Job Gospel Essays - Book Of Job, Job, Eliphaz, Satan, Bildad, Zophar

Job Gospel The Book of Job is not simply a story, but a fable, rich with meaning and lessons to be learned. I found Job to be one of the most interesting accounts in the Bible, especially because it attempts to rationalize human suffering and the ways of the Lord. It seems to me that the idea came first, and a story was found to fit it, or one was made up, but that the entire reason for the Book of Job to be included in the Bible is for its purpose in teaching us that we must endure what troubles we are given, because it is the Will of God. I have many questions about this book, none of which can be easily answered by anyone living today: Who wrote this tale, and how did they know what took place in heaven? Did they just see Job suffering his losses, only to regain them tenfold when his faith did not swerve? These are only a few of my thoughts as I read Job, but overall, I found it a fascinating story that I wanted to explore in detail, and that is why I chose to write on it. Job was a righteous man who lived in Uz with his seven sons and three daughters. He owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yokes of oxen, five hundred donkeys and many slaves. Each year, he held a banquet where Job would have each of his children purified, for fear that they might have sinned and cursed God in their hearts. On the day that the angels came to attest before God, God pointed out to the accusing angel (Satan) how righteous and respectful Job was to Him. Satan claimed that Job's actions and character originated with evil and self-serving motives: Job is so righteous and respectful because he has no reason to act otherwise, but if God were to give him hardship, he would curse the name of the Lord. Satan challenges God to test Job, and reluctantly, God accepts. Here, we see Satan prodding the Lord, who is supposed to be almighty and knowledgable about everything, into testing one of his faithful servants for no reason other than to prove his loyalty. This explains why God sometimes strikes down the righteous for no apparent reason, but it also makes us question whether or not God truly has our best interest at heart. God seems to have the character of a small child here, wanting to uphold his name, to show Satan that he "can too" prove that Job is faithful. On Earth, Job was stricken with misfortune. All his children died of one tragedy or another, his animals were either stolen or struck by lightning. Job did not curse God, he rationalized the act, what God gives, He can also take away. He bragged to Satan about how faithful and righteous his servant Job was, like the small child we saw him as before. Again, Satan pushed God on, claiming that Job was still faithful and righteous because he had not been affected directly by God's test. He persuades God to test Job once more. This time, Job's health is destroyed in a most horrifying form. Job is covered in boils from head to toe so badly, that he uses a piece of broken pottery to scratch the dead flesh off with. At this point, Job's faith in the Lord is tested by his wife, who wondered why he is still so faithful to God. As we all know, the hardest part of faith is to believe when others around you do not, and can convince you that they are right while you are wrong. Still, Job rebuked his wife and refused to sin. Job had three friends: Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Namathite. These three friends heard of what happened to Job and came to offer their sympathy and grief. After about a week of prayers, Job finally broke down and cursed the day he was born. He wondered why life should be given to a person who desires only death, who has ceased to find any value in life, who has lost all hope of escape from continuous terror and torment. His friends answer him in a series of three rounds, the first being the most significant of the three. Eliphaz answered him first, saying that Job helped others with encouraging words but now that the tables are turned, he impatiently gave up. The

