Encountering the Old Testament Essay Example for Free

Encountering the Old Testament Essay I continued my study in pursuit of the doctoral degree in Biblical Studies by reading the text, Encountering the Old Testament. Little did I know when I began reading this text that it would so completely satisfy two of my greatest pleasures; studying the Word of God and studying people’s history. I am an ardent historian. Knowing and understanding the history of peoples and nations is more than exciting or simply interesting to me. It is necessary. My favorite people and times to study are the ancient Egyptians and American history as it relates to the African Diaspora and slavery. My great grandfather, John Burdette, instilled in me a hunger for knowing our family history and in 2008 I was blessed to publish a factual account of that history. He once said to me, â€Å"Promise me you gone tell da ones to come. ’Long as we keep tellin’ it, we keep it alive. Dey gotta know who dey are. † It was not until I was studying Encountering the Old Testament that I realized he instilled in me a need to know about humankind. Hence, Encountering the Old Testament was an exciting theological and historical journey. All Bible references in this paper come from the New King James Version of the Bible, except where clearly noted by the student). Chapter 1: What Is the Old Testament and Why Do We Study It? Canon: What is the Bible? The Bible is a collection of sixty six books; thirty nine in the Old Testament and twenty seven in the New Testament. But there are some sacred works that are not included in the Bible and the questions of which books should be included in the Bible raises the issue of canon. Tests for canonicity of the Old Testament must focus on three factors: author, audience and teaching. To be included in the Bible as part of the canon, a book had to be written by a prophet or prophetically gifted person, should be relevant and speak to all generations and would not contradict the messages of earlier writings God had revealed. By applying these principles the Hebrew people determined which books belonged in the Old Testament and the Council of Jamnia officially confirmed the books most had recognized for generations. Inspiration: How Was the Bible Written? The Bible confirms its inspiration in several places; for example 2 Timothy 3:16. Unfortunately, the Bible does not describe precisely how God inspired human writers. Four of the most recognized theories are: neo-orthodox theory, dictation theory, limited inspiration theory, and plenary verbal inspiration theory. The neo-orthodox theory holds that God is completely transcendent; he is absolutely different from us and far beyond our comprehension. Neo-orthodoxy asserts that the Bible is a witness to the word of God or contains the word of God. Evaluation of this theory is critical in that the Bible is more than a witness to God’s word. It is God’s word The dictation theory suggests God simply dictated the Bible to human scribes; individuals chosen by him to record his word. This theory asserts sometimes God communicated a precise dictation and other times he allowed the writers to express their own personalities as they wrote. The Holy Spirit insured the finished work accurately communicated God’s intention. Thus the dictation theory accounts for some of the biblical evidence but not all. Limited inspiration theory says that God inspired the thoughts of the writers but not the exact words. Some statements are difficult to reconcile. The plenary verbal inspiration theory asserts the Holy Spirit interacted with human writers to produce the Bible. The entire Bible is God inspired down to the very words the writers chose but God allowed those writers freedom to write according to their distinct styles and personalities. Textual Transmission: How Did We Get the Bible? Scribes who copied the biblical text believed they were copying the very words of God. One group of scribes committed to preserving God’s word was the Masoretes. They did three things to preserve the text they received: (1) they developed a system for writing vowels; (2) they developed a system of accents for the Hebrew text; and (3) they developed a system of detailed notes from the text. The majority of the text was written in Hebrew, the remainder in Aramaic. The most important Hebrew copies of the Old Testament are the Masoretic text (the most reliable), the Samaritan Pentateuch and the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Samaritan Pentateuch contains only Genesis through Deuteronomy and originated with the Samaritans. The Dead Sea Scrolls contains part of every Old Testament book except Ester. The Old Testament was also translated into other languages. The Septuagint, a translation in Greek, has been helpful in resolving some portions of the Pentateuch and the Targums helps us understand early Jewish interpretations. How Do We Interpret the Bible? Use the Grammatical-Historical Method Following the rules of hermeneutics helps us interpret the Bible. The grammatical historical method seeks to determine what the text says grammatically and what it means historically. In order to arrive at this understanding we must first consider the context in which the text was written. Understand the Context There are three kinds of context: immediate, remote and historical. Immediate context refers to the words or phrases in the verses closest to the word or statement one is trying to understand. Remote context describes the biblical material in the surrounding chapters and