...The Apostle John is actually my favorite writer in the Bible. I love the way he describes things and how detailed he is. He was one of the Twelve Apostles and one of the "inner circle” of Christ's apostles. Most scholars believe that he is the "Beloved Disciple” referred to in the Gospel of John. He was the author of five books in the Bible, including Revelation and First through Third John. He is estimated to have been born around 6 A.D. and was the only apostle that did not die a martyr's death. As indicated by the differences between his Gospel and the other three Gospels, John saw things differently. John continually referred to Jesus as the Son of God and focused on Jesus as the Messiah. John's key themes in his writings is to present...
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... A RESEARCH PAPER SUBMITTED TO PROFESSOR DOUGLAS PETERSON IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR BIBL364 LIBERTY UNIVERSITY ONLINE BY SEAN HIGGINS LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA DECEMBER 5, 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 2 PENTECOST 2 THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS 5 TONGUES AT EPHESIAN BAPTISM 7 CONCLUSION 9 BIBLIOGRAPHY 10 Introduction The gift of Tongues has been becoming more and more popular over the past 10 years. Christians appear to have differing views on the matter. Some think it is a sign of the HOLY SPIRIT, other think it is a manifestation of demonic forces. There are Bible verses to support both of these opinions, so the issues can become rather confusing. This paper is meant to show exactly everything that the Book of Acts mentions on the subject of tongues. This paper doesn’t refer to any other parts in the Bible regarding tongues. There are three different incidences in the Book of Acts that refers to speaking in tongues. First in Acts 2:4, 6-11 at the day of Pentecost, then in Acts 10:46 at the conversion of Cornelius, and finally in Acts 19:6 at the baptism of the 12 men in Ephesus. I am going to look solely at these events in order to study exactly what the Book of Acts says about tongues. Pentecost The experience of the Spirit on Pentecost is a fulfillment of the prophecy of John the Baptist concerning the one who would baptize in the Holy Spirit (Matt. 3:11; Mark 1:6; Luke 3:16; John 1:33)...
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... This paper was written based on the faith of Christians. Furthermore, the research referenced the Holy Bible as it is the sole basis of Christians for their doctrines and faith. The progression of the essays was written in accordance on how I think the doctrines of Christians were regarded. Section one: Did Jesus claim to be God?, discloses the dissimilar stand for Christians on the true state of Jesus Christ whether His is God or is He a man or is He God and a man at the Same time. Section two: Does the Bible Have Authority, discusses how the Christians were made to accept as true that the Bible is the sole basis for the words of God. Section three: How can we be confident that Jesus is returning?, opens the notion on where we are heading after our journey in this world. DID JESUS CLAIM TO BE GOD? The confusion on the true state of Jesus Christ often disrupts the mind of the believers on choosing their stand. However, the Holy Scriptures have the apparent stand on the issue on how to recognize Jesus Christ. Believers were divided to three groups on their belief on Christ’s true status such as: Jesus Christ is God, Jesus Christ is a man and last of all, Jesus Christ is God and a man at the same time. According to Apostle Paul, Jesus Christ is a man however a man that serves as the lone mediator of man to God (I Timothy 2:5). According to Apostle Peter, Jesus Christ is man approved of God by miracles and wonders and signs (Acts 2:22). Moreover, Apostle Matthew...
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...Rosemarie Stanislaus Term Paper August 1, 2014 The Quest for the Historical Jesus INTRODUCTION Over the centuries scholars from around the world have written a lot about religion, its meaning, relevance and contribution to humanity. There have been many speculations upon the nature and historical background of Jesus Christ. Many scholars have tried to dig into the few clues as to His identity and come up with a human side to which we can all relate. The study of Christianity and how it relates to Jesus Christ is very important to the whole world. Concerning the issue of Christianity, for example, the majority of people are taught in most schools and churches that Jesus Christ was an actual historical figure and that the only controversy regarding him is that some people accept him as the Son of God and the Messiah, while others do not. While the historicity of Jesus is the most debated subject in the field of religion today, the most enduring and profound controversy in this subject is whether or not Jesus Christ really existed. This paper will discuss who Jesus is, the controversy and biblical sources based on the views of scholars surrounding the historicity of Jesus. Finally, this paper will give Biblical evidence that Jesus existed. WHO IS JESUS? It is generally accepted that Jesus was truly a man who walked the earth 2000 years ago. Almost every religion teaches that Jesus was a prophet, excellent teacher or a Godly man. The...
