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Similarities between religions of eastern and western
Similarities between religions of eastern and western
Similarities between religions of eastern and western
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The Central Teaching of Jesus After reading the chapter on Luke and knowing what I already know about Jesus and his teachings, pinpointing what I believe to be Jesus’ central teaching was much easier than I imagined. Frankly I was dreading trying to come up with one broad enough statement to encompass all that I thought Jesus tried to teach his followers. Add to this the fact that I am having an extremely hard time staying focused in the belief system that I comfortably grew up in, and it is obvious the kind of torment this paper could cause. I finally managed to sit down and really clear my mind and re-read the chapter in What Can We Know About Jesus and had a sudden realization. Amidst my notes and scribblings in the book, I truly GOT something that I could write about and believe in. (My problem up to this point was finding a topic I could write about and not feel like I was betraying my true thoughts- I found that I could come up with a ton of great ideas that I knew weren’t true to my thoughts at this point.) This is my final realization: Jesus’ main teaching was to seek him out and find him to be true as an individual. I feel that I can explain and believe this because it is one thing that I find true in many divisions of the Christian religion. There is almost no dispute in the fact that Jesus wanted his followers to seek him as the truth. Evidence to my idea of Jesus’ central teaching is partially given in the book of Matthew, “Blessed are the poor in spirit... Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” (Mt 5:3-6) (98). This states that even though an individual may be poor, they are blessed in spirit as long as they hunger for and seek the righteousness that Jesus taught. Also stated was that “The ultimate fate of every member of the human race is said by Matthew to turn on their response to the “little ones” who are Jesus’ messengers and agents to call the nations of the world to repentance and lead them to an understanding of God’s purpose” (104). I take this to mean that Jesus sent people out to teach his word so that all people in all parts of the world could hear his words and decide if they held true. If his messengers could lead
To look at Jesus as simply a good man who had a philosophy of doing
“The other Jesus”; a book that reveals the true meaning of being a Christian and gives another view on the characteristics on Jesus, Garrett shows the beauty of the Gospel and how it differs from other religions views on Jesus. In studying the Christianity of the American society he gives his own personal rendition of how this chase for the true meaning of Jesus started: “When, after twenty-five years of wondering, I came back to church, I finally encountered the Other Jesus. I discovered an authentic message of love and acceptance, the one that the Other Jesus seems to be exemplifying in the Christian Testament….I discovered believers who were trying to live lives that reflected the change this Other Jesus had wrought in them. I discovered people who practiced faith as well as preached it.” (Garrett. 8)
A German, Dominican, and theologian Meister Eckhart’s philosophy is strongly based on Dominican and Religious values. Eckhart’s thinking involves aspects of both Neo-Platonism and Christianity, in which he regards God and ‘the One’ as the same, however acknowledging the Trinity. Though the Trinity appears as three separate entities, they are in fact one in the same, only God remains fertile in which he appears as the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost. Sermon 22 focuses on Matt 5.3: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” His main point discusses poverty and furthermore this provoking statement: “Therefore we ask God to free us from “God.”
...s and have nothing to eat” (Mark 8:2). Jesus commanded his disciples to give them something to eat. This wellspring of concern for those in need is like a genetic trait passed down to the followers of Jesus. While the book of James is perhaps the most forthright in expressing the church’s need to honor the poor and warn the rich, concern for those in need pervades the New Testament.
In today’s society, Christianity is plagued with many disagreements about how to deal with current issues in society. These problems arise from the fact that Christians have the same fundamental beliefs, but they often disagree on the details. This is the reason why there is a panoply of denominations in the Christian faith. The way that many of the factions in Christianity interpret the word of God can be categorized into different styles of gospel, such as evangelicalism and fundamentalism. One such category that is beginning to gain popularity in today’s society, often taught in megachurches, is Prosperity Gospel. Prosperity Gospel, also called the “Health and Wealth Gospel” by Scot McKnight’s internet article “The Problem for the Prosperity Gospel,” is the belief that if humans adhere to God’s will, then He will in turn bless them with prosperous lives (McKnight). This prosperity often comes in the form of health and wealth according to many megachurches that preach this gospel. In times of economic strife, the prosperity gospel offers comfort in the hopes of having a prosperous future. It is also suspected that Prosperity Gospel has also become an outlet for the people who have a considerable amount of money as a means to justify their wealth. Whatever the reason for believing this gospel, it is important to remember that Prosperity Gospel is just one of the many ways that we can interpret the teachings of the Bible.
...nd reflection on the complex figure of this teacher with such powerful expression pondering deep theological interpretation. Matthew asserts the new community with the past tying Christianity to the traditions of the old, ensuring the Christian compilation of the bible in two testaments.
Essay: The Bible says Jesus of Nazareth was a teacher who used miracles to help people. In reality he was a wandering man whose simple tricks and healing remedies were mistaken for miracles. He wandered Judea preaching about the validity of the jewish laws. This gained him a large following. Roman officials caught wind of this and were scared of an uprising. So they had him executed; however this had the opposite effect. The jewish sect that followed Jesus was pacified for some time but emerged again as Christianity, with a larger following than before. Eventually, and ironically, it ended up surviving the Roman Empire.
