Religion and Theology

 What is the Christian concept of the imago Dei? How might it be important to health care, and why is it relevant? 

34 Gospels Read the 34 Gospels article (click here). Post your top three choices for the most bizarre non-canonical gospels and provide a couple of sentences explaining why you think they are bizarre.  In the same post, indicate the top-three most interesting gospels to you and if you had time you’d like to learn more about. Also include why it is that you’d like to learn more about these particular three with a couple of sentences PUNCTUATIONINTHENEWTESTAMENT ·        Read the short article: “PUNCTUATIONINTHENEWTESTAMENT.” (Click Here) ·        Post three things you learned from the article that you never knew before and why they are significant to you. Junia: The First Woman Apostle? Listen to the Podcast from the “NT Podcast” with Mark Goodacre https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdD36zVVOb0 Post your thoughts on what the significance is if Junia is a female name in Romans 16 and not a male name? What is the significance of this for you and, if you go to church, your church? Additionally, post what the podcast explains as to why the name was translated as a male name for so long. Note that this is due more towards the end of the course, so there are no responses necessary for this post.

Read the 34 Gospels article (click here). Post your top three choices for the most bizarre non-canonical gospels and provide a couple of sentences explaining why you think they are bizarre.  In the same post, indicate the top-three most interesting gospels to you and if you had time you’d like to learn more about. Also include why it is that you’d like to learn more about these particular three with a couple of sentences PUNCTUATIONINTHENEWTESTAMENT (5%) Read the short article: “PUNCTUATIONINTHENEWTESTAMENT.” (Click Here) Post three things you learned from the article that you never knew before and why they are significant to you. Junia: The First Woman Apostle? (5%) Listen to the Podcast from the “NT Podcast” with Mark Goodacre Play Mute Loaded: 0% Progress: 0% 0:00 Post your thoughts on what the significance is if Junia is a female name in Romans 16 and not a male name? What is the significance of this for you and, if you go to church, your church? Additionally, post what the podcast explains as to why the name was translated as a male name for so long. Note that this is due more towards the end of the course, so there are no responses necessary for this post.

How important is an age cohort to understanding conflict styles?  Consider Markease Doe, Yvan Muselaire, and Wing Shan Venus Fong (2016) 1500 words

