Religion and Theology

1. Biblical theology is a foundation of philosophy, because it created the basis of culture that brought philosophy to its paramount. Biblical texts represent philosophical divinations and answer the questions relating to the structure, origin of Being, human nature, God and ideal forces (Ferguson and Wright, 24). These are the problems studied by philosophical ontology and ethics from the time of their inception. Biblical hermeneutics or exegetica became the primary domain of philosophy after the formation of Christianity. Biblical theology in fact, merged with pre-Christian Greek and Hellenistic philosophies, which were based on Greek culture and mythology (Graham and Siebach, 15). Such philosophers as Plotin created a fusion of Platos philosophy with Christian theology to produce new concepts and teachings. Christian theology heavily influenced the development of Hellenistic traditions of Stoicism, Epicureanism etc. Clement of Alexandria was among the most dominant philosophers of Early Christianity, who tried to fuse Christian theology with Aristotelian and Platonic philosophies. Such fusion was quite fertile in terms of creating new Christian concepts and dogmas of omnipotence, benevolence, omniscience.

Biblical theology was a foundation of Arabian philosophy in terms of developing Islam as an autonomous religion. Theology based on Bible and Christianity was a foundation of Middle Ages philosophy in Europe, including famous Scholastics school, represented by Thomas de Aquinas and earlier thinkers, such as Aurelius Augustine.

Moreover, it should be noted that virtually all early representatives of political and social thought were influenced by Christian theology, in which the rules of state constitution, power, popular and human rights were searched. To sum it up, it goes without saying that Christian theology is one of the major foundations of Western philosophy.

2. Biblical theology should be regarded as one of the major influences on science. However, science is often opposed to religion by natural scientists in fact the history of science shows that natural philosophy was primarily based on reading of Biblical texts. The notion of nature with its laws and rules, which was central to Western science, was developed in close reading and interpreting Bible, especially where it described the formation of life and nature by God. The development of logic, which was central to the formation of sciences, was also heavily influenced by scholastic interpretation of Bible. The fusion of Aristotelian and Christian logic significantly influenced the development of algebra, geometry of such thinkers as Leibniz, Descartes etc.

 It should be noted, however, that some teachings in science developed independently of Biblical theology, however in close communication with it. This is particularly true for Bacons and Newtons empiricism (Heschel, 15). Nevertheless, the integral understanding of nature and universe were in the last instance based on Christian theology in its different versions, including creationism, pantheism etc. In this view, it goes without saying that modern science was extremely influenced by Biblical theology. It also should be pointed out that the great progress in science did not result as many predicted in debunking of religious worldview. In fact, many modern scientists are not atheists, but agnostics or believers, because the harmonic structure of world makes them think that it could be created by a divine Reason.

3. Biblical theology had also a profound influence on the formation of Western worldview. The primary domains, which were the most influenced by Biblical theology in that respects were morality, ethics, the perception of beautiful, ideology of humanity, liberalism etc.

Biblical theology was the basic system of norms, influencing the formation of Western law and ethics, based on specific conceptions of good and evil, virtue and benevolence. The day-to-day morality of human relations is utterly based on Biblical commandments and divinations. Moreover, it should be noted that all human perceptions of earthly and heavenly world are based on basic Biblical stories and legends. It should be noted that such ideologies as liberalism were heavily influenced by Christian concepts of equality, freedom and human dignity preached by Jesus Christ (Warfield, 52).

4. It goes without saying that Biblical texts also had a profound influence on the formation of scientific epistemology. Biblical theology distinction between ideal and material became the foundation of scientific epistemology especially in Kantian and Hegelian philosophy. Material being was conceptualized as lacking logical coherence, while human cognition rationalizes material objects and finds objective rules, governing their existence. The development of logic  the basis of epistemology was also heavily influenced by Biblical texts. Moreover, it should be noted that determinism  the teaching assuming that all events and things are determined and caused by something originate from theology of creationism and scholastic proofs of God existence.

