Theology Definition
In How to Think Theologically, Howard Stone and James Duke argue that theology works with a distinct template and epistemology or theory of knowledge, as do history, sociology and physics. Each theologian will have a distinctive template, but they all rely on Scripture, tradition, reason and experience to a greater of lesser extent (Stone and Duke 43). Martin Luther stated that his theology was based on Scripture and faith experience, for example, but he also accepted the traditions of the Catholic Church councils that defined the Trinity and the nature of Christ. Indeed, tradition has played "almost as prominent a role in Protestantism as in Roman Catholicism," and all churches have developed their own distinctive traditions of poetry, art, hymns and prayers over the centuries (Stone and Duke 49). Even non-Christian traditions can be an important point of comparison, such as the description of God offered in the Bible…...

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WORKS CITED

Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109), Cur Deus Homo in Richard Viladesau and Mark Massa, Foundations of Theological Study. New York: Paulist Press, 1991.

Haleem, M.A.S. (trans), The Qur'an. Oxford World Classics, 2004.

New International Reader's Version (NIRV Bible). BibleGateway.com.  http://www.biblegateway.com/versions/New-International-Readers-Version-NIRV-Bible/ 

"On the Councils and the Church" (1539) in Gerhardt Tappert (ed) Selected Writings of Martin Luther: 1529-1546. Fortress Press, 1967.

Theology
Sacraments are traditional rites that are recognized as having a particular significance or importance. There are seven sacraments and baptism is on of them, it is the first of the three sacraments of initiation. Baptism involves the use of water symbolically and leads to the admission of a person into a community of believers. Baptism is based on John the Baptist practice where he baptized people including Christ. Baptism now incorporates the idea of creation of unity between believers and Jesus

It is often referred to as the door of the church since it is the first of the seven sacraments. This sacrament is necessary since Christ had ordered his disciples to preach his gospel and baptize those who accept the message. It was clear that baptism was very necessary when it came to salvation. It does not mean that only the formally baptized can be saved; there are two forms…...

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References

Always Gifts. (2011).The Symbols of Baptism - How do they work? Retrieved April 27, 2013 from  http://www.baptismcandle.com.au/baptism-symbols.html 

Hardson, J.A. (1998).The sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. Retrieved April 27, 2013 from  http://catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0285.html 

Pratt, R. (2005). Baptism as a Sacrament of the Covenant. Retrieved April 27, 2013 from  http://thirdmill.org/newfiles/ric_pratt/th.pratt.baptism.pdf 

Stanford, R. (2010).Water Baptism. Retrieved April 27, 2013 from http://www.gotellevangelism.org/ars9.htm

26). Adherents of apophatic theology subscribe to the belief that instead of intellect, it is far more productive to acquire mystical knowledge as this reflects an awareness of God's innumerable ways of manifesting himself. Describing the central differences between apophatic theology and estern religious philosophy, Lossky states that it involves replacing the Holy Trinity -- the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit -- with the more universal (non-estern) virtues of Goodness, isdom, Life, and Love. It is believed that replacing the Trinity with these virtues effectively reconciles the Trinitarian theology associated with estern religion with the mysticism of Eastern theology.
In addition to the importance of total ignorance as a central prerequisite to communion with God, apophatic theology relies on the individual engaging in a strict routine of pure contemplation and divine inquiry. To this end, adherents should pare down their existence to a simpler, direct engagement with God. It…...

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Works Cited

Lossky, Vladimir. The Mystical Theology of the Eastern Church. Yonkers: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 1997.

Lossky, Vladimir. Orthodox Theology: An Introduction. Yonkers: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2001.

Lossky, Vladimir. In the Image and Likeness of God. Yonkers: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2001.

Then, and now, Americans are risking losing their moral character by "greeting only their own people."
America needs a theology of immigration that begins with the Bible and ends with public policy. In their policy proposals, Sider and Snippers suggest as one of the top goals to "extend the same rights and protections to vulnerable immigrants and refugees as citizens," (242). This would appear to be the more authentic evangelical immigration policy than the anti-immigrant stance often voiced by the right wing in America. Christians should "be united in sharing God's love and care for all gerim" that is, all immigrants, documented or not (Sider and Snippers 242). The Jews of the Biblical era know, and modern Jews know well the importance of a theology of immigration as it says in the Pentateuch, "Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt," (Exodus 22:21). The Jews…...

