Buhl- Reading blog 2

Kip Redick's Intro to Explorations in Media Ecology

Our culture heavily relies on media, media culture religion is also following the general population in the United States. Media is not an empty vehicle used to communicate messages, it persuades as different media texted are used. Depending on which text is being utilized, affects the amount of mediation. In some instances the use of technology distracts from the overall message; for example in the classroom. If other students are on Facebook then our attentions shift to their computer screen instead of what the professor is saying. Having the technology accessible hinders the message being relayed to the class. Relating this back to religion, using technology in a religious setting can take away from the overall meaning of the religious message. Technology traps people into thinking that it is here to serve us, but really we have become slaves to technology. An example of humans becoming slaves to technology is the use of cell phones. It would be difficult to have an individual leave their cellphone at home for a day, we are constantly on our phones and rely on them for everything. For example, I use my phone for my alarm clock in the morning, I check the weather on my phone, I constantly check my e-mail, I am in constant contact with friends and family.. my phone never sleeps, I have become a slave to my phone.

Buhl - reading blog 1

"Stephen Crisp's Short History as Spiritual Journey" by Michael P. Graves, from the journal Quaker Religious Thought, Vol 26 No 3 pp. 5-23.

One of the first quotes of this reading expresses how important it is that messages and symbols obtain more than one meaning. In the case for religious literature I would have to agree with this statement. Applying this to the Bible taking in the consideration that one cannot impose their own meaning onto a biblical verse, it is important for the Bible to have more than one meaning in it's message. Even though imposing personal beliefs and identity is not necessarily the right thing to do in some cases, it results in more people identifying with the word of God. This gives people more of an incentive to follow and remind themselves of the message of the Bible. But this is has a negative side to interpreting the Bible in a personal way. The Bible as a whole was written and created to help convert or gain followers of Christ and God. This is a persuasive piece and this aspect cannot be forgotten when reading. Also, some people have "wrong" perceptions of what they think the Bible means. For example, the West Burro Baptist Church. As a whole the group has an interesting and different take on the readings of the Bible. 

One comment I do have while I was reading what makes up a spiritual journey narrative is on the 7 factors the journey must have. As I read through them all, I noticed this is a very narrow outline the journey must follow, and very cliché with not much room to play around with. Yes as the reading goes on it does describe other paths the narratives can add to enhance the story, but it just seemed so very uncreative and limited. 

Northfork- Buhl

The use of the symbol of foundations became very important to the overall story of the film. Foundation in definition is something that supports or is the backbone of a structure. Without the foundation structures will crumble. The lack of foundation under the church and also the different houses scattered throughout the town demonstrated how the town was at the very end of falling apart and becoming deserted. The substance of the town had already moved out to higher ground. Their was nothing left of the town; some houses only had the foundation left. By only having the foundation left this symbolizes that the foundation does not matter at all if their is nothing left to support; the town has moved on and has left nothing but the foundations. 

            The second aspect of the film that really spoke to me was the portal of the last house that the father son team searched to make sure it was vacant. As the father jumped from one side of the house to the other he was catapulted into another world habited by angels. The snow that created the screen between the two sections of the house is also importance symbolizing that even though you can maybe see to the other side, getting there and breaking the screen is very difficult.  

Corinne Beale: Noah

Upon seeing "Noah" I was pleasantly surprised with the film. I had heard reviews from friends of mine that had seen the film and highly disliked it. Going into it, I knew that it was a controversial film. I had heard that it was Biblically inaccurate and offensive. However, after viewing the film myself, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

In our post-film discussion, I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation. One point that I particularly enjoyed discussing was the "darkness"of the film. I believe so many Christian viewers were upset because they expected the story to be similar to one seen in children's story books with cute little animals and a big rainbow at the end. However, this film realistically portrayed the story of Noah. It showed the story from a real, dark and depressing point of view, which is often overlooked.

Secondly, I also enjoyed the conversation over Noah's character. I thought it was so interesting that the filmmakers portrayed him to be the "bad guy" at many points throughout the film. I think it's easy to look at Noah and think of him as a hero, and in many aspects, he was. However, it is often forgotten that Noah was a sinful human and struggled with daily life issues, just as we do. While he was obedient to the Lord in saving his family and animals, he also was an alcoholic and at times, struggled to hear the voice of the Lord guiding him in what to do. I think that the filmmakers made Noah a very relatable character, and I appreciated that.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed watching this film. I also enjoy seeing how Biblical stories are beginning to creep their way more and more into Hollywood. My hope is that these films maintain their accuracy and portray the reality of the stories.

