...The church I decided to study was St. Luke Presbyterian Church in Amarillo, Texas. I chose this church because my best friend attends this church and I thought I would go out of my norm and learn more about my friend’s religious beliefs. I normally attend the non-denominational church of Trinity Fellowship. I am considered to be a Conservative and my friend is a Liberal. Many Presbyterian churches in Amarillo are liberal but the majority of Presbyterian churches are known to be conservative because of their beliefs. I decided to visit this church because I like to keep an open mind of other different religious views that churches tend to have. St. Luke Presbyterian Church was a very relaxed church. Presbyterian churches abide by the sovereignty of God, the scriptures, and grace through faith. The people who attended the service were dressed from casual pants to dresses and suits. The church setting was considered to be a small, local church with roughly about 30 rows of pews. The choir included 15 women and a teenage boy. The members were very welcoming and seemed eager to get to know the guests that were new that Sunday morning. The preacher was an older man, in about his late 60’s or early 70’s. This was mainly a diverse family church with a few college students. At the beginning of the sermon, they have children’s church which is where they relate the word of God to the younger kids so they can understand what the adult sermon would be about. They have the children start...
Words: 893 - Pages: 4
...Beginnings Written by: Russell P. Dawn Although Anglicanism is now a worldwide phenomenon, its very name asserts its origins as an English tradition within Christianity. Thus, "Anglican" can be thought to indicate any Church body in communion with the see (bishopric--the place of a bishop's or archbishop's authority) of Canterbury. There eventually developed in Anglicanism, however, a self-understanding as a Church that blends Protestantism and Catholicism, but remains distinct from each. Founders Written by: Russell P. Dawn Anglicanism does not have a single founder; there is no Martin Luther of Anglicanism. Instead, Anglicanism has a number of contributors, people who gave something new to the English Church, or perhaps simply dispensed with something old. Among these, three individuals stand out above the rest. Leadership Written by: Russell P. Dawn Anglican clergy are divided into three categories or orders: bishops, priests, and deacons. A threefold ministry (bishops,presbyters (elders), deacons) dates back at least as far as the early 2nd century, possibly earlier. The highest order of ministry is the office of the bishop. In much of Anglicanism there are archbishops, but these are not of a higher order of ministry. Archbishop is the usual title conferred on a bishop whose area of jurisdiction is a province (collection of dioceses) rather than a diocese. An archbishop is a head bishop in a province. In some provinces the head bishop is called by another title...
Words: 1029 - Pages: 5
...However, in Aristotle’s polis, which is governed by a system he terms “polity”, the majority of ruling body is composed of the middle class, which goes along with Aristotle’s belief in acting according to “the mean”, “That the middle constitution is best is evident, for it is the freest from faction: where the middle class is numerous, there least occur factions and divisions among citizens,” (1296a7–9 Politics IV). In general, the middle class is less apt than the rich or poor to act unjustly toward their fellow citizens (Miller). More specifically, the (“golden”) mean in short is acting between two extremes. For example, if we were to utilize the virtue of courage, we’d state that abiding by the mean would be not acting too excessively, being...
Words: 983 - Pages: 4
...from Greece who criticized democracy as a poor form of government. Plato is regarded as the first writer of political philosophy, and Aristotle is recognized as the first political scientist. These two men were great political thinkers. There are a lot of differences between the two even though Aristotle was a great student of Plato. They each had ideas of how to improve existing societies during their individual lifetimes. It is necessary to look at several areas of each theory to seek the difference in each. Plato’s thoughts on democracy were that it causes the corruption of people through public opinion and creates rulers who do not actually knowhow to rule but only know how to influence the “beast” which is the Demos, the public. Aristotle’s views about democracy hold that democratic office will cause corruption in the people, if the people choose to redistribute the wealth of the rich they will end up destroying the state and since the people have no knowledge about governance when they elect rulers they will err. The “Republic” of Plato created a country with strict hierarchy. It has a rigorous legal system and a sound education system. All public good, servicers and desires are controlled by the country. It has its own advantages such as the idealized organized national order, and discussion of country’s justice and individual’s justice;, but it also has its shortcomings, for instance, the discordance between spiritual pursuit and basic material demand. However, it is...
