In the introductory chapter of Jack Cottrell’s, The Faith Once for All: Bible Doctrine for Today, the author made several clarifying points about theology, that I had previously had the privilege to know. The first concept that stood out to me was “the denial of truth,” (12) because of how far-reaching the effects of it are. Cottrell makes the assertion that it may be, “the most pervasive and far-reaching feature of 20th/21st-century western thinking” (12). Essentially, Cottrell means that as a culture, we no longer accept anything as absolute; my truth may differ from someone else’s view, and neither parties are wrong. Everything is relative. I was previously familiar with this idea, but I did not realize quite the extent of its reach. For instance, Cottrell references a study from the 1990’s that says, “about three-fourths of the U.S. population did not believe in absolute truth” …show more content…
With all of this in mind, I was not particularly worried, until Cottrell argues that when everyone is denying the existence of absolute truth, there can be no absolute truth in regards to Christianity; it implies that Jesus cannot be the only way to the Father, as he claims in John 14:6. So, it is alarming to think that that percentage of Americans are philosophically against this piece of scripture. Another point I found particularly compelling is quite simple, but also something that reminds me of the vastness of God. Cottrell infers that while God is the subject of study in theology, He is also the only source of knowledge for theology (17). Without the information He gives us through His Word, we could only know the things about his character revealed in nature, and even that is a gift from him. It is amazing to me, that God is so big and complex, he is the only one who tell us about himself. Lastly, Cottrell delves into an area that I personally already had questions about; he discusses the value of theological sources outside
In this contemporary era more people do not identify with God and in turn have become more skeptical of God. This shift can be seen in Thomas Paine’s The Age of Reason; which is an excellent example of deism. Paine spares no detail on why he does not believe in the Bible and why he does not believe God is continually working in the world. Jonathan Edwards’ sermon, A Divine and Supernatural Light, on the other hand, adamantly believes in the Bible and that God is actively present in the world. Edwards’s provides an excellent example of Christianity. These two authors create a snapshot of the prevailing, in Edwards’s case, and emerging, in Paine’s case, worldviews of their respective era.
Beilby, James. Thinking about Christian apologetics: what is is and why we do it. Downers Gove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2011.
In this narrative we meet three women who come from different walks of life. Each one of them has a different religion, but they all have one thing in common. That is that they all have children and want to explain to them about their different religions, especially after the September 11, 2001 attacks as many children had questions and were left perplexed.
“The Gospel According to Larry” was published by Janet Tashjian. “Larry” thinks he can change the world at just seventeen-years-old by starting a fan club talking about his sermons. Sermon number ninety seven is the one I relate to the best. Josh, also known as Larry, gives his own opinion about the sermons he writes himself. In sermon ninety seven, Larry is asking the fan club if the people who they are around every day, are they worth keep forever? Are they going to be there when you are in the toughest times? You want the friends that can listen to you talk and give you advice, not sit there and just listen.
Award-winning journalist, Lee Strobel wrote The Case for Christ to retrace and expand his journey toward becoming a Christian. Strobel once declared atheist, and now Christian, shares how he began to look upon the Bible and God. As an atheist, Strobel lived the life of selfishness and only worried to please himself. When his wife began to go to church he wasn’t very pleased until after he saw the positive and attractive change in her. This is the start of his curiosity and investigation about Christianity. To relate with his wife he decided to study about this and attend church services with her. Strobel interviewed thirteen leading scholars who defended their views concerning the historical reliability of the New Testament.
The poem “Faith”, written by Mark Doty in 1995, works to destigmatize Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) through his relationship with his partner, Wally. Since this poem was written in the mid-1990s, it is a progressive piece that focuses on normalizing homosexuality and raising awareness for AIDS. His writing focuses on combatting the largely-held belief that AIDS only affects homosexual men. There was also the idea that there were “good gays” and “bad gays”. “Bad gays” were the ones who had the misfortune to contract HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) and “good gays” did not contract HIV. Additionally, he describes the profound effect that a terminal disease can have on a relationship. Doty’s poem represents the idea that true love provides mankind with the ability to conquer fears. The main purpose of his poem is to show his love for his significant other and show the effect that AIDS had on their relationship, strengthening it, while making it more fragile at the same time. Doty’s poem is important because it opens up a non-judgmental conversation about AIDS, which was unique for that time.
