Showing posts with label ethics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ethics. Show all posts
Guy Montag is a fireman, not a firefighter whose job is to burn books. A task which he has found satisfying until a seventeen-year-old girl named Clarisse McClellan pops into his life, and starts asking him questions and pointing out things that he had never thought about before. This is where Montag’s journey really starts as he discovers the wonder of books for himself.
I really enjoyed this book and think it may be one of my new favorite in the category from dystopian literature. I would recommend it to people who read and enjoyed The Hunger Games series and were looking for something else with a world gone wrong and a desire for change. Also for those who liked 1984, there are some similarities. I would say even if you hated 1984 and wished it could have been a bit different I would recommend this book because I personally was not a fan of 1984, and the thought of going into another dystopian intimidated me a bit, but Ray Bradbury had me from the first page of the story all the way through.
I would also encourage you to read his two introductions. I started to read and fell in love with the author immediately because I connected with his love of books and how he came across his ideas. Even if that is not something you enjoy, seeing his thought process is rather interesting.
I will leave you with a quote from his character Farber in the book. “The magic is only in what books say, how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us.” ― Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
Happy reading!
Elisabeth Smith
It’s finals week, a time that for many can be filled with
great amounts of stress. Many of you may start to see your news feeds littered
with stories of those who decided to cheat in order to pass with various
creative methods. Some of them will get caught, but I am here to share with you
a foolproof method for cheating on finals.
The first thing to do is find out what is going to be on the
test. You can usually find this information in the syllabus, or on eLearning.
If you can’t find any information there, just ask the professor. Sometimes
hiding in plain sight is the least suspicious thing you can do.
You will need a secure location for the next step. I
recommend the library study rooms for their unrivaled privacy and lack of
interruption. (The library also provides coffee during finals week to fuel your
diabolical plans. It is also open for an extra hour on Sunday, Monday, and
Tuesday) Remember to prepare ahead of time. Last second attempts almost always
fail or get caught.
This next step is the most important. You need to take the
information that you know will be on the final and write it onto your memory.
Repetition is your friend here. Flash cards and mnemonic devices can help here
too. This is very important as the teacher CANNOT see what is inside of your
head. You can hide any amount of information in there with little to no
repercussions.
Get a good night’s rest. You’ll need it.
Finally, on the day of the test, confidence is key. Walk
through the door in the least suspicious way you can muster. Write down all the
information that you "snuck in" and leave to avoid suspicion. Remember, the teacher has NO way of knowing that you have all the
answers. Unless you tell him or her, you will NOT get caught.
If you made it this far and followed all the steps you
should be good to go. Be sure to laugh at all the other students who are
“studying.” You know better. Enjoy your break.
~Ryan Eshelman
1. Check and respond to your Cairn email. I’ve missed numerous deadlines (payments, book return dates, etc.) because I either neglected to read my email or just chose not to care, expecting that things would go my way. Entitlement is not an appropriate Christian attitude.
Lesson Learned: Freshman Year
2. Take responsibility. I don’t know about you, but I have weaseled my way out of lots of problems, even at a Biblical university. I like to blame the cosmic forces that are (so, God I guess) for every problem that comes my way. “I’m sorry,” is a much better response than, “I can’t pay that $500 fine for this overdue book because I’m busy and never check my school email."
Lesson Learned: Sophomore Year
3. Work now, play later. Prioritizing your life as a student means that assignments come first. If for some reason they can’t, then you need to re-prioritize so they can. Completing work on-time and completing work well can be an act of worship with the right motivation. Do all things to the glory of God.
Lesson Learned: Junior Year
4. Print assignments early. A lot of folks like to print out papers 10 minutes before their class starts. Waiting in line at the printer can be super frustrating especially if the printer malfunctions (which can happen), and puts you in a poor mood for class.
Lesson Learned: Sophomore Year
5. Accept help with grace. Cairn faculty, staff, and student workers are not out to get you. We want to help because we in fact do know that life is tough, stressful, and out-of-control at times. If you let go of pride and accept help (or let go of pride that things could ever dare go wrong for you) then we can help you more effectively.
Lesson Learned: Junior Year
6. Trust Jesus. Ultimately, a failing grade does not have eternal weight. It may bring shame or disappointment, but your righteousness and approval before God is found solely in Christ. If you truly grasp that, you have the power to go before a professor and admit your mistakes (not hiding them because you fear punishment) and even ask for help. Repentance plays just as important role in human relationships as it does with God and will prevent a lot of problems from getting as bad as you might let them.
Lesson Re-learned: Every Year
~Ben Overbey
Book Review: The Very Private Matter of Anorexia Nervosa
0 comments Posted by The Masland Library Blog at 10:32 AM
I was shelving books a couple months ago at the library like
I usually do when I stumbled across an interesting book. Its title read The Very Private Matter of Anorexia Nervosa.
This piqued my interest because all throughout high school my best friend was
very skinny and had often been accused of being anorexic. I decided to educate
myself on this eating disorder so I checked out the book and I headed back to
my dorm room. Once I started reading, I could not stop. It was the author’s own
personal story of her struggle with anorexia. In this book the author, Shanon
Christian, described every emotion, every thought she had over a 3 year period
of her life. It all started innocently when she wanted to lose a little bit of
weight but it rapidly became an obsession of counting every calorie and
exercising to the point of fainting. Shanon became lost in this cycle and
started to lose control. Her hair started falling out, she experienced anxiety
and depression, and she had no energy to do anything-except continue to count
calories and skip meals. Family and friends tried to help her understand that
she was destroying her body but Shanon would not listen. It had become an
obsession. As she struggled to get her life back under control she finally hit
rock bottom. Shanon cried out to God to heal her and slowly but surely Shanon
started to become better. It took quite a while but in time with the help of
God, she learned to overcome her anorexia.
