What Impression of Inman is created in chapter 1 of Cold Mountain? Essa

What Impression of Inman is created in chapter 1 of Cold Mountain? Throughout Chapter one Frazier establishes Inman’ s character in sufficient detail for the reader to feel involved in his life and get an insight into the way he thinks. This gives the reader a feeling of superiority as to their knowledge of Inman and his feelings. Inman is based on Frazier’s great uncle. This gives them a better impression of him and a greater feeling of pity for him and his situation. He appears to be very sensitive to his surroundings as the environment of the hospital seems to affect his feelings in a very negative way. An example of this is where he thinks about how he obtained his wound. This shows his strength of character both physically and mentally. This is because he is strongly affected by the battles he has experienced and is horrified and haunted by it. His description of the train journey to the hospital is very sensual. This shows how he is extremely observant and has a great memory for detail. It also shows how vivid the horrors are that he has faced throughout his ...

Free Oedipus the King Essays: Hamartia in Oedipus Rex :: Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex

Hamartia in Oedipus the King According to the Aristotelian characteristics of good tragedy, the tragic character should not fall due to either excessive virtue or excessive wickedness, but due to what Aristotle called hamartia. Hamartia may be interpreted as either a flaw in character or an error in judgement. Oedipus, the tragic character in Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, certainly makes several such mistakes; however, the pervasive pattern of his judgemental errors seems to indicate a basic character flaw that precipitates them. Oedipus’ character flaw is ego. This is made evident in the opening lines of the prologue when he states "Here I am myself--you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus." (ll. 7-9) His conceit is the root cause of a number of related problems. Among these are recklessness, disrespect, and stubbornness. Oedipus displays an attitude of recklessness and disrespect throughout the play. When he makes his proclamation and no one confesses to the murder of Laius, Oedipus loses patience immediately and rushes into his curse. Later, he displays a short temper to Tiresias: "You, you scum of the earth . . . out with it, once and for all!," (ll. 381, 383) and "Enough! Such filth from him? Insufferable--what, still alive? Get out--faster, back where you came from--vanish!" (ll. 490-492) If an unwillingness to listen may be considered stubbornness, certainly Oedipus would take advice from no one who would tell him to drop the matter of his identity, among them Tiresias, the shepherd, and even Jocasta. Even after Oedipus thinks he has received a reprieve from the fate he fears when he hears that Polybus is dead, he does not have the sense to keep still. "So! Jocasta, why, why look to the Prophet’s hearth . . . all those prophesies I feared . . . they’re nothing, worthless," he says. (ll.1053-1054, 1062, 1064) To the shepherd, Oedipus certainly has no respect for the man’s age when he tortures him. Oedipus’ cruelty indeed literally squeezes his own demise out of the shepherd: "You’re a dead man if I have to ask again . . . I’m at the edge of hearing horrors, yes, but I must hear!" (ll. 1281, 1285) After his recognition and reversal, Oedipus exclaims "The hand that struck my eyes was mine, . . . I did it all myself!" (ll. 1469, 1471) He is not only referring to his self-inflicted mayhem, but also the chain of events that led to his demise.