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Works Cited

Bible: NIV

Ramachandra, Vinoth. Subverting Global Myths. InterVarsity, 2008

Sider, Ronald .J. & Snippers, Diane. Toward an Evangelical Public Policy. Baker, 2005

In this way, Segundo's geatest stength in this text is also its weakest, when examined with full analytical scutiny. In his own definition and defense of libeation theology, he focuses only on one specific text and set of aguments against the ideology; by discounting Ratzinge's "Instuction" as a fundamental misintepetation of the theology and its oigins and elationship to Catholic doctine and dogma, Segundo pecludes the notion of engaging in a meaningful debate with the Chuch o its offices egading the theology of libeation. That is, athe than acknowledging that thee might indeed be discepancies between contempoay Chuch doctine and the beliefs held by libeation theologists, Segundo effectively dismisses Ratzinge's "Instuction" as inheently wong. He is caeful to lay out his easons fo this assetion, to be sue, including a eexamination of cetain texts and passages, but the esult is a dismissal athe than a debate.

This could vey well be…...

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references of the true ideals of the theology.

The argument Segundo develops between the liberation theology stance and Ratzinger's is, after all, an essentially theological one, and the question of the meaning of sin in the redemption found in Jesus' sacrifice is central to the fundamental beliefs and understandings underlying liberation theology. Segundo claims, essentially, that the concept of sin must be rooted in the context of social conditioning in which the acts of condemnation and redemption are carried out, making liberation theology a natural component of the Catholic Church in Latin America. As a system of social oppression and racism has been at work in the hemisphere for the several centuries, it is impossible to remove the concept of sin from the concept of social injustice; liberation theology stresses that people must be redeemed form social tyranny as one aspect of being redeemed from sin. Though this is an oversimplification of Segundo's argument, it nonetheless represents the central point of his text and his argument against Cardinal Ratzinger.

The man who is now Pope was at a distinct disadvantage to Segundo when it comes to the arguments discussed in this book. Of course, a large part of this disadvantage likely stems less from his misinterpretation of the theology of liberation and its doctrinal derivations, and more from a hesitancy to become embroiled in what appears to be a largely political rather than theological issue. Segundo makes it clear, however, that at least in his part of the world the two are entirely inseparable. Only when people are liberate will their theology begin to have true meaning.

Theology
Carlo, I.A. "Toward An Evangelical Global Theology Amidst World Christianity." Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Bakke Graduate University, Seattle, WA, 2009.

Once the reader moves beyond the messy, shallow writing in Carlo's "Toward An Evangelical Global Theology Amidst World Christianity," a few gems of research emerge. The problem is how hard it is to find those specks of value in this terribly written doctoral dissertation. The muddled and oblique writing aside, there is little of postgraduate substance in "Toward An Evangelical Global Theology Amidst World Christianity." The dissertation is full of faults, and it is difficult to distill what the writer is trying to say. The dissertation reads like a high school research report peppered with occasional doctoral tidbits.

Thankfully, the end of the first page offers an outline of what the writer intends to discuss. The author sets forth to describe the meaning and definition of theology; the place of culture in theology;…...

Theology
Pascal's projected apologia for Christian belief, for which the text of the Pensees offers some glimpse, would ultimately have reflected his sincere conversion (of sorts) to the gloomy Jansenist theology which hovers over his works generally. Ultimately rejected by the Roman Catholic church as heretical, Jansenism emphasized the fallen and corrupt nature of man in an Augustianian way, while at the same time suggesting that only God's grace can permit human action to rise above this fallenness. Pensees 133 notes that the fallenness is compounded by a willful refusal to see the facts: "unable to cure death" man instead seeks "diversion." At Pensees 24 he describes "man's condition" with a suitably Augustinian bleakness as consisting of "inconstancy, boredom, anxiety": the last two can surely be related to human life when viewed alongside the prospect of a future and eternal life. But the "inconstancy" seems to be Pascal's own way of…...

This is where, as a Christian, the role of Jesus is important. Not only do I believe that all humans need to be in a relationship with Christ, I also believe they have the capability to either choose to be in that relationship or to reject Christ (John 3:16).
My view of the church is that the church is a group of people who have responded to God's gift of salvation and are growing their relationships with God. Ideally, the church should resemble Christ in work, study, and life. However, I also recognize that the church is made up of human beings, with all of the frailties and weaknesses that plague other human beings. The fact that they are members of a church does not take them outside of the realm of sinners, which is reflected in the condition of my current church, which does not always seem to be…...

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References

Adelaja, S. (2008). Church Shift: Revolutionizing Your Faith, Church, and Life for the 21st

Century. Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House.

