1. Use this forum to express any thought or insight gained from today's class. 2. If you could do one thing to make the world a better place, what would you do?
Last class really got me thinking about how I live my life, treat others, and allow myself to reflect on my beliefs in God. I like how the total giving of myself towards God can be revieved and accepted at the very last second of life by him, even if I struggled during my life believing him. If I were able to change one thing in our world and in society today it would have to be food and shelter for all people. I feel all humans deserve to have food and shelter because they are basic needs of life. With the right amount of food and shelter people will be more healthy in their mind, body and soul.
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Jennifer Sloat
4/6/2011 07:11:42 am
Last class taught me how to not only be a better leader but a better person in my faith. What really stuck out to me was the constant reminder how leaders need to stand up and stand out. Although at times the devil may tempt us and we give in, which makes us fall down, we must get back up to stand on our own two feet again to be the leaders we are. I learned in order to keep us from taking this fall, we must be authentic in our actions and live in the beliefs that God has taught us. We can do this by starting to do things that will make the world a better place. If I could do one thing to make the world a better place, I would create jobs for the unemployed. This would not only help those who are without a job, but the destruction in the economy. For example, a person who has a job will be able to have money to put a dinner on the table for their children or pay for a house to shelter them.
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Maria Favorite
4/6/2011 10:43:07 am
To make the world a better place I would eliminate selfishness. Without selfishness there would be no need to steal, lie, cheat, and in most cases sin. From last class if there was one significant thing that I learned it would have to be the simple idea that the option between good and evil is everywhere and ultimately if I'm true to my faith then I will make the right decisions.
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Bianca Misiti
4/6/2011 11:28:59 am
After listening to the lesson last class, I really started to think about the choices I make in my life and how they will affect my life in the long run. I feel that after hearing this I will try even harder than before to be a better person, to make good decisions, and to stay away from negative influences. As for making the world a better place, I feel that if I could somehow make everyone be more honest (in their thoughts and decisions) not just with others but with themsleves we would all be so much happier. Being honest means you have no secrets and I feel that this would allow people to have stronger relationships with others making the world a much more loving and caring place.
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Matt Dwyer
4/6/2011 12:13:32 pm
The discussion in class Tuesday sparked within me the age old thoughts of motivations for certain actions. Forever it has been a puzzle to me, as well as many others, of their motives behind their actions. We touched on this topic briefly in class: would a person do good out of the fact they want to do good, or just because they have such a fear of Hell? We debated in class that it could be both, and while a fear of Hell shows a certain respect for God, it does not always imply that the person wants to be good. What they really want to do is release themselves for future punishment. While they are not committing a sin, they can still desire to consciously want to, which begs the question of whether that is a sin or not. The bell rang before the class was able to answer the question. This discussion sparked some thoughts about my own life, and whether my motives were correct in what I do. Do I do things to be a good person, or am I motivated by the thought that others will perceive me as good? It is a timeless question that this class has brought up, and I'm sure we will discuss it in great length next class.
As for changing the world, I believe, agreeing with Maria, that greed and want for self ultimately needs to be eradicated. Almost all problems in the world with human orgin (as in not natural disasters) come back to human greed. For example, the current recession that has been steadily in progress since 2008 or so. Variable loan rates were given to people who wanted more than they could pay for : greed. When they were unable to pay off these loans with an exceedingly high interest rate, the housing bubble burst, causing distress and pain for millions across the nation. This was greed not only on the part of the buyers, but on the mortgage lenders that allowed for such an atrocity in order to make more money. Another example is the auto industry, banking industry, and any other large corporate type industry that was given stimulus money in the past several years. Many of the companies fell into the state they were in through neglect and greed in the first place, and then perpetuated it by pocketing much of what the government had given them! What's worse is that many of those CEO's were making billions a year, and took another several hundred million as a bonus. In a world where there is pain, hunger, suffering, and death, it seems so disconcerting that there are men who would rather drive own ten Ferrari's than feed one thousand families for a year. If the greed selfishness in the world was eliminated, bypassed, or in some way made a non-issue, 90% of humanities problems would be resolved quickly, efficiently, and peacefully.
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Courtney Radtkin
4/6/2011 12:51:04 pm
Last class really slapped me in the face. I realized I really need to start living who I know I am more fully. I need to strive and pray everyday to be a better person. The thing that stuck out most to me is when you said in times where you are tempted to do something you know is wrong, pray hard, really hard, and God will give you the strength to overcome it. I will do that from now on. Also, I know so many people who will take off their cross necklace when they know they are not doing what God would want. They think putting Him away for the time being is appropriate. It is wrong. That is where you need God most.
