Pursuit of God Review free essay sample

If the â€Å"Roman’s Road† through Paul’s epistle can be described as a path to salvation, then A. W. Tozer’s book, â€Å"The Pursuit of God† could be described as a culmination of Biblical wisdom as to what to do with one’s salvation once he receives it. Now, to be sure, this book is not Gospel, but in much the same way as the Bible was written, the Holy Spirit has surely spoken through it into the lives of many readers because of the Christ-driven, knee-bent, God-fearing heart of Tozer himself. The Pursuit of God takes the reader on a journey through the truths of Scripture, lovingly correcting and helping us align our will with God while leaving no remorse for sin or misguidance in the congregate church or in its individual members. Tozer’s audience is the modern church. He, from personal experience, grew up in it and saw the ways that it differed from what the Bible teaches. We will write a custom essay sample on Pursuit of God Review or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Through his book, he sought to correct those errors and drive the church back to the whole-hearted love of God that he grew to enjoy himself. In his authentically humble way, he stated his mission for writing this book himself. â€Å"Nothing here is new except in which my own heart has made of spiritual realities most delightful and wonderful to me. Others before me have gone much farther into these holy mysteries than I have done, but if my fire is not large it is yet real, and there may be those who can light their candle at its flame. †1 â€Å"Tozer literally wrote The Pursuit of God on his knees. Perhaps that explains its power and the blessing that has rested on it. He was a man who had foregone formal education by reason of humble beginnings, yet his life seemed to have been submitted humbly to sitting at the feet of his Savior by meditating on His precepts. From a small town in western Pennsylvania, Tozer came to Christ at seventeen and served Him ever since. Beginning with witnessing to those around him, he delved deeper and deeper into the Holy Scriptures, and judging by the fruit of his labor, rightly divided the Word of God. He ended up settling at a church in southern Chicago when he finally published this book at fifty-one years old. It was not until then, however, that he received the respect of the Christian community that he currently has to this day. Beginning with the basics, Tozer starts his first chapter off assuring the reader that it is not of ourselves that we have the desire to know God. Even the desire to be better is not something that we can call our own! Truly, then, it is â€Å"By grace (we) have been saved through faith, and that not of (ourselves); it is the gift of God†. 3 We can therefore claim no glory to be our own, for all belongs to our Christ who saved us from our sin. He then gets into the heart of the chapter and the very first point he makes; that the Christian needs to follow hard after God. â€Å"How tragic that we in this dark day have had our seeking done for us by our teachers. Everything is made to center upon the initial act of â€Å"accepting† Christ. †4 As the reader continues to be blown away by his pragmatic grasp of the Christian experience in America, he wastes no time moving fluidly from point to point. At the end of chapter one, he points out that the man who follows hard after God will make Him his treasure and that man will have need of nothing else. Chapter two then describes that man and what his life looks like because of that point. He explains that each of us have a need for God and that our tendency is to replace God with more tangible things; the things of this world. But there is blessing in having nothing. â€Å"Everything is safe, which we commit to Him, and nothing is really safe which is not so committed. †5 The wonder about committing things to Him is not that we necessarily will be allowed to keep them, it is that we will no longer miss them if we are not so permitted. It is a freeing act that will bless us eternally if we can only learn to let loose our grasp on this world. Logically proceeding, Tozer indicates that we are to remove the veil of this life, world, flesh, etc. so that we can more clearly see Christ and the reality that lives, currently and eternally, beyond and throughout ours. It being reasonable to accept that because we were made in the image of God, we were made to glorify Him, we should do so with abundant joy and the recognition of our great privilege. It is then of the highest importance that we tear through the veil of our flesh, aptly ripping blood and sinew and bone (metaphorically of course, but he speaks of the likened pain that this act will cause) so we can adequately apprehend God. We will then see evidence of His presence in us, around us, besides us: we can never escape God. â€Å"If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. †6 He is truly everywhere at o nce, omnipotent and omnipresent, all knowing and holy. If universe can be broken down to mean single (uni-) spoken sentence (verse), then we know that God’s word lives and is living. In fact, â€Å"The application of the term to the eternal Son leads us to believe that self-expression is inherent in the Godhead, that God is forever seeking to speak Himself out to His creation. †7 God’s voice permeated creation from the very moment He spoke it into existence, and it never left. It still speaks and is speaking through everything. He not only spoke through the Bible, but the Bible is â€Å"the inevitable outcome of God’s continuous speech†! Where is our faith? The next point is surmised from the acceptance of God’s work in our lives from the very beginning, speaking to us, living in us. That still small Voice urging us to hear while giving us the ability to refuse Him. â€Å"We learn that faith is not a once-done act, but a continuous gaze of the heart at the Triune God. †9 When God made the heavens and the earth, He said it was good. When man sinned, that relationship was torn and we fell out of good graces with God. Faith is the avenue by which God gives us to willingly return to Him so that His fellowship with us can return. Thus, we need to continue in faith to restore our relationship with God. If all else were for not, restoring our relationship with the God of the universe should be enough, but His