From Whence I Came
Let us look at our lush forest one last time. Is it any less beautiful
if we remove the hand of a Creator God?
Imagine yourself standing alone in a lush forest under a tree. It is an old tree. The massive trunk soars to dizzying heights, terminating in a canopy of branches and leaves that seem to stretch to infinity. The broad, green leaves shelter you from the glaring sun.You reach out and touch the tree. The fissures in the rough bark swallow your fingers. You are startled by the snap of a twig and turn to find a deer staring back at you with large brown eyes located on either side of his head. His majestic visage is only enhanced by the projections of the antlers he wears like a crown.Relief floods in; deer have no sharp teeth or claws. With a snort and a flash of his white tail, he bounds into the underbrush and vanishes as quickly as he appeared. A ray of sunshine has fought its way through the leaves to illuminate a glittering object at your feet.Bending down, you pick up a beautiful gold pocket watch. Its cover is laced with intricately carved scrolls. As you open the cover, some questions come to mind. How did this forest and its creatures come to exist? Am I separate from nature and can do with it as I please, or am I a part of it? Why do deer have hooves instead of claws? What is this watch doing in this forest?
The beauty of nature often inspires feelings of awe and evokes questions such as these. However, depending on your beliefs, the answers may be radically different. Over the last few centuries, science and Christianity have become increasingly embroiled in conflict. This conflict has only intensified since 1859, when Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species. Darwin's theory of natural selection poses an unparalleled threat to the core of Fundamentalist Christian beliefs. The debate centers on the origin of life. The theory of evolution states that species change, or evolve, gradually thorough the accumulation of random mutations over a long period of time. Natural selection is the mechanism through which this happens. These changes are not directed towards any end product. Fundamentalist Christians, or creationists, believe that the Earth and all life on it was divinely created in its present form, and that species, man in particular, do not change.
Carroll, A. B. (1979). A three-dimensional conceptual model of corporate performance. The Academy of Management Review, 4(4), 497-505. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/257850
Charles Darwin, the Father of Evolution, was a British scientist who laid the foundations of the theory of evolution, transforming the thinking of the entire world about the living things around us (Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882)). After working on his theory for nearly 20 years, he published On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection in 1859. As soon as the book was released, the controversy began with each sides gaining followers until the climax on July 10, 1925. The idea that animals could “evolve” and change into new species, including humans, was one that challenged not only how people thought about the natural world, but challenged the story of the creation from the Bible itself. Even though Darwin himself never said that humans “evolved” from apes, everyone took it as a logical extension of his new theory. It went against the idea of argument for design that had unified theology and science for decades (Moran 5). This new threat to Christianity and the social culture of the time was one that would transform state laws on their educational curriculum.
In the novel Night, by Elie Wiesal presents the readers with many theme’s throughout the long journey of Elie, and his miraculous survival of one of the toughest experiences known to man. The major theme throughout the whole story is Elie’s struggle to maintain any sort of faith in god or a god like figure. As we meet Elie in the beginning, we see that God is a constant in this young boys life. He even stated “Why did I pray? . . . Why did I live? Why did I breathe?” (Wiesal) Here we see that there is no second guessing his faith in god and how strong it was. But after few experiences during the Holocaust it becomes apparent that his “faith” in god seems to be lessoning day after day. After his first days in the camps, Elie wonders how God could make life this terrible for people. The cruelty he witnessed and the hardships he fought made an impact on his faith and beliefs. Questioning is fundamental to the idea of faith and belief in God. The Holocaust forced Elie to ask terrible questions about good and evil and about whether God really does exists. But just him asking these questions shows his true belief in God. So Elie questioned whether he really was faithful to God, but as he did this, he soon realized questioning belief makes him know God is really there.
In the memoir, Night, author Elie Wiesel portrays the dehumanization of individuals and its lasting result in a loss of faith in God. Throughout the Holocaust, Jews were doggedly treated with disrespect and inhumanity. As more cruelty was bestowed upon them, the lower their flame of hope and faith became as they began turning on each other and focused on self preservation over family and friends. The flame within them never completely died, but rather stayed kindling throughout the journey until finally it stood flickering and idle at the eventual halt of this seemingly never-ending nightmare. Elie depicts the perpetuation of violence that crops up with the Jews by teaching of the loss in belief of a higher power from devout to doubt they endure.
