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I want to write this journal as a reflection on the semester. To be honest, I think theology is a great subject that engages you to learn about the divine, spiritual truths, and how humans and the sacred interact. The number one question that all humans have asked themselves is, "Why are we here?", and that really birthed theology. That question to me is a strong one, so strong that theologians spend their life trying to figure it out. But the beauty is there will never be anything to figure out. At the end of the day, we don't know what's after life, or why we're here at the first place. We only have to assume that there is something after life, or else the purpose of living holds no purpose at all. After all, my sacred quest is just beginning, while others have their quest ending. We're all at different points in our lives, but we all have the same destination.

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Reading McQuiston’s chapter about Death, it had me thinking about how the afterlife as glorious as it sounds can be unsettling. I find it hard to realize the people I love the most in this world aren’t going to be here one day. Every day of my life I talk to my parents, siblings, and friends. So much of my time is spent being with them, learning from them, and laughing with them. The thought that one day that might not be a thing anymore really scares me. I think in life we all have sad days. Whether you get a bad grade on a test, miss the game-winning shot, or get hot coffee spilled on you, those days I categorize as sad but not determinate. What I mean is those events aren’t life-changing. Why waste perfectly good days when sad days are guaranteed?

Death is merely an experience that no living being can truly grasp. We all wish to know what happens on the other side, but until then, we really have to take every day as it is our last and live to the fullest.

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What is the concept of “meaning” within culture? Meaning is anything that we can associate a symbol with, something that we can look at and automatically understand what is being said without any words being spoken. For example, look at the cross, or the crescent moon. As a Christian, I can look at the cross and see the meaning: Sacrifice and redemption. To a Muslim, they can look at the crescent moon and see faith and unity. Both of these symbols carry a heavy meaning to anyone that associates with that culture. Cultural norms are what construct meaning, the celebration of the symbol. If I had a cross in my room but didn’t celebrate it, then am I really contributing anything to the symbol? We have Christmas, Easter, and all these different celebrations to help center us on the meaning of the symbol. Without meaning, there is nothing.

I believe that symbols extend over how we view the world. When I have Thanksgiving dinner with my family, that symbolizes a new year of hard work and success that we can all share together. I also think most of the symbols we see aren’t even objects, they are just words. The word “home” can simply mean where someone lives. But home really does have a deep root in myself as to all the memories I’ve made growing up. Symbols give me a sense how I view the world, which is unique to me.

4/13/24

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I’ve seen a lot of people complaining about health care and how health care is either free or you have to pay a price. I wanted to dig deep and see how religion played a role in shaping health care. When people have tough times, a lot of people find comfort in their faith, either praying or doing some spiritual practice. These religious practices can lead to medical choices, which I think can sometimes be beneficial, or hurt. Some people might put doctor advice aside for religious advice, which I think isn’t right. Though, I can’t blame these people because the cost of healthcare is so high. I think if doctors know how people view religion through the lens of healthcare can help doctors make better decisions on what type of medication to give.

Certain religious groups usually have healthcare efforts, where they set up hospitals and clinics to help those in need. I think it’s important to prioritize compassion, but when it comes to reproductive or end-of-life care there will always be conflicts. To me, I don’t really associate religion when I have problems with my health. I think religion can be used to make better decisions regarding health, and maybe can keep you out of the hospital.

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In a reading from Hessert, he mentions how some people see God as a human being, and some see him as someone mysterious. The main question here is, how do we make sense of religion? For some, god is merely a 4th-dimensional being that we can not see, but his power governs all of us. For some, god is merely an example of something external, with no discrete structure. For me, when I think of god, I think of my parents. See, god to me is merely a word for sacrifice. To believe in something bigger than yourself, something that would sacrifice everything for your well-being. That to me is my parents. They are both immigrants who came to this country to start new life, and they have provided me with more than I could ever ask for. This is what religion and god is all about, it's the fact that this is what god wants from all of us. He wants all of us to have someone we can feel safe around, and know that they'll always be there even when you're at your lowest. Hessert talks about how different cultural groups try and make sense of religion, but this is a circular convolutional example, where after a certain amount of time, you end up right where you started off. I truly believe that god is just an example of strong people in your life, where a little piece of god lives in each and everyone of them.

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There is no light without dark.

At this time, we are halfway through the semester, and I have just written my sacred quest paper. I think this paper really challenged me to dig deep into my ideas of what a sacred quest really is, and how one can go on one. To me, life is just a test of how strong we are when things don't go our way. The strongest people in this world are defined by what they did when they fell to the ground, and no matter the obstacles thrown at them always found a way to move around them. The darkness that we see some days paves the way for the light at the end of the tunnel, but what is that light? I think that light is shown through religion, whatever your religion may be, but as long as I have a purpose on this Earth, there is light at the end of the tunnel. It's the light that forces me to wake up every day and try to be better than the day before, and it's the light that guides me when I make the wrong turn. I'm happy I got to write this paper, and this is just another milestone reached in my own sacred quest.

