Lane Reflection- Erin Comerford

Lane describes four phenomenological categories or axioms that describe how places are perceived in the process of mythogenesis. Those four axioms are: 1. sacred place is not chosen, it chooses. 2.sacred place is ordinary place, ritually made extraordinary. 3. sacred place can be tred upon without being entered. and 4. the impulse of sacred place is both centripetal and centrifugal, local and universe. Each of these axioms describes sacred place. The first three axioms make sense to me. A place isn't sacred because someone or something makes it sacred, it is sacred because the place itself chooses to be sacred. It is the place that makes it sacred. Through rituals, an ordinary place can be transformed into a sacred or extraordinary place. Without those rituals in that place, the place is not sacred. Also, one can tred upon or be in a sacred place, but not experience because they are either not letting that place choose, or they are not participating in the ritual of that place. The fourth axiom however, is a little harder for me to understand. The concept that physical sacred place is in that place itself but also universal is a little confusing to me. I understand the concept of sacredness that is universal, but a physical place being universal doesn't make sense. It may have something to do with the fact that the sacredness of a place, like the rituals, can be universal or in many places.

Rachel Hrovat- Class Reflection 9/23/2010

Today in class we discussed José Ortega y Gassett's quote, "Tell me the landscape in which you live and I will tell you who you are", and the profoundness of this statement. The more I thought and pondered about the quote, the more I came to agree with what he was saying. My thoughts then turned to people I know very well and when thinking about the areas they grew up in, I realized that those who grew up in similar landscapes have similar personalities, senses of humor, behaviors and mannerisms. My friends from the mountains versus the friends I have from a more urban community. Those from the mountians in West Virginia do not need much to be entertained. At a gathering, we might just sit and talk on the front porch for several hours. My friends from a more developed area, however, like to go out to dinner, or see a movie when a get-together is planned. I am still wondering what is is exactly, about the environment we live in, that causes and shapes us into the people we are. And how, some, like Ortega y Gassett are able to determine what someone is like just by knowing that individual's surroundings. It really is interesting to see the substantial role that wilderness and environment play in people's lives.

Jamie Englert-Outside Reading

I have been reading this book, Irresistible Revolution, for a few weeks now and it has really challenged my thinking about Christian faith and how to live out that lifestyle. The author, Shane Claiborne, takes a look at what it is like to live as what he calls, an “ordinary radical” and illustrates this using examples from his own life and those of great people he has met. The majority of the book focuses on poverty, particularly in the United States, and what we so called “Christians” do to address it. Claiborne is a very blunt and honest guy and stresses the point of how so many Christians live their lives in their comfortable, suburban churches and stay in their comfortable, Caucasian cliques. At first I read this and was slightly offended. Who is this guy to judge how people profess and live out their faith? But then I realized he did have a point. Looking at the people I surround myself with and the churches I attend, they can sometimes resemble his description. Now he does mention that this is not always a bad thing because fellowship is important, but if we claim that we want to live and love as Jesus did, we must step out of our comfort zones sometimes. So I started thinking…who did Jesus hang out with? Who did he love that I don’t love? Well, he was friends with tax collectors, fisherman, adulterers, lepers, the blind, the deaf…and the list goes on. This group is quite the assortment of people, yet Jesus loved each one individually and unconditionally, regardless of their circumstances or where they came from. I took a step back and looked at my life: All my friends look the same and I certainly know I do not always treat them as I should. I could continue this life of stability, but could I still say that I was living to be “Christ-like?” He hung out with the poor and lonely, the widowed and weary, why was I not doing the same? I have a friend at school that does just that. She goes to downtown Newport News throughout the week and hangs out with the homeless. She and a few others have even gone so far as to help some of them get jobs at CNU and create a better life for themselves. How great is that? Some of her greatest friends are homeless people and she finds satisfaction in her faith through that type of ministry. She is living her life the way God intended to us to live;to me, that is inspiring.

Will Geiger- My Place

This past weekend I had the opportunity to go home and see my family. I'm only a sophomore and I don't pay rent or anything yet so my real home is still the place I go in Herndon, VA when I'm not at school. When I got there on Friday it had been nearly a month since I'd stepped into my house. Long enough to be able to smell the aroma that is unique to ones own home. As I set foot through the door, my dogs, in a frenzy, leaped up at me in an effort to taste the new and interesting flavors of my skin. My sister, characteristically, doesn't say hi to me until I say hi to her first. My room (as instructed) is exactly the way I left it when I went off to school a month before: bed unmade, clothes on the ground, closet open. I don't know if this is the case for everyone, but being home is more relaxing to me than anything else I can think of. I belong there because it was built with me as a part of it. My mother even admits that (even when she doesn't miss me) it feels as if there's a hole in the household where my presence belongs.

