Living Religions - Assignment Example

WORLD RELIGIONS Affiliation WORLD RELIGIONS a) There are various arguments that can be made from a Jewish perspective supporting state killing. There are a number of books in the Old Testament of the Bible that support the killing of people. For example, the book of Exodus states that a person who curses his father or mother ought to be killed. The same book also states that a person who does work on the seventh day, a day that has been set apart for the Lord, then he or she needs to be killed. From this book, it is clear that the Bible condones the killing of persons who do not follow the laid down rules and regulations as contained in the Bible. The governor of the State of Confusion is therefore justified for procuring the state killings of offenders in his state. The book of Leviticus equally states that a man involved in an act of adultery with a wife belonging to his neighbor, both the man and that woman should be killed. Adultery is a felony under the Bible who punishment is death. Therefore if the State of Confusion has prescribed felonies whose punishment is death, that capital punishment is justified and legal. This notwithstanding, there are also arguments from the Jewish perspective that oppose state killing. The same book of Leviticus which seems to support killings equally opposes them. The book indicates that anyone who kills a human being shall be put to death. This means that the people who procure state killings should also be killed. With this kind of opposition, no one will be willing to do the state killing if they are aware that they also stand a higher chance of being killed. The book seems to advocate for a justification of a life for a life such that any injury occasioned to any human being should also be the same injury occasioned to the perpetrator. The book therefore clearly opposes death. b) Just like from the Jewish perspective, arguments can also be made from the Christian perspective that oppose state killing. The book of Matthew in the New Statement of the Bible urges people to turn away from their common belief that they should revenge whenever somebody does something wrong to them. It is for example stated that if anyone was to strike you on the right cheek, then you should not strike them back as was the case in the Old Testament. Instead, you should offer them the other cheek also so that they can strike it. Putting in mind this consideration, the governor of the State of Confusion would be urged to stop the state killings. This is because it will not be proper for him to commit a felony in the form of capital punishment in response to a felony committed by the offender. As a religious man, he needs to stop those killings. The book of Genesis also opposes killing. Despite the fact that Cain put to death his brother Abel, the good Lord did not allow him to be equally killed. The governor of this state should therefore make it clear that a person should not be killed simply because they have committed an offence whose punishment is death. This same book however seems to contradict itself and one can be tempted to think that it supports killings. The Lord said categorically that if anyone was to kill Cain, then the person will suffer a sevenfold vengeance. The governor would therefore give a counterargument from this verse. He would for example state that an individual who commits an offence ought to face a punishment surpassing the offence that they committed. c) As the governor of the State of Confusion, I have the power to commute the capital punishment or sign the death warrant. However, I will choose not to commute the same. Being a religious man, it will be against my religious beliefs to endorse the killings of another human being. From the foregoing discussion, it is clear that from the Christian perspective, killing should not be allowed. A person should not be killed just because they have committed an offence. Better modes of punishment should instead be established instead of condoning state killings. The book of Matthew has been an eye-opener and from it I have been able to learn that it is not proper to endorse the killings of other human beings. I have therefore made a decision that I will neither commute the capital punishment nor sign the death warrant. Even the good Lord in the book of Genesis did not allow Cain to be killed simply because he had killed his brother. On the same magnitude, I will not allow individuals in my state to be killed simply because they have committed felonies whose punishment is death. 2. a) The vision of deity evidenced in the confessional statements of the fundamentals of the protestant evangelism is that divine status is accorded to Christ. This is because it is shown that Christ has the divine status having been born from a virgin. He also has the power to perform miracles. In the Nicene Creed of the Catholic traditions, the vision of deity is accorded to God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. This is simply because this creed proclaims that it is only God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit that people should base their beliefs in. the universalism principles show that the vision of deity is founded on a Holy being. This is because the principles advocated for the spiritual growth in various congregations. b) The understanding of human nature as stated in the fundamentals is that human beings ought to be reconciled with their God from time