Racism in Society in the Past and Today. How do Christians view racism?
What Is Meant By The Word Racism? The Legal definition of Racism - "The term "racial discrimination" shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, color, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life." Racism consists of two factors, prejudice and power. Racism is when a racist exploits his beliefs onto someone else, both physically and/or mentally. Racists believe that a particular race of people is superior to another - judged souly upon the colour of their skin, race or even religion. Whether it being conciously or subconciously. A victim of racism can suffer psychologically; constant racist remarks may be destructive and may cause extreme insecurity. Racism causes people to form groups with people of the same skin colour, which leads to divided society. Racists oppose democratic equality and human rights. Although racial segregation has been lawfully disabled, racism is still a major issue in the world today and is difficult to combat. Some people may think that people are born racist - when we grow up, we believe everything our parents tell us. When we're young, we're oblivious to opinions and other facts
Reformation in Europe
Examine and comment on the causes of the Reformation in Europe. Introduction Reformation was the change in religion, which came about in the 16th century. It was a major landmark in European history and had many consequences, which resounded throughout Europe for many years afterwards. It led to the religious division of Europe, to religious wars within Europe and "opened the door to widespread spiritual uncertainty."1 However, the belief that the Reformation took the form of "changes in religious belief, practices and organisation,"2 has been debated by historians for many years; and indeed some have concluded that the Reformation was in fact a social revolution, a revolution which not only reformed religion but also destroyed the social control which the Church had exercised for many years, and other historians claim that it was not only socially motivated but also politically and economically motivated. While examining the factors involved in the cause of Reformation, which took place in the 16th century in Europe it is necessary to point out that the demand for Reformation is deep rooted in events covering a period of two hundred years prior to the emergence of Martin Luther as a Reformation leader in 1520. For over a century Western Europe had called for reform in the Church in both "head and members"3 but had failed to achieve it. The main problem was that people
Christian Marriage
A01 Explain the principles that Christians believe should guide their personal relationships... Christians have four main principles that help to guide them through marriage. These are Sacrament, Permanency, Exclusivity and Life-giving. These sacraments are bestowed upon a man and woman when they are joined together in holy matrimony. This is the union between husband, wife and God. No-one else should be a part of this marriage. God should be involved in the marriage at all times, and he will therefore influence the decisions made in it. God created man and woman together and in marriage the two will become one, (Genesis, 2:24) "This is now the bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh, she shall be called "woman" because she was taken out of man" This proves that in marriage the man and the woman become one and their relationship revolves around God. To confirm this, the Bible states "For this reason man will leave his father and mother and be united with his wife and they will become one flesh." Marriage is a vocation and the Roman Catholic Church believes that a marriage is only a sacred ceremony if it takes place in a church in the face of God and before a congregation. It also states in the Catechism that marriage is one of the seven sacraments. It is a blessing which draws us closer to God. The sacrament is a "visible sign of an invisible grace." It also says in the
Parables. The main theme of the parables and of the gospel is the kingdom of God. When Jesus began to travel, he spoke about the kingdom of God.
Introduction My name is Carlene and this coursework is based on parables. Parables are important in the teaching of Jesus, as these are the stories that Jesus used to teach his followers-disciples/apostles in order to teach them lessons about life. Parables are important for the study of Christianity, as they were a central feature of Jesus' teaching. Parables are stories told to convey a spiritual point. Ai) what is meant by the term parable? A parable is a simple story with a clear teaching. The meaning is left for the listeners to work out for themselves. A parable relates to real life and everyday events to illustrate truths about God. Parables can be short e.g. the parable of the yeast Lk13: 20-21 and some are long e.g. the lost son Lk15: 11-32. A parable can be described as "an earthly story with a heavenly meaning". The word parable comes from the Greek word parabole and it means a comparison or an analogy-some of Jesus' parables are comparisons, they compare what is known and familiar on earth with the kingdom of God which is spiritual and less familiar. Parable can also mean, "throwing beside" or "placing beside". Biblical parables were originally examples of a Hebrew genre called meshalim. Well-known examples of parables include The Good Samaritan and The Lost (or prodigal) Son. The word allegory derives from the Greek word Allegoria meaning "speaking otherwise"
Every person is unique
Coursework second draft Part A Every person is unique, they think for themselves, feel for themselves, and have a right to be their self, life is extremely valuable, not to be thrown away not to be wasted not to be destroyed. In war whether intentional or not lives are lost. If we look at the bible closely we can actually see it doesn't just support one theory on war. As times change so do the teachings in the bible, much of the Old Testament is supporting the view of war whereas the New Testament is supportive of pacifism. For centuries violence was used to support religions to spread faith, and it wasn't frowned upon. However nowadays there is much controversy over what part war plays in people's religion and there very varied opinions on war and fighting in general. Each and every Christian however will have there own views on whether we should be pro war or pacifism and what God would approve and disapprove of. If asked where Christians would take their advice from the most likely answer would be from the bible, but with its different views the bible can confused or put across messages that are interpreted differently by different people. Christian teachings on war However many pacifist teachings there are, there are still some supporting pro war and their messages are very clear. Many of the passages contain teachings which claim you will be rewarded for
Jesus' Teaching on Satan and the Demons
