Liberation Theology Essays (Examples)

Liberation Theology as an Analytical Reflection on Praxis, and Where Theology and Humankind Embrace

One among the most important Christian theological developments within the past 100 years is liberation theology. The doctrine's advocates regard it as a novel means to 'do theology', rather than a subfield of theology. The method aims to view the universe with regard to being involved with disadvantaged and subjugated individuals. It also endeavors to discover, within the Bible, analytical instruments as well as the energizing force to bring about drastic change to that universe (Anderson 1979, 4). The direct sources may be traced back to the 60s' developments in Latin America's Roman Catholicism, together with blatant social and economic disparities and widespread local feelings of bias.

This dissertation will look at the above objectives by reviewing the following points: The paper's foremost section will study theology's contextual character and liberation theology's introduction in response to…

Race is there, it's a constant. You're tired of hearing about it? Imagine living with it as a constant." Jon Stewart concludes his deft analysis of the Ferguson shooting and its implications for race relations in America. Addressed to a primarily white, liberal audience, Stewart's comments raise poignant questions. One of those questions is raised by racialized police shootings like the one in Ferguson. As Seitz puts it, "different rules apply" to whites and blacks in America. "hite people just aren't as likely to get shot by police," notes Seitz. Stewart had described the disheveled white guy getting past security guards, with the sharp-dressed black man ahead of him getting stopped. This scenario plays itself out regularly, often with terrible and fatal implications. The Zimmerman case also illustrates how race matters, and unless America faces its dark racist core, it will continue to witness social problems.

James Cone's black liberation…

Analysis of A Theology of Liberation: History, Politics, and Salvation
Summary
The first part of the book by Gutierrez addresses the issue of what is meant by liberation (1). It begins with a discussion of theological reflection, and the assumption underlying this concept is that it arises spontaneously in the believer. Gutierrez then goes on to explain that the world has changed and is thus in need of a new perspective of theology. Social and cultural changes are used to rationalize the development and application of liberation theology (13). No discussion, however, is given of social and cultural changes throughout all human history or why these did not necessitate the need for liberation theology in the past. The book does show clearly the approach is rooted in Vatican II (6, 24, 31, 40, 65, 76, 79). It explains that the Church is now pivoting towards underdeveloped nations—like Latin America—which is…

The seeking of salvation is an admission of ignorance while authority-based communication is an assertion of knowledge. The two are incompatible.

Instead, communication has to be understanding-based. All communication should recognize the suffering of the human beings and have the aim of discovering the nature of that suffering, to understand that suffering. Christians have heard it in the Prayer of Saint Francis, which reads: "..grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood, as to understand..."

Even secular thinkers understand this concept, as demonstrated by popular Personal Development guru Stephen Covey's principle of "Seek First to Understand, Then Be Understood."

In understanding-based communication, disagreements would no longer express judgment and authority, but trust and compassion. Trust that the other person has your best interests at heart and compassion for the other person who shares your suffering. Although doctrine and theology will inevitably…

To combat subjectivity, he called for interpretation to be subject to church authority, which was the voice of reason. Reardon (1981) echoes this interpretation: "Hooker sets out to refute the puritan contention that in religion holy scripture affords the sole and absolute authority and rule" (p. 280). Hooker shows that the narrow principle of sola scriptura "disregards the larger context of the divine law in creation within which even the scriptural revelation must be placed if we are to understand its proper scope and purpose" (Reardon, 1981, p. 280). Not far from the Reformers, they upheld the idea that the directly inspired written word contains supernatural revelation. There is perhaps less emphasis on preaching and proclamation in the Anglicans than in the Reformers.

hat is the status of the creeds and traditions? In Anglicanism, the Nicene, the Athanasius, and the Apostle's creeds are stressed as true because they are taken…

God's taking sides can be pushed to saying that the rich cannot be saved, or that God does not love everyone.

The Holy Spirit and iberation Theology

As Boff and Boff ( 1987) state: "Every true theology springs from a spirituality -- that is, from a true meeting with God in history. iberation theology was born when faith confronted the injustice done to the poor."

In this sense the Spirit is essentially perceived in terms of the interconnection between humanity and God. Put less blatantly, the Holy Spirit is the conduit of the absolute or divine to the domain of human existential experience. This view of the Spirit resonates with the focus on experiential suffering in the world. In other words, the Holy Spirit is not abstract but is rather perceived as a spiritual source of intervention in the world, which coincides with the focus of liberation theology.

The issue…

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Moreover, Malachi Martin describes the theology as "a freeing from political oppression, economic want, and misery here on earth. More specifically still…a freeing from political domination by the capitalism of the United States."

Furthermore, though it grew out of the unrest in Latin America "with its political domination by strong-arm leaders and monopolistic oligarchies," viewed by members of the Church as a direct result of American capitalism, the events in Latin America were preceded by a much more basic historical development -- the "rights of man" extrapolated from the French Revolution and re-coined as the "rights of the working man."

