Religion and Theology Essays

Diversity in early Christianity So many men and women were willing to follow Jesus in the wilderness as their teacher in the desert places. In addition, Jesus taught his doctrines, but there were some men who sought to follow the Jewish customs notwithstanding since there were a controversy on whether they should abandon their traditional Jewish customs of unclean meats (Allison 345).

He is of the view that exposure to secular education draws people far away from the Christian life and from God. He however, acknowledges his parents efforts in ensuring that he got an education. One of the themes that feature predominantly in this book is the theme of love.

The concept of religion is understood to encompass a set of beliefs in relation to the nature, cause, and purpose of the universe (Swatos & Kivisto, 998). This is more so when the creation of the universe is attributed to a supernatural entity or entities, and reverence is accorded through ritual activities.

In the Acts of the Apostles, Jesus Christ continued to live on where His teachings are indeed the Truth. From being unknown and persecuted, Christianity spread like wildfire and became one of the most dominant if not the most dominant religions until today as foretold successfully by the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. 

While, an extensive range of literature that has been developed under the genre of biblical studies has influenced the readings of concerned individuals with regards to the subject matter, the scope of these texts has been deemed as rather limited and somewhat restricting by scholars who have advocated the adoption of a more comprehensive approach.

As the 20th century comes to an ending, it is time to echo people’s successes and failures in replying to the Qur'anic challenge of establishing a morally upright culture on earth. The whole of the human past has been a story full of endeavors to create this ideal community (Ahmed and Ezzeddine 159). The ideal, which Islam is looking for, is also a widespread ideal for the entire human race.

Greek civilization has been a central point of study for most historians who attempt to decipher the factors that may have influenced the emergence of such a major movement which affected other civilizations especially in the western and eastern parts of the world.

Equality of men and women is a recent concept which has surfaced with the introduction of human rights and has become equal to the concepts of justice. The issue of gender equality in Islam was not a central notion nor was it addressed until the 20th century by Muslim jurists.

The paper also reviews and explores the debates of both those who hold the view that the shroud of Turin is indeed the authentic cloth that wrapped Jesus Christ during his burial and those who hold a contrary view and dismiss the Shroud of Turin as a medieval forgery meant to win more Christian converts.

In his quest to preserve the religion of his people, he killed many early Christians and took orders from the officials to go to Damascus to capture all those who were serving ‘The Way’. There he encountered Jesus Christ. The dramatic turn in the life of Paul made him a strong believer and advocate of the gospel of Jesus so that leaving his former status as a Pharisee and joining the disciples, he became a fugitive.

In many instances, Christians battle strongly with the issue of ethics and faith. They are placed at a higher pedestal that expects them to behave in certain subscribed ways. This is in line with the expectations of many people. Stanssen and Gushee state that it is essential for all Christians to lead a life that is governed by ethics.

Brown met Maechi Wabi, and she agreed to share her tale with him, and thus we got this spectacular book which turned out to be an intense inspiration. The story tells us about the difficulties faced by Wabi to turn into a maechi (Buddhist nun), due to economic, familial and social problems.

The story of how Catholicism began and eventually spread around the world is not only a story of Jesus, Peter, Paul, the first Christians, the Popes, and even Martin Luther. In fact, it is a story of how one religious institution – the largest in the world – has proven over and over again that nothing could ever destroy its unity under Christ. 

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was originally drawn up in 1948 and stipulates thirty articles which are an attempt to categorize rights that it is believed every human being should have access to. Many of the articles in the UDHR seem undisputable, and so many countries agreed to the original UDHR that it has now taken on the appearance of international law (Morsink, 1999).

The influence of religion in sports cuts across both the players and supporters. With this, it has elicited debate both for and against it’s mainstreaming in the world of sports. Religion is debated in most contexts with regards to its influence on sporting performance.

How-to Book on Personal Evangelism by Larry Moyer is a complete guideline on how one can develop an evangelistic lifestyle. Larry Moyer beautifully presents how the lifestyles of other people in the Christian biblical canon, may help in developing evangelistic lifestyles. This book is an excellent addition to the works of Dr. Moyer published by Kregel Publications in 1998.

Saudi Arabia and the USA differ a lot in terms of religious diversity in a variety of ways. Both Muslims and non-Muslims find themselves in different environments whether they move from Saudi Arabia to the USA or from the USA to Saudi Arabia. The USA is much more religiously diverse as compared to Saudi Arabia.