5. Inspiration is a Biblical doctrine, arguing that Bible was breathed out by God and contains Gods original message to people. The Bible has many passages, were authors argue that their messages have divine inspirations. Moses reception of Ten Commandments contains direct reference to God divination. The divine inspiration is often showed in the Bible by referring to God Thus says the Lord. It goes without saying that the divine inspiration of Bible has a wide-ranging significance for Christian theology and exegetica. It shows that the text of Bible should be treated as divine and saint, because it contains original messages of God to people. Divine inspiration also makes the task of interpretation difficult, because Gods messages should be interpreted in genuine and original manner to find their deep and difficult sense. Moreover, divine inspiration shows that Bible is not human-made, but is a saint text (Warfield, 59).

6. The significance of canonicity was particularly important during the formation of Christianity as a religious institution, regulation all spheres of life in a society. In the early ages of Christianity the significance of canonicity was less pronounced, because Christianity was not protected by states as a dominant religion and way of life. After Christianity was adopted as the state religion in the majority of European states and clergy was formed as the separated branch of power in Rome as its centre. Christian teaching was canonized as the set of rules, dogmas and rituals, regulating different spheres of life  marriages, birth, death etc. The Catholic Church created the unique interpretation of Bible and alternative Christian teachings and movements were prosecuted. Hence, canonicity was a process crucial for the codification of Christianity as unique religion with its specific canons, laws and procedures. However, it should be noted that institutionalization of Christianity bore on negative features, such as prosecution of alternative interpretations, sects and atheists by Inquisition.

7. The concept of cumulative revelation is a Biblical concept contending that Jewish nation was chosen by God and was revealed all basic truths of universe, life and death. Another interpretation of cumulative revelation concept contends that cumulative revelation is a kind of revelation, when the divine truths are opened to a vast number of people.

8. Concept of doxological centrality signifies the importance of Christian canons in different spheres of life. The latter includes the importance of spiritual consultation with priests, the centrality of making religious rituals and ceremonies. Moreover, doxological centrality includes the significance of austerity and adhering to the basic principles of Christian teaching.

9-10. According to Bible the origin of language is divine. Initially people spoke one language that was brought to them by God. However, after human sins God mixed all people and gave them many languages so as they did not understand each other. From then on, the divine sense of language was lost and people had to search deep to find initial Gods revelation. In this way, the purpose of language became the transmission of protected divine knowledge to other generation and the communication between people.

 11-12. The distinction between Israel and the Church may be traced back to the distinction between Judaism and Christianity (Heschel, 87). Initially, Judaist priests and authorities opposed Christianity as the religious teaching, because it appealed to the notions of solidarity, freedom and equality, which were not welcomed by Judaic society. Jesus Christ preached that all people are born equal. Moreover, Christianity in its early ages was in sharp opposition to Judaist rituals, such as circumcision and considered it to be barbaric. Moreover, the death of Christ, according to Christian tradition was caused by the treason of Judaist priests and Roman armed forces.

13-21. Several hermeneutic approaches, formed in Western tradition may be defined. The first method is lexical-syntactical approach, which studies the words utilized in Bible and the way in which they are used. It focuses on punctuation, different orders of the sentence, tenses and other grammatical matters to interpret the text. The second method  historical method focuses on historical inquiry into events, described in Bible to establish the historical truth. 3. Cultural method of hermeneutics focuses on studying the culture of nations and people, described in the Bible to find out their worldviews, traditions and rituals. 4. Contextual method focuses on context to find out, what a particular verse or sentence means in terms of its relationship with other parts of the text. 5. Theological method focuses on religious norms and rules, described in Bible, their purpose and meaning. 6. Finally, one should point to special literary methods, such as comparative analysis and discourse analysis, which were influenced by structuralism, postmodernism and post-structuralism.

22-25. Main four pillars of hermeneutics may be summarized as follows the importance of context  a text should be interpreted in terms of its place and relationship with other structural units of Bible. 2. Non-contradiction principle  the interpreted meaning should not contradict other texts in Bible. 3. Following the spirit of text  the interpretation should be internal to the text and do not follow external meanings, borrowed from common sense. 4. Truth principle  interpretation should find true meaning behind metaphors and other tropes.

26-30. Exegetical, synthetic and systematic processes of hermeneutics are all interconnected and linked. The exegetical process is important in terms of finding initial meaning and sense of a text to establish its purposes. Synthetic process refers to the procedure of synthesizing or linking the text analyzed with other text with a similar meaning. Finally, systematic process is designed to find out the systematic relationship between all texts found in Bible.

