Religion and Theology

All of us have more to do than we will ever get done. (CHAPTER 4, PAGE 58).
This sentence is very meaningful because it underscores the main cause of cheating in life  the fact that we are all too busy and there seems to be virtually no time to do some things. Apparently, we end up more like machines that can keep doing all else but talking to one another. The sentence explains how the notion that there is not enough time has exacerbated the cheating problem where we cheat on ourselves, our loved ones, and most important of all, on our beloved God. As such, we cannot get any benefit whatsoever until we realize that try as we may we will never accomplish all we intend to be accomplished. The best way to go is, therefore, to ensure that we do only what we can do in the assigned time and leave the rest for another time.

Dont cheat the people who love you most. (CHAPTER 9, PAGE 124).
This sentence is important because it strikes the nail on the head and makes us understand where the problem lies - cheating people who matter to us, the people who can come closest to giving their all just to have us.  This is so because the person who loves you is the person who needs you most. They are people like spouses or prospective spouses, children, friends, mentors, mentees, and friends both in church and outside church. Another one is God who has declared to us that He will neither leave us nor forsake us and who loved us to the point of giving His only begotten Son for us. As such, it is very wrong to cheat such people because they feel the love they have for you is not being reciprocated  because cheating indicates a lack of sincerity.

God isnt looking for workaholics and overachievers to build his church he is looking for people of character and integrity, and part of that integrity is commitment to ones family. (CHAPTER 7, PAGE 95).

The value of this sentence is in the way it sets apart fact from fiction and myth derived from common practice. Many people think that by failing to give their time to their families by being physically present and instead working a lot hard to achieve something in life they believe is beneficial for the family then they are pleasing God. That is untrue. Instead, God values the unity and oneness of the family unit more than He values hard work for self-achievement. God wants people of integrity and character which can be depicted through failure to lie because of having failed to attend to family needs and instead doing the right thing at the right time even when not one person is watching.

Daily you make decisions to give up one thing in order to gain something else. (INTRODUCTION, PAGE 10).

This sentence is critical owing to its blatant and direct way if giving a solution to the problem of cheating. Given that the main cause of cheating loved ones of their time and commitment is being too busy trying to do many things which never seem to be getting done to completion  and which will actually never get finished  the solution is to forego some for the sake of attending to others. This is like the basic economic principle of opportunity cost and choice  foregoing the less valuable things for the purpose of gaining the others. A choice has to be made and the choice is to be made based on priority. Loved ones must be given priority over any other thing.

In time, you will discover that when you prioritize correctly at work and home, God willhonor you in both arenas. (CHAPTER 9, PAGE 122).

This sentence emphasizes the value of prioritizing. It asserts that it is not when we make our loved ones to be of greater value than anything else and give them our time that God will move in our lives and bless both our work and our home. This is the exact opposite of what we tend to do in our natural tendencies to be perfect  working and asking God to bless our families through our hard work. It ought to be them other way round.

PART TWO RATE YOURSELF
The main area of concern currently is my work. I tend to give a lot of time to my work, going to the extent of working overtime so as to meet my financial goals and live the life I desire. Actually, I have believed that the harder I work at my job the more I will be able to better serve the people who love me because I tend to associate money with ability to meet all needs. In the future, the challenge will most likely be in the area of commitment to God and family as I even go further and use my extra time for self development career wise.

PART THREE A CONVERSATION
Sean is a lovely fellow and more importantly a friend of mine. Being the older and more advanced than he is, he looks up to me for guidance on many issues - I am his mentor. When I asked him of what he thought about my performance of my role to him as a friend and a mentor, he confessed that although I was good at doing my roles, I performed poorly because I seemed to lack the time to do the roles. It was a confession pointing to the fact that although was a high achiever at times, all this was unnecessary because I failed terribly at other times.  He cited my seemingly lack of commitment, and said that if only I would be present for him at the right time all would be okay. The rating was therefore mixed  capable but unavailable, and so in need of improvement. He suggested that I become more committed to the relationship by finding more time for him. What Sean told me was not at all new to me as I had always thought I was not being genuine enough with him and was instead seeking for false answers to cover up my failures. I felt terribly inadequate and really repentant, but my mind was still unclear how I could manage to juggle between work and friendship successfully.

PART FOUR SAFEGUARDS
I currently have no safeguards in place but I plan to pout the following in place in the future now that I understand where the problem really lies

To set aside a specific amount of time every day to be with my family, friends, and God.
To strictly take the minimum acceptable hours at work so that a lot more of my time is allocated to family, friends, and God.

Never to have any other duties on non-working days except those I undertake with my family and my friends, or for God.

Never to start any day without having had spend time with God in prayer, quiet time, reading the Word, and meditation for at least one hour depending on the schedule of the day.

Assigning my leisure (out of work) time in order of priority among my family members, God, friends, and my own leisure activities.

Getting an accountability partner, a senior figure in my life, to help in the assessment of my progress one this is in place.

To have my progress evaluated by all my loved ones and adjustments made accordingly.

Judaism is a religious group that is believed to have originated out of the covenant that was made between God and the children of Israel. It is among the oldest religious groups to have existed. This paper is going to look into the origin, believes, practices and also the various Judaism movements that exist.

Judaism are believes and practices that originated from the Hebrew bible. This believes are also known as Tanakh. It is considered by Jews as a manifestation of the relationship that was developed between God and the children of Israel. The children of Israel were a group of people that comprised of twelve tribes who were the descendants of Jacob in the bible who later came to be known as Jewish people (Lederhendler, 2001). Judaism is thought to have existed for more than 3000 years becoming one of the oldest religions that have existed to the present period. Through its texts, values together with traditions many Abrahamic religions have come to be inspired. They include religions such as Islam, BahaI faith and also Christianity (Avery-Peck, Harrington  Neusner, 2004)

Jews consist of different groups including people that are born Jews but later become converted to Judaism. The Jewish population in the year 2007 was estimated to be 13 million people. 40  of the population lived in Israel at the time while another 40  lived in the US (Raphael, 2003).  Orthodox Judaism, conservative and also Reform Judaism groups form some of the biggest Jewish religious movements. The differences among the groups emerge in the interpretation of the Jewish law. Orthodox together with Conservative Judaism insists that the original Jewish law should be used the way it is while Conservative Judaism advocates for a more modern interpretation.   
  
Reform Judaism is more moderate in the way they interpret the law. They feel that the law should be used as a guiding principle rather than restrictions that need to be followed to the letter by all Jews. Historically, Jewish law used to be enforced by special courts but in recent times, although the same courts exist, they do not enforce it but instead Judaism has been left to be a voluntary choice for individuals. The power to handle theological together with legal affairs has been entrusted to sacred texts and not individuals or organization. Rabbis and also scholars are the ones entrusted with the responsibility to interpret the texts (Lederhendler, 2001).

Doctrines and principles of faith
Judaism generally believes in one God although it has rarely been ideologically monolithic. This is clear from the recordings in the Jewish bible where by worship of gods was repeatedly condemned in the ancient Israel. During the Greco-Roman era, there existed different understandings about monotheism which brought about Christianity. In the present times, other liberal Jewish movements still dont believe in a personified deity that has been active through history because of the fact that the bible was written by human beings. Scholars have come up with suggestions aimed at changing some of the core believes of Judaism but they have all been met with numerous disapprovals (Frommer, 2003).

Some of the formulation include the Maimonides principles of faith that were thirteen in number. These principles were introduced in the 12th century. Any Jew who could go against the principles could be termed as a traitor although neither the Maimonides nor their contemporaries considered the principles as encompassing but rather a core representation of theological underpinnings of Judaism. Other Jewish scholars had slightly different views from the Maimonides principles. During the time of Maimonides, Hasdai Crescas together with Joseph Albo criticized the list of tenets on the basis that the list had so many items that although they were true, they were not the basis of their faith. They argued that Maimonides classified many Jews who were heretics. Other scholars opposed simplification of the Judaisms core tenets on the basis that reduction of Judaisms believes could limit Torah acceptance. (Lange, 2000)

According to Kaplan (2003), some of the ancient historians like Josephus put more emphasis on practices with observances more than religious believe in which they could associate apostasy to failure in observing the Jewish law. They insisted that for people to transform to Judaism they had to undergo circumcision and keep customs and traditions of Judaism. There was introduction of two poetic restatements after a period of time which was largely ignored for a few centuries after which they were integrated in Jewish Liturgies and eventually they became accepted universally (Szpek, 2006).

 In modern Judaism, there are no centralized authorities that can dictate a religious dogma. This has led to differences in the basic believes within the different Jewish religious movements although all of their basic principles originate from the Hebrew bible and different commentaries like Talmud and Kabbalah. Although there are slight differences among the various Judaism movements, the bible covenant between God and Abraham as well as other aspects that Moses was given are universally acceptable. Like in the Mishnah where acceptance of the Divine origin of the covenant forms an important aspect of Judaism with those rejecting it being considered to have rejected their share in the coming Kingdom (Lange, 2000).

Principles of faith
They believe with perfect faith in the creator as the sole creator and guider of each and every thing that exists and that he made, makes and will always make all things.

They believe that the creator is one and that there exists no any other unity that can be compared to him, he is their God who existed, exists and forever will exist. According to them, the creator has no physical body, is free of properties of matter and there can be no other physical comparison to him. The creator is the alpha and omega. They should only pray to the creator and no any other thing or being should be prayed to. (Rosen, 2003)

All the words spoken to them through the prophets are believed to be true. They believe that prophesy of Moses was true and that he was the chief of prophets both those who came before and after him. The Torah that they currently use is believed to be the same that was granted to Moses their teacher by the creator. They also believe that the Torah shall never be exchanged and that there will be no any other Torah that will be given to them by their creator. (Wyschogrod, 2004)

 They believe that the creator knows every deed of them all together with their thoughts because he is the one who created their hearts and understands their actions. Those people that remain faithful to the creator are rewarded while those that go against are punished. They believe that one day the creator will come back and that even if it will take time, they will wait for his coming each day of their lives and that he will revive the dead when he comes. (Neusner  Avery-Peck, 2003).

Jewish religious movements
According to Neusner,  Avery-Peck, 2003 during the Middle Ages when there was division in Europe and Asia based on religion Christian and Islamic countries, Jewish people also got divided into 2 main groups. The groups were Ashkenazi who were Jews from Germany and Poland and Sephardic Jews whose origin was the Mediterranean countries that were under Muslim rule. Over the past centuries Ashkenazi Jews have subdivided to different Jewish religious movements based believes and principles that a Jew should hold to. Although there have been subdivisions, there are common principles that apply to them all such as attending of either an orthodox or reform synagogue by a conservative Jew. Some of these movements include Orthodox Judaism, Conservative Judaism, Reform Judaism, Reconstructionist Judaism, Jewish Renewal and Humanistic Judaism.
Jewish observance.

