Outside Reading: Shamanism: The Beginning of Arts

After reading this book, I got a new appreciation for shamanism and they people who practice it. In this book, it talks about how certain people become shaman and what that means for the rest of their life. Most people who become a shaman start at a very young age and most do not have a choice. To become a shaman, they give up living as normal people during their culture. While most shamans are highly revered by their tribe and it is viewed as an outstanding opportunity, it is still showed upon them whether it is because of birth or because they receive a dream at an early age. I have now started to view this as a service to their people instead of a privilege. Perhaps they do not view it this way but coming from a culture where everyone is encouraged to be what ever they want to be this is paying the ultimate price. Before birth, they are stripped of that right and are now supposed to serve the tribe the best they can whether they are qualified or not. When it's contrasted with priesthood, priests make the choice to leave all of their things behind so it is more of a personal choice. Shamans are more willing to serve their tribe and that is where their respect is derived from because the entire people know that they have not chosen to be the shaman but were in fact chosen.

Devin

Choice Topic: Accountability

Recently I have been rereading Game of Thrones and I stumbled upon the line where Ned Stark is telling his son that "whoever sets the punishment should be the one to swing the sword." This lesson has rung true so many times in my life since reading this book and I never realized it. While of course no one is running around swinging swords at people left and right like in the world of Westeros, it does have some real world applications. It is basically translated as taking responsibility for ones actions. It speaks about the person receiving the sentence as well as the person who is passing it. Both are being held accountable. For the one who is receiving the sentence, something wrong has happened and they were the cause of it. They have been tried and now the sentence is before them but the important part is that now they are before the sword. They stood and allowed themselves to be tried and now stand ready to accept the punishment that lies before them even if it means their death. The second portion is the more obvious lesson. It points toward leadership and being held accountable for actions and decisions that are made. My favorite part is that the sentence isn't said whether to be right or wrong but only that the leader stands by it. I think this is important because there is a lot of grey area that leaders move through and making decisions are never clearly right or wrong but doing what you perceive is right and stand true to it is what is important.

Devin

Class reading: Abram

"Every attempt to definitively say what Language is is the subject of curious limitation. For the only medium for which we can define language is language itself". This is a quote from Abram in The Spell of the Sensuous on page 73 in which he attempts to explain the mystery of language.  Language  which is English for us come from Latin roots which has developed over years and years through written word. I learned English from my parents as a baby and then when I entered grade school I began to learn its structure and the foundation for the English language. However these primal religions do not have to these structures and foundation based in writing. These languages have been passed down orally from parents to child for generations. This tradition of passing of language also allows for the passing down of ideals, traditions, and mythology. These mythologies allow for communication between cultures even if written language is not a factor.

Hunter

Assigned Reading: Bruchko

In this reading, what stuck out to me the most was the perseverance of Bruce to reach out and perform the mission that he felt he was called to do. He was constantly let down and had numerous obstacles that were placed in his path but he refused to be stopped. This kind of perseverance could be dangerous if his intentions had been in the wrong place. Other people that are usually trying to reach out to uncivilized people are looking to exploit them. Some of them just want to convert them but in the process leave no room for their own culture to take root in the new religion. However Bruce kept a steady pace and learned how their religion worked. This had to take time because these people are not simply throwing their culture around for everyone to witness and study. Through this patience, Bruce was able to find a way that Christianity could be related to their religion. In my opinion, this is no different from learning a different language and attempting to communicate with someone. The message is still the same but it is impossible to just repeat in your own language over and over until finally the message is received. It works much better when you use words and concepts that the people already know. While there are still the obstacles of the message being misunderstood because you don't really understand their tradition fully, I think it is because of that aspect that such perseverance and patience are important lessons to learn even if you aren't trying to convert an entire people.

Devin

Class reading: Abram

            “Indeed, in the absence of formal writing systems, human communities come to know themselves primarily by the reflection back by the animals and the animate landscape which they are directly engaged” (Abram 1996, pg. 123). Abram refers to this epistemological understanding of the people’s relationship with a particular place as totemism. This idea links the identity of these tribes with their respective “totems” or places of significance. As these Indians and non-Indians struggle to co-exist, we are finding more and more disrespect shown towards the Indians and their way of life.  In the film, the Lakota tribe lost their right to property of Devil’s Tower in Wyoming, which held a ritualistic and symbolic purpose within their religion. When they tried to fight the government for the right to maintaining ownership the court ruled against them, claiming that the Government could not favor any one religion.  Now Devil’s Tower is a popular place for free-climbers who hold no respect for the Lakota people. It is almost impossible for us to express vividly the connection these people have to their sacred places according to Abram. 

Hunter

supplemental reading: Going Tribal

Iboga is a hallucinogenic shrub that grows in Africa and is used in the United States as a medical therapy in order to get rid of addiction. In African religions it has a different use. In Going Tribal, Bruce Parry decided to go live with the Babongo people in Gabon Africa in order to be initiated into the Bwiti religion. Part of initiation was for him to ingest Iboga as part of the ritual for becoming a man. When taken in small doses, Iboga is supposed to stimulate the central nervous system, but vivid hallucinogenic visions when taken in large doses.  This drug was first used by the Pygmies in Africa and then were spread to the Fang people, and also other ethnic groups in Gabon, where it begun to be incorporated into religious ceremonies.

This use of Iboga is used as a part of the Bwiti religion in order to initiate a man into the tribe. The idea of initiation is prevalent in many primal religions in order to show one's capacity for the religion. The drug induces a hallucinogenic experience in which  the consumer must confront painful memories from their past and awake fro the trance as a new man. This trip is considered a vision or spiritual quest in which the consumer must complete this task in order to achieve the goal of finding themselves or a spiritual awakening.

---

Hunter

Movie: Avatar

In James Cameron's Avatar, the indigenous Na'vis from the planet Pandora feel an intense connection to their sacred home tree and the planet overall. The tribe has a literal connection to other living things through the fibers at the ends of their hair braids. All of the life beings feed off each other and they feel that they cannot survive without their home tree to continue the way of life they have followed for many years. 

