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The true meaning of faith
Ecclesiastes 1
The true meaning of faith
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Ecclesiastes, unlike Acts, Romans, or Hebrews, does not seem to come right out and discuss the topic of faith. The writer shares about his own life and the pursuit of satisfaction and happiness in his own power. In all of the things he tried to find happiness in, he only found that everything apart from God is meaningless and vain. When he accepted the fact that God has a plan that He is working it out in the author's life, and that all he needs to do is allow Him to work, it was only then that he was able to find true satisfaction and happiness. He then calls the readers to not walk in the same way of meaninglessness as he had, but rather to seek God first, and reap the benefits of faith in God.
The writer of Ecclesiastes is known only as the Qohelet, which is the Hebrew word meaning Teacher, but who exactly the author was is unsure. Traditionally it is believed that King Solomon wrote this book. It is thought to have been written later in his life, based upon some of the content in the book. Solomon was considered the wisest man to ever live. He valued knowledge and the attainment of wisdom. He received wisdom as a gift from God and continued his pursuit of knowledge through his life. In Ecclesiastes 1:13 and 14 the author says "I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under heaven. What a heavy burden God has laid on men! I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the sun". He also says in 2:13 and 14 that "I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness.
In what is noted as one of Plato first accounts, we become acquainted with a very intriguing man known as Socrates; a man, whose ambition to seek knowledge, inevitably leaves a significant impact on humanity. Most of all, it is methodologies of attaining this knowledge that makes him so mesmerizing. This methodology is referred to as Socratic irony, in literature. In any case, I will introduce the argument that Plato's Euthyphro is extremely indicative of this type of methodology, for the reason being that: Socrates's portrays a sense of intellectual humility.
In a democracy, people choose representatives to lead and govern them. However, these representatives might take unpopular steps. In such instances the people may show their disapproval of a policy and vent their grievances through acts of civil disobedience. Henry Thoreau said, “It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right.” It is both the right and responsibility of a person to fight an unjust law, and civil disobedience allows one to convey his thoughts and ideas in a passive, nonviolent way. In Sophocles’ Antigone, written in 442 B.C., we find one of the earliest examples of civil disobedience. The play emphasizes the right of the individual to reject his government’s infringement on his freedom to perform a personal obligation and highlights the struggle that one faces in doing so. More importantly, it shows how such actions help further the cause of democracy. It strengthens the belief that each individual’s opinion is important in a democracy and makes a difference. Eventually, we see Creon realize his mistake – his stubbornness – which teaches him that he should have room for more than one opinion. Also, women at that time were not considered equal citizens, but Antigone’s actions left people to rethink the extent of the equality in Athenian democracy.
In the Oedipus at Colonus, there are three major themes of the play, prophecy, guilt and death. Each of them is part of how Oedipus’ life plays out. The prophecy told that he was the killer of his own father and married his mother, and how the guilt, he had for committing these acts, by gouging out his own eyes; and how after his family disowned him then wanting him to help them knowing that whoever was on Oedipus’ side would win the war. Also where Oedipus’ body should be laid to rest after his death.
The book of Romans was written by Paul. It is actually a letter that Paul wrote to the Romans telling them about his understanding of the Gospel. In this book his explains our sins and how we can achieve forgiveness through Christ. The most specific sin that he explains is that of judging one another. He helps address the problem of religious disagreements about different customs or religious convictions. These customs or religious convictions include the days on which people worship the Lord and the things that people will and will not eat. He wrote about the fact that we should not judge each other for God is going to judge us all in the end.
In Homer’s prominent epic, The Odyssey, A male protagonist gifted with immense physical strength and power named Odyssey is traveling back home to Ithaca. Over the course of his 10 year journey across vast and treacherous waters, his physical attributes are not enough to help him reach home. He faces many obstacles that he must overcome. The most important obstacle is temptation. His journey home is full of temptation and will challenge his physical and mental capabilities that he must learn to control, and overcome, so that he can find his way back home.
What if you were called to a home in the middle of the night where a young girl had committed suicide? Would you be able to comfort her grieving parents? Walk into the girl’s room to see where she had committed the act? Could you tell them that God was there in their time of need? Could you then go home to your small child and still have strength left? In Mark Jarman’s poem “Questions for Ecclesiastes”, his father had to do just that. Jarman uses a narrative style of poetry to question God’s will and how words fall short in times of tradgy.
The main theme behind the "Phaedo" is Socrates' readiness and willingness to die, because of his belief of immortality. Socrates believed that when his body ceased to exist anymore, that his soul would leave and join that of the forms, where he would be eternally. Socrates believed so strongly in this, that not only did he not fear his death, he welcomed it. He believed that only when the soul separated from the body, is a person able to be truly enlightened and gain all knowledge. This "enlightenment" has been Socrates' life long goal of discovering the truth. Even at his hour of death, Socrates showed no hesitation. However, Socrates' friends did not believe so strongly, and took some great convincing by Socrates, to allow his friends to be okay with his death. The two proofs that Socrates used to convince his friends are the "Doctrine of Opposites" and the "simple and composite theory.
