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The importance of the Bible
The importance of the Bible
The importance of the Bible
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Key Moments of Exploring Christianity Before taking this class I had very little formal training on the key beliefs of Christianity. I was baptized Protestant, but did not know what that meant and instead of going to Bible class on Sundays I would practice with the Children’s choir. When I got older I started going to Catholic mass with other members of my family, but all that I knew about mass there was that I wasn’t allowed to take communion. After not going to any mass at all for years I took a religious history course at the Community College of Philadelphia. Both the history course and a later world religions course I took there helped me to understand other religions better. Regrettably, I still was missing a lot of basic fundamentals as to what being a Christian meant. I had never read the Bible, nor did I understand the implications of the text. During our in-depth …show more content…
Our dialogue about the Bible also emphasized one of the most important insights for me, and that was understanding the concept of the Bible as revelatory. The most important idea to understanding Christianity in the world around me was another very basic idea. This idea was the concept of Tradition as a key foundation to Christianity. Together, these three insights have had great effect in shaping the way I think about Christianity. A key concept that was completely foreign to me upon starting this class was the revelation that the four Gospels have multiple audiences. Upon entering this course I had not read any of the Gospels, nor did I understand the similarities and differences of them. When we first
I must say that I learned a lot from this class both through the readings and through class discussion. I really, honestly do not have anything that I starkly disagreed with in either. I found it all to be very valuable information for me and this class was extremely helpful in assisting me to better understand the current paradigm shift the church is going through. There are three take-a-ways in particular that helped me to better understand the post modern shift in the church and my role as a minister in this changing paradigm. The first take-a-way is the understanding that there is a shift occurring towards focusing more on the congregational life of the church with more attention on the laity and its formation. Second, is how to plan, as a church and as pastors, to adjust to this shift towards congregational life and how to be better prepared as a postmodern church to be relevant in this changing time. Lastly, I received a better way of explaining the meaning of what truth is in this post modern time.
As ancient Rome began to fall, Christianity began rising. Around 2,000 years ago, Jesus of Nazareth was born, later to be known as the Messiah or Son of God. When people of the Roman era began to hear of such a powerful being, they began to convert to Christianity. Why did Christianity take hold on the ancient world; Christianity took hold on the ancient world because it offered immortality, equality, and it was spread like wildfire.
There are many aspects of the Christian worldview that determines one’s faith. It all begins with God and what he did and why he so great. Then how humanity was shape with its issues and main purpose. The way we see Jesus and what has he done to be apart of are faith and what as humans have found for a restoration. Through analysis the Christian faith and how each of these tie in together. While reflecting on my faith and if lives to the standards of a Christian worldview. Through explaining my understanding of the four aspects of a Christian worldview I will analysis and compare it to my faith.
What is Christianity and why has it been able to develop into a continuously growing and evolving religion?
The rise of Christianity in western civilization is arguably among the most important memories in history. There is no denying what the spread of Christianity has done for the world, for better or worse. Its impact on western civilizations is unrivaled and unprecedented. Christianity slowly became something for many individuals to turn to; in times of hurt its provided comfort, in times of pleasure it has given thanks. The will and belief for salvation has driven individuals to be better, and to have a reference while in need. The rise of Christianity more than 2000 years ago provided necessary building blocks for the future. Without Christianity there would be no cathedrals, no monasteries, no music from one Johann Sebastian Bach, no paintings from Michelangelo, nor no philosophy from Saint Augustine (Backman 205). There are countless times in history, whether good or bad, that can be credited to
When I first enrolled in this course, I felt all different kinds of emotions and was not exactly sure what to expect from THE 101. I had thoughts in my head leading up to this class spinning in my head each night before the first day. I have never taken a Religion class before. I had some thoughts like, “Maybe this will be my best class!” because I would love to learn more about my religion as a Catholic. I was raised a Catholic and went to religion class until I was confirmed during my Eighth grade year. Other thoughts loomed in my head as well, such as, “Do I really belong in this class?” and “I’m probably going to fail this class with just one assignment!”
A worldview is a set of principles and beliefs that guide our rationale and everyday actions. A worldview can be shaped by religion, life experiences and even what part of the world one lives in. My worldview resembles a Christian worldview. A Christian worldview puts a single God in control of the universe and all things are his creation and therefore all things must answer to Him. All worldviews answer a set of questions about life that confound humanity, such as “Why are we here?”, “Who is God?”, and “What happens when we die?” I will be comparing my worldview to other common worldviews held by people everywhere.