The spread of Marxist doctrine in the early twentieth century saw its incorporation into Catholic theology by several prominent professors right up to the time of the Second Vatican Council, upon which Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz certainly based her theology, and pursued her concept of "evangelical poverty": union with the…

" It caused missionaries to deal with peoples of other cultures and even Christian traditions -- including the Orthodox -- as inferior. God's mission was understood to have depended upon human efforts, and this is why we came to hold unrealistic universalistic assumptions. Christians became so optimistic that they believed to be able to correct all the ills of the world." (Vassiliadis, 2010)

Missiology has been undergoing changes in recent years and after much serious consideration Christians in the ecumenical era "are not only questioning all the above assumptions of the Enlightenment; they have also started developing a more profound theology of mission. One can count the following significant transitions:

(a) From the missio christianorum to the missio ecclesiae;

(b) the recognition later that subject of mission is not even the Church, either as an institution or through its members, but God, thus moving further from the missio ecclesiae to…

Theological position of Dwight N. Hopkins

The biblical presentation of human existence and its origin and our own experience of human life in this world are to accept the fact that Adam and Eve were real persons and they are the descents of all human beings. The biblical representation is not limited to the Genesis but it represents a broader perspective which is related to the God's creation. The biblical representation reveals the God's presence in this world in the form of light and playing a unique role and dignity for mankind. This is what we all experience in our daily lives. All human desire for God and need Him, depends on Him to fulfill their wishes and forgiveness of their sins. Thus all the aspect of human creation and their living is governed and known by God (Collins, 2010).

The essay on theological position of Dwight N. Hopkins will…

Sacred orld of Slaves

Based upon the reading of Sacred orld of Slaves explain 3 ways in which slaves used artistic expression (music, dance, narratives) to cope with being enslaved and move them in a direction of Liberation.

From slavery times, far more records about black spirituals have survived than for secular music, and the most common religious themes always involved freedom, an escape from bondage and Moses leading the children of Israel out of Egypt. Black slaves may have had the evangelical Protestant religion of their masters imposed on them for purposes on control, but they also appropriated it and made this religion their own -- and the black church was one of the very few institutions that they did control before recent times. In essence, black theology was always a version of liberation theology, compared to emphasis that white evangelicals placed on individual sin and personal salvation, and…

Catholic Church in Mexico underscored both its conquest and its independence. Organizationally, the church prior to the liberation theology of the 20th century has always been more cogent than the Mexican government. The church has traditionally been amalgamated with conservative interests that include the military and wealthier landowners. The institution of tithing and the role of the church as a colonizer through its missions helped to make the church the most powerful pre-revolutionary institution in Mexico. Additionally, at a time before the existence of broad-based commercial lending, the church not only acted as the principal lender in the colony and early republic, but served as the nexus for all public activity in many smaller communities. However, the influence of the church was severely limited under liberalism. Although the iaz government returned to the Catholic church some of its former glory, the 1916 Constitution ultimately spelled an end to the church's…

Many may call this pragmatism, and by following in the path of Christ, even unknowingly, is to embrace pragmatism is one's life. Sara Miles spent her time among the poorest people on the planet, similar to Christ's instruction that performing acts of kindness to the "least of these my brothers, you did it to me." (Matt. 25:40)

So when she finally decided to enter a Episcopal church and celebrate the Holy Eucharist, it would seem a natural extension of her life experiences. Food had always been an underlying, but important part of her, and there she was sharing the body and blood of Christ. She had always been involved in social justice, albeit in a secular way, and had not embraced the Christian Liberation Theology that was popular at the same time. This could have been caused by her acquired distrust of theological dogmas. However, it seems that the sharing…

Gustavo Gutierrez did just that in Latin America, employing Marxist analysis to interpret the Jesus' teachings in the Gospel. Gutierrez founded Liberation Theology, which is, essentially, the twentieth century take on Violence and the Cross. Christ is viewed less as Redeemer and more as Liberator.

Evans discusses this same interpretation in black theology, which is, essentially, a continuation of Liberation Theology: "In spite of the ravages of their kidnapping and the disorientation that they endured, African slaves retained an outlook on their experience that continually reaffirmed their worth as individuals and as a people…The Jesus whom they encountered as they were exposed to the Bible was a caring and liberating friend who shared their sorrows and burdens" (12). Yet, in black theology, Jesus does not bring grace through suffering that can perfect one's nature and lead one's soul to Heaven (as classical theology insists); in black theology, Jesus is the…

Liberation Theology

Liberation theology, a movement within the social practices and doctrine of the Catholic Church that began in earnest in Latin America during the 1960s, is a method of interpreting Biblical exhortations and predictions in the modern world in a way that is directly and practically relevant in the day-to-day lives of people and societies throughout the world. The primary concepts of this brand of Catholic theology include viewing God as a liberator of humanity and the need for solidarity in sentiment and action with the poor and downtrodden of the world (Fahlbusch & Bromiley 1997, pp. 259). Simply put, liberation theology posits that God exists as a liberator for all of the people of the world, and that it is the job of the Church and its members to bring about this liberation of the world's population inasmuch as is possible through direct action assisting the poor and…

Kung has no regard for Church doctrine -- only the doctrine of men and the "rights of man."

Use of Scripture

Likewise, Kung has no use for authoritative scripture -- it is outdated and too much a part of the past, which Kung wishes to displace in favor of "the future." The future must not be informed by the old prejudices of the past -- it must branch out, like Edwards' ecological theology, encompassing as many faiths and traditions as possible, uniting them all under the roof of the religion of the global ethic. What Kung aims to do, therefore, is reduce the importance of Scripture even more than Edwards does -- to an anthill amongst other anthills, while he himself provides the new doctrine: his doctrine is filled with a list of "we must's" -- the commandments of Kung -- the voice of the new revolution.

eligious Symbol

Neither…

With St. Paul, Luke traveled to several different destinations including Samothrace and Philippi -- where he appears to have lingered to guide the Church. The duo then reunite in Troas and Luke is with St. Paul during the latter's stay in a oman jail. As Paul says: "Only Luke is with me" (2 Timothy 4:11).

Exactly what Luke did with Paul during this time is debated: "St. Jerome thinks it is most likely that St. Luke is 'the brother, whose praise is in the gospel through all the churches' (2 Corinthians 8:18), and that he was one of the bearers of the letter to Corinth" (Knight, 2011).

Luke also brings special awareness to the importance of mercy and forgiveness, with the parable of the Prodigal Son and the tale of the woman whose sins were forgiven because she bathed Christ's feet in her tears.

But this special awareness is also…

Oscar Cullmann, Nolan, and Genezio Boff. Oscar Cullmann can be described as a Christian theologian within the Lutheran tradition. His most notable work involved the ecumenical movement. He was in part accountable for the formation of dialogue between the oman Catholic and Lutheran traditions.

Nolan was born in the city of Cape Town, South Africa. He is of English descent and is a fourth-generation South African. Influenced by Thomas Merton, Nolan became fascinated to the idea of spiritual life. Ultimately, Nolan joined the Dominican Order by 1954, studying in ome and South Africa eventually receiving a doctorate.

Born with the name Genezio Darci Boff, Boff hails from Concordia, Santa Catarina. Boff entered the Franciscan Order by 1959 being ordained as a Catholic priest by 1964. He spent subsequent years studying to earn a doctorate in philosophy and theology at the University of Munich, in 1970. His doctoral thesis studied measures…

Spiritual Heroes

Mohandas Gandhi

"Knowing what you stand for limits what you fall for."

Gandhi stood for liberation through non-violence. Consequently, he could not be goaded into returning violence with violence and could not be dissuaded from his goal of India's freedom from British control (BBC, 2011).

hat contributed to the development of his focus?

The development of Gandhi's focus on liberation through non-violence was developed by being an East Indian lawyer who was still treated like a third-class citizen; also, his stress on non-violence was largely developed by his Hindu religious roots (BBC, 2011).

hat was his one thing?

Gandhi was the first to apply non-violence to large-scale politics, which led to the liberation of India from British rule (BBC, 2011) and inspired later leaders such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin:

a. "Knowing what you stand for limits what you fall for."

De Chardin…

The Role of Christianity in Politics and Ethics
Introduction
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German Lutheran arrested and imprisoned by the Third Reich and eventually executed for being found guilty of having taken part in an attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Bonhoeffer’s writings have since become influential in the modern world for their focus on the role that Christians can play in politics. Since the separation of church and state that America set the stage for with its own secular foundations, many have been conflicted or confused about the role that Christians should have in modern politics. For hundreds of years, the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church influenced the politics of Christendom and vice versa. With the Protestant Reformation there was a push towards secularism, and the Peace of Westphalia in the 17th century, which was forged without participation from the Pope, showed that states could handle their own affairs.…

..the astas have now penetrated the middle class. At present, the overwhelming majority of members are African, but there are also Chinese, East Indians, Afro-Chinese, Afro-Jews, mulattoes, and a few whites. astafarians are predominantly ex-Christians. "(Barrett, 1997, p. 2-3)

One of the early innovators and leaders of the movement,

Leonard Howell, stated a number of principles that have been the hallmark of astafarianism and still apply to a large extent today. These include the following:

1)hatred for the White race; (2) the complete superiority of the Black race; (3) revenge on Whites for their wickedness; (4) the negation, persecution, and humiliation of the government and legal bodies of Jamaica; (5) preparation to go back to Africa; and (6) acknowledging Emperor Haile Selassie as the Supreme Being and only ruler of Black people. (Barrett, 1997, p. 85)

Another essential aspect which is of cardinal importance in astafarianism is the concept of…

Foreign Idea of a Cosmic Kingship

Religion is one of the constants that exist for all the peoples of the world. hen the as yet primitive tribes in South America and remote Pacific islands in the twentieth century, they had firmly ensconced religious beliefs. hen Cortes arrived in the "new world" and made his men burn their ships, he found many people who worshipped different gods. Luckily for Cortes they worshipped him also. It made his conquest that much easier. A thread that entangles itself in all that mankind does or has done. Religion has been the cause of war and peace, sacrifice of both the body and nature, and it has given the world some of its greatest art treasures. It has definitely worked its way into every part of every culture.

Religion also takes on many forms. People are trying to understand elements of the world around them…

Their template deals with subjects such as what women found satisfying and frustrating about work. Also the committee heard show do they balance home and work responsibilities and fit in volunteer activities, how do they find time for spiritual activities. In addition, how does the spirituality affect work and vice versa (Bishop's Committee on omen in Society and in the Church).

ith regard to birth control, more a more liberally minded Pope could base relaxation of birth control based upon the results of the 1966 Papal Commission on Birth Control. This Commission voted 30-5 to relax the concerns on birth control (1966 Papal Commission on Birth Control).

ith regard to priestly marriage, it would be well for the Church to examine the Eastern Orthodox Rite where marriage for priests is allowed. ith regard to poverty, the Church could build upon Rerum Novarum and a pile of Church encyclicals that deal…

It would seem worthless to provide a religious education without catechesis alongside.

