...as one continuous book. Many different people at differing times and different locations wrote the books and then they were compiled much later. Who, then, decided which books should be included in the New Testament canon and which ones were to be left out?(2) In the Bible in 2 Timothy chapter 3 verses 16-17 "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good word.” This is telling that God breathed out the message he wanted in the Bible so that all of us may learn from it and get to know him more. Even Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5 verse 18 “For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished” He talks about how the word of God was inspired to be the way it is and no one should change it because it is how God breathed it to be. The Cannon is a permanent list of authoritative book recognized as scripture. The word of God was written in three languages Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. (3) We do not have the original manuscripts of the Bible because the Roman emperors thought if they destroyed the literature then they would destroy Christianity. There are three tests for a book to be considered a part of cannon one apostolicity, two rule of faith, three consensus. (4) Apostolicity means the book must be written...
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...towards children by using an intricate web of symbols throughout his tales. The underlying roots of Andersen’s tales could be ascribed to Christian ideology and teachings which are depicted in the Bible. The symbols are used individually in order to implant Christian ideas subtly in the mind of the child reader which otherwise may be concepts which are too large for the young reader to grasp. Andersen also uses his tales as allegories for Bible teachings. They stand as “metaphorical representation(s)” (3) of various Christian teachings, mirrored as they are written in the Bible. The symbols and allegories used allow a deeper engagement of the text and explore morality issues in hopes of educating young children in terms of Christian morality. Critic Ruth Eshbaugh remarked upon Andersen’s work that “there is no real evidence he is trying to teach spiritual lessons in any of his works.” (4) However in disagreement with this statement I have explored the symbols and allegories that Andersen uses to indorse Christian morals in two of his popular tales. In the tale ‘Thumbelina’, Andersen utilises a number of symbols in order to introduce Christian ideas to the young reader. According to Cooper’s Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Traditional Symbols, a tulip is “the Persian symbol of perfect love.” (5) In this case being a mother’s love, as it is the mother’s kiss that opens the flower “but just...
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...Name: Nichole Acosta Writing Style Used: MLA Course and Section Number: THEO 201 B01 Essay on Pneumatology: Spiritual Gifts With a passion for theology and the word of God, it brings me great joy when asked to explain my beliefs. While some aspects of our faith are a little simpler to explain than others, one that is continuously debated is that of spiritual gifts. Because of a presented opportunity from a curious friend, I found it fitting to dive into the topic that is currently being debated at his home church. In Acts 2:1-4, Paul recounts Pentecost as the ultimate outpouring of the Holy Spirit to all believers, indwelling and granting them with spiritual gifts. Ephesians 4:11-12 explains that these Spirit-given abilities are not primarily bestowed for personal enjoyment or personal growth, but for Christian service and the edification of the body of Christ. Because every believer has the Holy Spirit in them from salvation (Romans 8:9), it is implied that spiritual gifts are also deposited at conversion, but may be developed at a later time. Though believers may have multiple spiritual gifts, it is guaranteed that every Christian has at least one (1 Corinthians 12:4, 31). One should not confuse spiritual gifts with the fruit of the Spirit. While both are sourced from the Holy Spirit and are results of spiritual baptism, their purposes differ. Elmer Towns describes the relationship perfectly, “A spiritual gift is an ability to be used in service, whereas...
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...OLD TESTAMENT BIBLE DICTIONARY PROJECT Jennifer Buchanan 3145700 BIB 104-B73 Sept. 26th 2015 The Book of Job The book of Job is a non-fiction biography of a righteous man described in the opening verse as “perfect and upright, and one who feared God, and eschewed evil”. The main character is a healthy and prosperous man whom the devil is allowed to bring suffering and hardship to in order to test his righteousness. After standing firm in his faith during this difficult hardship including loss of his family, health, wealth, and reputation, the Bible tells us that everything was returned to him in double portion. Other characters include his family and his three closest friends; Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. Job was such a God fearing man, he rose every morning and offered a sacrifice to God for each of his ten children. “And it was so, when the days of their feast were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them and rose up early in the morning and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, it may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts”(Job 1:5/KJV). So this was his morning ritual just in case he needed to make restitution to the Lord by sacrifice for other members of his household. The book of Job has a style that flows from narrative to dialogue, speeches, poetry, more monologue and finally back to narrative (Hindson and Towns, 2013). The author is unknown as well as the date it was written. However...
