Analyzing the Major Theme in “A Model of Christian Charity”

Analyzing the Major Theme in â€Å"A Model of Christian Charity† John Winthrop's â€Å"A Model of Christian Charity† illustrates America's status as the leading nation of the world and the unity of the Americans community. Throughout his speech, Winthrop talked about the bonds and ties, during his speech he talked about the same theme using different words in order to reinforce the idea that a successful colony must keep absolute unity and conformity. The whole speech is presented in the first plural person, that suggests that the Puritans (Winthrop is one of them), are undiversified group.In his speech he states many times that there are â€Å"knit together† in a bond of common cause and common destiny, that appears when he says: â€Å"in a bond of common cause and common destiny†, every individual's fate subject to that of the group. He also calls attention to Puritans when he says: â€Å"For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill†, to suggest once more that the different individuals are all delimited into one larger entity, one to which the world will look for leadership and guidance.He doesn't insist only on unity between and among the individual Puritans,but also he pursues the unity between God and humans,the sacred and the governmental. He speaks about the more near bond of marriage Between God and the Puritans, as he said: â€Å"First, in regard of the more near bond of marriage between Him and us†, obligating them to the higher purpose God intends not only to one another. There are many phrases that combine the system of government with that of religion, such as â€Å"government both civil and ecclesiastical†.Winthrop quotes from the Bible many times during his speech, and makes biblical allusions, his allusions always points to rise up the Puritan's struggle and to escape oppression. He also compares the â€Å"special commission† God has given the Puritans to the commission given Saul to destroy Amaleck in the Old Testament (He indented with him upon certain articles, and because he failed in one of the least, and that upon a fair pretense, it lost him the kingdom, which should have been his reward, if he had observed his commission).In addition he quotes Moses speaking to the Israelites on their way from slavery to the Promised Land â€Å"’Beloved there is now set before us life and death, good and evil†, hinting himself as a kind of law giver directly from God and the Puritans as a new chosen people. Between al the established in North America and elsewhere around the world, Winthrop gives the creation of this colony a biblical importance, as though when scripture is read in the future, the Puritans’ founding of Massachusetts would be included.The sense of self-importance fills Winthrop's speech, and to dramatically emphasize this grandness, Winthrop's speak moves from the most elevated and the colony's success, to the most dark, when describing consequences of potential failure. Winthrop states that in success, God will make them (the puritans) a praise and glory;people will look at them as an example. He constantly refers to the Puritans as though they were the most important people to God, commanding all of His attention, as he says:†For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill.The eyes of all people are upon us. So that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a by-word through the world†. He constantly refers to the Puritans as though they were the most important people to God, commanding all of His attention. Winthrop uses language suggestive of ultimate damnation and ruin, saying that†We shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God, and all professors for God's sake.We shall shame the faces of many of God's worthy servants, and cause their prayers to be turned into curses upon us till we are consumed out of the good land whither we are going†. The concept of individual damnation through sin is here applied to a whole people, binding them in their destruction. Winthrop thinks that Puritans are so important to God comparing with other humans in the earth. In his speech Winthrop affect strongly upon the Puritans (his audience), the great importance of what they are doing and the frightening,universe-shaking consequences if they fail.Winthrop breeds an elevated sense of pride in accomplishment and fearof failure into his audience and demands of them an absolute sense of unity between each other and with their faith, making dissent equal to destruction or damnation. This sense of America being the center of the world, a nation of individuals bound together and lives in a unity. Despite the different cultures that make up America, the Puritanical roots remain a strong part of thenational character.

