Can the preparation of non-christian parents for infant baptism be Essay

Can the preparation of non-christian parents for infant baptism be used as a tool of mission engagement - Essay Example as a possible tool for mission engagement, depending on how it is used and how the religious leaders can utilize its potential for spreading God’s word. This paper shall consider the question: can the preparation on non-Christian parents for infant baptism be used as a tool of mission engagement? It shall assess and evaluate this question from the point of view of a student placing himself in a position of a Methodist student minister on placement. An unchurched couple approached this student Methodist minister for the infant baptism of their child. The couple did not come to the church, but they approached the local Methodist minister for the baptism of their child. The task now is to determine how baptism can be used as a tool for mission engagement. The preparation of non-Christian parents for infant baptism can be used as a tool of mission engagement because the principles and the concepts behind baptism can be used to make the unchurched couple understand about Christianity and its teachings. As a Methodist minister, I can explain the process and the teachings behind baptism. In the process of explaining baptism – its teachings and purposes – it is possible to engage the couple into participating more in church activities and in living by the teachings of Christ. First and foremost, I can explain the basis of baptism to the couple. Infant baptism, based on several Christian sects proclaims that â€Å"both believers and their children are included in God’s covenant love. Children of believers are to be baptized without undue delay, but without undue haste† (Presbyterian, n.d). It is important for me, as a Methodist minister to express to the unchurched couple that Baptism is a sacrament which expres ses the truth about God’s infinite and unconditional love; and a sacrament which already embraces people even before they respond in faith. It is also vital for me to emphasize to the unchurched couple that as parents bring their babies to

The Future World System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Future World System - Essay Example According to realists, anarchy and polarity are the two types of systems dominant on the globe today. Anarchy refers to a situation in which the state holds the ultimate power and authority. Polarity is concerned with the number of sates that exercise power over other states in the international arena states (Haas 235). The liberals are of the thought that the international system is anarchical in which individual states act out of self-interest in an effort to preserve their sovereignty (Haas 55). On their part, radicals view the international system as being characterized by stratifications pitting the haves and the have-nots against one another (Haas 251). This stratification is brought about by the availability of resources in individual states, whereby the states with a lot of resource exercise power over those with limited resources. Constructivists differ with the other theorist by asserting that international relations are not characterized by material resources, but rather by social norms (Haas 235). Polarity is a type of international relations system that is advanced by realists who argue that international politics are controlled by a certain number of states where power is concentrated, allowing these states to exert power over inferior states (Arreguin-Toft & Mingst 243). As such, there exist three forms of polarity that exist in international relations. A unipolar system is characterized by a situation in which a single state has absolute power over international politics. Currently, the United States is considered the most powerful state in the world, meaning that the international arena is unipolar. When two rival states are fairly equal and exercise the same level of influence over international affairs, then the international system is considered as bipolar. A perfect example of a bipolar system is the state of affairs after World War II which set the United States against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. In a multipolar

