Jane Addams

I think that several factors including her experiences and beliefs motivated her to establish Hull House, but not all of them were based on religion. I remember reading about your visit to England where she encountered a lot of poverty and wretched conditions. Seeing the cruel conditions first-hand made her realize that something had to be done to ease the lives of the poor. The experience really shocked her and probably contributed to her belief that people should perform social work.

She strongly believes that people should use their higher education for social purposes. “There is nothing after disease, indigence and a sense of guilt, so fatal to health and to life itself as the want of a proper outlet for active faculties.” This statement captures how strongly she feels about taking action; that it is important for people to use their abilities to for the welfare of everyone. This belief motivated her to establish a place to help people in need.

She also mentioned that Christianity was starting to adopt humanitarian causes because helping others expresses the spirit of Christ or something around those lines. She believes that a spiritual force is necessary for the success of Settlements. However, I don't think that she applied this belief overtly to Hull House. Several changes and improvements in Hull House arose because of people started becoming interested in different activities. So many different interests developed that people began using each others specialties to for one causes, which resembles the Christian beliefs that she mentions. But she didn't mention that her her motives were based on religion. Therefore, I think that her experiences and philosophy mainly motivated her to perform social work.

Rastafarian Political Power

I think that the Rastafarian movement is strong because of its creativeness. It created trends like the dreadlocks in order to contradict conventional hairstyles of the middle and upper classes. They used reggae as a medium to express their thoughts and feelings about oppression and their neglected situation. They even created a variation of English in an effort to distinguish themselves from the broader culture.

However, just as its creativeness made it strong, it also made it vulnerable to weakness. I think that because the larger culture in Jamaica adopted some of the Rastafarian practices and customs the movement lost some of its power. People finally acknowledged that it was a culture and became familiarized with it. So familiarized they became with it that they acquired some of their traditions such as the dreadlocks and reggae music.

In my opinion, this probably caused the movement to lose some, but not all, of its political power. Politicians and the upper classes became habituated to the Rastas and no longer considered them an extreme threat to the stability of the colonial system. Although the Rastas were considered in politics and gained recognition worldwide, I still think that their political power was somewhat drained because people began using their customs for purposes that had nothing to do with rebellion. For example, the tourist video of Jamaica had some Rastafarian characteristics, but excluded their significance from a Rastafarian perspective in an effort to appeal to tourists. Its creativeness appealed to people worldwide, but its significance became obscured, causing the Rastas to lose some power.

Rasta Community Video

This community of Rastas shared some characteristics with the Rastas we discussed in class; however, they seemed somewhat different. They obviously share the beliefs with other Rastas such as equality and justice for all and goodness over evil. They also identify well with Africa and Ethiopia. They perform a ceremony several times a day. It is similar to the Rastas’ casual meetings where they smoke ganja and discuss their beliefs and current events. However, the Boboshanti didn’t smoke ganja during these meetings and they didn’t mention whether they discussed their ideas and lives; nevertheless, the meetings had similar purposes. The purposes of the meetings were to promote unity and their spirituality, which would eventually help them to gain repatriation just like the Rastas in the book. In addition, they relied on nature to survive, which agrees with the book as well.

There was also some difference I wasn't expecting. The Boboshanti observe religious days such as the seventh day Sabbath. Unlike the Rastas in the reading, the Boboshanti wrap their dreadlocks in turbans, which I think they said resemble the Ethiopians’ appearance.

In short, the book clearly describes the fundamental beliefs of the Rastas, which are summarized in the video of the Boboshanti. But I don’t think this community contradicts the book because they seem to be just a slight variation of the Rastas.

Charisma

Charisma is powerful thing because it can be used for different purposes. According to "Rastafari,"it is a quality of a personality that encompasses and appeals to the needs of the people in adverse circumstances, which helps to acquire followers for the leader and his/her cause. It reminds me of how leaders in the past have used charisma to help people. However, others such as Hitler have utilized charisma for destructive purposes.

Hitler took advantage of the economic situation, the low morale of the Germans, and the losses of Germany due to the Treaty of Versaille so that he could appeal to the Germans because they were unsatisfied with the government. Appealing to their needs, he and his political party gained popularity, advocating improvement of their current conditions. Thus, he gained support, which allowed him to gradually rise to power. From his high position, he reinforced the beliefs he imposed on the people. He influenced people to support his ideology, Nazism.

