Faith Healing Essays (Examples)

Healthcare & Faith

The author of this report has been asked to answer a few questions pertaining to faith and healthcare. The first question will be a compare and contrast of Christianity and Buddhism using the seven worldview questions as a prism. The second question asks the author to do a comparative analysis of the two faith systems and religions. Next, the author will explain the author's personal spiritual perspective on healing. The author will then explain the critically common religions/beliefs when it comes to healing, prayer, meditation and so forth. Next, there will be a description of what would be important to patients of a faith that is delivered by healthcare providers that are of a different religious persuasion. Lastly, the author of this report will explain what was learn as part of this project. While the religions of the world are quite similar in many respects when it…

References

Bratcher, S. (2015). Why Do We Suffer? Buddhism vs. Christianity. Reformed Perspective. Retrieved 9 June 2015, from  http://www.reformedperspective.ca/resources/55-christian-living/196-why-do-we-suffer-buddhism-vs.-christianity 

Christianity.com. (2015). 8 Questions Every Worldview Must Answer. Christianity.com. Retrieved 9 June 2015, from  http://www.christianity.com/theology/other-religions-beliefs/8-questions-every-worldview-must-answer.html?p=0 

FFE. (2015). What is a worldview?. Retrieved 9 June 2015, from  http://www.faithfromevidence.org/what-is-a-worldview.html

New Identity through Healing in Nelson's I'll Give You the Sun: A Feminist Critique

I'll Give You the Sun is a Michael L. Printz Award-winning young adult novel by Jandy Nelson that examines the complexities of coming of age, dealing with grief and loss, burgeoning sexuality, and healing. It gives a dual-gender perspective -- that of fraternal twins Noah and Jude, and from a feminist critique it offers an example of how the oppressions of patriarchal society are overturned by the subversion of the male status quo and the valorization of the oppressed (in this case, the valorization of the homosexual Noah and the female Jude). Throughout the narrative, the growing pains, experience of loss, and the concomitant healing process is given breadth through application of the feminist critique, which provides the framework for how Jude overcomes her initial negative sexual experience at a young age to grow into a…

Works Cited

Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. Chicago: Herbert Stone, 1899. Print.

Crawford, Suzanne Mills. "Liars, Lovers, And Thieves: Being Adolescent Readers And Writers In Young Adult Literature And Life." Dissertation Abstracts International 74.7 (2014): MLA International Bibliography. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.

Jeffries, Jeannine L. "The Image Of The Artist: A Content Analysis Of Authenticity,

Ethnicity, And Quality In Young Adult Novels." Dissertation Abstracts International 74.5 (2013): MLA International Bibliography. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.

Now, when we use the word "creation," we are talking about all that God made: human beings, animals, plants, rocks, rivers, mountains, and oceans. In modern terms, we would call this the "ecosystem" or the "environment (Humans Were Given esponsibility to Be Stewards of God's Creation (http://www.marah.org/basis.html)."

One of the most pressing health issues today is the fact that mankind is assaulting all that God gave it to remain healthy and whole. Environmental issues, eco system problems and other things have begun to erode what the Lord provided for a healthy lifestyle on earth.

Psalm 24:1 reminds us that "the earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for He founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters (Humans Were Given esponsibility to Be Stewards of God's Creation (http://www.marah.org/basis.html)."

Why are some people not healed?

Throughout history, people have…

References

Bible

 http://www.siscom.net/~direct/healing/illness_and_disease.htm 

Evangelical Environmental Network & Creation Care Magazine ( http://www.creationcare.org/resources/sunday/health.php )

Humans Were Given Responsibility to Be Stewards of God's Creation (http://www.marah.org/basis.html)

Faith influences attitudes toward health, healing, and the role of healing practitioners in the lives of individuals and their communities. Because of this intersection between faith and wellness, it is critical for nurses to be sensitive to diverse patient backgrounds and belief systems. By understanding multiple faith systems and how those systems' worldviews impact patient attitudes, behaviors, and communication styles, nurses can provide more appropriate and effective interventions. Even if the majority of patients are of the same background as the nurse, it is necessary to remain open to alternative worldviews. Moreover, even within one faith category individual differences will warrant scrutiny towards the patient's attitudes toward existential questions.

Christianity is itself a highly diverse faith. Different denominations espouse various attitudes toward illness and health, healing and wellness. Therefore, the nurse should never assume that all Christian patients have the same values. When it comes to working with patients from…

References

Koenig, H.G., King, D.E. & Carson, V.B. (2012). Handbook of Religion and Health. New York: Oxford University Press.

Matsuoka, M. (2005). The Buddhist concept of the human being. The Journal of Oriental Studies 15, 2005. Retrieved online:  http://www.sgi.org/resources/study-materials/the-buddhist-concept-of-the-human-being-from-the-viewpoint-of-the-philosophy-of-the-soka-gakkai.html 

Monier-Williams, M. (1889). Buddhism and Its Connection with Brahmanism and Hinduism and in its Contrast with Christianity. New York: Macmillian.

Shelly, J.A. & Miller, A.B. (2006). Called to Care. InterVarsity Press.

Health Care & Faith Diversity

It is quite obvious how different religions hold different philosophical views on various aspects and even when it comes to healing. Each religion highly upholds their spiritual values hence the need for health practitioners to be cautious while handling varied clientele whether they hold the same religious sentiments or not. In this research we will major on the views held by the Sikh, Buddhist and Judaist religions in comparison to the Christian belief on healing.

Sikh religion

The Sikh hold the belief that when one is sick it is the will of God and that He is merciful to heal; however one has to consider medical treatment in order to get well. During illness: Sikh patients engage in prayers to seek God for help, seek to obtain peace by remembering Gods name, recite sacred hymns (Gurbani) which are words from the holy scriptures (Guru Granth…

References:

Dharma Haven, (2005).Tools for Healing Relaxing and Awakening. Retrieved March 30,

2012 from  http://www.dharma-haven.org/tibetan/healing.htm 

Manitoba, (2006). Core Competencies for Spiritual health care Practitioners. Retrieved March 30, 2012 from http://ahpcc.org.uk/pdf/compaudittool.pdf

Marinell & James (2009). Jewish Views of Illness and Healing. Retrieved March 30, 2012

e believe that the best care is the delivery of care that exceeds all expectation and that is encircled by compassion." (Baptist Healing Trust, 1)

In terms of besting these challenges, the healing hospital must work to protect the morale of its personnel against the pressures that are inherent with the occupation. This means ensuring that personnel are giving the proper opportunities to rest, that facilities are adequately staffed and that the necessary resources are availed so that personnel can perform to the fullest of their abilities. This denotes that the healing hospital's capacity to meet its ambitions will be highly contingent upon its dexterity at managing the needs of healthcare workers just as it will be contingent upon its management of the patient needs.

Scriptural Support:

The Gospels of Mark and Luke are particularly rich in allusion to the power which Jesus possessed to heal the sick. Here, the…

Works Cited:

Baptist Healing Trust. (2010). The Compassionate Care Initiative. Baptist Healing Trust.org.

Chapman, E. (2003). Radical Loving Care: Building the Healing Hospital in America. Baptist Healing Hospital.

New International Version (NIV). (2010). Passage Lookup. Bible Gateway.

Mac Nutt's ealing explores the meaning and messages behind the author' own struggles with fait, healing, and personal issues. It comes from a Christian perspective and is broken up into four basic parts. The first part is devoted to the importance and meaning of ealing Ministries and helps the reader identify the common misconceptions of the practice as well as outlines the basic structure of the movement. This part of the book is an attempt to cast the ealing Movement as an exclusively Christian path, that is to say that MacNutt believes that true healing can only come through Christ. As author, MacNutt has certainly dealt with his fair share of personal struggles with Christian issues like sexual abuse and addictions. In this way, he comes across as relatively convincing as he guides the reader through the ins and outs of the ealing Ministries.

As far as a critique goes,…

However, from a Christian perspective, the book as well as MacNutt's Healing Ministries has been quite commercially successful within certain social and religious circles. This is to say that the book Healing, the first in a series of books devoted to this topic, helped to spark a revolution among Christian fundamental healing projects and ministries. These not only help to cover for and explain away the personal transgressions of people like MacNutt, but in doing so, offer personal advice coupled with spiritual advisories relative to specific afflictions and societal issues. All of which stem from a Biblical perspective, as well as the personal translations and justifications of MacNutt, as he guides the reader through the Biblical do's and don'ts associated with their "disease." Without a doubt, MacNutt's work and reputation are airtight within the community that accepts it. However, outside of his community, the contents represent a backwardation of everything that has been learned, studied, and explored in many realms of social science. The book itself is a commercial and religious success but a scientific failure.