Prehistoric Life During the Permian Period

Prehistoric Life During the Permian Period The Permian period was, literally, a time of beginnings and endings. It was during the Permian that the strange therapsids, or mammal-like reptiles, first appearedand a population of therapsids went on to spawn the very first mammals of the ensuing Triassic period. However, the end of the Permian witnessed the most severe mass extinction in the history of the planet, even worse than the one that doomed the dinosaurs tens of millions of years later. The Permian was the last period of the Paleozoic Era (542-250 million years ago), preceded by the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian and Carboniferous periods. Climate and Geography As during the preceding Carboniferous period, the climate of the Permian period was intimately linked with its geography. Most of the earths land mass remained locked up in the supercontinent of Pangea, with remote offshoots comprising present-day Siberia, Australia, and China. During the early Permian period, large portions of southern Pangea were covered by glaciers, but conditions warmed considerably by the beginning of the Triassic period, with the reappearance of vast rain forests at or near the equator. Ecosystems around the globe also became significantly drier, which spurred the evolution of new types of reptiles better adapted to cope with the arid climate. Terrestrial Life During the Permian Period Reptiles: The most important event of the Permian period was the rise of synapsid reptiles (an anatomical term denoting the appearance of a single hole in the skull, behind each eye). During the early Permian, these synapsids resembled crocodiles and even dinosaurs, as witness famous examples like Varanops and Dimetrodon. By the end of the Permian, a population of  synapsids had branched off into therapsids, or mammal-like reptiles; at the same time, the very first archosaurs appeared, diapsid reptiles characterized by the two holes in their skulls behind each eye. A quarter of a billion years ago, no one could have predicted that these archosaurs were destined to evolve into the very first dinosaurs of the Mesozoic Era, as well as pterosaurs and crocodiles!Amphibians: The increasingly dry conditions of the Permian period were not kind to prehistoric amphibians, which found themselves out-competed by more adaptable reptiles (which could venture further onto dry land to lay their to ugh-shelled eggs, whereas amphibians were constrained to living near bodies of water). Two of the most notable amphibians of the early Permian were the six-foot-long Eryops and the bizarre Diplocaulus, which looked like a tentacled boomerang. Insects: During the Permian period, conditions werent yet ripe for the explosion of insect forms seen during the ensuing Mesozoic Era. The most common insects were giant cockroaches, the tough exoskeletons of which gave these arthropods a selective advantage over other terrestrial invertebrates, as well as various types of dragonflies, which werent quite as impressive as their plus-sized forebears of the earlier Carboniferous period, like the foot-long Megalneura. Marine Life During the Permian Period The Permian period has yielded surprisingly few fossils of marine vertebrates; the best-attested genera are prehistoric sharks like Helicoprion and Xenacanthus and prehistoric fish like Acanthodes. (This doesnt mean the worlds oceans werent well-stocked with sharks and fish, but rather that the geologic conditions didnt lend themselves to the fossilization process.) Marine reptiles were extremely scarce, especially compared to their explosion in the ensuing Triassic period; one of the few identified examples is the mysterious Claudiosaurus. Plant Life During the Permian Period If youre not a paleobotanist, you may or may not be interested in the replacement of one weird variety of prehistoric plant  (the lycopods) by another weird variety of prehistoric plant (the glossopterids). Suffice it to say that the Permian witnessed the evolution of new varieties of seed plants, as well as the spread of ferns, conifers, and cycads (which were an essential source of food to the reptiles of the Mesozoic Era). The Permian-Triassic Extinction Everyone knows about the K/T Extinction Event that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, but the most severe mass extinction in earths history was the one that transpired at the end of the Permian period, which annihilated 70 percent of terrestrial genera and a whopping 95 percent of marine genera. No one knows exactly what caused the Permian-Triassic Extinction, though a series of massive volcanic eruptions resulting in a depletion of atmospheric oxygen is the most likely culprit. It was this great dying at the end of the Permian that opened up the earths ecosystems to new kinds of terrestrial and marine reptiles, and led, in turn, to the evolution of dinosaurs.

Joseph Priestley and the Discovery of Oxygen

Joseph Priestley and the Discovery of Oxygen As a clergyman, Joseph Priestley was considered an unorthodox philosopher, he supported the French Revolution and his unpopular views caused his home and chapel in Leeds, England, being burned in 1791. Priestley moved to Pennsylvania in 1794. Joseph Priestley was a friend of Benjamin Franklin, who like Franklin was experimenting with electricity before turning his full attention to chemistry in the 1770s. Joseph Priestley - Co-Discovery of Oxygen Priestley was the first chemist to prove that oxygen was essential to combustion and along with Swede Carl Scheele is credited with the discovery of oxygen by isolating oxygen in its gaseous state. Priestley named the gas dephlogisticated air, later renamed oxygen by Antoine Lavoisier. Joseph Priestley also discovered hydrochloric acid, nitrous oxide (laughing gas), carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide. Soda Water In 1767, the first drinkable man-made glass of carbonated water (soda water) was invented by Joseph Priestley. Joseph Priestley published a paper called Directions for Impregnating Water with Fixed Air (1772), which explained how to make soda water. However, Priestley did not exploit the business potential of any soda water products. The Eraser April 15, 1770, Joseph Priestley recorded his discovery of Indian gums ability to rub out or erase lead pencil marks. He wrote, I have seen a substance excellently adapted to the purpose of wiping from paper the mark of black lead pencil. These were the first erasers which Priestley called a rubber.

Designing Networks Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 7750 words