When the military from Earth comes in, they come under the pretense of scientific exploration, but are actually going after the unobtanium that is most prominent underneath the Na'vis' home tree. When their home tree is destroyed, the tribe grieves and panics as if it is their own flesh and blood that is being destroyed. They almost give up on life entirely because of this intense connection that they feel. 

The concept of the Home Tree and The Tree of Souls represent sacred places for these indigenous people. When Home Tree is desroyed the Na'Vi experience a great identity crisis and must relocate as a broken people to the Tree of Souls. It is at the Tree of souls that people are able to reform and gather their bearings as a community by returning to the place that their people deems most sacred. It is at this place that the main character Jake Sully proves himself to be a part of the clan by becoming Turook'makto who was a ancient warrior who rode the most powerful beast on the planet. Once Jake returns to the Tree of Souls then we is revered as a warrior within the community and they rise up to fight off the "Sky people" or humans and send them back to Earth. 

Hunter

Movie: Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom

In the second Steven Spielberg film starring Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, he travels into the heart of India where he comes across an old village which believes that a sacred stone was stolen by an ancient cult. Indiana then travels to the place where the cult was rumored to have the stone. The stone in the film did have magical powers but that's Hollywood for you, but in relating it to class discussion the stone would be considered an sacred object in which these people identify with. Once the stone was stolen the town well dried up and many of the people became sick and the children of the town began to disappear. The children were being kid napped by the ancient cult, but the town's people believed it was because of the stones disappearance.

The towns folk rejoice as Indiana returns with the stone after an epic battle in the mine where the cult was keeping the stone and children. Once the stone was returned to it's place in the village the area instantaneously began to rain and the village well began to spring forth again. This relates to the idea that certain objects within primal cultures can hold spiritual or even magical properties. These objects hold a specific place in primal religions and often these cultures base their identity around these particular objects.

Hunter

Choice Topic: Brotherhood

I grew up as an only child and always wanted siblings to run around the house with and get into trouble because when something went wrong well I was the only person who could have done it. However, as I started to grow older, I realized that having a sibling probably wasn't going to happen and embraced being an only child. When I came to Christopher Newport University though I was offered a rare chance at brotherhood. This was something I had always wanted and dreamed about and now here it was. I excited jumped on board and joined a fraternity but I learned more about brotherhood than I reckoned for. Not every moment was full of fun a laughs. Sometimes brotherhood was hard and I hadn't expected that. Brotherhood was demanding, when I just decided not to show up to something I now had about fifty guys who wanted to know were I was and why I didn't go. Everyday I learned more and more about the many dimensions of brotherhood that I had not expected. I found my values tested everyday, whether it was simply my outlook on life or my beliefs. But one day someone who wasn't my brother questioned my values and when I answered I felt stronger. I hadn't realized that no matter what my brotherhood did, it did it to strengthen me as a person.

Devin

Movie: Star Trek episode

In the Star Trek episode we watched in class captain Picard was teleported on a planet in which the Enterprise and the opposing ship were orbiting. Picard was also teleported along with the other ships opposing captain in order to communicate and resolve a difference. The other captain and alien race did not speak English, or spoke at least a somewhat broken English, so it was difficult for Picard and the other captain to communicate. The reason why both captains were teleported to the planet was so that they could coordinate a plan in which they had to execute together to kill a shadow monster type thing.  

 

Communication was difficult at first until Picard found a way to relate his form of communication with alien captain in the form of mythology. once the two captain were able to understand each other mythology then they were able to roughly communicate. Eventually the two captains go to fight the shadow monster and the alien captain meets his end. Picard understands his final dying words and slays the beast and returns to his ship. Picard finally ends his the episode communicating what the alien captain had said to the opposing ship and they leave in peace. The episode concludes with Picard talking to a shipmate and mythology and communication and how it should be taught and learned more so that we are able to effectively communicate through it.  

Hunter

Movie: In the Light of Reverence

In the Light of Reverence was the PBS special that we watched in class about the 3 different tribes struggling with keeping their sacred lands. The Lakota, Hopi, and Wintu tribes are being persecuted in the way that they are being pushed out of their sacred places. As a religious pluralist I found this video to be painful to watch as to the ignorance of some of the people in the film. The non-Indian and non-park rangers interviewees showed absolutely no respect for the the Native American desires. These sacred places held a special significance to each and every member with those tribes, but these significance are slowly and surely being destroyed.

The hypocrisy of the american people showed to be the most horrifying aspect of the film in my opinion. Devil's tower, the sacred place for the Lakota, is now in a national park and the Government could not rule in favor of the Lakota, thus allowing people to climb on the mountain against the Lakota's wishes. But yet Mount Rushmore does not allow for any kind of climbing. To me this kind of hypocrisy and ignorance makes me ashamed to be associated as American with the people that were prejudice against the Indians in the film.

Hunter

Choice: The End

Dr. Redick,

Jesus has used you to change me in incredible ways. Your style of teaching and your outlook on life has helped me realize that I have been limiting myself. Prior to college, I have expected the worst; either someone else was going to let me down or I was going to mess up. Your testimony has inspired me to take risks and stop anticipating the worst in myself and others. Your joy is infectious and introduced me to a freedom only offered through Jesus. Thank you for loving Jesus in all you do. Thank you for being passionate about your students and the subject-matter of your classes. I am so thankful for the time where our lives have intersected and I pray that they will get to intersect sometime in the future.

As I pursue full-time ministry, I will think of you and harness the boldness that Christ has called out of me through your leadership and friendship.

Here I go-

In Him,
Shannon Rose

Choice: Prayer

One of my favorite quotes from C. S. Lewis is as follows:

"I pray because I can’t help myself. I pray because I’m helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time- waking and sleeping. It doesn’t change God- it changes me," (Lewis)

 Could it be that the concept of prayer does not change God, but it changes me. This holds the same for how "great art" judges the beholder. Sub-creation and divine relationship that goes deeper. There is no way that an infinite God can be moved. Idea of predestination, but in regards to free will. Prayer is not necessary to get something or make something happen, but instead alters the prayer and maybe makes the heart more malleable for the Lord to shape and use how he wishes. For a happy Christian heart truly desires the will of God above all. That way, the concept of predestination loses its sour taste. What, then would that say of listening? Maybe it would say that the prayer changes our heart to be open to the voice of God that is forever present inside of us as Christians. Prayer does not change God, it changes us.

