Controversies about Gentile Christians - Essay Example

TRS The leadership structure of the early Christian community There was a hierarchical leadership structure in this community, founded by Christ himself upon picking the twelve disciples. The disciples in turn went out and picked converts from the earlier converts in a variety of local areas. The leadership took a top down structure, where Peter was the central bridge figure between the early church ministry and the ministry of Jesus. All oversees were elders, but not all elders were oversees or bishops. As it prospered and grew, Christianity attracted more followers because it granted them special privileges and a wave of peaceful cooperation. Luke wrote about the early Christian leadership development in the first seven chapters of Acts of the Apostles. The focus is majorly on Jesus’ teachings, the spread of the Gospel, and the events that were experienced in Galilee and Judea. As church leaders and more so the Apostles spread the gospel, they experienced hardships such as persecutions, incorporation of foreigners, maintaining distant followers, and issues of church leadership and policies. 2. Controversies about Gentile Christians The great controversy in the early church was about whether or not Christianity had to be simply another division of Judaism. The focus was on the missionary expansion of Gentiles from Antioch. The issue was basically the basis on which Gentiles were to be admitted to the church and the whole issue of human salvation, whether Gentiles or Jews were at stake. The opinion to resolve this controversy was for people to acknowledge the grace of God in Christ as the sole basis for faith and salvation as the only necessity from the human side. It was also suggested that gentiles respect the attitudes of their brethrens in Christ. At the end of all these, the Church was freed from being a sect in Judaism, and could expand freely as a unit throughout Europe (Saward 67). 3. Arius belief about Jesus and the controversy around this Arius believed that God and Jesus were not really of the same substance. His belief was in the ontological and the eternal functional subordination of Jesus to God; that the son was lower than the father and that he was created before time. At first, the early church was not sure of how to respond to Aryanism. Athanasius responded by claiming that Jesus was eternally begotten from God and thus they have the same essence. Bishop Alexander left the controversy to go on until he finally came to perceive that it was endangering peaceful co-existence in the church. A local council of Bishops was called upon to resolve the controversy, who decided against these teachings as well as depositing Arius from office and excommunicating his followers. In 325 AD, Constantine took a step to form a council inclusive of church prelates from the Roman Empire to solve the controversy. With Constantine’s influence, most of the bishops settled on the Nicene Creed that had the term homoousios; referring to “one in essence,” with the meaning contrary to that of Arius. The Nicene Creed circular was distributed in churches to make Christians aware. 4. Effects of the sacrament of baptism to the baptized, according to the early Christians According to Saward (104), in the 3rd and 4th centuries, the early church baptized using the immersion method. They believed that this sacrament forgave sins. To them, in the name of the Father, the son, and the holy Spirit, their sins were washed away by water. Baptism also made one a believer, and whoever refused the sacrament was condemned as an unbeliever. Moreover, baptism was a sign that people were destined to repent and could receive remission of sins, were regenerated, get born again, and were blessed by God. 5. Rabbi Abraham Heschel’s theological understanding of the Sabbath Rabbi Abraham Heschel Viewed the Sabbath as not a healthy rest period aimed at preventing burn-out and a way to carry out productive chores; neither is it equivalent to sleep. On this day, the nature of time is disclosed as eternity, while everything stands still as God and humans get close to each other and angels and humanity share a common liturgy. It is universal, yet there are many believers than Sabbaths; there is only one Sabbath, which is not a human institution, rather a divine gift. To the Jewish believers, Sabbath brings about forgiveness, joy, and total human solidarity. The Sabbath is the “bride” of Jewish believers and its presence is commemorated as a wedding feast. It’s ritual observance and rules are aimed at fostering these practical experiences and not to overload the believer with obligations. 6. The theological relationship between the Eucharist and the church The writings on the Eucharist and the Church are basically independent of each other and autonomous; meaning, whatever related to the Devine Eucharist affected the church, and the reverse is true. According to the ancient sources, the church and the Eucharist have two, mutually-defining and intertwined realities. Academic theology view the Eucharist as an issue that entails all the other sacraments, gives meaning, and makes ecclesiastical the entire aspects that are in the church. The church and the Eucharist are closely intertwined, given that the church is centered on Christ, and Eucharist is Christ, as well as the summit and source of the Christian life. The Eucharist nourishes the church, and evangelization in church results in Eucharist. 