...The Soul of the Great Bell by Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904) The water-clock marks the hour in the Tachung sz’, in the Tower of the Great Bell: now the mallet is lifted to smite the lips of the metal monster—the vast lips inscribed with Buddhist texts from the sacred Fa-hwa-King, from the chapters of the holy Ling-yen-King! Hear the great bell responding!—how mighty her voice, though tongueless! KO-NGAI! All the little dragons on the high-tilted eaves of the green roofs shiver to the tips of their gilded tails under that deep wave of sound; all the porcelain gargoyles tremble on their carven perches; all the hundred little bells of the pagodas quiver with desire to speak. KO-NGAI—all the green-and-gold tiles of the temple are vibrating; the wooden goldfish above them are writhing against the sky; the uplifted finger of Fo shakes high over the heads of the worshippers through the blue fog of incense! KO-NGAI!—What a thunder tone was that! All the lacquered goblins on the palace cornices wriggle their fire-coloured tongues! And after each huge shock, how wondrous the multiple echo and the great golden moan, and, at last, the sudden sibilant sobbing in the ears when the immense tone faints away in broken whispers of silver, as though a woman should whisper, “Hiai!” Even so the great bell hath sounded every day for well-nigh five hundred years—Ko-Ngai: first with stupendous clang, then with immeasurable moan of gold, then with silver murmuring of “Hiai!” And there is not a child in...
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...School System. We were always “secretly “friends even though very few knew. When around friends and family, she always tells a story about how I was very mean to here, despite our “secret friendship”, but that is when my selective memory kicks into high gear until the topic of her conversation shifts. Nevertheless, once we both graduated from high school, we lost touch with each other and grew apart. However, who knew later on in our; lives we would cross paths again and ever since then, our lives were never the same again. Our growing together to grow apart to grow together again illustrates how our “tree of love” continued to grow and flourish despite all the setbacks in our lives. This growth pattern allows us to enter the doorway of eternity. As well as being a symbol of our growth, this ring also symbolizes our commitment to the future. Our strong family first foundation allows us to commit our all to a future full of love, happiness, and prosperity. We built this foundation on the principles of honor, love, and trust. Furthermore, after about nine years together, our relationship continues to be...
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...On the Night You Were Born II Kings 17:6-14 and Luke 15:17-24 Rev. Dr. Zina Jacque August 29, 2010 Beloved of God, do you know, have you ever wondered what happened on the night you were born. My family story holds that somewhere around the end of August in 1956 Dr. E.L.C. Broomes told my Mother not to get her hopes too high. After all, this was her fifth pregnancy, and though she had finally moved beyond the 30 week mark, she still had many weeks to go and she should not get her hopes too high. There was no guarantee this baby would make it. But then, on the evening of October 30th, sometime after dinner, something within my mother moved, something within her said, it is time and all the world stood still for my parents, all of the world held its breath. I do not know what thoughts ran through my mother’s mind or my father’s heart in those hours before I was born; but I know once I had arrived, once they held me in their arms, they began to rejoice. Nancy Tillman, in her book On the Night You Were Born, gives voice to the rhythm of words that might have been spoken on night you and I were born:1 On the night you were born the moon smiled with wonder. The stars peeked in to see you, all safe and tucked under And the night wind whispered and called you by name And said with a sigh, life will never be the same So enchanted with you were the wind and the rain They too whispered the sound of your wonderful name. Your name sailed past houses, high on the breeze Over oceans and mountains...
