Week 3 Story: The Life of Jesus

John the Baptist foretold the coming of The Messiah. Everyone thought he was crazy. Never before had this generation heard from a man so desperate to spread the word of the coming Messiah, and never before had a prophet appeared so disheveled. As he had proclaimed to all he came in contact with, The Messiah did come. His name was Jesus Christ; a carpenter from Nazareth.

Jesus was no ordinary man. He performed miracles that would truly blow your mind. For example, he healed the blind, mute, lepers, and the dead. Not only that; he also fed thousands of people with only a few loaves of bread and fish... twice. There were so many more things he did. Many of them were never recorded and we will never know about them. Still, the acts that WERE recorded do plenty to show the power He possessed. Do you know anyone that says go ahead and take the boat over to the other side of the sea... I'll just walk over later. 

Despite all of the generous and miraculous things done by Jesus, so many people had envy and hate toward Him. This came to a peak when there was a movement to arrest Him. As He had prophesied, Judas, one of His disciples, betrayed Him for just a few dollars. Jesus was arrested and questioned. People gave false testimonies about Him, and everyone knew they were fake. They couldn't find any faults in Him. The mob asked for His crucifixion based upon His claim of being "King of the Jews". As they wished, He was crucified. But... Three days later His body was not found in the tomb where he was buried. He had risen, and met with His disciples and other people to prove He had truly risen. After a short while He ascended to Heaven to sit on a throne next to God. 

Authors Note: 

I took my version of this story from the Gospel of Mark from the Bible. I did not make many tweaks to the writings of Mark due to respect for the holiness of the text. I merely summarized the writings as if I were going to tell it to a friend. 

The Last Supper - acatholiclife blog

The Gospel of Mark, The Bible, Mark

Reading Notes: Gospel of Mark

As a Christian, it was awesome to have the option to read the Gospel of Mark for this class. There were several awesome stories and parables in Unit A. First and foremost, Mark, Chapter 1, features John the Baptist. He is said to be "clothed with camel's hair and wore a leather belt around his waist, and his diet was locusts and honey." I thought this was a pretty interesting visual description of John as he was foretelling Jesus' coming.

The next thing that caught my eye was just the craziness of the quantity of miracles performed by Jesus. Without even mentioning how incredible the acts were. So many people healed of afflictions like diseases, blindness, muteness, and paralysis. He even raised a young girl from the dead. It always amazes me when Jesus walks on water, but my favorite part about it is how it seems like no big deal that He is just strolling across a raging sea. The disciples were astonished, but Jesus was confused at why they were all so surprised. It made me chuckle. 

Beyond all the crazy miracles that Jesus had already performed, He also fed thousands of people with a couple baskets of fish and bread. Five thousand people had been following Him around when Jesus and the disciples determined the people were probably really hungry! They had five loaves of bread and two fish. Jesus blessed the food and dispersed it to the masses of hungry followers. When all was said and done they had twelve baskets of fish and bread. I am no mathematician, but I am pretty sure that is more food than they started with. Even if it was less food than they started with, they still spread it over FIVE THOUSAND people. I can almost eat five loaves of bread and two fish when I go to Red Lobster (Have you ever had those cheddar biscuits? They are to die for.). Anyway, the magnitude of this miracle is fascinating to me. The greatest thing about it is the fact that He does it again two chapters later. 

I am thankful for the inclusion of the Bible in this class. As a Christian student it makes me happy to see my faith included in classes - even if it is in "Mythology and Folklore".

Jesus feeding 5000 - Flickr.com

The Apostle Mark, The Gospel of Mark, Mark Ch. 1-9

Feedback Thoughts

The first article I read was A Fixed Mindset Could be Holding You Back. I read it because I really enjoyed the articles over fixed and growth mindset last week. I found myself guilty of having developed a fixed mindset. In reading this article I was hoping to find a little bit more detail about the different mindsets in order to aid my conversion back to a growth mindset.

This article explained how a fixed mindset can cause those who have it to struggle with accepting criticism. I understand how this has manifested in my own life. At one point criticism was not a problem for me, but it has become more of a problem as of late. The article stated that those who are generally successful in their early education are more likely to develop a fixed mindset because everyone praises them for their performance in those stages. It made a lot of sense to me, and I understand now that criticism does not have to be a bad thing. In fact, it should be encouraged as a way to develop myself through the growth mindset.

