...UNDERSTANDING DIVINE DESTINY Kenneth Omeje Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation. Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. [Biblica] Scripture quotations marked RSV are taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright...
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...2016 Article 1: God’s Original Plan: A Just Community Original holiness is the original state of human beings in their relationship with God, sharing in the divine life in full communion with him. Original justice is the state of complete harmony of our first parents with themselves, with each other, and with all creation. In the first few chapters of the Book of Genesis, there are 3 important truths that are revealed. God has given human beings a share of his divine life; human beings were created to live in communion with God; God created human beings to live in loving communion with one another. These truths lead to important social justice principles. Each human life has great worth & must be protected. We must promote values that emphasize the inherent worth of each individual; as human beings we cannot find the happiness we long for by pursuing things that do not lead to God; God intends that human beings form communities of love & justice to work together for the common good; we must have the same concern for other people’s welfare that we do for our own. Out of this article, I feel like original holiness & original justice are the two main goals that all human beings want to achieve. I think that genocide is a very bad thing and that no human beings deserve to die. Also, I got out that all human beings are born with Original Sin because of the Fall with Adam & Eve. Article 2: The Social Dimension of God’s Plan of Salvation Abraham and his decedents would be the model society...
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...the Old Testament Submitted to Dr. Homer Heater, Professor of Biblical Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of OBST 515 –D11 Old Testament Orientation I by Wuan D. Miller November 29, 2014 Introduction Christopher J. H. Right, author Knowing Jesus Through the Old Testament, is an Anglican clergyman and an Old Testament scholar. A Ph.D. graduate of Cambridge, he currently is the Director of International Ministries for the Langham Partnership International. Wright records at least ten years prior to the release of this work, three things inspired him to research this topic; his students at Union Biblical Seminary who listened to his initial thoughts; John Goldiway’s articles related to the Old Testament and Christian faith; and a friend, Jim Punton, who personally requested that he write a book on how the Old Testament influenced Jesus. Thus, Wright explores the connection between Jesus and the Old Testament with the intention of showing how his identity, mission, and values are interwoven within its metanarrative. In doing so, he prefaces this work with his conviction that “the deeper you go into understanding the Old Testament, the closer you come to the heart of Jesus.”[1] While there is much to be gained from Wright’s work, a critical examination of the underlying themes will reveal a need for further evaluation of critical theological foundations for understanding Jesus in the context of the Old Testament. Summary ...
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...BOOK SUMMARY: ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN THOUGHT AND THE OLD TESTAMENT BY JOHN H. WALTON Old Testament Introduction OBST 510 May 4, 2014 Part 1 – Comparative Studies Chapter 1: History and Methods History: Walton begins the chapter with the “rediscovery of Egypt which began in the eighteenth century AD and of Mesopotamia in the mid nineteenth century AD.” There were discoveries of tens of thousands of texts that were excavated, translated and studied. Many of these tablets and texts did coincide with the Bible. Walton outlines comparative study which is the study that attempts to understand things when compared to their broader cultural context. The goal in this case is to understand the Old Testament compared to the ANE. There have been many debates on comparative study and the way in which is executed. Comparative studies deal with the cultures, myths, religions, worldviews and literature of all the people living in the ANE. A comparative study acknowledges that cultures are separate, but that these separate cultures are aware of and understand the religions and rituals of the other surrounding cultures and at times even engages in those rituals. Many of the Scholars were so biased that they tended to argue for the importance of the Old Testament, or vice-versa defended the mythology concept of scripture so vehemently that the cultural comparison was lost. Not until Friedrich Delitzsch, who was the son of the famous biblical commentator Franz Delitzsch, did a more focused...