Citations

MacNutt, Francis. Healing. Creation House Publishing: Lake Mary, FL. 1999.

Additionally, the eiki faith is incorporated well into the Buddhist religion, in that many of the main components of the eiki faith share similarities with the goals of enlightenment (O'Mathuna, 11). The simplistic, holistic, inherently "good" principles of eiki have allowed the faith to intertwine with major religions in today's society, allowing even more individuals to enjoy the power of the universal energy.

eiki is a complicated, multi-faceted belief involving many different levels of consciousness. By aiming to view the universe as one energy, where all things are just a simple component of a larger entity, the eiki faith allows healers to channel this energy to assist others in creating balance in their minds, hearts, bodies, souls, and entire beings. This balance allows individuals to live the life they choose, rather than living the life their predestined belief system dictates. By assisting others in creating balance, eiki healers further enhance…

References

Lewis, James. The Oxford Handbook of New Religious Movements. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.

Martin, Jeffery. The Complete Guide to Reiki, Volume 1: Student Reference Edition. Newport, KY: Reiki Press, 1998.

Melton, Gordon. "Reiki: The International Spread of a New Age Healing Movement." New Age Religion and Globalization. Ed. M. Rothstein. Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 2001: 79-93.

O'Mathuna, Donal. "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly..." The Watchman Expositor 14.1 (1997): 9-12.

Health Care to Varied Faiths

Spirituality in Health Care

roviding

Health Care to All Faiths

roviding health care is a challenging prospect. Compounding the challenge is the need to provide health care to individuals with differing beliefs from that of the caregiver. Nurses must recognize the multifaceted paradigm of health care in that the patient has spiritual as well as physical needs. Addressing these needs becomes even more complex when the spiritual beliefs of the patient are unfamiliar to the nurse. Discovering the details of the patient's specific religious affiliation enables the nurse to provide quality, spiritually-appropriate care. The following discussion addresses several distinct cultural perspectives on healing

erspective on Healing

Native American Indian Spirituality

One religion with distinctive health care beliefs is American Indian Spirituality. The Native American patient considers illness to be the result of spiritual problems (Native American, 2008). Further delving into the religion reveals a belief…

Purifying rituals are performed to prepare the body for healing (Native American, 2008). A shaman may be called in to address the spiritual health of the patient: this aspect is central to wholeness (Native American, 2008). Symbolic rituals, which include praying, chanting, singing, or dancing, are performed to entreat the spirits to intervene on the patient's behalf and provide healing (Native American, 2008). These may involve the patient's entire community (Native American, 2008). In addition, American Indians utilize many natural herbs and plants in their quest for healing (Deubel, 2009).

Confucianism

While followers of Confucius need to be consulted in regard to health care interventions, the nurse must be cognizant of the familial hierarchy and ascertain who the head of the family is in order to include this person in decision-making (Chen & Fan, 2010). Specific edicts are not in place for daily living, including edicts which could pertain to health care interventions; however, prayers and sacrifices of food or incense may be proffered in

Traditional Healing

Often in the healing arts them most simple and obvious cures lie right in front of us, exposed and waiting to be utilized. The purpose of this literature review is to examine the specific ailment of anxiety and review the traditional sources of knowledge that can specifically apply to the treatment of this condition. The use of the individual's own psycho-spiritual faculties will be highlighted as the method in which these sources remedy the effects of anxiety and its sometimes debilitating symptoms.

The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon includes the many esoteric human tools such as mood, idea and spirit as important aspects of health and immunity from disease. This collection is the earliest and most important written work of traditional Chinese healing arts. The narrative of the story reveals the secrets of keeping a clear and sound mind and hence eliminating the anxious behavior that so often rises.…

References

Culpeper: The Complete Herbal. Viewed at Bibliomania.com, 15 Nov 2013. Retrieved from  https://www.google.com/search?q=Culpeper%E2%80%99s+Herbal&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-U.S.:official&client=firefox-a&channel=rcs 

The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Medicine. Translated by Parago, P, (1995). Retrieved from http://www.five-element.com/graphics/neijing.pdf

The Holy Bible- King James Version. Viewed 16 Nov 2013. Retrieved from  http://www.bartleby.com/108/ 

The Tao Te Ching. Translate Legge, J. (1891). Retrieved from  http://www.sacred-texts.com/tao/taote.htm

Health Care

Nurse practitioners need to work with all types of people, from many different faith backgrounds. Generally, they are not expected to know the intimate details of any particular religion, but they should have a generalized knowledge of how different spiritual beliefs can influence the healing process. While this can be a fairly easy process to acquire knowledge about major religious groups, there are many minority spirituality groups in the United States, being a very diverse society. Three that come to mind are Wicca, Druid and Native American religious traditions. This paper will analyze these different systems of spirituality in the context of how they affect healing in particular, as this is the area that will most affect the nurse practitioner's role.

Wicca

There are a variety of sources that provide insight into the Wicca view of healing. The Wiccan belief system is considered to be a pagan belief…

References

American Cancer Society (2008). Native American healing. American Cancer Society. Retrieved April 25, 2014 from  http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/complementaryandalternativemedicine/mindbodyandspirit/native-american-healing 

Dragonsong, E. (2014). What is an energy healer? Wicca Spirituality. Retrieved April 25, 2014  http://www.wicca-spirituality.com/energy-healer.html 

No author. (2014) Druidry and healing. Druid Healing Retreats. Retrieved April 25, 2014 from http://www.druidhealingretreats.co.uk/druidry-healing

Wattpad. (2014). Wiccan guide to healing. Wattpad. Retrieved April 25, 2014 fro  http://www.wattpad.com/7388209-wiccan-guide-to-healing

Healthcae and Divesity of Faiths

The objective of this study is to eseach thee divese faiths and to compae the philosophy of poviding health cae fom the pespective of these thee faiths with that of the Chistian pespective and the wite's own pesonal pespective. Fo the pupose of the study the thee faiths chosen ae the Native Ameican faith, Buddhism, and Shintoism.

Native Ameican Faith

The Native Ameican faith view on medicine is that healing is moe peson than disease-centeed. It is epoted that taditional heales have the objective of "making whole estoing well-being and hamonious elationships with the community and the spiit of natue, which is sometimes called God o the Geat Mystey. Native Ameican healing is based on the belief that eveyone and eveything on eath is inteconnected, and evey peson, animal, and plant has a spiit o essence. Even an object, such as a ive o ock,…

references does have a parallel in Christianity. The key distinction, of course, is that there is only one spirit -- that of God, which may be expressed via the

Healing Hospital and the Importance of Spirituality

Chapman (2003) defines a Healing Hospital as being about "loving service to others" (p.4). This paper examines the concept of the Healing Hospital and the role that spiritually plays in that model.

Numerous theorists have argued that advances in technology, pressure on budgets, and drives for efficiency over the last few decades have shifted the focus of attention from general care giving to technological and pharmacological interventions, with the need to extend life and fix broken parts (Puchalski, 2001; Treloar, 2000). However, there has also been increased realisation, back by significant research, that better outcomes are achieved when the patient is treated in a holistic manner (Baboni, Puchalski, & Peteet, 2014; Puchalski & Mcskimming, 2006).

The Healing Hospital is based on the premise of treating the whole person, rather than just the illness (Chapman, 2003). This includes all physical needs, as well as…

References

Baboni, M. J., Puchalski, C. M., & Peteet, J. R. (2014). The Relationship between Medicine, Spirituality and Religion: Three Models for Integration. Journal of Religion and Health, 53(5), 1586 -- 1598. Retrieved from  https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Michael_Balboni/publication/263055322_The_Relationship_between_Medicine_Spirituality_and_Religion_Three_Models_for_Integration/links/57039a6408aeade57a259720.pdf 

Chapman, E. (2003). Radical Loving Care: Building the Healing Hospital in America. Nashville, TN: Baptist Healing Hospital Trust.

Diaz-Gilbert, M. (2014). Spirituality, Suffering, Meaning, Resiliency, and Healing: Research Findings and a Patient's Story of Overcoming a Medical Challenge. International Journal for Human Caring, 18(4), 45 -- 51.

Johnson, B. H., Abraham, M. R., & Parrish, R. N. (2004). Designing the neonatal intensive care unit for optimal family involvement. Clinics in Perinatology, 31(2), 353 -- 382.

This section lists my express recommendations and my reasons for presenting them.

