Religion and Schools

I was listening to the radio today and one station started talking about a topic that I felt strongly about. Apparently in Wisconsin a school board has put creationism into their curriculum and it's caused a big uproar. However, the schools aren't telling children that God made the Earth and all that's in it. They are simply only including the theory of creationism along with evolution. So the debate during the radio show was whether or not schools should include this theory. I heard a whole bunch of people call in and say that it was wrong for various reasons. I, however, couldn't see any reason in what they had to say. I don't understand how teaching more than one theory on how the Earth was created is so offensive. If the teachers themselves aren't saying creationism is fact and are including the big bang theory it shouldn't be wrong. In fact, how can they justify not including creationism? How is it not offensive to the people who believe in creationism when our schools teach their children that Darwinism is fact?

It really bothers me that we must shield our eyes to the things going on in this world. We're forced to pretend that everything is wonderful because if we teach things that are important we'll end up offending someone. I think schools should include the teachings of different religions, teach not practice. I remember when I was in elementary school during the winter and we'd learn about Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. I loved it and I'm happy I learned about those traditions because otherwise I'd be ignorant to them now. I think it's important to talk about all types of religion because it's a huge part of culture. Look at mythology for example! The Greeks, Egyptians, and Romans all believed in pagan gods and their religion shaped their culture, which in turn shaped the world today! Do we only teach this type of religion because no one practices it anymore?

Not only are religions important to learn because of history, but also because it provides us with knowledge and a better understanding of people we meet that believe in something completely different. I think it would lessen the prejudice feelings we have towards people who are different because we won't be ignorant to their faith and background. Teaching religion also shows students humankind's sense of morality throughout the ages and this could lead to less violence amongst kids. Isn't that more important than simply pretending we live in a peaceful world?

On A Side Note, I Just Want To Say Thank You!

I'm not including this as one of my blogs for this week, but I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who gave me words of encouragement on the things I've been going through. It helped me more than you'll ever know and things seem to be getting better!

An Amazing Woman Part 2

During Anne Hutchinson's time, women were considered inferior with lessor minds and would therefore need to be ruled over by men. For women, freedom to think was the freedom to sin, but Anne couldn't keep quiet for long. Because she was well-educated and very outspoken, she began to invite women to her home for informal bible studies and discussion groups to reflect on sermons and pray. This also became a convenient way for her to express her beliefs and opinions. Anne explored the the Bible much like a minister and offered her own interpretations that sometimes differed widely from the Puritan's teachings.

As her reputation grew, her gathering had spread to both men and women, who would come in great numbers to hear what she had to say. She claimed things such as good conduct was a sign of salvation and was proof that the “Holy Spirit in the hearts of true believers relieved them of responsibility to obey the laws of God.” Anne also condemned the other ministers in New England for misguiding their congregations into the false idea that good deeds would get them into heaven. She voiced her notions about the equality and rights of women and maintained that it was a not a curse to be a woman, but a blessing. With her personal concern for the lack of women's rights, she applied her personal interpretation of the principles of the Bible to support her cause.

The aggressive Anne Hutchinson soon became a religious leader to many, but she had gained many critics that opposed her beliefs, especially because she was a woman. One main enemy of Anne's was John Winthrop, the governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Winthrop saw her as a threat to the authority of the men in power and the idea of a woman voicing her views and opinions made him fear for the integrity and principle ideals of the Puritan's way of life in his colony. He condemned her her gatherings, saying that they were “a thing not tolerable nor comely in the sight of God, nor fitting for your sex.” He also critisized her by saying she had , “a very voluble tongue, more bold than a man.” By 1637, Anne was labeled as a “modern Jezebel,” infecting other women with repulsive ideas regarding their rights and dignity and was brought to civil trail presided over by Winthrop, on the charge of Antinomianism. By this time Anne was 46 and was in the later stages of her fifteenth pregnancy and yet was forced to stand and defend herself in front male questioners for several days. They tried as hard as they could to get Anne to admit her secret blasphemies but she defended herself brilliantly until it was clear she could not escape the court's predetermined judgment. As she was conered, Anne addressed the court with her own judgment by stating, “You have no power over my body, neither can you do me anyharm. I fear none but the great Jehovah, which hath foretold me of these things, and I do verily believe that he will deliver me out of your hands.” This statement brought forth angry sneers as they called her a heretic and an instrument of the devil. One minister even said, “You have stepped out of your place, you have rather been a husband than a wife, a preacher than a hearer, and a magistrate than a subject.”

