RP #3

Crossan continues to give examples of scenarios we have interpreted as true and makes them more plausible to what they could likely have been, by using previous text, and historical context. Crossan came up with a few shocking, yet notable revelations. He states that on palm sunday Jesus never paraded into town. Crossan belives the last supper never happened because the last suppers do not have corresponding dates.

Crossan goes over the scenarios where Jesus reappeared to the disciples or performed miracles. One of my favorites is when crossan goes over the woman that anointed Jesus. She remains unnamed, however Jesus says she'll be famous--contradictory to what is actually true,

Finally the epilogue comes where Crossan describes the characteristics of Jesus-how he came to the poor looking like them, with an entirely different message. you can feel how radical this Jesus guy was--walking up to strangers, telling them about the word of God--giving them hope. I think Crossans epilogue makes the biography come full circle. Jesus was the ultimate grassroots organizer--he had no political power, and just relied on others to spread the word of God. His "words" or advice became a revolution, an he starte a revolution of new thought, and revival of religious life. He brought the living into the kingdom of God.

Self Portrait through History

This is a picture of me doing the Aids walk in Spokane.
This picture may be historically important in the future if LGBT rights are expanded or if health care is more readily accessible in the united states. This issue is very important to me because as an Episcopalian, I am a very big supporter of lgbt rights and domestic partnership. Aids is an issue that effects every population, but the gay community is very much associated with it. I hope one day that negativity towards these issues are less prevalent, and that awareness of both issues are expanded.

I would really like to have a picture of me in front of the National Cathedral in DC, or in Aneheim, California where the 76th annual General Convention was held for the Episcopal Church. I wish I could have been there. My church is one of the first churches to openly, publicly, wholly admit that we have gay members in our clergy and congregation.

The openness of the church to accept gay and lesbian members into their community shows how far this world has come in accepting LGBT peoples. I think that though the episcopal community is small, we have made a very large statement to the world that we are ready to coexist if they are.

Reflection Paper #2

Crossan opens his new chapter with contrasting definitions of "Basileia" and "kingdom." Kingdom is the closest definition we have for Basileia-some sort of ruling power. The Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven is associated with the highest majesties in English.. But the Greek version may have a more profound sound, because the word Basileia means more than kingdom, it is more o fa divine rule. Most think of the Kingdom of God as something to look forward to after death. Crossan points out that this is not the case--we must relate this kingdom to our life. So he explains the four-fold path of the Kingdom of God-
there is time divided into two parts - present and future, and there is class- peasants vs high class. The kingdom of heaven should, as crossan states, be viewed as an basic ethical standard (how to live like the divine, be a moral person, etc), rather than a future place that exists only after death. Everyone must attempt to live in this ethical kingdom to continue on. There are two standards for this future kingdom, for upper and lower class. The upper class must rule with dignity and keep peace in their kingdom. The wise must work to ban ignorance and ethnocentrism. The lower class must strive to be like Jesus--he was in the lower class.
I think its fantastic that Crossan points out that we must attempt to live in the present ethical kingdom to share in divinity. Its a relief to imagine that the kingdom of God is here on earth rather than waiting for the unknown that we will live or not live out in the future. I think living peacefully and in harmony with earth to the best of ones ability is relieving and is taking part in the Kingdom of God--I find it great that one can find peace in living out morale and just ways.

Crossan understands that it is hard for us to relate, as Americans, to the lives that first century Mediterraneans lived. Americans are focused on getting to the top by their selves, whereas the people of the first century were focused on their family and work. Family is important, because Jesus stressed that everyone could be part of Gods family, could be his brother or sister. Family brought about a lot of controversy. Basically all the drama in the 1st century derived from the family: every woman is required to marry, have children, and so forth. Some that were unable to perform these tasks were exiled--Crossan thinks Jesus wanted people to denounce their families so things like this wouldn't happen, so that the balance of power would be restored to all being equal.

