Book Review: This is a Must Read!! July 27, 2009

Rabbi Daniel Lapin opens his book, America’s Real War, by illustrating the intolerance for Christianity in the United States today. By showing why this is unfair to Christians, and ultimately the rest of the population, Lapin states that straying away from Judeo-Christian principles does not work, and that the country must return to its original values. Stressing that although Jews should not become Christians, Lapin contends that they must ally themselves with Christians to return America to the safe, practical nation that it once was.

In the second part of his book, Lapin demonstrates that America his been a safe haven for many Jews, and that Jewish law and American law share some unique connections. By looking back, diligent citizens of the United States can see that their country was founded on Judeo-Christian principles. Furthermore, Lapin shows the Founding Fathers based many of their principles on Jewish law and incorporated these into American law. These principles, as well as principles of tolerance, have provided Jews with a safe haven from persecution found elsewhere. If Jews allow these principles to be forgotten, they may soon find mounting intolerance for their own sacred practices.

Lapin then goes on to state that straying away from America’s founding principles does not provide for a functional nation. First, he demonstrates how the Jewish and Christian faiths have influenced cooperation, technology, and education all over the world. As America has drifted away from those effective principles, different ethics have been engrained in the people. Disturbing trends result. Parents leave either their children alone, or in the hands of a stranger for large amounts of time. Crimes increase drastically, and people are burdened under heavy tax rates and unjust laws. For instance, the government takes significant amounts of money away from self-sufficient families, and provides services such as permanent welfare to those less fortunate. This ultimately does more harm than good. The results are divided families, wounded individuals, and a turbulent nation. Since Judeo-Christian principles work, it is time to return to this foundation.

Lapin contends that Anti-Semitism is not a significant problem, and Jews are actually harming themselves by forgetting their heritage and their values. Although not all Jews are liberal, many are gravitating toward this view point. This is not a sustainable situation, because in the process many Jews are forgetting who they are. Many radical liberals encourage this however, crying that the Religious Right wants to persecute them, and that all Jews are downtrodden. By giving examples of successful Jews and the respect shown to his people, Lapin refutes this claim. He then goes on to argue that while Jews do not tolerate any intolerance against themselves, but allow and sometimes encourage offenses against the Christians. Such a double standard is wrong, Lapin concludes, and shows the need for Jews to reform their thinking. Finally, Lapin concludes his book by exhorting Jews to realize the predicament they are in, and return to the original principles the Founding Fathers set down for the United States. Until this happens, the nation will continue to decline, and Jews may even lose their peaceful haven.

The moral? America is turning away from the Judeo-Christian principles that have worked for so long, and is incorporating new standards. The result is a moral, social, and economic crisis. Jews are so worried about Anti-Semitism, that they are turning away from conservative principles and embracing these new morals. In the process, they are openly criticizing and rejecting Orthodox Christians. The majority of Christians have protected and shelter Jews in times past, so it makes little sense to turn away from them now. Jews must ally themselves with Christians, and make a stand for the principles they believe in. Returning to these original sanctions will be extremely painful and difficult, but in the end, the reforms will save America from moral ruin.

An extremely powerful read that taught me alot about Judaism, America’s founding, and the social problems of the day. If you haven’t already done so, read it!