The Return: Shadow Souls Chapter 22

The afternoon after Elena's â€Å"discipline,† Damon took out a room in the same complex where Dr. Meggar lived. Lady Ulma stayed in the doctor's office until between them, Sage, Damon, and Dr. Meggar had healed her completely. She never talked about sad things now. She told them so many stories about her childhood estate that they felt they could walk around it and recognize every room, vast though it was. â€Å"I suppose it's home to rats and mice now,† she said wistfully at the conclusion of one story. â€Å"And spiders and moths.† â€Å"But why?† Bonnie said, failing to see the signals that both Meredith and Elena were giving her not to ask. Lady Ulma tipped her head back to look at the ceiling. â€Å"Because†¦of General Verantz. The middle-aged demon who saw me when I was only fourteen. When he had the army attack my home, they slaughtered every living thing they found inside – except me and my canary. My parents, my grandparents, my aunts and uncles†¦my younger brothers and sisters. Even my cat sleeping on the window seat. General Verantz had me brought in front of him, just as I was, in my nightgown and bare feet, with my hair unbrushed and coming out of its braid, and beside him was my canary with the nighttime cloth off its cage. It was still alive and hopping about as cheerful as ever. And that made everything else that happened seem worse somehow – and yet more like a dream, too. It's difficult to explain. â€Å"Two of the general's men were holding me when they brought me before him. They were really propping me up more than keeping me from running, though. I was so young, you see, and everything kept fading in and out. But I remember exactly what the general said to me. He said, ‘I told this bird to sing and it sang. I told your parents I wanted to give you the honor of being my wife and they refused. Now look over there. Will you be like the canary or your parents, I wonder?' And he pointed to a dim corner of the room – of course it was all torchlight then, and the torches had been put out for the night. But there was enough light for me to see that there was a heap of round objects, with thatch or grass at one side of them. At least that is what I first thought – truly. I was that innocent, and I believe shock had done something to my mind.† â€Å"Please,† Elena said, stroking Lady Ulma's hand gently. â€Å"You don't have to keep on with this. We understand – â€Å" But Lady Ulma didn't seem to hear the words. She said, â€Å"And then one of the general's men held up a sort of coconut with very long thatch at the top, braided. He swung it casually – and all of a sudden I saw it for what it really was. It was my mother's head.† Elena choked involuntarily. Lady Ulma looked around at the three girls with steady, dry eyes. â€Å"I suppose you think me very callous for being able to talk about such things without breaking down.† â€Å"No, no – † Elena began hastily. She herself was shaking, even after tuning down her psychic senses to their least extent. She hoped Bonnie wouldn't faint. Lady Ulma was speaking again. â€Å"War, casual violence, and tyranny are all I have known since my childhood innocence was crushed in that moment. It is kindness now that astounds me, that makes my eyes sting with tears.† â€Å"Oh, don't cry,† begged Bonnie, throwing her arms around the woman impulsively. â€Å"Please don't. We're here for you.† Meanwhile Elena and Meredith were regarding each other with knitted eyebrows and quick shrugs. â€Å"Yes, please don't cry,† Elena put in, feeling faintly guilty, but determined to try Plan A. â€Å"But tell us, why did your family estate end up in such bad condition?† â€Å"It was the fault of the general. He was sent to faraway lands to fight foolish, meaningless wars. When he left he would take most of his retinue with him – including slaves who were in favor at the moment. When he left once, three years after he had attacked our home, I was not in favor, and I was not chosen to be with him. I was lucky. His entire battalion was wiped out; the household members who went with him were taken captive or slaughtered. He had no heir and his property here reverted to the Crown, which had no use for it. It has lain unoccupied for all these many years – looted many times, no doubt, but with its true secret, the secret of the jewels, undiscovered†¦as far as I know.† â€Å"The Secret of the Jewels,† Bonnie whispered, clearly putting it all in capital letters, as if it were a mystery novel. She still had an arm around Lady Ulma. â€Å"What secret of the jewels?† Meredith said more calmly. Elena couldn't speak for the delicious shivers that were running through her. This was like being part of some magical play. â€Å"In my parents' day, it was common to hide your wealth somewhere on your estate – and to keep the knowledge of its hiding place strictly to the owners. Of course, my father, as a designer and trader in jewels, had more to hide than most people knew of. He had a wonderful room that seemed to me something like Aladdin's cave. It was his workshop, where he kept his raw gems as well as finished pieces that had been commissioned or that he designed for my mother or out of his imagination.† â€Å"And no one ever found that?† Meredith said. There was just the slightest tinge of skepticism in her voice. â€Å"If anyone did, I never heard about it. Of course, they could have gotten the knowledge out of my father or mother, in time – but the general was not a meticulous and patient vampire or kitsune, but a rough and impatient demon. He killed my parents as he stormed through the house. It never occurred to him that I, a child of fourteen, might share the knowledge.