...language Present Religion as a Pathway to Freedom In the novel ‘Go Tell It on the Mountain ‘By James Baldwin the concept of freedom and religion are heavily intertwined within each other, especially within the central John Grimes and his internal struggle with how religion affects freedom, Baldwin however represents religion as a pathway to various types of freedom to different characters such as Gabriel’s strive for power, Baldwin out heavy emphasis on what freedoms or in some cases restrictions that religions impose. This essay will explore how Baldwin uses form, structure and language to present religion as a pathway to freedom within both John and Gabriel Grimes. The novel immediately opens with “Everyone had always said that John would be a preacher when he grew up, just like his father.” Straight away John is labelled as becoming a preacher, he is labelled constantly even by those around him this lead to him having “had come to believe it himself” I believe that Baldwin opened with that line to show that John may have viewed religion as a form of restriction, mainly the restriction of freedom of what John wants to become in the future, whenever Johns needs to make a decision for himself he has to consult to religion , a by product of his belief that he will become preacher, for instance when john masturbated in the toilets rather than viewing it a natural stage in puberty , his strong religious upbringing led to him believing that he had committed a sin that was “ hard...
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...since his life was radically transformed when Jesus confronted him on the road to Damascus (Acts 9, 26:4–18). Once he knew Jesus and His power, nothing held him back from telling others about the risen Christ. He shared this gospel, the “good news,” with anyone who would listen to him, regardless of their religion or moral background. Paul once wrote to a group of Christians telling them about this gospel. He said: Moreover, brothers, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Be assured, this same gospel that changed and motivated Paul is for you and me today. In understanding the gospel message we find out that: • Jesus paid the price for our sins (I Peter 3:18). • Our sins can be forgiven (Ephesians 1:7). • We can have eternal life by trusting in Him (John 3:15). The word “gospel” is mentioned over 100 times in the Bible by Jesus and His disciples. Jesus was the source and subject of this good news. Jesus began his ministry by sharing this central truth, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark...
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...Essay Straying from Puritanism The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, was produced in 1953. To this day, the play remains very popular. In this play, Miller talks about a witch-hunt that took place in 1962 which compares to the “Red Scare” that went on in Washington, D.C. in the 1950s. Miller writes about a Puritan village with a Christian religion that seems to be forgotten when under pressure. Puritans are taught to stick to their Christian beliefs, and in The Crucible, they simply stray away from the beliefs and violate them to save their own life. One instance where they go away from their puritan beliefs is that the people of Salem drift away from each other and turn on each other. One very strong belief of Puritanism is that unity among them strengthened their community. In a Puritan community, they take care of each other’s needs and look out for their neighbors. In The Crucible, they certainly do not take care of one another. In fact, it is the complete opposite. Almost everyone in the play becomes very egocentric. This is all the effect of the accusations of witchcraft in Salem. Another instance where they stray from their Puritan religion is that they break many of the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments are the ten basic rules that shall not be broken by any means by a firm Christian believer. One of the ten commandments they break during the play is killing. The bible clearly states in Exodus 20:13, “Thou shalt not kill.” The Bible states it very concise. Puritans...
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...life was radically transformed when Jesus confronted him on the road to Damascus (Acts 9, 26:4–18). Once he knew Jesus and His power, nothing held him back from telling others about the risen Christ. He shared this gospel, the “good news,” with anyone who would listen to him, regardless of their religion or moral background. Paul once wrote to a group of Christians telling them about this gospel. He said: Moreover, brothers, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Be assured, this same gospel that changed and motivated Paul is for you and me today. In understanding the gospel message we find out that: • Jesus paid the price for our sins (I Peter 3:18). • Our sins can be forgiven (Ephesians 1:7). • We can have eternal life by trusting in Him (John 3:15). The word “gospel” is mentioned over 100 times in the Bible by Jesus and His disciples. Jesus was the source and subject of this good news. Jesus began his ministry by sharing this central truth, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel”...
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...There has been no greater influence and impact on mankind than in the lives and teachings of Jesus and Muhammad. These two significant leaders were instrumental in establishing the foundations and belief system of two powerful religions, Christianity and Islam, which continue to this day. Christians comprise of 2.1 billion people and Islam has 1.5 billion followers and are the top two religions in the world, about half of the population. (www.adherents.com) Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. (Fisher, 2008, p.419) In looking to compare these two powerful men and the religions they helped form one can see some similarities as well as some major differences. When we look at Muhammad’s upbringing we see a boy born in 570AD, orphaned at six years old, and raised by his uncle in poverty who put him to work as a merchant in the caravan trade. As a teen Muhammad, on a trip with his uncle, was identified by a Christian monk to have certain markings on his body indicating he was a prophet. Muhammad went on in his younger years to marry a wealthy woman fifteen years his senior and they had a daughter, Fatima. (Fisher, 2008) Mohammad made many spiritual retreats and it was on one that through God the angel Gabriel came to him and had him recite what would become the first words of the Qur’an. (Fisher, 2008) The core of the message he recited was that there is no God but Allah. This was the only reported miracle that happened to Muhammad. After receiving the revelations...
