In Kazoh Kitamori's "The Transcendence and Immanence of the Pain of God," he argues that God is immanent and feels the pain of humans, but God is also a transcendent being that can lift our pain and relieve it. Although God may not be visible as a physical aspect of one's everyday life, God is immanent through our neighbors and that is why we, as humanity, should love our neighbors in order to love God. Kitamori states that "if we wish to hit two targets at the same time with one arrow," we must love our neighbors as ourselves and "with all our heart" (99).Kitamori includes the Lord's teachings, "that giving to the poor is the only way to serve [the Lord]," showing that selflessness and charity are all acts of genuine kindness that allow one
The ideal action we would take as God’s people would be to help those in need, but like the Good Samaritan parable in the Bible, many would not help those in need. It is not always easy to see Christ in the people around us because we are human and we are not perfect. Dorothy explains this statement when she says, “It would be foolish to pretend that it is easy always to remember this” (Room for Christ 2). We need to make room in our hearts for Christ, and also the people that presented to us as Christ.
God loved, not for the moment but for all eternity. He talks of monks stopping the beating
The Christian faith focuses on the orientation of the human heart behind human thoughts and actions. Living by faith is a beautiful alternative to the way people think of themselves and the way they live in relation to others in their daily lives (Merrick, 2014). Christians see themselves in terms of God’s profound love for them but not in terms of what they do. The teachings of the Christian faith; nonviolence, non-retaliation, inward integrity, selflessness, and love your neighbor as yourself provide the framework for ethical thinking. Although, adopting belief in Christianity can bring forth confusion in the heart and mind causing agony of learning to sacrifice one’s rightful claims for personal justice for the restoration of another (Merrick, 2014). Unconditional forgiveness is difficult to understand because spiritual forgiveness and actual costly forgiveness is viewed as the same in the gospel. If you do not forgive, then one does not have faith in God’s forgiveness as it really is. Christianity influences a person thinking and behavior developing wisdom which requires faith. The faith that is needed to reorient the heart away from selfishness to selflessness.
In Kierkegaard’s two works “You Shall Love” and “Our Duty to Love the People We See,” we are introduced with a moral responsibility towards others since the start. In “You Shall Love,” we are provided with the second commandment: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (17) whereas in the other reading we are provided with a biblical excerpt stating how we cannot claim to love God while hating our brother. It is by providing this biblical references that Kierkegaard reveals how, despite that they are commanded to us by God, we hold a moral responsibility towards our neighbor by serving, loving, and caring for them.
In a world of suffering and pain the Dalai Lama said, “Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive”. The Dalai Lama has become a figurehead for Buddhism worldwide for his compassion and warm smiles. Buddhism has extended beyond meditation and even monks such as the Dalai Lama. The basic concepts of compassion and mindfulness in Buddhism are being applied in the daily lives of lay people who need it the most.
If we are unable to love, and this what Wright is addressing, then one has no saving knowledge of God. As Christians, one needs to be reminded that God’s nature is kind, because there is no evil in God, and this what is being pointed out in the entire book of After you Believe: Why Christian Character
The framework question, “What do we owe to each other?”, addresses complex issues of human existence. No matter the response, the answer is subjective, related to one’s own personal experiences and their understanding of morality and inequality. Yet, an individual’s answer can be further influenced by academic study and helping others in need. Philosophy, theology, and service influence the understanding of the question, “What do we owe to each other?” by allowing one to explore problems of human morality, experience human connection through theology, and feel sympathy for others.
In the construction of the Large Hardon Collider, physicists seek and hope to unlock the mysteries of the universe by analyzing the attributes of the most miniscule particles known to man. In the same way, theologians have argued back and forth over the course of human history with regards to the divine attributes of God, seeking and hoping to unlock the mysteries of the metaphysical universe. Although these many attributes, for example omnipresence, could be debated and dissected ad nauseum, it is within the scope of this research paper to focus but on one of them. Of these many divine attributes of God, nothing strikes me as more intriguing than that of God’s omnipotence. It is intriguing to me because the exploration of this subject not only promises an exhilarating exercise in the human faculties of logic, it also offers an explanation into the practical, such as that of the existence of evil, which we live amidst every day. So with both of these elements in hand, I am going to take on the task of digging deeper into the divine attribute of omnipotence in hopes of revealing more of the glory of God, and simultaneously bringing greater humility to the human thinker. In order to gain a better understanding on the subject of divine omnipotence, I am going to analyze four aspects of it. First, I am going to build a working definition of what we mean when we say that God is omnipotent. Second, I am going to discuss the relationship between divine omnipotence and logic. Third, I am going to discuss the relationship between God’s omnipotence and God’s timelessness. Last, I am going to analyze God’s omnipotence in relation to the existence of evil in the world. Through the analysis of these four topics in relation to om...