† â€Å"But you did†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Bonnie whispered, fascinated, taking the story where it had to go. â€Å"But I did. And I do now.† Elena gulped. She was still trying to stay calm, to be more like Meredith, to maintain a cool head. But just as she opened her mouth to be coolheaded, Meredith said, â€Å"What are we waiting for?† and jumped to her feet. Lady Ulma seemed to be the most tranquil person there. She also seemed slightly bewildered and almost timid. â€Å"You mean that we should ask our master for an audience?† â€Å"I mean that we should go out there and get those jewels!† Elena exclaimed. â€Å"Although, yes, Damon would be a big asset if there's anything that takes strength to lift. Sage, too.† She couldn't understand why Lady Ulma wasn't more excited. â€Å"Don't you see?† Elena said, her mind racing. â€Å"You can have your household back again! We can do our best to fix it up the way it was when you were a child. I mean, if that's what you want to do with the money. But I'd love, at least, to see the Aladdin's cave!† â€Å"But – well,† Lady Ulma seemed suddenly distressed. â€Å"I had meant to ask Master Damon for another favor – although the money from the jewels might help with that.† â€Å"What is it that you want?† Elena said as gently as she could. â€Å"And you don't need to call him Master Damon. He freed you days ago, remember?† â€Å"But surely that was just a – a celebration of the moment?† Lady Ulma still looked puzzled. â€Å"He didn't make it official at the Servile Offices or anything, did he?† â€Å"If he didn't it's because he didn't know!† Bonnie cried out at the same time as Meredith said, â€Å"We don't really understand the protocol. Is that what you need to do?† Lady Ulma seemed able only to nod her head. Elena felt humble. She guessed that this woman, a slave for more than twenty-two years, must find true freedom difficult to believe in. â€Å"Damon meant it when he said we were all free,† she said, kneeling by Lady Ulma's chair. â€Å"He just didn't know all the things he had to do. If you tell us, we can tell him, and then we can all go to your old estate.† She was about to get up again, when Bonnie said, â€Å"Something's wrong. She isn't as happy as she was before. We have to find out what it is.† By opening her psychic perceptions a bit, Elena could tell that Bonnie was right. She stayed where she was, kneeling by Lady Ulma's chair. â€Å"What is it?† she said, because the woman seemed to bare her soul most when she, Elena, asked the questions. â€Å"I had hoped,† Lady Ulma said slowly, â€Å"that Master Damon might buy†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She flushed, but struggled on. â€Å"Might find it in his heart to buy one more slave. The†¦the father of my child.† There was a moment of perfect silence, and then all three girls were talking, all three, Elena guessed, trying frantically to do what she herself was working at, which was not mentioning that she had assumed Old Drohzne was the father. But of course he couldn't be, Elena scolded herself. She's happy about this pregnancy – and who could be happy to have a child by a disgusting monster like Old Drohzne? Besides, he didn't have a clue that she might be pregnant – and didn't care. â€Å"It might be easier said than done,† Lady Ulma said, when the babble of reassurances and questions had died down a little. â€Å"Lucen is a jeweler, a renowned man who creates pieces that†¦that remind me of my father's. He will be expensive.† â€Å"But we've got Aladdin's cave to explore!† Bonnie said gleefully. â€Å"I mean, you'll have enough if you sell off the jewelry, right? Or do you need more?† â€Å"But that is Master Damon's jewelry,† Lady Ulma said, seeming horrified. â€Å"Even if he did not realize it when he inherited all of Old Drohzne's property, he became my owner, and the owner of all my property†¦.† â€Å"Let's go get you freed and then we'll take things one step at a time,† Meredith said in her firmest and most rational voice. Dear Diary, Well, I am writing to you still as a slave. Today we freed Lady Ulma, but decided that Meredith and Bonnie and I should remain â€Å"personal assistants.† This is because Lady Ulma said Damon would seem odd and unfashionable if he didn't have several beautiful girls as courtesans. There is actually an upside to this, which is that as courtesans we need to have beautiful clothes and jewelry all the time. Since I've been wearing the same pair of jeans ever since that b*st*rd Old Drohzne sliced up the pair I wore into this place, you can imagine that I'm excited. But, truly, it's not just because of pretty clothes I'm excited. Everything that happened since we freed Lady Ulma and then went to her old estate has been a wonderful dream. The house was run down, and obviously the home of wild animals who used it as a lavatory as well as a bedroom. We even found the tracks of wolves and other animals upstairs, which led to the question of whether werewolves live in this world. Apparently they do, and some in very high positions under various feudal lords. Maybe Caroline would like to try a vacation here to learn about the real werewolves though – they're said to hate humans so much that they won't even have human or vampire (once human) slaves. But back to Lady Ulma's house. Its foundation is of stone and it's paneled inside with hardwood, so the basic structure is fine. The curtains and tapestries are all hanging in shreds, of course, so it's sort of spooky to go inside with torches and see them dangling above and around you. Not to mention the giant spiderwebs. I