Gods or God?

1. Mary Lefkowitz responds to the charges by some secular commentators that religion â€Å"‘poisons’ human life and causes endless violence and suffering† by stating that the â€Å"poison isn't religion; it's monotheism. † 2. â€Å"Openness to discussion and inquiry† and â€Å"[r]espect for a diversity of viewpoints† are some attitudes that contributed to the Athenian idea of â€Å"the cooperative system of government †¦ called democracy. †3. The existence of many different gods offers a more reasonable explanation than monotheism of â€Å"the presence of evil and confusion in the world. † A mortal â€Å"may have had the support of one god but incur the enmity of another, who could attack when the patron god was away†; however in the monotheistic traditions, â€Å"God is omnipresent and always good† and â€Å"mortals must take the blame for whatever goes wrong,† even though God permits evil to exist in t he world he created. 4.The separation between humankind and the gods made it possible for humans â€Å"to speculate about the character and intentions of the gods. † Greek theology allowed people to ask hard questions and encouraged others to learn and to seek all the possible causes of events. Such questions brought philosophy and science to the world. 5. Lefkowitz writes, â€Å"Ancient Greek religion gives an account of the world that in many respects is more plausible than that offered by the monotheistic traditions.† In this context, â€Å"plausible† seems to mean â€Å"reasonable. † The Greek account may be more â€Å"plausible† because â€Å"Greek theology openly discourages blind confidence based on unrealistic hopes that everything will work out in the end. † 6. Lefkowitz certainly makes an excellent point and I definitely agree with her. Religion today seems to be focused too much on blind belief. Thinking seems to create a healthie r environment and some â€Å"healthy skepticism† would definitely be helpful currently in such a stubborn world.

