It reflects, instead, an understanding from the world of another time
I think this line reminds us of a good point. The bible was written thousands of years ago. Not everything in it is politically correct for todays world. As as society we need to be able to evolve and become better.
“Good ethics begins with lived human experience informed by the virtues of justice and equal regard, and by respect for better understandings of human embodiment that we’ve gained over time.
I believe in life the only thing you should really judge a person for is their ethics and morals. If someone has both bad morals and ethics they are probably not a good person. I do not believe people should be judged off of race, religion, or sexuality. The reasoning is because those things may be big parts of their lives, but they do not define them. However I believe some ones morals and ethics in a way does define them.
Whatever our gift, we are called to give it and dance for the renewal of the world.
I like this line because it gives the idea of not wasting your talents. Like if a magician did not perform any tricks than he did not fulfill his duties. In the same way if we do not offer our own skills and talents than we too are not fulfilling out duties.
Never take the first. Never take the last.
This reminds me of the bible verse, "but many who are first will be last." In both the Honorable Harvest and the bible the idea is the same. It is about being self-less and waiting for others to get what they need before you take anything.
but if it was hand knit by your favorite auntie, then you are in relationship to that “thing” in a very different way
This makes me think of my grandma who every year during Christmas will make her grandkids an ornament about something they did that year and how I truly cherish all of those ornaments that she has made throughout my life.
Mistreating a gift has emotional and ethical gravity as well as ecological resonance.
This line is very relatable to me. To this day I still feel bad about complaining about a gift I received when I was six for Christmas. Ever since than, even if is a gift that I do not like I still do my best to make sure the gift giver feels appreciated.
Unconverted men walk over the pit of hell on a rotten covering, and there areinnumerable places in this covering so weak that they will not bear their weight,and these places are not seen. The arrows of death fly unseen at noonday;
I find it hard to believe that just because someone is not religious means they are destined for hell. There are many people I have met in my life who are not religious but are very nice and thoughtful people. So personally I hate the thought that just because they are not going to church they have a spot in hell waiting for them. I choose to believe that God would have the understanding that some people who are not religious deserve a spot in heaven.
The bow of God’s wrath is bent, and the arrow made ready on the string, andjustice bends the arrow at your heart, and strains the bow, and it is nothing butthe mere pleasure of God, and that of an angry God, without any promise orobligation at all, that keeps the arrow one moment from being made drunk withyour blood.
The way the author tries to portray God is very peculiar. Reading this so far it almost seems that the author believes God gets a kick out of sending people to hell. And in this specific passage especially makes it seem as if the author believes God is hunting us and just waiting for the right time to strike us down. In my opinion why would you believe in or follow a God if you believe he is constantly looking for reasons to send you to an eternal damnation.
But let not your fasts be with the hypocrites,
This line makes me think of the old adage, "if your friend jumped off a bridge would you". Just because the people around you are doing something does not mean you have to. Be true to yourself and don't make a show of yourself to impress others like the hypocrites. Mean what you do, and do what you mean.
but be ready, for you know not the hour in which our Lord will come
This is really interesting to me because so often in our lives we procrastinate things even if they are important. What we do not realize, however is that one day our time runs out, and all those things we put to the side and say we will do tomorrow will never happen. Life is a ticking time bomb and we do not know when the timer runs out. A very important lesson that all people need to learn is if something is important enough to you just do it, you may never get another chance.
The Church does not propose that science should become religion or religion science
While I do not believe religion and science is a situation where you can only pick one side. I do believe that we should do our best to keep them separated, because this is an argument where no one will win. At least not until we are dead. At the end of the day some people are going to try and refute religion and vice versa.
A divided community fosters a fragmented vision of the world
I believe this can be applied to many problems in the world today. The first thing that comes to mind for a comparison is politics. People are so angry with someone if they do not believe all the same things as them, and this creates a very toxic environment in our communities.
There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship.
This line really stuck out to me because of how much of an affect worshipping has on our society. Whether or not people realize it everybody worships something. Some people worship money, others worship religion, but in my opinion the worst sort of worship is of oneself. When people worship themselves, they believe they do no wrong. I believe that is very harmful not only too said person, but the people around them.