In this chapter, the author states that many feel that theology is unnecessary to understanding God. Most feel that they know more about God because of personal experiences. The author says he agrees with that to some degree; however, he feels that one is very limited with only the personal experience and without what he calls a map, which is what theology would be as related to the Christian religion. Without
In the book Simply Jesus, N.T. Wright makes three different claims throughout. N.T. Wright's first claim is about the “perfect storm”. The “perfect storm” takes up a large section of the first few chapters, and in those chapters N.T. Wright writes about that to enter the “perfect storm” you must step out of your own storm that is happening in your life, you must jump back into the “perfect storm” just as Jesus did in his own life. N.T. Wright fails to fully support the idea of the “perfect storm” throughout the book. Wright writes about the two myths that create the “storms”, the first is “… the high-pressure system of conservative Christianity” and the second is “... the new classic modernist myth…”. N.T. Wright loses his credibility to his claims by never giving evidence that disproves they myths. N.T. Wright states that the stories in the bible “...’really did happen’. And there the matter ends…. Facts or no facts”. N.T. Wrights claims are never fully
Defined as a complete trust in people, faith prevails as an essential quality for the development of interpersonal and personal connections. Accordingly, John Brehm, author of “Sea of Faith,” illustrates a scholar experience in a freshman class. A teacher, which the reader implies as Brehm himself, becomes irritated at the lack of knowledge in his students at such a simple topic: figurative language. Disgruntled at the question he begins to examine the significance behind it. Ultimately, after self-examination, he comes to understand the young lady who posed the question that annoyed him (1000). Through the use of literary devices such as personification, tone, and comparison: the author illustrates the changing perspective and ultimate connection the teacher makes with the students as he realizes the positivity that arises from faith.
The word “God” or “Christianity” is often thrown around in the political world today. Candidates often can be seen supporting the invasions of other nations, but then claiming a strong devotion to God only a few moments later. The question is, “how has America become such a broken nation with such distorted views of the role of Christianity?” The emergent idea of America as a Christian nation is an important and relevant issue with many possible consequences. In reality, there are many cultural and religious influences in the nation, but many people have internalized the idea that the Christian religion is not solely an influential aspect of our society, but instead helps to construct the society itself. Personally, before reading
The first articles, for example, have already opened my eyes to the movement of Christianity’s popularity. It fractured the cornerstone of my stereotypical idea of what a Christian looks like. A Christian may be anybody and, sadly, I was surprised by this. This led me to wonder how much any religion may differ among its followers when the ethnicity and regions are changed. I had not even cared to contemplate the ideas already presented in class but enjoyed the experience of knowledge being thrust upon me. As with biblical heritage, in which, I have used my knowledge of the bible long after the class finished, I am enthusiastic to the idea of learning something that could be applied to my everyday life. This class may differ, though, as the concepts learned may be applied to other religions, whereas, studying the bible was only good for
As I was watching the Frontline Video, Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero, I was immediately faced with the question about evil. It is hard to imagine how someone could do something so horrific in the name of religion. So many lives were forever changed during the events that transpired on Tuesday morning, Sept. 11, 2001. As a believer of God, I could certainly identify with the feelings of the people who lost loved ones during the 9/11 tragedy.
Tripp, D (2000). “Where did I come from”. Exploring Christianity. Retrieved on June 26, 2015 from www.christanity.co.nz
A) Most by far of Americans distinguish themselves as Christians. This fundamental certainty focuses on the Christian character of the country.
The Wanderer: A struggle with Faith In the Anglo-Saxon poem, The Wanderer, the narrator describes a man who is having a religious struggle between his old pagan traditions and the new Christian Philosophy. Anglo-Saxons believed in fate, fame, and treasure; and that one could not easily change his life. The Christian Religion believed of an afterlife in Heaven or Hell, and where one would go depended on their actions during their human life. Since Christians did believe in an afterlife, they did not believe in pagan philosophy; instead they believed God was in control of everything, and things in their life happened for a reason.