Christian Views on Racial Harmony and Religious Free

Christian Views on Racial Harmony and Religious Freedom Essay St. Paul taught Christians that other races and religions were equal in the eyes of God. â€Å"It is through faith that all of you are God’s sons in union with Christ Jesus. You were baptized into union with Christ, and now you are clothed, so to speak, with the life of Christ himself. So there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, between slaves and free men, between men and women; you are all one in union with Christ Jesus. It is because believers share a love of Jesus that they are equal, St Paul says. The Bible opens up with a description of God creating humans in his own image, therefore, Christians believe that everybody should be respected as God’s creation. This means that prejudice and racism are wrong. There are many more teachings in the Old and New testaments which reinforce this, like the Good Samaritan. Most modern Christians believe that people should be free to follow whatever they like, or none at all. There are, however, three different Christian approaches to religious freedom. Exclusivism: Some people are excluded from heaven. Jesus said â€Å"I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one goes to the father except by me. † Some Christians believe this means that only those who follow Christian beliefs can go to heaven. Inclusivism: Some Christians believe that while all religions can help to reach god, only Christianity has the complete answer. This is because Jesus taught that people should believe in him to get to heaven, and only Christians believe in Jesus as the Son of God. This is often the view held by Roman Catholic Christians. While other faiths should be respected, the right path should be explained to them. Pluralism There are many religions. Some Christians believe that all religions will lead to God, none is superior and none is wrong. People are free to followthe way that suits them best. These Christians do not regard the Bible as ‘the word of God’, but rather as holy writings like many other sacred books. These Christains do not think they should try to persuade people to change their religion.

Allen Ginsbergs Howl :: essays papers

The "Beat Movement" in modern literature has become an important period in the history of literature and society in America. Incorporating influences such as jazz, art, literature, philosophy, and religion, the Beat writers created a new and prophetic vision of modern life and changed the way an entire generation of people see the world. That generation is now aging and its representative voices are becoming lost to eternity, but the message is alive and well. The Beats have forever altered the nature of American consciousness. The impact of the Beats would certainly not have been as universal or influential if not for the writing of one poem; "Howl" by Allen Ginsberg: I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix, angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night.(1-3) These lines, perhaps the most well known in 20th century poetry, serve as a thematic statement for a poem that offers a new way of thinking, a sense of hope of escape from the "Molochs" of society. The story of the poem's history serves well as an account of the birth of the Beat Generation. Ginsberg's life leading up to the writing of "Howl," the actual creation of the poem, its legendary first reading, and the aftermath of its public debut all figure prominently into the history of the literary movement. One can understand the impact of the poem on the Beat Generation by studying not only the chronology of its past, but its intricate and unique structure as well as its themes and ultimate message. Following is an examination of the poem as the great expression of Beat defiance, beginning with a short history of the poem. Ginsberg's Beat career began at Columbia University in 1943 where he met Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, Neal Cassidy and others. This group of writers would remain life-long friends of Ginsberg and influence him in myriad ways. The history of "Howl," however, begins in 1953 after Ginsberg's move to San Francisco in search of poetic inspiration. Having moved away from the camaraderie of his group of New York friends, Ginsberg began to feel dislocated and depressed. Ginsberg knew he was at a crossroads in his art between his apprenticeship to academic models of literature (mentor William Carlos Williams specifically), and breaking through to a personal voice which could sing of experience beyond the bounds of what was permissible - by 50's Allen Ginsberg's Howl :: essays papers The "Beat Movement" in modern literature has become an important period in the history of literature and society in America. Incorporating influences such as jazz, art, literature, philosophy, and religion, the Beat writers created a new and prophetic vision of modern life and changed the way an entire generation of people see the world. That generation is now aging and its representative voices are becoming lost to eternity, but the message is alive and well. The Beats have forever altered the nature of American consciousness. The impact of the Beats would certainly not have been as universal or influential if not for the writing of one poem; "Howl" by Allen Ginsberg: I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix, angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night.(1-3) These lines, perhaps the most well known in 20th century poetry, serve as a thematic statement for a poem that offers a new way of thinking, a sense of hope of escape from the "Molochs" of society. The story of the poem's history serves well as an account of the birth of the Beat Generation. Ginsberg's life leading up to the writing of "Howl," the actual creation of the poem, its legendary first reading, and the aftermath of its public debut all figure prominently into the history of the literary movement. One can understand the impact of the poem on the Beat Generation by studying not only the chronology of its past, but its intricate and unique structure as well as its themes and ultimate message. Following is an examination of the poem as the great expression of Beat defiance, beginning with a short history of the poem. Ginsberg's Beat career began at Columbia University in 1943 where he met Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs, Neal Cassidy and others. This group of writers would remain life-long friends of Ginsberg and influence him in myriad ways. The history of "Howl," however, begins in 1953 after Ginsberg's move to San Francisco in search of poetic inspiration. Having moved away from the camaraderie of his group of New York friends, Ginsberg began to feel dislocated and depressed. Ginsberg knew he was at a crossroads in his art between his apprenticeship to academic models of literature (mentor William Carlos Williams specifically), and breaking through to a personal voice which could sing of experience beyond the bounds of what was permissible - by 50's

