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’intimations of immortality
The theme of death used in literature
Themes of immortality
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Who is this Death You Speak Of?
According to Alan Loy McGinnis, “there is no more noble occupation in the world than to assist another human being - to help someone succeed.” Piers Anthony, the author of the book On a Pale Horse, seems to agree with that statement when he writes the book series called Incarnations of Immortality, of which On a Pale Horse is the first. This book is a fascinating work of fiction that relates science to magic and expresses that human beings might need a little more help than they expect. The potentially disconcerting view of the world Anthony takes is that there are people assigned to job titles that exist outside of our Earth, and they are the ones who watch over the Earth and its inhabitants to make sure human life goes as it should. In this book, an average man named Zane happens upon a job offer to act as Death, takes the opportunity, and adds more meaning to his life than he has ever had before. Zane encounters a struggle when he has to face Satan, the Incarnation of Evil, and through his work learns that everyone should do what is morally right because it affects us more than we know. On a Pale Horse is an allegorical piece of fiction that uses Greek and Christian beliefs, possibly along with others, in an attempt to teach that everything you do matters, so always do what is right.
When Zane accepts the position of Death, he joins a group of Incarnations who reside in Purgatory, and work together to keep the world running properly. A majority of the names Anthony uses for the jobs have been taken from Greek Gods, Goddesses, and Personifications. Anthony uses these references to mythology to act as an aid to his creation of the characters. The main uses of mythology are as follows: “to answer t...
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Nov. 2013.
Carus, Paul. "The Philosophical Problem of Good and Evil." The History of the Devil: With 350
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"evil". Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press, n.d. Web. 10 November 2013.
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King James Version. Bible Gateway. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
McGinnis, Alan Loy. "Alan Loy McGinnis Quotes." Search Quotes. Searchquotes.com, n.d. Web. 17
Nov. 2013.
Pinchefsky, Carol. "Wizard Oil." Intergalactic Medicine Show. Hatrack River Enterprises, Sept.
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An Analysis of Peter van Inwagen’s The Magnitude, Duration, and Distribution of Evil: a Theodicy
Johnson, Dominic D.P., and Oliver Kruger. "The Good of Wrath: Supernatural Punishment and the Evolution of Cooperation." Political Theology 5.2 (2004): 159-76. Print.
It appears that the problem of evil is a substantial one. While arguments exist that can challenge assumptions of the problem, it sometimes requires some definition contorting and does not answer all the challenges evil presents. The greater good defense presents some key insights into how we must perceive God’s actions but does not completely defend against the presented problems of evil. Therefore, a more plausible defense is needed to eliminate the problems evil creates with the Judeo-Christian concept of God.
Changes in the concept of knowledge are crucial to the development of Faustus. Historically, the Middle Ages supported tenants involving God and religion as the primary sources of knowledge using the Great Chain of Being. This outlines a social and power hierarchy based o religion that organizes all aspects of life and places God at the top (“The Great Chain of Being”). The article “The Great Chain of Being” discusses how “all existing things have their precise place and function in the universe, and to depart from one’s proper pla...
Theodicy juxtaposes evil and God’s ambivalent “all good, all knowing, and ever-present” condition in attempt to explain the reason why bad things happen to good people. Karma, in the other hand, simplifies the complexity of evil’s existence in the world by blaming ourselves for the bad things we have done not only in this, but also in other past lives. This paper will analyze how both theodicy and karma explain the existence of evil. My goal is to stimulate the discussion about karma as a solution to the problem of innocent suffering in the world. This paper argues that Karma is a symptom rather than a target of a capricious God adamant in e...
Another popular argument strongly tied to the mystery of evil revolves around a former Christian, Bart D. Ehrman (2008). Although Ehrman is certainly not the cr...
Landrum, Robert. "Religious Contemplations: The Problem of Evil (The Christian Theodicy)." Religious Contemplations: The Problem of Evil (The Christian Theodicy). N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2014.
In the Victorian Britain there was 88 minors were killed from the start of 1851 to the end of 1851 from many, many different things. I am talking about deaths in Victorian Britain and what I think the deaths mean is that the people who died, died cruelly. There may be some people who die of accidental deaths but most people die of a cruel death. The Victorians viewed death as a sad time because the deaths caused a great deal of sadness and pain to the person's family mates and friends.
Then he proceeded to his larger idea, a universal interpretation of history in terms of the struggle between good and evil. The City of God was in conflict with the Earthly City as well as the City of the Devil. This was the first serious attempt at a philosophy or recap of history. The plan was to have incalculable influence in forming the Western mind on the relations of church and state as well as on the Christian's place in the temporal order. The original City of God contained twenty-two books and fills three regular-sized volumes. Vernon J. Bourke, author of Augustine’s Quest of Wisdom, has skillfully abridged this edition for the intelligent general reader. The heart of this monumental work is now available to a much wider and vast audience.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the brilliant mind behind the 17th century’s epic poem “Faust”, illustrates a combining structure of desire and self-indulgence. His idea was to capture the ideal image of good vs. evil and how easily it can be misconstrued. “Of all the great dualities of hum an experience 'good and evil' have been the most instrumental in shaping the beliefs, rituals, and laws, of Homo Sapiens.”(Argano)
In this paper, the focus shall be a discussion as to whether believing in a supremely perfect deity is compatible or incompatible with natural and moral evil. The discussion shall be guided by the works of both John Hick and J.L. Mackie.
...s Online - Harvard Theological Review - Abstract - The Social History of Satan, the "Intimate Enemy": A Preliminary Sketch. Harvard Theological Review, 1991. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
1) Oxford Readings in Philosophy. The Concept of God. New York: Oxford University press 1987
This essay is a conclusive look at the problems and contradictions underlying a belief in God and the observable traits of the world. This problem is traditionally labelled The Problem of Evil. This essay will be an analysis into the Problem of Evil and a counter rebuttal to objections levied against the Problem of Evil. This analysis will be on the nature of god and the world of evil, the world as a mixed creation, ‘sorting’ into heaven and hell objection, God’s ‘mysterious ways’ objection, the inscrutability of god objection, values presupposing pain objection, inherent contradictions in ‘God’s freewill’ and finally non-human
MacCaffrey, Isabel. "Satan’s Voyage". Modern Critical Views: John Milton . Bloom, Harold, ed. Chelsea House Publishers: New York, 1986.