Wise Words From Regan July 16, 2009

“We are never defeated unless we give up on God.”
Most people would find it difficult to match even a fraction of Ronald Regan’s accomplishments. The acclaimed Californian soon attracted the public notice through his career as an actor and communicator. As a result of his dry wit and earnest performances, he earned millions of fans worldwide. However, Regan’s career as president of the United States dwarfed all previous accomplishments. Thoroughly conservative, he earned a reputation as an effective president, and an inspiring fellow citizen. Because of his influence, people should know about the role God played in his life.
Regan plainly announces his belief that he does not believe in defeat, unless he forgets God first. His earthly success lends validity to his wise words.
God says that he works everything for the good of those who love him, implying that everyone who believes in him will ultimately experience victory through Christ. Often this means earthly success. When one relies on God completely, his biblical wisdom results in earthly prudence, often earning him respect throughout his life time. However, sometimes, in the case of poor or persecuted Christians it means that they will experience eternal life. Martyrs often tell their persecutors that though they may defeat the body, they cannot touch the soul. Clearly, although the lives of some seem to end in earthly frustration, they come into glory in heaven.
Conversely, those who give up on God always experience defeat. Occasionally their imprudent, ungodly choices ruin their potential. Often, they refuse to trust in God for provision. This self-reliance results in God leaving them to their own weak and hopeless designs, all because they did not believe He could help them. However, most often, the wicked seem to flourish in worldly culture by making new discoveries, having engaging personalities, or having the right connections. Yet in the eternal sense, their lives have failed because they have not discovered the ultimate Truth and they have lost their eternal life.
A comparison further illustrates this. Often, students give up on school. They can only faintly see the long-lasting benefits of their hard work, but they can see the fun that they have no time to participate in. Thus, they spend less time studying and more time having a good time. At first, it seems that they have the ultimate victory over their more diligent classmates. However, in the end, the students that spent more time working and studying will have an easier time later in life. Similarly, man must have faith in God, even when it seems as though trust in Him will do nothing.
The nation of Israel serves as an appropriate example. When they trusted in God, He gave them material wealth and abundance. They could conquer any nation, and the had good leadership. However, as soon as they turned away from Him, they lost all of these things.
Clearly, Regan derives his saying straight from the Bible. Romans 8:37 says, “We are more than conquers through him who loved us.” Although Regan focuses on the aspect of defeat while Scripture focuses more on the conqueror, they essentially mean the same thing.
Indeed, this quote shows the power of Regan’s communication skills and the reason he became so successful. First, moves any reader through its eloquence and simplicity. Also, it says a great deal in only a few words. Most importantly, it demonstrates the foundation on which Regan laid his actions.

The Romantic Movement: Pt. 2 June 29, 2009

William Blake’s “Garden of Love” stands as an excellent example of the worldview behind Romantic poetry. The work contrasts a beautiful garden full of flowers and playing children with a gray, forlorn chapel. In other words, it sets the creation of God above the worship of His people, and portrays such worship as stogy, old, and restricting. Perhaps most notably, the garden has love in its name. Thus, the poem could be an allegory setting the emotion of love over the establishment of the Church. Either way, the poem seems to indicate that nature and love existed long before the Church distorted these things.

The meter—anapestic trimeter—plays into the tone and message of the piece. First, the first foot in almost every line has an iambic stress. Two feet in anapestic rhythm follow. However, toward the middle of the poem becomes highly irregular. First, the line “And the gates of this Chapel were shut” develops into pure anapestic trimeter—the line has an extra syllable. This seems to show the mounting emotion and anger of the author at the fact that cheerless chapel has taken over his garden and shut its gates against it.

The next line contains spondees, because the syllables in “Thou shalt not” contain stresses. This shows the importance of this phrase in the perception of the legalistic Church. The next two feet return to a normal iambic and anapestic beat respectively. Interestingly, the lines “That so many sweet flowers bore/ And I saw it was filled with graves” return to regular form, only the iambic foot comes at the end. This could represent the change that has taken place in the garden of love. Finally, the very last line contains one extra anapestic foot, showing the authors passion and resentment of the change.

The Romantic thinkers correctly identified a problem in their culture: lack of emotion and total reliance on logic alone. The trouble with their solution was their approach to the situation. Instead of taking the positive aspects of past ideas, the discarded everything except their own emotion. Instead of turning to God, they turned to themselves and their mystical beliefs. Instead of recognizing the depravity of individual man, they found fault with mankind as a whole. Romantic thought resulted in beautiful music, engaging novels, and charming poetry, but the words penned reflect a flawed, illogical worldview refuses to accept the Truth of God’s word. Truly the Romantic Movement has affected in extraordinarily positive ways, but it has also set the groundwork for today’s depraved, illogical culture.

The Romantic Movement: Pt. 1 June 13, 2009

Which modern movement has affected today’s culture the most with regard to its music, prose, poetry, and ideology? What did it stem from? Does it reflect the correct worldview? The Enlightenment era had spanned over the 15th and 16th centuries, brining with it a rejection of Christianity and the ideas of the past in favor of human reason and innovative new ideas. However, during the 1800’s some individuals began to correctly realize that logic and reason failed to bring total satisfaction to the soul. Some important component was missing. The great minds of the past turned to religion, gaining comfort from the belief in a vigilant, loving God and the promise of eternal life. Rather than doing this however, intellectuals of the 17th century rejected both human reason and Christianity in favor of another value: raw, unbridled emotion. The Romantic Movement had begun.

