Kenneth Tappan- Stranger than Fiction

In the film Stranger than Fiction the main charachter Harold Crick goes through i major transformation. This movie in my mind has major religious elements. Harold hears voices that at first sound almost divine. This voice drives Harold to change his life and live life to the fullest. Although Harold changes his life he also becomes well aware of his own mortality. The narrator is trying to kill him off and he seems to out of control in his own life. I initially thought about pre-destination and how we humans are not as in control of our lives as we might think we are. In the very end Harold Crick decides to let fate and his destiny happen even though it means his death, he does this for the bigger picture and the overall good that it would cause. Harold was willing to do this but the author chose to spare his life. This movie shows that everyone has a destiny and that we are all just a small piece in the huge game of life.

Kenneth Tappan - Blade Runner

After watching Blade Runner i found it interesting to ask which was more human, the androids are the regular people. The androids had drive, they had goals, there existence did not last long but they lived to the fullest. The other humans on the other hand seemed almost unatural. They lived in constant darkness and seemed to be content in a failing world. The androids sought after there maker, while the humans did not have any religious elements at all. Emotion was also another aspect that i felt the androids had more of. Love, hate, fear, and mercy were all shown by the androids, the humans in my mind only were concerned with their jobs and career status. This movie showed me that humans are getting farther away from what is natural and technology is getting better at mimicing nature.

Kenneth Tappan- Outside Experience

Over Easter weekend i watched the Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston. I have grown up watching this movie throughout my life and i believe many people do the same with the film. This film is an iconic film for Americans and i believe this film has a profound effect on the American identity. For many Americans the informantion in the movie is the only way the learn about the Flight out of Egypt story. This movie for me has a nostalgic effect and i always feel as if my roots and heritage come from these Hebrews in the movie. The movie also presents information that i see for the first time each time i see it. This movie has become a tradition for me and others and i think its kinda cool how a movie can take hold of you during a certain part of the year.

Kenneth Tappan - The Jacket

The Jacket was a great movie about a man who appears to be traveling through time and witnessing future events. In my mind i saw the main character as being dead when he first got shot in Iraq. The institution and the morgue that he often visited was a sort of purgatory. The main charachter was disoriented through out his time in the asylum and when he visited the future or got a taste of Heaven he desired to go back. At the very end the main charachter is seen with the woman he loves riding off into the sunset, this is his heaven and this is the end of his life's journey.

Kenneth Tappan - Personal Blog

Today I asked myself if there is anything else in the world that people do not recognize. When we look at dogs they are color blinded, they do not know that color exist. What if there is something like that with humans? Are we percieving the world to its fullest extent? A part of me thinks that people are missing out on something. Could it be possible that there is something out there in our world that is right in front of our faces that we simply do not percieve. I believe that there is something spiritual in this world that is everywhere but we do not see it. Maybe that is why people search and yearn constantly for spiritual growth. There are moments when we feel powerfull forces and yet we cannot comprehend them.

Kenneth Tappan-Gladiator

One movie that i have always enjoyed would have to be the movie Gladiator. I believe this movie has tremendous religous qualities to it. The main one being about life's journey towards death. In the very begining of the movie maximus is walking slowly in a field ready for the harvest. This image is re-occuring throughout the movie. Later on we find out that this image is Maximus's heaven and that he has been working to reach it his whole life. This movie makes the viewer aware of their own mortality and it shows that ever since we were born, we are working our way towards death. Some reach it faster, some reach it slower, but we all end there. This movie also shows that death should not be feared, becuase it is natural and we must all face it someday.

Paul Crowley - The Hobbit

Anothe book that caters to our class discussion of fantasy and storytelling is the Hobbit. it is similiar to the lord of the rings, however it is a prequel. I believe that books more than movies can key in to our sense of fantasy. When one is left to imagine things for themselves the results are always better. There is no movie for the Hobbit and because of this i can picture things the way i want to see them. Whereas the Lord of the Rings has a movie, that clouds my imagination. I would recomend that people take the time to read more, cuz it caters to our sense of imagination, wich goes along with mysterium and trememdum. The Hobbit is a book that definitly does this.

Personal Blog- Kenneth Tappan

Now that spring has finally arrived for good around the peninsula. I have found that simply walking creates a sort of spiritual space with the individual. Not only is walking from place to place relaxing it also gives you a chance to admire life. How often do we disregard trees, birds, and the grass. The colors that are presented to us are amazing and yet we hardly recognize it on a daily basis. Walking makes you realize that we are not the only life forms around and that our existence is no better than the existence of a blade of grass. Both are amazing and it is a miracle that both live and thrive. All man has to do is look elsewhere in our universe. We do not see lush gardens with our high powered telescopes any where else. Our planet is special and all life on our planet should be tresured.

Paul Crowley - Facing the Giants

Another football related movie/book i think everybody should read is Facing the Giants. Its about a coach who is down on his luck, but he never loses his faith. The alumni at his Christian High School want him fired, and he is unable to have a kid. However he keeps his faith and is rewarded, eventually his school makes it to the state championship to face the Giants, an undefeated team. Facing the Giants can mean both on and off the field and the book shows it. The movie version has an apperance by Mark Richt who is deeply religous and the coach of the Georiga Bulldogs, which is an added touch. People should definitly read this book.

Paul Crowley - The Blind Side

The Blind Side is a book about a kid from Memphis named Michael Oher. This football player was recently a first round draft pick by the Ravens. However his life in the book has nothing to do with this. it talks about how he grew up by himself on the streets with no mom or dad. He fended for himself and never went to school and life seemed hopelessly. One day he encountered a rich white family from west memphis who were deeply religious. Because of their relgion they plucked this kid off the street and basically adopted him. they infact saved his life, and they only were able to do so because of their deep faith. This book is a must read!

Paul Crowley - Tony Dungy

One fairly religious book that i think everybody should read is Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy. The book is about Tony Duny, who had been an NFL head coach for a number of years. he was always well respected both on and off the field, and reached the pinnacle of success in his field by winning the super bowl. However this happened not even a year after the worst time of his life. When his son commited suicide. Dungy talks about this and how his faith had helped him through it. He even talks about how religion helped him through other aspects of his life, and always kept him humble. It is a very good read

Paul Crowley - Lord of the Rings Books

While on the subject of fantasy and storytelling, I think the ultime example of this are the Lord of the Rings books. Whenever i read these books i feel like i am in Middle Earth. I am no longer at the location i am reading the book. I can picutre all the different characaters withouth needing the movies. I can even picture all the different creatures. I really feel changed and moved by the books. And while the movies were great, i would recomend to everyone that they give all three of the books a chance, they will not be disappointed.

Kenneth Tappan- The Decalogue

The Decalogue was part of a series of films that dealt with the ten commandments. The film we watched in class was about the ninth commandment "thou shalt not bear false witness to thy neihbour". In the film a woman turns down a jewish girl becuase she fears she is a spy. Later in life the young women returns to find her past and the people who denied her. The lady who turned her down is now a old women who is overjoyed to see that she survived. It turns out that it was a lie that the young girl was a german spy. Throughout the movie the town is reluctant to talk about its history and the holocaust. As a history major this film reminded me of the Nasty Girl which deals with a town struggling to remember or acknowledge its Nazi past. The Decalogue shows that even couragous resisters like the young women can sin. We are all human and we are all sinful this movie explains this notion.

Chronicles of Narnia - Paul Crowley

When we first talked about the idea of fantasy and storytelling and all the authors that go along with i was intrigued. However the movie Big Fish let me down. I found it to be too non sensical and i thought it still had to much to do with the real world. it did not jump start my imagination. One movie that did was the Chronicles of Narnia. The movie effortlessly seems you from war torn London, to a magical land that has nothing to do with the death and chaos we had just seen. This sets the stage for the whole movie, and the wonderful tale that ensues. I felt this would have been a better movie to choose.

Dogma - Paul Crowley

Perhaps the movie i most wish i could have written on was Dogma. Not only is this movie hilarious, but it also does a masterful job of poking fun at organized religion. it calls out the hypocrisys of many people who "consider" themselves relgion. But before it gets to the point of being something an "aethiest' movie, it reminds you of the important general themes you should remember from religion. I think one the movies main arguments is that you cannot act a certain way and still claim to be relgious. Which i find refreshing.

Paul Crowley - Bruce Almighty

For alot of the blogs im doing i am discussing movie that i wish i could have written my paper on. I have noticed that Professor Reddick seems to like Jim Carrey movies, and Bruce Almighty is another movie i wish i could have done a report on. This movie wonderfully shows that we as humans cannot handle as much work as we try to give ourselfs. To many people find themselves spending their whole lifes wanting material things, when in reality these things are not important at all. The message in this movie is a very good one. Furthermore it shows that people just need to be happy with what they already have. In this movie it is Jim Carreys girlfriend. I wish i could have done thins movie and expanded on these points.

Kenneth Tappan- Watchmen

The movie Watchmen was a movie full of symbolism and creative characters. My two favorite characters were Dr. Manhattan and Rorshach. These were by far the most dynamic characters becuase one questioned everything when it came to humanity and the other questioned nothing. Rorshach saw things in life as only black and white, there was no in between and no comprimising. Dr. Manhattan saw the world in a different light. He questioned everything and wondered if existence had any meaning at all. Dr. Manhattan was out of touch with life for a while and felt alienated from it. The movie goes into how Dr. Manhattan is slowly turning into a sort of God. Rorshach is basic and gets his motivation solely from his conscience. This movie was intellgent and i loved the music during the film, it certainly added alot to it in my opinion.

