Unforunately, my hurricane story is not unique, interesting or exciting. My family and I evacuated Saturday before the storm hit New Orleans. We had only packed a few days of clothes thinking that we would return soon. Little did we know was that those few days of clothes was all that were we going to have until six months later. We had to go through the whole rebuilding process and so on, which is not interesting nor exciting to go through. The whole evacuation situation was stressful because of the bumper to bumper traffic which made it even more strifling for my family because we were in one car for way too long. We did not think Katrina would do the damage that it did, so waking up Monday morning and learning of the damage done we were in for a rude awakening. I went to many different places before my family settled in Irving, TX which is about five minutes outside of Dallas, TX. Texas is big and beautiful, but not for me (no offense for to Texans). I think my main reason for thinking that way is that I was there unwillingly, so maybe if I return on a brighter note my mind will change. I know no one who has experienced that wants to go through that again and I know for sure that I don’t, so I am praying that Gustav doesn’t do too much damage. I was away from New Orleans for six months and when I returned I was more than happy to be back. I hope that as a city, we never have to experience a catastrophic event of that nature ever again. When I left those days before the storm hit I never thought it would take me six months to get back. When I leave again for a storm, my mindstate has a whole new perspective and now I know that when you leave there is always a chance that you may not come back to a home.
Anyways, my thoughts on Dr. Homan’s Theology class on Intro to Biblical Studies are pretty positive so far. Learning about the Bible can be very tedious and I think that is what makes the class interesting due to the fact that the Bible is a book that holds many stories with many different meanings behind each and every one of them. I am expecting to learn a lot about the Bible and I am very confident that Dr. Homan will give me the insight and knowledge that I need. My thoughts on the Bible is that it is such a touchy topic, especially when discussing it with others. Many people have different thoughts on the Bible, and what the Bible represents. I think Bibilical Studies will open my eyes on different and important events in the Bible and will help me decipher what happened during that time, because reading the Bible as a beginner can be very challenging. As a child my parents bought me the “children’s” Bible, which basically had the important events in the Bible, but explained so that a 10 ten year old can understand. As I got older I mostly read scriptures from the Bible in church or from my mom’s Bible that was in the house. I do have a strong faith and I believe in God, but I will admit that I can’t recite Bible verses off the top of my head nor have I read the Bible from cover to cover. Nevertheless, this is why I think I have a lot to gain from Dr. Homan’s Bibical Studies class because there is so much more to the Bible and what it represents.
As I read over the course commitments, I know this is something that I can do. Why? Because I want to pass. In order to pass with a good grade, I would have to attend, be punctual, write my own work, not answer my phone in class and have a positive and respectful attitude. The course commitments isn’t asking us to jump off a bridge, but simply asking if we can do our part as students. Furthermore, the commitments for Bibical Studies can also become a asset to me in my other studies and my professional vocation of becoming a lawyer. I want to pursue a career in law mainly because I love to communicate, debate, and help others. I am also very opinionated, a good listener and I have to make my point known. Bibical Studies doesn’t have anything to do with me becoming a lawyer, but it does help me into thinking critically and reading abstract passages from the Bible that needs a little more thought and analysis.
586 BCE is a key event in the Bible because Jerusalem was captured by the Babylonians and the temple was destroyed while the people were captured and taken into exile. This is such an important event because the people of Jerusalem lost apart of their culture and few people returned after this event took place. Not only was this event important for the city of Jerusalem, it also took a toll on the people and their relationship with God. Many people of Jerusalem thought that God was “punishing” them or rejecting them for their wrongdoings. The book of Lamentations basically summarizes the aftermath of the Babylonians conquering the city of Jerusalem by enslaving the people and torching the city. The Lamentations gives the reader a graphic depiction of the damage that was done and the plight of the city and also that maybe God was the first cause of the disaster. The parallels that I see from reading the Lamentations and experiencing Katrina is definitely the people claiming that this is what God wanted for the city and that He was angry with the people of Jerusalem/New Orleans. Also, I see how the city of Jerusalem and New Orleans grieved after such damaged was done. Another comparison that I could make is that ALL people suffered from Jerusalem and New Orleans. These events did not hit for particular race of people nor did it make one race or class exempt from such tragedy.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 29th, 2008 at 10:44 am and is filed under Week 01: Background. 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.