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...LIBERTY UNIVERSITY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY Contemporary Roman Catholicism Dr. Ebele Adioye THEO 510 (FALL 2015) Survey of Contemporary Theology by David Boston November 3, 2015 Table of Content I. Introduction: How do Evangelicals agree or disagree with contemporary Catholicism? II. This paper will explore the different motif within Contemporary Roman Catholicism while examining the differences between Evangelicals and Contemporary Roman Catholics. A. Origin of the Roman Catholic Church. 1. Different views of Church History. 2. Apostolic Succession. 3. Veneration of the Saint/ Virgin Mary. B. Mass/ Sacraments/ Eucharist/ Purgatory. III. Protestant Reformation. A. Council of Trent. 1. Vatican Counsel II. 2. Biblical Canonization/ Apocrypha B. Evangelical Attitude toward Contemporary Roman Catholicism? 1. Areas of Agreement. 2. Area of Disagreement. 3 Different views of Church of Authority. 4. Different view on Salvation on justification. IV. Conclusion: Evangelicals persist that some of the Contemporary Roman Catholic teachings can be misleading, in spite of this salvation to the believer can still be achieved. Introduction ...
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...CHHI 301, Research Paper 1 The New Testament Canon I have asked myself many times the question of where the bible came from. Was it divine prophesies, or was it simply a mish mash of letters, writings, and books all crammed together into one volume. How and when it was decided which books and letters was would be included, and who decided that? In this paper we will discuss how the New Testament was put together and the origins of the New Testament Canon. The New Testament is a very young document that dates from around 1,900 to 2000 years old. This may seem like a long time ago, but compared to the age of the Old Testament, and other recorded ancient writing it is really pretty recent. It is commonly accepted by most rational thinking people that the Bible as we currently have it today, didn’t just appear one day, but was put together by many different writers, and by many different scholars. So this begs the real question how did the current New Testament come to being and who besides God was behind the publication of the New Testament Canon. I will try in this research paper to paint a picture of how the New Testament Canon came to be, who was involved and what the process was that was used to select the books that were ultimately used. Most scholars agree that the early writers were not aware, or even intended to have books or letters published in the New Testament, they were simply writing to a specific audience. As an example when Paul wrote...
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...Bible. Norman Geisler once stated “The inerrancy of Scripture is the foundational doctrine in which all other doctrines rest, and the Psalmist rightly said, ‘If the foundation be destroyed, then what can the righteous do?’” In his statement he expresses the truth behind the fact that the Christian faith resides on the fact that the Bible is inerrant. Interesting enough the Bible of today with its 66 books, 39 Old Testament, and 27 New Testament are very similar to the bible of the early church. In the words of Herman Ridderbos, "the history of the Canon is the process of the growing consciousness of the Church concerning its ecumenical foundation.” People have often wonder why certain books made into the Bible, but others did not. In this paper will look how we got the Bible we have today and what movements, people, and doctrines effected. Old Testament Canon The Old Testament known to Christians in the Bible is what is known to Jews as the Tanakh. This is made of the writings of the Laws, the Prophets, and the Psalms. Jesus Christ stated in Luke 24:44 “Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” Initially the Jewish Canon was closed by Judas Maccabaeus in 164 BC. That was some 250 years prior to the Synod of Jamnia. The Old Testament Canon was officially finalized at the Synod of Jamnia in AD 90 by a council of Jewish rabbi’s. Much of the dispute laid with the Apocryphal and Pseudepigrapha Books (unknown authored...
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...A BIBLICAL EVALUATION OF THE MULTI-SITE CHURCH —————————— A Paper Presented to Dr. Michael H. Windsor Central Baptist Theological Seminary of VA Beach —————————— In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Course 354 Systematic Theology 4 —————————— Submitted by: Matthew E.Vanderwarker February 27, 201 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................3 THE DEFINITION OF MULTI-SITE CHURCH ..............................................................4 THE MEANING OF ΕΚΚΛΕΣΙΑ ......................................................................................6 Lexical Definition .....................................................................................................6 Biblical Usage ...........................................................................................................7 Profane Usage ...........................................................................................................8 Etymology and Meaning ............................................................................................8 ΕΚΚΛΕΣΙΑ AS THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH ...................................................10 NEW TESTAMENT EVIDENCE FOR MULTI-SITE CHURCH ..................................11 The House Church and Paul's Writings ............................................................................12 The House Church and Luke's Writings ...
