The Upside Down Kingdom Essay

In this passage, King’s presentation of logos is genius. He effectively shows the clergymen two sides of the community, the one of complacency and the other of hatred and cynicism. In this excerpt he does not attempt

King uses this similarity between himself and great leaders to show that even though the clergymen believe King’s beliefs are

“But the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingship, to possess it forever and ever.” (Dan 7:18)

One of the most well know historical periods of Ancient China is the era of the Three Kingdoms, which records the period to some of the most well-known historical figures, heroes, and their complex yet intriguing relationships. The Three Kingdoms was a period of unrest, and battles which initiated in 220AD, when Wei replaced the Eastern Han Dynasty, and lasted until the reunification of lands in 280AD. Towards the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the emperor was losing power and influence, which led to the inability for Eastern Han to unite the whole land. At the same time, the country was in anarchy as groups of warriors were uprising and rebelling against Eastern Han, proclaiming themselves emperor. However, these powers were too weak to claim

King us the appeal to ethos to let the clergymen know that he is not an “outsider” who is coming in stirring up trouble. The clergymen do not

"We have much to speak of to ourselves, and we hope we shall find the words for it in the days to come. Now, we cannot speak, for we cannot understand." (Page 59)

King then sums up this passage by turning his voice back to the clergymen he's addressing and says, "Then you will understand why we find it difficult to

a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Doc. 1). This is very bluntly saying that there

King’s effort to establish his credibility is widely recognized within his letter to the clergymen. Using King’s opening, he begins with “My Dear Fellow Clergymen:” (1). By starting his letter this way, King places himself among the clergymen without making himself be better or worse than them. If King had started off his letter differently, his appeal to ethos to prove his credibility might not have been as strong. Shortly after, King brings up the level of his status within a widely affiliated leadership group. King

Lower Rungs,” is a “civil religion” that is essential to life in this country (DeParle). Upward

For we must consider that we shall be the City upon a hill. They eyes of all people are upon us, so that if we shall deal falsely with our god in this work we have undertaken, and so cause him to withdraw his present from us, we shall be made a story and a by word through the world. We shall open the mouths of enemies to speak evil of the ways of God, and all professors of God 's

According to the preface in Kraybills The Upside Down Kingdom the main thesis of the book was “ The Kingdom of God announced by Jesus was a new order of things that looked upside down in the midst of Palestinian culture in the first century. More over the Kingdom of God continues to have upside down features as it breaks into diverse cultures around the world today.” The core message in “The Upside Down Kingdom” was not to seek the kingdom of Heaven from above but to also help find salvation of Christ by performing activities that involve compassion/empathy for those who are less fortunate.

You give them something to eat.” (Matthew Ch. 14:16) Christians believe in a final judgment day when God will judge them upon their actions. If they have led a ‘good’ life they will be rewarded with eternity in heaven with God, where as those who led a ‘bad’ life will be punished with an eternity in hell. Jesus speaks of helping the poor because it is what God asks of you and not because you want praise from your fellow men.

Unfortunately, the way that the world functions is that some are better off than others, which is why I value being able to help people. The Bible gives us a difficult challenge – to, as often as possible, stop thinking about ourselves and put the needs of others before our own. While this can be difficult to do because it often involves self-sacrifice, it is always worth any expended effort because, as Jesus said, when we serve our neighbor, we also serve Him. Aiding others in their situations may not always be the “easy way out” or the “cool” thing to do, but that is the beauty of the action – often, there is no better feeling than to lay down all your personal concerns to help somebody else.

Then they continue to the eternal home of the poor man, where the streets become dirt and houses are shrinking in size. They arrive at a shack, where the man of earthly wealth must now reside. The reasoning for the size discrepancy is that the rich man did not send up enough money to build anything better. Though not completely accurate in its teaching, the story conveys the same message of the reading: “what we do with our lives, on this earth, matters. How we live, right now, has eternal consequences.” These statements condemn how we are living our lives in sin and not following the law that God has set for us. Luckily, Pastor Ferguson does not employ the law to tell the congregation the criteria for being “good” people. He rightly tells us what God calls us to do in His word. Pastor continues to say that “what we do with our wealth, all of our wishes, is our witness to a dying world.” God calls us to not be arrogant with our time, talent and treasures. Instead, we must remain humble servants to Christ generous with our wealth. God has sent the perfect example of how to live our lives and use His gifts: