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Essays on why paul wrote a letter to the GALATIANS
Essays on why paul wrote a letter to the GALATIANS
St Pauls First letter to the Corinthians
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Thank you for your post. I want to comment about the Bauer-Ehrman thesis which revolves around the idea that early church was a pluralistic society in which all beliefs were held equal. He bases his thesis on the writing of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthian. However, he ignored the data of the New Testament. In fact, he did not consider the New Testament as a whole. Paul wrote numerous letters in the New Testament. The Apostle Paul that wrote 1 Corinthian is the same Apostle that wrote the letter to the Galatians. If the Bauer’s evidence is working with the writing of Paul to the Corinthians but not as well to the Galatians. In his letter to the Galatians, he does not tolerate such thinking. He was very uncomfortable with the idea of pluralistic
With this in mind, the objective of this essay is to focus on the main ideas of each theologian, and discuss how each theologian’s ideas are compensatory to the other. This is important because even though each theologian’s writings were inspired by the harsh realities of the societies, and also by the effect each writer experienced in their moment in history, their critiques specifically of Christian institutions remain a consistent amongst all three writings. Furthermore, not only are their critiques consistent, but their goals for providing new frameworks for the future of the Church and Christian discipleship are consistent as well.
Aquinas, St. Thomas. COMMENTARY on SAINT PAUL'S EPISTLE to the GALATIANS. Trans. F. R. Larcher. Albany: Magi Books, 1996.
Galileo Galilei was an Italian scientist, often referred to as “the father of modern physics”. He was one of the inventors of the telescope and a strong proponent of Copernicanism. Galileo used his invention to make astronomical observations which supported Copernicus’ heliocentric model of the universe. These discoveries led to a fierce dispute, because they contradicted the theory which was prevalent at the time – that the universe followed a geocentric model, a theory, which had been accepted by the Catholic Church. To address this dispute, Galileo wrote a letter to Tuscany’s Grand Duchess Christina, in which he presented his position on the relation between science and religion, stating that the Bible does not contradict science.
First, he discusses the unreliability of biblical writings, like the gospels of the new testament, stating that "the Gospels cannot simply be taken at face value as giving us historically reliable accounts of the things Jesus said and did", (Ehrman 88), because not only were they written after Jesus 's death, but they were also not from eyewitnesses who 'd personally seen or heard Jesus. Because the sources used in these writings are unknown, and the purpose of them was to, in Ehrman 's words, spread the "good news" of Jesus, the information in them must be carefully analyzed, and compared with other sources, before it can be accepted as true. This leads into one of Ehrman 's main arguments-that because the Hebrew Bible spoke of a messiah who was thought to be the future ruler of the people of Israel, but Jesus did not fit that image because of his pacifistic and compassionate views, Ehrman claims that Jesus 's actions would not have led anyone to believe he was the messiah, ergo he must have told them he was. Another interesting point that Ehrman makes is that some of Jesus 's early teachings differed from the views of early Christians. For instance, Ehrman cites a biblical passage which implies that people who are good and help others can get to heaven, despite the fact that the early church preached that heaven and salvation could only be attained by belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus. This, along with Ehrman 's highlighting the unreliability of biblical sources, furthers the idea that the real Jesus was much different than he was later made out to be, and that it is likely that much about him was twisted, misinterpreted or exaggerated to fit Christian views, particularly as during his time, there was a largely oral tradition, and much information was passed on through storytelling.
Jonathan Edwards, in 1741, preaches at Enfield Connecticut, to the congregation with a desire of converting men who thought too highly of themselves to Christianity. Edwards establishes points by using different strategies of figurative language with the intention of capturing the emotional side of his audience. By using a variety of styles to scare his audience, Edwards’ sermon, with powerful diction, had a great outcome of repenters.
As one begins to read the letter to the Ephesians, he is intrigued not only by the many topics that the letter mentions, but also the fact that there are some major differences between this book and Paul’s other writings. The purpose of this essay is to explore the book of Ephesians by commenting on critical issues, such as date, authorship, and setting, major theological themes, the purpose of the letter, and to offer an outline of the book itself.
