Kingdom of God

‘The Kingdom of God’ is perceived in many different ways by a variety of people. It is commonly thought that it refers to a life after death namely ‘Heaven’ and Jesus seems to reinforce this by stating, "my kingdom is not of this

The status of women in Palestine during the time of Jesus was very decidedly that of inferiors. The women is, ‘in all things inferior to the man,’ as stated by first century

The gospel describes Jesus as a great teacher who astounded the crowds who gathered to hear him. Though he engaged in debates with Pharisees and Sadducees, he took great interest in ordinary people. He often taught them in parables, stories that used vivid images from everyday life to illustrate spiritual truths (Invitation to World Religions, pg.416). The central theme in Jesus’ teachings was the Kingdom of God. For Jesus, the kingdom of God was not an ordinary kingdom, but that exists when human beings recognize God’s sovereignty over the world and respond in love and in

The stories told about women in the bible illustrate the importance of their role and contribution to society. Although the Bible does not explain God’s relationship with women as with Moses and other prophets, it illustrates love and devotion women had for Him. The stories of the bible describe brave, nurturing, and God fearing women whose decisions impacted the existence of the Israelites.

The way in which both Matthew and Luke treat Mary in their birth narratives affects our understanding of the historicity of these accounts. It could be argued that both of the birth narratives present the male ideology of that time. This is clear when in Luke, Mary is first introduced as “a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David” This description reveals the two most important features of a woman of her time: her virginity and, the man who she belonged to. This male ideology is also presented through Matthew’s writing as he also associates the female population with the aspect of birth and nurture. However, despite both of

When discussing the Bible’s New Testament, there are several individuals aside from Jesus that gander a lot of attention. It is not uncommon to hear pastors and priest preaching about the disciples that walked with the messiah during his time of great works during a Sunday service. There are many lessons to be learned from the experiences of and trails faced by the men that knew best. However, even though the Bible is considerable a masculine text, there are many notable women sprinkled throughout it. Most notable, of course, would be the mother of Jesus, Mary. She made several appearances throughout the Gospel from the moment the angel came to her and said “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you” (Luke 1:28) to let her know that she was going to be the mother of the “Son of the Most High” (Luke 1:32) to the moment she stood witness to the crucifixion of that Son. Today, after Jesus, Mary – sometimes also called The Virgin Mary – is among those most revered in the Bible. However, she is not the only Mary to have close ties to the Biblical savior. There are actually at least three other Marys to walk along side with Jesus at some point, but none more conversational than Mary Magdalene.

This biblical event was used as an encompassing example of the negative nature of women as well as their role in life. It also explicitly states that women are to submit to their husbands. This attitude of submission to male authority was expected from women in all circumstances.

Jesus' salvationis open to everyone, especially the oppressed, poor, despised; Jesus is the universal savior

Jesus doesn’t come so we can go to some other place when we die, Jesus comes so that we can live a kingdom life now and share an eternal relationship with God. The kingdom of God has already been launched, was always here, and is coming soon in all its fullness. Dallas Willard identifies the Kingdom of God as the range of God’s “effective will,” where what God “wants done is done,” and that the person of God and God’s will are the organizing principles of this kingdom. Hence, he states, “everything that obeys those principles, whether by nature or choice,” is within God’s kingdom. Willard goes on to use the analogy of electricity to describe the kingdom. The kingdom of God has existed with humanity since the beginning, just as electricity has. When humanity figured out how to harness electricity, it changed everything. Electricity became not just a flash in the sky, but something we can plug into. The entire universe is hard-wired with God’s kingdom. In Christ, the kingdom that has always been is accessible in a new way. Through faith in Jesus we can now plug in and translate our ordinary life, into an eternal

However, in order to live a Christian life, people must look up to Jesus as a “perfect” example of living life. Jesus had been oppressed when explaining the spiritual kingdom of God instead of human interpretations with the physical kingdom of God. The physical kingdom of God is based on human beliefs; the spiritual kingdom of God is based on God himself because the Holy Spirit is a part of his character. The problem with the world is that they interpret God as an evil,

The Kingdom may exist in the individual human heart, in groups, in institutions, and in nature. The Kingdom of God is as broad and as overarching as the presence of God which renews and transforms and recreates everything touched by it.

lamp because when a lamp is lit, it should not be put under the bed or

The hatred and slander of women continued over this period of time. Women were considered to be unclean, created by defect, only to service men, witches, and whores. They were not allowed in the sanctuaries because they were considered unclean especially during there monthly cycle. Even today women receive less pay for jobs that are not suited for their skills, they are not always the first choice in any areas of political or social positions.

be among His people in a special way. Jesus called this special way the Kingdom of God. He warned His listeners to repent their sinful ways to be ready for the approaching Kingdom of God. In urging

The rigidity of gender norms and gender roles is analogous to those in the New Testament and provides insight on how the society present in the story uses religion to present women as a monolith. Due to biblical expectations, women are constrained from making autonomous decisions, thus forcing them to follow a moral code. In the bible, women are groomed to become child bearers and “pure” wives (Titus 2:4-5), an idea shared in the book. This promotes them as having no sense of self-ownership, which objectifies them as characteristics, not humans with nuanced emotions nor ideals. An example of this is Purisima del Carmen. After she got married, Purisima’s teaching career ended quickly because of