| Papers [97-108] of 4716 :: [Page 9 of 393] | | Go to page : <— 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 —> | |
|
|
Views on Death: Religion and Society, 2008.
This paper analyzes the social context of death in "Death: The Final Stages of Growth" by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross.
892 words (approx. 3.6 pages), 2 sources, APA, $ 31.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
The paper examines Kubler-Ross' work "Death: The Final Stages of Growth" and her premise that denial of death is the central paradigm that creates the conflict between science and religion. The paper discusses how Kubler-Ross uses religious explanations of death to help unify her theory that more social and faith-based initiatives can help a death-denying society accept death as part of life.
From the Paper
"Kubler-Ross's analysis relies on varying different social backgrounds that define death through a religious perspective. In many cases, accounts from different religious organizations and belief systems are used to bring death to the forefront of American society and its denial of death. Kubler-Ross's background in the medical profession often elucidates this problem through the institutions of doctor, family, and social denial of death in her own experiences."
| |
|
Buddhism in China, 2008.
An analysis of the factors that impeded Buddhism's assimilation into China.
1,917 words (approx. 7.7 pages), 5 sources, MLA, $ 61.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper examines how Buddhism came to China and what the main problems of assimilation associated with its introduction into the country were. More specifically, the paper looks at Buddhism's assimilation into the country taking into account the rulers of the time, the people and their beliefs and the other religions that already existed in China at the time that Buddhism was introduced.
From the Paper
"As a result a series of dictatorships ruled after the Han dynasty while Confucianism was discredited by the collapse of the old order. Confucianism failed to save the Empire from shattering into the pieces. Its prescribed relationship between the ruler and the subjects proved to be unsuccessful. It did not protect the gentry and scholars whose lives were dependent on the old monarchy. Additionally, as it was the official state doctrine of the Han dynasty it was strongly connected with the old regime that failed and new dynasties could not easily be persuaded to accept it as their doctrine. The elite was however, not too happy with Taoism either, and although present, Buddhism was "still in the process of being translated and adapted" (Wright, 7). This was because until the 4th century the Han Emperors permitted only foreigners to build monasteries and enter the new religion (Ch'en, 45) and because the early interpretation of the religion were closely tied with Taoism and done using Taoism terminology."
| |
|
The Human Need to Believe in God, 2008.
A discussion of why human beings have always needed a god or gods to believe in.
1,908 words (approx. 7.6 pages), 5 sources, MLA, $ 60.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper looks at the origins of religion and how they may have evolved from a basic human need to believe in something that was meta-physical, divine, and omnipotent. The paper also focuses on the indebtedness - if any - of some of today's prominent religions to other sects which have been lost to the mists of time. Furthermore, this paper explores what purposes myths served in the ancient world and how they benefited ancient societies in ways that other forms of socialization perhaps could not. In the final analysis, the paper suggests that religion may have evolved from more primitive forms of morals and maintains that religion is beneficial to the human species.
From the Paper
"Returning once more to the work of Paul Kurtz, the need for religion is something that all ancient human societies required insofar as it was an ideal (or at least tolerably effective) coping mechanism for dealing with all of the many things early man could not control. For instance, it assuaged the fear of death, gave human beings the comfort of believing that the injustices of this world would be rectified in the next one, was a means by which the tribulations brought about famine, pestilence, terrible weather or warfare could be endured in the hopes of better days to come, and - finally - religion was a palliative that restored hope in instance wherein hope might not be easily revived otherwise. Finally, religion gave early man the faith that the unseen factors shaping the world (for better or for ill) could be propitiated and even brought to serve the needs of the local community (Kurtz, 23)."
| |
|
Qur'an: Surat Al-Kahf, 2008.
This paper discuses an extremely complex story from the Qur'an that is also imminent and informative of past history, Surat Al-Kahf.