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...side of the evolutionist or the creationist? In 1859 Charles Darwin came up with the theory of evolution. It took seven years to translate the Hebrew Christian Bible to English, that is known as the King James Bible today. (Lang). These two very different theories on how everything came to be have been controversial topics for hundreds of years. Science highlights the belief in evolution, making us doubt the true and preserved word of God which states that humans were created in the beginning on the sixth day ("King James Bible Quick Facts"). Religion is defined as a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation...
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...influence believed to have led to the writing of the Bible. The word inspiration is derived from the word inspire which in Greek is theopneustos meaning God-breathed. We have Scripture because God spoke the words. The Holy Spirit moved the writers to record the word of God. Inspiration is receiving the word of God. In a supernatural way the Holy Spirit used man to write the words of God. The Bible was the result of these writings. It is a product of the inspiration given to the writers. God inspired the writers leading them speak and write his words. The Bible is error free as the words are God infallible. It is Gods way of communicating his will for his people. The Bible is the authoritative word of God. Erickson states that there are five types of theories of inspiration. Intuition theory in which the writers possessed a high degree of insight. They were great religious and philosophical geniuses that had great insight on the moral of man. Illumination theory states the Holy Spirit influence the writers of the Scripture. With the help of the Holy Spirit the people will understand the word of God. Dynamic theory combines the divine and human elements of the writing if the word of God. The Holy Spirit directed the thoughts and of the writer. Verbal theory the Holy Spirit not only directed their thoughts but also the words used to deliver the word of God. Lastly, dictation theory states that God spoke the Bible to the writers. The Bible is an inspired instruction from a Great God. ...
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...“Mighty Warrior”, “Judge”, “King”, “Shepherd”, “Creator”, “Teacher”, and “Savior” are all words that have many meanings. However, they all become synonymous during a reading of the Bible because they are all used to reference God. To me, the most significant and meaningful term used for God is “Father”. Growing up, I had a father figure, but he wasn’t a very good one. I won’t really get into that. And although I had him as a father figure, I didn’t count him as someone to look up to. So for me, when the Bible eludes God as Father, it strikes home. There are many incidences where this reference occurs, and sometimes it’s very subtle. In my opinion, I believe a father should have certain qualities that include forgiveness, being kind, being reliable, and caring for their child. All of these are exemplified in the Bible when God is talked about and talked to. Forgiveness is displayed throughout the entire Bible since God allows for repentance. However, one line that sticks out to me is in the Book of Numbers. It says “Then the Lord said ‘I do forgive, just as you asked me…’” (Numbers 14:20) This is an important factor in fatherhood because I feel a father should always forgive you and still love you, no matter what you do. That is the main reason it stood out to me. With my real father, if I did something he didn’t approve of I would be judged and looked down on, which is not right. Now, the motto I live by is “forgive me to gain forgiveness”...
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...Course and Section Number: THEO 201 D18 “Authority is the right and power to command, enforce laws, exact obedience, determine or judge (American Heritage Dictionary 1979, 89).”[1] So, what does it mean to say that the Bible has authority? From where does the authority of the Bible come? We can look to Romans 13:1 which states “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.” (Bible Gateway, NKJV) God is the ultimate authority of all things past, present, and future. When it comes to inspiration of the Bible it can be explained as, “a supernatural influence of the Holy Spirit upon divinely chosen agents in consequence of which their writings become trustworthy and authoritative.”[2] Biblical support can be found in the Scriptures, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16 Bible Gateway, NKJV) “Scripture is affirmed nonetheless to owe its origin not to human but to divine initiative.”[3] Inerrancy is defined as, “the view that when all the facts become known, they will demonstrate that the Bible in its original autographs and correctly interpreted is entirely true and never false in all it affirms, whether that relates to doctrine or ethics or to the social, physical, or life sciences.”[4] We can look at four arguments for inerrancy in which we can defend our view. In Biblical argument the Bible teaches it own inspiration...