The Book of Revelation is the last book of the Bible and is classified as one of the New Testament books. It was written a couple of centuries ago by an apostle named John. The book of Revelation is an account of the vision that the apostle experienced towards the end of his life. The vision that John saw was symbolic and most of the information contained in this book requires interpretation in order to be understood. This discussion specifically focuses on the 20th chapter of this book, and in particular verses 1-6 (Barr, D. L. 2003).

The first verse of the 20th chapter of Revelation begins with the apostle seeing an angel who comes from heaven and with him is a key to a pit that is said to be without a bottom. In addition the angel having in hand a big chain. This verse symbolizes the power that the angel of God has over the devil. The chain that the angel has is for chaining the devil and the bottomless pit signifies the endless misery of hell where the devil belongs. The first, second and third verses concentrate on binding of the devil as the 2nd  verse records that the angel bound the devil a thousand years. Verse three records that after the angel bound the devil he threw him into a bottomless pit so that his work of deceiving nations may be discontinued until the one thousand year period is over (Beasley, M. G. R. 2004).

Looking at verses four to six, the focus now changes from earth to heaven. John records that he saw some people sitted on thrones while others were receiving judgment for being witnesses of Christ Jesus and standing by the word of God. They were crowned and they lived with Christ in His thrown for thousands of years. The rest of the people remained dead until the one thousand year period elapsed and then there was the first resurrection. By interpretation what is referred to as the first resurrection implies the new phase in which those that believed in Christ while on earth enter.

Looking at these verses there is a great connection with the verses in the book of Genesis. The books of Jeremiah and Ezekiel are key in helping us understand and interpret the contents of the book of revelation and in particular chapter 20. In these two books there is a detailed coverage as to how human beings can achieve contentment while on earth by believing Jesus Christ while at the same time being loyal and full of faith. It is also in these two books that Satan is portrayed as powerless as he was unable to prevent the redemption and incarnation of Jesus Christ. Satan is viewed as manipulative as he attempts to derails and distract believers from their faith in Christ (Barr, D. L. 2003).

The thoughts and applications derived from this passage is that we are able to get the complete serenity and peace if we believe in Christ. We have all that we need when we give Christ a chance to reign in our lives. The devils work is to steal, kill and destroy and thus we must at all times ensure that we keep far away from him. Christ requires our faith in him to be active as this is the only way he shall be able to judge us. Those who declare him as Lord and in the presence of all men and fight for the true gospel of Christ will be rewarded during the second resurrection as they shall reign with him for thousands of years to come (Beasley, M. G. R. 2004).

The 20th chapter of the book of revelation mainly focuses on the three millennium views which are the pre-millennium, post millennium and millennial. The beginning of this chapter is purely millennial. The beginning of this chapter has been interpreted by many theologians as being metaphoric. The Amillennialism represents the reign of the son of God Jesus Christ which will be closely followed by the second coming of Jesus. Those that died while believing in him will reunite with Christ during this period (Beasley, M. G. R. 2004).

Premillennialism period is the period when human beings are living in part of the Kingdom of God which will later grow and become greater. It is this period that Jesus will come again and reign over the earth. The devil will have no position. The third era is where the whole world will be converted to Christianity. It is at this period that the new earth will be filled with prosperity and peace. Christ will bring judgment the whole world and the righteous will go to heaven while the evil will be condemned to eternal misery (Barr, D. L. 2003).
It is therefore up to us to keep ourselves prepared so that when this time comes we shall be ready and we shall be found to be righteous so that we all shall go with Christ. The book of revelation is a key book in the Bible as it helps us understand what will happen during the last days.

The term gospel is the English translated version of the Greek word evangelion. Such term does not refer to any type of literature or book especially during the first century rather, it has more of a dynamic meaning that is a proclamation of a major event of great importance. The Greek translators of the Hebrew bible used the term evangelizesthai, a cognate verb that refers to the announcement of the impending deliverance of God. In short, gospel speaks of Gods news and definitive deeds of salvation through Jesus Christ, which can be considered as the delivery of good news.

