System exAMPLES

Countrywide will not do anything to help the people because they don't care about them. The company only wants to benefit itself and fighting for them to keep the house would mean they would lose the house. The system was set up to make sure Countrywide would end up on top and not worry about the people who lost their home. To fix this problem the people who got foreclosed could take it to court and fight against Countrywide and show how unjust it is. We would think differently of this situation if we were a part of the system because we would want to end up on top and we would take down anyone who got in our way. It wouldn't be unjust in our eyes because we would be gaining something.

PRISON EXPERIMENT

-Authority changes people because it makes them feel like they are in power. In just a couple of days it changed the college students who were pretending to be wardens from nice kids to mean prison caretakers. It breaks people out of their conformity and the power corrupts them. Systems naturally change people because it gives anyone on top power. It's the way they are set up that makes people believe they have all the power. They think they can do anything and to a certain extent they can. If there is a smart student who everyone likes and he does something bad he could probably talk his way out of it knowing that everyone will believe him. The system was set up to believe in those types of people in power. Everyone will believe the smart student and so he will be able to get away with whatever he wanted to. Just like people with power in systems they believe they will be able to get away with anything and so they change to take advantage of that.

Systems

Systems are beneficient to only themselves most of the time. They do things that can help them out and they don't care about the people who participate as long as they get theirs. Systems usually appear from the outside as if they function well yet it is just an illusion to trick people. After Hurricane Katrina the government system failed because it took them to long to respond to the incident and they were only worried about not spending money on people they didn't need to or didn't care about. School is another example of a failed system because most people believe that only the "smart" people are given chances and opportunities and everyone else is frowned upon. It's as if they aren't given a chance and the only way to move up is if we change our ways and adjust to the system.

As a group we said that systems are self-beneficial and only help people who have changed for them and follow their rules and regulations. Systems are set up this way to only help people who are already on top and keep down everybody else.

Unmerciful Servant

1) Who is the story about? Who is the main character? The King or the high level servant?

-The story is about how a servant owed money to his king and even when the king forgave him and was kind enough to not make him have to pay it; the servant didn't take that same kindness toward his own servants. It tells of how we should, just like our Lord, forgive those who trespass against us because He forgives us as well. The main character is the servant because he is the person who is taught the lesson and even then is punished for not following it.

2) Why does the King decide to forgive the debt?

-The King decides to forgive the debt because once he sees how devoted the servants seems toward him and how much it appears he likes him he feels sorry for him. He sees the servants devotion towards him and so he lets him go.

3) Why does the servant not follow the example of the king and forgive the debt?

-The servant doesn't follow the example of the king because he did not obey the kingdom of God. He could have thought he was living in the Kingdom of God but obviously money mattered to him more than the friendship and loyalty of his servant. He didn't treat his own servant like his neighbor and that is why greed got the better of him and he was not following the rules of God.

4) If the Kingdom of God is like this parable, then what do we learn about the Kingdom of God?

-We learn that we should forgive those who trespass against us just like the servant followed his king we should follow our Lord.

US involvement

86. How would a secure Israel and independent Palestine affect the Middle East and the rest of the world?
-It would affect the Middle East and the rest of the world because the economy would not be balanced and it would be an inequal economy. Cooperation among the land would suffer because one part of the land could be better suited than another and it would cause the rest of the world's economy to be thrown off.


87. Would a two-state arrangement really be fair and based on justice?
-A two-state arrangement wouldn't be fair because Israel would not be able to control their own land. It would receive about 22% while the UN would receive around 45%. It could even be considered injustice to not be able to own your own land.

Parable of the Wicked Tenants

The Parable of the Wicket Tenants is a metaphor of the teachings of Jesus because it represents the problems with a society and how people would deal with it. It tells the story of how violence can change a society regarding land and how it changes people. In the parable there is a metaphor that says the parable is like a rejected stone. It could mean that like stones that make up a building it may seem like just a small step but it can also be viewed as a building block for what Jesus was trying to teach. That small block was a cornerstone because even though it didn't seem like it meant anything it is really what helped in defining the teachings of Jesus. People can look at things differently and people who are rich enough to not care don't pay attention to small things like stones but that same cornerstone could mean a whole lot more to someone who pays attention. People who understood the parable saw it as more than a story and thought of it as a teaching.