On Spirituality and Feminist Liberation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

On Spirituality and Feminist Liberation - Essay Example Christianity is considered as one of the world’s oldest agents of transformation as a factor in progress and development of humanity. The reasons, evidences and principles involved in understanding the issue of spirituality and its patriarchal nature had been extensively documented and debated upon since time immemorial. Since the predominant structure from early Christian era is patriarchal in nature, this paper will try to explore and analyze the historical role of women in religion by looking into the belief systems, myths, ad archetypes from ancient civilizations to the advent of religious feminism. The analysis would be thorough in depth discussion and reasoning on its philosophical and psychological implication with emphasis on female metaphysical structure. The predominantly patriarchal structure of church, though not inclusive, significantly shaped the role of women in religion and spiritualty. During the early Christian era, it is evident that women’s lives and spiritualties are constantly challenged as they are continually restricted in all aspect of life, considered inferior in essence compared to men and have very little access to knowledge. Accordingly, women is shaped and affected by their conditioned role and to conform and be dependent to the patriarchal structure of society (Melanchthon 303)... In essence, there should be emphasis on the various kinds of religion in looking into the role of women in terms to spirituality and relationship with the divine. However, as suggested by Howell, religions basically presets common purpose such that the primary is to stabilize the immediate society from any possible conflict and destruction through implementation of best practices and the secondary purpose is to control women in such a way that they will continue to reproduce and satisfy the male biological and physiological demands for sex. Though some women are worshiped for their beauty and beyond their domesticated propose, men remained in charge as predetermined by the patriarchal society. According to Melanchthon, feminism is the major ideology that liberates women from several decades of oppression and injustice brought about by the patriarchal nature of society through transformation. Looking at several historical data, it can be noted that women really experiences oppression and injustice and the advent of spiritual feminism liberated them from such (308). Women as Spiritually and Religiously Oppressed For most women, spirituality and religious undertakings became their source of inspiration and from part of in their personal relationship with the divine they worship and to achieve spiritual holiness women strive to continually achieve it through religious works and deeds. However, until 1920’s or before the advent of feminist spirituality, women cannot express their affection and relationship with the divine and were constantly being the subject of injustices and oppression. Among the injustices and oppressions women experienced in the past include; undervalued essence and other oppressions brought about by the patriarchal system, unrecognized

Term Paper for Philosophy of Man Essay Example for Free

Term Paper for Philosophy of Man Essay There is no such thing as Christianity here on earth until an emperor named Constantine, a pagan, had a vision of a cross before his battle. Who knows if what he saw is true or what he saw is just a sword? (Sword has a resemblance with cross remember he’s up for a battle right? ) After his victory he was converted to Christian and planned to unite the Roman Empire by developing a religion under his control. He met all the religion leaders for a purpose: to unify everything. They have chosen only 4 out of 50 gospels that would only fit for the state religion. They should have given it authors- Constantine and friends, since they are the one who put it together. 300 yrs. after death of Jesus the Bible was put together by less faith more to politics. Many of these Gospels that are not included in the Bible apparently disappeared later because they have unknown origins. This uncertainty about their origins was one reason many of them were excluded from the Bible. But some of them were also excluded because they expressed unorthodox views. Somehow the copies of some of them still survive at unknown locations. Luckily several have been found again. The Gospel of Peter, Mary, Judas and St.  Thomas were discovered in modern times named after peter, Mary Magdalene, Judas Escariot, and St. Thomas but those weren’t their real authors, the real authors are unknown and will probably never be identified. The gospel of Peter, the first lost gospel found (1886), contains the description of Jesus leaving the tomb after his resurrection seen by the two guards while in the New Testament the effect of the resurrection was only written. The Gospel of Mary emphasizes her prominence by presenting her as a strong leader, and by suggesting that she was the most favored disciple of Jesus and received a special revelation from him. The gospel contains Gnostic ideas, particularly in the section which describes the revelations she received from Jesus. This connection with Gnosticism, together with the prominent role that the book gives to a female, may have led to its suppression by orthodox Christians. The Gospel of St. Thomas may preserve some authentic teachings of Jesus that are not found in the Bible. The Gospel of Judas said that Judas was the most loyal disciple of Jesus where in our bible contradicts, which says that Judas is the one who gave up Jesus in exchange of gold. Did the church intentionally destroyed some books in order to cover up embarrasses facts about the origins of Christianity? The knowledge about the bible they are holding until know is not probably the truth, it is more on their beliefs. No one has ever proven that all written in the bible is true from Old Testament to New Testament even the genesis is questionable. It is that, we are on it for over a thousand years and will have a difficulty to adjust or understand if any will be changed because of the found lost gospels.

