Ezekiel’s Valley of Dry Bones by Abraham Rattner: Faith is Taking the First Step

This shepherd boy had been clambering around the clefts and gullies of a rock face on Wadi Qumran, north of the Dead Sea hoping to find one of his lost lambs. Thinking that it could have taken refuge in a cave he threw stones at the opening. He heard a jar break, became fearful and ran to fetch his fellow tribesmen. What they discovered were written scrolls of ancient papyrus, stuffed in jars and

The Great Awakening was a revival of religion in the early American colonies. Some will say that the awakening had negative effects on the colonies, maybe, but overall I believe the Great Awakening had a positive effect and opened the eyes of the colonist, showing them truths of living in the New World and of things that could come for its future. These effects that the Great Awakening had on the early colonies is greatly studied and looked at, because it was what set the ground work for the religious views we have today in our country. Three sources, given to me, telling of the effects that the revival of religion had on early America was quite interesting to me. I found them to be a great insight to the basis of how the revival effected

Wright turns his attention to the word “resurrection.” He explores the way ancient writers and thinkers have used the term. He writes: “The

The great American scholar, William Foxwell Albright was an American Biblical archaeologist, and is considered to by many to be the “father of Biblical archaeology,” because of his contributions to the archaeological historicity of the Bible. “More than any other scholar Albright’s astounding corpus of books, articles, and public lectures defined a new relationship between archaeology and Biblical studies.”

While reading Sinners in the Hand of an Angry God, by Jonathan Edwards I came across some points that caught my attention. This story is based on how a pastor tries to persuade his congregation from the sins and make them to be fearful of the divine wrath, of God. I personally can relate to this story because of my religion. I am Pentecostal and I can see why Edwards would use such words towards his congregation so that they won’t perish and go to hell. My Pastor uses similar approaches like this when she preaches. In “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” Edwards uses frightening words and religious metaphors to divert people from the congregation from the sins and condemning them to hell if they provoke the wrath of God and to establish that everyone should be fearful of him.

“The Gospel for Those Broken by the Church” by Dr. Ron Rosenbladt is a presentation that focuses on those who have left the church behind and no longer associate themselves with it. He categorizes those who have left into two sections: “sad” alumni and “mad” alumni. Sad alumni are those people who really wanted to believe but never could really get it right, while mad alumni are those who were “conned” by the church into giving themselves over to Christ and trying to believe and then when things didn’t quite work out, they were tossed away. This presentation focuses on how to bring people like this back to the faith, both the sad and mad alumni.

Fredericks was commissioned to sculpt a 6-foot-tall crucifix, but instead designed this 28-foot full-scale model, for a bronze to be placed at the Indian River Catholic Shrine in Indian River, Michigan. The sculpture reminds me of church because it represents the crucifixion of Jesus. It had a facial expression that reveals apparent emotions of pain and sadness. The size and placing of the sculpture up on the wall is a dominant settling force for the eye, and it contrasts well with other sculptures around it. The white plaster on the sculpture establishes a powerful element as a visual

When writing this captivating book the authors had a specific goal in mind, this was to convince their audience that the bible is more than Sixty-Six separate books, rather the bible is in depth piece of writing that can only be revealed from beginning to end. It goes through six acts and reviews each era of the bible beginning with creation and finally ending with the return of our one true king. Craig Bartholomew and Michael Goheen do a very good job at informing their readers that God is constantly at work in the individual lives of every human being as well as at work with the world. In my personal opinion this book goes far beyond telling those who read it that the bible is one whole story, it also all people whether you are a Christ follower or not a story to base their everyday life around. While reading you often come across different quotes that are used to emphasize a certain point such as “At the cross God delivers the death blow to human sin and rebellion and accomplishes the salvation of the world” (Craig Bartholomew and Michael Goheen, 126). These quotes are perfect for keeping the reader interested and focused on the books purpose. Quotes aside there all also key questions at the end of the chapter to help the reader really grasp what the chapter was about. Whether you have known the lord for years or only a few weeks this book is the perfect read for any individual looking to strengthen their relationship with the lord.

