The Human and the Divine Essay

Malala Yousafzai, 18 year old Nobel Prize winner and women’s rights activist, once exclaimed: “I raise up my voice- not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard...we cannot succeed when half of us are held back”. The idea of speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves is extremely important when it comes to striving for change, so being able to express the needs of marginalized people is a great and awesome power. Yousafzai’s quote specifically connects to women’s rights, therefore it can be used to support the feminist movement seeing as she is advocating for the equality, in treatment and opportunity, of men and women. Feminist beliefs do not only apply to society, but to theology as well, seeing as the teachings of the bible are extremely influential in the day to day lives and values of religious people. The text that I chose to highlight this idea comes from Elizabeth A. Johnson’s book Quest for the Living God, chapter 5 ‘God Acting Womanish’ because it directly connects spirituality and feminism.

“Who do people say that I am?” (Mark 8:27) is one of the most fundamental questions that Jesus asked his disciples. It is a question, from my personal viewpoint, that has a simple answer. Jesus is Lord! Needless to say, there is more to the identity of Jesus, but it is my belief that Jesus is the Messiah, the second person of the Holy Trinity. He is the promised Savior foretold in the Old Testament by the prophets. There is an endless list that gives Jesus titles such as Ruler and King, Master and Teacher, Savior and Christ, but in Acts 2:36 Luke writes, “God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Jesus is the one who went to the Cross to bring humankind forgiveness, redemption, and salvation.

In Ancient Rome, Cicero in On Obligation iterates that the relationship to honor and justice is what creates a functioning civilization. Through this, the Romans began to value human fellowship and community over selfishness. Cicero argues good character is achieved by being just, useful, and honorable. Socially, Cicero states that, “Whatever is honourable is useful, and that nothing is useful which is not honourable.”

The underlying truth behind the existence of humanity is yet to be explained. The field of philosophy concerns itself with trying to offer an astute explanation to understanding the human existence as well as human nature. Yet, there is a blatant irony in humans trying to propose the reasoning behind their own existence. Are humans capable of providing justification of their own existence? Philosophers try to establish a concrete validation of these questions by using concepts of existence, epistemology, and morality. However, not all philosophical schools of thought seamlessly blend together in using these concepts.

In Divine Right’s Trip by Gurney Norman, there are many things happening that not only you shows you but also teaches you various aspects of life. Instead of talking about humor, modernity, ecology, or religion, I am going to talk about the philosophy that is vastly enriched in this novel. Divine Right Davenport starts his journey from Kentucky and travels all over the country in order to find his identity. Even he doesn't realize that his personality is splitting into two identical halves of himself, Divine Right and David Ray. He is Divine Right when he is traveling, and he becomes David Ray when he is not traveling, for example when he is with his family. He sets out on his journey in his 1963’s Volkswagen microbus, Urge. Along the way, he meets several different kinds of people that help Divine Right to some extend. When he first started his quest, he met a girl named Estelle, whom Divine Right liked very much. He invited her to be his traveling companion and maybe a life partner. Divine Right and Estelle cruise along the countryside, helping each other by taking turn driving and sleeping.

Christianity Vs Secular Humanism Name Institution Introduction There are many philosophies that try to explain the concept of humanity. These philosophies are also referred to as worldviews and there are different worldviews that exist in the world which include; Secular Humanism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism (Nelson, 2014). Each worldview is governed by its own philosophy regarding the origin and existence of humanity. In this paper, we shall discuss by comparing and contrasting two worldviews (Christianity and Secular Humanism) through different aspects such as the origin of life and the value of humanity in the two worldviews.

The description “first-born of all creation” speaks of Christ’s pre-existence and also being the first born into this Divine relationship. Christ’s connection with His Father begins with the phrase “the image of the invisible God;” the word “image” meaning a copy or likeness. He is not a creature, but the eternal Creator of all (John 1:10). The reality of one’s sexual heritage elevates a person to a position where the oneness with God’s spirit celebrates with God’s people and for a while we delight in a divine appreciation the ‘Holy Grail’ of one’s being. The mystery of this union with one’s Creator allows God’s people to experience true love at its finest; of romancing and fulfilling one’s destiny of the soul when we encounter “the Grail of the

Throughout the world, many people believe that God created mankind through an unhurried act of free will and with certain ideas in mind. In addition, God already had a clear understanding of what he was creating before humanity existed. However, one could argue that humanity was created with no clear purpose in mind. Therefore, if we were shaped with no clear purpose in mind, why were we created in the first place? Our existence as individuals is eminent, but how we perceive the world around us varies from individual to individual. Whether we were created with a purpose or not, we have to examine the authenticity of our very existence with an existential perspective, where we will then learn how to grasp a better understanding of our purpose. Furthermore, we exist as individuals that are capable of having multiple versions

What is the purpose of life? Why is mankind the way it is? These are questions that have been lingering in philosophers mind since ancient times. A myriad of philopshers have tried seeking answers to these questions. The theory of existentialism has been a debatable topic for centuries.

