Forgiveness and Freedom of Letting go

Ive added this footage too as it could be use towards our performance mixed with our own pictures and music, just for an idea.
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?=3D4VMZb8wLY

Alison

On making sure this link worked it did not so you will have to maybe look on youtube and type the title you see in the title box, or you can access it on privios video on youtube.

Amish Forgiveness is Christ Like

This youtube footage may be of interest too you, as the parents of one of the Amish girls killed, invited the widow of the girls killer to the funarel of the young girl.

Alison

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=p_D_Z9bskqM

Forgiveness at the Core of Amish Beliefs

From what we talked about of what forgiveness was, I looked it up in the dictionary of the meaning of forgiveness http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forgivenessand also looked in the Bible of (Matthew Chapter 6) Teaching about Prayer.

Although most of us know the Lords Prayer, here is a different way of saying it.....

Our Father in Heaven
May your holy name be honoured
May your kingdom come
May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven
Give us today the food we need
FORGIVE us the wrongs we have done as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us.
Do not bring us to hard testing, but keep us safe from the evil one.

Now in verse 14 of Matthew Chapter 6, it is said:-

If you forgive others the wrongs they have done to you, your father in heaven will also forgive you.
But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done.

I suppose from reading this, the Amish believe it so much, that they had to forgive the man who murdered their children.

As I googled the internet for What Forgiveness ment for the Amish, I came up on (Forgiveness at the Core of Amish Beliefs

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06277/727246-85.stm

I also have added another link to the Rebel God Amish Forgiveness, how the word Forgiveness links with the Cross... This brings us again back to why the Amish Forgave the enemy for the Murder. "A person who has forgiven a grivous wrong done to them, can understand the meaning of the cross better then a thousand theologians"

http://sharktacos.com/God/2006/10/amish-Forgiveness.html

Alison

Hope is the thing with feathers

"Hope" is the thing with feathers—
That perches in the soul—
And sings the tune without the words—
And never stops—at all—

And sweetest—in the Gale—is heard—
And sore must be the storm—
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm—

I've heard it in the chillest land—
And on the strangest Sea—
Yet, never, in Extremity,
It asked a crumb—of Me. 

Emily Dickinson

Acceptance · Affection · Alertness · Ambivalence · Anger · Angst · Annoyance · Anticipation · Anxiety · Apathy · Awe · Boredom · Calmness · Compassion · Confusion · Contempt · Contentment · Curiosity · Depression · Desire · Disappointment · Disgust · Doubt · Ecstasy · Embarrassment · Empathy · Emptiness · Enthusiasm · Envy · Epiphany · Euphoria · Fanaticism · Fear · Frustration · Gratification · Gratitude · Grief · Guilt · Happiness · Hatred · Homesickness · Hope · Horror · Hostility · Humiliation · Hysteria · Inspiration · Interest · Jealousy · Kindness · Limerence · Loneliness · Love · Lust · Melancholia · Nostalgia · Panic · Patience · Pity · Pride · Rage · Regret · Remorse · Repentance · Resentment · Righteous indignation · Sadness · Schadenfreude · Self-pity · Shame · Shyness · Suffering · Surprise · Suspicion · Sympathy · Wonder · Worry

Amish shooting

I was researching more about the Amish community and I stumbled across an article with more information about what happened in the actual school room http://www.800padutch.com/amishshooting.shtml

Devils Playground

Here some footage from Devils playground part one of eight.http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDzDeJ5itr8

In this first part we may get some ideas on how to approch the Amish way incorperate it into the performance, for more footage just visit youtube and type in Devils Playground if link does not work.

These footages from the devils playground are shocking, when i was watching the 2nd part the young Amish boy was selling crack/drugs, to keep a wage, he wants to join the Amish forgood its going to be tricky to give up, if he is using too.
Also if you check out the school thats featured in the clips, it goes with what we disscussed in the lesson..... The School is white all white..

So please get to look at the devils play ground there are eight parts to it.

Footage is even shown of the barn building.