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever," (Hebrews 13:8).

Choice: Reflection

A good friend of mine walked up to me one Thursday and told me that a picture from our freshmen placements was on his Timehop. Of course, it was sweet for a second, just getting to remember that time, then Luke brings it all back around and proceeds to tell me, “you look completely different-like a little baby lamb.” 

Sometimes people just say thing so me and I’m not really sure how I’m supposed to react-this was one of those times… but it got me thinking….. You know what, I was a little baby lamb. 

Some of you know this story, but little freshman Shannon never thought she would be a Young Life leader. So this image of me as a little baby lamb is pretty accurate. Jesus took my idea of what college would look like for me and turned it on its head-leaving me disoriented, awkwardly stumbling around trying to find footing in completely uncharted territory.  

 

Fresh off the best season of my career, lacrosse was the only deciding factor on where I was to spend the next four years of my life. Long story short, that didn’t last long; I walked on to the CNU women’s lacrosse team, then quit before my first semester was over-why? The Lord broke my heart for a ministry that was in love with High School and Middle School kids for the sake of the Gospel of Christ. Prayer Overnight turned my perception of what I thought was just another Christian Ministry on campus to an incredible organization that truly loves Jesus and shares His heart for thosep who don’t know Him. 

Now, I could go in great detail about the struggle and success of my four years involved with Young Life on the Peninsula, but for the sake of time, I want to share with you the most valuable lesson I’ve learned-and I know you have heard this before, but you are about to hear it from new lips. I invite you to hear it with new ears: 

I believe that there is no trick to killing it as a leader. It boils down to confidence; where does your confidence lie and how strong is that confidence. Because you and me can say that our confidence is in Christ and Jesus is our rock, but when a high school or middle school friend flakes for the um-teenth time, you start to feel like a crap leader-where is your confidence in that moment. How can we sing “Our God is Able”, then look at ourselves in the mirror and think-gosh. He's sure doesn't seem able in me. 

Paul wrote a letter to the Corinthian church with a pretty dope wake up call, he says "do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple."

He is ALIVE (in you). Believe that.

 

Choice: Humility

Humility is huge for a Christian, yet so unnatural. Our world gives us a slew of things to put before God. The sin of this place that we live in twists and contorts everything that was created to be good into things of selfish gain. Everything that we are because of the fall pulls us toward selfish motivations in everything we do. A formerly introduced term (by you, Dr. Redick!) is Kenosis; this is the practice of the opposite. It is an emptying out, making oneself into nothing. We discussed in class how prayer as kenosis takes us outside of ourselves and into a level of compassion for others. I would go even further and say that in allows us to praise Jesus more effectively. For being a people that were originally made in his image, it makes sense that we are called to a thing like kenosis. Christ embodied the ultimate act of kenosis on the cross for us when He was crucified so that we might know him and spend eternity with him in heaven.

Why is kenosis such a struggle for me? It is not even vanity that hinders my ability to have a humble and self-ridden attitude. I believe that it goes much deeper than that. My unintentional hesitant nature toward kenosis stems from a control issue. And recently, I have found that most people struggle with the exact same thing. It is good to know that I am not the only one fighting with myself to try and give up control, but what can we do to fix it? How can we move closer to true practice of kenosis? I honestly have no idea what the answer to that question is. I have tried preaching truth to myself over and over. Proverbs 19:21 says “many are the plans in the mind of a man, but the purpose of the Lord will stand.” I believe the truths with all my heart and there are times when I believe that I have achieved kenosis and I adore those times, but I am not sure why I keep going back to my controlling ways. It is like a roller coaster.. and I know it will not be like a light switch and I will be perfectly humble and decentered with the click of a button, but I desire that state so that I may be closer and more intimate with the Lord. I await the day that whatever is hindering me of the ability to achieve kenosis vanishes. Maybe it will not be until I am face to face with my Creator; even then, I look forward to it.

Choice: Desire

Desire is not necessarily a bad thing. Lets think about desire from a companionship/relationship standpoint. So often, in Christian circles, desire is negatively depicted. It is seen as such because it is misunderstood; some believe that if one desires for something, they are not practicing contentment. However, being content in the Lord does not mean you cannot want-ever. In our case, desire could be a good thing-dare I say, maybe it’s even God given. When the Lord created man, he said, and I quote, “it is not good.” God saw that man was lonely on his own. Because man was made in God’s image, man was designed for relationship from the start. You may be reading this, not entirely sure what I mean, so I will clarify. The Creator of all that is was never made per Se, he just is. He always was there, He is there, and He will always be there.  He is simply there. God has always existed in a trinity, which means He has three parts. He exists as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Those three parts of the Lord have always existed as the ultimate trio, in perfect relationship within Himself. When someone is talking about worshiping God, they are still only worshiping one god, but he is the Trinity. If you are still confused, I encourage you to research the concept of the Trinity further, but for time purposes, I am moving on. Ergo, God is a perfect relationship within Himself and he created man in His image, meaning that man would crave a relationship like that one. I would like to highlight the fact that the idea of a man and a woman being committed companions is from before the fall. Therefore, the desire for a relationship is not of the fallen nature of this world. That being said, sin twists and contorts everything that the Lord has made good for man’s selfish gain, so there is a distinction between the God-given desire for relationship and the twisted desire for relationship. The latter usually consists of lustful motives and more significantly consists of an intent of filling a God-sized hole with a relationship due to insecurities and doubt.

Outside Reading: Merton

"The mind that is prisoner of its own pleasure and the will that is captive of its own desire cannot accept the seeds of a higher pleasure and a supernatural desire," (Merton).

