There are four blind men who discover an elephant. Since the men have never encountered an elephant, they analyze, seeking to understand and describe this new anomaly. One man grasps at the trunk and concludes it is a snake. Another one examines the elephant 's tail and announces that it’s a rope. A third finds one of the elephant 's legs and describes it as a tree. And the fourth blind man, after exploring the elephant 's side, concludes that it is, after all, a wall. Each in his blindness is describing the same thing: an elephant. Yet each interprets the same thing in a radically different way. In comparison to Eboo Patel’s text, “Acts of Faith: The Story of an American Muslim, the Struggle for the Soul of a Generation,” Patel focuses on living in a diverse faction full of religious prejudice in a world full of materialistic outlooks. He believes religions should be able to coexist without feeling that one religion is superior than the other. Patel’s intentions of pluralism in this text is to provide insight on how all religions should coexist, in that manner, I believe that Patel uses logos in the form of his experiences and also the things that he conveys for his argumentative claim of pluralism. His use of logos, in a way that others can relate, makes his claim more effective for those that are reading his book.
Racial reconciliation should be a top priority for every Christian, of any race or cultural background. But will this demand for a "multicultural center of learning" produce a less prejudiced society? Multiculturalists insist on greater sensitivity towards, and increased inclusion of, racial minorities and women in society. Christians should endorse both of these goals. But many advocating multiculturalism go beyond these demands for sensitivity and inclusion; here is where Christians must be careful.
Initially, America did not have a Christian foundation in the sense of creating a theocracy. However, it was shaped by Christian moral truths, and the forefathers created a hospitable environment that supported this religion. The relationship linking the state and religion grew strong as most of the people in the nation became Christians. This research paper outlines how Christianity came to be one of the major religions in the United States of America.
"Judaism is ethnic; Christianity is non-ethnic." Many people feel that this is an accurate statement. It is widely believed that Jewish nationality and Jewish faith are one in the same. Some people base this belief upon the covenant that God shared with the Isrealites, who were his followers. This is found in the Bible at Genesis 14,verse 14. It is prophesied that Abraham would be the father of many nations and rulers (Bethel University,2010). So it would be easy to assume that Abraham and his following descendants would all be of Jewish faith. This statement is partially true but there are other factors to consider.
Imagine being unable to pray or attend church without the risk of being murdered. Living in constant fear that your whole way of life will be swept right from under you. Would you be willing to risk your life for your religion? Middle Eastern Christians are not persecuted because they are criminals, but because of what they believe. They simply want the freedom of faith and religion that Americans experience every day. Each day, Christians in the Middle East are slaughtered, tortured, raped, kidnapped, beheaded, and forced to flee the birthplace of Christianity. If these indignities continue, Christianity in the Middle East could disappear. The persecution of Christians in the Middle East is not new. In fact, it traces back to the Roman Empire
In this chapter I read about difficulties that new cultures in America faced and are still facing in order to get their own space and not loosing their roots. However, like Wuthnow says in this chapter,” the more the better. Greater diversity enriches our options and thereby enhances our freedom to choose. Having variety in our lives gives us opportunities to learn about the world and to gain a better understanding of ourselves. (p. 75). In fact, Scottish Enlightenment mentioned that religion diversity works in conjunction with respect for diverse beliefs and lifestyles. It is the conviction that people can readily distinguish good from evil on the basis of their common experience as human beings, regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality,
In “Whose Religion is Christianity? The Gospel beyond the West,” by Lamin Sanneh, Christianity is told as a global faith whose most vibrant expressions and growth today are found in the non-Western world. The author explores these implications in context to modern life with in-depth intentions towards Christian learning and personal insight. Sanneh’s distinct narrative takes the form of a self-interview, in which he asks analytical questions on the cross-cultural development of Christianity to determine answers and predictions about the future. He believes religion contributes to intercultural understanding and has a large role to play in civil society.
