From the beginning of civilization, humanity has pondered the purpose of acquiring knowledge, the purpose of education. People throughout the ages have speculated a variety of purposes and motives and have therefore created different paths to approach education. One such path formed was the liberal arts education. In his chapter “The Countercultural Quest of Christian Liberal Arts,” author Jeffery Davis explains the purpose and motive of education behind this liberal arts path. He states, “The pursuit of knowledge should start with wonder and curiosity, not the motive of controlling our destiny.…
The book Simply Christian by N.T. Wright there are three main parts, “Echoes of a Voice”, “Staring at the Sun”, and “Reflecting the Image”. In part 1, “Echoes of a Voice”, he isolates four voices: the longing for justice, the thirst for spirituality, the craving for relationships, and the attraction of beauty each of which point the human soul toward God. He focuses on our longing for justice first. He doesn’t understand how on one hand we all have the same sense that justice exists but on the other hand after millennia of humans existing we can’t get any closer to it than the ancients did.…
In the article “A model of Christian Charity” written by Governor John Winthrop mainly talks about how society is divided in two different groups by the rich and the non wealthy people. Winthrop’s article is well written by using the three persuasive strategies of the “Rhetorical triangle” to have a better understanding. Moreover , throughout his paper is completely evident that he uses logos ,ethos ,and pathos. First of all , he uses logos when he gave actual texts from the bible that explained that wealth meant gold and silver in Ezequiel 16:17.Also , he used evidence from John 4:8 to demonstrate that “love is the bond of perfection”. John Winthrop talks about his rationalization for the people’s behavior in the community.…
Being immersed in a Christian environment for the last couple of years at Bryan College it has been difficult to see a different perspective on living a life for Christ that does not demonize socialism and endorse capitalism, until reading Christianity and the Social Crisis. Walter Rauschenbusch, the author, paints a picture of what it is to be politically liberal, yet religiously conservative on a scale that he calls the church to action by utilizing the influence it now has over the common people particularly pertaining to social justice matters. According to www.ChristianityToday.com, Walter Rauschenbusch was a theologian as well as a Baptist pastor who also taught at Rochester Theological Seminary. Rauschenbusch’s church was located in an area in New York called “Hell’s Kitchen”, where he encountered and lived life with many people who were victims of…
Samuel Logan Brengle was an incredible man used by God for his glory. His childhood was not easy. Both his parents passed away when he was relatively young, with his father passing away first and then his mother. After his father had died, despite a second marriage, the family lived in poverty. Samuel did have a rich Christian, family heritage.…
Summary The new Christian Counsellor: A fresh Biblical and Transformational Approach is a book that aims to teach people and empower them to take possession of their souls in the contemporary life of a multi-faceted approach design. The authors are seasoned Christian counsellors who have a vast experience in dealing with people’s psycho-spiritual issues from a Christian point of view (Hawkins & Clinton, 2015 p.6). Through their noble ideas, the professors seek to guide their reads through the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives, under the influence of God’s word and in a manner that is supportive of the accountability ideas of the entire community. The authors seek to elucidate to the masses the concepts of God’s hope,…
He also gives sufficient explanations for the conclusions he draws throughout his book. This book calls into question our economic practices, regarding especially the poor and starts us thinking that there might be more to the breaking of bread than most believe. Cavanaugh uses some real life examples of how Christians effectively create alternative kinds of economic spaces where that personal relationship between the producer and consumer is nurtured instead of allowing globalization to remove that personalization of the…
In this summary of Rodney Starks book “The Rise of Christianity” I will discussing chapters 1, 2, and 4, I found the arguments in these chapters most compelling giving the best overview on the rapid expansion of the Christian religion. Chapter 1 explains the rapid growth and conversion rate of the Christian population by providing charts, facts, and statistics about the conversion and growth rate of the Christian population. Chapter 2 explains the class basis of early Christianity giving multiple arguments on the social status of the Christian population. Chapter 4 discusses the Christian and Pagan responses to the massive epidemics and how these tragedies were large factors of the rapid growth and conversion of the Christian population. These…
