...Reaction Paper Nonfiction readings take some imagination to fully grasp the concept that the author is portraying. The short stories, “Salvation”, by Langston Hughes (Literature for Composition pp 343-344) and “Who Will Light Incense When Mothers Gone?” by Andrew Lam, (Literature for Composition pp 1115-1116), are no different where imagination is concerned. These two readings differ tremendously, having few similarities, although, they are both personal nonfiction readings. In, “Salvation”, the author uses two different strategies to convey his idea. In opinion, he uses Reader’s Response and Formalist strategies. The opening line reads: “I was saved from sin when I was going on thirteen. But not really saved,” (Literature for Composition pg. 343). This line brings about the rest of the story. He is looking for a readers response by telling the story of how he was “saved from sin”, when he was going on thirteen. He does not detail his entire life up to this point or much thereafter. This leads it to be believed that the other strategy is formalist. Meaning that it can stand independently. One can personally relate to the story of, “Salvation”, because they have been through this type of situation. They have been attending church during their youth, feeling as if the spot light was aimed at them. Also knowing that something is expected of them, wondering if they should follow the crowd or go on their own. The author wants to help other young ladies and gentlemen to know they...
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...THEO 104 Reading Question Answer Sheet Week 6 I. Christianity is a Practical Religion Student Answer Column Instructions to Student: Write your answers in this column. They will be in blue. The cell will expand as you type. What Christianity is All About (textbook): Chapter 10 1. What is the relationship to works and salvation? Salvation is by grace through faith and good works are a result of a relationship with Christ. A faith without works is not genuine. 2. Why do Christians do good works? To practically display the love of God. II. Christianity is a Movement that Transforms Culture A. What Christianity is All About (textbook): Chapter 11 1. When did Christianity become Rome’s national religion? AD 313 2. What was the Ulster revival? A revival that began in Northern Ireland in 1859. It swept across the nation and brought about 10,000 converts to the churches. 3. What did European missionaries do wrong in their approach? They imposed European culture on other cultures as they spread the Gospel. 4. With is “trickle down” influence? When a chief or leader mandates that Christianity is the state religion. This is not the most effective method in evangelism. 5. What is “bubble up” influence? When people’s lives are changed for the better as a result of salvation. No laws are needed to bring about positive change in a society where the bubble up influence takes place. 6. Which is more effective, the “trickle down” influence or “bubble...
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...three sections: exclusivism, pluralism, and inclusivism. In Sweetman's opinion, these three things are responses to the problem of religious diversity. Exclusivism, Sweetman describes, is the view that the path to salvation can be found in only one religion, Pluralism is the view that there are many different ways to salvation in the various world religions, and so, all religions have a certain legitmacy, and Inclusivism is the view that there is only one true way to salvation, but people from other religions will be able to reach salvation still. While reading both Hick and Sweetman's articles, you get the idea that religious diversity is a fact. For Instance, within Hick's article On Conflicting Religious Truth Claims, he states an example: “Christians believe that Jesus died on the cross, whilst Muslims believe that he only appeared to die”, with this example Hick shows us how different sets of religions consists of “differences of historical belief which carry significant theological implications”. This simply states how religious diversity is in fact, real and worldwide. However, in Sweetman's case, he feels religious diversity is a philospical “problem”, in the sense of exclusivism and plurlism. He feels as though religious exclusivism is that you can't possibly make an accurate judgement of which world religion is the true one, and provides the right way to reach salvation. Religious pluralism, in his opinion, overly “flirts” with skepticism. Skepticism, along with relativism...
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...Summary of the Method – According to Earley and Wheeler, “the Romans Road to Salvation is a way of explaining the good news of salvation using verses from the book of Romans (Wheeler). The way that my church explained it to me is that were 5 steps: 1. There is a problem: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:3, NIV). Explain that we are all sinners and that there are none except God that are righteous. 2. The problem comes with a price: “For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom 6:23). Since we are sinners, we are deserving of punishment in hell. 3. Payment of the price was paid by Christ’s sacrifice: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8). As propitiation for our sin, Christ took it all on His shoulders and died for us. 4. The prayer that leads to salvation: “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Rom 10:9, 13). You need to believe it in your heart and exclaim it with your mouth. 5. Salvation through Jesus leaves us justified: “Therefore, there is now no condemantion for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1). We have been made new, as if we have never sinned. After the reading of the scripture ask some basic questions to find out the state of the lost...
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...Andrea T. Quarles 2/01/2015 Part I- What is a worldview? 1. A “Worldview” is the basis on which an individual operates. It is the philosophy of life and the framework you bring to decision making. It is the response of our heart or inner being, our intellect, emoting and will. A worldview is composed throughout an individual’s lifetime by what the individual has seen, heard and experienced. Part II- 1. The Question of Origin- How was life created? How did mankind come to existence? Christians believe that mankind and everything else that exist was created by GOD the creator. (Genesis 1:1) GOD formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life, and the man became a human being. (Genesis 2:7) 2. The Question of Identity- What is the meaning of a human being? Christians believe that man was made to be unique and intentional creations of GOD. Mankind was created above the animals and man was created, “a little lover than Angels”. (Psalm 8:5) The male and female were both created “in the image of GOD”. (Genesis 2:15) 3. The Question of Meaning/Purpose- Why do I exist? Christians believe that mankind exist to Glorify GOD. Glorifying GOD is accomplished through a wide variety of efforts. Some of these efforts include obedience, worship, prayer and thanksgiving. (Philippians 2:12-13, Psalm 95) The main reason for these things is to establish a personal relationship with GOD. 4. The Question of Morality- What...
