Spirituality

The Two Worshippers are Sumerian statues made out of black limestone. These ceremonial objects functioned as an act of worship to the gods. They are surrogate supplicants for the Sumerians so that they wouldn’t stay at the temple worshipping all day. They were generally placed in the Square Temple of Eshnunna. The figures come in different sizes. They range in height from a foot to around two feet. The male figure is wearing a skirt and the female figure is wearing a dress with drapery over one…

Augustine makes it very clear that life is a journey. Within the journey that is life, we have individual journeys that can either impact our lives positively, or completely lead us to self destruction. A journey that Augustine has so well written down for us to read is his spiritual journey. His journey, like most, was not always easy. He faced death, separation, anger, abandonment and so many other circumstances. In the confessions however, Augustine has laid out all of his sins and shames on…

1. Faith In general, people think development wholesome action by suttas chanting, praying, ceremonial worshiping, offering water, fruits and flowers to Buddha, or engaging in volunteer works. Of course, all of these wholesome work of earning merit is the initial step of gearing one’s mind to spiritual path and somewhat transform mind, but it’s not a sufficient way. For instance, the chanting of Suttas, praying and worshiping help one to develop faith in a religion. However, developing the true…

How important is the body to religious practice? Scholars have debated this issue for centuries. The autobiographies of Linda Hogan and Etty Hillesum tackle this issue. Their writing shows that the body is an essential part of religious experience. Hogan’s and Hillesum’s writing shows that the body is important because it holds memory, contains traces of ancestors, is an expression of emotion and desire, and it allows us to perform sacred acts. Linda Hogan talks about the importance of the body…

This body of work was inspired by two things: my fascination with wearable art (such as the pieces created by artists, jewelers or costume designers like Debra Hampton, Rob Elford, Katie Hovencamp, Jeffrey Dever, Melinda Risk, Sandra Wilcoxon, Alexander McQueen or Bob Mackie), and my interest in the rituals that are used by different religious cultures, whether they are monotheistic, polytheistic, centered in animism, or based solely upon plant-induced visionary experiences. I have…

This advice has a significant impact on Christian counselors in the sense that the integration process is seemingly not difficult, however, it can cause complications. Earlier in the interview Dr. Parker mentioned the diversity of Regent University students with their expression of their faith. Albeit Catholicism, Presbyterian, Evangelical, and so on. This is similar to the clients that will cross paths with the counselor. The Christian counselor needs to be aware and respect other people’s…

In the Christian Counseling field, there is a reliance on both lay counseling and clinical counseling. Both fields are important and both have positives and negatives. One example is that lay counseling is much more affordable for individuals with low income. However, one of the down sides to lay counseling within a church is some individuals may not want to air their dirty laundry to a fellow member of the church and this is where clinical consoling could benefit the client. Furthermore, most…

As she jumps out of the window and starting heading to the next building the people below look in awe and in an astonishment, with a light breath they whisper “ she is so courageous.” Courage is something that just slips out of peple mouth without realizing what true courage means. L.Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; states that, "There is no living thing that is not afraid when it faces danger. The true courage is in facing danger when you are afraid". What this refers is that when you…

PART ONE: What are your top two spiritual gifts? Do you agree with the results? Why or why not? Taking the Spiritual Test Assessment resulted in two spiritual gifts identified as the highest-ranking spiritual abilities, which I appear to possess. The two dominant gifts are administration and pastor/shepherd. I personally would agree with this evaluation since much of my life has been in management and now I have been entrusted to shepherd a small rural church. Examining first the gift of…

Before Ann Voskamp wrote One Thousand Gifts, she wrote A Child's Geography: Explore His Earth. It is a children’s book written about the geography of the Middle East using biblical references. Voskamp decided that all of the profits from the book would be donated to Compassion. Then, in 2011, Voskamp published the book One Thousand Gifts, which is a story of her life experiences and beliefs. She was named one of Publishers Weekly's Bestsellers for the year of 2011 and a USA Today Bestseller.…