... in Christ means believing that he is God's son (1 John 4:15), receiving him as Savior and Lord (John 1:12), doing what God says (1 John 3:24), continuing to believe the good news (1 John 2:24) and relating in love to the community of believers, Christ's body (John 15:12). Christians must always bear much fruit by abiding in him. (John 15:5 NRSV). Our morals and Christian character ... must remain to the scripture of Galatians 5:22-23 ESV "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is .....

• Word Count: 1802
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... own children are trying to kill her. She is shown searching the television for an answer. She stumbles upon the "700 Club" and becomes interested in its message. She allows Jesus into her heart and is saved. She has now become two things, closer to Jesus , and a television star. "To the uninitiated, it is not entirely clear to which is the higher estate."(Postman, 115) Meanwhile, the untrained viewer sees ... this and becomes attracted. No one is saved, money is made by the producers, and wasted by the viewers. Although the ... of Jesus" teachings: "God is our refuge and strength, alwa...

• Word Count: 1627
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... . His authority is seen in his teaching, in his power over demons, in his healing the sick, and his forgiving people's sin. Jesus speaks of himself as the Son of Man, who came to give his life to set people free from sin. Mark presents a rapid succession of vivid pictures of Jesus in action, His true identity revealed by what He does, not necessarily by ... what He says. It is Jesus on the move. Omitting the birth of Jesus, Mark begins with John the Baptist's preaching. Mark then moves on quickly to Jesus" baptism, temptation in the desert, and call of the disciples. Mark takes us direct...

• Word Count: 2415
• Approx Pages: 10
• Grade Level: High School

... , yet he also exudes a protective and safe aura that can be seen in the character Razumikhin. Dostoevsky depicts Razumikhin as a superior character that one would look up to from the beginning when Raskolnikov, in despair, goes to him for help. When Razumikhin first sees his old friend, he is overcome with joy and exclaims, "Is it you?My friend, you've cut me out ... !...Come and sit, you look tired"( 110). Even though Razumikhin mentions, "you've cut me out," indicating that Raskolnikov had shut him out and walked away from him, he is still welcoming and urges him to sit down. This is si...

• Word Count: 1936
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... another, treated each other as equal, and lived in harmony. The release from fear, guilt, and self-centeredness served as a motivator of their love and joy. What kept the Christians who spread the Good News going was the underlying thought that the Spirit of Christ was with them. This idea led to the belief that the Church was the Mystical Body of Christ. They believed that Jesus would continue his ... work through the Church. Previously, Christians were first drawn to Jesus because of the love and joy that enraptured him. Now, Christians ... ...

• Word Count: 1536
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... God gave us. This is heaven. The land given to us by God is the land of everlasting life. This verse emphasizes the fact that respecting our parents is part of what we need to do in order to gain everlasting life. After Jesus tells the young rich man to give all of his belongings to the poor and come follow him the man looks sad and goes away. Jesus then ... turned to his amazed disciples and said, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!" They are extremely surprised ... , rich man he must rid himself of all those things. Jesus wants us to understand that ...

• Word Count: 1411
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... as an opportunity for us Muslims to intensify our Dawah. At the heat of the moment, I have used the title of the film to make this article a bit interesting to our non-Muslim readers. This article does not serve as an attack to anyone, any religion, any group or race, etc. After a time of contemplating the books I have read relating to this topic, I have come up to a decision in writing this article ... . I believe that by compiling all the good ideas from the different books written by the best Sheikhs of our time, this will bring about enlightenment especially to our non-Muslim readers...

• Word Count: 2103
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... into the church by tracing the sign of the cross on the child's forehead, he then welcomes parents and godparents to do the same. Celebration of God's Word The words that the community is guided and lives by. Scriptures or homily's are read relating to baptismal events that occurred in the bible to help give meaning to the event. After they are read the priest gives a short homily to give a better understanding and deeper meaning to the experience ... and expectations of the parents/godparents. Intercessions The intercessions are prayers that ask ... ...

