In regards to the play, "The Christians," by Lucas Hnath, the controversy the Christians vs. Christians, quarrel about the existence of hell. Ultimately, the idea that hell does not exist in the presence of Christianity seems absurd, since Christians deem the origin of evil behavior to be stored there. In another literary work "the philosophy of pitchforks," it also reassesses the image of hell. Pastor Paul did have a good point when he stated that the Bible "does not say hell" (Hnath 37). The poem also correlates with the mystery behind the truth about hell.…
The book Simply Christian by N.T. Wright there are three main parts, “Echoes of a Voice”, “Staring at the Sun”, and “Reflecting the Image”. In part 1, “Echoes of a Voice”, he isolates four voices: the longing for justice, the thirst for spirituality, the craving for relationships, and the attraction of beauty each of which point the human soul toward God. He focuses on our longing for justice first. He doesn’t understand how on one hand we all have the same sense that justice exists but on the other hand after millennia of humans existing we can’t get any closer to it than the ancients did.…
Red is Real The color red is associated with many emotions and feelings. If one was “to see red” they would be extremely angry. In the weeks before the holiday, “Valentine’s Day”, stores and shops are strewn with red hearts and red roses to advertise the day of “love and passion”. It also stands for ideas such as violence and blood, strength and energy, and fire and danger.…
As stated earlier, E.M Cook was one of the scholars that contributed to the “son of God” debate and argued that the “son” was a negative figure. Cook offered the most comprehensive defense to the negative interpretation in his article, “4Q246”. Cook states “the Akkadian prophecies provide the most convincing background for 4Q246” and he argues for a direct relationship with these scrolls . The Akkadian prophecies introduced by Cook are a compilation of five works that date from the twelfth-century B.C.E to the Seleucid period . In Cooks article, he highlights twelve traits that Aramaic and Akkadian texts exhibit in common; however, on further examination, Collins reveal that they are not as impressive as they initially seem .…
Glen Jeansonne prefaces his book Messiah of the Masses: Huey P. Long and the Great Depression by stating that he believes Huey P. Long was largely misunderstood. Jeansonne feels that Long is frequently studied out of context and he attempts to provide that context for the reader. He insists that Huey was a man of “great abilities and tragic flaws,” who was neither entirely good nor evil (xi). Except for this introductory passage, Jeansonne provides no other personal opinions of Long, only the facts, leaving the reader to interpret his and formulate their own opinions of the Kingfish. With the context provided, if one could place Long on a spectrum with light being good and dark being evil, it seems that all but his biggest supporters would…
“The Firstborn” is a free verse poem, a name first used to describe the movement in French poetry in the late nineteenth century aiming to free poetry from the strict conventions of rhyme and rhythm. Traditional rhythm is abandoned and is replaced by natural rhythm and cadences of ordinary speech, so the flow of the verse rises and falls at random as do the poet’s thoughts and emotions thus enabling the reader to relate to the topic. There are three stanzas in the poem with a rhyming pattern of abab, and four lines in each stanza. The use of rhyme, such as “sighing” and “crying”, allows the reader to have a connection to the poem via their memory, rather than just by reading the words on the page alone. Repetition is mostly used in the first stanza to highlight the main idea of the poem.…
Butch is the father, and Willie his son; both were victims of circumstances that eventually led to serious time in juvenile and child detention facilities, jails, and ultimately prison . Care giving is an important factor in determining how children will turn out, in my personal opinion Whoever plays the role of caregiver will have a profound impact on how that infant develops in my experience I work in a child care program and some children come from families that encounter many problems and when the children are in my care I try to provide attention and love and try to be understanding of their feelings do to the fact that they are not given this at home and I would like to think that I could make a difference in there life’s . Perhaps if they had better care giving as children they wouldn’t have ended up like they did. Along with the beatings James gave Butch, he was once found with a weapon during an altercation with his son. The horrible neglect experienced by Butch and Willie were very likely a cause of their violent…
Henry Louis Gates Jr, an African American literature scholar, asserts, “No poet in the tradition was more crucial in the shaping of a distinct African- American poetic diction or voice than he, [Paul Laurence Dunbar]” (68). Dunbar’s ability to communicate the struggles of America through the black experience, with the assistance of Negro dialect, elevated him to become one of the most influential African American poets of his time. His success with written language allows today’s readers to experience and obtain knowledge about the life of an African American before and after the Civil War. The life and literature of Dunbar continue to galvanize students, educators, and critics today. Dunbar’s ancestral connection with slavery and interactions…
“What is the hardest part about being a Preacher’s kid?” If I had a penny for every time I got asked this question I would probably be a millionaire, if not a billionaire. As soon as I would tell people that I was a preacher’s kid their first reaction was to look at me up and down, confirming that what I was wearing was “preacher’s kids appropriate clothes”. Others would simply smile in shock or not so happy about my comment. The reactions from each individual were completely different, but I began to somehow embrace these awkward situations and started bragging about what was once an embarrassing fact about myself.…
Chapter six of Practicing Christian Doctrine, by Beth Felker Jones, chiefly discusses Christology and the various heresies that have surrounded it over the years. Christology, which is the study of Christ, helps one to learn more about Jesus and his identity and how to live a good Christian life by forming a relationship with the Lord. In order for Christology to work, the person of Jesus must be known and a major idea discussed in this novel is homoousios, Jesus is full and truly God. Two other important characteristics of God found in this chapter are immutability¬¬ and impassibility. Immutability means that God is unchanging and impassibility states that He is never overwhelmed by emotion.…
The hate and bitterness of his “snarl” is the final implication as to how the Misfit feels about religion (O’Connor 645). Bellamy insists that the reason for the devilish message in the Misfit’s speech is due to his mission to play to role of the Anti-Christ. Bellamy asserts that, “The central message of the Misfit’s sermon, for a sermon is what his remarks amount to, is a familiar one in Flannery O’Connor’s fiction; there is no middle ground between absolute belief in Christ’s messianic fiction and a belief that like is nasty, brutish, and short,” (200). Katherine Feeley notes that the Misfit “embodies all reason and no faith,” which is the opposite of the faith-based personality of the grandmother (202). As Madison Jones remarks, the Misfit “may be haunted, at times tormented, by vision of Christ raising the dead, but he cannot believe it: he was not there.…
The video by Frontline, “From Jesus to Christ, Part 1: The First Christians” is about the beginning of Christianity. It talks about the story of Jesus and his followers. According to Meriam-Webster’s dictionary the term Christianity is defined: “the religion derived from Jesus Christ, based on the Bible as sacred scripture, and professed by Eastern, Roman Catholic, and Protestant bodies.” Christianity today is the biggest religion in the World. According to infoplease.com the religion is estimated to have 2.1 billion members, which is about 33% of the world population.…
Children of a Lesser God (Sugarman, B. & Palmer, P., 1986) is a motion picture portraying the hurtful disconnect between the hearing and deaf communities. The character Sarah Norman, who is deaf, falls in love with a hearing man whom teaches deaf individuals to speak. The movie is an original with screenplay written by Hesper Anderson and Mark Medoff, whom also later wrote the stage play (Children of a Lesser God, 2016). As the film progresses, it very clear that Sarah Norman wants to live as independently as she can.…
At the time this story was written, red was often a symbol for love, life, passion and maturity. Since she wore a cloak of red, it became a symbol of her innocence and entering adulthood.…
How to Preach a Lousy Sermon Preaching a message can either be too long or too short. I am not going to tell you how long a sermon should be. Some sermons are too long before they even begin. Others are so fascinating and so inspired, you regret when they stop.…