Scientology: The Cult That Has Been Called a Religion The Church of Scientology has many deceitful practices that it portrays. It is a vicious and dangerous cult that masquerades as a religion. It practices a variety of mind-control techniques on people lured into its midst to gain contro...

Introduction The claim that religious experience can tell us nothing about god, because it is all in the mind strikes at the heart of the problem of religious experience. The study of religious experience, which took off with William James' definitive study in 1902, has put the topic at the ...

Believed to have been written from 2000-1800 B.C, the Book of Job is also commonly recognized as a Bible Wisdom Book. This piece of Hebrew literature was originally written as a set of instructions for the Jews. Set in the land of Uz northeast of Palestine the scriptures demonstrated the true meani...

There are numerous controversial topics and issues that abound in the modern world. Some of these test the limits of our morals and ethics that it is sometimes difficult to determine what is black or white as a result of varying shades of gray. Abortion is one topic that has seen the battle lines dr...

Living in a multicultural society among people of different faiths, ethnicity, and nationalities has a number of obvious advantages as well as disadvantages. If an individual, or the society as a whole, is able to tap the positive synergy of diversity, there are enormous benefits to be gained. On th...

Social ideology is a very important factor in social stability and change because it influences how the collective group responds to different social, political and economic situations. Religion is one of the principle social ideologies that impacts social stability and change, it is both a motivat...

Sider hit the mark when he writes in his article that there are "gaping holes in the ozone layer, polluted rivers, expanding deserts, denuded mountains, air-poisoned cities, and spiraling carbon emissions producing global warming." This present day ecological disasters are here and now and...

It is believed that there are approximately 4,200 religions worldwide. Each has its own set of values and beliefs that set it and the members apart. However, each has a similarity to other religions and their creeds. As a life-long Pentecostal, I, too, have a certain set of beliefs that are differen...

"Give me liberty, or give me death." Patrick Henry's words ring in my ears and yet I can not fully reconcile myself to the motivations they create. I am a man of the cloth; a man who set aside the battle-hardened skepticism of the military for a life spent preaching God's way. An...

Early Colonial American society during the 17th and 18th centuries is characteristically bound by strong religious beliefs of Christianity. The New England inhabitants from Britain, who have established their respective colonies in the Americas, have brought with them their cultural histor...

Clerical celibacy is an important trait of Buddhism, and celibacy has also been mandated for various periods in the lives of many followers of different Eastern religions. To the Western mind that associates clerical celibacy with conceptions of sex-as-original-sin or of the priest as wed t...

Born in 1908, Louis L'Amour was to become on of the most prolific storyteller of the 20th century. His narrative style, easy to understand, as if actually telling the story, as well as his captivating stories of the west and the frontier days and ability to relate fiction with personal e...

Bernard Shaw wrote his dramas, particularly "Man and Superman," in response to the idea that drama should merely entertain or to portray human characters as they seem to be in conventional life. "Man and Superman" transgresses conventional narrative structures of Victorian drama. It deta...

Cloning: Right or Wrong? How would you like to create your child by looking through a catalog? Just think, no worries of mental problems, the right color eyes, or even the right color hair. To some people, this is exactly what they are looking for, but for others, this is playing with God&ap...

"Bless Me Ultima" In the book "Bless Me Ultima", by Rudolpho Anaya, there were two families represented, the Marez family and the Lunas family. These two families were very different, but were brought together by the marriage of Gabriel Marez and Maria Lunas. Through the eyes o...

One of the filthiest words I know of is "religion". I consider it dirty because it seems to be one of the most devisive concepts/words among humanity. More wars have been fought over "religion" than any other cause. People who might possibly have to share something w/ one another might not e...

Why is art necessary? "It is necessary for us to give physical form to things we feel, think, and imagine." We use art in everyday living such as communicating information, day-to-day living, spiritual sustenance, personal expression, social and political purposes, and visual delight. Art can ...

New York Times, on Sunday, November 8, had an article on sentences addressed by a Federal judge to three members of the antigovernment Montana Freemen for conspiracy and fraud; the article stirred my memory and concern about this paper, as well as brought into play many of the dilemmas d...

There are many aspects of Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy that involve the moral decision versus the immoral decision and God. The main theme that Dreiser maintains throughout the novel is Immorality. Each character in the novel possesses one or more characteristics that show that he or she i...

A New Technology of Cloning Humans Is cloning the new method to treat human beings in the future? Recently, there has been an argument about cloning a human being. When it comes to cloning, people seem to want it both ways: "no" to reproductive cloning on moral grounds and "yes" to therapeuti...

I Pledge allegiance The pledge of allegiance is by definition a solemn swear of allegiance to the United States. But recently, it has been under attack by some for its use of the phrase "one nation under God." This case was brought up by an atheist from Sacramento who didn't want hi...

Human dignity to me means not only possessing strong morals that help society to prosper and improve, but following through on them. Every human being has the basic right of respect both of himself and by his fellow man. Every person has the right to freedom and to express his moral beliefs though ...

When I mull over the predicament of the Indian society, I am struck by an excruciating voice, drowning in the prevalent misdeeds and inequalities. This faint voice represents the adversity of Indian women, battling against the winds of dogmatic beliefs. Without an iota of uncertainty, women in India...

Hinduism is a modern term for the tradition of Brahman that has been developing over the past 3500 years. Hindus often refer to their religion as Dharma, which means law/duty. Or Hindus refer to their religion as Sanatana Dharma, which means eternal law/duty. Hinduism has a long tradition that has l...

The Beliefs and Practices of the Athenians in the time of Pericles The people of Athens in the time of Pericles had many religious beliefs and practices. People's beliefs and practices were often very important to the way they went about their everyday lives. Some of these practices would be...