...enter the Promised Land, Canaan, Moses delivered three speeches to the Israelites and reminded them to obey God. Moses emphasized the promises God made to the Israelites and the importance of loyalty to God. Moses warned them not to worship idols and cautioned them the punishments they would get if they disobey God or worship idols. He also told the Israelites that they had to follow God’s commandments in order to take the Promised Land. Whether they would live a good life in the Promised Land depended on whether they followed God and His law. Throughout Deuteronomy, Moses explained to the Israelites why they should obey God. Although some of the commandments are surprisingly harsh from the modern perspective, I argue that the biblical text and the harsh punishments emphasize the overarching theme that obedience to God is obligatory and the importance of covenant, which is a contract between God and the Israelites. Deuteronomy discussed various reasons that Israelites had to obey God, and there was no other option. Moses explained that obedience to God is compulsory. In Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” Moses mandated the Israelites to be loyal to God. The LORD is the only God to obey. That is the rule. Moses stated that obedience to God was a simple and foundational principle to follow. In a modern perspective, it seemed harsh because Moses...
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...The complex belief system of greek mythology and it importance in the The Odyssey, and it cultural values are demonstrated throughout the text Ancient Greece: Everyday Life in the Birthplace of Western Civilization. Foremost, the importance of greek mythology is evident when “The strong god glittering left her as he spoke, and now her ladyship” (Homer 753). Displayed through the quote the greek gods were important to the sections, demonstrated through the god Hermes saving Odysseus by forcing Calypso to release him from her island. The cultural aspect of mythology was also presented when “[mythology] denoted an exemplary tale that revealed what was perceived to be a fundamental truth”(Garland 307). “Fundamental truth” conveys the importance of mythology to the Greek people, illustrating that it was something that everyone accepted....
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...the same rights as them. Christians face this cultural issue that often end up with several different opinions on how one should deal with racial oppression. Sojourner Truth spoke of the racial controversy through the eyes of a Christian that is facing racial indifferences. Vibia Perpetua and Bartolomé de Las Casas both display the importance of being a Christian during challenging times. Being a Christian entails considerably difficult cultural issues that need to be solved with correct evidence and actions. In 1797, Sojourner...
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...SarahWesner Mr. Davis Period 6 Honors English In Acts 16:30, after God shows his power and transformation to a jailer, he asks Paul and Silas, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" (ESV). This is a common question asked by so many today when God is working in their lives. Many have a desperate desire to know how they can be saved from God's wrath but it seems so unclear in today's culture. However, although it can be complicated, it is also very simple what God requires for salvation. Ultimately, the way to God is a personal relationship with him. However, in order to have this relationship, there are three certain beliefs and truths that Christians put faith in, although many believe that one must do more to be in Christ. The three essentials to the Christian faith are: God's word is authoritative, Jesus is the perfect son of God who came as a Man to die on the cross and rose again to save Man from their sin, and it is by faith and repentance in Christ that man is able to have a relationship with Him. Although the belief is not supported by the Bible, many people say that it is essential to salvation to be baptized, thus turning Christianity into a works based religion. Church of Christ believes that it is necessary to be baptized to be saved, using Mark 16:16 as evidence (Wright). Mark 16:16 says, "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned" (ESV). However, Houdmann states that one must notice "While this verse tells us...
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...courage, skill, endurance and respect for country. The importance of religion was conveyed in different aspects of Sparta such as, the role of the gods, the impact of religion on the army, religious role of kings and religious festivals that were celebrated in Sparta. The gods were highly regarded and were important to the Spartan soldiers and society. The Spartan military and the gods were linked heavily and were very depending on each other. Gods like Apollo, Artemis, Athena, Discouri and Zeus. The more explicit gods were Apollo and Artemis Orthia which were...
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...allow for elaboration by introducing new gods, to stress the importance of ritual and sacrifice, and to give moral standards by showing that even gods can make the same mistakes as humans. Myth first and foremost explains the origins of the universe, the gods, and humankind. Polytheistic gods were necessary because they allowed for new gods to be introduced in order to answer questions that could not be answered. Chaos produced Gaea, Tartarus, and Eros, as well as darkness/night and radiance/day (Lecture 4). From these gods, there are still many others needed to explain why the earth is the way it is. Thus the mountains, the sky, the sea, and love, among many others, are introduced to show how the earth became the way it is. Because of polytheism, these new gods are able to be accepted into the origin story. Polytheism also taught the Greeks the importance of ritual and sacrifice. Since Prometheus stole fire from the gods and brought it to humankind, he had to sacrifice an ox to appease Zeus (Morford 2014, 93). This story tells both how the humans received fire and how the practice of animal sacrifice came to be. This practice of proper sacrifice became arguably the most important ritual in Greek life. Humans believed that sacrifice would encourage the gods to bring them good fortune and help them avoid reprisal. If this ritual was not practiced properly, the Greeks only had to remember King Lycaon’s people to know that the gods could become so angry that the entire...