First, Faith Community Hospital should cut its fixed costs by 10% by next year, at which point we will reassess our financial situation. The main way to cut costs at Faith Community Hospital will be through working more closely with our partners. Not only will working with our partners in the community improve our reputation and public relations, our teamwork will allow us to share equipment costs and services. Several organizations in the community share "the same vision and values" in offering optimal patient care. Therefore, we can trust our partners to assume their responsibilities, whether they include testing or care services. Specialists such as a hospice, burn center, addiction and recovery center, and midwifery services can all cooperate with Faith Community Hospital to prove a true "continuum of services." In fact, we might find that increasing our…

Jewish Faith in Life and Death

Of the main components of the human life cycle, dying is probably the one most people prefer to avoid or at least ignore until the last possible moment. Nevertheless, even though many of us prefer not to think about it, death is as much part of humanity as birth and life. Hence, every religion has its particular views on death and rituals to help those who have passed on their way to whatever concept of the afterlife exists in that religion. In this, the Jewish religion is not unique. Centuries of tradition still survive today as modern Jews practice the ancient art of their religion, both in life and when death occurs. When considered in terms of Foucault's "Technologies of the Self," one might say the elaborate Jewish rituals surrounding dying and death can be seen from the viewpoint of both self-care and self-renunciation.…

References

Diamant, A. (1998). Saying Kaddish: How to comfort the dying, bury the dead, and mourn as a Jew. New York: Shocken Books.

Foucault, M. (1988). Technologies of the Self. Retrieved from:  http://heavysideindustries.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Michel-Foucault-Technologies-of-the-Self.pdf 

Lamm, M. (2000). The Jewish Way in Death and Mourning. New York: Jonathan David Publishers, Inc.

Nursing Process to Deliver

Application of the Nursing Process to Deliver Culturally Competent Care: Malay culture

Each society has devised its own methodology of dealing with diseases. As per the old Manuscript MSS1292 KitabTib (Book of Healing) (a 19th century Malay manuscript), people of Malay have successful and strong healing practices which work wonderfully well in case of integrative and complementary medicines (Baharuddin & Sidik, 2010). An analytical approach is required to study the contents of the Malay manuscript for understanding it deeply. As per the research, there are three kinds of methods in case of healing diseases (Baharuddin & Sidik, 2010). These are as follows:

Natural resources

Wafak (written symbols)

Quranic verses for healing purposes and offering respect to prophet (P.B.U.H)

It is quite evident that these traditional practices were ecological and holistic in origin, which is stressed upon even today (Baharuddin & Sidik, 2010).

Background

The roots of…

References

Baharuddin, A., & Sidik, R. (2010). The Case of Malay Manuscript of the 19th Century. Traditional Healing In Malay Culture:, 1-7.

Farooqui, M. (2013).The Current Situation and Future Direction of Traditional and Complementary Medicine (T&CM) in Malaysian Health Care System. Alternative and Integrative Medicine, 1(1), 1.

Ghani, R., & Hamid, M. (2011).Traditional and Complementary Medicine Programme in Malaysia. Traditional and Complementary Medicine, 1-6.

Jamal, A. (2006). An overview of scientific and technological progress. Malay Traditional Medicine, 37-46.

How long this process takes and whether it will prevent the loss of seeded cells probably depends to a significant extent on the surrounding tissue and therefore represents another unknown.

HIF-1? And VEGF are also involved in osteogenesis, so the influence of these growth factors on the differentiation choices being made by the seeded stem cells is unknown (Polzer 7). The impact of prolonged hypoxic conditions on the seeded cells is another. Although Polzer and colleagues examined the timing of cell seeding relative to prevascularization, they discovered that the artificial scaffold rapidly filled with connective tissue. This process effectively clogged the matrix and prevented efficient seeding.

By comparison, researchers conducting spinal cord injury research into the efficacy of regenerative medicine techniques have been producing promising results (Sykova et al. 1113-1114). Hydrogels seeded with mesenchymal stem cells or bone marrow stem cells have produced positive results in both animal models and…

Works Cited

Park, Alice. "Cancer Patient Received a Man-Made Windpipe." Time.com, 12 Jan. 2012, Online. Internet. 1 Jul. 2013. Available  http://healthland.time.com/2012/01/13/cancer-patient-receives-a-man-made-windpipe/ .

Polzer, Hans et al. "Comparison of Different Strategies for in Vivo Seeding of Prevascularized Scaffolds." Tissue Engineering: Part C, published online May 21 ahead of print. Online.

Sifferlin, Alexandra. "Toddler gets New Windpipe from Her Own Stem Cells." Time.com, 1 May 2013, Online. CNN.com. Internet. 1 Jul. 2013. Available  http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/01/health/toddler-stem-cells-windpipe .

Sykova, Eva et al. "Bone Marrow Stem Cells and Polymer Hydrogels -- Two Strategies for Spinal Cord Injury Repair." Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology 26.7-8 (2006): 1113-1129.

Furthermore, the policy seems to put a burden on the hospital to help provide those services, which seems to put an undue burden on the hospital. Writing policies that guaranteed access would be permitted, but did not in any way guarantee facilitation of that access would seem to be a better policy.

One of the least understood religious groups in the United States is the Church of Scientology. There is a strong belief that members of this religious group are adverse to modern medical care, a belief that I shared before researching their organization. However, from the information that I could find, Scientologists are not opposed to modern medicine. On the contrary, the Church of Scientology has an official policy of not being involved in either medical diagnosis or treatment of medical illnesses. They believe that underlying illness inhibits a person's spiritual journey, so that they encourage members to seek…

References

Church of Scientology. (2012). Do Scientologists use medical doctors? Retrieved March 6,

2012 from Scientology Newsroom website:  http://www.scientologynews.org/faq/do-scientologists-use-medical-doctors.html 

Hmong shamans help at Valley hospitals. (2009, November 10). Retrieved March 5, 2012 from Fresno Bee website: http://www.fresnobee.com/2009/10/10/1669868/hmong-shamans-help-at-valley-hospitals.html

There are exceptions, where legal ramifications are employed and individuals are held to account for their inaction. For most people, including myself the idea that faith is the only solution to medical concerns, and especially emergent ones is unfathomable. Medical care is congruent with faith, as even for the most ardent believer in God if God had not meant for children to be cured of preventable a treatable disease he would not have developed treatments to do so. For the broader population this is a reasonable tenet and most people report taking themselves and their children to a doctor or hospital when they feel it is necessary. It is also clear that modern people are even more involved in their own wellness and may even be able to treat some injuries and illnesses at home, without medical intervention. Furthermore most know when they need to seek care for themselves and…

References

Barnes L.L. & Sered, S.S. (2005). Religion and Healing in America. New York: Oxford University Press

Hamer, D. (2004).The God Gene: How Faith is Hardwired Into our Genes.

Koenig, H.G. (2005). Medicine, Religion, and Health: Where Science and Spirituality Meet. West Conshohocken, PA: Templeton Foundation Press.

Nord, W.A. (1999). Science, Religion and Education. Phi Delta Kappan, 81(1), 28.

Pentacostal Movement

History of the Pentecostal Movement

The Pentecostal Movement, also known as Classical Pentecostalism, is a Christian-based faith that emphasizes a direct personal experience with God through Baptism, Prayer, and evangelism. There is not one version of Pentecostalism, but all are based on the name derived from the Jewish Feasts of Weeks, commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit onto the followers of Christ, described in Acts II: "When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place… all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them" (Acts 2).

Pentecostalism is an evangelical sect, which focuses on the belief that the scriptures are 100% true, accurate and vital in contemporary life. Pentecostals accept Christ as a personal lord and savior and also that baptism with the Holy Spirit is separate from conversion. It is…

REFERENCES

Anderson, A. (2009). Evangelism and the Growth of Pentecostalism in Africa. Centre for Missiology and World Christianity -- University of Birmingham. Retrieved from: http://artsweb.bham.ac.uk/aanderson/Publications/evangelism_and_the_growth_of_pen.htm

Cox, H. (1995). Fire from Heaven: The Rise of Pentecostal Spirituality. New York: DaCapo Press.

Kalu, O. (2008). African Pentecostalism: An Introduction. New York: Oxford University Press.

Pentecostal World Fellowship. (2013). Leadership and Ministries. Retrieved from: http://www.pentecostalworldfellowship.org/

Jesus' Teachings, Prayer, & Christian Life

"He (Jesus) Took the Bread. Giving Thanks Broke it. And gave it to his Disciples, saying, 'This is my Body, which is given to you.'" At Elevation time, during Catholic Mass, the priest establishes a mandate for Christian Living. Historically, at the Last Supper, Christ used bread and wine as a supreme metaphor for the rest of our lives. Jesus was in turmoil. He was aware of what was about to befall him -- namely, suffering and death. This was the last major lesson he would teach before his arrest following Judas' betrayal. Eschatologically speaking, the above set the stage for the Christian ministry of the apostles, evangelists and priests. Indeed, every Christian is called to give of him or herself for the Glory of God and the Glory of Mankind. The message at the Last Supper was powerful. People have put themselves through…

6% of the respondents stated that this was what they did. This number however is not reflected in lower numbers for life style disease and so it must be given greater scrutiny at another time (See table below).

