Haiku fun

Teaching my youngest Haiku last term, this is my example, courtesy of a persistent cat.

Zeke's, gray, snakelike tail

Lying across my blank page

Begs my attention.

From My Artist's Pen

“Augustus was savior of Rome, and Jesus the Son of God is Savior of the world”

The saying is actually made up of two saying, one by Publius Nigidius Figulus, “The ruler of the world is now born” concerning Augustus, and the other was said by Mark, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God”. Mark was one of the apostles of Jesus, and he later wrote a book about the life of Jesus. He went out to preach the gospel but was killed for his faith. Publius was part of the senate when Augustus came to be Caesar of Rome. He wrote many books and supported Caesar

Another way to put the saying is: “Augustus saved Rome from collapsing, making way for Jesus, Son of God who was later killed on a cross to save the whole world from death.”

Mark was trying to spread the Gospel to the world. We are not told who in particular he was writing to, but being one of the first gospels, he could have been writing to everyone. At one point he was Peter’s scribe and Peter restored him to faith in Jesus. Publius and his friends were trying to find safe rules so that men and gods could talk to each other. He was also trying to support Augustus.

If Augustus had not saved Rome, then Rome could have been turned upside down before Jesus even got there. And if Rome was in turmoil then it would not have been worrying about Jesus and may not have killed him of the cross. If Jesus did not die on the cross then the world would not be saved from death, because sin leads to death and through the death of Jesus, we have life.

It is like a test. To understand the test you have to study and lay the foundations of what you are studying. It was the same idea when Augustus took hold of the throne of Rome. As you continue to study for your test you build on what you already know. In the same way Augustus built Rome up, he cleaned up the streets and kept the peace. As the time of the test gets nearer and nearer, new ideas and thoughts go through you head. Jesus son of God turns up as a common Nazerite, grows up, lives a perfect life and begins his ministry. Then the test come at last and you pass never having to look back but go on into some new subject. So Jesus took the test, died on the cross and saved us from our sins never having to go through death again.

In the end Augustus and Jesus proved the saying true. Augustus saved Rome in the Civil Wars and he closed the gates that could only be closed in a time of peace three times. He took good care of Rome, and sort of prepared it for the coming of Jesus. Then Jesus came into earth, and lived a perfect life. The Jews with the help of Rome killed Jesus on the cross. But on the third day, Jesus rose from the dead and through his death saved the world, giving us life and freeing us from our sins.

Remember Daniel and his visions. One of those visions was about a statue of Nebuchadnezzar, with a gold head and stone feet. Well, in Daniel’s dream the statue crumbled down to nothing. Rome is like the statue and in the end Jesus is what brought it crashing down. He brought it down, through his good works and the works of the apostles.

The saying was “Augustus was savior of Rome, and Jesus the Son of God is Savior of the world.” Augustus saved Rome and brought peace so that Jesus could come and save the world from sin and death. The saying is actually two sayings one by Publius, who was part of the senate and the other was said by the apostle Mark, who was one of the twelve that followed Jesus. Publius supported Augustus. The saying also shows us how God used Augustus reign to bring salvation to the world. Daniel’s dream also proved the wisdom of the saying true. Therefore the saying is a wise saying.

Writing Project - Narnia

Its taken me a while to work out how to post from word, but here is my Artist's writing project from our Narnia studies. I think she did well for a twelve year old.

Comparing the Creation of Narnia to the Creation of Earth

C. S. Lewis was a Christian writer whose children’s books often make us think about events in the Bible. Was C.S. Lewis trying to rewrite the Bible? Was he trying to put wrong under right? Was he trying to create a book like the beginning of the Bible in a new world to reach those who will not read the Bible?

The creation of Narnia all started with a singer and his song. Two children: Digory and Polly, a witch named Jadis, Uncle Andrew, a cabby, and his horse got into Narnia while Aslan was creating it. It is all dark, and there is nothing when they get there. Then they heard a song. Stars suddenly appeared and the moon shone. Morning came, and Digory watched the young sun rise. They found themselves in a valley surrounded by mountains. Then they saw Aslan, the Lion who was singing. Plants were growing in seconds. The witch did not like the Lion, so she threw the lamp-post bar, which happened to be in her hand, at Aslan. She wanted to rule over this new world, so she ran because Aslan was still walking towards them. Aslan was not hurt and the bar grew into a lamp-post. Uncle Andrew thought he could make a fortune out of Narnia. He was scared of Aslan, so he tried to run, tripped on a tree root, and fell in a stream. He had hardened his heart to Aslan, so he could no longer hear what Aslan said. The ground bubbled up, and animals came out of those bubbles. Aslan called the River Gods and Dwarfs. He picked some of the animals and made it so that they could speak. To all the talking things he gave Narnia, warning them not to become like the other animals again. The cabby’s horse got picked, and became special like the other talking animals. Aslan was still the lord of Narnia and all of his creation was under him. Narnia was made in five hours.

The biblical account of creation starts with nothing but God. On the first day, God created the body of the world. He made light and dark, and made them day and night. On the second day, God created the sky, or dome, and created air. On the third day, God created dry land and plants of every seed grew on the dry land. On the forth day God created the Sun and the stars and he placed them in the sky. On the fifth day, God created the fish and placed them in the sea, and the birds in the air. On the sixth day, God created mammals or animals of every species. He made man and then woman out of man He said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” (Genesis 1:28) On the seventh day God rested and made it a Holy day of rest. But one of the angels, God had created turned against God. He rebelled and bought evil and with him. He took many other angels. He is now known as Satan.

Both worlds in their creation have the same point. That is Evolution sucks, and is a lie. They were both created out from nothing. Both were created by their own creator. And when their creator said it and it was done. The creators saw their work was good and were pleased. The creators gave their world to its inhabitants. In both cases evil appears independently from their creator. Both worlds were made with almost the same plan and order.

But they did have differences. Narnia had gods and dwarfs that were placed under it’s creator. There is nothing of the sort on earth. Narnia was made in 5 hours, earth was made in 6 days, and the 7^th day was made Holy. In Narnia evil was already in the world before Narnia was created. But on Earth God made angels and then evil entered Earth. Earth is real but Narnia is a story.

The creation of Earth and the story of Narnia kick Evolution in the face. But the question is “Was C.S. Lewis trying to rewrite the Bible?” We can see he is not trying to rewrite the Bible because if he was he would firstly be more accurate with the differences, and secondly, he would have not stopped were he did, and thirdly C. S. Lewis is a Christian. “Was he trying to put wrong and evil under the right and what is good?” Yes, I think he was, cause when he calls the gods and dwarfs to rule, Aslan is still the creator, in control. He never stops Aslan from being the Lord of the land. “Or was he trying to create a book like the beginning of the Bible in a new world to reach those who will not read the Bible?” Yes and No. No he does not want to replace the Bible. So what is he doing? He is trying to make us think about what is good. Like when the horse, Fledge asks the children, “I think He likes to be asked?” Which means God likes to be asked. So he is trying to make you think about God. Yes he is trying to make those who don’t believe to think about God, and to get others to read the Bible.

7 May 2009