There is significant debate about the effect of the church in the world. Did it really disrupt the existing social order? For many years Hans Conzelmann’s thesis that Christians are “docile subjects and trouble arises only when Jews rouse the populace with false accusations against the church” dominated scholarship. Later, Richard Cassidy (Political Issues in Luke-Acts) challenges this perspective by viewing Jesus as a “nonviolent social dissident who was … a potential danger to the Roman empire” by paralleling Jesus’ effect on Rome with Gandhi’s effect on the British empire. Though Luke (in Acts) tends to depict Rome as “fair and respectful in their treatment of Christians, and the apostles are certainly not seeking to foment …show more content…
Conzelmann viewed Luke’s understanding of the early church community as somewhat of a paradox. It was a great, but unrepeatable and non-replicable event in the theological history of Christianity, but so exemplary in its own “self-consciousness, concrete life, and organization.” The example set by this early community compels even the most casual reader to long for the presence of such a community in their own life. Luke’s major emphases in describing the community are unity (and togetherness), the work of the Spirit (particularly through “signs and wonders” done by the people) , and common interests in both the physical and spiritual realms.
Acts 2:42-47
Throughout the first few chapters of Acts, Luke provides summaries of the state of the church at various points in its infancy. Bock sees these as reports that the community has effectively bonded, though there could be a literary function of these summaries as well. In any case, Luke situates the first summary (Ac. 2:42-47) immediately after Peter’s sermon at Pentecost and lists four primary activities of the community: teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers.
The first of these activities, teaching, likely would have included the content of what Jesus had taught the apostles during his time with them as well as the power of the name of Jesus itself (Ac.
Society in all cultures share a common trait: Religion. Studying religion in any society reveals many of their traits and explains the actions of the individual. For example, Jewish people live their lives according to what was written in the Talmud and the Torah. They respect the Sabbath and also eat Kosher meat. Even when looking at Huxley's A Brave New World, analyzing religion still helps us understand the actions of the societies and characters within the book.
The following installment of The Charismatic Theology of St. Luke focuses on Holy Spirit in the Gospel of Luke and the Charismatic nature of Christ. In this chapter Stronstad examines how Luke observes the Spirit in the infancy narrative, inauguration narrative and various texts dispersed throughout his Gospel. A central motif within this section is Jesus fulfillment of Old testament prophetic trajectories. Next, Stronstad addresses the charismatic community and “The Holy Spirit at Pentecost”. He asserts: “The Pentecost narrative is the story of the transfer of the charismatic Spirit from Jesus to the disciples. [...] By this transfer of the Spirit, the disciples become the heirs and successors to the earthly charismatic ministry of Jesus” (Stronstad, 55). Additionally, he stresses the complexity of the gift of the Spirit. The event that transpired at Pentecost can be described as but not limited to a baptizing, clothing, outpouring, filling, and empowering of the Spirit.
By The Middle Ages, one understands a relatively long historical period extending from the end of the Roman Empire to the 1500's. The conquest of The Roman Empire by Germanic tribes, and synthesis of Germanic and Roman ways of life formed the civilization which we call medieval (medieval-from Latin words; medium (middle) and aevum (age)). Medieval civilization was greatly influenced by the Muslims in Spain and The Middle East, and by Byzantine Empire and Christians in Southeast Europe.
Due to the "highly subjective nature of most scientific theorizing... [we should] let the Bible speak for itself and modify our scientific view of origins accordingly." (as cited in Downey, D., & Porter, S., 2009).
