What is the main purpose of the miracle stories in the New Testament Essay

What is the main purpose of the miracle stories in the New Testament Can we take them seriously in the post modern era - Essay Example Miracle is a sign God use to point at Himself or at His existence. Through miracles God portrays, the universal fact that the whole universe is made by Him. He has order the universe to act in a certain order and according to certain laws, therefore He has the authority to change these whenever He wants The miracle is not always mean to break or violate the natural law. Everything has been made by God, He controls it and has been maintaining it since the first day of its creation but one day He will destroy it. The day will be â€Å"the day of judgment†. In the New Testament Jesus Christ performed many miracles. He performed His first miracle when He changed water into wine. He healed many people. The brought the dead to life. This was all done to build the faith of the Christian in the Supreme Authority. Being a Christian whenever you read the bible, you see miracles happening on every other page. Whether it is water changing into wine, sick ones is healed, the sea divides into two parts. There are number of miraculous activities which are performed by God himself, or by God’s will. All these events which we read only make our faith firm as a mountain. It makes us believe that Almighty God has unlimited power over every other thing. He controls all that happens and even the things that you think are impossible to happen. All the powers are in the hands of God, He can bring the dead to life. The purpose of all the miracles is to tell the human being that God has control of creation because he is the only one who has created us. It tells us that if God has the control over such miraculous thing, so just imagine what he can do with our lives. Nothing difficult for Him to control He can change our lives within the blink of an eye. He wants us to believe in the miracles and know that they can happen in our lives too. The miracles occur to make us believe in the bible. It makes us believe that there is a life after death and the way to that eternal life, is

BUSCOM wk2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

BUSCOM wk2 - Essay Example Most importantly, in a highly diverse society in the current era of rapid globalization and advancing technology, effective communication becomes the major enabling element of promoting cross cultural understanding and resolving conflicts amicably. Hence, within the wider scope of human interaction, the various modes of verbal and non-verbal communication facilitate development of mutually beneficial bonds. The demonstrative or non-verbal communication especially, becomes highly pertinent as it can create misunderstanding or resolve differences between two people to forge long lasting association. The non-verbal formats of communication are very important elements that send critical message to speaker as well as to the listener. Sender and receiver both are keys to demonstrative communication. These messages are sent through body language vis-a-vis gestures, behavior, tone of voice that is used in conversation, physical appearance and dress code etc. They are important elements to di sseminate essential information like sincerity, consciousness, confidence and integrity of the individuals (Guirdham, 2002). Facial expressions strongly send messages of personal emotions. They reflect positive or negative sentiments of the sender or receiver when messages are sent or acknowledged. Different meanings are attached to myriad facial expressions. A smile shows happy demeanor while grimace shows distaste. These can also carry different message to different cultures. Negative expressions tend to spoil relations and create animosity. Grin is another facial expression with ambiguous message that may convey happy state, interest or even reflect arrogance. But mostly, smile expresses positive feeling as a result of finding something funny in the communicated message. It is therefore construed as positive communication. I try not to grimace even when something does not please me as it might adversely impact social or professional relationship. Indeed, facial expressions are cr itical factors that carry often carry different messages in different cultures. In Arabic culture, too much smiling reflects shallowness. Body language is vital means of expressing moods and attitude of individuals. Slouched posture or fidgeting often indicates discomfort while upright position shows confidence. Eye contact reveals that person would be honest in his communication and indicates confidence on his knowledge of the subject which he/she believes can be clearly communicated. On the other hand, if an individual is either looking down or focusing elsewhere, he is either lacking in confidence or he has not been honest. As such, his verbal communication would be less effective and would not promote trust. Listening intently is also very crucial aspect of no-verbal communication that helps develop mutual trust and confidence. In professional arena, it serves as important tool for reassuring colleagues and team mates or subordinates that their view points are being listened to. In an office, listening intently to the problems of others helps to sort it out early and facilitates in creating an environment of shared learning and mutual respect. Another very significant format of demonstrative communication is the tone of the voice while exchanging messages or information. The tone of the individual is powerful tool that is able to send strong positive or negative emotions. When one is

