The Constitution Of Government And Selections From...

â€Å"The science of politics, however, like most other sciences, has received great improvement. The efficacy of various principles is now well understood, which were either not known at all, or imperfectly known to the ancients,† wrote Alexander Hamilton in Federalist Paper number 9. In The Federalist Papers, which Thomas Jefferson described as â€Å"the best commentary on the principles of government, which was ever written,† writers Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay sought to articulate and defend the integrity of the new Constitution, and to demonstrate the ways in which it fulfilled the requirements necessary to establish a Republican form of government. However, as seen in the opening quote, the new Constitution, while drawing†¦show more content†¦First to be explored is Aristotle’s Politics. It this work, Aristotle portrays man as an inherently political animal, with logos and the ability to distinguish injustice from justice. He pu rports that the purpose of humanity within nature is to live together and seek justice. Since human beings live as political animals, the polis arises naturally. The purpose of the polis is not merely to help humans live, but to help them live well, as morally sound, well educated citizens (Nederman 287). Speaking of the democratic state specifically, he says, â€Å"the basis of a democratic state is liberty...one principle of liberty is for all to rule and be ruled in turn†¦.another is that a man should live as he likes† (Book 6.2). In other words, â€Å"freedom based upon equality† (Book 6.2). This, alongside his the purpose of the polis itself (to educate and assist citizens in living well and seeking justice) forms the foundation of the promise of democracy within the selections from Aristotle’s Politics. However, what threatens the institutions of democracy according to Aristotle? First, he finds weakness in democracy’s definition of justice: â €Å"that to which the majority agree† (Book 6.2). In contrasting it with the oligarch’s definite (â€Å"that to which the wealthier class†), he states there is some inequality and injustice within each. Each places the democracy in danger of tyranny, whether

Civil Disobedience and the Bible Essay - 564 Words

Civil disobedience is a nonviolent opposition to a law through refusal to comply with it, on grounds of conscience. I understand why somebody might want to oppose the law. Somebody might have their own beliefs on what is right and wrong and they wouldn’t know when theyre disobeying. But when you do know what youre doing, if you don’t obey a certain law set forth for you to follow, there most likely will be some kind of consequence for not following the law. You could go to jail, be put on restraint, have something taken away, etc. There are a number of other consequences that could be given to someone for disobeying a law. The Bible talks about obedience. When Solomon and his workers followed God’s instructions, the Temple†¦show more content†¦But, they got the fire from a different source – not where God told them to get the fire from (Leviticus 10:1). God killed both of them (Leviticus 10:2). 3. Moses was commanded to tell the rock to pour out its water (Numbers 20:8). He did what he was told, but also hit the rock with his staff (Numbers 20:11). He couldn’t enter the Promised Land (Numbers 20:12). 4. God told Saul to destroy all of the Amelakites (1 Samuel 15:3). He killed all but the king, and kept some treasure for himself (1 Samuel 15:8-9). God punished him by promising to end his reign (1 Samuel 15:16-26). 5. Uzzah was told that only a priest could touch the furnishings in the Tabernacle (Numbers 4:15). He touched the Ark of the Covenant (2 Samuel 6:6), and died instantly (2 Samuel 6:7). God says in Leviticus 26:14 â€Å"If you don’t obey me and break my laws, I will punish you with terrors, wasting diseases, and burning fevers, causing your eyes to fail and your life to ebb away. I will turn against you, and all your enemies will defeat you. And if after all this you still disobey me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over. All your work will be for nothing. Your land will yield no crops, and your trees will bear no fruit. And after that you still don’t obey me, I will release wild animals that will kill your children and destroy your cattle.† So God is telling us that pretty much no matter when or how we disobey Him, weShow MoreRelatedWalden and Transcendentalism Essay1545 Words   |  7 Pageson the goodness of nature. When it is mentioned, it is shown, as was stated above, that nature serves as a sort of looking glass to spiritual ideals. Because this book was quoted often by radical groups in 1960-70, Walden became a sign of disobedience and rebellion to the conservative community. However, there are a few ideas of which Christians can approve. The first is non-materialism. Thoreau quotes Matthew 6:19 saying, â€Å"By a seeming fate, commonly called necessity, they are employed, asRead MoreChristian Belief Systems : The Humanist And The Christian Beliefs974 Words   |  4 Pageshomosexuality, etc. This creates a problematic among government s identifying with one or the other when interpreting Law. 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On the other hand, Sophocles, in the play â€Å"Antigone† reveals the grief, struggle, inner strife and distressRead MoreRhetorical Analysis Of Letter From Birmingham Jail812 Words   |  4 PagesDuring the 1960’s, racism was still a prominent problem in America. The Civil Rights Movement was under way. African Americans were fighting for their basic human rights. One of the most notable figures of the Civil Rights Movement was Martin Luther King Jr. He fought for African American’s rights using nonviolent resistance; however, during a protest in Birmingham, Alabama, Dr. King was thrown into jail. While in his jail cell, Dr. King wrote a letter to clergymen from the Birmingham jail claimingRead MoreLetter From Birmingham Jail By Martin Luther King Jr. Essay1683 Words   |  7 Pages835). 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However, the peaceful protests against racism are not given the sameRead More Civil Disobedience Martin Luther King David Thoreau LA riot Essay examples1119 Words   |  5 Pages Civil Disobedience On April 29, 1992, the City of Los Angeles was surrounded in a riot in response to the quot;not guiltyquot; verdicts in the trial of four white Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers accused of unlawfully beating Rodney King. Six days later, when the fires were finally extinguished and the smoke had cleared, â€Å"estimates of the material damage done vary between about $800 million and $1 billion, 54 people had been killed, more than 2000 injured, in excess of 800 structuresRead MoreCivil Disobedience Martin Luther King David Thoreau La Riot1146 Words   |  5 PagesCivil Disobedience On April 29, 1992, the City of Los Angeles was surrounded in a riot in response to the not guilty verdicts in the trial of four white Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers accused of unlawfully beating Rodney King. Six days later, when the fires were finally extinguished and the smoke had cleared, estimates of the material damage done vary between about $800 million and $1 billion, 54 people had been killed, more than 2000 injured, in excess of 800 structures wereRead MoreBeing a Good Citizen Essay960 Words   |  4 Pagesdespite some kind of injustice within them? Are good citizens obliged to blindly follow the government policies? It follows then, what is good citizenship? Henry David Thoreau provides an adequate definition of good citizenship within his essay, Civil Disobedience; Thoreau discusses certain characteristics of a good citizen. Examples of Thoreaus definition exist in both the ancient and contemporary culture. Sophocles describes Antigone as a good citizen by Thoreaus definition. Within the play, Antigone

