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Conscience in Christian Tradition
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Recommended: Conscience in Christian Tradition
Two burning questions have arisen in my mind as I read about Charles T. Studd’s fruitful and powerful life of faith. Firstly, what was the secret of his spiritual life? Secondly, what is the work God has intended for us in this generation?
C.T. Studd was born in 1860 to a wealthy man named Edward Studd. His father made a fortune in India and came to England to spend it all. His father spent the money on hunting, horse races, gambling, and on the massive immaculate estate on which C.T. lived. In 1877, C.T. Studd’s father was converted to following God after being forced to attend a evangelistic campaign in London, by D.L. Moody. Edward immediately gave up on his old lifestyle and devoted the rest of his life to hold Christian meetings in his house to preach the
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Moody returned to America, C.T. wanted to know what the Lord wanted him to do. When C.T. went to his friends for hep instead of God, he became ill and had to go to the country to recuperate. He spent three months reading the Bible and praying to God for guidance, but he still didn’t know what God wanted him to do. He decided to read for the Bar until God showed him what he wanted him to do but he found it was very hard to conscientiously go into any business or profession. However, it seemed so inconsistent to him. 5 C.T. Studd wrote, “God had given me far more than was sufficient to keep my body and soul together,…how could I spend the best years of my life working for myself and the honours and pleasures of this while thousands and thousands of souls are perishing everyday without having heard of Christ?” Jesus’ word screamed in his conscience, “What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” He then realized that this was the truly consistent Christian life. When he compared it to his own life he saw how inconsistent he had been. He became even more determined that his life should be consistent with what he believed and set out to find what was God’s will for
N.T. Wright: During my first semester at Northwestern College, I was assigned the book, “The Challenge of Jesus” by N.T. Wright for one of my Biblical Studies courses. This book and every other book Tom Wright has written has dramatically impacted my Christian faith. Dr. Wright has not only defended the basic tenants of the Christian faith, but also has shown how an academically-minded pastor ought to love and care for his or her congregants. N.T. Wright was previously the Bishop of Durham and pastored some of the poorest in the United Kingdom. His pastoral ministry has helped shape his understanding of God’s kingdom-vision which he is diagramming within his magnum opus “Christian Origins and the Question of God”. This series has instructed myself and countless other pastors to be for God’s kingdom as we eagerly await Christ’s return. Additionally, I have had the privilege of meeting with N.T. Wright one-on-one on numerous occasions to discuss faith, the Church, and his research. I firmly believe Tom Wright is the greatest New Testament scholar of our generation and he is the primary reason why I feel called into ministry.
Dorothy L. Sayers defines a Christian’s work as a “...natural exercise and function of man- the creature who is made in the image of his Creator” (Sayers 194). Sayers summarizes her view on work by saying, “...it is the duty of the Church to see to it that the work serves God, and that the worker serves the work” (Sayers 198). Sayers finds the duty of work to rest not only with the Christian, but also with the church.
Simmons, Charles James (1893-1875), politician and evangelical preacher, was born on 9 April 1893 at 30 Brighton Road, Mosley, Birmingham. His father, James Henry Simmons (1867-1941), was a master painter and his mother, Mary Jane (1872-1958), a schoolteacher. They were Primitive Methodists, temperance advocates, and Liberals. His maternal grandfather, Charles Henry Russell (1846-1918), a Liberal, Primitive Methodist lay preacher and friend of Joseph Arch (leader of the Agricultural Labourers’ Union and MP), shared the family home. Simmons described him as ‘the greatest influence during my formative years’, the well-spring of the religious and political activism that was to characterize his career (Simmons, 6). Educated at Board schools, Simmons left formal education at the age of fourteen for employment in an assortment of jobs, including a tailor’s porter, telegraph messenger and salesman.
Stuff and money is becoming more important in people’s lives. They forget how much more important the Holy Spirit is in their lives. Forgetting how powerful the Lord is, they begin relying on material items. In eternity, material items will not be of any value! Like the Li family in Safely Home, the Lord wants His followers to rely on Him to provide, instead a sundry of Christ followers begin to depend considerably on money, jobs, and people for providence. In Safely Home, the story illustrates how Christians are to live with God as their provider because when a Christian lives a life in dependence on God, they rightfully focus on the Lord as their provider. God can direct a person’s path in a way no one else is able to. Just like Li Quan, Ming, Shen and all the other Christians in the story accepted, God’s thoughts will become one’s own thoughts and His words will become one’s own words. However, without fully realizing, Ben Fielding was living to serve himself. He was dedicated to his job, being successful, and well-off, but he was still empty inside. This particular successful businessman was always searching for something to fill the hole in his heart until he truly experienced the Lord and His presence. In short, Christians can be challenged by this story to rely on God more and live a lifestyle that pleases
While comparing her time, theology and spiritual practice we realize she lived during the time of immense change, similarly we are living on the edge of a challenged modernity. Her spiritual direction allows us to recognize and develop further abilities in our pastoral ministries of caring for one another as participants within the corporate communities as well as within the mission fields.
