Essay #1 : Gods love

In the book, Tattoos on the heart Boyles themes are composed of compassion, disgrace, slow work and kinship.  Each theme has stories of gang members from the "gang capital" of Los Angeles. Throughout each theme he interprets god as being compassion and finding god through disgrace known as “shame”. As well as the process of opening up to god will take slow work and hope.   

Boyle intercepts God as compassion, he gives us love unconditionally. According to Tattoos on the heart “a compassion that can stand in awe at what the poor have to carry rather than in judgment at how they carry it” (67). This quote illustrates how compassion can stand in the power to inspire reverence as honor of how we carry our self’s rather than judging on how we do it. God wants us to be in his world of compassion however most of us are in his world without compassion in reality without compassion were just in this world alone.  Were the ones that need to accept in God trust and discover on our own. If we allow others to discover for us were just being control to believe. Some of us are ignorant to believe that some religions use “God” to fear and control its daughters and sons. When in reality is our own decision to believe that were worthy of god love. An Example can be Caesar he learn how to feel worthy of god love by accepting Boyle as a father and him as his son. Caesar discovered that he is a son worth having as long with accepting god’s love.

As said in Tattoos on the heart we should all marinate in the intimacy of God in our hearts. Most of us won’t understand the meaning of “marinate in the intimacy of god” the meaning is that we need to soak in the relationship we need to have with God as affection. In the book, Tattoos on the heart Boyle gives the “homies” opportunities such as jobs to show them love and compassion and the jobs gives them hope to look forward for their futures.

According to Tattoos on the heart “we all belong to ourselves the one who created us, each other. We are all equal and we are all deserving of compassionate care within a community-a kinship. Boyle illustrates that god loves us no matter our situation and our guilt. All of us deserve to be love by him and others by creating a community through compassion. Another theme that Boyles reveals is Disgrace, Boyle interprets Carmen story on how she is a heroin addict, a gang member, and a fighter. Carmen admits to Boyle that she’s a disgrace. Carmen story shows how disgrace can lead with guilt and feeling bad about our actions and shame on our self’s however through that process we’re driven to discover god through our own guilt and accept that anyone no matter what’s our actions and shames we deserve to feel the worthy of god’s love.  One story in Tattoos on the heart, Pedro we understand that patience allow us to rescue someone from the darkness. This story illustrates how disgrace and patience can rescue you’re self from your own darkness that you create. Most of us are afraid of the world but we don’t stop to think that were afraid of the shadows that we create our self’s.