A Christian Perspective on Nudity in Art Essay

The Association of Classical & Christian Schools John is a Christian who enjoys the arts and finds them edifying. He is particularly fond of the art of painting. Desiring to expand his art history knowledge, he visits the best, closest art museum he can find. Going from gallery to gallery, John begins to become discouraged and more than a little embarrassed because of all the nudity shown in the paintings. He finds himself wondering if he should leave the museum in a state of disillusioned protest. As a Christian, John understands the need to shun pornography; but what he is seeing is not Hollywood at its X-rated worst, it is Western Civilization. These are the paintings that make up the canon of art. What is he . what are Christians . to do with nudity as it is often shown in art? To answer the overriding question, one must first understand the difference between nudity and pornography. Nudity is nothing more than a human figure without clothing. There is no overt intention of sexual arousal. When nudity is used in art, it is often (but not always) with the goal of eliciting an admiration on the part of the viewer for the handy-work of his Creator. The Greeks believed that man was the measure of all things; as such they sought to find the perfect human form and show it in their art. The resulting nudes are not pornographic; rather, they are the outworking of the Greek ideal. As Christians, we rightly reject their philosophy, but we should not make the mistake of mislabeling their art. There has been much written on the beauty of the human body and it does not need be rehearsed here. It is clear that we are, indeed, fearfully and wonderfully made. When an artist shows nudity with this in mind, he is showing it to the praise and glory of the Creator. Pornography, on the other hand, has sexual arousal as its sole intention. It seeks to debase and lower both its subject, the person being looked at, and its object, the person doing the looking, to the level of mere animals. It is meant to feed our lusts, with the full understanding that they can never be sated. Sexual lust . like all other lusts . perates according to the Law of Diminishing Returns; the more a person feeds his lust, the harder it is to get even temporary satisfaction. This forces him to go back for increasingly more and more stimulation until it is almost impossible to derive any pleasure from his vice, no matter how much he indulges. It would be irresponsible to say that no part of Western Art leans to the pornographic side of things; for some of it does (much of Klimt, Schiele, some Courbet, etc. ); however, the difference is usually reasonably obvious with sober thought (if it. s not, then the artist has not done his job! ). There is also art that is quite charged with erotic content that doesn. t show so much as an exposed ankle. These paintings rely on context and subtlety to convey the true meaning of the work. For example, Gustave Courbet. s painting, Demoiselles on the Banks of the Seine of 1856, is widely understood to be a depiction of two lesbians in post-coital sleep . an obviously unacceptable situation for the Christian. There is no crass sexual imagery to suggest this relationship; however, when viewed in light of some of his other paintings, and when the painting is looked at carefully the relationship between the two women becomes clear. This is far from the only example of subtle erotic imagery, but it is illustrative of the issue. Like so many situations in life, context is the key to making a decision about whether or not to show or look at imagery like this. Song of Solomon (among other passages in scripture) is very explicit in its description of a sexual relationship between a man and a woman. It speaks quite openly of physical desire. We know from the context of the whole book that this is not a sinful desire and that it is proper for us to read about it and learn from it. So it is with art; when we properly understand the context of a picture we can make decisions on whether it is sinful to look at or not. We have to decide what our aim is in looking at it: are we indulging in an unlawful desire, or are we confronting an opposing worldview? If it is the former, then by no means should the image be viewed; however, if our education is to have any value we must confront opposing worldviews. To what are we objecting in pictures like this? It is obviously not the depiction of an unclothed human body. It is the representation and the implicit approval of promiscuity. This is what breaks the Law of God in Scripture . the sin does not necessarily occur when we look at such material, it happens when we approve of it. Things are rarely one dimensional; there are many reasons for showing nudity in art. We do a disservice to our students (and ourselves) when we teach them to be reactionary instead of thoughtful and discerning. There is a long tradition of depicting the nude human form in Western Art. I mentioned above that appreciation of the human form is one reason for showing nudity in art. However, it is not the only reason. Realism is another; nudity in varying degrees is a part of life, even public life at many times in the past and in different parts of the world. Many times artists were showing only what they saw as a part of everyday life. In