Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Japan

2007-03-15T19:47:31Z

Crusnik02:

Group of islands off the eastern coast of [[Asia]].

Early signs of human life appeared in Japan around the year 3000 BC. The wild Japanese Bison was an early target of wild game, hunted to extinction within 500 years.
Japan was closed off from the rest of the world for a long period of time under the rule of a series of military leaders known as Shoguns. While the Japanese Emperor continued to reign in the old capital of Kyoto, he was more of a figurehead with little more power than he possesses today. The rule of the Shoguns came to an end in the middle of the 19th century during a brief but bloody period of conflict known as the Meiji Restoration. During the Restoration a large number of young samurai from minor families, tired of the governments mishandling of the country and feeling that if action was not taken Japan would be dominated by western countries, initiated an armed revolt to restore imperial rule. Most samurai from the more powerful families sided with the Shogun, fearing that the minor families would replace them if the revolt was succesful. Out of all the men who fought the most feared was Himura Kenshin, also known as Batosai, "The Man-Slayer".

[[Category:Countries]]

Socialism

2007-03-14T16:59:31Z

Crusnik02:

Born out of the deprivations suffered by the urban poor in proto-capitalist 19th century Europe, socialism is an economic and political ideology that stresses the rights of the many over the privileges of the few. Politically, socialism is democratic and has been responsible for the extension of the franchise to all adult citizens. As an economic theory, socialism calls for the redistribution of wealth. This may be achieved indirectly via taxation of private wealth coupled with progressive social policy or directly via nationalisation and public ownership.

Although socialist ideas such as the provision of unemployment benefit, state pensions, universal healthcare, and state control of key industries have been common throughout the developed world in the modern era, the [[United States]] has tended to reject socialism as an ideological position. In other parts of the world, such as Europe, Africa, Asia, and South and Central America, there has generally been more explicit support for socialism as a doctrine, and socialist parties have been among the most successful political forces of the last 100 years. This correlates with a rise in atheism.

[[Marx, Karl|Karl Marx]] considered socialism to be a transitory stage between capitalism and communism. In his view, socialism is summed up by the expression: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs." A major criticism of socialism is that it infringes individual rights in favour of the collectivity. In a very real sense, politics in the western world throughout the 20th century were shaped by the conflict between a more socialist and a more individualist conception of history.

Although socialist parties are common in Europe, the leading examples all currently embrace some free enterprise, individual property rights and certain other aspects of capitalism.

Leading European Socialists are very critical of America<ref>[http://www.pes.org/content/view/666/74/lang,en/]</ref>.

There are many socialist teachings in the Bible but these have been deemed not relevent to today's society. Unlike the story of God creating the world in 6 days which you go to hell if you don't believe!!!!<ref>[http://www.plyrics.com/lyrics/reaganyouth/jesuswasacommunist.html]</ref>

==References==
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[[Category:Sociology]]
[[Category:Politics]]
[[Category:Economics]]

Fatwa

2007-03-14T16:57:37Z

Crusnik02:

A '''Fatwa''' (فتوى) is a legal statement made by an expert in Islamic law. Its purpose is usually to clear up an ambiguity where the law appears unclear. Pat Robertson famously declared a Fatwa on Hugo Chavez.

A Fatwa cannot override national law. It is only binding upon the one who issued it.

MySpace

2007-03-14T16:56:59Z

Crusnik02:

'''MySpace''' is an online social networking site which allows users to create custom profiles, and upload photos and videos. As of March 2007, over 130 Million people use MySpace. Half of the people on myspace are clueless 13 year olds and the other half are sex criminals.

==Criticism==
Many adults have criticized MySpace as being a hotbed for pedophiles and other undesirable users.<ref>[http://www.csoonline.com.au/index.php/id;1561163121;fp;16;fpid;0 "Mr. Safety keeps watch on MySpace security"]</ref>

<references/>

Patrice Lumumba

2007-03-14T16:56:01Z

Crusnik02:

Patrice Lumumba was the prime minister of the Democratic Republic of Congo from June 1960 to September 1960. He was imprisoned and assassinated in 1961 during the Congo crisis.

Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow, named for him, was an institution set up by the [[KGB]] to train freedom fighters from the Third World during the Cold War era.

Four Tigers

2007-03-14T16:53:41Z

Crusnik02:

The Four Tigers are prosperous economics of four Pacific Rim regions: Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea. Japan is not included because it is a freaking Dragon!

Sin

2007-03-14T16:51:54Z

Crusnik02:

[[Sin]] (from [[Old English]] ''synn'', from either [[Old Norse]] ''synd'' or [[German]] ''Sünde'', from ''sun(d)jo'' it is true, from [[Sanskrit]](?) ''es-'' it is) is any failure to conform to the letter of a given code of [[morality]], or the state of being of one so failing to conform, or the state of the world that results from such failure.

