As the class after Katrina and a non-state resident, I wasn’t directly affected. But as a prospective student of Xavier, I partially was. The news media was my main source of information and though I found their potrayal dismaying, I decided to come anyway! I took this class because I thought theology would be boring. A bit on the honest side but true. So far I’m thinking I may change my mind because the historical aspect of the class is becoming apparent. As a pastor’s child, bible facts used to be the centerpoint of my life, and now I realize that forgetting those was not such a good thing. Being taught the stories, I now know, was not only a religious practice but a way of teaching that history. As a youngster, I knew every book of the bible as well as story after story. Its kind of sad to say that now I’ve barely retained even the skeleton of the frame of biblical events! Theology has always seemed intimidating to me. Its requirements, including this blog, were expounded upon relentlessly by previous participants and I was like, oh my goodness! I’m not as intimidated now and look foward to exploring the bible as text and not jus religion, if that makes any sense.
In 586 b.c.e., the babylonians attacked and destroyed the temple of Jerusalem. After stealing the temples gold, and desecrating the ground upon where it stood, they proceeded to uproot the people who had once worshipped inside. The city became deserted and the folks were moved to babylon. Once there, a sort of cultural purging commenced. Mass assimilation was expected and also was the reason for the forced exodus. In response to this, the followers of the religion in a panic, proceeded to record everything they knew. Now in written word, the faith could be preserved.

Without these events the Bible would never have been created. The ground upon which the temple once stood is now sacred. The followers never stand on the ground but pray towards where it once stood. Jerusalem is the most important city of the religious faith. The hill callled Zion was also where Abraham once almost killed his son. Because the city was attacked with seige warfare tactics, the aftermath was horrific. Just like the faith was recorded, so also were the calamities suffered. In this case though, history was written by the losers. For once, we get a first hand account of the warfare from both sides. The Prophet Jeremiah provides us with this insight in his Lamentation. The city is personified through a widowed women and her feelings about the horrors are expounded upon. As in any religion, when the people are directly attacked by a major force, it is thought that they have done something wrong. Clearly in this case that was true. The people of Jerusalem were particpating in idol worship which is a big no no to Yah Weh. They were immediately smoted for their transactions.

The one comparison to other similar events was the fact that Soddom and Gomorrah was done so swiftly. As said in class, this seemed to be the more favorable demise. Archaic evidence suggests that the events following the attack were on the evil side. The idol worshipping of the people was punished severely. Bodies were strung up, skulls impaled, and women were raped savagely. Jeremiah is described as the weeping prophet because of the events he mourned and described. One story is that of the last king, Zedekia. He was murdered and had his eyeballs taken out. But only after he witnessed his family executed one by one. How horrible! The poem is very sad and the city is practically pitiful.
As my professional vocation….I want to be a doctor. I know now that having a strong sense of religious background is needed because of the many cultures you encounter as a physician. Though I hold no personal belief in Christianity as of now, my past has given me a delicate touch when it comes the to respect that should be afforded to every belief. I find the religions of the world to all have some basis in truth and don’t favor one. Right now, I’m beginning to understand the real worth of a liberal arts education and how it’ll heklp diversify you as a person. And that brings me to my passion in how to change the world: medical and health disparity along with poverty.
In my opinion, no one should be with out health care due to lack of finances. I myself was lucky to have parents in the military who have their insurance. But I know firsthand how lack of money can affect someones quality of life. All my life, I’ve been helped by others, and its instilled in me a strong sense of service. No matter what the cost, I do plan on doing my part to put a dent in the system and help those who need it. I don’t plan on becoming a medial doctor to work in some fancy hospital and become rich. I want to give back to all those who’ve helped MY family throughout the years, and pay back the debt I’ve occured in my short lifetime. Not financial debt, but a moral and community debt. One things that directly relates to this is the event of Hurricane Katrina.
Poor people, whether white or black, are NOT treated fairly by governments all over the world. Considered the ragged few, they actually number in millions and OUTNUMBER those who are financially stable. What makes the events following the hurricane so bad are the fact that they happened in America. The richest nation in the world. The slow response response time and the lack of help even now is so apparent and obvious. But what hurts me the most is now the lack of good healthcare available to those who need it. Mental health problems are now on the rise considerably and I worry those who suffer from these afflicitons are just left out in the wind! I’ve got a long way to go before I can make a big difference, but I do plan on following through with my pledge with everything in my power.
As a student in any class and a Xavier student in general, committment to education is a must. I have no problems with following the committments and I’m sure everyone else does to. I can’t wait to start my project because I’m excited to see what I’ll come up with. The parallels betweeen Katrina and the Lamentations has got me to thinking. The exodus of a peoples, the shot at assimilitaion and now the rebuilding are almost exactly the same. The preserving of new orleans culture, I am proud to say, is still thriving.

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 25th, 2007 at 11:35 pm and is filed under Class Comments. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.