Judaism vs. Paganism free essay sample

Groups of Wiccans who practice their faith together, called covens, have been passing down their rituals, texts, and beliefs for hundreds of years (Berger 8). Some scholars believe that through the times of witch hunts and famine, many of these traditions were lost. Since Pagan has been such a hidden religion due to misconception and witch hunts, most historical tradition was oral (Bowker 1040). Through newfound texts and online interactions, some of these traditions have been resurrected and new ones still are being created from scratch and altered from the past. The Pagan faith does not have a â€Å"set in stone† text, such as the Bible or the Tanakh. However, after the finding and exploration of America and once the witch hunts in Europe quieted, newer Pagans, or Neo-Pagans, chose to take a historically unique religion and expose it. They began to make â€Å"How-To† type books about the Wiccan faith, revealing a great deal of secrecy and nostalgic virtues behind the craft of a religion that lasted so long in Britain and other European countries. We will write a custom essay sample on Judaism vs. Paganism or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page These books went viral, especially once the Internet was created. Today, many Neo-Pagans have websites and chat groups through which they communicate and learn new rituals (Berger 3-4). Due to the secrecy of Paganism for so many years, the practice is very centralized to location and diverse covens. It is not a â€Å"temple-driven† faith, and can be practiced alone or in a coven. Thanks to the newly printed texts and the Internet, it is simple for one to do some research and decide to become a Wiccan. On the flip side to this unique religion is Judaism, centralized in Israel. Similar to the Pagan faith, there is no single â€Å"founder,† or central leader, like a Pope. The faith survived through Christianity withholding their Bible written in Hebrew, which is the only religion to have died off and been resurrected. They have altered their language to assume modern-day tongue for items such as computers, cell phones, and televisions. Jews pass along their faith through two main teaching texts. The first, called the Torah, is the Jewish scripture. It is found within the Jewish Bible and is used for the services in the synagogues. The second text is arguably the most important. The Tanakh, which is the Hebrew Bible, includes the Torah, Prophets, and Hagiographa. This sacred text is how the language was revived. It also includes the first few books of the Christian Bible (Fisher 273-274). Though Paganism and Judaism do not seem very compatible, they surprisingly have some similarity. For instance, each religion had a horrific historic trauma. The witch hunts which fled European lands between 1400 and 1700 affected both legitimate Pagans and non-Pagans alike. There were an estimated 100,000 deaths within these instances. The accusers, which were anyone from the towns and villages including their religious leaders and government officials, blamed typically older, single women who were once called healers for possessing the devil inside of their bodies or souls (Kagan 440). In legitimate Pagans, single women who attended â€Å"sabbats,† or mass meetings for religious purposes, were said to be conspiring against the towns and contacting the devil. Sabbats are a true part of Wiccan, however not as the townspeople thought. Sabbats are actually the spiritual division of the year (Berger 4). Many accusations against these so-called â€Å"witches† led to death by quartering, hanging, the gallows, burning alive, drowning, or stoning (Kagan 440). Unfortunately, these occurrences did not end for quite some time. Slightly after witch hunts went viral, around the end of the 17th century, they moved from not only European countries but also America. This point of time sent the Salem witch trials into effect in Salem, Massachusetts, killing even more wiccans and non-wiccans in the belief of their devilish witchcraft. This period of time was hysterical for those who were legitimate Wiccans and those said to be â€Å"witches† as well. Much like the death penalty for women being â€Å"different,† was the insanely famous trauma for the Jews, the Holocaust. In the process of World War II, the world was in shambles and while trying to pick up the pieces, a new leader emerged. Hitler gave the people someone to blame for all of the misconduct in the world-the Jews. In this period of time, it was against the law for Christians and Muslims to add interest when loaning money to citizens. Thus, the Jews added a bit of extra cash at the end of their paycheck, leaving the other religions to blame them for their universally declining economy. Jews already lived together in tight-knit communities