Explain Irenaeus Theodicy Essay Example for Free

Explain Irenaeus Theodicy Essay The Irenaeus Theodicy, often called Soul Making, is a counterpart to Augustines Theodicy, yet it is also and opposing argument. While Augustine stated that evil came from humans and Adam in Genesis, Irenaeus proposes that evil is opposing the human races bid to become one with God. Irenaeustheodicy differs from Augustines, as it is more in the sense that God created evil, whereas Augustine described its existence to be more of a mistake. Yet some of Irenaeus points relate to Augustines, though are different forms as they are based on different opinions. Irenaeus battles the problem of the inconsistent triad by saying that God is omnipotent, omnibenevolent and omnificent and evil does exist, but that we, as a race, are not perfect. He believes that at the moment of creation we were not at all perfect, but drastically flawed. And to become one with God, as God intended, we must work toward that goal. The idea that we must work towards God places him in a higher realm. It is this epistemic distance that evil fills and we must fight through. John Hick, a perpetrator of this Theodicy states that: In order to be a person, exercising some measure of genuine freedom, the creature must be brought into existence, not in the immediate divine presence, but at a distance from God. Evil comes in as the obstacle coarse in the way of the ultimate prize. After all, with such a great goal, it shouldnt be easy. Though this doesnt really answer the question of where evil came from, or why God allows it. Irenaeus believes that we chose it when humanity fell in Creation. That justifies moral evil. But what of natural evil? Why did God want this journey to take place in such a hazardous environment, with earthquakes and pestilence, and in such frail form, which is susceptible to such dangers? Hicks response is that moral and spiritual development does not take place in a static environment but comes as the result of challenge and struggle and because we live in a world where pain and suffering is real our actions have real moral consequences for both ourselves and others. Any world where this was not the case would be one where the distinction between right and  wrong could not be made. In saying this, Hick is accused of belittling some of the worlds more excessive examples of evil. The holocaust for example. But in this modern day and age, where Nihilistic attitudes are taking over, people dieing is seen as less of an evil. After all, if you kill one, whats the difference in killing six million? He further argues that those who say that any kind of omnibenevolent wouldnt allow evil to exist full stop are depriving themselves of freedom that humanity entails. For God to get involved in every act of evil that occurs would deprave us of the free will that God gave. And it would reduce God, the ultimate creator of the universe, to a human plaything. If that happened he would no longer be God, as we would control him. As Irenaeus said, If anyone do shun the knowledge of both kinds of things he unaware divests himself of the character of a human being. As far as criticisms go, it is to optimistic. It is essentially an everything will work out in the end theory, that we will end up at Gods side after a long struggle and every thing will be happily ever after in heaven. But if we do that, there is really no reason for a God to make us happy, which negates Augustine and Irenaeus theories. Also, he is basing all of this on the bases that God exists. For that reason, atheists dont hold to this argument at all. Overall, atheists dont hold to this on the basis that they believe that God doesnt exist; therefore there is no ultimate cause. Theists like this theodicy as it allows them to keep their ideal of an omnipotent etc god, but does justify evil. Reasoned arguments cannot account for the amount of evil in the world Discuss A reasoned argument is one that has no empirical bases. Therefore it is a posteri. In the case of evil, the two theodicies of Augustine and Irenaeus  are reasoned. There is no physical base of proof for either. For Augustine, the bible cant be proved; the Christ event cant be proved to have improved our worth in terms of evil either. The same for Irenaeus, we cant prove that we are heading for paradise as no one has ever come back to tell us. But we cant deny the fact that there is a lot of injustice exists and, if we could measure it, evil is a large digit. But the amount of evil in the world has no quantity. How can we measure something that is essentially a human concept? Cheetahs have no idea that killing an innocent gazelle is classified as evil. After all, the gazelle did nothing to harm the cheetah. But the predator has cubs to feed and hasnt eaten for days. So putting those two facts together justifies the original statement. But just because we cant justify the quantity doesnt mean we cant do anything about it. To date, the better off countries have dropped about  £30 million in 3rd world debt. The Live Aid concert that happened all around the world has raised awareness of the plight of those less well off. While it is an undisputable fact that people are still suffering through both moral and natural evils, something is being done to lower the quantity of evils.