Impact of Foreign Aid on Nigeria Development

Impact of Foreign Aid on Nigeria Development CHAPTER FIVE SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION 5.1 Summary This study examined the extent to which Foreign aid; particularly the debt relief initiative has contributed to human development in Nigeria. It particularly sought to examine the relationship between Foreign aid and development considering the underlying political-economic conditions and the effectiveness of aid on human development. This work also sought to analyze how the World Bank’s Debt Relief initiative has enabled human development in form of better living standards and access to essential facilities in Nigeria. Finally, this research sought to evaluate the political-economic conditions particularly underlying the effectiveness of the World Bank’s Debt Relief initiative to Nigeria. Chapter one introduced the study introducing a general background to the study; the statement of problem; the research questions; objectives of the study; research proposition; significance of the study; scope and limitations of the study. Chapter two focused on the review of scholarly literature on the subject matter. The chapter illustrated the historical background to Foreign aid in the International system and its contributions to development in general. The chapter also included a theoretical framework examining the theory used for study review as well as the current trends regarding the subject. Chapter three in the other hand was devoted to the historical perspective of foreign aid in Nigeria. Chapter four attempts a critical discourse of the subject matter of debt relief and human development. The chapter reviewed and evaluated the debates on the effectiveness of the Debt Relief Initiative to Nigeria. It particularly sought to examine the impact and effect of the debt relief initiative on Human development in Nigeria. It started off examining the debt relief initiative, followed by the debates on its effectiveness and management in recipient states and concluded with a critical analysis of the effectiveness of the debt relief initiative on human development in Nigeria so as to determine if foreign aid in form of debt relief has contributed to human development in Nigeria. This chapter being the fifth summarizes the research and all findings carried out. It also includes recommendations and suggestions for further studies. 5.2 Recommendations One of the significant conclusions of the aid-effectiveness literature has been that aid is more effective when the recipient country’s policy and institutional environment satisfies some minimal criteria, and that aid should thus be allocated selectively on the basis of the quality (established policies and initiatives) of prospective recipients’ economic and social policies (World Bank, 1998). To buttress this assertion, Thomas (2001) points out that some Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs) had no policy responses to poverty, HIV/Aids or corruption until they were required to do so as conditions for debt relief under the HIPC Initiative. He concluded by suggesting that unless debt relief is effectively conditioned on the proper use of funds and the pursuit of structural reforms, it is unlikely to help the poor. This has been the Aid efficiency-conditionality debate –surrounding the subject matter. It is rather quite unfortunate that the afore mentioned assertion or debate was somewhat verified in Nigeria with the establishment of the Debt Management Office and the Virtual Poverty Fund – initiatives that were as a result of a desperate need for a debt relief. What is more reliving though is that the DMO is actually still in place and very much efficient in managing the Nation’s external and internal debt, and have shown certain level of accountability and transparency. This is seen with the up-to-the-minute information available on the Debt Management Office (DMO) website for Nigerians to familiarize themselves with the office and all that has been done to get a debt relief and all that there is to managing further debt both on the state level and the federal level. This research further recommends that revenues from oil be utilized appropriately to make resources available to finance investment that would in turn lead to growth. No doubt, there is the individual approach to office administration and policy initiation. But because the nature of Public administration allows for continuity even after the presiding officer or chair steps down, it is therefore appropriate to recommend that the established Debt Management Office and the Virtual Trust Fund (VPF) that was internationally commendable suggest that the Nigerian Government is competent enough to initiate functional approaches to challenges in the state and manage such initiatives effectively. It would be worthwhile therefore, to have our leaders put that same zeal and drive to initiating solutions to several other challenges facing the state and run it efficiently as the DMO was viciously run to get debt relief. Apart from debt relief being a form of aid; in Nigeria, the aid fund goes directly to the ministries, department or agency (MDA) that uses the fund. This is contrary to what happened in other Sub Sahara African Countries such as Kenya and Ghana in which foreign aid is treated as part of the budget. The Senate in Nigeria has warned against the disbursement of foreign aid coming into the country without National Assemblys