...special gift from one of the speaker. This gift, as an artifact, changed my life, and made me fully understand that one’s lifestyle can be changed towards that which tickles ones fancy and makes one stand out a unique person among family, friends and the World at large. Born of goodly parents, I learned the way of life, the purpose of my existence and what I need to do to find increased happiness in this mortal existence. In my youthful age, in the year 1990, the 14th day of April, I attended a church conference where I listened to the speakers; one of the speakers, Mr. John Walker, spoke on the topic “Christ- Centered Life” and the other, Mr. Smith, spoke on “Marriage and Family-Ordained of God”, that which caught my fancy. Christ-Centered Life: Mr. Walker who gave the talk on Christ-Centered Life quoted the words of President Benson, Having dedicated his life to serving the Lord, President Benson spoke with power and conviction when he shared the following testimony: “I testify to you that there is no greater, more thrilling, and more soul ennobling challenge than to try to learn of Christ and walk in His steps. Our model, Jesus Christ, walked this earth as ‘the Exemplar’. He is our Advocate with the father. He worked out the great atoning sacrifice so we could have a fullness of joy and be exalted in accordance with His grace and our repentance and righteousness. He did all things perfectly and commands that we be perfect even as He and His father are perfect.” (Benson...
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...In the article “Did Jesus Exist? Searching for Evidence Beyond the Bible,” Lawrence Mykytiuk attempts to answer the question of Jesus’ existence, using extra-Biblical evidences. To support his findings, Mykytiuk exclusively uses classical and Jewish writings. Since the canonized Bible was written by firm Christian believers, Mykytiuk offers the possibility that this source could be biased therefore refrains from using as a source. Mykytiuk first evidence of Jesus’ existences comes from Cornelius Tacitus, a Roman senator and historian from the first century. Referring to Tacitus’s last major work, Annals, Mykytiuk cites biographical information on Nero, who suspectedly ordered the burning of Rome, accusing despised Christians. This reference of Christians proves existence of followers to a person known as Christus. In addition, Tacitus’s writing supports four...
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...intelligence penetrates all areas. In this work I will try to investigate the importance the common priesthood, and ministerial priesthood, by using other documents of the Church, and also which served as the motivation for Pope Pius XII to write about this topic. First of all, we see that Pius XII recognizes the existence of a baptismal priesthood, which cannot be denied, doubted, or underestimated. He quotes words of Scripture that seem decisive to him. But it does not...
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...“It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with you lives, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourselves to be ground down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal.” -- Pope John Paul 11 Christianity is the religion based on the person and teachings of Jesus Christ, or its beliefs and practices. Christianity is close to 2000 years old. It began in Judea, the kingdom of the Jewish people. There are four main religions that are apart of Christianity; they include: Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant and Anglican. Christianity develops the significance of Principal beliefs for Christian adherents (believers of a religion). Christianity teaches that Jesus Christ is the centre...
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...divinity in one hypostasis.[3] The First Council of Ephesus recognised this doctrine and affirmed its importance, stating that the humanity and divinity of Christ are made one according to nature and hypostasis in the Logos. Contents [hide] * 1 Hypostasis * 2 Through history * 3 See also * 4 References ------------------------------------------------- Hypostasis[edit] Main article: Hypostasis (philosophy) Hypostasis had come into use as a technical term prior to the Christological debates of the late fourth and fifth centuries. Before there were Christians, the word was used in Greek philosophy, primarily in Stoicism.[4][5] Hypostasis had some use in the New Testament that reflect the later, technical understanding of the word; especially Hebrews 1:3. Although it can be rendered literally as "substance" this has been a cause of some confusion[6] so it is now often translated "subsistence". It denotes an actual, concrete existence, in contrast with abstract categories such as Platonic ideals. ------------------------------------------------- Through history[edit] A series of articles on Christology | * Christ * Son of God • God the Son * Logos • Incarnation * Pre-existence of Christ * Person of Christ * Hypostatic union * Love of Christ * Imitation of Christ * Knowledge of Christ * Intercession of Christ * Perfection of Christ *...
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...allows them to understand that I haven’t always been a Christian and we’ve all fallen short of God’s glory. So I try very hard to maintain a standard of living which pleases the Lord because I long to become more and more Christ-like every day while doing his will. I am a part of a body of Christ (a local church), therefore, it is my duty to make sure the love of God is displayed within my community. Why personal testimonies are important in sharing the gospel Sharing my personal testimony is very important to me, because I have seen my past in others right before my eyes. I believe sharing our personal testimonies with those who are lost or in disbelief can help them realize the existence of Christ as well as his goodness. Testimonies are meant to be shared, because God wants us to go out and spread the gospel. We are warriors for Christ and are called to serve him. How else will the world know of a being in which they already cannot see? Sharing our testimony is evidence of Christ’s existence. God loves us and moves in our lives and delights in our sharing to help others. As Christians, we have gone through a period of conversion; so the world needs to know and see that through testimony. Testimony is a form of evidence of Christ working in our lives. Quite often we may go through a physical transformation but we certainly go through a mental transformation. Those who knew us in past times before the conversion may not understand the new person...