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...took of for the puritans was their attempt to create a self-government. The Puritans wanted to have “A City upon a Hill”, in which the eyes of all people would have been upon them . They felt in order to build a purified society they would have to following in the way of the Bible. Basically people question whether the Puritans were an intolerant religious group of racists or the foundation of America? There are valid claims on both sides. Although, many historians believe Puritans had a direct effect on the rapid and successful development of American civilization, that the Puritans were able to come up with the idea of a “democratic” state, the whole process of a few governing and people elect came from them, but for the most part we can see through their beilefs and laws they were an intolerant group that goes against American values set in the constitution. The biggest American value set in our constitution is the separation of Church and State. We enjoy basic human freedoms, like freedom of religion and speech. This was not the case with the puritans. They imposed concrete belief in the Bible and lived by it. Maintaining your life based on the Bible sets valuable limits. Prior to following the Bible, the Puritans looked at laughter and pleasure distasteful and unacceptable behavior. Morality of religion and family played a huge factor in the life of the Puritans. All people practicing witchcraft were condemned by the Puritans. In Puritans pursued themselves to be more pure...
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...Inerrancy through Inspiration That is a very good question, because in society today there are many people questioning inerrancy and authority of the Bible. They want proof that the Bible is inerrant and wonder about the Writer’s inspiration. By saying that the Bible has authority, one needs to show and prove from where it comes. First, “Authority is the right and power to command, enforce laws, exact obedience, determined or judge.”(Elwell, Walter A., 2001, p. 153.) Many people may not understand how important authority is for a book that had been written centuries ago. This authority comes through God because He says it is so. “…Thus saith the Lord,” (Isaiah 44:6, KJV) has been written throughout the Old Testament to show His authority and truthfulness. This was also proven in the New Testament of God’s word. “…thy word is truth.” (John 17:17b, KJV). One must know that God is Truth and the Holy Bible is His Word. This sort of knowledge will lead one to arrive at the fact that the Bible is true and authoritative. The Bible is God’s inspired Word given to the scripture’s writers. “The content of the Bible teaches that it was given by the process of inspiration of God so that the words were God’s word and that they are accurate and reliable, hence they are authoritative.” (Towns, Elmer L., 2008, p. 66). We read that in the Bible the prophets were “carried along” by the Holy Spirit to speak the Words of God rather than their own. (2 Peter 1:21). We also read that the Holy Spirit...
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...THE MILLENNIUM KINGDOM Charles Reeder BIBL 450: Daniel –Revelation May 9, 2014 THE MILLENNIUM KINGDOM INTRODUCTION: We find that the kingdom is a very important theme that we find in the Bible and John Bright describes it like this. “The Bible is one book. Had we to give that book a title, we might with justice call it “The Book of the Coming Kingdom of God”. Many names are used in the scripture to describe this millennial kingdom.[1] In Matthew 19:28 Jesus describes it “in regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory”. In the third chapter of Acts it is spoken of as “times of refreshing” (v. 19) and “times of restitution of all things”. (v. 21) Hindson states that “there can be no true kingdom without a king”, and the kingdom has to be associated with the king. [2] TIMING, DURATION AND NATURE: The word “millennium” is derived from two Latin words, mille and annus, which is translated as “thousand” and “year”. Thus it is a period of one thousand years. The Greek word that is used for millennium is chilias and this term is found six times in the book of Revelation.[3] It is the time after the church age and the Tribulation and prior to all eternity. All the promises and covenants that God made to Israel will be fulfilled at this royal reign of Christ on the earth.[4] Christ will return to the earth, Satan will be 2 bound, and because Satan’s world system...
