The connection between religion and everyday life in the early United States has, at times, been a contentious field of study. Questions about how various churches and faiths developed in conjunction with the revolution, governmental authority, and enlightenment ideology have been examined from multiple angles. Of particular interest has been the spread of evangelical denominations during the first great awakening, during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth Centuries. This essay will examine two books that present very different viewpoints on the nature of that history, Nathan Hatch’s book, The Democratization of American Christianity (Yale University, 1989), and Conceived In Doubt: Religion and Politics in the New American Nation (University of Chicago…
During the course of the book, From Bible Belt to Sunbelt: Plain-Folk Religion, Grassroots Politics and the Rise of Evangelical Conservatism, author Darren Dochuk argues that it is average people and groups that forged the connections between evangelical Christianity and modern politics in Southern California during the 1930s and the 1980s. With “Southern California [serving] as the lab for this endeavor, [with] its evangelical entrepreneurialism a catalyzing force” (113-14). The author declares that it is the plain folk who jump start the formation of a relationship, the preachers who made further advances in it and then the entrepreneurs who tie it all together, giving it life. With this, Dochuk evokes the idea that it was not the elites…
Archbishop George Niederauer’s “Flannery O’Connor’s Religious Vision,” St. Bonaventure’s “Breviloquium,” and Flannery O’Connor’s short story “The Temple of the Holy Ghost,” all express the common sacramental themes of God’s grace, the spiritual journey, and God as the ultimate healer. One of the parallels between the three above works is the importance of grace as a component to the sacraments. In O’Connor’s short story “Temple of the Holy Ghost” a young child who is terribly prideful, though striving for grace, finally allows herself to break down her conceited barriers and allow Christ to come into her life through the Eucharist. The child explains her revelation at the end of the story as she rides home from Church with her mother: “The sun was a huge red ball like an…
By illustrating that revitalization is not an enterprising work, but an absolute spiritual work, he advises pastors not to make “a fatal flaw” of focusing more on “the physical” than “the spiritual” (43). Although the author mostly deals with solving physical concerns of churches, he does…
In this book, Emery-Wright (2012), writes about his thoughts on worship and young people and why he believes the amount of young people in the church is dropping and has been in recent years. The author Emery-Wright (2012) states in the preface of the book…
Jarell Wilson, a dynamic candidate for ordained ministry in the United Methodist Church, delivered the opening keynote address for the 2017 Reformation Project Conference in Chicago. He began his talk by asking the audience to close their eyes and raise their hands if they had ever contemplated ending their life. After an emotional opening prayer, he commended the audience for showing up in a church after all they had been through. Then, he specifie what the purpose of his keynote address was: “to present the sacraments, specifically the sacraments of baptism and eucharist, also known as communion, as radical ways to center LGBT voices.”…
Many aspects play a role in “The Great Sin of the Evangelical Right,” by Dan Olinger. These aspects allow him to believe that people do not behave like God has control over every situation. This appeals to the ridiculed Christian for living out their faith in modern society. It also requests the attention of those who see others in the world who claim, but do not let God take control. This article highly depends upon levels of formality, imagery, choices in the use of his language, and evidence.…
This would happen when liturgy, theology and piety would come together and mend the divorce that Fr. Alexander discusses which occurred when liturgical theology became strictly an intellectual exercise exclusive to scholars and academics. Furthermore, the life of…
as music, worship and scheduling of services are changing. Finally, Washington Gladden’s article published by the University of Chicago Press in the Journal The Bible World in the name of the article was Back to Pentecost. He claimed to have several young ministers write to him raising the question about this phrase. They wondered how much virtue or significance is there in this cry. They want to know how desirable is this in the twentieth century.…
Although there are clear differences between the ideals of Catholic and Protestant faith, I believe that by the end of the reign of Elizabeth I, English Christianity was a fusion of old Catholic tradition still battling the ideas of Protestant reformation. I will demonstrate this in this essay by establishing catholic traditions, analysing what changes the protestants wished to make and finally evaluating their effect. There are three traditions that stand out within the practises of the Catholic Church, iconography, rituals and community life. We can explore these through 'Long Melford Church Before the Reformation ' in which Roger Martyn recounts his boyhood memories of the traditions of the Catholic Church. The use of images in the Catholic…
The inequality between the sacred ground and the regular people is more evident. More effort goes into decorating the Church as a place of worship, the followers accept the church is dominant over them. On the other hand, many modern Evangelical churches have been stripped down from…
This Ritual Observation Project will be discussing my observations at Saint Teresa of Avila Catholic Church. I went there on June seventh to gain insight first hand into the Catholic Church’s rituals and beliefs. I will begin by breaking down the entire mass that took place during my observation then I will compare and contrast Catholicism to Baptist Christianity (my religion). When I first entered the area where the mass was to be held at, I began to notice the exquisite detail and the Stations of the Cross, which shows Jesus’ crucifixion. The pictures that show the fourteen Stations of the Cross can be found in my Saint Teresa of Avila Catholic Church PowerPoint presentation.…
We go to church in order to know and love one another as fellow believers (Mintools.com); in order for a person to have fellowship with other he must first be in fellowship with God, no hiding of sin. There is no existence of light and darkness at the same time, even in our rooms if there is darkness and you enter the room with light, definitely the darkness should run away. When we are in fellowship with each other, it is then that we worship God in one accord. Worship refers to the act or action associated with attributing honor, so we go to church to honor to the triune God. When worshipping God, we are responding to the revelation of the triune God, these include singing in adoration, humility, and obedience to God.…
Introduction In this essay we will discuss the definition of worship, look at Martin Luther King as a significant Christian in history who has contributed to the discipline and what this means for us individually, corporately and also in a small group setting. We will also look at Catholicism and their understanding and belief of Worship and the significance it has to their Denomination. Summarise your original understanding of the discipline before the course started To me worship is an act of surrender, giving of my time and of myself to praise and thank God for all He has done, is going to do and giving of adoration and wonder to our loving eternal and only perfect Father.…
Visiting St. Paul’s Parish Princeton For this field observation project, I chose to attend the 5pm Sunday service at St. Paul’s Parish in Princeton. Growing up in the Pentecostal tradition, I have become at home in free worship and contemporary liturgy. Most of the church’s…