This is a Discussion Board Reply Assignment, Replies to TWO different classmates are a minimum of 250 words each. Reply to Bartley then reply to Amy. Each reply must be at least 250 words. In each reply state what you agree with and what you disagree with.   Bartley Nethery  DB Forum 2 There is no doubt, evangelism is messy. People, in general, are messy. As someone who works for the public on a daily basis, I can attest to this fact. People see things differently, interpret certain actions or words differently, assume intentions and motives, and react based on unspoken expectations. All these tendencies, found in humans, create difficulty in communication, and evangelism is no exception. This truth makes evangelism messy at times, but it is also the reason that McRaney deals with what the evangelist’s role is. He suggests that believers are to be prepared both spiritually and mentally for evangelism. This process begins “with a willing spirit.”[1] From here, McRaney suggests that believers should be seeking the direction of the Holy Spirit through prayer for the unsaved, as well as prayer for clarity in communication with the unsaved. In this way, spiritual preparation begins to take place. Additionally, McRaney suggests that “Before we can share a witness, we need to understand the message and person of Christ.”[2] This truth speaks for itself. Christians need to understand the gospel in order to share it. Through these simple spiritual and mental steps, the Christian can prepare for the messiness that inevitably shows up in communicating the gospel. There is no greater weapon against it. Prayer and Gospel fluency covers a multitude of messes in sharing one’s faith.             I am certain that spiritual warfare was going on leading up to the point of giving my life to Christ. While I am certain of this fact, I cannot specifically point to anything that might have been. You see, I came to know Jesus when I was seven years old. I have a hard time bringing to memory my life prior to that moment, in all honesty. Additionally, I do not believe I would say my salvation experience was a demonstration of messiness in evangelism. I came to know Christ while I sat on my couch watching a Christian puppet show on television. If it was messy prior to that day, I do not recall. I do know that prayer played an important part in my salvation. My parents are both believers, and they had raised us in the Church. On top of that, my parents and grandparents were faithful to pray for myself and my siblings. This took place from the time we were born until each of our salvation. I believe their prayers played a vital role in my salvation.             According to McRaney, “…the Holy Spirit is also at work in the life of lost persons to draw them to Himself, reveal the truth, and convict the world regarding the message.”[3] First, the Holy Spirit is drawing the lost person to Himself. After all, Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him…” (John 6:44 NIV). Furthermore, the Holy Spirit reveals the truth of the gospel to the lost person hearing it. McRaney suggests that the Holy Spirit is the one who reveals God’s existence to lost people first, not the evangelist. This means that the Holy Spirit is at work through natural revelation before the evangelist is ever brought to share the gospel. The Holy Spirit is also convicting of sin and need. Through all of these things, faith develops in the heart of the lost person. Through that faith, the Holy Spirit brings that lost soul from death to life (John 3:6-7), secures the new believer for all of eternity (Ephesians 4:30), and provides the believer with the spiritual resources necessary to live for God. (1 Corinthians 12-14) Recognizing that evangelism is not an attempt on the witness’s part to save anyone, is quite freeing. The witness is simply being faithful to share the gospel. The Holy Spirit is responsible for the result. In this truth, clearly understanding and sharing the gospel out of a humble, obedient heart brings biblical success. This clarity, coupled with humility, can be used by the Holy Spirit to wipe away a multitude of messiness in evangelism. This biblical truth includes issues of misconceptions and misperceptions. [1] Will McRaney, Jr., The Art of Personal Evangelism (Wordsearch Corporation, 2003), 62. [2] Ibid., 64. [3] Ibid, 30.       Amy Jeong  Discussion Board 2             Many people may view evangelism as one event in someone’s life. One Christian talks to one non-Christians and the non-Christians hears about Jesus for the first time. The non-Christian accepts Jesus at that moment and lives a life following Jesus. Of course, this would be an amazing event, but this does not happen with each person. Evangelism is not a one-time event but a spiritual harvest, and the harvests are not events but a process.[1] The spiritual harvest will require more attempts and elements than just one-time sharing and may need multiple people. Most importantly, God helps the seed to grow in the receivers’ hearts. Without the work of the Holy Spirit, there is no harvest. Will McRaney also refers to evangelism as a harvest and writes, “We plant seeds by loving people toward Jesus with small acts of kindness in the name of Jesus.”[2] When sharing the gospel, it is important to understand that not everyone will accept the gospel every time, so it may get our hands dirty and sweaty. However, “regardless of frustrations, rejection, or spiritual warfare, we must continue to work the fields.”[3]             As for my personal conversion experience, I met Jesus at a middle school retreat. I was already attending church at the time, but I did not completely accept Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. No one personally shared the gospel with me, and I just attended all the youth group events. However, I do know that many people at the church were praying for me and my salvation. Preparation for the retreat also must not have been easy as I attended a very small church, but the adults helped run the retreat for young students like me to meet Jesus. Spiritual warfare is always a part of retreats and students always tend to fight after retreats, but prayer from our pastor and church adults was very helpful to keep us in line. There is still continuous spiritual warfare in my life today, but I have found that prayer always helps to diffuse a situation. With that, it is important to remember that “Persistent, faith-based intercession produces results.”[4] Whether it is the enemy attacking me or the person I am sharing the gospel with, prayer is the best defense towards spiritual warfare and I must continuously pray for both of us.              As stated earlier, without God’s involvement, there is no harvest. The Holy Spirit is present in evangelism as “God is involved in evangelism at every point and level. Regeneration/conversion is 100 percent, God. However, He chooses to use various instruments to draw people to Himself.”[5] We are those instruments and “We are to seek to communicate clearly who Jesus is and what He expects, knowing that we are all flawed vessels but usable in God’s hands.”[6] With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we must be able to live out the gospel in our lives by obeying God, and we should be able to share the gospel accurately as well with His guidance and leadership. When we do this, we can answer any other questions or address misconceptions/misperceptions regarding the gospel by speaking from personal experience.