How in the world is someone going to receive the freedom of Christ if he or she is so fixated on what is confining them? This is evident in folks who cannot see past a lustful heart for anything more than what it is: a dissatisfaction with what one already has, constant seek for more more MORE. If God doesn't plant His liberty in me, it's probably because I don't even show a desire to be free. Why is it that we love our captivity so? How do we think that slavery in Egypt is better than a journey to the land that God had promised us? It is far easier to reach for what we can see, this illusion of security wrecks our response for the call for grace.

Outside Reading: Manning

One of my all time favorite books is one I just finished this semester by Brennan Manning. The work is titled the Signature of Jesus. At first, I was skeptical because it was written by a catholic priest. This book did an incredible thing in opening my heart to any type of person who claims they love Jesus. For the most part, Catholics that I have met had a very calloused spirituality about them and they never quite spoke of Jesus with the intimacy that I felt they should. After being put in my place and taught to quit judging Catholic people, I came to appreciate a concept that may very well be Catholic, maybe not, but it sure smells a lot like Jesus.

The second-to-last chapter is titled Lazarus Laughed and Manning uses it to dive into the idea of a laughing and smiling Jesus. What would it look like if we worshiped a laughing Jesus? What if our God didn't call for stoic prayers with super advanced verbiage? Of course, he isn't laughing in a way that is condescending, but in a way that is light and enjoys life just like the next person. Worshiping a God that enjoys life and is able to keep it light could be monumental to some.

"The smiling Christ heals and liberates. With newly discovered delight in ourselves, we go out to our brothers and sisters as we are, where they are, and minister the smiling Christ to them," (Manning, 1998)

Outside Reading: Irwin

A while ago, I read a book titled Blind Courage by Bill Irwin as research for our final paper. Irwin has a heck of a testimony, not only had he lost his sight to a rare eye disease, but also, he had four failed marriages, struggled with alcoholism, and ran into problems with his kids.  Everything that happened in his life conditioned him for the most beautiful thing that a man can come across on this earth; a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. This relationship was then to lead him to make the journey, blind, along the entirety of the Appalachian Trail.

I think this book was the first book that I have read from a blind author. The imagery is certainly atypical in a new and refreshing sort of way. Instead of descriptions of color, the reader experiences descriptions of smell and feeling. The picture in my head as I read is darker and less detailed in ways that it is usually more detailed. However, Irwin’s writing provides and imagery that provides unusual sensations. I am enjoying Irwin’s story very much. It is captivating and convicting as well as moving and freeing. Irwin’s experience with the Lord is inspirational and definitely kick-starts my excitement and passion for our Savior.

Outside Reading: Lewis

I also picked up a book by C. S. Lewis titled A Grief Observed. This book struck me as fundamentally less in general than The Problem of Pain and far more in depth. “God has not been trying an experiment on my faith or love in order to find out their quality. He knew it already. It was I who didn't. In this trial He makes us occupy the dock, the witness box, and the bench all at once. He always knew that my temple was a house of cards. His only way of making me realize the fact was to knock it down.” Instead of suffering being a litmus test for the spirituality of a person, Lewis believes that it is a tool that God uses to help mankind gain perspective on life, especially in regards to how weak man is and how strong God is. As the weakness and suffering is a downfall, such grief must be humbling to people who so often put themselves on a pedestal, attempting to compete with the glory and perfection of God. I am completely guilty of this, myself. I can't think of anyone who has not done just that. Our sin nature definitely twists the reality that we were made in the image of God to make us think that we were made to be something of a god ourselves.

Assigned Reading: Bruchko

My thoughts on Bruchko are probably not surprising to you. The imagery between the ministry of Olson and the ministry of Jesus are eerily similar. Christian missionaries at the time were intrusive on native people and did everything but turn them on to a faith in God and Jesus Christ. Bruchko took a very Jesus-like approach to ministry. He lived amongst the people instead of pointing and telling them they were wrong. There were times when he even adopted their customs. Olson earned the right to be heard with these native people. Like Jesus left his home, seated at the right hand of his Father in Heaven, Bruchko left his home to share the love of God with the people in this native town. Like Jesus, he lived amongst them and became not only a part of the community, but also a trusted and credible friend.

Young life operates in the same way; comprised of volunteer leaders who have a heart for sharing the love of God with high school and middle school kids, teams leave their comfortable work places or college campuses to become a fabric of whichever high school or middle school they are assigned to. These leaders sacrifice any extra money or time they have to become a familiar face in the community and hopefully the opportunity presents itself to share the gospel with a kid. The idea of descipleship is also consistent throughout the three comparative examples. Jesus followed God and only God. And he took the hand of his best friends and invited them to come along side him in following God. In turn, these friends bring more friends who bring more friends to follow Jesus, and so on.

This ripple effect is what makes Bruchko and Young Life and Jesus so effective.

Assigned Reading: Abrams

In a class discussion, Abrams' concept of cycles within cycles. The thought of a cycle automatically brought me to the time I visited Boston and took a bike tour. We took a path that circumnavigated multiple neighborhoods within Boston, drawing small circles within the larger circle of the route. Back to Abrams' take on the cycles, draws back on a wider scope of life. The first being the entire cycle of life. Cristian literature coins the concept "from ashes to ashes, dust to dust," insinuating the creation of man from the red dust of the earth (Genesis) and the dust that our bodies become after we pass on.

The first connection I made with this material personally was something that I will call the process of love. There is love in the world-it's a Biblical concept. However, due to the broken condition that our race is subject to, there has been thus a process to find that love. Take the very human example of romantic love. Every person was created individually, but the Bible states an innate desire for relationship that is placed within all of us. More so, the Bible states that "it is not good for man to be alone."

Love at first sight is unlikely, but romanticized in the media. Implying a simplicity and effortless process for that funny little thing we call love. However, in reality, there are multiple cycles within the cycle of love. First, the cycle of knowing a person: the introduction, maybe an awkward phase, a comfortable phase, then a phase of intimate friendship. This intimate friendship will likely be derailed by something, whether it is an argument or in some cases a desire for the intimate friendship to progress in a more romantic manner. Either way, the friendship will enter a beginning stage of a cycle, whether or not it is the same one it originated from. If the friends decide to progress towards a romantic relationship, they will enter a new cycle.

