William Wilberforce: the Christian Politician: a Look at How His Faith Influenced His Career and the Abolishment of Slavery

| William Wilberforce: The Christian Politician| A Look at How His Faith Influenced His Career and the Abolishment of Slavery| | â€Å"They took me in the night, ripped me away from my family. Tried my wrists and took my dignity. I was sold for coins like we sell cattle; my ‘owner’ led me to a ship with hundreds more like me, I was cuffed to another, feet to wrists to neck. We were forced on board and sent in between decks and into apartments.As we set out for sea and the days pass, at night I lay in my own waste and during the day I feel nothing but pain and hear nothing but the splash of the waves and the moaning of the others† (Falconbridge 1788) (Ioan Gruffudd 2006). This account of the experience of a slave does not come close to enforcing the reality of the brutality of what these slaves went through. This is, however, what William Wilberforce spent his entire political career, and until his death, to abolish.Through his faith and prominence in the British g overnment in the late 1700s through to the early 1800s he was determined to end this brutality against fellow human beings. In the film Amazing Grace, Wilberforce’ political career was depicted as a great success by his belief in God, his determination, ability to speak in public persuasively with prominence and passion, and the support of his friends and wife; and in this success he was able to fulfill his dream and calling to forever abolish slave trade in the British Empire.In the 2006 film Amazing Grace, director Michael Apted, tells the story of William Wilberforce and his journey from becoming an evangelical Christian and politician, through his movement in parliament for the abolishment of slavery to his success in the abolishment and his death. His character and career is beautifully depicted through his acts and in the way works his way through British parliament in order to fulfill his dream (or calling) of ending the transatlantic slave trade. The film also depicts the influence different people had in his life as a Christian politician.Since his birth in 1759 he lived in pre-Victorian England until his death in 1833. He was actively taking part in parliament from 1780 to 1825, which was time where the upper-class expressed outward Christianity, but also took part in gambling and duelling (White 2008). In 1787 was when Wilberforce seriously started to take part in government; wrote in his diary: â€Å"God Almighty has set before me two great objects, the suppression of the slave trade and the reformation of manners† (Windschuttle 2008) (Colson and Morse 2007); these are the two things he would eventually make a great difference in.At the start of his career in 1780, Wilberforce was just like the other upper-class men in high positions. He visited gentleman’s clubs almost every night, gambling and drinking late into the night. He also became famous for singing at the parties he went to and had a good singing voice (Windschuttle 2 008). Wilberforce converted to evangelical Christianity at the age of twenty six. â€Å"He underwent a process of self-examination, doubt, agony and awakening† (Windschuttle 2008). In the film, he was sitting in a field behind his house early in the morning.He was confused, but sure that faith was the path he was supposed to take, and he professed this in a letter to his good friend and soon to be Prime Minister of England, William Pitt (Ioan Gruffudd 2006). Pitt wanted Wilberforce on his side in government, so he introduced him to some people, including Thomas Clarkson, a slave trade abolitionist all over the world, and Olaudah Equiano, an African who was taken into slavery as a child, bought his freedom and wrote an account of his own experiences in his autobiography called The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equian.This introduction would be the beginning of the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade. It was this new committee that opened Wilberforceâ €™s eyes to the possibility of combining his new found faith in evangelical Christianity with his passion for politics. A key belief of evangelism was the idea of providence; that God in involved in every aspect and event in life, no matter how small. For Wilberforce, God gave him a seat in parliament for a reason: â€Å"God Almighty has set before me two great objects, the suppression of the slave trade and the reformation of manners† (Windschuttle 2008).With these two visions in mind he set out with his team to end slavery for once and for all, but it would not be an easy journey, as is depicted in the film. Wilberforce spent over twenty years on this mission, fighting both members of opposition parties in the House of Commons as well as illness and bad physical health (Colson and Morse 2007). Wilberforce also sought out the advice of John Newton, a previous slave ship captain and the writer of the inspiring hymn â€Å"Amazing Grace†. The song itself was quite pr ominent in the film.Not only because it is the title of the film, but also because it can be seen as the anthem for anti-slavery. The song was an inspiration, and a symbol of a new beginning; it can be heard in its lyrics and it can be seen in the events of the film. At the first meeting with Newton, Wilberforce was looking for the advice of a troubled man, one who was â€Å"†¦in the company of twenty thousand Africans† (Ioan Gruffudd 2006) and haunted by his past, yet unable to speak of the horrors he caused.Although Newton did not share his experience with Wilberforce, he did encourage him to take on the challenge that God has set before him by saying â€Å"you have work to do† (Ioan Gruffudd 2006), â€Å"Newton calmed Wilberforce and strengthened his resolve, urging him to combine his new religious beliefs with his existing political career† (Windschuttle 2008). With this conformation of what to do, Wilberforce was ready to take on the abolition of the s lave trade. Wilberforce’s character was attractively depicted in the film.Stating out with his love for animals early on in the film, even in his form of ill wealth, he was willing to get out in the rain to defend a horse that was being beaten (Ioan Gruffudd 2006). His love for animals can be seen throughout the whole film, including multiple dogs and a rabbit. The passion Wilberforce felt for animals, though, does not come close to what he felt for the rights of human beings. A glimpse of this can be seen when Prince William, the Duke of Clarence calls his slave into the club where they were gambling.This inhumanity offended Wilberforce to the point that he could not be in the same building as the Duke and ended the game (Ioan Gruffudd 2006). This was also where he had his revelation of what he should fight for, who he should fight for. To change society is to change the minds and actions of the public. For Wilberforce the key to this layed in the concept of evangelical Chri stianity; â€Å"Evangelicals also believed Christian principles should be applied to all areas of life. Worldly indulgences were to be avoided and leisure was an opportunity not for entertainment but personal renewal† (Windschuttle 2008).This then, left no room for the things that Wilberforce himself once indulged in such as gambling and drunkenness. Britain’s upper-class morality was in decline, so Wilberforce had a proclamation issued by King George ?, with the help of his friend and Prime Minister Pitt and the Archbishop of Canterbury, denouncing impiety and extravagance (Windschuttle 2008) and organized the organization called â€Å"Society for Giving Effect to His Majesty's Proclamation against Vice and Immorality†.This would be the first steps he took towards his goal of the Abolition; Wilberforce needed to â€Å"purify† the minds of society, before he could open their eyes to the inhumanity of the transatlantic slave trade because only when they ar e moral beings with value for life, will they understand the horrors their indulgences (such as sugar) cause. â€Å"It was Wilberforce’s aim to reform the middle and upper classes, and thus end slavery and improve morality† (White 2008).In the film Wilberforce introduces the â€Å"Madagascar†, a slave ship, to a group of upper-class philanthropists as part of his quest to reach out to people about morality and slavery, urging them to open their minds and hearts to the suffering of the slaves being transported in these ships. He shows them the shackles and explains the smell coming from the ship as â€Å"the smell of death† (Ioan Gruffudd 2006). Although, this scene may not be historically accurate in that it may not have happened, the truth is distorted in order to show the importance of reaching the upper-class and the opening of their eyes and minds to the pain their luxury caused.In 1797 Wilberforce wrote a book called A Practical View of the Prevailin g Religious Systems of Professed Christians in the Higher and Middle Classes in this Country Contrasted with Real Christianity whose message spread like wild fire among the middle and upper class society. His rhetoric as well as his writing transformed the way society thought of social matters such as slavery and human rights (and animal rights too! ). Throughout his ventures in reaching out to the public, Wilberforce always kept in mind the will of God, and the goals that He has set before him.And in doing so, he realised, that one task cannot be done without the other as one member of the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade said (in the film) â€Å"If you make the world better in one way, it becomes better in every way†, a statement that is bold, and yet, have truth to it. Change in the world may not always come easy or with immediate results, but no matter how small or big the change, someone will benefit or experience some form of loss from it. For Wilberforceà ¢â‚¬â„¢ society, â€Å"culture needed to change if politics were to change.And only in this cultural change would a society have hope for its future† (White 2008). Wilberforce’s wife, Barbara Spooner, was a great source of inspiration to him in finishing his work for the Abolition. As portrayed in the film, Wilberforce seemed to have given up, until he met the younger Miss. Spooner. She urged him to talk and share his thoughts about the slave trade and ultimately convinced him to give the Abolishment another try (Ioan Gruffudd 2006). She was also there for him during the worst times of his sickness, and the mother of his children.Perseverance was another aspect that pushed Wilberforce to continue. The lawyer James Stephen proposed a change of tactics for the abolitionists. â€Å"Cheating†, according to the film was the new tactic. They would propose a different bill as a start to soften up to House members: The Foreign Slave Trade Bill. This bill would ban the B rits from helping or participating in the slave trade to the French colonies. This was a clever move since the majority of British ships were raising American flags and supplying slaves to foreign colonies with who Britain was at war with (Ioan Gruffudd 2006).The ban would decrease the profits of the captains and various business men and negatively affect the investors who were also involved in the House of Commons. Following this bill was The Slave Trade Act, â€Å"in 1807, Wilberforce finally succeeded in passing a law to end the slave trade. But, his work came to full fruition only in the year of his death, 1833, when all slaves in the British Empire were emancipated† (White 2008). The film makes a great point of the importance of determination and passion for success.These factors are of great importance for promoting positive social change, whether is it the abolition of slave trade or saving child soldiers in Uganda. No cause is small enough to ignore or give up on when it involves the life of a living, breathing being. The film places a great amount of emphasis on the role of Wilberforce in the abolition because he can be seen as a wonderful role model and example for leaders and humanitarians. Although Wilberforce was certainly not the only person nvolved in the abolition of the slave trade, there is surely something to be learned from him. They can learn from his passion, commitment and also from his love for all living things, and made a difference in society, not with a hidden agenda, but with an open heart and mind, the way a Christian should. God sat two tasks before Wilberforce: to reform society, back to one with proper Christian morals and values, and the abolishment of the slave trade. Without a doubt Wilberforce succeeded in both of these tasks, but it was not an easy road to success.Fighting through chronic illness and parliament he fought for about fifty years to complete his calling, but he did not do it without help. His talent for rhetoric and public speaking was his gateway to success, and with the help of many friends including Clarkson, Pitt, Newton, his wife Barbara and the Will of God, he was able to put a stop to the inhumanity of the transatlantic slave trade and the horrors that came with it. He was able to die in peace, knowing that he fulfilled the tasks that he was destined to. Bibliography Colson, Charles, and Anne Morse. The Wilberforce Strategy: Britain's great abolitionist worked to change society's values, not just its laws. † Christianity Today, 2007: 132-318. Falconbridge, Alexander. An Account of Slave Trade on the Coast of Africa. London: James Phillips, 1788. Amazing Grace. Directed by Michael Apted. Performed by Albert Finney, Michael Gambon Ioan Gruffudd. 2006. White, John. â€Å"Christian Responsibility to Reform Society: the Example of William Wilberforce and the Clapham Sect. † Paternoster Periodicals, 2008: 166-172. Windschuttle, Keith. â€Å"William Wilberforce: The Great Emancipator. New Criterion, 2008: 17-24. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. I made this viewpoint up, with the help of the contents in â€Å"An Account of the Slave Trade from the Coast on the Africa† as well as Olaudah Equiano’s account in Amazing Grace. [ 2 ]. It was important for them to connect with the upper-class because that’s where the money and power was, both in terms of authority and of trend. Lower-classes were also reached by Wilberforce and his team and showed great success in changing their society (White 2008).

