Specific purpose: By the end of my speech, the audience will know of the Christian Care Center and its purpose of helping the less fortunate and marginalized members of society by providing essential services free of charge.
Thesis statement: The Christian Care Center helps the most vulnerable groups of the population by providing food, shelter, medical care, counseling, and career advice free of charge.
Introduction
Attention-getter: Have you ever wondered where you could get help if you find yourself in a challenging life situation? Or have you ever wondered where you could volunteer to give a helping hand to those who need it most? The organization I am going to tell you about provides opportunities for both.
Introduction of the topic: I will inform you about the Christian Care Center and its efforts to make a difference.
Credibility and relevance: Because of my wish to volunteer my time to help those in need, I researched organizations providing such opportunities. There are always people who are homeless, struggling with drug addiction, or living below the poverty line, which is why non-profit organizations, which try to assist them, deserve public attention.
Preview: In order to understand how the Center makes a difference, we need to explore how it addresses homelessness and poverty, deals with different populations, and offers volunteering opportunities.
Transition: I will begin by outlining the Center’s actions to help people who are homeless and poor.
Body
The Christian Care Center is a non-profit organization founded in 1985 by Dr. Charles Roesel, Pastor Emeritus of First Baptist Church of Leesburg, with the purpose of helping those in need.
Since that time, the Center has been helping homeless people through its ministry called the Samaritan Inn.
According to Florida Coalition to End Homelessness (2020), there were 27,487 homeless people in Florida in 2020.
The Center’s Samaritan Inn provides housing facilities with all conveniences for 30 days to homeless children and their parents (Christian Care Center, n.d.-c).
The Center has been assisting the poor through its Benevolence Center.
The Center provides clothing, food, and household items to the needy, serving more than 2,400 individuals and giving out over 160,000 pounds of food per month (Christian Care Center, n.d.-a).
The Center helps different groups of the population: men, women, and children.
Men and women are provided with separate drug and alcohol rehabilitation facilities.
The residence program for men consists of four phases, during which men receive counseling and support on their way to independent lives.
Women’s Care Center offers a one-year program consisting of three phases, providing them with a safe space for recovery.
Children aged 6-13 years are served by the Children’s Center.
According to the Office of Adoption and Child Protection (2020), in 2019-2020, over 20,000 children were removed from families due to various reasons, including parental drug abuse and domestic violence.
The Center meets the immediate needs of the removed children, arranges for medical care, registers them at schools, and helps them get accustomed to the new daily routine.
The Center offers support to people in challenging life situations.
Through the Fresh Start Job Program, the Center helps job seekers to improve their resumes, hone interview skills, and find suitable jobs.
Through its Community Medical Care Center, the Christian Care Center offers medical care to uninsured individuals aged under 65 and with an income at or below 150% of the poverty level (Christian Care Center, n.d.-b).
Conclusion
Transition to conclusion and summary of importance: In summary, the Christian Care Center makes a difference by serving the most disadvantaged segments of the population.
Review of main points: It provides homeless people with shelter, substance-dependent men and women with rehabilitation programs, children removed from custody with a healthy family atmosphere, and those in need with career advice and medical care.
Closing statement: The Christian Care Center offers opportunities for volunteers to participate in their community action by providing funds, mentorship, food and clothing donations, and professional services.
The Iraqi Christians are settlers in a land far away from home. However, they are strangers in either world, Christians in Iraq and Iraqis in the United States. They are faced with the threat of deportation whenever they are involved in any crime. It does not matter whether they have served their time or not, the pettiness of the offense does not matter either. There are over a thousand Iraqi Christians facing deportation to Iraq. This is legal, as the United States allows the deportation of foreign nationals if they are found culpable of certain crimes. They should be allowed to stay in the United States. They will most likely be unsafe in Iraq as they are a minority. Iraq is also currently still reeling from the effects of wars. The social support systems of these individuals are in the United States.
Discussion
Iraq is still in recovery from the war following the ousting of Saddam Hussein where the United States Army was a major player. Moreover, the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS) also affected a significant proportion of the country. This shows that the country is yet to achieve sustainability. It is on a process of recovery, the establishment of infrastructure, and ensuring the rule of law. It would be thus inhuman of a government to deport individuals that it considers its citizens. This can be perceived as an abdication of its duty. With the limited public resources, the additional prisoners would be a burden on an already overstretched Iraqi government.
The United States government committed when they accepted the Iraqi Christians and their families as they fled the country. This commitment is best exemplified through their induction as citizens. They are legal immigrants who play their part in the titan that is the United States economy. A majority of these crimes committed are most likely committed due to the prevailing circumstances. It is difficult for anyone to gain footing in a new environment. This implies that these crimes were mistakes made in moments of weakness. With rehabilitation, they can be reintegrated back into society. However, it is a holistic process that should encompass social support structures, especially the family. If they are deported, they lose these supports, further worsening their situations.
Some of the deportees will be transferred to these jails where their safety can hardly be assured. Iraqi prisons are filled with ISIS prisoners. Their reintegration into Iraqi society is impaired by the fact that they fled to the United States and are Christians. They will be outsiders and will have it tough trying to make a living. Furthermore, their families are left in the United States. Children are being condemned to live without their parents. In a country that preaches equal opportunity, this is a rejection of its beliefs.
Opposing voices may argue that the country has no business taking care of criminals. However, it should be considered that crime in the United States has a strong correlation to socioeconomic status, prevalent among the low-income class. The convicted Iraqis are not any different from the Americans who commit crimes as they are all victims of a system filled with inequity.
Conclusion
Deportation is the wrong way of handling legal immigrants who commit crimes. The process of rehabilitation involves assimilation back into society. Deportation is a stark contrast to these basic tenets. The Iraqi immigrants should be allowed to retain their support systems in the United States. Iraq is still rebuilding and may be unsafe for them. By allowing the immigrants to stay, the United Stated will become a beacon on the perks of redemption.
There are many ways by which knowledge and truth can be found from the perspective of a biblical Christian worldview. Scientific method is one of the methods. It refers to the process by which truth is found by putting more emphasis on the reasoning and experimentation of the variables under study.
For example, it is important for human beings to understand the evolution process. It is systematic as it involves various steps to be able to obtain the truth.
An observation of nature is made. This involves identifying a given problem to be studied. The scientist then proposes an explanation for that observation. The explanation is then used to forecast or make predictions. The scientist waits to see if the prediction will be correct or not.
If the prediction has failed, then the hypothesis is rejected. The scientist has various options after this observation. He may modify the hypothesis in order to make some corrections and leave the other parts unchanged and therefore make a new prediction or reject the entire hypothesis so that a new one can be made (Otto, 1997). Many experiments should be repeated from time to time before a conclusion is finally made.
The scientist may be suspicious if he keeps on finding negative results that are not consistent with other experiments and therefore require him to keep on doing research as he cannot rely on the results to make a valid conclusion (Nigel, 2006). However, it is not always possible to obtain an absolute truth by this method because it involves so many assumptions.
The scientific method can be used as a way of seeking knowledge and truth especially by the Christians in trying to explain the existence of God who created the heavens and the earth. God has given us brains which can be used to increase our understanding of nature.
People may not understand who created the things that we are trying to experiment, but science has revealed that there is more that has that needs to be discovered. Many scientists may not give credit to God who has expanded their thinking unless they are sure that God exists.
The study of the sun and other heavenly bodies, has revealed atoms that are beyond human understanding. This is sufficient evidence that superior intelligence exists in whoever had created the earth and the things that are inside it. This has made many scientists to believe that there is a God who they have always referred to known to be the force of nature.
Scientists have revealed that there is a large vacant space that appears as a solid thing when viewed from the world even if we try to use powerful magnifiers. The sky appears to be blue, but nothing is in the sky, it is just our eyes that see the color. Indeed, through the scientific experiments, it still confirms how mighty our God is and that He controls the universe in a perfect way so that man can know the real truth that there is a Creator.
There are still many things that scientists have yet to discover as they try to understand nature. Even some of the theorists of evolution have come to believe that indeed God created man. Therefore scientific method has already revealed some truths about creation and existence of God.
