Well hello erbody! My name is Jesse Stowers and I am a senior this year. I enjoy reading, playing video games (Mostly Skyrim), and playing backyard basketball, football, and soccer with my friends. I will be going to Tri County Tech for Welding next year and possibly for a business degree after that. Music is my drug! i listen to anything from jazz to screamo, rap to country, and some classical. I can play the guitar, bass guitar, some piano, and I am currently taking drum lessons. Oh, did i mention that i FREAKING LOVE MUSIC!!!!!! Yeah it's a big deal.
Reader Response: Genesis 1-3
As a Christian, when ever i read the Bible it's usually hard for me to merely look at the text from a purely analytical point of view. It was, however, very interesting to go though these chapters in this fashion. One of the most common arguments that is brought up by this text is the "Is God's day the same as our day" point that is usually brought up in conversation. I believe that, even though, up to a point in creation, the day and night were inexistent and were just light and darkness, the writer of Genesis, who I believe to be Moses, used the term of time that humans of that time would have understood. That being said, I think the days referred to are the 24 hour days we are familiar with. Another big point brought up by this passage is the blame game. Whose fault was it? Was it Eve's fault or Adam's that sin entered the world? While it was Eve that first touched and ate the fruit, Adam was with her and could have been "Above the Influence." Yes, Eve did eat it first, but Adam, who could have at any time convinced Eve to not eat it or at least said no and refused. He had the power to take action and did not do it. That is why, in my opinion, Adam is to blame for sin entering into this world. Response on Genesis 1-3: I agree with your point of Adam being able to say no or to help Eve overcome the temptation of eating the frui. However, I disagree with the point that Adam is to blame for sin entering into the world. In my opinion, they are both equally are to blame for bringing sin into the world. Yes, Eve ate the fruit first, but Adam could have stopped her. Therefore, they are both to blame. I like how you brought up the point of the days and nights. I agree with you. Until God decided what to call day and what to call night, it was just light and darkness.
Reader Response: On The Marionette Theatre
As I first began reading this, i was skeptical of the ideals of being laid before us. I though that the man's friend must have been crazy as he attempted to prove his point. I did think at first that he was just talking about puppets dancing and that he just wanted to make a big one for himself to try and create the "grace" he saw in them. Then, however, the talk about "the soul", being in this case the place where the most emphasis is placed put a new spin on it for me. He also then starts to delve into the apparent "weightlessness" of the marionettes and how humans would give anything to have the touch "like elves" while they dance. At this point, he stops trying to convince his friend of the grace of the puppets and he begins to unravel the idea that what the puppets have that people admire is innocence. The example is made of the 15 year old boy who was not very vain but because of the beauty of a statue, the boy tried to attain that beauty and lost his innocence to vanity. The story of the bear was kind of puzzling to me but I get the message behind it. I find the last three lines to be quite interesting as the question is posed that, if we are to return to innocence, must we eat of the tree of knowledge? I love the answer in it's simplicity. "Of course." To me it was more like he was saying "Well duh!" to his friend and goes on to say that that will be the final age of the world, the time when our innocence will be restored. Response to "The Marionette Theatre" I agree with your point on the beginning. When I first began reading this, I also thought that the man was talking about a man who was just freakishly obsessed with puppets. But as soon as he put a soul with the puppet, I looked at it differently. I also agree with your point of eating from the tree of knowledge. By saying "Of course" to the question of eating from the tree of knowledge, he is implying that this whole life pretty much would go in one giant circle and repeat.
