The Armenian Genocide - 835 Words

The Armenian Genocide The Armenian Genocide is the name given to the events of 1915-1923 in the Ottoman Empire, which was renamed Turkey after its founding father, Mustafa Ataturk. The Muslim majority destroyed the Armenians homes, churches, and livelihoods in a continuous murderous event that took its course over 8 years. An estimated 1 million to 1.5 million Armenians died in this Genocide, and other ethnicities died as well including Greeks and Azerbaijanis who happened to be living in Armenian neighborhoods. (University of Michigan) The victims were sometimes forced to walk on endless marches that were intended to move the entire population out of the country and east to the mountains. Any Armenians who died on the march were left on the road to rot. The Armenian Genocide was first recognized by the Russian Empire in 1915, who saw what was happening before Europe did. The leaders of the Ottoman Empire, including Ataturk, were creating a modern Turkey for Turks, at the expense of all the minorities of the Ottoman Empire, and without mercy for any who would resist. The Ottoman leaders felt as if their homeland was under threat from the Armenian diaspora. The call for their deportation came as nationalism had risen in the Empire, and leadership changed hands several times. The Ottoman military began rounding up Armenians in 1915 with the intent of deportation, but within weeks over 5,000 had been burned to death, and the massacres had officially begun. (Ani) TheShow MoreRelatedThe Armenian Genocide2102 Words   |  9 PagesArmenian Genocide Andy Leeds Ms. Bullis English 1 April 24 Armenians are a Christian nation, and when they were a country, they were the first to proclaim Christianity as the state religion. The Ottoman Empire took control of Armenia during the 15th century, and they were mistreated for quite a while due to religious differences (Christians vs. Muslims), and this mistreatment culminated and peaked during 1915-1918. During World War I, the Ottoman Empire took the opportunity among a world of chaosRead MoreThe Genocide Of The Armenian Genocide873 Words   |  4 Pagesgenerous people â€Å"give† without the expectation of â€Å"taking† back, the world automatically offers them the better. There was poverty in all the villages of Armenia. Armenian Christians were continuously under attacks. The attacks against Christian Armenians occurred throughout the year 1915. This is the age that is well known for the Armenian Genocide, which was carried out by the Ottoman Turks. Escaping the Ottoman forces, my grandmother, Sosek Boghosian, found herself as a refuge in Iraq. Horrific actsRead MoreThe Armenian Genocide694 Words   |  3 Pagesâ€Å"Columbus Day,† but have you ever heard of â€Å"National Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day?† This lesser known genocide was a precursor to the Holocaust. It started on April 24, 1915 and lasted up until 1923. It was calculated that over one and a half million Armenians died during this period of time. This genocide was planned out by the Turkish government, against all the Armenians of the Ottoman Empire. In the beginning there were around 2 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, and by the end of the 1923Read MoreThe Armenian and Cambodian Genocides707 Words   |  3 PagesGenocide Paper The definition of genocide, according to the United Nations, was the attempt to destroy â€Å"a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group† by killing members, causing mental or bodily harm, harsh living conditions, prevention of births, and separating children from their families. There are four patterns of genocide, which do not always occur in every genocide since they’re not all the same. The four patterns include persecution, which is hostility and ill-treatment, especially towardRead MoreThe Armenian Genocide And The Ukrainian Genocide1225 Words   |  5 Pagesto repeat itself. Genocides have been committed throughout history, even before the term was assembled in 1944 and accepted by the United Nations in 1946 as a crime under international law. According to the United Nations, genocide is defined as â€Å"intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.† A minimum of twenty-seven genocides have been documented across the world. During the 20th century, the Armenian Genocide and the Ukrainian genocide (Holodomor) transpiredRead More The Armenian Genocide Essay906 Words   |  4 Pages The Armenian Genocide, also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Great Calamity, and the Armenian Massacre, was the organized killing of nearly 1.5 million Armenians. It occurred in the Ottoman Empire - present-day Turkey - where 2 million Armenians lived. The Armenian Genocide is the second-most studied massacre, after the Nazi Holocaust. Twenty-two countries have officially recognized it as genocide, but the Republic of Turkey rejects the characterization of the events as genocide. Many ArmeniansRead MoreThe Armenian Genocide Essay1393 Words   |  6 Pages The Armenian Genocide was a terrible atrocity that was committed against the Armenian people. During the time the genocide took place and afterwards, there had been people who had witnessed the tragedy that befell the Armenians and wrote poems in o rder to show the world what had truly happened to their people, and to get us, the readers, the emphasize with them as well. Some poets that highlighted the atrocious acts that happened during the Armenian genocide were Siamanto who wrote â€Å"The Dance† andRead MoreCauses Of The Armenian Genocide1508 Words   |  7 PagesThe Armenian Genocide began in 1915 and ended in 1923 when the Ottoman Empire dismantled and became the Republic of Turkey. The Ottoman Empire consisted of regions in three different continents which caused their empire to be multilingual and multinational. The empire reached from Southeast Europe, parts of Central Europe, Western Asia, the Caucasus, North Africa, and the Horn of Africa. The Turks, who controlled the Ottoman Empire were Islamic and some people within their empire were not, but thatRead MoreEssay on Recognizing the Armenian Genocide1266 Words   |  6 PagesThe Armenian Genocide, also known as the Armenian Holocaust, was the organized kill ing of Armenians. While there is no clear agreement on how many Armenians lost their lives, there is general agreement among Western scholars that over a million Armenians may have perished between 1914 and 1918. It all happened during the Ottoman Empire, present-day Turkey, where 2 million Armenians lived. The Armenian Genocide is the second-most studied massacre, after the Holocaust. To date Twenty-two countriesRead MoreEssay about Armenian Genocide2049 Words   |  9 Pagesgroup. The Armenian people faced this situation during the time of WWI. Life between the Turks (Armenia’s rival) and the Armenians was very complex. Not all Armenians hated the Turks, and not all Turks hated the Armenians. Consequently, the Armenian people were not aware of any forms of annihilation that were being plotted at the time. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;What exactly is the definition of a Genocide According to the World Book Dictionary, genocide means:

First Impressions and Human Behavior - 1350 Words

