This semester was not the easiest semester for me. I had a few personal issues that affected me as a student and altered my grades as well. For a moment i just gave up and i realize this was not the smartest decision to make, it was actually a very stupid and irresponsible decision.
As i mentioned before, i had a rough semseter therefore i was not a very good student. I tried to do the blogs but when they got too difficult to research i just gave up. Sometimes i would do them but never post them, which was really stupid because they were already there and all i had to do was type them and then post them. When the blogs would get too difficult to write or to find information on them i would not bother to go to Mrs. Hentschel and have her help me on whatever i could not find. Also, when i didn't understand an assignment or blog i would not go into reach or on my free time for help, i would just let the due dates for my assignments pass without doing anything about it. This really damaged my grades. I tried to find research on my topic, however it was really hard to find anything new on it because it was a common topic at all. Most of the information i found was either completely unreliable and not credible, or it was the same information given on another website. When this happened it frustrated me and i would give up trying to find info rather than going to the teacher and asking for help. Overall, i was not a very engaged student this semeter.
When it came to my writing i think it was a very different story from my job as a student. I believe my writing scills greatly improved from the beggining of the year to the end of the semester. We had to write a lot this semseter, whether it was essays, blogs, or short summaries we always had something to write. I found all the writing very hellpfull because it taught me how to write in a more formal tone rather than in a dull, boring tone. The few letters we did were also helpfull because that also taught me how to write formally and intelectually. However, what really helped the most were the vocab test we had every week or so, these words not only helped my writing skills, but also my reading skills. They helped my writing skills because i had new words to include in my writing, so it sounded more proffetional and not so immature. I could use plenty of these words in my essays or in other classes that required writing. They helped make my writing seem smarter due to my "advanced" vocabulary. Not only that, but when i read books i could easily recognize the word that we had been studying and i no longer had to go to a dictionary to look up the word because i had already learned it. Many of the books i read were filled with the vocab word i had learned in class, this made my books more understandable.
The topic i chose for my blogs was very intersting but it was just as difficult as it was interesting. I struggled a lot when it came to finding new information on the topic. But i do not regret choosing this topic because i learned a lot during about the Apocalypse and this topic was always a topic that intrigued me. Researching this topic made me realize that we may be close to the end and that we should be prepared for when it comes. I also found a lot of different predictions that people have made of when the world will end. Seems like people fancy the idea of everyone dying... very strange. I am a rather religious person so this topic was educational as well as interesting. It is good to know that most of the events going on right now are associated to the apocalypse in different ways. I do not believe my generation will have to go through the apocalypse, but i want to be prepared just in case. It is not only that i want to be prepard, but i would also like to strengthen my relationship with God. I believe that by choosing this topic i learned a little more about my religion and about what God wants from us.
Although this topic may have been a very difficult topic to study and it made me give up at certain points, i am still glad i chose it because i learned a lot. This semester may have been tough for me, but i am glad i could still get something out of it.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Book Response
A History of the End of the World. Sounds interesting right? Well you know what they, "Don't Judge a book by its cover," or in this case by its title. This book, written by Jonathon Kirsch, would be an exceptional book if I was the type of person who likes to read text books for fun. I am not trying to say the book was not interesting, because it was, however it was not very entertaining, as most non-fiction books tend to be.
The Book was written from the perspective of a very intellectual man. Jonathon Kirsch has written several other books. Most of them are about the history of a religion or a religious character. Kirsch wrote this book to inform people about the effect the book of Revelation, or the Apocalypse, has had on our world throughout history. In his book he explains the different interpretations made for the book of Revelation and he also tells his readers how he interprets the book. Kirsch's intent was to explain how the controversy of the book of Revelation has changed and shaped our lives in different ways. He gives various examples of change throughout the entire book and he explains very thoroughly how each of these events, thoughts, or actions were brought by the Apocalypse book. He definitely succeeds in defending and supporting his opinion because he gives supporting details and facts for each of the examples he presents. One of his arguments is that the book influenced Christians to demean Jews during the Middle Ages by mentioning "the synagogue of Satan" in the Apocalypse. He then supports this statement in the next few pages by reviewing some of the difficulties Jews have had to endure and at the same time casually adding his opinion. In doing so he achieves his goal of convincing the reader that the "most controversial book in the Bible changed the coarse of western civilization."
