Introduction Infinitely imperative to contemporary Christian faith, Bible study “involves engaging the mind and focusing attention on Scripture in an attempt to understand and apply truth to every part of my life”. Only through Bible study can we learn about God and become more like Christ. Through the Bible itself God encourages us to “meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful” (Josh 1:8). Though emphasis…
1 CHAPTER 1: COVENANT AND COVENANTS The Bible is a big book with many stories, laws, genealogies, and even dedicates a great amount of space to instructions for construction. Some of the content seems easy enough to understand. Other content seems strange. All of this content comes bound together as one book, but there are two so-called “Testaments” (old and new) as well as sixty-six individual books written over the span of about 1,500 years. Do all of these books fit together somehow? Is this…
The Holy Bible is an intriguing collection of historical accounts recorded over a period of approximately 2000 years. The historical accounts published within the Bible provide an insightful glimpse into the thoughts, perspectives, and feelings of God and the people who inhabited the Mediterranean and Mesopotamian areas during this epoch, as well as detailed descriptions of the multitude of events that transpired during this era. The content of the Bible has been crafted by innumerable…
The traditional American religious landscape has changed significantly over the past several years. Many Americans are now identifying themselves as spiritual, but not affiliated with a particular religion (Oshatz). The Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996 (Pew Reports, Comparing Millennials), are finding themselves right in the midst of this religious “...floating…” (Mosier). The Millennials quest for meaning, magic, mystery, and identity has been significantly influenced by many factors…
When Dr. Kristen Irwin lectured on Pierre Bayle and his ideas about religious toleration, she introduced many people to a new way of thinking about religion and toleration. Dr. Irwin first spoke about Pierre Bayle’s life and the historical context that influenced his thinking. Bayle lived during a period of turmoil in the Church. With many groups separating themselves from Rome, religious life was not as uniform as it used to be. With these changes came persecution. Pierre Bayle was raised…
Throughout the early modern era there were varied causes for the wars, some more significant than others. Three of the main causes for the wars at this time were power and territory, material wealth, and nationalism. Power and territory influenced the rulers of each country that were trying to expand their nation and power, by gaining more territory. Material wealth was fought over, to expand the resources of the country and to have more personal gain. Nationalism was the third cause of warring…
Religious studies focus on the modern study of the history of Religion. Religious studies is an emerging field that focuses of the on thriving Religious phenomenon around the world. Donald Wiebe addresses the issues that face Religious studies in both undergraduate and graduate. These issues are the complex theoretical and methodological in nature. Religion human behaviour with its institution and systems of beliefs and practices. The subject Religion needs modern ways to study it to sense of…
Introduction Religious organizations, especially on college campuses, can sometimes be viewed by the public as intimidating due to the rules and stereotypes associated with religious groups. Journey, a Christian worshiping community at the College of Charleston, encourages an open-minded approach to spiritual growth throughout college by communicating with students in a way that welcomes all types of students without judgment. This organization is a discourse community, a group of people that…
As the Middle Ages began to make way there was a battle between literal interpretation of Scripture and allegorical interpretation. Medieval Interpreter, Martin Luther relied solely on the literal meaning of scripture, challenged the authority of the Catholic Church as well as the Church Fathers. Luther despised the incorporation of allegory while performing interpretation. Luther 's extreme dislike of the use of allegory came directly from extreme levels of dislike for the arrogance of the…
importance of the Bible in The Pilgrim’s Progress cannot be overemphasized. He says, “[Bunyan] frequently quotes from it explicitly, but often we find that he has absorbed biblical phrasing into his own prose. The Bible was absolutely central to religious thought and practice in the seventeenth century, and to artistic, scientific, and political thought” (Introduction xxiv). Bunyan did not think of his book as a work of fiction. He thought that because of the way he wove the bible into his…