blessings go deeper still and a relationship with Him is so much more. God offers us rest in this life. Though the natural corruption of man incites attitudes that are directly controversial to the Jesus’s teaching of the Beatitudes10, if we accept His teachings and nurture in our lives the meekness He speaks of in the gospel of Matthew, we will begin to experience God’s kingdom manifested in this life. No longer should we see through the corrupt lenses of this world into the kingdom of God, but we are to see through the pure and perfect eyes of God into the kingdom of man. Keeping a heavenly-sighted mind as described earlier in the book, we can now unify God’s precepts with temporal responsibilities to manifest God’s peace and rest in our life on earth. Finally, Tozer concludes, â€Å"Let a man sanctify the Lord God in his heart and he can thereafter do no common act. All he does is good and acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For such a man, living itself will be a priestly ministration. Through the same masterful literary prowess that he taught himself through years of devout study, Tozer hammers into the hearts of his readers the keynote of each chapter. He elegantly navigates natural avenues of thought while hitting key points in sequence, tracing logic of the Bible to arrive at the ultimate destination of the heart of a true believer of Christ. Along the way, he checks the hearts of those who assume themselves to fall into that category, strengthening their faith and their walk with Christ and allowing the Holy Spirit to flow through our lives and cleanse our souls. This book is truly a refreshing spring in a vast desert of traditional Biblical orthodoxy. Any negative evaluations of the text that I have personally seen would surely not have been warranted in the day it was written. Although the vocabulary used was slightly higher than the modern norm of Christian non-fiction, Tozer presented his insights in a surprisingly pragmatic way. Testing his words against the backdrop of a lifetime spent in the church and a decade spent reading the Scriptures on my own leaves me without argument to his discernment of the text. Even the solitary questionable opinion that he mentioned in the book was so stated. Overall, to ask for three weaknesses would be to render undue criticism to an otherwise impeccable rendition of the human spirit’s need for God. PERSONAL APPLICATION As I write this paper I find it difficult to put into words just how priceless the lesson that Tozer provides through this book is. However difficult it was to write a term paper in the midst of an already hectic life, I know that I will keep this book and read it again and again. There are seemingly endless applications that I can derive from this book beginning, no less, in the very foreword that describes Tozer himself. It is no coincidence that his words were as powerful as they are and the lessons so meaningful. As stated before, Tozer wrote this book literally on his knees. This is a priceless picture of just what it takes to be a great disciple of Jesus. I want to be such a disciple. To be so enthralled by God that the rest of the world fades away is as close as we can get to Heaven on this earth. I find myself at the very beginning of the path that Tozer lays out for us. He writes in the first chapter, â€Å"We must simplify our approach to Him. We must strip down to essentials (and they will be found to be blessedly few). We must put away all effort to impress, and come with the guileless candor of childhood. †12 Humility is the key to a life in the servant hood of God. Neither can He use us or shape us if we first do not come before Him in surrender of our will and our way. God my will is Yours, my path is Yours to direct. Should I stumble I pray that You would pick me up and draw me ever close to You. How can I live in this world without You? God indwell in me and make me Yours. I surrender all of me to You. Make me more like You and less like me. Thank You for the faith that You have given me. Yours is the kingdom forever and ever. Amen.

The Power of a Simple Sample Essay

The Power of a Simple Sample EssayIn your college entrance examination, the most important factor that you need to look for is a simple sample essay that you can write based on the topic in your college entrance examination. The fact is that students are aware of the contents of the exam and what is likely to happen during it. However, the general public is unaware of all these things because they only know about how to go through the academic format.To be able to pass the test, students need to familiarize themselves with the content and the method of examination, so that they are ready for anything in the coming examinations. However, even when they are familiar with the content of the college entrance examination, they will still need a sample essay that can serve as a tool to get them prepared.However, there is a very popular method of writing samples that are very useful in providing a relevant idea to students. Since these samples are basically stories, students will be able to understand the process better by looking at it through a fictional perspective. In this manner, you can relate the content to actual situations and you will be able to get an idea of how it can help students. Since a simple sample will not be available, there is no harm in getting one now.A sample essay is very easy to write, because it uses only one or two basic ideas. You can always go for those basic topics which will then expand on them.For example, the introduction to the topic would be about one of the main subjects of the topic, but the main topic of the introduction is actually relevant to the research conducted in the chapter. When writing an introduction, you should take note of the structure of the sentence, so that you can add more depth to the words.You will need to connect the main thesis of the thesis with the different parts of the topic. As long as you have these connections, you will be able to give readers a good experience by writing a good introduction.Writing a sample essay can be really helpful because it will prepare you for the entire process of writing an essay. While students often get prepared in different ways, they will also need to get prepared for a simpler process in the writing of the sample essay.