Anorexia Essay -- essays research papers fc

It seems today that eating disorders are on the rise. While this may be true, the numbers may appear to grow only because more cases are being brought out into the open. The purpose of this paper is to discuss eating disorders and prove the these disease, specifically Anorexia Nervosa, continue to plague of women due to psychological and environmental factors along with pressure from the media. The term â€Å"Anorexia Nervosa† is misleading. It means â€Å"loss of appetite due to nerves.† But people with anorexia don’t actually lose their appetite until the late stages of their starvation. Until, they do feel hungry, but they just won’t eat. People affected by anorexia have an extreme fear of gaining weight. In addition to drastic dieting, they may resort to vomiting and the use of laxatives and diuretics to lose weight. Statistics show that many teens and young adults suffer from anorexia nervosa. Without treatment, anorexia nervosa can cause serious heal th problems--even death! The sooner treatment begins the better the chances for a full recovery. The person with another anorexia is a model child. He/She is well behaved, eager to please, and a good student who gets along well with her peers. She rarely admits that anything is wrong or that anything is wrong or that she/he extra helps. Behind the mask is an insecure, self-critical perfectionist who feels unworthy of any praises she receives. A person who has anorexia is also very concerned about whether other people like her. Occasionally, she feels that there’s something wrong with her- that she’s bad or that her thoughts are disgusting. (PennSAHIC) One interpretation of an eating disorder is termed as a relationship between the person and food the appears abnormal. Anorexia Nervosa is one of the most prevalent eating disorder decease. The definition of Anorexia, Dr. Barton J. Blinder gives an interpretation similar to this: Anorexia is an all-encompassing pursuit of thinness, occurring most often in adolescents and young adult woman. This is accomplished by avoidance of eating by any means possible. The person affected by Anorexia has an absolutely terrifying fear of becoming obese. In short, â€Å"food becomes the enemy;† one researcher described Anorexia as â€Å"weight phobia.† (noah.cuny.edu/wellconn/eatdisorders.html) Some experts believe that a fear of growing up is the root of the problem. Other experts see the d... ...l keep their body into shape. Parents do not like to see children being teased because of their weight so they try to keep them fit. Sometime the stress from the parents and/or if there is any physical or sexual abuse in the family, the child in this situation may lead to an eating disorder to have a way to control something in their life. In conclusion, Anorexia Nervosa greatly affects all that are touched by it. Close family members and friends go through fighting battle with the person helping to serve this deathful battle. The information in this paper is just touching briefly on what can happen to someone with this disease called Anorexia. It is important that people are aware of these problems, know how to spot eating disorders, and help someone else or themselves overcome something like Anorexia. Works Cited: Matthews, John R. Eating Disorders. New York: Facts on file Inc. 1990 http://noah.cuny.edu/wellconn/eatdisorder.html Self-Help & Psychology Magazine- written by Lee H offman, Office of Scientific Inf., NIH Publication No. 94-3477, 1993. http://www.cybertowers.com/selfhelp/article/eating/nih/anorexia.html PennSAHIC booklet by Channing L. Bete Co., Inc. 1996 edition.

Elections in Africa Essay

The Aim of this essay is based on the clarity on the Elections in Africa if they are a good Measure of democracy. It basically analyses the advantages and disadvantages of elections (in an argument form). The issue of how citizens influence policymaker is central to an understanding of democratic political system. We normally agree that democracy should allow the people to participate in policy making. Hence elections are one of the ways to establish connections between citizens and policy makers and by elections citizens encourage the policymakers to pay attention to their interests. However there are some disagreements about whether and how elections serve to link citizens to policymakers; a number of schools put more emphasis upon accountability and others do on representativeness, even if there have been a lot of theoretical debates about this issue, we have few attempts to test the role of competitive election on popular attitudes towards the legislature. An election is a formal decision making process in which the population chooses an individual to hold a public office. Elections have been the mechanism by which modern representative democracy has been operated since 17TH century. According to Business Dictionary (BD), Election is the act of a party casting vote to choose an individual, for some type of position. It may involve a public or private vote depending on the position. Most positions in the local, state federal governments are voting on the same type of elections. According to (Abraham Lincoln), the word democracy means â€Å"the government of the people, by the people and for the people â€Å". Democracy is term that comes from a Greek and it is made up of two other words, demo which means people and kratain which means to govern or to rule. Democracy can then be literally translated by the following terms, Government of the people or government of the majority. Electoral systems are conventionally divided into two categories, majoritarian. And proportional representations, (Lijphart 1999). Majoritarian system usually employs exclusively single-seat distrust with plurality rule and tends to give greater representation to the two parties and that which receive the most votes. Proportional representation (P.R) System must employ multi-seat districts, usually with party lists, and typically produce parliamentary representation that largely mirrors the vote shares of multi-parties However elections be it Proportional Representation (PR), or Majoritarian type, are instruments of democracy to the degree that they give the people the  influence over policymaking,.