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It does not suggest that Scripture is infallible; merely that it is divinely inspired. It does not suggest that Scripture should be the controlling definer of Christian faith. It does not suggest that the New Testament should be treated in the same manner as the Old Testament, because Scripture referred solely to the Old Testament until well after the establishment of Christianity. What this means is that someone who uses a critical contextual perspective looks at the actual history behind the writings, places those writings within their historical, anthropological, and sociological settings, and uses those writing as a guidepost for understanding Christianity, rather than as an unwavering definition of Christianity.
Read the first two chapters of Genesis, and based on what you have studied about historical critical interpretation of the Bible, Why don't they (2 stories of creation) coincide? What do you think is the "truth," the message that God wanted to transmit through these words.
The two stories of creation in the Bible do coincide if one looks at them as general descriptions, rather than looking at them for specific details. Chapter one provides general details about God's plan for creation and the order in which he created things, while chapter two specifically discusses God's decision to create mankind and his actions in doing so. The fact that the two stories are...
While Genesis talks about God bringing light to earth after creating earth and the heavens, this belies a modern understanding of the sun, which would be part of the heavens, as the source of light for the earth. However, when this light is not viewed solely as a literal source of light for the earth, but as a way of illuminating human existence, then Genesis becomes a clear allegory for how God illuminates human existence. This equation of light with knowledge is repeated throughout the Bible. God reveals himself through a burning bush, which is a source of light. Moses climbs up a mountain, closer to the sun, to get the Ten Commandments; the wise men follow a star to find Jesus. All of these stories suggesting that God is related to light show that God, like light, can reveal truth.
References
Hill, B., Knitter, P., & Madges, W. (1997). Faith, religion & theology: A contemporary introduction revised & expanded. Mystic, CT: Twenty-Third Publications.
"Faith is a commitment, a pledge or promise to carry out certain responsibilities," (Hill et al., 1997, p.18). The will is the way a person translates faith into action. Action plays a critical role in faith. It is very easy to say that one is faithful, but the proof of that faith comes from one's actions. The authors contrast full faith and empty faith, suggesting that those who have beliefs
Religion/Theology Environment and Globalization Christine Burke calls for a Christina response to the issue of environment and globalization in her essay entitled Globalization and Ecology. She sets forth her estimation of the steps that the Christian world needs to take to change the current affects of globalization on the earth and the societies that inhabit it. Burke calls for "active participation'42 by the Christian community in understanding, "ecological awareness'42 to shape that
Faith/Religion As most religious philosophers would agree, "there can be no conclusive evidence either way" regarding the existence of God (63). Faith is thus an essential compensation for the lack of any conclusive evidence that God exists. For the Catholic, faith is construed as a virtue; for others like Blaise Pascal, faith is simply a good bet. Philosophers like Paul Tillich phrase faith more gracefully, noting that faith is "the state
In the city of Medina, Muhammad united the warring tribes. Following eight years of fighting Mecca tribes the Muslims conquered Mecca. In the year 632, after returning to Medina from a farewell pilgrimage to Mecca, Muhammad became ill and died. At the time of his death, almost all of the Arabian Peninsula had converted to the Islamic faith. He had united the Arabian tribes into a single Muslim religious
Faith as a Basis of Knowledge in Religion and Natural Science The relationship between faith / religion and science has through history stirred a debate that has taken on philosophical, scientific and theological aspects. Are the two compatible? Are they at totally opposite ends of the spectrum of life and the universe? This paper analyses the strengths and weaknesses of faith as a basis of knowledge in religion and natural science. The
According to Bass, "Hinduism is the only major religion lacking an adequate explanation as to its origin," as no definitive Hindu text exist that that date before 1000 B.C. Indeed, because Hinduism is one of the religions that views time as cyclical rather than linear, what information is available about Hinduism does not give a very accurate picture of its history (Bass 5). What can be gleaned from this