the past there were public baths and public toilets that did not afford the same privacy that we, as 21st century Americans, have come to take for granted. There were even times when public nudity was accepted (for example, Peter worked in the nude while he fished (John 21:7). As such, people would have come to understand the concept of modesty as opposed to prudishness. Modesty reserves the exposure of the body to appropriate times and places, whereas prudishness sees the body as sinful in and of itself. As Christians, we must reject prudishness in light of the fact that God has given us many good gifts that are to be enjoyed in their proper context, our bodies being one of them. Since the Fall, nakedness in many situations has become shameful to us. Artists throughout history have recognized this fact and have used it in their art. For example, there are many depictions of the Last Judgment in art history (Rogier Van der Weyden, Hieronymous Bosch, Petrus Christus, the van Eycks, etc. ), many of which show those to be judged completely naked; the blessed are usually given a robe while the damned are sent into hell naked. This is done to emphasize their state before God; they have no covering, either physical or metaphorical to shield them from their Creator. The image of nakedness is used in the Scriptures to highlight our condition before God (Hebrews 4:13). God describes Israel as having been naked before He found her (Ezekiel 16, Hosea 2:1-5). He also uses literal nakedness when he commands Isaiah to go without clothing for three years as a sign of impending judgment (Isaiah 20:1-6). Whether in Scripture or elsewhere, a literary image of nudity is not really that much different from a literal image; both give the mind pictures of naked bodies to think about. It is the intended goal of depicting nudity (whether in words or pictures) that carries the weight of moral responsibility. If e take into account the Scriptures. use of nudity, it seems that it is proper . even edifying . at times to show nudity in art if it is done for the same reasons as the Scriptures. Many times in art the baby Jesus is shown quite openly nude. This is done for a very serious reason. His genitals were shown so that the artist might emphasize the very real human nature of the Christ. The artists wished to refute various Christological heresies (Nestorianism, Mo nophysitism, various forms of Gnosticism, etc. ) by showing that Jesus was both God and man. The attributes of Divinity are obvious and well known (the halo, lamb, and cross) but the tradition of depicting Jesus. humanity through showing His genitals is often misunderstood. At the other end of the spectrum of representing Jesus during His life on Earth is the cross. He would have been completely naked on the cross. The loincloth that we commonly see in paintings is a piece of pure fiction. Would it have been sinful for Him to be naked in public? Of course not, this was not a sexual context, nor was it meant to be. Was it sinful for Jesus. emale followers to be there and see Him in such a state? No. Again, context is the key. A common example of public exposure (albeit mild exposure) that many of us will encounter is breastfeeding. This is a context in which a woman’s breasts are not meant to be seen as sexual, but as motherly. If a man is aroused by the sight of this, does that not point to the sin in him and not in the act of breastfeeding? God ordained this method o f nourishment for children and alludes to it many times in Scripture as a good and proper thing. Again, context is the key to discerning the nature of this situation. Likewise, it is exceedingly rare for a medical doctor to be accused of being a pornography addict for giving physical exams to members of the opposite sex. The context of the examination room is not a sexual one. However, if a doctor mistreats his position and does look at a woman in a lecherous manner, does that mean that all physicals are pornographic and we should stop having them? There are other examples where images of nudity do not and should not elicit sexual arousal: childbirth, war pictures, anatomical charts and books, images from other (often indigenous) cultures, etc. The age at which it is acceptable for children to begin seeing paintings with nudity in them is a matter of debate. It seems that children should be exposed to nudity in art from an early age with the understanding that it is proper in some contexts and improper in others (many of which have been discussed above). If this is done, many aspects of the question of pornography will have been answered at an early age. Furthermore, if this approach is taken, children will gain an understanding of modesty and prudishness and know the difference between the two before it becomes an issue of practice for them (e. . skirt length, bathing suits, movies, etc. ). Of course there are many things that are perfectly good and right in and of themselves that are inappropriate for children. It is the responsibility of the parents to know their children and use their discernment in this question. The above arguments show that things are rarely as simple as nude = bad, clothed = good. This is not an exh austive treatment of the issue by any means; however, it should shed light on different perspectives on how a Christian is supposed to view nudity in art.

