2 Corinthians 5: 17 Analysis

They know all about our religion but we fail to go outside of the box to find out what they believe in and why. We will never be able to win anyone over to Christ if we stay inside the four walls of the Church. Matthew 28:18 says,"therefore go and make disciples of all nations,baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit. (NIV) In conclusion, building a relationship with someone of this worldview is contingent upon the two people who enter into the relationship and their respect for one another; in addition, we must push through all barriers for the sake of Christ because any personal challenge which may present itself to you will be moved out of the way when Christ puts that person in your path to witness

Because she believes in the inexistence of god and meaning of life, Joy exhibits characteristic traits of awareness and fortitude, viewing herself as “nothing” as described when Joy said, “I don’t have illusions. I’m one of those people who see through to nothing” emphasizing her nihilistic belief (673). In the following scene, she demonstrates her confidence in her enlightenment when she said, “‘We are all damned...but some of us have taken off our blindfolds and see that there’s nothing to see. It’s a kind of salvation,” presenting where her fortitude derives from

There are many critical lenses in the English language such as historical, gender identity, and reader response. The critical lens gender identity is prevalent throughout Zora Neale Hurston's novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. This critical lens covers a broad range of topics such as the role of female characters, what the absence or minimal appearance of these characters applies, and whether the characters are viewed in a positive or negative manner. Many of Janie's actions throughout the novel are dictated by men, and her idea of her pear tree love, and by the ideals about men that her grandmother has instilled in her.

Joy is a feeling of great pleasure or happiness. It can be brought through any positive deed. This emotion can be portrayed through characters found in literature. The author, James Hurst, from The Scarlet Ibis represents the feeling of joy through the characters found in this story. In the story, The Scarlet Ibis, Hurst uses diction and figurative language to prove that joy is something that can be brought by faith and determination as it can be rewarding at the end.

“How ironic --- he waged war against the English for ten long years and then died in his bed like anyone else” (Dumas 2). Dantes was speaking to Monsieur Morrel about Captain Leclere’s death. I took a particular liking to this quote because no matter who we are or what we do in life, we all end up in the same place. “Joy sometimes has a strange effect: it can oppress us almost as much as sorrow” (Dumas 18). Dantes said this to Danglars and Caderousse.

I feel that it is more important than ever that we, as believers in Jesus Christ, put it all out there on the line. We should be telling everyone what the saving grace of God can do for them. We already talked last week about when you experience Jesus, you can’t help but love and it is our job to get that word out there to everyone. So why are there so many Christians who don’t do it? In 1991 authors James Patterson and Peter Kim took on the task of surveying America about several different topics. The results were given in their book entitled “The Day America Told the Truth.” In the chapter dealing with America’s religious beliefs they stated that 90% percent of the people questioned said that they believed in God. Yet they also discovered

The King James version bible states in ‘Genesis 1:26-27’ that “Gods image is shared equally by women and men”. ‘Exodus 36:1’ says, “use your skills to honor God”. Despite what the bible seems to be saying, women do not have the same opportunities as men in Christian religious settings. Imagine a woman in the Christian faith who has the qualifications to preach the word of God and the eagerness to serve the Lord. Logically, she should be awarded the job position. However, she is not even considered for that opportunity. In multiple recurring instances, the church congregation has discriminated against women, not allowing them to have the same opportunities as the men in the community. These women are not only discriminated against, but are scoffed at, even penalized for wanting these positions. Women should not be penalized for having faith in the Lord and wanting to share it with others. The bible states how both women and men are equal and are to use the skills they have to honor God. The congregation should not limit these human resources to only men, when highly qualified and respected women are willing and able to serve. Gender discrimination is a problem in Christian Churches because women who are qualified are unable to access jobs, are experiencing emotional stress, and are being penalized for wanting changes within the church.

“I used to worry that computers would become so powerful and sophisticated as to take the place of the human minds,” expresses Lewis Thomas, the author of “The Corner of the Eye” [Thomas, 83]. A large part of Thomas’s fear of computers is due to the fact that “a large enough machine can do all sorts of intelligent things beyond our capacities” [Thomas, 83]. However, computers cannot replace us; he realizes computers cannot do some of the things that we can do, like being human. We like to be equivocal, imaginative, and self-conscious. Computers are the complete opposite of the traits that define us as human; or as Thomas states it, “they are not designed, as we are, for ambiguity” [Thomas, 83]. As witnessed by history, the present, and soon the future, it would be self-evident truth that computers will not take over us or be “us”.

We can just be a testament to what beautiful blessings that we have received by being faithful to the word. Christians need to show the non-believers that there is good that comes out of having faith in the gospel. Once non-believers understand the word and how powerful it is sky’s the limit on the many blessing with one will

In this passage of the second letter to the Corinthians, Paul addresses several concerns. He is addressing the situation of a man who has sinned not only against himself, but against the Corinthian Church as well. He explains why he wrote a letter rather than bringing sorrow upon them. Paul is sensitive to the Lord’s leading, and in love, writes to the church encouraging them to discipline this man in love for the purpose of restoring him. He urges the Corinthians to be obedient and love the man through forgiving and encouraging him. Paul shares with them his trust in the Lord for the outcome of this matter and how burdened he was for restoration to take place. He warns them of the need to not allow Satan a foothold through this

In their fallen nature people seem to naturally be drawn towards things that only bring temporary happiness. All the while God stands by watching people. With open arms he welcomes them, but people miss the point and go to their flesh’s desires. When people run to those things, just like Bilbo and the dwarves, people are disappointed and left in the darkness of failure. When people let the Holy Spirit live in them, He redirects each person into Christ's open arms where they are satisfied and

“It’s so hard to forget pain, but it’s even harder to remember sweetness. We have no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from peace. (- Chuck Palahniuk) There are times in which people feel ecstatic or overjoyed for some reason. We may ask them why but their answer would probably be “because I’m happy”. People might not think about it but we might ask ourselves, what does it mean to be happy. In Macbeth his happiness was to have the throne of his cousin while in Federigo’s Falcon it was to have the woman he loved by his side. In the video, The Science of Happiness, gratitude is what makes us as humans truly happy.

Kinnaman’s assessment of how Christians are perceived by non-Christians should motivate us to go back to the drawing board, analyze ourselves, and put a new plan of action together. Christians should care what outsiders think about them because we are Christ’s ambassadors (Kinnaman, 2007). As noted by Kinnaman (2007), “when outsiders question our motives, it neutralizes their interest in Christianity” (p. 69). Christians should embody love, compassion, patience, forgiveness, and service, among other things and if this is not the case, then, we are clearly misrepresenting the love and the grace of the Father (Kinnaman, 2007). Therefore, we cannot stand aloof from these negative perceptions and pretend there’s nothing wrong.

And in so doing, we also are running from the only possible way to gain that Joy: The reason and faith that have the power to guide us.

Church is an important part of being a Christian. It isn’t about the building or what it looks like, but it is about the community and learning about God. When saying we love Jesus, but hate the church we have to understand that saying this is impossible. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, talks about how Jesus is the head of the church and we are the body. If we hate the church it is like hating the head of the body. People get so involved in what the church may look, whether it has a modern day feel to it or if the building hasn’t changed since they were kids. After being a part of a church for so many years you get comfortable with the surrounds. I found this project interesting because I got to see how different churches worship Jesus. Especially