Life Together By Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Both “The Right of Love” by Gene Lees and “The Canonization” by John Donne represent a form of forbidden love due to ethnicity and religion where both parties are fighting for the acceptance of their relationship. Donne, although catholic, falls in love with a non-catholic woman which is looked down upon by others. In his poem he states, “we in us find th’ eagle and the dove”,the two birds represent two polar opposite symbols, the eagle represent strength and courage, while a dove represents love and peace. Although a relationship between catholics and non-catholics were forbidden, they found a common ground in their love for each other. Differences can strengthen the love between two individuals, which is also shown in “The Right of Love”,

The poem “Between the World and Me” by Richard Wright reanimates the horrible scene of a racial lynching and forces the reader to endure the victim's pain through the first person’s narrative voice. The poem contains structured lines and visual division into three stanzas. Moreover, there is one more type of division in the poem. The author uses an ellipsis four times throughout the poem. This punctuation mark frames the poem into the timeline, where the historical past of the African American poet becomes the present experience of any human, despite the race. The climax of the poem is presented in the middle of stanza two. The animated moment, which starts from the sentence “the ground gripped my feet”, dramatically shifts the

In the novel Song of Solomon, Toni Morrison depicts the many aspects of self-actualization, and the difficulties of growing up in a maltreated life. The story revolves around generations of black family in the south during the segregation of whites and blacks. The character of Macon Dead jr., suffers from a sheltered life. Macon jr., is unaware of his family’s history, and the cruel reality of mistreatment during segregation. In the sheltered and confusing environment Macon jr., lives pushes him to find the authentic individual within himself. Macon jr., evolves through the descriptions, events, and experiences of others. But, who is responsible for making Macon jr.,’s journey of self-actualization to be so slow and difficult. His parents, Macon Dead sr., and Ruth Foster Dead, represent the obstacle hindering Macon jr., from his true authentic identity. Many of Macon jr.,’s major problems are a direct result of his parents suffocating mistakes.

Death Be Not Proud by John Gunther was an astounding book. Granted, it was a bit depressing, but it was a great book because I could relate so closely to the author. The trial of a loved one going through cancer is something I can relate to. Fortunately, my story turns out a little bit better than Johnny’s did.

Bonhoeffer makes a good point when he talks about the importance of being alone, and being immersed within community. He summarizes the idealistic situations in which people are interacted with certain groups- whether that be living in a small home within a larger family, and also finding time of quiet to regroup and provide clarity to freshen your ways. Although being in solitude can be beneficial, Bonhoeffer also reveals that it is not healthy to always be alone. In this chapter Bonhoeffer mentions three important purposes for which the Christian needs a definite time when he can be alone throughout the day: Prayer, Scripture meditation, and intercession. Together, these practices all have their place throughout the day of meditation.

Community can be an isolated form or in conjunction with religion and sensory pleasures. In terms of religion, from my own personal observations and experiences, modern escapes through religion is coupled with relationships you make within your religious community. Growing religious fervor and mysticism characterized the Middle Ages and the relationships with God. St. Francis of Assisi, a 13th century mystic, conformed his life in every act with that of God, abandoning a life of wealth and material satisfaction. As a mystic, his connection to God was direct and substantial compared to the common person. Societies used religion to justify world occurrences. However, as societies evolve, the way in which religion is used to give life meaning evolves as well. With the advancement of scientific knowledge and the evolution of religion, particularly after the Church was accused of corruption and religious hegemony waned – not entirely, but to some degree – many cultures enjoy the Church communities in addition to weekly liturgical practices. With the knowledge that some worldly occurrences are not the direct work of God, but by the doings of nature and science, can people rely less on God for prosperity and instead use religion as a tool to find meaning and solace. Moreover, while developing a relationship with God, one can find themselves forming relationships with those who are attempting to achieve the same objective. Sharing beliefs, in itself, also provides consolation and support amongst the terrors of history, suggesting that those in troubles are not the sole victims of these

“What is equality?” one might ask. We all have different views on specific topics and can describe what something truly means to one’s self like in the 3 text, “I have a dream,” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr (published; 8/28/1963, genre; narrative and argumentative), “If we must die,” by Claude Mckay (published; 1919, genre; narrative and lyric), & “Harrison Bergeron,” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (published; October 1961, genre; satirical & dystopian science-fiction short story). In all 3 texts the authors are giving their touch on equality. Equality can convey being treated the same when a colored and a white man/woman are next to each other as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr says. You can also see equality as Mckay who thinks it’s being on the same level of strength and worth as a white man being in the shoes of a colored man. Or equality can be being exactly the same in every way as anyone around you in every exact way in Vonnegut’s eyes. All these 3 authors have a particular view on how to answer “What is equality?” and we can compare their ideas.

