...Personal Position Paper: Environmentalism Caring for the Earth? Should Christians become Tree-Huggers? In today’s society, many environmental issues are being casually overlooked by the same people who constantly complain about them. It is an ever increasing problem that will eventually become irreversible if we Christians do not respond to the issue with definite action. The four key elements of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral provide strong evidence that God has called humans to make a difference in the environment. Several examples that are found in scripture, proven by reason, witnessed through experience, and guided by tradition aid in proving God’s desperate plea to us to care for the earth. By using the quadrilateral in its entirety, I will be able to provide sustainable information that will create a viable conclusion to why I personally believe that Christians should indeed become “tree-huggers”. What does scripture say in terms of protecting the environment? Scripture, the norming norm of all sources, is ultimately the main stemming source which provides moral guidance in helping humankind make wise decisions. It is an outlining source that answers many, if not most, of life’s difficult questions both indirectly and directly. As far as answering the question as to whether or not Christians should become “tree huggers”, several specific instructions provided in scripture are commands given from God to His followers to treat the earth and all the nonliving things within...
Words: 2115 - Pages: 9
...Salvation", Langston Hughes Langston Hughes paints a picture of himself as a little boy whose decisions at a church revival directly reflect mans own instinctive behavioral tendencies for obedience. A young Langston whose congregation wants him to go up and get saved, gives into obedience and ventures to the altar as if he has seen the light of the Holy Spirit. Hughes goes on to say: " So I decided that maybe to save further trouble, I'd rather lie, too, and say that Jesus had come ,and get up and be saved ." In saying this, Langston has obviously overlooked his personal belief to meet the level of obedience laid out by the congregation. It leads us to fact that people may believe strongly in an idea or thought but will overlook that belief to be obedient. One can make a justified assumption that everyone in society has at one time or another overlooked his or her personal feelings to conform this occurrence whether it is instinctive or judgmental is one that each individual deals with a personal level. He was a young boy who wanted to see Jesus, who wanted to earn salvation, but when he couldn't see Jesus, when everyone else saw,he found himself in the terrible position of disappointing not only himself but everyone in his community.He finally "saved" himself by pretending to see Jesus . He was saved not by love of Jesus as a congregation or preacher intended but by pretending to be other that who he was. One wanders what would have happened if he didn't stepped forward...
Words: 4848 - Pages: 20
...PRESENTED TO DR. GARY MITCHELL IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR RLGN5354 SCHOOL OF RELIGION BY MARK D. RIGG PLAINVIEW, TX OCTOBER 15, 2015 THE LIFE AND INFLUENCE OF IGNATIUS LOYOLA Introduction This biographical research paper will focus on the life of Ignatius of Loyola. It is the intention of this writer to deal with three major concerns regarding this post-New Testament Christian personality. First concern: to provide some background and personal history. Next, to set forth the contributions of Ignatius and the significant impact he had on the Church in general among his contemporaries, right up to the present day. Finally, the writer will reveal how the life of Ignatius relates to and has personally influenced his own. Background and personal history Iñigo Lopez de Oñaz y Loyola, whom we know as St. Ignatius, was born the youngest of thirteen children in northeastern Spain in 1491. He was raised in a noble Basque family of high Catholic piety but lax in morals. His father had several children by another woman, and his grandfather's lawless behavior led to the top two floors of the Loyola castle being demolished by order of the crown. Iñigo hardly knew his mother, Marina Saenz de Licona. As was the custom of the time, “A few days after his birth Iñigo was handed over to a wet-nurse, Maria de Garin, wife of the blacksmith living in a cottage a few miles from Loyola.” He was in Maria’s care until he was between one and two...
Words: 3344 - Pages: 14
...Significant Lifespan Factors Impacting Personal Coping Skills Catherine Manning Liberty University Abstract Human beings develop throughout their lifespan, as they make good choices to meet their physical, spiritual and emotional needs. While development is not sequential, it is progressive as the story of life molds and shapes the beliefs and choices of the future. When humans are compared and evaluated, what is it that influences one person to make good choices and another to make bad choices? The ability to adapt and handle times of crisis is a good indicator of a healthy, well-balanced life. It is an indicator that affects almost everyone. It takes skills that mature and develop over time. Are there life experiences that contribute to the positive handling of the stressors of a crisis? Personal experience and pertinent research points to three themes offering positive influence upon crisis adapting skills. First, a religious and spiritual foundation provides the context through which the crisis can be understood, analyzed and managed. Second, a positive, stable family situation allows for the development of the positive self-esteem necessary through which the impact of the crisis upon the individual can be managed. Finally, the satisfaction found in a career or a job can determine perspective and motivation in dealing with problems outside the workplace. Significant Lifespan Factors Impacting Personal Coping Skills Lifespan developmental psychology...
