The Spirit of Disciplines By Dallas Willard Essay Example for Free

The Spirit of Disciplines By Dallas Willard Essay About the Author   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Dallas Willard is known for his enthusiasm in the basic elements of true â€Å"Christianship†. Most of his writings pertain to the different characteristics and disciplines that a true Christian is expected to posses. Being a professor of philosophy, Dallas is also known for his being logical and practical in the process of his presentations of the truth about Christianity and the basic attitudes that are involved in being a real follower of the Christ. It could not be denied then that through his writings, he was able to inspire different individuals, even student who are at some point obliged to review his writings and comment on his idealisms in becoming the rightful Christians that they ought to be. His writings are considered enlightenment to the soul as they all pertain to the ability of man to reach the standards of God and fulfill his requirements to mankind. One of his most remarkable writings is the book entitled â€Å"The spirit of disciplines†. This book has been noted to have changed the views of people in the reality of being Christ-like in their ways of living. It has also been noted by several religious teachers to be a powerful material that have changed the attitude of many readers towards the responsibilities of being a Christian. About the Book   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Published in the year 1996, â€Å"The Spirit of Disciplines† came in as a part of the Willard’s trilogy on Christianity which primarily includes his two major authored books entitled In Search of Guidance and The Divine Conspiracy. These particular books are indeed published to assist Christians find their way back to righteousness amidst all the challenges and the hardships that they need to face in living within the cruel world of the present society.   â€Å"The spirit of disciplines† particularly helps readers understand the different pointers of consideration that they need to learn to be able to create a much more considerable Christian-like personality within themselves. Content and Analysis   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The entire context of the book deals with the different virtues of being a Christian. Among which includes the impending belief on the fact that by applying the disciplines of abstinence which includes solitude, silence, fasting, frugality, chastity, secrecy and   sacrifice a Christian would be able to bring out the fruits of the disciplines of engagement which in turn includes study, worship, celebration, service, prayer, fellowship, confession and submission. Through the application of these major virtues, Willard points out that the essence of true Christianity could then be established within the personality of a certain individual.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this book, Willard also points out that there is an importance placed in the capability of a person to apply these major characteristics in his dealings with other people through his ministry. The Bible verse 1 Timothy 4:7 which reads: â€Å"But turn down the false stories which violate what is holy and which old women tell. On the other hand, be training yourself with godly devotion as your aim† has also been strongly used by Willard as the major basis of his thoughts that have been presented through the book that he has published. Personal Reaction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If the verse 1 Timothy 4:7 is continued until verses 8, 9 and 10, it would imply: â€Å"For bodily training is beneficial for a little; but godly devotion is beneficial for all things, as it holds promise of the life now and that which is to come.   Faithful and deserving of full acceptance is that statement.   For to this end we are working hard and exerting ourselves, because we have rested our hope on a living God, who is a Savior of all sorts of men, especially of faithful ones.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Certainly the verses indicate that for one to be able to attain the absolute state of being a true Christian, he must be able to face the challenges of being a follower of the Christ through his ability of disciplining himself as an individual who is able to train himself in attaining the best results in his ministry. As the book of Willard points out, the application of ones’ learning and training as received from the principles of the Holy Scriptures shall be the main reason for a person to progress in becoming a Christian-like individual who is able to reach the standards of God that HE himself has provided for his disciples to follow.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   True, reading this particular writing of Willard is indeed inspiring and beneficial especially for those who are enthusiastic enough in taking the necessary steps needed in becoming a real Christian. The essence of being a true follower of the Christ indeed lies on the ability of one to discipline himself accordingly to the ways of righteousness. Reference: Dallas Willard. (1996). The Spirit of the Disciplines. Hodder Stoughton Religious; New Ed edition.

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In this article, Christopher G. Petr presents results of surveys conducted to assess how foster children perceive independent living services put in place to help them adjust as they reach adulthood. Petr makes the point that while most current foster children were optimistic about their futures and believed that these programs were useful in getting them ready to adjust to life after they are age-out from foster care, some of the out of custody youths felt that they had not received adequate services. Among the arguments Petr uses to support this point are the two interviews with subjects "A" and "C". Petr reports that their scenarios are at the opposite ends of a spectrum he heard from the 27 people interviewed. He presents lots of anecdotal evidence from the interviews to support these arguments, including that A was using services like a tuition waiver and living subsidy to help her get a college degree and expressed appreciation for this help. Subject C, on the other hand, had no job and was not continuing his schooling and said he did not know he could get a tuition waiver or...

