The rules if youre not religious. Discuss Essay Example for Free

The rules if youre not religious. Discuss Essay In this democratic age we vote in those people (or party) who we want to rule our country and in turn create our laws. However this is a very old system, which some could argue takes its basis from the 10 Commandments from the Old Testament. If this is the case, in a growing atheistic state, why should you follow the rules if you are not religious, for which the 10 Commandments were designed for? In London, it is illegal to flag down a taxi if you have the plague. This law has an obvious provenance; during the Black Death, in order to prevent the spread of the disease. However nowadays, this previously appropriate law is out of date and obsolete. How can something created thousands of years ago still be relevant to modern life? A more secular set of laws would be more appropriate and representative to govern the people. The 10 Commandments are very inflexible; they don’t take into account the situation and are inexorable. For instance, there are some cases when you should lie i. e. for the greater good. However in this narrow and oppressive set of laws, this is never allowed, which is against our autonomy. The 10 Commandments do not mention any form of punishment, for religious people they wouldn’t need any deterrence, just the idea of serving God and going to Heaven. So in effect, the actual punishment for each of these crimes has been created by man, and therefore a crime which God thought was insignificant, could hold a serious punishment. There is also the need for a system to decide and enforce this system. This set of laws is designed for those who are religious, but with people who hold different views, they are going to disagree with them. You also need lots of laws to avoid loop-holes as these laws are very general. However, in spite of a large proportion of people are not religious, they will still hold similar ideals to those who are; good and bad, right and wrong. The Ten Commandments are a universal set of rules which show indisputable and clear criteria for right and wrong. Aside from laws, they cover morality as well: â€Å"Honour your father and your mother† and â€Å"You shall not covet you neighbour’s hut†. These views should be inherent in everybody as they lead to a good upbringing and moral understanding. We need rules as it is unrealistic to expect people to do the right thing. For example, to try and prevent speeding, speed cameras were introduced. But now people speed as they used to, but slow down just to pass the camera. Our system of laws has changed and diversified over many years. This means that even if these original Commandments were used to base new laws on, they will have changed and been tweaked over the years. Also any inherently good person (even if they’re not religious) would want to have religious ideals as they lead to a good and fulfilling life. In conclusion, it is necessary to follow the rules even if you’re not religious, for nowadays they are not as heavily based on religion, but still hold good, moral and relevant views.

Ins And Outs Of Surfing :: essays research papers

Surfing has been around for many years, in fact since 400 A.D and people are still going hard at it today and will for many more years to come. The very first surfers were the Island folk who would use the waves to get over the coral reefs and back to shore after their hard days of fishing. They found that this was the easiest and quickest way of transport over the reefs so they continued to do it for many years. As time went on the art of riding waves then developed into more of a “leisure sport'; than that of being a part of work. The first actual surfboarders originated in the 1920’s where they rode large redwood planks that weighed around 126 pounds. As technology developed the boards became shorter, lighter and became better designed. The next surfboards to follow were made in the 1950’s, this time the boards where made of balsa wood and then covered in a layer of fiberglass, these boards reached a length of about 9-10 feet long. In the 1960’s the long board was introduced and was made of Styrofoam and again, covered in fiberglass. In the 70’s the short board took over, which had a similar design to the long boards but were only around 6 foot in length. These proved to be very popular due to their faster speeds and easier maneuverability. Some of the people of today are still using the old fashioned long board, but as you would expect the design has changed significantly and they come in a few different lengths. Now the sport of surfing has grown into a worldwide attraction and people are surfing in basically every country that has a coastline, even Alaska, as showed in the surf film “Endless Summer II.'; Nowadays people are taking to waves in all sorts of weird things, such as Kneeboards, Body boards, Kayaks and many other weird and wonderful things. A few of the really dedicated surfers, and those that can afford to, will spend some of their time travelling the world trying to find their own perfect wave. Some of the lucky ones will actually find one. But now that we have all different types of boards peoples opinion of their perfect wave has changed to adapt to their type of board. As in the 60’s a perfect wave was a point break like Malibu, but also today’s people are surfing in all kinds of different places with different conditions, which also changes opinions.

