Religion Essays - Jerusalem District, Jerusalem Governorate

Religion Essays - Jerusalem District, Jerusalem Governorate Religion People may have different views about a belief or religion, but often both sides see a place of importance to them in the same way. Jerusalem has a religious importance for three religions. For Christians, the city is the site of many of the events in the life of Jesus Christ. For Jews, Jerusalem is the focus of their religious longing, the site of their ancient Temple, and their historical capital. For Muslims the city is their third holiest as the site from which Muhammad is said to have risen to heaven, and the site of important mosques. As a pilgrimage for three world religions Jerusalem is considered to be the holy city. The importance of Jerusalem to Jews stretches back about five thousand years. About 2500 B.C.E., the Canaanites inhabited the city, later Jerusalem became a Jebusite citadel. When David captured the city in 1000 B.C.E., the Jebusites were absorbed into the Jewish people. David made Jerusalem the capital of his kingdom, and Solomon built the first Temple to house the Ark of the Covenant. ( Elon, 1989, p.89) Because of David making Jerusalem the capital of their kingdom and Solomon building the first Temple located in Jerusalem, which is important to Jews because it housed the Ark of the Covenant which Jews see as important to them because it is a symbol of their freedom from slavery and the Covenant God made with Moses, and allowed Jews to establish their promised land. Jerusalem is considered by Jews as their holiest city. In 586 B.C.E., the Babylonian, Nebuchadnezzar II destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple and exiled the Jews to Babylonia. Fifty years later in 537 B.C.E! ., Cyrus the Great of Persia conquered Babylonia and permitted the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their Temple. ( Safdie, 1990, p.107) Jerusalem is the holiest city for Jews because their Temple, their place of worship was placed here until it was destroyed. Again when they were allowed to rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem they obviously had a religious attachment to this city and that is why today it remains a holy pilgrimage for Jews. Persia held Jerusalem until 333 B.C.E., when Alexander the Great added Palestine to his empire. About 198 B.C.E, king Antiochus III conquered Judea of which Jerusalem was a part, making it a tributary to Syria. The Jews later revolted under the leadership of Maccabees and defeated the Syrians. The Temple was reconverted in 165 B.C.E., and the Maccabean dynasty ruled until Rome took the city in 63 B.C.E. The Romans set up a local dynasty, the house of Herod, to rule most of Palestine. Herod the Great rebuilt much of Jerusalem, including the Temple. While suppressing a major Jewish revolt, the Romans destroyed the second Temple in 70 C.E. In 135 C.E., after the failure of! the Bar Kochba revolt, Jews were banished from Jerusalem. ( Thubron, 1987, p.45) Bar Kochba, also known as Simeon ben Koseva was the leader of the Jewish rebellion against Rome to regain their holy city, Jerusalem. After a lengthy and heroic defence, the rebellion failed, fifty fortresses and a thousand villages were destroyed. The Jews fought hard to get back control of this city which must be of great importance to them or they would not put up such a fight. It was during the period of David?s kingship that the city of Jerusalem became the centre of Israelite government and religion. Until David?s reign, Jerusalem was held by the Jebusites, a people from Canaan. Over time, especially as the monarchy declined, Jerusalem became the symbol of God?s promise to Israel and the centre for Israel?s hope for the future. ( Peters, 1987, p. 135) This shows how important the city of Jerusalem is to the Jewish religion and to their existence. The importance of Jerusalem to the religion of Judaism is quite evident, in addition to Judaism! , Christianity also sees Jerusalem as a holy pilgrimage for their religion. Jerusalem for Christians is the site of many of the events in the life of Jesus Christ, who is the Messiah for the Christian religion. From the early fourth century, when Christianity became legal in the Roman empire, Jerusalem developed as a centre of Christian

The Application of Eugenics Practices

The Application of Eugenics Practices In sociology, a bio-social environment can largely benefit from the applied science of eugenics. In other words, eugenics supports the study of modifying or boosting the genetic make-up of any sample of a population.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Application of Eugenics Practices specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In most cases, the human population is the major target in the application of eugenics practices. It is also imperative to mention that eugenics is a broad social philosophy that attempts to improve the productivity and genetic wellbeing of certain individuals, while lowering the productivity of some individuals by modifying their genetic make-up. It is definite that eugenics has been a subject of great discourse and controversy since the time it was developed and adopted. During the first few decades of the 20th century, eugenics had attained high popularity especially in the western world. It had been recognized as a formidable social movement. For instance, institutions, influential individuals as well governments were already propagating and advocating the practice of eugenics before the mid 20th century. Although the identification and understanding of certain features and compositions of genes have been facilitated in the study of genetics, there are still no definite and approved scientific methods that can be used to evaluate traits that may finally be useful. However, eugenics has been moderately applied in boosting body defense against diseases such as Cholera and Malaria. In terms of genetic diversity, it is worth to mention that policies that promote eugenics are likely to interfere with the natural diversity of genes among various populations. There is a wide pool of scientific evidences which have demonstrated that vulnerability towards certain ailments could be rife especially among populations with modified genes. For instance, individuals whose genes have been inc apacitated find it difficult to adapt effectively against prevailing environmental conditions. Needless to say, when undesired genes are eliminated in the process of eugenics, the diversity of genes portfolio is equally reduced leading to unbalanced population in terms of various personalities needed to supplement society. Individuals and corporate bodies who support the practice of eugenics argue that the process of eliminating genes may not necessarily impact a population negatively because it as slow program that can be reversed whenever undesired consequences are noted.Advertising Looking for essay on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More They also reiterate that when a particular program on eugenics is adopted, any unwanted consequences can be noted in advance and therefore controlled accordingly. Additionally, they observe that in case of any significant reduction in gene diversity, then it will take remarkably long period of time with negligible effects. Therefore, there is no cause for alarm over the practice of eugenics. The autism rights’ movements have also entangled themselves in the controversies surrounding eugenics. When genes are predisposed among individual with autism, it is definite that the rate of autism can be reduced. However, autistic movements argue that there is no need of lowering the rate of autism using eugenics because it is an integral component of brain diversity. On the same note, the Down syndrome’s advocacy groups also purport that the latter condition is part and parcel of neurodiversity that should not be interfered with at all. Finally, it is vital to mention the relevance of heterozygous recessive traits in relation to the practice of eugenics. There are scenarios when it is practically impossible to eliminate single-gene mutations. It is against this backdrop that genes with heterozygous recessive traits may be difficult to eradic ate due to myriads of carriers that are attached to them. Therefore, eugenics is a scientific attempt in gene mutation that has not achieved complete success.