The historical development of religion has taken many turns, ingesting the new ideas of each major philosopher as he questions the ideas put forth by the man or era before him. In this constant questioning and development of ideas, the trend has changed from theism and faith to more rational religi...

"Before the world was made, he chose us, chose us in Christ, to be holy and spotless, and to live through love in his presence, determining that we should become his adopted sons, through Jesus Christ." (Eph. I, 4-5). These powerful words of St. Paul in his first letter to the Ephesians, I think...

Zechariah is one of the Minor Prophets of the Old Testament. His book is located between the books of Haggai and Malachi. Zechariah is thought to have preached from about 520-518 B.C. The book of Zechariah deals with the restoration of Jerusalem, the Temple, and God's people. Chapter 11 verses 4...

English 202 Rob Ellis Life's A Beach The Divine Tragedy Sometimes it takes a different perspective for someone to see the reality of how things are handled, and Marquez's insights into the way "Mainstream Religion" has dragged God and Christianity through the mud to th...

During the course of the year, I have analyzed many different descriptions and definitions in an effort to isolate the meaning of the words 'religion' and 'religious'. In what I am going to discuss for the remainder of this essay, I find it necessary to give a brief explanation...

Crosby 1 Messenger The term angel derives from a Greek translation of the Hebrew word mal'akh, which first meant "Shadow side of God," and now means messenger (Jeremiah 59). Angels as an article of faith have become an unshakeable part of our so...

Can You Show That We Don't Know Anything? Most people go through life without ever questioning the idea of knowledge. We all make statements every day such as 'I know X', and 'We all have knowledge of Y', yet when we truly examine what it means to 'know' some...

The Sermon on the Mount The Sermon on the Mount is one of Jesus' most quoted, and most referenced teachings. The Sermon, a guideline to Christian behavior, worship, and spirituality, is found in the Gospel According to Matthew, chapters 5, 6, and 7. The sermon is broken into a vast array of ideol...

The 'flood' as found in Genesis is a multidimensional and an archetypal source of metaphor and myth. The 'flood' is an example of metaphorical and mythological language that provides foundational constructs upon which other aspects of the Biblical text and other works can b...

A person's beliefs and values transform with death lingering at every waking moment. In Elie Wiesel's memoir, Night, Wiesel estranges himself from his companions and morals to survive the Holocaust. It is expected that the Holocaust survivors would lose faith in God, their determination to...

Evil, sinful, lover of Satan and weak are just a few adjectives to describe women through history. Nevertheless, women were not always portrayed as so. Women once held a strong and dominated figure within the society. In the ancient Egyptian society, women were equal to men in status and prest...

Pascal's Wager Pascal states in the first argument that we are incapable of knowing whether God exists or not, so we must believe one way or the other. He says that we are stuck between two infinities. These infinities are the beginning and the end of human life. Therefore we have no pro...

Robert Browning, one of the most talented poets of the Victorian period, is famous especially for his dramatic monologues. Often these long poems deal with such issues as love, death, and faith. Much of his work is directly reflective of his life and of those issues...

Introduction: The General Concept of Angels in Catholic Doctrine Angels are integral to the Catholic experience, doctrine, and cosmology. Defined most simply as a "pure spirit created by God," Angels were mentioned in the Old Testament as well as the New ("Angel Pages"). However...

The Messiah and the Order of Melchizedek An exegetical look at Psalm 110 Introduction Many times I have wanted to pour my heart out to God and have struggled with finding the adequate words to express my deep emotion. In the back of my mind, I know that God already understands what I&...

The consensus among many historians has been that the transition from paganism to Christianity in the Mediterranean world was effortlessly accomplished by the end of the fourth century. In Christianity and Paganism in the Fourth to Eighth Centuries, Ramsay MacMullen sets out to disprove the consens...

The Charismatic Ministry of Peter throughout the Jews, Samaritans and Gentiles is an example for all Christians to apply to their own ministries. Peter sets the bar, and that bar is raised further later by Paul. The definition of a Charismatic movement is: any various groups within existing denomi...

Proof Of The Exsistence of God Either God exists or He doesn't. There is no middle ground. Any attempt to remain neutral in relation to God's existence is automatically synonymous with unbelief. It is far from a moot question, for if God does exist, then nothing else really matters; if He does not e...

In Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, the idea of the religion or mythology according to the ancient Africans was a major theme in the book. In historical context I am going to look at what they really believed and why Achebe mentioned some of the customs that pertained to their gods. Africans beli...

I am attempting to write one coherent essay discussing questions three and two. I propose to first characterize the opposing views of the savior in Gnosticism and in Orthodoxy. Secondly, I will compare the Valentinian and classic Gnostics in how they differ and how the Gospel of Truth exemplifies ...

Change and Tradition: Nigeria UnitThe Journals of Mr. Brown and Mr. SmithJesse HainesMr. Brown's JournalToday I venture outward, toward the village of Mbanta, the next village selected for our missionary program. Hoping to begin on the right foot, I've hired an Ibo interpreter, someone who I hope ...

"The Contribution of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Interpretation of the Old Testament"In reviewing the works of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the study of the Old Testament seems to be almost non-existent. It is not until his time in Tegel Prison, nearly one year prior to his execution, that he fully commits himsel...

IntroductionMy great aunt was a fascinating woman. She was raised in Canadian by English parents, married and immigrated to the United States. She understood French and English and was fluent in several different languages. She attended services, in places of worship, all over. She chose to prac...

Change is a fact of human life and evolution. One could even say that without change, there is no growth and therefore no life. In terms of religion, however, change is not always perceived in a positive light. Indeed, particular in terms of the Christian and other fundamentalist faiths, change ...

Problems with the Philosophy of Religion The philosophy of religion is an examination of the meaning and justification of religious claims. Claims about how the world is, often embodied in creeds, are more typical of Western religions - Christianity, Judaism, and Islam - than of Eastern religions...