About Biblical Worldview - Free Essay Example

Introduction How was the world created? What is life? Is God real? How can you prove that God is real? These are lingering questions that have been around for ages. As a Christian, it is essential to lead a life that is reflective of your Christian beliefs. In the workplace today it is difficult to judge the level of Christianity you can push into your work without fear of punishment of judgment. As a teacher, it is important that one models the correct Christian lifestyle for your students to follow. While also being open to other opinions that your students may have about Christianity without forcing your viewpoint onto your students. Biblical Worldview Worldview refers to a comprehensive conception or apprehension of the world especially from a specific standpoint (Webster, 2018). As a Christian, the worldview I should reflect is one that relates to and imitates the life of God. Colossians 3: 11-14 states, Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all and in all. Put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man has a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness (Colossians 3:11-14, King James Version). The worldview in recent years has been changing with the times and openness to differential views becoming more prevalent. In recent years it has been more common to see that Christians are asked to be more open-minded in their views and beliefs to accept lifestyles that previous viewpoints would not have accepted. News and social media in recent years have been a primary source of information for students and adults to look for information and opinions to back up their viewpoints. The President can make an announcement on the news and within minutes his words can be changed and interpreted in a thousand different ways. With the news being able to change and alter the true message you have a wider viewpoint of people. Individuals will read one piece of news and believe that and not be open to new knowledge from other sources. In todays world, more than ever before viewpoints are changing and diverging away from one another. If someone doesnt fully agree with a major viewpoint they will create their own and put a name on it. This is much like how we came to have so many different denominations in Christianity today. It is imperative that we aim to teach our students about how to love Jesus without engaging in all the various viewpoints of the world, which can lead them down a negative pathway. Christian philosophy of Education Christian philosophy of education refers to the values and morals we believe, as a Christian should be incorporated into the learning environment (Knight, 2006). As a Christian, it is essential that we look to the Bible for guidance on how to teach our children in a way that is conducive to the Christian lifestyle. When you implement a Christian philosophy in your classroom you are relying on God for the basis of the learning that is taking place in the classroom. Your education and teaching style revolves and focuses around God and his teachings and how you can place a biblical aspect into all of your teachings. When a teacher has and functions correctly using a Christian philosophy of education you can see students in the classroom being able to find and relate all areas of study back to God and the Christian aspect of how all of those areas focus under God. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for correction, for reproof, for training in righteousness, so t hat the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. (II Timothy 3:16-17). Dayspring Christian academy describes that the when using a Christian philosophy of education the goal for your students should be to have a biblical worldview (). Being a light and a positive role model in someones life is essential to ensure they are seeing what a Christian lifestyle looks like. Some students may not be exposed to Christianity in their home or community. This means that you are the only person they have to be a light and the walking bible for them to view. The purpose and meaning of implementing a Christian philosophy inside the school setting are to not only prepare students for their future on earth but also prepare them for their future in heaven. Christian education described by DSouza is a growing realization that is held together by a spiritual foundation (DSouza, 2000). Implications for Educational Practice Finding a successful way to combine our desire for God and the educational system can be difficult. This is a concept that Christian teachers find it difficult to master. Being that freedom of speech is a law that governs our nation, educators should have equal opportunity to express their faith and opinions about Christ to others. It should be a foundation of our curriculum to implement the teachings of Christ into our curriculum. Christ teachings are building blocks and can be related to various subjects. Allowing students to relate their education and knowledge to Christ opens up their minds to think beyond the basic textbook education. Some strategies that I find useful in being a special education teacher are modeling. Modeling is something that is commonly used in the educational field, but predominately in the special education classroom. The bible also speaks of the modeling