Ruth and Naomi appear to be lesbians. In fact, the statements made by Ruth to Naomi mirror echo the familiar "till death do us part" used in marriage ceremonies (Robinson, "Same-Sex"). King David of Israel may also have been in a homosexual relation Continue Reading...
Book of Job There is a fair amount of controversy surrounding the book of Job along with various controversies about who wrote it. Some scholars maintain that Job did live in the time of Moses, and that the book was written by him; others disagree Continue Reading...
Life of Jesus, Critically Examined Penned in the tumultuous year of 1835, during an era defined by dogmatic religious intolerance and institutionalized adherence to the edicts of the church, David Friedrich Strauss' The Life of Jesus, Critically Exa Continue Reading...
Furthermore it is with Isaiah that one first becomes acquainted with the idea that the Messiah would die. "And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mo Continue Reading...
Once again, the theist can simply point out that human knowledge -- either our own, or in the collective sense -- is not only incomplete but not even necessarily close to complete. Furthermore, inference from incomplete evidence is dangerous; before Continue Reading...
We can easily see how this belief would not just set the Druze apart from fundamentalist Muslims, but could possibly be interpreted as a heresy by the more strict fundamentalists. All of these things considered, the religious definitions and bounda Continue Reading...
Hero and Saint An Analysis of the Hero and the Saint from St. Francis to Kierkegaard's Abraham Francis of Assisi is one of the most famous saints of the Church and Dante is one its most famous literary heroes. St. Francis received his vocation at t Continue Reading...
After considering the particular language of Philippians 2:5, it becomes clear that one may read this clause as containing either no verbs, a single repeated verb, or a verb and a noun referring to related concepts. In all likelihood, the most accu Continue Reading...
According to Hebraic tradition, the chronological period in the book consists of the second month of the second year (measured from Exodus) to the beginning of the eleventh month of the fortieth year -- in all, roughly 39 years 9 months of wandering Continue Reading...
.. The actual universe, with all its good and evil, exists on the basis of God's will and receives its meaning from His purpose. However, these two conclusions do not stand in simple contradiction, to one another. The one says that evil is bad, har Continue Reading...
Christ was always present, even before he came to earth, but he waited until humans were able to accept him. The incarnation is still important, as Aquinas would remind us, as this is the ultimate proof of the eternal power and existence of God's po Continue Reading...
exegesis and demonstrate what is needed in order to do a proper exegesis of a passage of scripture. In doing so name at least three different methods of scriptural criticism and explain how they assist in the exegetical task. In a strictly definiti Continue Reading...
Winning the Civil War The American Civil War is considered the most costly of all the wars fought by this nation in terms of the human lives that were lost and the casualties which left young men mutilated, amputated, and barely able to carry on. Ap Continue Reading...
Montanism / Theology Like many early heresies, Montanism has not left behind much in the way of written testimony: only one Montanist writer, Tertullian, has works that survive, and it is primarily in his work that the statements of the Montanist mo Continue Reading...
Likewise, it is unfair to view the Koran as a book of evil. The Koran, the Islamic "Holy Scripture," is frequently criticized by those that do not understand its text as some sort of blueprint for terrorism and the basis upon which terrorist activi Continue Reading...
And he gained a following both among many Jews and among many of Greek origin. He was the Messiah. And when Pilate, because of an accusation made by the leading men among us, condemned him to the cross, those who had loved him previously did not cea Continue Reading...
Religious Studies The world's spiritual traditions and religious practices have major groupings. However, in these groupings there is no uniformity of practice. Various religions have different culture and ways of practice. This practice began in th Continue Reading...
Dante and Beatrice An Analysis of the Relationship of Beatrice to Dante Dante describes his meeting with Beatrice at an early age and in La Vita Nuova (The New Life) discusses and poeticizes the love he instantly held for her. Beatrice becomes for Continue Reading...
Much as in Mary Shelly's Frankenstein, the Monster has no memory of who he was in parts, only of who he is as a whole distinct person, although that abnormal brain certainly didn't help his feedback system. Shelly, not our Shelly but Frankenstein's Continue Reading...
Personhood & Gender The scope, definition, depth and breadth of gender has evolved greatly over the years and centuries. Rather than get muddled down in the cavalcade of resources and opinions that focus on the definitions of personhood and gend Continue Reading...
