...Faith is the complete trust or confidence in someone or something. It is based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof. Scientifically, faith is irrational. There is no proof of a higher being, no scientific reason for one to trust in their beliefs, yet so many do. I understand that in this sense faith is irrational, yet I also think its necessary and makes complete rational sense. In order to be at peace in life I think it is important to have your faith to trust in. God cannot be proven by science, and I think this is what creates faith. By completely trusting in God there is faith. Through the peace it brings in life and the inner feeling of understanding and reason for all of life’s happenings, it is important to be able to trust in your faith. While faith may not be rational in terms of science, individually, everyone who has faith in something or someone would argue that is absolutely is rational. Faith is a crucial part of life and it is the rationality for all questions and concerns one may have. Every day we turn to our beliefs to make sense of life. When things go wrong, you can turn to your faith to understand the reasoning behind it. Likewise, when things go exceptionally well, you can also trust that your belief in God has been the source. A powerful desire to understand life and rationalize everything that happens is why we need to trust in our faiths and beliefs. Faith is an irrational rationality of life. Fowler believes that faith is not something that...
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...The Catholic Approach to faith, God, Jesus, Scripture, and Church My perspective on Christianity is characterized by an intimate connection with God. Identifying oneself as a specific denomination and the actual institution of religious is not as important as this relationship. Faith can be defined as an intimate conviction of allegiance, faith, fidelity, and trust. Faith can also be described as that which you give your mind, energy, and heart to; that which gives meaning to your life. Faith is one’s intimate connection with God and serves as the lens through which we interpret life; faith gives meaning to our experiences. Examining faith from a Christian perspective may lead one to ask if faith is even practical in today’s society. What does it mean to believe since believers sometimes experience doubt? When examining faith from a Christian perspective, theologians Marcus Borg and James Fowler provide the best way of understanding the most important part of Christianity—faith. Borg explores faith as an awareness defined by four factors while Fowler examines faith in stages. Both theologians provide a thorough account of Christian faith. Faith is the most important part of religion; one’s personal relationship with God. Religion ties and binds believers to one another, but it is important not to loose sight of the essence of religion—faith. Faith can become lost in the institution of religion transforming faith from a matter of the heart to a matter of the head. ...
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...Soren Kierkegaard’s philosophy on the three movements to faith establishes itself as a recurring and major theme throughout the movie, “Breaking the Waves”. Without the knowledge of Kierkegaard’s philosophy, the average viewer would most likely miss the significance and understanding of what truly goes on. The underlying philosophy shines light on particular instances, which generates a better understanding of each character’s individual decision-making. In order to understand the movie in its entirety, one must first attempt to understand Kierkegaard’s three movements to faith. The first movement to faith is a commitment or appropriation to a singular wish. In this stage, a person loves someone to the point where they always want to be around that one person no matter what the circumstances are. The person wishes and prays in every case that no matter what happens, they can still be physically and finitely connected to that person in each other’s lifetime. In the case of the movie, the audience is shown the main character named Bess, whose singular wish to God is to fall mutually in love with a man. After she marries this man, she wants nothing else but to always be in direct contact with her husband, Jan. The audience is shown this with a scene in the movie that depicts Bess screaming and running up to Jan just before he is about to board the helicopter to return back to work. She never wanted to let him go and she explains this to God in multiple conversations....
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...we?” The first man, however, was the one that really caught my attention. He started out the program, just participating in order to please his wife. But in the end, he ended up almost breaking down in tears when he finally received the Eucharist for the first time and becoming fully initiated in the Church. What struck me about this man was the way in which the program had such a profound impact on his faith. He came from having close to no faith in God, to having such an excitement to share in the Body of Christ, which is unlike anything I have ever seen or experienced myself. When I receive the Eucharist, I go through the motions of the ritual, but all I really feel is that I have just consumed a piece of bread. I do not feel or understand any sort of deeper understanding within the ritual. For me, all that exists when I receive the Eucharist is what is on the external level. This man on the other hand was able to experience the Eucharist in a way that I have never been able to participate. As I watched, I couldn’t help but feel a little but jealous at the amount of faith he was able to obtain through the RCIA program. Another moment that caught my attention was after the Baptism, when the priest...
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...without hesitation, sets out to fulfill God’s will. This seems on its face a horrific act and one unfitting of a man subsequently hailed as the father of the Christian faith. Kierkegaard contends, however, that Abraham is justified in his actions and that few people...
