Circumcision controversy in early Christianity

INTRODUCTION The Gospel of Acts is a gospel book which follows-up with the narrative Luke commenced. In other words, the gospel of Acts is the next story of which the book of Luke and the early church after Jesus’s martyrdom left off. As one reads the book of Acts, one can determine the dynamic era in Christian history among the fundamental beliefs of the earliest Christians and the phase where Christian thinking and beliefs were constructing. Existing chapters of Acts emphasizes Jerusalem’s…

have over the role of women and their influence in the rise of Christianity. Professor Rodney Stark’s essay on the role of women promotes the notion that women were major stakeholders in Christianity and acted as a catalyst to the religion’s rapid growth. Despite having references about Christian women with high status, the Gospel of Matthew emphasises more on the importance of their function in the Christian movement. Christianity had become a popular religion among Pagan females as a result…

The Foundation of the Canon Almost 1,982 years ago Joshua (whose name means Yahweh is salvation ) was crucified. Since that time a substantial amount of writings both, canonical and non-canonical were written about Him and His teachings. I learned in the past that there are certain qualifications that have to be passed in order for a writing to be considered canon and placed in the New Testament of the bible, however when looking back through history I see something quite different has…

The Patristic Era was a time of great growth in the early Christian movement. Experiencing period waves of persecution, the early Christians were not deterred from spreading the good news of the gospel message. Patristic theologians such as Origen of Alexandria would leave a lasting impact on the church as it continued to develop theological dogmas and methods of the interpretation of Scripture. The method of Scriptural interpretation introduced by Origen addressed the questions and heresies of…

James D G Dunn notes: “The epochal significance of Pentecost raises the whole course of salvation-history to a new plane ….In one sense, therefore, Pentecost can never be repeated - for the new age is here and cannot be ushered in again. But in another sense Pentecost, or rather the experience of Pentecost, can and must be repeated in the experience of all who would become Christians.” Dunn is effectively saying that in order to witness for Jesus Christ today, just as the disciples…

Introduction Acts is a continuation of the Gospel of Luke. Both books are addressed to the same person Theophilus, whose name means “beloved by God”. Also Acts picks up right where Luke 24 ends, with the ascension. When Jesus ascended it marked the completion of his ministry on earth. Verse 1 Acts 1 and Luke 24 have much overlap between them. “Without the book of Acts the story of Jesus would be incomplete. Afterall, he didn’t come merely to save individuals to get them to heaven, but to…

The Acts of the Apostles is a companion literary work to Luke’s Gospel. In the Gospel, the focus is on the journey towards Jerusalem (Johnson 194). In Acts, Luke’s focus on the journey from Jerusalem (Johnson 194). As Christianity spreads from Jerusalem outward, Peter remains the central figure of authority. In the story of Ananias, lying to Peter is lying to God. The deaths of Ananias and Sapphira are extremely harsh, but the point is made and the people who witnessed have…

God and ate and drank of the bread and wine in remembrance of Christ. This love feast became one of the major tenants of first century Christianity. The believers celebrated the Lord’s Supper each week, which helped them created a close connection with their…

One text that has been not only influential to my understanding of my call and potential vocation, but also informative in my understanding of the historical development and growth of the Christianity has been The Future of Faith, by Harvey Cox. Harvey Cox divides Christianity into three distinct ages that lead ultimately to the current age, which he terms “the Age of the Spirit.” His book explores human compulsion and necessity for faith as well as new trends that are emerging within the church…

Red Rocks Church is only ten years old, and the Lakewood campus is brand new. It’s not even two years old and so many people flock to that campus every Sunday. It’s astonishing to see hundreds of people come through those doors and find a seat in the movie-esk pew area and praise the Lord. The church is nondenominational. They believe that God is the loving creator of the seen and unseen. According to their website, they also believe that Jesus is God in the flesh and that he lived a sinless…