...Explain different views of faith and its relationship to reason (30) While we are alive, as believers, our life is a long road where we choose different paths to get us to the right destination; and at the end of the road we will hopefully choose the path, which gets us to the proof of God’s existence. However the faith we use to get us to the end must be meaningful. Faith is hard to define, before making assumptions we have to be very clear on what we think it is. Faith is very different from knowledge, when we know something for a fact for example 1 + 1 = 2, we don’t question it on being false, this is where faith can be mistaken. But believers do not generally live questioning themselves on their faith, they hold their beliefs of the existence of God as strongly as scientists know the earth is round, with reasons for believing its true. Faith can be divided into two types, propositional faith and non-propositional faith. Propositional faith is the belief that there is an objective reality to which we give the term God, and that we can make claims about him, which are objectively true. Whereas non-propositional faith is a trust in God, which may be held even, when evidence or experience would seem to point against it. This kind of faith must be based in some personal knowledge of God, and not simply in the acceptance of facts about him. Propositional faith has certain attributes to our knowledge about the world for example the believers who believe in a God who...
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...Stars in the night sky are obscured by millions of ashes; ashes of death and vanished hope. The eerie night as described in the novel Night, by Ellie Wiesel has many significant symbols. During the holocaust, darkness consumed individuals with the fear of the unknown. Flames of infernos covered the sky in dark smoke, and released a penetrating smell. Death was one of the factors one feared during the night. The gloomy scenery also convinced and tested many individual’s faith in God. The provoking actions performed by German soldiers consumed one to believe that fear was greater than faith. Ellie Wiesel, introduces the many tribulations of one yearning for truth and the distress for survival during the night. Night is a symbol for the absence...
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...Throughout Jewish History, faith and religion has been variant for the various Jewish religious movements and even among individuals within the spectrum of movements. To understand any event in modern Jewish history, one must start with understanding Judaism- both the Jewish religion and the Jewish people. For this reason, the letter from Abraham Mendelssohn to his daughter on why she was raised a Christian is an important document for understanding one interpretation of the Jewish religion and proving that there is no one religion or people. Abraham Mendelssohn, 1776-1835, was the son of the Jewish philosopher, Moses Mendelssohn. M. Mendelssohn spoke and wrote about, among other things, Jewish enlightenment and their place in European society, which undoubtedly influenced his son. The letter from Abraham Mendelssohn was written in 1820, during the tail of the European Enlightenment and reflects some of his father’s beliefs. It is clear Mendelssohn’s religious beliefs are less about theology and more about the values the religions emphasize. This is not to say that Mendelssohn does not agree with Jewish values, but states “the outward form of religion… is historical, and changeable like all human ordinances,” and, in Mendelssohn’s experience, the current Jewish form was represented by Christianity. This concept-...
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...Donna Beatriz was born Kimpa Vita in 1686 near Mount Kibangu in the Kingdom of Kongo in modern day Angola and led a movement called, Antonian, from 1704 through 1706. She was born in a family of nobility called Mwana Kongo with possible connection to King Nvita Nkanga or Antonio I. Beatriz was baptized into the Catholic faith after she was born. From a very young age, Beatriz demonstrated some spiritual gifts. She had visions and believed to have had a connection with high spirits. In the middle of her teenage years, she was trained as an Nganga Marinda, a person that could communicate with supernatural, which she later rejected. Beatriz told her followers that she died and resurrected as Saint Anthony who was going to address the kingdom’s problems through her. She declared the Christian’s cross a fetish and burnt it. Beatriz’s movement was in direct conflict with the Catholic mission in the kingdom. Beatriz was born during a period when the Kingdom of Kongo was going through cultural disintegration and political disarray. The Portuguese had defeated the Kongolese army at the battle of Mbwila and Sao Salvador, the Kingdom’s capital city was destroyed and then abandoned. The ruling dynasty was split by rivalry between the Ki –Mpanza and the Ki –Niaza families. There...
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...baptism, confirmation, marriage, the holy orders and last rites. Its teachings underpinned mainstream beliefs about morality and the meaning of the afterlife. Therefore, the local or Parish church stood as a fundamental part of the community. The clearly delineated layouts divided the church into two sections as can be seen from examples given of the floor plans of the church of Partrishow in the Brecon Beacons, St Helen’s church in the Norfolk broads and the parish church at Hailes. (dvd ) The main body of the church called the Nave, is where the congregation would have gathered. Here would be side alters and congregational seating, the pulpit and the font. The Chancel, considered the sacred space of the priests and cut off from the rest of the church by the rood screen, was an important aspect of the church as it divided the congregation from the priest performing the mass. Decorated with carved biblical scenes and symbols such as...
