This is why Hall advocates a "disengagement" from that image of American public life. Getting some distance from this aspect of the dominant culture will enable a framework for evangelism that embraces the diversity of God's community. Thus, Christ can truly become the "all in all."
Keifert defines the two main challenges in American culture as being the moral imperative to respect diversity, coupled with the spiritual imperative to nurture the current awakening. That an awakening is taking place is evident in the growing numbers of church members, but it is also important to keep in mind what both Watson and Hall say about the problems with large church culture in America. Bigger is not necessarily better. Christians need to move beyond the "supersize me" mentality and embrace a quality over quantity mentality when it comes to their ministries.
From a theological and scriptural perspective, the suggestions offered by Watson and Hall are sensible and solid. Christ is the "all in all," the Great Reconciler who alone has the power to deliver all human beings. There is no better way of performing the ethical imperatives inherent in American society than with a Christian point-of-view. Issues related to social justice -- such as health care -- can be framed from a Christian perspective that takes into account the life, teachings, and Word of Jesus. As Watson points out, preaching the gospel means two things: the gospel of Christ, and the gospel about Christ. The gospel teaches the content...
Religion -- Books of the Old and New Testaments The Bible contains many types of genres, themes, events and characters illustrating the seeds of Christianity in the Old Testament and the Old Testament's fulfillment by Jesus and the young Christian Church of the New Testament. Using the genres of epic and simple narratives, law, prophecy, wisdom, pastoral letters and apocalyptic expression, both Testaments show the struggle of ordinary people trying to
Religion and Society Religion is defined as an organized collection of belief systems, views about the universe, or cultural systems that humans use to relate spiritual and moral values to their lives. Many religions have symbols, traditions, and histories that explain the origin of life, the way the universe works, and the moral, ethical and legal ways to organize human life (De Vries, ed., 2008). While the exact origin of religion
A key celebration in the village invites a festive dance in which the performers fall into a stupor and try to stab themselves with knives (Heinrich, 2005 p. 78). Rituals in life are pertinent events for religious display and artistic expression. Events of puberty, marriage life and burial offer opportunities for Balinese to express their notions regarding statuses, society and the afterlife. The Balinese denomination organizes their faith in a
Religion Qualifications of the divine and the nature of supreme reality are core concepts of any religious tradition. Hinduism and Buddhism conceptualize the divine and the nature of reality in complementary yet distinct ways. Buddhism emerged from Hinduism, in a manner not wholly unlike the way Christianity emerged from Judaism. Therefore, there are several core similarities in the cosmologies and the conceptualizations of divine reality between these two faiths. Moreover, the
Religions of Rome Throughout history, religion has been having a major impact on the societies around the world. In the case of the Romans, they had numerous religions that were practiced throughout the reign of the empire. To fully understand these ideas requires looking at the chapter titled Sol the Sun in the Art and Religions of Rome. This will be accomplished by summarizing the various points and discussing a broad
Both faiths ascribe to a heaven and a hell, belief in angels and the devil. Moreover, Islam and Christianity teach against crimes against humanity to include violence, gambling, adultery, lying, theft and murder. Both teach that children are to respect their parents and husbands and wives are to be respected. Both Islam and Christianity teach against same sex marriage, homosexuality, fornication, and vulgarism. Both teach of modesty in presentation
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