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...Reflection Paper #2 Introduction On this reflection paper, the topics I choose were the “Baptism of the Holy Spirit” and the “Rapture”. I choose these topics because they both bring topics of debate with them. There are many different views on these two topics and I will try to shed some light on them. Through Biblical research and theological definitions, we will try to discover the purpose and meanings of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and the Rapture. The first topic of discussion is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. This topic stirs up much debate in the denominational realms of the church. There are many different views and standpoints on this topic. John 1:33 states that when John the Baptist, after witnessing the descent of the Holy Spirit as a dove at the baptism of Jesus, recorded these words: “He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizes with the Holy Ghost”. Later Jesus promised His disciples, “Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence” (Acts 1:5). On the day of Pentecost, the disciples had a number of experiences involving the Holy Spirit, including the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The disciples spoke in tongues to address the gospel of Christ to many different nations in attendance of Pentecost. This event was the start of the church and its spread of the gospel of Christ to all nations. Many Christians today have confused...
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...LIBERTY UNIVERSITY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY The Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements and Speaking in Tongues Submitted to Dr. Timothy McAlhaney in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of the course CHHI 525-D08 Spring 2015 LUO History of Christianity II By Fred Martin May 13, 2015 Contents I. Introduction…………………………………………………….................................1 II. The History and Theologies of Pentecostals and Charismatics…….……….………2 a. Brief History of the Pentecostal and Charismatic Movements……..……….2-3 b. The Beliefs of the Pentecostals and Charismatics…………………..............3-5 III. The Bible and the Baptism in the Holy Spirit……………………..……….…….....5 IV. The Bible and Gifts of the Holy Spirit…………………………………….………..6 V. Scholarly Perspectives on Speaking in Tongues ………………………….………..7 a. Speaking in Tongues: A Reversal of the Babel Event at Pentecost….……..7-8 b. Psychiatric Views of Speaking in Tongues……………………….…......….8-9 c. Speaking in Tongues as Spiritual Warfare…………………………….…....9 VI. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………….…....10 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………......…11 I. Introduction Author Paul Enns presents his perspectives on the supernatural gift of speaking in tongues and the Holy Spirit in his book The Moody Handbook of Theology, Revised and Expanded. However, Enns believes that gift ceased at the end of the Apostolic Age. This view is flawed because it does not take...
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...The Formation of the Canon, 5-6 page paper. Thus far we have come to a closing about the date and source of the individual books of the New Testament, but another questions remains unanswered. We can ask ourselves, how did the New Testament itself come into being? Who collected the writings and on what ideology? What conditions led to the creations of a canon, of trustworthy books? Throughout history Christian’s belief is that the Holy Spirit, who controlled the writing of the individual books, also controlled their selection and compilation, thus continuing to fulfill our Lord’s promise that He would guide his disciples into all reality. This however, is something that is to be discerned by spiritual insight, and not by historical research. The object is to find out what historical research reveals about the origin of the New Testament canon. We have people tell us that we receive the twenty seven books of the New Testament on the mandate of the Church; but even if we do, we have to look at how the Church came to recognize these twenty-seven books as worthy of being placed on a level of encouragement and authority with the Old Testament. It took over a century of the proliferation of numerous writings before anyone was even concerned. They started to pick and choose and it was largely a cumulative, individual and accidental event, guided by chance and prejudice more than objective and scholarly research, until priests and academics began declaring what was authoritative...
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...Research Paper Living the Christian Life : According To Romans 8 By Randy E Brown Bible 425-D11 Presented To Prof. Jerry Hall Department of Religion Liberty University, Lynchburg, Va Date: Introduction The Christian Life, according to Romans 8, should not be based on condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Based on the fact through Christ Jesus, the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death (verse1-2). In the early Christian Practical Issues, The Apostle Paul forms the main character in relation to examining the respective entities attached to the issue. He was charged with three different assignments which were; preaching the gospel to the gentiles, providing the church leaders with the biblical instructions and encouragements, and lastly to teach the Christian community ways to live righteously in an unsaved world. Through endless efforts and dedication, Paul was able to accomplish these tasks via his ongoing missionary journeys plus the letters he wrote to various churches. It is evident that while Jesus’ life and teachings tend to offer Christianity with the required foundation...
