Thither's Influence On Religion

The beginning of church is said to have risen from the resurrection of Jesus. In fact after the Pentecost, the disciples were celebrating the blessing given to Moses at Mount Sinai in which he experienced the presence of God. After this experience, the disciples were believed to be bold, understanding and Courageous. These characteristics till this day are still celebrated on Pentecost Sunday and are used for the sacrament of Confirmation, which is receiving the responsibility of a Christian and accepting the Holy Spirit. Church has been the backbone of people's faith. It has given them a comforting home to pray and be one with God. Today, however, more people are practicing faith outside the church. The majority of followers believe in God and life after death, however, many have lack of interest in the church. Church must be looked as a community of disciples. The book uses a suggestion from a Roman Catholic theologian Avery Dulles. He suggests, "that most appropriate image of the church for our times is the church as a community of disciples"(pp. 157). I totally agree with his suggestion. In order for Christians to find fulfillment in ones faith, one must help others understand their faith. We need to be grounded in grace; by being a Christian community your focus on believing is responding freely to a personal call and

In relation to several critical writings on the analysis of religion, the film Holy Ghost People by Peter Adair is aligned intricately into such discussions. Emile Durkheim states in The Elementary Forms of Religious Life that “religion is a natural expression of society” (Durkheim). Through Adair’s directorial decision to keep his own narration to a minimum, the audience is able to observe a personal account of a Pentecostal church community in a way that seems less studied and more like a natural expression of the church members. Durkheim also states that “when I approach the study of primitive religions, it is with the certainty that they are grounded in and express the real” (Durkheim). As Durkheim points out, if these people truly believe they are being possessed by the holy ghost, then they are experiencing it and it is therefore real to them. Adair allows the audience to experience the presentation of the possessions without any additional narration, and so these sections seem more like a natural part of this religious group as a whole to frequently believe in and experience possessions.

Although Pentecostals and Charismatics have similarities and do agree on the baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues, they are not the same and can be distinguished theologically. One distinctive mark between the Pentecostals and Charismatics is their perspectives on Spirit- baptism. While Pentecostals see it as subsequent to our new birth, Charismatics tend to view Spirit-baptism as

In recent days I had the opportunity to go back to North Carolina for a few short days. There, with a heavy heart from a loss in the family, I had nothing else to look towards. I’ve always heard of individuals finding peace, faith, blessings, and love of Christ from attending church. I’ve never been a person who put their faith into a higher power. As I was growing up my parents never wanted to force me into any religion without me knowing everything about it and choosing which route to take on my own. As the years treaded on, I never bothered myself to learn about the many different religions and what each stands for. So I used this opportunity as mine to attend church for the very first time. I attended the Roman Catholic services held

In order to understand the beliefs of the fringe Pentecostals an understanding of the Pentecostal denomination must first be framed. As Randal J Stephens writes in his journal assessing the roots the Pentecostal church was formed in the early twentieth century by Charles Fox Parham in Topeka, Kansas where he preached the idea that in order to be contact with the Holy Spirit a person must be spiritually baptized and receive the gift of tongues, and yet from Parham’s teachings the ideas evolved into a more radically charismatic church which incorporates women clergy and the teachings of prosperity and prophecy were incorporated. The belief in Tongues in all sects Pentecostalism is one issue of controversy in that tongue talkers sound crazy and claim that in order for one to fully know the Holy Spirit he must speak in tongues. In Scripture when the apostles are given the Holy Spirit they go out and preach in a language that is understood by all, however this reaction does not inherently imply that

Growing up I thought of church and the bible as something that was out of my reach intellectually. With this being a central thought, I just decided to table the hearing and understanding of the truth of Jesus until I was an adult. As an adult, I have learned a great deal about what Jesus Christ was about and why He died on the cross, however, I did not think of the gospels as hinging on the kingdom of God. I knew Jesus as many people do, as my savior and one who loves me to the point of dying on a cross for my sins. Gordon Fee articulates this well as he explains Jesus' ministry and purpose of His ministry. My understanding of the gospels are now clear in that the kingdom of God is the pearl and gold nugget that we are attempting to obtain

In the New Testament, the church can be referred to as the “local” church or the “universal” church. The local church is a place where assemblies of believers come together at a particular location and time. The universal church refers to the body of Christ. Many churches believe that they are healthy because they have a certain number of people on their

2012. p. 306). When people attend church, they have their fellow church members; they can talk with about their problems. The church members can support each other through whatever trauma they may be experiencing.