The Pilgrim’s Progress Free Essays

If there is one book that tops the list of most translated books, surprisingly even more than the Bible, it is The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan, a famous religious writer in the English language. Bunyan is said to have a minimal proper education and a modest background, probably the reason for his simple, narrative, allegorical English writing style. It is also assumed that his learning of the English language may have come from his readings of the Bible since some parts of his book are being compared to the latter. We will write a custom essay sample on The Pilgrim’s Progress or any similar topic only for you Order Now He is regarded as a religious man who was put in jail for preaching without properly obtaining a license for such act. It was during his second time of imprisonment that the book, The Pilgrim’s Progress, materialized. The complete title of his book is The Pilgrim’s Progress from this World to that which is to come. The first part was published in 1678 and the second part was in 1684. The first part of story is about a man named Christian who leaves his home upon reading in the book that he is holding that his house will burn down, but his family thinks he has gone mad. A man named Evangelist instead advised him to start his journey, passing from one mysterious place to another in search of redemption in the Celestial City. The second part engages his wife, the inspired Christiana, and their children following the same journey that he takes. The Pilgrim’s Progress is an intense Christian writing that has influenced generations, and making it as one of the Christian books in English widely read by both the young and adult readers, particularly for Christians who are taking the journey to achieve spirituality against the temptations of life. It is considered to be one of the greatest writings of English literature, and in that it has released more than one hundred copies in translated languages. II. Body A. Themes of the Poem 1. Major Themes a. Path to Salvation The philosophy of the story is that people do not reach heaven by practicing their religion and maintaining the good nature of one’s character, but rather they are particularly chosen by God to enter the gates of Heaven. However, a closer reading of the text also proves that a true believer must show that he is willing to face anything – obstacles or difficulties along the way – to achieve salvation, because even if chosen by God, he is not excused from worldly temptations around him. He is continuously tried everyday of his life to prove his devotion to Him. In real life, especially to the Catholic religion, this is not the case though. Catholics believe that to achieve salvation and witness Heaven one must be good to oneself, to other people, and repent for one’s sins aside from the fact that one must hold on to that religion by heart. Salvation or God, for that matter, do not choose people who will experience eternal gratification. Instead it is the people themselves who choose themselves to lead a life into the goodness of God. And through this, God opens his heart to those who believe in him and may eventually enter the gates of heaven. b. Faith over Family Since this is a Christian book, the reader may attempt to question if the actions of the protagonist Christian are ethically correct – choosing to pursue the path to salvation over staying with his family. The argument lies whether one should pursue what he thinks is right to his religious faith against his social responsibility of being a father to his family. Isn’t choosing social responsibility also ethically correct because it’s for a collective good? But as for the Catholics, we are also expected to take God first above all else as stated in the Ten Commandments. Therefore, the story takes its readers on a tug of war between faith and family significance. c. Lessons from Seeking Travel Journey has always been a wonderful experience for any person. And in this book, Bunyan clearly presents to us the relevance of finding oneself and growing within this journey that one seeks. Life may be rough because one learns from his mistakes as he goes through that journey, but these difficulties prepare him to be a worthy person to the gates of Heaven. He becomes not only a traveler but a pilgrim who seeks to grow spiritually. Christian here is described as a pilgrim who takes his mistakes as lessons and eventually learns from the experience so as not to commit the same mistakes again. Bunyan also points out that what makes a pilgrim different from a plain traveler is the understanding of the whole experience of journey. Our life today is already considered a personal journey towards self discovery. We are tested everyday as to how much faith we can keep inside of us against worldly temptations. However, with the current states of mind of different people, not everybody takes home a nugget of lesson and learn from it. Some people let themselves fall prey into the pitfalls of human weakness and be immersed in the world of sin. d. Significance of Reading The book emphasizes throughout the whole story why reading the Bible is significant in any Christian life. Like Christian’s readings, reading the Bible is one of the keys to achieving happiness and salvation because it shows us the ways to enter Heaven. Take for example the part where Christian is crying while holding a book firmly in his hands and finds out a fearful revelation that leads him to seeking God. That book is the