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fandomhigh2010-10-05 11:26 am
steel-not-glass.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2010-10-05 11:26 am
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Is A Cigar Just A Cigar, Tuesday, Period 3
When the students filed into the classroom today, they would see another another list on the board today:
"Christianity is currently the largest religion in this world, with over 2.2 billion adherants, and is based around the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, often referred to as Jesus Christ, whom most Christians believe to be the son of God, God having taken human form, and the savior of humanity. Because the majority of the Western world is Christian, a lot of Christian and Christian-inspired thoughts and teachings have influenced the writings and literature that you will be exposed to in school and beyond," Cindy said from where she was leaning on her desk. "This is not a religious class and I am certainly not qualified to provide religious instruction, but we're looking at Jesus from a strictly literary and thematic viewpoint, with a little bit of historical context thrown in for students who are unfamiliar with Christian teachings."
"So, the history. About two thousand and ten years ago, God sent his only begotten son to earth in order to redeem mankind. Jesus lived for thirty-three years, and spent a several of those years wandering around, teaching through parables, performing miracles, and promising people spiritual salvation through his teachings. He collected twelve disciples, and one of those disciples, Judas, eventually betrayed him to the Romans for thirty pieces of silver. Jesus was beaten and brutalized, and eventually crucified. According to Christian beliefs, he was taken down and buried, but arose again on the third day, and ascended to heaven." A fairly bare bones recitation, but Cindy was not a Mundy religious scholar and wouldn't even want to try teaching theology at a school situated on an interdimensional nexus point. "If you have further questions about Christ or Christianity in general, I will answer what I can, but I'd like to point out our school library has an excellent selection of books across a number of religions, and there is a church in town for questions of a decidedly spiritual nature."
"The reason that all of this is important is because belief in Jesus and his life has influenced many, many, many of the authors you will be reading, either for class or for pleasure. Especially literature written in previous centuries, Jesus and the Christian Bible was considered fact. If it was written in the Bible, it happened, and belief in those two things defined people's very lives. Thus, to understand a lot of the imagery and symbolism in books, a working knowledge of this information is key. Which is why we have this handy list." She pointed to the board. "Those are snippets of things that Jesus did, as written about in the Bible, and over the years, these are elements which have come to categorize the Christ figure in literature. Now, to be considered a Christ figure, the most important aspect is that the idea that their existence somehow offers redemption or salvation to the people around them. Often times, this leads to a martyring of the character, but it doesn't always require a sacrifice. This list provides a helpful guide to spotting a Christ figure in literature. They don't have to follow every bullet point I've listed, but most characters will get at least four or five of them."
"So, let's take a look at one of the most famous Christ figures in literary history--and believe me, there are a lot of them. But Hemingway's Santiago from Old Man and the Sea is one of the easier Christ figures to pick up on. Today, we'll be discussing the plot of the novel and see how many similarities we can see between Santiago and the list on the board."
[OCDcoming up!]
- Handy Christ Checklist:
- Born of a virgin
- Is 33 years old (or 33 was an important year)
- Identified with loaves, fishes, water, wine
- Good with children; some kind of teacher
- Spends time alone in the wilderness
- Heals others
- Enjoys carpetry, woodworking
- Forgiving, self-sacrificing, big on the concept of brotherhood
- Walks on water
- Is usually pretty easy-going, but defilement of something good and pure (like a temple) can cause some righteous fury
- Is tempted and denies the temptation. Possible confrontation with the devil
- Comes up with aphorisms and parables
- Is considered a 'fisher of men'
- May have slightly disreputable friends (whores, thieves, tax collectors)
- Has disciples or followers, devoted students of his/her teachings
- Is betrayed by someone close
- Suffers bodily agony, but achieves spiritual clarity (whipping is big)
- Is crucified; with wounds in hands, feet, side, and head
- Died, arose on the 3rd day
- Came to redeem an unworthy world
"Christianity is currently the largest religion in this world, with over 2.2 billion adherants, and is based around the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, often referred to as Jesus Christ, whom most Christians believe to be the son of God, God having taken human form, and the savior of humanity. Because the majority of the Western world is Christian, a lot of Christian and Christian-inspired thoughts and teachings have influenced the writings and literature that you will be exposed to in school and beyond," Cindy said from where she was leaning on her desk. "This is not a religious class and I am certainly not qualified to provide religious instruction, but we're looking at Jesus from a strictly literary and thematic viewpoint, with a little bit of historical context thrown in for students who are unfamiliar with Christian teachings."
"So, the history. About two thousand and ten years ago, God sent his only begotten son to earth in order to redeem mankind. Jesus lived for thirty-three years, and spent a several of those years wandering around, teaching through parables, performing miracles, and promising people spiritual salvation through his teachings. He collected twelve disciples, and one of those disciples, Judas, eventually betrayed him to the Romans for thirty pieces of silver. Jesus was beaten and brutalized, and eventually crucified. According to Christian beliefs, he was taken down and buried, but arose again on the third day, and ascended to heaven." A fairly bare bones recitation, but Cindy was not a Mundy religious scholar and wouldn't even want to try teaching theology at a school situated on an interdimensional nexus point. "If you have further questions about Christ or Christianity in general, I will answer what I can, but I'd like to point out our school library has an excellent selection of books across a number of religions, and there is a church in town for questions of a decidedly spiritual nature."
"The reason that all of this is important is because belief in Jesus and his life has influenced many, many, many of the authors you will be reading, either for class or for pleasure. Especially literature written in previous centuries, Jesus and the Christian Bible was considered fact. If it was written in the Bible, it happened, and belief in those two things defined people's very lives. Thus, to understand a lot of the imagery and symbolism in books, a working knowledge of this information is key. Which is why we have this handy list." She pointed to the board. "Those are snippets of things that Jesus did, as written about in the Bible, and over the years, these are elements which have come to categorize the Christ figure in literature. Now, to be considered a Christ figure, the most important aspect is that the idea that their existence somehow offers redemption or salvation to the people around them. Often times, this leads to a martyring of the character, but it doesn't always require a sacrifice. This list provides a helpful guide to spotting a Christ figure in literature. They don't have to follow every bullet point I've listed, but most characters will get at least four or five of them."
"So, let's take a look at one of the most famous Christ figures in literary history--and believe me, there are a lot of them. But Hemingway's Santiago from Old Man and the Sea is one of the easier Christ figures to pick up on. Today, we'll be discussing the plot of the novel and see how many similarities we can see between Santiago and the list on the board."
[OCD