Faith and Works - James and Romans Free Essay Example, 1500 words

Faith and Works: Comparison of James 2:14 and Romans 4. Course: Date: In the New Testament, James 2:14-25 and Romans 4 both deal with the concepts of ‘faith’ and ‘works’ and their respective contributions to salvation. However, the approach adopted in the two writings is markedly different. This difference may be attributed in large part to the fact that the audience in both cases is different: James is obviously addressing fellow Christians, as he says, â€Å"my brothers and sisters† (2:14); on the other hand, Paul’s letter to the Romans is directed towards both Jews and Gentiles, to the circumcised and the non-circumcised. While the apostles James and Paul agree that Faith connotes belief in God and Works connotes good actions, James contends that faith and works are both essential for salvation, while Paul asserts that faith is the only requisite. James is unequivocal in his declaration that â€Å"faith by itself, if it has no works, is de ad† (2:17). We will write a custom essay sample on Faith and Works - James and Romans or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now However, he does not discount the importance of faith. His contention is that both are essential and one, without the other, is futile. He is addressing Christians, who, we may assume, are already among the congregation of the faithful, by virtue of their professed belief â€Å"that God is one† (2:19). Therefore, James accepts that faith is a precondition for salvation but asserts that faith alone does not suffice. Christians who profess to â€Å"have faith but do not have works† (2: 14) cannot be saved. This is illustrated by the futility of showing apparent concern for a fellow – man who is cold and hungry by the expression of empty platitudes: â€Å"keep warm and eat your fill† (2:16). This statement may be considered a profession of faith, but it is only when this faith is demonstrated through the action of actually providing clothes and food to the needy that faith can be conceded to be genuine. Good deeds constitute visible evidence of invisible faith, which cannot otherwise be validated. It is action, or works, which gives life to faith and without works, faith will remain an inanimate concept. One does not exist without the other. The only way to demonstrate faith is through actions, as faith is an internal quality which cannot on its’ own be judged as true or false. It is an undisputed fact that â€Å"Faith, apart from works, is barren† (2:20). Faith may be considered the root of Christian belief but this root will not sprout and grow to bear fruit unless it is expressed through works. James gives evidence of the truth of his claim by using the example of Abraham: â€Å"Abraham believed God, † and it was this faith that â€Å"was reckoned to him as righteousness† (2:23).

Comparison between Classical Athens and Han China

Despite the social hierarchy and acceptance of position of the population in both societies, Han China and Classical Athens had disparities proportionate to their physical sizes. The geographical isolation from each other resulted in the differences in demographics, characteristics of government structures, individual duties and roles in government, and the general view of life. The east to west length of the Han Empire dwarfs the city-state of Athens. The maps of Classical Greece and Han China display the basic geography of each area. The surrounding area of Attica around Athens covers less than a 50 mile by 150 mile area, and Athens was only a fraction of that. On the other hand, Han China expands approximately 3,000 miles east to west†¦show more content†¦Pericles on â€Å"What is a Good Citizen?† explains the concept that if Athenian man does not have an interest in participating in government, then he does not belong in Athens. The other Athens-related text is the Dialogue of Socrates and Crito in Prison. Socrates was charged with crimes by the Athenian government and accepts the punishments for his actions. Socrates feels that everyone who lives in a city-state should know the laws, and, confirmed by living in that area, is willing to accept any punishments at the hand of the state. Both of the Athenians stress the importance of devoti on to the state through obeying laws and participation in government. Socrates had a high moral standard of living and a group of followers with which he led by his actions. For example, Socrates not only preached respect for law and state, but also accepted death in order to show his devotion. Confucius on the Individual and the State stresses the importance of a father-son relationship over the government. The top box of the document says that by honoring your father, you are doing your part in government. The lower box describes a short story in which a boy rats out his father to the state, but Confucius takes the view of the importance of the father-son relationship. Athens overall had a high regard for government authority, while Confucius disregard it completely. A document that would have provided a more evenly sided look would be a ChineseShow MoreRelatedWorld History AP8768 Words   |  36 Pagesparticularly from conquered peoples, offer a strong argument that they were de structive and oppressive. 