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...perishing without God and their true knowledge of Him. The presence of sin in human’s life has blinded their hearts and likewise corrupted their minds that they surrendered their spirit to the evil desires of their flesh that led them to live estranged from God. However, in spite of human sinfulness, God continued to love them unconditionally and showed them great mercy by giving them His Son Jesus Christ that through His righteous death, He could redeem those who believe Him from the curse of sin and death and be restored to God eternally. Surprisingly, despite people seeing God’s glory, power and salvation through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, they still responded in disbelief and refused to accept Jesus as the promised...
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...Spiritual Needs Assessment In this World, there are people comes from different cultures who follows different values and beliefs. Mostly all people knows that God is the greatest importance of the whole of making the world, and God is the greatest importance of a person or thing that is influenced or controlled by something and God is the greatest importance of every person. Spirituality in some person is both vision of life and a way of living. Spirituality gives a control or management not only to our opinion, but also to our own ability to make choices quickly and confidently in actions. Spirituality is not something we at some later time stop doing, like a work or a task. In future, we deal with it, we grow with it and improve with it till the day we stop living. Like the Biblical idea or we see that spirituality is always changing and never ending. The goal is natural increase in size in an connection with God. I interviewed Mrs. Samuel, 78year old, female, her religion is Christian, Pentecost. Mrs. Samuel says that she is a Christian believer, she is a pilgrim in this world and Holy Spirit is preparing a home to get into the eternity. Mrs. Samuel responded that “Let not your heart be troubled, believe in God and everything submit to God”. (John 14:1). She stated that she maintains her spiritual beliefs with daily prayer, fasting, reading Bible and attend the prayer meetings in the church every Sunday. Mrs. Samuel answers to me that the foundation her motivation in...
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...first glance, the book of Job appears to tell the tale of God chastising his utmost blameless servant to win a bet with the devil. However, further understanding tells us that this story is actually a message to all those who want to follow God. The message here is just much more challenging to recognize than other stories in the Bible. In chapter one of the Book of Job, Job is described as being “blameless” and “upright” (Alter, page 193). He was a man who “… feared God and shunned evil.” (Lawall, page 193) Genesis 6:9 in our text also describes Noah as a “blameless” and “righteous” man (Lawall, page 163). The difference in these texts is, “… Noah walked with God.” (Lawall, page 163) Therefore, just because Job “feared God and shunned evil” does not mean that he “walks with God.” Christianity and the Bible does not only teach the idea of righteousness. It also teaches the importance of having a relationship with God. Chapter one in the book of Job also states, “And it happened when the days of the feast came round, that job would send and concentrate them and rise early in the morning and offer up burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job thought, perhaps my sons have offended and cursed God in their hearts. Thus would Job do at all times.” Job wants to be a follower of God, however, he thinks that he must appease God with offerings and doings to earn God’s grace and blessing. He did not walk with God like Noah and Abraham. This becomes more evident throughout...
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...Running Head: IMPORTANCE OF SCHOOL PRAYER AT ECE INSTITUTIONS. The importance of the school prayer at early childhood education institutions. Introduction Prayers in institution are very essential for nurturing young kids, and it is also a medium conveying moral values to the students. Various organizations have morning assemblies where prayers are conducted before classes assume, by having prayers, critical moral is installed in the pupils, and it sticks in the minds as it becomes a habit. (Bhavya, 2014). On the other hand, prayers create a pious condition that enables the student to gain important values in life such as discipline and humility. Therefore; the students realize the importance of ethical values in schools. Prayers also encourage students to believe in the values created by the school and afterward implement them accordingly (Bhavya, 2014). It is also assumed that teachers participating in social education of the young kids should hold a cultural model that will guide their deeds and actions. In the same regard, the cultural patterns of the community members and the society influence the behavior of kids in trying to understand the world and the actions in it (Bhavya, 2014) Very many governments across the world are based on religious principals. For in instance in United States, the declaration of independence cites “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and that God endows them with certain unalienable rights…” ...
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...This means that Scripture gives us everything that we need in order to be obedient to God. It teaches us truths about God, salvation, and everything of eternal significance. DeYoung claims that one reason this doctrine is so important is because Jesus is often identified as the Logos or Word (John 1). God speaks though Jesus because he is “God’s full and final revelation of himself (50).” This is a truth that is deeply woven into Scripture and shows us the importance of Scripture in pointing man to God. The doctrine of sufficiency also means that no one should take away or add to scripture. In fact there is even a curse for doing so in Revelation 22:18-19. God has given us enough to point us to himself and to teach us how to have a right relationship with him. Scripture helps us hear God’s voice and live a life that is able to please him. The Bible’s sufficiency is why Martin Luther was able to cry out with confidence “sola Scriptura,” which mean “Scripture alone (53).” He understood the depths and riches of Scripture and how it had everything needed in order to know God and have salvation in...
