Religion Western Religion Islam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Religion Western Religion Islam - Essay Example Muslims believe that practicing Islam puts them in a state of righteousness and obedience to the will of God. However, they take it a bit far when they state that it is better for all mankind to become Muslims and submit to the will of God because nothing can be better than this. This presupposes the dominance of Islam over the other religions and its inherent superiority, as every Muslim would like to believe. However, I believe that it is more correct to acknowledge other religions as well, like Christianity and Judaism. In fact all three of these faiths emerged from a common continent and have many similarities of belief. For example, all of them believe in Adam and Eve as being God’s first human creations and the subsequent banishment from the Garden of Eden. Islam recognizes around 124,000 prophets as being sent by God at various times throughout the history of mankind. However Muslims regard the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as Allah’s last messenger and the founder and first proliferater of Islam. The Muslim faith of Islam is based on five pillars or tenets which are as follows: (1) Shahada or Creed; (2) Salat or Daily Prayers; (3) Sawm or fasting during Ramadan; (4) Zakat or Alms-giving; and (5) Hajj, or the pilgrimage to Mecca, to be undertaken by a Muslim if he has the means, at least once in his lifetime. To a Muslim, these five basic acts are obligatory and a framework around which lies their commitment to their faith (Hooker, 1). The Quran itself presents these tenets as basic signs of commitment to the faith of Islam. They must be observed and practiced by every Muslim. An equivalent would be the observance of the sacraments in Christianity, I guess. Observing the five tenets of Islam and what is applicable to an individual of the seven sacraments in Christianity would keep each believer in a state of grace and strengthen their position with God. While all of us may not agree with it, Muslims believe that Islam is the best

Thailand's Economic Development and Growth Research Paper

Thailand's Economic Development and Growth - Research Paper Example The research strategy is mainly deductive in nature. The findings from this paper suggest that Thailand has experienced a steady surge in the GDP over the years. There has been positive impact of this growth on the social factors like, level of literacy, conditions of Health and finally, the impact on poverty of the nation. This work has identified two areas of shortcomings for Thailand to improve: it has to focus on the quality of secondary education and reduce the inequality of income between the rich and the poor. Thailand has been a success story and the policies followed by it have been taken as a lesson for other developing economies to follow. Thailand’s incredible growth has put it in the league of the other Asian tigers. This work has found out that the regional pockets of poverty in Thailand needs serious attention from the Government. The government must follow inclusive growth policies to include the poorest of the poor into the formal structure of the labor market in order to reduce the income inequality. Introduction The economic progress witnessed by Thailand is perhaps one of the most interesting economic development literatures that continue to interest economists all over the world. Such in fact has been the pace of growth of Thailand’s economy, that in a recent study by the World Bank, Thailand has been upgraded to the status of a high middle-income economy from a low middle-income one in 2011 (The World Bank, 2013). So, the pertinent question revolves around the wide economic changes during the period of 1980’s to 2000 that had led the economy to achieve the status that it had achieved today. It was observed that during the specified time period, Thailand had experienced an increasing trend of capital inflows by opening up its economy and integrating it with the world economy (Beja, Junvith and Ragusett, n.d.). About two decades ago, Thailand experienced a growth that had become exemplary worldwide and since then, its su ccess story acts as a benchmark for the other economies to follow. However, right at the end of the millennium, the noteworthy rise came to a grinding halt due to the unfavorable conditions of the world economy, better known as the Asian crisis. This paper aims to understand the factors which were responsible for such high rates of growth in Thailand. For the research purpose, the period from 1980’s to 2000 has been considered. The main objective is to evaluate the growth of the economy along with studying the growth of population, in this period. Then, the impact of growth on the level of literacy and conditions of health will be analyzed in details. An inductive methodology is used for the purpose. Based on the findings, the results are drawn accordingly. The paper mainly tries to understand the reasons behind the economic growth admitting the fact that there was indeed a huge growth (Chuenchoksan and Nakornthab, 2008). The most astonishing aspect, inspite of the definite i ncome growth, is the spectacular levels of income inequality.