Where does forgiveness come in, well although the Amish forgive, if an Amish 16 year old changed their minds after joing the church, the family will shun them, sort of not forgiving them for breaking a promise... its there last way to tell the childeren they love them, as all ties are severed.

Alison

Plain Secrets

On further information you may want to look at this page of an outsiders look of the Armish before we get too indepth of the Amish way of life for performance our selves. To allows to understand the way the Amish are percived from the otherside.

Alison

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyld=11164344

When The Man Comes Around...

I love a bit of Johnny Cash, and as i was in the car with my ipod on...this song came on and it immediately drew my mind to our work that we have done so far. i think that certain lines seem relevant and i like the music as well as the lyrics, i will try and remember to bring it in on tuesday so you guys can have a listen and see if you likey :D

And I heard as it were the noise of thunder
One of the four beasts saying come and see and I saw
And behold a white horse

There's a man going around taking names
And he decides who to free and who to blame
Everybody won't be treated all the same
There'll be a golden ladder reaching down
When the Man comes around

The hairs on your arm will stand up
At the terror in each sip and in each sup
Will you partake of that last offered cup?
Or disappear into the potter's ground
When the Man comes around

Hear the trumpets, hear the pipers
One hundred million angels singing
Multitudes are marching to the big kettledrum
Voices calling, voices crying Some are born and some are dying
It's Alpha and Omega's kingdom come

And the whirlwind is in the thorn tree
The virgins are all trimming their wicks
The whirlwind is in the thorn tree
It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks

Till Armageddon no shalam, no shalom
Then the father hen will call his chickens home
The wise man will bow down before the throne
And at His feet they'll cast their golden crowns
When the Man comes around

Whoever is unjust let him be unjust still
Whoever is righteous let him be righteous still
Whoever is filthy let him be filthy still
Listen to the words long written down
When the Man comes around

Hear the trumpets, hear the pipers
One hundred million angels singing
Multitudes are marching to the big kettledrum
Voices calling and voices crying Some are born and some are dying
It's Alpha and Omega's kingdom come
And the whirlwind is in the thorn tree

The virgins are all trimming their wicks
The whirlwind is in the thorn tree
It's hard for thee to kick against the pricks

In measured hundred weight and penney pound
When the Man comes around.

(Spoken part)And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beastsAnd I looked and behold, a pale horse
And his name that sat on him was Death...And Hell followed with him.

Jodie xx

Amish Vid

I've just watched this you tube vid about Amish Grace its a book about the Amish and from what I can make out it also talks about the killings and the forgiveness of the Amish community the vid also talks a little about some of the surviving girls which I thought was good as I haven't come across the survivers of the shooting. The vid is good as you learn more about the Amish way and their forgiveness but also about Robert and his family http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=gAmeJHXcw4w

Where is my focus...

I don´t know about you guys, but researching this got me revolving a bit around the aspect of the murderer, thinking about what drives a mind that far out, etc, realising that I cant comprehend it, or maybe dont want to.
I guess we all know guilt,fear, shame and hatred to a certain extend, maybe that was it but times a million...

What I find actually more interesting is the aspect of forgiveness. So I m gonna start looking that way research wise, kicking it off with good old wikipedia (yes, how uncreative)...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forgiveness

Forgiveness
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Forgiveness (disambiguation).

Forgiveness is typically defined as the process of ceasing to feel resentment, indignation or anger for a perceived offense, difference or mistake, and ceasing to demand punishment or restitution.[1]

This definition, however, is subject to much philosophical critique. Forgiveness may be considered simply in terms of the person who forgives, in terms of the person forgiven and/or in terms of the relationship between the forgiver and the person forgiven. In some contexts, forgiveness may be granted without any expectation of compensation, and without any response on the part of the offender (for example, one may forgive a person who is dead). In practical terms, it may be necessary for the offender to offer some form of acknowledgment, apology, and/or restitution, or even just ask for forgiveness, in order for the wronged person to believe they are able to forgive.[1]

Most world religions include teachings on the nature of forgiveness, and many of these teachings provide an underlying basis for many varying modern day traditions and practices of forgiveness. The Prodigal Son[2] is a well known instance of such teaching and practice of forgiveness. Some religious doctrines or philosophies place greater emphasis on the need for humans to find some sort of divine forgiveness for their own shortcomings, others place greater emphasis on the need for humans to practice forgiveness between one another, yet others make little or no distinction between human and/or divine forgiveness.

