Debut Albums and Dear Friends Essay Example for Free

Debut Albums and Dear Friends Essay Honorable Chief Guest of the day, distinguished guests for the occasion, teachers, parents and all my dear friends, this day 15th August of every year is a golden day engraved in the history of the world. We got freedom on this date and it is a day worth a celebration. When we celebrate it hoisting the flag, playing our National Anthem with enthusiasm, distributing sweets, we need to sail back into the past to remember and pay homage to the builders of our nation. My dear friends, we were the privileged lot to have been born in free India. We were able to breathe the fresh free air since our birth. If at all we want to know the pangs of agony of being slaves under a foreign rule, we must ask our elders born before 1947. It was indeed a Himalayan task for every Indian those days to fight against those powerful giants – the British rulers. We must not allow those hard times and struggles fade away from our memories. Hence it is befitting for us to celebrate such National festivals and recall those heroic deeds of our National heroes. We remember them today. Right from Mahatma Gandhi to the local patriotic leaders we owe our gratitude. When we regard those martyrs who laid their precious lives for our sake, we must not ignore the common people who sacrificed their lot for the good cause. There were farmers, land lords, businessmen, teachers, writers, poets and students who helped the land achieve the long cherished freedom.

Covenant and Promise Essays -- essays research papers

COVENANT AND PROMISE †¢ BERITH = Hebrew word for covenant †¢ Berith is found in the earliest records in the Bible and is fundamental to Hebrew religion. In Latin it is Testamentum. †¢ The Old Testament and the New Testaments means the old and the new covenants. A covenant is a promise. †¢ Chesed = Hebrew word for the attitude of loyalty and faithfulness which both parties should observe towards one another in a covenant relationship. †¢ The covenant ‘chesed’ of God is so strong that it can never pass away. The Covenant with Abraham †¢ The records of ancient Israel were not written down until the time of King David, who had a court and a scribe. This was the time when Israel possessed the land of Canaan. †¢ The records were then redacted at later dates, significantly in the period of the exile (597BCE) †¢ There are two covenants recorded in Genesis made with Abraham. †¢ Genesis 15. Abraham is told to kill a selection of animals and is then put into a deep sleep. A flaming pot passes through. This is a ceremony to seal the covenant. The covenant was one sided, God made promises, Abraham received them. The Covenant with Abraham †¢ Covenant 2 †¢ Genesis 17 records the outward sign of the covenant, circumcision. This is still an important practise today. †¢ 17:9 God also said to Abraham: "On your part, you and your descendants after you must keep my covenant throughout the ages.This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you that you must keep: every male among you shall be circumcised. Circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and that shall be the mark of the covenant between you and me. †¢ 17:12 Throughout the ages, every male among you, when he is eight days old, shall be circumcised†¦ Thus my covenant shall be in your flesh as an everlasting pact. †¢ Scholars believe this is a later covenant influenced by the experiences of the exile. The Promises of the Covenant with Abraham †¢ Abraham is promised that he will be the father of... ...en the The Kingdom of God reigns once more on earth. Second Isaiah †¢ Another prophet of the exile. †¢ Absolute monotheism emerged during the period of the exile. †¢ If there is only one God, then he is also the God of the nations. †¢ Isaiah pictures a renewal of the covenant on return from exile at Jerusalem. †¢ Significantly all nations will come to worship Israel’s God. ISAIAH 40:1 Comfort, give comfort to my people, Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service is at an end, her guilt is expiated; Indeed, she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins. 40:3 A voice cries out: In the desert prepare the way of the LORD! Make straight in the wasteland a highway for our God! 40:4 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill shall be made low; The rugged land shall be made a plain, the rough country, a broad valley. 40:5 Then the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all mankind shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken. Peter Vardy â€Å"Covenant and Promise† 2000

