READING REFLECTION - DESIRING GOD by John Piper - TURABIAN FORMAT Essay

READING REFLECTION - DESIRING GOD by John Piper - TURABIAN FORMAT - Essay Example He supports his arguments by citing Judas Iscariot’s betrayal of Jesus Christ, which was a sin to fulfill God’s plan and will. Piper states that God’s pursuit of pleasure from us and our pursuit of pleasure from him are the same things.2 The main purpose of conversion is to select the few that will enter the Kingdom of heaven. Not all people who talk of God will enter the Kingdom, but only those who turn away from sin, repent and trust in God. From his book, Piper likens worship to a feast of Christian hedonism. He states that from biblical interpretations, worship includes outward acts including praying, preaching, cleansing, reciting, ordaining, lifting hands, bowing, and performing rites of eating.3 In addition, true worship must include inward feelings and thoughts that reflect on God’s worth and glory. Piper continues by stating that love is the overflow of joy in God. Love is reflected from outward acts and activities performed by people. God is love, and He loves a cheerful giver. Piper continues to state that what a person feels about money can either destroy or build one. What one does with his money forms a foundation that can build his happiness or ruin him forever. In marriage, husbands are told to love their wives because their wife’s body is theirs. They are required to do so just like Jesus died for the church. Christians are expected to continue with Paul’s missions of preaching the gospel. They are supposed to preach it in new regions and territories and to people who have not yet received it. In going out to missions, Christians are supposed to expect suffering, but put it in their hearts and minds that all their suffering is for Christ and with Christ. As such, they are not supposed to despair, but put in more efforts until they achieve their goals. The primary thesis of the book, which is Christian hedonism, relates to both private and public worship in many ways. This is mainly

Reform Movement in the United States Essay Example for Free

Reform Movement in the United States Essay The protestant revival movement that began in the 1790s in New England caused reforms in America. Between 1825 and 1850, the United States government made reforms that greatly increased the influence of democratic ideals: universal suffrage and individual rights. Such reforms included prisons, churches, women suffrage, temperance, and education. Prison reforms expanded democratic ideals through the change in policies and mission statements. Debtor prisons were abolished, the number of capitol crimes was reduced, and prison became a place of reform as well as punishment. As shown in document A, the Fourth Annual Report, Society for the Reformation of Juvenile Delinquents in the City of New York, 1829, stated, To confine these youthful criminals . . . where little can be leaned but the ways of the wicked. It is saying that the prisons originally were bad and that reforming people would be useless and therefore the reform of the prisons would fix this problem and therefore be able to save individual rights and become clean. Church reforms also expanded democratic ideals through allowing freedom of religion and expansion of different sects. As Charles G. Finney in 1834 said, When the churches are . . . awakened and reformed . . . the reformation and salvation of sinners will follow. He is saying that because the church reformed, the people will reform in the same way. Therefore, by using this information, one can say that because the churchs rights were more readily expressed, the people would also have more individual rights. Woman suffrage was the most dominate traits that greatly increased the democratic ideals of United States. As woman rights began to increase, women showed that they were more independent as shown through the cult of domesticity. Women were original similar to the status of slaves because they had no voice. This is shown in the engraving by Patrick Reason in 1835 where a woman is in shackles. It shows the original status of women which changes slightly to more universal suffrage in America. Temperance also expanded democratic ideals in that it gave people more rights to form what they felt was correct. Because it was lead by women, a group of  society usually suppressed, it was unique in that women started to voice their opinions. In the painting The Drunkards Progress, From the First Glass to the Grave in 1846, it shows that women were most affected by it and that they were motivated to change it. Women were able to speak out and affect the world and that shows individual rights. Education also played a role in expanding democratic ideals. Education was improved through new textbooks, publicized, and improved teaching training facilities increase the average education of the masses. This created a more knowledgeable mass and therefore universal male suffrage was more possible. Through the reforms of prisons, churches, women suffrage, temperance, and education, democratic ideals were expanded. Democratic ideals of universal suffrage and individual rights were spread throughout America. The reforms between 1825 and 1850 expanded democratic ideals.

