...in the last 100 years, in this paper I address the history in polish funerary traditions and what my family and family friends experienced when they had the unfortunately to experience a death. Back in the day, superstitions and spiritual customs were very important when dealing with the death of a loved one. The soul and spirit of the deceased were still are key elements in society’s culture. According to Martha Stortz in the article Grief and the Christian Funeral, says during a sermon “grieving works in both personal and social settings”. It is not just the family of the deceased that grieves but also the community comes together to help with the funeral. In the article Burial Rituals and Cultural Changes in the Polish Community by Igor Piekiewicz, states that death and bereavement rituals are separate though primarily focus on the deceased and the bereaved. Rituals are performed to purify the spirit and aid its transition process from the realm of the living toward the realm of the dead. Before the funeral, there is a censing of the body with blessed herbs and sprinkle it with holy water. This aims to pacify and protect the community from devilish spirits. Considering common beliefs about life, the nature of the world, and spirituality among the given religious culture. Igor Piekiewicz indicates that being strong in a community is important for the bereaved for consolation. Another tradition performed in the household is to open and close all the doors and windows so that...
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...Grandma is traditional When reading the short story “The Jade Peony” by Wayson Choy, the old Grandmamma is a very traditional person. This is present in her old age, her traditional background and her spirituality. Often times, many traditional people are also very old. This is because they grow up in the olden days, and they continue to live in that way of life. One would not find kids of newer generations being too traditional. The first line of the short story is “When Grandmama died at 83…” (41). 83 is quite an old age and is higher than the average human lifespan of 79. The quote also states that she dies at 83, which is likely from her old age. Another quote to prove that Grandmama has passed away from old age is “[Grandmama...
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...things that can be done to improve outcomes were determined. Spirituality and religion are often thought to be the same and are often interchangeable. Religion is a belief system with rituals and practices that one adheres to in searching for a higher being. Spirituality is not a religion that holds us to a set of rules or traditions; It is not attainted through human worthiness; It is about a relationship that God offers us, an eternal life with him (All About Spirituality, 2012). The majority of patients that nurses care for have religious beliefs and traditions when it comes to their health, which in turn leads to spiritual needs. Their beliefs may affect the way they want to be cared for and may also hinder the care needed, such as treatments, procedures and medications. Spirituality is a way that we all search for meaning within and through that comes peace, hope, comfort and love. When assessing ones spirituality, you are also finding out their strengths and ways in which they cope. Listening, silence and touch are important aspects of spirituality, as these demonstrate caring, sense of worth and can relieve stress (Ojnik, 2009). For this paper my father-in-law (J.C.) was interviewed and five questions were asked. J.C. is 65 years old, is very active and takes great care to maintain his health. He works full time and is self employed. Family is extremely important to him and sticks to Italian tradition of having Sunday dinners every week with the entire family...
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...Australia post 1945 - Key terminology – * Assimilation Policy – official government policy which aims to integrate minority groups into the dominant culture group. This results in a loss of culture, tradition and languages. * Balance rites – Aboriginal rituals that aim to make a supernatural connection with ancestral beings from the dreaming * Crown land – Public land owned by the commonwealth of Australia and managed by Australian government * Dispossession – The forced removal of aboriginal people from their native land. * Dreaming – Aboriginal spiritual beliefs about creation and existence. The dreaming establishes the rules governing relationships between people, land and all things for Aboriginal people. It links together the past, present and future. * Freehold title – Absolute and permanent ownership of the land. * Half-castes – An offensive term referring to a person of mixed decent or ethnicity. * Land rites – Property rights pertaining to land. * Meta-temporal – the trinity of the past, present and future. * Native title – Form of land title, which recognises aboriginal people as rightful owners of their traditional land. * Protection policy – official government policy stating in the late 19th century. Removed aboriginal people from unsuitable environments and placed them under the protection of the state. * Sacred sites – Places of spiritual significance to Aboriginal people as they are connected with ancestor beings...