beyond. Historical context refers to the setting in history in which the writer wrote the Bible passage (p. 30). Determine the Type of Literature Next we must understand the type of literature or genre in which the passage was written. The various types of literature used in the Old Testament are stories, prophecy, parables, and poetry. Interpret Figurative Language Just as we do today, the prophets of the Old Testament used figurative language to convey meaning. One example of this is â€Å"The trees of the field will clap their hands† in Isaiah 55:12. Let Scripture Interpret Scripture Sometimes we find that one passage of Scripture will contradict another passage of Scripture. When this occurs we should find a different passage that presents clear teaching on the topic and interpret the difficult passage in light of the clear one. Discover the Application to Modern Life The principles of the Old Testament apply to our lives today. To receive the full benefit of the application we must understand what issues in our modern life parallel the issues in the Bible passage we are studying and then apply the Bible’s teaching to our modern situation. It is our responsibility as Christians to study, apply and share the Word of God with a dying world. Chapter 2: Where and When Did the Events of the Old Testament Take Place? God revealed his truth in the Old Testament in specific times and places and to a specific group of people, the Israelites. Ancient Israel was a small part of the ancient Near East, now called the Middle East. The three geographical regions of the ancient Near East—Mesopotamia, Egypt and Syria-Palestine—were joined by an arch of rich soil called the Fertile Crescent. The four subregions of Israel consisted of the coastal plains, the ridge or central mountain range, the Jordan rift, and the Transjordan highlands. Highways of the Ancient Near East Two important highways and communication routes of the ancient world were the Via Maris (way of the sea) and the king’s highway. What Events Does the Old Testament Describe? The history of the Old Testament spans nearly two millennia, in contrast to the New Testament which covers a century. One significant event in that history that occurred during the Early Bronze Age is the invention of writing; cuneiform, in Mesopotamia and hieroglyphics in Egypt. Although precise dates for the lives of Israel’s patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) are impossible to determine, it is believed they began generally during the Middle Bronze Age. Israel’s Beginnings: Moses and Joshua Sometime during the Late Bronze Age, while Israel suffered under the burden of slavery to Egypt, Moses was born to the tribe of Levi. Moses was called and prepared by God to lead the Israelites out of their bondage from Egypt. The Israelites’ exodus occurred sometime during the New Kingdom Period of Egyptian history. Joshua succeeded Moses and led the nation of Israel in conquest of the promised land, fulfilling the promises to the patriarchs. Israel’s Statehood: David and His Dynasty A group of newcomers who probably fled from Mycenaean cities in Greece arrived in the Near East. Known as the Sea People, their presence brought political change and instability for the Israelites. The constant threat of military invasion from various other groups caused Israel to call out to God for a king. The prophet Samuel, led by God, first anointed Saul as the king of Israel. However, Saul failed to maintain a right relationship with God and was rejected as king. Samuel was instructed by God to anoint David as the next king. Under David’s strong leadership, the nation thrived and experienced a time of stability. Although internal strife existed among the nation, David left to his son, Solomon, a unified kingdom. Under Solomon’s reign, the borders of Israel expanded northward to the Euphrates and southward to Egypt and he brought great wealth and prosperity to the nation through international trade. Solomon, like Saul, allowed his heart to turn from God and shortly after his death, the nation split into two weaker nations. Israel in the north and Judah in the south became the divided monarchy. The Davidic dynasty continued in Judah for almost 350 years. The Assyrian empire emerged and for a while dominated the political landscape of Syria-Palestine. When Assyria began to experience internal weakness, the divided monarchy led by Jeroboam II in Israel and Uzziah in Judah, experienced a time of prosperity. Moral decay and social injustice began to consume the soul of Israel and Judah. This was the backdrop for the first of the classical prophets: Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, and Micah. God raised up his servants to warn the nations of impending doom and to call them to repentance (p. 53). Assyria rose again to full strength and was â€Å"ready to be used as God’s instrument of destruction against the rebellious northern Israel† (p. 54). Babylonia emerged as a formidable foe against Assyria and eventually captured Jerusalem, taking King Jehoiachin into exile, along with many people of Jerusalem, including Ezekiel. They destroyed the city and tore down the temple, effectively ending the Davidic Dynasty. The loss of temple and kingship was a dominant and formative event in the Old Testament history. It forced the nation to re-think theological assumptions and re-formulate Israel’s earlier religious convictions, especially the nature of God’s covenant. Thus, emerged some of Israel’s most significant prophetic figures: Jeremiah, Habakkuk and Ezekiel.

