...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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...Worship in the Early Church: The Origin and Importance of Baptism and The Lord’s Supper A Paper Submitted to Dr. David Alexander In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Course CHHI 520 By Jonathan Ford- ID# 21712916 Submitted on 18 February 2013 Thesis Statement: Even though early believers in Christ kept their traditions of their Jewish forefathers they added the Christian components Baptism and the Lord’s Supper to their practice of worship. The most common action of the church is worship. Worship serves as a key component of Christian faith. To worship is to present the promise of covenant devotion to the Almighty, and to state our faithfulness as his servants. In understanding our worship today, it is important to understand what worship looked like in the earliest days of the church. Even though early believers in Christ kept their traditions of their Jewish forefathers they added the Christian components Baptism and the Lord’s Supper to their practice of worship. This research paper will examine the many definitions of worship. It will also provide glimpse of what worship was like in the early church. To help get an understanding of worship in the early church we must first examine the origin of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Pertaining to the origin of baptism, it is implied that while Christian baptism may have been commonly used by John the Baptist, baptism itself did not start off with Christians or John. This research paper will show that...
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...LIBERTY UNIVERSITY LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY RESEARCH PAPER Early Church Missions A PAPER IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIRMENTS FOR THE COURSE HISTORY OF THE CHIRSTIAN CHURCH I CHH 520 BY RHEINLAND PFALZ, GERMANY ii CONTENTS INTRODUCTION................................................................................... 3 THE INITIAL SPREAD..........................................................................4 EVERY MEMBER WAS A SOULWINNER.........................................5 CONNECTING THE DOTS OF MISSION TO TODAYS CHURCH...7 METHOD OF MISSIONS.......................................................................9 THE ZEAL OF MODERN DAY MISSONS.........................................10 CONCLUSION.......................................................................................12 BIBLIOGRAPHY...................................................................................13 INTRODUCTION When one reads the biblical account of the early church one will find a group of believers being introduce to the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus during his ministry had been making mention of the coming of the Holy Spirit and his subsequent death. Although Jesus' disciples did not initially and fully understand the conditions and necessity of his death, he told them "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto...
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...You are welcome to search thousands of free research papers and essays. Search for your research paper topic now! Research paper topic: Premarital Sex - 1551 words NOTE: The research paper or essay you see on this page is a free essay, available to anyone. You can use any paper as a sample on how to write research papers or as a source of information. We strongly discourage you to directly copy/paste any essay and turn it in for credit. If your school uses any plagiarism detecting software, you might be caught and accused of plagiarism. If you need a custom term paper, research paper or essay, written from scratch exclusively for you, please, use our paid research papers writing service! Premarital Sex Premarital Sex and Religion The Catholic Church teaches that premarital sex is wrong, yet it is still widely practiced around the world. The reason marriage was created was to join two people of the opposite sex together in a holy sacrament that would make the couple one. God's reason for marriage is quoted in the bible when he said, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh" . The Sacrament of marriage is one of the most sacred Sacraments in the Catholic Religion. By performing premarital sex, the couple is breaking a covenant with God and is performing a sin. Marriage is the joining of a couple in the eyes of God and in the eyes of the State. When two people are joined into marriage they become...
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...LIBERTY UNIVERSITY ONLINE THE FORMULATION AND RECOGNITION OF THE CANONICAL BOOKS A PAPER SUBMITTED TO PROFESSOR C. PAUL KING IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR HISTORY OF THE CHURCH I 301 DEPARTMENT OF CHURCH HISTORY BY GLENN ROGERS LYNCHBURG. VIRGINIA 10 NOVEMBER 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Reason or Need for Adoption of a Canon of Scripture 4 Key Events that were Influential in Recognition of the Canon 5 Individuals and Councils that Helped Shape the Canon 6 Conclusion 8 Works Cited 10 Introduction The Bible is one of the most intriguing books ever written. There is no other book in history that covers the same amount of time or the comprehensive aggregation of people and cultures as found in the pages of the Bible. The mysteries and wisdom of the Bible have held the attention of Biblical and non-biblical scholars for centuries. We know from the study of history that not all Jews agreed on which books belonged in the Bible. As a matter of fact Christians also debated what to include and exclude in the New Testament Scriptures. This was a major problem in the first two centuries of Christianity. Biblical historian Paul Johnson wrote in his book entitled History of Christianity, “After more than two centuries...
