Written using the style from John Wycliffe's For the Order of the Priesthood.
Works Cited
Wycliffe, John. "For the Order of the Priesthood." British Literature. Ed. Ronald H. Horton.
Greenville, SC: BJU Press, 2003. 55. Print
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
For the Order of the Lego Builder (Second Draft)
Lego builders must be skilled, and creative, intelligent, and innovative in order to invent and design elaborate models like cars, and buildings, and space ships, and robots that can capture the attention of younger builders so they can become more inventive themselves. The people demand this from lego builders, for if they lack any of these attributes, they will not be able to plan out interesting, ingenious models that can entertain people of all ages. So think outside the box, build things that people say can't be built, be original in the blueprints you make for your models, motivate others to expand their imagination, and encourage others to be a creative lego builder too.
Written using the style from John Wycliffe's For the Order of the Priesthood.
Works Cited
Wycliffe, John. "For the Order of the Priesthood." British Literature. Ed. Ronald H. Horton.
Greenville, SC: BJU Press, 2003. 55. Print
Written using the style from John Wycliffe's For the Order of the Priesthood.
Works Cited
Wycliffe, John. "For the Order of the Priesthood." British Literature. Ed. Ronald H. Horton.
Greenville, SC: BJU Press, 2003. 55. Print
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Ballad
I'm off to school! I’m half awake!
I run to homeroom fast!
And after band it's History.
I don’t think I can last!
I feel my tiny brain shut down,
While thinking of Brit Lit!
The bell rings and I’m almost dead,
But I just cannot quit!
Chorus:
ANOTHER BAG OF PIXEY STIX!
I’VE GOT A SUGAR RUSH!
RUNNING! CRYING! GOING BESERK!
THE TEACHERS YELL OUT, “SHUSH!”
I laugh and smile but it wears off.
My eyes begin to shut.
Any more of sugar snacks,
They'll think that I'm a nut!
Ugh! I’m stuck in science now,
I think I’ll take a nap.
BUT WAIT! What is that I see?
I grin and yell, “OH SNAP!”
Chorus:
ANOTHER BAG OF PIXEY STIX!
I’VE GOT A SUGAR RUSH!
RUNNING! CRYING! GOING BESERK!
THE TEACHERS YELL OUT, “SHUSH!”
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Screwtape Analysis
Throughout C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters, Screwtape and wormwood continually plot to deceive humans. Screwtape repeatedly advises his nephew to use temptation to turn his patient away from God. Using temptation, they showed how to deceive the patient into doing Biblical things, the wrong way. Screwtape and Wormwood reveal the theme of deception by recurrently trying to deceive the patient into praying, going to church, and even thinking about Jesus in an unbiblical way.
The theme of deception can first be seen when Screwtape recommended that Wormwood trick him into praying the wrong way. "Teach them to estimate the value of each prayer by their success in producing the desired feeling; and never let them suspect how much success or failure of that kind depends on whether they are well or ill, fresh or tired, at the moment." (Lewis, 17); this quote shows that Screwtape was trying to deceive the patient into believing that the success of each prayer depended on whether he got what he asked for. When Christians ask God for courage, God puts them through trials where they need courage. God does not instantly gratify a person with the attribute they have prayed for. Screwtape also suggested to Wormwood to trick the patient into praying to a composite object; during prayer the patient would be focused more on that object, then at God (Lewis 18). This is clear evidence that Screwtape was attempting to mislead Wormwood's patient about prayers by feeding lies.
Another way the theme of deception can be seen in The Screwtape Letters, was when the demons tried to deceive the patient about going to church. While Screwtape was talking about the church, he gave Wormwood this piece of advice, "One of our great allies at present is the church itself... Provided that any of those neighbors sing out of tune, or have boots squeak, or double chins, or odd clothes, the patient will quite easily believe that their religion must therefore be somehow ridiculous." (Lewis, 6-7). Wormwood got advice to fool his patient into judging the church by the people in it. People must realize that Christians do sin and are not perfect, therefore to judge Christianity badly because Christians are not perfect, would be a mistake. This tactic was used to try and turn the patient away from Christianity to make him think it was a big scam. Once the patient started to go to church, Screwtape tried to mislead him into "searching for a 'suitable' church", even if God's will was for him to go to a different one (Lewis, 81-82).
