Principle Of Sacraments - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1717 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2018/12/18 Category Religion Essay Type Research paper Level High school Tags: God Essay Theology Essay Did you like this example? 1. QUESTION 1 The Principle of Sacramentality can best be defined if the words encompassing it are first described. The phrase sacramentality originated from a Latin word Sacramentum, which is a direct translation of the Greek word mysterion, which in English means mystery. The Principle of Sacramentality is, therefore, an instrument of reality that signifies the presence of Gods activity in any sacred undertaking of humankind (Sherry, 2008). The Principle of Sacramentality is as God himself gave humans the son who is God, and He was born as a human being. God, became man through his son, was born of the blessed Mary, and was raised up as a man on the earth. The Principle of Sacramentality indicates that God is seen, heard and touched in the human living perspective since He became human through Jesus (Sherry, 2008). The Church conducts different rituals that enable the invisible presence of God to grow tangible in various ways for the believers to have a unique encounter with God in their lives (Cooke, 2004). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Principle Of Sacraments" essay for you Create order According to the Catholic Church, the Principle of Sacramentality is the way in which God expresses his invisible grace to Christians using signs and action. For instance, in the sacrament of Baptism, the water is used as a sign of Gods grace of washing away the sins. This washing shows that for the Christians to experience the cleansing of sins, they have to encounter with God through the sign of water, which is poured on them (Beguerie Duchesneau, 1997). 2. QUESTION 2 The Church as a whole has three sacraments of initiation. Baptism is the first of the initiation sacraments the others being The Eucharist and Confirmation. The Baptism is taken to introduce a new member to the church. It all marks the entry of one into the church community. It is a welcome of one into godly life (Cooke, 2004). Baptism Marks the end of sins and thus the beginning of a new life in God. Baptism pardons Christian their sins and gives them the dignity to be called Gods children (John3; 5). Confirmation is the time one is filled with the Holy Spirit. It is time for one to take on Gods image (Luke 24; 49). Eucharist is about a Christian are transformed in the flesh all through to their everlasting life (1 Corinthians 11:23-25). Jesus Christ was the first one to institute sacraments since He gave His disciples some directives to follow in the way of Christianity. Such directives were confined to the establishment of sacraments. He said to His chosen disciples, to travel far and wide making disciples, teaching all those who believe and ultimately baptizing them in the name of the supreme trinity (Matthew 27:19). On the night before He died, He instituted the sacrament of Eucharist, the last supper. He took the bread, he blessed it, broke it and gave to His disciples as He uttered; This is my body, and this is the chalice of my blood, do this in remembrance of me (Mark 14:22-25). This practice gave the priests the power to consecrate the Eucharist, which is practiced today. It is all about confirmation of the ways of Christ and nothing less than doing what Jesus Christ set the disciples to do. It is also giving out to God the best regarding service to others. 3. QUESTION3 Following the New Testament, baptism is an event that was practiced right from the time of John the Baptist to the present day. It is considered as a sacred ritual and one that stands out wholly for the believers as far as a cleansing of ones sins is concerned. The Baptism is also understood as a time for the welcoming of the new church members into the faith. It all marks the entry of one into the church community. Therefore, Baptism cannot be complete without the association of water which is believed to wash away the sins and act as a regenerator to the renewal of the Christian faith by the installation of Holy Spirit into ones soul (Luke 3:21). From the Christian perspective, the Sacrament of Baptism is the basis of the completely Christian life. It is a welcome of one into godly life Baptism Marks the end of sins and thus the beginning of a new life in God (Luke 2:21). The word Baptism originated from a Greek word baptizo in which it means to immerse. Water is seen as a purifier and a source of life and light as it nourishes the life of all living creatures even plants. This pathway directs anyone who seeks to be a true believer. It is through Baptism that all believers are freed from their sins and are born again as true children of God and joined the army of Christ (Mark 1:10). The Church has a firm position on the Sacrament of Baptism as it is from it that new disciples are created just as it was ordered by Christ.