Fruit and vegetable consumption by ethnicity

Lifestyle diseases

There are a number of diseases and health conditions that have been linked to life style behaviors and belief systems. The prevalence of these diseases demonstate that while persons may report a certain behavior emperical evidence suggests that another behavior may be taking place. This may occur principally because respondents may over estimate what they do on a daily basis since they are not taking active records of their behaviors.

On several indicators African-Americans have higher rates of the disease and death as a consequency than White populations. The data for diabetes shows that African-Americans are twice as likely to report having diabetes than…

References

A religious portrait of African-Americans (2009) Retrieved from  http://pewforum.org/A-Religious-Portrait-of-African-Americans.aspx 

Department of health and senior services New Jersey. (2011).

 http://www.state.nj.us/health/chs/dataindex.htm 

Dowd, K. (1996). Dietary patterns and physical activity among New Jersey adults. Center for health Statistics 1(3):1-4.

Medical Dilemma

The Dilemma

The dilemma associated with this case study suggests that little is known or can be done with serious illness with any great confidence. At the heart of the issue is who is responsible for the sick child as it appears, but may not be true, that he cannot take care of himself and that his immune system needs to be guided by someone else.

The lack of a formal family and the unnatural formation of this family also contributes to the confusion of this ethical problem. The Christian Scientist mother of the child holds no biological claim to the child and is demanding a unique spiritual procedure to be used to the heal the child. Although this method is controversial and not based in traditional science, the laws allowing for this type of treatment are allowed in reasonable circumstance in many areas of the world.

The…

References

Dean, M. (2010). Comparative evaluation of homeopathy and allopathy within the Parisian hospital system, 1849 -- 1851. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 103(1), 34-36.

Flamm, B.L. (2004). Faith healing confronts modern medicine. Scientific Review of Alternative Medicine, 8, 9-14.

Starfield, B. (2000, July 26). Is U.S. health really the best in the world? Journal of the American Medical Association, 284(4), 483-485

Matthew 9:1-8 Exegetical

The Gospel of Matthew is often called the most 'Jewish' of the Gospels, because it begins with noting Jesus' connection to the Davidic line of kings. This connection is used as a testimony to Jesus' spiritual authority and leadership. The Gospel presents Jesus as a fulfillment of Davidic prophesy. While all of the Gospels contain this theme to some degree, in Matthew it is particularly manifest. As exemplified in the Sermon on the Mount, one of the most notable features of the Gospel, Matthew is a document that often features Jesus as a preacher and a teacher, or a 'rabbi,' above all else. "We also assume that the evangelist [Matthew] is a Jewish-Christian. And his community, while certainly including a Gentile presence and engaging in a Gentile mission, is predominantly Jewish-Christian. That community seems to stand within the broader Jewish community despite a bitter polemic with the…

References

Baxter, Wayne. (2006). Healing and the "Son of David": Matthew's warrant.

Novum Testamentum, 8(1): 36-50.

Deutsch, Celia. (1990). Wisdom in Matthew: Transformation of a symbol.

Novum Testamentum, 32 (1): 13-47. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1560675

Therefore, we may conclude that the speaker has some cognitive function from the structure of the speech, even if it is based on a very basic set of language rules (Samarin 1972 120).

Three major linguistic traits emerged from other research into the subjec. Regardless of the geographic area, educational level, or age of the individual, glossolalia consists of:

Verbal behavior that has a certain number of consanants and vowels.

There seem to be a limited number of syllables that are reorganized into larger units.

These units are then rearranged using variations in pitch, volume, speed and intensity (e.g. A "word" group spoken with different inflections).

The "words" put together seem haphazard but emerge as word and sentence like because of the use of realistic timbre, rhythm, and melody (Samarin 1972).

Other research confims that glossolalia shows an oddly definitive syballant commonality with the particular spoken language of the speaker.…

Bibliography

Aquinas, T. "Summa Theologica Question 176." New Advent. March 2008.  http://www.newadvent.org/summa/3176.htm  (accessed September 2010).

Bock, D. Acts: Baker Exegetical Commentary. Ada, MI: Baker Academic, 2007.

Chavda, M. The Hidden Power of Speaking in Tongues. Shippensburg, PA: Destiny Image Publishers, 2003.

Coffman, J. "Commentary on Mark 16." Abeline Christian University Press. 1999.  http://www.searchgodsword.org/com/bcc/view.cgi?book=mr&chapter=016  (accessed September 2010).

Choice # 2: I also made the decision to make citical thinking a pat of this couse, instead of meely focusing on the histoy o technical aspects. I want students to be able to fom thei own opinions about folk medicine based on what they have leaned.

Name and descibe one of you pojects stengths.

One of the main stengths of this poject is that it combines fun with fact. In othe wods, it is not just a dy look at the histoy of folk medicine, but it will include inteesting anecdotes and some bizae and funny ituals and pactices as well. I went this diection because I want to keep things inteesting and keep the students engaged.

Name and descibe one of my pojects weaknesses.

The main weakness of this poject is that it may be difficult to include all of the many aspects of folk medicine in detail…

references.

Additional Source #3: UCLA's Online Archive of American Folk Medicine. Web. http://www.folkmed.ucla.edu/

This online searchable database will provides students with access to thousands of articles and texts related to the course topic.

Two Guest Speakers

Guest speaker #1: D.C. Jarvis, author of the book Folk Medicine. Having him as a guest speaker would be an excellent supplement to the book. It would also allow students to ask questions related to his book.

hen it comes to Jim Jones, it is a fact that the declaration of the day of dooms 5th May, 1967 not a reality to any normal person. Jones followers were so much brainwashed to believe that Guyanese Jungle could be immune from nuclear war. Freud's believe that religions grow out of homicide are evident in Madhis movement (Hicks 64). Due to the factor that Sudan was under colonial rule, it is likely that the country experience killing and persecution of those who failed to obey the colonizers rule. This factor contributed eminently to the resign of the Madhi movement. The same is evident in Jim Jones followers. Initially majority of his followers were black and historically, most countries including United States of America were undergoing racialism. This factor made majority of the blacks join Jim Jones movement.

Freud's theory on religion explains that most people join religion because of…

Works Cited

Craig, William L, Antony Flew, and Stan W. Wallace. Does God Exist?: The Craig-Flew Debate. Aldershot, Hants, England, Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2002. Print.

Ellens, JH. Explaining Evil. Santa Barbara, Calif: Praeger, 2011. Print.

Hicks, David. Ritual and Belief: Readings in the Anthropology of Religion. Lanham, Md: AltaMira Press, 2010. Print.

Kirkland, Russell. "An Introduction to the Philosophy & Religion of Taoism: Pathways to Immortality." CHOICE Current Reviews for Academic Libraries 43.1 (2006): 1617(1). Print.

The popularization of the idea, though was somewhat linguistic in that when speaking of God and the Holy Spirit, different words were used that could mean "person," "nature," "essence," or "substance," -- words that were part of a longer, and far older tradition, but not adopted by the new Church .

Later, to echo this interpretation, the French Dominican Yves Conger, wrote that the Spirit of God was equal to the Spirit of Wisdom -- intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle

However, we must realize, too, that there was a long and rich tradition within the Ancient Near East. Whether one subscribes to the idea that essential mythos was something common arising out of civilization and being passed forward, or that each individual religion of the Ancient World was divinely inspired by its own set of beings, the concept of the Trinity is neither new, nor linked inexorably to the New…

REFERENCES

Carraway, B. Spiritual Gifts: Their Purpose and Power. WinePress Publishing, 2005.

Chadwell, D. Jesus' Two Great Commissions: Balancing Evangelism and Edification.

Christian Education Video and Publishing.

Clark, N. Interpreting the Resurrection. SCM Books, 1967.

Chrislam is not an official religion, but the beginning stages of what some people characterize as a synthesis between two of the major world religions, Christianity and Islam. As an official movement, Chrislam is relatively new, however as both religions are Abrahamic and non-fundamentalists of either religion have long conceded the possibilities of observing both religions simultaneously. However, within the last decade there has been a push for the observation of Chrislam as an actual religion, not simply an expression of tolerance in either religion.

hile Chrislam may be becoming more widely acknowledged in the world, Islam and Christianity have interacted together for thousands of years. Christians and Muslims may have a history of tension, but they also have a history of coexistence. Perhaps, then, it comes as no surprise that Chrislam has really developed in Africa, where Islam and Christianity are the two predominant religions, both having a tremendous…

Works Cited

Groening, Chad. "Chrislam'in Protestant Churches." Onenewsnow. N.p. 3 Feb. 2011. Web.

