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Leadership and Organizational Behavior: “If you change your past and work together in a spirit that every one of you, no matter to what community he belongs, no matter what relations he had with you in the past, no matter what his color, caste or creed, is first, second and last a citizen of this State with equal rights, privileges and obligations, there will be no end to the progress you will make.” (Muhammad Ali Jinnah) (1)

It really takes a lifetime to achieve your dreams but in order achieve the dream of millions, it is a feat that only a few can perform in the whole mankind but Quaid-e-Azam was one of them. The abilities and skills which he manifested in the creation of Pakistan and the fight he fought, with reasons and logics to bring the dream of a lifetime for millions of souls was unsurpassable. We will always remain in debt to this man and those millions of sacrifices.

Why I chose Quaid-e-Azam, the best leader:

Everyone in this earth has a hero. People have heroes because they really admire that specific person and they really look up to that person. They really want to do what they have done and they have achieved in their lives. Likewise, I also have a hero. My hero is Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

There has been a lot written and said about him. From Larry Collins, Dominique Lapierre to Stanley Walport; everyone agreed on one thing: this man, this leader and founder of Pakistan had resolve of a man unbreakable even by the might of the mightiest, the British Empire, the Hindus and by all who thought that to create Pakistan was something beyond reach. But he stood strongly against all who promised and applied pressure from every direction and yet they couldn’t move him even an inch. He was to give all, he single handedly performed his responsibilities and there are some elements that make him very unique in all sense; as a leader or as a tactician, as one of the finest implementer of law or as a symbol of governance.

I choose him as my hero leader because I really admire him and his style, his personality and most importantly what he did for the Muslims of our country. He gave Muslims the freedom from the British Empire that was ruling at that time.

Biographies and Articles:

I have read lots of biographies and articles on Quaid-e-Azam and I am going to discuss and analyze a few of those here.

The first biography named, “Muhammad Ali Jinnah Biography” (2) describes the basic introduction about the early life of Quaid-e-Azam and his early education, his comeback to India, starting of his practice at bar, his joining of All India National Congress has also been described, agreement on Lucknow Pact, Jinnah’s fourteen points, his control over the Muslim League, Lahore Resolution, 1945-46 elections and the establishment of Pakistan.

The second biography named, “Biography on Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah” (3) also describes his early life and his education, his life in London has also been discussed, his return to Karachi in 1896, his entrance in Politics in 1906, his role in unifying the Muslims into a nation and becoming the first head of a new estate i.e. Pakistan.

The third biography named, “Biography on Quaid-e-Azam” (4) explains Birth of Quaid-e-Azam, the Early Life of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Political Career of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Constitutional Struggle of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Muslim League Reorganization and link of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Demand for Pakistan Slogan Raised by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Cripps Scheme and the most importantly, The Quaid’s last Words.

An article, “Remembering the Founder” (5), from Dawn – December 25, 2000; shows the importance of Quaid-e-Azam in the struggle against the problems in making Pakistan, it also shows his modern vision of politics and his vision of Pakistan as well.

Another article, “Quaid’s Concept of Pakistan” (6), from The News International Pakistan – December 25, 2005; tells about the controversy over whether the Quaid-e-Azam envisaged Pakistan to develop into an Islamic or secular state, the collapse of the 1857 resistance, treatment of minorities, his effective speeches, the dangers to Pakistan and his concept of a Nation.

By reading all the above mentioned biographies and articles, I want to share the information I gathered, his qualities, efforts and most amazingly zero level of weaknesses, my views about the strengths and accurate behavior of this great leader.

Early Life:

Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah was born on December 25th, 1876, to a mercantile family in Karachi. He got his early education at the Sindh Madrassat-ul-Islam and the Christian Mission School. He joined the Lincoln’s Inn in 1893 and became the youngest Indian to be called to the Bar. After three years, he became most famous lawyer in Bombay. In 1905, he entered politics from the platform of the Indian National Congress. As a member of a congress delegation, he went to England in that year to plead the cause of Indian self-governemnt during the British elections.

By forming a political group called the Muslim League, he got us a freedom. Talking to all the Muslims around in the sub-continent at that time, he said, “We are a nation with our own distinctive culture and civilization, language and literature, art and architecture, names and nomenclature, sense of values and proportion, legal laws and moral code, customs and calendar, history and tradition, aptitudes and ambitions; in short, we have our own distinctive outlook on life and of life. By all canons of international law, we are a nation.” (7)

Political Career:

In January 1910, Quaid-e-Azam was elected to the newly-constituted Imperial Legislative Council. He was probably the most powerful voice in the cause of Indian freedom rights all through his parliamentary career. Jinnah was also the first Indian to pilot a private member’s Bill through the Council and soon became a leader of a group inside the legislature.

Strong Beliefs:

For almost three decades since his entry into politics in 1906, Jinnah strongly believed in Hindu-Muslim unity. The Hindu leader before Gandhi, Gokhale, had once said of him, “He has the true stuff in him and that freedom from all sectarian prejudice which will make him the best ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity.” (8) And he did become the architect of Hindu-Muslim Unity, he was the one who was responsible for the Congress-League Pact of 1916, known as Lucknow Pact; the only pact ever signed between the two political organizations, the Congress and the All-India Muslim League, the two major communities in the subcontinent.

Key Roles:

The Lucknow Pact showed a milestone in the evolution of Indian politics. It conceded Muslims the right to separate electorate, reservation of seats in the legislatures and weightage in the representation both at the Centre and the minority provinces, thus binding the trend towards Muslim individuality in Indian politics. All the credit for this goes to Jinnah. Thus, by 1917, Jinnah came to be recognized among both Hindus and Muslims as one of India’s most outstanding political leaders. He was very prominent in the Congress and the Imperial Legislative Council as he was the President of the All India Muslim and that of the Bombay Branch of the Home Rule League. More importantly, because of his very special role in the Congress League agreement at Lucknow, he was hailed as the ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity.

Great Impact:

In 1940, the formulation of the Muslim demand for Pakistan had a great impact on the course of Indian politics. It shattered forever the Hindu dreams of Indian, in fact, Hindu empire on British exit from India. The reaction of the Hindus was quick and bitter too.

The British were equally hostile to the Muslim demand, their hostility having stemmed from their belief that the unity of India was their main achievement and their foremost contribution. The irony was that both the Hindus and the British had not anticipated the strong response that the Pakistan demand had elicited from the Muslim masses. Hence, they failed to know how a hundred million people had amazingly become so much conscious of their distinct nationhood and their destiny. In monitoring the course of Muslim politics towards Pakistan, none played a more prominent role than did Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah. It was only his advocacy of the case of Pakistan and it was his remarkable strategy in the delicate negotiations that followed the formulation of the Pakistan demand, particularly in the post-war period, that made Pakistan inevitable.

Limitless Struggle and Efforts:

In subsequent years, however, he felt dismayed at the involvement of violence in the politics. Jinnah really felt that political terrorism was not the way to the national liberation but, the dark route to disaster and destruction. Hence Jinnah could not possibly, countenance Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s novel methods of Civil Disobedience and the triple boycott of government aided schools and colleges, courts and councils and British textiles. Earlier, in October 1920, when Gandhi, having been elected President of the Home Rule League, tried to change its constitution as well as its nomenclature, Jinnah had resigned from the Home Rule League, saying: “Your extreme program has for the moment struck the imagination mostly of the inexperienced youth and the ignorant and the illiterate. All this means disorganization and chaos”. (9)

Required Behavior:

In the growing frustration among the masses caused by colonial rule, there was strong cause for extremism. Jinnah felt that it might lead to the building up of resentment, but nothing constructive. Hence, he opposed the tactics adopted by Gandhi to exploit the Khilafat and wrongful tactics in the Punjab in the early twenties. On the eve of its adoption of the Gandhian program, Jinnah warned the Nagpur Congress Session (1920): “You are making a declaration (of Swaraj) and committing the Indian National Congress to a program, which you will not be able to carry out”, (10). He felt that there was no short-cut to independence and that Gandhi’s constitutional methods could only lead to political terrorism, lawlessness and chaos, without bringing India nearer to freedom.

Although Jinnah left the Congress soon thereafter but he continued his efforts towards bringing about a Hindu-Muslim unity. However, because of the huge distrust between the two communities as evidenced by the country-wide communal riots, and because the Hindus failed to meet the right demands of the Muslims, his efforts came to zero. One such effort was the formulation of the Delhi Muslim Proposals in March, 1927.

Jinnah argued in vain at the National convention (1928): “What we want is that Hindus and Muslims should march together until our object is achieved. These two communities have got to be reconciled and united and made to feel that their interests are common”, (11). The Convention’s blank refusal to accept Muslim demands represented the setback to Jinnah’s passionate efforts to bring about Hindu-Muslim unity, it meant “the last straw” for the Muslims, and “the parting of the ways” for him, as he confessed to a Parsee friend at that time. Jinnah’s disillusionment at the course of politics in the subcontinent made him to migrate and settle down in London in the early thirties. He returned to India in 1934, at the pleadings of his co-religionists, and did assume their leadership. But then the Muslims presented a sad spectacle at that time. They were a mass of dissatisfied and demoralized people, politically disorganized program.

To get the Muslim people freedom, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah played a big role. He was the only Muslim to stand up and rally all the Muslims together so they could have their freedom on Aug. 14, 1947.

Great Thoughts and Sayings of Quaid-e-Azam:

“We can look to the future with robust confidence provided we do not relax and fritter away our energies in internal dissensions. There was never a greater need for discipline and unity in our ranks. It is only with united effort and faith in our destiny that we shall be able to translate the Pakistan of our dreams into reality”. (Mohammed Ali Jinnah) (12)

“My message to you all is of hope, courage and confidence. Let us mobilize all our resources in a systematic and organized way and tackle the grave issues that confront us with grim determination and discipline worthy of a great nation.” (Mohammad Ali Jinnah) (13)

“We are now all Pakistanis–not Baluchis, Pathans, Sindhis, Bengalis, and Punjabis and so on–and as Pakistanis we must feet behave and act, and we should be proud to be known as Pakistanis and nothing else.” (Mohammad Ali Jinnah) (14)

“We should have a State in which we could live and breathe as free men and which we could develop according to our own lights and culture and where principles of Islamic social justice could find free play.” (Mohammad Ali Jinnah) (15)

“Come forward as servants of Islam organize the people economically, socially, educationally and politically and I am sure that you will be a power that will be accepted by everybody.” (Mohammad Ali Jinnah) (15)

The Quaid’s Last Message:

With a sense of great satisfaction at the completion of his mission that Jinnah told the nation in his last message on 14 August, 1948:

“The foundations of your State have been laid and it is now for you to build and build as quickly and as well as you can”, (16). In accomplishing the task he had taken upon himself on the morrow of Pakistan’s birth, Jinnah had worked himself to death.

Result:

The Quaid e Azam is admired by all political parties as well as by the army in Pakistan.

He was a tremendous leader whose first preference was to give special status for the Muslim League within a united India as being the sole representative of the Muslim community.

This was unacceptable to the Congress which had been quite secular in its outlook and had leaders from all the many religions. The Quaid-e-Azam was an accomplished lawyer and a magnificent negotiator. He used the threat of creating Pakistan as a “stick” if his demands were not met.

After getting Pakistan, he wanted it to be a secular state but unfortunately he died within a year of its creation. As a result, religious forces quickly adopted a resolution making Pakistan an Islamic republic and introduced a basis for subsequent misuse for intolerant agendas of some of its most influential leaders.

Conclusions:

That is why I really admire him. He is a hero to everyone in my country because of what he did for our country and for the Muslims. He fought so much for Pakistan and he did so much for us that no one can ever forget. He is a great freedom hero for me.

In all his speeches given in whatever little time he had, it paved way for all to see and to learn how Pakistan should develop its economic and foreign policies, how to protect rights of the minorities, based on justice and fairness, a society set on the principles of Islam, where all will be able to take part to its success and progression but we all forgot within the months of his departure.

It is still time for Pakistanis to wake up and to follow the spirit of its founder to bring back this country to its feet. All the challenges we face, all the resistance we face amongst ourselves and from outside can be removed if we could only understand Jinnah and his life and know the mechanics in creation of a country that became second largest Muslim country in 20th century. But this was not to happen as we forgot our very own sacrifices, our very own people and our very own founder Jinnah.

Instead of following his vision; we followed our instincts based on greed and promotion of values against all what he made and created. We forgot Jinnah and have turned Jinnah into just a mere symbol. It is his words; it is his life which should be lived in all of us. We have betrayed him in last sixty one years. It is still time to appreciate and to bring that spirit back in Pakistan and in all of Pakistanis, and we have to forget these differences that we have created. We must become more understanding and tolerant of each other and work together. It is this task that is the need of the time and our major responsibility.

Remember a young boy, age of seventeen, arriving at Southampton. Remember a person who learnt all the important ways of life in those dull and depressing months of winter. Remember that person who once walked near river Thames, asking himself what a change means and how it can be brought. Even Jinnah had no idea what so ever at that time but he learnt that studying Law will take him so far but he never thought that one day he will fight in a way no one had done it ever before. One day he will fight for the hopes of millions. He took stand against Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, Mountbatten and the whole British Empire. But he fought well with both his mind and words and took intelligent actions to turn this dream into reality. It is now up to us as individuals and as a society and as leaders of this Pakistan to understand the cause and all what it took.

It is this man Mohammed Ali Jinnah who became in the process our Quaid-e-Azam, the founder of Pakistan. It is this man, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, Quaid-e-Azam, a man for all seasons we owe our lives to and to Pakistan.

“We can choose our sins but not their consequences,” is an ancient proverb. These words are most widely used in a spiritual context albeit in reality, they denote that we select our actions by free will without the ability to predict their outcome or impact on our life.

The proverb signifies that humans are prone to various vagaries, purely caused by mental processes. It is well known that every action is the culmination of a thought: We think first and then act accordingly, based on our knowledge, resources and circumstances prevalent at any particular time. That thoughts emerge from our brain is well known. But the complexities involved behind every thought and possibly related actions remains a mystery till date, despite every human effort to interpret these myriad processes.

To a great extent, humans, since ancient times, have comprehended and found cures for a plethora of ailments that plague the physical body- from simple wounds to life threatening viral contagion. Yet, no scientist or inventor has managed to successfully interpret the workings of the human thought chain. The brain is composed of brain cells and membranes- kept alive by an incessant supply of blood, oxygen and nutrients. It has also been established that various potent hormones in the brain are responsible for its functioning. That deficiencies or overages of some may result in behavioural anomalies, which are treated medically.

Despite, nobody has found the wonder key that would unravel mysteries associated with the sequences of human thoughts and behaviour till date.

Human Origins:

To understand psychology, let us examine the basis of human evolution: scientific, as propounded by Charles Darwin that we are all descendants of some esoteric, primordial apes or spiritual, contained in the Holy Bible and the Holy Quran- that we are progenies of Adam and Eve. Both concepts of evolution remain hotly debated.

Importance of Darwin’s Evolution Theory and related research in Psychology:
Psychology of Primitive Humans:

If humans are indeed descendants of ancient apes, what factors made these primates different from other animals of that era? Obviously, humans are endowed with something exceptional other animals lack: the ability to think and behave accordingly. Scientists aver that primitive humans evolved some seven million years ago, as a distinct species of apes.

Primitive humans had simple needs: food and shelter. Basic understanding of how to procure these was their only requisite. While no records exist about how the primal man behaved, it is apparent they experienced fear- mainly from animals and creatures more powerful, loneliness- leading them to live in societies rather than isolation, anger and affection- an emotion intrinsic to social life. Above all, they possessed a unique trait: To dominate other creatures. This required them to harness natural resources to their advantage and gain the cutting edge that would eventually make them the dominant species on Planet Earth.

For obvious reasons, psychologists did not exist in that era but palaeontologists have tried to sequence the human thought process of primitive humans through the study of their artefacts including tools, skulls and climatic changes of that period.

Excavations of thousands of archaeological sites worldwide reveal, primitive humans began using tools and hunting equipment as early as some 2.6million years ago, during the Early Stone Age (Palaeolithic). These included stone hammers and sharp stone flakes, among others: A clear indicator of their thought process led them to rely on implements that were almost indestructible and could vanquish any powerful animal, if deployed properly. Around 1.75million years ago, they began making the first version of axes called Acheulean axes and larger cutting tools- once again pointing that primitive humans were dissatisfied with their earlier achievements and yearned for something more sophisticated- caused by the thought to improve their lifestyle and perhaps, excel.

As humans progressed, these simple tools began assuming more complex and practical forms such as basic shafts to hone spears, awns possibly used to cut animal hides for clothing and scraping tools to shape such hides, wood and stones, which are found to date some 200,000 years ago, or, the Medieval Stone Age (Mesolithic) – signifying that primitive man’s chain of thought was more progressive.

Archaeological evidence from the Late Stone Age (Neolithic) reveals, humans had begun experimenting and using other raw material for their inventions such as durable remains of animals including antlers and horns, ivory tusks and various forms of stones, found deeper in soil. Driving force behind this progress was of course- the infinite human thought process: the will to prevail over other creatures and the necessity to create basic gizmos that would aid this dominance.

From Stone Age till date:

Mankind evolved gradually but steadily with every millennium marking a milestone such as Agrarian Age, around 9500BC, when humans learned to domesticate animals and grow crops for food rather than forage, Copper Age, around 4000BC when humans discovered the metal and used it to their benefit, Iron Age (3000BC) and eventually, to rudimentary yet developed civilizations. This evolution stemmed from the human mind: the thought process culminating in action, aimed at attaining supremacy over nature, living creatures and inanimate elements and, over ages, achieved successfully.

Development of the Human Brain:

Primitive humans, by virtue of their intelligence over other creatures, were affected by several factors. Physiological and psychological changes in brain are believed to have occurred about 6 million years ago, when primates that would eventually evolve into humans, began walking upright rather than on all fours, unlike other variants of the genus. Brain size of early humans increased slightly during this era, as their intelligence grew and they began creating rudimentary tools.

Between 2million and 800,000 years ago, primitive humans emerged across the globe, albeit with varying degrees of development. The need to adapt to climatic changes, invent and discover implements for survival and develop further caused significant changes to the brain size. The reason: Larger brains are a prerequisite to processing greater amount of data and higher intelligence. Relying on fossilized skulls of primitive humans from various eras, scientists were able to conclusively deduce that brain size increased as human intelligence grew, while those of other animals remained somewhat consistent, till they became extinct or evolved into denizens we know now.

A clincher to this is: An average Chimpanzee brain weighs around 400gms while a normal brain of a modern human weighs a whopping 1.350gms. A modern human brain constitutes only two percent of the average body weight but accounts for 20 percent of oxygen supply to the body and requires 20 percent of the body’s blood to remain functional.

The advantages of a larger brain, as explained by scientists are that it can store vast amounts of information, collect and process data within split seconds and deliver necessary impulses and reactions while devising or engaging in creative or destructive activities, of which no other species are capable on this planet.

Laboratory experiments prove that human brains have more white matter indicating it is connected to an intricate network of nerves and cells thus imparting a greater ability to process data while Chimpanzees have lesser white matter in their brains leading to lower connectivity to nerves and cells and a limited capacity to comprehend or process information.

These findings are essential to psychology today because a modern brain is capable of multi-dimensional though processes.

Evolution of humans in spiritual context: (In chronological order):

Primitive Spirituality: Little is known about how and when primitive humans developed their belief in a supernatural power or a higher power. Ancient cave paintings and carvings indicate that primordial humans worshipped natural phenomenon and elements such as the Sun, Moon, lightning and thunder among others. Some such art also depicts humans with different physical features and robed in attire uncommon for the era. While research on these paintings and carvings are highly empirical and results, ambiguous, they do confirm that prehistoric man feared and revered these objects or humanoids.

Due to societal life, it was also essential from primitive humans to choose leaders for their group. To be a leader, primitive humans chose a compatriot who was endowed with exceptional brawn and knowledge- for example, a person who could guide them how or where to forage for food, lead them to safety or created a useful implement.

In both these cases, it is evident that psychology played a major role since complex thought procedures were involved.

Primitive humans evolved into well organized societies that transformed into ancient kingdoms. Technology and science developed concurrently, giving birth to newer creations, improvements on earlier inventions and sophisticated lifestyles.

Yet, no efforts were made by the now well evolved humans to determine what triggers the human thought process, the chain leading to action and its subsequent consequences. Myths and folklore emerged and primitive spirituality began developing into organized religions.

Organized religions, to a great extent, were the first attempt by humans to imbibe psychology into daily life, albeit, unwittingly.

Emergence of organized spirituality or religion:

Hinduism: Srimad Bhagwad Geeta (The Song Divine), believed to have originated around 3000BC, is said to be an excellent and the first recorded example of psychological counselling: The Pandava warrior Arjuna (counselee) , saddened at the prospect of slaying his cousins, uncles, teachers and friends and the imminent bloodshed during the epic Mahabharata war, wishes to abandon the war and expresses his thoughts to Lord Krishna (counsellor). Ancient Hindu texts do not define evolution of humans clearly.

Lord Krishna: Counsels Arjuna about the meaning of human life and its various aspects while encouraging Arjuna to perform his duty. This counselling includes in the Srimad Bhagwad Geeta relates to daily life, food, duties and rights as well and speaks about a Utopian state of mind wherein a person is immune to all attachments of human emotions ( Sanskrit word: Stithaprajnya).

Judaism: The Noble Torah (Origin around 1500BC), an ancient version of the Old Testament ( and also part of the Holy Bible) mentions Adam and Eve as the ancestors of humans in the Book of Genesis.

Christianity: The Holy Bible (Origin around 1500BC with Old Testament to 200AD): Genesis 1:26 to 5:5: Describes how Almighty Creator (God) created the Earth, living creatures, the universe and the first man and woman, Adam and Eve, whom He entrusted with the Garden of Eden with a warning: “But the Lord God gave him this warning: (Genesis 2:16): “You may freely eat any fruit in the garden (Genesis 2:17): except fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat of its fruit, you will surely die.”

These verses clearly mention ‘knowledge, good, evil’ – some of the words that form basis of modern psychology.

Jesus Christ: An outstanding example of qualities that any psychological or psychiatric counsellor should possess. An embodiment of simplicity, Jesus Christ was astute in his judgement about human behaviour, its pros and cons, aptly analyzed human dilemmas while counselling accordingly, on basis of spirituality and understanding of a power greater than humans.

Islam: Al Quran Al Shareef: (Origin around 630AD) Chapter 7, Verse 189: “It is He who created you from one soul and created from it its mate that he might dwell in security with her. And when he covers her, she carries a light burden and continues therein. And when it becomes heavy, they both invoke Allah , their Lord, “If You should give us a good child, we will surely be among the grateful.” (Surat Al-‘A`rA?f). This verse refers to Adam and Hawwa (the Arabic pronunciation of Eve.)
The Al Quran Al Shareef also lays emphasis on human behaviour in this verse through words such as the ‘soul’ (inner self), ‘security’ and ‘grateful’- all vital in modern psychology.
Prophet Mohammad (PBUH): This great founder of Islam is the pioneer of what is now recognized as Racial Psychology. The Arab world, during those years, was home to people from different races, from Far East Asia to Europe, Middle East and the Indian subcontinent, who resided there as traders, soldiers or slaves and embraced Islam. The Islamic worship (Namaz or Salaah) united all Muslims regardless of their race, creed, nationality and colour for a common purpose- to respect Almighty Allah, in whose eyes, all humans are equal and dissolving any divisions based on earthly features such as wealth, might or race.

(Though the Noble Torah, the Holy Bible and the Al Quran Al Sharif texts agree on some principles about human creation (male and female) by a divine power, a few differences exist in their interpretations and narrations, within their respective faiths.)

Significance of Spiritual Teachings in psychology then and now:

Psychology, in spiritual context of the Al Quran Al Shareef, the Holy Bible, the Noble Torah and Srimad Bhagwad Geeta are primarily based on human behaviour or psychology. They contain detailed instructions on how to aim for a perfect life that is free from irrational fear, proper social behaviour, ties with family and brotherhood, duties towards mankind and obeisance to a power greater than humans-God- by whatever name we choose to describe the Creator, eliminating a human’s most basic fear of death. This holds true for most faiths and their texts as well. Invariably, all spiritual texts lay great emphasis on mental well-being of humans by defining certain standards for behaviour.

Spiritual or religious texts also define the concept of ‘Sin’- or actions that contravene ideal life, warning about dire consequences of indulging in such acts. It’s a well known fact today that a ‘sinful’ life- which can be defined as a flagrant violation of well established societal and spiritual tenets, can have disastrous circumstances on one’s life and those around them.

Committing a crime (sin) renders one liable to prosecution under the law and consequential punishments, causing irreparable psychological harm to culprits and their family members.

Addiction to alcohol or narcotics and psychotropic substances, also deemed a sin, has disastrous effects on an individual’s behaviour while directly impacting the lives of their families, colleagues and the society.

Modern day psychologists agree that genuine spirituality (not religious rituals performed without faith in a higher power), play a major role in the mental well-being of humans, since it helps people to answer questions that human reasoning or science cannot explain. On the flip side, an excessive inclination towards religious beliefs and blind faith can lead to addictive behaviour including fanaticism.

The Birth of Psychology:

While spiritual texts offered excellent guidelines about living a near Utopian life by preaching how to control one’s behaviour, they contained negligible information or no explanation about what influences the human thought chain and resultant actions. For example, religious texts caution humans against “sins” but do not explain the human thought process leading to a “sinful” act. This, apparently, had to be entrusted to humans.

And humans did make efforts to unravel the mysteries of their thought process and resultant actions. Early philosophers, thinkers and scientists, intrigued at the complexities of human thoughts and actions, embarked on long, often painstaking and sometimes fruitless endeavour to solve this enigma. Centuries of work, wrong perceptions, accidental discoveries, unwarranted ridicule and astute research mark this ongoing, unending journey that led to the evolution of psychology, from ancient times to the latest developments of today’s modern world.

Today, psychology aids millions of people worldwide to live a better life by helping them understand various facets of their behaviour. Psychology is helping the corporate world reap larger profits by helping select workers with the desired qualities. Psychology joins ranks with law enforcement officers to make this world a better, safer place by identifying criminal traits of individuals. Psychology goes online by assuming ‘avatar’ (cyber images) created by individuals of how they perceive themselves. Hence, psychology is the true “biological mother” of all inventions, either propelled by necessity or ego.

Ends.

It was stated earlier in the introduction that proverbs play an important part in Reggae music as it is an essential aspect to the genre, but in order for us to fully appreciate the role they play, a connection between them and the genre must be explored. Jamaican proverbs are well-known for their roles in creating moral commentaries and as it is a known fact that the Reggae discourse is primarily concerned with the giving of advice – teaching values, wrong’s from right’s and issuing warnings- proverbs are quite useful in this context. An example of a warning can be found in Peter Tosh’s album Mama Africa which was released in 1983, in his song Glass House he warns, “If you live in a glass house / don’t throw stones / If you can’t take blows, brother / don’t throw blows” (“Glass House,” Mama Africa 1983). Tosh warns us not to criticize other individuals for faults that we ourselves might possess, similar declarations can be found in Bob Marley’s Misty Morning where he states:”like one of my friends say/ From a reggae riddim/ Don’t jump in the water,/ If you can’t swim.”(Misty Morning, Kaya 1978).

Proverbs, along with their functionality, also hold poetic qualities; this is so as they contain musical features such as rhyme and rhythm making them very useful in the Reggae discourse. Throughout the Reggae culture, proverbs are typically chanted, sung, or shouted transforming it into musical notes that a key to the unique sound of Reggae music. Proverbs in Reggae music are many times used to re-live history, to showcase the past and the many struggles that the ‘black community’ has faced throughout the years. Bob Marley has created numerous songs that echo this idea, one of which is the widely popular Get up! Stand Up! which was co-written by fellow Reggae artiste Peter Tosh. The song was heavily influenced by their upbringings and the struggle they faced with their Rastafarian religion in Jamaica. The song had first made an appearance on The Wailers 1973 album Burnin’ but it was later included on the compilations Legend and Rebel Music. Get up! Stand up! can be viewed as an argument, an argument for those individuals that are being harassed beneath the weight of oppression, the song serves to persuade these said individuals to stand up for themselves, to rebel against the cruelty that they face. Its fundamental focus is the rebellion against the teachings of the Christian religion that hinder black people from attempting to achieve their freedom in the here and now. It is a social commentary against the ‘Babylonian’ system of hierarchical religions, religions which oppress its members and look down upon other faiths.

Three proverbs are clearly seen the song and there are two in the first stanza: “all that glitters is not gold/ half the story has been told”, this proverb advises not to be lured into believing things because everything isn’t always what it seems. He warns that though a fantasy might sounds alluring there is no substance to it. The second proverb refers not only to history but to theology. The African’s voice throughout history has been hushed primarily by colonial influences throughout the years, what is told is only half of the hidden truth, one will never really know what truly happened. The third proverb intimates that many people are “wise” to the trickery of Christian advertising; he’s telling us that religion is a fallacy and only a way of controlling, “We know and understand/ Almighty God is a living man/ You can fool some people sometimes/ But you cannot fool all the people all the time” (Get up! Stand up!, 1973). These proverbs are a favorite among Rasta’s and are used in the negotiation of power. The imbalance of power between the ruling class and the oppressed is addressed by the speaker and points and accusing finger specifically towards the use of Christian texts and teachings that seek to reinforce the ‘status quo’.

Exodus is the ninth studio album released by Bob Marley & The Wailers. An assignation attempt was made on Bob Marley’s life on the 3rd of December 1976 an assassination attempt was made on Bob Marley’s life and following the attempt Marley left Jamaica and was exiled to London where Exodus was recorded. The album is widely considered to be the album that propelled Marley to international celebrity. A favored rhetorical strategy found in songs by Bob Marley is the critique of Babylon which is a recurring motif in his songs; he critiques Babylon while speaking to the community. “The Heathen” is an excellent example of him ‘chanting down Babylon’. Rastafarianism is a religion that is mainly based upon the idea of African freedom from a structure of inequality and repression. The chorus consists of one line, repeated four times: “Heathen back there pon the wall.” The two stanzas contain four proverbs and are essentially words of encouragement to the African community. The first proverb suggests there is no shame in having made compromises in the context of slavery and post colonialism: black people did what they had to do to survive. But now the time has come to rally the forces of African peoples, to battle against the influences of colonialism, and once again become a proud, independent world power: “Rise O fallen fighters/ Rise and take your stance again/ ‘Cause he who fight and run away,/ Live to fight another day.” (The Heathen, 1976).

Marley’s “So Much Things to Say” (Exodus) is another composition that fit the idea and is of him critiquing Babylon. The song ridicules the Babylonian characters, condemning their desire for unending, meaningless talking. The song connects modern tyrants to olden forces of oppression that have fought against the righteous. The chorus, a repetition of the line “They got so much things to say,” is preached by Marley throughout the song, revealing his contempt for the oppressors of his people.

Proverbs have a tradition within reggae that authenticates the opinions of these songs as principally problem-solving and health-giving. This rhetorical approach has become a key marker in roots reggae, and so the repetition of specific maxims is not surprising when it is considered that the creators of the genre (Reggae/ Roots Reggae) were drawing inspiration from the same sources – both spiritual and cultural – and openly sharing their knowledge among themselves as they advanced as both songwriters and musicians. Even a casual survey of song titles reveals a substantial number of proverbs or allusions to proverbial expressions. Consider Bob Marley’s Time Will Tell, Small Axe, Who the Cap Fit, Them Belly Bull (But We Hungry) and Rat Race. The titles alone hint at the meaning behind the songs, all laden with proverbs, Bob Marley seeks to make a commentary on the political and social situation that has left the people in suffering. The proverbs “Cotton tree never so big, but Lilly axe cut him” and “Small axe cut big tree” is the equivalent to “likkle but we tallawah”, the seen here is message is important and is symbolic of individuals who are undermined because of their outward appearance, it urges us to not ‘judge a book by its cover’ because the strength that lies on the inside might surprise us. The social meaning of the proverb parallels the metaphor of David and Goliath from the biblical tale. Bob Marley develops the proverb into an allegory, applying the metaphor of the tree to the “evil men” and the axe to himself and all Rasta’s as the righteous, and the oppressed.

There are many Reggae songs of social commentary/comedy that are primarily concerned with human relationships and with the evils of deceitfulness and hypocrisy (two-facedness). They warn us against the deceitful because mankind can be treacherous and one should be careful, even in one’s dealings with those who need our help. Peter Tosh’s Maga Dog (from his Mama Africa album) and Skany Dog both rely on the metaphor of the ‘mangy’ dog, The song is symbolic of those individuals that at first appear to be in dire need of help but once that assistance is given they turn around and betray you. “Sorry fe maga dog/ Him turn around and bite you/ Jump outta frying pan/ Jump inna de fire!” (Maga Dog, 1983). The song is founded on two popular sayings ” Sorry fi mawga dawg, mawga dawg tun roun’ bite you.” And “Out of the frying pan, into the fire”. These proverbs warn us against the treachery that can be found in most individuals and are characterized by a certain scorn.

Swami Anand Prahlad, author of Reggae Wisdom: Proverbs in Jamaican Music, explores how the various elements of roots reggae music, particularly proverbs, help in conveying the ethics and traditions of Rastafarianism. Prahlad asserts that the proverbs used by Jamaican reggae songwriters aid in the improvement and motivating of Rasta’s it also helps to introduce outsiders to this mystical religion. He goes on to analyze the meanings of many familiar proverbs, particularly those of leading reggae performers like The Itals and Bob Marley.

In the mid- to – late 1960’s Jamaica entered a phase of “post-Independence depression” as Edward Kamau Brathwaite described it in his 1971’s essay entitled Forward Savacou. The granting of Independence was followed by displeasure as the standards of living failed to progress with a Jamaican government set in place. The late 1960’s was primarily a period of social unrest. The complications of public unrest and juvenile crime were addressed by Bob Marley the Wailers in their very first recording which became a number one hit in Jamaica: “Simmer Down” (1963). The song deals with the problem of hooliganism and consists of famous Jamaican proverbs strung together: “Chicken deh merry,/ Hawk deh near,/ What sweet nanny goat,/ A-go run him belly”, the speaker warns that where there is too much merriment and enjoyment, danger lurks near, the last proverb in the stanza is a popular idiom that cautions against too much indulgence as what seems good to you now, may hurt you in the long run . These are very popular sayings in Jamaican culture and their employment in the lyrics of these songs, serve to not only preserve the culture of the past but to teach the younger generation by its (proverbs) profound wisdom.

Peter Tosh, a young rebel at heart, sang many Reggae song aimed at describing the frustrations and the oppression that can be found in the ‘shitstem’ (system). He employed the use of proverbs and idioms to bring across knowledge to his viewers and followers as he was a firm believer in equal rights. Treat Me Good is one of such songs that express this idea. In the song he states in the chorus “Things you don’t like/ don’t do it to your neighbor/ those same things may react upon you later”, it draws from the popular biblical saying “do unto others as you would like them to do unto you”. The proverb is a golden rule that advises individuals to treat people in the same respect and regard as you yourself would wise to be treated, the speaker uses it as a life lesson for others to follow.

Both Peter Tosh and Bob had very rewarding musical careers, however, it’s their life journeys and their upbringings that are the primary contributors to their songs and the messages that they convey. The incorporation of proverbs into roots reggae music helps the genre in its plea for African empowerment and justice in a society subjugated by neo-colonialism and oppression. This struggle to overcome and find pride in one’s African heritage is depicted through the lyrics of popular Jamaican music. In the employment of these popular idioms, both Bob Marley and Peter Tosh aim to address the socio economic issues, symbolism and reinforces societal norms that are perpetuated in our Jamaican society

The principles of the Rukun Negara formulated by National Consultative Council with together headed by our second prime minister, Tun Abdul Razak at 31 August 1970. The purpose of formation of this national principles are to created unity of various race in Malaysia after the riots of different races at May 13th 1969 in Malaysia. That riots happened had proven the Malaysian racial issues and stability had fragile.

The formation of “Rukun Negara” are one of the method to overcome the racial issues between different races in Malaysia after the May 13th incidents has happened which involved hundreds of people are death in that particular incident. It happened when after election at year 1969 where Parti Tindakan Rakyat (DAP) dan Gerakan get a very good respond from the result of the election. Procession was held by them purpose for incident of one youth Chinese was killed in battle with policemen before the election was held. UMNO was felt be challenged of the result of the election although them still win the majority seats in parliament.

Datuk Harun Idris led the riots happened. Purpose of this provocative procession happened was to set fire to the spirit of nationalism of every races in Malaysia. This riots happened until the police force was unable to control the situation. Army force had to be called to help police force to control the situations.

This incidents has made all the leaders in Malaysia has realized of importance of unity issues of various races in the country. In the official report, there are totals of 493 people was injured and 196 people are reported death of that incidents. Emergency in the country was declared by our Yang Dipertua Agong, with advices from our first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman based on article 150 in constitution of federal Malaysia.

The Rukun Negara can be related with several place that we visit in the trips. The first principle can related with Batu Caves and National Palaces. Batu Caves are rich with Hinduism cultural. The cultural still preserved until today that let us to enable to study and get to know the elements and everything cultural about Hinduism. National Palaces are rich with Islam religions and cultural. Inside the palaces, lot of architectures are follow Islam and mixed with Hinduism elements to build with it. Switch of the light and fans are made of gold plated, which represent the wealthy and higher class people in society.

National Museum represent the place to let all the people to access the past cultural and present cultural in Malaysia. In museum, we can access different races occupations, cultural, rituals and behavior being practice in past and until current today in Malaysia. It also show us how the life, ritual and cultural of Orang Asli in Malaysia.

Examine carefully the importance of Rukun Negara for our country; how it cultivate social structure and social organization in society.

We are admitting that Rukun Negara was important to our country in Malaysia. Rukun Negara was created to meet it’s purpose of unity of various race in Malaysia, and prevent the riots of races happened again within the country. Analysis of each elements of national principles

BELIEF IN GOD

Nation and the State was created based on a strong belief in God. It would make the sovereign country or nation thru these religions belief. The Federal Constitution declared that Islam is the official religion of the Federation, but other religion and beliefs can be practiced in freedom and tranquility. Any actions discrimination against any citizen on grounds based on religion are prohibited. Pillars of the drafters of the committee recognize the importance of belief in God and religion in human life. Recognizing the importance of community members holding robustness against their religious teachings, this principle has been selected as the first principle of the Rukun Negara.

LOYALTY TO KING AND COUNTRY

Malaysia practices a system of constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy with His Majesty the King as Head of State. Loyalty to King and country means that every citizen should be devoted faithful, honest and sincere to His Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. At the state level, the citizens are required to devote loyalty to the king who ruled the land where they reside without reducing allegiance to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

THE SUPREMACY OF THE CONSTITUTION

This principle pressing need for people to accept, obey and defend the Constitution of the country or glory. Constitution is the highest legal source. Its function is to provide protection to every citizen of this country because of their privileges and rights as citizens in this country. The Malaysian citizens are required to respect, appreciate, and understand the meaning and content as well as the historical background of the formation of the National Constitution. Constitution was drafted based on consensus of all parties and races within the country. Thus the social contract that people cannot be questioned about it and threatened by any individual or any party. Constitution of Malaysia made for determine the pattern of socio-economic and political position of the citizens in this country.

THE RULE OF LAW

Justice based on the rule of law where all citizens equal before the law in the country legally. Fundamental freedoms guaranteed to all citizens of Malaysia. State law based on the Constitution. Thus the need to be accepted and defended its sovereignty. Without the law, social and state life is not peaceful and stable. By the laws of the country are guaranteed by an independent judiciary and competent. Every country needs laws to regulate and create peaceful, prosperity and stability in society. The existence of the law will guarantee a life member of the community can move with freedom and orderly, without any disturbance which not threated the safety of other citizens in the country. The rights of all people can practice freely as long as no violation of the law as well as things as guaranteed by the Constitution. The freedoms right declared in the Constitution does not means citizens have the right to overthrow the current government.

COURTESY AND MORALITY

These five principles to emphasize the development of one’s personality and behavior of the people. The aim is to form citizens’ courtesy and manners in line with the campaign Courtesy and Noble Values aˆ‹aˆ‹conducted now. Individual nature of courtesy and manners are the most important and meaningful in the elements of relationships with other various races within the country. Attitude of courtesy and manners should be taught and practiced to develop the individual and society as well as high discipline and morality that will help create harmonious in the society. Conduct hate and condemn this behavior or act arrogant or offend any person or class. Polite behavior within the person are contains of high degree of morality in his / her life.

Importance of Rukun Negara are create unity among the different races, Chinese, Malay and Indians in Malaysia. In the national principles, it has avoid any racial issues happened between among the three main racial in the country. It was law binding for those go against with it will be arrested.

National Principles also create function as a guidance in the formation of one nation in the country regardless of religion and race. It has become important guidelines for government in Malaysia ruled the country.

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National principles also creates the way of democracy life in the Malaysia nation. In the federal constitution, it was stated practice of democracy must in element for governing in nations of Malaysia. The constitution are almost same like United States. National principles also to serve purpose of create the society, which the wealth of the nation shall be equitably shared among the nation. It also to ensure the liberal approach of diversity and rich of different cultural traditions within Malaysian nations.

In first elements of national principles, not one were racial, each citizens of Malaysia was respect each other cultural, traditions and religions been practice by different races. In today, we can see the effects created by the national principle in our country, Malaysia. Every races still manage to get mixed well by each other.

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Different races mix well together

Second element in national principles are made the citizens in Malaysia have love and loyalty to their country and Kings. Not only that, they are expected to be love their leaders as well. In Today, although we can see Sultan are functionless in our country, but Malaysians are not going to oppose the Sultan but to love the Sultan more and respect them as there are one of the leaders in Malaysia. We can saw Malaysia are developing far behind than Singapore. But, we still love our country as we can see the specialty of Malaysia are united three races in one nation one country, which this reasons are attracted the foreign tourists come and visit to Malaysia. http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTcOnb4vumEJrNuMrUf4f6kECYXXMiYk9tfPM7dEnTZjK7Kl679

Third elements in national principles enable the citizens in Malaysia live in democracy way in their country. There is freedom to practices their own rituals, cultural and also religious for each races. Every citizens have their right and own voice to protest the wrong doing in the society. Very good example are referring to “Bersih Campaign”. It is one of the democracy way for Malaysian citizens to voice out their dissatisfied with the wrong doing in past elections.

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Bersih Campaign

The Law Binding were cultivate the society become more alert when they commit any illegal activity. One of the example, any drug trafficking was arrested and had been judged by court, it will received penalty as dead sentences in final.

The last principle has enabled all the citizens to build up better or superior personality which consist good moral and behavior. The superior of personality are the important elements of the development of the country. It also able to avoid any riots happened within the country among the different race. In opposite, it able to create harmony among the race for helping each other, complement each other which gave a fast lane for a country to become developed country. Crime rate also can be reduce at the same time. Hence, the Ultimate goal of Rukun Negara also can be achieved at the same time.

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Different races of Bersih Activists help to save out the victim which hit by policemen car in Bersih Campaign. They eventually help policemen get out of the car after they save the victim of accident.

In my opinion, national principles have it’s importance and it have affect the Malaysian society to get united even better compared with time at post- independent. In today, we can see everyone can have different races of friend in their life. The freedom of Malaysian citizen to practice their cultural and rituals without anyone restrictions are amazing, it has attracted the different country tourists just to come and visit the Malaysia for experiencing this multiracial cultural in Malaysia. In today, we able to see even we from different races but they really help each other when we have difficulty in some situations. My personal experience, when there are a accidents occurs, i can see the Malays and Indians come and help out each other.

But, we still can see some group of people which have power in political and position which seen Rukun Negara as nothing. Here, i not wish to refer anyone in Malaysia, but we commonly know what is actually happened in our country. Death of Teoh Beng Hock was still became mystery until today, although court had given final judgment as he commit suicide. We still can see many corruptions happened around the country, which the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission cannot do anything on it because the excessive power involve which can overwrite everything and manage run away from judgments including legislative.

In conclusion, Rukun Negara are play very important roles in Malaysia. It gave peace among our country. It also born good personality of the citizens, which love their everything in their home country. Unity among the races are become the specialty of Malaysia toward other countries in all around the world.

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Others discussion questions
Examine Malaysian crime rate and analysis the statistics based on Roberts Merton ‘s Typology of Deviance.

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In Robert Merton theory of Deviance typology, there are consist of five elements in basically. There are conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism and rebellion. Basically, he explain about deviants behavior becomes crime when the crime too disruptive and uncontrollable thru informal sanctions. All forms of deviance are related with crime. (Tepperman, L., & Curtis, J.(2006). Principles of Sociology: Canadian Perspectives, p. 117. Oxford University Press, Canada. ISBN 0-19-542348-8. )

Conformity are refer to achieved of societal goals by social ‘s means which both of them are accepted by society. Innovation is the attaining goals by using unacceptable way by the society. Innovators always think and take of creative ways to achieve their goals, which the creative ways are not accept by society at most of the times. Meanwhile, Ritualism is the means accepted by society but the loss of the goals. Although they has rejected the goals, but they still continue the means. Retreatism is the rejection of both the goals and means. They often find a way to escape from goals and means. Rebellion are same meaning with retreatism but they are with new goals and new means. Merton defined innovation and ritualism are the pure cases, it is because both cases there is a discontinue to implied and pursue between goals and means.

Based on Malaysia statistics related with crime and law, there are fourteen type of crimes. In concern of increase number of crimes are violent crimes, property crimes, commercial and serial commercial code crimes. Violent crimes are included case of murder, rape, fire armed gang robbery, gang robbery without firearms. Property crimes covered stealing of truck/van, car, snatch thefts and burglary. Commercial crimes covered those trick in business deal, criminal breach of trust, the fraudulent misuse of property and others related.

Relation between Malaysia crime rate and Robert Merton theory, He try to stated that deviances. There is an adaptation by the people to dominant the culture in the society. As the grows between the means and goals, the people will experienced the most internal conflict. Good example, a poor people desired middle class people goal, such as a new LCD television in the home. They find difficulty of means to achieve their goals, in result they felt stress. He argued that they use illegitimate way to accomplish a legitimate goal. Very good example, stealing are one of related element of crimes rate and Robert theory. Thief choose to use stealing ways to achieve their goal of acquire money to survive in this society. This term called as innovations, and the thief called as innovators.

Ritualism has some similarity problems with innovators’ experience. But, they choose to refuse for attaining the goal, and continue with their means (ways to achieve the goal). Example, some people know the way of their achieve the goal are not going to work, but they still practice the ways.

Best way to describe retreatism are referring to drug addicts. They did not choose the way to achieve the goal, they also refuse to achieve to goal. They choose to escape from everything.

Rebellion are referring group of people or individual who reject the norms, goals, and values of society, which they choose go for another new norms, goals, and values which do not exist in that particular society.

Sometime, it is a society itself led the crime happened. Examples, everyone was addicted with the New IPhone which cost very expensive in price. But, because of the society’s demand pressure, everyone essential has one by themselves. Some of them might be not afford, they choose perform deviance ways to achieve the cost which enables they to buy the phone, including steal, rob and involved in prostitutions.

Father and mother should play a very important role in teaching their children which are ethical ways to perform a decision. It same go with teachers and lecturers in study institutions. Morality values should focus by the teachers in school for their student. Father and mother should become of role to be teach their children should not fall into the trick of deviance typology.

In conclusion, everyone has the responsibility for judge whether the ethical decision has been made for majority benefit and agreement in the society.

Evaluate the status of women in terms of career and education in Malaysia compare with United States, Kuwait and Nigeria.

In Malaysia, premarital sex is still a big NO-NO in our culture for various reasons. Sex comes with responsibility. Thus it does not matter if it is premarital sex, extra-marital sex, marriage sex or even unconsented sex. If you engage in premarital sex, be prepared to take all consequences including dealing with your God, pregnancy, the potential gossips and condemnations from the world, etc. Sexuality is not an instrument of enjoying lustful pleasure for human beings, at least. In premarital sex, many a times, immature human beings explore the sexuality, jut out of curiosity, and might be are unaware of the consequences. Society has forbid premarital sex from the very outlook that adolescence is the time to form oneself as mature and responsible human being and not at all a time to procreate.

