I'm excited that you've chosen to take Honors Comparative Religions this year. We'll use this blog throughout the year to discuss various issues and topics related to Comparative Religions. I'm looking forward to reading your comments.
For your 1st blog post, please respond to the following prompt: If you could have dinner with 3 religious figures, past or present, famous, infamous or little-known, who would you choose and why? Your response should include a brief description for each of your choices.
For your 1st blog post, please respond to the following prompt: If you could have dinner with 3 religious figures, past or present, famous, infamous or little-known, who would you choose and why? Your response should include a brief description for each of your choices.
23 comments:
If I could have dinner with any three religious figures I would probably chose Desmond Tutu, Mother Teresa, and Mata Amritanandamayi. I strongly resonate with and believe in the beliefs that Reverend Desmond Tutu stands for, and I would love to have the chance to speak to him. I would feel honored to have dinner with Mother Teresa because of her work for the sick and lost in life (regardless of any controversies). I would enjoy meeting Amma because of the unconditional love that she shows to everyone she meets. All three of these people have inspired me and I would be blessed to have dinner with them.
Three religious figures I would have dinner with are Gandhi, Anne Hutchinson, and Charles Finney.
Gandhi interests me because he was not only a very spiritual person, but also a political leader. I would be interested in talking to him about how his religion played into his political life.
Anne Hutchinson interests me because of her role as a female leader of religion. She was banished from her colony because she was so radical. She played an exciting role in the history of the US as well as religious history.
Charles Finney is the last person I would invite. I found him intriguing when I read about him for my APUSH class. He rode from town to town when he preached during the Second Great Awakening. He must have some pretty fascinating stories!
I would be delighted to host Siddhartha Gutama, the Dalai Lama, and James Freedman at my dinner party. Siddhartha has, for a while, been a figure that I greatly admire. Having transitioned from a life of incredible wealth and priveledge to one of poverty in order to explore the world with a new perspective must have been a tremendous experience and one that I would love to learn more about. I would also love to host the Dalai Lama at my dinner party because of the incredible experiences he has lived through as an exile from Tibet and as the head of a religious group that has been forced to live in persecution. James Freedman would be someone I would like to invite to dinner because of the influence that unitarian christianity has had on my life growing up. In general I would like to learn more about the Christian faith and the significance behind several of the Christian holidays that are celebrated today.
If I could have dinner with any religious figures, I would choose Pope Francis, King Solomon and the Golem.
I think that Pope Francis is a really interesting person, because he doesn't conform to the usual definition or idea of a Pope. He has a lot of progressive ideas that I personally agree with. I respect him a lot.
I would choose King Solomon because I think he would be a fantastic person to have a conversation with. He was supposed to have been very wise, so I think I could learn a lot from him, even in a really short time.
I would like to talk to the Golem because his story is so tragic. I can empathize with him but it would still be so enlightening to hear from him how it felt to be destroyed, after having been of so much help to the Jews in his shtetl.
If I could have dinner with any three religious figures I would probably choose Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Laozi (also written as Lao Zi, Lao Tzu, Lao Tse -- there are many spellings of his name). All are founders of religions, and I think this would make them very interesting to talk to. I'd be interested in having dinner with Martin Luther and John Calvin because they were key figures in the Protestant Revolution, which marked a huge change in Christianity by starting new denominations of the religion and causing some people to break away from the Catholic Church. Martin Luther would be interesting to talk to because he spurred the whole movement by taking action against the Roman Catholic Church. I would like to talk with John Calvin about some of the aspects of Calvinism that I find intriguing, such as the idea of predestination. I would like to talk with Laozi because Daoism is a unique religion that I don't know a whole lot about, and talking to its founder would be a good way to learn more about it.
If I could have dinner three religious figures they would be Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, John Winthrop, and Jesus Christ. I would like to have dinner with the Yogi because I would like to hear his goals for peace for today. I would like to hear what he would personally do to try to gain peace. I would also ask him about how it was to teach the Beatles, because I am a huge fan. I would like to have dinner with John Winthrop because I would be interested to hear his thoughts about the world now. I would also like him to explain why Puritanism is so important to him. And I would like to spend a meal with Jesus because I wonder if what people say about him is true. I would like to know what he really did when he was alive and what his personal beliefs are.
