Different Perceptions of God

                I found it very interesting how, in different colonial reading assignments we read, the perception of God can be so different.  In “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards, God is portrayed as a merciless force of wrath who will easily send any sinner to hell without a second thought.  Then there’s Anne Bradstreet, who writes about a loving God that can be trusted.  These two ideas are very conflicting, but they were both believed by many back when these works were written.  The question is, which idea is believed today?

                I’m a Christian, so I know a bit about the bible and such.  Every Christian knows that if one sins, he or she must either ask for forgiveness from God or be punished.  The stories in the bible show God as being very harsh when dealing with punishment.  Often, if a man did something wrong, God would kill him and his whole family.  However, we as people today don’t seem to think that God will do something so drastic.  Christians know they must ask for forgiveness when they sin, but they don’t believe they will be sent to hell for petty sins.  That, however, is exactly the message Jonathan Edwards tried to convey in his sermon, and his audience believed it.  So why have Christians turned their backs on the idea of a harsh God?  I believe people today can’t handle the thought of a harsh God.  People have grown too soft in the idea of punishment.  They refuse to believe that God is merciless because they know that, if God were as cruel as he was portrayed in works like “Sinners in the hands of an Angry God”, they would all be guilty of some sin and be sent to hell.  Most people just can’t live with that.

 

The Relationship between Myth and History

                Whenever I hear the word Myth, I think of Greek Mythology.  The myths about Zeus and all the other Greek Gods are probably the most well-known myths in the world.  Although we haven’t studied any Greek myths in class, Native American myths and creation stories serve the same purpose:  to explain the history of a certain group of people.  I believe myths are created not only to explain creation, but also as a history for ancient civilizations, like the Greek and the Native Americans, who had no other explanation for their existence. 

                In class we read “The World on the Turtle’s Back”, which was a creation myth written by the Iroquois.  It explained creation, but it also served as a history for the Iroquois, explaining were and from whom they came from.  The same is true in “The Way to Rainy Mountain” by Scott Momaday.  This piece was written by one person, which means it’s not a real myth, but it explains the history of the Kiowa tribe.  In parts, it sounds like a history book, but in other parts it sounds like a myth.  This is an example of why myth is another form of history.       

I actually figured out how to do this!  I don't really know much about blogs and I didn't know what to name mine, so I decided on Finding the Words.  That's what English is all about right?  Well, this year, I hope to learn how to always find the right words to say exactly what I mean, whether it's in an essay or in real life.