English 2/21/17

 

Compare Paul’s concept of God’s sovereignty in Romans 9:1-23 with Justin’s concept of God’s sovereignty in Chapter XLIII: RESPONSIBILITY ASSERTED

Justin Martyr was an early  Christian apologist. Many of his works are no longer surviving, but two dialogues and two apologies remain. His most well known work is the First Apology. The First Apology was written in the mid second century, aimed to provoke the ruling emperor, Antoninus Pius. The First Apology served a dual purpose, to defend Christian philosophy and to encourage fellow Christians. Throughout the First Apology, Justin invoked reason, justice, and Old Testament prophecies to prove the legitimacy of Christianity. For the majority of the First Apology, Justin was able to defend Christianity while remaining entirely biblically sound, but in chapter forty-three, Justin directly contradicted a portion of the Bible.

In Romans chapter nine, Paul discussed God’s supreme authority over the actions of man. Paul stated that the future does not depend on human desire or effort, but on God’s mercy (Romans 9:14-16). In Romans 9:11, Paul recalled the story of Jacob and Esau and used it to prove God’s power to predestinate by saying, “for though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works but because of Him who calls.” Contrarily, Justin reasons in chapter forty-three of his First Apology that humans do have the power to change their future in this statement; “For not like other things, as trees and quadrupeds, which cannot act by choice, did God make man: for neither would he be worthy of reward or praise did he not of himself choose the good, but were created for this end; nor, if he were evil, would he be worthy of punishment, not being evil of himself, but being able to be nothing else than what he was made.” Romans chapter nine was very clear on the matter of predestination, so it is odd that Justin rejected it so directly.

As already established, Justin explicitly refuted a portion of the Bible. For a Christian writer to do this, the question of motives must be posed. Either Justin himself did not agree with Paul’s thoughts in Romans chapter nine, or he thought that his argument would be better accepted by Antoninus if he switched that position. The latter seems most likely. Justin was desperate for Antoninus to respect Christianity and it’s followers, so desperate that he may have purposely contradicted the Bible. Sadly, Justin would never live to see if his letter made a difference in the world of Christianity because he was martyred for his faith by Marcus Aurelius (Antoninus’ son) in 165.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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History 2/21/17

1. What was the Great Schism? What factors brought it on?

The Great Schism of 1054 was a division between Christianity in the East (centered around Constantinople) and Christianity in the West (centered around Rome). Several problems including differences in liturgy and language brought on the split, but the main issue involved the church in Constantinople and their  attempts to advance their authority in the Church. Throughout the years, the balance of the Holy Roman Empire had begun to shift away from Rome and toward Constantinople. Prior to this shift in power, the Emperor Constantine had dubbed Constantinople the “new Rome”. Due to both the political shift and the prestigious title of “new Rome”, those who belonged to the Church in Constantinople began to think that they should have just as much religious authority as the Roman church. The church in Rome disapproved of Constantinople’s claim to authority, but as time went on, Constantinople gained greater power and dominance over the other patriarchates in the East, which further divided them from the church in Rome. The churches allied with Constantinople called themselves the Eastern Orthodox Churches, and the Western churches who coincided with the church in Rome kept the name “Roman Catholic Church.”

2. What are the sacraments? 

In the Roman Catholic Church, the sacraments were physical signs of God’s invisible grace. These “physical signs” were performed by the Church so that their souls would be cleansed by God’s sanctifying grace. There were seven sacraments: baptism, penance, Holy Communion, matrimony, holy orders, extreme unction, and the sacrament of confirmation.

3. What is an indulgence?

An often misunderstood practice of the Roman Catholic Church was called indulgences. Catholics believed there were two types of sin; eternal and temporal. The sacrament of penance cancels the eternal punishment, but the temporal punishment still remains. To eliminate this temporal punishment, the a Catholic priest would assign a sort of “chore” (reciting a certain prayer, reading a certain excerpt of the Bible, etc.) called an indulgence. Once the penitent sinner completed the “chore”, the sin was completely forgiven.

