Introduction - Human Will
While reading Wilken, I was most touched by the chapter pertaining to human will. I found myself crying while reflecting about what the author stated in reference to Mary. “It is often said that the divine plan of salvation depended on Mary’s free assent to the word of the angel. The work of salvation is a work of God, but it could not be carried out without the cooperation of human beings.”(Loc 1447). I have never thought about it this way. How much do we hinder the work of God by not allowing our will to align with God’s will? Salvation may not depend on my will, but what have I caused to not come to past by not doing what God wants me to do. There are so many times when I know that I fall short and follow my own path. What opportunities did I miss? Was there people who needed my help, but I missed the opportunity to reach out to those people because I was out of position—was not …show more content…
For example, why do we believe in the trinity the way that we do. The early Christian leaders formed most of our traditions and beliefs. Also, how can we defend our belief if we do not understand the history of our faith? For example, a non-believer may ask why did the early Christian forced and killed those who would not convert. If we do not know the history, then we would not be able to answer the question. Also, we know that Church history is important because the book of Acts is about the first Church. It tells the story not only about how the Church managed to spread throughout the Roman empire, but it also tells us how the first Church leaders made decisions, such as whether or not non-Jewish Christian should be circumcised. Most of all, we should learn Church history because it allow us to understand God. Just as the early Christians thought about God in reference to history. We too should think about and learn about God based on how God used people through
While reading Wilken, I was most touched by the chapter pertaining to human will. I found myself crying while reflecting about what the author stated in reference to Mary. “It is often said that the divine plan of salvation depended on Mary’s free assent to the word of the angel. The work of salvation is a work of God, but it could not be carried out without the cooperation of human beings.”(Loc 1447). I have never thought about it this way. How much do we hinder the work of God by not allowing our will to align with God’s will? Salvation may not depend on my will, but what have I caused to not come to past by not doing what God wants me to do. There are so many times when I know that I fall short and follow my own path. What opportunities did I miss? Was there people who needed my help, but I missed the opportunity to reach out to those people because I was out of position—was not …show more content…
For example, why do we believe in the trinity the way that we do. The early Christian leaders formed most of our traditions and beliefs. Also, how can we defend our belief if we do not understand the history of our faith? For example, a non-believer may ask why did the early Christian forced and killed those who would not convert. If we do not know the history, then we would not be able to answer the question. Also, we know that Church history is important because the book of Acts is about the first Church. It tells the story not only about how the Church managed to spread throughout the Roman empire, but it also tells us how the first Church leaders made decisions, such as whether or not non-Jewish Christian should be circumcised. Most of all, we should learn Church history because it allow us to understand God. Just as the early Christians thought about God in reference to history. We too should think about and learn about God based on how God used people through