Religion and Spirituality in Oedipus Definition: Religion – Belief in a divine or superhuman power. Spirituality – Pertaining to the soul or higher nature of humans. The gods influenced religion in the play: Religion is greatly influenced the play and how the plot unfolds. In the end of the play, the people of Thebes realize that when they anger the gods, pain and suffering is put upon them. Character Flaw: Even though Oedipus is praised by his people for being a responsible and honest king, he possesses a major character flaw in his attitude towards the gods which causes the tragic torture he faces in the end.
Joseph Lawson Connecting Heaven and Earth Though the human race has a vast variety of unique cultures and shares many differences, there are also a surprising amount of similarities. This paper aims to look at the similarities and differences of two structures from completely different cultures. The first is the Pantheon, a Roman temple that was built to be “the temple of all Gods”. It was made during the High Empire in Rome, Italy (118-125 CE). The second temple is the Great Stupa, a dome-shaped Buddhist monument from the Maurya Dynasty in Sanchi, India.
Although in Christianity, the dragon represents Satan the devil and sin. These feelings are expressed in Revelation 20:2 where it states, “He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.” As shown from the text, the Bible is comparing the fire-breathing monster to Satan the devil, who is the cause and ruler of all sin, thus having the dragon be associated with all that is sin. The pagan tale then combines the two different beliefs and morphs them into one, thus allowing its non-Christian readers to be able to fully understand its hidden Christian principles of what is sin. Another example of a Christian element would be when Beowulf is dying and gives thanks, some of his last few words being “To the everlasting Lord of All, to the King of Glory, I give thanks that I behold this treasure here in front of me, that I have been allowed to leave my people so well endowed on the day I die.”. By thanking God for all of the victories and the treasures that he earned all throughout his life, it demonstrates how he is not taking full glory for all that he has obtained.
Tasha Wright May 29, 2012 Hum/130 Hinduism Paper Hinduism lacks a uniting belief system, however it’s spiritual texts and different of practice it balances out. Hindu was made up on a belief of one God, by a lesser powerful duties that very important aspects of life and it was made up in living to see the liberation of Samsara. I would say those societal influences on Hinduism vital that made it a region and the location where it had originated. However there are some beliefs that Hindus share and they are “one, all=pervasive supreme begin who is both immanent and transcendent, both creator and unmanifest reality. They also believe in divinity of the four Vedas, and that the universe undergoes endless cycles of creation,
An Nguyen History 103 Theme paper 2 5/12/2009 Religion and Politics in Ancient Laws Throughout the ages of history, code laws were created to keep peace for civilizations. These codes were made with the purpose of attaching the so called “human laws” as close to “heaven laws” as possible no matter which civilization or which religion. Therefore, I want to show the attachment of the political and religious interpretation of the laws by examining the Hammurabi codes and Justinian codes and using the common phenomena method. According to Mesopotamia carvings, the king is commonly the biggest figure in any scene that includes him. So there is no denial to the fact that kings were indeed the figure of God.
He claims to have massacred 260 enemy soldiers and having “their heads cut off in heaps”. Clearly, Assur believes his title as a fierce warrior is the most important and respected of all roles as king. It is evident therefore, that Assur-Nassir-Pal II embodies the essence of war. Concerning the connection between Assur-Nassir-Pal II as king and the divine, there is a clear connection between divine power and his kingship. Although it seems Assur does not label himself as a god, he pronounces himself to be “proclaimer of the Moon-god, worshipper of Anu, exalter of Yav, suppliant of the gods “.
He was raping any women, whether she was the wife of one of his warriors or the daughter of a nobleman. “ He himself howls through sacred places where his sacrilege is hidden from the view of youngsters.” (page 3). The gods heard his subjects’ and decided to keep Gilgamesh in check by creating a wild man named Enkidu, who was as magnificent as Gilgamesh. Enkidu became Gilgamesh’s great friend. Gilgamesh and Enkidu decide to fight a terrifying demon named Humbaba, because he was standing on their way to meet gods.
God’s approval of Beowulf as a leader is manifested throughout the poem by God’s helping hand. Grendel, a big demon monster was be defeated by an average-sized mortal Beowulf. Similarly, when Beowulf was battling the dragon a magical sword appeared out of nowhere that was able to penetrate the dragon. Once the battle was complete and the dragon was slain, a light appeared on Beowulf demonstrating God’s hand in the victory (2700). Beowulf knows that he has the divine right to be king from God and has no doubts of this.
The anti-trinity In the epic of Beowulf, Grendel is presented as a coward, a monster, and an insensitive character. According to the story, Grendel was referred to as "spawned in that slime,” a biblical allusion to the story of Cain and Abel. Grendel was born as a monster into exile; his life was cursed because he was a distant offspring of Cain. According to the Bible, all of Cain’s decedents were punished by God because of Cain’s sin. Despite Grendel’s evil motives, he is determined to be the best and overcome any obstacle that interferes in his way.
Although Beowulf had many victories prior to the accounts in the poem, it can be said that his first, major achievement is him defeating Grendel. Beowulf states that “ ‘Now Grendel and I are called/ Together, and I’ve come’ ” in order to “ ‘purge all evil from this hall’ ” (Lines 425-426, 431). Beowulf realizes that it is his duty to fulfill this mission that will allow him to be remembered throughout the centuries. Fortunately for Beowulf, he “had killed Grendel,/ Ended the grief, the sorrow, the suffering/ Forced on Hrothgar’s helpless people/ By a bloodthirsty fiend” (Lines 830-833). Everybody loves and respects Beowulf, and as a result of his accomplishment, he has been “granted a new glory” (Line 819).