 

 

 

History 2/14/17

1. What were the problems besetting the Church in the tenth and eleventh centuries? What was “moderate reform”?

In the tenth and eleventh centuries, the Church fell into lay control. Lay control gave the King the power to elect the Pope, bishops, and clergyman of the church, even if the King himself wasn’t an active member of the Church. The problem with lay control was that the King didn’t always have the best intentions for the Church in mind, rather he elected clergy who held favorable political stances so that there would be no conflict between church and state.

Several Popes and church leaders tried to put an end to lay control, until Pope Gregory VII was finally successful in the late eleventh century. Before then, two reforms attempted to minimize lay control, moderate reform and radical reform. Moderate reform took place under Pope Leo IX in the mid eleventh century. Pope Leo issued a document called the Collection of 74 Tiles which focused on papal authority, and confirmed the powers of the papacy. He also demanded that  the laymen choose “good men” as clerical candidates.

2. Describe the events that took place during the conflict between Pope Gregory VII and Henry IV. What was at stake?

When Pope Gregory took office in office in 1073, one of the main issues he took a stance against was lay investiture. Lay investiture was similar to lay control (the government electing the Pope, bishops, and clergyman of the church) but with an added element: the bishops and abbots elected were bestowed with a scepter, ring, and staff. When Pope Gregory took issue with this unbiblical tradition, King Henry was ready to fight him about it. Pope Gregory held a council in 1075 and demanded that the church officials who had been invested in by laymen be deposed, and that the laymen who had been doing the investing be excommunicated. King Henry ignored the Pope’s command and went ahead and appointed church officials to many churches. Pope Gregory responded my excommunicating and deposing King Henry!

In 1077, King Henry begged on his hands and knees to Pope Gregory for his excommunication to be lifted, and it was. After his excommunication was lifted, instead of changing his ways, Henry sought the men who had wronged him and killed them. Disturbed by this, Pope Gregory excommunicated Henry once again, only this time the King overpowered Pope Gregory and forced him into exile in Rome.

This conflict between the church and state changed the position of the church forever. If it hadn’t been for Pope Gregory, the state would have continued it’s abuse of power over the church, and Christians wouldn’t have had the liberty to align themselves with the church.

3. What was Christendom?

Christendom was the worldwide society of Christians who worked together in assuring that each and every Christian church operated biblically with knowledgeable leaders.

English 2/14/17

Compare the ethical behavior of Zeus with the ethical teaching of Jesus.

In ancient Greece (and for a time, Rome), the most widely held religion was Greek mythology. The belief in Greek gods appeared in both fictional writing and historical documents, and some tales from that time even attributed the founding of Rome to a god named Romulus. In Greek mythology, there are hundreds of gods which rule different emotions and objects. The most powerful god in all of Greek mythology is Zeus, the god of the sky and thunder. Although Zeus was considered the most powerful god, he was by no means omnipotent. As well as being limited in power, Zeus also did not exemplify a good or holy lifestyle. Zeus was often swayed by bribery and driven by malicious intentions. Although a god, Zeus had many evil human characteristics.

Contrarily to the Greeks, first century Christians believed that there was one, good, loving, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent God. Zeus could not claim even one of those traits. Although monotheists, Christians believe in the Holy Trinity. The Holy Trinity was the belief that there is one God in three Divine Persons; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The early Christian churches based their ministry on the teachings of Jesus Christ, who they believed was God’s Son. They believed that Jesus was both entirely God (John 10:30, Isaiah 9:6) and entirely human (John 1:14). Since he was human, Jesus battled temptations as everyone does (Matthew 4:1-11), but He did not succumb to them as Zeus did repeatedly. Instead, Jesus lived with great virtue.

In comparing Jesus with Zeus, Zeus’ behavior greatly contrasted with the ethical teachings of Jesus. For example, Jesus warned against adultery and sexual immorality (Matthew 5:27-28 and Matthew 15:19), but Zeus himself cheated on his wife, Hera, repeatedly. Jesus also commanded against murder (Matthew 19:18), but Zeus actually killed a man with a thunderbolt. Not only did Zeus commit some horrible acts himself, but he had no mercy for people who did the same, making Zeus a hypocrite. Jesus warned against hypocrisy many times (Matthew 23:23-31). Finally, instead of practicing forgiveness and repentance as Jesus did ( Matthew 9:36; Luke 3:3), Zeus punished those who wronged him violently and severely. In one instance, Zeus tied a man to a spinning wheel of fire for all eternity.

