Orthodoxy

that Judaism is the most important intellectual development in human history." Although most Christians have the same fundamental core values (even though there are variances between the numerous denominations, including Evangelicalism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism, and Anglicanism), Judaism and Christianity have significant differences between the two religions. Looking at Judaism next, many Christians or people in general are often unable to define Judaism specifically due to the variances…

Constantine converted to Christianity, but was his conversion good or bad for the Church? The conversion of Constantine “happened during a war against his brother-in-law and co-emperor, Maxentius” (Ferguson and Grupp). The reason that he converted to Christianity at this point was to get guidance from God for the upcoming battle, which showed some interest that he had for the faith. Although he had an interest in the faith he never really followed with what was taught about the faith, like…

“Making the Familiar Strange”: a sociological theory in which one must take a common belief and alter their perception of said belief in order to settle on its worth. This concept, despite its seeming simplicity, is one that many people fall short in completing. To “make the familiar strange” is to question the established norms in society and assess its value and connection to the self. Although a multitude of students enroll into college each semester, many do not acknowledge or assess the…

Therefore, due to the absence of virtuous states, St. Augustine suggested that the government’s role in politics was solely to keep people in line- to prevent total chaos. Nevertheless, this basically implied that the state was to enforce Christian orthodoxy as Christianity was vital to the restriction of sin. He further explains his negative perception of government by establishing a connection between government and criminal gangs. To Aquinas, both government and gangs merely embark the…

prejudice, it is “all too often [that] religious people have preferred to be right rather than compassionate. That have shielded themselves from the demands of empathy by making secondary and peripheral goals━such as theological correctness or sexual orthodoxy━central to their faith” (Armstrong 568). Because various religions denounce homosexuality and its practices, gay people often face burdensome prejudice in their day to day lives. These ideas presented by Armstrong can be seen affecting…

The worshipers were very well dressed - most of the men were wearing suits, the women had beautiful outfits as well, wearing dresses, suits, high heels, make up and a lot of jewelry. I think they dress up out of respect for God, but also consider their Sunday gatherings as a social event, too. I have seen at least 5 generations there: newborns and children (approximately 15% of all members), teenagers (5%), young adults (20%), mid-age adults (25%), and elderly people (35%). It was nice to see a…

Live in Boston The Success of the Hutchinson in the New England Colony was just astounding, or at the least very lucky. Even thou William Hutchison was very successful and brought a large estate to the New England. In the summer of 1634, the Hutchinson purchased a half-acre lot of land on the Shawmut Peninsula; which is now downtown Boston. They Built a house on a lot of lands and was one of the largest on the peninsula with a timber frame and two stories. (The house would stand up until 1711…

The Psalter is a book of Holy Scripture that has been both captivating and profitable in my personal journey of faith. Unfortunately they never became much more than a guide for Godly living, comforting words for those in torment or grief as well as songs and poetry that were slightly more anointed than modern hymns and contemporary worship songs. This study of the Psalms has been beneficial as it re-enforced and greatly deepened my understanding of discipleship in the Psalms. It also gave me…

Christian versus Non-Christian The world that we live in is an extraordinarily large place, and in it there coexist countless different views concerning religion. Imagine the world as a whole, religion can be broken down into two main categories: Christian views and non-Christian views. In order to view both of these cultures it becomes necessary to define exactly what each term encompasses. In the following paper, we will attempt not only to examine the differences, but also the similarities…

Calvinist and the Arminians. Both the Heidelberg Catechism and Belgic Confession were Confessions of faith of the Dutch church. Calvinism a system of theological doctrine named for the French theologian John Calvin represented the conservative orthodoxy. According to Justo L. Gonzalez, “Calvin was the most important systematizer of Protestant theology in the sixteenth century”. Arminianism a system of theological doctrine named for Jacobus Arminius represented a changing liberalism.…