Attitudes in Jesse Pope and Dulce Et Decorum Est

Compare the poets attitude to war in ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ by Wilfred Owen and ‘Who’s for the game? ’ by Jesse Pope In this essay I will be comparing the poets attitudes to war in ‘Dulce et decorum est’ by Wilfred Owen and ‘Who’s for the game? by Jesse Pope. ‘Dulce et decorum est’ is about the unglamorous reality of trench life, while ‘Who’s for the game? ’ is a propaganda poem published in the Daily Mail encouraging young men to join the army. Both have different views and attitudes to war and there poems are quite different. Wilfred Owen’s poem is positive, whilst Jesse Pope’s is positive.Although both poems are about war they have vastly different attitude to war. Pope’s ‘Who’s for the game? ’ encourages young men to join, promotes the positives and makes those who don’t join feel like outsiders. For example the ‘who’ll grip and tackle the job unafraid? ’, which is implying that those who don’t join the war are afraid of the war. This is very effective because they use emasculation to make a man feel like less of a man. Furthermore their family would feel embarrassed and pressured by others who have joined the army.Young men ,during that war, also thought that joining the army would be like an adventure and that they would have a blast. Many people also underestimated the war and assumed that it would all be over by Christmas. On the other hand ‘Dulce et decorum est’ focuses on the negatives aspects like death, war and the harshness of it. In the very first line Owen writes ‘Bent double, like beggars under sacks’ as soon as the reader starts the poem they already know that Owen is strongly denying the concept: ‘Dulce et Decorum est’- that it is sweet and honourable to die for your country.By using that it sets the theme for the rest of the poem, which is about the untold story of trench life. While ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ is a poem about the reality of war, Pope’s ‘Who’s for the game? ’ is promoting the war and portrays it as a game. She uses word and phrases usually used in sports such as: ‘grip’; ‘tackle’; ‘Signal to Go! ’ and ‘toe the line’. Using these words she makes the comparison between war and game more effective. On the other hand Owen’s ‘Dulce et Decdorum est’ is the hard reality of going to fight for your country.Therefore he focuses on describing the soldiers’ vunerable and poor situation as already seen ‘Bent double, like beggar under sacks’. Instantly this sets the subject matter for the poem, by comparing soldiers, who are thought to be of as strong and healthy, to beggars. This comparison is effective because beggars are thought of as weak, dirty and vunerable, which is what he is trying to get the reader to imagine. Although the Pope’s poem is about war she had never experience the war first hand, compared to Owen who was a soldier and had actually joined the army.Jesse Pope was a writer and journalist and her work was often described as being very patriotic as can be seen in ‘Who’s for the game? ’. Her attitude was that war was a game, and that young men should take part in the war. Pope was also part of the propaganda pro-war poets, who encouraged and pressured young men to join. Unlike today woman, during that time, were not allowed to join the army. The fact that a woman wrote this poem was also very significant, because men felt that they couldn’t refuse a woman and that their pride and honour was very important.Whereas Wilfred Owen was a soldier and had joined the army, been injured, but still came back. Sadly Owen, who was against the war, died in action one week before the end of the war. The tone in the poem reflects the poets different attitudes. Owen’s ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ tone sounds betrayed, angry and upset. One line that reflects the betrayal is ‘The old lie: Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori’. This line is also the title and the betrayal he feels towards the propaganda is clear, because his discusses the negatives of war throughout his poem and does not mention anything positive about the war.On the other hand Pope’s ‘Who’s for the game? ’ is more excited and upbeat and she uses words like ‘Come along, lads’ to suggest it’s a game and that all are welcome to play. I think both poems had alot of poetic techniques both use rhyme. Pope uses words that rhyme like ‘tight’ and ‘fight’, and Owen used word like ‘sludge’ and ‘trudge’ . I think both poets used rhyme (a sound device) so that the poem could be appreciated when read aloud. Especially words like ‘sl udge’ and ‘trudge’ really exaggerate the soldiers movement and how hard it was for them to walk.Pope also uses a extended metaphor comparing war to a game throughout the poem. This comparison is very effective because she tempts the reader by saying have fun and join us or watch and be part of the audience, which is made apparent when she writes ‘who wants a turn to himself in the show, and who wants a seat in the stand. She also uses repetition with the word ‘who’ll’ on the beginning of several lines and also uses collective personal pronouns like ‘you’ll, your and you’ as if she is speaking directly to the reader. On the other hand Owen uses the same technique (repetition) but for a different purpose.This can be seen when he writes ‘I saw him drowning†¦ He plunges at me guttering, choking, drowning’. He repeats these words to emphasize the shock and harshness that someone is dying and he canâ€℠¢t do anything about it, and the soldiers death is still haunting him after all this time. Likewise he repeats the words face ‘white eyes writhing in his face, his hanging face’ to really emphasize what he is seeing. Owen also uses personification, metaphors and similes in his poem. For instance ‘haunting flares’, ‘drunk with fatigue’ and ‘like hags’ to paint a picture of what the soldiers and their surroundings look like.This is effective because the reader can empathise with the soldiers just from the description. Pope also uses personification by comparing the country to a woman she writes, ‘Your country is up to her neck in a fight’. This use of personification is effective because men feel they need to protect woman and so they feel responsible for their country. Both poets use poetic techniques such as: personification; repetition and rhyme to express their different views and attitudes towards war. So whilst the y may have used the same techniques they used it for different purpose.I think that their attitudes towards war are very different. Wilfred Owen’s ‘Dulce et Decorum est’ is what he thought and had personally experienced, while Jesse Pope’s ‘Who’s for the game? ’ was propaganda poem encouraging young men that the war was a game. Even though I don’t agree with Pope’s approach, I think it’s very effective and shows how her attitude towards war is very patriotic. I think Pope’s poem is very effective and I can understand why so many men felt they needed to join the army. They have different views and attitudes to war and express their personal views through their poems.

