Nativity Story

The scriptures, lyrics, and stories all portray Jesus as a powerful human deity that would bring peace to Earth. Jesus is God manifested in a human form. Jesus was created and walked upon this Earth because he would be able to provide a personal love for humans, since he too, was human. God is unable to create such an intimate connection that Jesus would be able to do, since the Lord is a holy spirit.  Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and the Persian astrologers required a lot of faith to be able to birth Jesus Christ. Mary would have been stoned to death if it wasn't for Josesph's faith in her. Simiarily, the Persian astrologers believed that the meeting of the stars was a powerful omen, proclaiming something great and all mighty. Not supported by science or tangible facts, their journey was guided by a short but powerful string a thread.

Hark the herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled"
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim:
"Christ is born in Bethlehem"
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Two Perspectives

     On September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center in New York was destroyed by airplanes hi-jacked from Muslim extremists. The site of destruction, known as "Ground Zero," plans to construct a Muslim Mosque in it's place.
     In the article from the New York Post, the reporter quotes and describes the negative criticisms of the civilians. To some New Yorkers, constructing a Muslim Mosque was a disgusting thing to do, stating it would be a "swift kick in the face." Constructing the mosque would manifest the extremist's religion into something great and almighty. Unfortunately, the Board has approved of this plan, and despite constant criticism by families of victims, President Obama has approved of it as well. However, some citizens believe that constructing a mosque is a good idea as it ties back to the American Dream of religious freedom and religious diversity. Overall, the views in this article are ambivalent, but aimed negatively.
     On the other hand, the article from the CNN, paints a different picture. Muslims across the U.A.E. are upset over this project, stating that Al Queda or terrorism in all, does not accurately reflect the Islamic ideas at all. In fact, Muslims state that Islam is anti-terrorist and a very peaceful religion. Muslim's believe that the construction of the Mosque will portray their religion's true values and ideas but not the destruction and false identity extremists created.

New York Post:
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/mosque_madness_at_ground_zero_OQ34EB0MWS0lXuAnQau5uL/1

CNN:
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-05-07/us/new.york.ground.zero.mosque_1_muslims-ground-zero-community-center?_s=PM:US

Pilgrimage

Think of an event in your life- past, present or future. You are going to create a commemorative ritual for this event. First, describe the event and why it is important. Second, decide how long the commemoration will last. Then, create a phrase, a few sentences, or a poem that should be read during this commemoration. Last, describe some physical (tangible) action that is an appropriate way to remember/celebrate this event. You may want to include ritual clothing, food, or pilgrimmage.

The event that I will commemorate is my youth days in California. This event will last for 3 hours in the area of Cupertino, California. This will take place on the seventh day of June and we will be wearing Hollister or Abercrombie clothing. This is very important because it describes the origins and roots of me.
A short poem will be read:
"Tis is the place where Ryan Jeon has spent his young grasshopper days in California. A time when he was pure and innocent. A time when he was truly happy." There are many tangible actions.
1. We will go and visit his middle school. We will sit on the real grass turf and remember the days Ryan spent rolling around.
2. We will visit his classrooms and his cafeteria, the place where Ryan has received nourishment and education.
3. Then we will go to Ryan's elementary school and likewise, sit on the grass and make clover necklaces. This is a pastime Ryan has done frequently.
4. We will spend a moment in front of each of Ryan's classes.
5. We will move to Ryan's house and walk around, remembering the times of innocence and youth.
6. We shall visit Safeway and purchase a bag of "hot cheetos." This was one of Ryan's favorite foods.
7. We will come to Ryan's new house in Los Altos and remember the last days of his youth before he left for Korea.

Eros and Psyche

The story starts when Aphrodite is enraged when the morals on earth call this princess, named Psyche, more beautiful then the goddess of beauty herself, when this happens, she commands her son, Cupid, or Eros, to shoot an arrow at her to fall in love with the most low class and hideous man. He fails at this attempt by accidentally stabbing himself with this arrow instead causing him to fall in love with Psyche instead. Psyche is sent to a mountain, with her parents grieving at her conceived death, but Psyche is found in a beautiful castle with riches and galore, all created by Cupid himself. Psyche wishes to be in company of her sisters, as Cupid remains invisible, and doubt begins to eat at her as she thinks Cupid is a monster. Psyche catches a glimpse of Cupid and wakes him up by accident, and because of her doubt caused by her sisters, Cupid runs away.

The story shows that angering the god's by comparing a mortal to one is not a good idea. The human's natural pride angered Aphrodite, creating this turmoil. Jealousy is another aspect of the mortals, as jealousy bit into Psyche's sisters, they reacted by successfully attempting in driving doubt into Psyche. As doubt filled up, Psyche ruined her future of gold by not trusting Cupid.

Art Project

For my Modern Religious project, I decided to choose the unique style of wood carving. This oriental style is produced by arduously carving into a hard wood block to form indentations and rivets that resemble a figure. Then ink is rolled onto the uncut surface to produce a shine. Paper is then put on top and rubbed so the paint rubs on the paper. The paper is taken off to show the cut surface. My project was influenced by the Japanese Shinto religion where everything in nature has a spirit or a “Kami.” Rivers have spirits and rocks have souls. I used three religious principles in this art project.  The Tori Gate is my main object in my carving. The Tori Gate is a religious symbol that represents Shintoism. I used the ancient style of wood carving to stimulate one way how art was produced during that era of time. Wood is nature’s bricks and because I wanted to use nature in my project, I use wood. This is because Shintoism is revolved around respecting the flow of nature. 