Imagine attending a college graduation ceremony and the man giving the keynote address strolls with hunched shoulders up to the podium. His hair has dreadlocks and stands on end in several places. His clothes look as if he quickly picked them out of the bargain bin of the local Goodwill Store. He is wearing a striped sports jacket, plaid golf pants and white, athletic socks with his bright, Bronco orange Crocs. Based solely on this information, will the audience listen intently and gain inspiration from the knowledge this man has to impart? Is it possible for his words to have the same impact on this particular audience as a speaker who marched confidently up to the podium, his head held high, his hair neatly combed, his suit†¦show more content†¦Having a clear understanding of where one falls within Maslow’s â€Å"Hierarchy of Needs† helps him to understand why he may perceive others differently or why others react in a specific way towards him. The scenarios presented in First Impressions regarding John as an extrovert and then as an introvert exemplify the power of first impressions. The scenarios also help to illustrate the possible fallacies involved in making first impressions. In the scenario, which presents John as an extrovert, an individual’s first impression of John might be that he is confident, patient, approachable, and friendly. Although the scenario never uses any of these words to describe John, an observing individual might describe this as their first impression of John based on other information provided and by reflecting on their own perception of themselves. For instance, the description, â€Å"basking in the sun as he walked† (Clark, 2010) may project an air of confidence to an observer. The fact that John merely walked into the busy store and began chatting with an acquaintance, rather than pushing forward to the counter (Clark, 2010), might give the observer the impression that John is patient and friendly. John’s willingness to stop and talk with a girl he had only recently met (Clark, 2010) may confirm the impression that he is friendly but also give the sense that he is approachable in nature. In the scenario that presents John as an introvert, anShow MoreRelatedYou Can Judge A Book By Its Cover, Sometimes Essay1105 Words   |  5 PagesHuman beings have evolved an incredible ability to form first impressions, rapidly and with a high degree of accuracy as a survival mechanism. Admittedly, it is still difficult to know whether to trust first impressions, given there are so many cautionary warnings. We are told how important it is to make a first impression when going on a first date, a job interview or to meet with a new client. We are also warned to never judge a book by its cover, indicating that our first impression could beRead MoreFirst Impressions Essay967 Words   |  4 PagesFirst impressions are always used in setting the tone when you first meet someone. Without the luxury of knowing the persons background, you initially judge someone by the way that person introduces themselves and how they come across to you. By coming across, I mean the way a person carr ies themselves. For example, if the person comes across as shy and introverted, you tend to think of that person as timid and somewhat weak. However, if that same person comes across as outgoing, confident (butRead MoreDifferences Extroverts and Introverts Give for First Impressions844 Words   |  4 Pages First Impressions Through the years, many have been guided to investigate early evaluations of extroversion and introversion, recognized as core aspects of peoples personalities (Bennington-Castro, J., 2013), and ask what effect these evaluations have on the person making them. Research has directly impacted the thoughts on these varying psychological traits: the extrovert – a person concerned more with external reality than inner feelings (Extrovert, 2014.); and the introvert – a person characterizedRead MoreFirst Impressions Essay994 Words   |  4 PagesFirst impressions are what set the tone in any situation, personal or professional, and ultimately determine how we proceed behaviorally in that situation. Within a matter of seconds, a person will make their assessment of another person or a situation – an assessment that will carry through the remainder of the relationship. And while what we say may have an impact on how another person perceives us, studies have shown that mu ch of our first impressions are based on body language. Body LanguageRead MoreAre First Impressions Misleading Impressions?1128 Words   |  4 PagesFirst impressions: Misleading impressions? First impressions can be surprisingly sticky in the observers mind. When reading the stories about John, it is perfectly plausible that some days John could be very gregarious, while on another day, feeling tired and less confident, he could be more introverted. The character attributes that are observed to draw the conclusion that John is an introvert or an extrovert are relatively superficial and arbitrary. In one scenario John talks to a girl heRead MoreFritz Heider : The Theory Of Attribution Theory1224 Words   |  5 PagesThe second component of social perception is attribution. Attribution is the process in which we attach meanings of other’s behaviors. Similarly, attribution theory refers to the study of models people implement in order to make judgments about the behavior of others. Fritz Heider, an Austrian psychologist whose work was related to the Gestalt school, published â€Å"The Psychology of Interpersonal Relations,† which expanded his creation of att ribution theory. Heider initiated that â€Å"people are naà ¯ve psychologistsRead MoreImpact of a first impression816 Words   |  4 PagesImpact of a First Impression It has commonly been stated that one is never given second chance to make a great first impression. Everyday we have numerous interactions, where opportunities come and go in an instant, like sliding doors opening and closing. Ideally, we want to seize these moments in a favorable way. It is of great importance to understand how our human behaviors effect the first impressions we give others. Importance of First Impressions By definition an impression is, â€Å"a characteristicRead MoreA Second Look at First Impressions800 Words   |  4 PagesA Second Look at First Impressions You never get a second chance to make a first impression. This is a common mantra from parents, professional coaches, and other mentors. First impressions are formed based upon analysis of the person’s behaviors and traits, often using our own values and beliefs as a gauge. Once formed, first impressions may be difficult to change. My first impressions of John painted him in a specific light. Upon reversal and reflection I was challenged to look beyond my initialRead MoreRecommendation to Improve the Quality of Leadership Essay example1005 Words   |  5 Pagesmerger between TCI and ATT back in 1999. I was on the development team tasked with developing new processes and procedures for the first ever voice over internet protocol service. On my first day I met with my team members many of whom I had known for years while working at TCI and our new manager who transferred over from ATT’s long distance department. My first impression of my new manager was that of someone who was friendly, sociable, and easy going. I left work that day feeling good and excitedRead MoreEssay on The Need to Explain Leave Impression in an Interview953 Words   |  4 Pages As humans we feel the need to explain everything to ourselves and to others, we attribute cause to the events around us which gives us a sense of control. This need to explain is helped through attribution theory argued by Robbins, Millet and Boyle which try to explain the ways in which we judge people differently, depending on the meaning we attribute to a given behavior . There are three different type of observations that we make when we attribute behavior to either external or internal sources

