Theme Of God In The Doorway By Annie Dillard

With each repetition, the man appeals to a different, implied component of the Holy Trinity, each to no avail. Behind the simplicity of each iteration a question is asked: why? The man’s experience in the cellar has confirmed his musing that if there really was a God, he would not abandon them in this way, forcing humans to eat one another, His own sacred creatures, in order to survive. Moving past the Cellar Scene and continuing with him for the remainder of his journey is the fact that the man’s focus has been shifted to a new savior, one who will continue to carry the fire of humanity and love and never allow its flame to be extinguished. This savior is the boy. The boy embodies the characteristics of the new world, one of compassion, generosity, kindness, and hope, a world that will rise anew from the ashes. While the man is beginning to realize his son’s role, he still faces an internal conflict as his selfish instinct to shield the boy from the horrors of the world obstructs his understanding of the critical role the boy plays as the carrier of the fire. Dark, tumultuous thoughts wrestle in the man’s mind on page 114 as he asks himself “Can you do it? When the time comes?” After being exposed absolute corruption in the cellar, the man contemplates, doing possibly the worst thing he could - murder his son - in order to save the boy’s

the struggles of fathers and sons because of slavery. This conflict, seen in In My Father’s

Calling God “a tremendous lover,” Thompson displays that God is the people’s destiny. He ends his poem with: “Ah, fondest, blindest, weakest, / I am He whom thou seekest!/ Thou dravest love from thee who dravest Me.” (Thompson, 180-182). Do not try to run away from God because God is always going to here. Do not be surprised by God when He knows what people are searching for before they even know themselves. Do not be afraid of God because He is trying to find His people to pursue their happiness. God will not give up on anyone, so do not try to drive God’s love away. This poem elicited the awakening of Day’s soul in order to accept God into her life: “The idea of this pursuit by the Hound of Heaven fascinated me. The recurrence of it, the inevitableness of the outcome made me feel that sooner or later I would have to pause in the mad rush of living and remember my first beginning and my last end” (Day, 84). When she stopped her busy life and thought about the meaning of life, God appeared in her life. Dorothy Day realized that God is the origin and goal of life. God is the “first beginning” of life and the one people should follow till the very “last

Anne Bradstreet wrote poems that refers and symbolizes god in her life. In her poem “Here Follows Some Verses Upon the Burning of Our House,” Bradstreet writes a poem about the devastation of the burning of her house. She reflects upon how everything is destroyed and how sad it is that all of her possessions are gone and that she lost everything completely. Later in the poem, Bradstreet rationalizes the destruction by saying, “Thou hast an house on high erect, framed by that mighty Architect, with glory richly furnished, stands permanent through this be fled.” Bradstreet is referring to the fact that she will eventually have a place in heaven, which means it won’t matter that she has lost everything now. This goes to show the extent in which the emphasis on faith and god is at the time. It also shows the humbleness and selflessness that people of the time had when they had strong faith. Bradstreet writes, “There’s wealth enough, I need n more, farewell, pelf, farewell my store” which shows that people like Bradstreet didn’t need a lot

Worry ends when faith in God begins. Faith has been a part of history since the beginning of time and has remained constant throughout life today. Anne Bradstreet’s poem, “Burning House”, examines pure faith and the cry for God’s love in a time of need. Alongside of the poem from 1666, the movie ‘Courageous’, produced by Stephen Kendrick, represents during a tragedy, it is not always easy to keep a focused mind on the Lord, but the most significant way to be led through a tough time, is to praise the Lord. Anne Bradstreet’s poem and the movie ‘Courageous’, shows the relentless love from the Lord in a time of an aching heart.

Often times we are at a loss for words when it comes to talking about the person of the Holy Spirit. Beth Felker Jones in her work entitled “God the Spirit” serves as an introduction to the study of the Holy Spirit in a distinctly Wesleyan and Ecumenical Perspective. Jones is working against the notion that the doctrine of the Holy Spirit is often the most neglected of all Christian teachings (1). She recognizes her experience within the Wesleyan tradition as one that shapes her pneumatology and this book. She asserts that one of Wesleyan Christianity’s special gifts is it’s “leaning against any tendency to neglect the Spirit” (4). Even with this framework she aims to place the Wesleyan perspective in a larger ecumenical milieu that shows the continuity of a Wesleyan pneumatology with the Tradition of the Church. Overall, her approach is very accessible, as she assumes very little and writes in such a way that allows her to cover large dogmatic topics clearly and concisely. By merit of simply being an introduction only style book, there is the risk of glossing over topics and not providing enough in depth discussion to fully understand and comprehend the doctrine discussed. A reader should feel confident that Jones has indeed provided us with a solid introduction to Wesleyan pneumatology that has the ability to bear fruit and initiate growth in the life of the believer.

