Venial sin

Natalie Mendo Professor Kolak PHIL 2101 7 November 2017 God Exists: True or False? In Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov: Rebellion, Ivan expresses his resentment towards God and the idea that the innocent must suffer in order to reach heaven. God’s responsibility for all of the atrocities committed by humans can be excused if we believe that free will was given to us and thus are responsible for our actions. One could then argue that God created all evil, which defies the premise “God…

“And many a grisly oath they shouted out/ and tore Christ's blessed body limb from limb--” (Chaucer). Chaucer uses this line in the epic poem “The Pardoner’s Tale” while discussing the motive of Death. Chaucer chooses to personify death in this tale by giving him positive and negative motives and actions. These motives, both good and bad, appear in the epic and resonate with each person in a different way. The timeless traditions that trail Death are the ones that follow the human race through…

wicked for their sins. I will put an end to the arrogance of the haughty and will humble the pride of the ruthless” As this verse in Isaiah 13:11 says the wicked will get punished for their sins, much like all three characters of The Scarlet Letter; Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth eventually got punished in the book, by ultimately dying at the end. But the ultimate question is, which of the three previously mentioned character is the most wicked and has the most unforgivable sins? Well…

social and structural sin, as well as fate and free will are evident. In class, we defined free will as making the conscious decisions of the choices in one’s life, and fate as very one-dimensional, where one’s outcome is already pre-determined (Theodicy PPT). In a story where God is present, it is hard to decide whether following what you believe to be Gods path is fate or free will, which is challenged in The Sparrow. Furthermore, The Sparrow follows the new model of sin, where the focus is…

Guilt In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter, there’s many arguments that are apparent throughout the novel. But the one that should be the most noted is that people are bound to sin so everyone should learn to not be harsh on others. The scarlet letter itself is a main part of the argument Hawthorne makes as it shows the hypocrisy of Puritan Society. Obviously, the Puritans are appeared to be "civilised" in a few ways: they have an arrangement of standards and disciplines. In any case,…

The perception of what is defined as wrong varies as much as the definition of what is defined as evil. Philosophers have argued that evil is a distinct category from wrong while others have opposed this idea, stating that evil is an extreme wrong. Thus, in terms of an act being both wrong and evil come to the terms that evil is or can be an extreme wrong. I will begin by arguing that evil is not in a different category of wrong, but it is a degree of wrong. Two given factors have been claimed…

“An Inspector Calls” is a play written by JB Priestly, that revolves around a theme of blame and responsibility. To convey and show the moral of the play, it is contrasted to compare differences and to emphasize by setting responsibility as a central theme of the play but then providing a fascinating portrait of the way that people can let themselves off the hook and take no responsibility whatsoever. Priestly explicitly differentiates and portrays between those who have accepted their…

“Blood Wedding” by Federico Garcia Lorca is an undeniably complex play that uses many alternative religious symbols to convey death, truth, and betrayal in a unique way. The tarot card references in the play are likely the most effective and interesting symbols Lorca uses to translate his literary ideas to religious concepts. The use of tarot cards in Lorca’s work may seem subtle to those who don’t have experience with the religious tool, but for people who can easily identify tarot cards, their…

A hero and a villain are two of the characters that appear in almost every movie we see. On one hand, I see a hero as a being that fights against evil to see more good happening in the world. On the other hand, a villain for me is a person who does evil to the world because its heart is filled with pure evil. In the poem Beowulf and the book Grendel, both of these characters are described differently, using both hero and villain features. In the two pieces of literature Grendel and Beowulf are…

In the novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, sin and redemption is an occuring theme. The main character, Dorian Gray, commits plenty of sins and has the opportunities for redemption, however, when Dorian tries to atone for his wrongdoings he is unsuccessful. Dorians’ underlying intentions keeps him from redemption, due to his hedonistic views. In the beginning of the novel, Dorian is portrayed as a young and innocent boy that is easily influenced by Lord Henry, a character with a…