Pastoral Care and Counseling Free Essays

string(132) " and woman each come to marriage with unclear roles and vague expectations about their own and each other’s responsibilities\." Introduction Pastoral care and Counseling is one of the important ministries in the Church at any place in the world. Our churches are filled with people who experience crisis, lost, loneliness, anxiety, depression, divorced, and family problems. Pastors have a huge opportunity to help people just by listening and encouraging those in household of faith. We will write a custom essay sample on Pastoral Care and Counseling or any similar topic only for you Order Now In some cases it is just enough to listen and teach biblical principles of living but in the other cases there is the need to be specifically train people for a specialized ministry of counseling with deeper problems. In the context of my Country, Russia, I choose three issues which mostly need response in the churches. These issues are Premarital Counseling, Marriage Counseling and Crisis care and Counseling. Most of the times we do not feel comfortable to talk about these issues on the church but it do not mean that the problems do not exist. To have a healthy church these issues need to be addressed and pastors need to learn how to approach people because the people are not going to approach pastors first and ask for help. Part I: Premarital Counseling Psychologist Carl Rogers once gave a sobering perspective on marriage. â€Å"If 50-75 percent of Ford or General Motors cars completely fell apart within the early part of their lifetimes as automobiles,† Rogers wrote, â€Å"the public outcry would be overwhelming and drastic steps would be taken to correct the situation. † But this happens to many marriages and hardly anyone rises any complain. Divorce is fre ¬quent, fewer than half of the marriages that persist could be considered successful, and often couples seem unable or unwilling to correct the situation. The same situation and attitude to marriage we have in Russian, people usually get marry in age of 20 and mostly marriages fail after first three years. When I was getting my bachelor degree, 90% of my classmates were getting married at ages of 20 – 21 but 95% of them got divorced in the senior year of College. I am talking about secular world and we may have a different statistics among Christians but the fact is that young people have no clue what marriage is about. There are many reasons for the present instability of marriages, but one of the many causes of failure is built prima ¬rily on sexual attraction, the desire to escape from a difficult home situation, a vague feeling of love, or some equally fleeting motive. Many marriage relationships are too flimsy to survive the pressures, challenges, and storms of daily living. Unprepared for the stresses or for the effort and determination required making mar ¬riage work, many people prefer to give up and bail out. That which was meant to be meaningful and fulfilling thus becomes frustrating and personally devastating. I believe that if the society in Russian would pay more attention on premarital counseling in the church and outside then the family institution would have grow stronger and that would lead the country to success because the foundation of any country is the family institution. Premarital counseling seeks to help individuals, couples, and groups of couples to prepare for and build happy, fulfilling, Christ-honoring, and successful marriages. There are many values in premarital counseling if it is done carefully and consistently by the pastor. One of these values is the satisfaction that it brings to him personally. One pastor cannot change this societal attitude by himself, but each one can experience the inner reward of knowing he has done his part to change this pre ¬vailing attitude. The values of premarital counseling are first of all to help the couple to approach marriage more realistically because they are aware of only two things that they are in love, and they want to spend their lives together. Another value of premarital counseling is that it affords each partner a better understanding of himself. A value of great importance is the knowledge that each partner gains of the other through the counseling process. The pastor must help the partners to gain a greater understanding of the thought patterns of each other. Another practical value of premarital counseling is that partners can see the value of, and gain experience in the skill of communication. Finally, a great value of premarital counseling is that it helps persons to realistically determine if they are making the right choice regarding marriage. Reasons for premarital guidance Gary Collins outlines seven basic principles of premarital counseling that I found helpful in my context. These are: 1. Unrealistic Expectations That Can Lead to Disillusionment. When they ap ¬proach marriage, perhaps most people assume that they have unique relationships. Perhaps these expectations are changing now that marriage failures are so much taken for granted. Often there is impatience, insensitivity, self-centered, attitudes, inadequate skill in relating, and great disappointment and disillusionment when one’s expectations for marriage are not met quickly. Premarital counseling lets couples express, discuss, and realistically modify their expectations for marriage. 2. Personal Immaturity That Can Lead to Insensitivity. Most 92% marriages in Russian happened because of pregnancy and this is the normal thing nowadays. It is not surprising that one’s attitudes and behavior within a marriage differ little from the characteristics that were brought to the relationship. If one or both of the participants are self-centered, hypercritical, impatient, competitive, or striving for status—that is, immature—before marriage, these traits will put a strain on marital stability later. People who are irresponsible before marriage tend to be irresponsible after the wedding. Premarital counseling should seek to uncover and discuss the self-centered tendencies that put strain on a marriage. The couple must be taught how to resolve differences, and they must develop both sensitivity and a willingness to accept and meet each other’s needs. This involves giving freely to one’s mate just as Christ gave to us. 3. Changing Roles That Can Lead to Confusion. Confusion and conflict may follow when a man and woman each come to marriage with unclear roles and vague expectations about their own and each other’s responsibilities. You read "Pastoral Care and Counseling" in category "Essay examples" Differing assumptions and views about who is supposed to do what can lead to tension unless the couple has learned to communicate honestly, not defensively, and in loving way. Premarital counseling provides an opportunity for a couple to begin this type of communication. Together they can learn to discuss their different expectations and decide on areas of responsibility. Such role clarification must not ignore biblical teachings. According to Scrip ¬ture, both the Christian husband and wife must be filled with the Spirit: daily confessing sin, giving thanks, and praying for the Holy Spirit to control each of their lives. There also must be an attitude of mutual submission to each other, but the more stringent requirements are laid on the husband. The husband and wife are equally valuable and equally important in the building of a good marriage, but they have different responsibilities. 