We have to start saying ‘No!’ to premarital sex. We should keep in mind that engaging in premarital sex is not the best way to convey your love towards the one you loved. We should push the thought to the back of our minds and remember that we would definitely feel sorry later if we engaged in premarital sex.

One of the ways to prevent premarital sex is to start from education. Sex education should begin at home and as early as possible in a child’s life. The parents must have a close relationship with the child to make him feel comfortable to talk about his anxiety and concerns. From the healthy discussion between the parents and the child, the topic of premarital sex can be brought up easily. The parents may give the child piece of advice on dealing with the relationship between couples. Keep an open mind and be ready to answer any questions openly and honestly. Learning the truth about sex is much better then learning false info from peers.

The parents have to help their child when their child is in a relationship. The parents should not get panic and freak out when their child is in a relationship. They should help the child in avoiding temptation. For example, the child can go on supervised group dates and invite the partner over when an adult is home where premarital sex is less likely to happen. One-to-one time with the partner alone should be strongly discouraged as this may lead to unwanted accidents to happen. The child should be aware of the serious consequences of premarital sex such as unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS. Currently, there is no known cure for AIDS. Though most parents may know this information, keep it in mind when discussing sexual behaviours with children. Educate your children with this information. It may mean life or death.

Luckily, parents are not the sole providers of sex education. Schools can lend a hand by helping parents teach children about sex. Both of them should work hand in hand in handling this problem. The children and teenagers should be taught to protect themselves from premarital sex. They must understand that nobody can force them to do anything that they feel not comfortable with. They must realise how important it is to respect themselves, not using their bodies to fulfil the sexual desires of their partner. The school and the parents should tell the children to say “No!” firmly. The teenagers must remember, “If you don’t walk away, you will be sorry”.

The teenagers should strictly refrain themselves from reading, listening or viewing to those unsavoury media culture such as pornography and movies with sexual scene. Instead, they should choose something which is pure and healthy. For instance, they can involve in various healthy activities and sports which can build up their self-esteem.

They should draw a line wisely to set limit on the expressions of affections. The girls should never give out false signals by wearing tight and revealing clothes which may cause them to fall into sexual immorality. The boys should always refrain themselves from making any rash decisions and they should always think of the consequences they may face after involving in sexual immorality. You must lead your heart rather than letting it to lead you. The teenagers should always be careful about the uses of alcoholic beverages. They may lose their inhabitations under the influence of the alcohols. If the couples find themselves uncomfortable with the intimate situation, they must do something that breaks the mood. It is difficult to avoid premarital sex from happening, but with a bit more effort it will become easier. Never compromise to your principles and say “No!” firmly to premarital sex.

Conclusion

Is premarital sex good or bad? Well actually, that depends on us to decide it.

We can tell that premarital sex is against God, and it is unsafe physically and emotionally. Although sex is pleasurable, it is designed by God to be enjoyed by two married people. Sex is a holy gift from God wherein we celebrate it after marriage. A person should think long and hard before involving in premarital sex.

Premarital sex seems to be a norm in nowadays. This should not be allowed among the teenagers. They should be aware of the bad sides of premarital sex. In a pleasure of a moment, they are being blinded by the sexual desire. In the moment of lust and passion, their future is destroyed. In the moment of foolishness and self-gratification, they will fall into the dark abyss. Sexual desire is like a fire and won’t stop until it burns itself.

Sex is for married couples and when done out of marriage it cause a lot of harm to the doers. The effects are not immediate but later in life they are devastating. The scars of premarital sex are painful and difficult to get rid of. They will leave an indelible mark in your life and it will always follow you even in your marriage. They will shame you, degrade you and interfere with your life. Imagine meeting your previous sex partners whilst with your husband and children. How would you feel? You will wish to hide but you’ll have no place to do so. So, think about it before it is too late.

Premarital sex should strictly be banned from teenagers’ life. Parents have great responsibilities in educating their children about the essence of marriage and proper sex education should be given to the children. Parents should make an endeavour in teaching their children about sex, letting them know that it can be pleasurable, but there are so many risks involved – sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS and HIV, and unwanted pregnancy – all which can be prevented. The teenagers will be in matured mind. As a result, the teenagers will know that marriage is not only about having sex, but having a harmonious family and a heavy responsibility as well.

Teenagers should always keep in mind that, if a boy or girl truly loves you, they will want the best for you. They will not want you to suffer fear of disease, unwanted pregnancy and the psychological difficulties of premarital sex. They will want to experience love with you only in the very best place of all – the love nest of marriage. So, say “No!” to premarital sex before it is too late.

Church history following the time of the fourth century is an intermingled chain of conflicts following one another. The main principles of conflict were that of the Trinitarian and Arian conflict that lasted for a major part of the 4th century. Also seen during this century are conflicts between Apollinarius of Laodicea which has begun the Christological controversy this showed dominancy in the upcoming centuries as well. Other controversies of this century include the Origenist, the pneumatomachean, the Donatist, the Antiochene schism, as well as many repercussions for the Church. However, the turning points in church history can be assigned to the Council of Nicea, the Council of Chacedon and the Benedict’s rule to bring about change in the church.

The most controversial issues were about doctrinal differences in regards to the nature of Trinity. To be more direct in this point, the issue encompassed intratrinitarian relation between “Father’ and “Son”. It mostly argued over whether the Son came from the being of the Father, later was in the injection of the Person of the Holy Ghost, as well as the Person of Jesus Christ. The doctrines that collided in regards to the Person of Jesus Christ were if he was in two natures or out of two natures, did he have a human soul or a human mind and human soul, it was also assess that Jesus had neither.

The legalization of Christianity came during the time of Constantine in 313 A.D before though the religion was banned during the time of Ancient Rome. The majority of the Christian teachings were spread by St. Paul who founded a majority of churches in Greece and Asia Minor. There was mass execution of the Christians for their monotheistic beliefs. However, the conversion of the Constantine the great was a turning point of early Christianity. In 313 A.D. Constantine and Licinius issued the Edict of Milan which legalized Christian worship.

It was during the time of the 325 A.D. that Constantine had ordered for the gathering of the First Council of Nicaea. The main propose of this proposed council was to bring to light the Arian controversy and find a solution to it. This teaching doctrine is attributed to Arius from Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. The doctrine’s main concern was the relationship between God and the Son of God. Through Arianism asserted that Jesus, the Son of God was a subsidiary entity to the God, the supposed Father. His teachings are thought to be in opposition to mainstream Trinitarian doctrines. During the First Council of Nicea the teachings of Arius were condemned. The council than formulated the Nicene Creed of 325 to attempt to describe the relationship between Father and the Son. Other achievements of the council include that calculation into the date of Easter and proliferation of the canon law.

For the first time in early Church history representatives of numerous bishops of the early Church gathered to agree upon a doctrinal statement. This council also saw the significant role that can be played by a ruling authority, at that time the emperor, to call together the gathering under his authority and then using the power of the state to make the councils orders affected and implemented. However, there were many political powers at work to deem away from the council’s orders. A period of conflict had followed after Constantine’s time with succession of Arian emperors in the Eastern Empire. This included the succession of Constantius the second and Valens. Other polytheistic powers within the Empire sought to restore pagan religion through the office of the emperor; examples of this can be seen in Arbogast and Julian the Apostate.

The Council of Chalcedon also had a significant influence on church history and was a turning point during early church history. The Eutychian controversy was played a major in calling for the council. The council was called upon by Emperor Marcian with the approval of Pope Leo the Great. The Council of Chalcedon issued a decree that issued a notion of a single nature to Jesus Christ and insisted on the completeness of both the natures of person and hypostasis. It also issued disciplinary canons that would govern the Church administration and its authority.

The most significant result that came immediately after this council was a major schism. Many bishops in the council were uneasy about the language used in Pope Leo’s Tome which asserted the acceptance of two natures that were prominent to Nestorianism. There were many churches that rejected the Chalcedon in order to favor Ephesus since he advocated miaphysitism, as a result those churches broke from the rest of the Church to form separate divisions. The most prominent among the broken churches were than of the Church of Alexandria.

The public sphere of Rome, which included religious norms, social settings, as well as some other cultural divides, has been known to greatly affect the Roman political system throughout, from its inception to its fall. Our world has seen many great empires and perhaps the most popular one by name is the Roman Empire. A great number of books have been written on this subject, many movies have been made, and the Roman Empire remains rich in our minds to this date. The Roman history involves some great moments as it recounts such great leaders as Julius Caesar (see Picture 1), the birth of Christ and his exploits, and then the setting up of the Church and the Vatican by Constantine. Just like any other state or empire, the Roman Empire was also much affected by the people that were its subjects. These people had their own religion throughout the various epochs of the Empire, and these people had their own norms and practices. The Roman citizen was instantly recognized by his toga (See Illustration 1) and the Roman army by his uniform (See Picture 2) The political structure of the Roman Empire was affected by the way that its citizens had behaved during the various times, including their religion, their social structure, gender relations and economics. This paper shall follow the course of the Roman Empire through history, from its inception to its decline and fall and relate how the various factors were able to influence the Empire in different ways. It is also important to realize that the Roman public was able to influence the political structure of the Roman Empire.

The culture of the Roman Empire was influenced by many factors. The Roman Senate declared Augustus (See Picture 3) as the Emperor of Rome in 27BC. This was the beginning of the Roman Empire that was destined to last for the next five hundred years, adding more and more territories to its name. The diversity in the Roman Empire came because of the number of regions that it was able to incorporate into its boundaries. The Roman Empire included ancient Britain, Arabia, and Romania. Augustus was a good ruler and he was able to stabilize Rome both politically as well as socially. A lot of development in the areas of art, literature, and philosophy took place in the Roman Empire, as it continuously borrowed from various civilizations and cultures. Among the most important of things that came out of the Roman Empire include the religious and ethical elements of Judaism, the teachings of Christianity, the study of astronomy and astrology, and so much more information from other Eastern countries like Persia and Egypt. This spread of information gave power to the Roman politics since they were able to use this knowledge to introduce new reforms in their political structure, as well as add some mystery to it. The Romans left such a mark of their culture on the world that people and artists, centuries later, such as Michelangelo in the 16th century A.D, This is how the Roman culture was able to spread its architecture and literature all over Europe, and we can still find their elements in various Western traditions today.

One of the areas where we see the most of Roman influence is that of mathematics. Many of the theories and principles that are employed in mathematics have been the product of Greek/Roman minds such as Archimedes and Pythagoras. Their ideas have formed the basis of what we call geometry. Many innovations and inventions have been made based on these ideas and hence we see a large influence of Roman mentality in things like weapons and architecture. Much of theoretical as well as practical science has also been laid down by the Romans. They established the field of botany and many of the early Roman scientists worked to collect a horde of information about many of the plants that existed in the region. Aristotle and his Theophrastus (often referred to as the father of botany) classified and named these plants. Although no apparent connection exists between the advancement in mathematics and the political structure, we find that as more and more mathematical concepts were introduced and adopted in Rome, the politicians also were able to adopt their versatility. One of the concepts that arose out of mathematics was economics and the Romans were able to carry out trade on a better level. This gave a boost to the Roman Empire and the politicians were able to use mathematics to their advantage.

Many of the ideas of economics and politics that the Western world follows toady have also been derived from Ancient Romans. The Roman’s system of the senate is still employed by many Western countries today. In addition, the Romans were the first ones to introduce the ideas of interest in business and loans and we all know that the whole economic arena of the world today works on the principles of interest. Many of the Greek/Roman philosophers, such as Aristotle and Socrates, also played their role in Roman influence and we see that many Western countries have their contemporaries who are always building upon the original ideas and concepts. The Roman influence on art is phenomenal. We find that many of the artists of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment era used to follow the art techniques of the Romans. Many of the sculptures and murals painted by Michelangelo (See Illustration 2) are evidence of the fact that he was motivated and inspired by Roman art. These theories, aspirations, and ideas were passed from the Greeks to the Romans and then to other nations in Western Europe.

The most comprehensive aspect of the social life and the Empire that the Romans were able to develop and spread to the rest of Europe includes the details of the Roman Law. The Romans were able to take the basic framework provided by the Greeks and transform it into an extremely sophisticated and scientific legal system. “The history of Roman law spans almost a thousand years from the law of the twelve tables (449 BC) to Justinian’s codes (aroung 530 BC). The twelve tables still reflect a relatively primitive and pre-scientific legal system. However, from the 2nd century B.C, the Romans began to apply the methods and categories of Greek philosophy to legal problems (which the Greeks themselves had never thought of). A legal profession began to emerge and the production of scholarly treaties on Roman law started.” It was in the second century AD that the Roman legal science was able to reach its peak. This happened when the economic and political conditions of the ‘principate’ became favorable to the scholarly activity of Roman jurists. However, this classical age of the Roman jurists ended in the 3rd century and no one has been adequately able to explain that. “The following centuries saw a general decline of Roman legal culture, which was not stopped by the efforts of emperor Justinian to revive classical Roman law in the 6th century.

Justinian did manage, however, to preserve a great part of the literary legacy of the classical jurists by incorporating their writings in his codes. The Digest, which is the most important part of the codification and was published in 533, is a gigantic collection of fragments from classical text books and commentaries. While it was unknown in Western Europe in the early middle ages, it was rediscovered around 1070 in Italy. From that time onward, Roman law and especially the teachings of the classical jurists preserved in the Digest became the basis of continental European. It has been said quite rightly, that the Digest is one of the most influential books in European” .

Perhaps the most important aspect of the Roman culture that was able to affect the political structure the most was religion. Rome had grown up to be a formidable empire by 120 AD (See Map). The history of Rome is embedded with wonder. Much of what Rome was to become in the later stages of its life was due to the ancient yet colorful religion, one that is now known as Roman mythology. The Romans had gods and goddesses for every element, and for every occasion. These gods were in a continuous state of tension, balancing the good and evil, while keeping the humans happy as well. It is in this religion that we find the basic impetus for the Roman Empire, its political structure, and its social environment. Perhaps Ovid was best able to present this relationship between the gods and humans in his Metamorphoses. The first story of a human involves a sinner, punished for his offence against the gods. Lycaon’s case represents one example of the wickedness of all humanity in the Iron Age. Lycaon (“wolf man” in Greek) is the reason for the flood, Jupiter explains, but not the origin of evil (Ovid does not mention the famous story of Pandora’s box). Lycaon’s metamorphosis into a beast reveals his true nature; the description translates literally, “his mouth gathered savagery from the man himself.” The reaction of the other gods to Jupiter’s punishment of Lycaon resembles a senate of yes-men; at first it sounds as if the gods feel pity for humanity, but soon their selfish motives are revealed: without men they will lose their sacrifices. Jupiter claims that he wants to make the world safe for lesser divinities, nymphs, fauns, satyrs, but as we will soon see in the stories to follow, the biggest threat to pretty young nymphs are the amorous gods themselves

After the ancient religions in Rome, came the slightly modern ideas that pertain to cynicism and stoicism. One of the most famous of the Stoics was Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (See Picture 4). His whole political system was dictated by the Stoic way of life as he was in favor of the human being devoid of all emotions, where things like envy, fear, etc were all thought to have come out of false judgments of the human minds. The focus of much of Aurelius’s philosophy had to do with the ethics that were involved in the Stoic way of life. These ethics involved the four basic virtues of wisdom, courage, justice, and temperance. Aurelius was also an advocate of going through continuous meditation and exercises in order to keep the mind and the body in a state of togetherness. In Meditations, Book II, part 1, Aurelius writes: “Say to yourself in the early morning: I shall meet today ungrateful, violent, treacherous, envious, uncharitable men. All of these things have come upon them through ignorance of real good and ill… I can neither be harmed by any of them, for no man will involve me in wrong, nor can I be angry with my kinsman or hate him; for we have come into the world to work together…” This is not just him making a statement; rather it is giving the reader a practical technique of reminding oneself every day, repeatedly, of the problems that the person might face, and how they can be solved. This is somewhat reminiscence of what later became to be known as the ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’. This Stoic way of life was greatly reflected in Aurelius’ political structuring of Rome.

