Christianity Compared to Muslim Traditions Research Paper

Christianity Compared to Muslim Traditions - Research Paper Example In the year 1689 John Locke argued that no citizen of a state should be denied rights merely based on their religious beliefs. On the basis of this argument, a radical change spread across the Western nations, beginning in the New World and eventually into the European states towards a tolerance and level of acceptance that was intended to provide everyone the same opportunities without regard to their religious affiliation (Lewis and Churchill, 1). Bias, on the other hand, is a very different sort of experience and the bias that exists against other belief systems has been a driving force for the evil that men will do for thousands of years. In recent history two religions that have come into conflict based on political ideologies are those of Christianity and Islam where neither people fully understands the other. If looked at from an observational perspective, however, the religions are not that far apart in their beliefs or in the practice of those beliefs. While aspects of the I slamic and Christian religion are very far apart, the central ideas that hold each of the religions together are very similar in practice. Perspectives on Christianity Christianity encompasses a number of different denominations that all have small differences in the way in which they worship. Denominational differences primarily occurred during the time of the Reformation after Martin Luther took exception to the idea of selling forgiveness by the Catholic Church. The Christian religion has undergone a long list of changes from its beginning. The followers of Christ were originally rebels against a polytheistic society. After centuries of spreading the word, European followers were suddenly the oppressors creating wars and hosting invasive organizations like the Inquisition which judged and harmed. The organization of Christianity into a political system created a spiritual world with one foot in the secular as it began to function as members of state and as a center of wealth. Catholicism There about 900 million Catholics in the world today, which comprise about half of the Christian population. A Catholic church is headed by the clergy who are m ostly priests and bishops. There are ranks within the Church with the leader of the Church being the Pope. One of the more interesting practices of the Church is the event of electing a new Pope. As the Cardinals vote on electing a new Pope they will release black smoke form the chimney on days that they fail to vote in a new leader. On the final day that they choose a new Pope, the chimney will release white smoke, indicating to the masses that a new Pope has been elected (Penney 12). The most important celebration within the Catholic Church is the taking of the Eucharist. The Eucharist is Communion, which means that the individual has confessed their sins and is in a state of forgiveness, opening them to communication with God through sharing in a symbolic meal with Him. The worshiper takes in a wafer that symbolizes the bread which is the body of Christ and drinks wine, believing that this symbolizes the blood of Christ. This practice had many tribal communities that missionaries had approached and tried to teach the ways of Christian worship believing that Christians were cannibals (Jones 62). This practice, however, is intended to symbolizing becoming one with God through sharing of food and drink. As well, the worshiper becomes connected to the divine, thus the requirement for having cleared the conscious before participating. There are many symbolic rites that are conducted in the Catholic Church. The sign of the Cross is made when entering into a Church as the worshiper kneels before entering a pew. As well, this practice, called genuflecting, is also conducted when the worshipper leaves the pew. The worshiper has dipped their fingers into holy water before making the sign of the cross, creating a a symbolic washing of the heart before touching the head, solar plexus, left

Currency trading simulation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Currency trading simulation - Research Paper Example OANDA reflects the market ideal market condition which may not be true conditions. The pie charts in the OANDA which shows real time changes in the currency pair using moving averages. The user can study the market and develop their trading strategy which will determine when to buy and when to sell at a profit. Generally, when the spot crosses under the moving average,a sell signal appears because the technical analysis shows that the price will drop. A buy signal appeard when the spot crosses over the moving average because the price will raise. Market volatility tends to indicate rate reversal hence an important factor to be considered. I used two moving average on the same pie charts, the faster moving average is based on 25 days of data while the slower moving average is calculated from 10 days of data. A buy signal appears when the faster moving average crosses above the slow moving average, and a sell signal appears when the faster moving average crosses below the slower moving average (OANDA Tutorial). My initial trading plan was to use reversal point by waiting for the fast moving average crossing above the slower moving average, then buy 50 currency units and hold the for a while to see if the market price will go up or not. My initial didn’t work out because the prices didn’t rise, thus I couldn’t get a profit. I decided to diversify my portfolio to maximize my returns and minimize my risk in the money market. The moving average, however, had little movement and thus I was not able to able to buy and sell at a profit. Changing my strategies to diversification of portfolio worked out because none of the moving averages crossed each other. Market volatility also didn’t work out so I decided to diversify my points. My strategies yielded returns, but I didn’t maximize it. The market fluctuates every second and making decisions is very