If I could have dinner with any three religious figures they would be Anne Hutchinson, the Dalai Lama,and Pope Francis. I think it would be fascinating to talk to a woman who stood up to Puritan society. She had such a fierce spirit to do that and I would want to talk to her about how she handled the prosecution she faced for not only her claims, but also for being a woman. I would want to talk to the Dalai Lama about his exile and about his previous lives. He was the leader of a religious group that faced heavy prosecution. I would want to understand his experiences. I would want to talk with Pope Francis about how he is handling leading the church in such an advanced era. He has embraced social media and is very progressive. I have a lot of respect for all three of these figures and I would love to talk to them about their experiences.
If I were to have dinner with any three religious figures I would invited Zoroaster, Marcus Garvey, and Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
The Prophet Zoroaster is the founder of Zoroastrianism which is one of the oldest monotheistic religions and was founded in ancient Iran. This religion was extremely powerful for nearly 1000 years but now is considered one of the smallest religions in the world. Zoroastrians believe that fire represents God’s wisdom and they worship in a Fire Temple also called a Agiary. I decided to invite Zoroaster because I am interested to know how differently religion was regarded 3500 years ago and how he feels the religion has changed since the modern era, besides the shrinking population. I am also curious about his experience as a prophet and his views on the two sections of Zoroastrianism: the Avesta and the Younger Avesta.
I chose to invite Marcus Garvey to the dinner because he established Rastafari as its own entity and brought organization to the movement. I want to know more about how Rastafari is different than many religions because it is considered a way of life instead of a religion. I want to know his thoughts on why it is considered a way of life rather than a traditional “ism” religion, and how he thinks that separates it from many of those religions.
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi who is the founder of the Transcendental Meditation Technique. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is considered the contributor of a systematic and scientific method of meditation. I would like to hear his thoughts about meditation and what people are able to achieve through it. I also would like to know what he believes are the differences between Transcendental Meditation and other meditation techniques.
If I were to have dinner with three religious figures, I would choose the current Pope, L. Ron Hubbard, and Jim Jones.
I would choose the Pope Francis to understand his goals in the Catholic Church and where he envisions it moving in the future, and if that fits his ideal image of where the Catholic Church should be.
As everything in the church of Scientology is based upon the writings of L. Ron Hubbard, I would be interested to know Hubbard's opinions on the church, it's formation, and his involvement or lack of involvement.
Finally I would be very curious to talk to Jim Jones, mastermind of the Jamestown massacre. I would be interested to know his views and intentions for the event, as well as whether or not he would change anything in the days leading up to Jamestown if given the opportunity.
If I could have dinner with three religious figures I would choose Mary Magdalene, Ann Lee, and Queen Elizabeth I.
I would want to eat with Mary Magdalene because she was an active follower of Jesus Christ. She would know a lot about Jesus and his teachings; as she followed him throughout much of the Gospel. She would also bring an interesting perspective to the table since in the Bible she basically represents all of the women who were followers of Jesus.
I would want to eat with Ann Lee since she was the founder of the Shaker religion. I visited a Shaker village once and thought it was very interesting. It would be cool to ask her what it was like to start a religion as a woman during a time when women weren't doing much of anything. It would also be cool to find out why she believed what she did and how that went into the foundations of the religion.
Lastly I would choose Queen Elizabeth I. Queen Elizabeth I is one of my favorite historical figures but she can also be considered a religious figure. She was a strong believer in her faith but was also pretty tolerant of other religions (Catholics) and helped to put an end to the religious prosecution that was happening under Mary I. I would love to eat with her to ask her about her life and how religion played a role in leading England.