The significant role of financial intermediaries Essay

The significant role of financial intermediaries - Essay Example In the process of redistributing savings into productive uses, financial intermediaries combine small savings into substantial pools of capital which are re-lent to a wide number and variety of borrowers, or invested in various forms of securities, thus providing risk diversification and liquidity. Intermediation is defined as the placement of money with a financial intermediary which invests in bonds, stocks, mortgages, loans, money market securities and government obligations to achieve targeted returns. Essential to understanding the intermediation market is the existence of a direct credit market where borrowers or investors meet and transact financial business directly with the providers of funds. An example is a cash-rich business which purchases a commercial paper directly from a finance company. Another would be a household that buys a new share of stock of an industrial company from a stockbroker which underwrote the issue. No financial intermediary was involved here because it was not necessary. A financial intermediary plays a significant role only when hindrances or inefficiencies can occur, such as when the denomination, maturity, and other security characteristics do not match exactly the desires and requirements of the SSU. When a household has available funds of only â‚ ¤500, it would not be able to participate in buying a bond issue denominated at â‚ ¤5000 each. Financial intermediaries come into the picture when it buys direct claims from the DSUs with specific security characteristics (maturity, denomination, and liquidity) and sells indirect claims to SSUs packaged to conform to the specific requirements of the market.

Scholarship award Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Award - Scholarship Essay Example My previous career choice was that of a personal trainer. This was an offshoot of my highly active lifestyle. I was taking such good care of my body and keeping so fit that it was no surprise for the people who knew me when I began training other people as well. That is why my mothers cancer battle came as such a big blow to me. Yet I used her battle to inspire me to do better as a physical trainer, hoping that I could prevent the onset of such debilitating illnesses upon my own clients when I could not prevent it from happening to my own mother. But as time progressed, I came to understand that a personal trainer could only help his clients to a certain extent. I need to study further and concentrate on more advanced subjects relating to the human body and as far as I was concerned, only Biology could help me do that. Studying Biology has been an enjoyable experience for me as I am able to connect my knowledge about exercise with the information that I became exposed to in my biology related courses. I am actually looking forward to finishing this degree very soon so that I move on to my Physical Therapy studies where I plan on combining my experience as a personal trainer with my knowledge of the human body which I learned in biology in the hopes of being able to help more people lead healthy and productive lives. I would not have been in a financial position to actively pursue these socially conscious ambitions of mine without the help of this scholarship grant as the education that I am pursuing comes at a very steep price that is not affordable to many college

Childrens Lit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Childrens Lit - Essay Example First and foremost, a literature program should aim towards enabling children realize the entertainment aspect of literature (Donna & Saundra, 2007, p.74). They should be able to understand that Literature is fun and they should always enjoy it. Sid Fleischman’s book â€Å"McBroom’s Wonderful One-Acre Farm† focuses on making children laugh and appreciate literature in general. The book contains a lot of humor as the author brings out the unusual fertility of McBroom’s farm and his exciting misadventures in a fascinating way. Secondly, Literature should be able to inform children on history of literature. When reading literature books children should also be able to understand what previously existed and acquire knowledge of life in the past. Daniel Defoe’s book â€Å"Robinson Crusoe† explains about a man who was trapped alone on island and through him the adventure genre of literature developed. This genre exists in Children’s Literatu re up to today. Books written in the past are relevant for they give accounts on how Children’s Literature has developed over time. Thirdly, Literature programs should enable children understand who they are and appreciate others as well as their cultures (Donna & Saundra, 2007, p.74). ... This should help them compare books, rate them and come up with excellent ones. J. R.R Tolkien’s book â€Å"The Fellowship of the Ring† is often described by most readers as the best fantasy collection written for children. Lastly, Literature programs should help children in giving an evaluation of books they read. They should trigger children’s imaginative powers. Lewis Carrol’s book â€Å"Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland† helps in developing imagination due to the fantasies which are well developed and written in the story. Children’s literature has developed due to the changing attitudes towards children. The early 1600’s children were viewed as young adults and most of the literatures, both oral and written were general. There was no specific literature directed to children (Donna & Saundra, 2007, p.45). They majorly focused on Puritanism which dwelled on religious teachings and societal norms. In the late 1600’s some writers started recognizing the importance of literature to children. For instance, Charles Perrault wrote â€Å"Mother Goose Rhymes†, a composition of some of the stories that had been passed to children through word of mouth. In the 1700’s people’s views about children started changing. Children were treated as per their age and not adults. Children’s interpretation of literature was recognized as different from that of adults hence need for their own literatures. More books were written and the interests of children were given priority. 1800’s saw the evolution of Children’s Literature and emphasis on Puritanism started dying. Stress was basically put on the cognitive and social development of the children. Children now

