Explain how Buddhist teaching affects believers' attitudes to euthanasia and suicide.
Explain how Buddhist teaching affects believers' attitudes to euthanasia and suicide... Suicide, euthanasia and abortion are three of the many strongly debated issues in religious topics. There are lots of different opinions on the subject and are all taken into consideration when discussing it. When explaining how Buddhist teachings affect believer's attitudes to euthanasia and suicide it includes comparing Buddhist teachings on the issue. One of the fundamental principles of Buddhism is not to kill any living being (the first moral precept). Taking life is a negative action and causes bad karma which results in suffering. The question on this topic in Buddhism is, is abortion seen as an act of murder, therefore creating suffering for the unborn child or as a sign of compassion by protecting the mother from suffering, for reasons such as "too young" and "financial difficulties." Buddhists believe that life begins at the moment of conception and that the taking of life at any point subsequent to that is equivalent to killing a human being. This statement can also bring up the issue of seeing contraception (such as the morning-after pill) as an abortive practise and considered killing. Although this action is a negative one it can also be seen as a positive action in some circumstances. For example, a teenage girl becomes accidentally pregnant and is in a tricky situation
Jupiter Hammon
Nestia Gammon February 5, 2009 RS 352 Dr. Hodges Jupiter Hammon Given the social climate of the late 18th century, anti-slavery ideas were somewhat unspoken of because of the consequences that followed. The anti-slavery movement of the late 18th century did not have the number of supporters that are regularly associated with the abolitionist of the 19th century. Because of the sensitivity of the subject, those wanting to write on the matter had to be very cautious as to what they said as to not bring consequences on themselves. Jupiter Hammon's "Address to the Negroes of the State of New York" can be read several different ways. One could take his ideas presented as a plea for slaves to be content with slavery and set aside their ideas of freedom. Also, as I would like to show, one could take the ideas presented by Hammon as a call for a quiet protest that will take every ounce of a slave's patience and faith in order for the protest to be successful. Throughout the text of the address, Hammon seems to be calling the slaves to accept slavery, serve their masters without debate, be honest to their masters, do away with their profaneness, and pursue literacy with a great fervency that they may be able to read the Bible every chance they have. But, the charge he is making to his audience is filled with criticism of the institution of slavery and a cry for gradual
Critically examine the statistical evidence that supports the Secularisation thesis.
Critically examine the statistical evidence that supports the Secularisation thesis. The issue of whether religion, religious thinking and religious institutions are retreating in significance, in contemporary society is among the most debated issues within sociology of religion and in society in general today. Secularisation thesis refers to the belief that as society becomes more modernised and advanced it has resulted in the decline of religion. The Secularisation thesis creates an important relationship between modernisation of society and the role of religion in it; arguing that modernisation of society linked with industrialisation, urbanisation etc leads to a decline in roles and authority of religion. For example in the past people use to live their lives in local communities were the church would have played a leading role but, because now people have moved towards towns and cities church attendances have declined. This suggests most shared values have been lost and rural values and beliefs have become somewhat outdated. Technological advances have reduced the number of things that needed to be explained in religious terms in the past. It has given individuals a greater sense of control over the natural world, and so there are fewer needs to rely on the super natural. With industrialisation people now have more free time, this allows them to perhaps read more about
Elucidate the methods by which Christendom became World Christianity
Samuel Pickering Elucidate the methods by which Christendom became World Christianity This essay will examine how and why the Christian faith has not only spread throughout the world but also the manner in which the Christian demographic has actually shifted away from the traditionally Christian countries in some areas (specifically western Europe). This will be achieved by critically examining two opposed perspectives upon the significance of the European expression of Christianity's impact on "World Christianity", as defined by Sanneh1. It should be noted however, that there is academic dispute over Sanneh's definitions. It will be made clear as to which definition is being used at which time. Particular attention will be paid to Christianity in Africa, the exponential growth of the religion in the sub-Saharan region2 and the fact that the statistical centre of Christianity (based upon percentage of all Christians) is projected to continue moving into Africa throughout the twenty first century3, make the area of especial relevance in answering the title question. An examination of Christendom, both the historical reality and as a concept, is required to answer the title question. An in-depth examination of historical Christendom is an essay in of itself. There are however, salient points relevant to this essay. The first is perhaps the most significant, by 1500, 92% of
The Last of the Mohicans - analysis.
THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS War Novel INTRODUCTION: Courage is the way to overcome fear. When one is courageous, they can overcome many problems that come to them. The main topic of this novel is war and the way people cope with this. ANALYSIS: The characters exhibit courage in many different circumstances. The novel follows three men traveling through the woods. Two of them are Mohican Indians, Chingachgook and his son Uncas, and the other is a white man raised by the Indians, Hawkeye. One day these men encounter a caravan of English soldiers led by Major Duncan Hayward. This caravan is in charge of escorting Colonel Munro's daughters, Alice and Cora, to Fort William Henry where their father is. When the three Mohicans encounter the group they decide that they will help lead the English to the Fort, but what they do not know is that the evil Magua is out to get them, this fact leads to an endless chase. Through this long game of chase many of these characters exhibit a great deal of courage. Cora overcomes many fears that one would not believe she could handle. When the group decides to hide in a dark cave as being traced by the Hurons, Cora does not seem alarmed by this, "'is then our danger so pressing'" (58). At one point in the novel Magua captures her sister and Cora is left with a decision to make, surrender herself to the enemy to be with her sister or to run
What does the declining levels of church participation tell us about secularisation in contemporary society?