hate spiders more than anything. But we went inside, with our torches seeming like smaller versions of that giant crimson sun that always sits on the horizon, staining everything outside the color of blood, and we shut the doors and lit a fire in a giant fireplace in what Lady Ulma calls the Great Hall. (I think it's where you eat or have parties – it has an enormous table on a dais at one side, and a room for minstrels above what must be the dance floor. Lady Ulma said that this is where the servants all sleep at night, too (the Great Hall, not the minstrel gallery). Then we went upstairs, where we saw – I swear – several dozen bedrooms with very large four-poster beds that are going to need new mattresses and sheets and coverlets and hangings, but we didn't stay to look around. There were bats hanging from the ceiling. We headed for Lady Ulma's mother's workroom. It was a very large room where at least forty people could sit and sew the clothes that Lady Ulma's mother designed. But here's the exciting part! Lady Ulma went to one of the wardrobes in the room and moved away all the tattered, moth-eaten clothes that were in it. And she pressed some different places at the back of the cupboard and the whole back of the cupboard slid out! Inside it was a very narrow stairway going straight down! I kept thinking about Honoria Fell's crypt and wondering if some homeless vampire might have taken up residence in the room downstairs, but I knew that was silly because there were spiderwebs just inside the door. Damon still insisted that he go down first because he has the best eyesight in the dark, but I think the truth is that he was just curious to see what was down there. We each followed him one at a time, trying to be careful with the torches, and†¦well, I can't find the right words for what we discovered. For just a few minutes I was disappointed because everything on the big table down there was dusty rather than sparkly, but then Lady Ulma began to gently brush jewels off with a special cloth and Bonnie found sacks and packages and she poured them out – and it was like pouring out a rainbow! Damon found a cabinet where there were drawers and drawers of necklaces, bracelets, rings, armlets, anklets, earrings, nose rings, and hairpins and ornaments, too! I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I poured out a pouch and found that I had a huge handful of glorious white diamonds dripping through my fingers, some of them as big as my thumbnail. I saw white pearls and black pearls, both smaller and perfectly matched, and huge and in marvelous shapes: almost as big as apricots with pink or golden or gray sheens to them. I saw sapphires the size of quarters, with stars you could see almost from across the room. I held handfuls of emeralds and peridots and opals and rubies and tourmalines and amethysts – and a lot of lapis lazuli, for the discriminating vampire, of course. And the jewelry that was already made up was so beautiful it made my throat ache. I know Lady Ulma had a quiet little cry, but I think it was partly from happiness as we all kept complimenting her on her jewels. In days she has gone from being a slave who owned nothing to an incredibly rich woman who owns a house and all the means she would ever need to keep it up in style. We decided that even though she is going to marry her lover, it was best at first for Damon to buy him quietly and free him quietly, but to play â€Å"Head of the Household† for as long as we are here. During that time we will treat Lady Ulma as family, and will put the jeweler Lucen back to work until we leave, when he and Lady Ulma can quietly take Damon's place. The feudal lords around here are not demons anymore, but vampires, and they have less objection to humans owning property. Have I told you about Lucen? He's a wonderful artist with jewels! He has a burning need to create – in his early days as a slave he would create with mud and weeds, imagining that he was making jewelry. Then he got lucky and was apprenticed to a jeweler. He's felt sorry for Lady Ulma for so long, and loved her for so long, that it's like a little miracle that they are truly able to get together – and most importantly, as free citizens. We were afraid that Lucen might not like the idea of us buying him as a slave and not freeing him until we leave, but he never thought he'd be free – because of his talent. He's a slow, gentle, kind man, with a neat little beard and gray eyes that remind me of Meredith's. And he's so amazed at being treated decently and not worked around the clock that he would have accepted anything, just to be allowed to be near Lady Ulma. I guess he was an apprentice when her father was a jeweler, and he fell in love with her all those years ago, but he thought he would never, never ever be able to be with her, because she was a young lady of quality and he was a slave. They're so happy together! Every day Lady Ulma looks more beautiful, and younger. She asked permission from Damon to dye her hair all black, and he told her she could dye it pink if she liked, and now she just looks incredibly beautiful. I can't believe I ever thought of her as an old hag, but that's what agony and fear and hopelessness do to you. Every one of those gray hairs was from being a slave, with no property, no say in her future, no safety, no ability even to keep her children, if she had them. I forgot to tell you the other upside of Meredith, Bonnie, and I being â€Å"personal assistants† for a while. It's that we can employ a lot of poor women who make their living by sewing, and Lady Ulma actually wants to design and show