Religious elements run rampant in many of the most classic novels. However, the importance of religion cannot be understated in some of the lesser known novels as in Alan Paton’s Cry, The Beloved Country. Paton’s novel follows the spiritual journey of Stephen Kumalo, a priest who undergoes a dramatic transformation because of his spirituality. Kumalo’s journey is best understood in the context of the people, events, and attitudes related to his journey, and the stark difference between the Kumalo at the end of the story and the character introduced at the beginning. The people Kumalo encounters are particularly influential in his spiritual journey. Perhaps the most influential is Theophilus Msimangu. Msimangu is the true impetus for Kumalo’s journey to find his son. He is one of the most influential characters because of his dedication to helping Kumalo. At one point, Msimangu asserts “I am not kind. I am a selfish and sinful man" (Paton, 45). He recognizes the fact that he is a sinful man because he tends to lose his temper, but he also believes “God put his hands” on him …show more content…
The murder of Jarvis is especially important, as it launches Kumalo’s initial quest for redemption. This is directly caused by the fact that it was his son who committed the murder, which led him to run originally. Kumalo’s son murdered Jarvis, then fled, thus launching Kumalo’s journey and eventual quest for forgiveness. Kumalo’s journey throughout the continent forces him to meet several individual people and tribes. With each new greeting, the new events force him to realize just how differently the various cultures are treated, and directly catalyze his eventual spiritual realization. Eventually, Kumalo finds his son, only to lose him to his unavoidable execution. This directly influences Kumalo’s spiritual journey, as it forces him to consider issues such as justice, spirituality itself, and
Summary: This article is about a man named Jaime Prater who was born and raised in Jesus People USA (JPUSA), a religious community where the leadership clothes you, feeds you, educates you, and basically raises you. JPUSA were started by hippies who used to travel through the USA, but soon settled down in Chicago, and is now run by an authoritarian leader and councilship members. Jaime Prater was born into this community and thought of it as his family, but when he was 8 years old he was molested. He took it to the council, but they shut it down to stop spreading rumors and isolated him. In isolation, he felt lonely and scared for three and a half years, and left the comminity in his early 20’s after he realized that he didn’t belong.
Dobbins in particular maintains his archetype as a gentle giant, with the monks of the pagoda nicknaming him “Soldier Jesus”, a testament to his tranquil character (114). Kiowa’s adherence to Baptism and overall religiousness is also brought to the reader’s attention, with the mention of his copy of the New Testament and his concern with his platoon having set up a base at a religious site (116). O’Brien also provides a convincing and rather relatable look into Dobbins’s religious background, with Dobbins describing himself by saying that “I believed in God and all that, but it wasn’t the religious part that interested me. Just being nice to people, that’s all” (115). Dobbins’s engaging views give the reader an agreeable opinion that many readers who also attended church as a child can relate to.
Religious ideas played a central role in the way people understood and reacted to the world around them in colonial America. The colonies were founded by various religious groups seeking freedom to practice their faith without persecution. Religion influenced many aspects of colonial people's daily life, from politics and social order to economic practices and daily life. Religious ideas were not only important but often the cause of antagonism and violence in colonial America. One example of religious antagonism in colonial America can be seen in the Salem witch trials of 1692 (American YAWP, 3.5).
This transaction took a long time for him to break over the fence but he soon began to see other cultures as normal, everyday, people. He finally realized people of other cultures are real people with the same needs as he has. My favorite part was when he came to a point that he was protecting the Hmong family as if it was his own. 3. The biggest ethical dilemma the Hmong family faced in these few chapters was
For it was not only a voice of gold, but it was the voice of a man whose heart is golden, reading from a book of golden words”(Paton123). Through this passage, Paton showcases the full power of Msimangu’s voice and the reader cannot help but wonder if Msimangu with his healing voice can be the one to bridge the rift that divides Africa. Unfortunately, the reader slowly learn that Msimangu is a spiritual man and is more concerned in helping others live a spiritual life then helping them to win their rights. One passage in Cry the Beloved Country reads, “yet he is despised by some, for his golden voice that could raise a nation speaks always thus”. They say he preaches of a world not made by hands, while in the streets about him mean suffer and struggle and die”(Paton 124).