Religious clothing
Kippah this is a rounded brimless skullcap that is worn by Jewish men during prayers, studying religious Texts, reciting blessings, eating and at all times.

Tzitzit this is a special knotted fringestassels located at the four corners of the tallit.  Tallit is worn during prayers by both men and women.

Tefillin they are 2 square boxes with bible verses which are usually attached to the forehead and wound using leather straps.

Kittel this is worn by prayer leaders together with vigilant traditional Jews during high Holidays. It is an over-garment that is white in color and extends to knee length.

Prayers
Traditionally they recite prayers three times in a day but a forth prayer is added to during special occasions like Sabbath and holidays. In traditional services, most prayers are recited in private but at times communal prayers are given priority. When communal prayers are conducted, the company of 10 adult Jews is a necessity. (Rosen, 2003)

Jewish holidays.
These are particular times in their calendar that celebrate times in the history of Jews together with central themes that signify their relationship with God like creation, redemption and also revelation.
Sabbath.

Its a day that they rest on a weekly basis. According to them, the day begins shortly before the sun disappears on Friday to Saturday Night after sundown. They also celebrate pilgrimage festivals that signify important events in their history like the exodus from Egypt, when the Torah was given to the Israelites at Mount Sinai and the commemoration of the 40 years that they were traveling through the desert to the Promised Land.

Holy days include Rosh Hashanah meaning a day for remembrance and Yom Kippur which is a day for Atonement (Neusner, 2002).

Although there are different movements in Judaism which have resulted in from the way each group interprets the Jewish law, Judaism still remain one of the oldest religion with a lot of followers. Majority of believes among the different movements still remain the same, uniting them.

In line with Mao Zedongs Great Cultural Revolution, religion was banned and atheism was declared to be the official religion of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The socialist transformation of China required the elimination of the so-called Four Olds  Old Habits, Old Ideas, Old Culture, and Old Customs (Overmyer, 2000). At the height of this campaign, religious activities were banned and structures of worship such as churches, mosques, temples, and monasteries were destroyed and looted. After Maos death in 1976, China revised its position on religion in consonance with the Reform and Opening policy implemented by Deng Xiaoping in 1978, which led toward a period of vitality and cultural openness. The official position of the Chinese nation was embodied in Document 19, a directive which led to the reestablishment of religions and religious affairs in China. While Document 19 guaranteed freedom of religion as means of uniting its people, it still empowered the state to control and regulate worship to ensure its stability and survival.

Renewed definition of religion
Document 19 critically analyzed the impact of its restrictive religious policy and recognized that religion was a crucial historical phenomenon in the development of human society (MacInnis, 1989, p. 10).

The directive produced a comprehensive analysis of the role of religion in China, outlining the errors of the CCP in dealing with the religious question, most notably the leftist excesses during the Great Cultural Revolution which made China subject to severe international criticism. Chinas religious policy after liberation forcibly forbade normal religious activities by the mass of religious believers, misinterpreted the customs of religions, and used violent measures against religions forcing religious movements underground (MacInnis, 1989, p. 13).  Eventually, according to the directive, the coercive policy toward the religious question went contrary to Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought and ended with the destruction not only places of worship but historical sites such as Daoist and Buddhist temples.

Document 19 also aimed to rectify the theoretical errors that came with the previous religious policy. It concluded that eliminating freedom of worship violated one of the Partys principle tasks uniting the people. According to the directive, there were around 59,000 religious professionals in China 27,000 Buddhist monks and nuns 2,600 Daoist priests and nuns 20,000 Muslim imams 3,400 were Catholic priests and 5,900 were from Protestant clergy (MacInnis, 1989, p. 15). The Document stressed that the previous view of estranging believers was unrealistic because considering that the lives of the Chinese people after liberation and during the Socialist reconstruction only improved gradually, it was a mistake to fast-track the Cultural Revolution. Moreover, considering that class struggle still exists in China despite liberation, the long-term influence of religion among a part of the people in a Socialist society cannot be avoided (MacInnis, 1989, p. 15). Instead of forcing the people to abandon their religious beliefs, the State must recognize that religions, like the state, will wither away once the objective requirements for a Socialist and Communist state will have been met. Because the previous policy divided believers and non-believers, it also denied equality of basic political and economic rights of the masses, hence, forgetting that the Partys basic task is to unite all the people in order that all may strive to construct a modern, powerful Socialist state (MacInnis, 1989, p. 12). It predicted that the more estranged the Party becomes from the mass of believers, the more this will incite hatred and fanaticism that will possibly crush the Socialist goals of the Chinese revolution.

Moreover, Document 19 clarified the revised perspective of the State on freedom of religion by saying that religion should not be considered an obstruction to the Socialist enterprise. Instead, guaranteeing freedom of religion to citizens is a means of strengthening the Partys efforts to disseminate scientific education as well as to strengthen its propaganda against superstition (MacInnis, 1989, p. 16). The Document recognized that Socialisms goal of replacing ignorance and subjectivity with scientific thinking would be carried out if its citizens could be given the freedom of worship. By granting religious freedom, Document 19 stressed that the new religious policy of post-Maoist China was that religion was now a private matter, one of individual free choice for citizens (MacInnis, 1989, p. 16).
Normalization of religious practice

Document 19 recommended that leaders of patriotic religious organizations be reinstated, their seized property returned, and religious structures and establishments be reopened. Despite emphasizing the concepts of religion being a private right, Document 19 also stressed the need for regulation and normalization of religious practice to ensure the stability of the nation and the preservation of the gains of the revolution against religious specialists in direct collusion from imperialistic aggressors. With Lenin as its guide, Document 19 stressed the caution that must be attached when planning to open religious practice in China, Be especially alert, Be very strict, Think things through thoroughly (MacInnis, 1989, p. 12). Document 19 expressed its support for religions that are considered patriotic and law-abiding and demands the suppression of minority religions that are in direct contact with foreign imperialist counter-revolutionaries.  Worship in official religious establishments such as temples and churches are preferred over worship taking place in residences. Although the latter was permitted, Document 19 says it was worrisome As for Protestants gathering in homes for worship services sic, in principle this should not be allowed, yet this prohibition should not be too rigidly enforced (MacInnis, 1989, p. 18).

Document 19 also established a strategy that aims to promote religion that is patriotic and loyal to the cause of the Chinese nation. It identified the eight patriotic religious organizations tasked with implementing the new religious policies of the CCP as Chinese Buddhist Association, Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, Chinese Daoist Association, Chinese Islamic Association, Chinese Protestant Three-Self Patriotic Movement, Chinese Catholic Bishops Conference, Chinese Catholic Religious Affairs Committee, China Christian Council, The Chinese Buddhist and the Daoist Associations (MacInnis, 1989, p. 18). The Document recognized that if Socialism must coexist with religion, there is a need to reorient religion so that it is compatible with the goals of the Socialist enterprise. The group of eight religious organizations were tasked establish seminaries that will provide training to create a new generation of clergy, a generation who will politically, fervently love their homeland and support the Partys leadership and the Socialist system and who possessed sufficient religious knowledge (MacInnis, 1989, p. 20).

Document 19 granted freedom of worship to citizens but excluded Party members from the practice of religion. Because Communism was considered incompatible of theism, Party members who chose to exercise their freedom of worship would be banned from the Party. The directive also marked out religious practices that were considered illegal such as witchcraft, wizardry, secret societies, magicians, fortune-tellers, and membership in any of these organizations is punishable by law (MacInnis, 1989).

Conclusion
Document 19 provided for a new atmosphere in China by introducing reformist policies that initiated a revival, albeit regulated, of religious practice. Temples and churches were returned as well as imprisoned religious leaders were released. Freedom of worship became a private right but under normalization guidelines from the State. Religious organizations considered counter-revolutionary were still banned in order to secure the stability of the nation and its Socialist enterprise.

The book leads one to understand business in a new light.  One may at times not think of business as a way to help others.  We may do business to help our family and if we have a surplus, we would then consider charity.  We are, or certainly can be, so self centered that we miss the blessing of service and the opportunity to glorify God through what He has given us.  But let say we have and do see business as a way to help others, but have we seen it as a way to glorify God  Can we do business for the Glory of God 

The book begins in a light note that propels one to continue.  Wayne Grudem begins with when someone explains to a new acquaintance, I work in such-and-such a business, he doesnt usually hear the response, What a great way to glorify God

We dont.  We glorify God through our singing, worshipping, evangelizing but through business transactions  We take a moment to ponder.

Business for the Glory of God attempts to answer the question Are things like ownership, commercial transactions, and profit always tainted with evil  Or are they merely morally neutral things that can be used for good or for evil It argues that they are all fundamentally good things that God has given to the human race, but that they all carry many temptations to misuse and wrongdoing.  And that is the two biggest themes of the book The aspects of business mentioned provide many opportunities for glorifying God, but also carry many temptations for wrongdoing, but the distortions of something good must not cause us to think that the thing itself is evil, and this clause constitutes the second biggest theme of the book. The author spends his time looking at different aspects of business (Ownership, Productivity, Commercial Transactions (buying and selling), Profit, Money, Inequality of possessions, Competition, Borrowing and lending, Attitudes of heart, and Effects of world poverty) and opens each chapter with a reminder of his theme as if hes trying to warn us Beware, of the temptations. For this review, I will only mention a few.

Ownership
One of the aspects Grudem expounds upon is ownership.  The book begins with sometimes people think of all ownership of property as a kind of greed thats morally tainted, and they imagine that in a perfect world people would not even own personal possessions But the bible disagrees.  Verses like Exodus 2025 You shall not steal and 2 Cor. 97 God loves a cheerful giver wouldnt exist if ownership was a sin.

One way we can glorify God with what we own is by giving it away.

Giving is important because it demonstrates trust in God.  When I give away 100, I am essentially saying God, I am trusting you to provide for 100 of my future needs, because I no longer can depend on this 100.  Thus, giving money away shifts our trust from our money to our God (24)
Neglecting our spiritual lives can lead us to further self-centeredness and wrongful thinking. From the beginning, we wanted autonomy, and this shift from God ruling to self ruling makes everything we do for our benefit.  We work for ourselves, save for ourselves, live for us and we forget God in the process.  The commandment of giving away what we own shifts our attention to self towards others and also shifts our trusts from what we can provide to God.

