...In the article “Did Jesus Exist? Searching for Evidence Beyond the Bible,” Lawrence Mykytiuk attempts to answer the question of Jesus’ existence, using extra-Biblical evidences. To support his findings, Mykytiuk exclusively uses classical and Jewish writings. Since the canonized Bible was written by firm Christian believers, Mykytiuk offers the possibility that this source could be biased therefore refrains from using as a source. Mykytiuk first evidence of Jesus’ existences comes from Cornelius Tacitus, a Roman senator and historian from the first century. Referring to Tacitus’s last major work, Annals, Mykytiuk cites biographical information on Nero, who suspectedly ordered the burning of Rome, accusing despised Christians. This reference of Christians proves existence of followers to a person known as Christus. In addition, Tacitus’s writing supports four...
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...The Bible clearly states that even the thought of violence is a sin, and although there were no guns in Jesus’ time, I believe that this falls under the category of what He was talking about. Unfortunately, there is no definite answer to this issue, and there probably never will be until Christ returns because until then evil will always be trying to circumvent God’s law. But until that occurs, it is our duty as Christians to represent the Bible in our culture today in every way possible, including the Second Amendment debate. Personally, the way I believe we can best achieve this is to support the Supreme Court in its 2008 ruling of individual’s rights to protect themselves, but to also be advocates for thorough vetting processes required to purchase guns in order to best avoid religiously motivated shootings (such as Columbine). As stated previously, there is no perfect answer to this debate. However, we serve a perfect God, and while this earth will always have...
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...“What I tell you three times is true.” (Lewis Carroll) Might this formula – or a more sophisticated version of it – actually determine what we believe to be true? Repetition is our way of learning knowledge. Repetition is drilling something to memory, reinforcing the idea in our heads. It is the key to reflexive use (use without conscious thought). Your mind “learns” by repetition and reinforcement. Repetition and its effects on what we believe to be true, play a major role in the way that we accumulate general knowledge. The formula implies that repetition is equal to truth, when really repetition is just repetition. Repetition does not make a statement the truth. But a statement, if repeated often enough, can come to be accepted as truth. This leads us to the question whether a lie can be accepted as truth. From the standpoint of logic, the number of times an incorrect fact is repeated is irrelevant. It is still false. But research has shown that a statement, even an incorrect fact, if repeated often enough, can be accepted as truth. This paper will examine several research studies, influencing variables, and examples from everyday life to identify this occurrence. In addition to this, the possible effects of repetition will be discussed as well. One of the simplest ways to show how repetition causes a statement to be accepted as truth is gossip. First, someone tells a friend a statement, which can be true or false. This friend tells another friend, who tells another...
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...Raivaysha Johnson 4/15/2014 Racist For many years racism has been a problem for Americans since slavery. People like Rosa Parks, who refused to give up her seat to a white person paved the way for many of us today. Also, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. marched for our equal rights he felt that everyone should have the same opportunities. In Tatum’s article, she defines racism as someone who has misinformation about others racially, religiously, or different from ourselves. A racist can be defined as someone who discriminates against others, is judgmental, and ill mannered. African-American’s have been discriminated against ever since slavery began. In most places they were not allowed to live in the same neighborhoods with whites, nor were they allowed going to the same school, restaurant’s, or drink from the same water fountain. African-Americans were made to sit in the back of buses, if a white person wanted there seat, they would have to move. African-American men were not allowed to date or marry white women, but white men were allowed to have black women if they chose to. As an African-American they were not able to go to certain schools, so there education was not as well as a white person unless they taught themselves how to read and write. If they disobeyed there master’s a slave could be beaten half to death or even lynched. In addition, the world today judges you by what you look like or how you act. For instance, if you see someone screaming or yelling in a store...
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...Colorado Christian University College of Adult and Graduate Studies HIS111A, History and Literature of Ancient Israel Course Syllabus (3 semester credits) Course Description Academic Catalog Description This course provides an overview of the historical development and fulfillment of God’s sovereign plan for both the people and the land of Israel. General Course Description This course focuses on the content, background, message, and significance of the books of the Old Testament. Required Textbooks and Course Materials You will need a standard translation of the Bible (NIV, NASB, NKJV, NRSV are acceptable). Paraphrases such as The Living Bible or The Message are not acceptable for this class. If you are using a Bible other than the translations listed, you need to secure permission from your professor. Arnold, B., & Beyer, B. (2008). Encountering the Old Testament (w/CD) (2nd ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House. [ISBN: 978-0801031700] Clowney, E. (2013). The unfolding mystery (2nd ed.). Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing. [ISBN: 978-1596388925] Optional (but Recommended) American Psychological Association. (2009). Concise rules of APA style (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. [ISBN: 978-1-4338-0560-8] Student Learning Objectives 1. In this course the student will obtain a basic understanding of major themes that emerge from a reading of the Old Testament. 2. The student will be able to articulate...