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...For the son of God to come to the world he had to come through a channel, a woman that would bring him forth. She would give birth to him biologically. It would require a special woman to do that. She was in the mind of God at creation, she was in the Word of God in the scriptures and in the special action of God in her birth, all these made her to be the highly favored one. She is full of grace. Born in time but God had known her before she was born. By the special grace of God, she became one of the actors in the divine drama of human salvation. The savior of mankind, who existed before time began, became flesh in her womb, she is the chosen one. This was an unprecedented event in human history. The Word became flesh in the womb of a woman. It pointed to the uniqueness of God. He is a God of possibilities. He brought forth human salvation in a...
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...that missing gap in life, or will end up bouncing back at square one. When one is not guided by the true definition of vocation, it may be easy to fall off the path God had planned for me. Lucky the Catechism of the Catholic Church and John Paul’s Meaning of Vocation can guide to what I will find happiness in. What I will need to do to answer the question” What is a vocation?” is first obtain the best definitions of a vocation, then what steps it may take to acquire my vocation, lastly talk about what I have been doing currently to discern my own vocation. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, vocation is “life in the Holy Spirit fulfills the vocation of man. This life is made up of divine charity and human solidarity. It is graciously offered as salvation “(CCC, 1699). John Paul II’s version is slightly different, and he says, “The vocation is a breathing of the Holy Spirit, who, at the same time as he genuinely shapes our fragile human reality, shines a new light into our hearts. He instills an extraordinary power that merges our existence into the divine enterprise” (MOV 16). How I interpret this is that God has a plan for me and when I follow it I will truly get to see and feel the happiness that every person strives for in their life. How a person is called to discern their vocation, and how does one answers it? This question is simple to answer but is hard to actually go out and do. The one answer from John Paul II is “Do not be afraid to go out into the streets...
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...5-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8 Bibliography--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------10 Chapter 1. Scripture and Missions Throughout the Holy Bible, there have been a plethora of references to the mission of the church. The role of missions throughout the evolution of the Christian faith has been an integral aspect of its spread throughout the nations. Before the Messiah came to Earth so save us from our sins, God anointed several of his people to spread His word to the masses. Those that may not know of the wonders of God could be reached through the continued role of missions for God. The call of Abram is a fundamental feature of God’s will through missionary work. Genesis 12:1-3 says, “The Lord had said to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on...
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...LIBERTY UNIVERSITY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY Dr. Daniel Warner of the requirements for the completion of the course OBST 510 Old Testament – Introduction to Old Testament by Sheniece Wallace September , 2014 Introduction John N. Oswalt, curiosity about the study of the Bible and theological questions was influenced in the 1960s, during his graduate studies at Asbury Theological Seminary. Followed by further education in Theology, triggered a facet of questions during his time at Harvard Divinity. William F. Albright, a scholar proposed the questions the Israelites of the Old Testament and their reasoning about there beliefs. The radical Prolegomena for Oswalts, book sprung up a multitude of questions for him to consider answering his and humanity questions about the godly ideology in religion culture. His statements questions godly character whether it was wrong , right, or believable. He mentions his hypothesis of revelation: as humans we couldn’t possibly be in control of our own purpose and that we need a higher power to sustain us. Comparison is made between religions of Israelite the and ancient near east; the worship of their deity. The thought of serving one deity, then, why were so many other religions evolved? Subliminally, in my words, questions the Biblical integrity and purpose being accredited to for humans to believe as truth...
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...worldview of the Old Testament and the Hebrew belief as compared to the surrounding ANE. Oswalt’s views, thinking and direction have changed completely over his 50 years studying the ANE and the Bible. This book will show the similarities and differences in thought between the Hebrew Old Testament and the ANE. Oswalt will define what a myth is and argue why the Old Testament is not and cannot be considered a myth. The Bible, when compared to ANE literature, has a completely different understanding of creation and how the spiritual and natural realms interact and exist. There is not a continuous existence that just repeats itself over and over, but rather a series of single events that lead to a greater purpose. It is Oswalt’s position that the Bible is an accurate historical account of a people who received their relevance of belief from a single living transcendent God. The historical basis is important as God reveals himself through humans, in non-recurring human-historical events, to impose God’s will and direction to affect the will of humans. Chapter 1: The Bible In Its World In this chapter Oswalt addresses different beliefs on the existence of the world. Specifically how the Israelites and Greeks viewed the world in relation to their neighboring cultures. The Bible is the most important source of all contributing factors in today’s Western culture, especially when combined with Israelite monotheism and Greek philosophy. The Hebrew transcendent living God along with Greek...
