The Catholic Faith and Its Postive Outlook Upon the Loss of One's Physical Presence on Earth
In the face of one of the biggest fears known to man-death-the Catholic faith provides a positive outlook upon the loss of ones physical presence on earth. Through the life and death of Jesus Christ (the hypostatic union of son and Father,) a Christocentric theology resolves the mystery of death through faith and grace. Gods only Sons death grants a Catholic Christian with an answer to the why of death, resulting in a realistic, yet hopeful attitude toward the loss of the physical being, while continuing to believe in the flourishing life of the spirit in a realm beyond our understanding.
Atheism has always questioned the essence of religion, as Freud once said, “Religion protects us from one another.” Atheist Burtrent Russell once stated that he “regarded faith as a disease bored of fear,” but in the face of these religious challenges one still will be faced with death, the ultimate mystery known to man, often finding themselves with question. It’s always easy for one to question that which is unknown, to prejudge that which evokes fear. Thus, in the event of death one will often find these questions directed toward God, the unknown, and in the face of pain and sorrow find faith to be a fruitless comfort.
Marcus Borg (theologian) attempts to examine Christ in order to discover the true essence of his faith through a historical interpretation of scripture. By doing so, one can discover the truth about his/her own faith, the reality of Christ’s humanity, and the truth that lies within humanity through imitatio dei.
The analysis of Borg's faith begins with the earliest concept of Christ as the Son of God, but...
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...ries of the woman, whose presence filtered every room, and whose soul touched the lives of so many.
And suddenly, amidst this loss that I felt so deep within my heart,
I began to realize that her life was truly just beginning, flourishing in a realm unlike our own.
I’ve come to realize that She has finally reclaimed her freedom, freed from the pain of a mortal body aged by time.
And, just like the Ever returning spring, she is faced with a rebirth of spirit that is beyond our understanding.
So, her light has not gone, for, it continues to shine upon us like the sun, blooming in every flower
Whispering in every gentle breeze
Growing in every blade of grass, and
Living in every tear that falls.
But most importantly, she continues to live within the hearts of those she loved, and She has, and forever will live through me....
Thank you and God Bless.
The medieval theologian Julian of Norwich was a mystic, writer, anchoress and spiritual director for her time. She is gaining in popularity for our time as she provides a spiritual template for contemplative prayer and practice in her compilation of writings found in Revelations of Divine Love. The insightful meditations provide the backdrop and basis for her Trinitarian theology’s embrace of God’s Motherhood found in the Trinity. Her representative approach of the all-encompassing unconditional love of a mother who nurtures, depicts Christ as our Mother ascending to the placement of Second hood within the Trinity while giving voice to the duality of God.
Damien, she claims, “She transformed herself each morning with a feeling of loss that finally
meantime she goes through a series of maturing experiences. She learns how to see her
was no longer alone. She had friends to love her and guide her to the next
One of the main principles of Christianity is the belief in both the divinity and humanity of Jesus, that these two natures are combined harmoniously in one being. In general, all modern Christians believe that Jesus was human, he was considered to be “The Word was made flesh” (John, I: 14). However, Jesus was more than just a human, despite being subjected to pain, suffering and death like all other human beings, he was sinless and also possessed the power to heal and to defy death in order to ascend, both body and spirit, into heaven. He was all man and all God, a combination of these two elements, remaining distinct but united in one being. The deity of Jesus is a non-negotiable belief in Christianity, which is referred to in many parts of scripture, “God was revealed in the flesh” (I Timothy, 3:16). The Christian faith does not perceive Jesus as God but rather a reincarnation of God, a mysterious deity who is the second person of the Holy Trinity. Throughout history, controversy has surrounded the issue of the humanity and divinity of Jesus, leading to the formation of Docetism, the belief that Jesus was fully divine but not fully human, Arianism, that Jesus was superior to all of creation, but less divine than God, and Nestorius, that there were two separate persons within Jesus. This the proportion of the divine and human within Je...