involvement. The lawmakers are now insisting that such funds must henceforth be captured in the nation’s budget process for the purpose of tracking its flow and disbursement into Nigeria’s critical sectors (The Will, 2011). The idea is that by-passing budget will result in timely release of the aid to the critical sectors of the economy. Also, by-passing budget would ensure that aid money is not diverted to non-aided projects in the country. It is possible that there is the fear of embezzlement and mismanagement. And so I would recommend that the ministr ies, department or agency (MDA) that receive and utilize aid fund continue to do so but with a report to the National Assembly on a detailed account of aid fund. To effectively assess the effectiveness of the VPF or any aid fund for that matter, it is important for recorded projects to include the names or complete detail of projects so as to allow for complete evaluation. One may question if poor policy performance is a cause or a consequence of external debt or debt over hang for that matter. The debt overhang theory and the more general concerns of debt distorting incentives of the borrowing countries to reform imply that poor policy performance could be an outcome caused by external debt, at least in some of the HIPC countries, especially in the short run, as governments have much less incentive to absorb reform costs if they primarily produce income for foreign creditors. This should not be the case for Nigeria with the surplus revenue from oil does. It does not allow for the conclusion that poor policy performance could be an outcome caused by external debt. Rather, gross mismanagement of public fund, looting and perpetuated greed has caused poor policy performance. The civil society could have suppressed mismanagement to some extent but that is not really the case because what is seen is a state where there is minimal horizontal accountability and almost an invisible vertical accountability. In fact, the Nigerian citizens are negligent of the existence of the state and tend to survive with or without its input. This should not be the case. For Nigerian leaders to be accountable, citizens must actively participate in the politics of the state and make demands without fear. As many other reviews have recommended, this research would also recommend that Nigeria should diversify her economy to have multiple income streams. It is true that no state can be self-sufficient but the manner in which aid is given to Nigeria is very appalling and not needed. Least to say the food imported to Nigeria on a daily basis. If any state cannot feed itself and grow itself and its capacity, such state is bound to be underdeveloped of which Nigeria is not fit to be termed underdeveloped due to her vast riches in natural resources, man power, intellectual and industrial capacity, market and population. This research would therefore recommend a shift from a â€Å"Rentier mentality† to a self-reliant economy and state. 5.3 Conclusion In other research, the overall impact of debt relief continues to be unclear. Whereas there is little in the way of complete analysis or country case studies to compare the Nigeria case with. Chauvin and Kraay (2005) however, argue that debt relief has had no perceptible impact on the composition or effectiveness of public spending. Some skeptics, including Easterly (2002) and Jain (2007) have argued that debt relief, or the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries process can make public policy worse. On the other hand, Arslanalp and Henry (2005) argue â€Å"both borrowers and lenders can benefit from debt relief when the borrower suffers from debt overhang†, whilst World Bank (2006) paints a broadly positive tone as to the policy course of post completion point countries of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative. Against this mixed picture, the Nigerian analysis as summarized in the preceding chapter, suggests a success story. More so, it is important to note that debt relief is only a drop in the ocean of reform that is needed in Nigeria. Besides, debt relief was labeled as ‘special money’ that had political support, high visibility, and accountability processes surrounding it especially so as to gain credit from international donors (at the initial stages). Every other money is wasted, mismanaged or syphoned, as it has been the norm within public administrations. And because debt fund alone cannot lead to development in a state (even if well accounted for), development challenges still persist coupled with lack of devoted leaders to change. Such attitude keeps a state in a continuous spin within the dependency circle. So yes, political conditions do have effects on the effectiveness of foreign aid and much more, on the development of a state. 5.4 Suggestion for Further Research The decay in social services such as the education sector was not only because of inadequate financial allocation but also as a result of corrupt practices. What this work couldn’t cover adequately was to find out how possible it is that relief funds were not diverted, yet, the NAPEP estimated impact on human development is not all that visible. This is because diversion in funds impedes development. Or could it be that the infinitesimal growth experienced from the debt relief fund was all that there was and funds were not diverted, mismanaged or wasted? In other words, why didn’t the debt relief plan aid NEPAP in eradicate poverty before 2010?

