Cloister Walk Essays - Asceticism, Kathleen Norris, Nun, Celibacy

Cloister Walk In The Cloister Walk, American poet Kathleen Norris takes the reader through her experiences with life in a Benedictine monastery. She writes 75 short tales, each one dealing with a different observation.. One thing that appealed to me about this book is that Kathleen Norris isn't a catholic, nor is she very into church. Her experiences at the monastery help her better understand herself, as well as others. This paper will attempt to link my experiences with those of Kathleen Norris's and the Catholic Tradition. Kathleen Norris moves into the St. John's monastery and her book is based on her nine months there. She has a very poetic personality, and goes to the monastery in search of expanding her mind. She doesn't expect to find religious knowledge or to improve her relationship with God. "The monastic life," she says, "has this in common with the artistic one: both are attempts to pay close attention to objects, events, and natural phenomena that otherwise would get chewed up in the daily grind." There are a few main topics with which she pays special attention too, those of celibacy, community living, the liturgy, and time. Each of these topics relates very nicely to my experiences here at Notre Dame, as well as to different aspects of the catholic tradition. Norris has this to say about celibacy. "Celebate people have taught me that celibacy, practiced rightly, does indeed have something valuable to say to the rest of us. Specifically, they have helped me better appreciate both the nature of friendship, and what it means to be married." Although I cannot relate to the marriage aspect of this statement, I can relate to the friendship part. For 19 years of my life, I chose to remain celebate. The friendships that I formed in this time with members of the female sex have been very powerful. I can honestly say that I have experienced love without the physical part of my relationships being present. The perfect example of this is my best friend at Notre Dame. We can sit and talk all night long about absolutely anything, and we both know each other as well as ourselves. We help each other cope with the hard times, especially as of late, she has been at my side supporting and loving me the entire way. Should something physical step in the way of this at this point in time, I think that our friendship would be altered for the worst. This all relates to the Catholic tradition of remaining celebate until marriage. The reason the Catholic church does this is so people learn to develop emotional ties rather than physical ones. Should I ever marry this girl, it won't matter if there isn't any physical attraction because the emotional bond between us is so strong that we could most likely deal with anything. When Norris says "they(celebate people) have something valuable to say to the rest of us," she is putting the catholic church's feelings on the issue into layman's terms. Communal living is another topic that Norris has an opinion about. While she was living in the monastery, she was amazed at how the monks were all so diverse, yet they managed to get along well. As one monk told Norris "our biggest problem is that each man here had a mother who fried potatoes in a different way." Norris talks about how beneficial it was for her to live among such a diversified group of people because she learned to accept diversity. This is especially important here at Notre Dame. In my dorm room alone I have a roommate originally from Mexico, a roommate from Seattle, and a roommate from South America. Three different languages are spoken in my room and before this year I had never met two of my roommates. This has been my most gratifying year though in regards to learning to understand different types of people. Living with all different types of people for the past two and a half years has been a great experience and has helped me to grow as a person. I had to learn to take individual differences into account in order to live happily in the dorm. Catholics are taught the importance of friendship and understanding...something that communal living definately endorses. I feel the same way that Norris does when she says that she has grown as an individual simply through living with other people. The next topic that Norris talks about deals with that of the liturgy. Norris, being very poetic