By the late 1500s, Christian denominations had been popping up all over Europe. This was in response to the reports of indulgences (selling of freedom from purgatory), clerical immorality, abuse of money, along with many other bad actions that were rampant among the Church. It was these problems that Luther and others rebelled and created their own religions. With the rising of these Reformation movements, the Church needed to make some reforms itself. These reforms took the form of educating the clergy, opening monasteries, the Inquisition, and the organizing of councils. In fact, even though Protestant attacks brought these reforms, many of these reforms were needed anyway. The problems in the Church were so bad that the Church would not
Although Christianity was well known throughout the affluent classes, Jesus’s philosophies touched the hearts of the plebeians. The self-proclaimed Messiah often spoke of money and riches not being needed in the afterlife, and that God measures you not on how much money you have but on your values you showed throughout your life. This touched the working class’s heart as it informed them that there is hope for a better life that everyone can achieve but not a lot deserve. Therefore, this was the main reason why Christianity was spread as quickly as it could.
Our source of knowledge of the apostolic work of Paul comes first from the Book of Acts. The epistles written by Paul serve to further our knowledge of his mission. These letters were written to churches that he had founded or churches that were known to him. Luke’s account of Paul introduces us to the basic facts about this important biblical figure. A more complete understanding of Paul’s journeys can be gleaned from his letters. These epistles were written almost at the time they occurred and they comprise some of the earliest works contained in the New Testament.
The Middle Ages were a period in Europe dating from the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West, around the 5th century. However, the fixing of dates for the beginning and end of the Middle Ages is arbitrary. According to the Norton Anthology, "Medieval social theory held that society was made up of three 'estates': the nobility, composed of a small hereditary aristocracy,...,the church, whose duty was to look after the spiritual welfare of that body, and everyone else..."( Norton 76).
The Chinese Christian church in the United States often has ethnic characteristics, but different Chinese churches often have special concentration in the composition of the congregation, which reflects the tide of Chinese immigrants in different stages. For example, descendants of early immigrants from southern China usually have their fixed church. International students from the mainland of China have the church which they set up together. And other "informal immigrants" also formed Christian organizations. According to Aihui Lee, she divides American Chinese Christianity into four categories.
Lohfink, Gerhard. Jesus and Community: The Social Dimension of Christian Faith. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1984. Kindle.
Gonzalez, Justo L. The Story of Christianity, Volume I: The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation. Second Edi. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 2010.
Luke and Acts tells the story of what Jesus did and taught during his ministry, first in his earthly life and then as the exalted Christ and Lord through his disciples. This essay will outline the various titles Luke used to portray or described Jesus in his two-volume narrative, in doing this we hope to get a better understanding and a complete picture of who Jesus was. Luke in his two volume work described Jesus in numerous ways and I am only going to be discussing four which referred to him as Christ, Lord, Prophet and Savior. The main Christological themes that appear in Luke-Acts highlighted and emphasised on the concept of the “Lord 's Christ”, meaning the coming ruler of God 's people, who will serve as their Savior and performing prophetic work [2 pg. 123-143]. Moreover, Jesus’s role was not assumed on his own initiative, but rather it was the work of God. Thus we can say that God’s work and plans were at the center of the Book of Acts and Luke’s gospel [1 pg 22].
The world has more than one billion Catholics and with the ever growing population, it will only get larger in number. To be a Catholic means to have complete faith in God and his divine grace. Having God's divine grace means to obey it and keep it holy as it was created by God and given to his people. The religion itself is based on this and the people take it very seriously. Catholics believe that all people are of good nature but when one commits a sin it not only hurts that one person but the people and the Church.
In our modern society, religion can either promote positive, optimistic actions or negative, destructive ones. From Christianity to Daoism, each different religion shapes the lives of its followers. Christianity and Hinduism can propel their followers to achieve moral greatness, while Islam and _____ can cause people to do heinous, damaging acts of violence and self-destruction.
The first event would be one of his many parables. The Good Samaritan, which is consider one of his most intriguing in the gospel of Luke. It does not only teaches us a moral lesson, besides, it also serves as a guidance in our walk with God and our fellowmen. Additionally, we are to go into the world and do well to all men, no matter who they are. The next event would be that of his death. His death on the cross did not only show his love and compassion for humanity, besides humility. A man with no sin took the sin of the world, sharing his blood for the remission of our sins. He was not only obedient to the one (his father) who sent him, also death on the cross. “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross” (Philippians 2:8).