Baush, W. (Unk.). Characteristics of Story. Powerpoint Presentation.

Groome, T. (1980). Christian Religious Education, San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Theology -- Christian Doctrine
Christian Doctrine of the Church from the perspective of a believer hinges on several basic concepts. The concept of Church, the nature of the Church revealed through metaphors, the Church's beginning, government, functions and ordinances are all basic elements of Church Doctrine. Researching these concepts, one can see some commonalities and some widely differing beliefs among Christian sects.

Summary of Christian Doctrine of the Church from the Perspective of a eliever

The Meaning of the Greek Word "Ekklesia"

The term "ekklesia" is Greek for "to call out," historically referring to "the assembly of citizens in a self-governed state" who were summoned from other places such as their homes to convene (roadus 2012, 358). In the secular historical context, this term means only the assembly itself and not the people who take part in it (Saucy 1972, 12). Therefore, this secular historical interpretation does not rise to the level of ekklesia…...

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Bibliography

Baker, Charles F. Bible Truth: What We Believe and Why We Believe It. Grand Rapids: Grace Publications, Inc., 1995.

Broadus, John Albert. Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. Grand Rapids: HardPress Publishing, 2012.

Danker, Frederick William. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third Edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.

Erickson, Millard. Christian Theology, Second Edition. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1998.

My issue had been accepting the Old Testament as the true word of God unadulterated by human inaccuracy, political and historical agendas, and the misconstruction of centuries of translation.
My concerns on this front were answered by two elements from the readings. First, as I mentioned before, I found the correspondence of the prophecies of Christ in the Old Testament and the fulfillment of those prophecies in the New Testament to be very powerful proof of the connection between the two books, and I knew that if I accepted the New Testament as the revelation of God, I must accept the Old Testament as well to be consistent within my own faith. The fact that other prophecies were also borne out by history, like the prophecies concerning Cyrus and Josiah, and the prophecies concerning Babylon, only furthered my conviction of the divine source of the Bible.

I was also deeply impressed…...

Theology
Buddhism grew out of the Hindu religion alongside Jainism. These two religions (Buddhism and Jainism) are extremely similar in that they both accept all people and reject authority and the caste system, but Buddhism differs greatly from Jainism in that Buddists are taught to follow a path through the middle of "worldliness and extreme asceticism." (Hopfe, and oodward 127) The creator of the Buddhist religion is attributed to a man named Siddhartha, who live between the years 560-480 B.C.E. (Hopfe, and oodward 127) Siddhartha was a rich prince who was prophesized to become a Buddha (or Enlightened One), if certain events came to be during his lifetime (Hopfe, and oodward 128). By the time his thirtieth birthday had arrived, Siddhartha had witnessed the events needed to convince him to leave his earthly and princely life behind and pursue a life dedicated to solving human suffering (Hopfe, and oodward 129). After…...

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Works Cited

Allen, John. "Basic Buddhism Guide: The Eightfold Path." Buddhanet. Buddha Dharma Education Association, Inc., 2011. Web. 10 May 2011. .

Hopfe, Lewis, and Mark Woodward. Religions of the World. 9th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2005. 127-155. Print.

Theology
Sexuality:

Describe a positive image involving sexuality and its source (where or how did you get this idea?)

My first positive image involving sexuality was the direct result of the confidences of a close friend. I still remember the feeling of awe and wonder that her description aroused in me even though I was really experiencing the sensation vicariously. We must have been no more than around eleven or twelve years old and like all girls at that stage in life were prone to talking about boys, love, and sex, though we really had little understanding of either the relationships involved or its physical manifestations. Frankly speaking, until that particular conversation, the images we had of sex and sexuality were more in the realm of the forbidden and therefore sinful though like all other human beings, we were very aware of the changes in our physical body, and our changing awareness, even…...

Theology -- Interpretation of Text
The Bible reveals the laws of the Old Testament and Jesus' belief in and fulfillment of those laws. David broke the Old Testament laws against Adultery and unlawful Killing. hen Nathan told him the story of the rich man taking the poor man's lamb, David thought he was upholding the law against stealing; however, he was really speaking about David breaking the laws against Adultery and unlawful Killing. In the New Testament, Jesus upholds those Old Testament laws and fulfills them.

Reviewing the entire Bible, we can see there are many themes introduced in the Old Testament that Jesus also addresses in the New Testament because he was true to the law set forth in the Old Testament and was also the fulfillment of that law. One example is the Adultery and unlawful Killing committed by David in the Old Testament and Jesus' reference to Adultery and…...

