Personal And Educational Background Of The Great Otis Moss IIi, D. Min

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:

Especially within a society such as ours, which distorts love into lust, the ability to recognize and display the gift of love is essential. Selfish love, which is so inherent to humanity, inhibits God from acting in our lives, blinding us from experiencing His presence and eternal joy. It is so easy to look for pleasure and love in self satisfaction. However, the path to lasting happiness is not found through instant gratifications, but in the grueling practice of living a life full of

Christians today need to grow in love and to show that love through concern and service for the well-being of others. We need to put the care and well-being of others above our care and concern for ourselves. We need to love all people, not just the ones that are like us, or that are nice, or that can help us get what we want. This love for people will reflect God’s love for all people which He made clear by His laws in the Old Testament and the sacrificial death of Christ for our sins in the New Testament.

This sermon provokes the one who has had their own hearts weaken to seek holiness from the transformation of love. Wesley desires every Christian to attain the status of perfect love, where the love of God and neighbor would reign in their hearts. As evidence he quotes St. Paul, “Earnestly desire the higher gifts, and I will show unto you a more excellent way.” (The More Excellent Way,

The idea of universal love is one that is prevalent in the media. With the news filled with grim stories and horror many people are calling to the idea of loving everyone. Tensions are high concerning race relations, gender discrimination, and sexual orientation. Many in the general public are calling for humanity to embrace humanity. Many in the general public are asking “why we can’t just love one another”? Stephen T. Asma tackles this idea of love in his article published in the New York Times. Asma discusses two different ideas about universal love before offering his own take on the subject. Just as Asma states, universal love is a myth and closer personal relationships should be favored.

In the bible it says to ‘love one another as I have loved you’ in John13:34 and Proverbs3:3 ‘Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favour and good success in the sight of God and man’. If we analyse the verses we realise that firstly if we loved people as God loved us, we would want a just world, we would care for them and do everything in our power to help them. Mike demonstrates this in the way he genuinely wanted to assist the hopeless ladies in the pro bono case. Harvey only seemed interested in the money.

Divorce is the legal severing of marital bonds and is on the rise in North America. In 2011, divorce in Blacks or African Americans is at an all-time high. Divorce has many implications for a society. If current trends continue, researches postulated that if African American children were not born outside of wedlock, the African American population would fail to reproduce itself and would rapidly die off. Blacks who are married live longer, are wealthier, happier, and choose healthy behaviors compared to Blacks who are divorced. Many Blacks living in the South or the “Bible Belt” of America profess faith in Christ or other spiritual connections, are often frequent

By acknowledging each individual’s status as a child of God, the damning effects of fear, deception, and hatred can be eradicated by the powerful love of Christ. For Thurman, the true spirit of Christian relationships rests in the ability to love one’s enemies. Although this specific teaching is not new or unique, its application to Christian relationships (especially between the “disinherited” and the “privileged”) is extremely pertinent. Enmity between two individuals or two groups of individuals causes a physical and spiritual disunion that obstructs the individual’s ability to experience the power of Christ. Therefore, I must resolve to always demonstrate an attitude of love toward my enemies in order to preserve the unity that is so vital to genuine spiritual experience. Ultimately, I found Howard Thurman’s theory on the “disinherited” to be both logically valid and extremely thought provoking. In truth, I experienced a deeper engagement with Thurman’s ideas than any other spiritual practitioner that I have explored thus far this semester. This study has caused me to reflect on my own status as a “privileged” individual, realize my need to identify with the “disinherited,” and remember to demonstrate love to my

He was a son to Otis Redding Sr. who worked at Robins Air Force Base as a part-time preacher (“Otis...Facts”). His mother was Fannie Roseman Redding (“Otis...Find”). Redding moved with his family at the age of five to Macon, Georgia into the Tindal Heights Housing Projects (“Otis… History”). While his family was in Macon, Redding joined the choir at Vineville Baptist Church (“About-Otis”). This is where he sang in the gospel and played the piano

shortly after he decided to attend Union Theological Seminary, New York City where his seed of psychology bloomed like a spring flower. He later on felt that he grew away from Seminary and left after two years of attendance. Carl then found himself at Columbia University's Teachers College where he obtained his M.A and Ph.D degrees. Carl Rogers was an independent, enthusiastic man. As a farm boy he became infatuated with agriculture and science, but neither matched his love for the understanding of human beings.

A View of the Woods, by Flannery O'Connor, displays a conflict between Mary Fortune Pitts and her grandpa, Mark Fortune. In the story, Mary embodies the culture of life by standing in solidarity with nature and her father, even though he beats her. On the contrary, her grandpa dwells in the culture of death by discriminating against the Pitts family and destroying the nature they value. The Lord mercifully offers redemption to the grandpa, but his unwillingness to die to himself and immerse himself in the water is a sign of rejecting God's mercy because he was too proud. Mary embodies the culture of life and resists her grandpa's call for efficiency and progress by respecting the beauty the woods and the dignity of her family, unlike her grandpa

In troubled times, it is simple for one to abandon all the aspects that make them human: compassion, self worth, and humor. If the goal is to make life temporarily more withstandable, then it can be easy to cast away all of one’s ideals. Yet, when love is present it helps push us on the path consistent with our values. Such love is present in the relationship between the

Links of Love and Justice - Love of neighbour is an absolute demand for justice, because charity must manifest itself in actions and structures that respect human dignity, protect human rights and facilitate human development. To promote justice is to transform structures that block love.

In the future this quote will continue to inspire me, within my ministry, to love others according to the unconditional love of Jesus. Rather than assuming that I understand their situation and intentions, I can show them love and walk them through how they can bring about life change by aligning their lifestyle with the teaching of scripture. Too often we, as Christians, treat our influence as “this little light of mine,” when, in actuality, we are the light of the

The two-fold commandment of love translates into working for the common good; working for the common good is service.