Views essay
In actuality, the problem of the understanding of basic religious concepts, such as communion, is relevant today as it used to be on the dawn of Christianity. At the same time, basic religious concepts are closely intertwined with social life and social relations. What is meant here is the fact that religious traditions are closely intertwined with social one. In this regard, it is possible to refer to Sara’s experience and her views, which reveal the full extent to which individuals may be dependent on social rules. On the other hand, people cannot do what they wish. Instead, they should obey to existing rules and norms. In such a situation, it is extremely difficult to change existing social norms and rules, while it is only exceptional people, like Jesus Christ, who can raise against common rules and norms but, whatever the person, who rebels against domain social norms and rules is, the only effect of such disobedience to social norms and rules is the pressure from the part of the society to the extent that such person becomes an outcast and is doomed to repulsion and exclusion from the society.
In actuality, Sara stands on the ground that people need rules and this idea is quite just as long as people need to live in peace and harmony. At the same time, people have different interests and different needs and they may put their personal interest and needs above those of the society. As a result, people can offend each other. If they do not have rules and norms, the entire society is likely to slip in chaos and violence because the physical superiority is likely to become the only factor that may define the position of an individual in a lawless society.
In addition, people need the authority that grants them with certain power. In such a situation, they can refer to God as the supreme authority because people obey God as they believe in His power. In fact, the existence of the supreme authority is very important for people because it is the supreme authority that makes them obedient to existing rules. At the same time, people may be not aware of the necessity of rules and norms, while the authority makes them obedient to rules and norms that are shaped in the course of time. At this point, it is possible to refer to the authority of Jesus Christ, who appealed to the authority of God to promote his ideas. In such a way, he backed up his ideas with the authority of God to make people following him. On the other hand, people should believe him that he has the authority to refer to God. In this regard, priests had larger authority because they had the social status and were traditionally associated with the service to God. Therefore, Jews preferred to follow the lead of priests rather than the lead of Jesus. On the other hand, Jesus could challenge existing social norms and rules through popular ideas, which gained the support of many people. In such a context, it becomes obvious that ideas, rules and norms that are popular and are accepted by the majority of the society can become social norms and rules. Therefore, social norms and rules can change but such a change provokes the confrontation between the conservative part of the society and those, who accept the change and support new norms and rules.
At the same time, it is worth mentioning the fact that the introduction of changes and new social rules and norms in the society do not occur spontaneously. In stark contrast, they emerge in response to consistent social, economic and political changes. Economic factors play the determinant factors in the development of changes and introduction of new social rules and norms. People accept rules and norms that mirror the actual situation in the socioeconomic relations. Therefore, people need rules and norms which define their social relations and prevent conflicts within the society.
In this regard, Sara’s view on rules people need to maintain normal social relations is grounded on principles of the social contract. The concept of social contract implies the existence of the agreement between individuals to maintain order in the society and to define rules, which all people should obey to protect their natural rights and prevent the violation of their rights. In such a way, Sara’s ideas correspond to the idea of the social contract.
At the same time, Sara should be aware of the fact that social relations are complex and need coordination of interaction between people. In fact, people need to develop social norms and rules, which regulate relationships between people and define basic standards of social behavior of individuals. Social norms and rules, being complex, define the essence of social relations and contribute to the introduction of effective interaction between people. Social relations are very important but they cannot develop without rules and norms that regulate them. This is why Sara’s idea of the necessity of rules is basically right. Obviously, complex changes provoke the change in social norms and rules but people still cannot live without such rules and norms because they regulate their life and set norms and standards, which people should meet in their life.
In such a context, the role of authority can hardly be underestimated. What is meant here is the fact that people need social norms and rules but to make people to obey to social norms and rules, they need to introduce certain authority relations. What is meant here is the fact that people need to have certain authority to hold certain position in the society and to perform certain functions in the society. For instance, priests have the authority of performing their functions because they hold their position and perform functions of priests. Therefore, other people cannot perform their functions and they cannot usurp functions of priests. The same trend can be traced in relation to other occupations and social functions. In such a situation, social rules define relationships and social status of individuals attributing specific functions to certain individuals or social groups.
Thus, Sara’s idea is basically correct but it is important to remember that social norms and rules are not static. In stark contrast, they are dynamic that means that they change in the course of time. Changes occur under the impact of socioeconomic changes in the society. As relationships within the society change, people need to change social rules and norms. In such a way, people develop new social rules and norms that are essential for the maintenance of stable social relations.