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...VIRGINIA MARCH 2013 Abstract The Early Church was a minority religious movement which faced significant threats of persecution in their daily practice of faith. As a result there was no detailed structure of worship as seen in the present day Christian worship. However, worship in those days paved way for the current settings of various churches which have greatly evolved over time. Worship was characterized by several aspects such as baptism, organizing prayer meetings and gatherings, rejoicing through songs, listening to the scriptures, collection of charity and using their spiritual gifts among others. Additionally, during those early days of Christianity, Christians often met in church assemblies for the ceremonial get together meal (Lord’s Supper) or for thanksgiving and singing gatherings. This paper critically analyzes the various practices of early church such as the singing of psalms and hymns, gathering in church assemblies, vocal thanksgiving, the Lord’s Supper as well as the practice of baptism. Table of Contents Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………i Table of Contents………………………………………………………………………………….ii 1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................1 1.1 What is Worship?...........................................................................................................1 1.2 Early Christian Worship………………………………………………………………2 ...
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...War and Witchcraft HIS/113 January 6th 2014 Shaun Sullivan, MA War and Witchcraft This paper exemplifies the idea of dissent with a focus on witchcraft throughout the early development of society and the impact Malleus Malefic arum had on society. According to an article, H.C. Eric Midelfort which states, “the communal claim is that it was singularly responsible for the outburst of witch hunting that swept across Europe from the 15th through the 18th century” (para, 15)? The Malleus Malefic arum was an essential point in the early study of witch hunts across Europe. The Malleus was written in 1486 by Heinrich Kramer, who was a Dominican Monk. This that same year the Pope Innocent VII, issued the Bull Summis Desiderantes Affectibus. The Bull Summis means, “Yearning with supreme ardour.” Issued to combat was “ecclesiastical officials” from obstructing Kramer and his collaborator Jakob Sprenger, in their efforts to battle sacrilege. According to the website (Evil-One.org), in 2011, paragraph 13,” initiated were the severe measures against witches and magicians in Germany. The desired effect was to make the immediate population fearful about being infested with witches and witchcraft. With the publication of Innocents Bull Summis at his side, Kramer was able to arrest and charge an estimated 50 women with witchcraft; and not only were they arrested and held accountable and tortured, but the women were denied any type of legal counsel. Kramer’s...
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...can and cannot change within the Catholic Church. This happened to be the title of the primary book that we used for this course. This book, by John T. Noonan, is entitled A Church That Can and Cannot Change: The Development of Catholic Moral Teaching. A theme which Noonan immediately focuses on throughout the book is one which touches many of us deeply, slavery. As a person who has studied both law and religion and who is now embarking on a study of moral theology & ethics, I was highly interested in reading what John T. Noonan a distinguished scholar -author and member of the U.S. Court of Appeals- had to say in such an arena. Having heard him lecture, I was interested to see how his viewpoint translated into this type of arena. I was not disappointed. Throughout our course we not only discussed how this work dealt with such a topic, but we also discussed our own viewpoints on this very topic. Within the following paper I will discuss the issue of slavery, in the form of a synthetic paper, and how not only how it has evolved, but also the various positions the church has had concerning such an issue. As a backdrop, I will also use what Noonan outlined in his book as well. Therefore, this paper will be in the form of a review of Noonan thoughts (which will utilize various points from my prior presentation on this topic)/synthetic paper on the issue of slavery within the Catholic Church. John T. Noonan builds A Church That Can and Cannot Change on the fact that...
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...Domestic Violence - HUS 201 | The Catholic Church-Child Sexual Abuse Scandal | 14 December 2013 | The Catholic Church – Child Sexual Abuse Scandal Throughout many decades, there has been a scandal circulating, which many found disturbing, abusive, and mistrusting. Throughout many decades, there has been a scandal circulating, which many found disturbing, abusive, and mistrusting. Religion is a “set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially whenconsidered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional andritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs (Dictionary.com).” Many individuals across the world practice the Catholic religion. According to BCC World News in the article, How Many Roman Catholics Are There in the World?, there are an estimated 1.2 billion practicing Catholics around the world. In this paper, you are going to learn about the findings within the past of child sexual abuse within the Catholic church, the history of the abuse, who was affected by this problems, and future solutions. Nationally, there has been an epidemic against child sexual abuse within the Catholic church. This abuse is arising from all of the world including, but not limited to, Australia, The United States of America, Brazil, and Italy. This abuse has been happening for a long time. In the book, Father Thomas Doyle, alongside former monks Richard...
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...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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...Response Paper #6 - Rituals According to Dictionary.com, the word ritual is defined as "an established or prescribed procedure for a religious or other rite". One ritual that I perform every year is going to church early on Easter morning, for the sunrise service at 6am. In the Christian religion, it is believed that Jesus Christ was resurrected that morning and thus it is celebrated every year on the Sunday after Good Friday; the day that Christ was crucified on the cross. Many churches, like my own, hold an all-night vigil the night before with worship and prayer. On Easter, my aunt always comes over early in the morning and she, along with my mother and I, go to church. The service usually lasts about an hour. A ritual the church itself does is hand out a nail to each patron to remind us of the nails that were driven through Jesus' wrists as he was hung on the cross. After church service; my grandmother, uncle, aunt, parents, and myself meet at my house for an early dinner where we say a prayer beforehand to thank God for a good year. Every year it's the same thing, but just because it is monotonous does not mean it is a bad thing. Rituals are made to be that way; they are supposed to be done over and over - whether it be daily or yearly. Many of them have personal meaning. They don't always have to be religious. A lot of people have a yoga ritual every morning. In my opinion, rituals are done and made for self-gain. In a religious ritual, you are pleasing God and therefore...