Good Health Essay Example for Free

Good Health Essay It is common to hear people talking about the state of their health. Some say they are in good health, while others talk about their ill health or that of others. But what exactly is good heath and how do we know when we are experiencing it? This article takes a look at that aspect of our lives and explains it in simple terms. Good Health When we are enjoying good health, we feel good, we look good with a good health image and everything about our lives seems to be going well with no major upsets. It means we have plenty of energy to do the things we want to do and we feel happy and contented with our ability to do those things. There is no pain or feeling of stiffness in our body and we are able to exercise freely every day if we wish. Often, when we are in good health it is common to be more active and exercise forms part of the days activities. When we are free of pain, we are able to do a lot more and we feel motivated to do a lot more than when we are experiencing pain. So maintaining a good level of health is important to our lives because it means the absence of pain totally or at least for the majority of the time. Promoting Good Health So what can we do to promote good health? There are lots of things we can do and similarly lots of things we should avoid doing. We should make sure we eat a healthy diet, because we are what we eat and when we only put good things into our bodies, those bodies respond by simply being in better health. That includes healthy meals made up of fresh ingredients as well as any healthy snacks we may want to eat during the day. We should exercise and be active every day, getting plenty of fresh air outdoors and sunshine. Fresh air boosts our energy levels while natural daylight and sunshine boosts our mood, makes us feel happier and also boosts our bodies ability to manufacture its own vitamin D. If we live in a city, we should make a point of getting into the countryside as often as possible to get fresher air and avoid all the pollutants that city air generally tends to have. We should try and be as happy as we can be, facing life with a positive, upbeat attitude and try not to let stress into our lives. We should avoid living a sedentary lifestyle and make sure we get up off the chair as often as we can. Avoiding foods that are processed, contain ligh levels of refined sugar and refined white flour as well as those that contain artificial additives. That usually means eating only fresh produce, fresh fruit and vegetables along with lean meat and fish (if we are not vegetarian), nuts, seeds, legumes and some dairy produce, although this should be kept to a minimum. We should also avoid drinking soda and flavored drinks because of the dangerous levels of refined sugar and/or artificial sweeteners and other additives. Alcohol consumption should be moderate and smoking is a totally bad idea. If we can use our common sense and make sure we live as healthily as we can, then we should enjoy a far better level of health. If we can also keep stress levels down and stay happy, our health will reflect our mood and we will have a longer, happier and healthier life.

Imagining the Future in Iraq Essay -- Politics Political Iraq Essays

Imagining the Future in Iraq The future of Iraq remains unclear. There are those who have tried to categorize the current conflict as the next Vietnam. Others have dubbed it the next Afghanistan, and others still see a future for Iraq unlike any seen in history. In the midst of all this speculation, one thing is certain: eventually, the US military must withdraw from occupied Iraq. As a matter of history, occupation does not last unless there is a concomitant colonization and/or a significant population influx. Since the latter is absent from the current situation in Iraq, it holds that an eventual American military withdrawal is inevitable. Interestingly enough, the U.S.'s "divide and conquer" method, i.e. one which attempts to polarize Iraq and hence cause an instability that will require a U.S. presence, seems not to have the intended effect originally postulated by the neo-conservatives who are running the show in Washington. Recent clashes in Fallujah and Najaf have shattered prior claims from the White House that laid blame for Iraqi resistance exclusively on Sunni, pro-Saddam residues within the country. Indeed, the resistance is phenomenon shared by several Iraqis, and Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld' s recent call for ten thousand new troops to enter the country doesn't help the situation. Already, Iraq has 115,000 American troops within its borders (compare that to Afghanistan's 13,500), and clashes between the resistance fighters and American troops are at a high. Despite claims that the White House publicizes regarding its intention to subvert terrorism, the increasing military presence in Iraq is the strongest catalyst for the sort of anti-American political religiosity that might manifest itself in... ...is do the same based on their own moral convictions. In The Word for World is Forest, the occupied Athsheans were driven to the point of harming their occupiers for the sake of their own independence. Like the Athsheans, the Iraqis are being pushed to new levels of animosity against the occupying coalition forces, and the American public must be wary of the potential risks that come with their presence in the region. Aggressive action could spell for us an economic downturn, loss of life, and diplomatic crisis if things are permitted to go out of hand. Works Cited Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale. New York: Anchor Books, 1986. Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1950. Le Guin, Ursula. The Word for World is Forest. Rpt. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1972. Orwell, George. 1984. Rpt. New York: New American Library, 1984.

