Throughout my autoethnography, I will examine a few different areas of the Christian Engineers in-group. I will examine the two different in-groups, because one can be a Christian and not an engineer since they are two distinct groups. Then, I’ll examine how being religious in the modern-day workplace can cause tension with co-workers. Finally, I will explore how the two overlap, looking at specifically where engineering ethics can align with the Christian life. To begin, one must ask what is an in-group? Gordon Allport describes an in-group as being a collection of people who use “we with the same essential significance” (Allport, 1994, p. 173). Allport is saying there is no hard definition of an in-group, it is dependent on others to identify as part of this group. Moreover, to simply be a member of the in-group, one must declare they are a member, and others will identify with such group. To better understand in-groups, let’s examine the Christian in-group.
One can characterize the Christian in-group can as those who follow Christianity and live a “Christian life”. The “Christian life” is being receptive of Jesus into one’s life, seeing Him as the ultimate sacrifice made for all of humanity. With such knowledge, Christians are joyful for the sacrifice made for them, and they choose to live their lives with such knowledge guiding and motivating them (Novello, 2014, p.324-326). With this knowledge guiding their lives, Christians hold a strong set of values that they try
The principles are for continual growth and elevation for Christians. The instructions in The Bible are not only for guidance is a comforting and strengthening agent. Given this statistic, this could be an additional reason why God created mankind in His image to take part in on other wonderful helpful contributions. Highlighting the difference between a secular worldview and a biblical worldview, the incorporation of belief and doctrine, theories of vocation and efforts for living righteously is proven to be an influential lifesaving
Located in the heart of downtown Cedar Rapids this Historical brick building with its’ decorative molding and beautiful stain glass windows is the home of a subculture of biblically based Christians. This church family meets every Sunday like many churches who revere Sunday as being the Lord’s day, set aside for rest and worship of God. Biblically based Christianity is a vast culture of faith in God carried out by many subcultures called churches, made up of people who seek to worship God and to foster a personal relationship with him. One of the most important things that make a subculture is a question of what is it that brings these people together? This foundational question is not only the question of the subculture, but is also the defining
So much of society seems to live his/her life on a sort of self-serving autopilot mode. Rarely does one stop to think how or why he/she is making certain decisions or how these decisions can affect his/her life in the future. Often times, it is not until one has a “string of bad luck” or something tragic happens in one’s life, when he/she will turn to Jesus for help “getting them through this problem” only to return to one’s self-centered ways once his/her life has returned to normal. Living life with a Christian worldview is not something that one can take off a shelf and use when needed and allow it to collect dust on that shelf the rest of the time. This paper will discuss the many parts that make
Christianity is a faith based religious tradition, of which the follower is considered to be a Christian adherent. Thus, being a living tradition, Christianity is continually subject to change in accordance to the needs of the adherent and reaffirming the Christian tradition within a contemporary context. The aspects, which attribute the present existence of Christianity and its dynamism therein, include sacred texts and writings, ritual and ceremonies, beliefs and believers, and ethics. Ultimately, the aforementioned characteristics strive to form and continually validate answers to the enduring questions of life through a process of change, which simultaneously highlights Christianity as a living tradition.
Small groups are the proper environment to develop and grow disciples of Jesus. The purpose of a small group is to develop sacrificial, relational, transformed people who can continue the cycle of disciple development. Small groups must be intentional, individual and missional. There are five primary passages that can be used to form a small group ministry philosophy. Each of these passages have accompanying principles that we can apply to our small group ministries.
First and foremost, it is common knowledge that spirituality champions for good morals, equity, respect for human dignity, ethics and equality among all members of the human race. It is the above virtues that facilitate harmony and peaceful coexistence of human beings in all our day to day interactions. Reinhold, from his studies conducted in one of Detroit’s big automobile factories, noted numerous conflicts between Christian ideals and the realities that were in the industry. Surprisingly enough, Edward Earle conducted a research on twelve of America’s major corporations and urged all Americans to emulate them, a totally different thought from what
I will dedicate the remaining words in this paper to my attempt to reason how these conversions could produce such spectacular and beneficial results. I believe the answer can be encapsulated in one word; hope. Christianity gives hope to those who believe its message. In an attempt to show why it gives hope, I will attempt to provide the fundamental beliefs of Christianity in a few short sentences.