If I were to have dinner with three religious figures, I would choose Siddhartha, King Solomon and Ghandi. I chose Siddhartha because I would love to talk to him about his quest for enlightenment, his choice to leave his privileged life as a prince and his first outing where he saw the four men and suffering for the first time. I chose King Solomon because he is very wise, growing up I hear the story of the two women fighting over the baby and always thought he was clever. Lastly I chose Ghandi because I would like to know more about his political and spiritual leadership and his nonviolent approach.
My three choices of religious figures, past or present would be current Pope Francis, St. Patrick, and Mary Magdalene.
The reasoning behind these three individuals is as follows:
Pope Francis, in my opinion, has truly dedicated himself to turning around the Catholic Church. With all these scandals regarding inappropriate situations with young children, and just basic corruption, Pope Francis is a flickering light on the horizon for this ancient religion. Plus, he is fairly moderate, even liberal, with his ideals, which suits this era way more than a strict conservative mindset.
The second religious figure, St. Patrick, I chose simply because of my Irish descent. Did the power of God truly possess Patrick (or Padraig) to spread Christianity to Ireland? Was he even a real figure? I'm not truly sure, however the Irish people do not doubt his existence. However, with the eventual enslavement of the Irish by the British, were St. Patrick's religious contributions to Ireland actually helpful to the country? Or did the decay of Druid and Pagan beliefs actually make the subjugation of the Irish even easier for the British?
And finally, I would be very interested to meet Mary Magdalene. At one point the church called her a simple whore, but I refuse to believe that she was just some common hooker. I think I'd have to be pretty good friends with her to ask some of my questions, like, "Did you and Jesus Christ have 'relations' as they call it in polite company?" Also, I would like to know what happened to her after the resurrection of Christ. How did that make her feel? Also, how large a role have women actually played in the establishment of the Church? You'd think that both Mary Magdalene and Mother Mary would play large roles in the church, but the male-dominated clergy would make one believe only Mother Mary played a large role.
David Clark:
I would like to meet with James Martin, SJ, Gandhi, and Judas. James Martin is a Catholic Jesuit who written several books I've read. He is a generally funny and nice person, and has been vocal about social justice issues such as poverty and gun control. He has also consistently been supportive of people that feel like outsiders within the Catholic Church, often for very valid reasons, such as gay people, something I admire very much.
I would like to meet Gandhi as well. I admire his tactics of nonviolent resistance against the British. It is rather rare in history that a colony would gain its independence peacefully. He was very charismatic, and was able to gain many followers. I also admire his humility and simplicity, as he once made his own clothing. He also had incredible strength of will, once going on a hunger strike to protest British support of the caste system. He was also a martyr, killed for his beliefs and actions.
Finally, I would like to meet Judas. I would like to know what went through his head during the days he betrayed Jesus. I would like to know what it was like to be one of Jesus' disciples. I know that Judas was not an entirely one dimensional person, caring only about the silver he received for betraying Jesus. After Jesus died, Judas felt so much remorse and despair that he tried to return the pieces of silver and ultimately hung himself on a tree. I would like to know what he was thinking before he committed suicide.
If I could have dinner with any three religious figures, I would dine with Anne Hutchinson, Mary Magdalene, and Hildegard of Bingen.
I wish an entire chapter had been dedicated to Anne Hutchinson in our APUSH textbook. She boldly advocated for what she believed to be the integral and truthful values of the Puritan faith, regardless of her gender and the expectations placed upon her as a lady of the colonies. Also, she was arrested hauled to court while pregnant, and still managed to infuriate the jury by reciting Bible verses off the top of her head, which might be the most punk rock thing I've ever heard of. I'd like to know more about her struggles as she rose to be an influential woman of faith, and about her life after her trial and expulsion from Massachusetts Bay.
Up until a few months ago I honestly thought Mary Magdalene was a character from the King Arthur tales. I'd want to ask her why she is so rarely depicted in religious iconography, despite Wikipedia telling me that she was "one of Christ's closest disciples."
Lastly, I'd like to have dinner with St. Hildegard of Bingen, whose picture I still remember vividly from sophomore Art History. Not only was she a strong and multitalented woman, but she also claims to have had divine hallucinations from God. She's described this experience as feeling like being "licked by tongues of fire," which I'd like to know way more about. I'd also want to ask her how her experience as a woman of the church contrasted with her life as a scientist.
