Final Examination 1. Describe the principle concepts which Zoroastrianism is credited with contributing to Western Religions Zoroastrianism was founded by a prophet Zoroaster who had a vision by high god Ahura Mazda, and reflects an outgoing, universal battle of Ahura Mazda, the good god, and Angra Mainyu, the evil spirit, between the truth and lie while human beings must decide which side they want to choose. Zoroastrianism contributes to Western Religions with eschatology, resurrection, and…
Introduction The story of Abraham in the book of Genesis is an elaborate narrative describing the events of his life. Through many trials Abraham and his wife Sarah give birth to their son Isaac who God had promised them. Through Isaac, Abraham is promised that the nations will be born. However, in this verse we see a significant moment in Abraham’s life where he is asked to sacrifice this promised son. He moves in obedience and does not falter in obeying God. He prepares Isaac and takes him up…
Fasting in the month of Ramadan is among the five fundamental pillars in Islam. The month is received as a period of celebrating religious activities. People read the Holy Quran in this month and offer special night prayers known as “Tarawih”. The Holy Quran describes that a particular night in Ramadan is better than a thousand months in Surah al-Qadr: Verse 3. The concept of Islam is that the month of Ramadan should be used by Muslims to train themselves to perform good deeds and improve the…
one another, providing conflicting perspectives on theology and worship. However, these three faiths are interrelated, even complementary, in terms of tradition, origin, and practice. This interrelation is no more apparent than in the narrative of Abraham and the binding of his son, Isaac/Ishmael, which was first recorded in Genesis 22. All three faiths view this story as significant, however there is a disjunction within the details of the narrative as well as what should be taken from the…
Women Who Made a Difference Women, while often portrayed as unimportant to the hero’s success or failure, were sometimes the catalyst that aligned the hero with fate. Siduri, in The Epic of Gilgamesh, gave Gilgamesh the information he needed to complete his quest for immortality. It was, however, her words of wisdom that ultimately offered the answers he sought. Rebekah, in The Old Testament, executed a plan so Jacob, rather than Esau, received his father’s blessing. When Esau vowed to kill…
Discuss the stories of Abraham and the Exodus. What origins do they signify? What are the social functions of these texts? Abram, later to be renamed by God Abraham, originated from Ur, which was considered to be a cultured and ancient city. Minimalist scholars believe this to be the origins of the Israelites were Canaanites. As we learn later on in the book of Joshua the Israelites were lead by Joshua on a conquest in Canaan. The reason for minimalists believing Canaan origins is due to…
The differences between the movie and the book are great. There are people missing and scenes cut. There are people added and scenes added. For the most part though, the theme seemed to stay generally the same. These differences come about because of the difference of how movies focus more on drama and books go more in depth, so they came give more detail. The summary, in the general, for both translations Hannah is complaining about the remembering. She is tired of going over her…
The symbolism of Mecca for Helen In the play (The road to Mecca by Athol Furgard faber and faber edition) In the play “The road to Mecca” by Athol Furgard is a character named Helen, also known as Miss Helen. In the play she creates her own Mecca in her yard. Mecca is a city in Saudi Arabia and it is a holy city to followers of Islam. People take this religious journey to deepen their experience with God. In this case Helen takes a spiritual journey and she does not physically go to Saudi…
As a young man, Abraham Lincoln worked as a general store clerk. One evening he was counting the money in the drawers after closing and found that he was a few cents over what should have been in the drawer. When he realized that he had accidentally short-changed a customer…
Persepolis is a story that begins taking place in 1979 during the Islamic Revolution. It is told in first-person by the main character, Marji. This allows the reader to receive and understand one specific opinion and point of view. She is a young girl who is lost in her own thoughts. She is a firm believer in religion. Marji says, “At the age of six I was already sure I was the last prophet…” (Satrapi 6). Without further knowledge nor experience, she was already greatly influence into following…