Leadership Development Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Leadership Development - Case Study Example ermed as the major decision taken in the recent times and has been brought about in a forced way owing to the company performance and non satisfactory responses from the profit index. The global trends and the overall reduction in the profit as a result of it is another reason that has brought about such a move. The larger states such as Russia and its overall standing in the global economic market had its impact on the Ford’s overall performance leading to tougher decisions being made. Mr. Odell may have contributed on the structural function and strengthening of the Ford’s existence in the global innovations, however the domain and context of market capturing still desires to be gripped further in order to make most of the market potential. The experimental work on the Mustang comes as a challenge that has yet to be practically tested and determined with regard to its potential success. Mr. Farley has also got his work cut out in the form of fulfilling for the vacuum that is being created through the step wise retirement of the number of individuals who were long associated with the company. Replacing the expertise with relatively equal and effectively able individuals is a challenge that needs to be resolved. Bringing Ford to the previous top level of success and high profits is another challenge and goal that the two individuals must set before them in order to overcome the existing challenges. The job rotation helps the leadership in a way that it allows the individuals working in a different environment, meaning exposure to larger domain and coming up with improved performances. Rotation allows the employees working with freshness of mind and removes the element of redundancy and boredom by repeatedly working in a similar environment and similar surroundings. The impact of rotation can be either positive or negative for a given organization. It can be positive if it is handled properly as it promotes productivity and brings along diversity in the cause

Technology Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Technology - Assignment Example The realization of many softwares’ through computer aided designs has enabled this technology to gain popularity, with many opting to adopt it due to its overwhelming convenience. This essay discusses 3D printing including its impacts on the society and the reasons as to why this technology will do better in the near future. Basing it on other similar proven technologies that people had no idea about before their innovation, but later did well after introduction, there is no doubt that 3D printing will be a force to reckon in the near future. Keywords: 3D Printing, Remote Manufacturing, Society, Impact, Future, Technology Introduction Three D (3D) printing is the process of making three dimensional objects in solid form from a digital model (Novel, 2013). To achieve this, objects are arranged in layers and additives are used through an additive process. 3D printing process involves application of digital technology; this technology involves the use of computer files and softwa res to make desired 3D designs. Structures are made to lie on each other through computer aided designs. Blueprints are made and virtual objects are used to make hard copies created from plastics and metal alloys. 3D printing started in 1984 (Novel, 2013). 3D printing has been one of the most popular design manufacturing technologies. This is attributed to its widespread advantages; it has optimized speed, low cost, and has an ease of use. These advantages make 3D designs most important during functional testing of engineering designs, as they provide good visualization at the conceptual stages. The main strengths of 3D printing are given below: It has high innovations; it takes a short time to come out with a prototype, and the feedback included helps it have many cycles that end up with perfect designs. Designs are very clear enhancing communications; the targeted group can be easily reached, and images designs are realistic and convey more information than conventional designs. I t reduces production costs and probability of error occurrence is relatively low, because any error is identified during the earlier stages. The realistic models have won the hearts of many investors, who resolve to apply the technology to face the competitive markets. Figure showing a 3-D object printed by 3-D printer, retrieved from Novel (2013). Societal Impact with regard to 3D Printing It is hard to think that manufacturing could be done without factories and all that are entailed in the factories such as large machines, production lines, and many other manufacturing tools. The technology as at the moment is changing everything. 3D printing serves as an example of the events that are transferred from being operated in factories to more comfortable zones like homes; all that one needs is a computer and knowledge of 3D model software. It is a new reality of the modern science, whereby objects are created and can be observed as they are. While the new world is emerging, big questi ons are posed regarding the future of industries and human life. With regard to 3D printing, the industries may not be completely faced out, but their structures and faces will change (â€Å"Report-3D printing the Future of Manufacturing,† 2013). As technologies advance, several issues have to be reviewed they have a lot of impact in the society. The major effects will be felt in health, businesses, and employment. A case study of 3D bio-printing best shows the effect of this kind of