Philosophy of Spiritual Gifts :: Christian Spiritual Gifts

The area of Spiritual gifts is one which holds great interest for me. The thought that the different areas of effectiveness and skills are from God is interesting. I grew up with the teaching that we had God given abilities but never equated these with "spiritual gifts". They were just skill that we had been born with. I felt that our genetics and social conditioning had as much to do with these "gifts" as the Holy spirit did. Since there are non-Christians who exhibit these same abilities and gifts and when I was not a Christian I still had the desire to encourage others (encouragement is my spiritual gift). So I guess that I just never thought of these as spiritual gifts. I have been wondering for a few years now about what my spiritual gifts are. Although I have been intrigued by them, I was unsure of the method to use to discover them. The truth is, the thought that I did not know never really concerned me. The lack of understanding my spiritual gifts did not keep me from ministering. In a way I guess that they were already evident to me. The only thing I was missing was the "Christian" terminology for them. I would still be content not to know what the spiritual gifts I have are, but the elective I took gave me the opportunity to explore and discover the spiritual gifts I possess. My involvement in the discovering of my spiritual gifts is purely by God's design, so I assume that the time is right for me to be aware of them. The class module has been informative and interesting, and has revealed to me the gifts that God has blessed me with. The biggest concern I have regarding knowledge of our spiritual gifts is the temptation to misuse them and to a smaller degree to let ourselves be constricted in what we do in our spiritual lives because the task may lie outside of our "gifts". The thought that people use this as an excuse is disappointing to me. That tells me that they do not have a full understanding of who our God is. To limit oneself to the spiritual gifts that are evident is in a sense limiting God. When We become Christians is purely because of what God has worked in us. Throughout the life of the believer the continuing work of the Spirit is evident in our lives, or should be if the believer's relationship with God is healthy.

Colonialism in The Tempest Essay

Background Information: In 1609 a fleet of nine ships set out from England, headed towards John Smith’s Virginia colony, the first English settlement in the New World. One of the nine ships was separated during a violent storm and ended up on Bermuda. These shipwrecked Europeans began colonizing the island and enslaving the native population. Shakespeare’s Tempest is based on this incident. For over a century, a number of critics have tried to interpret the various elements of post colonialism present in the Tempest. In 1818, the English critic William Hazlitt was the first to point out that Prospero had usurped Caliban from his rule of the island and thus, was an agent of imperialism. This view provided the basis for modern interpretations of the Tempest as a post colonial work. Shakespeare’s Tempest is an amalgam of various pots colonial elements: Prospero is a European who has taken charge of a remote island, being able to do so because of his strong magic powers. With these powers, he organizes a life for himself, gets the local inhabitants (Ariel and Caliban) to work for him, and maintains his control by a combination of threats, spells and enchantments, and promises of freedom some day. By taking charge of a place which is not his and by exerting his European authority over the strange non-European creatures, Prospero can be seen as an obvious symbol for European colonial power. However, Caliban is perhaps the strongest symbol of Post colonialism. Caliban, a native of the island, regards himself as the rightful owner of the place. He bluntly states: â€Å"This island’s mine, by Sycorax my mother, which thou takest from me. † He is forced against his will to serve Prospero and Miranda. Initially, Prospero extends to Caliban his European hospitality, teaches him language, and, in return, is shown all the natural resources of the island by Caliban. But Caliban refuses to live by Prospero’s rules, tries to rape Miranda, and their relationship changes to one of master and slave. Shakespeare represents as Caliban as an â€Å"ignoble savage. † When Trinculo first encounters Caliban, he views him as some kind of monster. After recoiling in horror from Caliban, Trinculo considers bringing the monster back to England where he can be displayed in a freak show: â€Å"Were I in England now, as once I was, and had but this fish painted, not holiday fool there but would give a piece of silver: there would this monster make a man; any strange beast there makes a man: when they will not give a doit (coin) to relieve a lame beggar, they will lay out ten to see a dead Indian. † Trinculo is referring to the practice of â€Å"exhibiting† Indians for money in late 16th century England. Such â€Å"freak shows† were highly profitable investments and were a regular feature of colonial policy under King James I. Caliban tries to help Trinculo find food, who might liberate him from Prospero, his current master and lord of the island. Caliban unctuously says: â€Å"I prithee, let me bring thee where crabs grow; And I with my long nails will dig thee pig-nuts; Show thee a jay’s nest, and how to snare the nimble marmoset; I’ll get thee To clustering filberts and sometimes I’ll get thee young scamels from the rock. Wilt thou go with me? † Powhatan, the native chief, had provided the same services to John Smith’s colony. After half of the colonists died in the first year, Powhatan took pity and taught the colonists how to plant corn, beans, pumpkins, and squash. However, once the starving British colonists recovered their strength, they once again set about the task of enslaving the native population. The play ends with Prospero deciding to return to Europe and to decolonize his island and emancipate his slaves. The colonizer sets himself free as well. Prospero not only gives up his island, but relinquishes his magical powers that enabled him to control Caliban.

Analysis Of The Book Romeo And Juliet And Great...

Why Diversify? Everyone knows the classics. Romeo and Juliet, Jane Eyre, Great Expectations, the novels of white characters in Western settings commonly read in high school English classes. Lost in the backrooms of school libraries, The House on Mango Street and Uncle Tom’s Cabin are hidden away, stories of minorities boxed in by cardboard and majority rule. While America’s student body becomes increasingly diverse (and schools rush to adapt), some say curriculum has stayed monochromatic by regularly painting the story of the white majority while failing to represent minority backgrounds and experiences fairly and leaving minority students struggling to relate to texts presented in the classroom. Others say the American curriculum should†¦show more content†¦Alexie remarks on his experience dealing with this standard, remarking that â€Å"a smart Indian is a dangerous person, widely feared and ridiculed by Indians and non-Indians alike† (Alexie). He faced the ‘id eal’ growing up and noticed those who thought against it, like himself, were viewed as â€Å"dangerous† — a threat to the majority’s power and capable of subverting the social order; he illustrates one method the majority uses to maintain their power: those who threatened the ‘ideal’ were mocked by both the majority and minorities who were manipulated into adopting the ‘ideal’ way of thinking to force ideological rebels to submit to the ‘ideal’. A historical example of majorities defining the â€Å"right† way of thinking, the ‘ideal’, is the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s and 1960s. In those years, leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X rallied supporters to the cause of equal rights. 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