Paul Crowley - I Robot

After watching the movie Blade Runner i thought it was very similiar to the more recent movie I Robot staring Will Smith. Both movies revolve around the idea that society has become dependent on artifical intelligence as a way of life. We not longer want to do things, that should come natural to us as humans. The differences are sublte, in Blade Runner the robots have become more human than us. While in I Robot the Robots are only doing the logical thing, which isnt always the best thing. But in both movies they are trying to show that the robots can show us what makes us human, and how we have forgotten that.

Paul Crowley - Gladiator

I saw Gladiator on the list of movies we could possible right about and i thought it would definitly have been a good one for me to do. But alas i did not get to right on it. I thought that movie had a striking religious aspect. the whole movie Maximus is trying to actually die so he can again be with his wife and son. The scenes were he is walking through the grass towards the gate is especailly good. I also liked that there is no particular religion given, but it does not diminish the impact in the movie. I certainly wish i could have done a paper on this movie.

Watchmen - Paul Crowley

I came into this movie thinking it would be about one thing, when in reality it was completely about another. I thought it was going to be just another run of the mill superhero movie. Which is a genre that i do not particularly like. However it was much different than what i expected. I found the entire smilling motife to be extremely good, especailly when they showed Mars having the same smiley face. I thought the entire movies smybolism was very good, and it was the best part of the movie.

Blade Runner - Paul Crowley

To me this is the most pointless movie that we watched, i understand the symbolism, and how the movie questions what it really is to be human. However i found the movie in many ways to be illogical. So by the year 2019 we have created near human clones that are actually robots? What would be the reason for making thses things so human? I just cannot comprehend why this would be done, and it ruins the movie for me as a whole

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless - Paul Crowley

Out of all the movie we have watched in this class i found this one to be the most throught proviking and it has stayed with me the longest. I believe this is because it really makes me think of our reliance on technology and whether this is the best thing for society. I consider myself to be a logical person who will do what is most efficient and easiest. However is this what I should always do. This is a question i continue to ask myself based on this movie

Susan Watkins -- Topic of Choice 3

Ok, so let's face it. A lot of people tease those kids that play role-playing video games and card games (D&D? Magic: The Gathering? Final Fantasy? you know the ones I mean... and I happen to be one of them). I think it's because they all seem to be involved in invisible worlds, and subscribe to trends that might not fit in with the popular ones in "real life." But really, after taking a class like this one, don't we really need to rethink our judgments if we're going to be fair?

Movies tell us a story on at least two levels: the level with individual characters and events, and the level with timeless truths that all humans have in common. It allows us to observe as a detached third-party, perhaps engaging sympathetically with the action but not really getting much past that. We are stimulated intellectually and emotionally and sometimes, if conditions line up, maybe approach the experiential bridge of "myth" that Lewis described. However, we are still sitting in chairs watching a story we can't control, and that necessarily distances us from what's happening.

But what if we could control what happened? In books, at least we have a large say in what images we conjur up when a certain character or place is described. But what if instead of controlling our mental imagery for ideas, we directed the ideas and storylines themselves? That would bring us into a whole new level of engaging with myth and truth. We would not only see and sympathize with the hero, the villain, and all those other characters-- we would have the opportunity to basically live those things out. We might even tap into truths in ways that would be nearly impossible in everyday life.

So, let's rethink the easy "gamer" stereotype and see what's actually happening here.

Susan Watkins -- Topic of Choice 2

I was driving around with a friend on a particularly beautiful day last week, and we were listening to some good music. As we chatted, she asked me, "Why do you think it is that music can affect us so deeply?" I responded that I didn't know. Music seems to connect with us, somehow, on the deepest level of our souls and speak to us even if there might not be any words. It just occurred to me minute ago that this might all be because of sacred time.

Music necessarily has a rhythm as it moves from note to note (even if that rhythm is "formless" and without meter-- the space between sounds is still a type of rhythm). It automatically connects its listeners with a specific tempo of living and thinking. Maybe just by listening to music, we begin to touch sacred time because we are touching a rhythm independent of ourselves and allowing our minds and hearts to go along with it.

I think that would make so much sense, and it seems to tie in with so many aspects of life and music. When we think of excitement and joy, we often think of fast-paced things... running, dancing, upbeat music. When we think of sad things, we often think of slowness... sitting with our head in our hands, sleeping off depression, sad and mournful tunes. Maybe music and movement, anything with tempo, are all wrapped up in sacred time and sacred time is all wrapped up in what we feel and think and do! Maybe it's not about which tempo you move at, but how deeply you connect with that tempo, how deep into sacred time you go.

Maybe music draws us into relationship with the Other without us even realizing it.

Susan Watkins -- Topic of Choice 1

In my life this semester, there have been one or two events that have really broken my heart and made me see how weak and messed up I am sometimes. When I encounter situations like this, I usually try to find the good and find the hope. When I met Jesus a few years ago and started trying to learn about Him more, I felt like this was what it meant to live by joy-- to find the happiness even in bad situations. I don't think that's wrong but I'm beginning to wonder if it's not the whole story.

Otto's writing on the sacred and mysterium tremendum talks about God as amazingly powerful and incomprehensible. This fits in pretty well with my original perception of Him-- I always think of power, wholeness, joy, goodness, etc. But I'm beginnig to wonder if brokenness isn't an essential aspect of God's character, too. Some of the times I feel closest to God is when I'm broken-- C.S. Lewis talks a little bit about this when he talks about Joy and Sensucht in various writings. But I always interpreted that to mean that we feel close to God when we're broken because we sense that He is whole, and we are drawn to Him. But what if there is an aspect of God that is also full of sorrow? Is that possible?

Jesus' life was full of suffering and when He was on the cross, He expressed despair and brokenness. Some people say this is just because He was fully man as well as God, so this is the human in him speaking. But He's fully God too, so doesn't it also have to be God speaking?

I don't know just yet, but I've been thinking about it a lot.

Susan Watkins -- Outside Reading 5

Right now I'm reading the science fiction classic Dune by Frank Herbert. It's a little difficult for me to read because its plotline is largely politically-driven, and all of the complicated relationships and intrigues just don't catch my interest very well. However, there's something that keeps drawing me back and making even all the extra stuff seem worthwhile, and I think it's the myth and mystery embodied in the main character, Paul Atreides. Paul is a human boy who is the unknowing product of centuries of genetic fine-tuning by a mysterious cult called the Bene Gesserit, who seek to protect and preserve the human race. The first fourth of the novel sees Paul transform from normal to almost supernatural as he finds himself increasingly able to tap into and affect the complex relationships between time and space.

To me, Paul embodies a lot of different aspects of mystery and wonder. I can relate to him because he suddenly awakes one day and finds out he is caught up in a plan and purpose infintely larger than himself, may have more significance than he ever dreamed, and has to choose how he will live such a life. I feel like this as well, not because I have any special power in myself but becasue of my faith in God. I also feel like I can relate to him because he finds himself learning and increasingly able to sense things beyond the immediate; the very same Sacred we study and this class is helping me tap into, as well.

Personal Blog- Buddy Powers

I’ve been examining Kierkegaard’s Concluding Unscientific Postscript this semester in the hope that I might better understand what if means to live by the Spirit as Paul says, and follow Christ. I guess because I’ve also been reading a collection of lectures by William James, the conflict of resolving objective and subjective thinking in terms of pursuing the Lord has been an unspoken pursuit of mine as well. Kierkegaard was an existential Christian so his work sheds great light on this subject. Kierkegaard makes is very clear the he is not claiming to understand Christianity through his own subjective thinking but rather understands, “enough to apprehend that it proposes to bestow an eternal happiness upon the individual man, thus presuming and infinite interest in his happiness.” In relation to the work’s main subject, the objective problem only focuses on examining the potential truth of Christianity, while the subjective problem is the relationship of an individual to Christianity. What Kierkegaard says is there must be a subjective motive, a personal conviction, about considering Christianity as truth. He is fueled by his own desire for happiness to embrace the objective uncertainty of Christian faith while simultaneously affirming his own subjectivity. Kierkegaard says that faith in general is an acceptance of objective ambiguity and that the faith it takes to do such a thing is grounds for subjective affirmation. “(I) prefer to remain where I am, with my infinite interest, with the problem, with the possibility.” It has been very beneficial for me to consider that when taking the “leap of faith” one must accept a measure of mystery, thus shifting from disbelief to belief.

Personal Blog- Buddy Powers

My favorite in class activity is our post-film discussion. We watch a lot of great movies in this class that are supplemented by this time of sharing. Even the less interesting films come alive as we try to unfold the complexities of the different stories. During my time at CNU I’ve had the privilege of studying the Bible with some of my closest guy friends in the same style as our class discussions. It has been an unbelievable blessing. When you take any story and share it with friends, the depths of meaning can be joyfully revealed. I think the beauty of scripture as compared to a movie is that there is much more complexity and mystery. If the Christian canon was as easy to understand as Ground Hog Day, the creator of the universe would certainly not seem so awesome. Never the less this is not the case, and group discussion over how to follow Christ have been an extremely challenging and beneficial part of my life. Another great side effect of this style of group dissection, is that great friendships can be made in the process, especially if the group is pursuing a lifestyle that emulates the love of Christ. There is an inherent need for real honesty and trust. Jesus spoke about topics that are still controversial, so this level of transparency is necessary. God saw that it was not good for man to be alone and created woman so that they could be fruitful and multiply. From the beginning the Lord made us to be relational beings, which is why I think that group analysis is so effective.