Lord of the Flies : Relationship Between Two Main Protagonists Essay

American president Franklin D. Roosevelt once said that â€Å"If civilization is to survive, we must cultivate the science of human relationships – the ability of all peoples, of all kinds, to live together, in the same world at peace. â€Å" This quotation fits very well in the novel Lord of the Flies written by William Golding in 1954. This story is about a group of young boys from British school, who found themselves on a tropical island after an airplane crash. This story shows how people can easily change when there are no laws or restrictions to prevent them from becoming wild and out of control and that the pure person’s character will come up in situation similar to this one. We can find many different characters amongst all the boys, but I will try to focus on characteristics of two main protagonists and analyze the relationship between them and also their attitude to other boys. I would like to bring you a brief summary of Lord of the Flies so my description of each protagonist is more understandable. In the middle of ragging war, a plane evacuating a group of schoolboys from Britain is shot down over a deserted tropical island. There is no one but young boys on the island, no adults, no authority and all of a sudden everything is upon them. There are older boys but majority of little ones or â€Å"littluns† as they start to call them. Boys will realize that they need some supervision, someone who will be in charge of them and who will be giving orders so they do not become savages. They agree to make elections and boy named Ralph is elected as a chief. He chooses another older boy named Jack to be his assistant because he is already leading his choir. Now it is obvious that there are two most important characters in the story – Ralph and Jack. We also get to meet one of older boys called Piggy, who has immediately became a target of ridicule because of his appearance. Piggy is fat and wears glasses, which makes him not acceptable for kids ´ games. However Ralph is always his friend and he protects him from those who laugh at him. Ralph’s main idea is to set a fire so they can be rescued and to build shelters. Group is agreed to maintain the fire all day long and every time there is guard duty consisted of two boys looking after the fire. As the story goes on boys become tired of their duties and they start looking for something that brings them more entertainment. Into this comes Jack who wants them to be hunters and hunt pigs that are on the Island. Most of the boys find this to be fun so they stop listening to orders and rather go with Jack to hunt. This is the moment where boys are separated into two groups according to their character. The incompatibilities of their temperament are growing much more from now on. Groups are being separated and Jack’s group grows in savagery. This finally culminates to full loss of control and these boys do what they want till the time they are rescued. As we can assume from previous paragraph Ralph is a boy with good character and he was always the one trying to prevent boys from becoming wild and from breaking the rules. He is also the most important protagonist in the story. He was chosen to be chief because of his natural talent of leadership, even though he sometimes also acts like a kid. As well as other boys he laughs at some boys. He even does pick on Piggy from time to time. Ralph realizes the importance of being rescued therefore most of his orders are similar to what and adult would decide to do. This is the reason why most of the boys rather join Jack, because soon after plane crash they found out that this is a great opportunity to have lots of fun when there is no â€Å"real† supervision of any adult person. Jack on the other hand is the one who offers them pure child ´s life full of games and adventure. He is also a natural leader and the fact that in the end of the story he makes everyone but Piggy and Ralph convert to his group is an ample proof of it. Unlike Ralph he is the leader of anarchy on the island. Even though he does not like to follow rules of any kind he does in the beginning. Jack simply wants to hunt and have a good time, not seeming to care about being rescued; he and his tribe are perfect examples of savagery. The relationship ship between Ralph and Jack is essential to what happens in Lord of the flies. Both movies that were made based on this novel describe this relationship in different way. The later movie especially makes it much tenser that how it actually is in the book and since I saw the movies first I was very surprised how nice these boys to each other are in the book. Things start off well at the first meeting. The group of boys vote for a chief who as I have