Essays on Religion

... no mortal can look upon a god in his natural state. However, Zeus saved the unborn Dionysus by sewing him up in his thigh, thus incubating him. What happened next is different in every story. Some myths say he lived with a king and queen loyal to Zeus until Hera discovered him, and, in a jealous rage, warped their brains. In this version of the story, Dionysus was turned into a goat by his father in an attempt to hide him from Hera; from then on he had small horns on his head. After he was safe, he went to live with the nymphs, who taught him to make wine. Hera eventually found him again, and this time she also warped his brain. The nymphs rejected him, and h ...

... a huge family, no matter what gender, color, or background. We stick together. We fight together, we laugh together, we grieve together as Americans. Terms like democracy, individuality, self-reliance are all words we relate to as Americans. We teach our kids that we should be grateful everyday to be Americans. In this country we can choose our own destination. We can be whatever we want. I think that being a secular country brings us together and makes us stronger.We don't have questions we can't answer. We don't hear stories of people or things we can't prove exist. We know what we have overcome to be where we are today, and we know what we want to plan for ...

... that comes from a seed, and every fruit tree that bears fruit with the seed in it. God again saw the goodness. The third day ended with night, which was followed by morning. In verses fourteen through nineteen, the creation of morning light, night light, and the stars was explained. Also, he used these to mark the fixed time, days, and years. God saw the goodness, and the fourth day ended with night, which was followed by morning. In verses twenty through twenty-three, the creation of creatures that live in the sea, and winged animals were formed. He blessed these creatures and made them fertile, he saw the goodness. The fifth day ended with the night, which ...

... by tempting you, accusing you and deceiving you. What is the enemy's goal in having his demons jeer you, taunt you, lure you, and question you from the windows and doorways along your path? He wants you to slow down, stop, sit down, and, if possible, give up . He wants to influence you to doubt your ability to believe and serve God. Remember: he has absolutely no power or authority to keep you from steadily progressing in your walk toward Christ. And he can never again own you, because you have been redeemed by Jesus Christ and you are forever in Him (1 Peter 1:18, 19). But if he can get you to listen to the thoughts he plants in your mind, he can influence you. A ...

... but a watch can't be compared to a universe's creation. Paley would later say that the world must have a designer, meaning a God. The watch of coarse must of been created by a designer, but the world is totally different. It's more like a carpenter building a house or building. People can relate more to a building than a universe, cause it's possible that one can experience living within a house. It's not possible for anyone to live among the outside world, and think that God created everything. This only proves Paley's downfall, and ideas that have no back bone! The world to be created by God is impossible, only cause man seeks more than his environment. God canno ...

... and religious ties to pull together into a tight nit community. The families that migrated to New England were following Puritan religious leaders. Before starting off on this journey they had already been part of a religious community that was established throughout England. This made it so there was an organized group of people with a purpose already established. The purpose of starting a whole new religious community. The first few settlements of New England had many hardships and established a very close community. As more ships arrived every year the original settlements wanted to keep the same tight nit communities intact. The community was so c ...

... the apostles' feet" (Acts 4:36-37). After the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7:54-8:1, the church was persecuted and scattered, "On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison" Acts 8:1-3. In Acts 9:26-27, "Saul tries to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his jou ...

... show partiality toward each of their favorite sons and the way that God allows events to happen as He relates to each of the characters involved. Exploring both the surface story and the deeper implications it has as it relates to our own lives, we can hopefully derive some deeper meaning which God working through the author intends. On the surface, we see a story of rivalry that is typical even in modern times, yet we can also look to some valuable truths that are revealed about how God sees our personal motives and actions through the characters of Jacob and Esau. Gaining an understanding of the characters, their motives and the overall big picture of God ...

... test is the examination of text by the documents that have reached us. The reliability of the copies of the New Testament is tested by the number of manuscripts (MSS) and the time intervals between the time in which the piece of literature was written and our earliest copy. There are more than 5,300 Greek manuscripts of the New Testament and 10,000 Latin vulgate manuscripts, not to mention the other various translations. Totally there are around 24,000 total MSS for the New Testament. The next closest document in respect to MSS is the "Illiad" by Homer, with 643 manuscripts(McDowell 43). The textual reliability then continues with respect to the time ...

... to resist evil, (3) not saying anything that will hurt someone else, (4) respecting life, (5) having a job that doesn't injure anyone, (6) striving free one's mind of evil, (7) controlling one's feelings, and (8) concentrating properly. Buddha preached that the life was a continuing cycle of death and rebirth. The well-being of oneself was determined on your behavior in your previous life. Buddha said that by ridding oneself of worldly things he would be in nirvana, peace and happiness. After Buddha's death, his followers collected his teachings that became the dharma. The sangha is what sometimes referred to as an ideal Buddhist community. All the people in the c ...