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...Christian idea or teaching and develop their own ways that differ greatly from traditional Christianity such as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is known as the Mormons. The founder of the Mormons was Joseph Smith. Mormonism began with one family, that family was the family of Joseph Smith, Sr. and Lucy Mack Smith of Vermont and New York. Joseph Smith, Jr. was the fourth child among eight other siblings. Joseph Smith, Jr. known as Joseph Smith became the Prophet and First Elder of the Church of Christ during its organization of April 6, 1830. Joseph Smith had a series of visions where he received spiritual instruction from God the Father; Jesus Christ; John the Baptist; the Apostles Peter, James, and John; and from an angel known to the church members as Moroni. He also had a revelation in which he was told that all existing Christian traditions were corrupt and he was to responsible for keeping the true word of God alive and bring people to salvation, therefore, he established a new Church of last day saints (Latter-day Saints). It was Moroni that revealed to Joseph Smith the where about of a set of gold tablets and bestowed upon him the ability to interpret their meaning which was in a form of Egyptian language. Joseph Smith was one of the three from his family that had gain an eyewitness to the golden plates. The golden plates were the Book of Mormon, which recounted the history and teaching of the Nephite prophets...
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...LIBERTY UNIVERSITY LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY EXEGETICAL PAPER: EPHESIANS 6:10-20 A PAPER SUBMITTED TO DR. CHARLES E. POWELL IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE COURSE HERMENEUTICS NBST652 – D07 LUO (SUMMER, 2013) BY VERONICA MEAD LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA AUGUST 11, 2013 TABLE OF CONTENTS BIBLE PASSAGE……………………………………………………………………………….3 THESIS…………………………………………………………………………………………..3 INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………………………………….3 HISTORICAL-CULTURAL AND LITERARY CONTEXT……………………………………5 CONTENT ………………………………………………………………………………………..6 Be Strong in the Lord……………………………………………………………………...6 Put on the Full Armor of God……………………………………………………………..6 Our Struggle is not against Flesh and Blood……………………………………………...7 The Armor of God—Protection against the Evil Day…………………………………….7 Stand Firm…………………………………………………………………………………8 Feet Fitted with Readiness That Comes from the Gospel of Peace……………………….8 Take up the Shield of Faith………………………………………………………………..9 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit………………………………..10 Pray in the Spirit on all Occasions with all Kinds of Prayers……………………………10 Paul Requests Prayer from the Saints……………………………………………………11 For which I am an Ambassador in Chains……………………………………………….11 APPLICATION……………………………………………………………………………….…12 Stand Strong in the Lord in the Power of His might……………………………………..12 Put on the Whole Armor of God…………………………………………………………12 Prayer…………………………………………………………………………………….13 ...
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...Liberty University Justification by Faith A Research paper submitted to Professor Laverne Smith In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for BIBL 161-D01 Willmington School of the Bible By Jason Miller Lynchburg, Virginia FRIDAY November 28, 2014 CONTENTS Introduction 1 Man’s Unrighteousness 1 Man’s Need for Redemption 2 The Righteousness of God 3 Justification by Faith 4 Salvation from God’s Wrath 6 Contemporary Church’s View of Justification 6 Conclusion 7 Introduction The Protestant Reformation began when Martin Luther’s study of the scriptures revealed to him that mankind can only be justified by faith. This truth from God’s Word transformed Luther’s life and opened the door for believers to break free of religious bondage. Luther would say that justification by faith is the article upon which the church stands or falls. The reformer John Calvin would later echo that sentiment by stating that justification by faith is the hinge by which everything else turns. In reading Paul’s letter to the Romans one can easily see that the doctrine of justification is truly a cornerstone of the Christian faith. This doctrine is a theme that appears throughout the book. By examining man’s unrighteous state and his need for redemption the apostle Paul methodically shows the reader that not only is a person justified by faith alone but also that they are saved from God’s...
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