In August 1637, Anne was condemned by the court and put under house arrest to await her religious trial. In March 1638, her second trail took place and she was convicted and sentenced to be banished from the community. Following her conviction, Anne and her family moved to Rhode Island, along with a good amount of devoted followers. “She is considered one of the founders of that colony, the first to establish complete separation of church and state and freedom of religion in what would become the United States.” After her husband's death in 1642, Anne and her children moved to Long Island, New York, where tragically she and all her children, except for one, died in an Indian raid. Anne Hutchinson was one of the earliest pioneers for women's rights and key figure in the study of the development of religious freedom in England's American colonies and the history of women in ministry.

An Amazing Woman

I recently did a paper for my women's study class on an amazing woman named Anne Hutchinson. She's an amazing woman and I really encourage you to read about her! My paper was about four pages long so I'll split it into two parts to hopefully hold your attention!

Anne Hutchinson was born July 20th, 1591 in Alford, Lincolnshire, England. She was the daughter of Bridget Dryden and Francis Marbury, a deacon at Christ Church Cambridge. Anne's father strongly believed that the majority of ministers in the Church of England were incompetent because they had not acquired their positions through proper training, but were appointed by bishops for political reasons. He so strongly believed in clergy's lack of qualifications that he openly condemned them which led to his arrest. Because of Anne's father's strong beliefs and academic competence, she grew an interest in religion and theology at a very young age. Anne was home schooled and spent a lot of her time reading from her father's library where she developed many new questions about faith than there seemed to be answers. As she grew up, Anne began to admire her father's ideals and assertiveness and wasn't afraid to questions the principles of faith and the authority of the Church of England.

When Anne was 21, she married the merchant, Will Hutchinson, and settled down and had fifteen children in Alford, England. There, she took the role of a housewife and mother while maintaining her interest in theology and the Church. The Hutchinson family followed the sermons of a Protestant minister named John Cotton whose teaching resembled Anne's father's ideals. In 1634, John Cotton was relocated to the Puritan colony Massachusetts Bay in New England. Craving for greater freedom to practice her religious beliefs, Anne persuaded her husband to let their family follow their beloved minister. Sadly, during the crossing to New England, Anne lost three of fifteen children and another when they reached their new homeland.

Anne had high hopes for being able to pursue her religious freedom, but soon learned that the rigid union between the church and state was more stifling than liberating. There was hardly any religious freedom in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, especially for an English woman such as herself. Before Anne and her family had made the crossing to New England, she had expected that once in America, she would be able to discuss freely her faith and would have no reason to hide her personal beliefs. By telling others that God had given her the power of clairvoyance and that she had known the exact day of their arrival it was a mistake, John Cotton began to question the admittance of Anne and her family to his congregation. In order to get into good graces with the rest of Cotton's followers, Anne had to confess to “being guilty of wrong thinking” to be accepted, even though she thought otherwise. By experiencing these troubles of freely speaking about her faith, Anne began to realize that the oppressed and now become the oppressors, having forgotten the injustice and hardships they received from the Catholics and Protestants. The Puritan's interpretation of “religious freedom,” was basically that people now had the right to worship, but not the right to think.

I'm not to big on complaning... but I feel so trapped

I hate to have appear like a whiny little girl, but I could really use a way to vent my problem and maybe someone can sit through it and give me some advice.