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...RELIGIOUS FIELD RESEARCH: CATHOLICISM Being from a non-religious background myself in that I'm Agnostic, Catholicism is most intriguing to me because of all the stigmas and misconceptions surrounding this religion. I mean let's face it as soon as someone brings up Catholicism the first thing that pops into your head is Priests molesting little boys! Other misconceptions I found fascinating are: They pray to The Virgin Mary and to The Saints if they are a monotheistic religion why pray to Saints? I've always believed that Confession is a sure fire way to be absolved, and a ticket straight to heaven. I also did not understand that they believe in salvation of young children (babies) through baptism. I set out to see for myself about these misconceptions surrounding the Catholic Church, and I was quite surprised to what I found. Why do Catholics pray to The Virgin Mary and Saints? I was always under the impression that Catholicism is a monotheistic religion meaning they believe in one God. So to say the least I was confused as to why they would pray to Mary and the Saints thus meaning it would have to fall into the polytheistic (many Gods or Idols) category. I was told its more of an interception of prayer. "When we are in need of prayer we ask those closest to God." Hence praying to Mary or the Saints, because they are close to God. (Woodruff, 2012). To put it in another way of thinking, think about a child who has done wrong by his/her parents. If this child favors, say...
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...knit highly religious society. The situation and circumstances that the community is in encourages the development of several different themes in the story. Religion, integrity, and respect and reputation are all important themes in the novel. Religion is one of the main reasons that the novel its self is able to play out and develop. The main plot of the story revolves around religion and the actions that the characters take out either for or against the things that they are taught and that they are expected to follow. The community is a group of extremely religious Puritans; in their minds and opinions there is only one thing that is important: God. To the community the only thing that should matter to people is being on God’s good side and being the best Christians they can be. The only things that have an important value are upholding religious beliefs and developing the best relations they can with God and the church. If the people of Salem hadn’t been so religiously uptight then the Salem witch trials probably wouldn’t have even occurred. Also, during the witch trails the only thing that people had as proof of innocence or guilt was religion without religion their points would have been without meaning. Every time someone was accused of performing witch craft someone would always put in question their commitment religion. During the time that Elizabeth Proctor had been accused of witch craft Mr. Hale went to the Proctor home and “put some questions as to the Christian character...
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...Changing My Religion Converting from Christianity to Islam Crystal K. Baldwin Religion and Philosophy: Humanities 400 Professor Phillip Van Vleck Abstract I Love The Lord…He Heard My Cry I’ve always had a strong faith in our Heavenly Father. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. My views and beliefs have developed over a long period of time and have changed as I have grown in my faith and knowledge. In the past few years my family and I have gone through many trials and tribulations. Test on my faith has caused my spiritual confidence to falter, so I turned to reading, researching and asking questions. I’ve always had an interest in Islam. My eldest son recently converted from Christianity to Islam. I asked him why he converted and his answer was “because he always questioned the Jesus thing”. He said he never understood how Jesus died for our sins and we continue to sin. I found his statement very profound; it caused my own doubts and me to think about my many years of being a Christian. Muslims believe that Christians are committing shirk by referring to Jesus as the Son of God and believing in the Trinity (which, according to the Qu’ran, consists of God, Mary and Jesus – 5:116). The word “Muslim” means one who surrenders to the will of God; no matter what their race, nationality or ethnic background. If a person truly wants to become a Muslim their first step is to speak the “Shahada”, the testimony of faith. In Islam the Shahada...
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...the desire to do something great with you lives, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourselves to be ground down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal.” -- Pope John Paul 11 Christianity is the religion based on the person and teachings of Jesus Christ, or its beliefs and practices. Christianity is close to 2000 years old. It began in Judea, the kingdom of the Jewish people. There are four main religions that are apart of Christianity; they include: Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and Anglican. Christianity develops the significance of Principal beliefs for Christian adherents (believers of a religion). Christianity teaches that Jesus Christ is the centre...
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...tones of the role and makes the character come to life. In Seven he appears as the veteran. He knows what he’s doing, and supposed to do in the movie, to make it good. In the beginning he gets David Mills on the neck, which is trying hard to make a good job to impress William. I think, Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt compliment each other well, and they have many similarities and differences. For example the age, the play, the way they are interpreting their roles and so on. Brad Pitt – detective David Mills: I think, Brad Pitt has been casted for the movie, because he’s the perfect contrast to Morgan Freeman and also a very good actor. They are absolute opposites, young and older, black and white, spontaneous and thoughtful. Kevin Spacey – John Doe: I’ve read that Kevin Spacey was cast two days before filming began, but if I haven’t read it, I wouldn’t believe it. He plays the role fantastic. He’s so suspicious and convincing in his acting. I was so caught off his appearance at the end of the movie, that I actually thought, he was a murder in real. He managed to live into the psychological drama, without it seems abnormally. The doe, Mills and Somerset...