Crocodile Physics Essays - Electromagnetic Radiation, Free Essays

Crocodile Physics Essays - Electromagnetic Radiation, Free Essays Crocodile Physics Crocodile Physics Crocodile Physics is like a well-stocked physics lab where you can experiment to your hearts content. Covering many syllabus topics, here is the hardware flattened for the small screen. There are masses, trolleys, lenses and electronic components to assemble, experiment and take measurements with. You can swing pendulums, change gravity, change angle of ramps to learn about forces. Excellent are the optics tools which let you split light into its colours with a prism and see how fibre optics transmit light. A section on eye defects, where you increase the focal length of a spectacle lens and see what that does to the light rays will make an awesome teaching tool. Though it comes with worksheets, those with time to spare can use it to create impressive interactive tutorials. Crocodile Physics has been developed from Crocodile Clips 3, the acclaimed High School Physics simulator used in over 35 countries and recommended by governments worldwide. It's a simulator for Middle and High school and college physics courses. Crocodile Physics includes a powerful optics simulator, with a range of components including lenses, prisms, mirrors and light sources.You can set the wavelength of the light being emitted from your source, and choose parallel beams, diverging beams or rays. You can also set the dimensions of the source. Crocodile Physics contains a full range of electrical components. Every school subject area is covered: from the basic batteries, bulbs and switches - which are also given in pictorial form, to help understanding of the first principles - to more advanced logic gates, integrated circuits and semiconductors. A vast component library gives you the freedom to experiment in a way that suits your teaching, and allows interested students to explore the subject more deeply. One of the key features which marks Crocodile Physics out from other teaching software is the Integrated Multimedia Editor. This allows you to alter our activities to suit your needs, or to write your own from scratch. The simulation is mathematically accurate, allowing you to test designs and explore the laws of Physics. Most component values can be changed at will. Crocodile Physics comes complete with over 100 interactive on-screen lessons, covering a range of subjects in electricity, electronics, optics, mechanics, dynamics and sound. They combine full simulation with information, questions and answers. It's easy to integrate them into Bibliography Not available

Green Sea Turtles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Green Sea Turtles - Essay Example Last section is regarding their predators and threats. The report is summarized in a concluding paragraph and APA referencing style has been used properly both for in-text citation and referencing. Introduction Green sea turtles, or honu (pronounced hoe'-new), are those reptiles whose ancestors, around 150 million years ago, were known to have evolved on land and then moved to sea. These turtles are one of the oldest species which has seen the evolution and extinction of dinosaurs. It is important to describe here the biological classification of green sea turtles. Kingdom Anamalia Phylum Chordata (vertebrates) Class Reptilia (reptiles) Order Chelonia (turtles and tortoises) Family Cheloniidae (true sea turtles) Genus Chelonia Species mydas sub-species aggazizi (Hawaiian population) Structural Traits Green sea turtles possess all the traits of reptiles and the other species of sea turtles. They are cold blooded animals, meaning that they change their body temperature according to the environment or, in other words, take body heat from the environment. They breathe air and have scales on their bodies like many other reptiles. They have got their name because of the color of their body fat which is green. This green color is because of the algae or limu that they eat. An adult green sea turtle weighs over 500 pounds. Like all other turtle species, green sea turtles possess a hard and bony outer structure called shell whose function is to provide protection to the turtle from predators. This hard shell covers both the dorsal and the ventral part of the turtle’s body and is known to be the hardest and an exceedingly developed weapon that any vertebrate can ever possess.

Plant and People Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Plant and People - Term Paper Example Opium poppy has both negative and positive effects of opium poppy upon human society (Chouvy, 2010). The negative effects of opium poppy include terrorism, wars, international politics, crime, addiction and dependence, health problems, and negative economic issues, and the positive effects include the manufacture of drugs and for homeopathy. Negative effects of opium poppy Terrorism Opium poppy is the source of opium, which is a narcotic drug. Narcotic drugs are illegal in most countries across the world (United Nations, 2009). Therefore, many countries consider the trading of narcotics as illegal and take actions against those individuals who take part in drug trafficking. However, violence, corruption, and subversion have increasingly impeded the international narcotics control efforts. Violence increases when efforts begin to have an effect on the trafficking operations (Davids, 2002). Various countries have put more effort towards identifying those groups and individuals who atte mpt to undermine the struggle against trafficking of narcotics. Such groups can include those groups, which finance their terrorist actions through profits they acquire from the narcotics trade; groups that actively engage themselves in narcotics trafficking and use terrorist activities to sustain or enhance their positions; and groups that the narcotics traffickers organize randomly to resort to terrorist activities and violence to enhance and protect their criminal enterprise. Most of the countries that produce narcotics have political insurgents, who quite often use terrorist techniques and have become involved indirectly or directly with production and trafficking of narcotics (Davids, 2002). There are close relationships between narcotics trafficking, terrorist groups, and arms smuggling, especially in the Middle East. According to Davids (2002), there is some evidence of state-sponsored trafficking of narcotics. In a few cases, the further evidence is that some of the communis t nations have engaged to some extent in facilitating the trafficking of narcotics. Terrorism refers to the use of violence or threats to apply violence as a political weapon to attain control, to influence government policy, or to destabilize and overthrow governments (Davids, 2002). The legal definition of terrorism may not be precise in describing narcotics traffickers and their organizations. However, the tactics they employ at times are equal to, or exceed those tactics that terrorist organizations use. Most of the groups involved with narcotics production or trafficking do not meet the traditional or legal definitions of "terrorists" or "insurgents," the fact is that the use of planned, high-threat, sophisticated violence to accomplish their goals, even without a political agenda, is terrorism (Davids, 2002). Furthermore, the increasing use of violence against international narcotics control efforts, irrespective of the source as well as the dealing in narcotics for firearms a nd the financing of political insurgencies and terrorists through illegal narcotics activities, pose grievous threats to the national security of the narcotics producing countries and to the prospects for effective international narcotics control. Prostitution, Robbery, and Thievery The incidents of