them how to make our finest clothes. We told her that she could just relax, but she says all her life she's fantasized about being a designer like her mother and now she's dying to do it – with three completely different types of girl to dress. I'm dying to see what she'll come up with: she's already started sketching and tomorrow the man who sells fabric will come and she'll pick the materials. Meanwhile Damon has hired about two hundred people (really!) to clean out Lady Ulma's estate, put up new wall hangings and curtains, refurbish the plumbing system, polish up the furniture that has kept nicely, and to get new furniture where things have fallen apart. Oh, and to plant ready-grown flowers and trees in the gardens and put in fountains and all kinds of stuff. With that many people working, we ought to be able to move in in just a matter of days. All this has just one purpose, aside from making Lady Ulma happy. It's so that Damon and his â€Å"personal assistants† will be accepted by high society as the season of parties begins this year. Because I've kept the best for last. Both Lady Ulma and Sage could immediately identify the people in the riddles that Misao gave to us! It just goes to prove what I thought before, that Misao never imagined that we'd actually make it here, or that we could get entrance to the places where they've hidden the two halves of the fox key. But there's a very easy way to get invited into the houses we need to get into. If we're the newest, splashiest nouveau riche (sp?) around, and if we circulate the story that Lady Ulma has been restored to her rightful place, and if everyone wants to know about her – we'll get invited to parties! And that's how we get into the two estates we need to visit to look for the halves of the key that we need to free Stefan! And we're incredibly lucky, because this is the time of year when everyone begins to give parties, and both households we want to visit are having early celebrations: one is a gala, and one is a spring soiree to celebrate the first flowers. I know my writing is shaky now. I'm shaky myself at the thought that we are actually going to look for the two halves of the fox key that will let us break Stefan out of his prison. Oh, diary, it's late – and I can't – I can't write about Stefan. To be here in the same city with him, to know the direction to his prison†¦and yet to not be able to get to see him. My eyes are so blurred I can't see what I'm writing. I wanted to get some sleep to be ready for another day of running around, supervising, and watching Lady Ulma's estate blossom like a rose – but now I'm afraid I'll just have nightmares about Stefan's hand slowly slipping out of mine.

Philosophies of Religion Essay

This Essay portrays the basic philosophies of religion particularly Christianity. This will be helpful for Christians to refresh or enhance their faith or take the challenge in strengthening their beliefs. Among the important and basic Christian philosophies to be discussed include; the true religion, real and false churches, minds and soul, heaven and heal, life after death, love and forgiveness, perfect marriage, miracles, Trinity, the challenging questions about the Da Vinci Code, Christians and Muslims, perfect marriage, etc. The discussions presented in this article are focused on indepth reflections of my previous work entitled, Echoes of Heaven: God’s Love is Better than Life Itself. This further simplify the understanding of mysterious things concerning Christian faith and the challenges that shaken or strengthen the beliefs of a Christian. Introduction Many people (Christians and non-Christians) are in a great religious confusion with tough questions about faith, life, death and many other challenging concerns that will most likely affect the faith or belief of the people. Most are searching for answers through reading literatures, the holy bible or the Koran, discussions with peers, religious institutions, and even through prayers. This essay will attempt to offer explanations of the many questions that challenge the beliefs of Christians and non-Christians. Some inputs of this essay are generated from my article, â€Å"Echoes of Heaven: God’s Love is Better than Life Itself† that aim to enhance man’s relation with God. What is Soul? Soul is the energy that God places within a human body so it would receive life. It is in the form of spirit which is invisible to human eyes. It does not reside in one part of the body but keeps on moving throughout the blood. It can leave the body, go to another place or world, and come back into it as long as it remains connected. It happens so fast because it can move at the speed of light. It has the ability to travel into the future and tell how the future will be, that is a vision. Soul gives light and lives in the body and also prevents the body from decaying, and once the soul is unconscious or leaves the body, the body has no life, and therefore it starts decaying. The soul is the body’s life giving spiritual thing which is separate and distinct from the body. They are inseparable in any way when the body is conscious, but the soul could be away from the body when the latter is unconscious. How do minds and soul communicate? Soul has no language barriers. There is only one language understood by all souls, or perhaps the soul has the ability to understand all languages. It has unlimited power and the ability to perform anything. When God created man, He granted this power and authority where the soul operates in human flesh in which the latter is ruled by a human mind. Human minds are limited in terms of