Great rebirth is achieved by one understanding and growing after experiencing enormous suffering in the journey of life. For instance, historic leaders such as Buddha, Ghandi and Mohammad went through phases of suffering only to achieve a higher understanding of life. The main characters in the text The lost highway by David Adams, Rain When You Want Sunshine by Don Iannone, The bite of the Mango by Mariatu Kamara and Tormenting Love by Brenda Veli, illustrate the idea of growth through suffering. In the novel, The lost highway the main character Alex Chapman, suffers from his encounters with betrayal throughout his life, which in turn, leads Alex to dwell deep into hatred towards others. At a young age, Alex’s parents abandoned him and left him with his abusive uncle, which led Alex to isolate himself from the outside world, as he felt unwanted.
In 1780, Robert Hyde asked his nephew, Samuel, into partnership and promised him that he would inherit the business. This is indeed what happened in 1782, when Robert Hyde had died. In 1784, Samuel Greg began to build Quarry Bank Mill. Mills and factories in the 1780’s had dreadful living conditions for the workers. However, Quarry Bank Mill was different and that’s another reason for its success.
“When God calls, faith responds in complete obedience. Abrams initial hesitancy to obey the call of God may have been in part due to family loyalties which were at that time stronger than his loyalty to God”.2 He points out the disobedience of Abram to express his faith in God by complete obedience. Elmer Towns does not try to gloss over or hide the faults of the Old Testament people. He also, unlike many contemporary “Christian” writers, “preachers”, teachers, etc., holds to the historical reality of the people of the Old Testament. In Robert H. Pfeiffer’s book, “Introduction To The Old Testament” he states his belief in the historicity of Job, and even Abraham, as follows, “The Book of Job consists of the prose folk tale about Job, whose piety withstood every test…”3; “The passing reference to Job in Ezekiel 14:14,20 shows that Job was a famous character of legend, like Abraham…”.4 While many believe Adam, Noah, and Job are fictional characters, Elmer Towns affirms their reality.
Siddhartha Gautama Siddhartha Gautama, who later became known as Buddha, or the Enlightened One is the founder of Buddhism. Gautama was born of a privileged life and kept away from the suffering that plagued the human race for much of his life. After he witnessed human suffering, he departed on a quest to find a way to understand and deal with the suffering in the world; Buddha called this answer to the problem of suffering as enlightenment. After leaving his family and his life of luxury behind, Buddha discovered what came to be known as the Four Noble Truths. According to Buddha, the Four Noble Truths explained why suffering exists, and how it could be eliminated (Moore & Bruder, 2008).
Dietrich Bonhoeffer is the most influential man in Church history because he attempted to assassinate Hitler, never stopped spreading the word of God in times of hardship, and wrote the book, “ The Cost of Discipleship.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born on February 4 of 1906 in Breslau, Germany. His father was a Psychiatry professor, well known for his opposition of the T4 Program initiated by Hitler to eradicate people who were physically or mentally challenged. This may have been where Bonhoeffers strong hostility towards Hitler stemmed from. At the young age of 14, Bonhoeffer dedicated his life to learning more about Christ. Before deciding that he wanted to study theology, Dietrich considered becoming a pianist.
In Mortenson’s biography written by David Oliver Relin, ‘Three Cups of Tea’, Mortenson develops the idea that in the pursuit of peace, education is humanity’s strongest weapon. There are countless examples of the tragic effect that ignorance can have on a group of people, from the Crusades to the Holocaust. An example that still wages on today is the War on Terror. Since 9/11, the USA and the UK have used immeasurable amounts of resources on prevention of these attacks on their soil, and destruction of the groups that have brought about these tragedies. However, the point that is established in Greg Mortenson’s story is that if these countries truly want to end the threat of terrorism, they need to get to the root of the problem – the lack of education in the countries from which these groups are emerging In the quest to bring peace to every nation, everyone must be given equal opportunity to be educated.
President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt One of the most influential presidents known to put into effect reforms during the Progressive era is President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt. He was “born October 27, 1858 in New York, New York to Theodore Roosevelt Sr. and Martha Bullock” (Biography.Com). Even though he was born to a wealthy family, it did not stop him from participating in his many hobbies and careers such as politics, conservation, exploring, hunting, writing, and volunteering. During Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt early years, he was sick with stomach problems and asthma, so he was homeschooled. It was during that time he was given the nickname “Teddy” by his parents, and he hated it (Biography.com).
In the first article, “In Search of Dignity,” Brooks argues that he sees the survival of dignity being dependent upon the persistence of the ethical system. One example he uses is the illustration of how George Washington methodically worked on making himself a better person. He pointed out that throughout the years, dignity has been lost because the rules that George Washing and generations of people after him followed no longer exist. He thinks the best example of dignity today would be Obama because his character shows everyone that internalizing a calmly collected restriction to the point of second nature is the way to satisfy one’s biggest ambitions. In the second article, “A Growing Sense of Entitlement,” Navarrette argues that parents have instilled a sense of entitlement in their children because they have spoiled them and have neglected to instill hard working values in them.
He was an outspoken critic of his contemporaries, and was largely responsible for integrating the humanistic and existential traditions. He was born in Ohio, and after graduating from Oberlin College in 1930 he worked and travelled in Europe, where he met and studied with Alfred Adler. Returning to the USA he worked as a counsellor at Michigan State University, and studied theology at the Union Theological Seminary. In 1939 he published The Art of Counselling, notable as both a present-day classic in the field and the very first text on counselling to be published in America. Turning away from the ministry, he studied at Columbia, but contracted tuberculosis.
Nick was portraying Gatsby like Christ figure who possesses similarities and oppositions to Jesus. In Luke 2:49 it is recounted that Jesus said, "Know you not that I must be about my Father's business?" The business referred to acts as symbol of the revitalization of mankind. This also ties in with his use of descriptive diction when he refers to the American Dream as a “vast, vulgar, and meretricious beauty”. The America Dream is founded on the idea that achievement and fortune are the compensation for working hard and looking always looking to better oneself.