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...History of Black Catholics III. Black Spirituality & Culture. a. Black Spirituality b. What We Have Seen and Heard – Pastoral Letter on Evangelization c. Catholic Teaching on Racism IV. Conclusion INTRODUCTION The purpose of this paper is to inform the reader about the true meaning of Black Liberation Theology. I want to present this paper as an enlightening pit of information to all who read it. I hope that will be an enlightenment and appreciation of the culture and spirituality of Blacks by non Blacks. And for Blacks I hope to affirm that our culture and spirituality is a depiction of our past, present, and future relationship with God. “Black Liberation Theology and Black Theology” are terms that walk hand in hand. For both share it’s African and slave roots since the 1560s. Long before the landing of The Mayflower at Plymouth Rock in 1620. There are a lot of differences between the two. Black Liberation Theology is more “vocal” in proclaiming liberation from oppression. Often it presents itself as hatred. An example of this is the speech of Rev. Jeremiah Wright on March 13, 2008. Black Theology, from a Black Catholic perspective, works in the line of tradition within the Catholic Community. Such hatred is...
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...This paper describes the components of a healing hospital and their relationship to spirituality. I will also state the challenges of creating a healing environment in light of the barriers and complexities of the hospital environment. Lastly I will include biblical aspects that I believe support the concept of a healing hospital. First off, I feel components of a healing hospital are compassion, safety, trust, respect, support and creating positive outcomes in people’s lives and health. “A Healing Hospital is a concept where a continuous chain of loving care is carried throughout the organization with kindness and skill from every caregiver (including leaders) to every patient and to one another” (Chapman, 2003, p. 10). The workers need to envelope the spirit and integrate compassion, real love, and selflessness when they are with each individual patient as well as with their co-workers. Caring needs not only be from staff to patients, but also between staff members themselves and so forth. As far as spirituality goes in a healing hospital it begins with the top dog and continues down to upper management, then middle management, then lower management, and down to employees. To give patient care you must possess passion for each patient and their care. To me passion for patient care is having passion for that person fully from their mind, body, and spirit. To also help provide any patient needs whether it be spiritual, physical, or emotional. It is always important to provide...
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...An Introductory Note by V.V. Raman We are multi-dimensional creatures. Even as biological entities we have several layers of existence: physical, intellectual, psychological, emotional, and yes, spiritual too. By the last I mean an inner experience and longing to be connected with the Cosmos. This longing expresses itself in a variety of ways, in most instances as a religious call. Evolutionary biologists and cultural psychologists may explain this away in the paradigms that are satisfactory for understanding the observed world. For practitioners, however, religious yearning derives from an external intangible source that is not directly amenable to empirical verification. If there can be neutrinos and dark energy that defy easy detection even through powerful and sophisticated instruments, one could argue, why can’t there be other intangibles whose existence is beyond meters and scopes? The matter continues to be debated, but this is not our concern here. No matter what the source, this heart-felt beckoning and fulfilling framework almost defines the religious person’s existence. There are many in our group who are religious persons. Religion informs and inspires the values and visions that are part of one’s existence. It provides a backdrop for one’s life, present and future, terrestrial and beyond, real and visualized. The spiritual yearning has taken concrete forms in human history as different religions with deep historical, geographical cultural links. Though...
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...The Lord was in the still small voice - 1 Kings 19:12. In what other ways might we hear The Lord speaking? This overview considers the question set, possible ways to interpret it and the need to frame it within an Anglican course context that itself reflects rich, diverse practices of praising, listening to and hearing God. The title of this essay refers to Elijah’s two mountain top experiences on Carmel and Horeb that depict how God speaks in contrasting ways; through spectacular events and displays of power and through a whisper which both calms and rouses the heart. Moving quickly through the story in 1 Kings 19, we see Elijah who has stopped rain, challenge the false prophets of Baal and Asherath to reveal the true God in a fiery showdown on Mount Carmel. After he has ordered the death of the false prophets, Queen Jezebel threatens his life. Elijah, discouraged, flees into the wilderness heading for Mount Horeb (Sinai) a significant place of God’s voice and revelation to Moses, at a key moment in the history of Israel. Perhaps in journeying to Sinai, Elijah hoped for a fresh encounter and revelation of God. Unlike Moses’ experience, God does not partially unveil his countenance. Instead, Elijah hears a still small voice in his cave of refuge, with God asking him what he is doing there. We might imagine that after calling out to God and seeing him work through spectacular events that Elijah would be reassured of God’s infinite power and love. However he is human...
