Book Review Greeley, Andrew M. An Ugly Little Secret. Kansas City: (Sheed Andrews and Mcmeel, Inc, 1977) 120pp. World estimates on the numbers of members of different religious dominations are hard to figure and must always be taken with a grain of salt ... attitudes has caused waves of anti-Catholic sentiment since the country's inception and up through the present day, and this prejudice is the topic of his book. Dr. Greeley is a Catholic priest and professor of sociology at the University of Chicago and the University of Arizona. He is also a Research Associate ... politics and writes a wee...

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... extreme. However, through adequate research, there seems to be a lack of literature amplifying the peaceful points of religion. Academic literature as well as common literature apparently concentrates on the very few and minute violent characteristics of the major religions, when in actuality the major religions promote peace and harmony among all people and creations except for specific ... as "extremist" or "fundamentalist". However, the dictionary explanation of the relationship of violence and religion, often referred to as terrorism, is described by Mark Juergensmeyer in his book en...

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... pit people in different faiths against each other. "The twentieth-century rush for materialism and secular values has also fanned an increase in fundamentalism- (444). Although fundamentalism may be based on religious motives, it has often been politicized and turned to violent means. At the same time though, that boundaries between religions are hardening in some areas, they are softening in ... "the willingness of people of all religions to meet, explore their differences, and appreciate and find enrichment in each other's ways to the divine- (445). There are doctrinal differences on ...

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... States. Emerson's controversial critique, delivered six years after he resigned from the Christian ministry, was read to the students of Harvard's Divinity College on July 15th, 1838. Just under a decade later Frederick Douglass, a former slave, published his criticism in Narrative of The Life of Frederick ... as the very "presence of degradation" in the Church. (Selections 104) Emerson's alternative to this flawed Christianity is a form of worship based on the "primary faith" inherent in all of us, along with an interpretation of Jesus as a person, who more than anyone, realized his ......

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... fiction works barely have, the reflections on scientism. The merit which made it a classic book is its astonishing ability to predict. The vision it has is way beyond its era; it is adept to penetrate the insights on scientism, which are inspiring and exhortatory to ... capable of reining them. Shelley predicts a dangerous circumstance through women's sensitivity and acuteness, which scientism, which means too much reliance on science to transform the human interests and environment, enables humans to boundlessly idolize it, becoming indefeasible. The irrational exploration of knowledge ...

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... help to explain the different ecological problems facing these areas at present day. The Christian attitude towards nature is one that relies heavily on human being's mastery over nature. Christianity's beliefs and religious documents justified the possibility of utilizing and exploiting nature for the sole ... human race without taking into consideration the damage being caused to the earth"s ecosystems. This interpretation can be seen when examining The Book of Genesis, which explains the story of creation and the fall of humanity, and states outright that man holds dominion over the ...

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The Influence of Atrahasis on Mesopotamian Beliefs of Human Nature To the ancient Mesopotamians, founders of archaic civilization and architects of history, the belief in many higher, ... previously existing cultures, but also in religious writings, a milestone innovation of the Sumerians. Myths and other religious tales could henceforth be written down, augmenting their impact on nearly every aspect of Mesopotamian life. One such myth, Atrahasis, illustrates the potent Mesopotamian beliefs of creation, the untold power of the many irritated, exalted gods to ... horror (Heritage of World Civi...

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... , so cultures can do no wrong" (Doing Philosophy, 309). To completely understand cultural relativism it is important to understand the term culture or depends on how you actually view culture. The falseness of cultural relativism can be shown in many different counter examples, but only one well known will be discussed ... is faulted given that, as history has often shown us, certain societies have been forced, or manipulated into, accepting and carrying out certain acts on behalf of the authorities within the society. The most common example of this would be Hitler's powerful influence ...

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... I agree with the teachings of the bible and the Christian faith. Tradition, faith, and community drive the religion today this is my perspective on Christianity. The word religion means to bind together, this is a key idea to members of the Christian community because the worshipers are very community ... is the state of being ultimately concerned. People who believe all seek transcendence; their faith in God and Christianity is required to achieve transcendence on earth and beyond. Faith isn't always religiously motivated, you can have faith in someone or something without being religio...

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... ndash; from the most primitive to the most highly developed – is constituted by a great number of hierophanies" (276). By understanding religion on its own term, Eliade contends that "the sacred is equivalent to power [and] to reality , thus it is easy to understand that ... origin of the concepts and categories that we need to understand, reason, and communicate. Ultimately, concluding that religious experiences are socially constructed notions. On the other hand, Weber's approach to religion is not reductionist in the way that Durkheim's is. For Weber, religious beliefs are so ... ...

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MEDICAL EXPERIMENTATION Can we justify medical experimentation on animals? Researchers say we can; because of the enormous benefit to human beings. Although, single experiments will not lead to any medical discovery, ... and moral responsibilities resulting from the use of animals in research we must not fail to place on the scales the terrible pains that would have resulted, would be suffered, and the continued suffering had medical experimentation on animals not been used. Every disease eliminated, vaccine developed and treatment prescribed was due in whole or ... reality is animal exploit...

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... safest general characterisation of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato.'2 Here arises the discussion into how extensive this influence has been on religious philosophy. During the time of Plato in Ancient Greece, religion was irrationally theorised to account for acts of nature that were unexplained. The myth of Zeus's lightening ... how reasonable his conflicting points are with respect to the original argument. These cosmological debates within western religious philosophy have been influenced by the works of Plato. Aquinas also b...

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... -nine women of Salem are arrested and expected to be hung by the corrupted authority due to the accusations of compact with Lucifer and of the writing in the black book.(Miller 852) The society of Salem has been so heavily blinded and influenced by religion that thirty-nine women have been arrested and will be executed by authorities due to ... ...