Anti Abortion Argumentative Paper Philosophy Essay

Anti Abortion Argumentative Paper Philosophy Essay Don Marquis once made the statement, The loss of ones life is one of the greatest losses one can suffer. The loss of ones life deprives one of all the experiences and enjoyments that would otherwise have constituted ones future. In todays society one of the ongoing questions is when is it right to take the life of another being, more specifically an unborn child. Abortion is mentally and physically damaging for a woman and her fetus. It should not be legal for distinct reasons. These distinct reasons are there are many risks associated with abortion, there are other options rather than getting an abortion and abortion is murder. There are alternative choices instead of getting an abortion. The first and most effective option is not to have sex. The second option is to have the baby and let others care for it. There are companies designed to help find homes for children without proper parents. The third option is to have the baby and put him or her up for adoption. This can provide a solution to couples facing infertility. Abortion is unnecessary due to these alternatives and others. Second, mental and physical health risks are associated with abortions. A patient may experience hemorrhaging, infection, or death. The most common risk of getting an abortion is breast cancer. During a womans first pregnancy, the breast structure is permanently changed. It seems apparent that cancerous changes occur more frequently among these transitional cells of a woman who has terminated her pregnancy. If she aborts more than once before completing a pregnancy, her chance for cancer increases even more. There are 1.6 million abortions each year; 56% are first abortions and 44% are second or more (Stotland 56). With these figures, one in ten women may develop breast cancer, and 25% of them may die (Stotland 63). However, there are not only physical risks to abortion, but mental risks also. Some women feel relief after an abortion, but many suffer Post Abortion Stress. The symptoms of Post Abortion Stress include anger, guilt, flashbacks, sexual dysfunction, suicidal ideas, halluc ination, and increased drug or alcohol use. These facts alone are evidence that abortions are too dangerous for a woman and her child. Third, abortion is murder because the fetus is a well-developed organism before the abortion takes place. Within the first three weeks, the heart is pumping blood, arms and legs bud, and brain is present. Within a month, the mouth, ears, and nose are present. Brainwaves can be recorded and heartbeat detected at forty days and the skeleton is formed. During this period, the brain is controlling the movement of muscles and organs and the unborn reflexively responds to stimuli. This all takes place before the earliest surgical abortions are performed. Many also believe that because the fetus is not living, it does not experience pain. The babys spinal reflexes are sufficiently developed to feel pain around week seven. Mother Theresa said, The greatest destroyer of peace is abortion because if a mother can kill her own child, what is left for me to kill you and you to kill me? There is nothing between. If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other. Murder is defined as deliberately killing another person not in self-defense or without any other extenuating circumstance recognized by the law. Abortion is killing another person and abortion is not in self-defense. Abortion is murder and takes the life of another human being. Abortion is murder and should be illegal in the United States of America. Anti-Thesis Every woman in the world should have the right to decide how to carry their beings. No government should feel that they have the right to dictate to a person what road their lives should take. Those claiming pro-life are really no more than anti-choice. These pro-lifers crave to put the future of women into the hands of the government. Abortion, and any medical decisions women make, are very private and should never be available for debate. The question of morality cant be a valid argument concerning abortion, because it is not of morality but of option and constitutionality. A common assumption is that people who are pro-choice are actually pro-abortion. Many people that support womens rights could be personally against abortions. That does not mean that they allow the government to pass laws directing what women do with their bodies. Those who are pro-choice simply believe that it is the right of a woman to assess her situation and decide if a baby will benefit or be devastating to her live. People that are opposed to abortion dont take a many things into consideration. For one, consider how the life of a teenager may be ruined if an abortion is not available. Another thing not assessed is the severe family trauma that will result if a baby is forced, by law to be born. Those opposing abortion are unwavering with their ideas and believe that they have a solution to every situation. Pregnant? Try adoption! They will help you support the baby. What ever the womens situation may be, the conservative will not bend. Many suggest adoption as a practical alternative to abortion. But, in reality, this is not a decent substitute. The majority of middle class white couples that are willing to adopt do not want to adopt the mixed race babies (which are the majority put up for adoption). Why else would there be a waiting list for couples to be held in for a few years when there are so many other kinds of babies out there? Would those to claim to have a heart and save a life like these unwanted children grow up as wards of the state, living a life of distress and misfortune? To all of those fighting for laws that will make abortion against the law: do you really think that the law will stop a woman from carrying out with the abort of an unwelcome pregnancy? Drugs are illegal and there plenty of people out there still using. The only thing a law against abortions will achieve will be forcing pregnant women to seek medical attention in unsafe situations, leaving them with not only in the termination of the pregnancy, but perhaps their own lives as well. For a prime example when abortion was prohibited in the 1940s, there were still cases of women seeking help elsewhere. The only alteration though, is that these women typically ended up dead because of hemorrhaging or infection. Bottom line, if a woman wants an abortion, illegal or legal, nothing will get in her way. Why would pro life people, who allegedly put so much significance in life, want to jeopardize the live of another person? Dont get me wrong, if legal abortion is banned, some abortions may be prevented. A woman may not be able to fund an alley-way, black market abortion and would have to deliver. This will be quite unfortunate. Naturally, Mother would be depressed, and in all actuality not deliver the proper care, may drink, do drugs, or any other thing she could do to harm the life of the baby and herself. Post delivery, the mother could very well resent the baby, realizing that it has trashed her chance of ever carrying out her objectives in life. If these women mandated into maternity do happen to keep their child, there is a significant chance of child abuse and neglect. These surplus kids, raised by the state or disregarding parents, would then give birth to yet the next generation of unwanted children. Moreover, in some desperate and impulsive situations, new mothers may become inconsolable, having the idea that since they could not have an abortion they will kill their baby right after birth, thinking they would get away with it and continue on with there lives before the whole wrenched scene. After all of these scenarios are considered fairly by an open-minded person, abortion is the better of them. Many of those who are pro life argue that any of these situations are preferable to abortion. They ultimate goal, they think, is to have the child be alive. They claim that it is unfair and unjust for anyone to take that choice of life away from the fetus. Essentially, what they really want is to take the choice away from the mother and give it to the unborn child, giving them this wonderful prospect to be brought into a loveless, forlorn, and cold so ciety. Synthesis

