Universalism: Western Controversy Analysis

As a “cradle Methodist,” the standards and theological tasks mentioned in Part III of the Discipline are ingrained in how I understand and apply my faith. These aspects of the United Methodist tradition have been a foundation from which I have grown during my formative years. Although I have not always been able to articulate these beliefs, I have learned the power in living them in addition to teaching them. I believe that much of the affirming, teaching, and applying of our standards and theological task that I do in my ministry is out of this same foundation that was formative to my faith. It informs how I preach, the lead Bible studies I lead, how I lead youth group, and my interactions with congregants and the community.

Katharine once said, “Christ wishes the Christian Community to be a body that is perfect because we work together towards a single end, and the higher the motive which actuates this collaboration the higher, no doubt, will be the union. Now the end in question is supremely exalted: the continuous sanctification of the Body for the glory of God and the Lamb that was slain.” (A-Z Quotes). This quote describes Katharine’s way of working towards creating her orphanages and schools with her order. Despite overcoming many difficulties in her earlier life, Saint Katharine Drexel created her own religious order, donated generously to charities, and established schools to teach the faith the others; consequently, she is one of the most dynamic missionary saints from America.

According to Hinks, Methodists were usually more willing to place “the powerful God of Christianity… on the side of social and political justice.” One religious message that Walker conveys through this Appeal that supports this claim, was

Two forces which gathered strength in the last half of the twentieth century now dominate the world religions at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The first is the globalization of religions and their resulting encounter with each other, and the second is the need to redefine attitudes toward gender as women have stepped forward to insist that their full humanity be acknowledged in the religious as well as the social realm.

Galindo analyzes that the fundamental “mission” of a congregation is the same as any other congregation that exists in any part of the world. He argues that though every congregation has a mission and a vision, at the same time, it shares a basic common mission. (43) This reminds me of my home church The First Church of Evanston and my Field Site, The Evanston Vineyard Church. Both churches have a common mission of welcoming people to the church, irrespective of their ethnic, cultural, racial, and economic and, gender backgrounds. The mission is to help people be received in the house of God with due and deserved Christian love so that they feel loved and welcomed. Both these churches encourage church attendees to attend the service and receive the Eucharist.

In the article, Baptists and the Ecumenical Movement by John Briggs, the role and history of Baptists in their engagement with the Ecumenical Movement is discussed. This article critique will summarize the main points of the article, as well as look at the strengths and weaknesses. The conclusion of this critique will determine the overall effectiveness of the article itself.

Robert Laurence Moore has written a delightful, enlightening, and provocative survey of American church history centered around the theme of "mixing" the "sacred" with the "secular" and vice versa. The major points of conversation covered include the polarization caused by the public display of religious symbols, the important contribution that women and Africans have made to the American religious mosaic, the harmony and friction that has existed between science and religion, the impact of immigration on religious pluralism, and the twin push toward the union and separation of religion and politics.

Into the Pulpit: Southern Baptist Women and Power Since World War II, by Elizabeth Flowers, as the title suggest, is a historical account of women and their treatment in the Southern Baptist Convention from the mid 1940’s to present. Flower’s work revolves much around the well accounted for story of the SBC conflicts of the late 20th century, however, providing the often untold story of women in ministry and particularly their mistreatment. The book is broken up chronologically, chapter one and two begin with years leading to the struggle, 1945-1978. Chapter three revolves around the years entering the struggle for women in ministry, 1979 to 1984. Chapter four and five deal with the years of turmoil and destruction within the SBC, and

Weber, in The protestant ethic, draws conclusions from sweeping cultural generalizations. In the book’s introduction he explains how various non-Western countries have had good ideas and practices in the past, but unfortunately never capitalized on them enough to project them to the great status the

I attended Unity of Tacoma church on a Thursday evening and was the first to arrive to the service. I was welcome by Mrs. Raylene Ewing who has been practicing Untiys’ five basic principles for nearly a decade. Charles Sherlock Fillmore and his wife Myrtle Page Fillmore founded Unity in the midst of the New Thought movement in 1889. Both Charles and Mrytle experienced health problems and contributed their recovery to their prayer and devotion to God, this is what sparked their idea of creating Unity. Currently Unity of Tacoma has two services a week, a Sunday service where Mrs. Raylene Ewings husband Reverend David leads and a Thursday evening meditation service where Reverend David opens and closes the mediation with prayer and Godly council. Thursday nights service is followed by a reflection period and a bible study that Reverend David also leads with his wife. When choosing this religion, it was labeled as a denomination of Christianity. However, after reading through Unity of Tacoma’s’ website I found that they did not identify themselves that way, but did not explain how they identify themselves. When Speaking to Mrs. Raylene I found that they consider themselves to be very similar to Science of Mind but would not consider themselves a denomination of any major religious belief system.

These three perceptions are distinctly different, but ultimately speak to the contextual nature of Black theology—rooting worship, adoration, and discipleship within the notion a (conscious) living G-d. The first perception explored is the image G-d adored through the lens of Sister Sweet and Mother Darling. At first glance, these women appear different in life style and theology—different churches, different abilities, and different approaches to discipleship. But upon further examination, one discovers the same paradigm at work. Both have lost children to AIDS. Both have committed themselves to a praxis centered theology to process their loss. Mother Darling is street missionary and Sister Sweet is a disabled woman confined to a wheel that feeds the birds and attends to the needs of the Little piece of Heaven Church. Both have found peace in their personalized work for the Lord. Their G-d is a “shelter in a time of storm.” The second perception is the image of G-d as seen through Deacon Zee. This G-d is one of salvation and complacence for Deacon Zee. The “White Jesus” he prayed to for his assistance in finding his copy of the Wall Street Journal—a nuanced symbol for prosperity. This G-d speaks to the corporate nature and element of

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).

At times, the specific religious traditions, practices, and beliefs of the past are not enough to fill the spiritual void of the modern human being. Even more, a single religion alone may not hold all of the answers to satisfy one’s desire for enlightenment, and many choose a new path. This is the path that led to the creation of the religious denomination of Unitarian Universalism.

Postmodern worldview did not include any spiritual qualities, instead taking a holistic approach. Puchalski mentioned that there are three different ways of seeing life, I personally identify with “see[ing] life as broken” (2001). I try and help my patients by fixing their problems and telling them how they can prevent a readmission to the hospital.

The doctrine of human rights were created to protect every single human regardless of race, gender, sex, nationality, sexual orientation and other differences. It is based on human dignity and the belief that no one has the right to take this away from another human being. The doctrine states that every ‘man’ has inalienable rights of equality, but is this true? Are human rights universal? Whether human rights are universal has been debated for decades. There have been individuals and even countries that oppose the idea that human rights are for everybody. This argument shall be investigated in this essay, by: exploring definitions and history on human rights, debating on whether it is universal while providing examples and background