"I'm not religious, I'm spiritual." Conversely other people state that they dislike the formality of religion, of beliefs and practices, but do believe in God and in some sense of 'higher truth.' This confusion might be best addressed by doing away Continue Reading...
Christian doctrine evolved to contain a variety of philosophical perspectives and theological analyses. Early shapers of Christian thought and discourse included Irenaeus, Clement, Tertullian, and Origen. Each of these figures shaped Christian discou Continue Reading...
Initially St. Augustine favoured the dualistic view that evil was external and separate from the world and mankind that in evident from the Manichean worldview. However, he was later to reject this strict dualism and taker another view of the natur Continue Reading...
Christian Biotechnology: Not a Contradiction in Terms Presented with the idea of "Bioethics" most people in the scientific community today immediately get the impression of repressive, Luddite forces wishing to stifle research and advancement in the Continue Reading...
Yes, of course. But Hick too is making an important initial assumption here: He is assuming that a test of human goodness is a necessary part of the universe. But this is only the case if one assumes the presence of a certain type of God -- one that Continue Reading...
In fact, sexual moral obligations were one of the major concerns addressed by Jude, who cautioned that immoral behavior by teachers was dangerous. He believed that it had the ability to corrupt everyday Christians, and to keep them from attaining sa Continue Reading...
Soul: Why Only Christian Psychologists Can Practice "True Psychology" Today, there are more than one hundred thousand licensed psychologists practicing in the United States. These mental health professionals are in a unique position to provide indi Continue Reading...
Lord's Prayer as the Model for Christian Prayer The Lord's Prayer is the principal Christian prayer that Jesus Christ taught his followers, saying, "Pray then in this way." The prayer appears in Matthew 6: 9-13 and Luke 11: 2-4, and summarizes Jesu Continue Reading...
4. How does Luther and Calvin's view of moral evil differ from that of Catholicism? The classical Christian approach to the dilemma of moral evil has been that people are abusing the freedom of choice given to them by their creator. With free will Continue Reading...
Christians pray the imprecatory psalms Imprecatory refers to invocation of judgment, calamity, or curses on God's enemies, and one's enemies. In the Bible, many people chanted imprecatory, for example, Moses, Deborah, and Jeremiah.[footnoteRef:2] T 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...
Jesus' Teachings, Prayer, & Christian Life "He (Jesus) Took the Bread. Giving Thanks Broke it. And gave it to his Disciples, saying, 'This is my Body, which is given to you.'" At Elevation time, during Catholic Mass, the pr Continue Reading...
But when it comes down to the reality of the question as to whether man is good, evil or both by nature, we must heed the message contained in the New Testament which equates traits like "ungodliness," "lawlessness" and especially "evil" as being b Continue Reading...
260). This cosmological discussion is one reason Origen is said to have "created, indeed embodied, the first model of a scientific theology;" his approach to the notion of metempsychosis, like nearly all of his theological work, is rooted in a stead Continue Reading...
theodicies and explains the problem of evil, focusing on the merits and the faults of this theodicy. The paper seeks to explain why sin exists among humankind and why bad things happen in nature. The paper also answers the question of why theodicy m Continue Reading...
This essence is based on his belief that free will an the freedom of choice which is the exercise of free will are rooted in "uprightness": If freedom-of-choice had not been given to rational nature in order for it to keep uprightness-of-will for t Continue Reading...
Theology What is the connection between the theology of Paul Tillich and process theology? First of all what is process theology? Authors Cobb (professor of theology) and Griffin (professor emeritus of theology and philosophy) explain that process Continue Reading...
Suffering Tim Murphy Theology MA2000D The existence of human suffering poses a unique theological problem. If God is omniscient, omnipotent, and all-loving, then why does suffering exist? Indeed, this difficulty is confronted in scripture itself: Continue Reading...
Homeric Epics and Mark Dennis McDonald's The Homeric Epics and the Gospel of Mark (2000) is a book that was always guaranteed to upset orthodox Christian theologians and biblical literalists and fundamentalists everywhere, since its main thesis held Continue Reading...