4. Do you think that the classical empires hold â€Å"lessons† for the present, or are contemporary circumstances sufficiently unique as to render the distant past irrelevant? †¢ This question can be answered successfully from several perspectives, although in order to argue that the classical empires are irrelevant a student would have to address the arguments made in the Reflections section of the text. †¢ ARead MoreA Comparison Between Chinese Etiquette and the Western Etiquette5197 Words   |  21 Pagesä ¸ ­Ã¨ ¥ ¿Ã¦â€" ¹Ã§ ¤ ¼Ã¤ » ªÃ¦â€"‡åÅ'â€"Ã¥ · ®Ã¥ ¼â€š-生æ ´ »Ã§â„¢ ¾Ã§ §â€˜ With China entry the WTO and will hold the Olympic games in 2008, the relationship between China and Western in politics, economy, culture will become more and more close. It is undoubtedly that the etiquette will play an important role in this process. To the definition of etiquette, China and Western have a different understanding. As Chinese thinks that the etiquette is the common behavior standards that all the members must obey, and its purpose is to keep the normal living orderRead MoreHemp Cultivation in China42289 Words   |  170 PagesRepublic of China Robert C. Clarke Naturetex International B.V. Van Diemenstraat 192 1013 CP Amsterdam The Netherlands Clarke, R.C. 1995. Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) Cultivation in the Tai an District of Shandong Province, Peoples Republic of China. Journal of the International Hemp Association 2(2): 57, 60-65. This paper summarizes the history of hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) cultivation and traditional use in the Tai an District of Shandong Province in the People s Republic of China, and investigatesRead MoreOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pagesapplication and consideration of how managment practice is formed and shaped by ideas and concepts. The authors have brought their wealth of experience and understanding and provided the field with an imaginative resource to address the dynamics between theory and practice. Dr Susanne Tietze, Bradford University, UK The key to success for managers is not only to be result oriented but also to be wise in their decision making. This requires that they have a deeper than superficial understanding of

Characteristics of Voluntary Disclosure †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the Characteristics of Voluntary Disclosure. Answer: Introduction Nowadays public and citizens have enhanced demand and awareness for more information and have depicted an increasing interest in the social framework of business activities. Therefore, with the enhancement of awareness among the citizens, all companies have reacted to the demand of their stakeholders by involving in CSR activities and by going beyond their traditional affairs of concentrating on income and generating value for their shareholders. Further, in India, CSR is perceived as a philanthropic affair that tends to concentrate on what is done with the income after they are made. Overall, much CSR practice in India is a relevant component of responsible business or sustainability as a whole. The CSR practices even support the theory of legitimacy meaning that the actions of the entity are desirable and as per the norms with well established values and beliefs. The study mainly focuses on the concept of corporate social reporting. The paper attempts to highlight the difference between public sector and private sector companies. The main determinants of the corporate reporting are adequately highlighted. A close understanding on the CSR elements is vividly discussed and the CSR initiatives are discussed in the report. The report gave a correct explanation of the CSR activities and helps in benefiting the society at large. Reasons why HR and CD is important in CSR disclosure in India A close understanding on the components of CSR disclosure reflects that community development (CD) and human resource (HR) are the major stakeholders that must be addressed through the CSR initiatives. The reason behind this can be attributed to the fact that CSR activities that are disclosed in the annual reports of organizations reflects more information on the engagement of companies in community programs, donation, and sponsoring event, art, sport event, etc. Besides, focus on human resource can be attributed to the fact that such component can assist organizations in enhancing and improving their competitiveness. Furthermore, various analysts are also of the view that external consideration of issues allows a company to be more responsible and accountable to the entire society or community (Benabou Tirole, 2010). Legitimacy is the major consideration for any organization because that constructs the destiny of the organization. It is one of the major area that pertains to social and environmental accounting area. This further assists the organization to sustain as a proper entity in the future because community is the most important stakeholder that allows facilitation of relevant investment decisions. In contrast to this, if internal issues associated with the management of human resources are not being given due consideration, then the engagement of companies in CSR activities cannot assist them in attracting and retaining workforce (Hossain Reaz, 2007). In relation to the components of CSR disclosures in India, it can be seen that there are majorly four kinds. These components are firstly, human-related information (HR), secondly is community development information (CD), thirdly is product safety and innovation details (PSI), and fourthly is environmental related information that further consists of disclosures associated with greenhouse gases and other energy disclosures. Community development disclosure entails the actions undertaken by Indian organizations in partnership with the community so that the general society can be offered with skills, resources, and actions that they require to bring positive changes in the community (Brammer Pavelin, 2006). Further, any social affair undertaken by an Indian entity to groom and retain HR including social performance focused towards the well-being of corporate employees is the CSR for human resource. Further, any activity that can pertain to the efficacy of a customer at large can be c onsidered as a CSR activity under the bucket of product and safety disclosure. Lastly, any kind of activity undertaken by an organization to avoid environmental degradation including prevention of soil, water, and air pollution