The Sacrifice Essay Example for Free

The Sacrifice Essay The notion of sacrifice within most religions acts as not only a show of faith but also as form of tribute to past biblical stories. From Islam to Judaism to western Christianity, various religions, even those in conflict with each other, share the significance of certain sacrifices that are still honored and hold relevance to this day. Of the more prevalent occasions is the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son to show submission to God’s command. Though the details vary from one religion to the next the importance and power of the event remain strong to these communities. Each of these four religions have a different account or play a different part in the story. The Muslim community celebrates Eid al-Adha to honor Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his first born son Ishmael. To commemorate this near sacrifice, Muslims willingly sacrifice their best domestic animals as Ishmael was spared with a goat taking his place. The meat is split into three sections with the family keeping a third and the other two thirds going to friends and family and the less fortunate, respectively. Those taking part dress in their finest clothes and have specific prayers for the event which lasts four days with a total of 23 prayers. The name Eid al-Adha translates to â€Å"festival of the sacrifice.† In Judaism the story is slightly different. The story of the Akedah, or the binding of Isaac, is relatively the same except that instead of Ishmael, the son to be sacrificed is Isaac. This is seen as a test God had placed upon Abraham to measure his faith. As Isaac was about to be sacrificed, God stepped in and stopped Abraham offering a ram in his stead. Christianity agrees with this story but adds that Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son due to his faith that God would then resurrect Isaac. Christianity also says this sacrifice either took place at the Temple Mount or at Calvary,  where Christ was crucified. As mentioned earlier, due to the fact that the Quran does not give a name to the son to be sacrificed, the Muslim religion has speculated that the son was Ishmael. Despite different takes on the episode it is clear that each of these three religions holds powerful meaning and importance for this would be sacrifice or at least for the faith Abraham had in God to be willin g to commit this sacrifice. In addition to these similarities, there is also the question of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem mentioned earlier. As stated before, the Christians believe this site as a possible backdrop to Abraham’s sacrifice as well as the site where Jesus was found as a boy by the Jews. Due to this belief, many Christian pilgrims flocked to this site to worship in the place where â€Å"Jesus walked.† This led to hostility from Muslims which sparked the crusades by the Roman Catholic Church. Christians believe the temple will be rebuilt for the second coming of Christ. The Jewish believe that the Temple Mount is the place where God rested after creating the world and gathered â€Å"dust to create Adam.† They believe this to be holiest place on Earth and all prayers should be focused in its general direction. In Islam the Temple Mount is held as the site where Muhammed made his journey to Jerusalem and ascent to Heaven. He also instructed his followers to face to face the mosqu e during prayer similar to Judaism. Due to the holy significance to so many different religions, the Temple Mount has been the scene for many conflicts throughout the ages. As early as the crusades but more notably in the Arab-Israeli conflict. Both groups see this site as belonging to their religion and are willing to sacrifice themselves in order to retain possession of it. The poem Parable of the Old Man and the Young by Wilfred Owen tells the story of Abraham’s trial. Where the poem differentiates from the story in the Bible is what takes place after God intervenes to spare Isaac. Instead of Abraham sparing the boy for the ram he sacrifices Isaac anyway thus â€Å"half the seed of Europe, one by one.† This implies that anyone with faith in God should possess the willingness to also make sacrifices to show that faith. The actual killing of one’s first born is not exactly what is implied but that one must be willing to sacrifice some important aspect of their life to prove they possess that faith. Works Cited