Someone religious I would like to have dinner with is Jesus because there are things that I do not understand yet. Like one thing is why even though he was treated bad before his death did he save all the people. Also, to be able to know what he thinks about life today, is it what he had expected it to be like. Another thing is to see if he really is how they say he is.
I would also like to have dinner with Pope Francis because he is different from the popes before. To ask him why he approved with gay marriage. How it feels to be the first latin-american pope.
The last person would be the Virgin Mary. I would say her because she is somebody i look up to. Because of my background she is someone well respected and loved a lot. It would be like a wish come true. I would have a lot of questions to ask her.
I would like to host dinner with Pope Francis, Jack Kerouac, and Siddhartha Gautama.
I really want a conversation with Pope Francis because of his dedication to reforming the Catholic church. His views are quite contemporary and he intrigued me when he said, "If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?" It is difficult for a religious figure to openly say something like this since religion does not go well with homo-sexuality. I would want to hear about what he thinks of the scandals in the Church and what impact he wants to have on the Catholic church.
Jack Kerouac was one of the pioneers of the Beat Generation and a novelist and poet. He was a practitioner of Zen Buddhism and made the faith popular in the United States. I would like to talk to him about how Zen Buddhism helped him with his soul searching. I want to know about his thoughts on Zen and how it helped him confront the many problems of the Beat Generation like conformation.
Lastly I would want to have dinner with Siddhartha Gautama after his enlightenment. What I would want to hear the most from him is about the conservativeness of Buddhism that persists. Buddhism is a pretty old religion and I feel like it is struggling to catch up to the views we have today on stuff like gender equality and homosexuality. I want to know about what the Buddha would do. Most Buddhists are conservative but their conservative nature does not fit into the moral standards we have today, so I want to know what the Buddha would teach to his followers if he was able to see the world as it is today. And of course I want to know in full detail about how he felt during his enlightenment.
If I could have dinner with any three religious figures I would choose Buddha, Jesus, and Mohammed. I think it would be interesting to have figures from many religious faiths to see how they interact with each other, but also because I just respect them. I would choose Buddha because I really admire his teachings and would like to discuss them with him. Jesus just seems like he'd be a really interesting and cool guy in general and I'd like to listen to him have a conversation with Buddha and Mohammed. I would invite Mohammed, because I admire his courage when he was preaching Islam for the first time and ended up getting kicked out of his home town. I think it would be really interesting to see how these three religious figures interacted with each other, especially since there's so much tension between the Christian and Muslim faiths today. I think that they would act very civil and friendly toward each other and actually agree on a lot of things. When you think about how the main figures of these religions may have acted toward each other it really makes all the conflict seem really silly and hypocritical. All of these figures were just telling us the same thing; to love each other.
. If I could have dinner with any three religious figures i'd choose Satan, Jesus, and the angel Gabriel. I don't really know that much about the devil just that he was an angel who tried to over throw god and wants peoples souls for some reason. I really would like to hear his story from his point of view and just talk to him about Hell and ask him if he likes his life. Jesus is awesome, or i picture him that way. When i think Jesus i think of a supper hippy dippy dude who would probably just be really fun to eat with. Also, i hear Jesus shares his food and i LOVE eating with people who who do that. Lastly, i chose the angel Gabriel because he really could have told Mohammad anything. He really could have. Whose to say he didnt just make the kuran how he felt it should be? I think it would be cool to hear about talking to god and talking to Mohammad and just his experience with that. He seems like a really cool angel. I think it was even better if all the people i chose were all at dinner with me at the same time. I hope thierd be like an angel vs. Demond fight with gabriel and satan and jesus was thier to clear it all up.
The three religious figures I would have dinner with would be Jesus, Ghandi, and Peter.
Jesus may seem like an obvious answer for some people but my faith is very important to me and getting to meet the person who taught what I believe would be a big deal to me. Getting to hear him teach in person instead of just through reading the bible would be an eye-opening experience.
