Southern View of Religion in Lillian Smith’s Killers of the Dream Essay

Southern View of Religion in Lillian Smith’s Killers of the Dream â€Å"Our first lesson about God made the deepest impression on us. We were told that He loved us, and then we were told that He would burn us in everlasting flames of hell if we displeased Him. We were told we should love Him for He gives us everything good that we have, and then we were told that we should fear Him because He has the power to do evil to us whenever He cares to. We learned from this part of the lesson another: that â€Å"people,† like God and parents, can love you and hate you at the same time; and though they may love you, if you displease them they may do you great injury; hence being loved by them does not give you protection from being harmed by them. We learned that They (parents) have a â€Å"right† to act in this way because God does, and that They in a sense represent God, in the family.† -Lillian Smith, Killers of the Dream, p. 85 This short passage introduces the first of many paradoxes and contradictions that dominate the Southern way of life that Smith depicts in Killers of the Dream. It is fitting that Smith (and her contemporaries) should remember their first lesson about God as a terrifying self-contradiction, because this theme perpetuates itself in the Southern view of religion. It lays the framework for a theological doctrine that banishes a person to the flames of hell for taking a sip of alcohol, yet turns its head as human beings banish others to the ghettos and old slave quarters for having dark skin. This passage also creates a parallel between the white people and their role as the â€Å"God† of Southern society. Smith states, â€Å"We were told we should love Him for He gives us everything good that we have, and then we were told that... ...hild understands his relationship with God and his parents as such, it is fairly natural that he will grow up to perpetuate a facsimile of that relationship between himself and his own children and the black community, both environments in which he is â€Å"God.† Smith summarizes her description of her early â€Å"lesson† with â€Å"We learned that They (parents) have a â€Å"right† to act in this way because God does, and that They in a sense represent God, in the family.† This satirical presentation of the word â€Å"right† in parentheses both the parental and the societal desire for the white man to play God. However, Smith ironically suggest that God does not act this way, He is simply drawn into the trial as an unwitting testimonial justifying the behavior that society wants to believe is right, despite their gnawing knowledge that it is far from right, and far from human, or humane.

Violent Tv Programs

violent tv programs have been blamed for causing crime rates to rise in many countries. but many people dont agree that violence is related to TV viewing. Discuss the possible reasons for both opinions. give your opinion as to wether or not violent programs should be taken off the air. It has long been asserted that watching crime on television or playing violent video games contributes to violent behavior. In other words, it is what a person watches that allegedly influences and desensitizes him. Thus he becomes violent. Consider the absurdity of such a thesis! . People who are fascinated and excited by violence and other crimes gravitate to particular types of programs and games and immerse themselves in them, some for hours each day. Their absorption with violence reflects their personality. 2. Millions of people view violence in television programming†¦ It is entertainment or news. That's it! The viewers do not consider for a moment enacting what they see. The same is true w ith playing video games. They are solely for recreation. 3. There is such a thing as a â€Å"copycat† crime.A person watches a crime enacted in detail on television and then does the same thing. His decision to do so reflects a mind that has long been fascinated and excited by crime and violence. For every person who might fantasize about, then replicate the crime, millions of people who saw the very same thing reject it, are repulsed by it, and never would be tempted to enact what they watched. Related Articles Massacre for the Media One-Way Trip to Davy Jones' Locker Porn For Pedophiles: ‘Sexy Children' On Parade â€Å"Forced† to Kill You FirstCasey Anthony Is Found Not Guilty Of Killing Her Daughter Find a Therapist Search for a mental health professional near you. Critical is not what is on the screen or in the game but what already resides in the mind of the viewer, reader, game player, or listener. A â€Å"not guilty by reason of television† defense failed many years ago in a Florida courtroom. Violent tendencies reside within the personality, whether or not the person watches programming depicting violence. The television program, the movie, or the videogame do not turn him into something alien to his basic personality.

