Christian doctrine evolved to contain a variety of philosophical perspectives and theological analyses. Early shapers of Christian thought and discourse included Irenaeus, Clement, Tertullian, and Origen. Each of these figures shaped Christian discourse and changed the doctrine of the religion indelibly. Because each came from a different historical and cultural milieu, and used different languages to express their ideas, Christianity became a complex and even diverse faith. Irenaeus's theodicy provided the fundamental features for how Christians would address the problem of evil: how an omniscient and benevolent God would simultaneously allow, condone, or even seem to encourage evil. The importance of theodicy to the evolution of Christianity cannot be underestimated, as subsequent Christian theologians have built upon the teachings of Irenaeus to better resolve the problem of evil. John Hick in particular has provided modern Christians with a sound theodicy built on the foundation of Irenaeus's teachings. However, it was not just for the theodicy that Iraneous has entered the canon of Christian doctrine. His teachings provided the core argument against Gnosticism, and preached in favor of a "catholic" or universal message of Christianity, which became one of the central features of the religion. One of his most notable writings is Against Heresies,...
He presented Christianity as the Truth, with Christ as the Word of God. His primary goal was converting pagans to Christianity, and as his audience primarily drew from Greek places, it was crucial that he frame Christian concepts using Greek epistemology. Unlike Irenaeus, Clement embraced Gnosticism for the simple reason that Gnosticism meant knowledge-teaching, and Clement appreciated the use of reasoned arguments when presenting Christianity to the pagan communities in which he worked. His writings included Exhortation to the Greeks, in which he speaks directly to his Greek audience.Christian Security The Christian Doctrine of Eternal Security Christian faith is driven by the underlying notion that doctrinal adherence will lead to salvation. However, just exactly how one effectively adheres and achieves that salvation is a matter very much up for dispute. In fact, this is the dispute at the center of this discussion, which considers what some consider to be among the most divisive matters in the Christian faith. The question
Doctrine of the Holy Trinity The basis of the doctrine of trinity is based on the "God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy spirit" epithet among the Christians. God is abundantly regarded as pure spirit who cannot be seen by the eyes of every person (spirit) and associated with a material body (son) who and the material body was sent to the world by the father to save
Greek bishops could also marry, although such alliances prevent them from rising in position in the church, where Roman priests took celibacy vows. Regarding doctrine, some could Latin approach as more practical and judicial, while the Greek was more speculative about the nature of the Godhead. Question Martin Luther founded the Lutheran branch of Protestant Christianity. Luther rejected the authority of the Catholic Pope. The Bible alone was the ultimate authority
However, with the conversion of Constantine, the idea of dualism meaning the separation of the state and church was not necessarily valid any more. More precisely, "before the conversion of Constantine there was no question about the relations of ecclesiastical structure of the Roman state; they were clearly separate and all the Church could hope was a benign toleration (…) Constantine's conversion came as a surprise and necessitated a
Christian Ethic This report is an attempt to explain the concept of the Christian Ethic. As the world becomes a smaller place through new technologies such as computerization and the internet, a daunting question of present-day life lingers -- can the Christian philosophies and teachings of Jesus survive globalization? Affecting a common good is difficult for a single national or ethnic community so the idea of a global Christian Ethic seems
Christian Worldview A worldview is an intellectual concept of the world, or the universe, held by a group or an individual. One's worldview encompasses their beliefs concerning the origin and nature of human knowledge, reality, the universe, God, value and life, and the purpose of man and the universe Christians hold certain beliefs with regard to the aforementioned aspects. Such Christian worldviews are based upon scriptures contained in the Bible. The biblical
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now