Spirit Bound Chapter Ten

AND ONE OF THEM†¦ ONE OF THEM†¦ â€Å"No,† I breathed, even as I sprang toward the one closest to me–a woman. There appeared to be three Strigoi around us. Eddie was in motion too, and both of us were trying to shove the Moroi behind us. They didn't need much urging. At the sight of Strigoi, the Moroi had begun to back up–creating sort of a bottleneck. Between Eddie's instant reflexes and the Moroi panic, I was pretty sure no one had noticed what I already had spotted. Dimitri was among them. No, no, no, I said, this time to myself. He'd warned me. Over and over, he'd said in his letters that as soon as I was out of the safety of the wards, he would be coming for me. I'd believed him and yet†¦ seeing the reality of it was a totally different thing. It had been three months, but in that instant, a million memories ran through my mind in crystal clear sharpness. My captivity with Dimitri. The way his mouth–so, so warm, despite his cold skin–had kissed mine. The feel of his fangs pressing into my neck and the sweet bliss that followed†¦ He looked exactly the same too, with that chalky white pallor and red-ringed eyes that so conflicted with the soft, chin-length brown hair and otherwise gorgeous lines of his face. He even had a leather duster on. It had to be a new one, seeing as his previous coat had gotten pretty torn up in our last fight on the bridge. Where did he keep getting them? â€Å"Get out!† I yelled. My words were to the Moroi, even as my stake bit into the female Strigoi's heart. The momentary confusion with all of us in the hall had been more of a detriment to her than me. I got a good line of sight on her, and it was clear that she hadn't expected me to be so fast. I'd killed a lot of Strigoi because they'd underestimated me. Eddie didn't have my luck. He stumbled when Victor shoved past him, allowing the other Strigoi–a guy–near the front to backhand Eddie against the wall. Still, that was the kind of thing we faced all the time, and Eddie responded beautifully. He immediately came back from the hit, and with the Moroi out of the way now, Eddie was able to lunge toward the Strigoi and engage him fully. And me? My attention was on Dimitri. I stepped over the fallen Strigoi without even looking at her. Dimitri had hovered near the back, sending his minions into the front lines of battle. Maybe it was because I knew Dimitri so well, but I suspected he wasn't surprised that I'd take out the one so quickly and that Eddie was giving the other a tough time. I doubted Dimitri cared whether they lived or died. They were just distractions for him to get to me. â€Å"I told you,† said Dimitri, eyes both amused and sharp. He was watching my every move, each of us subconsciously mirroring the other as we waited for an opening to attack. â€Å"I told you I'd find you.† â€Å"Yeah,† I said, trying to ignore the grunts of Eddie and the other Strigoi. Eddie could take him. I knew he could. â€Å"I got the memos.† A ghost of a smile curled up Dimitri's lips, showing the fangs that somehow triggered a mix of both longing and loathing in me. Instantly, I shoved those feelings aside. I'd hesitated before with Dimitri and nearly died because of it. I'd refused to let it happen again, and the adrenaline pumping through my body served as a good reminder that this was a do-or-die situation. He made the first move, but I dodged it–almost having sensed it coming. That was the problem with us. We knew each other too well–knew each other's moves too well. Of course, that hardly meant we were an even match. Even in life, he'd had more experience than me, and his Strigoi abilities tipped the scale. â€Å"Yet here you are,† he said, still smiling. â€Å"Foolishly stepping outside when you should have stayed in the safety of Court. I couldn't believe it when my spies told me.† I said nothing, instead attempting a swipe with my stake. He saw that coming too and sidestepped it. His having spies didn't surprise me–even in the daytime. He controlled a network of Strigoi and humans alike, and I'd known he had eyes and ears observing Court. The question was: How the hell had he gotten into this hotel in the middle of the day? Even with human watchers at the airport or monitoring credit cards as Adrian had done, Dimitri and his Strigoi friends should have had to wait until nightfall to get here. No, not necessarily, I realized a moment later. Strigoi occasionally had work-arounds. Trucks and vans with dark, completely sealed cabins. Underground entrances. Moroi wanting to casino-jump from the Witching Hour knew about secret tunnels connecting certain buildings. Dimitri would have known about all this too. If he'd been waiting for me to come outside of wards, he would have done whatever it took to get to me. I knew better than anyone else how resourceful he was. I also knew he was trying to distract me with talking. â€Å"And strangest of all,† he continued, â€Å"you didn't come alone. You brought Moroi. You've always taken risks with your own life, but I didn't expect you to be so hasty with theirs.† Something occurred to me then. Aside from the faint hum of the casino on the other end of the hallway and the sounds of our fight, everything else was silent. We were missing an important noise. Say, like, the alarm from a fire door. â€Å"Lissa!† I yelled. â€Å"Get the hell out of here! Get them all out of here.† She should have known better. They all should have known better. That door led to the upper floors–and outdoors. The sun was still out. It didn't matter if the alarm brought hotel security down on us. Hell, that might scare the Strigoi off. What mattered was that the Moroi fled to safety. But a quick check of my bond told me the problem. Lissa was frozen. Stunned. She'd suddenly seen who I was fighting, and the shock of it was too much. Knowing Dimitri was a Strigoi was one thing. Seeing it–really, really seeing it–well, that was different. I knew from personal experience. Even after being prepared, his appearance still unnerved me. She was blindsided, unable to think or move. It only took me a heartbeat to assess her feelings, but in a fight with a Strigoi, a single second could be the difference between life and death. Dimitri's chatter had worked, and although I watched him and thought I had my guard up, he got through and shoved me against the wall, hands pinning my arms so painfully that I lost my grip on the stake. He put his face right up to mine, so close that our foreheads touched. â€Å"Roza†¦Ã¢â‚¬  he murmured. His breath was warm and sweet against my skin. It seemed like it should have smelled like death or decay, but it didn't. â€Å"Why? Why did you have to be so difficult? We could have spent eternity together†¦Ã¢â‚¬  My heart thundered in my chest. I was afraid, terrified of the death that I knew had to be seconds away. And at the same time, I was filled with sorrow over having lost him. Seeing the features of his face, hearing that same accented voice that even now wrapped around me like velvet†¦ I felt my heart breaking all over again. Why? Why had this happened to us? Why was the universe so cruel? I managed to flip the switch again, once more shutting out the fact that this was Dimitri. We were predator and prey–and I was in danger of being eaten. â€Å"Sorry,† I said through gritted teeth, shoving hard–and failing–to break his grip. â€Å"My eternity doesn't involve being part of the undead mafia.† â€Å"I know,† he said. I could have sworn there was sadness in his face but later convinced myself I must have imagined it. â€Å"Eternity will be lonely without you.† A piercing shriek suddenly rang in my ears. Both of us winced. Noises intended to startle humans were hell on sensitive hearing like we had. Yet I couldn't help but feel relief. The fire door. Finally, those idiots–and yes, I had no qualms about calling my friends idiots when they were acting that way–had left the building. I felt sunlight through the bond and took comfort in that as Dimitri's fangs neared the artery that would spill the life's blood from my neck. I hoped the alarm would distract him, but he was too good. I struggled once more, hoping I could use surprise on him, but it was to no avail. What did surprise him was Eddie's stake plunging into the side of his stomach. Dimitri snarled in pain and let go of me, turning on Eddie. Eddie's face was hard, unblinking. If seeing Dimitri fazed him, my friend didn't show it. For all I knew, Eddie wasn't even registering this as Dimitri. Probably all he saw was a Strigoi. It was the way we were trained. See monsters, not people. Dimitri's attention was off me for the moment. He wanted to draw out my death. Eddie was simply an annoyance he needed to rid us of so that he could continue the game. Eddie and Dimitri engaged in a dance similar to the one I'd been in with Dimitri earlier, except that Eddie didn't know Dimitri's moves like I did. So Eddie wasn't able to completely avoid Dimitri grabbing him by the shoulder and shoving him to the wall. The maneuver had been intended to crush Eddie's skull, but Eddie managed to shift enough so that it was his body that took the brunt of the impact. It still hurt, but he was alive. All of this took place in milliseconds. And in those fleeting moments, my perspective shifted. When Dimitri had been looming over me, about to bite me, I had managed to overcome that impulse to think of him as Dimitri, the person I'd once known and loved. Continually forced into a victim position, with my life about to end, I had kept kicking myself into fight-fight-fight mode. Now, watching someone else battle Dimitri†¦ seeing Eddie's stake snake out at him†¦ well, suddenly, I lost that cool objectivity. I remembered why I'd come here. I remembered what we'd just learned from Robert. Fragile. It was still all so fragile. I'd sworn to myself that if we reached a moment where Dimitri was about to kill me and I hadn't learned more about saving Strigoi, I would do it. I would kill him. And this was my chance. Between Eddie and me, we could take Dimitri down. We could end this evil state, just as he'd once wanted. Yet†¦ less than a half hour ago, I'd been given a small piece of hope that a Strigoi could be saved. True, that part about a spirit user doing it was absurd, but Victor had believed. And if someone like him had believed†¦ I couldn't do it. Dimitri couldn't die. Not yet. I shot out with my stake, a hard strike that raked the silver point against the back of Dimitri's head. He let out a roar of rage and managed to turn and push me off while still fending Eddie away. Dimitri was that good. But Eddie's stake was getting closer to Dimitri's heart, and my friend's gaze was unwavering, intent on his kill. Dimitri's attention flitted between the two of us, and in one small lapse–only half a breath long–I saw Eddie get his stake in the zone, ready to take a shot at Dimitri's heart. A shot that looked like it might succeed where mine had failed. And that was why, in one smooth motion, I struck out with my stake, swiping it across Dimitri's face and knocking Eddie's arm aside as I did. It was a beautiful face. I hated to mar it but knew Dimitri would heal. As I made that attack, I pushed past him, shoving into Eddie so that he and I stumbled toward the fire door that was still shrieking its warning. Eddie's stony face registered surprise, and for a moment we were deadlocked: me pushing him to the door and him pushing back toward Dimitri. I saw the hesitation, though. The positioning was off, and Eddie was on the verge of shoving me into a Strigoi, which his training wouldn't allow. Dimitri was already seizing the opportunity, though. His hand reached out and grabbed my shoulder, trying to jerk me back. Eddie caught hold of my arm and pulled me forward. I cried out in surprise and pain. It felt like they were going to rip me in two. Dimitri was by far the strongest, but even stuck in the middle, my weight played a role, and I lent my force to Eddie's, which helped us gain some ground. Still, it was slow going. Like walking in honey. For each step I managed forward, Dimitri dragged me back. But Eddie and I were making slow–and very, very painful–progress toward the wailing door. A few moments later, I heard the clatter of feet and voices. â€Å"Security,† grunted Eddie, giving me a tug. â€Å"Shit,† I said. â€Å"You can't win,† Dimitri hissed. He'd managed to get both hands on my shoulders now and was overpowering us. â€Å"Oh yeah? We're about to have the entire Luxor Attack Squad here.† â€Å"We're about to have a pile of bodies here. Humans,† he said dismissively. Those humans reached us. I'm not sure what their impressions were. Some guy attacking teenagers? They shouted about us all letting go and facing them, directions the three of us ignored in our epic tug-of-war match. Then they must have laid hands on Dimitri. He was still gripping me, but his hold slackened enough that one huge pull from Eddie and a near-leap on my part broke me free. Eddie and I didn't even look back, though the security guards were now shouting at us too. They weren't the only ones shouting. Just before I pushed open the door, I heard Dimitri calling to me. There was laughter in his voice. â€Å"It's not over, Roza. Do you really think there's anywhere you can go in this world where I can't find you?† The same warning, always the same warning. I did my best to ignore the fear those words inspired. Eddie and I burst into smoggy desert air, as well as sunshine that was still hanging in there, despite being early evening. We were in the Luxor's parking lot–which wasn't crowded enough for us to hide in. With no spoken communication, he and I tore off toward the busy Strip, knowing our physical abilities would surpass those of any human pursuers and let us get lost in the mobs of people. It worked. I never saw how many followed us. My guess was the security staff were devoting their attention to the tall guy killing people in their hotel. The voices shouting after us faded, and Eddie and I finally slowed to a stop in front of New York-New York, and again, without even talking, we immediately turned inside the hotel. It had a twisted layout and was more crowded than the Luxor, and we easily blended in until we could find an empty spot of wall on the far side of the hotel's casino. The run had been hard even for us, and it took us a moment to catch our breath as we stood there. I knew things were serious when Eddie finally turned on me, and anger lit his features. Eddie was always the picture of calm and control, ever since his first abduction by Strigoi last year. It had toughened him, made him more determined to face any challenge. But oh, was he mad at me now. â€Å"What the hell was that?† exclaimed Eddie. â€Å"You let him go!† I put on my best tough face, but he seemed to be outdoing me today. â€Å"What, did you miss the part where I was slashing him with my stake?† â€Å"I had his heart! I had a shot, and you stopped me!† â€Å"Security was coming. We didn't have time. We had to get out of there, and we couldn't let them see us do the killing.† â€Å"I don't think any of them are left to report seeing anything,† Eddie replied evenly. He seemed to be trying to regain his composure. â€Å"Dimitri left a pile of corpses there. You know it. People died because you wouldn't let me stake him.† I flinched, realizing Eddie was right. It should have ended there. I hadn't gotten a good look at the number of security guards. How many had died? It wasn't relevant. Only the fact that innocent people had died mattered. Even one was too many. And it was my fault. My silence caused Eddie to press his advantage. â€Å"How could you of all people forget that lesson? I know he used to be your instructor–used to be. But he's not the same. They drilled that into us over and over. Don't hesitate. Don't think of him as a real person.† â€Å"I love him,† I blurted out, without meaning to. Eddie hadn't known. Only a handful of people knew about my romantic relationship with Dimitri and what had happened in Siberia. â€Å"What?† Eddie exclaimed with a gasp. His outrage had transformed to shock. â€Å"Dimitri†¦ he's more than my instructor†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Eddie continued staring at me for several heavy seconds. â€Å"Was,† he said at last. â€Å"Huh?† â€Å"He was more than your instructor. You loved him.† Eddie's momentary confusion was gone. He was back to hard guardian now, no sympathy. â€Å"I'm sorry, but it's in the past, whatever was between you. You have to know that. The person you loved is gone. The guy we just saw? Not the same.† I slowly shook my head. â€Å"I†¦ I know. I know it's not him. I know he's a monster, but we can save him†¦ if we can do what Robert was telling us about†¦.† Eddie's eyes widened, and for a moment, he was dumbstruck. â€Å"That's what this is about? Rose, that's ridiculous! You can't believe that. Strigoi are dead. They're gone to us. Robert and Victor were feeding you a bunch of crap.† Now I grew surprised. â€Å"Then why are you even here? Why have you stuck with us?† He threw his hands up in exasperation. â€Å"Because you're my friend. I stayed with you through all of this†¦ breaking out Victor, listening to his crazy brother†¦ because I knew you needed me. You all did, to help keep you safe. I thought you had a real reason for getting Victor out–and that you were going to return him. Does it sound crazy? Yeah, but that's normal for you. You've always had good reasons for what you do.† He sighed. â€Å"But this†¦ this is crossing a line. Letting Strigoi go in order to chase some idea–some idea that couldn't possibly work–is ten times worse than what we did with Victor. A hundred times worse. Every day Dimitri walks the world is another day that people are going to die.† I collapsed against the wall and closed my eyes, feeling sick to my stomach. Eddie was right. I had screwed up. I'd promised myself that I would kill Dimitri if I faced him before we could pursue Robert's solution. It all should have ended today†¦ but I had choked up. Again. I opened my eyes and straightened up, needing to find a new purpose before I burst into tears in the middle of this casino. â€Å"We have to find the others. They're out there unprotected.† It was probably the only thing that could have stopped Eddie's scolding just then. Instinctual duty kicked in. Protect Moroi. â€Å"Can you tell where Lissa's at?† My bond had kept me connected to her during our escape, but I hadn't allowed myself any deeper probing than confirming she was alive and okay. I expanded the link a little further now. â€Å"Across the street. At MGM.† I'd seen the ginormous hotel when we ran into this one but hadn't realized Lissa was there. Now I could feel her, hiding out in a crowd like us, scared but not injured. I would have rather she and the others opted to hang out in the sun, but instinct had driven her to the shelter of walls. Eddie and I spoke no more about Dimitri as we headed out and crossed the busy road. The sky was turning peach, but I still felt secure out there. Far more secure than in the Luxor's hallway. With the bond, I could always find Lissa, and without any hesitation, I led Eddie through MGM's twists and turns–honestly, the layout of these places just got more and more confusing–until we saw Lissa and Adrian standing near a row of slot machines. He was smoking. She spotted me, sprinted over, and threw her arms around me. â€Å"Oh my God. I was so scared. I didn't know what had happened to you guys. I hate that one-way bond.† I forced a smile for her. â€Å"We're fine.† â€Å"In a bruised kind of way,† mused Adrian, strolling over. I didn't doubt it. In the adrenaline of a fight, it was easy to not notice injuries and pain. Later, when the battle lust faded, you started to realize just what you'd put your body through. I was so grateful to see Lissa okay that I missed what Eddie had already noticed. â€Å"You guys, where are Victor and Robert?† Lissa's happy face crumpled, and even Adrian looked grim. â€Å"Damn it,† I said, needing no explanation. Lissa nodded, eyes wide and distraught. â€Å"We lost them.†