5. Loosening Sexual Standards That Can Lead to Immorality. Sex before marriage is not new and neither is it rare, even among Christians. But as a result of these more liberal attitudes, dating for many has become a time for exploring each other’s bodies and genitals instead of each other’s mind, feelings, beliefs, values, and expectations. Sexual standards are loosening and premarital sex, even among Christians, appears to be more preva ¬lent. Nevertheless the Bible still calls this immorality a violation of God’s best for our lives. Issues like this should be discussed honestly, faced compassionately, and examined biblically. 6. Previous Experiences That Can Lead to Overconfidence. Books on premarital counseling often assume that most couples are young, inexperienced, and entering their first marriage. This is not always true. Many prospective brides and grooms have been previously married. Some previously married people recognize the need for new adjustments and appreciate the help that can come from a sensitive counselor. More often, it seems, people approaching remarriage resist premarital counseling and assume that it is unnecessary and only for those who have had no prior marital experience. The counselor can challenge unrealistic attitudes, help the couple see potential problems that even previously married people might miss, and guide them to resolve issues that may have been unresolved following the previous marriage. 7. Circumstances That Can Lead to Later Misery. When they come to marriage, some people bring what one counselor calls red-flag situations that need special scrutiny and evaluation. Some of these circumstances were mentioned as pregnant bride, one or both participants on the rebound from a previous marriage or engagement, serious drug involvement, emotional problems or mental instability, serious mental or physical handicaps, no financial security, contrasting cultural backgrounds or religious beliefs, wide gaps in education or age differences, and knowing each other for a very short time. Many marriages do not survive. Premarital counseling should not be viewed as a painful procedure designed to snatch unsuspecting couples from the grips of marital misery. Most premarital counseling is done, not with pathological people, but with relatively healthy indi ¬viduals who can be helped to enhance and enrich a growing relationship. Format It should be obvious that a counselor cannot accomplish all of these purposes in one brief interview. Most writers recommend that there be at least five or six one-hour sessions prior to the wedding. This of course can be demanding. It is easy for time pressures and counselee busyness to combine in convincing the counselor that a briefer period of premarital counseling would suffice. Try to resist that temptation. There is much to be discussed if a marriage is to be built on a solid foundation. The general goals according to Hamilton, include the following: (1) an understand ¬ing of the meaning of marriage within the framework of biblical truth and Christian theology, (2) an understanding of the problems affecting marriage in contemporary culture, and (3) an understanding of the Christian concept of the value of human personality. As the pastor deals with these broad concepts he seeks to expand his counselees’ awareness of the importance of marriage in the light of its biblical and historical roots, of the unique pressures being brought upon marriage in our times, and of Christianity’s view of the worth of persons. All of these goals are of vital importance in building a sound philosophy of marriage. The specific goals, according to Hamilton, center in the following areas: (1) an understanding of each partner’s role-perception in the forth ¬coming marriage, (2) an understanding of each partner’s role-expectation of the other, (3) an understanding of how each partner evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the other, (4) an understanding of the potential strengths and weaknesses of the proposed marriage, and (5) a careful examination of particular problems likely to arise. The underlying, practical goal of all premarital counsel ¬ing is twofold: (1) to enable the partners to pre-solve some potential marriage problems before they arise; and (2) to give the partners knowledge of, and experience in, the art of com ¬munication, which is so necessary in the building of a rich and rewarding relationship. The pastor who wishes to do a creditable job of premari ¬tal counseling should think in terms of at least three sessions: (1) one with the woman, (2) one with the man, and (3) one with both. In each of the individual sessions the pastor will be engaging in four main functions: (1) listening, (2) question ¬ing, (3) analyzing, and (4) teaching. Listening As in other types of counseling, the pastor needs to hear what is, and is not, being said. Only by careful listening can the pastor come to valid insights regarding the counselee’s real feelings about his personal relationship with the proposed marriage partner. Questioning Skillful use of questions enables the pas ¬tor to gather the type of data he needs to help persons prepare for marriage. Questioning will center in the two broad areas of facts and feelings. The area of facts will have to do with such aspects as how they met, how long they have known each other, how long they have dated, and when they plan to marry. The questioning should then move to the deeper level of feelings. This area has to do with such matters as the counselee’s true feelings about the idea of marriage, the de ¬mands of marriage, his perception of his partner as a marriage mate, and his own feelings regarding his ability to be a suit ¬able marriage partner. The pastor should not hesitate to question his counselees regarding their feelings about every aspect of the marriage relationship including such matters as where they will live and in what kind of dwelling, how many children they want, where they will attend church, whether the wife will be em ¬ployed outside the home (along with how long, how much, and what kind of work), how they will use their leisure time, where they will find their friends and how they will develop social relationships, how each feels about the husband’s job, and if either plans for further education. He should also ex ¬amine their attitudes toward in-laws, money, and sex. As the pastor probes the deeper levels of his parishioners’ feelings he gains the type and amount of information he needs as he pro ¬ceeds to analysis. Analyzing After the data is sorted