The Value of the Virgin essays

The Value of the Virgin essays When it comes to powerful religious figures, the Virgin Mary seems to be alone in a Boys Club. Many people look at the Christian faith and assume it favors males because all of its spiritual leaders are male (Jesus, the Apostles, and even God is called He). However, the Virgin Mary does play an important role in the religion. Her influence can be observed, even as early as the Middle Ages. During this time (from about 500 to 1400 or 1500) the Virgin Mary was a symbol whose role gradually grew in importance. The Middle Ages were a time of turmoil and war in Europe. Lands constantly changed their rulers, and plagues ravaged the countryside killing hundreds of poverty stricken people. As these sorrows swam around them in the pool of their dismal lives, the people had no scientific explanations to look to, and therefore turned to faith. Churches and monasteries became some of the most important places on the continent. Also, because of the fall of the Roman Empire and the constant war-fare, trade was nearly impossible and great merchant cities became obsolete, with more and more families leaving their urban homes for more rural ones. It was only the Church, with its monasteries, that provided a source of knowledge, becoming the centers of all things intellectual, including art, and as would be expected, the topic was religion. Because literacy was low, the texts of the time give little insight, while the art presents some clues. In the very early Middle Ages one of the most popular and simple forms of art was the icon. Icons were very small paintings that depicted religious figures such as Mary, Jesus, or various Christian saints. These small pieces ended up causing the split between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church in 1054 due to arguments over whether they were idols or not. However, it was in Europe where icons were accepted, and therefore had a great influence on the art. The earliest icon ...

Poli-Sci essays

Poli-Sci essays In our society government system programs often do reach those people who are in need the most. In the 1960s there was a war on poverty and $7 billion dollars was put into this war by federal, state, and local governments. Even though there was so much money invested, the poor remained largely untouched. Programs such as Social Security, workers compensation, unemployment, and disability, distribute far more money to the middle class than to the lower ones. There are some programs that actually work, but those still only reach the minority of those actually in need. Programs such as Medicaid, food stamps, subsidized housing, and unemployment benefits are a few that actually help. The way these programs were run, appear to be radical liberalist. It appears that they put an effort in to help the poor, but did not take the time to see if it was going to the right people. Things have just gotten worse many cuts have taken place in the programs and the money is being moved to plac es where the more powerful want it. As they take away these programs, Classic liberalism is becoming more into view. Any chance for the poor to move into higher class gets slimmer and slimmer. This leaves the poor to subservience to the rich. In our society the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. This is not the way it should be, there needs to be more programs for the needy and all that power needs to be taken away from the oligarchs, hiding in the system to make themselves richer. Housing is another policy that reflects the many inequalities in our society. Homeowners in the richest 20% of our population receive almost 60% of housing subsidies in the form of property tax exemptions, interest deductions, and capital gains deferral on housing sales. Only one-quarter of poor households receive any kind of housing subsidy. In policies like these it is just the rich trying to help the rich make more money. Obviously this ...