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After the abolition of slavery, many African Americans became extremely optimistic about their future in the United States. They figured there would be more equality, more opportunities, and overall more respect. They were given empty promises, false hopes, and sugar-coated lies, because, in all actuality, it was the exact opposite of what they imagined. Racism became even more prevalent, and it was just as hard, if not harder for African Americans. The abolition of slavery did not mean blacks were free. It did not mean we were equal. All it meant was that they had different ways to do the same thing, and they made sure that regardless of the freedom of slaves, African Americans would still be controlled in some way. On January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves. The Emancipation Proclamation was issued as the country entered the third year of the Civil War. It declared that â€Å"all persons held as slaves †¦ shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.† The Emancipation Proclamation was, and continues to be a symbol of equality and social justice. As a result, he was assassinated. After his death, Andrew Jackson became President of the United States. Jackson was an extreme racist, and made this very clear during his term of presidency. On July 9, 1886, the 14th Amendment was put into place. This law recognizes anyone born in the United States of America as a legal US citizen. It also forbids states from denying any person his life, liberty or property, without the correct means of the law. It was meant to protect the civil rights of all Americans regardless of their race or gender. The Fifteenth Amendment was established on February 26, 1869. It was the third in the Reconstruction Amendments. This amendment prohibits an... ...the Reconstruction, is that no matter what legally was done in an effort to help, there were always loopholes and other laws that would counter us from being totally free. We may not have been in slavery, but we were still enslaved, not only because of our mindsets, but because of our surroundings. The system was meant for us to fail, be dependent, and continue being submissive to the white man because no matter what laws were passed, or what changes were made, that is where they wanted us to be. Black codes, Jim Crow laws, segregation, and everything else that was legal after slavery was abolished, were all forms of slavery in a subtle way. They were meant to get in the heads of the blacks, and if you can get in a person’s head, you can control them. The reconstruction era was the beginning of a downward spiral between blacks and whites that branched after slavery.

Financial Crisis: Beyond the 1929-2008 comparison Essay

There has been major economic and financial crisis that have afflicted the world economy since 1929. It all started with â€Å"a great depression† in 1929 that lasted for about 10 years and then some of the other major crisis followed it, the next one being the oil crisis in 1973 then the Latin American debt crisis in 1980’s, in 1990’s the collapse of the Japanese asset price bubble and then in 1997 the Asian financial crisis and then in 2007 United states’ subprime mortgage crisis leading to a Global financial Crisis (Wikipedia: 1973 Oil Crisis, 2010). But there has been certain strategy of the corporate sector that distinguishes the crisis and its impact whenever it took place, as during the times of crisis the steps taken by the people who are economically and financially linked either directly or indirectly becomes very important due to the criticality of the situation and a particular step could make or break for the companies and economy as a whole. Getting over to the 1929 â€Å"The Great depression† that is considered to be a ravaging stock market crash in the history of United States of America that initially occurred because of the over-optimism of economists who believed that the stock prices are invulnerably high which they actually were in early 1920’s but soon those believes and certain predictions proved to be wrong when the stock market collapsed badly in October 1929 and remained broken-down for the next decade (Wikipedia: Wall Street Crash of 1929, 2010). People who borrowed money to buy the number of stocks relying on to the predictions of the economists were helpless with the situation, some people sold in a loss rite away but some kept it with them in a desire to make them even but had to wait for it for most of their life. The economy of U. S fell to its all time low in 1933 with industrial output being only 65% of the previous level. It not only affected U. S but all the countries worldwide as with some examples being Germany, Australia and Canada where the unemployment rates reached nearly 30% (Xinhua News Agency, 2009). The depression that began in United States but quickly transformed into a worldwide slump because of the underlying weaknesses and imbalances within the U. S economy that was previously vague by the Booming economy psychology and the blues of 1920s. The depression unveiled those weaknesses as it did the capabilities if the nation’s political and financial institutions to cope with the massive downward economic cycle that was set in 1930. As it was a depression never sighted by the countries, government took a very little or no action in times of economic downturn and relied heavily on an automatic market forces (Demand and Supply) to