What does the declining levels of church participation tell us about secularisation in contemporary society? In this essay, I shall be exploring the term ‘secularisation’ in contemporary society in relation to the religion of Jesus Christ. Secularisation is a contested argument as key commentators disagree on a number of aspects. For instance; what is the actual meaning of the term, does it make reference to “religion’s displacement, decline, or change” (Demerath III, 2007: 2), it is “long term, linear, inevitable or short-term, cyclical and contingent (Demerath III, 2007: 2). Throughout history its evident that some form of ‘secularisation’ has been occurring with major religious institution and their traditions especially in regards to “religious thinking, practices and institutions” (Wilson et al., 1966: xiv). Church participation is an interesting and reliable element to explore secularisation, as you can differentiate between those Christians who hold religious beliefs and practice regularly in contrast to “nominalist Christians” (Bright in Day, 2011) who take this notion of beliefs for granted and only use Christianity for the purposes of public censuses (Brierley, 1999). I shall explore how secularisation has had an influence on the younger generation, with specifically looking at how youth programmes and their have benefitted from the decline
The Changing Role of the Catholic Church in Latin America
NAME OF STUDENT: NIKITA PARDESI STUDENT I.D #: 806006486 TITLE OF PAPER: The Changing Role of the Catholic Church in Latin America The Catholic Church is inextricably linked to the political, social and cultural roots of Latin America. However, as often acknowledged in international relations scholarship, the role of the Catholic Church has changed significantly over time and continues to evolve in Latin American society. Whilst it is acknowledged that various academic conceptualizations of Latin America may be provided, for the purposes of this paper, it is simply defined as the countries of the South and Central American mainland where Spanish or Portuguese is the official language and it also includes the countries of Cuba and the Dominican Republic. The overarching aim of this paper is to paint a general picture of how the role and the influence of the Catholic Church in Latin America have changed significantly since the period of colonization. Consequently, this paper firstly aims to discuss the role of the Catholic Church during the age of conquest by focusing mainly on Spanish and Portuguese imperial agenda and the destruction of indigenous religions. The traditional role of the Catholic Church is discussed in terms of the colonial period and the relatively intimate relationship between the Church and the State. Secondly, this paper aims to discuss liberation
The Christian Cultural Heritage of the USA. Thomas Jefferson and the Creation of America.
Religion is a subject that is very important in today’s society. Religion can shape how individuals view not only their own culture, but also cultures of other societies. Things that one culture may view as religiously correct, may be condemned in another culture. Christianity shows up in many different places in the world, much to the contrary of what many different people believe. Society has made the statement that God is dead; however, God is very much alive and working in everyday life. Christianity goes as far as symbols at holidays. Christmas is they symbol of Jesus’ birth. Easter is a symbol of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, along with many other traditions at holiday times. Christianity is not just an American religion, but is also a religion that can be found all over the world. It originated in the east where it worked its way towards Europe and then eventually made its way to America. Christianity was initially started in the Middle East with the birth of Jesus Christ. It spread from the ministries of Christ to the major branches of Christianity such as the Roman Catholic Church. As it made its way to Europe, there were many doctrines of the churches that were under questioning as to whether they were correct or not. That started with Martin Luther and his 95 Theses where he completely questioned the Roman Catholic faith and
I have decided to look at three articles that are related to the role of the Presidents of the United States of America in the issue of Church and State.
Teacher Marked Assignment 01 For this assignment, I have looked through various articles on the online OU library and assessed them in connection with the articles that I have studied in Section 1 of Block 1. I have decided to look at three articles that are related to the role of the Presidents of the United States of America in the issue of Church and State. The first article that I found on this subject is titled “Church, State and Obama: A One-Year Report Card” (Church & State January 2010). The second article that I found on this subject is titled “Church, State and President Obama” (Church & State January 2009). The third article that I found on this subject is titled “Absolute Separation” (Church & State October 2010). I have decided to choose the first article to concentrate on in this assignment and to compare it to other articles that I have already studied. The article, “Church, State and Obama: A One-Year Report Card” was published in ‘Church & State’ in January 2010 and was written by Bob Boston. The premise of the article is that when it comes to Religion and the Government, President Obama has not always been consistent in the year that he has been in power. It is thought that Obama was a supporter of the church-state wall but opposing groups such as ‘Religious Right’ and ‘Americans United’ are both concerned about what may