1. What is the importance of the enfleshment of the word of God for Miles?
The enfleshment of the word of God is important for Miles because, as she states, “Attention to making Christian bodies, not just Christian minds or souls - in their training of new members, by liturgies, and by devotional exercises - was central to the practice of Christianity” (1). Because Christianity has focused on the creation of Christian bodies, a history of Christianity, for Miles, needs to include the story of “Christian ideas in the life” which includes more concrete manifestations of Christianity in people’s daily lives (1). In particular, this includes “words, images, music, and architecture” in the place of a simple history of ideas held by elite Christians. I find it interesting that this enfleshment of the word of God is shown through artistic expressions of Christianity, as for many centuries illiterate Christians relied on artistic expressions of Christianity to help strengthen their faith.
2. How is the fleshiness of God crucial for Christian theology?
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More importantly, Miles states that “the status of human bodies altered when God entered the sensible world in a human body” (4). This means that for Christian theology, the body is not necessarily something to be derided, as God took on the form of human flesh in order to save human souls and to preserve their bodies (as shown through the resurrection of the flesh). Early theological disputes surrounded the exact nature of the fleshy incarnation of God, which points towards the fact that human bodies are meaningful and that an understanding of the role of the human body is crucial to Christian theology
Yet the Reverend also uses the word 'beautiful' and appreciates the wonders of the natural world. Certainly, a sense of something beyond the pragmatic permeates Maclean?s story. This ?something? is incarnated in Paul, who obviously does not conform to a narrowly-defined description of a ?good Christian.? He is a rabblerouser adrift in the world, a sophisticated ladies? man and gambler who squanders what is seemingly ample journalistic talent. Paul, however, is also effortlessly artistic, able to break free of his father?s strict fishing instructions to create his own poetry with a rod. Surely, something holy must reside in the sheer, effortless beaut...
This paper is written to discuss the many different ideas that have been discussed over the first half of Theology 104. This class went over many topics which gave me a much better understanding of Christianity, Jesus, and the Bible. I will be addressing two topics of which I feel are very important to Christianity. First, I will be focusing on the question did Jesus claim to be God? This is one of the biggest challenges of the Bibles that come up quite often. Secondly, I will focus on character development.
Gonzalez, J. L. (1970). A History of Christian Thought: From the beginnings to the Council of Chalcedon. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.
Van Eyck’s work of the Ghent Altarpiece was not simply a representation of symbols that alluded to Christianity. Van Eyck’s vivid sense of the actual world allowed him to be able to reconstruct reality along with its endless limitations. His audience was so extensively involved with his paintings that it may seem almost esoteric. T...
Davis, Edward B. “The Christian Century”. Chicago. Jul 15 – Jul 22. 1998. Vol 115,
To better understand this model, we must first examine how bodies have been viewed and affected within the Christian religion framework of our western culture. Christianity has a long tradition of focusing on embodiment. Its basic practices and ideas of incarnation, Christology, the Resurrection, and the Eucharist, even the metaphor of the church being the body of Christ, all involve embodiment in some way (McFague, 1993). Yet, with these embodiment characteristics of Christianity, this religion still devalues nature and women’s bodies. It has set up a patriarchal framework for western culture of devaluing the body, and women. “Western culture and religion have a long, painful history of demeaning the female by identifying her with the body and with nature, while elevating the male by identifying him with reason and spirit” (McFague, 1993). This idea reinforces stereotypes that oppress women and separates the body from the mind and soul. Until we reconcile this disconnect of the body and mind, we cannot fully love all bodies; this leads to the inability to love the “body” of the earth (McFague, 1993). Without this love, we cannot fully appreciate ...
Stanley, Tim. "Give Me That Old Time Religion." History Today 63.8 (2013): 50. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.CHURCH, S. D. "Paganism In Conversion-Age Anglo-Saxon England: The Evidence Of Bede's Ecclesiastical History Reconsidered." History 93.310 (2008): 162-180. Academic Search Premier. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.Mayfield, Tyler. "Hebrew Bible." Masterplots II: Christian Literature (2007): 1-7. Literary Reference Center. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.Alward, Emily. "The Soul Of Christianity." Masterplots II: Christian Literature (2007): 1-2. Literary Reference Center. Web. 3 Mar. 2014.Hallissy, Margaret. "Christianity, The Pagan Past, And The Rituals Of Construction In William Golding's The Spire." Critique 49.3 (2008): 319-331. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 Mar. 2014.
Rourke, Nancy. “Christianity Notes.” Religion 101 Notes Christianity. Entry posted April 14, 2011. https ://angel.canisius.edu/section/default.asp?id=43760%5FSpring2011 (accessed April 18, 2011).
Healing is a major theme in the Christian faith, causing many to seek spiritual guidance when they or a loved one are suffering, to look to God as a healer. Reverend Dr. Harris preaches in her sermons about the healing power of God and the way people have been healed by him. Using Geertz’s theory of religion as a system of symbols, Reverend Dr. Harris’ portrays the use of christian religious symbols as they relate to their ability to heal the sick. Of the many symbols used in her sermons, Rev. Dr. Harris points out two examples that stand out among the others: the first being holy oil, as used to heal by the laying on of hands and anointing; the second being Christ himself, being a symbol of the healing power of God. These symbols act as a template for healing, giving it a definite form. Actively embracing the symbols make the healing power through prayer “really real” for the people who seek the removal of their illness while also establishing moods and motivations used by Christian followers.
We do tend to expect certain things when we enter a place of worship, or peruse an active ministry, and truthfully, when taking in Christian oriented art. There are a couple reoccurring emblems, symbols, well-worn themes, and subjects which have been deemed safe, coming under overuse, carrying the weight of a saltine in the impact it makes on people, including us. While intentions are almost always well meaning, these conventions appear to the secular as a genre of its own in culture and art, quite often ringing with an unsavory note of incompetence. That’s already an unpleasant attribution to a faith that has changed the world, having built the infrastructure of empathy that has survived ages and permeates the social development of our western culture. It speaks to a deeper issue within the Church itself, which is a woeful lack of inspiration.
" Christianity & Literature 58.1 (2008): 81-92. Academic Search Complete. Web. 29 Mar. 2014. Fienberg, Lorne. "
Lane, T. (2006). A concise history of christian thought (Completely ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.
The framing of Browne’s writing is built and written with such a sequence that enlightens the reader with understanding about what type of Christian best defines Browne’s inner most thoughts. F...
Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity. 2nd ed. New York City, NY: HarperOne, 2010.
The social history of the early Christian church is closely related to the kinds of documents and the secular, cultural context that was around at the time. Paul was highly influential on early Christian theology as was other people that wrote under his name. Three canonized works have classically been attributed to Paul, but are now known to be forgeries: 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus. These books are known as “The Pastorals” and they are different from Paul’s authentic works in many fundamental ways. In order to see the historical context in which these letters were written, we must first understand the social history of Christian theology at the time. We will present the social history and changes to early Christian theology that occurred in the time that spans the writing of 1 and 2 Corinthians to the writings of the Pastorals.