Religion

Explain in 2 pages what a believer in the American Ideal paradigm and a believer in the paradigm of a Sacred Bloodline might do in the following situation:

Terrorists are holding thirty hostages from your country, and they are demanding that you turn over a woman who is a prisoner at a military base where you are the highest ranking officer. The terrorists hate the woman and wish to behead her because she has betrayed them by revealing some of their most important secrets. You arrested the woman because you are certain she has participated in some acts of terror, and she has revealed the secrets because you’ve promised to give her a fair trial and a reduced prison sentence in exchange for her cooperation. One other big factor in her cooperation is that she has two young children and wants to keep them safe. The military base is not in your home country, and you have been given complete authority to decide what to do.

Explain in 2 page what believers in the Buddhist and Christian paradigms, might say about the following situation.

A very handsome young man with a quick wit and charming manner has been carrying on relationships with two women who live far enough apart not to run into each other, so he has been able to get away with lying to each of them for years. Both of the women are kind and affectionate toward him, and because he did not have a very loving mother, he craves their attention. One of the women, Giselle, is very attractive physically and excites him. The other, Olivia, makes his favorite dishes and makes him feel calm and safe, although he is not particularly attracted to her physically. However, lately he has been feeling a great deal of stress and cannot locate the cause. He has begun to have trouble sleeping at night and keeps dreaming that an enemy he can’t see is chasing him, and lately he has started to drink somewhat heavily which neither of the women approves of, so he has begun to have arguments with each of them.

Comment on the following story from the paradigms of the Goddess Theory and Traditional Shinto: 3 pages

Demeter and Persephone

Zeus, King of all the Gods, had three sisters: Hera, Queen of the Gods, was also his wife and the Goddess of Marriage; Hestia was the Goddess of Home and Hearth and Demeter was Goddess of the Harvest, responsible for the crops and for feeding the people.
Demeter was loved by all humans for her gift of soil and gentle, mild weather to grow their crops. They worshipped her for her caring and kindness. She was very much a ‘hands on’ and ‘happy to help’ sort of Goddess. Persephone was Demeter’s only child. Like her mother, she was kind and caring, with a happy nature and the most dazzling smile. She was the sort of person who spread light and happiness wherever she went and so, naturally, she was loved by everyone but most especially by her mother.

Hades, mighty ruler of the Underworld, had spied her on one of his trips to the world above. He was dazzled by her beauty, her elegance and her charm. He decided that he must have her as his wife. Knowing that Demeter would never agree to her daughter living with him in his gloomy world of the dead, he decided to visit his brother, Zeus, to discuss the matter. Surprisingly, the great god Zeus agreed to Hades’ plan, to abduct the young woman and take her to his realm. He rode his chariot to the upper world and kidnapped her. At first, Persephone cried and cried, until she had no more tears left to weep. She refused all offers of food, for she had heard the legend that those who eat in the Underworld can never return. So she determined not to let a morsel of food pass her lips.

In revenge on Zeus, Demeter withdrew all of her fertility power from the earth, so the earth turned dry and barren, and people began to die. Finally, Zeus agreed to allow Persephone to come back to the living world. But Hades made Persephone feel sorry for him because of his loneliness in the underworld. Before Hermes could come and get her, Hades held a pomegranate in his hand and said, “Persephone, my love, I am so worried that you will fade away if you do not eat. Look at this sweet fruit, taste just a little for pities’ sake.” Looking deep into his eyes, the girl carefully reached out her hand and took the luscious fruit to her lips. Deliberately, she swallowed a few seeds, just six.

That is why Persephone can only come back to the living world six months out of the year and the rest of the time she keeps Hades company in the underworld for the other six months.

In each part, you have to answer the required paradigm based on each person. For example, in part two: the Buddhist and Christian paradigm has to apply to each character (3 in this scenario). Please use the provided explanation file to answer (not an outside source since it is not required).