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...CHRISTIAN BELIEFS COURSE CODE: THE 205 LECTURER: REV. F AMOLO ASSIGNMENT: THE CHURCH AS THE NEW ISRAEL & THE RELEVANCE OF THE CHURCH RUTO KORIR-12S03EBT004 The “Church” has been in existence for quite a number of centuries, in the book of Acts we see the fellowship of believers coming together in unity “They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer… Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favour of all the people. And the Lord added to their numbers daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:42 & 46). This illustrates to us that the body of Christ came into existence a little while after he had resurrected into heaven. The church has been described in a number of ways, some in their lack of understanding have described the church as a piece of real estate or just a building where individuals hold their religious masses. But in truth the church is a community of those who believe that Jesus Christ is their Lord and saviour, the church is composed of those who have a common faith and belief. Others have gone on to describe the church as a body, a family, the New Israel and the body of Christ. It has also been described as the spiritual reflection of the society and humanity as a whole. Churches can exist in small and local communities ranging from small to large congregation...
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...Coincidence, a big-bang, or maybe evolution? These are all arguments that a secular humanist may have. Believing that there was some crazy coincidence that the Earth and everything in it just came into existence and over 4.5 million years, the Earth has come to what it is now. We are just mere animals who have evolved from primates, that we at once were covered in hair or at the bottom of some pond as some atom or molecule, who has in turn morphed into some intelligent life form. Understanding the meaning and purpose of one who does not believe in Christ, but in his or her own worldly happiness or obsessions is all too realistic to me in this World. Having seen so many people fall to their unfortunate eternal state due to what they have viewed as their meaning and purpose in life is and all too realistic reality for me. Whether it being drugs, fame, money or fame it is sad that people of the World put these at such importance in their lives, and do not know the true meaning and purpose. Unfortunately, without a God to guide them to what is right and wrong, people all too often fall into what they believe to be right and wrong with no moral conscience, or authority. What is the true meaning of destiny to a secularist? What could possibly happen after life here on Earth since they do not believe in God or an eternal life? This question for a while has me stumped to think that one could believe that why you die that is it, that’s the end of the road. Secularist believe that there...
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...Although there are some values and ideas that the founders both taught as important, the major aspects of the religions differ greatly and suggest that following the other religion will only result in suffering or eternal punishment. By examining the founding figure of each of the religions and how each began, it illustrates the opposing ideas of each religion. The initial similarity of the two religions is that both of the founding figures existed in the flesh and lived among their followers and disciples. In the time around 624B.C# the founding figure of Buddhism, Siddhartha Gautama was born as a prince in Northern India. His birth is considered as a miraculous event as it was predicted by Brahmin that he would become a person of great importance.# According to legend, “his mother dreamed that the Buddha-to-be took the form of a white elephant and entered her womb, and she ceased to...
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...Moody Handbook of Theology states of theologians who profess this theology, “deny all forms of traditional ontology and allow for no sovereign and unconditioned Being but only a ‘God’ who at some point in the dialectic wills His own self-annihilation” and that, “man must learn to live without God.”[1] The lack of universal truth in our lives in this 21st century can be directly attributed to the lack of morals and moral values begun in the 19th century; and which took root in the 20th century; and might be the death of man in the 22nd century. In stating that God is dead, it has to be shown that: * Is God dead? * Science and technology can solve the world’s problems * God died as a transcendent God when Christ died * The Bible is narrative (i.e. myth) This review of the God-Is-Dead theology focuses on these four questions. Is God Dead? In an article written in the Chicago Tribune in 1963 it is stated that two men (Thomas Altizer and William Hamilton) experienced the death of God. Upon this statement, a “theology” was born. This is very unusual as both of these men happen to be atheist. This then begs the question, if you are an atheist and profess to not believe in God then, how could you have experienced the death of that which you state does not exist in the first place? Secondly, this is very unusual due to the understanding that atheists had never called...
