Conversion of St. Augustine comes about it would seem, as the result of three major forces. Augustine's mother was a Christian and never quit praying for him or witnessing to him; Augustine himself, spent, it would seem, every day of his life, in a s Continue Reading...
This view is expressed in the Mahayana doctrine of the triple body (trikaya), of the Buddha. Such a view of Buddha also gave rise to the Mahayana concept of an infinite number of Buddhas, or transformation bodies of the essential Buddha, appearing i Continue Reading...
..."(White, p. 106). This goes beyond religion into metaphysics, but he brings it back to a more understandable realm, the realm of the church service arguably, by noting that those 'same' waitresses had begun washing their hair frequently, in imitat Continue Reading...
Luther feels that it is through Christ that man can attain salvation and not through soul or spiritual deeds alone. By Christ, he was probably referring to one's faith in Lord. He writes: He writes: One thing, and only one thing, is necessary for C Continue Reading...
" And to exercise the opposite acts and forms of behavior befitting the followers of Jesus, in whom dwells His Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23): But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekn Continue Reading...
He took it upon himself to justify intellectually and scientifically the various principles and views prorogated by Jewish thinkers and rabbis. Contrary to popular belief of his time that some commandments could not be explained scientifically, Mai Continue Reading...
" (Lucian: translated by Harmon, 1925:p. 185, 8) in general, humans can be made to believe just about anything. Even today, historical zealots in religions like Christianity are as easily manipulated by the church. A modern day example could be the o Continue Reading...
On June 27, 1844, hundreds swarmed the jail and brutally murdered the Smith brothers, leading their followers to conclude that they were martyred (Sisk). At Joseph's death, Brigham Young was president of the Twelve Apostles of their church and beca Continue Reading...
St. Augustine Aurelius Augustinus, commonly known as "St. Augustine of Hippo," was simulataneously a Christian Neoplatonist, a North African Bishop, and doctor of the Roman Catholic Church. One of the most important developments in western philosoph Continue Reading...
Roman Catholicism is the oldest of the Christian faiths. It is a direct descendent of the institutions put in place by the disciples of Jesus. The first leaders of what later became Catholicism were the twelve apostles. Originally, these men set-up o Continue Reading...
Jesus Gerd Theissen and Annette Merz bridge a gap between trade book and scholarly discourse with their 642-page tome The Historical Jesus: A Comprehensive Guide. This joint effort by Theissen and Merz explores the subject matter of the historical Continue Reading...
C.S. Lewis writes the Screwtape Letters Lewis: The Screwtape Letters In The Screwtape Letters, Lewis discusses Christianity once again, this time from the point of the demon Screwtape, who puzzles over God and cannot understand what he needs to in Continue Reading...
Jewish-Russian heritage. The writer details the emergence of the Jewish faith in Russia, the radical actions taken to stop its growth and existence and the more recent developments that have created it to begin a resurgence. The writer used ten sour Continue Reading...
Specialized Research Animism is the concept that lies at the core of every ancient religion. The term first came forth in anthropological writings of Edward B. Tylor in 1873 and since then, numerous researchers and historians have studied the concep Continue Reading...
Paul's message in the second half of Chapter 5 seeks to portray to the church in Rome the nature of man's redemption and the sins that lead to the need for such a redemption. It seeks to answer the basic question of how Jesus has changed man's relati Continue Reading...
Womanist Theology An individual theologian's reflection about the nature of God is not strictly about God alone. Rather, it is intimately bound-up with the theologian's own way of viewing the world. One fairly recent example of this comes from Elie Continue Reading...
Economic The right to private property and inheritance without taxation are essential to a Christian worldview. This assertion may seem counterintuitive at first, given that Christianity is often viewed as an otherworldly religion. However, the fait Continue Reading...
Matthew Fox: The Man, The Controversy Matthew Fox: Then and Now Matthew Fox is a literary groundbreaker in the world of theology, in particular the doctrines of the Catholic Church. His 1983 first-book, Original Blessing is a solid look at the bless Continue Reading...
