Question: Song (heh I love this topic! Had a tough time deciding but I chose one!)

Hint : Please read ALL lyrics carefully and see if you can figure something out (not your typical love song)

The section in Italics is Japanese translation, regular font means it was sang in english

X Japan - Tears
"Wherever we go is okay,"
You said
Now what may have been
Has been stopped by time

On that night that was too long
I had a dream where you left me
Staring at a foreign sky
I hugged my lonliness

My fallen tears
Are piling up on the winds of time
At the end
I feel your breath

Dry your tears with love
Dry your tears with love

Loneliness - your silent whisper,
Fills a river of tears through the night,
Memory, you never let me cry,
But you, you never said goodbye

Sometimes the tears blinded our love,
We lost our dreams along the way,
But I'd never thought you'd trade your soul to the fate,
Never thought, you'd leave me alone

Time through the rain has set me free,
Sands of time will keep your memory,
Love everlasting fades away,
Alive within your beatless heart

Dry your tears with love
Dry your tears with love

(talking)
If you could have taught me anything
You would have found what love is
If you could have taught me what was on your mind
I could have shown you the way
Someday... I will be before you
Have you ever thought about that time?
I never imagined the pictures of that night
For now I will try to live for you
I will try to live
Try to live the love, the dreams,
And finally, the tears.

Response: Did you figure it out?? The main reason I love this song (besides its heart wrenching melody and the way the artist invests his emotions) is the way it is written. One's first impression about the song would be that it's about the failure of a relationship, but if you look at the lyrics closely, it's much more than that. This song is not about a typical relationship, rather, it's about the loss of a loved one, the sorrow of death.

Several hints lie here:
"Now what may have been, has been stopped in time" - self explanatory

"But you never said goodbye" - meaning that the person didn't want to leave but due to some incident, never even had a chance to say goodbye

"But I'd never thought you'd trade your soul to the fate" - trading one's soul to fate refers indirectly to death, obviousely everyone's fate sooner or later would be death, and this is a very big clue to the theme of the song

"Time through the rain has set me free,
Sands of time will keep your memory,
Love everlasting fades away,
Alive within your beatless heart"

- This whole passage explains that the artist has made it through the 'rain' - symbolic of hard times."Sands of time will keep your memory" means that even as time goes on, the loved one who passed away will always be remembered and missed. Lastly, the biggest clue, "Love everlasting fades away, alive within your beatless heart" the love is still there, alive and everlasting, but within the beatless heart, again, referring to death.

The talking also makes the theme of the song very clear. "Someday I will be before you" referring to the time when the artist and his loved one will meet again in heaven. "For now I will try to live for you, try to live the love, the dreams, and finally, the tears". That last line sums the whole song up. Sometimes, when we lose a loved one, we don't want to keep living because it feels like there's nothing to live for. However, we should also know that we need to keep living for them, even if it means we'll be dealing with lots of pain, in the end, only love, will dry our tears.

Although I've never had an experience like that, I could surely relate. This song has a very strong message, it's a very hopeful but realistic one. I'm sure it influenced many listeners and hopefully, instill hope in all those that has lost hope. The first time I heard the song, I didn't understand it because I'm not Japanese. Then I searched for lyrics and was surprised to find many sources that had translations. As I read, I felt "WOW" this song is amazing. A good song can really change a person's mood and somtimes even a person's way of thinking. In the case of this one, I'm glad I found it, it's almost like a really good movie that makes you want to cry. None of it is happening to you, but at the same time, it's depicted so genuine and so sincere that you feel the pain.

These are all the reasons why I love this song. I also hope that many people has a chance to listen to it, especially those that has experienced something similar. It could really help change lives. Of course, there are also other ways of interpreting it, it could also apply to a loss of a relationship etc, but all in all, this is a great piece of music, no matter how you look at it.
- posted by Maria Gao @ 9:32 PM

 
The Salem Witch Trials was the end result of a repressed community's common belief and hysteria. The "witches" were merely victims of jealousy, envy and vengeance. A society so caught up and obsessed in "cleansing the world" used their religion as a weapon to rid of those that did not conform to societal norms. There have been many cases in history that emphasized scapegoating such as those "witches" in Salem were persecuted. In fact, one occurred on such a huge scale that it serves as a horrifying reminder to us all.

