Conserve, Reuse, and Recycle

The sentence that describes the point the most is "Quite simply, use what you have unitl it can no longer function. Then it's time to recycle." Semrau's intent was to encourage people to make the most of your body, even after you have no more use of it. Semrau took the saying "be green" in a very literal way. He was not striving to be green by conserving, reusing, and recycling objects, but by reusing himself. First, he described how he used his body for the first 75 years of his life, and now how he will achieve his dream of becoming a surgeon by donating his body to science. However, this point was not very evident at the beginning of the article because he left out this last fact until the very end. Because of this lack of information, readers can find themselves wondering how his life story was related to the earlier discussion of going green. The article had an effect, but the effect was sort of lost in the description of his childhood dream of becoming a surgeon. It created a lighter tone to the article, and gently introduced his idea instead of forcing it on the reader, but if his purpose was to encourage others make the most out of their bodies, it was not effective because it really was not persuasive. It did not give many reasons for doing so, only why he personally was doing it.

Hymn Analysis

The theme of "Savior of the Nations, Come" was that Christ's coming was a glorious and wondrous event. To support this theme, Luther uses the language devices of description and diction throughout the entire hymn. "By the Spirit of our God,Was the Word of God made flesh--Woman's Offspring, pure and fresh." Luther describes Jesus as the "Word of God made flesh," an almost unbelievable and awe-inspiring event.  Martin continues his amazement as he writes about Jesus' sacrifice. "Captive leading death and hell--
High the song of triumph swell!" Martin uses the word "captive" to show Jesus' victory over "death and hell," freeing us from sin forever. Because of this freedom, Luther uses "song of triumph" to express his joy over this wonderful act. This act leads to a heavenly future. "Boundless shall Thy kingdom be; When shall we its glories see?" Luther describes Jesus' kingdom as "boundless," giving the readers a full understanding of how large and wonderful the "glories" of His kingdom will be. After describing Jesus' sacrifice and victory, Luther re-describes the beginning. "Brightly doth Thy manger shine, Glorious is its light divine." With this statement, Luther reaffirms the message of how amazing Christ's coming was and how his manger brightly shines as a witness to what He accomplished.

"Savior of the Nations, Come"

Sermon Diagnostic

1. 32 mentions of Jesus
2. Verbs: makes holy, set apart, slain, is lamb, died, rose, reigns, did this death thing, makes alive, put name on us, came, makes blessing, lives
3. Rev. Borghardt's sermon had the theme of eternal life, while Edward's sermon had the theme of God's wrath and judgement. Borghardt's sermon contained much more Gospel and good news throughout the entire message, while Edward's sermon contained mostly Law, fear-invoking images, and God's eternal judgement. Borghardt's primary purpose was to tell how great God's love is for us and to tell us about this wonderful place He has prepared for those who have faith in Him, which we have access to because of what Jesus did for us. Edward simply wanted to instill fear of God's wrath.

Rev. Borghardt's Sermon

"Law banning items from rearview mirrors is being rethought"

This article, by Matt Helms, is about lessening the Michigan ban on objects hanging from the rearview mirror. Since most people ignore the law in the first place, Michigan lawmakers are thinking about allowing small items to be hung from the mirror as long as they do not block the driver's view. Some people were just ignorant of the law: "'I thought it was legal as long as it's not something that obstructs your view.'" I like this quote because I too was unaware that there was a law banning items on the rearview mirror. I have always seen people hang different items from their mirrors, so it would have never occurred to me that it is illegal. I understand why the ban is in place, but as long as someone is not going overboard with the fuzzy dice and air fresheners, I think people should be allowed to hang small items. If it is not impairing their driving, I do not have a problem with it. I support the compromise of allowing small items to hang from the rearview mirror.

Mitch Albom's Article on Lebron

Albom's point in the article was to say that when trouble comes to an African American athlete in the media, he/she often blames racism instead of the true reason for the problem. In this case, Lebron was criticized for throwing an hour television special all about his decision of what team, Cleveland or Miami, he was going to choose, instead of just announcing it plainly like expected. Albom argues that it was Lebron's ego that caused the trouble with the media and with his fans, not racism. Albom argues this excuse is often used as an "easy out" so Lebron and others in similar situations do not have to take any blame for their actions.
I agree with Albom. I think fans left him because of his ego, not his race. I do think that Lebron should just admit that he was wrong. It might give him back some of his fans, because people tend to be forgiving of their favorite athletes. However, in blaming racism, he is simply throwing off any responsibility. People did not stop liking him because of his race. People stopped liking him because of his ego. It is as simple as that.
One of Albom's best arguments for his point that it was ego, not racism, that got Lebron into trouble, is the fact that no one claimed race was a factor in his success. Since race was not a factor in his success, that means Lebron had fans from all races, and those that left him were not just white. Fans who left were from all races. Therefore, race was not a factor, but ego was.
Mitch Albom's Article: It's not race, Lebron, but it might be you