Genesis 12:10-20 and the Modern World:
Genesis 12:10-20 is a text about Abram and Sarai in Egypt that is considered as one of the great epos narrated in the ook of Genesis. efore the narration of this story, Abram is portrayed as an individual with several positive attributes including righteousness and humility. However, the story highlights several troubling concerns and questions regarding Abram's character, beliefs, and behaviors in relation to God and Sarai. These troubling questions and concerns have become the subject of interest and study throughout the ages. Actually, the concerns have been examined in various commentaries, adaptations and interpretations, and plot extensions. The story has mainly been examined from two schools of thought starting with a description of Sarai's beauty, attractiveness, and sexuality from the male perspective

. The second school of thought is typical expressions of male sexual discourse in light of Abram's disturbing behavior. Therefore, Genesis 12:10-20 is…...

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Bibliography:

Cochran, Brian T. "Genesis 12:10-20: "The Struggle to Walk by Faith" Redeemer Reformation

Church, April 22, 2014,  http://storage.cloversites.com/reginapresybeterianchurch/documents/Gen.%2012.10-20.pdf 

Deffinbaugh, Robert L. "When Faith Fails & #8230; (Genesis 12:10-13:41)." Bible.org. Last Modified May 12, 2004.  https://bible.org/seriespage/when-faith-fails-8230-genesis-1210-1341 

Enhancements to Inductive Bible Study. InterVarsity/USA Bible Study Task Force. Last Modified April 1999.  http://www.intervarsity.org/sites/default/files/uploaded/bible-studies/communal/enhancements_to_ibs.doc

Spiritual Intelligence: How Do We Find Values in the Contemporary World
The focus of this brief research report is to examine the issue of finding values in the contemporary world. Values, in the context of this research study relates to principles, standards, ethics, deeply-held beliefs and guides for living however, values also is akin to 'meaning'. Therefore, this research study examines how values and meaning is constructed in the life of a contemporary individual.

There has been much written in recent years concerning cognition and emotional intelligence. Studies in these two areas have yielded positive constructs, which individuals and social groups have successfully developed individually or in terms of the group upon the bases of cognitive and emotional intelligence behaviors and functional processes. Little explored however, is the area relating to what is known as 'Spiritual Intelligence."

What is Spiritual Intelligence

Spiritual intelligence is reported as a "higher dimension of intelligence that provides access…...

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References

Griffiths, Richard (2008) The Spiritual Intelligence Paradigm. SQ Institute Spiritual Intelligence Education. Retrieved from: SQ Institute, 2009

Spiritual Intelligence (2010) Mindwise. Retrieved from: http://mindwise.com.au/spiritual_intelligence.shtml

Spiritual Intelligence (1999) Illini Christian Faculty and Staff. 18 Feb. 1999. Retrieved from:

eligion
"One of the most important contemporary developments in the religious field among U.S. Latinos has been the rapid growth of evangelical Protestantism, particularly Pentecostalism," (Vasquez 617). Pentecostalism is a charismatic, evangelical Protestant denomination. Known best for its espousal of "speaking of tongues, faith healing, divine visions and miracles," Pentecostalism has enjoyed a strong presence in Latin America alongside Catholicism (Kunerth). Pentecostalism is growing among American Hispanics, too, both because of immigration from countries with an already strong Pentecostal base but also because of social, political, and personal psychological changes within the Hispanic-American community. Many new immigrants from Latin America, especially Nicaragua, Honduras and the Caribbean, are already Pentecostal because of the religion has flourished there for decades (Kunerth)

However, Pentecostalism was born in the United States. The religion reflects a uniquely American religious culture. William J. Seymour is widely credited with being the "father of Pentecostalism," after starting what are now…...

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References

DePalma, Anthony. "God's Word, Echoing in English; Hispanic Pentecostal Churches Face Bilingual Problem." The New York Times. 02 Jan, 2003. Retrieved online:  http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/02/nyregion/god-s-word-echoing-english-hispanic-pentecostal-churches-face-bilingual-problem.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm 

Espinoza, Efraim. "Hispanic Pentacostalism." Enrichment Journal. 2011. Retrieved online:  http://enrichmentjournal.ag.org/199904/059_hispanic.cfm 

Garza, Jennifer. "Hispanics Increasingly Drawn to Pentecostal Church." Hispanic News. 9 May, 2009. Retrieved online:  http://hispanic.cc/hispanics_increasingly_drawn_to_pentecostal_church.htm 

Kunerth, Jeff. "Hispanics Flock to Pentecostal Churches." Orlando Sentinel. 02 Jan, 2010. Retrieved online:  http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-01-02/features/os-hispanic-pentecostals_3-20100101_1_pentecostal-churches-hispanic-congregation-pew-hispanic-center

Sect -- in sociology and anthropology, the term sect refers to a group that forms inside another group and takes on some individual characteristics that are based on, but not completely, like the parent or other group. In religion, for instance, denominations may be considered sects. Other academic definitions of the term tend to look at a socio-cultural definition, in that what is it that the group, the sect, is in tension with and why did it believe it had to separate (e.g. The Episcopalians separating over the ordination of a gay Bishop) (Wilson, 1992, 5-9).

Sects also occur in political, social, and cultural groups and, like religious sects, are splinter groups who leave a party or organization because of disagreement on some level. The early International Communist Parties of 1915-1935, for instance had numerous sects. All these were based on the doctrine of Marx & Engles, but took on a…...

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REFERENCES and WORKS CONSULTED

Heidl, G. (2003). Origen's Influence on the Young Augustine. Gorgias Press LLC.

Lalich, J. And M. Langone. (2009). "Characteristics Associated With Cultic Groups."

ICSA. Cited in:

 http://www.csj.org/infoserv_cult101/checklis.htm

Islam and Human Rights
a Critique of Contemporary Muslim Approaches

The basic objective of this research is note the errors that are committed by Muslims in their argument of human rights in Islam or in other words to explore possible means of formulation of a more coherent alternative expression of values to point out the errors committed by Muslims in their attempt to argue the case of human rights in Islam in the hope that efforts and resources expended in that direction can be derived to a more agreeable end; which is the exploration of possible means of formulating a more coherent alternative expression of values to the so-called "Islamic human rights."

A considerable amount of literature has been produced on these issues by competent Muslim thinkers and scholars but because they either

purposefully or 2) inadvertently chose to follow almost the same style as explored in the Western tradition in the advancement of…...

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Bibliography

Hassan, Riffat, Ph.D. ( ) Are Human Rights Compatible with Islam? The Issue of the Rights of Women in Muslim Communities, University of Louisville, KY [Online available at: .org/hassan2.htmhttp://www.religiousconsultation

Islam 101 "Human Rights in Islam" 2005 [Online available at: 101. com/rights/index.Htm 'Allamah Abu Al'A'la Mawdudi at Tawid Journal 'Vol.. IV No. 3 Rajah-Ramadan 1407 ajab-Ramadahan 1407 Human Rights in Islam.]http://www.islam

"Be not conformed to this world" means that while we have to live in it, we do not have to believe in it or be led by it. We cannot free ourselves completely from the influence of culture (we live within it, after all), but we can achieve a high degree of insight about it. We can learn to let our lives be guided by God and thus be free-er than those people whose lives are guided by cultural assumptions, norms, practices, opinions, attitudes, and moral standards. Those people who are influenced and guided by the often conflicting forces of culture, without the mitigating guidance of Christianity, are the most enslaved. Jesus described them as "like sheep not having a shepherd." An extreme example of cultural enslavement is middle-eastern youths who grow up to become suicide bombers. They absorb from their culture the idea that they can be heroes…...

Christianity
THE ROMAN WAY

Rome exerted tremendous pressure on its colonies to conform, and do things in the Roman Way. When in Rome, one does as the Romans do. The Via Romana is a road referring to the Roman way. Rome conquered Alexander's vast empire and then imposed the Imperium (the imperial right to rule) upon the world. Religio-Romana refers to the Roman religion of paganism and polytheism. Roman religion. Romans are to practice Rome's religion without changing it. The Roman practices will be executed as they have always been since the beginning of Roman civilizations. This includes worshipping the Roman emperor as god. The political connection between Rome's religion and the people impose the belief and practice: Roman religion is the truth. Mos Maiorum refers to the living traditions. People are to live their lives according to Roman traditions. This is the daily life of Romans extant in the time of…...