Lebanon Essay -- essays research papers

Lebanon Lebanon, a nation that once proudly called itself the Switzerland of the Middle East, is today a country in name only. Its government controls little more than half of the nation's capital, Beirut. Its once-vibrant economy is a shambles. And its society is fragmented - so fragmented, some believe, that it may be impossible to re-create a unified state responsive to the needs of all its varied peoples. Lebanon lies on the eastern shore of the Mediterranea n Sea, in that part of southwestern Asia known as the Middle East. Because of its location - at the crossroads of Asia, Europe, and Africa - Lebanon has been the center of commerce and trade for thousands of years. It has also been on the route of numerous conquering armies. With an area of 4,015 square miles, Lebanon is one of the smallest countries in the Middle East. It is smaller than every state in the United States except Delaware, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Lebanon is sandwiched between Syria in the north and east and Israel in the south. The maximum distance from the nation's northern border to the southern one is only 130 miles. And the maximum distance from the Mediterranean Sea to the Lebanon-Syria border is 50 miles. In the south, along the border with Israel, Lebanon's eastern border is only 20 miles from the sea. Although a tiny land, Lebanon boasts a great diversity in its landscape which makes it one of the most picturesque countries in the world. The coast line is br oken by many bays and inlets of varying size. At some points, the mountains wade silently right into the sea - then climb suddenly tier on tier away from the Mediterranean to the sky. Because of the limitation of flat agricultural land, all but the steepest hillsides have been patiently and neatly terraced and planted with garlands of twisted grapevines. The mountains lend a great variety of hues - pale pink, rosy red, forest green or deep purple - to the landscape. Depending on the time of day, they never appear the same twice, and from time to time whipped white clouds hide all except their snow-capped peaks. Even on the darkest night, the lights of the villages perched on the mountains shine in small clusters as a reminder of their presence. On c loser view, the mountains become a jumble of giant gorges, many of them over a thousand feet deep, with rocky cliffs, steep ravines and awesome valleys. These unassa... ...anon. This system worked well enough for fifteen years. From 1943 until 1958 the nation's economy boomed and Beirut was transformed into the showcase city of the Mediterranean. The government seemed stable enough, but th ere were problems boiling beneath the surface and in the mid-1950s the system began to come apart. For one thing, the Moslems, especially the poorer Shiites, had a substantially higher birthrate than the Christians; many people believed that the Shiites had surpassed the Maronites in population. But the Christians would not allow a new census to be taken, for this would have meant a reallocation of the nation's political power, with the Moslem sects gaining at the expense of the Christians. With their hopes for political gains dampened, the Shiites became disenchanted. Why is this once prosperous nation on the verge of total collapse? There are a number of reasons, but the primary one is that the Lebanese people belong to at least fifteen differe nt religious sects and their loyalty to these sects is greater than their loyalty to a united Lebanon. Had the people's sense of nationhood been stronger, they would not have suffered the destruction of the past decade.

Arranged marriage Essay

? â€Å"Literature is the mirror of life† is one of the main quotes which our lecturer, Mr. Puveneswaran keep on telling to us in his every lesson. This quote answered my question which I asked myself since the first lesson of Literature in English. A great literature is the mirror upon which the realities of life are reflected. A term that used to describe written or spoken material is known as literature. By studying this subject, I could understand that literature is all about the obsession with ideas and also a way in which we can capture and interpret what has happened and is happening to us personally and to the world as a whole. Broadly speaking, the study of literature allows people to develop new ideas and ethical standpoints and can help individuals to present themselves as educated members of society. There are many short stories that I have studied in this semester such as A Dream of China, The Mahogany Table, No Place For A Woman and so on. As the requirement of my coursework, I choose two short stories such as Everything’s Arranged and Dey Raju. This Everything’s Arranged by Siew Yee Killingley tells about a Ceylonese girl named Rukumani having secret affair with a Ceylonese boy named Devanayagam while studying at University. Their secret affair discovered by their parents. Rukumani have struggle and suffer because of their family members, relatives and their community as they try to get together in life. The Ceylonese, however educated, still hold to their tradition, beliefs and family values so adamantly. At the end their marriage was called off. Dey Raju by Saras M Manickam is a story about a boy named Raju. Raju’s father arranged a marriage for him. Raju wrongly saw the ‘bride’. He refuses to get married because the lady that he thought his bride was fat. Amazingly, he found out that the fat lady was not his bride. His bride was beautiful. Raju got to know the truth and talked to his bride. They both love each other. According to Mathew Arnold, literary criticism is a disinterested endeavor to learn and propagate the best that is known and thought in the world. Using the theories and principles of theoretical criticism, the practical critic defines the standards of taste and explains, evaluates, or justifies a particular piece of literature. Since there are a few literary criticisms in those two short stories, I found cultural criticism is the most suitable one for those two short stories that I have been chosen. Cultural criticism is known as criticism or analysis of a specific culture and society on a continuing basis with the end result being some sort of practical solution being found to fix any problems. In the Everything’s Arranged short story, Indian culture is well depicted and portrayed. As a Ceylonese, Rukumani’s parents believe that marriage is a spiritual thing and if a girl has an affair with a guy before marriage, it is considered as a sin. The girls shouldn’t be in love before marriage. This can be clearly seen when a man who is a visitor to Rukumani’s house said that â€Å"When we were young our mother never mentioned the word ‘marriage’ to any of my seven sisters until two days before they were to be married. Everything fixes first, then talk. † We can know that they are very possessive and exposed to Indian culture that were truly practiced when Rukumani’s mother scolded her by telling that Rukumani have been so brazen and shameless as to spoilt yourself with her beloved ones. Even though she protested herself that she never did anything wrong, her mother cried and told her not to tell about shameful things. I also found evidence for the culture that they belief where the girls shouldn’t choose a guy as their life partner by themselves. For an example, â€Å"How dare you choose somebody for yourself? † wept her mother. Moreover, sex is an issue that cannot be mentioned in home. There was stated that Rukumani’s parents liked to pretend Rukumani was too spiritual to know anything about sex and that topic was never mentioned at home. The Ceylonese, however educated, still hold to their tradition, beliefs and family values so adamantly. Education failed to change their thinking. Social life is a taboo for their young sons what more for a daughter. Dey Raju is one of the most favorite short stories of mine where I found the pure love between married to be couple. The cultural criticism in this short story is arranged marriage. Raju who works in Kuala Lumpur received a telegram from his father states that â€Å"Marriage arranged. Come immediately†. Even though he hasn’t seen his bride, he agreed to his father’s statement and went back to his hometown immediately by train without thinking for a second. When the mates at work ribbed Raju mercilessly about marrying a bride that he had never seen before, he said that â€Å"Mine was traditional Indian culture with five thousand years of history. By golly, I was proud of it†. This shows that Raju is still conservation and holds his Tamil culture which is arranged marriage. This is also can be clearly seen when an elderly neighbor from home, Auntie Rukku asked him whether he has set eyes on his bride and know his bride’s name or  not. â€Å"It’s our tradition, Auntie Rukku† replied Raju. It is being a common thing to modern culture where people can find their own spouses and didn’t depend on their parents but yet Raju follows the Indian culture. In a conclusion, I could understand more clearly and well about cultural criticism by reading and interpreting those two short stories. I also able to know that the formal study of literature enables us to explain our responses to any text, allows us to articulate the function of literature in an academic and a personal way.

