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• LOOKING AHEAD

• Taniguchi Garden date?

• 4-1, 4-2; 4-8, 4-9; 4-15, 4-16 [EASTER]; 4-22 Earth Day; 4-29, 4-30

• #2-7 Carnism and Ideology;Why We love Dogs, Eat Pigs, Wear Cows The Face on Your Plate; LEADER: DOLPHIN 

• #2-9  Carnism and Sustainability Quiz in class."Best and Worst"t  COWSPIRACY. 2-11 BLACK PANTHER'S BIRTHDAY. 2-14 DOLPHIN'S BIRTHDAY LEADER: SEA LION

• 2-16 Christian bible and subterranean tradition TO 1700 LEADER: WHITE TIGER

•   #2-14  P3A  DUE;

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• TODAY:

• GUIDED IMAGERY; BEST AND WORST IN PAIRS; QUIZ; ELK TAKES OVER

• 344-358 "Genesis"

• 359 Milton

  360-371 Paradise Lost bks.7,9

  372-5    Baker, "Old Testament Attitudes Toward Nature" vs. Psalm 40?

  376-7   Derrida on Genesis, from Bump, Ethics and the Environment]

  378-84  Lynn White Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryNCt8DM5yg

 

 

   

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1cZ7LhfQDj5o0sZIJ2L8CbxVYNVVkwYCQ7_LU6U_t2Qk/edit?usp=sharing

The Scallop Shell

This shell once held a living creature, whom no longer lives but is now symbol for something much greater than itself.  In the same way, animals in Hebrew Scriptures give up their life for a concept beyond the scope of their own lives. This is also a felicitous symbol as the scallop is associated with the apostle James of the New Testament, a time where the law of animal sacrifice has been fulfilled, and no longer necessary, representing freedom from killing/speciesism.

 

The Hammer

When discussing religious texts and ideals, contradictions are often brought up. How do we reconcile seeming inconsistencies or disagreements, while maintaining intellectual and ethical honesty? Can a person abide by the law of the Torah yet not fall victim to speciesism or sexism? The hammer of unity will symbolically unite all these differences and mold together a cohesive ethical takeaway.

 

The Medallion

The most popular thing brought up in the blogs about Genesis and Paradise Lost was superiority of humans over other beasts. The mirror represents the ego of humans, their desire for entitlement and dominion over others.  The backside, or eye of God, reminds humans that the earth really isn't about them, and that it was God who granted them authority in the first place, and he is the one who holds ultimate authority, even over humans.

Genesis Blogs Outline

Kangaroo (sin = death)

"Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." (James 1:15)

Here Kangaroo cites James and a the consistent concept that the wages of sin are death.  This is why animal sacrifice was necessary as described in the Torah, as the death of the animal atoned for the price of sin

 

Swift (Character of God)

"Here, God promises that he will 8. "never again …destroy all living things" (375) and create such destruction such as the great flood. However, does that also imply that man will never again become as corrupt and immoral as they were when the Earth was first formed?"

Swift brings up a good point, but I think this question comes out of not knowing that God makes further covenants with his people, and then ultimately Jesus, who in the New Testament, gives the corrupt world a chance rather than simply destroying it.

 

Pika (sacrifice)

 

"Why is it so important that God receives animal sacrifices? How is this a sign of faith if God has already made it so that humans hold power over all other lifeforms?"

 

Here Pika questions the ethics of sacrificial rituals present in the Jewish Bible. I plan to discuss this, and touch on the morality of the subject vs our created ethics

 

Blue Whale (Old Testament Interpretation)

 

But even when I try to most don't listen. 2."Let us make now Man in our image, Man in our similitude, and let them rule" (363). Most people will say that the Adam and Eve story is true because its what the Bible says and what it points to. They don't understand that the Bible's weren't supposed to be taken word for word. We are just supposed to take the underlying theme and message to heart.

Blue whale brings up a good point about how truth in a story doesn't necessarily have to be literal accuracy.  In fact, much of the Old Testament was told in oral Hebrew poetry form, which held qualities of an epic (epic proportions, grand details) and hyperbole.

 

Dolphin (speciesism)

 If equality among all species is the goal, how is it possible when one of the most sacred texts in the world rebukes that idea?

 

I like how Dolphin thinks big.  For her powerful question I will discuss the role of human dominion, and if it is playing out in the way God intends.

 

Yukon Wolf (Dominion, speciesism)

Does the word "dominion" imply protection or exploitation? Some make the argument that "the 'dominion'...which man is promised in Genesis 1 is poles apart form the kind of right to egotistical exploitation which it suggests to our ears." (374) because in Isaiah 11 there is "a small but striking detail confirming this vegetarianism of the creation in Genesis 1: animals eat grass, man eats grains and fruits." (374). If it is taken to mean protection, are we really living up to our potential and coexisting with other creature as best we can? If it means exploitation does that erase our guilty conscience when recognizing the horrors of slaughterhouses?

 

Yukon wolf directly answers Dolphin's question and my response as well. What does dominion even mean? Can it be a good thing.

 

Giant Panda (speciesism / naming)

 

idea that "naming" is equated with "domination." This concept shows up often in fantasy books, in which characters can wield magical power over other things by knowing their "true name".

 

Giant panda hits on the popular topic of the obvious dominion of man over animals when Adam is given the task to name each creature. She makes a good connection to general symbolism of naming in storytelling.

 

Crow (innate speciesism)

 

What is in our nature that makes us crave dominance? Most of us do a good job at hiding this quality, but it still manages to shine through in ways we do not recognize. The way we treat other animals expresses dominance in a much more flat out, open way, giving us a lot of insight into arguable one of our greatest flaws. By expanding the sympathetic imagination, we can not only be better to each other but towards animals as well.

Here Crow hints that speciesism may be a human default setting, like ego.  Maybe our need to dominate is as hardwired as man's struggle with lust or the inability to not sin.

 

Sea Lion (Humans and Nature)

 

"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life;" (345

To me, this symbolizes the covenant between God and nature. People often believe that God shuns the earth as something evil or not divine. But, this passage seems to confirm that God works in communion with the earth. It shows that humans are divine and natural. Without either, they can't be what they were molded to be. One can extend this metaphor to the inherent goodness of all creatures.

Sea Lion is the first blind mole to bring up this clever interpretation about how humans were meant and created to be part of the natural world.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1XNVE5_eWYetMJW7ojHI59Z5jwGeXHbEdequ0mgDDIMs/edit?usp=sharing