"cycles within cycles," (Abrams)

Assigned Reading: Ong

Walter Ong illustrates the contrasting realities of oral cultures and written cultures.

“In a primary oral culture, where the word has its existence only in sound... the phenomenology of sound enters deeply into human beings' feel for existence, as processed by the spoken word. For the way in which the word is experienced is always momentous in psychic life,” (Ong, 1982).

Where there are aspects of life that rely on spoken communication in modern society, there are multiple facets of our culture that have been decreased from word of mouth to words on paper-sometimes even words on a screen. As Ong exemplifies, "sound enters deeply into human beings' feel for existence," and therefore spurs a deeper connection to the self. 

As the oral tradition dies this connection also suffers.

Voice and Man Conceiving of Himself as the Center

We also spoke of sound and how when one hears themselves speak they perceive of themselves as the center. I found incredibly interesting the tendency of man across various times and cultures to perceive of himself and his milieu as such. I wondered about how I had done this in my own life. I wondered about how, when I’m at school, Newport News seems to me to be some sort of center. Yet many others in the world are not even aware of it’s existence. And, while it’s a more notable city, when I’m home on Capitol Hill for summers or breaks, it seems to me that D.C. is the center of the world. How interesting it is that man does this. It’s slightly disconcerting to me that I do this so consistently. I enjoy encountering images and hearing stories of others that inhabit the same red earth that I do. These stories and images hurl me out of the narrow view of the world that I am so familiar with, increasing my awareness of other realities and people the world is home to.

Man Makes His Home at the Center of the World

Belden C. Lane points out in Landscapes of the Sacred that "Sacred place is very often ordinary place, ritually set apart to become extraordinary." It is declared unique and the ordinary is re-consecrated as the holy. In class we discussed how religious man has always sought to fix his abode at the center of the world. He does this by way of myth and heirophany, or sacred manifestation. Heirophany provides man with a fixed point and center, or axis mundi by which he orients himself to the world. The heirophany also provides man with an existential value. In contemplating the various peoples of the world and their respective mythic/religious beliefs that inform them about themselves and the world around them I was struck by the truth of the statement above that man has always desired to establish his dwelling place at the center of the world. For Jews and Christians, Jerusalem is considered to be the center of the world because that is their storied place. For Incans, Machu Picchu is their center because that is where Manco and Mama visited them and taught them the right way to live and interact with the earth. For a small tribe of Native Americans out west, it is the sepapu that is the axis mundi because that is the place of emergence where humans crawled up into the world. One must bear in mind that it is not the geographic center that is being referred to, but rather the sacred center.

Incan Myth and Sacred Space

When at the Native American Museum I read a story displayed about Manco and Mama,children of the Sun God sent to earth to teach the people there how to live. The simple narrative read “just by stepping upon the earth; they made the land sacred… In this holy place, Manco and Mama preached to the people a philosophy of ayni (the exchange of help and support between people) and a deep respect for the earth.” It is by recounting this sacred story to their children that the land became sacred for the next generation as well. In my mind’s eye, I imagined families gathered around a warm fire listening with anticipation as the story of Manco and Mama fell on their eager ears. Upon the hearing of such a narrative, the listeners were bestowed with a mythic lens through which to view and interact with the world around them. I imagine such story as not only informing their reality and orienting them to the surrounding world, but providing them with a world more beautiful and full of wonder than the one they had before.

Land as Sacred

Beyond having a reverence for the land, or personifying it, many oral peoples also viewed the land as sacred. In Landscapes of the Sacred Belden C. Lane describes a sacred place as a break in the homogeneity of space, symbolized by an opening that makes possible passage from one cosmic region to another. These cosmic regions are typically heaven, earth, and the underworld. Not only is a sacred place a break in the homogeneity of space but it is also, and perhaps more importantly, a storied place. Our author points out that "places become valued in proportion to the number and power of stories that are attached to them." Thus, the sacred place as he describes it is the place rich in story.

This is the case for Aboriginal Australians and the web songlines that lay over their land like “a spaghetti of iliads and odysseys… in which every episode (sacred site) is readable in terms of geology” as Bruce Chatwin in The Songlines call them (Chatwin 13). Not only are these stories remembered, but they are reenacted in the lives of the people through ritual, making them in a very real and historical sense, true (Mali 123). These great narrative stories establish religious and national identities. These were not histories of particular events, but rather a history of the common experience of the community procured from past events (Mali 199). Stories not only hallow the place, but also establish a deep and meaningful connection between it and the people. So profound is the relationship between the people and the land in Aboriginal Australia that the Aboriginals tirelessly fought the installations of things such as railroads that would disrupt the Dreaming of one of their sacred ancestors. What I find striking about this reality is that for Aboriginal man, as with all man as Lane suggests, it is the stories that consecrate the place. A place that is not storied is not set aside as holy in the mind of man, for he knows nothing of it.

Connection with the Land

While at the Native American Museum, I also noted the frequency and manner in which the land was spoken of. Some primal peoples personified the land, such as those native to Indian Neck, Virginia who thought of corn as a woman and the kernels her children. Many native peoples spirituality was intimately connected with the agricultural seasons and human life cycle. This was the case for those native to the Chesapeake area, whose spirituality also included ancestral traditions and medicinal practices.

The museum displayed the art of a woman, WalkingStick, who depicted this connection of native peoples and the land. Fascinated by the relationship of the two, WalkingStick undertook displaying it on canvas. She painted landscape paintings that were overlayed with designs made by the native people of that land. In this way she tied their native identity to the specific landscape.

The text went on to read “Early American landscape painting traditions cast these iconic terrains as a foundation for the advance of American empire. WalkingStick reclaims these landscapes and instills them with the native identity that the early painting traditions had largely erased.” She began combining images of landscapes inspired by her home and travels with abstractions to make two square side-by-side hand-painted paintings. These enabled her to express spiritual themes. The landscape paintings were representative of various snapshot memories, while the abstract pieces represented deeper, mythic memory. Together the paintings represent two kinds of knowledge, empirical, sensory perception of the material world, and internal, spiritual knowledge.

I found the two kinds of paintings that WalkingStick painted fascinating because to me they seemed to communicate not only the landscape, but the spirit of the place, or axis mundi. The accompanying image of her interpretation (or the native people’s interpretation) of the axis mundi impacted my view of the land. Somehow her paintings seem to have captured the heartbeat of the land, bringing it alive for the viewer.

Hawaii Becomes Literate

While at the Native American Museum, I saw a text on Hawaiian literacy that I paid special attention to because of our focus on oral peoples. I was stunned to see how quickly literacy changed Hawaiian culture, making them uniformly like literate cultures. In 1822, reading and writing, as well as the printing press, was introduced to native Hawaiians by Congregationalist missionaries. Just four years later in 1826, Hawaii adopted its first written laws. By 1831 reading and writing had swept the island so profoundly that Hawaii became one of the very few countries in the world with nearly universal literacy. Interestingly, when the first Hawaiian newspaper was published in 1834, it became an important new medium for perpetuating the oral tradition. In 1840, they adopted a constitution that included a declaration of rights and established three government branches, legislative, judicial, and executive branches. Their system was modeled after the British system and included a House of Nobles and House of Representatives.

It surprised me how quickly the introduction of reading and writing affected Hawaiian culture and society. Within a few years, the construct of the Hawaiian government shifted from chiefs over tribes to a democratic system that represented the people of a unified nation. Soon after adopting written laws, a constitution and established democracy had taken over. I found myself curious about how much of the native Hawaiian spirit, culture, belief system, and way of life was lost in translation or forgotten in the period of transition from orality to literacy. Did literacy provide a way to preserve their traditions or did it alter them? The introduction of reading and writing seems to be something that they embraced and were excited about, judging by how quickly it swept the nation with no apparent resistance. Were they glad for it later? I wonder if their sense of identity remained the same and strong or somehow seemed faded and distant. I wondered how it affected their pattern of thought about things. In “The Ritual Process,” Victor Turner writes about how rituals reveal values at their deepest level and provide the people with an ordered reality. I wondered if some of their values were lost or if they felt slightly disoriented by the change. In “Original Visions” by Carmody and Carmody, they discuss how the assimilation of oral peoples into literate culture may mean the loss of myths, rituals, and the ability to interact with nature spontaneously, finding it full of wonder. I wondered how their view of their environment and the world around them may have changed. Did they experience a weakened connection and kinship to the earth beneath their feet and its inhabitants? Did the earth become less sacred and revered, less awe-inspiring? While we likely will never know the full impact of literacy on the once oral society, it’s interesting to wonder about.

King/Chief as god

Also displayed at the Native American Museum was a necklace with a cord made of human hair and a pendant made from walrus tooth. The text next to the necklace informed me that such an accessory symbolized the divinity and sacred status of a Hawaiian chief. In van der Leeuw’s description of the king as god in “Religion in Essence and Manifestation” he states that in the king’s divinity, power has been embodied in a living figure. The king as a living, active and changeable power is, in a sense, a god walking among men (120). The king is often attributed with sonship of a certain deity, and because of this is a sort of salvific figure.

The notion of the king as a god or son of god, who often possesses influence over the milieu (the weather), and offers the people a salvation of sorts was one that prompted me to consider the following. Is the idea of a King, or God, and that God having a Son that brings Salvation part of the fabric of man? Coming from a Christian background I wonder if God may have sewn that into our DNA and the way we think, as a sort of foreshadowing of the true King and Son of God. If so, it whets one’s palate in a way, making them hungry for the real thing, the real Deity. Perhaps these ideas and notions are so often found across various cultures and ages because they were placed in the hearts and minds of men by an intentional God. Perhaps not, maybe it’s coincidence. It is an interesting thought to entertain, however.

The Mask

While at the Native American Museum, I also noticed the plethora of masks displayed. Some masks depicted animals, others depicted men with various expressions: happy, suspicious, angry, sorrowful, surprised, emotionless. Unaware of just how integral they are to primal religions, I was not expecting to see so many. I reviewed van der Leeuw’s passages on masks in “Religion in Essence and Manifestation” in order to better understand the role of the mask in ritual. When  man puts on the mask, he is no longer himself nor acting of his own will. Rather, the man becomes the very entity that the mask depicts. When man wears a mask depicting an animal, he becomes identical to it and is able to utilize it’s power. Behind the mask, van der Leeuw states, lies an ecstatic experience as the animal is the “other” to that man runs to for freedom when he tires of his humanity. Often the divine, too, was sought in the animal. Animal masks were used in sacred games and dances to infuse the characters with those of the divine animals (81).

Demons and gods, too, are personified and come to life through the mask as the wearer activates their power and becomes what he personifies. While the mask is worn, the entity it represents is responsible for the actions of the wearer, not the wearer himself (217). The mask converts its wearer into the representative as the wearer dances, literally representing divine acts of the tribes demons or gods as the divine event actually occurs all over again (374). The museum outlined that Native dances often involved masked dramatic performances that reenacted ancient oral traditions that described events such as the creation of the world and significant historical events. I found myself curious about the entities the masks in the museum represented, their part in the divine story, and the ritual dances that reenacted the myths. I suppose we’ll never know the story of many masks, but it’s interesting to wonder about.

Canoes

While home in DC over spring break, I visited the Native American Museum. One of the first things there that caught my eye was the three canoes and kayak on display. Listed next to each boat was the origin of the people who crafted it and the materials it was made of. The first canoe was from Hawaii, made up of three types of woods: koa, hau, and wiliwili. The second was from Bolivia/Peru and made up of reeds. The third canoe was from Northern America, crafted by the Chippewa tribe and made from birch bark.