Rogerian Argument Essay Example for Free

Rogerian Argument Essay The poem â€Å"Sex Without Love† by Sharon Olds is as controversial as the topic itself. The author describing the phenomenon that has become pervasive in modern life could not refrain from taking a stand on the issue, and this position can be either supported or refuted by the audience. When so many people are motivated by the contemporary American culture to engage in sexual intercourse without the trappings of love or even simple emotional attachment, it is interesting to review the poem dedicated to this situation and sort out issues covered in it. Doing so will help one tread with more confidence in the complex realm of human communication. Besides, it is even more interesting since Olds is the kind of poet who does not shun provocative topics and is not afraid to show her intimate life to the public. In analyzing the poem, we will try to understand whether Olds’ poem is a humanistic glorification of the body or a disgusting description that satisfies bad tastes. The latter view of Olds’ poetry is taken by William Logan. In his article â€Å"No Mercy† published in the journal New Criterion in December 1999, he indeed takes no mercy on Sharon Olds’ works and their artistic value. Perhaps the only positive trait Logan finds about Olds’ poetry is its spontaneity and unexpectedness of the next line that in itself should be applauded in the world of literature. However, Logan is disgusted by the sensual images that constantly surface in the poems and repel him with their openness. Therefore, he states that reading through Olds’ â€Å"hell-for-leather hubris you never know whats coming next, but youre sure its going to be a disaster† (Logan 1999:60). In short, Logan believes her work to be â€Å"shameless prose chopped up into lines of poetry, lurid as a tabloid† (Logan 1999:60). As such, he sees Olds’ work as a response to the society in our times constantly demanding from poets more descriptions of sexual lurid scenes, empty of any meaningful human emotions, and Olds is a vivid example of this trend. However, Logan takes care to dismantle the value of the poetess’ work on the grounds on which she seems to him to advance – the radicalism in the portrayal of sexual scenes. Olds to Logan ism despite her attempts to pass herself as a radical, â€Å"a homely Redbook moralist, believing in motherhood, family, and honey on her nipples† (Logan 1999:60). Thus, this view of Olds’ poetry proclaims her tasteless and lacking radicalism, totally denigrating her work and making it look worthless. There is, however, a different perception of Olds’ poetry, and in particular the poem â€Å"Sex Without Love†. To me, in particular, this poem presents an image that is rich in imagery, metaphors, and perceptive comparisons. This imagery comes out in comparisons that liken the participants of the act in turn to dancers, ice-skaters, and children at birth. The latter, true, is a somewhat brutal simile, but it is so to only some people who think that newborns are not particularly good-looking, while to others a newborn is as beautiful as anybody, being part of the life cycle. The first two comparisons, â€Å"beautiful as dancers† and â€Å"gliding over each other like ice-skaters† seem suitable for any taste, reinforcing the opinion that sexual intercourse, like any natural human action, is not disgusting, but beautiful and elegant (Olds). The poem also introduces an interesting perception of sexual intercourse, interpreting it in its own terms. It is unusual to someone who was brought up with the conviction that sex is pure and acceptable only when it is justified by love and preferably by marriage. In our society, love at one point came to serve as a convenient way to justify why people had sex outside of marriage. Therefore, with time it became almost as sacred as marriage itself. Olds takes love off its pedestal and proclaims that those who choose to have sex without it are â€Å"the true religious, the purists, the pros† (Olds). Those are the people who will not accept a false Messiah, love the priest instead of the God. They do not mistake the lover for their own pleasure (Olds). It seems that in this context sex for its own sake becomes the new norm, and love is something like a deviation from this norm. Many people can dispute this perception, but