out and analyzed, the pastor is ready for a joint session (or sessions) with the partners. In most cases there will be some differences in how each partner perceives certain aspects of the future marriage. These are the areas that will need to be given special and care ¬ful attention during the joint session. It is at this time that the two partners will need to be shown the importance of com ¬munication. It will also provide a rich opportunity for them to begin to develop new and better ways of communicating their feelings to each other. Teaching Lastly, the pastor engages in the function of teaching. The amount and type of teaching that is to be done will be determined by what the pastor has discovered in the individual counseling sessions. The broad areas covered in his teaching will usually include the Christian view of mar ¬riage, the tatus of marriage in contemporary culture, the responsible use of sex, the basic differences in maleness and femaleness (most feel they understand the opposite sex but do not), and the art of communication. As a part of his teach ¬ing function the pastor should be prepared to recommend and loan helpful books and articles in areas where the partners lack understanding. It is also important for the pastor to point out the value of a medical examinat ion for the prospective bride, if not for both partners. Thorough work in premarital counseling may involve more than three counseling sessions, but that is the minimum. While this is both time-consuming and exhausting, it is less so than marriage counseling. If a pastor does his premarital counseling work well he may be saving himself, or some other pastor or counselor, from involvement in more extensive mar ¬riage counseling later on. Of greater significance, of course, is that premarital counseling helps couples to build the kind of relationships that are both solid and satisfying We have high incidences of divorce in the church in Russia particularly among young people because they are often pushed into early marriage by teenage pregnancies. Such people do not have any opportunity for premarital counseling. The church often treat them with disdain and may not be readily open to give them some basic premarital counseling that would help sustain them when they get married. Part II: Marriage Counseling Marriage is not a very stable institution at least in the Western and Eastern worlds. In Russia the average duration of a marriage is only 5 years. More than a million couples are divorced every year. Many who stay together have marriages tolerable but not especially happy. Even though happy marriages like these do exist and are possible, we live in a time when marital unhappiness is more common and where many see divorce as a convenient and ever-present fire escape should marital conflicts get too hot to handle. Marriage, the permanent union created by God, is treated more and more as a temporary arrangement of convenience. Marriage is one of the first topics discussed in the Bible. But what does the Bible say about marital problems and ways to help troubled mar ¬riages? Almost nothing! It should be remembered that marital conflict often is a symptom of something deeper, such as selfishness, lack of love, unwillingness to forgive, anger, bitterness, communication problems, anxiety, sexual abuse, drunkenness, feelings of inferior ¬ity, sin, and a deliberate rejection of God’s will. Each of these can cause marital tension, each can be influenced by husband-wife conflict, and each is discussed in the Bible. The causes of marital problems Some common marital problems as found in Russian culture outline by Collins as follow: 1. Faulty Communication. In the professional literature, this probably is the most commonly mentioned cause of marital discord. Citing James 4:1-3, psychologist Lawrence Crabb notes that communication problems inevitably result when people pursue self-centered goals, but sometimes problems also come because individuals have not learned how to communicate clearly and efficiently. Most of us would agree that occasional miscommunication between spouses is inevitable. When miscommunication is more common than clear communication, however, the marriage begins to have serious problems. Poor communication tends to breed more of the same. Try to remember that communication is a learned interaction. Even when it is not good, people can learn to make it better. 2. Underintegrated or Overintegrated Relationships, Getting close to another person is risky. We open ourselves to criticism and possible rejection when we let another person know us intimately, he become aware of our insecurities, or see our weaknesses. Since most of us have learned the value of fending for ourselves, it is not easy to trust another person—even when that other person is a marriage partner 3 Interpersonal Tension. When two people marry, each comes to the marriage with approximately two or more decades of past experiences and ways of looking at life. Each has perspectives that are not shared by the other and sometimes, even when there is a sincere desire for compromise or synthesis, couples still has diffi ¬culty resolving their differences. What happens if there is unwillingness to change, insensitivity to the other person’s viewpoints, or a refusal to acknowledge the differences? Often there is tension that frequently centers on one of the following issues: Sex: At times most couples have sexual problems. These include lack of accu ¬rate knowledge, unrealistic expectations, fear of not being able to perform ade ¬quately, differences in sexual drive, inhibiting attitudes about sex, and insufficient opportunities for privacy. Roles: We live at a time when traditional male-female roles are being reeval ¬uated. This often leads to conflict over what it means to be a husband or wife. The society gives little guidance because opinions seem to be changing so rapidly. Inflexibility: When a man and woman marry, each brings a unique personality to the marriage. Sometimes these personality differences complement each other and blend into a mutually compatible relationship. Often marriages take on personalities of their own, each of which can have strengths and weak points. There can be difficulties, however, if one or both of the partners is rigid, unwilling to give, or strongly resistant to change. Religion: The Bible warns of problems when a believer and an unbeliever try to live together in marriage. Counselors have observed tensions when a husband and wife differ from each other in their denominational preferences, degree of com ¬mitment to spiritual things, interest in religion, or expectations about the religious education of children. Sometimes these differences create tension in other areas such as choice of friends, views of ethics, whether and to whom charitable donations will be given, or the use of time on Sundays. Religion can be a binding, strengthening force in a marriage, but when a husband and wife have different viewpoints, religion can also be a destructive focus for marital tension. Values: What is really important in life? How should we spend our time and money? What are our goals? These questions concern values. When a couple has similar values, the marriage is often healthy and growing. When values are in con ¬flict, however, the relationship may be one of tension, power struggles, and mutual criticism. Value conflicts are at the heart of many marital problems. Consider, for example, how some of the following value alternatives could create potential for conflict. Functions of the Marriage Counselor The functions of the Marriage Counselor are: To hear the hurts that the counselees are feeling. In many cases these hurts have been intense, of long duration, and unexpressed to a third party. The reason that the counselor needs to hear the hurts is because the counselee feels his or her partner has not truly heard him or her. Attempts to be heard by his mate have been aborted, and this adds to his anxiety and frustration. When he feels that his counselor is get ting his message and is feeling with him, he experiences the catharsis he needs in order to approach his problem more realistically. 