Mckinsey Model Essay

McKinsey 7S Model This model was developed in the 1980’s by Robert Waterman, Tom Peters and Julien Philips whilst working for McKinsey and originally presented in their article † Structure is not Organisation†. To quote them: â€Å"Intellectually all managers and consultants know that much more goes on in the process of organizing than the charts, boxes, dotted lines, position descriptions, and matrices can possibly depict. But all too often we behave as though we didn’t know it – if we want change we change the structure. Diagnosing and solving organizational problems means looking not merely to structural reorganization for answers but to a framework that includes structure and several related factors.† The 7S Model which they developed and presented became extensively used by mangers and consultants and is one of the cornerstones of organizational analysis. [pic] Essentially the model says that any organisation can be best described by the seven interrelated elements shown above: Strategy Plans for the allocation of a firm’s scarce resources, over time, to reach identified goals. Environment, competition, customers. Structure The way the organization’s units relate to each other: centralized, functional divisions (top-down); decentralized (the trend in larger organizations); matrix, network, holding, etc. Systems The procedures, processes and routines that characterize how important work is to be done: financial systems; hiring, promotion and performance appraisal systems; information systems. Skills Distinctive capabilities of personnel or of the organization as a whole. Staff Numbers and types of personnel within the organization. Style  Cultural style of the organization and how key managers behave in achieving the organization’s goals. Shared Value  The interconnecting centre of McKinsey’s model is: Shared Values. What the organization stands for and what it believes in. Central beliefs and attitudes. However the model is more than simply a list. Key Points are: 1. The top 3, strategy , structure and systems, are the hard elements. The bottom 4, skills, staff, style, and shared values are the soft elements. 2. At that time, any organisational study focused on the top â€Å"hard† elements and ignored the bottom â€Å"soft† elements. 3. The current view is to focus on all 7, accepting that for each business or enterprise, two or three will be the VITAL ones. 4. The key point is that all the elements are all inter-dependant. Changes in one will have repercussions on the others. Thus introduction of new systems will certainly affect skills, and may well effect structure, style and staff. It could even have an impact on strategy. Similar repercussions occur with decentralization. 5. If you just try to change one element on its own, the other element may well resist the change and try to maintain the status quo. 6. In this sense, any change in organisation is best seen as a shift in the whole picture. Waterman Jr., Robert H., Peters, Thomas J., and Julien R. Phillips. 1980. STRUCTURE IS NOT ORGANIZATION.† Business Horizons 23, no. 3: 14