History Coursework – Arab Israeli Conflict

In 1948 the village of Deir Yassin was invaded by Jewish Irgun fighters. By noon on the same day they had killed everyone in the entire village – women and children included. There is no real proof about who is to blame for the Palestinian refugee problem. The reasons of the fight over Deir Yassin go back since the partition of Palestine. The partition meant that majority of the population, the Arabs, would get less land that the Jews. On the other hand, the Jews did not get Jerusalem, their homeland, included in their area. Both sides were unhappy about the land they were given, so they started to fight each other to get the land back. In December 1947 violence broke out between them and they grew more and more aggressive until massacre itself in April the next year. The Jews thought that if they committed the mass murder, they could gain back the land. Deir Yassin would have been an extremely important strategic point for whoever had control of it. This made the village more valuable to both the Arabs and Jews, which meant it was the centre for violence. The two sources are written about the same event but express the opinions of different people. Source A is a pamphlet produce by the PLO describing the Arab exodus form Palestine, and the Deir Yassin massacre. Source b is a statement made to the UN by Israel's foreign minister in 1961, expressing her view of the incident and the general exodus of Palestine. As source A is a pamphlet, it's obviously propaganda. It's heavily biased in the Palestinians point of view. It's advertising the fact that the Palestinians left Palestine because of their fear, and not on their own accord. It blames the whole refugee problem on Israel: â€Å"Thousands of Palestinians fled†¦ were prevented from returning to their home by Israel.† They had a fair argument because they were forced to leave in fear, as nobody would want to be slaughtered. As the source is directed towards the world to try and get international support, it is obviously exaggerated to make everything sound worse for the Arabs to generate sympathy for them: â€Å"In cold blood†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ â€Å"Mutilating many of the bodies†. Before concluding, one must take into account the fact that the Palestinians do not tell both sides of the story. The source fails to mention the Infitada or â€Å"uprising†, which was the civil disobedience that grew in parts of Israel. It consisted of riots and protests led by Arabs. The Infitada happened before the source was written, so they have no excuse for not writing about it in the pamphlet. They did not want to include the other side f the story as this would lower the amount of sympathy gained by the Palestinians from the world. Also, the UN Resolution 242, which could have solved the refugee problems, and could also be to their advantage, wasn't mentioned. As well as this, the various terrorist acts committed before the source was written aren't included in the source, so anyone that reads this source will not think badly of the Palestinians. Although source B is written about the same event, it draws all the attention away from the massacre. As the source is a statement directed towards the UN, it only mentions the facts that Israel wants them to know. The main purpose was to convince the UN to take their side, and stop them from passing resolution 242 which was going to force Israel to withdraw from all their occupied territories. Mrs Meir brings all the attention away from the Jewish actions and tries to turn the argument around. She tries to convince the world that the massacre at Deir Yassin was committed by â€Å"Jewish Dissidents†, or crazy terrorists, not the Israeli government, and nothing to do with Golda Meir. The source cleverly accuses the Arab armies for the Arab refugees. It states the all that carried out aggression against Israel are responsible for the refugees. According to the source the Arab leaders who led the armies told all the Arabs living in Palestine to evacuate the country so the armies could get in, forcing them to live in refugee camps. As with the first PLO source, the writer of this purposely leaves out the earlier Israeli terrorist actions, such as the attacks on the King David hotel in Jerusalem. To conclude, the 2 sources are totally different. They differ in almost every way, and each source is extremely biased, the sources are not reliable at all, we can only use them to see individual opinions. Neither of the sources either have proof to support the opinions, for example source B tells us that the massacre was undertaken by people who had nothing to do with the government, but the Israelis have no evidence for this, so we have no reason to believe this. The sources give so diverse facts and opinions, it is impossible to draw conclusions