My Biblical Traditions Double Entry Journal
Quote/Question
Create a list of four or
five songs that connect
to emotions you have
experienced this past
school year at HKIS
(enough to make one full
page of response).
Response
Dont Stop Believing, a song written by Journey, taught me
that even in the hardest of times, you have to be able to push
through, and when someone pushes you down, you have be
resilient and bounce back. I experienced this when towards
the end of the year, I got bombarded by lots of tests, and had
no idea how to face it all. However, the key theme of this song
really taught me to keep going, and dont let the work
consume me. The lyric dont stop believing is repeated
multiple times, stressing the importance of how we must not
give up, and persevere through. It also relates to the Bible, as
for a while, the Israelites were not faithful to God when they
were wandering in the wilderness, and didnt trust that He
would deliver the Israelites. However, people like Moses didnt
stop believing in God, and was chosen to become the leader
for the Israelites. King David was also like this, as he was a
loyal follower of God, even though he committed sin, just like
Moses.
There For You, by Martin Garrix and Troye Sivan, talks about
how you will always be there for someone else whenever they
are going through a low time. Whenever I needed support,
one of my best friends, who shall remain nameless, was
always there for me whenever I was going through rough
times, like when I got a C in a rather simple test. It also taught
me that I should do the same to my friends, as I sometimes
have to be there for you whenever someone. This also
relates to the stories of the Bible, as God was always there for
the Israelites when they needed Him. For example, while in
the wilderness, the Israelites complained that they didnt have
food and water. But God was there for the Israelites, as he
would provide them manna, quail, and fresh water.
Another song that stuck to me was Unforgettable by French
Montana featuring Swae Lee. Although it has some explicit
 language, it talks about the meaning of our legacy, and how it
can be unforgettable. When I first stepped into the high
school, I thought that it would be a very drastic change, and
that I would have a pretty bad time. However, it turned out that
my high school experience so far has been an unforgettable
experience. Its a lot like the Exodus in the Old Testament,
when the Israelites are leaving Egypt, they find the experience
unforgettable, as they were finally able to leave the rule of
Pharoah, and leave slavery behind. They even made a song
after the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, showing that they
were grateful for what God did to them.
One last song that really brings out my personality is Lose
Yourself by Eminem. Eminem talks about how we must seize
the moment whenever there is an opportunity for you to take.
During my high school year, I was given many opportunities,
and on some of them, I did not take the opportunity to raise
my grade. These were missed opportunities where I could
have made my grade better instead of leaving it the way it is.
Now that I think of it, I kind of regret not taking these
opportunities, as I had decided to lay off and not take the
opportunity to separate myself from the others. This is a lot
like how the Israelites had the opportunity to follow Gods
instructions and be rewarded. But instead, they didnt take
advantage, and it ended up harming them when they were in
the wilderness. Lesson learned? Take every opportunity you
get.
(June 26)

Today we began our I used to be a devote follower of Christianity, going to church

study of Jesus. Based on every Sunday, so I grew up learning about the Jesus of Faith.
what you've learned, The priest would always talk about how all of the things that
watched, and read today, Jesus did were not to be taken literally, but to be taken from a
what is your view on the different perspective. For example, the Last Supper was on
relationship between the Passover, which had a meaning behind it. During the
Passover, the Israelites sacrificed a lamb and painted its
Jesus of Faith and the blood on their door frame, so the angel of death would not
Jesus of History? enter their houses. The Last Supper relates closely, as Jesus
is known by other people as the lamb of God, and Jesus was
sacrificing himself to forgive the sins of humanity.
There is also a different Jesus that could exist. This is the
Jesus of History, the Jesus that can be proven with evidence.
We were shown a documentary called Son of God, where
historians and archeologists proved Jesus existence by
excavating things like boats that could have sailed in the Sea
of Galilee. Ancient scrolls like the Dead Sea Scrolls can prove
the existence of Jesus not covered in the Gospels of Mark,
Matthew, Luke, and John. The Jesus of History teaches us
that it can be proven that Jesus may have existed, and many
museums have clear evidence of it.
I dont feel like these two views need to clash, rather I feel
that both the Jesus of Faith and the Jesus of History was the
exact same person, just perceived differently. I do believe that
many of the stories happened in real life, but He was a special
type of human being. He exhibited all of the characteristics of
humans, which meant that He was able to be tempted by
Satan, and experienced all human emotions. However, he
was able to perform miracles that probably isnt possible,
showing people that He was indeed different, and was the son
of God. It is historically true that Jesus was crucified on the
cross on Good Friday, but his resurrection taught us that He
came here to fulfill the scriptures from the Old Testament, and
was a man of faith.
This actually has a lesson behind it, which is to accept other
people's ideas, and not just accept that your view is the only
correct one. Although Christians and Jews believe that Jesus
existed, there seems to always be some argument about
which one was the right religion to believe in. Instead, they
can learn to accept the others view, and not be so egocentric.
This does not imply to have to change your view, but it
teaches you to accept other peoples opinions.
 At first, I thought that only the Jesus of Faith was real, and
that we were to learn from his actions that he did during His
life. However, I have learned to accept both, and that they
were the same person. Although people may disagree, I think
it is safe to say that both existed at the same time. Its the only
way that it makes sense: Jesus was a historical figure, proven
by ancient documents, who had a greater purpose: to forgive
for everyones sin. By believing both, I am able to make sense
of the facts that are being presented to me, while also being
able to learn from the teachings that Jesus gave. I have
learned to accept the facts, while also learning about helping
others and making the world a better place. It may seem hard
to take both at the same time, but it will come to benefit you in
the long run.