can be considered under the ambit of corporate social responsibility under the bucket of environmental disclosure. Hence, these are the relevant components of CSR disclosures in India (Murthy Abeysekera, 2008). Mandating CSR disclosure in India With due passage of the Companies Act 2013 in India, the mandate for CSR has now been formally implemented to the dashboard of the Indian organizations. Such inclusion of the CSR compulsion was an attempt to enhance the efforts of government to deliver the advantages of growth equitably and effectively so that the corporate world could be involved with the development agenda of the country. Previously, CSR disclosures were not mandatory in India and therefore, many public sector enterprises sought undue advantage from the same by restricting their corporate disclosures for the benefit of the users. However, fortunately such CSR has become mandatory for every company in India. The mandatory guidelines framed for the companies assist in mandating a specific percentage of the companys post-tax profits for the projects of CSR so that a direction can be offered regarding the monitoring, implementation, and reporting of social disclosures. This is the reason why studies have shown that man dating CSR practices in India have made such measures more strategic nature instead of more philanthropic. The major reason behind this can be attributed to the fact that CSR is considered strategically relevant to both the private and public sectors of Indian economy, and this has been possible by the government of Indias attempt in mandating the CSR disclosure measures (Scott, 2009). While the quantum of reporting under CSR has become mandatory with the development of section 135 (Companies Act), there is also some kind of inflexibility in the inbuilt law associated with the reporting choices of a companys CSR activities. This is because the act instead of rigidly explaining the boundaries of CSR specifies in annexure VII that the company has free choice to potentially undertake such CSR activities, thereby making such disclosure attempts discretionary on the part of them (Kruger, 2015). In simple words, as far as section 135 is under consideration, the law undertakes explain or comply approach that does not specify any penalties for non-compliance. Overall, it can be seen through the evaluation of various surveys in India that even though several companies have taken on board the concept of CSR reporting within their framework, yet such CSR reporting seems to be in a confused state (Bauer Hann, 2010). This is because individual companies have defined their own reporting choices for CSR that ultimately transforms all activities undertaken in the name of CSR to be philanthropic in nature. Nonetheless, it seems that the CSR reporting choices in India has been evolving in the framework of profit distribution as a whole (Wicks Colle, 2010). This implies that contributions to the legitimacy theory have been done and this theory is a powerful mechanism that stress upon the social and environmental disclosures. Benefits of CSR disclosure in India As the business environment is getting complicated, good CSR practices can assist in providing the following benefits. Firstly, various CSR initiatives allow companies in India to invest in developing community livelihood by accommodating them into their respective supply chain. This can assist in benefiting the communities by enhancing their level of income. Besides, this also assists in offering these companies a secure and additional supply chain. Secondly, CSR disclosure practices in India can also assist in generating a favorable image and other branding advantages to the companies that will continue to prevail until such companies carry on with the CSR programs (Albuquerque et.al, 2013). Furthermore, this also allow the companies to position themselves as effective and responsible citizens of the corporate world. Lastly, various studies have also provided that human resource programs in the framework of CSR disclosure can play a key role in retaining, attracting, and motivating employees. This is done by interlinking the companys ability of undertaking such steps with their respective CSR commitments. Based on various studies, it has been seen that professionally managed organizations are very aggressive in corporate social and disclosure measures. This is because they involve professionals in all three phases of such measure (introduction, implementation, and assessment). Besides, some professional entities also engage in CSR by themselves, as they possess limited focus within their affairs (Thomas, 2016). In addition to such limitation, it has also been witnessed that most of the social and disclosure practices of corporations tend to confine reporting their respective schemes and other details but do not even appropriately reflect the actual issues in the implementation of CSR at several phases of economic growth (Adams, 2002). In simple words, no organizations reflect how they carry on their CSR practice, or how they recognize and select NGOs and strategic partners. Furthermore, no details of CSR monitoring can also be found in the reporting measures. In addition, it is also u nknown whether organizations pursuing special CSR departments have in reality undertaken any capacity building on CSR and its disclosure (Paradise Rogoff, 2009). Another limitation to the existing study of CSR disclosure is that since stakeholders are illiterate that prevents them from comprehending the CSR details, it may be better if the content of such reporting measures had been restricted to the scheme details. Conclusion Business entities all over the world are now realizing their stake in the community together with involvement in several environmental and social affairs. The only requirement of the hour is to frame effective strategic policies and instruments based