are strongly in-line with Natural Law. Many Christians adopt deontological positions and think we should act according to God's design or purpose for our lives. They may be less influenced by Aquinas in this, and Protestants tend to be less sure about moral absolutes. However, there is still a strong sense of following rules within most Christian denominations. Aquinas said: “Consequently, law must needs concern itself mainly with the order that is in beatitude.” From this we can see that the Bible played a big part in the development of Natural Law; this proves that Christians make moral decisions through a multiple of different ways.
Christians believe that God created the world and all that is in it. It is believed that humanity is created in the image of God, and that God gave people free will therefore there is good and evil in the world. The Ten Commandments are guidelines received by Moses from God on how adherents can lead good lives. They should not be avoided in fear of punishment, but embraced as a way to be saved from The Fall, where humans make sinful choices. Adherents believe meaning can be found in their response to evil and suffering.
Personal prayer can be in words. But it can also take the form of "inexpressible groanings" ( speaking in tongues ) as the Holy Spirit may guide the soul. There are two major categories of personal devotion in Christianity, traditional and formal prayer and informal and spontaneous prayer. Traditional and formal types of personal for example, Hail Mary and the Lord’s Prayer are more commonly used in certain communities. Informal and spontaneous prayers on the other hand are widely used by adherents across the spectrum of Christian denominations Traditional and formal prayer covers a wide range of occasions.
Explain the main ethical principles of religion you have studied (25 marks) Christianity is a religion of many different branches and because of this there is no universal set of ethics. This lack of absolute ethics amongst Christians is due to the diversity of Christianity as there are many denominations for example Roman Catholic Christianity and Protestantism. Roman Catholic Christianity bases its ethics on the Holy Bible and the magisterium which consists of the Pope and the cardinals; in contrast to Protestantism that sees the Holy Bible as the only source of authority. Though both denominations follow the bible they interpret and accept the different parts of the bible. In general, there are similar ethical beliefs amongst Christians due to Judaism being the only root of Christian ethics.
To be more precise, Pope Innocent III in 1201 declared that the punishment for the original sin is the exclusion of the God''s beatific vision. (Sullivan, 2011, p.4) Apparently, from the thirteenth century the belief of limbo, a state of infants having died unbaptized, became widespread by the Catholic theologians. Such a belief was based on the arguments that the infants may be freed from the original sin by baptism and the exclusion of the beatific vision is a penalty itself. However, the Vatican II emphasizes the “universality of the salvific will of God”, in accordance with which, God will save every human being, including unbaptized infants. (Sullivan, 2011, p. 7).
EXPERIENTIAL APOLOGETICS Judi Fall Introduction to Apologetics /APOL500 February 7, 2010 INTRODUCTION Likely, the most important thing you can do, as a Christian, is to share the gospel with others. Whether you are a Christian or are not, you need to hear the gospel. But that being said, it is easier said than done. There are those who will be willing to hear and those who will not. Being able to give an answer to everyone who asks is known as apologetics, which means to “give an answer.” 1{Hindson, Caner, 28} Paul said in 1 Peter 3:15 “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.
If we try to mix in logic, we end up with a rhetorical disaster. American politics has a Christian bias. Remember how much crap Obama went through when people found out he was born half Muslim? He had to swear to several newspapers that he regularly attended church. To answer the second part of the question, no, religious arguments do not hold water for nonbelievers.
The slogan attributed to the Dominican friar Johann Tetzel epitomized the sale of indulgences: "As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs." Luther did not believe this was something that could be sold. He believed that a person's sins could only be forgiven by God's
Vladimir’s dialogue “One of the thieves was saved” introduces one of the central tenets of Christianity that human beings are essentially sinful and have to be saved. Hence, Christ is also referred to as the ‘Saviour’. The souls have to wait for the judgement hour before God passes verdict on all the dead. Hence Vladimir talks about the thief who was saved by Jesus Christ when they were both being crucified. As the play points out, of the four evangelists who witnessed the crucifixion only one speaks of the saving of one of the two thieves who were crucified along with Jesus Christ, whereas the other three only make passing references to the thieves.
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea, and Samaria and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8) As a church we recognize that we serve the Triune God, and we stress the importance of developing our relationship with God and with Jesus, yet it seems to me that there is a lack of talk about our relationship with the Spirit. What is the Holy Spirit? I believe many of us regard the Spirit as something of an essence or wind-like force that surrounds us and leads us to be like God.