Essay On Art Spiegelman

For Julian of Norwich the body is a direct way to connect to God. Through suffering it helps to strengthen your faith and in turn you are granted grace from God. For Art Spiegelman the body connects you to your religion as well but, it also gives you knowledge of yourself. “I wanted to suffer with him, while living in my mortal body, as God would give me grace.” (Julian 6) Through physical suffering Julian is given divine knowledge. She receives visions from God which allow her to experience the suffering the Jesus had endured. Julian views the body as a tool that can be used to gain divinity from God. Spiegelman on the other hand is able to gain knowledge of himself. “But a lot of the corporations that flourished in Nazi Germany are richer
On a deeper level religion is something that is supposed to give you peace and connects you to others. It allows you to grow emotionally and intellectually. For many religion is a way of life. Dorothy Day views religion as a way to foster change in the world around us. “Community- that was the social answer to the long loneliness.” (Day 224) Through religion Day was able to overcome the sense of loneliness that plagued her in life. In this way we have similar views on religion. Landon Gilkey also shares a functional view on religion as he believes it has a use in society but it a matter of choice. Gilkey is convinced religion forms the foundation for morality. Although, I agree that religion is a choice I do not think that religion provides morality. Morality is too complex to be solely dependent on religion. With that being said I find Day’s definition of religion to be much more adequate. Religion enabled Day to grow throughout her life which I believe religion is supposed to do. While, we do not agree on the functionality of religion this is closest definition in which I can identify with. Many people have differing views. There is no right or wrong view as long as you find a sense of peace