Analysis Of So Far From The Bamboo Grove History Essay

Analysis Of So Far From The Bamboo Grove History Essay So Far From the Bamboo Grove was written by Yoko Kawashima Watkins. The story took place in the final days of World War II from 1945 to 1953. The story happened in a time when Koreans were determined to take back their county from Japan. They were tired of the Japanese people having control of them after the war. The affects of World War II left many countries devastated and in ruins especially Japan and Korea. The author of So Far From the Bamboo Grove Yoko Kawashima Watkins wrote this book to tell the world her story of how World War II affected her and her family. The Kawashimas are a Japanese family living in Korea. Yoko Kawashima Watkins was born in Japan in 1933. Yoko and her family lived in Manchuria. Her father Worded as a Japanese government official in the northern region of China. Her family then moved northern Korea to Nanam; where she was given the nick name little one or Yoko. Her father was then assigned to manage the Japanese political benefits. Her family was living well in Korea until Japan started losing World War II on July of 1945. Yoko, her sister KO and their mother had to leave Korea to the mainland of Japan where they will be safe from being killed by other Koreans and Russians. Yoko finished middle and high school in Japan and attended Kyoto University where her major was the English language. She graduated and worked at the US Air Force Base as a translator, where she meets Donald Watkins an American pilot. In 1953 Donald Watkins and Yoko got married and moved to the United States. They lived in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Oregon and then later moved to Brewster, Massachusetts where they still live today. Together they had four kids. Yoko wrote her book So Far From the Bamboo Grove in 1986 and won many awards like the ALA Notable Childrens Book and the Parents Choice Gold Award. Yoko now travels to public schools telling her story to little kids. So Far From the Bamboo Grove is about the author, Yoko Kawashima life and struggles in Nanam, Korea. The story starts when Yoko and her family were living peacefully in Northern Korea when Japan started losing the war. Yoko and her family had to escape Japan or face being capture by the communists Russian military or the Korean military. (Watkins 68) Yoko father was already separated from the family but a couple hours after Yoko brother Hideyo left to go to work at ammunition factory, Yoko sister KO, Yoko and their mother were force to flee from their house by Corporal Matsumura who was a kind and loving friend to the Kawashima family. Corporal Matsumura heard that the Korean Army was looking for the Kawashima family because of the intel that their father have. KO, Yoko and their mother followed Corporal Matsumura directions and fled to the train station where they will found Major Ryu who would get them on a train to Seoul. (Watkins 81) On their way to Seoul the train was attack and was unable to work. KO, Yoko and their mother started walking to Seoul which was about forty five miles away. On their walk to Seoul they were attack by Korean soldiers but were saved by a bomb that went off and killed the soldiers. They took the dead soldiers clothes and continue their journey. After many days and nights KO, Yoko and their mother made it to the Seoul train station. At the station they heard that Japan had lost the war. After five weeks at the Seoul station KO, Yoko and their mother tried to wait for Hideyo but were force to leave again. This time to the main land of Japan but before they left they wrote all over the station hoping that Hideyo would see it and know where to go. When they arrive on the homeland of Japan, KO and Yoko mother left them at the train station to enroll them in school and see if her parents were still alive. (Watkins101) Their mother came back in a few days and told Yoko and KO that their grandparents were dead. Few days went by and Yoko a nd KO mother became very ill and died a couple days later. KO and Yoko were given a free place to live by an old couple who knew Yoko and KO mother. Yoko went to school and earns straight As her first year there. She also won an essay contest and 10,000 yen. (Watkins139) A few days and Corporal Matsumura saw Yoko essay in a newspaper and went to her school to check and see how she was doing. Corporal Matsumura helps the two sisters anytime he was able to. He put missing people reports hoping to find Hideyo and their father. Their brother Hideyo was working at an ammunition factory, when the factory was attack by Korean Communist soldiers. Hideyo and three of his friends Shoichi, Makoto, and Shinzo manage to escape through a bathroom window before the factory was blown up. Hideyo and his friends hike back to his house and found that his house had been ransacked. He examined the rooms carefully, the hanging scroll painting in the receiving room had been slashed to pieces, closet doors stood open and their contents had been stolen. (Watkins57) Hideyo continued to examine the room and found that his mother have let him a secret note wish told him to meet them at the train station in Seoul. Hideyo grab whatever he can to make his trip to Seoul. Hideyo and his friends went to each of their house to check on their love ones. Shinzos and Shoichis parents had fled south, where their relatives lived but Makotos parents were dead. Shinzo and Shoichi told Makoto and Hideyo that they can live with them in the south but Hideyo said he must found his family at the train station in Seoul. The next morning Hideyo headed to Seoul by himself. On his way there he began to get weak and then a buzzard started. He was later found by the Kim family. The Kim family was taking a very dangerous risk taken in Hideyo. If they were caught by the Korean military, they could have all been killed on the spot for helping Japanese. When Hideyo came to, he started working and he learned the way of the Korean people and how to speak the language. He helped the Kim family anyway