Tuesday, May 8, 2007

THE END... MAYBE?

Blogging has been a very interesting and helpful experience for me. Before this class I was not very savvy with blogging, and my interest was growing as I heard about the blogging world growing. I will admit when I first walked into this class and heard what we would be doing all semester I thought "What the hell is going on, we learn how to blog in college english now." It only sounded like a interesting idea, not a educational one which is what I'm going to college for, but either way I didn't have a choice but to buckle down and give it my best shot.

So as we started to look at blogs that very first english class I came to the conclusion that the good blogs we read about were ones of deep interest to the author, so I knew I had to write about some thing that interested me. I picked religion because it is some thing I have spent a lot of time on and know it fairly well, I was not comfortable at first to pick an out there topic.

As I moved along during the semester I got more comfortable with blogging and decided to try some new types of blogs... my "NFL" blog and my "Answering the Questions" blogs are what I came up with to skyline myself with attempted new ideas. I believe I did a fairly good job, the best I could have with my little experience. If I did it now with my experience under my belt, I realize I could do a better job. One thing I would like to figure out is if an experienced blogger could tell we weren't "real" bloggers. I think if I changed my mindset to being a blogger on my own free will it would have been different. We knew we only had a set number of blogs we had to complete, and also for a grade, so I wonder if this altered us from the rest of the blogging world?

I learned a lot in this experience, and realized that it was not only interesting, but also educational in today's world. I am glad I was able to learn about blogging through a english class, it just goes to show me that we do learn important things in college whether I realize it at the time or not. I better keep learning things that I think are pointless at the time, because I never know what it will turn out to be.

Tuesday, May 1, 2007

UNIQUE:
1. existing as the only one or as the sole example; single; solitary in type or characteristics.
2. having no like or equal; unparalleled; incomparable.


Have you ever just stopped and thought about how unique some things are? Just took a minute out of the day or before you fell asleep one night an put a thought into how unique perhaps the earth is, the place you live, or even yourself... I would like to spend some time pondering how unique a book is. I am sure many of you already realize what book I am talking about, that is the Holy Bible. Let us just think how unique this book is, even if we do not believe the words written in it, I do not think anyone could deny that this book is different from others, and perhaps the most unique of any. Just read and consider it for a minute.

With out spending to much time on the subject, I think it is important to first talk about what the "Bible" exactly is. The Bible is composed of several books that work together to create the whole picture, for those who believe, it is Gods word speaking through men to display his will. The actual Bible we use today was composed by the early church in the third century using a spiritual standard to determine which books are divinely inspired. It is important to note that the church did not create or determine which books would be called scripture. Instead the church recognized, or discovered which books had been divinely inspired (McDowell, 21).

Now... how is this book unique?

1. Unique in its Continuity
It is the only book that was written over a 1500 year time span.
I think to myself "how could the authors even have enough endurance to continue over this period of time." (Harder)

2. Written by more than forty authors
Not only was it written by so many authors, but they include kings, military leaders, peasants, philosophers, fishermen, tax collectors, poets, musicians, statesmen, scholars, and shepards (Why is the Bible Unique).

3. Written on three different continents
Asia, Africa, and Europe. Not only this but written in different places to include the wilderness, dungeons, palaces, and while traveling.

4. Written in different moods and times
Written in times of war and sacrifice, peace and prosperity, suffering, persecution, and hunger. Written in moods to include joy, despair, conviction, and doubt (McDowell, 4).

5. Written in three different languages
Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.

6. Written in a variety of literary styles
Poetry, historical narrative, song, romance, didactic treatise, personal correspondence, memoirs, satire, biography, autobiography, law, prophecy, parable, and allegory (I'm not going to lie, I don't know what some of those mean...) (McDowell, 6).

7. Over a billion copies sold
It's not rare to hear of books on the best-sellers list when selling a few hundred thousand, the bible is the best seller of all time (McDowell, 8).

8. Unique in its survival through persecution
No book has been more persecuted than the bible. From the time it was outlawed by the Roman emperors to the present day Communist countries (Harder).

9. No ancient literature compares to the accuracy persevered by the bible.
Plato, Aristotle, and Caesar all have way less manuscripts and bigger time gaps than the bible. By the test scholars use to determine accuracy of an ancient document the bible surpasses all (Sarris).

"The Bible is not such a book a man would write if he could, or could write if he would." (McDowell, 13)



Harder, Eugene. The Bible's uniqueness is an evidence it is God's inspired infallible Word.
1995 15 Aug. 2007 <http://www.newhope.bc.ca/94-08-15.htm>

Mcdowell, Josh. The New Evidence That Demands a Verdict. Here's Life Publishers, 1999.

Sarris, Chris. Is the Bible Trustworthy? 2004.
2007 <http://www.onlinethoughts.com/bible_evidence/bible_evi.htm>

Why is the Bible Unique. 2007 <http://www.thewaytogod.info/e.uniqueness.bible.html>