C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters offers many interesting and sometimes controversial theological views on a diverse number of topics. While most all of the topics are of at least some interest, certain topics are of particularly greater interest, prompting the reader to question Lewis’s theories and consider the views offered by the world, the bible, and in some cases, science. When the inquiring mind probes these different fields, they will find that they differ almost religiously, often to the point of being complete opposites. However, the Christian reader finds truth only in one of these sources, that being the bible, the very word of God. Therefore to find whether author C.S. Lewis’s theological views are sound and to be trusted, or to scoff at, Christian readers will turn to the word of God for answers. After doing so, the reader will find that C.S. Lewis gives great insight and clarity on the theological issues of purity, love, and marriage. C.S. Lewis talks about these three closely related topics in The Screwtape Letters mainly over the span of three letters. In a way he works in a backwards fashion through these topics, starting first with marriage, then leading on to love, and ending the three linked topics with purity. The human life from teenager to adult often follows a pattern of first struggling with sexual purity, eventually falling in love, and then possibly resulting in marriage; thus this is the route this essay will follow. Unfortunately, the proof for Lewis’s soundness in his statements lies scattered across many different verses, chapters, and books of the bible. Luckily for the reader, however, these proofs have been compiled in this (hopefully) clear cut essay.…
...but every study of the gods, of everyone's gods, is a revelation of vengeance toward the innocent. (This is a part of my particular faith that meets with opposition from my Congregationalist and Episcopalian and Anglican friends.) Foul Ball, Page 7.…
Religion is one of the great unifying forces in the world today, as millions of people around the world are connected by their shared religious beliefs. Of the world’s religions, the three Abrahamic religions are the most prevalent worldwide, unifying the most people under a single religious canon, however these religions can also be homes of hatred for followers taking scripture too literally. For many religious traditionalists, the lines of gender identity and sexuality are drawn in stone in the early chapters of the Bible and the Torah. They feel the need to impose those lines on everyone regardless of how ill-fitting the definitions may be. Authors, Joy Ladin, and Jeannette Lee, in their respective works, explore these exclusive definitions and how these texts can be redefined to serve a greater role in perpetuating…
Lehi: Prophet Lehi and his son Nephi, escape from Jerusalem, build a boat, and sail to “promised land” of America ca. 600 BC., sail to mormon region Nephi: son of Lehi Laman: son of Lehi 33 AD encounter Jesus 570 Nephites and Lamanites 400 AD Nephites killed off except moroni and mormon, become dark skinned Mormon writes down one two sets of golden plates, writes history, plate of nehi, plates of Lehi, when scribe loses first batch joseph smith translated from lehi, corrupted from satan, god wants me to translate from plates of lehi Mormon (3 meanings) ● Latter day saint ● mormon-person ● place Moroni: ● Moroni dies and becomes an angel tasked with guarding the plates ● Moroni reveals the location of the plates to Joseph Smith ● 2nd vision comes from the angel of moroni Joseph Smith: ● Dec 23,1805- June 27, 1844 (murdered, 38 years old) ● In 1820 during a revival, receives vision from God & jesus (distinct persons) that “all denominations are false” (Mt. 15:8, 2 Tim 3:5) ● Smith is seen as restoring the true church from current corruption ● 2nd vision comes in 1823 from the angel Moroni directing Smith to the location of the golden plates, along with Urim and Thummim (Exodus 28:30) ● 4 years later, Smith translates the Book of Mormon using the Urim & Thummim ● Book of Mormon goes on sale in 1830 ● Biography- pearl of great price Brigham Young ● President of the 12 Apostles ● Convinced many that the rightful successor ● Relocates LDS to Salt Lake City, Utah Gold plates (2 sets): Lehi and Nephi Urim & Thummim ● 2nd vision comes in 1823 from the angel Moroni directing Smith to the location of the golden plates, along with Urim and Thummim (Exodus 28:30) ● 4 years later, Smith translates the Book of Mormon using the Urim & Thummim Book of Mormon: ● A historical account of the Nephite people and Christ’s appearance to them ● Subtitles “Another Testament of Jesus Christ” in 1982 to clarify the role of the savior in the book ●…
There are hundreds of functional literacies. They can range from brain surgeons to plumbers and despite the popular misconception, they are all valuable. It sometimes takes deep self-examination to realize the things you are literate in. Through my own personal analysis, I have isolated the literacy that shapes my life, character, and goals: religion.…
The antebellum south was built on the success of cotton. Cotton is a fiber used in many products, such as fabric and paper. Throughout the 1790's, the production of tobacco declined because of soil depletion and diminishing value; simultaneously, in Europe the fabric industry was growing, creating an international demand for cotton clothing ("The Cotton Economy and Slavery"). When Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, this provided the South with the machinery for the expansion in the global economy and also brought back slavery.…
There are many different religions in the world but they all seem to have at least one thing in common. This unique aspect in similarity is the relationship that can be established with the divine being if we choose to follow or lead in their way of life. Many religions seem to establish the idea that God or gods are here to guide us through our lives as our supreme rulers and enforcers of the law. But, in contrast the presence of a divine spirit is to give man the final decision on the choices he must make to continue in a path of righteousness. The relation of god and man in western religion is denoted by the freedom of choice given to him by God. God gives every man the freedom to choose him or reject him; he permits mankind to be tempted by sin in order to challenge the loyalty they have for their supreme.…
