A History of God - 275 Words

A History of God (Essay Sample) Content: A HISTORY OF GOD Student's Name Class Date Similar to how Jean-Paul Sartre describes the human longing for God with literature, Karen Armstrong attempts to do the same by using historical moments and her personal experience. The book A History of God is not necessarily about an all-powerful God, but rather a story about how the idea of God has evolved in the past five thousand years through philosophy, science, politics, and art. Armstrong uses various historical events to portray the evolution of God. However, she avoids the question of "Is there a god?" By avoiding the latter, she narrates an original tale of her religion, beliefs, and human nature. The Beginning The entire book is like a museum that uses relics on display to tell the history of human faith. In the Bible, during the beginning, God created human beings as a reflection of his image. In contrast, Armstrong's take on creation proposes that humans created the idea of God or a "Ruler" of heaven and earth. This sets the tone for the book. She goes on to explain the origins of the "Sky-Gods" of ancient times. In other words, the human acknowledgment of a creator who resides in heavens to watch over humanity. Armstrong proposes that this notion gave way to several rituals of praying by looking up to the sky, which is also referred to as "praying to the heavens" in many cultures.[Karen Armstrong, A History of God, (Ballantine Books, 1994), 11-15.] [2. Ibid.] The story begins with tribal gods, which were linked to daily events such as the rising of the sun or the changing seasons. These stories traveled from African tribes to European countries, where these beings evolved into more elaborate Gods known as the Pantheon or Olympians. In the time of the Greeks, the idea of one all-powerful God was changed to the belief in multi-level deities: lower and higher-level Gods such as Zeus and Hermaphrodeity. They were perceived as spirits that resided in mundane objects like plants and animals. Armstrong states that the existence of an all-powerful being that controls everything in the world makes God unattainable. Therefore, the society found the need to change God into deities that were more accessible by giving them characteristics of human beings with special powers. Gods played a significant role in explaining unknown phenomena. The Greeks and Pagans attributed catastrophic or major events to "angry" or "happy" Gods, rather than natural event s.[3. Ibid., 16-17.] The Middle Further in the book, Armstrong proposes that the reason why religion is insignificant in the modern life is that people are not able to "feel" or "sense" the need for a God. The modern society is disconnected from the critical aspects of life such as the need for food or water mainly due to the abundance of resources. The inception of religion began after people realized the importance of having water, daylight, food, and everything required to survive on the Earth. Thus, from the start, the unknown cycles of life and the lack of understanding of how the environment functions created a "hole" that was filled by religious beliefs. Armstrong states that for thousands of years, Jews, Muslims, and Christians replaced the view of exuberant Pantheon Gods for a more spiritualistic or "holy" approach. The reason for this change was prompted once again by the lack of resources in the Middle Eastern lands. People in arid regions such as Jerusalem lived hardship in the wild, which led them to practice religion to find strength. Additionally, she proposes that the belief of the modern "God" arose from the need to show the things humans "lose" in life rather than what they gain. Armstrong refers to the latter as the most ingenious idea brought forth by religion. It was significant enough that it was used by the Church to build the modern Christianity.[4. Ibid., 18.] The idea of God as a supreme being that is perpetual, infinite, and perfect is described by Armstrong as "unrealà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ . This notion is expressed in all major religions, and it is the culmination of five thousand years of religious beliefs. In the modern times, the idea of heaven and hell is universally expressed; it has become the pillar of religious institutions. Intriguingly, Armstrong states that she feels a stronger relation to hell than to heaven because she can imagine it vividly. She expands on this by saying that humans live a great deal of pain and suffering. Therefore, it is more plausible to believe that hell exists. Whereas, she feels that the notion of a perfect heaven, where no one suffers, is unreal and unattainable.[5. Ibid., 19.] [6. Ibid., 34-36.] After being born into a religion, Armstrong learned a great deal about the Church's use of fear to inculcate loyalty in their followers. The more she read about saints, God, angels, and miracles, the more she felt that God was distant. During her time as a nun, Armstrong delved into the scrip...