The book begins with Whitefield's early years growing up in an inn, which exposed him to many different people, including actors. Later, Whitefield utilized what he learned from the actors and became known for his theatrical sermons. Stout traces Whitefield through some of his difficult days as a student and servitor at Oxford University. As a servitor, Whitefield was in the lowest social class and had to serve more wealthy students. During this time, he converted to Christianity and joined John Wesley's "Holy Club.
In the initial chapter, “Longing and Hope,” Plantinga (2002) discusses how humans yearn to reconnect to God. He outlines the work God did to create the cosmos, the world, and all of the creatures in it—including humans. He reminds the audience of the sense of wonder God instilled in humans, and how this wonder can be explored—even in the field of Science. Following this, Plantinga discusses the combination of faith and good works: “According to God’s intelligence, the way to thrive is to help others to thrive; the way to flourish is to cause others to flourish; the way to fulfill yourself is to spend yourself” (Chapter
For almost a quarter century Billy Sunday was a household name in the United States. Between 1902 when he first made the pages of the New York Times and 1935 when the paper covered his death and memorial service in detail, people who knew anything about current events had heard of the former major league baseball player who was preaching sin and salvation to large crowds all over America. Not everyone who knew of the famous evangelist liked him. Plenty of outspoken critics spoke of his flashy style and criticized his conservative doctrines. But he had hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of loyal defenders, and they were just as loud in their praise as the critics were in their criticism.
Paul Tillich. “What Faith Is”. The Human Experience: Who Am I?. 8th ed. Winthrop University: Rock Hill SC, 2012. 269-273. Print.
Dr. Gregory Boyd is a professor of theology at Bethel College. He attended such universities as the University of Minnesota, Yale Divinity School, and Princeton Theological Seminary. As well as being a professor he is a preaching pastor at Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, and has authored three books and several articles. This particular book is a dialogue between he and his father, Edward Boyd. Edward lives in Florida and worked for 35 years in sales management. He has six kids, 15 grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.
Born in Caswell County, North Carolina on May 14, 1772, Dr. Charles Caldwell was the son of a devout Presbyterian father who served as an elder in the community congregation. Determined to have his son educated and trained in the Presbyterian clerical ministry, Caldwell, Sr. arranged to have Charles sent to boarding school in North Carolina to receive classical instruction in English, Latin, and Greek as well both the Old and New Testaments. Caldwell recalled his father’s challenge to excel to the top of his class in all subjects, scholarly and religious, as an early prompt toward attaining superior personal achievement. His determination for accomplishment was so strong that he possibly originated the phrase “succeed or die trying” for his emphatic parting words to his favorite sister, Sally, were that he would be “better…or nothing. I am resolved to excel, or kill myself by the effort.” (Caldwell, 1855)
Taylor’s “From God’s Determinations” and Wheatley; s “Thoughts on the Work of Providence” project the feelings of love, faith, and dedication they have toward their religion. Both texts are fine examples of two men writing how they feel, giving accounts of what they believe, and explaining how God, a supernatural being, has played an important role in the shaping their lives through the many acts of miracle He has performed such as creating the Earth. To explain in further detail, both Taylor and Wheatley are constantly inserting examples of what their God has done throughout each text. It is made obvious to the reader that both men are very spiritual
...journey with an evil purpose in mind he not only lost his religious faith but his wife, Faith. As if these two words were interlocked. "What thou shalt loose in Heaven shalt be loose on Earth, and what thou shalt bound in Heaven should be bound on Earth." She never looked the same to him from the very first night he returned from his meeting. That seems to be the most sorrowful part of the bargain with his gaining the wisdom of the world. As Christ says in the New Testament, "what have you gain if you gain the whole world but lost your very soul?"
Through the transformation of our life, Wright is showing that the life of a Christian is learned. He is showing what is learned is; life in Christ, Worship to the Father, and the daily walks.
W. Andrew Hoffecker. Building a Christian World View, vol. 1: God, man, and Knowledge. Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., Phillipsburg, New Jersey : 1986.