he can until he had enough strength to continue his journey. Hideyo continued his journey to the Seoul train station hoping that his sisters and mother was still alive. When he arrived he couldnt find his sisters or mother anywhere. He stayed there for about two weeks until right when he was about to give up he saw writing the wall that looked like Yoko hand writing telling him to go to the mainland. Hideyo took the next ship to Japan where he continue to see Yoko handwriting on the ship and the station where he arrived. He wonders the streets of Japan looking for his family. Then one month later he read in a newspaper about a little girl who won 10,000 yen in an essay contest. He ran as fast as he can to the newspaper office when he saw his sister name. One year had passed since Yoko seen her brother or father, then one day when Yoko and KO came from school, a man was standing in front of their door. They started crying and hugging each other. It was there brother Hideyo who final reach his family. Yokos father was later released from a prison camp in Siberia six years later. 1945 was a terrible time live especially if you were a Japanese girl living in Northern Korea. The Koreans hated the Japanese people for conquering their country. The Russians were about to join England and the United States in the war against Japan. The United Sates were already starting to bomb industrial sites in northern Korea. The history and interest in Korea started because Koreas geographic position has made it main ground of power struggles between Russia, China and Japan. (Watkins174) In the seventeenth century, the Russia fought with China for control of many territories of Manchuria and southern Siberia. Japan was interested in Korea more than two thousand years.(Watkins174) The Japanese warlord Hideyoshi invaded Korea in 1592 in an attempt to control the country and conquer China. The invasion failed and caused Korea to have hatred toward Japan. Early in the seventeenth century Korea began to be dominated by China and was called the Hermit Kingdom. After Hideyoshis death in 1598, Japan began its own period of isolation that ended with the arrival of the American Commodore Matthew C. Perry, who opened trade with the West in 1854. (Watkins175) In 1876, Japan showed renewed interest in Korea by forcing a commercial treaty. The first Sino Japanese War started in 1894 and was fought for control of Korea. The war ended one year later in 1895. By the 1900, the Japanese had a strong base in Koreas capital city, Seoul. (2) They controlled the Korean royal family and had begun to take over their political and economic life of the people. (3) Korea was at war again with Japan and Russia. When Japan won, Theodore Roosevelt from the United States sustained a claim with Japan for special interest in Korea and Manchuria. (4) In response, Japan agreed not to terrorize the United States position in the Philippines. The Treaty of Portsmouth allowed Japan to convert Korea into a colony. Korea was no longer a nation but continued to exist as a nation in the hearts of its people. Most people continued to live in their homeland under the strict Japanese rule. Other people who couldnt stand the Japanese military and wanted Korea to have their own Independence moved to China, United States, Siberia and Manchuria. Manchuria was north of Korea and was a refuge for Korean nationalists. Many people turned to the communists for aid and as guerilla soldiers and fought the Japanese military with increasing intensity during the 1930s and 1940s. (9) The Chinese Communists controlled a number of the supporter groups. These groups were called the Northeast Anti-Japanese United Army. The Soviets also supported the Korean independence movement. Japan established military and governmental control in Korea and denied Koreans basic rights, the right to bear arms, freedom of press and freedom of the speech. The Japanese closed Korean schools and opened new ones making Korean students study the Japanese language and were forbidden to study Korean language or history. Japans surrender to the Allies in 1945 and ended the thirty six years of Japanese rule in Korea. (2) The emperor announced the surrender of Japan on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9. (5) Korea did not gain its independence because the Allies decided that, after so many years of foreign rule, Korea would not be able to govern itself immediately. (6) Great Britain, China, the United States, and the Soviet Union set up a trusteeship, which meant the four countries would supervise the governing of Korea. Korea was divided along the thirty-eighth parallel. The area north of this line was occupied by the Soviet Union. The land south of this line was occupied by the United States. In 1948 Korea was officially divided into two separate republics North Korea and South Korea. Many book open different doors to other countries and cultures. Many books like So Far From the Bamboo Grove give an understanding of the consequences of domination and war. War alone is bad and the after effects can leave a country in ruins. Japan was in this position because of their domination and determination to still win the war even after they were hit with two atomic bombs. Japan was given a chance to surrender even before the bombs were drop on the city of Hiroshima and on Nagasaki. These bombings happen three days apart given Japan plenty of time to surrender because of this over a 100,000 people were killed. Japan surrender on August 14, 1945 five days later after the bombings. The after affects not only left Japan cripple but Korea as well. In 1950 on June 25 the Korean War broke just 5 days after World War II. The Cease Fire Line was established after the end of the Korean War three years later in 1953 on July 27. Stories like Yoko Kawashima Watkins teach the important value of life and family. Also how the story of courage and survival bring out the best of a individual person in the time of war. Also how Yokos brother is an inspiring reminder of the strength and resilience of the human spirit.

