Is Jesus The Son Of God - 1596 Words

John 14: 6 says â€Å"I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me†. Jesus’ ministry was based off of this principle. If you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that he was raised from the dead, and you confess you have sinned, then you are a Christian according to Jesus and his father God. That is what Jesus taught when he was alive on Earth. His ministry started Christianity, influencing so many people around the world. With his ministry came a lot of controversy, over his teachings and the way he--to some people--spoke very wrongly about the church and God. Also, many people followed him for many reasons. Along with that, Jesus whole ministry comes to a close after he rose from the dead. His†¦show more content†¦The Pharisees heard of this and publicly challenged Jesus, accusing him of having the power of Satan. He defended his actions with a parable, then questioned their logic and told them such thinking deni ed the power of God, which only further hardened their resolve to work against him. Jesus was challenged many times but, he always got the better side of the argument. If Jesus failed an argument his ministry may have been crushed because the Pharisees and the teachers of the law would have spread the news that Jesus was a fraud. Another example of a threat to Jesus’ ministry is, â€Å"It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication. He was in the Temple, walking through the section known as Solomon’s Colonnade. The people surrounded him and asked, â€Å"How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.† Jesus replied, â€Å"I have already told you, and you don’t believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father’s name. But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep. My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else.No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. The

A Christmas Carol Analysis - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1058 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2019/07/03 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: A Christmas Carol Essay Did you like this example? Facts: Scrooge doesn’t know why Fred is happy when he’s poor. Scrooge sees good as referring solely to profits. For characters like Fred and Bob Cratchit, Christmas represents the ideal of goodness and moral prosperity, but Scrooge is at his most miserly when Christmas is mentioned. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "A Christmas Carol Analysis" essay for you Create order Even though Scrooge constantly acts up, Fred still invites him to his house. If Scrooge allowed himself to feel happy once in a while he would be happy. But he does not. Scrooge’s mainly economic view on Christmas causes him to reject it and the people around him trying to help him. Fan is important to Scrooge. Fan is an important character in Scrooge’s past. Fan represented an idol to Scrooge, someone he loved his entire life, she was one of the reasons his childhood shone, and stood out in contrast to the present. She was the reason that Scrooge had an equal balance of sad to happy times in his young life. Even as an adult man, Scrooge went back to his old habits more similarly to his school, but now he has accepted and chooses loneliness and family. Fan eventually tells Scrooge that she is taking him home. â€Å"Home, for good, â€Å"she says happily. She says,† their father is kinder now and has asked for his son to be brought home to become a man and never return to the schoolroom.† Inferences: Scrooge is annoyed by happiness and marriage because his fiancee Belle left him around Christmas. Throughout the story Scrooge shows how he is annoyed by Christmas in many ways, and one of the most important ones is when his own family member, Fred, is introduced in the book. Although he is his nephew, Scrooge still shows no sympathy nor connection to him, one of his own family members. Scrooge’s choice to do this show how even he, a man rich enough to never have to work the rest of his life, still isn’t rich in happiness and neglects the only family he has left since his sister died. His annoyance with his nephew can also be thought of in a bigger picture as his hate for Christmas which may have all started with the loss of his fiancee Belle. Scrooge didn’t want to see the truth of the situation which the ghost of Christmas past was showing him. The ghost of Christmas past was showing Scrooge happier memories like when Scrooge’s sister, Fan, announces that she is taking him home. Home, for good, she says happily. She says that their father is kinder now and has asked for his son to be brought home to become a man and never return to the schoolroom. And also when Mr. and Mrs. Fezziwig take to the floor. Once the party had finished Scrooge went straight to bed with his co apprentice Dick. Scrooge was watching the party carry on. It shows that something so little can give someone all the joy in the world. The ghost of Christmas past then shows Scrooge how he changed from someone who loved Christmas to someone who hated it. The arrival of the husband-figure with Belle and the gossip about the old flame Scrooge made it clear to what he was missing out on. Scrooge’s reaction to the ghost of Christmas presen t was a combination of him being annoyed, and him hiding from the truth eventually this caused him to slam the extinguisher cap down on the ghost’s head. The ghost of christmas past was trying to shed light on the situation by showing Scrooge Belle’s past. Themes: Gratitude is able to remember the past, make sense of the present, and decide the future. Three ghosts appear to show and tell Scrooge the consequences of his actions and behavior. The three ghosts throughout the story represent the past, present, and future, all beckoning him to make better choices throughout his life. They all try to teach him to appreciate and show gratitude towards everything you have. With the first two ghost Scrooge doesn’t show any change in his ways. However, throughout the course of his journey with the third ghost he begins to repent, and his future begins to change. Over the course of the book, the idea of it being based off of the past, the present, and the future is shown: First, the change in Scrooge’s personality is tremendous after not even giving the idea of Christmas a chance in the beginning to completely embracing and accepting it by the end. And second, the idea that even though one may not enjoy Christmas, everyone has their own wa y of celebrating it, there is Scrooge whenever he counts his money, and there are the rest of the characters who all enjoy and celebrate. Dickens writes about the Ghost of Christmas Past bringing Scrooge to a lighthouse where two men around a campfire, surrounded by the ocean were still able to celebrate Christmas even in their dire situation. In life, we must appreciate the people around us before they are gone. The goal of the story had been to depict an image of how dreary and bleak the setting had been. The idea of Christmas had kept everyone happy and motivated, but with people dying very frequently, the time was made very unhappy. This is similar to the idea that it is easier and takes less effort to be unhappy than happy, because when you are happy, you are putting more work into keeping yourself calm and collected. In this time period, people like Scrooge are the ones who are unhappy, because after all the losses they can’t hold themselves together. Some examples of the losses Scrooge experienced are his sister, Fan, who he had idolized his entire life, his fiancee Belle, who didn’t die, but left him , and finally his partner, Jacob Marley, who had no one else to show up to his funeral than a loosely connected co-worker (Scrooge). At the time however, Scrooge had another family member left, the son of his dead sister, Fred. Over the years, Scrooge had not even attempted to make contact with Fred. Fred had been trying to share some of the Christmas spirit with his uncle, but he still rejected Fred’s intentions to reconnect with his last family member.

