New Testament Essay Example for Free

New Testament Essay The book of Romans has been hailed by many as one of the most important books of the New Testament. The reason is obvious: aside from the fact that theologians and famous reformers constantly refer to it as one major source of fundamental theological truths, it is a great thesis of the Apostle Paul on salvation. Martin Luther has aptly said that â€Å"it (the book of Romans) is the gospel according to Paul. † And indeed, what a clear statement it is of the gospel. If one would venture on grasping the gospel message, it would be best to start in Romans. The book is inclusive in its scope of treatment as to the redemptive plan of God. From the first chapter to the eleventh, the apostle scrupulously touched every area/issue that went through his mind that he assumed were the questions arising along as he was discussing the different topics that were all related to salvation. He did not leave a stone unturned in this book. Why salvation is universally needed? He covered everything what that question entails in chapters 1-3. If the question is about the nature of justification – how does God justifies sinners – the treatment to that is well laid in chapters 4-5. In chapter 6, Paul answers a â€Å"supposed objection† by the critic who says, â€Å"If grace has abounded all the more because of sin, then, let us continue in sin to give God more reason to shower us with His grace. † Paul’s answer to this is, one who has died to sin cannot live any longer in sin. True Christians have been buried through baptism and were raised in newness of life with Christ. They have participated in Christ’s death and resurrection by faith. And so, Paul’s argument is: â€Å"How can those who have this new life in them by the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit live still in sin? † In the next chapter (Rom. 7), Paul presented a life of struggle which is practically true of every Christian. But nevertheless, according to him, in spite of the reality and intensity of the struggle, victory is every time guaranteed; for even in the hopelessness of the case because of total depravity, Jesus Christ the Lord is the Christian’s justifier and vindicator before God (Bruce, 1985). Besides, said Paul, â€Å"there is now no condemnation† for those who are counted to be â€Å"in Christ. † The flow of the argument runs smoothly in Romans as the reader continues the reading through chapter eight, nine, ten, and eleven. Life in the Spirit is described, and how those who have the Spirit of Christ live their lives as â€Å"sons of God. † It would be impossible for Paul that Christians who have been born of the Spirit shall ever lose the battle in the end, since, according to him, even God â€Å"did not spare His own Son† for the salvation of His elect. How would He allow that petty incidentals such as those Paul have listed in Romans 8:35 abort the consummation of salvation for God’s elect? The climax of Paul’s argument reached its height when in chapter eleven he exclaimed with a doxology his praise, surrender, and awe, of the â€Å"depths† and the â€Å"unsearchableness† of God’s wisdom, knowledge, and judgments. The book of Romans is comprehensive in that it did not leave the issue about God’s Old Covenant people – the Jewish people. Aside from the rebuke that Paul has directed to those Jews who prided themselves of possessing the law and therefore â€Å"instructed† in it and in the position of â€Å"tutors† and â€Å"teachers† in chapter two, he allotted a lengthy portion on the issue of Israel in chapters nine to eleven. After having treated the dilemma of God’s people well and completely by pointing out their proper place in the economy of God in the end times in the church with the Gentile believers, Paul then devoted the remaining chapters – chapters 12-16 – to exhortation challenging the Roman Christians (which actually was composed of Jewish and Gentile believers) to live in a manner that befits those who are truly elected to be in God’s family. This, in simplified form, is the entirety of Romans. However, as magnificent and holistic as the treatment of Apostle Paul was to all of the issues involved in salvation, nothing is more fundamental than what he elucidated in chapter five when he compared Adam with Christ. It is at this point that he actually made clear the real situation of the rest of humanity. He delineated humankind in two groups alone: those who are â€Å"in Adam† and those who are â€Å"in Christ. † The presumption is that every person that is born and living in this planet is a descendant of Adam. Adam was the first human being, and as the first man, he was set as the federal head of the rest of all humanity. This, in and of itself, has nothing that any person should be alarmed about, until the issue of Adam’s standing with God as to terms of his covenant with God is touched. Adam fell into sin when