God Is Not Great

King Solomon recognized what God had done for his father David and how he remained with him throughout his entire life. Solomon thus showed respect and paid homage with a humble response to the Lord. Then in verse seven we see Solomon acknowledge to God that despite his appointment to the throne he still remains as small as a child in his knowledge and ability to govern this people. Solomon…

“The general purpose of Genesis 12-50 is to carry forward God’s promise despite all obstacles” (Boadt 112). I think this can be really adaptable throughout all times in history because there will always be obstacles and struggles that we face, it is a part of being a human. Abraham showed us that it is possible to carry out God’s promise even though at some points it might be difficult. I think following through with a promise despite obstacles may be one of the reasons Abraham was so admired,…

A key component of the tragedy is the tragic character. Suffering characters experience pain passively. Often, tragic characters are great men who deliberately choose to oppose a powerful figure, thus earning themselves pain. Antigone presents two main possibilities for tragic characters: Antigone and Creon. However, as the play centers around Antigone, it follows that she is, arguably…

idealism and divine mediation, both of which can be found within The Second Treatise of the Great Seth. Idealism is essentially a concept that speaks of God as intellect, being non-physical in nature. In the text we read about the nature of God according to the Gnostics: “…he appears to him as a Monad of all these, a thought and a father since he is one” (WCH, p. 57). Here we see the use of the concept of God being a non-physical thought and a father. A farther represents a source of something,…

Growing up, my family and I weren’t very religious by any means. My parents grew up in Catholic families, but when they moved away from their families, they moved away from God too. Every time we were stationed in a new place, my parents always blamed not going to church on the military and how we would always be moving. My sister and I didn’t mind this, because we didn’t really know what church was, and didn’t understand the meaning of it, but when we moved to Louisiana in 2012, I met a friend…

idea within the Christian tradition. From Augustine and the Council of Orange in 529, to the debates between Gottschalk and Rabanus, to the theology of John Calvin and John Wesley, the concepts of predestination and free will have been discussed at great length. Within the subject of predestination versus free will, however, there is another issue that has developed only recently in the Christian tradition. This contemporary thought has caused quite a stir within the theological realm, and I…

the idea of God; more, to the connection with God. However, what truly establishes the continuing connection between God and humankind? The Genesis, the holy book, is an example of a religious text that has forever changed and shaped modern day thoughts and opinions on God and the identity of God. More specifically, in the seventh and first chapters of The Genesis, purposeful repetition is used in order to express a direct connection between humankind and God. As the first chapter…

The argument for the existence of God will always give rise to infinitive points of view. St. Anselm (c. 1033- April 21, 1109) was distinguished philosopher, scholar, theologian and an Italian monk who later went on to become the Archbishop of Canterbury. His thinking and writings about God and the disposition of faith has influenced and fascinated scholars and philosophers since the Middle Ages—some would even say he is the most important Christian thinker of the 11th century. In his highly…

story of St. Martin, a saint and bishop who was recognized by many for his dedication to God and his ability to perform miracles that converted the masses. Martin lives a life dedicated to the Christian faith and is characterized by an exceedingly humble path into Christian leadership, especially for a man so richly and divinely endowed with God’s grace and protection. Severus writes of St. Martin’s life with a great sense of importance and a belief that his subject has led a life worth…

Sundiata was a very powerful book. It expresses the story of a Sundiata Keita and his journeys to becoming a hero and founder of the Mali Empire. The story has been told orally for centuries and continues to be passed along in the African American culture. Through this story we are able to see to role of religious beliefs in the African culture. These beliefs include Islamic and indigenous beliefs which have been around for centuries. The Islamic beliefs are portrayed through Sundiata and his…