Project Management for Dummies, by Stanley E Portny Free Essays

The â€Å"Dummies Series† book, Project Management for Dummies, by Stanley E. Portny (Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2001), is, in my opinion, a relatively easy-to-read (although also somewhat structurally fragmented in places), step-by-step â€Å"how-to† book, for either current or prospective project managers, with or without experience. We will write a custom essay sample on Project Management for Dummies, by Stanley E Portny or any similar topic only for you Order Now In life, every individual has projects to complete – usually a never-ending series of them, in fact, and often more than one project to complete simultaneously. One’s projects may be personal or professional; voluntary or required. They may be for our selves alone; for friends or family; for churches, clubs, or communities; special events; or for colleagues; companies, or employers. As the author concurs, in his â€Å"Introduction† to the text: Projects have been around since ancient times. Noah built the ark, Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa, Jonas Salk developed the polio vaccine – all projects. . . . Why then, is the topic of project management suddenly of such great interest today? The answer is simple. The audience has changed and the Management projects in particular, however, as Portny also points out, within Chapter 1, must meet three key criteria; they must have (1) â€Å"Specific outcomes†;(2) â€Å"Definite start and end dates†, and (3) Established budgets† (p. 10). Further, as that chapter mentions, project management â€Å"includes three basic operations† (p. 12), which are: (1)planning; (2)organizing; and (3) control (Portny). In management today, for managers at all levels, completing projects; meeting project goals; and meeting project deadlines, are more important, as skills, aptitudes, and professional achievements, than ever before, especially within today’s super competitive business environment. As Portny also states at the outset: â€Å"Successful organizations create projects that produce desired results in established timeframes with assigned resources† (p. 9). Clearly, those who can successfully, skillfully, and within budgets and deadlines complete projects have an advantage over those who cannot. Many suddenly find themselves project managers, not by choice, but due to either changed or expanded job descriptions or expectations, or just plain company need. Increasingly, project management has increasingly become a ticket to job promotion and career advancement (or not). Moreover, if one has no previous formal training in project management, one may need to simply learn such skills on the job, and quickly. Project Management for Dummies is written for such individuals: those who would like to develop new project management skills (but also for those who desire to increase their current ones). The book is, I believe, potentially very useful for readers within either group. This book guides one through the beginning, middle, and ending project stages. It offers guidelines and tips on planning; navigating through ambiguities and uncertainties; teamwork; time management, organizational strategies; handling paperwork; staying on track; meeting deadlines, and bringing projects to a successful, satisfactory, and timely conclusion. Topics Project Management for Dummies covers include: making project schedules; building teams and sustaining teamwork; budgeting; coping with risks and surprises; optimally integrating technology into project management; and keeping team members motivated, on task, and within budgets and deadlines. Structurally, the book is divided into five parts (I-V). Each part consists of between three and six chapters, with 20 chapters in all. Chapter headings and topics covered include (to name but a few) â€Å"What is Project Management (And How Do I Get Paid Extra to Do It?)† (Chapter 1); â€Å"Estimating Resource Requirements† (Chapter 5); â€Å"Tracking Progress and Maintaining Control† (Chapter 10); â€Å"Dealing With Risk and Uncertainty† (Chapter 15); and â€Å"Ten Tips for Being a Better Project Manager† (Chapter 20). There are also two appendices (A and B) and an index. Chapter 2 covers defining and understanding what one is trying to accomplish with a project, knowing who and what one is doing a project for, and why that person or entity needs the project completed. This chapter also offers ways to avoid others’ having unrealistic expectations of the project or oneself as manager. â€Å"Looking at the big picture† includes â€Å"figuring out why you’re doing This project†; â€Å"identifying the initiator†; â€Å"identifying others who may benefit from your project† and â€Å"defining needs to be addressed† (pp. 29-32). In short, Chapter two focuses on defining the rationale(s) and parameters of the project; clarifying those for oneself and for all others involved; and laying the initial groundwork toward project completion. Chapters 3, 4, and 5 focus on â€Å"Getting from Here to There†; â€Å"You Want This Done When†; and â€Å"Estimating Resource Requirements†. Key ideas contained within these chapters, include knowing and planning all steps of a project, including