This not only helps us to depend on God, it also helps our relationship with Him.  It directs our thoughts toward Him and we know that what we ponder upon, what occupies our thoughts essentially becomes who we are. 

One of my favorite parts of the book is where it mentions God enjoys seeing His character reflected in our lives. God created us so that we could imitate him and so that he could look at us and see something his wonderful attributes reflected in us.

We care for the poor, because God cares for the poor, we love because God first loved us, we provide for our families because God provides for us.  When we act this way God looks at us and is delighted because he can see himself in us. 

We do not glorify God simply in giving away, but also in saving for future use to help our own family and even for our own enjoyment.  So whether you eat or drink or give away your money or save it for future use, do it all for the glory of God. (From 1 Cor. 1031)

Commercial Transactions
Another aspect of business that Grudem discusses is Commercial transactions.  Is it biblical  If you make a sale to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another (Lev. 2514)
So the buying and selling is expected in fact it is necessary for anything beyond subsistence level living for no individual of family providing for all its own needs could produce more than a very low standard of living.  We can sell what we make for things we need and we call attain a much higher standard of living.

Grudem mentions stories of how so called Christians have broken their word, forgotten their business promises or failed to keep them.  He advises such actions should not be swept under the rug, but should be subject to the process of personal confrontation and church discipline that Jesus outlines in Matthew 1815-17. 

If your brother sins against you go and show him his fault, just between the two of you.  If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.  But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.  If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

Once again my personal belief in the necessity of disciplines shows up again and gladdens my heart.  To live without discipline is like leaving a garden unattended and never cleaning a house Weeds grow and dust accumulates. The role of personal confrontation and church discipline is then helping the person come face to face with the wrongdoing and help with correction or serves as a reminder for future reference.

But ultimately what is all this for  To help us live in harmony with each, displaying love, mutual respect, honesty, and thus glorifying God.

The distortions of something good must not cause us to think that the thing itself is evil.  Commercial transactions in themselves are fundamentally right and pleasing to God.

Profit
Is gaining a profit from what you do evil The parable of the Ten Minas in Luke 19 would show otherwise.  13So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. Put this money to work, he said, until I come back. 14But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, We dont want this man to be our king. 15He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it. 16The first one came and said, Sir, your mina has earned ten more.

17 Well done, my good servant his master replied. Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.

18The second came and said, Sir, your mina has earned five more.

19His master answered, You take charge of five cities.

20Then another servant came and said, Sir, here is your mina I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.

22His master replied, I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow 23Why then didnt you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest

24Then he said to those standing by, Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.

25 Sir, they said, he already has ten
26He replied, I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away.

By simply reading the text we can see that the master expected the servants to make profit from the money he had given them and even chastised the servant who was too lazy or not wise enough to invest.  Profit is an indication that I have made something useful for others, and in that way it can show that I am doing good for others in the goods and services that I sell. So then making profit is not necessarily evil, but let us not forget temptation always lurks in the background. Grudem provides an example  If Im in charge of a monopoly on a necessary good, so that people can only buy bread or water or gasoline from me and no other suppliers can enter the market, and if I then charge exorbitant price that depletes peoples wealth, of course that kind of profit is excessive and wrong.  That is where earning a profit provides temptations to sin, but the distortions of something good must not cause us to think that the thing itself is evil. 

This last clause appears often in the book as well and I smile at the authors wisdom.  His repetitions sound like warnings from a loving father yet his observations are profoundly true. 

I want to lightly touch on the last chapter of the book simply because it brings up an important point about the poor.  What about the poor who doesnt own much and cant buy or sell and make any profit, what do we do with them  The Word states we should seek to help the poor but whatever help we can provide is temporary.  Grudem believes that the only long-term solution to world poverty is business and although he gives a few reasons as to why business has not yet solved world poverty, the biggest reason he states is our negative attitudes toward business in the world community. If people think business is evil, then they will hesitate to start businesses, but if Christians could begin to change the attitudes of the world toward business, then who would be able to resist being a God-pleasing subduer of the earth who uses materials from Gods good creation and works with the God-given gift of money to earn morally good profits, and shows love to his neighbors by giving them jobs and by producing material goods that overcome world poverty, goods that enable people to glorify God for his goodness, that sustain just and fair differences in possessions, and that encourage morally good and beneficial competition  Who could

Reading this book was truly beneficial and only a man who has the love of God in him could pull this through.  After reading a little about Dr. Wayne Grudem and finding out the reason for his move to Arizona where he teaches at Phoenix Seminary, I reckon God must have smiled, because at that moment God saw His image.   Dr. Grudem moved because his wife was ill and Chicagos weather only worsened her condition and he made the choice to leave where he had been teaching for 20 years because of her health. 

In everything that we do whether it is figuring out where we ought to move, or what business we should own-- Do it all for the Glory of God.

The introduction has the definition of the concept sexual orientation and the descriptions of the different types of sexual orientation. There is also background information on the issue of sexual orientation and religion. The paper is written in sections, with the first section dealing with Religion and heterosexuality. The second part is on homosexuality, bisexuality and religion, which is the controversial topic and the focus of the entire paper. The paper goes on to describe the different views by different religions of the world. The last part is on the Religious views and public policy concerning homosexuality and bisexuality. Finally there is a conclusion that sums up the whole paper.

Sexual orientation is an umbrella term for defining a pattern of romantic and sexual attraction. There are various common sexual orientations (Sell, 1997). The first kind of sexual orientation is what is referred to as straight or heterosexual. This is where an individual is basically attracted to another person of the opposite sex. This is for example where a man is attracted to a woman. It is the most common and generally accepted sexual orientation. The other type is lesbianism, otherwise known as gay women. This is where a woman is sexually attracted to another woman. The other type is homosexuality also known as gay men. This is where a man is sexually attracted to other men. There is also what is referred to as bisexual. This is where an individual can be sexually attracted to those of the same gender as well as those of the opposite sex. Asexual is where one is not romantically or sexually attracted to any gender. However they are able to enjoy close relationships (Pollack, 2007). Sexual orientation is a very crucial aspect of human life. Heterosexuality is the kind of sexual orientation that is considered moral and one that is accepted across the board. It is accepted by the society as a social norm as well as the religion as a religious moral. The others are controversial issues that have sparked debates from the society all the way to the religion. They are aspects of sexuality that are not about to be accepted as a norm in the mainstream religion and society. The relationship between sexual orientation and religion has varied greatly across time and place. Regarding the subject of sexual orientation especially in relation to the kinds that are not regarded as being within the religious morals, there have been differences within and between different religions and sects. Most of the major religions across the world view homosexuality and bisexuality negatively (Swidler, 1993). 
Religion and heterosexuality

This one kind of sexual orientation that is acceptable in religion across-the-board. It is the kind of sexual orientation that was the original intention of God since creation. The first instant of heterosexuality is when God created the first man according to the Holy Bible and later made for him a helper who belonged to the opposite sex. The initial intention of heterosexuality was reproduction. It is through the sexual mating between a male and a female that reproduction can occur. This is the reason behind religious acceptance of the marriage between a man and a woman. This is what the religion declares as a holy union that is blessed by the creator. Any other kind of sexual orientation that is not heterosexual is considered immoral by most of the religions in the world. The focus of the paper will not be on this kind of sexual orientation for the simple reason that it is not a controversial issue (Mcleland  Sutton, 2008). The paper will focus on homosexuality, encompassing both gay men and women, and bisexuality. 

Homosexuality, bisexuality and religion
Homosexuality and bisexuality is viewed negatively by most of the major religions around the world. The treatment towards homosexuality and bisexuality has varied among the religions. The religions have discouraged these sexual orientations among their believers as well as the public acceptance. They have forbidden these kinds of practices in their religions and strongly opposed campaigns that advocate for acceptance of homosexuality and bisexuality in the society. In fact religions have been in the front line in opposing these practices. However, there are some that have accepted homosexuals and bisexuals fully in their midst (Pollack, 2007).

Most of the religions that oppose homosexuality and bisexuality, consider these practices a sin. They do not consider it a sexual orientation. The only one considered a sexual orientation is heterosexuality. From this point of view, they do not view homosexuality and bisexuality a natural sexual orientation. However, in the same religions there are those who have accepted homosexuality and bisexuality as a natural trait and as a result they are blessing gay marriages. These are mostly the liberalized religions that do not hold dear the traditional beliefs. Mythologies and traditions that have historically accepted and institutionalized gay couple marriages are common worldwide. They do not discriminate against gay people and have in fact accepted and understood their sexual orientation. They do not judge them for they view it as something that is beyond them something that they are not in control of (Mcleland  Sutton, 2008).

Regardless of what they believe in, most of the believers look at the religious writings to guide their view on homosexuality and bisexuality. Despite the fact that most of the writings make it clear that homosexuality is not accepted, there is the argument regarding the translations and interpretations of these writings. There are claims that in translating and interpreting religious texts from the original format, they tended to loose the original meaning and thus cannot be used as authentic basis of deciding the issue. This is the kind of claim that is supported by reformists who support gay marriages. They claim that the translations of the religious writings have been so much such that they have lost their intended meaning (Swidler, 1993).   

Beliefs of specific religions
Abrahimic religions
These religions have traditionally prohibited sodomy holding the belief and the teaching that it is a sin. Currently some factions of these religions are accepting homosexuality and bisexuality and accepting those who have these kinds of sexual orientation amongst them. Reform Judaism, UCC and the MCC are examples of the factions of the Abrahimic Religions that have accepted homosexuality and heterosexuality (Duncan, 2002). The Presbyterian churches as well as the Anglican churches have also accepted homosexuals. In some regions, these religions have gone further to accept the ordination and acceptance of homosexuals as clerics. Some are even joining in marriage gay couples. Reform Judaism has accepted to ordain homosexual rabbis and same gay couple marriages, same case with the conservative and Reconstructionist Judaism. It is clear that most of the Abrahimic religions have accommodated changes as far as the topic is concerned (Pollack, 2007). 

Judaism
The key source for this group on religious guidance on the topic is the Torah. The Torah consists of the initial five books of the Hebrew Bible. A man shall not lie with another man as he would with a woman, (Leviticus 1822) (Mcleland  Sutton, 2008).  Doing so is considered an abomination by the Torah. Like all other sins described by the Torah, the punishment for going against this commandment is death. However, this is killing as a punishment is no longer practiced in Judaism. It is clear that sexual relationship between people of the same sex is a grave sin in this religion. The traditions of the religion have been tough as far as homosexuality and bisexuality is concerned, however there are changes as there are many transformations in the religion (Mcleland  Sutton, 2008).