(June 27)

What key The parable of the Good Samaritan really gave me a strong
teaching/action/parable/ lesson that I can apply throughout my life. During that time
etc. of Jesus spoke to period, the Jewish population absolutely despised the
you? Explain how that Samaritans, to a point where they destroyed a Samaritan
teaching/action/parable/ temple. The parable goes that there was a man who was
etc. is symbolic in both a robbed, stripped of everything, and physically abused in the
literal and figurative middle of a road. First a priest, then a Levite, come across this
sense. Be sure to include man, but pay no attention to it and ignore his suffering.
a personal reflection.
However, there is a Samaritan who comes across this man,
and immediately helps the man by cleaning and bandaging his
wounds, bringing him to a nearby inn, and paying for the
mans rent, without expecting him to pay him back.
This is a lot like a video I watched a few years ago. There
was a boy and his mother who went to the grocery store to
buy food. The boy came across a section of cakes, and
wanted to buy it. However, the family was poor, and could not
afford the cake, leaving the boy to become a little bit upset. An
older aged adult sees this, and buys the cake, only to catch up
with the family and gives it to him. At first, the mother is
reluctant, but after the man tells the family a story of a similar
incident, he decided to do the same, and bought it for them.
The mother then asks for his contact, and instead is given a
note which says: A simple act of caring creates an endless
ripple. Although the man did not know the family, he did a kind
act to a family whom he didnt know. The youtube link is right
here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6v8OPX4p1A
There is a very key lesson that I can take away from this. Its
easy to say that the main message of the parable was to be
kind to anyone, no matter if you hate them, love them, or dont
know them, and not to expect for them to return the favour.
Even though the Samaritans have a bad relationship with the
Jewish people, he still helped the Jewish man from his
wounds, and did that without the expectation of receiving
something back. In the video, even though he didnt know the
family, he still helped make the young boys day a lot happier
by a simple act of kindness, without expecting that he would
receive something back as a reward. In our era, most of us do
things with the expectancy of being rewarded. I recall one
instance where one of my friends did not have money to buy
lunch. When I told my parents that I did this, they asked when
he would pay me back as a reward for helping him have lunch.
We can not live like this, in a way where we always expect to
get payed for the acts we do, but become kind loving people,
just like the Samaritan and the man.
Many people see me as a very nice guy, as a person who
accepts everyone equally without excluding anybody.
However, after reading this parable, I learned that there is
another level that I can aspire to. These types of acts are very
easy things that we are capable of doing. For example, if we
were at a drive-thru, we could pay for the people behind us,
which is not only a kind act, but hopefully it can start a chain of
acts, as they will feel appreciated, and want other people to
feel that way. Although these types of acts dont need to be