1,280 words (approx. 5.1 pages), 8 sources, MLA, $ 43.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper explains the story from the Qur'an, Surat Al-Kahf, about Moses (Musa or Alai) and Al-Khidr (the Verdant One or the Fertile One). The author points out that research states that Al-Khidr was Koranic Idris that appears in Sura 18/66 in terms of the cave. The paper relates that, during the point when Moses met Khidr at the rivers, there were five particular laws of teachings or hanifs or illuminati: laws of involuntionary and evolutionary cycles, of emanation and manifestation, of the heart-mind (galb), of science of light (hikmat al-ilraq) and of the spiritual communion with the hierarchical beings. The author states that popular tradition suggests that Al-Khidr, the Green One, lived during the time of the biblical prophet Abraham and that he still may be seen at sacred places. The paper concludes that the person named, the Verdent One, still plays the critical role in Islamic mysticism.
From the Paper
"One day, Moses delivered a sermon that was so powerful that people were so overwhelmed. Everyone had his attention and vowed to follow his advice. A person asked Moses, since he is the messenger of Allah, is there anyone else that is so equivalent in his teachings. Moses replied no, thinking to himself that Allah gave him this wisdom to persuade and guide, which is an honor coming from the Torah. However, Moses thought to himself, there have to be another person with greater wisdom and further knowledge than me. Moses prayed to Allah to identify this person or give him a sign that would notify him of this person with greater wisdom and knowledge (min ladunni ilma) than Moses."
| |
|
The "Lotus Sutra", 2008.
An analysis of the importance of the "Lotus Sutra" in Chinese Buddhism, particularly its relationship to emptiness.
1,602 words (approx. 6.4 pages), 5 sources, MLA, $ 52.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper explains and accounts the popularity of the "Lotus Sutra" in Chinese culture in its prescription of three paths of the hearer, the solitary Buddha. It specifically focuses on the relationship between the "Lotus Sutra" and emptiness in Chinese culture and Buddhism, in particular. The paper provides examples to explain the "Lotus Sutra"'s power in Chinese Buddhism.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
What Emptiness Is
Concluding Remarks
From the Paper
"The Lotus Sutra's power in Chinese Buddhism and culture may lie in its entirely popular appeal, its message plain, not a scholarly text but a text for people, reassurance of what one's efforts can bring and clarification of Buddhism as an ethical system to improve everyone's lives and of which the divine, in one sense or another is aware. Amid so much to say denounce the self and the world, restrain and expect nothing more than order, this exuberant text tells people to straighten up, live their virtues as are meant to have creative ends. In a sense, the Lotus Sutra points to a kind of messianic Buddhism that happened to combine well with other philosophies and religion not the least of which were Daoism and Christianity."
| |
|
Hobbes' and Machiavelli's Humanist Governing Principles, 2008.
This paper compares and contrasts humanistic governing principles in "The Prince" by Niccolo Machiavelli and "The Leviathan" by Thomas Hobbes.
2,263 words (approx. 9.1 pages), 2 sources, MLA, $ 70.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
The paper discusses how Machiavelli and Hobbes analyze the dictates of governing institutions, religion and ethics. The paper shows how these two philosophers often agree, but differ on varying principles of practicality for humanistic governing bodies. The paper shows the complexity of rational thought that exists between Hobbes and Machiavelli and explains how the nature of ethics becomes a dynamic that divides them.
From the Paper
"The manner of politics that one can see in The Prince by Machiavelli reveals much about the cruel, and often-lawless manner of governing that seeks to suppress the people being ruled by their leaders. He makes little argument for unrealistic manners of ethical guidance that might smooth over these forceful behaviors of the leading class. By these means he tells us much about how rules matter little in the quest for power and dominance over the lesser classes. In starting, Machiavelli refused to be deflected by utopian dreams or romantic hopes and by questions of right and wrong or good and bad in government. This is how Hobbes and Machiavelli compare, since they both seek realism in their quest to discover the best and most efficient way to rule."
| |
|
Jelaluddin Rumi and Sufism, 2008.
This paper discuses Jelaluddin Rumi, one of the most well-known of Persian poets, who is largely credited with infusing Sufism with its highly intimate relationship with aesthetic traditions.
