Blog - Debate About the Bible

So, I chose to dedicate this blog to the mini-debate in which I participated yesterday. I don’t know if the rest of you share the same sentiment but each debate went by, in my opinion, extremely quickly. I said one statement, listened to the rebuttals of my opponents, posed a few questions, and then it was already time to conclude the debate. I did not receive the opportunity to express all the information that I had researched so I thought I’d assert everything that I had missed here in this blog entry. To remind those who forgot or who were absent, I was a discussant on the side espousing the fiction of the Bible and, in case you were wondering, I’m not an atheist or irreligious or anything like that. I have my own beliefs, connections, and relationship with God. I just believe, as of now, that the Bible possesses much more fiction to it than actual fact. First, the story of Christ in the Bible relates substantially to several mythological characters that were generated years before the time of the Bible. Hercules, for instance, was born of a divine father and could also walk on water. Asclepius healed the sick and was also known as a savior. Dionysus was born of a virgin mother and also became immortal through resurrection. I am forced to conclude that the authors of the Bible were undoubtedly influenced by and admired these fictional characters impelling them to incorporate their characteristics to create Christ. Second, there are hundreds of contradictions within the Bible. I’ll write down some of my favorites along with the Book and specific chapter so you can check them out if you so desire: 1. God is warlike (Exodus 15:3) AND God is peaceful (Romans 15:33); 2. Killing is forbidden (Exodus 20:13) AND killing is commanded (Exodus 32:27); 3. God dwells in darkness (1 Kings 8:12) AND God dwells in light (1 Timothy 6:16); 4. Lying is forbidden (Exodus 20:16) AND lying is allowed (Joshua 2:4); 5. Divorce is permitted (Deuteronomy 24:1) AND divorce is restricted (Matthew 5:32). The fact that the Bible contains so many contradictions, inaccuracies, and inconsistencies compels me to believe that the Bible has more fiction to it than actual truth (a non-fiction piece of work, in my opinion, would flow more easily with very little speed bumps if it were, in fact, true). Third, several oddities can be found in the Bible. There is, for instance, a talking donkey and a talking serpent (donkeys and serpents cannot speak as far as I know). True, the serpent can symbolize a deceiving individual but I could use that same logic and say that both the Grinch and Santa Claus exist because they symbolize a bitter individual and a generous individual respectively. Also, walking on water is scientifically impossible and there is no solid proof of Noah’s ark ever existing despite all the rumors and sightings from religious groups and organizations. All in all, these are the primary reasons as to why I believe that the Bible is fiction. But, like I stated previously, I have my own relationship with God emphasizing love rather than condemnation.

Blog - Slam Poem

So, the following words are my slam poem. I read my slam poem aloud as if I were performing it in class and it recorded a few seconds over 3 minutes so I assume my slam poem is admissible. I hope all of you have fun reading it. Enjoy!

GOD, WHERE ARE YOU?

By: Kevin Rickman

God, where are you?

If you can hear my words,

please respond.

You know what I am.

You know what I’ve been through.

You know what my dreams, goals, and passions consist of.

Answer me

because I happen to be

only one of the five billion believers

that you have amassed over the centuries.

My belief in you has been genuine.

It has been real and sincere and true

since the first moment I was introduced to you.

But, God, I must confess that

my acceptance of your actions is decreasing,

my trust in your ideas is dwindling,

and my belief in you as a supreme being is diminishing.

God, why do you not answer my prayers?

If you can hear me,

just answer one plea.

I only desire love,

seek support,

and require guidance.

I ask you kindly,

I ask you politely,

and I ask you wisely.

I live up to my potential in life

and make certain that

I am the best person that I can be

to my friends and family

and to all the strangers who surround me.

And yet in return, you bestow me with emptiness.

God, why do you permit such calamities

to impact your people and societies?

If you can hear me,

extirpate all hatred, famines, and poverty.

Rid your world of all diseases, death, and destruction.

Terminate all the wars, violence, crime, torture and corruption

that have been thrashing your people

since the commencement

of your existence.

God, why do you deprive certain communities

of their innate rights as citizens of humanity?

If you can hear me,

please agree with me

when I asseverate that

women merit all the opportunities

to choose their actions pertaining to their bodies.

And that it’s contemptible to say

that being gay

is immoral and a threat.

My gay friends only want to marry,

start a family,

and share the same, exact feeling of love and affection

that my straight friends undoubtedly share together.

Cease ignoring me

and begin answering me

because, God, I cannot wait much longer.

I’m disheartened when I go to church searching for you,

dejected when I read the Bible expecting to find you,

and dispirited when I pray to you

helplessly and hopelessly

to ameliorate the issues confronting me.