(Matthew 13:16). Initially, during the creation, the man had the nature of God, but after falling into sin, man was separated from Gods character. This state left man a sinner. The Sacrament of Baptism was consequently introduced to reconcile the human with God. Jesus instituted this sacrament for every soul after paying for the original sin on the cross. In addition, the disciples were commanded to go all over the world preaching the word, and those who believe and are baptized will be saved (Mark 16; 15-16) Baptism is understood as a fundamental sacrament that any Christian qualifies to take in any stage in life as long as one decides to be the church member, apart from it being the first of all the seven sacraments. This is because no one can receive any of the six sacraments unless one is Baptized (Sherry, 2008). Baptism is equally vital for ones salvation. Scripture confirms that it is only through baptism of water and that of the spirit that one has a place in Gods kingdom (John3; 6). 4. QUESTION 4 Confirmation is also identified a spiritual strengthening sacrament and was instituted to witness the true character of Christ. Jesus told the disciples not to leave Jerusalem until they receive the Holy Spirits power that will help them to be his witness all over the world (Luke 24; 49). Confirmation by Holy oil helps in increasing the sanctifying grace in Christians life as well as enabling them to remain spiritually alive. It is through Confirmation that the Christians can resist sin and become more like Christ (Cooke, 2004). The Sacrament of Confirmation is associated with light just as the Sacrament of Baptism is related to water (History Development of Sacrament of Confirmation, 2017). During the ceremony of Confirmation, some rituals accompany it, which is believed to be the qualification for one to be crowned entirely. Confirmation enables the Christian to be like Christ the king in leadership and directing others. Therefore, the Christians use the Sacrament of Confirmation in spreading their faith as well as defending it (Cooke, 2004). The anointing ritual is the last one during this ceremony where anointing oil is smeared on the forehead of the confirmed. The oil smeared on the forehead of the established, therefore, shows that one has been chosen by God to be His child and he should follow the Gods teachings (1st Samuel 16:13). 5. QUESTION 5 The presence of Christ in the Sacrament of Eucharist is different from the presence of Christ in other sacraments. This is because in other sacrament Christ is present by his power but not in reality as in the body and blood. As a result, while partaking the Eucharist Christians do not only participate in the bread and wine but Christ in a person who is the food of eternal life. During Eucharist, the Catholics worship Christ, whom they supposed to be present in the sacramental bread and blood. This shows that the bread is not a mere symbol of Christ, but Christ is substantially present in it (Billy Keating, 2006). Those who have been initiated participate with others in the whole community in the Lords sacrifice using the Eucharist. It originated from the act of Christ in the Last Supper before his betrayal.Christ established the Eucharist of the sacrifice of His own body and blood. He did it to bring forth an eternal sacrifice that will be a sign of love, unity, resurrection and act as a memory of the journey of salvation that he underwent (Matthew 26:26-28). The Eucharist summarizes our faith because we believe that Christ hang dead on the cross for our redemption. He gave His body for persecution for our sake and shed his blood for the redemption of our lost souls. This body is symbolized by the bread and blood changed from wine when the priest consecrates them when he says; This is my body and the chalice of my blood. (1st Corinthians 11:23). 6. QUESTION 6 The other name of Penance is Confession and Reconciliation. In this Sacrament, Christians are expected to confess their sin and return to God from their astray. The critical element of this sacrament is the act of confessing individuals sins to the priest. The Catholic Church has given the Christians a way to reconcile with their creator (Cooke, 2004). Christ as a sign of love and mercy instituted the Sacrament of Penance. What the signs of the Sacrament symbolize however is a more profound, mysterious, religious and spiritual state or level of being. At a sacred level, the Sacrament of Penance offers the opportunity for Christian to heal their relationship with God by obtaining forgiveness for their sins. It makes Jesus present and can change our lives as we come to know how God loves us. Signs, which accompany the Sacrament of Penance, are not just empty symbols; they convey something else, which draws humans into reality they portray. The priest utters that, your sins are forgiven (Luke 5:20). The signs embraced during this Sacrament of Penance reinforce the density of the forgiveness attained. Therefore, the Penance that we seek is to strengthen our faith. References Beguerie, P., Duchesneau, C. (1997). How to understand the sacraments. New York: Crossroad. Billy, D. J., Keating, J. (2006). The way of mystery: The Eucharist and moral living. New York: Paulist Press. Cooke, B. J. (2004). Sacraments sacramentality. Mystic, CT: Twenty-Third Publications. History Development of Sacrament of Confirmation. (2017). Loyolapress.com. Retrieved 15 July 2017, from https://www.loyolapress.com/our-catholic-faith/sacraments/confirmation/history-and-development-of-sacrament-of-confirmation. Sherry, P. (2008). The Sacramentality of Things. New Black friars, 89(1023), 575-590.

