In Desiderius Erasmus’s Defense of Free Will‚ he refutes Martin Luther’s creed that God predestines everyone’s lives and instead asserts that man alone possesses the power to choose his own path to either salvation or damnation. The play Macbeth‚ by William Shakespeare‚ raises similar questions – did the protagonist‚ Macbeth‚ willingly choose to commit such atrocities as killing the king and his court to feed his own ambition‚ or did he merely play the role of a pawn‚ performing that which fate bade
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redemption by trying to figure out a way to avenge the murder of his father without jeopardizing his own salvation‚ dishonoring his mother‚ or throwing the palace and the whole country of Denmark into chaos. Because of his own sense of morality and his views of the afterlife‚ Hamlet struggles with his promise to his dead father’s ghost. How can he redeem his father‚ and yet ensure his own salvation? Laertes seeks redemption by avenging his father’s murder and the untimely death of his sister. He
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magic‚ parody Faustus’s own more serious deviltry. The episode involving Faustus’s pulled-off leg‚ actually a bundle of hay that dissolves‚ suggests Faustus’s own bodily disintegration at the end of the play and the disintegration of his chances for salvation. Faustus remains giddy with hollow‚ short-lived successes. He never experiences the somber reflection that usually grips the living in the presence of mortal decay. Overall‚ the comic elements present thematic reminders of how evil
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The Purpose of Suffering: A Christian Perspective The concept of suffering plays an important role in Christianity‚ regarding such matters as moral conduct‚ spiritual advancement and ultimate destiny. Indeed an emphasis on suffering pervades the Gospel of Mark where‚ it can be argued‚ we are shown how to “journey through suffering” (Ditzel 2001) in the image of the “Suffering Son of Man” (Mark 8:32)‚ Jesus Christ. Although theologians have suggested that Mark was written to strengthen the resolve
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Major Themes Prophecy The plot of Macbeth is set in motion ostensibly by the prophecy of the three witches. The prophecy fans the flames of ambition within Macbeth and Lady Macbeth‚ serving as the primary impetus for the couple to plot the death of Duncan--and subsequently Banquo. But one also wonders: Would Macbeth have committed such heinous crimes if not for the prophecy? What if he had ignored the witches’ statements? Such speculation‚ however interesting‚ ultimately appears futile‚ since the
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deal with the Devil there was many times were Faustus wanted to repent and pray for salvation from damnation. Throughout the play he was warned by many characters such as a good angel who told him it wasn’t too late to ask for salvation‚ and Mesphistophilis‚ one of Satan’s own demons‚ who warned him of the horrors of hell. Even though Faustus could have asked for forgiveness‚ he believed there was no chance for salvation and in the end of the play he
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John Calvin devoted the majority of his life to the promotion of Protestantism and made such a difference that his impact is still seen today in Christianity. John Calvin is considered one of the most prominent figures during the sixteenth century because of his paramount religious perspectives. He was mentored by many distinguished figures that were a part of the Reformation movement that effected some of the essential composition of Calvinism doctrines. Calvin’s unique perspecticdid believe in
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Compare how the writers present the subjugation of women in accordance to Victorian social value in the three texts. Over the ages‚ the roles of women have changed and evolved in accordance to the social norms of the particular time period. In the 19th century‚ women were canonised in literature as objects of beauty and of reverence; an idea which was carried into the very height of the age of enlightenment. From the very first gothic novel‚ Horace Walpole’s ‘The Castle of Otranto’‚ women have
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The book I have chosen to do my review on is called In the Company of Demons by Armando Maggi. It is a study of modern works that together‚ aid to answer a commonly asked question: What was meant by the early thinkers when they referred to the demons? Maggi’s assumption on the matter is that‚ "Unlike our contemporary culture‚ that of the Renaissance tended to believe in an ongoing interaction between spiritual beings and humankind" (p. viii). Maggi later then explains that‚ "I have tried to recuperate
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Introduction 1. The journey taken by Dante is symbolic in the fact that it is a spiritual quest for salvation. 2. A canto is a chapter. 3. The Divine Comedy contains 100 cantos because 100 is the square of ten which in reference to the Middle Ages was the perfect number. 4. Tercets are three-line stanzas in the rhyme scheme called terza rima. In terza rima the middle line of the first tercet rhymed with the first and last of the second. 5. The number three is important in the Divine Comedy because
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