Science versus religion has been a big debate through all ages. Galileo was put on house arrest for some of his scientific discoveries, because they went against what the church originally said. In the mid 1900's, science and religion and education were being tied together, and then were finally separated. Openly teaching and practicing religion in the public schools was not allowed. Science was becoming a religion, and religion was attempting to be proven by science. So what is the difference between science and religion???
I am a Christian. I believe that God created the earth and people in seven days, (well really six, because He rested on the seventh day.)I believe that evolution is incorrect, and that we are not descendants of apes or bacteria or whatever. I do not believe in the Big Bang Theory, that a random piece of dust somehow floating in space went kablooooooooey and bang, there's the universe. There is no scientific evidence that the creation of the universe was by the Big Bang Theory. No one was there to see, and there is no evidence on it. It is exactly what it says, a theory. The same applies to evolution. There is no evidence that evolution is how we came to be. And as much as I would wish there was evidence, there is no evidence of the creation by God in seven days. We were not there to witness it, and there is no evidence. Now there is evidence that the Bible is true, and because of this, we assume that God created the earth in seven days. However, there is NO EVIDENCE on ANY IDEA OR THEORY about the creation of the universe.
So why does this matter? Well, I believe that God created the earth. That is my faith, my belief, my religion. My religion is based on faith, faith in God, who I believe created the universe, died for our sins, and created a way for us to go to heaven. Yet faith is not equal to science. Science to me is the absolute knowing of things through experimentation, through observation. Science is fact, and the yearning and process to obtaining those facts. However, science is also based on faith just like religion. That is the connection. Scientists are always searching for truth to the creation of the universe. A scientist may sincerely think one way or the other. He has faith in his theory that he is right. Just like a person has faith in their religion. There is evidence of truth of the Bible and my Christian religion. There is evidence in science. But there is not evidence of the creation of the universe. There is only faith.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Puritan Exam
This is a google presentation on the Puritan Literary Period and the lives of the Puritans. It talks of many different aspects of their lives and writing.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Journal #9: Organized Religion
Organized religion is... well it is religion that is organized, has a set way of doing their religion. Examples of this are Catholicism, Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. With Christianity, there are many sub branches such as Lutheran, Baptist, and Presbyterian. I am just plain Christian, no denomination. So I will tell you what I do on Sundays at my church.
A day at my church goes like so:
First off there are four different main services, or as many people call it, big church. The services start at 7:45, 9:00, 10:15, and 11:30. The first service is more traditional in being; they play hymns rather than the contemporary Christian music. Many of the elderly people like this service and go to it. The other three services play contemporary music. A band plays, and a couple people sing. The words are posted on the screens to the left and right of the baptizing area. They usually play three songs, everyone greets each other, and then we all sit down. The preacher goes to his little pulpit and starts to teach his sermon. Usually there are Bible verses to go along, and they are posted on the screens by the power point people. His sermon usually lasts about twenty to thirty minutes. After this we have a time where people can come up and either become members of the church, or they can decide to become baptized. Then we take communion and offering. After this, they post announcements on the screens for everyone to see, and the preacher tells everyone about upcoming dates that include conferences, new sermons, and small group times and places.
After big church, people can go home or go to Sunday school. In the high school Sunday school, we talk for a little time to our friends, and we just hang out for a little while. Then we have worship and sing a couple of songs and pray. Our high school leader comes and speaks, and then we all pray. After this we have announcements as well. Then he asks us to clean up the room and stack our chairs for the other people who might come in that room. After this, we go home.
That is the church schedule on Sundays at my church.
A day at my church goes like so:
First off there are four different main services, or as many people call it, big church. The services start at 7:45, 9:00, 10:15, and 11:30. The first service is more traditional in being; they play hymns rather than the contemporary Christian music. Many of the elderly people like this service and go to it. The other three services play contemporary music. A band plays, and a couple people sing. The words are posted on the screens to the left and right of the baptizing area. They usually play three songs, everyone greets each other, and then we all sit down. The preacher goes to his little pulpit and starts to teach his sermon. Usually there are Bible verses to go along, and they are posted on the screens by the power point people. His sermon usually lasts about twenty to thirty minutes. After this we have a time where people can come up and either become members of the church, or they can decide to become baptized. Then we take communion and offering. After this, they post announcements on the screens for everyone to see, and the preacher tells everyone about upcoming dates that include conferences, new sermons, and small group times and places.