annotated bibliography - 2694 Words

Global economics: Source 1:http://business.time.com/2011/08/31/will-steve-jobs-departure-hurt-the-economy/ Summarize: This article discusses how big of an impact Steve Jobs has on the economy we live in today. Apple is a multi-billion dollar company. It has more financial ammo than most sovereign countries, by financial ammo I mean it has much more money than others companies in sovereign countries. Apple trumps the Gross domestic production of Denmark, Thailand, and Greece, which makes the company a true power house in today’s Society. If someone were to ask me what this article is about, I would tell them it explains in detail the impact Steve jobs had on the global economy. Mr. Jobs affected many countries from japan to the United†¦show more content†¦Mr. Jobs responded withâ€Å"Those jobs aren’t coming back.† He said that because 700,000 people engineer and build and assemble apple parts, in addition to the 43,00 people apple employs in the United States and the 20,000 they employ overseas. Nearly none of those 700,000 people live in the United states, they work in other countries. Some part of the iPhone are American. The software for the iPhone, for instance, and its marketing campaigns were created in the United States. Apple recently built a $500 million data center in North Carolina.â€Å"Also another advantage for Apple was that China provided engineers at an extent the United States could not reach. Apple’s executives had estimated that about 8,700 industrial engineers were needed to oversee and guide the 200,000 assembly-line workers eventually involved in manufacturing iPhones. The company’s analysts had forecast it would take as long as nine months to find that many qualified engineers in the United States.† Assess: This article is useful because it shows how Apple influences politics in the United States and in other countries. President Barack Obama personally asked Steve Jobs â€Å"what would it take to make iPhones in the United States?† this means that Apple is a big deal if the President of the United States wants to know why its not being made in America. The main goal of this article is to show Steve Jobs influences Global politics. Reflection: This source we very helpful because itShow MoreRelatedMy First Semester Of English913 Words   |  4 Pages Writing project four was my favorite project this semester because it was an exciting topic, because of the pop- culture texts we were able to choose from. This paper encourage me to use the tools I had used from the previous papers. The Annotated Bibliography taught me how to summarize a detailed article. 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Global Strategy at General Motors free essay sample

Company, one of the world’s largest automakers, traces its roots back to 1908 and its annual revenue in 2000 of $185 billion. The company sells 8 million vehicles per years, 3. 2 million of which are produced and market outside of its North America. GM caught 27 percent share of the North America and 9 percent share of the market in the rest of the world as well as GM captured 12 percent share in the Western Europe in 2000 which is second only to that of ford. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 235,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in some 140 countries. GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 34 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM’s largest national market is the United States, followed by China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia and Germany. We will write a custom essay sample on Global Strategy at General Motors or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page GM’s OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. General Motors Company acquired operations from General Motors Corporation on July 10, 2009, and references to prior periods in this and other press materials refer operations of the old General Motors Corporation. Though GM had a long presence in developing countries, until recently sales there accounted for only a little fraction of the company’s total international business. Traditionally GM used the developing countries as a dumping ground for the obsolete technology and outdated models and earned huge money from this aging investment. This strategy has seen as lack of commitment from top management and GM offered very low quality, made of old product. All decision, plan and marketing decision were centralized by Detroit headquarter and they acted as a market context. GM kept in its mind about the poverty, crime, geographical situation and politics and communism in the developing countries. On the other hand, GM Detroit headquarters kept away GM European operation from other part of the world. And because of this arm’s-length-basis, company had failure to share all the valuable technology, skill and practice among the subsidiaries. But it had appealing market, and high profit opportunities in the