Throughout this Theology II class, I found myself thinking and learning more about my religion than I have ever before. Since I had twelve years of Catholic school I thought I knew mostly everything there was about religion, yet, this class challenged my understanding of things I thought I had a grasp of. Things such as contingent and necessary beings, revelation, the Church on homosexuals, Jesus’ life, the sacraments, spirituality, what a Jesuit is, who Ignatius is, what Laudato Si is, and what morality is; these are just are just to name a few that have transformed my idea of theology in this new age. Theology mediates between religion and a cultural matrix. Therefore, for something to exist it would have to preexist itself (Malloy, Lecture). So, therefore, for God to exist then he must have preexisted. Well, it is a little more complicated than that. A contingent being cannot exist. Whereas, a necessary being cannot not exist. God is a necessary being he as to have existed or the Catholic world would be based off nothing. How do we exist then? We partake in existence, which is why we are here. Revelation is when God reveals God’s self. If God is love, love by its very nature desires relation with that which love creates (Malloy, Lecture). God cannot force his love on to anyone. The revelation of God is Jesus, Jesus reveals God to us through his teachings. Moses, Muhammed, and even Buddha reveal God’s revelations. Yet, in the Christian tradition, God is mostly revealed
Holmes rightly mentions that, often in the past, anti-intellectualism or “cultural escapism” has erupted within the Church; however, the beauty of a Christian college is that it recognizes (and emphasizes) that all truth is God’s truth, and that “in God’s creation every area of life and learning is related to the wisdom and power of God” (Holmes, 1987). Another benefit of the integration of faith and learning is that, when the ultimate goal is to give glory to God, all aspects of examining and exploring His world become exciting and satisfying. Students are in an atmosphere where even the faculty delights in pursuing an education; learning is, according to Holmes, “an act of love, of worship, of stewardship, [and] a wholehearted response to God” (Holmes, 1987). The integration of faith and learning is vital, unique, and exceptionally executed by Christian colleges.
Theology 104 has changed my personal view of theology. Right away after week one when I open my Bible and start to read there was more clarification in the way I understood the scripture that was being read. There was a more comfortable and confident feeling in the way I regard God and redemption. In turn, I feel more knowledge of what I have learned and able to share the word of God more effectively. Finding factual proof to substantiate my theory of Christianity and the existence of God has become less challenging from the knowledge I have obtained from this division. Passing on my view of Christianity and God has been less challenging for me.
In this paper, I am going to share my ideas of theology. I believe that one of the biggest mistakes I made in the past was that I was afraid of being rejected, so I wrote a theology paper and tried to give the previous COM what I thought they wanted to hear instead of what was truly inside of me. Fortunately for me, even though I was not given a green light in order to see the Eccleastical Council, I was licensed to preach and this gave me time
Over the past eight weeks my view of theology hasn’t changed much. When I hear the word theology, Immediately I think of God, religious faith, and different belief systems that are developed within one’s self. As I strategically consider what does it really mean to me, after this course, I have been exposed to a more in-depth insight to what Christ purpose was and how significant the books in the bible are today. Now, I know why theology is defined as the study of religious faith, practice and experiences. After completing this last assignment, I will continue to have faith in Christianity, live by the principles in my belief system, and relationship with God will be more intimate
List the religion(s) from our study this semester you believe are represented in, or have influenced, the United States’ system of governance. Give specific examples of the element(s) represented for each religion, and how they are represented. Are there “threads of truth” all the religions we studied share, which are represented in our civic society? Cite scripture passages from each religion to back up your claims. Cite specific laws, documents, currency, patriotic music, sculpture, etc. that illustrate your assertions
In reflecting on this situation, the passages of on the characteristics of those who are shepherds and those who are not come to mind. In the Gospel of John, Jesus communicates the demands of being a shepherd of church.
