ARIDIDON, LOISE JOCHEBED T.

LCENWRD_C33A
MS. ROSETTIE ARROYO APRIL 6, 2O22

REFLECTION & REACTION PAPER ON SHORT VIDEOS

First video: The origin of the Bible

First of all, the Bible is like a library, a collection of books with different stories, poems, songs,
and promises written by prophets (Israelites). They are the ones who wrote about the biggest
questions in life such as death, struggles, and the meaning of life itself. The Israelites went
through different phases: Egypt, 1st temple, the Babylonians, they were exiled, and finally they
reformed their identity and compiled the scripture on the 2nd temple. They called this ‘TaNaK’.
Torah which means law; Nevi’im the Hebrew word for prophets; and Ketuvim which translates
to writings. In terms of structure, the scripture consists of three parts: the Old Testament, the
New Testament, and other second temple writings. However, in the end, the protestant Christians
wanted to go back to the traditional Bible which only consist of the old and new testament. In
terms of content, the Bible started with the creation of the Earth that was later corrupted by
mankind, and ended with a promise that the savior of this world will soon comeback for His
children. All in all, every word from the Bible aims to relay God’s message to us readers.

Before I started to watch the video, I already had a pretty good idea of what kind of content the
Bible has, but I had no idea on its origin. I simply though that it was compiled and passed on by
each prophet from each generation as time goes on. It was an eye opener to know how many
phases and reformations that the Bible went through. With this, I learned to appreciate it even
more because it wasn’t only the effort of the prophets, but a lot of people have risked their lives
translating, spreading, and keeping the Gospel alive up until this generation. It’s really amazing
how the Bible withstood all the calamities and changes that occurred all these years while still
being relevant and relatable.
Second video: The story of the Bible

This video was all about the story of how humans have decided to take their own path of
deciding on good and evil instead of partnering up with Him and just follow His lead. This first
occurred when the first humans, Adam and Eve, decided to listen to the serpent and ate the
forbidden fruit that would make them as “powerful” as God. Because of their wrong decision,
they were exiled from the garden and faced the consequences until they reached death. The
following generations such as the people from Babylon, Abraham and Sarah, and the Israelites
all failed to choose the right path even with the Lord’s personal guidance leading them the way.
There was no hope for humanity, not until Jesus Christ came to earth. He was destined to
complete God’s promise which is to take His children to the Promised Land. He stayed on earth
for years while teaching the Word and making miracles. Until the day came when He needs to
finish the job by sacrificing Himself just to repay for all the sins we have caused. Because of His
sacrificial love, we now have our own choice of choosing which way to go.

As someone who grew up in a Christian family, I am already well taught regarding the story of
the Bible. When I first learned about Jesus’ sacrifices, it made me very sad and angry at the same
time. I visualized how great our lives would have been if our descendants had chosen the right
path. We would have been happy in the Garden of Eden instead of worrying about everything in
life. But as I grew older, I realized that I was making bad decisions just like our descendants.
Because of this realization, I became more conscious of my actions and decide on what is right
or wrong based on the standards of God and not my own. I believe that as long as we are
following the path that He planned for us, we will be able to reach the Promised Land in His
perfect time.

Third video: Genesis Chapter 1-11: God and the Whole World

The third video was about first part of Genesis which was all about God and the world He made.
It was a series of disappointments and bad decisions made by our descendants despite the
unlimited chances that God gave them. It all started when Adam and Eve chose to have their own
knowledge of what is good and evil instead of relying everything on God. Meanwhile, their son,
Cain, let his jealousy for his brother control him that he murders him cold-heartedly. This evil
chain was passed to more people when Cain created a city full of hate and violence. God hated
the corrupted world that He once called “good” so He leads us to the great flood. All living
things were wiped out except for Noah, his family, and all the animals he brought with him in the
arc. They were supposed to start a new covenant however, Noah started the chain of
disappointments again when he slept drunk and naked in a tent. His son, Ham also sinned when
he saw his father naked and immediately told his brothers. As time passed by, there is a new city
called Babylon built by Mesopotamians using brick. People got very arrogant with their “brick”
so they decided to build a tower huge and strong enough to reach the heavens so that they can
become God. He did not like this plan so He destroyed the tower by scattering the people, giving
them different languages to speak. Without the communication, their plan was no longer doable.

Once again, people got very greedy without knowing that they can be more powerful with God
on their side. As I was reflecting, I realized that there were also many times that I trusted my
own judgement instead of relying on God’s plan for me. Things did not go wrong, but it could
have been way better if I would have followed God’s guidance. This lesson was a reminder to
stay humble because God will lift you up. Do all things for Him and according to His words.
Doing so will guide us to the path of greatness that God has prepared for us.

Fourth video: Genesis 12-50: God and Abraham’s Family

The second part was about God’s promise to save mankind and release divine blessing among
them. The key to this plan was Abraham and his family, that soon became the Israelites. Just like
the first part, the repeated failure also continued with Abraham and his family. Abraham’s failure
was not waiting for the right time for them to have a child. Instead, Sarah used her slave to make
children for her and Abraham. Jacob, his son, on the other hand deceived his father into thinking
he was the older brother so that he could get authority. He became very arrogant and very greedy
to the point that he has four wives. He was only humbled down when he was deceived himself.
After some time, He wrestled with God. Because of his determination, he was blessed with 12
sons. Of course the chain of bad decisions still remained relentless. Joseph, the second to the
youngest son, was given a gift from his father. All his older brothers became jealous of him so
they decided to kidnap him and eventually kills him. However, they decided to just sell him as a
slave instead. After being released from slavery, because of his gift of dreams, he became a high
official in their city. Because of his gift, he saved everyone, including his family from starvation.
All in all, the whole book of Genesis showed how much God loves us by giving us so much
chances to do better and make right decisions.

However, even in today’s time we still keep on disappointing God. I cannot imagine how much it
hurts to be betrayed and to forgive over and over again. It’s amazing how God can withstand all
that knowing that He can easily erase us from existence and create perfect beings that will do as
He says. Learning from all the videos I watched really struck me in the head to do better as a
person and as His child. It showed me the importance of reading and meditating the Bible so that
we may be constantly reminded of how our descendants made mistakes and how we should learn
from them. In line with this, I promise to trust God more and make decision as well as
judgements according to His standards.