Designing Networks - Thesis Example Surrey University needs an infrastructure that supports all the demanded needs and also manages future trends of rising technologies. Many Universities have implemented a Campus area network for online learning. In fact, this is more feasible because it connects two or more than two networks of the educational institution, universities or corporate campus. The connectivity includes library, sections, student halls of residence (Campus Area Network. 2007).The network devices and computing equipment have to be consistent and extendable, if the faculty staffs increases. The Surrey University has 4 sites or branches which are Harrow, Wembley, Leicestershire and Camden. The governing body has determined to implement an IP based network. The network layout of the Surrey University needs an expandable and efficient network which will fulfill the requirements of the Surrey University staff. The Surrey University will activate studies on a new innovative technology named as Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). â€Å"According to a JISC’s Introduction to managed learning environments, the term ‘virtual learning environment’ (VLE) refers to the components in which learners and tutors participate in online interactions of various kinds, including online learning† (, what is a VLE? at UKCLE).The presence this technology will certainly change the trends in education and research. Student will participate in a particular lecture or test from home or from a remote location. The progress of a student and test schedules will be available on the site. The inbound communication of staff for the Surrey University will be conducted by the Surrey University’s internet. The VLE will provide virtual learning features along with video and voice communication features within the Surrey University branches as well as from the IP telephony. 2 Profile The Surrey University requires a redundant computer network that adequately manages network operations, st udent management and business processes. Moreover, the university that is categorized in to two sites needs to cope up with the new technological trends, in order to avoid network security threats and vulnerabilities. 2.1 Project Scope and Objectives A brand new network structure is deployed by the Surrey University. A modern technology is utilized by this network in terms of both hardware and software. Moreover, software application execution includes the new innovative Virtual Learning application. The hardware technology deployment includes Cisco routers, switches and ‘access points’. The University has 4 sites and wants to coordinate the university activities by connecting all the networks together, either with wireless or wired technologies in a protected way. The objects for this given scenario are: Research suitable hardware and software for the design of the Camden wired LAN only Wireless link between Wembley and Harrow site Design a wireless LAN for the Camden site Design a network management system 3 Wired Network In order to implement the local area network (LAN) for Camden site, an appropriate selection of computing and network devices should be selected. This implementation starts at initial level because networks are not implemented there before. 3.1 Network Topology Star topology is suggested for the wired local area networ

Attitude Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Attitude - Research Paper Example This is in line with the changing beliefs that are shaping up the organizational climate of present times, and echoes well with the manager’s work performance tenets which remain quintessential with each passing day. This paper discusses attitude and its effect on a manager’s work performance. How attitude is remarked here is something that holds a lot of value and significance for the manager. The manager’s repertoire shall be bolstered if he knows that the employees working under his aegis are positive within their attitudes and that they are ready to give in their best time and again. It is a definitive plus if the manager is adamant that his employees will give in their best no matter how tough it is or how trying the circumstances will turn out to be at the end (Bryan, 2009). There is a dire need to understand that the manager’s work performance is boosted if his employees are having positive attitude and know how to give in their best on a proactivel y consistent basis. The manager’s work performance is immensely helped when attitude is positive. If however, this attitude is not positive, then there would be a lot of problems for this manager, as he would have to undergo stress and tensions at the workplace realms. He would have to properly understand why people are being nagging and then resolve the disputes that are coming up within his realms. There is a dire need to comprehend the fact that attitude shapes up many actions and undertakings within the employees’ and managers’ aegis, and this will be the success pointers for the organizational regimes. A manager needs to address quite a few issues that come to his understanding levels. Now if he sees that the work is not carried out in a positive way, he will feel the pinch and there would be significant issues which will cone to the reckoning of all and sundry within the organizational folds (Author Unknown, 2011). If the attitude hinders his work domains, it would mean that there is something wrong somewhere, and much needs to be done, and that too in a proper and quick way. This is the need of the hour as organizations require managers who are ready and willing to accept change within their realms and thus be full of positive attitude and demeanor. This will resolve quite a few aspects that come under the heading of behavioral issues. The attitude aspect is given significance by the top management as well because it knows that the managers have to be up and willing to remain positive with regards to their respective attitudes and it is about time that they needed to set their house in order before taking care of the employees that are under them in entirety. What remains to be seen is the fact that their personal problems do not hinder their attitudes towards work and allows them to freely move ahead with the passage of time, because this is indeed required at the end of the day. The manager’s work performance is usually ali gned with the ways and means through which he understands the dictum of work. If this manager believes that his work could be carried out with minimal positive attitude then this would mean that his attitude is not set at the most optimal level that there should be. However, if he believes that he could stay negative within his attitude and still complete work at his end, then this would mean that there are a lot of problems within his work performance regimes, and that he needs to sort out these issues –