already mentioned turns out to be Ralph and everyone breaks into applause. This of course makes Jack feel embarrassed that he has not been chosen to be chief and that his choir didn ´t support him. However Ralph at this moment says that his choir belongs to him of course. This is im plying that Ralph wants to make Jack be important. Jack does appreciate this because due to this act he does not have to feel ashamed anymore. This is where their friendship begins though it does not take too long to break down. Ralph and Jack go together on first exploration and they experience a lot of fun while walking up to the highest point to find out whether they are on the island or not. Their friendship is growing in strength. At this point they listen to each others’ ideas and suggestions and we can see mutual respect. When they find out that they really are on the island they go back to the rest of the group and Ralph tell them that they might be here for a long time before someone will come to rescue them. Here is Jack saying very important thing: â€Å"We’ve got to have rules and obey them. After all, we’re not savages. We’re English, and the English are best at everything. â€Å" This sentence proves that even Jack had rational thinking in the beginning and that he agrees with Ralph. Soon after Jack does first step that will lead to future disagreement followed by separation of groups. He persuades two boys who are on fire guard duty to come with him for hunting because he needs them. They go with him and the fire dies. Unfortunately at that moment ship goes by the island but there is no fire to attract its attention. Ralph rushes to the place of fire and finds out that boys are gone. When Jack with his hunters and dead pig comes back Ralph starts yelling at him and Jack is embarrassed again. Although he sees the mistake he has done and he publicly apologizes to him. Jack did not like the fact that Ralph was right and he starts to put together a bigger group of hunters where he is in the charge. The break down moment comes when Ralph calls together an assembly. He wants to discuss things that boys do wrong and give new rules. There has also appeared another problem – boys are afraid of a beast that they made up in their minds. They are afraid that this beast will hunt them down and kill them. Ralph claims that there is no such thing and everyone should get back to work and not only play games all the time. After this Jack stands up and shouts: â€Å"You are just giving orders that don’t make any sense! â€Å"(Golding, p. 93) Ralph is surprised by him and he tries to explain the importance of rules for being rescued. However Jack says: â€Å"Bollocks to the rules! We’re strong–we hunt! If there’s a beast, we’ll hunt it down! We’ll close in and beat and beat and beat–!† (Golding, p. 93) We can see sudden change in their relationship that was started by Jack. After a while there is another assembly, where Jack finally says: â€Å"I’m going off by myself. Ralph can catch his own pigs. Anyone who wants to hunt when I do can come too.† (Golding, p. 140) After this, boys start to split off. There is also nobody to keep the signal fire burn and the chance of rescue is therefore very low. Unfortunately for Ralph most of them are younger and do not feel any responsibility and their desire after adventure and killing beast leads them to Jack ´s side. In the end there is no one but Ralph and Piggy in Ralph ´s group. Now there is almost no relationship between two main protagonists. Ralph still wants to explain the need of being together and help each other but Jack hates him and his group often attacks the place where these two boys stay. Ralph and Piggy for the last time decide to go into their territory to explain that they have to act like grown-ups. Nobody wants to listen to them and they even throw down a piece of rock, which instantly kills Piggy. Ralph escapes and hides. He is being followed. Whole group was told by Jack that they have to kill him. Boys set grass and trees on fire to smoke him out and so Ralph runs all the way to the beach where he runs into naval officer, who is there to save them. The end of the story only shows that Ralph ´s orders had sense because it was the fire that attracted navy ´s attention. Jack was only jealous and he wanted to have his own group of people. For this reason he decided to offer them something that Ralph could not because he had the responsibility of an adult. Jack turned into savage while Ralph kept his rational thinking. Their relationship has completely turned from the start till the end and we had plenty of time to realize who the good one is and who the bad one is. ——————————————– [ 2 ]. GOLDING, William. Lord of the Flies. 1st edition. London : Faber and Faber, 1954. Fire on Mountain, p. 40.

