Philosophical Taoism
Philosophical Taoism A series of weak emperors in China from 500 to 600 BCE left the previously powerful empire in state of war and chaos. The Chinese people were desperate for an escape from the pandemonium. One solution came in the form of a new religion: Taoism. Popular belief amongst followers is that Taoism was founded by a man named Lau Tzu, which translates to "old man". It is said that he lived during the time of Confucianism, which was another religion that sprout up in response to the conditions in China at the time. Lau Tzu was actually a librarian who lived a simple life in accordance with nature. He was discouraged by the non naturalistic attitudes of the people around him and therefore decided to ride away on a water buffalo toward Tibet. According to the story, he was stopped at one point by a man who tried to persuade him to stay. When Lau Tzu refused he asked him to at least leave the people with a record of his ideas. He agreed to this request and the Tao Te Ching was produced (Smith). The lifestyle and attitude that has evolved from the philosophy of this text are extraordinarily interesting and admirable. Tao Te Ching translates into English as "The Way and It's Power". It is a compilation of "poetry, philosophical reflection and mystical speculation" (Zhao). Taoists follow this text as "a testament to humanity's at-home-ness in the universe" (Smith).
nightmare. Linda ran out of the bank; gun in hand towards a back alley.
Nightmare There was a knock at the door at the door. "Come in". Good morning Noel. Noel I called you because there seems to be a problem. It is written here in the register that you have been late for the whole of last week. Know whatever the problem you have to get it sorted, because this is not doing any good to your studies. If you have any problems at home talk to us. Me or any of the teachers, it's no good keeping it to your self. "Well then Noel do you want to tell me what's wrong"."? Well you see sir". All of a sudden Noel throws up all over the teachers' desk and register. Mr Kipling jumped up in disgust and Noel ran out of the office and through the main doors were he ran into Linda his knew neighbour. "Wow! What's the hurry Noel"? Noel said nothing and continued to run on. Linda decided to follow him as she was going back home herself. Linda had followed Noel all the way back to his garden. Linda peered over her fence and saw Noel go into his shed. After a short while she heard a bang. Linda leapt over her fence and looked through the small garage window. Noel lay on the floor quiet still with some pills around him. Linda dashed towards the garage door and swung it open. Noel lay on the ground with a pool of blood around his head. Linda saw a gun next to him; she bent over and picked it up. While Linda was examining the gun, Noel's mother crept up from behind
The Book of Genesis shares many realistic and sacred obstacles experienced by Jacob and Joseph. Jacob spends his early life fleeing from his family. Jacobs son Joseph is forced to begin a new life in his early years because he is traded by his brothe
Katie Schmidt Professor C. Thomas World Cultures 110, Section 1D 20 September 2010 The Similarities of Jacob and Joseph The Book of Genesis shares many realistic and sacred obstacles experienced by Jacob and Joseph. Jacob spends his early life fleeing from his family. Jacob's son Joseph is forced to begin a new life in his early years because he is traded by his brothers. After they begin their new lives and have their goals in mind, they are betrayed and forced to find a different approach. These behaviors are looked at from modern readers as being both humanistic and non humanistic. Jacob and Joseph are similar because they both have goals, obstacles that hindered them achieving their goals, and they both used honorable and dishonorable means to reach their goals. Inside the womb Jacob knew the obstacles he would face in order to reach his goals in life. The Lord said to Jacob's mother Rebekah, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples born of you shall be divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the elder shall serve the younger (Genesis 25:23, NRSV)." The elder and stronger son was Esau; he was a skillful man of hunting and favored by his father (Genesis 25:27). Jacob, the younger brother, was born into the world clutching the heel of Esau, encountering his first blocked goal: the birthright (Genesis 25:26). In Israel, the birthright was very