This course is an examination of the writings of the Old Testament, using an historical and interpretive approach to these writings. GER REL and Humanities
My personal general theology is based on the scripture John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” This has always impacted the way that I have talked about God to others. I’ve spoken about God in a manner of love because He loves us enough to give His only begotten son for our salvation. God loves us enough to make our process toward salvation easier by allowing our requirement to merely believe in Him. God loves us enough to allow our souls not to perish, if we believe in Him. God’s love is the foundation of my personal theology. In this project I will cover areas that relate to God’s love for us. The topics
"It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not." This scripture represents the grace and mercy we all live under as believers. Many times throughout my life, weather looking back or trying to project forward. I realize that it is only by God’s Grace; that I am able to make it. And it is with this mindset, that I have the reasoning to want to attend Colorado Christian Univ. As a soon to be 35 year old man, I have seen a lot of life’s highs and lows. I was raised in a Christian home, by both my Mother and Father. I come from a long line of ministers my father pastored for 25 years in Denver, Co. at Mt. Carmel Baptist Church, my brother is currently pastoring in Topeka, Ks. at Antioch Baptist church. So I am used to being
This two-fold process first begins with an encounter with God. When he or she personally receives the experience of God as salvation, then the person is filled with the Holy Spirit. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is an addition to already being filled with the Holy Spirit. If a person never receives the Baptism of the Holy Spirit during their faith, he or she still receives salvation. A person who receives Christ has the Holy Spirit, but not everyone who has received the Holy Spirit can speak in tongues. Tongues can be traced as the evidence of the Holy Spirit coming in a way that is different than just having the Spirit. The Holy Spirit was present after Christ was resurrected. The reason being is because before Pentecost the disciples were preforming healings, exorcisms, and proclaiming the good news. Jesus needed the Holy Spirit in order to perform those miracles. Which leads me to strongly believe the disciples had the Holy Spirit after Jesus left the earth.
There are several reasons why I have the religious affiliation that I do. My membership, unlike that of so many, has very little to do with the choices my friends and family have made. My decision was based on reason and personal experiences. While some may say that these things are both easily influenced by parents and peers, in my case I have parents of different faith and therefore have less direct influence from them.
Studies of Jesus primarily focus on the duality of Jesus and how he is able to be both human and divine at once. This subject was disputed at the Council of Chalcedon in the year 451 between the
To understand where I am now in relation to Catholic theology I feel that it is appropriate to look back on the thoughts and ideas that I had when I first started this THEO 1001 class. Honestly coming into college I have thought about my faith very little and studied the bible and what it means even less. In my mind I have always thought that theology was primarily a group of people just sitting around reading the bible repeatedly and then coming up with ways on how to interpret certain beliefs and messages in it and what they mean to us as Christians. Now I understand that theology has many more aspects to it than just the one example I gave earlier. The fact that this class was just about Catholic theology doesn’t really have a meaning to me because I haven’t studied other religions or denominations theology. Diving deeper into what I thought about how Catholic theology impacted my life will be a very shallow dive, given that I am neither Catholic or a theologian I honestly thought that this class was going to be a history of how Catholics are the greatest Christians and their way of looking at the bible. Thankfully I was very wrong about both those things and have learned about some very interesting topics throughout the class, one being the fascinating section we did about anthropology and what role it plays into theology.
What religion am I? In my life, I have been told many things about my religion. My mother is a Roman Catholic, while my father is Jewish. I have learned about both religions, and I have tried to practice both as best I could, but I am now faced with the decision; which one am I?
Christian Tradition course exposed me to the Christian Tradition based on Biblical and church history. The course taught me the differences and similarities of Christian Tradition from other major world religions. I learned about the significance of God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the Trinity based on the teachings of the Bible. The course also briefly covered 2,000 years of church history but with emphasis on the impact of the Council of Nicea, Council of Chalcedon, and John and Charles Wesley on Christianity. The professor emphasized the importance of the reformation that sparked a revolution in the church.