Matthew Winant - Blog 10 (4/29/09)

Another book that I am reading is called The Silence of Adam. It reflects on the human nature in men to be silent and not venturing when it is our turn as men to step up for what is right. Men get this ability to speak up for what is right comes from Adam, the original man who said nothing while Satan tempted Eve. Throughout the movies that we have watched in class there are numerous times when I see men not speaking up for what is right for the reasons that are outlined in the book: scared, not being manly men, no self-confidence, not having faith in God. Mainly of the problems that are encountered both in real life and in films can be solved with the men in the society to step up and be responsible and not place blame or credit on other people. Silence of Adam is a book that I encourage all men to read, especially those who do not know what it means to stand up for the higher power and for what is right.

Matthew Winant - Blog 9 (4/29/2009)

One of my outside readings was done on a case study that was required of me to read for values leadership. It was a case study written by a former CEO of ServiceMaster, William Pollard, called Soul of the Firm. The purpose of the case was to show the altruistic qualities of a company who's main goal was not to make the largest profit possible, but was to honor God. Pollard says that the company had four objectives, and the first was to “Honor God in all that we do”. Contrastingly, the last objective was to “be profitable”. These ordering of objectives is shown in how the company conducts its business, both with its customers and employees. On many occasions throughout the book, Pollard makes references to employee testimonies on how well the company has treated them and their families, and even more so some testimonies from customers who were dissatisfied with their service and later received full apologies from the CEO himself. The actions of Pollard seem over the top, but his genuine excitement towards loving God in his organization is hard to ignore. To me, the way he conducts his business is the way that all businesses should be run. In America today, the majority of large scale businesses look to have the morality system and values within their organization without being labeled Christians. Pollard is not afraid to be labeled as a Christian, and the non-Christians within his organization are not offended that their boss is not taking into account their personal spirituality. We live in a society today that it is necessary to please everyone, and to me Pollard in his conviction towards his faith and attaching it to his business is something that all companies should adopt, Christian or not.

Matthew Winant - Blog 8 (4/29/09)

I am a huge fan of the hit T.V. Show LOST, and as such I wish to discuss the many appearances of religion within the show. Throughout the seasons of the show, four total with the fifth in progress, one of the main concepts has been the conflict between faith and destiny versus free will. Two of the main characters of the show, John Locke and Jack Shepard, embody the two different trains to philosophical thought; with Locke believing in destiny and fate and Jack believing in free will and science. The viewers have been made to believer that through five seasons Locke's train of thought is the correct mindset for the people within the show; however, tonight's episode threw that concept away very quickly. Now the viewer must make his or her own judgment on the validity of the counter argument, but the evidence within the show is striking. A physicist on the show, Daniel Faraday, has stated that the variable of the world is humans, people that can change events based on their thoughts and actions. Kierkegaard's idea of existentialism, the free will of humans, took over as the main philosophical mindset with this one episode. This is a quick overview of what is going on within the show, as it would take a term paper to establish the background and full argument for either philosophical mindset. The main point is seen in the quickness of changing philosophical thought and how interpretation of events affects a persons mindset toward the transcendent and the effect of human actions towards the greater vision of the world.

Leandra Jacobson 4/29 final blog!!!

The German film “Wings of Desire” addresses the existential way to experience life in the experiential moment. By trying to understand the moment of experience like fear or pain, you are removing yourself from it. It has to be very difficult to keep yourself completely in the moment. I enjoyed the example of skydiving and how the mind is completely cleared, creting an existential environment. I could not imagine living in this type of moment at all times but can see how trying to imitate it by not always analyzing everything too much. This can become present in romantic relationships, enjoying it for the feeling instead of the instrumental value creating jealousy and possession.
There is an intention in the moment of existential life, where the experience is above the reaction perhaps. I enjoyed Dr. Redick’s statement that man is unfinished and incomplete. We are always learning, searching, and devouring our surroundings. This is trying to make sense of our existence by not living in the moment and assigning meaning to every experience. This is what existentialism attempts to break free from, in valuing the experience above the human existence. There is the infinite that we desire but the finite we live in. we are constantly catching up, making up for lost time instead of living IN the time!

Leandra Jacobson 4/29

The adoration of the sun is the first topic in the film, “The Zeitgeist.” This film, in its first segment concerning “the Greatest Story Ever Told,” explains the relationship of the sun to nature and to religion. The zodiac is explained as being a tracker of the sun through the 12 months of the year, depicted through different symbols that guide to the sun. Seasons and constellations are defined by this symbol as well, connecting this ancient religious symbol to the reflexes of the earth. Another Egyptian god that has significance to the earth and the sun is Horus, often described as “the light” or “the sun” and often depicted with a sun over his head. There are several other gods that are described in this film with similar attributes of a virgin birth, resurrection, “the son of God” or “the sun,” and ascending to heaven; Attis of Greece, India’s Krishna, Dionysus, Persia’s Mithra, Jesus Christ, and many others. There are all connected to the astrological signs and ancient constellations, and explain a theory of why the stories are so similar. This is the earth’s ultimate influence over religion. In the explained process, the film outlines how these stories and the story of Christianity was created astrologically. Although the ideas in this film are anti-Christianity and definitely not a solid disproval of biblical tales, they are very notable relations when assessing this class. The sun god Ra is easy to understand because it is seemingly obvious, but Jesus Christ is a little more complicated because it is recent in its development in comparison to the other deities listed.
The Zeitgeist, in example, uses the Winter Solstice to explain the story of Jesus Christ’s birth of a virgin on December 25th following a star in the east. On December 24th, the brightest star in the eastern sky (Sirius) is aligned with the three stars of Orion’s belt, said to represent the 3 kings, as they are rightfully named. On December 25th, all these stars align above the sun, Sirius “following” it and the Three Kings follow those. Also in the Winter Solstice, the sun reaches its lowest point in the sky on December 22nd visibly for three days until it finally moved north on the 25th of December. The sun or “the son” dies on the cross and is raised again after three days. The son will come again, just as the sun does as it conquers the night every morning, seen also in Egyptian myths with the battle of Horus and his enemy and other religious explanations of the transition between light and dark of the earth. This is just one connection to the earth and Christianity that is made in this film.

Eric Morgan-- Outside reading #5

Right now I am reading a book by Dietrich Bonhoeffer called The Cost of Discipleship. I am merely in the first chapter but already I am drawn in. Bonhoeffer as you know is a Christian theologian/philosopher who has a great amount of influence in the world. The chapter that I am in right now is about cheap grace. Bonhoeffer explains it as the death of the church. Cheap grace in his perspective is grace just given out to all humans by the church which asks nothing in return, and through the church offering this simple grace forgets to emphasize that although you people are forgiven you still need to offer your lives up to God and persue a relationship with him. This is very personal to my life because I have expirienced it first hand. up until late in my highschool career I went to church every sunday and was under the understanding that since I went to church and was forgiven that I was living in the correct manner. But what I found out through doing Young Life in high school is that I need to actively persue God rather then sitting idoley waiting for my time to come. This book is so far amazing and I cannot wait to read further because I know it will further my understanding of God's nature.

Eric Morgan-- Outside reading #4

Another book that I have read recently is a book written by C.S. Lewis titled Mere Christianity. This book was absolutely amazing, and has had a great role in shaping my perspective on life. The main thought that I took out of this book that I apply often was, his perspective on marraige. In the book he talks about how when a couple gets married their souls are united and therefore become one being that's purpose should be to glorify God in everything that they do through their lives. Marraige is something that I can see now as just another gift that God has given us to further show his love. We were made to be in relationships with other people and this specific relationship is the best possible one that a human can have with another human and it a complete gift from God because he connects the two people through a spiritual bond rather then just their interaction. The hardest part about applying this perspective is that I am only in the dating realm of relationships and have not yet gotten married so when I try to apply that philosophy to my life it is very different to what I am actually expiriencing. This book had many other thoughts then marraige but right now in my life I have a girl friend and am in a leadership position with her in which I try my best not to screw so much of my focus is directed towards that.

Eric Morgan -- Outside reading #3

Another book that I have read recently is a book written by a man named Rob Bell called Velvet Elvis. This book was a compilation of his thoughts and views of the Christian faith. He is a pastor of a mega church named Mars Hill in Michigan, and has receive much criticism for his thoughts. He in my perspective had many thoughts that were very beneficial to understanding the bible and helpped me read the bible in a new way. One of the things that I really liked about the book was that he talked about the gospels and the purpose in which each were written. The fact that each of these desciples had motives made them more human and allowed me to relate with them better and relate with their gospels better as well. And in having the beliefe that all the scripture is God breathed I loved how each gospel gave a different perspective on Jesus' life and how God intended the bible for everybody and allowed all different kinds of people to relate to it. Another thing that I took out of this book was that, the bible was mean to be a communialy read and perceived text. The letters and the gospels weren't in such an abundant supply as they are today and the authors knew that most of the people in the world would only hear the words of the scripture in groups and therefore interpreted in groups, so when reading the bible today what must be taken into account is that it much be interpreted in groups and never by oneself. Becasue in interpreting by oneself one could get confused and stray away from the meaning of the scriptures. Through reading this book I have gain a greater perspective on reading scripture in which I apply to my everyday life and interaction with other people.

Eric Morgan-- Outside reading #2

Another book that I read this semester was C.S. Lewis' autobiography Surprised by Joy. This book although dry at times was another great perspective of life and the glory of God. C.S. Lewis was a man who struggled with the thought of God all through his life. He through this struggle, for a period in the middle, completely rejected God and became an atheist. Through this expirience he ended up realizing that atheism was a lifestyle that lead to zero fullfillment and that simply one aspect of God was enough for him to live his life in a spiritual manner. Joy was this aspect and through his life he battled with this feeling and the meaning of it. Although it is evidence that God is there and joy only comes from God, what he found was that the search for joy in only itself was also a route to nothing. He found that in searching for joy and not the source he was never fullfilled and that the only way for him to expirience joy he would have to purely focus on God and not the side affects of their reactions. This book was just another influence on my life and was a factor in the shaping of my mind in what it is today, and through reading it I feel as if I have a greater understanding on the spirituality of my life and interaction with God.