There are other ways of seeking knowledge and truth. From a Christian perspective, we have the faith method. This provides a sure method for anyone seeking to know the truth about something. It can reveal truths about life and the existence of God; the Creator of all things.
It can answer some questions which the scientific method is not able to answer. If one believes that God exists, he or she does not need to doubt, and he can arrive at the truth from what the creation has shown. One can have a purpose to live if he or she believes that there is a God and He shall reward those who do according to His will.
He also cares about his people and therefore pople can trust in Him and live their lives comfortably. The truth will set free any one who trusts in God. Otherwise, there is no truth without believing.
The five senses can be used to learn the truth. This involves hearing, touching, smelling and seeing which can reveal some truths of existence even though they needto be combined. Multiple witnesses can also be used to reveal the truth as it provides sufficient evidence and proof about existence of things. Using one of the senses may not be sufficient to provide enough evidence of truth.
In addition to other senses, intuition can be used to get knowledge of the truth. Conscience can also reveal to a person on whether something is right or wrong. One has a high chance of knowing the truth if he or she relies on his or her conscience. Most of the things that we feel to be right are actually found out to be true.
This may be from the way our parents have taught us. We can also test general premises by getting a counter example from the extremes so that to arrive at the truth. If we are able to find a counter example, then the premise is taken to be false.
We can also learn the truth by looking at nature. Nature can be compared with the scientific discoveries. If there is sufficient evidence observed in nature, then the truth can be found out. We can also observe the fruits to know whether something is true or false.
For example Jesus had said that that we can look at the fruits of the prophets in order to know if what they are claiming to be is true or false. If their works are contrary to what they say, then they are false prophets.
The authority that one has can also determine the extent to which we can believe him or her. People in authority are assumed to know much and therefore there is always some truth in what they are saying. Finally, there are some events that are unusual in life and therefore will happen to people who will believe that there is some truth in them.
From the bible, there are many servants of God who had visions in broad daylight that made them to believe that it was God who was speaking to them or trying to reveal something that was important in their lives. It is true that anything unusual has some truth in it.
Human nature influences the way in a person seeks Knowledge and Truth. People have unique characters in the way they perceive things. Human beings have presuppositions and perceptions about different things (Collins, 2003).
From a Christianity perspective, arguments about the different beliefs that we have, become very complex as it is not easy to convince a person to change his or her belief. A Christian may not be encouraged to discuss about God with someone who does not believe in the Bible as the word of God.
Therefore, such discussions of things between people with different perspectives may not be fruitful due to resistance from each of the parties. If a person has preconceived ideas in the discussions or arguments, then the truth cannot be found.
Human beings try to isolate particular beliefs and study them at different times before moving to the next. This limits the chances of knowing the truth as there are so many beliefs that have not been studied. These beliefs are then influenced by our background beliefs which control our view of other beliefs under study.
We cannot know the truth if we continue holding the background beliefs from time to time. By human nature, some of these background beliefs are not isolated from our thinking (Loftus, 2008).
It is impossible to analyze all our beliefs at the same time due to several limitations that we have. There are some childhood experiences that made us believe in some things and this has affected the way we seek knowledge and truth.
There are so many things that we have assumed to be so obvious that we do not take time to study and check whether or not there is some truth in them. Unless we change some of the beliefs that we have, we may find it difficult to get the truth.
References
Collins, J. (2003). Science & faith: friends or foes? Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.
Outreach programs take advantage of affiliations, relationships and research provided within drug and substance abuse rehabilitation centers for the purpose of designing relevant treatment, counseling, referrals, education and proper allocation of resources towards alleviating teen and adolescent addiction. Drug and substance abuse is rampant among adolescents. Community based outreach programs are structured with an assessment and treatment programs that examine the defining behavioral and psychological issues that could have led to the drug abuse. Emotional issues comprise serious underlying factors which include depression, poor self esteem and eating impairments (for instance bulimia and anorexia nervosa) that could overwhelm individuals to the point of abusing drugs. This paper therefore explores both secular and theological counseling as an integrated approach for the intervention of teenage drug and alcohol abuse.
Introduction
Drug and alcohol abuse has become a serious problem across the world. The problem begins with the curiosity to experiment on a social drug as a result of peer influence or a wild indulgence. “At the beginning of substance abuse, an individual appears to be in control of the situation but soon loses balance becoming dependent on the drug/alcohol” (Allen& Kruzas, 2008 P. 5). Alcohol and drug abuse results in chemical dependence to the drug being abused creating a permanent disorder that corrupts an addict’s life. At this point, the addict takes more quantities of the drug in order to achieve a particular state of euphoria experienced before. Substance abuse affects the entire life of an addict. An integrated approach in counseling incorporating both the secular and Christian based interventions is therefore important in arresting teenage drug and alcohol abuse.
Secular Counseling
Persistent abuse of the drug reaches a peak where the addict is forced to seek for help. By this time, the individual could suffer from the combination of the physical, psychological and emotional complications. This is attributed to the fact that when an individual exposes his/her body to increasing quantities of the drug or alcohol, the addict’s body becomes modified physiologically. The changes in body’s chemistry results in negative repercussions characterized by inability to control urges and impulses linked to the substance being abused (Baumgartner, 2009 P. 11). Alcohol and drug addiction damage an addict’s biological state which transcends to drastic behavioral and emotional changes. According to United Methodist Church (U.S.), Board of Church and Society (1993), such changes include weight loss or gain, change in personality, mood disorders, memory loss, and impairment of normal motor skills as well as serious mental and physiological disorders.
Normal people, who do not participate in substance abuse, find motivation in life from various things. However, the addict is entirely motivated by the drug or the alcohol being experimented on. Eventually, the individual feels worthless, loses self esteem and frustrated. At this point, the addict seeks medical assistance in order to treat the condition. Some of the alcohol and drug patients become overwhelmed by the addiction succumbing to its effects. Treatment requires that the patient is counseled adequately before actual medication in order to improve the self-esteem. Since most patients suffering from alcohol and drug addiction lack self motivation to fight the addiction, they are often forced to participate in the compulsory counseling sessions and treatment programs. This is also due to the mood disorders and emotionally disturbances.
Once enrolled into the addiction therapy or counseling sessions, the addicts normally become cooperative completing the programs successfully. “The alcohol and drug abuse counseling sessions and treatment programs are applicable based on differences in addict’s personalities and therapeutic potential” (Elwood, 1999 P. 10). Programs are either short-term or long-term depending on the state of addiction by the time the patient is admitted. Long-term treatment programs are recommended because they are effective in alleviating the condition completely. It is therefore understood that the available treatment and counseling programs just set the process of recovery from alcohol and drug addiction in progress. The perfect outcome of the therapy lies in the support the addict obtains from the community.
Patients require adequate emotional support from friends and family, close supervision and an accountability person that monitors their progress during therapy. Counseling is therefore of utmost importance to the addict in view of the challenges that alcohol and drug abuse presents in their lives. Both secular and theological counseling are crucial in ensuring the successful implementation of treatment program. The counseling sessions seek to support the patient emotionally. The addict is counseled to understand that the drug’s control over their lives was not a reckless blunder but a consequence of the accompanying biological changes that modified their bodies to the extent of losing control on the drug (Schinke& Botvin, 1997 P. 15).
According to Foundation Center Staff (2009), provision of necessary resources for the treatment and the support from the community are relevant in ensuring that the addict does not undergo a relapse but emerges victorious. Teenage drug and alcohol abuse results in a higher risk for drug-related road accidents, sexual immorality, poor exam grades, juvenile delinquency as well as arrested physiological development. The drugs in question include marijuana, cocaine, heroine and other inhalants. Alcohol is easily available to teenagers as well as illicit drugs such as cocaine, heroin and marijuana. Parents who abuse alcohol and drugs risk transmitting the substances to their inborn children. Children born to parents bent on substance abuse are more likely to abuse drugs than those born in normal families. The underlying cause being the influence and motivation they obtain from their parents being their immediate role models.