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...God’s Social Solution Strong Family. Strong Church, Strong Community! By Frank Sipps III (23734493) SOCI 201-D10 LUO July 10, 2014 Professor Mark Leadem Introduction What Is God’s plan in meeting the social problems of society beyond salvation? The answer lies within the family values and behaviors that God laid out in scripture. It was obvious in the early church; Social studies show these values and behaviors make a difference in the outcome of children. These values have made a significant impact on businesses when applied. We will look at what these values and behaviors are along with the impact in three areas the family, the church and the community. Therefore, the main concentration of this paper will be to bring out the Biblical teaching on the role of family individually and in the church and its affect. When a believer fully understands what biblical family is they will become strong as individuals, family and produce strong churches along with stronger communities. When reference is made to family the family concept of the bible is applied if not otherwise noted. What are the Strong Family Values and Behaviors? “By way of definition: THE HOME IS A SPIRITUAL RELATIONSHIP (INSTITUTION) ESTABLISHED BY GOD FOR MAN’S GOOD AND GOD’S GLORY” (Donnie S. Barnes, 2012). How to we build strong families “by paying attention not only to individual family members but to the family...
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...LIBERTY UNIVERSITY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY WHAT THE DECIAN PERSUCTION REVEALED ABOUT THE CHURCH A PAPER SUBMITTED TO … IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR CHHI 520 BY KIMBERLY SOUTER LYNCHBURG, VIRGINIA FEBRAURY 19, 2014 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………. 3 THE CLIMATE ON THE EVE OF DECIUS’ EDICT…………………………………… 3 The Church in the Third Century………………………………………………….. 3 The Imperial Crisis of the Third Century (AD 235-284)………………………….. 5 DECIUS’ EDICT AND ITS EFFECT…………………………………………………….. 5 Cyprian…………………………………………………………………………….. 7 EXILES…..………………………………………………………………………………... 8 APOSTATES OR THE “LAPSED”…….………………………………………………… 10 MARTYRS AND CONFESSORS………………………………………………………… 12 CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………………. 14 BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………………………. 16 INTRODUCTION Certain tensions existed with the rise of Christianity within the Roman Empire. Prior to the advent of Christianity and even up to 200 AD, Rome was relatively tolerant of religions. Judaism was accepted into the mix of various pagan religions of the Empire, and in its infancy Christianity was simply considered a sect of Judaism, which seemed to pose no real threat to the Empire because Jews did not seek to proselytize. However, Christians were zealous in their worship of Jesus and their spreading of His message, so that in the third century Rome’s policy toward the Christians changed. Persecution...
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... Harold Wayne Yeager, Jr. (ID# 24582631) THEO 525 LUO (fall 2012) Systematic Theology I October 10, 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS Thesis Statement……..…………………………………………………………………………1 Introduction……...…...…………………………………………………………………………1 A Look Into The Past……...……………………………………………………………………2 Roman Catholic View………..…………………………………………………………………3 Lutheran View…….…………………………………………………………………………….4 Reformed View………………………………………………………………………………….5 Biblical Perspective……...……………………………………………………..……………….8 A Special Application of Atonement...………………………………………………………….9 A Modern Look………………………………………………………………………………..10 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………….10 Thesis Statement It is the intent of this paper to show that children who die in infancy, regardless of the beliefs of their parents, are given salvation and therefore spend eternity in heaven. Original sin is still present, but God, being free and independent of us, freely chooses to save infants who are not capable of making a choice to commit their lives to Christ. Introduction Infant salvation is a complex issue, sometimes controversial and a topic of much debate within Christendom. The issue of infant salvation first arose with the institution of infant baptism, done so that infants who died would be baptized, and thus saved in case of death. Though that debate has subsided in recent years, it is not due to a consensus conclusion of the arguments among theologians and denominational...
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...INTERPRETIVE JOURNEY PAPER ACTS 6:1-7 Wilbert Early, Jr. L23076350 Inductive Bible Study, BIBL 350 Dr. Ramon Moran Liberty University, 12 December 2013 INTRODUCTION The purpose of this research paper is to provide an Interpretive Journey into the New Testament text, Acts 6:1-7. The author, Luke, penned; In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” 5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. 7 So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith (Acts 6:1-7, NIV). I will use the five-step process of the basic Interpretive Journey in hopes...
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