I found the practical sections of this book to be extremely helpful. For instance, when Brooks explains the benefit of asking the “so what” question of the good news text, I was motivated to look at a few of my sermons that had already been preached and ask the “so what” question of the text. Brooks is clear that the Bible is the foundation of preaching. This statement as she points out may seem to be one that there is agreement with among preachers, however as is pointed out there are those who believe that good news may come from other sources. It has been my experience in hearing sermons that the Bible is the source of the good news that is proclaimed.
James Given 11/4/07 5th period Puritans and Cavaliers In the 17th century there were two main groups of people. The Puritans who believed strongly in religion often referring to god in their literature and the Cavaliers, a more modest and cultured group of people. Both groups inhabited north America in the 1700’s, sharing some traits and disagreeing on others. The Puritans emigrated to North America from England in the 1700’s believing strongly in their religion and the English church despite the move from England. The Puritans lived only on the essentials, believing that earth was only a holding place until they reached Heaven.
The life of Christ in Mark’s Gospel evidently accounts the humble and just acts of Jesus Christ on earth. Jesus was seen as an activist, a teacher and a healer. He touched the lives of many people in sickness, taught us the ways of faith and challenged the position of other people of power at the time. The ministries of Jesus teach us relevant lessons not only for the people that were living the New Testament but also for catholics to reflect on today. Mark’s Gospel has a vast number of examples portraying Jesus as a leader of new teachings.
To achieve his end of making his congregants aware of their dangerous positions on earth, in which he states “as they could be cast into hell at any time” he reminded them of the power of God and his capacity for doing away with sinners. Edwards believed that if they were acted like Christians they could be exchanged, human beings were still pitiful creatures, always at the mercy of God. He compares the relationship between men and God by reminding his listeners how it is, “easy to tread on and crush a worm that we see crawling on the earth” (Edwards 300) and how it is much the same for God when he views people. By comparing human beings with worms in “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” Edwards wants his followers to understand that God’s mercy and trying to inspire to be
Parris is a character that allows the audience to see the weaknesses and flaws in the society. Parris gives the audience an insight into the main reasons for the religion and society’s downfall. Of all the characters in the play, Parris feels the least effects of repression. Being of a high up status, and the strong belief puritans have in God gives him power but little freedom. He must constantly please
It is most powerful when it seems to have reached our senses and affect us emotionally. When he describes “A great many old people came and knelt around us and prayed, old women with jet-black faces and braided hair, old men with work-gnarled hands”(par.4), we could simply picture and feel as if we were also there at that time. Hughes’ portrayal of the elders of the church exemplifies the stark contrast of the “young lambs” and the tenacious elders. With this contrast, the reader could picture and feel how he was surrounded by the elders and felt the pressure from them. That situation would make a young boy be pressured and frightened, and that was what really happened to Hughes.
God eventually talks to Job making it clear that his actions need no explanation. The book of Job brings up the ever-present question of why bad things happen to good people and answers that question by saying God is above justice. When Job’s friends — Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar — hear of his calamity, they come to visit him and begin to argue their “theology” to him. Their theology is that a man’s suffering is always the result of his personal sin. Further, the more one has sinned, the greater one will suffer.
This affected many people, not only Elie, during this time. Throughout this text Elie used many different examples of craft such as diction and imagery to really seize the reader's attention and help connect and relate easier to the text. By writing this book and using religion as the main theme, Elie was able to help readers understand the hardships and torture millions of people experienced. Sadly, horrible circumstance can adjust the belief system of even the strongest
It takes a true person to look past the horror and terror of the monster Grendel. This shows that our society is quick to judge things that they are unfamiliar with. Grendel is a horrifying monster, but acts like this because that is where he comes from. He receives no love and attention from the human society in which he wants to be a part of, so his actions are taken out on that, depicting him as a savage beast. If our society wasn’t so quick to judge from the outside appearance, maybe they would see a lost, lonely creature, just craving and searching for a way to fit
This character is not afraid to show his emotions, especially in a society where a man portraying his emotions might be viewed as a sign of weakness. The scene which Grendel sneaks in at night and kills many of Hrothgar’s warriors; in the morning he says “Knowing by its tracks that some demon had torn his followers apart. He wept, fearing the beginning might not be the end.”(40). Most people can relate to these feelings of hopelessness and despair displayed in this scene. Some may see Hrothgar as a coward; he really cares deeply for the welfare of his people, a quality that is admired by many.