Gnostic writings of Jesus portray him as a heavenly redeemer made less of flesh than of spirit. The emphasis of Jesus' importance is not on his physical humanness but rather, on his ability to show people the way to the kingdom. Jesus put on flesh in order to give people gnosis and reveal to the...

Since prehistoric times, human beings have believed in the existence of a reality greater than themselves that serves as a definer and creator of cultures, and as an antidote to the fragility and apparent finality of human existence (Coogan 1998). Each major religion generally recognizes an individ...

I am attempting to write one coherent essay discussing questions three and two. I propose to first characterize the opposing views of the savior in Gnosticism and in Orthodoxy. Secondly, I will compare the Valentinian and classic Gnostics in how they differ and how the Gospel of Truth exemplifi...

Martin Luther. Martin Luther was born in Eisleben, Germany, the son of Hans Luther, who worked in the copper mines, and his wife Margarethe. He went to school at Magdeburg and Eisenach, and entered the University of Erfurt in 1501, graduating with a BA in 1502 and an MA in 1505. His father wish...

An explicit religious inclination is an experience that expresses itself through the realm of myths. It does not reveal stories that are not true, but rather the truth embodies the myths in a different manner from the doctrines of theology or philosophy. A personal religious experience is the teachi...

The Sermon on the Mount The Sermon on the Mount is one of Jesus' most quoted, and most referenced teachings. The Sermon, a guideline to Christian behavior, worship, and spirituality, is found in the Gospel According to Matthew, chapters 5, 6, and 7. The sermon is broken into a vast array of ideol...

Prayer and meditation have always formed the core of the mystical life, but they have all too often been left in the realm of the "vowed" adherents, the monks, the priests, and such, other than for that occasional gathering in church or other event. Meditation and prayer are probably humanity's mo...

Bible 301 Our English word Bible comes from the Greek word Biblos, which means "book." In theology a study of the Bible is called bibliology. While the word Bible simply means "book" the words "The Bible" distinguish it as the supreme, unique and incomparable Holy Bib...

HOW ANIMISTIC BELIEFS AND PRACTICES EMERGED IN MODERN RELIGIONS Animism is the doctrine which places the source of mental and even physical life in an energy independent of or at least distinct from the body. Animism can be divided into three categories: Worship of the souls of men and animals, ...

Resurrection It is quite incredulous, as a believer in Christ, to identify with anyone who does not perceive that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is real. It has therefore become the believer's reasonable service of duty to explain the resurrection and to assure the understanding that the re...

Is there life after death? This question has been asked since the beginning of civilization and I believe will never be answered. Immortality is the un-ending existence of the soul after physical death. The doctrine of immortality is common to many religions. In different cultures, however, it takes...

Nietzsche's unpublished essay "On Truth and Lies in an Unmoral Sense" was regarded by some scholars as a keystone in his thought. He rejects the idea of universal constants, and claims that what we call "truth" is only "a mobile army of metaphors, metonyms, and anthropomorphisms. His view is not...

Christianity and communication can never be separated, because the essence of religion itself is communication between man and God. While some religions hold that the gods were discovered like historical artifacts, Christianity holds that the first humans, Adam and Eve, were in direct communicatio...

Religion and psychology, thought by many to be two totally separate areas of discipline and human fulfillment, can be found to have a meeting point in the ancient Hebrew Tales of the Hasidim for healing and helping; in fact the word Hasidim itself has its origins in the Hebrew word hasid, which mean...

Dogging Dogma "It's not what you have faith in, it's just that you have faith," says Serendipity, a character in the movie Dogma. The film is about two angels, Loki and Bartleby, who have been kicked out of heaven and sentenced to live for the rest of eternity in Wisconsin. So...

Rise of Gnosticism October 3, 2001 In the beginning of the second century the early church was forced to take a stance so as to justify their very existence. With Gnosticism on the rise and already posing as a threat that would confuse the public as to who the Church was and what they stood f...

1. If Gnosticism had succeeded in implanting its own distinctive ideas into Christian thought, Christian theology would be different in many fundamental ways. Because Christian theology has a strong foundation insofar as its teachings are concerned, the very structure and nature of Christian t...

The Lutheran and Calvinist Reformations are very similar in principle. Martin Luther and John Calvin hold that not mere abuses of the Roman Catholic Church need correcting, but that the Catholic Church itself is wrong in principle. I will discuss the platforms from which religious revolutionaries Lu...

Contents Page Page 1.0 Introduction 2 2.0 Methodology 3 2.1 Primary Resources 3 2.2 Secondary Resources 3 2.3 Interviews 3 2.4 Report on Local Community 3 3.0 Body of Report 4 3.1 Narrative Dimension 4-5 3.2 Stances within the Ministerial Pr...

The Patristic period in the history of the church range from 100 to about 500 AD. During this period the church suffered severe persecution and from this period of persecutions she developed a theology that carried her up to this century. So this essay is going to discuss the persecution, reasons fo...

1. When discussing the concept of religious forgiveness, it is necessary to look at the two dimensions the concept has in every religion, i.e. human and divine. In the Catholic tradition, the forgiveness of God is received through repentance in conjunction with the Body of Christ. Sins are confesse...

According to the Catholic Church, every Catholic, through the sacrament of Baptism, "is freed from sin and reborn." Through the first sacrament of baptism and immersion, all individual members of the Catholic Church engage in the act of becoming members of Christ. Baptism enables an adh...

Maria Jaoudi, author of the book, Christian Mysticism: East and West is a powerful reminder of the Christian mystical tradition. Jaoudi writes the book in which she "attempts to elaborate on the spiritual aspects of a sometimes forgotten Christian tradition that contains within its label of Eas...

Jesus of Nazareth shares meaning and value with other great historical influences of time such as Buddha. They are both categorized as great moral teachers who continue to influence even after death. They share similarities and differences at birth, during the time of their lives, and at death. T...

The Bible on Abortion It is said that the Bible remains silent on the issue of abortion, but both the Old and New Testaments can be sited supporting the morality of the issue, contrary to the Catholic views. This stance of the bible can be drawn based on the language used in the text and also the v...