Words: 2835 - Pages: 12
...shapes the beliefs and choices of the future. When humans are compared and evaluated, what is it that influences one person to make good choices and another to make bad choices? The ability to adapt and handle times of crisis is a good indicator of a healthy, well-balanced life. It is an indicator that affects almost everyone. It takes skills that mature and develop over time. Are there life experiences that contribute to the positive handling of the stressors of a crisis? Personal experience and pertinent research points to three themes offering positive influence upon crisis adapting skills. First, a religious and spiritual foundation provides the context through which the crisis can be understood, analyzed and managed. Second, a positive, stable family situation allows for the development of the positive self-esteem necessary through which the impact of the crisis upon the individual can be managed. Finally, the satisfaction found in a career or a job can determine perspective and motivation in dealing with problems outside the workplace. Significant Lifespan Factors Impacting Personal Coping Skills Lifespan developmental psychology (LP) is involved in the study of the individual’s development from conception or birth into old age. One of the assumptions of LP is that significant life events shape and transform the personality, thinking process and behavior of the individual. Lifespan research has expanded over the years, providing observations and analysis of the factors...
Words: 2729 - Pages: 11
...people over the past few years. Yet such a sharp divide is a very recent occurrence. Only a decade ago, gay marriage was nil but an afterthought on the plates of many U.S. leaders. Liberal Democrats like John Kerry and Hillary Clinton did not even support or condone the idea that gays should be able to marry. Yet the turn of the century brought new life and perspective into this issue, and at this moment, a substantial majority of the American public actually support gay marriage. The Legal Definition of Marriage: Why Rely on the Bible? The most fundamental issue when addressing same-sex marriage is the definition of marriage itself. A universally accepted definition has yet to be established because marriage is a delicate entanglement of personal intimacy and public declaration. Above all, we as a society tend to value our freedom to choose the one we marry based on romance...
Words: 3882 - Pages: 16
...morning as I walked up the hill toward my neighbor’s house. The monkey grass needles bent with the weight of frozen dew. I look to my left and Tim has planted eight blueberry bushes. An addition to the garden both he and his wife tend. A gentle knock at the door and I am warmly welcomed by Tim's wife Lynn. She directs me to the living room where I sit to begin the interview. Tim says to me "it's going to be hard to put sixty five years into an hour and a half, but I will do my best". Tim and his wife live in a four bedroom house that was built in 1980. It is a wonderfully quaint red brick house, secluded in five acres of woods that is just six miles from downtown Knoxville. The inside of the house is fully decorated and furnished, but without clutter. I am immediately offered coffee and cinnamon toast. I begin by asking Tim to tell me his life story in his own words. Tim was born in 1946, the first year of the baby boomers, in Newport, Rhode Island. He was raised in a Catholic family that instilled core values in his life. Tim and his wife Lynn have six children and several grandchildren. There are pictures of family on many walls of the house. In his life he has served in the military during Vietnam, graduated from college, had a successful career, and even raised a family. As he begins, my pen is moving, and it hardly stops for the next hour and a half. Cultural Identity "Identity, or a sense of persistent personal selfhood within a larger web of social...
Words: 4542 - Pages: 19
...Contrast Between Catholic and Baptist Religion - Ask most people today if they have heard of Baptist and Catholic religion and most would say yes. In many ways the two are very similar. For instance, both are based on the Christian faith, belief in the trinity, and that God is the one true God. The two religions agree that Jesus died on the cross and rose again to atone for our sins. They share a 27 book New Testament and insist that salvation comes from Christ alone. On the other hand, while the Baptist and Catholic religions do have similarities, they also have differences, such as their services, communion, and views regarding salvation. The Catholic Religion - The world has more than one billion Catholics and with the ever growing population, it will only get larger in number. To be a Catholic means to have complete faith in God and his divine grace. Having God's divine grace means to obey it and keep it holy as it was created by God and given to his people. The religion itself is based on this and the people take it very seriously. Catholics believe that all people are of good nature but when one commits a sin it not only hurts that one person but the people and the Church.... [tags: Catholicism, What Catholics Believe, informative] 1922 words (5.5 pages) $14.95 [preview] Catholic religion - CATHOLIC RELIGION To belong to the church one must accept as factually true the gospel of Jesus as handed down in tradition and as interpreted by the bishops in union with the pope...
Words: 9141 - Pages: 37
...than outer time d)Search for identity e)Treatment of religion f)Treatment of sexuality Conclusion James Joyce (from February 2, 1882 to January 13, 1941) was one of the most preeminent Irish authors of the 20th century. He is known for his literary innovation strictly focused narrative and indirect style. James Joyce matriculated from University College of Dublin in 1903. After moving to Paris, Joyce planned on studying medicine. The lectures were conducted in a technical French but Joyce’s education had not prepared him for it. Despite his mother’s attempts to get him to return to Catholic Church, Joyce remained unmoved even after her death. Joyce studied at Clongowes Wood College from 1888 until 1892. When the family’s financial state devolved, Joyce had to leave the school. After a brief time at Christian Brothers School, Joyce was enrolled at Belvedere College in 1893. In 1898, Joyce began studying Italian, English and French at University College Dublin. At this time, Joyce also began his entry into the artistic life of Dublin. His literary reviews appeared in Fortnightly Review. His review of Henrik Ibsen received a positive personal response from Ibsen himself. In addition to his reviews, he also wrote some pieces of drama that have since been lost. The writings of James Joyce include Chamber Music, Dubliners, The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Ulysses, Exiles, Finnegan’s Wake. 1914...
