Baptism

The identity of the Christian church has become confused; the church is not the building people gather at on Sundays or holidays and it is not the denomination they belong to. Rather, the church transcends time, it is the totality of every believer ever. This misconception has lead to the rapid failure of the church today. Churches are becoming impersonal institutions that focus on their programs and attendance more than the people they are herding in. There is a serious lack of transformation…

The baptism of Pocahontas was commissioned in 1837 and was installed in 1840 in the U.S Capitol. This painting is of the ceremony of Pocahontas being baptized in an Anglican church around 1613 or 1614 in Jamestown, Virginia. Pocahontas was given the name Rebecca as her Christian name. At the time this painting was occurring, Chapman’s son died and then two weeks later his daughter was born prematurely and died hours later. Not only was he dealing with two tragedies, he was also under an…

evangelize. Jesus says in Mark 16:15, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (NIV). The leaders of the church teach Christians how to evangelize. Lots of special occasions happen to Christians in the church like communion, baptism, marriages, and sending off missionaries. The church is an organism, a communion of believers who are in joint opposition to the world (Berkhof 114). So, even without a physical building, Christians are the “church” because they are united in…

Being baptized symbolizes rebirth, a fresh start, a new life with Christ as your guide. Once you have been truly reborn; in the name of Christ and once you have accepted him as your Lord and Savior, only then do you feel the newness of life within you. Romans 5:8 says that, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” To me this verse means that even before I gave my life to Christ he had already planned to forgive me for everything I did or will do in…

A building that I commonly pass on my walks to school or work is my neighborhood church. This church is named Resurrection Coptic Catholic Church located in Park Slope, Brooklyn New York. Upon passing this church, I couldn't help but notice the divine detail it holds and compare it to the Medieval Period. Specially, this church decorated in an architectural style that originated in the Byzantine era. The Resurrection Coptic Catholic Church is one of the very few churches left in New York that…

With today’s society become more and more opinionated on one’s own personal values and morals, it has now caused people to become very ethnocentric. Also, with many things persuading us to stand up and support our personal opinions, we as humans tend to become narrow minded and not welcome anyone else’s views without being judgemental right away. I think I can say that everyone has gone through this at least one time in their lifespan. Sometime in their life where they automatically closed off…

congregation. This may have occurred due to the church’s size, rather than a congregational difference, however. The sermon was titled “Everyday Saints” and relayed the idea that you don’t need to die to be a saint, but simply experience believer’s baptism and stay engaged, rather than become complacent. They mentioned that the Catholic view of saints draws attention away from Jesus and is idolatrous. This concept of everyone being a saint would be seen as blasphemous in my church. In short,…

For my other religious experience I had the privilege of attending a friend’s Catholic wedding. The church was everything I expected it to be with tall beautiful stained glass windows and sturdy wooden pews. Even though the church was in the middle of downtown Nashville, I felt as though I was in some peaceful little town in the middle of nowhere. The whole experience was more of a shock than I was expecting; I knew that mass would be different than attending my normal church, but I honestly had…

Title The world is filled with people who come from many different cultures and countries. It is filled with different races, languages, political ideas and religions. Oftentimes these many differences come with a great deal of contention and misunderstandings, especially in the case of religion. As there are so many different religious views throughout the world, it can seem extremely difficult find the common ground between religions. But as we work to find common ground and strive to…

A fair reading of Thornton provides a clear picture of an unconquered king, voluntarily accepting the message of salvation through Jesus Christ and submitting to the will of God in baptism. Thornton affirms, “Since Kongo converted to Christianity of its own free will, the shape and structure of the Church and its doctrines were determined as much by Kongo as by Europeans.” (pg. 148). This voluntary conversion occurred when the king and his ruling nobles were baptized in 1491. Thornton asserts…