Modern Religious Experience: Reflection #8 Islam: Two Perspectives: "Find where Islamic religious beliefs intersect with current events. Research a Western news source on the story and summarize the article fr..."
Western article: Five Takeaways from leaked documents on Iran
In this article, it talks about information that has leaked on the website WikiLeaks about the American view on Iran and what is happening there. According to this article, Iran is being viewed as a nation that is isolated, not being on the best of terms with it's boarding countries and that they are pushing for a war against Iran, which is an Islmaic Republic while the surrounding countries are Sunni-dominated nations.
Islamic article: Riyadh rejects WikiLeaks claims on Iran
The leader of Saudi Arabia dismisses these claims that were leaked in WikiLeaks, claiming that the countries had never urged the US to attack Iran. The President or Iran claims that these documents are just "psychological warfare" and isn't anything the people should be worried about.
The Islamic people seem to have a more relaxed view on this new development. They understand that these WikiLeaks documents are just a countries point of view on them, which is embarrassing for America since these documents were supposed to be confidential. The Iran president said that these claims and accusations against Iran and about its neighboring countries have no legal basis and there is nothing anyone can do, or will do. The tone from this article also seems to be more relaxed about the whole situation than the CNN article. In that article, there is a lot of speculation as to what will happen now that this information has leaked, what the possible outcome would be with Iran and the US. In the article it talks about war possibly happening, now that the information has leaked who would be the aggressor. This is a completely different tone to the one on the Iran news site. The CNN article shows uncertainty and evokes fear of a war coming, assuming that it is the only way Iran can move forward from here. However both articles seem to agree that these leaks are just America's opinion, though it is the way that they take them that makes these two articles completely different.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Modern Religious Experience: Personal Commemoration- Reflection #7
Modern Religious Experience: Personal Commemoration- Reflection #7: "Think of an event in your life- past, present or future. You are going to create a commemorative ritual for this event. First, describe the ..."
The event I chose to do a commemorative ritual was the day my dog was put down, which was the 3 October 2004. Though for this event I wouldn't just be remembering this particular dog, but instead remembering all the dogs I've had since I was a child that have been put down, and just remembering how much I loved them. The commemoration would start on the 1st of October and end on the 3rd, lasting 3 days and it doesn't matter if it happens during the week or the weekend. During these 3 days, the family will fast and will also spend time at the Animal shelter where we adopted our dogs. In the event that we are unable to reach the shelter (since it is in South Africa), spending time with our dogs or going to a different shelter are also acceptable. No specific clothing really, but this will be a time to reflect upon their lives and seeing how you can help the lives of dogs who are in the same place where we got our own dogs. A phrase that shall be read at the beginning of each day shall be this:
Today we remember the life of an animal, who was once part of this family and made it whole. Losing them was like losing some part of this family.
After this would be some reflection time.
The event I chose to do a commemorative ritual was the day my dog was put down, which was the 3 October 2004. Though for this event I wouldn't just be remembering this particular dog, but instead remembering all the dogs I've had since I was a child that have been put down, and just remembering how much I loved them. The commemoration would start on the 1st of October and end on the 3rd, lasting 3 days and it doesn't matter if it happens during the week or the weekend. During these 3 days, the family will fast and will also spend time at the Animal shelter where we adopted our dogs. In the event that we are unable to reach the shelter (since it is in South Africa), spending time with our dogs or going to a different shelter are also acceptable. No specific clothing really, but this will be a time to reflect upon their lives and seeing how you can help the lives of dogs who are in the same place where we got our own dogs. A phrase that shall be read at the beginning of each day shall be this:
Today we remember the life of an animal, who was once part of this family and made it whole. Losing them was like losing some part of this family.
After this would be some reflection time.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
In this myth, Arachne does not thank the gods for her skill in weaving, which angers Athena. The goddess challenges the girl, but loses to her. So as punishment, Athena turned Arachne into a spider. The moral of this story was to show mortals not to anger the gods or else they will punish you. In a way it was to show the people that even though gods are like humans, they still have power over you. The life mystery it is addressing is the mystery of the gods and trying to understanding them better or how people should understand them. For the Greeks, it was important for them to remember to always thank the gods for the gifts they were given and not to let your pride get too big, because they will punish you for it. What you can learn from this story is that you shouldn't test the gods, or any gods for the that matter, because they have the power to punish you.
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