about who is to blame for the refugee problem, we can only have our own opinion. GCSE COURSEWORK ASSIGNMENT MODERN WORLD STUDY: THE ARAB-ISRAELI CONFLICT Question 2 Although sources A-F include a lot of information, it is hard to analyze the sources to make the conclusion of who is to blame for the Palestinian refugee problems. Many of the sources are biased and don't give both sides to the story. The 6 sources give us lots of information concerning the opinions of the different sides, but when it comes to concluding and giving a fair opinion, it's almost impossible. We need to analyze each source for their efficiency, and asses them to find out their purpose and reliability. Source A gives us the Palestinian view of the Arab exodus from Palestine. It says that the Jews invaded the village of Deir Yassin, and then killed the entire population. It says that the thousands of Palestinians who fled Palestine in terror were prevented from returning to their own â€Å"homeland† by Israel. The source blames Israel for the refugee problem. Reading this source alone, one would believe that the entire refugee problem would be the fault of the Israelis, but the source is heavily biased and given in the Palestinian point of view. The source fails to mention a few major details which could help you conclude, such as the intifada that happened when the Palestinians started to fight back against the Israelis, and the various s terrorist attacks they made to try and get their land back. The main cause for the violence was the fact that the British forces left. Source B is written in a similar style as source A, but it is heavily biased and in the view of the Israelis, It is written about the same event, but blames the Palestinian Arabs for the whole refugee event. It basically says that the Arabs actually caused the whole refugee problem, and that the Jewish had nothing to do with it. They say that the massacre at Deir Yassin was committed by terrorists, and was nothing to do with the Jewish government. It says that the other Arab countries told the Palestinians to leave the country so the Arab forces could get in, which would mean that the Jews aren't responsible at all for the problem. As with the first source, there is no proof, so we can't believe what is said. Using these 2 sources, there's no conclusion we can come to as they both contradict each other. Source C is an article by an Irish journalist. It contradicts source B, saying that there were no orders at all, by the Arabs, to leave Palestine. This proves source B wrong, and it has proof. It says that there are records in the British museum which say that there was not a single order to evacuate Palestine. It says there were even appeals to stay put in Palestine, which contradicts source B. This source offers evidence and is reliable, and is obviously non-biased. It's hard to tell who caused the refugee when you have two sources telling you that the other is wrong. Source D is an extract from some comments made by Palestinian refugees. They tell us what work the UN did to stop the refugee problem. They say that they have refused homes and other forms of compensation because all they wanted was to be allowed to return to their homeland. This means that the Palestinians are responsible for keeping all the problems, and it's their own fault that they're living in camps. They are purposely being awkward, even though the UN is supporting them. This is an informative factual statement which is slightly biased in the Palestinians favour. Source E is written by the Israeli ambassador to the UN. The source states that if Palestinians settled elsewhere, the whole problem would stop. It is basically a confirmation to source D. This source pretty much proves that the Arabs are causing the refugee problem. The last source, F, is 2 photos. They say that the Arab was born in Jerusalem, but can't go back to live there. The Jew was not born in Palestine, but she can return there any time she wants. The Arab and the Jew can still say exactly the same thing20 years later, as their situations are exactly the same, nothing has changed. The source is defiantly not biased as it has the perspective of a Jew and an Arab. It doesn't explain the cause of the problem, but it tells us that the problem has not been solved yet. To conclude, these sources do not let you come to a conclusion. Source A contradicts source B, and source C contradicts source B. Sources D and E tell us that the Arabs didn't want compensation and acted awkwardly to annoy the UN, which contradicts source A again. With all the sources saying that others are wrong, and the lack of evidence for sources A, B and E, we cannot believe any of them, or come to any sort of agreement about who really is to blame for the refugee problem. We need more evidence and facts to come to a firm conclusion.