to time. This is evidenced in the fundamentals by the proclamation of the substitutionary view of atonement. In the Nicene Creed, the understanding of human nature is that the human beings depend entirely on Jesus Christ. This is evidenced from the belief all things were made through the power of Jesus Christ. There is equally a belief that Jesus Christ descended from heaven for the sole purpose of the salvation of human beings. In the universalism principles, the understanding of human nature is that all human beings have a worth that ought to be upheld. This is evidenced by the principle which states that there is an inherent worth and dignity of every person in the world. c) The relationship between human and deity in the fundamentals is one of power. It is shown that the deity has more power as compared to the human. The fundamentals proclaim for example the bodily resurrection of Christ and his literal resurrection. This shows that Christ has power over the humans as a human being can neither resurrect once they are death nor perform miracles. In the Nicene Creed, the relationship between the human and deity is equally one of power. The creed shows that God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are more powerful than the human being. As such, they need to be acknowledged, glorified and worshipped. On the other hand, the human cannot be worshipped and glorified by God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. It is clear that only God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit have magnificent power than the human. In the universalism principles, it can also be said that the relationship of the human and the deity is one of power. The principles state that the human beings are in a constant search for a truth and meaning. This truth and meaning can only be found in the deity. d) The human needs that are met by the vision of the deity in the fundamentals are the eternal living. The fundamentals proclaim the imminent return of Christ. It is believed that when Christ comes back to the world, there shall be no more death and the people will live happily thereafter. Those who had died will also get a chance to be resurrected and to unite with their beloved ones. This therefore means that the need for human beings to have eternal life without any struggles in this world will be met with the imminent return of Christ. In the Nicene Creed, the human needs met by the vision of the deity are the forgiveness of sins. The creed shows that the human beings can obtain the forgiveness of their sins from the Holy Spirit through one baptism. It is with this forgiveness of sins that the human will be able to fulfill their desire of enjoying the life in the world that is expected to come. In the universalism principles, the human needs that are met by the vision of the deity are the respected for all the human beings. This is shown by the principle that indicates the respect for the mutually dependent web of all being of which every person is part of. This will lead to the realization of the other universalism principle which foresees a world of peace, justice and liberty for all human beings. e) In the fundamentals, those who will be repelled by the vision of the deity are the ones who will not be conforming to the proclamations. This kind of persons will not be able to enjoy the benefits that will come with the imminent return of Jesus Christ. In the Nicene Creed, the sinners will be repelled by the vision of the deity. The sinners are the ones who will not have asked for the forgiveness of their sinners through the one baptism. They will die and they will not be a part of the world that is envisioned to come. In the universalism principles, those who will not adhere to the principles will be equally repelled by the vision of the deity. For example, those who will not respect the inherent worth and dignity of the human beings will face dire consequences. In the same magnitude, those who will derail the realization of justice, peace and liberty will equally face dire consequences for the actions. 3. a) A sect is a group of people who are extremists and very dangerous. There extremism nature would arise from matters of religion, politics or even philosophy. Their beliefs in often times are quite different from the majority of the other people in which they belong. The sect beliefs that it is doing the right thing that the world is supposed to do and it has not bothered to do the same. Eric Robert Rudolph for example engaged in terrorist acts as he believed those were the only acts that would end the rates of abortion that were occurring as well as the agendas on abortion. Rudolph even claimed himself to be a Roman Catholic in the fight against abortion and the homosexual agenda. However, this is quite different from the Catholic beliefs. This is because a Catholic would never engage in terrorist acts so as to fight homosexuality and abortion. Baruch Kappel Goldenstein on the other hand killed a great number of Arab Muslims who were in prayer simply because he believed that those Arabs had an agenda to kill the Jews. This is unlike the world that would have performed an investigation into the matter. To him, he believed that he was bringing a quick solution to the issue. He thought if left to religions and the world, the solution would take a long time to come by. Osama bin Laden was the founder of the sect of Al-Qaeda. He took part in various bombings in a number of countries. He