What is Meant by Religion?
A person's religion is his or her set of beliefs about the supernatural which provide meaning, purpose and an overall set of principles to the believer. A common dictionary definition expresses this well: "Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe" (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition).
The relationship of the believer to these beliefs is critical and necessary, as is the supernatural component, most commonly being the belief in God. It is widely popular to use the term religion to denote any and all sets of beliefs, rules, or principles that anyone may use to guide his or her life, but a definition this broad make the word less useful. Terms like `a philosophy' or an `outlook on life' may serve as generic terms to cover all the possible paradigms that people may use in their way of reacting to the world. By substituting the word `religion' to cover all of these, we make the word redundant with the terms that already refer to this, and are left without a useful word when we wish to collectively refer to what are commonly understood to be religions: Christianity, animism, Islam. Often the impulse to broaden the use of the word comes from the assumption that religion is an indispensable component in everyone's life. Anyone who rejects his or her original religion must replace it with something else that serves the same purpose, and whatever that is shall be considered a religion. This is one of the ways that communism becomes defined as a religion in the minds of many, especially since often that belief system appears to share with religion an unreasoning acceptance of dogma. But the f...
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... is that God's grace is a pure gift with no connection to the merit of the receiver. Third is the only cause for salvation is God's grace, and not the activity of the sinner, his good works, in combination with grace.
Luther's conflict with the Church was one of stubborn and bipolar mutual condemnation. The publication and then burning of theses, first by Luther, then by Tetzel in response, and then by Pope Leo X, and so on to the Diet of Worms and Luther's books, is a good model for how this conflict played out. Each side issued ultimatums, which could only be obeyed, or burned. Since these versions of Christianity were developing in a mutually exclusive way, the power of kings and princes became the deciding factor in determining which direction a state or country would go. Everyone had to choose one side, and by so doing, become intolerant of the other.
The court case of Marbury v. Madison (1803) is credited and widely believed to be the creator of the “unprecedented” concept of Judicial Review. John Marshall, the Supreme Court Justice at the time, is lionized as a pioneer of Constitutional justice, but, in the past, was never really recognized as so. What needs to be clarified is that nothing in history is truly unprecedented, and Marbury v. Madison’s modern glorification is merely a product of years of disagreements on the validity of judicial review, fueled by court cases like Eakin v. Raub; John Marshall was also never really recognized in the past as the creator of judicial review, as shown in the case of Dred Scott v. Sanford.
The Great Chief Justice: John Marshall and the Rule of Law by Charles F. Hobson examines the judicial career of John Marshall, as well as the legal culture that helped to shape his political beliefs and his major constitutional opinions. The author sources much of his information from the formal opinions that Marshall issued during his judicial career. From these writings, Hobson presents Marshall 's views on law and government and provides explanations for what in Marshall 's life influenced those beliefs.
The ruling in the Dartmouth v. Woodward case ruled in favor of Dartmouth. It set the notion that a contract is a contract and cannot be changed. The charter created by trustees to form Dartmouth College is considered to be a valid contract and thus protected. John Marshall delivered the decision that “the legislature of a state shall pass not act impairing the obligations of contracts.” This ruling now gives businesses a sense of security. The sense of security by the Supreme Court attracts investors or donors to businesses which generates economic growth for our country. The case Gibbons v. Ogden, expanded opportunities for trade between states and other countries. The Supreme Court ruled that the state of New York could not regulate commerce because it was unconstitutional. Marshall stated that New York’s regulations were “repugnant to the said Constitution and void.” With the restrictions lifted off of commerce, states can now trade between each other without being penalized. The rulings in these cases encouraged economic growth and boosted our
What is religion? Each person’s definition of religion is different. Each person’s faith is different. This is a question that has been asked for centuries, and regardless of the answer given there is no right or wrong answer. Religion can be defined as a group of people who have shared beliefs who feel their life has purpose or meaning. This feeling or belief that their life has meaning can come from outside of themselves, as well as within. Taking this one step further, these shared beliefs put into action in the form of worship, can be easily identified because they happen regularly. It can be said the Primal religions were in fact not religions. Some may argue Confucianism is not a religion. Others may say Taoism is not a religion. However, one argument can be made. All three of these “religions” share “features.” Huston Smith, author of World’s Religions, says “six features of religion appear so regularly as to suggest that their seeds are in the human makeup.” These six features discussed in World’s Religions are as follows: authority, ritual, explanation, tradition, grace, and mystery (World’s, Page 67). First is authority, Smith argues religion is so complex that people will need assistance or guidance from those held in a higher light, or of a higher authority. Next is ritual, which can be happy (a wedding) or sad (a funeral), rituals are shared between people of the same religion in many forms as a sign of common beliefs. Following rituals, some explanation is required. Many of a religion’s followers ask for explanations, some ask, “What is my purpose in life?” Others may ask, “Who is God?” Depending on one’s religion, the questions or
Captain Hammer and Doctor Horrible from Doctor Horrible’s Sing Along Blog are intriguing cases because of their inherent qualities. The character of Captain Hammer is quite easily identifiable as the superhero of the story. He is shown saving people by stopping Doctor Horrible from stealing a van that contained a special power core (Whedon). Through physical characteristics such as his costume and his strong physique, Captain Hammer matches the physical criteria of the role superhero. Also, through his reputation and influence, Captain Hammer repurposes...