Plato’s Theory of Forms Essay

Plato’s Theory of Forms basically states that Forms of objects represent the greatest and most fundamental form of reality and are not simply the objects or materials that people perceive through sensation. Forms are basically the highest level of reality that cannot be understood and defined through merely using the human senses. Instead, one has to grasp the essence of the thing itself in order to understand its form (University of Washington, 2006). In other words, forms are things or objects of reality that cannot be defined by simply touching, smelling, tasting, seeing, or hearing them, but, as Plato states in his theory, by getting acquainted with them. For example, â€Å"A† is lady and â€Å"B† is a statue and both A and B are beautiful. Assuming that this is a true statement, it can be deduced that both the woman and the statue share a common property which is beauty. Since they are both beautiful, Plato calls this common property as â€Å"beauty itself,† which is different from the individual beauty of the woman and the statue. In short, as Plato states in this theory, one can only say that â€Å"the woman is beautiful† or â€Å"the statue is beautiful† if and only if he or she has a prior acquaintance with beauty itself, which they can identify with the woman or the statue. Plato’s theory of forms is basically substantiated by two evidences which are the argument based from human perception and the argument based from perfection. The argument from human perception basically states that one can perceive or describe two objects as being the same or sharing the same property because they have a basic idea of what that property is (Bratman et al. 2006). The best way to illustrate this argument is the example of the woman and the statue stated above. The argument from perfection, on the other hand, basically states that there exists an ideal or perfect form of an object which serves as the guide or concept for one to perceive or describe something. Although this ideal or perfect form may not be seen, it gives a person an idea of how to describe the property of a certain object (Bratman et al. , 2006). For example, no one has ever drawn or seen a perfect circle or a perfectly straight line. However, everyone knows what a perfect circle and a perfectly straight line really is. In other words, although the circles and lines that people see are not perfectly circular or perfectly straight, they have an idea of what their ideal forms are because these serve as guides for them when they draw or perceive the circle or the straight line. Furthermore, possibly the best illustration of Plato’s theory of forms is his Allegory of the Cave. In the Allegory of the Cave, Plato tells the story of prisoners in a cave only see the shadows of objects in front of them. As these shadows move and change form, the prisoners describe them and name them based on their shape or appearance. For example, if the shadow’s shape is like a dog, they would say that they are seeing a dog. Basically, following Plato’s theory of forms, like the perfect circle and the perfectly straight line, the reason that the prisoners are able to name the shadows based on their shapes is because they have an idea of their ideal form. In other words, although they see only shadows, they are still able to name them based on their appearance because they know their true forms.