“Alcohol and drug abuse arrests a teenager’s growth and development to the extent that it could distort their cognitive capacities and perceptions on important issues in life” (Friedman, 2005 P. 18). Consequently, teenagers lose interest in schooling. They find solace, humor and satisfaction from the cheap pleasures that they obtain from the drugs they are addicted to. Academic performance declines drastically due to chronic absenteeism, loss of concentration in class and ultimately dropping out of school. Substance abuse actually impairs teenagers’ cognitive capacity through brain biochemical modifications as well as physiological changes. The teenage addict is therefore rendered to the mercy of the drug being abused at the expense of important learning programs.
All the stakeholders in education should therefore ensure that alcohol and drug abuse is prevented at its onset. Discipline in schools is paramount in restricting teenage indulgence on drugs and alcohol abuse. Adolescent teenagers require the support of the parents, teachers, peers and religious leaders in order to avoid the temptation of experimenting on drugs. Guidance and counseling in schools should be adopted and implemented at personal and group level towards addressing the core reasons of substance abuse. Parents and teachers are strategically positioned to diagnose substance abuse in teenagers. “Drastic change in behavior patterns of teenagers such as desire to be alone, unexplained crying, confusion, restlessness, insomnia and lack of appetite could direct parents to an abuse problem” (McGovern& Benda, 2006 P. 20). Teachers could also note a trend to alcohol and drug abuse through a drastic decline in academic performance, absenteeism and gross indiscipline among their teenage students.
Community based outreach programs are therefore relevant in learning institutions. Professional counselors are properly trained to spearhead the agenda and purpose of the outreach programs in schools based on the needs assessment of their students because students do not just abuse alcohol and drugs out of mere indulgence and curiosity to experiment on the substances.
Risky sexual habits
It has been noted that adolescent teenagers who abuse drugs are more likely to engage in sex early in their life than teenagers abstaining from both sex and drugs. “Teenagers already addicted to alcohol and drugs are also more likely to experiment with multiple sex partners predisposing them to the threat of contracting HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, STDs as well as getting unwanted pregnancies” (Hagedorn& Juhnke, 2006 P. 13). The drugs actually lead to behavioral changes in a teenage life as a result of the chemical dependence that develops with continued abuse. Teenagers experiment on life issues due to their inexperience and challenges associated with biological puberty. At teen age, adolescents are undergoing the process of discovering their self-identity among other things. They are equally going through various biological changes within their bodies which require the support of the community in order to help them emerge as stronger adults. Community based outreach programs therefore seek to engage the society in the fight against teenage and drug abuse.
Delinquent behavior
Teenagers addicted on alcohol and drugs are bound to engage in crime than nonusers. Adolescents hooked on marijuana are more likely than nonusers to steal, run away from their homes in order to join their drug gangs as well as destabilize peace and order in the society. Juvenile delinquency is therefore reported among teenagers abusing alcohol and drugs because they are no longer in control of their life. They are at the mercy of the drug which dictates their mannerisms. They are therefore bound to break the law in order to get necessary resources and opportunities to abuse their drugs. “There is need that the society is engaged in guiding teenagers towards developing rewarding personal relationships” (Bell, 2008 P. 24).
Community outreach programs also assist the teenagers establish their careers; develop a positive self image and a proper intellectual growth. This serves to help them resist the temptation of abusing drugs through a strong will, proper grooming and focus on their future careers. People living with teenagers are able to recognize behavior and appearances that could signal tendency to alcohol and drug abuse.
Screening teenage behaviors
It is possible to discover several changes in the behavior pattern of a teenager that could point towards alcohol and drug abuse. A sudden change in personality in an individual from an expected trend without a legitimate reason should be investigated professionally through counselors. Another clue lies in the teenager’s loss of interest in social activities such as sports and previous favorite hobbies. Inability to keep friends as well as reluctance to discuss about new comrades is a pointer of an alcohol-related or drug-related condition. Another strange behavior is the rapid deterioration of basic personal grooming habits consistent with nonusers of alcohol and drugs such poor hygiene. Teenagers having difficulties in focusing on important matters accompanied with chronic forgetfulness need urgent medical attention. Chances are that they are hooked on illicit drugs.
Other behavior changes include violence, hostility, irritability and nervousness. They also exhibit utmost privacy and reluctance to respond to urgent concerns on their welfare by family or even close friends. “Screening of such behavior illustrates an orientation to drug or alcohol abuse in addition to other antisocial activities that deviate from acceptable social behavior” (Bell, 2008 P. 28). Screening requires that the nature of the drug being abused be determined in addition to the duration of use. Other parameters to be considered include the addict’s mental condition, family history of substance abuse, school performance as well as other legal challenges the teenager could be facing. A comprehensive screening program requires the involvement of health systems, juvenile justice systems, schools, vocation rehabilitation centers and religious organizations.
Adolescents detained by a juvenile justice system need screening as well as those who have dropped out of school. Other group of teenagers that should be screened includes those with peculiar sexual orientations such as bisexual, transgendered, gay and lesbian individuals (Hagedorn& Juhnke, 2006 P. 19). As a result of these sexual orientations, teenagers could be getting the motivation to engage in persistent substance abuse in order to experience higher sense of euphoria. Drug abuse could therefore be a disguise by the teenagers to escape the reality of the impaired sexuality. The same notion applies to teenagers with extreme anxiety disorders, depression and hyperactivity. This distorts their self image and personality compelling them to abuse drugs in order to justify their condition. Instead, substance abuse magnifies the conditions to their detriment. A thorough medical treatment is therefore required in order to repair the underlying complications.
Family involvement
A teenager’s family background plays a major role in treating alcohol and drug abuse. A history of parental or sibling substance abuse could serve as the motivation for teenage drug and alcohol abuse in future. Teenagers brought up in homes that experience rampant domestic violence, physical and sexual abuse as well as parental negligence could resort to drinking and drug abuse as a disguise to heal their wounds. Family support is therefore important in correcting the substance situation among teenagers.
Theological counseling
A proper understanding of the basic religious values, practices, customs and ethics with respect to human culture is important in shaping teenage behavior. The Christian approach takes into account the concept of faith as a gift from God that empowers a sinner to seek forgiveness in the hope of getting reconciled to the maker through love. “Through faith, a teenage immersed into the sin of drug and alcohol abuse is able to regain back a proper conscience that is guided by the Holy Spirit towards overcoming drug addiction and its consequences fully” (Janes& Lundy, 2001 P.13). The addict’s self esteem is also restored through teachings of the Bible that provides necessary ground for recovery from the loneliness of the drug.
The theological approach in counseling teenage drug addiction adopts the virtue of love in the recovery process. Since addicts continue to abuse the drug without knowing they have lost control over the drug, it is only those close to them that realize the problem first. The addict living in a life of euphoria resorts to denial when confronted on the habit due to the low self esteem and a guilty conscience. “The faith-based intervention restores the confidence of family and friends in their teenager’s return to sobriety while it empowers the addict to overcome the habit through love and compassion” (Ferrer-Wreder, 2004 P.33). The teachings of Jesus Christ provide the basis for Christian counseling by initiating a process that destroys self-condemnation and judgment that accompanies substance abuse. The addict is also made aware of the pain and suffering family and friends are experiencing as a result of the habit. This is followed by orienting the patient with the love of God that overcomes all evil including the problem of substance once one surrenders to Jesus Christ.
It adopts a gentle approach that provides spiritual healing to the patient as well as the family suffering from the ravages of substance abuse and dependence. Chemical dependence is perceived to be an incurable disease which is fatal (Allen& Kruzas, 2008 P. 30). Christian counseling therefore believes that an integrated approach is necessary for a successful intervention on teenage drug addiction involving professional counseling and spiritual reunion with God. The condition is therefore treatable through pure faith in God that bonds the addict to Christianity as a lifestyle together with medical therapy.