Cooking as a Social Function Essay -- Women Economics Culture Essays

Cooking as a Social Function In Women and Economics, Charlotte Perkins Gilman directly addressed the notion of work divided along sexual lines. Her analysis, however, refutes the modern idea that the sexual divisions of labor are driven by a comparative advantage to working in the household or in the market. In spite of some overtones of biological essentialism in her argument, in the form of the abundant nature metaphors, Gilman ultimately proposed a society where the household work and the market are indistinguishable from one another. Though it is a small part of her argument in the text, Gilman’s discussion of cooking as woman’s work encompasses much of the complexity and the essence of her arguments. Gilman, though she did not term it as such, addressed the idea of comparative advantages in the household rather directly. â€Å"The main justification for the subjection of women, which is commonly advanced, is the alleged advantage to motherhood resultant from her extreme specialization to the uses of maternity under this condition† (Gilman 169). She countered this argument by first rejecting it on the ground that â€Å"the advantage to motherhood cannot be proved† and secondly by arguing that it is not maternal tasks that women are subjected to, but rather â€Å"the uses of sex-indulgence† (169). This idea of â€Å"sex-indulgence† is the core of her argument as she sees household tasks as inherently conflated with men and women’s sexual relationships. In considering the issue of â€Å"our division of labor on sex-lines, Gilman focused on the complexities involved with â€Å"the preparation and serving of food† (225). Once the notion that women are somehow inherently better at making food than men, the idea of women cooking in the ho... ...still has some choice in selecting the particular establishment to live in, it removes much of the onus of responsibility off of the woman and onto the living establishment. While Gilman’s vision of what she saw as coming to pass in the near future has not yet arrived, her arguments are still operating against contemporary notions of women in the household. Modern microeconomic models of household production still rely on the idea that women are somehow biologically fitted to â€Å"the preparation and serving of food and the removal of dirt, [and] the nutritive and execrative processes† (Gilman 225). As a result, her arguments seem striking over a century since they were written. References Gilman, C. (1998). Women and Economics: A Study of the Economic Relation Between Men and Women as a Factor in Social Evolution. Berkeley: University of California Press.

University of California diet test

University of California conducted an experimental diet test on three-day-old chicks to determine the % of iron consumed and excreted. The diet low in protein (5. 4%, 8. 5% or 10. 8%) or tryptophan (0. 12%) with adequate iron caused a certain percentage of reduction in growth and also resulted in anemia with the deficiency of protein or trypotophan whereas diet low in glycine (0. 33%) with adequate iron indicated reduction in growth and did not cause anemia.Malnutrition is a combination of medical and social disorder that is affecting one in every three persons resulting in chronic diseases and illnesses which includes all age groups of people. 70% of children in Asia, 26% in Africa and 4% in Latin America are affected with protein-energy malnutrition (WHO 2000). Complete eradication of malnutrition is possible with good systems of sanitation, abundant food supply, medical aid and self-employment programs to adequately support poor people financially to take good care of health of pa rents and particularly of children.Protein is a source of energy for living species and particularly according to RDA recommendation, every person must carry 0. 8 grams of protein for every kilogram of weight one weighs or 0. 36 grams per pound one weighs. Proteins contain twenty amino acids out of which nine are important which are necessarily must be available in food/diet. Conclusion Protein calculation should be according to the age, physical activity and exhaustion (burn) of calories. E. g. egetarian male 25-50 yrs requires 2900 calories/day. Protein need is 79 kg x 1gm of protein per kg = 79gms of protein per day. Although meat is rich in protein vegetarian diet is available in various forms viz. ,green leafy vegetables, pulses, nuts, milk, bread, rice, tofu, soya milk and butter. Vegetarian diet is easily digestible, quick in conversion to protein-energy whereas non-vegetarian is a hard-diet and it requires repetitive check to keep the meat healthy and edible for cooking.

