Oh Those Sinners. . .They Are Held in the Hand of An Angry God

So, first of all, the piece of literature that this post is based off of it the sermon of Jonathan Edwards, Sinners In The Hand of An Angry God. The sermon was about the fact that Puritans of Edwards' time believed God was always ready to take away an afterlife in Heaven. They believed that at any time you showed a lack in faith or sinned, Heaven would be taken away from you and you would spend your afterlife in Hell. Edwards uses analogies like "God is always pointing a bow and arrow at you heart" and if you were to sin, the arrow would fly and destroy the promise of Heaven.

WHERE DO THEY GET THIS STUFF?!?!

Edwards' intent was most likely to bring a sense of unity to the Puritan community by living very similar, safe lives. If everyone was doing the same thing and following rules out of fear of God, they would be easy to control. Even though they are now in the New World to practice their religion freely and without government involvement, there was still theocracy. This is a separate government, but many decisions and rules are decided in correspondence to the Ten Commandments and other religious beliefs. Edwards was most likely a town leader, just as he was a pastor; he used fear of God to control his town.

Now, first of all, how did he come up with these beliefs? Was it pure imagination or did he get the idea from someone (I'm pretty sure he didn't read it in the Bible)? I guess we'll never know. But, what I know is that it is good to be God-fearing (I'm Catholic, by the way) but not to the point where I need to be scared of every little white lie. Not to the point where I lie awake at night and fear God shooting me with an arrow or drowning me with the rapids he holds back. I also don't believe that God would do such a thing. He may sometimes be an angry God, but a merciful one at that.

This sermon tells us how much the world has changed. We still refer to God in some government cases: oaths, The Pledge of Allegiance, and other things of that nature. But, our decisions aren't always based off of religion anymore and our government certainly doesn't control us through fear of our God. This is mostly because would not be possible. There are so many religious just within the United States and not everyone believes in God. Our society has become a place where our faith is a personal form of government where it is our job to control our actions and morals, not that of a pastor/official.

Well Shoot, Darlin'! There Goes That There Neighborhood!

My dad is one of those overprotective parents. He even had a hard time when I started to take the CTA; as he says, "Its not that I don't trust you, Anna, I just don't trust other people. There are a lot of crazy people out there."

Coming from two very different cultures, I know what its like to be mistaken for only one of my ethnic back rounds. One time, I was at school and one of the older women from our school's parish came up to me and started talking about all the gangs around the area, the recent drive-by's, and things of that nature. Now, my old school is in Bridgeport, and its not very diverse; its mostly European immigrants. I'm guessing she did not know my last name because she started talking about the fact that all the gangs and shootings were because of "those Mexicans." She talked as if the entire Hispanic community were just bad people who were in gangs. So when I heard her say this to me I nodded and tried to speak in defense; it could have been any gang in the area. I've also had people like her tell me to be careful if I ever drive through Pilsen or on Archer Ave. to Midway. That's just an arrogant statement. A couple times I've told people I'm Hispanic and the change the subject to "Oh! Yeah, you know, it really could have been anybody.

But is all of this really what the world has become? You see one story in the paper or on TV and start stereotyping races. Or a boss does not think you are qualified because your skin is a different color than their own. We are not born with discrimination and fear of race, we learn it. What does that say about our society?

The Banana Peel

So, a little bit about me. Hmm. . . Well, my name is Anna Hernandez. Born on the 16th of June, I am a half-Guatemalan, half-German 15-year-old who lives in Chi-town. I live in the Mckinley Park area and this is the 6th apartment/condo we have lived in since I have been alive. Whew!

I am a Sophomore at Whitney M. Young Magnet High School. I am in NJROTC and absolutely love it. It is so much fun and has become a big part of my life. I am even thinking of doing ROTC in college and going into the Navy.

I tend to be a little strange at times, just ask anyone in NJROTC. I’m shy and not very talkative at first, but as I get to know people, thats when the talking non-stop starts. I’ve also been told that I also indecisive and very analytical.

I play the guitar. . . I love it, but I don’t think I’m very good at it. Soccer, volleyball, and softball are my favorite sports to play, but I love watching America’s pastime, baseball. GO CUBBIES! I also love to swim, read, and hang with friends.

Alternative and rock are my favorite types of genres, but I listen to pretty much everything; my favorite bands are The Killers, Paramore, and MGMT.

I love absolutely everything about history and loathe math. Sometimes I’ll read my history textbook for fun. I am setting my sights to be a forensic anthropologist. Its a good combination of history (old bones) and science, which I also enjoy.

So thats just the peel of the banana, so to speak. There is many more details and characteristics underneath. Its 15 years of likes, dislikes, memories, and experiences. We’re gonna need a bigger blog!