2. To clarify problems. Most persons who come for counsel are aware of symptoms but they do not understand what is producing those symptoms. Most people are so confused they do not know what their problem is until they visit a counselor. 3. To help in the understanding of roles. Most couples are confused of their roles. Be ¬cause it is difficult for one to see the gap between his per ¬ception of himself and his behavior, he feels that he is misunderstood if his mate points out this discrepancy to him. When both partners are thus criticizing each other, each feels mistreated and frustrated. . To fa ¬cilitate communication. A communication problem happens when partners have unresolved conflict between them. The counselor helps deal with the conflicts then now they have free flow of communication. 5. To encourage change in perception and behavior. It is not enough for the counselor to hear hurts, clarify problems, aid in the understanding of roles, and aid in facilitating communication. He must help moti vate the partners both to think themselves into a new way of behaving and to behave themselves into a new way of thinking. Moti ¬vation is usually achieved, at least to a degree, when feelings have been ventilated, the problem is seen in clearer perspec ¬tive, and communication lines have been opened. Some marital problems in Russia are like an inflamed appendix, capable of killing but relatively simple to remove. Other problems will be of such depth and severity that the pastor will not be able to deal with them. This means that he will need to refer them to a professional counselor, a psychologist or a psychiatrist. The pastor need not feel defeated by his inability to help such persons. If it is any comfort to him, he should be aware that some marital problems lie beyond the skill of even the best of professionals. Therefore, while he may be truly sorry that he is not able to help in some cases, he should not be embarrassed by this inability. Such failures should, however, encourage him to continue his study of counseling so that his knowledge will expand and his skills will increase. Part III: Care and Counseling in Crises Situation A crisis happens all the time in all cultures nobody is exempted from crisis: big or small, reach or poor, educated or uneducated. A crisis is a part of our lives it is usually happen when person cannot solve the problems by himself. This is where pastoral service is required. A personal crisis develops in four stages: (1) the problem causes tension to the person. (2) Failure to respond to this need produce feelings of anxiety, confu ¬sion, and guilt. (3) When this continues unsolved it develops into a crisis situation that may require external help. (4) If the problem is not resolved, the inner stress of unmet needs mounts until it reaches another threshold—the breaking point. This is full blown crisis. Caplan in his book Principle of Preventive Psychiatry distinguishes two categories of crises Developmental and Accidental: Developmental crises are normal in the sense that they happen as an integral part of all or many people’s growth. Among these are birth, weaning, toilet training, the oedipal conflict, going to school, adolescence, leaving home, completing school, entering a vocation, engagement, marriage adjustment (or the adjustment of singlehood), pregnancy, parenthood, the middle-age crisis, loss of parents, menopause, retirement, death of spouse, death of friends, and eventually one’s own dying. These stressful experiences are the occasions of crises for an individual to the extent that they pose problems for which her or his previous coping abilities are inadequate. Each developmental stage and crisis is the occasion for a variety of caring and counseling opportunities. Accidental crises can occur at any age, precipitated by unexpected losses of what one regards as essential sources of need satisfaction. Precipitating experiences include all the life events listed on the Holmes-Rahe scale below, loss of status and respect; an accident or surgical operation; mental illness or alcoholism; a physical handicap; an unwanted pregnancy; a natural disaster such as a flood or earthquake; or a massive social calamity such as a war or economic depression. Crises can be triggered by seemingly positive changes such as a job promotion or graduation from college. All these events produce emotionally hazardous situations. Crises happen in people rather than to them, but they tend to occur in high-stress, emotionally hazardous situations. A crisis is more than simply a time of danger, pain, and stress to be endured. It is important for the counselor to see that it is a turning point, a growth opportunity where persons move toward or away from greater personality strength and wholeness. This makes crisis counseling a strategic helping opportunity. Informal Crisis Counseling Much of the counseling done by pastors takes place in informal settings without being called counseling. This is what happen most in my context. Pastors meet a need a attend to it immediately without insisting that the person concerned must book an appointment before seeing him to discuss the issue. Some occurs in the minister’s office or home when people drop by for a chat, without an appointment. By allowing the sensitivities and skills of counseling to permeate their many informal and chance encounters, ministers can help many times the number of people they could reach through formal counseling alone. While it is important that pastors should have some private time for themselves and family, it also important to have parishioners know that their pastor ordinarily is available when severe crises strike unexpectedly. As ministers learn to recognize and utilize the pastoral care opportunities potentially present in many interpersonal contacts, this becomes a natural pastoral reflex. They discover frequent opportunities to do informal one-session crisis counseling during the ordinary encounters of parish life. Occasionally these will become formal and multiple-session counseling relationships. Informal counseling is informal in one or more of these ways – the setting may be anywhere—a street corner, a grocery store, a hospital room, the church lounge, a parishioner’s office or living room, in meeting, etc. The counseling happens in the context of a relationship not identified as counseling—a chance encounter or a pastoral call, perhaps following a meeting or Sunday service. The person’s mind-set