...Inc. 2012. NIV). I believe this with my whole heart and in saying that, I have set the grounds for my Worldview Essay. Who is God? God is the Creator of the universe as we know it. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning of the end. God created every form of life from humans to the fish in the sea and it only took Him six days. (Biblica, Inc.2012.NIV). God sent His only Son to die for all of our sins.(Biblica, Inc. 2012. NIV). God did this out of love for us, His other children. God has many characteristics such as mercy, grace, patience, unconditional love, and understanding. A human being is a child of God. We were made in His image (Biblica, Inc.2012.NIV). God created Adam and from his rib, Eve was created. God breathed life into both of them. This is where the first humans came from. When we die, our bodies are returned to dust and our souls go to Heaven or Hell- depending on whether we are saved or not. The nature of the universe is that we are born into sin. The Bible states in Genesis 3 that we are cursed due to the actions of Adam and Eve. (Biblica, Inc.2012.NIV.)The only way we can break this curse is to ask that Jesus to come into our hearts and forgive us for our sins. The nature of the universe is cruel and unloving. With God, we are able to overcome these things. The universe has been this way until the beginning of time and it will remain so until the second coming of the Lord. I know that God is the only true God because this is...
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...world is uncertain and our universe is vast. We as a human race can never hope to mount the knowledge that exists in our reality and beyond. All that we can truly be certain of is our existence on Earth and out gift of life. However, this universal truth should not cause one to go into despair. One should not begin to shut themselves away from the world or try digest as an exhaustive amount of information about our universe in an attempt to eradicate ignorance. Rather one should embrace them and find liberation through Christianity. Christian teachings encourage trusting and believing that God is our Creator and only wants the best for us. In doing this we are able to shed the anxiety that uncertainty often creates within us, accept that...
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...Human rights equate to the extent of possession and value, which diminishes the meaning of justice. Justice shall be equated as a spiritual virtue that is based on compassion and love which in return illuminate’s human obligation. Simone notions that the human obligation is unconditional, it is a presumed responsibility to love thy neighbor and to endure the anguish of discomfort for the comfort of others. In other words, the main objective is to equalize the well-being of all by repudiating one’s self in the name of divine justice. Every man is antagonized at the forefront of affliction, and the unpretentious consideration of one’s suffering will unite societies together in communal empathy. Affliction is the price humanity must pay to be humbled by the grace of God. To accrue the divinity of God, there must be a presence of love and comfortability with truth. Simone indicates that the only way to fully consent to Gods divine love and justice is when all actions are done out of compassion for others. She defines this as a certain madness; the type of madness that overcomes all social commands, corruption, and...
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...How Deep Is Your Self Love? By Jim Malloy Jun 4, 2008 One of the biggest lessons on the spiritual journey is learning to love unconditionally. However, what is often overlooked, is the importance of loving yourself along with everything else. After all, aren't you a part of the whole of Life? Here is a wonderful old haiku which illustrates this... "On my horse, clip-clopping through the field. Aha! I'm part of the picture!" As you grow to realize that you are an integral part of Life's grand picture, it becomes clear that loving yourself along with everything else is part of the mission. Some of you may feel uncomfortable with the idea of self love, because it's often interpreted as being overly self involved. Many religions teach that total selflessness is the ideal, and that self love is the antithesis of being selfless. I'm not at all knocking selflessness, but is self love really opposed to selflessness? And is it the same as...
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...ITT EN 1420 Understanding Rhetorical Structures Can the Star Wars Expanded Universe (EU) live on as Legend? As Michelle Lawhorn tries to explain in her editorial “Star Wars: Is the EU Really Gone?” (Lawhorn, 2014) Michelle reminds readers that George Lucas didn’t put his official stamp on any novel, comic, or game saying that is truly what happens in the Star Wars universe. The EU is a collection of authors that had continued to further tell the stories of Star Wars after Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (ROTJ) in the absence of any more movies by George Lucas. Fans fell in love with these stories and believed them to be cannon and official Star Wars storyline. Then George Lucas sells Star Wars to Walt Disney and Disney announces that the EU is considered non-cannon in future films and novels and fan were extremely upset. Michelle does a great job explaining that the Star Wars history has not been erased in any way and that all novels, comics, and games will be rebranded Legends. Many fans of the EU thought that many of their beloved characters would disappear and be forgotten. Michelle reassures the readers that this is not the case “See, here’s the thing: the EU was never canon to begin with. George Lucas never signed off on any novel, game, or comic to be official canon…Basically, the EU was unofficial “official” fan fiction.” (Lawhorn, 2014) George Lucas basically let different departments within Lucas Film continue creating products for Star Wars in order to...