as the head of his wife he consented to the temptation into which she was lured and deceived by the serpent. Because of this Fall into which Adam together with his wife fell, all of humanity, according to the Apostle, is in a state of total depravity. â€Å"All have sinned,† was Paul’s assessment borrowing his appraisal of humanity from several passages of the Old Testament Scriptures. The solution to this helpless and hopeless condition of man is only the gospel – the message of salvation which God offers in Jesus Christ. God is now offering His righteousness that will justify a person before the strict and perfect demands of His holiness. The gospel whenever proclaimed presents to every individual the perfect righteousness which alone can free man of his moral and spiritual bankruptcy as well as his eternal liability can be found in the person of Jesus Christ alone (Escalona, 2008). What follows is an elaboration of the gospel according to Apostle Paul based on some of the key verses in the first chapter of Romans. The Descendants of Adam Paul dug deep into the very roots of the problem of humanity. He was consumed by the thought of man’s condition as it was viewed from the vantage point of God. For Paul, man’s troubles were all traceable to sin. In the first chapter, God is introduced as an angry God whose wrath is evidently manifested in the heavens against â€Å"all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. † God alone is righteous, He is the standard of true righteousness, and therefore, He stands opposed to any form of unrighteousness. The reason why people most of the time misunderstand this matter of being right before God is because the overruling idea of being right depends on whether one’s reputation in the community is acceptable or not. In other words, nowadays, one’s culture is the determinant of ethics and hence the judge, and not God who is the perfect Judge. This is where the man of today always fails. It has been like this ever since the Fall. And what is this but failure that had been passed from Adam to the succeeding generations after him to the present, and it will be as it is till the last of the human species. By the way, this is not a mere â€Å"failure† on the part of man. Under this condition, man is in sin and God holds him accountable. Since this sin came from Adam, the very quality of it is distrust on the character of God. It does not trust on the goodness of God but questions His intentions and design. The reason why Eve disobeyed was that she entertained and made room for other thoughts than just think of God as kind and generous and thinks only of what is perfectly best for the them (Adam Eve). This same misgiving on the character of God is built in within the human frame, and so every one is under the same transgression against God, and this is what theologians call original sin and it is inherited from Adam. If one is to understand all of the toils, struggles, and problems connected to life in general, one has to reckon sin as the cause of all these troubles. And if Christians still struggle with the problem of the presence of sin, the best way to start is to understand where this sin problem came from. Since sin’s power is a nagging reality to the disciple of Christ, it has to be understood in terms of why it has gotten to man’s system. And so, Adam, right away, comes into the scene as Paul proceeds to start all over again from where it all began – Adam’s fall. The â€Å"one man† that the apostle was referring to was Adam. His decision to partake of Eve’s disobedience was sin; and it was that very act itself which also introduced sin into the world where previously it was absent – and with it, death – was the sin with which he violated God’s command (DeLashmutt, 2008). The immediate consequence of sin is death. Paul’s emphasis at this point is not only the fact of death as the punishment for sin, but that sin and death not only had affected Adam but the rest of humankind after him. This is the argument of Apostle Paul in Romans 5:12-21. From this condition the gospel offers freedom and acquittal. This is called justification – the act of God by which He acquits sinners through the imparted righteousness of Christ. This is also what Paul means in the expression the â€Å"righteousness of God. † It cannot be acquired through one’s fleshly endeavors but by simply putting one’s faith in the finished and perfect work of Christ. All those who have thrusted all of the full weight of the sin problem to Jesus (who is the only propitiation for sin) are those whom the gospel categorized as those who are â€Å"in Christ. † They have the perfect righteousness of Christ on their account, and God see them in Christ. On the other hand, all of those who opt to, along with Christ, make use of other means – tradition, religion, the law, etc. – rather than on Christ alone, these are reckoned as descendants