Christian Ethics

On December 8, 2017 By jpnora7In ProjectsLeave a comment

John Patrick Nora

Ms. Weidner

IB World Religions II – Gold 1

8 December 2017

Christian Ethics

One of Christianity’s most significant ethics is the 10 Commandments. These are some of the most prominent guidelines in all of Christianity, and were created by God. These 10 Commandments include: You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make idols. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Honor your father and your mother. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. You shall not covet. The Commandments themselves are not difficult, as they list basic guidelines such as not having other gods, keeping in mind God’s day, respecting your parents, no killing, no stealing, etc. However, it can be difficult to simultaneously and properly follow all of these guidelines. One must keep in mind that these commandments were spoken by God Himself, and this truly shows the significance of them and how we must truly follow them.

Another one of Christianity’s ethics is to follow guidelines and complete certain actions with the mind, but more importantly, with the heart. This means that one should not be doing an action simply because it is required, but rather that a person genuinely wants to do it. One example of this is going to weekly mass. Weekly mass is required, as part of the 10 Commandments, and people do go. However, even if a person goes to mass every week, there is no real purpose in doing so if a person is only doing it if is required. If that is the case, then a person will not be able to build a real and genuine relationship with God. Building a relationship with God is one of the most important aspects of Christianity, and identifying how it can so negatively be affected merely by doing something because it is required rather than actually wanting to should show how important it is to do everything a person can with all of his or her heart.

A third example of ethics in Christianity is to participate in the Sacraments. Although the number of Sacraments is dependent on the denomination, the two main Sacraments that nearly all denominations of Christianity include are Baptism, and the reception of Holy Communion. Baptism refers to the Sacrament in which a person is first welcomed into the Church. In addition to the welcoming, a person is also washed clean of original sin. Baptisms generally include some form of immersion in water, or others a sprinkling of water. This mainly depends on the denomination. Water is the most important factor of Baptism, as it represents when Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan River. The second main Sacrament is known as Holy Communion. There are many names for this, but the most general term that many denominations accept is Holy Communion. This is when a person receives the bread and wine, either representing Jesus’ body and blood, or what is believed to be His actual body and blood. This belief depends on the denomination, as some believe that the bread and wine represents His bod and blood, whereas others believe that it is actually transformed into it. Christians receive the body and blood so that a person can become closer to God and become more unified with Christ.

Word Count: 560

Works Cited

Cochran, Clarke E. “Christian Social Ethics.” Encyclopedia of American Religion and Politics, Updated Edition, Facts On File, 2008. World Religions, online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/Details/169890?q=christianity ethics. Accessed 7 Dec. 2017.

Duval, R. Shannon, and Susan Terkel. “Christian Ethics.” Encyclopedia of Ethics, Facts On File, 1999. World Religions, online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/Details/429176?q=christianity ethics. Accessed 7 Dec. 2017.

Matthews, Warren. “Christianity.”World Religions. 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2008. 311. Print.

Oneness Pentecostal – Jp Nora

On November 16, 2017November 28, 2017 By jpnora7In Class NotesLeave a comment

There is only one God and God is one
God is not three distinct persons, rather One who has three different “modes”

The United Pentecostals explain the distinction of Father, Son and Holy Spirit as follows: “God is Father in creation, Son in redemption, and Holy Spirit in sanctification.” Note however, that the distinction is in what God is doing and how he is doing it, not in person-hood. The doctrine of Oneness denotes that there is only one God who manifests/reveals/expresses Himself at various times in various ways. This is in contrast to Trinitarian doctrine which sees God as always having existed as three separate and distinct persons, though one God.

Paper 2

On October 6, 2017 By jpnora7In ProjectsLeave a comment

John Patrick Nora

Mrs. Weidner

IB World Religions II – Gold 1

6 October 2017

Experience

As there are different branches of Buddhism, there are also differing experiences that a person goes through in these different branches. In Theravadan Buddhism, the experience is more based on the ideals of eventually becoming a monk. This is because in Mahayana, only monks are believed to be able to reach nirvana, the ultimate goal of the religion. Life in Theravadan Buddhism tends to revolve around the focus of doing anything and everything it takes to achieve nirvana. For example, boys are required to spend some time in a monastery. This requirement is because again, the ultimate goal nirvana, and the sole direction to nirvana in Theravadan Buddhism is to become a monk (Matthews 117-118). The monastic life in Mahayana is the ideal life. For girls, their duty is to not only to serve the monks, but also to support them in any way possible. This is to ensure that the monks have the best chance of achieving nirvana.