Eric Morgan-- Outside reading #1

One of the books that I have read this semester outside of the classes that I am taking was The Shack. This book is a fictional story about the life of this man who has turned away from God because of the kidnapping and murdering of his daughter. In this book he meets God in his entirety when going back to the place where his daughter was killed, this place was called the shack. Through this man's interaction with God he gets to talk with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit who all bring different aspects of God becasue although they are three they are ultimately one being.
This man is angry, and has turned his back on God because he could not understand how God could let something like this happen to his daughter. God explains through many different ways that he does not do these bad things yet humans in their sinful nature do these things. God out of love allows us to live without being forced to do things but rather by making our own decisions in which he then works out of. What he was saying was not that God has to act through times of hardship but rather that he can work through even the worst aspects of life. This book was great because I got a new perspective of God that helpped to shape my spiritual perspective on life.

Eric Morgan-- outside experience #5

I am a Junior now and since the first semester of my sophomore year I have been meeting with three other guys once a week to learn what it means to fully share ones life and to learn what it means to truly live in a way focused on loving each other. Through these times I have learned so much about these other guys and hav gotten many new perspectives on life because of the dynamic of our group. I have found out about myself that I have a very simple and joyfull outlook on life, that is both beneficial and harmfull to my growth. Two of the other guys in the group are very synical when it comes to life and have tought me to question everything that is presented. This has been a hard thing for me because I tend to look at the positive side of everything giving me no opportunity to grow and learn. So, through our interaction I have been able to give them a positive perspective on life which they could use in order to not become depressed and I have gained from them a more negative view that allows me to learn and grow in my understanding. Love is what I try to focus my life around and through meeting with these guys I am slowing learning how to do so.

Eric Morgan-- Outside experience #4

College... What is the point? Going to class everyday in fear that you may get back a grade that is not adequate enough to further yourself in the world that we live in is not the proper way to live. Looking at just the grades that you get is not what college is about. It seems as if college is just a continuation of highschool and learning is not valued, but in order for one to really gain something out of college, the desire to learn must be there. Grades won't last for five years after you graduate college but the knowledge that you gain will, so why is that not focused on more. If we were not given grades then students like myself would not focus on them and therefore simply focus on learning and furthering the developement on ones mind. What I have done to try to gain this perspective is to no longer focus on the classes, but rather focus on my relationships with people. Through interacting with many different people with different view points on life have given me a new perspective on life that I will never lose. God has been presented through my friends here and has completely changed who I am and if people would stop focusing on just getting through these classes then they would really gain what is most important in life.

Eric Morgan-- Outside expirience #3

The other day I Watched American Phsyco and my friends and I reflected apon the movie after watching it trying to find its meaning. In doing so we applied all that we know about the relation between society and its trends and how they can lead to a mundane existence. The movie was a depiction of a man with all the material possesions that one could attain still didn't have enough and could not fully appreciate life because these things did not fullfill his longings. He became a person consumed by wanting to be the best and even the smallest things like business cards drove him insane to become a physcopathic killer. He tried to fill this void by killing people and through this even he could not fill this hole. What was apparent was that he was sick of his life style and looked for meaning past what he had already attained. Religion is something that he never looked into and could possibly have been the only thing that could have filled this void. I can see this trend of trying to fill this void, in our society, by everything but God, and God is the only way to truely be fullfilled. The movie was great and i loved that through taking this class my friends and I could debate and have a great conversation about the meaning of life.

Eric Morgan-- Outside expirience #2

I am a Young Life leader at Dengbigh Highschool. There I am challenge to keep my faith strong and constantly keeping in mind why I am doing what I am doing. I am trying to show these kids what it is that drives my life and what make me different from the rest of the world. Through having this opportunity to have talks reflecting on biblical teachings or why it is that I do/dont do something allows me to not only teach but learn further about my spirituality and how it applies to every aspect of life. My faith applies to all aspects of my life including this class and how I view certain movies as well as how I view certain discussions that take place.

Personal Blog- Buddy Powers

I have found a great new spiritual activity that has taught me a great deal about myself as a human and has deepened my relationship with my creator: hunting. There is something divinely beautiful about killing a wild animal. First of all it forces me as a man to meet this animal on their level in nature. Early in the morning I’ll rise to get to my deer stand, which I’ve set up in an area that I know specific deer will be traveling through either to bed down for the day or to feed in the early morning. Sometimes hunting involves interacting with the animals I’m hunting. During turkey season you locate a male gobbler with different kinds of bird calls (crow or owl) and then draw them in with calls posing as a female turkey. There is a lot of preparation as well that goes in to a quality hunt, especially if you are dealing with a large amount of land that your hunting. Spotting animals and observing their patterns is essential for predicting where they’ll be at the time you want to get one. Most people who have never been hunting do not realize how difficult it can be to locate, track, and kill a wild animal. The first big game I shot was a mid-sized buck. It was an amazing experience because after I shot and the beast was down I started to pray to ask God if what I had done was right, was a good thing. I was in a strange state of emotion not of regret not of elation and somehow not even of uncertainty. Genesis 2 became very real to me at that time. Man is to take care of the beast of the field, and hunting has brought me close enough to an animal to whole heartedly do so. To quote Ted Nugent, “The beast is dead, long live the beast.” This line expresses the simple beauties of hunting: I am man and I am over animal, but I admire it as part of creation and desire for wild life to thrive.

Outside Experience-Melissa Faller

When speaking of religious experiences, one of the most humbling experiences I have ever had was working at Rockbridge Young Life camp for a month. Rockbridge is a camp located in Goshen, Virginia. It is a beautiful camp located in the valley of the mountains with a lake located right in the middle of it. The camp is secluded with little access to the outside world. There is no internet access and no cell phone service. The camp is dedicated to bringing high school and middle school students to learn more about Jesus Christ. I was there working the month of May. I worked for four weeks as a life guard at the camp. Those four weeks were some of the best weeks of my life, but also the most difficult. I worked a lifeguard at the camp which seems easy, but I was one of three lifeguards working the camp. The camp consists of a pool, a hot tub, waterslide into the lake, and a blog. The waterfront was open from 7am to 5pm most days and on occasional nights was reopened for obstacle courses and pool parties. We rotated every 30 minutes all day for 30 days, with breaks for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Along with the long work hours it was difficult because I was working with people I did not know with no way to contact my family and friends from home. At the time I didn’t appreciate the situation, but it allowed me to remove myself from the materialistic world and focus on fully depend on God. It would be hard for me to explain to you the experience I felt, but it was definitely a spiritual by the end of it I was a different person. I felt the love of God and his grace and mercy he has given us.

Blade Runner-Melissa Faller

The film Blade Runner is a scientific film that takes place in a world that is not the world today. The world consists of all of the humans—except the outcasts leaving earth and living in outer space. The world is gloomy and filled with trash. There is hardly any light and technology is extremely advanced. Along with the outcasts left on the earth there are also replicates. These replicates of people that look and act like real humans. They have been trained to have special abilities and are subhuman. In the film the replicates are being chased down by Harrison Ford who plays, Deckard a replicate hunter. He is on a mission to kill four different replicates and to remove them from society. Towards the end of Deckard’s hunt he is on the chase to kill Roy a replicate. Roy is one of the last surviving replicates and Deckard is having a hard time trying to kill him. Roy is especially angry because Deckard has successfully killed his friend and lover replicate. One specific scene that I felt was interesting is when Roy had Deckard hanging from the edge of the building. He was so close to having Deckard killed, but instead of killing Deckard he picked him up and put Deckard on the building. It was almost as if he was showing a sign of love. It was as if Roy was looking past their differences and the killing of his friend. When Roy places Deckard back on the roof his time is up and he dies. When Roy dies a dove flies from him. I feel that this dove is a representation of Roy’s spirit. This is interesting because Roy is not supposed to be a real person, however he has a spirit and at the very last moment he shows emotion towards Deckard. Most humans that were put in this similar situation would have acted out of anger and killed Deckard, but Roy was able to reason and respond with an emotion that was beyond human emotion. It seemed that his emotion was almost God like.

Outside Reading 5- Buddy Powers

It is important to explore the role faith plays in our lives as believers. Our post-movie discussion of Eternal Sunshine on a Spotless Mind was extremely beneficial in exploring the role faith plays in entering a relationship with someone or God. William James the great American philosopher and psychologist discussed in great length the difference between pragmatism and empiricism, one of his main points came down to his position on faith. The main difference he saw between empiricism and pragmatism is that the latter allows for more than just experiential fact to pursue truth. Rather pragmatism asks, “When you say that a thing is possible, what difference does it make?” This means that from a pragmatic perspective, if there is greater beneficial difference to believing in something like God (very non-empiricist) than pragmatism promotes it. The general temperament of pragmatism is far more accepting than empiricism or rationalism because it is so open to possibilities. While James leans towards an empirical approach to the world, he succeeds, “I deny the right of any pretend logic to veto my own faith.” The mistake that pragmatism may be making as a philosophy is that is assumes that the prospect of benefit is grounds enough for believing in something. Is not actual faith supposed to be in something that is believed to be actually true not just beneficial?

