Circumcision

Are all Cultures Just as Valid? “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” To understand cultural relativism, we must first understand what culture is. The word “culture” originally meant care for growing living things, such as plants. A culture is a set of ideas and ways of acting that is developed by a group of people who interact with each other, and that influences how they live. Cultures are passed down from generation to generation through words, through expressive actions, and through things…

Final Examination 1. Describe the principle concepts which Zoroastrianism is credited with contributing to Western Religions Zoroastrianism was founded by a prophet Zoroaster who had a vision by high god Ahura Mazda, and reflects an outgoing, universal battle of Ahura Mazda, the good god, and Angra Mainyu, the evil spirit, between the truth and lie while human beings must decide which side they want to choose. Zoroastrianism contributes to Western Religions with eschatology, resurrection, and…

religious revolutionary and more of a social revolutionary. Paul could, perhaps, be viewed as a religious revolutionary, because it highlights instances in which he openly challenged traditional Jewish doctrine, particularly concerning the necessity of circumcision and excluding non-Jews from communion. Paul tried to make the church leaders accept anyone who would be faithful to God, regardless of whether they were faithful to other aspects of Jewish culture. The revelation that messiah figures…

One of the most celebrated men of the 20th century is Nelson Mandela, the man who helped free South Africa from Apartheid rule. But however inhumane, disgusting and barbaric Apartheid rule was, it contributed to the growth of the South African economy and created tremendous amount of wealth for the white South African minority. A significant amount of this wealth was generated from South Africa’s vast gold mines that were all owned by whites. To make these mining houses practical and lucrative…

A Failure That Was Not Really a Failure In Acts 21 and 22 Paul almost gets himself killed, twice. Paul’s speech, however, does not warrant this severe hostile response from his audience. This extreme reaction can be explained by the setting of Acts 21. After seven days of purification, Paul, a follower of Christ Jesus, goes to Jerusalem and presents offerings at the temple. The Asian Jews accuse him of bringing Greeks into the Temple, defiling that holy place. The people seize Paul and seek to…

Over the course of time, there have been many debates dealing with religion and various laws. From the creation of the American government, it was agreed to have government and religion as separate entities. Recently there have been many debates on religion and whether or not its influence should present in current law making. Today, a recent debate topic revolves around whether or not religious beliefs should allow parents to refuse health care for their children. There are many various…

Have you ever worn a hijab? Or just a tea towel covering your head. Try it. The first time I stepped out in public with my hair covered, the experience was insightful from a social experiment perspective. I was (and still am) in Iran, a country where it is illegal for women not to cover themselves in public. Wrapping the headscarf around my head, I remember the immediate feeling of having something to hide. The physical presence of an object covering a part of me normally exposed, produced a…

Many websites, articles, and blogs explain that Orthodox Judaism has separate but equally important roles for men and women. The Halakhah or Jewish Law is comprised of elements from three different sources the mitzvoth d’oraita or from the Torah, the mitzvoth d’rabbanan or from the rabbis, and minhag or arising from long-standing customs (Rich, 2011). The Halakhah lists 613 Commandments. Some commandments address all Orthodox Jews, some address the men only, and some address the women only.…

Women 's rights in Egypt have long been severely restricted due to Sharia (Islamic law) and cultural traditions. The laws in Egypt act like an enemy of women 's rights as they are based on gender discriminatory. How can a woman has unequal value of a man and treated differently! So, it was the time for the women to unite and stand together to get back their freedom and proof to the world that they are not birds placed in cages. They asked for their rights; freedom of speech and to be treated…

there are children, the organization becomes that of non-kinship groups. Non-kinship groups consist mainly of age grades. Khapoya writes that the first step of entering the age grades is an initiation into society. This usually consisted of ritual circumcision at puberty. Ottenburg, as referenced by Khapoya, cites the presence of four age grades in the Afikpo people, who are a…