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...As he quotes in GQ magazine, “I myself am a product of the 60s; I centered my life around sex, drugs and rock and roll until I hit rock bottom and accepted Jesus as my Savior. My mission today is to go forth and tell people about why I follow Christ and also what the bible teaches, and part of that teaching is that women and men are meant to be together. However, I would never treat anyone with disrespect just because they are different from me. We are all created by the Almighty and like Him, I love all of humanity. We would all be better off if we loved God and loved each other.” Robertson founded the Duck Commander company in 1972, which sold a line of custom-made duck-hunting calls that spread across the hunters community. The company's product has an uncanny accuracy in replicating the sound of a real duck, which helped it become real popular. Willie, his son, bought half of the family company, and together they made a DVD series about the family’s duck hunts, which led to a show on the Outdoor Channel...
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...Retrospective Analysis of Personality Retrospective Analysis of Personality Reflection of My Life History Growing up in Gary, Indiana, I moved to Houston, TX when I was 10 years old when my parents got a divorce. Being in a new city away from all of my childhood friends, I was very shy and reserved. My mom made me go to Sunday school at church each weekend and I believe this was to allow me to meet new friends. I never liked Sunday school or going to church as a kid or even playing any sports. Then around my freshman year of high school I decided to try out for football, mainly because my best friend talked me into it. I was one to follow the crowd by the time I became a teenager and that got me into a lot of trouble. For example, sneaking out of my bedroom window with my mother’s car keys to go for a joyride with my buddies at the age of 14. There was no father figure in my home, so I would either go to my best friend or my coaches to fill that void. I was the exact opposite of a leader. Finally by the time I reached my senior year, my personality started to take a turn for the better. As a senior football player with 3 years of experience, I became a leader on the team. After high school, I joined the Army National Guard and that was another culture shock for me. Going through this experience taught me further leadership skills and proved to myself that I could accomplish anything that I put my mind to. Later in life I met my wife and she was a woman that loved...
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...Anyone can become a Pastafarian minister for the low price of twenty-five dollars. The Official Paper Certificates of Ordination is embossed with gold foil seals. New Zealand became the first country to legally recognize FSM marriages (Roy, Eleanor Ainge). The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, was started in 2005 and the book was completed in 2010 by Bobby Henderson, after being offered a large amount of money to write the Bible ("Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster"). He accepted the offer and wrote the book, then said the rest of the funds would be used to buy a pirate ship to travel around the work to spread the news of the FSM. In addition to the Bible, there are unofficial writings known as “The Loose Canon.” These writings are verses written by many different members in the Pastafarian community There is no standard church service among the entirety of the religion; services vary greatly between countries. However, Pastafarians celebrate a winter celebration Holiday, known as FSMas (Henderson, Bobby). The holiday is celebrated very similar to Christmas. Many people decorate an evergreen tree with a tree topper of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. On this day, Pastafarians are consider to be “Touched by His Noodly Appendages (Henderson, Bobby).” On September 19, they also celebrate...
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...Texts and Ideas: Antiquity and Enlightenment Dr. Jeffrey Rubenstein Paper #1 Outline and Rough draft due in recitation sections on October 2-3 and will be returned Oct 8-10. Final Papers due October 15. No late submissions will be accepted without prior approval. Papers should be emailed to NYU classes AND a hardcopy turned in. Directions: * Select one out of the following three questions. Write an essay of approximately and no more than 1200 –1500 words. (Use the “word count” function in your word processor). * Quoting: you should quote from the text. Make sure that the quotes do not take up too large a part of your paper and only supplement (rather than substitute) your own words. Whenever you quote, you MUST provide a citation in parentheses. Here are some examples: (Symposium, 175E), (Exodus 22:1). Quotes should not stand on their own. They should be attached to some part of a non-quoted sentence (it can be as short as: For example, “……..” or Sophocles states, “…………”). * How to begin your paper: Jump straight to answering the question. Do not summarize the text, but rather write with a reader who is familiar with the text in mind. Also avoid general sayings such as “In human history, women have always been subordinated” or “Leaders tend to be very interesting figures.” One way to start your paper is with a question you will be answering. But don’t use the same wording – try to rephrase it, paraphrase it, or break it up. * Make sure you have a thesis...
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...enshrouded in darkness their need for the Savior. Yet while many Christians rightly denounce this unscientific belief, ironically, many are still falling into the devil s trap of denying God s sovereignty over the earth. That trap is the ages-long effort to twist and destroy the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath. Through Satan s false information and man s trust in traditions over the sure word of Scripture, millions of Christians have been led to discount or even reject the importance of observing the Sabbath. “The seyenth day is the sabbath of the Lord: in it thou shalt not do any work (Exodus 20:10). No one disagrees with the clear meaning of this text, yet millions are finding ways not to follow it. Why? The general Bible ignorance of the church and the clever arguments of Satan have created a climate of prejudice against the holiness of the seventh day in favor of the observance of Sunday. So in the interest of promoting God s law over the theories of men, let s take a moment to rediscover some amazing facts about the seventh-day Sabbath. Fact #1: ‘ The Seventh-day Sabbath Establishes God s Soverelgnty Why does Satan hate the Sabbath so much? Because the Sabbath identifies the true God and His claim of ultimate sovereignty. God certainly anticipated the controversy over the Genesis account of Creation. He knew that after the fall of man, there would be doubts about His claims of manufacturing all the staggering mass of matter by merely...