Blake’s poems Essay

In some of Blake’s poems strong feelings are expressed about the society that he lives in. William Blake grew up as a conventionally religious person, but when his parents rejected the teachings of the church he began to read the stories from the bible with a fresh mind. Blake never attended school and had a solitary childhood. From the age of four Blades believed that God was speaking to him. . From then on he had many visions of angels and other mystic creatures. Blake was extremely happy when the French Revolution liberated the poor in France from aristocratic rule. However at the same time, Blake saw England being overtaken by a parrallel’Industrial Revolution’. that was destroying the countryside with factories, slums and waste. In this essay I will talk about the poems â€Å"London†, â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper†, (from the Songs of Innocence) and â€Å"Jerusalem†. Blake’s poem â€Å"London† talks about many things, such as, wealthy people having control and owning most things, such as property. We can see this when Blake says â€Å"I wander thro’ each chartered street, near where the chartered Thames does flow.† By this Blake means that there are privileges for people but only if you are rich. â€Å"Chartered† is referring to a document that gave people rights and privileges in return for money or support. Here Blake means â€Å"full of privilege† but only if you had the money to pay for it. Blake disagreed with the idea that if you were wealthy you had a right to privileges but if you were poor you had no rights. Blake creates strong images in the mind of the reader by telling us about shocking events. We can see this when Blake says â€Å"The hapless soldier’s sigh runs in blood down palace walls† This is referring to soldiers being brought in at the time of the ‘Industrial Revolution’ to stop the poor rebelling .We are given a graphic image of blood running down a wall after someone has been shot by a soldier. The word blood signifies to us the idea of guilt and in this case the soldier creates an image of violence. Also the soldier may not want to follow orders and fire on helpless people but knows he may be shot himself if he disobeys. Blake uses contractions that condense an idea, forming vivid and powerful connections. Sometimes he uses a hyphen, and at other times he simply juxtaposes two words to startle the reader. We can see this in the last line of â€Å"London† And blights with plagues the marriage hearse. with the words â€Å"marriage hearse† These words shock the reader because the two words bring up different and opposite images, one joyous and the other sad. The word marriage means the joining together of two people to start a new life together, whilst a hearse is a carriage or car used to carry you in your coffin to your grave. The phrase â€Å"marriage hearse† could be saying that marriage is what leads you to your death. In this case because the â€Å"harlot’s curse†, syphilis and or V.D.,caught by the groom ,from visiting the prostitutes that Blake talks about in his poem can kill the new bride and any children they have. This could also show that Blake was opposed to the idea of marriage which was another form of his rebellion against the churches teachings. Blake often chooses to repeat a word for added emphasis. It is typical of Blake that the chosen word often has more than one meaning. This allows Blake to express more than one idea at a time. A n example of this is when Blake uses the word â€Å"mark† three times on different lines. â€Å"A mark in every face I meet, Marks of weakness, marks of woe.† The first time Blake mentions the word â€Å"mark† it could mean a sign maybe of poverty or struggle however the second time â€Å"mark† is mentioned it means a sign of weakness, such as drunkenness. The last time â€Å"mark† is used it is referring to a scar, a wound. This adds emphasis to Blake’s point because the reader has to think about each meaning to understand the line. It could be argued that Blake was trying to say that the people of â€Å"London† were mentally affected by the horrors of industrialisation. Blake uses grammatically unusual phrases such as the phrase â€Å"mind forged manacles† in his poems. This may be because Blake wishes to create a stronger or stranger image. This is very effective because as with the word â€Å"mark† it creates a very strong image of mental anguish for the people of â€Å"London† This may be saying that the effects of living in a largely populated industrial area are bad for you and causes people to suffer restrictions caused by their own minds and thoughts. Hence the phrase â€Å"mind forged manacles†. The poem is telling us that the chains that hold us are mental chains. Chains of our own making chaining our own freedom of imagination In â€Å"London† Blake uses changes in rhythm to draw attention to certain lines. (Especially in verse two) An example of this is when the pace of the last line of each verse slows down, thus drawing attention to it. In every cry of every man In every infants’s cry of fear, In every voice, in every ban, The mind -forged manacles I hear: We can see that this is also often the same with the order of the verses. The last verse has a slower pace than the other verses. There is an example of this change in rhythm in the start of the fourth verse when Blake starts with the word â€Å"But†. But most, through midnight streets I hear How the youthful harlot’s curse Blasts the new -born infants’s tear, And blights with plagues the marriage hearse. The use of the word â€Å"But† implies that the previous verses were bad â€Å"But† if the last point (child prostitution) was rectified then a lot of things would improve. In the poem â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper† Blake is telling us about child exploitation in large industrial cities such as London. Through focusing on the plight of chimney sweeps. In it he is critisizing society, the church, the parents who allow their children to be used as slave labour and the employers who exploit them. In the poem â€Å"London† Blake was the observer. However in the poem â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper† Blake speaks through the voice of a child. ) This is extremely effective because of the child’s naivety and belief that if he is good everything will be alright. Tom, the child Blake speaks through believes this because, in a dream or vision he has, an angel tells him that â€Å"if he’d be a good boy, He’d have God for his father,and never want joy. . This could be saying that if Tom is good and continues to do as he is told (cleaning chimneys) then he will die and â€Å"have God for his Father†. This could also be irony from Blake by putting the teachings of the church in the voice of a child and telling us that only in the afterlife will he be happy. We know Blake felt that this teaching from the church encouraged the exploitation of the young, the poor and the vunerable. The rhythm of the poem suits its content and purpose because it is in the form of a nursery rhyme. For example, the last word of each verse rhymes with the last word of the line before. When my mother died I was very young, And my father sold me while yet my tongue Could scarcely cry â€Å"Weep! weep! weep! weep! So your chimneys I sweep, and in soot I sleep. This emphasises the innocence of the child saying the poem because it relates to â€Å"childhood fun† which the young chimney sweep never experienced. In â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper† Blake creates multi faceted images through his use of similes. We can see this when Blake says â€Å"coffins of black†. This can mean two things, the first being that the young chimney sweeps will end up in one of the black coffins because their job will lead to their death, or it could also mean that the children are in the chimney which is dark and black and which will kill them. A double meaning in a phrase is typically used by Blake to get more than one of his ideas across. Blake uses an interesting structural device at the start of the poem â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper† this is the word â€Å"SO†. At the end of the first verse the word â€Å"SO† is put in front of the line â€Å"So your chimneys I sweep†. This may be putting blame onto the reader; however it is more likely to be society’s guilt for allowing it to happen. However, in the last verse â€Å"So† is used in the last line in the phrase â€Å" So if all do their duty†. This is blaming society, the Church, parents and the owners of the children. This is because the poem says that if everybody did their duty they would step in to stop the chimney sweeper’s pain. â€Å"So† is also a structural device because after the evidence against society and the Church is shown â€Å"So† seems to condemn them. Blake uses colour to create symbolic contrast in this poem, this is kept going throughout. The colours are white and black. White is used when Blake is talking about innocence, helplessness and youth. We can see this when the young chimney sweep Tom comforts the other child who has had his head shaved so â€Å"the soot cannot spoil your white hair† This is one of many things that show the innocence of a child being destroyed purely for the duties of chimney sweeping. Blake tends to use the words black and soot whenever he is referring to something which is wrong. As when coffins are mentioned, creating the phrase â€Å"coffins of black†. Blake also shows the reader, through a dream or vision, how life should be for the children. This vision creates a strong contrast that emphasises the cruel reality of their lives. We can see this when Tom has a dream or vision, as Blake did as a child, of his friends being set free by an angel and being taken to a better and sunlit place. Instead of a dream being used to describe what Tom sees, the word â€Å"sight† is used. This may be telling us this is the way things should be instead of it only being a child’s dream of happiness. In the vision there is an angel who tells Tom â€Å"if he’d be a good boy, he’d have God for his father,and never want joy†. This could be Blake criticizing the Church for saying you can only be happy and have a good ‘life’ in heaven when you are dead. Blake employs the same tequnique of unusual combinations of words in â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper† as he did in the poem â€Å"London†. This may be because Blake was still trying to get similar points across to the public. In â€Å"London† there are phrases, such as, â€Å"marriage hearse†, Words that do not usually go together. We see the same thing in â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper† when Tom’s friend cries when he has his head shaved and his head â€Å" curled like a lamb This is a simile and creates the image of a small defenceless lamb in pain. The lamb could also be a symbol of innocence and sacrifice, telling us that tithe chimney sweeps are being sacrificed for the benefit of society who want their chimneys kept swept and don’t care how this is done or who suffers. The poem â€Å"Jerusalem† is the last of Blake’s poems I will be looking at. Today Jerusalem is often perceived as a patriotic song but its true message goes much deeper than many people realize. In this poem Blake talk’s mainly about one thing .This is Industrialisation .Blake does this by continuously referring to â€Å"when† England â€Å"was† a â€Å"pleasant land.† The poem Jerusalem has been set to music, which means that the mood is different to â€Å"London† and â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper†. The question s back†. And did those feet in ancient time Walk upon Englands’s mountains green? May be a reference to the legend that Joseph of Arithamea had once brought Jesus to England. This may be a metaphor to say that Jesus’s spirit lives on in England. Blake uses questions to invite the reader to recall England’s past. This is a rhetorical device used to draw the reader s interest into the poem. We can see this when Blake says And was Jerusalem builded here Amoung these dark satanic mills? This could be saying that England was once beautiful and had Holy meaning (like the town Jerusalem) but now is just an industrialized piece of land. The word â€Å"satanic† means, like Satan or a thing in hell. This gives the image of England once being a good place but now it resembles hell. Blake uses imperatives to show the force of his feelings. We can see this when at the start of the second verse the words â€Å"Bring me† are used to start the next four lines. Bring me my bow of burning gold; Bring me my arrows of desire; Bring me my spear; O clouds, unfold! Bring me my chariot of fire! This adds a sense of urgency to the poem as if we must hurry to return ‘our’ country England to its former better state. Blake describes modern industrialisation in dark terms in the last line of the second verse. Among these dark satanic mills? There are two words that create a sense of evil, dark and satanic. The word â€Å"mills† are used as a symbol of England’s industrialisation. The power of Blake’s feeling is expressed through his own personal readiness to take up arms, literally and metaphorically to defeat evil and restore his country to its former glory. We can see this in the forth verse when Blake says he â€Å"Will not cease from mental fight, Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand†. This could mean that Blake intends to keep writing poems to change people’s minds about England, to convince them to return England to the country it once was. Blake has a ‘utopian’ vision of England. The word ‘sword’ creates an image of a knight fighting, so, this may be suggesting the necessity of a physical fight. However this may also be referring to the saying â€Å"his tongue’s razor sharp† which means that Blake would continue to write poems in the belief that ‘the pen is mightier than the sword. The first four lines of the third verse suggest war since they each have weapons in them. These lines also have a mythical feel to them. Blake may see himself as a knight or hero who has come to help save England , but , as with Jesus, in â€Å"Jerusalem† he has not ‘come’ as what people expect, because words are his weapons not swords. In all three poems Blake conveys strong feelings about his society. He writes about the misery of poverty, the exploitation of the young and the helpless, the start of industrialisation and the consequences of sexual sin. In all three poems there are strong themes such as , child exploitation, in â€Å"The Chimney Sweeper†, Poverty in â€Å"London† and industrialisation in â€Å"Jerusalem† With the poem â€Å"Jerusalem† it could be said that it is ironic that a poem that says England is messed up is sung as a patriotic song which says ‘I am proud to be English’ . It could be argued that â€Å"London† is the most important poem out of the three discussed since it talked about the problems of Blake’ s time and the same problems still exist today such as poverty, exploitation of the helpless and prostitution. â€Å"London† is my favourite poem as it mirrors modern day London. The fact that we still have the same problems within society that Blake saw proves that times have not really changed very much .The wealthy still have the most power and in addition to the problems racism, and refugees, fleeing war and death in their own countries . I Blake saw we now have drugs destroying people’s lives, AIDS, think Blake would feel sorrow that all these years later there is still a huge divide between the classes. However’ he would be pleased that there is now education for everybody and working conditions, at least in this country, have improved. So maybe his poems did inspire people to question the justice of their own thoughts and actions.

