Gut: Change yourself; change the world.
Spill: You are a part of the world. You may be a Christian and feel you don't belong here, but yet you are here on earth--and a part of it. You may be a small, almost insignificant part of the world, but you can change the world simply by changing yourself. I think even changing a small part of the world can have an impact. We are all little pieces of the world, and when many little pieces change in the same way they can have a large impact. Often, if you want to see a change, the easiest place to begin is with yourself. This may be a shallow, girly example, but sometimes slipping into a favorite dress or pair of jeans (changing your appearance/self) will affect how the world sees you. Will they see confidence? Style? Hate your style? By changing yourself and how the world views you, even if it's just your outward appearance, you have affected the world in some way. There are deeper things you can alter about yourself, and sometimes if one person can see something in you that is different, they may be inspired to adopt that same change in themselves.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
13
Gut: Where is the love?
Spill: One thing I would like to change about the world is prejudice. Whether it be because of background, race, or status, people are judged and viewed in a particular way based on their physical, material being. One can claim to love everyone, but only God can love everyone. What difference should it make if someone who grew up in the 'burbs is best friends with someone who grew up in a ghetto or if an Irish guy dates a black woman or if a millionaire marries a person who lived in a trailer park their entire life? Putting up these barriers between each other only puts up barriers between us and God. I think the Gospels try to explain that God sees hearts, and if someone's heart is right, then nothing about them is wrong. "To discriminate only generates hate, and when you hate then you're bound to get irate."
Spill: One thing I would like to change about the world is prejudice. Whether it be because of background, race, or status, people are judged and viewed in a particular way based on their physical, material being. One can claim to love everyone, but only God can love everyone. What difference should it make if someone who grew up in the 'burbs is best friends with someone who grew up in a ghetto or if an Irish guy dates a black woman or if a millionaire marries a person who lived in a trailer park their entire life? Putting up these barriers between each other only puts up barriers between us and God. I think the Gospels try to explain that God sees hearts, and if someone's heart is right, then nothing about them is wrong. "To discriminate only generates hate, and when you hate then you're bound to get irate."
Thursday, October 14, 2010
12
Gut: What is the point?
Spill: This whole biology lesson about Colony Collapse Disorder and bees reminded me of what is the purpose of our lives? I mean, if we can survive without pollinators, why does it matter if they become extinct? Well, if we can't make a change and our lives make no difference, what is the purpose of them? I don't think working for a change and knowing it will never occur makes working for that change meaningless/purposeless. I think knowing it won't and deciding not to work for the change you want makes your life purposeless. Working for a change you cannot see and that may not ever happen is hard, but it gives life purpose.
Spill: This whole biology lesson about Colony Collapse Disorder and bees reminded me of what is the purpose of our lives? I mean, if we can survive without pollinators, why does it matter if they become extinct? Well, if we can't make a change and our lives make no difference, what is the purpose of them? I don't think working for a change and knowing it will never occur makes working for that change meaningless/purposeless. I think knowing it won't and deciding not to work for the change you want makes your life purposeless. Working for a change you cannot see and that may not ever happen is hard, but it gives life purpose.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
11
Gut: We've been dead for a while.
Spill: We are so consumed with making grades (some of us are) that we don't learn anything anymore. We memorize information mindlessly for a test on something we often don't even care about, all for a GPA that doesn't suck. The standards we try to achieve are based on what's been drilled into us, but what about our own standards? Learning is only worth something if you apply it. We need to wake up and determine for ourselves where we're going, not where they say we should go. We've been dead for a while, and I'm tired of it.
Spill: We are so consumed with making grades (some of us are) that we don't learn anything anymore. We memorize information mindlessly for a test on something we often don't even care about, all for a GPA that doesn't suck. The standards we try to achieve are based on what's been drilled into us, but what about our own standards? Learning is only worth something if you apply it. We need to wake up and determine for ourselves where we're going, not where they say we should go. We've been dead for a while, and I'm tired of it.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
10
Gut: I'm an outcast. GOOD.
Spill: If I were to stay in character as an Essene, I would just run into the wilderness and avoid everything I hate/dislike about the world. However, I am not one. To try and solve the issues of today is useless, but just because you cannot solve them doesn't mean you cannot decrease the world-suck as some people describe it. You cannot change the world by trying to remove yourself from it, but nor can you be of the world to change it. You are an outcast either way, only your motivation is different. Impacting the world for the better puts your focus on others rather than yourself. The Essenes THE PEOPLE IN THE DORM NEXT TO ME NEED TO STOP USING THE MICROWAVE--IT KEEPS DINGING. STOP EATING. Okay, the Essenes removed themselves from the world with the hope of being saved, but Jesus immersed himself in the world in order to save. You cannot change the world or have an impact by keeping your hands clean; you have to be willing to work with the dirt in the world to make something grow from it. And usually, dirty people are outcasts.