That being said, Christians most certainly have several ideals and standards of living up to—meaning, we cannot simply say whatever we want or do whatever we want. We have been redeemed. Therefore, Christians must remember the price of Christ’s blood, which was paid in full at the cross. It doesn’t take anything fancy to do what’s right.

Xunzi was the most faithful and devoted follower of Confucius than Mencius. Besides being a rationalist thinker who forcefully argued for the importance of ritual, he also laid a great impact on education, self-cultivation, statecraft, and formal ritual. His contradicting theory with Mencius that human nature is evil made him popular as a Confucian thinker of the classical period.

There are several values that I have personally gleaned from class. One of the values that I gained from class is the comprehensive, dynamic and pervasive nature of Christianity and its theology. From lecture hall experience, it became open that Christian theology is not a construct that can be relegated to the theoretical spheres such as philosophical controversy and historical reconstruction.

One of the volunteers led us to the “Spiritual Discourses Hall” and some seats were reserved for us in the front row. The prayer before the actual spiritual discourse had just begun. Three youngsters stood before a common microphone and sang in unison in a sonorous voice:  “Om Asato Maa Sad-Gamaya | Tamaso Maa Jyotir-Gamaya | Mrtyor-Maa Amrtam Gamaya | Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||

No purpose is served in the life of an individual, who is born and walks up to the grave! Every human being is endowed with an inner world to delve deep into it and to understand the real purpose of life and develop the technique to lead a spiritual life.

Judaism describes a Zionist movement that leads to the adoption of practices that influence Jewish beliefs. It is also evident that the members believed that Canaan is their ancestral home, though the movement began in Israel. Jews follow the ideologies of Judaism.  According to Sand (2010), they adopted Judaism as their religion, though some of them are liberals.

The exemplar of this essay is the Harry Potter movie sequel based on the books by J. K. Rowling. The hero’s quest theory describes the adventures of heroes as they leave their normal lives to pursue set goals in an unknown world. According to Campbell (23), the hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder, where one encounters fabulous forces and ultimate victory.

Who Wrote the Bible? Ever since Johannes Guttenberg first printed the Holy Bible in the fifteenth century, in effect making the printed word widely available to the general public (and no longer a king’s pastime), there has existed a controversy as to who exactly authored the Bible.

Some people or religions fast for 24 hours while others for many days. Some types of fasting are only partial merely restricting some types of food, sub substances or drinks (Desika, 1997). Some people’s fasting culture or practice prohibits sexual intercourse alongside other activities that are not food or drink related (Kittler and Sucher, 2007).

What is the purpose of religion? This question is rather interesting for the discussion. Almost all people in the world believe in God. Some of us have substituted their religious beliefs by logical interpretations of reality, but still religion has been one of the strongest inspirers and supporters of humanity for ages.

The Book of Genesis: A Biblical Worldview The Bible is undoubtedly the most read and most debated upon book in the world. Believers read it to listen and learn about the Word of God. Nonbelievers read it too, but only to criticize and discredit the contents of the bible.

It is quite important to have Jesus as a worship leader during the time of praise. Therefore, composed of two parts, the book is all about the example of Jesus in how he would lead Jesus into the presence of Holy Spirit. Concise summary The first, smaller, part of the book is based on the Book of Hebrews from the New Testament.

Aztec Indians history is very fascinating and interesting as it provides linkages to all the four-corners namely Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Nevada. Even today many people living in the Mexico and California can trace back their linkages to the Aztecs. In the 15th and the 16th century the Aztec Indians had the most powerful Mesoamerican Empire that comprised of the multi-lingual and multi-ethnic people(Schmal).

NAME: INSTRUCTOR: COURSE: DATE: THE STORY OF THE GRAIL Introduction The life of a knight is retold in Perceval; or, The Story of the Grail. This Arthurian tale has a thematic foundation as the knight searches for the Holy Grail. Perceval‘s journey starts from Wales which is his home.

The terms Atheism or anti-theism, are used interchangeably with the meaning of the non-existence of god. However, this interpretation of atheism is taken under consideration quite loosely by the philosophers of Atheism. Michael Martin, a well-known philosopher of Atheism defines Atheism in the dimensions of positive and negative atheism. 

Religion is an institution that has facilitated the evolution of humans from the status of primitive barbarians to civilized individuals. Tracing its origins to crude practices of nature worship, religion has, over the ages, transformed into an integral part of human society.