Kirsch's writing structure is helpful in certain portions of the book, while it is quite confusing in others. He writes his "story" in chronological order, however he does not go by year rather by century. It is certainly helpful that he writes in an certain order, but it is a bit confusing that he does not give the information year by year. He uses a lot of quotes from the book of Revelation, which I found to be a very successful way to interest the reader and at the same time help him/her understand the perplexing book of the Apocalypse. Not only does he give the quotes from the Bible, but he also explains what they mean and how he interprets it.
As I mentioned before, Jonathon Kirsch has written other books. He went to college and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in art, then he went to a different college and studied law. Kirsch is an educated man, therefore his book is credible. Not only is he a educated man, but he has also written other books, making him an even more credible writer. I particularly enjoyed that he only presented the information and tried not to show bias towards any particular group. He would give his opinion on the topic, but he would also say the opposing view and defend both sides. His book has gotten great reviews and apparently fans really liked it. One of the reviews he got was, "Jonathon Kirsch has written an important book that is essential reading in our torn, conflicted world: it is articulate, learned and balanced." I do not agree with the first part of this comment, but I do agree with the last. The book is definitely articulate, learned and balanced, but most of all it is balanced. It is genuinely noticeable that Kirsch did abundant research to write this book. The main idea of his book was clearly that the book of Revelation in the Bible has influenced our world a lot since it was written. After reading his book I completely agree with his opinions. He does an excellent job of convincing the reader of his opinions.
The book is very much like a text book because it use very big and complicated words. Kirsch writes in a very articulate manner, to such an extent that a high school student like myself would find the book to be rather boring. All he truly does is give all the information and write his opinion and the opposing view's opinion, somewhat like a text book. However the book did give me plenty of information about my topic. For instance, it gave me information on how the Apocalypse has influenced the decisions of lunatics all over the world, such as a monk by the name of Peter John Olivi. Apparently Olivi thought "the church founded by the disciples of Jesus Christ was now 'infected from head to toe and turned, as it were, into a new Babylon.'" Babylon is the city of sin in the Apocalypse and Olivi had read this in the Bible so he accused the Church of being Babylon. This book gave me great insight on my topic.
Although this book was very informative, I would not recommend it to a high school student because it is somewhat of a difficult read, it is long, and it is not a fast read. The intended audience for this book is most likely not high school students. I did not honestly enjoy reading this book, but I can say that i got a lot of knowledge out of it.
The Book was written from the perspective of a very intellectual man. Jonathon Kirsch has written several other books. Most of them are about the history of a religion or a religious character. Kirsch wrote this book to inform people about the effect the book of Revelation, or the Apocalypse, has had on our world throughout history. In his book he explains the different interpretations made for the book of Revelation and he also tells his readers how he interprets the book. Kirsch's intent was to explain how the controversy of the book of Revelation has changed and shaped our lives in different ways. He gives various examples of change throughout the entire book and he explains very thoroughly how each of these events, thoughts, or actions were brought by the Apocalypse book. He definitely succeeds in defending and supporting his opinion because he gives supporting details and facts for each of the examples he presents. One of his arguments is that the book influenced Christians to demean Jews during the Middle Ages by mentioning "the synagogue of Satan" in the Apocalypse. He then supports this statement in the next few pages by reviewing some of the difficulties Jews have had to endure and at the same time casually adding his opinion. In doing so he achieves his goal of convincing the reader that the "most controversial book in the Bible changed the coarse of western civilization."
Kirsch's writing structure is helpful in certain portions of the book, while it is quite confusing in others. He writes his "story" in chronological order, however he does not go by year rather by century. It is certainly helpful that he writes in an certain order, but it is a bit confusing that he does not give the information year by year. He uses a lot of quotes from the book of Revelation, which I found to be a very successful way to interest the reader and at the same time help him/her understand the perplexing book of the Apocalypse. Not only does he give the quotes from the Bible, but he also explains what they mean and how he interprets it.