The human experience is what connects people to one another. What we experience defines who we are and who we become. It also defines how we interact with others. The amazing thing is that not only do the events that bring joy, peace and happiness connect us but also those that bring anxiety, fear and despair. This brings to light the fact that God somehow in his sovereignty uses all things for the good of those who love Him. These ideas are brought to light in Jerry Sittser’s book, A Grace Disguised which is his personal journey of loss and the insight and experience that was gained in the face of great tragedy. In his book, Sittser discusses various insights he has gained, such as how Christian’s view sorrow, how families recover when someone they love develops a mental disorder, and the Christian view on suffering and forgiveness. I believe that the author has written a book that has many universal truths that can be applied to anyone’s life and they have the ability to bring healing to many. His ideas can also aid professionals who work with the mentally ill in becoming more compassionate.
Helping is the most powerful way that one can show love and affection for others. Being there for someone who is going through a hard time in his/her life means more than anything for that person. I believe what kept the world still alive is helping one another. For example during the world war I, when European powerful nations are fighting for no reason killing the people who could be their brothers if they weren’t wearing that uniform and holding that gun. When germany was thinking they won the war already, but when the United States join the Allies, everything comes into peace. Woodrow wilson’s plan for peace was achieved by helping the the Allies fight the central powers who influenced the Nation by power, military and economy had to give up their position.
...esult, the more directly one sees their personal efforts impact someone else, the more happiness one can gain from the experience of giving. Sometimes generosity requires pushing past a feeling of reluctance because people all instinctively want to keep good things for themselves, but once one is over this feeling, they will feel satisfaction in knowing that they have made a difference in someone else’s life. However, if one lives without generosity but is not selfish, they can still have pleasure from other virtues.
Suffering can be defined as an experience of discomfort suffered by a person during his life. The New York Times published an article entitled what suffering does, by David Brooks (2014). In this article, Brooks explains how suffering plays an important role in our pursuit of happiness. He explains firstly that happiness is found through experiences and then, suffering can also be a motivation in our pursuit of happiness. In other words, suffering is a fearful but necessary gift to acquire happiness. This paper is related to motivation and emotion, two keys words to the pursuit of happiness (King, 2010).
When we sacrifice our time to help someone in need, whether it is a great or small need, we become a part of their life and can help alleviate heavy burdens. We feel good for looking outside ourselves and contributin...
For instance, it was an extremely sunny day in Ghana, West Africa, and I had gone out to the well to fetch water. It was while carrying the bucket of water on my way back that I noticed my neighbor’s children fighting over the insufficient amount of food that they had to share. My family and I were not rich but from what I saw, I knew that we were better off than other people I knew. I carried the bucket of water inside the house and came back outside to call the two youngest children that were fighting over the last grain of food. I shared my food my food with them and though it was not sufficient for all, feeding the younger ones alone was better than not helping any one of them at all. There was only little that I could possibly do but by sharing, I had helped them in a great way, even if it was just for the time being.
In the book how big is your God it help me exam my spiritual walk & helped me understand that charity and compassion are not two and the same. However one can give charity without compassion, but compassion coexists with charity. Furthermore this class also helped me understand the importance of giving back to community as a duty and a covenant taken up with God & mankind. As a striving Muslim Islam teaches the importance of treating our neighbors kindly and justly to the point where the Prophet Muhammad Salallahu Alahi Wa Salaam thought something was wrong with his Jewish neighbor that used to throw feces in his yard & one day the neighbor did not throw the feces he knocked on his door to make sure that his was ok. Although it’s easier said than done we cannot continue to complain about the societal condition when we don’t look into the mirror and figure out better ways to help society. This World Religions course not only taught me a lot about myself and reinforced some things I already