Sinners in the Hands of An Angry God

Jonathan Edward's sermon of the same name struck me as a very one-sided way to view the world. Actually, Puritanism itself seemed like a very one-sided religion. It basically stated that anything different was bad, anything remotely material was bad and if you didn't fear God, that was bad. If you did any of those things you were considered a sinner and, for sure, going to Hell because you broke the Puritan I-get-a-free-pass-to-heaven "arrangement." They disliked progress and anything that was not somehow related to their faith and the Bible. But I am not one to judge how they thought. Still, these people gave the words "God-fearing people" a new meaning.

Why do we have to fear God in the first place? I'm not sure which religion, if any, I believe in right now but I do believe that God created the Earth and life. Yes, those are the key words: God gave us life. Why would the one being that created us in the first place, created this wonderful and unique and intelligent thing called a human, why would God want us to fear him (her?)? If anything, I think God would want us to praise him for bringing us into this world. The religion I am born into, Judaism, does not teach us to fear God. But however, one thing that is brought up over and over again in the Bible and the Torah, is this: "I am Adonai, your one true God." The Jewish God only wants us to believe he is there, and that he is the only one. Moses was given the Ten Commandments and this god chose us as a people to... be the god of. So he picked us, and so we are grateful and sacrifice things, or at least we did back in Biblical times.

Like I said earlier, I'm not sure if I actually believe in this religion, but I do believe that people shouldn't fear God, that God is the being that created life, he is loving and caring for the most part. Puritanism is all about fear. If you are scared, you will get into heaven because you will fear God and are afraid of going to Hell, so you will obey all these Puritan rules. Just because you are scared. Call me crazy, but I don't think fear is the healthiest way to get someone to participate in your religion. All God should want is for you to be happy in life. In the end, I hope there was at least some joy in it for the Puritans.

There Goes The Neighborhood.

Perhaps one of the most famous instances of two cultures coming together is the Spanish conquistador Cortez encountering the Aztec people in Mexico, some 500 years ago. Obviously this was a relationship that did not end well for a few reasons. Cortez came to the New World not knowing what he would find, but looking for land to claim and conquer for his country and to spread Catholicism. He met the Aztecs and when he attempted to convert them, they refused. Cortez fought them with more advanced weapons and killed or enslaved them. Also, unbeknownst to the Aztecs, Cortez and his crew brought European diseases (mainly smallpox) over from the other side of the pond and wiped out a huge amount of the Aztec population. The conflict eventually ended some years later with a large decrease in Aztec numbers and Cortez conquering the land for Spain.

But of course, not every time that cultures collide do conflict and tragedy occur. For instance, the early Paleolithic peoples (nomads) were able to trade peacefully with each other for thousands of years, often relying on staples the other cultures had and therefore could trade for the necessary supplies. Granted, different Paleolithic cultures were a lot more similar than Cortez and the Aztecs, but still, the lesson is still there.

You'll have to forgive me about all this random history, I just finished studying for AP World and I guess I'm still thinking about it. The point is, when cultures come together, they definitely don't always get along. Sure it worked out for the Paleolithic tribes, but more recently with Cortez and the Aztecs, they fought and they fought until one side eventually won. It's very interesting to see how different peoples and different cultures react to each other. And no matter how it turns out, at least I'll be able to put in my two cents about it here :)

Introductions

I'm Nina Posner, a sophomore at Whitney Young and I'm 15 years young. Writing is one of the things I like to do in my spare time, both poetry and prose, about any topic that comes to my mind really. I'm also on the cross country team. Although I'm not particularly good, I like to run because it's truly a mental sport and shows you that positive thinking and a good outlook can really make a difference. I read in my spare time and some of my favorite authors are JK Rowling, John Grisham, Dan Brown, Anthony Horowitz and more. I'm open to any book recommendations. However, my favorite thing to do is listen to music. I'm open to hear to anything and I listen to my iPod almost all the time. Some of my favorite bands are Vampire Weekend, Coconut Records, Miike Snow, Pavement, Jackson Browne, U2 and The Police. I'm an optimist by nature, I think, however I've learned that life is short so you should live it to the fullest. I'm very loud once you get to know me and am always smiling. I look forward to reading, writing, learning and discussing in class this year.