Nazarite Vow Research Paper

In the Old Testament, the Israelites were seen as people who failed to listen to God’s commandments. Despite knowing beforehand that they would be punished for their disobedience, they still continued to commit sin. God tried to deter their misbehavior by promising them many blessings, but it worked to no avail. Due to the insubordination of the Israelites, He made sure that the promises He made to them would be withheld and that they would face consequences.

According to History.org, the stele of Naram-Sin is a monument composed of a single column or shaft typically erected to commemorate an important event or person. The Akkadians under Sargon dominated the Sumerians about 2300 BC. Naram-Sin was Sargon's grandson. The god-like Akkadian kings ruled with absolute authority. Naram-Sin's title was "King of the Four Quarters" meaning "Ruler of the World."

"Body Ritual among the Nacirema" is an article by Horace Miner that depicts a group of tribespeople known as the Nacirema, but is referring to Americans, whose cultural beliefs are firmly implanted in the idea that the human body is prone to illness and disfigurement. Miner establishes how the attitudes about the body has a ubiquitous influence on Nacirema society. Accordingly, they spend a significant part of their day in strange ritual activities to refine and elevate conditions of the body by using magical elements. Through a satirical approach, Miner uses this article as a way to describe American culture in a unique way by providing readers an outsider's perspective on American rituals. Miner's purpose in writing this article was to allow the reader to detach themselves and imagine how a foreigner might perceive the activities we deem as normal.

Although he knew what was his mission, Samson did not seem to cooperate with God in fulfilling it. Despite that promiscuous, rebellious, violent and arrogant life style, many verses will tell us that the “Spirit of the lord came upon him” and will win the battle to the expense of Samson’s integrity for the empowerment of God’s Spirit did not necessarily mean that God did endorse his

A fourth teaching of Jesus from chapter 5 verses 33-37 explains that you must not break oaths, and you must obey the vows that were made to the lord. But Jesus explains do not make vows and do not include the words heaven, earth, Jerusalem, and the phrase by my head. Just refer to an easy yes, I will, or no I will not, anything that is not one of those terms are evil.

The author here has mentioned “Shrine”, which in fact, is not a temple or any religious place but rather it is a bathroom and the ritual performed in the shrine are the daily activities that we do in the bathroom. The author has focused on the chest or a box that is built in the wall of the shrine. It refers to the cabinet and the charms and the magical potions in the chest are the medicines. The medicine men and the herbalist, by this, the author means the pharmacists who can understand the labels written outside the medicine bottles. The font under the charm box is the sink where we wash our hands and face with the water from the tap. The water temple of the community is the water tank from where the water is distributed in different houses.

It is human nature to describe one's own culture as the most advanced and most intellectual. Unfortunately, it is also common practice to look down upon the practices of another culture because they are not similar to one's own traditions. The ability to do this can sometimes be a damaging characteristic for society as a whole. Horace Miner realized the implications of egocentric views and wrote a groundbreaking essay to open society's eyes to their biases.

Natawista, an Indian women, was the chief of the Blood tribe of the Blackfoot Confederacy. During her traveling to Fort Union, she met her future husband, Alexander Culbertson, who was the chief of the Fort Union. She and her husband made a big fortune in the fur trade.

He shows he is weak and not ready to lead. (1 Samuel 9:21). Saul even hides when he is supposed to show himself to the Israelites as the chosen King (1 Samuel 11: 22). Although Saul knows that he cannot lead, he has no choice, he has to follow the Lord’s order. At last, God realizes that Saul was indeed not a leader-type person and chooses another person. God must have known that people are not forced to be leaders, but they themselves should be aware of the ability to be leaders.

The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) was created to protect Native artifacts and give proper recognition and ownership to the native tribe or direct descendants of which it is rightfully affiliated with. Cultural items include sacred objects, inherited objects, funerary objects, and human remains. NAGPRA is a federal law passed in 1990 that is used by federal agencies and all museums but is applied to anyone who discovers the listed above artifacts. This Act includes provisions for unclaimed and culturally unidentifiable items on Federal and tribal lands. There are penalties for those who do not comply or who partake in illegal trafficking. NAGPRA authorizes Federal grants to tribes, organizations, and museums to help with the documentation and repatriation of items. There is a Review Committee to monitor the process and facilitate the resolutions for disputes.

While reading about the Nacirema culture, I was very shocked to hear their beliefs, rituals, and way of life. The first thing that stood out to me was the fact that they viewed the body as causing diseases, weakness and ugliness. Never before have I been taught about a culture that views human bodies so negatively. Second, it amazes me how much power the charms and magical potions have on these people. They truly believe that without these "magical potions" and "charms" they would die.Third, the whole "holy-mouth-men" concept baffles my mind. They believe that without these men, their gums would bleed and their teeth fall out. When in reality the "holy-mouth-men" cause the bleeding and take their teeth out. Even when they see these men

Most of the Nacirema travel to the edges of their land during the warm period of the year. They pack their vehicles with large sacks that contain food, drinks, odd-looking tools, and shiny boards. When they arrive to the edges of their land they can see water; lots of it. There are also trillions of really tiny rocks that are between the Nacirema's driving path and the water. When the Nacirema walk on rocks, they feel soft.

By keeping reading this article, I do understand that Nacirema is a tribe with a deep and unique connection with their culture. For example, they have a created a special structure of society for their ritual and ceremony of the human body. Indeed, the Nacirema tribe has a deep believe in their religion, culture and their belief. We understand from this perspective that our diversity makes us certainly different, but connected. For example Horace mentions that Nacirema body cleansing is a must for social recognition, and mouth rituals make them (the Nacirema) more accepted by others. These rituals may look odd to some point of view. In this logic, one may argue that the author emphasizes the fact that diversity acknowledgement can be complex.

Using her powers of seduction and deception, Delilah persistently wore down Samson with her repeated requests, until he finally divulged the crucial information. Having taken the Nazirite vow at birth, Samson had been set apart to God. As part of that vow, his hair was never to be cut.

Covenant making and covenant people have been a part of God’s plan since the beginning of time. In the Old Testament, and with Jesus Christ being just a foreshadow of things to come, covenants often made God and God’s holiness visible (Fehren, 1996). Furthermore, covenants were the vehicles or processes in which God used to institute promises and manage people (Korver, 2015). In the simplest terms, a covenant is an agreement between two or more parties concerning shared responsibilities and privileges, once ratified, covenants cannot be changed in any way, including the parties involved or the covenant provisions (Korver, 2015, p. 29). Covenants, may either be unconditional or conditional. Thus, an unconditional covenant, such as the one offered to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3), requires no conditions to be placed on the recipient (Korver, 2015). Hence, the onus of the Abrahamic covenant was completely on God, and Abraham needed only to accept God’s offer. However, the enjoyment of the blessings made in the Abrahamic Covenant was dependent on how well Abraham and the future nation of Israel adhered to and listened to God’s commands (Merrill, 2006). Therefore, some action was required on behalf of Abraham and Israel to reap the full benefits of God’s blessing. Conditional covenants, such as the Mosaic Covenant (Exodus 19:1-8), requires the recipient to meet certain conditions before enjoying the benefits of the covenant (Korver, 2015). Typically, conditional covenants