God provides to his people of how they should live their lives. Modeling an appropriate and Christian lifestyle is essential to teach my population of students the correct way to act. Some students dont have equal access to the Bible or a Christian lifestyle. This is why it is essential to teach through modeling to our students. Often times they will not listen to what we say, but they are always watching us. Kids are sponges and they absorb everything so it is imperative that you provide your students with a good role model for them to follow in their daily lives. Another way that I implement the Christian philosophy is to teach the fruits of the spirit such as love, gentleness, and long-suffering to name a few. We implement these teachings into our daily teachings of social skills. My students are taught to treat others how they expect to be treated. I also implement the Christian philosophy in my classroom by always showing that I care for my students in every aspect. This may mean lending them an ear when they are having a bad day, or letting them have a pass when they need a break or are overwhelmed. It is the little things that mean the most to our children and we should care for them and show them that we care. Conclusion In the world we live in it is impossible to have everyone in the same frame of mind and on the same page. That is why it is so important that we provide our students with a good Christian role model while they are at school. If we can provide our students with a small seed of interest in Christianity we will be amazed by what they will grow to be. References Worldview. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2018, from https://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/worldview Knight, G. R. (2006). Philosophy and education: An introduction in Christian perspective. Andrews University Press DSOUZA, M. (2000). The Christian Philosophy of Education and Christian Religious Education.The Journal of Educational Thought (JET) / Revue De La Pensee ?†°ducative, 34(1), 11-28.Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/23767139

Revolt of the Pawns - Literature Essay Samples

The Big Bad Wolf, Prince Charming, and The Beast: many fairy tales provide images of men varying from the courageous to the very evil. Each tale encodes messages for young girls about men, marriage, or sex as a type of socialization. Charles Perraults traditional version of the Bluebeard tale, which includes morals regarding curiosity and marriage, is no exception. In her book The Bloody Chamber, Angela Carter totally flips the messages of traditional fairy tales, such as Bluebeard, by rewriting them from a feminist perspective. Carter transforms the tale of Bluebeard into a feminist story in her version entitled The Bloody Chamber by placing the mother in the role of savior, allowing the protagonist to participate in her own rescue, and subtracting strength from the secondary male figures. One of Carters most notable adaptations to the story of Bluebeard in an effort to create a feminist tale is her treatment of the protagonists mother. In the traditional version of the fairy ta le, Perrault mentions the protagonists mother only briefly as, a respectable lady, [who] had two daughters who were perfect beauties (144). Unlike Perrault, Carter chooses to make the mother a central figure. Whereas Perrault only describes the mother in regard to her lady-like qualities and her role in raising children, Carter depicts the mother as a much more complex and powerful character, which is a key adaptation in her efforts to turn the story into a feminist tale. In the opening of the story, the narrator describes her mother as my eagle-featured indomitable mother who had outfaced a junkful of Chinese pirates, nursed a village through a visitation of the plague, shot a man-eating tiger with her own hand (7). By describing the mother as indomitable, Carter immediately points to the mothers strength. Likewise, by providing the reader with the mothers unfeminine history, Carter emphasizes the mothers past courage and potential power. Carter also depicts the mother as a s ource of strength for the female protagonist. When she explores the chamber, the narrator notes, Until that moment, this spoiled child did not know she had inherited nerves and a will from the mother who had defied the yellow outlaws of Indo-China. My mothers sprit drove me on. (28). Carter does not simply depict the mother as brave, but implies that bravery passes from mother to daughter. The passing of courage from female to female, rather than male to male or male to female, is significant in that it shows the power of a strong female role model. The daughter looks up to the mother because of her unfeminine abilities. The history of the mothers courage is not the only way in which Carter uses the mother character to make the story distinctly feminist. Carter expands on this strong female character by placing the mother in the role of the savior, rather than giving such power to a male character. In Perraults version of the tale, the girls brothers heroically rescue her fro m a violent death at the hands of Bluebeard. Carter, however, replaces the brothers with the mother, thus placing the most power (the power to defeat the villain) in the hands of a female, she raised my fathers gun, took aim and