As I mentioned before, Jonathon Kirsch has written other books. He went to college and graduated with a Bachelor's degree in art, then he went to a different college and studied law. Kirsch is an educated man, therefore his book is credible. Not only is he a educated man, but he has also written other books, making him an even more credible writer. I particularly enjoyed that he only presented the information and tried not to show bias towards any particular group. He would give his opinion on the topic, but he would also say the opposing view and defend both sides. His book has gotten great reviews and apparently fans really liked it. One of the reviews he got was, "Jonathon Kirsch has written an important book that is essential reading in our torn, conflicted world: it is articulate, learned and balanced." I do not agree with the first part of this comment, but I do agree with the last. The book is definitely articulate, learned and balanced, but most of all it is balanced. It is genuinely noticeable that Kirsch did abundant research to write this book. The main idea of his book was clearly that the book of Revelation in the Bible has influenced our world a lot since it was written. After reading his book I completely agree with his opinions. He does an excellent job of convincing the reader of his opinions.
The book is very much like a text book because it use very big and complicated words. Kirsch writes in a very articulate manner, to such an extent that a high school student like myself would find the book to be rather boring. All he truly does is give all the information and write his opinion and the opposing view's opinion, somewhat like a text book. However the book did give me plenty of information about my topic. For instance, it gave me information on how the Apocalypse has influenced the decisions of lunatics all over the world, such as a monk by the name of Peter John Olivi. Apparently Olivi thought "the church founded by the disciples of Jesus Christ was now 'infected from head to toe and turned, as it were, into a new Babylon.'" Babylon is the city of sin in the Apocalypse and Olivi had read this in the Bible so he accused the Church of being Babylon. This book gave me great insight on my topic.
Although this book was very informative, I would not recommend it to a high school student because it is somewhat of a difficult read, it is long, and it is not a fast read. The intended audience for this book is most likely not high school students. I did not honestly enjoy reading this book, but I can say that i got a lot of knowledge out of it.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
put it poetically
will we believe?
today or Tomorrow?
Torment, anguish, sorrow.
Will we believe?
will our minds finally conceive,
a way to be granted a reprieve?
war, natural disasters, calamity.
he will be our "saviour" within this insanity.
will we believe?
will his goal be achieved
will our minds be deceived?
as it nears it is clear
that the end's finally here
the truth will unweave
and we will finally perceive
that we've been naive
but in the end
the very end
we will believe
Friday, December 12, 2008
Research an Angel
Throughout the years there have been numerous predictions of when the world will end. Currently, the most popular of these predictions is that world will end on December 12, 2012. Allegedly, this prediction was made by the Mayas a very long time ago based a calendar they created. This calender had several other dates and predictions which have all purportedly come true. This particular prediction however, is mistaken because nobody knows when the world will end, the Bible does not give a specific date for the end on the world, and all other predictions of the end of the world have proven to be false.
There is no doubt that the world will eventually come to an end, but nobody will know when. In Mathew 24:36 of the Bible Jesus says to his disciples, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." In this verse he confirms that no one, but God, knows nor will ever know when the end of the world will arrive. Not even Jesus, the son of God, knows when the world will come to an end. Therefore, if not even the son of God knows when the world will end, then quite obviously, neither will a simple human being. The Bible does not frequently mention the end of the world, as it is not a very pleasing topic, it does however give a general synopsis of what will occur during that time. The Apocalypse for example, gives the entire narrative in chronological order, but states it in a symbolical manner, meaning virtually everything represents something else. However, while the Apocalypse may tell the entire story, it fails to give an exact date. In the book of Revelation 1:1 it says, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass," as you can see it uses the words, "shortly come to pass," rather than giving an exact date. John, the author of this book, uses this term throughout the entire book as a reference to the "date" of this atrocious event. Never in the plenary book of the Bible does it give an exact date of when the world will end. Yet, December 12, 2012 is not the only date that has been predicted for the end of the world, there have been copiouse predictions for this unsought day. Some of those dates include: 1970's- David Berg, the founder of a religious Christian group, predicted a comet would hit Earth and destroy life in the United States, 1975- Jehovah's Wittnesses predicted Armageddon would happen during that year, and 1982- all the planets were perfectly aligned, scientists thought this would create a type of megnetic force within the planets and the sun which would result in massive firestorms. Evidently all these predictions were inacurate for if that were not the case we would no longer exist. December 12 is merely an adition to the collection of wrong end of the world predictions.