Paige Dwyer-Outside Reading (1)

I have spent some time going through the Bible to find verses that talk about wilderness. It is actually a very common topic that appears in many chapters, including both the Old and New Testament. However, the context of wilderness is much different than what we perceive it to be in our class. It is not a place considered to be sacred but rather feared. It is a place of temptation and of suffering. In many chapters, the wilderness is known as a place for outcasts and exiles. One of the most common segments regarding wilderness would be Matthew 4:1-25. Jesus spent 40 days and 40 nights fasting the desert (wilderness). He was famished and thus, the devil utilized this opportunity to tempt Jesus. The tempter said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus replied, “It is written, one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Jesus was tempted a few more times but replied that he is only to serve and worship the one true God. In the Bible, the wilderness represents a place where one goes when they have lost sight of God. Those who seek forgiveness are lead out of the wilderness by the light of the Lord and shown the path of righteousness. This is contrary to our conception of the wilderness, being a place of peace and serenity. However, the idea that I find to be in common between the Bible’s notion of the wilderness and our class’ conception is that the wilderness is place where one goes for self-discovery. Someone who ventures into the wilderness is obviously searching for something or trying to fill some void in their life. In the Bible, those who end up in the wilderness are either lead out by the light of God or forever remain lost wanderers. Nowadays, those who venture into the wilderness either seek some sort of enlightenment or simply find a new love for nature and the escape from reality.

Josh Osteen - Adam's Peak

Ok, so there is this mountain in Sri Lanka. It's not the tallest mountain, nor is it a mountain of any specific geographic location in regards to things such as volcanoes or fault lines. This mountain is pretty much an ordinary mountain. This is what someone sailing past the island might say if someone were to point it out to them. This is not even close to the significance of this piece of land. Adam's Peak is the home to a pilgrimage that spans 4 of the most prominent religions of the world. Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, and Muslims all trek up this mountain for what lies at the top. At the summit of this mountain there is what everyone believes to be the footprint of an important figure in each of the religions. There is a formation in the rock at the top that looks like a big footprint. This print has a temple built around it that is kept in top shape by monks that live up there. This "worship" that takes place is a great example of feeling connected with a higher being. The belief that these people share is one that doesn't even have to take into account separate religions. The fact that these people believe someone super important placed themselves on that exact spot is amazing to me. I do have to wonder what the atmosphere is like when they realize that this pilgrimage has the largest population of religious people trekking each season. These people make the journey up the mountain at night in order to see the sunrise from the summit. I look at this and really want to understand the significance of a journey to something. I have always wanted to know what it is like to try my body and spirit with a task that has such a reward or ending point that would bring me to a place of quiet connection. The thought of each of these religions finding peace and harmony in one rock is one that surpasses my level of thought. For an example, Christians believe that when Adam was exiled out of Eden, God made him land on Adam's Peak. This is where he began his life separated from a perfect relationship with the Lord. The other name for this mountain is Sri Pada which means "sacred footprint." This mountain stands for so much more than a person would realize.

Further Thoughts on Mount Sinai-Eric Fesmire

My paper was on Mount Sinai. For this topic, Mount Sinai is a great example of axis mundi and the idea of forbidden space. With the Jewish people's tradition heavily rooted around what occurred on and around this mountain, it must have been an incredible spiritual experience. Interestingly, in Judeo-Christian culture the mountain itself is not as important as what occurred. There is a separation in most people's minds disconnecting the physical environment with the spiritual experience. Ironically, this thinking is probably based on a law given at that very mountain "thou shall not make graven images" (Exodus 20:4) In order to steer clear of this command, it is easy to see how someone might avoid attributing meaning to the environment through which God speaks. But I cannot avoid thinking about why a mountain would have been chosen to give laws.

If I was going to give laws to anybody I would choose something powerful to show my sovereignty and give them a sense of why I have the "right" to give them these laws in the first place. Even if the laws are only there to keep people from harming themselves and others (as I believe the Ten Commandments are) I think I would still do this. Especially if you look at where the Israelites came from: a culture that worshipped many gods, this God almost needed to "prove Himself", or show Himself powerful. What better way to do so then a mountain? I can't think of a natural wonder more powerful and awe inspiring than standing at the bottom of a mountain and looking up. It makes me feel like I am two feet tall and God is so much bigger than me. All of that, without the thunder and the lightning.