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...The vaults were designed to keep a microcosm of human life sustained through the fallout, yet the architects knew certain supplies would be subordinate to vital resources. In Vault 77, it was decided that one person would be designated to care for the vault's primal urges, that one inhabitant would exist for the sole purpose of being used by the other vaultdwellers once condoms and birth control ran out. This person would need to be incapable of pregnancy, have a ceaseless sex drive and an eagerness unmatched by even the pornography circulating the enclosed space. Therefore, a boy was chosen to take the role of the vault's slut, but that would not be enough. The boy had to be desirable to as many of the men as possible and to accomplish this the boy had to be androgynous, a creature whose beauty would be undeniable after years of seclusion behind the entrance. Violet Hargreave was the only one for the job. At sixteen he was selected for his purpose in the vault. Standing at a mere five-foot two inches, the boy was blessed with feminine features and smooth skin that made him the perfect candidate for the Slut of Vault 77. He awoke in his private quarters, a sparse metal room with one piece of furniture: a full-sized mattress covered in a black rubber sheet. A series of chains hung from the pipes along the ceilings and the walls hung several toys, whips, cuffs and collars for his guests to use. His closet was filled with a variety of outfits and shoes befitting a boy of his position...
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...DB#1-Jeremiah 29:11-13 21 Aug. 2104 BIBL350_B10 Most people have at some point construed Jeremiah 29:11-13 as a promise from God to prosper our individual lives and to offer us hope for the immediate future, myself included. It is printed on coffee mugs and t-shirts, preached to us at church, and offered as an inspirational pick-me-up when we are feeling lost and afraid. We want it to be a personal assurance that God is listening to our supplications, and will come running when we beckon to Him for deliverance from whatever evils hold us captive. While this, in its basest sense, is true—God does hear us and come to our aid when we need Him—in this specific instance, we are entirely missing the point. Without a deeper examination of the original intent of these verses, we fail to see that God is giving a corporate blessing, meant to give hope to a nation during their time of captivity. We are often so self-involved that when we come across verses such as these, we misidentify their true significance. We must focus our thoughts on the bigger picture and understand that not everything God does is specific to us as individuals, especially in the circumstances surrounding the events associated with Jeremiah 29:11-13. “…I was violating the context and completely missing the fact that God was talking to a nation (not an individual), a nation that had to go through seventy years of heartache and exile before there was any hope of freedom from captivity. And if it could not be...
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...There is much thought about whether or not we hold free will within us, but isn’t it true that we are freely questioning if we have free will at this very moment? If we have the ability to question free will, in which we are freely questioning, does that make us free? In Boethius’s, The Consolation of Philosophy, Book V presents the problem of freedom and God. Boethius refers to freedom as “freedom of the will” and God’s divine foreknowledge as “God’s Providence”. Boethius then presents a sequence of arguments that state that freedom of the will and divine Providence are incompatible. Boethius’s first proposition is, “If God knows the future, then the future is determined,” (PHL 150 Discussion, September 16, 2015). Thus, anything God’s foresees happening, must happen. Boethius is also trying to explain that God essentially foreknows the future eternally. Thus, God knows all the actions, wishes, and desires of mankind. Then his second proposition is that, “If the future is determined, then we don’t have free will,” (Ibid). Essentially, if God knows all the actions, wishes, and desires of mankind, then all of those are bound to happen. Therefore, if it must happen, there is no free will. Boethius’ final proposition is that, “God does know the future,” (Ibid). This simply alludes to God’s foreknowledge of our lives. Boethius’ concludes with statement that, “We don’t have free will,” (Ibid). Having free will, and having a free action means that the action was not predetermined. Furthermore...
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...THIS IS YOUR TIME THIS IS YOUR MOMENT THIS IS your TIME and this is your MOMENT. It DOESN’T matter what you have DONE.in the past ITS TIME to focus on our future. No excuses….it doesn’t matter how many have told you that you can’t do it.. It doesn’t matter about the criticisim you have received We don’t’ have time to compare God has purpose in everything, including the transitions necessary for our advancement, a time to make us ready for what’s ahead. We must prepare ourselves for READY for us ahead PREPARE YOURSELF FOR YOU OPPORTUNITY TO BE SUCCESS…. I am reminded of a story I heard years ago about a farmer and his hand…As I paraphrase this story it reminds me of how dedication leads to preparation and how preparing yourself for your opportunity will lead you to success. This farmer was in town and as he entered into town, he noticed the clouds getting darker and darker. Everyone started rushing into town to get supplies and food for this seemingly massive storm that was coming. People were panicking and some confused about what to do. The farmer rushed home and immediately woke up his hired hand frantic. Saying there is a storm coming and we must prepare for it…The farm hand looked confused and asked for clarification. The farmer said we need to gather all the hay…the farm hand stated that it’s been gathered, because he does it at the end of each day…he stated that they needed to make sure the barn was secure and the horses have enough...
