The ideology of religious studies - Essay Example

The ideology of religious studies 1. The Servant Songs refer to the group of texts found in the biblical book of Isaiah and has passages centering upon the Servant of the Lord. The Book of Isaiah is one of the prophetic books categorized as major books in the Bible and is the first of the Latter Prophets and has 66 chapters. The Songs of the Suffering Servant is laid out in four different passages of the book and was taken to refer to the nation of Israel. Others have taken it to imply the coming of Jesus Christ. The Servant of Songs is found elaborately in the following chapters: Isaiah 42: 1-4, Isaiah 49:1-6, Isaiah 50: 4-9 and Isaiah 52:13-53:12. A look into this concept of ‘servant’ reveals in the Old Testament as well as the New Testament that the servant was called the Servant of the Lord or the Servant of Yahweh. The issues addressed in this book relate directly to the Servant and the person was willing to serve the Lord. The interpretations by early Christian’s is below. Isaiah 42:1-4 talks of the Servant as the chosen often endowed with Yahweh spirit to bring forth judgment to the nations. The Servant will work quietly and unobtrusively until justice is accomplished without failure or discouragement. In Isaiah 49:1-6, the Servant talks of having been prepared by God and ready for the mission to the distant people. The Servant is recognized as Israel in whom God will be glorified. The duty of the Servant in this case is to restore Israel and be a light to the surrounding nations. Isaiah 50: 4-9 though does not mention the word ‘servant’ but, implies the state of servant hood. Yahweh wakens him every morning to hear from Him. Isaiah 52:-53:12 implies the suffering servant who is disfigured and despised, and stricken by God. The servant is laid in a felon’s grave. 2. This book of Jonah talks about Jonah’s reaction to the prophetic call. Early Christians took this book as a personal writing by Jonah himself. They consider the book a midrash and not a historical narrative. They interpreted it this way because Jonah seems to be talking the events as they occur and not something historical. The book is quite unique among the prophetic books as it is not a collection of oracles at all. To early Christians, this book aided them in spreading the essence of true miracles as performed by God. 3. In Genesis 22, Abraham is seen binding his son Isaac for sacrifice. Though the Angel of God prevents him to, his faith in God is surely affirmed. To early Christians, this was a clear indication pointing towards the sacrificial body of Jesus Christ who was to be nailed on the cross for the redemption of man. Of particular interest is the use of the lamb in place of Isaac which is taken as Jesus Christ in place of us. Further, they interpret that the faith Abraham had in God was definitely able to raise Isaac from the death had he sacrificed him. Consequently, Abraham’s willingness to give out his only son is an indication of the sacrifice God made through His Son Jesus Christ who died to save us. The Early Christians also believed that Abraham went to Mt. Moriah where he bound Isaac and this same Mount is where Jesus Christ was bound and crucified i.e. at Calvary. 4. First, the beginnings are distinctive. The gospels of Mathew and Luke begin their accounts with the story of Jesus’ birth while Mark begins the story of Jesus with the ministry of John the Baptist. The Gospel of John is the most unique as it talks of the Trinity presence at the beginning of creation with everything having been created through the word which is Jesus Christ. Secondly, in the Gospels by Mathew, Mark and Luke, the teachings of Jesus are highlighted through the preaching of the Kingdom of God while in the Gospel of John, the message is mainly presented in terms of eternal life and resurrection. Thirdly, the Gospel of John presents the teaching of Jesus in long conversations while in the other ones the teachings are usually found in parable forms. A more outstanding feature is that the first three gospels of Mathew, Mark and Luke, have an account about the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist, His temptation, His transfiguration, as well as the institution of the Lord’s Supper. All these accounts are missing in the Gospel of John. The final distinctive feature is that in the Gospel of John, the teachings about the Holy Spirit are extensively mentioned while in the other Gospels little is actually mentioned regarding the same. 5. Mathematical truth refers to the certainty obtained from a mathematical process of proving theories with the help of figures. This has been due to the concerns of having a homogenous semantic theory. A mathematical statement is true when it adheres to the logical rules available i.e. if it can be deduced from other available established truths. In mathematics this is the main concern as proof of mathematical truths must be based on the regulations of logic. On the other hand, historical truth refers to the lost piece of a subject’s lived experience that is only available through construction. It is based on origins hence, the more reason why it can be presented as a kernel of truth in forming legends, delusions and religious beliefs. Trust in coming to historical knowledge about the past ensures that concrete foundations are built which can enable reliability on the same stated documents, facts or information. When trust has been developed then authenticity of the historical truths can be established. 6. For one, the rise of early Christianity as recorded in the Bible through Apostle Paul and the others could have not been a reality had Jesus Christ Himself had not risen from the dead. Secondly, in the Biblical records, it is noted that Jesus Christ was anointed and buried in a new tomb by Joseph of Arimathae, but on Sunday He was risen. Consequently, Apostle Paul speaks of the raising of Jesus Christ from the dead on the third day which is Easter Sunday. Refuting all other theories provides a basis for proving the truth about the resurrection. The story about the Jewish leaders that the disciples came at night and stole His body is unacceptable since the tomb was guided by a contingent of armed soldiers. The question would be how these Roman soldiers were overpowered by a swooning corpse or a group of few disciples. Or even, how possible could have that mighty stone be rolled back if not by supernatural powers. The characters of the disciples disapprove of the acts of thinking to have the body of Jesus stolen and so let them all wait for the news. Additionally, Joseph of Arimathea was a member of the Sanhedrin and so he would have not lied about the burial and resurrection facts of Jesus. On Sunday after His resurrection, Jesus’ tomb was found empty by a group of His women followers. The fact that it is the women, rather than the strong men like Peter, were the discoverers of the empty tomb is paramount explained by the reality that they were the principal witnesses to the fact of the empty tomb. The Gospel writers faithfully document what, for them, was an uncomfortable and embarrassing fact. 7. On several occasions, Jesus Christ mentioned to His disciples about His approaching death. The first specific saying is when Jesus foretells Simon Peter, one of His disciples that he would deny Him before the cock crowed thrice. In relation to this, Jesus foretold of His disciples being scattered like sheep without a shepherd when He was to be captured a saying that came to be true since when He was captured at the garden of Gethsemane, all of the disciples ran away and scattered. Jesus also told of Judas Iscariot being the one who would betray Him into the hands of the ruthless Jewish rulers just for thirty pieces of silver. At some point, Jesus also taught His disciples that He would be no more for three days and then after three days again, they would see Him. This, I believe, He was referring to His death, burial and resurrection. 8. According to St. Athanasius, it possible to know God through His creation. He stated that creation as though in printed characters, declares in a loud voice, by its order and harmony, its own Lord and Creator (Fitzgerald, 85). He further asserted that the renewal of creation has been wrought by the self same Word who made it in the beginning. Basically this means that there is no inconsistency between the creation and salvation of man for it is one Father that employed same power to work for both. God desired that man live in divine communion with Him forever, but at creation man disobeyed His command and so the direct divine communion was broken. With regard to the human condition after sin, St. Athanasius holds that the doctrine of natural sin leads, naturally, to a focus on human death. He holds that there was nothing good or fortunate about the fall of man to both God and man. Hence, instead of human being watching and obeying the God who created them the contrary becomes true. Work Cited Fitzgerald, Timothy. The ideology of religious studies. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000. Print. Read More