The second article I read was Why Rejection Hurts so Much. When I initially clicked on this article, I assumed it would be more about business - because I am a business student. After reading a few lines I realized it was regarding a social context, though it could be applied to business as well. The article stated that rejection causes the same mental reaction as physical pain, so it is not surprising that rejection hurts so much. Going further, it suggested that the best way to help when rejection happens is to put yourself around other friends, or call someone who loves you. Also, don't be overly self critical. It is fine to analyze how you could have been better, but self hate is not acceptable, and it is destructive to your mental health.

All in all, both articles were very interesting. I learned from both about how to help myself handle criticism, rejection, and continue developing a growth mindset.

Islam Abudaoud

I love this "feedback cat". I feel like so often we are discouraged from creativity and innovation by rules. Obviously rules are a good thing, but when they limit your creativity it is a problem.

Topic Brainstorm for Semester Project

For my semester storybook project I have narrowed the topics down to four.

Cuchulain:

The first topic that caught my eye was Cuchulain. Apparently he killed a vicious guard dog, and whipped a group of boys by himself! The stories mentioned Cuchulain turned into a vicious beast as he beat up the boys. It seems as though there is a lot of highly entertaining material about the Irish legend. I also know a bit of his story from playing Smite, so it would be interesting for me to go in depth about Cuchulain because I know a bit about him already!

Egyptian gods and goddesses:

This would be a really interesting topic for me. There are several great stories about Ra and Bastet. Also, Ra's fiascoes with Isis would be fun to add to the storybook. Similar to Cuchulain, I know a decent bit about the Egyptian pantheon from Ra, Bastet, Neith, Isis, Anubis, Thoth and Osiris. Although I don't think I will be able to pull from my prior knowledge, it would really be helpful just to have a background knowledge of the stories of these gods and goddesses!

(Ra fighting with Apep over the sun - Stack Exchange)

Norse Mythology:

There is SO much content available withing Norse Mythology. Just like the Egyptian gods and goddesses, I know quite a bit about several of the Norse gods and goddesses. For the storybook I would love to get into the relationships between Odin, Thor, and Loki. Beyond the well known gods,  I also want to get a few stories about Ymir Fafnir, Tyr, and Freya included as well. With the Norse pantheon I feel like I would not be short on content. That will be a key factor in deciding because it is really hard to find extra content, but not nearly as hard to cut down a bit of content.

Greek Mythology:

While Greek Mythology is likely a really cliche topic, it is because everyone knows quite a bit about it! I would love to explore a little bit deeper than I already have. The only downside to doing Greek Mythology for my storybook is the fact that many of our classmates will likely do the same. On the other hand, there is more content about Greek Mythology than any of the other topics mentioned. With so much content, it provides for a lot of potential routes to take the storybook. I could be really flexible with my approach in telling the story!

Week 2 Story: The Guard, The Prisoner, and The Nurse

One day a security guard was walking through the prison on the way to his office. On his way, one of the inmates pleaded with the guard to let him go outside because he really wanted to go outside since the weather was so nice. The security guard questioned whether he should let the inmate out, and he decided not to. He told the inmate that he wasn’t allowed to go outside at that time. The inmate begged and begged, and the security guard finally conceded on the condition that the inmate wouldn’t cause any trouble. The inmate agreed and was obviously excited to go outside.

The security guard opens the door and lets the inmate out. In the blink of an eye, the inmate pulls out a shank and puts it to the guard’s neck. The security guard was scared for his life and cried out for mercy. He was so confused as to why the inmate would pull such a cruel trick since the guard had helped him out. He pleaded his case to the inmate, so the inmate mockingly asked other inmates about what he should do. First he asked an inmate who was imprisoned on drug charges. The first inmate said the security guard earned it because he trusted the inmate which was obviously foolish. The next inmate was in prison for murder. He said he wished he had thought of the idea because he still had a thirst for blood. The final prisoner was a drunk driver who accidentally killed the driver of an oncoming car. He said nothing and was mournful because the situation took him back to the fact he had killed that innocent driver.

