Watered Down

Religion in literature is as old as writing itself. Since people began to write, they have used the medium to express, define, and share their beliefs. In history, religion was more documentary and informational than what it is today. Actual religious texts were valued highly both in their time, as well as today. Such works include the Bible, Qur’an, various scrolls, the Book of Mormon, among other various examples. Other types of literature are meant to compliment these aforesaid texts. The most popular type of religious literature today is vaguely seen as such- rather they are fictitious works that illustrate types, or allusions to religion.

Writing about religion has transformed over the years. For example, one of the most famous ‘religious’ texts in history is Dante’s Inferno. In this writing, Dante is specific about various saints, sinners, and religious historical caricatures. Although a fictitious story itself, it is very clear as to the journey the character takes, in how it is a religious experience, and relates to each of the various points in the religious beliefs and teachings. It is graphic in its depictions of the Christian beliefs of hell, and what sinners would experience:

"they had their faces twisted toward their haunches/ and found it necessary to walk backward,/ because they could not see ahead of them./ …and since he wanted so to see ahead,/ he looks behind and walks a backward path.”

More recently, however, religious beliefs in text are being expressed in a more round-about way. Using allegory, archetypes, and allusions, authors are being more careful about how they write religion. Perhaps this is because of fear of scrutiny, backlash, or opposing theories (such as Brown’s novel DaVinci Code). An example of this style of writing is Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. story, Scrooge is shown the consequences of living a selfish, and unfruitful life- and the consequences thereof. Although the spirits themselves may not represent specific saints, or deities, the idea behind the novel is certainly religious in nature(albeit not a specific religion), in that it teaches that we are all under judgment, and must live kind and good lives. In fact, this story is used above all others during Christmas time, rather than even the story of the Nativity in popular media. So My question is:

Q: Why do you think people write today in the style of fictitious writing with allusions to religion, along with archetypes and roundabout story lines as opposed to obvious religious writing and storylines?

Sarah Wett

Learning from the Learned

A Christian scripture found in the King James Version of the Holy Bible in John chapter 21 verse 25 reads: “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.”

O f course Jesus is our perfect example, but there are many other great people who have lived and left a record of their learning in books. It is my argument that we can learn so much about religion through the general, non-religious books from people who have lived and learned before us.

In 1450 when Gutenberg made his first printing press, the world was forever changed. It was one of the most important inventions in the history of the world. Education and literacy boomed and with that, religion boomed as well, specifically Christianity. Our world today exists based on the knowledge we have from the written word. Without the order and education that writing and mass printing brings, our world would be much less religious and much more chaotic.

I think it is a good idea for people to educate themselves, and strengthen their own convictions by learning about opposing views, commentaries, biographies etc. through books. These things are not necessarily religious in nature but I think that they can teach us a lot about ourselves and our own beliefs.

Even for us non-readers out there, we all have been affected by books, weather they were read to us at bedtime before we could even talk or whether they were forced through our ears in 3^rd grade reading time. Every book teaches something, and I argue that because books are the primary source of discovered knowledge, we can learn so many things about religion even through secular books that teach us about peoples’ lives, stories based on true events, and even made up stories. The more we educate ourselves with books, the more we can learn about our own beliefs. Even a Physics text book or a horror story like Silence of the Lambs can teach you a thing or two about religion. You can learn lessons, morals, ways of life, things to do, things not to do and so on.

The great thing about books opposed to all other media is that they are not limited to 2 hours on a screen. The depth and learning of a book goes as deep as a reader’s imagination and the time spent learning through a book can take as long as a lifetime.

So as dorky as it may sound, in our world where so much time is spent in front of a talking box, individuals can do nothing better to learn more about their own beliefs than to explore more truth from the books of this world.

QUESTION:

Do you agree that since even the world itself can not contain the books that should be written about all the doings of Jesus, that we should take advantage of the books that we DO have to further our knowledge of truth? Or in other words, can we further our own knowledge of religion through other non-religious books?

Once upon a time, when I was dead...

I once got into a great spiritual/doctrinal discussion with someone... atleast I thought it was great, until I realized that the other guy was basing his beliefs and everything he was saying on a certain collection of books he had read. These books were not the Bible, the Koran, the Talmud or anything popularly considered "scripture." They were books written by people who "died" and then came back to life due to miracle or medicine.