Confessions of Augustine, The Life of Saint Teresa of Avila by Herself, "On the Oration and Dignity of Man," Petrarch's poetry, and Shakespeare's drama "King Lear" are both products of societies in which the dominant religious ethos was Christian ra Continue Reading...
America God Bless America (or is it still all right to say that?) The Limitation of Judeo-Christian Beliefs by Liberal Interpretations of the Law In the interests of preserving the civil rights of all Americans, legislation over the past few dec Continue Reading...
), and the five gross elements which are said to proceed from the five subtle elements (ether or space from sound, air from touch, fire from sight, water from taste, earth from smell). (68) Nature is further divided into three essential gunas, sattva Continue Reading...
All of the Greek gods and their interactions were very similar to how humans would naturally act. They are all inclined to be jealous and vengeful of one another, along with having affairs that rival any daytime soap opera. They would choose sides Continue Reading...
Celibacy and Sexual Deviance by Priests Many psychologists have suggested that clergy who take a vow of celibacy are more likely to engage in sexual deviance than clergy who are allowed to marry. Many others argue that this is completely untrue. Thi Continue Reading...
Biblical Fiction Julian Barnes' A History of the World in 101/2 Chapters functions somewhat like a novel and somewhat like a collection of short stories. Each of the tales within this manuscript is distinct from one another. Still, the stories do c Continue Reading...
Jesus The central figure in the New Testament of Christianity is Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus in many ways has both historical and spiritual natures, due to his being born to a typical Jewish family (father Joseph and mother Mary) in Galilee but also be Continue Reading...
Women: Luther and the Medieval Roman Catholic Church The medieval view of women and the woman's role was essentially informed by a centuries-long, Christian informed tradition, upheld by patriarchal society. Thus, that there should exist a vast dis Continue Reading...
Negative Aspects of Society The author of this report is asked to review Augustine, Dante and Machiavelli when it comes to their views about the negative aspects of society. Indeed, they are major figures throughout history and their views are simil Continue Reading...
Homosexual Relationships Prohibited In recent years a tide of change has swept across America. Gay marriage has been the focal point of many court battles and legislations. As a result, public opinions has shifted majorly towards a more lenient and Continue Reading...
Global Missions Samuel Escobar is a well-known theologian within the Latin American community and viewed as one of the main participants in the International Congress on World Evangelism at Lausanne, Switzerland in 1974 over the years. He is also th Continue Reading...
Neo-Orthodoxy The term "neo-orthodoxy" refers to a 20th century movement among Protestant theologians -- in the United States and in Europe -- that emerged following the bloody carnage of World War I. The disillusionment that several Christian theol Continue Reading...
Pneumatology: Spiritual Gifts Pneumatology is often defined as the study of the spirit, or the spiritual relationship between humanity and God. It is often one of the most difficult and ephemeral concepts for believers to understand, especially the Continue Reading...
Anderson, Neil. The Bondage Breaker: Overcoming Negative Thoughts, Irrational Feelings, Habitual One of the most fascinating aspects of Neil Anderson's work of non-fiction, The Bondage Breaker, is that despite all of the different aspects of Christ Continue Reading...
, pp.69-70.] [5: Ibid., p.85.] The rather stern critique offered of Fee and Stuart herein should not indicate that this book is entirely without value, merely that its presentation in title and chapter headings is somewhat misleading. There is plent Continue Reading...
New Testament Vocabulary Pharisees, Essenes, and Sadducees were three major sects or practices of Judaism at the time of Christ. The Pharisees and Sadducees were the two more powerful and influential sects, the Essenes were much smaller in number an Continue Reading...
Miracles: When Faith Contradicts Reason Theologians, and philosophers alike, have traditionally sought to bring out the relationship between reason and faith. This they have done in an attempt to clarify the link between the two terms or points-of-v Continue Reading...
Augustine, Anselm and Aquinas Question #1 from "Augustine Confessions 2nd edition. Translated by F.J Sheed: Please explain Augustine's theory that evil is the privation of good, and argue for its relevance to at least one other main theme in the co Continue Reading...
Particularly in pockets of Christianity in the third world region, Christianity needs to be taught while also understanding the culture of the region. Perhaps the ways one would sermonize to a group of Americans is different than the way a sermon wo Continue Reading...