accomplish the economic correction. But those forces were unsuccessful in getting the desired recovery during the initial stages of the Great Depression and this badly hit discovery gradually inspired some of the fundamental changes in U. S economic structure and soon government came up with interfering in the form of taxations, public relations, industrial ordinance, insurance, welfare services and certain spending from them confirmed economic stability in the industries with free Market economies. The second biggest recession came in 1973, when Arab countries imposed embargo on the exports of oil and petroleum in retaliation to the U. S decision to re-supply the Israeli military. As Arab countries announced during the Yom Kippur war, the countries that supported Israelis in the conflict. Hence, the long lasting capabilities of embargo related to massive oil prices, disrupted oil supply and recession and with persistent increase in the need for crude oil and petroleum for the industries lead U. S and other European countries made it tough for the industrial sector there to grow and not only that Arab Oil suppliers got united with others to boost up the prices of Oil and crisis further exacerbated that limited the price of an old oil with that allowing newly extracted oil being sold at a higher price, resulting in a secession of an old oil from the market, creating artificial shortage. As with this the 1973 oil inducted the worst ever economic crisis since World War II in key Industrial states, resulting in a deadline of more than 14 per cent industrial output in the U. S and more than 20 per cent in Japan. As a striking inflation was experienced during that period and this massive increase in prices were to be blamed for being suppressive of economic activity. The infected countries responded with a variety of new and probably taking a permanent initiative to contain further dependency. As the oil price stunned the economy by further leading to a stock market crash in 1973-1974. The impact followed several years of steep income declines after the recent failure of pulling off the major Western oil companies. The third real crisis situation occurred that was in 1980’s that were the Latin American Debt crisis. It all started when the Latin American countries started borrowing huge sums of foreign cash to develop the domestic industries during 1960’s. The Latin American region that includes people speaking Roman languages and specifically Spanish, Portuguese and French termed as Latin (Romance languages). The foreign debts for the Latin Americans exceeded USD 300 billion (Xinhua News Agency, 2009) in the early 1980s. In 1982 Mexico revealed it incapability of repaying the debts that triggered a world Shaking debt crisis. Mexicans requested a 90 day rollover of the payments of the principal in order to restructure the financial packages. Unfortunately that problem aroused all other Latin American countries and some other debtor countries in all parts of the world. The Mexican impact was far reaching as it created an atmosphere that caused to issue dreadful forecasts by the people that were thankfully never realized. Most of the observers believe that the petrodollar recycling during 1970s gave birth to this debt crisis. As during that period the oil prices grew dramatically. Commercial banks were as well eager of making profitable loans to the governments and state-owned entities in developing countries, using dollars that were flown from the Middle Eastern countries and because of that the Latin America also got keen of borrowing the relatively cheap money from the banks (Ruggiero, 1999). During the crisis, GDP per capita of Latin American countries dropped by 10 percent (Xinhua News Agency, 2009). The adjustable interest rates interest loans sky rocketed in the early 1980s when the United States attempted to minimize inflation by enforcing rigorous monetary policies where, at the same time, it also increased its military spending. The administration of Reagan during that time in U. S did all this while shortening their Income tax rates. The raw material prices fell drastically around the Globe, which resulted poor countries with lesser money even to re pay their debts. Brazil and Mexico for example closely defaulted on their loans, and according to an International Law, there was no other option for these poor countries but to declare bankruptcy. Though commercial banks in that situation came to the rescue and prevented its defaults. Although many developing countries were left in huge debts and as a result they could no longer get loans. With no real way out, these nations have always relied heavily on the World Bank and/or International Monetary Fund (Ruggiero, 1999). The next real collapse of the Japanese Asset Price bubble was an economic bubble in Japan that took place from late 1980’s to early 1990s when the Japanese real estate and stock prices experienced a ruinous crash in 1990 after years of Inflation. During that time Japan suffered inveterate deflation and economic recession due to its asset devaluation and in the middle of 1990’s the country’s economy entered into a phase where there was a Zero growth (Xinhua News Agency, 2009). Since late 1980s the Japan’s experience shows the emergence and bursting of the bubble that played an important role in economic fluctuations throughout that period. The experience that was observed to have given the indication of a close relations in both