Gospel Essentials Research Paper

This paper will show how the Christian Worldview has been shaped by the sufferings of God, Jesus and man. Man was initially seen to be completely good and through their actions have created the downfall for all of man. This downfall has led to the suffering of all man, which led to the suffering and resurrection of Jesus to erase those sins and gain redemption for all mankind.

Religions with common geographic origins have been known to share codes of behavior, views of nature, and reasons for existence. Three great geographic center of religious origins included Southwestern Asia, where Islam, Judaism, and Christianity originated. Also, East Asia, where Confucianism and Taoism originated, and South Asia, which included Hinduism and Buddhism. Religions associated with South West Asia center on a single supreme authority and seem to be less flexible when it comes to interpretation of religion. Religions associated with South Asia and East Asia appear to be more philosophical and focus on relationships with nature and are more flexible when it comes to interpretation.

As I read article 1 my answers remain steadfast, based on my worldview and the lens that I view life from starts in Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (NKJV), and it’s through this lens that I conclude that the Bible is the central source of shaping my culture as I determine right from wrong when making decisions concerning life (Porter, 2013).

In the Christian religion, like many others, the belief in a single, ultimate, powerful being is upheld and practiced. However, unlike other monotheistic religions, the Christian belief in God is expressed in three parts: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This aspect of Christianity is unique and is part of what defines it. Although some people may think so, God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not three separate beings. They are united as one in the Trinity, the same all-powerful God. God is the creator of all and the reason for our salvation as humans. The intent of this research paper is to discuss the similarities and differences between the religious principle views of salvation of Roman Catholic versus Southern Baptist.

In the very beginning of this book, the author, Josh Dowel, relates a story from his childhood in which he couldn’t find satisfaction from his church, and thereby abandoned attending church. He quotes a country saying “when something doesn’t work, get rid of it” as a way of explaining his attitude toward church, and consequently, religion. Later in this chapter, Dowel explains a revelation which led him to once again explore Christianity. He realized a valuable truth: Jesus Christ and religion are two separate entities. Religion, though being nothing to sniff at, is not as important as Jesus when it comes to understanding Christianity.

Explain how the concepts of “myth” and “story” help us to understand the Bible properly.

When we ask people about their thoughts on how the world was created, the first idea that comes to mind is the story of Genesis. Most people generally assume that there is only one account of creation, the account that portrays God as the sole creator since in the Genesis account he creates heaven, earth, man/woman, and other living things. However, Genesis is not the only face of creation because religious texts from different cultures tell us otherwise. In ancient near east religions, there are two creation myths that give their own different accounts. While some details of the Genesis account are similar to the Enuma Elish of Babylon and the Memphite Theology of Egypt, each account individually brings their own nationalistic pride and personal touch. Each culture establishes their own story of creation, as well as their own portrayal of who is “the supreme creator”.

When it comes to knowing and learning the religions of the world one must approach them with a critical mind. One cannot simply just believe every religion and know have their own view points. David Van Biema presents his ideas about Christianity and Jesus in “The Gospel Truth?”. Van Biema’s main point is about how “Matthew, Mark, Luke and John… is notoriously unreliable,” . Van Biema writes about how one cannot be completely sure about whether to believe if Jesus actually said what is written in the bible, he continues to say that Jesus may even be an “imaginative theological construct” . Van Biema presents several ideas that to him prove that those four gospels are unreliable and cannot be trusted. Van Biema presents a critical view point

John Calvin, the French reformer, and theologian, made a powerful influence on the fundamental doctrines of Protestantism. His institutional and social patterns deeply influenced Protestantism. He is well known as Martin Luther 's successor as the preeminent Protestant theologian. He born in France on July 10, 1509, and died in Switzerland on May 27, 1564.

