Foundation of Christian Thought Applied Essay

If I were to sum up what I cook learned from this course it would be focused on Faith and a stark naked understanding of the Bible. Faith is non just part of religion but every aspect of our everyday lives, and is fascinatingly carried through the Bible from the originatening to the end. It began with the Creation, and go on throughout the F completely, Redemption, and performance of Christ. It is the foundation of the Christian perspective and what leads beau ideals people to salvation and good spiels. Our modern world is so corrosive to creed that savior Christ asked, When the Son of Man comes, will He really find trust on the earth? (Luke 188).He is in that respect to spread his people the gift of faith and to help them to grow in living faith that will last forever. In the beginning divinity fudge created the heaven and the earth. ( multiplication 11) In multiplication 1 we argon presented with the beginning of a elysian drama that can moreover be examined and u nderstood from the standpoint of faith. How long did it fritter away? How did it happen, exactly? No exclusivelyness can answer these questions definitively. In fact, these mysteries are non the focus of the creation story. The purpose, rather, is for moral and spiritual revelation. god was very sprightly with his creation. Six times throughout the process of creating, divinity fudge lives, observes his handiwork and says, It was very good. This is a great example of existence a part of Gods creation. crimsoningn when I feel unworthy of his pleasure, I have to remember that God made me and is pleased with me. In verse 26, God says, Let us make man in our image, in our likeness On the s hithertoth day, God rested. I often wondered if God affected to put in a day of rest for us to follow. I could not imagine God, who can do anything, being tired, but apparently he considered it important.Rest is often an un comen concept in straightaways busy, fast-paced world. It se ems to have become socially unacceptable to take an entire day to rest, yet God knew that there would need to be a time of reenergizing. I thought a good example of this could be when delivery boy, spent time al ace away from the crowds. This shows that as pitying beings we need to rest and renew our bodies, souls, and spirits. The Creation story clearly shows that God truly enjoyed himself as he created his master fix. As noted previously, he halt six times to enjoy his accomplishments.If God can stop to enjoy his handiwork, why is it so hard in todays society to stop and truly take time to feel good about our achievements? Whether it is a job, hobby, or ministry service, if the work is plea breachg to God then it should overly bring pleasure to the person. When God created man and woman, Adam and evening, he gave them many beautiful plants and trees to enjoy for food. But He also gave them one tree from which they were not to eat. This was the Tree of the experience of Good and Evil. Gods command to them was that if they ate from that tree they would die.In The Fall of Adam and eve The Bible says that the Devil entered into a serpent and tempted Eve (Genesis 31). He got Eve to doubt Gods Word. Satan told her that God knew that Eve would become enlightened and possess the same k without delayledge as God had if she ate from the growth of the tree. This is much like Satans temptation within society today. There is constant temptation lurking over peoples voicelessness that there is no need for God. This is proven by all the violence, lying, murder, war, hatred, and disobedience of the 10 Commandments. The fruit was beautiful and Satan was cunning.Eve fell to the temptation and took the fruit from the forbidden tree. Finding it delicious she took it to Adam. As soon as Adam tasted the forbidden fruit, their lives, and that of all future humanity, changed. They immediately knew they had done wrong. They disobeyed God and would be punished. I can complet ely relate to this feeling of conscience. It is amazing when I do something wrong, and know that it is wrong, how it sits in the pit of my stomach and eats away at me until I make it right. I believe that that is how it is for people with conscience.That is the souls way of notifying an individual that what they are about to do, are doing, or have done is not right in the eyes of God. When God came to visit Adam and Eve in Eden, they tried to cover their nakedness with fig leaves. Their nakedness was something they had never even noticed before. When they heard God coming they tried to hide from Him. Of course God is all knowing. He was not looking for them because He didnt know where they were, but because he wanted to give Adam and Eve a chance to return to Him and acknowledge their sin.God spoke with Adam, Eve and the serpent. Each one had a specific punishment from God. Adam was told that his work would be hard and become toilsome (Genesis 317-19). The woman would bear children with great pain (Genesis 316). The serpent was given the punishment of crawling on the ground and that he would be cursed more than any other creature (Genesis 314). God told Adam and Eve in the beginning that they would die on the day they ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. One demolition was immediate this was that they were spiritually separated from God.However, their physical bodies continued to live, but they would not live forever as God apparently intended. They would become old, sick and die. All three (Adam, Eve and the serpent) were put out of the guard and the curse came not whole on them but on the whole world. They no longer had a individualized communication with God. This is where faith really has to come into play for me. It is hard to take this all in with no proof, and yet part of me says is that not what faith is, giving ones total self to God in form, mind, and spirit. I have to be able to trust in Him wholly.This is where I need to truly work on letting go and letting God. After the Fall there was Redemption. Redemption is being set free from slavery to ones own sinful nature, slavery to the pressures of the culture which is under the spirit of this present evil age, and slavery to principalities, forefingers, and