However, throughout the ages, philosophers have studied forgiveness apart from religion. Scientific fields such as psychology, sociology and medicine have also studied forgiveness.

Forgiveness doesn't mean a denial of someone's responsibility for wrongdoing, and it doesn't minimize or justify the wrong. One can forgive the person without excusing the act. Depending on the degree and circumstance of the offense, (typically, in assault and murder), the victim can forgive without the need of the offender's interaction or permission. It's often held that an offender should never ask for forgiveness if there is any possibility of hurting the victim any further.


...

Popular recognition of forgiveness

The need to forgive is widely recognized by the public, but they are often at a loss for ways to accomplish it. For example, in a large representative sampling of American people on various religious topics in 1988, the Gallup Organization found that 94% said it was important to forgive, but 85% said they needed some outside help to be able to forgive. However, not even regular prayer was found to be effective. The Gallup poll revealed that the only thing that was effective was "meditative prayer".[14]

[edit]
Forgiveness as a foundation for authoritarian control

Yoga teachers Joel Kramer and Diana Alstead analyse the use of unconditional love and the associated concept of forgiveness as a foundation for authoritarian control.[15] They survey religions worldwide to make their assertion that religious imperatives of forgiveness are often used to perpetrate cycles of ongoing abuse. They state that "to forgive without requiring the other to change is not only self-destructive, but ensures a dysfunctional relationship will remain so by continually rewarding mistreatment."

...

Hinduism

The concept of performing atonement from one's wrongdoing (Prayaschitta — Sanskrit: Penance), and asking for forgiveness is very much a part of the practice of Hinduism. Prayashitta is related to the law of Karma. Karma is a sum of all that an individual has done, is currently doing and will do. The effects of those deeds and these deeds actively create present and future experiences, thus making one responsible for one's own life, and the pain in others.
Forgiveness is a great power

Addressing Dhritarashtra, Vidura said: "There is one only defect in forgiving persons, and not another; that defect is that people take a forgiving person to be weak. That defect, however, should not be taken into consideration, for forgiveness is a great power. Forgiveness is a virtue of the weak, and an ornament of the strong. Forgiveness subdues (all) in this world; what is there that forgiveness cannot achieve? What can a wicked person do unto him who carries the sabre of forgiveness in his hand? Fire falling on the grassless ground is extinguished of itself. And unforgiving individual defiles himself with many enormities. Righteousness is the one highest good; and forgiveness is the one supreme peace; knowledge is one supreme contentment; and benevolence, one sole happiness." (From the Mahabharata, Udyoga Parva Section XXXIII, Translated by Sri Kisari Mohan Ganguli).[7]

music and thoughts on peoples reactions

What about ´in heaven everything is fine` from the Eraserhead movie? Also available as the Pixies cover. All on u tube.
It´s a bit like a mantra of consolation, is it too sarcastic? I guess that´s what I like about it.
I was thinking about the voices of the people left behind, not only the amish, but also the wider public and their reactions to the tragedy. How is the media dealing with the subject- what a convoy- have u seen it on the u tube video? And then the woman lamenting on the roadside. It seemed like she used the situation to produce herself, or is that her way of dealing with grief? What do I know.

In the book ´Hey Nostradamus` The first quarter of the story is the voice of a shot schoolgirl, remembering the incident, intercut with the curses and prayers of people left behind. I think that´s quite a good way of showing a scope of reactions to a described event...

music

What do you think about using Beethoven´s Für Elise? Too over used? I guess it´s a connection as the murderes infant daughter was called Elise...

Amish Poem

Sonnets for the Amish Girls of Nickel Mines
By Ann Hostetler

I.

