The Message In The Bottle Analysis

In our current society, there is the expectation of having more and more. It could be something as simple as a material good, or it could go beyond that where we want to have the whole world in the palm of our hands. There is not necessarily something wrong with that, but then there’s the question of, “How much is too much?” At what point does an individual have enough? How can an individual be fulfilled? As a Christian, I’m constantly reminded that a Christian is that who gives without expecting nothing, however, in today’s world giving has become very difficult.
Diogenes Allen, in his book Traces of God, made a powerful statement, “Concern for those in severe need is not a matter of choice for a Christian; it is to be a Christian” (91).
When I read that statement, I had to pause and reflect on what Diogenes meant. It is so simple for me to just call myself a Christian without reflecting what that word actually means. Diogenes brings up the point that caring for others and having a heart to help those in need is what Christians are called to do. It is not enough to just “be” a Christian. Instead, our heart not only needs to be there for others, but we need to serve those who are struggling in one way or another. Diogenes reiterates that this is not a choice for Christians, but it is their duty. Diogenes then brings up the point that as Christians we should always truly forgive, he states that, “God’s forgiveness is to reconnect us in our inmost being to his love, and only his gracious can do it” (83). This statement made me realize that it’s difficult for me to forgive and to actually forgive that person without bringing it up in the future, but I also realize that forgiving others is a healthy act. Like the previous statement said, forgiveness is what brings us back together.
The article, The message in the Bottle, by Walker Percy, touches on this idea of the importance of news in one’s predicament.
In this article, Walker’s purpose is the “investigation of news as a category of communication” (140). As tried to understand his purpose I realized that news can be a type of communication if we let it be. If we read the news and acknowledge our predicament then something is being communicate to us. Walker states that “the response of hearer of a piece of news is to take action appropriate to his predicament” (117). This statement explains that Walker believes that news should be investigate by the hearer in order to implement it to his own predicament instead of accepting the news and making it a knowledge that will not be relevant to his predicament. Therefore, Walker might think that being able to read news as something new that needs to be investigated instead of reading it at as a statement of knowledge is a struggle we all go through, but it’s necessary for an authentic life. To some extent I agree with Walker because many people just take in knowledge of the world that surrounds them and do not try to understand the news outside their own little bubble. I believe that being able to respond to news through our own predicament could help us live an authentic
life.
In the book, The Promise of Paradox, by Parker Palmer, touches on the importance of being part of a community, however Parker also mentions the many challenges we face in trying to find community. According to Parker “we find ourselves drifting dangerously toward the rocks of autonomy and the isolated self, in part because we can no longer be certain that community is available to us” (63). I agree with Parker previous statement because it’s true, our culture has become so individualized that we forget and ignore or even lose the chance to work with others or become part of a community. Education is an excellent example of this because everything seems to be a competition for individual performance. Another example is that in certain places students working together are seen as see as if they are cheating. I agree with Parker that this is a challenge that we face in finding community because even though our American culture tells us that individualism and community are possible we are pushed towards individualism a lot more.
Another challenge Parker talks about is the fear we have in creating relationships of “duration and reliability in our kind of world” (71). This fear almost goes back to this idea of being very individualized and coming out of this way of living can become very hard, which is seen through the fear of creating relationships. I agree with Parker because today’s society has this mentality that we can do everything on our own without any help of others, which causes a lot of doubt within ourselves when making new relationships. these are the challenges we face in trying to find community according to Parker. Parker states that “we fear because we think we will lose ourselves in it, finding our selfhood overpowered by the identity of the group” (73). This statement is relevant because we are so accustomed in living in living in a world of individualism where we are in power f our decisions that makes have this sense of fear that we will be under control if we become part of a community. I think that embracing community in our culture would be a helpful for us to find more positive ways of living in the world and in community. I believe that schools should find more ways of creating a community with the parents and family members of the students. I think that if this happens or continues to happen people will find it easier or helpful to be part of a community where they are somewhat familiar with. Another helpful way to seek more positive ways of living in community is to remember that we are not alone and that creating relationships will help us not only grow in community bit also individually. We might find things about ourselves we never knew and find our purpose in life. As Christians, we can find a deep sense of justice and purpose in life when we start to think about others and start helping each other and the ones who are in most need. I believe that if we follow what Jesus wanted and want from us we will live in community with a sense of justice and peace. For the people who are not Christians but still part of a community I think it’s important for them to realize the importance of humanity and that giving and helping is important for a community to be healthy. Also, being able to realize that everyone is the same and that they can share similar values despite their faith is important in order to have a deep sense of justice and purpose. In my opinion, Brian McLaren believes “that if Jesus were to come back today, he might not be a Christian” because many people identify themselves as Christians but their actions do not show it. There have been many Christians that have oppressed people of other religions and discriminate minorities. Jesus was always and is still an example of what it means to “love our neighbor.” He helped the people who needed the most help. He showed the community of his time the importance of treated people equally and helping the ones with the most need. I believe that the religion never existed but it was created by humans and it has caused so much oppression and discrimination against one another. Therefore, Jesus wouldn’t want to come as a Christian and represent one religion, especially a religion that has done many wrongs.