Jonathan Livingstone Seagull Essay

After reading on Jonathan Livingstone seagull, write down reflective value and believe about the meaning and purpose of life. Jonathan Livingston Seagull is about a very independent bird, who dared to question what was being taught and told to him by the elders. He didn’t just want to spend his days searching for food and hanging out doing what was expected of him. He was different, and dared to dream. He spent his days learning to fly faster and better than any other gull in the flock. He learned from all of his searching and trying that he could do anything, if he wanted it badly enough and just went for it, even to the point of becoming an outcast. At one point in time, in so learning and perfecting his craft, he crash landed and died, going onto a higher lever of his awareness, to learn more lessons from his guide, Fletcher. He continues through the story, becoming more and more proficient in his endeavours and in turn becomes a teacher/guide to others, becoming a kind and loving soul along the way. Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a bird who wants nothing more than to fly. Raised in a group of gulls that saw flying as only a means to an end, Jonathan challenged their way of life by believing that flying could be about more than transportation or getting food†¦ it could be about joy and happiness and freedom. When told he was irresponsible for trying exceed his expectations Jonathan replied: â€Å"Who is more responsible than a gull who finds and follows a meaning, a higher purpose for life? For a thousand years we have scrabbled after fish heads — and now we have a reason to live — to learn, to discover, to be free! † An outcast from his flock, Jonathan took his exile with a grain of salt, finding joy in his love for flight and his constant desperate desire to grow and to learn. He pushes himself to the breaking point and is never satisfied enough with his knowledge and never tires of the quest to obtain more. Bach gives us a character that stands alone with his ideas and beliefs and is rewarded for his patience and courage. The second half of the book shows Jonathan learning so much that he transcends his earthly form into a higher plane of being. Here, Jonathan is met with other gulls who like him, strive for excellence and do not see flying as a means to an end, but simply love to fly for the sake of loving it. This part begins to reflect a bit of the Buddhist mindset about heaven and a universal knowledge which can seem a bit confusing at first. Jonathan finally returns to his flock on Earth to try for better or worse to show that there is more to life than what they are striving for. This is a fable about the importance of making the most of our lives, even if our goals run contrary to the norms of our flock, tribe or neighbourhood. Through the metaphor of flight,Jonathan’s story shows us that, if we follow our dreams, we too can soar. Amazing inspiring story of seagulls. It tells us nothing is impossible in this world. You just have to have the desire to achieve it.

Algae Biology Lab Report Essay Example

Algae Biology Lab Report Essay Example Algae Biology Lab Report Paper Algae Biology Lab Report Paper Theoretical Background: Plantlike Protests: commonly referred to as algae have organelles called chloroplasts which contain chlorophyll that help them carry out photosynthesis are authors therefore they use photosynthesis for nourishment there is 4 different phyla: solenoids, chromospheres, diatoms, and tintinnabulations these algae can be given a variety of colors because they have accessory pigments that absorb light Hypothesis: If organisms are in the kingdom Prosiest, then they share common structures. Materials: 3 microscope slides water 1 sample of Volvo 1 sample of euglena 1 sample of Spirogyra 3 cover slips 3 medicine droppers 1 microscope 1 piece of paper Procedure: 1. Using the first medicine dropper, take a sample of euglena and place it on the first microscope slide. 2. Place a cover slip over the sample of euglena and onto the slide. 3. Observe the euglena slide under the low power objective first. 4. Sketch the euglena and note observations. 5. Observe the euglena under the high power objective and note observations at this higher magnification. 6. Darken half of the viewing field by placing paper ever the microscopes light source or by rotating the diaphragm. 7. Prepare a wet slide mount for the sample of Spirogyra by repeating steps 1-2. 8. Observe the Spirogyra under scanning, low power and high power, then note the observations. 9. Sketch the Spirogyra. 10. Prepare a wet slide mount for the Volvo. 11. View the Volvo under scanning and low power. 12. Sketch the Volvo. Results: The drawings of the three samples of algae are stapled to this lab on a separate piece of paper. Analysis: Under the microscope, the Volvo appeared as small, light green spheres with spikes on them. It moved around in a quick, bouncy way, while rotating. The Spirogyra were long shapes with small blobs inside of them. The euglena was a blob shaped organism with smaller shapes inside of it. It moved slightly and slowly. We were able to identify the chloroplasts and the sexpot. Conclusion: The hypothesis was proven true. Organisms in the kingdom Prosiest share many common structures. First off, all protests are eukaryotic; therefore, they have a nucleus. Plantlike protests contain chlorophyll and carry out photosynthesis. Some algal protests use tail-like flagella in order to move around their watery environment.