Of Mice and Men Assignment Essay Example for Free

Of Mice and Men Assignment Essay Q. With reference to chapter four, what do you learn about prejudice and injustice in 1930s America? Of Mice and Men was set around the 1930s in California, America; where at the time of this classic novel was located. The New York Wall Street stock market had hit an all time low which led to and helped contribute to The Great Depression. Unemployment had hit and harsh poverty too had meant that migrant workers travelled to California in search of work. As the paragraph continues, we learn that the living conditions and working conditions were very poor. Workers couldnt do their jobs properly and were always worried about being canned as they say. Living conditions werent very good either; the ranches were very dirty, compact etc. I believe that Steinbeck wrote this novel because of his past experiences. He was a labourer, he worked very hard, the characters in this book can relate to Steinbeck himself, he wanted to express his views for everyone to see. Also, you can really tell that in Steinbecks opinion he is in favour of the workers in this novel. He being a labourer sways his views as in favour of the workers; you can tell he really thought The Great Depression was an awful experience to be involved in. When you see what his characters are saying, they reveal his feelings and thoughts, give good and bad memories, only inside a book. As we are in chapter four, we learn many things about some of the main characters. At the very beginning, we learn about the relationship of some of the characters with each other. The scene is set in Crooks room, many of the men have gone to the cathouse which is basically a whore house; most of the men have gone but Crooks, Lennie, Candy and Curleys wife have not gone. The most probable reason for this is due to the fact that Crooks, is a black stable buck and also an outsider, Lennie was told not to go by George, Candy is a very old man and Curleys wife is a woman. Even though Lennie doesnt really understand, he stumbles across Crooks room and decides to go in. Lennie really sets this chapter alight; he breaks off the divide between black and white and wants to make friends with Crooks: Lennie smiled helplessly in an attempt to make friends. Despite not knowing he is doing it, he is helping out a divide of people and bringing it together. He is such an interesting character but he wouldnt really know that he is so different to the other characters. Noiselessly Lennie appeared in the open doorway and stood there looking in no one else in the bunkhouse would have had the guts to enter Crookss room although Lennie didnt really know he wasnt supposed to. Lennie does quite the opposite to the others, which makes him so astonishing. A major part in this chapter shows how the other characters act when he is around. His actions and works influence others to bring back memories of their childhoods and really open up to him. kI was born right here in California. My old man had a chicken ranch is one example of Crooks opening up to Lennie as he would do to no other person. The characters relax more with Lennie in reflection of this chapter. One more interesting thing in this section of the book is the way Lennie is and is not affected by prejudice and injustice. At one part, he is affected by prejudice and injustice as he witnesses it happening and is picked on by others; Listen Nigger, you know what I can do to you if you open your trap? This shows prejudice and injustice around him towards Crooks. On the other hand, he is not affected by it as he has George to protect him from it and also doesnt really understand what it is. A vast part of prejudice and injustice in his book is the way Crooks is treated. Crooks is a middle aged black man who has had to work hard all of his life. Sadly, his role on the ranch is an unfortunate one. He is not allowed in the bunkhouse at all, or play games with the other members or be with them at certain times. He lives way out of the way of everyone else in a small room and spends most of his time there. This really shows how black men were treated in this period of time. Luckily, Crooks is not treated as badly as he could have been. He has an education and can read and write which can and also cannot help him at times. For instance, he can understand what others are saying about him, which is not very good. They dont like him because of the colour of his skin. Listen Nigger. This shows the colour of his skin being used against him by Curleys wife. As Lennie enters the room, Crooks does not really want him to come in, You got no right to come into my room. Soon after, they get into conversation and are soon talking normally after opening up to each other like friends would. When Candy enters, he tells him he might as well come in as everyone else is. Soon, he joins in conversation too. Not until Curleys wife enters though, do we see a change in