Temple Visit

I think that the idea of life sprouting from cold ground is fascinating and beautiful to think about. I think it is amazing how the most beautiful flower in the world came from one ugly seed. Or how a famous Buddhist symbol, the white lotus, grows in muddy waters. When I visited the temple, I got a clear understanding on why people would seek out a religious truth. Settled in a beautiful forest, the temple was full of paintings, figures, and statues. But what was striking to me, was the aspect of nature. Whether it was a flower or the color blue, nature was everywhere. This shows how significant nature is to the Buddhists. I believe that humans subconsciously wish to be the lotus flower and grow from an ugly seed in dirty water to another stage in life.

ryan meditating

Buddhist Mediation

      While meditating I discovered a sense of serenity and the beauty of silence. While ephemeral as the bliss was, I could not control what flows in and out of my mind. As I realized that I was not thinking about anything in my mind, I thought about it, destroying those few seconds of peace. Much like a storm, my mind was full of flimsy thoughts and worries that had no significant value to my life at all. Thoughts such as, "What am I going to wear tomorrow" or "I want orange juice," came out. I could not control the nuances that my mind created, whether it was thoughts spiraling out or thoughts spiraling in. There was no way I could "empty" my mind. I figure that it is impossible to complete this enigmatic task. How can it be possible to not think of anything! I did not receive any "inspirations" or "flashbacks" or any of those "enlightenment" visions everybody talks about. Maybe because I failed in blowing away useless thoughts or maybe because it was not possible for me. Much like a child who craves more chocolate, I had a sudden craving for that feeling of those few seconds of discovery-- like the feeling of discovering a lost village.

Gandhi's Vision

         Gandhi's example of Hinduism was definitely novel. He portrayed a vision that he had and portrayed these ideas through concrete, physical actions-- a conquest that is rare these days. He believed that the only way to fight against a opposing altercation was to actually not fight at all. Although this may seem contradicting in all points, he indeed fought a force but through tranquil protest. Even when the opposition, the British Army, fought back with bats and guns, Gandhi and his protesters remained calm believing that this moral act of protest will strike a chord in the enemies conscience. In the movie, salt factories fiscally belonged to Britain, but rightfully the Indians. The Indian men refused to fight for the ownership of the factory but decided to attempt to walk through the guards. Bleeding and broken Indian men were strewn over as the aftermath of this protest. Overall, Gandhi refused to fight back no matter how bad the strives and riots got to be. He eventually started a fasting era in his life where his purpose was to promote peace and serenity in India with the use of moral blackmail. This original stand in promoting an eon of a harmonic India, regardless of how ephemeral it may have been, makes Gandhi one of the most respected men in the world.

“An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.”

         This acclaimed quote is an addition from the trite and cliched quote originating from the ancient Mesopotamian era: "An eye for an eye." This antiquated quote states that if a man happened to pluck another mans eye out, the law lets the handicapped man pluck the offenders eye out too as punishment. However, Gandhi played with this quote and stated that revenge will only hurt everybody. This quote is quite phenomenal as it accurately explains Gandhi's pursuit for an idyllic India. Gandhi believed that violence will not solve anything, thus he resorted to peaceful protests to fight the moral conscience inside all of his enemies.

Response 2

Bringer of the Star

Twin of Ra

Guider of the Disc

Brings forth light and warmth 

to the black lands of Kemet

Partner of the monster of the Nile
 Growth and vegetation is at its hands

 It breaks the Dusk

It births the Dawn

Too much light and life will burn
Too little light and life will freeze

We bow down to Kheper
For life turns to him


Pulling the supernatural disk across each horizon
Moving the cosmic energy across the stars
The Great Mounds and the Lion of the Sahara

Watches the halo Kheper brings to our land

Response 1

     Religion has made a prodigious impact in my childhood. The all powerful God and Jesus Christ governed the way I lived and viewed my life. I was brought with many rules and guidelines presented in the scripture. My vision was slightly tinted as I avoided taboos and aimed solely towards placating and pleasing the heavens above. When I was an infant, I was too inexperienced and inferior to understand the laws of physics or growth and development. Thus, I was brought up to believe that God held power over every rational force of nature, and I believed the world was considered capricious and erratic. When my first pet fish died, I did not understand death as I would have today. In my youth the elders told me God planned every fate that every living thing was going through. The mystery of death was not important to me at that time of youth as I was saved from the confounding confusion of the supernatural. I knew about the heavens, but I was raised to incorrectly believe that simply attending church service would successfully fulfill any requirements for a guaranteed landing to the Everlasting Kingdom. But now I understand that the acceptance to the land of Christ is given to solely those who live for the word of Christ. I did not have rituals or sacrifices like other religions. But I did have a "shaman" or an "incantation" of some sort--it would have been referred to as a priest of a prayer, respectively.

My attitude and perspective of life was primarily caused by the introduction of Christ in my early life. For this reason I sometimes believe the Christian liturgy has in some way, snared me. Whether this is a good advent, as my morals were encased in solid rock, or a malicious one, as I am not exactly "freed" to act as I wish, religion has nevertheless played a seminal role in the development and creation of my original, initial beliefs and outlook of life that still stands ground to this day.