The Difficulty of Being a Disciple in the Post Modern World
I agree with the statement above because just as it was hard for the
rich man to rise to the challenge and give all his riches to the poor
it is hard for Christians today to rise to the challenge of building
the Kingdom and all that entails.
What makes it even harder for people to be a disciple today is all the
choices, consumerism, media, and materialism. With all this around it
is very hard for anyone to be single minded. Jesus once said in Mark
8: 34, '…"If anyone wants to come with me…he must forget self, carry
his cross, and follow me."' If you want to follow Jesus' explain you
have to 'forget self, this is what the media, materialism and
consumerism hopes you can do, because if you can do this then media,
materialism and consumerism should no longer be a problem. An
excellent example of the consumerism that is everywhere in the
postmodern world is there are1500 different types of bottled water.
Water being the source of life should not be sold as a fashion item,
rather it should given to those who need it most.
The simplest tasked of being a Christian is now getting harder, such
as going to church on Sunday. In the last ten years the shops have
been opening on Sundays. This may not be an obvious problem and many
would think that if you didn't want to shop on Sunday you wouldn't
have to. If you consider all the staff, they don't have any real
choice of whether they work Sunday or not, then it does become a
problem. Going to church on Sunday is the base of our religion and if
we fail to do this as a community what chance do we have of being
disciples.
Even though it is hard to rise to the challenge and become a disciple,
people have done it. Mother Theresa was an example of a modern day
disciple, she was a Roman Catholic nun who, whilst serving as the
One of the best-known philanthropists was the American industrialist Andrew Carnegie, who devoted the latter part of his life to giving away most of the huge fortune he had amassed in the steel industry. Following the principles laid down in his essay “Gospel of Wealth” , Carnegie returned over $300 million to society, primarily through foundations and trusts. Debs believed that wealth is predestined and that god gave him his wealth. Although different in ideas Carnegie perform what Eugene V. Debs believed in: the distribution of wealth.
Moreover, Carnegie believes a rich man shouldn’t leave a fortune to their families and men shouldn’t wait until death to donate money for public uses. In addition, Carnegie (1889) portrays that, the only mode for a rich man to use their fortune is, “to produce the most beneficial results for the community- the man of wealth thus becoming the.
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-born industrialist who started with nothing and built his way to the top through years of hard work. In the 1889 article, “Gospel of Wealth,” he advocated the idea of philanthropy to encourage the rich to promote the welfare of humanity instead of conspicuous consumption. This altruism of allocating funds from the well-off was an idea that could help bridge the gap between the rich and the poor. He concluded with the statement, “the man who dies thus rich dies disgraced” to proclaim that millionaires and billionaires should pass on their wealth to encourage a legacy of giving either by inheritance or charity. I agree with his statement because his message is kind-hearted and humanitarian.
The imperfection of Singer’s solution to end world poverty exceeds its convenience in the average American. While the wealthy is targeted and responsible for the lack of donations to the less fortunate, singer gives poor supporting details in why the wealthy should donate a large portion of their wealth to only help a few individuals for a certain period of time.
This article was predominantly about Carnegie’s “Gospel of Wealth” philosophy; the rich were obligated to give to the poor.
whole life to God and the Church. This is one major Cost of being a
Huey Long, two-time Senator of Louisiana, was founder of the “Share Our Wealth” plan. A redistribution of the nation’s wealth, the plan called for one third of the country’s money to be divided among all the people. In the early 1930s, 4% of the American population held 87% of the wealth. (Polenberg 127) Long’s plan called for an end to this imbalance. “None too poor, none too rich” was his slogan. (Polenberg 126)
According to Andrew Carnegie in his piece The Gospel of Wealth, he believes that the rich are (or should be) responsible for the poor. He gives an example of a young man tossing a quarter to a beggar to keep him from annoying him. However, the question must be asked: Who in the world said that a rich man must take care of his community? Why is it suddenly his responsibility? (Carnegie, 2013)
The Unlikely Disciple is about a Brown University journalist student, Kevin Roose, who decides to spend one semester at Liberty University. He chooses to take this semester in order to order to get better insight on the evangelical community. Although originally Roose only wanted to shallowly integrate into the Christian community to gain a better perspective, by the end of the novel he realizes that you cannot pretend to be something you are not without being a little affected by it. One of the struggles Roose faces is dating Ana who is a female student at Liberty University. Even though there is clearly chemistry between the two, Roose opts out of dating Ana as he does not want to start a relationship based on the false pretenses he has created to fit in at the university. The students at Liberty University are subjected to a great deal of rules that most college students would vehemently disregard. These rules are reinforced by students who are RAs. The author describes being an RA at Liberty as “one of the most grueling jobs on the planet” (174). The college students are forbidden to smoke, drink, and curse. There is great variation in the rules as the students are also prohibited from watching R-rated movies, dancing, hugging more than three seconds, or having any sexual interaction with the opposite sex. For example, the guys on Roose’s dorm hall were caught watching the gory R-rated movie 300 and their punishment was to get “twelve [reprimands] to each person present,” “fined a combined $350,” and “the DVD was confiscated” (172). Some of the rules are implemented to stop activities that will lead the students into further sinful behavior, such as the movie and hugging restrictions. As any ...