They used concepts with which pagans had long been familiar to construct a world in which individuals could no longer roam alone, without the benefit of priests, and be safe. Medieval theologians complicated what had once been simple, if at time fri Continue Reading...
Progress of History: Hegel, Nietzsche and Heidegger For Hegel, the idea of the progress of history was tied to his immersion in the world of Enlightenment and Romantic writers and thinkers. He lived at a time when the French Revolution occurred and Continue Reading...
At the extreme side, the September 11 attacks and various Islamist violence perpetrated against civilians in the last two decades is an example of how violence and conflict can be justified in religious terms. Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda lead Continue Reading...
Similarly the Ayurvedic tradition of India emphasized rest and relaxation and nutritional well-being, along with various mentally stimulating exercises. Ayurvedic resorts are still popular in the East. Buddhism is also viewed as an avenue out of de Continue Reading...
Ultimately, it is inconceivable why any God, much less a loving God, would ever conceive of a universe in which His creatures had no will of their own or were not free to accept His offer of love or to reject it. Salvation, therefore, cannot be pre Continue Reading...
As for supernatural acts, the primary sources of these are God and Satan. Satan or the Devil constantly urges the individual to adopt sinful ways, to behave contrary to God's directives. To combat Satan's influence, God is always available as a guid Continue Reading...
Is there such a thing as retribution, though -- or at least does evil ever regret its actions. As the story ends, Misfit seems to be thinking about goodness and probably thinking that evil is not the answer to the problems in his life. At the end o Continue Reading...
Essay Topic Examples 1. The Pioneering Theology of Kazoh Kitamori: Uniting Pain and Love in Post-war Japan: This essay would explore Kitamori's unique contribution to Christian theology through his seminal work, "Theology of Continue Reading...
Essay Topic Examples 1. The Historical Development and Evolution of the Cosmological Argument: This essay explores the origins and progression of the cosmological argument from its early inception in the works of Plato and A Continue Reading...
An authoritarian leader gathers members in a cult and isolates them from the mainstream. Bodrero says this does not constitute a problem, unless the group becomes violent. When a leader uses rhetoric and violence to silence internal opposition, Bodr Continue Reading...
Pneumatology -- Spiritual Gifts What are spiritual gifts, and what is their purpose? The reason for and definition of "spiritual gifts" is not always agreed upon among Christians and even among Christian theologians. At the very least spiritual gif Continue Reading...
Heidegger and Hitler Proponents of Heidegger's metaphysical viewpoint are reluctant to identify a relationship between it and the opprobrious Nazi regime which Heidegger supported from 1933 to 1945. Critics of Heidegger, however, view the relationsh Continue Reading...
" (16) In other words, since God is not completely benevolent, one must protest against God for allowing that which is not just or that which is evil to exist. In an illustration of this strategy, Roth refers to the work of Elie Wiesel, who "shows t Continue Reading...
' Religion is belief in the existence of a supreme being while science is a study to explain the how. The main conflict of these two disciplines begins with the concept of life. Religion explains that God is the creator and giver of life, whereas sc 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...
persecution of early Christians under the Roman Empire is a matter of great interest and intrigue to many, even today; as is the matter of distinction and distrust between early Jews and Christians. Furthermore, the ironically similar behavior of or Continue Reading...
Moltmann and Pannenberg - Theology of Hope Jeremiah 29:11 - For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. A theological shift that took place in the 1960s involved an at Continue Reading...
Persona Christi An Analysis of the Priesthood "in persona Christi" and "in nominee ecclesiae" The questions that surround the functions of the priesthood and the diaconate today appear to be part and parcel of the greater uncertainty that surround Continue Reading...
Gustavo Gutierrez did just that in Latin America, employing Marxist analysis to interpret the Jesus' teachings in the Gospel. Gutierrez founded Liberation Theology, which is, essentially, the twentieth century take on Violence and the Cross. Christ Continue Reading...