What to do:  Students select a contemporary issue which they believe Christians should be concerned about and on which they believe Christians should act. This topic might arise out of an issue encountered as part of one’s profession or an issue facing a larger society.  Writing the paper:  Your paper will include:  1. A definition of the ethics of the issue;  2. How a belief in God informs the issue;  3. What does the Bible have to contribute to our understanding of the question;  4? How does Christ inform your approach to the topic;  5? What models of the church are most relevant;  6. What can and does the church do in this area?  Details: The student will research other outside documents and/or books to prepare a written report 1800 to 2400 words (six to eight pages) will be prepared from the materials citing at least four references from the documents located.  Typed in 12-pt font, double-spaced. Make sure you have a correct sentence structure, grammar, and spelling. For example, “God” is always capitalized when referring to God in Heaven, not “god”; “you” is always spelled out no, “u”.

https://northwesterntheologicaljournal.com/thesis-directory/ The above link is a sample of a partial list of Northwestern student thesis. The link below are the guidelines that must be followed for the completion of your Thesis or Dissertation. http://www.northwesternseminary.com/NTSThesis.htm Name: Jean B Pierre – e-mail: [email protected] Title: Trinity: the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead P.S. This assignment must be complete by someone with a total knowledge on the subject. Writers must have a degree in Religion or theology to be qualified for this assignment.

Read the attached document and discuss the similarities and differences concerning Confucian and Daoist interpretations of Wu-Wei, or “Effortless action.” Be sure to write your reflection in a word document, and submit it to this dropbox for credit. Shoot for half a page to a full-page, double-space. I just need to see evidence that you have done the reading and understand the way the author has distinguished both traditions in relation to this fundamental concept in both traditions.

(1) The central purpose of these papers is for YOU to develop YOUR views on the relationship between science & religion. (2) In writing these papers, USE the ideas found in the Class Notes, Class Handouts & Class Audio-Slides, and in doing so DEMONSTRATE to me that you grasp these concepts. (3) After describing your views, always defend them––that is, give me reasons why you believe in your view. (4) Always RESPECT the Maximum Word Limit for each paper. (5) Use Endnotes for citations & use the Chicago Manual of Style to format the Endnotes. Describe your MODEL of the relationship between science & religion. State the Thesis Statement (1 sentence only) for your PERSONAL VIEW of the relationship between science & religion. Defend your personal view of the relationship between science & religion. Also include your view on intelligent design and whether or not it is part of your personal view of the relationship between science & religion.