Tranditions#2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Tranditions#2 - Essay Example There is a danger side of tradition which does not build people but rather make them miserable. For example, fraternity practices hazing which can lead to death; polygamy causes division and rivalry among wives and half-siblings and political power caused wars throughout the history of civilization. This paper entails two literary works namely, â€Å"Mending Walls,† by Robert Frost and â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson. The two works suggest that tradition should not simply be practiced and passed to the next generation. Rather, traditions should be well scrutinized whether they are helpful and relevant to the present and the culture. In â€Å"Mending Walls,† the notion that â€Å"good fences make good neighbors,† as indicated by Frost (222), is the belief that makes the characters build the walls every spring. The practice seems to be harmless but instead, has a purpose as the neighbor implies. However, the fence seems irrelevant to the characters time and place because there is nothing to be walled in or walled out. The narrator hates building the wall but his neighbor insists that â€Å"good fences make good neighbors† (Frost, 222) so they both have to build the wall. However, the narrator cannot make any sense of building the wall every year because they do not have any cows to keep away from each other’s yard. Obviously, the neighbors are not farmers who would have needed to build fences in order to keep their animals from messing with their neighbor’s yard. Therefore, unlike the neighbor, the narrator questions the tradition that has been passed on to them. If they continu e with their practice, they might pass the insensible tradition to their children without them questioning it. Thus, in exasperation, the narrator can only pose a challenge to question the importance of what has been established as a tradition. In essence, it appears that the tradition in important in creating good neighbors. This tradition strengthens the people staying in

Personal statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Personal Statement Example Later my mother told me that she had a disease called dyslexia. That little incident of my childhood had a far reaching impact on my life. After that I knew what I was going to do in life. I wanted to help mentally retarded people and specially the children with dyslexia. In school, I had a clear mind about what I was going to be. So I excelled in my education step by step until I was in high school. There I got practically involved in pursuing my aim. While in High school, I won a social service organizing contest and then I was given a chance to join an exchange trip in Wuhan. In there, we visited governmental welfare organizations. That was a very useful experience as we learnt how a welfare organization runs, focusing on children and mentally handicapped services. Thus for the first time I practically saw how I could help special children. This experience of volunteering in high school to work with mentally handicapped people was very close to my heart and that was what I had alw ays dreamt of doing, but that was also the most difficult thing that I had ever done until that time. It literally made me test my limits because I always wanted to do that and was planning to do that work in future too, but that was the first time when I also saw its challenges. That was the time when I had to practically decide whether to take up that job for good or to just sympathize with the people who were suffering and move on. After a few initial days, I settled down and I knew that was the only thing that I had ever wanted to do. The mentally handicapped people, who seemed difficult to handle in the first few days, became so dear to me that I could not possibly think of a better thing than to keep them happy and to help them live a better life. So I decided to be an occupational therapist. I also did a lot of volunteer work other than that while being in the high school, for instance I worked as an all time project constructor and the biggest project we did was the one in w hich we helped new immigrants from south Asia or Mainland China to fit in Hong Kong’s environment and to help them fight against discrimination that unfortunately prevails all around Hong Kong. I mainly focused on the students and children by providing tutorial classes of English, Maths and Chinese to them and holding events for them to fit in easily in Hong Kong. But even during that I kept my goal in mind and I focused more on the special children and tried helping their families and tied to help them. So I was honored with awards by The Social welfare Department of Hong Kong for winning the social service contest and for 3 years of volunteer service because I had served more than 100 hours in a year. These awards were nothing to me in comparison with those bright smiling eyes of special children that I had worked with. So I decided to stick with my goal. Keeping that goal in mind, I decided to pursue higher education in the USA. During that volunteer work, I aw many people working with the mentally retarded children. There were the teachers that helped those children to learn new things and I was impressed with their hard work and dedication and the patience with which they efficiently dealt with the children. I saw their attendants who helped those children with everything they ever did day in and day out. But the ones who impressed me the most were the therapists who actually worked to change the lives of those children. They helped them in getting better day by day. So I decided to

Paradoxically, although modernity appeared to be a threat to Essay - 2

Paradoxically, although modernity appeared to be a threat to Christianity, it had been nurtured, in significant part, by Christianity itself - Essay Example Presumably, the threat to Christianity was associated to secular world view supported by modernity. Research shows that modernity is dominated by secular world view. The enlightenment era and the birth of modern science affected the reality of Christianity. The modernity concept suggests that is the physical world, made of energy and matter. The modern world view argues that the world is a closed system of cause and effect. It also perceives the real world to have space and time. The breathtaking achievements of science caused the western world to be impressed by the idea of modernity, science and technology. Reality has been reduced to space and time. This has made the concept of Christianity and faith doubtful has hard to grasp . Modernity has caused facts to replace the truth. This means that any proclamation of faith must be verifiable through facts or historical evidence. However, the premise of the faith in Jesus tends to suggests realities that are beyond scientific confines o f verification. A telling example is the case of mystical experiences, prayers, healing, visions and dreams. The Christian faith is inclusive and universal in terms of the requirements of becoming a faithful . The promise of faith is the same despite the background or culture setup of the believer. Studies show that qualitative change or evolution is a characteristic of modern religion. This means that development of modern religion has come through evolutionary stages just like science. Given that religion preceded science, it is evident that Christianity nurtured modernity to a significant extent3. The theories of cultural evolution and religion show that religious change does not necessarily indicate a decline of religious influence. Rather, it is a central aspect of Christian religion. History shows that Christianity evolution was not exclusive to culture. Christianity emphasizes the difference between the natural world and the supernatural world. This does not necessarily refut e the scientific gains in the natural world. Rather, Christianity insists of a truth greater than the sensual approach. The nature of science is also evolutionary. This means that science has got a striking similarity with Christianity when it comes to changes and developmental advancement. However, the fundamentals of Christianity do not change. The teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ are the inspiration behind the conduct and morals of every believer4. Science tends to be solution oriented. Most scientific solutions meet have no supernatural bearing. To a certain extent, religious symbols do not necessarily contradict secular world achievements. However, Christianity represents a deeper supernatural understanding of life. The concept of evolution, flexibility and change that is espoused by the scientific world is likely to have been heavily borrowed from Christianity5. The modern day ways of thinking and sensing may not be absolute. The overdependence of common realities that can b e relied upon by the senses is not entirely representative. This means that the common realities can be represented by science effectively. However, the higher common objects like wisdom and truth cannot be fully addressed by modernity and may be prove that God exists. According to the concept of notion of will, sight affects our understanding and perception of desire. This means that Christianity has the capability to nurture changes and perceptions. The notion suggests that the doctrine of will indicates the ability of human being to choose. This

The Apostle Pauls Contributions to Christianity Essay

The Apostle Pauls Contributions to Christianity - Essay Example There is no figure, other than Jesus Christ, that is more popular in the history of Christianity than the Apostle Paul. This could be a controversial point among Christian believers but the New Testament part of the Bible is the living witness to this claim. Others claimed that based on the four Gospels St. Peter was the first person who was tasked to lead the church established by Jesus Christ and was the key person in the establishment of Christianity and Paul was not even among the 12 disciples. Whoever among them was the first head of the church is not the concern here. Our focus is on the contribution of St. Paul being an apostle of Christ to the organization he has left his followers. Review of the literatures available has led us to a point that St. Paul has the greatest contributions in the growth of the Christian faith from Jewish to the non-Jewish populace of the world. This essay is aimed to present the underlying support facts on this claim based from the books of the New Testament, which are the major source of information concerning the major inputs of St. Paul to the church. Other facts based on the succeeding history could be a good point to consider in evaluating the impact of these contributions. The identified contributions To strengthen the assertion mentioned above it is proper to mention the remarkable achievement of the Apostle Paul in the spread of the Christian religion throughout the world. Among which are: 1) more than 50% of the contents of the books comprising the New Testament can be connected to him, his works in spreading the Good News and the letters he wrote to the early believers and the doctrines these documents contained; and 2) he has traveled more places in the world to spread the Gospels which were instrumental in the conversions of a lot of non-Jewish people to the Christian faith. Because of this he was the key figure in establishing a strong foundation of Christianity and the institution of the Catholic Church in Rome and later throughout the world. The New Testament documents: Messages and doctrines based on early works The first remarkable point we considered as a great contribution of Saint Paul to the Christian society is the collection of books whose contents bear the messages and records of works of his ministry. Among the 27 books of the New Testament, which include the 4 Gospels, Acts, 21 epistles, and the Revelation, majority or about 15 (The Acts and 14 epistles) are accounted to St. Paul (Religious Facts, 2007). There are questions, however, on the authorship of the epistles as it is obvious that St. Paul did not write them personally but the contents were the issue considered here. Scholars who argued that some of these epistles were not written by Paul agreed that they are written by others who have heard Paul's teachings. The Acts only covered in the early chapters the works of the other disciples such as Peter, John, James, and others, and the rest covered the journeys of St. Paul from Jerusalem to other parts of Rome as he proclaimed the message of the Christianity. The Pauline epistles clearly conveyed the message from Apostle Paul, either alone or with other Christian believer with him, for the early believers or community of believers. This does not mean that the other disciples did not do their job. It simply means that Paul's ministry was able to use better means in conveying the message and took a medium that would be instrumental in preserving the teachings through written documents for use by future generations. Most of the teaching contained in the epistles of Paul and the Acts were used as basis of the practices and guiding principles of the early communities especially the non-Jews in the early part of Christian history and were adopted even by the later Christian churches. They were used as reference to clarify misunderstanding between Jew and gentile believers of Christianity. Among the famous teachings of Paul was justification by faith and the exclusion of the