put a single, irreproachable bullet through my husbands head (40). With the mother as the rescuer who kills the husband, Carter changes the nature of the climactic moment of the story. Rather than a struggle between men regarding a female, the struggle occurs between male and female. The wife relies not on men to save her, but on another woman. Cater toys with this power struggle between male and female even more by allowing the protagonist to play a role in her own escape. In both The Bloody Chamber and Perraults Bluebeard, the protagonist attempts to prolong her life by stalling her husband. In Carters version, the narrator walks slowly to her husband to allow her mother time to approach the castle (39). In Perraults, the girl asks for time to say her prayers in attempt to delay her doom until the arrival of her brothers who she hopes will rescue her (146). Both of these examples are passive attempts to simply buy time until another party can perform the rescue. However, Carter provides her protagonist with a greater role in her own escape, as her husband swings what would be a deathly blow.The blade did not descend, the necklace did not sever, my head did not roll. For, for an instant, the beast wavered in his stroke, a sufficient split second of astonished indecision to let me spring upright and dart to the assistance of my lover as he struggled sightlessly with the great bolts that kept [my mother] out. (39) This quote exemplifies the importance of the narrators own action in her salvation. Carters emphasis on what did not happen, followed by the action of the protagonist, allows the reader to see that she does not die because of her own inclination to move out from under the blade. After all, if she does not do so, h er husband will kill her before her mother even enters the room. Her assistance is required to open the gate for her mother. The addition of the protagonists action is a key element in her rescue, which is not found in Perraults version of the tale. In his version, the brothers enter, chase, and kill Bluebeard while the girl remains on the ground, Bluebeards wife was as close to death as her husband and barely had the strength to rise and embrace her brothers (147). Whereas Perrault depicts her as weak and incapable, Carter depicts the wife as a powerful individual whose actions are key to her own rescue, thus giving even more power to the female roles. Not only does Cater transform the tale of Bluebeard into a feminist story by empowering the female characters, she also decreases the power of the secondary male characters by removing the brothers from the story and adding the less powerful piano-tuner. In Perraults version of the tale, the only male characters the reader encoun ters (aside from Bluebeard) are the brothers. Additionally, Perrault depicts the brothers as the very picture of masculinity, the one a dragoon and the other a musketeer (147). His version of the story only contains images of powerful and aggressive males. Carter opts to remove the brothers completely. As a result, the reader associates male power and aggression with evil because it is only found in the husband and is not positively represented. Carter not only removes the powerful and aggressive brothers, but she also adds the less-powerful piano-tuner, Jean Yves, to show a weakened power of men in the story. The narrator first describes Jean with a series of adjectives that lead the reader to picture him as a male without power, he was blind, of course; but young, with a gentle mouth (23). From this description the reader envisions a mild boy with a handicap, which is the complete opposite of the secondary male characters depicted in Perraults tale. Not only does the nar rator describe Jean as a weakling in physical terms, she later describes his lack of courage. She states, The door slowly, nervously opened and I sawthe slight, stooping figure of the piano-tuner, and he looked far more terrified of me than my mothers daughter would have been of the Devil himself (31). Carters use of comparison points out the drastic difference in courage between the boy and the protagonist. Carter repeats this theme of comparison of bravery again when the narrator says, When I thought of courage, I thought of my mother. Then I saw a muscle in my lovers face quiver (38). By recalling the image of the powerful mother and placing it next to the quivering face of the lover, Carter reemphasizes the dramatic difference in courage between male and female. In doing so, Carter creates a world in which the only positive strong characters the reader encounters are female. By taking the power out of the hands of the males, and making the secondary male character a less pow erful assistant to the females, Carter turns the gender-related power issues in the story upside-down. The fact that Carter creates a weak male character for her version of the story is an example of how she twists every aspect to change the traditional tale into a feminist piece. Carter goes beyond empowering the females of the story by strengthening the character of the mother to the point of savior and making the protagonist an active participant in her own escape. Additionally, she strips the story of all positive powerful males, leaving only the Bluebeard character, which stands alone as a negative representation of male power.