Rhetorical Analysis

John Muir deeply lived in the solitude of now, and integrated a sense of belonging within Yosemite when he wrote, “We are now in the mountains and they are in us” (Muir, p. 72). Muir describes in detail the joyous Yosemite, the mountains, valleys, forests, Yosemite Creek with falling waters, creatures and plants, in which, erupted in his first summer as the very breath of his life, that soaked the exquisite sightings into his skin and rooted themselves into his bones. Muir delineated the vast beauty of the landscape and the simple face of a daisy declaring a himself a servant in a “holy wilderness," a wilderness that mirrored the reflection of the Creator.

In this passage, Huck encounters a religious service. Twain intentionally over exaggerates the Christians in the audience by using imagery and literary devices to comment on how Christians blindly follow people with authority.

This is a reflection on Larry Osbornes book, Sticky Church, I did read the entire book. I have enjoyed it and would recommend it.

Christians today are perceived much differently now than they were in past generations. In his book UnChristian, David Kinnaman reveals what the current standings of young outsiders, or those that do not identify with Christianity, are about Christians in comparison to past generations (referred to in the book as “Mosaics” or “Busters” depending on the year of their birth). Though unfortunate, this faith is seen more as club or a social circle of the elite rather than a group of people faithful to their beliefs.

I always knew church was where people was to worship God but I didn’t understand why people had put so much faith into the pastor. As I got older, I realized that a pastor is counseling people in the same area their still reading and studying. I don’t believe that all pastors have good intentions. The pastor’s main objective is to convince people that he knows the right way and believe what he tells you. I honestly feel that church is brainwashing. The pastor wants people to feel that Christs body and blood are actually there on the altar, that were actually standing before the Almighty, and people really get distracted and start to believe that. People will come to church depending on the father since he has the answers to all the problems. The members of the church are eventually allowing themselves to be deprived and victim to anything. They mindlessly will follow and obey everything they are told to do within those institutional walls because they believe so much in the pastor. I don’t think all

Understanding ministry, I can relate to how Howard Thurman thought he had found his permanent church-home at the Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in the position as full-time minister. However, with his qualifications also his experience many universities and other churches were requesting his expertise. As co-founder to see his dream of segregated Christians in America accomplished, ideas for his church were plentiful. Furthermore, dreams of building and expanding were already on the table. The idea of leaving was the furthest from his heart or mind (Thurman 165). As I was reading about Thurman, his excitement also his plans for the church, remembrance of a related personal experience came to mind. I was sure

The early church theologian Iranaeus of Lyons states the definition of church as those people that live on the earth. According to his argument though they speak different languages, they profess one faith. The theme of being one is similar to John Wesley’s theme of oneness. Wesley argues that no matter who the person is, he or she who is a believer , will be free from every kind of sin or breaking of moral laws. To explicate on this, it can be stated that just like languages are different in the world, so are the cultures and since cultures vary throughout the world, the norms and standards of crime, evil, and sin are different. At the same time, the understanding of faith in God is same and does not change from one country to another, rather

The population within the neighborhood of Greenfield rd. and Fenkell ave. of Detroit, Michigan, also known as 48227 has increased drastically over the years. According to the United States Zip Code Census (2001) the area of 48227 is located in southeast Michigan and has a large population density. The people living in ZIP code 48227 are primarily black or African American. There is also an extremely large number of single parents and an extremely small number of families. There are limited schools available for youth residents to attend, crime rates are insurmountable, very few local businesses, and no access to higher education. Shapiro (2013) detailed that social work has a long history of community practice, but community practice models have been understudied. An important first step in conducting such studies is the establishment of psychometrically sound measures that are relevant for evaluations of community practice. Therefore, each component must be analyzed and taken into consideration when assessing the future of this subpopulation.

During the 1930’s religion was a major component of people’s lives. They had a plethora of strong views for and against certain things in the world. One denomination discussed in To Kill A Mockingbird is the “Foot Washing Baptist”. This denomination is better known as Primitive Baptist. Scout and Mrs. Maudie have a discussion about the Primitive Baptist. Their view is that the church is harsh and narrow minded. This leads to their judgment of Mr. Arthur Radley. Primitive baptist were a strong group in the 1930’s, that would treat many people poorly if they thought what they were doing was a sin. Primitive Baptist even saw ordinary women as a sin.

The title of the book had me wondering how a trellis and a vine can mimic church revitalization and church growth. Authors Collin Marshall and Tony Payne open the book by explaining the purpose of a trellis and how important it is to a vine in its growth. The vine is the active members doing ministry, such as discipleship, mission and evangelizing and the trellis is the people and programs put in place to support those who are participating in the ministry. Most churches are a mixture of vines and trellis with the majority of members inside the church not knowing to which they belong. The book states that the vine does much of the work, but the trellis plays a vital part in aiding the vine. In many churches, the members believe that the

Hayes, Diana L. "And Still We Rise" An Introduction to Black Liberation Theology define Black Liberation as “faith seeking understanding.’ The Black liberation theology is the discipline that articulation of faith by people of African ancestry and on the continent and in the diaspora in a way that reflects their own lives experience. Chapter 1 explores the African religious-culture roots, Black Theology the advent of the historic black church and African American Christian’s meditation of black rebellion against enslavement and its pernicious legal and social extension (Hayes 196). Hayes go on further in chapter 9 and give a view of the future of the black church. Hayes states, "The situation in the Christian Churches today is one fraught with

Religion had a rather large influence on the Puritans. It not only influenced their thought process, but their everyday life and their government. Religion was a large part of the everyday life of the Puritans. Most of their laws were based off of and enforced by their religion. The laws were not only in the government, but they were also brought up in church. The pastors used religion to help guide their congregation to do the right

David Fitch is discussing the issue of how we are so focused on numbers in our churches today. He stated that as much as him and other ministers tried to avoid bringing numbers in evangelical meetings, somehow and somewhere, numbers will come in the conversations. He presented his argument by stating both the good and the bad side of numbers in our churches. But he was most focused on the, what I will call the bad side of it. He stated that numbers, meaning mentioning the number of attendees for a particular church, became a way for churches to measure success. Partially because we as an individuals and as an Americans, we are attracted to big numbers. But, our goal as a church and as christians, should not be about how big we are, but instead,

When I was fourteen I felt called to the mission field. At sixteen I took an internship in Haiti. I lived on the mission field for a month, and I realized I did not like it as much as I thought I would. The discovery crushed me, but I kept it bottled up inside of me. I told absolutely no one how I felt. At eighteen years old and as a graduate of high school I had no idea where I was going. I began to experience a breakdown. I felt as if my life had no direction and no purpose. I began to lose my faith in God and questioned everything I once knew. In response to my breakdown I sought out rebellion. I had a full ride to Texas State and I fully intended on taking it. I would get away from my parents, my family, accountability, and leadership.

America’s first environmentalist president, President Theodore Roosevelt, in 1909, assembled the country’s governors to talk about the nation ignoring the country’s natural resources. Resources such as lakes, rivers, and mountains were, in his eyes, gifts from God that needed to be treasured and preserved. In other words, Roosevelt believed that we were blessed with these resources and had much to be thankful for. But the nation was very unresponsive and indifferent about the matter. Capitalism and self-indulgence were the order of the day and they were being served in