and tried to stay away from the day-to-day lives of the rest of the towns they lived in. Giving their perceived oddness an added negative bonus led the rest of the town to blame them for the war, their economy, and all else that was wrong in their lives at that time. Hitler took advantage of this shallow mindset and led him and his Nazis to create death camps for these â€Å"traitors. † Twenty-Two million Jews were slaughtered by starvation, working to death, gas chambers, and so many more horrendous deaths (Fisher 266-268). These sickening historic times are an awful similarity between two religions. A lighter similarity between Pagan and Judaism is their practicing of their faith methods: each in groups but sometimes alone. Wiccans can practice their faith alone or in a coven. When there are groups of Wiccans together, they tend to be all-women groups which enlighten us as to why Pagans are closely linked with feminism. This is also why many so called â€Å"witches† in the witch hunts were women (Cantrell 3-8). In the Jewish faith, Jews live together in close communities and prefer to stray from the rest of society. They dress similarly, live closely, and have their own economies within the group, vaguely influenced by their outlying neighbors. In Judaism, ten men praying together are considered a synagogue, no matter the number of women (Bowker 512-514). These groups give a slight similarity between Pagan and Judaism. These two religions are also very diverse. Pagans tend to be based on women, whereas Judaism tends to be based on men. Susan B. Anthony coven was the first women-only witchcraft group created by six women and one Hungarian. The Hungarian took the historic values of this group and turned them feminist. In this faith, women could be priestesses, healers, counselors, even warriors (Berger 13). This is the complete opposite for Jews, where in at least Orthodox (the traditional Judaism) men can only be rabbis. Men are also the only part of a marriage who can initiate divorce. Luckily, women cannot be divorced against their will, however (Fisher 255-256). Gender is a huge part of society and also in religions. Another huge difference between Pagans and Jews is how they conduct the prayers for their respective religions. In Pagan, prayer itself is not truly prayer as it is faith practice since there is no â€Å"God† that they pray to. Instead, there is a common theme of rebirth amongst Wiccans, relating back to the Lord and the Lady. This rebirth cycle is closely linked to the eight Sabbats which are the six week segments of the year that tell the story about the Lord and the Lady (Mother Earth). This theme is one of the few common traditions amongst Wiccans from all locations of the world. Since it is a very secretive and therefore inconsistent religion, even the dates of the Sabbats tend to vary (Berger 89, 91). Completely unlike this are the prayer ways of the Jews. In order to pray, a tallit (prayer shawl), Yamacha (round hat), and tephlin (scriptures inside of small boxes) must be worn. Jews typically pray at least three times a day; they pray when they wake, at lunch, and before bed. Their praying guidelines include praying ethically, so as to not pray harm or misfortune to others. On Saturday they practice the Sabboth Observance where they reflect on their good and bad actions of the week and how to improve on them. On this day, they are not to light fires, carry items a certain distance, etc. even though reform Jews find loopholes to continue to abide by modern society (Fisher 278-282). Prayer is such an important part of religion that it’s a wonder there are not more concrete rules in Wiccan. In my own personal beliefs, Wiccan would closely reside along my beliefs. I do not agree with having religious texts to conclude legitimacy within a religion, because religious texts can be altered through language translations and the translator’s opinions and beliefs. Also, I think that circumcision to become Jewish is like hazing men when joining a religion. The point of religion is to have faith in a higher power in order to make our short time on earth less questioned. It gives us answers for the unknown. Witch hunts and the Holocaust are the most horrendous actions condoned by humans because it is disallowing people to believe what they want which no one has the right to do. Between Jews and Pagans, their histories, religious texts, and christening methods may not necessarily be the same. Yet each religion gives their followers something magical to believe in-something that may not be real, but is tangible when it is most needed. It is great that both of these religions have groups that practice their faith together because through this strong union of people lead to a more fulfilling lifestyle and a more intense religious belief.

