Māori religion

“Mankind has always feared what it doesn’t understand”(X-Men). One of the highest grossing film franchises of all time, the X-Men series is about mutants (humans that have mutated a fantastic ability) that the rest of society fears and hates. Some mutants want to live in peace and harmony with the humans, while others believe peace is an illusion and they should be ruling society with their abilities. This argument continues throughout the series, mimicking events like the holocaust, civil…

Hunger Games Comparative Analysis In today’s society, we are forced to choose between blindly abiding by authority and exercising our freedoms to their fullest extent. But at what point do we choose to divulge from either path to do what is morally right? In Eric From’s article, “Disobedience as a Physiological Moral Problem”, he analyzes how the comforts of obedience and conformity can impact a person’s perspective of what is ethically just. Similarly, in “The Perils of Obedience”, by Stanley…

Louise Erdrich’s novel, Love Medicine is a fusion of Catholicism and Ojibwe beliefs. Both played a central role in the life of the author. The status of Catholicism is apparent, nevertheless, she possesses first-hand knowledge of Ojibwe culture as a recognized member of the tribe. As a product of an interracial partnership, Erdrich embraces and respects both cultures, accordingly, this can also be said about many of the main characters. Having done some research on the author’s background, I…

In the Cunningham and Kelsay article, myth is described and defined in several ways. The first way that it is defined is that myth "is associated with stories that are not true" (Cunningham and Kelsay 59). After stating that, the authors go onto say that, "In the field of religious studies, myth has a different meaning. Myth indicates a narrative concerning sacred reality and its relationship to humanity." (Cunningham and Kelsay 59) As discussed in class, a myth needs three key components. The…

In his book, ‘Pensées’, Blaise Pascal raises a wager which seeks to prove that it is more rational to believe in God rather than to not believe because you gain more by believing. In this paper, I will provide support to this wager in showing that you acquire a greater reward by believing in God. I will primarily outline Pascal’s Wager, then respond to one criticism raised that attempts to refute premise two (the expected results of belief and disbelief). This criticism states that there are…

Essay 3 Let’s Think of the time you had to lie. Was it easier than to tell the truth? We all know that there are different types lies. There is the bold face lie, the big lie, the little white lie, and the cover-up. Sometimes we all need to lie once in a while, but lying all the time is not ok. By saying that being a lair is not the best way to live. Personal experience has determined to me that lying is necessary, may be needed, at the time; can also come back and haunt you. One…

At a young age majority of us grew up believing that there is a higher being above us that created us, that shaped our lives to be where it is now, and that being is known as god. When we were a child, we did not have a choice whether we truly believed in the existence of God. We were told what to believe and never questioned it that belief. In this essay, I will analyze the existence of god between “Does God Exist?” by Ernest Nagel and “Why God Allows Evil” by Richard Swinburne. Although Nagel…

What the Buddha Taught, by Walpola Rahula, is a general introduction to the Buddhist traditions. Buddhism is one of the largest religions with over 500 million devoted followers. Buddhism is not a traditional religion with god(s), but is the belief of human beings. The Buddha is recognized to be the first to achieve enlightenment. His teachings have transcended continents, and centuries. In the first chapter of What the Buddha Taught, the reader realizes that the Buddha was not a god, or an…

needed to be done entirely individually, whereas traditional religion involved “group salvation” in the form of masses, etcetera. He saw the “leap of faith” as a requirement, and as something that could not be accomplished as a group, but was required to revolve around independently making choices in the name of God (Soccio,…

In 1844, travel writer Alexander William Kinglake publishes his famous Eothen where the famous rhyme “Stick and Stones may break my bones, but words will never break me” first appears. The rhyme states that while physical violence will harm you, words can be ignored and rendered useless. This famous quote is ultimately harmful because it is false. The unfortunate truth is that words do hurt. Sticks and stones may break our bones, but that doesn’t mean we don’t feel hurt from broken hearts.…