While the orthodox group upheld that Jesus Christ and the Father are of the same nature, Arians argued that Christ was created and so could not be of the same nature with the Father. Theological controversies have plagued Christianity since its inception. The burning issue during Paul’s period was how the Jewish Christians and Gentile converts could relate. This issue became so serious that the first Christian council was held in Jerusalem to settle it. Subsequently, the nail biting debates over Gnostics and their
Critical Paper #2 Ovid’s Metamorphoses Of all the works that we read, researched and discussed in the second portion of this course, I found that Ovid’s poem Metamorphoses stood out above the others. This poem seems to stand out among others due to its exclusion of direct Christian influence. This is a strikingly odd characteristic considering that Greek culture in its time revolved heavily around Christian values and beliefs. Many other works, including our readings from Virgil and Plato, from that era referred heavily to the teachings of the Christian faith. I believe that Ovid’s intention was to parody the genre of the epic poem by repurposing the teachings of Christianity, while at the same time providing an alternative understanding of how human life, society and socially acceptable norms may have come to fruition.
The school in Antioch adhered to a more literal interpretation the Bible. The teachers associated with this school stood in opposition to the philosophical allegory and mysticism that characterized the school of Alexandria. The theologians at Antioch also rejected both Docetism and Apollinarianism. In contrast to these views, they stressed the humanity of Christ and taught a distinction between the humanity and deity of Christ. They believed that Christ was perfect in humanity as well as perfect in deity.
Athanasius suggested that Jesus was a God and also fully human at the same time and this theory was adopted as the correct teaching of the Church by the Roman Emperor Constantine. A debate known as the Christological controversies, argues how one can be fully human as well as fully God, which caused much controversy in the fourth and fifth centuries. Docetism is the view that Jesus was fully divine but he was not truly human. This theory claims that Jesus was God but simply had the appearance of being human but was not one. This doctrine was rejected by orthodox Christians.
Christianity in the Roman Empire The rise of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire is one of the main contributing factors to its destruction circa 500 C.E. The teachings and morals portrayed in the letters of Paul of Tarsus (135-136) contradicted the Roman culture by preaching to follow the laws set forth by Christ rather than those set forth by the Roman Senate (136). The difference in belief caused tension between the Roman government and its citizens as more and more converted to Christianity and rebelled against Roman persecution. Paul of Tarsus was a very influential character in the story of Christianity. Thirteen letters are attributed to him in the writings that came to comprise the New Testament (134).
Christianity in the Roman Empire The rise of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire is one of the main contributing factors to its destruction circa 500 C.E. The teachings and morals portrayed in the letters of Paul of Tarsus (135-136) contradicted the Roman culture by preaching to follow the laws set forth by Christ rather than those set forth by the Roman Senate (136). The difference in belief caused tension between the Roman government and its citizens as more and more converted to Christianity and rebelled against Roman persecution. Paul of Tarsus was a very influential character in the story of Christianity. Thirteen letters are attributed to him in the writings that came to comprise the New Testament (134).
There are many reasons for why the Roman Empire has fallen. One of the reasons is due to a new religion that had come about in the Roman Empire; Christianity. The beliefs of Christianity were so different from the Roman beliefs and values that people were being persecuted until Roman Emperor Constantine put a stop to it, and eventually legalized the religion in his empire. It caused many problems due to the drastic differences between Rome’s original religion, Paganism, which believed in many gods, and Christianity, which believed in only one god. Most Romans had considered their emperor to be a god, but the Romans who had converted to Christianity only believed in their own one god, and no longer respected, or even listened to their emperor.
The two people who stand out during this time period are Martin Luther and John Calvin. They both took a stand against what they believed was wrong. Luther did not agree with the idea of indulgences, or the paid remission of temporal punishment, and Calvin wanted to be independent of the Church. The Church was not pleased with these outcries, and persecuted these men as heretics. The Church was criticized for a large number of things by the Protestants.
Many factors led to the rise of Protestantism, for example, events like the Black Death and the Western Schism. The most crucial factors were the reformers themselves. Two of the most famous reformers were Martin Luther and Desiderius Erasmus. Luther was a German priest who found the ways of the Roman Catholic Church to be corrupt, he fought the church until he was named an outlaw by the emperor, and shunned by the pope. Erasmus was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, and Catholic priest.
‘The religious experience argument is the most convincing proof for the existence of God.’ How far do you agree with this statement? This essay will discuss the reasons both, for and against the above statement. I will analyse the arguments put forward by a variety of philosophers and thus reach a conclusion. Religious experiences can be defined as a subjective experience where an individual reports contact with a transcendent reality, an encounter or union with the divine. An example of such can be noted Biblically from the times of Saul – a man who spent his life persecuting Christians.