Bible, revealing to him the pains and truths about life. Reading is not only acquiring knowledge. To read a book is to understand deeply what it says and apply it in our daily lives. To read the Bible is to be one with the words of God and to accept Him in our lives. e. Importance of Social Interaction If the first part of the books offers pilgrimage as an individual activity of Christian, the second part shows Christian’s wife, Christiana, who welcomes her own pilgrimage as a social activity, where more people get involved in the journey to salvation. It is Christiana’s strength as a socially active person that makes her pilgrimage a more productive one than Christian’s journey, because the former brings forth a communal force towards enlightenment. The story awakens in us the need for other people to share in our discovery for true salvation and how it makes it easier for all of us to closely work together in achieving happiness. 2. Minor Themes Bunyan also plays with some minor themes such as the value of suffering in one’s life, the perseverance required to an individual to win the pursuit to happiness and salvation, spirituality over material interests, and that only few could make it to the gates of Heaven. Most of all, it reminds us that as long as we keep our faith in God, his grace is sufficient enough to help us make it through the difficult journey in life. B. Comparison to the Bible Much has been discussed about the implications of the writings in the Bible with Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress. Critics say the book is similar to the Bible with regard to its subjects, linguistic styles and techniques, symbolism or imagery as presented in the style and form of the Bible. For one, his English language is said to be the English of the Bible that one already sees all phrases as a natural expression or means of his own thoughts. He is relating the existing observation of a biblical approach in his book. He stands up to his use of allegory by requesting to look into to the patterns in the Bible. However, the book extends the significance of still writing religious texts in an artistic language: â€Å"Solidity indeed becomes the pen Of him that writeth things divine to men,† (Bunyan 4) Plus, he argues specifically about his use of allegory: But must I needs want solidness, because By metaphors I speak; was not God’s laws, His gospel-laws in older time held forth By types, shadows and metaphors? Yet loth Will any sober man be to find fault With them, lest he be found for to assault The highest wisdom. † (Bunyan 4) He validates the belief that the Bible has become his model in writing since the text comes from God, the absolute power of knowledge. Another similarity that can be derived between the two texts is seen in this statement by Christian, â€Å"I sink in deep waters, the billows go over my head, all his waves go over me, Selah†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Bunyan 126). This quotation is adapted from Psalm 42:7, â€Å"He has sent waves of sorrow over my soul†, and Psalm. 9: 2, â€Å"I am sinking in deep mud, and there is no solid ground; I am out in deep water, and the waves are about to drown me. † (Good News Bible) It validates the argument that Bunyan knows his Bible very well, so as not be to be mistaken as accidental quotes. More is to be said about the relating qualities of Bunyan’s book with the Bible, it’s as if the words of the Bible are encrypted in his head, obviously making him als o the character in the pilgrimage – journeying, making mistakes, and learning from it until he achieves salvation. But far more important than anything else is the shared theme of Bunyan’s book and the Bible – to reveal the truth about the gates to salvation and eternal happiness. III. Conclusion While it has been suggested also that several other books may have been used as sources in The Pilgrim’s Progress, it is however clear that the book’s masterpiece is due to Bunyan’s creativeness and extensive knowledge of the words of the Bible. The subject of human life being a spiritual pilgrimage that each person has to pursue may have long been a subject for many other literary writings, but Bunyan’s wit and inventiveness makes the book as notable as the Bible. The book expresses a somber, deep, and serious tone all throughout the story in its vision of man’s journey to the gates of Heaven. The trials that these pilgrims have to face are rather traumatic but overwhelming. These obstacles are dealt with great patience and perseverance The two parts of the book are concentrated and drenched on the philosophical idea of puritanical salvation and the ultimate quest for eternal happiness. Ideas and themes presented are far more essential than the plot or the actions within the story. Its allegorical features make it a point for the reader to instill in his life the values that are shared, to understand the story rather than just merely reading it, and to live by it to attain the gratification of seeing the gates of Heaven open on him. And the realistic account, closer-to-life style brings weight to the inspiring reflections in the book. Like most of the writings of John Bunyan, his themes offer us spiritual guides, notes on personal awakenings from a dark past, answering the call to your personal or social duties, and the goodness we achieve from God’s graces. Among his many writings include The Holy War, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, and The Life and Death of Mr. Badman. How to cite The Pilgrim’s Progress, Papers