Outside Readings- Being Christ Like, Rawley

In the book, Irresistible Revolution, author Shane Claiborne sets out on a mission to learn what it means to be Christ-like and follow Jesus' teaching of selling all your possessions and helping the poor. Claiborne leaves everything behind everything and moves to Calcutta to do work for the homeless people there. Throughout the book, Claiborne rejects the idea of materialism. Claiborne searches what it means to be Christ-like. He wants to help people in need and share the Truth. The idea of being Christ-like is interesting. I had a conversation with a friend once and he shared that he thought that attempting to be like Christ was the most arrogant thing a human could ever aim for. He then asked "Which Christ do you want me to be like? The one who challenges authority, or the one who comes back to judge the world?" I thought that his question was interesting but I can't say that I agree with his skepticism. I don't think that anyone could ever claim to have reached the greatness of Jesus Christ, but even He tells us to emulate His teachings. Shane Claiborne does just that. He loves people no matter who they are, he gives everything to help a friend, he obeys the law while preaching the Gospel. This book was a good picture of what it is to try to be Christ -like.

Outside Reading 4- Buddy Powers

In exploring the idea of the Holy, I found William James’ pragmatic approach to truth extremely stimulating. From the pragmatic perspective truth is not essentially an ‘inert static relation’ as James says. This literally means that truth, not just man’s perception of it, is always changing. An example of this could be the current state of the Earth’s O-zone layer. It is currently true that it is depleted, but that was not true 30 years ago and it may become untrue again in the future if it somehow replenishes. This is not a perfect example but it illustrates the point. Holiness is directly related to truth because the validity of an entity attributes to the reverence of such from a critical mind. That is to say if something was fictitious and fallacious, than what other qualities could redeem a lie to the realm of the Holy? James says that “the universe is unfinished and growing, especially in thinking beings.” This is to say the truth is not complete but still coming together. It is because of this perspective that James can legitimately ask what is true of anything from rationalism to empiricism (two topics he loves to consider). I think James and his pragmatic approach to explaining what is true shed a lot of light on the human perspective, but not necessarily on the Holy. I think of God as omniscient, omnipresent, and of time as having a distinct beginning and end that the creator Being, God, has made. While James’ perspective on truth as a growing changing entity was initially challenging to my perception of the Holy, I eventually realized that he is simply describing man’s temporal perception of truth, which he does quite accurately.

Groundhog Day-Melissa Faller

Groundhog Day is a film based in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Punxsutawney Phil is a groundhog every year on February 2nd he predicts whether or there will be six more weeks of winter or if spring will start. Phil the star of the film is a weatherman who is anchor on Groundhogs Day. In the film Phil Murray finds himself repeating the same events over and over again. He begins to be able to use to this to his own advantage. I feel that Phil begins to enjoy manipulating the people around him. He almost begins to take the role of God. It is not until Phil falls in love with his coworker and can’t have her that he is unhappy with his situation. Phil realizes that if he wants to have her respect him than he has to treat her well. He can no longer control people and manipulate them to his benefit. This process takes a while for Phil to grasp, and I’m not sure he would have ever fully understood if it was not for the day repeating itself. I enjoyed the film I felt that it represented well the idea that we should treat others well no matter what the outcome. It does not matter if we are not getting anything out of it but it is rather that we are no longer living for ourselves. We need to understand and live outside of our world. Phil was able to experience this by living in atypical world, which in the end benefited his character. This made me realize how important stepping out of our comfort zone is. By stepping out of our comfort zone we are able to experience things we normally wouldn’t. Along with this experience comes the learning and growing that we as individuals could use to build gaps and fix problems such as racism, politics, and religious division.

Outside Reading-Severe Mercy-Melissa Faller

Severe Mercy is an autobiography written by Sheldon Vanauken. In the book Sheldon struggles with the question of whether or not he wants to convert to Christianity. In the beginning of the story is a love story between Sheldon and Davy (his wife). Throughout the book Sheldon and his wife share their love for each as well as their struggles of whether or not God is true. Throughout their exploration of Christianity, C.S. Lewis helps them with there struggles. I find this book particularly interesting because it is rare that two people love each other as much as Sheldon and Davy did with the absence of Christ. In order to find the truth Sheldon and Davy must both have faith. Davy finds Christ first, but Sheldon still struggles with the concept of faith. He says that he cannot believe in Christ unless he has faith and he can’t have faith unless he believes. One of the most insightful quotes comes from C.S. Lewis he explains to Vanauken that “You can’t swim unless you can support yourself in water and you can’t support yourself in water unless you can swim…but in spite of this we do swim (93).” I felt that this concept was important because often in my ministry it is hard to explain to people belief. It is something that has to be felt and experienced through a specific individual, and unlike what most people think it cannot be forced. It has to be something that happens naturally. Later in the book, Sheldon uses C.S. Lewis’s advice and he becomes a Christian.

Apocalypse Now-Melissa Faller

Apocalypse Now is a film that is filled with different innuendos. The plot of the film takes place during the Vietnam War and portrays the story of life in the army during the time of the war. As much as film tries to portray the war there are a lot of things that seem peculiar to me. What amazes me most in the film is the dedication of the soldier Willard. He is sent on a mission and determined to finish it. There are many life or death situations that occur, but this does not deter the soldier. His determination and dedication lead him to what I felt was one of the most interesting scenes in the film. Willard while on mission finally finds Kurtz. Kurtz appears to be a crazed general who has some how convinced a group of people to follow him and make him in a sense their “king.” Willard’s mission is to kill Kurtz, and Kurtz eventually decides he wants Willard to kill him. That night was a night of pure chaos. The town was having some sort of festival, however the festival seem to represent a night of sacrifice. It was almost as if the people knew their leader was going to die. The death of Kurtz reminded me of a sacrifice to his people, as if he was dying for them. The film itself made me uncomfortable. However, I felt that it was a good representation of an apocalypse. Everything seemed chaotic and out of place as if the world was no longer the earth but the end of the world.

Koyaanisquatsi- Melissa Faller

Life out of Balance is the perfect title for the film Koyaanisqatsi. In the beginning of the film the cinematography was spectacular. There were beautiful shots of nature that made me want to explore the earth and its unknowns even more than I ever have before. I was ready to get up out of my chair and go on a hike right then and there. It reminded me off the beauty of the earth and the wonderful spiritual feeling I get when I go for a hike or just the sense of peace when I sit outside and appreciate the world for what it is. As the movie continued on the visuals were no longer as beautiful. I no longer felt comfortable in my chair—I wanted to run out of the room again but not to go for a hike but rather to run to the bathroom to throw up. I remember specifically telling Susan Watkins after the class that I felt as if I was going to throw up. I don’t know if it was the visuals of the world being taking over by humans and losing their beauty that made me nauseas or if it was the fast moving images that made me motion sickness. Either way the film accomplished what I believe it was trying to accomplish. It made me feel as if my life was out of balance. It made me realize the influence technology and humans are having over the world. This influence is making our society a lot more marterialistic and with that we are losing the truth that nature gives us. I was reading an article in the newspaper the other day about how society is full of narcissist and how we are proud to be narcissists. We are no longer concerned about others or the truths that the spiritual offer us but rather about what we can do to improve ourselves. We want a fast paced world and don’t care who we hurt or run over in the process. I feel that this film did a great job portraying this. For society today truly is out of balance.

Leandra Jacobson 4/28 "Closer"

Im on a roll with these blogs! So Sunday evening before my flight home I watched Closer, a fantastic film if anyone hasn't seen it. “You women don't understand the territory. Because you are the territory.” This INCREDIBLE line spoken by Larry introduces the dynamic relationships presented in this film. The couples Larry and Anna, and Dan and Alice reflect how different personalities experience relational transitions in romance. I love the romance stories in this film and have viewed it many, many times. I never felt that religious love in it until we learned about the eros love, the passionate and exotic found between all the characters.
Alice is a youthful, feminine girl who is literally swept off her feet by the strikingly handsome Dan. Alice and Dan begin their interactions by making eye contact on the street, a superficial connection based solely on appearance. This affinity towards Alice was so strong that Dan put his life in danger to save hers, a powerful eros. He rescues her on the streets of London as she falls into oncoming traffic, both suffering from love at first sight.
The territory in a relationship can be loosely or tightly respected as seen in this films relationship juggling of partners. As Larry stated that women are the territory in a relationship, he shows that men are specifically influenced by this more so than women because they actually “are the territory.” This is directly influenced by how masculine he is and the power of eros seen.

The Jacket-Melissa Faller

The film The Jacket was very interesting to me. While watching it I sat there and wondered what I would do if I was able to change situations around me. Would I want to know how I was going to die? Or if my friends were going to still be my friends tomorrow or weeks from now? This got me thinking that I would probably not want to know these details. In the film The Jacket the main character Starks put into a mental institution because he is found not guilty to a murder due to insanity. It is there where Starks under goes medical trials. These medical trials consist of pumping Starks with a lot of drugs and sticking him into a straight jacket. While in the straight jacket he is stuffed into a draw where he spends many hours there. The draw is supposed to represent a womb, or rebirth. Starks realizes that if he relaxes he is able to remove himself from the box and go to the future. Throughout the medical experiments Starks is able to help save a friends Mom, and also predict how he is going to die. This is when I began to think would I want to be able to change things around me, maybe save the ones around me? My first instinct is to say that I would. I would want to keep my family and friends from their deaths to selfishly keep them around, but the other part of me feels that a lot of pressure lies in the hands of something that can change and manipulate the future. It is here that I decided that it is better to leave future to someone who is not as selfish. For if I was able to control the future I would be able to manipulate it to my own benefit, and as much as I would love to say that I would be reasonable and consider others feelings I think that put in certain situations this could be a dangerous ability to have control over. I realized that life would no longer be worth living if I knew exactly where I was going to end up. If I knew where I was going to be the next day? Why would I even want to live it?