financial and macroeconomic instability to large fluctuations in assets prices and raising the question of what has to be an appropriate way of treating asset prices in macroeconomic policy making. It has to be noted that Japan’s experience is the enthusiasm of market participants and together with inconsistent projection of fundamentals that contributed to a large degree to maintaining temporarily high asset prices during that time. Such enthusiasm is often quoted Euphoria that is being excessively optimistic but un-getable expectations for the long term economic performance being lasted for many years before dissipating. The escalated bullish expectations clearly observed in an increased equity yield during the period from the late 1980’s to the early 1990s. As the growth rate of nominal GDP was computed from the equity yield spread in 1990 as high as 8 per cent with the standard assumption that was based on the discount factor. Although the view of low inflation at the time, it was unlikely that the potential growth rate of nominal GDP was close to 8 per cent. Hence that would be more natural to infer the high level of the yield spread in 1990 reflecting the intensification of optimistic expectations, which were not sustainable in the Long run (Shiratsuka, 2005). In the late 1990’s that is in 1997 the Asian financial crisis emerged against the backdrop of U. S dollar appreciation where the exports of many Asian countries whose currencies were nailed down to the dollar and became less competitive. In July, a widespread devaluation of Asian currencies followed Thailand’s decision to float their currency â€Å"Baht†, hence, marking the outbreak of the Asian financial crisis. Indonesia on the other hand with Thailand as well as South Korea was most affected by the crisis. Indonesia’s GDP shrank with a massive 83. 4 per cent followed by Thailand and South Korea’s 40. 4 per cent and 34. 2 per cent respectively the time of crisis (Xinhua News Agency, 2009). The scope and the severity of the collapse were so massive that the outside intervention became somewhat mandatory as considered by many as a new kind of colonialism needed urgently. Since the countries that were sighting a huge downfall were not only the richest in their region but in the world since hundreds of billions of dollars were at stake and any response to the crisis had to be cooperative and international, in the desired case it was International Monetary Fund (IMF). They created rescue packages i. e. the series of bailouts for the most affected economies enabling those affected to avoid defaults that tied the packages to reforms that were intended to make the restored Asian currency with banking and financial systems. In some of the affected countries, restrictions on foreign ownership were greatly reduced and there were sufficient government controls set up to supervise all financial activities and ones they were to be independent and of private interest and the insolvent institutions had to be closed down in order to avoid insolvency affecting other institutions. The financial systems had to become more transparent to provide the kind of reliable financial information used in the West to make sound financial decisions. Somehow the strategy of IMF was opposed and came under great criticism because as countries fell into crisis, many local businesses and governments had taken out loans in terms of U. S dollars that made the currency much more expensive as compared to the local currencies which formed their income actually found unable to pay back to their creditors (Wikipedia: 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, 2010). IN 2007 the U. S subprime mortgage crises lead to another monumental crisis situation that has hurt globally and has forced many businesses to shut down. The crisis broke out in the summer of 2007 in the U. S and its root being mortgages that were made to the borrowers with less ability to repay the loans. The largely invested in products related to subprime mortgages and the tightening of credits around the world. It all started with the bankruptcy of one of the top banks in the world â€Å"Lehman Brothers† and Merrill Lynch’s buyouts in 2008 that caused a major slow down in the global economic growth with contraction in global trade and an astonishing rise in the level of unemployed workforce. Deep recession that emerged in Japan and some other countries that were on the verge of improving their economy somehow got dented with the current crisis (Xinhua News Agency, 2009). The crisis that is named â€Å"the Great Recession† that resulted in the collapse of large financial institutions plus the bailouts of banks by national governments and penultimate downturns in stock markets around the world. The housing market in many countries also suffered, resulting in numerous dispossessions, foreclosures and prolonged vacancies as being considered the worst ever crisis situation since the Great depression in 1930s. It massively contributed to the failure of key businesses, declines in consumer wealth that is estimated to be in the trillions of U. S dollars with substantial financial commitments incurred by the governments, and a significant decline in the economic activities. The market based and regulatory solutions have been implemented or are under consideration, while significant risks remain for the world economy over the periods from 2008. The collapse of in the housing bubble that peaked in U. S in 