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...For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope Jeremiah 29:11 There are times in life that it feels like the future looks desolate. This great scripture on hope gives encouragement on my life and reminds me that God is in control. I am here to influence you today that you and I both have bright futures ahead of us. There are times when we often go astray but God always steps in on time. We cannot take today for granted, for we not know what tomorrow holds. There is hope for every one of God’s children and I am here to remind you that he has plans for each and every one us. I always tend to look back at this scripture whenever I feel the need to give up. In the past, I’ve felt like I wasn’t going to make it and like I wasn’t strong enough. I felt like I wasn’t good enough for a successful future because of what I’ve been told, but then I started praying and asking God to step in and take charge. I then began to step back and let God do his works and once I made that major step, the LORD did exactly what he said he would do. Speaking on today would’ve been a nerve wrecking assignment for me in the past, but now that my spirit of fear is gone, I have the courage to do anything I put my mind to. My speaking goals is exactly what I’m living at this very moment. They are what I’m presenting to you at this very moment. I am a strong believer in hope and having a bright future. I do believe that public speaking...
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...Philosophy essay 09/02/2015 a) Explain the cosmological argument (25 marks) a) St Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican friar and priest who produced a large amount of writing attempted to prove the existence of God. He was most well know for this through his book 'Summa Theologica' which was left unfinished when he died. Within this book he explains the 'five ways', which he used to try and prove the existence of God. Aquinas though of the 'five ways' in order to try to prove and explain the existence of God. Within this concept it is the first three of the five ways that have been used to form the cosmological argument. Aquinas has said that it may not be possible to prove that the universe came into existence. This is supported in his book 'Summa Theologica', Aquinas says "God's effects... are enough to prove that God exists, even if they may not be enough to help us comprehend what he is". The fist of the five ways is based on motion. Within this theory he attempts to explain that an object is only able to move if a force that s outside of the object is acting on it. He described this as being a chine of events or movements that are not able to go back to infinity. He describes that there must have been a first. He called this the 'Prime mover', the prime mover he described to be unmoved itself. As everything in existence has to be moved by something else and therefore must be linked back to the prime mover. The second way Aquinas said identifies a series of causes and effects...
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...* Home * Books * Authors * Ideas * Lists * Bookchooser * Lucky dip! * About us Book review The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer(2004) It's a funny thing. Eoin Colfer writes the kind of book that's so easy to read your eyes just slide along the lines. The story skids along so fast you never quite know when to pause for breath - so you don't. You don't put the book down until you've finished it. And when you've finished it you're pretty sure you've read a funny book, except the story is in fact so sad it stays with you for ages. That's The Supernaturalist. It's set in the future but don't get excited because we humans are way past our zenith. It's downhill all the way from now on. Satellite City: An entire city custom-constructed for the third millennium. Everything the body wanted, and nothing the soul needed. Three hundred square miles of grey steel and automobiles. Read on. You are about to meet some needy souls. There's Cosmo Hill, inmate of the Clarissa Frayne Institute for Parentally Challenged Boys, who at fourteen is having to stand down his cherished dream of being adopted. The other option though, of suddenly taking responsibility for his own future, is also abit of a challenge for Cosmo. An overturned bus isn't necessarily everyone's idea of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but this is definitely Cosmo's moment. And he blows it. Well, maybe he never really stood a chance. But, as luck would have it, there just happens to be a bunch of...
