Essays on Ecumenical

Abstract

Pastoral counseling is gradually becoming a radical provider of mental health services. Clergymen are increasingly pursuing training in both behavioral science and religion. In endeavors to manifest quality clinical practice, they merge theological and psychological disciplines. Pastoral counseling is thus a distinctive psychotherapy, given its ability to include divine and God`s power. The psychotherapy is based on the belief that people desire divine connection. Pastoral counselors mediate healing with God`s loving in order to achieve ideal wholeness. As such, this paper depicts a reflection on pastoral counseling in liaison with previous readings in class. It leverages various ...

I. INTRODUCTION The cultural dimension of Christian experience, which Niebuhr attempted to typify, is essentially more complex that he himself appeared to recognize. In fact, in order to deal with this complexity, Niebuhr categorized Christianity as inextricably of a Western culture to the clear disregard of the realities of Christians in the East, which the apostles too have built into a community of the faithful under Christ. Nevertheless, he dealt with the complexity by presuming that Christianity is essentially a Western cultural community while referring to the target culture as “not a particular phenomenon but the general one”. While ...

What are the Dimensions of Religion? Why are the Dimensions of Religion helpful in studying religion?

Religion is a thorough perspective that records for these inquiries of human presence and considers having confidence in something past the "common".

It was stated in Ninian Smart's Seven Dimensions of Religion (10–21):

1. Experiential/Emotional. There are sure encounters that appear to offer ascent to religion: experiencing common or heavenly drives that create a feeling of dread or wonder, contemplating one passing, having an "extraordinary" vision, feeling united with all of reality, or encountering extremely solid feelings. 2. Social/Institutional. Individuals who have these encounters search out others with comparative encounters and structure bunches for backing. 3. Account/Mythic. In the gathering, individuals pass on their involvement in stories. ...

It is well known that man is a social creature. In so doing, there are some aspects of culture that come in through his life. One of these aspects is religion. There are three main monotheistic religions in the world; Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Below is a discussion of these religions and the manner in which they interrelate with each other, with greater focus lying in the manner in which Christianity relates to the rest.

Contemporary Issues

Origin and Historical Account of Interactions

The term Christianity is derived from the Greek word Kristos, which is used by the Christians in Greek to translate ...

In the many developments that are taking place in the religious world, ecumenism is one of the most significant of them all. Church leaders are coming together with common goals that enable them to best serve and worship God, among other many activities. The main goal of contemporary ecumenism has been for all the Christians in the world to be brought together into unity amidst diverse and pluralistic expressions of the faith. This interdenominational union is rooted in the belief that all Christians are bound together by Christ and His existence should not be the cause of division and ...

Torrance, T. F. (1981). The Incarnation: ecumenical studies in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed A.D. 381. Edinburgh: Handsel Press. I believe in one God, the Father almighty, Torrance gives evidence that upon drafting the Nicene Creed Aryanism and Gnosticism denies Jesus as a true man. The Nicene Creed of 325 was during the period of Arians converting the Northern barbarians. Originally, the Athanasius possess authority of the Creed and the inhabitants regard it as equal of the Bible since it is a third Christian sacred book. In A.D 381 Constantinople adopts the Nicene Creed. Elders in the early Presbyterian Church held ...

1.0 Introduction Today, plurality of religion is the fact of life, and must be accepted as such (Pachuau & Jorgensen, 2011). Almost everyone have their own views on religion, perhaps as varied as the sands in beaches or the stars in the sky. Globalization and technology have brought nations and culture closer; different perspectives of life, rarely compatible approaches to living. In this one global village, Christ continued to call all Catholics to be missionaries to His people. Christians are called to treat people of any faith, even those of no faith, with genuine respect in their act ...

(Student’s Full Name)

“Capital punishment is as fundamentally wrong as a cure for crime as charity is wrong as a cure for poverty.”—Henry Ford “I think capital punishment works great. Every killer you kill never kills again.” –Bill Maher The above statements reveal the strong and opposing views which many individuals have on the topic of capital punishment. Some persons contend that it is unnecessary and inhumane. While others, like myself, posit that capital punishment is necessary for a fair, just, and civilized society which do not want to worry about the threat of a convicted murderer roaming the streets. ...

American Evangelicalism

Overview In United States, major religious transition occurred in the start of the twentieth century. More so, there were large numbers of American Protestants under the evangelical leadership. Apparently, in 1900s, there was massive stratification of evangelical denominations based on the doctrinal beliefs and practices. One side consisted of the mainstream Protestants who believed in the personal interpretation of evangelical doctrines. The fundamentalists introduced new beliefs and practices beyond the biblical teachings that provide more freedom of worship to the believers. Additionally, American Protestants applied contemporary factors into the practicability of the biblical doctrines. It is an idea ...

The Great Church in Captivity

Diverse scholarly monographs dedicated to the Orthodox Church history during the reign of King Ottoman have recently been published. One such scholarly work is that of The Great Church in Captivity: A Study of the Patriarchate of Constantinople from the Eve of the Turkish Conquest to the Greek War of Independence by Steven Runciman. Sir Steven has successfully penned down the patriarchate history by chronicling the events during the Ottoman rule. It is indeed a detailed and a lucid piece of work which displays the research conducted on language relevant to this theme. However, the book gives a detailed account of ...

Chapter 7: Civil Religion

Majority of people associate the word “religion” with major organized faiths that people have practiced for centuries. Traditional religions typically involve rituals, sacred texts, holidays, intimate beliefs held and practiced by a congregation. However, humans practice another form of religion, often unconsciously, which sociologists call civil religion. According to Johnstone (122), civil religion refers to secular forms of belief and ritual similar to those practiced in religion, such as political ceremonies. In social scientific context, the society matches cultural institutions with some kinds of social groups. For example, religion is a social embodiment in associations such as churches, the ceremonies in ...

Critical Review

I would like to begin by agreeing with Ronald for reporting that women have not been given an equal recognition in the church. Unlike their male counterparts, the womenfolk ‘have had to struggle to liberate themselves from religious oppression’ Reddie, 2001). Although they have now attained religious progress, they have been discriminated in these male-dominated Christian churches for a very long time. As the author acclaims, no woman could initially be given a leadership position especially in the mainline churches. However, I would like to point out that they are now liberated. Today, many of them have been ordained as church ...

In Jose Burciaga’s essay “My Ecumenical Father,” he describes his complex relationship with both his father and the various religions he practices as a result of his upbringing. The opening line is a series of three traditional holiday greetings, each from different languages and religions. This evidences the ecumenical nature of the subject of the story – his father, the Shabbat goy for a Jewish synagogue. Despite being Catholic, he would perform duties for Jews who were forbidden from doing anything during the Sabbath, like polishing the menorah at Christmastime. Over the course of the essay, Burciaga honors his father by showcasing ...