Europe. So, GM did tailor the specific market needs because it had worried about blowing off from market if it didn’t tailor the specific market. So, while the GM tight controlled over its operation in the developing country but in the some time GM was too lax in Europe and felt lack of overall strategic coherence. Since 1997, GM has been trying to switch a philosophy that centre of excellence may reside any where in the global operation. An embodiment of this is to set up new four plants in the developing countries with investing $2. billion. And the four plants are identical and they can able to imitate Toyota. At the Eisenach plant, GM leant lean production from Toyota and implemented this. So the plant which productivity rate is at least twice that of most North American assembly operations is most efficient in Europe operation and the best in GM. Although they reach the more scale economics, more efficiency , more synergy, and ability to match local preference, but this strategy are not working because GM still suffers from high costs, low perceive quality. Finally, GM thinks that the push toward global cars is misconceived. At the Opel’s Russelsheim design facility, the German based engineering has uttered concerns that distinctively European engineering features may be left by the wayside in the drive to devise what they see as blander â€Å"global† cars. Question-1: How would you characterize the strategy pursued by GM in the (a) developing world and (b) Europe before 1997? Answer: The question asked to characterize the strategy pursued by GM in the developing world and in Europe before 1997. So, first of all it is very important to notice that in this question we have two important information for discussion: First information: there are two main market areas for GM’s international operations: Europe and the developing world which is made up of Latin America, Asia and eastern Europe and the strategy pursued in these two markets are totally different. Second information is that there’s a key date in GM’s history which is 1997. This date is an important turnaround for GM. Strategy in developing countries before 1997 The fact: †¢Outdated low cost products were selected for developing countries. †¢All the strategic decision, marketing and manufacturing plans were centralized by Detroit headquarter †¢Low commitment policy was there since GM select developing countries as a dumping ground for obsolete technology and outdated models The context: †¢The main context in the developing countries is the political and economical instability. †¢Low expanse capability of the developing countries as they are poor. †¢Low growth perspectives. The strategy: Decision to produce and sell low cost models that were considered outdated developed world. Added benefit of extending the return on investment of previous decade’s investments. †¢This allowed generating a continuous cash flow to be invested in more appealing markets like Europe. †¢Probably willingness is not to share valuable technologies and skills in countries with low patent protection. The Result: market sha re less than 8. 9% The strategy pursued in the developing markets before 1997 was a very low commitment from the top management towards the developing markets. This means that the product offer was very low quality, made of old products that would have not been sellable in a competitive, developed market like the US or western Europe. From the case we also noticed that all the strategic, planning and marketing decisions were centralized in the Detroit headquarter. So, this means that the top management didn’t consider important to have a direct contact with those markets and didn’t want â€Å"trust† local subsidiaries to manage on their own. They thought they could manage the developing market from their desks in Detroit. Lack of initiative or just plain Yankee arrogance weren’t the main reasons. We think the GM management acted accordingly to the market context. In fact to understand their strategy, we must keep in mind that the geopolitical situation before the nineties in South America had instability both in politics and economy, poverty, crime and sometimes civil wars. In Eastern Europe and Asia: communism was also known as not favorable to American capitalists. The choice of a low profile strategy was the only chance at these conditions and there were low risk, low investment, low commitment but also low return. The market share of GM’s vehicles in these markets was very little but, considering the amount of resources invested, it’s not bad at all. After all, this low-cost strategy allowed GM to extend the life of obsolete products without risking to loose valuable resources in risky states. And most important, generating some cash to be invested in more appealing markets like Europe. Strategy in Europe before 1997 The context: †¢Strong local competitors †¢Strong cultural identity †¢Differences in preferences compared to US †¢Tight urban space The pursued strategy: †¢Need to totally design, produce and sell different models( compared to US) †¢Huge investment. Allowed to produce state of the art vehicles featuring the ultimate technology and design tailored to the local customers. †¢Loose control by Detroit headquarter and wide freedom to regional and national subsidiaries( strategy planning, designing of cars and facilities were managed on their own) The Result: †¢11. 