My Values

There are certain values that I do my best to uphold in my life today. These values are: do not steal; forgive others who hurt or do something wrong against me; give my concerns over to God instead of worry about them; not swear, curse or use God's name in vain. I try to be trustworthy in every aspect of my life; and try not to cheat. I try to respect authority and those who are elderly. I think that these values are good, but the exercise that we did in class really helped me to recognise a few other values that I would like to uphold as well. The values that I hope to uphold are: I need to be decisive, because you can only devote your life to one thing at a time; I also need to treat others as I hope to be treated; I hope to be wiser with what I say, because what I say to others reflects what's in my heart. These are my values that I will try to and want to uphold in my life in the future as well.

Sacred space and the holy exhibited in worship DVD's

I looked at a hillsong worship DVD. The lyrics were the most obvious illusion to sacred space and the holy and throughout the clip there were constant mentioning of the holy and sacred. There were people in the crowd and even the musicians had their hands rasied in the air, they mainly did this to feel that they are closer to God and also as a way of connecting with him. Everyone in the crowd was jumping, clapping and singing at the top of their lungs. Anywhere that you feel connected to God is considered sacred space and so sacred space is clearly exhibited in this hillsong worship DVD. The people in the crowd and their actions and emotions really send me a strong message that this is a sacred space, as most of them were glorifing and worshiping God. At the very end the main singer was closing his eyes and clapping, this really indicates that he knew that all the glory belongs to God and God alone. I think that the Hillsong worship DVD that I watched showed sacred space and the holy extensively throughout the course of the DVD right to the very end.

How is sacred space created in a religious building through decorations and architecture?

The religious building that I visited was Canterbury Cathedral. The architecture of Canterbury Cathedral really stood out to me as the thing that created sacred space the most. The Cathedral was so large yet the architecture was so intricate and detailed. That for me, is like God in a way, being so big but also being so detailed and complex in the making of his creation. So, if people looked at it in that way it might help them consider it as more of a sacred space. There are also lots of gold crosses in different parts around the cathedral. The cross is a sacred object for Christians and Catholics alike. It symbolises that Jesus died on the cross for the sins of the world, but he did not stay there, but he rose again. So Christians keep the cross as a reminder of the sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for anyone who believes in him. The stain glass windows are another thing that is found mainly in churches and cathedrals. They often have pictures of Jesus, The Virgin Mary (mother of Christ) and the archangel Gabriel. These windows surrounding the rooms often help people to connect with God. These things along with many others help make Canterbury Cathedral a sacred space for many.

How does religious socialization influence sacred space?

Religious socialization is all the ways we are influenced socially by religion. You can be influenced by religious socialization at a youth group, at school or even at work, though the most common and most effective means of religious socialization is your own family. You can be socialized with almost any religion in the world, whether it's Christianity, Buddhism, Islam or any other religion. For most people the religion that they have been socialized with becomes an important part of their identity. Religious socialization can often determine the values that they have either in part or in full. Most societies have been influenced by religion. This is evident in their laws, public ceremonies and traditions. The religion that you are socialized with can affect what you see as sacred space. For instance, if you are a Catholic than you might think of sacred space as being in a cathedral, but for a Christian sacred space can be anywhere that you feel close to God. So you see that religious socialization can affect everything from traditions to identity and from values to the way that you see sacred space.

By Isaiah Robinson