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Identity theoryin religion
Religion and Cultural Identity
Importance of the Beatitudes
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As a child growing up in a Christian household I was repeatedly reminded that “Jesus Christ was the son of the almighty lord and savior,” which is the way my grandma phrased it. My entire family emphasized this belief so much that I stopped questing the concept, and instilled it in my own mind. This belief became the nomos, meaning what everyone else believed in, because that is what they internalized in my family member’s consciousness. Every first Sunday, my church would participate in the ritual of the Lord’s Supper, which became a customary tradition for me after I was baptized. I could finally eat and drink the bread and blood of Christ. According to sociologist Peter Berger, he believed that “religious ritual has been a crucial instrument of this process of ‘reminding’” (Berger …show more content…
Before this line, Hughes mentioned how the Beatitudes are important to Jesus and his followers. Hughes stressed the importance of this because the Beatitudes are reputable to devoted Christian worshippers. These teachings of Jesus are notable because they were directed towards the enslaved Israelites. However, a majority of Christians believe that the Beatitudes generally apply to everyone that has or is going through a difficult time in their lives. For example, “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” - Matthew 5:3 (The Holy Bible). By poor in spirit, Jesus was talking to the Israelites who were physically worn down and even mentally drained. Hughes said that” though the empire has rejected these people as completely worthless, the kingdom of God restores dignity and views them as blessed and highly esteemed” (Hughes 66). As mentioned earlier, many Christians believe that the Beatitude teachings apply to everyone, but there are several that disagree that everyone can get into the kingdom of
Our readings from Luke’s Gospel portray those in poverty as the people who will inherit the earth and be by Christ’s side in the kingdom of heaven. In the Gospel of Luke, it states, “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours” (6:20). Our readings from scripture paint a picture that suggests that those who are suffering in the world during their lifetime, will be
Religions are broad in their scope of history, beliefs, and rituals, using many systems to support their individual ideologies. Rituals, such as baptism within Christianity and Judaism, are markers for the distinct values and meanings that are associated with specific doctrines, and can be viewed and interpreted in several different ways. Theorists often view religion with different outlooks, classifying the institution as having a social background or a cultural emphasis, such as what Clifford Geertz defined. Geertz focused on the importance of symbols in religion, their cultural perceptions, the meanings that are attributed to the act, and how it relates to the the society’s value systems. By applying his theory about religion as a culture to the baptismal ceremonies in Judaic and Christian religions, the ritual can be viewed as an important cultural symbol, signs of various cultural views, and as a reinforcement of an ethos.
The first portion of Jesus teachings were made up of blessings known as beatitudes. Beatitudes are a set of teachings by Jesus. The word beatitude stimulates from a Latin adjective beatitudo which means happiness, fortunate, and blissful. The beatitudes are mainly located in versus 3 to 6. According to Wilkins, “They apply in an almost, “upside down” reality and this vision that should be adhered to life in operating the kingdom life among God’s people.” If an individual decided to disobey or decided to not follow the rules of the pattern of this world, God would considered that type of behavior as an upside down life style. If you are an authentic discipline you would follow the guidelines of the beatitudes. “Jesus was looking to set goals in the beatitudes and the whole Sermon on the Mount. These goals should not be seen as impossible ideals, rather a new kind of life that strives,permeats and change lives”(Robinson, et al.).
The word “beatitude” comes from the Latin word beatitudo meaning “blessedness”. The Beatitudes describe the happiness we can get from inner spiritual qualities. The Beatitudes are short passages that hold deep meanings and is addressed to everyone. Each of them serve a different purpose. They are deep interpretations of different principles. It measures our faith and trust in God. It expresses our need for Jesus and God’s guidance. God explains how things that seem to be undesirable are also blessed in a way we might not think. It elaborates the meaning behind unwanted qualities and how they can be good. These conditions might make us unhappy but God’s words tells otherwise. The piece suggests the kind of people who really are blessed. The Beatitudes is similar to the Ten Commandments. Both are God’s wishes that we hope to follow. This also contains the goal of our existence. It is basically describes how we, as God’s children, are expected to live. It fulfills God’s promises by showing a way to the Kingdom of Heaven. It is a path to our inner happiness and pureness. Why do we study the beatitudes? It leaves us choices on how we could purify our hearts. This piece describes how we can live our lives as God’s disciples. It is to remind us that people who are suffering are being cared for. It helps us further understand the concept of salvation. We could incorporate this teaching in our everyday lives by praying, allowing us to have a talk with God. Another way is to simply believe in God. By believing in him, we prove that we are faithful and that we put our trust on Him. We could always instill good behaviours within us, to promote goodness. There are a lot of interpretations of the Beatitudes. Many of the passage is applied in...
needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God," said Jesus to his
When Hughes was thirteen he attended a revival with his Aunt it was his turn to "see Jesus," his entire community and church all waiting expectantly for the moment when he was finally saved from sin. Unfortunately for Hughes, salvation did not occur. His fellow peers that he would be delivered, to Jesus convinced him. He was so caught up in the idea that when it did not happen, and when it did not, he felt like an outcast amongst his religious community. People crying, and praying for him at his feet, Hughes did not want to be the reason for all the madness happening around him. He stood up and acted as if his salvation had come to him, although deep within he knew it had not. "My aunt came and knelt at my knees and cried, while prayers and songs swirled all around me in the little church. The whole congregation prayed for me alone, in a mighty wail of moans and voices” (Hughes 111-112). Influenced by the wales and the cries, Hughes started to feel as if he was the problem, that something was wrong and it was up to him to fix it. As the congregation prayed for him alone, and his aunt cried and prayed by his feet, a wave of social pressure came to him at once. To stop the crying, and the constant praying there was only one thing to be done, although he knew he was never actually saved, he stood to his feet, and the religious community and church all rejoiced as they
In Christian communities, especially communities that practice adult baptism, the ritual is seen as more than just an act of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The specific actions associated with baptism have evolved to represent Jesus’ death (the liminal stage) and resurrection (the reaggregation stage). By manipulating the symbolic actions in the ritual “so as to bring them into parallel with the pre-established non-symbolic system,” we are better able to understand the symbolism of the three stages of this rite of
...le, the scripture passage Luke 24:30-32 in the bible explores the resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is recognised after “he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them” This is important to Christian followers, as it is the foundation of Christian beliefs. This has also impacted the way Christians practise traditional rituals and ceremonies, such as the Eucharist and Baptism. Also the scripture reference provides adherents with the knowledge of Jesus’ resurrection and how he will be “with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28), even after his death and resurrection. Thus, the ritual of Eucharist and Baptism supports adherents in seeking where Christ is in their everyday lives. Hence, the rituals and ceremonies, such as the Eucharist and Baptism are significant to Christianity, through it shaping it as a living and dynamic tradition
“Americans are harder working and more productive than ever, yet the rewards of that productivity flow into the pockets of fewer and fewer people (Ketteler, 2006).” This relates to the previous articles in that the wealth are becoming wealthier, while the poor are becoming poorer, and this is something that goes against everything the common good stands for and the teachings of the church for so many years. As we can see over and over again, people become greedy and selfish and only do what is in their best interest, and this goes against the teachings and the actions of Jesus Christ. Father Ketteler writes that Jesus chose the poverty life, to be close to those who are in need most. “Jesus lived out a preferential option in standing on the side of those most in need, physically and spiritually (Ketteler, 2006).” Father Ketteler finishes with saying that when we love one another, nobody is a burden and everything that is produced is shared equally among all men and women, “civilizations of love abandons a mentality in which the poor as individuals and as peoples are considered a burden, as irksome intruders trying to consume what others have produced (Ketteler,
Their interpretation of this is that Jesus suffered the same as them, so he went through the same as did he feels their pain too. In the reading Quest for the living God, Johnson says “Jesus knows what they are suffering better than anyone… there is an intimacy in pain that bears them up in anguish” (Johnson, 117). Through Black Theologian, James Cone, teachings say that “to believe in heaven is to refuse to accept hell on earth” (Johnson,117). He uses heaven as a safe place.
Throughout history, Indigenous Australians and African Americans lived out the 10 Commandments and The Beatitudes. Morality is the concern with what is right and what is wrong in someone’s actions. This report will be addressing that morality exists, even in times of hardship and injustice. I believe that Indigenous Australians and African Americans have suffered from immorality and injustice, throughout history. This paper will be discussing how Indigenous Aboriginal and African American people have lived out the 10 Commandments and the Beatitudes.
1) but was mislead to believe he would be. He enticed the audience's attention to provoke an inquiry into the nature of his preservation. It is vital to comprehend that at the certain age of twelve and thirteen the adolescents are finding their place in their congregation; it becomes difficult for some to surrender to the pressure of the congregation. The “lambs” ( Hughes para. 3 ) were to be strengthen into the inclusion of the elder’s society, thus they would be accepting of their church and faith. Despite the fact Hughes needed physical credibility to believe in Jesus, he wanted to believe his aunt regarding his newcome salvation. He realized that in reality he was not saved, rather he was corrupted by the pressure from the congregation leading to the loss of
The beatitudes mark the start of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, and are simple statements that lead you toward the Kingdom of God. Jesus’ words have authority, and if you have read Matthew 5, you know that blessed are the ugly is not in the passage. Have no fear; this is NOT a new commandment that I am writing to you (Scripture is inspired, this article is not). What I believe to be true, however, is the message behind this phrase.
Christ states that he was brought into this world to deliver the message that the Lord has for humanity. He was sent to this world to preach about the word of the Lord. Christ announces his only purpose which is to save humanity and to preach about the good news that comes when humanity stops engaging in violence. In Nazareth, Jesus reads from the book of the prophet Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because God has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. God has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord” (Luke 4:18-19). This is one of the most striking moments of Christ ministry. The message of this passage is that the word of the Lord has been fulfilled and that God has sent him to proclaim the good news to the poor. The good news that God was referring meant that both the sick and oppressed would be
If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, and I have chosen you out of the world, the world hates you. Remember the word I spoke to you, ‘No slave is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. (John 15:18-20)