Anglican Church and the Monarchy

Religion was an ongoing cause of issues in history, and the Church of England was no exception. Issues with the monarchy ruling the church in Britain was the reason for many debates, wars, civil issues and rights to the throne. Initially the Church was under Papal rule, making the Pope have control over something the Throne did not. Hunger for power in the sixteenth century was not limited to land control and civil control; it spread right up to the Church of England causing many problems for the monarchy and Papal authority.The argument during this time was whether or not the monarch had the right to rule church and state, or if the church was meant to be run by Papal authority. The Church of England has a deep history going back to the Roman Empire. An invasion in Britain in the fifth century by pagan Angles, Saxons and Jutes caused the Church to lose its organization. Missionary work in the 6th Century by Pope Gregory the Great, led by St Augustine of Canterbury led to the eventua l combination of three forms of Christianity.The new Church of England amalgamated the Roman tradition of St Augustine, the old Romano-British church and the Celtic traditions from Scotland. As a result of this new formation the influence of the Church was wider spread and more organized. Traditions assimilated with the Western Christians such as liturgy, theology and church architecture. All of this also meant that until the sixteenth century the Church of England was under Papal rule and was considered a branch of the Roman Catholic Church.The Protestant Reformation began in 1517 when Martin Luther published his Ninety Five Theses. They opposed the Catholic Churches doctrines and stated that the teachings and sales of indulgences and the abuses of them showed corruption in the religion. This was the jumping off point for many people questioning the Catholic Church. In the sixteenth century the English monarchy began to question the fact that their church was still following the au thority of the Pope. A main factor in this questioning came from King Henry VIII.Henry wanted his marriage to Catherine annulled, and his marriage would normally be illegal under church law because Catherine was the widow of his brother, but it had been allowed by special consideration from the Pope. Henry claimed that the Papal consideration contradicted church law and therefore the marriage was not legal. The pope upheld his choice and refused to annul the marriage. The underlying cause was the fact that many believed that the authority of the church should belong to the English monarchy not the Pope.Henry broke away from the Roman Catholic Church and declared himself the head of the Church of England (1534), removing the church from the authority of the Pope. During this time Henry also forced the Dissolution of the Monasteries, this was viewed as suppressing the catholic faith. He also started statutes, such as, Statute in Restraint of Appeals, 1533, various Acts of Succession 1 533-36, and the first Act of Supremacy in 1536. These acts all dealt with the relationship between the King and the Pope and how the Church of England should be structured.Henry’s belief in the independence of the Church was the dominant influence in making religious policy. Those who still worshipped Catholic rites during Henry’s rule were quietly moved into secrecy. Henry’s son Edward VI further reformed the church by saying that the Protestant Reformation was more like what the Bible’s teachings meant than that of the Pope. Edward was very young when he was in power so most decisions were ultimately decided by a regency council who were mostly Protestant, so of course the decision was made to keep the church under monarch rule.Edward was the first King who had been raised Protestant even though he was only nine when he was crowned his council did allow him to make decisions. By the age of eleven he had already written a treatise on the Pope as Antichri st and made educated notes on theological controversies. Edward wanted to keep the Church of England Protestant rather than Catholic so instead of allowing his half sister Mary to take the throne upon his death he left the crown to Lady Jane Grey. She was only on the throne for nine days before being imprisoned after the council changed sides declaring Mary Queen.During the reign of Mary Tudor (Henry’s daughter) the Church returned to the Pope’s authority. Throughout her father’s and her half brother’s reign Mary had remained loyal to the Roman Catholic faith, she had even asked for a private chapel to worship in since everyone else in the family worshiped under the Church of England. Mary’s change in the Church did not last long when in 1558 Elizabeth I became Queen, and made the Church of England essentially what it is to this day. She removed it from the Pope’s authority, but she kept the catholic creeds, the architecture and aspects of t he catholic liturgy.While keeping aspects of the Catholic Church she also incorporated Protestant insights of theology and the general shape of its liturgical practices. In the seventeenth century the Church of England had another crisis; tensions over theological and liturgical issues were part of the reasons that led to the English Civil War. From 1649-1660 the Church of England’s bishops were abolished and the Book of Common Prayer was banned. During this time the church was under Papal rule but when the monarchy was restored in 1660 these decisions were over turned and once again the Church was returned to monarch authority.In 1689 the Toleration Act was passed and Protestantism was legally accepted as long as they followed the doctrine of the Trinity. After this was passed the Church of England became the mother church of the Anglican Communion. One of the main arguments throughout the formation of the Church of England was whether or not the monarchy had the right to de cide how the church should be run, or if the church is meant to be run by the Pope. Most believed that since the Pope was not politically affiliated with anyone, it made him impartial and made his rule of the church more pure.He was the representative of God therefore he could settle doctrinal disputes and help spread Christianity without influence from political leaders. Pope Paul III formed the Council of Trent (1545-49) which made the Papacy have power over rulers who wanted to reconcile with Protestants and who were opposed to Papal claims. The monarchy was too powerful and eventually the Papal authority had to bring their focus to spiritual issues as opposed to trying to get secular power (It was not until 1929 that the Lateran Treaty was passed that guaranteed papal independence from secular rule).When the English monarchy declared that the Pope was corrupt and Antichrist they pulled the Church of England out from under papal rule. The throne holds complete political authority in its own state, but the argument of whether this authority crosses over to religion as well was ongoing for many years. Henry VIII makes it easier for himself by having Parliament pass an act appointing him and his successors the head of the Church of England so that they could rule the church whatever way they please. This act caused more problems than solved because now every time the throne was changed the church was changed.The political side of the monarch caused more problems as well. By having political affiliations the monarchs chose rules of the church to follow that suited their political alliances. Affiliations with Scotland made them include Scottish traditions into the Church of England, but bad blood between the British and the Irish made them turn the church away from Catholicism even more. There are arguments that the fact that the Irish worshiped under Papal rule it made the tensions between Britain and Ireland worse.The relationship between France and England wa s even worse; Henry VIII went to war with France three times during his reign. The national religion of France was Catholicism and during this time though there was a large Protestant following, they were greatly persecuted. This was a major contributing factor to these wars; with France under Papal rule and the Protestants being persecuted the British monarchy was livid, giving them plenty of cause to declare war. During this time Henry declared France to be Britain’s number one enemy. When Elizabeth was in power the hostility towards Catholics was increased.While she was not as intense as Henry she did ban mass and other Catholic practices, and also made her Parliament swear an oath of supremacy threatening the charge of treason to anyone who refused. This threat made many Catholics run from England to avoid persecution. Many of these people were writers and went against Protestantism and implied that the Papal authority was superior, but also tried to not anger their Queen in their writings. This showed how the people were expressing their unhappiness in the choices made for them in religious aspects, but they still respected and honored their monarch.Elizabeth’s main fear was that the brash Catholics would attempt to have her taken out of power. Elizabeth’s fear was so profound that in 1571 she passed The Treason Act which made it high treason to say that Elizabeth was not the true monarch. It also made it illegal to say that she was heretic, tyrant, infidel or usurper. This Act made catholic’s even angrier and made them criticize Elizabeth even more. These criticisms towards Elizabeth made her worries of being de-throned more relevant because now Catholic followers were trying to defend Mary Stuart’s right to the English throne.They claimed that Elizabeth caused tensions in foreign affairs because of her focus on religion. At the same time all of these writings that criticize Elizabeth’s choices for religion, they still spoke kindly of her as a person and a Queen in other aspects. Most respected her as a Queen but condemned her choices towards the Church of England. During this time many Catholic writers from France also condemned Elizabeth’s choices showing that the tensions between Britain and France were still very much active in her reign as in Henry’s.The monarchies strive for complete power in the sixteenth century did them more harm than good. Instead of gaining the trust and fellowship of their people, they caused war, tensions, and general unrest among most of their people. With debates between the Papal authorities, who at the time the people viewed as a direct line to God, and the monarch caused distrust for the people against their leaders. With no right to their own choices in religion people that went against the crown were exiled, imprisoned, or worse, executed for their thoughts and beliefs.With most of Britain being raised Catholic during this time a sudden swi tch by Henry VIII because of his unhappiness seemed ungodly. The choice to remove the church from the Papal authority was viewed as blasphemous, and it made the people view their King in a different light. Most of Britain lost faith in their Crown during these Reformations because of unorganized systems, and a constant change between monarch authority and Papal rule. Tensions between Britain and neighboring Countries did not help the monarch’s relationship with their people either, as much of the cause of these tensions was from the monarch persecuting Catholics.The goal of total power over the people, land and neighboring Countries by the monarch was not a success because there was no consistency in the way they chose to run their Parliament, church and state. The monarch may have believed that they had the right to run their church, but realistically the political affiliations and personal wants caused more destruction than if they had allowed a more pure source to lead and make decisions for the church. Ultimately relationships in Western Europe could have drastically changed if the Church of England had remained under Papal authority.