Why People Gamble Essays -- Gambling Addiction Money Essays

Why People Gamble For centuries, people have indulged in different types of gambling: poker, horse races, bingo, lottery, and slot machines. Gambling has seduced any and almost everyone between the ages of sixteen and ninety years old. Before turning eighteen, the legal age of casino and horse race admittance, those younger make monetary bets on football and high school stunts. Gambling is even more prevalent today than it was yesterday with the added attraction of on-line casinos, offering jackpot equivalent to twenty years salary in exchange for a credit card / debit card number. Gambling was suppressed in the 1920's as a result of Prohibition and because of this will forever lure people into its taboo trap. Gambling as sport is hard to resist because it offers immediate gratification. Not only is there a chance that you may quadruple the amount of money that you lay down, a literal payoff, but there is also a feeling of hope, an alternate limbo between reality and fantasy that can be translated int o a sort of mental payoff. The question is: is it all about the money? It couldn't be all about the money, unless the general public was extremely stupid. The odds of winning the lottery are lesser than the odds of someone being struck by lightning (1 in 649,739) or than someone being killed by a terrorist attack abroad (1 in 650,000). (7). It has been said, "If you bought 100 tickets a week your entire adult life, from the age of 18 to 75, you'd have a 1 percent chance of winning the lottery". (7) Now, a number of psychological studies have been done which indicate that the desire to play the lottery has more to do with the inability or unconcern of a person to calculate the total sum of their own money over time spent of th... ...ody responds well to their desire to gamble, to diversify, to extend their minds and risk. Whether it be monetary, behavioral or just plain desire to risk, humans are drawn towards the new and the chancy. It is the danger of loss and the thrill of life that keeps us breathing. Works Consulted: 1)Alvarez,A. The Biggest Game in Town. New York: Chronicle Books, 2002. 2)Brunson,Doyle. Doyle Brunson's Super System. Cardoza Pub, 1979. 3)Dostoeyevsky,Fyodor. The Gambler. New York: Viking Press, 1966. Sources Consulted: 4)http://www.norc.uchicago.edu/new/gamb-fin.htm 5)http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/05/010524062100.htm 6)http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=0004400A-E6F5-1C5E-B882809EC588ED9F 7)http://www.gnxp.com/MT2/archives/001309.html 8)http://www.reflection-idea.com/psychics.html 9)http://hanson.gmu.edu/gamble.html Why People Gamble Essays -- Gambling Addiction Money Essays Why People Gamble For centuries, people have indulged in different types of gambling: poker, horse races, bingo, lottery, and slot machines. Gambling has seduced any and almost everyone between the ages of sixteen and ninety years old. Before turning eighteen, the legal age of casino and horse race admittance, those younger make monetary bets on football and high school stunts. Gambling is even more prevalent today than it was yesterday with the added attraction of on-line casinos, offering jackpot equivalent to twenty years salary in exchange for a credit card / debit card number. Gambling was suppressed in the 1920's as a result of Prohibition and because of this will forever lure people into its taboo trap. Gambling as sport is hard to resist because it offers immediate gratification. Not only is there a chance that you may quadruple the amount of money that you lay down, a literal payoff, but there is also a feeling of hope, an alternate limbo between reality and fantasy that can be translated int o a sort of mental payoff. The question is: is it all about the money? It couldn't be all about the money, unless the general public was extremely stupid. The odds of winning the lottery are lesser than the odds of someone being struck by lightning (1 in 649,739) or than someone being killed by a terrorist attack abroad (1 in 650,000). (7). It has been said, "If you bought 100 tickets a week your entire adult life, from the age of 18 to 75, you'd have a 1 percent chance of winning the lottery". (7) Now, a number of psychological studies have been done which indicate that the desire to play the lottery has more to do with the inability or unconcern of a person to calculate the total sum of their own money over time spent of th... ...ody responds well to their desire to gamble, to diversify, to extend their minds and risk. Whether it be monetary, behavioral or just plain desire to risk, humans are drawn towards the new and the chancy. It is the danger of loss and the thrill of life that keeps us breathing. Works Consulted: 1)Alvarez,A. The Biggest Game in Town. New York: Chronicle Books, 2002. 2)Brunson,Doyle. Doyle Brunson's Super System. Cardoza Pub, 1979. 3)Dostoeyevsky,Fyodor. The Gambler. New York: Viking Press, 1966. Sources Consulted: 4)http://www.norc.uchicago.edu/new/gamb-fin.htm 5)http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/05/010524062100.htm 6)http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=0004400A-E6F5-1C5E-B882809EC588ED9F 7)http://www.gnxp.com/MT2/archives/001309.html 8)http://www.reflection-idea.com/psychics.html 9)http://hanson.gmu.edu/gamble.html

Last Day at School Essay

As we come to the end of 2012-13, the words that come to mind are â€Å"thank you. † This has been an amazing year !! As we reflect on the 2013-2014 school year, please join me in acknowledging and celebrating the many wonderful learning experiences and educational opportunities that have taken place for our students at school, in numerous classrooms and in very creative and innovative ways. Together we have planned and executed best teaching practices and held students to high standards and expectations. The school’s unique character, excellence in teaching, and the tremendous dedication and talent of all staff members continues to make it a wonderful and special learning environment. It is my deep belief that the hallmark of a great school is to continuously work to improve learning for each and every child. As the leader of the school, I see this is as my most important responsibility and I take it very seriously. Therefore, creating strong and effective teacher teams at each grade level each year is a top priority for me as I work to ensure positive and effective teacher collaboration on behalf of children’s learning. As principal, I am solely responsible for the supervision and evaluation of every staff member at School. In doing this, I visited every classroom several times throughout the year for extended periods of time as well as made numerous informal visits. These observational visits have given me a unique perspective on the teaching life of the school. I have been able to see firsthand how and what kind of learning is taking place in every classroom. In addition, I have also gained knowledge and perspective in working with faculty members both in groups or individually, throughout the year. This year can be summarized in a few words: In the face of significant challenges, we made significant progress. I thank you for your continued commitment and all that you did to deliver on our purpose – to help students and parents seize opportunities at every stage. I wish Mr Shawn and Ms Charo a wonderful future in terms of their careers and personal lives. Please enjoy some well deserved rest with family and friends during this holiday season, and let’s get right back to school on 13th July 2013 at 8. 00 am.

Models Of The Phillips Curve Vs Aggregate Supply...

Steven Tian Yi Zhang â€Å"Models of the Phillips curve/aggregate supply relationship based on flexible wages and prices fail to explain persistence in both the price level and inflation whereas those based on nominal rigidities readily explain both.â€Å" Discuss. The statement that â€Å"models of the Phillips curve/aggregate supply relationship based on flexible wages and prices fail to explain persistence in both the price level and inflation whereas those based on nominal rigidities readily explain both† is false. If we define â€Å"flexible† wages and prices as wages or prices that can be adjusted during one period for certain if the price-setters want to do so, then there is at least one model that expanded upon the the concept of â€Å"flexible† prices that explains persistence in both the price level and inflation. In this essay, I will first briefly introduce the Lucas Island Model, which is one of the first â€Å"flexible† price models and does not explain persistence in price level and inflation, then outline the sticky-price model by Calvo, outline the sticky-information model by Mankiw and Reis, and then using findings from ManKiw and Reis’s 2002 paper to argue that the sticky information model - which is still a â€Å"flexible† price model as we defined - explains both the price persistence and inflation persistence. 1. The Lucas Island Model There are a group of N islands, with one individual on each island. 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