Visual visitation report
VISITATION REPORT I met a good friend named Savraj Lota, who is from Kenya and belonged to Sikh religion. To be a guest at a Sikh wedding is to experience many splendour rituals unfold before you. As Raj's elder brother was getting married, I too got a chance to gain some insight into the Sikh culture. I must agree, it was a wonderful first hand experience which has left many vivid memories that will last a lifetime. He explained to me that Anand Karaj is a prescribed form of Sikh marriage. The word literally translates as "Blissful Union". A Sikh marriage is a special celebration in which two individuals, as well as families, are joined together in equal partnership. An ideal husband and wife will be spiritually inseparable, their individual pasts and presents combining to form one. The spiritual goal of any Sikh is to merge his or her soul or atman with God (Parmatma) and in marriage, the couple will help each other towards this goal. The whole affair is a joyous and festive event, which is very family orientated and informal in atmosphere. A Sikh marriage can be performed in any Gurdwara- the holy place of worship of Sikhism, or any other home where the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the holy book of the Sikhs, has been respectfully installed. The Sri Guru Granth Sahib is representative of the presence of the 'gurus'. Hence, the presence of this holy book is the considered
Exegesis on Job 42:1-17 In the passage of Job 42:1-6 there appears to be an interpretation of a divine speech to be supported by Jobs response.
Exegesis on Job 42:1-17 In the passage of Job 42:1-6 there appears to be an interpretation of a divine speech to be supported by Job's response. There also occurs to be a conclusion about Job's debate with God as Job acts humbly in acknowledging his presumption about God. God, however, acts displeased by Job and his friends because of Job's friends presumptions about God as they didn't speak about God in the "right" way. When Job gets confronted by God, he surrenders, yet acts without sorrow. One may question the response that Job had towards God in verses 1-6 as he acted in a peculiar unexpected manner. In most reactions towards God there comes a reaction of fear; however Job seemed calm with his reactions towards God. Job doesn't have a proper response to God in verse 4 he says that "I will question you, and you will declare me." In the form criticism of the text the verses 1-6 are being presented as a form of prayer to the Lord. Job never says that he was wrong to question God's justice. Job feigns submission and accepts that he will never get a straight answer from God. Source criticism is being used as the verses in three and four, Job quotes the Lord's words which were also used previously in Job 38:2-3 and uses them to make his surrender appear to be in defence to God's power. Job's true attitude however is revealed in verse six "therefore I despise myself, and repent
Discuss the historicity of the bodily resurrection of Jesus
Discuss the historicity of the bodily resurrection of Jesus The utmost significance of the bodily resurrection of Jesus to the Christian faith has made the careful analysis of the texts and events surrounding the event extremely important. 1 Corinthians 15:14, a passage so often cited in connection with the resurrection, reads, "...and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain," and therefore Christians and historians alike have been searching for proof of Christ's resurrection. The discussion about the historicity of the resurrection centers mainly on the Gospel accounts, and the records of Paul. Some would argue that discrepancies and internal contradictions within these Biblical texts, question the validity of the resurrection record; records upon which the Christian faith so heavily relies on. Therefore this discussion must both assess the historicity of interrelation of these texts, but also must show that these texts are central to Christianity. Furthermore, Willi Marxsen writes that, "Each Gospel depicts a unity, and must not be arbitrarily chopped up into pieces..."1 Therefore it is of fundamental importance to realize that the accounts of the resurrection are tied to the style, thematic signposts and traditions from which the authors wrote their Gospels. However, a 'proof' of the resurrection is impossible
What was the role of the Qur'an in shaping a distinctive scientific culture in classical Islam?
