Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
McLeod, S. (2007). Obedience to Authority
Impact of obedience to authority
Importance Of Obedience In Our Society
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: McLeod, S. (2007). Obedience to Authority
Religious obedience is submitting to God through professing the vow of obedience, and the religious freely make his/her promises in front of their superior and the Christian faithful to be guided to live the life of perfection according to the constitution of the order. Psychologist defines obedience as a form of social influence executing an action demanded by the authority. The religious obeying their superiors see God in the superior. Therefore, God is the authority the religious is obeying, following, in the footsteps of Christ who obeyed the Father even unto death as Paul writes to the Phi: 2:8. If Christ obeys His Father to the point of death, it implies that obedience to the rightful authority is far deeper in meaning than the human mind could grasps. Religious obedience derived its foundation from the obedience of Christ, who obeyed out of love for humanity. Hence, Christ obedience to His father was for the benefit of the human society because humankind was saved from the power of darkness, many were cured and their dignity restored and the list continues. Consequently, religious obey to continue Christ saving ministry; implying that obedience is more for the service of humanity and not for personal gain or comfort, though intrinsically,the individual is purified. Obedience to Christ was not a bed of roses; rather, a …show more content…
Just as Christ love for the humanity made him sacrifice His life, so also my love for God should spur me to obey Him through my superiors in order to sacrifice for others. Obedience is a necessary ingredient for any religious who cherishes ultimate happiness. Obedience for me is just like a woman in the pangs of pain giving birth, which she forgets immediately after delivery. In short, after good Friday comes
As ancient Rome began to fall, Christianity began rising. Around 2,000 years ago, Jesus of Nazareth was born, later to be known as the Messiah or Son of God. When people of the Roman era began to hear of such a powerful being, they began to convert to Christianity. Why did Christianity take hold on the ancient world; Christianity took hold on the ancient world because it offered immortality, equality, and it was spread like wildfire.
Obedience may be a simple word, yet it has a powerful impact on the daily lives of millions. Obedience is simply when one follows the orders or directions of another figure, presumably in an authoritative position. This is something nearly everyone bows to everyday without even realizing it - and it can drastically change our lives as we know it. Obedience is, for example, how the holocaust happened. The Germans were ordinary people turned into murderers because they followed the orders of one man - their dictator, Adolf Hitler. Of course, obedience does not always result in horrid results such as the holocaust or result in such a large catastrophe. Obedience can have drastic effects on the lives of only a few men as well; this is showcased in the movie A Few Good Men.
Obedience is something most people are taught at a very young age. They are taught to listen to the commands of their parents, older siblings and family members, adhere to the instructions of teachers. People are taught that obedient behavior was rewarding, and defiant or disobedient behavior would most likely lead to punishment. That seems like a simple concept to comprehend, but what happens when being obedient means causing harm to others. Blind obedience is a term that, put simply, means doing something because you are told, without putting any thought of your own into the decision. This type of obedience has been used to describe the actions of people involved in notorious events in world history; most notably, the actions of Nazi officials
They respond to the superiors order as though there were from God. (Luke 10:16,) “Anyone who listens to you listens to me.” Instant response to command and the ability to giving up ones will, discontinuing work at the sound of the bell as a result of obedience, and this portrays the fear of God. Obedience will be acceptable to God and agreeable to man if done without complaining, Luke warmness, grumbling, and without delay. Obedience is motivated by love because their desire is to seek and do the will of God, in imitation of the master they are serving. (John 6:38). Furthermore, obedience must be done freely and in a joyful spirit. St. Paul in 2cor 9:7 says, “God loves a cheerful
In “The New York Conspiracy Trials of 1741”, Horsmanden presents the sacredness of oaths, and the profound religious influence on everyday life in colonial America, especially in New York. The circumstances regarding the case represented in the 1741 trials embody colonial anxiety over religion and its justification through law and imperial domination. These anxieties caused many of the accused of the trials to begin confessing, out of fear of harsh civil punishments, which allowed for a larger plot to unfold. A crime as petty as larceny spawned into a national panic, a fear of a larger Catholic backed conspiracy to overthrow Protestant Anglo-American civil order. The religious dogma of Christianity had a great impact on the civil and social order of the early colonies. It exemplified the importance of oaths, which were made in reverence to God and also helped to maintain the hierarchical and social boundaries which limited people to specific social duties and liberties. Most civil order was justified through the numerous fundamentals alluding to biblical text as well as British concepts of civility. The religiosity of the overall spectrum of Colonial life, also represented a collective social anxiety in regards to disputes among other powers, especially the conflicting Catholic regimes striving for imperial domination, which led to further accusations of the parties convicted in the trials of 1741. The social orders justified through religious texts, paved the way for the unfair treatment of social outcasts, especially the Negroes and others deemed lesser of the social strata of Anglo colonial society; all which were legitimized through the dogmatic principles of Christianity, which resulted in the final outcome of the and unfair...