Leandra Jacobson 4/28

While writing my final paper I have looked into Hinduism a lot. I did not know it had different sects, just like Christianity. This affirms my idea that the central concepts of all religions are similar. Treat others as you would like to be treated, practice kindness, and have morals and virtue. The differences are found in the details. Who to worship and how to worship are major factors in defining a religion. Hinduism is an eastern religion with gods, religious texts, and central teachings. A sect of Hinduism, named Jainism, has similar aspects to it yet is independent in several distinctive ways. It intrigues me and should be explored. A central teaching of Jainism and Hinduism is Karma, one of my most firm beliefs from religions. Karma is ‘action’; or a reaction to the positive or negative actions that bind us and cycle back in our next life. Both religions emphasize and share the importance of this concept but differ on their explanation of karma. These religions are similar in theory but differ in practice as most are, focusing on the details. Even though Jainism is derived from Hinduism, they have enough differences to separate them into two distinctive groups and even into sects within these sects. Each religion has their own distinctive set of rules and ethics but all religions share the same basic concepts of love and peace. Hinduism and Jainism are great examples of how two religions can be so similar but so diverse.

The Decalogue- Buddy Powers

The Decalogue, a collection of ten short films abstractly depicting the Ten Commandments, was a rough film for me to watch. By the end of the movie I was able to appreciate to some extent the symbolism that showed the eight commandment, “thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor,” but overall the film was extremely uninteresting. I think in an attempt to be artistic, the movie looses most of its viewers because of how lame and boring the plot is. I think most of my distaste for the Decalogue is a product of my mostly American film up bringing. I am use to films that have a dynamic plot that is at least interesting. It is films like this that make me question the freedom that European filmmakers often take advantage of in their forms of story telling. Was this plain and boring a story worth the film makers or my time? Just because the film is working of a monumental precept for human existence (the eighth commandment) does not mean it can get away with telling such a pointless story. I understand that stories about everyday life, like the Decalogue, can be deeply moving but this film was in my opinion a failure. A film must be captivating. That does not mean that every tale has to be Russell Crow’s “Gladiator,” but I think that the Decalogue disgraces the powerful message of the eighth commandment by presenting an uninteresting, almost meaningless story.

Outside Reading 3- Buddy Powers

In my extra curricular reading I’ve been enjoying a book called Wisdom Sits in Places by Keith H. Basso. It is a modern commentary on the landscape and language of the Western American Apache. Many of their linguistic customs are applicable to our exploration of religion in film, particularly when comparing western films with European ones. For the Western Apache conversation is a form of ‘voluntary cooperation’ in which all parties concerned are entitled to communicate respectfully. One of the most important values in regard to respect in Apache language is not speaking too much. “In other words, persons who speak too much insult the imaginative capabilities of other people,” explains the author about Apache narrators. This perspective is applicable to our study of religion in films because there is a definite difference in cinematic styles between east and west. In the west, directors lean on the side of clarity, resolution, and imagery to tell their stories. Where as in the east ambiguity and imagination dominate most film’s style of story telling. I found a great example of this from recent classes in our viewing of “Far Away So Close, Wings of Desire” in comparison to the American knock-off “City of Angels.” The first film is European, the director plays with black and white and color shots, and the dialogue is more mysterious, possibly deeper, and certainly leaves room open for interpretation. In the later, American movie, the director guides to you through the story implying specific meanings to the overall cinematic experience. It is clearly a love story between an angel and a woman, and the dialogue leaves little room for confusion or ambiguity. Now you might think that the Apache style of conversing would apply to the American version of this angelic story because it is has less dialogue and is clear and direct in its representation of the story. But in fact the European style, while it is certainly less frugal with its dialogue, is actually more appropriately in line with the Apache conversation style. The Apache keep the dialogue brief not to keep the listening from being bored, but because it aims to not insult the understanding of the listener. The job of the story teller is to convey what happened, specifically where and how, and hint at why it could have happened, leaving the interpretation of the information up to the listener.

The Decalogue-Melissa Faller

The Decalogue is a series of ten short films. Each individual film is dedicated to one of the Ten Commandments. The film we watched in class was short film eight, which was “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.” The plot of the film was a Holocaust survivor looking for the women who could not take her in during the War. The woman at the time did not take the holocaust child in because she had overheard that the child was a spy for the Germans. She could not risk giving herself up if the child did turn out to be a spy. In the end the child was placed with a different family and made it out alive. The child comes back looking for the woman who did not keep her. During the movie we get a sense that the woman feet guilty about not being able to keep the child. She is overly enthusiastic about keeping the woman at her house now in order to remove the guilt that she had for leaving her to dye in the holocaust. I think the filmmakers did a great job portraying the Ten Commandment; thou shall not bear false witness. Although not bearing false witness seems easy enough, the movie shows that even good people put in difficult have a hard time following the Ten Commandments. With this note I feel that it gives a more realistic appeal to Christianity. Many people perceive Christians as people who do not make mistakes, but in fact Christians are just people trying to represent Christ. They however, are not Christ. I feel that this concept and idea is important to portray in the movies, because recently many stereotypes of Christianity are you have to be perfect. It is almost a breath of fresh air to see someone on film claiming to be Christian and messing up.

Watchmen-Melissa Faller

The film Watchmen is based on the idea that people can make a change. The films gives the appearance that normal people can effect situations that are normally out of our control. Some situations in particular that the characters in Watchmen change are the Vietnam War and Richard Nixon. My favorite superhero not from Watchmen, is Batman. The reason that I enjoy Batman is because he does not actually have any super powers but rather he is a regular man who wants to help the world. The difference between Batman and characters from Watchmen was that they were not so more concerned with being superheroes than they were with helping people. Although the superheroes were involved in saving others, their main goal was to save the plot against themselves. I was surprised to see that throughout most of the movie all of the superheroes actions were mostly self motivated. It never failed whether it was about getting the girl or controlling the world. The only superhero that tried to help was Rorschach but he was portrayed as the creepy superhero—which no child would want to admire. Also, in the end Rorschach is killed by Dr. Manhattan for wanting to tell the truth. Although Rorschach might not have been doing the best thing for mankind I feel that it was a little unruly to kill him.

Also in Watchmen I was a little confused about Dr. Manhattan’s character. Dr. Manhattan was the only “superhero” with superhero powers. He seemed to be the supreme ruler over the other superheroes. He was able to control all of their actions and even their deaths. Was Dr. Manhattan supposed to represent an all powerful God? I feel that if he was that it is interesting that he had all of the powers of a God, but was still self-centered like a man. He had a hard time relating to the humans, and there was no evidence of any love, grace, or salvation you would expect out of a God.

Big Fish-Melissa Faller

Seventh Seal-Melissa Faller

The film Seventh Seal takes place in Sweden during the Crusades. Antonious Block one of the main characters, challenges death to a chess match in order to extend his life. Although Antonious he plays the chess game to prevent death, I feel that Antonious is also searching for something more. While Antonious prolongs the game he also seems to be searching for some sort of reason to want to move on. It is almost as if Antonious is looking for proof of God and an after life. It is this faith the search of faith that I find interesting. When on his journey one of the first times that Antonious actually seems happy is when he runs into Joseph, Mary, and the Baby. Joseph and Mary show Antonio kindness and I noticed that in that scene the sun is shining brightly and everything seems at peace for the first time. It is almost as if the producer was trying to show that Antonious found the proof or hope he was looking for. It has to be more than just a coincidence that the actors were named Joseph, Mary, and have a baby. I feel that it is possible that the baby could represent Jesus and the grace and salvation he brings. This would explain the comfort and happiness that Antonious feels around them.

Personal Blog- Buddy Powers

I just watched the movie Black Hawk Down for the first time, great movie. At first I did not think it was applicable to our discussions of the holy, tremendum, and mysterium but upon further conversation with my friends I concluded that there is significant correlation. Any war movie is going to deal with the aspect of mysterium and tremendum, not necessarily in a directly religion sense but certainly in the terrifying and unpredictable pretense of war. The premise for the movie is that a team of Delta Force and Army Rangers are sent into part of Mogadishu to extract two of Mohammed Farah Aidid's senior subordinates that have been responsible for mass genocide in Somalia. The mission was supposed to only take an hour but two Black Hawk helicopters are shot down during the mission extending its overall time to 15 hours, and from there the chaos ensues. I think an important theme in this movie is the view that the ground units have on the battle and the airborne commanders that orchestrate the offensive. After Lt. Col. McKnight vents about the inherent danger of this mission compared to past ones his comment to Colonel Harrell is telling, “Yeah, for you two, circling above it at five hundred feet, it's imperfect. Down in the street... it's unforgiving.” There is almost a God to man relationship between the two as the men in these helicopters with the ‘omniscient’ birds-eye view of the battle and the subjection to authority that all the soldiers on the ground have to relate to. But their relationship is broken because the men in the air can not commiserate with the men on the ground, and when two of these helicopters go down like fallen angels, the reality of the war is brought up to their level.