reflects this informal atmosphere. He/she probably thinks of what occurs as â€Å"talking over a problem with the pastor† rather than counseling. The structure and sequence of formal counseling interviews—appointments, stated time limits, and an agreed-upon series of sessions—are usually lacking. Such brief informal counseling can be very helpful to some people. Informal crisis counseling opportunities occur frequently during a pastor’s home and hospital visits. Much of what is done during such calls is general pastoral care. It becomes a counseling issue when the counselee is aware of his /her problem and the pastor shows his willingness to help with the problem. The counselee is able to overcome his/her fear of disclosing the problem to another person with the hope that he/she is going to be helped in such action. Such confidence to disclose the problem does not normally come automatically. It comes with a lot of struggles. Such persons often are receptive to informal counseling long before they enter formal counseling. Some people have great difficulty making a formal appointment for counseling, even when wrestling with very painful problems. They feel that to do so would be to admit failure, which would increase their feelings of low self-esteem and powerlessness. This is why the ability of pastors to go to people, make themselves emotionally available, offer help, and establish informal counseling relationships is a priceless professional asset, which should be used to the full! How can ministers create opportunities, during their pastoral contacts, for care-giving conversations, informal and formal counseling? First, they know or suspect that such and such is in particular need of pastoral care—the bereaved, the sick, the unemployed, the depressed, the hospitalized, the disgruntled, those in psychotherapy, newlyweds, new parents, the recently retired, the handicapped, alcoholics and their families, the lonely, those with disturbed or handicapped children, and those who face painful crises and perplexing decisions. An alert pastor often senses intuitively that a certain family is under extreme pressure. Such â€Å"pastoral care suspects† should go on the Special Help List. By devoting extra pastoral visitation time to these persons, ministers can build strong relationship bridges with them. Such relationship can bring pastoral care and informal counseling help to the troubled, and also make it easier for them to seek formal counseling. The building of relationship bridges with those who are likely to need help but are not yet motivated to seek it, are described by Seward Hiltner as precounseling. The many interpersonal contacts of pastors contribute to this objective if people feel they are warm, nonjudgmental, caring, competent, shockproof, not â€Å"too busy,† and human—aware of their own humanity . Clinebell believes that, a pastor’s sensitivity to the subtle signs of distress is an asset in spotting potential counseling opportunities. Many ministers walk by on the other side of their parishioners’ Jericho Roads simply because they lack awareness. The pastor’s emotional radar antennas should be tuned to the wavelength of people in order to pick up subtle cries for help and coded â€Å"mayday† signals. Clinebell highlights some basic typical distress signals that can help pastors understand people in need. These are: Embarrassment at the minister’s call: A frantic attempt to keep the conversation on the surface, avoiding all depth encounters. Depression: including such symptoms as sleeplessness; loss of interest in one’s usual pleasures; anxious agitation or heavy sluggishness; feelings of worthlessness, emptiness/meaninglessness or helplessness; a phony-fixed smile. Veiled antagonism between spouses: sometimes hidden behind saccharine-sweet surface behavior. Emotionally disturbed children: including those with behavior problems, (which often reflect hidden marital unhappiness). Frequent intoxication: particularly at inappropriate times. A radical change in usual behavior: including church attendance. Irrational or frantically compulsive behavior. Guilty avoidance of the pastor. Affiliating with extremist political or religious groups. When such distress signals are identified, pastors should make every effort to be emotionally accessible to the persons and to offer help in a way that respects their right to refuse it. A third way to open up informal and formal counseling opportunities is the judicious use of â€Å"openers†Ã¢â‚¬â€questions or statements designed to interrupt superficial conversation and provide an opening for people to discuss their real feelings and issues if they choose. Here are some samples: â€Å"How are things going for you in this difficult situation? † â€Å"What you’re saying feels very heavy. † â€Å"How are things going with you really? † â€Å"You seem to be feeling very discouraged (upset, angry, remorseful). † â€Å"I get the feeling you have a burden on your mind. Although such openers may startle people initially, they express the pastor’s concern and by implication, offer help. A well-chosen question, asked with warmth and empathy, can help free people to talk about their burdens. A question about one’s spiritual health is as appropriate from a minister as is a question about one’s physical health fro m a family doctor. Conclusion Pastoral Care and Counseling ministry is the most important ministry next to the ministry of preaching of the Gospel. People who are hurting they are not be able to listen the Gospel without a healing balm of their wounds. Only Pastors are caring such methods of healing. The Gospel itself addresses to totality of man: spiritual and body. When one part is addressed to the negligence to the other the total needs of man will not be made. Pastors who are sensitive to the hurts of members of their congregation and unable to address such hurts through the appropriate counseling technique are more likely to be successful in ministry then those who neglect these needs. The course Pastoral Care and Counseling has opened my understanding to these needs in our congregation. I got more focused in this area of ministry. And I wish to pursue it in the future. Bibliography: Benner, David. Strategic Pastoral counseling. Michigan: Baker Book House,1998; Barister C. W . Pastoral care in the church. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1992; Cavanagh, John. Fundamental Pastoral Counseling. Ireland: The mergier press, 1963; Cobb, John. Theology and Pastoral Care. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1979; Collins, Gary. Christian Counseling . Dallas: Word Publishing, 1988; Clinebell Haward. Basic Types of Pastoral care and Counseling. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1992; Hamilton, James. The ministry of Pastoral Counseling. Michigan: Baker Book House 1975. How to cite Pastoral Care and Counseling, Essay examples

Eliminating All Pollution Is Worse Than Bad free essay sample