Brown, M. L. (2010). Jeremiah. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Jeremiah–Ezekiel (Revised Edition) (Vol. 7, p. 358). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

This style favored subjective perception and rebelled against life-like depictions. In a similar way, because unregenerate hearts cannot fully recognize the handiwork of God in art and in the natural world, unbelievers can only appreciate art at a subjective, superficial level, even if they understand the historical and cultural context of a given work of art. Believers, however, can see the deeper meaning behind even the artist’s message because they recognize that all artwork reflects the creativity of the original

In the biblical discourse found in the first verses of John 6 (King James Version), Jesus ministers and teaches throngs of people. After teaching, He performed a miracle so that the crowd. After all had eaten Jesus advised his disciples with these words, “When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost (Bible Hub).” It was Jesus’ desire that the fragments of the meal be collected and not wasted. Jesus wants the same for his children in all areas of life, especially in the area of ethics. He wants nothing squandered or lost, but that the pieces of life be gathered and held together revealing a picture of Jesus holding the world in His hands. This week’s assignment is to write a review of the ideas discussed and inferences drawn by the author in Chapters 1 and 2 (pages 1 - 34) of the assigned textbook, “The Peaceable Kingdom” by Stanley Hauerwas, to include opinions about the issues that seem applicable to church, ministry, and society today.

Everyday I try to be as present as possible in everything that I do. As my eyes and mind finished taking in all the light touched, I began to notice what lurked in the shadows- a headless statue, parts of pillars deteriorating, and small imperfections. I did not remember this from the first time I visited the museum, which I feel shows the loss of innocence that comes with growing up. Even though when I first noticed them a sense of melancholy threatened to take away from the original serenity that I felt, I then began to find the beauty in the shadows. I always try to find the positive points in negative situations and find the beauty in what may not seem beautiful at first glance. As I looked closer at the headless statue and worn pillars I found myself imagining the stories behind them. Thinking of the hands and eyes they have touched over hundreds of years made me once again realize the beauty even in the darkest of the shadows. Even though we may lose some of our innocence as we age, we are also often less afraid of the shadows, and we are willing to walk towards them and find that what

This potential pathway also accurately portrayed the correlation and dependent relationship between a person's body during death, and how nature still takes control over the human body even after life. In the original pieces, I had painted a rib cage and the bones of a hand, using Baroque watercolour pencils. For my developed potential pathways, I had created larger and more detailed versions. Two out of the three paintings had become potential final pieces, the third not being developed enough to my standards. Refining this further, I had decided to use the Eraldo watercolour set, creating more vibrancy and tone in the plants that are entwined with the skeleton. I refrained from focusing on organs, but rather the bones that remain after death. I had woven numerous plants and flowers throughout the cracks and creases of the skeletal hand, exploring the concept further in depth. I had altered my original theme by using warm colours in comparison to the cool; instead of the harsh blue and purple hues, the definite plan for my final piece was refined with blossoming flowers and warm coloured bone structure. This had given the overall painting a vibrant hue, exploring the beauty in physical alterations from life to death, and the environmental factors contributing to its physical

Since its original publication in 1930, the novel As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner has drawn much exploration and critique. Though this analysis is very far reaching and broad in topic, one interesting route of investigation is the novel's connection to the Old Testament. One does not have to be a Christian to study the similarities in theme; there are very many occurrences of biblical subject matter and correlation, these having been studied by student and scholar alike. The Old Testament is known commonly as the more historical part of the Bible; it sets up the background knowledge to the New Testament and gives readers an idea of the nature of the times. Many general themes of the Old Testament are reflected in the Bible as a whole,

Looking back, we can see glimpses of the lives of those who lived in the Ancient Near East, known as the ANE, through their stories and myths that have survived over centuries of time. Many of these stories contain unique elements that make each one personal to the civilization that they belong to, but there are common themes and ideas that are virtually shared between the traditional stories stemming from this region of the world. In fact, these parallels even extend into Old Testament literature; laced within the stories that we’ve come to know and love. It is not surprising that the Old Testament contains similarities found within ANE tradition, seeing that