of Adam. By the way, no man was ever born automatically â€Å"in Christ. † The contrary is true. Every man was born automatically â€Å"in Adam† because every one descended from Adam physically. Jesus said, â€Å"That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit† (Jn. 3:6). What Jesus meant by these words was: spiritual birth does not come along with physical birth. Every man needs to experience spiritual birth because this is how one is born into the kingdom of God. Paul alludes to this in his letters. One of those is in Romans 5:12-21. In 1 Corinthians 15:48, he said: â€Å"As was the man of dust (Adam), so also are those (Adam’s descendants) who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man (Jesus Christ), so also are those (those who are in Christ through faith) who are heavenly. † The Gospel 1. ) God’s Good News (Rom. 1:1). Paul was â€Å"separated to the gospel of God. † This means, according to Newell, God’s special call on Paul to be an apostle. He compared this â€Å"separation† to the cases of those holy men of Old and New Testament who had had the same separation to their specific tasks in the unveiling of God’s redemptive plan. This kind of setting apart, always in each case, began in the mother’s womb. In Paul’s case, it was a calling to be an apostle to the Gentiles – to proclaim the gospel to the Gentiles. The gospel is â€Å"God’s good news,† Newell emphasized. Indeed, it was God who initiated to express His love to mankind. Humanity was in sin when God sent His own Son to die so that a perfect sacrifice could be provided for the salvation of His elect. â€Å"For when we were still without strength,† Paul told the Romans, â€Å"in due time Christ died for the ungodly. † 2. ) The Gospel Has its Roots in the Old Testament Scriptures (Rom. 1:1-2). The promises of the Old Testament scriptures pertain to the coming One – the Messiah – who would be a personification of the â€Å"righteousness of God. † The law and the sacrifices in the Temple of Moses all point to the reality of man’s need of redemption. The prophets speak of a time when righteousness would become a reality among God’s people. The Savior would make many righteous, and faith would characterize their life. 3. ) The Gospel is About Christ (Rom. 1:3-4). The gospel is called â€Å"good news† because it tells of God’s deliverance. Apart from the gospel there would be no salvation for man. Israel, until now, would be dependent on sacrificial system and the Gentiles, being deprived of the Old Testament’s God sanctioned ceremonies and promises would remain outside of God’s covenant. Since the gospel is about Christ, it should be understood for what it says about the person and work of Christ. Who is this Christ? What is his nature? What did his life, death, and resurrection accomplished that people should know and believe? These are questions that need to be answered in the gospel. Because the gospel’s message is all about Christ, it follows that he is the sole solution to humanity’s broken relationship with God. In fact, there is no other way of salvation besides Christ (Newell). 4. ) The Gospel Teaches and Results in â€Å"Obedience† Among the Nations (Rom. 1:5). Contrary to the accusations of Paul’s critics, his teaching of the grace of God in the gospel produces genuine obedience to those who believe. If one received grace, service will definitely follow as a result. In verse 8, the effect and outworking of the grace of God as it was released through the gospel in the lives of the Roman Christians, was obedience. Their faith was being â€Å"spoken of† throughout the world. They had become obedient and followed the teachings of Christ. 5. ) It is the Power of God unto Salvation (Rom. 1:16). This truth must be kept in mind by all Christians. There is no other instrument that God employs in the saving of the souls of men but the gospel. There are pressures to yield to the styles of the world. For sure, Paul was tempted to employ humanistic wisdom during his time in Corinth. As he attested to the Christians at Philippi, he had reasons to boast, humanly speaking. He said: â€Å"What things were gain to me, I have counted loss for Christ† (Phil. 3:7). And yet, to the Corinthians he said: â€Å"I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified† (1 Cor. 2:2). It’s the same as what he told the Romans: â€Å"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. † The reason for his uninhibited and unashamed proclamation of the gospel is, because â€Å"it is the power of God unto salvation. † Reference: 1. ) Bruce, FF. 1985. Romans, Inter-Varsity Press, 38 De Montfort Street, Leicester LE1 7GP, England. 2. ) DeLashmutt, Gary. 2008. 1340 Community Park Dr. , Columbus OH 43229 (614) 823-6500. [emailprotected] org 3. ) Escalona, Alan. 2008. The Way Christian Ministry Sunday Sermon Manuscript, Iligan City 9200, Phils. 4. ) Newell, William R. Romans Verse by Verse.