December 12, 2012 will be like any other ordinary winter day, this is not the day the world will end. The exact date of the Apocalypse will maintain a mystery to mankind untill the day it arrives, in the meantime people can continue to strive to decipher this unfathomable enigma.
How many guesses does it take to guess the date of the end of the world?... the world may never know.
There is no doubt that the world will eventually come to an end, but nobody will know when. In Mathew 24:36 of the Bible Jesus says to his disciples, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." In this verse he confirms that no one, but God, knows nor will ever know when the end of the world will arrive. Not even Jesus, the son of God, knows when the world will come to an end. Therefore, if not even the son of God knows when the world will end, then quite obviously, neither will a simple human being. The Bible does not frequently mention the end of the world, as it is not a very pleasing topic, it does however give a general synopsis of what will occur during that time. The Apocalypse for example, gives the entire narrative in chronological order, but states it in a symbolical manner, meaning virtually everything represents something else. However, while the Apocalypse may tell the entire story, it fails to give an exact date. In the book of Revelation 1:1 it says, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass," as you can see it uses the words, "shortly come to pass," rather than giving an exact date. John, the author of this book, uses this term throughout the entire book as a reference to the "date" of this atrocious event. Never in the plenary book of the Bible does it give an exact date of when the world will end. Yet, December 12, 2012 is not the only date that has been predicted for the end of the world, there have been copiouse predictions for this unsought day. Some of those dates include: 1970's- David Berg, the founder of a religious Christian group, predicted a comet would hit Earth and destroy life in the United States, 1975- Jehovah's Wittnesses predicted Armageddon would happen during that year, and 1982- all the planets were perfectly aligned, scientists thought this would create a type of megnetic force within the planets and the sun which would result in massive firestorms. Evidently all these predictions were inacurate for if that were not the case we would no longer exist. December 12 is merely an adition to the collection of wrong end of the world predictions.
December 12, 2012 will be like any other ordinary winter day, this is not the day the world will end. The exact date of the Apocalypse will maintain a mystery to mankind untill the day it arrives, in the meantime people can continue to strive to decipher this unfathomable enigma.
How many guesses does it take to guess the date of the end of the world?... the world may never know.
Matthew. Bibletools.org. 3 Jan. 2009.
Revelation (also Apocalypse). Bibletools.org. 3 Jan. 2009.
No Author. "220 Dates for the End of the World." Interactive Bible Home Page www.bible.ca. 03 Jan. 2009 .
Sunday, November 30, 2008
movie review
The movie I watched is called Apocalypse: Caught in the Eye of the Storm. It was released in 2000 and it was directed by Peter Gerretsen. The protagonists are Helen Hannah (Leigh Lewis) and Bronson Pearl (Richard Nester), who are news reporters for WNN, and the antagonists are Franco Macalousso (Sam Bornstein), who plays the anti-Christ and Len Parker (David Roddis), the manager of WNN who is working for the anti-Christ.
The movie begins with Helen and her grandmother watching the WNN news where anchorman Bronson is reporting from the middle east where the war of Armageddon is going on. After her grandmother and a lot of other people mysteriously disappear, Helen views some tapes her Grandmother left. The tapes are about show about the end times and Helen discovers that her Grandmother and the other people who disappeared were taken to be with Jesus and that the world is currently in the rule of the anti-Christ (Franco Macalousso), whom everybody presumes to be the Messiah. After watching these videos Helen becomes a christian and then tries to convince his co-worker Bronson that Franco Macalousso is the anti-Christ, but he doesn't believe her and thinks she is derranged. Helen is then sentenced to death along with everyone else who believes in God and Christ. Bronson goes to his father's grave and digs it out and discovers that his father's remains are no longer there and realizes that Helen had been telling the truth. Bronoson is also sentenced to death, and he will die on live national television. Just as he is about to be executed a video is played of Len Parker telling Bronson that nobody has a say in whether to believe in Macalousso or not. Then, back at the station one of Parker's agents has also become a christian and is playing Helen's tapes, resulting in people accepting Jesus as their savior all across the world. That is how the movie ends.