death penalty Essay -- essays research papers

Death Penalty Introduction Informed arguments against the death penalty are more persuasive than arguments in favor of it, as the negative affects of the death penalty have become widely publicized and illustrate the ineffectiveness of this cruel punishment. The death penalty is an inefficient form of punishment as innocent offenders may be executed, superior forms of restitution are available, and it fails to deter crime, all of which contribute to informed arguments against it. Deterrence The primary function of the death penalty is to act as deterrence, yet evidence has indicted that this cruel punishment has failed to deter crime. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Inconsistent: Any punishment can be an effective deterrent only if it is consistently and promptly employed. The death penalty cannot be administered to meet these conditions as it is never consistent or employed correctly. Only a small proportion of first-degree murderers are sentenced to death, and even fewer are executed. The death penalty fails to deter because it is an inconsistent punishment, which permits offenders to believe that the punishment will not be applied. †¢Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Premeditated: Persons who commit murder and other crimes of personal violence either premeditate them or they do not. If the crime is premeditated, the criminal ordinarily concentrates on escaping detection, arrest, and conviction. The threat of even the severest punishment will not deter those who expect to...

Research Real Estate Data Set Essay

Abstract In this paper the team analyzed three scholarly articles relating to our study. Furthermore, the team also analyzed additional data sets to include more variables like bedrooms and bathrooms in our investigation to test our hypothesis which shows that the results are consistent with the hypothesis. The population size, primary and secondary data, using unbiased information and applying ethics are also discussed in detail. Real Estate Data Set II As we begin the final stages of our project it is important to understand the process of applied research and how one or more variable have an impact on the dependable variable. It is important to understand why research is necessary and how we apply research to get answers to issues. The team analyzed thirty date sets to research homes with or without a pool, with or without a garage, and on the proximity of the house to the city, and how those factors affected the selling prices of homes. Furthermore, the team also analyzed more data sets to include more variables like bedrooms and bathrooms. Six bedrooms, three bath houses will sell for more than a one bedroom, one bath houses, regardless of whether it has a pool or garage. As we go forward with this assignment and analyze more data collection sets, it seems that the hypothesis that we proposed is the right one. Our hypothesis is based around the concept of human prioritization and its role in home selection. Additionally, the team researched three scholarly articles that are pertinent to our study to help us understand why the research is important and necessary. The first article uses analysis to discuss the connection between the selling price of a home and â€Å"Time on the Market† (TOM) (Sirmans, et al, 2010). It states that the longer the house is on the market the lower the selling price of the house. The study uses data sets to examine single family homes and whether the TOM co-efficient is susceptible to location, income of families, wealth and time. The results proved that the TOM co-efficient is sensitive to the variables and there is a significant relationship between TOM and the selling prices (Sirmans et al, 2010). It also states that selling prices and TOM is a very complicated because ellers / buyers want to maximize the price, while sellers want to sell at the top price buyers want to purchase at the lowest price. The second article discusses the study of how technology of real estate is changing and how important technology is key to gather important data from private and public sources for the real estate industry. Many studies have been published about the impact of the information on the real estate industry, on market size and efficiency, and market innovation. These studi es have proven that email and the use of internet are used as a positive marketing tool. Survey questions were developed to gather information about real estate agents and their attitude about using information technology as marketing their services. The results were positive and all that were surveyed viewed that information technology was key in some areas. Internet usage got a high score along with online research but personal webpage’s indicated a lower score (Acharya et al, 2010). The third article examined that in real estate development there is a need for risk assessment techniques to assess the impact of the project. The article is based on an exploratory survey which data was collected through interviews and a questionnaire. The study was conducted in the Thailand area using Thai real estate development companies. The study revealed that there are no systematic techniques to deal with the concerns of economic and political risks (Khumpaisal et al, 2010). All three articles focus on real estate research and how information is collected and used in different studies. All three article discuss how data, the collection of the data and the usage of the data play an important part while conducting research. When conducting research