Who is Jesus? #2

This class has changed how I think about scripture. I was really glad that we picked the Gospels apart in our form criticisms. In our form criticisms, we got to the bare bones and the real meaning of the gospels. I think it is important to remember that we can't take a translation that is 1500 years old as a literal word. We must remember the context of the writings of the Gospel, and how the translations might apply today.
In my service learning, I learned how to adapt to different people and scenarios. My experience with GAME helped me try to understand a population that I am not exposed to very often. Children that attend GAME come from low income families. Some of them have attitudes, some of them are shy. Each of them go to GAME for a different reason. When I went to GAME, I remembered that we were there to serve others as Christ served us. It was nice to learn about different types of people and how a different home situation can lead to those different personalities. Game helped me understand how we can try to relate to each different individual and treat them with the respect and attention they deserve, as God relates to us.

Who is Jesus?
in a paragraph: Jesus is the son of God and a prophet. God sent someone in His/Her image so God could better understand the human condition. Jesus is an ultimate role model for peace and the promotion of justice. Jesus reminded us that "we need to be the change we want to see in the world." -Ghandi. Jesus is someone to emulate in order to promote ethical eschatology. It is our job to change ourselves and the world around us. God put us on this planet, in our conditions for a reason, and we should attempt to find what the reason is.
in a sentence: Jesus is the son of God, was sent to earth to promote love and forgiveness of others.
in a word: Peace.
in a photo:


The photographs are of the Catholic Pope and the Anglican Archbishop.

Service Learning Supplement #2

Often Americans do not realize that there is a class system in America. As shown in chapter one of Class Matters, there is less upward mobility than we think in America. Upward mobility is the ability for people to jump from class to class throughout their lifetime. America may have a higher chance of upward mobility than other countries, but it is impossible for all classes to move upwards in the class structure of the United States. Americans have a strong belief that anything is possible in the job world in America. This means people in the United States do not think that they are responsible for the lower class’ misfortune. However, this is not true. It is the upper class that prevents the lower class from moving upward. The upper class has set social ideals that all higher class members must have. This includes a good education, wealth, income, and occupation. Upper class members are traditionally white males that are born into their position. It is nearly impossible for the rags to riches idea to become reality. Some Americans do not have money to go to college, and therefore can never move to a higher class. Most lower class individuals do not have the tools to attend college, or believe that the goal is unattainable.

Class has a very distinct effect on education. In lower class areas, teachers are hard to come by. It is harder to teach in areas where parenting is less strict and less controlled. As a result, it is more difficult to teach the material. While the teacher may have good material to teach, the class might not be paying attention, making it difficult for strong willed students to learn. A good environment for learning is necessary for students to succeed. Unfortunately in lower income areas, it is difficult to achieve a good learning environment because of the parent’s, and the environment’s influence. A student in a lower income family may not be able to attend school each day because of family problems. A student might have to work a full time job to help support his family, therefore spends his time working rather than studying. While these students may gain skills necessary to survive in the real world, they lack the normal comfortable environments upper class students have. Lower class students are susceptible to classrooms that are overflowing, no individual time with their teacher, and a lack of individualism. Also, upper class students have more access to programs run by their school. School districts have to fight for money to run programs like counseling, tutoring, sports, and after school programs. In private schools, the school can decide what they want rather than the government.
Private schools, which offer the best and most liberating education, are hard for lower class individuals to attend and get into. Even though loans are possible, often lower class individuals are reluctant to take them for fear of being in more debt or not being able to pay them off. In the worst scenarios, people are already in debt and have lower credit, therefore are not able to receive loans. Also, they are difficult for lower class individuals to get into. A lower class school in Brooklyn has a very different education system than a private school in Manhattan.