Old Testament by Elemer L. Towns the organization PDF book review Noble Attempt In many respects, Elmer Towns' non-fictional narrative, A Journey Through the Old testament: The Story of How God Developed His People in the Old Testament, serves as Continue Reading...
Capital Punishment: A Capital Offense in Today's Easily Misguided World The debate surrounding the usage of capital punishment in the modern era has raged for generations. While there have always been arguments for the positive aspects of capital pu Continue Reading...
Kingdom My Fit in Ministry (Before) Up until this point in time, my part in the ministry has been focused on children. I find that this is pretty standard for young people who are interesting in entering the ministry. Young people are encouraged t Continue Reading...
Shroud Turin Few pieces of cloth have garnered as much attention as the so-called Shroud of Turin, a piece of linen cloth allegedly containing the image of Jesus Christ. The shroud of Turin measures 4.4 meters in length and about one meter wide (abo Continue Reading...
Abraham acts like a man who has been chosen; he acts with the assurance that he is superior to others and that he has Yahweh's favor. In fact, he boldly intercedes when Yahweh informs him that He plans to destroy Sodom, and Sodom is briefly spared a Continue Reading...
Healing Rituals Across Islam I was just 15 years old, and one day my grandmother found me. Left by a rebel at the side of the road my, grandmother knew. She knew by the fear in my eyes that I had just been raped. When she saw me she cried, and took Continue Reading...
John Knox was a Scottish religious reformer and political activist who founded the new Scottish protestant religion of Presbyterianism. He was probably born in 1513 or 1514 in Giffordgate, about 15 miles from Edinburgh, Scotland. Nothing is known ab Continue Reading...
" (Gibbs 226) Alvardo de Campos is a naval engineer by profession and while his earlier writings are positive, his work develops characteristics of existential angst. Furthermore, what is intriguing is that all of these fictive authors created by Pes Continue Reading...
It is through the process of death and rebirth that the knowledge is gained which will finally liberate the individual being from the central cause of all suffering itself - the cycle of death and birth. Essentially, it is only through knowledge tha Continue Reading...
In Genesis 3:15, God said, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel." According to some biblical experts, this is an oblique reference to the c Continue Reading...
change your life in light of Psalm 51 The bible gives us so many beautiful psalms, each a call to arms in its own right. Psalm 51, though, is one of the most action-inducing of any of the psalms. Psalm 51 is our call for repentance and, essentiall Continue Reading...
In 300 BC, Jews were again exiled to Egypt by Ptolemy. His capture of Jerusalem led to the deportation of thousands of individuals to Egypt, and still others left of their own accord. Those that were left were often assigned to Ptolemy's garrison, Continue Reading...
Richards, Reverend, former member of the senior staff of the Episcopal Bishop, also expressed concerns regarding Nouwen. Richards questioned whether Nouwen as the "wounded healer" encouraged "a kind of displayed vulnerability and a disincentive to g Continue Reading...
Dr. David Livingstone seemed to epitomize this view, "These privations, I beg you to observe, are not sacrifices. I think that word ought never to be mentioned in reference to anything we can do for Him….Can that be a sacrifice which is simply Continue Reading...
Academic Engagements With Course Materials What are the major issues in Letty Russell's Introduction? In Letty M. Russell's Introduction to the series of theological essays in Liberating the Word , she expresses a need for a discussion of ways in Continue Reading...
Parenting is a challenging occupation. Indeed, how a parent raises his or her child is the cumulative result of the mental and emotional character of the parent, the background of the parent, the financial circumstances of the parent, how the parent Continue Reading...
Hostage Negotiation Keeping people as hostages has happened all through history. In the recent years, political events in Algeria, Kenya and Vietnam show examples of such terrible acts. Criminals, mentally challenged, prisoners are usually the peopl Continue Reading...
Theology -- Interpretation of Text The Bible reveals the laws of the Old Testament and Jesus' belief in and fulfillment of those laws. David broke the Old Testament laws against Adultery and unlawful Killing. When Nathan told him the story of the ri Continue Reading...
Matthew 9:1-8 Exegetical The Gospel of Matthew is often called the most 'Jewish' of the Gospels, because it begins with noting Jesus' connection to the Davidic line of kings. This connection is used as a testimony to Jesus' spiritual authority and Continue Reading...