Conventional Judaism considers homosexuality a sin. Since the 1990s, the Conservative Judaism began to undertake serious studies on the topic. The studies have engaged various religious leaders presentation of various legal papers for deliberation. The legal decision of the movement is to allow gay Jews into the places of worship and to shun any form of prejudice against them, both in the civil law and in the society. However, the leaders seek to maintain the prohibition on homosexual sex as a requirement in religion. This means that regardless of the fact that homosexuals and bisexuals are accepted in the places of worship, this does not mean that it ceases to be immoral (Swidler, 1993). 

Reform Judaism and Reconstructionist Judaism in the United States as well as Liberal Judaism in the UK, claims that the homosexuals and bisexuals should be accepted on the same grounds as the heterosexuals. The progressive Jews consider those laws that outlaw homosexuality as having outlived their usefulness, and that the understanding of sexual orientation has changed just like many other aspects of life and faith. Everything associated with faith has not remained static, and therefore should be the case with homosexuality and bisexuality. Some of those who support homosexuality and bisexuality argue that the restriction by the Hebrew Bible was aimed at prohibiting coercive or ritualized kind of homosexuality, such as the acts that were blamed on Egyptians and Canaanites (Mcleland  Sutton, 2008). 

Christianity
Christianity is among the biggest religions in the world and the one that is the most diverse. As far as homosexuality and bisexuality is concerned Christians hold diverse views. The views range from absolute condemnations to total acceptance. According to the traditions of Abrahimic religions, most of the Christians have accepted homosexuals, but continue to teach their followers that homosexuality is a sin. The Roman Catholic is one example of these denominations. This denomination continues to shun homosexuality and consider it sinful, but does not forbid homosexuals from the congregation as well as the places of worship. However, they cannot be ordained as priests nor can gay couples wed under the Catholic Church. Others that hold to the same views are the Methodist church, and the Eastern Orthodox Church, among others. Most of the Pentecostal churches like the KAG, together with others like the Jehovahs Witnesses and Mormons, continue to hold to the belief that homosexuality is a sin. They do not accept homosexuality amongst their believers. These are some of the Christian denominations that still want nothing to do with homosexuality (Swidler, 1993). 

Some of the liberal Christians do support the homosexual movement. Some others consider the fact that as long as a person is faithful to one partner, whether heterosexually of homosexually, then it is not immoral or sinful. Some of the churches that hold to this view are the United Church of Canada, and the United Church of Christ. Particularly, the MCC was established to a serve the LGBT community among Christians (Duncan, 2002).  This is a Christian denomination of whose membership is approximately 40,000 people, which is dedicated to openness and affirms to the LGBT Christians. The UCC and the Alliance of Baptists have accepted same-sex marriages. In the Anglican Church there is an open gay clergyman. One incident to indicate this is the case of Gene Robinson. Robinson is a declared homosexual Bishop in the United States Episcopal Church. These churches have continued to ordain gay clerics (Duncan, 2002). 

Some religious leaders like Fred Phelps and Jerry Falwell have come out in the open to claim that HIVAIDS is a form of punishment from the Almighty against homosexuality. This view that has been supported by many Christians is a claim that God has sent this terrible disease to punish the world due to the increase in homosexuality. There is an argument that some of the verses in the bible, especially in the Old Testament have been misinterpreted to claim that the punishment for homosexuality is death. In the 20th century, many theologians, studying this issue claim that many of the verses in the bible have not only been misinterpreted, but have also been taken out of context so as to relate to this concept that is referred to as homosexuality (Pollack, 2007). 

Some of the protestant churches use the scripture in Leviticus to condemn homosexuality and gay couple marriages. They deem these acts sinful and immoral. Where the catholic belief is based on the argument of the natural law as stated in the bible, the Protestants see it as being founded purely on the interpretations of the bible. The Protestants also view homosexuality as an obstruction of the natural kind of relationship which is heterosexuality. This is the originally intended kind of sexual relationship. They translate some of the scriptural verses to be laws that favor heterosexual marriages (Duncan, 2002). The catholic religion has accepted some unmarried people in theory midst as priests, nuns, and unmarried lay people for a very long time. Some of the self-described homosexuals and ex-homosexuals Christians have been reported to be satisfied in mix-orientation relationships. The Roman Catholic religion encourages the people who have sexual attraction to the individuals of the same gender to practice chastity. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds a completely different view. The teaching by this denomination is that a person should stir up sexual desires outside of the opposite sex attractions, include the feelings towards those of the same gender. However, these desires should be conquered through self-discipline and dependence on the atonement of Christ. This is to say that falling prey to these desires is a sin (Mcleland  Sutton, 2008). 

Islam
In Islam homosexuality is totally condemned. The religion views homosexual feelings as a natural temptation. Homosexual relationships are viewed as regressions of the accepted role and objective of the sexual act. The tradition of the faith in what is referred to as the hadith tradition, there is presuming of homosexuality, the Quran praises abstinence from homosexual act and condemns consummation. In the Islamic world, it is expected that males can be naturally attracted to male youths. This act is tolerated as it is considered a human trait that is the same as the attraction of the older sibling to the younger ones. The consummation of the desire is what is condemned. It is seen as a sort of lust and going against the holy Quran. This argument is based on the fact that affection for people in the same sex is natural, but should never be followed by sexual contact (Pollack, 2007).

The discussion in this topic in Islam is basically relating to homosexual acts among males. Sexual relationships between women, where they are seen as being problematic, they are handled in the same way as adultery. For instance, al-tabari accounts a killing of a harem couple. The two were executed under Caliph al-Hadi. Islam support filial attraction between siblings of the same sex. Sexual relationship in this kind of relationship is completely forbidden. There have been many accounts and writings using this proclamation of brotherly affection between men while arguing to be chaste (Mcleland  Sutton, 2008).

Zoroastrianism
The religious view concerning the issue of homosexuality in this religion is based on the Vendidad. This is an ecclesiastical code that evolved around 8th century BC. It is believed that some aspects of the law like uncleanliness, duo-relationships, and salvation were shared among religions. The following interactions among the religions are recorded following occurrences like the release from captivity in Babylon, and the visit of baby Jesus by the Wise Men. These are the teachings that guide the religions on sexual matters (Swidler, 1993). 

The Vendidad basically supports procreation. The union between a man and a woman is the only way that procreation can occur. The man who is married is given more respect that the one who does not have. There is also respect to a man who has a home over one who as none, and same for a man that has children over the one who does not have. The book also goes ahead to detail the penalty for a man who practices sodomy. This is referred to as a sin. Its punishment is equal to that of a man who violates an agreement with the worth of an ox. However, for people who practice sodomy willingly, there is no penalty, as nothing can atone or cleanse such a person. In short, it is a sin that can never be atoned. Nevertheless, the people who were in the religion of Mazda were forgiven for the previous sins before they are converted. This is because they are considered to have moved from ignorance to the light. All the past sins are forgiven and should not be continued (Olyan  Nussbaum, 1998).

Indian religions
Some of the religions that emanated from the country were Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism. These are religions whose teachings are different from the Abrahimic religions. Just like teachings about other aspects of life, the teachings on homosexuality are very different. While the subject of sexual orientation is freely discussed in the western religions, it is rarely discussed in Indian religions. This is because there is no openness in discussing issues related to sex in the community. Nevertheless, most modern religious leaders view homosexuality and bisexuality in a negative way. Whenever this topic is mentioned it is condemned and seriously forbidden. Ancient spiritual writings, like the Vedas, usually mention a third category of gender. This is the class of gender that is neither male nor female, commonly known as hijira. Some of the people who have carried out researches in this area relate the description of hijira to the modern-day gay women, gay men, bisexual, transgender and intesexual. The ancient writings negatively value this class as a pariah class. In Hinduism, the ancient writings view non-vaginal sexual intercourse as impure. The kind of intercourse that is respected is the vaginal one (Swidler, 1993). 

Hinduism
This religion has assumed various viewpoints concerning this topic from positive to neutral to negative. One of the canonical holy writings in this religion, rigveda, presents an argument that nature is all about diversity. In addition what is viewed as being un-natural is actually natural. From this writing some researchers presents the argument that homosexuality and bisexuality perspectives of life are similar to all sorts of universal diversity. However, the issue of sexual orientation is not commonly discussed in the open in the Hindu community even today. The topic of homosexuality is widely held as a taboo especially among those who strongly hold on to the religion. In a study carried out in the year 2004, majority of the swamis accepted to be in opposition to the idea of Hindu-sanctified same-sex unions. Most of the laws like the Manu Smriti, consider homosexuality a punishable offence. The kinds of punishments that can be administered to these people include ritual baths, public embarrassment, fines, and chopping off of fingers. The severity of the kinds of punishments administered proves the seriousness of the matter (Pollack, 2007). 

Since Vedic times, a third gender has been recognized within the religion. Some of the texts in the religion like the Manu Smriti and Shushruta Samhita claim that some individuals are born with mixed gender characteristics. This is identified as an issue of natural science. Currently most individuals of the third gender are common within the Indian community. Nevertheless, this is the group that belongs to the lowest caste, which is the outcast. The Kama Sutra that was documented in the 4th century AD describes this group where men performed oral sex with other men. Despite the description, the writer did nit approve of the acts and treated them with disgust. Some medieval temples and objects of art reveal some aspects of homosexuality and bisexuality, in their carvings. A good illustration of this is the walls of the temple in Khajuraho. Some people argue that it is possible that in the past, the community was more open about sexual orientation that they are presently (Olyan  Nussbaum, 1998).

Buddhism
People who profess to this faith have a strong moral stand in issues related to man and especially sexual orientation. Nevertheless, unlike many of the other religions around the world, most faction of Buddhism do not describe what is wrong or right regarding the ordinary aspects of life. There is no religious writing in this religion that offers details of what should or should no be done as far as sexual issues are concerned. The most common source of morality in this religion is the Five Precepts and Eightfold Path. These teachings argue that one is not to be emotionally involved or long for bodily pleasure. However, sexual orientation is a very broad topic that is subjected to different understanding depending on the moral norms of the followers. Therefore, determining if or not homosexuality is tolerable from a common mans perspective is not a religious issue. This is to say that the religion does not commonly offer directions as to how people should behave sexually (Swidler, 1993).   

The religion is typified as skeptical to physical pleasure and sexual orientation in general. Conventionally, homosexuality and gender variance are viewed as hindrance to spiritual development in most factions of Buddhism. For example, monks are meant to keep off all sexual acts and the Vinaya particularly forbids all sexual contact. There is a distinguished exemption in the history of the religion that took place in Japan. This is was during the time commonly known as the Edo period, where sex between young novices and elder monks was fted. During this period, there was no restriction on homosexuality among these groups (Mcleland  Sutton, 2008). 