The faith based approach treats addictions through the combination of Christian ethics which recognizes the role of the grace of God in restoring sanity and sobriety among drug addicts. By exhorting addicts to accept the forgiveness of God, the program helps its patients to regain hope in life, avoid living in isolation, pain and regret thereby overcoming the guilt of substance abuse. The counseling sessions are conducted in accountability groups where a counselor guides teenagers on the recovery process integrated with reflective Bible study. The process is therefore church-based and Bible-oriented.
An integrated approach
Secular counseling pursues conventional means for intervention of teenage drug and alcohol abuse. Screening of teenage behavior is carried by the combined efforts of stakeholders in the society starting with parents, siblings and friends. “Teachers, counseling psychologists, nurses and legal professionals also supplement the work of close family members and friends in identifying, screening, diagnosing and treating teenage drug abuse” (Baumgartner, 2009 P. 17). It is therefore apparent that teenagers are unable to solve the problem on their own due to the inexperience and developing faculties.
The role of secular counseling in treating substance abuse should be further augmented by a theological approach in order to obtain maximum results from the process. Substance abuse is therefore a chronic disease which is both fatal and complicated. The rationale for an integrated approach is based on the understanding that the problem affects the entire society and not just the teenage addict. Of utmost importance is the need to engage both the affected and professional persons in restoring sobriety to the teenage addict and the immediate family. An addict is therefore a burden to the society which should seek ways to offload it appropriately.
The integration of a theological approach pursues a paradigm that the situation brought about by substance abuse is beyond human control. It should therefore be reduced to manageable proportions through a faith based approach that takes into account therapeutic interventions (Elwood, 1999 P.14). God being the ultimate being should therefore be consulted through scripture and prayers in aiding teenagers recover from the slavery of sin and substance abuse. The process of evaluating their change of behavior and biological constitution should be facilitated by love which recognizes that Jesus Christ came to save the lost. Above all, the teenage addict, their peer group, family, friends and the rest of the society are individually responsible to ensure alcohol and drug abuse is not only treated but prevented from spreading.
Reference
Allen, F.R., & Kruzas, T.A. (2008). Health Services Directory: A Topical Guide to Clinics, Treatment Centers, Rehabilitation Facilities, Counseling/diagnostic Services, and Care Programs, with Descriptions of Related Human Service Institutions, Agencies, Associations, and other Sources of Information for Each Topic. Michigan: Gale Research Company.
Baumgartner, J. E. (2009). National Guide to Funding for Women and Girls, Volume 2 National Guides to Funding for Women & Girls. Boston: Foundation Center.
Bell, R. (2008). Changing Bodies, Changing Lives: A book for Teens on Sex and Relationships. Michigan: Random House.
Elwood, W. N. (1999). Power in the Blood: A Handbook on AIDS, Politics, and Communication Lea’s Communication Series. London: Rout ledge.
Ferrer-Wreder, L. (2004). Successful Prevention and Youth Development Programs: Across Borders. New York: Springer.
Foundation Center Staff (2009). Grants for Religion, Religious Welfare and Religious Education 2000-2001. Michigan: Foundation Center.
Friedman, A. S. (1985).Treatment Services for Adolescent Substance Abusers. Washington: DIANE Publishing.
Hagedorn, W. Bryce & Juhnke, Gerald A. (2006). Counseling Addicted Families: an Integrated Assessment and Treatment Model. New York: CRC Press.
Janes, S., & Lundy, K. S. (2001).Community Health Nursing: Caring for the Public’s Health. New York: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
McGovern, T. F. & Benda, B. B. (2006). Spirituality and Religiousness and Alcohol/other Drug Problems: Treatment and Recovery Perspectives. New York: Rout ledge.
Schinke, S. P., & Botvin, G. J. (1997).The Etiology and Prevention of Drug Abuse among Minority Youth, Volume 6, Issue 1 of Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse. London: Rout ledge.
United Methodist Church (U.S.), Board of Church and Society (1993). Christian Social Action, Volume 6. New York: General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church.
Christian spirituality is a kind of belief that underlines the fact that the Holy Spirit is allowed to control and lead a believer’s life. This belief draws attention to one of the non-contemporary aspects of human reality. This reality is life with God and eternal future. One of the writers who pay lots of attention to the idea of Christian spirituality and its importance in our every day life was Clive Staples Lewis. C. S. Lewis was a well-known writer, literary critic, and Christian apologist. His best works were The Space Trilogy and The Chronicles of Narnia.
This writer preferred the world of Christianity writing, and did not want to limit his works with concrete genres and experimented a lot. (Edwards) The number of messages he want to present in his works is really considerable. One of the messages, which C. S. Lewis wanted to convey in The Chronicles of Narnia, was the idea of Christian spirituality and its impact on the life of every character.
Discussion
There were two leading figures in the English literature at the beginning of the 20th century: J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. They were very close friends, and such deep friendship had a significant impact on both writers. Tolkien’s ideas about myths and imagination, which may be so close to reality, helped Lewis to find the real truth of Christianity. Being a desperate Roman Catholic, Tolkien truly believed in his Christianity faith.
Lewis was an atheist and always tried to find concrete material explanations to the sense of life, his destiny, and origins. With time, Tolkien convinced his friend about the truth of Christian spirituality, and those changes were reflected in lots of Lewis’s works. The Chronicles of Narnia presents lots of allusions to Christian principles in the ways, which are comprehensible either to young or adult readers. Lewis’s books may be interesting both to Christian and non-Christian people.
One of the first books about Narnia was The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It was a kind of apologize of the author because of his lack of faith. It is a story about four kinds, who find a wonderful country, Narnia, on the other side of the wardrobe. It was the country, which was ruled by a fair king Aslan, a magic lion. However, the White Witch raised the rebellion and dethroned Aslan. Lots of magical creatures had to hide in order not to become another victim of a new queen. The whole country was waiting for their emancipators. They were those kinds, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. The time to save Narnia and help Aslan to kill the witch has come, and children should be ready to fight.
This story is a brilliant example of allegory for Christianity. Maybe, not every reader can understand from the very beginning that all the characters of The Chronicles of Narnia have something in common with the biblical characters. Aslan represents Jesus Christ, the White Witch is considered to be Satan who tempted Judas (in the story this is Edmund). In order to save Edmund, Aslan sacrificed himself and resuscitated. It is necessary to admit the appearance of Father Christmas in the story, who inspired the major characters. It was an allegory to the Holy Spirit, who brought gifts to those people who believed in Christian spirituality. Such an idea is great indeed. Not every reader knows about Lewis’s Christian faith and his late coming to believe. In this story, Lewis underlines that it is never too late to believe and be forgiven. People always have time to analyze their actions and find the necessary way to follow.
There will be always people who may help to realize where the truth is. For Lewis, it was Tolkien, and for Edmund, it was Aslan, his brother, and sisters. The main message that Lewis wanted to represent in his works is the fact that people have to believe in something. When a person has nothing to believe in, someone else can use him/her and make something evil. “Quite often people are drawn to Christian spirituality due to their questions about life, God, and the search for meaning in life.” (Perrin 7) This is what Lewis intended to write about. Writing such fantastic works about Narnia, its habitants, and the troubles they face is a good way to show that “true spirituality consists in the pursuit of God, and not allowing our desire to become attached to anything or anyone else.” (McGrath 90) It does not matter what form God prefers to choose this time, the major point is not to miss a chance and be saved.
Conclusion
“Closely linked to Lewis’s zest for ordinary nature was his attention to the details of life and experience. This remarkable power of observation, and sensitivity to tone and mood, added detail after detail of exuberant creation to his imaginative writings.” (Duriez 73) This attention to the details should also help the reader find out the main idea that Lewis discussed in his works. The idea of good and evil, Jesus and Satan is present in many forms. It is crucially important to define it as soon as possible in order not to be tempted by the evil side and follow the right way in the life.
Works Cited
Duriez, Colin. A Field Guide to Narnia. InterVarsity Press, 2004.
Edwards, Bruce L. C. S. Lewis: Life, Works, and Legacy. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007.
McGrath, Alister E. Christianity Spirituality: an Introduction. Wiley-Blackwell, 1999.