== Meaning of sin ==
The root meaning of the [[English]] word ''sin'' is actually, "He is guilty as charged." This in turn implies that the person committing the offense knew, or ought to have known, that his act would ''be'' an offense before he committed it. This word actually captures the meaning that many religious traditions ascribe to sin.

The [[Greek]] word used in the original [[New Testament]] and translated "sin" in English is '''ἁμαρτία''' (''hamartia'') (whence ''[[hamartoma]]'' a malformation of [[cell]]s that are within their usual place in the body). This word captures the ''[[Christian]]'' meaning of sin much better. ''Hamartia'' means ''missing a target.'' Thus sin does not require bad intentions, but might result from a misunderstanding. This is not to say that the consequences are any less dire, however. It does mean that sin need not be intentional; it can be a knowing (but not intentional), reckless, or negligent act.

=== Required: a moral context ===
Sin, which is a moral failure, cannot exist in the absence of a code of [[morality]]. [[Objectivism]] defines morality as "a code of values accepted by choice." Even a code of morality given by [[God]] qualifies as a code "accepted by choice," because human beings ''choose'' to abide by such a code, or not.

This is not to say that sin requires a context of ''divinity.'' Objectivism, for example, refuses to admit [[God]], while still prescribing a standard of value and a code of morality that follows from it. (Whether such a code can properly stand, by the rules of Objectivism itself, is another matter.) The context in which sin ceases to have meaning is not [[atheism]] ''per se'' but rather [[amoralism]]--the doctrine that says that no person may properly define what is moral for another, because no two people will ever value the same thing to the same degree, or value the same collection of things by the same rank structure.

Whether any man ''ever'' lives without some form of moral code--even if that code is, "I denounce as sin any disagreement with myself or any attempt to stand in my way"--is [[Can any man live without some code of morality?|debatable]]. Nevertheless, without ''some'' form of moral context, sin has no meaning.

== Differing views of sin ==
==== Jewish ====
In [[Judaism]], and certainly in ancient practice, the preferred method of atonement for sin was [[blood sacrifice]]. The Book of [[Leviticus]] prescribed multiple animal sacrifices for atonement for various types of sin. But by far the most important atonement--on the [[Day of Atonement]] (''Yowm Kippur'')--was made by the high priest of the [[Hebrew]] people (originally [[Aaron]], brother of [[Moses]]). This involved making a blood sacrifice, entering the [[Holy of Holies]] (in [[Latin]], ''sanctum sanctorum''), and sprinkling some of the blood from the sacrifice on the [[Ark of the Covenant]].

Animal sacrifice has not been part of Jewish practice since the destruction of the [[Temple of Jerusalem]] by the future [[Rome|Roman]] [[Emperor]] [[Titus]] in [[70 AD]]. But the [[Old Testament]] did not imply that animal sacrifice was the sole ''necessary'' measure for reconciliation. Simple repentance and prayer sufficed numerous times in [[Bible]] history.

Today, though animal sacrifices are no longer observed, Jews do observe ''Yowm Kippur'' and other festivals related to repentance and reconciliation. But a movement now exists to attempt to regain exclusive control of the [[Temple Mount]] area in [[Jerusalem]], rebuild the Temple, and resume the burnt offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings prescribed in the [[Torah]].

=== Christian views ===
==== Roman Catholic ====
[[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] doctrine distinguishes [[original sin]], or the sin of [[Adam]], from ''personal'' sins, which require individual reconciliation with [[God]]. A personal sin may be ''mortal'' (a particularly grave matter that the perpetrator commits by deliberate intent) or ''venial'' (a less grave matter that could result from a misunderstanding). The RCC distinction is: Mortal sins cut a person off from the grace of God; venial sins do not, but still injure one's relationship to God.

The one mortal sin that, to a Catholic, would be unforgivable (because its successful commission leaves no opportunity for reconciliation later), is [[suicide]]. Beyond that, a person may receive reconciliation for a mortal sin by making [[Confession (Catholic)|confession]] to a [[Priest (Catholic)|priest]] and receiving the ceremony of [[Absolution from sin|absolution]]. One can reconcile from a venial sin by the sacrament of reconciliation, or by receiving communion, or [[Holy Eucharist]].