He tied their legs together, made them face
the blackboard, released their brothers, mothers,
teachers, then barred the doors with two-by-fours.
Ten pairs of toes lined up in place.
Ten pairs of arms could not erase
a moment set in motion by such error.
Ten starched white caps could not conceal their terror
as ten heads bowed in simple grace.
Where once they took their turns to stand apart
and write a sum or sentence they had learned,
(the unprepared might feel some mild concern),
they now could hear each others’ beating hearts
as his handgun called the roll—Mary,
Lena, Marian, Anna Mae, Naomi Rose.

II.

Naomi Rose, Mary, Lena, Marian
and Anna Mae – dressed in white by family
and placed in wooden caskets on display
for last loving looks from friends and kin –
now ride in somber carriages again
past the home of him who took their life away
leaving a family puzzled and betrayed
of all they thought he could be as a man.
Their last journey protected by patrol
– even reporters must have a pass –
they move on to church and grave. We are left
without a verse or story to console
us on an autumn day whose shining grass
reflects the sun, a blue sky of clouds bereft.

III.

A blue sky of clouds bereft, wide open
to receive the innocent. But those who live
must have their explanation; the other five
girls recover in intensive care – again
they’ll have to live the moments of their pain
even as their families struggle to forgive
the gunman, receive his widow, kids.
For us or them, life will never be the same.
We wait to gather crumbs of consolation
from what they can remember or will tell
of what’s unspeakable: the oldest girl
offering to be shot in lieu of others,
her slumped body found beneath chalked letters:
unexpected visitors bring sunshine.

IV.

Unexpected visitors bring sunshine:
the covered casserole still oven-warm,
gleaming jars of produce from the farm
home-preserved: peaches, cucumbers in brine,
blackberry jam, hard-boiled eggs stained with wine
of red-beet juice. This red will do no harm.
This giver’s knock brings blessing, not alarm,
an offering to those who’ve lost in kind.
The scattered toys, the silent house awash
in grief that stunned a family unable
to believe what had been done. The Amish
givers ease the unlocked door ajar and rest
the box of food on the empty kitchen table.
Forgiveness is the unexpected guest.

© 2006 by Ann Hostetler. All rights reserved.

Hey up, if you pop ´amish` into you tube it comes up with plenty of material.
Have a go.
Does anybody else feel weird watching these things? I feel like an intruder on someone elses tragedy.You know what I mean? I hope we will manage to handle the theme with the sensitivity it demands...
marie

videos on the amish

Heres a link to a few videos on the amish community that I think could be useful

http://www.padutch.com/amishvideo.shtml

If anyone gets thechanch listen to the Rumspringa radio show from the web page I provided on the blog below as it is very interesting to hear about the Amish Teenagers tasting what the modern world is like at 16 years of age.

The Amish Community

Originaly from Germany, The Amish in Pensilvania Dutch Country / Lancaster Country known as 'plain People', are an old order who are different from most Americans by choice and are very devoted to their faith.
They use horse drawn power and separate them selves from the modern world, preferring the natural traditional way of life of farming and forgoing the luxury's of television, Radio, cars and electricity.
They take the bible commands sirriusly and the 25 different Amish, Mennonite Brethren Church groups, each have their own traditions and bible interpretations.
By keeping separate from the modern world, helps their community strengthen.
The community do allow their teenage children however to venture out into the modern world when they turn 16 years of age.
This is so they can experince for themselves what the modern world is like. The thought behind this is to allow the young Amish to make a choice between the life they know and the strange modern way of life. Usualy the modern way of life is too much to take in and understand so they return to the natural way of life in the Amish Comunity.

There is A book by Tom Shachtman's Rum Springa: To be or not to be, Amish had its beginnings in the research done for the documentry film (Devils Playground. He mentions things that parents can learn from the Amish Pactice.

The web sites below may be worth looking at.

Alison Darksus


www.800padutch.com/amish.shtml - The Amish and the Plain People of Lancaster County PA

www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyld=5455572 - Rumspringa: Amish Teens Venture into Modern Vices: NPR

WHAT MAKES A MAN SHOOT OTHERS AND THEN HIMSELF?