The author of the paper argues in a well-organized manner that the ceremonies performed within a temple in front of a certain altar perhaps are sacred indeed yet the regularity in conducting religious rites as such affirms no guarantee that a person stays faithful in deeds even outside of a church or holy institution.

Based on the approach Paul takes to grace, the human being is prone to sin and sin has its own repercussions. He elaborates that sin is deadly despite it being something that is common to human life. The epistle thus introduces grace based on the fact that human beings and sin are acquaintances, yet there is salvation that comes from the grace of God, but it is a choice.

There are ancient cultures that have practiced religion for many centuries and the practices have blended to constitute religions. There are beliefs that have emanated from modern socio-political thought like nationalism, communism, and capitalism that are considered as religions. This means that these movements have something in common with what societies understand as constituting religion.

Religion entails having faith in a greater thing, something which is beyond human control or understanding. A misconception is explained as a misunderstanding; a mistaken idea, thought, or notion. I have decided to conduct research on Buddhism. I had a chance to assess one of the religion’s proceedings, the Boundless Light Sangha, which involved a dharma message and meditation service.

The study will primarily focus on the notion of creation vs. evolution as per the opinions of Christian and Non-Christian believers. In relation to human psychology, the term ‘creation’ can be understood as the origin of a human being or any living being. It can also be referred as the birth of a human being that is made possible because of God.

Most of the people know Egypt due to one of the wonders of the world “pyramids”. It is better to know about the roots of religion Egypt possess in ancient times. This religion affected social and moral lives of Egyptian people. More convenient to say, the whole civilization Egypt was based on religious concepts people had in ancient times.

The portrayal of Muslim by the large media conglomerates in the western region has been largely negative and stereotypical, often viewed to be lethal and radicalized. Furthermore, the Islamophobic discourse aggravated by the media has facilitated to establish an obstinately negative, unfair and biased opinion against the Muslims.

Its teachings continue to attract a growing number of adherents in the Western world. With about 376 million followers, Buddhism is considered to be the world’s fourth largest religion, after Christianity, Islam and Hinduism (Robinson, religioustolerance.org).

The essay intends to show that the scenario for Muslims have changed drastically in America after the 9/11 terrorist attacks on World Trade Center. As Osama Bin Laden has been Arabian and a Muslim, the entire community has been hurt by his ridiculous acts of terrorism. Muslims are living a miserable life in America as they are looked upon suspiciously by other Americans.

The study will involve a thorough evaluation of the scriptures, concentrating on such aspects as its original language, genre, social setting, author, theological perspective, later reception, etc. The historical context of the study will focus on the possible place of writing, the historical time the book was written, and the purpose for which the book was written.

The encounter of people from different cultures has widened the perspectives of people. It has also created a room wherein questions and doubts regarding long-held cultural traditions and beliefs are permitted. Since the plethora of beliefs and cultures opened by globalization and supported by pluralism necessitate “commitment to maintaining a public space where we can all encounter one another”.

Alexandrian Jews, who studied Greek beliefs, were the single Hellenistic citizens who made a fundamentally innovative contribution to it by remaking it in proportion to the guide of their own faith. During this, they created what came to be recognized as the figurative technique of the understanding of Scripture.  

This paper tells that several factors weaken Mullins's discussion of the doctrine of original sin. First, because components of his doctrine are scattered throughout Christian Religion, the overall flow of his argument is difficult to trace. In fact, one first encounter his claim that the sinful tendencies inherited from Adam are worthy of condemnation in the final section of his chapter on sin.

The poor peasants of Japan’s rural areas as well as the samurai feudal lords who wanted to have guns and profits from the traders, got attracted to Christianity that spread its wing slowly under the leadership of Jesuit missionaries (Pettitt, n.d., 50).

The author does not intend to develop a theological perspective on marriage; he wants to show a different vision and representation of marriage in modern society. Contemporary spouses have numerous problems with their marriage because they do not have a solid religious basis for their marriage.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is universal in that He is the Savior of the entire world. Yet the understanding of this Gospel is an incredibly personal phenomenon. The effects of the Gospel on the life of an individual are best shown through the sharing of personal testimony. There are several doctrinal reasons for this fact.

The purpose of this book is to put forward Mariology, Marian and Mariological Studies, Rectors of Marian Shrines and people committed to Marian devotion. It deals with the status of Mary in the Catholic Church, a theological analysis of her personality and her contributions towards Christianity, with authority by the learned of the Pontifical Academy.