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...you believe and why you believe it? The importance of knowing what I believe in would give me the optimum confident in my faith; and in order for that to happen I would have to be accurate in my knowledge of beliefs. I would need to know for myself what the truth is in order to speak belief to someone else. I would also have to present a sense of patience in my actions. I do not think that I would convince anyone of my belief if my tone of voice was hostile and abrupt. I feel if a person is calm they would be more substantial and convincing to believe in. Belief, I feel, is a feeling of preciseness and being confident of what is stated; and if there isn’t any confidants; nor knowledge of what we believe in there isn’t a reason of cause. Identify what you believe about God, the Bible and Jesus Christ. Why do you believe them? I know that God is real and that he created me and love me. We all are place on this earth with a purpose that is given by God and without him I believe there is no existent, he is the source for our lives. It is known by me that being separated from God will result in a disastrous life. The Bible I know is philosophic book of words of God, which is written to give us guide lines, of the way that we lived in the past and present. Jesus Christ is the son of God and he gave his life for our sins; I also believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. We all have different beliefs about our savior Jesus Christ and his word; moreover my beliefs are candid...
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...several contemporary arguments in favor of the existence of God. He first addressed the First-Cause Argument, which claims that everything has a cause, and thus there must be a First Cause, God. Russell points out God himself must have a first cause. (Russell, 6). The Natural-Law Argument, the view that God “set the planets in motion” and is the primary “Lawgiver”, was also refuted under the grounds that many natural laws are merely human conventions (Russell, 8). Russell tackled the popular Argument from Design, which asserted the conditions of the world are so perfect that it is only feasible some intelligent creator designed it. Russell pointed out the evil present in the world, and that no all-good, omnipotent, and omniscient God would allow that to occur (Russell, 10). Finally, Russell addressed the moral arguments for deity, which claim humans need religion to guide them towards a virtuous lifestyle. Russell promptly mentioned the logical fallacies involved in the differences between right or wrong, and also challenged views that God solely brings justice into the world (Russell, 12-13). One major objection to Russell’s arguments is his rebuttal to the Argument from Design. Russell fails to address the possibility that an all-good God uses evil to teach his creations, and that they are too simple to comprehend that. Other philosophers have argued that “evil” is merely a necessary counterpart to good, and therefore its existence does not disprove God. Russell also points out...
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...the region of Pontus on the Black Sea ; where his father was a bishop. He knew Christianity from an early age. History has it that he was a wealthy Christian in Rome whose trade was ship building; where he acquired his wealth . Walker, Williston noted that he came to Rome about 139 CE, Haunted by the problem of evil and suffering in the world, where he espoused dualism that distinguished the OT God and the NT God . The main sources for Marcion's life are Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Hippolytus . It is of importance to not that although his own works are not existing we know the position of Marcion and the Marcionites church through their writings. Legend has it that before moving to Rome, he disgraced himself by having affair with a woman, and was excommunicated by his father , but it is not clear if the excommunication was for the affair or for false teaching. He joined the Church in Rome and his aim was to call the Church back to what he deemed the original gospel of Jesus Christ. Possible Influence and Background By The second century there was a steady growth of Gentile Christianity, and also lots of oppornets at this time. A new generation of leaders succeeds the apostles. Nevertheless, expectation still runs high that the Lord may return at any time. The end must be close. The Gospel has been taken through a great portion of the known world of the Roman empire and even to regions beyond. New churches at first usually begin in Jewish synagogues around the empire and Christianity...
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...(Roman 1:20). However, humans turned away from the creations of God, they are engaged into sins, adopted bad habits, adore artificial idols and now they deserve death (1:21-32). The word “creation” refers to the natural world in the book of Roman. Through the agreement of Abraham, land of Israel is the Promised Land. Abraham is the God of all nations (Wright, 2013) due to which other nations and salvations came into existence. All these nations are available to everyone, especially to those who believe on Jesus Christ (Grant, 2001). Paul has also discussed the problems and sufferings of the natural world. He discussed the sufferings in context of eschatological anticipations for the natural world and believers of Christ. The people living in the world face many problems and they are unable to follow the path, which is set by Christ. However, when they will start following the right path, and exclude themselves from the deeds in which they are involved, the world will be set free and corruption will end. Paul was the true believer of God and Jesus Christ and he wanted everyone to follow the words of God and practice...
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...the natural law and human laws, divine law was necessary to give direction to human law” (Q. 91 A. 4 p. 21). Since we are condemned to sin, human laws help to govern our lives and give us a sense of direction towards our true goal. Ancillary to his statement, Aquinas gives four reasons why divine law is necessary. He noted that, “First, indeed, law directs our acts in relation to our ultimate end… Second, because of the uncertainty of human judgement, different persons judge human actions differently…” (Q. 91 A. 4 p. 21). In correspondence, he stated, “Third, human beings can make laws regarding things they are able to judge… Fourth, human laws cannot punish or prohibit evil deeds” (Q. 91 A. 4 p. 21). All four explanations express the importance of divine law in relation to human laws and their inability to inflict appropriate punishments. Human law and justice system also doesn’t possess the power to exercise the suitable punishment for each sin. Such abilities only lie within God’s divine law and...
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