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Thursday, April 7, 2011
The Loquitur 5
‘Digital Jesus’ explores role of church, technology absolutely present on the internet, and that your opinion can spread very quickly,” Ben Danner, sophomore biology major, said. On March 28, faculty, students and Howard explained that blogs and forums guests gathered in Cabrini’s mansion to specifically dedicated to one topic, such as listen to speaker Dr. Robert Glenn How- the end times is a form of enclave commuard, associate professor of communication, nication. He believes that this type of comat the University of Wisconsin-Madison. munication can hinder people’s abilities to Howard’s speech was in regards to his new communicate to people who do not share book, “Digital Jesus: The Making of a New their same beliefs. Christian Fundamentalist Community on Howard explained different forms of the Internet.” participatory media that end times believers Howard mentioned that his research for generally use to communicate their mesthe book began in the early 1990s when he sage, such as profile pages like those found began observing and interviewing creators on Facebook and MySpace and video blogs of novice evangelical and video sharing. websites, which concenVideo blogs often trated on the end times. feature people deliv“In terms of internet ering messages about What do you think about communication, I want the end times while religion going wireless? people to think critically in a trance or by about what they choose preaching sermons. to read and how they These messages tend communicate on the into get more hostile ternet and to send a posifeedback and not as tive message,” Howard much ritual delibsaid. eration as other blogs Since that time Howthat allow people to ard has observed a transmake comments. formation in the way people use the internet Text-based blogs allow people to share to communicate their religious beliefs. As their similar beliefs about the end times with technology has become more sophisticated, one another by participating in online disend times believers can focus on a much cussions. One popular example is the blog narrower message than other mainstream known as, jesuschristology.com. However, news mediums. Howard believes that the most powerful Unlike other news websites, end times medium for ritual deliberation are forums. sites do not have to adapt to a large audi- One well-known forum is RaptureReady. ence and they are not at risk of losing spon- com, which combines ideas from mainsorship. stream news sources within the framework Howard describes this movement as of the end times. “Vernacular Christian Fundamentalism,” “I encourage my students to read as many which he defines as a belief in biblical liter- sources as possible without judgment,” Dr. alism, a belief in a spiritual rebirth, the need Leonard Primiano, professor and chair of to evangelize and a belief in the end times the department of religious studies, said. interpretation of biblical prophecy. ela722@cabrini.edu “I learned that religious traditions are By Eleni Antipas Staff Writer
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“Digital Jesus: The Making of a New Christian Fundamentalist Community on the Internet” shows how the internet has opened many doors for religous groups.
Spirituality explored among students By Carol Dwyer Asst. Copy Editor A discussion focusing on faith and spirituality took place on Wednesday, March 16, from 3:30-4:20 p.m. on the 2nd floor conference room at Holy Spirit Library, hosted by the Student Diversity Office. A small group of students attended to share their thoughts, beginning with a question of what religion and spirituality meant to those present. Felicia Melvin, junior communication major, said she felt like religion is more standardized, while spirituality is what a person makes of it. “I’m Catholic and have been Catholic all my life, and have had experiences where I felt God’s presence,” Melvin said. “I don’t need to be in church to have that kind of spiritual moment.” This is an example of how people can have their beliefs and be religious or spiritual to the degree they choose, while not physically at a formal place of worship. Many people may choose to follow their beliefs at home as their faith feels more personal to them that way. Regarding the idea of doing
good throughout life, the importance of doing so for the right reasons came up during the discussion. “Most people do it out of fear of God,” Mary Jacobs, junior English and communication major, said. “I find that to be a falsehood of good.” This reflects the idea that when people do good, it should really come from the heard and be a genuinely good act on their part. If someone volunteers, there is different meaning behind if he or she does it just to add to look good for a college or an employer, or if it is something they really believe in helping with. “I do believe that there are a lot of people who are not religious, but do a lot of good,” John McDevitt, senior sociology major, said. “Those are the kind of people we want to associate with in this world.” In modern times, we have witnessed people such as Mother Teresa (1910 - 1997) and Pope John Paul II (1920 2005). The Mother Teresa website states that she was deemed a saint in October 2003. According to AOL News, Pope John Paul II is to be named a saint on May 1.
“I like saints because they’re very tangible for me,” Jacobs said. “I feel that it’s very admirable, what they do for their god.” This reflects the idea that people may sometimes find it difficult to believe in something that they can’t see. Therefore the symbols of a religion are objects are important to people as they help to strengthen what they believe. Student Diversity Office staff Melissa Morris said that most people want to do the right thing. “I think there’s a discipline in morality,” Morris said. An example of this could be if a person started their life going down a path of crime. Before going too far and getting into more and more serious offenses, that person realizes that he or she needs to change and really works at it to live better. Maybe he or she takes efforts to a higher level and pursues a field of study that translates to a career in helping others in troubled paths. “I think that the world religions have a lot of core principles that they share in common,” McDevitt said. According to a comparison chart on religion facts, the Bud-
dhist belief system includes the avoidance of suffering. This is similar to the 10 Commandments of Christianity, as it lists the bad things that followers should not do. The Religion Facts website states that Hinduism also has a similar list, called the 10 Commitments, which include “do not harm” and “do not lie,” yet do good deeds. Religion Facts states also that Islam’s Qur’an is against greediness and that those who are better off should help those in need. In Judaism, the Religion Facts chart states that people of the Jewish faith believe in “living ethically.” These examples reflect the common beliefs in doing good that different religions share, as well as common deeds that people should not do. According to Cabrini’s mission statement, the college respects the beliefs of other religions so that all will feel comfortable and welcome on campus. Also, the Student Diversity Office is available to add to the college community’s openness to people of all faiths. cdwyerpj@gmail.com
Homeless utilize social media HOMELESS, page 1 Giants player Steve Smith who was inspired by his hundreds of tweets. The project also gave him the opportunity to receive a job interview, something that is easier to get with the help of social media than without. Albert was given $200 by one of his loyal followers that was used to pay for transit tickets. Carlos was also given something by one of his followers, a $30 metro card which means he doesn’t have to walk 2.5 hours to the library each day. The real miracle of the Unheard in New York project has to do with Danny. After 11 years apart and only three weeks into the project, Danny was able to find his daughter Sarah. Danny and Sarah had been separated when she left their home to live with her mother. Danny tweeted “Hi thi is to let yo people know that in lookin eoq my daughter her name is sarah m rivera.” Danny followed by posting his new telephone number and a photograph of his daughter. The next day Sarah called him. The Unheard in New York project proved to live beyond its initial expectations. Four men were given a chance to experience something most take for granted and social media gave them opportunities beyond themselves. skl37@cabrini.com