The author of this book, Lee Strobel, struggled for almost two years, sometimes jumping from one issue or topic to another and then back again, investigating the facts of Jesus for himself. He traces his journey from skepticism to faith.
“First, there is the call to be a Christian. Second, for each individual there is a specific call—a defining purpose or mission, a reason for being. Every individual is called of God to respond through service in the world. Third, there is the call that we face each day in response to the multiple demands on our lives—our immediate duties and responsibilities” (Smith, ...
The Gospel of Luke centralizes the components of Jesus’ divinity, humanity, and ministry which contribute to the perception of Jesus portrayed by the narrator of Luke. Jesus’ divinity is demonstrated through his healings and miracles throughout the Gospel. His humanity is represented through the infancy narrative and also at the beginning of his Passion in the Garden of Gethsemane. Finally, Jesus’ public ministry serves as the most effective and important element of his life because of the essential teachings that he speaks of that give inside evidence to the formation of the modern day church.
Jesus explained and described to people the Heavens. Jesus taught others how to love others along with loving yourself as well.The most important message Jesus wished to get across was to live by God’s words. He explains to everyone that these are the rules in which God wants us to live by, but don’t be mistaken, he understands we are not perfect, he understands we will make mistakes, but please, ask for his forgiveness, celebrate the festivities of Yom Kippur and Lent, show God that you truly are sorry for the potential sins you may have committed, but most of all, love one another and love the one and only God. He explains in a way in which I translated, that everyday God watches us, everyday he may judge us, but not necessarily in a bad way. Jesus simply wants us to fulfill God 's laws, love him and ourselves and respect one another, but to be weary. Try to not make huge mistakes, don 't speak of the lord in vain and if one does make a mistake, ask for forgiveness show God you truly are sorry. Jesus wants everyone to know God is loving and truly wants the best for us. To spread the word of God, he chooses 12 disciples to spread the words of
An angel appeared before a woman named Mary and stated to her that she would give birth to a son. She would name her son Jesus. Mary being a virgin gave birth to a child, conceived by God through his Spirit. Jesus being conceived in a supernatural manner became man and God in one creation. God became incarnate in this child who became known by the name of Jesus (Mathew 1:18-25) . Jesus was a Palestinian Jew, born in a town south of Jerusalem, raised in Nazareth in a small village in Galilee. Jesus was not any ordinary child. Jesus was the son of the living God. Not only was He the son of Mary, He was foremost the Son of God. He was incarnated sent to us for the redemption of all mankind. So how do we handle the incarnation of God? Jesus’ humanity and divinity is union in one human body. God is now living in the flesh as Jesus of Nazareth. He is not half God or half man. He is fully divine and fully man. Jesus has two distinct natures (Divine and Human). Jesus was the word and the word was with God and was made flesh (John 1:1–14). This means, Jesus has both a human and a divine nature existing in one body (eis en prosopon k is ai mian hpostasin) of Jesus is the incarnation of God into man. Nevertheless, due to the loose meaning of the word, it is necessary to define the nature of the incarnation. Jesus was fully God and fully man at the same time. It is necessary that Jesus be all God and complete man in order to be truly incarnate. God being both human and divine, leaves us with a daunting questions concerning Jesus human nature and his divine nature. How did the nature of Jesus operate in one body? This research paper will look at different theories that attempt to explain the two natures of Jesus existence in one body..
When Jesus called His disciples, His invitation was simple. He invited them to follow Him. The same is true today. In Matthew 28, Jesus gave His last charge to His disciples, and the charge was simple. He called his followers to go and make disciples. Much effort has been placed by Christians to fulfill this charge, commonly referred to as the Great Commission. Jesus chose to fulfill the implementation of the New Covenant through 12 men who He called, appointed, and commissioned, and he only had a few short years to prepare them for the task (Willson, 1990). His methods were unconventional and were revolutionary for that time. His disciples were to be trained extensively by Jesus, living with Him for three years prior to His ascension. He taught about servant leadership and its meaning for both the leader and follower Matt. 20:25-28). From the beginning, Jesus put in place a careful plan, and an examination of His actions in the Gospels showed that Jesus left behind the pattern to be replicated. His methods, which included the incorporation of three different levels of discipleship, included His interaction with Peter, His closest three (Peter, James, and John), and finally the group of 12. This paper identified and analyzed the three levels of discipleship Jesus modeled, these discipleship methods were then measured against modern leadership theories, and Jesus’s level of involvement and interaction with his disciples were critiqued in light of these modern theories in an effort to determine the effectiveness of this approach.
This week is a reflection on the Gospel attributed to Matthew. A Gospel that, according to Perkins in week one of this course, Irenaeus saw fit to attribute to the apostle. Despite having read this text throughout childhood and into scholastic adulthood, I must admit, this was the first time I have ever reflected on this one single account without being interrupted by the other three canonized versions. The mishmash of Sunday School gospel traditions had a tendency to skew my view of these texts from an early age. Alas, this slanted gospel interpretation of the life, ministry, and death of Jesus has followed me to seminary as well. However, the focus reading this week has allowed me to more fully grasp the concept of a spiritual story written by a community of believers as opposed to a golden rock with which to
give I to the poor. Then come and follow me." In the light of this,