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Theology 121 – A
Major Theological Essay on Dreaming and “The Croods”
Everyone has a dream, something that he or she wants to do or have, or someone whom he or she wants to be in the future. That dream is also what made the “first modern family” witness the unfolding of a new world. From their cave going out into the wonders of the land, the Croods, with the help of Guy and his belt, were set on an adventure that changed their way of living and perceiving themselves and their environment. Amidst the cataclysms that seemed to chase them, they learned to survive in more meaningful ways and slowly did they know that the world is changing and that they have the ability to adapt to it and not just hide away from it.
From Guy, who first aimed of going to “Tomorrow,”1 the dream was passed on to the teenage daughter Eep. It was Eep, who passed it on to her family.2 One by one, they held on to that belief that beyond their cave lies a more prosperous home that they could live in. While it took them one full journey to do that, they did open themselves to new possibilities, things that were once “dangerous” and “deadly” to them, but are now considered essential to improving life. With emphasis on the portrayal of Eep, the film The Croods showed that by being firm in faith and upholding a vision that highlights innate goodness, a better future is at reach for anyone who dreams for it.
While faith is typically synonymized with belief in the English language, Theology says that
Each of who is seeking new life shed on them. Whether they are searching Christ or not, they are undoubtedly searching for and absence or void in their lives to be filled. Thus sets the plot for this work that guides readers on a journey to what it means to tell the truth and
Cates and Drummond attempt the impossible: going against the word of God, and, consequently, everyone in the town of Hillsboro. Drummond sees the evil of religion, the exceptionalism and narrow-mindedness that coincides with the religiously devout. While arguing with Brady about heaven, Drummond says “as long as the prerequisite for that shining paradise is ignorance, bigotry, and hate, I say to hell with them,” (30). Drummond identifies that the religious are hypocritical, declaring that they believe in all things holy and the good of people while they themselves are vain and prejudiced. This shows how in both stories the impact that faith leaves on the characters is not always
Not just faith in themselves, but in God. In Night, the main character Ellie stopped having faith in God, and that took a huge toll on his survival. He thought there was no reason to believe, “Why should I sanctify His name? The almighty, the eternal and terrible Master of the universe, chose to be silent. What was there to thank Him for?”(Wiesel 33).
A “simple creature of flesh and bone”(76-77) is not seen as being capable of understanding god’s will. Unlike god a person’s views may be warped by emotion; someone may “suffer hell in [their] soul and [their] flesh.”(77) After the death of Akida Drummer the prisoners forget to pray for him as a direct result of their own suffering. Unlike a god they have been rendered unable to fulfill their promise to their friend because of their own emotional trauma. Sorrow and other emotional responses are described as a force capable of destroying one’s ability to reason. Furthermore humankind is not seen as having adequate trust in god’s will.
By not including anything that might be offensive to a reader of a different religion, Hughes expanded his audience to a wide array of readers. Incorporating this religious experience to your own life experiences can be beneficial when relating to similar situations that you might have faced, or will face in the future. This story of a young man realizing that things may not always be as easy as others make it seem, and that at some points in life you must rethink everything you thought you once knew, is an important life lesson to all readers. Forming your own opinion on controversial subjects, such as religion, is something that one must do several times throughout their lives. This reason itself is what makes this story by Hughes interesting and unique in the way that it can relate to so many subjects not regarding
In Hughes’s short essay, which he ironically titles “Salvation,” he tells the reader about one of his most significant childhood memories. Hughes provides background about a huge revival at his aunt’s church. He flashes forward to the day where he was supposed to be called upon by Jesus and greeted by a bright light his aunt repeatedly tells him about. Hughes recalls that he sat on the mourners’ bench right in the front row with the rest of the unsaved children.
The observer discusses their motivations in the preamble. Speaking as the human’s pastor, they describe how they ‘tended’ the human, guiding them to the right path. The use of the term ‘tended’ invokes the commonplace metaphor of the child
McDowell begins the book with an anecdote of his life; a familiar story of the sceptical university Agnostic, ready to fire back a retort at the slightest mention of God, Christianity, and anything (or anyone) within. He recounted the all too common feeling of a meaningless life, the seemingly innate itch of human existence, and how it brought him to various places in his life—until he stumbled upon a particular group of people and was changed forever. This introduction, though short, is crucial to understand, for it sets the stage for the remainder of the book. It tells not only the story of a former non-believer, but the story of everyone—it presents us the life of Jesus Christ, not as a gentle sermon or a feel-good retelling, but as an assertive, rational reply to the accusation: ‘Christianity is a myth, and so is your God.’
Followers, who had once felt unfulfilled and disheartened during sermons, suddenly felt and experienced the spiritual connection to God that they had each been longing for after attending preachings from these two men. The Great Awakening brought about religious freedom and free will (Smith, 2011) that would grant all
Ehrenreich, B. (2016). Class Matters. Anglican Theological Review, 98(1), 15-21. This article, written by a highly-respected author, effectively discusses topics that I will be utilizing for the problem and solution sections of my final paper.
Faith being a name and also a strong belief in something. While reading the story some people may question Faiths character, wondering if she is actually a person or if when they say Faith they are only referring to Goodman’s belief in God. As Goodman Brown is leaving and him and Faith are saying their goodbyes he tells her that she cannot give up that he will be back. He tells her not to lose her Faith in him. On Goodman Brown’s trip through the woods he realizes that he cannot lose his faith or it is likely that he may not return home to his Faith.
Forrest Gump (1994), directed by Robert Zemeckis, portrays the life of a simple-minded, good and honest American, Forrest Gump, who witnesses or sometimes even involves in some of the most important events in the United States and inspires some popular cultures at the time. The story discusses love, destiny, innocence and serendipity. The director employs several elements to convey these themes. The main character encountering different people, in flashback or in the present, not only moves the story forward, also portrays the themes of serendipity and innocence. The innocent perspective of Forrest Gump towards some serious topics, namely, racism, child abuse, drug use, war violence, and politics, also is a distinguished part of the movie.
Analysis of Dimensions Already as a child, we all posses the circumstance of being irresponsible, and being addicted to someone else. In most cases it’s our parents, who we are addicted to. Throughout childhood, they have always been the pillars of our lives. They were the ones who made the decisions, who knew all the answers, even though we would disagree with them at times.
What if someone unexpected changed your way of thinking, permanently? What if God chose to send someone into your life to abolish you superficial thoughts? In both the stories “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, by Flannery O’Connor, and “Cathedral”, by Raymond Carver, the authors create main characters who lack faith and think superficially about life. However, in both stories, the authors send unexpected characters to act like mediums, for their job is to be the connection of the main character’s initial position in faith and their final position, revealed at the end of both stories. Even though the stories have a different plot and involve diverse kinds of characters, the final message and moral is the same.
However, after getting to know the lesson more in detail and better, I realized that my perception of the topic was wrong, as “Divine Revelation” is much broader and more meaningful than we realized. Furthermore, I able to understand better how “Divine Revelation” or simply God’s revelation is still very much present in modern times today. The