Saturday, January 25, 2020

What is Faith?

What is Faith? What is faith? Many, both inside and outside Christianity, ponder this question every day. How can we define faith, and how can we better understand what true faith looks like? More importantly, what kind of faith does God expect of us? Every one of us exhibits faith in something every day; we have faith that the bus driver knows how to drive the bus, we have faith that the pilot knows how to fly the plane, we have faith that the school teachers know how to educate our children, and for Christians we have faith that God is real and that Jesus died on the cross so our sins can be forgiven. Faith isnt something that we should exhibit only when things are going well, when we feel our circumstances prove that God is real. Corrie ten Boom, most famous for her work helping to hide Jews during WWII said When a train goes through a tunnel and it gets dark, you dont throw away the ticket and jump off. You sit still and trust the engineer.[1] This is true for faith; when something happens and life gets a little dark, we dont assume God has lost control and were headed into a mountain, instead we should trust God all the more, understanding that He has full control. But faith is far more than just this vague belief that God is in the drivers seat, or that whatever happens God will get us through that dark tunnel. In Hebrews 11:1 it is written Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. Faith is truth and trust, [2] yet how many of us have the kind of faith that can completely trust in God regardless of our situation? Theres a story about the missionary Hudson Taylor during his first trip to China. Aboard a sailing ship, at one stage there was no wind, and they were close to islands inhabited by tribes of cannibals. With the islands, and cannibals, getting closer the captain asked Hudson if he would pray. Hudson agreed, but only if the captain set the sails, ready for the breeze. With no sign of wind the captain declined, but Hudson stood fast and refused to pray until the sails had been set, ready for the wind he had faith God would send. The captain, eventually, agreed and the crew set the sails, while Hudson set about the task of asking God for the wind to fill them. Sometime later there was a knock at the door and the captain asked Hudson if he was still praying for God to send wind. Hudson indicated he was, to which the captain replied you better stop praying for we have more wind than we can manage![3] Hudson Taylor had no doubt God would send the wind; he had faith in God. In Hebrews 11 we see examples of other expressions of faith, expressions that may seem unbelievable unless you first believe that to God, nothing is impossible. In verse 3 we read that by faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at Gods commandà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦[4] None of us were there to see this, to witness this great event, and yet by faith we believe and accept this event occurred just how the Bible describes it. Similarly it was by faith that Noah built the Ark even when there was no sign of rain, or when Abraham left his homeland to take his family to a faraway land hed never seen, or when Abraham took the son he had been told would bless the world to offer him as a sacrifice.[5] These events describe how great faith led to a great event; a second chance for all creatures in the Ark, or a new nation that would someday bless the whole world, yet not every instance of great faith resulted in something most would see as positive. In Hebrews 11:35-37 it is written: But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword.[6] These verses describe people who, because of their faith, refused to reject Jesus even in the face of torture and death. Their faith caused them to trust in salvation and an eternal life, placing God above their own lives. It is only when we come to understand faith as the kind of faith that makes you force a ships captain to set sails while there is no sign of wind, to build a huge ship when there is no sign of rain, or to face torture and death rather than renounce your beliefs, that we approach the level of faith we see throughout the Old and New Testament. In Psalm 26:1 it is written Declare me innocent, O Lord, for I have acted with integrity; I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.[7] Faith is trusting, without wavering. Psalm 37:3-5 Trust in the Lord and do goodà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Take delight in the Lord Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you.[8] All of these describe faith in God, a faith that will see you trust Him through the dark tunnels, when you are stuck in a windless calm, when you are asked to fulfil a ridiculous task, or even when faced with death. True faith will trust God in every situation, no matter what we may face. [1] William K. Volkmer, These Things: A Reference Manual For Discipleship (San Antonio: The Passionate Few, 2016), 249. [2] Charles C. Ryrie, Basic Theology (Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1999), 377. [3] J. Don Jennings, Lifes Great Adventure: Walking With God (Maitland, FL: Xuton Press, 2011), 252-253. [4] Hebrews 11:3 NLT (New Living Translation). [5] Hebrews 11:7-10, 17-19 NLT (New Living Translation). [6] Hebrews 11:35-37 NLT (New Living Translation). [7] Psalm 26:1 NLT (New Living Translation). [8] Psalm 37:3-5 NLT (New Living Translation).