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...LIBERTY UNIVERSITY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY The Centrality of Christ Submitted to Dr. Robert Gowins in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of DSMN 500 Discipleship Ministries by Shawn T. Hunt January 24, 2015 Introduction There some basic principles of Christian discipleship that can be seen from the beginning of this class. That Christ is the center piece of the Christian faith is the core of discipleship and disciple making. Without Christ there would not be a need for discipleship, if He had not come here to die for our sins we would still be trying to live up to the imperfect law. But because He did come down to us and did die for us we can see the need to follow Him. Obedience to Christ and to His teachings to paramount and the first thing a disciple needs to set out to do. Because Christ is the centerpiece of our faith Dave Earley and Rod Dempsey have detailed three stages of discipleship. Declaration, development and deployment are a model of how Christ is seen making disciples in His early ministry and can still be seen and used today. Christ as the Center From the very beginning of His ministry Christ demonstrated how a life of discipleship is intended to look. Christ did not use mere words to teach, His actions were confirmation to the first disciples the cost of following Him. Of all that He did, Christ demonstrated for us that humility was the core of following Him. Christ humbled Himself with His very...
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...Developmental Profile (Typical) Introduction Human development is the process of growth from a one-celled zygote through to a mature adult human being. Development occurs in the physical, cognitive and psychosocial realms and can be influenced by heredity, environment and maturation (Papalia et al., 2009). During childhood, typical physical development involves the acquisition of the fine and gross motor skills including coordination, control, movement and manipulation. Typical physical development during adolescence involves pubescent changes as the body develops and matures sexually. During young adulthood, physical development involves one’s organs and systems operating at peak efficiency. As an individual moves through to late adulthood, these systems slowly deteriorate along with overall health, stamina and strength. In terms of cognition, thinking and problem solving skills, conceptual understandings, information processing ability and overall intelligence develop throughout an individual’s lifespan. With respect to psychosocial, this includes how a person’s mind, emotions, and maturity levels evolve. In terms of this assignment, the purpose is to present a profile of a typical thirty-two year old male and to analyse his development through theoretical perspectives. My individual is named Andrew; he is single but dates regularly, Caucasian from North America, is university educated and works as an accountant for a bank. Andrew grew up in the suburbs...
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...Kierkegaard’s Stages of Subjective Response to Absurdity Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) was a great Danish philosopher who attempted to understand what motivates a person to make the decisions they do throughout their life. His work was based on the idea that the human condition is objectively “absurd”, and that “truth is not to be found in objectivity, but in subjectivity, or passionate commitment to an idea” (236). Human nature seeks for meaning of existence, but objectively this is impossible to comprehend become of the complex and immeasurable answer to such a contemplation. Kierkegaard believed that meaning could only be found through one’s personal development and search for a uniquely subjective meaning of existence. He categorized three types of subjective responses to this absurd condition, being aesthetic, ethical, and religious. These three responses represent stages of life that a person must go through to reach a point where they are most connected with their true identity, represented with a connection with a higher power in the religious stage. Before a person can reach this point, they must go through the other stages in succession to build and develop their subjective meaning of life out of the innately absurd condition. The first stage of life that a person goes through is the aesthetic phase, defined by an overwhelming desire to fulfill one’s own self interests. In the aesthetic phase, Kierkegaard describes the decision-making process being based on the...
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...COLOR PURPLE: LIFE OF CELIE Margaret Njigua Northshore Community College Psychology 118 Professor Stanga April 14, 2014 The Color Purple is a novel that was written in 1982 by Alice Walker. It was later adapted into a film and musical of the same name. Taking place mostly in rural Georgia, the story focuses on the life of women of color in the southern United States and addresses numerous issues including their exceedingly low position in American social culture. Born in 1895, Celie who is the main character was raised on a farm in a small town in Georgia where formal education took a back seat to physical labor and household maintenance, and the Church was the main focal point of socialization among local town members. The Color Purple chronicles the startling tragedy and triumph of Celie in her struggle for self-empowerment, sexual freedom, and spiritual growth in the early twentieth century. Its winter 1909 and Celie is fourteen years old. Her step-father, who she thinks is her real father, sexually and verbally abuses her. He impregnates Celie and she gives birth to a girl, whom he steals...
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...Running head: STAGES OF GRIEF Stages of Grief Delores Clayton Grand Canyon University Religious in Health Care HLT-310V Gary Shields August 22, 2015 In this essay I will be completing my report from the book “Lament for a Son” not only written but also lived by Nicholas WolterstorffIn. In this book the author/character talks about his painful recollection and how his life has changed since his son that was 25 year old has pass away from a climbing accident in Austria. While reading the book I was able to transcribe how the author exhibited the different stages of grief which he is was experiencing. Toward the end of the book and where author was able to find peace through the faith he had in God. Nicholas the author account of the occurrence and grief-stricken is upright and stunningly written. I feel that he had written the book true character and stories to motivate others who is experiencing loss. There is five stages of grief that is expressed in telling his life story, they signify how the stages help lead the author to find joy after his loss. The author was able to explain the allusion and connivance of death in light of the Christian description and how the hope of the reappearance/ return to life, played a role in consoling Wolterstorff. This story started off with the author receiving a phone call, in regards to his son Erick falling to his death. He immediately heads to where his son resided so that he can claim Eric's his sons body, after arriving where...