Ethnic Music Humanities
a) Origin and Development of Traditional and Contemporary Ethnic Music

My personal experience in learning this subtopic reveals to me that music is a global cultural practice found in every known culture, both in the past and present, but with a wide variation with regards to time and place of practicing it. Since every ethnic group around the world, including some of the most secluded tribal groups, depicts their own forms of musical practices, I conclude that music might have been present among the ancestral populations prior to the dispersion of human populations around the world. This confirms that music must have been existing and evolving into different forms for over 50,000 years, and the first music might had been invented in Africa, which is regarded as the cradle of humankind. Then the music evolved through diverse parts of the world during human dispersion to become the current ultimate…...

Exegesis Hosea 10: 5-6 Close Reading

Hosea is a prophetic book and like many books in this tradition, it is a critique of the current ways of the Israelites and an explanation of why their words and deeds are in error. One of the central images of Hosea 10: 5-6 is that of idolatry, specifically that of the "calf" at which the inhabitants of Samaria "tremble" despite the explicit prohibition of worshipping graven images in Exodus; the calf specifically recalls the idolatry of the golden calf while the Israelites were in exile in the deserts.[footnoteRef:1] The priests that "wail" over it are said to be idolatrous themselves, specifically underlining their worship of graven images but also the sense of despair reflected in Hosea as a text. The fact that the calf will be taken to Assyria may be read as a symbolic warning of Israel being conquered by that nation in the…...

plea to the hearts and minds of people who are being knowledgeable of the distinctive qualities and assert from the Episcopal Church. The charm from the Church tends to be realized all over our land. Its extensiveness of empathy for every situations of people, the highly convincing perspective regarding the joys of life, the liberty from peculiarity of practice and faith, have unveil the Episcopal Church to the awareness of a lot of people whose religious association have been interfered with or destabilized. e always come across some evident problem, Steve Klein (2007), which makes a lot of people not to join the Episcopal Church. The Church tends to be rather odd, or cold, or complex. It tends not to fulfill the condition that training which is done earlier results to majority anticipation in a church. The services are somehow rigid and obscure; the ways are complex; it has…...

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WORK CITED

Episcopal Church "The Columbia Encyclopedia" sixth edition, Columbia University Press 2001.

Episcopal Church "Encyclopedia Britannica" Enclopedia Britannica. Inc. Retrieved. 2007

Steve Klein," The solution to Episcopal Church Problems" by Vista Church of Christ. 2007.

Sydnor William,"Looking at the Episcopal Church" USA. Morehouse Publishing.1980

The Vairocana Buddha on the back wall has a Bodhisattva to his left wearing a crown and pearls. Bodhisattvas were still 'of the world,' beings in Mahayana Buddhism who temporarily did not seek Enlightenment to bring Enlightenment to the rest of the world. On his other side, a "divine general treads an evil spirit underfoot" ("acred Destinations," Longmen Caves, 2010). The combined images of the most spiritual and enlightened of all manifestations of the Buddha, a spiritual deity still striving to Enlighten those in the world, and national symbolism illustrate how Buddhism was not seen as innately contradictory with the aims of the nation-state.
ources:

"Longmen Caves." acred Destinations. March 1, 2010.

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/china/longmen-caves

O'Brien, Barbara. "The Five Dhyani Buddhas: Vairocana Buddha" About.com.

http://buddhism.about.com/od/thetriyaka/ig/Five-Dhyani-Buddhas/Vairocana-Buddha.htm

Category D

ummarize the history of the porcelain traditions in China from the Yuan to the present. Give examples.

The Yuan Dynasty saw the development of what is now thought of as 'traditional' white…...