2006, affected the securities tied to real estate pricing to plumb thereafter, damaging financial institutions in all around the world. The bank insolvencies declined credit availability and damaged investor’s confidence and gradually had its impact on the stock markets, where securities suffered huge losses during late 2008. Critics argued though that credit rating agencies and investors were not successful in pricing the risks involved with mortgage related financial products, and that governments did not adjust their regulatory practices to address the 21st Century financial markets. Governments and central banks had responded with unprecedented fiscal stimulus, monetary policy expansion and institutional bailouts (Wikipedia: Financial Crisis of 2007-2010, 2010). The Crisis throughout the Great depression in 1929 to the Great recession in 2008 are focused as have occurred due to different reasons but end of the day had the same impact and that was denting the global markets. But the strategies throughout the crisis had varied by the policy makers, sometimes it has been successful but sometimes as the recession that stands currently prior to the year 2008 in still active and measures are being taken to overcome the problem. Many companies in between had come up with the strategy of mergers and acquisitions in order to save themselves from bankruptcy and over the years it has become successful for some but has also been unsuccessful. It is somehow noticed that the Mergers and Acquisitions have had the bitter part. The history clearly tells that mergers are not ALWAYS successful for the firms. It takes a great deal of experience and courage to settle with the other firm and handle matters on a larger scale but as it is said the risks are sooner or later paid with dividends. The failures of Dunlop and Pirelli Merger that initiated in 1970, the British –Europe conglomeration went sour as the Pirelli sank into the red. Difficulties in European tire operations in France, West Germany and Ireland as well as Britain were somehow balanced for some time by Profits from Africa, Asia, North America and Australia. The two companies merged because of an intense competition in the tire market and an increased demand for the Japan and North American tires made it challenging for the European markets to grow and the only solution was to increase the financial resources and gain recognition through it hence that resulted in a merger of these two firms. But the troubled economic trends of the 70s played a lead role in the failure of the alliance between Pirelli and Dunlop, progressively deteriorating the relationship between top management of the two groups and their mutual confidence and the deeper elements that led to the Union dissolution was an attempt to combine the groups characterized by significant differences in their models of Corporate Governance, as Pirelli was a family business, while Dunlop was a Public company. Pirelli, as well as many other Italian groups, was controlled by means of a pyramidal structure, cross-holdings of shares and agreement between shareholders, a delicate balance which could be compromised by little changes in the share capital distribution or in its total amount. A delicate balance to preserve which Italian top management refused to implement deeper changes in the Union structure that, in the difficult 70s, might have led the group to achieve better performances. In this regard we can find some similarities between the Union history and a subsequent unfortunate international merger attempt: the one between Fiat and Ford in 1985. Notwithstanding the potential synergies of the joint-venture between the two automotive producers this project failed because the two head offices were incapable of achieving an agreement on the crucial issue of â€Å"corporate control†. The IMF and World Banks on the other hand have been actively participating but the crisis as the history shows, in most of the situations are so massive that their efforts are ruined as well. Bibliography Ruggiero, Gregory. (1999). Latin American Debt Crisis: What Where It’s Causes And Is It Over? Available: http://www. angelfire. com/nj/GregoryRuggiero/latinamericancrisis. html. Last accessed 01 May 2010. Shiratsuka, Shigenori. (2005). The asset price bubble in Japan in the 1980s: lessons for financial and macroeconomic stability. Available: http://www. bis. org/publ/bppdf/bispap21e. pdf. Last accessed 01 May 2010. Wikipedia. (2010). Wall Street Crash of 1929. Available: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Wall_Street_Crash_of_1929. Last accessed 01 May 2010. Wikipedia. (2010). 1973 Oil Crisis. Available: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/1973_oil_crisis. Last accessed 01 May 2010. Wikipedia. (2010). 1997 Asian Financial Crisis. Available: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/1997_Asian_Financial_Crisis. Last accessed 01 May 2010. Wikipedia. (2010). Financial Crisis of 2007-2010. Available: http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Financial_crisis_of_2007%E2%80%932010. Last accessed 01 May 2010. Wright, William M. (n. d. ). The Great Depression that Changed Economic Theory. Available: http://windowtowallstreet. com/1929marketcrash. aspx. Last accessed 01 May 2010. Xinhua News Agency. (2009). Backgrounder: Major economic, financial crises since 1929. Available: http://news. xinhuanet. com/english/2009-03/31/content_11107060. htm. Last accessed 01 May 2010.