Ultimately, the Romantics believed that individual man possessed complete goodness; his depraved nature came from society as a whole. Reason had failed at fulfilling and exposing the good in man, so Romanticism rejected it entirely. While most in this movement had some form of spiritualism, few considered themselves orthodox Christians. For them, Christianity often meant an outdated form of legalism. Clearly, the Romantics saw some evil in traditions from the past. By trying to eradicate these problems, they rejected their entire heritage.

The beliefs concerning the evil of the populated, civilized world manifested itself in many ways: Romantics deduced that the open country represented the good and pure, while urban, artificial culture constituted blighted filth. Childhood, they believed, represented innocence and purity before the individual became a corrupt and cynical adult. In addition, Romanics believed that primitive societies had a closer tie with nature than modern civilization. Progress received scorn and nationalism thrived as people began to examine the roots of their countries’ histories. Finally, the Romanic Movement birthed a fascination with the supernatural and strange, since realism represented progressive adult life.

Such beliefs, though flawed, infused themselves into music, prose, and poetry. Composers such as Franz Liszt and Edvard Grieg broke the strict music theory rules of the past, experimenting with poignant dynamics, and innovative harmonies—sometimes making audiences break into tears because of the strong emotion expressed. Charles Dickens began writing novels containing messages of hope, love, and the innocence of childhood, and the depravity of city life. Reflecting the Romanic beliefs, these novels rarely mention religion in a positive light. For example, A Christmas Carol tells the story of a man who learns to exhibit kindness to others, but it fails to mention the incarnation of Christ as the true meaning of Christmas.

However, the poetry of this age perhaps made the most impact on today’s culture. In the past, poets had composed long, unrhymed, poetic books. Now, however the vast majority of the poems existed as short expressions of sentiment such as love, nature, death, supernatural experiences, or childhood. Rhyming verse also became very popular. Today, Romantic poets—Alfred Lord Tennyson, William Blake, John Keats, and others—have become integral fixtures on the shelves of any lover of literature. Indeed, the poems deserve classification as great literature due to their delightful rhythms and rhymes. However, do these poems promote universal truth?

The Quest for Truth–Part 1 April 29, 2009

Augustine was one of the most influential Church leaders of Western History. Yet he began his life full of oppositions toward Christianity, and his autobiography, Confessions, reveal how God redeemed him from his errors. Born in North Africa approximately during the middle of the fourth century, Augustine describes how—during his childhood and adolescence—he basked in his own sin, refusing to heed God’s Word, or the wise advice of his Christian mother. By his early twenties, he had abandoned himself to a life of pleasure, and began to use his classical education to resist Christianity. However, by his mid-twenties, he read Cicero’s Hortensius, which inspired him to seek the truth, even at the cost of his own pleasure. What followed was the struggle to answer his objections toward Christianity, including the nature of evil, the nature of God, and the requirement to give up his own sin.

“I had too much conceit to accept [the Scriptures’] simplicity and not enough insight to penetrate their depths.” After reading the Hortensius, Augustine was driven to find the truth and began reading the Scriptures to find the answers to his objections toward Christianity. After reading the great Greek and Roman literature; however, the words of the Scriptures seemed dull and vulgar. Moreover, Augustine had ignored or forgotten so much of his early Christian teaching that he received about the Scriptures, that he could not comprehend them on his own, and they seemed contradictory. He reasoned that if the Christians built their faith on this book alone, their beliefs had to be faulty, and he turned farther yet from the true faith. In his late twenties, he moved from Rome to Milan where he met the great Bishop Ambrose, who showed him how to interpret the Word of God. From him, Augustine learned that not everything in Scripture is literal, and in the correct context nothing contradicts itself. Once he began to interpret the God’s Word correctly, Augustine slowly began to find the solutions to the rest of his objections toward Christianity.

Communication: Use with caution April 26, 2009

God gives man the ability to think and reason, and then to organize these thoughts into speech. Due to sin’s entrance into the world; however, man naturally distorts this gift, sinning against God and harming other people. Accordingly, God provides guidelines in his word so that man regains much of his knowledge about how to glorify Him through effective speaking skills. The Scriptures command Christians to speak boldly and without fear, because they must further God’s kingdom with every topic they choose.

Joshua one, verse nine bids the Lord’s followers to “be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” For a believer to do otherwise would express doubt in God’s sovereignty and question their need to serve him. Additionally, effective communication requires that the speaker expresses confidence in what he says. For instance, if an evangelist shrinks from persecution and ridicule and demonstrates little knowledge of the Gospel, he does not exalt God in this particular area.