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... scientific theory of a finite universe was expanded to include an infinite void space to accommodate the Christian doctrine. The political arena also significantly impacted the basis of scientific theories. Jacob notes that rulers of 17th and 18th -century Europe encouraged the progression of science via the improvement of research facilities and the formulation of scientific meeting circles.5 This movement of scientific ... people. This manner of judgement is essentially universal, in that it remains present even in today's society. Moreover, the populace was faced with the shifting tho...

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... guidelines, and the facts support that their contributions to society are equal to, even greater than in some aspects to those whom follow religious guidelines. The couple is affiliated with 39 different charities/foundations. (Celebrity Crowd Funding: Brad Pitt) In 2009 alone, they donated 4.9 million dollars to charity. In 2006 gave 1.95 million dollars to the Make It Right Foundation ( ... Melinda Gates, through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, donated 6.8 billion dollars to 19 different foundations between 2011 and 2012. (Foundation Fact Sheet) The Bill and Melinda Gates Found...

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... the themes in a novel with no storyline? Rather than tediously go through every theme Doctorow offers in his writing, focusing on the overall style of the novel might be a better way to approach the work. Often regarded as a post-modern author, Doctorow tends to show ... a sarcastic take on metaphysical themes in his novels, especially prevalent in City of God. Growing up, Doctorow lived with a "humanist, radical, and Jewish ... of Christianity so thoroughly with Pem, but it also contains key Jewish characters and atheistic passages with scientific theories. "In Everett's notebook are n...

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... that Douglass tries to understand is how the whites could justify slavery and the brutality that was encompassed in this institution. In particular, he notes that his Master, Captain Auld, was one Christian who would vocally justify his abuse of slaves with a passage from the Bible that he ... "non-religious slave-holders." Douglass felt that the "non-religious slave-holders" were less brutal because they did not lecture their slaves based on a heavenly command. Instead they were more concerned about reprimanding the slaves when the slaves did wrong as opposed to whenever they felt that t...

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... as to the coherence of giving varying species members equal consideration morally. Philosopher Evelyn Pluhar notes the sharp distinction most humans wish to draw between racist and sexist bigotry and that of speciesism when she writes "Racism and sexism are plainly irrational because they do not discriminate on the basis of morally relevant differences. All humans have basic moral rights as autonomous ... is inconceivable to equate the moral consideration of a human with a non-human animal. Appearances aside, perhaps the only remaining difference is one of interests, and varying kinds. ...

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... are important for spirituality and religion "character and integrity are what politicians used to ask for"(p. 71). West also believes political leadership lacks integrity. On the issue of public speakers West notes how their speeches vary according to their audience. He specially refers to public speakers such as President Obama and argues that Obama lacks integrity but is charismatic ... being an intellectual, questions today's media and culture. The trend in reality TV shows and television sitcoms or exploitations of family dysfunctions and have become part of our culture. West notes t...

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... is not the observer but the believer. In practical terms, however, it should be noted that no "pure" descriptions are possible as this stage includes a strong attitudinal component on the part of the observer. Although the scholar may try to present data just as the believer would, his own judgements will inevitably influence his descriptions. He must also covey ... it. Language problems can be a hindrance or can end up destroying the religious phenomena. The observer soon realise that he can do this only after having formed some prior assumptions on the basis of the knowledge he has al...

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... as food, clothing, shelter, pleasure etc. The spiritual objects of existence are determined by each creature's knowledge of the divine, such as divine joy, divine love and so on (Chimento, 1997). The relationship between psychosis and mystical or religious experiences is worthy of discussion. To begin to understand schizophrenia and mysticism, one must first have a functional definition ... of both. Most experts on mysticism cite the same qualities when attempting to define mystical experience: experience of unity, intense affective experience, time/space distortion, "noetic" quality, i...

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... does our progress actually make our lives more pleasurable? The philosopher John Mill believed that the progress modern society has made is positive. Based on his fundamental belief that an individual should involve himself with what makes him most happy, Mill beliefs that a happy individual is a positive asset ... It is important to note, however, that Mill did make a distinction between opinions and actions. He believed that one's actions should never impede danger on another person's life. Mill stresses that an individual "carry his own opinion into practice at his own cost" and that ...

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In her book, A Pilgrim in Chinese Culture, Berling finds Western religions, particularly Christianity, very 'exclusive' whereas she finds Asian religions like, Buddhism 'inclusive'. Christians prefer not to interact with members of other religious ... that they are undermining the Christian faith. Berling believes that if Christianity ever wants to have a larger presence in the world, it needs to be more open toward other religions. On the other hand, Asian religions have no prejudices toward other religions and make no embarrassing distinctions. In a way they encourage diversity because it...

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... about this life. As industrialization and modernity has increased, religion has lost some of its social significance. Two strong positions are held by Bryon Wilson and Roger Finke on the secularization debate. Wilson notes that religious practices in society are a thing of the past. Religion started as a communal group phenomenon and has transformed into a part of one's private life. Finke and his ... secularization. Finke's thesis is supported from both economic and political point of views. A rebuttal has been made by Steve Bruce on the theory stated by Finke and Stark that claims som...

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... Popul Vuh. Maize was a central crop in Mesoamerican lives and was told to be the flesh of humans. The Forefathers, Tepeu and Gucumatz, spoke and summoned for humanity to appear on the earth. Animals played a role in the formation of humanity in that they were the messengers. Yac, utiú, quell, and hob- all different types of animals- gave tidings of yellow ... mountain cat) and utiú (the coyote). This is a crucial reason as to why the story may have been written the way it was and not another way. Similarly, in the Book of Genesis it is said that the all powerful, Yahweh, Is the sole c...

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