Jess Chapman Post 5

Jess Chapman Mrs. Whilhelmus AP English 8/6/13 “Philosophies and Personal Beliefs” Prompt 5 Throughout history there have been many different belief systems and philosophies. As the world has moved forward, generations after generations, people have added on to other beliefs and have begun more and more belief systems in history. Everyone’s beliefs are different depending on who you are. What do you believe in? There are many different belief systems, time periods, and cultures in “Sophie’s World”. There are many of these belief systems that I do not agree with though, such as, Myths and Thales. I do not agree with, or believe in myths, and Thales, because they go against my own religious beliefs. I do not believe in myths, because they say that there are “many gods”. According to myths, along with the Indo-Europeans, the Earth itself is made up of many gods. Also, they say that all these gods literally make up different things in the world like; water, fire, and air. Then, on the other hand, Thales believed that the Earth and world evolved from water. He also believed that everything was physically full of gods. Thales and Myths speak about multigods, meaning that there is more than one God. Many other philosophers come up with theories throughout different time periods too. In the beginning of “Sophie’s World”, there were “natural philosophers”, who were some of the first philosophers of the world. They took the first step towards scientific ideas, rather than religious ideas. Therefore, they were the first to start thinking that the Earth evolved from natural things, rather than from God’s creations. The next philosophers that I did not agree with are, Anaximinder, Anaximenes, and fate. First, Anaximinder, believed that our worlds and it was ‘boundless’. Anaximenes believed the world evolved from vapor and air, while fate just refers to luck. I do not believe in fate or ‘luck’, because God makes everything happen for a reason, it is not just fate. There is no such thing as fate, in my opinion. There were some of the belief systems and philosophies where I believed part of it, but not all of it. For example, Democritus said all things are made of atoms and molecules. I believe that everything is made up of atoms, molecules, and particles. On the other hand, Democritus also thought that human souls are not immortal, but I disagree with that part of Democritus’s theory. I believe all humans have immortal souls. That is why I do not fully agree with Democritus’s belief system. There were many philosophies from “Sophie’s World” that I did not agree with, but there was one that I did strongly agree with more than any of the other philosophies. I agreed with the Semites’ beliefs the most out of every belief in “Sophie’s World”. The Semites believed many religious things. They believed there was just on God, who created the whole Earth and universe, which is what started history. They also believed in the Christianity religion, which is what I believe in, as well. Along with Christianity, the Semites believed in monotheism too. Monotheism means “one God”. I am a Christian, so I believe there is only one God, so I believe in monotheism too. The stories and teachings from the Semites are very similar to those of the Bible. They focused on the New Testament and the Old Testament, teaching more people about Christianity and passing Christianity on from generation onto generation. The Semites say that Jesus is God’s one and only son. They call him “Jesus”, “Messiah”, “Son of God”, and “Kingdom of God”’ referring to Jesus Christ being the son of God. The Semites’ customs and beliefs are what I agree with most, because all their beliefs agree with the Christian customs and belief systems. Me being a Christian and reading “Sophie’s World”, really made me think more in depth about my religion and what I truly believe in, in my life. I believe that the white rabbit philosophy is like the universe to God. This is because God made the universe, but nobody can wrap their mind around how he did it or how he just always existed during all of history. This is just like how we cannot wrap our minds around how the magic trick with the white rabbit works. So, God is kind of like the magician, because he knows how he made the world, just like the magician knows how he magically pulled the white rabbit out of the hat, while nobody else knows how either of these things work. I think I reside halfway in the rabbit’s fur, because I strongly believe even though we may be referred to as tiny insects in the rabbit’s fur, God can still see us and he knows we exist.With us knowing God sees us and has hope for us, it makes us, Christians feel wanted and we are stronger people, or Christians. All Christians should he halfway in the rabbit’s fur, because we cannot fully comprehend how God was just always there and we still have questions for God,himself. All in all, the Christians, being partially in the rabbit’s fur, are wanting and trying to get everyone else as high in the rabbit’s fur as they are, so that they can be closer to God, as well. So, I think I reside halfway in the rabbit’s fur, getting closer and closer to getting totally out of the rabbit’s fur to be with God. In conclusion, the book, “Sophie’s World”, was a fabulous novel to read. It really inspired me to think about my beliefs and who I really am and why I am here, on this Earth. It also encouraged me to think where my place in this world is. Reading “Sophie’s World” and thinking outside of the box, I answered some questions that I have always had for a long time and I realized things about me and my life. Therefore, I am going to think more thoroughly about the decisions that I make in my life. I am going to think about things more in depths too. Lastly, I am going to be a stronger leader in everything I do, being more our going and getting more involved, instead of being a follower as my life goes on, because I was to set the example for others and not just follow what other people do anymore. “Sophie’s World” helped me to find who I really am inside myself, by inspiring me to thinking more into things and helping me to come outside of my “shell” a little bit. “Sophie’s World”, by Jostein Gaader was an inspiring and encouraging novel. Works Cited Gaarder, Jostein. Sophie’s World, Norwegian: Berkley, 1991. Print Jaffie, Valerie. “Literature Study Guide of Sophie’s World.” Sparknotes.com. B&N, 2013. Internet. 31 July 2013. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/sophie/section2.rhtml. Ravi, Krishna. “Notes on Sophie’s World. Angelfire.com. 2011. Internet. 31 July 2013. http://www.angelfire.com/biz4/krishasworld/sophie.html.