• Word Count: 2136
• Approx Pages: 9
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... in which an order is present which includes the universe and the whole cosmos. Dissimilar to earlier confucianism, current belief holds that there is no real appreciation for a monotheistic god. Also, relating to their emphasis on societal order, they naturally believe that the solution to evil is the proper order of society. The final goal of confucianism is to achieve harmony with the Way of Heaven. Another religion, Judaism, is considered ... to be a western religion. Judaism is an ethnic faith which is centered within the life of Jewish people. Judaism maintains that their ... ...

• Word Count: 1896
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... and 40. He says that these two parts have a lot of history behind them, and one needs to understand the history to understand the text. In verse 38, the phrase "an eye for an eye" came from the Babylonian law-code of Hammurabi. Its purpose was to restrain vengeance. The Jews adopted this principal for their own law, and Jewish courts often permitted a payment of money instead of ... interpreting this section of Matthew in a modern day sense. Although I agree with the research that he did before his interpretation so he could understand how the language was used, I do not agree how he tu...

• Word Count: 2292
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

Justice and judgment, two very strong issues that hold deep and difficult understanding when it comes to the justice system in both the world today and back to the beginnings of civilization. Justice and judgment both stem from the birth and structure of lawmaking which has been dated back all the way to the creation of Adam when God gives Adam his first command (Gen. 2:16-17) of not eating ... from the tree of knowledge . One very important question that still holds in today's society is that of, "has justice been served", well, how exactly can anyone tell if justice has been served or not d...

• Word Count: 1362
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... family, however, he would not have been considered ugly because he would have looked the same as everyone else. Unfortunately for the ugly duckling, he was not born into a swan family, but a duck and therefore lived a rough life. However, this rough life he lead helped him to fully experience the happiness and joy he felt when he was finally accepted into a family. This story represents ... the Irenean theodicy. A theodicy is the rational defense for the belief in God in the face of evil. The Irenean theodicy states that evil is a source of good. It says that natural evils are ... tria...

• Word Count: 1417
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... to see the heavens as whimsically dancing to the choreography of God as he lay a banner of love over the terrestrial. My soul wondered at His majesty. I felt a primal desire to tear down the strong holds of yesterday, to cry out "Abba," and to be loved. I am astonished, wooed, by every breath I take, breathing in His majesty and clutching Jesus' offering of friendship. Songs of love celebrate my newfound joy ... in the ... open the door to the scorching flames of bitterness. Close the door on love and your heart opens to the cursed anguish of hate. Close the door to love and death awaits...

• Word Count: 1503
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... , Blake motivates the readers to question God. These two poems are meant to be interpreted in a comparison and contrast. 'The Lamb' and 'The Tyger' share two different perspectives representing an innocent and an experienced view of creation and existence. To Blake, innocence is not better than experience. Both states have their good and bad sides. The positive side of innocence is joy and optimism, ... while the bad side is naivety. The negative side of ... experience is cynicism, but the good side is wisdom. The main question that Blake is asking in the two poems is how can ...

• Word Count: 2028
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... gratitude. Orthodox teachings say that when a person's life is being threatened, then and only then is it acceptable to break a commandment. It is also important to keep a kosher diet as God instructed the Jewish people to do. Judaism has dietary laws in the Talmud that show Jews how to abide with kosher ways. A kosher diet includes, all forms of vegetation, animals that have both cloven hooves ... created earth is good. The world is a place of abundance to be enjoyed and people need to maintain the humanity, respect and harmony of this earth. In the Islamic faith, God is believed to be...

• Word Count: 1716
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... , say he didn't deserve to be his son, and ask to be a servant because he feared he would starve if he didn't. However, when he goes back, his father does not even give him the chance to say what he had planned because his father is so overwhelmed with joy. He clothed his son and treated him to the best their house had to offer and he had ... his servants prepare a feast and a celebration. When the older brother, who remained loyal to his father, living with him and helping tend the fields, got wind of this he ... became very angry and refused to celebrate because he felt like he deserv...

• Word Count: 1841
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... the Magi by T. S. Eliot The story of the Magi, the three wise and rich kings who took a long journey, following the shooting star to greet the newborn infant Jesus is a very important story of the Christian culture. If we think of the Magi, the first things that come to our minds are the birth of Jesus, Christmas, a holy and solemn mood and joy as Jesus has come to our world as the Redeemer. The Journey of the ... Magi is one of Eliot's four Ariel Poems, which was published as part of a series of illustrated Christmas greetings pamphlets. This was Eliot's first commissioned poem. Describ...