Words: 9723 - Pages: 39
...7 BARTIMAEUS (Mark 10:46-52) The story of Bartimaeus is an experience of the healing power of faith that leads to discipleship. It begins in identification with the humiliation of a blind beggar sitting in the dust. It ends with his sight restored as he follows Jesus on the way up to Jerusalem. In a unique way, this story concretizes the power of the faith of persons who are oppressed by physical or mental handicaps, patriarchal social structures, racial discrimination, and economic systems over which they have no control. It is an invitation to allow our own personal and communal humiliation to be seen in the context of Bartimaeus's faith in Jesus as the Christ. The Story And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great multitude, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" And many rebuked him, telling him to shut up. But he cried out all the more, "Son of David, have mercy on me!" And Jesus stopped and said, "Call him." And they called the blind man, saying to him, "Take heart; rise, he is calling you." And throwing off his mantle he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, "What do you want me to do for you?" And the blind man said to him, "Master, let me receive my sight." And Jesus said to him, "Go your way; your faith has made you well." And immediately he received his sight...
Words: 6815 - Pages: 28
...Rhetorical device? * Cites 5 of them * “social capital” (56-58) is a rich illustration * Solidarity involves “learning” and “sensitivity” and “collaboration” (60) * Corresponding interventions/Solutions * E.g. “not charity but capital” (Clarence Jordan, cited 54) * 62-63: justice = level playing field (Sen. M. Fenwick, grandmother) * Housing is one of several interventions, but foundational (59) * Note structural components (infrastructure) of this intervention * E.g. ONE Campaign (http://www.one.org/us/) : 1% of US budget against extreme poverty * Immigration as “spiritual pilgrimage” * Religion/Public Square (ch.4) * “Do I believe in the moral teaching of my faith more than...
Words: 2923 - Pages: 12
...Exchange 37 (2008) 124-155 www.brill.nl/exch Ethiopian Traditional Values versus the Social Teaching of the Church Solomon Dejene Research Student, Nijmegen Institute for Mission Studies, Nijmegen, The Netherlands Email: S.Dejene@nim.ru.nl Abstract Even if the Roman Catholic Church does not have a very long history in Ethiopia and constitutes a small minority of the society, her social significance is great in part due to the structural development programs she runs through out the country. The main aim of this paper is to identify how much the Church1 has made use of traditional systems and values in reflecting and communicating pastorally particularly in regard the Social of the Church (henceforth CST). By analyzing four selected pastoral letters, this article tries to spell out the strengths and shortcomings of the Church in employing traditional systems and values in giving form to the CST. Keywords Catholic social teaching, human dignity, common good, solidarity, reconciliation and peace, contextualization, Ethiopian traditional values Introduction Most of the current national boundaries of Africa were drawn during the colonial period and do not reflect the socio-cultural, ethno-linguistic and religious compositions of the colonies. Although Ethiopia has successfully overcome European colonial power and survived as an independent state with the exception of a five year Italian occupation (1936-41), its contemporary national boarder is a result of the scramble for Africa....
Words: 14497 - Pages: 58
...Third Gender – Equality and Truth http://caissg.org/third-gender-equality-truth/ It is a brave and honest person who can stand apart from the masses and openly challenge its most treasured beliefs. ~ Donna Evans As humans, we understand a little about our complex bodies even with the greatest medical science. It is what it is. Then why lie? Secrecy and stigma are worse than the condition itself. Without truth and transparency, it is difficult to pass laws, provide equal rights, offer support and help for all. We need to have an environment which encourages truth, tolerance, and respect for all. Are there only two genders or is there a third gender?Regardless of which side of the issue you are on, we can all agree thattruth is always the right option and secrecy and lying have no place for a long-term solution in a civilized society. There are several issues withsecrecy and lying. First it is wrong. Second it does not take into account the feelings and trauma of the person being lied to. Third it could lead to criminal acts such as if lying is a crime under oath. What are the bioethics for disclosure to spouses? It is NOT about gender identity or it is NOT about the sexual identity, it is about the HUMAN identity which is to say the truth. As a human being, everyone deserves a feeling of “belonging”, understanding and acceptance. Without recognition of the truth, how will an intersex person marry legally or how can an intersex couple (who are infertile) adopt a child legally...
Words: 23971 - Pages: 96
...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 its essence transcends such links, it is through these that the religious experience becomes meaningful, enriching, and relevant in its observance. There have...
Words: 4841 - Pages: 20
...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 and more discouraged by Jezebel’s...
Words: 2906 - Pages: 12