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...What if I told you Jesus can do abolish religion. What if I told you voting republican wasn’t really his mission. What if I told you republicans doesn't automatically mean Christian and just because you call some people blind doesn't automatically give you vision. I mean if religion is so great why has it started so many wars? Why does it build huge churches but fails to feed the poor? Tells single moms God doesn’t love them if they’ve ever ha a divorce. But in the Old Testament God actually calls religious people whores. Religion might preach grace but another thing they practice is to ridicule Gods people, they did it to John the Baptist they can’t fix their problems and so they just mask it not realizing religion is like spraying perfume on a casket. See the problem with religion is that it never gets to the core it’s just behavior modification like a long list of chores like let's dress up the outside so it can look nice and clean but it’s funny that’s what the used to do with mummies while corpses rot underneath. I am not judging I’m just saying quite putting on a fake look. Cause there is a problem if people only know your Christian by your Facebook. I mean in every other aspect of life you know that logics is unworthy It’s like saying you play for the Lakers just because you bought a Jersey. See this was me too but no one seemed to be on to me, acting like a church kid while addicted to pornography. See on Sunday I go to church but Saturday getting faded acting as...
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...After reading the crucible, I chose to write about John Proctor for my three character traits. John Proctor is a very self-respected character throughout the book, and though maybe he made some choices that were not exactly preferred, especially in the puritan religion and during that time period, he was very in-tune with himself enough to know what he stands for. In the eyes of god, and his wife Elizabeth, he thinks he is permanately damaged for his affair with Abigail Williams. John Proctor lacks the ability to forgive even himself for what he did. Elizabeth, John's wife is very resentful towards John throughout the play because it has become difficult for her to trust him again, let alone forgive him. John Proctor hides away and seems very stressed throughout the play because he is very tormented to confess his sins and sign his name....
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...began when Martin Luther’s study of the scriptures revealed to him that mankind can only be justified by faith. This truth from God’s Word transformed Luther’s life and opened the door for believers to break free of religious bondage. Luther would say that justification by faith is the article upon which the church stands or falls. The reformer John Calvin would later echo that sentiment by stating that justification by faith is the hinge by which everything else turns. In reading Paul’s letter to the Romans one can easily see that the doctrine of justification is truly a cornerstone of the Christian faith. This doctrine is a theme that appears throughout the book. By examining man’s unrighteous state and his need for redemption the apostle Paul methodically shows the reader that not only is a person justified by faith alone but also that they are saved from God’s judgment and wrath. Man’s Unrighteousness In addressing justification by faith, Paul first established the unrighteousness of man. In order for a man to be justified, he must first see the need for his justification. Paul began to show that need by establishing what sin is and the effect it has on mankind. In fact, almost immediately after declaring that God’s righteousness is revealed,...
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...ever they desire to do. Discrimination is still a top issue among women and men in the work force. What are some examples of concepts or constructions of masculinity and femininity that you see in society and in media? Religious Group: "Roman Catholics believe the authority of the church lies within the hierarchy of the church. Catholics believe that Baptism is a sacrament that regenerates and justifies and usually done in infancy"(Fairchild, n.d.). When I first learned that baptism given at birth, I thought about how an infant would know the true meaning of baptism. "Catholics believe that truth is found in the Bible, as interpreted by the church, but also found in church tradition"(Fairchild, n.d.). Catholics believe forgiveness of sin is achieved through church ritual, with the assistance of a priest in confession"(Fairchild,...
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...World Religion Report My New Experience with the Catholic Religion I am not a religious person and never really classified myself to be any religion. Growing up however, I did attend a Christian Church with my father every so often. I also attended vacation bible school every summer at Christian Churches so if I had to pick a religion I guess it would be Christianity. I believe in Heaven and Hell and I believe in Jesus Christ and God but I never attend church anymore. It is not that I would not like to but my fiancée and her family is Catholic and that is who I live by and who I am mostly with. Also, and not making excuses it is hard for me to attend church with two young children. My intentions for this assignment were to interview my half-brother who is very religious in the Christian religion but they live too far away and both our schedules are way too hectic. So I had to hurry and change my plans for this assignment. I knew that my fiancées side of the family is all Catholic so I asked the most religious of the family, which is my fiancées Aunt Carole. To research this paper, I interviewed my fiancés Aunt Carole. I do not often see her with both of our conflicting work schedules, but took advantage of a recent visit by asking her to attend a Catholic Sunday Mass with me. We stayed on after the Mass had concluded and I was able to interview regarding her views on the Catholic religion while we sat in at St. Andrews Catholic Church, which also happens to be where...
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