Perrin, David B. Studying Christian Spirituality. Routledge, 2007.
I chose to write about the possibility of the world coming to an end in 2012 because the topic has attracted global attention as a number of individuals have taken drastic measures such as selling off their worldly possession and even committing suicide in preparation for the end of the world.
However, as the discussion in this paper will show, there have been many predictions since time immemorial made by the scientists and religious adherents about the possibility of the world coming to an end, with both sides suggesting a number of evidences to back their claims.
Christian and Scientific predictions
Although there have been a myriad of end of the world predictions made by great minds, one thing has remained constant. According to Crabtree, these predictions have all been erroneous (1).
There have been different types of apocalyptic predictions about 2012. According to The Voice Magazine, an online publication, the bible prophesized about the end of the world but it does not state when this will happen. Jesus Christ gave signs that would usher apocalypse.
These signs include; emergence of false prophets; wars; famines; earthquakes; and deceptions, among others (Robertson 3). However, the world cannot end in 2012 since several biblical prophesies such as the emergence of anti Christ, a unified world, and the Battle of Armageddon have not occurred (Robertson 4).
On the scientific front, there have been technology based apocalyptic prophecies, based on the nuclear arm race which has led to the predictions that the human species is on course from total self-destruction. Some scientists have also claimed that some celestial aliens with superior technologies would emerge and wipe out the entire human race (Crabtree 2).
The present publicity in relation to the end of the world in 2012 is attributed to Harold Camping who has predicted the demise will take place on December 21, 2012.
The Mayans were the first to attempt to predict the demise of the world using scientific methods. The Mayan star-gazer studied movement of stars to predict the end of the world. However, their lack of adequate knowledge about cosmology, the Milky Way and solar system limited their ability to make any rational calculations about the end of the world.
According to the Mayan’s predictions, the end of Mayan Great Cycle will occur in December 23, 2012. However, there are a number of discrepancies on whether the present cycle of the world will entail the demise of the world itself (Finney 3).
The 2012 proponents
Accordingly, the proponents of the 2012 date make sensible arguments about the end of the world. As a matter of fact, they point to some elements of evidence that general point to 2012 apocalypse. These include a fairly accurate time for the spiraling from the Age of Pisces to one of Aquarius in 2011.
Moreover, the proponents of 2012 show how the planet Venus acts in an extremely exceptional ways at the start and end of the frequently utilized set of dates. This is related with the emergence of Venus on the horizon at the first sign of light at certain precise time of the year.
Cotterell shows this to be a strongly emblematic event to the ‘Birth of Venus’, a Mayan’s belief. Other scientists also assert that the Earth will comes into configuration with the axis of the Milky Way Galaxy on 2012, and that linear time stop working at that point (Finney 6).
According to Islam, there will be a major disaster that will destroy 60 percent of the world population. The continents will shift and given the enormous alterations in plants, humans and animals will die in big numbers since food will not be available. This event is expected to occur in 2012 although the Quran does not confirm this.
The book however predicts that there will be some kinds of meteorites that will alter the earth axis. This will result in the sun rising from the West. During this period, daylight will be prolonged as the earth shifts into a new axis position. Prophet Muhammad directed Muslims that during this period, they should split up the day evenly to observe their praying schedules (Bilal 2).
Islam predicts that an individual, named Mehdi will emerge and assemble the Muslim who oppose the Anti-Christ and fight him. However, Mehdi and his legion will be engaged in a losing war. The Anti-Christ will invade the walls of Medina and Mecca but will be unable to gain entry. Jesus will descend in Jerusalem as a prophet and slay the Anti-Christ one of the gates of Jerusalem.
There are other sign that will mark the end of the world according to Islam: murder will be deemed a trivial act; men will be paid for their reproductive organs; individuals making honest income will be ridiculed while those making income via unscrupulous means will be hailed; Homosexuality will be prevalent and corruption will be the order of the day; incidences of divorce will be prevalent; evil and goodness will be considered in equal measure; men will nurture their hair in ladylike style; and liars will be accepted as authentic witnesses (Bilal 4).
However, the Quran states that neither angels nor humans have the knowledge of Qiyamah. The precise time of the Doomsday is neither stated in Haddith nor Quran. Only Allah knows when the world will end (WordPress 3).
Works Cited
Bilal, Muhammad. Islam: What it says about the end of the World. 2009. Web.
Judaism is one of the most common, old, and strong religions that have existed since time memorial with a very strong and unwavering monotheism belief.
Prior to its current state of integrating a Jewish state and a religion, in the past Judaism was only a religious practice of the Hebrews. Although it is a distinct religion and other religions have their own set of doctrines, which they follow, influences of Judaism on other religions are many.
This is because, although religions such as Christianity and Islam have their own doctrines, which its believers follow strictly, they have many concepts borrowed from Judaism, it being one of the primary symbols of human civilization. Globally, there exist more than fourteen million Jewish believers, and approximately 3.5 billion others who belong to other religions that apply borrowed Judaism doctrines.
To the Jewish, strict adherence to ritual laws is one of the doctrines that any Jewish believer must respect. Most Jewish believers never believe is the rigid religious beliefs, because most of them hold very liberal views towards spiritual viewpoints (Bamberger, 2010, p.1).
As research studies on the origins of Judaism show, this religion has existed since the time Abraham was alive; one of the most respect biblical figures, for Jews consider him one of their greatest ancestors. According to the Jewish believers, Judaism is a symbolic representation of God in their midst, for it represents the covenantal agreement between God and the children of Israel.
Historically, Judaism is one of the religious groups that have endured extreme suffering and persecutions, although this has never been an impediment to its spreading. Their suffering goes back to the times of the Pharaoh in Egypt, travelling through the desert and their eventual receiving of the Ten Commandments and the Promised Land.
Although the Jewish people believe in the commandments, their views on what God gave Moses and the extent of including modern religious concepts in their practices varies; hence the current splitting of the early Jewish religion into the present Judaism groups namely the Orthodox, Reform, and Conservative Judaism.
All this groups have differing Judaism beliefs, which guide their religious practices, although they al believe in the existence of one God (Bamberger, 2010, p.1).
Comparison between Christianity and Judaism
Although the two biggest world religions namely Christianity and Islam have distinctive doctrines, which their believers must adhere to, these regions have numerous Judaism borrowed concepts. It is important to note that, although the Islam and Baha’i religions use some Judaism borrowed concepts, the level of borrowing is not much as Christianity has done.
Judaism and Christianity share very many theological and historical facts for example, the existence of Jesus and his twelve followers. In addition, according to biblical teachings Jesus’s entire family lineage was of the Jewish origin, hence his upbringing among the Jews. This is a fact both Christians and Jews believe hence, clearly showing the resemblance between this to religious groups in beliefs and systems of operation.
Both the Christians and the Jewish depend on the bible for spiritual nourishment, a fact that is evident in the Christians and Jews’ practice of referring to their bibles for guidance and spiritual providence. Further, theologically all the writers of the Old Testament; a section of the bible read by both Christians and the Jews,were of the Jewish origin hence, proving that although this two religions differ in doctrines, they must be sharing very many concepts (British Broadcasting Corporation: BBC, 2009, p.1) .
Although Christians and Jews are both monotheistic holding the ideas that only one God exists; Jesus existed; human beings are products of God, and God will come to take his faithful ones (although some Judaism groups do not believe in the second coming of God), many variations exist in ways which these religions interpret biblical and other spiritual books.
In addition, although they show some form of conceptual co-existence and interdependence, they are contending religions, for each believes that, its teachings emphasizes Godly doctrines. For example, the Jewish dispute the notion held by Christians that God Manifests himself in three forms namely God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
According to the Jewish, this trinity idea is inconceivable; hence, the Christian practice of emphasizing the Trinity of God goes against provisions of God’s holy books. Another Christian concept that faces much antagonism from the Jews is the idea of the origin sin.
According to Judaism, the original sin concept held by Christians lack a basis of explanation hence, the varying atonement modes adopted by Jews and Christians. On the other hand, Judaism never accepts the concept of the communion ceremonies, because to the Jewish, this is a form of worshiping idols (Rich, 2001, p.1).