I really liked the plot of the movie, although it wasn't very related to the apocalypse in certain parts. The movie is right to say that there will be wars and natural disasters when the end is near because that is mentioned in the Bible. However in the Bible it never says that people will suddenly mysteriously disappear leaving behind only their clothes. The Bible says that God will not let his people go through that hardship, but it never says how he will prevent them from going through it. What i did like about the movie was how they portray the anti-Christ and everything he will do. The movie shows that the anti-Christ will deceive many by stopping all the wars and making himself seem like the Messiah they were all waiting for after all the calamity they have had to endure. Most of the movie does interpret the Apocalypse very close to what will happen, but it also seems to me that the director assumed some of those events are going to happen because some are never mentioned in the Bible. For example, Len Parker was at one point able to move objects without touching them. This was probably added to give a higher sense of power to the anti-Christ, but the Bible never says that he will have such a power. Other than that the movie does an excellent job illustrating the Apocalypse. It demonstrates very thoroughly what people will have to go through when the day arrives.
Friday, November 28, 2008
letter to a leader
to whom it may concern,
I realize that a lot of you do not believe in God and for this reason I write this letter. I know there are those of you who do not have a religion and do not believe in any Gods. However I believe that now more than ever it is crucial for us to repent of our sins and to strengthen our relationship with God.
I realize that a lot of you do not believe in God and for this reason I write this letter. I know there are those of you who do not have a religion and do not believe in any Gods. However I believe that now more than ever it is crucial for us to repent of our sins and to strengthen our relationship with God.
There have been many theories of when the world will end and all of them have proven to be false. No one can ever know for certain when the world is going to end other than God. He is the only one who knows when the world will end and when he will send his son to come to earth once again to save his people. In the Apocalypse, the last book of the Bible, it says that there will be war and natural disasters when the End Times are near. There have been a lot of natural disasters lately like all the hurricanes and the tsunami in Indonesia and the war in Iraq and I'm sure most of you do not know whether to believe that these events are all happening as a sign of the apocalypse or that it is all a coincidence that these events be mentioned in the Bible. I do not believe in coincidences, everything happens for a reason therefore I believe the first of the options mentioned above. I adamantly believe that the apocalypse will happen, but I have no idea how soon. According to the Bible nobody knows when it will happen and nobody will be aware of it while it's happening, but I definitely thinks it is very close. For this reason I believe that we should repent of our sins and strengthen our relationship with God. The only way to save our souls is by accepting God as the one and only true God and accepting Jesus Christ as our savior. I know that for many of you this sounds completely absurd, but it is necessary to let Jesus Christ in our lives for he is the only one that can save us when the time comes.
I hope that at least a few of you share my point of view and understand what I am talking about. I realize that to many of you I just sound like another crazy person ranting about the end of the world, but I can assure you that I am not crazy (well, not that crazy). I truly believe that this will happen, possibly not in our lifetime, but we should be prepared just in case.
sincerely,
Maritza Casas
interpreting data
I couldn't really find a graph about my topic so instead I found chart that explains why we are currently going through the Apocalypse.
In this chart the author gives all these biblical citations about event that will happen during the Apocalypse and then he gives events that have already happened or are currently happening that are related to those mentioned in the citations. A lot of the information given (especially the biblical citations) is very helpful in deciphering the apocalypse, however it does not seem entirely legit because the author does not give any sources. What the author says is probable, but it is hard to believe when he does not mention where he got his info from. He does give a complete set of data though, and that helps viewers understand the Apocalypse a bit better. By giving all those biblical citations the author is, in a way, explaining the Apocalypse. The statistics try to show that the Apocalypse is already here and while they may be believable they are not reliable because, like i said before, they don't have any sources. The statistics are very interesting, but they only mention a nominal part of the Apocalypse.
"End Time Statistics .... proof we are living in the time of the end." Life Research Universal.....Nutrition, Christ, Hanz and Biodiesel ! 15 Jan. 2009 .
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