2,850 words (approx. 11.4 pages), 9 sources, MLA, $ 84.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper explains that classically trained Jelaluddin Rumi, who was born in 1207 in the region that is now part of Afghanistan, lived most of his life in Turkey and the surrounding area. The author points out that Rumi created the Mevlevi Order of Dervishes or commonly called the Whirling Dervishes of Sufism. The paper relates that the Whirling Dervishes are most recognized for their unique dance movements, oblique body posturing, acute mental focus and their musical facility, which is said to combine to bring them closer in union to God. The author states that Rumi's poetry is regarded as the cultural epicenter of all thought, literature, dance and music in the world of Islamic aesthetics. The paper reports that the traditional approach to studying the impact of Rumi's poetry on Sufi music has been to examine the text from a critical theoretic perspective.
From the Paper
"The natural academic tendency, regardless of academic specialty, is to examine the concepts contained within the lines of verse; to question 'what is the tree of wisdom' and to ask what or how one identifies one's internal "fairy." These are important metaphysical questions that can and should be asked of the text through critical analysis. However, therein rests the academic pitfall that most researchers and even casual observers typically get trapped in: the interpretation of the text which is made even more complex in translation."
| |
|
Globalization and the Middle East: Iran, 2007.
A discussion of the Iranian response to globalization.
1,745 words (approx. 7.0 pages), 6 sources, MLA, $ 56.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper argues that modern-day Iran is behaving in response to long-held grievances with western powers (like the United States and Great Britain) and because the globalization and integrated world that the West champions (most conspicuously the United States) is perceived as a direct threat to Iran's status as a theocracy, and a direct threat to the austere, non-consumerist tenets of traditional Islam. The paper explains that globalization threatens the very fabric of present Iranian society and the country's leaders therefore want to combat it and those they feel embody values inimical to their own interests. The paper also looks at what it is that has prompted the Middle Eastern land's angry denunciations of Israel, its stubborn adherence to a nuclear development program that is condemned by many in the western world, and its frequently negative characterizations of the United States. The paper concludes that one of the most compelling reasons for Iran's 'odd' actions is that globalization brings with it many threats to Iran and to its leadership; it is also a reminder, surely, of the western imperialism which impressed itself upon Iran in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
From the Paper
"To begin with, Iran is a nation that is comparatively insular and one which is dominated by a religion that frowns upon the "decadent," consumption-driven and even hedonistic lifestyle of the west. It is also, if its sometimes hysterical rhetoric and habitual defensiveness about what it is doing and why it is doing it are any indication, a nation that is deeply insecure - or, at the very least, its leaders are very insecure. More than that, Iran is a nation which has long bristled at the projection of western power via globalization and changing technologies and this has pushed it to the forefront of Middle Eastern nations committed to turning back that projection anyway they can."
| |
|
School Prayer and the Constitution, 2008.
This paper examines the state board of education's "Moral and Spiritual Training" curriculum.
1,014 words (approx. 4.1 pages), 5 sources, MLA, $ 35.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
The paper analyzes the "Moral and Spiritual Training" school program proscribed by the state board of education, to determine whether it violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. The paper examines three prior decisions by the Supreme Court and contrasts these decisions to the present facts.
From the Paper
"Rarely is there a clearer statement of intent and direction than in the establishment clause of the First Amendment, which states that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. . ." (Constitution, 1999, First Amendment). The first clause of the First Amendment, also known as the "establishment clause," is often interpreted as prohibiting the federal government from setting up a church, passing laws that aid one or all religions, or forcing acceptance or disbelief in a religion (Black, 1979, p. 490)."
| |
|
Persian Influence on Islamic Civilization, 2008.
This paper is a theoretical, descriptive and analytical historical review pf the major aspects of the Persian (modern Iran) influence on the Islamic civilization.