3% market share second only to Ford †¢Lack of an overall strategic coherence. Inability to leverage synergies And here we go with the second part of the question: strategy in Europe before 1997. Here everything is different. We have an appealing market, high profit opportunities, demanding customers and strong competitors. In Europe you can’t even imagine to sell the same cars you sell in America. First of all because there’s not enough space: streets are smaller, plain and simple. Second, because people have very different preferences compared to US and third because if you don’t tailor the cars to the specific market needs, local competitors will blow you off in a minute. And you’ll be out of the game. So here’s how GM managed the European operations: They gave local subsidiaries freedom to design, produce and sell new models. Impact of pre 1997 strategy In developing countries: †¢Inability to respond to market needs †¢Mediocre from a competitive point of view but decent from a financial point of view In Europe: †¢Good response to market needs †¢High costs †¢Good from a competitive point of view but very expensive and not much efficient To summarize Pressure for cost reduction was high in developing countries not because of competitors but mainly because of poverty. In Europe, compared to developing countries, customers have a high expenditure capability so if a pressure for cost reduction exists, it’s due to competition but still it’s not comparable to that in the developing world. That’s why we’ve put it in the lower end of the axis. Question-3: How would you characterize the strategy that GM has been pursuing since 1997? How should this strategy affect GM’s ability to create value in the global automobile market?

Western Religions an Example by

Western Religions Any world culture has its own collection of tales relating the story of the world creation; they tell by whom and how the world was created and usually ascribe a particular role to the bearers of the culture in this process. Such early form of literature became known as mythology. Zuni were no different in this regard. The prehistory tribes of Zuni inhabited the territory of New Mexico. The Zuni origin myth gives us clues to how people come to live on the earth from underground. Zunis already exist when the narrative begins, but they live four worlds beneath the surface of the earth, in the womb of the Earth Mother, undeveloped and undifferentiated, however, rudimentary core of Zuni society is already present, in the rain priests and their sacred bundles or fetishes. The Sun Father sends his twin star sons down to bring the people from beneath the earth. When the twins arrive in the fourth underworld, the rain priests convene and agree to begin the process of emergence. It takes four attempts and the aid of insects or plants -- trees, reeds, or prayer sticks -- to move from one underworld to the next, the plants are used as ladders. Need essay sample on "Western Religions" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed The Zunis seek the Middle of the World, that place where the natural, social, and spiritual elements of life are synchronized. On their first migrations, they acquire agriculture and the religious rites that control precipitation. The first corn seeds are provided by a witch, who emerges with the Zunis. The witch requires the death of a child in return for the seed. Four days later, however, the child is found alive again. This is the first statement of a contradiction elaborated throughout the myth, one central to agriculture: how death yields life. When plants are harvested or animals killed for food, death sustains life. When the old die, they make available resources for the young who replace them. Another change occurs to Zunis' anatomy - the twins cut off their tails, slice their webbed hands and feet, and wash off their slime. They even provide the Zunis with mouths and anuses to allow them to eat and digest food. Having differentiated themselves from nature, the Zunis now beg in to differentiate from each other. They are presented with a choice between two eggs. One of the eggs is a beautiful blue color, the other motley and unappealing. But when the blue egg hatches, a homely, unlucky crow appears and when the motley egg hatches, a beautiful macaw emerges. The people who choose the macaw travel to the south, the land of everlasting summer and become the "Lost Others." Those that choose the crow continue on the journey eastward. At this point, two temporary leaders are selected: a brother and sister, children of a rain priest. As