My Own Topic- Identity, Rawley

The things that we idenify with most of the time define us. If someone puts everything that they have into something, it becomes their indentity. We see that a lot in the movies that we watched in class. Our identity is a very powerful trait. Everyone believes in something. Even people who do not believe in a higher power they are still believing in something, even if it is the lack of something. People can believe in science, in nature, in multiple gods, or in the Lord. We learn that people believe in things because they want to belong to something or they want meaning in their lives or they want to fill a spot where something is missing. Identifying with a belief gives meaning to ones life, having something to live for is the most common purpose for believing in something. I believe with all my heart in Jesus Christ. I believe that He is God in human form that came to earth to die for me so that I could be with Him forever and ever. This belief in my reason to live, something to belong to, and fills a void in my life. Since I believe so strongly in something, it became my identity. It was not also though. I used to want to be indenified by my athelticism, my popularity, the idea that everyone liked me, or with being a good friend. All these things did not last or completely fill a void in my life; they were all things that could be taken away. Finding your identity in something that is unchanging, permanent, and could never be taken away is what we should believe in. Looking back and finding that eathly things will not satisfy me, I found something to live for. People might not always find their identity in Jesus the way that I have, but everyone is indentified with something.

My Own Topic- Leadership in Faith, Rawley

Taking leadership in your faith is something that I learned intensly this past year. I went to the National Prayer Breakfast in DC for the second time this year. The 4 days there are all about being a leader and an example. The first year I went, I got to hear former President Bush speaks and address world leaders from all over the world. Bush is known for embracing his faith. This year, I got to hear President Obama address all the same people. It was amazing, he is an incredible speaker. I heard from a lot of politicians and people in the government and they all advocated the same things; taking leadership in your faith. You can take leadership in many different ways. One of the most talked about ways was by being accepting and full of love. In one of the meetings, we heard from two senators- one republican, one democrat. It was inspiring how they taught us that no matter which party you belong to, we are all in the same family under the Lord. It is unbelievable to me how many problems this would solve if we just lived that way. If we could love each other the way that we love our family, we would be closer and be an example to the world. Another way to show leadership is to be Christ-like. Jesus taught us to be like him and we all know that that is impossible, but if we try our best to emulate his teachings and intentions, we would be leaders among our country. We are all made from the Lord and in His image, so why don't we live like it? Even if someone believes in a different God, knowing the Truth should be what sets up apart. We are not called to hate people or discriminate against them. We are told to hate what is evil, but people are not pure evil. No matter what political party, religion, culture, ethnicity, country, walk of life, economic status, or belief, we are called to love people and be an example by the way we treat them. This initiative makes a strong leader and if these kinds of leaders are in power then the world will change. We are called to be leaders and to show the world that we belong to Jesus by the way that we love people.

My Own Topic- Re-birth, Rawley

I met the author of The Shack. His name is Paul. I met him at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington DC in February. He came to speak at a young leaders meeting. He does not look like you would think; he was short and round with a face full of white hair. He shared his story with us. He was born into a missionary family and he hated God. He was raped by school administrator when he was six years old and in his school in New Guinea, he did the same to younger boys as he as a form of hazing in their school; he kept hating God. He met a woman when he was in college and proposed twelve days after meeting her. He kept reminding us that throughout all this time, everyone knew him as the funy guy and the joker. He never let people see who he really was because he was so afraid of how dark he was inside. His wife loved the Lord, she was a strong woman and Paul was not strong in his faith still. After being married for ten years, Paul had an affair with his wife's best friend. This was the turning point in his life. His wife forgave him, she loved him so much that she forgave him. Paul had a huge reconing before the Lord and completely opened up to Him and to his wife and to therapists. He felt forgiveness and grace to the fullest. His relationship with Jesus transformed and he was re-born. The realization of everything that Jesus went through for us and for our sins was on display in Paul's life. Jesus promises us that there is nothing that we can do that we will not be forgiven for and Paul felt it. A year before Paul wrote The Shack, he declared bankruptcy. His wife encouraged him to write down his story and he wrote The Shack but no one would publish it so he published it himself. A year later, it was a best seller. Paul's life changed forever once he accepted God's grace and was re-born. When you speak with Paul, you know it too. He is the softest and kindest person I have ever met. You can see the sparkle in his eyes and his passion for the Lord. If anyone ever had a doubt of what the power of the Lord can do in a person's life, I would encourage them to contact Paul. He loves people and he explained over and over that he loves to share his story.

Outside Readings- The Shack, Rawley

The Shack is a book written by William Paul Young. It is about a man, Makenzie, who used to have a relationship with the Lord, but then his daughter is kidnapped and killed and he loses all faith. Mack loses all hope in the Lord and ignores his faith completely, even though his wife and family still believe; the call God Papa. Mack cannot move on from his daughter's death and the Great Saddness. One day, Mack slips and hits his head on some ice and gets a note from Papa that says, "meet me in the shack"; the Shack was where they found Mack's daughter, Missy's, bloody dress and knew she was killed. Mack was never able to find Missy's body and even though the note was signed PAPA, he thinks it might have been from the killer. He packs up and goes to the Shack. When he gets there, he finds that the note really was from Papa and not only was Papa there (in the form of a big, friendly, black woman) but so is Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The rest of the book is all about the Three helping Mack overcome the Great Saddness and show him how much They love him. The Three all have different ways to communicating with Mack and teach him different things. This book represents a different way of thinking and relating to the Trinity. It is so beautiful the way that Young illustrates how much They love Mack and work so hard to show it. It personalizes the idea of Grace and Forgiveness and most of all Love.

Outside Readings- East of Eden, Rawley

I am reading the book East of Eden by John Steinbeck. This book is so intense. I haave only read the first fourth of it, but I know so far that is it about the battle between good and evil. One of the first characters I met was Samuel Hamiliton. He is an Irish man who owns a farm in California, he is a really good man. He raised a really great family and has a really genuine heart. Everyone respects Samuel Hamilton and even though he is not a very good business man, he loves to help people. The next character is Adam Trask. He is a good man as well. He was absued by his younger half brother growning up and he did not really love his father, but his father adored him. He enlisted in the military when he was 18 and after he got out, he traveled around the country until he went home. Once he gets home he sees his brother, Charles, again- who looks up to Adam- and finds out the their father died and left them with a ton of money. One night they are talking and a girl shows up at their door step, one breath away from death because she was attacked. Her name is Cathy, she is pure evil. She killed her parents when she was younger and made a whoremaster fall in love with her so she would get what she wanted and when she did not love her back, he attacked her so severly that she should have died. Adam takes Cathy in and brings her back to life then falls in love with her. They get married and they move to California together. Adam buys the biggest farm in Salinas and asks Samuel to help him dig wells to find water. Samuel, who is a really good, pure man meets Cathy for the first time and his intuition tells him that she is a bad woman. He gets chills when he is around her because he can feel how evil she is. Adam cannot feel how evil Cathy is because he is mesmorized by her. There are so many parallels so far in this book. Cathy is just like the devil. She is sneaky and manipulative. Weak people fall into her trap and she takes over. Samuel has not fallen into her trap because he is strong. I am so excited to finish this book.

In Class- Apocalypse Now, Rawley

Apocalypse Now takes place during the Vietnam War in 1969. captain Willard is a soldier that has been released but cannot adjust to civilian life. This is when he is approached with a special mission to assassinate Colonel Kurtz deep in the jungle of Cambodia. Williard takes the mission without hesitation but during his journey to find Kurtz, he realizes that people have been sent before but none have ever returned. His journey is filled with interesting people like LTC Kilgore. Kilgore is an exciting man who takes his job seriously, but he is so full of life. He takes time out to go surfing during attacks, cracks jokes, spends time at a bonfire. He is a good opposite of Williard who we see is very serious and does not really know how to have fun. Williard is in charge of four soldiers on his PBR to find Kurtz. He learns from them and treats them as his own up until one of them dies from going down a river that they should not have gone on. Throughout the movie, we notice that Williard likes to have control. He likes the structure of the military which is why he had a hard time functing after being released. Through all of his expeditions and the people that he meets, he learns to loosen up and that he cannot have control over everything. Kurtz, on the other hand, had complete control over all the jungle men and they worship him. After Williard kills Kurtz, he is given the opportunity to take his place and rule over this little village of people and does not take it. Kurtz whispers "The horror... the horror" as he is dying and then Williard realizes the result of having all control and doing anything to keep it.

In Class- The Jacket, Rawley

The Jacket was a movie about a Gulf War Veteran, Jack Starks, who was accused of murder but could not remember the killing. He was sent to an insane assylum and one of the doctors there used him as an experiment. The experiment was a drug that could help a person travel in time to be able to go into the future. When he is in the drawer, Jack finds out that he dies and suspects that it is murder, so he spends his time in the drawer trying to figure out how he died or who killed him. While in the futute he meets a girl who years earlier was a girl that he helped start her alcoholic mother's car. He meets her again 20 years later and they fall in love. This is when we see a change in his attitude. Starks sacrificed himself when he stops trying to figure out how he died and starts to try to save her life. The day that it was said that he was going to die, he goes to the girls house and tells the little girl's mother what he has seen and that she is going to die by being burned by her cigarette in her sleep. In this movie, we see some representations for Jesus Christ in Jack. He can see into the little girl's life and knows that she needs to be saved, so instead of spending his time in the drawer trying to figure out how he dies and prevent it, he sacrifices his life for this girl that he loves.

Slumdog Millionaire

- Robbie Heath

Another movie that I have recently viewed was Slumdog Millionaire. This movie show the rise of a young boy living in India who was born into the lowest class, orphaned, and left to fend for himself on the street. Later in life he get on the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire and wins. In this movie there is a strong theme of Karma. We see at the story progresses that each character gains what they deserve according to what they have done in their lives. The boy who strove for good gained his reward. Meanwhile his brother who had been a criminal gained his reward along with several other "evil" characters. This movie clearly outlines Karma because I can see the separation from a more western and Christian view that may have been used for the film. This occurred when the main character's brother, who had been a bad guy made a sacrifice in order to allow his brother to be happy. Perhaps in an American movie the brother would have done his good act and lived instead of dying which would line up more with a Christian view of Jesus forgiving sins rather than gaining what you deserve according to Karma.