it is certain that each person can have one’s own viewpoint on these matters. In any case, the fact that Olds raises the issue and supports it with bright poetic images makes this poem worth attention. The value of Sharon Olds’ poem is also appreciated in the Free-written Comprehension of Sex Without Love available from the Richard Stockton College of NJ website. Also noting the strong imagery of the poem, the writer also adds that â€Å"the images are here not for enjoyment, but rather to exhibit the reality of the action† (Richard Stockton College). Besides, the interpretation also emphasizes the fact that, like in many pieces of poetry, Olds does not draw the ready-made conclusion that she wants the reader to follow. In fact, she allows several explanations and has the reader make the guessing on his or her own. So is Sharon Olds a lurid author who enjoys portraying sexual scenes with all the possible details or a philosopher who introduces a new opinion, supported with adequate imagery? It feels that the answer can lie somewhere in between. Returning to the denigrating opinion stated by William Logan in his article, one can see that this argument covers the whole poetry. â€Å"Sex Without Love†, compared to other poems by Olds, is relatively more Puritan in its imagery and does not use many shocking details. The emphasis is on the process as a whole, and the author uses broad metaphorical images like ice-skaters or runners to convey broader similarities. Abstaining from talking about details like her labia or other body parts that she mentions in other poems, Olds appears more appealing to a broad audience of people with different backgrounds and views, many of whom may be alienated by more naturalistic images. By the way, talking about the imagery in Olds’ poetry, Logan admits that â€Å"Aristotle would have loved her metaphors, her anatomy lessons† (Logan 1999:60). In â€Å"Sex Without Love†, Olds is at her best with building her imagery that serves to convey her message. Her images become a powerful tool for showing the event from new and new angles, creating the effect of unexpectedness noted by Logan. Most interestingly, there is a viewpoint supported by Free-written Comprehension of Sex Without Love and differing from my initial perceptions: that in the poem, Olds does not at all support the idea of meaningless, thoughtless sex without emotions, and that in fact she is disgusted by it as much as her more conservative audience. The latter view is grounded in the final part of the poem where Olds compares her lovers to runners: they are like great runners: they know they are alone with the road surface, the cold, the wind, the fit of their shoes, their over-all cardio- vascular healthjust factors, like the partner in the bed, and not the truth, which is the single body alone in the universe against its own best time. (Olds) It can be claimed that â€Å"stating that the people in bed together are just meager factors of life strongly indicates that there is distaste for sex without love† (Richard Stockton College). Speaking of cardio-vascular health as one of the factors, Olds expresses her sadness over such act of love that does not include any emotional attachment between the two. Even though on the surface, she claims that she admires sex without love, in fact she is repelled by it, as shown in her images. After deliberation, I agree that Olds’ poem should perhaps be read in a different sense – disputing the value and attraction of sex without emotion. Using this time less naturalistic images, Olds displays her strengths with metaphors by creating an unforgettable picture of the two runners rushing along a meaningless path of factors. In this poem, she may not be savoring the details of lurid sexual pictures. Instead, Olds puts in her poem a deep spiritual meaning that reiterates the old human value of love, attachment, and care. In this sense, she may indeed by lacking radicalism, but instead of this she professes values close to many in her audience. Works Cited Logan, William. â€Å"No Mercy.† New Criterion 18.4 (December 1999): 60. Olds, Sharon. Sex Without Love. 24 June 2002. 17 April 2006 http://plagiarist.com/poetry/4922. Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. Free-written Comprehension of Sex Without Love. 17 April 2006 http:///thebalance/stories/storyReader$9.