However, just as the book “Rastafari” says, some movements are only temporary. Society and culture also play a role in integrating or rejecting the movement. In Hitler’s case, other societies opposed his actions, which paved the way for his movement’s downfall. Hitler and Nazism is an example of how people can take advantage of charisma for dark purposes. The results of charisma depend on the leader's intentions.

The status of Ethiopia

Ethiopia is given status and value through Sheba’s relationship with Solomon. Sheba at first believes in a different God until Solomon imparted his wisdom onto her and she discovered who the true God was. Then Solomon impregnated Sheba because of a promise she broke. She gave birth to a male child, who would become the emperor of Ethiopia and his descendents would rule on behalf of Solomon. She converted to Christianity, and through her, she converted Ethiopia as well. Solomon even tells her that her country will be blessed through her if she genuinely worships God and follows his principles. Therefore, she established a link between her country and Israel.

The child and his descendants symbolize the eternal relationship between Israel and Ethiopia as well. Through this significant connection Ethiopia becomes even more worthy of God. It reinforces the connection between Ethiopia and Israel. From this bond between these two nations, some of Israel’s status as the people of God spread to Ethiopia, which to me explains why Ethiopia is important to Christianity.

Sheba also elevates Ethiopia’s status even more because she seemed genuinely interested in acquiring wisdom. It shows that Ethiopia values wisdom more than material wealth. Also, Sheba realized that wisdom is also necessary to rule and support her kingdom effectively. Sheba made it clear that Ethiopia truly cares about the welfare of the people through wisdom gained from God. The pursuit of wisdom and the connection between Israel and Ethiopia make it seem worthy of God.

"The Burial of Count Orgaz" by El Greco

This painting is full of symbols that reflect Catholic beliefs. There is heaven full of angels and other important figures and the Earth where people surroung the Saints who descended from heaven. On Earth, Saints Augustine and Stephen lower the Count into the sepulcher. The Virgin Mary and John the Baptist are interceding for the Count's soul. Jesus is at that the top.

The presence of the Saints demonstrate the Catholics' tendency to worship or revere saints; St. Augustine and Stephen seem to be like gaurdians. Likewise, the Virgin Mary stresses that idea even more because she seems to be interceding for the Count's soul. Therefore, people pray to her and the saints because she acts kind of like a mediator trying to save people's souls. The men dressed as Spanish conquistadores symbolizes Catholic Spain's battle against Protestant England; it helps to reinforce the Catholic beliefs expressed in the painting among the audience. Overall, this alterpiece is typical of those found in Catholic churches. Inspiring religious fervor, they are enormous and elaborate and are placed in the front of the church so that during mass people can worship the Saints or Christ or whomever who are depicted in the paintings. At the top, Christ, I'm assuming, symbolizes that he is the one that ultimately chooses to accept souls into heaven; he even has open arms, which represents that he's welcoming. This alterpiece emphasizes the importance of Saints and the Virgin Mary to the Catholics; they are just as important as Christ because they are depicted as larger than him. It shows the results of praying to them because they play an intercessory role in receiving souls in heaven, which motivates people to pray. They're beliefs influenced the artist to depict saints, the virgin, and Christ, and the saints reinforced their beliefs.

Survival of the Fittest

I think that it is highly advantageous for religions to change their interpretation of scriptures over time. The society in which it is located changes and along with it the attitudes and beliefs (although not necessarily religious) of the people. This cultural change may cause the religious and secular worlds to clash potentially causing ruptures between the people and religion. Religions could start losing their followers because they reject certain beliefs that currently prevail in the broader society.

For example, nowadays there are religions that condone homosexuality. It is also an attitude that is spreading. If more religious people begin to change their attitude toward homosexuality, then perhaps they will begin to question their church’s principles. Therefore, those religions could lose both their power and followers, who would then turn to other religions that express their newfound attitude.

It reminds me of "survival of the fittest" in terms of religion. The churches that fail to interpret their belief system according to the present state of their society put themselves at risk for extinction. The churches or religions that do derive their beliefs from a modified interpretation of scripture increase their chances of surviving. Adjusting religious beliefs to society, religions could appeal to more people, attracting more followers, which benefit its health.