Words: 1777 - Pages: 8
...QUESTIONS: MODULE 1 1. What are the fundamental aspects of Plato's ideal state? 2. What are the major ideas of Aristophanes and Socrates? 3. Examine Aristotle's view on education and its role in polity? 4. What is the origin and nature of Aristotle's best state? 5. What in the views of Cicero constitute the nature and meaning of law? MODULE 2 1. What is St. Augustine's views in the relationship between the church and state? 2. Why did feudalism last for a very long time? 3. Identify and discuss the essential kernels of St. Aquinas Philosophy. MODULE 3 1. Briefly discuss Machiavelli's ideas on the prince and state power? 2. What are the contribution of jean bodin to political philosophy? 3. Tacitly describe the Hobessian notion of social contact? 4. Highlight the significant attributes of Hobbes concept of sovereignty. 5. To what extent did Locke's experiences influence his political theory? give reasons for your answer? 6. What are the main logic of Locke's version of social contract? ANSWER: MODULE 1 1.Plato describes how such a state would be organized, who would govern it, what sort of education the children would have, and so on. Sir Karl Popper argued in The Open Society and Its Enemies that Plato’s ideal state is totalitarian, with little freedom of expression allowed, little diversity, and a perverse commitment to a Spartan-like regimentation of social life. 2. In 423 B.C. the popular poet Aristophanes entered his play, The Clouds, in the Great Dionysian, the...
Words: 667 - Pages: 3
...We can compare Aristotle's view of polity as to how our government is structured. Our American government is composed of different parties that manage our government;Democrats, Republicans, and Independents. Media also makes an important role.A good example of a dexterous person can be our President, since he too listens to his people and is willing to hear made are of the same sort, since those he is prepared to make of himself. Aristotle provides three means in life, all concerned with common dealing in certain conversations and actions. He describes the vulgar buffoons, the boorish and the agile-witted. The vulgar buffoons are those who go to excess in raising laughs. I can compare this type of regime to our current Media and the effect that it has in our daily lives. We receive most of the news thru media. Technology has helped for the media to be almost instant. I mean, when something bad or good happens we are informed almost instantly. I can't really think about any differences between media vs. vulgar buffoons, since both do not stop at nothing. Media cannot stop to deliver a bad note, their purpose is to inform even do the information can be painful. The boorish, are those who would never say anything themselves to raise a laugh, and even object when other people do it. I would like to compare them to our Independent party. They seem to be a neutral party and doesn't really care about government. However, in any election/campaign they can determine the...
Words: 339 - Pages: 2
...of the early philosophers, view on metaphysics, epistemology, and value theory and then look at a current century way of viewing the world. Chapter 1 Aristotle - Biography Aristotle was born in 384 BCE. at Stagirus, a Greek colony and seaport on the coast of Thrace. His father Nichomachus was court physician to King Amyntas of Macedonia, and from this began Aristotle's long association with the Macedonian Court, which considerably influenced his life. At age 17 his guardian, Proxenus, sent him to Athens, the intellectual center of the world, to complete his education. He joined the Academy and studied under Plato, attending his lectures for a period of twenty years. In the later years of his association with Plato and the Academy he began to lecture on his own account, especially on the subject of rhetoric. At the death of Plato in 347, the pre-eminent ability of Aristotle would seem to have designated him to succeed to the leadership of the Academy. But his divergence from Plato's teaching was too great to make this possible, and Plato's nephew Speusippus was chosen instead. Aristotle on Metaphysics Aristotle's editors gave the name "Metaphysics" to his works on first philosophy, either because they went beyond or followed after his physical investigations. Aristotle begins by sketching the history of...
Words: 2136 - Pages: 9
...I. THE THEORY OF THE IDEAS AND PLATO’S ONTOLOGY I. 1. The ontological dualism The theory of the Ideas is the base of Plato’s philosophy: the Ideas are not only the real objects ontologically speaking, but they are the authentically objects of knowledge epistemologically speaking. From the point of view of ethics and politics, they are the foundation of the right behaviour, and anthropologically speaking they are the base of Plato’s dualism and they even allow him demonstrate the immortality of the soul. Plato defends a clear ontological dualism in which there are two types of realities or worlds: the sensible world and the intelligible world or, as he calls it, the world of the Ideas. The Sensible World is the world of individual realities, and so is multiple and constantly changing, is the world of generation and destruction; is the realm of the sensible, material, temporal and space things. On the contrary, the Intelligible World is the world of the universal, eternal and invisible realities called Ideas (or "Forms"), which are immutable and do not change because they are not material, temporal or space. Ideas can be understood and known; they are the authentic reality. The Ideas or Forms are not just concepts or psychic events of our minds; they do exist as objective and independent beings out of our consciences. They are also the origin of sensible things, but although they are the authentic beings, Plato, unlike Parmenides of Elea, do not completely...
