My Sermon : SIN!!!!

Sin is what one did that brings material loss and mental displeasure to himself. You should care about yourself more than anyone else. Putting others priority in front of you is a sin. Helping others with homework before you finish yours is a sin (unless you gain something from helping). God made mankinds selfish. We make friends because we need them, in times of crisis, in times of boredom. This is when we need friends. Its like paying for insurance. Giving without gaining is a sin. People who donate want fame and good reputation in return. There is basically no sin in the world, only how you look at it. God will give punishment to those who act on accord of others. Think about it. God created the divine you. If you don't protect yourself and you don't prosper, God will be ashamed because he created you. Therefore, He will strike you with thunder, burn you in hell and eat you on gold plates. Sins are bad stuff. Stuff that makes God mad. Stuff that pisses God off. Stuff that brings God wrath. Those bad stuff....are things that you do that may hurt you. Its like how your parents get mad when you hurt yourself (ex. running into a wall...) when you are a kid. Now, my dear friend, I will tell you one shocking fact. There is no such thing as moral. The world is evil. People out there are all against you. Fight them until you reach the top. That is the truth of the world. It is a sin for you to stay down on the scale and let people stand on you.

Re: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God by Jonathan Edwards

Who do you think you are?  Are you Jesus??? or even God?? Only you will burn in hell.....using the lord's name in vain. And knowing that what God will do when he is angry?? When do you see that??It is technically impossible for you to know since you are following his rules so strictly, no? You must be some kind of God as well, after going to heaven and hell alike, no? Stop making up nonsense and create public fear. What if everyone start panicing and running around like mad people, would God do so?? You must be pathetically bored, epically stupid, or messenger from SATAN. Which one do you prefer?? The real God will show himself in no time, much faster than you thought He would. And after he do appear, you will face the real WRATH of GOD... You will know how dark, how painful, it is to use God's name in creating  a huge panic for nothing but your boredom, stupidity or evil intentions....We shall wait until the day when punishment befall on you and see how you repent for your sins....

Sin

According to Merriam Webster, sin is an act that is offensive to religious or moral law or an act that makes one feel reprehensible. The popular definition now is an offense to law. However, I believe sin is something that is against moral ideals, not limited to law. In any religion, whatever God says is the rule (tempting me to create a Howardism...). No lying, no drinking, no crazy monkey dance (= no humans thereafter...), no eating, no driving, no writing (awesome), no homework (even better), no school forever (can't be better now...). Basically, sin is something that one think is bad. I believe dissing people and joking around is awesome...definitely not for my classmates...=D. The definition varies from one to another. There are always those annoying people who try to force their justice and rules on others, making everyone but himself a sinner. Thus creating the paradox. Everyone would go to hell, but a guy, so there is only one that is going to heaven. But that very same guy is a sinner that goes to hell from everyone else's point of view. Thus, everyone goes in heaven once but at the same time, goes to hell (6,874,700,000-1 times). That means everyone have 6,874,700,000( total earth population) copies, which is impossible. Therefore, there is no heaven and hell (?). Wierd!!!!

Fear as Motivator

I believe fear, as the most effective and popular motivator, is a good motivator. Only under fear do humans evolve. Only under fear do humans work. Only under fear do humans prosper. Without fear of failing, students wouldn't be studying. Without fear of babies, people would make crazy monkey dances all over the world endlessly. Without fear of the lack of money, nobody would work. The society human lives in is based solely on fear. Many films, particularly Disney, who ruined just about every Pixar movie with nice morals, tried to state fear is a bad thing. "Fear is for cowards. Control over fear is not the best way. Fear is characteristics for evil people. "....However, fear is the absolute basis for we humankinds. Without fear, none of our society structure would function properly. Basically, as long as we are living, fear is an integrated part of our life. This is not about good or bad, brave or coward, smart or stupid. This simply part of our existence as human beings.

Church

During NYC MUN trip, I say a gothic looking creepy church, but I didnt go in due to my urge of shopping. I never went in an actual church. However, I pay visit to Chinese temples often. In there, the first thing you can sense is probably that distinct incense smell ( I totally dislike it). Usually, there is this huge big metal pot-looking container that people stick their incense stick in. There is always a threshold on the entrance. Although its really intended for crossing into somekind of holy space and should not be step on, many worshippers (do they even know what they are doing??) step on it anyways. After you step into the temple itself, you will hear people moaning stuff, from prayers to shouting of some wierd stuff, from plastic bags rustling to the dropping of banana shaped wood pieces (a tradition used to ask if God approves or if they are full yet....). Before you notice, your eyes will be blinded  by the dazzling light of those gold god statues (why don't thieves hit on those targets instead of those in museum??). There are also lights on the side with some names on it for protection and good luck of those with names on it...There are also stuff like luck of the month/year crap..However, I must say, a Chinese temple, despite how I dislike all the noise, smell and sight, is better than a Western Chruch. Temples are much more welcoming than those creepy buildings.

Motivation

In Burning of my house and Scarlet Letter, Bradstreet and Hawthrone emphasized on religous piety. In Burning of my house, Bradstreet was trying to not mourn for the material possessions she lost in the fire. Normal people would like go nuts, cry, break down...and a lot of negative reactions. This shows that piety can make a lot of nonsense happen. In Scarlet Letter, the religous "symptoms" are much devastating. First, the villagers made a so freaking big deal about adultery Dimmesdale and Hester did. Think about it, who cares? Hester lost her husband, so she have every right to make sex. Secondly, Dimmesdale was overly concerned with guilt. Who in the world now would be all that angry at himself for having sex with another girl? Its not even raping because Hester liked it. For me, my motivation is FOOD. Like how the panda in KungFu Panda, I admire food. I can do just about any nonsense for food, such as rushing to lockers after American Literature eagerly (we all love this class, don't worry). And of course, religious motivation seems almost non-existing to my actions. At least so far in my life, I have never tried to act in the name of God, Great Architect, or something as holy as that. Earthly beings have their place, and neither above nor below should be connected with each other.

Compare and Contrast: Bradstreet vs. Sor Juana

Bradstreet's On the burning of our house and Sor Juana's World in Hounding Me both mention about vanity. However, Bradstreet believes the true treasure is in heaven while Sor Juana believe its in one's soul. Bradstreet used inversion to rhyme the sentences while Sor Juana didn't, due to the translation failure. The translator failed...epically. Bradstreet condemns herself of trying to mourn for material possession and try to convey that what God keeps for her in the afterlife is the true importance. Sor Juana believed that she would like to keep her mind on knowledge collection than on observing all beauties that present itself in front of her. So in short, Bradstreet is another Puritan religion freak that got absolutely obsessed with God and her creation, and Sor Juana is just another nerd that try to justify her nerdy acts...which is kind of pointless in the end. Both of them is trying to say that their way is better than common people....crazy~~~...