After big church, people can go home or go to Sunday school. In the high school Sunday school, we talk for a little time to our friends, and we just hang out for a little while. Then we have worship and sing a couple of songs and pray. Our high school leader comes and speaks, and then we all pray. After this we have announcements as well. Then he asks us to clean up the room and stack our chairs for the other people who might come in that room. After this, we go home.
That is the church schedule on Sundays at my church.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Journal #8: Proofreading Mayhem
Taylor Mali has a video that discusses the importance of proofreading. (Parents be warned that it does have some mature content in it.) His entire speech called, "The The Impotence of Proofreading," comically makes fun of those who do not proofread carefully, but it also shows the importance of proofreading. As he talks, he talks like one who did not proofread, only spell checked. So for example, if he really meant the word, "world," he might have said "word" or "worl." However, as comical as it is to talk nonsense and mispronounce or say misspelled words, there is also truth behind it.
Too many people fall under the assumption that if one types a paper in Microsoft Word, then Word will automatically spell check and proof one's paper. This is a big mistake. Word only spell checks misspelled words! It does check sentences and grammar, such as run on sentences or fragments, but it will not check the meaning of the words in the sentence. For example, if one wrote the sentence, "the cat and dog ran about the garden, while m s Mary picked flowers," and they did not proofread the sentence, that person would have a problem. Microsoft Word does not see any misspellings in that sentence, but we know that "m s" should really be "mrs." Microsoft Word does not count single letters as being misspelled. So if someone is typing too fast and makes that mistake and does not proofread it, then they could get points marked off for that particular sentence.
Another problem that occurs is that a person uses a correctly spelled word, but it is not the right use of the word. If the sentence was, "The flower was very pretty, and it smelled good," and someone typed it as, "The flour was very pretty, and it smelled good," the person has a sentence they did not want. The second sentence could make sense, but not as much sense as the first one makes. They could also end up with, "The hour was very petty, and it spelled good." This sentence makes no sense at all. However, if the person did not proofread this, only spell checked it, they would not notice anything wrong. Word does not check meaning of the words in the sentence, just spelling. This is why proofreading is so important!
Remember, spell check on Microsoft Word is not good enough when it comes to reviewing papers!
Too many people fall under the assumption that if one types a paper in Microsoft Word, then Word will automatically spell check and proof one's paper. This is a big mistake. Word only spell checks misspelled words! It does check sentences and grammar, such as run on sentences or fragments, but it will not check the meaning of the words in the sentence. For example, if one wrote the sentence, "the cat and dog ran about the garden, while m s Mary picked flowers," and they did not proofread the sentence, that person would have a problem. Microsoft Word does not see any misspellings in that sentence, but we know that "m s" should really be "mrs." Microsoft Word does not count single letters as being misspelled. So if someone is typing too fast and makes that mistake and does not proofread it, then they could get points marked off for that particular sentence.
Another problem that occurs is that a person uses a correctly spelled word, but it is not the right use of the word. If the sentence was, "The flower was very pretty, and it smelled good," and someone typed it as, "The flour was very pretty, and it smelled good," the person has a sentence they did not want. The second sentence could make sense, but not as much sense as the first one makes. They could also end up with, "The hour was very petty, and it spelled good." This sentence makes no sense at all. However, if the person did not proofread this, only spell checked it, they would not notice anything wrong. Word does not check meaning of the words in the sentence, just spelling. This is why proofreading is so important!
Remember, spell check on Microsoft Word is not good enough when it comes to reviewing papers!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Journal #7: Superstitions
I am not exactly very superstitious, but I do have one little superstition that once I was obsessed with. This superstition is that I think a four leaf clover has some good luck in it. I will show you what I mean in this next story.
