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Max Weber and his disruptive critique of the spirit of Western Capitalism - Christian Ethics - Fall 2020

  Max Weber and his disruptive critique of the spirit of Western Capitalism Introduction - What is the “spirit of capitalism”? According to Weber, the spirit of capitalism is an ideological framework, constructed upon the concepts of Protestantism, and in particular the Protestantism of the Puritans and Calvinists who were the original European settlers of the United States. In “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism” he explains how the protestant ideas of people having a “calling”, and the idea of “predestination” serve as a foundation for our modern system of Western capitalism that has been decoupled from religion and coupled with ideas of rationalism instead (Weber and Parsons, 2003). These ideas, when decoupled from religion become even more problematic, as they become resistant to theological critique. In this paper, I will discuss these ideas of the calling and predestination, and how they influence modern capitalism and our social/cultural beliefs about economics
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Short Essay - In response to Chapter 8 of "The Wounded Storyteller" - Pastoral Care

In response to "The Wounded Story Teller" "Chapter 8 - by Arthur Frank So first, I have some comments and thoughts regarding this chapter's assertions and concepts. Regarding the discussion of embodied paranoia - the threats facing ill people are not just these existential kinds of threats, such as being tethered to a machine, or the loss of bodily autonomy and decision-making ability - but I would argue that very tangible and visceral threats are also present that feed this paranoia - the threat of losing one's job or employability, the threat of loss of health insurance due to loss of income, homelessness, and hunger. These are very real possibilities and are part of that social aspect of illness and suffering that Arthur Kleinman and Eric Cassell discuss. The author intimates at this point when he states:  “Disease is all too effective as a journalistic metaphor for social problems - crime, poverty, drug use, inflation - because disease metaphors tap the intu
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Sermon - On Judith! - Old Testament class

  Sermon - on Judith! (Link to YouTube video of the service/sermon - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6JjqEUY9_4&t=6s ) Text:  Judith 12:16–13:10 Judith came in and lay down. Holofernes’ heart was ravished with her and his passion was aroused, for he had been waiting for an opportunity to seduce her from the day he first saw her. So Holofernes said to her, "Have a drink and be merry with us!" Judith said, "I will gladly drink, my lord, because today is the greatest day in my whole life." Then she took what her maid had prepared and ate and drank before him. Holofernes was greatly pleased with her, and drank a great quantity of wine, much more than he had ever drunk in any one day since he was born. When evening came, his slaves quickly withdrew. Bagoas closed the tent from outside and shut out the attendants from his master’s presence. They went to bed, for they all were weary because the banquet had lasted so long. But Judith was left alone in the tent, with H
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Short Essay - Buddhism as an "inescapable constituent of what can be imagined as modernity" - Intro to Buddhist Studdies

  Buddhism is an “inescapable constituent of what can be imagined as modernity” This is more true than I even thought possible… After reading the “Mindful America” book I really started to see how Buddhism has impacted our society and my own personal life. So much of the current developing cultural milieu is centered around “mindfulness”. Mindfulness is the “modern” and “westernized” version of Buddhism that has been “demystified” and inserted into secular life in all kinds of places. I saw this first hand actually when I worked as a substitute teacher for the Sunnyvale School district. We utilized all kinds of mindfulness techniques  with the children - things to help them get grounded, get centered, cope with stress, deal with emotions - and honestly - it was really quite effective. Mindfulness forms the fundamental foundations of Social Emotional Learning methods which really has had a positive impact in the schools in Sunnyvale. One of the really interesting things about all this,
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Taize Prayer Service, Order of Worship for the People of Ukraine - Field Education Site

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  Taizé Prayer Service for the People of Ukraine Monday April 11, 2022 – 5:30  PM
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