Monday, February 17, 2020

Apostle Paul and the Law Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Apostle Paul and the Law - Research Paper Example What does seem clear is that the traditions of Mosaic Law have been placed outside of Christian life is distinguished from its Judaic heritage by replacing ritualistic worship to that of faith based worship. The place of the Law within Christian life, however, seems to have much less definition to modern readers. The following paper will first discuss the ways in which the life of Christ exemplified an ‘otherness’ that was difficult for new Christians to grasp without the condition of Mosaic Law to create ritual and order. The discussion will then focus on the Epistle to the Galatians and then the Epistle to the Romans in order to define what Paul said in relationship to law for the Church. Finally, an examination of the issue will bring to light how the letters written by Paul can be related to the Gospel revelations of the nature of Christ and his teachings to his followers. Through a look at faith based Salvation and the need for order through Law, the writings of Pau l can be used to help uncover Mosaic Law traditions in relationship to the new responsibilities and freedoms of the followers of Christ. Social Differentiation, ‘Otherness’ and the Discussion of Law Defining individuals through social structures that place them into groups has been a long remembered method of defining the population across the world ‘Otherness’ was a problem in that the openness with which Christ taught was incongruent with the way in which people saw one another. Christ gave examples in order to show that he embraced all people for their differences, their faults, and even for their sins. When pressed to define who was a neighbor He made a Samaritan into the hero of the story at a time when Samaritans were looked down upon with contempt. After Jesus had left the world, however, the social differentiations that existed began to emerge as an issue where practices and traditions infiltrated the nature of the message that Paul gave in how to w orship. Paul found that he had to dampen the belief in old ways so that the new could thrive in a world in which ritual was a strong part of life. Ritual still defines how people find structure in their life. Through the acts of ritual, order is established. It is far easier to do something than to simply believe in something. Paul saw that the need for ritual was clouding the message that he had brought to followers, the belief that in doing certain acts that followed Mosaic Law salvation could be gained. People rather naturally fall to doing to express what they feel rather than feeling what is needed to create faith. Faith is a difficult concept even in its simplicity. Faith means to believe, but there is a great deal of baggage between knowing and believing which can get in the way. People tend to fall to doing rather than devoting their time to belief as faith has such a deep emotional context that it can be hard to maintain. Culture and the Law tend to be an issue. As people t ake comfort in the rituals that build the familiar, the show of enacting the Law was outside of the practices of worship that Paul had given to followers. It was not the rituals themselves that were a problem but that he was afraid that they were using ritual in place of belief. In reading the work of Thompson

Monday, February 3, 2020

A Statistical Analysis of AIDS Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

A Statistical Analysis of AIDS - Research Paper Example The number of individuals acquiring the disease is also increasing. The growing concern today however, lies on the mounting difference in the number of African Americans and their White counterparts being infected or even dying from the disease. Women in particular, have constantly become the subject of people’s concerns regarding the matter of AIDS. This paper aims to present and discuss the statistics regarding the disparity between Blacks and Whites being diagnosed with AIDS. Moreover, the factors affecting this disparity will be presented. The importance of the role of the government in addressing this issue will be discussed and finally, a conclusion will be provided. The Statistics of AIDS in the United States In past statistics, African Americans were found to constitute the majority of individuals infected with AIDS1, 2. In the Black population, males comprised two-thirds or about 65% of new infections3. Furthermore, the rate at which Black men acquire new HIV infectio n is 6 times higher than White men and 2 times higher than black women4. On the other hand, the rate at which Black women acquire new HIV infection is 15 times higher than White women.5As such, the rate of death is also expected to be higher among Black women. Black females have a lower rate of infection in comparison to Black males. However, Black females are more affected by the disease in comparison to women from other races.6The large scale of Black womenbeing infected with, as well as dyingfrom AIDS has attracted attention from different areas and departments of the society. More so since there is yet to be a clear decline in the mortality rates of AIDS-infected African-American womenwhereas mortality rates of AIDS-infected White women have continually decreased. Ethnic disparities concerning HIV/AIDS infection and mortality are consistent in all states.7Figure 1 below presents a comparison of HIV/AIDS mortalities between Black and White populations in the United States. The hu ge difference between the races is evident except perhaps among the 15- to 24-year-old age group where the statistics were almost the same if not, slightly different. Figure 2 below presents the gender and racial comparisons with regards to new cases of HIV infectionin Massachusetts. The large disparity between Black females and White females as well as the large difference between the number of White males and Black males getting infected with AIDS are evident. According to Cole, Church, Fukuda et al.,8the percentage of Black women who have acquired HIV in the year 2006 – 2008 is 51% as compared to 20% of White women. This shows that Black women have almost twice the risk of acquiring the disease as compared to White women. However, it is also shown that from 2006 – 2008, White men have a higher percentage of new infections compared to Black malesin Massachusetts.This could be attributed to gay activities; however, not well-defined. In 2007, it has been reported that HIV was the third leading cause of mortality for black men and women aged 35-44.9 HIV also became the ninth leading cause of mortality for all blacks.10 In fact, about 233,624 Blacks who were diagnosed with AIDS had died in the United States.11 Moreover, African American women were known to be 22 times more likely to die