power, their ability to perform, language, and mobility, among other things. Mind’s desire is for material or physical things while the soul desires for the things that are spiritual. The soul has the ability to see beyond what the naked eye cannot see and has the ability to gather information from different places in an instant. It is stated that even the absence of language, the soul still communicate with mind in harmony. Soul is therefore, considered as master over mind. A gap is identified between the human level and the spiritual level where either the spirit of God resides or the spirit of the Devil. The soul provides information to the mind. The spirit of God empowers the soul to act at its fullness, but the evil spirit empowers the mind or the flesh. The mind has the ability to process and store information or idea communicated from the soul which can be destructive or creative, depending on its source. What is a true religion? A true religion is the one that follow God’s guidance by building a good relationship with God. God is interested in having a good relationship with people; this is the true religion, knowing what God wants and knowing that we are doing what pleases Him. Likewise, the ISLAM HERALD (2003) stated that a true religion is teaching true concepts like the existence of God, that He is powerful and loving, He is aware of us and wishes to help us, and that certain things are required of us in return. It is therefore imperative that everyone should think that religion is just a vehicle to let people know that there is God and that He wants all the people to follow what He wants. Hence, the issue on true religion should not be argued. People who argue and claim that their religion is the true religion are those who did not follow what God wants them to do, hence, they are fools influenced by the thoughts of the devil. What is death, and how do people feel when dying? Death is the state when the soul has completely left the body and has no connection, or the soul is still in the body but unconscious. When a person meets an accident, the flesh may completely fail to function but the soul is fully conscious, preoccupied with many things, without expecting in meeting death. In this situation, the death of accident victim is declared but remains fully conscious within the body in which souls are looking for mercy, and they can talk. However, after some days, the soul gives up and became unconscious because they can no longer gain strength. What happens when one dies? When some people die, their souls remain unconscious within their bodies; others get out of their body and begin roaming around while the holy ones go to paradise, led by angels. The death of the holy ones will open the gate to a bright world where the angels are waiting to take them home (paradise), but those who remain in the grave are surrounded by darkness; they are not warm or cold. The latter’s case will be determined during the Day of Judgment. The rebellious ones still go on roaming the world and their souls are fully dedicated to the Devil. Are heaven and hell real? The Holy Bible tells everyone that there is heaven and hell. This contention can be read in some passages of the Bible, and among them are the book of Revelation and the gospel of Mathew which can be read below. Heaven Revelation 21:1-4 reads: â€Å"Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. Hell Jesus used different images to describe hell. He used the images of torment (Matthew 25:46), a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12), a place of outer darkness (Matthew 8:12), and a place of fire (Matthew 3:12). Revelation 21:8 describes it as â€Å"the lake which burns with fire and brimstone†¦ † To demonstrate that hell is a place of continual and eternal torment, Revelation 14:11 states that â€Å"the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worships the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name. This is the biblical teaching on hell. Those who try to dilute it are only hurting people; hell is real, and everyone who does not submit to the gospel of Christ will go there. However, Rev. Douglas Taylor of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Binghamton, argue that Hell, like Heaven, is essentially a state of mind although the very opposite state of mind to heaven. If hell is within us, it will be seen outside of us as a place ( a hideous place), reflecting the hideousness of the evil within†. Is there life after death? Yes, there is life after death. This is supported by the Bible’s passage particularly in John 11:25-26 where God said â€Å"There is only one way – through faith and trust in God’s Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus said, â€Å"I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die like everyone else, will live again. They are given eternal life for believing in me and will never perish. Furthermore, this can also be read in the book of Mathew 25:46 which states that â€Å"Those who have been made righteous will go into eternal life in heaven, but unbelievers will be sent to eternal punishment or hell†. Who is right, Christians or Muslims? Christians and Muslims believe in the same God, and their faith is based on the Old Testament. These believers are both believe in the Day of Judgment and the coming of Jesus Christ for the second time. Many are amazed that the Koran talked more about Mary, the mother of Jesus, in regards to the birth of Christ than the Bible itself. Both groups of believers believe in the living God, the Most High King, and the God of the universe. At that high level, both groups