Theologians describe theology as the study of the nature and science of God. Liberation theology finds that faith is indivisible from impoverished communities, which represents a majority of Latin America. For such a theology, Gustavo Gutierrez points out the important question, “How is it possible to tell the poor, who are forced to live in conditions that embody a denial of love, that God loves them?” By being aware of present situations and questioning the system, showing others love through God’s will, and deferring between human faith and reality, that the significance lays. It also implores the challenge of understanding faith and poverty in Latin America, and illustrates a qualitative approach to salvation through hope.…
The protestant further symbolizes a hypocritical religious figure, in the way that he preaches about charity but lacks the ability to help Candide or attempt to convert him to Christianity, as the bible suggests. Additionally, this chapter attempts to illustrate the misconception that all Christians are charitable and good natured. Modern American society reflects this concept, for it is commonly assumed that Christians are of a higher standard in the country than atheists or those who worship other religions. Although the Holy Bible does suggest that Christians live a charitable, devoting way of life, this does not conclude that others lack this ability. As Candide concludes, “the fruits of the earth are of common heritage” (Voltaire, 113), meaning that all humans are created equally and are just as capable of being selfish as they are of being generous, regardless of religious…
VS 28-30 Pope John Paul II begins chapter two of his Encyclical Veritatis Splendor by reminding us that moral theology is a science as well as a theology. It is accessible to all people through reason, but its beginning and end is derived from God, the one who “alone is good”. He also states that moral theology does not change, but rather the method in which it is presented changes. John Paul II explains that one of the intentions of his encyclical is to draw attention to certain moral teachings that are at risk of being neglected. Foremost of these is Jesus’ response to the rich young man’s query, “what must I do to have eternal life?”.…
The article, written by William J. Short, tells the story of two important figures in Christian history: Saint Francis and Clare of Assisi. Francis began living his life in a way no other Christians imagined living. He willingly sacrificed all his belongings to live in poverty, not because he believed belongings were the root of all evil but because he knew he could still find happiness in poverty. Clare of Assisi found Francis' way of life moving and decided to also dedicate her life to poverty. "…
The ancient Greek and Roman worlds made important contributions to both religion and philosophy in which they searched for truth, knowledge, and moral values. Greco-Roman philosophy focused on unbiased investigation. Ancient Greek philosophy was the first system of thought to propose rational conception, or ideas, of how the universe came into being and how it is constructed. While the Greco-Roman beliefs were based on polytheism, the Judeo-Christians were monotheistic and approached their God with a greater fear. God is perfect without any human faults and was beyond the reach of human understanding.…
The Roman Empire started to disintegrate in the West and Christianity did not help with its decline. The Emperor Constantine founded the Greek city of Byzantium and renamed it Constantinople, in which he considered Christianity to help strengthen the system but in return it did not. Then the Roman Empire had two capitals Rome and Constantinople, which were administered into two halves. As time went on the center of gravity moved eastward and with the experimentation of caviling the West was left forgotten about. For centuries, the Roman Empire secluded themselves from the diverse groups that they called barbarians (Celts, Germans, Persians, and Arabs) because they did not speak Greek or Latin (so they drew a line between them and the barbarians).…
The fact that God is Love is still the most important fact for our day, and is the underlying factor that I believe can link theological, historical, and scriptural perspectives. It is the intersection in which mutual understanding an take place as we discuss an important principle established in Community of Christ Enduring Principles, the Worth of All Persons. Establishing the awareness and value of all persons has been a constant value pursued by the Restoration, Reorganization, and the Era of Community. As I explored the transformation of this principle, I believe it is a consistent influence in the journey of our heritage. The history of the faith movement includes a young man entering a grove, seeking to find God’s will for his life.…