The benefits of the Christian praxis approach are far-reaching. They include both the personal development of the individual student and also the collective development of the society. Students introduced to the Christian praxis approach learn how to address real life problems from a Christian lens -- but one that denounces dogma in favor of genuine critical thought. While the story of Christ and the Christian experience are central to the praxis approach, so too are the student's own story and experience with suffering or joy. A personal benefit of the Christian praxis approach is to encourage compassion and the "right relationships of justice, love, and peace," (O'Murchu n.d. p. 46). On the collective level, the Christian praxis approach helps to usher in what O'Murchu (n.d.) calls a new world order that is rooted not in the past patriarchal…

Though, Glass may very well be enlightened enough to do this, and nothing against him most people are only enlightened enough to take from each faith that which best meets their individual selfish idea of ambition. (PBS, American Masters; Philip Glass: GLASS: A Portrait of Philip Glass in Twelve Parts) in fact the synchronicity between this documentary and the article made me wonder if the ideas of the article were borrowed from the Glass work, as language, music and religion were all discussed in much the same way, with regard to Glass' life, excluding the fact that the article diverges from the Glass take on spirituality. It would seem challenging no matter the intelligence or skill of any individual to deeply understand and evoke any single faith let alone three or four in any meaningful way. The weakness of the argument is limited to the idea that the work expresses…

This, he felt was the most effective and Christian strategy to resist evil. Also, the Pope's equal desire to embody the Christian virtue of dignity meant that he was not blind to capitalism's abuses, pointing out that severe imbalances in wealth exacerbate tensions amongst peoples in an often non-Christian fashion -- not always a popular principle to take in the est. Pope John Paul II devoted enormous spiritual and physical energy to his visits to the developing world. But he refused to support all popular causes, such as liberation theology or charitable organizations that made use of birth control and abortion. He called the idea of a priest-politician anathema to the Christian vision. During one visit to Latin America he condemned the so-called "popular church" created by left-wing priests as "a deviation." (alker, 20050 He did not support female priests, nor divorce or contraception, even though this might have increased…

Opus Dei

What is Michael Walsh's view of Opus Dei? Do you think he is justified in this?

Walsh has a decisively and divisively denigrating view of Opus Dei. His cynicism might be connected with general distrust of the Catholic Church because of its historic secrecy and overt hierarchical structures that prevent the free flow of information. Moreover, Walsh's criticism is launched against the conservative social trends and values that Opus Dei represents. Walsh therefore uses a diatribe against Opus Dei to confront broader ills in the Catholic Church.

Whether I think Walsh is justified or not is irrelevant. If what he says is true, and it might be, then it would not surprise me. The author is certainly justified in expressing his opinion, and even more so if that opinion is rooted in fact. It is true that the Catholic Church operates Opus Dei as a secretive arm, and…

The personal is the political. Spiritual values undergird secular norms. It is impossible to totally segregate religion from social engagement. At the same time, fusing religion and politics can be dangerous business. As Massaro (2012) points out, the two most obvious perils associated with the improper blending of Church and State include sectarianism and theocracy. Sectarianism, denounced by the Vatican, refers to deliberate isolation from the world, in self-sustaining and cohesive communities. As attractive as it may be to form religiously minded societies apart from the world, the real work—the hard work of creating the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth—cannot be done in those types of settings. Sectarianism is akin to apathy for the remainder of the planet, and is an isolationist policy that abnegates personal responsibility.
Another one of the dangers of fusing Church and State is theocracy. The dangers of theocracy are well known to those all around…

S. responded to the Great Depression by electing FDR, who brought out his Alphabet Programs which were supposed to put the nation back to work with public works projects. When that failed to restore the economy, the world elected to start with a new war: WWII. Germany had been buried by the Western powers following WWI -- and now the country threatened to assert itself once more. Russia was in the middle of its own revolution: Stalin was liquidating the kulaks and rounding others up and shipping them off to the Gulag. That did not help Russia's economy any more than FDR's Alphabet program -- but it did not matter: war was on the horizon. Japan was being strangled by Western powers: the American military-industrial-congressional complex essentially forced Japan to attack -- and then sat back and let it happen when Japan finally decided to bomb Pearl Harbor. Thus, America…

American Ideals and the Challenges of the post-WW2 Years
America changed quite a bit after WW2. It changed with respect to gender roles, with respect to racial issues, with respect to the economy, and with respect to politics. Everything was in flux after WW2—but it did not happen all at once. What happened first was the Cold War. Immediately the war ended, Americans returned home from the war and returned to the jobs they had held previously. The women who had been in the workforce now returned home—back to the domestic sphere, which was their traditional role. The Baby Boomer generation was soon being born and life was good. Jobs were being created and credit was easier to come by than in the past. But things were not perfect because the Red Menace reared its head and Joe McCarthy began hunting Communists in the government and in Hollywood. Tensions increased…

rise of Hindu Fundamentalism

At the turn of the century, religious fundamentalism has emerged as a well-known trend; a custom of mind found within religious communities and paradigmatically incarnated in certain typical individuals and activities. The harassed supporters try to protect their distinctive group identity by its expressions as a strategy. The supporters strengthen it by selective recovery of doctrines, viewpoint and practices from a sacred past, feeling that this identity will be at danger in the contemporary era. This assortment is cautiously done so that it is not only attractive to the spectators but also satisfactory. Actually, fundamentalist movements selects and chooses cautiously among inherited doctrines and practices, as well as cloaking innovations in the attire of ancient times, it maintains that selective retrieval is only reinstating the ancient ways. (eligious Fundamentalism in India and Beyond)

In a spirit of practicality these recovered fundamentals are polished, tailored and authorized:…

Education Ethics

The author of this report has been asked to find an article relating to education. Of course, that topic is very widespread and wide-ranging in nature. The author of this report decided to center on ethics in education. Specifically, the article chosen was written by Maughn Gregory. Its title reveals that ethics education should exist and manifest as philosophical practice. There is material drawn from Socratic, critical and contemplative pedagogies. The remainder of this page and the next page will serve as a summary of that article. While it is indeed possible to engage in navel-gazing and over-thought when it comes to ethics in education, the topic is extremely important…without a doubt.