I would also eat with Ghandi because in addition to being a religious leader he was also a political leader. He is one of the few leaders I have heard about tat has been able to successfully serve as a political and religious leader without the two conflicting. Getting to meet him and hear about how he dealt with the two would be what I would want to talk to him about.
The final person I would want to have dinner with would be the disciple Peter. Throughout the time when Jesus is alive he is the disciple that questions Jesus' actions. I would like to have dinner with him to hear about how he was able to overcome his doubts and trust in God.
If I could have dinner with three religious figures, of any kind I would pick Jesus, Buddah, and Ghandi.
First, I'd like to have dinner with him just to know that he is real and not just some figure we assume was real though we have barely any prove that was. I think I'd ask him basic questions and how he feels religion is portrayed now days compared to back then when religion was actually taken more seriously.
Second, I would pick Buddah because the Buddhist religion seems very peaceful though very complicated to it's extents. I'd like to be able to ask him more about his life and how he feels his religion (or well, based on him) is being portrayed. I want to know more about his experiences about how he came up with the Four Noble Truths.
I'd also we love Gandhi to attend my dinner because I would personally love to ask him more about the Hinduism and the Indian culture. I'd like to ask him about how he helped India gain it's independence and his beliefs going through that journey.
If I could have dinner with three religious figures, I would pick Buddha, Pope Francis, and Abigail Williams.
First, I would choose Buddha because Buddhism fascinates me. I would ask him how he lives a life focused around enlightenment. Buddhism always seems so peaceful and serene and I'm usually very stressed with school work, so that appeals to me. I think meeting Buddha himself would be very cool.
Second, I would choose Pope Francis because he was selected to become the next Pope, which is quite an honor and he hasn't been following the norms of most Popes. I think that is really cool and I curious as to how he was chosen to become the Pope and what his goals are regarding Catholic faith in the future.
Lastly, I would have dinner with Abigail Williams from the Puritan society and the famous Salem Witch Trials. She was one of the girls who experienced the "fits" thought to be linked to witchcraft. I would want to ask her what the heck was going on because I don't really believe the witches story. I'm also curious as to how she feels about turning an entire town mad searching for witches and about how it became so famous that we study it in school today.
The first three religious figures I thought of were Buddha, Abraham, and Jesus, but upon reflection, I'm disappointed that I didn't think of any women figures. Oh well for now.
I would meet with Buddha mostly to talk about his journey and probably ask how I could apply certain elements to my lifestyle and how that could improve my relationship with the world.
And wow I would talk with Abraham because there are so many strange stories about him in the Torah. He made the covenant with God, according to the Torah, which established many elements of the Jewish religion, as well as Christianity. He also was told by God to kill his son Isaac, and he almost did, until an angel told him to stop. In establishing the traditions that still remain in Jewish customs today, he had to partake in a brit milah, which usually happens to boys about a week after they are born. And he was around 100 years old apparently! We would have a lot to talk about.
Lastly, I would speak with Jesus to clear up a few things. I would ask him his opinion of many political views, including his view of the LGBTQ community. The rest of the world would hear about it too.
If I could have dinner with 3 religious figures past or present I would choose Gandhi, Muhammad Subuh Sumohadiwidjoj (Bapak), and Siddhartha.
I would choose Gandhi because I think he had a pretty good understanding of religious tolerance and being peaceful. I would have really liked to hear what he had to say about the issues that are going on now and I would love to ask him what experiences contributed to his beliefs.
I would choose Muhammad Subuh Sumohadiwidjojo because although he isn't very well known he has a lot of beliefs that I agree with and it would be great to really be able to talk to him a learn more. He was a very spiritual person and he had a lot of important and interesting things to say.
Lastly I would choose Siddhartha because he was a very selfless person and I would really like to learn from him. I would also like to learn about his journey to enlightenment because I really believe although I'm not of buddhist faith I think he had a really good idea of how life should be lived.
Nabila Bustillos
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