Outline (please work around this outline. you don’t have to follow it chronologically. you can also include somethings and remove somethings, but make as few changes as possible) (I). Introduction: Hook: Wearing clothes is a big component of our lives. It is something we don’t even think about when we are doing. Everyone wears clothes and anyone who doesn’t is labeled insane; Something everyone agrees upon. This practice stemmed from ancient times, as a way for humans to protect themselves from the harsh winters and harsh summers. When we think of early humans, pictures of naked people covered with leaves and animal skins come to mind. Something that was worn as a necessity/protection is, today, combined with a different sense of style. 1. Clothing and Meaning (I). Clothing and symbolic meaning. A. Humans and clothing (brief history). B. Categories and types. (II). Form of expression in our identity A. How do we use clothes to express our identity? B. Which clothes are conducive to identity expression. A. Clothing in Christianity. B. Clothing in Islam. C. The practice of Veiling (women). (III). Thesis Statement. A. Christian women have been covering their heads while praying, when in church, or when in public. Veiling was a form of modesty and a way of showing humility to God, adapted by Judaism, Islam, and Christianity in ancient times. This paper will analyze the practice of veiling, covering the head and face, in ancient Christianity. I will analyze how the custom is perceived today, and how it is interpreted in XXI century Western culture as seen in the ethnic attacks toward Islamic women in France, Sri Lanka, etc. (II). Body 1. The practice of veiling (as a comparison). (I). In Judaism. A. The form of veiling practiced in Judaism. B. Its significance? C. Scriptural evidence? Whether it is a cultural practice or Religious practice, prescribed by God. (II). In Islam. A. The form of veiling practiced in Islam. B. Its significance? C. Scriptural evidence? Whether it is a cultural practice or Religious practice, prescribed by God. 2. The practice of veiling in Christianity. (I). Who did the veiling A. In terms of social class? B. The type of veiling practiced in Christianity. C. Its significance? D. Scriptural evidence? Whether it is a cultural practice or Religious practice, prescribed by God. 3. Perception of veiling today. (I). The shift from veiling, in Christianity. A. The spread of Christianity, Geographically. B. Different cultures having different clothing customs. (II) The industrial boom/ The effects modernization had on clothing. A. The rise of the design and fashion industry B. The rise of advertisement. C. How advertisements are used to influence people, (clothing style). D. How this advertisement of big fashion companies has persuaded women away from veiling (as a way of encouraging them to flaunt their beauty). 4. How veiling is viewed today. 1. The negative connotation that is associated with veiling. A. Who still practices? (Nuns wear a habit, as a way of devotion and a display of the unimportance of fashion, how some Orthodox Jewish women wear a wig or a handkerchief because of their faith, how Muslim women wear hijab or burqa as a form of modesty, to highlight how the practice of veiling had continued. B. Veiling as a symbol today (oppression). C. Countries that ban veiling and the reasons why? D. Countries that require women to veil. E. How the media depicts depict women who chose to veil oppressed and the victims of extreme patriarchal practices. (III). Counterargument 1. Was veiling a cultural practice or religious practice, in early Christianity. (I). Paul’s Letters A. How it is perceived? From a religious point of view and a feministic point of view? (the argument). (IV). Conclusion. Bringing together all the points I have made and reiterating the significance of veiling in early Christianity, in terms of the question of whether the practice was cultural or religiously prescribed, the cause of the shift from the veiling practice, and how veiling is viewed today. The annotated Bibliography (make sure to use some of these sources and also include new ones) Crane, Diana, and Laura Bovone. 2006. “Approaches to Material Culture: The Sociology of Fashion and Clothing.” Poetics 34 (6): 319–33. doi:10.1016/j.poetic.2006.10.002. The article is a study of material culture in terms of fashionable clothing. The authors analyze the symbolic value of clothing. The five ways this analysis is done is: “ (1) analyses of material culture as a type of text that expresses symbols and contributes to discourses and to cultural repertoires; (2) analyses of systems of cultural production in which symbolic values are attributed to material culture through the collective activities of members of culture worlds; (3) analyses of the communication of symbolic values associated with items of material culture and the processes whereby these meanings are disseminated to consumers through the media; (4) analyses of the attribution of symbolic values to material culture by consumers and of their responses to symbolic values attributed to material culture by producers of material culture or in other ways; (5) cross-national studies of symbolic values expressed in material goods and of the systems that produce them in order to reveal differences in the types of symbolic values attributed to material culture in different countries and regions.” The authors explore through the analysis the cultural, social, and organizational factors that influence the creation of the fashion world. Ross, Robert. 2008. “Clothing: A Global History.” Polity, 074563186X, 9780745631868. The book looks into the symbols associated with clothing and the message it bears. It analyzes what causes many countries, in the terms of men and women, today to dress very similarly, with a focal point of what had caused this similarity. The author then proceeds to explore the reason why certain places in the world don’t dress as similar to other places. The unique way they dress is what sets them apart and how their beliefs and cultures influence that. The book first investigates western dressing and the cultural influence at different time periods. And besides culture influence, how clothing has been a political act whether as a form of rebellion, personal choice, or as a form of identity. “Dress, Religion, Identity.” 