I chose these three posts as my strongest writing of the semester in my blog…

1.       Faith and the creation myths http://jakeslitblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/faith-and-creation-myths.html)

In this post I explained that everyone has a belief system that influences the way they view the world around them.

2.       God’s Three Attributes (http://jakeslitblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/gods-three-attributes.html)

In this post I chose three attributes of the God of the flood story, and showed how these three characteristics were complementary and fit in with what was described in the flood story.

3.       Grace (http://jakeslitblog.blogspot.com/2011/09/grace.html)

In this post I explained what grace is, why it is important, and how it related to the biblical flood story.

·         I selected these three posts because I think they adequately convey the message I was trying to put forth in my blog this semester.  I was trying to look at the stories we read from a biblical perspective, and how they, or at least the lessons contained within them, relate to our relationship with God.  I think these three are the best because they take the concepts in the story and explain them, while connecting them to humanity today, and showing man’s need of a savior.

·         I think my perspective on literature may have changed somewhat during this semester.  I guess I have learned that there are a lot more to most of these stories than what is portrayed on the surface.  I have also learned to that there are so many beliefs that are present in the world today.  It also helped me look at what I believe with a critical eye, and not to just believe what someone says, but make sure that there is scripture to back up what I believe.  This course has really helped confirm many of the things that I have been taught all my life, and has shown me how people are “swept about with many winds of doctrine.”  It has reaffirmed my faith and what I believe in, and has given me a sincere appreciation that I have a firm belief to stand on, and that I am not wandering about seeking for answers as many people seem to be doing. 

·         As far as my performance this semester, I think I preformed about average, or maybe a little above average.  I am confident in my skills as a writer and thinker when given enough time to develop my thoughts.  My verbal skills in trying to explain literature may be a little lacking, although when forced to (like in the group discussion for instance) I think I can express my thoughts clearly and logically.  So I guess my actual weakness would be caring enough about the literature to be willing to express my opinions, because when I actually cared (like when I was being graded) I was able to thoroughly express my views on the topic.  So I think I excelled in my writing, but my classroom participation in the general classroom time may have been somewhat lacking, thus I think my performance probably leveled out at about average.

·         When I comes to my grade, I think I would give myself and A.  I think that although I may have not participated in the general class discussions, I met the needed requirements for an A.  I knew I would probably not be the greatest verbal classroom student, because that is just not my personality to be outspoken, so I tried to put forth my best efforts in my blog, my papers, and the in-class quizzes in order to make up for the lack to my classroom response.

Overall I really enjoyed the class and I think I learned a lot about literature and writing.

Imagery and Structure of Dante's Inferno

There are two main things that I really enjoy about Dante’s writing.  I enjoy his superb imagery and his excellent structure.

Imagery

There are so many examples of Dante’s imagery in the text.  He paints such vivid pictures with his words that the reader can imagine hell and all the horrors he describes very easily.  There are so many places in the story that Dante shows his skill with words, I thought I would give you a couple of examples that I thought were striking…

·         The beginning of the reading for this week paints the picture of the view from the edge of hell’s sixth circle.

“Up on the topmost rim of a deep-cut bank

Formed by a circle of massive, fissured rock

We stood above a pen more cruel.  The stink

Thrown up from the abyss had grown so thick

Its excess drove us to shelter in the space

Behind a great tomb’s lid.  It bore a plaque

Inscribed:  ‘I hold Pope Anastasius

Drawn by Photinus from the proper path.’”

·         When Dante and Virgil have descended into ring two of the seventh circle of hell, and they are approaching the wood of suicides.

“…we moved forward into woods unmarked

By any path.  The leaves not green, earth-hued;

The boughs not smooth, knotted, and crooked-forked;

No fruit, but poisoned thorns.  Of the wild beasts

Near Cecina and Corneto, that hate fields worked

By men with plough and harrow, none infests

Thickets that are as rough or dense as this

Here are the repellent Harpies make their nests,

Who drove the Trojans from Strophades

With dire announcements of the coming woe.

They have broad wings, and a human neck and face,

Clawed feet, and swollen, feathered bellies; they caw

Their lamentations in the eerie trees.”

Structure

The structure in the story makes it easier to follow the timeline of the story, and what is actually going on.  It is usually difficult for me to follow the progression of stories that are written such a long time ago, but in Dante’s Inferno the structure of the story lends to the easier reading of the story and the understandability.

Religion

I’d like to do a response to David’s last response to my blog about “What happens after death?”  In his response (http://thespacebetweenthespace.blogspot.com/2011/11/response-to-what-happens-after-death.html), David said “as long as everyone try’s their best to be good people it does not matter what religion you follow.” 

I agree with David’s point that “it does not matter what religion you follow.”  But I think I agree in a different way than he meant his statement.  I agree that the religion you follow does not matter, because whether you are Catholic, Hindu, Muslim, Baptist, or any other religion, your religion alone is nothing.  You can be the best professing “Christian” you can be and still spend eternity in hell.  Going to church every Sunday, helping the poor, and being a good neighbor will do nothing for you in light of eternity. The Bible says “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” (Isaiah 64:6)  Any good work we can do, or any religion we follow will not be good enough to gain God’s favor.  Man tries to earn his way to heaven through, when all we have to do is trust Christ.  Christ has already paid the penalty for our sins on the cross, and using religion or any other means to try to earn our way to heaven is an insult to God.  

