Ateneans: Sacrifice Analysis

Within Christian communities, enthusiasm to respond to injustice around the world with compassion continues to increase. Regrettably, well-meaning people who have good intentions but neglect to consider best practice principles are ultimately doing a disservice to the individuals and communities they intended to help. Moreover, a lack of understanding of holistic social action results in dependency and disregards the dignity of the poor. In From the Roots Up, Dr. JoAnn Butrin challenges Christians, both individually and as the larger body of Christ- the church, to respond to injustice thoughtfully and holistically. Butrin (2010) asserts:

Though The Book of Martha is a fictional story, the idea and belief that one’s actions can bring people together is shown throughout our community. In the short story, The Book of Martha, Martha is tasked with coming up with a solution to make humanity better than they currently are. Her solution to this task is unrealistic yet made possible through the power of God. In our community, we see ways in which people come together and contribute to a cause. I asked Father Jesus de la Tapia what

of oppression, understanding the central core of the Gospels as Jesus' identification with the poor

The life and teachings of Jesus Christ call us to work for justice, peace and human rights. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus describes this mission in the following way:

Upon “crashing” each of these waves paved the way for the next. As one reviewer notes: The still abstract recovery of the humanity of Jesus opened the way to a consideration of the concrete history and story of Jesus of Nazareth. Attentiveness to the specific ministry of Jesus led to a new appreciation of the contemporary context and challenge of discipleship. Sensitivity to the actual experience of following Jesus today raised new questions about the meaning of salvation in Christ for the poor, for women, for people of color. The everexpanding encounter of world religions posed anew the issue of Christ as universal savior.10 The third wave, with the view of Jesus as liberator, would give rise to liberation theology. Johnson outlines six basic characteristics of liberation theology: recognition of an oppressed group; action on behalf of justice; our relatedness to one another; use of social analysis; changing the unjust situation and the vision that the reign of God is already arriving.11 Johnson then highlights the three-part method of liberation theology: the oppressive situation is recognized; then the Christian tradition is analyzed for what may have contributed to the tradition and finally the Christian tradition is searched for elements that would yield a new understanding and a new practice that would be liberating.12

Society neglects the ability for humans to see actual truths and purpose in their lives, which makes it easy for them to think about themselves and only want to fulfill their own personal desires. These personal desires are contrary to the teachings of Jesus, which includes loving your neighbor, compassion for others, and the desire to serve. Humans in the words of Pedro Arrupe must, “live not for themselves but for God and his Christ Following the teachings of Jesus” (Arrupe 1). Doing this makes one

Reverend Young addresses Christians about wealth inequality as he states that Jesus cared for the poor and consequently, followers of the faith have an obligation to do the same.

In a world that does not know the Gospel anymore, we must indulge in it, and love our fellow community though they may not share similar values, but find balancing in still remaining in our own values. Though many of times we find ourselves in opposition of the majority of the world, we must exude Christ love onto others as He does to us unconditionally. The author addresses ways in which we are able to live out our faith and still find a place within our community though they may not share similar values.

“I think it is very beautiful for the poor to accept their lot, to share it with the passion of Christ. I think the world is being much helped by the suffering of the poor people.”

In any conception of the human condition, sacrifice inevitably accompanies the choices that life presents. Yet, the definition of sacrifice is ambiguous and relies on individual interpretation: it can be willingly trading lesser possessions for more desirable goals or forcibly relinquishing values. Despite the distinct social contexts and time periods, Jon Krakauer's Into the Wild and Kate Chopin’s The Awakening reflect similar notions of sacrifice through their protagonists, Chris McCandless and Edna Pontellier respectively. Chris McCandless and Edna Pontellier perceive sacrifice as a trade-off between values, where

Protecting the rights and dignity of the poor and oppressed is the most important moral duty of the church.’ Critically evaluate this statement with reference to Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Luther King.

In the society that people live in today is full of violence and destruction from human being and even by the weather that occurs from state to country. When one holds unto their faith in God, and trust that he will pull his people from in-justice to justice and make them true believers. In this essay, as Christians we will be faced with social justice, and how it is compatible with the Gospel of Jesus, how ministries are trying to change the world with more social justice and how it can be compared to the Gospel, how social justice could be the key component of the message of Jesus Christ, and in this essay one will see how social justice is effecting other parts of the world, and how speaking the word of God can be sustainable in other parts of the world. What is Social Justice?

“Spread Love Wherever You Go,” my passion essay, relates to the song “Do Something” by Matthew West. In this song, Matthew West sings about his disgust at different problems in our word such as child slavery and the impoverished. He keeps questioning God, asking him why he is not doing anything about these problems. God then replied, “I did, I created you”.

Through the two main male characters, Algernon and Jack, Wilde seems to be suggesting that, marriage can become such a serious issue that it requires sacrifices. The first ‘sacrifice’ that they are willing to do is to get rid of their ‘imaginary friends’: Bunbury and Ernest. The second one occurs when they come to acknowledge that, in order to marry the women they love, they need to change their name to Ernest and that this can only be done through baptism. The girls see this as a demonstration of ‘self-sacrifice’ and ‘physical courage’ (Wilde, 2008, p. 296), pleasing them enormously and emphasising how serious is for them to achieve the goal of getting marry. This willingness to change their identity, highlights that their desire of getting

We, as human beings, have certain beliefs, ideas, and principles that each and every one of us claim to be true. We also, however, have everything else that comes along with being man, to name a few, concupiscence, death, fear and anger, which we can sum up in the one word “evil”. We, as men, may have a tendency towards evil, but there is still hope, for we also have a desire to do good. Sometimes it is difficult though for a man to distinguish which is good and which is evil. For example, in light of the book The Robe, a man might justify his renouncing Christ as a means of saving his life. We, as Catholics, however, know that it would be a “good” to lose our life for the sake of Christ’s kingdom. Luke 9:24 says, “ For whoever want to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.”We must have courage and trust in Christ to lose our life for Him, for it is no small thing to be a martyr for the sake of His Church. Here, on earth, we are bound by these evils and though we may be considered free, in the sense that we are not enslaved by men, we truly are enslaved by sin and all of the temptations that come with it. We will not be free of this enslavement until we experience true joy and freedom in Heaven, when we are finally in Christ’s presence. As His followers, however, we must spread His Word while we are on earth for the salvation of souls. It works like this: if I told my friend about Jesus, and she proceeded to tell her family and