7. The four marks of the Church in the Nicene Creed The Nicene Creed was documented centuries ago to assist Christians in remembering the essential beliefs of their faith. The four marks include: Oneness of the church­-In the same way that God is one in the Holy Spirit, in the son, and in the Father, so is the church. Christ found the church, brought us back to God, and made the church one family in the Holy Spirit. Holiness of the church-Since the church resides in union with Jesus, it is holy. The church leads people to holiness through Christ, as he is the source of holiness. The Church is Catholic-The term catholic means “universal” Its universality is in two ways; one, because all baptized individuals make up the church and it has the means of salvation; Two, the church’s mission is universal because it has been sent to declare Christ’s deeds in the whole human race. Churches are Apostolic-They trace their traditions straight from the apostles. With the help of the Holy Spirit, churches preserve and carry on the apostles’ teachings. 8. Characteristic themes of the artwork of Georges Rouault Georges Rouault’s foremost characteristic theme was that of the passion of Christ. He used women cries under the cross and Jesus’ face to characterize the pain felt in the world. He believed that all the suffering and pain was cleansed by the resurrection of Jesus. Another theme was that of sin and redemption, which were perceived to be for social and moral criticism. He dedicated his art to prostitutes, comedians, and the judicial system, motivated by existentialism and spiritualism. Rouault was concerned with religious matters as well as human nature. 9. Christian doctrine of original sin and how our emotions and desires can get us into trouble Even though human beings know that good deeds result in good reputations and get the difference between what is wrong and right, they still fail to treat each other well. The doctrine of original sin provides that the universe, and each individual was created to be unique and good, and that all the evils in humans is an extra character, not part of their nature. Regardless of what people believe, it is a guarantee that trouble comes their way. The original sin teachings indicate that bad things are not innate to the world; the world was meant to be good but it later on became bad. In this sense therefore, we get into trouble because of the inborn state of sin that leads to those desires and emotions. 10. Key insights and realizations that prompted Jennifer Fulwiler’s evolution Fulwiler wrote the article, “A sexual Revolution” on how she evolved to be a pro-life Christian. She remembers that on the day when her husband was reassessing his pro-choice principles, he made a comment that kept clicking in her mind. Her husband stated, “It just occurred to me that being pro-life is being pro-other people’s-life; everyone is pro-their own life.” This remark made Fulwiler realize that her pro-choice perspectives were making her decide who was or was not human, as well as whose lives were worth living. In addition, when she saw Catholic blogs and books that indicated that life begins at conception, she could ridicule the messages but her insight was often disturbed as she became increasingly uncomfortable with her defense. Significantly, it came to her senses that her definition of the way, when the fetus turned to a person, and when it begun to have rights, was dependent on its level of health. 11. Reasons as to why Catholics and Orthodox Christians pray to Mary This is for the reason that they believe Jesus offered Mary as a mother to the entire mankind. Further, it is clear that God’s will is done, and his favors given through some kind of secondary agent. Mary remains the mother of Jesus and she posses a mother’s privileges and rights, thus can obtain grace for humans. She is the median through which grace descends to the world, and she is honored just like her son. However, the two faiths would technically argue that they do not pray to her but with her because she is in a more perfect state with Jesus to qualify her to intercede with a Christian. To them, it is a cooperation which means they share in one source, Christ (Saward 45). 12. The communion of saints and how it relates to the ordinary lives of Christians The communion of Saints is the union that exists among church members, the anguished souls in purgatory, and the blessed in heaven. It relate to the ordinary lives of Christians in that, they are always in supernatural unity with those who matter most, that is, Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the saints. Most important, it indicates the common sharing of church members in faith, the charisms, the Eucharist, and other spiritual gifts. The communion of saints also relates to the unity between holy individuals, who passed away but are being purified and continue to intercede for the living. Works Cited Saward, John. Perfect Fools: Folly for Christ's Sake in Catholic and Orthodox Spirituality. Oxford University Press on Demand, 1980. Print. Read More