“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority; still more when you superadd the tendency of the certainty of corruption by authority,” (Lord Acton)
If giving even the best of people power will eventually corrupt them, as the last two novels have argued, why do we need authority at all? Why a government? Why leaders in the Church? Why can’t everyone just be a free agent entirely in charge of himself or herself?
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Give your thoughts on two of the questions below:
“What life have you, if you have not life together? There is no life that is not in community, and no community not lived in praise of God.”
(T.S. Eliot: choruses from the play The Rock) “Then he turned to thanksgiving and remembered, with profound awareness, that he had great cause for thanksgiving, and that for many things. He took them one by one, giving thanks for each, and praying for each person that he remembered.” (Cry, the Beloved Country: ch. 36, p. 309) A theme one might extract from this novel is that community is an essential part of life. Without it, not only is the individual lost, but the family and even a country will break down. Bureaucracy cannot replace it. The novel depicts various groups of people (blacks, whites, poor, rich, religious, secular, children, adults, men, women) who are all longing for community: to belong. We see that it’s Stephen Kumalo’s faith community that lifts him up from complete despair. Why is community so important? Who or what is your community? How do you plan to remain in that community (or find a new one) when you graduate and move out on your own? What causes poverty? What, if anything, can a country do to alleviate it? What, if anything, can an individual do to alleviate it? (Note: Do your best to avoid what Thomas Sowell calls "stage one thinking": think through your proposals and their possible consequences based on what you know about human behavior, motivations, and life.)
React to the following quote from chapter 30, p. 261 of Cry, the Beloved Country. How might you relate to it?
“I have never thought that a Christian would be free of suffering, umfundisi. For our Lord suffered. And I come to believe that he suffered, not to save us from suffering, but to teach us how to bear suffering. For he knew that there is no life without suffering.” Read the poem “On Children” by Kahlil Gibran. What does the line “You may give them your love but not your thoughts” mean? Can parents raise their children without giving them their thoughts? Is it important for parents to instill values in their children? If so, when should such education cease?
Watch the following video about apartheid:
https://youtu.be/S7yvnUz2PLE?si=t6kLtffIvX3LflG2 Keeping that video in mind, react to Msimangu’s statement from chapter 7: “He seeks power and money to put right what is wrong, and when he gets them, why, he enjoys the power and the money. Now he can gratify his lusts...Some of us think when we have power, we shall revenge ourselves...and because our desire is corrupt, we are corrupted, and the power has no heart in it.” Why are family relationships so important to the well-being of a person? What about a country? What happens to a country when its basic unit, the family, is destroyed? What can a country, its leaders, and even everyday citizens do to rebuild and strengthen families?
Read Isaiah 58:6-10, then read the last paragraph of chapter 16 of Things Fall Apart. What themes do these two passages share? As Christians, we are called to more than just "saving" people, getting them to pray a prayer of salvation. We are called to live an "abundant life" and to bring others into it through discipleship. What have you learned about being God's instrument for healing in a broken world?
Watch the first 4 minutes of this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icziYULmHJc How does its message connect to the themes of Things Fall Apart? What could the missionaries (particularly those under the leadership of Rev. James Smith) have learned from this video in their quest to fulfill the Great Commission and help the poor? As a Christian, how do you relate to the message of this video from your own experience with missions and evangelism?
Continuing from last week (when we discussed the fact that it is not possible to approach difficult parts of history without bias), this week’s Question of the Week will address a differing view of colonialism and imperialism from last week’s video:
PART 2: Read the article handed out in class today by Dinesh D’Souza, an American immigrant from India. React to it. What aspects of colonialism does he bring to light? What do you think this article gets right? Are there any important aspects of colonization that the article misses? Why does D’Souza say he can give two cheers, but not three? (Reminder: There is no need to answer every single question posed here, just choose a topic related to the article that you find interesting and comment on it.) As we discussed in class today, it is not possible to approach difficult parts of history without bias. With that in mind, the next two questions of the week will address various views of colonialism and imperialism: PART 1: Watch this 5 minute video about the history of British colonialism: https://youtu.be/CHrHgnRswhM React to it:
This is a controversial question, but I think you all are mature enough to have an intelligent discussion about it. It is one of the central questions I’d like to focus on for this novel: Is it possible for one culture or society to be better than another? To answer this you must explain what you mean by “better.”
(Please be aware that I may comment as a “devil's advocate.” My goal is not to argue my personal opinion but to get you to think and develop your thoughts about this ultimate issue.) "If you only hear one side of the story, you have no understanding at all," (Chinua Achebe, The Atlantic Online, Aug 2, 2000).
Achebe wrote this novel because he was tired of reading novels about Africa written only from a Western perspective. These books often portrayed African cultures as stupid and homogeneous, and he wanted to show that these cultures (though flawed) had an organized government with a rich way of life. Until this novel, people only read about one side of the story. Things Fall Apart changed that. With that in mind, what does the quote above mean and where have you seen this idea illustrated in your own life? Look up the definition of humility. An important theme one could take from the novel we are about to read is that humility is an essential trait for human beings to have: we must be humble in how we interact with people, particularly people who are different from us. (I think of Micah 6:8, which calls for us to walk humbly with God.) What do you think about this? Can you describe a situation in which you or a loved one learned how to exercise humility (or should have)?
We are officially done with Nectar in a Sieve and we haven’t started the next novel, so I thought I would choose a random topic for the question of the week this week. In light of the upcoming break, watch this video on the 4th commandment and react to it. Do you take a sabbath each week? Enjoy the break! You have worked hard all semester - you deserve some rest.
Read this article about a student from India’s thoughts on America: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-weirdest-things-about-america-2013-8 What from his list surprises you most?
A few weeks ago we discussed the various characters’ approaches to suffering in Nectar in a Sieve. One character fights it, one spends all her time yearning for the past, and another believes he has to just make the best of what he has in life and not fight what’s dealt to him. We discussed the fact that each of these approaches has value depending on the situation. The Serenity Prayer by theologian Reinhold Neibuhr also addresses the question of how to deal with life’s pain . . . but how does one know which reaction is best?
One of my favorite quotes about how important it is to be thankful is this one:
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow,” (Melody Beattie) What are you thankful for this holiday? Be specific - we are all thankful for food, family, and friends - why specifically are you thankful for these things? Why did the author begin the novel by telling us that Nathan dies and that she adopts a boy who’s not related to her? What’s the point of giving away the ending? What other books or movies do you know that use this technique (i.e. structure the story this way)?
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Non-Western LiteratureGuidelinesThe whole purpose of this assignment - whether you're reacting to an idea, sharing your own story, or analyzing the reading - is to discuss the ultimate issues of life. With that in mind, make sure that you: Archives
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