Compare and Contrast the Attitudes and Values of the Two Essays

Compare and Contrast the Attitudes and Values of the Two Essays Compare and Contrast the Attitudes and Values of the Two Essay Compare and Contrast the Attitudes and Values of the Two Essay The former does this by a ale narrator writing a poem to a female, using Imagery to entice her. The latter by using a duke, explaining the story of what happened to his previous wife whilst looking at her picture. Both the poems use imagery and other poetic devices but in different ways. The first uses them more often to impress her. The second uses them in a different sense as the better part of the poem is the description of his previous wife and how she died. Also they differ in their use of tone, language, style and devices. The poem His Coy is an argument and therefore structured like one. The poem has three stanzas; the first and second are premises, whilst the last Is used as a conclusion. This forms a logical argument; 1. ? we 2. 3. As the motive of the poem Is to convince his mistress to have sex with him the quotation shows this as It Is modeled as a persuasive argument. What this tells us about the narrator Is that he will do anything to get what he wants even If the other person In the time it was written it was a crime in society for a woman to have sex before she gets married, in the poem she is not as only his mistress. He is insensitive and selfish as he respect her values, it loud only be for his pleasure. In comparison Last is a dramatic monologue whilst using enjambment, Far hands/Worked busily a and is written in iambic pentameter. In the poem most of the lines do not end with any type of punctuation, enjambment. The poem being a dramatic monologue adds to the eccentric behavior, also this makes him seem like he was dominant over his previous wife which is his view on woman, that they are below him. In Dalton as he uses the enjambment this exaggerates the tone he uses. This makes him seem angry at her, which Is why he ended up taking her life. However at the end there Is more punctuation which suggests Tanat en NAS remnant mess T Tanat en NAS a violators Ana Decodes calmer. As the poem is written in rhymed iambic pentameter, it maintains an even beat throughout the poem. Iambic pentameter has been said to be the most natural cadence of the English language. It consists of an iamb, which is two syllables: an unstressed followed by a stressed. An example of an iamb might be the words a heart, drawn from the lines: A heart-how shall I say? O soon made This shows that the duke sounds calm, using a standard English rhythm of speech. However this contrasts with the enjambment which makes his actions seem normal. Through the structure of the poems it shows that the two narrators attitudes are similar because they think that they have power over women, they are above them. However it also shows they are unlike as in the former poem he is being selfish and what he wants is only for his pleasure, whilst the latter narrator show this quality. In the first poem the speaker uses imagery, alliteration and different statements to try to impress and flatter his lover. It starts off with a hyperbolic statement to make an impact, we but world enough, and imagery constantly throughout, of vast eternity?C,-1?0 and alliteration This shows a sensitive side of the speaker, he uses these poetic devices to make a greater meaning and give the poem more feeling. Also some of the imagery he uses greatly appeals to the readers senses, this makes him seem very persuasive and sly as he purposefully chose these words to do what it does. The alliteration contributes to the euphony of the passage lending it a musical and more poetic air. This shows he knows how to write a love poem and he again he has all the right techniques for persuading a person. The second poem goes also use imagery, however in a different way and for a different purpose. The narrator is describing the duchess to the emissary my last duchess painted on the This shows he is only describing the painting but as he is using the imagery he describes what she was like and how she made him angry. However as he describes her it makes her seem like she is Just an object, which she was to him. This is his view of woman, that they belong to a man which was very common belief at that time. From the poetic devices used their attitudes are different because in the first he shows his sensitive side and tries to put a bit of nuance into it. However the imagery in the second goes against him as he believes that she was his object and belonged to him. In both poems there is the recurrent theme of irony. In His Coy Mistress?C,-1?0 the entire first section is ironic in the sense that the speaker knows he being genuine. The speaker uses words to his advantage and we can take little of what he says to be truthful. In Line 1, we but world enough, and The first section of the poem is a series of hyperbolic statements meant to impress and flatter the reader but the first word sets this section in the subjective tense. Essentially he is saying if they were to live forever he would promise her all of these things. However of course they live forever and the speaker knows this before he starts the flattery. Line 19, lady, you deserve this Part of the speaker irony here is the knowledge is that although the lady might deserve it, she is immortal so she cannot have it. All of his extravagant assertions throughout this section are put in perspective because they are only based on fantasy. What this tells us tout ten narrator Is Tanat en wall say anything, even IT It Is contracted Day enamels, just to get this woman to sleep with him. This shows he is very persuasive but sin? at all genuine. In comparison in Last Duchess?C,-1?0 verbal irony is demonstrated when the Duke says to the emissary, had you skill, In speech (which I have The Duke is not a modest man but this makes him seem slightly humble in the middle of his domineering speech, this establishes situational irony. This shows how the Duke needs control and complete power and he causes a weariness to overcome the reader through irony. From the irony used in the poems, they are different because in the first its shows that he is to genuine and that he only says these things to get his mistress to sleep with him. Only