Kebra Negast

After reading the text given on Moodle I definitely see Ethiopia as a more significant country than I did before. I'll be honest, before this when I thought of Ethiopia I thought of Sally Struthers talking about starving children. Yea, I know its terribly ignorant and 'American' of me, but its seriously what I thought of. Anyways, it's changed now, and not just from the reading but also the slide show we saw in class.

Ethiopia plays a large role in Christian and Jewish faiths. The fact that their line of kings descended from king Solomon gives a lot of strength to their country. While Jerusalem is often gone to on pilgrimages, not going to Ethiopia is like only understanding part of one's religion. So this story gives a lot of significance not only to Jews and Christians around the world, it also gives an identity to the peoples of Ethiopia.

Conceptual Blending

The article on conceptual blending detailed an interesting feature of the human mind. I think this concept could be used quite easily when contemplating religion. But first, a quick example of conceptual blending.

Its very easy to blend two unrelated ideas or events. The article first uses the example of a boat race occurring in two different times. A modern boat was trying to beat a boat that made the same journey a hundred years previously. The excerpt used in the article made it seem like the two boats were racing each other at the same time. The blending of the two events happens almost unconsciously in human's mind.

The conceptual blending could be used in religious thought as a teaching device and also one to help interpret texts. Just as the french ski instructor in the article helped his pupil have good posture, so can a shaman or priest help teach with conceptual blending. For example: they could give metaphors for the best way to think of God as or perhaps who to act like in order to please a higher being. To assist in theological thought, conceptual blending an individual could contemplate the way in which the text they are reading helps them in their own lives. They can 'blend' the ideas in the text into themselves.

While I had never noticed how much conceptual blending I do in my thoughts, now that I am aware, it seems we are blending our world almost constantly.

Rowan Atkinson on Religion

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the hilarious british comedian Rowan Atkinson has a few monologues on youtube related to religion that were pretty funny/offensive/significant to our class discussions.
The first, when he is welcoming people to hell, gains its humor from the french, germans and lawyers getting named as the wicked. But it also caused me to think about how hell is used in specifically Christianity and other religions. I didn't learn until recently that hell is a controversial topic. A debate rages whether or not hell exists, and if the bible passages some think speak of hell, really do.
The second video likens Jesus to a magician (sorry if this offends anyone). I think it's interesting that he sees a resemblance between magic tricks and miracles. What is the difference though? I think this ultimately pertains to what an individual believes. Rowan Atkinson clearly is not a Christian, or he would believe that Jesus gained his powers from God, not Penn and Teller. A non-believer sees them as David Blaine-like street tricks. A Christian would see them as miracles from God.

St. Augustine's writing in Book 2 of "On Christian Teachings" can be quite helpful in interpreting and understanding the psalms. Augustine often talks about the difference between being knowledgeable and well-read in theological writings and truly understanding what the writers were trying to say. An easy step is to eliminate any ignorance on cultural aspects they may have been writing on. Certainly when I was reading the Psalms, I didn't know what a Hyssop was, but understanding what it meant to the people during the time it was written is important. Its also necessary to understand and recognize the difference between literal and metaphorical language in religious texts like the Psalms.
Augustine also explores the dangers of translations and the confusion it makes just as Alter discussed in his footnotes. The differences between Latin and Greek can be particularly disastrous.
St. Augustine provides context and possible pitfalls in reading the psalms that could be very helpful in interpretation of them and all theological texts.

Church and State

I was skimming through some religious topics through google and I found something very interesting. Apparently, anti-abortion and Christian license-plates can be bought for a premium in some states, yet there are no pro-choice license-plates available. Is this unconstitutional? My first instinct was to not care about license-plate sales, but I think this issue goes much deeper.

I believe if the government would offer any sort of religious paraphernalia, they should offer all (or at least, most) of beliefs. But more than that, I think no religious related items should be sold in the first place. Even in a small instance like this, religion should remain separate from government. Of course this isn't happening right now, it would be near impossible for a secular presidential candidate to win. But the reason why I think they should be separate goes back to our definition of religion by Geertz. Religion gives 'powerful and persuasive moods.' Obviously, for different beliefs, the moods and ideas will be different from each other. And since we live in a diverse country and world, how could we say that one religion is capable of choosing what is right?

On the other hand, I also believe that even an athiest or agnostic couldn't lead a country perfectly. I've been reading some atheist blogs lately and many of them seem quite hostile towards other religions (one stating that it is even foolish to respect beliefs of higher powers). So perhaps no one is suited to run a country perfectly. And perhaps different religions will always clash. But at least give the non-christian side a chance to argue their beliefs on their license-plates as well!

Psalm 18

The images in my head while reading Psalm 18 were that of a Zeus-like god that throws lightening bolts and rides on clouds. A lot of religions also had a punishing god that would take revenge on wrongdoers. The difference between these gods and the one we are used to hearing of in the psalms is the vividness of the actions.

In this psalm, God is described as descending on earth and taking his retribution. This is much more concrete than the usual 'fluffy' metaphorical language about God usually used. The uses of this language are clear though. While it may seem scary, a more vengeful God can probably yield a far greater turnout on Sunday mornings. If people fear God, it is likely they are more likely to worship him. I realize that many will worship God if he is loving and less interfering, but I also believe that more will follow if they dread the consequences of disobeying.

I think this Psalm could be a very powerful motivator for someone trying to get more people to believe in God. I was certainly a little scared while reading it. Will I become Christian because of it? Probably not, but words back then packed a lot more punch as well.

Harry Potter in Religion

I know this is two blogs in one day, but I thought it best to just get ahead on these blogs. Also, I was thinking of a topic for my 'free' entry and I wanted to write about it while it was fresh.

Recent debate has sprung up over the Harry Potter series use of witchcraft but in actuality is one that has been going on for quite some time. The separation of church and state has been over the news since the beginning of our country. While some religious communities believe that books should be banned, advocates of free press believe that all books should be allowed. Book burning was certainly a part of many cultures past and is still a part of some. Authors like Ray Bradbury have warned against it in Fahrenheit 451 and banning books is a more modern approach. Harry Potter is a prime example having been named one of the most banned books last year(http://www.education-world.com/a_admin/admin/admin157.shtml).

My opinion is on the side of freedom of press, however, I think the religious communities provide an interesting point. If I believed the plot of these books was evil, of course I would not want my children to read them. A lot of the country think the 'religious zealots' should calm down about harry potter and let children read about a fictional story. In fact the religious community at large is divided on book banning. I know families on both sides of the issue and both have valid opinions. Some believe that a fictional story can be read by children as fiction and is meant purely for entertainment. Others believe that children can be very impressionable (I definitely believed Hogwarts was real in 4th grade).

I find banning books to be offensive to the very nature of them. While some families may not want their children reading material that contradicts their beliefs, banning these books is not the right step. Books should be available for all to read and individual discretion used from that point on.