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...belief in only one God alone; just like Christians and Jews that only believe in one god. That’s three religions worshiping the same God. “Judaism holds that here is one all-powerful God (Yahweh) to whom all Jews have a personal relationship” (“Judaism”). Their God is all seeing which means he is every at once. Their God controls and guides their lives. “The central deity of Buddhism is the human spirit” (“Buddhism”). The Buddhists believe that God is in the human spirit. Their God doesn’t control the universe but controls one’s self. In all the religions they have history and teachings written down. The major religions all have sacred writing that has the words of the founders and God. The primary book for Jews is the Bible which is divided into three sections: Torah, Neviim, and Ketuvim (“Judaism”). Torah tells the laws, Neviim has the prophets, Ketuvim has the writings. The Old Testament in the Christian Bible comes from the Jewish bible. “Islam believes the Qur’an is the revelation from God of his speech or word (Bowker 166). The Qur’an is the holy book of Islam and the foundation of their beliefs. The Qur’an holds all the teachings of God and the prophets similar to the other holy books. Buddhism does have a written text; however the...
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...including the Qur’an will be discussed. The dissimilarity between radical Islamic extremist groups and Islam will be discussed. History of Islam Muhammad, at age 40, was visited by the angel Gabriel in the year 610 A. D. to be God’s prophet. He was given the mission of convincing others who worshiped many gods that they should submit to one God. Although Muhammad had few followers in the beginning he continued to teach his revelations in Mecca. In 622 A.D. Muhammad and his followers moved to Medina where the first Muslim community began, this is considered the first year in the Muslim calendar. In the years that followed the Muslim armies overtook most of Arabia, India, and Spain. Some communities were converted to the Islam faith peacefully while others were forced into acceptance of the religion. Over the centuries the Muslim religion lost its unity until in the late 20th century when Islam began to grow rapidly around the world. Muslims shared some key concepts with Christians and Jews, including belief in one God. Some other beliefs they share include: God will judge our actions at the end times; heaven will be obtained when we...
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...The camel’s back is not the only thing broken When individuals think of prosperity, expansion and greatness, the first country that comes to mind is the United States of America. With an incredible history enabling it to achieve world dominance, the United States has undoubtedly caught the attention of all individuals walking the globe. Citizens of several foreign countries are rather green-eyed when it comes to the way our American government is set up. The United States government possesses a republic that is directly self-governed, over all the people, for all the people, by all the people. Recently however, circumstances have taken a turn and our country is facing one of the worst economic predicaments since the Great Depression. As the country takes a turn for a plummet, members of society find themselves pointing fingers at our government and the foundation of our republic, the constitution. Now the economy has improved to some extent under the presence of President Obama; however, the progress has been far more sluggish than anticipated by the general public, and the national debt, which was unapparent not too long ago, has managed to surpass 16 trillion dollars. With such a big toll over its shoulders, our country is facing an economic burden that is projected to keep mounting. As our citizens stand by and observe the government take on all its issues, a question leaves a great number of individuals puzzled: is our administration broken? As plausible modifications...
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...means to: thank the Lord, ask for help, and confess their sins; prayer goes beyond that. Dave Earley explains that “The eminence of great leaders in the Bible is attributable to the fact that they were great in their praying.” In his book, Prayer: The Timeless Secret of High-Impact Leaders, Earley covers nine topics that are essential and applicable for those who are spiritual leaders. SUMMARY The nine principles that Dave Early covers are supported by leaders both from the Bible and other well-known leaders through the course of the history of Christianity. The book can be divided into two sections: developing a prayer life and developing boldness of prayer. The text can further be divided into the nine principles which are: value the power of prayer, make time to pray, pray for those you serve, train others to pray for your, turn your problems into prayer, fast and pray, possess a bold faith, build on the basic, adopt best practices, and putting it all together. In the first chapter, Value the Power of Prayer, Early shares statistics that show the average pastor spends between seven and fifteen minutes a day in prayer. Chapter one continues to provide Scriptural and historical...
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...Theology is the ideology that emphasizes the idea of miracles, forgiveness, and faith. This ideology is reflected on Wealtheow’s decision toward her marriage in order to reconcile the two rival nations. In this scene, Wealtheow is portrayed as a peacemaker with deep faith, indicating that she is the paradigm of the true Christian. Grendel is challenged by her attitude saying, “she would give, had given her life, for those who she loved.” (88)....