20 Apr. 2012.

Kerby, Rob. "What is 'Chrislam' and Who Preaches It?" Beliefnet. N.p., 2011. Web. 20 Apr.

2012.

Angela Garcia goes at providing more information regarding Hispanic addicts in the U.S. And their personal experiences. She relates to how New Mexico treatment facilities deal with numerous cases of addicts who experience overdose several times in their lives, are unable to defeat addiction, and eventually experience death. These individuals are in a condition where they accept their situation and believe that there is nothing that can be done for them. To a certain degree, however, it appears that Hispanics reacted differently to heroin when compared to other racial groups in the U.S. Many Hispanics in New Mexico apparently use heroin as a means to compensate for how they feel as a result of "then recurring pains associated with the ongoing history of loss and displacement that had come to characterize Hispano life" (Garcia 2008:720). Such patients are considered to suffer from a chronic addiction and they are generally believed…

Works cited:

1. Dannemiller, K. "Juarochos: Fleeing Ciudad Juarez." Visual Anthropology Review: 2010.

2. Garcia, A. "The Elegiac Addict: History, Chronicity, and the Melancholic Subject." 2008.

3. Gilliam, Angela 1992 "Toward a New Direction in the Media "War" Against Drugs." Transforming Anthropology 3 (1): 19-23.

4. Heggenhougen, H.K. 1984 "TRADITIONAL MEDICINE AND THE TREATMENT OF DRUG ADDICTS: THREE EXAMPLES FROM SOUTHEAST ASIA." Medical Anthropology Quarterly 16 (1): 3-7.

In Taiwanese culture, gifts are not opened in the presence of the giver, unlike western culture (Lifestyle pp). However, both cultures observe the custom of standing when a guest, senior colleague or elder enters a room (Lifestyle pp). Polite dinner conversation generally centers on the meal, such as how it was prepared, ingredients used and where they were obtained, and while in western culture that may also be customary, dinner conversations often progress to politics and social issues (Lifestyle pp).

Recreation is one area that the United States and Taiwan are basically identical. Both countries enjoy the theater, cinema, picnics, listening to music, swimming, walking, basketball, volleyball, baseball, tennis, and soccer (Lifestyle pp). Taiwan has a profession baseball league and its Little League champions consistently do well in the Little League orld Series (Lifestyle pp). Moreover, pop culture in Taiwan is much the same as the U.S., including hip-hop, rock,…

Works Cited

Lifestyle. Pacific Island Travel.  http://www.pacificislandtravel.com/asia/taiwan/about_destin/lifestyle.html 

United States.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_states#Ethnicity_and_race 

Culture. Pacific Island Travel.  http://www.pacificislandtravel.com/asia/taiwan/about_destin/culture.html 

People. Pacific Island Travel.  http://www.pacificislandtravel.com/asia/taiwan/about_destin/people.html

Postmodern Therapy

What Corey describes as "postmodern" therapy is, in reality, largely a series of evolutionary changes. Recalling how evolution works -- in which organisms change form ultimately as an adaptive mechanism -- might be useful here, insofar as many of these "postmodern" approaches seem adaptive in terms of the actual climate of opinion concerning psychotherapy and its medical utility. The chief example that I am thinking of here is "solution-focused brief therapy."

The notion of "solution-focused brief therapy" would have caused Sigmund Freud to spin in his grave, considering Freud devoted an entire book, entitled Analysis Terminable and Interminable, to the question of whether psychotherapy should ideally last forever. However the widespread cultural rejection of the Freudian paradigm is, perhaps, one reason why the notion of long-term Freudian analysis has come to be replaced with the fast food approach. But the chief reason appears to be adaptive: increasingly health…

eligion

"One of the most important contemporary developments in the religious field among U.S. Latinos has been the rapid growth of evangelical Protestantism, particularly Pentecostalism," (Vasquez 617). Pentecostalism is a charismatic, evangelical Protestant denomination. Known best for its espousal of "speaking of tongues, faith healing, divine visions and miracles," Pentecostalism has enjoyed a strong presence in Latin America alongside Catholicism (Kunerth). Pentecostalism is growing among American Hispanics, too, both because of immigration from countries with an already strong Pentecostal base but also because of social, political, and personal psychological changes within the Hispanic-American community. Many new immigrants from Latin America, especially Nicaragua, Honduras and the Caribbean, are already Pentecostal because of the religion has flourished there for decades (Kunerth)

However, Pentecostalism was born in the United States. The religion reflects a uniquely American religious culture. William J. Seymour is widely credited with being the "father of Pentecostalism," after starting what…

References

DePalma, Anthony. "God's Word, Echoing in English; Hispanic Pentecostal Churches Face Bilingual Problem." The New York Times. 02 Jan, 2003. Retrieved online:  http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/02/nyregion/god-s-word-echoing-english-hispanic-pentecostal-churches-face-bilingual-problem.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm 

Espinoza, Efraim. "Hispanic Pentacostalism." Enrichment Journal. 2011. Retrieved online:  http://enrichmentjournal.ag.org/199904/059_hispanic.cfm 

Garza, Jennifer. "Hispanics Increasingly Drawn to Pentecostal Church." Hispanic News. 9 May, 2009. Retrieved online:  http://hispanic.cc/hispanics_increasingly_drawn_to_pentecostal_church.htm 

Kunerth, Jeff. "Hispanics Flock to Pentecostal Churches." Orlando Sentinel. 02 Jan, 2010. Retrieved online:  http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2010-01-02/features/os-hispanic-pentecostals_3-20100101_1_pentecostal-churches-hispanic-congregation-pew-hispanic-center

Japanese History And Chinese Fixation

Japanese History & Chinese Fixation

If any single term can characterize early Japan, it may be called a period of "Chinese fixation"

Borrowing of culture by Japan from China started with the introduction or adoption of Buddhism in 552 A.D. And continued steadily until the end of the Nara period in 784. This is an expression of the impact of Chinese Civilization. If any single term can characterize these two & half centuries, they would be called the period of "Chinese fixation." This indicates the adoption and integration of the concept of Chinese relationship and culture into the development of the leadership style, language, religion, and other aspects in the context of the history of Japan. For instance, in curtailing power of the great clans and promotion of the prestige or status of the imperial institution, China was vital in the provision of inspiration to…

References

Karl F. Friday. (1997). Pushing beyond the Pale: the Yamato Conquest of the Emishi and Northern Japan. Journal of Japanese Studies, Vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 1-24

Theodore de Bary et al., (2000). Sources of Japanese Tradition. Volume One; from earliest to

Dorothy Ko et al. (2003). Women and Confucian Cultures in Pre-modern China, Korea, and Japan. University of California Press; London, England.

Leonard, J.N., & Time-Life Books. (1971). Early Japan. New York: Time-Life Books.

Demon Haunted

Did you ever watch people as they are checking out at the grocery store and push their cart by the gossip rags that declare, "Man with Six Heads Found in Utah," or "Aliens Revisit Woman for Tenth Year in a Row"? Even if not buying the paper, the shopper often either picks it up and reads some of the stories or steals a look when it appears that no one is looking. There is something about the strange and unusual that attracts people. At best, individuals read the stories and laugh. In the worse case scenario, they actually believe the articles. Unfortunately, says popular scientist Paul Sagan, too frequently people do not have enough skepticism and will accept bunk as truth.

Demon-Haunted: Science as a Candle in the Dark, Sagan's last book before his death last year, discredits such pseudo-scientific beliefs as faith-healing, palm-reading and alien abductions and…

Hispanic Culture and Beliefs

The Hispanic culture is rich and vibrant, but there are struggles that those outside of the culture may not realize. One of these is with seeking out and receiving healthcare services. Many Hispanic people wait too long to get healthcare. For some, it is because they are not in the United States legally and they fear deportation. However, for the large number of Hispanic people who were born in the U.S. Or who are otherwise in the country legally, it is mainly cultural concerns that keep them from seeking treatment. They are often distrustful of other cultures, and the men in the Hispanic culture are a proud group who believe they can handle issues themselves. Of course, this is a generalization. Not every Hispanic person fits this particular stereotype of their culture. Beliefs about healthcare and the seeking of that care, as well as how they…

This is the same in our lives, because if we remain steadfast in out faith, our suffering can only serve to further God's work in our lives. Paul's example also highlights our responsibilities to each other, because through our own example we can help other Christians that might be facing the same kind of difficulty as us.

In the next few passages, Paul goes on to discuss something that has undoubtedly crossed the mind of any Christian facing extreme difficult, which is the idea that it might just be better to be done with the world and live eternally in heaven. Paul says that "for to me, living is Christ and dying is gain," to the point that "I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better, but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you"…

Works Cited

Fowl, Stephen. Philippians. Grand Rapids: Wm. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2005. Print.

