Themes Of Love, Faith, And Justice Essay

When thinking about the gift offering in the biblical story of Cain and Abel and its impact, one can see many similarities in East of Eden. Cain brought to God “the fruit of the ground” and Abel offered God “the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof” (Gen 4 KJV). God preferred the gift of Abel to the gift of Cain.

One twin creates good and the other creates evil. In the first story, the better natured twin creates anything good. For example, animals for humans to eat and digest. His brother created all natural predators, so that the humans would need to develop skills to feed themselves. “Whatever the good natured twin would do, his brother would scheme some way of altering it.” But in this story, good and evil balance each other like yin-yang. Compared to the Christian story, they don’t. In the Judeo-Christian story, the twins are named Cain and Abel, children of Adam and Eve. Abel kept flocks and Cain worked the soil. One day, Cain offered God some of his fruits from his soil, and Abel offered God fat portions from some of his flock. In Genesis 4, it says, “The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.” After that, Cain told his brother Abel to go out to the field. While they were in the field, Cain attacked Abel and killed him. So in this story, the twins really do nothing for Earth and instead one kills the other brother out of anger. Cain got punished from God for killing his brother, which is a

What is law? Law is a system of rules used to govern a society and control the behaviors of its members. In this case, Martin Luther King is charged for breaking a law. King questions the differences between just and unjust laws to justify his actions in Birmingham and the charges of breaking laws willingly. Defending his willingness to break laws, King argues, “How can you advocate breaking laws and obeying other?” He answers to accusation of his willingness to break laws with a well-written argument of what is just and unjust laws. Martin Luther King uses the definition, the categories, and the implication of the law excellently to answer the charges of breaking laws willingly.

Cain and Abel are the first two sons of Adam and Eve. Cain is the eldest and Abel is the youngest. Cain is described as the tiller of the ground whereas Abel is the keeper of sheep. Both men know that God requires an offering, but the offering of Cain is quite different from that of Abel. Abel fears God, and because of this he offers the best of his flock to the Lord. He kills the animal and makes a sacrifice of blood. Abel understands that the shedding of innocent blood for the forgiveness of sin is acceptable. He also knows that this action of his is representative of surrendering his heart to God. By contrast, Cain brings what he has grown and gathered from the earth. In a way, a foolish man would think

• Writes about James, brother of Jesus, who was called the Christ. Stoned to death in A.D. 62. Pg.78

In Genesis, God interacts with Adam by speaking to him face to face. Whether God was giving out instructions or punishment to Adam and Eve, he was always doing it on a personal level. The usual portrayal of God as an omniscient being is instead replaced as mentor to Adam and Eve who is trying to help them understand their existence. This close relationship is shown even when man does something wrong. The only rule that God gives to Adam is that he must not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Adam and Eve go on to break the singular rule and be punished; but not to the extent most would think. Before partaking of the fruit God says that, "the day that you eat of it you shall die"(Genesis). Instead of dying, Adam and Eve are removed from the garden and go begin their lives. God punishes them for their actions, but also gives clothes and allows them to take the knowledge they have gained from the tree. Even after breaking the one rule that he has set for them, God allowed them to keep the knowledge they gained to begin mankind. This grace towards humanity is shown once again with Adam and Eve's children, Cain and Abel. Cain kills Abel after God accepts Abel's offering and not his own. Even with Cain having killed his own brother, God still does not punish Cain severally; "you will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth"(Genesis). This punishment is especially seen as inadequate as Cain goes on to settle in Nod and have his own family. This mercy by God shows that he was unable to punish humanity even for the most serious of offenses. This lack of punishment shows God's sympathy for mankind because of his close relationship with them. This close relationship stems from God's close bond with mankind because of their similar image and knowledge. This relationship that began as two very similar beings, has further blossomed as God has given great responsibility to

by this and explains, “…if you do not do well, sin is lurking at your

Faith and reason can be viewed as opposites. Faith is an element of belief, something an individual does not necessarily require a reason for accepting without reason. For example, an individual’s reason for believing in God may not seem too rational when they are trying to explain them. They may not even stand up to criticism. On the other hand, reason is constructed as a formula. Faith is basically something we believe in, like something we learn in church. Reason is something we learn in school, such as a math formula.

The term justice is used in some of America's most treasured and valued documents, from the Pledge of Allegiance, to the Constitution, and the Declaration of Independence. Everyone wants to be treated justly whether it's in the courtroom or the local bar. Most people would feel confident giving a definition for justice, but would it be a definition we could universally agree to? Given that justice is a very common term, and something we all want, it's important to have a precise definition. For hundreds of years philosophers have argued, debated, and fought over this topic. Justice can clearly be defined as the intention to conform to truth and fairness. This is true justice.

Arising out recent class discussion topics touching on the ideas of James Cone’s ideas on Liberation Theology and the relationship between the Cross and the Lynching Tree, our group decided to focus the topic of our presentation around Liberation Theology. However, in order to create a counter argument to stimulate further discourse, we introduced the Theology of Prosperity, as an opposing theological concept, to our presentation. Hence, we came up with the topic of Liberation Theology vs. Theology of Prosperity.

In the movie God on Trial, director Andy de Emmony has the actors in the setting of the concentration camp, Auschwitz, where they have to face the challenging and controversial issue of God’s goodness. The characters hold a trial to judge God, the room is full of tension and division where some of the prisoners defend God and the others accuse God with murder and evil. Those who come to God’s defense restate numerous biblical stories which are full of miracles and beautiful natural stories full of hope. On the other hand, the others accuse God with devastating personal experiences and horrendous biblical stories. The movie is not the only time people tried to defend or question God’s goodness. In the article, “ Did God Command Genocide?”

When I was younger my brothers and I would fight over the attention and gratitude of my parents. From reading the Stories of brothers in the Bible I have discovered that brothers have been fighting ever since the beginning of time. Through the stories of Cain and Abel, and Jacob and Esau I have determined that Brothers stories are one of childhood ignorance and desire to obtain everything. Once adolescence has turned to adulthood, brothers seem to reform there ways toward each other due to the realization that you don’t need to have everything to obtain happiness.

Liberation theology is situational. The emergence of liberation theology and the interpretation of the Bible under liberation theology stems directly to the participants place in society. As the title suggests, liberation theology interprets the Bible as a document of hope that will give strength and validity to a struggle against an oppressor. Liberation theology rises out of a new political consciousness. The oppressed people have to realize they are oppressed and that the Bible text can be used as a tool to overcome their oppressors. In regards to South Africa, there was an awakening when the black people realized their lack of influence in politics, the huge economic disparity between rich and poor, and their low

During their time period, many theologians were criticized or harassed. For example, there were fifteen attempts to assassinate Dom Helder Camera, who was a significant figure in liberation theology. Many were threatened. Some were arrested, tortured, or killed. While there were others who just disappeared. However they still practiced their beliefs and spread their ideas. (V.B.2)

Faith and reason were two modes of belief that dominated the history of Western Civilization. Both faith and reason were popularized as tools to understand the universe in Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian eras. By conflicting with each other, these two modes of belief sparked a lot of controversy. Reason or rationality is belief based on concrete evidence and logic. The development of one’s reason relies heavily on observation and questioning. Greco-Roman philosophers believed in the power of the human mind to understand the world. So in order to find ultimate truth, Greco-Roman philosophers dedicated their lives to perfecting their reasoning skills and encouraged those around them to do the same. Contradictory to reason, faith is the