... and thus allows Sunnis to safeguard her legacy and deflect responsibility onto the two men who neglected their duties. As one might expect, Shi'i Muslims wholeheartedly dismiss this Sunni defense and condemn 'A'isha as a serious political player who desired to become caliph herself.19 Shi'i author Ibn Shahrashub depicts 'A'isha as an "active, determined, and independent political persona" ... a pivotal player in shaping 'A'isha's deleterious reputation. In the weeks following the "affair of the lie," rumors of the scandal spread wildly and, due to accusations made by ...

• Word Count: 3461
• Approx Pages: 14
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... pilgrimage to spread the word of Christianity to the "infidels" of Africa in hopes of converting them to Christianity. But Gomes Azurara is unsuspecting, the Portuguese had realized the worst qualities of mankind; the most highly developed culture was combined with the most primitive barbarity. The result was a people of unusual courage, ingenuity, and greed. The religion that Henry based his voyages on, and by how Gomes Azurara rationalized his journey, was the main tool ... to our countrymen" (Azurara 1452-3, 5). Gomes Azurara uses the economics of this journey as a secondary reason t...

• Word Count: 991
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... grandmother, Irene finds herself lost in her own castle in more ways than one. Unfamiliar with much of the castle outside of her nursery, the young princess becomes physically lost as she explores her home losing herself on the way. Upon finding her grandmother, Irene finds herself, beginning her journey to spiritual maturity. Irene felt as though she was lost and would never be found, similar ... to the reality of feeling lost in the world, unable to find guidance and finding one's self through divinity. This paradox of being lost yet not lost leads individuals to ... ...

• Word Count: 1315
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... , Margery often refers to herself as "this creature," which can be seen as simple humility. Her recollections detail her spiritual journey through a life that was anything but ordinary, fraught with business failures, the difficult pregnancy and birth of her first child, bearing thirteen subsequent children while desiring chaste living; enduring temptation, struggling with lustful urges, and a difficult marriage to ... to tour Europe and take pilgrimages to far away countries, such as Rome, Jerusalem, and Germany; another remarkable feat for a woman in medieval society (2001). One of th...

• Word Count: 1321
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... has also been able to be conferred by pouring the water three times over the candidate's head. For Methodists, the Holiness Conference of North America in particular the act of baptism represents the death of one's sin and a rebirth into the Christian way of life. Catholics baptize infants because of their interpretation of who should be baptized states that "Every person ... marriage itself a sacrament. "The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the pr...

• Word Count: 1047
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... Buddhism; however, their greatest contrast can be marked between the revolutionary ideas of Jesus toward women and Siddhatta Gautama's obvious distrust of the female gender. To the society of today's modern world, it is almost appalling to say the least when one encounters the various world religions paradigms and yet typically notice a total lack of the feminine. In much of the Eastern World, the woman still faces incredible misogyny with covered faces, harems ... pleasures of the world, including both his wife and new-born son. He even went so far as to name his son, "Rahula" or "fett...

• Word Count: 2981
• Approx Pages: 12
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... , the ruin of Rosetta mirrors the devastation of Italy. Before the rape, Rosetta represented modern Italy before she was ravished by the Fascists and subjected to the terrors of war. Rosetta's transformation from Christ-like to whore suggests her new perception of the changed Italy, and reinforces the message that this liberation was perhaps no liberation at all. In addition to suggesting the consequences of immorality, both the novel and the film present Cesira's spiritual journey ... from blindness to death to enlightenment and rebirth. At the beginning of the film, Cesira is absolutel...

• Word Count: 2867
• Approx Pages: 11
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... according to Mark and Matthew I was fascinated by many things. I have never read the Gospels before, and was taken back by the differences between the two interpretations of the meaning of Jesus" life, death and resurrection. Mark's interpretation is very fast paced, and reminds me of the script for an action movie. Unlike Matthew's explanation, Mark has little tolerance for dialogue and personal reflection. Matthew warms up his ... that both Matthew and Mark did not begin their interpretations with the story Jesus" birth. Matthew begins with a historical research of Jesus" family tree;...

• Word Count: 274
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified." ~ Galatians 2:15-16 "In ... my heart reigns this one article, faith in my dear Lord Christ, the beginning, middle and end of whatever spiritual and divine thoughts I may have, whether by day or by night ... include this, yet Luther did? By challenging the church, Luther was not only r...

• Word Count: 525
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... enough to send His only son to save us from our sin and give us eternal life with God, all we have to do is believe in him. In the beginning when God created the world and placed man in the Garden of Eden, He was very pleased with all that he had done and he rested. Roberts points out that this is probably ... from God, they turned away from God and faced his punishment and curses. However, not all was lost for mankind, God found Abraham and promised him that he would be the father of God's people, he also promised He would bless Abraham and his descendants. Through Abraham, God promise...

• Word Count: 944
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... form that passion plays, in which actors (often amateurs) reenact that last moments from Christ's life as a way of reminding themselves as sell as those who watch them of the meaning of Christianity. The form was most popular in Europe during the Middle Ages, but it has never died out and-as Gibson's grosses demonstrate-still has significant appeal to many people. ... Arcan plays more directly with the conceit of the passion, because his movie focuses on a modern-day play in which ordinary Canadians actors and reenact the stations of the cross. As they present these last scenes from the ...

• Word Count: 444
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... , and rapid physical deterioration of the painting itself, the painting's status as an extraordinary creation has never been questioned nor doubted. The perfection of this work lies not only in the artistic merits of the painting, but also in Leonardo's expressive mastery. Leonardo's Last Supper is an ideal pictorial representation of the most important event in the Christian doctrine of salvation - the institution of the Eucharist. His representation of this part of the Christian story has achieved a unanimous ... accceptance and authority. No other painting of a Christian subject domin...

• Word Count: 489
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... , the first cell of the society and the church, since she helps his members to be, as well, agents of the history of the salvation, and alive signs of the loving plan of God on the world. The family also is at the same time the great mystery of God. Like "domestic church", she is the wife of Christ. The universal Church, and within her each particular Church, is pronounced more immediately like wife of Christ in the "domestic church" and the ... love that is lived in her: conjugal love, paternal and maternal love, love fraterno, love of ... ...

• Word Count: 370
• Approx Pages: 1
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... . Yancey decides to reexamine these traditional views after he encountered some confusing experiences of the imagery that was portrayed as Jesus throughout his life. He used Gospel accounts concentrating mainly on the message of the Sermon on the Mount. By doing so he tries to dispel the confusion found in Jesus' teachings. The book looks three aspects of Jesus. Firstly it looks at who Jesus was, showing ... the teachings and miracles that he performed. the reason for his coming, and what he left behind. It also looked ... die for us (death and resurrection). Lastly it looked at his asce...

• Word Count: 959
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... pears from a pear tree and fed them to swine comparing it with Adam and Eve stealing Apples in the Garden of Eden. Many have said that The Confessions are very much like a parallel of the Parabal of the Prodigal Son which appears in Canonical gospels of the New Testament specifically Gospel of Luke (Luke 15:11-32). It resembles this story because Augustine's heart is "restless till it finds ... Earth could I travel, so that my god could come to me there, the god that said I fill heaven and Earth?". This section of the text is very eye opening to me and reflective of the main ideas of th...

• Word Count: 656
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... . Baptism and Chritmation are the two sacraments essential to enter into the saving shelter of the Church. Baptism by triple immersion washes away their sins and restores the image of Adam. With Christmation, they receive the Gifts of the Holy Spirit becoming "partakers of the fullness of Christ." In the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, they partake of the true Body and Blood of Christ in the form of bread and wine for the forgiveness of sins, the healing of body and soul, and ... for eternal life. Confession is the fourth essential sacrament for the life of ... ...

• Word Count: 522
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... theme in the teaching of the Catechism in this article. The virtue of chastity involves the integrity of the person and the integrality of the gift. Chastity means not giving into the temptations lay forth upon us and to stay true to God and yourself. There are various forms of chastity, which comes from the cardinal virtue of temperance. The three forms of chastity are that of spouses, that of widows, and that of virgins. On the flip side of this beautiful ... idea of chastity there ... ...