Article Summary

The article starts off by quoting the words of John Dewey when he said that moral education is growth from impulsive behavior to what is known as a "reflect morality" (Gregory, 2015). Further, Dewey…

Gospel: Gospel is a message that has contents on Jesus, God, salvation, the Kingdom of God, and everything that is done to reach out this message to the believers. Gospel is also one of the books in the New Testament talking about the life, death, resurrection, and the works of Jesus Christ.

• Original sin: Original sin refers to the tendency and deprivation to the evil that is seen as innate in all humankind and it is passed from Adam to all human beings, resulting from the sin engaged by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The sin is naturally adapted to every born human being, born of Adam being the initial sinner.

• Fundamentalism: Fundamentalism is a 20th-century religious movement emphasizing on a strict belief in the literal understanding and interpretation of the religious texts.

• Heresy: Heresy is a theory that is developed to be at…

eligious Group's Statement

William James' passage at the top of Gordon D. Kaufman's essay, "eligious Diversity and eligious Truth"

is both profound and poignant (187). Kaufman quotes James as saying "... The whole notion of the truth is an abstraction from the fact of truths in the plural ... " James also writes that "Truth grafts itself on previous truth, modifying it in the process

In the case of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS), also known as the Mormon Church, their "truth" has most certainly been "grafted" on previous truth, and the various "truths" that they build their religion upon -- plus, the "new truths" they seek to promote all over the globe -- make an interesting study for purposes of this paper.

The thesis of the paper is as follows: the doctrines, beliefs, basis of origin / foundation -- and the social strategies of…

They both emphasize on the teaching of doing good and following rules to live right and happily. They both have vigorous missionary programs, in which they convert people to their religion. In the two religions, the people can worship in groups or individually. The religions have a leader of worship that is a monk in Buddhism and a Priest in Christianity. The two principles in the religion used parables to teach, and they are egalitarians. The teachings on respecting others and treating them as oneself are acceptable in both religions. They both emphasize on charity towards the poor and aspire for greater spiritual perfection.

Differences

The differences are irrefutable, as Buddhism does not talk of a Creator, God while Christianity believes in a divine creator of Universe (allace 26). In Buddhism, the emphasis is on mediation and mindfulness, whereas that of Christianity places stress on prayer. Additionally, Buddhism emphasizes on…

Discuss the theological method of U.S. feminist theologians as presented by Elizabeth Johnson: What is the central question being addressed? Who is the audience? What are some of the sources used to enflesh the question and articulate the revelatory answer? How does she use traditional Christian symbols? How would you evaluate her theological position?

Johnson's theological platform is similar to that of Cone's, but, instead, focuses on a feminist agenda. Her frustration lies with God, for instance, still being alluded as 'He' by both by the Old Testament and by Jesus, for instance. The connotation, therefore, is that men (since God is portrayed as masculine) are more godlike than women.

For Johnson, cultural biases amongst biblical scribes and interpreters as well as commentators and traditionalists of the Catholic Church have resulted in women's diminished role in western religious traditions in general, and in the Catholic Church in particular.

In "She…

According to Elwell this group of fourteen works, all of which have been translated into many languages including English form "the most monumental evangelical theological project of this century." (151) Elwell goes on to describe the works as, "written in an almost conversational style, these volumes deal with topics of theological concern, such as divine election, faith and sanctification, Holy Scripture, and the church, rather than presenting a tightly argued system of thought." (151) Finally according to Elwell and despite Berkouwer's shift in theology regarding human dealings, i.e. regret for spreading lack of tolerance for human differences of opinion Berkouwer, "never wavered from his commitment to the principles of Scripture, faith and grace alone." (151)

Berkouwer also wrote works of criticism against other theologian, most notably Karl Barth and Catholicism which are well read and famous in their theological arguments and as representative of his mid life shift in thought.…

Emptiness, as we also find in some Hindu philosophies like Advaita, is the eternal emptiness that is beyond dualism and which is rich with possibilities that far exceed the dualities of the ordinary world. In most Buddhist schools of thought we understand the search for Nirvana as the personal search for enlightenment and understanding of existence beyond ordinary duality. This is also reflected in Advaita Hinduism.

Another important area of comparison is the rejection of a personal God or the concept of God as part of the realization of Nirvana. This is evident in all forms of Buddhism and in Advaita Hinduism. However, the Dvaita school of thought and other forms of Hinduism tend to place emphasis on God or Gods as essential for enlighten.

There are many other similarities and differences between these two faiths, which would take as few books to discuss. In the final analysis we could…

As one performs their dharma, they earn karma, which is the cause and effect aspect of Hinduism. Karma explains good actions bring good results, and by obeying this principle and dharma, one can experience rebirth into a "better" life that puts one in a stronger position to achieve moksha. The ultimate goal for any Hindu soul is to achieve moksha, which is the liberation from samsara, the cycle of life and death (Chidester: 85). The critical aspect of Hinduism is realizing when the body dies, the Self (Atman) does not die. The Self is carried from life to life, through reincarnation, and the secret to death is to realize the Supreme Self hidden in the heart through meditation and grace (Kramer: 30). Realizing Self in Hindu customs is required to achieve moksha, and be liberated from the endless round of birth, death, and rebirth of samsara. Only when the Self…

It is likely that in order to achieve this "release" from the tedium of one's worldly conception of one's self will only be achieved with the guidance of a Guru (or siddha) who provides inspiration but does not intervene on one's behalf.