it is often difficult, or impractical to test the entire population. Many issues can arise, such as time consumption, cost, and redundant information. Often it is possible for researchers to draw conclusions based on population samples. This is when we test a small portion of the population and draw conclusions on the entire population based on the sample results. For our research the sample of thirty homes came from a larger sample of one hundred six homes. These homes were a sample of homes in one state, across five townships. For our research we decided to limit the sample to around thirty homes of similar qualities (outside of the variables we are testing). The reason we do this is to be sure there isn’t an outside, unknown variable affecting the experiment. Therefore we chose homes that are between two and three bedrooms, with two bathrooms. This gave us a sample of thirty-one homes. For this particular research, it is possible to see the affects of different variables on home prices. Also, with more than thirty samples it is also possible to eliminate outliers that may skew averages. For example, if we only tested three homes and two of them were priced outrageously, we wouldn’t be able to draw valid conclusions. However, by testing thirty-one homes, we can eliminate outliers. There are many possible sources of bias and error when testing a hypothesis with only sample of the population. In our case, we could simply omit homes that disprove our hypothesis. One reason for this is if we were working for a real estate company and they want to see which homes can make them the most money, and we know there are a lot of homes near the city center for sale. If we omit homes far away from the city that are selling for more, our bias has caused us to give false findings. Not all omissions are intentional. Sometimes errors are simply made in the research process. For example, with our research we could have included homes with any number of bedrooms. This would have resulted in data that may not have been practical for our research. For example, the complete data set included homes with up to eight bedrooms. If we were to compare that to a home with only two bedrooms the fact that either had a pool, or garage, or was close to the city would have been negligible. Again, we chose to only test similar homes in respect to number of bedrooms and bathrooms in order to prevent this error. It is necessary to collect primary data when a researcher cannot find the data needed in secondary sources. Some methods of primary research would include observation, postal surveys, telephone interviews, online surveys, face to face surveys, focus groups, and test marketing. Observation works well in retail markets. Observing consumer behavior provides many insights, although can sometimes leave unanswered questions. Postal surveys are great because they are relatively cheap with the ability to cover a wide geographical area. However, response rates are minimal and can take quite some time before any of the surveys are returned. Telephone interviews allow quicker feedback than a postal survey but any potential customers are usually hesitant on giving anything but short answers. Increasingly popular and at relatively low cost, surveys online are widely used by growing businesses as a way of gathering the views of potential and existing customers. Face to face surveys are sometimes costly, but a great way to get individual detailed insight, while focus groups are a good way of getting detailed information about customer preferences and tastes. Test marketing involves picking a small section of the market and selling a new product in order to assess customer reaction. This primary research can be a great predictor of how a new product or service will be received by the larger market. Primary research is the preferred research and conducted all of the time. National polls and surveys collect the population’s thoughts about proposals or particular political figures, journalists use it as their primary means of reporting events as well as news, and organizations collect data on their market trends and consumer base. When conducting research in professional or academic settings, the researcher needs to be aware of the ethics behind the research activity Ethical issues arise throughout any piece of all research. These issues often turn into political ones, and there are also close connections between issues around participation and ethical concerns. Ethical issues also have a tendency to turn into questions of trust. The researcher is the research instrument therefore the reader and/or user of qualitative research must be able to trust the researcher to have followed the proper procedures. There are quite a few key phrases which describe the system of ethical protections that medical research and the contemporary social establishments have created such as, voluntary participation, informed consent, confidentiality, anonymity, and rights to service, to better protect the research participant’s rights. When conducting research it is important to understand all stages of the research and apply good practices such as using unbiased sources and clear and ethical standards. Even when clear ethical standards and principles are in place, there will be times when the rights of potential participants runs up against the need to do accurate research. No set of standards can possibly anticipate every ethical circumstance. Furthermore, there needs to be a procedure that assures that researchers will consider all relevant ethical issues in formulating research plans.