I guess this happens often enough that there are many books written by come-back-to-lifers. One of the most famous is 90 Minutes in Heaven, a New York Times Bestseller. Don Piper, a baptist pastor, talks about being crushed by a semi truck, dying, and experiencing heaven. He saw loved one, gold roads, and of course, the pearly gate.

On the other end of the spectrum you could read 23 Minutes in Hell, and no it's not about my experience sitting through a Drew Barrymore movie. I'm telling you, there are plenty! Ones written by monks, ones written by women, and I'm pretty sure a mormon lady wrote one that my friend had, but I can't find it online anywhere (look for me to post a comment with that info.)

So here's the question: Do you believe this stuff being written? If you are not sure... let me ask you this: Do you think the fact there are so many of these books is a good thing or a bad thing?
Lemme know. Peace out.

Finding Christ and Religion in Literature

There are many popular books that include the lasting concept of good versus evil but there also a few that take this concept a bit further by incorporating “Christ-like” characters into their pages.  Some examples, like The Chronicles of Narnia, are quite obvious with their religious allusions.  Others, may at first appear to have nothing to do with religion  but actually have religious undertones due merely to the fact that they create a discussion about the idea of good versus evil.

            One of the most popular examples of religion in literature C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia.  Aslan, the all-powerful golden lion, sacrifices himself to save one of the young characters, Edmund, and then rises from the dead to defeat the wicked White Witch, saving all of Narnia.  The Chronicles of Narnia became popular with Christians and non-Christians alike, even being turned into a series of films both by the BBC and Disney.  Lewis’s other novels, which are much less masked in terms of their discussion on religion, have been and continue to be popular with Christian groups, but do not have the same appeal to non-Christians as his Narnia books do.  

            The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling is an example that many people would not think of as religious at all.  Though often controversial among Christian groups,  the novels actually contain many religious undertones.  At the beginning of the series, Harry’s parents selflessly sacrifice their own lives to save their son and at the end of the series, Harry is ready to sacrifice his own life in order to save the entire wizarding community from Lord Voldemort.  Just as Christ’s birth was a fulfillment of prophecy found in Isaiah, Harry’s birth was also in fulfillment of a prophecy made before he began his 

life.

           http://www.beliefnet.com/Entertainment/Books/2002/11/Harry-Potter-Christ-Figure.aspx

            After searching for examples for this blog post and thinking about many of the books I’ve read in my life, I found that he majority somehow incorporate the concept of good versus evil.  Although not all books have characters who specifically parallel Christ,  you can usually find some aspect within a large majority of books that can be related back to Christ or one of his teachings.  It seems, whether the author intends it or not, by using the concept of good versus evil, religion has a better chance of becoming part of the discussion about a novel.

           

So my question is this: Are we so used to allusions to Christ being incorporated into literature that we don’t notice or can these allusions cause people to make meaningful spiritual connections that ultimately cause them to become more religious?   

-Molly Turner

The Da Vinci Code...

When I first started thinking about what I could write about, I decided to do a Google search for the “best selling books of all time” and other variations of that phrase. Not having any certain expectations when I began the search, I was surprised at what I found. Each list I found was slightly different, and I don’t know the accuracy of any of them, but here are some common titles I found:

The Bible
The Qur’an
The Book of Mormon
Quotations from Chairman Mao
The Lord of the Rings
The Da Vinci Code
Harry Potter series
The Catcher in the Rye
The Guinness Book of World Records
The Chronicles of Narnia series

It was interesting to me to see how many of these books were about religion or had strong religious themes. It becomes apparent to me that religion has been a popular topic in literature both in the past and the present. The book I am going to discuss in a little more depth is The Da Vinci Code, which was published in 2003.

This book raised a lot of heat among Catholics and Christians alike. Many feel that its author, Dan Brown, distorted and fabricated the history of Christianity and the Catholic Church. Many were upset about Browns opening of the book with his statements of fact, arguing that his statements are not true and that he should have done more research.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_inVOSGLuI

What I also found interesting is that on the publisher’s page, which comes before his “fact” section, it says, “This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, business, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.”

With this disclaimer at the beginning of the book, do people have the right to be upset about his distortion of facts? It is an interesting thing to consider. The same controversy is raised over both the book and the movie.

Movie director Ron Howard responded to the criticism, “It's supposed to be entertainment, not theology. It causes people to stop and think about what they believe. I think that's healthy."