As a designation to written works, gospel is used to refer to the secondary accounts of Jesus Christ, wherein first-century Christian authors presented him as the one who fulfilled the prophetic promises or the one who encompass the rules of God. Christian faith is said to have been shaped by the belief that Jesus is Gods Messiah, thereby giving recognition to the gospels. However, as each of the authors of every gospel made exercised considerable freedom to present the events in Jesus life and teachings, the absence of supporting documents that could explain the intent and the process by which these gospels are written fueled the advent of mysteries that have sustained throughout the rest of the Christian religious history. One of these mysteries is the case of the synoptic gospels.

Synoptic Gospels
Synoptic Gospels refer to the first three canonical gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke). Such namesake is derived from the fact that these three gospels display a high degree of similarities when it comes to content, narrative arrangements (as seen from there harmonized section by section arrangement), and even in paragraph structures. It is even inferred that these gospels share the same perspectives, but at the same time contain portions that are peculiar to only two of the gospels or even to only one of them.

Similarities and Differences
Turning over the pages of the first three canonical gospels, the reader will notice a large amount of commonality between the gospels of St. Matthew, St. Mark, and St. Luke. To begin with, as brief as these three narratives of Christs life can actually be, each of the gospels run parallel with one another in terms of their less than 330 to 370 verses or about a third of their account about Christs words and deeds, with an exception of 68 verses that is, the whole contents found in St. Marks writings can also be found in the accounts of St. Matthew and St. Luke. More strikingly however, the historical materials of each synoptical writer complement one another. The three synoptists are aware that Jesus healed various diseases during different situations they also seem to agree in selecting the same cases of healing to be incorporated to their accounts and although they have distinctly identified the extensive teachings of Jesus, they usually appear to report the same discourses of such teachings.

More similarities can be derived in the three gospels with regard to the synoptists conception of the whole narrative order. In all three, the public life of Christ is deeply intertwined with St. John the Baptists preachings, is confined within Galilee, and set in epochs such as the early Galilean ministry, the Galilean crisis, the ministries in Perea and Jerusalem, and the Holy City tragic end, which is followed by the resurrection. Upon closer inspection, it can be noticed that the gospel synoptists adopted a generally similar method of presenting the narratives to an extent that no consecutive narratives would present an fusion of the materials employed. Rather, the narratives appear to be a series of little accounts that are peculiarly isolated from the introduction and the concluding formula but repetitively agree in many details and order. All these resemblances, along with the agreement in words and phrases, can further be realized through Greek harmony, a process of closely translating the original text. Considering that Jesus spoke in Aramaic, there is still a verbal agreement in the Greek gospels, which suggests that the verbal resemblances in all three gospels are not accidental as their common use of peculiar terms and expressions also shows identical variations either in Hebrew and Septuagint quotations found in the old testament.

Although the synoptic gospels exemplify close resemblances, their interconnection with each other is not entirely parallel but also one of striking difference. Upon comparing, it appears that the synoptic gospels are similar and at the same time distinct in areas of incidents, language, and plan. Each of the writers incorporated in his narratives fragments or at times episodes of extensive records that are not related to the other two evangelists. For instance, St. Mark did not write anything about Christs infancy and early life, and while St. Matthew and St. Luke both spoke of such events, they did not entirely narrate the same facts. St. Mark incorporated the sermon on the mount, while it was St. Luke alone who narrated the last journey of Christ from Galilee to Jerusalem. Although concise and brief in his narratives, St. Mark solely spoke of two miracles and two parables, while St. Matthew who did not aim for brevity did not make any reference to the ascension. Adding up to these, in the same passages where close relations can be found among the three or at least two of the involved synoptists, minor differences within their sources can be continually observed. This is only evident upon the close study of the parallel passages, or through the analysis of larger commentaries that directly point out the differences within the synoptic gospels. Of the aforementioned description, noted differences include Jesus genealogies, accounts pertaining to the demoniacs of Gerasa, the miraculous healing related with Jericho, the petition of St. James and Johns mother, and the incidents related to the resurrection, to name a few. Other than these, the general disposition of events also manifests considerable amount of differences while St. Matthew intentionally devoted three successive chapters about the sermon in the mount and allocated one whole chapter for the parables of the kingdom, St. Luke divided the same topics into several portions and connected them with distinct circumstances. It has also been noted that as St. Matthew consolidated similar topics, St. Mark and St. Luke adhered to a more chronological order of events that, when numerous transpositions arise, affects the general arrangement of the narratives.