The Effects of Regular Exercise on Depression - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 3 Words: 874 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2019/04/15 Category Psychology Essay Level High school Topics: Depression Essay Did you like this example? Hypothesis: The elevated levels of endorphins released during exercise make it an effective treatment for depression. My Initial Hypothesis When people hear the word fitness, they generally think of physical strength and endurance. When it comes down to it, the fitness lifestyle is all about the overall health of a person, not just physical resilience, strength, and endurance. That is why fitness is a lifestyle, not just a sporadic schedule of trips to the track or gym. While a somewhat irregular workout schedule can produce some results physically, it will not produce any significant change to ones physical state and most importantly will not result in a person receiving the full fitness experience, including its mental benefits. I myself once believed that fitness was only a physical matter, and so I only pursued the physical side of fitness in the form of running and lifting. I was not aware that fitness was about more than that. I was also not aware of the fact that while I was only pursuing the physical side of fitness, it was affecting my mind as well. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Effects of Regular Exercise on Depression" essay for you Create order After spending more time in the fitness community, I noticed that everyone I met who was serious about fitness was very easygoing, nice, relaxed in nature, and simply overall less noticeably depressed than any other group of people that I associate with. I eventually began to wonder whether this had anything to do with the physical activity itself causing people to behave this way, and if so could it help some of my other friends with depression. Physical performance is always affected by a persons mental state, so it seems very plausible that things could work the other way around as well, that a persons mental state may be affected by their physical performance since there is obviously a connection between body and mind. The Empirical Evidence There are several things that happen to the human brain as a result of exercise. Exercise balances the levels of several endorphins in the brain, as well as increasing the production of BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor), which helps build and maintain the infrastructure of the brain (Noble 2016). The balancing of endorphins in the brain can improve a persons mood and behavior. According to the Australian Institute of Fitness, the endorphins affected are serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. Together, these endorphins are responsible for influencing things such as mood, attention, motivation, arousal, and feelings of wellbeing (Noble 2016). This means that the person who exercised will experience an increase in happiness, motivation, and self esteem as a result. Put together the fact that my fitness friends are all significantly less noticeably depressed than some of my other friends and the fact that exercise often results in increased happiness, motivation, and self-esteem, it seems as if there is a connection. To be sure, the factors that result in and affect depression itself need to be examined. According to NAMI (National Association on Mental Illness), depression is caused by a wide range of things, which vary from case to case. The most commonly known cause is a chemical imbalance in the brain, though this cause is apparently given more credit than it deserves. Recent studies now show that depression may be related to genetically passed traits or cell growth and brain connections as well, meaning that no one treatment works for every case, as the causes of depression vary from case to case (Roberts 2014). In an interview with therapist Dr. Lagro, I learned that there is also a correlation between depression and vitamin deficiencies. Considering that many forms of fitness take place outside, fitness could provide someone with time in the sun, which could potentially help with a vitamin D deficiency. It is common knowledge that regular exercise over a long period of time will produce changes in appearance and performance. These changes may increase the self esteem of someone with depression, which is often lowered as a result of depression (Laskowski 2017) Such changes apply to any form of exercising, from running and walking to lifting weights. My Current Opinion My hypothesis was supported. After examining the empirical evidence related to fitness and depression, I believe that regular exercise can be an effective treatment for depression. In my hypothesis I stated that regular exercise could make an effective treatment for depression due to the endorphins released, which is true, but I found exercise to have more benefits which could positively affect a persons depression. These benefits include the chance to lower a vitamin D deficiency do to time in the sun, and heightened self esteem caused by changes in physical appearance and performance as a result of regular exercise over a period of time. These benefits would effectively treat cases of depression where self-esteem and self-image issues are a factor, as well as cases where a vitamin D deficiency is evident. Unfortunately, while exercise could affectively treat depression related to endorphin imbalances, vitamin D deficiencies, and self esteem issues, those are only a few causes and supporting factors of depressi on (Roberts 2014). Due to this, regular exercise as a treatment would only be effective in some cases of depression, as others may require a treatment that is not remotely similar. Despite this limitation, it is still an option to be explored.