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Author Archives: jtorres
Posts: 4 (archived below)
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Testing God’s People
In the story of Job, the Devil tries to prove to God that his people would not be as loyal to Him while they are suffering true pain. In an attempt to prove himself, the devil puts Job through a series of pain by taking everything away from him. His children, house, clothing…everything were taken away from him. In order for the devil to win, Job must turn away from God and blame God for all the bad things that are going on in his life. Job cursed his life saying “why did I not die at birth, come for from the womb and expire?” (128.25). Job, being faithful, did not turn away from God. He stayed loyal and was rewarded with everything that he previously had plus more.
A story that I picked from New York Times is “Suicides Put Light on Pressures of Gay Teenagers.” In this story a group of teenagers committed suicide after experiencing a series of intense bullying from their peers. The “Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, who on Friday called the suicides ‘unnecessary tragedies’ brought on by ‘the trauma of being bullied’” (McKinley par. 6). Unfortunately, unlike Job, the teenagers were not able to stay on their feet. They were taken away from the world. All we can do now is pray for them and their families. We also have to remember to pray for the end of bullying that does not only exist between children, but also teenagers and adults.
McKinley, James. “Suicides Put Light on Pressures of Gay Teenagers.” The New York Times. 4 Oct 2010. <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/04/us/04suicide.html?scp=13&sq=october%204,%202010&st=cse>
Posted in Book of Job
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Connections between Genesis and Gilgamesh
As somebody that tries his best to live up to his religion, I feel intrigued by the story of Genesis’ Noah’s Ark and its connection to the story of Gilgamesh. It is very intriguing because I feel that in some way it confirms the stories in the bible are true.
Although they may not be completely identical, it still fulfills some sort of assurance that the stories in the bible are not completely made out of thin air. Now, questioning the real author of Genesis is a different question.
Going back to Noah’s Ark and the story of Gilgamesh, there are so many similarities between the stories. For one, there was an actual great flood that existed. According to Genesis, God said “I will wipe out the human race that I created from the face of the earth…” (Genesis 34). In the Epic of Gilgamesh, it says that “The hearts of the Great Gods moved them in inflict the flood” (Gilgamesh 91). The second similarity is that there was an actual ark that was created and along with it contained animals.
The only thing that did bother me is the fact that in Genesis, which is supposedly the “Holy” Book, God only allows Noah’s family to get on board the ship while killing everyone else. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the god seemed more compassionate by allowing more people to get onboard.
Although the Bible can still be seen as contradictable with itself, we still have to realize that the authors of the Bible are not God but rather humans just like ourselves. It said that through ruah, God breath, that the authors were influenced by God into writing the story.
Posted in Genesis - Gilgamesh
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Gilgamesh related to Nadal
During class, I thought to myself, how the story of Gilgamesh can relate to anything in the sports section. When the first group presented their argument, it made so much sense to me.
Nadal is winner. He is well-driven and committed in being the best. Nadal wants to be known around the world. Everything that he accomplishes is added to his legacy. Only 24 years old, he has already reached the top. Recently, he won the US OPEN. It started off very easy for him. There was nobody that gave him a real challenge. It was not until he met Djokovic that he actually broke a “sweat.”
Like the story of Gilgamesh’s journey for Humbaba, everything was fairly easy until he met Humbaba. Gilgamesh had to overcome a new obstacle that he has never really seen before. In Nadal’s case, he never had to worry about losing a set.
One can say that both are winners, kings, and definitely the best. No matter what goes in their way, they are both committed in making sure that they finish at the top.
Posted in Uncategorized
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Women in Gilgamesh
While I was reading the story of Gilgamesh, something that surprised me is the fact that the people sends a harlot to Enkindu in order to investigate and discover who Enkindu really is. The father orders the trapper to go to Gilgamesh and “ask him to give you a harlot, a wanton from the temple of love; return with her, and let her woman’s power overpower this man (p.4 par. 4).” In a way, the harlot is a form of diplomat trying to communicate and discover a foreign group or in this case man. It can be assumed that it is best to send a woman because a righteous man would not dare hurt a woman.
In the Philippines, the government control has been full of corruption and chaos. In specific, the control for the Mindanao area has been very critical. In an attempt for a candidate to take some control of the Philippines, Mr. Mangudadatu [opposing candidate] “sent his wife and other female relatives…because he believed the Ampatuans [incumbent] would not dare hurt the women (Onishi par. 7).” Unfortunately, everyone that was sent by Mr. Mangudadatu was massacred on the spot.
In both stories, women signify as a form of diplomacy and communication. In Shamar’s case, she was sent in order to turn this “animal” into a normal human being. They wanted him to become more human like filled with desire. In Mr. Mangudadatu’s case, he sends the women in his family in order to inform others of the new person [Mr. Mangudadatu] in the scene. They wanted to open up the eyes of the local people to vote for a change.
Works Cited
“The Epic of Gilgamesh.” Assyrian International News Agency.
<http://www.aina.org/books/eog/eog.pdf> 9 September 2010
Onishi, Norimitsu. “Clan Planned Philippine Massacre Over Dinner, Witness Says.” The
New York Times. 8 September 2010. <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/09/world/asia/09phils.html?scp=4&sq=philippines&st=cse>. 9 September 2010.
Posted in Gilgamesh
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