One day, my brother, dad, and I were playing some football in a field next to the church we attend. As my dad threw the football at me, and I caught it, my brother jumped up and exclaimed, "I found a four leaf clover! I found a four leaf clover!"
"So?" I said in a rude tone, annoyed that he had interrupted our football game.
"So! Four leaf clover are lucky, Lauren! There are only a number of them scattered around, and when you find one, it means you will have good luck for as long as you have it, or until it dies." Obviously, this is not a real win win situation as the clover dies within a couple of days when you pick the plant due to the lack of sun, water, and nutrients. However, I still believed it, being young at the time, and I was jealous that my brother was going to have good luck for months--the time I though it would last--now because of that silly little flower. My dad said, "Great, now put it down, and let's finish our game!" However, he was too late in saying so.
My brother was searching for more four leaf clover in hope of obtaining more good luck. I was running around the field looking for more clover patches. It was a furious race between us to try and obtain the most good luck. I found a large clover patch, got down on my hands and knees and furiously started to pick each little clover plant. I was so set on finding good luck and the status that came with it. (My brother and I were very competitive then, and we still are somewhat, and anything that I got before him or had more of placed me at a higher pedestal than him.) With no luck, I tried to fake the clover by holding another leaf under the three-leaf clover. This attempt failed, and with it, I thought my luck had run out. I thought I would never have any good luck, and I would only have bad luck. However, this turned to be a silly thought. The whole situation got out of control, and rather than having fun playing football, I had no fun, as I found no four leaf clover. Later, my dad told me in secret that four leaf clovers were no luckier than three leaf clovers.
I said, "I know that, and I won't go crazy over them ever again."
Yet, every now and then if I am playing out in our yard, or stretching on the ground during softball, I look for that four leaf clover, hoping to find that small bundle of luck.
One day, my brother, dad, and I were playing some football in a field next to the church we attend. As my dad threw the football at me, and I caught it, my brother jumped up and exclaimed, "I found a four leaf clover! I found a four leaf clover!"
"So?" I said in a rude tone, annoyed that he had interrupted our football game.
"So! Four leaf clover are lucky, Lauren! There are only a number of them scattered around, and when you find one, it means you will have good luck for as long as you have it, or until it dies." Obviously, this is not a real win win situation as the clover dies within a couple of days when you pick the plant due to the lack of sun, water, and nutrients. However, I still believed it, being young at the time, and I was jealous that my brother was going to have good luck for months--the time I though it would last--now because of that silly little flower. My dad said, "Great, now put it down, and let's finish our game!" However, he was too late in saying so.
My brother was searching for more four leaf clover in hope of obtaining more good luck. I was running around the field looking for more clover patches. It was a furious race between us to try and obtain the most good luck. I found a large clover patch, got down on my hands and knees and furiously started to pick each little clover plant. I was so set on finding good luck and the status that came with it. (My brother and I were very competitive then, and we still are somewhat, and anything that I got before him or had more of placed me at a higher pedestal than him.) With no luck, I tried to fake the clover by holding another leaf under the three-leaf clover. This attempt failed, and with it, I thought my luck had run out. I thought I would never have any good luck, and I would only have bad luck. However, this turned to be a silly thought. The whole situation got out of control, and rather than having fun playing football, I had no fun, as I found no four leaf clover. Later, my dad told me in secret that four leaf clovers were no luckier than three leaf clovers.
I said, "I know that, and I won't go crazy over them ever again."
Yet, every now and then if I am playing out in our yard, or stretching on the ground during softball, I look for that four leaf clover, hoping to find that small bundle of luck.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Journal #6: Backfire
Blaming has become the quick fix to any fault... or has it? Many people think that blaming someone will get them out of trouble and will place any fault on the person they are blaming. However, this does not always come out clean for the blamer. The fault could backfire on them and get them in even bigger trouble. All in all though, one should just accept their punishment rather than passing it off to someone else. This next true story shows how blaming someone else for one's faults backfired on the blamer.