One such example of scapegoating took place in Germany. We know it now as one of history's cruelest moments - The Holocaust. After World War I, the once mighty and glorious German nation took a plunge for the worst. The Fatherland faced inflation, humiliation and a debt of 30 some billion dollars as a result of the Treaty of Versailles to pay for war damage. At a time like this, the German people looked for a leader, a motivator to bring the nation back on her feet again. Adolf Hitler was their answer. His solution was simply weeding out the weak and enpowering the Aryan race - the weak which he called Jews. Blinded with hope, the people were convinced that the Jews were the reason for all the calamities that happened to the Fatherland. Thus, their common purpose, for the good of the nation was to terminate all Jews.

There are several factors to the above that's very similar to the Salem Witch trials. For example, the government of Germany that negotiated in the Treaty of Versailles was composed largely of Jews. It was easy for people to blaim them for the huge amount of debt Germany had to pay. Another factor was that most Jews in Germany were wealthy and prestigious because they were merchants and opened banks. Naturally, this would cause a lot of envy and jealousy among people such as those that spurred in Salem. This could've also cause hatred for debtors who were unable to repay the money they've loaned. An easy way out for them would be to kill whoever that was running the bank.

Though it is clear to us now that what happened was absolutely outrageous and shocking. However, how could a nation be so blind? If Hilter had the power to stir up a whole nation, what makes us think that history won't repeat itself? Therefore, it is very important to have one's own thoughts and ideas instead of following the mass blindly.
- posted by Maria Gao @ 7:54 PM

 
Question: Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

First and foremost, I found that passage very repetitive. One couldn't get past a sentence without the word Hell used twice or thrice. Then again, when things are repeated over and over, it tends to stay in people's head more. Also, the word Hell probably had much more impact back then than it does now. I'm sure when the people heard Edward's speech, they were overwhelmed with fear, as they should be.

Edwards makes a strong statement about the power of God. He illustrates every scenario with details and paints a picture of fright before one's eyes. In otherwords, he makes hell almost tangible. With these descriptions, it is very easy to instill fear. In fact, Edwards comes straight out with his purpose in paragraph two where he states "The use of this awful subject may be awakening unconverted persons in this congregation. This that you have heard is the case of every one of you are out of Christ." He's telling the public directly that those that refused the existence of God should burn in hell forever.

Edwards also makes another statement about salvation through good works. He preached that no matter what good a person may do in his/her lifetime, without 'the hands of god' for support, it 'would have no more influence to uphold you and keep you out of hell, than a spider web would have to stop a fallen rock...'. He also describes God's wrath as omnipotent and unforgiving. This is another good strategy to instill fear. Most people only think of the all-loving God that forgives and tolerates, but Edwards compares God's wrath to a dam full of water waiting to be released with a force so mighty that 'the strength of the stoutest, sturdiest devil in hell, it would be nothing to withstand or endure it"

A combination of all these factors proved Edwards to be a motivating and often intimidating preacher. This method of 'new light' preaching was very effective.

- posted by Maria Gao @ 7:54 PM

 
Question: Puritanism/Rationalism

Puritanism was a way of life for those who landed in Plymouth seeking political freedom. Puritan morals/beliefs was closely knitted with political and social factors. Therefore, one who didn't practice good religion could also be labeled as a bad citizen. Rationalism, which spurred from the Enlightenment, emphasized the human ability of reasoning. It suggested that God intended for humans to do things on their own with the power of reasoning rather than living by a set of rules. Generally, they were two ends of a spectrum. Puritanism and Rationalism both have significant impact our society. However, our society today is based on the combination of the better aspects of these two beliefs.

The separation of church and state is a prime example of the vestiges of Puritanism and Rationalism. Most people today do believe that religion is an important part of our lives. It still dominates our conscience and moral beliefs on a very instrumental level. However, due to our sense of reason obtained from Rationalism, we also learned that it is important to keep religion and politics separate. This is because if one religion dominated a country, tolerance would be in jeapardy. Others who did not share the same beliefs could be persecuted (ex. Puritans who escaped persecution from Church of England). That's why, in order to create a true democracy with freedom and liberty for all, the separation of church and state is very important.

Another obvious evidence of Puritanism today is a holiday we celebrate every year, Thanksgiving. It is a part of our culture now, a day to remember and thank those who helped us through times of distress. This is all based on the story of the Puritan's temporary friendship with the local Indians, who helped them survive by introducing corn. Another trace of Rationalism in our country is welfare. Rationalism stressed the need to help others because God wants to see his creations happy. Thus, we now have charities, volunteers and other organizations there simply to help others. The more formal and effective of course is the government welfare program, which is designed to help the homeless/financially unstable etc.

All the above are examples of how Puritanism and Rationalism still play important parts in our lives today. Indeed, we have learned to use their strengths well.
- posted by Maria Gao @ 3:26 PM