Reader Response: Plato's Allegory of the Cave
What is "reality?" Is our reality just what we perceive to be real or is it a true and authentic life that we live? While reading Plato's description of the Cave, my first though was, "Why would anyone just sit and think about stuff like this?!?!" That kind of genius is very thought provoking and makes you look at the world in a different light....Get it? 'Cause the guy saw shadows..............Moving on. The Man must have been like mind blown every few days after he was unchained. Just think, everything he knew was "real" was ripped out of his head and he had to go and learn how the rest of the world worked as he could see more and more. In that sense, I believe he would, from then on be very doubtful of everything around him as he would have then grown used to the fact that what he perceived could constantly change. I know if that was me my brain would have shut down and I would have been reduced to nothing more than a paranoid nutcase. This story also makes you think that if someone's ideals could be shown to be nothing but lies, what makes our world any different. We could be just floating along in our own perceptions unaware of the truth just because it has not been unveiled to us. Or the Matrix could be real and since we are reading this and thinking that it could be real we will soon be woken up into a world not of our own. It makes your brain hurt to try to grasp that this keyboard I'm using right now and the computer screen you're looking at are all just part of a collective imagination or dream as it were. This is all simply mind boggling at the least and was great to discuss. Response to Plato's Allegory of the Cave: I like the point you make about the man being doubtful of everything he sees after being unchained and going through a life of doubt. Everything that he knew to be real wasn't so how could he know that anything was real, right? I also like the points you make that everything we know to be true could all be a lie pretty much and that everything is not as it seems.
Reader Response: Book #2
Through this section of "Paradise Lost," I greatly enjoyed discussing and pondering the pretenses and schemes of Satan and his fellow "fallen angels." At first it seems as if the demons have a democratic system of deciding issue but it soon becomes clear that Satan is the one pulling the strings. He maneuvers his way through the conversation like the snake he will soon become. I thought it was funny how most of all of the others are all for a cunning scheme to work against God and then, I think his name was Malach, stood up and, in redneck terms, stated, "I don't know much bout this plannin' stuff but I can sure kick butt!!!" He says this even after they got their tails handed to them by God!!!!!.........there's always the one idiot. Anyways, Satan then either tells or heavily influences Beelzebub to state the plan of going to Eden and screwing with God's perfect world. Satan then jumps on the idea and volunteers while at the same time throwing a huge pity party for himself and ensuring that none of the other demons will attempt to take his newfound seat of power. He's so power hungry he willingly takes a worse punishment just to rule. I greatly look forward to the discussion on Book #4. Responce to Book #2: I agree with you on all of this. I also greatly enjoyed the redneck terms of what Moloch said (it was really funny). Satan is pretty much just throwing a pity party for himself and trying to make others feel bad for him (maybe the readers) and that is not going to work for me..mostly because he is Satan. He really is power hungry, as you stated and in the end he ends up paying the punishment for it. I guess something we can take from this is that greed will get you nowhere in life but somewhere you don't want to be (I hope that made sense).
Reader Response: Books #9-12
When i first started reading this I thought that Eve had a inferiority complex. She seemed to need to prove herself to Adam, even after they had been warned by (I'm guessing) God that Satan was coming. She went on her merry way and found the wondrous talking snake. After conversing with said sneaky reptile, she listens to it and goes and tries to convince Adam to go with her to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He says, "Girl you cray!!!!" (rough translation) and almost rebukes her for even considering disobeying God. Eve disregards everything Adam says and goes and eats the fruit anyway which causes all of nature to have a heart attack. The earth "cringes" with the blatant disobedience!!!! Imagine that you did something wrong one day and you could feel that you just screwed everything up. That's what Eve felt. Adam isn't even near her and he almost has a heart attack and drops the rose covered wreath he was making for Eve (awwww lol). Anyways, he flips out about how now he cant be alone again and he has no choice any more. I believe he says "Shall i give another rib?" referring to the possibility of God making another Eve. The Dude already has one bone missing and he don't want another one gone! A very understandable worry i believe. Anyway he eats the fruit too and God has Michel the Arc angle show him all that will happen because of his fall, including the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He then goes and wakes up Eve who went to sleep in all of this and Michel leads them out of the Garden and leaves Cherubims guarding the entrances to the Eden. Now I'm not gonna lie, i got lost a bunch of times reading through this and greatly look forward to the discussion on this tomorrow and hopefully the light it will shed on some of the darker areas in these books. Response to Books #9-12: I agree with you on all of this. Especially the part about missing another rib, lol. I wouldn't want to give up ANOTHER rib to have another of something that didn't even want me the first time. I think that some of the reason that you are confused is because that it's not really the easiest thing to understand mostly because it's writen in such a strange way (That's why I have a hard time understanding it sometimes!). Anyway, good job analyzing these books!