In a family of seven there was the mom, the dad, three daughters, and two sons. The daughters' names were Mary, Margaret, and Mildred, and the sons' names were Alfred and Arty. (The names listed are not the actual names of the people, seeing as there is a security risk there.) Out of this group, we will only be looking at the two boys, Alfred and Arty, and the mom.
One day, Alfred and Arty were playing with some games. Arty decided that he wanted to play with the action figure Alfred, the older brother, was playing with, rather than his card game. Arty, the younger brother, thought that the best way to go about playing with the action figure was to take it away and not ask to play with it. Arty snatched up the action figure, and laughed at his brother. Alfred, being very stealth, snatched it right back and went on with playing with his action figure. Arty was extremely mad that Alfred took away his toy, which was really Alfred's in the first place. Arty jumped on his brother, who wiggled out of the grasp of his younger brother. Arty swung at his brother, who ducked, and Arty hit the hard wooden door, breaking his hand. Arty went screaming to the mom, saying that Alfred had broken his hand. The mom, furious, started to yell at Alfred. Alfred glared at Arty, and under this stare, Arty broke down and told the truth, that he hit the door, but he still added the blaming device. He said it was Alfred's fault that he broke his hand, because Alfred ducked. The mom, just ignored this blame, and Arty got in a lot of trouble for starting the fight and lying about it.
Because of blaming his brother on his own silly fault, he gained more punishment, and he just looked plain silly. Blaming someone does nothing for oneself; it can backfire on one and just cause more consequences and humiliation.
In a family of seven there was the mom, the dad, three daughters, and two sons. The daughters' names were Mary, Margaret, and Mildred, and the sons' names were Alfred and Arty. (The names listed are not the actual names of the people, seeing as there is a security risk there.) Out of this group, we will only be looking at the two boys, Alfred and Arty, and the mom.
One day, Alfred and Arty were playing with some games. Arty decided that he wanted to play with the action figure Alfred, the older brother, was playing with, rather than his card game. Arty, the younger brother, thought that the best way to go about playing with the action figure was to take it away and not ask to play with it. Arty snatched up the action figure, and laughed at his brother. Alfred, being very stealth, snatched it right back and went on with playing with his action figure. Arty was extremely mad that Alfred took away his toy, which was really Alfred's in the first place. Arty jumped on his brother, who wiggled out of the grasp of his younger brother. Arty swung at his brother, who ducked, and Arty hit the hard wooden door, breaking his hand. Arty went screaming to the mom, saying that Alfred had broken his hand. The mom, furious, started to yell at Alfred. Alfred glared at Arty, and under this stare, Arty broke down and told the truth, that he hit the door, but he still added the blaming device. He said it was Alfred's fault that he broke his hand, because Alfred ducked. The mom, just ignored this blame, and Arty got in a lot of trouble for starting the fight and lying about it.
Because of blaming his brother on his own silly fault, he gained more punishment, and he just looked plain silly. Blaming someone does nothing for oneself; it can backfire on one and just cause more consequences and humiliation.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Journal #5: 21st Century Punishment
Punishment has gone from whippings in the early days of America to spankings, from spankings to grounding, and now the taking of electronic devices. Today, parents take away cell phones, iPods, computers, televisions, facebook, twitter, and other privileges as punishment. But what is considered a fair punishment in the 21st century?
For me, I think a fair punishment is based on the child and his or her likes. The following examples demonstrate what I mean by that.
Say a boy really likes playing video games and playing on his PS2. The boy, named Tim, lied to his parents about cleaning his room. He said that he cleaned everything up and that is was as clean as a whistle. However, when his parents stepped into his room, they realized that it was not as clean as a whistle. There were clothes thrown everywhere and most of his toys and things stuffed under the bed and in the closet. He only said his room was clean, because he wanted to play with his PS2 and video games. He could only do this if he cleaned his room, but no one likes to clean their room including Tim. His parents punished him. How?