As theological research studies show, almost all doctrines that govern Christianity are Jewish-borrowed, although with new definitions and interpretations. According to Christianity, acceptance of a Jewish believer to follow Christian doctrines is not a religious transfer, but rather it is acceptance to be a complete child of God.
This is different when it comes to Judaism, because for one to qualify to be Jewish, new converts have to abandon their early beliefs, vow to respect, and adhere to Jewish principles and church doctrines. Therefore, to some extent accepting the Jewish doctrines is like being reborn again with a new identity and affiliation, a case that is different in Christianity.
Another primary difference between these religions is the personhood of Jesus Christ. According to Christianity, the primary reason why Jesus came to earth was to save humankind from perishing in the final fire; a fact that authors of the Old Testament had prophesied was to happen.
In addition, according to Christian doctrines, Jesus is the only Messiah; hence, through him the world should receive eternal salvation. Although Judaism accepts the belief that Jesus was the son of God, it opposes the idea that he is the Messiah of the world hence, its belief that Jesus might be a prophet of God blessed with good and Godly teachings.
In addition, according to Christianity, because of God’s mercies and in the endeavor to save humankind, God transformed Jesus’s Godliness, and made Jesus a human being through making his mother conceive through the Holy Spirit. Jewish doctrines greatly oppose this idea, by arguing that, Jesus was and will never be Godly, and although God wanted to save humankind, such a sacrifice was not essential (Herberg, 2007, pp. 7-21).
Because the New Testament carries primarily teachings of Jesus, which the Jewish do not value very much, the Tanakh (the Jewish Bible) does not have the New Testament. Unlike the Tanakh, the Christian bible has both testaments, which are very crucial in a Christian’s spiritual endeavors. The Tanakh has three main sections namely the Torah, Ketuvim, and the Nevi’im. According to the Jewish (although not all), there exist two forms of the Torah (written and oral) for spiritual nourishment.
According to Christians only the written Torah exists, which Christians accept as a religious book, although they use a Koine Greek Septuagint decoded version of Torah. On the other hand, although this two groups share some biblical concepts of the Torah, the naming system they use in naming constituent books in their bibles vary.
That is, unlike Jews who named constituent books in their bible using the traditional Jewish system, Christians have named the constituent books in their bible using names that resemble those used by the creators of the Septuagint (Meyer, 1995, pp. 7-19).
In addition to the personhood of Jesus and books that these two groups use, although cultures within which these two religions thrive vary, the effect of the Jewish culture on Judaism is great.
For example, unlike Judaism that permanently prohibits the consumption on certain foods, for example, pig and meat products and that all individuals must adhere to Kashrut laws in preserving their foods, Christian doctrines never specify any preservation method. In addition, although the Christian bible specifies certain animal products that Christians must not consume, it is not very rigid hence, giving Christians the flexibility of choosing foods to consume (BBC, 2009, p.1).
As concerns church rituals, as a respect to the existence of humankind, the Jewish incorporate their traditional practices in church activities, for example, when dedicating newborn babies to God and during marriage ceremonies. Therefore, largely the Jewish traditional practice plays an important role in church, a fact that is contrary in Christians, because traditional rituals are distinct components of a Christian society (Bamberger, 2010, p.1).
Conclusion
In conclusion, although Christians and the Jewish have many antagonizing ideas, these religions share very many concepts. For example, although these religions give their churches and leaders different names, for example, in Judaism Synagogue or Schul, led by a Rebbe or Rabbi, and a church or chapel in Christianity led by a priest, minister, and other Christian leaders, both religions emphasize one concept, the salvation of mankind from sin.
In addition to their common goal, these two religions share a common heritage, although their levels of accepting religious concepts vary. Common variations among these religions occur in the personification of Jesus, the nature of God, and some religious practices for example, eating of the sacrament as a representation of Jesus’s body and drinking of wine as Jesus’s blood.
The women of the early church did not have much recognition despite their immense contributions towards the growth of the church. The early church was dominated by patriarchal power and hence women were relegated to mere subordinate levels. Men have been recognized as history makers in the church, they have portrayed as the builders of the church of Jesus Christ yet they did not work alone t o accomplish such noble tasks.
But the history of the church is full of great women like Magdalene, Priscilla, Donna Vella and Macrina amongst many others. This newsletter dedicates its discussions on the early women of the church. It will particularly focus on their Christian work and influence and how they remain relevant to the contemporary society.
The Biblical Women
The bible contains historical accounts of women who had significant contributions to the development of the early church. Such women, amongst others, include Mary Magdalene, Naomi, Phoebe and Esther. The contribution of women in shaping the Christian world began almost immediately after the church was first established.
For instance, taking the case of Phoebe, she was amongst the deacon of Paul. In spite of the strong patriarchal society where women were not given much recognition, Phoebe played, amongst other early women, played powerful roles in the society.
It is important to note that the patriarchal society continues to exist and while as much as some gains have been made towards equity between men and women, women are still regarded as being surbordinate to men. Given that the women in early church managed to rise above social patriarchy, they are able to serve as role models to women of today.
The women of the early church can then be seen to as rising up and taking vital positions in the society despite the cultural odds. Notably, initially, the church was not comfortable with the role of leadership played by women. However, the church has been becoming more receptive and recognizes women’s participation in the religious circle (Guy 165).
With such contributions the women of today can be inspired by women of the early church to rise above the culture of patriarchy, both in the church and the society at large. It means that, despite the fact that they are not alive now; the women of the early church can still influence women participation in various activities as they experience the effects of patriarchy (Guy 165).
Inspirations of the Women of Early Church
Women of the early church had lots of inspirations that can be tapped for the benefit of the current society. One of the most inspiration can be derived from martyrdoms in which many women were willing and actually died for their stand on Christian believes and doctrines. For example, Perpetua and Felicitas died as martyrs in the year 203 due to their strong faith.
Before they were executed, Perpetua Felicitas wrote an account of their experience. At point, as the father tried to persuade her to change her mind she replied the father:
“Can you see this water pot or whatever you may see it to be? Can it be referred to by any other name…? “So I cannot call myself by any other name a part from what I really am, and that is “a Christian.”
The story of perpetual and Felicitas is an inspiration to many Christians of today and even the non-Christians. They demonstrate that they are willing to loose their lives just to maintain their fundamental beliefs and principles. Despite the fact that they were persuaded by their loved ones to denounce their beliefs to survive, they stood by them.
The scenario of Naomi and Ruth is also very inspirational. Both women decided to stay together despite the difficulties they faced together. After all the sons of Ruth had died in foreign land, she asked all daughters in law to go back to their native homes and find themselves new husbands. However, Naomi refuses and promises to stick with Ruth. Naomi stated that:
“Do not ask me to leave you or to stop following you. Because wherever you go, I will go with you; wherever you settle, I will settle with you; your people shall be mine too; your God will be my God; wherever you will be laid to rest, so shall I be also and only death will separate us.”
There are other numerous inspirations that can be derived from the women of the early church. As they discharged their duties in the church, they wrote many articles that they used in their teachings and Christian activities.
Spirituality and There Music
The women of the early church were committed to biblical principals. Their spirituality was deeply rooted in the teachings of the bible. They believed in the supremacy of the death of Jesus; they taught the people according to spiritual revelations from God, especially the prophetess. Some of their spiritual practices included being baptized as a form of rebirth in Christ, being ordained as pastesses, deacons and celebration of Christmas and other significant religious days ((Guy 217).
They sang praise and worship songs to reinforce their spiritual commitment to God and also as a form of their prayer. But they were also dutiful to their husbands and family members as required by c the Christianity and Christian principles. In most cases, they sang songs that are in the biblical scriptures, mostly composed by David the psalmist.
For instance they sang such songs as, “Sing praise to the LORD, you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name.” This song was derived from Psalms 30:4. There were many songs and hymns found in the bible used by the women of the early church.
The Lifestyle of the Woman of the Early Church
Some of the women of the early church live with their families; some of them were married and had families. For example, Ruth had husband and sons who died; one of the sons was the husband to Naomi.
