Religion and Selflessness In “Homo Religiosus,” Armstrong presents the idea that people need to believe in God to make sense of their own lives, to order their lives, and to give their lives meaning. She argues that this is a very Continue Reading...
Meet Gen Z Summary and CritiqueIntroductionThis review focuses on Whites Meet Gen Z, a book about the challenges of evangelizing Generation Z. This review first provides a summary of what the book accomplishes. Then it critiques the work in terms of Continue Reading...
Morality Jean Jacques Rousseau wrote about the natural nobility and inherent goodness of the savage, whom he saw as the earliest human being who was differentiated from lower animals and already possessing free will and a basic sense of perfectibili Continue Reading...
Buddhism Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Shakyamuni Buddha, grew up a prince in India. As the Brahmin teachings of his family and homeland failed to provide Siddhartha with spiritual nourishment, he pursued a path to enlightenment on his own. Thus Continue Reading...
Personal Worldview Every day, when we watch the news or read a newspaper article, countless stories of violence, crime, wars, and disasters confront us. Historically, literacy is at an all-time high, yet education does not appear to encourage goodne Continue Reading...
Compare and contrast their approaches to the question of faith. One of the features of the age of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky was the emergence of philosophical and religious thoughts that promoted spirituality without religion. The tendency to reject o Continue Reading...
Charlotte Bronte, Charles Dickens, and Thomas Hardy demonstrate that conventionality is not morality, and self-righteousness is not religion. The dichotomy between religion and righteousness is a central theme of Charlotte Bronte's novel Jane Eyre. Continue Reading...
The Vedas are the primary texts of Hinduism. The oldest is called the Rig Veda (hymns praising a number of gods), with the other three being the Yajur Veda (rituals for sacrifices), the Sama Veda (chants for ritual worship), and the Athara Veda (spe Continue Reading...
Buddhism is one of the world's major religions -- yet many dispute whether it should be called a religion at all. Buddhism has been called a 'philosophy' as much as a faith, because of its non-theocratic nature. Although the Buddha is revered as a hi Continue Reading...
Ironically, when Walt's last Will and Testament are read, he has left his house and estate to the Church; a final tribute to his wife's years of devotion, and even perhaps, we are given to believe, to Father Janovich's unwavering belief in the goodn Continue Reading...
Religion has encouraged and often discouraged certain behaviors in civilization. Many of these behavioral commandments are meant as a means of helping to maintain the integrity of the religion along with helping to foster growth from a societal persp Continue Reading...
Sermon Manuscript: Philippians 2:1-4Text: Phillippians 2:1-4IntroductionAttentionPaul exhorted them to stand in unity and that humility causes us to place others needs above our own. C.S. Lewis states, "Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's Continue Reading...
Review of Maximum JoyIntroductionAndersons (2016) Maximum Joy is an application of 1 John to ones lifea navigational map of sorts to help one engage with the fact and gift of salvation offered by Christ through the cross. Where Luther and Calvin ran Continue Reading...
Mind and Body A review of the required literature, Robert Thurman's "Wisdom" (Thurman), Karen Armstrong's "Homo Religiousus" (Armstrong), and Oliver Sacks' "The Mind's Eye: What the Blind See" (Sacks), gives significant insights into how the mind an Continue Reading...
Pilgrimages in India Pilgrimage: A Quest for Finding Oneself in India: Introduction Humans are born with an incredible amount of mental capacity to learn and grow, yet we are not born with a pre-determined set of rules guiding our thoughts. Religi Continue Reading...
There were many periods of trauma and upheaval in his life. In general, especially in the earlier period of his life, he lived in a secure and comfortable fashion with his supportive wife and friends and "…. In spite of his being uncomfortabl Continue Reading...
Jesus' Teachings, Prayer, & Christian Life "He (Jesus) Took the Bread. Giving Thanks Broke it. And gave it to his Disciples, saying, 'This is my Body, which is given to you.'" At Elevation time, during Catholic Mass, the pr Continue Reading...
Elmer Gantry Although Sinclair Lewis penned his satiric novel Elmer Gantry in 1927, many of the issues raised by the book are still relevant today. The title character uses the institution of religion and the American evangelical revival of the earl Continue Reading...
