegan guys being weak, feminine and all that other nonsense animal product companies endorse, this shows me how anyone can do it just letting go of their ego. My dad said, “All the research supports the vegan diet and this way of life is by far the most healthy. I have always known that you are on the right track. Now I am seeing that eating plant based can even build muscle, strength and healthy blood flow. It seems that it can also lower my cholesterol which is elevated at this time. I am so proud of you for paving the way. You are a great inspiration to me and I’m never eating meat again.”

A lot of the time people will tell me they would totally go vegan if they could, but it would be “too hard,” “I tried and just couldn’t” or it’s not the time and they will eventually make the switch… But the time is now. We have the resources. Nobody cares about getting the right nutrients until veganism comes up. People will be eating McDonald’s all day and act like veganism would just be detrimental to their health. Another excuse is that it’s too expensive. It is simply not expensive to go to your local grocery store and buy a can of beans or some vegetables.  Research the right foods and stop saying you “can’t.” Stop making excuses to make yourself feel like a better person because it is total BS. 

This is a lifestyle. And yes, changing your lifestyle is a big deal but crucial for your health and well being. This switch will change your life, and the ones in it, but only for the better. I hope my dad can be an inspirational success story and help you and your family on your own health journeys.