...Joshua Lytle THEO201_B24_201120 Short Essay #3 Short Essay on Pneumatology: Spiritual Gifts Spiritual gifts are capacities given to believers in Christ or “useful functions for God” in spiritual service. The Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) is produced in believers by the Spirit to sanctify them through the production of His character. Spiritual gifts are abilities used in service to God while spiritual fruit involves the character of Christians. The Fruit of the Spirit, produced only by the indwelling of the Spirit, exhibits the spiritual maturity of believers. My personal definition of spiritual gifts is the following: Spiritual gifts are abilities given by God to every Christian for different types of service, each person receiving one or more gifts, with purposes including: to give God glory through service, to accomplish His will, and to edify believers. The baptism of the Holy Spirit and His indwelling is directly related to salvation. When a person accepts Jesus as his or her Savior, the Spirit indwells the new believer immediately, not in a subsequent experience. This indwelling places the believer in the Body of Christ. Salvation is not a two-step process, but is instead a change in a person’s relationship with God. Biblical definitions of speaking in tongues are: a gift of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11 that may have two functions: In the book of Acts, it is an “initiation” gift given to affirm entrance to the Church Body. It may also be a spiritual...
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...Todd M. Lynch THEO201 C03 Short Essay #3 Short Essay on Pneumatology: Spiritual Gifts Spiritual Gifts and their place in today’s world is a topic that has been debated for some timed. One gift that has received specific attention is the gift of speaking in tongues. This essay will define what spiritual gifts are, as well as differentiate them from Spiritual fruits and show which one is a sign of spiritual maturity. This essay will also discuss speaking in tongues, defining it, discussing if it is a sign of baptism in the Holy Spirit and arguing whether or not it is still a valid spiritual gift today. Spiritual Gifts are “gifts of God enabling the Christian to perform his or her (sometimes specialized) service” in the church.[1] They are supernatural gifts bestowed by the Holy Spirit that enhance the work and ministry of the Christian. [2] Depending on which gift is given you use them to spread the Word of God and help the church to grown. They can be anything from the gift of prophesy, to the gift of speaking in tongues to the gift of administration. The gifts all have a place in ministry within the church. Spiritual gifts are not to be confused with Fruits of the Spirit. Fruits of the spirit such as love, joy, peace, kindness, etc. are all things that are produced in us by the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). These things are not given to us, but brought out from inside of us through the work of the Holy Spirit. The Fruits of the Spirit relate to our character,...
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...Short Essay on Pneumatology: Spiritual Gifts Perhaps the simplest explanation of a spiritual gift would be that they are Gifts of God empowering Christians to accomplish their service. More so it is the God-given capacity of every Christian to carry out his function in the body of Christ. Not all spiritual gifts affect the life of the one who practices it; nonetheless its purpose is and always was to edify believers. The godly characteristics that develop in us as a consequence of receiving God’s Spirit are known as the ‘fruit of the Spirit’. They do not appear immediately in mature form. There is a process that changes the human mind (Romans 12:2) through practical application of God’s laws. Those laws are an expression of the very divine nature that is received through the Holy Spirit. Applying the law motivates the Spirit to produce its fruit. Over time the maturing of the fruit changes human nature to divine nature. This process is completed by Christ, as told in John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” From my understanding the biblical definition and purpose of the gift of tongues was that the tongue in which the person spoke was unintelligible, and therefore unedifying to the Christian assembly, the tongue was not a foreign language, the tongue speaker addressed himself to God to whom he probably offered prayer and praise, the tongue edified the speaker,...
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...FRIEDRICH SCHLEIEMACHER DEFENSE OF CHRISTIANITY PAPER 2 SUBMITTED TO RODNEY NICKENS, PROFESSOR HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH CHHI BY MELVIN L MONTGOMERY JR. PINEHURST, NC JULY 28, 2011 INTRODUCTION Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher is credited as being the father of Christian liberalism. Like most influential Church fathers, unresolved doubts concerning the orthodoxy and doctrine of his time led him to seminary. He developed a strong sense of skepticism towards Christian theology while studying at the University in Halle. In response to the Enlightenment, Friedrich Schleiermacher shifted his thoughts towards his experience and feelings this would usher in a new era of liberal theology. No such theological doctrine had been developed within the historical context of the Christian church; it is helpful to highlight the profound challenges presented by Enlightenment philosophy in the place of religion. Liberals insisted that the ultimate authority in theology must be man, either in his reason, his will or his feelings. If only what can be proven by experiments and deductive reasoning is knowable, how could we know about unverifiable religious doctrines with any certainty? Even among those caught up in Romanticism, a reactionary movement against its cold rationalism, religious dogma and moralistic authority were still perceived as a hindrance to authentic, individual freedom. One could be cultured, optimistic, moral and full of ideals. However,...
