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The principal beliefs of Christianity
Essay on christianity beliefs
Importance of scripture
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With Christianity being one of the world’s largest religions, the Holy Bible is widely recognized as God’s word by people all around the world. The Bible includes many ideas that are mentioned several times in the various books. Paul’s letter to the Romans and Matthew’s sermon on the mount share many common teachings that were some of the foundations for the Christian faith when it was originally established. Despite many centuries passing, these values are still very relevant nowadays. Three major points brought up in Romans 12 and Matthew 5 are to feel love for your your enemies, to maintain passion and sincerity in your faith, and to not seek revenge. An important value discussed in Romans and Matthew is to love your enemy. Romans 12:14 states “Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.” Similarly, Matthew 5:11-12 reads “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, …show more content…
I believe this is the most important aspect of Christian faith out of the three I have found in these two books. Romans 12:17 states “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.” Matthew 5:22 goes on to add “But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.” The way I understand this is to not repay evil with evil. It will lead to a vicious cycle and only generate more evil in the world. Seeking revenge is unnecessary and sinful nature. It goes against the Bible’s teaching and God’s word. Biblehub.com analyzes Romans 12 and in this particular verse they agree that this section is teaching that revenge is wrong and
... of evil against you, for my sake. Rejoice and exult, because your reward is great in heaven; for so did they persecute the prophets who were before you" (Matthew 5:11-12).
This paper is written to discuss the many different ideas that have been discussed over the first half of Theology 104. This class went over many topics which gave me a much better understanding of Christianity, Jesus, and the Bible. I will be addressing two topics of which I feel are very important to Christianity. First, I will be focusing on the question did Jesus claim to be God? This is one of the biggest challenges of the Bibles that come up quite often. Secondly, I will focus on character development.
Revenge will most often never be the same as justice, as human nature and emotion get in the way of absolute justice. Works Cited Alexandre Dumas, the Bible, Hammurabi's Code, Francis Bacon, Twelve Tables.
...ls to Matthew 18:23-35 [178]. Leslie reflects on the parallel, and states “Nineveh’s sin is confronted by the great love of God; Nineveh's repentance is met by the forgiveness of God, while misunderstanding of God’s forgiveness is challenged by a reasoned reprimand” (178).
In Christianity, the emphasis is placed on love of God rather than on obeying his will. People must believe that God is merciful and loves them as well. As a reflection of God’s love, people must also love other people (and the whole humanity in general) and forgive their enemies. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus endorses agape, or selfless love (in contrast to eros, or possessive love), which consists of dedication to another person’s good, even at the expense of our own good and happiness. People should practice peace and nonviolence, return good for evil and love for suffering (“turn the other cheek”).
In conclusion, Christianity spread throughout the Roman Empire despite the barriers of Judaism, the Empire itself, and problems within the church. Ironically, the Jews rejection of Jesus as Messiah was the catalyst for the leaders of the church to take the message to the Gentiles. This growing movement threatened the foundation of the Roman Empire. Although controversial, the Bible is used as a primary source document to understand the beliefs and customs of Judaism and Christianity. For the majority of Christians, the Bible is seen as historically accurate and is fundamental to their faith. The difficulties that the early church faced such as racism, tradition, and immorality are the same struggles we face today. For many throughout the world, the Bible is used as a “how to guide” for human behavior, has stood the test of time, and continues to be relevant.
Spong, J. (2005). The Sins of Scripture: Exposing the Bible's Texts of Hate to Reveal the God of Love. [San Francisco]: HarperSanFrancisco, pp.113-144.
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." [Matthew 22:37-40, AV]
... the Biblical rule that states, “Do unto others as you would have done unto you.” Instead, we continually show that there should be no tolerance or understanding of any wrongdoing committed against us.
God’s written law is something that is and should be continuously turned, to not only when Christians find themselves in need, but also throughout in one’s daily life. The four gospels tell to story of Jesus’ life and his teachings he gave while on the earth making it possible for there to be a true example of Christ-like faith. The proposition that there are differences in the story of Jesus and in his teachings seems to question the basis upon which the Christian faith is found upon. Rather than proclaiming the gospels as falsehoods because on the differences they possess, by analyzing the differences in the context of the particular gospel it can be understood that the differences are not made by mistake, rather as a literary device. While the four gospels have differences and similarities, they cannot be regarded as an argument against the faith because their differences are what point to the many aspects of Christ.
Be Merciful (Luke 6:31). "Be merciful just as your father is merciful." (Matthew 5:7): "Happy are those who are merciful to others; God will be merciful to them." The passage s teaches us mainly about being merciful to our enemy and God will be merciful toward us. Forgiveness of kind especially toward our enemy. We should not harm others even if they done bad things against us. We should show compassion towards others because if we don't people might not show compassion towards us. The passage told us that Jesus is merciful even towards his enemies. Perfect example of this is forgiving Jusus' enemy when he was put on the cross. Jesus even prayed for them to not punish them.
The most well known quote from the Bible spoken by Jesus was The Golden Rule, this small quote contains a large amount of wisdom. In order to receive love one must give love first. If one wants to gain respect or be respected, one must give respect to others first even the ones that may be considered one?s enemy. If we wish to live a life that feels fulfilling, we must give openheartedly with others. Do to others, as you would have them do to you. "If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. In addition, if you do well to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. In addition, if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. However, love your enemies, do well to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. (NIV, Luke 6:31-35)
The most striking of these is the notion that the Bible needs correction. This is huge in that it suggests that God failed somehow in inspiring the original scribes to write what He wanted in the manner the He wanted it written. Contemporizing the language is therefore seen as justified, and in the process interpretation and exposition are included. Some modern translations remove the reader as far from the original as the old Latin did. The Bible does not need to be changed to make it relevant; because it is the ETERNAL Word of God it will always be relevant. Metaphors, gender, patriarchalism, short sentences, repetition – God designed it all that way.
In the bible it is said that we should treat others as we would like to be treated, and when I would hurt someone physically or mentally I would be disobeying what the bible said. If I am to get revenge on others, what happens when they get revenge on me, will it ever stop or would it have been easier to just walk away and no say anything or let it bothered me. Now that I’m in college I feel that revenge comes in different forms. Now instead of hurting others I am in for taking revenge on the basketball floor.
Matthew 24:10 says: And then shall many be offended and shall betray one another and shall hate one