A Denial of Fate

After the in class discussion of the idea of fate I've been puzzled at how much the concept vexes me, despite the fact that it is a subject that i often ponder (why do you think i'm quiet, because i'm shy*sarcasm). The idea of fate at one point in my life once comforted me, but as i got older i created a my own odd philosophy. Despite being  a Christian i share none of the fanciful ideas of my fellow believers, that God holds physical sway on this world. I believe that although God created this world, he is merely the Arbiter of it. He stands over this world, basically an ant farm, as he battles against the sum of mans internal evil, known by most as Satan, but who i believe is just the manifestation of our own evil. The world is merely a set of equations made by him, everything, including the earthquakes ,weather, and now even our deaths can be predicted(we have a genetic timer of how long we live or what diseases we get)  . Humanity's own nature has made our history as violent, as brutal as it has been, there is no plan. In a sense, this world is Purgatory. But don't fear my fateful reader, not all is doom and gloom! By their being no plan their is always hope that man, just as we created Time itself, can create a paradise of understanding, and that we are NOT destined to continue on as we do. A God separated from mans world is the only God that can be one filled with Love. He could have made Humankind a bunch of puppets, with no will. Instead, like any parent, He gave  us Will, the most beautiful of gift, to  make our own decisions and carve out our own place in this transient world. A God with miracles would be an unfair one, if he chose some over others. As humans we seem to be interlopers in this world. Since a child i have always felt that we don't belong, unlike other animals that populate our earth.  We have placed a mark on this planet, as none have done before. In a world of equations as i envisioned, i like to believe that we live outside it, like dust floating inside a clock, free, but pushed along the waves of eternity. I say to hell with fate, and to hell with humility. This world is ours for a short time, in the meantime we should not bear the brunt of the world quietly, but fight against it and reach for a future of peace that maybe, just maybe , be just within our reach.

The "New" kind of Hero

During my reading of Beowulf i found the story to be bland and, well, boring. Gone was the humaness of greek stories, with heroes with complex personalities and personality defects, as well as storylines that seem more realistic(i.e Good men are antagonists or the Heroes dont live happily ever after"). Beowulf as a character is bland and except for his action is never personally described. There is no character growth at all. What i found interesting is that  Beowulf marks the starting point in which Europeon heroes became more and more Grecian. As the time went on the heroes became more and more "human" but remained perfectly moral, like King Arthur. Eventually the trend continued up until the present. Today mainstream society seeks heroes that are flawed, often tragically or that are anti heroes-the "badasses" like the action movies of the 80's in which the "hero" would fight evil, but for their own selfish purposes( the Terminator protecting John Conner because of his programming). there has also been a trend toward giving former weaklings like Peter Parker in SpiderMan and giving him superpowers. Unlike Beowulf the hero is not born a hero and is often humble, whereas beowulf is prideful and confident.