Causes and Effects of the Salem Witch Trials Essay

1692 in Salem, Massachusetts was a time of fear, allegation, and deceit. It was the time of the Salem witch trials. Family feuds, eccentric personalities, and even keeping dolls in your home were reasons for accusations. Fueled by religious fanatics and young girls screaming for attention, literally, no one was safe from the insanity of the witch-hunt. This paper is intended to discuss the causes of this hysteria, some of the trials that took place during the year 1692, and what finally stopped the madness of the witch-hunt. The Salem witch trials were fueled by many different things, but the beginning of this hysteria can be traced back to a small group of girls in Salem Village. Betty Parris, a nine-year-old girl with poor health, lived with her father Rev. Samuel Parris, who was the local minister, her mother, an invalid, and her cousin, Abigail Williams. Abigail Williams was a twelve-year-old orphan who worked for her keep; she did most of the chores because of Betty’s illness and cared for her aunt. When they were finished with their chores, there was not much for the girls to do; Rev. Parris objected to games because he thought that â€Å"playing was a sign of idleness, and idleness allowed the Devil to work his mischief.† (http://www.salemwitchtrials.com) Reading books was a popular pastime during the winter. Most popular, were Books about fortune telling and prophecy. These were read, unsurprisingly, mostly by young girls and adolescents. Some of the girls who read these books forme d small groups to use the divination techniques that they had read about. Betty, Abigail, and two other girls formed one of these groups and were assisted by the Parris family’s’ black slave, Tituba. (http://www.salemwitchtrials.com) Tituba, who was originally from Barbados, was very knowledgeable about the voodoo religion, and often told the girls stories of voodoo, witchcraft, and demons. Other girls began to join the group to listen to Tituba’s stories and tell their fortunes. Betty and Abigail were disquieted by their fortunes and began to act strangely. They were â€Å"having fits, making strange noises, and contorting their bodies.† (http://www.paralumun.com) Rev. Parris noticed their odd behavior and asked the help of Dr. William Griggs. Dr. Griggs could find nothing wrong with the girls medically, so he said they were bewitched. The girls were asked to name the witches that had bewitched them and they spoke  the names of three women. Tituba, Sarah Osborne, and Sarah Good were all very likely witches. Sarah Osborne had not been to church in over a year, and Sarah Good was homeless and went door to door asking for alms, if turned away empty handed, Sarah Good would mumble words as she left t hat many thought were curses. The cases of the three women were investigated at the Salem Village Meetinghouse. During their questioning, Betty, Abigail, and six of their friends often claimed that the women’s spirits were biting them pinching them or appearing as a small animal or bird. Despite the girls, Sarah Good and Sarah Osborne said they were innocent. Tituba, however, confessed to being a witch. Her confession consisted of â€Å"red rats, talking cats, and a tall man dressed in black. She stated that the man clothed in black made her sign in a book, and that Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne and others, whose names she could not read, had also signed this book.† (http://www.salemwitchtrials.com) Tituba continued, saying that a black dog had threatened her and made her to hurt the girls. She also said that she had â€Å"ridden through the air on a pole to witches meetings with the other two accused.† (http://www.paralumun.com) Then Tituba stated that there were about six other witches and their leader was a tall white-haired man. (http://www.paralumun.com) Tituba’s t hree-day confession confirmed the villager’s beliefs and initiated the Salem witch trials. As the trials gained momentum, no one was safe from accusations; the girls accused people regardless of age, health, or public opinion. Everyone was at risk of being accused, from the very young, such as Dorcas Good, a four-year-old boy who was jailed and put in chains; to the old and well liked, like Rebecca Nurse who was a seventy-one year old lady and was considered kind and generous. Abigail Hobbs was already mentally unstable when she was charged with witchcraft. She confessed and gave the names of nine other witches. The judges accepted her confession instead of dismissing her as insane. On April 21, 1692, Nehemiah Abbot, William and Deliverance Hobbs, Sarah and Edward Bishop, Mary Ester, Mary Black, Sarah Wilds, and Mary English were arrested because of Abigail Hobbs’s accusations. (http://www.paralumun.com) Bridget Bishop had been charged with witchcraft twelve years ago; she had been tried but not convicted. When there was work being done on her cellar, â€Å"poppets † were found in the walls. Some of them  were without heads and they were all stuck with pins. She was tried on June 2, 1692, and hanged June 10, 1692. Rebecca Nurse was tried on June 29, 1692. The jury found Rebecca Nurse not guilty but when they revealed their verdict in her case, the girls â€Å"howled, thrashed about, and rolled around on the floor. With the courtroom in an uproar, the judges asked the jury to reconsider its decision† (http://www.salemwitchtrials.com) Rebecca Nurse was found guilty, and hanged July 19, 1692. Rev. George Burroughs was the former Salem Village minister. He was accused of being the coven leader of all the witches in Massachusetts. (http://www.paralumun.com) The girls also called him the â€Å"Black Minister† and agreed that he was the leader of the Salem Coven. He had been widowed three times, and there was a rumor that he had mistreated his wives. When he was angry, he would sometimes brag about his demonic powers. He was tried on August 5, 1692, found guilty, and hanged on August 19, 1692. When he was being hanged, Rev. Burroughs said the Lord’s Prayer perfectly. The Puritans believed that a wizard could not say the Lord’s Prayer without error. (http://www.salemwitchtrials.com) During the winter of 1692-93, the witch trials began to loose public support. A man named Giles Corey who was accused of witchcraft refused to stand trial and was crushed to death. This, Rev. Burroughs’ prayer, and a letter written by an accused asking â€Å"if it be possible, that no more innocent blood be shed, which undoubtedly cannot be avoided in the way and course you go in.† (http://www.salemwitchtrials.com) This and the fact that the Governors wife had been accused of witchcraft caused the Governor to issue orders to protect those accused of witchcraft and ban the arrest of other suspected witches unless it was necessary on October 12, 1692. People began to ignore the cries of witchcraft and the last trial was held in January of 1693. In May of 1693, the governor ended the witch trials for good when he pardoned all of the remaining accused. With nineteen hanged and one crushed, the Salem witch trials finally ended. (http://www.salemwitchtrials.com) This is how the Salem witch trials began and ended. In my opinion, the Salem witch-hunt was revolting. The destruction of innocent human lives was atrocious. I think that the â€Å"witches† were all in the imaginations of a few girls who wanted attention and power.

Arguement to Alter World History The Modern Era to Favor...

I am a high school student writing to urge you to take a stronger position on the issue of the atomic bomb attacks against Japan in your textbook World History: The Modern Era. I understand your desire to examine the issue objectively and refrain from offending those with a personal connection to the event. However, it is my strong opinion that you should support one side of the issue, specifically the side in favor of the atomic bomb strike, for the reason that they were necessary. President Harry S. Truman’s decision to attack Japan with nuclear weapons, while criticized for moral reasons, was justified by the unyielding resolve of the Japanese people, the substantial remaining resources of the Japanese war machine, and massive estimated casualty rates associated with an invasion of Japan. By 1945 two of the Axis powers, Germany and Italy, had surrendered to the Allies; only the Japanese Empire persisted. Japan had been on the defensive for much of the war and now stood litt le chance of winning. Despite its many losses, however, the Japanese military retained sufficient manpower and resources to continue fending off an American invasion of Japan for an unknown amount of time. Without the usage of atomic weaponry, the war could have gone on indefinitely. According to Secretary of War Henry Stimson, an army of five million men was still fighting in defense of Japan (Doc 1). The United States may have achieved naval and aerial superiority, but any invasion of Japan would