In Stanley Hauerwas’s article titled “Go with God” he presents a letter to students who are going off to attend college. It’s a guide that proposes certain expectations and helpful information for students heading off on this new endeavor. He makes a point that going to college means much more than a diploma and hopes of high paying job. “To worship God and live faithfully are necessary conditions if you are to survive college. But as a Christian you are called to do more than survive” (Hauerwas). The advice in the letter reinforce its main theme: to be a student is a calling. This challenges the reader to think beyond the normal expectations of why we go off to college.

Religious spaces, characterized by Thomas Tweed, are “differentiated,” “interrelated,” and “kinetic.” As a sacred city with spiritual significance in three major religions, Jerusalem is depicted thoroughly in the Hebrew Bible and illustrated as one of the spaces Tweed defines. The Bible emphasizes that Jerusalem was chosen by God and honored by Israelites, which differentiates it as a special, singular space; the description of Solomon’s Temple shows that the Holy City was interrelated to economic power and involved in the judgment of civil cases. Moreover, the conquest, development and destruction of Jerusalem illustrate the city as a kinetic space, reflecting the unsettled history of the Iron Age. These characteristics all make Jerusalem a religious and political center from the ancient Near East time to present day, guiding the footsteps of believers around the world.

     In Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston, the reader is given a particular glimpse into Janie's life with reference to the men she has known.  Janie's three men are all very different, yet they were all Janie's husband at one point in her life.  Although they all behaved differently, in lifestyle as well as their relationship with Janie, they all shared certain similarities.

In the early 1900’s the relationship between society and God had drastically changed. After witnessing the horrors of the Great War many came to believe that it was impossible for a God to exist in such a brutal world. This type of thinking quickly spread through the United States, touching every single form of art along the way. New authors emerged all writing about the death of God and the new world. The Godless world became the norm, and one of the writers who challenged this norm was Flannery O’Connor. O’Connor was a devoted catholic author whose stories gained popularity during the southern gothic era. In her response to the post God is dead world, O’Connor focused many of her stories on religious ideas, especially the moment of grace. She believed that everyone would have a chance at this moment and that it would be their final chance at salvation. In order to spread her religious ideas O’Connor injected moments of grace into stories such as: “ A Good Man Is Hard To Find”, “ Everything That Rises Must Converge”, “Good Country People”, “ The Displaced Person”, and “ The Lame Shall Enter First”.

“Faith is what someone knows to be true, whether they believe it or not.” Whether provoked by doctor’s grim diagnosis or inspired by something else, these words of Flannery O’Connor are a good example of how one should always follow this rule in order to meet their expectations of life. However, it is in our human nature to think, dream, and imagine things that are far from our knowledge. O’Connor’s “Good Country People” tells the story of Hulga, a girl with an artificial leg who loses it after blindly believing the lies of astute Manley Pointer, a Bible salesman. Using the example of Hulga, “Good Country People” proves how unrealistic expectations can lead to unhappiness and dissatisfaction. This happens because faith does not play a role

In Flannery O’Connor’s short stories, she often relates them to religion or incorporates a religious form in her stories. O’Connor highlights Christian themes throughout her writing. From her stories familiar to the bible, to death and religious views, its simple to see O’Connor’s religious understanding of God. She ties in her Christian views through her writing, which have a distinct and unique quality. O’Connor often expresses her views of God throughout her literature career. Although her religious themes are not always clear, readers can misunderstand her at times. Some authors may not agree with her style writing and choose not to call her a religious writer for reasons. O’Connor’s stories are based on her Christian beliefs but are not preaching or teaching them. Her stories relay beliefs in the context of the actions and lives of her characters. Some short stories we observe this in are “A Good Man is Hard to Find”, “The River”, and “Good Country People”. By analyzing these short stories we can see how she tied in her Christian beliefs and incorporated them into the characters and scenarios they encounter. In “A Good Man is Hard to Find” she doesn’t link the beliefs into a character but rather then ending scenario. We see religion in “The River” from the start with the character Harry and his actions in the story. Religious suggestions are also seen in “Good Country People”. The main character is a missionary bible

On Page 9, Dillard talks about God for the first time in the text. What does she say about God? How could this be interpreted? Do you agree with or disagree with the point she is trying to prove during this section of the novel?

Randy Newman’s book, Questioning Evangelism, is a book about on how evangelizing is to ask questions, and therefore, letting people communicate with questions about their own truths about God. Newman writes this book hoping that anyone who reads it will gain a better understanding of what evangelism is. Newman’s book is divided into three parts: why questioning evangelism is needed, considering what questions non-believers are asking, and observing why asking questions and knowing answers doesn’t mean a Christian’s own problem like cold-heartedness or anger. Throughout the book Newman brings readers right back to bible scriptures. Even though he appeals to accounts of people like Paul in Acts preaching on Mars Hill, he also shows how the wisdom literature is applied to our evangelistic attempts.

To Pray or Not to Pray: An exploration into the relationship between religion and isolation in The Stranger and Chronicle of a Death Foretold