Drug Addiction: A Brain Disease? :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Drug Addiction: A Brain Disease? When people hear the words drug addict, these words have negative connotations and stigmas attached to them. People visualize a person who does not care about anything, including family, work, or commitments, except for obtaining money to buy drugs to get high. However, there are many people who are drug addicts that maintain a normal, functioning life. Before we can examine why these people are addicted to drugs, one must first define the word addict. George F. Koob defines addiction as a compulsion to take a drug without control over the intake and a chronic relapse disorder (1). The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association defined "substance dependence" as a syndrome basically equivalent to addiction, and the diagnostic criteria used to describe the symptoms of substance dependence to a large extent define compulsion and loss of control of drug intake (1). Considering drug addiction as a disorder implies that there are some biological factors as well as social factors. There are many biological factors that are involved with the addicted brain. "The addicted brain is distinctly different from the nonaddicted brain, as manifested by changes in brain metabolic activity, receptor availability, gene expression, and responsiveness to environmental cues." (2) In the brain, there are many changes that take place when drugs enter a person's blood stream. The pathway in the brain that the drugs take is first to the ventral tegmentum to the nucleus accumbens, and the drugs also go to the limbic system and the orbitofrontal cortex, which is called the mesolimbic reward system. The activation of this reward system seems to be the common element in what hooks drug users on drugs (2). Drugs seem to cause surges in dopamine neurotransmitters and other pleasure brain messengers. However, the brain quickly adapts and these circuits desensitize, which allows for withdrawal symptoms to occur (3). Drug addiction works on some of the same neurobiological mechanisms that aid in learning and memories (3). "This new view of dopamine as an aid to learning rather than a pleasure mediator may help explain why many addictive drugs, which unleash massive surges of the neurotransmitter in the brain, can drive continued use without producing pleasure-as when cocaine addicts continue to take hits long after the euphoric effects of the drug have worn off or when smokers smoke after cigarettes become distasteful." (4) Since memory and pleasure zones are intertwined in the brain, many researchers have been using psychological approaches to stop drug use.

Historical biases and how the truth was altered Essay

Taking into account the nature of historical truth, it cannot be viewed from absolutist position, but rather from relativist perspective. The values, dictated by the certain epoch, determine the purpose and the context of history, so there is a number of historical biases (again, from modern viewpoint) in the writings, describing and explaining the past experiences. The paper is designed to focus on the main historical biases and highlight the influence of modern media on the construction of new biases. Due to the fact that there is a plenty of historiographic schools, one can presume that each of them chooses specific symbol or aspect as a baseline and develops its argument through certain prism. In this sense, the book by Edwars Said, ‘Orientalism’, to great extent emphasizes the faultiness of Western historiographic approach to the diametrically opposite culture. The scholar writes: â€Å"The Orient is not only adjacent to Europe; it is also the place of Europe’s greatest and richest and oldest colonies, the source of its civilizations and languages, its cultural contestant, and one of its deepest and most recurring images of the Other† (Said, 1979, pp. 1-2). Orientalism therefore comprises the historically biased attitude towards the cultural ‘otherness’, so the author concludes that eastern studies cannot be completely independent from the polarization and confrontation between the two civilizations. Furthermore, social stratification determined the status of certain individual in society and consequently resulted in the creation of ‘middle class’ or ‘aristocratic’ approach to making historical notes, and, more importantly, religious approach had been predominant in this sense over more than a thousand years the issues related to heresy and Inquisition contributed to medieval historiography, whereas the social protest against religious dogmas was an overall Western historiographic framework in the 18th -20th centuries. Both approaches naturally distorted objective reality in an attempt to fit it into narrow Procrustean bed of sociopolitical context. Furthermore, it is important to keep in mind that the purpose of history hasn’t been static over the societal developmental course – it has altered a number of times – from the simple glorification of the certain ruler’s deeds to the formation of public consciousness and stereotypes. Historians, as the members of society, naturally shared most stereotypes and social convictions , even writing purely ‘for the sake of history’. Nowadays, historical biases are close-knit to the issues, which arise in connection with social, gender and racial equality, so the modern media are concentrating on covering these issues and determining public opinion. Information therefore is presented is extremely available manner, which allows remembering the content of the article without any ‘unnecessary’ reflections or more profound analysis. The ‘raw’ information (news, editorials) has attractive cover, so the digestion and informational metabolism have been enhanced over the last century, whereas the description of events still remains biased in terms of the author’s political and social position, or personal views. On the other hand, the freedom of printed word prohibits the misrepresentation of facts, yet the interpretation of certain data still may vary among journalists – this principle is widely used to put the most appropriate and suitable emphases, thus except the provision of recent news, media are responsible for creating images, persuading public and imposing certain moral or ethical evaluation of the event or phenomenon (for more utility and convenience, from the position of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’). To sum up, it is impossible to eradicate historical biases – historiography, like all descriptive and analytical sciences, follows relativist principles of ‘minor’ or ‘major’ truth. Nevertheless, with regard to high availability of historical writings, one has an opportunity to analyze the positions of several historiographic schools and draw more independent conclusions.