In Mahayanan Buddhism, life tends to revolve around the idea of becoming a Boddhisattva. A Boddhisattva is a person in the religion who is a model for other followers. Boddhisattvas are believed to have already achieved nirvana, however, the religion is more focused on the religion and people as a whole. Therefore, unlike Theravadan Buddhism where people focus on making sure monks achieve nirvana, it is the opposite. Here those who have achieved nirvana try to help and guide others so that they too may achieve nirvana. In this branch of Buddhism, the boys and girls are no longer focused around helping the monks. Rather, they are more focused on the idea of discipline and obeying what the Boddhisattvas say to them. They are taught that the Boddhisattva is someone who has achieved nirvana and that they need to listen to the Boddhisattvas so that they too can one day become a Boddhisattva. The life of a Boddhisattva is the ideal life in Mahayanan Buddhism.

These differing beliefs show a clear difference between the two branches as in one branch, the people help the leaders achieve nirvana, and in the other branch, the leaders help the people achieve nirvana. This is a very important characteristic of both religions and an easy way to distinguish the two religions. I found this very interesting because both religions, when it comes down to it, both have the same principal goal. That goal is of course achieving nirvana. I find it interesting that although both have the same goal, the two branches have different perspectives and opinions and how it is that the people and leaders of each branch should act. I can see why in Theravada the main focus is to help the leaders achieve nirvana, as they already have the best chance, and the people should help ensure that they do reach it. However, I also understand the perspective that if you have already achieved nirvana, you should also try to guide and help others achieve it so they too can have eternal bliss.

Word Count: 516

Works Cited

Alles, Gregory D., and Robert S. Ellwood. “Mahayana Buddhism.” The Encyclopedia of World Religions, Revised Edition, Facts On File, 2006. World Religions, online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/Details/248784?q=Mahayana. Accessed 24 Sept. 2017.

Alles, Gregory D., and Robert S. Ellwood. “Theravada Buddhism.” The Encyclopedia of World Religions, Revised Edition, Facts On File, 2006. World Religions, online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/Details/249066?q=Theravada. Accessed 24 Sept. 2017.

Matthews, Warren. “Buddhism.” World Religions. 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2008. 117-118. Print.

Paper 1 – Buddhism

On September 29, 2017October 1, 2017 By jpnora7In ProjectsLeave a comment

John Patrick Nora

Mrs. Weidner

IB World Religions II – Gold 1

25 September 2017

Rituals

When a person passes away, in all cultures there is a special event to both celebrate and mourn the loss of our loved ones. This usually includes a viewing so that those who have not been able to say “goodbye” to the person who passed can “say goodbye” even though they are already dead. This is also so that friends, family, and others who knew them can say goodbye one last time. This is important because it would be difficult for people to just live the rest of their lives losing someone depending on how important that person is to them and not being able to see them at least one last time until they never can again. Because of this, all cultures and religions do have these. In addition, they also have a funeral service (can be religious). This funeral service is where those who cared about the person passing can be there to support the family and show that the person meant a lot to them. This is also the time when people are allowed to go up and say something, a funny story, a description, whatever it may be, to show how great that person was for the world and how much the person meant to him or her.

Both the Theravadan and Mahayanistic branches of Buddhism have rituals that relate to the time when a member passes away. In the Theravadan branch of Buddhism, when a person passes away, a couple of things happen. First, as usual there is a viewing for the family members and friends to visit the body one last time. Usually, a couple days later, the actual funeral service comes and this of course is religious. At the religious service, people are still able to discuss stories and descriptions about the person. In addition to the people speaking about the person who passed, there are some arhats who also discuss the person and talk about how the person will be greatly missed and will perform some sort of public meditation asking that the person passed may be reincarnated into a male arhat so they may reach parinirvana or at least into a male so that the next time that person passes away it is into an arhat.

In the Mahayanistic branch of Buddhism, the events that occur when a person passes away are quite similar however there are some slight differences. These differences include things like being more of a communal event because the branch of religion focuses more on people as a whole reaching nirvana together. This means that in contrast to how in Theravadan Buddhism some arhats speak about the person, this is usually not the case. Now of course a couple may still go up and discuss, but not to the same extent as it occurs in Theravadan Buddhism. This is because the branch of Theravada is more focused on reaching nirvana as soon as possible, as one single person. On the contrary, the branch of Mahayana is more focused on people in unity reaching nirvana together.

Works Cited

Matthews, Warren. “Buddhism.” World Religions. 6th ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson/Wadsworth, 2008.103-142. Print.