John Michael McConnell

hall, into which no sound from the noisy Metropolis could penetrate, closed behind her, the ore voice of the angel of the cathedral struck at her breast like a steel fist, and she stood still, stunned, raising her hands to her head. Why was Saint Michael crying out so angrily and wildly? Why was the roar of Azrael, the angel of Death joining in so alarmingly? She stepped into the street. Darkness, like a thick layer of soot, lay over the town, and only the cathedral shimmered, ghost-like, a…

"But how..?" It was a reasonable question, although one Amaimon had not intended to let slip from him, but the words had tumbled out long before he could stop them. Samael had been so strong, so powerful....who or what could have killed him. Lucifer? The two always argued and sure every now and then they had exchanged a few blows, but those were small scuffles and verbal fights....how could it have gotten to the point of murder? And if it had, wouldn't there have been evidence, or even just…

The devil, Satan, Iblis, is known by many names. In the Christian faith he is called Satan, while in Islam he is referred to in various places as Iblis, or Shaytaan in other places. Satan/Iblis, is mainly first introduced to us in the story of Adam and Eve in both the Christian faith and Islam. He is the first disobeyer to God and thus represents the rebellion against God and the path of the wrongdoers. In Islam, it was mentioned that Iblis is a member of a type of God’s creatures called “Jinn”.…

Free will is an extremely important concept in John Milton’s Paradise Lost that greatly impacts the fateful decision made by Adam and Eve. Many questions are raised in the face of a notion such as free will, which prompt the reader and Milton to understand God’s logic and Adam and Eve’s reasoning for turning their backs on it. God makes his new creations “just and right / sufficient to have stood, though free to fall,” and, therefore, obtain the explicitly stated ability to turn against…

Part of the reason that the Pearl of Great Price is so great at preparing people for making further covenants in the temple is because it talks so much about sacrifice. In this paper, I will show was sacrifice means in the Lord’s eyes and how Adam and Eve’s sacrificial behaviors can be applied to other righteous people in the Pearl of Great Price, as well as present day. I will also show the qualifications and blessings of true sacrifice, as well as Satan’s counterfeits for sacrifice,…

What has brought upon this madness? It is as though the entire town of Salem has been swept up in a wild inferno of vengeance – an inferno surely herding us all into the wrathful grasp of Satan. Surely, for all the years of learning, the wisdom I have found in my books I should have doused this folly before it began! I see the brand of condemnation on my hands, as bright and stained as it were the ink that with those hands sold the souls of the good Christian men and women of Salem. I have not…

Saint Michael the Archangel is the largest single piece of Byzantine statue made of ivory that still stands. This art piece was made during the 6th century, in Constantinople. This piece of art is classical style, it has a large panel which is interesting because…

When I first decided to go back to school in 2013, I wanted to work in the substance abuse field. Due to my personal experience with opiate addiction, I knew that I could help a population of people who needed it the most. Half way through my Associate degree, I lost Cody, who was someone I loved very, much to a heroin overdose. Everyone I worked with was him and I saw him in every client. When the grief and the confusion lifted, I knew that working with addiction so directly, was now too close…

The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) involves 12 countries: the United States (US), Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Mexico, Chile, Peru, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Japan. The TPP stems from an existing agreement between Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, and Singapore (Lewis). If the agreement is ratified, it would be the largest regional trade accord in history, since these countries account for roughly 40% of the global economy (Granville). According to the Office of the…

Gothic literature is really all about intense emotion and the confusion between good and evil. Powerful emotion is clearly evident in Paradise Lost as there is a constant grasping or pushing and pulling with good and evil, God and Satan. The way John Milton wrote the text it would seem as though his intent is to confuse the audience as far as who is the hero and the villain. Throughout the novel, we get various passages that would seem to be indicative of Satan’s jealousy. The first instance…