Why Should Prostitution Be legalized Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Why Should Prostitution Be legalized - Essay Example The premise of this study, therefore, is that prostitute women are sustained in prostitution since involvement in prostitution becomes making sense. Hence, whereas legal and scholarly discourse has represented prostitutes as either dissimilar from or similar to average women, and whereas engaging in prostitution generates conflicting effects, some prostitute women were able to establish significance of their involvement in prostitution since they lived both within and outside the wholeness of the conflicts of being similar and different from other women. Prostitution should be legalized because for the prostitute women themselves prostitution is a gendered survival mechanism that allowed them to acquire and sustain a degree of social and financial security and hence created better lives for themselves, and a gendered exploitation that endangered their physical and social stability and ensnarled them into prostitution. They justify their contradiction through believing that their prostitute activities were simply an emphasis of the inconsistent conflation of men, money and brutality that influences, orients and affects all heterosexual sexual

The Social and Political Thought of Martin Luther King Essay

The Social and Political Thought of Martin Luther King - Essay Example It was the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a year-long protest in Montgomery, Alabama, that inflamed the American Civil Rights Movement and catapulted King to national fame. In December 1955, 42,000 black residents of Montgomery began a year-long boycott of city buses (Montgomery Bus Boycott)1 to protest racially segregated seating. The Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) was formed and King was elected as its president. That evening King inspired the audience with his words: "There comes a time when people get tired of being trampled over by the iron feet of oppression." With this speech, King was able to ignite the African-Americans' collective outrage into a grassroots movement that would sustain the boycott. King's nonviolent resistance was the mission statement that captained the cause of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, even in the face of violent opposition from the police and the whites. Even though the boycott was challenged throughout by violent protests, King did not let people forget that Christian principles were the base of the protest. He urged the black protestors when faced with violence, to "turn the other cheek". This set the tone for all of King's subsequent campaigns. The protest propelled the Civil Rights Movement into national consciousness and Martin Luther King Jr. into the public eye. In the words of King: "We have gained a new sense of dignity and destiny. We have discovered a new and powerful weapon-nonviolent resistance." After 381 days of intense struggle, African Americans eventually won their fight to desegregate seating on public buses, not only in Montgomery, but throughout the United States. With the success of the Montgomery bus boycott, King had begun his journey along the road of civil rights, whose ultimate destination was the realization of human rights, not only for the blacks but to all the underprivileged of America. Thomas F.Jackson begins his book, "From Civil Rights to Human Rights" by stating "Over the course of his public ministry, between the Montgomery bus boycott of 1956 and the Memphis sanitation workers' Strike of 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr., wove together African American dreams of freedom with global dreams of political and economic equality. King opposed racism, imperialism, poverty, and political disfranchisement in increasingly radical terms. Often he referred to the American civil rights movement as simply one expression of an international human rights revolution that demanded economic rights to work, income, housing, and security." Jackson argues that King's ideas and his socio-political thoughts did not undergo a sudden change towards economic justice in the final few years of his life but had begun taking root even in the initial years of his involvement in the civil rights movement. The fact that the theme of economic justice was central to King's thoughts throughout his career is evident from the way King attacked the unequal distribution of American wealth twice before the NAACP2.He even pointed out to a January MIA mass meeting

Events in U.S.A History in 1799 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Events in U.S.A History in 1799 - Research Paper Example Major amendments to the American constitution took place during his reign (Henriques 148). Largely, the American society recorded great changes in its political history following the ascension and death of President George Washington. Many historical facts in American society developed from contribution of renowned personalities in the society. Politics and war are inseparable, in many cases, they would influence the out come of events in the society. The political system adopted by the society in a particular period would influence the outcome of events in the society. For instance, the quest for independence by the American late president George Washington changed the political history of the nation. Social lifestyle of people in the society would change when different politicians ascend to power. Social changes brought by a politician in office would influence the lives of the people in the society. This paper intends to explore the effects of death president George Washington in 1799. Many historical publications through books and articles provide information regarding many reputed political figures that brought social or economic changes in the society. Demise of such political personalities may lead the country into instability. The death of President George Washington brought many changes to the political and social systems in America. Death of George Washington influenced the political system of United States of America. Although he was thought to achieve amicably in many of his policies, some of the changes instigated by his successors impacted political state of the country positively. For instance, Washington did not like formation of many political parties and promoted federal ideology while he was a live (McMaster 326). His death was a blessing to the Militia Legion, which was against his federal system of governance. The Militia Legion believed that, the presence of George Washington promoted federal policies. History records that the Militia Legi on honored a partisan governor of Pennsylvania, Thomas McKean (Koschnik 237). Militia Legion acted contrary to the expectation of many people. The Republican wing followed national mourning script. Another notable event that took place when George Washington died is joint mourning program that was led by Republican militia companies. His death led to the abortion of slavery as he had started in his will. The will indicated the intention of George Washington to abolish slavery and promote equality among the American people. Historian believes that the death of George Washington influenced the reaction of United States to Quasi War. The decision made by United States to engage in Quasi War was contrary to the wishes of President George Washington. George Washington influenced the neutral position that American took in handling the issues European conflicts (Grizzard 111). It is important to note that the European conflict had an impact to United States politically and economically. Th e economical ties between United States of America and the western countries relied on peaceful coexistence among the countries. This major factor influenced the decision of President George Washington. Political events, which took place after his death, respected many political decisions that he made while he was a live. For instance, federal governance system did not collapse. This led to disagreement between the two warring faction which later jeopardized the unity of United States of America. Unity of the nation was very crucial because it marked the end of tyrannical British regime. Another crucial area that is worth noting is role of unity in passing of the sedition act.

Information Systems Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Information Systems Strategy - Essay Example , and so on) to other individuals for free or in exchange for another item, will safeguard the environment, as it will reduce the waste sent to landfill as well as reduce the demand for natural resources. In addition, the organization wants to support individuals and families, who are economically deprived or struggling, by offering them an online platform where they can find items for free or in exchange for other unwanted items. In any organization, organizational structure provides the framework for the founders or leaders as well as the department heads, supervisors, employees, and others to operate in a streamlined and effective manner. This is applicable to online organization such as ReuseUK, and particularly for the organizations with dual or multiple founders or leaders. As ReuseUK consist of two founders, they have a range of options to choose from including partnership, corporations, and others. â€Å"Which one is right for you depends on many factors, including how much control you want to maintain, tax and liability issues, and your business goals† (Simon 2013). In that direction, partnership appears to be the suitable organizational structure for ReuseUK to follow. The advantage with partnership based organizational structure is that it provides management flexibility, so that management decisions and other responsibilities can be allocated among the partners according to business needs a nd each partner’s strengths (Simon 2013). In that direction, while one partner has an Information Technology (IT) background, the other has social enterprise background, both of which can be utilized to manage this IT based social enterprise organization. Partner with IT background can take care of the website functioning and the related tasks, including supervision of the IT support analyst and importantly the IS strategy. Although, the partner with social enterprise qualifications can manage the content of the website, along with other key personnel of marketing

Quality Associates Essay Example for Free

Quality Associates Essay Quality Associates, a consulting firm, advises its clients about sampling and statistical procedures that can be used to control their manufacturing processes. In particular application, a client gave Quality Associates a sample of 800 observations taken during a time in which that client’s process was operating satisfactorily. The sample standard deviation for these data was 0.21; hence with so much data, the population standard deviation was assumed to be 0.21. Quality Associates then suggested that random samples of size 30 be taken periodically to monitor the process on an ongoing basis. By analyzing news samples, the client could quickly learn whether the process was operation satisfactorily. When the process was not operation satisfactorily, corrective action could be taken to eliminate the problem. The design specification indicated the mean for the process should be 12. The hypothesis test suggested by Quality Associates follows. : : Corrective action will be taken any time is rejected. The dataset â€Å"Quality.sav† contains each of four samples, each of size 30, collected at hourly intervals during the first day of operation of the new statistical control procedure. Managerial report 1. Conduct a hypothesis test for each sample at the 0.01 level of significance and determine what action, if any, should be taken. Provide the test statistic and the p-value for each test. 2. Compute the standard deviation for each of the four samples. Does the assumption of 0.21 for the standard deviation appear reasonable? 3. Compute limits for the sample mean Ì… around such that, as long as, a new sample mean is within those limits, the process will be considered to be operation satisfactorily. If Ì… exceeds the upper limit or if below lower limit, corrective action will be taken. These limits are referred to as upper and lower control limits for quality purposes. 4. Discuss the implications of changing the level of significance (ÃŽ ±) to a larger value. What mistakes or error (type I or type II error) could increase if the level of significance is increased?

