SXSW Trip

From pictures with the famous imaginery creature the Jackalope to experiences with a huge yellow Britney Spears snake, this event has enough to make it worth your while. South by Southwest had so many things to take advantage of and while held in the awesome capital Austin in the great state of Texas, this music showcase further proves everything is greater/bigger/better in Texas.

South by Southwest (SXSW) started out as a tiny music festival in the Texas state capital. Now it is a massive gathering of music fans from all over the nation, where people discuss and showcase trends of music in the culture and media. South by Southwest is held in Austin, which is only about 76 miles from San Antonio, a quick hour drive. (With my driving it was more like a 45 minute drive!) SXSW showcases hundreds of musical acts from around the globe on over 80 stages in downtown Austin. Many bands spend tons of time, effort, and money into this showcase and for many, this is the time where their shows either make or break them. The harsh crowds are the judges who tell brands what they like and dont like and who should andshould not be signed.

SXSW is a very important event in that this is the place where many bands are either discovered or get their big break. Bands, such as Hellogoodbye, are found here and signed, to which the next year they have achieved thei lifelong dreams, to become a real rock band. Also, with televisions shows such as Real World Austin, it made the popularity and attendance of SXSW rise tremedously, which is a great promotion tactic. Although this blog is supposed to concentrate on the unique things you can participate in at Trinity, I thought it was interesting how many of my fellow students from Trinity I saw at the shows there. Many of them I didn't personally know, but I could point them out as people I had seen around campus. I even heard a group I recognized yell behind me and my roommates "Hey they go to Trinity too!"



One event we went to in Austin was the American Apparel Flea Market where they had swimsuits, tanks, tees, shorts, dresses, vintage sunglasses, and tons more with prices starting at $4 and there was nothing more than $20. Me and my roommates went crazy and splurged on all the great deals. I even bought 5 pairs of swim wear along with a couple other things and it only came out to $35! Music there was provided by a DJ from Viva Radio and was awesome. the DJ had great beats to get the shoppers in the mood to go crazy!

On 6th Street, there were many things to get into from clubs and bars to tattoo shops and cupcake vans. Yes, cupcake vans that sold every type of cupcake out of what looked like it used to be an ice cream truck, but was now turned into a cupcake van. There were also many bands shooting videos, playing on the streets, and walking around promoting their band. It was an awesome experience.

Here is the footage from a show we went to of a band called Explosions in the Sky. After their performance, they literally put explosions in the sky by shooting over a thousand dollars worth of fireworks for over 20 minutes straight.

IF YOU EVER GET A CHANCE TO GO TO SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST, NO MATTER WHAT KIND OF MUSIC YOU LIKE OR HOW MUCH MONEY YOU HAVE, TAKE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO GO. IT IS WORTH EVERY PENNY, EVERY MILE YOU DRIVE, AND EVERY BUSTED EAR DRUM! :) I LOVED IT.