Crossan also points out that only the beggars are poor. a mistranslation divides desitute and poor. We commonly believe that those that are lacking any sort of wealth have rewards in the kingdom of heaven. Crossan basically says only those who are born in third world countries with no chance whatsoever to move ahead are rewarded in the kingom of God. Maybe this also means that by the poor in spirit are really extremely defecit in spirit--meaning mentally ill? Baically Crossan is saying all of us are horrible people and have no excuse, and should repent for our sins.


I am relieved to hear an explanation that i am familiar with. Crossan talks about how Jesus ate at the table with tax collectors,sinners, gross people. Therefore, he was associated with them, by keeping their company. Inviting someone to eat with you was a very strong statement back then.


Crossans writing sure is interesting, and I do believe he makes some valid points. I'm not so sure this is a strict biography of life events, at least not yet. I feel like Crossan is starting to narrow things down and decipher exactly what Jesus wanted from his followers.

Life Events September 15.

• Have there been any specific events in your life that have changed the way you view things? High School had a big impact on my life. I went on this awesome retreat called KAIROS. It changed how i thought about people, God, and how i wanted to treat others. I also got fired from a job (was re hired later), which was a big turning point in my life.

Did you view these events as negative or positive at the time they happened?
Both of these events had similar lasting impacts, but they were different when they first happened. When I got fired, i felt horrible and wanted to change everything about myself... When I went on Kairos, i felt like i was loved and accepted,and wanted to change for the better.

• What do you have as tangible proof of the major turning points and influences of your life? What kind of images and writings do you have that denote these events?
I have T-Shirts from the job i had, and I have a necklace that says live the fourth on the back of it from KAIROS. I also have proof in journals from KAIROS. I have more proof from both in pictures.

• When you think about major influences in your life, you may think of personal items that carry significance not obvious to the outside observer, but that act as triggers for your memory or are emblematic of the time, place, or people who have influenced you. Can you make a mental list of some of these things? Is there any commonality between these items? If you group these items together, what kind of a picture do they create about your life?

i think of a cross, a journal, a guitar, water, and pine trees.
They are very much God related... All of them are interconnected with what reminds me of, or what is my image of God. They create something to build off of..

• Take a few minutes to think about a major turning point in your life, an event that happened to you or someone else, or perhaps to the world outside of yourself, that you think has had an impact on how you turned out.
• Take 15 minutes to elaborate on this event, what happened, and how it impacted you. In what way are you a different person because of what happened? What were the positive and negative aspects of this event? What is the most important thing you learned about yourself as a result of this event?
A turning point in my life was probably when i was twelve. I had neighbors that were super into god (nondenominational christian) and i wanted to find that drive, that motivator for myself. So i asked to go to church. My mom wanted to try out these "episcopal" churches.. I had no idea what they were but apparently my grandparents who were British went to an Anglican Church back home, and my mom wanted to honor my parents. It turned out, being Episcopalian is the best religion that i could be involved in. I love Catholicisim, i went to a catholic school, sometimes i wish i was catholic, but #piscopalian is just the right mix for me. It's helped me in everything i do, been my guiding light in everywhere I go. The only negative parts about this are that my brother is pretty agnostic, and thinks religion is a flawed institution.. So its been a bummer having him dislike that part of my life, but i couldn't live without it.



• What makes turning points so powerful? turning points can make you a brand nedw person. and help you reflect on things, no matter how short the time, if you keep a constant reminder of your turning point, you might be able to change for good.
• What can you gain from a turning point? You can gain insights about yourself and life and maybe even start over.
• Have you experienced a change in the way you view turning points over time (i.e. did you experience a turning point as negative at first, then realized it had a positive outcome over the longer period). yes, sometimes things like breakups are super painful at first, but in the long run you can become a better person by getting over the person and moving on, taking some you time and starting over fresh.
• Do you think there are any turning points that have no positive aspects? there can be negative turning points. physical/emotional abuse or drugs, for example can lead people down a windy path.