spiritual wickedness in the high places. When Cain became angry that the go he had brought to the Lord did not have the same response as the offering of his brother Abel, God spoke directly to him warning him (Gen 46-7) that sin is crouching at the door its desire is for you, but you must master it What I feel this is saying is that sin is almost like a wild animal, hold at the door of Cains life, and that it needs to be tamed and mastered. In comparison to society for all generation, this is something that is yet to be mastered. The same is certain today as it was all those years ago when an individual finds themself in a situation where they get angry because one person has more than they do, the normal response is to plot to put down the other.On some occasions this even leads to murder. There is a freedom of choice in every sin committed. blush though human beings have the resources to take authority over sin we often choose to submit our will to it and become its slave. If you yield yourselves to anyone as biddable slaves, you are the slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness (Rom 616). As Christians, we have a belief system and a life that is based upon even some laws and regulations that are Biblical.Even people who have never read the Bible and do not therefore know what God has said have a morality that they like to think that they live up to, but often fall short. I feel that Paul says it best in Romans 323 all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and that in Rom 39 we are all under the power of sin. As a human being, our greatest problem is not that we are living in captivity bu t that we will not accept that we are in captivity. Human beings need to typeface up to the reality of their dilemma and not to blaspheme upon any false hopes or ideals.Some people rely on doing good in hopes that somehow their good deeds may outweigh the evil they do, but all such arguments are lacking in a recognition of individual human responsibility, and lacking in a dependence upon the work of Christ. The dilemma, then, is not just that we subject to the bondage of sin, but that it is needed to acknowledge it before Christ who is able to minister redemption. Jesus died on the cross for us. The penalty of sin, under the Law, is both spiritual and physical death. Jesus took that death upon Himself, paying the price for our freedom.Jesus gave His life. Mark 1045 says the Son of man came to give His life as a ransom for many. Jesus had nothing else to give us but Himself. He is both our ransom and our Redeemer and, more than this, redemption is only found in Him even though we may try and find it elsewhere and in different people who now exist or who have existed throughout history (Rom 323-24, Acts 412). Because Christ has fulfilled the requirements of the Law by taking the penalty upon Himself, we can be free to look forward to the day of our death because our sin has been dealt with.Although Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for his people, it is still an ongoing task trying to figure out why individuals still behave as they do. The early chapters of Genesis helps to explain why individuals behave as they do, and to understand how we should act so as to please God. The subject of Pauls teaching in Ephesians 521-33 is that of submission in the context of marriage. Pauls instructions here create a head-on collision with the beliefs and practices of our culture.Pauls instructions are written off as the ranting of an ancient male chauvinist. It is one thing for the unbelieving world to reject Pauls instructions it is quite an another for Christians to do so. Many Christians refuse to take Pauls oral communication seriously even some of those who profess to take the Scriptures at face value, try to tip toe past certain passages in order to avoid the stigma of professing and practicing its teaching. Some individuals claim that they have not interpreted Pauls words seriously out of ignorance.Unknowingly, they believe Pauls teaching to be a mere reflection of his culture, and not a timeless teaching, independent of the culture of that day, and of our own. I believe most Christians fail to understand the responsibilities of Christian husbands and wives in the light of the biblical basis which underlies and necessitates them. For example, The Lords Supper is one of the two ordinances our Lord has given to His church in this age. As Christians we are to regularly remember the Lords death at conference and the New Testament church devoted itself to a regular observance of it.What if someone were to suggest that this was merely an ancient celebration, applicable and meaningful only to the saints of geezerhood gone by, instead of preserving this ancient ceremony, they tell us, let us do something more meaningful, more enjoyable, and more relevant to our culture. What if they suggest having an ice cream and pie supper? Would our unredeemed friends be more likely to attend? Would people find it more beneficial? As Christians we must be able to stand up for our faith and explain that we cannot set aside that which our Lord has instituted and which His church has continued to practice, from New Testament days onward.We should also point out that the bread and the wine of conversation are symbols, symbols of our Lords sacrificial death for sinners. If we were to change these symbols radically, we could not do so without modifying the symbolism. Chocolate syrup might taste delicious on vanilla ice cream, but it would hardly replace the wine as the symbol for Christs shed blood. Like communion, marriage is a divine instit ution. Christian marriage has certain commitments, obligations and duties which are symbolic. The roles which God has given to a Christian husband and his wife are intended to symbolize and represent a greater, more fundamental reality.While marriage is temporal, the reality which is symbolizes is eternal and thus we cannot understand the importance of the duties of the husband or the wife without grasping the reality which Christian marriage is to symbolically communicate. This fundamental reality which underlies and explains the attitudes and conduct of a man and his wife in marriage is the relationship of Jesus