Post #19

Dante's concept of Hell came to the audience in an interesting way as it was told through the journey through Hell. Dante's Hell is full of various levels and areas. Different sins had its own distinguishable space. Each level kept the sinners of different crimes. As for pain and suffering, these emotions will always attract an audience. The level of intensity of these feelings allows everyone to relate and understand the feelings. Though pain hurts on different levels, it's still a feeling that can be attractive. On some subconscious level, we never really escape pain. So since it's inevitable, we run to it and it grabs the audiences attention. A quote from "Inferno", "they yearn for what they feel for" describes the thirst to read and hear about the negative emotion.

Post 18

Just like in the Bible, Jesus is also presented in the Qur'an. Like in the Christian face, Jesus is also the son of Mary. In the Qur'an, Jesus is presented as the messenger of God or Allah. One verse that highlights this is "When Jesus found unbelief on their part He said: 'Who will be my helpers to Allah?'" (3:52). In the Qur'an, Jesus is a prophet. Jesus is an important religious figure, although it is made clear that he is still under Allah, as shown by this verse. "In blasphemy indeed are those that say that Allah is Christ of the son of Mary" (5:17). Islam, in the presentation of Jesus, is actually rather similar to the presentation in the Bible.

Post 17

The Qur'an and the New Testament are both written words of religion. Though the New Testament is mainly used for Christianity religion and the Qur'an is mainly used for the faith of Islam, both act as sacred scripture, with teachings of each religion. The Qur'an is derived from the Arabic language while the New Testament is derived from the Hebrew language. Both religious works are broken into verses. One quote from the Qur'an is "Then fight in the cause of Allah, and know that Allah Heareth and knoweth all things". This verse is similar to this verse from the New Testament, "Whenever our heart condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything". In both religious works, God is all-knowing.

Post 16

Personally, I think that high government officials should lead by personal example and high ideals. The media will stop at nothing to achieve and spread any tiny, little information about any government official, especially a high ranked one. As a leader, naturally the official would need to lead by example so that the people under him can observe and strive to be like him or her. Anyone in the government is usually expected to have high ideals, although this is actually rarely found. The people under the government official more than likely voted for him or her for his ideals and motives. If the people didn't like or agree with the ideals, then the person wouldn't be in the position of power. Realistically however, I don't think that either of these things are actually achieved in the political world. Especially with the power of media, one never knows the truth from the fake. But in an ideal society, the higher official would, of course, lead by example for the people.

Post 15

Socrates was punished for "corrupting young minds" according to the Athenians. Obviously, this is not a role the country would want a president to fulfill. But when it comes to President Trump for example, this seems to describe him perfectly. His actions and words can lead to some harmful effects on the youth, such as discriminating against others. Socrates also was a big advocate for self-improvement, which I think represents past presidents like George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. They understood that the country at that time had a lot to improve, especially with the issue of slavery. Confucious was a big believer in healthy relationships and leading by example. As for the healthy relationships, I would say that Theodore Roosevelt really created a relationship with the American people with his fireside chats. This new approach at the time let the people feel connected with their president. As for leading by example, though not a president but rather a First Lady, I relate this to Michelle Obama. As an advocate for healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle, I believe that she did a great job with the embodiment of what she was advocating for.

Post 14

In ancient history, many cultures had specific gods for war like in mythology. The ancient Greeks and Romans each had specific gods for war. For example, the Greeks had Ares as their god of war, while the Romans had Mars. The gods served simply as a representation for war, and used them to boost their moral in battle times. As for modern times, gods are not really involved in our idea of war. If anything, most of the people combining gods and war are using the gods to speak out against the war. However in some religions, like radical Muslims, gods can used to as a validation to, for example, bomb an occupied building. The use of gods in this particular religion gives the radicals a reasoning for their murderous behaviors. Yet in religions such as Buddhism, the god(s) support the total opposite, opposing the torture or killing of any other living thing. This would make it impossible for followers of Buddhism to support war. So more than anything, gods essentially work to shape people's view of war.

Post 13

The war in Iraq sparked after the acts of terrorism on US soil. It is hard to say whether one supports or doesn't support the war, however I believe that the US had enough reason to begin the war. The attacks on September 11, 2001 was the worst loss of life that America had ever seen in its history. Sun Tzu says that "it is a matter of life or death, a road either to safety or to ruin" (Art of War 356). As this applies to the United States, not retaliating to the attacks would have let the nation be viewed as weak and vulnerable. Attacking Iraq allowed the US to be seen as a force to be reckoned with. President Bush went with this point, as he addressed the nation, clarifying that we "will not live in at the mercy of an outlaw regime" (Times 1). Americans refused to be fearful, and, instead, became furious. In a way, Americans were "blinded by lust and wrath" (Bhagavad Gita 476), but more wrath than anything. With the amount of wrath and hatred the nation possessed, something had to be done. Therefore, a war seemed to be the solution to all of our problems.