Columbine
On April 20th 1999 two high school students 18 year old Dylan Klebold and 17 year old Eric Harris walked into Columbine High in Littleton Colorado and in less than 15 minutes had shot and killed 12 students and a teacher, had injured 23 pupils and left thousands psychologically traumatised (Lawrence & Birkland, 2004 p1193). They then turned their guns on themselves. The boys were armed with 4 guns, over 900 rounds of ammunition (bought from the local K-Mart) and 50 explosive devices. It is interesting to note that this occurred about an hour after the largest US bombing in Kosovo (Moore, 2002). Littleton Colorado’s biggest employer is Lockheed Martin which is the world’s biggest weapons maker so weapons are an integral part of the town (Moore, 2002). Although the company accepts no responsibility for what happened at Columbine high school they do now offer anger management training to all the local schools.


the rest of the article can be found at http://www.guncrime.org/case_studies.html

US school triggers outrage by letting teachers carry guns

''In recent years the US has seen a number of fatal shootings on school campuses, most notoriously at Columbine High School, Colorado, where two pupils killed 12 pupils and a teacher and wounded dozens of others.''



http://news.scotsman.com/world/US-school-triggers-outrage-by.4398765.jp

POEMS ON PARADISE
http://www.poetseers.org/themes/list_topic/poems_about_paradise

PARADISE ON EARTH
PART 2
Life's not just for Paradise,
or places out of time,
for there's something even stranger yet,
that wont fit in a rhyme.
Just when I thought I'd seen it all,
and whilst sitting on a hill,
I saw, quite all around me,
the final Cosmic thrill.



'Twas like all love ascended
upon the Earth that day;
and the Essences of Paradise
arrived on Earth... to stay.
For twenty years I'd questioned
the reason for my birth;
but then the pieces hit the mark,
when Paradise came to Earth.



There was not much that I could do,
my self was all... 'undone',
and liberated from its chain,
I danced, with One... with One !?
For twenty years I'd wondered
what more there was to do:
but on second thoughts, I'll keep it !
And best that you do too.

By: Dick Richardson

West Somerset.

UK.

Danielle

In quotes: Virginia gunman's message
Cho Seung-hui sent 28 video clips to NBC
Excerpts from video recordings sent to NBC News by Cho Seung-hui - the student who shot at least 30 people at Virginia Tech university on Monday.

You had a hundred billion chances and ways to have avoided today. But you decided to spill my blood. You forced me into a corner and gave me only one option. The decision was yours. Now you have blood on your hands that will never wash off.

You had everything you wanted. Your Mercedes wasn't enough, you brats. Your golden necklaces weren't enough, you snobs. Your trust funds wasn't enough. Your vodka and cognac wasn't enough. All your debaucheries weren't enough. Those weren't enough to fulfil your hedonistic needs. You had everything.

You have vandalized my heart, raped my soul and torched my conscience. You thought it was one pathetic boy's life you were extinguishing. Thanks to you, I die like Jesus Christ, to inspire generations of the weak and the defenceless people.

Do you know what it feels to be spit on your face and to have trash shoved down your throat? Do you know what it feels like to dig your own grave? Do you know what it feels like to have throat slashed from ear to ear? Do you know what it feels like to be torched alive? Do you know what it feels like to be humiliated and be impaled on a cross and left to bleed to death for your amusement?

You have never felt a single ounce of pain your whole life. Did you want to inject as much misery in our lives as you can just because you can?

I didn't have to do this. I could have left. I could have fled. But no, I will no longer run. It's not for me. For my children, for my brothers and sisters that you (expletive). I did it for them.

