Like The Beatitudes

The book The Upside Down Kingdom by Donald B. Kraybill does an analysis of the bible in a different approach taken by readers. The main point of the book is to help readers understand Gods kingdom in a world that is turned upside down. Kraybill shows how upside down and radical the kingdom was in the first century Palestine and how it is the same in today’s society. In other words Kraybill illustrated the image that people who are at the top of the pyramids, the wealthy and the powerful, will be at the bottom of the pyramid in Gods kingdom if they are not humbled towards the poor and hungry. The book also clarifies the importance of practicing religious principle through the teachings of Christ in relation to the poor and suffering. In

“A basic moral test is how our most vulnerable members are faring. In a society marred by deepening divisions between rich and poor, our tradition recalls the story of the Last Judgment (Mt 25:31-46) and instructs us to put the needs of the poor

of oppression, understanding the central core of the Gospels as Jesus' identification with the poor

In the Bible, the population, at first does not accept Jesus, but more come to believe in Him after he is able to prove his powers through the miracles he performs.  However, the nobility, especially, they fear that their power is threatened; eventually, they are out to get Jesus.  Once Jesus' authority is questioned, most people who once believed in him no longer acknowledge their faith in him.  Eventually, swayed by the aristocrats, the people begin hating Jesus. He is treated less than human and is no longer a useful tool for the people, a source of healing or peace.  He becomes a scapegoat, and is considered the source of problems.  Even the people closest to him, his disciples, betray him.  Judas sells

We consider the Beatitudes counter-cultural because it is a different perspective of “blessedness” as of what we think in our society today. For example, we think that blessedness, or happiness comes from physical well-being. We say people are blessed when they have the most money, the best house, the best clothing, desirable appearance, etc. In our society, we view “blessedness” as happiness from materialistic prosperity. Another example of how we think “blessedness” is the happiness from non-physical well-being. We commonly say that someone is blessed when they possess talent (musical, art, etc.), are highly intellectual, or are simply experiencing from good luck. These examples of blessings are very contrasting to the blessings depicted in the Beatitudes. For example, the Beatitudes describe that blessed are those who are poor in spirit, those who are persecuted, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, etc. In our society, we do not consider someone who is poor, persecuted, or hunger and thirst as “blessed”. However, the Beatitudes depict the meaning of “blessed” as happiness that is awarded spiritually for our faith, instead of physical or mental well-being. The true blessings described in the Beatitudes are recognizing the need of God in our lives by meekness and grief from our sins, and God inheriting in our souls.

Luke’s Gospel greatly emphasizes the social justice aspect of Christian living. Throughout the third book in the New Testament, the story and history of Jesus Christ is written, and Luke preserves the many sayings of Jesus warning that those with material possessions have a

The book also focuses on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Jesus discusses those that are blessed and why they are blessed and also the kingdom of heaven. Jesus discusses faith-community and what is required of disciples including reconciliation with others. The book discusses Jesus and his righteousness. Jesus gives instructions in dealing with those who cause harm to is folowers and believers. The book addresses the question as to whether to literally or figuratively take the commands of Jesus.

Protecting the rights and dignity of the poor and oppressed is the most important moral duty of the church.’ Critically evaluate this statement with reference to Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Luther King.

Each of the eight statements of the Beatitudes begin with the word Blessed. This is ironic because those who would have been listening to the Sermon on the Mount would have probably been Jewish. For those Jews who would have lived during that time probably never would have used the word blessed to describe themselves. Therefore, those who were not convinced that Jesus Christ was the son of God would not have taken Jesus literally. Because each Beatitude contained the word “blessed”, this gave the crowd an

The class disparity is evident pervasively throughout the four gospels and Acts, a vivid example being the death of John the Baptist whom Herod beheaded. When John spoke out against Herod’s immoral behavior, Herod used his higher social position and authority to suppress John’s voice and as a result murdered him. John’s limited social mobility and high status consistency forced him to suffer the consequences of his actions, while Herod’s murder went unpunished by the Roman officials. Social position therefore played a significant role in influencing the lives of ordinary individuals living in the New Testament times.

In Luke 14, “The Parable of the Great Banquet” tells the story of a man who held a great banquet and invited a large number of people to come and join his table. Upon the first round of invitations, many of the upper-class citizens came up with an excuse to not join him at his banquet. He then decided to invite all of the poor and less fortunate citizens so that his table would be filled. After he put in an enormous amount of work planning the event, he was angered to find out that many of the people he thought highly of did not feel the same.

There are over two thousands verses in the Bible that deal with the issue of the poor. This paper will explore the Old Testament from the creation story dealing with the reason of our very existence to little-known laws about gleaning and discover that the issue of economic justice has been one about which God has cared since the earliest writings of Christian scripture. We will then forward to

The Beatitudes may appear as if they are merely a simple arrangement of blessings, but in reality they are full of meaning and beyond any ordinary passage in the Bible. Every line in the Beatitudes is not only a blessing, but a call for action directed towards the people of Israel. The passage seems to focus on Jesus as he speaks to his disciples and the crowd listening about how they could achieve the righteousness that will create the foundation of Heaven. He is not simply encouraging people to live morally and repent so that they will be welcome into the Kingdom of God. He is urging them to learn how to live happily and spread their generosity to others so that they will feel more connected to God. Jesus seems to direct most of the Beatitudes towards his disciples, who represent a new and reborn Israel that harbors no hesitation to put their faith in God, while the crowd that listens intently to Jesus 's words are the potential that Israel has to become virtuous. The Beatitudes are the guidelines that Israelites must follow so that they may live ethical and pure lives.

Jesus' decision to physically cast out the moneylenders from the temple stands as one of the most interesting events of his life, because it represents what seems to be the only moment in the Gospel narratives where he becomes visibly angry to the point of physical action. While one could argue that Jesus is frequently (and justifiably) angry with the disciples from time to time, this is the only moment that Jesus' anger moves him to physical force. Although the event is recorded in all four of the Gospels, this study will focus specifically on its rendering in Matthew, because when considered in the context of Matthew's larger narrative, one can see how Jesus' decision to cleanse the temple does not represent an aberration in either his character or theological message, but rather the natural culmination of Jesus' life and works prior to that point, and demonstrates a kind of revolutionary, anti-authoritarian element of Jesus' message of salvation that is all too often overlooked by Christians and critics alike.

As flawed humans, when we read the New Testament, or any other material, we take the surface meanings of words without taking the time to dig deeper for a true understanding. As students become “increasingly familiar with the texts of the New Testament, they are often surprised at the diversity of the texts, not only in terms of content, but also in terms of the social structures and identities in which the texts are embedded” (Veamcombe, 2012). Without studying the historical period of the New Testament we would have no idea how the social classes were set up. I found it interesting how much bribery was taking place. Gundry (2012) states, “bribery of tax collectors by the rich increased the financial burden on those who were barely scraping