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...Lucious Annaeus Seneca once said "The day which we fear as our last is but the birthday of eternity." When one dies they spend eternity in either heaven or hell depending on what they believe. This quote relates to the poem "Because I Could Not Stop for Death" by Emily Dickinson because they both say that death should not be scary, with death comes spending eternity in heaven. Dickinson describes her journey with death in this poem. Readers benefit from Dickinson's poetic voice through the theme, content, and literary devices that form a beautiful poem. The theme throughout the poem is that death should not be as scary as people make it seem. When someone dies, they spend eternity in heaven if they have a relationship with God. The last two lines in the poem say "I first surmised the Horses' Heads were toward eternity." So they were headed toward eternity in heaven. As said in 1 John 5:11 "And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life and life in his son." So when one has Jesus in their heart they have eternal life in him. This relates to the poem's theme because if one knows where they are going to spend eternity, death is not as scary. Emily Dickinson used many literary devices to enhance her poem. For example, death is personified throughout the poem; she made death seem to be a person. In the poem she says "He...
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...Dickinson, the speaker tells of her journey with Death and Immortality. Death is portrayed as a gentleman suitor. This gentleman stops to pick up the speaker and take her for a leisurely and relaxing ride in a horse-drawn carriage. The speaker is comfortable with Death, she is not afraid nor does she beg for more time as they pass through the town where she has lived her life. Along the way she see children playing, fields of grain and the setting sun. It is a peaceful ride. The speaker describes Death as civil as he travels with her towards eternity. Although the speaker in the poem could not stop for death on her own and the poem is about the speaker’s own death, she is not fearful or hesitant to follow Death to her resting place and then on to eternity. In her poem, “Because I could not stop for Death” Emily Dickinson uses personification, imagery, and symbolism to tell of a woman’s peaceful journey from life to death and then to eternity. In this poem the first literary element that Emily Dickinson uses is personification. She personifies death as a male gentleman who comes calling on the speaker. Death is described as being kind as well as having civility and patients. Death is introduced in the poem right at the start. The speaker says, “He kindly stopped for me” (Dickinson, 1863, line 2). He does this because she was unable to stop for him. He then takes her on a slow drive through the town where she lives. The speaker says, “He knew no haste” (Dickinson, 1863, line 5)...
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...comparison of a star’s qualities to explain their love. The personification of a star expresses the main theme of eternity. In the first lines Keats writes, “Bright star, would I were stedfast as thou...
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...Slavery may have been outlawed many years ago, but its claws are still buried tight in the hearts and homes of many. Modern slavery isn't plantations and whipping so much as it is starvation and being in a locked room. The two stories of slavery I have read, The Slave Girl in California, as well as the novel of Frederick Douglas, differ in many ways but are also quite similar. Desire and courage are two central themes in the Slave Girl story and Frederick Douglas stories. However, there are opposing themes such as that of Eternity and of Chance. In both stories, the characters are enslaved without freedom of choice in any way. They are forced to work, punished harshly for their failings, and treated as though they weren't even human. Bought...
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...Week One – It all starts with God Romans 8:6: 5 -8Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God's action in them find that God's Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn't pleased at being ignored. Matthew 16:25 Colossians 1:16 speculation vs. revelation We should ask GOD what our lives purpose is. He is the only one (the creator) who can tell us what He has purposed us to do and to achieve. 1 Cor. 2:7 GOD is the source of our lives – not just the start of our lives. Ephesians 1:11 You discover your identity and purpose through a relationship with Jesus Christ, God was thinking about us long before we were thinking about HIM We don't get to choose our purpose! Without God, life makes no sense! Life is about living for GOD, not myself! ___________________________________________________________________________________ Week two – You are not an accident! Isaiah 44:2 Psalms 138:8 ephesians 1:4 James 1:16-18 Passage James 1:18: 16 -18So, my very dear friends, don't...
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