Contrarily, Christians must not speak on any topic by glorying in themselves or condescending to their listeners. The Bible gives several examples of the apostles directing the adoration of the crowds from themselves to their Savior. When their audience begins worshiping them as gods, they reply, “We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God” (Acts 14:15). Rather than taking advantage of the adoration of their listeners or exalting in their admirable speaking skills, they give all the glory to God, redirecting the focus of the crowd to the Lord.

Similarly, the Scriptures forbid misusing God’s gift of speech by patronizing or demeaning an audience. By the time of the Roman Empire, the Jewish religious leaders have become so self-righteous that they refuse to acknowledge their own sins while condemning the sins of others. However, the very Scriptures that they claim to adhere to reprove their arrogance: “Pride…and the froward mouth do I hate” (Proverbs 8:13). Christ openly condemns pride as sin, and communes with those who speak humbly while he conducts his earthly ministry.

Despite such explicit guidelines, the Christian often strays from the Biblical model of public oratory. Although he attempts to keep his attitude toward others firm but loving when he speaks, he naturally falls away from the ideal pattern. At times, he forgets to trust in God and fails to do his best when speaking because he has little confidence, or fears ridicule and persecution. However, the Scriptures clearly condemn this attitude promising that, “The wicked is snared by the transgression of his lips; but the just shall come out of trouble” (Prov. 12:13). The assurance further explains that the Christian’s fear stems from his doubt of God.

Occasionally, the Christian delivers a powerful message that seems to glorify his Savior. Yet when his audience congratulates him, he forgets to give the credit to his Lord and thank Him for his talent. Finally, if the speaker knows a great amount about his topic, he occasionally forgets that “the Lord lifteth up the meek; he casteth the wicked to the ground” (Ps. 147:6). Consequently he condescends to his audience, forgetting that God granted him the knowledge, and he once knew as little as his listeners.

However while the Christian bears guilt for many mistakes, he learns from both his fear and his pride. As he grows in his faith and studies public speaking, his mistakes become less frequent and he develops the loving attitude that he strives for. During the times that he remembers to balance his growing skill as a spokesman with a Biblical approach to the art, he truly improves enough to simultaneously glorify God and deliver an excellent speech.

Books are Magical April 3, 2009

Books are magical. Always. But have you ever had an unforgettable experience with a book—one where you associate a certain book with a certain time, place, or person?

Ok, so it is hard to phrase that question. Let me expound. I have only had two of the most memorable sorts of book experiences in my life. That is why they are so special I guess.

The first one was when I was reading Tacitus’ Annals of Ancient Rome. It was a Great Books assignment that happened to occur around Christmastime. I remember sitting in our big living room, next to our big Christmas tree, eating clementines and graham crackers, and downing some gingerbread tea—all the while getting lost in the intrigues of Ancient Rome. The contrast between the cozy atmosphere the present and the hateful world that I was stepping into made it special. But I think that made me remember this moment was that the book took place around the time of Jesus and the early church. Christmastime was a celebration of the coming of Jesus. Ever since Tacitus, I have been obsessed with ancient Roman history.
Who here likes Catcher in the Rye? It is a powerful book with a powerful message—but I hate it. It is filth. I was on my way this fall to visit my top choice school (this visit convinced me to apply early decision btw) and I had finished Catcher in the Rye on the way up to the college. I was so filled that the filth that I had read that when I picked up the Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser, the former dryness of the book turned into a breath of fresh air. That moment was extra special because I developed my love of this fine epic and was filled with its moral message. The very next day, I pretty much knew where I was going to spend the next four years of my life. I will associate the Faerie Queene with college for a long time to come.

So, have you ever really ‘experienced’ a book before?

Paul’s Use of Rhetoric March 24, 2009

In the book of Acts, Paul witnesses to the Jews in chapter thirteen and after his capture, to King Agrippa in chapter twenty-six. Based on his situation and his audience, Paul’s two messages differ significantly. In the first oratory, Paul speaks to a crowd of Jews in a synagogue before his arrest. Many in the audience have never heard the gospel and have not prepared themselves for a message outside of Old Testament context. Therefore, Paul anchors this speech in the Old Testament.

