Thomas Paine's Age of Reason

I had anticipated that I would not enjoy this book just from the mentions of it in class and based off the description on the back, and I was not wrong.  I found this book pretty offensive in a way that was really unnecessary… I think Paine could have gotten his beliefs across and made strong points without completely trashing the church page after page.  I would probably have appreciated this text much more if he had portrayed his thinking in more respectful nature, but I was interested in what he had to say about his own religion.

Paine believed in one and only God just as Christians, Jews, and Muslims do, but was strongly against organized religion.  He found the institution of the church corrupt, and much of his book is him explaining why the Bible should not be trusted and how organized religion fails.  He thought that instead of a Holy book of questionable origins and content (mainly hearsay and unproved “miracles”), one should simply look to creation and nature as God’s Word.  He also believed in the equality of all people; he supported kindness and rights for all humans.  Being a girl, I have no problem with this idea and even agree.  Paine also did not believe in Jesus because he had never witnessed any of the miracles said to be done by Jesus in the Bible (which he also distrusts) and therefore it is merely hearsay; he repeats this belief many times.  He puts a strong trust in science and the laws of the universe, which were created by God, and miracles that go against these principles obviously go against his faith in science.

This is all fine, and even though I did not always agree with some of his beliefs, I was interested while reading it.  My only issue was his harsh criticism of supposedly all organized religion, which pretty much turned into a bash Christianity session.  I think it is fine to voice your opinions on religion and assert your beliefs, as long as it is done with respect.  Religion is a huge part of many people’s lives and can be very important to them, so it is appropriate to address issues with it in a polite manner, which Thomas Paine did not seem to do.  For example, on page 56 he is discussing the story of Creation offered in Genesis and saying why it is not to be regarded as fact, and he says that he does not believe Moses could have been the author of Genesis as is commonly believed because Moses “was too good a judge of such subjects to put his name to that account.”  He goes on to support this by saying how Moses was educated, but that seems to imply that those who believe this are uneducated and not a good judge of such subjects.  Woah. 

My other issue is that if you are going to criticize something and share openly why it is wrong, at least get your facts straight.  There are multiple occasions where Paine attempts to prove why organized religion is wrong with incorrect statements.  These mistakes are often even noted in the footnotes as false; an example of this is on page 61 when he repeatedly mixes up his facts on the life of Jesus while attempting to criticize the New Testament.  He says how Jesus’ parents must have been poor if they were unable to afford a bed for him when he was born, which the footnote refers to as “another slip of the memory on Paine’s part” since Jesus was born in a manger because there was no room at the inn, not because they were poor…  Then he starts talking about the inconsistencies of the New Testament because each gospel has a slightly different account of the same story, but later he states how the language could cause translation issues (in an attempt to prove why the Bible should not be trusted), so couldn’t these translation errors account for the little differences between the gospels?

Although I did not particularly enjoy this text, I think Temple wants us to read it because it gives a completely different perspective from the other two readings in the Ways of Knowing unit.  It opposes directly Genesis and indirectly the Daodejing (because it connects to an organized religion) and having these three completely different viewpoints gives you something to think about.  I think it is important to know about all the other religions no matter which or if you believe in any yourself because of the huge role that it plays in so many people’s lives and shapes their personalities and choices in a big way.  Understanding others’ beliefs helps one to understand that person more overall and that understanding could lead to a greater tolerance for different views.  I think what this world needs is a lot more tolerance.

Genesis

My mom is an ordained minister at our church so I grew up hearing Bible stories at home and in Sunday School each week.  A lot of those stories are from Genesis, like the story of creation or Noah’s ark.  However, even though I was familiar with Genesis and had read parts of it, until it was assigned for this class I had never read the whole thing.  It was interesting to hear the stories that were always sort of left out in Sunday school, like how Dinah is raped or how Jacob had two wives. 

It’s interesting that Genesis is the first book of the Bible, because many of the things that occur in this book that are apparently okay with God (or at least they aren’t punished for doing them) are not so accepted by Christians today.  For example, polygamy is totally believed to be a sin by almost all Christians, but it happened all the time in Genesis.  Also, lying about your wife just being your sister so that she is basically raped but you live is definitely not advocated in the church!  Why then was it okay for those Christians in the ancient days?

For some reason, another fact that always escaped me is that Genesis actually comes from the Torah, which is the Jewish equivalent of the Bible.  I don’t know why I never knew this, since it makes perfect sense now that I know.  Jesus was Hebrew and the Jews are considered to be God’s “chosen people”; Christianity and Judaism pretty much agree up to the point of Jesus being the Son of God and dying to take away our sins, so it is perfectly logical that the two religions have the same texts to begin with before diverging based on each religions different beliefs.  I think this is really interesting either way.

What this text says about knowledge is another interesting but confusing thing I never really thought about before.  The other books we read in class were fairly straight-forward in their perspectives on knowledge, but Genesis is not really as clear for me.  It seemed to me that it was not really being portrayed very positively, but it was never really anti-knowledge either.  It does tell us that the tree from which Eve took the forbidden fruit was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and once she ate that apple, sin came into play and she and her husband were banned from the Garden of Eden.  It sort of seemed like people are better off being less knowledgeable and simply trusting God and following His ways.