(June 28)
Consider the portrayal of
Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ are indeed accurate, however other
Temptation of Christ. scenes in the movie are rather inaccurate, not even talked
Based on what you've
studied over the last two
weeks, how accurate do
you feel this portrayal is?
Some consider this film
to be sacrilegious. Would
you agree? What
balance, if any, does the
film find between the
Christ of Faith and the
the Christ of History?
What was your reaction
to the portrayal of the
Jesus story in the film?
How did it differ from
what we've read and
discussed in class?
huge, it will definitely make someone elses day a lot more
enjoyable.
I feel like some of the events in the movie The Last
about in the Bible. For example, scenes like Jesus being
baptized by John the Baptist and Jesus raising Lazarus from
the dead are all talked about throughout the Bible, however
scenes like Jesus thinking about escaping death are not at all
mentioned in all four of the Gospels. In fact, I feel that it is a
rather poor interpretation of the gospels.
I like how it portrays the Jesus of History, as there are many
clear signs of how it was trying to portray the life of Jesus from
a literal perspective. For example, it is part of the Gospels that
Jesus Christ went to the desert to fast for 40 days, and that
scene is portrayed in the movie, when Satan tries to tempt
him. However, not much of the Jesus of Faith is showed in
this, as there are no parables that try to demonstrate
teachings that Jesus gave, and most of the events do not
have a greater meaning. We can not see Jesus in the movie
spreading his mission of love and joy, and just see some
events that happened in Jesus life.
Furthermore, although the name of the movie was The Last
Temptation of Christ, the scene about Jesus escaping death
was rather excessive, and didnt need to be talked about.
Sure, Jesus may have been tempted by Satan for the last time
when He was on the cross, but it didnt need to go to the
extent that His life was completely changed when he gave in
to Satan. Parts about Jesus thing about how he could have a
wife and children are not mentioned in the book, and there is
nowhere stated that He was tempted by the devil on the cross
in any of the scriptures. People may see this as a very clever
twist on the plot, but I personally found it just incorrect, and
 maybe even offensive to some Christian followers.
I didnt really enjoy this movie, as it was very factually
incorrect. After years of going to church, I have never heard
the priest talk about how Jesus was tempted when He was on
the cross. Although he may have thought about evading
death, like Isaac had, He did not explicitly say that, which
meant that it may or may not have happened. We have no
historical evidence that he thought about evading death. After
watching the movie for myself, I can understand why it was
controversial, and even banned in some countries. Many
Christians may have been offended by the making of this
movie, even though it received a few Academy Awards.
However, I like how the ending came back to show that Jesus
had overcome it, and had completed his mission in fulfilling
the Holy Scriptures in the Old Testament of the Bible. It was
portrayed very well when he yelled out his final words, for all
to here, and things like how a person gets crucified, which was
kind of graphic, were portrayed very well.
I probably wouldnt recommend this film to a Christian
follower, as it may offend what they believe in, kind of like
what I experienced, but because of the other historical events
that did take place, I may recommend it to people who may
not be Jewish, Christian, or Muslim if they wanted to learn
more about the belief of Christianity, and how Jesus came to
die for our sins, even if he was tempted by Satan. As talked
about in class, being tempted is not a sin, but giving to
temptation is. Though portrayed inaccurately, this film may
(June 29) hold some significance from people who want to learn about
Christianity.

Please write a letter to Dear Mom and Dad,

any modern day You may be thinking: why is our son writing a letter to us?
institution or individual Well, I understand that you guys are Christian followers, and
that claims to abide by have in the past studied the Bible, just like I have. However,
after taking Biblical Traditions throughout the summer, I think
the founding principles of its safe to say that we have wandered from the first teachings
the Bible. that Jesus gave, and that we are doing what is right in our own
eyes, and not from a different perspective. This class has
taught me that we are straying off course from the teachings
of Jesus and the Bible, and its about time we changed how
we perceive Jesus teachings to be.
One of the main points that Jesus tries to make in his life is
the spreading of love and compassion. At the time, Jerusalem
was conquered by the Roman Empire, and was in a state of
chaos. However, through parables, Jesus tole the Israelites
that the main thing to do isnt to rebel to the Roman empire,
but to spread love and kindness throughout the world.
Nowadays, there are many organizations in the world that are
preventing this from happening, organizations like ISIS and
Boko Haram. However, through you, you can spread acts of
kindness, and hopefully it provokes a ripple of acts like this. It
doesnt need to be big things, like giving lots of money to a
charity, but it just needs to be a simple act of kindness, which
can start off a chain of similar events.
Not only can we be shaped upon Jesus teachings, but we
can also learn from events in the Old Testament, when Jesus
didnt exist yet. There is a recurring theme throughout the Old
Testament, which is constantly repeated from Genesis all the
way to the time of Kings. This theme is that if you believe in
God, then you will be rewarded, and vice versa. It seems
simple, but it was tough to learn for the Israelites, as seen in
Exodus when they were wandering in the wilderness.
Although I do not attend church regularly now, I still believe in
the presence of God, and hopefully I will be able to be
rewarded.
Most of us see the Bible as a historical text, as it talked the
life of key religious leaders like Moses, Abraham, and Jesus.
However, not many people see it as a literary text, and an
allegory to our own lives. Many of the acts that he did had a
greater meaning. For example, when He said the temple will
 be destroyed and rebuilt in 3 days, he wasnt referring to the
Temple of Jerusalem, but was actually referring to Himself
when he would be crucified and resurrected in three days.
Also, He used parables to teach people, without explicitly
stating the lesson that He was trying to teach. Jesus used
clever ways to convey His message to the public.
Its pretty obvious that some of the teachings that you guys
are practicing have kind of veered off course. What we 21st
century humans do is practice what we see is good in our own
eyes. Instead, we must focus back to the teachings of Jesus,
and go back to what we Jesus wanted us to spread. Hopefully
we will be able to spread that message of compassion and
love.

(June 30)