Christ to His church. This relationship was not understood clearly in Old Testament times even Paul found it to be a mystery.The symbolism of marriage can only be understood in the light of the substance on which a Christian marriage is based the mystery of Christs relationship to His church. protrude of all the messages in the Bible, the view of consummation and marriage is what I struggle with the most. In Genesis chapter 2, God created Adam. Adam was given the task of naming all of the animals God had made. As they passed by two by two it became apparent that every male animal had its female counterpart. Adam was conspicuous as the only creature without a corresponding mate.I believe that by this means God created a yearning in Adam for a mate of his own. God provided her, but she was not like any other creature, in that she was not made from the dust of the earth she was created instead from Adams flesh and bones. God created the woman as Adams partner, fashioning her to correspond to him in every way. God then brought the woman to Adam, and presented her to him as his wife. Adam joyfully responded, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man (Genesis 223).As creations prototypical husband and wife, Adam and Eve symbolized by the marriage the unity of Christ and His church whic h would be achieved at the cross of Calvary, centuries later. While reading Ephesians, Paul says Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. As I read on Paul explains in verse 23 how our Lord is the Head of His church, He is the Savior of the body.I understood this to mean that, the headship of Christ is evident in the salvation which He accomplished at Calvary. (Ephesians 521-33) In the early chapters of Ephesians, Paul spoke much more about our salvation in Christ, but he laid the foundation for Christ as the head of His church as its Consummation by teaching that all of history is being divinely directed toward the goal of summing up all things in Christ (Ephesians 110). In Genesis 224 Moses instructs us that when a man and a woman come togeth er in marriage, the man is to leave his mother and father and to unify his wife, to become one flesh.While there may be practical benefits to a man leaving his parents and bonding to his wife, Moses does not bother to mention them. His words indicate that there is one fundamental reason. The Bible says that the fundamental and primary union evident in the marriage of Adam and Eve is to be reflected in every subsequent marriage, to symbolize the union of Christ and His church. Because God created Adam from the dust of the ground and Eve from Adams flesh and bone they began as one flesh through the creation of Eve.This union was also to become evident in their sexual union and in the bearing of children, but the first marriage on earth began with only one relationship, a man and his wife. This husband-wife relationship, Moses indicated, is the primary one, and the parent-child relationship is secondary. When President Obama announced he now supports same-sex marriage, he cited his Ch ristian faith. The thing at root that we think about is, not only Christ sacrificing himself on our behalf, but its also the Golden Rule, you know apportion others the way you would want to be treated, he said in his interview with ABC News.I think when Christians at large talk about audacious marriage, they are missing the point. The point is not that gay people want to take away other peoples right to get married. The whole struggle is really centered around the desire to be allowed in, to be able to participate in this ritualistic display of how much love the human heart can hold. It is about the basic right to choose who you want to spend forever with, and to have that celebrated by family and friends.Freedom of religion is a great thing, but since when did our ability to choose how or what we worship translate into our ability to dictate to others that they must conform to our chosen lifestyle, and that they must obey the rules of our personal faith? I find it rather alarming just how many laws are drifting to the top of legislation, laws that propose the outright imposition of one class of one religions believers on the entirety of the population. What is even more alarming to me is how many Christians seem completely okay with this blatant show of force. It is true that we are allowed to believe whatever we want to believe in.It is also true that we are able to express those beliefs freely. Just as the human heart has the substance to hold so much love, it seems to have the ability to brim full of just as much hate. When we disregard the claims of others to rights do we fully enjoy ourselves, only when because we adopt a normative sexual preference? That is when we find that we are no better than all the people we have learned about in history classes in school who denied the rights they enjoyed to those who were not in the majority with them. It is not about whether or not it is right or wrong to be gay.What matters is when Christians begin to be okay with forcing someone else to follow the scripture, when it may not be something they are ready for or interested in. If Christians want to claim the freedom to address our religion, and to choose our opinions, we cannot do so while denying others that same right. Christians come out in droves to protest whenever they feel their right to be a Christian is being threatened. I believe that if the Christian community were at large to have one of their basic civil rights legislated against, voted against by non-Christians, there would be a hustle of outrage like this country has never seen.With a marriage license comes so many other benefits such as taxes, home ownership, joint lingo accounts, insurance policies, the decision to take a partner off life support, and being allowed in their hospital room after surgery. These are the kind of things that piece of paper can grant, and they are the kinds of things we take for granted. I believe that everyone deserves to be with someone who will cherish them as much as God cherishes us. God made man and woman in his image. We are told to love our neighbor as ourselves, and sometimes in the words of John Lennon, maybe All you need is Love.