on the history of the company, its content, peculiarity in interconnection with its respective stakeholders so that the implementation of CSR can be undertaken towards its defined goals, that is sustained social, economic, and environmental growth. References Adams, C. A., 2002, Internal Organisational Factors Influencing Corporate Social and Ethical Reporting beyond Current Theorising, Accounting, Auditing Accountability Journal, vol. 15, no.2, pp. 223-250. Albuquerque, R, Durnev, A, Koskinen, Y 2013, Corporate social responsibility and firm risk: theory and empirical evidence, Boston University. Bauer, R Hann, D 2010, Corporate environmental management and credit risk, Maastricht University. Benabou, R Tirole, R 2010, Individual and Corporate Social responsibility, Ecnomica vol.11, pp. 1-19 Brammer, S. Pavelin, S., 2006, Voluntary Environmental Disclosures by Large UK Companies, Journal of Business Finance Accounting, vol. 33, no. 7, pp. 1168-1188. Hossain, M, Reaz, M., 2007, The Determinants and Characteristics of Voluntary Disclosure by Indian Banking Companies, Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, vol. 14, pp. 274288. Kruger, P 2015, Corporate goodness and shareholder wealth, Journal of Financial economics, pp. 304-329 Murthy, V Abeysekera, I 2008, Corporate social reporting practices of top Indian software firms,Australasian Accounting, Business and Finance Journal, 2(1), 22-34. Paradise, R Rogoff, B 2009, Side by Side: Learning by Observing and Pitching In, Ethos, vol. 37, pp. 102138 Scott, C.M 2009, Green Economics. London: Earthscan. Thomas, S.A 2016, The Nature of Sustainability, Chapbook Press. Grand Rapids, Michigan Wicks, H Colle, D 2010, Stakeholder Theory, State of the Art, Cambridge University Press

Analysis for Jeep Grand Cherokee Essay Example

Analysis for Jeep Grand Cherokee Paper The advert denotes a jeep on rough terrain driving past a wooden shack. The scene is set in the countryside where nothing can be seen for miles. The writing takes up a small amount of the whole page, which shows the advertisers, want you to concentrate on the jeep rather then the text.  The anchor on the advert could be interpreted in different ways to the intended one. 8 on the Richter scale shows the jeep is powerful and can blow anything away. Richter scale is probably the keyword as it connotes ideas of power and strength. The wooden hut looks like it has been in an earthquake but in fact the advertisers wants to show you can drive it and feel commanding. At the bottom of the advert it tells you about the engine specification and the luxurious interior. The company wants to show off the best bits of the car. In the top left hand corner it has the company logo and the words THERES ONLY ONE. The advert works as a whole by placing the signifier for power (V8 Engine) next to the logo Jeep. This represents to consumers only this jeep will give you the ideas and hopefully persuade people to buy one. The caption will influence a consumer in their perception of the product: Jeep is a unique 44 manufacturer that upper class people may drive around town to do their errands or people who want to be powerful/commanding and use the car to its maximum limit. We will write a custom essay sample on Analysis for Jeep Grand Cherokee specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Analysis for Jeep Grand Cherokee specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Analysis for Jeep Grand Cherokee specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer This suggests it is indexical. Earthquakes are associated with power/noise and the seismic rumble from under the bonnet makes people want to buy it. This signifies to most people, a meaning that it is a good, stylish car that will impress and everybody will want. The blurred background is also important because it connotes an impression of speed and immense power, which will help to sell the car. Furthermore the man in the car is not very young for a reason. The advert is designed, obviously, to target people who can afford the 30,000 jeep, and so the image of the middle aged man, who maybe has enough money to buy one, is important. The photography of the car is responsible for making the advert work as well. Although the blurred background is probably computer generated, the car is a photograph. The camera never lies, but here it has been chosen to capture the image when the wheel hubs are blurred with speed and the slight glinting off the bonnet and headlights adds to luxury ride ordinary people could be experiencing. In looking at the image of the iconic jeep, the advert denotes a car travelling on a long distance terrain in a natural setting, which signifies that the jeep is capable of handling rough terrain as well, a smooth ride. Also it is a realistic representation of the kinds of roads the car maybe travelling on and whatever it (or lack of it) throws at you. The juxtaposing of a dark sky and natural environment signifies a smoothness and air of mystery, further implying to the consumer that it is desirable. This is the same with the car, as it is a dark colour too. This dark/natural colour setting is predictably continued to the jeep itself, so that the consumer associates the values signified by the natural setting to the product. The picture of the jeep is on the left hand side where the sky is darker which suggests the car has just driven through the earthquake and survived. The advert is more likely aimed at men, who tend to be the main money earners and more interested in cars and also the representation of colour for males is usually dark, and for females, dark, which further implies it is aimed at men. The ideology at work here is significant: the car represents power and authority and consequently, men learn to aspire to such images. The advertisement makes the reader feel in control and make people buy the product at price.