Instead, the practice bhakti-style devotion to various Buddhas and other supramundane figures (Protehero, 2010, p. 177). These are not manifestations of one God, as might be understood by practitioners of most Western religions, but more similar to Continue Reading...
Martin Luther King Jr. was a black revolution leader who fought for the equal rights of blacks in USA. A priest by profession. A philosopher and hero of the blacks. Headed the Southern Christian Leadership and held peaceful protests. He was arres Continue Reading...
As he himself admits, "I have a very grim perspective. I do feel that it's a grim, painful, nightmarish meaningless existence, and the only way to be happy is if you tell yourself some lies. One must have some delusions to live" ("Cannes 2010: Woody Continue Reading...
Buddhism emerged in India around 2500 B.C. At a time when conditions were critical in the area as a result of significant social and religious conflicts. Even with the fact that this culture contradicted a great deal of traditions in India during the Continue Reading...
Their children became the deities of the various Japanese clans. One of their daughters, Amaterasu Omikami or "Sun Goddess," became the ancestor of the Imperial Family the chief deity, and her descendants united the country (Religious Tolerance). T Continue Reading...
Papacy The Rise of the Papacy The Middle Ages, so called because of their position between the ancient and the modern eras, are often termed medieval or even dark. This period of time is marked by a dearth of non-church art, and by the domination o Continue Reading...
Change One may doubt that one person can make an impact on the world. There are times however where the actions of a single person can make a world of difference. In essence, such actions can save the world, if we just start the chain reaction. How Continue Reading...
"Creative quietude" was key to these men's interpretation of the Tao and wu wei, or the second life-giving force of the Tao which flowed through human beings without the force of will, if only it was allowed to do so by a yielding spirit (207-208). Continue Reading...
Indeed, the Japanese persecutors were well-aware of the concept of sacrifice in Christianity that they even used this as a bait to convince Father Rodrigues to renounce his faith: "It is only a formality. What do formalities matter?...Only go throug Continue Reading...
Kiowa Song According to Michael McNally in his chapter "The Uses of Ojibwa Hymn-Singing at White Earth: Toward a History of Practice," hymn-singing serves a deeper function than merely paying lip service to the dominant culture's religion. Ironicall Continue Reading...
Theologically Thinking Theologically According to Stone & Duke Practice of the Christian faith happens in every part of life, whether worshipping in the Church, engaging in honest business practice or holding the door open for a complete stran Continue Reading...
Beauty & Sadness in Japanese Literature A modernization of the story "An Account of a Ten Foot Square Hut" Many, many years ago, it is said that the Buddha went out into the world, seeking to free himself from his cloistered palace -- and saw s Continue Reading...
Judging from these examples, it is entirely possible that the Popes could have set the example from the top and been more trusting of the average people, bringing them into the fold of their own accord, without arm twisting, coercion and threats. An Continue Reading...
Evelyn Underhill: Mystics of the Church Evelyn Underhill was a prolific writer of some thirty-nine published books and more than three hundred and fifty articles and reviews who wrote about mysticism in her early years and about the spiritual life o Continue Reading...
Endurance and suffering in Bernard Malamud's "The Assistant" Endurance and suffering are main themes as projected through the two lead characters in Bernard Malamud's "The Assistant," a heartwarming mentor-student story set in early 20th century Bro Continue Reading...
Oroonoko is an arousing and compelling protagonist, and his story evokes themes of race, class, gender, and power. The continually shifting social status of the titular character is also a primary motif in Aphra Behn's novella. Oroonoko seems to shif Continue Reading...
Congregation Should have for their own Discipleship Process When it comes to discipleship, one can too often think about the tools necessary for the church and church leaders in helping to motivate people to become disciples. A far more elusive que Continue Reading...
Christian Counseling According to McMinn Counseling others through difficult time, challenging personal crises or the simple complexities of everyday life requires patience, compassion and selflessness. These are also all features of a good Christia Continue Reading...
With St. Paul, Luke traveled to several different destinations including Samothrace and Philippi -- where he appears to have lingered to guide the Church. The duo then reunite in Troas and Luke is with St. Paul during the latter's stay in a Roman ja Continue Reading...