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... ii Old Testament Texts Relating to Missions 1 New Testament Texts Relating to Missions 2 The Nature of God and Missions 3 Two Aspects of Missions Theology: Ecclesiology and the Trinity 4 Two Key Motifs of Mission Theology 5 Mission Theology and a Missionary, Church Leaders, and Lay People 6 Bibliography 7 i Introduction What is theology? According to a theological dictionary, it is simply the study of God and His creation. After the fall of Lucifer and his angels and then the fall of mankind, God had a plan in motion for Satan demise and the salvation of man. Theology, etymologically comes two Greek words theos (God) and logos (reason or speech), meaning a rational Study of God.1 The theology of missions is a disciplined study of the nature of God, creation of the world, the church, and the interactions of these three.2 Having an interest in missions came from being in a missions minded church. We have had many “go out” from our parish over the years. This paper is an attempt to show how mission theology relates to Scripture and the nature of God, using other areas of theology and the church itself. There are hundreds of verses in the Bible that relate to missions, but we will be looking at only a few of them. In reading the Psalms you cannot go too far until one of them speaks of the earth praising God or bowing down to Him. The earth is the Lord’s 3 and it is His mission field...
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...major differences between Judaism and Christianity. | Principle | | Christianity | | Judaism | Nature of God | | Trinity | | Unity | Nature of Messiah | | Divine, Sin Sacrifice | | Only human, Righteous King | Atonement | | Blood Required | | Prayer and Repentance | Sin | | Everyone stained by Adam and Eve ("original sin") | | All begin with clean slate | Righteousness | | No one | | Within our power to choose | Satan | | Fallen angel | | Agent of God | Torah | | Written only | | Written and Oral | Commandments | | Not eternal or valuable | | Eternal and of ultimate value | Exclusivity | | Only Christians go to heaven | | All righteous have a place in the world to come. | Land of Israel | | Irrelevant | | Crucial | Jews | | Replaced by the church; or irrelevant | | God’s chosen people | Judaism is one of the world’s oldest religions, dating back up to 2000 years BC from the time when God first called Abraham to leave his home and follow Him. At that time, God made a covenant (or agreement) with Abraham in which He promised to make Abraham the father of a great nation and that one day his descendants would inherit the land of Canaan if Abraham followed him. God’s plan was gradually revealed through the Old Testament and built on with further promises to Moses, David and the prophets. This plan in essence is to undo many of the effects of the fall (the sin of Adam and Eve in Eden which led to the loss of...
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...Paul did not intend to baptise a faction around himself (CP 1Cor 1:10-17). This is also a lesson for the contemporary church: Christians must always centre their loyalty, love and devotion upon God and His word, not on individual leaders. No individual leader is to be the focus of Christian fellowship, otherwise the cross of Christ is made void – it cannot accomplish its purpose. (See also comments on 1Cor 3:8-11, 3:16-17 (A), 3:16-17 (B), 3:18-20). 1:18 Are we already saved as the KJV implies here, or are we being saved, as other versions teach? The church at Corinth was founded by Paul during his second Apostolic mission journey recorded in Ac 15:40 – 18:22 (CP Ac 18:1-21). See also comments on Ac 18:22. (B) Where was Paul when he wrote this Epistle? Paul was in Ephesus. He wrote this Epistle at the close of his three years stay in Ephesus during his third Apostolic mission journey recorded in Acts 18:23 – 21:17 (CP Ac 20:31-38 with 1Cor 16:8-9, 19) See also comments on Ac 18:23. 1:8 What does the phrase “In the day of our Lord Jesus Christ” refer to here? (CP also V7; 5:5; 15:20-23; 2Cor 1:14; Php 1:6,10; 2:16; 1Th 2:19; 3:13; 5:23; 2Th 2:1; 2Ti 1:12; Jas 5:7; 1Jn 2:28). In the day of our Lord Jesus Christ refers to the time when Jesus comes again to take all the saints of God, both living and dead, back to heaven with Him at the first resurrection (CP Jn 14:1-3; 1 Cor 15:51-58; 1Th 4:13-18; Rev 3:10; 20:6). The first resurrection is when Christ comes...
