Paul Ackerman

Paul Ackerman

  • Submitted By: xheyitzlynnx
  • Date Submitted: 01/14/2009 9:19 PM
  • Category: English
  • Words: 481
  • Page: 2
  • Views: 384

Ackerman demonstrates God’s control over the human world, stating how He “chose” to make the universe not because He needed to, however He did so “for His own pleasure and purpose” (Ackerman 45). The author demonstrates God’s “free will” and since man is created in his image we all presumably have “free will.” My argument against Ackerman’s view is, if God is “all-knowing” of the past, present and future; how does a person truly have free will? Thus prompts to what extent does humans have control over their own thoughts, opinions, and actions? Lastly what would happen if someone did not believe in God? According to the author, my understanding is that humans would not have any control without free will and hence for those that do not believe in God, free will is non-existent. Ackerman’s extreme religious views would look down upon Whitehead’s passage “A New Look on Institutionalized Homosexuality in Native North America” and “Making Sense of Time” by Yi Fu Yuan as being too focused on human problems versus turning to biblical scriptures for clues and answers. Harriet Whitehead’s passage prompts the concept of inescapable identity in the female and male berdache and the idea of a third gender. The berdache reveals how both men and women are subjected to certain expectation from birth, especially roles regarding their biological sex. This inescapable identity exposes a conflict in a certain group we call the “third gender.” This group is biologically one sex however in reality acts and represents the opposite sex, which is an illustration of ‘free will’. Ackerman most likely contend that the third gender is violating God’s overall plan and as evidence he would use the biblical passage of Sodom and Gomorrah to illustrate the holy disobedience of this group. Nevertheless, if this group is able to utilize their ‘free will’ and if humans are made in God’s image, violations of God’s plans are contradicting to Ackerman’s initial statement. Paul Ackerman’s argument...

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