The Globalization of Capitalism

Capitalism, as an economic system, first debuted in the 14th century and existed in three different historical epochs before it evolved into the global capitalism that it is today. Lets take a look at the process of globalizing the system, which changed it from a Keynesian, New Deal capitalism to the neoliberal and global model that exists today. Foundation The foundation of today’s global capitalism was laid, in the aftermath of World War II, at the Bretton Woods Conference, which took place at the Mount Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire in 1944. The conference was attended by delegates from all Allied nations, and its goal was to create a new internationally integrated system of trade and finance that would foster the rebuilding of nations devastated by the war. The delegates agreed to a new financial system of fixed exchange rates based on the value of the U.S. dollar. They created the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development,  now a part of the World Bank,  to manage the agreed upon policies of finance and trade management. A few years later, the General Agreement  on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was established in 1947, which was designed to foster â€Å"free trade† between member nations, premised on low to non-existent import and export tariffs. (These are complex institutions, and require further reading for deeper understanding. For the purposes of this discussion, it’s simply important to know that these institutions were created at this time because they go on to play very important and consequential roles during our current epoch of global capitalism.) The regulation of finance, corporations, and social welfare programs defined the third epoch, New Deal capitalism, during much of the 20th century. The state interventions in the economy of that time, including the institution of a minimum wage, the cap of a 40 hour work week, and support for labor unionization, also laid pieces of the foundation of global capitalism. When the recession of the 1970s hit, U.S. corporations found themselves struggling to maintain the key capitalist goals of ever-growing profit and wealth accumulation. Protections of workers rights limited the extent to which corporations could exploit their labor for profit, so economists, political leaders, and heads of corporations and financial institutions devised a solution to this crisis of capitalism: They would shake off the regulatory shackles of the nation-state and go global. Ronald Reagan and Deregulation Ronald Reagan’s presidency is well known as an era of deregulation. Much of the regulation created during Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s presidency, through legislation, administrative bodies, and social welfare, was torn down during Reagan’s reign. This process continued to unfold over the coming decades and is still unfolding today. The approach to economics popularized by Reagan, and his British contemporary, Margaret Thatcher,  is known as neoliberalism, so named because it is a new form of liberal economics, or in other words, a return to free-market ideology. Reagan oversaw cutting of social welfare programs, reductions to federal income tax and taxes on corporate earnings, and removal of regulations on production, trade, and finance. While this era of neoliberal economics brought the deregulation of national economics, it also facilitated the liberalization of trade between nations, or an increased emphasis on â€Å"free trade.† Conceived under Reagan’s presidency, a very significant neoliberal free trade agreement, NAFTA, was signed into law by former president Clinton in 1993. A key feature of NAFTA and other free trade agreements are Free Trade Zones and Export Processing Zones, which are crucial to how production was globalized during this era. These zones allow for U.S. corporations, like Nike and Apple, for example, to produce their goods overseas, without paying import or export tariffs on them as they move from site to site in the process of production, nor when they come back to the U.S. for distribution and sale to consumers. Importantly, these zones in poorer nations give corporations access to labor that is far cheaper than labor in the U.S. Consequently, most manufacturing jobs left the U.S. as these processes unfolded, and left many cities in a post-industrial crisis. Most notably, and sadly, we see the legacy of neoliberalism in the devastated city of Detroit, Michigan. World Trade Organization On the heels of NAFTA, the World Trade Organization (WTO) was launched in 1995 after many years of negotiation and effectively replaced the GATT. The WTO stewards and promotes neoliberal free trade policies among member nations, and serves as a body for resolving trade disputes between nations. Today, the WTO operates in close concert with the IMF and the World Bank, and together, they determine, govern, and implement global trade and development. Today, in our epoch of global capitalism, neoliberal trade policies and free trade agreements have brought those of us in consuming nations access to an incredible variety and quantity of affordable  goods, but, they have also produced unprecedented levels of wealth accumulation for corporations and those who run them; complex, globally dispersed, and largely unregulated systems of production; job insecurity for billions of people around the world who find themselves among the globalized â€Å"flexible† labor pool; crushing debt within developing nations due to neoliberal trade and development policies; and, a race to the bottom in wages around the world.