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...presented some major ideas and a way of life that are nowadays known under the name of Taoism, the way of correspondence between man and the tendency or the course of natural world." Alan Watts, from his book: "Tao: The Watercourse Way." "We believe in the formless and eternal Tao, and we recognize all personified deities as being mere human constructs. We reject hatred, intolerance, and unnecessary violence, and embrace harmony, love and learning, as we are taught by Nature. We place our trust and our lives in the Tao, that we may live in peace and balance with the Universe, both in this mortal life and beyond." Creed of the Western Reform Taoist Congregation 1 History of Taoism: Tao (pronounced "Dow") can be roughly translated into English as path, or the way. It is basically indefinable. It has to be experienced. It "refers to a power which envelops, surrounds and flows through all things, living and non-living. The Tao regulates natural processes and nourishes balance in the Universe. It embodies the harmony of opposites (i.e. there would be no love without hate, no light without dark, no male without female.)" 2 The founder of Taoism is believed by many to be Lao-Tse (604-531 BCE), a contemporary of Confucius. (Alternate spellings: Lao Tze, Lao Tsu, Lao Tzu, Laozi, Laotze, etc.). He was searching for a way that would avoid the constant feudal warfare and other conflicts that disrupted society during his lifetime. The result was his book: Tao-te-Ching (a.k.a...
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...philosophical side embraces the idea that death is the process to depart “to the Tao” and its practice area is unbounded. My religious side emphasizes more on “spirits and fitness” as a way to obtain immortality and imposes certain rules. The root word in my name is Tao, which means “way”, is the central harmony. Tao is “part of everything” yet “greater than all things”. It refers to the road extending in one direction. Tao is not a substance nor can it be perceived. It is often described as “formless and nameless”. You could say it is a system of guidance. Tao is not God nor should it be worshipped, it is the origin of all things. Although I include several deities, they are...
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...description of the heart? What does it mean when you get your heart broken for the first time? Will it never heal? Can you ever fix a broken heart? In the short story the rental heart written by Kirsty Logan, we are introduced to the problem of a broken heart, and hos the protagonist in the story deals with having his/her heart broken repeatedly throughout the story. The short story is about a guy/girl telling us about his life with heartbreak, every relationship were he/she got his/her heart broke by the person he/she was in love with. It is about how he/she deals with the pain and sadness that comes with a broken heart. Every time a relationship ends the protagonist takes the broken heart out of his/her chest, and rents a new heart he/she can replace it with. The story is not written chronologically, it is set up like a time line, we start out in present time, and afterwards we go back in time as the protagonist talks about his/her former love stories. The first person the protagonist tells us about is Grace, and she is the last person we hear about. In this story, the view on the heart is different from how we look at the heart in real life, instead of the heart being a body part, it is viewed as a machine part, that you can easily take out and replace whenever it breaks. In the story both life and the body is compared to a machine, the machine cannot work if one of the parts is broken, as the body cannot work properly...
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...Frida Kahlo Frida Kahlo is a famous Mexican painter. She was born July 6 of 1907 in Coyoacàn Mexico, and Died July 13 of 1954. Frida was born and passed away in the same house, the house gained a nickname of “ La Case Azul” for its vivid blue exterior. She is known for her unibrow and self portraits, she was inspired to do this style by Mexican popular culture. A third of her paintings were self portraits, with this being said she uses one of her quotes “I paint myself because I am often alone, because I am the subject I know best”. As a 18 year old Frida experienced a surreal accident that made a huge impact on her life. She was aboard a bus with her boyfriend Alex Gónez, going across a train track the bus was in the path of...
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...does the universe exist? Oh sure, we can say “God” or “Big Bang”; but that doesn’t really answer the question, does it? You see, even if we prove conclusively that God exists or the Big Bang happened — even if we prove conclusively what “Banged” — we’d have to face the question of where did God come from? Where did the thing that Banged come from? Proposition: the universe exists because it’s afraid of death. Not afraid in the sense that we are afraid. The universe as a state rejects the very notion of death (or entropy, if you prefer). Yes, entropy still exists, and is like a freight train bearing down on our existence. Even aging is biological entropy. But why can’t we fight it? Why must we give in to thermodynamics? Yes, they are laws of the universe, but laws were meant to be broken. And what if they are not the laws of the universe? What if the universe exists in spite of those laws? After all, the universe’s very existence is a gigantic “fuck you” to entropy. It is existence saying to the void, “I deny you. I deny your power.” So where does that leave us? The universe is fighting a losing war against entropy. Heat death is coming, and so far the universe has been able to nothing to save itself. All the gravity and dark matter are naught to dark energy. The field of entropy, of time, of death sickening our universe. So what would you do when faced with an unwinnable situation? Do what Kirk did. Cheat. We are the cheat. Life, sentience itself, is the universe creating...
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...15 Things You Should Give Up To Be Happy Here is a list of 15 things which, if you give up on them, will make your life a lot easier and much, much happier. We hold on to so many things that cause us a great deal of pain, stress and suffering – and instead of letting them all go, instead of allowing ourselves to be stress free and happy – we cling on to them. Not anymore. Starting today we will give up on all those things that no longer serve us, and we will embrace change. Ready? Here we go: 1. Give up your need to always be right. There are so many of us who can’t stand the idea of being wrong – wanting to always be right – even at the risk of ending great relationships or causing a great deal of stress and pain, for us and for others. It’s just not worth it. Whenever you feel the ‘urgent’ need to jump into a fight over who is right and who is wrong, ask yourself this question: “Would I rather be right, or would I rather be kind?” Wayne Dyer. What difference will that make? Is your ego really that big? 2. Give up your need for control. Be willing to give up your need to always control everything that happens to you and around you – situations, events, people, etc. Whether they are loved ones, coworkers, or just strangers you meet on the street – just allow them to be. Allow everything and everyone to be just as they are and you will see how much better will that make you feel. “By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But...