Just as I am a little confused as to what Genesis’ stance on the issue of knowledge vs. ignorance is, I am also not all that positive as to why Temple requires everyone to read this in Mosaics I.  My thoughts, though, are that it goes along with the theme “Ways of Knowing” and is important to at least understand because it is a part of a religion that millions of people follow and base their lives around.  Religion is a very important part of people’s lives and often shapes their decisions and how they live, so it makes sense that Temple wants us to delve into some different religions at least a little bit.  Since Genesis relates to both Judaism and Christianity and maybe even Islam, it is a good text to pick since it covers several bases at once.  I was talking to my roommate, Lizzie about this and she had similar thoughts on this.  She said she thinks it’s important for everyone, Christian or non-Christian, to understand because it is such a huge part of our culture today.  She noted how tons of people use the Bible as an argument for or against many popular debates today such as gay marriage and abortion, and in order to understand the arguments being made and assess if they are even accurate, a basic knowledge of the Bible is needed.  Therefore Temple is helping us become better-rounded and preparing us to be engaged citizens of our country.

The Daodejing of Laozi

When I picked up the Daodejing of Laozi to read for class last week, I really had no idea what to expect.  I had never heard of Daoism before and know next to nothing about Chinese history or culture.  The intro was therefore pretty helpful in preparing me a little more for what was coming.  This book is not one that can be easily digested and read and really launches straight into the complexity from the first page.  The language and contradictions made me have to stop and reread the same sentence over and over until I finally got a grasp of what was maybe being suggested, and I was constantly flipping back and forth from the footnotes.  Overall though, I think this might be my favorite reading so far if not in the whole class, then definitely in this unit!

It’s really hard to put into words what I was feeling about the Dao and my opinions on it, because I feel like it is so subjective.  After sitting through class today I realized that what I was getting from it was not exactly what others were interpreting it to mean.  The main vibes I was getting from it though were relaxing, peaceful feelings (even though the reading was not necessarily easy to do).  That being said, I was reading this outside in the courtyard on a beautiful 80 degree spring day that felt closer to summer, so that could definitely have influenced my perceptions as well!

Not all my peaceful, stress-free feelings were coming from the weather though, because the Daodejing does promote non-action, non-violence, and just basically getting along with each other.  Following its principles will lead individuals to an enlightened existence in which they are completely at peace with the world and not trying to overthink anything.  It says they are good to everyone, even those who are not good, and are content with mere contentedness. 

One of the more interesting teachings of this text I think is its stance on government.  The Dao teaches a very hands-off almost Republican-type governmental style, with the basis being the belief that creating more laws creates more criminals.  It argues that people are happier and more peaceful if they aren’t being confined by tons of laws and regulations.  This concept confused me at first, but after thinking about I realized I totally agree.  I taught preschool for a couple of months in high school and as soon as you told the kids NOT to do something, they were all curious and trying to do it.  No one wants to be told what to do, so it makes sense that if you are trying to promote peace, you would believe in fewer rules so there is less temptation to break them and therefore disrupt the peace.

Although I like a lot of what the Daodejing is promoting and striving for, I can’t see myself ever becoming a Daoist and following the Way.  However, I do think some of these points are able to be carried out into every human’s life, no matter what religion they believe in, and be beneficial to human race as a whole.  For example, being kind to all people, even those who are not kind to you first, is something that everyone can benefit from.  This one little change could have a huge impact if every person made an effort to try it.  This is why I think Temple chose this as a required reading for all their students: we are the new generation, and change can start with us.  Personally, I am glad I read this because it made me aware of an entire religion I had not known existed, and if I had gained nothing else from this text, that alone would have made it worth it.

The Souls of Black Folk

My first impressions of The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois was that this book had potential to be my favorite of the class readings yet.  I think I still would say I enjoyed this more than some of our other books, but for me a big drawback was the language.  I really struggled to get through each chapter mostly because it took me so long to read each word and really understand what was going on, causing me to get distracted easier and not get as into the stories as I wanted to be.  The sentences are very long and have multiple forms of punctuation in them, and coupled with the outdated wording, I was completely lost a good majority of the time.  This is understandable, however, because of the time period at which this was written.  Du Bois, being a well-educated man, was writing in a style that was common for erudite men at the time.  It does come off as very scholarly, in my opinion, which helps add a sense of credibility to the already spot-on assessments addressed in each essay.

The content of this book is what made it closer to the top of my favorite books for this course.  Racism is a topic that is still, unfortunately, a problem in today’s society, making the discussion more interesting because I can relate to it more closely.  The sad truth is that it is more than a hundred years from the time when Du Bois wrote this book, and many of the things he points out as problems are still issues today.  For example, Du Bois talks a lot about the “Color Line”: the imaginary “line” that separates whites and blacks.  Although he is writing just after the Emancipation of slaves and the end of the Civil War, this color line still exists today, although perhaps a little less severely.  African Americans, along with all other citizens regardless of race, have the right to vote and are protected by law to be treated equally.  However, whites and blacks are not totally integrated and a lot of prejudice and stereotypes keep the two groups separate from each other. 

This point is illustrated really well in the recent controversial article, “Being White in Philly” by Robert Huber.  Huber interviews multiple Philadelphia citizens on topics about slavery and ultimately exemplifies how there is a distinct, almost physical color line present today in North Philadelphia.  Certain streets and neighborhoods are notorious for being almost entirely black and have a bad reputation as being somewhere that whites especially should not go wandering.  Whether or not it is actually dangerous to go there is irrelevant compared to the fact that what Du Bois was talking about all those years ago has survived and been carried all through the generations.  We still don’t trust each other.

This is probably exactly why Temple wants us to read The Souls of Black Folks.  As an intercity school in the midst of one of those notoriously black and “dangerous” neighborhoods, this affects us all.  For me, it has really opened up my eyes to how the color line still persists today.  I like to think that racism and segregation are decreasing and we are becoming a single community of American citizens, but now I realize that maybe this isn’t entirely the truth.  And in that case, we need to take a look around us and figure out a way to start to diminish the color line.  Our generation has the power to make a change.