Roles of Government essays

Roles of Government essays The size and role of government are two very important factors, and can be difficult to pin point exactly. The role of government plays a huge part in society, by establishing all sorts of standards for living. Standards for things like monitoring of our hospitals, food industries, environment, human behavior, and even out burials. So you can say government has been there regulating and controlling parts of our lives from our birth to our death. United States government has always played a large role throughout history, ever since the creation of the U.S. Constitution. The size of government has been decreasing greatly as our economy has been increasing. The balance in America now lies between the public and the private sectors, with the private sector doing more of the spending. The private sector is businesses of firms owned by individuals or shareholders. Large businesses like IBM and Microsoft are examples of the private sector. These corporations sell goods and services like cars and computers, or haircuts and dry cleaning. The public sector includes the following; executive office, legislative bodies, courts, and administrative agencies at 3 different government levels, the federal, state, and local levels. They are owned by government and are run by elected and appointed officials. They are funded mostly through taxes and the issuing of bonds. Examples of this include the military, state motor vehicle agencies, and city fire departments. These companys deliver goods and services that can not be owned by any one single person, like environmental protection. Now that we know what the private and public sectors are we can begin to discuss the balance. The balance of the government now accounts for less then one third of the national economy. Two thirds of this amount is the general spending, or about 18% of the GDP. Total federal spending, is the 18 percent of the full 28 percent that government spen...

Missions and Omissions

Missions and Omissions Missions and Omissions Missions and Omissions By Mark Nichol The words listed and defined in this post all stem from the Latin verb mittere, which means â€Å"send.† They have in common the element mit (or miss). To admit (literally, â€Å"send to†), for example, is to allow something to enter or be sent in, though the word also pertains to acknowledging or conceding something. Such a concession is also referred to as an admission, while in addition, admission is the process or state of allowing entrance or the fee paid for entrance, and admissible means â€Å"able to be admitted† (usually in a legal context). To commit (â€Å"send with†) is to obligate or pledge oneself or another to a task, to entrust for safekeeping, or to promise resources; it also applies to carrying out a crime or to placing someone in a mental hospital or in prison. An obligation or pledge, or an act of entrusting or placing, is a commitment, while the enactment of a crime is a commission. That word also pertains to a group of people convened to accomplish a task (a commissioner is an individual given such a charge); committee is a cognate synonym. Commission also applies to a fee paid to an agent or an employee for selling something and to an authorization given to someone, as in the conferral of military authority and rank. As a verb, it applies to making an assignment or order or preparing a vessel for operation. Emit (â€Å"send out†) usually is employed in the context of giving out energy such as light or heat, or a scent. In addition, one may emit a sound, and something officially issued may be emitted. On who does so is an emitter, and an emission is something sent out; the term usually applies to exhaust fumes from a vehicle. To omit (â€Å"send out,† from the notion of sending it so that it is not included) is to leave out; something excluded is an omission. To permit (â€Å"send forward†) is to allow, and the word serves as a noun describing documentation allowing something to be done or to happen, while the authority granted to do something is permission. Remit (â€Å"send back†) pertains to sending something (such as money) or to canceling a debt or other obligation. The word is also a noun referring to an area of authority or responsibility, while the noun remission not only refers to canceling or reducing something but also to an improvement of health. (In this case, a patient is said to be in remission.) Submit (â€Å"send under†) means â€Å"place under control of another† or â€Å"refer to another for consideration†; the act of doing so in either sense is submission. (That word also pertains in the second sense to the thing submitted.) Transmit (â€Å"send across†) pertains to conveying something (such as a disease) or conducting energy or sending a message in the form of electric signals. In addition to serving as the noun form for these senses, transmission pertains to the system of parts that conveys power to a vehicle. (Informally, car mechanics and enthusiasts use the nickname tranny in this sense, though the word is also a sometimes pejorative truncation of the word transvestite.) Definitions for less common descendants of mittere follow: To demit (â€Å"send down†) is to resign or to withdraw from membership or office, to intermit (â€Å"send between†) is to discontinue, to manumit (â€Å"send from one’s hand†) is to release from slavery, and to pretermit (â€Å"send past†) is to let pass, neglect, or suspend. Demit has no forms in other parts of speech, but intermittent means â€Å"at intervals† or â€Å"seasonally,† an intermission is an interruption (usually, a scheduled break in the midst of a live performance or a film screening), and manumission is a synonym for emancipation (which shares an element meaning â€Å"hand†), or freeing from slavery. Pretermission is synonymous with omission. A subsequent post will detail members of the mittere family in which the root is disguised. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Dialogue Dos and Don'ts"Owing to" vs "Due to"10 Terms for the Common People

Paraphrase essays Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Paraphrase essays - Essay Example ng desire of Cyrus for greatness makes him able to withstand all the temptations and assume a disciplined life, which earns him respect among all people, as well as his army. Nevertheless, Cyrus has had people who are always envious about is character and role as a wise and charismatic leader, but these individuals have fallen from their desired paths. For example, Cyaxares is highly obsessed in achieving the same status of leadership as that of Cyrus in leading his army. However, he failed to achieve this because his envy for Cyrus did not let him focus on activities, which would grant him an opportunity to achieve his goals. Another individual who has fallen because of the envy for Cyrus is the Araspas who has a strong obsession for Panthea. In the entire readings, it is clear that Cyrus was an inspirational leader who gained political success because of his inherent characteristic of observing discipline (Xenophon and Ambler, 2001). The readings also provide emphasis on the Persians status during the Xenophon time. Xenophon illustrated the positive characteristics from the Persians discipline during the Cyrus life. He also indicated that the lack of such characteristics would result in harming the society in different perspectives and aspects of life. Further, Xenophon has illustrated the need for Persians desire to achieve excellence in different endeavors of their life. This trait is seen in different fields, especially in the choice of health, clothing, training for discipline and assuming the best conduct in society. Such has enabled Persians to become an organized society while the presence of Cyrus as the model leader makes them to remain in that status at all times. Nevertheless, the Persians lost the way after the death of Cyrus. Their impressive and erstwhile organization has dissolved while the disarray has made it complex to ensure that an effective successor rises to replace the works of Cyrus. For example, transactions had all forms of dishonesty

Lagal and Illegal Access to Personal Information Online Essay

Lagal and Illegal Access to Personal Information Online - Essay Example Where the computer era has devised numerous ways to work more quickly, efficiently, professionally and resourcefully, it has brought with it what we call cyber-crime -- misusing other people’s information without their permission and knowledge. The topic to be discussed here is about the risks and hazards of information being misused over the internet. The worst part about cyber-crime is that it is much easier to escape from it without revealing identity or improvising a false identity. The reason for it is, of course, the resourcefulness of the internet and the fact that it is away from any kind of physical presence. Moreover, it is very easy to replicate data on the internet to get involved in different kinds of crimes. With the increasing technological trends and movement towards cyber space so rapidly, it is inevitable that soon the cyber world will be dealt with a separate set of rules and regulation, laws and globalization. It is not long before divisions within the cybe r space will be dealt like a separate state just like physically existing country (Wall, 2007, p.10). What is needed here is that we deal with the dark side of moving towards technology in a way that we are safe from its harmful effects in the long run, that most people fail to realize at the moment. Thesis Statement An analysis of the reasons of internet crime along with its consequence leads to a technological challenge -- whether the harmful consequences outweigh the benefits of internet and what should be done to reduce crime involving unethical practices of hacking, identity theft, crime in e-commerce and social networking. Categories of Cyber Crime Cyber Crime is divided into many categories. These include spam, availability of obscene content, threats, misinformation, cyber terrorism and fraud. With such a huge variety of crime going on the internet, it becomes very easy to exploit the users (Brenner, 2010, p.8). The users also come into several categories, from amateurs to p rofessionals and naive people who do not realize the harmful implications that the usage of internet might cause. The greatest misuse of internet is taking place in the following domains: †¢ E-commerce   †¢ Social networking   †¢ Identity theft   †¢ Hacking   From amongst the above given domains, E-Commerce and Social Networking will be discussed in greater depth. E-Commerce is defines as exchange of goods and services over the internet involving Business transactions, buying and selling as well as the World Wide Web (Bushry, 2005, p.3). Social Networking refers to online networks that allow people to communicate over the internet and build social relations and broad networks ( Stenzel & Nesdahl, 2012 p.19). Identity Theft is the stealing of someone else’s identity and pretending to be someone else, impersonating to be another person or using their identity such as their name or credentials (Boyer, 2008, p.7). Hacking means to identify weaknesses i n other networks and take over their networks and later on, misuse them (Brenner, 2010, p.11). E-Commerce Electronic Commerce as defined above is a rapidly growing concept that allows exchange of good

Foreign Policy: National Interests and Values

Foreign Policy: National Interests and Values Foreign Policy linking the protection of national interests and promotion of national values. Great Britain has lost an empire and has not yet found a role. Implicit in the introductory quotation by American politician Dean Acheson (Hutchinson Encyclopedia, 2003) is the principle that a nation has various choices in setting foreign policy. A precursor to setting effective foreign policy is the need to have a foreign policy vision, or a fundamental view of what the nation would like to accomplish in the world arena. Two considerations in setting a foreign policy vision involve deciding if the nation should focus on promoting its values internationally or if it should focus on protecting its national interests. This essay will show that foreign policy should not require a choice between protecting national interests and promoting national values; rather, it will demonstrate that a nation can protect its national interests and, at the same time, promote its values in the world arena. Beginning with separate discussions on protecting national interests and on promoting values, the essay continues with an exploration of the linkages between promoting a nations values and protecting its national interests. Finally, conclusions will be presented. Before embarking on an exploration of national interests and values in setting foreign policy, a working definition for the term foreign policy will be established to help in framing the discussion. The Republic of Ireland (1996), in observing that there is no universally agreed definition of foreign policy, furnishes this succinct definition for the term: the pursuit by a state of its interests, concerns, and values in the external environment. Foreign Policy magazine (undated, cited in Labor Law Talk, undated) offers a somewhat fuller, yet essentially supportive, definition: A foreign policy is a set of political goals that seeks to outline how a particular country will interact with the other countries of the world. Foreign policies generally are designed to help protect a countrys national interests, national security, ideological goals, and economic prosperity. This can occur as a result of peaceful cooperation with other nations, or through aggression, war, and exploitation. Creating foreign policy is usually the job of the head of government and the foreign minister (or equivalent). The definition proposed by Foreign Policy magazine is accepted as the working definition in this context as it provides a more complete description, although the Irish definition will also be referenced. Protecting National Interests The working definition for foreign policy states, in part, that foreign policy is designed to help protect a countrys national interests; the Irish definition states, again in part, that foreign policy is the pursuit by a state of its interests. Each sovereign country can be expected to have different national interests and thus a different foreign policy focus because external policy reflects interests or concerns internal to the country pursuing them, according to the Republic of Irelands White Paper on Foreign Policy (1996). Logically, then, the protection of national interests through foreign policy is the protection of internal interests. Comparing the national interests of Canada and the United States, two closely-allied neighboring countries which are similar in many ways, provides insight into the extent to which national interests differ. Canadian foreign policy focuses on economic growth, social justice, quality of life, sovereignty and independence, peace and security, and harmonious national environment with the first three being the most important (Franks, 1997). Canadas neighbor to the south, the United States, sets foreign policy at three levels. Vital interests, which represent the highest level, include the physical security of American territory, the safety of American citizens, the economic well-being of American society, the protection of critical infrastructures from paralyzing attacks. Military troops may be used unilaterally and decisively to protect these vital interests. The second level includes those interests that do not affect national survival but do influence national well-being (e.g. protect ion of the global environment and commitment to allies). Finally, humanitarian and other interests, including responses to national disasters and promotion of human rights among others, are positioned at the third and lowest level (Gladkyy, 2003, citing White House, 1999). After the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, the United States placed added emphasis on national security interests: The Government of the United States has no more important mission than (1) fighting terrorism overseas and (2) securing the homeland from future terrorist attacks. (Gladkyy, 2003, citing Bush, 2001). The contrast between national interests expressed by Canada and the United States is a stark one indeed. The expressed national interests of the United States are more reactive and could be considered to be more negative in tone than those of Canada which seem more proactive and uplifting. Interestingly, and perhaps demonstrating Canadas internal cultural attributes, three of the countrys six areas of national interest are focused on human bettermentsocial justice and quality of life, which are two of the three high priority interests, and a harmonious national environment. In contrast, humanitarian and other interests are relegated to the lowest priority national interests in the United States. Promoting National Values The working definition for foreign policy states that foreign policy, in addition to protecting national interests as mentioned earlier, is designed to protect a countrysideological goals; the Irish definition states that foreign policy, in addition to pursuing national interests, is the pursuit by a state of itsvalues in the external environment. According to Latham (2002), the term values refers to subjective views of individuals about what is worthy or important. He continues that in politics, [values] are views about the ends that social institutions ought to advance, and the virtues they ought to embody. As government is a social institution, values are the views governments should advance and virtues they should embody. Some examples of national values include freedom, democracy, free economies, and human dignity (The Hutchinson Encyclopedia, 2003). In addition, some national values can be discerned from the articulation of national interests. For instance, referring to Canadas national interests, one might conclude that Canadas values include human rights, peace, and environmental harmony. National values can be promoted by various means ranging along a continuum from active to passive. As an example, the United States, in promoting democracy, has used military actionthe most active meansand has modeled democratic behaviorsthe most passive means. In between these two extremes, the United States has used other approaches including diplomacy, foreign aid, international broadcasting, and even covert political manipulations. (Parapan, 2005). Linking the Promotion of National Values to the Protection of National Interests The thesis for this essay is that foreign policy does not have to involve a choice on the part of a nation between protecting its national interests and promoting its values in the world. A nation can do both and, conceivably, doing both effectively can enhance each one individually. A review of the literature revealed the following representative selections addressing the foreign policy linkage between protecting national interests and promoting national values: Haass (2003) claims that in the 21st century, the principal aim of American foreign policy is to integrate other countries and organizations into arrangements that will sustain a world consistent with U.S. interests and values for the purpose of promoting peace, prosperity, and justice as widely as possible. Abrams (2000) states a foreign policy of dominance will not only advancenational interests but will preserve peace and promote the cause of democracy and human rights. Mead (1994) states that foreign policy is based on a combination of interests and values, calling attention to the struggles associated with defining the national interest and national values and relating the two concepts in an overall foreign policy strategy. Using the term progressive internationalism, Falk (2004) summarizes a foreign policy based on four organizing ideas[that] embody a convergence of national values and interests: national strength, liberal democracy, free enterprise, and world leadership. And, finally, Edel (2005) quotes U.S. President George W. Bushs second inaugural address in January 2005: Americas vitalinterests and our deepest beliefs are now one. Seiple (2003) cautions the United States to be uncompromising over their national values when promoting their national interests, contrasting the differences between expressed values of fair play, the use of the Golden Rule, and the cherished freedoms of religion, association, and press and American interests [revolving] largely around economic access and a military that, by and large, is positioned around the world to protect that access. One factor that may complicate the alignment of national interests and national values in forming foreign policy is what might be considered to be an inherent conflict between the realism of national interests and the idealism of national values. Talbott (2000) expresses a contradiction between championing national interests and national values. He writes about the persistent effort to combine realism and idealism in the role [the United States] plays in the world, continuing by stating that the American people have made clear that they demand some thing nobler and more altruistic from their government and armed forces than the coldblooded calculus of raison detat or realpolitik in which European statecraft has often taken pride. McCraw (2003), in claiming that realism sees foreign policy as about national interests rather than promoting values, writes that this conflict explains why national governments have not been particularly identified with promoting human rights, a position that might be considered to be part of an idealistic foreign policy. The range of approaches nations can use in promoting national values as described earlier could also be applied in protecting their national interestsmodeling behaviors, diplomacy, providing foreign aid, broadcasting their messages, conducting covert political manipulations, and taking military action. For instance, a country that demonstrates democratic behavior may cause people in countries with totalitarian governments to push for democratic reforms. This to a large extent happened as formerly Communist countries of Eastern Europe established democratic forms of government modeled after those in countries of Western Europe and the United States in the latter part of the twentieth century. At the other extreme, the military incursion by the United Kingdom, the United States, and others into Iraq to purportedly establish a democratic government could be viewed as an example of forcing democratic values on a sovereign nation. The case of Iraq presents an interesting twist on the national values promotionnational interest protection issue, one that shows how the two are intertwined in foreign policy. In 2003, when the coalition of the willing invaded Iraq, the case for the incursion was based on the certainty that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction that could be used against other nations. This case reflected the desire to protect national interests, in this instance the safety of citizens. But, the invasion revealed that [t]here were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraqno unmanned aerial vehicles, no terrorist training camps, no outlawed Scud missiles, no nuclear weapons program (The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, 2004). When no such weapons were found, the rationale for the invasion changed to a desire to install a democratic government. The case changed from one of protecting national interests to promoting values, this time by military force. If the rationalewas truly altruisticto install a democratic form of government in Iraqand the installation of such a government would help promote the stability of the region thereby ensuring the continued worldwide flow of oil (a strategic interest), then the invasion would represent an example of how the promotion of national values can be used as part of foreign policy to protect national interests. Whether the motive of installing a democratic government is true or simply a cover for the failure to find weapons of mass destruction is not a topic for this discussion; however, the efficacy of forcibly installing a democratic government is appropriate. Parapan (2005) asks a probing question: After all, what is it that terrorists hate? The American values and culture, or the American insistence on imposing those on others? Parapan suggests that reform must come from within. Only time will tell whether the new, more democratic government in Iraq will be accepted or replaced by another dictatorship or, even worse, by anarchy. Future historians will be able to compare and contrast the long-term outcomes of the popularly-installed democratic governments in Eastern Europe with the forcibly-installed democratic government in Iraq to assess which approach was more effective. Conclusions This essay set out to show that foreign policy should not require a choice between protecting national interests and promoting national values; rather, that a nation can protect its national interests and, at the same time, promote its values in the world. This thesis was proven with the caveat that the road to achieving this type of foreign policy can be difficult. With a working definition of foreign policy in hand, examples of national interests of Canada and the United States were compared and contrasted and examples of national values were presented and accompanied by a description of the continuum of methods countries can use in promoting their values. The definitions and discussions formed the foundation for establishing the linkage between promoting national values and protecting national interests. At the most basic level, the two definitions cited for foreign policy link the protection of national interests and promotion of national values as purposes of foreign policy. Five extracts resulting from a literature search established the linkage between national interests and national values in foreign policy development (Abrams, 2000; Edel, 2005; Falk, 2004; Haass, 2003; Mead, 1994). Difficulties in linking interests and values in foreign policy were characterized as a conflict between realism and idealism (Seiple, 2003; Talbott, 2000). The approaches available to nations as they establish foreign policy that protects national interests were shown to be largely the same as those available to promote values. Examples from initiatives to establish democracies in Eastern Europe and in Iraq were compared and contrasted in the context of promoting national interests and promoting national values. In summary, nations can simultaneously protect their national interests and promote their national values through their foreign policy. Perhaps the proper promotion of national values, one that models the desired values and empowers the citizens of the receiving nation to make their own choices, can actually enhance the protection of national interests in the country implementing its foreign policy through its stabilizing effects in other parts of the world. Bibliography Abrams, Elliott (2000). American powerfor what? Commentary, January 1, 2000 (The) Atlanta Journal and Constitution (2004) Strategy: Make facts fitTime confirms the fabrications and exaggerations of the Bush administrations case for invading Iraq. June 23, 2004. Bush, George W. (2001) Securing the homeland: Strengthening the nation, 2001. Cited in Gladkyy, Oleksandr (2003), American foreign policy and U.S. relations with Russia and China after 11 September. World Affairs, June 22, 2003. Edel, Charles (2005), Picking our fights carefully. The Cincinnati Post, March 3, 2005. Falk, Richard (2004) Toward the revival of principled politics in America. American Tikkun, September 1, 2004. Foreign Policy (undated) Foreign policy. Cited in Labor Law Talk (undated), Foreign policy. Available from: , undated [Accessed: April 14, 2005]. Franks, C. E. S. (1997) White paper on foreign policy, The 1998 Canadian Encyclopedia, September 6, 1997. Gladkyy, Oleksandr (2003), American foreign policy and U.S. relations with Russia and China after 11 September. World Affairs, June 22, 2003. Haass, Richard N. (2003) Defining U.S. foreign policy in a post-post-Cold War world. DISAM Journal, January 1, 2003. (The) Hutchinson Encyclopedia (2003) Dean Acheson. From speech at the United States Military Academy at West Point, December 5, 1962. April 22, 2003. (The) Hutchinson Encyclopedia (2003) US foreign policy in a changing world. September 22, 2003. Labor Law Talk (undated), Foreign policy. Available from: , undated [Accessed: April 14, 2005]. Latham, Stephen R. (2002) National values, institutions, and health policies: what do they imply for [Canadian] Medicare reform? Canadian-American Public Policy, November 1, 2002. McCraw, David (2003) Analysing New Zealands foreign policy: David McCraw replies to criticism advanced by Michael Bassett of his depiction of New Zealands approach to foreign affairs. New Zealand International Review, November 1, 2003. Mead, Walter Russell (1994) Lucid stars: The American foreign policy tradition. World Policy Journal, December 22, 1994. Parapan, Manuela (2005) Why Arabs are anti-U.S. World and I, January 1, 2005. (The) Republic of Ireland (1996) The white paper on foreign policy: Background to Irish foreign policy. Available from: [Accessed: April 14, 2005]. Seiple, Robert A. (2003) The privilege of power: The US is right to oust Hussein but it must better balance national values with national interests. The Christian Science Monitor, March 10, 2003. Talbott, Strobe (2000) Self-determination in an interdependent world. Foreign Policy, March 22, 2000. The White House (1999) A national security strategy for a new century. Defense Strategy Review Page, December 1999, 1-2. Cited in Gladkyy, Oleksandr (2003), American foreign policy and U.S. relations with Russia and China after 11 September. World Affairs, June 22, 2003. Stiff: The Curious Lives Of Human Cadavers Stiff: The Curious Lives Of Human Cadavers After reading the book Stiff I have gained a better understanding of what donating your body to science really means. Through my research and by reading the book, I have decided that a person should most definitely donate his or her body to science. I believe that once a person has died, there is nothing more that the person can do with his or her body. Why not give yourself to science and continue to help people even after you have passed away? I personally would like to die knowing that I could potentially save the lives of millions. The first option for donating your body to science mentioned in the book is for the practice of cosmetic procedures. In the first chapter of the book, Mary Roach attends a seminar where plastic surgeons perform different cosmetic procedures on cadaver heads. The surgeons are able to practice new procedures on nonliving patients before performing them on live patients. The cosmetic surgeons gain a better knowledge of human anatomy and how to perform specific procedures. Practicing on these patients is much easier, since the patients do not have blood that would block their view of a humans basic anatomy and facial structure. The surgeons can see everything that is going on in the surgery clearly which will help them to better perform these surgeries later on. In addition to cosmetic procedures, I have learned through my research that universities often provide cadavers for medical students to use as a way to advance their knowledge of the human body. In an article I read, it stated th at before first-year medical students are allowed to lay their hands on the living, they must first learn the anatomy of the dead. Students are required to take apart their given body and look at each section of a humans internal anatomy. Although it is possible to learn this information through high-tech simulators and body models, nothing can replace being able to see and touch a real body. This is why donating your body to science is important; so that medical students will have the chance to learn from dead bodies, before operating on live ones. The third chapter of the book is set at a body farm. A body farm is a research facility where human decomposition can be studied in many different settings. At the body farm, Mary Roach sees a variety of dead bodies that are being used to study human decomposition. Each body is at a different stage of decay. Studying these bodies can help determine the time in which a person has died. In reality, this can help investigators determine the time of death of a corpse. Knowing the time of death can help solve crimes and murder investigations, an important component of forensic science. In the book, Roach mentions fly larvae as an important way to determine when a person has died. Forensic scientists can conclude how old the larvae on a cadaver are, and therefore decide how long the person has been dead for. Other methods of determining this can be used, such as looking at the potassium level in a persons eyelids or studying the stage of their decay. Not only are the donated bodies at diff erent phases of decomposition, they are also put into different scenarios. Every time a person dies, they are not going to be in the same setting. This is why researchers at the body farm have to put cadavers in different situations. The first body Mary Roach sees at the farm is wearing sweatpants, so that examiners can study the effects of decay on bodies that are wearing clothing. During my research, I have learned that some of the other scenarios bodies have been put in include being buried, left outside, and even submerged in water. People die in all different settings, which is why it is important to know how a body reacts in these different environments. By donating your body to science, forensic scientists can learn the rate at which bodies decay, and therefore solve investigations later on. The fourth chapter involves the use of cadavers as crash test dummies. When a person donates his or her body to science, it is possible that he or she will be sent to a research facility where researchers study the effects of impact on the body. When car companies make new car models, it is necessary for them to test if a car provides safety to a human in the event of a crash. However, researchers cannot use nonhuman crash test dummies for these studies. Crash test dummies can tell you how much force a crash has unleashed on a body, but not how this force affects the body. Scientists need to know how much force a real body part can handle. For these test, researchers need subjects that will provide accurate results without causing harm or pain to them. In the past, dedicated researchers have donated themselves as dummies. However, this is neither safe and causes pain to the living researchers. Cadavers are better candidates, since they are not only human, but they also feel no pain a nd cannot sustain injury. During this section of the book, Mary Roach visits a facility where a simulated car accident is taking place on cadaver UM 006. The results from the car accident will help the car company know if the particular model will keep a person safe if a crash were to occur. Then, they can adjust the car to provide better safety. So someday, when a live human survives an accident, he or she has UM 006 to thank. In chapter six, Mary Roach discusses cadavers who are used to understand how bullets and bombs work, and how they affect the human body. Quite often, the bodies of people who choose to donate themselves to science are sent to facilities where the main goal of research is to figure out how to better protect those who are often exposed to danger. As with most tests, researchers need subjects who give results that are realistic and accurate, and that do not feel pain. Cadavers fill these needs when it comes to testing items such as bulletproof vests, army-strength footwear, and other protective wear. To ensure that our soldiers and police officers are safe, it is essential to guarantee that their equipment is safe and will withstand whatever circumstances they may endure. To do so, experiments are conducted to test these different items. Through these tests, researchers can tell if bulletproof vests will withstand the force of a shot, if boots will withstand the effects of a roadside bo mb, and if miscellaneous protective wear can handle under pressure. All of these tests are important in protecting those who give their life to protect us. In chapter seven, Mary Roach discusses a controversial experiment that many people choose to donate themselves to. These trials have become known as the crucifixion experiments. Throughout history, a number of scientists have been engrossed by the idea of recreating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Through trial and error, these scientists have each created their own theory about how Jesus was positioned on the cross and each event that took place during this time. Not only do some people choose to have their cadavers donated to this experimental process, but some actually volunteer themselves while they are still living. Although most people dont choose to take this path when donating their body, it is always another option that could be considered. Throughout the book, Mary Roach touches a couple of times on the subject of organ donation. I believe that organ donation is one of the most beneficial and practical means of donating yourself to science. In all other cases of donating yourself to science, your body is not used to provide direct help to others. In these cases, your body is used for studies and research that could one day hopefully help someone else. When you choose to donate your organs, you are directly giving yourself to someone else. The second you are considered dead (whether your heart has stopped beating or you have been considered brain dead) your organs are give to another person who is in need. In a sense, you are able to live on through another person, or at least a piece of you is. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, every eleven minutes a person is added to the waiting list to receive an organ. Seventy-five people receive an organ transplant each day. However, twenty people die every day waiting for an organ, because of the shortage of donated organs. When one person alone decides to become an organ donor, he or she could possibly save up to eight lives. So if you dont want to join the body farm, be used as a surgical patient, or become a human crash test dummy, I believe that deciding to become an organ donor is the easiest way to save lives. The book Stiff gave me a much better understanding of what it means to donate your body to science. Making the choice to give yourself to scientific research could help an endless amount of people. After all, what are you planning to do with your body when you die? Why not give yourself to something rewarding and beneficial? If you dont want your dead body to be shot for scientific study or to receive a facelift once you have passed away, choose to become an organ donor. You could save up to eight lives, and die knowing youre going to continue to help others. One day, I will certainly choose to donate my body to science, and potentially make life better for those who are still on earth. Personal Review I have always enjoyed reading, and throughout the years I have read all kinds of different stories. However, I have never a book quite like Stiff. In Stiff, Mary Roach talked about a topic that most people would find repulsive and somewhat hard to even think about. Cadavers arent a usual subject when it comes to writing books. Yet, I absolutely loved it. Roach found a way to write about death in a humorous way without ever being disrespectful. Who knew reading about dead bodies could be so funny? The book was filled with interesting facts and never had a dull moment. Most of the time, I had trouble putting the book down. I could also see all the hard work and research Mary Roach put into it. She knew what she was talking about inside and out. She traveled to different countries, researched a countless number of events in history, and interviewed numerous people who were somehow related to the topic. She also mentioned every little detail about what was going on, which made it that mu ch better. Roach never sugar coated anything. She always told everything like it was. Yet she always respected the cadavers and treated them like they were still alive. After reading this book, I feel much better informed about what it means to donate your body to science. I never understood all the possibilities of what could happen to you if you made the choice to donate your cadaver. Mary Roach wrote everything on a level that I could understand without getting confused. I now feel much better prepared about deciding whether to donate my body or not. I have decided that I definitely would like to donate my body to science and make my contribution to society. I would like to be able to help others even after I have passed away. Without this book, I dont think I ever really would have considered donating my body as an option. I didnt understand what it meant or what would happen. Mary Roach convinced me to donate my body to science, and I believe others would feel the same.