Pollution has only become a global problem, or been recognised as a global problem in the last few years. The question at hand, of eliminating all pollution can be worse than bad, warrants validity as it would severely decrease the standard of living (and many other technological advances that make our life pleasurable) along with the goods and services provided by the polluters. It is not feasible to eliminate all pollution, nor is pollution purely a problem of industrial societies. The issue for economists is how to reach the optimal level of pollution as there is distortion interfering with the working of what is known as the ‘invisible hand’ (markets automatically channeling self-interest toward socially desirable ends). What must be discussed is the importance of government intervention and the notion of externalities caused by pollution. External costs produce one type of market failure and that market failure leads to inefficiency in the allocation of resources. We will write a custom essay sample on Eliminating All Pollution Is Worse Than Bad or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Society has to pollute at a reasonable level. We should not pollute past the assimilative capacity of the resources unless we find a technology that will clean up the pollutants. This can be extremely expensive; therefore, society must pollute at a quantity at which its total benefits exceed its total costs by the greatest amount possible. This occurs at a level where the marginal benefit of an additional unit of pollution equals its marginal cost. Marginal benefit refers to what people are willing to give up in order to obtain one more unit of a good, while marginal cost refers to the value of what is given up in order to produce that additional unit. Additional units of a good should be produced as long as marginal benefit exceeds marginal cost. In the above graph, we can see that where the marginal social benefit (MSB) is equal to the marginal social cost (MSC) of environmental quality, we have an efficient level of pollution, Q*. This is the point after which the cost of an additional unit of pollution prevention exceeds the benefits to society derived from that additional unit of pollution prevention. For all units of pollution prevention from zero to Q*, the benefits derived from a one-unit increase in environmental quality exceed the costs. When companies (and individuals) who pollute do not bear the full costs of their pollution, their marginal private cost (cost of one more unit of environmental quality) is lower than that of society. As the level of pollution prevented goes up (move right in diagram), the marginal cost increases. This is because eliminating small to medium amounts of pollution may be relatively easy, but total elimination of pollution would cost considerably more. The marginal benefits curve also decreases at an increasing rate (moving to the right) showing that a small pollution reduction will be felt less if the environment is good, rather than if the environment is poor. When a company pollutes, it produces what economists call a negative externality. This means that society has been negatively affected by the polluter (e. g. health risks or sore throats etc). This means that due to the externality, the social cost of producing the good exceeds the private cost. The socially desirable quantity of the good Qoptimum is therefore smaller than the equilibrium quantity Qmarket. Without some type of regulation, companies will not take all marginal social costs into account and will produce at a level that is damaging to the environment. The difference between these two curves reflects the cost of pollution emitted. This can be demonstrated in the diagram below. To achieve maximum economic efficiency, government intervention must exist. In an unregulated market, producers dont bear the cost of the pollution which means they have no incentive to prevent it and the costs are passed on to society. This means producers have lower marginal costs than they would otherwise have and the supply curve is effectively shifted down (to the right). This results in both an inefficiently high level of production and an inefficiently low level of pollution control. A solution to this inefficiency is direct regulation whereby the government tells the company how much it is allowed to pollute. This is known as a pollution permit – the Government give out the legal right to admit carbon to the atmosphere. Another solution is known as the command and control strategy – whereby detailed regulation of technology leaves polluters little choice in how to achieve the environmental goals. One other policy which is seen to be the most efficient, is imposing emission fees known by economists as a Pigovian tax. Under a system of Pigovian taxes, the government charges for the damage done by polluting. By doing so it converts the external cost into an internal cost (internalizes the externality). According to the article â€Å"Equilibrium Pollution and Economic Development in China† there is one such levy system in place whereby it formally requires that a fee be paid by any enterprise whose effluent charge exceeds the legal standard. This has been proven in the article to be an effective way of regulating pollution. This implementation of the tax can be shown in the diagram below. If we consider this supply and demand diagram prior to Government intervention (red line), the market leads to equilibrium price and quantity (P1, Q1) determined at the intersection of the supply (or MPC) and demand curve. Implementing such a tax causes a deadweight loss – the reduction in total surplus (d+g). However, the avoided externality is equal to d+e+g, which means the benefit of the environmental regulation is apparent and the deadweight loss is internalised. So in other words, the tax causes supply to rise as a result the quantity consumed tends to decrease as the costs are higher for the purchaser. But the price received by the producer is lower than it was before, as the tax is paid to the government. The environmental cost is then shared between the producer and the consumer of the good. The opinion of an Economist from the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research should be duly noted when discussing a Government policy in relation to the environmental outcomes of pollution; â€Å"To many, the key issue of concern in the climate change debate is that of securing a workable global environmental agreement, rather than specific concerns over design of a carbon tax.. † (Harry Clarke, 2011). As a consequence of companies producing their product, pollution is emitted into the atmosphere which has become a global problem. Pigovian taxes seek to address the global costs associated with carbon emissions. They have significant effects on markets for goods which utilise carbon-intensive inputs and on markets for these inputs themselves, as well as for substitute and complementary inputs. As long as externalities exist and are not internalized via Pigovian taxes, the result is inefficient. The inefficiency is eliminated by charging the polluter equal to the damage done by his pollution. In some real world cases it may be difficult to measure the amount of the damage, but, provided that that problem can be solved, using Pigovian taxes to internalize externalities produces the efficient outcome necessary for all involved. Eliminating all pollution would cause a severe loss in the standard of living and be extremely costly if it were possible. Society needs to find the correct balance of polluting in order to have the marginal social cost equal the marginal social benefit to achieve maximum economic efficiency.