The Existence Of God Essay -- Religion Theology Essays Papers

The Existence of God Works Cited Not Included For centuries, the idea of God has been a part of man's history. Past and present, there has always been a different integration consisting of the believers and the non-believers of God. The group of those who have "faith" in God tend to be related to one religion or another. On the other hand, the skeptics find the existence of God somewhat puzzling and try to seek the answers through scientific methods. Even as of today with all the modern technologies and the development of sciences, we still do not have a definitive answer to the question "does God exist?" Among many philosophers and scholars who have tried to answer this question, we shall look upon Rene Descartes' theory on the existence of God. In terms of believers and non-believers, Descartes would be one of the believers. Before we go any further, we must ponder upon several questions. What is God? Does God exist? If such God does exist, then where does this being come from? Why do believers and non-believers hold on to their beliefs as they do? What significance does the existence of God have upon mankind? These are only the tip of the iceberg amongst the vast array of unanswered questions related to God. Though there are so many uncertainties as we have just mentioned, the existence of all other uncertainties in our world may explain why the existence of God is so real to many people. For the believers, God provides a convenient answer to all these questions except for the answers regarding God itself. The following are some of the general arguments for the existence of God. The first argument comes from the theory of design; there are orders in the universe which can't be occurring by mere chance. Secondly, the existence of God explains the arguments regarding the efficient causality; as the world exhibits orderly causal sequences, something had to start it all up. Thirdly but not the least, God provides an answer to the question of the origin of life and its destination after death. ( For the sake of convenience, we shall borrow some theological ideas from Christianity, the Christian God, to exemplify our comparisons.) As an example, God is the creator of all, and there is a place in heaven, a kingdom of God, for those who have faith in God. This helps believers understand their identity and alleviate the fear of ... ...inite faculties of knowledge hold the potential of having mistakes. In the above discussion, I was trying neither to prove nor disprove the existence of God; I was, however, trying to offer some skepticism upon statements which many people have claimed about the existence of God. Although Descartes embraces quite a grand statement on the issues of God, I felt that his beliefs were biased towards his own perception and lacked evidence in proving that God exists to the point beyond reasonable doubt. I believe that neither Descartes nor modern science have been able to successfully prove whether God exists or not. What's really important, no matter whether such a being exists or not, is that the ideology of God has certainly existed throughout the history of man. Moreover, the power of this ideology of God has proven to be overwhelming among the believers who have faith in its religion. Even for the non-believers or so called atheists, the ideology of God has an effect and/or an influence on them in one way or another. On a larger scale, it is not an exaggeration to say that our society is built on the ideology of God. What is your opinion? "In God we trust?"

A visit to Seri Kasih Orphanage Home Essay

The first week of the last school holidays was a memorable and meaningful moments for the members of the English Language  Society of SMK Kampung Laut.The society has organized a special trip to Seri Kasih Orphanage Home on May 31st the first day of school holidays at Kampung Delima,Batu 8, Pasir Putih.There were a total of 75 students involved of whom 40 of are male students of form four and five while 35 female students comprising mainly of form 3 and 4 students.There were 4 accompanying teachers,Sir Rosdi,teacheradvisor of SMK Kampung Laut English Language Society,Teacher Madihah,our senior science teacher,Puan Marini,our Bahasa Melayu teacher and finally Mr Kim Lian Hing,our Physical Education  teacher.We started our 45 minutes journey with two special chartered buses sponsored by Dato’ Hj Karim,the chairman of PIBG of SMK Kampung Laut.We reached the orphanage home about 9.15 a.m.  We were greeted by the matron,Puan Seri Hajjah Maimunah and her delegations.The cheerful and estatic feelings of the orphans really touched our hearts.Puan Seri started with a welcoming speech.All eyes were on her and many wiped their tears at the end of her speech when many tragic stories of the orphans were revealed. We could see that there were a strong unity among the 95 orphans and they were really superb on their manners and etiquettes.We just loved the ways they behaved and lived within their circles.Sir Rosdi reciprocated with a short but very meaningful speech and then presented the cheque of RM1000 donated by the students of SMK Kampung Laut. The  morning activities started with a gotong royong project viz cleaning-up of surau and the main hall. The students were made up of 15 groups of 5 students each while some senior orphans were also lending their hands.Then the outdoor programme followed with telematches held for the female students while the male had a friendly volleyball matches. We had a short break at around 11.30a.m and later served with a light  refreshment.  The next programmae started when all the students and the orphans were requested to assemble at Seri Kasih main hall for the talentime show.We were entertained by the hidden talents of the orphans particularly on the group singing of nashid and coral speaking. Some of our students also joined the talent show by presenting some classical and  malay traditional songs aided by 3 plus one music. Then we had our lunch and dzohor prayer at around 1.30 p.m.We were served with very sumptuous and appetizing ikan bakar and beryani rice. Our next programme started at around 2.30 p.m with one hour tuition sessions where our form 4 and 5 students willingly broke up into small groups assisting the form 3 orphans mainly on Mathematics and English subjects. Then our own form 3 students were together with form 1 and 2 orphans discussing on some school works and  assignments.It was indeed a short but very helpful sessions.Most of the orphans were very hardworking and dedicated students.Some of them topped the classes and had flying colours results.  Our last programme was photograpy and souvenirs sessions.We brought beautiful souvenirs and presented to each and every orphans.   They were beaming with joy and many had agreed to treat our senior students as adopted brothers and sisters.Besides we also presented large hampers which consisted of chocolates,biscuits, nuts and fresh fruits.The matron,Puan Seri Hajjah Maimunah  presented her closing speech and invited all of us to come back next year for another great programmes.We left Seri Kasih Orphanage Home at about 4 p.m.Many of us had cherished the good memories and glad that we had performed our social responsibility with the residents of Seri Kasih Orphanage Home.We would certainly love to come back next year with many great programmes in hand.