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...The Ethical Issue of Homosexuality Oct. 31, 2011 Homosexuality is defined as the romantic and sexual attraction to a member of the same sex. The conclusion that the behavioral and social sciences, as well as the health and mental professions is that homosexuality is a normal human sexual orientation. (Bell, Weinberg & Hammersmith) (Bullough) (Ford & Beach) (Kinsey, Pomeroy, & Martin) (Kinsey, Pomeroy, Martin, & Gebhard ) Homosexuality was once looked at as a mental disorder, and was listed as such in medical journals until 1973, and to this day scientists can only theorize as to what actually causes someone to become homosexual. Some believe it has a biological nature, while others believe not only that it is a mental disorder, but a tool of a being named Satan. Barbara Blewster, a member of the Arizona State Legislature was quoted as saying, "The perversion that follows homosexuality is bestiality and then human sacrifice and cannibalism." This is where the ethical issues of homosexuality arise. The issue ranges from attitudes like Mrs. Blewster’s who believe homosexuality to be an abomination and a sin, to those who feel that discrimination and hate toward someone who was just “born that way” is unethical. This leads us into the question of homosexual marriage. Should homosexuals be granted the same holy matrimony that heterosexual couples have? The first recorded depiction of homosexuality was found in Mesopotamia, circa 3000 BC where artifacts...
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...serious illnesses. Natural Cannabis has been proven in many clinical studies to offer relief from nausea, tremors, and chronic pain in sufferers. However, the Federal government completely prohibits the use of marijuana in the United States, for sale or for personal use, including medicinal relief. c. What caused it? iii. The criminalization of marijuana came about after its recognition as an intoxicant in the 1920s and 1930s. During this time, exaggerated accounts of violent crimes allegedly committed by immigrants intoxicated by marijuana became popularized by tabloid newspapers and the newly formed Federal Bureau of Narcotics. Congress approved the "Marihuana Tax Act of 1937" based almost entirely on this propaganda and misinformation. d. Who is affected? iv. Patients suffering from cancer, glaucoma, multiple sclerosis, cystic fibrosis, paraplegia, epilepsy, and...
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...asylum by boat, and various policy instruments designed to deter both asylum seekers and people smugglers, have been at the heart of an increasingly contentious public and political discussion in Australia for more than a decade. The debate has polarised large sections of the Australian community and prevented many politicians from engaging in a constructive policy dialogue. With little to differentiate their product, especially on economic and employment issues, the two major political parties have resorted to defining their voter appeal on the basis of pragmatic and regressive policies with respect to asylum seekers. It is the poor and vulnerable who stand to lose most from this. In addition, there is an extraordinary volume of misinformation and political spin, and it becomes increasingly difficult to allow the facts to speak for...
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...Tukisha Burns Religious Field Research Professor Lewis Wilkerson REL 212 May 27, 2012 I have always been interested in Muslims which is the Islamic faith. I attended a service this past Friday at a Mosque, and interviewed a Muslim woman by the name of Anaan. She said that Anaan was Arabic for clouds. During this interview, I asked numerous questions and kept an open -mind. I was very particular with the questions I chose because I did not want to offend her during the interview. Anaan assured me that she was open to any and all questions. I also interviewed a Muslim brother by the name of Abdullah which means servant of God in Arabic. I wanted to interview a male and a female from the Islamic faith so that I could get a view from both sides. I have always had this misconception that Muslim women had no rights, or they had to obey their husband. After speaking to Anaan, a lot of my misconceptions were proven wrong. Can a religion that considers morality to be a part of faith clearly define the equality of men and women and their rights and responsibilities? The answer is a resounding “yes.” In a day and age when the basic tenets of Islam are being questioned by Muslim and non-Muslim alike, we must be cautious when evaluating Islam. The general picture that is painted by the media is biased and unsubstantiated. The impression that some Muslims give to the world is often not a true reflection of the religion, one that is the completion of all religions. Islam takes...
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...prayer and taking a break to perform the salat during working hours are often difficult. Muslim culture has become prominent in coutries other than Islam. Countries that have a large Muslim following include Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, United Kingdom and United States. Accepting Cultural Differences in Muslims Since the tragedy of 9-11 a portion of American citizens are under the beliefs that all Muslims are terrorists. There are extremists in every religion but it appears that it is the Muslim faith that is categorized as the terrorist religion. Muslim stereotypes are perpetuated in every form of the media accompanied by gross misinformation about Islam and Muslims. Such misinformation often leads to discrimination and other...
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