He believes that when the Jesus stated, “This is my body”, figurative speech is being used. He brings light to the fact that Jesus has used figurative speech on other occasions. For example, when Jesus said “I am the vine”, He was not being literal, rather He was using figurative language to show He provides nourishment and believers can do nothing without Him, just as a vine does to the branches. Huldrich Zwubgli also points out what he believes to be two obvious mistakes that make baptism and the Lord’s supper ordinances rather than sacraments. He believes the first mistake is, if it is true that the Eucharist is truly the body of Christ, then when we humans receive it and take it into our bodies, then we are actually tearing apart and mutilating Jesus’ body with our teeth.…
In the fictional book, The Lost Letters of Pergamum, the reader is able to see what life is like during the Second Temple Period of Judaism from the eyes of a nobleman. The story takes place shortly after the death of Jesus. Throughout this book we see the development and evolution of a man named Antipas. As the main character corresponds with Luke, not only are his religious views changed, but his views of society as well as his role within it.…
7.4 Identify the distinctive features of basilicas and central-plan churches, and discuss how the forms of these early churches were geared toward specific types of Christian worship and devotional practice. After the Edict of Milan was issued, early Christians were allowed to meet freely for the first time. They needed a place to gather, and their churches were based on two types of pagan roman architecture, longitudinal and central plans. This was not the first time Christian art and architecture was based on previous pagan structures, for example, orant figures, people worshipping with their arms stretched out, can be pagan or Christian or Jewish.…
Leaving one’s problems to God to deal with will eventually show a person that the faith is real. After a long life of hard situations a rough events, Lewis has gone through a lot. His experiences have lead him into deep thought about the Christian Faith, making his writing in his book Mere Christianity very detailed and in depth. He goes from basic ideas to how they correspond to Christianity. Lewis talks about how a person’s idea or right and wrong are different and that there are different meaning to the word ‘right’ depending on the person.…
Our consumption of the Eucharist means we are consumed into the body of Christ, and therefore we are all connected through this act, thus when one hurts, we all do, because “when we consume the Eucharist, we become one with others and share their fate” and it is through this act that “we participate in the divine life so that we are fed and simultaneously become food for others” (2008:95/97). Therefore, he concludes that the Eucharist tells a different story of consumption, one in which “the insatiability of human desire is absorbed by the abundance of God’s grace in the gift of the body and the blood of Christ”…
The last portion of the session before prayer was a talk about the importance of a church…
Heclo overlooks two of three fundamentals of being a Christian. One of the most important fundamentals is having an expressed belief in christ as a savior and redeemer. This is seen in the fact that America identifies itself as a Christian nation and in the common belief that the Founding Fathers has in God and Christian morality. The second key part of being a…
Lewis’ Mere Christianity is such a powerful message and a truly magnificent introduction to Christianity. He doesn’t sugarcoat the truth but speaks boldly with love, grace, and conviction. Dividing his book into four parts, Lewis discusses the foundation of Christian belief and theology. In the first section “…
The Westminster Confession of Faith and the Baptist Faith & Message 2000 are two documents that influenced the writing of this confession. Both of them give excellent summaries of the Church be, while also giving ample Scriptural support. One key biblical text to explain the Church doctrine is 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, which talks about the Church as a human body. All members of the Church, whether they believe they have a small role or a big role, play a part in God’s Church, whether they are a hand, an eye, or an ear. Another key text is Colossians 1:18-20, where Christ is depicted as the head of the Church.…
The church is both the body and the bride of Christ; this idea consists of materiality and unity. The church contains four marks and the people must bear these marks of the church both visibly and in the body. The church is one and unified, though this may be hard to grasp considering all the fragments in the church. The church receives holiness, the second mark, because of Christ’s sacrifice. Church is catholic, meaning that it is universal and whole.…
The world is a terrible place. It is marked with injustices and happenings that challenge the existence of mankind. It is hard to rely on the world as a source of happiness. Human life is greatly affected by the mere presence of humanity in the world. Man turns against himself by inventing social immorality and vices that disqualify the quality of life.…
He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked. 1 John 2:6 Sometimes it takes painful situations to make us look at ourselves and realize, "we need to make a change in what we are doing and the way we are doing it!" As Christians our goal is to reflect the life of Christ Jesus, become a light in this dark, somber world and to share His love with everyone we come into contact with. The early church knew the importance of giving back... the relevance of corporate prayer, worship, sound doctrine, communion and fellowship with one another.…
This historical study will define the impact of St. Francis of Assisi on Italian cultural identity in the rejuvenation of the Roman Catholic Church in the medieval period. In the late 12th and 13th centuries, St. Francis of Assisi was a religious figure that chose to live a life of poverty and self-sacrifice in the image of Jesus Christ. During this historical period, the Roman Catholic Church had become an ostentatious and well-funded organization that did not embrace the common people of Italy. This form of superficial form of Christianity that St. Francis rejuvenated by embracing poverty and serving the community. This form of religious practice constructed a powerful Italian sense of identity that St. Francis represented during a time of…
Christianity has a foci of loving one another, repentance, and being obedient to God’s word. As a Christian, your goal is to attain eternal life in Heaven, thus you must follow the criteria God has to attain his…
In Section 5, “Making Moral Decisions,” the topics of gifts, guides, and forgiveness and reconciliation are discussed. We learn what it means to live as a moral person and what gifts God gives us to live a moral life. We also learn about what guides us in making moral decisions and what happens when we miss the mark. Most importantly, we learn that God gives us everything we truly “need to live a holy, happy, and healthy life”(228).…