The Scarlet Letter: My Experience Essay -- Literary Analysis, Nathani

As a child of the age of hyper-information, I am usually introduced to concepts in their rawest possible form. Concepts that are streamlined so that they may glide their way elegantly into my understanding like the 2001: A Space Odyssey union of shuttle and station, backed by strains of the lilting Blue Danube [1]. Digesting Nathaniel Hawthorne’s ultra-dense Scarlet Letter, therefore, felt more properly compared to a Surgeon’s retrieval of his Rolex from the open chest cavity of an ill-fated patient, perhaps to a score of pounding, rapid, multi-tiered baroque fugues. Yes, the ideas and connections were there, and they were fascinating and orchestrated beautifully. But I often found my head aching as I labored through the mounds of florid language and dated syntax they were buried so deeply under, and often found myself making estimates as to the number of Word-A-Day calendars Hawthorne must have owned [2]. It’s tragic though, really, because it is not Hawthorne’s fault that his novel has become the bane of so many high school English students’ existence. The times have a-chang’d, and along with them attention spans have decreased, and many systems for information extraction and condensation have been developed to accommodate them. Just as a surgeon presented the option of retrieving his lost wristwatch from either, A) a hinged jewel box, or B), the innards of a living human being would most likely check the box marked â€Å"A† with much gusto and not so much rumination, a student with the option to circumvent the pain of actually reading Hawthorn’s masterpiece, choosing instead to receive the concepts from the novel in the form of easy-to-digest Sparknotes tidbits, would likely do so [3]. The subject matter of the novel has al... ...f needs [12] and my ability to act upon it and endure far lesser consequences. But the oppression is still there. However, the positives remain as well. The prolific nature of the American college system can be attributed in large part to the Puritan’s value of knowledge and education. Reading The Scarlet Letter was a slog. But it never felt frivolous. The themes have become less groundbreaking and weighty but are still pertinent, and the writing style has been greatly dulled by time, but not to the point of being impenetrable. If nothing else, it expanded my mental lexicon, and gave me a new understanding for why someone would ever be compelled to endeavor in so self torturous an activity as running a marathon. I felt, at the novel’s conclusion, a euphoria of relief akin to that described by sweat drenched long distance runners. And I lost 20 pounds to boot.

How does Confucianism and Daoism view women?

