A Higher Power
Heads rise in sync. A dismissal prayer releases its captors from a world unlike their own: a world of assurance and self-devotion that is frequently visited to escape the troubles that haunt the lives of each and every person. Family and friends greet each other. One by one, each person steps outside, each feeling spiritually rejuvenated and prepared to face the day. Regardless of the specific belief, there is no question that faith in a religion or a higher power is the very foundation inspires a great majority of society. It is the force that urges humans to fight on through their routinely dismal lives and the force that motivates hard workers to continue their path to eventual prosperity. Considering the magnitude of the term “a higher power”, it is no surprise that along with the inspiration and everyday propulsion that accompanies it, there also comes a large grey area of deviation. Among the most common sources of discrepancy is the question of who exactly the higher power is that so massively affects the lives of so many people and whether or not they actually exist. As the debate between the existent and the nonexistent recycles itself without end, a very conceivable notion of revolution and compromise is entirely ignored. Perhaps the dispute should reflect upon not the existence of who, but what the higher power is that guides such a spiritual populace.
Since the beginning of human history, mankind has found great assurance in the idea that
One of the darker actions examined in this unit takes place in "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell. In this short story, General Zaroff begins hunting a man lost on his island named Rainsford. Bored of the usual game, General Zaroff decides he wants something more exciting and chooses to prey on humans. This ill-judged decision has a domino effect on the plot, ultimately ending in the demise of Zaroff. Nonetheless, an alternate ending besides death could have very well been a possibility. Perhaps, instead of hunting humans, Zaroff decides to open a hunting camp to share his passion for the sport with others. Obviously, his boredom is caused by the island's isolation from society. So, Zaroff could have built homes and started a community or decide to leave the island altogether. Then, the course of this story would have taken a completely different path. Maybe, Zaroff finds a wife, they have children and live happily ever after. If only he was able to overcome his dark side instead of letting it consume him.
In The Sacred Quest, University of Notre Dame professor Lawrence Cunningham attempts the search for a coherent definition of religion. While he doesn’t strive for a one-sentence interpretation of what indicates a real, organized religion, he arrives on several elements and functions to give meaning to his definition. To Cunningham, there are five elements that make up a religion: belief, feeling, action, individual and community aspects, and values. Cunningham argues that these five elements exists in order to explain what could not otherwise be explained, enable people to sustain hope in the face of difficult experiences, and provide ways of thinking that provide goals and respond to “great problems” in life (158). All of these aspects work
Relig-ish affirms the fact that, for many people, abandoning one’s faith isn’t a lazy act, but is “a mindful and appropriate response in an expanding world” (5). Mee-Chapman recognizes the diverse spiritual needs of her audience and carefully guides us through the process of creating “a set of right-fit spiritual practices that are rooted in your history, authentic to who you are today, and creative enough to grow with you” (6).
The religious reclamation offered the all inclusive community the voice to talk up for their religious want, asks for, and stand up to the experts. The results of the Great Awakening and religious recuperation were to extend religious routine concerning different religions and also to segregated places of love with extended correspondence.
In “Congress and the Quest for Power” by Lawrence Dodd (1977), politicians enter Congress with the sole incentive to obtain power for their own arbitrary reasons. However, this power requires reelection; by being reelected, they are proving that are conforming to society's traditions, creating an air of personal equitableness, and helping themselves gain the the necessary skills that justify the exercise of power. The member of Congress soon develops an incumbent advantage and is no longer afraid of losing his position, whichever one it may be. As the hunt for power and authority continues, he moves through different phases that bring him closer and closer to the end of his goal. For example, the politician will gather up support from the electoral base by doing casework and joining housekeeping committees and legislative and committees that have to do with their district’s needs. If he finds himself successful, he will move on to serving primary committees such as those dealing with commerce, education, and labor. He becomes a legislator and focuses on national concerns rather than the more local ones, gaining power as he does so. If the Congressman is able to get this far in
This will be based on the chapter 4 Religion as "Truth-Claims", posted on Blackboard. First of all, Dianne L. Oliver makes a preface about her writings saying that religions claim to get the truth, and followers of diverse religions say that their truth is the only one true, and cannot be compare with any other. Also, she remarks that many of those religion followers use violence to uphold their own version of truth. Moreover, she let us know that she is going to consider the "True-Claims" of different religions, and show how those claims can influence the practices, behaviors, and ideas of religion followers. Next to the introduction, she considers that religion is very essential for understanding the fundamental questions in our daily lives.