Tyler Duvall Northfork

Northfork

Wow, what an original take on the often “tremendum” approach of angelic forces. The supernatural beings were very child-like manifestations of angels and very creative.

Themes such as foundation = stability was pivotal. Without the foundation, many of the moving houses represented the fact that the stability is lacking

Additional themes of prophets and seers were evident in the instances where one of the angels would never speak he would only listen to music and inscribe the scriptures was a beautiful way to relay a theme of prophetic seers.

The use of portals was also very relevant to the film as when a man jumped across a gap in a house, hit his head and was instantly viewing the “other side”. Another portal was when the same man was in an outhouse and was contemplating moving his deceased wife to a different location due to the coming flood. In this outhouse the man embraces the stench of poop and has revelation and decides to move his wife.

Lastly, the “Noah” character was a symbol of self-preservation and not like the actual Noah who was destined to preserve all life. The director used humor to poke fun at many themes of religion such as the “Noah” character having two of everything even wives.

Overall, the film was inspiring and humorous and provided a platform to dissect religious themes and virtue.

 

Luke Taylor- Spiritual Journey Reflection (Free Post #2)

One thing I thought was really cool that I wanted to share was how in life we are all searching for some type of belonging, something that makes us feel whole and alive. To some that may look like having the right soul mate. After having a strong desire for the opposite sex we tend to believe this concept that once we get them everything will feel right and all of our constant desires will go away. John Eldredge calls this the theory of the “Golden Haired Girl” in his book, Wild at Heart. We fall for this false truth that once we are able to get that one thing we desire more than anything else we will feel content. Others may see that as finding their fit on campus whether that is seeking a good group of friends or even a fraternity or sorority. We start to think to ourselves that if we just had a place to fit in, a community to call our own, everything else that we want won’t matter as much anymore because we feel like we have a this sense of belonging. We become so wrapped up in these “communities” that we let them take over our identities and we start to find our identity in them. In John, Jesus says that “I am the way, the truth, and the life” yet even then we still look passed that and strive for something on this earth that can bring us a sensational feeling of life. Since being in this class I’ve started to think that this desire we consistently possess and are constantly searching for is part of our own spiritual journey that we don’t even realize we’re chasing after until we achieve it. Until we finally find this feeling of life that is everlasting and not just temporary. I can personally say that in my spiritual journey I was blinded by so many earthly desires until I finally realized what was true. In the film, Cold Fever, that is how Hirata’s spiritual journey was. In fact, he didn’t even realize he had gone on a spiritual journey until it was over. In addition, Dr. Redick once mentioned how during the AT hike the students meet numerous people doing the actual AT hike who give explanations to why they are partaking on the hike but never realize they are actually on a spiritual journey. In life we truly are seeking something greater than ourselves that can make us feel alive. In order to attain that truth we go on a spiritual journey but do we ever realize we’re on this pursuit, this spiritual journey, until afterwards?

Luke Taylor- The Sacred and the Profane (Free Post #1)

In Luke 6:12 it says “One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night.” As I was reading this passage it reminded me of the profane and sacred time and how the two are very different. Personally, I see profane as this time that one spends living for themselves and not very focused on the bigger picture. However, when I think of sacred time I think of one being much more selfless in the time they spend, that their specific time is very important and has great value. In the passage above it talks about how Jesus went away to spend time with God, his father. He wanted to make time for something so significant and made sure he was isolated wherever he went to spend that time so he goes to a far off mountain. I don’t think Jesus looked at this time as something profane, something that had a time limit. I think he saw it as so much more than that, something very sacred to him. He had no sense of time while on this mountain, in fact, I can picture him being completely carefree and simply enjoying time with his father. Similarly, when I go to spend time with God or have a “quiet time” as some may call it, I have no agenda on my mind. I also prefer to be alone and in my own space so that nothing can intervene with me as I spend time with God. This is a very sacred time for me. I never really thought about the parallel of one’s own quiet to how Jesus went to a mountain to spend time with God. In fact, in both scenarios a very similar concept occurs. In the passage, God gets away from everything and just spends time with his father not worrying about anything else. In my own way, I am also getting away and spending time with my God without weighing down or dwelling on the things going on in my life. Eliade Micrea says in her except, The Sacred and Profane: The nature of religion, that “when the sacred manifests itself in any hierophany, there is not only a break in the homogeneity of space; there is also revelation of an absolute reality, opposed to the nonreality of the vast surrounding expense.” When I read what she says, in a lot of ways I see my own quiet time with God being represented by that. I am able to escape my life for just a little bit and live in this “absolute reality” and it just makes everything feel so much different. I feel alive, whole, refreshed, and it really makes me realize how important and evident the sacredness of that time really is.