Six Amendment essays

Six Amendment essays From the Federal Crimes Act of 1790 to Miranda v. Arizona 364 U.S. 436 (1966) the Sixth Amendment right to counsel had developed tremendously. This essay will explore the development of the Sixth Amendment, including what the Sixth Amendment is and when it applies to a individual. The notion of effective counsel will also be defined by the Court. The Sixth Amendment was long interpreted as only meaning the right to counsel of ones choice and at ones own expense. It has since come to mean the right to appointed counsel for those who cannot afford one. The shift came in Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45 (1932), or the famous Scottsboro Case. The convictions in that case (of several black youths accused of raping two white women) were overturned on ground that the defendants did not receive a fair trial because their right to effective counsel were denied. In Betts v. Brady, 316 U.S. 455 (1942), the Supreme Court ruled that only in special circumstances, should counsel be appointed. However, in Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963), the Court overturned Betts and extended the right to counsel to the accused in all states in all criminal cases. In Argersinger v. Hamlin, 407 U.S. 25 (1972) the Court applied the right to counsel to all offenses involving the possibility of imprisonment. The Sixth Amendment right to counsel has came along way. The Sixth Amendment guarantees an accused the assistance of counsel, the rights to be informed of charges and to confront accusers, as well as a right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury in all criminal cases. The right to counsel applies whenever a person feels they need it. The right to counsel includes a right to effective counsel. In United States v. Cronic, 466 U.S. 640 (1984) Justice Stevens explains that a competent counsel is essential to the accusatory system. The Court remains reluctant to find attorneys that are incompetent. ...