Crooks. He doesnt have any power over anyone in the ranch and soon goes back into his shell. Women were not treated well either, of course, but Curleys wife could say or do whatever she wanted to a black man, including Crooks. You know what I can do to you if you open your trap? This shows Curleys wife overpowering Crooks and unfortunately Crooks cannot do anything about it. With Crooks being educated and able to read, he has set himself real goals. He has learned how to cope with the bullying and racism and knows what to do. By not setting his goals too high, he does not expect anything too good, therefore does not mean he is too sad about what happens to him through his lie. Another person who plays a part in giving and experiencing racism is Curleys wife. She has certain powers compared to other women yet is still treated badly like other women. We learn that with women along with black people, had less power and were discriminated badly; therefore this shows that Curleys wife situation was similar to most other women, they were not respected and were treated badly. The men do not really like her in reflection, the likes of George, Crooks etc. dont really warm to her at any time. Her reaction to this is to snap at Crooks in this particular part of the book, she cannot take her anger out at anyone as she does not really have the power to apart from Crooks, so she bullies Crooks in this part, Well, you keep your place then, Nigger. I can get you strung up on a tree so easy it aint even funny. Curleys wife enters Crooks room with auction, she asks a question to which she knows the answer to, so she can join them, Any you boys seen Curley? shows this. In this chapter, we have to feel a bit sorry for her. We see how lonely she is at this time and since she is not allowed to be with anyone else, she cannot help herself looking for companionship. The reason behind her being so bitter about her life is simple; nothing has ever really gone right for her. By marrying Curley it has not helped her at all and she really thought she would make it as a Hollywood star, however, this did not turn out to be the life that she wanted, Think Im gonna lead with his left twice and then bring in the ol right cross? This piece shows her loneliness and her trouble which leads on to when she is told she is not wanted by the guys, she tells of her sadness and also decides to take it out on Crooks to help herself, it shows a similarity with Crooks, deprived of her rights and very lonely. Finally, the last person in this chapter to experience injustice and prejudice is Candy. A very old man, he was a typical old man who was not well liked, lonely and had a poor time of living with a bad job too. Candy, like most old men back then had a big worry of being canned as he was not really needed. There was no pension schemes or benefits, he would have had no where to go and would have probably just died. I planted crops for dam near everybody in this state, but they wasnt my crops, and when I harvested them, it wasnt none of my harvest. This shows Candy has worked very hard but does not have much and is not appreciated. The dream to have a place with George and Lennie means so much to him as if it does not happen, he will be eventually canned and have nowhere to go, You god dam right were gonna do it. This shows passion for the dream ranch. In truth, Candy is very similar to the dog he had. He, like the was old, not wanted and not of much use. This is very significant as you can see how much he was appreciated by everyone; not at all. In conclusion, we learn so much about life in the 1930s in America. We have four different accounts of people being treated unfairly and having injustice upon them. Lennie, Crooks, Curleys wife and Crooks all experience racism in some way. Lennie is abused for being quite clumsy and slow as well as being big, Crooks was racially abused for being old and black, Curleys wife is not liked because she is a woman and Candy is abused for being an old man. As you can see, there is not ethnic minority groups that escaped being abused; 1930s America was a racist and prejudice place to be. The writer Steinbeck is really sending a strong message out to the readers here. He tries to tell us all about how life could be if you were in a minority group. He repeats certain phrases and words to show enthusiasm of how bad it really was. All of his characters have strong points of view towards one another and really act as if they were real people. Basically, John Steinbeck shows that racism and injustice were strong in the 1930s and whoever you were, you could not really avoid it. Steinbeck gets this message across very well to the readers, by showing the characters different attitudes towards each other; most of the time there were not very pleasant. Whether you were black or white, male, female, disabled or anything else, you had a very good chance of either giving or being racially abused in America in the 1930s.

