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Autobiography example
Religious influences on society
The effect of religion in society
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Harold S. Kushner was groundbreaking in a topic many authors shy away from, “When Bad Things Happen to Good People.” The author takes a critical look at human suffering and without prejudice or bias provides a valid argument on the topic of suffering and why afflictions to good people persist. The book takes a critical look at religion and extensively clears prejudgments adherents have about God. The author develops the storyline of the book on a personal experience where he lost his son, Aaron, from an incurable genetic disease. The fact that the book is autographical makes it very influential to its readers.
The author takes a distinct standpoint from what many people conventionally hold on; for example, he rules out the tendency of people always saying it is God’s plan to suffer, or that everything happens for good. He refutes such sentiments by postulating that God does not necessarily plan for every happening in people’s lives, but that some events happen in life for no reason at all. The author notes that this stance on issues is very essential as it prevents people from denial, as it commonly happens. He argues that there is more peace at accepting things that have happened than blame a third party for the same; this way a quicker path to healing is established. He states that passing the culpability to God increases agony in the victim.
The author discusses the loss of his beloved son objectively; he does not take the book as a platform for expressing his anger and emotion; instead, he uses his experience as an example so people have a better understanding of why suffering happens to good people. Kushner also criticizes the way people comfort each other, terming it as more detrimental sometimes. He postulates that instea...
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...r to control the future. He states that previous challenges and difficulties people go through should serve as lessons through which people can control future events. He states that people should always stay vigilant so that events do not fetch them obliviously. He discourages the attitude of people saying oblivious and hoping that God will control everything. They should instead use what they have gone through to prepare for the future. He contravenes the dogmatic way of life whereby people obliviously associate events with God.
All in all, this is a spectacular book that addresses two substantially variable issues simultaneously and in a valid and logical manner; the topic of God’s existence and the pain and suffering imminent in the world. The author presents the two diverse aspects of cosmology head to head in a valid manner making it valid and understandable.
McCloskey begins by addressing the cosmological argument. He proposes that the existence of the world itself does not give reason to believe in a necessarily existing being. McCloskey believes there is a lack of evidence to show the world had a cause and that God was that cause. However, Evans and Manis suggest there are beings in this world that are unaware of how they came to exist. These beings are often contingent on another being. Th...
...is seems to line up well with the serenity prayer: “Lord, give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Our task as humans is to discern these wills in our lives and separate them. We must not become embittered, but rather empowered, clinging to the knowledge that there is an ever-benevolent God constantly working for our good, and that he always has a plan for us amidst trial presented by life on earth. In order to discern this will though, we have to be on the lookout for it with an awareness of its separateness from our own fears and desires. This discernment is also difficult because of our limited perspectives as humans, and thus we need humility in our search. The most important thing, however, is the search itself: we must all continue to search for the will.
The author targets the emotions of parents who are forced to think about losing their children as result of the war. Moreover, readers are overcome with sadness due to their emotional bond established with the character in the previous chapters. The passage relates to the author’s purpose in that particular chapter by providing a window into the hours after the Khost tragedy.
In conclusion, the author points out that God’s grace is available to anyone and it is never too late to ask for forgiveness. O’Connor shows that even the battle between good and evil could be misleading because there is always good in people even those who mislead the way can always ask for clarity from God.
After reviewing the work of David Hume, the idea of a God existing in a world filled with so much pain and suffering is not so hard to understand. Humes’ work highlights some interesting points which allowed me to reach the conclusion that suffering is perhaps a part of God’s divine plan for humans. Our morals and values allow us to operate and live our daily lives in conjunction with a set of standards that help us to better understand our world around us and essentially allows us to better prepare for the potential life after life. For each and every day we get closer to our impending deaths and possibly closer to meeting the grand orchestrator of our universe.
Throughout history there has always been discussions and theories as to how the universe came to be. Where did it come from? How did it happen? Was it through God that the universe was made? These philosophies have been discussed and rejected and new theories have been created. I will discuss three theories from our studies, Kalam’s Cosmological Argument, Aquinas’s Design Argument, and Paley’s Design Argument. In this article, I will discuss the arguments and what these arguments state as their belief. A common belief from these three theories is that the universe is not infinite, meaning that the universe was created and has a beginning date. Each believe that there was a God, deity, or master creator that created the universe for a reason. They also believe that
DeMott, Benjamin. "Guilt and Compassion." New York Times Book Review 26 May 1985: : I25.
It is easy to place the blame on fate or God when one is encumbered by suffering. It is much harder to find meaning in that pain, and harvest it into motivation to move forward and grow from the grief. It is imperative for one to understand one’s suffering as a gateway to new wisdom and development; for without suffering, people cannot find true value in happiness nor can they find actual meaning to their lives. In both Antigone and The Holy Bible there are a plethora of instances that give light to the quintessential role suffering plays in defining life across cultures. The Holy Bible and Sophocles’ Antigone both mirror the dichotomous reality in which society is situated, underlining the necessity of both joy and suffering in the world.
The two concepts of the problem of evil in the world have been a subject of much debate, with diverse views regarding the role of God in the occurrence of events and actions that causes human beings to suffer. Thus, while there is a total agreement between Malebranche and Leibniz regarding the role of God in creating the world, where both agrees that God did justice in creating the world, there has been a disparity in their view regarding the role of God in the occurrence of actions and events that causes human beings to suffer. Thus, Malebranche advances the theory of occasionalism, which holds that God is the only causal agent in the world, and is therefore responsible for all the evil that happens in the world, because God’s creatures do not have significant causal abilities upon which to act (Brown, 82). Therefore, according to Malebranche, the acts of h...
On the contrary to orthodox consensus, Kennedy sees the doctrine of forgiveness as one silencing factor that caused further emotional trauma on abused children (131-4). However, I think the Christian concept of forgiving is indeed a double-edged sword rather than a paradox in child abuse issue. In other words, it could either offer spiritual support or it could worsen the victim’s e...
He conforms with political figure Ross Beaton’s worries as to the fall of right-to-die laws, and gives an alternate, arguably more realistic, standpoint to the presence of family members in a time of dying. He also connects to the reader on an emotional level by giving examples of certain circumstances. This process of emotional stimulant is intrinsic to the strength of his argument and the development of his writing. Watt’s analysis focusing on the moral aspects of the subject is visible in the other authors’ assertions making his the most powerful and agreeable.
P. 15 "God has his mysteries which none can fathom. You, perhaps, will be a king. You can do nothing about it. You, on the other hand, will be unlucky, but you can do nothing about that either. Each man finds his way already marked out for him and he can change nothing of it."
“The story employs a dramatic point of view that emphasizes the fragility of human relationships. It shows understanding and agreemen...
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.
And where is God in the midst of hardship? Is He non-existent, as the pagan statement, "It's Chance alone that moves and rules our lives" implies (Neiman 442). Or is God only partially in control of situations, as Harold Kushner concludes, writing, "there are some things God does not control" (462). Is all suffering a direct result of our own actions, as David Neiman offers ("He who is suffering and believes in a God of justice, must also blame himself for his state of being"" (438). Moses Maimonides prefers to view the question by focusing not on the external life that surrounds us, but on the internal condition of the heart. He argues that good and evil have their own reward and punishments within the spiritual realm and outward appearances are inconsequential (Behrens and Rosen 434).