Movie Reflection – World Religions

God’s Not Dead Assignment

Directions: Answer ALL of the questions below. The page titled, Movie Study Assignment Rubric, will be used to assess this reflection. It can be found on the left side under pages (5th from the bottom). When finished, print off your response and hand in or email it to Mr. S.

INTRODUCTION: There are no shortage of self proclaimed theists (e.g. Christians), atheists, or agnostics. For example, British actor Daniel Radcliffe, known for his role as Harry Potter, declared he was an atheist in a 2009 interview. “I’m an atheist, but I’m very relaxed about it” he was quoted as saying. Angus T. Jones, child actor who played Jake Harper on the American sitcom, Two and half Men, proclaimed, “Even though it’s my job to be an actor, I have given my life to God”. Jones is a self-proclaimed Christian theist. Antonio Banderas, a a Spanish film actor, film director, film producer and singer, once said, “I have to recognize that I am agnostic”.

QUESTIONS: 1) Clearly explain the difference between an atheist, theist and an agnostic? 2) If you were challenged to defend your beliefs, like Josh was, what would you do? Would you have integrity? Would you be a follower? Would you be a coward? Explain what you think you would do. 3) Every person fits into one of the three categories (atheist, theist or agnostic). Which of the three categories would you be in? Decide where you belong and clearly DEFEND why you claim to be either atheist, theist or agnostic. When you declare yourself to be one of these then you MUST be able to fully explain why you believe what you believe. Otherwise you are NOT what you claim to be. This is what you are being asked to do so in this assignment.

NOTE: You are NOT being graded on your beliefs. Your beliefs are between you and God (whether you believe in God or not). What you are being graded on is how much thought you have given to the topic and to think about why you believe what you believe. See the rubric to understand how this assignment will be evaluated. Also understand that your beliefs will continue to evolve and change as you gain more life experience and learn more about the topic.

RS35: In Pursuit of Happyness Assignment

The movie Pursuit of Happyness is based on the true story of Chris Gardner’s struggle to achieve his share of the American dream.

Directions: Answer ALL of questions below. The page titled, Reflection Rubric, will be used to access this reflection. It can be found on the left side (third from top) under pages. When finished, print off your response and hand in or email it to Mr. S.

1) In our society, fulfillment may be found on such things as having the latest car, the biggest house, the largest bonus and bank account. Their satisfaction and happiness are tied to material riches and other societal labels of success. What is happiness? Click on the link (definitions) to see a number of definitions. Which of these definitions do you agree with? Explain why.

2) Christopher Gardner makes the statement “Maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue. And maybe we can actually never have it no matter what”. Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?

3) How does a person achieve happiness? The article Happy Thoughts has suggestions on how to achieve happiness. Read the article. Do you agree or disagree with the article’s methods? Explain why or why not?

Inherit the Wind Assignment

One of the climax scenes is when Henry Drummond calls Matthew Harrison Brady to the witness stand. During this scene, Mr. Brady proclaims himself as an authority on the bible. The following dialogue occurs.

Drummond: “Do you believe that every word written in this book (holding a bible) should be.” taken literally?

Brady: “Everything in the bible should be accepted exactly as given there.”

Based on what you have learned in class about reading scripture, would you agree with Mr. Brady’s statement, “Everything in the bible should be accepted exactly as given there.” Explain your answer in two or three paragraphs.

The rubric that will be used to grade this assignment is located on the left side and is called Movie Study Assignment Rubric

Religious Studies: The Human Experience Assignment

Directions: Answer the questions below. The page titled, Movie Assignment Rubric, will be used to access this reflection. It can be found on the left side (fifth from bottom) under pages. When finished, print off your response and hand in or email it to Mr. S. Remember, Assignments are worth much more than reflection questions.

Read the following quotes, then answer the question(s) that follow

Jeffrey Azize, the younger of the two brothers, when referring to the homeless people of New York City, asks, “What keeps them going? Why is it that they wake up every day? What is their reason for living? “

The New York homeless African American says, “I’m homeless and I’m happy”.

Dr. William B. Hurlbut M.D. stated, “No matter how bad off a person is…for every body their life was a treasure for them…life is worth living because it just is. It’s not the nature of life to be despairing. Its the nature of life is to be hopeful”

Mama Terri, Permanent volunteer Children’s Home said, “And the joy of living, this is what the kids have… because they want to live, so they don’t mind how painful it is”.