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...important for revealing Jesus and they are: I Am the bread of life (John 6:35), I Am the light of the world (8:12; 9:5), I Am the door (10:9), I Am the good shepherd (10:11), I Am the resurrection and the life (11:25). I Am the way, and the truth, and the life (14:6), and I Am the vine (15:5). Each of these statements can give believers assurance and hope in Jesus. These are truly amazing claims by Jesus which He fulfilled in every way. Before we can completely understand the importance of Jesus referring to Himself as “I Am,” we must first look at Exodus 3:14 when God referred to Himself as “I Am that I Am.” This is an important statement where the God of the fathers was now going to become the God of Israel.[3] Moses knew that when God would send him to the Israelites that they would question by what authority and the name by which he was sent because he did not hold much status before Israel. So, Moses asks God to tell him what he is supposed to...
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...ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN THOUGHT AND THE OLD TESTAMENT BOOK SUMMARY by JOE VALENTI Old Testament Introduction OBST 590 B06 Dr. Randy Haney March 1, 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 1 CHAPTER 2 2 CHAPTER 3 3 CHAPTER 4 5 CHAPTER 5 7 CHAPTER 6 9 CHAPTER 7 11 CHAPTER 8 12 CHAPTER 9 14 CHAPTER 10 15 CHAPTER 11 17 CHAPTER 12 19 CHAPTER 13 20 CHAPTER 14 22 POSTSCRIPT 23 WORKS CITED i CHAPTER 1 The opening chapter begins by orienting the reader to the idea of "comparative study," or the area of study that strives to understand things within their broader cultural context. In the case of this book, the goal is to understand the Old Testament within the context of the Ancient Near Eastern milieu. Walton explains that over the years there has been much debate on the issue of comparative study and the way in which it is to be exercised. Scholars, always biased by their presuppositions, tend to enter the argument negating the importance of the Old Testament on the one side, or defending the inerrancy of Scripture so vehemently that the cultural context is lost. Walton poses a better way, namely, accepting the study of the Ancient Near Eastern cultures as important and academic in their own right while attempting to comprehend the Old Testament in light of what modern scholarship is learning about the ancient world...
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...Old Testament Bible Dictionary Project: Exodus / Aaron / Sinai Exodus is the second book of the five books, known as the Pentateuch or Torah of the Old Testament, dating back to 1445 BC. In the Hebrew Bible it is referred to as Shemoth and the English designation was taken from the Septuagint title, Exodus. Jewish and Christian tradition has believed Moses to be the author, however, controversy arose in the 19th century. It is now thought that it could go back as far as the 6th century during Babylonian exile that the first draft occurred known as the Yahwist. Some key themes, purposes, events, and personalities in Exodus is Moses was born, Moses chosen to lead the Israelites out of Egyptian slavery, and the Ten Commandments where written on two tablets by the hand of God himself. At the birth of Moses Pharaoh feared the growth rate of the Hebrews and ordered all male Hebrew children to be thrown into the Nile. Moses’s mother hid him for three months but when she could no longer hide Moses she constructed an ark and placed it by the river bank. Moses was found by Pharaoh’s own daughter, which she had compassion for Moses, and later adopted him. Later when Moses was 40 years of age (40 years in the wilderness) he encountered God through a burning bush. God spoke to Moses through the burning bush telling him that he was chosen to lead his people, the Israelites, out of Egyptian slavery. The center account master piece regarding Moses is the events that took place at...
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