(Powell 2000). One fundamental role of elections is the evaluation of the incumbents government. Citizens use elections to reward or punish the incumbents although on the other hand increasingly competitive elections raise the risk of increased election violence, this can be raised in two ways. Firstly, closer elections can increase tension throughout the electoral process; when the outcome of the election is in doubt, all stages of the process including the appointment of the members of the electoral management body, the registration of parties, candidates, and voters; campaigning; voting ;and vote counting and tabulation, becomes more heated. For example, Kenya erupted in chaos in 2007 when incumbent president Mwai kibaki was sworn in hours after being declared the winner in the country’s closest presidential elections ever; the ensuing violence left 1,500 dead and 300,000 displaced. Secondly, as long-term incumbents witness the growing strength of the opposition candidates, they may feel increasingly imperilled and crack down more fiercely on perceived threats, example, after losing the first round of Zimbabwe’s 2008 presidential elections and subsequently manipulating results to force run-off, president Robert Mugabe presided over a wave of widespread and brutal violence against supporters of Morgan Tsvangirai to ensure himself victory in the second round. While these above examples demonstrate the potential of elections to create conflict, elections are often used as a means to end conflict and solidify peace. For this reason, elections usually form a key part of the agreements ending civil wars or conflict. The basic principal behind these post conflict or transitional elections is that of Ballots over Bullets: citizens choosing their political leaders by voting rather than fighting, although in the 1992 Angola elections which was intended to end the c ivil war, this election instead reignited conflict for another ten (10) years. cases such as these have led many to argue that elections are not appropriate for post conflict environment. In majority, however, there is no viable alternative to post conflict elections as a means of achieving legitimate governance; a non elected government is far more susceptible to accusations of illegitimacy than the one chose by the people, and legitimate governance must be achieved as soon as possible following a conflict. Moreover, elections have the potential to create government broadly representative of all disputing political factions. Demonstratively, several  countries have recently held remarkably successful post-conflict elections. For example, Liberia’s elections in 2005 intended to over a decade of civil war were remarkably peaceful and hailed as generally free and fair. Another example is the DRC’s 2006 elections, the first multi-party election in 46 years, were also relatively successful, especially when considering the tremendous logistical challenges that had to be overcome. in these cases therefore, elections facilitated an ongoing transition from dev astating conflict toward greater stability and development. Based on a multi-level analysis of Afro barometer survey data from 17 sub-Saharan African countries, the study examines the influence of these two types of electoral systems; Majoritarian and Proportional Representations-on popular confidence in African parliaments. Controlling for a variety of individual and macro-level characteristics, it was found that citizen’s perceptions of Members of Parliament (MP’s) representations have a positive and significant effect on their trust in legislature. In addition the results suggest that the effect of political representations is mediated by electoral systems. Powell (2000), distinguishes between two versions of elections as instruments of democracy; accountability and representation. Accountability model tries to use elections to bring the power of the people directly to bear on policymakers. Elections offer citizens a periodic opportunity to change the policymakers. Citizens will have control because they will be able, at least occasionally to reject elected officials who are doing the wrong. Competitive elections create a pressure on all incumbents or rather the current policymakers to worry about the next elections and make policy with voters review in mind. On the other hand representation model emphasises citizens should be treated equally at the decisive stage of public policy making. Elections are instruments of citizen’s influence in policy making. Elections should create equitable reflection of all points of view into the legislature. They work as an instrument to choose representatives who can bargain for their voter’s interest in post-election policy making. Elections are not only integral to all these areas of democratic governance, but are also the most visible representations of democracy in action. They are also in most cases the most complicated and expensive single event a country will ever undertake. Good governance, upholding rule of law, and supporting civil society, this testimony examines  all these areas in the context of elections. International support to electoral processes is crucial if democracy is to continue developing on the African continent. Indeed the very purpose of elections is to achieve participatory governance without