Jesus' Teaching on Satan and the Demons The modern world has many misconstrued ideas about Satan and his demons that are not in line with Jesus' teachings in Scripture. Today the world sees Satan in an almost comical way, if they believe in him at all. There is such a lack of belief in anything spiritually supernatural that the idea of demons is less acceptable to today's society than the idea of ghosts. In Jesus' time, this was not the case; people were well aware of Satan and his activities. Jesus often had to deal with things of this nature, and addressed the matter several times in Scripture. The difference between what Jesus had to say on the matter and what the world says today is monumental. Satan plays a major role in many religions, either as an angel, demon or minor god. In Hebrew tradition, God uses the angel Satan to test the piety levels of man. In the Apocrypha and New Testament, Satan is a fallen angel turned evil demon, who is the enemy of both God and mankind. These two portraits of Satan are not mutually exclusive. In all modern Abrahamic religions (and various other mythology), Satan is a supernatural being who is the fundamental personification of evil. In Islamic tradition, the primary demon that tempts Adam and Eve is called Iblis. It was because Iblis refused to prostrate himself before Adam that he was cast from Allah to live on earth among the
Christian Churches
Christian Churches A01 St. Barnabas Cathedral Nottingham - Roman Catholic St Barnabas Cathedral is the cathedral of the diocese of Nottinghamshire. It was finished on the 27th August 1844 and was built by Pugin who equated the Gothic style of the building with Christianity. The building is in the shape of a cross and this was done to show the remembrance of Christ's suffering. Another main feature of the church is the spire in the centre of the church to draw attention to the heavens and to represent that in the cathedral we are close to God. The building is decorated with stain glass windows. These depict the saints or a part of Jesus' life, for example one of the Stations of the Cross. In the picture to the left you can see two saints looking at Jesus in the centre he is standing on a globe. This window can be known as a 'sacramental' - these are icons that are designed to help the relationship with God, they are not simply decoration. The Sanctuary is probably the most important area in the Cathedral, the sanctuary at St Barnabas is in the centre from where the spire is above. From here the priest celebrates the mass and leads services. It is slightly raised which separates it from the rest of the cathedral, but is clearly still at the heart of the church. The sanctuary at St. Barnabas contains the altar and the lectern and the bishop's chair. The tabernacle at St.
Christian Perspectives
Christian Perspectives Firstly, Christians believe and teach that hunger is caused by the fact that although there is more than enough food to feed the earth's people, it is not distributed in a way that would achieve this. The simple truth is that with the resources available every person on the planet could receive their required 3000 calories daily, instead of 1700 calories which millions are forced to live on. With at least 750,000,000 having to do without food each and every night and the population of America, which makes up just 6%, consuming 35% of the world's resources, the problem Christians see being faced with is unfair allocation of food. Because of the abundance of food in parts Europe and North America, the population of the countries start to take the necessity, but to some people luxury of food, to granted. This leads to huge amounts being wasted, for example Britain throws away 20 million tonnes (£20,000,000,000 worth) of food each year, which is enough to meet half of Africa's food import needs. The second cause that Christians blame for world hunger is the infertility of land in the areas that are affected by famine. As it is noticeable, Africa holds much starvation; Christians believe that part of the reason for this is that the harsh conditions of deserts and mountains that make it extremely difficult for people to farm foods and cannot afford the
MY SIGNIFICANT LEARNING AND HOW I WILL APPLY IT
MY SIGNIFICANT LEARNING AND HOW I WILL APPLY IT Generally, all communities require a similar way of behaving. We have to be obliging and willing to do things for others instead of being critical and rebellious. To belong to a community we need support and encouragement from others in the same way as they need us. Some examples of communities are our family, friends, school and global network. I have learnt that not only do our parents have to love us, provide for us and make sure we grow well but that even we have to contribute towards our family in whatever way we can. This lesson has encouraged me to start helping around with my sister and encouraging her to clean up our room and do little chores around the house so that the house is neat when our parents come home tired from work. This will make them feel happy and relaxed. Doing chores will also make us responsible and ability to handle independently other challenges / responsibilities that may come our way. Another community we must consider is, our friends. We often go to them for companionship, advice and communication. A person's community of friends varies a lot and different people look to special types of people as friends. Physical distance may often bond us closer to our friends than to our family. Friends are a source of warmth, comfort and a safe haven from the world. On my part, I must be a
Bible commentary on the miracle of the loaves and fishes
Vi Nguyen October 5, 2012 Journal # 5 Chapter 9 Jesus calls the twelve disciples together and tells them not to take anything with them. This is a recurring theme in Luke because he wants to emphasize that when we leave this world, we will not be able to bring anything along with us into heaven. I was surprised when he told his men not to even bring bread. He tells the disciples to enter the same house they departed from, which I don’t really understand the meaning of, and for the people that do not welcome them, they should shake off the dirt as a sign of testimony. This sign seems very subtle, and not in any way violent, which is what I expect from his disciples. Jesus does not teach them to be violent. After Herod hears that John has somehow risen from the dead by an Elijah, he is enraged and wants to meet Jesus. I didn’t really understand why Jesus and the Apostles withdrew to Beth-saida when the crowd followed them anyway. I wonder how the crowd found out, and why they continue to follow him. Are the people that follow him new? Or are they new and they just following him in order to have some amusement and be cured. Even though Jesus took the Apostles in the countryside, away from the crowd, he still welcomed them when they came to him. He blessed them and cured their diseases. It was getting dark, and the disciples told Jesus to send the people