Compare Contrast Religion Essays - Prophets Of Islam, Messianism

Compare Contrast Religion ************************************************************************** ***** Joe Stas [emailprotected] This was an A essay! ************************************************************************** ***** Compare and Contrast essay: Christianity, Islam, and Judaism Introduction of Religions Christianity most widely distributed of the world religions, having substantial representation in all the populated continents of the globe. Its total membership may exceed 1.7 billion people. Islam, a major world religion, founded in Arabia and based on the teachings of Muhammad, who is called the Prophet. One who practices Islam is a Muslim. Muslims follow the Koran, the written revelation brought by Muhammad. The Muslim world population is estimated at more than 1 billion. Islam is the quickest growing religion. Judaism is one of the world's oldest religious traditions. Pre-modern Judaism constituted (and traditional Judaism today constitutes) an integrated cultural system of Jewish law, custom, and practice encompassing the totality of individual and communal existence. It is a system of sanctification in which all is to be subsumed under God's rule. Judaism originated in the Middle East, but Jewish communities have existed at one time or another in almost all parts of the world, a result of both voluntary migrations and forced exile or expulsions. Origin The central element of Christianity is the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus of Nazareth, a Jewish rabbi, attracted a following of people who believed him to be a new prophet. Their recollections of Jesus' words and deeds recall his days on earth and the miracle of his resurrection from the dead on the first Easter. These Jewish Christians began the first churches, in Jerusalem. Much like Christianity Islam was based on the prophesies and teaching of person or prophet, Muhammad. In Mohammed's time (570?-632), the Arabian Peninsula was inhabited by nomadic Bedouins and city-dwelling Arabs. Muhammad began his ministry at the age of 40, when, he claimed, the archangel Gabriel appeared to him in a vision. At first Muhammad confided his visions only to his family and close friends. After four years he began to preach openly in his native city of Mecca. Ridiculed by the Meccans, he went to Medina in 622. At his death in 632, Muhammad was the leader of an Arab state growing rapidly in power. The third duty of a Muslim is to pay zakat. This tax was originally levied by Muhammad ,and later by Muslim states, on the wealthy members of the community, primarily to help the poor. The fourth duty is the fast of the month of Ramadan. During the fasting month, one must refrain from eating, drinking, smoking, and sexual intercourse from dawn until sunset. The fifth duty is the pilgrimage to Mecca. Every adult Muslim who is physically and economically able to do so must make this pilgrimage at least once in his or her lifetime. Unlike the other two major religions Judaism evolved form the Israelites who didn't deny the existence of other gods for other nations, though they only worshipped one deity. Its deity was Yahweh, the god of the patriarchs, who was worshipped in a sacrificial cult centered in Jerusalem and later at sanctuaries in the north, where a rival Jewish kingdom was formed. Prophets who warned against the people's reliance on these temple cults saw themselves vindicated when both the northern and southern kingdoms were destroyed by foreign conquerors. The exile of the Judeans to Babylonia in 586 BC was a major turning point in Israelite religion. The prior history of Israel now was reinterpreted in light of the events of 586, laying the foundation for the traditional biblical Pentateuch, prophetic canon, and historical books. A truly monotheistic religion, called Judaism, developed from these events. In 539 BC the Jews were permitted to return to Israel. Doctrines and Practices In Christian teaching, Jesus is the supreme preacher and exemplar of the moral life, but for most Christians that does not fully justify significance of his life and work. Christians teach that God is almighty in dominion over all that is in heaven and on earth, righteous judgment over good and evil. Baptism is the means of initiation into Christianity. Another fundamental component of the Christian faith and practice is its community. The community of faith in the church is the primary setting for Christian worship, although Christians of all traditions have placed a strong emphasis on private devotion and individual prayer. Unlike Christianity Islam has two fundamental sources of doctrine and practice, which are the Koran and the Sunna. Muslims regard the Koran as the speech of God to Muhammad and they believe that God himself is the author. The Sunna is known through Hadith, the body of traditions based on the words and actions of the Prophet. Unlike the Koran, Hadith is not considered infallible. The Islamic culture also believes that there are fundamental things for all Muslims to do so they go to heaven. According