making a â€Å"work breakdown structure†; â€Å"knowing how much detail is enough† (p. 49); â€Å"developing and analyzing a network diagram† (p. 71) and â€Å"assign your project’s personnel needs† (p. 105). Chapter 5 in particular also stresses the importance of finding the right people to assist with the project. Portny observes â€Å"Your project’s success rests on your ability to enlist the help of the right people to perform the necessary work† (p. 106). Portny also stresses that, toward that same end, â€Å"identifying skills and knowledge needed to perform your project’s activities† (Project Management for Dummies) and Finding people who in fact possess all of those required skills will either make or break a project. One of the chapters I found most personally useful was Chapter 6, on â€Å"The Who and How of Project Management†. Here, Portny covers three main topics: (1) â€Å"Distinguishing the project organization from the traditional organization†; (2) â€Å"Clarifying the roles of different people in the matrix organization†; and (3) â€Å"Recognizing key tips for increasing the chances of success† (p. 137). As Portny also notes in this chapter, project management structure and atmosphere may be, and very often is, much different than overall company structure and atmosphere, and one is wise to be clear at the outset on the differences between the two. While projects are company activities, they nevertheless typically take on atmospheres, conflicts, and lives of their own. For example, one operates within both a centralized company structure and a functional departmental or area structure in most parts of one’s job. However, project management may send one outside one’s own functional structure into various other functional structures within the centralized one. Those areas outside one’s usual functional structure become the unique â€Å"matrix structure† (p. 141) of the project. Understandably, the matrix structure of an individual project will spawn (and necessitate) much different communications; alliances; interrelationships; interactions, and interdependencies than will usual, more typical work activities. Key players in a project matrix environment, which obviously differs from one’s overall work environment, will typically include the â€Å"project manager; project team members; functional managers; and upper management† (p. 143). Chapter 7 covers choosing and involving the â€Å"Right People† (p. 149) in one’s project. Supporting ideas covered in this chapter include the importance of understanding one’s project’s audience (â€Å"any person or group that supports, is affected by, or is interested in your project† (p. 150). Each project also has â€Å"drivers†; â€Å"supporters†; and â€Å"observers† (p. 158) and it is equally important, Portny suggests, for project managers to identify and know each of them, and their respective roles. Of crucial importance to project success, also, is â€Å"Finding a project champion† (p. 159) or someone high up in one’s organization that will support and encourages the project. Teamwork is crucial to successful project completion. Chapter 8 explains the importance of â€Å"defining team members roles and responsibilities† (p. 166), and making sure all team members are aware of their own and each others’ roles and responsibilities. Therefore, lines of authority, responsibility, and accountability must be clearly established at the outset, and sustained throughout the project. This chapter also discusses strategies project managers can use should they have to deal with micromanagement from above, such as â€Å"setting up times to discuss interesting technical [or other] issues with the person† (p. 181). The book also covers ways of tracking progress and maintaining control (Chapter 10); ways of keeping everyone informed (Chapter 11), including sharing information both in writing and at meetings; and ways of encouraging peak performance in team players (Chapter 12), including providing rewards and helping players maintain motivation. Chapter 14 focused on handling risk or uncertainty, including ways of identifying possible risk factors; assessing risk impact, and preparing a risk management plan. Key advice of this chapter is to realistically assess risks to the project, and to have a risk management plan for handling them. Later chapters included advice on how to hold people accountable (Chapter 18); getting a project back on track (Chapter 19)and tips for optimal project management (Chapter 20). All in all, I benefited from reading and reflecting on the guidelines, strategies, and tips plentifully contained within Stanley E. Portny’s Project Management for Dummies. The only aspect of this book that I found disappointing was that of that it had far fewer specific examples, of actual project management situations to illustrate major points and concepts, than I would have liked. I learn best and most easily from examples and discussion of how those examples illustrate theoretical concepts. I would have liked for Portny to do more of that in this book than he did. Major strengths of the book include its being thorough; comprehensive; well organized, and practical. How to cite Project Management for Dummies, by Stanley E Portny, Essay examples