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Religion and war have been used side by side since the beginning. For some reason, people want their belief to be the right one, and when that doesn’t work, they result to violence. An early example of this is during the Crusades, where during the 11th to 13th century, the main goal was to gain holy land back from the Muslims. This led to many deaths over purely a belief of who is correct.

The war between Palestine and Israel today is essentially a continuation of the crusades. It hurts to see two different religions clash with each other and cause so many deaths. At the end of the day, religion is fueled by money, and the side that has more money and power will win. Religion is simply the catalyst for the reaction, and we as humans created a belief system that instead of guiding us through our lives, ends up destroying more.

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I’m contemplating the fact that there aren’t any pure facts. I think in science, pure facts are verified through experiment and observation, and verified by more experiments. However, there always is the possibility that there is another experiment out there that gave give the same results but with a different explanation. I understand the point that is trying to be made of only interpretations. We all live in this world with a different set of eyes and interpret the things around us with different colors. However, it’s important to throw away the interpretations that hold no weight, so we can concentrate on the ones that do make sense. This comes up a lot in terms of social issues, or fundamental rights of people. A lot of times the arguments that people make hold false assumptions, with little factual background. These interpretations affect our community's ability to decide on significant and controversial topics.

I also think the concept of absolute truth is like trying to drink water from a fire hydrant. It shows our limitations as humans on how complex this world around us really is. I’m constantly reminded of a perpetual journey to figure out our deepest affections.

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While taking this class, I've come to the realization that a lot of us don't have a "true" religion. By this, I mean so many of us are born into a specific religion. I was born into Christianity, and therefore I grew up going to Church, taking communion, and learning about the bible. I never really questioned any other religion, and I viewed mine as the correct one without any other thought. But I started thinking, what about the other good people in this world who aren't Christian? As a Christian, my goal is to live in this world under the presence of Jesus, since he died for our sins. But what if I wasn't born a Christian? Would I eventually one day become a Christian, or would I not? I personally do not know the answer to this question, but the more I think, maybe there isn't one true religion. It wouldn't make sense for some people who live a great and fulfilling life to not get the reward of after-life simply because of something you're born into. As a Christian, it's my duty to be good in this world, but I can't get over the fact that most of us are BORN into it, and not a lot of us can really find our true calling

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This week, we talked about the paradigm of modernity, and it brought many insights to me. Science and religion have always been two huge entities that have clashed with each other. We have the scientific method, where we can reason step by step systematically, and from there, we can create power theories that help explain the world around us. Though, some ideas in religion, such as the resurrection can not be disproved by science. This is where I think a lot of people get stuck in this conversation of science and religion, but we have to understand that science itself can not disprove religion. Religion is based on the supernatural, and that is something that science can not explain.

I think our modern era has seen a lot of big changes, and religion for the most part has been put behind while science and reason are more important. It’s important that we don’t forget that there is something above all of us, that science in itself can not explain. This divide causes political and cultural differences, which overall make it harder to attack climate change and inequality because we are too busy fighting each other instead of worrying about these real problems. I think we need to set aside science and religion and understand they are both powerful in their own right, and focus on making progress in today’s world.

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This week, I think I got a lot out of McQuiston chapter 3. In this chapter, he talked about the Jesus parable of the good Samaritan. There was a wounded stranger, who belonged to a religiously deviant group. Though, the Samaritan’s compassionate response stood out to me. In life, I think it’s always very important to help anyone regardless of race or religion. We all bleed the same color, and have the same aspirations in life. Being able to go out of your way to help someone that might not be of the same kind as you can really have a transformative impact of love in action.

This parable that McQuiston talked about has many examples in life. Martin Luther King, Gandhi, both leveraged compassion to challenge oppression, which changed history. All from simply looking at the bigger picture. To me, it’s important for every individual to embrace their worth. Jesus challenged his disciples to put away their social status and recognize the divine with acts of kindness. That really resonates with me, and it’s opened my eyes to how powerful Martin Luther King and Gandhi really were.

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This week, I read Caputo Chapter 2. He mentions two people, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, who have a certain stance on individualism and existentialism. When I look at what Nietzsche had to say, it really makes me wonder what life is all about. He always questions the norms that we usually follow. It’s almost like asking, “Is what we believe really true for everyone, or is it just our own take?”.

For example, he talks about Ubermensch, which is some idea of a very intelligent person making their own decisions. This makes me reflect on certain moments in my life where I’ve gone against what my family wanted to do, such as go into a Physics/Engineering path against a medical career.

I also thought the eternal recurrence concept he talked about as well. It’s almost like what if every decision I make just happens again and again, which makes me question the decisions I’ve made in my life, and what I’d do differently if given the chance.