A Timeline of the Genocide in Rwanda

The 1994 Rwandan Genocide was a brutal, bloody slaughter that resulted in the deaths of an estimated 800,000 Tutsi (and Hutu sympathizers). Much of the hatred between the Tutsi and Hutu stemmed from the ways they were treated under Belgian rule. Follow the increasing stresses within the country of Rwanda, beginning with its  European colonization to independence to genocide. While the genocide itself lasted 100 days, with brutal murders happening throughout, this timeline includes some of the larger mass murders that took place during that time period. Rwanda Genocide Timeline 1894:  Germany colonizes Rwanda. 1918: The Belgians assume control of Rwanda. 1933: The Belgians organize a census and mandate that everyone is issued an identity card classifying them as either Tutsi, Hutu, or Twa. December 9, 1948: The United Nations passes a resolution which both defines genocide and declares it a crime under international law. 1959: A Hutu rebellion begins against the Tutsis and Belgians. January 1961: The Tutsi monarchy is abolished. July 1, 1962: Rwanda gains its independence. 1973: Juvà ©nal Habyarimana takes control of Rwanda in a bloodless coup. 1988: The RPF (Rwandan Patriotic Front) is created in Uganda. 1989: World coffee prices plummet. This significantly affects Rwandas economy because coffee was one of its major cash crops. 1990: The RPF invade Rwanda, starting a civil war. 1991: A new constitution allows for multiple political parties. July 8, 1993: RTLM (Radio Tà ©là ©vison des Milles Collines) begins broadcasting and spreading hate. August 3, 1993: The Arusha Accords are agreed upon, opening government positions to both Hutu and Tutsi. April 6, 1994: Rwandan President Juvà ©nal Habyarimana is killed when his plane is shot out of the sky. This is the official beginning of the Rwandan Genocide. April 7, 1994: Hutu extremists begin killing their political opponents, including the prime minister. April 9, 1994: Massacre at Gikondo - hundreds of Tutsis are killed in the Pallottine Missionary Catholic Church. Since the killers were clearly targeting only Tutsi, the Gikondo massacre was the first clear sign that a genocide was occurring. April 15-16, 1994: Massacre at the Nyarubuye Roman Catholic Church - thousands of Tutsi are killed, first by grenades and guns and then by machetes and clubs. April 18, 1994: The Kibuye Massacres. An estimated 12,000 Tutsis are killed after sheltering at the Gatwaro stadium in Gitesi. Another 50,000 are killed in the hills of Bisesero. More are killed in the towns hospital and church. April 28-29: Approximately 250,000 people, mostly Tutsi, flee to neighboring Tanzania. May 23, 1994: The RPF takes control of the presidential palace. July 5, 1994: The French establish a safe zone in the southwest corner of Rwanda. July 13, 1994: Approximately one million people, mostly Hutu, begin fleeing to Zaire (now called the Democratic Republic of the Congo). mid-July 1994: The Rwanda Genocide ends when the RPF gains control of the country. The Rwandan Genocide ended 100 days after it began, but the aftermath of such hatred and bloodshed will take decades, if not centuries, from which to recover.