Abstract This paper examines arguments by many religious leaders why they consider the Harry Potter series to be anti-Christian and pro-Pagan. It looks at different articles and opinions from religious leaders as to why they think this is the case. It also takes examples from the various books in the series on which their arguments are based.
From the Paper "The Harry Potter Series by British author J.K. Rowling and the recently released film have introduced youngsters everywhere to the fantastical world of the occult. Whereas some parents and educators praise the series for renewing children's weaning interest in reading, other critics, especially those from the Christian sector, fear that this book is introducing children to paginated ideals. The Bible tells us, that "There shall not be found among you anyone who... practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord..." Harry Potter and his cohorts practice these condemned activities with no mention of the Christian blasphemies they are committing, and have resultantly enraged critics everywhere. "
Abstract The paper discusses Steven Steinberg's book and shows how the book explores the vexing problem of why certain ethnic groups succeed in America, that is, that members of certain groups tend to realize the American dream of economic and social mobility, and other ethnic groups do not.
From the Paper "The myths of Black inferiority forced him into a necessary pattern of perpetual resistance to the cultural norms he was immersed in. This necessity for constant resistance to overt racism is one of the reasons, according to Steinberg, African-Americans have had such difficulty in assimilating into the American narrative of success. However, Douglass is also intent in showing, despite the myths of inferiority, his essential humanity and striving for enlightenment also shone forth in the depths of despondency and oppression. ?Though conscious of the difficulty of learning without a teacher, I set out with high hope, and a fixed purpose, at whatever cost of trouble, to learn how to read,? Douglass says. (1896)"
Abstract The process of surrogate motherhood involves a third party carrying a child for a couple, a single women, or persons involved in same sex relationships. This paper gives a personal opinion of why it is ethically wrong by examining literature both for and against surrogacy. It discusses such issues as bonding and separation and the key issue of breastfeeding, why surrogate mothers are not allowed to breastfeed.
From the Paper "Opponents of surrogacy argue that the surrogacy process creates a separation in the mind of the surrogate mother that she must have the child but not raise the child. Thus surrogacy creates a situation in which a child is created for the purpose of fulfilling the desires of the adoptive parents. The Humanist writes: "To sanction the use and treatment of human beings to the achievement of other goals instead of as ends in themselves is to accept an ethic with a tragic past and to establish a precedent with a dangerous future." (Pyton 2001)"
Abstract The ownership of guns by the public has been a topic of much needed debate for quite some time now. Various organizations and support groups have been in action for the pro or anti views on whether a citizen should be allowed to own and keep a gun at his person or his property. The paper discusses that many of the people who own guns do so for hunting, self-defense or for their collecting pleasure. But there have been numerous cases in which the use of the gun has resulted in the death of another person. The author of the paper argues in favor of tighter laws and regulations that would result in a limited number of people buying the guns and thus control the distribution of guns so that they do not fall into the wrong hands.
From the Paper "In addition, although we hear a great deal about the tens of thousands who die from gunshot wounds, we don't hear enough about the countless tens of thousands of others who are injured by gunshot wounds. Increasingly, hospital emergency rooms are getting better at treating gunshot wounds, which leads to less gunshot deaths. For this reason, looking at gunshot deaths alone is misleading, and only a small part of the picture. (Kleck) Residents of homes where a gun is present are 5 times more likely to experience a suicide rather than residents of homes without guns."
Abstract This paper discusses Martin Luther King Jr.'s letter written in response to a public statement composed by eight Alabama clergyman that questioned and denounced the recent human rights demonstrations by Negro citizens. It discusses how his writing, blended with logic and theory and with passion and force, rebuts the clergymen's statement, informs the public and motivates the white moderates to act.
From the Paper "The letter begins with an introduction to Martin Luther King, Jr., to his task, and to his motivation. The first several paragraphs contain most of Kings ethos appeals, though he does scatter others throughout the letter. Ethos appeals help King establish his character and credibility, upon which he builds his argument. Such a foundation is essential for any effective argument. For example, King refers to his primary audience - the clergymen - as Afellow clergymen@ and Amen of genuine good will@ to establish a relationship of respect. Then, to bolster his own character, King mentions some of his credentials while he explains his presence in Birmingham - he is president of the Southern Leadership Conference, he works with over eighty-five affiliated organizations throughout the south, etc."
Abstract An opinion paper that discusses current debates on animal testing, problems with animal testing, alternatives and how regulation can be improved.
From the Paper "Animal testing has become a hot topic in the last few decades as more and more animal rights & awareness issues have entered the world stage. From a variety of backgrounds, groups have rallied to the cause of animals around the world that are involved in drug testing, cosmetic testing, and a number of different experimental situations. The most hotly contested issue has been drug testing, where the development of potentially human life-saving substances is weighed against the life of these animals. Recent scientific research has been working hard to increase the accuracy and usage of alternative testing methods."
From the Paper "In A Streetcar Named Desire, the playwright has crafted a well-designed play in which the characters reflect different altitudes toward dreams and reality, and these characters are differentiated by the degree of illusion they require to function in this world. This clash represents the theme, which is that people often need illusion in order to survive. Stanley Kowalski is the character seen as most realistic, and his directness conflicts with the need for illusion of someone like Blanche DuBois. His friend Mitch is something of a romantic, while Stanley's wife also takes a realistic position to counter her own romantic nature, though in the end, she also accepts an illusion in order not to destroy her marriage. In this world, those who require the most illusion are also the most easily destroyed when reality intrudes, and Blanche is destroyed by Stanley's version..."