A penny saved may be a penny earned, just as a penny spent may begin to better the world. Andrew Carnegie, a man known for his wealth, certainly knew the value of a dollar. His successful business ventures in the railroad industry, steel business, and in communications earned him his multimillion-dollar fortune. Much the opposite of greedy, Carnegie made sure he had what he needed to live a comfortable life, and put what remained of his fortune toward assistance for the general public and the betterment of their communities. He stressed the idea that generosity is superior to arrogance. Carnegie believes that for the wealthy to be generous to their community, rather than live an ostentatious lifestyle proves that they are truly rich in wealth and in heart. He also emphasized that money is most powerful in the hands of the earner, and not anyone else. In his retirement, Carnegie not only spent a great deal of time enriching his life by giving back; but also often wrote about business, money, and his stance on the importance of world peace. His essay “Wealth” presents what he believes are three common ways in which the wealthy typically distribute their money throughout their life and after death. Throughout his essay “Wealth”, Andrew Carnegie appeals to logos as he defines “rich” as having a great deal of wealth not only in materialistic terms, but also in leading an active philanthropic lifestyle. He solidifies this definition in his appeals to ethos and pathos with an emphasis on the rewards of philanthropy to the mind and body.
It is Not Possible to be a True Disciple of Jesus in the Modern World
People are starving all over the world. They lack food, water, and basic medication. Some suggest that the wealthy should donate and do their part to help. Peter Singer, a professor of bioethics, wrote an article called “The Singer Solution to World Poverty” in The New York Times Magazine, in which he suggests that the prosperous people should donate all money not needed for the basic requirements of life.
A wealthy person, with the desire to do well with their fortune, could benefit society in a number of ways. Carnegie has verbally laid a blueprint for the wealthy to build from. His message is simple: Work hard and you will have results; educate yourself, live a meaningful life, and bestow upon others the magnificent jewels life has to offer. He stresses the importance of doing charity during one’s lifetime, and states “…the man who dies leaving behind him millions of available wealth, which was his to administer during life, will pass away ‘unwept, unhonored, and unsung’…” (401). He is saying a wealthy person, with millions at their disposal, should spend their money on the betterment of society, during their lifetime, because it will benefit us all as a race.
Main Point: and what our community could look like if we all did our part.
When Jesus called His disciples, His invitation was simple. He invited them to follow Him. The same is true today. In Matthew 28, Jesus gave His last charge to His disciples, and the charge was simple. He called his followers to go and make disciples. Much effort has been placed by Christians to fulfill this charge, commonly referred to as the Great Commission. Jesus chose to fulfill the implementation of the New Covenant through 12 men who He called, appointed, and commissioned, and he only had a few short years to prepare them for the task (Willson, 1990). His methods were unconventional and were revolutionary for that time. His disciples were to be trained extensively by Jesus, living with Him for three years prior to His ascension. He taught about servant leadership and its meaning for both the leader and follower Matt. 20:25-28). From the beginning, Jesus put in place a careful plan, and an examination of His actions in the Gospels showed that Jesus left behind the pattern to be replicated. His methods, which included the incorporation of three different levels of discipleship, included His interaction with Peter, His closest three (Peter, James, and John), and finally the group of 12. This paper identified and analyzed the three levels of discipleship Jesus modeled, these discipleship methods were then measured against modern leadership theories, and Jesus’s level of involvement and interaction with his disciples were critiqued in light of these modern theories in an effort to determine the effectiveness of this approach.