Abel Magwitch

“If thou doest well, shall it not be lifted up? and if thou doest not well, sin croucheth at the door: and unto thee shall be its desire, but do thou rule over it.” Genesis 4:7 American Standard Version---- “If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.” Genesis 4:7 King James Version Everyone seeks the truth. All are bound by an innate curiosity of the world and that which lies…

“Black bodies swingin’ in the Southern breeze / Strange fruit hangin’ from the poplar trees” (3-4). The poem “Strange Fruit” by Abel Meeropol was published in 1937. It sets a deep tone on how racism occurred back in the 1930s. Meeropol was an ordinary high school teacher who went on to teach English for seventeen years. He was also a poet and social activist. Meeropol was troubled at the racism going on in America. He was inspired to write this poem after seeing a photograph of two teenagers;…

and leads him to murder his Brother, God questions his involvement. Cain replies, “I know not. Am I my Brother’s Keeper”(Genesis 4:1-8). The concept of social responsibility and looking after one another first addressed in the bible story of Cain and Abel, was also addressed by Mitch Albom in his novel The Five People You Meet In Heaven. The protagonist in the novel, an elderly maintenance worker at an amusement park, begins his journey of self discovery with his own death. When Eddie dies in an…

In order to know exactly what the stumbling block principle is, a stumbling block must be defined as it is used in the Bible. First, in order to understand a stumbling block, “offense” must be defined. Offense within the Bible can be defined in two ways. It can be seen in the Bible as God or Jesus causing unbelievers to stumble in their ways and become saved, and it can also be seen as an experienced Christian causing a new Christian to act against their conscience; this offense can also be…

The song Strange Fruit was first sang by Billie Holiday, who was a new performer on stage at Cafe Society, a new and popular cabaret club. The song was written in 1937 by a man named Abel Meeropol to criticize the racial discrimination in American South. Abel Meeropol, who was a Jewish-American school teacher from New York City, wrote Strange Fruit after seeing a shocking photograph of a lynching in a magazine. This song became very popular in 1939, the year where racial tension was at its…

control over people; people are free to do what they choose, to a degree, but he has the right to punish or reward people for whatever reason he chooses. Consider the story of Cain and Abel. It is the story of two brothers, Cain, a farmer, and Abel, a shepherd. They are the offspring of Adam and Eve. Cain and Abel give their offerings to God, and God accepts Abel’s, but rejects…

with a different way of life. Cain and Abel symbolized complete opposite concepts and mentalities. While Cain embodied darkness and evil, Abel symbolized good and light. In all of us, we have darkness and evil, but we also have good and light. It is up to us whether or not to let temptation corrupt our moral compass and hearts or to be stronger than that and live a life of righteousness. That is the conscious choice we have to make in life. Both Cain and Abel wanted to show reverence to God so…

After the tragic event, my family and I rushed to his coffin. I saw his face of happiness once again, marking as a happy person on Earth. Despite his happiness, tears flowed freely from my eyes as a sign of helplessness and mourning. Many of his colleagues, friends, fellow co-workers, and supporters have rushed to his wake in Makati. Most of them gave their condolences and counsels. "Stay strong," "Condolences," these were the common words/phrases I heard from them. I reminisced my experiences…

Why God Gave Humans Free Will Before we can ask questions such as, “Why did God give humans free will?” we must first understand exactly what free will is and how it affects us in our daily lives. Free will is the choice we are given to decide between right and wrong. C.S. Lewis describes free will as this, “God created things which had free will. That means creatures which can go wrong or right.” He goes on to say, “If a thing is free to be good it’s also free to be bad.” God gives us a…

In Genesis 27, verse 35-36, “But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing.” Esau said, ‘Isn’t he rightly named Jacob? This is the second time he has taken advantage of me: He took my birthright, and now he’s taken my blessing!’” Jacob tricked his father into giving the blessing, that originally belonged to Esau, to himself. He did this out of self-gain. “37 Jacob, however, took fresh-cut branches from poplar, almond and plane trees and made white stripes on them by peeling…