Marveling at the seemingly perfect construction of the boats, I was blown away to think that it was manufactured without machinery. In thinking about it, I am reminded of the  discussion in class about hands being the primary tool of man, and crude tools (such as rocks, sticks, shells, etc.) that are available for use. Using his hands and crude tools, man can construct basic tools, such as knives, arrowheads, etc. I found myself wondering about the tools that these primal peoples used to fashion such beautiful boats, and how far removed these tools may or may not be from man’s most basic tool, namely, his hands.

Ash Wednesday

On Wednesday morning I went to class, knowing somewhere in the back of my mind that Lent was coming up but not aware of when. In class, I noticed that one of my classmates had an ashen cross marked on her forehead. Upon seeing it, a surprising sense of urgency flared up inside of me even causing me to be more awake and alert than before. It was Ash Wednesday. Despite not participating in this holy day since I was a little girl, I found myself nearly in panic mode over the realization that this day was suddenly and unexpectedly upon me. My reaction surprised me such that I felt unfamiliar with myself. “Why are you freaking out about this? Why do you want to go so bad?” I asked myself. No answer came, only the persistent feeling that I needed to partake in such a service.

I went to a service later that night, participated in the liturgy, sang the songs, and went up to the altar to kneel and receive the ashes. As the priest put the ashes on the heads of those present, he said “dust you are, and to dust you will return.” It must have rung in my ears seventy or so times, “dust you are, and to dust you will return.” After a short sermon, the congregation went up to receive communion, something I looked forward to as I rarely partake of it. The service was incredibly structured, every detail outlined in the bulletin. Such structure, liturgy and priestly attire reminded me of the church my family attended for so long.

Upon later reflection, I  asked myself what it was that made me want to go. Maybe it was structure that I craved, or maybe it was the aspect of contrition and penitence that I found appealing, or maybe it was an intense inner desire and hunger to know God that directed my steps to that place. When wondering these things I was reminded that rituals provide structure, orienting us to the world around us. Thus, ritual in a way is comforting. Ritual acts, as we defined them in class, are so much more a part of my life and important to me than I’d realized prior to coming to this understanding. This realization causes me to feel a kind of kindredness to oral peoples that place such import on rituals, as through them they act out and sustain their livelihoods.

Narrative Analysis on the story of Joseph part 3

In the start of chapter 40 Joseph has two new people join him in prison, a cup bearer and a chief baker. The bible says that they had been there for "quite some time" until things started to 'pick up'. Both men had a dream on the same night. Joseph tells the men that is he able to interpret the dreams but not because he is talented in himself but because the God that lives inside of him is capable. Joseph gives glory to the Lord. In all that we do good in, is it not a gift from God that we can do these things? It is. We are literally nothing without him and because Joseph gives him glory in ALL that he does, the Lord is there for him and gives him these things. In Psalms 37:4 it says "Delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires or your heart." I encourage myself and any of you to remember that and hold onto it. If we just live our lives for a God that loves us SO much then he WILL gives us what we desire most in life. What a gift.

Continuing on, the cup bearer tells Joseph about his dream first. Joseph interprets his dream and ultimately tells him that it means that in three days he will be given a second chance and will do good with Pharaoh. The only thing Joseph asks of the cup bearer is tat he remembers him and tells Pharaoh about him and that he is an innocent man.

Now being as that the chief baker saw such favor in the cup bearer when Joseph interpreted his dream, he wasted no time and told Joseph his dream. Unlike the first one, there was a different interpretation. Joseph ultimately told the chief baker that in three days he will also be taken out of prison, but only to be killed.

Just as Joseph had interpreted everything occurred. Three days came and Pharaoh released both men. One, the cup bearer, was given his job back to him and the other, the chief baker, was killed. So Joseph must be sitting real pretty right now, he must be thinking the cup bearer will surely mention the Pharaoh to him and give him the chance that he deserves of freedom but this is not the case. The cup bearer forgot about Joseph. Put yourself in Joseph's shoes again really quick. He's been up and down and up and down and finally he sees a chance of possibly getting back up, getting out of that horrid prison. When all of the sudden the only reason he doesn't get to is because a man forgot about him. I'm sure Joseph is starting to really question the Lord in all of this and start to wonder why he is going through all of it. It has to be so hard but he still remains in the Lord and is faithful. Even though he doesn't deserve to be sitting at the bottom; if anything he deserves to be at the very top, he still trusts in the Lord and believes he is going through all of this for a reason.

Narrative Analysis on the story of Joseph part 2

In Chapter 39 we are reminded that Joseph is sold to one of Pharaoh's officials, Potiphar, but what really stands out to me is the next line afterwards. "The Lord was WITH Joseph so that he prospered and lived in the house of the Egyptian master." Put yourself in Joseph's shoes for just a second, do you really think you would still have faith in the Lord after all you've gone through? If I'm honest with myself, after being kicked while I'm down that much I think I would really be struggling with that yet Joseph remained faithful in the Lord and as we see it rewards him in a sense. That alone encourages me so much. We go through some really tough times in life but we can always remain in God, we can always be sure that no matter how down and out we may go, he is ALWAYS with us.

Because God lived inside Joseph he seemed "different" than everyone around him. "His master saw that the Lord gave him success" and because of that he put him in charge of all his possessions. Just a second ago Joseph was just some slave that Potiphar could potentially care less about. But Joseph was so much different than just that. THE LORD LIVED INSIDE OF HIM and because of that Potiphar knew there was something about him that he wanted. We can dot his in our everyday lives. We can live our lives with Christ inside of us and people are going to notice that difference in the way we live- exactly how Potiphar saw that in Joseph. Really take a moment and think about that. Our influence amounts to so much when we live our lives for Christ. It will not always be easy but it is the most plentiful thing that will ever fill us up. I just encourage any of you (including myself) to continue to strive for that lifestyle because it can be a gateway to so many on a new life full of true, everlasting life.