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...Americans personify things in nature as spiritual. They believe that there is one Supreme God, just as those who practice African American religions. In Native American religions the High God is separate from the spirits of Earth. Very similar to African beliefs, Native Americans believe there are lesser deities called to on a regular basis and that the High God is only present in situations of great emergency. Most Native American religions practice this belief of the High God. (30-31) Some Native American religious groups think of the High God as a personal God. They call this a Great Spirit. They believe that the Great Spirit presents itself in the form of humans, items in nature, and things in the spiritual world. These personal Gods are of divine and sacred power. Some believe that anything that has an influence over life is a Great Spirit. (30-31) The role of ancestors is an element of religions that played a special importance. Our textbook explains ancestor veneration as the act of honoring ones’ ancestors. Both African and Native American religions practice ancestor veneration. In African religion ancestors are the most important and most recognized spirits. Africans believe that the deceased continue to live in the afterlife. Unlike the High God as mentioned before, ancestors take a great interest in everyday life of the humans left on Earth. Ancestor spirits watch over people’s lives and participate in affairs that take place...
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...La Chanson de Roland. I intend to draw upon a few of these themes, paying particular attention to what is considered by most as the climax of the chanson, Roland’s death; more specifically, laisses CLXXI and CLXXII. The importance given to Christian faith and God is both evident and undeniable throughout the chanson, and portrayed quite accurately in laisses CLXXI and CLXXII. For instance, Roland’s plea for help to ‘Sainte Marie’, to an extent, indicates this. Despite Roland's inherent stubbornness and arguably excessive pride, seen, for instance, through his reluctance to blow the Oliphant knowing that defeat was imminent, he doesn’t hesitate in seeking both comfort and help from celestial powers. Further religious importance is revealed through the divine powers Charlemagne is accredited: ‘Carles esteit es vals de Moriane, Quant Deus del cel li mandat par sun angle’. Here, as with his prophetic dreams, Charlemagne, the king, someone who would have been widely admired, and is given divine powers to highlight the power and influence religion would’ve had at the time. Furthermore, despite the fact that throughout these two laisses the main focus is Rolands service to his king, as well as his country, the last line of laisse CLXXII draws emphasis of God: ‘Deus! Perre, n'en laiseit hunir France!’ Not only is this is this a poignant ending to the laisse, but gives...
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...depths of Medieval Christianity, displaying its importance on every society since then. With this description, man is awakened to the ethical, political, social, and philosophical aspects of Dante's time, later introducing the Renaissance era. Society in the Middle Ages consisted of two focuses; survival and God. These focuses lead many to forget the developed areas of knowledge and reason before their time. This society's people were believed to be laborers, or otherwise known as the hands of God, as displayed in their art work and literature. All actions were taken not for themselves but for God alone. This was described clearly, by Dante's witnessing of the thirteenth circle of hell containing the suicides. Those within this circle committed an act completely self centered, altering their intentions from God to themselves, leading them to a circle lower then murder. God and the church were not only a primary religious focus, but a structured hierarchy system for all society to follow. With God at the absolute highest position, his principles created an ethical map structuring nine circles of hell along with a social structure in the Middle Ages. This social structure was a fixed hierarchy where individuals never questioned there status or holding in society. People were content with their placement never wanting to move up or succeed in life. If so, it could be taken as a selfish act where one cares more for themselves then God. They believed each individual was placed at their...
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...in Christian Counseling, the importance of combing the three and creating a way that will help the counselor reach the client. His book is broken apart in several different chapters that explain and reflect on religion in the counseling office, psychological, spiritual health, prayer, Scripture, sin, confession, forgiveness, and redemption. McMinn gives scenarios throughout his book on various different situations and what the counselor should do in these situations. Religion in the counseling office is important, but McMinn stresses the importance of consent before using prayer. He states that often the client becomes too dependent on the counselor. The counselor can silently pray for the client outside the office. McMinn states “the question is not how we understand the relationship between psychology and theology but how we practically use the Christian faith in our counseling” (McMinn p. 26). Psychological and spiritual health is very important. McMinn designed a detailed map of spiritual and psychological health. The map gives examples of faulty sense of self by being self-absorbed, and having a lack of self-restraint. There is an example of faulty relationships, where a person can become dependent. There is an example of a faulty awareness of the need to play the victim role. McMinn describes Imago Dei and how that if humans are to love God then humans must love other humans that God has created. McMinn stresses the importance of prayer, both for the counselor...
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