But believe me, God, I do not want to corroborate

all the atheists and all the agnostics and all the scientists

attempting to disprove of your existence.

Please, demonstrate to these individuals that

they are the ones who are wrong and that

you are the one who is right.

And, God, heed my words with caution

whether you’re sitting in that corner

or sitting over there in that corner

or standing right in front of me

or standing right behind me

or looking down upon me

as these words flow out of my mouth

because, God, I can guarantee that

you will have one less believer if

my prayers continue to be disregarded,

all global dilemmas continue to unravel,

and the rights of innocent individuals continue to be withdrawn

right before my eyes.

God, you have failed me.

But no, I refuse to cease believing just yet in you.

Please, please, please

I beg of you

to answer my query:

God, where are you?

Blog - Becoming Banksy

So, we all participated in the “Becoming Banksy” project on Monday. I’ll be honest and admit that the project didn’t capture my interest when our professor first explained it to us in class. The thought of surreptitiously going around campus leaving a message pertaining to education for other individuals to admire and interpret did not exactly fit into my definition of excitement (probably due to the fact that I had never been introduced to such an assignment in my entire life) but, in the end, it was actually the most fun I encountered this semester out of all my classes. Not only was designing my project enjoyable and observing the other projects situated around the campus an interesting experience, it was also relieving to emit one of my viewpoints about education to the college. I felt that this assignment permitted us, as students, to better transmit our educational messages to a plethora of individuals, including both students and faculty members, within a relatively short amount of time. In fact, I arrived at school on Monday around 8:00 in the morning and I noticed a group of individuals composed of five students and two of the college librarians just staring at one of the exterior walls of the library. As I got closer I noticed that they were actually staring at one of the Banksy projects (it was the UCLA one resembling the painting done by Banksy on the Gaza Strip with the two kids) that was taped to the wall. Some of the students took pictures of it with their phones and the librarians just stood there with two of the most amazing “WTF” faces I have ever seen. It wasn’t even time for most classes to commence, and yet, individuals around campus were already analyzing the educational messages we were attempting to impart. Thinking about it now, education turned out to be the ideal topic for two reasons. One, education has a multitude of imperfections associated with it (tenure, counselors, NCLB, tuition, etc), which made it simple for each of us to choose a particular imperfection to depict on the campus. Two, education still remains a contemporary issue that possesses a negative impact on all students, which made it that much more compelling for us to get our voices heard and understood within the college community. All in all, “Becoming Banksy” was a great success. I wouldn’t mind doing it again.

Blog - No Child Left Behind

So, I decided to devote this blog to No Child Left Behind (also known as NCLB). I assume most of you have heard of NCLB but for those of you unfamiliar with it, NCLB is an act that deals with education in public schools. Being a political science major, I’ve been introduced to NCLB numerous times in my previous courses. I’ve met people who love it and I’ve met others who really hate it. Personally, I’m not the biggest of NCLB for a few reasons. First of all, it establishes a system of incentives permitting school districts to “game the system.” States, for instance, lower their educational standards since each state is allowed to produce its own tests and, thus, make it much easier to increase test scores. Test results become manipulated and it is impossible to compare progress from state to state. Second, it creates unrealistic goals. By 2014, it declaims that, “every child is supposed to test on grade level in reading and math.” Unfortunately, that goal will never come to fruition due to all the scenarios and variables that exist pertaining to school and education itself. 100% proficiency, in this case, is unobtainable. Third, it emphasizes the importance of standardized tests. Teachers are encouraged to teach a narrow subset of skills that will amplify test scores rather than focus on deeper understanding. Also, the unique and creative teaching styles of teachers (that could compel students to learn more quickly, understand the material better, and have more fun in the classroom) are extirpated. Fourth, it harms the arts and elective education. Almost all funding from the government is allocated towards testable subjects with, since 2007, 71% of schools reducing instruction time in art, foreign language (big sad face from me on this one), history, and music. Students, in this circumstance, are cheated out of a well-rounded education. Fifth, it does not offer any efficient method of evaluating teachers and their performance in the classroom. Evaluating teachers becomes so difficult causing schools to fire teachers who don’t really deserve it and to hire fewer teachers who are actually worthy of being hired. Also, teachers employed at struggling schools receive less resources making evaluation even more difficult to compare from school to school. It’s evident, if you agree with me to some extent, that education needs to be reformed. But how does our society go about accomplishing such a formidable task? Do we just completely abolish NCLB or do we alter little parts of it here and there? Personally, I believe we should alter little parts of it rather than throwing away the entire act because it does have good intentions (they just aren’t being executed properly). In fact, I know President Obama and his administration have pledged to reform our educational system so I guess we’ll see what unfolds in due time.