Continuing on in this story, Joesph's life takes a turn for the worst. His life is literally like a roller coaster with SO many ups and downs. As he remained a good "servant" to Potiphar and continued to build his way up he gets knocked down for something he didn't even do. Potiphar's wife becomes very fond of Joseph and several times she tried to get him to sleep with her- every time Joseph turns her down and remains faithful to Potiphar as a servant, but more importantly to the Lord. One day when no one is around Joseph is completely set up. He still manages to turn her down again and gets away but in the process he leaves his cloak in her bedroom. She goes along with a story that Joseph raped her and left his cloak as evidence. Potiphar didn't even have to think about it, he immediately throws Joseph into prison. That has got to be so incredibly hard for Joseph. He gets knocked down by his brothers, picks himself back up and starts living a decent life again and then just like that, he gets knocked down to the bottom again. That is so similar to how our lives can be though, we are always going to feel on top of the world at one moment and then before we know it we can easily be thrown to the bottom and all we can do is sit there and wonder to ourselves what could have gone wrong. We get to that point where we just want to give up and throw in the towel. Hold on to that thought though because the story is far from over.

Joseph is in prison. He has every reason to give up, every reason to be angry with the Lord, every reason to weep away at his life. He is in prison for something he didn't even do, he remained honorable yet is being forced to pay the time. Even then, with all of that crap going on in his life, he remained faithful in the Lord and guess what? "THE LORD WAS WITH HIM." The Lord showed Joseph favor while he was in Prison so the guard in the prison saw something in Joseph and he knew he could trust him with whatever. He knew that he didn't have to pay close attention to him while in prison. "The Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in WHATEVER he did." Uh, how great is our God? Seriously think about that one for a second. Despite ALL the knock downs that Joseph faced, despite the betrayals of the ones he loved, despite the hardship and false accusations, the man remains loyal and faithful to the Lord.

Narrative Analysis on the Story of Joseph part 1

n the beginning of this story we quickly get a feel for who Joseph is and what others think about him. His Father, and just about everyone else loves him dearly. He is given a beautiful, colorful robe that stands out because of how great it looks. Joseph is smiled upon by everyone except his brothers. They claim to"hate" him, they are full of sinful manner because of all the love and attention he receives, they are consumed by their sin and blinded by it. This stands out to me because I know I speak for myself when I say I have been there. I have been jealous of others and it has taken me over into a very angry and selfish person in which my only goal is to take them down and in the process I hurt myself and everyone else along with that. I think we've all been there in times like that, our sin just gets the best of us.

As the story continues Joseph has two dreams in which both times it appears that everyone around him is bowing down to him, that he has the power over all around him. It was odd to me that he shared these dreams with his Father and Brothers, especially because they kind of got the idea that Joseph was saying to their face that he was better than them. I do not think that was his intent by any way but that is just how they perceived it to be.- keep in mind they were so full of their own sin that of course they would, in any circumstance, find a way to be negative about it.

 As Joseph is trying to relocate his brothers as his Father had asked him to he finally gets within distance of them and they immediately make plans of how they can kill him. Wow. His own brothers plotting ways to KILL Joseph... that is sin. It completely takes his brothers over to the point where they are so desperate to escape the sin that is consuming them that they think by killing Joseph it will all go away. All the jealousy, the anger, etc.

Before they finalize plans to kill Joseph one of the brothers Rueban speaks up and gets them off the topic of killing him but more of just trapping him in a well. Believe it or not I think that is very significant. Rueban is standing up for someone who (in the group/situation) is much less than him yet he goes against the grain, he goes against what "society" wants and does this to potentially save his brother's life. I think we should look at this and ask ourselves if we do that? Do we stand up to the bullies that hurt others, sometimes it doesn't even have to be a true bully in life to make others hurt. I am so encouraged by what Rueban does to stand up for those who are hurt. Yes, Rueban made continuous mistakes and without a doubt "hated" Joseph but that is the cool thing about God, his love is so deep that he overlooks that and I think that is why Rueban changes the plan and potentially saves Joseph's life.

So they throw Joseph in this well not sure what to do with him when all over the sudden merchants from Egypt come along and with goods and merchandise and they immediately come to the thought of selling him as a slave, and so they do. They sell their youngest brother, a 17 year old boy, for 20 shekels of silver. Ouch. Take a quick second and imagine what Joseph must be going through. He has had a tough time growing up with all of his brothers always looking down on him, he has tried to love them and get on their good graces, he has obeyed his father and been a good son, and just like that his brothers turn their back on him in a heart beat and sell him away. He is scared, surprised, hurt, in disbelief, probably anger was on the way after those.

As his is taken away his brothers shred his colorful coat and put goats blood all over it in order to fool their father that it was Joseph's blood and that he was shredded up by a wolf. THAT IS CRAZY. Joesph's BROTHERS attempted the thought of killing him, they sold him to slavery, they shredded his coat up and killed a goat to make the biggest lie be fulfilled. His Father did not question them, he just wept and mourned for the loss of his youngest son. The passage ends with Joesph being sold to a man named Potiphar, one of Pharaoh's officials.

A Market Place of Corruption

The market place can often be a place full of distraction, corruption, and will take advantage of one’s life if it allows them to. In fact, Turner (1978) states that “faith is often manipulated for political and economic ends” (Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture, pp26) which becomes a great distraction to many people that live in a society that praises the market place. I believe that one of the biggest reasons that the pilgrims decide to go on the Appalachian Trail or the El Camino all stems from the desire to escape the market place. Growing up, from a child to an adult the pressures of life never seem to truly leave; however, when one is able to isolate themselves from all of that they, for possibility the first time in their entire lives, feel a sense of freedom. Turner talks about faith being manipulated by political and economics and I think that is because the society now days tells us  through its never ending pressures that those things come across as more important that one’s faith. In fact, so often people state that they will hold off on their faith till they get settled in to a job and a family and then they will make time for it; however, I argue that their excuse to put their faith off is simply another way to say that their work, their economics and politics are more important than their faith. We allow the market place to become so important in our daily lives that it overshadows everything else including our faith. When one is out on the trail they are able to escape that pressure of the market place and finally get to spend a time of spirituality with their true creator. Turner does a great job of boldly proclaiming that the market place does substitute for our faith which is why one would say we live in a broken world.