Well hello erbody! My name is Jesse Stowers and I am a senior this year. I enjoy reading, playing video games (Mostly Skyrim), and playing backyard basketball, football, and soccer with my friends. I will be going to Tri County Tech for Welding next year and possibly for a business degree after that. Music is my drug! i listen to anything from jazz to screamo, rap to country, and some classical. I can play the guitar, bass guitar, some piano, and I am currently taking drum lessons. Oh, did i mention that i FREAKING LOVE MUSIC!!!!!! Yeah it's a big deal.
Reader Response: Genesis 1-3
As a Christian, when ever i read the Bible it's usually hard for me to merely look at the text from a purely analytical point of view. It was, however, very interesting to go though these chapters in this fashion. One of the most common arguments that is brought up by this text is the "Is God's day the same as our day" point that is usually brought up in conversation. I believe that, even though, up to a point in creation, the day and night were inexistent and were just light and darkness, the writer of Genesis, who I believe to be Moses, used the term of time that humans of that time would have understood. That being said, I think the days referred to are the 24 hour days we are familiar with. Another big point brought up by this passage is the blame game. Whose fault was it? Was it Eve's fault or Adam's that sin entered the world? While it was Eve that first touched and ate the fruit, Adam was with her and could have been "Above the Influence." Yes, Eve did eat it first, but Adam, who could have at any time convinced Eve to not eat it or at least said no and refused. He had the power to take action and did not do it. That is why, in my opinion, Adam is to blame for sin entering into this world.
Response on Genesis 1-3:
I agree with your point of Adam being able to say no or to help Eve overcome the temptation of eating the frui. However, I disagree with the point that Adam is to blame for sin entering into the world. In my opinion, they are both equally are to blame for bringing sin into the world. Yes, Eve ate the fruit first, but Adam could have stopped her. Therefore, they are both to blame. I like how you brought up the point of the days and nights. I agree with you. Until God decided what to call day and what to call night, it was just light and darkness.
Reader Response: On The Marionette Theatre
As I first began reading this, i was skeptical of the ideals of being laid before us. I though that the man's friend must have been crazy as he attempted to prove his point. I did think at first that he was just talking about puppets dancing and that he just wanted to make a big one for himself to try and create the "grace" he saw in them. Then, however, the talk about "the soul", being in this case the place where the most emphasis is placed put a new spin on it for me. He also then starts to delve into the apparent "weightlessness" of the marionettes and how humans would give anything to have the touch "like elves" while they dance. At this point, he stops trying to convince his friend of the grace of the puppets and he begins to unravel the idea that what the puppets have that people admire is innocence. The example is made of the 15 year old boy who was not very vain but because of the beauty of a statue, the boy tried to attain that beauty and lost his innocence to vanity. The story of the bear was kind of puzzling to me but I get the message behind it. I find the last three lines to be quite interesting as the question is posed that, if we are to return to innocence, must we eat of the tree of knowledge? I love the answer in it's simplicity. "Of course." To me it was more like he was saying "Well duh!" to his friend and goes on to say that that will be the final age of the world, the time when our innocence will be restored.
Response to "The Marionette Theatre"
I agree with your point on the beginning. When I first began reading this, I also thought that the man was talking about a man who was just freakishly obsessed with puppets. But as soon as he put a soul with the puppet, I looked at it differently. I also agree with your point of eating from the tree of knowledge. By saying "Of course" to the question of eating from the tree of knowledge, he is implying that this whole life pretty much would go in one giant circle and repeat.
Reader Response: Plato's Allegory of the Cave
What is "reality?" Is our reality just what we perceive to be real or is it a true and authentic life that we live? While reading Plato's description of the Cave, my first though was, "Why would anyone just sit and think about stuff like this?!?!" That kind of genius is very thought provoking and makes you look at the world in a different light....Get it? 'Cause the guy saw shadows..............Moving on. The Man must have been like mind blown every few days after he was unchained. Just think, everything he knew was "real" was ripped out of his head and he had to go and learn how the rest of the world worked as he could see more and more. In that sense, I believe he would, from then on be very doubtful of everything around him as he would have then grown used to the fact that what he perceived could constantly change. I know if that was me my brain would have shut down and I would have been reduced to nothing more than a paranoid nutcase. This story also makes you think that if someone's ideals could be shown to be nothing but lies, what makes our world any different. We could be just floating along in our own perceptions unaware of the truth just because it has not been unveiled to us. Or the Matrix could be real and since we are reading this and thinking that it could be real we will soon be woken up into a world not of our own. It makes your brain hurt to try to grasp that this keyboard I'm using right now and the computer screen you're looking at are all just part of a collective imagination or dream as it were. This is all simply mind boggling at the least and was great to discuss.
