A2 Religious Std Authorship of the Fourth Gospel
A2 Religious Std - Authorship of the Fourth Gospel "The author of the Fourth Gospel must have been someone who knew Jesus." Examine and evaluate. (30 marks) The authorship of the Fourth Gospel is much of an enigma, as Marsh suggested, "The identity of the author must remain wrapped in anonymity". Whilst it is difficult to establish the actual author of the Gospel; through the use of internal and external evidence backed up by scholarly views we might be able to agree on our broader position of whether or not the author must have been someone who knew Jesus. We must also decide on the criteria on which to classify someone to have known Jesus. The traditional view claims the author to be an apostle, therefore includes "the disciple Jesus loved", which is believed to be John (the son of Zebedee) although some suggests it could have been Lazarus or Mary Magdalene. Nevertheless, if it were to have been written by "the disciple Jesus loved", the author would have been someone who knew Jesus. There are various strong external evidences (i.e. implied and indirect evidence which cannot be quoted from the bible) pointing in favour of the Gospel authorship being an apostle, someone who knew Jesus. Smalley points to one of Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons' work Against Heresies where Irenaeus personally states that the "witness" behind the Fourth Gospel was "John the disciple of Lord".
discrimination and the treatment of women
Does the present treatment of women reflect the mind of Jesus? Christians try to follow the example of Jesus. In my essay I have been asked to investigate whether the present treatment of women reflects the mind of Jesus. This is a difficult question to answer because different churches and Christians have different approaches. It is difficult to define what constitutes sexism. But it is also an important issue because sexism is against the law. There are many biblical passages to clarify it in the Old and New Testament. There are many issues of equality which come up. There are ways in which discrimination against women is being challenged in the churches today. In November 1992 women were ordained for the first time. Other people have tried to change the language Christians use to challenge discrimination also. For example Janet Morley in the SPCK Book of Christian prayer has included a prayer which starts, "God our mother You hold our life within you Nourish us at your breast And teach us to walk alone" This is a classic example whereby God is being referred to as a mother. Janet Morley is clearly here emphasising the point that men and women are equal. At the same time there is evidence of discrimination against women. For example in the Catholic Church women are forbidden to be priests, read the gospels out loud, listen to confessions and pardon sins in all
Is Aristotles concept of a Prime Mover the same as the Judeo-Christian Concept of God?
Is Aristotle's concept of a Prime Mover the same as the Judeo-Christian Concept of God? The definition of the "Prime Mover" as said on www.thefreedictionary.com is - "The self-moved being that causes all motion", he is also eternal and never changing. The definition of God as defined by www.thefreedictionary.com is - "A being conceived as the perfect, omnipotent, omniscient originator and ruler of the universe, the principal object of faith and worship in the monotheistic religions." Primarily they both lead to the "creation" of the universe however they achieved this in different ways. The Judeo-Christian God created the universe from nothing (creatio ex nihilo). Aristotle also argued that nothing existed before the Prime Mover started the chain of causes. Judeo-Christian God is an intelligent designer who crafts a purposeful world (e.g. one purpose of man is to rule over the animals and the planet). Aristotle also believed the universe was a purposeful (teleological) place: individual objects have a "final cause" (e.g. chairs = sitting). The Judeo-Christian God is immaterial. Creation is an `act of will`. God creates through his Word ("Let there be light") or Spirit. Aristotle`s Prime Mover is also seen as immaterial. However he only started the "chain" he does not craft the world like God. The Judeo Christian God is seen in Genesis 1 as a transcendent God. It is the
Life after death and problem of evil
Life after death solves the problem of evil. Discuss. The problem of evil is how can an omnipotent, omnibenevolent and omniscient God exist in the face of both moral and natural evil? One theory proposed to defend classical theism is the existence of a life after death. If evil can be justified through punishment and eternal gain, surely there is no problem? There are however, many problems with this argument with criticisms come extensively from non-Christians. The best way to analyse if life after death does solve the problem of evil is to look at it on the basis of two variables: the existence of life after death, the existence of evil and how the three main views combining these variables would answer this question. For a life after death to solve the problem of evil, both must exist. This is an assumption with little proof beyond that of faith, which is why it often only appeals to Christians. Augustine was a key believer in both, he believed that on judgement day those who had sinned would go to hell and those who had not would go to heaven. For him this was enough to justify why evil existed, as for those who had faced such would be rewarded in heaven and the persecutors would be punished. Many problems arise with this argument, specifically can you attribute moral evil to man holding him responsible for his actions? There exists in the world of both science and
Descartes logically proved the existence of an infinite and truthful being - Discuss.
In Descartes' Meditations, Descartes logically proved the existence of an infinite and truthful being. The Holy Bible describes God, our creator. I plan to compare the logically proven infinite being (God) and the Biblical God and see if their traits mirror each other. If they do then it would prove, if not give strong evidence, that they are one in the same. First I will restate Descartes' proof of an infinite and truthful being. P1- Ideas are internal, external, or innate. P2- The idea of infinity is not internal. P3- The idea of infinity is not external. P4- The idea of infinity is therefore innate. P5- Any cause must be greater than or equal to its effect. P6- An infinite being is the cause of the idea of infinity. P1-P6 proves that their exists an infinite being. P7- Established is an infinite, truthful being. Since it's infinite, then it's infinitely wise. In Plato's The Republic, Socrates proved that a Wiseman would be Just. Therefore, an infinite being would be infinitely just. So if the Bible is truth, and the Biblical God exists, then God would be infinitely wise and just as well. Following this logic, everything God carries out in the Bible must follow the guidelines of Justice. If there is an instance where God displayed an act of injustice, it proves at least the prophet to be false. I have not inspected every line in the Bible nor do I plan to. But I will go over
The Ideas of Hell and Purgatory: A Wide Shift from Then to Now.