On the other hand, Paul speaks to King Agrippa after his arrest in a more private situation before important Roman officials as context illustrates: “When Agrippa was come, and Bernice, with great pomp, and was entered into the place of hearing with the chief captains, and principal men of the city….Paul was brought forth.”(Acts 25:23) Agrippa has the power to make laws and perhaps the influence to release Paul, but at the same time, social law requires that he not lose his temper as the Jews have done. Although he knows a great deal about Jewish culture and religion, he involves himself more in the secular world, and requires an argument filled with more rhetoric than Old-Testament evidence.

Realizing the difference between his situations and listeners, Paul adjusts his messages so that both audiences benefit equally as he presents the Gospel. In the Jewish synagogue, Paul addresses his audience as “Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God” (Acts 13:26). In this way, he recognizes the valued lineage of the Jews and reminds them that he is from the same descent. Such knowledge would induce the Jews to respect him. Paul next recounts the history of Israel and the promise of a Messiah. Additionally, he discusses how Christ had lived a perfect life; he has all the characteristics of the promised Savior. Through this seamless combination of the Old Testament and the Gospel, Paul makes his message simply sound like a continuation of God’s mercy to Israel. In this way, Paul shows them that he is not changing their religion at all—just bringing news of its fulfillment. Furthermore, this affirms that Paul has not fabricated the Gospel, but simply relates God’s providence. By quoting the Psalms, he further explains that God intends has replaced the Law with a new covenant: Christianity.

He concludes his discourse by incorporating an Old Testament warning to those who did not acknowledge the Messiah to further show that the Jewish scriptures clearly support Jesus Christ: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could no be justified by the Law of Moses. Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets; “Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.” (Acts 13: 39-41) Thus, Paul claims that the coming Messiah can absolve the people’s sins, in a way that the law cannot, but if the people do not accept Him, God will punish them. Paul’s arguments proved so effective that the Gentiles in the synagogue implored him to preach to them again.

Unlike his message at the synagogue, Paul incorporates his personal testimony into his oratory for King Agrippa. He affirms he had once zealously practiced Judaism himself, and diligently studied the Law and the Prophets. Furthermore, he had once fiercely opposed Christianity, even arresting those who refused to conform to the Jewish faith. “And I punished them oft every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities,” he admits (Acts 26: 11). On his way to Damascus to apprehend more Christians, Paul sees a light from heaven and hears the voice of Jesus Christ. The voice—God himself—commands Paul to follow him and preach the gospel to the Gentiles. Paul doubtless wishes to convince Agrippa that nothing but the truth could so radically change his worldview. After his powerful narrative, Paul assures Agrippa that he had only done the Lord’s command and that the Jews arrested him for doing it. Furthermore, he insists that he has not engaged in any illegal acts. Finally, Paul concludes by reminding Agrippa that Jesus fulfills the Old Testament prophecies in every way: “King Agrippa, belivest thou the prophets? I know that thou belivest” (Acts 26:27).

As Paul ends his discourse, King Agrippa replies, “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian,” and all authorities present agree that Paul has done nothing deserving of death (Acts 26: 28). Paul’s effective augments result from the fact that he can quickly ascertain the nature and needs of his audience. As his listeners change, he effectively adjusts his speeches so that they can fully understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Moderated Entertainment Please!! March 22, 2009

Today, America faces an educational crisis. While literacy rates have risen over the past few decades, standards in general, such as SAT scores, have fallen dramatically. Most embarrassingly, “only 3.5 percent of American high school seniors could pass the graduation exam of a European academic high school” (Wilson, 16). More and more children profess to hate school because it fails to qualify as “fun.” Similarly, the attention spans of students diminish every day. Something is destroying the American work ethic, the desire to learn, and endurance to read and hear long narratives.

A number of factors contribute to this lack of motivation, but one of the chief reasons lies in America’s love of mindless entertainment. Children’s museums and amusement parks thrive, while many sit in front of their televisions in the middle of the day. Indeed, the television has become such a staple in American culture, one cannot obtain cultural “literacy” without seeing the most popular movies or shows. This love of entertainment produces a self-centered outlook on life, a short attention span, and a dislike of the truly worthwhile things in life. Neil Postman argues that “the average length of a shot on network television is only 3.5 seconds so that the eye never rests, always has something new to see” (86). Similarly, avenues of entertainment such as amusement parks promote constant and intense action. Compared to these pursuits, studies such as reading seem boring and difficult. Saturation in entertainment results in less patience for studying, working, or simply enjoying nature.