Cicero was a Roman orator, statesman, lawyer, philosopher, political theorist, poet and much more. He wrote some works reflecting the personal feeling of an emotional and sensitive man. He wanted to understand if what is right and what is advantageous can ever conflict. He concluded that such confronts can only be apparent, never real, and this gives him occasion to reassert the supremacy of moral considerations over all others. His main idea is to address the confusion of what we value and the way things are traditionally done.

Nothing captivates mankind more than the exploration of purpose. Of all the difficulties man faces, the most elusive is defining what it means to be human. It seems that no two philosophers have the same answer, but that does not stop man from seeking one. The philosophy that appears most appropriate for the charge is existentialism, whose primary concern is questioning the purpose for human existence. Two of the most ardent existentialist philosophers are Kierkegaard and Nietzsche. Both see the established idea of man as something to be challenged and overcome. They have attempted to set aside all assumptions and concentrate on defining the reason that man exists in the world. Despite their

Christian belief is unique because we believe that our God is a Triune God. The Bible reveals not only God the Father, but also God the Son and the Holy Spirit. Those three persons are united and undivided. They work together in the human history. As a result, the study of the Son, Jesus Christ and the third person, the Holy Spirit is essential and important when we study Christian theology. Since Jesus is the key figure in Christian or actually in the whole human history, his identity has always been controversial. The first part of this paper will examine the person of Christ, the second person of the Trinity. Then, the focus will switch to the third person of the Three who is the Holy Spirit. The relationship between the Son and the Spirit is always closed and interconnected. We will explore the importance of this relationship and develop some implications based on the understanding of these two persons of the Trinity.

The origin of man’s relationship with the divine extends far back into his evolution – almost certainly farther still than the lifespan of any evidence could suggest. Indeed, religion is considered a cultural universal - where there are people, there is religion. For ancient humanity, religion combated ambiguity about death and deception, provided prosocial constructs that enabled greater cooperation, and generally fell in line with humanities distinctive (and possibly overactive) ability to attribute goals and desires to events – living or not. It was Xenophanes (c. 520) who noted the tendency of gods to be constructed in the likeness of the culture that birthed them. It is not surprising, then, that learning about a culture 's religion can tell you a great deal about how the members see themselves and the world. Although ancient religions such as Hellenism seem a far cry away from today’s prevailing religions, many aspects of modern religions can be traced back across cultures. One of the most interesting of these cultural shifts was the Roman assimilation of Greek culture. While the Greeks revered themselves for their communal government (democracy), their culture still very much praised the individual. The relationship between the gods and the people (particularly heros) suggest that religion is an individual pursuit – resolution is up to a single man to find. In Roman renditions, however, these same gods are depicted as rewarding selflessness – sacrifice for the greater

Let’s skip unnecessary, fluffy language for a moment and delve straight into (what I believe is) the “answer.” It’s arduous and seemingly impossible to grasp what the meaning of existence is because the question itself lacks a solidified foundation of authority. Why is it so important? Because we choose it, or at the very least, choose to assign it to our lives. Meaning is why our species has continued to thrive as long as it has. It yields a divine momentum and a rationalization to keep moving forward: intellectually, physically, and sometimes spiritually. We are creatures with an unbound sense for curiosity, reason, and connecting with those infinite pieces of the universe. Perhaps that is what separates us from other animals; a

With the knowledge that the human form was fit for Jesus, now the focus can shift to the evidence that he was human and his human form was humanizing. Jesus lived a life on earth and suffered like every other person does. As mentioned previously, Jesus experienced temptation by the Devil as seen in Matthew 4. He experienced hunger as seen in Mark 11:12. He experienced weariness as seen in John 4:6, “So Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well” (). He experienced sorrow many times as seen when Lazarus died in John 11 and several other places. He also experience pain and suffering on the cross and he died just as everyone on earth does as well. By every standard Jesus was a human being. He lived and died as everyone else on this planet does. His humanity was humanizing. He was a human being and demonstrated all the characteristics of being one. The only difference is that he was able to live a life without sin. So Jesus’ human nature was in no way dehumanizing; he exhibited every characteristic that humans face and conquered every struggle.