America is a country that is portrayed differently from others when it comes to freedom. The society of Americans is spoiled unlike other countries because it is materialistic. Unfortunately, since America is spoiled the majority of the community only has a love for money instead of things that are more important such as family and a relationship with God. “It is Americans who are gullible” (Alcorn, Page 191). Li Quan and Ben Fielding were old time friends who went to college together at Harvard University. Li Quan was from China and his mother and father died when he was younger. As he grew up he had many goals for himself and one of those goals was to go to America. However, Quan was angry at God and his father, so he was not a Christian. …show more content…
When Ben and Quan graduated, Ben became a vice president for Getz International and work became his primary focus; therefore, he began to lose his relationship with his family and when his son died, he no longer believed in God. As a result, Ben became worth millions of dollars to his company. “Ben Fielding has not suffered first nor he has suffered most” (Alcorn, 192). Quan did not have a job because no one wanted to hire him because of his faith. After getting denied from many jobs, Quan became hopeless and “For many years I thought God might be punishing me because I was once ashamed of my father, because I was so unworthy of my heritage”. All things considered, Randy Alcorn compares Christianity in America with Christianity in China. The act of Christianity in America is fair. The community is able to worship God without being persecuted. Also, being a Christian does not label you as being a “problem” for the community. However, people with more power have the advantage to not allow Christians to work with a company. On the other hand, America has its disadvantages because the image of a person or company is considered more valuable than someone’s …show more content…
The Lama is not the way. Yesu is the only way” (Alcorn, 162). Furthermore, a wretched yell instantly occurred saying, “Leave! Go or we will kill you” (Alcorn, 162). However, Quan kept talking about Yesu, “I will say the name of Yesu” (Alcorn, 162). The reader can notice that monks do not like to hear the name of Yesu in their temple and they do not like Christians. Also, China’s government believes that “Christians are the cause of economic problems…” (Alcorn, 99). China is also portrayed as realistic because people are still being persecuted, also the country is still a Communist country and the government does not care about human rights. Therefore, the readers can take into consideration the suffering Christians are going through in other countries. Also, this book gets the readers to become more grateful that America is a free country and Christians question their faith because you think about questions such as “Would I die for my faith?” “Would I have signed the paper and give up or stay strong like Quan?” The most valuable lesson Quan taught us is “Temporary suffering is a small price to pay for eternal happiness” (Alcorn, 316). In addition, through these valuable lessons, Ben became a Christian and rejoices through the teachings of Quan and also helping him through his time of suffering (Alcorn,
Colonization dbq In colonial America the 13 colonies were not united as they are today they each had their own ideas about religion, politics, and society. Many people came to America to find religious freedom, but they were not as opened minded as some people may think. Each region had its own religion who tended to keep to each other and outside religions were frowned upon. However Maryland’s act of toleration says that no form of Christianity shall be in any way troubled (doc1).
Following the fall of the Han dynasty came the decline of practicers of the Confucian philosophy because of the downfall of the elite class and a centralized government. Buddhism, a religion with it’s roots from north India, has found its presence in China during the time when trade, along the silk roads, was crucial in all parts of Eurasia. Although the spread of Buddhism in China was greeted with devotion from new converts who supported the religion by spreading it and combining their cultures with the religion, it also was rejected by the ruling elite who opposed the spread of the religion that impacted China for the next following centuries.
A novel that refers to an ancient China with different traditions and beliefs, uses a common farmer as the main character. The novel The Good Earth written by “Pearl S. Buck” occurs in early China, at a time there were still emperors. Their life styles were different in many varied aspects in comparison to our modern day life. Some examples of this unique culture are: the different women roles, the symbolism of land as power and how wealth affected their traditions.
Written by Thomas Paine in 1791, the book “Rights of Man” soughts to describe the characteristics of America. Although he did include some accurate descriptions of America in his writing, considering the time the book was written and the fact that he was a revolutionary and a supporter of American independence, there are some descriptions that do not concur with the current-day America and some descriptions that are biased as well. Paine asserts that America is made up “of people from different nations, accustomed to different forms and habit of government, speaking different languages, and more different in their modes of worship,” and this assertion still holds true till this day. America fundamentally was, and still is, a melting pot of different people and culture (Paine).