also hijacked planes and destroyed them. To him, this was an inspiration from earlier happenings that he had watched. He therefore considered his acts to be justified, contrary to what the world and its religions would believe to be the right thing to do. b) Each of these figures discussed above do not represent the religions of which they claim to be true believers. The Roman Catholic would for example not take part in the acts that Rudolph took part in. all the acts that these figures take part in are to the extreme end. They would obviously not be a representation of a true believer of a religion. c) People assess an entire religion from by its worst case scenario because of the destructive effects that these case scenarios have caused to the world at large. People will therefore tend to lay emphasis on them so as to avoid the occurrence of such in the future. There is however a danger to this approach. The problem is that people may develop negative attitudes towards a religion and not to accept the positive outcomes that can be realized from such a religion. 4. a) The position of gay and lesbian persons that they should be able to marry can find support in the Jewish tradition. The tradition indicates that a person should not do unto their neighbor something that they would not want to be done to them. In equal measure, a person should not deny the gays and lesbians their rights to marry. This is because no one would want their rights to be taken away from them had they been gays or lesbians. The same support can also be gained from the Christian tradition. The book of first Corinthians in the Bible states that it is better for a person to marry than to burn with passion and desire. It will therefore be appropriate to allow the gay and lesbian persons to marry instead of them burning with passion and desire. b) The position that gay and lesbian persons should not marry can equally find its support from both the Christian tradition as well as the Jewish tradition. The book of Genesis states that God made a woman for the man and the man fully acknowledged the woman as his rightful partner. God did not make a man for a man or a woman for a woman. From this book, it will be improper to allow gay and lesbian marriages as God did not ordain such. c) The denial of equal access to marriage by gay and lesbian persons can be reconciled with the second great commandment. The commandment states that we ought to love our neighbors just as we love ourselves. If therefore we love the gay and lesbian persons just as we love ourselves, we should allow them to fulfill their hearts’ desires of marrying. 5. a) It is possible to be a Christian and support the several forms of socialism. Socialism advocates for the general benefit of all the human beings. It foresees a situation whereby all the needs of the people are taken into account and fully addressed (Fisher, 2013). This is the same concept that Jesus Christ advocated for in the Bible. Christ desires that all Christians should take care of the needs of the others. Karl Marx equally considers that socialism leads to the happiness of all the people and the removal of pain. From this analysis, I can rightly conclude that it is possible to be a Christian and at the same time support socialism. The early Christian communities as described by the book of Acts in the Bible indicate that the believers of those times believed that they were one and they possessed everything that they had as a common unit (Fisher, 2013). They were joint tenants to all that they had. This shows that these early Christians practiced both their Christian beliefs as well as upheld socialism. These Christians would sell their belongings and needs just so as to take care of the needs of the less fortunate members of the society. It they were able to balance both Christianity and socialism, I am of the opinion that it is very possible to be a Christian and support the several forms of socialism. I am equally of the opinion that socialism is a virtue of Christianity. All Christians should therefore uphold socialism. The upholding of socialism among these early Christians ensured that there was no needy person among them. in the same vain, if Christians are to uphold the several forms of socialism that are available, then poverty will be eradicated and this will be for the benefit of all. b) The conservative Christian opposition to universal health care is not consistent with the historical pattern of the Christian sense of duty to others found in Matthew’s Gospel and the early Christian pattern of promoting the common good at the expense of the individual good. This is because the needs of the population at large will not be taken care of. It therefore goes against the Gospel of Matthew that advocates that all Christians should mind the needs of their fellow Christians. The taxation that will be occasioned to the citizens so as to develop programs advanced towards the global warming research and the prevention of HIV/AIDS is an idea of socialism. If closely scrutinized, it will be realized that all this is aimed at meeting the health needs of the entire population. Global warming is likely to affect everyone and pulling together of resources is the best way to fight its effects. This is the same thing that the early Christians would have done in order to take care of the needs of the entire population. Reference Fisher, M., P. (2013). Living religions. Pearson Learning Solutions Read More