says these words to get what he wants and for his pleasure. Then in the second it shows the need of complete control over her and his dominance. His Coy Mistress?C,-1?0 is a poem in which the speaker tries to convince the listener to go to bed with him, as such we might expect the tone to be coarse, lusty or even insincere as the presumption is that the speaker will say anything to argue his case. Ther e is a light hearted tone to the poem, which suffers when the concept of death is brought up. The overall tone is more melancholy than what would have been expected. The speaker says, hundred to adore each As throughout the entire first section of the poem, here the speaker flatters his lover to the point of exaggeration. This makes the tone in this section insincere and indecent. The poet speaks about death using the words, ? and What he says here alters the tone initiated in the first section through imagery associated with decomposition. These words institutes the realism of death. The tone here is sincere and melancholic and its effect lasting. Then the speaker increases the tempo and uses words like, and This is in the final section of the poem. These words give emphasis to the tone but they have been affected by the pensive mood which was set before. In comparison in Last Duchess?C,-1?0 the duke makes the poem about him by using words like, this makes the tone of the poem arrogant and possessive. However the sentence structure the Duke has used creates a conversational tone. It is the tone in which the duke speaks of his previous wife which displays the disturbing psychology behind his actions. From the tone the two poems differ. The former attitude is insincere at the beginning but then becomes nine yet melancholy. Whilst the latter is arrogant and possessive. In conclusion the poets attitude in His Coy Mistress?C,-1?0 is that he is a selfish man, who is only writing this for his pleasure. He is being romantic in the first section by complimenting her a lot and saying she is worth everything. But then he says she have it which makes him insincere and not genuine at all. He is also slightly melancholic towards the end. The aim of the poem was to persuade his mistress to sleep with him. I think he has done this rather well because he uses very rueful persuasive techniques and has used ways of appealing to the listener. The poets attitude in Last Duchess?C,-1?0 is that he thinks he has power over women and they are beneath him. He saw his last wife as an object which he was in possession of which bring with that a need of control over her. He is also moldering Ana arrogant. I en alma AT tans poem Is to explain ten plectrum AT Nils last duchess and what happened to her. He has done this, as it is only describing. However Browning shows us the traits of the Duke without ever mentioning them explicitly.

Social Disorganisation Theory of Criminology Essay

Social Disorganisation Theory of Criminology - Essay Example The latter serves to reinforce cohesion in society and curbs crimes or delinquency. Social organisation was limited to small communal groups such as local councils but was later applied to larger groups such as nations, continents and the like. (Kapsis, 1978) Thomas and Znanieki (1918) explain that the social disorganisation theory was initially applied in the City of Chicago by psychologist working for the University of Chicago; this was in the early twentieth century. The City of Chicago was quite conducive for the application and study of this theory because it had been associated with numerous migration cases from different parts of the worlds at that time. The social cohesion that had been witnessed in that City was now a thing of the past because there were numerous changes occurring. The sociologists claimed that arrival of immigrant populations within the City led to a breakdown of some of the well know social rules that had prevented occurrence of crime. Edwin Sutherland (1924) did extensive work in the field of social disorganisation through his book 'Principles of criminology'. In his book, he starts with the values that make peasant societies more stable and less prone to crime or delinquency. Such societies are harmonious and influences are derived from consistent sources. However, with the introduction of western societies, peasant societies were transformed by capitalist idea. Communal values no longer took precedence and instead individualistic tendencies took over. The relationships that initially dispensed cultural values and traditions disintegrated and there was 'disorganisation'. He also believed that systemic (organised and persistent) cases of crime could be overcome if society was rearranged to deal with it. But because society is random and individualistic, cases of crime will continue to occur. Henry Mackay and Clifford Shaw (1929) also collaborated in this filed of criminology. They were also members of the University of Chicago. In their research, they reaffirmed that there were links between the level of social 'organisation' and crime rates. They conducted research and found out that cases of delinquency and crime were more popular in areas nearer to Chicago city than those further away. They also concluded that societies with high rates of delinquency had equal proportions of adult crimes. According to the two, high crime rates were prevalent in areas where there was physical deterioration. They also reported that some location were associated with high crime rates regardless of the fact that their populations were changing. Their explanations for these were that populations were faced with certain social challenges irrespective of their biological predispositions. Consequently, those social challenges would lead to high crime rates even when those societies had minima l cases of immigrant arrival or population changes. The two sociologists put forward the argument that traditional norms were disoriented when there was introduction of commerce. This made social systems weaken and with time, they would eventually disappear. This could eventually lead to higher cases of crime and maybe even permissiveness towards it. Sutherland (1939) argued that there was a direct relationship between two aspects; social disorganisation in society and crime organisation. He asserted that the latter was propagated by the