However, there are those women who chose to be virgins and live as nuns; in this case, the women were fully committed to the ministry of Christianity. The church began after Jesus had been crucified and later resurrected to ascend to heaven; thereafter there was a need for his followers to unite together and continue his spiritual teachings.
It was during this time when the women started getting committed to Christian work (Williamson pp.1-5). They subsequently increased in number. The women lived during a period in which the society never emphasized the importance of a woman. They were socially deprived and hence suffered lots of challenges during the time they were discharging their missionary or Christian duties. Nonetheless, the woman used to have their pilgrimages to Jerusalem
Conclusion
The women of the early church lived at a time when women were culturally not recognized. This is why church history never recognizes their immense contribution and instead gave supremacy to men. However, there contributions to the development of the church still remain significant and they are source of inspiration to many people in the church today, especially women.
Their determinations and commitment to their religious beliefs and principles could not be deterred even in the face of death. For this reason, it can be said that the women of the early church left a legacy that will move from generation to generation.
Works Cited
Guy, Laurie. Introducing Early Christianity. New York: InterVarsity Press, 2004.
Williamson, Andrew. The History of the Church from Christ to Constantine. New York: Penguin Group, 1989.
For many years the question of “what is the heart of Christianity?” has lingered in the minds of many believers. This has led to new ways of seeing Christianity and what it means to be a Christian to emerge. These new ways of understanding Christianity differ from the dominant way that has been in existence for many years, this means that Christianity is in a time of conflict.
This has led to the emergence of two paradigms on how Christians see the Bible, God, Jesus, faith, and the Christian life. According to the earlier paradigm, the bible is a divine book; it is the “Word of God” (Borg 7). This paradigm has over the years become less compelling. There is no doubt that it nourished the lives of many a fact that the author believes that it was the spirit of God working through it.
The emerging paradigm on the other hand sees Christian life as “a historical, metaphorical, and sacramental way of seeing the bible” (Borg 13). It sees Christian life in a different perspective.
According to it, Christianity entails a life of relationship and transformation that one does not need to believe in Christianity in order to be a Christian but rather, one should relate with God well in order to change the current circumstances. These two paradigms are usually suspicious of each other. The earlier paradigm sees the emerging paradigm as a reduction of Christianity where as the emerging paradigm sees the earlier paradigm as anti-intellectual and selectively moralistic (Borg 15).
They both agree on the common focus of the bible and Jesus, and how Jesus plays a central role in mediating man to God. Many see the earlier paradigm as being static, an obstacle and therefore feel that their relationship with the Supreme can be nourished in a different way. The most important aspect here is functionality, if a paradigm works for you, well and good, it does not mean it is the only right way (Borg 18).
Making the Connection among Liberation Theologies around the World
We learn from this book that liberation theologies in the world do not share a single perspective; each theology has its own distinctive view point. For instance, the past two decades have seen emergence of views in the Christian cycles. People around the world have risen against the social, economic, political, and religious structures that exist.
These groups began new Christian practices and new ways of being the church. They led to the birth of new theologians with the knowledge in the life and practice of their groups. The book tries to show that all theologies are contextual and therefore, have limits, just like Anna Karenina put it, “each society, like each family, is unhappy in its own way” (Engel & Brooks 3).
Theologies cannot be heaped together because they are not interchangeable. They all have their own unique interests, viewpoints, aims as dictated by the society they exist in. This book depicts theologians as voices responding to and accountable to their groups and their context. Contextuality can be understood as one’s shared location.
Each location has its norms. Michel Foucault wrote that “Each society has a regime of truth, its ‘general politics’ of truth” (Engel & Brooks 6). This means that truth is a function of what a particular society accepts to be true. Liberation theologies do not split faith and life, theology and politics, and do not impose abstract principles upon the life of faith. They aim at social transformation towards greater justice for all people.
They also work towards the empowerment of individuals. We also see that these theologies exist in suspicion of each other. Each sees others as furthering the dominant mode of oppression. They therefore call for the liberation of Christian theology from concepts and structures that are oppressive (Engel & Brooks 9).
Faith Seeking Understanding: Chapter 1
The author of this book stresses that asking question is the nature of human beings and to be Christian entails asking tough questions in the light of the grace of God in his son Jesus Christ. He asserts that theology is not just the repetition of church doctrines nor ostentatious system building, but it is about faith asking questions and seeking their understanding. Faith and inquiry cannot therefore be separated.
The freedom and responsibility of Christians to inquire about their faith in God is the mother of theology. Theology is a continual process because questions are asked over and over (Migliore 12).
The author also argues that just like faith, theology is not a bundle of doctrines and symbols from which people can select at will and organize them as they wish. Christian theology has doctrines that form a coherent whole. Theology teaches that every disturbed ear should be listened to. Today’s needs call for Christians to faithfully serve the gospel instead of endorsing the cultural forms in which it is mediated uncritically.
He reiterates that today’s theology calls for thinking through and living out the faith as it relates to new experiences, problems and possibilities. I agree with Migliore that despite the difficult task of theology, there is no escaping the questions about the wholeness, the truth, the intelligibility, and the concrete practice of the gospel (Migliore 19).
Catholicism: Faith, Theology and Belief
The author begins with a brief description of the problem that is brought about by the failure of many Catholics to understand the differences among faith, theology and belief. These are identified as the elements of the problem. The first element is faith, which is defined as the personal knowledge of God.
It is not primarily the belief in revealed truths to humans by God through the bible and the church, but it is how people come to know God as God. The second element is theology which has been defined as the process by which Christians bring their knowledge and understanding of God to the level of expression.
The third element is belief. This is something that is accepted to be true without evidence. It is therefore a formulation of the knowledge that Christians have of God through faith. The final element discussed is religious education. Religious education helps individuals understand, respond and be transformed by God’s presence in their lives and work towards the continued transformation of the world in respect to the understanding of God (McBrien 24).
This text shows that teaching religion is not just about the faith as it is done by Catholics, but should also allow for the teaching of modern theologies. We have just seen that the four elements relate to each other and therefore must be incorporated in religious teaching in order to dispel the misunderstandings in the Christian realm.
The “Why and the what of Christians feminist theology”
Many questions arise from this book in relation to the humanity of women. This brought out by Christine de Pizan who was concerned with women’s humanity because being male was equated to being human.
Women were seen as lesser beings. Using her book, “the book of the city of ladies”, Pizan argues that women are human just like men and therefore do not need guidance and protection from men. She goes on to say that if given a chance, women can perform better just as men. She was so concerned with this issue to the extent that she never used the word feminism in her work until the 19th century.
It was in 1882 by Auclert to depict the struggle for women to get political rights. In the same century, female organizations emerged. They started speaking publicly about this issue in churches. These efforts saw many countries attain rights for women such as New Zealand, Finland, and eventually Russia, Canada and Great Britain in the 20th century (Clifford 1).
These continued in the 19th century in the US where women were seen as subordinates and dependent on their male counterparts. Men exercised sovereignty in many areas. Women on the other hand were morally superior but seen to delicate to actively participate in public affairs. Feminist movement emerged to fight oppression discrimination and violence against women and for equality and dignity. There also emerged the second wave feminists.
These included the liberal feminists, who fought for the civil rights for women, cultural feminists who emphasized the moral superiority of women, radical feminists who sought to eradicate patriarchy, and finally, the socialist feminists who fought to end economic dependence of women upon men. The book ended by looking at the types of feminist theology (Clifford 1).
Experience, Knowledge, and Wisdom
According to Ford, there is no distinct way of understanding and knowing theology. To experience, understand, and know theology needs wisdom which helps in shaping life and making it sensible despite its diversity, fragmentation, and also the fragility of beauty, truth, and goodness.
He shows that theology is all about the world, the self and the language, elements that are in an endless interplay. He has discussed about epistemology, a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of knowing. Topics discussed here included extreme objectivism, extreme subjectivism, and the view of the world as a construct of languages (Ford 1).