To begin with, Confucianism is a religion that is named after the philosopher, Confucius. He was an almost deified and impossibly wise man. He believed that to regain social order, people must act the role that society gave them. The father was to act the father, the son was to act the son, etc. The process of becoming that of which one is supposed to be is called â€Å"Rectification of Names. † The society should be founded on five relationships: 1) The ruler and subject; 2) The father and son; 3) The husband and wife; 4) The elder and younger brother; 5) The friend and friend. This proper behavior was required to create a calm, enduring, and beneficial society. In terms of the third relationship, husband and wife, the concept of the Yang and Yin come into play. The Yang is the male, dominating, structures. The Yin is the female, calm, passive structures. This balance, if maintained, is supposed to keep everything in perfect accordance. This concept, in my opinion, is what gave women the submissive role in the Confucius society. Unlike the women in Daoism, under Confucian ideals women were to play their roles in society by being submissive to men and were limited in their participation in society, but were respected and necessary. Their lives were centered in the family as â€Å"inside members† which meant that they were to stay indoors and not associate with the â€Å"outside† more than necessary. Actually, in upper-class homes, inside chambers were built for the women while the men had their own chamber outside. Women were also supposed to remain under the dominion of men and follow the â€Å"three obedience†: Woman follows man, youth follows father or eldest brother, after marriage, wife follows husband, and if her husband dies, she is to follow her eldest son. As children, young girls were not apart of the ancestral line. After marriage they gained their husband's line and became apart of a family making this the single most important event in a young girl's life. However, many girls never made it to marriage because their mothers killed them after they were born. Giving birth to a baby girl was not at all joyous. For those that did make it, their objective was to become a wife. A wife was the lowest link in the social hierarchy and was there to serve the mother-in-law. Once married, both the husband and wife's main focus was to take care of the husband's parents. Women were expected to be completely devoted to their husbands and would often choose to commit suicide than violate their womanly virtues. Mothers with lost of sons were much higher up socially than those with fewer. Women who did not marry were not accepted in the Confucian society. Divorce was also not accepted and was allowed only under strict circumstances by the husband. These circumstances include incurable sickness, no male heir, talking too much, stealing, disobedience, promiscuity, and jealousy. The husband could have several concubines of which the wife was supposed to be kind and courteous to. On the same level, women could talk to other women about their husbands if they drank too much alcohol, neglected their duties as a husband, or became abusive. The other women would then tell their husbands who would act accordingly. This all seems rather harsh, but the fact that women are the only ones that could give life; they were respected and considered necessary. On the contrary, women in the Daoist society were treated a whole lot better. Daoism puts an emphasis on nature and the feminine qualities of nature. Seeing as how women create life and Daoism is† that which creativity flows from,† women hold the up most respect. As a matter of fact, Dao means â€Å"Great Mother. † Unlike in Confucianism, the role of women being passive and flexible comes natural and unforced. Because of this natural passiveness, women are naturally good Daoists; simply because of this â€Å"naturalness. † In the Daoist Society women are reared as especially receptive to divine inspiration which provides a spiritual outlet for them. Women are also allowed to participate in all levels of Daoism and were thought to be the only ones who could reach the highest levels of Dao lineage, all except that of the Divine Lord. However, this did not move women out of their subordinate roles nor did it raise their social status, and the sexual practices in Daoism for prolonged life may have led to the exploitation of women. Another tradition performed by the Chinese women in the Confucian society was foot-binding. Originally it was done as a kind of ballet toe dancing performed for royalty. It eventually worked its way down the entire social strata and became a tradition linked to marriage. It was performed on young girls from the ages of five to seven, as early as two and as late as thirteen. The foot was to be shaped into what looked like the Golden Lotus bud. The perfect shaped foot was three inches long looked like it naturally extended form the foot, not like the 90* angle normal feet make. The foot was bound to break the arch and toes. The toes were broken to curl under the foot. The big toe was left to look like the point of the bud. Girls were told to walk on pieces of sharp metal and broken glass to cut the bottom of the foot so that when it healed, the toes would fuse to the foot. Every so often the feet were unbound to clean and tighten. This was an extremely painful process that took more than two years to complete. The binding shoes were worn the rest of the girl's life. Perfectly bound feet meant that the girl was marriageable, she was obedient, submissive, and could endure great amounts of pain. This also controlled her sexuality because it was hard for the girl to â€Å"get around. † The tiny feet also became an erotic fetish for some men. The girl's shoes were sent to her mother-in-law-to-be for inspection. The Girls' new mother would inspect for size, shape, and craftsmanship. Since the girl made the shoes herself, the explicit details gave a clue to what type of worker she was. This creativity was often the only creative outlet for the young girls. So to conclude, there are many differences in the ways women were dealt with in Confucianism and Daoism. In both religions, however, women were not very high up on the social scales, they were supposed to be the calm, passive and obedient counterpart of men, and were ultimately inferior beings. Foot binding became a Confucian tradition in marriage, while in Daoism, women held nearly the heights levels I the religion. I am just glad to say that I am a woman living in America today, and not in the classical Confucian society of China.

Elegiac Couplets Explained

Elegiac Couplets Explained An elegiac couplet is a pair of sequential lines in poetry in which the first line is written in dactylic hexameter and the second line in dactylic pentameter. The Roman poet Ennius introduced the elegiac couplet to Latin poetry for themes less lofty than that of epic, for which dactylic hexameter was suited. The typical meter of an elegiac couplet can be represented as:  ¯ ˘ ˘ |  ¯ ˘ ˘ |  ¯ ˘ ˘ |  ¯ ˘ ˘ |  ¯ ˘ ˘ |  ¯ x ¯ ˘ ˘ |  ¯ ˘ ˘ |  ¯ |  ¯ ˘ ˘ |  ¯ ˘ ˘ |  ¯ The first two lines of Ovids Amores I, which is written in elegiac couplets, can be scanned (a note on scansion in Latin poetry) as follows, where bolding marks the long syllables, the non-bold are short or anceps, dashes separate syllables, spaces separate words, and the ends of feet are marked by vertical lines: Ar-ma gra- | vÄ « nu-me- | rÃ…  vi-o- | len-ta-que | bel-la pa- | rÄ -bamÄ“-de-re, | mÄ -te-ri- | Ä  | con-ve-ni- | en-te mo- | dÄ «s.