A Reflection on Symposium 2016 This response primarily rests on my view of music and how Dr. Ysaye’s presentation, Symposium 2016: “Our Songs Know Who We Are”, enlarged my experience of the sense of unity I receive in polyphonic music. A large part of my reflection involves my involvement with music in the Unitarian Church and back in Lesotho. First, I will introduce the readers to Alex Pollard, a choir member with cerebral palsy. [1] Second, I will present a Basotho women’s choir during a…
Kanji and Kuipers’ essay, A Complicated Story: Exploring The Contours of Secularisation and Persisting Religiosity in Canada, argues that secularization has not occurred in a linear trajectory in Canada, and points to the complexity of the religious climate in Canadian society. The study uses the results of the World Values Survey in order to analyze various aspects of religious life such as subjective religiosity, involvement in religious services and organizations, the role of prayer,…
In America, “there are about 2 billion Christians, more than 1 billion Muslims, 700+ million Hindus, 350+ million Buddhists, 150 million Atheists, 14 million Jews, etc,” (Slick). America possesses a high amount of religious diversity, which can not be said for many other parts of the world. According to Michelle Vu, a Christian Post reporter, “thousands of people have been killed, displaced or somehow affected by ongoing sectarian…
will attempt to make us perceive their own beliefs. In the play, Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare, Shylock whom is a Venetian merchant made a deal with a Christian merchant named Antonio to fulfill the desires of his close friend “Bassanio”. Moreover, this Shakespearian play discusses the melancholic relationship between a Christian and Jewish in Elizabethan era. In Merchant of Venice, Shylock represents a character who mask reality due to three critical reasons.…
and even social media which say otherwise; they paint the ideal picture of what ‘Love’ is, in its many forms in popular culture. Fifty Shades of Grey is a renowned trilogy among the younger generation that explores a peculiar relationship between Christian Grey, a sex crazed Multimillionaire and Anastasia Steele, an inexperienced English literature college graduate. The start of their relationship is questionable on many grounds; does she understand the risk of this potential liaison and how it…
Learning to live a Christian life is one thing, but living out what we have learned is another story. As Christians, I think we have a greater responsibility because we know how the world should look, and we need to step up and lead the people around us. In order to share the gospel with others, we have to take a look at what God is calling us to do. Leading others consists of knowing what the Christian life looks like, sharing that with others, and staying faithful and truthful in what we say…
Colossians 3:8, “Anger, wrath, malice, slander.” (ESV Colossians 3:5) As Christian people, who intend to follow Christ, we sometimes do not really follow Christ. It is easy to say love your neighbor, meaning everyone. On the other hand, it is very hard to follow through with that. You really learn how much the Lord loves you when you try to love the person you really dislike. It is hard, and the Lord makes it look easy. Now as Christian people however, it should be easy for us too. But, after…
1. Share your observations and impressions of the book and Lewis’s argument. The book "Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis offers an insight into the Christian world that I, and many other teenagers and even adults, probably have never even thought about or considered. When first reading the book I was frustrated with C.S. Lewis. The way he explained things made me feel as if he was trying to reach out to me, and any other reader, as if we were completely clueless to Christianity. But, as I…
ethical relativism, soft universalism, and hard universalism. They are all very different, she puts nihilism and hard universalism one opposite ends of a spectrum. After reading these moral beliefs, I am inclined to believe in hard universalism. That there is one universal moral code. Being a Christian, and reading the bible, I think a person either does what God says is right or they do wrong. In the bible, the 10 commandments are a perfect example of hard universalism. The ten…
In the 1800s, Alexis de Tocqueville claimed that “There is no country in the world where the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America.” This was understandably true in the early nineteenth century. Even today, religion plays a significant role in laws and issues in our country. However, the truth of the matter often gets lost in the changes that our society has gone through. Many today end up rejecting or condemning Christianity as childish,…