Mama Terri also stated, “Its not what we gave them [the abandoned children]. Its what they gave us. Because they gave us the reason to live”.

The lepers of Ghana experienced their families abandoning them , and thus consequently were forced to live away from others in a colony. Yet they were happy. They were happy that the “band” of brothers came. One of the lepers even exclaimed, “We are happy people!”

Questions: 1) How do you explain the happiness of these people? 2) Why are people (homeless of NYC, abandoned children of Peru and Lepers of Ghana) that you would expect to be depressed and wanting to give up on life, happy? Perhaps the article B eing Happy: Secrets of Happy People might be helpful in answering this question. 3) What did the band of brothers discover about the human experience? 4) What do you think is the central message of this movie?

Religious Studies: The Human Experience Reflection #1

Directions: Answer ONE of questions below. The page titled, Reflection Rubric, will be used to access this reflection. It can be found on the left side (third from top) under pages. When finished, print off your response and hand in or email it to Mr. S.

Experience I: Homeless people of New York City

Jeffrey Azize said, “Everyone lives differently. When you go somewhere out of your own comfort zone; out of your own realm, and you enter someone else’s; that’s learning”. In other words, Jeff is saying the same thing as the proverb, “Never judge a man until you’ve walked a mile [1.6 km] in his shoes.”

In John 8:12-15 it says, Again Jesus spoke to them saying, ‘I am the light of the world…you judge by human standards; I judge no one.'” In Matthew 7:1-2 it says, Do not judge so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.”

Questions: Is Jesus, in scripture, saying the same thing as Jeffery? Explain why or why not. Christian Slater, an actor, says, “Good judgement comes from experience. Sometimes, experience comes from bad judgement”. Jeffry in the movie exemplifies Slater’s quote. Explain how Jeffry and his brother’s experience as a homeless people provides evidence that Slater’s quote is true.

You may want to read these texts in context to help you with your response. The Oremus Bible Browser will aid you in doing this.

Jeffrey Azize stated: “You become more humble… you can feel the humility that the homeless people go through. And I don’t know. It’s different… my whole heart feels different.

In Matthew 18.4, it says, “Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” In Colossians 3:12-17, it is written, “As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience.” You may want to read these texts in context to help you with your response.

Questions: What does it mean to be humble or have humility? Explain why humility would be one of the qualities of holiness? How is it possible for a person to have humility in our 21st century world when our society teaches us to be competitive; encouraging us to be number 1?

Religious Studies 25: Little Buddha Reflection Question

Instructions: Answer the questions below. The page titled, Reflection Rubric, will be used to access this reflection. It can be found on the left side (third from top) under pages. When finished, print off your response and hand in or email it to Mr. S.

The movie involves two stories happening simultaneously. One is the story of Prince Siddhartha and the other is the story involving Jesse Conrad.

Jesse asks the Lama, “Was Buddha a God?” The Monk responds with, “No, a real person. Like Jesus. Yes, like Jesus.” Christians, on the other hand, believe that Jesus is the Son of God, both human and divine. 1) Do Buddhists believe the same thing, that is, Buddha (the enlightened Siddhartha) is both human and God? Explain (you may have review what you have learned about Buddhism in class), 2) How is the story of Siddhartha similar to that of Jesus? How is this story different to that of Jesus? Provide at least two specific examples. 3) What is the biggest difference between Buddhism and Christianity? Explain your thinking.

Religious Studies 25: Pay it Forward Reflection

Directions: Answer the following two questions. Print your response and hand it in or email it to me. The page on the left titled, Reflection Rubric, will be used to evaluate your response.

Introduction: A Los Angeles reporter, Chris Chandler, interviews Trevor McKinney. Trevor says the following:

“…I don’t know. I think some people are too scared or something. I think things can be different and I mean the world’s not exactly “shit”. I guess it’s hard for people who are used to things the way they are. Even when they’re bad to change. They kind of give up. When they do you kind of lose”.

1. Are people scared to change things? Can the world be a better place? What are your thoughts? Mahatma Gandhi gives 10 suggestions to change the world. Read the article, Gandhi’s Top 10 Fundamentals for Changing the World. Select one suggestion from Gandhi’s list and explain how you could use the suggestion to help you bring about changes for a better world.