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Nike and Unfair Labor Practices - 1057 Words

Nike and Unfair Labor Practices I. Introduction Nike has been accused of the unfair labor practice of sweatshop labor. A sweatshop is a place with hazardous working environments, extreme temperatures and abusive employers, hence the term sweat shop. Sweatshop workers work long days exceeding 14 hours and earn less than the living wage (Britanica, n.d.). While these conditions may be shocking to Americans and Modern Western Nations the notion of abusive working conditions is more attractive to Asians and South Americans who are faced with the stark choice of terrible working conditions or unemployment and possible death by starvation. The accusation then is that Nike is using these labor condition inequalities to take unethical†¦show more content†¦Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be jealous because I am kind to others?† (Matthew 20:13-14) So it seems that the Gospels suggest that unequal pay is allowed by God. But the parable of the vineyard workers is not about worldly wages. Christ was talking about how God will parcel out his grace to all those who do his will. After all, his true and final wage / grace to us is eternal life and no one can have two or three eternal lives. We all get one eternal life. Don’t be confused by this seemingly clear passage that justifies unequal pay. Instead consider this; â€Å"Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms by injustice, who makes his neighbor serve him for nothing and does not give him his wages† (Jeremiah 22:13) This passage can be interpreted as an indictment of those who build their prosperity with unjust and unrighteous means such as scrimping on wages of his workers to increase his profit margins. Also â€Å"Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.† (James 5:4). We know for a fact that keeping wages low despite high profit margins is a form of wage repression. Even if the workers are content, as opposed to being jobless, to work in wage repressed jobs it is still immoral to allow them to work in such conditions and for such lowShow MoreRelatedHitting the Wall: Nike and International Labor Practices1368 Words   |  6 Pages1) Which criticisms leveled against Nike do you consider to be fair? Explain. Nike s corporate practices are good indicators that the company is only interested in exploiting low wages in third world countries. This is indicated by investing in these countries through worker training or human resource investment but has continually shifted its operation to the country with a lower wage. 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Brand Report Card Home Depot vs. Lowes - 3847 Words

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Lord of the Flies Nature of Man free essay sample

Lord of the Flies: The Nature of Man William Golding’s Lord of the Flies is a gritty allegory of adolescence, innocence, and the unspoken side of human nature. Countless social issues are portrayed, however one of the most reoccurring is the nature of man. Throughout the novel there is an ever-present focus on the loss of innocence amongst the boys, shown by the deterioration of social skills and their retrogression into a barbaric form of society. Also portrayed is the juxtaposition of a cruel, evil main character and a more classically good counterpart, and their eternal rivalry for power and authority over their younger subjects. Does society or the lack thereof create evil in human nature, or simply magnify a pre-existing condition? The protagonists of the novel are all boys no older than preteens, all from presumably wealthy backgrounds. When they first arrive on the island, they have a youthful innocence and naivety that wears thin as their isolation continues, turning trust into doubt and ultimately pitting them against each other. We will write a custom essay sample on Lord of the Flies Nature of Man or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page As they begin to realize that there is no longer anyone enforcing the rules they lived by for so long, they begin to break what is left of society’s hold on them and search for ways to alienate themselves from conformity: â€Å"Denied the sustaining and repressing authority of parents, church, and state, they form a new culture the development of which reflects that of the genuine primitive society, evolving its gods and demons (its myths), its rituals and taboos (its social norms). (Rosenfield 1). They accomplish this through disrespecting their newly appointed authority figure, Ralph, along with other obscenities such as defecating where they please and participating in violent rituals to release built up rage. As the savagery of their once playful hunts increases, so does their disillusionment with their former ways, drawing them further from the schoolboy demeanor they once had. The prospect of killing a living creature becomes tantalizing to the boys, slowly manifesting into not only a drastic change in behavior, but also a dramatic physical change amongst the formerly refined choir boys. By covering themselves in body paint and disregarding any form of personal hygiene, these young boys begin to morph into savages. They hide behind the masks, creating new identities for themselves in an attempt to avoid the possible repercussions of their actions: â€Å"And the mask was a thing on its own, behind which Jack hid, liberated from shame and self-consciousness. (Golding 64). In this sense, they still posses enough integrity to understand that what they are doing is not only morally wrong but goes against the rules put in place by their newly appointed leader. However, they have been so deeply affected by their new found freedom that they disregard their morals and blindly