have no difference. Those who called by His name are given the power and authority to rule and judge the world. God was just using different messengers for the Christians and the Muslims; Christ Jesus for the Christians, and Mohammad for the Muslims. But, they the same believed the old testament of the Holy Bible. In the eyes of God, the righteous are those who believe that there is God; obey His commands, and those who recognize that He is the most powerful and merciful God. What is a perfect marriage? A perfect marriage is a marriage that put God in the center. A perfect marriage is bound with open communication, faith and trust with each other. In Ephesians 5:23-33 of the Holy Bible, God describes that perfect marriage is based on love. He commands the husband to love his wife more than he loves himself, and to nourish and cherish her. A man should provide for his wife’s needs and consider her a precious possession. The most important part of a good marriage is LOVE, not just a physical attraction, but true love and concern for each other before God. Marriages that last are built on love (Ecclesiastes 9:9). The wise man Solomon said that enjoying life’s blessings with a loving companion is a great reward. Love’s endurance knows no limits, its trust no end, its hope no fading; it can outlast anything. If, we will but follow God’s pattern for the marriage relationship, we can find the happiness that God intended when He ordained it. The pleasure and happiness are there when the husband and the wife have the proper love for each other and for God. These explanations about perfect marriage are anchored on LOVE. What is the secret behind miracles? The secret behind miracles is faith. Many scriptures in the Holy Bible (in the New Testament) tell how Jesus shown that faith makes miracles. However, in some cases, miracles are used by the devil to mislead the people of God and forget the true miracle from God which is the miracle of forgiveness of sins. Do all miracles come from God? Not all miracles come from God. Dan Corner of Evangelical Outreach reveals that miracles come from two sources that is God and devil. The book of Exodus that â€Å"some of God’s miracles were duplicated by Satan’s power channeled through the Egyptian magicians: a wooden staff became a snake† (7:10, 11); â€Å"water was changed into blood† (7:20-22)† and frogs came out of the water and covered the land† (8:6, 7)! † Demons can and do perform miraculous signs† (Rev. 16:14, p. 142). In the Holy Bible (New Testament) Jesus Christ made many miracles of healing the sick people, giving life again to the declared dead person, calming storms, etc. All the miracles performed by Jesus came from God. Are all churches real? Not all churches are real. Elephant shared in his article that the real churches are those where the worshippers are singing with the same voice, moving in the same direction, without confusion, and seek God for salvation. Real churches are those with true worshippers. True worshippers of God are poor in hearts seeking God and left everything behind just to follow God with one purpose, salvation. Is there any false church or prophet? There are so many false churches and prophets even during the time of Jesus Christ. False church is look like a market place where there are lots of confusions; people are seeking God for material things not salvation. Yes, there were false prophets as supported by Ezekiel 13, even God warn the people against false prophets and said to Ezekiel â€Å"These foolish prophets are doomed! They provide their own inspiration and invent their own visions. Christians of today, your prophets are as useless as foxes living among the ruins of the city. They do not guard the places where the walls have crumbled, nor do they build the walls, and so the churches cannot be defended when war comes on the day of the Lord. Their visions are false, and their predictions are lies. They claim that they are speaking my message, but I have not sent them. Yet they expect their words to come true! I tell them: Those visions you see are false, and the predictions you make are lies. You say that they are my words, but I have not spoken to you†. Jeremiah was told by God to â€Å"Tell my people not to listen to what those false prophets say; they are filling you with false hopes. They tell you what they have imagined and not what I have said. To the people who refuse to listen to what I have said, they keep saying that all will go well with them. And they tell everyone who is stubborn that disaster will never touch him. † Is man a complicated creature? Why and why not? Man is a complicated creature because God has provided them everything, the life, the trees that produces foods they need. In Genesis 2:15-16, God even give man a companion in the presence of Eve. With a condition that he should not eat the fruit of the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and bad because the punishment of death will be accorded to him by God. Man’s complication started when he disobey God. The complication continue when God give different languages to human beings and scattered them all over the world. It is hard to understand man because something else that God had no intention to create was created after eating the fruit of the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad. Man became a complicated creature and that is why we suffer, because we need to prove to God that we can be faithful and trusted once more. Our first parent chose to follow or listen to a stranger, the devil. He ignored the instruction of God, despite or everything provided to him by God.