Every culture throughout history has unique aspects in their social, political, and cultural values. Jewish and Zoroastrian people are culturally very similar in their belief of one god and one faith but they differ in social aspects because of the way they deal with sinners and there respect towards other living things. The Jewish people have the Torah or Old Testament which is the law code and beliefs of the Jewish people. The Zoroastrian people have the Avesta which consists of twenty two Fargards that explain the principles of Zoroastrian beliefs.…
The extraneous forces (Archons) through psychological sorcery, cast spells of misconception in the minds of Humanity. Here confrontation confronts an enigma of cosmic proportions. Where would these weird entities be situated in this evolutionary plot of Sophia mythos? Are they to be regarded as real entities, a species of their own or a non-terrestrial one? What is their relation to Gaia/Earth the intelligence of the biosphere? And how do the Archons in turn relate to Humanity? Gnostics explored these questions in a sober and consistent way. Gnostic seers had to be skilled in non-ordinary reason to interpret the experiences they underwent in states of heightened perception. Not everything in the cosmos or in the human psyche can be reduced to rational terms. The point is to bring sane and sober understanding to aspects of human experience that lie beyond the limits of ordinary sense and perception; do not expect the inquiry into the Archons to be rational, at least not in the ordinary sense of rationality.…
The term “religiosity” was used by social scientists in order to indicate the extent, commitment, devotion and faithfulness of a person’s participation and practice of his or her religion (Gay and Lynxwiler, 2013). According to Ayenibiowo and Ayeni (2013), religiosity, in its narrowest sense, deals more with how religious an individual is and less with how religious an individual in terms of ritual, symbols and doctrines. On the other hand, religiosity, in its broadest sense, is a multifaceted construct pertaining to various religious activities, devotions and beliefs.…
Jehovah's Witnesses get their name from Jehovah, which is English version of the name given for God in the Hebrew Scriptures. The word Witnesses is taken from the passage in Isaiah 43:10 “Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord..." Jehovah's Witnesses are a high strength religious group that requires a major obligation from its associates. Witnesses now have approximately six million publishers and pioneers in more than 75,000 congregations in over 200 nations. There are approximately one million Jehovah's Witnesses in the U.S., and just over 100,000 in Canada. They have also expanded extensively throughout Europe and Russia. They account for less than 1% of the population of all other nations in the world with populations over 50 million. . (Religious Tolerance)…
viewpoint, Guroian argues that a same-sex union cannot be tolerated as part of the holy…
Jehovah's Witnesses are a people known widely throughout the world. They are well-dressed people who come knocking at your door on different occasions offering religious literature for sale or trying to introduce their beliefs through carefully prepared conversation. People young, old, rich, poor, well educated and non-educated have embraced them. Their enthusiasm as proclaimers of God's Kingdom has impressed even their harshest critics. Their love toward one another makes some non-witnesses hope and pray that more people would act in that manner. Yet, some may still wonder, who really are the Jehovah's Witnesses? What is their history, their practices and their beliefs? Why are they the most attacked new religious group today? Even many former group members have written books or created web sites that project a negative perspective on the Jehovah's Witnesses. Due to the fact that this group has such a large following, it is not surprising that they would be attacked or their faith be denounced. It has been proven that the bigger in numbers of a group, the more controversial the group, and the larger the tension between them and society. Also, the more individuals who belong to a group, the more individuals there are who will denounce that faith and become active apostates. These apostates publish books and establish web sites proclaiming the wickness of the group to whose teachings they once adhered. When looking at it with this point of view, it seems natural that the Jehovah's Witnesses would be heavily criticized. However, the fierceness of attack is still frightening. My thesis is that based on the questionable characteristics and backgrounds of the Jehovah's Witnesses leaders and teachings, this criticism are not unfounded. Information on the teaching of the religion and the leaders themselves can be found in the following books: Jehovah's Witnesses, Teachings of Jehovah Witnesses, Crisis of Conscience, What You Need to…
At a glance, the epic of Gilgamesh, the Iliad and the Aeneid are some of the greatest works of literature pertaining to violence and its effects on the societies from which they’re derived from. In fact, these three works of literature are meant to teach the audience a lesson about what sin does to people all around the world. For this reason, the epics travel so well into the 21st century. We all can feel how sin pollutes our life. The sin of sexual desire hits us all at our core and tries to break down the barriers of our faith. Sexual desire itself is not sinful, when used in marriage. However, when sexual desire causes catastrophic effects and pollutes our everyday living, it becomes dangerously sinful. Which is gratified in these three epics. Consequently, the sin of sexual desire in Gilgamesh, the Iliad and Aeneid ultimately leads to the humiliation of…
Rather than adducing biblical texts, theological doctrines, or spiritual laws as their highest authorities, however, both Grotius and Selden offered a natural law account of these main features of sex, marriage, and family life. Grotius believed that biblical laws and natural laws on the family coincided on many points, but that the Bible imposed stricter sexual morality. Polygyny, concubinage, and no-fault divorce were all readily permissible under the natural law, Grotius thought. It took “the law of Christ” to render such behavior sinful, even reprehensible. Selden saw less divergence between biblical law and natural law. Polygyny and concubinage were well known in the Old Testament, he pointed out, and those practices might find an equitable…