While America’s favorite forms of entertainment diminish attention spans, they also fail to positively stimulate the brain. When one reads or holds a conversation, he engages in thinking, even when his subject matter comprises relatively easy topics. When one turns on the television, a friendly, nice-looking man or woman appears to do the thinking for him. This proves in accordance with the rest of the American entertainment industry. Thus, U.S. citizens demand entertainment, and they demand that it avoid any difficult components; it must not contain anything that makes them feel challenged or possibly inferior. As a result, a generation of Americans emerges that wishes to receive extravagant information and fun but refuses to give a solid, meaningful contribution to the world.

Moreover, the fictional but ground-breaking Fahrenheit 451 laments the absence deep conversation in its entertainment-centered world: “Oh, just my mother, father and uncle sitting around, talking. It’s like being a pedestrian, only rarer” (Bradbury, 9). The conversation represents the free thought and a love of simplicity that make up a truly great nation. By devoting themselves to entertainment, Americans are unwittingly giving up their power to reason and thier appreciation of simplicity, making them prone to believing anything anyone says.

A life of entertainment proves similar to a fast food diet; one many enjoy it once in a while, but he must not partake of it too much because it contains little nutritional value. Society generally accepts the fact that too much fast food leads to health problems such as obesity. In the same way, too much entertainment gluts the mind, rendering the latter useless. The American people must realize this and then take steps to improve the situation as individuals.

Instead of watching an afternoon sitcom, citizens could read, gradually increasing the difficulty of their material. Students could focus their energy on studying instead of partying. Finally, people could forego a trip to the amusement park to spend time enjoying the tranquility of God’s creation so that they have time to just think. This certainly should not imply that people may never enjoy any entertainment, for some brainless activity in moderation often proves relatively harmless. However, like fast food, too much often proves deadly.

True Virtue March 16, 2009

What is virtue? According to the Greeks, virtue consisted of bravery, loyalty, hospitality, and cleverness. Also, any virtuous person had to obey the gods, or they would get punished and not be considered moral. A Christian was considered virtuous if he displayed humility, bravery, self control, and kindness, as well as giving glory to God. Many of these virtues are similar to those of the Greeks, but a few are incredibly different.

The Greeks considered Odysseus to be an ideal man. On the way home from Troy, his men made many foolish decisions, but instead of getting angry at them, Odysseus forgave them and rescued them. One such time was when the men ate lotus flowers before thinking about what they were about to eat. They began to get sleepy and not want to go home. Odysseus could have left them there, but instead he dragged them back into the ships. As well as being a Greeks virtue, Odysseus’s loyalty and kindness to his men is also a Christian virtue.

Odysseus was renowned for his craftiness. Odysseus and his men stayed in a Cyclops’s cave in the monster’s absence. When the Cyclops came back, he ate two of Odysseus’s men, and trapped the rest in his cave. Odysseus made the Cyclops drunk told him that his name was Nobody. When the giant fell asleep, Odysseus and his men thrust a sharp stake into his eye. The Cyclops screamed and his friends came running, but he only told them that Nobody was killing him. His friends assumed that he was mad and left him alone. Then Odysseus and his men escaped the cave by clinging on to the stomachs of rams as they left the cave. Thus, Odysseus was able to think for himself, and this talent saved himself and his man many times.

As Odysseus sailed away from the moaning Cyclops, he told him who he was. Like every Greek, Odysseus wanted to win glory for himself. By giving his name to the Cyclops, he was enabling the spiteful monster to pray to the gods for revenge, but he was also telling the world how wonderful he was, and gaining glory for himself. In contrast, the Christian is supposed to give all the glory to God, and save none for himself. The Christian is supposed to display humility; Odysseus was certainly not humble.

In the Odyssey, Odysseus’s cleverest ally was the goddess Athena, and he relied heavily on the gods for everything he needed. In Greek terms, he was very religious and moral, but for a Christian, he would be considered blasphemous, because he worshiped gods other than the one true God.

Some similarities in Greek and Christian virtue are patience, self-control, cleverness, kindness, and loyalty. Christians have some different standards than Greeks however; Christians display humility, but Greeks tried to gain glory. Christians worship one God, but the Greeks worshipped many gods. Because Odysseus was an ideal Greek man, he also possessed some Christian virtue. He worshiped other gods however, and gave glory to himself, and this makes him fall short of the Christian model.