Response to Plato's Allegory of the Cave:
I like the point you make about the man being doubtful of everything he sees after being unchained and going through a life of doubt. Everything that he knew to be real wasn't so how could he know that anything was real, right? I also like the points you make that everything we know to be true could all be a lie pretty much and that everything is not as it seems.
Reader Response: Book #2
Through this section of "Paradise Lost," I greatly enjoyed discussing and pondering the pretenses and schemes of Satan and his fellow "fallen angels." At first it seems as if the demons have a democratic system of deciding issue but it soon becomes clear that Satan is the one pulling the strings. He maneuvers his way through the conversation like the snake he will soon become. I thought it was funny how most of all of the others are all for a cunning scheme to work against God and then, I think his name was Malach, stood up and, in redneck terms, stated, "I don't know much bout this plannin' stuff but I can sure kick butt!!!" He says this even after they got their tails handed to them by God!!!!!.........there's always the one idiot. Anyways, Satan then either tells or heavily influences Beelzebub to state the plan of going to Eden and screwing with God's perfect world. Satan then jumps on the idea and volunteers while at the same time throwing a huge pity party for himself and ensuring that none of the other demons will attempt to take his newfound seat of power. He's so power hungry he willingly takes a worse punishment just to rule. I greatly look forward to the discussion on Book #4.
Responce to Book #2:
I agree with you on all of this. I also greatly enjoyed the redneck terms of what Moloch said (it was really funny). Satan is pretty much just throwing a pity party for himself and trying to make others feel bad for him (maybe the readers) and that is not going to work for me..mostly because he is Satan. He really is power hungry, as you stated and in the end he ends up paying the punishment for it. I guess something we can take from this is that greed will get you nowhere in life but somewhere you don't want to be (I hope that made sense).
Reader Response: Books #9-12
When i first started reading this I thought that Eve had a inferiority complex. She seemed to need to prove herself to Adam, even after they had been warned by (I'm guessing) God that Satan was coming. She went on her merry way and found the wondrous talking snake. After conversing with said sneaky reptile, she listens to it and goes and tries to convince Adam to go with her to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He says, "Girl you cray!!!!" (rough translation) and almost rebukes her for even considering disobeying God. Eve disregards everything Adam says and goes and eats the fruit anyway which causes all of nature to have a heart attack. The earth "cringes" with the blatant disobedience!!!! Imagine that you did something wrong one day and you could feel that you just screwed everything up. That's what Eve felt. Adam isn't even near her and he almost has a heart attack and drops the rose covered wreath he was making for Eve (awwww lol). Anyways, he flips out about how now he cant be alone again and he has no choice any more. I believe he says "Shall i give another rib?" referring to the possibility of God making another Eve. The Dude already has one bone missing and he don't want another one gone! A very understandable worry i believe. Anyway he eats the fruit too and God has Michel the Arc angle show him all that will happen because of his fall, including the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He then goes and wakes up Eve who went to sleep in all of this and Michel leads them out of the Garden and leaves Cherubims guarding the entrances to the Eden. Now I'm not gonna lie, i got lost a bunch of times reading through this and greatly look forward to the discussion on this tomorrow and hopefully the light it will shed on some of the darker areas in these books.
Response to Books #9-12:
I agree with you on all of this. Especially the part about missing another rib, lol. I wouldn't want to give up ANOTHER rib to have another of something that didn't even want me the first time. I think that some of the reason that you are confused is because that it's not really the easiest thing to understand mostly because it's writen in such a strange way (That's why I have a hard time understanding it sometimes!). Anyway, good job analyzing these books!