Roman Catholic doctrine historically included two other controversial holdings. One is [[purgatory]], a place where the soul must be held to "purge" him of all traces of sin before he can gain entry to [[heaven]]. Redemption from purgatory allegedly required the payment of a monetary fee by the deceased's relatives to the Church. The other is the [[indulgence]], a fee paid to the church by the perpetrator in advance. Indulgences have not been sold for centuries, and recently [[Pope]] [[Benedict XVI]] issued an [[encyclical]] casting doubt on the entire concept of purgatory.

===== Virgin Mary =====
Roman Catholic doctrine holds that not only was [[Jesus]] sinless, but so, also, was His Mother, [[Virgin Mary|Mary]]. This doctrine, called ''Marianism'', is not ''universally'' held by all Catholics, however.

==== Anglican Communion ====
The [[Anglican Communion]], essentially the breakaway church of the [[United Kingdom]], retains the Roman Catholic tradition of confession and absolution of sin. But instead of an individual process, confession in Anglican churches is a group activity, and absolution is pronounced by a [[Minister (Protestant)|minister]] to the entire church-going group. Purgatory and indulgences have no place in Anglican doctrine.

==== Eastern and Oriental Orthodox ====
The Orthodox churches, including [[Greek Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox]], [[Russian Orthodox Church|Russian Orthodox]], and [[Oriental Orthodox Church|Oriental Orthodox]], differ little from [[Judaism]] in their holding of what sin is and how to reconcile it--except that animal sacrifices have never been part of Orthodox tradition.

==== The Reformation ====
In [[1517]], [[Martin Luther]] led the most serious break from Roman Catholic doctrine and tradition, the [[Protestant Reformation]]. This occurred at about the time that King [[Henry VIII]], then of the [[Kingdom of England]], formed the Church of England, the forerunner of the Anglican Communion.

Luther is most famous for his "95 precepts nailed to the church-house door." The most important of these is the principle that he stated in Latin as ''Sola Scriptura''--literally, "Scripture only." Luther rejected out-of-hand most of the various categories of sin, and the elaborate rituals that attended its so-called reconciliation.

To Luther, and to his intellectual heirs in the [[Lutheran Church]] and the [[Dutch Reformed Church]], the Bible tells all one needs to know about sin. Sin, according to Luther, is any failure to observe God's commandments or other Godly precepts that one may determine from the actual teachings of [[Jesus]] and of His [[Apostle]]s (especially [[Paul]], the most prolific writer among them). ''Reconciliation'' from sin was a ''private'' matter between God and any of His followers. A priest or minister ''was not'' required, because that would imply that a human being, of whatever office, could stand in the place of God--a thing Luther regarded as an insult to God, which is the definition of [[blasphemy]].

Nor was any animal sacrifice required, because [[Jesus]] Himself made the One Total and Complete Sacrifice of His own life for the sin condition of the world (see below) and for the sins of individual people, past, present ''and future''. Salvation was strictly by faith and strictly by grace. Luther drew directly on the letters of [[Paul]] that addressed this very subject.

==== The Baptist Tradition ====
The [[Baptists]] would generally agree with Luther. Like him, Baptists hold that sin is an act or omission that displeases God, and the state of being that the perpetrator falls into, and remains in until he has confessed this sin.

Baptist churches do not tend to engage in corporate, collective confessions. Rather, Baptist practice depends heavily on {{Bible ref|book=Matthew|chap=18|verses=15-20|version=KJV}}, which prescribes this procedure for the handling of sin that gives offense to a fellow believer:

# The aggrieved person, or the minister if the aggrieved person has asked him to, tries to encourage the perpetrator to repent. ''Repentance'' (Greek ''metanoia'') means a change of mind, or a change of heart.
# Failing that, whoever tried to talk to the perpetrator the first time, tries a second time and brings a witness.
# If this still does not bring repentance, and a cessation of the behavior, then and only then does the matter come before the entire church. The minister lays out the case, and puts the matter to a vote as to whether the offender ought to be allowed to remain in fellowship.

Not all Baptist churches practice this discipline, however. In such environments, sin is a matter between the offender and God (and the person or persons to whom the offender might have given offense). Some observers suggest that churches suffer when they fail to practice discipline as they should.

==== Fundamentalists ====
: ''Main Article: [[Sin (Fundamentalism)]]''

The above article is a comprehensive theory of sin, and its effects on the offender, on mankind as a whole, and on the entire world.

=== Islam ===
In [[Islam]], sin is very simple: anything that runs counter to the will of [[Allah]] (Arabic for [[God]]). In Islam, sin is simply an act, never a state of being.

Islam recognizes five gradations of sin, in order of severity:

# Mistakes.
# Immorality.
# Transgressions.
# Wickedness and depravity.
# Ascribing a partner to God. Thus this one special instance of [[blasphemy]] is held worse than any other sin a man can commit.