From the Paper "It is Immoral to Spank Children
Spanking is one of the most common methods of discipline used by parents. Even though the very same parents do not condone hitting people, they believe that spanking is a quick and effective method for exterminating unwanted behavior or encouraging desired behavior (Ramsburg 1). Ironically, by using a violent and hurtful means of discipline, parents are instilling negative values in their children. Basically, it is immoral to spank children. Furthermore, the moral consequences of spanking children has lifelong adverse effects.
For young children, parents are their primary role models. When parents spank their children, they send a powerful message to their children that violence is a way to respond to problems (Ramsburg 2). This causes children to learn that people can control the behavior.."
Abstract The paper analyzes the book "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien about the Vietnam War and explores how O'Brien potrays it as a "true" war through his use of language and style. The paper also focuses on O'Brien's personal interpretation of the war.
From the Paper "The Things They Carried is written from the perspective of the author, Tim O'Brien. The book is a compilation of his stories and experiences relating to the Vietnam War. It encompasses the events and lives of himself, the other members of his company, and the war as a whole. Many stories, written as second-hand experience of O'Brien, take place before many soldiers are placed in or called to the war. They also reflect on how O'Brien interprets them. No war story is told without a twist or turn of the truth. Details are imagined, and dreamed up to how the teller finds most appropriate. "Vietnam was full of strange stories, some improbable, some well beyond that, but the stories that will last forever are those that swirl back and forth across the border between trivia and bedlam, the mad and the mundane." (O'Brien, pg. 89) This bias is the basis to a "true" war story."
From the Paper "Milan Kundera, in The Unbearable Lightness of Being, offers a philosophy of love and sex which appears to be very pessimistic, but at the same time offers a shred of hope that some measure of happiness, or at least acceptance, can be won in a world in which there is no longer any unassailable truth or faith holding the individual to life. This is the meaning of the title. Without any of the religious, psychological, philosophical, political or romantic beliefs of the past to cling to, the individual must suffer "the unbearable lightness of being." He or she must look for love in a world which seems to be created precisely to keep human beings from finding the love they so desperately seek. It is not a surprise, then, to find that the physical act of sex is generally shown to be an exciting, if temporary, substitute for true love and intimacy. It is also not..."
From the Paper "The medieval poem Beowulf and the modern fairy tale The Lord of the Rings were written centuries apart under very different circumstances, and yet they have many elements in common based on certain human needs and attitudes toward how human beings relate to the world. The unknown writer of Beowulf was part of an oral tradition that generated and handed down heroic tales that appealed directly to their society, that infused these tales with what we would now identify as romantic elements, and that based the appeal of the stories on a worship of heroism and heroic action. J.R.R. Tolkien was a student of ancient literature who transferred ideas about virtue and heroism into a romantic structure that appealed to modern sensibilities.
There is some question about the origin of the heroic poem of Beowulf, but it is believed to have been an Anglian poem..."
From the Paper "Robert J. Norrell, in Reaping the Whirlwind, examines the suggestion that Tuskegee, Alabama, was a "model of racial harmony" from the 1880s to the late 1960s. This study will argue that although many whites and some blacks did feel that their community was such a model of harmony, Tuskegee was in fact not such a model.
Norrell reveals, in fact, that Tuskegee was a thoroughly segregated community consisting of one powerful white sector and one politically impotent black sector. The veneer of harmony held up by many whites and some socioeconomically privileged blacks masked a deep racial disharmony. Whites claimed that blacks registered in the conservative Democratic party were evidence of harmony, but in fact the evidence is that the rolls were manipulated by whites. The struggle that emerged when racial..."
Poet's fascination with death, spirituality, God, nature, the soul, religion in "I Taste a Liquor," "Because I Stopped for Death" & "There's a Certain Slant of Light."
1,575 words (approx. 6.3 pages), 7 sources, 1996, $ 55.95
From the Paper "Emily Dickinson's poem, ?There's No Frigate Like A Book,? is concerned with the theme of the self-discovery. The poet used the vehicle of books to explore other worlds than her own protected, isolated one. In her poetry, the power of words carry the reader into worlds of fantasy and imagination.
To assist in analyzing the poem, it is important to understand Dickinson's life history. During the latter period of her life, she became a recluse and her only means of diversion were books. She completely ?withdrew from society.? (Capps 21) Books were a risk-free way to explore the world without leaving the seclusion of her home.
In this poem, she uses many metaphors for travel such as: ?frigate, chariots, and coursers.? Yet one questions why she would use such fanciful words to describe such commonplace forms..."
From the Paper "Michel Foucault, in The History of Sexuality, can definitely be considered a feminist, if one sees feminism as a search for truth about human nature, relationships, and the role and function of power in defining one's identity (including one's sexuality). Foucault argues that since the eighteenth century Western civilization has increasingly become obsessed with talking and thinking about sex as a subject, rather than partaking of "bodies and pleasures" (157). Feminism certainly posits that a woman to be authentically alive must overcome alienation from her body, whether that alienation is imposed upon her by an individual male or by "power" as it is exercised by the entire structure of society. This generalized sense of power is what Foucault posits as the controlling force behind the history of sexuality and the accompanying increase in public discourse ..."
From the Paper "The two major characters (the Grandmother and the Misfit) in Flannery O'Connor's short story "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" present two of the possible responses to Jesus Christ. Their meeting brings no change in the response of the Misfit, but it does bring about a radical change in the Grandmother, a change which awakens her, for probably the first time in her life to her intimate spiritual connection to another human being. Her transformation, coming a moment before her death, is the heart and soul of the story.
The Grandmother is the epitome of the self-described Christian who professes faith and spouts platitudes, but in fact has no idea of the meaning of the faith she claims to live by. The Misfit, on the other hand, has thought long and hard about the meaning of the life of Jesus with respect to salvation, and..."