The Synoptic Problem
While the resemblances and differences found in the synoptic gospels are what makes it interesting, these same characteristics is what also makes such narrative complex and a constant topic of Christian religious debate. Due to this, the synoptic gospels constitute a unique phenomenon in both ancient and modern literature. Both the differences and similarities within the synoptic gospels are contemplated as facts that cannot be referred to as chance or direct inspiration influence these then form together a literary problem called the  Synoptic Problem. In actuality, synoptic problem is not really a problem but a simple way to refer to the question and possible explanations involving the literary relationships of the three synoptic gospels. The resemblances and differences phenomenon gave birth to the question Among the synoptics, which is most likely the first one to emerge For it was and is still believed that by answering such inquiry that fundamentally objective clues that can be used for proper interpretation can be found. It should be noted that only St. Chrysostom and St. Augustine were the only ones who formulated views concerning the mutual relationship of the synoptic writers, and that St. Augustine contended that the order of the synoptics were chronologically written according to their canonical orders Matthew, Mark and Luke. Such assumption became the traditional position of the ancient church. However, leading scholars from the 18th century had little more than suspicion from this viewpoint, and it is only within this course that scientific examination of the synoptic problem actually began. Hence, since the last quarter of the said period, the discussion of the origin and relationship of the synoptic gospels has been carried on, and from there, various solutions have been proposed in order to understand and shed light to the synoptic problem.

Proposed Solutions for the Synoptic Problem
There are in fact many suggestions and a plethora of variations that attempt to synthesize the relation of the synoptic gospels. All of these attempts at assigning the similarities and differences of the first three gospels of the new testament can be classified in four basic approaches. However, it is worthy to note that the classifications are not specific proposals but categories where a myriad of proposed solutions can be grouped for easier reference. Proposed solutions can be classified as the relationships are found appealing to Oral tradition, Interdependent, Proto-Gospel, and Fragmentary.

Oral Tradition the hypothesis of this solution implies that all the differences within the synoptics can be best explained through the pre-existing Aramaic oral tradition. It simply asserts that the Evangelists drew their narratives of Christs life and deeds through word of mouth, which were quickly reduced to selected core traditions and soon evolved to a fixed form within the church as it was repeated so often. The differences occurred due to the different circumstances in which the core traditions were preached, thereby requiring adaptation. However, this hypothesis can hardly be considered as adequate as it does not seriously take into consideration the specific resemblances and differences of the Gospels written in Greek. Pre-existing oral Aramaic tradition does not explain how the gospels could be similar even in Greek text, which perhaps explains why only a handful of individuals currently hold this stand.

Interdependent this proposed solution assumes that the later synoptic gospels are dependent on one or more of the previous gospels. This approach contends that the authors of the synoptics had some sort of material sharing. Although many variations of this hypothesis exist, it is usually assumed that Mark was the first one to write a narrative about Christ, and that Matthew and Luke borrowed from the earlier contributions of Mark. This proposal also assumes that both Matthew and Luke independently wrote their own accounts for their own purposes.

Proto-Gospel this particular approach to understanding the synoptic problem raises that the synoptic gospels were constructed out hypothetical written source that is no longer existent. While variations of this approach can be found, these approaches primarily revolve around two suggestions either the gospels were dependent on an original Aramaic Gospel, or they were based on a proposed collection of Jesus sayings (logia).
Fragmentary proposes that the authors of the synoptic gospels utilized various hypothetical sources made available by the church during the period they were written. These hypothetical sources may have been collections of miracle stories, parables, accounts that speak of the crucifixion, or the sayings of Jesus. The various gospel writers may have had access to these sources and they used these in order to compile their accounts. The two-documentary theory, which was advocated by prominent critics like G.C. Storr, H.J. Holtzmann, K. Lachmann to name a few, is one of the fragmentary approaches, and it is by far the most widely held theory of the origins of the synoptic gospels among non-Catholics.

