Study Like a Boss
Christianity today has over 2.1 billion adherents throughout the world and is well established as the universal, monotheistic religious belief system that has developed since the life, death and resurrection (around 32 AD) of Jesus Christ. However, as Jesus was a Jew, the beginnings of Christianity revolved around the fact that Jesus had adapted the … Read more
Part 1: The Book of Exodus and its Message In his theory of forms, the philosopher Plato proposes that the objects and situations encountered in the mundane world are often indicative of a higher and fuller reality. While Plato did not have the Old Testament in mind when he wrote “The Republic”, his concept of … Read more
“Out of the ground the Lord God made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil,” Genesis reads (Gen 2.9). In the Genesis story of Adam and Eve and … Read more
The Gospel of Luke opens with a four-verse reflection on the Evangelist’s intentions regarding his Gospel and what he hopes to achieve in writing it. He expresses his desire to construct a revised edition of the story of the life and ministry of Christ and his followers; the author claims to have ‘carefully investigated everything … Read more
What you Sow you Will Reap In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, there is one character who changes drastically throughout the play. That character is Macbeth. In the beginning, Macbeth is an honest and loyal thane to King Duncan. However, he lets greed and evil desires drive him to an act of regicide. His guilt and fear … Read more
Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak. -I Corinthians 14:34 It is a good thing that women religious writers, especially Marguerite Porete, did not listen to this scripture and spoke up in church. While all women mystics are quite different from each other, they all … Read more
Indeed discoveries do challenge our inherent understanding of our lives and our humanity; however, if we allow complacency to overtake a desire to pursue discoveries, individual, societal or spiritual, it is then that the discovery becomes an unwanted component of a known existence. Robert Frost, a renowned turn of the century modernist, explores the (notions … Read more
The atonement of Christ according to this Moral Influence theory is that Jesus Christ came and died in order to bring about a positive change to humanity. This moral change comes through the teachings of Jesus alongside His example and actions. This is the belief that the atonement of Christ is a demonstration of God’s … Read more
Isaac, the son of Abraham, was a central figure in the establishment of the Jewish people. Both him and his father had played tremendous roles in the bible. However, Isaac’s life reflected Abraham’s similarly when compared side by side to his father’s. There are many other things he did that his father had also done … Read more
The doctrine of the Trinity is foundational to the Christian faith and helps us realize that God exists as three distinct, consubstantial persons– the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The first defense of the doctrine of the Trinity was in the early 3rd century by the early church father Tertullian. He explicitly defined … Read more
Christianity, Islam, and Judaism are three of the most influential world religions in history. While Judaism isn’t as large as Christianity and Islam, its impact on the world has still been as profound. Judaism, Islam, and Christianity are sometimes called “Abrahamic religions” because they trace their history to the ancient figure of Abraham, first mentioned … Read more
Christ the Redeemer is located in the Tijuca National Forest, at the top of the Corcovado Mountain in Brazil. It is considered an icon of Rio de Janeiro. In 1850, the idea of building a religious monument was first suggested by a Catholic Priest and was funded by the Catholic community of Brazil. In 1989 … Read more
AUTHOR’S NOTE: The following paper received first place at the 2005 Concordia University President’s Showcase, Tier Two, and was presented at the Southern California Conference on Undergraduate Research at the University of California, Riverside. Jesus in Context: The Influence of the Galilee Region on the Life and Ministry of Jesus and His Followers Introduction: History, … Read more
Priesthood The life of a priest is unique and challenging. Becoming a Catholic priest is not for everyone. The job of priest requires someone committed to the Catholic faith. A priest must know all about the Catholic religion, and he must serve as a model for the Catholic faith, leading by example. Doing so requires … Read more
Different Bible translations word this differently; some use the phrase “eternal sin” or “unforgivable sin.” In some, the sin is to “blaspheme against” or “curse the Holy Spirit.” Whatever the wording, what troubles many readers is the suggestion that there is a type of sin that God will not forgive. Doesn’t this contradict verses like … Read more
During her childhood, St. Bernadette lived in Lourdes, France. She was the oldest of her eight siblings. Two days after she was born, Bernadette was baptized at St. Pierre’s Church. St. Bernadette had terrible asthma as a child. As a result, she lived the duration of her life with fragile health. When she was fourteen, … Read more
The miracle stories narrated by each of the four evangelists arguably form one of the most famed aspects of the story of the life of Jesus Christ, and it is clear that for the writers of the Gospels, as well as for the earliest Christians, the miracles encompassed great significance. However, the ways in which … Read more
