Well now. This article was a handful of words. And sort of a chore to read. If not for its length, I would have read it again to really understand the author’s intent. Despite this, there are a couple paragraphs that really stood out to me, even if the whole is a little intense.
First of all, I enjoyed when she was discussing how our religious beliefs need to help us understand other people, those who may be worse off than ourselves. The fact that we have the true church in our lives doesn’t mean that we’re inherently better than those who don’t. In fact, this paragraph seems like a sort of call to missionary work. She mentions William Tyndale, the man who was burned at the stake for translating the bible, and how he tried to make it applicable to everyone, even the poor plowboys. As members of the LDS faith, we need to be mindful of not only the poor but anyone who doesn’t have the gospel.
The author spends a lot of time comparing science and religion, a comparison that has been going on for centuries. She mentions the ancient Greeks and Romans who created Gods and elaborate stories to explain the meanings of the universe. She relates this to modern day religious types who are scared that science will, in some way, replace God. I’ve noticed this urge many people have to separate the two, but have never agreed. If anything, the complexity of our world, our bodies, everything reaffirms that there needs to be a God out there planning it out. Some things just can’t come together accidentally.
While I was trying to extract some sort of visceral meaning from the article, something that stood out to me was the accompanying picture at the beginning of the article. When thinking why that particular one was chosen, I related it to the author’s faith being sort of interrogated. As a result, she decided to write this meaty article convincing and explaining to herself, as much as her readers, why she believes what she does.
I found it really interesting at the end when you said “convincing and explaining to herself, as much as her readers, why she believes what she does.” In an English class I took here we talked about how a lot of times a work can be more meaningful if you (as the author) aren’t even sure completely what you’re going to write. That way you take the audience along the journey to an epiphany. As I was reading the article I did sort of feel like I was following her thought processes.
ReplyDeleteI think that your points here are super important. It is so easy to think of ourselves in an elevated position just because we have the Gospel, however, we must realize that other people are not all wrong, and certainly not bad for having different beliefs than we do. Furthermore, it is not just us, in the world’s history, religion has always been a way for a group to feel superior to others. If we can just remember to respect each other, not pressure them, then we will become better.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your insight. I found myself thinking the same thing, the fact that if it wasn't for its length, I would've gone back and reread it as well. I liked your last statement when you said that she was convincing herself and explaining to herself what and why she beliefs the things she does. It is interesting how that works. At times I find myself convincing myself of different ideas/beliefs such as why it important to not cross the road when the light it red and there are no cars.
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