I can't take living with my mom anymore. Ever since I was a little girl and my parents split up, I've always lived with her. Back then, I wouldn't have had it any other way because my mom and I had a great relationship. It wasn't until four to five years ago that I started to develop a great relationship with my dad. I think him and I starting bonding when my mom changed into a completely different person after she chose one of her psycho husbands over me and my older sister (but that is another sad and disturbing story) that led to her kicking us out even though he had some MAJOR disgusting problems.

Ever since we were forced to move back in with her, she has slowly lost her role as my mom. The caring, understanding, sacrificing, loving mother that I used to be able to tell anything to has turned into a selfish, mean, argumentative person. I've lost count of how many time we've gotten into blow outs and of all the times I've been thrown out but forced to come back for one reason or another. It is impossible to sit down and have a calm conversation of things that bother me because she explodes to yelling in my face even though I FORCE myself to be respectful.

I work so damn hard because I don't have any other choice. I pay by myself to go to school full time. I study and do my best to make the best possible grades to keep my schoralship. I pay for my gas, clothes, and even my own food most of the time. I take and pick my little sister up the majority of the week. And I try to work as much as possible to pay for all the things I get absolutely no help with. But it's not enough, I may be able to live in this house for free but I nothing I do is appreciated and I will never get any recognition or help from her.

Well I'm tired of it and I want to leave. I'd give up so many things to be able to pay for my own place and still be able to go to shool, but even if work full time I don't think I could make enough money for rent, MLG&W, gas, school, and a phone. I could live with my dad but that would mean I'd have to give my dog away and he's like a child to me and I can't live without him. Everywhere I turn, I'm trapped. Even through everything I've been through that I haven't mentioned, I'm normally a really happy person and kills me to sit here and write a blog about this, but right now I can't escape this feeling of helplessness. I can't live like this any longer but I can't find a way to escape it...

Why Do We Dream?

Today in my Personality Psych class we had a Jungian analyst come in and speak to our class. One of the things she specializes in is the interpretation of dreams. Now I've always thought that our dreams sometimes symbolize things and then other times I thought dreams were just thoughts brought about from the experiences from the day. But today I learned that dreams are much more important than insignificant thoughts. In fact every dream that we have is actually our unconscious mind trying to tell us something important that we are unaware of. Sometimes our unconscious is trying to help us see an answer to a problem we're faced with. Other times it can be trying to warn or prepare us of things that are to come.

As I was listening to our guest speaker talk about the importance of dreams I began to recall a dream that I had just last night. I dreamed that I was being shown a house by a relator and I remember feeling excited because the house was so amazing. Next I was on the phone with my dad and he told me that the house was mine and I joked around with him saying "What, are you dead and you're leaving the house to me?" and he said yes. (Very important to remember that there are two of my dad in this dream) I didn't believe him and I left to go to my mom's house. Once I got there my mom told me that my older sister, Madison, had something to tell me. She told me that our dad had died and I burst into tears feeling the worst emotional pain as I tried to grasp the concept that I would never be able to see my dad and tell him how much he meant to me. And then I woke up.

So as I sat in my psychology class, I began to fear that maybe my dad was about to die but as I listened to the speaker she began to explain that our dreams are usually supposed to be interpreted subjectively and only on rare occasions are they supposed to be looked at objectively. As she started to explain what some things we may dream about symbolize (this blog would be way too long for me to name all of them), I think I worked out what my unconscious mind was trying to show me.

The new house that ended up being mine I think symbolizes my new independence as I'm getting older. One important symbol the speaker told us about was having someone or something doubled in your dream and that death doesn't necessarily mean someone is going to die but that something is going to change in your life and "die" off. So for me, my dad symbolizes someone who has always taken care of me as a little girl and having one of him die in my dream means that my childhood is ending and I'm growing into an adult. Of course, I'm not a dream expert though!