Various images of the Church aid people to comprehend why and how God perceives the Church. We also have the images of the Church in order to find out what His church should be doing.“The Bible—both the Old and New Testaments—offers several other images of the Church. Each of these images helps us to understand … Read more
A New Strength in Church Ties The Mormon Response to the Great Depression The State of Utah has a reputation; the Mormon State. Rightfully so, as the majority of Utah is affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This religion, while a sect of Christianity, is often looked at as the outcast. … Read more
Constantine the Great or Constantine I was the first Roman emperor to be Christian and began the evolution for the empire to become a Christian state. Constantine (Flavius Valerius Constantinus) was bored on February 27 on circa 280 in Naissus, Moesia (now called Nis, Serbia). Offspring of Constantius I Chlorus and Helena. His father was … Read more
One of the defining characteristics of the God of the Bible is that he is often surprising in that he continues to seek out his sinful people despite their many flaws, and can use any situation or person to demonstrate his glory. One would think that the Bible would be full of stories of perfectly … Read more
Small towns are often considered a safe place to grow up. Many who are born into these small towns never leave, perhaps because they are too frightened to leave all that they have ever known. These towns, however, are not without their problems. Rural small towns, especially in the South, carry a stigma of being … Read more
In Genesis, recognition is consistently paired with deception in the sense that the former almost always is a cause of the latter. This creates several type scenes that are most notable past the births of Jacob and Esau. In fact, deception appears to be an inherited trait in Jacob’s lineage: throughout his family’s cycles, individuals … Read more
Before the year 1611, many different translations of the bible existed, but none were very consistent. At this time, at the command of King James the First, forty-seven scholars from various theological and educational backgrounds, separated into six individual groups, completed the task of translating the bible from the original Hebrew manuscripts and existing English … Read more
The Protestant reformation (more accurately known as the Lutheran upheaval) is the product of the observance of a ridiculous amount of corruption amongst the highest ranking officials within the Catholic Church. Yet despite its origins, its events, people and publications left a lasting impact on Europe that is still felt to this day. The words … Read more
The Crucible is a play written by Arthur Miller. The plot is set in Salem, Massachusetts 169s in a time of confusion and violence. Accusations of witchery are being spread, causing the town to erupt in shock and quick actions. Instead of looking into each accusation in detail and believing in the method that you … Read more
People have karma when they bring themselves either trouble or good fortune in accordance with the way they act. Loyalty is extremely important in Greek culture; good fortune comes to those who are loyal, while those who are unfaithful or mutinous usually end up getting ruined or killed. In Homer’s epic The Odyssey many people … Read more
The Bible doctrine of regeneration has suffered at the hands of its enemies as well as its friends. Its enemies marketed the doctrine in the 1970’s after a Southern Baptist layman who was running for the office of President of the United States announced that he was a “born again Christian.” Not long after this, … Read more
Christians have been developing and practicing various Scripture engagement techniques for hundreds of years. This article is trying to help us understand the true methods of experiencing God in the Bible. The scripture engagement technique the article focuses on is Lectio Divina, this means “sacred reading” in Latin. This practice has been used for over … Read more
The Prince by Machiavelli is one of the most influential treatises in human history, conceived by Italian political theorist and diplomat, Niccolo Machiavelli. The Prince is often regarded as one of the first true examples of modern philosophy, most notably, political philosophy, and Machiavelli addressed many different attributes of politics, war-time strategies and the implementation … Read more
Throughout Mark’s Gospel, we see Jesus referred to as the ‘Son of God’ and the ‘Son of Man’ on numerous occasions, the former occurring a total of eight times within the text, and the latter, being ‘the most frequent of the Christological images in the Gospel of Mark[1]’, a total of fourteen times. With the … Read more
As 1950s America engulfed itself in a widespread fear of Communism, government officials became extra vigilant in finding and punishing possible spies and traitors. Suspects were arrested for saying the wrong thing, being seen in the wrong place at the wrong time, and even for thinking the wrong thoughts. As mass nervosa ensued, Americans began … Read more
Exodus 16 and Numbers 11 both recount the story of the manna and quails. Though these two chapters concern the same story, they offer different details and variable facts. The two stories differ especially in their characterization of the Hebrew people, God, and the relationships between them. Exodus focuses on the Israelites’ relationship with God … Read more
