The life of moises from his birth until he gave joshua control of the Term Paper

The life of moises from his birth until he gave joshua control of the israelites - Term Paper Example Because Moses led the people of Israel out of bondage, and this was helped along with a series of miracles, Moses deserves the moniker of being the greatest leader of all time. The Life of Moses According to Feldman (2007), at the time that Moses was born, around 1592 B.C. by the Christian calendar, and 1391 B.C. by the Jewish calendar, the Pharaoh was afraid of an Israelite revolution against him, so he ordered that all the male infants be put to death. That said, Feldman (2007) cites scholars who question this, stating that it does not make sense that the Pharaoh would order this, as Israelites were important as slaves to the Egyptians, and males, especially, were important, because they were stronger and could do more work than the females could. That said, the Bible, in Exodus 1:10, according to Feldman (2007), clearly states that the Pharaoh was afraid that the Israelites were getting too numerous, and that they would try to take over the country. Therefore, to hide Moses from t he Pharaoh’s edict regarding Israelite male children, Moses’ family decided to put him in a basket and float him down the river, where the Pharaoh’s daughter was, as she had decided to go to the river to bathe at this time. She sent her maidservant to pick up the basket, and she rescued Moses out of the river (Feldman, 45). According to Cohen (2007), Moses, because of the circumstances of his birth and adoption, was of two different worlds. This was because, even after he was pulled from the river by the Pharaoh’s daughter, he continued to be with his mother while the boy was nursed. As Beegle (1972) notes, the Pharaoh’s daughter had to find a Hebrew woman to nurse the boy, and Moses’ mother presented herself for this task. The Pharaoh’s daughter paid Moses’ mother to nurse him, and the Pharaoh’s daughter adopted the beautiful Moses (p. 52). At this point, according to Cohen, the Biblical story of Moses jumps ahead a few years to the point where Moses has grown up, and decided to visit his own people, the Hebrews (p. 55). At this time, Moses was around 40 years old, so, assuming the Christian calendar, the date was around 1552 B.C. during this event. Cohen (2007) notes that this was a hallmark of leadership, because Moses experienced luxury when he lived with his adoptive mother, the Pharaoh’s daughter, but, as leaders often do, he decided to take on a lifestyle which is more burdensome. This is because he wanted to serve his people and his community. Moreover, Cohen (2007) notes that Moses had an intense desire to connect with his brothers and sisters, and this was another reason why he was driven to visit his birth family. Moses did not see that these people were any different from him, even though he had lived the life of luxury, and this was because he was able to see that his family, and the enslaved Hebrews in general, were his brothers and sisters, his kin (p. 9). As Cohen (2007) note s, because Moses, after visiting his birth family, saw that the Hebrews were his brothers and sisters, he could not stand to see the way that they were treated by the Egyptians. Therefore, he struck down an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave.

Korean Christianity Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Korean Christianity Paper - Essay Example However, the strength of the influence in the clergy, which was once a driving factor in moving the people, now lay down at the side, and materialism as well as influences from other cultures has taken over. Prior to being divided into the south and the north, Korea was once a single nation, being ruled by s single government. Around the 1880’s foreign missionaries started to enter the nation, but was not readily accepted by the people due to various conflicts in their teachings as well as the already present traditions in Korea (Lee 117). Moreover, only some of the educated elite which had the chance to study in Japanese or American universities were successfully converted to Christianity. Common folk, called minjung were still worshipping their ancestors and offering them food and wine, among others, which has been the norm for more than a thousand years (Oak 1). Thus the conversion of Koreans during the start of the 20th century was rather slow and limited. The conversion f rom the pagan religions of the masses and the Confucian and Buddhist principles in the upper class society of Korea was not an easy task. Foreign missionaries did not have an idea that deeply-rooted religions associated with ties to families and ancestors would be hard to break, and converts would have to face ostracism from their families or suffer severe torture or death (Oak 5). Many Koreans also see the conversion as a strong political force that yearns to topple the government, thus many oppose to being converted. Most of the elite that were sent to Japan, the United States or any other country either as a diplomat, a scholar, or exiled were easily converted to Christianity, but their ideals were not easily accepted by many, and people would rather cling to old traditions than lose their families in the process (6). However, after the great depression of the 1920’s and the continuing struggle for independence after being annexed by Japan, Protestant Christianity was prom ulgated by many of the movement’s leaders and revolutions regarding the economic and political reform ensued (118). The association of Korean pride, self-sufficiency and nationalism was spearheaded by a Presbyterian Elder named Cho Man-sik, which was a man with a lot of experience regarding teachings in Christianity, governing a school, and law (Wells 828). In order to initiate the economic stability of Korea (which was struggling due to low wages as well as dependence on Imperial Japan), Cho lived in simple house and worn traditional clothing suited for heavy work, among others. Becoming the symbol for New Korea, Cho held seminars and rallies to push the rest of the nation to become self-governing and self-sufficient (829). Making the people move was something that the socialists were not able to do alone. Protestant Christianity as a religion took its own course and development as well as the integration into the lives of the common folk through the subtle intermingling wit h pagan traditions. Initially, Korean Protestantism was not iconoclastic and sacral in nature, but due to the strong ties of shamanism and other pagan religions, it eventually evolved as such. Also, since the presence of sacred artifacts, people and places was already being practiced, these influenced how converted people worshipped in their faith (Lee 8). And since the lower classes, or minjung were easily converted into Christianity due to the adaptation of old customs, there was an explosion of