The last way Screwtape and Wormwood revealed the theme of deception was by trying to lie to the patient about who Jesus really was. The demons tried to deceive the patient by making them think of Jesus in the wrong way. Screwtape wanted him to think of Jesus more of a teacher then the Son of God who came to teach us about our morals and "remind" us of our wrong doings (Lewis, 125). When people see Jesus as a human who just had some good ethical ideas, they are not getting the full picture. "We thus distract men's minds from who He is, and what He did. We first make Him solely a teacher, and then conceal the very substantial agreement between His teachings and those of all other great moral teachers. For humans must not be allowed to notice that all great moralists are sent by the Enemy not to inform men but to remind them..." (Lewis, 125). It is important for Christians to remember all the things Jesus has taught them during His life. He is not just a teacher, but the Son of God, who came to earth to die for the sins that we have done and will commit.
The patient endured some struggles and was constantly being lied to by Screwtape and Wormwood. Their lies were all part of their plan to bring him farther away from Christianity and closer to Hell. They tried to deceive the patient about prayer, going to Church, and who Jesus was. The patient was consistently being deceived by the two demons, but his Christian friends, family, and God all helped him to see through Screwtape's deception and make it to heaven in the end.
Works Cited
Lewis, C. S., and C. S. Lewis. The Screwtape Letters: with Screwtape Proposes a Toast. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001. Print.
Monday, August 30, 2010
The Screwtape Letters XXVI-XXXI
Chapter XXVI: Unselfishness.
I had a rather hard time interpreting what this chapter was talking about, but one of the words that stood out to me was "unselfishness". I struggle with unselfishness in almost everything and anything! Sometimes I don't even realize I'm doing something only for myself and I'm not thinking of others. One of the virtues/attributes that Jesus had when He came to us as a human was unselfishness. In order to be a good example and leader, I need to learn unselfishness and implement it into my daily life. It's not about me, it's about you.
ChapterXXVII: "The use of his 'love' to distract his mind from the Enemy is, of course, obvious, but you reveal what poor use you are making of it when you say that the whole question of distraction and the wandering mind has now become one of the chief subjects of his prayers. " (Lewis, 147).
Wow. It's monday morning and it's time to go to the SAC. I sit down and Mr. Sakurai begins to speak. After a short devotional its straight to prayer. The devotional was short so we actually have 10 minutes till the first period begins. About 4 minutes into the prayer my mind is already wandering, drifting away to "day-dream-land". Here is where I'm making a big mistake. Screwtape and Wormwood want to distract people during their prayers so that they aren't giving their prayers some real thought. When we aren't thinking about our prayers, it is like reading a chapter in a book while thinking of something else. By the end of the chapter you don't even know what you were reading. I must endure those long prayers and focus! I must remember to keep my concentration because I am talking to God!
Chapter XXVIII: It is definitely weird that Screwtape, the one who wants to create chaos and suffering in all humans lives, would want his most hated type of humans, Christians, to continue living. Why would someone as evil and hateful as Screwtape want his primary enemy not experience the painful consequence and punishment for our disobedience against God - death? Never thought of our continuation of living as an advantage/opportunity for Screwtape. The longer we live, the more chances there are of us losing our faith and temptation finally getting to us. However, this definitely does not mean that we should commit suicide. God wants us to continue carrying out His Will until we die even though Screwtape might have more opportunities to turn us away from Christianity.
Chapter XXIX: "To be greatly and effectively wicked a man needs some virtue. What would Atitila have been without his courage, or Shylock without self-denial as regards the flesh?" (Lewis, 159).
Here is yet another example of Screwtape taking something good, and making it sinful. Courage is something I ask for God daily. Whether it is to overcome homework or take a stand for my faith. Screwtape can take something like courage and use it as a strong motive to do bad. He can take good things and twist it for bad use like giving someone courage to rob a bank.
Chapter XXX: It surprises me how Wormwood and Screwtape still work together. If I were Wormwood, I would ditch Screwtape already. "Bring us back food, or be food yourself." What a treacherous "uncle". This book kind of shows you the unfriendly and uncaring relationship that all the tempters have with each other.
Chapter XXXI: This has ought to be my most favorite chapter in the entire book. It talks about how Wormwood's patient had gone through struggles upon struggles and finally he got to Heaven. I can't even imagine how awesome that must feel. When I finally finish an essay and all my worries and problems are finished, I get a sense of relief and a great amount of happiness; and yet a great happiness like that won't even compare to how awesome it will be when all my struggles are over and I am able to go to heaven to meet God in person!