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Sources:

"Japanese architecture." Asian Info. March 2, 2010.

 http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/japan/architecture.htm 

"Temples and Shrines." Japan Culture. March 2, 2010.

 http://www.japanvisitor.com/index.php?cID=359&pID=350

Before the Torah is replaced near the end of the service, it is carried throughout the assembled congregation. Worshippers may reach out and touch the Torah with prayer books (hands are not supposed to be used), then kiss the object that touched the Torah, a gesture of affection, respect, and loyalty to God. This ritual is (arguably) symbolically equivalent to Catholic Communion, where believers symbolically ingest the blood and the body of Christ (a sip of wine and a Communion wafer) thereby taking the Lord into themselves. Both practices reaffirm personal relationships to God. Such contemporary (and past) ceremonies and liturgical practices may or may not actually aid worshippers in understanding God (or on the other hand, provide roadblocks for interpretation of the sacred). However, both are powerful signs of a personal relationship between congregants and God.
Many sections of the Old Testament reaffirm monotheism. In Exodus 31-33, Moses leaves…...

In verse 13, God directly challenges the false Gods to save the Israelites. God tells them that their idols will do them no good and that he can and will destroy them. God also reiterates his promise to the righteous that he will keep them safe and the land will be theirs. This verse demonstrates God's ultimate authority and superiority over the old pagan gods. It proclaims his undisputed position and his intolerance for the worship of other deities.

Chapter 57: It's Place in Isaiah

According to Isaiah, it is the duty of every Israelite to adhere to the morals and commandments of God

. Isaiah viewed Assyria as God's tool for doling out punishment to the rest of the world for transgressions

. Isaiah, Chapter 57 is a plea for the Israelites to take action as a nation so that they do not collectively suffer as sinners.

The Great Isaiah Scroll

The Isaiah scrolls are…...

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Bibliography

Dancy, J. The Divine Drama. The Old Testament as literature. Cambrridge, UK. Lutterworth press. 2001.

Gordon, C. And Rendsburg, G. The Bible and the Ancient Near East. W.W. Norton and company.

1998.

Jackson, W. The ACU Commentary and the Unity of the Book of Isaiah. February 24, 2009.

Western Religion
In his book, "Western Ways of eing Religious," (Kessler, 1999) the author Gary E. Kessler identifies the theological, philosophical and societal ramifications of the evolution of religion in the West. Christianity, Judaism and Islam can be traced to a single origin but their divergence has been very marked. Kessler sets his thesis very early in the book. He avers that there are two approaches to religion. One is to be immersed in it -- as a practitioner; the other is to study it as an objective observer, looking in from the outside. This work is unique. The author challenges the traditional notions with his own opinions then follows it with the views of an expert on that notion (in the form of a speech or an essay). He avers that a student of religion has to approach the topic with honesty and openness. This often involves imagining the other's…...

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Bibliography

Kessler, Gary E. Western Ways of Being Religious. Mountain View, Calif.: Mayfield Pub., 1999.pp.

Edwards, Rem Blanchard. Reason and Religion; an Introduction to the Philosophy of Religion. New York,: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1972.pp. 386

Paden, William E. Religious Worlds: The Comparative Study of Religion. Boston: Beacon Press, 1988.pp. 192

Proudfoot, Wayne. Religious Experience. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985.pp. 263

Scriptures of James and Hosea
There are a few poignant similarities between the messages in the scriptures of James 2: 8-11 and Hosea 11: 1-3. A thorough analysis of these passages indicates that they each adhere to the same thematic issues and deal with similar subject matter. However, there appears to be a hierarchy in the way that these two scriptures relate to one another. The passage in James sets forth a specific principle in which the passage in Hosea provides an example.

The dominant theme found in the aforementioned verses from James is for individuals to heed the word of God. The word of God is law, and is referenced in this passage as royal law -- which is an allusion to the Ten Commandments. In buttressing this theme, the author of this passage expressly forbids favoritism and keeping some, yet not all, of God's commandments. However, the principle theme is…...

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References

Akers, T. (2005). How to read the bible for all its worth. Grace Communion International. Retrieved from  http://www.gci.org/book/feestuart 

James (1973). James 2: 8-11. www.biblegateway.com Retrieved from  http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+2&version=NIV 

Hosea (1973). Hosea 11: 1-3. www.biblegateway.com. Retrieved from  http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hosea+11%3A1-3&version=NIV 

Thomas, R. (1994). Introduction to biblical interpretation. Master's Seminary Journal. Retrieved from http://www.tms.edu/JournalBookReview.aspx?ID=252