I would have to agree with Howard’s statement. I think that it is important to distinguish between what we are calling theology and what we are calling entertainment. When individuals do this, it can completely change the perspective of what is being read, or seen in the case of The Da Vinci Code.

On his Web site Dan Brown says, “While it is my belief that some of the theories discussed by these characters may have merit, each individual reader must explore these characters' viewpoints and come to his or her own interpretations. My hope in writing this novel was that the story would serve as a catalyst and a springboard for people to discuss the important topics of faith, religion, and history.”

About the controversy he says, “Admittedly, this may be the first time these ideas have been written about within the context of a popular thriller, but the information is anything but new. My hope for The Da Vinci Code was, in addition to entertaining people, that it might serve as an open door for readers to begin their own explorations and rekindle their interest in topics of faith.”

Question: What difference does it make when distinguishing between entertainment and theology in books and are people justified it taking offense to fictional books with religious themes?

Harry Potter: Christian, Wiccan or Neither?

When contemplating what I would write about when it came to books and religion, I thought what better subject than one of my personal favorites and the series whose last four books were the fastest-selling in history? And so I began an inquiry into the religious implications of books that consistently topped another list—the American Library Association’s Most Challenged.

Conservative Christian groups have been in an uproar about Harry Potter since its inception in the late 90s. I read an article on ChristianAnswers.net called “Is Harry Potter Harmless?” Let me share some quotes that seem to sum up the conservative Christian point of view :


“I don't think people fully realize what they're dealing with, and I think anyone who knows anything about spiritual warfare knows those books can open the door to spiritual bondage.”
-Clara Sessoms, manager of Living Water Christian Books

"With the growing popularity of youth-oriented TV shows on witchcraft—'Sabrina, the Teenage Witch;' 'Charmed;' 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'—a generation of children is becoming desensitized to the occult.”
-Author John Andrew Murray



It’s not out of the ordinary to have a segment of what some might call fundamentalist-types up in arms about something they find spiritually detrimental. It happens quite frequently and with things that seem to be less offensive than a teenage wizard and his pals.

What really intrigued me about the whole Harry Potter situation was that there are those who argue, vehemently at that, that the best part of HP is that it has no religiosity at all. On the Harry Potter Lexicon Web site a contributor known as glamourousgeek wrote a detailed essay about all the pains J.K. Rowling took to avoid religion in the books including how no characters say prayers despite being in life-threatening situations, deity is not mentioned in the celebration of Christmas and neither side uses religious arguments to win supporters for its cause.

Author J.K. Rowling that she skirted the issue of religion in the books so that people with Christian backgrounds wouldn’t know what was coming in the closing seventh novel. And what came was an undeniable nod to Christianity complete with a sacrificial death that leads to a sort of resurrection of the title character. The Christian values of love, courage and loyalty are also promoted throughout the series.

While the tide of conservative criticism did wane after the publication of the final book, many conservative Christians still feel that Harry Potter is an invitation to join the occult and become a practicing Wiccan, which could be another blog post entirely.

So, after synthesizing all this information, my question is how can people read the same exact story and find not only different meanings but also conflicting ones?

New medium for debate or yelling competition?

Religion has been a topic of debate ever since its beginnings and in every culture. While there are many different religions and beliefs in this world, as well as mediums used, that have changed over time, one thing that has always remained constant is this continuing war of words about such beliefs.

It is interesting to find that when it comes to religion, something created to bring people together, it has become one of the biggest wedges in dividing humanity. While I see no problem with having differences in beliefs or opinions, it seems that is what the world focuses on.

Ralph Waldo Emerson stated: “In the matter of religion, people eagerly fasten their eyes on the difference between their own creed and yours; whilst the charm of the study is in finding the agreements and identities in all the religions of humanity.”

The internet has allowed people to become connected like never before. The vast amounts of information about all subjects in this world are now only a few key strokes away. Surely, this new medium and its connective power have allowed us to find that charm of study expressed by Emerson. Instead of just the leading preachers, rabbis, imams, and others heading the religious debate, members of such religions have been empowered to voice their own views. In this era of understanding and enlightenment, the internet allows the everyday person to discuss what differences they have in faith. Instead of individual pamphlets written and distributed in town, people now have blogs. Instead of meeting in the town square, we are meeting on social websites. Instead of sharing our opinions in giant forums, we turn to YouTube. There are so many avenues to which people can come together to talk religion.