Crossan Ch 1-2 Reflection

Crossan opens the revolutionary biography of Jesus with different comparisons. It can only be assumed that Crossan believes some of Jesus narrative was influenced by previous writers’ work. He compares Jesus, the son of a poor carpenter, to Octavious, the son of almighty Caesar. Octavious and Jesus were quite similar. Crossan points out here that the Greek writers that wrote about Caesar made the accounts of Caesar and Octavious more “flowery.” By flowery, I mean they wrote in poetry and prose and were heavily influenced by previous written narratives such as the Iliad and the Odyssey, They were both thought of as the son of God. Crossan then asks why the gospels Mathew and Luke have stories of Jesus’ birth. Both are short depictions of what the birth was like. But there is a gap of time missing, from birth to adulthood that we do not have any recollection or written story of. So why were the infancy narratives included? There are numerous stories in the Old Testament where the unable give birth despite medical problems. One of these stories is John, the style of writing and situations are similar. The birth narratives of John an Jesus are very similar, and they both prophesize about a new day. The next comparison is Moses and Jesus. Moses was saved from the river by his mother, who hid him in a basket. Moses was prophesied to lead the exodus, therefore the king basically had a warrant out for Moses, much like when king Herod sent out to kill all children in Bethlehem. Moses infancy story follows a simple pattern. First there is a sign, then fear, then consultation, then a massacre. Jesus’ follows the same exact pattern; however it is much less obvious to us since we focus more on Jesus actual life. The next pattern Crossan reviews is Jesus virginal birth. It is very similar to when Amram and Miram were divorced and remarried. The pattern is Divorce, reassurance, and remarriage. Joesph and Mary were reassured by god, like Miriam, that their marriage was pure. Crossan notes that gospels Matthew and Luke us the past to solidify the future. By adding old testament and other epic poetry into the mix, Jesus can be more easily identifiable with others. The plan makes Jesus relatable while adding new lessons to the mix. The author continues with the bashing of a story in Luke where Jesus is seen as a shining student. This is impossible, because Jesus, since he was a carpenters son, would not have been able to read. This story points out that sometimes we can’t trust oral history.

I think it is important to question the sources that we read from, and this evidence proves that Jesus narrative may not be word for word what Jesus actual life story was like. I think it is important to pick the pieces apart to try to get to the nitty gritty, the bones of the real story, so we can derive lessons from there, instead of building lessons on morphed, disfigured, poetic misrepresentations. Crossans evaluations makes me wonder: what was Jesus life really like, and how simple did he live? Were his miracles less than miracles?

1. Describe yourself in one paragraph. You may focus on any thing you wish, including interests, personality traits, past history, future goals.
My name is Katherine, but i've been called KC, or Kacei all my life. I have a thousand different interests and hobbies: art, sports, faith.. etc. but I was born and will always be an artist. That said, i love painting, drawing, sculpting, theatre, and writing music with my guitar. Even though I love art and its a huge part of my life, I'm a people person, and wouldn't be able to live an unstable artists life. Faith is an important part of my life, and I'm currently discerning the call to become an Episcopal priest. But I have a lot to work on before I cross that bridge. I love working with others, and volunteering. My favorite place to be is Camp Noel Porter, an Episcopal camp that i volunteer at over the summer. I swam in high school and now I hope to cox for the girls crew team.

2. Now describe yourself in one sentence.

I live in a vibrant, colorful world full of love.

3. Finally, describe yourself in one word and draw/attach a simple image that represents that word.

Love

Who is Jesus?

Jesus in one paragraph: Jesus is an ultimate role model for humankind. He was a prophet and a radical. The things he prophesied about were the kingdom of heaven, and personal salvation. The radical things he preached about were that God forgives sinners if they repent, and to love everyone as one loves thyself. The compassion he showed and taught others about was a stark contrast to what the Jews were used to. I think because of this contrast, the miracles he performed, and his awesomeness, he created a large following of people dedicated to God. For me, Christ is an example of what humans are called to be like. I think God wants us to have mutual respect for one another, and Christ was sent to show us that.


Jesus in one sentence: Jesus was sent by God.

Jesus in one word: Peace
Jesus in a photo: