...“Eschatology: The Destiny of the Unsaved” Reconciling a good, loving God with the idea of eternal punishment is one of the most difficult things I have had to do in my Christian life. How can a God who loves us enough to shed His own blood for us then, at the end of our lives, send some of us away from Him to be punished forever? There are some different theories about what happens to us after we die. Eternal punishment is the idea that sin must be punished and those who have not received the gift of salvation will be punished forever for their sins. Annihilationism is the idea that, rather than eternal punishment, some souls will simply cease to exist. There are three main forms of this. The first says that all human beings simply cease to exist at death. The second says that God imparts immorality to the redeemed human beings and allows the rest of humankind to cease to exist at death. The third says that humankind is immortal and fulfills its destiny in salvation. In this third form of annihilationism, reprobates cease to exist, either by a direct act of God or by the corrosive effect of evil. Universalism claims that all will be saved. The Bible uses some different words when referring to a place of torment. Sheol is the word used in the Hebrew texts to describe a place where all souls go after death. Hades is the Greek equivalent. Sheol is a much broader word referring simply to the place where souls go upon death. Hades narrows the concept somewhat and separates...
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...significant Christian figure in history has contributed to the discipline. How the discipline in various other denominations differ to the ones set out in the Celebration of Discipline book. I will also be talking about how my understanding of the discipline has been challenged and strengthened. Most important I will be explaining how the discipline is so important in helping you produce the vital fruits that are desired. Finally; Discipline of Service in conclusion. What I knew about the Discipline of Service before the course. My knowledge about the Discipline of Service before the course was limited to an act done only when I felt like it or thought it was appropriate, not something you do in love, as you see a need arise or as a way of living. The reason I thought this way concerning the discipline was because I had never heard about it prior to the course and I had no knowledge or practise of the discipline. How ‘William Law’ (a significant figure in Christian history), in his “A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life” book has contributed to the discipline. William Law wrote about how everyday should be seen as a day of humility whereby we can learn to serve others. William Law taught by saying ‘If we want humility he counsels us to love by covering, condescend to all the weaknesses and oppressions of others, encourage others, relieve their wants, rejoice in their prosperities, be compassionate, receive others friendship, forgive & overlook unkindness...
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...students that Monday morning. His topic of choice was love and how we can incorporate love with our theme of making a difference. One John chapter four, versus ten through twelve was the scripture that Tyler referred to throughout his entire speech. We are all in different places with our relationship with God and many of us seek new experiences with God. Tyler refers to the quote, “love is the key that unlocks the door to ultimate reality” through his entire time with us students to help us understand what love really is and what it means. We don’t all define love the same way and love doesn’t start with us but with God. Love is the heart of the universe and God in his very nature is a community of self-giving love. God is the engine of love and the call to love is to love one another. Through love there is something better on the other side and if we love, then God lives within us and we remain in Him. If we never understand the Bible then we are never truly living the Bible which means we aren’t really living the loving life that God has shown us to live through his examples of His life on earth. To love another person is to see the face of God and we can make a difference by loving others. We will be happier to give then we will be to receive anything especially love. The service impacted me because Tyler used personal stories that related to my life. He shared the story of why his daughter wouldn’t kiss him and that drew out what each and every one of us thought love really was...
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...In the Footsteps of Christ Christ lived a life unlike any other. He constantly sacrificed many comforts that others would not dream of living without. Danny, a character in The Chosen, shares many similar traits with Christ. Regardless of circumstances, Danny always sacrifices his plans, forgives those who have wrong him and shows a loving personality. Through these characteristics, Danny enriches both his life and others by following in the footsteps of Christ. By displaying these traits, Danny matures, and finally learns the true plan God has for his life. The fruit of living a forgiving, sacrificial, and loving life may not immediately filled Danny’s life with joy, but eventually Danny’s Christ like attitude led him to live the life God intended him to. Throughout Danny’s life, the reality faces him that he must take his father’s place and become a Rabbi. However, becoming a Rabbi is Danny’s last wish. His wishes to continue his education, and possibly become a phycologist. While Danny wants nothing more than to continue his studies, he still tries to fulfill his father’s expectations. He sacrifices his relationship with his own father, to meet the standards his father expects. Danny had every opportunity to rebel against his father, however...
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...are personal testimonies important in sharing the gospel, and If a person is a Christian, or does it matter how they live their lives? Yes, in order for Jesus to die for our sins He had to go through the birth canal so that He could be of temptation and human flesh and overcome it without sin. I think that personal testimonies are important in sharing the gospel because who better to show or tell you what God can do, than someone who has experienced it themselves. Yes they are. When a person is a Christian, they have to have a normal attitude about themselves, that they are loving and caring people who are God loving. I. Section One Did Jesus need to be born of a virgin? Yes, in order for Jesus to die for our sins, He had to go through the birth canal so that He could be of temptation and human flesh and overcome it without sin. From the day He was born until the day He died, Jesus was without sin to be a perfect sacrifice. Since, we are born into the world as sinners, a miraculous entrance into the world was required, and that’s why the virgin birth occurred. “For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do: by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and to deal with sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, so that the just requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:3-4) It was said that if Jesus had be the son of Joseph, he wouldn’t have been able to claim the...