Purposes of Performance Management and Appraisals

Purposes of Performance Management and Appraisals In this report we come across the processes done in performance management in an organisation to link the employee activities with organisational goals. The word performance management can be split up as performance with management. Performance means what is expected to be delivered by an individual or by a set of individuals within a time frame in terms of results or efforts tasks and quality with specifications of conditions under which it is to be delivered. Performance has many dimensions- output or result dimension, input dimension, time dimension, focus dimension, quality dimension and cost dimension. Performance management is the process of creating a work environment or setting in which people are enabled to perform to the best of their abilities and talents. Performance management is basically a managerial process which consists of planning performance, managing performance through observation and feedback, appraising performance and rewarding performance. It is a holistic and disciplined approach which includes planning, monitoring, developing, rating and rewarding employee performance. The purpose is to translate organisational goals into individual goals and to train the employee on how to improve job performance on a periodic basis. This purpose also involves how to communicate managements expectations regarding employee performance and provide feedback to the employee about job performance. To identify the employees strengths and weaknesses and to determine what kind of development activities might help the employee to better utilise his competencies/ skills on the job. Organization plans and priorities need to be translated into service, team and individual performance objectives. Agreeing individual performance and employee development needs is normally carried out using a combined performance appraisal and staff development process. This approach provides the framework for helping managers to translate service and team plans into individual plans and objectives and agree how these will be met. Individual plans and objectives are most effective when both manager and employee agree them. Objectives should be specific, measurable, agreed, and realistic and time bound (SMART). Develop an internal communications system: It is normally accepted that to be effective messages need to be communicated in a range of different ways that really target the group of staff you are trying to reach. There is a wide range of different approaches that can be adopted to ensure staffs kept in contact with key performance issues. For example, there are staff briefings; meetings; lunch time seminars; use of the intranet; mini articles or stories in staff magazines; posters; bulletin boards; email alerts; line management and supervision meetings. Conducting regular staff surveys and running a suggestion scheme are also important ways of ensuring that employees have opportunities to feedback on a wide range of issues that will impact directly or indirectly on organisational performance. Ensure the performance appraisal system is in place, is well understood and working effectively: A performance appraisal system is traditionally used to set objectives, identify support needs and measure progress against objectives. For it to work effectively it needs to be clearly understood by both managers and employees. This means ensuring that managers have access to guidance and training to ensure that they manage performance effectively throughout the year and employees at all levels within the organization have the necessary support, guidance or training to enable them to actively engage in the performance appraisal process. The performance appraisal system should also be regularly reviewed to ensure that it is achieving what is required. Support employees to help them perform well: Effective induction and probation processes for new employees are extremely important in setting the right expectations for performance on both sides. If this early stage is managed well it may be possible to intervene to prevent or minimise individual capability issues later on through personal development or redeployment. Feedback from this process may also highlight problems with job design or recruitment processes, which then need to be rectified. Responsibility for meeting staff development needs may be addressed in the team or service or may be fed back to a central HR function for action. Whatever the approach, the organization needs an overview of its organisational capability and how it plans to address any gaps that will hamper the achievement of its objectives. This strategic human resource management would normally be the responsibility of the HR function. Developing employee capacity to deliver organization objectives is likely to be achieved in a variety of ways. All employees, even those who have been in the same post for some time, should be encouraged to consider how they are performing and what else they could learn or do differently to deliver better services. In some cases these needs will be adequately met through attending training courses but there are many other possibilities, such as job shadowing, mentoring, e-learning, and working on projects or reading manuals. Wherever possible the employee should be given the opportunity to agree the most suitable option. Performance needs to be actively managed and monitored throughout the year. An essential part of this dialogue is the giving and receiving of feedback. For this to work effectively the organisational climate must encourage the sharing of both success and failure. Without this employees will be reluctant to comply and the quality of the feedback may be lacking. As well as managers, employees at all levels in the organization may also need support, guidance or training to enable them to actively engage in the performance appraisal process. Seek performance improvement: At organisational level, this will mean identifying what the barriers are to effective performance and putting in place a plan to deliver improvement. At both team and individual level the principles will be the same, but it may be more difficult to manage, as individual sensitivities and