Summary and Prospect
What is clear from this brief introduction to the study of synoptic gospels is that these narratives within the bible remain as one of the most complex fields in theological and scientific studies hence, they are yet to meet a general consensus. It is apparent that no single approach of documents or sources and can definitely explain the similarities and differences found in the synoptic gospels. However, while there is still no single solution developed in order to understand such phenomenon, it should not be taken that aforementioned proposals and studies have no value at all. Instead, the continuous quest of understanding the synoptic problem profoundly shows that the gospel tradition was a living tradition that has been passed down by a living community powered by faith. This perspective is extremely important as it does not only give emphasis to the value of faith and religion, but also implicates how people develop views about the sacred scripture.

Learning is very critical to the welfare of the learner and to that of the community and country, and as such the nature and level of education acquired by a student is supposed to be one that helps that student to meet the expectations that the people in community have on himher. To that end, it is essential that in the selection of an institution of higher learning, one has to be able to understand and choose the university that is capable of offering the best skills to the student to equip himher for service. The ability of Pepperdine University to integrate faith matters with the process of learning makes it one of the best universities there ever can be in the country. This is because with the rapidly changing family definitions in modern-day America, the teaching of faith matters by family leaders has been gradually diminishing. This means then that if one is not taught these issues of faith in school or at college, then one runs the risk of never getting that opportunity to ever understand again.

That aside, the integration of faith in the learning process will prepare me as the student for a life of service as the serving of people in the community requires that I have the knowledge of both the area under which I study as well as an understanding of the spiritual matters that the people to be served obviously are in need of. Human beings are spiritual beings just as the God they serve is. Being grounded in the Christian faith in this country will give me the chance to reach out to many that are in dire need of spiritual nourishment so that they too can have a taste of what I shall have received.  Service learning is very important as it will keep me focused through continued hands-on learning. It will always enhance my spiritual life and keep me prepared for serving both myself as well as members of the community. The community benefits from service-learning in that the work done during the learning process is usually in the service of the community. It is almost like community service except that at the end the student is able to get a real, life-changing experience that will benefit other people away from the university community.

A renewal of my mind and spirit will readily come through service learning as, unlike theoretical work only, exposure to different services will always keep my mind engaged and thinking and my spirits will be lifted. In the event, the community will also experience a renewal through the receiving of newly learnt ideas transformed into useful service. Finally, service-learning always makes one thoughtful. The challenging tasks presented to the learner always get himher brains stretched, a position that is known to be the best for achieving the greatest mental output. In essence, service-learning will improve my memory and make me more productive.

The article, which its title appears above written by M.C. Steenberg was a critical examination of the concept of Adam and Eve as children mainly in the context of Irenaeus anthropological understanding. The authors argument was anchored on the Irenaeus notion that Adam and Eve were created not as perfect man and woman as the first chapter of the Bible book of Genesis implies, but as child or infant.

According to Steenberg, despite the various intelligent comments on the work of Irenaeus with respect to Adam and Eve it was surprising that there was not much mention of his idea in the whole of the present Iranaen corpus. Steenberg categorically state that for Irenaeus, Adam and Eve were infants, not infantile children, not childlike.

Based on Steenbergs critical analysis of Irenaeuss anthropological notion of Adam and Eve, it appears that it is quite difficult to ascertain what Ireneus really meant for the word child as according to the author, Adam was as yet an infant, and as an infant infantile. Such distinction is revealing. To call a fully grown man childlike linguistically odd neither in English nor in Greek, but to call an adult a child is more qualified in Greek than in English (p. 5). The author himself recognizes the intricacies of the vocabulary but insist emphasis on vocabularies should be much attention because most often, these vocabularies are unreliable in view of the complex manuscript and translation history of the corpus (p. 6).

However, despite of the problem posed in history by unreliable vocabulary, Steenberg contends that the context of Irenaeus writings which talk about his anthropological view greatly outweighs that of terminology (p. 6) which supports a more basic, literal meaning of the Greek term. Steenberg argues that vocabularies alone cannot be taken to evidence concretely either a figurative or literal conception of Adam and Eve as Children. According to Steenberg, Irenaeus language of child and infant throughout his corpus is essentially offered as an observation of what he sees as a natural state (p. 7).