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...Atheism and postmodernism wider reading The term atheism derives from two Greek words: 'a' meaning 'without' and 'theos' meaning God. Atheism therefore describes a person being without belief in God. Agnostisim, also has a lack of belief, however, does not actively deny Gods existence, so could be interpreted differently. Positive atheism: Like negative atheism there is an absence of God however, positive atheism goes one step further. It is the firm denial of religion, the person has thought about the possibility of religion and has consciously denied it. For example, Prof Brian Cox has suggested that religion is a 'fairy story' which shows positive atheism as he has consciously made the decision to reject religion. We can assume God does not exist. Gavin Nyman 'Definitive metaphysical claim about the non-existence of God' Negative atheism: Absence of God: does not actively deny God. An example of this would by a baby who has not had time to make a conscious decision about the existence of God. We cannot assume anything, so we must assume he does not exist. Agnosticism: From the Latin 'without knowledge.' Like Negative atheism there is an absence of belief, however, unlike Negative atheism it does not deny the existence. Postmodernism One of the key ideas of a postmodernist view of religion, unlike traditional views, is that there is no objective knowledge or absolute representation of reality. It is culture or society that dictates our concepts and the way we categorise...
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...there cannot be a loving God. The first is that the very definition of loving is automatically related to making people happy and comfortable. This is argued through the very fact that the greatest act of love, Jesus’ crucifixion, brought immense anguish to Jesus, but he welcomed the pain as he knew that eternity along his father and saving us from sin would be worth it. This leads to the second false assumption that states that the events that occur in this lifetime will be greater than our eternal life. This premise dictates that all of our suffering will be worthless if we do not truly believe that there is a God since our eternal life will be lost. The third and final false assumption is that we are able to understand the world through God’s perspective. With no doubt this assumption is incredibly flawed as we are simple humans unable to comprehend on the same level as our God. This is exemplified by the fine example of a bear with a leg caught in a bear trap. A bear-lover who tries to free it will, with no doubt, cause it more pain, but the bear-lover means no harm and knows that the only way to free it is to shoot it with tranquilizers. We are the bear: unintelligent, fearful, and curious as to why someone would cause us more pain. And God is the bear-lover: caring, loving, and knowledgeable as to what we need in order to continue to live our lives. It is also stated that the pain and suffering that is seen through the eyes of mankind is not a creation of God, but rather a creation...
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...relationship is that between Elie and his father, which helps in the characterisation of Elie . Another ongoing relationship explored within the text is between Elie and God, which is essential in the further characterization of Elie. Elie's relationship with himself is seen to be centralized in the memoir. Elie's relationship with his father is a critically explored central point in the text because it plays a key role in Elie's character development as it displays Elie's growing selfishness and lack of care toward his father. Through the use of a quote from Pg 35 where Elie is seen to describe that "My head was buzzing ...not to be separated from my father" Wiesel portrays Elie as a loving son and is able to illustrate a strong father-son relationship. Additionally by...
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...The Great Desert of Despair and Desolation Today, there are so many people living in the desert of desolation and despair. There, in the desert of their self inflicted loneliness, they seek objects to fill in the emptiness of their hearts. Just as Jesus was tempted by the Evil One for 40 days, they are being tempted, and many are falling and giving into the "Great Lie", and they choose the "Lie", that which is contrary to God's Law and Precepts. But like Adam and Eve they choose the evil. The heat and dryness of the desert enter into their hearts and transforms them into stone. The Light becomes Darkness, Good becomes Evil, and the Evil becomes the Good. They become their own little "gods", thinking they know better than the Creator of all....
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...sacred space and the natural world, and with each other. The essential goal for many of the world’s foremost faith traditions is to be love and be loved by God, to be able to live in a relationship with the Devine reconciliation with the ultimate, and union with the beloved. All religious traditions with the Devine are distinct incomparably based on separate beliefs and faith systems. What they all have in common is that they all share the same interest for the deepest level of reality and for the majority of religions the origin or core of everything is mysterious and sacred. The Dao, Devine Parent, Great Spirit, Great Mother, the Absolute, and Allah are only some examples people use to illustrate the Devine. In the Christian faith the Devine is well defined as the Holy Trinity, Holy Spirit, the Father and the Son. In the Christian religion it can seem like there are more Gods than one, but in fact, they believe that God is one. Sacred time, measured to be the starting point connecting eternity and time with the pulse of human life, is thought to be the holy ancient history in which the Gods worked and lived. Native religions support relationships with sacred time by living through actions of ancestors and the Gods ritually. They have faith by doing this, and can pass it into the sacred time that the ancestors and the Gods exist in. In the Christian religion it connects the members of the body of Christ, and...
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...is dark The light behind you Your shadow in front You hold onto the silver lining The only thing that has seemingly not passed you by And like a revelation it's all clear now As a few years became like yesterday. Between God and me I'm about to commit this sin And I know it's pretty bad My heart pulsate like you were right by my side But you are God now loving me despite my short-comings I'm living this life Not exactly like you would want me to A loving father you are And I know you will still chastise me But the adrenalin that comes with breaking a law is just so enchanting Now between Me and You I know I love you like crazy But still take granted for your mercies Choice and will you gave me The liberty they bring I'm abusing This time I'm before you My hands behind my back; face to feet As ashamed as I'm guilty;of the sins I committed like duty Forgive me and keep me a place in your kingdom Because between Me and you; you know I have no other to turn to I won’t stop loving you You have never ceased intriguing me Your charms, wit and smile Beauty, poise and charisma They have ever kept my mind on you But still I have to let you go Even though I dint stop loving you You have never ceased making me wish it’ll always be you Your care, meekness and altruistic love Beauty, swagger and charisma They have ever made me know it couldn’t...
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...Scott 4272258 PHIL1F91 Andrew T. Seminar 10 The Problem of Evil as outlined as John Hick is that “if God is perfectly loving, he must wish to abolish evil; and if he is all-powerful, he must be able to abolish evil. But evil exists; therefore God cannot be both omnipotent and perfectly loving” (Hick, 1963). In this essay the topic of John Hick’s solutions to “The Problem of Evil” will be looked at. Another subject matter that will be briefly deliberated on in this essay is if and how both of Hicks’ solutions are applicable to Arthur C. Clarke’s “The Star”. The difference between “moral evil” and “natural evil” lies classified in the fact that “moral evil” is essentially wickedness; that God is indirectly responsible for this type of evil because he created human beings and human beings inflict this kind of evil, or malevolent acts on each other on a regular basis. “Moral evil” can also be when one inflicts an action with negative connotations on one’s self. Divergent from “moral evil”, “natural evil” is in reference to natural disasters or occurrences that create suffering which people are victims of, this is a type of evil to which God is directly responsible for, because he controls such physical environmental forces. In his essay, John Hick solves the problem of both “moral evil” by firstly posing a question to the reader of why an all-good and all-powerful God would permit such a thing as degradation of one’s personal character through human interaction to occur, because...
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...Christ of Latter-day Saints has three core beliefs that is the bases of the religion. The first core statement is Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world and the Son of our loving Heavenly Father (Mormonism 101). They believe God sent His son to save mankind, God is loving and knows His children individually, He hears and answers their prayers and He feels compassion towards them. They believe in doing good to others in God’s name. I have never met an unfriendly Mormon. Growing up with my best friend and her entire (huge) family, I experienced first hand how kind and loving Mormons are. The second core statement is Christ’s Atonement allows mankind to be saved from their sins and return to live with God and their families forever (Mormonism 101). They believe God has a plan for His Children to return to live with Him. Mormons view this life as an opportunity to progress and learn by following Gods teachings. They believe they are cleansed from sin through Christ and His grace. The third core statement is Christ’s original Church as described in the New Testament has been restored in modern times (Mormonism 101). Members believe Christ established His church on the “foundation of apostles and prophets” and it was lost and needed to be restored and the Lord restored His Church with living apostles and prophets. They believe the restoration began with the founding prophet of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Joseph Smith. ...
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...design of loving relationship * Ask questions about Jesus What are the goals of Christian theology? With explicit assumption of reality * Have faith of seeking understanding * Fulfill the human design of loving relationship * Ask questions about Jesus What does Christian theology have to do with orthodoxy, orthopraxy, the Bible’s Story? * Orthodoxy means the right idea of reality * Orthopraxy means the right practice of loving people of reality * The reason why they are important is Christian should explicit assumption about the reality if they want to do theology. * Spirituality What can we add to the above definition of spirituality to make it distinctively Christian? * Live a fully and truly human life What is the relationship between spirituality and theology? * Christian spirituality focuses on living fully and truly human life as most filled lived and seen in the life of Jesus Christ. Revelation (揭示) What are the different types of general and special revelation? * General—creation everything that is not creator. * General—conscience the way to judge wrong and right * Special— word the words in Bible * Special— “ word” Jesus Christ How do general and special revelation differ in terms of content and recipients? What is the purpose of revelation? Why does God give it to humans? * The revelation from God is God’s message to build good relationship between human and God under...
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...a. Claiming that God is triune means that God’s framework is a three-being-relationship. How exactly do we witness God’s triune nature? Christopher Reeves reveals this nature by providing support that God is “The Loving Father (Reeves 23),” who is the “Father of the eternal Son (27),” and who—through the Spirit— “declares his love for the Son (29).” And we also see in scripture God’s Trinitarian character: Deuteronomy 1:3, “Lord your God carried you…father carries his Son,” and 2 Corinthians 13:14, “…the fellowship of the Holy Spirit….” Now, how is this at all purposeful to human life? Well, in addition to God’s trinity, His divine image and identity is revealed to humanity through the interconnected postures of the Father, Son, and Spirit....
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