In GAME, we see many lower class students. There are sad statistics that go along with these students. These statistics prove the reality that upward mobility is nearly impossible in the lower class. One out of three students enrolled in the Spokane public school district will drop out. Is it really the child’s fault for dropping out if their home life is unstable? If they do not have enough food to eat, or must work to give money to their families rather than going to school, it is not the child’s fault. There are many factors upper class Americans do not consider when investigating the lower and working classes. Some factors that lead to less upward mobility may include family, illness, lack of food, and lack of education. There are hundreds of other factors, but the truth is that it making rags to riches is not going to work for the majority of lower class individuals. In GAME, we have many mentees that belong to the lower class. It is not their fault that they are born into a system they cannot escape. They have been conditioned by their peers and family in a way that would make it hard for them to win someone over in an interview. That’s why mentors from Gonzaga come to GAME. We try to be a positive influence and incorporate good mannerisms into every game we play with our mentees. Some of the kids from GAME might even apply to Gonzaga in the future. Children of the lower class aren’t given the proper attention that they need. If they were given hope or further education, upward mobility would be more attainable.

Service Learning Supplement #1

Hunger is an issue that cannot be ignored in the city of Spokane, state of Washington, and in the United States of America. Food insecurity is present in every state and every town. It affects people we know and should care about. I went to the talk on Hunger. It took place in the Foley teleconference center, which was to the left of the library. The talk was given by Linda Stone. Linda Stone has been a child advocate for a number of years. Group mentoring programs were required to attend this talk as a training tool.

During the talk, we were given many statistics. She showed us which counties in Washington were the most food insecure, which had the most amount of people who were hungry, and other statistics. We were also given a few phrases and definitions that we could apply to hunger. She told us there was a difference between hunger and food insecurity. Food insecurity is where one is unsure whether they will be able to put food on the table. Hunger is the actual state of starvation that the body undergoes. It is sad that most statistics are based on hunger, when the bigger issue is how many people cannot put enough food on the table. Another factor that is often left unconsidered are families that can feed their children, but cannot afford to feed themselves or their children in a healthy manner. A mother or father may be able to buy McDonald for their child, but it does not mean that their child is getting the nutrients they need. This unfortunate scenario deprives children of their necessary vitamins that they need to grow strong. It also deprives children of years of their life.

After the talk, Meredith talked to us about how the information on hunger related to our services. She reminded us that when a kid is cranky, to remember that it might be because (s)he might not have eaten dinner. When I heard this, i remembered how i had judged some of the kids for being bullies. I also considered that on other days, they acted nicer sometimes. It was shocking for me to realize that the issue of hunger could be prevalent in GAME.

In GAME specifically, there are kids who have mean attitudes for no reason. Meredith reminded us that the kids that might seem mean one day might be cranky because they haven't eaten. Spokane children are directly affected by hunger. The underprivileged and lower class children living in Spokane can't afford to go to Gonzaga prep, so they attend schools like Glover and Garfield. Spokane's school district is very poor. They have many programs designed for underprivileged children. These programs are designed because of the need for special attention that these kids deserve. 1/3 kids in Spokane drop out of high school. That shockingly large number cannot be attributed to teachers alone. That number is a direct result of other, cultural influences in chilren's lives, and other absence of influence. It is unfair that a child might go through a day without food, and it negatively affects their performance in daily life.

Reflection Paper #6

Pauline letters make sure that the role of women in Jesus' time is not forgotten. In particular, Mary Magdelene is remembered. She is present in all of the synoptic gospels. She traveled with Jesus through Galilee. It is not exactly sure what Mary's relationship was with Jesus. In recent movies/books, (Da Vinci Code) it was suggested that they had a loving relationship. There is one woman who anoints Jesus in the gospels. Some scholars believe it was Mary Magdelene.


The Gospels sublty hint at the importance of women in the gospels. Many letters or writings have been changed to hide their importance. However, many women traveled with Jesus and even ministered to others. In class we learned that whenever a woman and the verb "to minister" is used, the translation is changed to "to serve." Now, to serve sounds more like waiting on someone, whereas minister sounds like religious work or healing is being employed. I think men have the upper hand with that translation.