Reading about the actions of Zeus in Greek mythology in comparison to the teachings of Jesus in the gospels, it is easy to notice the difference in ethics. Jesus’ actions are recorded as being centered around love (John 15:9-17, John 13:34) but the same cannot be said for Zeus. The stark contrast of ethics had a great effect on those who practiced the two religions. Greece was constantly at war, whereas Christians practiced peace and even submission to authority (Mark 12:13-17). This comparison of Jesus and Zeus yet again serves as an example that religion has a huge impact on society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

English 2/8/17

Topic: “How were adoption and inheritance related in Paul’s thought?”

Paul was a Christian convert who wrote letters of advice and encouragement to the first century Christian churches. The letters covered a variety of topics, but a main issue he discussed was the irrelevance of the old law.

The old law, also called the old covenant or old testament, was sent from God to Moses, and it contained hundreds of specific rules for the Israelites to follow. The Old Testament is filled with stories of the Israelites disobeying and falling short of God’s commands. To bridge this gap of sin, Jesus was sent as God in the flesh to establish a new covenant for all people, not just the Israelites (Galatians 3:28). The greatest command of the new law was to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind (Luke 10:27). The Jews no longer had to observe strict food regulations and Sabbath laws, but they had been freed by Jesus’ new covenant (Galatians 5:1). For the Jews, this new covenant was a radical change from what they had lived by in the past, and it was difficult for some of them to give up their old ways and to accept the new covenant. Paul had to make it very clear that the old law was not longer applicable, and it was worth nothing to continue obeying it (Galatians 5:2-6). Paul summarized the new law by conveying that man is no longer justified by works, but by faith in God and pursuing righteousness (Galations 3:13-14, Romans 6:18).

To help illustrate the mercy of God’s new covenant, Paul used the example of adoption several times in his epistles. Ephesians 1:4-5 says, “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ.” Paul used the phrase “adoption to sonship” specifically to illustrate God as a loving and caring Father who chose to adopt everyone (Galatians 3:28) so that he could give them the gift of eternal life (John 3:16).

Paul had perfect authority to write about adoption to sonship in Christ because he had experienced it firsthand! Before being converted in Acts 9, Paul had been a violent persecutor of Christians. After Jesus entered Paul’s life, he changed his ways and became a walking example of God’s forgiveness and love (1 Timothy 1:12-16). God chose Paul to exemplify His mercy, and Paul did so by preaching the good news of adoption to sonship through Christ.

History 2/7/17

1. Describe the ninth- and tenth-century invasions. Apart from the physical destruction involved, how did they affect life in the West?

Western Europe was subjected to a series on invasions throughout the ninth and tenth centuries. The invasions began around 840 by a group of Scandinavian men called Vikings. They began by raiding the river cities and coastal areas of France. Once those areas had been obliterated, they moved inland. Along the way, the Vikings looted and enslaved the Franks, burned villages and farms, and destroyed churches and monasteries. The Frankish king was too weak politically to provide much protection from these invasions, but finally in 911, King Charles the Simple granted the Vikings an area of France called Normandy where he allowed them to rule.

While all this was happening in France, two other groups were busy invading other European countries. The Magyars targeted Germany and Northern Italy, and the Muslims plundered Spain and Africa. All the invasions finally ended by the late 10th century.

 2. Describe feudalism and manorialism.

In response to the chaos and disorder of the ninth and tenth century invasions of Western Europe, two new systems of government were practiced, manorialism and feudalism. Manorialism was the exchange of labor for protection between a Lord (owner of a large state) and his serfs (peasant workers). The serfs would work on the Lord’s land, and in return, the Lord provided them with food, lodging, and protection.

Feudalism is similar to manorialism, but with an added element. For larger manors, the Lord needed more protection for his serfs, thus, the Lord hired defenders. These defenders, called knights, got their own cottage on the Lord’s land, and were given tools and armor to train and practice with. Just like the serfs, the knights were given food and lodging in exchange for their work.

Manorialism and Feudalism are great examples of a society adapting to their circumstance when the system in place isn’t doing it’s job.