The Character of Jesus

The Author’s Intent The author of the book intends to provoke those proclaiming to be Christians to develop a deeper and unwavering commitment to Christ and to encourage those not already professing Christianity, to have an interest and craving for it, and to convince them to follow a Christian way of living.Advertising We will write a custom book review sample on The Character of Jesus specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More He wants to discredit those depicting the New Testament as being implausible and outlandish to provide a true character of Jesus Christ, that though it might not be flawless, it actually suffices to deliver God’s message to humanity. He aspires to provide testimonials that may encourage others to become Christians (Jefferson 39). Synopsis Jefferson strives to convince the reader to become a Christian. He begins by explaining why some people actually forsake Christianity in favor of other religions. He notes that some people will shun Christianity, not because it is a loathed and undesirable religion, but because of the initial influence from those who claim to be Christians. He notes that many have been discouraged by Christianity because they preferred to join it through episcopal means. This might be through someone who professes Christianity, but has been inconsistent or pharisaical. Another instance is where the local church does not have a true Christian foundation. This usually results in someone shunning Christianity in his/her entire life. However, Jefferson suggests that the best way to become a Christian is through a study of his character. He states that neither professing Christianity nor making bigoted assertions are ways to become a Christian. He suggests that one should be interested in Jesus’s character other than in his outer life (Jefferson 37).Advertising Looking for book review on religion theology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first pap er with 15% OFF Learn More The author depicts the character of Jesus as being a sincere person. He states how Jesus in the midst of a detestable set of inexorable detractors and murderers, stood forth unruffled and steadfast in God’s ways. He also describes Jesus as a reasonable person, original, trustful, brotherly, optimistic, patient, humble and holy. The author’s Accomplishments Jefferson has achieved his mission of explaining the character of Jesus, through direct quotations from the four gospels in the New Testament. His Justifications of Jesus’ character form a strong basis of trying to convince the reader to follow Christianity. He explains the character of Jesus by considering his life as explained by those he came into contact with. For instance, he presents Jesus’ reasonableness on topics such as fasting, the Sabbath, prayer and swearing. He uses examples of how people react to a fallen horse on the street of an American city and a dru nken man in the same street. He explains Jesus’ originality by quoting how he proclaimed himself to be the light of the world, bread and water of life, the only good shepherd, the way, the truth, the life and mediator between God and man (Jefferson 102). In epitomizing Jesus as trustful, he notes how he was persecuted, scorned, maligned, abused, and even execrated. He was incriminated of blasphemy and of treason, but his trust in God remained steadfast.Advertising We will write a custom book review sample on The Character of Jesus specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More His brotherliness is shown in the manner he ate, talked and even visited the homes of those shunned and despised as unholy by society. He shows how Jesus was holy by leading a serene life, free from any sins. Bibliography Jefferson, Charles Edward. The Character of Jesus, New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1908. Archive.org. Web. This book review on The Character of Jesus was written and submitted by user Kaitlin Howard to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Definition and Examples of Language Planning

Definition and Examples of Language Planning The term language planning refers to measures taken by official agencies to influence the use of one or more languages in a particular speech community. American linguist Joshua Fishman has defined language planning as the authoritative allocation of resources to the attainment of language status and corpus goals, whether in connection with new functions that are aspired to or in connection with old functions that need to be discharged more adequately (1987). Four major types of language planning are status planning (about the social standing of a language), corpus planning (the structure of a language), language-in-education planning (learning), and prestige planning (image). Language planning may occur at the macro-level (the state) or the micro-level (the community). See Examples and Observations below. CodificationEnglish-Only MovementLanguage AcquisitionLanguage ChangeLanguage DeathLanguage StandardizationLanguage VarietyLinguicismLinguistic EcologyLinguistic ImperialismSociolinguistics Examples and Observations Language planning and policy arise out of sociopolitical situations where, for example, speakers of various languages compete for resources or where a particular linguistic minority is denied access to basic rights. One example is the U.S. Court Interpreters Act of 1978, which provides an interpreter to any victim, witness, or a defendant whose native language is not English. Another is the Voting Rights Act of 1975, which provides for bilingual ballots in areas where more than 5 percent of the population speak a language other than English...The French AcademyThe classical example of language planning in the context of state-into-nationality processes is that of the French Academy. Founded in 1635i.e., at a time well in advance of the major impact of industrialization and urbanizationthe Academy, nevertheless, came after the political frontiers of France had long since approximated their current limits. Nevertheless, sociocultural integration was still far from attained at that time , as witnessed by the facts that in 1644 the ladies of Marseilles Society were unable to communicate with Mlle. de Scudà ©ry in French; that in 1660 Racine had to use Spanish and Italian to make himself understood in Uzà ¨s; and that even as late as 1789 half of the population of the South did not understand French. Contemporary Language PlanningA good deal of language planning after the Second World War was undertaken by emerging nations that arose out of the end of colonial empires. These nations faced decisions as to what language(s) to designate as an official for use in the political and social arena. Such language planning was often closely aligned with the desire of new nations to symbolize their newfound identity by giving official status to the indigenous language(s) (Kaplan, 1990, p. 4). Today, however, language planning has a somewhat different function. A global economy, growing poverty in some nations of the world, and wars with their resulting refugee population have resulted in great linguistic diversity in many countries. Thus, language planning issues today often revolve around attempts to balance the language diversity that exists within a nations borders caused by immigration rather than by colonization.Language Planning and Linguistic ImperialismBritish policies in Africa and Asia have aimed at strengthening English rather than promoting multilingualism, which is the social reality. Underlying British ELT has been key tenetsmonolingualism, the native speaker as the ideal teacher, the earlier the better etc.which [are] fundamentally false. They underpin linguistic imperialism. Sources Kristin Denham and Anne Lobeck,  Linguistics for Everyone: An Introduction. Wadsworth, 2010 Joshua A. Fishman, The Impact of Nationalism on Language Planning, 1971. Rpt. in  Language in Sociocultural Change: Essays by Joshua A. Fishman. Stanford University Press, 1972 Sandra Lee McKay,  Agendas For Second Language Literacy. Cambridge University Press, 1993 Robert Phillipson, Linguistic Imperialism Alive and Kicking.  The Guardian, March 13, 2012