Spirituality and religion are often seen as significantly positive resources for individuals dealing with hardship and adversity throughout the life course. Spiritual coping is often effective and most often employed when in unfathomable situations or faced with "problems of human insufficiency" (Pargament, 1998). However, spirituality may also be diminished when it becomes associated with demoralization or negativity, such as when one feels abandoned by faith or condemned by the world (Van Hook, 2013) in their current situation or experience. Higher powers and spiritual connection then begin to appear either irrelevant or beyond reach, and viewpoints become fatalistic as individuals resign to the belief that their faith has not helped them.
I never will understand this day to the fair and what all happened, I don’t think anyone will. I just know that one animal ruined a month for me. It was the week right before fair, and all I did was walk my cow. It was the first time ever showing a cow, my brother convinced me that it would be a fun learning experience. That didn’t happen at all for me when I walked into that show ring with a 1,100 pound steer. I was up at 4:00 a.m. the morning of the show, and I was ready to go wash my cows and get them ready for the show.
Religion and spirituality reach into the depths of the human psyche and strongly influence a nation’s way of life.
However, there is another side to religion, one that is quite contrary to idea of unification and acceptance. When looking through the scope of history, we can also see religion as an exclusionary tool, often used to differentiate groups of people on an innate level. As many of these idealogies attempt to assert
Religion emerges from the human susceptibility for protection and use it as a tool for liberation from the bitter realities and perplexities of the world. “Religious ideas are teachings and pronouncements about facts and states of external (or internal) reality that convey something one has not discovered for oneself and which assert the right to be believed” (Freud 88). We must object to religious claims because there is no proof to substantiate them and merely ideas we follow for generations. Religious ideas are beyond the control of reasoning, as if we don’t validate our beliefs and behave that our beliefs have a substantial basis of support. Religious ideas are teachings, not the thought that
ABSTRACT: After 350 years of continual social transformations under the push of industrialization, capitalism, world-wide social revolutions, and the development of modern science, what reasonably remains of the traditional faith in divine transcendence and providential design except a deep-felt, almost 'ontological' yearning for transcendence? Torn between outmoded religious traditions and an ascendant secular world, the contemporary celebration of individuality only makes more poignant the need for precisely that religious consolation that public life increasingly denies. People must now confront the meaning of their lives without the assured aid of transcendent purpose and direction. The
Finally, the third section will dwell on the controversial topic of faith, and human’s need for belief. Religion has done an excellent job in manipulating human’s need for trust. Therefore, the combination of these three sections should compel the reader to better understand why such a false belief, such as religion has had such success throughout history.
Most traditional upbringings include a few key life lessons. Among these is a sense of paying it forward. There are many different proverbs to describe this occurrence; “Do unto to others as you would have them do unto you,” and “One good turn deserves another,” The idea of reciprocity is such a generalized norm that people often don’t realize that they partake in this behavior. These reciprocal behaviors can often be very simple; holding a door, offering favors, and sharing some of your time can help to establish equity in relationships. People keep track of the good things done for them so that they can pay back these good deeds. Being indebted to anyone is a situation most people are uncomfortable with.
Religion is constructed on faith and belief of an individual even though it is the individual choice to follow it or not. It has stirred a lot of debates for years; those who are trying to prove that God exists throughout history and follow to modern day. While, those who are atheist are trying to prove their point of God does not exist. There are still more and more theories and debate over the subject of religious view. It is a matter of theism versus atheism; new and old philosophers have joined the debate and all with different sides to another philosopher’s theory or view on the matter. In this paper, I will attempt to illustrate the reasons given by Louis Pojman of why religion is good or bad, as well as evaluating Bertrand Russell argument about religion. This can define the meaning of life and the creation of life as we know it. It can change views or switch sides for there is always another explanation to exactly what religion is all about and having a superior ruler that created all.