Obedience is the complying of demands of others, usually those in positions of authority (Brace and Byford). The studies of obedience by Milgram (1963) and Hofling et al (1966) are one of the most famous studies in psychology. Milgram began the study to explore whether Adolf Erichman, one of the Nazi leaders involved in the holocaust, was an evil man or just being obedient (Brace and Byford). Hofling 's study started subsequently after Milgram to further explore obedience in a real life scenario. The results of these studies were truly surprising, but there were differences in ethics, methodology validity and results in which will be explored in this essay. (The Open University, 2016)
Fundamentalism can be widely defined as the utmost strict obedience towards distinct religious policies and guidelines which is usually understood as a reaction against Modernist Theology. It is also known to be associated with a forceful attack on outside threats to their own religious culture and beliefs. (George M. Marsden. 1980.) Fundamentalism first began as a movement in the United States in the late 19th century, early 20th century. It originally started within American Protestantism as a reaction to theological liberalism and cultural modernism. Soon after it spread to other religions generating quite a large following, including some fallen away Catholics. The term fundamentalism derives a religious affiliation in coherence to a set of very complex beliefs. Fundamentalists argued that many modern theologians had misinterpreted certain doctrines and stressed the infallibility of the bible. They selectively choose what they are against and what they accept in modern culture. What started out as a refined organisation quickly grew and spread throughout the use of media, press and academia. Nowadays there not only exists Protestant Fundamentalists but Islamic Fundamentalists, Buddhist Fundamentalists, Hindu Fundamentalists and many more from various religions and creeds.
In this paper, I articulate and evaluate an important argument in support of the claim that citizens of a liberal democracy should not support coercive policies on the basis of a rationale they know other citizens reasonably reject. I conclude that that argument is unsuccessful. In particular, I argue that religious believers who support coercive public policies on the basis of religious convictions do not disrespect citizens who reasonably regard such religious convictions as false.
People have been changing their behavior or obeying someone else’s commands for years. This continues today in our everyday lives. Conformity and obedience seem similar but differ in several ways. Conformity is defined by psychologists as a change in behavior or belief to accord with others. Similar to this, is obedience. Obedience is defined acting in accordance with a direct order or command. Normally people conform to reap a reward or to avoid punishment. If we comply with a direct order or command it is considered obedience. Most of the time when people comply, it is to be accepted among others so they are not seen as outsiders. On the other hand, when we obey, we are obeying a command an authority figure gives. Conformity and obedience like this can be seen in groups such as cults.
Religion motivates people to not stray from the path of virtue, but in return, their fear of God keeps those who believe from deviating from the morals set in place by the bible. This can be problematic. You see, people following God’s rules would not be doing so for the right reasons, instead they do it because they fear God’s wrath. This person would be unreliable in terms of morality, and would probably stray from God’s morals if they believed God would not offer a reward for their ‘good’ behavior.
Through my research and findings of obedience to authority this ancient dilemma is somewhat confusing but needs understanding. Problem with obedience to authority has raised a question to why people obey or disobey and if there are any right time to obey or not to obey. Through observation of many standpoints on obedience and disobedience to authority, and determined through detailed examination conducted by Milgram “The Perils Of Obedience,” Doris Lessing “Group Minds” and Shirley Jackson “The Lottery”. We have to examine this information in hopes of understanding or at least be able to draw our own theories that can be supported and proven on this subject.
Further to the idea of how the obedience of religious standards prevails over the materialistic impulses
A classic example of dangerous obedience is demonstrated by Nazi official Adolf Eichmann. Throughout his trial for war crimes, Eichmann proclaimed his innocence. He placed the blame on his superiors and said he was simply following orders: orders that involved sending millions of people to extermination camps and ultimately their deaths. In their separate writings about obedience, Milgram and psychoanalyst Erich Fromm both compare Eichmann to the ordinary person, someone we can all see ourselves in. While he may not be the ideal person to be equated to, Eichmann’s submission to authority is understandable: had he refused his orders, he most likely would have been arrested or killed, then replaced by someone who was willing to follow commands. So it’s quite probable that those millions of people still would have been executed, with or without Eichmann’s compliance.
Obedience has many forms and there are multiple reasons as to why people are obedient, whether yielding to authority or as an effort to please someone. Every reason can lead to different outcomes, having negative and positive results. Obedience can oftentimes be a response to a situation as well. Both Stanley Milgram, author of “The Perils of Obedience,” and Ian Parker, author of “Obedience,” talk about the reasoning behind obedience and the variables that enable such responses but, in the end, they come to different conclusions.
The Psychology of Religion is composed of a variety of different perspectives, which in certain cases proves difficult in determining both the clinical and pastoral implications of a theory. Modern-day psychology has demonstrated possible beneficial results in religious spiritual individuals, however, much of the current research has avoided questioning the “real” presence of the Divine or a Higher Being. Although a century has passed since his undertaking of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud readily settled the question of religion by declaring it a form of mental illness. While Freud’s Psychology of Religion is that religion only exists as a neurosis, his view provides the three clinical implications of hypnotism, free association, and dream analysis, each of which have also remained a source of criticism.