Words: 11604 - Pages: 47
...Democracy, Religion and Inequality University of Groningen Faculty of Economics and Business Bachelor Thesis International Economics and Business Name Student: Yitian Jing Student ID Number: s2012790 Student email: y.jing@student.rug.nl Date Thesis: Jun. 5th, 2012 Name Supervisor: Dr. Robbert K. J. Maseland First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere appreciation and gratitude to my advisor, Dr. R. K. J. Maseland, for his academic guidance and encouragement throughout the research. He has been very generous sharing his experiences on institutional and cultural determinants on economy, as well as on academic research methodology and beyond. I would not have finished such a thesis paper without his support. His effort and patience would never be forgotten. Abstract The democracy’s inequality decreasing effect has been appealing to researchers for long but lacks concentrated argumentation and empirical evidence, as well as the interaction between democracy and religion. This paper conduct an empirical analysis covering time period of 1978-2010 with 86 countries to test the hypotheses of whether democracy decreases inequality and whether an egalitarian religion decreases the influence of democracy. The result shows the direct effect of democracy is weak, however, the hypothesis of religion’s effect on the democracy’s influence is partially confirmed. Therefore, democracy itself has minor influence on inequality while a large proportion of the effect is...
Words: 7824 - Pages: 32
...History of Evolution The word "evolution" in its broadest sense refers to change or growth that occurs in a particular order. Although this broad version of the term would include astronomical evolution and the evolution of computer design, this article focuses on the evolution of biological organisms. That use of the term dates back to the ancient Greeks, but today the word is more often used to refer to Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection. This theory is sometimes crudely referred to as the theory of "survival of the fittest." It was proposed by Charles Darwin in On the Origin of Species in 1859 and, independently, by Alfred Wallace in 1858—although Wallace, unlike Darwin, said the human soul is not the product of evolution. Greek and medieval references to "evolution" use it as a descriptive term for a state of nature, in which everything in nature has a certain order or purpose. This is a teleological view of nature. For example, Aristotle classified all living organisms hierarchically in his great scala naturae or Great Chain of Being, with plants at the bottom, moving through lesser animals, and on to humans at the pinnacle of creation, each becoming progressively more perfect in form. It was the medieval philosophers, such as Augustine, who began to incorporate teleological views of nature with religion: God is the designer of all creatures, and everything has a purpose and a place as ordained by Him. In current times, to some, the terms "evolution" and...
Words: 4509 - Pages: 19
...DRAFT! Rule in Bensalem: Francis Bacon’s Island “Utopia” in his New Atlantis Evan M. Lowe University of North Texas Abbreviations The following abbreviations for Bacon’s works have been employed for in-text citations in the name of textual cleanliness. Each work refers to the cited publication in the bibliography. In cases where applicable (eg. New Organon, Advancement), I have also indicated the place in the text by markers common to all editions -- book number, chapter, section, aphorism, essay number. The page number in the cited edition follows a comma where such information is helpful. AL The Advancement of Learning DA de Dignitate et Augmentis Scientarum Essays Essays or Counsels Civil and Moral (1625) GI The Great Instauration ;NA New Atlantis NO Novum Organum PFB Philosophy of Francis Bacon Preface Preface to the Great Instauration PW Plan of the Work (in Weinberger 1989) WA Of the Wisdom of the Ancients INTRODUCTION Understanding political judgment in Baconian terms necessitates an investigation of the question of who rules in Bensalem, Bacon’s island “utopia” presented in his New Atlantis. Only by answering this question might one know where to look for one who either possesses or is in a position to exercise such judgment. By locating the individual(s) who exercise political power, one might begin to come to an understanding of the qualities, disposition, and capacity – both moral and intellectual – of one who exercises judgment...