1,650 words (approx. 6.6 pages), 8 sources, MLA, $ 53.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper explains that the Persian Empire created great civilizations before the rise of Islam. The author points out that the Persian presence within the Islamic populace influenced many core aspects of the Muslim society: the realm and formation of government, architecture, music, medicine, linguistics, literature, clothing and fashion and other areas of cultural, economical, political and social significance. The paper states that, unlike general notions perpetrated by Western civilizations, the Islamic civilization, which was a global civilization that integrated individuals of diverse ethnic backgrounds who worked together to create knowledge within the arts and sciences, was not marred with war and terrorism. The author believes that the modern view of the Persian Empire is marred with subjective criticisms and linkages between Iran and terrorism.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Persian Culture; How is this Influence Explained: A General Overview
Figure 1: Iran's Cultural Dimensions
Scientific Contribution to Islamic Civilization: The Influence of the Persian Empire, Especially in the Field of Medicine
Figure 2: An Overview of the Persian Influence on Islamic Scientific Processes (Using an Input/Output Model)
Conclusion: State-Sponsored Terrorism and Iran
From the Paper
"Fields of medicine strongly influenced by Iranian scientist include but are not limited to physiology, biochemistry, immunology, and molecular biology. There influence has been likened to changes in the understanding of medicine that took place between prehistoric times to the present, this is a rather profound statement, since "the torch of medicine was in the hands of Muslims in historical periods from ancient Athens to the Renaissance", but Iranian scientist have still managed to make remarkable progress in medicine. Scientist form the Persian sphere have had such a profound impact on Islamic medical research, that many medical scientist considered authorities in the field have evolved in the Islamic Civilization, but are Persian. Nabipour highlighted a few renowned scientists such as Rhazes (865 - 925 A.D.)who has one of the most authoritative books on smallpox and measles."
| |
|
The Muslim Religion: The Shia, 2008.
An examination of Shia/Sunni schism within the Muslim religion and how the Shia has survived despite this divide.
1,659 words (approx. 6.6 pages), 5 sources, MLA, $ 53.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper examines the Shia of the Middle East and what they have done to survive in the face of implacable outside hostility. The paper explores the beginning of the Shia/Sunni schism as well as the phenomenon of the "steady state" and what it means for the Shia. The paper further examines the cultural/religious anxiety of the Shia, the cultural distortion suffered, and the cultural revitalization experienced by, this group. Finally, the paepr discusses elements such as communication (on a broad, cultural level), organization, adaptation and cultural transformation (within the context of the Middle East) for Muslims in general.
From the Paper
"At the same time, the cultural transformation of the Middle East in the last century-plus by the western colonial powers has sparked a powerful re-birth of traditional religious sentiment throughout the Middle East - including Iran (Harman, para.11). The impress of western sensibilities and philosophical doctrines upon the elites was aggressively counter-acted by a new rise in religious commitment. As a result, and this has been the case in Iran since at least the days of Khomeini, Shia Islam has been pushed to the fore because it is (arguably) the most potent means by which the peoples of Iran can express their revulsion at the depredations of foreign powers. Looked at from an anthropological perspective, it may be advanced that the Shia peoples of Iran have made a fetish out of their religious beliefs in order to thwart cultural imperialism - but they (or at least their leaders) have shown enough adaptability to meet the exigencies of turbulent times."
| |
|
Robert Spencer's "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam", 2008.
This paper is a critical review of Robert Spencer's "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam".
1,101 words (approx. 4.4 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 38.95
»
Click here to show/hide summary
Abstract
This paper explains that Robert Spencer organizes his book "The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam" (and the Crusades)" in three large sections. The author points out that, in the first section, Spencer analyzes the era of the Prophet Muhammad and the philosophy set forth in the Qur'an, which Spencer calls a book of war. The paper relates that, in the second section, Spencer covers the history of the Crusades as the first clash between the Middle East and the West, between Islam and Christianity, which he finds important for making the West and Christianity ascendant and for keeping Islam in check for centuries. The author tells that the third section addresses the current era of jihad against the West, as the consequence of the earlier time and a continuing philosophical clash in which Spencer clearly sees the West as having the moral high ground and Islam as claiming a moral strength it does not possess at all.
Table of Contents:
Problem
Thesis
Summary
Critique
From the Paper
"Spencer makes his own answer clear when he writes about why the life of Muhammad matters and stats that "religions are not entirely determined (or distorted) by the faithful over time." It has become common for the politically correct to see Islam as a peaceful religion that is being distorted by some followers, but Spencer wants to show that the foundation of the religion itself favors war and actions taken from a position of power. Spencer also wants to elevate Christianity over Islam in philosophical terms and throughout compares the teachings of Jesus and the teachings of Muhammad to show that they are not equivalent and that there are real differences that make one more acceptable than the other."
|
|
|