From the writing in the religion of Buddhism where one is supposed to abstain from sexual misbehavior, it has been translated to comprise homosexuality. The Dalai Lama translates sexual misconduct to comprise homosexuality and bisexuality. Additionally, they include all other sexual contact that does not involve vaginal contact. However, Dalai Lama advocates for universal human rights in spite of of the sexuality. It is suggested in Thailand that homosexuality and bisexuality emanates from the result of going against the Buddhism prohibitions against sexual misbehavior. The karmic writings define homosexuality and bisexuality as an innate characteristic that cannot be reversed. This is a call to the society to have compassion and understanding for people in this condition. This is an aspect of support to the human rights as far as sexual orientation is concerned. However, religious leaders in the country have condemned homosexuality (Olyan  Nussbaum, 1998).

Sikhism
There is nothing documented on the view of this religion concerning homosexuality and bisexuality. However, in the year 2005, the international highest Sikh religious leaders defined homosexuality as being against the religion and its laws. They added that the conduct is totally against the law of nature. This means that the religion is totally against homosexuality and bisexuality. There is even a call for all the followers of the religion to advocate for the laws against same-sex marriages (Mcleland  Sutton, 2008).   

Jainism
Chastity is one among the basic virtues in the basic morals of the religion. For the common man the only platform for sexual relationship is marriage. This is obviously marriage between people of the opposite sex. Homosexuality as well as bisexuality, is seen as leading to destructive karma. This is due to the fact that it is going against the accepted kind of marriage. In the year 2004, Duli Chandra, who is a writer in Jain wrote that homosexuality as well as transvestitism, are staining to the mind and emotions as they involve sexual pleasure (Olyan  Nussbaum, 1998).

Religious views and public policy
Disproval to gay couple marriages and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender rights is often related to traditional religious beliefs. The opponents to the move claim that accepting to approve same sex marriages will be going against the long-held religious morals. Majority of religious groups have supported boycotts of movements that are aimed at passing the policy. On the other hand, there are some religious groups that support the policies in line with the LGBT community. The Unitarian Universalist Association supports the liberty of gay couples and their rights to marry. In the Islamic community homosexuality and bisexuality are strongly forbidden and proper translation of the Sharia Law calls for execution of the guilty. This has mostly raised controversy as the human rights movement condemns the law as violation of human rights (Swidler, 1993). 

Conclusion
Sexual orientation is a topic that is subject to diverse views as far as religious views are concerned. The LGBT rights have been widely accepted as any other human rights and must be protected. Most of the religions have supported the move and have thus accepted homosexuals and bisexuals amongst them. Others like the Islam have held their stand as to condemn homosexuality and bisexuality. Some of the religions have accepted them fully to the extent of ordaining them to leadership positions and joining them in marriage. This is for example in the Anglican religion. Others have accepted them, but not to the extent of ordaining them and uniting them in marriage. The debate concerning sexual orientation and marriage is one that is not likely to be settled in the near future. Things might continue changing in favor of LGBT community, but in a very slow pace. 

In the article The Creation of Epic the author has given a detail overview of different accounts the creation of universe narrated by ancient Middle Eastern texts like the Epic of Gilgamesh etc. The authors primary emphasis is on the Sumerian myth Gilgamesh and the Netherworld  the Babylonian myth Enuma Elish.

The Epic of Gilgamesh states that the gods were there before the creation of the universe and the heavens and earth were united and then they were separated. Another poem The Song of Hoe declares that Enlil was the god responsible for the separation of heaven and earth. The god Enki created the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, watercourses, fish and birds, and organized the world. On the other hand Enlils copulation with the hills created the seasons, fertility, abundance and floods. Namma, the primeval mother, created the first humans by placing clay in her womb.

In the Babylonian poem Enuma Elish the creation of the world is attributed to Marduk the Lord of the gods, who after vanquishing his rival goddess Tiamat, sliced her into two pieces and made the heavens with one and the earth with the other. Later he created mankind with the blood of Qingu, his rivals spouse.

All these stories have some similarities with the story of creation told in the Book of Genesis. For example Genesis speaks about the separation of heavens and earth, the creation of light, the creation of things with the word of God, the creation of humans with clay, and the initial chaos of the universe, which is very similar to the noisy and boisterous behavior of the gods in the Babylonian tradition. Thus when seeing these same patterns in these stories one can easily conclude that all the Middle Eastern myths and stories regarding the creation of universe have many things in common.

Synopsis of The Theology of Memphis
In Memphis Theology, which was recorded by the 8th century BC Nubian king Shabaka, and is known as Shabakas text is based on Ptah. Ptah is the most powerful of all the gods and the creator of the universe. He became the primordial fire and gave substance to it. He was also the creator of all the other gods, their souls (kas) and everything else. Everything was created by the generative power of Ptah through his thought and speech, in other words, his tongue and his heart.

According to the author the primary motive behind the development of this theology was to justify the capital and central status of the new capital city of Memphis and disregard the status of Heliopolis. But all the gods of the Heliopolis theology were not abandoned and Ptah has the qualities of eight gods like Enned, Ogdoad, Atum, Nun and Naunet.

Moreover the Memphite theology is very similar to the Theban and Hindu tradtion of triad of gods, who are either the creator, the destroyer or the preserver of the universe.

The Memphite theology and the story of creation in this myth have many similarities with the story of creation as explained in the book of Genesis. First of all as explained by the author of article, Ptah the Memphite supreme god is the most Supreme Being and creator of all, very much like the god of the Israelites. He also seems to create things with his thought and speech like God in the Book of Genesis created everything with his word and command. The similarity continues like God in Genesis created Adam with clay, and in the same manner Ptah created the first humans with clay. Despite these similarities the story of the book of Genesis is much different from this one as there is no mention of a primordial fire in Genesis, neither there is any mentioning of the creation and separation of heavens and earth in the Memphite theology.

Synopsys of The Laws of Ur-Nammu
Ur-Nammu was the founder of the third dynasty of Ur, which ruled Sumer and Akkad during 21st century BC. Ur-Nammu was the first king in the ancient Middle East to develop a collection of laws, which solve nearly all the disputes between the people of that society. The primary objective of these laws was to prevent abuse and oppression of the strong to the weak and establish a reliable justice system.

The code of Ur-Nammu consisted of 34 laws or codes, which deal with all the criminal, social and monetary issues of the society. The law insures the protection of the poor, widow and orphan against by wealthy and the weak. Each law starts with a conditional sentence and then with legal result of that condition. Sumerians valued both daughters and sons, as dowries were required from both the bride and the groom. Laws regarding marriage, betrothal, divorce and slavery gives us great insight regarding the status of women in the Sumerian society. Consent of brides father and a written contract was necessary for a marriage. Polygyny was avoided as Sumerian men were required to dissolve their previous marriage before marrying another woman. Divorce was initiated by the husband, but he was also required to compensate her. Slave marriages were also legal. Rape of a betrothed virgin was punishable by death. On the contrary rape of a virgin slave was only fined.

Men and women falsely accused of crime were judged by the river ordeal, in which they were thrown in the river. If they survived they were considered innocent, if not then they were righteously accused. If the accusation was proven wrong, then the accuser will pay fine to the accused.  Offenses like, abducting, dismemberment, injuring someone were penalized by monetary punishments. Murder was punishable by death penalty, but private vengeance was not allowed. Another death penalty was when a married woman intentionally seduces another man. The man was viewed as a victim. False testimony before the court was fined. Challenging the authority of the owner by the slaves was considered a serious crime. Running away was also a serious crime and the person who brings the runaway slaves back was heavily rewarded.

The overall image of the law of Ur-Nammu is that compensatory penalties were preferred in most cases. Capital punishments were given in only four cases as mention above.

Synopsys of The Laws of Eshnunna
Eshnunna, a small Amorite kingdom, north of Sumer, which became independent after the fall of third dynasty of Ur, prevailed during the first quarter of the second millennium BC. It was later conquered and annexed by Hammurabi. The laws of Eshnunna were written during the early period of the kingdom. They were not well ordered as were the laws of Ur-Nannu. Most of the preserved laws were related to matrimonial issues.

The law required consent from the brides father as well as mother. A written marriage contract was also required. Living together without marriage does not give the woman any legal protection. If the brides father marries her to someone else, then he is required to return twice the value the groom has given as gifts to him.

Men were given lands in exchange of military service, while women were not. If a long lost soldier returns home to find his wife has married someone else, she has to return back to him at once. Man marrying another woman after his first wife has borne his children was forced to leave all his possessions and property for his first wife and go in exile. This means that polygamy was considered unlawful, particularly after the woman has borne children.

Slaves were legal property of their owners. They were not legal persons and have no legal rights. Rape of a betrothed virgin was punishable by death. On the contrary rape of a virgin slave was only fined. Crimes causing injury and dismemberment were usually fined. Murder of any free man, woman or child was punishable by death. Murder of a slave was punished by compensatory fines. Adultery committed by a married woman was punishable by death and the husband was allowed to execute her privately. Trespassing someones property in day was fined, but if done in night was punishable by death. Negligent failure to prevent an injury was also a crime.

The overview of the laws of Ashnunnu states that this code was more severe than its Sumerian predecessor, as capital punishments were increased to 5 to 6 cases. All other penalties were compensatory in nature.

Synopsys of the Code of Hammurabi
Hammurabi was the strongest king of the Old Babylonian Empire, which lasted for almost a couple of centuries during the first half of the 2nd millennium BC. The laws of Hammurabi are the most extensive collection of laws ever compiled in the ancient Near East. It is a nearly complete set of 282 laws. The primary objective of the law was to make justice prevail in the land and to prevent the strong from oppressing the weak, as mentioned by Hammurabi himself in the prologue of the code.

There were four legal requirements for the marriage i.e. gifts from the groom, dowry from the father of the bride, a written contract of the marriage, and a feast. If the father refuses to marry his daughter with the groom after accepting has gifts, he has to return him twice the value of the gifts. Marrying another woman was allowed in only three conditions. The second wife cannot seek equal status to the first wife. If a widow wants to remarry, she and her second husband are required to give written guarantee that they will take care of her children from her first husband. The widow has the right to live in the house of her husband her entire life, though she was not entitled to sell it. Womens children will divide her dowry after her death. Divorce was legal and initiated by the husband. The husband is required to give her the full value of his marriage gifts. Divorcing a priestess was more expensive than an ordinary woman. If a woman accuses her husband publicly and later her accusations were found baseless then the woman is put to death.