The Movie The Iron Lady Analysis Assignment Paper - 1375 Words

The Movie 'The Iron Lady' Analysis Assignment Paper (Movie Review Sample) Content: [Student Name][Lecturers Name][Course Details][Date] The Movie The Iron LadyProtracted debates have been witnessed globally on the suitability of female leadership, especially for service in momentous capacities. A nation such as the U.S., which is among the pioneers and champions of democracy, is yet to accept a female president. This is a clear indication that women have to work against a myriad of odds to clinch any meaningful positions on a national scale. The entertainment industry often transcends convention to depict various phenomena in life. The leadership of women has not been an exception to moviemakers frantic efforts to pitch themselves as having a keen eye for the activities that transpire all around us. The movie, The Iron Lady is a typical example of the efforts made by this industry to mirror what goes on around the globe. This essay seeks to conduct an analysis of this movie with the objective of assessing its success in depicting the life of the fir st female prime minister of Britain, the late Margret Thatcher.A synopsis of The Iron Lady The movie The Iron Lady is a British biopic based on the life of the longest-serving prime minister of the United Kingdom, Margret Thatcher, produced in the year 2011. Written by Abi Morgan and produced by Phyllida Lloyd who is one of the most esteemed film directors in the United Kingdom, it casts among others, Americas most celebrated actress Meryl Streep as the main character, that is, Margret Thatcher. The movies approximately one hour and forty minutes run-time is an attempt at portraying the odds 20th-century women had to grapple with in their endeavors to attain leadership positions. The Iron Lady specifically cuts a portrait of a woman who comes from nowhere to smash through gender and class-based barriers to claiming an esteemed spot in a male-dominated field. Analysis of The Iron Lady The Iron Lady is a biopic, which has been, and still is, a subject of heated deliberations as to w hether they satisfy the criteria of standing independently as a genre. Many scholars, among them Professor Rick Altman, have extensively deliberated on this issue but it remains largely unresolved. A rudimentary concept of the term biopic is necessary before proceeding any further. The word biopic was coined from two words; biography and pictures. Biopics are thus movies aimed at aim at depicting and dramatizing the life of an important historical character either from the past or present era (Boxclever Films par. 1). They often dwell on the big events of a persons life such as wartime, political or social conditions surrounding the persons day-to-day life as they rise to fame and glory (Wilkins 5). Putting The Iron Lady in perspective, it meets these criteria quite effortlessly. This qualifies it as a biopic. Margret Thatcher, the protagonist in the movie, was not only the first female prime minister of the United Kingdom but also the longest serving in the 20th century. The movie does well in highlight the major developments of her life including her meteoric political rise, the Falklands war, the height of her tenure as prime minister and eventually her unceremonious exit from the ranks of power and authority. In this respect, the movie perfectly fits within the statutes that govern biopics.The central theme in this movie seems to be the struggles a woman has to through as they try to ascend the social and economic ladder. Women have been in fighting terms with men, all the while trying to make an assertion that what men can do, they can do better. This has been witnessed in virtually all fields including political leadership. The tragedy, however, is that they have never been taken seriously such that those who succeed in clinching enviable positions on the social ladder have to incessantly ward off malicious passes made at them by the men around them. In the movie, the protagonist is portrayed as one who made it into male-dominated ranks and quite vocal a nd even radical with a no-nonsense political style and administrative approach. However, summarily considering her portrayal in the movie, it gives an impression of a world that is inclined against women and even her tenure in office seems to have just been a short stint in office. In her old age, she is still remorseful over how she was forced out of office against her will. The central theme in the movie is developed quite well.The movie manages to create different atmospheres for different occasions for instance when the ever tough is at it with the men in her capacity, one cannot help but feel a taste of the uncompromising air she built around her. She was almost invincible in the face of the men, never yielding to any of their attempts to sell their ideas to her. In the comfort of her home, the movie portrays a beautiful family which enviable both as a young couple and even later in life. The story is largely told through flashbacks to different points in life by an old almost senile Margret Thatcher. This style also does well in building suspense, especially when the scenes change from one scene to another through different instances of flashback. One cannot help but ask fundamental questions on the sequence of events leading to a particular occurrence. The movie follows a conventional plot line in which the news on TV at the milk store and the reaction of the unrecognized Margret Thatcher forms the exposition. The rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution all come in either as different instances of flashback or a brief section of the present life of the protagonist. Thus, the theme and plot of the movie were innovatively woven as a series of flashbacks.The protagonist faces different forms of conflict both within herself and with other characters. The internal conflicts are more clearly notable in her old age. However, her conflicts with other people are almost every day occurrences in her prime years as the head of government due to her r adical and uncompromising nature. At the end of the story, the protagonist seems to change her perception of the issues that tormented her most of her retired life. The movie closes when she is at peace with ...