While this is the case, I find that instead of coming closer in understanding our similarities and respecting our differences in beliefs with the use of the internet, the exact opposite is occurring. Christianity seems more divided today than ever before, the Muslim faith cannot decide which group is truly correct, and it seems that everyone is becoming quickly offended by a certain type of prayer in school, holiday greeting, or even a question of curious observance. Instead of becoming more enlightened, society is choosing to become more entrenched in its own beliefs.

It seems that instead of using this new tool and medium to change ways of understanding different views, the internet is used as just a new way to bring fire to an old argument.

My question is: So is the internet really a place where multiple opinions and ideas have come together in discussion and expression for further understanding, or is it just our new way of yelling at each other that “my religion is better than yours”?

BY: Neal Minson

Google is...

The internet is the ultimate source of all information. Search engines are what narrow down the massive amounts of information found on the web into manageable and specialized chunks.

Google, the most prominent search engine on the web, has recently started including drop down suggestion lists as searches are typed into the search bar. However, recently the following has happened:

Google's search Suggest function treats Islam a bit differently from the other major religions of the world. It's willing to suggest "Christianity is bullshit" or "Judaism is false," but if you begin to ask what Islam is, it won't suggest a thing.

Google says that this search oddity is a bug - and that its search gurus are working to fix it. But several days have passed since it was publicly uncovered.

As originally noticed by The Next Web blog, Suggest isn't shy about suggesting search queries that put several major religions in a less-the-favorable light. If you type, "Christianity is" into Google's search box, for instance, the web giant suggests queries such as "Christianity is bulls***," "Christianity is not a religion," "Christianity is a lie," and "Christianity is fake."

This is only what you'd expect. Suggest suggests queries based on what others have searched for in the past. If you type "Judaism is," "Hinduism is," or "Buddhism is," Google also provides a long list of suggestions - some with a negative bent, some not. But if you type "Islam is," you get nothing.

On January 5, Google told Search Engine Land that its Islam Suggest block is a bug, saying "We’re working to fix it as quickly as we can."

Six days seems like an awfully long time to fix what would seem to be a simple bug, but there you have it.

Another question worth asking: "If Google unblocks suggestions for 'Islam is,' will they then suggest links pointing out that Google blocks suggestions for 'Islam is?'"

One way or another, Google engineers will actively intervene - the company has said they will - and when they do, you wonder how far they will go. Just as you wonder how far they go in actively tweaking any of Google's search or ad results. Google search is run by algorithms, but algorithms are written by people. And these faceless engineers have more than a little control over what so much of the world sees when visiting the web.

A third question worth asking: "If Google is intentionally blocking certain suggestions for 'Islam is' - for whatever reason - would we ever know?"

So my question to you is: Do you think Google should censor religious content in their searches if it is too inflammatory or do you think that that would encroach on religious freedom of information and freedom of speech?

Cyber Faith

Numerous religious websites have emerged recently as a result of society's search for spirituality. Although some of these sites are run by specific religious groups trying to communicate more frequently and conveniently with their members, a large number of them are devoted to general spirituality.

This trend mirrors how society in general feels about religion. People are moving away from the organized, structured religions, towards individual beliefs of self-improvement, spirituality, and meditation. In a way, this movement towards individualism is also a movement away from God.

Take, for example, one of the most popular online religious websites, beliefnet.com. Instead of focusing of topics from the Bible or other religious texts, this site offers tips on self-esteem, stress relief, and holistic living.

Religious websites, such as this, have a huge potential for growth and success. For the most part, when someone is looking for a quick answer to a problem, he or she searches the internet. For example, author Elena Larsen reported that "after September 11, 41% of Internet users, many of whom had never considered themselves online spiritual seekers, said they sent or received email prayer requests; 23% of Internet users turned to online sources to get information about Islam; and 7% of Internet users contributed to relief charities online."

Like it or not, the internet has become the source of society's information. So my question to you is: Do you think cyber religions or self-improvement websites can have the same spiritual effect on people as does traditional religions? Why?

The Internet Factor : Does it help or hinder?

With the Internet as one of our stable necessities in the US in the last twenty years or so, people are turning to it for everything, including religion as mentioned in the other posts. However, with people using the Internet as a source of information, there is obviously going to be posting from people on both sides of a religion fence - people for it, and people against it. While some people will actually post true doctorine of a religion, how does someone who knows nothing actually get correct information?