Steenberg apparently acknowledged the point which Iranaeus has established. That is, Adam and Eve were created as children rather than a grown up man and woman, who had not yet reached the age for sexual activity who thus required to adolescere before they could obey the command to multiplicari (p. 8). According to Steenberg, Irenaeus presentation of Adam and Eve as children is a presentation of the way things are, rather than the way they might have been, taking situations and events as literally as possible in light of Gnostic tendency to allegorize and mythologize to the extreme (p. 9).

Irenaeus literalism however does not at all roll out the symbolic scope of his discussion. Steenberg point out that it is clear that the use of Adam as symbolic of all mankind should be interpreted reciprocally which reflect that all humanity is seen to live out the story personified in him. It means that Adam and Eve as the representative of all created beings has undergone the process that each member of the human race has undergone. For Irenaeus, the symbolic value of creation account is bound up in its historicity, which according to Steenberg was the Gnostics continuously attempted to twist and distort. Steenberg recognized that this history set forth clearly and unambiguously, in express terms, in the sacred scripture (p. 10).

On the other hand, Steenberg also raises the idea that Irenaeus may have been talking of Adam and Eve as infants only in reference to their mental or social state.  That is, their minds are equivalent to that of a child, not the whole of their human person. In other words, they might have been created with adult bodies but with that of childrens mentality. According to Steenberg, the context of Irenaeus argument leaves room for less-physiologically-oriented interpretation. It means that the word childlikeness which Irenaeus held to be to condition of Adam and Eves mental state which was of any physical age (p. 11).

Again, Steenberg cited that there were significant passages in the Irenaean writings which seemed to suggest that Adam and Eve could not have been children in the literal sense. Steenberg cited that the Biblical scenario wherein, it depicts God talking with Adam and Eve in the garden of paradise. The implication of this conversation according to Steenberg is that it figured Adam as a man able to walk and talk and has the capacity to name all the animals in the garden. The argument then raised by Steenberg in this section was whether Irenaeus notion of infancy could stand against the context by which Adam was presented as able to speak, walk, talk, and work (p. 13). In this case, Steenberg cited the phrase endowed with reason that stands at odds with Irenaeus doctrine Adams infancy.

But even this, as Steenberg argues, was ineffective argument against Adams literal childhood, as according to Sternberg, infants maybe called rational beings in as much as they are members of the human race which is rational (p. 14). Overall, the article speaks of Irenaeus notion of Adam and Eves infancy in which Steenberg tested the notion using various arguments such as the phrase Adam walk and Talk, Adam was endowed with reason and so forth. Although Steenberg did not in favor of Irenaeus argument, he concluded, In Christ, Adam has grown from boy to man, and as Adam is the type of every human person, so does this growth become cosmic in its scope (p. 22).

Yung Suk Kim was born in South Korea, but now living in Richmond, Virginia, and is teaching at Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology of  Union University in Richmond, VA. He holds a PhD degree in the area of New Testament studies from Vanderbilt University.

Before his well-developed theological career, Kim has a long period of transformative experience as he moved away from his first career in international business as a marketing manager to a new business of the gospel  a vocation he considers most serious due to its profound impact on our contemporary lives today.

He teaches to engage in the knowledge of who we are in this world in which we see each other so different. In his teaching, diversity is not a given but a source of critical engagement with each other. He values both a critical and self-critical position toward any claim of knowledge, truth and reality. He makes it clear that the following as his  pedagogical goals learning from others, challenging each other, affirming who we are, and working for common humanity in differences. In my teaching, all in all, I communicate critical diversity and transformative identity in a variety of life contexts.

His approach to ecclesiology is different from a usual systematic theological approach but it is a historical-metaphorical, contextual approach that is focus on historical Jesus and New Testament communities. With this approach, modern readers will explore what it means to live as Christians for today. Kim protests a common understanding about the body of Christ in Pauls letters.

Christs Body
Yung Suk Kim takes up the language of body that analyses Pauls most complicated letter, and the letter that provides us the most information, and poses the sharpest questions, about social realities in the early church. He protests against the view that in speaking of the church as Christs body Paul seeks to emphasize unity and the social boundary. Against the traditional rhetoric of the politics in Greco-Roman philosophy, Kim argues that Paul seeks rather to nourish the vitality of a diverse community and to criticize the ideology of a powerful in-group in Corinth, a message of particular importance for contemporary global Christianity.