* What was the role of the Qur'an in shaping a distinctive scientific culture in classical Islam?' At the beginning of the 7th century, the teachings of Islam were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad and were compiled as volumes of Holy Scripture called the Qur'an. By the end of the same century, Islam had spread over all of the Middle East, North Africa and Spain. The word "Islam" means "submission in peace (to the will of Allah)", and the people who profess such faith are "Muslims". Muhammad's armies swept out from the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th and 8th centuries, and due to its position in the "middle belt" of the globe, Islam was exposed to many different civilisations and cultures. It was during this time that much of the forgotten or unknown knowledge of the ancients was rediscovered. It is the purpose of this essay to identify the influence of the Qur'an on the Islamic people; how its verses were interpreted by the Muslims, and finally whether there existed alternative streams of power whose effects were greater, or equal to that of the Qur'an in shaping the scientific culture. The practical information already familiar to the Arabs and Berbers, wandering tribes and traders, simply allowed them to survive in the harsh landscapes of the Arabian Peninsula and Northern Africa...and concerned information on plants, animals and geology for example. Important also was
What is the importance of Zionism in modern Jewish life and religion, why
What is the importance of Zionism in modern Jewish life and religion, why? To answer the question of what is the importance of Zionism in modern Jewish life and religion and why? It is imperative to start at the beginning where the longing for Zionism first started to take form. The beginning of Zionism can be sought out not just in the prophecies, dreams and hopes of the Jewish people themselves, but also in the Western European culture of the mid-nineteenth century as well. During this time Palestine was not only the home of Christianity but also of Judaism and this is why there is such an interest in Jewish early history. Along with this very long Jewish history comes the history of their settling throughout the world, 'this is known as the Diaspora'1 period. Despite the fact that the Jewish people settled throughout many different countries all over Europe, the Jewish still faced persecution with Anti-Semitism sentiments. Because of this persecution the Jewish community became very aware that they were never going to be able to assimilate easily into their chosen countries. Even amongst the Jews themselves there were differing view points about how they should worship and how they would be accepted, until that is they started to realise that no matter how much they changed their Jewish identity they were never going to be accepted as the equals to Christians. This is
TajMahal 1852.
Taj Mahal 1852 The two Englishmen were walking down the white marble path both holding cups of tea in china cups and saucers. One man was wearing khaki coloured clothes with round head wear with the khaki strap of his hat going down his cheeks near his white bushy moustache. The other man taller and thinner in size had a thin moustache above his thin lips and his hair was well combed into a side parting. Both men were very upper class British men admiring the culture and the carvings of the Taj Mahal walking on the smooth white marble path with patterned carvings on either side of the path. Each step was slow and steady there was no rush at dusk. The air was cool but the humidity of the afternoon could still be seen as the tropical trees in the landscape had a mist of vapour round the branches and the leaves. The atmosphere was calm and cultural the only people to be seen on the path were the men. Conversation between the men was bitter, the short stubby man wearing khaki clothes stood out, he was new to the place of beauty. The tall man stood out and had a lot more confidence and did not look around fascinated by the Mahal like the short man. He wore a black thin suite with a creamy white shirt that could be seen. The short man was very talkative and the tall man spoke the queens English. "This invasion is a great achievement of Britain, here the people are very good
Pro-Abortion.
PRO-ABORTION Abortion is a very controversial subject that has been continually argued over in the past and will be argued over for many years to come. To talk about abortion we must understand what it is. Abortion is the removal of a fetus within the first couple of weeks of pregnancy, before it is viable. Abortion is a very fragile issue to discuss because of the many conflicts involved with pro-abortion and anti-abortion. It has many negative and positive responses from many people. The reasons why some people are against abortion are of both moral and religious reasons. In contrast, the reasons why many are for abortion is because of women's rights and the debate whether the fetus is considered human. In our society, the church plays a big role in our beliefs and the way we think. It also has a great impact when it comes to law making. Some believe abortion is wrong because they believe that it is blatant murder of a life. Many of the propagators of this idea are usually associated with the belief system. They believe that every human has the right to life. The church says that fetus is considered human the very instance that it is conceived. However, the Bible never actually mentions the term abortion or that it is wrong in any way. So, we shouldn't follow the church's teachings when it isn't defined or presented within the teachings. Another controversy