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... HLT-310V Spirituality in Health Care Xochitl Harris July 17, 2016 Stages of Grief In our lifetime at one point or another we will experience grief. We may grief a loss of a loved one, a pet, a relationship, a friendship. Grieving after a loss can come at anytime after the loss happened. Some times grieving may take some time to sink in. It may start six months after. Everyone grieves differently and at different times. A person has his or her own way of grieving and dealing with loss. Its important to understand the process of grieving. It will help understand what one is going through emotionally so that one can help someone going through this process. The five stages of grief are identified in this paper by analyzing the book “Lament for a Son” and how the author found joy after his loss (Wolterstorff, 1987). The author of this paper will also identify and explore the meaning and significance of death in the light of the Christian narrative, and how the hope of resurrection plays a role in comforting the author. Five Stages of Grief Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance, the five stages of grief that one goes through after a loss significant to them are identified by Dr. Kubler-Ross. Every individual grief’s in his or her own way. There is no particular other to follow in the stages. One will experience one or the other, or may start all over again and repeat a stage. To grief is to come to terms with the loss of a loved one, a relationship...
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...Many holes and discrepancies that have not dealt with concerning the science theory and there is a lack of evidence in order to fully say that we really can be sure that this theory is taking place. The supporters of this theory are connecting the dots in a manner that is logical and reasonable to them, so it might even win the minds of our future generations. I think that there is nothing that contradicts the idea that creatures could have or have evolved through small stages into the complex and distinctive organisms that we find currently in the world. God in a manner has developed us through distinct stages during the embryonic development process. So, the idea of development through distinct stages in not impossibility, in fact, it is a reality. I certainly believe that these processes are not completely devoid from or separate from the power and the guidance of God. Therefore, if evolution is taking place is because God is the evolver; God is the one who is evolving the creation and we cannot accept the premise that these are purely natural processes that do not have anything to do with GOD and the knowledge of the creator. I do not believe that things are randomly...
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...was born. The theory I like to talk about and discuss is Jean Piaget’s Cognitive theory. The theory that Piaget introduced during his studies is comparable to every aspects of a person’s life, learning ability, and worldview. Birth to 2 years is the period of Sensorimotor. During this time frame an infant or toddler uses senses and motor abilities to understand the world. Learning is active; there is no conceptual or reflective thought. (Text 45) The most important objective that is gain during this period is object permanence. This is important because it can be related to faith in the Christian Worldview. As a child learns that that objects still exist even when it is out of sight, as a Christian’s faith grows they need little evidence that God exist and Christ died and rose again. They understand God permanence. The next stage ranges from 2 to 6 years, this is the Preoperational Stage. During this stage children use language to understand the world, noticing colors, shapes, living things and their thinking is egocentric. They are gaining an understanding of the world in their own eyes. One of my preschoolers at the CDC I teach argues with me on if the sky is blue or white, her thinking is that the clouds may also be blue and the sky is actually white. Her understand of the clouds and sky is that the clouds are always in the sky and can change from blue to black. Whereas, you and I know that the sky is blue and because the sun goes down the lack of light turns the sky black...
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...grief. Death is never an easy subject to approach. When a person loses a loved one, various emotions come into factor. These emotions trigger feelings which otherwise would not be compromised under normal circumstances. However, the various emotions that a person deals with assist them in the mourning process. There are different stages of emotions a person deals with after having lost a loved one. It is perfectly normal to have experience these emotions and should go through each stage of these emotions. It is believed the common stages of coping with death are as follow: shock and disbelief, sadness, guilt, anger, fear and physical symptoms (Smith & Segal, 2014, p. 1). According to the article done by M. Smith and J. Segal; these emotions are onset early stages in the grieving process. They also stated it might feel like you are going crazy or in a bad dream. They went on to state you might even question your religion and beliefs. Just how does our emotion assist us when going through a death of a love one? The feelings we as humans experience when learning of the passing of someone dear to us comes in various stages. The first stage of grieving would be shock and disbelief. Upon learning of...
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...have been influenced by Hinduism as well. Take Christianity, for example. One could argue that much of Christianity originated in India. On the other hand, one could find many just as many differences between Hinduism and Christianity as well. For instance, Hinduism is a polytheistic religion that believes that a supreme being exists in multiple forms including both male and female. Though Christianity believes in a supreme being, the Christian faith is rooted in monotheism. Also, unlike Christianity, “Hindus believe that humans were not created by God, but are an extension of God as are all other things both animate and inanimate.” (Sam, 2010) In addition, rather than thinking of willful wrong-doers as sinners, Hindus believe that those that do wrong are merely living out their karma. With that thought, before we can fully understand Hinduism, we have to take a look at all the stages at the core of the belief. Karma is one important stage in the Hinduism faith. As mentioned above, karma is not a choice as believed by the Hindu faith. It is the process by which Hindus feel the effects of not only their actions, but the actions of their forefathers as well. It is actually believed that karma fully controls the actions of their lives. In doing so, karma has become the moral law of Hinduism. “What one does or fails to do effects their destiny and the eventual process of reincarnation.” (Fisher, 2005) That process of reincarnation is called samsara in the western world. Samsara...
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