• Word Count: 615
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... evolved and was practiced. Paul was an advocate for the inclusion of all among the followers of Christianity. He challenged the belief that non-Jews had to convert to Judaism and abide by the laws of Moses, including circumcision, at the Council of Jerusalem in 50CE. This was a turning point in the history of the Christianity as Paul's understanding of the gospel was adopted by the Church as her own. Paul proved that Jesus' ministry ... , "Gentile or Jew, servant or free" (Galatians 3:28). Neal Shusterman's quote highlights the theme of growth and development due to a change, Paul being ...

• Word Count: 670
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... with failures, personal problems, and violent actions from adversarial forces. The fundamental point in all areas of biblical leadership is the dynamic that God is at the foremost pattern of all leadership and that submission to His leadership is the defining line before any additional area of leading can happen. The next important factor in biblical leadership is that one must adhere to ... the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever" (2004). The biblical leader understands that there is a higher accountability to God because...

• Word Count: 1112
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... overtly intend to include anything about her faith, certain values important to her (which are also the values of the LDS) were bound to slip in somewhere within the story. "Dracula," written by Bram Stoker in 1897, a fantastic book partially based upon the congenital fears of a people in the Victorian era; the night, perverse sexuality, compulsion, blood lust, aggression and impurity. He feeds on, particularly, (young) women. After ... . If we are to be preserved we must abhor them, shun them, not practice the least of them, for they weaken and enervate, they kill man spiritually, they ...

• Word Count: 1158
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... is believed to give a consistent vision throughout of life after death. Liberal Christians recognize that the writers of the Bible held a variety of beliefs concerning Heaven and Hell, and believe that the beliefs of the authors of the Bible evolved greatly over the approximately 850 years during which the Bible was written. Thus, there is little internal consistency in the Bible on the afterlife. The earliest books of the Bible described Sheol : an underground cavern where all ... simply cease to exist, or of eternal punishment. Liberal Christians do not interpret the Bible's teachings...

• Word Count: 1279
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... by columns depicting the start of the Chapel, the theological space ,God the Father at the apex of the picture, standing behind the crucifixion of his son Jesus and the Holy Spirit as the dove descending down towards the dying Jesus. All three are haloed to represent the spirituality of the moment. On further analysis, the three phases of the human life can be interpreted, God and the dove, being the spiritual life. The Trinity is considered to be the first painting to ... . The coffers on the ceiling create the lines, and the vanishing point is at the base of cross, which happens to be ...

• Word Count: 1305
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... was torn in two from top to bottom " (Mark 15: 34, 37). This final act of martyrdom was, as Ehrman states on page 71, the ultimate sacrifice that voided the necessities of all others. It was the mission of Jesus as the Son of God to suffer and die on the cross for the sins of all, and be misunderstood until his end what his purpose was. Only after His death ... early to mid 80's CE, and seems to be aimed towards an audience of Jews who know and practice Jewish Law and traditions. There is much emphasis on the fact that Jesus is the King of the Jews because the book of Matthew includes a...

• Word Count: 1542
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... the superficial aspect of their lives to take the time to recognize and appreciate offering of the King of Heaven. The passage encompasses a new tone when Matthew describes the slaughter and mistreatment of the King's slaves. The enraged King ordered the destruction of the murders and their city. (Mt 22:7). There is a clear historical setting in this verse, for Jerusalem suffered a similar fate at the hands of the Roman Empire. "The obtrusive reference to the burning of the city in the parable of the ... great supper does seem to be an allusion to the destruction of Jerusalem ... ...

• Word Count: 979
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... very modern, very clear paint, whereas Rubens's The Last Supper(see Appendix B) is a very traditional painting of the Baroque era. Through the organization of the paintings, the two different styles, and the content on the canvases, the two paintings exemplify the evolution of fear the world has undergone regarding Jesus and the Paschal mysteries through time. Jesus Christ used the Last Supper as a means to explain to His ... the idea of paradise, so much so that the difference between the room and the merged scene is not noticeable. Rubens makes no such merging of paradise; he paints t...

• Word Count: 1263
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate