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The importance of the Bible within Christianity
The importance of the Bible within Christianity
The importance of the Bible within Christianity
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Upon going through personal tragedy from the death of his family, Irish poet, and songwriter, Thomas Moore (1779-1852) wrote these prolific words in the song, ‘Come, Ye Disconsolate,’ “Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.” In keeping with that quote, the ‘Beatitudes’ found in the book of Matthew 5:3-11, shows how the lowly at heart, can be blessed with the Kingdom of God.
Growing up (not in poverty, but just below the middle class), and in the church, the ‘Beatitudes’ were taught in a way that stated that one must be poor (financially) in order to get to heaven. This did not sit well with me as I grew older and wanted more success in my life. My thinking was, “let me get wealthy, then I will come back to the church.” Jesus never
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Regardless of the wealth that I obtain, God blesses me by staying rooted in His word, and not because of wealth. Jesus uses these words to enforce community among the saints. Gareth Weldon Icenogle shares, “Then came Jesus, the man who was the face, presence and community of God incarnated on earth… Jesus called this demonstration of God’s rule in community the ‘kingdom’ of God.” If ever there was an example of community, Jesus exemplified what community is throughout his ministry, and in this instance, through the …show more content…
I use the illustrations, that a person with a lot of money, and is estranged from their family is bankrupt, whereas, a person with no money and has a supportive family structure is rich. Poor is a state of mind, not a way of life. Willard continues:
Jesus did not say, “Blessed are the poor in spirit because they are poor in spirit.” He did not think, ‘What a fine thing it is to be destitute of every spiritual attainment or quality. It makes people worthy of the kingdom.’ And we steal away the much more profound meaning of his teaching about the availability of the kingdom by replacing the state of spiritual impoverishment—in no way good in itself—with some supposedly praiseworthy state of mind or attitude that ‘qualifies’ us for the kingdom.
The Beatitudes are not taught that you have to be ‘poor’ in money, as some teach, but not to put yourself on a high pedestal because of your economic status. I teach that we should not think more highly of ourselves. (Rom. 12:3). I will leave them with the question, who are the Apostles? The ones who spread the message of the Gospel throughout the land. The beatitudes help in keeping them grounded as they go and spread the Gospel of Jesus
Have you ever wondered where you would be right now without going to high school? From the book “The Other Wes Moore” by Wes Moore, the author tells the story of himself and another boy named Wes Moore living in Baltimore who came from a similar background and community. Wes Moore the author tells the story of himself and how his way of life was and how one choice changed his life forever. And for the other Wes Moore, the author tells us his way of life growing up was and how one wrong decision defined his future forever. The author’s point in this book is to show how your choices that you make in life will affect you in the future. Therefore, the author Wes Moore tells the story of himself, the other Wes Moore, and the decisions that are made in their lives that changed their future.
On the other hand, if you are surrounded by an environment which revolves around drugs and bad influences, you have a bigger chance of falling into those same paths. I wasn’t poor but I wasn’t rich either, I was surrounded by an environment in which many people were in need of shelter and food because their families could not afford both. Just like poverty played a major role in my life, so did an ambitious and hardworking environment. Because those people I would see every day on the streets without food or a home, were the ones that had a bigger passion than anyone else, to one day be able to have a stable job and home for their family.
In the novel Poor People, written by William T. Vollmann asks random individuals if they believe they are poor and why some people are poor and others rich. With the help of native guides and translators, and in some cases their family members, they describe what they feel. He depicts people residing in poverty with individual interviews from all over earth. Vollmann’s story narrates their own individual lives, the situations that surround them, and their personal responses to his questions. The responses to his questions range from religious beliefs that the individual who is poor is paying for their past sins from a previous life and to the rational answer that they cannot work. The way these individuals live their life while being in poverty
For instance, Leviticus 25:35 states, “’if your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you” (ESV). As a Christian, a person is called to help those who are struggling, and speaks of giving everything a person has to help those around him or her. According to the Jacob Riis film, citizens turned a blind eye to all those suffering, without a home or food. It also states in Proverbs 22:2, “…the rich and the poor meet together; the Lord is the maker of them all” (ESV). God created everyone on the Earth, and did not create one group to feel superior over another. The last passage that represents the other half is Proverbs 28:6, “ Better is poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways” (ESV). A man can be as poor as can be, but wealth does not make you better in the eyes of God.
Not having food, clothes, a roof over your head, money, or a job. It means living a lower quality of life than the average person. Poverty can be someone’s choice of lifestyle. They may spend all their money on fancy materialistic items rather than on basic human needs. Tressie McMillan Cottom’s article, “The Logic of Stupid Poor People”, states how there are two types of poor people. One that tries to be acceptable, and one tries to be presentable. “...‘Acceptable’ is about gaining access to a limited set of rewards granted upon group membership (Cottom 4).” Cottom believes that people living in poverty should strive to appear acceptable rather than presentable. Being acceptable is the logical way of going about being in poverty. It’s actually trying to make yourself be better rather than just trying to be the bare minimum that society wants. People living in poverty are usually perceived as not knowing how to manage money because most people living in poverty spend their money on expensive cars and accessories. They purchase these expensive items in order to seem like they are not
Poverty doesn't have to effect the people's personalities that I consumes like most of the Youngers. Mama, Ruth, and Beneatha did not let being poor make them envy any one who had money. Walter on the other hand was sick of the way he and his family had to live. He was fed-up and was desperate to make money any way he could think of for his family.
“A Millionaire in Blue Jeans?” One of the most valuable principles is found in the very first chapter. Our authors do a wonderful job at dispelling any delusions we have regarding what a Millionaire looks like. I had long assumed, like many others, that the Millionaires of America were the hyperconsumers and elaborate spenders. In fact, we learn that just the opposite is true. I came to understand that, “Wealth is not the same as income”. (The Millionaire Next Door, p. 1, Stanley & Danko) In many cases, income is not at the forefront of relevancy when determining whether someone will become wealthy. There are several factors involved, but ultimately, if a person spends their entire income, the number value of said income simply doesn’t matter. The old age adage regarding spending less than you make is of much more importance. In the Church, this is referred to as ‘living below our means’. We have often been counseled to exercise restraint regarding our spending habits, and have also been commanded to obtain a level of financially secure by building up our savings, staying out of debt, and living within our means. (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, (2006), 11423) It seems rather silly that a large percentage of our population would be under the assumption that living a large lifestyle, along with the accumulation of fancy things, would somehow equate to wealth. After reading the book, I have come to understand that many of us have an extremely distorted relationship with money, in the assumption that money is to get and spend, while those who are authentic accumulators of wealth understand that money should be invested and stored up as a measure of safety and peace.
In today’s society, Christianity is plagued with many disagreements about how to deal with current issues in society. These problems arise from the fact that Christians have the same fundamental beliefs, but they often disagree on the details. This is the reason why there is a panoply of denominations in the Christian faith. The way that many of the factions in Christianity interpret the word of God can be categorized into different styles of gospel, such as evangelicalism and fundamentalism. One such category that is beginning to gain popularity in today’s society, often taught in megachurches, is Prosperity Gospel. Prosperity Gospel, also called the “Health and Wealth Gospel” by Scot McKnight’s internet article “The Problem for the Prosperity Gospel,” is the belief that if humans adhere to God’s will, then He will in turn bless them with prosperous lives (McKnight). This prosperity often comes in the form of health and wealth according to many megachurches that preach this gospel. In times of economic strife, the prosperity gospel offers comfort in the hopes of having a prosperous future. It is also suspected that Prosperity Gospel has also become an outlet for the people who have a considerable amount of money as a means to justify their wealth. Whatever the reason for believing this gospel, it is important to remember that Prosperity Gospel is just one of the many ways that we can interpret the teachings of the Bible.
People always say how they are so poor, but do they really know the meaning of being poor. People who live under the poverty line are the ones considered poor by the government. There are many people who suffer being in poverty. The Census Bureau’s articles says, “In 2014, the official poverty rate was 14.8 percent. There were 46.7 million in poverty,” (“2014 Highlights”). The percentage might not seem like a lot, but those are just the ones below the poverty line. There are many people who suffer who are just above the line or going back and forth. Another 1.9 billion people live just above it and struggle to make ends meet. (Lusted) Some even live in extreme poverty. Extreme poverty is those who can’t even have water, food, housing, and clothing. (Lusted) As for anyone in poverty though, it decreases their lifespan as these people don’t have the money for proper healthcare and nutrition. For one person in the 48 states excluding Hawaii and Alaska, the poverty line is set at $11,770. As you add more people to the family, t...
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. This is the first Beatitude. It tells us that we should accept people for who they are and not the material things they have. You should not treat a person who lives in a nice house and drives a nice car any different then someone who lives in a less desirable house and drives an old car. You should treat everyone how you would like to be treated. Just because someone can not afford some of the things as you might be able to does not mean that they are a bad person. We should accept everyone into our community.
This is why in Luke 18 Jesus proclaims it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the wealthy to enter into the Kingdom of God. “Indeed, anyone who wishes to follow Jesus “on the way” must “say goodbye to all of his/her possessions (14:33).” (Metzger, James A). The pericope of Zacchaeus acts as a great demonstration that by following Zacchaeus’ example, one can be brought into the community of God’s people, and no longer be held to the
The Book of Acts begins with Jesus Holy Spirit appearing to the chosen apostles over a period of forty days and speaking to them about the kingdom of God. Jesus commanded the apostles not to leave Jerusalem and wait on the gift promised by His father. The gift to the apostles was to be baptized by the Holy Spirit. Jesus then told his apostles you will receive the power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and the ends of the earth. Peter serves as the leader of the apostles. The first thing ordered was to elect Matthias as the twelfth apostle, replacing the traitor Judas.
The rich, the middle class, and the poor; are described by the way we live and the amount of money one has. There are many different ways of describing what poverty is, whether it is by how you live or how much money you have. What is poverty and what does it mean to be poor? Not many of us know the true meaning of these terms. Poverty is an issue dealt with throughout the world, but we are not all aware if its conditions. Poverty is a very serious problem around the world. Poverty is defined as the equality to poorness and impoverishment -- (the state of having little or no money and few or no material possessions). A question to ask ourselves is: “Should poverty be defined strictly in terms of monetary income, as opposed to some qualitative formula which takes into consideration styles of life as well as material possessions?” (Sheppard 13) Because there are so many different ways we can express the term poverty, maybe there should be a certain way we can determine poverty world wide? A person might look like they are poor or think that they are, but by definition they really are not even close. Every country has poverty levels that decide if they are poor or not. The Philippines is a country that deals with this issue on a daily basis.