Since Tim likes to play with his video games, PS2, or game boy, I would take away those things. Whatever is dear to him, take away for an extended period of time. Then he will learn that in order to keep those things, he should not lie or do anything wrong. The same applies to a girl.
If Cecilia talks back to her parents and gives them attitude, and she is told countless times not to, then she should be punished. If Cecilia really likes her cell phone, and texts all the time, I would take her cell phone away. Then she might realize that she should not sass her parents and that her phone will not be taken away if she does not talk back to them.
In this century, technology is a major part of people's lives. Taking technology away from them is a fair punishment in my opinion for those who like technology. The punishment should be based on what the child is dear with. Whatever they like, take it away, and hopefully they will learn not to do that wrong thing again.
For me, I think a fair punishment is based on the child and his or her likes. The following examples demonstrate what I mean by that.
Say a boy really likes playing video games and playing on his PS2. The boy, named Tim, lied to his parents about cleaning his room. He said that he cleaned everything up and that is was as clean as a whistle. However, when his parents stepped into his room, they realized that it was not as clean as a whistle. There were clothes thrown everywhere and most of his toys and things stuffed under the bed and in the closet. He only said his room was clean, because he wanted to play with his PS2 and video games. He could only do this if he cleaned his room, but no one likes to clean their room including Tim. His parents punished him. How?
Since Tim likes to play with his video games, PS2, or game boy, I would take away those things. Whatever is dear to him, take away for an extended period of time. Then he will learn that in order to keep those things, he should not lie or do anything wrong. The same applies to a girl.
If Cecilia talks back to her parents and gives them attitude, and she is told countless times not to, then she should be punished. If Cecilia really likes her cell phone, and texts all the time, I would take her cell phone away. Then she might realize that she should not sass her parents and that her phone will not be taken away if she does not talk back to them.
In this century, technology is a major part of people's lives. Taking technology away from them is a fair punishment in my opinion for those who like technology. The punishment should be based on what the child is dear with. Whatever they like, take it away, and hopefully they will learn not to do that wrong thing again.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Journal #4: Wyoming
I love to travel, especially if I go somewhere far away or out of state. In sixth grade, my aunt and uncle asked my brother to go to Wyoming with them. Lucky for me, my younger brother becomes homesick very easily, and my aunt and uncle asked me to go. I was extremely happy to go with them to Wyoming.
We were going to go to a dude ranch in Wyoming up near Jacksonhole, Wyoming. We were going to go horse back riding, fly fishing, hiking, sight seeing, and of course, shopping. I was very excited to be going.
A few days before the trip started, I packed my large suitcase with tons of warm clothes, shoes, and hats. I packed my boots and the cowboy hat my dad gave me especially for the trip to Wyoming. We arrived in Kansas, where my extended family lived, and I packed my stuff into their big Tahoe. After many hugs and goodbye's, my aunt, uncle, and little cousin left for Wyoming, a good day's drive. On the trip I took many pictures of the scenery with my digital camera, and I still have those amazing pictures. When we got the ranch, we were welcomed with a cookout and singing. The next day, I went horseback riding for the first time, and I instantly loved it. My cousin nearly got kicked off the horse, so we had to leave early for safety reasons. Then we went fishing at Snake River, where I was the only one who caught a trout. The best part of going to the Snake River was that my aunt fell in and became soaked. And being the crazy uncle he is, my uncle tried to scare away a buffalo. That was definitely an interesting experience. The next couple of days we went shopping, horse back riding, white water rafting, and hiking in the great Tetons. They were so beautiful, and we were able to see them, almost wherever we went.
That trip was an amazing trip, and I am still glad that I went on that Wyoming trip. The scenery was beautiful, and one got to see nature everywhere. I did benefit from the trip; I was able to become closer with my family, and I was able to see another state. It was really neat to see the Tetons and all the landscape in Wyoming, that I did not see in Illinois. It was a really amazing trip to Wyoming.
We were going to go to a dude ranch in Wyoming up near Jacksonhole, Wyoming. We were going to go horse back riding, fly fishing, hiking, sight seeing, and of course, shopping. I was very excited to be going.