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...Gay Marriage Even in today’s world, people make a big fuss about gay marriage. When I hear or think about a marriage, all I think about is two people who are so deeply in love with each other that they want to spend their entire life together. I think gay marriage is acceptable for the good it does to the general public. Gay people are as important as any other person as they contribute in the advancement of the human lifestyle in more ways than we can imagine, such as social, economic, and religious aspects. Social Aspect of Gay Marriage We live in a society that promotes equality and no discrimination. Gay people are as important as any of us, and so are their rights and freedom. Supreme court honored them with their rights when they made same sex marriage legal. To respect and reduce intergroup prejudice, support cultural diversity and set high standards in the society, Supreme Court legalized same sex marriages. When people are not focused on defending their rights of equality they manage to spend that time to give positive, educational and loving feedback towards the society. Adoption of orphans by gay couples would be a great example. By adopting, educating and giving better future to orphans; gay people provide strong structure to the future generation. Economic Aspect of Gay Marriage American economy took a boost in some aspects once the same sex marriage got legalized. Some of industries that benefited from this are banquet, catering and tourism. For example, wedding...
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...It is irrefutable that christianity is one of the dominant faiths in today's society, but how did it become so successful? Christianity and the development of the Church owes its success to key figures and aspects including: The Apologist that defended the true meaning of the doctrines, Athanasius, who refuted the false teachings of Arius, the Council of Nicea that drafted a creed affirming Jesus Christ, and St. Basil who clarified the ambiguous terminology put forth by the Council of Nicaea. Christianity started out as small and illegal movement. The First Apology states that classical philosophers believed Christianity was an atheistic and lower class religion(Placher, 33). However, Tertullian, a highly educated Roman citizen was convinced...
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...The depictions of Xuanzang’s endeavors within India, as well as the impressions he gained through his time there, contributes much to our understanding of Buddhist practice in India - especially in regards to how it changed and evolved over time. To explain, this document sheds light on the scholarly debate within Buddhism by illustrating the various schools of thought that existed within India and the disparities amongst them - portraying how Buddhism was not an entirely unified or consolidated faith system. In his writing is also evident the fact that each of the many disparate Buddhist institutions was governed by its own edicts, laws, and regulations - giving rise to a highly stratified and varied faith system. As Xuanzang writes in his accounts, “The different schools are constantly at variance, and their contending utterances rise like the angry waves of the sea. The different sects have their separate masters… There are eighteen schools, each claiming pre-eminence. The partisans of the Great and Little Vehicle are content to dwell apart. There are some who give themselves up to quiet contemplation, and devote themselves [...] to the acquirement of wisdom and insight; others, on the contrary, differ from these in raising noisy contentions about...
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...suffered many early persecutions but by 381 CE, it had been confirmed as the central religion of the Roman Empire. However, the collapse of the Roman Empire and its eventual division into the Eastern and Western Empires brought more conflict, and by the 11th century the Christian Church has become the Church of the West- the Roman Church- and the Church of the East- the Orthodox Church, known as The Great Schism. The sixteenth century brought more division with the Reformation in Europe and in England, with dividing into Protestant Churches and the Catholic Church, due to inadequacies in the Medieval Church such as the selling of indulgences and clerical concubinage. In addition, from the Protestant Churches, the many variants, which sub-divided from that helped created the concept of Pentecostalism- Variations of all Churches. The Christian Bible is a...
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...Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values.[1] Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to explain the origin of life or the universe. They tend to derive morality, ethics, religious laws or a preferred lifestyle from their ideas about the cosmos and human nature. The word religion is sometimes used interchangeably with faith or belief system, but religion differs from private belief in that it has a public aspect. Most religions have organized behaviors, including clerical hierarchies, a definition of what constitutes adherence or membership, congregations of laity, regular meetings or services for the purposes of veneration of a deity or for prayer, holy places (either natural or architectural), and/or scriptures. The practice of a religion may also include sermons, commemoration of the activities of a god or gods, sacrifices, festivals, feasts, trance, initiations, funerary services, matrimonial services, meditation, music, art, dance, public service, or other aspects of human culture. The development of religion has taken different forms in different cultures. Some religions place an emphasis on belief, while others emphasize practice. Some religions focus on the subjective experience of the religious individual, while others consider the activities of the religious...
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