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
“This book was highly critical of the Evangelical church in America for abandoning its historical and theological roots, and instead embracing the philosophies and pragmatism of the world.” In his 1994 book, God in the Wasteland: The Reality of Truth in a World of Fading Dreams, Dr. David Falconer Wells presents suggestions to remedy the present problem of modernism in our churches by calling for reform in the evangelical churches. He is the author of several books in which his evangelical theology engages with the modern church and world, and presents the present failings of pastors and churches that pursue a modernistic approach to theology. This is the second of a four-series book. BRIEF SUMMARY In God in the Waste, Dr. Wells presents solutions, or suggestions to resolve the issues described in his book, No Place for Truth, Or, Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology (Eerdmans, 1993). Wells states; “This book [No Place for Truth] produced only half the picture I wanted to present, however.
When examining the life of Constantine, one must first consider his life before he professed any affinity or allegiance to the Christian faith or Church. Constantine was a military man who was battling for control of the Roman Empire. The empire was divided between Constantine and Maxentius. The latter was content in maintaining the persecution of Christians, as Diocletian had done before him, while the former hoped for more religious tolerance to both Pagans and Christians alike.1 In the fall of 312 A. D., Constantine began to look for guidance from the God above all others, the God whom his own father had believed in. As Eusebius later related, he looked to the sky and saw a vision of a trophy of the cross emanating from the light of the sun and the message “conquer by this”.
“The Christian Paradox”: The Hypocrisy of America In “The Christian Paradox: How a faithful nation gets Jesus wrong” (Harper's 15 September 2005), Bill McKibben argues that America, a nation which prides itself on its Christian faith, has very little actual understanding of the religion they claim to follow and adhere to. He claims that instead of acting and behaving in a Christian manner, they follow their own creed and their own ideals, far removed from that of Christianity. A creed preached by televangelists and megachurch preachers, one that emphasizes the self above others. This creed is centralized around the idea that “God helps those who help themselves”, an idea that could not be more opposed to the base ideas of Christianity.
The Catholic Church went through a change to its very core when Martin Luther voiced what was wrong, mainly how far the church had moved from the actual words in the Bible. The Christians in the Lutheran faith believed that the decline of the church is related directly to the word of God shared through man. With this relationship, the word of God can be misconstrued to feed the egos and desires of man, rather than God’s will. Martin Luther was interested in reforming the church, and in particular, man’s belief of what is true about God’s word. During this same time, the Catholic Church was moving further from the theology of the Protestants.
A COMPARISON OF BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION METHODS TAUGHT IN THE EARLY THEOLOGICAL SCHOOLS OF ANTIOCH AND ALEXANDRIA Church History – CHHI 522 May 12, 2011 In the centuries following the apostolic age, two schools of theology arose in the Eastern part of the church, each with contrasting methods of Biblical interpretation and differing theological views of Christology. These differences resulted in considerable conflict. Each school was located in a prominent Greek-speaking city: Antioch in Syria and Alexandria in Egypt. Like many theological institutions today, the support and fame of these schools came from the church that was located there and the strong, eloquent Bishops that led them. The school in Antioch adhered to a more literal interpretation the Bible.
Of the idea of God, Dewey said, "it denotes the unity of all ideal ends arousing us to desire and actions.” Jesus Christ had a different belief when it came to the existence of God and the increase of “human good”. Jesus believes that he is the son of God and that he is also God. That view differs from Dewey’s view all together because Dewey believes that that there was not personal God or Christ. “Education” that omits reference to Jesus’ role in this world is not education at all. (John 14:6) Jesus believed that God had communicated truth to all mankind through personal revelation of Himself in Jesus Christ and today Christians believe that God reveals himself through propositional, verbalized revelation of Himself in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.
They believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that God sent His only Son (Jesus) to earth to save humankind from the penalty of their sins. One of the most important concepts in Christianity is that Jesus gave His life on the cross which was called the crucifixion, and then He was buried, and on the third day He rose from the dead which is called the resurrection. This is summarized in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 which is the foundation of Christian belief. Exclusive among all the faiths, Christianity is more about having a relationship with God than religions practices. The goal of a Christian is to develop a close relationship with God through (Word of God) the ministry of Jesus Christ and by the aid of the Holy Spirit.
This doctrine was rejected by orthodox Christians. Arianism is the belief that Jesus is superior to the rest of creation but is less divine than God, this making Jesus not actually God. The death and resurrection of Jesus has key beliefs within it. These include that Jesus died for our sins, the reflections on the death of Jesus, the belief of the resurrection is a fundamental tenet of Christianity and the nature of risen Jesus. The belief that Jesus died on the cross for our sins was initiated as Jesus promoted he was sent to Earth by God to save humankind.
Caitlin L. Stephens Dr. Bryan Morgan Philosophy 1301 16 October 2011 John Locke and Religious Toleration As Locke once said: “Let us now consider what a church is. A church, then, I take to be a voluntary society of men, joining themselves together of their own accord in order to the public worshipping of God in such manner as they judge acceptable to Him, and effectual to the salvation of their souls “(Locke). The issue of religious toleration was of widespread interest in Europe in the 17th century. The Reformation had split Europe into competing religious camps, and this provoked civil wars and massive religious persecutions. The Dutch Republic, where Locke spent time, had been founded as a secular state which would allow religious differences.