The key scriptures in Hinduism are referred to as "Shastras" (a collection of spiritual guides and laws revealed by "saints and sages" along the historical route through which Hinduism traveled (Das, p. 1). The deities (gods and goddesses) that are associated with Hinduism number into the "thousands or even millions," Das explains (p. 2). These many deities all represent particular aspects of "Brahman," which is the supreme Absolute, Das goes on. Notwithstanding all those deities, the most powerful and visible of the deities is the "Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva -- creator, preserver and destroyer, respectively" (Das, p. 2). It is also known that Hindus worship trees,…

The Japanese myth partly resembles that of Adam and Eve present in the Bible and in the Quran. However, the first beings in Japan are considered to hold much more power than their equivalents in the west. Another resemblance between the Japanese legends and those in the west is the fact that the kami are considered to live in the high planes of Takamagahara, somewhat resembling mount Olympus, from Greek mythology. Japanese mythology is different from other mythologies through the fact that all of the deities involved in it are good in their character.

In the sixteenth century, when Buddhism entered Japan, the locals had a hard time keeping Shinto as their main religion, since it had not been an organized religion. Even with the fact that Buddhism had been spreading quickly around the country, the presence of Shinto could be felt everywhere, in people's lifestyles and in their culture.…

Mind and Body

A review of the required literature, Robert Thurman's "isdom" (Thurman), Karen Armstrong's "Homo Religiousus" (Armstrong), and Oliver Sacks' "The Mind's Eye: hat the Blind See" (Sacks), gives significant insights into how the mind and body must work together to create our lived experience. Though the three authors may initially appear to discuss somewhat different topics, they have vital commonalities. The readings will lead the thoughtful reader to a three-pronged thesis: that mind/body coaction ideally involves knowledge of the genuine "self"; that there is a common experience of "self-delusion"; and that "universality" is of ultimate importance. The "self" is approached uniquely by each author. Thurman's is a Buddhist perspective explores the different concepts of "self" from self-ish to the self-less ideal. hile Thurman does not speak specifically about mind/body interaction, his deference to the power of the mind is clear. Armstrong also speaks of the self's importance, though…

threat posed to it by the estern Secular or Christian orld View

Is fundamentalism an expression of cultural regression? Or is it an act of creative nationalism? Truly, religious and nationalist fundamental can manifest itself in both guises. On one hand, during the dissolution of the former Soviet Union, the fundamentalist expression of religion became a creative response of liberation in the eyes of the many whom had been oppressed by the Soviet, communist, and fundamentally anti-religious regime. On the other hand, fundamentalism can also be used to express fears of estern economic and cultural domination, rather than to express an alternative political voice.

For instance, for a woman to wear the veil in a once-Muslim Soviet republic was an act of transgression against a state, a state that would punish her for behaving according to her religious beliefs with heavy penalties. To learn the language of the Koran rather…

John McNeill's book, Taking a Chance on God, is that a gay identity is fully compatible with a rich Christian faith. McNeill argues that the church's rejection of homosexuality is based on a pathological relationship with God that is based on fear. He argues that the Christian God of love is completely incompatible with this God of fear, and that both tradition and scripture support relationships between people of the same sex.

Ethically, McNeill's book argues that all human relationships based on love are morally good, including homosexual relationships, and implies that the church should fully include homosexuals. McNeill's arguments are marred by his reliance on the historical interpretation of the Bible, and rejection of other views as simply inaccurate, literal interpretations. Ultimately, McNeill's argument that homosexuality is biologically determined by God is convincing, and suggests that his proposal that homosexuals should be fully included in the church should become…

Christianity in Europe

The Decline of European Christianity, 1675-Present

The demise of Christianity in Europe coincides with the rise of the Age of Enlightenment at the end of the 17th century.

Up to that moment, Europe had been relatively one in religious belief. True, religious wars had been raging for more than a century, with the fracturing of nations in the wake of the "Protestant Reformation." ut even then, Europe had acknowledged a single Savior -- wherein lay His Church was the major point of contention. ut today Europe exists in a post-Christian state. Its Christian identity has collapsed under the weight of Romantic-Enlightenment ideals, expressed dramatically in the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century and adopted politically throughout the continent as a result of a more man-centered, rather than God-centered, vision of life. This paper will trace the decline of European Christianity and provide three reasons…

Esposito finds that the premodernist revival movements of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries contributed to the pattern of Islamic politics that developed and left a legacy for the twentieth century. These movements were motivated primarily in response to internal decay rather than external, colonial threat (Esposito 40-41).