Puritan History :: essays research papers

in the 17th century some Puritan groups separated from the Church of England. Among these were the Pilgrims, who in 1620 founded Plymouth Colony. Ten years later, under the auspices of the Massachusetts Bay Company, the first major Puritan migration to New England took place. The Puritans brought strong religious impulses to bear in all colonies north of Virginia, but New England was their stronghold, and the Congregationalist churches established there were able to perpetuate their viewpoint about a Christian society for more than 200 years. Richard Mather and John Cotton provided clerical leadership in the dominant Puritan colony planted on Massachusetts Bay. Thomas Hooker was an example of those who settled new areas farther west according to traditional Puritan standards. Even though he broke with the authorities of the Massachusetts colony over questions of religious freedom, Roger Williams was also a true Puritan in his zeal for personal godliness and doctrinal correctness. Most of these men held ideas in the mainstream of Calvinistic thought. In addition to believing in the absolute sovereignty of God, the total depravity of man, and the complete dependence of human beings on divine grace for salvation, they stressed the importance of personal religious experience. These Puritans insisted that they, as God's elect, had the duty to direct national affairs according to God's will as revealed in the Bible. This union of church and state to form a holy commonwealth gave Puritanism direct and exclusive control over most colonial activity until commercial and political changes forced them to relinquish it at the end of the 17th century. Because of its diffuse nature, when Puritanism began to decline in America is difficult to say. Some would hold that it lost its influence in New England by the early 18th century, but Jonathan Edwards and his able disciple Samuel Hopkins revived Puritan thought and kept it alive until 1800. Others would point to the gradual decline in power of Congregationalism, but Presbyterians under the leadership of Jonathan Dickinson and Baptists led by the example of Isaac Backus (1724 - 1806) revitalized Puritan ideals in several denominational forms through the 18th century.

General Epistles Essay

Apparently, the first-century Jewish Christians were having a difficult time in knowing what true religion was. Hence the need for James to pen the following verse; â€Å"Pure, unspoilt religion, in the eyes of God our Father, is this: coming to the help of orphans and widows in their hardships, and keeping oneself uncontaminated by the world† (James 1:27, NJB, 1990). â€Å"Religion is normally understood in terms of cultic obligations, but James has a burning ethical, prophetic interpretation of pure religion† (Painter, J., 2006). True Faith: â€Å"Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?† (James 2:5, NIV) In showing favoritism people judge those who they deem as less valuable by their standards. True Wisdom: In James 3:13-18, James contrasts the wisdom of the world with Godly wisdom. He states that, worldly wisdom, i.e. bitterness, envy and selfish ambition, comes from the enemy. Where on the other hand, Godly wisdom is this, is first â€Å"†¦pure, then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy, and good fruit, impartial and sincere† (James 3:13-18). 1 and 2 Peter Christian Behavior in Suffering: â€Å"Beloved, I implore you as aliens and strangers and exiles [in this world] to abstain from the sensual urges (the evil desires, the passions of the flesh, your lower nature) that wage war against the soul† (1 Peter 2:11, 1987, Amp). By using Christ as the example, Peter, taught the Jewish Christian how to live their lives in the middle of suffering. Danger to Growing Christians: Peter warns the believers of false teachers who would come into their presence and speak lies and devastating heresies. He goes on to say, â€Å"They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you† (2 Peter 2:13) 1, 2, and 3 John Admonition against Antichrists: In 1 John 2:19-26, John admonishes the Gentiles congregations to, â€Å"See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father† (1 John 2:24). John knew that, as long as individuals stay in Christ and do not shrink back, they will see the â€Å"Day of Christ† with much joy. Pride: Diotrephes had fallen into pride by loving himself above all others, refusing to welcome other brothers in the Lord, and he would have nothing to do with the brothers. He was also a, gossip, and stopped those who wanted to do what is right and just. (3 John 9-10) Jude Danger of False Teachers: Because certain individuals whose judgment was written about long ago had covertly snuck in among the church, Jude â€Å"†¦felt compelled to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people† (Jude 3, 4). Responsibility to Fight for Faith: â€Å"But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life† (Jude 20-21). References Callahan, A. D., 2009, Babylon boycott: The Book of Revelation, Retrieved, March 27, 2011, from: http://web.ebscohost.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&hid=104&sid=82d03de1-65f2-4e8e-8c4d-3a8793c9a0fb%40sessionmgr113 Life Application Study Bible New International Version, 2005, New Testament notes and Bible helps, 1986, Copublished by: Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188, USA, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506, USA Niswonger, R. L., 1988, New Testament history, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids Michigan 49530 Painter, J., 2006, James as the First Catholic Epistle, Retrieved, March 26, 2011, from: http://web.ebscohost.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=5&hid=104&sid=39154ae2-54ba-4ba8-9761-087a07496117%40sessionmgr112