Sex In The Bible Essays - Judaism And Sexuality, Free Essays

Sex In The Bible Essays - Judaism And Sexuality, Free Essays Sex In The Bible Sex in the Bible For my book report I chose the topic of sex in the Bible. I thought that it would be a very interesting topic because in many churches discussion of sex and sexuality is taboo. I thought that by reading this book I could become more informed of what the Bible truly says on the subject. I also chose this topic because I felt that it would be easier reading a book about the bible on a topic I was interested in. Most subjects pertaining to the Bible are not interesting to the average teenager, and I felt this book would be fun to read. The name of the book was Sex in the Bible by Michael R. Cosby. Cosby discusses five parts of the bible in which sexual relations are discussed. First he discuses the laws that apply to sex in the Hebrew culture according to the book of Dueteronomy. Secondly he discuses the wisdom advice of the book of proverbs. Cosby then discuses the actual act of sex in the book of songs. Next he writes about the topic of sex and sexuality in the synoptic gospels. Final ly he discusses sex in the books of Corinthians and Paul's letters to the Romans. Cosby's goal is to interpret the true beliefs of the early Jews and Christians. The book of Deuteronomy is a book of laws directed for the Hebrew. They are laws given to them by their god Yahweh. The book of Deuteronomy has several rules and laws pertaining to sex. The book was written within a society that was very male oriented. Thus the book makes the assumption that the wife is property of the husband. This did not give the husband the right to treat his wife as a slave, however only he had the option of divorce, and he only had the option of verifying his wife's virginity. The basic two principles behind the laws of sex in Dueteronomy are that: sex was to be only had in the confides of marriage, and that the women must be a virgin going into the marriage. Pertaining to the act of premarital sex, either by free will or by force, the punishment is death by stoning. If it turns out that the women was raped, then that man which committed the crime will be forced to marry the women, and is forbidden to divorce her ever. As far as a women not being pure when she is married, Dueteronomy says that the husband has the right to bring this claim to his new wife's father. If the accusation is true than the women will be stoned to death in front of her father's house. Having an impure daughter was an ultimate disgrace to a father, in that it was his resposibility to prevent that. If the claims turned out to be false then the husband was beat in public and charged one hundred coins to be given to the bride's father. There are also several other topics involving sex that are mentioned Deuteronomy. The act of polygamy is considered an acceptable practice, and in many cases expected. Under Hebrew law if a man died his brother was obligated to take his brother's widowed wife's hand in marriage. If the brother were already married then it would be expected of him to now have two wives. There are two other laws mentioned in Deuteronomy that are seen as sins to Yahweh, but are not punishable by death. Those two acts would be prostitution, and transvestitism (or the act of men dressing like women and vice versa). These acts, although not punishable by death, were seen as sins by God, and anyone who partook in the act of prostitution or transvestitism would be accursed. Moving on, Cosby goes to the book of Proverbs. Proverbs, unlike Dueteronomy, does not dive laws about sex, but rather advice about it. Proverbs is not based on a covenant motif but rather on accumulated wisdom that has resulted from many years of observation. It is similar to Deuteronomy in that it addresses a great number of different aspects of life, but the way it is presented is much different. There is

Circus Elephant Training Abuse by Trainers

Circus Elephant Training Abuse by Trainers It is important to note that the elephant is highly endangered. There were once millions of African elephants who roamed the entire continent. Now their numbers are estimated at around 300,000 and mainly found in sub-Saharan Africa. The Asian elephant is even more critical. Its numbers are down to only about 30,000. There were at one time millions. Not only are some animal acts harming and killing elephants, but they are also doing this to a highly endangered species. In order to train an 8,000-11,000 pound animal – who can be very deadly to humans – to perform tricks seen in circuses such as headstands, tightrope walking, roller skating and the such, often it is believed that the fierce application of negative reinforcement is required. Physical punishment has often been a standard training method for animals in circuses. Elephants are sometimes beaten, shocked, and whipped in order for them to perform repeatedly the routines of circus performance. The Animal Welfare A ct (AWA) does not prohibit the use of bullhooks, whips, electrical shock prods, or other such training devices. The elephants are beaten by several people for up to fifteen minutes at a time with bull-hooks. Their skin being as sensitive as humans, one can understand the torture this entails. Beatings According to congressional testimony provided by former Beatty-Cole elephant keeper Tom Rider, [I]n White Plains, N.Y., when Pete did not perform her act properly, she was taken to the tent and laid down, and five trainers beat her with bull-hooks. Rider also told officials that [a]fter my three years working with elephants in the circus, I can tell you that they live in confinement and they are beaten all the time when they dont perform properly (Rider). To hide this from circus goers, lacerations from bull-hooks are often covered up with wonder dust, a type of theatrical pancake makeup (according to ​circuses.com). The public does not see the violence and abuse some of these elephants endure. Not all animal trainers are abusive; some do care deeply for the animals in their trust. Nonetheless, from the easily accessible literature on the web, it appears abuse does happen. Confinement Possibly even worse than the negative reinforcement, though, is the confinement performing elephants endure. Remember elephants sometimes walk up to 50 miles a day and they are often confined to spaces no bigger than a standard American one-bedroom apartment. In states which require chaining of elephants when not performing, elephants are chained in spaces the size of an average automobile by two legs for up to twenty hours a day. Circuses.com reports: During the off-season, animals used in circuses may be housed in traveling crates or barn stalls; some are even kept in trucks. Such unrelieved physical confinement can have harmful physical and psychological effects on animals. These effects are often indicated by unnatural behaviors such as repeated head bobbing, swaying, and pacing. (Epstein) A study of circuses conducted by Animal Defenders International in the United Kingdom found abnormal behaviors of this kind in all of the species observed. Investigators witnessed elephants that were chained for 70 percent of the day, horses that were confined for 23 hours per day, and large cats that were kept in cages up to 99 percent of the time (Creamer Phillips). Danger Other than the beatings and the chaining, another reason pop culture should consider not attending animal circuses is a human danger. Eventually, after years and sometimes decades of circus life, these large animals sometimes will go mad, rampage, and kill trainers, circus members, and audience members just as Tyke did in Hawaii. In a worst-case scenario situation, an elephant named Janet rampaged with children on her back during a performance of the Great American Circus in Palm Bay. The officer who finally killed her after shooting 47 rounds into the elephant who supposedly had been chained and beaten for years said, I think these elephants are trying to tell us that zoos and circuses are not what God created them for ... but we have not been listening...this is the kind of stuff people protest about (Sahagun, Louis. Elephants Pose Giant Dangers, Los Angeles Times, Oct. 11, 1994).