The work of missionaries which Borges was criticizing in his story is prevalent in various realistic part of the world. Taking in account David Lindenfeld’s Indigenous Encounters with Christian Missionaries in China and West Africa, 1800-1920: A Comparative Study, we come to learn how language plays a crucial role in the missionaries’ ministries world-wide. In the text, Lindenfeld states that the teaching and the spread of most of the Western religions are based on the biases and understanding which are evident in the language used for the teaching (Lindenfeld 329). Consequently, the majority of the indigenous people tend to convert the new religion based on misinterpretation of the world. For instance, Lindenfeld claimed that “Missionaries could not find the proper Chinese term for ‘God’, and although they found words in African languages for ‘creator god’ or ‘supreme god’ these words often had very different connotations from those that the missionaries read into them” (329). As evident in the modernized world, the persistency of teaching the indigenous peoples the new religion, the indigenous groups had to adapt to the new languages; as a result, turn back on their traditional beliefs. We can solidify the notion that given certain
Smith, Andrew. "Chapter Nine: Life After Death." 2014. A Secular View of God. 12 May 2014 .
Davis, S. .. (2010). Traditional Christian Belief in the Resurrection of the Body. In S. Brennan, & R. J. Stainton, Philosophy and Death Introductory Readings (pp. 77-98). Canada: Broadview Press.
There is much to be said of the Hindu insights on death, and only a fraction of it fit into the four pages you will find at the center of this issue. We intend to do more in the future and welcome readers' contributions. Our objective is to share the message of the awakened ones who conquered death and knew the body's dissolution as freedom from bondage, as liberation into the Light, as a flowing of the finite into the Infinite. They asked us to think fearlessly about death, to fathom its meaning. They urged us in exiting life to let go of the ego and be the immortal Self which time and again shrugs off the shackles of sorrow.
Wagner, Stephen. “Descriptions of the Afterlife from Those Who Returned.” ThoughtCo. Accessed 6 Sept. 2017.
This paper will expose what controversies he was involved in throughout his theological career; why and how he is considered to be a key figure in the development of Christianity; and what insights
The concept of human mortality and how it is dealt with is dependent upon one’s society or culture. For it is the society that has great impact on the individual’s beliefs. Hence, it is also possible for other cultures to influence the people of a different culture on such comprehensions. The primary and traditional way men and women have made dying a less depressing and disturbing idea is though religion. Various religions offer the comforting conception of death as a begining for another life or perhaps a continuation for the former.
Or so I imagined. One opinion had stayed constant, however, a state of unease about life in general. I started to question existence itself. Being an atheist did not help. How can life have any meaning if there is no God? I want to believe in a meaningful life, but it is hard to find a reason. It is my view that most people need faith because facing the other, possible reality of a meaningless life is too painful to acknowledge. In other words, “important realities are often the ones that are hardest to see and talk about (Wallace, 1).” But, alas, religious zealots might be onto something. In my view, aside from the absurdity of believing in a divinity that had no real, concrete evidence, I realize some of these religious people surely questioned their faith at one point and still choose to continue in their beliefs. Now, I don’t think I’ll jump in my car and drive to a church in hopes of finding the meaning of life. But, I know that I have that choice. I have the free will to see life how I want to see it. That is
...t recurring argument against his Christology. “It was man’s rational soul, with its power of choice, which was the seat of sin”; if the word is un-united with a human rational soul then the salvation of mankind is not achieved.
The thesis of this essay is that philosophy is at an important crossroads at the end of the twentieth century in its role as paideia—philosophy educating humanity. An unprecedented challenge and opportunity for philosophy today is to mediate, and enhance understanding of the relationship, between science, ethics and faith. A central question arises: What can philosophy contribute to the emerging dialogue between science and theology? The emerging science-theology dialogue is characterized by complexity and considerable confusion regarding proper methodologies, goals, and possible interactions. There are at least three major schools, model...