complexities may be at the fore. Having in place a clear process for dealing with inadequate performance is important. Identifying the reason for inadequate performance is the first step. From this the organization can determine further action, which may involve disciplinary procedures; additional training or support; monitoring and review mechanisms; redeployment; changing job roles or in some cases dismissal. It is also important that learning from these actions is taken on board, for example to improve future performance management mechanisms or selection methods. Formal capability or disciplinary proceedings take time, effort and resources, which could otherwise be targeted at more positive interventions, such as recognising good performance. If performance management is embedded into day-to-day management practice it is likely that inadequate performance will be managed and improved before it gets to this stage; that is why following the performance management cycle on an ongoing basis is so important. Organization should also review job design and work flexibility as ways of improving performance. Recognise and reward good performance: This is the part that many organisations forget; instead they take good performance for granted and focus on those who have not met the standard. However, to retain motivation and continuously improve, it is essential that good performance is recognised and where appropriate, rewarded. Recognition and reward will mean different things to different people; for some financial reward in the form of pay rises or bonuses may be important, whereas for others recognition that their contribution has made a difference will be enough. When determining what will be the most appropriate reward the organization will need to understand what motivates their workforce and how they can meet this need. Pay systems and processes will be important, but it will also be necessary to identify other reward mechanisms such as opportunities for development and career progression. Recognising performance is also about sharing success stories across the organisation and highlighting how good performance helps the organisation as a whole. This may also help with sharing good practice and learning about what works. Performance management system in contemporary business organisations in Australia: In general, the contemporary businesses organizations in Australia mainly implements three major steps in performance management process. They are as follows: Performance planning Performance development Performance appraisal Performance planning: Planning is the first step in performance management. This is mainly followed by performance coaching and development. Then appraisal and evaluation come into play. Two of the keys to performance management are planning, setting expectations and making evaluations. Expectations can be goals but they are often nothing more than statements of acceptable, desired performance, activity and progress. What is critical is that expectations be clear, to both manager and the employee. The third key, of course lies in the development process and the skills of managers in carrying out employee development through coaching and problem solving. Although the performance appraiser may help to identify training needs and problems, the appraisal interview itself is not the time to coach. Coaching should take place during the months prior to appraisal. Like effective feedback, training for development requires skills in addition to an appropriately structured situation. Performance development: Training is the one of the most important step in the performance development. The Key to performance development is coaching. For example if a manager and an employee have engaged in performance planning, then performance development through coaching should be fairly straight forward, the role of a coach is quite different from that of an appraiser. The coach is a helper, who helps the employee, identifies problems he/she may be having and who helps the employee find ways to solve those problems. The role of the manager is not to assemble information and explain what went wrong to the employee, but to work with the employee to examine the information and identifying whether or not the performance is on track. The role of the manager is to give the employee useful feedback. Effective coaching depends on mutual exploration of problems and development of possible solutions. The coaching mainly consists of telling employees how to do it right. The Coach should work with the employee to help him develop better, more effective ways to do a job or fulfil the expected performance. The managers should take problem solving approaches. Effective performance development through coaching requires a problem solving approach on the part of the manager. Unfortunately many managers neither understand this, nor do they have the feedback, and problem solving skills, needed to make such an approach work. Coaching forms a critical part of the performance management process. The main function of coaching sessions make sure that performance expectations are fulfilled or that employees make desired changes in their work activities. Performance appraisal: The Performance appraisal plays an important role. The performance appraisals can be defined as- any procedure which helps the collecting, checking, giving , sharing, and using of information collected from and about the people at the work for the purpose of adding to their performance at work. Performance appraisal procedures have many different purposes. And appraisal procedures main function is developing people and or organisations by using information about the behaviour of the people at work. It is mainly concerned with establishing controls on the behaviour of people or bringing about change in their behaviour by: Evaluation. Auditing. Constructing Succession plans. Discovering training needs. Motivating staff. Developing individuals. Performance management in Australian companies: Many of the Australian organizations are facing human resources related problems especially related to employees. In order to overcome those errors we need to implement better performance management system. These problems mainly arise due to lack of proper