Men were given possession of land in exchange of military services. He cannot assign his property to his wife, daughter or creditor. Ordinary women were excluded from feudal properties, but the priestesses were allowed to possess and use it. If a debtor is unable to pay his debts, the creditor can sell the labor of his son, daughter or wife for three years. Slaves were personal property of their owners. Marriages between slaves and free persons were permitted.

The law tried to protect women against crime when they are vulnerable and weak. Rape and incest resulted in death penalty. If a women priest enters a tavern she was burnt to death. If a can kills a citizens daughter, his daughter, not the murderer himself, was killed. Murder of a commoners daughter was not considered homicide. In most cases of assault and battery, penalties based on talion were imposed. This means an eye for an eye, hand for a hand. False accusation of a capital crime was a capital offense resulting in death penalty. A man falsely accusing a woman of adultery would be flogged in front of the judges. The penalty of robbery was death.

The overview of the code of Hammurabi gives us the idea that this law is more severe and harsher than the previous two laws, as it uses death penalty more frequently and even uses burning and drowning as a way of punishment.

The role that that the church plays in the community has been a critical one from as far back as when the church first became an integral part of the lives of people not only in this country but also in the entire Europe. The Church of England is one of the main mainstream churches that have been in the forefront seeking to shape the entire United Kingdom through its various involvements in affairs and critical issues affecting the lives of people. As a church, it has come out strikingly in what can be attributed to the call of Jesus on His disciples not to be of the world even though  they were still in the world (John 1716). Therefore, the church has to be able to set itself apart as a formidable force which cannot be shaken by the raging forces and waves of daily life but one that can stand its ground and speak fearlessly concerning the requirements of God to the people. The church ought  to be prophetic and to point out the way in matters religious, social, and even political and economic because it is to His prophets what God will give the power to know His mind. This paper discusses how the Church of England has been able to impact different aspects of the lives of people not only in England but the entire Western world.

The Church of England
The Church of England is the official church in England and the Isle of Man as well as the parent church of the worldwide Anglican Church. As the oldest church of the Anglican Communion, the Church of England is considered to be one of the many communions of the Anglican Church and so its power and influence sometimes extends to territories outside England. When it was established, the Church of England sought to be a church that could be in the most strategic position to meet the needs of the contemporary Christian through the combination of both the teachings of Roman and Orthodox Catholicism and those of the more recent Reformed Church. As such, the Church of England views itself as having aspects of the Catholic Church as well as those of the Reformed Church.

History of the Church of England
The origin of the Church of England can be said to be directly linked to the events what began in 597 during the Gregorian Mission. This was the time the modern-day England was occupied by many foreigners who engaged in al forms of idol worship until this mission which sought to have the area evangelized with the aim of teaching people of the new way of life in the knowledge of the true God. Not that there was no Christian worship in England then, ort  even by the time of the invasion by the Anglo-Saxons but that there was just a lot of difficulty getting the natives to abandon their pagan ways even though Christianity was acceptable in the country as the main religion of the people of Britain. So, in response to this trend, saint Augustus of Canterbury was send to carry out a thorough evangelism by Pope Gregory I. being assisted by the other more devout Christians in the area of Canterbury, Augustus was able to establish a church in Canterbury a year later of which he became the first Archbishop. Later, other people were able to come and work with him, notably Theodore of Tarsus who was later to become one of the Archbishops of the church. These women helped a lot in the planning and organization of Christianity in England, and mist of the practices of the church were based on Roman teachings. This was until 1534 when the church in England broke away from the Roman Church. This was during the reign of King Henry VIII. Over time, the Church in England continued to solely but surely transform itself from the original Roman outfit and gradually embraced new forms of worship. By the time it came to be officially known as the Church of England, there was a clearly distinction from the original catholic teachings, notable among them being the incorporation of Reformist practices without necessarily letting go of catholic aspects.

The Impacts of the Church of England on World Affairs
There are many aspects in the West that have been shaped by the Church of England ever since it came into being those many years back. As mentioned in the preceding section,

A key and notable contribution of the church has the general checking of evil and the ensuring that the countries in which the church has influence are able to remain sober and more inclined to taking part in affairs that have the approval of God. Jesus taught in the beatitudes, He at one time called on His disciples to be the salt and the light of the world, claiming that if salt ever loses its saltiness then it can never ever be made salty again. Such salt has no other value but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. Likewise, there is no way a lamp can be lit and then hidden under a basket. Instead, the lamp is put on an elevated stand so that it can give light to all people (Matthew 513-16). Therefore, the Church of England has been playing the role of being the light of the world as well as the salt of the world.

Settling Political and Theological Disputes
The events that led to the breaking away of the English Church from the Roman one are a key indication of just how controversy regarding civilian affairs can impact the lives of people. During that time, when King Henry VIII was the leader of the church in England, there was a great desire for the church to annul some of the practices that had been traditionally practiced by the Church of England even though deep within the hearts of some of its leaders they was no biblical basis for such teachings. Although this later came to be understood to be one of the approaches that King Henry VIII wanted to use to separate from his wife, it was also a key turning point for the church which saw not only the independence of the Church of England abut also the adoption of practices and procedures that were more in accordance with the teachings of the Reformists. There, just as much as it was a political gesture, the breakaway symbolized a deep failure by the church to understand that there is a risk of false doctrine finding its way into the church and being imposed on people who are otherwise never in agreement with it. The result was that there were more reforms in the church administration and although to the ordinary person this was a serious split in the church, it served to make the worship of God stronger. England, the Isle of Man and all the other dioceses that are affiliated to the Church of England became more autonomous and were able to better carry out the work of mission as they are required to in the Great Commission (Mathew 2414). The effect of this step by the Church of England was responsible for the current state of stability ion the church to this day. This is because church unity ids one of the key aspects that are critical if the church has to make any impact in the world.

Many times the Bible admonishes the church  which is the body of Christ  to be united because although the body is made up of many parts, it is essential that not only every part is made to do its work but also that they work alongside each other so that the body can remain well, and healthy. Previously, there had been disputes over church leadership and other issues touching on the legality and validity of certain teachings. However, there is now a lot of church unity, all courtesy of the Church of Englands efforts to shape a society that was being led astray.

The Legislative Role of the Church of England
From the time the prophets of old declared through prophecy hat a messiah would come into the world and that He would establish a kingdom here on earth, many Jews believed that it would be through Him that they would be rid of the oppression that they faced from the Roman imperial rule. Little did they know that Christs kingdom would not be an earthly one. In the present world, there has been the need for the church to play a more proactive role in the affairs of their nations. The Church of England has from its inception being instrumental in offering direction on secular matters. This has gone to a level where some bishops of the Church of England sit in the House of Commons as legal members. This is a pointer to the fact that the church has been instrumental in giving a spiritual direction to a world that is otherwise not able to understand or to hear the voice of God.

The Church of England has been more instrumental in helping prove the point that there is a lot of success in any region and nation when there is a clear separation of the state from the church. Whenever parliament enacts a law or during any changes to the constitution of any country in the West, including Britain, there has always been a clamor for there to be a clear and distinct separation of the state from the religion. The Church of England has been instrumental too in ensuring that this is the order in the West so as to allow matters of religion to be set apart from matters of the state and the nation. Over time, t has been witnessed attempts to have the church being presented as one unit with the state. In all endeavors, however, there has been no real success. The notably country in the West to try to do this was Turkey where there have been attempts to have a secular government.

The Church of England has opposed the continued existence of a government that is known to be supportive of a certain religion. Although Christianity is the dominant religion in the West, no attempts have ever been made by governments there to make themselves or these nations to be Christian states because of the understanding that there is no way harmony and peaceful co-existence can take place where one religion is favored by the government of the day. The Church of England has particularly been at the forefront fighting to ensure that religious freedoms are given to all people, leading by example by allowing those people who are dissatisfied with its way of doing things to go ahead and leaver the church. Therefore, when the constitution of the EU was being prepared, the Church of England was very instrumental in ensuring there was a lit of consideration being given to the issue of religion and how it was to be handled in the constitution. This is because the Church of England understood that the EU is a very culturally diverse society with people who profess different faiths including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. Therefore, it was very important that the EU had to design its constitution to make it as accommodative of the different faiths as much as possible. All this was largely because the Church of England was willing not to have Christianity favored over other religions, even though this was a possible way likely to be followed.

Promotion of the Equal Rights and an End to Discrimination
Perhaps the most instrumental role that the Church of England has played in the West is seeking to promote the rights of al people to access what they need. Impact was in the fight against racism when the church ensured that there was no-one who would be discriminated on the basis on ones color or racial background. As such, the Church of England become just about the first one to allow mixed congregations in its church. Combating the advancement of ideologies that promote racial and other forms of discrimination or division is also one of the greatest impacts that the Church of England has had in the country.
In the recent times, there has tended to be an emergence of individuals and organizations bent on ensuring that the British society is divided on the basis of race, religious affiliation, social class, among other attributes. A notable example is the British National Party (BNP) which has bee, under the guise of trying to promote the countrys cultural, religious, social, and ethnic diversity, trying to divide the country on such bases and the promotion of other ideologies that are grossly out of step with contemporary societal norms. The Church of England has been in the forefront trying to oppose this party and many others by asserting that there is no way the British societies will be divided on lines of race and other less important aspects. The BNP has been noted by many people as a very dangerous organization and so its agenda have been opposed. That aside, the Church of England has been instrumental in the fight for equal rights to all people in the society, including women and the minorities.

A recent development, based on the strict reformist agenda of the church, it broke from tradition and allowed for the consecration of women as priests. Although this move greatly angered many people who believed that the place of the woman in the church is not at the pulpit as a leader, the church has stood its ground. It has been a number of women priests and there are plans to even ordain women as bishops. The aim is not to sideline men but to ensure that just like the early church of the Jesus Christ had many women such as Priscilla, Sapphira, Tryphena, Mary, Julia, Phoebe, and Tryphosa (Romans 161-17). As such, the church has ensured that discrimination against women is not a vice that is allowed to take root in the Western society as has been witnessed in other areas in the world.