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...According to the story, “Good Country People” by Flannery O’Connor, the characters all have different personalities and something that sticks out to the reader is the relationship between Joy, also known as Hulga, and Manley Pointer, the bible salesman. Hulga is a grumpy woman, who has all the reasons to be with her leg being prostatic, heart condition, and all, but besides grumpy she thinks of others as ignorant and unintelligent. Hulga is a complex woman to please and satisfy until the charming bible salesman, Manley Pointer, appeared. Manley Pointer does not have a specific background, he’s from all over. Manley is introduced as a very respectful man who's number one job and priority is to sell you one of his fine bibles, in theory. Manley pointer is preconceived by Hulga and Mrs. Hopewell to be an unintelligent and uncomplicated man, this is the perfect example of the famous saying, looks can be deceiving. Flannery O’Connor is a very talented writer with unimaginable imagination, this is truly one of her best works. The way she portrays the characters is such an art....
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...Name: _Celeste XXXXX____ Speech Title: Bible vs Quran Purpose: (Why are you giving this talk?) To inform the similarities and the differences within the similarities of the two books. Thesis: (What is your major argument?) Even though both books are considered to be God’s word, we find them contradicting each other. I. Introduction A. Greeting: Hi, my name is Celeste and today I am going to talk to you about the similarities and the differences within the similarities of the two books. B. Attention getter more than 1.6 Billion people follow the rules of this book that is considered holy. Yet, more than 2.4 billion follow another book also considered holy. That’s right, I am talking about the Quran and the Bible. C. Credibility statement: My bibles...I was brought up in a Christian environment. D. Thesis statement: Even though both books are considered to be God’s word, we find them contradicting each other. E. Preview of main points, Similarity 1, God’s word. Difference: By who. Similarity 2, Jesus. Difference: His story in each book Similarity 3: One True God. Difference: Who is He? Transition II. Body A. Main point #1 they both state to be the Word of God The Quran: a. 29:48 b. 18:23-24 c. 2:2-3 d. 38:29 The Bible: a) 2 Timothy 3:16 b) John 10:35 c) Acts 4:24-25 Subordinate point (e.g., "According to…") The difference: The Qur’an scriptures contradicts the Bible Support (e.g., example, statistic, visual, testimonial) Mohammed...
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...Perfect The only perfect human is Jesus Christ. The rest of humankind is not, cannot, and will not be perfect. Though. Adam and Eve were created perfect they were subjected to Satan who persuaded them to lose their and our perfect status. Sire (2015) tells of Sixia Lu who spoke of the workability of communism. Lu tells us communism could only work if there were perfect human beings. Well. As Lu and many have the ability or capability of being perfect. Ecclesiastes 7:20 tells us “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins” (NIV, 2011). So what they were taught was a false dream. When Jesus spoke in His sermon on the mount He said “You are the salt of the earth” but that salt could lose its flavor. Jesus wants us to do good works in the world (flavor). When Jesus said “You are the light of the world” He wanted Christians to shine their light so men may see the good works they do for God and glorify God our Father (Matthew 5:14-16, NIV, 2011). Perfection has nothing to do with good works (flavor) or shining our light. To be a Christian means our first culture is not of this world but of Christ. The human race should have a life based upon Christian culture. Humans should be seen by the light they shine and flavor they show in the race of Christianity which is our culture. Shine your light and show your flavor and glorify God. References Grand Canyon University HTH 655 Lecture 3 Notes. (2015, March 9). Retrieved 2016, from Grand Canyon.com...
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...Bible study: 7 Reasons to Personally Study the Bible Bible study is the act of digesting the word of God in your heart for a healthy spiritual growth. The Christian nations across the world cannot control the abomination in their midst, because the practice of personal Bible study had diminished. The 2012 online survey of LifeWay Research shows that only 19% of churchgoers personally (not as part of a church worship service) read the Bible every day. But the shocking statistics for 2014 conducted by the Center for the Study of Religion and American Culture says only 9% of Americans read the Bible daily. According to the Canadian Bible Engagement study (May 2014), 55% of Canadians never read the Bible, 28% seldom read the Bible and 11% read...
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