The Bible student, laymen, or pastor will find the principles presented by Fee and Stuart helpful despite the weaknesses presented. The author’s contribution on how to interpret each of the different genres is especially beneficial. The Bible Student will have more knowledge of how to interpret God’s Word when finished with the work. Fee and Stuart achieve their goal helping the reader not only with interpretation, but with application.
”Abiding in Christ” is a beautiful book that concentrates on breaking down the words spoken from John in chapter fifteen. Throughout chapter fifteen there are three main points to be considered. The vines and the branches, Jesus’s love, and the hate that he knew was coming. “Abiding in Christ” gives us Christians what they need, showing us how to abide in Christ (John 15:1-8) and abide in Christ’s love (John 15:9-25). This book does both jobs and wraps it up with a clear conclusion.
One of the biggest issues for me was a lack of historicity of the Bible. This is true generally for the history of ancient Israel and specifically for events like the Creation Story, the Exodus, the conquests of the Promised Land, and the Kingdoms of David and Solomon. While I generally knew that the creation story was not factually true, prior to this course, I tended to overlook the details of the untruth, i.e., the implications of this inaccuracy. What the course made me confront was how I conveyed this information to those who believed every word. What is it truth that would emanate from the story of creation that I could convey those who held fast in that faith and belief in the accuracy of...
In our first class session we accomplished a lot, we learned about the key themes that can be found in the New testament and how one goes about questioning the themes and connecting the new and old testaments. The one major theme that we found to be one of the big ones of the New Testament was Jesus and all his deeds, death and resurrection. When this theme was first revealed to the class, I thought well obviously! But once we began to talk about all the other themes such as restoration, redemption, the church and the building relationship between the Jews and Gentiles. And Dr. Hall began to connect each theme together with a link and with each connection every last theme eventually led back to Jesus and his deeds, death and resurrection
I honestly thought it would be an easy credit and something fun to take. I thought the study of religion was just learning about other religions to see what they were like and why they are different from our own. I guess I thought that studying other religions would help me understand my own better. Now, I understand more and the study of religion is much, much more important than I could have ever thought. Learning about other people’s religions and their cultures helps us become better people in this world. If we can better understand someone’s point of view, then we can respect their decisions and them as a person more. Not understanding a culture or religion can lead to stereotyping and just hatred for others. If everyone in the whole word learned about other people’s culture, religion, and ideas; then the world would be a much better place. I think this class should be mandatory just for that reason alone. I think the reason that my view on the study of religion has changed is because of what we have learned throughout the textbook. Learning about these different religions that have been taken out of context really puts a spin on things in your mid. I mean, take Muslims, a few Muslims did some very bad things, but now people think that all Muslims are terrorists or bad people. Learning about the religion helped me understand that they are vey peaceful people and just a few did
As a student at the University of Portland, who has now spent a semester living amidst the Catholic culture, I have started to think about religion fundamentally different than prior to this year. Theology class has been enlightening. In class, a new external lens of how one can view faith while learning to think critically in the search of truth has been presented. The inquisitiveness in me has led me to ask hard questions regarding myself, my perceptions, my misconceptions, and even some heartfelt convictions while contemplating my faith. I have experienced legitimate struggles. I acknowledge I have ignorant barriers keeping me from totally living a life with God and for God due to the confusion of exactly what that means. “All truths are
As I sit and reflect over my life, I ask myself where have I come from, where might I currently be, and what does the future hold for me according to my faith formation. This was a time for me to weigh the progress of my formation that happened over the years and to see the influential players who made it possible. Within this essay I will use two of James Fowler’s stages of faith to evaluate my own life and be able to see that through these stages I can be able to help develop others faith as well. It is through these stages that have shaped my life into becoming the faithful person that I am today.
Growing up I was raised in a religious household, so, of course, I’m a big believer in God and my faith. To me, God is the creator of all and I believe Judgment Day is going to come very soon.The definition of faith is the belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion. My faith and the reason for my faith goes hand in hand because it makes me know the truth and opens my eyes to this world. Also, I get clarity of why I’m in this world which is to make it a better place. But seeing the world as faith with reason or reason with faith has a few challenges and can make things a little bit difficult. Same goes for science and religion which butt heads a lot. Some may feel that the Big Bang Theory created