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A practical guide to biblical ethicskevin gary smithsouth
Ethical teaching in the bible
Ethical teaching in the bible
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Firstly, the beliefs of the Baptist Church, United Church, and Liberal Secularists are distinct. Each culture has a way of living based on their beliefs, these beliefs spring from a source that makes all the followers act similarly. For instance, the Bible is the perfect example of this. The Bible is a religious text made up of 66 books in one massive book. Bilica simply explains the Bible as a recount “about the lives of good and bad people, about battles and journeys, about the life of Jesus, and about early church activity” (Biblica). Both the United Church and Baptist church accept the Bible as the holy text, but each denomination follows the it differently. The Baptists is a fundamentalist Christian religion that uses the Bible for everyday …show more content…
Compared to RCC, the Bible is encouraged to be read daily and the stories are encouraged to be taken literally. Continuing, the Liberal Secularist view of the Bible is that it should have no binding authority over any individual to make personal decisions. Richard Dawkins, a Liberal Secularist, speaks on his viewpoint of the Bible by asking, “Do those people who hold up the Bible as an inspiration to moral rectitude have the slightest notion of what is actually written in it?” (The God Delusion). Dawkins clearly holds a view against Christians about them being ignorant towards the Bible due to some of them taking the stories literally. Clearly, a Liberal Secularist views the Bible as only a metaphorical book that should not be taken seriously or morally. To conclude, the Bible is viewed very differently throughout each subculture. The Baptist church believes that the Bible is the word of God and should guide all people’s decisions. Rather, the United Church believes that the Bible is a holy text that should only be taken figuratively, but the morals should still guide an individual's life. Lastly, the Liberal Secularist believes that the Bible should hold no moral value in a person's everyday life and instead should be seen as a fictional story. Moreover, another belief difference in each subculture is the belief of how an individual reasons. Reasoning is highly based on drawing conclusions off of what knowledge one is given. For an example, consider being rewarded for doing what is morally right, in this context donating/tithing. The Baptist church encourages donations to the poor and tithing because they believe that the Bible commands it and that their is a promise behind in the outcome of it. Malachi 3:10 (NLT)
Comparison of the Roman Catholic Church and the United Reformed Church All Christian denominations celebrate Holy Communion in some form, although how they do this varies. The two I have chosen to compare are the Roman Catholic Church and the United Reformed Church. In the Roman Catholic Church the act of worship is called Mass. Catholics are expected to attend Mass. Only those who have been Christened and then later confirmed can receive Holy Communion. The Mass consists of six parts as follows : The Foremass consists of the entrance, procession, and chant, which are then followed by the confession, which includes a litany ( Kyrie eleison) and ends with the Gloria.
Parishioners often ask me if there is really any difference between United Methodist and the Baptists down the road. The answer, “quite a lot,” generally surprises them. When they ask me to explain, I often point them in the direction of our polity and the theology it reflects.
The Democratization of American Christianity, by Nathan Hatch, is written about “the cultural and religious history of the early American republic and the enduring structures of American Christianity” (3). Hatch writes to make two arguments: 1) the theme of democratization is central to understanding the development of American Christianity, and 2) the years of the early republic are the most crucial in revealing to process that took and is still taking place. The story of the democratization of American Christianity begins with the population boom in America from the Revolution up to 1845. Hatch writes that during this boom, “American Christianity became a mass enterprise” (4).
In Nathan O. Hatch’s “The Democratization of American Christianity” he quickly forms his thesis and expands on the argument “both that the theme of
When choosing a religious service I was very limited on my choices so I was intrigued to go back to my roots and try the Catholic denomination. This denomination is the one that is most prevalent in my community and also in my social circle as well. Since I have actually been to a Catholic church as a child I thought I knew what to expect but I was shocked at how naive I was to the subject. My preconceived ideas and thoughts were that there would be a lot of getting down on your knees then back up again then saying your Hail Mary’s with not much depth to a service. Also growing up with a social group that was full of Catholics you would always hear of confession so that was something I was particularly dreading for the fact that I did not quite understand the concept and believe in it. This did not take place however which was a sigh of relief on my part cause I was not ready for that big of a leap from my own comfort zone.