follow urges and desires that their former society forced them to repress. At first, Jack shows hesitation in killing an animal, and despite the perfect opportunity he is unable to follow through. As time progresses, he represses those doubts and insecurities, allowing himself to become a barbaric killer, hunting for joy as opposed to purely out of need, as though embracing his true intentions: â€Å"To acknowledge the presence of this darkness in one’s own heart is a necessary but devastating condition of growing up, of becoming fully and yet flawedly human. † (Boyd 1). He then proceeds to lead a younger group of boys away from Ralph, who represents integrity and the upholding of society’s standards, and into a violent, lawless tribe. Jack, the narcissistic antagonist, represents the new found lawlessness the boys crave to embrace. In comparison, Ralph represents the familiar, comfortable, lawful society that the young boys have known their entire lives. Jack arrives on the island with obvious character flaws, which develop throughout the novel as the world around him deteriorates. They have grown up living in a similar fashion to that of Ralph’s tribe, therefore in this new found paradise the desire to rebel runs strongly enough to drive them to near utter chaos. Jack, negatively portrayed in comparison to Ralph, tempts the boys with an array of forbidden treats, indulging their most violent, suppressed desires in an attempt to lull them away from the security of Ralph. In a sense, Jack is negatively compared to Ralph throughout the novel, and is often portrayed as confused and violent, very aware of the evil inside of him: â€Å"The real problem that arises among the boys involves their own inner nature†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Johnston 2). When his plan fails, Jack feels as though his seat of power is threatened and therefore resorts to terrorizing, threatening and essentially forcing the boys to join him and align themselves against Ralph, alienating them from their former, comfortable life-style and thus making what they once failed to appreciate all the more desirable. Once these boys join Jack’s tribe, they are forced to follow his orders, committing heinous atrocities against their former friends in a desperate attempt to avoid the physical punishment Jack inflicts on those who disobey him. Jack rules his subjects through fear and intimidation, and yet lures them in by playing on hidden desires unbeknownst to them. Jack is often shown acting cruel and menacing towards the other boys, however is he also shown as being self-conscious and a bit insecure: â€Å"Boys are desperate to distract from their own helplessness and do so by projecting their fear of subjection onto an even weaker other. While bullying appears as a reliable strategy of expressing ones superior masculine composure, a self-conscious admission of fear would threaten their integrity as boys. (Schoene-Harwood 3). In a way, Jack knows his subjects better than they know themselves, while at the same time he is oblivious to their distrust and false intentions. In reality, Jack has one truly loyal, model subject, who believes in similar ideals and misbehaves in similar fashions. Roger, Jack’s sadistic partner, is ultimately the one who murders Piggy, a member of Ralph’s group. Piggy symbolizes i ntelligence, something many of the younger boys lack, purely due to their age. Also, Piggy is overweight and in need of glasses, causing the fit boys to look down upon him, perceiving themselves as better purely due to their physical nature and attempting to hide their insecurities over Piggy’s superior intellectual capabilities. These differences alienate Piggy from the others, leaving him unappreciated, and although Jack is the antagonist, Ralph is able to relate to Jack more so than he is to Piggy. The murder of Piggy however, ultimately draws the line between Jack and Ralph, finally forcing them to face off in a battle to the death, initiated by Jack: â€Å"The water boiled white and pink over the rock; and when it went, sucking back again, the body of Piggy was gone. This time the silence was complete. Ralph’s lips formed a word but no sound came. † (Golding 181). After Piggy’s untimely death, Ralph finally comes to the realization of the strength of the friendship between them, and the numerous abuses Piggy suffered at his own hand. From the beginning of the novel, Roger is always testing the boundaries of society’s rules, exhibiting the classic behavior of a paranoid sadist: â€Å"Roger stooped, picked up a stone, aimed, and threw it at Henry- threw it to miss. †¦ Roger gathered a handful of stones and began to throw them. † (Golding 62). He desires to inflict pain and suffering on those around him, however he has lived in a conforming, regulated society for far too long. At first, he is apprehensive about the repercussions of his malignant actions, however as he grows closer to Jack, he gradually becomes more open, violent and obscene, ultimately resulting in the death of Piggy. Roger’s violent urges can be traced back to far before the other boys were openly abusing each other, allowing the reader to believe that he was simply born with evil intentions, which were increasingly repressed by society until they were finally allowed to break free and manifest on this biblical paradise island. The island upon which these adolescents are stranded enables them to break free of the restrictions of their former society and release their most repressed desires. In some cases, this resulted in cruel, sadistic actions and incomparable crimes of jealousy, rage and hatred. However in other cases this resulted in a desire for order, in addition to the attempted restoration of regulations that were prominent in the society that they were so familiar with.