Gorman, Michael J. Inhabiting the Cruciform God: Kenosis, Justification, and Theosis in Paul's

Narrative Soteriology. Wm. Eerdmans Publishing Co.: Grand Rapids, 2009. Print.

Hays, Richard. The Moral Vision of the New Testament. T&T Clark: London, 1996. Print.

Christian Counseling Theories

Christian authors present the very unique set of principles and strategies aiming at helping empower individuals going through counseling. Examining Christian literature and theory illustrates clear assumptions that different authors share, yet also pulled out some clear differences as well. For example, Backus and Chapain (2000) present fluidity, while Adams (1986) suggests Scripture. Still, these authors do all show that the word of God is a crucial element to the spiritual healing needed in modern counseling.

Backus and Chapain (2000) present a very simple, that individuals are plagued with discomfort and unhappiness because they think incorrectly. Essentially, when one does not think the proper manner, negative results come from it. Thus, ill-natured thoughts lead to anxiety, unhappiness, and depression, all of which are the main causes for people seeking counseling in a modern context. In order to combat these ill thoughts, Backus and Chapain present when is…

References

Backus, W.D., & Chapian, M. (2000). Telling Yourself the Truth (20th ed.). Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers.

Adams, J.E. (1986). How to Help People Change. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House.

According to Newman, nurses practicing within this theory find their own lives are enhanced and transformed (Neill, 2002). Her beliefs and consciousness-centered approach were born from her early nursing experiences involving rehabilitation patients (Weingourt, 1998). She came to understand the altered connection between the concept of time for her patients and their limited mobility. For most of her patients, the day would seem to drag along despite the fact that their rehabilitation sessions were relatively short. Her conclusion was that these patients had an altered sense of reality. This eventually sparked her theory of Health as Expanding Consciousness (HEC).

Looking at the practice of nursing through a more metaphysical lens, the HEC posits that there is a universal and expanding consciousness in which all humans participate -- the healthy, the recuperating, and the incurably ill. Newman believed this was a natural law just as real as the law of gravity…

Margaret Newman and James Fowler both focus their attention on the larger, more spiritual context of human experience and the implication this has in one's healing. There are commonalities that exist between the philosophies of both theorists: human reasoning, the ability to adopt to another's perspective, social awareness, and human formation of a world-view. Newman offers the nurse-patient relationship can be enhanced if it is viewed as a caring partnership. HEC does not really pretend to be a quick fix or direct nursing intervention; instead, it presents an opportunity to assist the sick by recognizing patterns and using this intelligence to expand a patient's consciousness, self-care, and comfort (Awa & Yamashita, 2008).

Fowler concerns himself more with faith as a lens through which we see the world. His ideas about faith over the span of one's lifetime can be particularly beneficial when working with elderly populations. Older, Stage 5 and 6 adults may begin to reincorporate earlier religious beliefs and traditions that were previously discarded (Fowler, 2004). This could be due to physical limitations or also used as a self-healing mechanism to avoid feelings of helplessness or abandonment. A nurse who is attentive can acknowledge this mature spirituality as being helpful to a patient attempting to find meaning in his or her illness.

In sum, both theories/frameworks have implications for the practice of nursing. A theory, by definition, is a group of related concepts that propose action that guide practice. From Margaret Newman and even non-nursing theorist James Fowler we see how using a systematic view of inter-relationships between concepts of spirituality, higher consciousness, caring and empathy can be useful for describing, explaining, predicting, and prescribing nursing interventions that make a difference in the lives of patients. Both philosophies offer insight that can create better nurses.

Jesus soothed away their fear, reassuring them it was him (John 6:20). He then joined them in the boat, and they were moved from that place to the shore where they heading (John 6:20). Here, Jesus takes control over their action, and that place where they disciples are going. He moves them there, and shows that he has the power over nature to walk across the water, and the power over the force of the wind to move the boat back to the shore. He cannot be forced to do that which is not within God's plan for him to do. How can they overcome him and force him to do what they want him to do if he has this strength over nature, which they themselves do not have?

Healing of a Blind Man (Holy Bible, John 9:1-12)

In this passage, where Jesus heals the sight of man who…

Works Cited

Theissen, Gerd and Merz, Annette (1998). The Historical Jesus: A Comprehensive

Guide, Fortress Press, Minneapolis, MN. Book.

Williams, Matt (2007). The Miracles of Jesus: Six in-depth Studies Connecting the Bible

to Life. Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI. Book.

Elaine Graham's

Transforming Practice: Pastoral Theology in an Age of Uncertainty

Major Schools of Thought and Actors

In Transforming Practice: Pastoral Theology in an Age of Uncertainty, Elaine L. Graham addresses Traditional, Postmodern, Empirical, Liberation and Feminist perspectives on Theology and ultimately on Pastoral Theology. In order to address these perspectives, Graham traces the historical development of each, current theological realities, and prospective "horizons." The result is an extensive review of the Pastoral Theolog (y)(ies) of the Church and its faith communit (y)(ies), viewed very strongly through the feminist pastoral perspective.

As presented by Graham, the Traditional perspective is built on Scripture that is rife with patriarchy and an overarching patriarchal hierarchy. hile providing conventionally binding values and norms, the Traditional perspective is decidedly male-centered: traditionally-based pastoral theology tended to focus on the traits of a good male pastor and was essentially restricted to the pastoral ministry of ordained males.…

Works Cited

Graham, Elaine L. Transforming Practice: Pastoral Theology in an Age of Uncertainty. London: Mowbray, 1996.

Theology -- Youth and Theology

Genuine truth is the focus of Palmer's To Know as We Are Known: Education as a Spiritual Journey. Pointing to Jesus as the source of truth, Palmer contrasts truth with society's currently deranged approach to knowledge. The author also discusses a faith-based, holistic, communal, healing approach to education in which the teacher is a lifelong student who creates space in which the teacher and students practice obedience to the whole truth.

What is Truth?

Parker J. Palmer's To Know as We Are Known: Education as a Spiritual Journey hinges on Truth; consequently, exploring the author's approach to education logically begins by discussing the meaning of truth. According to Palmer, truth consists of more than facts and reasons (Palmer xxiv). Truth is personal and communal Christian faith focused on "the person who said, 'I am…the truth'" (Palmer 47). It consists of living relationships with Jesus and…

Bibliography

Palmer, Parker J. To Know as We Are Known: Education as a Spiritual Journey. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993. Print.

The power of the Orisha guides the santero. Alex told me that the attitude of the priests is very humble, because they don't believe that they are doing anything. All their actions are guided by the Orisha and all the credit belongs with the Orisha too.

I asked Alex to expand on two aspects of Santeria that I was particularly interested in because of their uniqueness. First, I asked about spirit possession. Alex told me that spirit possession is a very important concept because it helps the individual communicate directly with the Orishas. An object as well as a person can become imbued with the spirit of an Orisha. When a person becomes possessed by the Orisha, he or she temporarily acts and even looks like that spirit.

Second, I asked about sacrifices. Alex admitted that animal sacrifices do take place but much less often than they used to because…

References

De La Torre, M.A. (2004). Santeria: The Beliefs and Rituals of a Growing Religion in America. Grand Rapids: Eerdman's.

Leonidas, C. (nd). Introduction to Santeria. Exploring the Culture of Little Havana. Retrieved online: http://www.education.miami.edu/ep/littlehavana/Santeria/Leonidas_1/leonidas_1.html

Leonidas, C. (nd). Santeria and South Florida. Exploring the Culture of Little Havana. Retrieved online: http://www.education.miami.edu/ep/littlehavana/Santeria/Leonidas_1/Leonidas_2/leonidas_2.html

Robinson, B.A. (2009). Christian meta-groups: The Pentecostal group of denominations. Religious Tolerance.org. Retrieved online:  http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_pent.htm

Paul's Thorn In The Flesh

Studying the Bible, it becomes apparent that Jesus handpicked a number of his disciples to continue to spread his message after Jesus ascended to heaven. In addition to the men who followed Jesus before his death and resurrection, the leaders of the movement known as "The Way" included the Apostle Paul. Saul of Tarsus had been one of Jesus' most vocal detractors during Jesus lifetime and was skeptical of Jesus' claims that he was the Messiah. However, when Saul encountered a resurrected Jesus on the Damascus oad, Saul's disbelief disappeared. He converted to what is now known as Christianity and began to travel and share Christ's teachings.

Paul was unique from the other apostles in another significant way; he was the only one who received a thorn in the flesh. What this thorn was is never explicitly stated in the Bible, though it seems to…

References

Barnett, Paul. The Second Epistle to the Corinthians:The New International Commentary

on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997.

Dawson, Audrey. Healing, Weakness and Power: Perspectives on Healing in Writings of Mark, Luke and Paul. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2008.

