Chapter 4 Documents

After reading and discussing chapter 4 in class it made me views things very differently, and it made me question some of my beliefs I thought were "right".  Although I don't believe there is only one way a person should live. Reading these documents sparked up a conversation with my roommates about our beliefs and upbringings. We were all raised in a Catholic family, however I was the only one out of the four who hardly went to church. They were really stunned, but my argument was I feel like a hypocrite when I go because I don't really pay attention to the priest during the mass. I also don't regret what I did the night before so I'm not going to pray for forgiveness. But most importantly, if we observe the church during mass you'll find a lot of people who are smacking their gum, texting, paying attention to the toddler who is throwing a tantrum, and criticizing how people look. So no, I prefer to pray at my own house, thank God on my own time and that's that. As I read the documents I came upon the reading of "The Gospel of Mathew" where it said "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men...But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen" which reminded me of what I do. My friends agreed with my position because they too sometimes lose focus during the mass and get distracted by the examples I gave in the beginning.

Another reading I enjoyed from the documents that made me really sit and think was "Apology" by Socrates. I loved this reading because Socrates stood his ground even if everyone was against his beliefs. He didn't like the materialistic lifestyle the men of his time were focused on. To him he looked at the men as a joke because their appearance didn't mean anything to him "I found that the men most in repute were all but the most foolish; and that some inferior men were really wiser and better..." This also sparked another conversation between my roommates and I because it is true looks aren't everything. Our society has made many people believe that if you're from "the hood" you will not make it out and you'll always have a low education or drop out; and if you're from a nice neighborhood you'll go far in life. However that's wrong because it's not true you can dress with inexpensive clothing and look a little shaggier than a person with a nice suit and well-groomed and be much smarter than that person.