I had a rather hard time interpreting what this chapter was talking about, but one of the words that stood out to me was "unselfishness". I struggle with unselfishness in almost everything and anything! Sometimes I don't even realize I'm doing something only for myself and I'm not thinking of others. One of the virtues/attributes that Jesus had when He came to us as a human was unselfishness. In order to be a good example and leader, I need to learn unselfishness and implement it into my daily life. It's not about me, it's about you.
ChapterXXVII: "The use of his 'love' to distract his mind from the Enemy is, of course, obvious, but you reveal what poor use you are making of it when you say that the whole question of distraction and the wandering mind has now become one of the chief subjects of his prayers. " (Lewis, 147).
Wow. It's monday morning and it's time to go to the SAC. I sit down and Mr. Sakurai begins to speak. After a short devotional its straight to prayer. The devotional was short so we actually have 10 minutes till the first period begins. About 4 minutes into the prayer my mind is already wandering, drifting away to "day-dream-land". Here is where I'm making a big mistake. Screwtape and Wormwood want to distract people during their prayers so that they aren't giving their prayers some real thought. When we aren't thinking about our prayers, it is like reading a chapter in a book while thinking of something else. By the end of the chapter you don't even know what you were reading. I must endure those long prayers and focus! I must remember to keep my concentration because I am talking to God!
Chapter XXVIII: It is definitely weird that Screwtape, the one who wants to create chaos and suffering in all humans lives, would want his most hated type of humans, Christians, to continue living. Why would someone as evil and hateful as Screwtape want his primary enemy not experience the painful consequence and punishment for our disobedience against God - death? Never thought of our continuation of living as an advantage/opportunity for Screwtape. The longer we live, the more chances there are of us losing our faith and temptation finally getting to us. However, this definitely does not mean that we should commit suicide. God wants us to continue carrying out His Will until we die even though Screwtape might have more opportunities to turn us away from Christianity.
Chapter XXIX: "To be greatly and effectively wicked a man needs some virtue. What would Atitila have been without his courage, or Shylock without self-denial as regards the flesh?" (Lewis, 159).
Here is yet another example of Screwtape taking something good, and making it sinful. Courage is something I ask for God daily. Whether it is to overcome homework or take a stand for my faith. Screwtape can take something like courage and use it as a strong motive to do bad. He can take good things and twist it for bad use like giving someone courage to rob a bank.
Chapter XXX: It surprises me how Wormwood and Screwtape still work together. If I were Wormwood, I would ditch Screwtape already. "Bring us back food, or be food yourself." What a treacherous "uncle". This book kind of shows you the unfriendly and uncaring relationship that all the tempters have with each other.
Chapter XXXI: This has ought to be my most favorite chapter in the entire book. It talks about how Wormwood's patient had gone through struggles upon struggles and finally he got to Heaven. I can't even imagine how awesome that must feel. When I finally finish an essay and all my worries and problems are finished, I get a sense of relief and a great amount of happiness; and yet a great happiness like that won't even compare to how awesome it will be when all my struggles are over and I am able to go to heaven to meet God in person!
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Screwtape XVIII-XXI
Chapter XVIII: The Trinity consists of God the Father, God the Song, and God the Holy Spirit. It is important to acknowledge the uniqueness of each part or being of God. Just like when Jesus was baptized, all three parts or beings were doing different things. God the Father was speaking from heaven, God the Son was being baptized, and the Holy Spirit was descending from heaven like a dove from heaven. The fact that God is one at the same time he is three separate beings is significant as well. Screwtape mentioned in the book that God wanted our relationship with others to be like the trinity. I guess in a family, we are supposed to be separate and unique, while being unified at the same time.
Chapter XVIV: Marriage is an immense decision that people make in their lives and shouldn't be taken lightly. Its an important decision that will affect your entire life. I think Screwtape wishes that we don't take marriage seriously, which is exactly opposite of what God wants us to do.
Chapter XX: Choosing who you marry is pretty tricky. Screwtape wants us to focus on the outside and not on the inside when people choose their spouses. He wants us to choose someone who looks good physically but not spiritually, because he knows we won't be truly happy if we do so. So much of our culture now days is centered around the outside appearances of people, which is a very worldly view. This also applies to yourself. You should care on how you look spiritually rather than physically. As cheesy as it sounds, "It's what inside that counts..." is an exceedingly accurate and truthful statement.
Chapter XXI: I had a hard time understanding this chapter, but something that stood out to me was the fact that Screwtape pointed out that nothing belongs to others. We can't really say "my" anything because we do not own anything. Everything is owned by God even ourselves. Us humans tend to be selfish and greedy despite the fact that nothing belongs to us.