At the same time, many areas of the Islamic world experienced the impact of the economic and military challenge of an emerging and modernizing est beginning in the eighteenth century. Declining Muslim fortunes also reversed the relationship of the Islamic world to the est, from that of an expanding offensive movement to a defensive posture. Muslim responses to these changes ranged from rejection to adaptation, from Islamic withdrawal to acculturation and reform. Some responded by secular reform, and by the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Islamic modernist movements had also developed in an attempt to bridge the gap between tradition and modernity…

St. Augustine and the Buddha

A Comparison of orld Views

ere St. Augustine and the Buddha to have a conversation, they might find their points-of-view quite interesting. Of course, Augustine might feel a bit inconvenienced by having to crouch down under a bodhi tree, but once there he could easily find common ground with this introspective Easterner. Both the Buddha and Augustine were in agreement regarding the deplorable conditions faced by much of humanity in this world. At the core of the Buddha's teaching was the belief that the physical world represents little more than an aspect of continual suffering and trial. Imperfect beings all, we human beings desire too much, and it is because of our desires that we imprison ourselves in this physical shell. e will suffer so long as we want, and so long as we want we shall remain moored in this imperfect world. Yet the…

Jainism Beliefs

Three tier universe

According to Jainism, the universe assumes three levels: lower, middle and upper. Jains regard the universe to be imperishable, unending, and with no Creator. However, certain elements of the universe may alter in due course. The upper level, or 'siddhasila', comprises pure, free souls residing in a permanent state of sheer peace and bliss. The middle level of the universe comprises embodied creatures like humans, animals, plants, and inanimate beings (things), bound by the Law of Karma. The third level (lower world) comprises beings undergoing different phases of punishments, on account of the sins committed by them in their earthly life. After completion of punishment, they go back to the middle world (Jain, 2015).

Jiva and Ajiva

According to Jainism, the entire universe has two independent, unending, imperishable and coexisting parts, namely, Ajiva and Jiva; these are, in some ways, similar to the Samakhya School's…

Rise and Spread of Christianity on the Classical World

It's often assumed that the religion of Christianity perhaps greatly and generously impacted the classical age; after all, it was in this period that its foundations were established and it ultimately became the formal religion of the classical age. But corroborating this understandable supposition isn't easy. One might realize the fact that Jesus's religion was a considerable progress from the paganism followed since ancient times. The eventual success of Christianity proved to be a blessing for humanity. Nevertheless, revealing the precise level and nature of its benefit to humanity is tricky[footnoteRef:1]. One can easily indicate individual lives in Christianity which were aided and purified. However, proving that it improved the overall society, political principles, economic standards and civil customs, the level of overall living, and overall moral standards is an entirely different matter. [1: McGiffert, Arthur Cushman. "The Influence of Christianity…

The interviewed individual is an American female, Leela Smith, aged 53, who spent several years of her life in the Indian city of Kochi, Kerala as a homemaker, adopted an ayurvedic diet that was followed by her entire family, and home-schooled her youngest child. Further, she took training in Carnatic music, learned hatha yoga and Sanskrit, and adopted Kalaripayattu, Kerala's health system. In the year 2002, the whole family returned to the United States, and now resides in Oahu (Editors of Hinduism Today Magazine 2007).

The interviewee, Leela, claims it was in the year 1978 that she had her first taste of Hinduism at age fifteen, at a hatha yoga session held in her neighborhood in San Francisco, California. With time, she grew more interested in yoga, and took to reading about it and its great benefits to an individual's physical and mental wellbeing. She also decided to give up…

" Patriarchy perpetuates its crimes through "denial, tokenism, obfuscation and reversal" and traps its victims (particularly the women) in the semantic web of lies which, in the words of Daly, "constitutes the reality of the Foreground, and obscures ultimate reality, which is the Background." She advises women to take a leap of faith to break free from the necrophilic embrace of patriarchy to dis-cover their true human potential and "reclaim their primordial power, their gynergy, in order to spin new, gynocentric and biophilic realities."

Utopian Society of the Future:

Another controversial theory advanced by Daly in her book, Quintessence, describes a utopian society of the future, on a continent populated entirely by women, where procreation occurs through parthenogenesis, without the participation of men. She further asserts, "If life is to survive on this planet, there must be a decontamination of the Earth. I think this will be accompanied by an…

Christianity and Hinduism -- Similarities and Differences

Christianity and Hinduism

This paper will provide a comparison and contract of Christianity and Hinduism with particular regard to the subjects of monotheism and eschatology. Christian monotheistic practice and Hindu monotheism will be highlighted, and the end-times philosophies of each religion are reviewed with regard to structure and caste system.

Monotheism

Christianity has always stood out as a monotheistic practice, celebrating belief in the one God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth, "all things visible and invisible" (Bolt, 2004). Many sects within the Christian faith believe in the Trinitarian principle, which is the idea or concept of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as one body (Bolt, 2004; Sunday, 2005).

Most do not consider Hinduism a monotheistic practice; but it is actually if one believes in monotheism as the belief in one God. Hinduism is not polytheistic, because it simply recognizes…

Black Catholic women, post-Vatican II have entered theological academies and finally now have the platform to articulate their own, unique vision in line with the tradition of the Church. Womanist theology turns subjects into "doers" of theology, and demand theology is no longer done 'to' women (Hayes 131).

Part hree of the book focuses on "Pastoral Concerns," and the practical needs of spiritual leaders in ministering to an African-American congregation. In the essay "African Catholics in the United States: Gifts and challenges," Paulinus I. Odozor frankly addresses such issues as the need for better communication between the laity and the clergy, the economic challenges of the African-American community, and the need to create a stronger family structure for African-Americans (Odozor 2000). he essay "Pan-Africanism: An emerging context for understanding the Black Catholic experience" allows Clarence Williams throw an even wider perspective upon the international Black Catholic community, and the common…

History of Judaism: From biblical origins to the modern period." It discusses Genesis 1-11 and what these texts tell us about the origins of Israelite religion? What do the major episodes in these 11 chapters of the Torah tell us about the differences between classical Mesopotamian paganism and the origins of Israelite thought and religion?