Foreign Marriage Customs essays

Foreign Marriage Customs essays In the Bosnian culture it is very common to see new couples moving in with the husbands parents after they marry. Usually the husband is already living with his parents because its rare that any of them move out until after they marry. The reason many couples make these choices is because of respect for their families, shortage of money, and the need for emotional support. New couples move in with the husbands parents because it shows a sign of respect for the husbands parents from the brides position. It is common that the parents have to give approval of marriage, so to thank tem the bride moves in to their home. At that point the bride completes most of the work around the house and starts learning to cook unless she already learned it at home. This shows the parents that she is ready to take are of their son and after that usually the husbands parents help them out monetarily to building a home of their own. Another reason the new couple moves in with the husbands parents is the shortage of money. Since you rarely see any students work while they are going to school, logically once they graduate from a university they dont have much saved up. Most couples marry soon after graduation. The easiest decision seems to be just to move in with the husbands parents and try to save up as much as possible. Usually the couple lives about two to three years with their parents before moving out. At that point they have a decent amount saved up and in most cases the family helps them out financially as well. While the respect and lack of money are good enough reasons to move in with them, the main reason is for emotional support. Many say that the first few months and years are the toughest in marriage. This way there is family for you to point you in the right direction, teach you the basic values of marriage and to help you solve any problems that you might encounter ...

DWIGHT EISENHOWER Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

DWIGHT EISENHOWER - Essay Example In 1944-1945, as the leader of the Western Front, Dwight Eisenhower managed to successfully invade and occupy Germany and France1.In 1951, he was appointed as the first military supreme leader of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.He also served as the Chief of Staff, under the Harry Truman presidency. Dwight Eisenhower entered the United States political arena in 1952, in order to counter the threats that came from communist Korea. He also engaged in politics in order to counter the non-interventionism policies that were drafted by Senator Robert Taft. During his first year of presidency2, Eisenhower managed to sponsor a coup in Iran. This led to the overthrow of Mohammad Mosadegh. This was after the Iranian government nationalized its oil reserves, which were mostly controlled by the British and American companies. On this basis, nationalization of the oil reserves would have impacted negatively on the American interests. One of the greatest achievements of Dwight Eisenhower wa s to convince China to stop the1950 to 1953 war that was between South Korea and North Korea. South Korea was supported by United Nations, while North Korea was supported by China. North Korea practiced communism as a system of governance. In this war, under the auspices of the United Nations, United States of America contributed more than 80% of the troops that operated in South Korea.

Prove how a more Community feel to college and more social events can Research Paper

Prove how a more Community feel to college and more social events can lead to higher grades - Research Paper Example These influences may not be exactly related to academics but drift towards an individual’s more personal realm involving their lifestyle and mind-frame while attending these academic institutions. One of these influences is the general feel of the academic institute/college that a person is attending (Brick 23). The ability of the college to provide a more comfortable environment for their students through initiating a â€Å"community feel† around the college is one way that a tertiary institution may be able to assist their students in improving their grades. Problem Definition Tertiary education can be said to be the trickiest part of the academic system as in most cases it is usually meted out in different circumstances than those that individuals had become accustomed to in their past academic experiences (Hanushek 74). This is largely due to the fact that this can be referred to as the final stage of traditional education and thus the environment the student is sub jected is more in tune with the post academic structure they will find after they graduate (Brick 15). This is to say that in college, students are treated more like the adults they will be when released to the world. However this change in scenery may affect individuals negatively as they may find it difficult to cope with the switch leading to a drop in their grades. The drop may be significant or barely noticeable depending on the individual but nonetheless the problem has to be faced in a bid to come up with ways that students are able to improve their grades in college. The more traditional solutions may not work at this time as the environment may not be suitable to cultivate success and thus more conventional methods may be needed. For instance increased study may not work as well as there is no one present to monitor whether an individual has actually increased their level of studying (Pashler 56). Whereas in previous situations such as high school and below there is usually an authoritative figure observing the studying habits of an individual be it a teacher or a parent and thus one is felt compelled to read when they know they are being monitored. However, college brings about a different atmosphere where there is usually no authoritative figure to monitor ones actions (this is usually due to the freedom that comes with moving out of the house.) and thus another source of motivation may have to be found if one wishes for improved grades. This can be seen by the drop in grades of an individual after they have cleared high school and have moved on to college. This is especially true in what can be referred to as the â€Å"non –elite† institutions and mainly consists of community colleges and various institutions on a similar level. The elite institutions (in this case would include schools such as Harvard, Yale, and Brown) may fall out of this category of a drop in grades as the pressure is still there for those who join such institution s to perform (Hanushek 83). The various individuals attending college can be seen as a community and thus a role should be taken up by a member of this particular community to attempt to improve the academic results of the institution in general through finding out ways in which colleges can bring about a more â€Å"