Titus 3:5 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us.”       

Heaven

At the end of the first canto of Dante’s Inferno, Virgil speaks of a city and tells Dante why he unable to go there.  Virgil says…

     For the Emperor who governs from on high

     Wills I not enter His city, where none may appear

     Who lived like me in rebellion to His law.

     His empire is everything and everywhere,

    

     But that is His kingdom, His city, His seat of awe.

     Happy is the soul He chooses for that place!

This “city” that Virgil is speaking of is heaven.  Since we will be studying the darker part of the “afterlife” for the remainder of this class, I thought I would devote a blog to the alternative to hell...heaven.

Just as hell was created to punish evildoers and those that do not believe on Christ, heaven was made as a reward to those who believe on Christ and follow his commandments. 

Many have tried to express what heaven will be like, but I think William Biederwolf put it best.  He said, “Heaven would hardly be heaven if we could define it.”  I think this is very true.  The Bible says in Revelation 21:4, “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.”

Even if this was all that heaven was, than it would be a wonderful place.  Just think about no more sickness, or dying, or pain.  And there will also be streets of gold, and reuniting with loved ones who have gone on before.  But the best thing about heaven will be being in the presence of God for all eternity, and praising Him forever!

Revelation 5:9-13  And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

Reincarnation and the Afterlife

In David’s blog, he talked about the afterlife (http://thespacebetweenthespace.blogspot.com/2011/11/afterlife.html).  I agree with his opening statements that death and the afterlife are things that “people have always struggled to come to terms with,” and that “there are just as many different afterlife stories’ as there are different cultures.”  It seems that everyone has their own views of death and the “afterlife.”  David also discussed the Buddhist reincarnation and the Egyptian afterlife.  I thought I would give the Biblical views on these two topics.

Buddhist reincarnation

The Bible disagrees with Buddhist’s belief of reincarnation.  The Bible says in Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment.”  This verse clearly states that man dies once, and there is not the never ending cycle of death and rebirth that belief of reincarnation holds.

Egyptian afterlife

The Egyptian afterlife is an interesting, because it agrees somewhat with the Biblical view of death, but then it is also different in many ways.  David said in his blog that “…everyone could have an afterlife.  Their souls would have to be pure to achieve it though.”  These two beliefs line up almost exactly with the Biblical view of death.  The Bible says that everyone will go to one of two places, heaven or hell.  Thus everyone will have an “afterlife;” it is simply up to the individual whether they will live in eternal bliss, or be eternally damned.  This is determined by whether their souls are “pure” as David said.  And the only way that a person’s soul can be pure is by trusting Christ as their Savior, and believing that His blood is the only payment for sins, and the only thing that can make their soul “pure” in the eyes of God.  There is no good works that we can do to make ourselves “pure”, because the Bible says “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” (Isaiah 64:6)  In Ephesians 2:8-9, the Bible says “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”  The only way to be viewed as “pure” by God is to trust his son, Jesus Christ, as the only path to heaven.  Then when God looks at you he sees his perfect, sinless son instead our sinful, vile beings.

Romans 3:24-25  Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:  Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

What happens after death?

The question of what happens after death has been an object of many discussions, and the subject of many books and writings.  Every human has the burning desire to know what will happen to them when they die?  Will they simply cease to exist?  Or is there some kind of “after life,” where they will wonder about for eternity?  I’d like to answer this question of what happens after we die from a biblical perspective.

Hebrews 9:27 states, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”  This verse tells us that we are all “appointed” to die; thus no one will be able to escape death.  This verse also rules out the reincarnation as a possibility, because it says that men only die once.  People have only one chance at life; they don’t get multiple opportunities to “try again.”  This verse also points out a “judgment” after death.

There are actually two different judgments after death.  The judgment of the lost, and the judgment of the saved.  Those who die without trusting Jesus Christ as their Savior will go the judgment of the lost, and will be sentenced to serve eternity in the lake of fire.

The good news is, however, that if one does except Christ’s death on the cross as the payment for their sins, then they will go to the second judgment where they will be admitted into heaven to live forever with God.  These believers will also be awarded according to their deeds done on earth after they trusted Christ.

I believe this matter of life after death is a very important one, because eternity is a long time to spend in hell, wishing you had made sure that your fate was secure in Christ.  Jesus Christ paved the way to heaven with his death on the cross; all you must do is believe on him as the only way to heaven, and you can be sure of your eternal destiny.          

Another Beowulf response

In Matt’s Beowulf blog (http://lwithforce.blogspot.com/2011/10/beowulf.html) he made the point that Beowulf and Gilgamesh similar.  I like the points he made about how they both earned the title of king, and how they both “pursued” challenges.  I also agree that Beowulf maybe considered a “better” person than Gilgamesh.  I think this is the case because although both Gilgamesh and Beowulf seemed to be pursuing challenges, they seemed to be for different reasons.

Gilgamesh seemed to be pursuing his challenges on more of a self-fulfillment basis, while Beowulf’s pursuits seemed to benefit others more than himself.  Even though Beowulf did gain fame and fortune through these quests, I don’t believe he set out with those goals in mind.  In the cases of Grendel, Grendel’s mother, and the dragon, he is simply rescuing the peoples of his country, or even neighboring countries, from these beasts that are plaguing their lands.  And that’s why I agree that Beowulf is a “better” person, character, hero, than Gilgamesh.