planning, development and performance appraisal. Performance management and performance appraisal system are never the same. People mistake that both are same but they are different. Appraisal is a part of performance management. We have aspects like planning, performance auditing and evaluation. There are several issues raised in recent review of a performance management program implemented in Australian companies. In short, appraisal is the way a performance management programs gains evaluative information. But, the connection between the two is worth emphasising because schemes are often proposed and promoted as purely developmental as being divorced from appraisal processes. Performance management is rarely successful implemented as a formal program with out of some form of appraisal as a way of gathering information about performance and appraisal only succeeds when it implemented as a part of performance management program which provides the necessary supportive structures and opportunities. Due to this indifference between t he two, organizations are facing complexities. The problems inherit in a performance management system deals with if the system is designed to posses certain characteristics these characteristics mainly helpful to reduce subjectivity in implementation of performance management system. Separate evaluation and development appraisals Specifying performance standards Use job related performance criteria Use appropriate performance data Provide ongoing feedback Developing relationship between employer and employee Increasing appraisals use multiple rate Train appraisal, apple process, top management support fit with organisational culture and are the main important characteristics that should be followed for implementation of performance management in the organisation for achieving great organisational goals Responsibilities for effective performance management: For effective performance management implementation the organization needs to take into account a number of factors. Among these are: Managers must be fully trained not only in the techniques of interviewing and career counselling but also must be conversant with the aims and objectives of the schemes. Performance management tries to develop the idea of a shared vision and it is the task of the manager to ensure that the employee is able to see his part in that vision. There must be top management commitment to the system. The performance management system should be tailor made to the needs of the organisation, and it should be aim to help or support, develop, a culture of high achievement and performance. The Commitment of the organisation to the scheme, as well as the benefits that will flow from it should be communicated to all employees. The scheme should be designed properly in such a way as to support the achievement of the organisations mission, and realisation of its values. The principal accountabilities of employees and managers should be clear in order that all are aware of their objectives, the standards of performance expected of them the techniques that will be used to assess their performance. It is important to develop and integrated approach to achieving more committed employees and better motivated and develops within them attitudes and behaviour that lead to enhanced performance. This would include performance counselling and training and carrier planning The organisations must follow the main models of performance management; this performance management cycle consists of five elements. Setting performance objectives. Measuring outcomes. Feed back of results. Rewards linked to outcomes, and Amendments to objectives and activities Thus companies in Australia should make sure that the above responsibilities are to be assigned and to follow in order to achieve the organisations excellence. Performance information and the performance of sales assistance: The performance of sales assistance in a selected business plays a major role with the help of sources of performance information in one of the main processes in the organisation. Fairness of performance management: It is very important to monitor the introduction of performance management very carefully but it is equally crucial to continue to monitor and evaluate it regularly in an organisation. The method of monitoring and evaluation is to ask those involved managers and individuals. The evaluation can be carried out by members of a group and/or by the HR function. Individual interviews and focus group discussions can be supplemented by a special survey of reactions to performance management, which could be completed anonymously by all managers and staff. The results should be feedback to all concerned and analysed to assess the need for any amendments to the process or further training requirements. An example of a performance review evaluation form and typical attitude survey questions are given as follows: How effectively was the review meeting conducted in each of the areas listed below? Rate each aspect of the review meeting as follows: very effectively effectively fairly effectively not very effectively How would you rate the overall effectiveness of the meeting? very effective effective fairly effective ineffective How did you feel after the meeting? highly motivated reasonably well motivated not very well motivated motivated There are different methods being followed for appraising or evaluating performance of employees in an organization. Some of the methods are discussed as below: Past-Oriented Appraisal Method: Future-Orientated Appraisal Method: Past oriented appraisal method: The past oriented appraisal method includes the following steps: Essay Paired Comparisons Forced Distribution Behavioural Checklist Critical Incidents Graphic Rating Scale Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS) Future-Oriented Appraisal Methods: The future oriented appraisal methods include the following steps: Management By Objectives (MBO) Self-Appraisal Psychological Appraisals Assessment Centres These are the main important methods for evaluating the performance management of an employee for achieving organisational goals. Thus we can evaluate the employees performance using above methods where we can achieve organizational goals through employees.