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...The Gospel Message The Apostle Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Romans 1:16). Paul should know, since his life was radically transformed when Jesus confronted him on the road to Damascus (Acts 9, 26:4–18). Once he knew Jesus and His power, nothing held him back from telling others about the risen Christ. He shared this gospel, the “good news,” with anyone who would listen to him, regardless of their religion or moral background. Paul once wrote to a group of Christians telling them about this gospel. He said: Moreover, brothers, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Be assured, this same gospel that changed and motivated Paul is for you and me today. In understanding the gospel message we find out that: • Jesus paid the price for our sins (I Peter 3:18). • Our sins can be forgiven (Ephesians 1:7). • We can have eternal life by trusting in Him (John 3:15). The word “gospel” is mentioned over 100 times in the Bible by Jesus...
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...described as providing the fundamental basis of the nature of and motivation to worship: “‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.’” (Matt 22:37-40, ASV) The authors argue that evangelism is a natural outflow of fulfilling the second part of Jesus’ instructions: ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself…’” God is love and desires relationship with and flourishing growth for his children of “all the nations.” Therefore, we can never rightly see worship as merely something else we do. once a week. Wheeler emphatically asserts that worship is obedience in all aspects of life and part of being obedient is fulfilling God’s will that all people should be saved. Worship is “a passionate response to the heart cry of God that includes active participation in the Great Commission.” And as such, worship drives evangelism. Likewise, evangelism is not just something that is suggested or one of the many things we do. Nor is evangelism the job of only a few people set apart for that task by the church or by particular...
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...establishing a national religion and allowed people to freely exercise their religious beliefs and practices. The amendment appeared straightforward, but in practice it was ambiguous and increasingly controversial.” Hutson emphasized in the earlier parts of the text how although there were several belief systems that existed during the 17th century like the Anglicans, Puritans and Catholics; there was a solution needed for the state to intervene and establish a central church for everyone to follow by force. As a result of Constantine’s efforts, the doctrine of exclusive salvation was established which stated that “uniformity of faith – for if all were to be saved, all must believe the same truth – and persecution of dissent. “The case for theological persecution, is unanswerable,” wrote a distinguished expositor of the doctrine, “if we admit the fundamental supposition that one faith is known to be true and necessary for salvation.” As time continued to move forward, other inhabitants were still insistent on staying true to their own beliefs and in 1674, Lord James “reiterated his commitment to religious liberty by instructing Governor Andros to...
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...The Gospel Message The Apostle Paul said, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Romans 1:16). Paul should know, since his life was radically transformed when Jesus confronted him on the road to Damascus (Acts 9, 26:4–18). Once he knew Jesus and His power, nothing held him back from telling others about the risen Christ. He shared this gospel, the “good news,” with anyone who would listen to him, regardless of their religion or moral background. Paul once wrote to a group of Christians telling them about this gospel. He said: Moreover, brothers, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Be assured, this same gospel that changed and motivated Paul is for you and me today. In understanding the gospel message we find out that: • Jesus paid the price for our sins (I Peter 3:18). • Our sins can be forgiven (Ephesians 1:7). • We can have eternal life by trusting in Him (John 3:15). The word “gospel” is mentioned over 100 times...
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...Salvation", Langston Hughes Langston Hughes paints a picture of himself as a little boy whose decisions at a church revival directly reflect mans own instinctive behavioral tendencies for obedience. A young Langston whose congregation wants him to go up and get saved, gives into obedience and ventures to the altar as if he has seen the light of the Holy Spirit. Hughes goes on to say: " So I decided that maybe to save further trouble, I'd rather lie, too, and say that Jesus had come ,and get up and be saved ." In saying this, Langston has obviously overlooked his personal belief to meet the level of obedience laid out by the congregation. It leads us to fact that people may believe strongly in an idea or thought but will overlook that belief to be obedient. One can make a justified assumption that everyone in society has at one time or another overlooked his or her personal feelings to conform this occurrence whether it is instinctive or judgmental is one that each individual deals with a personal level. He was a young boy who wanted to see Jesus, who wanted to earn salvation, but when he couldn't see Jesus, when everyone else saw,he found himself in the terrible position of disappointing not only himself but everyone in his community.He finally "saved" himself by pretending to see Jesus . He was saved not by love of Jesus as a congregation or preacher intended but by pretending to be other that who he was. One wanders what would have happened if he didn't stepped forward...
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...Response paper of Confessions Augustine outlines his sinful youth and his conversion to Christianity in Confessions, which is almost the earliest autobiography with deeply philosophical and theological thinking. He gives accounts of his faults to God genuinely and praises God with authenticity, along which he takes the chance to think about the origin of sins. In Book I, he narrates his observation on a little baby to explain that even very young children have the tendency of being selfish, when “he could not yet speak and, pale with jealousy and bitterness, glared at his brother sharing his mother’s milk.” It seems that the tendency towards self over others is rooted within our instinct. However, the selfishness during childhood is unthinking and is usually tolerated by people because “with coming of age it will pass away.” That is, when human enter early adolescence, they gradually gain the ability to understand what’s right or wrong and to ponder sin like adults do. While, it’s quite interesting that Augustine uses his story of stealing pears with peers to illustrate the fact that even if when human beings have clear knowledge of wrongdoing, they may still have those sinful behaviors possibly for some satisfactions. He states in Confessions: “wickedness filled me,” and “my desire was to enjoy not what I sought by stealing but merely the excitement of thieving and the doing of what was wrong.” (Book II) This thought by Augustine indicates that...
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...guide to salvation, but as a witness. Perhaps this is used as an autobiographical element to his own past and the murder he himself committed while that is a rather dark take on the symbolism of blood that perhaps is still possible explanation of what the author meant when he presented the idea as an eyewitness. The author goes on to give several other perceived metaphors that could very well be true with this piece. Resurrection is one of those examples, which the author writes, “The nova morte of his freshly executed saint, has resulted in his own personal resurrection.” (pg.586) This also goes back to the boy he killed (Caravaggio) and that this new resurrection could finally give him a knighthood, which he has always wanted to achieve. Throughout time blood has had several symbolic meanings such as the blood of Christ giving new life of being a reawakening of sorts. The artist could have meant several things by this signature, however what the author seems to agree with the most is that perhaps what Caravaggio was saying with this signature was that he is the “executioner, witness, maker, and destroyer. These themes are roughly metaphors of the artist own life and how far he came. Thus, this article was well done and presented me with things to think about in the future while viewing art. They do not need to always speak to the spectator, but when they can make it count. The author of this piece aimed more to tell the reader the opposite of what the last reading response did...
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...related to the word; however, according to Whitney the word worship means “God is to ascribe the proper worth to God, to magnify His worthiness of praise, or better, to approach and address God as He is worthy (81).” This definition encompasses the true meaning of worship. I believe in today’s society, speaking from experience, we are too caught up in the cycle of life to appreciate God’s blessings in life. I have fallen short of this many of times. Often my excuse is I am too busy to stop to look at the beauty in His creation or stop and reflect on His work in my life. The more we invest into our creator, the more we see how worthy He is to us. There are different ways to show worship to our Lord. Ultimately, reading scriptures is an up-most form of worship. Prayer is a response to God as He is revealed in Scripture, and so is giving (82). Singing, dancing, gathering, etc are all versions of worship. “Whenever you do focus on the infinite worth of God, you will respond in worship as surely as the moon reflects the sun. This kind of worship isn't in...
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...Part I What is a worldview? The definition of “worldview” is a particular philosophy of life or conception of the world. Let’s first understand how to define philosophy. Philosophy is investigating truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct. To define worldview let’s look at our reading for this week in Consider. The most descriptive sentence and the one that I feel describes and defines worldview the best is, “A worldview, then, is a response of our heart or inner being; our intellect, emotion and will. It is the total framework we bring to decision-making” (Weider 59). I am a fiery and passionate speaking person when delivering my worldview and when I read that sentence it resonated with me and I felt that fire spark within. Part II Articulate the biblical/Christian Worldview 1. The Question of Origin The Christian Worldview on origin believes that God is the creator of the world and everything in it. The creation process lasted for 6 days and it culminated for mankind on this day as that is when it is said man and woman were created. Notable scripture references to this are found in the book of Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:27. 2. The Question of Identity The Christian Worldview with regards to the question of identity sees man as a special creation of God. They believe God created man above the animals, below angels, and that man and woman were made in His own image. God intended for man to rule over and care for the earth and His creations in...
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...LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY MacArthur Reading Report Submitted to Dr. David W. Hirschman, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of the course, LEAD 635 Pastoral Theology by Shonda M. Curb September 30, 2013 John MacArthur Reading Report Introduction Pastor John MacArthur and the Masters Seminary Faculty provide a unique manual for the aspiring pastor or church leader in "Pastoral Ministry: How to Shepherd Biblically". The major theme of the writings focuses on the character and development of pastors in accordance with New Testament scripture including: Acts 6, 1 Timothy 2-4, Titus 1, 1 Peter 5. The authors demonstrate through biblical reference and personal experiences the model and character of one prepared for pastoral ministry. The aim of the text is to validate the biblical authority of the ministry, to educate in the biblical qualifications of pastoral ministry, and to outline priorities for the pastoral ministry. Summary John MacArthur and his panel at the Master’s Seminary Faculty separate the twenty chapters presented in the book into four major categories that are designed to provide the reader with a dynamic portrayal of what it takes to be an effective biblical pastor. The four categories transition the reader from the biblical perspective of pastoral ministry to the practical. They include: biblical perspectives of pastoral ministry, the preparatory perspectives of pastoral candidates, personal perspectives...
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