If I could do one thing in the world to make it a better place, besides continuing to fix myself, I would 1) want to show everyone that God can do anything. It's amazing what he can do. I've experienced it. I think if more people in the world had God as their core things would be better. And 2) I would love to eliminate dishonesty. Many temptations are related to being dishonest whether it being dishonest to yourself, friends, parents, or God.
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Allison Pschirer
4/7/2011 07:28:11 am
The lesson we learned lass class was very interesting to me and made me really think about how I live my life. We need to remember to stand up for what we believe in and not give in to temptations. We always need to remember what we stand for and always try to be the best person we can be. If I were given the chance to do one thing to make the world a better place, I would choose to invent a cure for cancer. Cancer is such a horrible disease that many people are diagnosed with everyday and lately it seems as if more and more people are being diagnosed with cancer. If there were a cure for cancer, the world would be such a better place. So many lives would be saved and less sadness and pain would be in the world.
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SCED
4/10/2011 02:47:23 am
So last class was really thick, obviously. The one thing that really struck me was when you said, do people say no to doing bad things because they want to truly do good, or because they are afraid of going to hell? This is a very powerful question that got me thinking about my own actions. Of course I am scared to go to Hell, however, I want my actions to stem from spreading goodness rather than fleeing from the reality of evil. I realized that I should live my life walking the path of Heaven rather than hiding from the path of Hell. This has truly inspired my thoughts as well as my actions.
How would I change the world? I've actually been thinking about this question all weekend and trying to come up with some great answer, but saying world peace isn't gonna cut it! So I came up with two things that I would change: I would eliminate closed mindedness as well as selfishness. Imagine if the whole world was open minded to everyone and each person acted selfless. Countries would be able to really hear the other and settle conflict. War would not be the answer that our world reverts to most of the time. Also, people would see the desperate help that some countries need and would stand up and help. No person should ever go starving.. if everybody were selfless than this issue would not even be a problem. If people donated more instead of being selfish and buying lavish things for themselves, I feel as if our world would bond closer as a unit rather than country against country.
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Olivia Tomsick
4/10/2011 07:40:43 am
The lesson in class from Tuesday about dualism really opened my eyes to the evil that we face in our every day lives. From this lesson, I learned that I need to continue to pray for protection from evil and that I need to make others aware of the evils that they face daily. If I could do one thing to make the world a better place, I would eliminate selfisness completely. If people would stop thinking about themselves and care more about others and the big picture, the world would become a better place free of evil thoughts and actions. If we stopped thinking about ourselves, and started helping others, we would be a world united through caring and love. This care and love that unites us will be our fight against the evils in the world and we can overcome these evils.
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Daniel Leahy
4/10/2011 10:04:39 am
The lesson on dualism really helped me contemplate what temptation is and what evil is.
If I could do one thing to change the world to make it a better place, I would create socks that dont wear out. It's something small, but it's the small things that add up. If I had to do something realistically, I think I would want to start a kind of Human Dignity organization. It would be full of people who go around demonstrating that all people have dignity, no matter who they are or what they've done. Some of us would visit prisons and just be friends to the prisoners, some of us would try and help kids in the ghetto receive a better education, and some of us would just do things that make others feel like they're worth something. I think there's too many people in the world that don't receive enough love to realize that they are worth more than what they think they are.
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Erin Elizabeth Malone
4/10/2011 11:30:00 am
Our class discussions about dualism were truly an eye opener. It was made clear through our discussion that temptations surround us every day in every way possible. However, it how we react to them that will determine what kind of people we truly are. By our actions, we spread God’s love and care for creation. Evil temptations will cross our paths and I want to be able to strike down those evils and continue on my path in life. I have come to realize that the only way that is possible is to pray to God and continue to fix myself and strengthen my relationship with God. Dualism is a very chilling and frightening topic to discuss, but it was nice to be able to talk about our questions that we had about hell and the evils that surround us daily.
If I could do one thing to make the world a better place, I would show the world just how much God truly loves each and every one of us. I would make it evident that God sent down his only son to be our savior and take away our sins. I believe that the world would be a much more peaceful place if every single person knew of the love that God has for us. God’s mercy, love, and compassion would spread throughout our planet and wars would be ended, hate would be eliminated, the hungry will be fed, the naked would be clothed, petty arguments will be resolved, and world peace would finally enter into existence.
