Religion Final

I’m not exactly sure what I believe. I would like to believe that there is one God, an evil Devil, a heaven and a hell. I have generally accepted that there is some sort of universal being akin to God, and that there is an afterlife that depends on a person’s life.

My initial upbringing was not religious. I lived in a place where people from all over the world gathered, dozens of cultures and beliefs clashing together, although the main population was split between being Christian and Muslim. The prayers could be heard from my apartment complex, 5 times a day. All of the people of Nigeria had strong beliefs. I don’t even know if religion was apart of my life then. I don’t remember much from back then, but I think one of the only religious experiences I had were Christmas and Easter, and those were just the watered down kid version.

When I moved back to Washington, I feel like I was suddenly thrown into something that I had almost nothing to do with. I found myself suddenly going to Sunday school and learning about religion. I was almost 8 then, and it was a little too late to learn about my families beliefs. I didn’t grow up surrounded by belief, so it was harder for me to believe what our teachers and the pastor was saying than it was for the other kids, the ones who grew up in the church.

I hated going to church, mainly because I was young and there was nothing for a kid to do during the incredibly long services. I had to go to mandatory weekday classes to learn about different subject; the books of the Bible, the different prayers, the history of the Church. I call myself a Lutheran despite my differences and feelings about what exactly is my faith. For people of my faith, the Bible is the only true words from God, but a majority of Lutheran adults say that the Bible is not actually all true, but more of an inspired word. For my church, to be saved and taken to heaven after death, faith alone is the answer. We don’t have to pay to get into heaven or do a bunch of good deeds. We just have to believe in God, which I think is actually a pretty good deal. Even if I don’t go to church or have doubts in religion, as long as I know that there is an omnipotent singular Creator, heaven will be there for me when I die.

It’s also conflicting for me because my dad was raised as a Lutheran while my mom converted from a Baptist when they got married. I get confused when I have to talk to my maternal grandparents about religion, because while our main beliefs are the same, there are also differences that make is evident that they are very strictly religious. For the last few years, ever since I entered high school, I never went to church services. I went to church but I always stayed in the nursery watching the toddlers. And since I’ve started college, I’ve only gone to church those few weekends I’ve been home.

The Bible says that the world was created in seven days and that God created all creatures as they are. But science has proven that evolution happened, that it took billions of years for the actual planet Earth to form. It’s hard to believe some of the miracles that Jesus supposedly performed. The logical part of my brain doesn’t want to agree with these kinds of concepts. Our current church pastor is a younger man, who spent time as a military chaplain, has told the congregation before that it is okay to question the more ridiculous aspects and parts of the Bible. Even our pastor, a man of complete  and utter faith, says that some of the things in the Bible could not have happened, but there must be faith.

There are always the two ends of a spectrum for anything. For religion, there are the believers who take the Word literally, and there are the people who find it all to be completely made up and nonsensical. I find myself in the middle. I don’t believe everything that the Bible has to offer but instead find it to be more of an inspired word. There are plenty of life lessons that it provides, but it also offers some more ridiculous concepts. There is some sort of higher power out there. There is some sort of afterlife, based on a person‘s actions during life. I choose to believe in both a logical and a spiritual side. That, yes, there was a big bang and the earth and it’s various organisms evolved over millions of years, but that there is something more spiritual in nature watching over us. This Higher Being does not normally interfere with normal life, but instead observes from afar, stepping in only when absolutely necessary.

Religion is subjective. Religion is based on faith. It is a personal decision whether or not to believe, a decision that everyone must make. I can not make someone else believe something that they don’t. Rather than accepting a religion just because its what close family and friends think, the individual has to make the choice for themselves about what they believe. If faith is the choice, then it is as real for you as something that can be seen and touched. The existence of God is something that we can either acknowledge or reject. He either exists or he does not. My opinion will not change that fact.  There are roughly 4,200 religions in the world. Everyone of them is different, no matter how closely related they are. How can only one of thousands be right?

Religion

I’m not exactly sure what I believe. I would like to believe that there is one God, an evil Devil, a heaven and a hell. I have generally accepted that there is some sort of universal being akin to God, and that there is an afterlife that depends on a person’s life.

My initial upbring was not religious. I lived in a place where people from all over the world gathered, dozens of cultures and beliefs clashing together. I don’t even know if religion was apart of my life then. I don’t remember much from back then, but I think one of the only religious experiences I had were Christmas and Easter, and those were just the watered down kid version.

When I moved back to Washington, I feel like I was suddenly thrown into something that I had almost nothing to do with. I found myself suddenly going to Sunday school and learning about religion. I was almost 8 then, and it was a little too late to learn about my families beliefs. I didn’t grow up surrounded by belief, so it was harder for me to believe what our teachers and the pastor was saying than it was for the other kids, the ones who grew up in the church.