Friday, January 17, 2020

Wayne Williams Case Study Essay Essay

On July 28 1979, a woman found two males bodies alongside a road. This later was named the â€Å"Atlanta Child Murders†. Between 1979 and 1981, a total of 20-30 African-Americans disappeared in Atlanta, Georgia. They were mostly murdered by strangulation or asphyxiation. A whopping 29 homicides were proved to be linked to the same killer. Police did not have a huge amount of forensic evidence to track down the killer. They only had the evidence of fibers from the bodies and clothing of the victims. The fibers were unusual ones. Some of the fibers were yellow-green nylon and some had a cross section shape to them. The fibers apparently were used in rugs or carpets. In February 1981, the killer began dumping bodies into the Chattahoochee River. The victims found were completely or almost completely in the nude. Supposedly, the killer was watching media coverage of the killings. That helped him modify his methods to get rid of the fiber evidence on the victim’s bodies. Police then started to watch and search bridges along the river. This is all in an effort to catch the killer possibly doing his methods of dumping a body. Early on the morning of May 22, 1981, a police patrol heard a splash in the river. That caused Police to stop and check out what they heard or saw. They found a station wagon on the James Jackson Parkway Bridge. They found out the driver was 23-year-old Wayne Williams. Wayne Williams was a music promoter. He was questioned by police, but was then allowed to leave after a polygraph test, which came back inconclusive. On May 24 1981, the body of Nathaniel Cater was found from the Chattahoochee River about a mile from James Jackson Parkway Bridge. A single strand of yellowish- green nylon fiber was found on his body. A search warrant for Williams’‛ house was given to police. They found carpet similar to the yellow-green fibers found in the early victims in his house. They had to be conclusive enough to tie Williams to the murders. The police needed to demonstrate that these carpet fibers were not normally found in houses throughout Atlanta. Police found in his home a book detailing how to ‘beat’ polygraph tests. They also found statements from colleagues working in Williams’ studio stating he had been seen covered in scratches around the time of the murders. Chemists at DuPont also the world’s largest producer of fibers helped the FBI. FBI analysts passed the fibers through a device that  stretches fibers giving it optical properties. This allowed the FBI to trace these fibers to a Georgia carpet manufacturer. over a 12 month period from 1970 – 1971 the factory only made 16,397 square yards of carpet of this certain fiber and color which was English Olive. Police did some calculations and found out that the probability of finding a room in the metropolitan area of Atlanta that had carpet in that shade was 1 in 7,792. Wayne Williams was thought to be linked to 28 to 30 killings. Police and prosecutors decided on a plan to focus on just two cases, which were the Nathaniel Cater, and Jimmy Ray Payne cases. Those bodies were semi-nude and where recovered from the Chattahoochee River on April 27, 1981. In the latter case, police had also found a fiber on the shorts of the victim, which were similar to fibers found in Wayne Williams’s station wagon. Chevrolet gave details on the number of pre- 1973 vehicles with this type of carpet in them. Police found out that only 680 out of 2 million registered cars were carpeted with this type if carpet. That meant the odds of the victim encountering this fiber from any other car than Williams’‛ were 1 in 3,828. Even though not all this evidence may be enough to convict someone of murder, consider that the odds of both events happening was 1 in 29,827,776. The fiber evidence was the key to all, which was determined. On 27 February 1982, Williams was found guilty of the murder of two victims. Those victims where a Nathaniel Carter and Jimmy Ray Payne. He was sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment. Even though he was not charged with additional counts of murder, it was suspected that Williams was responsible for more of the Atlanta murders. He remains in prison at the age of 58 to this day.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Knowing How and When to Correct Students in Class