Language The monster Essay

The setting makes the reader feel tense because the bad weather in chapter 5 gives the reader the idea that there is a sense that the atmosphere is very ominous and this gives the impression that something bad is going to happen, this type of omen gives the reader a tense feeling because it gives the reader an opportunity to pre-empt the fact that soon the tension will break and it will break into some kind of bad happening. An example of this is when in chapter 5 where there is a slight description of what is happening around the room, and outside the room â€Å"the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out† this gives the impression to the reader that something big is soon to happen, because when your candle burnt out, you can’t see anything. Pathetic Fallacy is when someone gives inanimate features to an inanimate object, for example if you were to talk to a cushion as though it was a real person. Pathetic Fallacy gives the reader thee impression that Victor within chapter 5 feels very isolated and cannot talk to anyone, this is because he doesn’t want to tell anyone about his creation. Language The monster is described as having â€Å"yellow skin† and having a â€Å"shrivelled complexion and straight black lips† this explains that Victor’s creation has human features but they are presented in an inhuman way. The way that this creation is described is in the way that it isn’t human but it is a monster. This connotes that the monster is rather frightening to think about with his yellow skin and to think it is human is very scary. Victor thinks of his monster as scary and intimidating, although in chapter 5 Victor’s creation doesn’t actually do anything to Victor, he does actually run away from him when faced with him. â€Å"One hand was stretched out, seemingly to detain me, but I escaped and rushed downstairs. † This at this point of the story shows us that the monster is a bad thing to behold, that it was intending to seek revenge on Victor, but as the reader we don’t know really what is happening. Also we don’t actually know if Victor’s creation is actually as it says in the quote â€Å"trying to detain me† because he may be twisting the readers point of view, because of Victor being the narrator for most of the novel The reader associates monsters and devils with Victor’s monster because within chapter 5 when the monster is created. In the quote below gives a clear example of the creation being linked with omens and portents, â€Å"when, by the dim and yellow light of the moon, as it forced its way through the window shutters, I beheld the wretch†. This gives the impression that the creation is a sign of evil that is associated by the moon omen, because as well earlier in the chapter Victor claimed that the monster’s eyes appeared to be yellow like the moon. The full moon omen is an association with evil because it is supposed that when the full moon comes out all you can hear is the howling of a werewolf and that is a sign of evil The effect of oxymorons helps the reader with the description of Victor’s monster in chapter 5 â€Å"for example â€Å"but these luxuries only formed a more horrific contrast with his watery eyes† this quote is saying that victor made tried making his monster with â€Å"beautiful† characteristics but then says that these beautiful characteristics came out wrong â€Å"with his watery eyes†. This explains why Victor escapes from his creation later on in the chapter; he looks at the monsters hideous features and doesn’t take into account his interior. Victor within chapter 5 uses the fact that he is the narrator to his advantage, because of this Victor can say anything about the monster he wants and because he is the narrator the reader will believe this â€Å"one hand stretched out, seemingly to detain me† this is a prime example of manipulating the reader at this point, because the narrator says â€Å"seemingly to detain me† everyone believes it. This has an intriguing effect on the audience because the first thing you do as a reader is believe everything that the narrator says , however in this sense the narrator is can be very manipulative and can take advantage of what the reader may know or may not know. This is different to what victor originally thought of his monster, originally Victor thought that his monster would be a good idea because it is an original idea and everyone would praise him for the thing he had created, then if it turned out well then even more praise would come his way. â€Å"Although I possessed the capacity of bestowing animation, yet to prepare a frame for the reception of it† this is showing that victor thought of creating animation as a good idea and that he couldn’t wait to put it into practice. Originally Victor thought of his creation as a excellent idea and he wanted to be the inventor of a revolutionary idea, Victor wanted to be like god in a way, however as we find out through chapter 5 he doesn’t even want the credit for his invention There is an ammount of symbolism within chapter 5, for instance the idea that Victor created life from nothing is symbolic to religion and how god â€Å"apparently† created everything from nothing from his own power. â€Å"I collected the instruments of life around me† this gi—-ves the impression that victor thinks of himself as a god-like person, that maybe he thought after creating this he would be known in history. Conclusion I think that Mary Shelly did meet her aim to â€Å"curdle the blood and quicken the beatings of the heart† because the novel always keeps the reader on edge all of the time, the reader never knows what is coming next. For its time I think that the novel was rather frightening for its time because at that time no-one knew anything that we know in modern day science, so this novel would be what is called sci-fi in the modern day. Today of all the people that still read this novel they still find it a fascinating read because it is quite sci-fi like even to us now, we may now know that you won’t make life out of dead bodies using galvanism but it is still interesting.

Climatic Variability in the Old Testament Essay - 1

Climatic Variability in the Old Testament - Essay Example Moreover, people before accounted too much of climate changes more to the works of the gods rather than to scientific explanations. So what is climatic variability? Probably, the most efficient way for us to understand the topic is to look first of all to the definition of this episode. According to J. Murray Mitchell (482), climatic system is the combination of atmosphere, oceans, land surface, ice masses and the biosphere interacting with each other, causing the changes either physically or chemically. In the physical aspect of the change, rainfalls can cause landslides that could change hills to plains and could also bring much water to rivers and seas which could wash away land areas. On the contrary, mountains can be created through the meeting of tectonic plates, pushing each other and making a fold on each other’s surface (Grimm, Hahn, Hellenbrand, Kunkele, Laumanns & Leinburger 214). Chemically speaking, lands can become acidic through acid rains and other chemical changes brought about by the increase of carbon dioxide production. This then requires us, human beings to be interested to the study of such phenomenon because it does not just affect our environment but affects our lives directly as well. One of the greatest climatic variability that happened in the 1930’s is the so-called Dust Bowl in the United States that affected not only the farmers of affected areas but the people worldwide. This could have been the modern picture of the Joseph story mentioned earlier. Hopeful migrants settled in the states where there were vast plains which were very productive for the raising of wheat, making these states the primary sources of food during the First World War.