Yet here we are'" (Whitehead 291). Lander describes America as the grandest delusion because based on the morality of a common person, once exposed to the oppression and exploitation of black people, they would conclude that America is not fit to be a thriving country. The
Bill McKibben in his essay “The Christian Paradox. How a faithful nation gets Jesus wrong.” unmasks the paradox underlying Americans' Christianity. The ambiguity lies in the fact that the US is the most allegedly Christian among all developed nations and yet Americans remain the least Christian in their behavior. The author exposes American Christians for who they genuinely are providing numerous examples to validate his thesis, which states that the notion of being a good and dutiful Christian perceived by most Americans has in fact little to do with Jesus' teachings.
Religious oppression even has an effect on institutions of higher learning. There is a four-year private Christian college in Portland, Oregon that is known for its diversity amongst its student body and the faculty and staff are held to a higher standard. To be employed at this college, they have to identify themselves as followers of Christ, whereas to be a student, they can identify as a believer, non-believer, or practice another form of religion. The only requirement to attend school at the institution is that the student takes three religious based classes, attends a certain amount of chapels per semester depending on whether they live on or off campus, and that they do ten community service hours per semester. In 2015, there
Many Americans don’t even realize how blessed they are to live in a place as fortunate as we do. The question of what it is to be an American still lingers around and the best way to put it is that an American is a free and welcoming presence. The main factor that stands out in the word America is the fact that
As Americans, we are supposed to be willing to widely and attentively consider other cultures traditions, practices, and styles of life. I personally don’t presume in this line from the American anthem “the land of the free and the home of the brave. A substantial amount of Americans’ are chauvinist’s, or just simply don’t take other cultures into consideration. This is why Fan Shen chooses to be his Chinese cultured, self while writing in America. There are many differences in American and Chinese writing.
In the essay, “ The Role of Religion in Modern Society”, Dalai Lama, The preeminent religious authority in Buddhism reveals the reason behind why religion has been a major source of conflict throughout the history, and how inter-religious harmony is the key to overcoming conflict of the first sort. He goes deeper into the similarities between different religion and identifies the obstacles that obstruct inter-religious harmony by developing ways to overcome them. He believes religion plays a vital role in the modern society by shaping the person's spiritual qualities rather than making him a better religious person than the other. Dalai Lama expounds that religious practice can help a person cope with adversity than those who don't.
There are many views and opinions of the state of the United States on this subject. It has long been a puzzling issue that never seems to seize. America should have religious freedom, because it is a constitutional right to Americans. Prayer in school, gay marriage, and governmental control, are among some of the main issues in this topic.
Gene Luen Yang offers a humanistic perspective on western imperialism in China during the late nineteenth century to early twentieth century in his graphic novel Boxers, a tragic narrative about Chinese grassroots resistance against foreign occupation in which an armed revolution ultimately fails. The novel focuses on religious identity, and cultural connections in the face of invasion. Boxers highlights the negative effects of imperialism through clashes between different religions, ideologies and power structures. Therefore, the criticism of western imperialism presented in Boxers could support a world systems theory approach to international relations because it shows to exploitation through westernization and the squandering of cultural
Ibn Battuta and Marco Polo are both known for being the world’s greatest long distance travelers, however, because of their different backgrounds it had influenced the way in which each traveler wrote about their experiences in China. This contrast is dominantly believed to have been influenced by their different religious backgrounds, and how each had viewed the world. This was ultimately is influenced by ones cultural and religious background. In this essay I will examine the different experiences that both Ibn Battuta and Marco Polo had experienced during their visits in China. Ibn Battuta, a well-educated Islamic scholar born and raised by a wealthy family in Tangier, Morocco, he had begun his journey at the age of 21.
“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.” That means work hard, using your mind, using your strength, using every gift and talent the Lord bestowed on you. Ben did this, viewing not just his occupation, but everything his hand touched as something that could be done with precision and excellence. He was alert to things that caused problems and discomfort, but instead of complaining, he used his sharp mind to formulate and implement solutions. As Ben grew with wealth and respect, he continued to use his position of influence for the benefit of his community and young country.
In Chronicle of a Death Foretold, religion is the most prevalent theme in the book, with the story constantly alluding to the Bible itself. The Chinese culture, on the other hand, is accustomed to a lack of religious activity because of the popularity of philosophies (the most common one being Confucianism) which dates back to the Han Dynasty or 206BC. The second most reason for China’s religious abstinence is due to the imperialist nations whom it shared conflict with during the Opium Wars. With this background information alone, one may assume that a country such as North America or Colombia wouldn’t be similar; however, the importance of honor is shared in both Colombia and China. When compared to Colombia, China has far more aspects which contribute to honor, including education, job, real-estate and marriage.