Death in Life in Alfred Lord Tennysons Poetry Essay -- Alfred Lord Te

Death in Life in Alfred Lord Tennyson's Poetry Alfred Lord Tennyson, a Victorian poet, used characters from history and mythology for his poetry. Much of his poetry touches upon the subject of death and loneliness. For example, the Lady of Shallot dies when she looks beyond her inner world, Mariana lives in constant sadness over her departed lover, and Tithonus lives forever in an agony worse than death. With a background of melancholia, isolation or anguish Tennyson conveys themes of half-life and death-in-life by the use of uses imagery, symbolism and figures of speech. In the dramatic monologue â€Å"Tithonus,† Tennyson instructs the reader that immortality is not necessarily a desirable thing as Tithonus tries to convince Aurora to make him mortal again. In the poem, Tithonus asks Aurora to grant him immortality, which she does. Although in actual mythology Zeus grants immortality, it is immortality and not eternal youth that Tithonus receives. Therefore, he now â€Å"withers slowly† with a fate worse than death since many jealous gods â€Å"beat me down and marred and waste me.† Tithonus presents the natural cycle of life followed by death by describing how first, â€Å"Man comes† then he â€Å"tills the fields† and finally â€Å"lies beneath†. However, his â€Å"cruel immortality† prevents him from following the same pattern. The rhetorical question, â€Å"Why should a man desire in any way/To vary from the kindly race of man†¦as is most meet for all?† indicates his realization of the absurdity in asking for immortal life. His wish to be immortal like the gods can be interpreted as alluding to Adam and Eve’s desire for the knowledge of God. Anyway, as a â€Å"soft air fans the clouds apart† (personification), Tithonus sees the â€Å"dark world† to which he be... ...cument 1). Mariana lives in her own world, still believing that her lover will come, believing that â€Å"Old faces glimmer’d thro’ the doors,† and confounded by the â€Å"slow clock ticking, and the sound/Which to the wooing wind aloof/The poplar made.† As evident in these three poems, â€Å"Tithonus,† â€Å"Lady of Shallot† and â€Å"Mariana in the Moated Grange,† Tennyson often portrays the world as a sad place. Many times, like in â€Å"Tithonus† and â€Å"Lady of Shallot,† there is a conflict between wishes and desires. Also, Tennyson often uses the outer environment to heighten the emotions experienced by the characters. In short, Tennyson is able to convey his themes of half-life and death-in-life through the use of imagery, symbolism and figures of speech. Bibliography: 1. http://www.sparknotes.com/poetry/tennyson 2. http://landow.stg.brown.edu/victorian/tennyson/losillus1.html

“Night demonstrates the potential of man’s inhumanity to man” Essay

Elie Weisels â€Å"night â€Å" gives us a clear insight into the levels of inhumane behaviour which existed in the times of Nazi Germany from the Germans and even the Jews themselves. Elie also makes clear the great malice shown by some people, during a time where discrimination was a trend created by German propaganda – a situation which made any act of inhumanity acceptable. Nonetheless Night also shows us the way in which people are willing to sacrifice, purely for the survival of others. â€Å"Night† also demonstrates the nature of the human qualities by showing that even in the most inhuman and cruel circumstances, we can survive something like â€Å"hell on earth† Concentration camps showed us inhumanity on a scale previously unimagined. However the setting in place of such inhumane behaviour began some years before with the systematic dehumanising of the Jews by breaking down social structures and relationships and taking away their place in civil society. The novel shows that there is great inhumanity displayed from this personal journey of Elie Wiesel. The Jews were tortured every day for no reason at all other than for the SS officers’ own amusement. The SS officers treated the men as if they were animals, making them fight for food. Women, babies, old, sick, and handicapped were put into the crematoriums as soon as they arrived at the camps. The Germans stripped the Jews to nothing and took away everything close to them, separation from loved ones, isolation, transportation and the ruthless, cold actions towards them in the camps such as starvation and selections of the fittest. They killed people for no reason, with no remorse whatsoever. Tortures, being treated like animals, and being burned alive or killed were all things that led to the Jews feeling as if they were not human. As the treatment of the Jews gets worse, so do their own actions. After their time at Birkenau, the prisoners were in very bad shape. All were starving, but some more than others. At this point, one of the young men kills his own father for his ration of bread and is then promptly surrounded and killed by some of the more disgusted Jews who had seen the crime. While the justice administered by the other Jews is a sign of humanity hanging by a thread in the minds and hearts of the prisoners, the young man who killed his own father signifies as much of a tendency in the opposite direction. While some would argue that the  goal of survival could possibly justify the means, the effect the Nazis are having on the minds of the Jews cannot be ignored. Despite the relenting bleakness and horror of life in the camps, Elie Weisel survives with his emo tional insanity and survival remarkably intact. The critical things that helped people to survive in to camps included human connections, such as friendships and family relationships, hearing and making music and random acts of kindness from strangers. By doing whatever he needed to so he could survive, Wiesel’s identity had truly changed in the concentration camps. Elie survived the concentration camps for nearly two years. Even though he often claims that he wanted to give up, that he wished he would die, he still fought against death. He writes â€Å"our first act as free men was to throw ourselves onto the provisions. We thought only of that. Not of revenge, not of our families. Nothing but bread.† This quote shows that, though Elie has lost his identity so much that he is almost like a wild animal, he has still managed to keep the instinct to survive. This endurance showed that he never was able to fully give up on life. He somehow pushed past the Nazi cruelty to live through malnutrition, torture, and sorrow. Even as his emotions shut down to the point where he could not cry for his dead father, he was shutting down so he could survive the experience of the death camps.