If you or someone you
know on campus is struggling with anorexia and is trying to find a way out,
there are many places that you can check out, one of them being on our own
campus. The Oasis Counseling Center can provide you with private Christian help
for no cost at all. You can also visit the nurse to receive information about
anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders or check out the website http://www.anad.org/ which is the National
Association of Anorexia and Associated Disorders.
~Jenny Dunning
As
we all know February is black history month. This is the time where we
celebrate the achievements by Black Americans and a time for recognizing the
central role of African Americans in U.S. history. I would like to recognize
one of most notable African American icons that opened the eyes of many little
boys and girls (including many adults as well) inviting them to stand up and fight for their rightful position in
society.
Muhammad Ali, many people may know him as “the greatest” or
“the champion of the world,” was one of the toughest men to knock down
in the boxing ring. Born Cassius Clay, Ali changed his name to in
1964 after joining the nation of Islam. Muhammad Ali was well known for his
unorthodox fighting style which he described as "float like a butterfly,
sting like a bee," and his pre-match speeches that had rhythm to hype his
audience and fuel his opponents. During his prime Ali appeared in multiple
notable historic fights. He was the first and only boxer to become the world
heavy-weight champion of the world three times, including the famous “Rumble in
the Jungle” match against Big George Foreman in Zaire Africa regaining his
title for the third time.
Students and staff, although we may face tough fights and challenges in our
life’s journey we must have the heart and dedication to become champions.
Although Muhammad Ali was not a Christian, he valued something most Christians
to have trouble pursuing. In my eyes Muhammad Ali pursed something far greater
than just a championship title; he fought for a rightful place in society and
his right to chase after his dream. Muhammad Ali stood strong in what he
believed and was against going to fight another country, with a country who was
at war with themselves. Fellow students and staff let us not fight one another
but let us work together and remain focus on our dreams and desires so that
they will be well pleasing in the eyes of the Lord. Just like Muhammad Ali’s
style of fight in the ring was attractive to the people around the world, let
us, as Christians be loving, kind, humble, compassionate, hard-working,
truthful; well-educated, dedicated, peaceful, man and woman of God so that not
only the people around will be attracted by our godliness way but our Father in
heaven be happy with our works.
In the library the front display is featuring various African Americans whose birthdays fall during this month. Feel free to check any of them out. If you want a more complete look at influential African Americans during the 20th century The African-American century : how Black Americans have shaped our country by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Cornel West could be very educational.
~Chris Smith
On October 26, 2011, I had the wonderful privilege of hearing Makoto Fujimura give a
lecture about his newest project, the Four Holy Gospels Bible, which was
published by Crossway and released in January 2011. It was fascinating to hear
about his technique, Nihonga, which involves painting with pigments made of
prismatic minerals in multiple layers. One of the paintings he spoke of is
titled "Prodigal God", based on the story of the two sons in Luke 15.
The title is based off a book by the same title written by Fujimura's pastor,
Timothy Keller. I read this book over the summer, and it was very challenging. In
speaking of the book and his painting, Fujimura explained that in the days of
Shakespeare, the word prodigal had a good connotation and meant spend-thrift,
or spending everything for a cause. We often label the younger son as prodigal,
but the real prodigal, by the Shakespearean definition, is the Father. Keller
stresses this in his book as well. Both of the sons are wayward in their own
ways. The younger son runs after worldly pleasure. The older son gets caught up
in legalism, and despite both of the sons' mistakes, the father spends all on
them. He runs to meet his youngest, something which was not seen as respectable
for elders to do. For his older son, he leaves the banquet, a great disgrace,
to speak to his son and bring reconciliation. Our Father does this too. He sent
His only son, Jesus, to be disgraced for our sake, which is an incredible
picture of extravagant grace.
Makoto Fujimura leaves the viewer to imagine their own meaning out of his "Prodigal God" painting, but there are several little clues he gives to demonstrate this extraordinary grace. First of all, Fujimura used oyster shell pigments, the only opaque, transparent white pigment, to provide a vision of grace, which provides a stark contrast to the other side of the painting. And speaking of two sides, Fujimura informs his audience that splitting the picture is not recommended in the art world, but he intentionally employed this split to create a problem that humans cannot solve, which illustrates that grace does not equal doing stuff for God, but rather accepting His free gift.
I highly recommend reading Prodigal God (found at this call number in the library: BT378.P8 K25 2008) and meditating on its challenge to be a real prodigal who spends all they have to seek those who are lost in their sin. This is the challenge Fujimura is also trying to convey, and I believe it is crucial to embrace this grace and live it out.
~Allison Beyer
Each Fall Philadelphia Biblical University presents a Worldview Conference (this year it is October 30, 2010). It’s an inspiring time of learning and fellowship. This year’s exciting topic is about the intersection between commerce, politics and society from the Biblical standpoint. One of pre- readings was Andrew Carnegie’s “Gospel of Wealth” essay. It is a fascinating topic; I would recommend it to anyone wanting to understand the philosophy of philanthropy. The library also has a display dealing with the topics presented at the conference. Such topics include moral relativism, food, theology, commercial integrity, and situational ethics.
Check out the library catalog (http://library.pbu.edu) for more information on these subjects. The display is only a taste of the many books we have on ethics and business. Think of the worldview conference as the beginning of your expedition into studying these topics for pleasure. The conference is a chance to see, hear and meet people in the business world and academia. I don’t know about you, but I plan to be there to listen and learn.
Check out the website www.pbu.edu/worldview for more information.
~Alice
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