Deane-Drummond, Celia. Brave New World?: Theology, Ethics, and the Human Genome.

Identify prejudices and biases in traditional Christian approaches to non-Christian religions, both in general and specifically.

Identify possible objections to Christianity, in terms of theology, ethics, and missiology.

esolve the challenges associated with new era missiology and new era ministry, by developing a comprehensive plan for the future.

Materials: Today's materials will be the same as the previous days.

Activities:

9:00-9:10: Opening prayer

9:10-11:00: Crash course/review of world religions based on credible source material written from each faith's point-of-view or from a non-biased, scholarly source.

11:00-12:00: Each participant uses his or her personal electronic device or notebook to write down specific areas of concern and possible roadblocks to interfaith dialogue.

12:00-1:00: Lunch

1:00-2:00: Share the concerns addressed by each participant openly, engaging in a dialogue of our own. Understanding that our participants are from diverse backgrounds, each will have unique perspectives on multiple faiths. Some will have had first-hand experiences…

Reference

Kenneth Cracknell, In Good and Generous Faith: Christian Responses to Religious Pluralism (Pilgrim Press, 2006).

" It caused missionaries to deal with peoples of other cultures and even Christian traditions -- including the Orthodox -- as inferior. God's mission was understood to have depended upon human efforts, and this is why we came to hold unrealistic universalistic assumptions. Christians became so optimistic that they believed to be able to correct all the ills of the world." (Vassiliadis, 2010)

Missiology has been undergoing changes in recent years and after much serious consideration Christians in the ecumenical era "are not only questioning all the above assumptions of the Enlightenment; they have also started developing a more profound theology of mission. One can count the following significant transitions:

(a) From the missio christianorum to the missio ecclesiae;

(b) the recognition later that subject of mission is not even the Church, either as an institution or through its members, but God, thus moving further from the missio ecclesiae to…

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bosch, David Jacobus (1991) Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts in Theology of Mission, American Society of Missiology Series; No. 16. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1991.

Gelder, Craig Van (2007) the Missional Church in Context: Helping Congregations Develop Contextual Ministry. Volume 1 of Missional Church Series. Missional Church Network Series. Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing 2007.

Guder, Darrell L. (2000) the Continuing Conversion of the Church. Grand Rapids, NI: Eerdmans, 2000.

Hesselgrave, David J> (2007) Will We Correct the Edinburgh Error? Future Mission in Historical Perspective. Southwestern Journal of Theology.Vol. 49 No. 2 Spring 2007.

Tune with the Infinite: Or, Fullness of Peace, Power and Plenty, by Ralph Waldo Trine. Specifically, it will report on the book, giving an overview of the book with some mention of the key ideas in each chapter, and finishing with a positive conclusion.

IN TUNE WITH THE INFINITE

Author Ralph Waldo Trine opens his book with this statement in the Preface:

There is a golden thread that runs through every religion in the world. There is a golden thread that run through the lives and the teachings of all the prophets, seers, sages, and saviours in the world's history, through the lives of all and women of truly great and lasting power. All that they have ever done or attained to has been done in full accordance with law. What one has done, all may do.

This same golden thread must enter into the lives of all who today,…

Bibliography

Author not Available. "Ralph Waldo Trine Biography." Personal Web Page. 2003. 17 June 2003. http://website.lineone.net/~ralphtrine/

Trine, Ralph Waldo. In Tune with the Infinite: Or, Fullness of Peace, Power and Plenty. New York: Dodge Publishing Company, 1910.

PTSD & SPIITUALITY

PTSD/Spirituality

Health care and spirituality have long been linked and involved with each other. This involvement and linkage goes far beyond the stereotypical "faith healers" that have become the butt of many jokes. Indeed, faith is used by many to get through struggles and challenges of many kinds. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is no different in this regard. While medication and therapy are the more commonly cited ways to address and treat PTSD, faith-based options are also quite common. These spiritual methods are easy to apply in the patient care sphere given that many hospitals are religiously based and/or are willing to tailor a patient's emotional and mental care based on their specific faith. While there can be some pushback when religious and spiritual values are suggested as part of a care program, the use of these values can absolutely be beneficial to a person's mental well-being…

References

Bormann, J., Liu, L., Thorp, S., & Lang, A. (2012). Spiritual Wellbeing Mediates PTSD

Change in Veterans with Military-Related PTSD. International Journal Of

Behavioral Medicine, 19(4), 496-502. doi:10.1007/s12529-011-9186-1

Currier, J.M., Drescher, K.D., & Harris, J. (2014). Spiritual functioning among veterans seeking residential treatment for PTSD: A matched control group study. Spirituality In Clinical Practice, 1(1), 3-15. doi:10.1037/scp

Mozart especially did the trick. Einstein loved Mozart's highly organized, intensely patterned sonatas. He felt, as many before him, that music and the reasoning intellect were linked. Music and his scientific work...were 'born of the same source.'" (Dowd, 2008) a report conducted by the German Ministry of Education in 2007 while failing to uphold music having a long-term influence on intelligence did state findings of a "link between musical training and IQ development." (Dowd, 2008) Dowd additionally reports that "...brain mapping has revealed that professional musicians have more grey matter in their right auditory cortex than non-musicians, as if practicing an instrument flexed a muscle in the brain." (2008) Dowd states: "It seems increasingly likely that the long-term practice of playing music, rather than merely listening, can have the kind of impact suggested by the Mozart Effect. Einstein, after all, organized his mind by playing the violin, not listening to…

Bibliography

Bangeter, Adrian and Health, Chip (2005) the Mozart Effect: Tracking the Evolution of a Scientific Legend. Group de Psychologie Appliquee, Universite de Neuchatel, Switzerland.

Braun, Melanie (2005) Exploring the Efficacy of Vowel Intonations. The Rose+Croix Journal 2005. Vol. 2. Online available at  http://www.rosecroixjournal.com/issues/2005/articles/vol2_11_21_braun.pdf 

Donald Hatch Andrews, the Symphony of Life (Unity Books, 1966), pp. 55, 58.

Dowd, Will (2008) the Myth of the Mozart Effect.- the Skeptic Magazine. 1 Jan 2008. Online Highbeam Research at  http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1419874671.html

African-Americans and Diabetes

Diabetes in the African-American Adult Population

Diabetes is a serious public health issue, and often seen in the African-American adult population. According to the CDC, African-Americans are twice as likely to have type II diabetes as Caucasians (Diabetes, 2011). This is highly significant, since 90 to 95% of new diabetes cases each year are type II (Diabetes, 2011). There are several reasons for these cases, and genetics is one of them. Additionally, people can develop type II diabetes from obesity, a sedentary lifestyle, age, and poor eating habits. In order to thoroughly address the issue, it is important to look at what African-Americans know and do not know about diabetes, and how they handle the disease if they do develop it or are told they are at risk for developing it. Many of them have pre-diabetes, and can avoid the disease if they are conscientious regarding the…

References

Agurs-Collins, T.D., Kumanyika, S.K., Ten Have, T.R., Adams-Campbell, L.L. (1997). A randomized controlled trial of weight reduction and exercise for diabetes management in older African-American subjects. Diabetes Care, 20(10): 1503-1511.

Baptiste-Roberts, K., Gary, T.L., Beckles, G.L.A., Gregg, E.W., Owens, M., Porterfield, D., & Engelgau, M.M. (2007). Family history of diabetes, awareness of risk factors, and health behaviors among African-Americans. American Journal of Public Health, 97(5): 907-912.

Diabetes. (2011). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from  http://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/aag/ddt.htm .

McCleary-Jones, V. (2011). Health literacy and its association with diabetes knowledge, self-efficacy and disease self-management among African-Americans with diabetes mellitus. The ABNF Journal: 25-32.

Holocaust affected Israeli society and culture and how Jews memorialize/emember it today

There exists no doubt regarding the massacre of the Jews during the phase of World War II and its impact on the lives of the Jewish people and the people who were near and dear to them. A dissention is required against those who assert that the tragedy never occurred, irrespective of whether they hold an opposite perspective to the Holocaust theory or just outright vehemence against Jews. The Holocaust stands for the lowest extreme of Jewish impotence. The affected Jews of the Holocaust were distraught due to it, both by direct means and indirectly, and as a continuance their kith and kin, near and dear ones, were separated by space. The holocaust has been termed rightly as a "Tragic legacy." It has also been looked upon as an unauthentic episode.

Discussion

Just due to the fact they…

References

Anderson, Frank. "Holocaust Atrocity and Suffering." Vol.47. Middle East Studies, Vol.30, 1991, 164-177

Ben-Amos, Avner; Bet-El; Ilana. "Holocaust Day and Memorial Day in Israeli Schools: Ceremonies, Education and History" Israel Studies, Vol. 4, 1999, 258-284

Davison, Todd. "The Holocaust experience." International Journal of Middle East Studies, Vol, 24, 1994, 153-165

Najarian, James. "Experiences of Holocaust Survivors." Mid East Quarterly, Vol.56, 1993, 114-128

).

