The Holocaust Essay Example for Free

The Holocaust Essay Question: Explain how the experience of the Holocaust might affect the faith of a Jew. (7 marks) The Holocaust also known by Jews as Shoah was a tragic time in Jewish history whereby 6 million Jews were killed. The event poses deep questions about the nature of God, evil and reasons for suffering. Many Jews ask how and why God let this happen. The Shoah really tested many Jews believe in God. Judaism teaches God created everything. So therefore did God created evil? Surely God is all loving and therefore created evil for a purpose but what is it? The covenant relationship made between God and Abraham states that if Jews obey the mitzvoth and the 10 commandments and serve God, God will in return protect them and provide them with the Promised Land. Why did he not protect them here? Was the promise broken is what some Jews might say. Jews may question the existence of God as a result of the Holocaust. Where was God and why didnt he stop it? In this discussion the problem of evil arises. This states, How can an all loving and omnipotent God let suffering into the world? If God is omni benevolent (all good) why did he allow evil to happen? If God is omnipotent (all powerful) why didnt he stop it? Unfortunately there is no one right or wrong answer on this but individual Jews will carry their own opinions. Some Jews might as a result have lost all faith in God all together. Why wasnt he there at the time? Why did he not intervene in the matter, is what some Jews would say? They might now believe there is no God and use the Shoah as proof of their views. Therefore their faith in God may have been greatly weakened and broken by the event. On example of a Jew greatly affected by the Holocaust in a negative way is Elie Wiesel. He was deported to Auschwitz as a teenager and therefore suffered the traumatic time but came out as a survivor. In his book entitled Night he says boldly, For the survivors death is not the problem. We learned to live with the death. The problem is to adjust to life. His accounts of anger with God are among the most powerful to emerge from the Shoah. An extremely powerful line of his book is, Never shall I forget those moments which murdered by God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Elie Wiesel has lost all hope and positive thoughts about God which can be evidently seen through his writing. Despite the fact he is a survivor he does not feel lucky for this but questions why? On the other hand for some Jews their faith has been strengthened by the event of the Holocaust. They see now that God could not intervene in the matter and feel they have gained answers as a result of the Holocaust. God gave everyone free will and bad overpowered good. One example of a Jew who was affected in a positive way as a result of the Holocaust is Emil Fackenheim. He was a rabbi in Germany in the 1930s and spent a short time in a concentration camp. He wrote, As Jews we must continue to practise our faith. If we stop practising Judaism Hitler will have a victory from the grave.We have a service to the worldGods chosen people will survive and this will be a testimony of life over death, on behalf of all mankind. He approaches the event of the Holocaust in a very different way to Wiesel. He feels lucky for surviving the tragic event and sees it as a blessing from God that he was chosen to survive. He describes survivors as chosen people by God. Lastly the question of why God allowed evil and suffering is explored in the Bible in the book of Job where God took away everything from Job yet his faith remained strong. Why did God do this; either as a test of his faith or as punishment. Job kept his faith strong no matter what the reason. Jews may follow this as an example of how to behave. So therefore to conclude the faith of individual Jews has been affected in different ways by the Holocaust. Some have experience positively from the event and have increased faith in God whereas for others their faith has weakened as they question the presence of God at the time. Does the Holocaust go against what Judaism teaches about the role of God?

Vodou Religion :: essays research papers

Vodou, a traditional Afro-Haitian religion, is a worldview encompassing philosophy, medicine, justice, and religion. Its fundamental principle is that everything is spirit. Humans are spirits who inhabit the visible world. The unseen world is populated by lwa (spirits), mystà ¨ (mysteries), anvizib (the invisibles), zanj (angels), and the spirits of ancestors and the recently deceased. All these spirits are believed to live in a mythic land called Ginen, a cosmic â€Å"Africa.† The God of the Christian Bible is understood to be the creator of both the universe and the spirits; the spirits were made by God to help him govern humanity and the natural world. The primary goal and activity of Vodou is to sevi lwa (â€Å"serve the spirits†)—to offer prayers and perform various devotional rites directed at God and particular spirits in return for health, protection, and favour. Spirit possession plays an important role in Afro-Haitian religion, as it does in many other world religions. During religious rites, believers sometimes enter a trancelike state in which the devotee may eat and drink, perform stylized dances, give supernaturally inspired advice to people, or perform medical cures or special physical feats; these acts exhibit the incarnate presence of the lwa within the entranced devotee. Vodou ritual activity (e.g., prayer, song, dance, and gesture) is aimed at refining and restoring balance and energy in relationships between people and between people and the spirits of the unseen world. Vodou is an oral tradition practiced by extended families that inherit familial spirits, along with the necessary devotional practices, from their elders. In the cities, local hierarchies of priestesses or priests (manbo and oungan), â€Å"children of the spirits† (ounsi), and ritual drummers (ountà ²gi) comprise more formal â€Å"societies† or â€Å"congregations† (sosyete). In these congregations, knowledge is passed on through a ritual of initiation (kanzo) in which the body becomes the site of spiritual transformation. There is some regional difference in ritual practice across Haiti, and branches of the religion include Rada, Daome, Ibo, Nago, Dereal, Manding, Petwo, and Kongo. There is no centralized hierarchy, no single leader, and no official spokesperson, but various groups sometimes attempt to create such official structures. There are also secret societies, called Bizango or Sanpwà ¨l, that perform a religio-juridical function. A calendar of ritual feasts, syncretized with the Roman Catholic calendar, provides the yearly rhythm of religious practice.