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Works Cited

King James Bible Online. (2014). Retrieved February 9, 2014 from www.kingjamesbibleonline.org Web site:  http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org

Theology
The Theological Message of Genesis Chapter 1

The ultimate purpose of God in His work of creation is to display His glory in its fullness and to fill the earth with it (Krell 2005). All other doctrines and beliefs in opposition to this message and its implications are thereby repudiated and rejected. God deals only with absolutes. What are some of these theories and how do they differ?

Atheism

This is the belief or doctrine that either God does not exist (Harlow 2004, Krell 2005, Power of Hope 2010, Hyers 2011). Genesis 1:1 does not only repudiate this belief. It assumes on the existence of God. The first verse, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth," identifies Him as the creator of all things. At the same time, it relates the origin of the world. It states that God existed before everything was created and created by Him. It repudiates…...

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Deffinbaugh, Bob. The Fool. Bible.org., 2011. Retrieved on September 30, 2011 from  http://bible.org/seriespage/fool-proverbs-261-11 

FBBC. One Step at a Time. Christian Growth Series. Faith Bible Baptist Church, 2010.

Retrieved on September 30, 2011 from http://www.fbbc.com/messages/one_step_11.htm

Glory Story, the. Wise Man. The Glory Bible School: Glory to God International, 2006.

Theology
edemption is a fundamental feature of Christ, a sign that God is dedicated to a continual expression of love for humanity and the world. Thus, redemption is a necessary counterpart and component of Creation. edemption is also an integral part of the covenant between God and humanity, expressed through the being of Christ. Moreover, the redemptive aspect of Christ proves that love -- the primary factor or quality of redemption -- is "greater than sin," (Ionnes Paulus 1979, 4).

The redemptive activity of Christ reveals both the justice and love of the triune God. As a "superabundance of justice," redemption balances the effects of original sin and transcends death (Ionnes Paulus 1980, 2). A revelation of God's love, redemption is mercy in action. edemption is also love in action, and "man cannot live without love," (Ionnes Paulus 1979, 4). Therefore, the redemptive activity of Christ is necessarily an act of supreme…...

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References

Ioannes Paulus PP.II, "Dives in misericordia," 1980.11.30. V. The Paschal Mystery

Ioannes Paulus PP.II. "Redemptor hominis." 1979.03.04. II. The Mystery of the Redemption

Thomas Aquinas was an Italian philosopher who was eventually canonized and made into a saint.  Because of his sainthood, there are myths surrounding Thomas Aquinas that may be difficult to distinguish from the factual information surrounding his life.  As a result, you may want to be wary when looking at religious sources of information about his life, if you are supposed to be focusing on fact-based biographical-type information.  However, investing the mythology of his life would also be a worthwhile topic of pursuit, such as his proof of the existence of God.....

1. The role of the church in addressing social justice issues such as racial inequality, poverty, and immigration.
2. The impact of technology on the church and religious practices.
3. The controversy surrounding LGBTQ+ rights and the church's stance on sexuality.
4. The role of women in leadership positions within the church.
5. The challenges and opportunities of outreach and evangelism in a modern, secular society.
6. The church's response to climate change and environmental stewardship.
7. The intersection of religion and politics in contemporary society.
8. The rise of the "nones" - those who identify as having no religion, and its implications for the church.
9. The....

1. Analyze Thomas Aquinas' Five Ways to prove the existence of God and evaluate their effectiveness in addressing modern scientific and philosophical challenges.
2. Compare and contrast Thomas Aquinas' views on natural law and ethics with those of other prominent philosophers, such as Aristotle or Immanuel Kant.
3. Investigate how Thomas Aquinas' theology influenced the development of Western Christian thought and the relationship between faith and reason in his writings.
4. Examine Thomas Aquinas' concept of the soul and its relationship to the body, and explore how it differs from other philosophical and theological perspectives on the nature of the human person.
5. Discuss....

The dynamic intersection between philosophical ethics and Christian theology is a complex and rich area of study that involves examining the moral principles and values that guide human behavior and decision-making, in both secular and religious contexts. This paper aims to explore this intersection, tracing the historical development of ethical thought in Western philosophy and Christian theology, and examining the ways in which these two disciplines have influenced each other over time.

One of the central themes in this exploration is the concept of moral realism, which asserts that moral values and principles are objective and independent of human beliefs or....