Spill: If I were to stay in character as an Essene, I would just run into the wilderness and avoid everything I hate/dislike about the world. However, I am not one. To try and solve the issues of today is useless, but just because you cannot solve them doesn't mean you cannot decrease the world-suck as some people describe it. You cannot change the world by trying to remove yourself from it, but nor can you be of the world to change it. You are an outcast either way, only your motivation is different. Impacting the world for the better puts your focus on others rather than yourself. The Essenes THE PEOPLE IN THE DORM NEXT TO ME NEED TO STOP USING THE MICROWAVE--IT KEEPS DINGING. STOP EATING. Okay, the Essenes removed themselves from the world with the hope of being saved, but Jesus immersed himself in the world in order to save. You cannot change the world or have an impact by keeping your hands clean; you have to be willing to work with the dirt in the world to make something grow from it. And usually, dirty people are outcasts.
9
Gut: Doing, thinking, and doing thinking
Spill: So we learn by doing and not so much just by thinking.....I'll agree to an extent with that because I am a tactile learner. I haven't learned something until I can do it by myself. This understanding that learning isn't happening unless one is doing makes me think (haha). I'm thinking about doing. So does this mean I am learning from thinking, or will I not learn until I do according to my thinking? WHAT. I did not intend for this to hurt my mind so much; so this will be very brief. Are you not learning when you think things through before you put them into action? Is there not something you learn from just thinking? Maybe it's not just learning from doing; it's the thinking that leads to the doing that really shows we are learning. The thinking behind the doing is what leads to learning? Hmm...the philosophical is something I will never enjoy. I never feel like I've learned anything, just like I've run in circles--and I hate running.
Spill: So we learn by doing and not so much just by thinking.....I'll agree to an extent with that because I am a tactile learner. I haven't learned something until I can do it by myself. This understanding that learning isn't happening unless one is doing makes me think (haha). I'm thinking about doing. So does this mean I am learning from thinking, or will I not learn until I do according to my thinking? WHAT. I did not intend for this to hurt my mind so much; so this will be very brief. Are you not learning when you think things through before you put them into action? Is there not something you learn from just thinking? Maybe it's not just learning from doing; it's the thinking that leads to the doing that really shows we are learning. The thinking behind the doing is what leads to learning? Hmm...the philosophical is something I will never enjoy. I never feel like I've learned anything, just like I've run in circles--and I hate running.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
8
Gut: Combining the historical with the fictional without confusing the two
Spill:
Dear Dr. Kratzinger,
Your attention to historical accuracy and your regular critiques kept me from submersing myself into the story of The Shadow of the Galilean. I was reminded at the end of every chapter of the historical purpose of the book tied into the narrative element of it. You constantly brought me back to reality and helped me distinguish and maintain fact from fiction. You continually brought up questions and knowledge that I found helpful when reading, but perhaps the most beneficial thing you brought to The Shadow of the Galilean was your subtle display of how fictitious figures can embody the truth. By demanding I constantly compare my knowledge of the historical Jesus with the fictional image of Him created within the book, I was able to see how the two images complemented each other. Creating fiction around history heightens an understanding of the truth. Fiction allows history to become tangible to the reader, because they are able to relate to it on a more personal level. The shadow of your presence throughout the book helped bring clarity to the shadow of the Galilean.
Yours,
Mary Elizabeth
Spill:
Dear Dr. Kratzinger,
Your attention to historical accuracy and your regular critiques kept me from submersing myself into the story of The Shadow of the Galilean. I was reminded at the end of every chapter of the historical purpose of the book tied into the narrative element of it. You constantly brought me back to reality and helped me distinguish and maintain fact from fiction. You continually brought up questions and knowledge that I found helpful when reading, but perhaps the most beneficial thing you brought to The Shadow of the Galilean was your subtle display of how fictitious figures can embody the truth. By demanding I constantly compare my knowledge of the historical Jesus with the fictional image of Him created within the book, I was able to see how the two images complemented each other. Creating fiction around history heightens an understanding of the truth. Fiction allows history to become tangible to the reader, because they are able to relate to it on a more personal level. The shadow of your presence throughout the book helped bring clarity to the shadow of the Galilean.
Yours,
Mary Elizabeth
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