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...Inheriting a Tradition: “Following in the Footsteps of Christ” in the Spirit of the Early Anabaptists For Arnold Snyder MTS 626A By Mary Lou Klassen 12 December, 2005 Inheriting a Tradition: “Following in the Footsteps of Christ”[1] in the Spirit of the Early Anabaptists. Introduction Walter Klaassen in a recent article posed the following question of Mennonites, “Should we call ourselves Anabaptist?”[2] That question has been an underlying current as we have explored the sea of early Anabaptist Spirituality in our course. Klaassen answers the question in the negative. His concern is to point out that the early Anabaptists “stood consciously against and challenged virtually everything their Christian culture took for granted.”[3] Yet, they were intent on reforming that culture, not separating from it. Besides lamenting that Mennonites have compromised with the current culture, he feels that our sectarian tendency is also misrepresenting the tradition. I am not as much interested in his emphasis on Christian unity as I am in the points he raises to develop his negative answer. His main point is that the early Anabaptists took a counter-cultural stance. He outlines that this position showed itself in four respects: a) A “[rejection of] all religious coercion” and a refusal that governments should have any role within the church”[4]; b) A “[rejection of] the emerging capitalist economic system … because...
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...Introduction Meister Eckhart (1260 - 1328) has been known as the father of German mysticism and the greatest of all mystics. Several authors reference him with the honour "the man from whom God hid nothing." He is known as a philosopher and a theologian but it was as a mystic that Meister Eckhart excelled. In his day Meister Eckhart enjoyed success as a popular preacher and churchman of high rank in his order, the Dominicans. However, Meister Eckhart was the only theologian of the medieval period to be formally charged with heresy. The shock of his trial for heresy and the condemnation of some of his work by Pope John XXII in Argo Dominco has cast a shadow over his reputation and a lingering suspicion over his orthodoxy that has lasted to this day. This research paper will focus on the intellectual and social history of Meister Eckhart. The development in thought of any theologian emerges from the life world of the theologian. [4] The life world is formed by the meeting of the cultural, social, and religious history of the day. Theologians are continually searching for new and meaningful ways to interpret religious experience. Meister Eckhart interpreted the religious experience of his day in a way that no others at the time did. I will explore in this paper some of the intellectual forces at work at the time and how he interpreted and connected with these. Secondly, it is important to understand the social history of the time. No theologians' thought is ever formed by simply...
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...Introduction Meister Eckhart (1260 - 1328) has been known as the father of German mysticism and the greatest of all mystics. Several authors reference him with the honour "the man from whom God hid nothing." He is known as a philosopher and a theologian but it was as a mystic that Meister Eckhart excelled. In his day Meister Eckhart enjoyed success as a popular preacher and churchman of high rank in his order, the Dominicans. However, Meister Eckhart was the only theologian of the medieval period to be formally charged with heresy. The shock of his trial for heresy and the condemnation of some of his work by Pope John XXII in Argo Dominco has cast a shadow over his reputation and a lingering suspicion over his orthodoxy that has lasted to this day. This research paper will focus on the intellectual and social history of Meister Eckhart. The development in thought of any theologian emerges from the life world of the theologian. [4] The life world is formed by the meeting of the cultural, social, and religious history of the day. Theologians are continually searching for new and meaningful ways to interpret religious experience. Meister Eckhart interpreted the religious experience of his day in a way that no others at the time did. I will explore in this paper some of the intellectual forces at work at the time and how he interpreted and connected with these. Secondly, it is important to understand the social history of the time. No theologians' thought is ever formed...