But perhaps the one religion that had the most impact on the Roman empire and its political structuring is Christianity. The fall of the Roman Empire brought about a rise of Christianity and the Christian Church and this affected many changes in the view of the world. Some of the rulers of Christianity, like Saint Augustine (354-430 AD), upheld that the Bible should be considered the only legitimate source of information about important questions and this led to a great devotion to the Bible as the main source of intellectual reserve for the Western civilization for many years to come. Many of the Christians fell into the dark ages right after the fall of the Roman empire as well and only a few found salvation in the religion. The evolution of the Christian church in terms of contributions by various rulers are discussed herein.

Constantine I (See Picture 5) was one who helped contribute a lot to the rise of the Christian church as he was one of the most advantageous advocates of the Orthodox Church. He was a Roman emperor who legalized Christianity and founded Constantinople, and by doing so he single handedly laid the foundations of the Greco-Christian Empire of Byzantium. He adopted Christianity as the religion of his state and gave freedom to the priests and bishops to practice Christianity without bounds. Another emperor who was instrumental in the expansion and vital to the race of Christianity was Theodosios I (born 347 AD). In 380, he proclaimed Christianity as the official religion of the state. He also convened the second Ecumenical Council and finalized the Articles of Faith. As with these two aforementioned Emperors, there was many who ruled Byzantine and helped it progress in terms prospective growth as well as religious development of Christianity.

By the 11th and 12th centuries, Christianity saw a divide into the East and the West sections due to the vast land distances that the religion covered. There was hardly even any contact between the Christians of the East and the Christians of the West because of the great geographical distances between them. They did, however, remain to be the same religion, and were only kept apart in their cultural and historical upbringing by imaginary lines of directions. Thus were born many different independent and self-governing churches that answered to either the Western or the Eastern Orthodox Church. All these churches were in contact with each other and were bind together by the ‘canon’ law and followed the same traditions, literature, ecclesiastical calendar, and customs.

The Roman Empire remained a powerful one for more than 300 years, but it also met its doom when it disintegrated into two parts, the Western and the Eastern empire. No one is quite sure exactly when the division occurred but everyone agrees that it was a gradual transformation. It all started because of power struggles between the rulers of the area. There were many times in the history of Rome when the rulers were undecided as to the determination of successors to their thrones. After 330 A.D, Rome was often engaged in civil wars between martials, all of whom wanted to be the rulers of Rome. The Roman economy aslo played a vital role in its division. Eastern Rome found better uses for its slaves and there was a change in the social and economical system of that region. The Eastern part of the empire developed a different political system, one that resembled the fuedal system of today, and this gave a boost to their economy. The Western part, however, stuck to conventional norms and soon their middle class disappeared in the wake of excessive taxing and the Western Roman Empire fell. Since Byzantine was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, the region came to be known as the Byzantine Empire.

The Eastern Empire survived because it had a more developed urban culture and it was not invaded as much as the Western one was. Since the Byzantine Empire had been a part of the grander Roman Empire, it retained much of the Roman laws and its heritage, although the legal code was updated. The official langiage of the region remained as Latin in the beginning and was changed to Greek later on. Many new churches, including the famous Church of Agia Sofia (Holy Wisdom), were also contructed. Some of Byzantium’s contribution to Western Europe include great works of literature and art, a framework for an extremely efficient and highly centralized administration, and trading norms and regulations. Perhaps the biggest contribution comes out of the setup of the Orthodox Church that defined the cultural, political, social, and religios life of the region and its people for many a years to come.

The Orthodox Church originated with Christ himself and can be said to be as old as Christianity itself. The Orthodox Church is geographically considered to be an Eastern Church because it is basically a creation Middle Eastern, Hellenic, and Slavic history and culture. Most of the growth and progress of the Orthodox Church, whether it is historical or spiritual, has been done on its own, almost entirely with segregation from Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. The divide between the two parts, the East and the West, cannot be easily identified, but this divide occurred mostly in the 11th and 12th centuries. There was hardly even any contact between the Christians of the East and the Christians of the West before this and because of the far greater distances of those, these two, however same religions, were kept apart in their cultural and historical upbringing by imaginary lines of directions. There are many different independent and self-governing churches that answer to the Eastern Orthodox Church. All these churches are always in contact with each other and are bind together by the ‘canon’ law

The Orthodox Church’s administration was directed over managing the people around the land, people, which were known as a ‘community.’ There were many such communities all over the ancient Russian and Greek regions of the land and each city of the era had a community that served the Orthodox Church. The highest rank amongst the governors of these communities was the bishop, who was assisted in his duties by priests (or presbyters) and deacons. The idea of martyrdom was common to the people of the Orthodox Church as it attracted much persecution from the other forms of governments that were in operation in those times.

The administrative ideas about holding a ‘council’ were always very important to the Orthodox Church and they believed that the council was the only able body to administer the laws and rules of the Church unto the people of the area. These councils were setup so that any problem that could not be solved by one person alone was put to the vote and many able heads were put together to work out the will of God on the problematic issue. The first council was converged in Jerusalem and it was convened so that the Apostles could come to a decision upon a serious issue. Many different types of council were setup, local ones and the famous Apostolic Council. It was only in the fourth century, when an Emperor of Constantine embraced Christianity that the Christian Empire was founded.

Another important aspect of religion that greatly affected the Roman Empire were the Seven Ecumenical Councils. The Seven Ecumenical Councils were the most important councils of the Orthodox Church. The first one was convened in Nicea in 325 A.D. By Constantine the great and the last one again in Nicea in 787 A.D. The main topics that the Councils addressed were mostly on the nature of Jesus’ advent on Earth. The first Council was very sure in its decision and it described the nature of Christ as being the same as of God Himself. The ‘Father and Son’ image of God Jesus was discussed in the second Ecumenical Council held in Constantinople in 381 A.D and it decreed the Trinitarian ideology that there were three states of God: Father, Son and Spirit. The Macedonians were condemned as heretics in this second Council. The third Ecumenical Council was held in Ephesus in 431 A.D. Nestorians were deemed as heretics and Jesus was proclaimed to be both complete God and complete man in one person and thus Mary became “theotokos”, or “God Bearer” because she gave birth to both God and Man. The Third Council also declared that both the parts of the Creed were final and complete. The Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Councils were all on the debate of whether the Christ was God or man and all of them declared him as being both occurring in the same form. There were some ideas by the Monophysites and the Monoethlites that Jesus’ humanity dissolved in the presence of his divinity. So Jesus was only divine. There was vehement condemnation of this theory and all the Councils announced that Jesus is complete God and complete man. There was an intermediate council between the Sixth and Seventh one and it was called the Qinisext Council (Trullo) and was held in Constantinople 692 A.D. This council was held for the completion of the fifth and sixth one and it was held for purely administrative reasons from where the canons were ratified. The seventh Ecumenical Council was held in Nicea in 787 A.D and is also called “The Sunday of Orthodoxy.” The main debate of this council was what to do with all the images of God and Jesus.

So, we find that just like any other political regime is affected by the way that the people orient themselves in it, so was the Roman Empire affected by the various cultural and social aspects of its citizens. And as it is with most of the states, we also find that religion had the biggest part to play in determining the political structure of the Roman Empire. This religious intervention had been instilled in the Roman culture and politics ever since the prehistoric times, where the ancient religions governed the way that the emperors would rule the empire. These religious undertones were also responsible in setting up the social structure of Rome, as it differentiated between the men of different classes. The elites in Rome enjoyed a privileged class where they were free to engage in artistic and intellectual ways of life. Some of the Romans, those who could afford to, would import slaves from distant land and would flaunt them as being more talented than the average Roman slave. This ‘sophistication’ of the Roman citizens allowed for many other innovations in the social, and hence, the political system of Rome. It was required to make special laws for the foreigner and the slaves, and the elites also enjoyed some special rights. No slaves were allowed to enter the government, while it was the elites’ birth right to be a Senator. Thus, the more sophisticated the Romans became, so did their political structure.

The reason for the public sphere being so much effective in influencing the political realm in the Roman Empire is because it was a very sophisticated empire. We tend to think of those times as being the ancient ages, yet the Romans were very ahead of their time and they were able to live a life that was essentially very different from those people who lived all over the rest of the world. The Romans had confidence, they had ability, and they had their pride, all of which made them into a culturally and socially strong nation. This strength of their nation was also reflected in their political sphere as their citizens were very closely tied up to the government (the senate was elected democratically from the common citizens). Thus the public sphere was greatly able to affect the political structure of Rome, as discussed above in this paper.

Picture 1

Julius Caesar, perhaps the most famous Roman of them all

Illustration 1

The Roman toga: dress sharp to be a politician

Picture 2

The gladiator’s suit, a soldier’s uniform

Picture 3

Augustus, the first Roman Emperor

Illustration 2

Michelangelo’s Ceiling of the Sistine Vault

Map

The Romans had conquered most of Europe by 120 A.D.

Picture 4

Marcus Aurelius, the Stoic

Picture 5

Constantine I, the Christian Roman

Work Cited

Aurelius, Marcus, Meditations Book II, Part 1, London: Modern Library, 2003

Ovid, Allen Mandelbaum, The Metamorphoses of Ovid, New York: Harvest Books, 1995

MacMullen, Ramsay, Romanization in the Time of Augustus, Yale University Press, 2000.

Veynw, Paul, editor, A History of Private Life: I From Pagan Rome to Byzantium Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1992

Wikipedia, “Culture of Ancient Rome,” Online, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_culture (Accessed November 28, 2005)

Pictures and Maps

Portrait Gallery, Online, http://www.roman-empire.net/republic/laterep-gallery-index.html (November 21, 2005)

Reenactment Event at Corbridge, Online, http://www.cavazzi.com/roman-empire/diverse/reenactment-corbridge-2002.html (November 21, 2005)

Rome: Map of the Empire, Online, http://intranet.dalton.org/groups/Rome/RMap.html (November 20, 2005)

Wikipedia, “Caesar Augustus,” Online, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustus (November 21, 2005)

Wikipedia, “Constantine I,” Online, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_I_%28emperor%29 (November 22, 2005)

Wikipedia, “Marcus Aurelius,” Online, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Aurelius (November 22, 2005)

Wikipedia, “Roman Culture,” Online, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Toga1.png (November 21, 2005)

Web Gallery of Art, “Frescoes in the Sistine Chapel,” Online, http://gallery.euroweb.hu/art/m/michelan/3sistina/1chapel.jpg (November 22, 2005)

What is the relationship between the Pneumatology contained in the Pauline corpus* and the experience of the writer and his intended readers? What implications does your answer have for the development and application of Christian Pneumatology in the 21st century?

Introduction
Pneuma comes from the Greek and means wind or spirit and ology is a body of thought on a given subject thus theology, sociology etc.. Pneumatology is the theology of the Holy Spirit as understood in the Christian tradition. References to the Spirit of God are to be found throughout the Old Testament, in the New Testament and in the Pauline body of writings. Moltmann (1992) contends that for many years the Holy Spirit was the ‘Cinderella’ of modern theology but the rise of the ecumenical movement and in particular the second Vatican Council saw growing awareness of the role of the Spirit. The subsequent growth of Pentecostal and Charismatic movements has since generated a renewed interest in this neglected area of theology.

This assignment looks at the relationship between Paul’s experiences, the Pneumatology contained within his work, and the intended recipients of his letters. On the basis of the answers to this question conclusions will be drawn as to their implications for the development and application of Christian Pneumatology in the 21st century.

Christians were preaching the words of Jesus before Paul came along, first as the Church’s persecutor and then as its foremost advocate. For many Christian thinkers Paul is the foremost Christian theologian, others see his work as detracting from the teachings of Jesus as found in the Gospels. Bultmann (1972) maintains that in order to understand early Christianity one must first understand Paul. Whatever position scholar’s take with regard to Paul’s work he is most certainly not an Apostle who will be ignored. Paul is known for his tirades against enforced Jewish Orthodoxy and his mission to the Gentiles, in fact he is seen by many as the foremost apostle to the Gentiles.

Paul’s Theology
The body of work that is attributed to Paul documents his experiences and demonstrates the development of his theology on the basis of such experiences (Becker, 1993). Becker maintains that:

…the theology of Paul is the theology of experience under the influence of the gospel and of the Spirit connected with it, . . . [so that] if Paul designs his theological statements on the basis of his experience of the gospel, then the content of the gospel must consequently be the measure and criterion of everything — in short, for the interpretation of all reality (Becker, 1993::xi).

Paul came from Tarsus and was not a disciple of Jesus he had heard the preaching of the Hellenistic Church and had a dramatic conversion experience on the road to Damascus. Paul was a fervent and pious Jew and his conversion experience led him to question the Torah. This was because Paul was convinced that salvation came through the grace of Christ alone and not through personal righteousness and adherence to the Law (Bultmann, 1972). However, he believed that the Law did show the Jews (and the Gentiles) what righteousness was. Certain of the Jews tried to achieve this through an enforced legalism and Paul said that this was not possible. The Law exposed sin and people’s inability to truly adhere to the Law. This, as Stendahl (1963) points out was because of his concern about what would happen to it with the coming of the Messiah and what would happen to the Jews who were God’s chosen elect.

An Eschatological and Anthropological View
Bultmann (1972) maintains that Paul’s conversion was not the result of repentance but rather obedient submission to the call of the judgement of God through Christ and it is this that is the basis of his theology. Eschatology or the doctrine of the end times and God’s judgement on the present world is central to Paul’s thinking and the presence of the Holy Spirit demonstrates this feeling of ‘now and not yet’. For Bultmann, Paul’s own understanding of the human situation is the key to understanding Paul’s theology. Thus Bultmann (1972) argues that Paul’s theology is anthropological ie. a doctrine of human beings before the life of faith and under the life of faith. Bultmann (ibid) contends that the pneumatology that is found in the Pauline corpus can be confusing because Paul uses the term pneuma in a number of different ways. This it seems is due to his understanding of humanity as embodied subjects who have both a psyche and a spirit or pneuma.. Bultmann says:

When Pauls speaks of the Pneuma of man he does not mean some higher principle within him or some special intellectual or spiritual faculty of his, but simply his self, and the only question is whether the self is regarded in some particular respect when it is called pneuma (Bultmann, 1972:206).

Pneumatology and Christology
In Paul’s theology the Holy Spirit is almost indistinguishable from Christ and in fact in Paul’s view the two are inseparable to such an extent that the notion of the Holy Spirit as Ruach or the breath of the Father seems to have disappeared from Paul’s theological scene. Thus Gaffin (1998) demonstrates that in Paul,

The presence of the Spirit is the presence of Christ. There is no relationship with Christ that is not also fellowship with the Spirit. To belong to Christ is to be possessed by the Spirit. Elsewhere, within the comprehensive sweep of the prayer at the close of Ephesians 3, for “you to be strengthened by [the] Spirit inwardly” is nothing other than for “Christ to dwell in your hearts through faith” (Eph. 3. 16–17) (Gaffin, 1998:10).

It is arguably the case that Paul viewed the Spirit in this way because of his own experiences whereby acceptance of Christ means the indwelling of the Divine Spirit and this bears witness to our spirit that we are God’s children (Romans, 8:16). The Spirit therefore is evidence of Christ’s presence in the believer. This is a view that has been adopted by many present day evangelical Christians but would perhaps not have been so popular in the early Church. In the Gospels (and even in some of Paul’s work) the Holy Spirit is related to yet distinguishable from, the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit is a person who is worthy of worship in his/her own right.

When Paul had his conversion experience he pledged obedience to Jesus Christ. It is in Paul’s writings that Luther discovered the doctrine of justification by faith In many instances in the Pauline corpus the Holy Spirit is seen almost as a guarantee of salvation because he/she witnesses to the presence of Christ. Scholars maintain that the letter to the Romans was written to address the specific needs of the churches in Rome. This may also have related to Paul’s own experiences and circumstances but the general consensus is that the main purpose of Romans (which has the most references to peumatology) was to edify the Roman church. At that time there were threats to the unity of the Church due to problems between the Jewish Christians and the Gentiles. Hahn (2000) maintains that Paul’s plea for the Church to live in the Spirit rather than according to the flesh was necessary in a Church that whose unit was under threat.

