Sydney Smith 
Denysha Taylor 
Goethe was a poet, dramatist, scientist, and philosopher. He view of humans showed that we are torn by stressors and conflicts of life. He believed that there were always opposing forces, such as love and hate. He stated that the goal of life should be to embrace these forces rather than to deny them (200). He is also known for his idea of phenomenology, which means that meaningful experiences should be studied. He was very intrigued with humans and how we view the different forces in life. I enjoyed how he explored life through different aspects, such as biology and poetry. It gave many different perspectives on how to look at life.
I think that Goethe has to do with redemption because he explains that we need to embrace the bad things in our lives. Goethe explained that one should live life with a passion and aspire continuously for personal growth (200). Yes, bad things are going to happen, but there is also good out there. I think that is a great example of redemption. Jesus died for us so that the bad things that do happen will help us show to lean on him. We are to learn to live with these different aspects of life and face them in a positive way. It is how we grow. Even though we go through hard times, we always have God to lean on. He will help us grow, but we must embrace the bad things to help us move on. Redemption is important because it shows that we have someone to lean on. Hardships are a part of life, but through God we can get through them. Goethe’s opinion about embracing the different forces in life is a great example of how we need to follow God through anything.
Jessica Weeden
10:56 am, 10.05.13
Hillary, I agree with your connection between Goethe and Redemption. His emphasis on embracing opposing forces shows how he thought that by accepting them we could experience growth and meaning. In a fallen world we need a way to still move forward — redemption, and Goethe provides an outlook on our everyday stressors and experiences that enables us to find meaning. I like how at the end you said we must embrace the bad things to move on. That is so true. Sure we are to “forget what is behind” to move “on towards the goal” but part of that step is relying on God and then personally coming to terms with the past, whether that be good or bad. In the end, that makes all the difference.
Zach Stromberg
4:17 pm, 10.05.13
I definitely agree with these thoughts concerning Goethe. The fact that he looked at the two sides of things and saw that there was always a way to move past, and move forward. There will always be hardships, but, like you said, there is a sense of overcoming these trials and that is a direct connection with the idea of resurrection. There is always a way to move past, and something greater to look to. Thankfully we have access to the grace and power in the resurrection that has overcome all of our sins, pains, weaknesses, etc. I can’t think of anything much more encouraging than that.
Savannah Wesley
8:36 pm, 10.05.13
I enjoyed how you related Goeth to redemption and I agree on every level, however, I also believe he relates strongly to Creation. As you said, he believed in strong opposing forces, good and evil. In the beginning there were such things, and God saw in us a beauty that was worth creating and growing even though evil would infiltrate our souls. Goeth says ” we need to embrace the bad things in our lives”, and I think that when God’s creation does just that, we thrive.
Irene Anderson
12:54 am, 10.07.13
I really love the quote that you have with Goeth’s picture. I really feel like it has such truth in it. Your post is definitely intriguing. I love that you have such an optimistic view of Goeth. however, do you you think there is a time to not embrace the bad in life? We will have our trails and tribulations without a doubt, but emotions like hate or anger can lead to worst things. It just seemed like you want us to also embrace our flaws. I could be making wrong assumptions, but sometimes I just like to challenge. lol (I just think of embracing as accepting and not letting go.) We should acknowledge the bad and not hide it from people or keep it in the dark even if it’s secrets or painful things we have gone through so I agree with that. God can use our worst times to teach us the best lessons. Thanks for posting this!
Maddy Spell
7:12 pm, 10.07.13
This is a great connection to redemption. The only way we have the ability to live life with passion and the ability to grow is because of redemption. Bad can turn to good with redemption, so we are able to lead a “good” life if we choose to.
Nicole Flores
7:31 pm, 10.07.13
I really enjoyed reading your thoughts! As you said that Goeth wanted us to embrace the bad in life and to use these times for personal growth. Both this thought and the quote with Goeth’s picture made me think about this idea that life is for growth. We are not here to just age and passively wait for life to come to us. We are here to take in everything and grow as we learn new information, have new experiences, and enjoy the moment. Which personally reminds me of creation. Then we have the freedom to decide whether to live to remain as we or to live as we should be. We also have the freedom to choose redemption from God. Thanks for this post! It made me think!