Believe it or not, religion, which is “the service and worship of God or the supernatural” (Webster) is far more common than the average Joe notices on the surface. A large amount of people wouldn’t see religious aspects in their everyday life except for those they practice and even then, most are limited to a single day if even that. With the proper lens it is possible to gaze deeper into everyday occurrences and see factors such as subliminal meanings and blatant themes that have religious values to accompanying them. This theme of religion in popular culture can be seen popular aspects of everyday life. Many religious institutions see media within popular culture as an avenue to communicate to the mass their message and/or vision.
There are many views and opinions of the state of the United States on this subject. It has long been a puzzling issue that never seems to seize. America should have religious freedom, because it is a constitutional right to Americans. Prayer in school, gay marriage, and governmental control, are among some of the main issues in this topic.
The Emotional Journey of Saul in Wagamese’s Indian Horse Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese is undoubtedly captivating and entertaining. Even so, a close scrutiny of the novel reveals the novelist’s careful development of Saul’s character not only with the aim of capturing the journey he embarks on, but also linking his journey to the theme of suffering. Thus, rather than presenting a static character, Wagamese chooses to present a dynamic character whose emotional state evolves over time as he goes through various crises in his life. Saul goes through an emotional journey that is marked by pain, isolation, loneliness and fear, numbness and resignation, excitement, a relapse to isolation, and freedom, and this journey builds on the theme of suffering. Saul’s emotional journey begins with pain as a result of the loss of family members.
This religious preaching of tolerance and caring is provided as an encapsulation of the entire novel, and helps readers understand exactly what the novel is about. Throughout Beloved, there are several other major examples of religious allusion.
One of americas greatest assets and strongest points of attraction is its religious freedom. Now to a modern American this is almost a given, but the US was established in a time when not all beliefs were accepted, and some beliefs even forced upon people. The founding fathers knew that if they were to form one of the strongest nations the world has ever seen, and unify the people they had to cast out the ways of past and current nations. The path to success was paved by every word written in the bill of rights, although many amendments have been made, it was only in the name of progress according to time.
Not only did Okonkwo face the new idea of Christianity, but so did Chinua Achebe. During Achebe’s interview with The Paris Review, Achebe says “My parents were early converts to Christianity in my part of Nigeria” (Brooks). He saw the effects of the Christian religion moving through his village, something that Okonkwo couldn’t bear to live through. Religion is a major topic in the novel. Chinua Achebe uses religion to show the reader the God in the Igbo culture, their belief in reincarnation, and the colonization of Christianity.
Culture and Religion seem to be working hand in hand in society, when looking at culture we look at characteristics and knowledge of a particular group of people, defined by everything from language, religion, food, social habits (things that are done natural e.g. saying please and thank you), music and arts. With religion people often use the word to mean the worship of a god or gods. However, some religions do not have gods. One thing that all religions have in common is that they help their believers to find meaning and comfort in the world by using some aspects from that particular religion. With culture and religion playing a big role in our everyday and life choices contraceptives go against a lot of cultural and religion choices and
The paper by Watt and Wolf are both concerned with the study of religion in the discourse of intercultural communication. Watt’s main argument is that religion plays an important role in intercultural communication, it helps unite people from diverse culture. People with the same religion from all around the world have their belief originated from the same language. Wolf’s paper explores the relationship between inter-religious dialogue and dialogical identity and questions the privileging of the secular state in discussions of intercultural communication. His discussion is predicated on the idea that to be intercultural is to be inter-religious, it is to place ourselves in a fundamentally holy space.
The Philippines is a predominantly Catholic nation. As a result, most of the traditions in our country run parallel with Catholic and Christian beliefs. Events like fiestas and processions, sacraments including Baptism, Holy Eucharist and Matrimony, and celebrations such as Easter and Christmas are now deeply rooted in the Filipino culture. Generally speaking, Catholicism has been attached to the Filipino identity from the moment the Spaniards introduced it to us in the 16th century. I grew up in a Catholic family—my parents and relatives are all Roman Catholics.
In studying globalization, one major factor that always tends to be present is the role of religion. Undoubtedly, religion played a part in shaping cities/regions, however, it should not take credit for being the force that single-handedly unified people of different faiths. Rather, in viewing religious beliefs and practices, we should not perceive it as something that is black or white in terms of how it shaped or drove phases of globalization. Many outside factors such as trade and power should also be included when discussing the forces behind globalization and unification between two different groups of people.