The History of the City of Antigua, Guatemala

The city of Antigua, the capital of Sacatepà ©quez Province, Guatemala, is a charming old colonial city that for many years was the political, religious and economic heart of Central America. After being destroyed by a series of earthquakes in 1773, the city was abandoned in favor of what is now Guatemala City, although not everyone left. Today, it is one of Guatemala’s top visitor destinations. The Conquest of the Maya In 1523 a group of Spanish conquistadores led by Pedro de Alvarado swept into what is now northern Guatemala, where they came face to face with the descendants of the once-proud Maya Empire. After defeating the mighty K’iche kingdom, Alvarado was named Governor of the new lands. He set up his first capital in the ruined city of Iximchà ©, home of his Kaqchikel allies. When he betrayed and enslaved the Kaqchikel, they turned on him and he was forced to relocate to a safer area: he chose the lush Almolonga Valley nearby. Second Foundation The previous city had been founded on July 25, 1524, a day dedicated to St. James. Alvarado thus named it â€Å"Ciudad de los Caballeros de Santiago de Guatemala,† or â€Å"City of the Knights of St. James of Guatemala.† The name moved with the city and Alvarado and his men set up what essentially amounted to their own mini-kingdom. In July of 1541, Alvarado was killed in battle in Mexico: his wife, Beatriz de la Cueva, took over as Governor. On the unlucky date of September 11, 1541, however, a mudslide destroyed the city, killing many, including Beatriz. It was decided to move the city once again. Third Foundation The city was rebuilt and this time, it prospered. It became the official home of the Spanish colonial administration in the area, which covered most of Central America up to and including the southern Mexican State of Chiapas. Many impressive municipal and religious buildings were built. A series of Governors ruled the region in the name of the King of Spain. Provincial Capital The Kingdom of Guatemala never much in the way of mineral wealth: all of the best New World mines were in Mexico to the north or Peru to the south. Because of this, it was difficult to attract settlers to the area. In 1770, the population of Santiago was only about 25,000 people, of which only 6% or so were pure-blooded Spanish: the rest were mestizos, Indians and blacks. In spite of its lack of wealth, Santiago was well-located between New Spain (Mexico) and Peru and developed into an important commercial hub. Many of the local aristocracies, descended from the original conquistadors, became merchants and prospered. In 1773, a series of major earthquakes leveled the city, destroying most of the buildings, even the ones which had been well built. Thousands were killed, and the region was plunged into chaos for a while. Even today you can see fallen rubble at some of Antigua’s historical sites. The decision was made to move the capital to its present location in Guatemala City. Thousands of local Indians were conscripted to move what could be salvaged and to rebuild on the new site. Although all of the survivors were ordered to move, not everyone did: some remained behind in the rubble of the city they loved. As Guatemala City prospered, the people living in the ruins of Santiago slowly rebuilt their city. People stopped calling it Santiago: instead, they referred to it as â€Å"Antigua Guatemala† or â€Å"Old Guatemala City.† Eventually, the â€Å"Guatemala† was dropped and people began referring to it as simply â€Å"Antigua.† The city rebuilt slowly but was still large enough to be named the capital of Sacatepà ©quez Province when Guatemala became independent from Spain and (later) the Federation of Central America (1823–1839). Ironically, â€Å"new† Guatemala City would be hit by a major earthquake in 1917: Antigua largely escaped damage. Antigua Today Over the years, Antigua retained its colonial charm and perfect climate and is today one of Guatemala’s premier tourist destinations. Visitors enjoy shopping at the markets, where they can purchase brightly colored textiles, pottery and more. Many of the old convents and monasteries are still in ruins but have been made safe for tours. Antigua is surrounded by volcanoes: their names are Agua, Fuego, Acatenango and Pacaya, and visitors like to climb them when it is safe to do so. Antigua is particularly known for Semana Santa (Holy Week) festivities. The city has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.