The Ottonian period was from the year 919 to 1024, in which Germany became the leading country in Europe politically and artistically. The Ottonian rulers adopted Carolingian ambitions and traditions in art and politics to achieve greatness, but they developed their own original identity. The Ottonian emperors like the Carolingian rulers wanted a closer relationship with the papacy and planned to recreate the glory of the ancient Roman Empire in a universal Christian state governed by the Pope. Therefore, the principal monarchs of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto I (c. 912-973), Otto II (c. 955-983), and Otto III (c. 980-1002) proceeded with their political agenda by sponsoring religious reforms, literature, and the arts.
So it can be said that gnosis is secret knowledge revealed to man hat only get by someone or a
It seems self-evident that one cannot be a leader unless he or she has followers; put differently, one cannot hold a leadership role unless others are prepared to hold followership roles. These roles are more or less symbiotic - done effectively, each role can support and benefit the other. Nevertheless, the term “follower” has acquired a negative connotation, and leadership is generally considered to be the pinnacle to which we should all strive in our working lives, if not our personal lives as well. However, thanks to the work of authors such as Robert E. Kinney, who introduced the concept of followership, the characteristics, roles and paths of followers now receive increased attention. Kinney’s groundbreaking article, “In Praise of Followers”, appears along with the work of other authors on followership in The Leaders Companion.
Paul the Apostle is the central figure in many New Testament writings. Many historians have attributed fourteen New Testament letters to Paul’s writing; seven of these letters are uncontested meaning historians are sure that Paul wrote them, the remaining seven are contested. Paul was not always a Christian; in fact, he persecuted Christians before Christ came and temporarily blinded him. Upon seeing Christ, Paul devoted his life to Christianity and set out to spread the teachings of Christ. Scholars often credit Paul’s leadership to the ability of the Church to become Hellenistic in one generation. Paul also answered specific worries and questions that his converters may have had in many of his writings; one of these writings is 1 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians, Paul set out to deal with the many believers in Corinth who are divided into the followings of Paul or Apollos rather than Christianity as a whole. The converts of Paul in 1 Corinthians 12-14 were divided during times of worship because of jealousy invoked by the spiritual gifts received from the “Spirit”; the worships and the church became a place to boast who is closest to God, instead of a place of worship, interpretation, and love. In 1 Corinthians 14:26-33, Paul set guidelines in times of worship to heal the divide among his converts present in 1 Corinthians 12-14.
Jesus and Paul are two crucial characters in the New Testament. They both depict the Gospel on which Christianity is based upon, but there is debate about rather these two versions of the Gospel are complementary. Scholars like George Shaw claim that Paul is “anti-Christian,” and he “produced a fantastic theology” (Shaw 415-416). On the other hand, I believe that even though Jesus and Paul may present the Gospel different at times, they are still advocating the same religion. Through the understanding of the Gospels and Paul’s letters it is clear that Jesus and Paul have the same underlining goals and values.
Boyd, Gregory A., and Paul R. Eddy. Across the Spectrum: Understanding Issues in Evangelical Theology. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2009.
To attempt to address these questions, Gundry compiles a collection of responses from the views of five scholars representing the Weslyan (Melvin E. Dieter), Reformed (Anthony A. Hoekema), Pentecostal (Stanley M. Horton), Keswick (J. Robertson McQuilkin), and Augustinian-Dispensational (John F. Walvoord). Each contributor provides an overview and introduction to their specific evangelical position and at the same time compare and critique as they response to the other views presented. This is an excellent study as it helps to clarify the essentials as well as the distinctiveness of each position.
Thiselton, A. C. (1980). The two horizons: New Testament hermeneutics and philosophical description. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, xix.
Lutzer, Erwin. The Doctrines That Divide: a Fresh Look at the Historic Doctrines That Separate Christians. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1998.