A paper submitted to Dr. Massey in partial fulfillment of the requirements for EVAN 525, Contemporary Evangelism…
Meyer, Wendel W. “The Conversion of St. Paul.” Anglican Theological Review 85, no. 1 (Winter 2003): 13–17. “One of the most potent influences in the process of Paul's conversion,” Meyer says, “arose from his indefatigable efforts to create and sustain communities of faith.” In this paper, W. Meyer talks about the importance of Paul’s faith and why his conversion matters so much. He focuses on what happened on the road to Damascus and what impact it had on Paul.…
Jonathan Edwards wrote this lecture, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” to preach to the congregation of his church during the period of Great Awakening, a time of religious revival. He knows how to persuade and uses numerous techniques to do so. In his sermons, Edward’s expressive, informative, and argumentative writing style and his use of simile, metaphor, personification, imagery, and tone creates a fearful, emotional image in the minds of his readers.…
The Next Christianity In Philip Jenkins’ article “The Next Christianity” he discusses the significant differences between the Northern and Southern bodies of the Catholic church and of Christianity as a whole. The differences between the two ideologies is made very apparent. For starters, it has a little bit to do with culture and the way Christianity was introduced to the people of the Southern countries.…
The following comments are intended to be a distillation, commentary, and reflection on the major themes of C. S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters. I hope these notes will be helpful for those charged with leading a study of the book, particularly for students or others who have had minimal theological training. Chapter comments are more extensive in the beginning because Lewis introduces themes early and tends to return to them as the book progresses. Page references are to the HarperCollins 2001 paperback edition. Chapter 1 One of Lewis’ major concerns throughout the book is the intellectual assumptions of his world. At the beginning he notes a “materialist”…
Mere Christianity is a book written by C.S. Lewis, the book has four major sections that break down the author’s, take on what Christianity is and how it may best be practiced in life. The book does not pick sides between the different denominations within Christianity, the intent of the book is to express the common views inherent in all the various denominations of Christianity, that are often forgotten in the debates about where these different sects disagree; this paper will take you through the various points that Lewis made in his logical, well-crafted centrist argument and I will explain my thoughts about what he was trying to say.…
C. S. Lewis creates Christian entities within his book due to his own coming into religion. He was not originally a religious sort of boy. He grew up in a scholarly household with his older brother, Warren, in Belfast, Northern Ireland. His parents raised him to be more in tune to the past than the present and future. They named him at birth as Clive Staples Lewis, but he picked up the nickname of “Jack”. It was long, though, until his mother’s influence was no longer felt in his life. She passed when he was ten years old, and from then on his life was turned upside-down (Edwards 1). C. S. Lewis lost himself at this time, becoming vagrant during his high school years. He gave up, until he converted to Christianity as he reached adulthood. He considered this his “greatest joy”. From there, he continued into life with an open mind, altering vocations drastically between different times in his life. There were very distinct ones, however, that his good friend and executor of his will, Owen Barfield, recalls. He considers Lewis a “distinguished Oxford literary scholar”, moat likely prevalent from his early upbringing. Barfield also says that Lewis was a “highly acclaimed author of science fiction and children’s literature, as seen through his Chronicles of Narnia series. His final and most prideful profession was a “broadcaster of Christian apologetics”, about which most of his adult novels are written (1). The author’s life story is crucial to understanding the…
Though Screwtape’s distorted views on God’s love, Lewis implies that God is “Love” that He loves people for their sake, not His, and that His love challenges people to become generous in their love. Wormwood’s “patient” is drifting dangerously deeper into Christian belief, and Screwtape advises his protege to forsake fleshly temptations and try to corrupt his spirituality. He mentions that the various interpretations of Jesus that exist in society are devilish inventions. The advantages of these constructions, which we intend to change every thirty years or so, are manifold. In the first place they all tend to direct men’s devotion to something which does not exist, for each “historical Jesus” is unhistorical. The documents say what they say and cannot be added to; each new “historical Jesus” therefore has to be got out of them by suppression at one point and exaggeration at another.…
One author is prevalent amongst all others in a fight against the established standards of the Christian faith. His strategy destabilizes the positions of many and strengthens his standpoint. Lewis's strategy starts with a simple story and then uses the elements of the story to help the reader form an opinion on an issue. This is most prevalent in his nonfiction works. C.S. Lewis wields his style of writing to convey moral truth to a modern age of people who oppose his ideas.…
After the Great War, the word was in disarray. Millions had died, and even more were wounded in some gruesome ways due to trench and chemical warfare. Many of the world’s economies were also suffering due to the depletion of resources from the war, and the reparations owed from the treaty. The Christian response to this, and other crises of the time, was quite interesting. While Henry Fosdick’s “Shall the Fundamentalists Win?” advocated less for doctrine and more towards a social gospel that Walter Rauschenbusch’s “Christianity and the Social Crisis” emphasized, Clarence MacArtney’s “Shall Unbelief Win” did not agree with Fosdick.…
6. Now, By. "C.S. Lewis: A Mere Christian." Christian Odyssey. Web. 05 Dec. 2010. .…
Religious studies and Theology are undoubtedly of invaluable effect on the life of the learner. The two studies have the mandate of transforming the overall perception to life as regards religion, personal beliefs and the philosophy of life. In this study, an array of topics were studied which in the end further enlightened on the mental conception and most interesting was the study involving the claim by Jesus that he was God. In addition to these, the course was informative and elaborates on the questions most people ask about the life of modern day Christians. Does it matter the lifestyle one adopts? Are there any procedures the church can initiate so as to communicate God 's love for the community in a manner that is not questionable and without doubt, but, remains beneficial to all Christians? Indeed, the questions are very relevant and of great importance to any present day Christian living in faith and in such hard times where confusion and…
Christians in China have a hunger for God’s Word and desire to learn more about Him. They are currently under a communist government that does not let them worship God in their own way. The government has lightened up somewhat by creating government run…
Within this paper I will be reflecting over the first part of Theology 104. This class has addressed many topics that have given me a better understanding on Christianity, the Bible and most importantly Jesus Christ. I will be addressing two topics that I feel are very important to Christianity the first topic being the Importance of Personal Testimony and the second topic covering the Importance of Maintaining a Christian Lifestyle. Both of those topics I think help lay a foundation for an individual’s walk with Christ.…
References: Cosgrove, M. (2006). Foundations of Christian thought: Faith, learning and the Christian worldview. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications. Samples, K. (2007). A world of difference: Putting Christian truth-claims to the worldview test. Dartmouth: Baker Books.…