This concept boils down to the idea that even though they are a church, they are all still individuals. This is based upon the idea that every single person is created in the image of God. Due to this idea, Baptists are known as some of their individualism (p. 24). This idea of individualism is present even from the beginning of ones walk with a Christian. Saving faith is something that is personal to Baptist, not impersonal. This was an idea that was borrowed from the early reformers, most notably Martin Luther. The Baptist would agree with him in saying that salvation is between the individual and God (p. 25). Some would understand this to mean that this idea of individualism is one of human self-sufficiency, or man being able to save himself. This is far from the truth, we are saved by God’s grace; however, we are saved individual by individual and person by person. We are personally save. We are personally called to ministry or to join a church. And, we are personally called to the baptism and the Lord’s Supper along with being personally called to many other things (p. 26). The Christian walk, to Baptists, is one that is between God and an individual first and
Whether an individual is a Christian or not, most westerners have been exposed to Christianity, and the Bible is often the first book that comes to mind when “scripture” is mentioned. People generally have negative associations with the word “bias” that are usually connected to the idea of closed mindedness. When actually considering biases
Throughout the year Christians have strived to do the will of God. From to converting people into Christians to making a society pleasing to God. Christians in America have been present since the colonial times. In the late 19th century, they were still thriving in the United States. In the early 20th century they were still involved in the broader American culture, committed to shaping public policy and welcome in political life. But as time continued, evangelicals started to create their own subculture, no longer involving themselves in politics and the rest of the American culture. By mid to late 20th century, evangelicals saw that the nation was becoming further way from God and it was affecting them. They sought to partly reinsert themselves in the American culture and politics and found they were not as welcome as before. Even though they are not welcome, Christians must try to do the will of God by turn peoples eyes back to Him in everyday life and politics.
Religion and politics are considered to be taboo topics in our present age. The debate is usually, should religion and politics mix? Or are they like oil and water? Two entities that cannot mix no matter how much one shakes them. Indeed, the two topics, religion and politics are very sensitive.
It started in a small town community and just spread worldwide. Along the way, it picked up intellectuals who would interpret the Word of God and influence others to follow, be it right or wrong. Each of the groups settling in various parts of the new United States and there grew a philosophy of the Word. This is evidence of the many different religions and religious wars. The religious people have their problems and the non-religious which as a whole are termed, secularist have their problems. These are those that are only concerned with the material ways of the world as it is now and how they can best capitalize on it. Nevertheless, secularism started with the churches, it does not end there. All matters of the world are acted upon and decided upon and are based on human consciousness and reasoning. In the past, the churches were responsible for basic family needs, but the laws provided very little funding, due to the separation of church and state. The government determined what organization would receive funding and has now taken over this assistance. That took away the need for people to go to the churches for help let alone to pray. Governmental decisions are made concerning society as a whole in which the citizens are given an issue on which to decide and vote on and that decision is based on a majority ruling. With the secular mindset, the decisions made are not according to
The nature of Scripture and the authority of Scripture are two characteristics carefully entwined in such a way that creates an impossibility for them to not affect each other. They directly influence each other. Evangelicalism, Liberalism, and Neo-Orthodoxy all have differing views of the nature and authority of Scripture. Evangelicalism takes up the view that the Bible, Scripture, is infallible (Lane, 2006, p. 255). Scripture is God’s word and is therefore fully truth (Lane, 2006, p. 256). People under Evangelicalism equate Scripture with God’s spoken word, and they believe that though God and humans are both authors, the human author was divinely prepared by God to write out His word (Lane, 2006, p. 257). They believe that “the Bible is the supreme authority for faith and practice” (Bingham, 2002, p. 162). Liberalism takes a different view on the Scripture. In Liberalism, religion is “nothing but feeling and experience” (Lane, 2006, p. 238). This reduces the authority and value of Scripture. Scripture is not seen as God’s word or His revelation but as a written record of the experiences of humans, which takes away from its divinity and authority (Lane, 2006, p. 239). Schleiermacher, the father of Liber...
In the 18th century to 19th century, there were many great influential leaders of Christianity that influenced many individuals belief systems. During this time period three great movements included the relevance of liberalism, Neo-orthodoxy, and Evangelical views. These views in particular had great influence over how individuals applied biblical scripture to their everyday life.
To understand the basis of the ethics that Christians live by the Biblical story must be interpreted. The Bible passes judgement on many things that Christians would come into contact with at some point in their lives. These things include cases such as; abortion, contraception, euthanasia and homosexuality. All of which are negatively referred to in the Bible. However authority today views these issues differently because they use secular ethics in conjunction with their decision making. Examples of authority include governments and work places. This is so that a good outcome may be maximized and had by most of a population, known as a Utilitarian approach. It is inevitable that a few will disagree but this number outweighs the good of the plenty. This secular schemed way of thinking can sometimes severely conflict with the ethical interpretation that is put forth in the Bible. Ultimately when Christians follow the Bible’s ethical basis they will gain the reward of their soul ascending to heaven in the afterlife. This is an incentive to follow Christian ...
The direction of beliefs in churches and sects change due to the changes in people and the things that people do and do not want to believe in. As society constantly changes and adapts new ideas, so do certain churches and sects. Sects represent social change because they show the changing and alteration of beliefs and cultural values. When sects break off from other churches and are their own sect if they gain a big following of people who believe and agree with what they are teaching the sect could then become its own church. Then, as time goes on new ideas and beliefs will emerge, and so will different sects to account for the new social
The Christian church has numerous denominations and evaluation of each can prove to be confusing. Christian denominations share beliefs such as God creating the universe and humankind, Jesus Christ’s human and divine nature, and God’s grace for humankind. With these similarities it becomes difficult to fully understand how denominations differ. While the overarching Christian beliefs are similar, the differences are found in church practices. Church practices vary among denominations.