In Christian tradition, the existence of God is central to the religion and the practices and beliefs associated with it. In this tradition, God can be conceived of as an all powerful, immortal and transcendent being who governs and creates the world as it is known. During the Medieval Era Christianity dominated Europe, leading to an extensive amount of philosophical and scholarly works related to God and how to properly conceive of him. As a result, many philosophical topics and theories were brought under examination in an attempt to combine them with Christian ideologies and conceptions of God and the world. One of the many topics brought under consideration was free will. Free will is an important components of the human experience and

In the Iroquois story, a woman is the creator while in the Book of Genesis God is described as a man. In the Iroquois community women are perceived as the source of sustenance and life, and the mother to men who have contributed to shaping the physical world. The Iroquois give credit to the woman for creating the world because women are perceived as givers of life and the people who sustain a man’s existence. Among the Native American tribes the earth is described to as a woman because women are viewed as producers of life; therefore it is not unnatural for the community to view a woman as a creator. Compared to the Iroquois creation story, in the Biblical creation story there is a belief that God created the world. Bible describes God as a

Basic Christianity is a crucial foundation that must be deeply entrenched within the hearts and minds of believers. The essential and basic principles aid every Christian by showing and teaching them how great God’s love is for us. In John Stott’s Book, “Basic Christianity,” he reveals insight on what it is to be a Christian. He also dispels many erroneous teachings that have been brought into the Christian community. Stott states in the beginning of his book that many have held the assumption that God sits on His throne, aloof, distant, and unconcerned for our needs and problems (Stott, pg. 17). The fact that these people are unaware of is that God took the initiative and acted first as seen in Genesis 1:1, where it states ”In the beginning God….” This clearly shows that God in His omnipotence took time to create you, me, and everything in existence today. It is also stated in Genesis 1, God formed us in His image and breathed into us the breathe of “LIFE”; therefore a part of the Almighty is in the fibers of our being. Seeing that part of Him was separated, He sent Jesus Christ to die for our sins to redeem the relationship that once was.

Preliminary Thesis Statement: Religion is an essential constituent of any civilization with a unique spiritual pathway.

Both modernism and postmodernism worldviews approach ideas from a different perspective than the Christian worldview. The divisive central point is the reason for existence. Modernism and postmodernism are humanistic in structure. The Christian worldview is based on God. Knowledge base within modernism and postmodernism relies on the human based creation, while Christian worldview rests on the teachings of the Bible. Incorporation of elements of the modern or postmodern worldview is not compatible with the Christian worldview.

Proverbs 20:5 tells us that intelligence enables everyone, believer and non-believer, to reach the deep waters of knowledge. "God so loved the world that he sent his only Son…" (Jn. 3: 16). Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life (Jn. 14: 6). This shows how the Church received the truth about human life as a gift God the Father The true meaning of life, therefore, is a person: Jesus Christ. The ultimate answers to man's questions about pain, suffering of the innocent, and death are found in Christ's Passion, Death and Resurrection (n. 12). The truth communicated by Christ is the absolutely valid source of the meaning of human life (n. 12). All human creatures, not just philosophers, have the right to receive the truth about their existence and destiny (n. 38). By the revelation of Jesus, God the Father has made the truth available to every man and woman. Jesus Christ is not only the revelation of God to man, he is also the revelation of man to himself. In the sacred mystery of the Incarnate Word, man can understand himself. Christ "reveals man to himself and makes clear his supreme calling, which is to share in the divine mystery of the life of the Trinity" (n. 13). Faith is man's obedient response to God's revelation (n. 13). By faith man accepts the truth of Christ's revelation which is guaranteed by God. Because an act of faith involves freely entrusting oneself to God and freely accepting His revelation. "Men and women can accomplish no more important act in their lives than the act of faith; it is here that freedom reaches the certainty of truth and chooses to live in that truth" (n. 13). The combination of faith and reason is the base upon which many Christian teachings are built. Separating faith from reason would cause faith to be seen as a slight short story or myth. The two must work together in synchronization in order for the human spirit to rise to the thought of truth as proposed