• Word Count: 2018
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... also see that only through faith can faith be found. People try to find faith through miracles. The book shows that this is not what God wants from us. He wants us to have faith and believe and through believing would we be able to have miracles. They are many that have drawn pictures of Jesus and how they believe he should look. In many ... royalty. People such as priest and governors. The holy people such as the Pharisee and the Essenians did not approve of Jesus and his teachings. Coming on to the last week of Jesus" life the book give a description of some of the events that took pl...

• Word Count: 1525
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... to have a child in her old age, and she is already barren in her sixth month, for nothing is impossible with God. I am the Lord's servant, Mary answered, and may it happen to me as you have said. Then the angel left her." (Luke 1:28-38) The angel's message struck like lightning, changing everything for her. Joy filled the young girl's soul when she conceived the child by the ... power of the Holy Spirit. As frightened as she must have been from ... seeing an angel, she answered God's call to duty. She cared for her unborn ... ...

• Word Count: 1464
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School

... indeed a son of God. Some critics would even agree that Jay Gatsby establishes a literary role as a Christ-like figure. He came to West Egg to save Daisy from the emptiness of her marriage and the murder that took place. Even with all the images and parallels to Christ, Gatsby is not a Christ-figure. Gatsby's life was created through means that go against God's nature. Just as ... no substance, so is Gatsby as the image of Christ. Many allusions are buried deep within the novel. Some of the first descriptions on Gatsby are linked to biblical images. Gatsby is described as having "a heig...

• Word Count: 1291
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... . Both religious/philosophical leaders had very strong views on society and how it should be, and both strived to explain their viewpoints to all, in attempt to benefit it. In a section of the New Testament referred to as "Sermon on the Mount", many examples of Jesus" teachings can be investigated. By looking at this piece of text, several recurring themes in Jesus" teachings can be selected ... lifestyle that Jesus preaches about. But it is also made evident that one must live an abstentious lifestyle, and give up material goods; namely all worldly pleasures, in order to satisfy his vie...

• Word Count: 1478
• Approx Pages: 6

... Lord and Savior will be saved and attain Heaven, leaving all non-Christians and sinners to spend eternity in Hell. Holding true to the descriptions of the afterlife in the bibe, Conservative protestants believe that everyone has eternal life, and God created Heaven and Hell as places for people to spend the rest of their lives after death and judgment. Heaven is interpeted as a glorious place, ... and leading long lives in a purified earth before dying a second time. After the Greek invasion, the Jews picked up the Hellenistic concept that some individuals will go to Heaven for eternal...

• Word Count: 1279
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... in plenary, Dr. Linda Eastwood asked the questions, "Who is invited to the table and who is the host of the celebration"? According to the World Council of Churches, Faith and Order Paper No. 111, it is Jesus who invites us to the table and it is He who is the host of the celebration3. What I have found to be compelling is the fact that the church in today's society forgotten that ... Jesus is the true bread, and they seem to believe that there is not enough to go around, however, according to Brueggemann, in the Liturgy of Abundance, the Myth of Scarcity, that the power for the future ...

• Word Count: 1283
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... and said to them, 'Peace be with you."(John 20:19). The story of his resurrection was well documented and Paul had to reiterate to the people who now questioned the idea of resurrection. Paul saw Jesus himself, so by the grace of God he was able to spread the word to the gospel, which the people of Corinth believed considering he managed to convert them over to Christianity. ... But now people were starting to question whether this in ... fact happened, so Paul asserted the truth with his writings. ... ...

• Word Count: 1580
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... . A few days before January 6 the children write their letters to the Wise Men, or to their favorite king to Melchor, Gaspar, or Balthazar, asking for the kings for presents the children would like to get.  The parents get balloons. Many balloons that are filled with helium, so when the kids can attach their letters to them. When they finish attaching the letters to the balloon on the string, the parents let the balloon go and watch it ... fly away with their kids, all the way up to the sky, carrying the letters the ... ...

• Word Count: 1424
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: High School