Macbeth-gloomy Indeed :: essays research papers

Is the Shakespearean play â€Å"Macbeth† a gloomy play full of darkness and evil? Every way you look at this play it seems very dark and gloomy, whether from a historians point of view, an actors, a casual reader of plays, etc. Three of the main features that add to the dark and evil feel of this play are the atmospheric scenery, the homely and repugnant characters and the homicidal hot-headed back stabbing. The scenery depicted in this play is very gloomy indeed. This gloomy scenery would fit the time period in which this play roughly takes place in. Three very intricate parts of this play happen on a â€Å"moor†(Act1,sc1 & Act1,sc3 & Act4 sc1). In the first act, first scene the witches first meet on a barren , gloomy landscape (Moor). The second time they are on the moor where they begin their shit disturbing. The third time they give Macbeth some more information, about his dark demise. Weather adds to the â€Å"gloominess† of this play. The quote â€Å"Hover through the fog and filthy air† (Act1,sc1) really gives gloomy mental picture. Even the most de-sensitized person can understand how a violent storm is gloomy. This quote, â€Å"As whence the sun’gins ... shipwracking storms and direful thunders break.†(Act1,sc2), tells of one such storm during the battle in the beginning of the play. Storms, battles, that’ll make anyone a â€Å"gloomy Gus†. Lightning is a very gloomy sort of deal because with lightning there is rain and dark clouds and its scary. In this play there are a lot of scenes where lightning and thunder is the weather of choice by Shakespeare (Act1,sc1 & Act1, sc3 & Act3, sc5 & Act4,sc1). The lightning is always present when the witches are involved in a scene. â€Å"Macbeth† comes complete with rather gloomy looking roles like the witches. Banquo explains how horrid these witches look in this quote, â€Å"By each her choppy finger laying upon her skinny lips : you should be women, and yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so.†(Act 1,sc3). Women with beards?...... gloomy indeed. And if women with beards weren’t gloomy enough there are old fat ladies in â€Å"Macbeth†. The quote â€Å"...the rump-fed ronyon cries†(Act1,sc3) which tells of a fat old lady. Also, back then no one bathed, and a mixture of fat old ladies (and men) who don’t bathe, would ruin even the most utopian of days. Besides looks, the mysterious power that the witches possess is considered dark.

Analysis of Marks Gospel Essay -- essays research papers fc

This research assignment aims to analyse and interpret an influential part of the New Testament – Mark’s Gospel. An analysis of Mark and his community will be discussed as well as interpreting Jesus’ teachings and his significant theme of Discipleship as it was then and in present society. A Gospel in general, is a textual document written in narrative form of the good news and teachings proclaimed by Jesus to announce the power of God. Mark’s Gospel is one of four others (Matthew, Luke and John), where each Gospel has its differences in structure, language and theological slants. Mark’s Gospel is divided into three main sections: The Ministry of Jesus, Jesus’ prologue of foretelling his Passion, and his Passion and Death. Mark set out on a mission of God to carry on the word of Jesus with Paul, where Mark was traditionally known to be closely linked to one of Jesus’ disciples – Peter, which many of the stories in the Gospel relate to his perspective and point of view. Much of Mark’s stories may have originated from Peter through oral transfer (as it was common in those times) and discussions with Paul, as well as accounts from the Old Testament. Mark’s community mainly consisted of Gentiles who lived in Rome as opposed to Jesus followers in Israel who were Jews. Gentiles are classified as people of any religion that are not Jewish, and of non-Jewish origins such as the Romans. In particular the Roman Centurion (army officer) who professed that Jesus was truly the Son of God (15:39), is one of many reasons that suggest Mark’s community to be Gentile. This is a significant part in the Passion narrative, as the Centurion – being a Gentile is one of the first people to have faith and believe in Jesus after his death, which is relevant to the Kingdom of God. Also, many of Jewish customs are explained for non-Jewish followers as well as Mark’s