A crucial issue for any teacher is when and how to correct students English mistakes. Of course, there are a number of types of corrections that teachers are expected to make during the course of any given class. Here are the main types of mistakes that need to be corrected: Grammatical mistakes (mistakes of verb tenses, ​preposition use, etc.)Vocabulary mistakes (incorrect collocations, idiomatic phrase usage, etc.)Pronunciation mistakes (errors in basic pronunciation, errors in word stressing in sentences, errors in rhythm and pitch)Written mistakes (grammar, spelling and vocabulary choice mistakes in written work) The main issue at hand during oral work is whether or not to correct students as they make mistakes. Mistakes may be numerous and in various areas (grammar, vocabulary choice, the pronunciation of both words and correct stressing in sentences). On the other hand, correction of written work boils down to how much correction should be done. In other words, should teachers correct every single mistake, or, should they give a value judgment and correct only major mistakes? Mistakes Made During Discussions and Activities With oral mistakes made during class discussions, there are basically two schools of thought: 1) Correct often and thoroughly 2) Let students make mistakes. Sometimes, teachers refine the choice by choosing to let beginners make many mistakes while correcting advanced students often. However, many teachers are taking a third route these days. This third route might be called selective correction. In this case, the teacher decides to correct only certain errors. Which errors will be corrected is usually decided by the objectives of the lesson, or the specific exercise that is being done at that moment. In other words, if students are focusing on simple past irregular forms, then only mistakes in those forms are corrected (i.e., goed, thinked, etc.). Other mistakes, such as mistakes in a future form, or mistakes of collocations (for example I made my homework) are ignored. Finally, many teachers also choose to correct students after the fact. Teachers take notes on common mistakes that students make. During the follow-up correction session, the teacher then presents common mistakes made so that all can benefit from an analysis of which mistakes were made and why. Written Mistakes There are three basic approaches to correcting written work: 1) Correct each mistake 2) Give a general impression marking 3) Underline mistakes and/or give clues to the type of mistakes made and then let students correct the work themselves. Whats All the Fuss About? There are two main points to this issue: If I allow students to make mistakes, I will reinforce the errors they are making. Many teachers feel that if they do not correct mistakes immediately, they will be helping reinforce incorrect language production skills. This point of view is also reinforced by students who often expect teachers to continually correct them during class. The failure to do so will often create suspicion on the part of the students. If I dont allow students to make mistakes, I will take away from the natural learning process required to achieve competency and, eventually, fluency. Learning a language is a long process during which a learner will inevitably make many, many mistakes. In other words, we take a myriad of tiny steps going from not speaking a language to being fluent in the language. In the opinion of many teachers, students who are continually corrected become inhibited and cease to participate. This results in the exact opposite of what the teacher is trying to produce: the use of English to communicate. Why Correction Is Necessary Correction is necessary. The argument that students just need to use the language and the rest will come by itself seems rather weak. Students come to us to  teach  them. If they only want conversation, they will probably inform us, or, they might just go to a chat room on the Internet.  Obviously,  students need to be corrected as part of the learning experience. However, students also need to be encouraged to use the language. It is true that correcting students while they are trying their best to use the language can often discourage them. The most satisfactory solution of all  is to make  correction an activity. Correction can be used as a follow-up to any given class activity. However, correction sessions can be used as a valid activity in and of themselves. In other words, teachers can set up an activity during which each mistake (or a specific type of mistake) will be corrected. Students know that the activity is going to focus on  correction  and accept that f act. However, these activities should be kept in balance with other, more free-form, activities which give students the opportunity to express themselves without having to worry about being corrected every other word. Finally, other techniques should be used to make correction not only part of the  lesson  but also a more effective learning tool for the students. These techniques include: Deferring correction to the end of an activityTaking notes on typical mistakes made by many studentsCorrecting only one type of errorGiving students clues to the type of error they are making (in written work) but allowing them to correct the mistakes themselvesAsking other students to remark on mistakes made and then explain the rules by themselves. A great technique for getting teacher pets listening instead of answering each question themselves. However, use this with caution! Correction is not an either/or issue. Correction needs to take  place  and is expected and desired by students. However, the manner in which  teachers correct students  play a vital role in whether students become confident in their usage or become intimidated. Correcting students as a group, in correction sessions, at the end of activities, and letting them correct their own mistakes all help in encouraging students to use English rather than to worry about making too many mistakes.

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Taking a Look at Hopelessness - 640 Words

When you think about hopelessness The first thing appears in your mind is you don’t have a goal or you cannot reach your dream or your plans falling down. When you saw a person who don’t care about Their life, their looks, and their close folks immediately you try to know what happened to this guy or girl. From life experiences you can recognize and know what is going on to the people who feel hopeless, but the true meaning that you have to know what hopeless mean. You don’t know what hopeless mean at least if you had an experience with it, you can use a dictionary, but you cannot know the intrinsic meaning because the experiences are the only way to know any meaning of words. There are many things shows to me what hopeless mean. Social Situation, a lifestyle change, and Find the main reason for the occurrence of these changes. Hopelessness is not that thing become in specific situations. For example: we can find people their social situation are completely different. Like some of them are rich, and some are poor, some are celebrities, and some are not famous. However there is a link between them they have all the possibility to expose to despair. some of rich and celebrities people do or have all what they want easily that made them feel like they don’t have a reason to continue their life they lose the goal and meaning of life, instead of that you will find some poor people living happily, suffer harshly for making a living, but they have the meaning of life. theShow MoreRelatedThe Use Of The Beck Hopelessness Scale ( Bhs )1190 Words   |  5 Pagesclient admits to alcohol dependency on a consistant and regular basis because the loss of job. The client exhibits hopelessness and depression. The client has explained they experiencing insomnia, and decreased energy to do anything. This explains their poor personal hygiene. As the clinician the safety of the client is of the utmost importance. 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Throughout the play, O’Neill writes a multitude of lines that reference Mary’s drug addiction without explicitly stating her state of mind. Tyrone, in an argument with Mary, states â€Å"No, it can never be now. But it was one, beforeRead MoreCauses Of Youth Suicide1316 Words   |  6 Pagesvideo games etc., which tend to glorify violence and death (McWhirter et al, 2017). Another risk factor of youth committing suicide, actually knows someone that has attempted or committed suicide (Cerel, Roberts, Nilsen, 2005). An at risk youth may look at their friend’s suicide or loved one’s suicide as a way to end their own life of misery. Studies have shown that the risk of suicide attempts increases two to four times higher after being exposed to someone’s suicide and may also lead to suicideRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Autumn Begins On Martins Ferry Ohio 1066 Words   |  5 Pagesthe ways that individuals afflicted by poverty were able to escape the reality of their conditions.Wright’s open form poem follows a narrator s thoughts of his immediate and regional surroundings while watching a high school football game. One may look at this poem as the football game providing not just a mental escape for the parents and townspeople, but also hope for the sons to make it out of the area. However, there are evident negative undercu rrents that merit deeper examination. While a positiveRead MoreReflection On Depression1025 Words   |  5 Pageson didn’t make sense. While he was alive he took care of all the bills and insured that I was taking care of. 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