Love as a Commodity

The author of this book has truly had some unique experiences in coming to terms with his faith. He has learned many lessons along the way, and can now truly embrace the Lord's love. What I found most intriguing is that he learned most of his lessons about love and God at Reed, which had been deemed a " godless place." The students here taught him more about acceptance, faith, and love than when he went to church. This goes to show how Christianity isn't really so much about leading a christian life any more. The term has negative connotations because those in power have made it that way and the hypocrites who do not even know what the word truly means.
What I enjoyed most of all about this book is when he spoke about loving others. " The problem with Christian culture is we think of love as a commodity. We use it like money." But, love is not a commodity, as he further explained. It is something that we need to give to everyone, that we need to appreciate their very being, for we are all of God's creations. Instead, we only give love when we feel that the favor will be returned. I wish things didn't work that way. This is a great lesson that I learned from this book and hopefully, be able to apply it in my own life.

A Flawed Humanity

In the second chapter the author discusses the idea of humans being innately evil. He discussed this topic with Tony the Beat Poet. I have always been one to advocate that everyone has an innate good in them, that yes, we are capable of evil things, but that alone does not make us evil.While reading this chapter, it changed my perspective of this idea. As he explained it further on in the chapter, we, as human beings are flawed. These flaws are what make us capable of doing such atrocities to each other. The example he gave was that each and every one of us had to be taught right from wrong at a young age. Which leads to an interesting question. What kind of beings would we turn out to be if we were not taught right from wrong? Would the world be more chaotic than it already is? Ultimately, I have come to conclude as Miller states it, "that the soul of man is perverse." (p.18)

My Idea

I plan on presenting a powerpoint to the class discussing my country, the people there, the issues they face on a daily basis. But also relating it to the community in Union City, NJ and here in Tennessee as well. I plan on explaining how my family tries to help other immigrants who want to have better lives here, touching on immigration policies, the major differences between my country of origin and the U.S.

Resurrection

Neumark ends her book by saying that she has been changed through her experiences at Transfiguration. She has encountered many who she will never be able to forget for they have "threatened her with resurrection." What I think this statement conveys is that many of the church members have had a life devoid of meaning, where they have been so numb that they cannot truly be living. Those like Burnice, Angie, Lucy have been resurrected through this church. Resurrected in the sense that they found a new way of life through God, one that did not involve addiction, violence,hopelessness. In place of those things they found love, acceptance, faith. They did not give up and found themselves in a better place than where they had started off. The stories told in this book are truly inspirational. Angie's story was one that touched me. She was HIV positive and completely absorbed into a depression that kept her sitting on a couch. Slowly, she felt God's calling and began to attend church, aiding others in their quest to find him. In her relationship with God she was able to go back to school to become a pastor to continue to help others. It's amazing the things that our faith can enable us to do. She was resurrected.

Money makes the world go round. But, should this really be our main concern? Neumark wanted to expand her congregation so that she could make more room for the church members but was hit by a major obstacle, a lack of monetary resources. As Neumark depicts it, the other congregration was more focused on how they would get repaid than in helping out the community. Churches should be more interested in making money than in helping out those in need, this is the one place where material things need not be valued. Yet, there are some churches who value a dollar more than their church members. I hate this reality. For those who live like this are truly missing out on the true riches of life. As Cheryl said, "We may not have any money, but we're sure not broke" (p.122) Her words resonate with the truth. It is far more enriching to overcome addiction, to live to see another day, to bring joy to another's life. If only those who lived in the Manhattan area could see that one can be completely content even without the luxuries in life.

Breathing Space

Breathing Space is definitely not the type of book I expected it to be. I never thought I would be able to relate to it so well. The way the pastor describes everyone she has encountered and what they have been through astonishes me. I know the people she speaks of, I know plenty more just like Carmen, Burnice. I grew up with the same kind of people when I lived in New Jersey. I grew up knowing the immigrants who made so many sacrifices to give their lives in central america a better place. Unfortunately, what Neumark speaks about still goes on today. Not too much has changed in those parts, there are people that I know who still fight that same struggle. Yet, these people find their faith in the lord despite their circumstances. It is truly remarkable. I am interested to see how else God has played a major role in transforming all those on Prospect ave. throughout this book.

The Influence of Heschel

I would have never thought that Heschel would have had as much of an influence in our world as he did. Listening to these podcasts made me realize that he was an influential figure who strived to "embody the social activism he studied."Cornel West referred to him as a "poet of pros", as someone who loved kindly and walked proudly with his God. He was a Civil rights activist who fought for racial equality alongside Martin Luther King Jr. He also saw MLK as a prophet. He also influenced the younger generation of his time for the black jewish alliance which came from his alliance with MLK. He was a true believer in justice. Not only did he have quite an impact in the U.S., but his influence also reached overseas to Vietnam. He had a "universal vision that spoke to all."Most powerful text ever written of the jewish invention of the prophetic. He greatly advocated against the Vietnam war. He was an active individual who strived to bring justice to our world.