Paul speaks to the Church of being in the flesh or in sin, being a slave to sin. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, is what sets a believer free from sin and gives a person life. Bultmann (1972) says:

Man, called to selfhood, tries to live out of his own strength and thus loses his self-his life-and rushes into death. This is the domination of sin. All man’s doing is directed against his true intention-viz, to achieve life (Bultmann, 1972:246).

It is the person who has faith who receives life, here again we see the connection between Paul’s pneumatology and his own personal experience of being given new life at the moment of conversion. This is when a person turns from death to life through the ministry of the Spirit. Paul speaks to both Jew and Gentile when he says that human beings are confronted by righteousness through the Law but are unable to achieve it. Only God, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit can make a person righteous so that they can stand before God as a righteous person (Bultmann, 1972). With the righteousness of faith comes the freedom of the Spirit as expressed in the first letter to the Corinthians.

For all things are yours…whether the world or life or death or the present or the future, all are yours

The Spirit takes on a number of different roles in Paul’s writings and is closely connected to the concepts of eschatology and of soteriology or salvation history. Paul’s pneumatology is a pneumatology of freedom. In Paul’s thinking the Christian is set free from the cares of the world to enter the service of God as he himself had done. Through baptism and the gift of the Spirit a person is freed from sin and death and Galatians (5.25) is encouraged to walk in the Spirit If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit (Bultmann, 1972). It would seem that the whole of Paul’s experience and thus the theology that is found in the Pauline corpus is permeated by his pneumatology. The whole of the Christian life is based on Paul’s idea of freedom in the Spirit thus 2 Corinthians 3.17 tells us that where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom. The believer is freed from the Law. The legalism of some of the Jews had made them slaves to the Law-when it was supposed to do the opposite.

It is through faith and the gift of the spirit that the believer is adopted as a child of God a process Pauls calls the Spirit of adoption to Sonship. As adopted children of God we choose to walk in the Spirit rather than the flesh. It is the gift of sonship that frees believers from slavish adherence to the Law. Bultmann (1972) writes:

Christian freedom is freedom from all

This freedom however is only granted in God. Paul’s pneumatology points to a Christian way of life that is marked by or filled with God’s Spirit (Reumann, 1991:79). This stems from Paul’s own experience since devoting his life to the work of God.

Other ways in which the Pauline corpus refers to pneumatology are (as his letters to the Church at Corinth demonstrate) in terms of spiritual gifts such as prophecy and speaking in tongues. Here Paul was dealing with the excesses of some Christians and was giving instructions on how the gifts of the Spirit should be used wisely.The Spirit is also seen as the sanctifier of the believer’s life. Although the believer becomes righteous and free from the Law through faith, this is often a future righteousness that depends on the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit.

Conclusion
.Based on the above brief survey of the Pauline corpus it is arguably the case that Paul had a very distinct pneumatology. However, his tendency to speak of Jesus and the Spirit almost interchangeably could be problematic in a contemporary, religiously diverse society. The early Church in the main, had a theology of the Spirit which did not tie the Spirit to the Son. This was achieved in 381 with the addition of the filioque clause. Originally the Spirit proceeded from the Father (this remains the case in the Orthodox Church) the filioque changed this to the Spirit proceeding from the Father through the Son (Moltmann, 1992). In some respects therefore it is arguably the case that Paul’s theology has a tendency to limit the role of the Holy Spirit, and the fourth Century addition to the Nicene Creed eventually split the Eastern and Western Churches in 1054. Limiting the role of the Spirit in this way, I would argue, is detrimental to the pneumatological freedom that is also found in the Pauline corpus. A pneumatology that speaks of the freedom of the Spirit is arguably a vital part of any movement to renew the Christian faith in the twenty first century. Without this freedom contemporary Christianity could be said to be in danger of distancing itself from its roots and becoming something that should not be confused with the teachings of Christ. Thus Pneumatology in the twenty first century should be developed as one of the major themes relating to liberation in scripture. A pneumatology of freedom not just in the Christian life, but from all forms of injustice and oppression. As the Prophets would have it knowledge of God is demonstrated by the way in which we treat those who are oppressed.

Bibliography
.Becker, J. 1980 Paul the Apostle: The Triumph of God in Life and Thought Philadelphia Fortress Press
Becker, J. 1993 Paul: Apostle to the Gentiles Westminster, John Knox Press.
Bultmann, R. 1972 Theology of the New Testament: Volume 1 London, SCM Press
http://dualravens.com/fullerlife/BiblicalPneuma.htm Gordon Fee and the Quest for a Biblical Pneumatology accessed 11/10/05
Moltmann, J. 1992 The Spirit of Life A Universal Affirmation London, SCM Press
Reumann, J 1991 Variety and Unity in New Testament Thought Oxford, Oxford University Press
Stendahl, K. 1963 “The Apostle Paul and the Intorspective Conscience of the West” Harvard Theological Review Vol 56 1963 pp 422-434
Gaffin, R. 1998 “Life Giving Spirit: Probing the centre of Paul’s Pneumatology”Jets 41/4 December 1998573-589 http://www.etsjets.org/jets/journal/41/41-4/41-4-pp573-589-JETS.pdf accessed 11/10/05
Hahn, R. Pneumatology in Romans 8:Its Historical and Theological Contexthttp://wesley.nnu.edu/wesleyan_theology/theojrnl/21-25/21-05.htm accessed 12/10/05

Introduction

Disciplinary incidents are central to moral development because disciplinary practices assist to inculcate “moral standards and values that provide the basis for self-controlled behaviour” within the child (Brody & Shaffer, 1982, p.32). Amongst the various disciplinary methods, physical punishment is widely practised across different cultures and countries. The present study focused on non-abusive physical punishment and adopted the definition by Straus (1994) that physical punishment “is the use of physical force with the intention of causing a child to experience pain, but not injury, for the purpose of correction or control of the child’s behaviour” (p.4). This definition was used to delineate non-abusive physical punishment from harsher forms of abusive punishment. The term “corporal punishment” is synonymous and has been used interchangeably with physical punishment. We used the term “physical punishment” in this study because it specifically indicates that punishment is meted out in a physical and bodily manner.

A survey conducted in Jamaica revealed that physical punishment is frequently practiced in home and school (Smith & Mosby, 2003). Physical punishment is also common in south-west Ethiopia (Admassu, Belachew, & Haileamalak, 2006). This disciplinary method, however, is not peculiar to developing countries. Even in socially privileged countries, physical punishment is also used as a disciplinary method. Approximately 60% of Hong Kong Chinese parents admitted to using physical punishment as a form of discipline (Tang, 2006). In America, 94% of 3- and 4-year olds have been physically punished by their parents at least once during the past year (Straus & Stewart, 1999), and 85% of Americans believed that “a good hard spanking is sometimes necessary” (Bauman & Friedman, 1998). Beliefs in its positive disciplinary effects contributed to the widespread use of physical punishment (Straus, 1994) and there are evidence-based studies supporting the idea that physical punishment suppresses undesired behaviour (Gershoff, 2002; Larzelere, 2000; Paolucci & Violato, 2004). For example, studies in Larzelere’s (2000) meta-analysis provided evidence that non-abusive spanking used by loving parents reduced subsequent noncompliance and fighting in 2- to 6-year olds. In relation to Larzelere’s (2000) findings, Gershoff (2002) found a large mean effect size for immediate compliance following corporal punishment. However, as noted by Gershoff (2002), these beneficial outcomes are only temporarily because physical punishment neither teaches children the reasons for behaving correctly, nor does it communicate what effects their behaviours have on others. Hence, physical punishment may not facilitate moral internalisation of the intended disciplinary message (Gershoff, 2002). Moreover, the demerits may outweigh the merits of punishment because studies suggested that physical punishment carry with it unintended and adverse effects (Holden, 2002; Rohner, Kean, & Cournoyer, 1991; Straus, 1994). In response to the increasingly condemnatory international views about physical punishment, 25 states, to date, abolished all forms of physical punishment on children (Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children, 2009).

Burgeoning research has related physical punishment to a variety of negative effects. These effects ranged from social-emotional and psychological problems, such as mental distress and withdrawal (Eamon, 2001), to behavioural problems, such as antisocial behaviour and increased aggression (Deater-Deckard, Dodge, Blates, & Pettit, 1996; Sim & Ong, 2005; Straus, Sugarman, & Giles-Sims, 1997; Tang, 2006). Straus et al. (1997) suggested that a “dose response” to physical punishment for children may exist, such that more frequent and longer usage of punishment will lead to increased probability of behaviour problems. These potentially adverse effects of physical punishment may also carry over into adulthood in the form of increased psychopathology and violent behaviour (Eron, 1996); substance abuse, depression, family violence, and suicide (Afifi, Brownridge, Cox, & Sareen, 2006; Straus, 1995; Straus & Kantor, 1994). Eron (1996) indicated that the more harshly 8- and 9-year olds were punished, the more aggressive and antisocial they were in late adolescence and young adulthood. Afifi and colleagues (2006) also found individuals who were physically punished, as compared to those who were not, had higher risk for major depression, alcohol abuse or dependence and externalising problems in adulthood, and these effects were not attenuated after controlling for sociodemographic variables and parental bonding. In addition, Straus (1995) found significant positive correlation between the level of punishment experienced as a child and level of depressive symptoms and thoughts of committing suicide in adulthood, after controlling for socioeconomic status (SES), martial violence, and witnessing violence as a child.

In the past decade, at least three meta-analyses were conducted to review research on the effects of physical punishment. Larzelere (2000) reviewed a total of 38 studies and found both beneficial (as discussed above) and negative effects of physical punishment. From 17 causally relevant studies, the author highlighted apparent detrimental effects of physical punishment. He first pointed out that physical punishment predicted increased subsequent negative externalising behaviour, supporting the “violence begets violence” viewpoint. One of the studies reviewed was the controlled longitudinal studies of the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (Larzelere & Smith, as cited in Larzelere, 2000), which provided not only consistent but also causally relevant evidence that physical punishment is associated to subsequent increase in antisocial behaviour. Secondly, Larzelere (2000) indicated that physical punishment predicted increased mental health problems. The links between physical punishment and both increased negative externalising behaviour and mental health problems were further supported by another meta-analysis, which evaluated 88 published works spanning a 62 year period. Gershoff (2002) found that physical punishment was indeed significantly associated to increased aggression, increased delinquency, increased antisocial behaviour, and decreased mental health, to name a few.

All 20 studies involving mental health in Gershoff’s (2000) meta-analysis found frequency of corporal punishment to be positively and significantly related to a decrease in children’s mental health. Straus and Kantor (1994) reported that after controlling for low SES, those who experienced corporal punishment in adolescence were still at higher risk for depression, suicidal thoughts and alcohol abuse. Although Paolucci and Violato (2004), who conducted another meta-analyses and evaluated 70 studies between 1961 and 2000, did not find exposure to corporal punishment led to increased risk of developing cognitive problems (e.g., suicidal thoughts and attitudes toward violence), they found that people who experienced corporal punishment were at a small but increased risk for developing behavioural (e.g., aggression and antisocial behaviours) and affective problems (e.g., psychological impairment and low self-esteem).

Physical punishment appears to have a dampening effect on self-esteem in its victims. However, studies have been inconclusive and evidence-based literature in this area is much thinner, as compared to the large number of published articles on physical punishment and increased externalising behaviours, such as children’s aggression, which is one of the most studied in the literature on parenting (Paolucci & Violato, 2004). Only 3 studies (Adams, 1995; Larzelere, Kein, Schumm, & Alibrano, 1989; Sears, 1970) cited in Larzelere’s (2000) meta-analysis, investigated the association between physical punishment and self-esteem. Specifically, Larzelere et al. (1989) found the amount of spanking received negatively predicted self-esteem but the negative correlations between punishment, self-esteem, and perception of fairness of punishment were reduced to non-significance after controlling for parental positive communication. The other study included in the meta-analysis did not find a significant correlation between physical punishment and subsequent self-esteem (Sears, 1970). Joubert’s (1991) study, which was not included in the meta-analysis, also found no evidence indicating spanking to have any effect on children’s self-esteem scores, regardless whether spanking was administered by mothers or fathers, or both.

On the other hand, one of the three studies as cited in Larzelere’s (2000) meta-analysis found lower self-esteem among 6- to 12-year olds, especially those who were hit with high frequency (twice a week), even after controlling for ethnicity, cognitive enrichment and poverty (Adams, 1995). Furthermore, recent studies, which were not included in the meta-analysis, also found similar results. Using data from 1,397 children, Eamon (2001) found 4- to 9-year-old children who received more frequent spanking exhibited more socio-emotional problems like low self-esteem. In another study, Amato and Fowler (2002) investigated the relationship between parental use of corporal punishment and children’s self-esteem, using data collected from 3,400 households with a child within the age range of 5-18. Similarly, parent’s use of corporal punishment was found to predict lower self-esteem.

Bauman and Friedman (1998) argued that physical punishment retards the development of self-esteem, and Paolucci and Violato (2004) used findings of corporal punishment being associated with psychosocial problems, such as depression, as supporting evidence that physical punishment is related to impaired self-esteem. Coercive disciplinary techniques are also linked to decreases in children’s level of confidence and assertiveness, and increases in feelings of humiliation and helplessness (Gershoff, 2002). One explanation for these findings is the fear of punishment makes people attempt to escape. However, when escaping from punishment is not possible, feelings of learned helplessness and depression may develop (Paolucci & Violato, 2004).

Self-esteem, as defined by Rosenberg (1965), is a positive or negative attitude towards the self. Interestingly, self-esteem stability in childhood and adolescence does not differ between genders (Trzesniewski, Donnellan, & Robins, 2003). Research has shown that self-esteem has a pervasive impact on an individual’s life in numerous areas. Emotionally, individuals with low self-esteem have a tendency to exhibit higher levels of anxiety, experience more frequent psychosomatic symptoms, feelings of depression, lack of personal acceptance and submissiveness (Battle, 1992). Low self-esteem is also an important predictor for disruptive and maladaptive behaviours (Aunola, Stattin, & Nurmi, 2000; Vandergriff & Rust, 1989). An individual’s social functioning can also be affected by his level of self-esteem. Children with high self-esteem are more popular among peers and participate more actively in social groups, unlike those with low self-esteem, who experience more difficulties forming friendships (Battle, 1992; Growe, 1980). Self-esteem has also been supported by research evidence, to be positively related to academic self-efficacy. This significant relationship is found in Western countries (Jonson-Reid, Davis, Saunders, Williams, & Williams, 2005; Smith, Walker, Fields, Brookins, & Seary, 1999), as well as in Singapore (Ang, Neubronner, Oh, & Leong, 2006).

An important trend in the international research focuses on the effects of physical punishment on children (Ripoll- Nunez & Rohner, 2006). Considering that self-esteem has a wide range of influence on an individual’s life and the current literature remains inconclusive on the effects physical punishment have on self-esteem, we chose to investigate the relationship between non-abusive physical punishment administered by adolescents’ main disciplinarian and adolescents’ level of self-esteem. Self-esteem plays a vital role in an individual’s development, and if physical punishment has negative effects on adolescent’s self-esteem, it is likely that his level of self-esteem will affect his psychosocial and educational development, and his overall well-being. For instance, his academic success and ability to socialise contribute to his current and future well-being.

The relationship between physical punishment and adolescents’ outcome cannot be simply described as two distinct categories, such that physically punished adolescents will experience negative outcomes, and adolescents who have never been physically punished will not. Instead, this relationship may lie on a continuum and the frequency of physical punishment may play an important role in the punishment-outcome link, such that increase in frequency of punishment will lead to increased probability of negative outcomes. Since a “dose response” towards physical punishment was suggested by Straus et al. (1997), and a positive relationship between the frequency of physical punishment and negative outcomes was concurred by Larzelere (2000) and Gershoff (2002), and more specifically, Adams (1995) and Eamon (2001) found lower self-esteem, especially among those who experienced frequent use of physical punishment, we chose to investigate the punishment-self-esteem link by focusing on the frequency of punishment. With increased frequency of physical punishment, lower self-esteem can be expected.

The weight of the existing research seems to favour the viewpoint that non-abusive physical punishment carries with it negative baggage. However, unlike physical abuse, the conclusion that non-abusive physical punishment indeed has detrimental consequences on adolescents’ well-being cannot be substantiated. Researchers at the opposite end of the debate cite conflicting evidence and physical punishment remains the most controversial topic in the domain of parental discipline (Holden, 2002; Larzelere, 1996).