Huck Finns Journey into Adulthood essays

Huck Finns Journey into Adulthood essays Huckleberry Finns Journey into Adulthood In Mark Twains novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, we experience the harsh ways of society through the escapades of a boy who has run away from home. Huck learns to see the true society he is a part of by encountering a variety of people, experiences, and decisions he must make. Huck takes lessons from Miss Watson on her views of religion and right and wrong. The king and the duke prove to Huck that there are always some people remaining, who are inhumane. Through Jim, Huck faces many moral decisions and he goes against society to save a man whom he never considered being a life long friend. Huck's journey changes him in many ways and helps determine what kind of adult he becomes. Miss Watson tries to show Huck the good of Christianity. However, he is unable to grasp her concept of religion no matter how hard he tries. She tries to tell him about Moses and the Bulrushers, but he does not care for the past and ...takes no stock in dead people. Miss Watson tells Huck that if he prays for something, he will receive it. Huck decides to test the theory and is let down. He says, It warnt so. I tried it. Once I got a fish-line, but no hooks. I tried for the hooks three times, but somehow I couldn't make it work." Afterwards he tells Miss Watson to pray for his hooks and she calls him a fool. Huckleberry is a little confused about this whole praying scenario and when he comes back from the woods after thinking about everything he goes to the Widow Douglas. She explains to him that he must pray for "spiritual gifts" and others needs. Huck finds this absolutely outrageous and decides he is finished with religion. The only advantages he can see go towards other people. Later while continuing on his way with Jim, Huck comes upon two classic characters, the king and the duke. From the be ...