When the time came I did it. I had to.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/6570369.stm

usa and the lobby for firearms

National Rifle Association
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
National Rifle Association
National Rifle Association logo
Formation November 1871
Headquarters Fairfax, Virginia
Membership 4.3 million[1]
Website http://www.nra.org/

This article concerns the National Rifle Association of the USA. For the UK organisation, see National Rifle Association of the United Kingdom

The National Rifle Association, or NRA, is a non-profit (501(c)(4)) group dedicated to the protection of the Second Amendment of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights, marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection of hunting and self-defense in the United States. It was established in New York in 1871 by William Conant Church and George Wood Wingate as the American Rifle Association; its first President was former Senator and famous Civil War Union Army General Ambrose Burnside[2]

The NRA sponsors firearm safety training courses, as well as marksmanship events featuring shooting skills and sports. The NRA is sometimes said to be the single most powerful lobbying organization in the United States.[3] It bases its political activity on the principle that gun ownership is a civil liberty protected by the Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights, and claims to be the oldest continuously operating civil liberties organization in the United States. According to its website, the NRA has "more than four million members."[1]

as found on wikipedia

scary stuff, I really recommend Michael Moore´s Bowling For Columbine to anyone who has not seen it yet,it get´s the problem across!

I was thinking about what a crime like that triggers in the mind of a deeply religious person? I guess a non believer can say, this is awful and tragic and the person who did it is crazy, and that´s that. But if you believe in a big plan, in a guiding hand from above, how do you deal with it?
Would you feel betrayed by god?
Or would you accept it as part of the plan?

this articles say's that Roberts was acting in a revenge that happened twenty years ago but that was something which he did. How can he do something in revenge when what happened he said he did 20years ago to me he seemed to have wanted to re-offend. Have a look at the article and tell me what you think?
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/10/02/amish.miller/index.html

larissa

Killer's Letter

Here is a post to one of the letter's which Charles had left for his wife. Read it, it really explains alot of things from his view http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/5404714.stm

Larissa

Paradise Lost

Also it makes reference to his daughter who died at a young age which it seems he never full recovered from what happened to her. Looking at that I thought that maybe by him going into an Amish community he felt closer to God and maybe he felt that he was punshing God????

Larissa

Paradise Lost

Hiya guys,

While I was looking at the article "Paradise Lost" I noticed that it was said that Charles reacted to an incident 20 years ago. I found out that when he was 11-12 he sexually abused his young relatives who at the time would have been 3 and 5. All though all of his relatives were questioned and the ones who would have been at that aged at the time, it was thought to be untrue or that they were too young to remeber but here is the website where I found this information http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/5404144.stm

Larissa

paradise and hell (paradise lost)

Danielle

another day in paradise???

She calls out to the man on the street
sir, can you help me?
Its cold and Ive nowhere to sleep,
Is there somewhere you can tell me?

He walks on, doesnt look back
He pretends he cant hear her
Starts to whistle as he crosses the street
Seems embarrassed to be there

Oh think twice, its another day for
You and me in paradise
Oh think twice, its just another day for you,
You and me in paradise

She calls out to the man on the street
He can see shes been crying
Shes got blisters on the soles of her feet
Cant walk but shes trying

Oh think twice...

Oh lord, is there nothing more anybody can do
Oh lord, there must be something you can say

You can tell from the lines on her face
You can see that shes been there
Probably been moved on from every place
cos she didnt fit in there

Oh think twice...

Danielle

This is a lovely image for some of what paradise could be.

Paradise Takes Time.

Time is a dream,
A dream of the mind.
When time is lost amongst the flowers...
The winds stay silent,
The sea's stay calm.

Paradise,
A land of never wanting.
Paradise,
An Angel's silent flight.

What is Paradise?
A place full of dreams...
Security, Happiness, Forgivness... Love...
What do you dream?

Out of time,
Out of mind,
Out of Place...

Paradise is a dream,
Created by the mind,
As comfort for the sole...

What is time?
Time is you.
When you walk it takes time.
When talk it takes time.

Paradise takes time to find...
When you find it...
Time,
Your time will stop.

Danielle

Just rememered there is a book by Douglas Coupland, 

´Hey Nostradamus`. 

A long time since I read it but if I recall properly, it deals with a high school shooting and tells the story of four different people once connected by that event. 

Might be worth having a look...