Chapter XVIV: Marriage is an immense decision that people make in their lives and shouldn't be taken lightly. Its an important decision that will affect your entire life. I think Screwtape wishes that we don't take marriage seriously, which is exactly opposite of what God wants us to do.
Chapter XX: Choosing who you marry is pretty tricky. Screwtape wants us to focus on the outside and not on the inside when people choose their spouses. He wants us to choose someone who looks good physically but not spiritually, because he knows we won't be truly happy if we do so. So much of our culture now days is centered around the outside appearances of people, which is a very worldly view. This also applies to yourself. You should care on how you look spiritually rather than physically. As cheesy as it sounds, "It's what inside that counts..." is an exceedingly accurate and truthful statement.
Chapter XXI: I had a hard time understanding this chapter, but something that stood out to me was the fact that Screwtape pointed out that nothing belongs to others. We can't really say "my" anything because we do not own anything. Everything is owned by God even ourselves. Us humans tend to be selfish and greedy despite the fact that nothing belongs to us.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Brainstorming for Analysis Ideas
Here are some of the topics I have.
1) I think that pleasure and pain are symbols for reality. "The characteristic of Pains and Pleasures is that they are unmistakably real, and therefore, as far as they go, give the man who feels them a touchstone of reality." (Lewis, 64).
2) The Screwtape Letters, often uses the Bible and God as pleasures. "...that sort of pleasure which the book and the walk gave him was the most dangerous of all..." (Lewis, 64).
3) Music, poetry, movies, etc, are symbols for the different blessings that God has given us. The ability for us to enjoy these things is a blessing too because people like Screwtape don't understand the importance of music, etc. like we do. "Something like it is expressed in much of that detestable art which humans call Music, and something it occurs in Heaven-a meaningless acceleration in the rhythm of celestial experience, quite opaque to us." (Lewis, 53, 54).
4)When people read the Bible and get the pleasure from reading it, they are pulled away from the devil's deception. In the movie Inception, the characters used an object called a totem to tell whether they were in reality or whether they were being deceived. We use the Bible and God as our "totem" to make sure we are not in a dream created by the devil to distract us from our job to fulfill God's will for our lives.
5) I also believe that the author uses Allegory through all the characters in the story. Screwtape, Wormwood, and all the other devils that are mentioned throughout the story are an allegory to man's sinful nature and temptation.
6) Just like Screwtape and the rest of his friends, temptation always attacks our weak points when we are in those tough situations.
7) When someone is taking a test and the person sitting right next to them is not covering their answers, the situations suddenly turns into a difficult one. Man's sinful nature then screams to the person, "CHEAT!" Screwtape is always trying to find our vital points and attack us when our faith is at our weakest. This is just like when the temptation to cheat instantly pops in our heads the second we notice our neighbors test answers are not covered.
1) I think that pleasure and pain are symbols for reality. "The characteristic of Pains and Pleasures is that they are unmistakably real, and therefore, as far as they go, give the man who feels them a touchstone of reality." (Lewis, 64).
2) The Screwtape Letters, often uses the Bible and God as pleasures. "...that sort of pleasure which the book and the walk gave him was the most dangerous of all..." (Lewis, 64).
3) Music, poetry, movies, etc, are symbols for the different blessings that God has given us. The ability for us to enjoy these things is a blessing too because people like Screwtape don't understand the importance of music, etc. like we do. "Something like it is expressed in much of that detestable art which humans call Music, and something it occurs in Heaven-a meaningless acceleration in the rhythm of celestial experience, quite opaque to us." (Lewis, 53, 54).
4)When people read the Bible and get the pleasure from reading it, they are pulled away from the devil's deception. In the movie Inception, the characters used an object called a totem to tell whether they were in reality or whether they were being deceived. We use the Bible and God as our "totem" to make sure we are not in a dream created by the devil to distract us from our job to fulfill God's will for our lives.
5) I also believe that the author uses Allegory through all the characters in the story. Screwtape, Wormwood, and all the other devils that are mentioned throughout the story are an allegory to man's sinful nature and temptation.
6) Just like Screwtape and the rest of his friends, temptation always attacks our weak points when we are in those tough situations.
7) When someone is taking a test and the person sitting right next to them is not covering their answers, the situations suddenly turns into a difficult one. Man's sinful nature then screams to the person, "CHEAT!" Screwtape is always trying to find our vital points and attack us when our faith is at our weakest. This is just like when the temptation to cheat instantly pops in our heads the second we notice our neighbors test answers are not covered.
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