North Korea is notorious as the “Hermit Kingdom”. Defensive and secretive to the point of paranoia, its history as well as its present conditions remains shrouded in mystery. What little we do know can be murky at best. The central govern...
Flows, Capital. "Genocide and Crimes of Humanity Ongoing In North Korea." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 24 Nov. 2012. Web. 04 Apr. 2014.
The purpose of this paper is to discuss how Chief Justice John Marshall affected the American Judicial System. The reader will therefore first find a brief biography of John Marshall. Then the paper will explain in detail the origins of the Judicial Power to subsequently...
According to the American Heritage Dictionary, “Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power recognized as the creator and governor of the universe; A particular integrated system of this expression; the spiritual or emotional attitude of one who recognizes the existence of a superhuman power or powers” ("Various Definitions Of Religion", n.d.).
Religion, “part of the human experience that has to do with a god or gods, a higher power, or the ultimate values of life” (Cason & Tillman 6-7), is one of the most controversial and interesting subjects for humanity. It has been around for as long as anyone can recall and they have difference and similarities in their founders, beliefs, and history. Religion has served to give some sort of a meaning to life and everything around it. In modern society, some religions have grown and expanded significantly. These larger religions have been classified as world religions. In addition, these world religions have been split into two categories known as Eastern and Western religion.
According to the American College Dictionary, religion is a noun defined as the quest for the values of the ideal life. This definition is vast and general, allowing for a variety of interpretations by people from all cultures. There is no single path to follow in order to lead an ideal life, only personal beliefs and experiences. Religion is non-finite so there is no way of determining a boundary (Smart, 5). In my quest for a true understanding of what religion is I explored my own traditions and religious beliefs as well as life experiences. Slowly, with the added insight from the text and videos, my own definition of religion has begun to take shape.
The analytic definitions concentrates on the relationship between religion and the cultural context; while the essential definition of religion states that “ a religion is a system of beliefs and behaviors that deals with the relationship between humans and sacred supernatural ”; where the sacred is intended as something worthy of reverence and respect and where the supernatural is intended as something that goes above the natural human world.
Defining Religion The most fundamental question when examining a religion is "what is religion?" That is a distinctly hard question to answer considering that what is ordinarily considered to be religion is not all it is, and what many consider not to be religion may be near religious (i.e. sports). The truth is that there are no genuine answers to the question of "what is religion". Definitions of religion tend to suffer from one of two problems: they are either too narrow and exclude many of the belief systems which most people will agree are religious, or they are too vague and ambiguous, leading one to conclude that just about any and everything is actually a religion.
North Korea’s extremist actions cannot be excused as simply maintaining homeland security. Instead, North Korea has gone and created a dictatorship where citizens are ruthlessly controlled and isolated to avoid the inward or outward spread of facts contrary to the claims of the imperial Kim family. The brainwashing, restrictions on freedom and communication, and exile from the outside world have created a society in which North Korea’s citizens have lost their basic human rights.
Religion is the one element of life that has connected the races and societies of the world for hundreds of years. It has given meaning to lives that may seem otherwise hopeless. Religion has provided for a universal language and culture among those who believe in a higher power. The spirit or being receiving the worship and praise may not be the same, but the practices are usually similar and serve the same purpose--to give direction, insight, courage, and a divine connection.