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...The Lord was in the still small voice - 1 Kings 19:12. In what other ways might we hear The Lord speaking? This overview considers the question set, possible ways to interpret it and the need to frame it within an Anglican course context that itself reflects rich, diverse practices of praising, listening to and hearing God. The title of this essay refers to Elijah’s two mountain top experiences on Carmel and Horeb that depict how God speaks in contrasting ways; through spectacular events and displays of power and through a whisper which both calms and rouses the heart. Moving quickly through the story in 1 Kings 19, we see Elijah who has stopped rain, challenge the false prophets of Baal and Asherath to reveal the true God in a fiery showdown on Mount Carmel. After he has ordered the death of the false prophets, Queen Jezebel threatens his life. Elijah, discouraged, flees into the wilderness heading for Mount Horeb (Sinai) a significant place of God’s voice and revelation to Moses, at a key moment in the history of Israel. Perhaps in journeying to Sinai, Elijah hoped for a fresh encounter and revelation of God. Unlike Moses’ experience, God does not partially unveil his countenance. Instead, Elijah hears a still small voice in his cave of refuge, with God asking him what he is doing there. We might imagine that after calling out to God and seeing him work through spectacular events that Elijah would be reassured of God’s infinite power and love. However he is human...
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...Name: Nichole Acosta Writing Style Used: MLA Course and Section Number: THEO 201 B01 Essay on Pneumatology: Spiritual Gifts With a passion for theology and the word of God, it brings me great joy when asked to explain my beliefs. While some aspects of our faith are a little simpler to explain than others, one that is continuously debated is that of spiritual gifts. Because of a presented opportunity from a curious friend, I found it fitting to dive into the topic that is currently being debated at his home church. In Acts 2:1-4, Paul recounts Pentecost as the ultimate outpouring of the Holy Spirit to all believers, indwelling and granting them with spiritual gifts. Ephesians 4:11-12 explains that these Spirit-given abilities are not primarily bestowed for personal enjoyment or personal growth, but for Christian service and the edification of the body of Christ. Because every believer has the Holy Spirit in them from salvation (Romans 8:9), it is implied that spiritual gifts are also deposited at conversion, but may be developed at a later time. Though believers may have multiple spiritual gifts, it is guaranteed that every Christian has at least one (1 Corinthians 12:4, 31). One should not confuse spiritual gifts with the fruit of the Spirit. While both are sourced from the Holy Spirit and are results of spiritual baptism, their purposes differ. Elmer Towns describes the relationship perfectly, “A spiritual gift is an ability to be used in service, whereas...
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...John Wesley was a powerful personality whose passion and devotion to his cause and beliefs led him to explore and change people's view on Christianity and on the interpretation of the Scriptures. During his lifetime Wesley's determination and occasional dictatorial nature allowed him to influence people and help them change their opinion on religion. John Wesley's achievements spanned the majority of his lifetime. From his journeys to preach from England to Georgia, U.S.A. To other parts of Europe. Him writing a few hundred sermons. His longevity enabling him to see the beginning of Methodism's development. In which both of them were highly involved with do to their position in the church “were leaders of the evangelical revival in the Church of England in the eighteenth century.”1 The two of them with their position helped establish a new denomination, the Methodist Church, which was to grow and flourish in Britain and across the world. John Wesley was described as “that extraordinary man whose life and acts have taken their place in the religious history, not only of England, but of Christendom.”2 Through his work and powerful persona he became one of the most famous and recognizable people in England. “His universality of influence and range of achievement in matter of faith and conduct outstripped the leading politicians, philosophers and divines of his age.”3 John Wesley was “born in 1703”4 and was a well educated young...
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...Marlowe's "Doctor Faustus" and "Sin against the Holy Ghost" Author(s): Gerard H. Cox, III Source: Huntington Library Quarterly, Vol. 36, No. 2 (Feb., 1973), pp. 119-137 Published by: University of California Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3816592 Accessed: 07/11/2010 15:38 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ucal. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. University of California Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access...
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...Preliminary No. 1 of Essays on the Intellectual Powers of Man Thomas Reid Copyright ©2010–2015 All rights reserved. Jonathan Bennett [Brackets] enclose editorial explanations. Small ·dots· enclose material that has been added, but can be read as though it were part of the original text. Occasional •bullets, and also indenting of passages that are not quotations, are meant as aids to grasping the structure of a sentence or a thought. Every four-point ellipsis. . . . indicates the omission of a brief passage that seems to present more difficulty than it is worth. Longer omissions are reported between brackets in normal-sized type. First launched: April 2006 Last amended: May 2008 Contents Preface Chapter 1: Explaining the meanings of some words Chapter 2: Principles that I take for granted Chapter 3: Hypotheses Chapter 4: Analogy Chapter 5: The right way to get knowledge of the operations of the mind Chapter 6: The difficulty of attending to the operations of our own minds 1 4 17 21 25 27 29 Preliminary Thomas Reid Chapter 7: Classifying the powers of the mind Chapter 8: Social operations of mind 32 35 Preliminary Thomas Reid Preface Preface Human knowledge falls into two parts, one relating to body (material things), the other relating to mind (intellectual things). The whole system of bodies in the universe, of which we know only a very small part, can be called ‘the material world’; the whole system of minds, from the infinite creator right...
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