Alister McGrath Essays

the meaning of eros within the Christian context, it is certainly opportune to distinguish the level of words from that of concepts and realities. Concerning the duplicity of eros and agape, a philologist for example, could simply suggest that the differences between the two is one of a linguistic nature; the first being more elevated and classical with the second being colloquial. We shall now embark on the reality of eros and agape as succinctly discussed in Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical Deus

God in the Old Testament is perceived in many ways, from violent to loving, to unjust and fair-minded. David Lamb and Richard Dawkins both explain contradicting perceptions of God. Dawkins’ quote from, “The God Delusion” gives off a negative tone of God’s image. Dawkins uses words such as: misogynistic, megalomaniacal, and a capriciously malevolent bully.” While Lamb applauds Dawkins’ attempt to bring the issues up to the surface, Lamb believes that Dawkins exaggerates the negative side of God. However

Flannery O’Connor is widely regarded as one of the most iconic Southern Gothic grotesque writers. Her works such as Wise Blood and “A Temple Of The Holy Ghost” manifest the grotesque writing style quite distinctly through their themes and characterization. Her characters and themes exemplify grotesque in their disfigured and unsettling nature. Perhaps O’Connor’s most notable work of short fiction, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” exemplifies the physical and moral aspects of grotesque. Physically

In an article by Alister McGrath, he gave insight to New Atheism. The new atheism Alister McGrath addressed in his article was the virulent form of new atheism that came about ten-plus years ago. The form of new atheism McGrath wrote about could be described as demeaning, snobbish, and criticizing. New Atheism sought to ridicule all those against its underlying belief that

to Aslan, “Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good” (p.86). Before we interpret the meaning behind the statement Mr. Beaver makes I think it is important to establish an understanding of who Aslan is intended to be perceived as within the story. Alister McGrath tells us in C. S. Lewis: A life - Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet (2013) “using Aslan as God’s proxy, Lewis constructs a narrative of yearning and wistfulness, tinged with hope of ultimate fulfilment” (p.290). Here we learn that it is C.

Beyond scripture, we being to explore how the Christian faith is structured through different sources. Alister E. McGrath’s book Theology touches on salvation in a chapter. The context of this chapter on salvation talks highly about Jesus and His death and resurrection. Salvation in the Christian religious is dignified because of Jesus. Unlike other religions, Jesus did not just die for our sins, but He rose three days after His crucifixion. Aside from Jesus’ death and resurrection, He also provided

THE REASONS FOR AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ECUMENICAL COUNCILS OF THE CHURCH Ioana Handaric Course: History of Christian Theology - 1 Professor: Otniel Bunaciu TCMI Institute Heiligenkreuz, Austria 2017 The reasons for and the importance of the ecumenical councils of the church The Ecumenical councils of the church have played a crucial role in defining its creeds and dogmas. They are among the “turning points” of the history of Christianity. The definition of Christian doctrines

Back in the fifteenth century to question the Catholic Church’s authority and correctness on the Gospel was to rebel against God. Yet, that is what Martin Luther did; he set out to challenge the belief of the Catholic Church at the time. He made a bold decision to declare the Church was wrong and was ostracized from the Church. After struggling with the idea of righteousness, he came to the belief that justification and salvation comes from God’s gift of grace, which alone must be accepted through

In response to the Protestant Reformation, between the years of 1545-1563, the people of Trent constructed a council known as the Council of Trent. The main, intended purpose of the Council of Trent was to influence Protestants to return to the Catholic Church. The Catholics were determined to redefine the concepts of Catholicism in order to make them clearer than before, in hopes that this would make the Catholic Church more appealing. These actions created another movement that occurred during

Most research on religion or spirituality measures how important religion or spirituality is to a person. However, religious beliefs and feelings can be very different among people who say religion is important to them. For some people, faith is based on compassion, forgiveness, and unity of all people. For others, religious faith focuses on fear of punishment and guilt. I could find no established questionnaires to measure these important dimensions of religious faith. In order to explore these

“When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”. Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this impossible, but with God all things are possible.” ( Holy Bible: New International Version) This verse from chapter 19 of Matthew showed when the disciples questioned how it was possible to get into the kingdom of Heaven. They wondered how a man could give up all of his possessions and give it all to God to be accepted into the Kingdom of Heaven. As Christians

The quick appeal of intelligent design to theism has made natural scientists, like Alister McGrath to heavily criticize the inability of the Anthropic Principle to make new conversions to theism. McGrath argued that the Anthropic Principle is meant for a theistic worldview since it sounds apologetic due to an assumption that its proponents hold the some theistic values. Darwin, in the Origin

The catalyst of the English Reformation was quite different than that which occurred in the European mainland. Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, and others, driven by theological convictions birthed in the universities, sought moral, spiritual, and theological reform within the Catholic Church; the English Reformation on the other hand, began in state affairs, more specifically with “the problem of succession to the royal throne.” In an effort to keep ties with Spain strong and to retain the widow’s fortune

Elmer Davis once said, “This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.” War is something that has been happening for hundreds, even thousands of years. It has been fought for many reasons. Reasons like showing dominance, conquering territory, for love, and even for reasons to simply help other countries. One question that has been brought up over time too, is the question on whether or not religious people, more specifically, Christians, should be allowed

In his book, Why I Write, George Orwell states that there are “four great motives for writing,” the fourth of which is a “desire to push the world in a certain direction, to alter other peoples’ idea of the kind of society that they should strive after” (5). C. S. Lewis certainly exhibits no exception to that rule in The Magician’s Nephew. Written in the 1950s, The Magician’s Nephew addresses a generation poised on the cusp of an era encouraging a revolutionary new way of thinking—pursue self-gratification