This essay questions the dialectic nature of The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot. The many voices and contexts are explored with the essay concluding that the poem not only points out the constant conflict between light and dark within the human being, but is also apocalyptic. Primary texts from Conrad, Dante and Ovid are considered with reference also to Shakespeare and Webster.
This study centers on fragrant meat consumption which is a cultural phenomenon associated with some communities in Nigeria. The healing of human ailments using therapeutics based on medicines obtained from animals or animal parts is known as zootherapy. The utilization of animals and animal parts in the preparation of several products employed in diverse ways for health care delivery�...
The article explores the argument for a developing agrarian society due to the frequent inefficiency of male hunting. The earliest attribution of Goddess worship is suggested as pre-dating male deity along with a consideration that the agricultural Neolithic Revolution was preceded by a cultural revolution in religious practices and the use of symbolism. This response explores the authenticity of the claims propounded by Sjöö & Mor with particular reference to the Çatalhöyük complex in Anatolia.
This essay highlights the nature of Evil Eye accusations in Galatians, highlighting Paul’s response and adaptation to the superstitious nature of first century Mediterranean culture. An anthropological exploration of social norms and boundary rules intimate the environment within which Galatians is set, along with the potential challenges that Paul may have faced due to the possibility of being perceived an ‘outsider’. The essay also highlights Paul’s ability to use rhetoric argument ...
This essay sets out to explain the differences between the philosophies of Mencius and Hsün Tzu with regard to their consideration of good and evil in association with human nature. The essay provides an historical background for the development of Confucian philosophy from which Mencius and Hsün Tzu would draw inspiration, outlining the presence of the Hundred Schools of Thought era and the impact of the Warring States period. Aspects of both Mencius’ and Hsün Tzu’s thought are consid...
Edward Norman, former Chancellor of Yorkminster, contended in his book Secularisation (2002) that Christianity is destroying itself from within. This article addresses some of the issues raised by these suggestions and concludes that, although Christianity maybe a religion in transition, it has undergone many changes and adaptation over the 2,000 years of its existence
The history and challenges presented to France as an example of a secular state addressing religious presence.
This is essay discusses the impact that the Post-Modernist philosophy of Deconstruction, as proposed by Jacques Derrida, has upon all established ideas, highlighting the internal polarities that are required for a concept to exist
Why did the Catholic Church conduct the only crusade on European soil to rid themselves of this perceived threat
This essay investigates the nature of Good and Evil as forces within our personal experience rather than external protagonists. The concepts of Good and Evil are considered within a Western context, with reference to Eastern concepts, as polar functions which provide psychological tools to accommodate the nature of life experiences. Sources are taken from Ouspensky and Liebniz with the Dhammapada as a primary text.
This essay explores the place of Hajj as one of the Five Pillars of Islam. It considers whether these devotions, exemplified ny Hajj, can be undertaken in a superficial fashion by the individual, or does the manner in which they are practised as an internalised experience, identify the relationship that the person is developing with Allah. The essay concludes that Hajj not only focuses the mind toward Allah, but also provides the potential for symbolic empowerment when confronting, and overco...
The aim of this essay is to show, firstly, how Tao is expressed as a positive exposition of actuality and secondly, the peace that the non-attachment of the Taoist concept wu-wei can bring. It seeks to show that Tao is a way of life and not a principle to aspire toward. In Chinese culture, Tao is antithetical to Confucianism; its emphasis upon spontaneity and individuality a stark contrast to the social obligation and moral duty stressed by Confucian thinking. Every aspect of existence has it...
Exploring the earliest contacts with the Coptic and Celtic churches regarding the pre-Augustine mission.
Durkheim’s argument consisted of two propositions. Firstly, that religion was not divinely inspired but born as an expression of society and within that expression the capability to transcend itself and, secondly, as a means of social coherence, the ability to build its own citadel; a self-contained social organism with modus operandi specific to its own needs. His work in this field is very insightful in terms of its observations, of its structure and the content of its mechanics, but its ...
This essay considers the ever changing notion of the Afterlife while exploring the nature of Dante's guide, Vergil; a complex character immersed in mythology, imbued with classical reason, yet in denial of his divine right to heaven. Can Vergil be considered a Messianic character when placed along side Beatrice? This is Vergil's rite of passage as much as that of Dante as they traverse the various levels of Hell and on to the Garden of Eden. In so doing the essay asks if the Afterlife is stil...