A few days before the trip started, I packed my large suitcase with tons of warm clothes, shoes, and hats. I packed my boots and the cowboy hat my dad gave me especially for the trip to Wyoming. We arrived in Kansas, where my extended family lived, and I packed my stuff into their big Tahoe. After many hugs and goodbye's, my aunt, uncle, and little cousin left for Wyoming, a good day's drive. On the trip I took many pictures of the scenery with my digital camera, and I still have those amazing pictures. When we got the ranch, we were welcomed with a cookout and singing. The next day, I went horseback riding for the first time, and I instantly loved it. My cousin nearly got kicked off the horse, so we had to leave early for safety reasons. Then we went fishing at Snake River, where I was the only one who caught a trout. The best part of going to the Snake River was that my aunt fell in and became soaked. And being the crazy uncle he is, my uncle tried to scare away a buffalo. That was definitely an interesting experience. The next couple of days we went shopping, horse back riding, white water rafting, and hiking in the great Tetons. They were so beautiful, and we were able to see them, almost wherever we went.
That trip was an amazing trip, and I am still glad that I went on that Wyoming trip. The scenery was beautiful, and one got to see nature everywhere. I did benefit from the trip; I was able to become closer with my family, and I was able to see another state. It was really neat to see the Tetons and all the landscape in Wyoming, that I did not see in Illinois. It was a really amazing trip to Wyoming.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Journal #3: Hostage Situation
In Mary Rowlandson's work, A Narrative of the Capture and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, Mary was taken hostage by a tribe of Indians and was a slave to them. She was sold to other Indian groups, and as she was a hostage of the Indians, she dealt with many hardships, starvation, weakness, death, and sadness. Yet in her experience, she trusted God to get her through and to strengthen her each day, and she survived to tell her story.
If I was taken hostage, I would probably not be as calm as Mary. I would be extremely scared, wondering if I was going to survive the incident. However, I would probably not act the same depending on the situation.
For example, if I was suddenly kidnapped, I would not stay quiet and allow them to take me wherever they pleased. Instead, I would kick, scream, and fight back as much as possible. I would make a lot of noise so people could hear me and help me. In that particular case, I would not be calm, rather I would be loud, and I would fight desperately to get away from the kidnappers.
However, if I was taken hostage at a public place, such as school, or the bank, or the mall, by some person with a gun, I would not act like I would in the above-said situation. Instead, I would be calm and do as they told me, until the situation calmed down. If the person with a gun told me to get down to the floor, that is exactly what I would do. If they told me to be quiet and put my hands out in front of me, I would do it. I would not want to make the gunner angry as that person could hurt me and others at the scene.
In each situation though, there is one thing that I would do, no matter what the problem. I would pray to God and trust Him to take care of the hostage situation. I would try my best not to worry as God would take care of me and the other people. This is what I would do if I was in a hostage situation.
If I was taken hostage, I would probably not be as calm as Mary. I would be extremely scared, wondering if I was going to survive the incident. However, I would probably not act the same depending on the situation.
For example, if I was suddenly kidnapped, I would not stay quiet and allow them to take me wherever they pleased. Instead, I would kick, scream, and fight back as much as possible. I would make a lot of noise so people could hear me and help me. In that particular case, I would not be calm, rather I would be loud, and I would fight desperately to get away from the kidnappers.
However, if I was taken hostage at a public place, such as school, or the bank, or the mall, by some person with a gun, I would not act like I would in the above-said situation. Instead, I would be calm and do as they told me, until the situation calmed down. If the person with a gun told me to get down to the floor, that is exactly what I would do. If they told me to be quiet and put my hands out in front of me, I would do it. I would not want to make the gunner angry as that person could hurt me and others at the scene.
In each situation though, there is one thing that I would do, no matter what the problem. I would pray to God and trust Him to take care of the hostage situation. I would try my best not to worry as God would take care of me and the other people. This is what I would do if I was in a hostage situation.
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