Essay on Punishment and the Prodigal Son of The Holy Bible

You wouldn’t think a fourteen- or sixteen-year-old boy could hoodwink a father, but he could, he could. Zach lied over trifles, and periodically stole money out of wallets that were left lying around. He started smoking at thirteen, and was into the liquor cabinet by fourteen. At sixteen, he smashed up our car one night after a poker party. Once he dumped Dad’s red tool box, tools and all, in the river, during one of his rages. The tool box seemed to bother Dad more than the car. But afterwards, Zach delivered apologies that would have brought tears to a preacher’s eyes… Zack’d been in Sunday school himself long enough to be able to quote from the parable of the prodigal son on appropriate occasions, and the first twenty-two or so times he did it, he really convinced us when he said he was, ‘no longer worthy to be called thy

When looked at more closely, the younger brother and older brother show an unexpected similarity in their sins throughout the parable of the prodigal son. Keller states in his book The Prodigal God that the goal of this book is to lay the essentials of the gospel, and to either introduce or reassure the message of both this story and the gospel. This parable is thought of as one of the best readings in the Bible to help someone grasp the understanding of God’s

Jonathan Edwards's sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is moving and powerful. His effectiveness as an eighteenth century New England religious leader is rooted in his expansive knowledge of the Bible and human nature, as well as a genuine desire to "awaken" and save as many souls as possible. This sermon, delivered in 1741, exhibits Edwards's skillful use of these tools to persuade his congregation to join him in his Christian beliefs.

The sons character is a symbol of hope to the father throughout the novel. In the father’s perspective the son is almost described as holy, “if he is not the word of god. god never

In the Bible, the parable of the Lost Son tells the story of how a father’s son “got together all he had, set off for a distant country and [squandered his wealth in wild living]. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. (New International Version Luke 15: 11-32) With nothing to eat, he had no choice but to return to his father in shame. The son was fearful his reputation with his father was ruined, and that he would be forced to work as a slave to his father. However, the father was cheerful he had returned and celebrated with a party. The son’s reputation was not ruined and was instead restored with his

As the story quotes, " 'Mother, what are you doing?' he asked. 'Do not worry, my son,' she answered gently. 'I am just marking the was so you will not get lost returning to the village.' " This quote generally means that the mother and son are very close and they both share a very detailed relationship. The feelings the story bring to the characters is showing how much the characters love and care for each other. But some others characters show different emotions like the young lord, he was very mean and treated most people with no respect. An example would be when the story quotes, " 'Fools!' the lord cried angrily. 'What good is your wisdom if you cannot help me now?' ". This quote shows how the young lord did not have confidence in his wise

Edwards' creative choice of words that he uses describes the power of God and the terrible Hell awaiting sinners. These words easily infiltrate into the minds of his congregation and frighten them beyond belief. These choices of words and his use of such vivid images are mostly successful in their intent, to scare and put fear into his audience. Edwards held his audience locked up with his promises of eternal damnation if proper steps were not taken. The congregation felt the intense impact of his rhetorical strategies and lived on the fear of the power of God. In this way, he was able to keep his followers from sin and away from the fiery pits of Hell.

This week in conversing with my father, we had a very insightful conversation about forgiveness, and sin that is greater than others. Mark (dad), cannot get to a point where he believes that prisoners can be forgiven fully for some of the crimes they have been convicted for. My “soap box” if you will, was taking a stance that all sin is equal in the eyes of our God. His stance was sin is not equal so we should treat the prisoners differently in terms of “they have had their chance and blew it” attitude. The way I explained this to him this very difficult point was to go to the final word of authority; scripture. There is only one unforgivable sin which is blaspheming the Holy Spirit. “And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.”(New

Both passages agree that everyone is full of sin and will one day face their judgements. Jonathan Edwards’s “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” and Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Ministers Black Veil” are effective in their own point of view. Edwards uses second person point of view to “point at” the reader that they’re being the ones read to. Hawthorne uses third person omniscient point of view to show the reader the different sides of what he is writing about. Edwards was more effective with his second person point of view because the reader will feel they’re the ones at fault for the sin when the passage was made 100s of years ago.

what he perceived to be his father’s moral shortcomings, the hypocrisy of his parents’ lifestyle,

Side by side, they had endured the suffering, the blows; they had waited for their ration of bread and they had prayed.” However, the son soon begins to have thoughts of leaving his father to free himself from this burden. Although they have stuck close together for the majority of the journey, having endured continuous inhumane treatment causes the son to exhibit a survival

While numerous teachings Jesus conveyed were challenging, many people believe his call for forgiveness to be extremely difficult to practice. It is not easy to pardon, or even love someone who has betrayed us. These sins people commit against can leave behind scars, and it can take a long time in order for our pain to be healed (Saint Mary’s Bible,1456). Moreover, when we have been wronged, it might be tempting to seek revenge against on the person who has done us wrong, to make him or her hurt as we have been. Additionally, if we do not seek vengeance, we might hold onto feelings directed against that person and well into the future. After we have been wounded in a specific way it is difficult to let our guard down and be vulnerable again

In The Judaeo-Christian Tradition by Jack H. Hexter, the trial of Jesus is addressed in an unorthodox perspective. The trial of Jesus incorporates two trials: the Roman trial and the Jewish trial. In Hexter's book the Roman trial is addressed in great length while the Jewish trial is almost unaddressed. Hexter provides a perspective of the trial of Jesus with only one cause: the charge of sedition, for claiming to be king of the Jews. By using the four gospel texts, Hexter's view is illuminated and we find crucial aspects to the trial that not only counter Hexter's view on the sedition charge but also provide evidence for other important charges. Themes other than the charge of sedition supporting Hexter's perspective include, the

“I’d do some damage, I was sure of it. I’d teach him not to mess with me. I wanted to smack the living shit out of him. Kill him, if I must.” He refused to fall into the same trap and wicked pattern as his father. He was finally going to stand up for himself and create a life for himself and his brother and sister that was not constantly ruled by the glass being half full. He definitely had every right to be mad at his father, since his father was anything but that. However, it was hard to be mad at him when he didn’t even bother to fight back. “Suddenly, he was my father again. And when I knelt down next to him, I was his son.” The father put all the ugly perception behind him and ignored the past, in order to finally emerge with a sober voice. Both the son and the father came to the realization that there might be another way to interpret the story. “Did you know I had a sister once?” This line by the father is presented in such a way that the boy is given a chance to interpret it, form his own opinion, instead of having a negative one shoved down his throat like it was repulsive tasting cough syrup.

In the King James Version of the Bible, there is a parable told called the Prodigal Son. As this story is told in Luke 15:11-32, we are told of a story where a wealthy man has two sons. One son stays behind and decides to work for his father and inherit a good life beside him. The younger son decides he will ask for money from his father, and leave him behind. As time goes on, this son goes out into the world and shortly after, loses all of his money he had received from his father. Because of this, he is ashamed and takes his time on his way back home. But when he eventually does make it home, he is welcomed with open arms to a loving father who could not be any happier to see his son. Although the father is happy to see