Free Essays on Leadership In Criminal Justice

The law enforcement agency plays an integral role in communities across America. The management and leadership of these organizations must identify the needs of the community and provide direction and vision for the public service entities they manage and lead. Effective leadership in any law enforcement agencies requires setting the tone and agenda for the agency as the first step in improving the image of law enforcement both inside and outside the agency. A major responsibility of a leader is to define the mission of the agency. Agencies without a clear mission or vision will drift and become exposed to pressures both within and outside the agency. Staff within the agency, without a clear sense of organizational direction, will develop an unconcerned and sarcastic attitude toward the organization. This attitude will manifest itself in poor or mediocre service to the offenders and victims serviced by the agency. Once an agency begins to drift, it loses its definition and sense of purpose. Staff becomes confused about management's intentions and their investment in the agency diminishes. The focus in the agency turns to poor management and not strategic planning and goal setting. A well-written mission statement serves both the internal and external environments. In preparing the mission statement, the internal state of the organization and the expectations of the agency's stakeholders should be considered and incorporated into the process. A mission statement provides staff with a philosophy for the agency and gives a starting point from which an agency will develop both its short-and long-range goals. The mission statement is the drive for an agency's staff to focus its energies in a single direction on common issues. The mission statement outlines the parameters of an agency's relationships with its stakeholders and clearly defines anticipated outcomes. Law enforcement leaders face a myriad of problems in the future. They m... Free Essays on Leadership In Criminal Justice Free Essays on Leadership In Criminal Justice The law enforcement agency plays an integral role in communities across America. The management and leadership of these organizations must identify the needs of the community and provide direction and vision for the public service entities they manage and lead. Effective leadership in any law enforcement agencies requires setting the tone and agenda for the agency as the first step in improving the image of law enforcement both inside and outside the agency. A major responsibility of a leader is to define the mission of the agency. Agencies without a clear mission or vision will drift and become exposed to pressures both within and outside the agency. Staff within the agency, without a clear sense of organizational direction, will develop an unconcerned and sarcastic attitude toward the organization. This attitude will manifest itself in poor or mediocre service to the offenders and victims serviced by the agency. Once an agency begins to drift, it loses its definition and sense of purpose. Staff becomes confused about management's intentions and their investment in the agency diminishes. The focus in the agency turns to poor management and not strategic planning and goal setting. A well-written mission statement serves both the internal and external environments. In preparing the mission statement, the internal state of the organization and the expectations of the agency's stakeholders should be considered and incorporated into the process. A mission statement provides staff with a philosophy for the agency and gives a starting point from which an agency will develop both its short-and long-range goals. The mission statement is the drive for an agency's staff to focus its energies in a single direction on common issues. The mission statement outlines the parameters of an agency's relationships with its stakeholders and clearly defines anticipated outcomes. Law enforcement leaders face a myriad of problems in the future. They m...

Role of Nature and Nurture in Perceptions about Sensory Information Assignment

Role of Nature and Nurture in Perceptions about Sensory Information - Assignment Example The present assignment has identified that animals have the ability to distinguish objects, which becomes possible from their reactions to applications of stimuli. However, the nature of such perceptions relates to only surmising. Difficulties faced in examining animals relate to whether they fail to respond because of the need to perceive or because of the reluctance to do so. Recent research has clearly indicated that the great apes have similar language abilities as human beings, in terms of perceptions relative to sensory information. In fact, considerable controversy has been created by suggestions that there is a similarity in the language ability of apes and human beings (Terrace et al, 1979). The accuracy or inaccuracy of sensory information is determined by the distinction between sensations and perceptions and to what extent they vary in relation to how the different terms are defined. A second factor that determines the extent of accuracy in this regard is that perceptions are dependent upon the impact of learning through taste, touch, smell, and hearing. Thirdly, vision is the most important factor that is considered to impact sensory information. Researchers have been focusing upon the constituent components of visual perception and the need to analyze organized wholes because humans are prone to relate to patterns. Moreover, visual objects have the tendency to remain stable in spite of constantly altering stimulus characteristics such as contrast of figure arrangements, perspectives, and ambient light. This allows observers to relate perceptions of objects with objects as they are understood to be existent. In this regard, perceptions are known to be impacted by values, ideas, needs, expectations and conflicts (Baddeley, 2005). Sensory memory is believed to be the shortest-term component of memory because it retains pictures of sensory information following the ending of the initial stimuli. Sensory memory is also a virtual buffer for stimuli and comes from the five senses of touch, taste, smell, hearing, and vision that are absorbed accurately, although for a brief time. For instance, the accuracy of sensory information is evident from the fact that when we look at something, we remember what it looked like, even if it is observed for a single second. This is an example of sensory memory (Baddeley, 2005). There are a number of factors that contribute to the accuracy of sensory data. Just as it happens in any measurement system, sensory evaluation is also prone to being a source of error. There are factors that impact the accuracy and precision of sensory data and thus lessen its reliability. Psychological factors arise in view of using human subjects as tools of measurement. Despite instructions being issued and training being given by organizers to panelists, a great deal of confusion arises in regard to the details of the instructions and the choice of sensory scales. Thus, there is all likelihood that individual panelist s could have different interpretations of sensory characteristics and intensity levels. Moreover, the decision-making process could also change within the same study, thus creating uncertainties. Different panel members may have different focus levels whereby some could be distracted or experience fatigue, which impacts sensory abilities. A large number of experimental designs can strongly impact the reliability and accuracy of data. This is because it is crucial for samples to be presented, which also requires that they have to be standardized in the context of nonassociative coding, lighting conditions, temperature, and form.