Author Dan Yarnell suggested seven characteristics of a Christ-honoring church in the 21st century: worship, fellowship, interaction with Scripture, discipleship, community, living sacrificially, and living missionally. However, Yarnell contradicted himself when he stated that the church originated at Pentecost (Acts 2) and proceeded to provide examples of the effects of cultural development and new missional opportunities on the church prior to Pentecost. While the term “church” or “” is unique to Acts and the following New Testament writings, its concept and precepts existed from the time of Genesis. In fact, Yarnell did not reference any Old Testament passages or practices. Therefore, Yarnell contradicted himself and ignored Old

As a Pentecostal, I believe that the choices I make and the paths I choose to take are influenced within me by the power of God. My religion is a branch of Christianity that focuses on the work of the Holy Spirit and the direct movement of God through me. The name “Pentecostalism” comes from the day of the Pentecost, according to the Bible, when Jesus’s disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in various languages. They had been baptized in the Spirit and were then able to speak in all different languages of what great things God had done. We believe that this miracle is something that can and does happen every day. Another important part of our movement is re-establishing Christianity into a pure religion as it was in the very beginning.

Catholics believe that there is a process for salvation throughout life that the believer must follow. This involves doing good works and the use of sacraments throughout their life with final salvation in the end. These sacraments involve infant baptism, the Mass, and Communion. Catholics believe salvation is only reached at the end of a Christian’s life, when the person finally enters heaven after they are raised from the dead, this is when salvation occurs. On the other hand, Baptists believe that salvation occurs in the believer’s life. All they have to do is ask Jesus for forgiveness of their sins, then in that instant, the believer is saved forever. This whole ideology is from the basis that Catholics believe Jesus, himself offered his own life to resemble love which could accept all consequences of everyone’s sins whereas Baptists believe God was the ultimate decider and punished Jesus instead of Christians so that they could be forgiven. On the right is a drawing of the moment when Jesus was nailed to the cross which represents when His life was taken either because of his own sacrifice, or because of God’s punishment. So, the main difference between the idea salvation between Baptist and Catholics is that Catholic’s believe in “salvation by works” whereas Baptist “believe in salvation through faith in Christ, apart from works,” (www.baptistcatholic.com). Also, after these believers die, Baptists believe that if your sins are forgiven because you have been saved, then you go to Heaven and if not, you go to Hell whereas Catholics also believe in the Purgatory. This is a place where Catholics believe the soul of the person goes to become cleansed of their sins before they get to

Paul is developing and spreading the doctrine of the Church in his letters. The body of Christ (the Church) is being revealed in his letters to the seven churches. Paul’s revelations about the Church concerned its heavenly calling, promise and destiny. The administration and organization of the Church was revealed to us through the apostle Paul.

There are many cultures around the world that do not expect clergy celibacy (Daly, 2009) including Christian denominations who allow ministers/priests to marry. These Churches demonstrate how marriage is compatible with the priestly life. These churches present a great example of how familial responsibilities are compatible with religious commitments. A study of married Evangelical ministers and Roman Catholic priests revealed that there were no significant differences in dimensions of religiosity or commitments to the parish between the celibate and married clergymen (Swenson, 1998). Both are

Baptism in (or with) the Holy Spirit is a very important, distinctive Christian experience in the life of the believer. The basis is found in the book of Acts, specifically the event of Pentecost.

In his hardback titled The Church: Contours of Christian Theology, Edmund P. Clowney writes a systematic presentation about concerning the doctrine of the church. In chapter eight of his book, he describes the Marks of the Church. Clowney writes about the marks of a true church of Christ, which include the true preaching of the Word of God; the proper observation of the sacraments; and the faithful exercise of church discipline.