RELI 448N Week 6 Discussion: What Makes Christianity Unique?
I have chosen option 2 again. I will also choose Catholic as my Christian denomination. In order for me to identify and examine three issues, scientific or moral, facing Christianity in 21st century America, I will have to start by giving my own opinion about the Religion/Christianity that is in my world today. I grew up in a deeply religious home. Catholic school, in the church choir, a daughter of Mary, praying the rosary, mass every Sunday and let us not forget confession. When I became an adult I also had my children in a Catholic school until I could afford it no more. I walked away from the church but not my beliefs. Today, I am a non-practicing Catholic but I still pray at home by myself. The church is not what it used to be for me. The satisfaction and feeling of joy as well as purity is no longer there. I ask myself, what happened? I am actually hoping to find the answer with this assignment.
Three of the issues that Christianity is facing today in my opinion are Relaxed morality, Biblical Illiteracy/ Anti-intellectualism, and a Definite Decline in Attendance. I have noticed that the Christians of today have relaxed their views on morality, things that should really matter such as abortion, marriage, and homosexuality. Even the Pope has come out expressing that it is O.K. to be gay and abortion is acceptable. Marriage now is a joke because the couples have the wedding of their dreams only to be divorced within 5 years. They do not know how to fight for their marriage to survive.
How are you supposed to teach your children about the Bible, when you yourself have biblical illiteracy/ anti-intellectualism. If a person does not read the Bible, you can not be expected to know what it says and therefore how can you be expected to know what the biblical doctrine is? The fundamentals of Scripture need to be relearned and it all has to start at the top with the Pope so that our priests can actually do their job and teach us the biblical doctrine and at the same time quench our thirst for the word of God, which will in turn fulfill the satisfaction and feeling of joy as well as purity that we so desperately need.
By doing the above the great decline in attendance in churches might stop. We might just believe that going to church and listening to the gospel, or reading the epistles to us, is what we need in our lives. “The word epistle means “letter.” It is an appropriate label for most of these works, which were written to instruct, to encourage, and to solve problems”(Molloy, 2020). The first step will have to come from the church itself. Make the effort of changing whatever strategies that are being used to something that will make parishioners want to come back. Maybe try not being so radical but at the same time do not change our moral beliefs that Catholicism stands for. “The church must understand that Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church, and the Biblical order of organization is to be followed. Timothy 3:5”(Journeyonline.org).
Basically I am part of the reason/problem that there is a decline in attendance in church. The fact that I work every weekend does not allow me to go to church on Sundays. Therefore I will have to say that this issue actually challenges my professional practice. Due to my profession I am not able to go to church but then again the church has done nothing to make me want to come back.
RELI 448N Week 6 Discussion: What Makes Christianity Unique?
Required Resources
Read/review the following resources for this activity:
- Textbook: Chapter 9
- Lesson
- Minimum of 1 scholarly source (in addition to the textbook/lesson)
Initial Post Instructions
For the initial post, respond to only one of the following options:
Option 1
For this option, address the following:
- Identify 3 major beliefs about Jesus’ identity that remain as core Christian beliefs today. Provide a 2-6 sentence overview of the meaning of each.
- Choose one of these themes to explain more fully including its Biblical reference and whether it affirms or challenges Christian unity today. Give a reason for your thoughts.
- Explain how your choice relates to your personal world/faith view or affects professional practice.
Option 2
For this option, address the following:
- Identify and examine three issues, scientific or moral, facing Christianity in 21st century America.
- Choose one specific Christian denomination (e.g., Lutheran, Catholic, Methodist, etc.) and describe how it is responding to one of these challenges (adapting/resisting). Give specific examples.
- Discuss how one of your issues affirms or challenges your professional practice.
Follow-Up Post Instructions
Respond to at least two peers or one peer and the instructor. Respond to a peer who chose an option different from the one you chose. Further the dialogue by providing more information and clarification.
Writing Requirements
- Minimum of 3 posts (1 initial & 2 follow-up)
- Initial Post Length: 300-500 words
- Minimum of 2 sources cited (assigned readings/online lessons and one outside scholarly source)
- APA format for in-text citations (include page or paragraph) and references
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Grading
This activity will be graded using the Discussion Grading Rubric. Please review the following link:
- Link (webpage): Discussion Guidelines
Course Outcomes (CO): 2, 3, 4, 5
Due Date for Initial Post: By 11:59 p.m. MT on Wednesday
Due Date for Follow-Up Posts: By 11:59 p.m. MT on Sunday
Class,
Welcome to Week 6! You may begin posting on Sunday, 11/29/20 for credit. In the Discussion forum you have two options. You can either focus on Jesus’ identity that remain as core Christian beliefs or you can focus on how Christians today deal with the challenges that are facing religions and religious traditions in our modern world.
Please make your TWO posts each week on any of the eight days allotted from preview Sunday to closing Sunday that work with your schedule. Both posts may be on the same day.
For your responses this week, you are asked to either respond to at least two peers or you may choose to respond to one peer and the instructor. And, as always, remember the goal of your responses is to work toward furthering the dialogue by providing more information and clarification.
Here are some recent articles focussed on the challenges facing many of the religious traditions that we have been focussed on during this course.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly.
Professor and Class:
The major beliefs about Jesus’ identity that remain as core Christian beliefs are Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. “Traditional Christianity holds the belief that God consists of three “Persons”: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—together called the TrinityLinks to an external site.” (Molloy, 2020 p. 336). Father is speaking of the first person in Trinity. When speaking of the Father in Christianity, it says in Ephesians 4:6 that “one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Holy Bible NIV).
This means that the Father is holy, just, and fair, he is the father of everyone including the fatherless. He is God the father. God the father is powerful, he knows everything, and he is watching everything which means he can be everywhere at the same time.
He sees all things because he is God. God is sovereign and of complete control of the world. When referring to Son as an identity of Jesus, Son of God, who is Jesus Christ is the second person in Trinity.
As the Son of God, Jesus was born from the virgin Mary and God who created Jesus from dirt became his father in spirit. As Jesus appeared on earth, he was here to do the will of heavenly Father who is God. Holy Spirit is the third person of Trinity. In John 14:25-26, it says ““The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you (Holy Bible NJKV). The holy spirit is a godly power that directs people who believe in a positive way and in truth. As a Christian the Holy spirit should live within your heart and soul. The Holy spirit wants to empower believers and assist us to fight against our flesh.
I believe the holy spirit affirms Christianity today. We are given a conscious, and as a Christian the holy spirit guides our hearts. It allows us to decide whether we go right or left, the wrong way or the right way. When Christians are practicing Christianity, we are reminded to go in your peace to hear God, Jesus Christ, and the holy spirit in order to make the right decisions in life.
I believe in my professional practice as a Christian, I am guided not only by my teachings of becoming a nurse but my conscious of knowing how to fulfill or complete a task. When I was hands on before becoming a case manager, I would pray before every shift because I did not know what type of day I was going to have and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be faced with a challenge of a new task or a task I have never performed before. I successfully completed all my shifts for 7 years with a few hiccups but leaving for the day knowing I did my best and performed my best.
References:
Molloy, M. (2020). Experiencing the world’s religions: Tradition, challenge, and change (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill
The Holy Bible (KJV and NIV)