translation of Latin words written in Greek (Mark: A Gospel for Today, 1989). Mark’s community endured much suffering under the reign of the Roman Emperor Nero that was persecuting Christians for practicing their Monotheistic faith and preaching the word of Jesus. For Mark’s community, in continuing the word of Jesus and to spread the good news, the people faced many difficulties as to convert to Christianity. These barriers included the geographical differences of Rome and Jerusalem as well as having their own opinions... ...l their possessions behind to follow Jesus. Though Discipleship does not result in poverty, but living a true live in accordance with God, and the Messiah. However, recontextualised in modern contexts - priests have also undergone this concept and discarded monetary values to serve under the authority of Jesus and to spread the good news and give guidance to those who are lost, just as Jesus’ disciples did. Nevertheless, this does not stipulate the right for people in such high ranks of ‘Holiness’ to exclude or criticize others’ views, and to make unaccountable judgments on the behalf of God. We should persist on the tolerance and respect of other’s viewpoints. This theme also gives hope to ‘Jesus Followers’ that it is not the end for God’s people. Written By: Marcus Huynh Copyright Bibliography: Danes, Christopher & Simon. (1989) Mark: A Gospel for Today. Lion Publishing, England. Geddes, Gordon & Griffiths, June. (2001) St. Mark’s Gospel. Heinemann Publishing, Melbourne. Cooper, Robin. (1970) Mark’s Gospel: An Interpretation for Today. Hodder & Stoughton, Abington. Available: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/rsposse/marcanpassrb.htm. Last Accessed 22/05/05

Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109) :: essays research papers

Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109) Table of Contents (Clicking on the links below will take you to that part of this article) * Life * Philosophical Writings * Theology Life The father of medieval scholasticism and one of the most eminent of English prelates was born at Aost Piedmont in 1033. Anselm died at Canterbury, England on April 21, 1109. While a boy he wished to be a monk, but his father forbade it. When he was about twenty-three Anselm left home to live in Burgundy and France. After three years he went to Bec in Normandy where his celebrated countryman, Lanfranc, was prior. Here he became a monk (1060). He succeeded Lanfranc as prior in 1063, and became abbot in 1078. The abbey had possessions in England, which called Anselm frequently to that country. He was the general choice for archbishop of Canterbury when Lanfranc died (1089). However, the king, William Rufus, preferred to keep the office vacant, and apply its revenues to his own use. In 1093 William fell ill and, literally forced Anselm to receive an appointment at his hands. He was consecrated December 4 of that year. The next four years witnessed a continual struggle between king and ar chbishop over money matters, rights, and privileges. Anselm wished to carry his case to Rome, and in 1097, with much difficulty, obtained permission from the king to go. At Rome he was honored and flattered, but he obtained little practical help in his struggle with the king. He returned to England as soon is he heard of the death of William in 1100. But a difficulty arose over lay investiture and homage from clerics for their benefices. Thought a mild and meek man, Anselm had adopted the Gregorian views of the relation between Church and State, and adhered to them with the steadiness of conscientious conviction. The king, though inclined to be conciliatory, was equally firm from motives of self-interest. He had a high regard for Anselm, always treated him with much consideration, and personal relations between them were generally friendly. Nevertheless there was much vexatious disputing, several fruitless embassies were sent to Rome, and Anselm himself went thither in 1103, remaini ng abroad till 1106. His quarrel with the king was settled by compromise in 1107 and the brief remaining period of his life was peaceful. He was canonized in 1494. Back to Table of Contents Philosophical Writings As a metaphysician Anselm was a realist, and one of his earliest works, De fide Trinitatis, was an attack on the doctrine of the Trinity as expounded by the nominalist Roscelin.