12/12/19 Katrina Chung PD1

12/12/2019 Katrina Chung PD1 Blog #3

Vocabulary Quiz-Unit 4

Aim: How does the story of Noah's Ark symbolically serve humanity?

Do Now: What crimes are so heinous that God would require an Earth-wide purification?

• For the do now, we talked about how the Earth-wide purification is based on multiple occasions and not just one thing. These combinations of sins are what causes a loss of universal morality. When everyone does not know the difference between right and wrong, that's when the crimes of humanity are brought to God's attention.

After the do now, we watched the Noah Ark's summary video. God took note of the wickedness of men, but he also saw the righteousness of Noah. God wanted to wipe out the entirety of Earth to rid it of its imperfections, men, and start anew. He declared that he would flood the earth to rid Earth of the wickedness men possess. God asked Noah to build an ark for him, his family, and a few of the animals of Earth. He then flooded the Earth for 40 days and 40 nights through non-stop raining. After the flood and the water lessened, God told Noah to leave the ark. Noah then built a shrine for the Lord and God told Noah that nothing like that would happen again; it would be a time for prosperity and happiness.  

Questions to Consider:

1.  How would Noah be perceived today? How do you think he was perceived by others then? The story of Noah would probably be seen as a folderol if it was told today. In today's society, there is a diversity of cultures and differences in beliefs. And these beliefs are shaped by experiences and information given by others. Also, if a man came up to you on the ferry and told you it was the end of the world and to save yourself, you had to stay with him, you would probably just think "Ah, just another day in New York" or "this man is crazy". Back then, others would have thought differently. They would have believed Noah's Ark and thought that God was doing this to punish them.
2. Considering your response to #1, what lesson are we supposed to derive from the Judeo-Christian God's influence on Noah?  Noah's Ark is a story to teach the importance of being a righteous and fair person (basically a good person). It also teaches the importance of patience for a better end.                            
3. Think Critically: Why do people believe? People start to believe when there is a certain moment in life that strengthens their faith and motivates you to believe. Believing is fundamentally comforting. It gives you a plan and a kind of reward for those who do good things. Another reason why people believe is that religion is constantly evolving. Throughout time, it is the survival of the fittest religion. More people are introduced to people by spreading and becoming more prominent. 
4. What/ Who benefits from this belief on the grander scale? I think that everyone benefits from the story of Noah's Ark. It teaches people to be good and avoid wickedness and be patient for the finer things in life. 

Is Humanity Doomed?

It seems as though humanity is always doing something to muddy the waters of anger our creators. Are we doomed for failure? Why make us imperfect if we're destined to disappoint?

• One defined characteristic of humans is our imperfections. But we learn from these imperfections and do better. 
• We, as humans, are not doomed for failure if we can learn from our mistakes and not make the same ones over and over again. If we never learn from them, we basically don't know the difference between right and wrong and that we don't know what we are doing wrong. There is no change.

Today, I learned the story of Noah's Ark and its importance. It teaches us the importance of planning ahead, patience, and being the best person we ourselves can be. It also shows us that our beliefs can change. Noah's Ark is to tell the story of God "punishing" humanity for their wickedness. But in the end, God restored life to Earth. This teaches us to be patient. Our sufferings would be over or reduced if you have faith that it will get better. Our ideas are constantly conforming to what we use the most and how we perceive them in our daily lives (God of Social Media, etc.)