The superimposition may then change the meaning of the ritual. What after all is "pure" worship? As Smart remarks, the utterance of a group of ritual words complete with the relevant bodily postures made during the worship service. This can also be seen in readings of the Holy Quran where the opening verse is read out loud some thirty times per day. Much of this can be seen as pure worship with no ritual imposition. This practice literally is pure prayer and has no other interpretation, but given our definition of prayer as a ritual object is included, if nothing more for the fact that the quotation is from a literal book, that is, the Holy Quran (ibid., 74-75).

It is in the above way that Smart points out that the ritual is integrated into and becomes a part of a person's ritual life. In this way, worship is…

References

Ninian smart's seven dimensions or religions. (2010). Retrieved from www.maccray.k12.mn.us/css/../NinianSmart7demensions.pdf.

Smart, N. (1996). Dimensions of the sacred: An anatomy of the world's beliefs. Berkeley, CA: Harper

collins Publishers.

Truth

Concise Summary of Theory

Christian counseling is usually rooted in both Biblical truths and in psychological research. In Telling Yourself the Truth and How to Help People Change, the authors discuss how to counsel from within a Christian theoretical perspective. Although these two books have different areas of focus, their core messages are the same: change is to be instigated by God and sustained in the light of Christ.

The authors view traditional psychological theories such as psychoanalysis as being helpful as starting points, but no longer relevant from either a scientific or a spiritual perspective. Therefore, Backus & Chapain (2000) and Adams (1986) infuse psychology with Christian concepts. Christian concepts, drawn directly from the Bible and its parables, can help the individual see his or her life in a new and more accurate light.

Specifically, How to Help People Change defines change within a Christian context, whereas Telling…

References

Adams, J.E. (1986). How to Help People Change. Grand Rapids: Zondervan.

Backus, W. & Chapain, M. (2000). Telling Yourself the Truth. Minneapolis: Bethany House.

Job Aid Matrix

Over the decades, the nurse has been playing a critical role in determining the underlying amounts of support that are provided to patients. As, they serve as a caregiver as well as friend, who is has a vital role in helping to alleviate suffering and allowing those they are working with to overcome the difficulties they are facing. At the heart of helping the nurse to be more effective, is the Caring and Healing Model for Nursing. This is designed to provide practical applications that will help health care practitioners in achieving these objectives. To fully understand how this is can be utilized requires: providing an explanation of the new professional model of caring-healing practices, conducting an examination of the philosophy itself, the steps that are used to enhance learning / original scholarship mentoring and what steps can disseminate the Caring Science mode of clinical / educational…

Bibliography

Dr. Jean Watson's Human Caring Theory. (2011). Watson Caring Science. Retrieved from:  http://www.watsoncaringscience.org/index.cfm/category/61/10-carnitas-processes.cfm 

International Caritas Consortium. (2011). Watson Caring Science. Retrieved from:  http://www.watsoncaringscience.org/index.cfm/category/71/overview.cfm 

The Implications of the Caring Theory. (2011). Watson Caring Science. Retrieved from:  http://www.watsoncaringscience.org/index.cfm/category/62/theory.cfm

Religion/Theology

Environment and Globalization

Christine Burke calls for a Christina response to the issue of environment and globalization in her essay entitled Globalization and Ecology. She sets forth her estimation of the steps that the Christian world needs to take to change the current affects of globalization on the earth and the societies that inhabit it. Burke calls for "active participation'42 by the Christian community in understanding, "ecological awareness'42 to shape that action, and a "new participation'42 by "creative leadership'42 to engage in action. The goal she stresses is to move from the "individualistic mindset'42 toward one that is "holistic and inclusive."

The Christian community needs to understand the narrow focus of the global community. It is a focus, according to Burke, which idealizes only income and wealth vs. social responsibility. In turn, individual societies suffer as global corporate interests destroy their ecologies. Because corporations operate in what seems to…

Works Cited

Burke, Christine E. "Globalization and Ecology." Earth Revealing, Earth Healing Ecology and Christian Theology. Ed. Denis Edwards. 2001 by The Order of St. Benedict, Inc.: Collegeville, Minnesotta.

As mentioned earlier, the desired outcome of nursing care is comfort and there are many articles in which the researchers have talked about the needs of the patients and the things that alter the comfort of the patients. Kolcaba suggested that the cancer patients who are terminally ill can benefit from comfort care as it pays attention to the perspective and needs of the patients. Through such kind of care, the patient is not only provided with pain relief, but the depression of the patient is also addressed adequately. As she said that patients who are not in pain but are depressed seek comfort in the transcendental sense as well as in the psycho-spiritual sense (Kolcaba, 1992 p 4). In some of her works, she has explained the use of the instruments and their application by the nurses. Kolcaba reckons that the instruments presented by her to evaluate the comfort…

Bibliography:

Kolcaba K. (1994). A theory of holistic comfort for nursing. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 19(10): 1178-1184.

Kolkaba, K. (1992). Holistic comfort: Operationalizing the construct as a nurse-sensitive outcome..Advances in Nursing Science, 15 (1), pp. 1-10.

Kolkaba, K. (1997). The primary holisms in nursing..Journal of Advanced Nursing, 25 pp. 290-296.

Kolkaba, K. And Fisher, E. (1996). A holistic perspective on comfort care as an advance directive..Critical Care Nursing Quarterly, 18 pp. 66-76.

Christian Worldview Nursing

Health care in the West and worldwide has undergone very extreme changes over the past decades. However, the basic principles of nursing like caring for the sick and elderly have remained consistent. While technology has changed radically since the days of Florence Nightingale, Christian caring in the nursing profession is still a foundational principle. It is this foundational principle that I seek to express in my ministering to my patients.

Christian Worldview and the Integration of Beliefs, Values, Ethics and Service

The definition of nursing for me symbolizes a set of beliefs, values, ethics and service. Nursing is after all a calling and a vocation, not just a job. In Judith Anne Shelly's book Called to Care, she defines nursing as distinct from medicine, even though the two occupy domains that are close together.

She defines it in a way that I find very familiar and similar…

References

Salt and light. (2012). Journal of Christian Nursing, 29(2), 74.

Shelly, J.A., & Miller, A.B. (2006). Called to care: A christian worldview for nursing. (2nd ed.).

Downer's Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press.

" (1) Fearing its potential competition with Biblical modalities of understanding, some Christian patients may initially fear, even consciously avoid the modern practice of psychotherapy, seeing it as a mere scientific reductionism of the uniqueness of the human animal. Or, conversely, some may uncritically embrace counseling it as a better way of understanding the mind than the biology of the natural sciences, especially approaches as person-centered theory and transactional analysis.

However, the authors advocate a more critical, theologically informed appropriation of psychotherapy in relation to faith, suggesting therapy's compatibility with orthodox Christianity through the conscious and flexible integration of psychology and theology, and present the author's justification of what they call responsible eclecticism, endeavoring as they do to understand psychology on its original terms, and then to examine how such precepts relate to Biblical narratives and moral behavior.

One of the most important challenges or concepts offered by this book's…

His followers claimed He had risen as He said He would, bodily appeared to them and then bodily ascended into Heaven, as Elijah prophesied. This experience emboldened them to come out of hiding and they gathered at the upper room of the Cenacle on the Day of the Pentecost. From then on, they openly preached the radical ethic taught by Jesus. The resurrection of Jesus is the origin of Christian worship and prayer and it directly links Jesus to God and Jesus has been called Lord, the Christ, the faithful and true witness. His followers who observed and advocated His teachings of the Good News were called Christians. Christianity was later founded and spread by the Roman soldier, Saul, who persecuted the Christians but was converted into an apostle by a direct encounter with Christ on Saul's way to Damascus. He was later renamed Paul.

Jesus as a Jew demanded…

Bibliography

Beeck, FJ van (1997). Who Do You Say I am? - Studying Jesus Christ. Commonweal: Commonweal Foundation.  http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1252/is_12_126/ai_58400678 

Cantor, N. (1994). The Jew Jesus Christ, the Nazarene. The Sacred Chain: the History of the Jews.  http://artfuljesus.Ocatch.com/cantor.html 

Carroll, J. (2001). Jesus, a Jew? Constantine's Sword. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. http://artfuljesus.Ocatchcom/carroll.html

Dankenbring, WF. Jesus Christ Was Not a Christian. Triumph Prophetic Ministries. http://www.triumphro.com/shocking%2C_but_true_nonetheless_jesus_christ_was_not_a_christian