The main debate remains on whether non-abusive physical punishment is completely harmful or it has negative effects only when used within certain conditions. As summarised by Ripoll- Nunez and Rohner (2006), the “conditional defenders” of corporal punishment argued that the effects of punishment may be positive, negative, or both depending on the conditions in which it was administered. As proposed in Gershoff’s process-context model (2002), the link between physical punishment and its impact on the child is not direct and isolated. Instead, contextual factors of varying levels of influence may moderate the processes linking punishment and child constructs (Gershoff, 2002). This is supported by the fact that majority of the 94% of 3- and 4-year-old Americans who experienced physical punishment did not experience negative outcomes, such as developing into clinically aggressive adults or criminals. Critics of past research argued that many studies which linked physical punishment to negative effects have methodological flaws because they did not take into account the influence of moderating variables, which when included, tended to attenuate the relationship between punishment and negative outcomes (Rohner, Bourque, & Elordi, 1996). Since not all individuals who experienced non-abusive physical punishment experienced negative outcomes, the present study further examined two potential moderators of the punishment-self-esteem link: namely, adolescents’ perceptions on the fairness of physical punishment and caregiver acceptance-rejection.

Typically, research in this area has relied on parental reports of physical punishment. However, parents may underreport the use of physical punishment due to social desirability. Parents may feel threaten to disclose the frequency with which they physically punish their children because it is not advocated in contemporary society, hence providing inaccurate data (Shum-Cheung, Hawkins, & Lim, 2006). Moreover, if parent is the source of data on both the punishment and children’s behaviours, they may attempt to justify their punishment through the parental report of child behaviour (Bauman & Friedman, 1998). Following, we collected retrospective account of physical punishment from the recipients of the disciplinary practice, and further explored the possible moderating effect their cognitive perceptions on the punishment, may exert on the punishment-self-esteem link.

The impact of punishment on adolescents is not unidirectional because adolescents are not simply passive recipients of the punishment. Instead how adolescents perceive the punishment may affect the impact it has on their outcomes. As noted by Holden (2002), noticeably absent from research is studies of children’s perceptions and reactions to punishment. It has been suggested that effects of physical punishment may be moderated by the meaning children ascribes to the punishment (Benject & Kazdin, 2003). Ignorance of this may lead to an inaccurate picture on the effects of punishment because the key to understanding how physical punishment affects its victims lies in understanding how they react to the punishment physiologically, affectively, and cognitively (Gershoff, 2002). Holden (2002) further posited that this reaction involves at least two processes, namely, immediate physiological and sensory reaction, followed by the secondary cognitive appraisal stage. In line with Ripoll- Nunez and Rohner’s (2006) suggestions on variables that are important in the research of physical punishment and its effects on children, we explored the potential moderating effect of adolescents’ perceptions of fairness of physical punishment, which has been considered to ameliorate the negative outcomes of punishment (Rohner et al., 1991; Rohner et al., 1996). Grusec and Goodnow (1994) suggested that children, who perceive punishment as fair, will be more willing to accept the intended disciplinary message, which then facilitates internalisation. Since adolescents are the recipients of parental disciplinary practices, the knowledge of their perceptions on the fairness of punishment will open the window to their internal mental processes, which is how they interpret and internalise the punishment. This provides a more complete understanding of the relationship between punishment and self-esteem. Concerns regarding whether adolescents are mature enough to make sensible judgments about the fairness of discipline can be allayed because Konstantareas and Desbois (2001) found 4-year-old preschoolers capable of making judgments about the fairness of discipline by mothers, and in a study conducted in Singapore, parents’ and 10- to 12-year-old children’s responses on fairness of discipline were similar (Shum-Cheung et al., 2006). Therefore, if adolescents perceive physical punishment as fair, the effects of punishment on their self-esteem may not be deleterious. Following, the negative association between physical punishment and self-esteem can be expected to be stronger at lower levels, as compared with higher levels of perceived fairness.

Little is also known about the conditions under which punishment occurs (Bauman & Friedman, 1998) and if information regarding the context in which the punishment is meted out is not captured, only a snapshot of the impact of punishment on adolescents will be known. Opponents of physical punishment have acknowledged that physical punishment by itself is unlikely to produce negative child outcomes. However, when combined with other risk factors in the family, negative effects of physical punishment may surface (Bauman & Friedman, 1998). Therefore, certain factors in the adolescent’s family may influence the cognitive appraisal process of the punishment and, consequently, buffer the negative effects.

Corporal punishment is considered to be beneficial when administered by emotionally supportive parents who share positive interactions with their children (Paolucci & Violato, 2004). As discussed above, Larzelere et al. (1989) reported that positive parental communication moderated the punishment-self-esteem link. Therefore, information regarding other aspects of parenting, such as the warmth dimension, will provide a much fuller understanding towards the relationship between physical punishment and self-esteem.

As construed in the parental acceptance-rejection theory (PARTheory), parental acceptance and rejection form the warmth dimension of parenting (Rohner, 1991). Perceived parental acceptance-rejection may be one of the most important parenting dimensions to consider because no cultural or ethnic group was found where perceived parental acceptance-rejection failed to correlate with the predicted personality dispositions (Rohner & Britner, 2002). PARTheory predicted rejected children, as compared to children who perceived themselves as being accepted, are more likely to have an impaired sense of self-esteem, amidst other negative effects (Rohner, 1991; Rohner & Britner, 2002). Rohner (1991) used Mead’s (1934) “significant other” concept to explain how parental rejection may affect self-esteem. PARTheory assumed that everyone tends to view ourselves as we imagine “significant others” view us. Therefore, if parents who are children’s most significant other reject them, they are more likely to define themselves as unworthy, and consequently develop an overall sense of negative self-evaluation, including feelings of negative self-esteem and self-adequacy (Rohner, 1991). Although the term “parent” is used in PARTheory, Rohner (1991) explained it refers to the major caregiver of the child, not necessarily the parents. Therefore, we used the term “caregiver” instead of “parent” in this study.

Variations in perceived caregiver acceptance-rejection among adolescents may magnify or minimise the effects of physical punishment and this has been supported by cross-cultural evidence. Rohner et al. (1991), for example, found severe physical punishment to be related to psychological maladjustment among Kittitian youths and the effects became more substantial when it was paired with caregiver rejection. Similarly, results from another study conducted in Georgia showed that the association between perceived harshness of punishment and psychological maladjustment disappeared once perceptions of caregiver acceptance-rejection were accounted for (Rohner et al., 1996). In the context of Singapore, perceived parental acceptance-rejection was also found to play an important moderating role. Sim and Ong (2005) found perceived father’s rejection moderated the link between slapping and daughter’s level of aggression, and perceived mother’s rejection moderated the canning-aggression link among Singapore Chinese preschoolers of both genders. All these studies uniformly showed that children’s perception of caregiver acceptance-rejection has a significant impact on the association between physical punishment and its outcomes. Thus, at higher compared to lower levels of perceived caregiver rejection, a stronger negative association between physical punishment and self-esteem can be expected.

We collected data on adolescents’ perceptions of caregiver acceptance and rejection, and frequency of physical punishment by their main disciplinarian, rather than their main caregiver. This is because our study used a Singapore Chinese sample, and it is common within this group that the main disciplinarian may not be the main caregiver. In Chinese societies, traditional roles of disciplinarian and caregiver are respectively played by fathers and mothers, and this role differentiation still applies in Singapore (Quah, 1999). In cases where the disciplinarian and caregiver are different persons, the adolescent may experience more punishment from the disciplinarian as compared to the caregiver, and the impact of punishment from the main disciplinarian will not be reflected if punishment administered by the caregiver was measured.

Since the main disciplinarian is the adult who administers punishment, effects of punishment may be moderated by the adolescent’s perceived acceptance from his main caregiver, who plays the key caring role and spends the most time with him. Collecting data on adolescents’ perceptions of caregiver acceptance-rejection allowed us to examine the punishment-self-esteem link through the relationship between caregiver and adolescent.

As pointed out by Larzelere (2000), one of the needs in the research on physical punishment is for studies to take a developmental perspective because reviews by Larzelere (2000) and Gershoff (2002) found outcomes of punishment varied by the child’s age. For example, Gershoff (2002) found that with increased age, the association between corporal punishment and aggressive and antisocial behaviours became stronger. Following, we used a retrospective design to investigate the association between physical punishment and self-esteem, and the impact the two proposed moderators may have on this link, at two age frames, namely when the individual was 11- to 12-years old (early adolescence) and 15- to 16-years old (middle adolescence). Although physical punishment is at its zenith when children are aged 3-5 (Straus & Stewart, 1999), and its frequency decreases as children grow older, physical punishment is still prevalent during adolescence (Straus et al., 1997). Straus (1994) found more than 60% of parents in America reported hitting 10- to 12-year olds, and even at ages 15-17, one out of four adolescents is still physically punished.

The two age frames were chosen partly because this study was retrospective in nature, and memories of punishment incidents during early childhood may be weak due to the long time passage that passed. Additionally, an average Singapore student aged 11- to 12-years old and 15- to 16-years old, is in preparation for the national examinations, namely, the Primary School Leaving Examination and GCE ‘O’ Levels, respectively. Being the periods of their major examinations, memories during these periods may be much clearer and distinct, and this will provide the study with more accurate data.

Children below age 8 have not developed the concept of global self-esteem, thus another reason for focusing at these two age frames is that at ages 11-12 and 15-16, adolescents will have developed the ability to “view themselves in terms of stable dispositions, which permits them to combine their separate self-evaluations into an overall sense of self-esteem” (Berk, 2006, p.449). Moreover, unlike in early childhood, individual differences in self-esteem from early to middle adolescence become increasingly stable (Trzesniweski et al., 2003), which allowed us to explore the punishment-self-esteem link more precisely.

According to Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development (as cited in Berk, 2006), he organised life into eight stages that extend from birth to death, of which two stages were related to the present study. During the latency stage, where 11- and 12-year olds will be categorized, they enter school and are required to develop a sense of competence through the social interactions in school. With a wider range of socialisation opportunities, their relationships with parents may no longer be the most significant but it remains influential because little or no encouragement from parents, teachers, or peers may lead them to doubt their ability to succeed (Berk, 2006). However, 15- and 16-year olds are in the adolescence stage, where the need to develop an independent identity that is separated from the family, becomes the key developmental task, and relationships with peer groups become the most significant relationship. Hence the attenuation of familial influence for adolescents aged 15-16 may decrease as compared to when they were 11- to 12-years old.

Moreover, 15- and 16-year olds fall in Piaget’s formal operational stage, which represents the apex of cognitive development (Siegler & Richards, 1982). Unlike the subsequent stage, 11- and 12-year olds are in the concrete operational stage and can only “operate on reality”. But formal operational adolescents developed the ability for abstract thinking and can engage in hypothetico-deductive reasoning and propositional thought, to conjure more general logical rules through internal reflection (Berk, 2006). Additionally, they can apply their abstract reason abilities to all areas of life (Siegler & Richards, 1982). Following, it may be the case that adolescents’ perceptions of caregiver acceptance-rejection play a greater role, than perceived fairness of punishment, in moderating the link between punishment and self-esteem, when they are aged 11 to 12. Because their social circle though expanded, still centres around their parents and how accepted or rejected they perceived their caregiver to be may still play a significant role unlike during middle adolescence. At ages 15-16, adolescents’ perceived fairness of punishment may matter more than perceived caregiver acceptance because their relationship with their caregiver is not the most critical factor in their psychosocial development. Additionally, their growing need for independence from their parents as well as their capacities to think through their own best interests with their greater cognitive awareness, may influence them to place more emphasis on their personal thoughts, and on their friends’ views but less on what their caregiver thinks of them.

Within the realm of punishment research, it is also important to acknowledge the existing attitudes towards physical punishment within the particular culture. As pointed out by proponents of physical punishment, aside from the family, the cultural context also buffers potential negative consequences of physical punishment (Bauman & Friedman, 1998). Acceptance of physical punishment varies across cultures and it may contribute to variations in child outcomes across different groups because cultural values and beliefs affect whether punishment is used more instrumentally or emotionally, and how children emotionally respond to it (Gershoff, 2002; Larzelere, 2000). Larezelere’s (2000) highlighted five studies which presented evidence of significantly differential effects of spanking by ethnicity. Deater-Deckard et al. (1996), for example, found maternal use of physical punishment predicted externalising behaviours only for European American, but not African American children. The authors suggested that this may be due to the stronger acceptance and preference for physical punishment among African American, in contrast to European American parents, hence affecting the manner in which punishment is used and children’s perceptions of its appropriateness. Similarly, Gunnoe and Mariner (1997) found spanking to be negatively related to African American girls’ later aggressive behaviours, but positively related to European American boys’ later aggressive behaviours.

Majority of the studies, which investigated the link between physical punishment and self-esteem, were conducted in Western countries, such as America. However, attitudes towards childrearing in Western countries are different from those of the Asian cultures in Singapore (Tong, Elliot, & Tan, 1996). Unlike Western cultures, which display a lower tolerance of physical punishment, this form of discipline is popular within the Asian culture. “Spare the rod and spoil the child” is an old saying which reflects the prevalent parental attitude, especially among Singapore Chinese parents, who continue using caning to discipline children and view physical punishment as an effective disciplinary method (Elliot, Thomas, Chan, & Chow, 2000). Being a multi-ethnic society, ethnic differences exist in childrearing techniques, which may lead to differences in usage of physical punishment across ethnic groups. A study conducted by Quah (1999) on the Singapore family found Chinese parents tended to use physical punishment more than other parents, while Malay and Indian parents were most likely to use reasoning, and authority was most frequently used by parents in the group Other. Considering that ethnicity may affect the outcome of physical punishment, this research recruited only Singapore Chinese participants.

Introduction

As a church musician, I’ve served as a music director and accompanist of local churches for many years including the life in S. Korea. I always thank God that he gave the music as my talent to praise and worship him. Also, God has always given me the chances to do something for the church, and my spirit has grown stronger through serving the church.

However, when I just started my ministry at the church, my philosophy was more like a regular musician. I think I sometimes pride myself on my musical talent at church. I was inflated with pride. At that time, I dreamed fancy concert stage for the church service. I was a greedy music director to make something with using church members. Therefore, I sometimes got angry a lot when especially my ministry didn’t work well with the people. Now I realize that I was musically qualified but not theologically. I only had technical approach to my ministry, but my philosophy of ministry was not organized yet. Thus, here is my philosophy of music ministry even though I am still rookie of the area.

For many years, the music in the church has been debated a lot. There have been congregations who have built huge churches in a relatively short amount of time and have attributed the role of music as a leading factor in their growth. Others have avoided this trend and their music seems to be stuck in another era. How should we view music in the evangelical church? What kind of music ministers are needed for today’s church? And how should this be fleshed out in the life of the local church? These questions are necessary to be answered if the church is to fulfill its role for the glory of God. Evangelical worship music should be both objective and subjective, expressing our awesome wonder and praise of God who is beyond our imagination and also our love of, and communion with, God in Jesus Christ who lives in us through the Holy Spirit.

Use of Music in the Worship and Biblical Foundations

Should we have music in the church? In Corinthians, Paul told the Corinthians to sing with the spirit and also with the mind (I Cor. 14:15). In Psalm 33, the Psalmist exhorts us to “sing to the Lord a new song”, and “give thanks with the lyre”. In addition, Paul encouraged the believers to “speak to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord” (Eph. 5:19). In Revelation 5:9, when the book was given to the Lamb, the surrounding elders and creatures sang a new song. This song is recognition of the person and work of Christ and that He alone is truly worthy. After the first Lord’s Supper, Christ sang a hymn with his disciples (Mark 14:26). We do not know the exact meaning of this song, but the example of singing is evidenced by our Lord, Jesus Christ.

In Exodus 15, after the Israelites were protected from Pharaoh and his army and were led safely through the Red Sea, it shows that Moses sang a song. He had just witnessed the great deliverance that God had ever performed on behalf of His people and Moses burst forth in a song to signify the event. In Isaiah, we see many prophecies about the coming Messiah. One of the works that he will perform is losing the tongue of the mute and enabling them to sing for joy (Is. 35:6). The ones who have been redeemed by Christ will have a song in their heart and on their lips as a response to his saving work. This list could continue for many pages, but I believe the point is adequately made, so music is a right expression for the believers to respond to God. It has been employed by the people of God throughout the bible from Moses to David and to even Christ Himself.