Hindu Temple of San Antonio Visit

Driving to the temple, I felt anxious and very aware of my surroundings, keeping a sharp lookout for the sign that said Hindu Temple of San Antonio. From a distance, my room mate, Chanel, and I were able to see the white temple through all of the green trees up on the hill. Once we arrived, approaching the white carvings on the outside, I became more excited. The devotees were on the outside of the temple, following the line of ceremony to the inside where the rest of the service would take place. I felt somewhat awkward approaching this procession, yet ready to learn and participate in a culture in which I only had textual knowledge. Nothing inside of the temple felt familiar to me, and I felt lost among all of the Hindus that were proceeding with their ceremony. Not wanting to interrupt, we stood in the front of the hall by the entrance trying to figure out what to do or who to talk to. Once we were approached by a kind man, he soothed my nervousness with his welcoming tone. I felt ready to participate fully in their service in order to gain a full understanding of their culture through the beliefs. All of the colors and statues representing the deity were surprising. They were decorated and the room where the service took place was empty except for the carpet to sit on and an area at the front for the gods to take their place. At the beginning of the service, I felt anxious and ready to witness and participate in a service that many outsiders don’t get to see. This service was a special one in honor of the anniversary of the temple. I learned of how they bathed the deity in milk, buttermilk, yogurt, and water multiple times in a cycle in order to cleanse it while praying to it. The chants were in Sanskrit and some of the words I was familiar with from my class on Hinduism. In order to cleanse the worshippers, a priest went around and threw water over the heads of everyone in the service to cleanse them in welcoming the gods. The images were dressed and decorated with garlands and ornaments. The priests vigorously cleansed them while the rest of the congregation prayed. At one point they even used a filter while pouring water over the top of the deity’s head in order to make sure it was pure. They proceeded to put flowers on its head after finishing with the cleansing, tied cloths around it, and put clay and powder on its body. Visitors were then given a book of the prayers, including Purusha Suktam, The Sacrifice of the Lord, Ganesha Ashtottara, and many others that were chanted and read aloud throughout the ceremony. Many of the chants were directed to Shiva while the priests closed the curtains and finished decorating it. After they presented the devotees with the finished decorated deities, they sang and chanted to them until the priest began his sermon for the day which focused on the eternal day and guidance. He spoke of the importance of the role of guides and students, and how Gita guides entire humanity. During the ceremony, I felt multiple emotions, from anxiety and nervousness, to loss and confusion, to awareness and awe at the information I was obtaining. Afterwards, driving out of the temple, I felt accomplished and at peace, yet that there was a mission for me in life. I felt that if everyone in the world was open to learning about other cultures and accepting them through understanding the core of their lives, the world could be a better place.
I spoke with three main devotees at the temple. When I spoke to a woman who was selling snacks at the entrance of the temple, she was very open and willing to attempt at answering any questions I had to help me gain insight and understanding of her culture and people. Ambika Natniajan helped me gain insight through the questions I raised. I asked her about the temple and how its architecture related to the history of Hinduism. She answered that the temple was built in1988 but in March of 1989 it was inaugurated. The Hindu Temple of San Antonio is different from any other temple in that it is not built like a traditional temple would normally be, including the inner sanctum, traditional arch, and hallways. She also informed us that in Hindu temples there is no set time and no usual congregation or group services. Most devotees have their own shrine in their home and don’t usually come to a temple for worship since ultimately everything is under dharma. The devotees can come whenever and worship in their own ways to their own personal choice of deity. She explained the choosing of the main deity and how a lot of it deals with traditions of the family. Ambika described how her family’s main deity is Shiva, and how most families worship one of three deities.
We then went on to the food ceremony afterwards, where we met up with Mr. Kasinath. He was great and very informative, introducing us to many people whom he felt could more thoroughly answer our questions. I asked Mr. Kasinath what the status of women under Hinduism was, in which he answered that in practice and ideally it was equal. He was very honest in is answer in say in reality women are treated “despicably” but that the situation is getting better. He even noted that the current President and Prime Minister are women, and that this is great progress for the movement for equality for women; still noting that male domination of the world needs to change. He explained to us the significance of the anniversary ceremony and the sermon that the priest gave. We discussed the significance of the flame burning of camphor, in how it burns away the camphor without residue symbolizing how we must let the ego burn away and become one with God. Mr. Kasinath talked to us about the significance of the broken coconuts (symbolizing the broken ego) opening up the inner being to God, and how the goal of Hinduism is to get past your own individualism to become one with God. I asked him what the proper procedure was in making an offer to one of the gods, to which he answered “nothing.” He told us how you “just do it” whether it is a flower or even a prayer, you subdue the ego to God. That is the purpose of kneeling before the deity at the beginning of the ceremony, because every knee must bend to God to give him rule over you. When I asked him what was the proper way to salute the deity he said “anything” as long as the person is “sincere and it is internally guided.” During the session in which we were discussing our questions, he introduced us to the man that drew the cover image for Dr. Mackenzie Brown’s book on Hinduism. We then had a discussion of the four stages of life and the importance of seeking moksha. They seemed very impressed with my knowledge of the terms they used and due to that knowledge we were able to discuss things deeper without having to pause to explain the meanings. We spoke of how we enjoyed our experience and asked more specific questions concerning the ceremony we had just witnessed. In the end, we came to the conclusion that if everyone in the world could be as open and willing to learn about other cultures in order to gain an understanding through the core of their beliefs, how we could final attain peace and surpass the suffering in the world.
Upon exiting the temple, I went and sat on a bench outside of a shrine overlooking the town and nature below. It was so beautiful and breathtaking that I felt at one with nature and the world itself. At the same time I felt overwhelmed by all the knowledge I had gained and how I felt I needed to pass on that information in order to help make a difference in the world. Overall, the temple visit was liberating and successful. I learned new things and experienced something new, gaining insight to a culture which is greatly misunderstood throughout the world.