Personal Navigation Devices

Why have Personal Navigation Devices become popular? Personal navigation devices have become so popular because some people get tired of getting lost while driving, are not proficient at reading road maps, don’t always have a navigating passenger in their car that can tell them when they have to turn, and don’t have access to a plethora of needed maps in their car. Personal navigation devices are an answer to these problems. What technologies are required to facilitate the success of PNDs? The Global Positioning System, which consists of 24 satellites orbiting the Earth, is what personal navigation devices work off of.All these satellites have atomic clocks incorporated within them to ensure accurate time keeping. Each satellite constantly sends the time and their location. The personal navigation device has a receiver that decodes the signals, a processor that uses a trilateration algorithm to calculate the location, internally stored maps that the location is compared to and a display screen for the user to see. Who are some of the leaders in PNDs? What are the likely factors that will contribute to winning in this marketplace? Some of the most popular leaders in PND are Garmin, Magellan, TomTom, and Motorola.The biggest factor that will contribute to winning the marketplace is the extra features and accessories it can offer. Some of these are music player, real-time weather and traffic data, real time lowest gas price locator, and driving feedback based on acceleration, braking and speeds. The biggest competitor to the above companies is the smartphone. Some of the above companies have tried to create them with limited success. The advantage to smartphones is that the more things something does, the desirable it is. What will be a likely future for PNDs?In order for PNDs to compete with smartphones, they’re going to need to incorporate the features that users like from smartphones. The biggest advantages PNDs have over smartphones is tha t when you commit the smartphone to navigation, you’re taking away your entertainment and communication abilities. You can’t navigate with a smartphone and talk to someone on it at the same time. One of the features a smartphone’s navigation has that PNDs don’t is a voice recognition system where all you have to say is â€Å"go to 123 Fake Street†.A GPS’s touch screen is good but will be problematic while driving when you need to pay attention to the road. A feature that some alarm clocks have is the ability to project the time image onto the ceiling. One thing a GPS feature could have is dedicating a section of the windshield to shine navigation information onto it. This information can be seen through it as long as the driver doesn’t focus on it. In some States like Minnesota, it’s illegal to mount a GPS on the windshield so drivers have to continuously look down. Personal Navigation Devices Why have Personal Navigation Devices become popular? Personal navigation devices have become so popular because some people get tired of getting lost while driving, are not proficient at reading road maps, don’t always have a navigating passenger in their car that can tell them when they have to turn, and don’t have access to a plethora of needed maps in their car. Personal navigation devices are an answer to these problems. What technologies are required to facilitate the success of PNDs? The Global Positioning System, which consists of 24 satellites orbiting the Earth, is what personal navigation devices work off of.All these satellites have atomic clocks incorporated within them to ensure accurate time keeping. Each satellite constantly sends the time and their location. The personal navigation device has a receiver that decodes the signals, a processor that uses a trilateration algorithm to calculate the location, internally stored maps that the location is compared to and a display screen for the user to see. Who are some of the leaders in PNDs? What are the likely factors that will contribute to winning in this marketplace? Some of the most popular leaders in PND are Garmin, Magellan, TomTom, and Motorola.The biggest factor that will contribute to winning the marketplace is the extra features and accessories it can offer. Some of these are music player, real-time weather and traffic data, real time lowest gas price locator, and driving feedback based on acceleration, braking and speeds. The biggest competitor to the above companies is the smartphone. Some of the above companies have tried to create them with limited success. The advantage to smartphones is that the more things something does, the desirable it is. What will be a likely future for PNDs?In order for PNDs to compete with smartphones, they’re going to need to incorporate the features that users like from smartphones. The biggest advantages PNDs have over smartphones is tha t when you commit the smartphone to navigation, you’re taking away your entertainment and communication abilities. You can’t navigate with a smartphone and talk to someone on it at the same time. One of the features a smartphone’s navigation has that PNDs don’t is a voice recognition system where all you have to say is â€Å"go to 123 Fake Street†.A GPS’s touch screen is good but will be problematic while driving when you need to pay attention to the road. A feature that some alarm clocks have is the ability to project the time image onto the ceiling. One thing a GPS feature could have is dedicating a section of the windshield to shine navigation information onto it. This information can be seen through it as long as the driver doesn’t focus on it. In some States like Minnesota, it’s illegal to mount a GPS on the windshield so drivers have to continuously look down.

Although Humankind Has Always Practiced A Spectrum Of...

Although humankind has always practiced a spectrum of diversified cultures and rituals throughout history, people will remain constant. They will hang on to their ancient learnings creating a transparent, barbaric-based environment. Shirley Jackson’s famous short story â€Å"The Lottery† has created controversy among her audience with regard to its purpose. The story describes a small New England village which practices an annual ritual known as â€Å"The Lottery†. In the beginning of â€Å"The Lottery†, townspeople gather in the village’s town square, where everyone waits for the ritual to commence. One of the main characters, Mr. Summers, hosts the lottery and chooses a â€Å"lucky† winner from a black, broken-down box. After selecting a name from the box,†¦show more content†¦The description of the rituals show that someone influences the people to chant and praise. This illustrates an otherworldly identification of the leader. Ja ckson further describes the victim of the lottery as someone who stood before the crowd resembling a divine being. Words such as â€Å"duly† and â€Å"supposed† provides knowledge that the village practiced and followed the same procedure every year with no other alternatives or any other unrequired arrangements. Similarly, Old Man Warner, when talking about the dangers of discontinuing the lottery, continues, â€Å"Used to be a saying about ‘Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon’† (Jackson 4). Old Man Warner’s words imply the worship of a higher being, who willingly. sacrifice their own people to a divine individual with the hope that the rest of the year will be successful. This proves that the villagers don’t necessarily understand the real reason for the lottery; they subside because they believe in a higher being who will reward them with a good year. Although Jackson does tie â€Å"The Lottery† to a Biblical theme, there lie s a greater reason for the twisted ending of her short story. â€Å"The Lottery† uses details to illustrate the traditional customs of patriarchy. The abundance of evidence in the text that suggests that males dominate this society. â€Å"The lottery was conducted--as were the square dances, the teen club, the Halloween program--by Mr. Summers† (Jackson 1).Show MoreRelatedAll About Peace Education13195 Words   |  53 PagesRights Peace education is an elusive concept. Although peace always has been and continues to be the object of an unceasing quest in almost all communities and groups, the training of each new generation centers on divisive issues of in-group/out-group differentiations, intergroup conflict and ongoing preparation for defense and war against real and perceived enemies. The universal presence of conflict and war in human history has always necessitated that priority be given to education forRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 Pagestextbooks for introducing students to the leading theories about management while ignoring what is known about effective management practice. Sympathetic to Mintzberg’s critique, we set out to identify the defining competencies of effective managers. Although no two management positions are exactly the same, the research summarized in the Introduction highlights ten personal, interpersonal, and group skills that form the cor e of effective management practice. Each chapter addresses one of these skills