I hated going to church. Mainly because I was young and there was nothing for a kid to do during the incredibly long services. I had to go to mandatory weekday classes to learn about different subject; the books of the Bible, the different prayers, the history of the Church. I call myself a Lutheran despite my differences and feelings about what exactly is my faith. For people of my faith, the Bible is the only true words from God, but a majority of Lutheran adults say that the Bible is not actually all true, but more of an inspired word. For my church, to be saved and taken to heaven after death, faith alone is the answer. We don’t have to pay to get into heaven or do a bunch of good deeds. We just have to believe in God, which I think is actually a pretty good deal. Even if I don’t go to church or have doubts in religion, as long as I know that there is an omnipotent singular Creator, heaven will be there for me when I die.

It’s also conflicting for me because my dad was raised as a Lutheran while my mom converted from a Baptist when they got married. I get confused when I have to talk to my maternal grandparents about religion, because while our main beliefs are the same, there are also differences that make is evident that they are very strictly religious. for the last few years, ever since I entered high school, I never went to church services. I went to church but I always stayed in the nursery watching the toddlers. And since I’ve started college, I’ve only gone to church those few weekends I’ve been home.

The Bible says that the world was created in seven days and that God created all creatures as they are. But science has proven that evolution happened, that it took billions of years for the actual planet Earth to form. It’s also hard to believe some of the miracles that Jesus supposedly performed. The logical part of my brain doesn’t want to agree with these kinds of concepts. Our current church pastor is a younger man, who spent time as a military chaplain, has told the congregation before that it is okay to question the more ridiculous aspects and parts of the Bible. Even our pastor, a man of complete  and utter faith, says that some of the things in the Bible could not have happened.

There are always the two ends of a spectrum for anything. For religion, there are the believers who take the Word literally, and there are the people who find it all to be completely made up and nonsensical. I find myself in the middle. I don’t believe everything that the Bible has to offer but instead find it to be more of an inspired word. There are plenty of life lessons that the Bible provides, but it also offers some more ridiculous concepts. There is some sort of higher power out there. There is some sort of afterlife, based on a person‘s actions during life. I choose to believe in both a logical and a spiritual side.That, yes, there was a big bang and the earth and it’s various organisms evolved over millions of years, but that there is something more spiritual in nature watching over us. This Higher Being does not normally interfere with normal life, but instead observes from afar, stepping in only when absolutely necessary.

Religion is subjective. Religion is based on faith. It is a personal decision whether or not to believe, a decision that everyone must make. Rather than accepting a religion just because its what close family and friends think, the individual has to make the choice for themselves about what they believe. If faith is the choice, then it is as real for you as something that can be seen and touched. The existence of God is something that we can either acknowledge or reject. He either exists or he does not. My opinion will not change that fact.  There are roughly 4,200 religions in the world. Everyone of them is different, no matter how closely related they are. How can only one of thousands be right?

Oedipus Rex

Oedipus Rex, essentially, is a tale of people trying to deny their fate, but end up having their destinies control their lives. The story is shrouded in woe, and ends in tragedy.
While in class, the story of Oedipus was presented to us in three different ways; as the classic near-original tale as told by Sophocles, a more modern and rather humorous re-telling, and the dark and surreal opera by Stravinsky. Each version that I have read of this play has been astronomically different, each one appealing to me differently.
Having read the play before, I had a reasonable understudying of what it was about. Re-reading it didn't  heal me to understand it anymore than I already did, since there was no real in-depth analysis of the text. While in high school, several weeks were spent on the text and on the meanings of the characters and their actions.
The rewrites of the play were interesting to say the least, and they did offer a different view of the scenes, making the text seem slightly easier to understand. They were mainly, from my perspective, written as a form of humor rather than to accurately portray the meaning of the original text. for some scenes it was clear where the authors switched and the written piece was uncoordinated between the authors.
The opera however, was a different spectacle in itself. Although there was no new information given about Oedipus Rex, the way the opera was portrayed was indeed beautiful. The performance was filled with high amounts of energy. The way that the performance was dark and mysterious was also a pleasant change. While the story has tragedy laced through it, it didn't really seem too dark as it was being presented in the written format. The opera was very creepy, in a beautiful way, with the contrasts of colors and the stage. The environment of the opera was something out of my nightmares. In a good way. I could only hope to create such an intense display. Truthfully, while the opera was captivating to watch with the technicalities, the actual story was near unchanged and I did zone out at parts. The high energy of Jocasta's death and at Oedipus' self-mutilation were painfully captivating, and brought me back to the intensity of the opera.
The combination of the music, the stage, the costuming, and the wonderful acting brought together a wonderful performance that I will hopefully watch with closer detail in the near future.