Joy Brackett: Reflection #5

Moving is something I have never had to do in life. This is something I will be doing this summer for the first time. After marriage I will be moving to South Carolina and starting a brand new life with my soon-to-be husband. This is scary but within the Christian faith, there is peace in Christ. We know we are doing and going exactly where God has us, therefore there is peace. Nerves come, but I can be calm in knowing we are doing the right thing. This is a big time and I can't wait to graduate, get married, and start a life with him together!

Joy Brackett: Reflection #4

Marriage is sacred which is depicted within many religions. This is a union I am about to enter which is nerve-racking yet exciting. Within Christianity it depicts Christ and the church. It will not be easy but I hope and pray my fiancé and I's relationship will do so. We are taking many strides to do this and learning unconditional love, as seen is scripture is crucial. This institution of marriage is valued among many religions which displays its importance no matter, race, religion, gender, etc. The value has gone down in our current society but that sacredness still exists when it comes to the true definition of marriage. It is interesting to look at all the ways society has devalued marriage. This can be done by looking at the emphasis on weddings and not the marriage. The actual essence of marriage itself can many times be forgotten and ignored when wedding planning. This is something that must be noticed and attempted to change in order to keep value within marriages.

Joy Brackett: Reflection #3

Religion is such an interesting concept, and this class has really opened my eyes. Many times, specifically as Christians, our eyes our closed and we can easily become judgmental of other religions different than our own. This class has opened my eyes to the goodness and richness seen in other religions. It was amazing to see how the first existentialist was a Christian himself. I believe that following Christ is the one true way to eternal life, but it is cool how other religions can compliment that and not always hurt it. It is interesting to find religion in films and see why people believe what they believe. It has helped me to relate to others better, and truly care even more. I am able to empathize with other religions and understand why they are the way they are.

Joy Brackett: Reflection #2

This year of college has really been eye-opening for me. Not only am I planning a wedding, working three jobs, but a full-time students still learning new information daily about academics and my faith. This semester has been a huge struggle within my life, but now I can look back on the other side of it and realize it was vital for my life. I am about to graduate and have developed a greater stamina and attitude on such life difficulties. My faith is growing as God challenges me and my capacity to trust. I am excited for this next chapter I am beginning.

Joy Brackett: Reflection #1

This reflection is on this class as a whole. I have come to learn how prevalent religion is within media and society. Many academics try to see religion as not important but it is seen time and time again that it is and that cannot be ignored. We can learn a lot about our own religion and come to better understanding of the religion of others by just studying films and being aware of the media around us. This class has opened my eyes to how important this really is. We must bring religion back into many different fields of study to ultimately grasps the ideas and concepts within those studies.

Joy Brackett: Outside Reading (Fruits of the Spirit)

The Fruits of the Spirit are listed in Galatians 5:22-23. They are love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Earlier in Galatians it mentions how if we truly know God and are seeking after him, then these fruits will be produced. Just like a seed that grows this tree of fruit. The seed is what is producing such fruit, therefore without the seed, nothing is produced. These traits are not something we can work on in our own power, but we must invest in Christ and be rooted in Him, and these things will naturally be seen within us. It is not done by our own power, but through the power of Christ alone.

Joy Brackett: Outside Reading (Big Fish: Fact or Fiction)

This is CultureWatch article published on damaris.org by Sophie Lister and is entitled "Fact or Fiction?" This article discussed the movie Big Fish that we viewed in class. When going deeper into myths and parables, this article helped my understanding of it even more. As seen in the movie, myths tell us more about the real than real life itself. This is because it makes emotional rather than literal sense. The stories have values and appeal to us emotionally. Being such emotionally driven beings, myth is important to us and understanding ourselves and the world even better than logistical facts would. This idea plays with fact. The movie's play on fact can be found either liberating or frustrating by the reader. The most interesting part of this article was found in the conclusion in the last paragraph. Stories are valuable but in certain circumstances, it is important to understand fact. Many consider religion to be fictional and used for comfort. This is not how it is presented in the Bible. 1 Corinthians 15:13-19 states, "If Christ has not been raised, than all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless...if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world." Jesus' life, death, and resurrection are factual and truth matters here. The hope offered does not matter on their own apart from his life, death, and resurrection.