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Importance of God in our life
Essay Christianity and development of American culture and government
American Christianity
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Lewis and Herberg both make excellent points in their essays. Both authors search for a deeper understanding of God and/or God's role in the human life. The authors also both try to convince their readers of their argument, and believe that, in general, people have the wrong understanding of their topic of discussion. Lewis explains how he has been warned not to discuss the topic of theology, as "the ordinary reader does not want Theology" (Lewis 363). He then goes on to explain how theology is helpful to learning about God, and Christians should look to "have the clearest and most accurate ideas about Him which are available" (Lewis (363). Herberg claims that the whole of American culture is wrong, explaining that the average American is religious
Alan Keyes and Alan Dershowitz 's debate at Franklin & Marshall College about, "Does Organized Religion Have the Answers to 21st Century Problems?", both have very differing viewpoints about the question. Alan Keyes talked about and argued that organized religion played a great role in the 21st century due to that religion and specifically Christianity brought on a set of morals that will be needed to shape the world into a better place for the upcoming times. Although, Alan Dershowitz argued that we do not need religion to help with future problems due to people without religion are just as more and if not more moral than those
In Marshall’s second essay, ‘The Development of Doctrine,’ he identifies two approaches to biblical interpretation, conservative and progressive. Marshall witnessed a need for greater clarity in regards to worship practices, principles, and theology due to the varying opinions among evangelical interpreters. Marshall mentions, “It is especially the duty of evangelical Christians to provide some kind of reasoned, principled approach to the question of the development of doctrine from Scripture” (Marshall 45).
There have been many theological texts and authors that have influenced me in regards to my faith. The text that has been the most influential to my understanding of my calling would have to be What Is God by John F. Haught. I usually refer back to this text whenever I need a reminder of why I am trying to become a pastor. This text was assigned to me in my Basic Issues of Faith and Life class at Bethel College. Within this book, Haught tackles the basic question of “What is God?” Now when writing this, it was easy to see that most of it was directed at atheists. Most of Haught’s books are a battle between theists and atheists. Even though I was a Christian
.... In my opinion it is clear that we do not understand God, but despite that fact, it has not prevented us from trying on his crown through our own magical, mystical and political ways. When these questions are answered in full, in a equnamious and engaged in the nature of a commonality, our need for theology and philosophy will disappear as we will no longer need man to define the undefinable, or to shed the light of God on our minds, as the answers will be clear to all, and our human spirits will commune. Can we say now in retrospect that through singing the praises of 'God' on the battlefields, in the majestic cities built by mankind, or by those who have claimed enlightenment – that any of this bumbling in the night has brought us closer to God? Have we detected the root of our origins through our bids at piety, or have gotten too close and our wings melted away?
James Marshall, I appreciate your openness and the personal touch you gave to your post, mentioning your past as an atheist and some of your struggles. In regard to what you mentioned about education in general, I think you are right when you note some of the major changes and shifts in the American educational system. You mentioned the fact that early on Americans had a very high view of scripture and faith. It is clear, moreover, that each family was deeply involved with the education of their children and this education was primarily based upon the Bible. Anthony & Benson (2003) make the following statement:
Hitchens, Christopher. God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. New York: Twelve, 2007. Print.
Theology is an intentionally reflective endeavor. Every day we reflect upon the real, vital, and true experience of the benevolent God that exists. We as humans tend to be social beings, and being so we communicate our beliefs with one another in order to validate ourselves. Furthermore atheism has many forms, three of the most popular atheistic beliefs include: scientific atheism, humanistic atheism and the most popular one being protest atheism. Scientific atheism is the idea that science is the answer for everything and god is not existent. The humanistic approach states that society is self-sufficient; therefore God is not needed for survival. Therefore how could he exist? The position that I will argue in this paper is the pessimistic idea of protest atheism.
“Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it” (Lewis, “Mere Christianity”). C.S. Lewis, a renowned broadcaster, essayist, lecturer, novelist, theologian, and Christian apologist, used his writing to create a significant effect on the Christian movement. During his lifetime, Lewis went through an amazing transformation from an avid Atheist to a strong Christian, and dedicated his career to sharing the truths of Christianity in his writing. Lewis utilized Christian apologetics to explain and defend his views of Christianity, and made the idea of Christianity more accessible to
* Anderson, Ronald D. “Religion and Spirituality in the Public School Curriculum.” New York. Peter Lang Publishing. 2004.
One argues that today we have a crisis of belief, not a crisis of faith. To explain this crisis, I will briefly examine the relationship between faith and belief, explain why cultural shift is important to note when trying to understand religious issues, go into detail on the three hallmarks of each of the two cultures by showing how they compare to each other, show how Tillich’s notion of correlation deals with this idea of culture and a crisis of belief, and explain how Marsh’s notion of a “theology of negotiation” (33) fits with Lonergan’s definition and allows him to argue that film can help us raise theological questions.
... time on taking these aspects away. Moral decline and persecution of religious practices are evident and growing in our society. When did American culture become so bitter towards the concept our country is based upon? Has the concept of God really led to turmoil and destruction? The answers to these questions may go unanswered, but the facts remain the same: Our society has taken the first amendment and Thomas Jefferson’s letter to the Danbury Baptist Association and interpreted it to mean that God has no place in our country’s make up. However, our political system suggests otherwise with examples such as the Pledge of Allegiance, Presidential Speeches, and currency.
We as believers try to make an attempt to summarize that theology is the attempt to articulate what faith is in a responsible manner.
2) Gollwitzer, Helmut. The Existence of God: As Confessed By Faith. Philadelphia: The Westminister Press, 1965
Habermas, G. R. (2008). The plight of the new atheism:a critique. Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, 813-827.