2010. Material Religion 6 (3): 371. doi:10.2752/175183410X12862096296883. This article is an overview of the “languages of clothes” a book by Alison loan E. It discusses how clothing is a form of communication; How clothes contain both a political and social stand with a deep connection to religion and identity. this article brings to light many debates occurring based on the way people dress, such as the ban of head covering in France, the ban against wearing Christian crosses in primary schools in the USA, etc. And how these forms of expression are viewed as symbols. Loewenthal, Kate Miriam, and Lamis S. Solaim. 2016. “Religious Identity, Challenge, and Clothing: Women’s Head and Hair Covering in Islam and Judaism.” Journal of Empirical Theology 29 (2): 160–70. doi:10.1163/15709256-12341344. This is research intended to examine the issues of women head covering in Islam and Judaism. It examines the relations between clothing and the development and expression of religious identity. The paper gives a background history of the religious rulings about women’s head covering in Judaism and Islam; Then, proceeds to analyze the significance of head covering in both religion in terms of identity development. It highlights the significant role clothing plays in the expression of religious identity and focuses on issues surrounding dress code for Muslims and Jewish women. Ten practicing Muslim and Jewish women are used as subjects in this research. Galadari, Abdulla. “Behind the Veil: Inner Meanings of Women’s Islamic Dress Code.” International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences 6, no. 11 (December 2012): 115–25. http://search.ebscohost.com.berea.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=91821689&site=ehost-live. This article examines the Islamic dress code for women. It investigates how the debates that are surrounding this dress code, especially “the veil” worn by Muslim women. It highlights how the veil is a way of obeying God’s command through physical portrayal. The “hijab” or “veil” as it is described is a headscarf or a covering that Muslim women wear. There are different types of coverage in the Islamic world, from burqa to hijab. The paper begins first by defining the veil; it expresses the reason for wearing “the veil” on religious ground. It shows how it has a deeper spiritual meaning than what societal norms and different cultures display it to be in the physical realm. The article investigates what parts of the dressing codes are religiously prescribed and what part is culturally influenced. It also looks at how this dress code is seen as a form of oppression/repression. TARIQ, TAHMINA. 2013. “Let Modesty Be Her Raiment: The Classical Context of Ancient-Christian Veiling.” Implicit Religion 16 (4): 493–506. doi:10.1558/imre.v16i4.493. The article offers an overview of ancient Christian veiling, how veiling was used when participating in religious sources, Paul letters about veiling, and how men veiled as well. It first discusses the context in which veiling was practiced in the Greco-Roman world; how the ideal place for women was home, where she would be away from the public space of men and their gaze. Out of the house, the veil symbolized a form of protection. The article proceeds to discuss how social status influenced clothing; the veiling at first was only worn by the wealthy because the clothing was a form of displaying social status. Peasants and slaves were identified as inferior and could not veil; the main reason for veiling was that the male gaze wouldn’t fall upon a women’s body to avoid him from pressuring that image in his mind and recalling it through sexual fantasies, which will belittle the women’s honor. Women from lower caste honor were not regarded. The article also offers examples of how veiling was used as a form of modesty and honor, that women safeguarded. Wilkinson, Kate. 2013. “Early Christian Dress: Gender, Virtue, and Authority.” Church History 82 (1): 168–70. doi:10.1017/S0009640712002569. The article is a review of the book “Early Christian Dress: Gender, Virtue, and Authority” by Kristi Upson-Saia. The article explores the construction of gender in Christian late antiquity and how Christians adapted Roman rhetoric about the dress. It discusses how many texts in terms of women’s clothing are constructed by males and how it is a representation of their own construction of femininity, rather than the real lives and subjective of early Christian women. Martin, Troy W. 2004. “Paul’s Argument from Nature for the Veil in 1 Corinthians 11:13-15: A Testicle Instead of a Head Covering.” Journal of Biblical Literature 123 (1): 75–84. doi:10.2307/3268550. This article gives an analysis of the New Testament Biblical passage of 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, calling for the veiling of women in public worship. The article discusses the confusion Paul’s argument causes for many women, especially feminists. The author emphasizes how the teachings are male-gender enforced. Pazhoohi, Farid, Antonio F. Macedo, and Joana Arantes. 2017. “The Effect of Religious Clothing on Gaze Behavior: An Eye-Tracking Experiment.” Basic & Applied Social Psychology 39 (3): 176–82. doi:10.1080/01973533.2017.1307748. This is an eye-tracking experimental study regarding religious clothing. The study investigates whether the role of conservative dressing is to restrict the male gaze and whether or not it decreases female physical attractiveness. The results were discussed in terms of the roles of conservative clothing in women’s clothing choice, men’s mate retention tactics, and parent-offspring conflict over mate choice. Wilhelm, Leonie, Andrea S. Hartmann, Manuel Waldorf, Silja Vocks, Julia C. Becker, and Melahat Ki?i. 2018. “Body Covering and Body Image: A Comparison of Veiled and Unveiled Muslim Women, Christian Women, and Atheist Women Regarding Body Checking, Body Dissatisfaction, and Eating Disorder Symptoms.” Journal of Religion & Health 57 (5): 1808–28. doi:10.1007/s10943-018-0585-3. The study examined whether body image, body checking, and disordered eating differ between veiled and unveiled Muslim women, Christian women, and atheist women. The results were discussed.