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...Aboriginal people. It is the central spiritual concept because it determines not only beliefs and values but also relationships with other people and the overall environment. Aborigines are able to understand creation in a continuing and living sense by virtue of the Dreaming. It explains how the world was created by their ancestors and is passed on orally. E.g. dreaming stories such as the rainbow serpent. Dreaming links Aboriginals to the land, they are interdependent: “Aboriginals live their lives being at one with the land, and without land their Dreaming, tradition and culture are sure to die” (Anne Gray). Kinship – refers to the network of relationships that hold a clan together central to Aboriginal communities. Through kinship, they are instructed about particular obligations, rights and appropriate forms of behavior. It defines where a person fits into the community. Land is important to kinship and is often referred to as “my mother” so it is shared by many people. Disopession- Dispossession resulted in Aboriginals being separated from their physical land, kinship groups and the removal of their children from their families through the “Stolen Generation”. Dispossession first occurred in 1778 when the First Fleet recognised Australia as “terra nullius”. They implemented policies of protectionism where Aboriginals were removed from their rightful land and tribes and placed in missions. This affected aboriginal people in 2008 with many being permanently separated from their...
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...Module 4 Essay Spiritual Leader Interview Kelly J. Allman Grand Canyon University HLT 324 April 10, 2011 The term “Culture" can have many varying meanings, traditionally, it is thought of as the shared beliefs, traditions, religious practices and values of an ethnic group; or the beliefs, customs, practices, and social behavior of a particular nation or people. Culture can also be defined as people with shared beliefs and practices: or a group of people whose shared beliefs and practices identify the particular place, class, or time (era) to which they belong. It can also be defined as the shared attitudes or particular set of attitudes that can characterize an ethnic or religious group of people. Culture is also art, music, literature, and related intellectual activities, otherwise referred to as "popular culture". Finally it is also referred to as knowledge and sophistication; or enlightenment and sophistication acquired through education and exposure to the arts. This is known as “people of culture”. People learn culture. That is culture's essential feature. Culture is a body of learned behaviors common to a given human society. It acts as a template, shaping behavior and consciousness within a human society from generation to generation (Grand Canyon University, 2011). Death is an inevitable and avoidable aspect of life. We deal with death every day, in some aspect. Whether it is a report of another shooting at a school, a story on the evening news about...
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...decided to research about the Deliverance Ministry because one of the ladies I work with is very devoted to this group. So to get a better understanding, I asked her some questions to help me with my paper. During my research I found that the Deliverance Ministry refers to the activity of cleansing a person of demons and evil spirits in order to address problems manifesting in their life as a result of the presence of said entities and the root causes of their authority to oppress the person. Adherents to this theological concept attribute physical, psychological, spiritual and emotional problems that people suffer to the activities of the oppressing spirits following the example of Jesus Christ given in the gospel. The practices and many of the underlying beliefs of these ministries are not accepted by all Christians. This religious group differs from others in a few different ways. They are compromised from different African countries and backgrounds. They preach in all different types of languages, when usually churches stick to one specific language. The Deliverance Ministry has contributed to the American culture by giving us a taste of a different kind of world and a different kind of view on religion. The Deliverance Ministry has given Americans a worldly view. When I asked my co-worker about discrimination against her group, she said there is not really a lot of discrimination that she has seen. There is more discrimination about her personal background than anything...
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...Religion on Earth looked very primitive. Their minds haven't evolved to the point where they can comprehend accepting things that they don't understand. They are still in the early stages of religion where they can only understand spirituality by confining it to their own human form and emotions. For example, their "God" is thought of as a guy with a robe. And they often talk about what he "feels". They don't understand that spirituality is much bigger than that. And that it includes things that the "religious" often deny, like scientific principals, physics and quantum mechanics that are far more elegant than what they have developed to comprehend. They must put them into a human context because they still think they need to completely understand something before it actually exists. They also believe that nothing, including universal and perfect laws of physics is more powerful than the characters they fabricate. They don't realize yet that they are talking about the same things that we already know. I expect that within the next five hundred to a thousand years, they will be able to break free of this limitation and see the higher power in the universe itself - that there are many things that, when we do figure them out, show themselves as complex, yet perfect, and that these forces in the universe are what hold the power of everything that happens here. These forces act as we know, with what appears to be massive intelligence, but not intelligence that even our minds have...
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