The tax collector, however, has a much clearer idea of who he is: unlike the Pharisee, the tax collector does not take the first seat in the temple (where everyone can see him), but sits way in the back because he knows he is not even worthy to be in the temple in the first place. He counts himself a sinner -- just as the Pharisee counts him. He prays to God for forgiveness and mercy, and genuinely asks for it; he is not just showing off and making a public act of penitence. Jesus lauds the virtue of the tax collector rather than of the Pharisee, because it is the tax collector who sees clearly. The Pharisee is blinded by pride and does not even know that he is lost and in need of finding; the tax collector on the other hand is fully aware of where he stands: he is lost without God and depends on God's mercy. It is the Pharisee who will see vanity in Christ; it is the tax collector who will see in Christ the hope for Redemption. If Jesus came to save those who were lost (which is everyone), how can the Pharisee be found if he...
Those who acknowledge this can take the first step in returning to God and a life of grace; those who do not stay lost. Sandra Rachel (2008) gives a perfect illustration of this when she speaks of the passing of the inheritance from David to Solomon: David died in the grace of God -- but Solomon did not fare so well; he rather let his wisdom fill him with pride and lead him astray (p. 208). Jesus' parables are an extension of these two Old Testament narratives -- they are a simpler way of reinforcing the idea that mankind, as Augustine tells, is in need of Christ.
Martin Luther King Speech Critical Analysis of "I've Been to the Mountaintop" by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The last speech Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered has been popularly referred to as the "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech (). Dr. King delivered this speech on April 3, 1968 at the Mason Temple Church of God in Christ Headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee. Following this speech on April 4, 1968, Dr. King
In the second edition to Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon, Bryan Chapell provides a guide to expository preaching based on the fundamental principle that the purpose of preaching is to promote union with Christ. According to Chapell, union with Christ has personal, community, and theological or cosmological implications. The second edition to the Chapell text includes several amendments and additions, encouraging libraries to stock both copies. Moreover, the author
Again, he does not choose his ruler, but he must still obey him. Being born to certain parents and being under the authority of a certain ruler is fate. One cannot fight against it. Building upon the comparisons of these two relationships, Confucius then describes another, the relationship one has with one's mind: '…[S]erve your own mind so that sadness or joy do not sway or move it; to understand what
Homeric Epics and Mark Dennis McDonald's The Homeric Epics and the Gospel of Mark (2000) is a book that was always guaranteed to upset orthodox Christian theologians and biblical literalists and fundamentalists everywhere, since its main thesis held that the author of the first gospel used the Iliad and the Odyssey as literary models. He compares Mark to the apocryphal Acts of Andrew, a Gnostic book, and describes it as a
Truth Concise Summary of Theory Christian counseling is usually rooted in both Biblical truths and in psychological research. In Telling Yourself the Truth and How to Help People Change, the authors discuss how to counsel from within a Christian theoretical perspective. Although these two books have different areas of focus, their core messages are the same: change is to be instigated by God and sustained in the light of Christ. The authors view
representation of Death and the impermanence in the short story "A Father's Story" by Andre Dubus, and the poem "Because I could not stop for Death" by Emily Dickinson. These two works were chosen because both speak of Death and impermanence, yet these authors employ different literary forms, characters, settings and plots. "A Father's Story" follows the format of a short story, being prose written in concise paragraphs with
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