Throughout Langston Hughes' novel, Not Without Laughter, the author introduces multiple characters that reveal their notions of prejudice. The novel explores that prejudice in one form or another is in every aspect of one's life. Prejudice can be defined as an opinion for or against a person's look, race, class, or religion, which is usually formed by a hasty generalization. Most of the main characters, Aunt Hager, Sister Johnson, Jimboy, Harriet, and Tempy contain different accounts of prejudice in the world, which stimulate many of Sandy's thoughts of life as he comes of age. Aunt Hager, Annjee, Harriet, and Sandy, are a multi-generation poor African American family that live in a small home together but are eventually divided by multiple circumstances. The story takes place during the 1910s in the small town of Stanton, Kansas.

Living in Christian community is a necessity for the everyday life of a Christian. Without community, the Christian has no one else to “sharpen” them, no one else to understand the everyday struggle of living in the world, sharing the Gospel, but not partaking in the sinful ways of the world. In “Life Together”, Dietrich Bonhoeffer explores Christian community, and presents not only the benefits of Christian community, but also the toxins that can destroy the community. Living in Christian community brings incomparable joy and community in and through Jesus Christ, but can be easily lost due to humanistic ideals, or “dreams”.

In the book Night, by Elie Wiesel and the song “I was here” by Beyonce are strongly connected. A quote from the book states, “‘For the liberating army,’ he told us. ‘Let them know what lived here, men and not pigs.’ So we were men after all? The block was cleaned from top to bottom”(Wiesel 84). This point in the book is most significant because it was the first time the Jews were considered real men. These men and women made an impact, they were strong. In the song it states, “Leave something to remember so they won’t forget I was here, I lived I loved I was here”(Beyonce). This part of the song is very emotional and moving. The lyrics are saying that people were here and those people made a difference. All together, the common theme of these

The author concludes that Christians are to live faithfully by the values of the bible. As members of society, we are expected to play a critical role in in our community rather than isolating ourselves from those opposed to Christian worldviews. There are ways for Christians to live out their faith, but still remain active parts in the community.

It is a common belief that the nurture aspect of our personal development has a lot to do with the way we see ourselves and the habits we form due to our past experiences. Unfortunately for Sonny, as well as for many other African Americans throughout history, even before the 1950’s, oppression had been a great burden to deal with on a day to day basis. In “Sonny’s Blues” the author James Baldwin provides us with a family whose lives revolve around this constant reminder that they are a minority and therefore, live a completely different life in Harlem, Manhattan New York where the influences and environment mainly keep one in trouble. Sonny was the brave exception in the family who allowed himself to openly have a fervor for jazz and grows spiritually, beyond the borders of restraint that oppression had placed on those who lived during these times, his passion towards jazz music definitely deepened his connection to his community, his cultural history, his family, and his interior consciousness.

Living in community will expose selfishness, ambition, jealousy, dissension and impurity in ourselves, allowing us to experience loss, despair, and stress. Even so, all of this is important to our spiritual formation because we mature as Christians,

Home is about a Korean War veteran named Frank Money who needs to save his sister from dying. The story starts with Frank describing a scene from his childhood with his sister. They were in a field with horses he describes the horses being beautiful and brutal, but on the other side some men were burying a dead African American in a hole. When Frank becomes an adult he is soon committed to a mental hospital after his time in the war. Frank soon gets a letter stating that his sister was in danger and could die if he did not hurry to save her. Then he remembers his family being evicted and not being able to take any possessions. Frank then escapes the bastion of the

A community is established when more than two people share the same values and through time this personal connection evolves into a fellowship governed by rituals, traditions, and a particular form of communication that when taken together makes a group of individuals whether living in a specific geographical area or connected by ideals so distinct that their distinguishing marks allow them to stand out from among the crowd. They do not just believe in something like an organization but they need each other to survive and thrive. A good example is the Old Order Amish Mennonite community wherein the community serves as source of identity, strength and provides the reason why they should sustain the community’s way of life.