Puritanism Versus Deism Analysis

Puritanism Versus Deism Analysis The seventeenth century colonists all respected the Bible. Both Puritans and Deists believed in God. However, the way in which they perceived God in their own lives differed. While Puritans believed God to be all encompassing taking the inevitably evilness of human nature and saving them through his grace; the Deist belief deems that humans are inherently good and the decisions they make ultimately effect their own fate. As shown in the writings of John Winthrop, Michael Wigglesworth, John Dane and Mary Rowlandson, Puritans believed in predestination and that God played an active role in their lives; whereas, Deist Benjamin Franklin believed that God played an inactive role in their daily lives and their fate was consequently left up to their own decisions. Contradictory to the Deist belief, Puritans believe that God has already chosen a path for them through predestination and they have no ability to alter this path. As Wigglesworth discusses Gods grace for those he chooses to save he quotes a New England minister, Thomas Shepard, who believed your best duties are tainted, poisoned, and mingled with some sin, and therefore are most odious in the eyes of a holy God. Your good duties can not save you, yet your bad works will damn you (Wigglesworth, 4). Wigglesworth, following Puritan ideals, believed that good deeds cannot get anyone into heaven (Wigglesworth, 4). Although God had predetermined the people who would go to Heaven and who would go to Hell, it was impossible to know whether one was actually damned to Hell or not. This triggered the question of whether or not to do good things if one was already damned to Hell. As a Puritan ideal, everyone was to live life by doing as much good as possible. While Deists determined their own f ate and could change it based upon decisions they made, Puritans accepted the fact that people were either chosen to be saved and go to Heaven or damned to Hell. In Puritanism saved mothers, fathers, husbands and siblings will be satisfied with the damnation of their relations (Wigglesworth, 4). The Puritans were content in the fact that their God had chosen a path for them that they were not able to alter and accepted that even some of their family members will be damned to Hell. An obvious difference between Puritan and Deist beliefs is the purpose that God takes in ones life. The Puritans believe in an all encompassing God. All good and bad things are acts of God and are not of a persons doing. In this belief both good and bad things are seen in a positive way; times of hardship are just as rewarding as times of benevolence. The majority of Mary Rowlandsons early life was lived in prosperity, everything in perfect harmony while others lived through many trials and afflictions, in sickness, weakness, poverty, losses, crosses, and cares of the World (Rowlandson, 8). During these times of bliss she sometimes wished that she would have her own trials and tribulations so that she would know God was thinking of her. Then, as she had wished for, Mary Rowlandson went through times of hardship. When she was captured and imprisoned for years by the Indians, she thought of these times as beneficial to her. These struggles proved Rowlandson to believe when God calls a person to any thing, and through never so many difficulties, he is fully able to carry them through, and make them see and say they have been gainers thereby (Rowlandson, 8). Instead of dreading times of adversity, Rowlandson saw them as a sense of caring. God cared enough to test her, using her times of struggling to bring her closer to him. In recollection of being captured by the Indians and her imprisonment, Rowlandson says, it is good for me that I have been afflicted (Rowlandson, 8). Without this vital event, she may have never begun to truly rely on God as she did throughout these times. The Puritans believed that good and bad events in their lives were taken by the providence of God or as his punishment (Dane, 9). Dane thinks of the intervention God takes in his life and speaks of how there were many wonderful, unspeakable, unsearchable mercies of a God that taketh care of us when we take no care of ourselves (Dane, 8). Dane viewed the event where he was stung by a wasp as p unishment from God because he did not regularly attend church on Sundays. Puritan belief is that everything is an act of God, meaning our actions are solely based on Gods decisions, not of our own ability to choose what is believed to be the best choice. If God chooses to save someone, he will save them because humans have no ability to save themselves. The Deist Franklins opinion of Gods role in ones life is quite contradictory of that of the Puritans. Deism beliefs are that of Gods inactive role with man. According to Franklin, God is the creator of man but he does not interfere with everyday decisions of humans. God grants man free will and the ability to change ones fate based upon his or her decisions. Deist Franklin believed that one works towards moral perfection through virtuous acts. Consequently, he came up with thirteen virtues that at that time occurrd to [him] as necessary or desirable to achieve moral perfection (Franklin, 12). Where Puritans looked to the Bible as a work of God with specific examples of events that God created in different peoples lives, the Deists believed the Bible to be mostly fables, a collection of stories created to teach lessons and help others achieve this moral excellence (Franklin, 6). To them the Bible was used as a guideline of ideals that are morally acceptable and how the choices one mad e affected the outcome of his or her situation. Franklin attributed any bad or good event in his life to his own doing. He gauged his closeness to God based upon his degree of success. He believed that he had become successful because he had kept his lifestyle close to that of the thirteen virtues. In Deist beliefs, God was not thought of as one who made the ultimate decisions for a person but more so led people in the direction in which was honorably acceptable. Deists believe that humans had the ability to change their own fate. They have free will to make their own decisions and every action and good and bad situation was of their own doing. The process of achieving moral perfection is represented through the idea of self-improvement. People have the ability to choose to better oneself by attempting to imitate that of God. Franklin stated that in an effort to better oneself one should always be employd in something useful [and] cut off all unnecessary actions (Franklin, 13). With the creation of Franklins thirteen virtues(temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity and humility), Franklin had created his own path and as long as he strove to achieve these virtues, good would happen to him. Franklin, as well as most Deists, believed that one is taught right and wrong and then they are to make decisions based upon these ideals to ultimately decide his or her o wn fate. When Franklin speaks of his attempt at moral perfection he says that I knewà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ what was right and wrong, I did not see why I might not always do the one and avoid the other (Franklin, 12). In Deist Franklins belief of self-improvement it is unacceptable for one to be lethargic; when one is unproductive he or she is not at his or her best. The lack of motivation or desire to be improving oneself decreases their chances of going to Heaven. Rowlandson, Dane, Winthrop, Wigglesworth and Franklin use their first hand experiences to explain the Puritan and Deist beliefs of the 17th century. While the Puritans believed in predestination and every event that occurred in ones life was simply an act of God, the Deists believed in the ability for one to make his or her own decisions and decide his or her fate. God was involved in the everyday life of Puritans; whereas, in Deism God is the creator not and prevalent in the everyday actions of man; he teaches right from wrong but leaves the ultimate decision of ones actions up too him or herself.