... loses belief in God and religion include: the cruelty and evil that Eliezer has to witness at the German concentration camps, the selfishness that he observes from people on his journey, and the loses he faces due to the war. Therefore, Wiesel has tried to portray Eliezer’s struggle to maintain belief in God, as one of the key themes in the novel, and has shown that this is one of the significant reasons for the tragedy’s that Eliezer has faced throughout his journey of the holocaust.
...very day life, from water bottles to pop cans, but many studies have proven it to be a harmful chemical. The most common method of entry into the human system is through oral ingestion, where it remains in the bloodstream until it is metabolized. The chemical was found in almost all humans tested, and higher concentrations were found in children relative to adults. BPA closely resembles the female sex hormone, estradiol, which allows it to cause problems with sexual development and behaviour in both rodents and humans. High concentrations of bisphenol A in both blood and urine have been associated with illnesses such as cancers of the reproductive organs, diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases. Humans are exposed to bisphenol A on a daily basis through products that are still manufactured with this harmful chemical, despite the knowledge of danger to health.
Whitman, Deborah. "Genetically Modified Foods: Harmful or Helpful?". Cambridge Scientific Abstracts. Available online at http://www.csa.com/hottopics/gmfood/overview.html. Accessed November 9, 2003.
Humans are among the many terrestrial mammals affected by the endocrine-disrupting capabilities of bisphenol A. The majority of human exposure comes from consumption of BPA from food products packaged in polycarbonate plastics (Crain et al., 2007). Laboratory studies done on mice indicate that exposure to high concentrations of BPA can cause pregnancy complications, reproductive organ defects, obesity, early puberty, and cancer (reviewed by Flint et al., 2012).
Anyone with even a moderate background in science has heard of Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution. Since the publishing of his book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection in 1859, Darwin’s ideas have been debated by everyone from scientists to theologians to ordinary lay-people. Today, though there is still severe opposition, evolution is regarded as fact by most of the scientific community and Darwin’s book remains one of the most influential ever written.
Some people may think that the chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) doesn’t have any harmful effects to their body after being exposed to the chemical, but Bisphenol A is very harmful to the hormones, brain, behavior and heart, and can also cause cancer.
“Genetically modified foods are a "Pandora's box" of known and unknown risks to humans and the environment. They have been forced onto the American public by multinational biotech and agribusiness corporations without adequate oversight and regulation by the United States government (Driscoll, SallyMorley, David C).”Genetically Modified Food is food which has been chemically altered by scientists during the production process to give the food more nutrients, better appearance, and a longer shelf-life (Rich, Alex K.Warhol, Tom). The importance of this issue is that these GMO’s can actually have a negative effect in our society in general. It could mutate in a negative way and cause cancer or other diseases. Genetically modified food should be strictly controlled due to its various detrimental effects on the environment, human health, and potentially insect/animal effects.
The name Buddhism comes from the word "budhi" which means "to wake up." This philosophy originated from the life of a man named Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha. “At his naming ceremony, priests foretold that his life could go in one of two directions”( Molloy 125). He would either follow his father's footsteps and become a world ruler or he would become a spiritual leader, if he got exposed to the sight of suffering. As Siddhartha grew, his father kept him away from all the suffering of the outside world. He got educated and trained inside a luxurious palace, preparing to eventually become the ruler his father wanted him to be. All was going as planned until Siddhartha decide to visit a town close to his palace without...
Endocrine disruptors that are used in building materials and electronics, such as: polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs), phthalates (PAEs), and polybrominated biphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have been linked to a substantial increase in risk for breast cancer with extended exposure. Their presence in building materials and electronic equipment allow for all people to experience this extended exposure, as well as run the risk for a higher exposure in the event of a fire. The proposed policy will limit public exposure to these endocrine disruptors and in doing so, lower the risk of breast cancer by a noticeable
Boyers, Lindsay. "Genetically Modified Foods." SF chronicle [San Francisco] 03 03 2013, Demand Media n. pag. Print.