In Islam, permanent reconciliation cannot come in life. Instead, at death, a person has his "good deeds" measured against his "bad deeds" (sins). If the good outweighs the bad, then the person must walk a tightrope over a lake of fire in order to cross into heaven. Islam, however, offers one important exception: any person who dies ''in the course of an act that advances the Muslim faith'' gains automatic entry into heaven, regardless of any prior sins he has committed. The usual, and some Muslims (particularly the [[Wahhabism|Wahabbi]] sect) say the only, context for such a death is ''[[jihad]]'', literally ''holy [[war]]''. Furthermore, ''jihad'' is a ''physical'' war against non-adherents to Islam.

Other Muslims will say that ''jihad'' is not physical at all, but refers instead to a personal struggle that every Muslim must engage in continually against sin and the temptations thereto.

Still others state that two forms of Jihad are known:
# The greater Jihad, which is the internal struggle within a person against sin.
# The lesser Jihad, physical war against the infidel.

Those who make that distinction state that what they call the "lesser jihad" is practiced only by fanatical holders to Islam. A ''fanatic'' is one who holds to a set of beliefs uncritically--that is, without being willing to judge them. Since the [[World Trade Center incident]], a number of Muslims ''have'' begun a critical analysis of Muslim doctrine (both verbal and written) and the place of Islam in the civilized world. Whether those voices can find sufficent logical support in the written texts that define Islam is debatable.

=== Objectivism ===
Objectivism does not admit to any kind of divinity, but it still has its own code of morality. Though a student of Objectivism does not normally use the word ''sin'', one may best infer what Objectivism considers sinful by examining what it teaches man to value. A basic, but by no means exhaustive, list would include:

# Failure to be relentlessly rational in everything one does.
# Coveting the fruits of another's labor without being willing to pay for those fruits.
# Failure to give value for value received.
# Violation of another person's right to pursue his life in a non-offensive manner.
# Initiating the use of force against another person or group of persons.
# Accepting as real anything one cannot see.
# Refusing to accept reality.
# Attempting to create one's own reality.

Reconciliation for sin, beyond restitution to another to whom one has brought material loss by his sin, is not generally required. In the Objectivist model, one pays the consequences of his particular sins in the form of loss of trade, loss of respect, ''et cetera.'' Because Objectivism admits no heaven, it admits no [[hell]], either, and therefore all of the consequences of sin ''must'' occur in this life.

=== Cults and cult figures ===
A [[cult]], properly speaking, is a belief system centered on one person, or the group of persons led by that person. In the context of a cult, sin is any refusal to uphold the decisions or obey the orders of the leader, and anything else that gives offense to the leader. Reconciliation is generally at the leader's own discretion.

=== Totalitarianism ===
[[Totalitarianism]] is a [[philosophy]] of [[government]] that holds that the government ''must'' have absolute authority over ''all'' aspects of life. [[Communist]]s are totalitarians, just as the [[Nazi]]s were.

Totalitarian authorities and their apologists have their concept of sin as well: it is anything that works against the government, or tries to thwart its goals. This is true even in a regime that is explicitly [[Atheism|atheistic]] in worldview. Reconciliation generally requires recantation.

=== Socialism ===
[[Socialism]], whether as a system of government or as a school of philosophy, has a definite standard of value: "the greatest good for the greatest number of people." Sin under socialism is anything that undermines this. Theoretically, sin also includes ''conspicuous consumption'' at a level beyond that attainable by "the average person."

=== Environmentalism ===
[[Environmentalism]] also has a standard of value: ''the good of the planet as a wild system.'' Anything that harms the earth or makes it less wild is sinful in this system. The controversy surrounding [[global warming]] is, at root, a controversy about environmentalism as a source of moral values, and the allegation that humans in general, and/or some humans in particular, have transgressed against the environmentalist moral standard.

== Summary ==
Some religious and philosophical traditions consider sin to be a deliberate act; others say that it can be merely a mistake. Some say that reconciliation for sin requires a certain work; others that reconciliation is by the grace of [[God]] (or, for some, a cult leader), and still others (most notably the Objectivists) say that reconciliation is not required, except perhaps to any particular affronted person.

As mentioned, [[atheism|atheists]] do not necessarily lack a concept of sin (though they might not call it by that name). But ''amoral'' individuals, if such exist, cannot understand sin, because sin presupposes a moral code that someone might breach.

== References ==
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sin Sin] by [[Wikipedia]]
* [http://creationwiki.org/Sin Sin] by [[CreationWiki]]

[[Category:Bible]]
[[Category:Bible study]]
[[Category:Religion]]
[[Category:Philosophy]]