violence- through political rather than physical competition –and this has succeeded in a number of African countries. South-Africa and Botswana, for example have proven themselves among the continent’s most stable democracies, while Ghana, Mali, and Benin have emerged as democratic stronghold in West Africa. Moreover, countries such as Sierra Leone and Liberia, among the poorest in the world and only recently emerged from civil war, have demonstrated the power of elections to foster and solidify peace. In reality, then, Africa’s experience with the electoral democracy has been mixed; progress has been made but challenges remain. The various elections in past several years-from Kenya and Zimbabwe to Ghana and Sierra Leone- have become historical landmarks for different reasons, varying drastically in their conduct and outcome. This mix of electoral experience has generated considerable debate and passion on the subject of transparent, free and fair electoral process among election stakeholders, especially as democratic progress itself can come with further challenges; as more elections are held as these elections become increasingly competitive, one-party and military regimes face potentially destabilizing challenges that could increase the risk of fraud and violence. In conclusion; elections-especially free and fair, competitive and multi-party elections, are assumed to be a critical component of democratization in emerging democracies, while an election can intensify the polarization of a society along ethnic lines. Competitive elections can force political elites to legitimate their rule through the ballot box. However, we are still debating about how elections serve to link voters and elected Officials. While a group of scholars emphasise the directness and clarity of the connection between voters and policy-makers, others do the representation of all factions in society. Elections help voters to send Members of Parliament (MP’s) representing their interest to the parliament, to some extent elections constitutes a principal avenue of citizen’s involvement in political life. Understanding their effects on public attitudes towards the legislature and the role of the individual  therein has important implications for theories of democratic governance in emerging democracy. Therefore with this information, elections are a good measure of democracy in that they give citizens the participatory right in policy making through their elected representatives. Making it the government of the people by the people and for the people, that’s democracy according to Abraham Lincolnâ €™s definition. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Powell (2000), Elections as instrument of Democracy. 2. Easton David (1965), A Systems Analysis of Political Life. New York: john Wiley. 3. Norris, Pippa, Eds (1999), Critical Citizen: Global Support for Democratic Governance. New York oxford University press. 4. Lebas, Adrienne (2006), Comparative Politics 38; 419:438. 5. Margolis, M (1979), Viable Democracy. 6. Tordoff, W. Government and Politics in Africa. London McMillan (1993). 7. Rose, Richard, William Mishler, Christian Haerpfer (1998), Democracy and Its Alternatives. 8. Sisk, Timothy D, Andrew Reynolds, Eds (1998), Election and Conflict Management in Africa. Washington; United States Institute of Peace press. 9. Powell G. Bingham (1982), Contemporary Democracies; participation stability and violence. Cambridge University. 10. Almami l. Cyllah. Democracy and Elections in Africa.

`` It Was Not Death, For I Stood Up, By Emily Dickinson

â€Å"Mental Illness in Literature: How mental illness can be detected in mediums such as written literature, letters, and medical history; with a specific focus on Emily Dickinson’s link of mental illness to reclusiveness within her works titled â€Å"It was not Death, for I stood up,† â€Å"After great pain, a Formal feeling comes,† â€Å"I dwell in Possibility,† â€Å"My Life had stood—a Loaded Gun,† and â€Å"Tell all the Truth but tell it slant†.† Emily Dickinson is one of the most influential female poets of the 19th century. Born in Amherst, Massachusetts in 1830, Dickinson began her life as a normal child. Growing up, Dickinson had more opportunities than most women of the 19th century; being able to attend the all-female Amherst Academy, as well as Mount†¦show more content†¦Theodora Ward, a transcriber and analyst of Dickinson’s letters, describes the letters and poems to take on â€Å"acute sensitivity.† (Ward) Emily Dickinson did not reach her full potential as a poet until the 1860’s. Before her thirtieth birthday is when Emily Dickinson decided to never leave her home again. The decision, stated by Theodora Ward, was â€Å"clearly reflected in the letters after 1860† (Ward). Emily Dickinson’s poem My Life Had Stood – A Loaded Gun was written circa 1862, just two years after her decision to never leave her home again. This poem incorporates the theme of death; but it a different context. Dickinson does not refer to death as the powerful main focus, but moreover the ability to die. In the second stanza, the focus shifts from a gun as the main subject of the poem to Dickinson using the term â€Å"We† to become the voice and guardian of the master. The gun serves as a symbol for the relationship between life and death, and while the gun can outlive its master; it really never lives at all without the power to die. If Dickinson spoke about death in this cont ext, could she be in a manic depression in which she cares no longer to live? (Ward) Emily Dickinson was healthy most of her life. When she was younger, she displayed symptoms of having tuberculosis. Her father, Edward Dickinson, was very afraid of the disease and had her treated immediately. Other than the tuberculosisShow MoreRelatedContributions Of Emily Dickinson1045 