The other most controversial issue has been the ordination of same-sex priests as long as they are celibate. This move by the Church of England has generated a lot of debate as to whether it is morally and biblically correct to have such ordinations or not. The church has stood its ground and said that there is not a person who is to be discriminated against as al people are equal before God. The church has held that by denying such people the chance to lead the church then it is clearly that the church does not really believe in the reform agenda on whose basis it was founded. The direct impact of this move has been a breakaway from the main church of many dioceses, and a decline in the membership of the church. This is perhaps a negative impact that the church has brought about in Western world, although it al depends on which side of the debate one is supporting. This is because human rights activists leally support the church for its all-inclusive policy that seeks t end all forms of discrimination, while other religious faiths, including some within the Church of England itself feel the move has been taken too far. To this end, the controversy notwithstanding, the Church of England has managed to bring to the people of Britain rights which had been denied or withheld for a long time.

The Role of the Church of England in Evangelism
For a long time, the call to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth as given by Jesus Christ has been embraced by the Church of England over the years. The church has been active in missionary work not only within Europe but also in Asia and other places. Today, having began just as a small church, the Church of England boast many affiliate churches and is the third largest church in the world as far as congregation size or number of followers is concerned. This has of course not been an easy task. The effect is that a lot of people in the Western World have either become followers of the Christian faith or have been able to remain as faithful Christians in spite of the sweeping forces of religious change in the many years of the history of the Church of England.

Today, most Westerners pride themselves as being Christians. This is largely due to the efforts of the Church of England. Consider, for instance, the European Union. Although it is a largely Christian region save for a few nations with other religious faiths like France which has a significant number of its people being Muslims, the Church of England has played a great role in ensuring that the religion is faithful not only to people in England but also in the entire EU region. Today, most of the Western World can pride ion being predominantly Christian area because the Church of England has to do something as far as evangelism in order to ensure that Christianity spread as far as possible. Capitalism that is enjoyed in the West came about largely because the Church of England was instrumental in opposing communist ideologies that threatened to hamper the development of the world. The West also has some of the most stable economies in the world because of having embraced capitalism and not communism.

Promotion of Harmonious Living and Peace
The Church of England has played a critical role in bringing about peaceful living among people of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. It has been instrumental in the peace campaign and this has ensured that people have lived together in harmony. During the colonial times, the church played a big role in ensuring that the natives of colonies like the United States of America had hope and lived peacefully with others in spite of the many different migrant communities that were settling there. Today, it is the church that has been able to bring together the firm and close-knit fabric that is currently observed in the United States. It was as though the colonial could do anything else except hinder the church from carrying out its work.

The Anglican community around the world in general and in the United States in particular is largely testimony of the tireless efforts of the Church of England in ensuring that people were able to live together and to tolerate each other even in the face of calamities and disasters. Today, Many people who could not afford to live with other communities are now able to live together side by side because they have become one in Christ, all due to the efforts of the Church of England to unify all people and to ensure that the love of God was able to help them bear with one another for their own god and for the good of the future generations.

Conclusion
The Church of England has been responsible for many positive developments inn the Western World. Key among them has been the enhancing of peace and harmony, opposing cruel regimes and organizations, enhancing the peaceful co-existence between different people and so promoting unity among different groups of people, and ensuring that racism and other forms of discrimination were defeated. The Church of England has also been responsible for the settlement of political and theological disputes, the promotion of theological and religious reforms, and the enhancement of democratic rights in Britain by taking part in the political processes there. Notable among them has been the participation of the church in the House of Commons. All these and many more are proof of the great role which the church plays in the Western World.

Regula Benedicti or The Rule of Saint Benedict is a book of principles written by St. Benedict of Nursia. It is written purposely for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot. The fortitude of the Rule of St. Benedict can be summed up in the motto of the Benedictine Confederation and the conventional ora et labora which means peace and, pray and work, respectively. In comparison with other precepts, the Rule of St. Benedict provides us a moderate path between an individual passion and formulaic institutionalism. It became popular because St. Benedicts concerns were the needs of the monks in a community environment. This embraces establishment of due order and to further understand the relational nature of human beings. In addition, the Rule supports and strengthens each individuals ascetic effort in providing a spiritual father and fulfilled the human vocation (theosis) in providing spiritual growth. This Rule is intentionally written to guide for each individual, a sovereign community, and all the Benedictine Houses that remains self-ruling. Some of the advantages of this Rule include cultivating models of strongly bonded communities and meditative life-styles. On the other hand, geographical seclusion and, ineffectiveness, the need for mobility in the service of others and insufficient appeal to prospect members are some of the perceived disadvantages and losses in St. Benedicts Rule.   
     
One of the inspirational prayers that are widely known is the Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi which concerns the need for God to all of humanity. In this compact but compelling precept, St. Francis reflects on each phrase of the Prayer presenting us ideas about what it means to truly be a peacemaker and a follower of Jesus Christ. He emphasizes the need to spread Peace in this world which include love, forgiveness, trust, hope, light and happiness. The precepttext punctuate each reflection and persuade us to plant the seeds of good value and send forth the everlasting message that we all wanted the need for peace in our daily living and serve in the presence of God.

The Prayer of St. Francis personifies the spirit of St. Francis of Assisis plainness and poverty. The intention of this prayer challenges us to look beyond ourselves and find God in our hearts. This precept is differentiated from the Rule of St. Benedict in a manner that the prayer itself gives emphasis to individual zeal and less to formulaic institutionalism. It supports the traditional monasticism where individual renounces material things (i.e. worldly pursuits) and entirely dedicate their lives to serve God.     
   
Both of the preceptstexts pursuits the lives of Christianity and a life devoted to God. They provide examples, ideals, and guidelines to what each individual must do in service for God. Specifically, St. Benedicts Rule and the Prayer of St. Assisi are in response to the call Jesus of Nazareth to follow Him. Monasticism in Christian tradition embraces vocation from God and desires to attain eternal life in His presence.     

The Diaspora or Galut refers to those Jews who live beyond the borders of Israel. According to Jewish Temples .org the 2001 figures were 8.3 million Jews living in the Diaspora and 4.9 million in Israel. The same group reports that this is a more or less stable figure as compared to a rise in the world population. The number of Jews living in Israel is rising slightly, as is their interest in religious matters as described on this web page, but numbers in the Diaspora are falling.

If there approximately twice as many Jews living outside Israel as in it should they  be the ones  to be considered as the pattern of world Judaism

The word Diaspora comes from the Greek and refers to scattering, as of seeds, although it is sometimes translated as exile. It probably originated with the Septuagint version of the Jewish scripture into Greek. This renders Deuteronomy 28 v 25 as Thou shalt be a diaspora in all kingdoms of the earth according to Diaspora Definition.  Dictionaries give the word four slightly different meanings -  the dispersion of Jew after the conquest of Palestine, first by the Persians and then later by the Romans. This was added to after  HYPERLINK httpen.wikipedia.orgwikiBar_Kokhba27s_revolt o Bar Kokhbas revolt Bar Kokhbas revolt against Roman rule in 135 C.E.  Simon Bar Kochba had been hailed as a new Messiah. He was able to etablish, for a short period, an indepenent Jewish state, but this was eventually overrun by Roman legions. This was the third time  Jews had revolted against their Roman masters and the failure of the revolution after two year.   brought to an end the Judo-Roman wars, after which many Jews were sold into slavery throughout the Empire. Even before the Roman destruction of the temple in 70 C.E. there were more Jews outside Israel than in it. The same word refers to both individual Jews living outside Israel and the Jewish communities they belong to. Finally it is used to describe the extent of Jewish settlement beyond the borders of Israel. The word is used frequently when referring to concerns, particularly of Zionists, about a loss of Jewish culture and identity. However living in the Diaspora merely means living away from the land of Israel and does not necessarily refer to any loss of Jewish identity or faith. The idea of seeds scattering could refer to a planting of the faith rather than a dilution of it.

Where are they now
According to these 2001 figures there is no one country in the world wide Diaspora where the Jewish population comes as high as 2.5 of the population, so although Jews do tend to live in clusters, as for instance in parts of London where thy may appear to be numerous, they really are scattered around the world. The majority though live in just six countries, with a 21st century world population distribution very different to what it was before World War II. In recent years there has been a counter trend, with many Jews from the former Soviet Union have now settled in Germany. But wherever they live they share a common unique heritage that is  essentially different to that of the peoples around  one in particular of a race that has suffered simply because of who they are, whether or not they fully share in the faith of Israel.

Not all members of the modern day Diaspora practice their inherited religion, and by far the majority  have never lived in Israel. According to the paragraph The State of Orthodoxy on the Jewish Temple web page , there are  Jews who are Orthodox while . others would say they belonged to the Reform or the Conservative groups or are merely Jewish by blood not faith.. In France and Argentina it tends to be the poorer Sephardim, that is Jews descended from those who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before the expulsions late in the 15th century, who are the more involved with their historic religion. The Ashkenazim from central and eastern Europe, tend to be are more assimilated into the local culture, in some cases because they have been forced to in order to survive.  There are also Mizrahi or Middle Eastern Jews, such as those Kurdish Jews who lived in Iraq until recently. Many of them fled to Turkey when Saddam Hussein was in power  and there are large numbers of Kurdish Jews now in Israel.. Yet, what ever their shade of Judaism, every year at Passover many of them will join in the cry of Next year in Israel even if they are quite happy, settled and comfortable where they are and have no intention of moving. Israel is the Promised Land of the Old Testament, that referred to in Gods promise to Abram in Genesis 12 v 7, and in theory is where Jews should be.

History
The ancient state of Israel ceased to exist in 70 C.E. when the Romans, fed up with the difficult  province, destroyed the Temple and much of Jerusalem and actively tried to get the Jewish people to leave the land of their religious heritage. From that time until the creation of the modern day State of Israel in the mid 20th century the main history of the Jewish people is the history of the Diaspora, and from that same period far more Jews lived outside Israel than in it, some remaining strongly true to ancient traditions and other less so. Opposition seems to have strengthened both positions  the traditionalists sticking firm  and others allowing themselves for the sake of expediency to fit in with the surrounding cultures.