Natalie Lupo Lupo 1 Mrs. Ponikvar Honors/ AP English I, Period 3 November 25, 2003 The Ideas of Hell and Purgatory: A Wide Shift from Then to Now "Hell has probably caused more personal anxiety and distress than any other Christian belief. Hell has also motivated many Christians to follow the Great Commission and attempt to convert the world to Christianity" ("Various Views of Hell: As seen by Conservative Christians"). The word "hell" derives from the Pagan Norse Queen of the Underworld, Hel. When Christianity first evolved, the church taught that nearly everyone descended to this similar place to earth after dying. Included in this belief were the Pagan Gods and Goddesses from the Middle East, Rome, Greece, and the Germanic and Celtic tribes. Nevertheless, hell was commonly envisioned based on an ancient Jewish perspective, where "the wicked were separated from the righteous, and thrown into a large burning trash dump called Gehenna" (Graham). From the beginning, the church sought to get rid of this Old Testament idea which made the church less appealing. Hence, the once harsh idea of hell and purgatory has lightened with the times. Christian views in the second and third centuries suggested that faith in a "Higher God" was the only requirement for getting into heaven ("The Afterlife: Ancient Christian Beliefs"). Most people, however, were sent directly to
How have scholars attempted to resolve the problem of the Dating and Authorship of Luke: Acts.
How have scholars attempted to resolve the problem of the Dating and Authorship of Luke: Acts. The problem of anonymous authorship and speculative dating is common to all of the New Testament texts. Added to this is the problem of authenticity in that the Church would have been inclined to ascribe the name of the text to someone with authority in the Church. The authenticity factor sheds light on the selection process of the twenty-seven Christian writings that compile the New Testament Canon. We must bear in mind that these writings are not wholly representative of contemporary literature and that there were many Apocphoral writings that were not integrated along with Luke:Acts. This can be explained either because of a lack of reliability of the content and in particular - the question of orthodoxy which would determine whether the writing would be of interest to the wider Church as a whole. Primarily however - issues of authorship are related to the value the early Church would have placed on a piece of work. For example, the authorship of the Hebrew letters is considered very hazy but the work is acknowledged because it is thought to supply the early Church with useful material. Added to these uncertainties is the possibility that the writing could have been re-worked at a later date and consequently sole authorship cannot be attributed. Scholars also occupy themselves
The beliefs Christians hold about their moral responsibility for those at the beginning and the end of their lives.
AO1 - Explain the beliefs Christians hold about their moral responsibility for those at the beginning and the end of their lives. The debate surrounding the emotional, highly controversial and political issue of the sanctity of human life exists both inside and outside the church. Despite the different interpretations of beliefs on this issue, all Christians hold three main, similar beliefs. Firstly all Christian doctrines hold the simple view that human life is sacred, they hold the belief that humans were made in the image of God and are therefore distinct from all other forms of life. "Let us make human beings in our image and likeness." (Genesis 1:26). Secondly, Genesis then goes on stating how God created human life so that they can exercise stewardship; another firm Christian belief. "The Lord God put the man into the Garden of Eden to care for it" (Genesis 2:15). Thirdly the Christian faith is also in agreement that, as a Christian, one is called by God to love one another no matter what the circumstance. "Love your neighbour.... (and) love your enemies" (Mathew 5:43). Throughout history, Christians have exercised their belief in stewardship by giving knowledge, time, wealth and love to those in need. For example, in England, the first orphanages were founded in the middle of the 19th century by George Muller; a devout Christian. At the same time William Booth
Death and What Next?
Jaime Garrett 10MB Death and What Next? A living human can only be one hundred percent sure of one thing, that is that there is life on Earth. Although there is believed to be an afterlife some people may think that the idea of an afterlife has been made up to make people feel easier about death. In a way I believe that this is both true and false. I think that often an afterlife is spoken about to comfort the emotions of people but I do believe that there is an afterlife in heaven. The one, most definite thing is that you will die. Some people believe that the person you are during your life determines whether you will go to heaven or hell and this is decided by a supreme power. Suggestions say that the 'Afterlife' gives justice for what has happened in a person's earthly life. Most religions believe that something happens to us after we die, for Christians our destination after death is Heaven or Hell whereas in the Old Testament of Judaism, Jews believed in a place called 'Sheol' meaning 'Pit or 'Grave' The basic principles of life after death for the Christian Faith is that if you have had a 'Good' life on earth then you will enter heaven but if you have had a 'Bad' life on earth then you will surely go too hell. But what about Salvation? Salvation is the confession of sins even at the very last moment. This would mean that as long as a Christian confessed his sins
Christian Aid is a charity, a company, and an aid to those in less developed countries than our own
Describe The Work Of One Agency Working For World Development "We Believe in Life Before Death." This is Christian Aid's Motto; Christian Aid is a charity, a company, and an aid to those in less developed countries than our own. It is one of many charitable based organisations that works on many projects set up to improve the lifestyles of the people in these country's. Justice and compassion are principles, which Christian Aid has; they are closely linked to many Churches and other organisations run by Christians. Though this maybe so they give aid to whoever needs it regardless of religion, race or culture. They help people in less developed countries to gain more water, food and money than they have at this moment in time. They believe that everyone should have a fair share of the world's resources. Christian Aid began just after World War II helping those who had found themselves homeless; this small group later became an organisation, which helps 60 different countries, with an approximate of £40 million pounds going to help these causes. The £40 million pounds goes out to the many different issues and problems, which Christian Aid face daily in their fight to help solve the troubles that are based highly in less developed countries. One of these problems is the increase of HIV affected people in these stricken countries. Worldwide there are 40 million people