Through this book we get to understand why theology fails. The author has shown that oversimplified and inappropriate conceptions make theology to suffer. To truly understand and know God, Christians need unwavering wisdom. Because theology is all about questions, the type of questions will show an individual’s valid interest in the particular subject.
To answer these questions requires valid methods of knowing to serve the particular interest. First people have to understand that knowledge is both social and individual. Individually, every person experiences understanding and judging. Socially, individuals have to appreciate other people’s experiences, understandings, and judgments.
Knowledge can be instantaneous but mostly it takes time. Humans use their knowledge and language to construct reality. This is what theology is all about. And if humans understand that things can go wrong then there is nothing wrong with improvements because knowledge keeps on growing (Ford 1).
Genesis 1-3
This text shows God as an interactive being with already existing creatures. This is what theology is all about, interaction, coexistence with others in the understanding of God’s word. There is also the issue of knowledge, the humans ate from it and committed sin. Knowledge is the ability to discern good and bad.
The response from God is not a punishment but consequences that reflect the time and context in which they existed. Adam sees everything to be fine but he has no one of his kind, he is lonely until a woman (Eve) was created. This is how important women are in the society. They should be treated equally and given equal opportunity with men because they are all equal in the eyes of God (Genesis 1).
An introduction to the Bible: A journey into three worlds
In this text we learn that the bible is a collection of books, which did not attain authority at one time. They were accepted through canonization that happened in three stages as revealed by the tree divisions of the canon. These were the Torah, the Prophets, and the writings. This text agrees that Christianity is centered in the bible and that it is undergoing changes as seen in the two paradigms. It says that the bible is historical, metaphorical and sacramental (Hauer & Young 1).
Feminist perspectives on the bible
For a long time the bible has been a point of contention when it comes to the place of the woman in society. It is such issues that saw the emergence of feminist movement like the one initiated by Stanton “The woman’s bible project”. Women came up with the idea that if men could revise the bible, why not them? This book talks about women and the bible trying to bring out their perspectives.
It tries to find out why the knowledge of biblical women is so scanty. It sees the patriarchal attitudes of men as the cause of the neglect of women in liturgical readings and religious instructions. This is why feminist biblical scholars like Stanton embarked on biblical research to change it. I think these women were justified to fight for their right because scripture teaches that all are equal in the eyes of god (Clifford 66).
Comparison of the Various Authors
Borg in his book, “The heart of Christianity in a time of change” says that Christianity has gone through changes, which he puts into two paradigms. Engel and Brooks in their book, “Making the Connection among Liberation Theologies around the world” tells us that because Christianity involves asking endless questions, there has emerged many theologies.
These authors agree that there is no single paradigm or theology that is better than the other; they all work for the best of each group that is using it. Migliore, in the book, “Faith seeking understanding” agrees with Brook and Engel that theology is about asking questions. He also believes that Christians should be given a chance to inquire about their faith. These sentiments are also echoed but Ford in the book, “Experience, Knowledge, and Wisdom”.
McBrien in his book, “Catholicism: Faith, Theology and Belief”, argues that Christians should have faith, which is the knowledge of God. Then they should be able to express their knowledge of God to others. He agrees with Migliore up to this point that faith and theology are inseparable, but differs with the others on the issue of belief. Belief entails accepting something without evidence, but others think that Christianity should be a way of life, a continual process of inquiry to gain knowledge and understanding of one’s faith.
Clifford in the “Why and the What of Christian feminist theology” talks about women and Christianity, he shows how women reformation has come about over the years. He argues that women are equal to men in the eyes of God, sentiments that he also brings out in the book, Feminist perspectives on the bible.
In think that Christianity should not be about faith, believing the teaching, traditions and systems put in place to be true without question as some Christians do. I agree with some of the authors that Christianity should be a way of life, a continual process of inquiry into one’s faith to get a better understanding of the Christian teachings.
This is because the world is not static, it involves events and situations that keep on changing and their Christians should embrace the changes by accepting the different theologies depending on the situation and context they are in. am also a strong believer in equal opportunity for all and therefore everyone including women should be allowed to participate in the Christian way of life in all spheres.
Works Cited
Borg, Marcus. The Heart of Christianity in a Time of Change.
Clifford, Anne M. Introducing Feminist Theology. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis, 2001. Print.
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I attended a Sunday church service at St. Patrick Church, which is located on 756 Mission Street in San Francisco. This occasion was my maiden visit to any Catholic Church establishment, and thus it was a new and exciting experience. I was keen to note the different practices that happen during the service. I noted several practices, but the Holy Communion or simply the Mass caught my attention. Therefore, this paper will explore the practice of Holy Communion in the Catholic Church.
The congregation’s tradition
As aforementioned, I had never visited any Catholic Church congregation before, and thus I had to consult the person seated next to me from time to time in a bid to understand this practice. I saw a man enter the church using a covered door right in front of the building. Another man accompanied the first person, and I later learned that the two were a deacon and a priest respectively. My seatmate alerted me that it was time for the Mass.
On the pulpit were several other people, whom I learned were servers on the altar. The priest made what appeared as a cross sign on his chest before greeting the congregants. He uttered some words, which I understand was the confession and absolution. The congregation then recited a well-choreographed piece titled ‘lord, have mercy’ before concluding with another one known as ‘glory to God in the highest.’ Finally, the session ended with a collective prayer from everyone within the church building. My seatmate informed me that the just-ended session was the introductory part of the mass.
A brief historical sketch of the tradition
The Holy Mass draws heavily from Jesus’ Last Supper as chronicled in the New Testament of the Bible. Whilst writing to the church at Corinth, St. Paul emphasized the practice by giving directions in the book of first Corinthians. Jesus directed his followers to break the bread and drink the cup because they are a representation of his body and blood respectively. The Last Supper heralded the crucifixion of Jesus, and thus he commanded his followers to carry on with the practice as they commemorate his death. The death on the cross signifies the redemption and forgiveness of sins for the believers.
Therefore, the Catholics follow this tradition even to date. The priests consecrate normal bread cooked without yeast and wine in the process known as transubstantiation. After this process, the bread and the wine are no longer normal, but they take the body and the blood of Jesus respectively. Even though the substances do not change in shape and form, they change in meaning. Therefore, the Catholics observe this practice in obedience to Jesus’ words when he instructed his followers to do the same in his remembrance.
Its characteristic theology, practice, and the worship service
The theological background of the Holy Communion hinges on the principles highlighted in the preceding section of this paper. To the Catholics, the Holy Communion is a command from Jesus himself and he is the initiator of the practice.
After the introductory part, as highlighted in the second section of this paper, the congregation is taken through a liturgy of the word, which is composed of three readings. The initial reading is from the Old Testament, while the second reading was from the New Testament with a Psalm, either read or sung, between the two, thus making the third reading. After preparing the altar, the congregation stands before the priest exhorts it to pray so that the sacrifices might be acceptable to the father in heaven. The priest then engages the congregation in a dialogue via intonations based on written scripts drawn from Jesus’ Last Supper as recorded in the Bible.
After this session, everyone sings the Lord’s Prayer under the guidance of the priest. Whilst seated, the congregation is taken through the homily, which is essentially a reflection of the goodness of the Lord under the guidance of one of the clergymen. The congregants then give their offerings in terms of money, in a session known as an offertory. The priest then blesses the bread and the wine by following a set rule of principles and practices.
The congregants then receive the consecrated bread and wine from the priest as he utters some words underscoring the saving power of the cross. The congregants respond by noting that they are unworthy of such salvation, but by grace, they receive it. After everyone receives the bread and wine through a procession, a prayer is offered before concluding the session. The service ends with the priest’s blessings upon the faithful whereby he beseeched the attendees to go out, spread, and practice the word of God.
Conclusion
The Holy Communion dates back to the Last Supper before Jesus was crucified on the cross. The Catholics observe this ritual in remembrance of Jesus’ death on the cross, which is the final act of human salvation from sin and eternal death. I attended a service at St. Martins Church in San Francisco and learned about the practice as highlighted throughout this paper.