The removal of Jews from their homeland in this forced way wasnt the first  something like this had happened. In 722 B.C.E the Assyrians had invaded and carried off captives, not all of whom had returned. Richard Gottheil and Theodore Reinarch, writing in the Jewish Encyclopedia, state that it was poorer Jews, who were often fervent in their religion, who chose to return to their homeland when the opportunity came. When Nebuchadnezzar began to remove Judeans in 597 B.C.E. they were allowed to stay together as a group in Babylon (modern Iraq). So began the Diaspora. In 538 B.C.E. Cyrus allowed many of the Jews to return, but lots preferred to stay where they were. In most cases the Jews concerned, certainly in the early years, retained their religious identity. St Paul for instance describes his upbringing in Tarsus in his letter to the Philippians (3 v 5) Circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews in regard to the law, a Pharisee. Whether under the rule of Greeks, Romans and Persians Jews were allowed to follow their own customs and live according to their own rules and laws. Philo of Alexandria for instance has described how the Jews in Rome had their position guaranteed under the emperor Augustus who allowed them Roman citizenship, and at the same time allowed them to study Jewish rather than Roman law. On the other hand the water available to the Jewish quarter in Rome was of very poor quality. This half way house is typical of many Jewish communities around the world throughout history. Not all were prepared to make any compromises at all and continued to live as distinct Jewish groups with their own language, schools, shops etc. Gottheil and Reinarch  describe how, 40 years after the destruction of the Jerusalem temple by the Romans, several Jewish groups, faced with the reality of not being able to return to Israel, formed what are described as Commonwealths in Cyprus, Cyrene, Mesopotamia and in Egypt. Their efforts came to naught under Trajan in 115-117 C.E. and were further suppressed by the emperor Hadrian who, in 1333- 135 C.E., finally put paid to ideas of independence within the province of Palestine.

I f the Jews concerned had a real faith in God  they believed him to be beyond place and knew he was more concerned about a mans inner soul than whether or not he had made the right sacrifice at the temple. (Bible)  Psalm 24 v 4-

He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up  his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive a blessing from God his Savior.

The Diaspora and Christianity.
Ironically the dispersal of the Jewish people throughout the Empire led to the rapid spread of Christianity. Shaye Cohen remarks upon the fact that Christianity spread fastest  in places where there was already a Jewish presence.  This was probably because the early missionaries, such as Paul and his various companions, went first to those they knew, as in Acts 13 v14  where Luke records how the travelers arrive in Antioch and go to the synagogue.( Bible) Jesus had predicted the end of the temple as recorded by Mark in the New Testament (Bible , Mark13 v 2. Matthews gospel records him telling his disciples to take the Gospel (the good news) throughout the world ( Bible, Matthew 28 v 19). Soon, Christian or otherwise, there were Jewish groups in every city in the Empire. In Rome there were at least ten Jewish congregations, each with their own synagogue. Jewish cemetery inscriptions of the time, tell us that they were a very mixed group of people, with some speaking Aramaic, a few who were Latin speakers, but that most spoke Greek. L.Michael White tells how in some cases such people were able to fit easily into local situations, whereas elsewhere they met opposition and so tended to distance themselves from the culture around them. Mostly though the Jews of the Diaspora  absorbed a lot from the local people, including the Greek language which many of them used. It was among Jews of the Diaspora that the scriptures were translated into the vernacular Greek from the Hebrew original. So it could be said that Judaism moved on in the Diaspora. Whether or not this was a positive move is still up for debate.

Synagogues
The word synagogue means a bringing together. It is similar to the English word church in that it can be used to refer to a building or the congregation that meets there. Its origins lie during the period of the Babylonian exile. From the time that Solomons temple was destroyed until the restoration headed by Zerubbabel two generation or more later there was no where else for Jews to gather together in a religious way and so there came about what is now the center of Jewish community life -  the synagogue. As well as places for worship they were schools, courts, libraries  as described on  the web page The Synagogue History, Origin. Although Israel is a small country  it would have been  impossible for most Jews even there to have visited the temple on more than rare occasions even before it destruction. The synagogue has been the means of keeping the faith alive in communities world wide.

The Modern Day Diaspora
According to the My Jewish Learning web page The Jewish Diaspora Around the Globe there are currently about 13 million Jews of whom 8 million are living outside Israel. The majority of these live in the Americas, mostly in Canada and the United States. The web writer talks about the problems facing these particular populations with intermarriage, and with relatively few children of  these mixed marriages  taking on  a Jewish identity. There has been a decline in the number of conversions to Judaism and the Jewish population is aging.

He speaks about Argentina where most of whose Jewish population live in the capital city of Buenos Aires. In 1994 the Buenos Aires Jewish Community Center was bombed  and there have been many other acts of antiSemitism, which the writer says, have acted as a catalyst for change , with many  of the countrys  Jews integrating more than they might have done, into the majority culture  of the local society.  This would have ben at least in part as a means of self preservation. In neighbouring Brazil, a much bigger country with far fewer Jews, there have been very few such problems and so presumably less need for integration.

In Europe there are about 1.5 million Jews. The majority of these live in the west with one third in the east. The problems they face are partly demographic, with a much higher death rate  than the number of births recorded. When Soviet Union collapsed many Jews moved west and so France now has a large population,.These are mostly Askenazi Jews who are a politically active group, standing up for itself in a country which has a strong right political wing.  In earlier centuries Jews had fled from persecution in the east and settled in Britain and the Americas. London still has a large Jewish population, although this has mainly moved from its earlier  working class settlements in the East End.
In central Europe, in both Germany and Poland, the My Jewish Learning web writer reports that there has been a Jewish resurgence with young people actively seeking to learn more about the faith and culture. In part this may be  because they are taught about what happened to their families  becasu of their faith, yet t the same time they feel relativly safe to declare themsleves as Jewish.

In the Middle East the picture is patchy. In some cases it is difficult to obtain statistics When the state of Israel became a reality in 1968 many Jews formerly living in Arab lands  migrated there. In more recent times,  with the easing of emigration laws, Jews from the Yemen and Syria have  travelled back to Israel. Is it because of hopes of a better lifstyle or because of an urge to return to the ancestral land
In Africa most Jews live in one country  South Africa. There they seem to have a well organised society  with a network of  Jewish welfare, educational, political organisations.  Zionism is strong, with its active promotion of the Jewish national state, and there is little intermarriage which makes the Jewish positionthre strong. There is however migration which cuts down numbers in the country.

In India the three main Jewish groups reflect the kind of waves of  Jewish migration tha there have been elsewhere over the centuries. There are the Jews of  Bnei Israel, who are said to be descendants of Jewish settlers  who arrived in the sub-continet in the second century B.C.E.. The Jews of Malabar,  who center on Cochin, have  ancestors  who arrived in India about 1,000 years ago from various places,  both in  Europe and the Middle East. The Baghdadis are descended from Iraqi Jews who began to arrive  in India  about 200 years ago. There  are many other small Jewish communities  all over Asia and Australasia, but these are relatively isolated and so are less likley to be understood by their neighbours.

In other places changes have  been dramatic as when,  in 1991, the Ethiopian Jewish community  was the center of an international rescue . The vast majority of  Ethiopian Jewry, some 20,000 people , were evacuated to Israel in an airlift  most of them on the same day.This was  for the most part a humnitarian gesture as  the people were living in camps under terrible conditions.Many others were left behind despite claims of Jewish ancestry, but for them immigration would be on the same terms it was for those from  all other countries. It remains unclear whether the Ethiopians, known as Falash Mura,  are descended from Christian converts or whether they had just abandoned their Jewish roots. Some claim that their ancestors had been forced to convert according to the Zionism and Israel Encyclopedic Dictionary entry by Ami Isseroff. Many of them are related to those who had already migrated to Israel and wished to join up with relatives there.  The name Falash Mura is sometimes considered to be derogatory. It  means an  invader who converted and some in Israel are not prepared to accept such people,  despite their apparant Jewish ancestry, as up to the point of arrival, they had not practised the Jewish faith. In other countries the Jewish Temple web page World Jewish popultion report that for instance in both Argentina and France

The Law of Return
The Law of Return was passed by the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, in the earliest days of the modern Jewish state in July 1950. Many of those who passed this law had experienced first hand anti-Semitism in Europe and saw this law as the solution to their problems. At it simplest it says that every Jew, from wherever  place they come, has a right to migrate to Israel. The whole point of the creation of the modern Jewish state was  for the repatriating of Jewish people from the Diaspora. Every Jew was offered the opportunity to return to the land of his ancestors.

There were some problems with the law in that it did not include a definition of Jewish. An amendment passed in 1970 gives the right to immigrate to Israel to those who are non-Jews, but who are either the children or grandchildren of a Jew, are married to a  a Jew or are married  to a child or grandchild of a Jew. The amendment was meant to take account of the many families, in the main from Eastern Europe, where there had been inter-marriage.  There were a number of exceptions  terrorists for instance were not allowed to come and nor were others considered to be a risk to the state, neither were Jews who had converted to another religion. Other non-Jewish people who wanted to settle in Israel, must first meet the requirements set out in the Law of Entry to Israel (1952) and the Law of Citizenship (1952) which are similar to the entry requirements from many other lands. These laws are perceived by some as being anti-Arab, but are seen, especially by Zionists, as in keeping with the explicit purpose of setting up a Jewish homeland once more. There is a tension between Israel being a modern democratic state and the idea of being a state made up of a particular people with a common religious and racial heritage. The Beit Hatfutsot page of the Nahum Goldman Museum of the Jewish Diaspora in Tel Aviv describes the story as unique and ongoing. But if the majority of Jews are settled in the Diaspora, and there is room in Israel why can  not these other children of Abraham  live there alongside the Jewish majority

Conclusion
The Jewish diaspora is obviously a very mixed  grouping spread right around the world and at all levels of society as well as at various stages of interaction with their religion and wioht th culture around them. This is especially so because over the almost two millenia that have passed since the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple, there have been many changes as well as absorbtions  and  of course  anti-Semitic opposition. The story of the Diaspora and the people it contains is a very varied one. Even in one city such as London, it is possible to see Jews from many diverse background in various stages regarding their relationship with the society around them and with their Judaism. Some are non-believers, while others attend worship occasionally, and then there are those to whom their religion is extremely important. They represent  various waves of migration north and west, too often because of  periods  of persecution,  forced expulsion and even attempts at  the total annihilation of the Jewish race such as happened in the German Reich in the mid 20th century. Some have migrated relatively recently with the fall of the Soviet Union, others are descended from those who fled from Hitler in the 1930s and 40s and  there is a yet earlier group who fled from pogroms in the 19th century. There are those who would pass unnoticed in the street and those who stand out with their large hats, long coats,prayer shawls and side  curls. They have their differences, but  in many ways are still united as the children of Abraham. Zionist Simon Rawidowicz has been quoted as saying that the Jews as a culture  have evolved into a new worldly group with  no reason to look for a return, whether a  physical one, or just emotionally or spiritually to the land of Israel, and could remain united as one people dispite such dispersion. For this reason he had advocated a double center for Judiasm , one in Israel and one in the Diaspora, as described by Jeremiah Haber  ( a nom de plume)in his review of David Myers 2009 book Between Jew and Arab. It is however a sad indictment on non-Jews that the majority of Jews are now living where they do, however happy and settled  and successful they might be there,  because of anti-Semitic feeling and opposition at some time in the past.