Being a Solomon Islander

I sit with my brothers and my cousins, watching our mothers stomp out the dance, their hips swaying and the dust kicked up by their bare feet settling in their hair. My mother seems to have been dancing for hours, her soft hair is covered in a fine layer of dirt, and her smile flashes every so often in my direction. The drums and pipes carry the light tone through the air and I clap with my brothers and cousins in beat with the motions of the dance, laughing and singing.Caught up in my own traditions, I can almost forget the voice of the missionary teacher who follows me each day as I join my older brothers in their daily journey to and from the waterside. I watch as they sail away from the shoreline, the long canoe gliding across the water. They can escape the confusing words of this colorless man who wears too many cloths and wonders still why he is hot. This man follows me and my friends as we trap lizards or play other boyish games, trying to dodge him and his talks of being burn ed in a volcano forever.My brothers tell me to ignore him, as they have. The missionary is not the threat, it is the kings who will take our homes and the food we eat. I hear my auntie telling my mother that morning as they prepared the pig for the feast later that evening, that the missionary plans to open a school and make me and my friends be students. My auntie told my mother, that my uncle feared they would teach us to be colorless too. For now though, we are away from the eyes of the missionary.My cousin says that he hides in his hut and prays for us to be thrown into a volcano when we dance. If only he could see my mother smiling and throwing her arms above her head. He does not look at us though, instead he follows and speaks of fire and his father, scaring my sisters and little brother. He scares me too but I will soon be a man, I am almost 9 already, I cannot show my fear. I will learn to laugh as my mother or walk away unhearing like my brothers and father.

Grendel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Grendel - Essay Example An epic, which generically narrates human features such as morality, beauty, courage, and unconditional love, was invented by mankind to suffice the need for clarity. One of the most celebrated Anglo-Saxon epics is an account of the perilous adventures and incredible battles with monsters of the legendary king Beowulf. Yet, this human-centered view of the world which was manifested by Beowulf’s almost superhuman abilities and talents was reversed by an acclaimed fictional author, John Gardner; this reversal was done by means of placing Grendel, the monster in the epic as the rational and intuitive protagonist instead of the idealistic human image of Beowulf in his own version entitled Grendel. Suffering from a gruesome childhood accident, Gardner’s affected psychological state manifested its brilliance through his continual production of grotesque fictional literary pieces during his lifetime. Grendel is absolutely not a feel-good work of art but a elaborate literary st yle that uses abstract philosophical notions of both irrational non-human and rational human existences to reinforce the underlying themes of the story, which are the two faces of mankind in the mercy of historical progression and the evolution of humanity from barbarism to a civilization ruled by esteemed morale and social order. Emerging from these points of view, this paper will argue that Grendel was the symbolical figure in the narrative that embodied the primitive instincts of mankind, yet triumphantly achieved a higher understanding of essential human values through assuming a position as an outside observer of the human world. Moreover, Grendel as a monster was an allegory to represent the inevitable engagement of every individual in discerning the blatant conflict between â€Å"what is† and â€Å"what ought to be†, and to transform themselves to rational beings capable of creating institutions such as religion, and ideologies that could serve as their protecti on from both the

Modern Design HistoryMiddle ages inspiration Term Paper

Modern Design HistoryMiddle ages inspiration - Term Paper Example His carriers advance before world war and after world war by the recommendation of his master he appointed as master in 1919. At this old age he become world famous by Bauhaus. From this time he designed famous door handles (become icon of twentieth century) and large scale housing projects. Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin was an English architect designer remembered by his works on Churches and as design theorist. On his school days he started his talents in design and 15th age went to work and also works as freelance designer. In 17th of his age started small business and after this many books were published. He became an advocate of Christian firm of architecture and on that time by the book Contracts, he group an ideal society by modern secular culture. He designed and refurnished Catholic churches and express his view by become the principal of Christian architecture. Within his limited age of 39 years he designed famous Parliament buildings, railway cottages and other famous works and become world famous. John Ruskin at his college time he reenrolled as gentlemen commoner and then awarded honorary fourth class degree without attending so many days in class.