Modern Religious Experience: Reflection #9: The Incarnation of God

Modern Religious Experience: Reflection #9: The Incarnation of God: "After viewing 'The Nativity Story', analyzing your chosen Christmas carol, and reading Philippians 2:1-7, reflect on the meaning of Christma..."

Silent night, holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child
Holy Infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Sleep in heavenly peace

The song that I chose is Silent Night. After watching the "Nativity Story" and reading Philipians 2:1-7 it is shown that Jesus is the human form of God that came down to this earth in order to live amongst humans. The first verse of Silent Night has much to do with the birth of Jesus Christ. Firstly it says "Round yon Virgin Mother" which is the description of Mary. Because when she was pregnante with Jesus she was still a virgin. The holy spirit came and impregnated her with Jesus thus leaving her as a virgin mother. This required Joseph to have trust in Mary that she recieved her child from the Holy Spirit and did not have an affair with another man. Also the verse "all is bright" is the reference to the start that shown over Bethalhem the city in which Jesus was born. This start led the wise men and sheperds to Jesus. The fact that sheperds were the first people to see Jesus plays a significant role in setting the way Jesus was brought into this world. The reason why is that back in Jesus' time sheperds were considered the lowest social class other then lepers. Sheperds were vagabonds who were not worthy of living in a city and had to wander from place to place with the sheep. This shows that Jesus did not place himself above others and that he accepted everyone. Also the three gifts that the wise men bring each symbolise and aspect of Jesus. The gold symbolises that Jesus is the King of Heaven and Earth. Frankincense was a highly valued incense used by the high priest. Myrrh was a the holy annointing oil used by prophets. These gifts show that Jesus is ment to be a King, Priest, and a Prophet.
Jesus in the song is described as a "Holy Infant so tender and mild" and Jesus came to earth as a baby is because God is humble. Despite the fact that he could've come to earth from the heavens splitting the clouds apart and having a huge band playing an epic song as he walks down the stairs made out of solid gold. He still chose to come on to earth as a defenseless baby. On top of that he was born in a stable which is a filthy place where animals are kept.

Modern Religious Experience: Reflection #8 Islam: Two Perspectives

Modern Religious Experience: Reflection #8 Islam: Two Perspectives: "Find where Islamic religious beliefs intersect with current events. Research a Western news source on the story and summarize the artic..."

Islamic article
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2010/09/201091112152289695.html
In this Islamic article the journalist talks about how the burning of the Quran planned out by Terry Jones a small time pastor in Florida has brought even more problems to the already strained relationship between the US and the Muslim world. However as the article progresses the journalist says that despite the burnings of the Quran it is somewhat excusable because Terry Jones is considered insane. The journalist then continues on the say what excuses do Obama, Petraeus, and Robert Gates have for their so called justifiable actions. With this the journalist is referring to the use of unmanned drones in targeting possible members of the Taliban or Al-Qaeda members which often lead to the involvement of civilians getting injured. This is all due to the "Islamophobia" that the westerners all have.

Western Article
http://articles.cnn.com/2010-07-29/us/florida.burn.quran.day_1_quran-burning-florida-church-terry-jones-american-muslims-religion?_s=PM:US
In the CNN article the journalist talks about how Terry Jones plans to burn Qurans on the ninth anniversary of 9/11 in order to remember the victims of the terrorist attack. The article continues on to talk about how the small church in Florida is promoting their event. They make t-shirts and mugs that say "Islam is of the Devil" and have a Facebook page and they have their own website. However there are also many Muslims and Christians that are fighting against the movement. They hold information seminars in order to properly educate the people of Islam.

As you can see in the Islamic article the journalist focuses more on the aspect of America's not being completely justifiable. That the act of burning Qurans is no more wrong then using unmanned drones and getting innocent bystanders involved. Also they refer to Islamophobia with quotation marks in the article which show the sarcasm in which they view it. In the western article they use the word Islamophobia with out the use of quotation because they consider it to be a serious phobia while Muslim people view it as a made up phobia which Westerners use an an excuse.