Taoism

           Today in class we read an article titled: Reconstructing Taoism's Transformation in China. The article was about how China wants the concept of Taoism to be "reborn." But what exactly is Taoism? Taoism is a strange but soothing concept when you think about it. Taoism is the idea that life is like a river and we are in that river. A river one flows in one direction, therefore attempting to swim in the opposite direction would be pointless because you will only tire yourself and eventually give into the river. The river will then take you where it wants to take you. This analogy is the idea of Taoism in its simplist terms. Personally I believe that this type of lifestyle is way easier to lead than other lifestyle. Taoism allows the people who believe in it to live a carefree life, a happy life. In China, they mostly had emperors which the Taoist's must have been against considering they believed that everyone deserved the same amounts of equality. In the article, it said that actual evidence was never found on the Taoist, so everything we know is based on the writings of the Taoists.

Is Our World Real?

Reality. What is reality? Today in class we read an article titled "Are We Living a Computer Simulation?" This article was based on the theory that the world that we "know" may all just be a simulation. We could just be a version of entertainment for a whole different world. In class Mr. Reiff used the analogy that an intelligence system could become so smart to the point where it can think for itself and believe it was living. What if this is the case? If it were, it would kind of be a relief because that would mean everyday life doesn't matter if it's not real. Then again, it's a scary thought because if this is the case, everything I have come to learn/believe is all a lie. Personally, I don't believe that this true because I think it's all about perception. The way you perceive something is the way that you are going to believe it until you are given a different, convincing reason to change your beliefs. However, there is no definite answer to this question. Reality could just be twisted fantasy.

The Book of Job and The Book of Menachem

                 Today in class we read an article titled "Holocaust Survivors: The Search of Faith." This article is an interview of a man named Menachem Daum, the son of Holocaust survivors. The article tells the story of his parents and what happened to them during the Holocaust, what type of people they were and what they lost because of the Holocaust. However, the question that the article revolves around is: How could God have permitted such a tragedy (The Holocaust)? There are many possible answers to this question. The question we have been asked to answer is: How is the story of Moshe Yosef Daum and Fela Nussbaun (Menachem's parents) similar to that of Job? How is it different? In the article, not much information about Menachem's family is revealed, but from what is given, the family was happy and apparently religious, just like Job. In both stories, both groups of people had to experience suffering, but for different reasons. In the story of Job, Job experience suffering because God made a deal with to Devil to test his loyalty to God. In Menachem's parents' story, they had to experience suffering because of Hitler. In the end of both however, God's name is cursed in a way. In the story of Job, Job curses the day of his birth. In the article, the mother said that she would demand answers during the final judgement. When we question why God does what He does, we don't always get the answers that satisfy the question.

God, Satan, & Job

                    Today in class, we read Part 1 of the book of Job. The book of Job is a story about a man who had everything. He had a wife, seven sons and three daughters. "He had seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses and many servants," all of which God blessed him with. Because of these blessings given to him by God, Job "was blameless and upright, one who feared God, and turned away from evil," which God clearly must have known since He is all-knowing. However, in the story, God and Satan made a bet on the man's faith, therefore they decided to torture the living hell out of the man for no reason. The whole story behind the bet was that Satan told God that once God took away everything from Job, Job would curse his name. Little by little, God began to take away Job's possessions. After this, Satan afflicted Job with sores from head to toe. He lived with the pain for seven nights and seven days until he finally cursed the day of his birth. The story of Job relates, but also differs from the other stories from the Bible that we have read. This story relates to the story of Abraham in the sense that both men were obedient and feared God, as they should. In both stories, both men suffered because God was testing their faith and loyalty to Him. However, in the story of Abraham, Abraham is relieved from his suffering, whereas in the story of Job, God continued to inflict suffering upon Job. This idea of faith being tested is also present in the story of Adam and Eve. In the Old Testament, God is always testing the faith of His people. Whether it's because He's insecure or because He wants to reassure us that He can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, God will continue to test our faith to Him.