they stop to rest the brother sexually violates his sister - children born of this union are the supernatural clowns. Enraged, the sister draws a line between two mountains to separate herself from her brother. A river flows between the mountains, into a lagoon, and this becomes Sacred Lake, which becomes the home for all deceased Zunis. As children try to cross that river they are turned into reptiles and then into marry, dancing spirits kachina. As people proceed they meet giants who want to stop their search for Middle Place, but the star twins who appeared to be the gods of war help them and the people conquer their foes and continue their search. The Zunis eventually, after a number of crises which arose before the myth ends, settle in the Middle Place, in the shadow of Corn Mountain, alongside the Zuni River and bec ame Zuni, the people of the town. This myth gives us a number of hints of what was Zunis world view. For example as it was stated above they justified the death as integral element of living. Another example is that the evidence that people first had webbed limbs testifies to great probability of acceptance of living being evolution. Also this myth exhibits the strength and persistence of Zuni people to overcome the obstacles on the way to their aim. They also practice an allegoric re-emergence out of underground to the world surface which is described in the myth in every day life as they leave home as far as their habitation is constructed in such a way that they have to climb by a ladder connected to the floor and leading to the top were the entrance is located. This resembles a ritual of re-emergence that commenced millions years ago. This fact also indicates their perception of time as cyclic process. Through the myths they explain the repetition of seasons every year. Kachina spirits are also remembered by cont emporary people, they arrange ritual dances wearing special masks. Through these dancing they try to communicate with people from Sacred Lake, the dead and furthermore they encourage weather to provide rain and give them good crops. Zuni perceive spiritual and material world as a unity that means that they do not make difference between these spheres. To meet their gods they dont evoke visions or communicate through dreams, they perform special ceremonies and rituals. In this feature the Shoshone differ from Zuni, as their religion is grounded on dreams and visions. Religious concepts were derived from a mythical cosmogony. Among the Shoshone, young men sought power beings through a visionary experience. There was a concept of soul-dualism among Shoshone groups. One soul represented vitality or life; the other was the individual as he was in a dream or vision state. During dreams or visions, the latter soul left the body and moved in the spirit realm. At death, both souls left the body. In Shoshone mythology the mythical animals such as wolf, coyote, rabbit, bear, and mountain lion, were believed to be the predecessors of the modern animals. They lived prior to Indian life, spoke and acted as people do in the pr esent world. They created the world and were responsible for present-day topography, ecology, food resources, and seasons of the year. However, there are also some similar features shared by these two tribes. The same as Zuni Shoshone perform various ritual dances. Other meso-American peoples, the Aztecs, also perceived the world and life as a complicated interconnection between supernatural forces and beings. They attributed to such notions as earth, mountains features of living being. As regards the Aztec cosmovision human life and destiny are in connection with supernatural forces and that is why people must obey different rituals and sacrifice forms to gain on gods disposition. They believed that human body was a transitory place for three spiritualistic forces heat, the thing which inhales life to people, and breath. Each of these forces has its own center in human body, thus heat is in the persons head, the second force is in the heart and breath is in the liver. Each force bestows certain abilities upon a person, for example, heat gives character and vital energy, the thing which inhales life remains with the body after persons death and breath helps person to have various feelings like passion, hatred, happiness etc. So every person, i n Aztec understanding, performs as a fusion of three forces due to which each person acquires his/her individual character. After persons death these forces break their unity and act separately. The obvious conclusion is that while living in a wild and full of danger world early peoples searched help with divine powers. The believes and religious traditions of the old tribes Zuni, Shoshone, Aztec and many others gave them specific wisdom that kept them in balance with nature and allowed them to survive in those circumstances. Reference: Earhart, Byron H., editor, Religious Traditions of the World, Harper Collins Publishers, New York, NY, 1993