Computer Crime in Sri Lanka

Computer Crime in Sri Lanka A research study of the Computer Crimes in Sri Lanka and the protective acts taken by the Sri Lankan government. Background Computer systems are everywhere and control a great deal of our day to day life. Computer systems make our life so much easier. All the people around the world are forced to use the computer systems even if they do not like. These computer systems can be used in a good way or in a bad way. The bad way is known as a computer crime. Motivation Presently, individuals and companies are struggling from computer crimes, thinking is it a crime or not? what are laws available for it, where to file a complaint? etc. To improve the understanding of computer crimes, this topic has been chosen, which allows studying about different kinds of computer crimes and the respective laws applies for those crimes. In this research, the computer crimes in Sri Lanka and the counteract applicable for those crimes and different country laws will be discussed. Computer crime, also known as cybercrime, is any illicit action that includes a computer or network associated gadget, for example, a cell phone. The Department of Justice partitions computer crime into 3 classifications: violations in which the computer gadget is the victim, for instance, getting access to the network; violations in which the computer is utilized as a weapon, for instance, to dispatch a Denial of Service (DoS) attack; and violations in which the computer is utilized as an accomplice to a wrongdoing, for instance, utilizing a computer to save wrongfully acquired information (Rouse, 2010). Examples of computer crime: Making Malware Making and spreading viruses, Trojans or other kinds of malware. DoS attack Impacting the server performance by sending large amount requests. Unauthorized access Accessing the computer system without any lawful authority. Intellectual property theft Thieving an organizations or individuals intellectual belongings. Child pornography Creating or selling youngster erotica. Cyberstalk or Cyberbullying Harassing others online. Cyber terrorism Threat to the national security or national economy or public safety. Fraud Altering data, for instance, altering bank account balance amount details. Espionage Infiltration (an organization or someone). Harvesting Gather account associated data from people. Identity theft Pretend to be someone else. Spoofing Cheating a system by pretending someone else. Spamming Annoying unwelcome large amount of emails trying to fill the inbox. Phishing Fool someone by pretending or acting to be a trustable individual in an e-mail or an organization and trying to get their personal information. (ComputerHope, 2017) To destroy a persons or organizations reputation. To make money or steal money from a person or an organization. Full-fill their desires (by blackmailing, threatening etc.). Show off their skills to their friends / for enjoyment. Lack of authorities or less severe punishments. The Computer Crimes reported, in Sri Lanka are financial frauds, abuse/hate/privacy violation, phishing, scams, malware, unauthorized access, intellectual property violation, DoS/DDoS attack, Social media related incidents. According to SLCERT (Sri Lankan Computer Emergency Readiness Team), Fake accounts crimes are major crimes committed in Sri Lanka. Computer crimes in Sri Lanka keep up increasing every year. According to SLCERT, the computer crime rate has increased up to 4733% from 2008 to 2014. Particularly fake account crimes have increased from nearly 0 to 2300. Figure 2 Computer Crimes Reported from 2008 to 2014 From Colombo to the countryside, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and other social media web applications have spread and it has begun to create an impact on the society and culture particularly among the younger generation. Facebook crimes are the majority of the social media related crime in Sri Lanka. There are many Facebook crimes which ended up with suicides, rapes, or even murders not only among teenagers but also among adults too. (SLCERT, n.d.) Mr. Jayantha Fernando, Program Director, Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) stated that there is a necessity for Internet privacy acts when the standards of information protection are violated since Sri Lanka has no specific acts on Internet privacy. Jayantha mentioned that the Sri Lankan administration has started strategy level deliberations at the initiative of ICTA on data protection and internet privacy acts, and the process of developing the draft is ongoing. In 2015, the Computer Crimes Division of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrangement below the Computer Crimes Act 2007 managing an expanding amount of complaints on privacy violations and email scooping. The department has explored more than hundred on internet associated misconducts, including twenty-one protests associated with obscene publications, fifty protests of cyber defamation and twenty associated to e-mail hijacking. Additional two thousand protests relating Twitter and Facebook (FB) were informed to the SLCERT in the first 7 months of 2015. The majority of the events had happened on Facebook, and mainly the involvement of fake profiles, Senior Information Security Engineer of SLCERT, Mr. Roshan Chandragupta stated. Mr. Roshan stated that people were hurt in various ways over the internet. Few were threatened with data associated with the target, few were blackmailed for cash, few were harassed sexually and few were even harassed to the point of deceased. A lot of people were hurt by impersonators via social media. Most of them do not know where to file a complaint, hence, the protest related to fake profiles were not filed, he said. An inquiry officer of the Computer Crimes Division of CID expressed Present acts make it very hard for us to bring in the culprits. The officer also said that most of the events that were informed, in which an angry person dispenses the contact information of another person. Generally, this target would be an ex-lover of the offender who eagerly wants to punish her. Since there was no defamation, it does not come under defamation law, therefore it becomes very hard for the police to put the offender behind bars. CID Director SSP.R Nagahamulla said that the Computer Crimes Division does not have enough officers to do the work, and also do not have an adequate amount of standard electronic equipment support investigation. The department has no divisions. Nevertheless, the course of training extra officers and the process of purchasing the devices were begun by the CID. (Nafeel, 2015). Mr. Roshan said that lack of knowledge about computer security on cyber platforms is the main reason for many of the computer crimes. The absence of computer proficiency, correspondence, and breakage in family connections were the genuine foundations for the present surge in social media-related incidents, said by Manoj Jinadasa, senior lecturer at the Department of Mass Communication at the University of Kelaniya. In Western countries, media literacy is built into the school curriculum. This should be done here too, he said. (Dissanayake, 2014) The senior CID officer said that every day, the CID gets a minimum of ten to twelve cybercrime grievances, which adds up to more than 400 cases for each month. Since the team at CID is little, resolving these cases will be deferred (Wickramasekera, 2015). Here is an example social media crime incident: The headmaster of John Kothalawala School in Kurunegala has been captured by the Police Unit of the National Child Protection Authority. The headmaster was criticized for disgracing a young lady over a Facebook photograph, prompting her suicide. He has been captured as a component of the examination (NewsFirst, 2014). The Computer Crime Act, No.24 of 2007 This act describes the ways of identifying computer crimes and if such crimes occur the procedure for the investigation and the prevention mechanism for the crimes. The provisions of this Act will applicable where: The lawbreaker in or outside Sri Lanka. Computer storage or information affected in or outside Sri Lanka. Facility or service used to commit the crime in or outside Sri Lanka. Loss or damages caused to state or person in or outside Sri Lanka. The offenses and punishments stated in this act are simplified into a table format below: And / Or Table 1 Offences and the penalties mentioned in Computer Crime Act 2007 (SLCERT, 2007) Who will be involved in the investigation? Police officers Computer experts The panel will appoint computer experts to support police department to help with the case. If the police department has sufficient experts, then there is no necessary for more computer experts. Convention on Cybercrime The Convention on Cybercrime is also called as Budapest Convention or Budapest Convention on Cybercrime or European Cybercrime Convention. The Budapest Convention tries to address Internet and computer violations by agreeing to national acts, enhancing analytical strategies and expanding collaboration among countries. The European Cybercrime Convention dealing criminal activities carried out through the computer and the Internet, especially with copyright infringements, child pornography, infringement of system security, hate crimes, and computer associated frauds. In 2015, Sri Lanka was welcomed to participate in the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime. The Foreign Affairs Ministry working with the ICTA has optimized Sri Lankas entrance into the Council of Europe (CoE) Cybercrime Convention. Sri Lanka went beyond South Africa, Argentina, Costa Rica, Mexico, Philippines and a few different nations in the procedure towards participating the Convention on Cybercrime. Sri Lanka turns into the 1st Nation in South Asia to participate the Convention on Cybercrime, which is the main universal arrangement on cybercrimes all inclusive. The advantage of this convention is that all will be constrained to obey to the privacy guard and information security. Privacy acts are the most critical one where the stockholders from Europe or different nations will consider before investing in Sri Lanka, how their data are protected. (Nafeel, 2015) Comparing Sri Lankan laws with different country laws is a good way of evaluating strengths and weakness of the laws in Sri Lanka. Information Technology (Amendment) Act, 2008 (India) Sri Lanka and India have very much in common, both are Asian countries (closest countries), both are democratic countries. Sri Lanka and India are the members of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Sri Lankan culture and Indian culture are pretty much similar. Therefore, the Indian law has been used for the comparison. India has an act called Information Technology Act, 2008 to prevent computer crimes happening and provide guidelines to follow if such incident occurs. This act is an amendment of Information Technology Act, 2000. The offences and punishments mentioned in the act are listed in a simple table format below: And / Or Table 2 Offences and Penalties in the Information Technology Act, 2008 (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, n.d.) Sri Lanka Crime India Fine (LKR) Imprisonment Fine (à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¹) Imprisonment à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ 200,000 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ 5 years Hacking with intention of committing crime à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ 500,000 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ 3 years à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ 5 years Offenses committed against national security / cyberterrorism à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ °Ã‚ ¤ Life time Table 3 Comparison common laws between Sri Lanka and India Let us compare 2 similar cases from both countries and compare the punishments given each by the government. For the comparison hacking case have been taken from both countries. Sri Lanka A 17-year-old schoolboy from Kadugannawa and a twenty-seven-year old man from Moratuwa were arrested on 29 Aug 2016, for building the hack on President Maithripala Sirisenas site. President Sirisenas legitimate site http://www.president.gov.lk went under assault on 26 Aug 2016, when the site was brought down and a letter posted in Sinhalese, stating the disappointment of a group of hackers calling themselves The Sri Lanka Youth, at the Sri Lankan administration having planned the Advanced Level examination for April, amid the conventional Sinhala and Tamil New Year. The letter was evacuated in a few minutes and a note informing clients that the site would down for scheduled maintenance, set up. The Presidents site was back online a couple of hours after the fact. The website was hacked one more time, the following day (27 Aug 2016), with the resulting note posted in English: (DailyNews, 2016) The Crimes Investigation Department (CID) performed the arrest. According to Daily News (2016) statement, the man was accused of 300,000 LKR and up to three years in prison and since the kid is minor, he ended up in probation. This is the 1st time in the Sri Lankan history a young person has been arrested under 2007 Computer Crimes Act. India Mumbai police have captured twenty-three-years-old hacker for trespassing into an economic site. Despite the fact that the hacker could not get into the primary server of the economic website, which was all around secured by the organization. The hacker made some option to the landing page of the economic site and has added a string of content to the news section of the landing page of the site. Police could break the case by taking after the follow left by the offender on the web server of the economic website. The organization has kept up a different server for money related online exchanges, for which most extreme security has been taken by the organization. The site was facilitated on an alternate server, which relatively had lesser security. The intruder was a tenth pass youth. He has completed IT courses like MCSE, CCNA and so on. He had an addiction to computers. He sits in front the PC for very nearly sixteen to twenty times every day. He was using the ready-made hacking devices, to hack into any site. He goes to a specific site on the web, which encourages him to see the whole catalog structure of that site. At that point utilizing different strategies, for example, getting a passcode record, he gets into the directors shoes and hacks the site. A case was enrolled against the intruder under area 67 of Information Technology Act 2000 and under different areas of Indian Penal Code. (CyberCrimeInvestigationCell, 2005) Result The Sri Lankan government has charged the victim with 300,000 LKR and up to 3 years in prison. The Indian government has charged the victim with 1,000,000 Indian Rupee and up to 5 years in prison. Compare to the severity, Indian hacker just hacked the economic site, but the Sri Lankan hacker hacked the Sri Lankan Presents website which is highly punishable. The punishment that the government gives will be a lesson and the threat for those who try to commit crimes. In that case, Sri Lanka has failed to give a higher penalty. When the group of people, including a 17-year-old boy hacked, president Mr. Sirisenas website (Page 13), in everyones mind a question will raise. Is the preventive move made by Sri Lankan Government to battle against computer crime is adequate? I would say NO. As per the SLCERTs report (Figure 2) and the officers statements (Page 5, Page 6) the computer crime rates keep increasing every year, So, the preventive action taken by the government is not sufficient enough. Suggestions Severe punishments will discourage the offenders committing a crime. Compared to the Indian laws, Sri Lanka laws provide less severe punishments (Table 1, Table 2, Table 3) for the offender. So, increasing the fine amount and impressment period given to each crime is a better way of reducing or stopping crimes happening.   Ã‚   Mr. Jayantha stated that currently, Sri Lanka does not have any specific acts on Internet privacy (Page 5) and an inquiry officer of the Computer Crimes Division expressed that with current Sri Lankan laws it is hard to take an action on the offender. So, introducing more laws, more specific acts on Internet privacy will help to combat against these computer crimes, Especially, sections like 66E, 67, 67A, 67B introduced Information Technology Act, 2008 India (Table 2), since the rapid growth of fake accounts and social media crimes in Sri Lanka. Mr. Roshan said that the reasons for these crimes are not enough awareness about computer crimes in the society. People are not aware of where to file a complaint (Page 5). This is the main reason; the culprits are out there committing more and more crimes. Spreading the awareness about computer crimes through television, radio and social media will reach a lot of people and help reduce crimes. Provide enough equipment, facilities, human resource and training for the Police department and the Computer Crimes Division of CID to do their work without any interruptions. According to Mr. Manojs research, the majority of the victims of computer crime are teenagers. I suggest the education department introduce Computer Crimes as a subject in schools. This prevents the younger generation from falling into trouble or pushing someone into. Todays generation, tomorrows future.