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Megan Lynch
4/11/2011 03:19:17 am
The lesson on dualism taught me that temptation is the root of evil. Dualism occurs everyday in today's society and is overlooked and sometimes accepted as the norm of today's society. The discussion helped me realized how everyday I can be a part of the good side of dualism. Before this lesson I had a dream about dualism, which I found was reallly werid. After learning about dualism I can now better live my life better.
If I could take one thing away from the world I would take away sin. #winning If there were no sin the world would be a much better place. There would be no crime or hate or war or greed or selfishness, just pure love & peace :)
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kristin steiger
4/11/2011 03:31:54 am
This lesson really made me think about my faith and the way I'm living my life. Many times I think I'm doing the right thing when I'm really in the wron. For instance, I never thought not going to church was really a big deal. That's how I've always lived my life, and at the moment nott concerned about changing it. However, I realized during this lesson that by not going to church I'm much more likely to be swayed by the devil. Just being a good person isn't enough I must be active in my faith and continue to pray and take part in the church.
If I could take one thing away from this world it would be war. I'm not against war but I think the world would be so much better without it. I wouldn't take pain away in general because sometimes we need pain to appreciate what we have. However, war is an unnecessary pain. If people could find another way to make a stand I believe it would be much more effective and less costly.
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Ricardo Mason
4/11/2011 03:54:07 am
In this class I learned in alot about how dualism is all around us. That especially that the devil is tempting you every where. It gave me a real insight on how he can be tempting, and how he trys to lure us in real life, I also learned how to overcome it with prayer.
If I could change anything in the world today, it would be the idea of hate. Hate and jealousy consumes people. I,feel that if that emotion didnt exist the world wouldnt be as evil. Also that if people loved more and prayed more, the world would be less tempted to choose the devil and evil.
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Julianna Fatica
4/11/2011 10:51:50 am
If I could change one thing in the world, to create and spark a brighter future, I would want to eradicate hate. I'd get rid of this because hate forms the root of evil and branches out to create the many evils that encompasses our world today. Hate is what plays into a lot of the negative that exists in our society, and I feel that if hate could be eliminated, a lot would be gone that cause difficulties, because without it existing there wouldn't be that motive to hurt one another. And I also believe that compassion, being an opposite of hate, could fill that void causing a deep sensitivity, concern, and empathy, not only for ourselves but for everyone that inhibits the world, and without hate we could see these people through a pair of eyes that don't discriminate and don't generate hostility. I see hate as a weed, when it grows it spreads, and the only way to get rid of all of these unjustices, that are made up by a single seed, is to go straight to the source and remove it. It's a simple concept, but realistically when applied to the human race, the root of hate continues to thrive. Which is why when the root can finally be eradicated a lot of the problems we face world wide will be absolved.
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Lindsay Hammer
4/11/2011 11:17:16 am
I gained an understanding of dualism. Today, our discussion sparked my thoughts on why I am here on this earth and what my purpose is. Everyone is here on earth for a purpose but I have not completely found this purpose yet. Why are we here on earth? What is our purpose in this life?
If I could change something in the world, to make it a better place, I would make higher education required for everyone. I believe that knowledge is so important because there is so much ignorance in the world. I don't think that this would completely solve all of our problems but I believe that it would help. Everyone needs to furthers their education and we could all always learn something more. To me, education is important to open our minds and spark our intelligence and imagination. Everyone needs to be more understanding and accepting of others. Today we talked about how each and every one of us has our own beliefs on certain things, so I believe that we should be more accepting of each other's beliefs and understanding. That makes us who we are.
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tiara harp
4/12/2011 01:13:41 am
Dualism is a very simple, yet powerful topic; there is good and evil. There is God and the devil. There is a heaven and a hell. If I could make the world a better place, I'd choose good more than evil and have others do the same. I think there's so much evil in the world because people haven't experienced the power of God. As a Christian, it’s saddening to see souls in danger. It is so obvious that time is running out! I wish we could put Jesus in a bottle to give to one’s lost because they have no idea of what they’re missing out on. There is no confusion, pain, or evil in the presence of God-only fulfillment and joy! That’s what I want to do; spread the good news.
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Melissa
5/4/2011 07:52:15 am
Dualism is a very easy topic to wrap your head around. I think it's fairly easy to see the good and evil in our society today, but at the same time, it's hard to choose good over evil because of society. The media today targets a person's weakness and makes them feel like a bad choice is their only choice. I think our world has become a place of sinners because we don't generally see the goodness of other people in a specific society. The only way to truly change the world is to broaden the view. More people need to see good actions being done in order to feel like they can do the same. One small step can encourage a much bigger step with a lot more people. The only way to make our world a better place is to show everyone how good goodness is.