Creator deity

Throughout history there has been the much debated topic of whether or not Christians and Muslims worship the same God. This controversy still continues today, and both sides present very informative arguments. It is important to make clear that if one does argue that Christians and Muslims worship the same God, it does not mean they believe that both religions are the same. Many people on the side that Christians and Muslims do not worship the same God will argue that although both religions…

Corruption has taken over our daily lives, and one of the most common forms of sin is materialism. This immoral act is overwhelming and can take over the lives of christians and non-christians alike. The quote by Stanley Hauerwas goes over some key points including how we must dispossess ourselves from material items so that our relationship with Christ can grow. Also, in order to be followers of Christ we must be like him and let go of all things that we believe give us and others power and…

In Plato’s dialogue titled Euthyphro, Plato, along with his companions, debate the idea of what is considered morally good and why or why not an action or object is considered morally good. Through this discussion, famously known as the Euthyphro dilemma, Plato questions his companions by asking whether something is pious merely because the God/gods approve it to be good or if something pious is pleasing to the God/gods because it is pious within itself. As Socrates states, “if the pious was…

Hospitality To begin the project on Hospitality, I read a couple of articles. The first, Hospitality – a Very Christian Virtue by Gill Robins, talked about the Biblical sense of hospitality and how we are to accept and include others. She gave some examples of how a lack of hospitality can lead to conflict between people. Robins’ article did not emphasize what to do to be hospitable, as much as why we are to be hospitable. Drawing from 1 Timothy 5:10, she says, “Hospitality is about perceiving…

“ What to say to a man who tells you he prefers to obey God than to obey men, and who is consequently sure of entering the gates of Heaven by slitting your throat?” Dr Richard Reilly Wrote an essay published in Philosophy Now, in which he discusses how he approaches the topic of “Questioning God” with his students. Reilly begins with the above quote from Voltaire—not in the published version, only in the copy given to his students—where he captures his main idea in one simple statement. If a…

Biblical Poetic Readers: Learning How To Know God Can you live in the world, partake of the ways of the world, and yet please God? Psalm 1 is written by an anonymous psalmist, however, the reader can see the psalmist knows God, as well as understands that life without him is bleak. The Wisdom of the psalmist has shined through this Psalm to create this illustration of a wonderful wisdom psalm, perhaps through personal experience or sometime in his life, God revealed to him the importance of the…

Human beings are intricately unique and deeply loved by God. Psalm 139:13-14 says “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful; I know that full well.” God has blessed me, personally, with strengths which define my meaning and purpose. These strengths are tools that I will use best when I follow God’s will for my life. My top five strengths are belief, input, achiever, responsibility, and restorative. As I continue to pursue God’s will, these strengths will…

The UCC is both a very young tradition and a very old church. We are four traditions with significant history, filled with both beauty and ugliness, that combined to create something new, in 1957. As a former Catholic, I love and appreciate history, and where history matters most and is most fascinating is looking at how different strands change or end or wind into the present and the future, often in surprising ways. The UCC traces its roots back to four different denominations, each of which…

Major religions have a form of text, such as the Bible or the Quran, that is deemed sacred. One controversial topic regarding these sacred texts is how they should actually be read. Through discussion of the origins and natures of the Quran and Paul 's letters, it is concluded that how a sacred text should be read is dependent upon various factors such as the origin and the socio-historical context it is written. Some of the major factors that will contribute to deciding how sacred texts read…

Numerous and various deities have become the unique and significant representations of Hinduism. Deities are also symbols, which not only suggest the diversity of the tradition, but also illustrate unity, tolerance, and acceptance that characterize the believers of this ancient tradition. A deity in Hinduism is a symbol of the tradition according to Paul Tillich’s description in his work Faith as Ultimate Concern. A deity satisfies the first characteristic of a symbol, which the symbol points…