The true meaning of Christian in CCU is defined by this Evangelical orientation, which transcends denominational boundaries. These beliefs in action are defined by four distinct concepts. The first being conversionism, which is the belief that lives need to be changed. Next activism, the expression of the gospel in effort. Biblicism, a particular regard for the bible and finally crucicentrism, a stress on the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. (Session 1 Biblical perspective, n.d.)
The article The Myth of Certainty by Taylor Daneie talks about What it means to be a true Christian that lives in a healthy way. Daneie starts listing off a bunch of questions to get the reader to start thinking about their own life. She talks about being a respectable person and the challenges that a person faces in their life when they try to be a Christian. She talks about the doubts that she knows people have to face from society. A big part of her story was talking about what group a person fits in with and the contributions they make to that group. She says, “We belong to communities of belief which help shape, whether we are conscious of it or not, our views of the world and the actions in it” (Daneie p.21). Once people get into their groups and for their world view, it is tough to try and change them; nearly impossible to get them to change their mind.
Living in Christian community is a necessity for the everyday life of a Christian. Without community, the Christian has no one else to “sharpen” them, no one else to understand the everyday struggle of living in the world, sharing the Gospel, but not partaking in the sinful ways of the world. In “Life Together”, Dietrich Bonhoeffer explores Christian community, and presents not only the benefits of Christian community, but also the toxins that can destroy the community. Living in Christian community brings incomparable joy and community in and through Jesus Christ, but can be easily lost due to humanistic ideals, or “dreams”.
What does Christian community really mean? Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith in Community by Dietrich Bonhoeffer gives insight into what Christians relationships were designed to be like. The main theme Bonhoeffer explores is Christ in the Christian community under the Word of God. Bonhoeffer explains God’s gift of community by arguing the following: “It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren” (Bonhoeffer, 1978, p. 20). In addition the author adds, “Christian community is like the Christian’s sanctification. It is a gift of God, which we cannot claim. Only God knows the real state of our fellowship, of our sanctification” (p. 30). Overall Life Together is biblically
The purpose of this book is meant to create a foundation for Christian lifestyles. It addresses the origin of Christian values, and portrays the evolution of Christian worldviews throughout history. It briefly explains the biblical narrative and develops ideas in which Christians are able to live out their faith and deal with other worldviews existing in our world today.
The mature Christian response to individualism is to be able to fully embrace individuality while still being able to support the value of collectivism. Individualism is often seen to be contradictory to collectivism, but if applied towards altruism it can stand as a crucial role in collectivism. According to Wilkens and Sanford, individualism is the belief that the individual is the primary reality and our understanding of the universe and lifestyle should be centered on the self. However, individualism could be helpful to a community through one’s self-improvement and an individual can be a great asset to their community by displaying a certain diversity. “Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot were to
Over the years, many models have been developed and implemented to endeavor to make disciples. Some of the models have been effective and others have not. Among some of the most biblical and efficient models are the ones that involve small groups. Within the small groups models, they can be broken down into further detail, such as pastoral involvement, the church’s goal, missions mindedness, etc. In this paper, I will explain my philosophy of small groups in a church and the importance of the relational group in authentic disciple making. I will also explain how missional groups can help the body of Christ move out into the community. Finally, I will summarize my status in regards to living in community with other believers and being missional with that community.
Finally, those who adhere to the Reformed tradition have enthusiastically promoted a vision of the transformation of culture. According to this viewpoint, the various cultural and social structures in this life can be renewed in Christ. No aspect of reality is alien