Two of the most influential books of ancient Roman and Grecian culture are the Odyssey and the Aeneid. The Odyssey is centered on the Greek hero Odysseus. It portrays Odysseus’ journey back home and the endeavors he has to go through. The Aeneid depicts the Roman hero Aeneas as he is sent on a journey to start the great Roman Empire. The books both have many similarities between them especially due to the fact that Virgil, the author of the Aeneid, was heavily influenced by Homer’s Odyssey. But like with any good story they are both unique in their own way. One of the major differences is in the setting. Some of the differences are in the choices that they make while some of the differences are even in the characters themselves. But the parts of the stories that have influenced much of modern day literature are the instances where the protagonists have to make a visit to the underworld. Virgil and Homer wanted to emphasize the underworld so much that they each dedicated an entire chapter in their epics to the underworld. But each underworld is blatantly different thus giving each hero a distinctly different journey to the underworld. Three of the main differences in their underworld journeys are their purpose for being there, visuals in the underworld, and the underworld itself.
As a result, the topic of ‘risk management’ can be related to a biblical passage in The Book of Ecclesiastes, Chapter 11:5-6. According to Solomon, “As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all. In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good” (2009, p. 975). Thus, as stated previously, risk consists of uncertainty and risk management is the process of mitigating such risk in order to prevent counterproductive consequences. The Lord is the all-knowing entity throughout the universe, and
Solomon and Socrates are thought of as the wisest men in history. Solomon was a man of God who wrote Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Songs of Songs in the Bible. The great philosopher, Socrates, lived in the Classical Age of Greece. Their styles of teaching and perspectives on wisdom were very different, but they did have their similarities.
In “Oedipus the King,” an infant’s fate is determined that he will kill his father and marry his mother. To prevent this heartache his parents order a servant to kill the infant. The servant takes pity on the infant and gives him to a fellow shepherd, and the shepherd gives him to a king and queen to raise as their own. The young prince learns of the prophecy and flees from his interim parents because he is afraid that he is going to succeed. The young prince eventually accomplishes his prophecy without even knowing he is doing it. He murders his father and marries his mother unknowingly. While it may seem to some that Oedipus was destined to carry out his fate, it is also true that Oedipus’ personality led him to his fate.
In the play Antigone, by Sophocles, it is greatly apparent just within the first few exchanges between Ismene and Antigone that there are various social issues surrounding the women in ancient Greece. The play raises many gender and socially related issues especially when looking at the contextual background of the playwright and the representation of the women within the play. When the characters of the first scene begin their analog, it is important to note what they are actually saying about each other and what their knowledge of their own social status is. The audience is first introduced to Antigone who we later learn is the antagonist of the play as she rebels against the protagonist, Creon. Her sister, Ismene, is the second character the audience is introduced to, hears of Antigone's plan to bury their brother's body in the first scene. Ismene’s actions and words give the reader the hint that her sister’s behavior is not usual, "so fiery" and "so desperate" are the words used to describe Antigone's frame of mind. At this very early point in the play the reader discovers that Antigone is determined to carry out her mission to bury her beloved brother. However, she is in no position that gives her the rights as a woman, sister, or even future queen to make her own decisions and rebel. Instead, her decision to bury her brother demonstrates her loyalty to her family, the gods, and to all women. Her motivation for those decisions will end up driving her far more than that of what the laws set by Creon have implemented. She shows no fear over disobeying the king and later says about the punishment of death "I will lie with the one I love and loved by him"(Sophocles, 2). Throughout the play the reader can see the viewpoint of an obedient woman, a rebellious woman, and the social norms required for both of them.
In Sophocles’ play, Antigone, the main character uses rhetoric to effectively persuade her audiences to sympathize with her. In the play, Antigone’s brother, Polyneices, dies a traitor to the Theban people. The king, Creon, decrees that no one is to bury the traitor despite the necessity of burial for proper passing into the afterlife. Believing that Creon’s decree is unjust, Antigone buries her brother. When she is brought to the king, Antigone uses this speech in defense of her actions. In the speech, she uses allusion, diction, and particular sentence structure to increase the effectiveness of her argument.
Aristophanes’ Greek comedy, Lysistrata has been translated many times. The key to a good translation is finding one that models what the current time frame is looking for. What would a student attending college in the year 1912, think of the translation used in our 2011 literature class? What about the choices of a literature professor, in the year 1925, when teaching this play? The tone and speech of these translations can be very different, yet mean the same thing. Lysistrata has been altered throughout time to fit the meaning and the language of the translator; however, the theme remains to be a comedy based around the main idea of antiwar. The meaning can be different for everyone. Lysistrata can support the antiwar methods of a present-day protestor or it can just be a means to entertain a person looking for a laugh. The key to making this work readable to the modern world is to pick a translation that is best suited for the present time.
Oedipus and Tiresias, characters of Sophocles' play "Oedipus Tyrannus," are propelled to their individual destinies by their peculiar relationships with truth. Paranoid and quick to anger Oedipus, is markedly different from the confident and self-assured Tiresias. In the dialogue between the two men, Oedipus rapidly progresses from praise of Tiresias as a champion and protector of Thebes in line 304, to blatantly accusing the blind prophet of betraying the city in line 331, to angrily insulting him in line 334. Rather than be intimidated by the protagonist's title and temperament, Tiresias draws strength from what he knows is true and is able to stand his ground.