The Church has recently launched a new channel on YouTube called Mormon Messages.



http://www.youtube.com/user/mormonmessages?blend=1&ob=4&rclk=cti

I'm sure at one time or another, a BYU student has been subjected to this new multimedia method of presenting Church doctrine in a artistic and simplified way using talks from General Conference and quotes from past prophets coupled with photography and words to emphasize a point that seem to sometimes dance off the screen. Right now there are 79 videos listed, and they are met with some positive comments from people who are non-LDS like this post:

juliantb7777 (2 days ago) Show Hide

+13

Reply

I'm not Mormon, or religious in any way, but this is a great message that we should all think about.

As many of us know, the Church undergoes a lot of persecution, and it's not any different online. If someone merely googles the word "Mormon", nearly all of the links under the official church website and familysearch.org is anti-LDS websites. Even on the side of the google page where ads are shows:

Sponsored Links

1. Latter Day Saints Warning

   Do Not Join The Latter Day Saints
   Until You've Seen This...
   www.SecretsofMormons.com

The case is a little bit different when people type in "Latter-day Saints" but how many people outside of the Church (and even inside) refer to people as being Latter-day Saints as opposed to Mormons? The images listed when mormon is searched is predominantly negative, and probably highly offensive to many members.

If someone was interested in learning more about the church and came across the amount of anti-LDS websites, it could deter people from learning more about the true doctrine of the church. As a LDS member who posted a comment on the newest Mormon Message about how people should be nicer to LDS people stated:

TheLeprechaun96 (1 day ago) Show Hide

Reply

So do I. But then that would mean that they would have to actually do some research outside of all of the anti-LDS sites out there. It's a lot easier to just sit back and not do anything and hate for no reason.

So my question is this: does the Internet cause people to shortcut learning about different religions based on the top websites on Google, thus causing false information to be instilled in more people, or does it help promote digging deeper to learn true religious beliefs because of all the controversy / anti and pro websites that are listed?

Cyberfaith - The pursuit of God and Religion online

When you really think about it, religion is mostly tradition. Unless we are talking about Scientology, which claims to be the only new religion to have emerged in the 21st century, all the other major religions of the world have existed for well over a few hundred years. These religions have shown surprising valor in facing the tides of time by maintaining consistency in their religious though and practices, majority of which are the ancient remnants of a bygone era.

This is not to say that these religions are outdated. Religions serve the same purpose today as they did in those days of their infancy(saving of man's soul, attainment of nirvana, eternal progression etc. etc.). But there has been a gradual shift in the everyday expression of religion from traditional practices (like going to church on Sunday, mosque on Friday,eating kosher meals)to a more modern, easily accessible and more attractive means of "Cyberfaith."




"Cyberfaith" can best be described as the presence of religion in the form of specific religious institutions and forums on the internet, each of which cater to the needs of their own congregation, with an aim of attaining more followers. If we were to look at some statistics:

Over the past four years the percentage of churches with Web sites had grown from about 11% to around 45%. At this rate of growth, about 90% of all congregations will have Web sites in five years. All "Mega churches" - those with weekly attendance of more than 2,000 -- have Web sites and most of these take advantage of the dynamic features of the Web such as interactivity.(Hartford Institute for Religion Research)

According to Elena Larson, lead author of the "Wired Churches, Wired Temples- Taking Congregations and Missions into Cyberspace" a recent study by the Pew Internet and American Life Project,

25% of Internet users - about 28 million people - have gotten religious or spiritual information online, an increase from the 21% reported in 2000, and an indication of an increasing use of religious Internet resources.

67% of what Larson called "religion surfers" have accessed information on their own faith, while 50% have sought information on other faiths. 21% of these users have sought religious advice using email and 38 % have used email to send prayer requests.

15% of survey respondents said their use of the Internet has made them feel more committed to their faith, and 27% say it has improved their spiritual life to at least a modest degree.

In addition, 35% believe that the Internet has a "mostly positive" effect on the religious life of others, and 62% said that the availability of material on the Internet encourages religious tolerance. At the same time, 53% reported some fear that the Internet makes it easier for cults to promote themselves in ways that could be harmful.

The above stats suggest that this slow but gradual change, of moving away from traditional religious practices to finding an expression of ones faith in online discourse is becoming more and more mainstream.

Is this a good thing or a bad thing?Are people innocent in their belief that religion on the internet is not a bad idea, or can this form of worship really work?