Introduction: Trevor gets killed during a fight where he was trying to help his friend, Adam. John 15:13 says, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends”.

2. Explain how is this an act of Agape love? Are there people in this world who love selflessly (i.e that love agape style) that they would even lay down their life to save someone else? Explain your reasoning. Do you know of any non-fictional examples of this kind of love? If you do, explain the example.

RS 9: Cinderella Man Movie Assignment

Answer four of the following questions. Your answers must be five to ten or more sentences long. Answer it in a word document, save it, and either print it off and hand in or e-mail it to me. Since this is an assignment and more effort is expected, it is worth much more than a reflection. The rubric on the right titled, Movie Assignment Rubric, will be used to assess your response.

The Sermon on the Mount is all about Christian ethics. Christian ethics stresses the need for grace, compassion, and forgiveness because of human weakness.

Jimmy Johnston says: “Right here. Editorial says this fight is good as murder, and everybody associated with it should be hauled into court and prosecuted afterwards. They say the paper’s gettin’ all sorts of letters from people saying you’re their inspiration – like you saved their lives or somethin’. If you ask me, it’s a lotta crap… but if I’m gonna promote this fight, I’m not gettin’ hung out to dry if somethin’ happens to you”.

1) As the quote illustrates, boxing is one of the most controversial of all sports. Is it morally wrong for men or women to use violence to earn money? Is it morally (the distinction between right and wrong or holiness and unholiness) wrong to fight for money, or is boxing just a sport?

Reporter: Bob Johnson, Boston Globe. Two days ago, we ran a story about you giving your relief money back. Can you tell our readers why?

Jim Braddock: “I believe we live in a great country, a country that’s great enough to help a man financially when he’s in trouble. But lately, I’ve had some good fortune, and I’m back in the black. And I just thought I should return it.”

2) What does Braddock’s response to the reporter say about his conscience (the inner sense of what is right or wrong or what is holy or unholy)?
3) Braddock refused to use his poverty as an excuse to be dishonest or victimize others. Describe the scenes where he illustrated this?

4) What issues do people today deal with that is similar to those of the Braddock family? How are today’s issues different? What sorts of new issues will children of the 21^st century face?

5) The scene where Braddock’s son explains why he stole is extremely powerful. Would you steal if your family hadn’t eaten in a week, or if your family’s ability to stay together depended on it? Explain why or why not?

6) A theme in the movie is the struggle to do what is right or what is holy. Braddock teaches his son to make the correct decision about stealing. Braddock also makes a tough decision when he repays the government aid. Braddock clearly has a moral conscience. What would you do if when waiting for a teacher in his/her room, you see the upcoming test answers? What does you answer say about your conscience (the inner sense of what is right or wrong or holiness)?

RS 9: Cinderella Man Reflection 2

Answer two of the following questions. Your answers for both questions must be a minimum of five to ten or sentences. Place your response in a word document, save it, and either print it off and hand in or e-mail it to me. The rubric on the right titled, Reflection Rubric, will be used to evaluate your response.

The purpose of marriage is the mutual growth in holiness of the man and woman. From the movie, we see that Jimmy and Mae’s marriage was a true covenant (pledge) of love.

1) Talk about some of the key scenes in the film that express the meaning of Jimmy and Mae’s marriage. What did their marriage mean to them in times of plenty and in times of want?

2) How did Jimmy and Mae show their respect for one another? How did their covenant of love and respect grow over the duration of the film? What challenges did their covenant or pledge to one another have to meet so that the Braddock could stay a family?

3) What were Jimmy and Mae’s beliefs about their family, their children? What did you think about the scene in which Jimmy has to take his son to return the salami he has stolen? What did the scene tell us about Jimmy’s moral character and his relationship with his son/children?

RS 9: Cinderella Man Reflection 1

Cinderella Man portrays a man who loved his family and would do anything for them—and Boxing is how he achieved the purpose of his life.

1) Why did Jimmy Braddock struggle with his faith? What made him turn away from prayer and worship? Do you think he began to doubt God? Did a sense of failure have anything to do with it? Why?
2) If you had been in Braddock’s wife, Mae’s place, would you have said anything different to encourage Jimmy in the practice of his faith? Do you think Mae showed wisdom in how she talked to Jimmy about faith and going to church? Why or why not?
3) raddock had many qualities that could be viewed as truly religious or a man of faith. Identify three of these qualities.