Physical Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Physical Education - Essay Example The more the calories spent on the physical activity, the less becomes the risk. This is because, exercise has so many advantages such as regulating blood pressure, lowering cholesterol level, regulating stress levels, improving blood circulation, protection against chronic diseases. The exercise recommended for healthy living is approximately 30-40 minutes of vigorous or non-vigorous physical activity for at least 5 days a week. Studies have proved that long term vigorous exercise training helps in reducing the occurrence of mortality and aids in longevity of life span. Even though non-vigorous exercise training reduces all-cause mortality risks, long term vigorous exercise training increases survival rates and longevity. Age related changes in chromosome changes are slowed down by vigorous exercises. It also increases the function of white blood cells thus giving protection against various diseases. Long term vigorous exercise training helps in controlling and maintaining weight, thus giving protection against diseases such as Cardio Vascular Diseases(CVD), diabetes, stroke, cancer etc. This exercise training is a healthy lifestyle change which helps in reducing mortality and increasing longevity. High Density Lipoprotein(HDL) cholesterol is the good cholesterol which cleans out the excess cholesterol adhered to the walls of blood vessels. The excess cholesterol is carried by HDL to the liver for processing. Low Density Lipoprotein(LDL) cholesterol is the bad cholesterol which gets adhered to the walls of the blood vessels. Therefore, the more the HDL cholesterol the less is the risk of coronary art diseases. Regular physical activity of 30 minutes or more helps in increasing the HDL cholesterol level and in decreasing LDL cholesterol levels. To boost the HDL levels, the exercises should be regular and should burn at

Children's book (in Spanish) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Children's book (in Spanish) - Essay Example Tras pensar y pensar sobre las consecuencias que desatarà ­an sus acciones en contra de los colonos espaà ±oles, pensà ³ en cuà ¡les serà ­an los pasos que tomarà ­a para que las personas que vivà ­an allà ­ sufriesen lo menos posible. Esta decisià ³n de pelear contra sus invasores (los espaà ±oles) no fue fà ¡cil ya que no serà ­a una accià ³n pacà ­fica como la que Mahatma Gandhi, un gran là ­der de la India realizà ³ contra Inglaterra en el siglo XX. Gandhi le propuso a su pueblo, una guerra pacà ­fica contra los invasores de su paà ­s. Pelear contra Inglaterra (otro paà ­s colonizador) de forma pacà ­fica no fue fà ¡cil pero lo logrà ³. Esto fue un gran hecho en la historia ya que no hubo derrame de sangre. Por el contrario, pelear contra los invasores (los espaà ±oles) de Venezuela y de los otros paà ­ses cercanos de Sur Amà ©rica, querà ­a decir, pelear a sangre frà ­a, ya que los espaà ±oles no cedà ­an su estadà ­a de estar ahà ­. Los espaà ±oles querà ­an a Venezuela y a otros paà ­ses como mà ¡s territorios en el nuevo continente de Sur Amà ©rica y bajo su poder. En 1819, Bolà ­var formà ³ un grupo llamado el Congreso de Angostura y fundà ³ la Gran Colombia. Venezuela, Colombia, Panamà ¡ y Ecuador formaban parte de la Gran Colombia. Simà ³n Bolà ­var logrà ³ independizar a Colombia, Venezuela, y Perà º, aunque su mayor sueà ±o era que Sur Amà ©rica fuese libre. Espaà ±a estuvo en la Guerra de la Independencia espaà ±ola contra los franceses y hubo una liberacià ³n de las colonias en Sur Amà ©rica pero al abandonar los franceses a Espaà ±a, todo cambià ³ para ser igual que antes. Los espaà ±oles siguieron con las conquistas de las colonias sur americanas que ya eran independientes. Volvieron las tropas, los barcos de guerra y el transporte, la artillerà ­a, las armas y las municiones. Como consecuencia hubo muchas muertes. Como consecuencia a los abusos, muertes y atropellos de parte de los espaà ±oles,