History of Judaism: From biblical origins to the modern period

Genesis is the book of beginnings. That is what the word itself means, and it takes us back into the very dawn of human history. It opens with an awareness of the greatest material fact in all human life; a fact that we are all subconsciously aware of almost every waking moment, that is, that we are living in a universe. Then this galaxy itself is moving at incredible speed through the vastness of space in conjunction with millions of other galaxies like ours. It…

Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam are a few of the "universal" or "universalizing" religions. Strayer frames the universalizing religions in terms of the spread of different cultures and ideas throughout the world. Religions are integral to social and political power and control, and thus have a transformative effect on society as well as on the individuals within that society. The nature of universalizing religion is such that they can be all-pervasive, permeating almost every dimension of life including political, economic, and social institutions. However, universalizing religions are distinct in that they actively seek new followers; they believe their message is indeed universal and contains universal truths embedded within it.

Although universalizing religions use different methods of spreading their faiths, they share in common the desire to influence human thought and even public discourse. Of the universalizing religions, Christianity and Islam have historically revealed the most aggressive evangelical tendencies but Hinduism and…

According to Aiken, this liberation is only achieved after twelve years as a monk and eight rebirths. Souls who do not achieve liberation are either reborn as another life on earth or suffer punishment in one of the eight levels of hell.

Once a householder undertakes the path to liberation of the soul, according to the Jain Center of America, he must take and follow the five vows:

Ahimsa -- nonviolence

Satya -- truthfulness

Asteya -- not stealing

Brahmacarya -- celibacy or monogamy

Aparigraha -- detachment from material possessions 'All the venerable ones (arhats) of the past, present and future discourse, counsel, proclaim, propound and prescribe thus in unison: do not injure, abuse, oppress, enslave, insult, torment, torture or kill any creature or living being' (Uttaraadhyayan Sutra)

Hibbets explains that ahimsa (nonviolence) is the most fundamental value to the Jains. Because they believe that all living things (animals, plants, insects,…

Philosophy of Martin Luther King Jr.

As great a figure as the Noble-prize winning civil rights leader Martin King Luther Jr. may be accounted in the annals of world and American history, and in political, religious, and social rights activism, no man's thought stands alone -- no man's thought springs from simply his own brain in isolation. Every great thinker and leader is part of a larger and complex history of human thought and social influences. Martin King Luther Jr. was a Christian minister and philosopher whose nonviolent philosophy of civil disobedience was profoundly influenced by Biblical, New Testament documents of Jesus and other Christian spiritual writers, as interpreted through the African-American tradition. King also wrote during a time period when the philosophy of the Indian nonviolent leader Gandhi had shown the world how, through nonviolence, the oppressing power's wrongful influence could unintentionally act as a public relations force of…

eligion

Qualifications of the divine and the nature of supreme reality are core concepts of any religious tradition. Hinduism and Buddhism conceptualize the divine and the nature of reality in complementary yet distinct ways. Buddhism emerged from Hinduism, in a manner not wholly unlike the way Christianity emerged from Judaism. Therefore, there are several core similarities in the cosmologies and the conceptualizations of divine reality between these two faiths. Moreover, the religious practices and philosophies of Buddhism and Hinduism tend to be more similar than they are different. These similarities should not obscure the real and practical differences in the ways Hindus and Buddhists conceptualize and communicate matters related to the nature of the divine, and the nature of supreme reality. In particular, Buddhism avoids distinctions between a divine and a profane realm; there are no actual Buddhist deities or gods. Hinduism boasts a plethora of gods and goddesses, although…

Women Called to Witness by Nancy a. Hardesty, Second Edition

The biblical feminists of today reinterpret the original scriptures with reference to women while trying to find religious reasons for their actions. An example of this is Women Called to Witness: Evangelical Feminism in the Nineteenth Century by Nancy Hardesty, as also other writers like Lucretia Mott, the Grimke sisters and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. It is suggested by the book that the motivation of women leading the fights for temperance, female ordination, abolition and women suffrage in the beginning of the nineteenth century was from their evangelical Christian faith. 1 The Second Great awakening revivals touched the lives of each of these great warriors. The author proves that the traditional, evangelical activist was as intelligent as the Christian feminist. The differences between public and private, male and female, and politics and religion that were defined through the Industrial evolution were…

), and the five gross elements which are said to proceed from the five subtle elements (ether or space from sound, air from touch, fire from sight, water from taste, earth from smell). (68) Nature is further divided into three essential gunas, sattva, rajas, and tamas or 'the quality of being, energy, and darkness'. These elements enumerated by the Samkhya will be considered fundamental in the later literature.

8. How does one attain the highest goal of Samadhi in Samkhya-Yoga?

The Samadhi or the state of absolute 'concentration' of the soul into the soul, or of the self in its own self, can be achieved by the Yogin under the direction of a competent Guru, as a state of pure isolation from everything in the world, and even from God himself. The complete detachment can lead to an isolation of the "I" or the individual consciousness in everything, and a…

Nirvana

Religious doctrine usually includes some form of salvation as a reward for good behavior and for keeping to the tenets of the religion. Each religion treats this general idea in its own way. For the Christian, right behavior lead to salvation from permanent death and promises an afterlife in heaven. In uddhism, the promise is not of an afterlife but of a reward in this world, a reward in the form of perfect peace through a mind free of craving and unwanted emotion. Nirvana is a state of mind and an achievement in itself, for nirvana is that state of mind to which the adherent aspires. It is considered the highest form of happiness and is achieved only by the most dedicated follower of the uddha.

The conception of salvation usually relates to the idea of some ultimate value or being, and it can be thought of as an…