Depicted in Pierre Auguste Cot’s most notorious painting, All Souls’ Day at the Camposanto, Pisa, a woman and her two children mourn the death of her husband/their father. Painted in 1872, All Souls’ Day at the Camposanto, Pisa emphasizes the Catholic church, and the role it played in everyday life. This painting includes many practices … Read more
The Divine Comedy: Inferno’s “Canto XV” begins with the reader joining Dante pilgrim and Virgil as they exit the wood of the suicides on their way to the third ring of the seventh circle of hell: the burning sands. This is where the blasphemers, sodomites, and usurers are held for their eternal punishment. Dante and … Read more
Hell has been described as a residence for souls after death has long been a topic of discussion and debate. This notion intrigues man. It is a concept that man cannot know about except through direct experience, which, once obtained, cannot be shared. Yet this does not prevent man from envisioning its form. Since the … Read more
When T. S. Eliot wrote The Waste Land in 1922 he was a self-proclaimed atheist. Some six years later, he described himself as an adherent to anglo-catholic Christianity and thus wrote the Four Quartets. As is possible to postulate, some scholars believe that there is an innate Christian-ness in The Waste Land and have hence … Read more
This paper will employ close visual analysis of the Gates of Hell and the Last Judgment describing how the form of the work relates to its function within the representation of hell. When one stands before the Gates of Hell, s/he is immediately struck by its sheer enormity, complexity and the multitude of figures. The … Read more
Introduction A worldview represents a conception of how an individual thinks and sees their daily life. They are two predominant types of worldviews: 1) The humanistic worldview centers around a way of life which is centered on human interests or values; especially: a philosophy that typically rejects supernaturalism and stresses an individual’s dignity, worth and … Read more
I live in Charlotte North Carolina, in mecklenburg county. Growing up I was never taught the history of charlotte or even mecklenburg county, so I had to take matters into my own hands. While researching influential people from mecklenburg county I stumbled across the Brevard Family. The Brevard’s were French Huguenots who moved to Ulster … Read more
Tommy Tenney brings a fascinating biblical story to life with his new novel, Hadassah: One Night with the King. This novel blends Bible history the Old Testament story of Esther with the historical setting of Ancient Persia. The novel Hadassah: One Night with the King is a continuous narrative written with admirable artistic beauty. As … Read more
The Holy Spirit is not merely a force or a power, but He is a person possessing a mind, a will, and emotions. There are many unique characteristics that can be attributed to the Holy Spirit that show He is not simply a thing, but that He is, indeed, a living being. One characteristic attributed … Read more
Saint Paul’s entire life can be explained in terms of one experience—his meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus. In an instant, he saw that all the zeal of his dynamic personality was being wasted, and his life changed at that very moment. Perhaps he had never seen Jesus, who was only a few … Read more
The characters of Agave and Eve, while subordinate to their male counterparts, Pentheus and Adam, play extremely important roles within The Bacchae and Genesis, respectively. Their characters are portrayals of typical women who, because of encounters with the divine, are able to break away (albeit temporarily and not without repercussion) from the constraints placed on … Read more
Mary, Mother of God That Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ our Lord and named as the “Mother of God” or in greek term “Theotokos” or “Birthgiver of God”. According to what I’ve researched in the internet, Mary’s divine motherhood was proclaimed at the Council of Ephesus in 431. According to CCC 509, “Mary … Read more
The doctrine of creation is not an ambiguous aspect of the Bible. The first four chapters of Genesis contain the primary biblical information on creation; therefore, they provide the basis of the biblical doctrine. This seemingly straightforward portion of the Bible, however, has for several millennia remained the object of considerable speculation by various writers … Read more
It is quite popular these days to have a tattoo. It is not unusual even for people professing faith in Christ to have tattoos. Some Christians, however, have a problem with this. The issue came up recently at a Bible study my daughter attends, so I decided that a Fact Sheet on the subject was … Read more
Christianity was traditionally understood to be founded by Jesus of Nazareth. Paul of Tarsus, after his conversion on the road to Damascus, worked tirelessly to establish Christianity among both Jews and God-fearing Gentiles of the Diaspora. Clues in the New Testament indicate that there was a significant rift between Paul and the Jewish leadership early … Read more
In James Baldwin’s 1952 novel “Go Tell It On The Mountain” the characters in the novel each embark on a spiritual journey. Baldwin has dedicated a chapter to each member of the Grimes family, detailing their trails and tribulations, hopes and aspirations, as each one’s quest to get closer to God becomes a battle. I … Read more
Willa Cather is the author of the award winning novel Death Comes For The Archbishop written in 1927. She was born in 1873 near Winchester, Virginia and soon moved to Nebraska (Cather, 1927). During her childhood she was surrounded by foreign languages and customs. Even at her young age she felt a connection to the … Read more