Homosexuality and the Bible Lecture

A Yale Professor was brought to Trinity University on the evening of March 19, 2009 present his lecture on "Homosexuality and the Bible" in Parker Chapel. Dr. Dale B. Martin is the Woolsey Professor of Religious Studies at Yale University and the author of five books. His most famous book Sex and the Single Savior is a collection of essays on gender and sexuality in biblical interpretation.

At the actual lecture, over 250 people were in attendance. Dr. Martin talked about social justice and debates surrounding it such as same sex marriage, the don't ask don't tell clause in the military, and anti-gay passages in Scripture, to name a few. He talked about how in helping us to seek meaning behind the words of the Scripture, it depends on the person, and that is why it is such a controversial issue. Dr. Martin proved to be a very thought provoking man while his work proved to be ground breaking and considered "must-reads."

During his lecture, he describes situations in which people ask him questions such as "What does the Bible say?" In which he answers that literally the Bible does not say anything. He makes the point that "the Bible as a text doesn't speak." So therefore it doesn't say anything about homosexuality or marriage or slavery. It is simply up to interpretation and for you to decide what is right or wrong while having the option of using the Bible as a source to back your views. Simply, Dr. Martin says " Texts don't speak, they must be interpreted." The intentions of their meaning vary. Even authors who write having intentions of getting a certain meaning or point across may sometimes word it to where it doesn't lead to the meanings of the texts. The meaning is not limited to what the author intended to say. The interpretation of it depends on the social convention in the context of which the statement was made.

He further goes on to analyze the reasons behind where the notion that homosexuality is wrong in the Bible. He takes the Latin word arsenokoites which is a word used in 1 Corinthians 6:9 and also 1 Timothy 1:10. Literally, Arsen means male and koites means bed. So therefore arsenokoites was interpreted in ancient times as men who have sexual activities with other men. But Dr. Martin proves a great point, just because you take a word and dissect it doesn't mean you get the meaning of the word. To further prove his point on this he uses the word understanding; you don't actually stand under a person. His main point on this is that you have to look at how a word is used in context to find the meaning of the word. The word arsenokoites occurs within the list of sins in the Sibylline Oracle but the sins listed are not sexual. Things listed are stealing, cheating laborers, and defrauding widows and orphans for example. The context the word is used in this case is for economic sins, not sexual. There is an entirely different list for sexual sins on which arsenokoites is not included on. So the question is, why is it not included in the sexual sins list but it is on the economic sins list? Interesting, ehh?

Arsenokoites is also used in the Acts of John 36 to once again make a list of economic sins. Dr. Martin suggests that maybe the economic sin or arsenokoites could be pimping. Another word, malakos, occurs thousands of times. Only in the last 20th century has the word been translated to mean homosexuality which is the interesting point. Before the 20th century, malakos simply meant soft men, men of the good life who were "effeminate". Here are some examples:

• "weaklinges" : Tyndale 1534, Coverdale 1535, Cranmer 1539




• Wyclif 1380, "lechouris ayens kynde"




• Geneva Bible 1557 "wantons"




• "effeminate" : Douai-Rheims 1582, KJV 1611, ASV 1901

Malakos stopped being translated to have such meanings due to our changing society. It became known as:

• a particular sexual act or disposition




• Jerusalem Bible (1966) : catamite




• "male prostitute" : NIV 1973, NRSV 1989




• NAB 1970: arsenokoites + malakos = sodomite




• sexual perversion: RSV 1946, TEV 1966, NEB 1970, REB 1992

Some people claim that idolaters are the reasons there are homosexuals because their punishment for committing idolatrous acts was to be called to perform homosexual acts. Paul also claimed that Jews and Christians don't commit this act, and therefore cannot be homosexual. His logic is that only gentiles are punished by homosexual sex. This was one theory discussed by Dr. Martin in his lecture.

His closing remarks were that if you say you understand the true meaning of the Scripture yet your meaning does not preach the love of God and the love to thy neighbor, then your meaning does not interpret Scripture at all. Dr. Martin says that you have to interpret through love, which is also preached by St. Augustine (354-430) in the Christian Doctrine 1.35.40. He ends by stating the fact that Christian faith is based on not knowing but having faith, and trying to understand with love and God's grace.