Competitive Education Essay

In my opinion, Education is a holistic process of learning and development in an individual’s lifetime. While competitiveness, is the result of the basic survival instinct already inherent in an individual, or for that matter all living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For this reason, I believe education as a system shouldn’t undermine the importance of â€Å"competition† as a valuable tool employed to enhance the learning process, undermining which might consequently hinder the natural progress and development of a student. The need for a competitive education becomes all the more vital in preparing a student for the cut-throat competition that takes place in the real world, and in which â€Å"survival of the fittest† phenomenon applies in every aspect of an individual’s life. It starts early from sibling rivalry at home, to parents ensuring that the individual gets into the best school, again enrolling into the best college of choice, applying for scholarships, vying for the attention of the opposite sex, finding a suitable job, choosing the best prospective bride or groom, starting an enterprise and competing against other enterprises in the market etc. For better or for worse, â€Å"competition† is not limited to our personal lives but also thrives in our collective social, political, economic environment and not to forget in the field of sports. For instance, we all saw and openly displayed our enthusiasm and support for our department i. e. ITB during the cricket tournament and our players also felt motivated to outscore other Departments. Therefore, if competition is considered a positive and integral element in our progressive society, the question that arises is why should it be perceived as anything less or a threat in our education system? Competitive education system empowers a student to face challenges and not to shy away from them. It helps a student identify his/her strengths and weaknesses and further provides the necessary motivation to focus on the strengths and overcome the weaknesses. In academics a student will be able to assess what he/she has learnt so far in the class through oral and written examinations. In co-curricular activities, a student might be poor in sports but may be exceptional in painting. Through the means of competition, this student will be able to discover what he/she is good at and then focus on refining that particular skill, thereby a student will feel motivated to strive for excellence in the activity that brings out the best in him. Yes its true, in a competitive environment there is room for only one winner and for every winner to win the prize there must be a loser to take the fall, because failure is the much needed contrast to success and vice versa. Having said that, one can argue that â€Å"competition† is not about winning or losing but about giving our best. Salman Rushdie in his novel â€Å"midnight children† wrote: All games have morals; and the game of Snakes and Ladders captures, as no other activity can hope to do, the eternal truth that for every ladder you climb, a snake is waiting just around the corner; and for every snake, a ladder will compensate. † Therefore, a student in a competitive education system, in keeping with the spirit of competition can learn an important moral lesson of life: handling failures gracefully and perceiving it as a stepping stone to success. Ultimately, learning these crucial lessons from a competitive education system the easy way is better than learning from the unforgiving real world the hard way.

Lipscomb University Admissions ACT Scores, Admit Rate

To apply to Lipscomb University, students will need to submit an application along with scores from the SAT or ACT, a teacher recommendation, and a high school transcript. With an acceptance rate of 61 percent, the school is not highly selective--students with good grades and test scores within or above the ranges listed below have a decent chance of being admitted. For more information, be sure to visit Lipscombs website, or contact the admissions office. Admissions Data (2016) Lipscomb University Acceptance Rate: 61%Test Scores -- 25th / 75th PercentileSAT Critical Reading: 500 / 638SAT Math: 490  / 630SAT Writing: - / -What these SAT numbers meanTennessee colleges SAT comparisonAtlantic Sun Conference SAT comparisonACT Composite: 22  / 28ACT English: 23 / 31ACT Math: 22 / 27What these ACT numbers meanTennessee colleges ACT comparisonAtlantic Sun Conference ACT comparison Lipscomb University Description Established in 1891, Lipscomb University is a private Christian university located on a 65-acre campus four miles from downtown  Nashville, Tennessee. The school believes in the interconnectedness of faith and learning, and leadership, service, and faith are central to the universitys values. Libscomb undergraduates can choose from over 130 programs of study within 66 majors. Academics are supported by a 15 to 1  student/faculty ratio. Professional fields such as nursing, business and education are among the most popular. Student life is also active with over 70 student clubs and organizations. In athletics, the Libscomb Bisons compete in the NCAA Division I  Atlantic Sun Conference. Popular sports include basketball, soccer, softball, track and field, and baseball. Enrollment (2016) Total Enrollment: 4,632  (2,986  undergraduates)Gender Breakdown: 38% Male / 62% Female89% Full-time Costs (2016 - 17) Tuition and Fees: $29,756Books: $1,500 (why so much?)Room and Board: $11,540Other Expenses: $3,250Total Cost: $46,046 Lipscomb University Financial Aid (2015  - 16) Percentage of New Students Receiving Aid: 98%Percentage of New Students Receiving Types of AidGrants: 98%Loans: 45%Average Amount of AidGrants: $18,936Loans: $6,773 Academic Programs Most Popular Majors:  Accounting, Biology, Business Administration, Elementary Education, Exercise Science, Marketing, Psychology Retention and Graduation Rates First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 85%4-Year Graduation Rate: 48%6-Year Graduation Rate: 58% Intercollegiate Athletic Programs Mens Sports:  Baseball, Tennis, Soccer, Cross Country, Basketball, Golf, Track and FieldWomens Sport:  Basketball, Track and Field, Volleyball, Tennis, Soccer, Softball, Cross Country Data Source National Center for Educational Statistics If You Like Lipscomb University, You May Also Like These Schools Vanderbilt University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphBelmont University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphTennessee State University: Profile  Samford University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphAuburn University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphFaulkner University: Profile  Harding University: Profile  Lee University: Profile  Union University: Profile  East Tennessee State University: Profile  University of Tennessee - Knoxville: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphSewanee University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT Graph Lipscomb and the Common Application Lipscomb University uses the  Common Application. These articles can help guide you: Common Application essay tips and samplesShort answer tips and samplesSupplemental essay tips and samples