Even though Jesus apostles were men, women traveled with Jesus, women gave their homes for his work, and some worked with Paul in his missionary work. Though women were important in Jesus' following, they were denied authority and downplayed throughout history.

In the times following Jesus death, women were allowed to study in the some of same philosophy schools that men were allowed. That meant that they were given the correct education and were allowed to have intellect, rather than emotion that 18th century men declared ruled woman's mind.

Paul declared that baptism made one born anew, or born again, like the gospel writing we read in our last form criticism. This meant slave, free, men women, jew, or gentile were destroyed and all that was left was who you were in the eyes of God. While women and men were created equal in this aspect, there was no social change that changed the status of men.

Today in the Church, women aren't allowed to be priests or deacons. How have we come so far away from the egalitarian kingdom Jesus once preached about? I have a feeling marriage will be allowed for male priests before women can bless or give homilies.

Service Learning Blog

I chose WFP and poverty.com
WFP (World Food Program) Has a shocking statistic- one in six people are malnourished in the world. That's such a horrible statistic. It brings to life the reality of hunger in the world. WFP sets goals to eradicate this hunger in the world. Poverty.com views poverty as something that can be changed. There is enough food for people, but we fall short of distributing it all. How can we let people starve without having compassion? This site is trying to change ethnocentrically american views (that everyone can get food and water), and that some people really do need help. It's not always a populations fault if they are impoverished or starving. We need to aknowledge that people starve because of us, not them.
I liked that these sites aknowledged hunger, but i think there are more issues than food that people deal with on a day to day basis, especially in America where food is more acessible.

The type of poverty that I see in Game is lower middle class. These pre-teens live in low income or middle class families, and many receive free lunches. They are usually considered at-risk. We have a few bullies, and a few super shy people. By mixing all kinds of people from all walks of life, they can understand themselves and others better. Game is a good way of helping kids increase self esteem. Also, hanging out with these kids once a week keeps them out of trouble. Living in poverty greatly affects their day to day lives, including education. It makes education difficult, because their parents may not advocate it or think it's important. Also, at home, if their parents arent well educated, they can't help them with homework. Many end up at community college because their parents think they can't pay for private or public universities. It makes healthcare difficult because they can't pay for good medical insurance or go to the best hospitals. Living conditions are poor, if one can't pay bills, they can hardly furnish a house.

I think it is absolutely neccessary to increase awareness of poverty in Spokane. We don't neccessarily advertise "GAME" in the Spokane community. If more programs like this were readily available, we might be able to improve the lives of hundreds of teens in America. I think it is important to attempt to live in solidarity with others. I think GAME is a good program to see poverty close up, and work alongside it to help change attitudes, so GAME mentees can view the world as more friendly and accessible.

When I think about people in poverty, i think of the woman that was so poor, but gave her last two cents to the collection plate. i think if people were more willing to give of themselves, we could more easily destroy hunger and poverty. If people were willing to give services, time, and money to important causes, we could change the world.

Reflection Paper #5 Paul's Letters

Paul is an interesting addition to the New Testament. His letters were to friends, and brothers and sisters in Christ around 45-50B.C. The purpose of his letters were to educate about Jesus and evangelize different types of people living shortly after Christ's death. Chapter 13 in Ehrman attempts to decode Thessalonians 1 so we can better understand Pauline letters. The letter Thessalonians was written to the peope of Thessalonica, smack in the center of Macedonia.

Paul isn't what we would consider a prophet in modern times; standing in the middle of times square handing out bibles. No, he visited Jews where they worshipped in cities. Out of some sort of goods shop, he sold useful things while preaching good deeds and about the gospels. It was difficult to convert others at those times because Greco-Roman religions didnt' mind if one took part in other religions. However, there were some very strict philisophies in Greco-Roman times as well-stoic and cynic, which preached to rid oneself of dependency on material things. So one would place dependency on things that are unchangeable. Cynics took this ideology to an extreme and regected social concepts as well. It could have been easy to convert a stoic to christianity since one's belief in God can remain constant and inchangeable. However, a cynic might be less inclined to follow Christ because of the belief that religion is a human need.