Our Effort to be a real Worshipper

I have often struggled to find most important elements in the worship. I feel the need of growing myself more as a worship leader to help others experience great worship. By the way, what is great worship? Perhaps, it is still difficult to tell shortly, but I was able to feel some key components of Christian worship through the classes I have taken at SWBTS. Not only academic elements, but also I was able to learn practical approach to worship.

Today’s Church and Where Should Our Ministry Go from Now?

There are still a lot of churches where losing the heart of worship although their outward appearance seems rich and brilliant. God wants our real heart of worship, and we, worshipers, have to be ready to put all of our effort to find that for God. Also, we, ministers have to be ready to sacrifice ourselves for others in the service. Since my philosophical attitude got organized more than past, I would like to mention one clear sentence that “the great worship should be about God not about us.” God will be moved by our real heart of worship, not by fancy concert or models that impress people.

There are some similarities in many churches’ service. The similarities are kind of trend in contemporary churches. They use a lot of contemporary Christian music for their own worship service. In fact, I agree that using contemporary materials are absolutely recommendable for today’s churches. It can be good motive to bring out younger generations’ hearts. Nonetheless, it is not always good elements for true worship. Perhaps, the problem is coming from worship leaders. Today’s worship leaders should recognize that we are not pop stars or pop musicians. Worship leaders sometimes misunderstand that powerful sound and energetic passion make true worship. It may catch the attention of audiences in church, but it is not going to catch God’s attention. I believe that true worshiper should give a bridge to connect between worshipers and God. Are worship leaders today interested in making the bridge? Or are they are just interested in reaction of audiences? Unfortunately, most of today’s young worship leaders are interested in the response of audiences not God’s response.

Once more, Worship has to focus on God’s glory, and also true worship will give recovery of our souls. In other words, we will need to see changes of worshipers if the worship was received by God. Not only approaching the trend of today’s Christian music for worship, but also we need to approach to worshipers’ soul.

As mentioned, some of worship today suffers from the shallowness of those who are prone to flashy displays. Worship doesn’t have to be luxurious or brilliant for audiences. However, I was also one of them who had misunderstanding of worship. When I just started my ministry at the church, my philosophy was more like a secular musician. I was sometimes pride myself on my musical talent at church. I was inflated with pride. At that time, I dreamed fancy concert stage for the church service. I was a greedy music director to make something with using church members. Therefore, I sometimes got angry a lot when especially my ministry didn’t work well with the people. Now I think I got more peace in my mind than past. Even though, my philosophy of worship became simpler than past, I feel more Jesus from my recent service. Now I understand why I need to try to make my ministry becomes all about the “state of the heart” for worship first, and then state of the art. God wants our heart of worship that can make connection between God and us, and I am ready to put all my effort to find it for God.

Qualities for the Minister of Music

The minister of music should be characterized by the guidelines found for those charged with church leadership in Timothy and Titus. He is to be “above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, prudent, respectable, able to teach, not addicted to wine, or pugnacious, but gentle, peaceable, free from the love of money, he must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity, not a new convert…. and he must have a good reputation with those outside the church” (I Tim. 3:2-7). None of the above qualities can be lacking because the testimony of the church and its Savior is at stake.

He, music minister, should view himself not as a musician who happens to be employed by a church, but a minister who happens to be a musician. He must be gripped by the great commission and see his calling first as making disciples by teaching them to obey the things of God. His primary focus should not be on having larger musical productions for the sake of musical productions, but teaching the word through music and also through his lifestyle and conduct (2 Tim. 4:2).

The training of the minister of music should include musical training, but more important element is that we must have a solid biblical foundation. What is worse, singing a song with bad tone quality or with bad theology? I would propose the latter is much worse. The minister of music must be able to spot the misleading notion in the texts of music and clean them up from congregational use. Does this mean that the musical growth under his care is of no value? The answer is obviously no! But theological clarity is the most important goal for the music minister (Titus 1:9).

In addition, the minister of music should be involved in the pastoral ministry. The minister should seek to comfort the sick and bereaved. He should find to make disciples on purpose. His ministry must be one of building the body in many ways. The burden of the flock must not be laid on one man alone, but on several overseers of which the minister of music should qualify to be a part. The music minister should take great care to minister to the ones hurting even if they do not happen to be involved in the music ministry of the church. He should also be actively involved in the community with the local schools and other events and organizations in order to build a relationship with the lost in the surrounding area (2 Cor. 5:11).

The minister of music should also be a man of discernment (Phil. 1:9). There have been many men who have tried to change things too fast. He or she must take time to view the current situation and move prayerfully and slowly to institute changes. The music minister’s concern must be for the good of the people and he must be careful not to needlessly offend them. He should know that people do not care what you know unless they know how much you care.

He also must be a man who knows how to manage his time and efforts well. He must be driven by a desire to accomplish certain tasks by formulating a daily schedule to execute the details. He should learn how to hand over responsibilities throughout the church without losing his responsibility.

Team Ministry

As music minister, the ability of sociality is one of the most important elements. I have seen many ministers who sometimes failed in their ministry area due to their limited socializing skills. Our natural personality is also one of the elements that are very effective a lot to our team ministry. Some might say that bad personality or unopened mind will never be able to success in team ministry. Nevertheless, I believe that there is still possibility, although he or she doesn’t have natural-born like good personality as minister. We can put our effort to improve our weak area, and here are my ideas to be better a leader in team ministry.

First, keeping the faith one another is most important element in our team ministry. We sometimes doubt about others’ abilities. Thus, sometimes we tend to do too many things alone for any event in church instead of sharing the work one another. Even though, there is sometimes skeptical moment in our team ministry or somebody’s ability seems weaker than others, we should remind ourselves that everyone in our church are called by God not by you or me!. We should try to give a chance to others to get involved in. Since they got chances, they might have some trial and error process which is natural. Then it is time to help them. Helping their weakness is minister’s another job, and it is starting point of team ministry.

Because the team ministry is organized by people not by only one person, there might be some trouble one another. Some might demand too strongly, and do not agree with others. If their opinions are different with yours, then we should take a time and think again instead of just being against to them. If you believe your opinion is still right, then you need to have specific plan to persuade them. We should never forget that people in your team ministry are supposed to be on your side, and you need to use them in a good way. They are not there in order to be against to you. They are with you to be helpful for team ministry.

As I suggested, we, music ministers, need to improve our weak portion. Do not just give up the portion which has been weak to you. It is like an assignment from our God. We need put our energy and effort, so that your leadership will grow. We are in the position of leader in our team ministry, and all the assignments are already given since we became ministers. As mentioned in the introduction part, our fundamental thing such as natural personality is not that big matter. All we need to do is putting our effort and devotion as a leader in the team ministry. Ministry is demonstrated within the community of faith with the love and edification of God’s people-brotherly love and mutual benefit. Music of edification is an astonishing tool in teaching and in bringing people together. Church is like a tumbler and rocks bump into each other and get refined: bad rocks becomes powder, good rocks become more glistening.

Music Ministry in the Local Church and Functions of Church Music

The local church’s most visible aspect is often music program. The first element that is visitor will likely notice could be something about the music. When that person leaves, what impression will he or she have of the service? The goal for the church is that people leave not with the idea of how marvelous the production was or how finely the choir or soloists sang, but with a sense of the power and majesty of God.

Knowing that music should be a part in the worship of God, what should it sound like? The music in biblical times did not know of electronic sounds. Their focus always seemed to be on what was sung rather than how it is was sung. When Paul instructs his readers to sing with their hearts, he was emphasizing the personal nature of right singing.

We know that while men look at outward things, the Lord looks at the heart (I Sam. 16:7). Music that is acceptable to God must first find its root in the heart. The unbeliever does not have a heart for God. His heart is wicked and needs to be changed by the grace of God (Rom. 3:11). Right music should come from a heart that is right with God due to the fact that God changes its nature.

I use the word ministers because this responsibility lies not only with the minister of music, but with the senior pastor as well. The pastor must heed his call to give his people the constant, frank word of God. A scriptural worship service must have biblical expository messages (Acts 20:27).

The pastor and music minister relationship is vital for the health of the church. A pastor must not place unhealthy demands upon the minister of music by asking him to make sure certain emotional chords are struck with the congregation. The minister of music must see the preaching of the word as a vital part of the growth of the church. Both men must have a common view of the worship in the church and if this is not developed, there must be a calling to different places of service unless these differences can be reconciled.

When those involved with the service begin to formulate it, there must be a concern for the glory of God. There is a need for the service to be relevant for the participants, but what is a more relevant starting point than coming face to face with the God who made them and calls them to repent and trust in Him (Rom. 10:9-10)? He alone is the supplier of every need and deserves all the attention. He has spoken sufficiently through His Word and everything that takes place must have its root in the teachings of scripture (John 17:17).

The focus on the musical end of the service should be on congregational singing. Calvin rightly stated that the first choir is the congregation. This should be fleshed out by much corporate singing. Included should be songs of praise, confession, meditation, supplication, stewardship, dedication, thanksgiving or remembrance and dismissal. These songs do not have to be present in every worship service, but over the life of the church all should be found. The inclusion of all these forms will help the believer have a full worship experience before God and will aim at transformation of the believer.

A full-orbed gaze upon the music ministry should see that many songs are being used in the worship of God. If only a few songs are used over and over, there is a tendency to fall into the trap of singing only what is known and can slip into sentimentality. The use of songs just to evoke an emotional response should be avoided and the people must be taught to learn new texts and melodies. There must be careful attention to place new and fresh applications of favorite songs. Those adaptations must seek to bring the focus of the song back to the text (Matt. 15:8). The attitude of the heart must match the words of the lips.

Before a music minister makes significant changes he should recognize where his people are musically. Then, he should plan and begin to see that spiritual and musical growth will take place. There should be a moving in the direction of improving vocal quality and encouraging the singing of songs where the music is well played and well crafted. God deserves our best and we should endeavor to achieve the best of our ability, but this goal should be secondary for the biblical development of the people (2 Peter 3:18). When a minister of music leaves a church or after a period of time has passed since his arrival, the people should have learned the value of texts and quality music. The minister of music should not seek to manipulate the people by using songs that excitement for the moment, but encourage a deeper spiritual effort for an eternity.

When the minister of music is developing the worship service, it is important that he keep in mind the varied musical tastes of his congregation. He must be careful to employ many styles in the service, not with the hopes that a few people will be satisfied part of the time, but so that he can reflect the diverse ways in which God created us. No church should seek to please only one group of people, for that is antithetical to the fact that God calls people from all walks of life and of all nationalities (Rev. 5:9, 14:6). There is much value in selected singing by choirs or special groups provided the focus on such singing is not on entertainment but on true expressions of worship. The choir serves as a great help for the overall singing of the people and provides necessary leadership. It is encouraging for the congregation to hear ordinary people using their voices corporately to worship the Lord, but the focus of the group must not be on style or feeling, but on what they are singing. Musically, the words must be clearly articulated and there must not be any obvious musical flaws that would detract from the text. That is why it is important to include the text of the music in the bulletin for the congregation to follow. It would be a travesty if the congregation went away humming the tune without remembering the words. The soloist is in particular danger here. When the average person is selecting a song to sing, the basis of choice is often only what they like or what will complement their voice. Much caution should be employed and the text must have prime value. St. Augustine well said that if he enjoyed the voice of the singer more than the words that were sung, he confessed to have sinned.

The outward appearance of our music, as well as other spiritual exercises, must not have showy, self-centered features (Matt. 6:2, 5, 16). The singing of songs that provide themselves to the flashy nature of the voice or that is chosen to showcase the talents that God has given can evidence this. It will also be an obstruction to true worship when the purpose of singing becomes driven by entertainment rather than an expression of the heart. Many churches have a visual emphasis for the musical performance with the hopes that they will make the audience’s emotions into a certain state that allows them to respond to God.

When it comes to the worship of God, we must be careful to get out of the way and place the focus on the one who is worthy to be praised (Rev. 4:11). Today, there have been two trends in church music. One is to reject all that is new and the other is to reject what is old. There is so much rich heritage in what has passed before us that we abandon it to our danger. These writings are not perfect, but they do take the weight of centuries of God’s faithfulness to people. The observation of many generations is important. With the new material, there must be proper discrimination because we do not have the testimony of time on its side. We must evaluate the content and musical elements and then use it often. There needs to be an encouragement of new material as we live our lives of faith and trust, but it should be carefully selected.

Planning My Music Ministry

On reflection, my music ministry has had a lot of mistakes and fails. I was a totally rookie as a music minister when I first started it. Without enough experience, my ministry did not work out well, and there was often no specific planning on every Sunday. I was a kind of self-educated music minister, so that it was not often enough to be a well-prepared music minister. With all the experience, now I feel the importance of planning as a music minister. The first thing should be making a plan. We all know God will give us a mission and even plan our steps for us, but we have to do our part. We should not just sit around, and waiting on God to bring everything for our ministry.

Planning the service must not seek to manipulate the people by appealing to their emotions alone. They must diligently expound the scriptures. The building up of the body should be the goal of the whole service. The ministry of the church must be viewed not by what is only outwardly successful, but by an adherence to the Word of God. There must be an understanding that true worship is not the one-hour event on Sunday morning, but the whole life of the believer that is poured out and sacrificed before the Lord (Rom. 12:1).

I have planned many events for my church and local communities. Most of the events were successful, and I thank God that he gave all the blessings for my effort. The most of successful events were made by well-planned arrangements. By the way, what is the well-planned arrangement? When I was a younger music director, I thought that it was all about my detail preparations and efforts. However, I often missed most important part for the planning. The first step had to be praying. I believed myself and my knowledge first then I pray after everything had already done by my plan. Yes, it was the reason why some of my events impressed only men not God. I shouldn’t forget that in a Christian music ministry, I am representing God, so I have to be with him before I start my journey. However, the first step is often missed and forgot by a lot of ministers in the world today. After the first step which is asking God before we plan something, we can start all other steps. The material we received in the class would be wonderful resources to plan any event, and also you can find thousand of materials that can help our practical plan for music ministry. Nevertheless, again, we should always not forget the first step that is praying, and take that first step with all of our faith. In fact, there are many big musical events coming up this year and next year I have to plan and direct, but I know that anything will not be successful enough if they are not planned by God not by me.

According to Bennett, in his book “You Can Plan and Select Music”, he says “Even those who have extensive musical training and degrees are often found lacking in the tools to plan and select music for the church”. Also, Bennett says “Too often, the church musician is one who may be well trained in music but may not understand the relation between music and worship in the church situation”. In fact, when I first started the music ministry at my current church, I struggled a lot because there was a lack of practical knowledge although I was pretty well-trained musician. However, since I started to study and read some practical music ministry books, my ministry has been better. Even though we are well-trained musicians, there can be a lot of variables during our music ministry lives. Therefore, we really need to know and be ready in more practical way than rigid theory. Bennett also mentions that “We all need reminders; like all arts, we learn our basic skills and procedures from books but we learn best from actually doing it”.

Learning music ministry in the U.S. might be a little different than music ministry in my native country. Thus, it may be applied in different way a bit, depending on what country’s church you serve and each church’s background or denomination.

Conclusion

Music ministry is challenging, and rewarding experience. It must be driven by a desire to please God and not men and seek to glorify Him in all aspects of life. When we look at the surrounding families and see their need, we realize that it is not a need for a more exciting church service, but a saving relationship with Christ (John 3:16). Only when we have a passion for God’s glory and true passion for those individuals without Him will we exhibit a biblical understanding of music ministry (I Cor. 10:31). It has been many years since I was involved in church as a music minister, and now I think I got more peace than past. My philosophy for music ministry might have become simpler than past, but I feel more Jesus from my recent service. I try to make my ministry becomes all about the “state of the heart” for worship first, and then state of the art. Also, I have to be ready to sacrifice myself for others in the service. I am a musician, but also preacher who can speak in music. The church has always been very good place to me, and I thank God for giving me the most wonderful place for me to present my music to heal and save the souls. I will use my talent as much as I can in my life, and praise him where ever I may be.