Outside Movie

Robbie Heath

I recently watched an intriguing movie, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. This movie looked at an issue that has been tackled repeatedly in movies of our time. That issue is the Holocaust of the second world war. However, in this movie we gain a new perspective from the view of a child. In the movie a young boy who is the son of a German concentration camp officer accidentally finds the nearby camp after explores the woods behind his house. There he sees and gets to know through the fence a young Jewish boy in the camp. They become good friends as the young German boy does not understand what is going on. At the end of the movie the German boy sneaks into the camp to be with his friend because he is lonely. Ironically he ends up being taken into the "showers" where he is massacred with the Jews in the camp. The interesting commentary in this movie comes with the great hypocrisy that is seen. It is not the large picture of what the Germans did, but the individuals. At the end the viewer watches as the boys father rushes to the camp only finding that he is too late and his son has been killed by the tools of destruction that he has been supporting. This man acted like a good family man at home while being a murderer at work. The filmmaker clearly shows how men cannot live with such hypocrisies.

Leandra Jacobson 4.27

This weekend I viewed the film “W.” This film was an insight into the Bush administration and the development of his person through life experiences. It can be viewed as a mockery, as completely false, or just as in interesting piece of political media. I find this film to be particularly religious in ways in the moral and ethical compromises needed to be a politician. This is seen on several occasions through making decisions concerning the well being of other humans by a removed party like a president. While in office, Bush is faced with difficult decision of this nature like all men I power usually are. The innocence that is portrayed in his character is an interesting directing choice, making him a passive bystander while others run the show. The characterization of Bush does not excuse him from the unpleasant administration he ran since September 11th, but instead sheds a light on his strong morality that’s weakness is the bullheaded state of mind. Being stuck in his fundamental values is contradictive with the mass population, since medium and mediocrity is a political stronghold according to Roderick P. Hart, a political communications scholar. Men with less strong values with attract a greater amount of people, as seen in religions. A religion with a vaster appeal to more people is spread more rapidly and prolifically. This is why many religions that have similar values are very popular in quantity of followers, like Christianity and Hinduism.

Outside Reading 2- Buddy Powers

In another reading from William James I found myself thinking of our discussions in Religion in Film. Often we explore what was meant by a scene, as we try to dig deeper into the meaning of something rather than just taking it on face value. Also often this can feel a bit unreal and uncalled for. The thought has crossed my mind, “are we trying to turn a movie that was not captivating into something ‘meaningful’ just to make it worth while?” James has an interesting commentary on the relationship between materialism and spiritualism which pertains to my question. He attempts to assert the claim that pragmatism is neither of these to but somewhere in between, the position I think we need to take when discussing these films. James says that materialism is for naught within pragmatism (a philosophical system for answering metaphysical questions) because pragmatism is about substance: what is the ultimate meaning beyond my own thoughts? To take from the metaphor James uses in an earlier lecture, if we only stay in the depth of the sea of sense we will never feel the rush of grazing the surface, the air, the superior element, which intern leaves us “re-determined” and “re-energized.” In terms of spiritualism we can not go off the deep end of applying a meaning to everything in a movie and thus ignorantly taking things out of their context within the film and twisting meanings. To continue the metaphor, a fish can not survive outside of water just as looking too deeply into a movies meaning suffocates it from the actual reality of its meaning. When we critique and discuss these movies we need to find a middle ground between over analysis and coach potato meat-headedness. There needs to be a “rich and active commerce” as James puts it between our abstract nature and our literal observations.

Outside Reading 1- Buddy Powers

This semester I’ve been reading a collection of lectures in writing by William James. He is one of the greatest American Philosophers to date and is credited as the founder of the pragmatism in philosophy. His perspective on the human interaction between the physical world and abstract ideas are applicable to our Religion in Film class discussions on the ideas of the Holy, mysterium, and tremendum. James uses a wonderful simile to show how pragmatism views the interaction of our sensory world and abstract ideas. Pragmatism is a system for answering metaphysical questions, thus it is extremely important to observe how these two paradigms (the sensory and abstract) interact. According to James’s metaphor we are fish swimming in the “sea of sense” which is the tangible world that surrounds us. It is within this world that we experience things. The word pragmatism comes from the Greek word pragma which means, “act,” so experience is very important to James. But there is also, in this metaphor, that which is above the water’s surface. These are the abstract ideas. A fish can not breathe pure air, just as a man can not purely communicate with an abstract idea. Rather, the oxygen from the air enters the water and supports aquatic life through “redirection.” In the films we’ve watched this semester we get a glimpse at the abstract through the medium of movies. At this part of the metaphor the pragmatic view is most clearly expressed: man exists in an experiential world that he must participate in (just as a fish must live in water), but there is also a realm of abstract ideas of which a man learns of, recieves, through experience (as a fish recieves oxygen diffused from the air into the water). It is important to note that just as the fish needs the oxygen from the air to live, so man needs and idea of the Holy, mysterium, and tremendum to live fully according to James.

The Watchmen- Buddy Powers

The Watchmen was a great film because it played with the obligation of a hero to the world more than any Marvel film has yet to do. The gore and eroticism so vividly shown in the movie was more than I thought was necessary. I would have preferred a more artistic representation but I understand that the culture of popular movies is calling for a more literal story interpretation. However the goal of achieving a story about the real issues that super heroes might deal with was improved by the reality of these intense scenes. An example of this is when the one inmate cuts through the others with the metal grinder to get to Rorschach in the cell and you literally see the flesh tear. The real draw in this film for me was the character Dr. Manhattan. His God like role in his ability to control matter and see into the future and past, was juxtaposed with his tendency for inaction in several pivotal circumstances that make him seem more human than demi-god. One example is when the comedian shoots the Vietnamese woman who is pregnant with his child and Dr. Manhattan, who was with him, confronts him on his actions. The comedian in response points out that Dr. Manhattan knew what was going to happen, he could have turned the gun to sand, the bullet to water and saved the woman and her child, but he did not. This is an on going theme with Dr. Manhattan, when he abandons earth at the pinnacle of nuclear holocaust because the Silk Specter leaves him for Dan. Again at the end of the movie John is confronted by Rorschach about this, “If you’d cared from the start, none of this would have happened,” to which John responds, “I can change almost anything… But I can’t change human nature.” Dr. Mahattan had fled from earth when it needed him most because he was heart that the Silk Specter had left him. At the end of the movie however, John shows his real love for humanity and actually takes the place of a more god like figure. He sacrifices the world’s opinion of him as the indestructible man to become the nemesis of mankind. He also leaves behind Laurie to be with Dan. This symbolizes Dr. Manhattans slow retreat from the humanity he found in himself and more towards his appreciation of man’s existence with him as an outer god-like figure.

Susan Watkins -- Outside Reading 4

This semester I read the novel Catcher in the Rye for the first time. The main character, Holden Caufield, is pretty fascinating and the whole book is narrated from his first-person perspective. Holden is a teenager who is pretty disillusioned with the world, full of jumbled monologues and self-contradicting streams of consciousness. He has opinions on just about everything, but if he doesn't, isn't afraid to say so.

One of the things Holden talks about is movies. Generally speaking, he says he doesn't like them at all because they are "phony." He refers to how the actors don't actually feel what they pretend to, and the stories they tell never actually happened, and sometimes the places aren't real. He hates phony things, people, and events more than just about anything else. In fact, the whole book he is searching for authenticity high and low. However, sometimes authenticity approaches him and he fails to connet with it or even, sometimes, runs from it. I think Holden is an example of someone who knows there are truths in life that are deeper than the surface events and objects around us. However, he's scared by the prospect of the unknown and seems to understand that if he were to really tap into those deeper truths and experience the mysterium of our spirits, he might find himself thrown into tremendum as well. For him, it's a fear that holds him back during the time period of the book-- however I think we all have to face this fear at some point or another, or run the risk of "being" without "living."

Susan Watkins -- In Class Film 5

I wanted to write about Watchmen again because it just overwhelmed me so much, I feel like I could write on and on and on about it and never cover all the things it made me think about. Also I think I would need to see it several more times to really connect all the dots.

One thing I loved about it was how it explored the concepts of "good" and "evil," and how the philosophy of pragmatism seems to neutralize both terms. In many ways, the plotline with Adrian Veidt reminds me of the movie Unbreakable and it's "master villain," Elijah Price. Veidt and Price both claim to have the best interests of Man in mind when they construct their plots. Veidt wants to dissolve Cold War tensions by creating a common enemy, and Price wants to uncover a real-life hero. However, their techniques kill thousands and possibly millions of people, an act which unto itself is morally reprehensible. However, they both argue that "the ends justify the means" because this way they brought something new and good to light where before there was darkness.

The whole problem I see with this is that they are effectively playing God in determining the future of the human race. In the Bible, it does seem like sometimes God does things that harm humans in order to bring them some kind of greater good in the future, and so maybe Veidt and Price think that they can do the same and still be moral people. However, there is a big difference because Veidt and Price 1.) did not create the other humans they kill and 2.) cannot see for certain the long-term effects of their actions. They do not have the proper authority or perspective to behave as they do. Even John, the "godlike" character of Watchmen, realizes that though he has special vision for the future he does not have authority to condemn a race he did not make. Watchmen is able to explore all these ideas pretty well in a very short timespan.