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Nicene creed theological essay
History of the Christian faith and Church ESSAY
History of the Christian faith and Church ESSAY
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“I believe in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I believe that he suffered, died, and was buried, and that on the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the scriptures. I believe he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. I believe he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead and his Kingdom shall have no end.”
Those are a few of the lines from the Nicene Creed, which I learned as a small Catholic before ever realizing what they meant. Today, those words are very dear to me. No longer a Catholic, but a joyfully born-again Christian, I find myself in a constant state of looking for roots. What are our roots as a Church? What beliefs root a “true Christian”? And which, if any of my Catholic roots, are consistent with my Christian faith? Perhaps those lines from the Creed, first written over 1700 years ago, are so dear to me now because they are the root that withstands all of the fluctuations of history and my own spiritual wandering through denominations. Fluctuation, debate, and cultural differences have been the lot of the Church from the very beginning. But Jesus remains the same. For this paper we were asked to discuss how the modern Church differs from the early Church. In response to that, I will be narrowing my scope of discussion to our changed expectations of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit in relation to one particular experience common to all Church members – physical suffering.
I often struggle to reconcile my belief that God does heal and He does answer prayers with the reality of suffering and early death among believers. As a hospital chaplain serving between forty to sixty-four hours a week, I am with the dead and the dying o...
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...t is strange that God’s promise to heal, so clear in the Gospels, is qualified in so many ways today.” (Droege, 28-29)
Droege is correct – it is strange. But that does not mean I have not done that myself. I too have asked for healing if “it by your will God.” I too have asked that a doctor’s hands be guided by God rather than asking that a tumor would simply disappear. I have minimized my expectations and asked for miracles through persons, tests, and treatments that would appear as far less than “mighty signs and wonders.”
Ultimately, our low expectations of God substantiate the great difference between the Apostolic Church and the Church of today. Many of us speak of God or invite the Holy Spirit into our lives simply because it “couldn’t hurt.” In truth, we are hurting. Our bodies ache and our souls suffer while Jehovah Rapha waits to hear from us.
As I continued to chat with my pastor that day, I really sensed the hurt in his eyes – the anger that comes from an unsolvable injustice, the tiredness of a problem. “What’s wrong?” I finally asked, “Having a bad day?” Sensing that I was truly concerned, he let the truth be told. “I talked with a woman today whose baby died suddenly of unknown causes. As we worked through her grief, she talked about how numerous friends and family, even a religious leader had patted her on the back, shook their heads and said, ‘It was God’s will.’ I find few things worse to say to a grieving parent. Saying nothing at all would be of more help.” It was obvious from our conversation that he had an understanding greater than I about God’s will, and his insight created in me a curiosity and desire to learn more.
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.
... strategies, CIA run uprisings to out undesirable leader. Like previous overthrows, the Cold War regime changes occurred "only when economic interests coincided with ideological ones." The CIA is a dogmatic instrument used, but perceived as an independent immoral and dishonorable force during the Cold War, that lead regime in the fight against civil liberties and insurgence. In the regards to the CIA, Kinzer shines light to the similarities amongst the event and role of the CIA in the Chilean Coup against Salvador Allende in 1973. The CIA abided by the rules and did as they were told even, when personnel cautioned the intervention. Not only was the brutal dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet proof of this sentiment, but when the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence investigated the coup in years after, it found president Nixon, not the CIA, most responsible.
Propaganda is a powerful tool to utilize when trying to divide or manipulate a society ...
Aldous Huxley’s novel, Brave New World, showcases a world alternate from ours, a dystopian setting. Where human morals are drastically altered, families, love, history, and art are removed by the government. They used multiple methods to control the people, but no method in the world state is more highly used and more effective than propaganda. The world state heavily implemented the use of propaganda to control, to set morals, and to condition the minds of every citizen in their world. However such uses of propaganda have already been used in our world and even at this very moment. The way the media sways us how to think or how we should feel about a given situation. Often covering the truth and hiding the facts. One of the goals in propaganda is to set the mindset of the people to align with the goal of a current power, such as a
From the Catholic observation point, the Church presents two parts: One representing its divine nature as the untarnished body of Christ, and one direc...
If one was to look in the Bible and read through the entire book of
Historically, the concept of caring for the afflicted was founded on biblical principles, especially morality. On a personal level, an individual’s spirituality also influences how one copes with stressors in life, such as illness. When addressing an individual’s emotional and spiritual needs, health benefits such as decreased pain, decreased stress and anxiety, improved rates of insomnia, as well as decreased cardiac and respiratory rates have been realized (Puchalski, 2001). More broadly stated, “Spiritual practices have been shown to improve health outcomes” (Puchalski, 2001, p.
...s distributed in Theology 101 at the University of Notre Dame, Fremantle on 22 April 2008.
In healthcare organizations, medical staff must conform to their hospital and their country’s code of conduct. Not only do they have to meet set standards, they must also take their patient into consideration. When making a decision upon a patient, medical staff must recognize religious backgrounds and spiritual beliefs. By understanding a patients’ beliefs and their belief system, a medical worker can give the patient their deserved medical assistance without overstepping boundaries or coming off as offensive. The practices and beliefs of four religions will be articulated throughout this essay to fully understand how religion can either help or hinder the healing process.
“The salvation of God is the cure: sin is the disease” (Kevan, Ernest F. Salvation. Michigan: Baker, 1963. Print.), when I first saw this quote it really stuck out to me, the statement is true in my opinion. The only way to get rid of a disease is to find the cure. Salvation is what we need to be spiritually whole, that is why we are made new when we accept God into our heart, and we get “saved”. Throughout this paper I will explain what is means to be “saved”, for what we are saved, and through what?
Finally, fact #4: The original disciples believed that Jesus was risen from the dead despite their having every reason not to. Despite having every predisposition to the contrary, it is an undeniable fact of history that the original disciples believed in, proclaimed, and were willing to go to their deaths for the fact of Jesus’s resurrection. C. F. D. Moule of Cambridge University concludes that we have here a belief which nothing in terms of prior historical influences can account for—apart from the resurrection itself.19
The Suffering, Death and Resurrection of Jesus There were many events that led up to the crucifixion of Jesus, many Christians today believe that Jesus died for us, so that the world would be free of sin. The first event that led up to the crucifixion of Jesus was the entry into Jerusalem, Jesus fulfilled zachariah's prophecy by riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. Jesus entered peacefully and the people welcomed him as a messiah shouting, 'hosanna in the highest', but this angered the Jewish leaders as Jesus rode into Jerusalem like a king.
Jesus, the son of god, died on the cross and three days later he rose
...prejudices that a society harbours cause the hate and propaganda. This causes the prejudices to be reconfirmed and further developed into stereotypes. Now the cycle begins again.