Words   |  5 Pagesideas to flow. When alone an individual can be with their thoughts, dreams and hopes. Emily Dickinson spent years in solitude and confinement which allowed her creative juices to progress. Overtime, her ideas began appearing on paper as magnificent poems. Love, death, life, hope, weapons, birds, bees, flowers, and gardens are all themes used by Emily Dickinson in her poetry. It is unbelievably stunning that Dickinson gives off such beautiful imagery for someone who rarely left the house. She has connectedRead More A Comparison of the Poetry of Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost1062 Words   |  5 PagesThe Poetry of Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost The poetry of Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost contains similar themes and ideas. Both poets attempt to romanticize nature and both speak of death and loneliness. Although they were more than fifty years apart, these two seem to be kindred spirits, poetically speaking. Both focus on the power of nature, death, and loneliness. The main way in which these two differ is in their differing use of tone. The power of nature is a recurring themeRead MoreAnalysis Of Emily Dickinson s Poem My Life Had Stood- A Loaded Gun 993 Words   |  4 PagesEmily Dickinson is a very famous and accomplished poet with over 1700 published poems. Several of her poems are similar in theme, and also similar in bringing out human emotions that we humans usually try to avoid. The common theme in most of Dickinson s poems is the wonders of nature, and the identity of self, as well as death and life. The five poems with the common theme of death are: â€Å"My Life had Stood- A Loaded Gun†, â€Å"I Heard A Fly Buzz- When I Died†, â€Å"Behind Me Dips- Eternity†, â€Å"Because IRead MoreAnalysis Of The Letters Behind The Locked Box By Emily Dickinson1571 Words   |  7 PagesLetters Behind the Locked Box - Emily Dickinson â€Å"If I read a book and it makes by whole body so cold no fire can ever warm me, I know that is poetry† (Emily Dickinson). This effect that Emily is referring to is the impact her writing has on her readers. Her life from beginning to end is one that is a bit mysterious, however it clearly reveals more detail as one becomes more familiar with her writing in accordance with her lifetime. Emily was an amazing poet that was purely honest and bona fideRead MoreEmotion in Emily Dickinsons â€Å"My Life had stood – a Loaded Gun†1109 Words   |  5 PagesThis poem was written by American poet, Emily Dickinson, who was born in the 1800. This was the period where art was based on emotion; the â€Å"Romantic Period†. She was also born in the Victorian Era, where women had to be shackled to their pedestals and most had to be married by age eighteen. They were not allowed to vote, or earn money. This information should help the reader better understand the poem. When writing the poem â€Å"My Life had stood—a Loaded Gun† Dickinson thought of what format to useRead MoreSymbolism in Emily Dickinson’s Poetry918 Words   |  4 PagesSymbolism in Emily Dickinson’s Poetry Kevin Hardy Jr. English 215 Dr. Maxwell Poems have many different interpretations, but let it be known that different people could see poems in many different ways. In Emily Dickinson’s poetry, she uses interpretations that refer back to mortality because of her past experiences throughout life that influenced her to write. But, there are other hidden facts that you would be able to see Dickinson’s poems, she uses symbolism of immortality, death, sorrow andRead MoreEssay about Emily dickinson1145 Words   |  5 Pages Emily Dickinson’s poetry powerfully indicates values of society of the time. It does this through its conciseness, its simplicity and its control. Indications of society’s values are seen in many of Dickinsons poems, but they are especially noticeable in ‘It was not Death’, and ‘Because I could not stop for Death’. In Dickinson’s poem ‘It was not Death’, she demonstrates how restricting and stereotyping society can be on an individual , and how society values the conformity of the whole communityRead MoreDeath And Love : Emily Dickinson1679 Words   |  7 PagesEmily Dickinson, born in a puritan and religious family in the town of Amherst, Massachusetts, is known to be one of the greatest poets of all time. However, she is characterized because she seldom left her home and had few visitors. By 1860, Dickinson lived in almost complete isolation, and yet the few people to ever have contact with her were a huge influence on her poetry. Grief, was Dickinson’s primary companion, especially during her writing period, which some scholars attribute as the timeRead MoreDickinson’S Infatuation With Death.Emily Dickinson Is Well-Known1363 Words   |  6 Pages Dickinson’s Infatuation with Death Emily Dickinson is well-known due to the fact that she uses an immense amount of death in her poetry; she is also known as being reclusive and death-obsessed. Although other poets don’t typically use large amounts of death in his or her own poetry, Dickinson decided to take her own path in order to get her point across; meanwhile, some found her obsession with death rather disturbing. On the other hand, death could be interpreted through variousRead MoreWalt Whitman and Emily Dickinson808 Words   |  4 PagesWhitman and Emily Dickinson both had different and similar views, which influenced how they wrote their poetry. Their social context, life experiences, and gender are reflected in their poetry. Emily Dickinson focused a lot on death and her struggles of being a woman during her time. Her poems often described the inner state of mind. Waltman attempted to combine universal themes with individual feelings and experiences, such as his personal experiences with the Civil War. Whitman and Dickinson are two