Words: 9233 - Pages: 37
... 1 Factors determining citizenship: - Parents are citizens -Born within a county -Marriage to a citizen -Naturalization 2 History * 2.1 Polis citizenship * 2.2 Roman ideas of citizenship * 2.3 Middle Ages * 2.4 Renaissance * 2.5 Modern times 3 Different senses of citizenship -International citizenship -Commonwealth citizenship -European Union citizenship -Subnational citizenship Citizenship education * United Kingdom * Ireland citizenship in Bangladesh CITIZENSHIP: Citizenship laws are based upon the Bangladesh Citizenship Order dated 1972. Questions concerning persons born before March 26, 1971, should be directed to the Bangladesh Embassy. (UKC-Commonwealth Nation) BY BIRTH: Birth within the territory of Bangladesh does not automatically confer citizenship. Only persons born before March 26, 1971 would be deemed Bangladesh citizens by birth. BY DESCENT: Rules stated below apply to persons born after March 26, 1971. Child born of a Bangladesh father, regardless of the child's country of birth. Child whose grandfather was a citizen of Bangladesh, regardless of the child's country of birth. Child born of a Bangladesh mother and an unknown or stateless father, regardless of the child's country of birth. OTHER: Person who was a permanent resident of Bangladesh on March 26, 1971, is granted citizenship, unless disqualified by law at that time. BY NATURALIZATION: A person...
Words: 17350 - Pages: 70
...Power and Politics In social science and politics, power is the ability to influence the behavior of people. The term authority is often used for power perceived as legitimate by the social structure. Power can be seen as evil or unjust, but the exercise of power is accepted as endemic to humans as social beings. In the corporate environment, power is often expressed as upward or downward. With downward power, a company's superior influences subordinates. When a company exerts upward power, it is the subordinates who influence the decisions of the leader (Greiner & Schein, 1988). The use of power need not involve coercion (force or the threat of force). At one extreme, it more closely resembles what everyday English-speakers call influence, although some authors make a distinction between power and influence – the means by which power is used (Handy, C. 1993 Understanding Organisations). Much of the recent sociological debate on power revolves around the issue of the enabling nature of power. A comprehensive account of power can be found in Steven Lukes Power: A Radical View where he discusses the three dimensions of power. Thus, power can be seen as various forms of constraint on human action, but also as that which makes action possible, although in a limited scope. Much of this debate is related to the works of the French philosopher Michel Foucault (1926–1984), who, following the Italian political philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527), sees power as "a complex...
Words: 8519 - Pages: 35
...April 9, 2014 Testing Theories of American Politics: Elites, Interest Groups, and Average Citizens Martin Gilens Princeton University mgilens@princeton.edu Benjamin I. Page Northwestern University b-page@northwestern.edu forthcoming Fall 2014 in Perspectives on Politics For helpful comments the authors are indebted to Larry Bartels and Jeff Isaacs, to three anonymous reviewers, and to seminar participants at Harvard and Rochester Universities. Gilens and Page Testing Theories of American Politics 2 Abstract Each of four theoretical traditions in the study of American politics – which can be characterized as theories of Majoritarian Electoral Democracy, Economic Elite Domination, and two types of interest group pluralism, Majoritarian Pluralism and Biased Pluralism – offers different predictions about which sets of actors have how much influence over public policy: average citizens; economic elites; and organized interest groups, mass-based or business-oriented. A great deal of empirical research speaks to the policy influence of one or another set of actors, but until recently it has not been possible to test these contrasting theoretical predictions against each other within a single statistical model. This paper reports on an effort to do so, using a unique data set that includes measures of the key variables for 1,779 policy issues. Multivariate analysis indicates that economic elites and organized groups representing business interests have substantial independent...
Words: 15852 - Pages: 64
...1 JUSTICE, EQUALITY, AND RIGHTS by John Tasioulas For R. Crisp (ed), The Oxford Handbook of the History of Ethics 1. The Nature of Justice Philosophers have advocated many divergent views as to the content of the correct principles of justice. In contemporary philosophy, for example, the live options range from the austere libertarian thesis that the claims of justice are limited to a small class of rights that protect us from coercive interference by others to more radically egalitarian doctrines that mandate the large-scale redistribution of wealth and other goods. But there is a prior, conceptual question: is there an illuminating sense in which these disagreements are aptly described as concerned with justice? Alternatively put, is there a concept of justice of which these rival accounts can be interpreted as offering different conceptions? (Rawls 1971/1999: 5-6). If not, the dispiriting conclusion looms that these disputes are „verbal‟ rather than genuine, like a debate about the nature of „banks‟ in which one party has in mind financial institutions and the other party the sloping bits of land at the sides of rivers. One answer is that the concept of justice marks out the entire domain of moral evaluation, or at least the whole of inter-personal morality, excluding only moral concerns relating purely to oneself or to non-persons, such as animals. This expansive reading of justice – as (inter-personal) moral rightness or virtue – has a venerable pedigree. The Greek...
Words: 13621 - Pages: 55