Just as the inmate was about to harm the guard, a nurse entered the room as it was time to for the inmates to receive their yearly flu shot. She immediately realized what was happening and acted to defuse the situation.  The inmate threatened her but she acted quickly. In a deceptive way, she informed the inmate that his current form would not kill the guard, just severely injure him. The inmate was displeased because he was an angry man and sought the death of the guard. He implored the nurse to show him exactly how to do the vicious deed. She approached slowly with her hands at her side. She grabbed the inmates arm with her right hand, and she secretively slipped her left hand into her pocket. In a flash she pulled out a syringe and stuck the inmate in the back of his chest. He did not know that the nurse was armed with an instant tranquilizer in case of an emergency situation with the inmates. The prisoner instantly tensed up and the guard slipped away. More security arrived and the prisoner was sentenced to a life sentence beyond his current sentence.

(A prison guard standing next to a door - Express.co.uk)

I took this plot from the short story about The Brahman, The Jackal, and The Tiger. The story line is very similar and can be found in my reading notes. The security guard represents the Brahman, the inmate is the Tiger, and the Nurse is the Jackal. Obviously the story I told is quite a bit different, but it follows a similar plot. My story includes the release of the prisoner which is related to the Brahman releasing the Tiger. The inmate then asks the opinions of the other inmates, which is related to the Brahman asking opinions of the tree, the buffalo, and the road. And the nurse steps in to save the day; much like the jackal did for the Brahman.

Bibliography
Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John Batten

Reading Notes: Week 2 Anthology

I found the Indian Fairy Tales to be the most intriguing to me. It details the story of the Tiger and the Brahman who seeks the help of the jackal. At first, the Brahman stumbles upon the Tiger who is trapped in a cage. The Tiger pleads for the help of the Brahman and promises to do no harm to him if he will only release the Tiger from the cage. Initially the Brahman struggles with whether to let him  out of the cage, but he eventually relents and lets the Tiger out. The Tiger then threatens to kill the Brahman and mocks his foolishness for letting the hungry Tiger out of the cage. The two agree to allow the Brahman to go ask three beings whether or not the Tiger was justified in his actions. If they concluded one way or another, the two would accept the decision.

The Brahman makes his way to ask the opinions of a pipal tree, a buffalo, and the road. Each of the beings determines that he is foolish, and for his foolishness he ought to be killed. On his way back to the Tiger to accept his death, the Brahman was very sad. He caught the attention of the Jackal. The Jackal asked why he was sad, and the Brahman explained his case.

It was at this point that I had an idea of how the story would end. I saw through the Jackal's "stupidity" from the get go. They visited the Tiger, and through the Jackal's cunning he provokes the Tiger to show him exactly how he got stuck in the cage in the first place. At this point the Jackal shuts the cage and the Tiger is stuck again.

The Tiger, The Brahman, and The Jackal - by John Batten

Indian Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with Illustrations by John D. Batten (1912)

Week 2 Reading Overview

According to the outline given to us in the Course Wiki, I have designed my readings to follow:

Choose from CLASSICAL and/or BIBLICAL units for Weeks 3 and 4.

Week 3: Gospel of Mark 

Week 4: Homer's Illiad

Choose from MIDDLE EASTERN and/or INDIAN units for Weeks 5 and 6.

Week 5: Ancient Egypt

Week 6: Ramayana

Choose from ASIAN and/or AFRICAN units for Weeks 7 and 9. [Week 8 is review week.]

Week 7: The Monkey King

Week 9: Japanese Mythology

Choose from NATIVE AMERICAN units for Weeks 10 and 11.

Week 10: Hero Tales

Week 11: Inuit (Eskimo)

Choose from BRITISH and/or CELTIC units for Weeks 12 and 13.

Week 12: King Arthur

Week 13: Celtic Tales

Choose from EUROPEAN units for Weeks 14 and 15.

Week 14: Inferno

Week 15: Hans Christen Anderson

(Formatting copied from Course Wiki)

I can't wait to get into some of these readings! Specifically, I am looking forward to Ancient Egypt, Ramayana, The Monkey King, King Arthur, and Dante's Inferno. All of the readings I mentioned, with the exception of Inferno, feature gods and goddesses from the video game I enjoy playing called Smite. I am highly interested in hearing the mythology and lore of the gods and goddesses in these chapters. I am least interested in the Native American unit, unfortunately. The readings in that unit didn't appeal to me as much as others. I will probably do some of the extra readings in a couple of the units just because there were so many articles I was interested in!

(The Monkey King - Sun Wukong in Smite - Gamepedia)