Michelle Newcomb, Assigned Readings #5

Michelle Newcomb

Religious Studies – Primal Religions

Assigned Readings #5

Bruchko and Cabesa de Vaca

Do our religions connect us with God and with our faiths? Or do they restrict us from God and hold us from our faiths?

There is a scene is Cabesa de Vaca where the soldiers are marching in towards the mainland with this gigantic steel cross and one of the students in our class noted that despite the fact that they are going through all this effort to create a church, a place for their religion to be served and a place for people to be brought closer to God – the big steel cross is what separates them from God. This is also true in the book Bruchko, the missionaries that are already in Venezuela are also separated by God from their faith. Bruchko doesn’t care what church he’s in, who he’s praying with or under what religion he falls under – all he cares about is his relationship with God and Jesus. Bruchko, much to the frustration of the other missionaries, does not allow the rules and restrictions of his faith dictate how, where or why he will practice.

I think this says a lot about our modern day religions – with our sacred texts and strict rules of observance. Its obvious that through Bruchko’s experience his way not only makes him happier, but it also effects more people and promotes a religious experience.