1. Solomon, Jerry. "Christianity and Culture." Leadership University. 14 July 2002. Web. 10 Dec. 2010.
In “On Religious Diversity,” Robert MacKim categorizes approaches to the variety of religious belief in three directions, such as Inclusivism, Exclusivism and Pluralism. Exclusivists believe that only their religion is the accurate one, and every other religion is inaccurate. Exclusivists believe that one set of beliefs is accurate and other ones a partially accurate. Pluralists believe that more than one religion is correct; they accept numerous passageways God. Pluralism is an exceptionally, strange concept. If there are multiple processes to reach God, and it does not matter what religion the person is, then why would there even be a religion, and so many disagreements between religions. Because most religions believe that their religion
Christianity was born in Bethlehem it took root among people like the Assyrians, who flourished in ancient Mesopotamia. The religion soon found its way to places like modern day Turkey. Basically Christianity traces back to the Middle East but now the religion is trying to survive in the place it was started. Things like isis beheading 221 Egyptian Christians on a beach in Libya. Isis also captured 262 Christians in Syria including women and children. Christians in that nation and nearby Iraq face many horrors. Israelis have been defacing Greek Orthodox seminaries and other places of worship by writing slurs mangling Jesus. The chaos going on in the Middle East has shrunk the population of people openly practicing Christianity. Since the first
Most people define both Judaism and Christianity as a religion because there are ideas, practices, and disciplines inherent for each. The word “ethnic” does not usually factor into the discussion when it surrounds the religion itself. However, Judaism itself is not ethnic. There are people all over the world who consider themselves to be ethnically Jewish because they were born into a Jewish family and/or have Jewish lineage, but they do not necessary attend synagogue or participate in exclusively Jewish activities. Similarly, Christianity is a vast religion with a multiplicity of denominations inherent in it. Many people may identify religious as Christians yet do not attend church, read scripture or pray on a regular basis, or do any other Christian-like activities. Jewish identity specifically includes several characteristics that include ethnicity.
Christianity is a historical, multi-cultural religion that is over two thousand years old and spans many countries, continents, and cultures. It is based around the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth and the Bible. Bible’s “Old Testament” is taken from the Jewish Torah, however the “New Testament” is taken from the teachings of Jesus Christ and his disciples. Jesus is said to have come back from the dead three days after being betrayed by one of his disciples, Judas, and crucified by Pontius Pilate. After his death and resurrection, his disciples began spreading the faith around the Roman empire, though persecuted, until it was accepted as the dominant religion. From there, it survived the fall of the Roman Empire, and spread into the Germanic tribes
From a young age, Americans are encouraged by media that they can change the world. This idea has filtered into American churches and is championed by leading Christian colleges. However, some doubt whether Christians can change the world. Thus, this paper argues that Christians can change their culture. First, this paper examines Crouch’s stance on Christian’s influence on the world and how it compares to Schmidt’s view. The second section shows how Daniel impacted the world in Daniel Chapter 1 and how Paul did the same in Acts 17:16-33. This paper concludes with practical principles that can be derived from the lives of Daniel and Paul.
The part of Christianity I personally thought was the most intriguing/interesting is how the religion has split into many different denominations. It evolved from a single official Church into three major branches––Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism, with subdivisions among each one of those branches. Every branch and subdivision of Christianity started out with the same book, the Bible, however, each one of those groups have interpreted the teachings different ways. In general, I believe that the diversity of Christianity is a strength and weakness at the same time. It’s a strength because many different people can find communities that share their own particular beliefs, however the different interpretations of the Bible’s
This book is dedicated to every believer that loves the Lord and to the preaching of the gospel regardless of your color, background, and ethnicity. God came in the flesh to identify with humankind, not only to one particular ethnicity, but to all humanity. I am writing this book not to pick on anyone or any ethnicity in particular, but rather to let each and everyone know that God loves them very much that He had to sacrifice His only begotten son in order to save all human beings. There are people who believed that salvation is only for them, and without them the world cannot receive God’s mercy. Salvation is not from any human being, it’s the gift of God to all humanity, no one has the ability to save anyone except Jesus Christ (Acts 2:28; 10:43; 16:30-31; Mark 16:16; John 3:36; Romans 10:9-14). Because of these same false teachings, which had been taught for many centuries, many people from different ethnicity wouldn’t associate themselves with the gospel, simply because they believed it is not for them due to skin color. Christianity is not a black or white religion, but it is the life of God which is given to us through Jesus Christ (John 10:10). Jesus came to identify himself with our world and to give himself to all humanity and not just for one set of people or ethnicity. For God so loved the world and every “human being” living in it, not just one ethnic group or one set of people, but the world as a whole, that He gave His one and only son to die for us all and