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...Achingly meditative, the story is one of apocalyptic vision, set in Galicia just before World War I will bring to an end the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Formalist in treatment - at points a metafiction - the story strikes the familiar Oedipal note. The young protagonist, Willi, witnesses his mother's act of infidelity and subsequently both desires and betrays her, inexorably bringing about his family's doom. I was the agency of [my father's] downfall. Ancestry and myth, culture, history, and time were ironically composed in the shape of his own boy" (33). "Willi" is a fiction of memory, but memory that has been filtered, and that is still being filtered through a narrator - now child, now adult - presenting an impression of immediacy yet of subtly detached understanding. "We posit an empirical world, yet how can I be here at this desk in this room-and not be here? ... memory is in the ontological sense another reality" (29). This fluid point of view fuses adult-observer and youth participant into one narrative voice, making it possible for Doctorow to avoid both the limits of language and the limited perspective of youth and thus encompass all three visions. Thirteen-year-old Willi has lived the most sheltered of existences: aside from his famiily and a tutor who lives on the premises, he is totally "alone, isolated on our estate ..." (32). Doctorow focuses precisely on the absence of any contact with other children. In his rural isolation Willi "has no friends": he is "not...
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...OUTLINE THE ENGAGEMENT AND ACCEPTANCE OF DIVERSITY IS A MAJOR CHALLENGE IN PREACHING AND PASTORAL CARE SUBMITTED TO IN FULFILLMENT OF THE MID-TERM REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COURSE PREACHING AND PASTORAL CARE BY I. The Engagement and Acceptance of Diversity Is a Major Challenge in Preaching and Pastoral Care II. Introduction Although Jesus preached the acceptance of others regardless of cultural, racial and socioeconomic background, this acceptance of people who are different from us is an age old challenge that is grounded in biology and social science. The principle of homophily (i.e., “love of the same”) states that there is a tendency of individuals to associate and bond with similar others. ("homophily" 2015) The presence of homophily has been discovered in a vast array of network studies that have observed homophily in some form or another and they establish that similarity breeds connections. (McPherson, Smith-Lovin and Cook 2001) These include age, gender, class and organizational roles. (Retica 2006) Individuals in homophilic relationships share common characteristics (e.g., beliefs, values, education, etc.) that make communication and relationship formation easier. Homophily often leads to homogamy – marriage between people with similar characteristics. (McPherson, Smith-Lovin and Cook 2001) The types of homophily include likeness based on geography, family ties, organizational foci such as school, work and voluntary...
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...a room, and hundreds gasp with delight at your every tweet (pip). Why, maybe you’ve even had your picture in the Townsman! (lokalavisen for Wellesley,Massachusetts) [Editor’s upgrade: Or The Swellesley Report! (a quasi-blog platform)] And now you’ve conquered high school… and, indisputably, here we all have gathered for you, the pride and joy of this fine community, the first to emerge from that magnificent new building… McCullough describes in this quote how you’re the centre of the universe and how you are the most important person on the earth. The part about everyone gathering to celebrate a single person and every other person smiling wherever you go is all of course meant as an exaggeration to emphasis his point and using this ludicrous way of mocking the audience to overstress his focal point of the quote. The quote is supposed to be understood as a mocking of the way young people get pampered with in these times and how every single one gets treated like they’re the centre of the universe. ! ! 2. But do not get the idea you’re anything special. Because you’re not. Across the country no fewer than 3.2 million seniors are graduating about now from more than 37,000 high schools. That’s 37,000 valedictorians(student,der holder tale ved afslutningsceremonien)… 37,000 class...
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...Everyone seems to have their own thoughts and beliefs on whether or not a God exists who created and designed the universe and everything in it. Dr. Frank Turek and Christopher Hitchens are no exception in the matter, as they displayed in their debate at Virginia Commonwealth University on September 9, 2008. Dr. Turek, co-author of “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist,” embraces a Christian, or theistic, worldview while Mr. Hitchens, author of “God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything,” is very explicitly an atheist. Throughout the debate, Christopher Hitchens used his quick wit and sarcasm to bring forth some strong arguments against Christian beliefs. One of the arguments was that of the presence of various religions-if there are so many different religions, how can they all be correct and true? If I were to ask a Christian, a Muslim, and a Buddhist to tell me about God, they would each have remarkably different stories to share. The Christian would of course tell me all about God, while the Muslim would praise Allah, and the Buddhist would likely speak of the Buddha, and each one would claim that their view was supreme. Another argument that Hitchens offered was that it could not be proven that Jesus was born to the Virgin Mary. When the angel told Mary that she was highly favored in Luke 1:28, she was given grace, which is only imparted upon sinners. If Mary was a sinner, then she could not have birthed Jesus Christ, as he was theoretically pure and free...
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