Those that visited Pauls shop could have been pagans or polytheistic. So his message was not what we would consider a "bible thumper"'s message. We have some ideas of what his message could have been-to give up false idols, and that his God was monothestic. Then he threw a curveball-there is another part of God, Jesus' son. It probably wasnt a foreign concept to have two Gods, but to make the two Gods one was probably confusing to most Greco-Romans who knew polytheism to be true. Paul also stressed in his letters the importance of the crucifixion, that God died to rid us of our sins, and therefore we are forgiven. Paul also made sure that his followers knew of the apocalypse. This was a great way to get people to rethink their lives before they were "doomed to eternal damnation".


Pauls letters are sent to groups of people, rather than individuals. Ehrman points out that this means it's likely that groups of people met together in small gatherings or churches. Since there weren't official christian churches yet, they might have met secretly in someone's home. Ehrman says it could have been like other guilds at the time, such as trade organizations. All associations at these times had certain codes/rules they had to abide by. Most associations were a life-insurance like association where they planned to have members of the association buried according to the association. They also did social things together. These associations normally had fees involved. Christian communities activities might have been leading the groups in discussion. Because the groups met illegally, they were very tight knit.

The secret societies were constantly under pressure, being criticized by many and accused of perverted allegations. The christians were questioned about their sexual desires, therefore Paul wrote to the thessalonian Christians to stay pure.

Paul started to worry that Jesus wasn't coming back. The Thessalonians had little to hope for. However, he had the idea of a 3 story universe. God is in the highest story, we are on the earth (2nd) and those who have died are below us (1st story). He promised, like Jesus, that the dead would be raised and would be with God;

Paul was coined as the apostle of the Gentiles. He stuck to those who knew little abut Judaism and taught them a new world of ideas. He gave them hope in a world of turmoil and confusion.

The Politics of Jesus

First, the Politics of Jesus talks about a few of the misunderstandings between liberals and conservatives. The author compares today's battles between both sides to that of the Salem Witch Trials. Verbal fights in the name of God have escalated to violent wars through vandalism and protests. The author points out that conservatives are the "worst" players. Conservatives also have more power than liberals, they've been around longer and dominate political establishments. One of these establisments is the Heritage Foundation, which i ordered a free copy of the constitution from. So not only do these foundations have money, they have the means of media to reach people.

There is a miscommunication in the politcal world that "liberals and liberalism" are at fault for the flaws in america. In fact, the words liberals and liberalism are very different terms. Liberalism is an ideology that pertains to a more republican characteristic. Liberalism pertains more to freedom from government,which is an old republican ideology.

Conservatism is also an ideology. There are two different types of conservatism: Moral and political. Moral has to do with the purging of sins. These sins included adultery, murder, and occasionally the subjeccts of homosexuality, abortion. Political conservatism has to do with spending less money and having less regulations from the country, and more regulations that have to do with local levels.

Jesus was about liberal politics, and moral conservatism. That is, he wanted to give more money and more freedom to the poor while remaining ethical, doing good deeds, etc.

Liberals are often viewed as child and family hating. They want more taxes and to spend more money. They are portrayed to republicans as a crime to society. They are viewed as Christ-haters. When conservatives make these demeaning remarks, they aren't acting as Christ did. How can they cover their attacks as defending christ when Christ's biggest teaching was to love others as you love yourself? Some conservative preachers followed suit, asking not to make peace with enemies, but to continue hating them.




Classes in society directly contradict Jesus' teaching. However this is a conservative ideology:that classes must exist to have a well balanced government.