In his books introduction Yung Suk Kim lays out his dilemma clearly stating, to claim Christ as a marker is an egoistic claim. This stand is self-admittedly based on the authors own experience as a border person who wants a community that is all encompassing rather than excluding. He rejects both non-Corinthian and as presently destructive the understanding of body of Christ as a unifier of identity, saying that this kind of control over belongingness may lead to Holocaust, homophobia, and racism.

Beginning with this rhetorically angering language, in the following chapters he research whether Pauls body of Christ language in 1 Corinthians may be analyzed as a metaphor for a holistic religious and inter-religious, intercultural community.

Kims clear intention does not necessarily result in a powerful position, however, on several occasions a personal desire for diversity is implied as the only grounds for a theological choice. For example, Kim doubts that Paul will support love patriarchal, but gives no reason for this doubt he makes clear that his concern is with the potential for any conception of community to exclude others. With admirable sharpness, Kim states Inevitably, when in Christ is read as a boundary marker, it contributes to a narrow or an exclusive vision of the community that separates Christians from non-Christians.

About the line the destruction of the flesh passage (1 Cor. 5), Conzelmanns wrathful excommunication interpretation is judged as totally unacceptable unity achieved through the expulsion of members according to Kim, is a forced unity, as practiced by the Roman world, and therefore cannot have been Pauls meaning. Kims presentation throughout is so highly ideological in nature that, despite his clear goal, his argumentation fails to convince.

Kim does examine a number of scholars arguments within his presentation Derrida is frequently referenced, and appears to carry far more weight with Kim than do any of the sociologists, historians, or theologians. His bredth of reference is not so much the problem, as is his depth of examination and argumentation. The examinations are all too brief, so that his sometimes quite complex interlocutors appear more as simple foils. Perhaps this depth would be more evident if only Kim sufficiently presented arguments and own positions..

Throughout the book, Kim repeatedly claims that we should not view body of Christ as with boundaries, yet he also repeatedly refers to community, leaving us reader uncertain as to what community it might be that has no boundaries around it. For example, he argues that the issues and conflicts dealt with in 1 Corinthians are instances of people failing to live out the Christic body however, he immediately goes on to say that these are issues of conflict within the community. If this community is not defined by adherence to doctrine or practice, in what sense may it be called a community If in Christ does not define an existence within some boundaried community, on what basis does Paul choose the term in Christ And if in Christ is somehow a function of life engaged in by those who might reject any claim to the Christian communitys exclusivity, on what basis does Paul term this condition as being in Christ

For Kim, it depends upon how you read Pauls first letter to the Corinthians. If you see the world from the perspective of the church, as hegemonic hierarchy, then you will understand ecumenism to be about unity. The Body of Christ is defined by belief, and boundaries are drawn between believers and non-believers.

For Paul though, according to the author, the problem is not disunity but conflict between factions. His solution to power conflicts is reconciliationbetween different groups. This is achieved by living the life of Christ crucified rather than through belonging to a church.And he says

Being united in the same mind and the same purpose is not a matter of belonging to an ecclesiological body, but rather is a matter of having a mind and purpose framed by the same gospel that does not empty the cross of Christ of its power. (74)

Let me finish it with some observations on his book. Kim has included a number of photographs, but their connection to his argument is often not clear. Had this book been a great deal longer or more broadly-focused, the inclusion of the photographs would not be problematic as it is, they are a bit distracting. The first end-note comments directly on the phrase soma christo its meaning involves complexities due to its genitive construction.

It may be subjective or objective. Given the fact that soma is not a verbal noun, His statement at the very beginning of the argument weakens his position in appearance, if not in reality. Kims aim is to be applauded, in that he desires a community that is struggling toward liberation and justice for all. His presentation is substantially weakened by a presupposition that this goal is a sufficient control for interpretation of the text alone.

The lives of both Jesus and Mohammed have influenced many people for well over a thousand years. The religions, Christianity and Islam, are still followed to this day. Though Jesus and Mohammed taught different things and lived completely different lives, they made a strong impact on history and people.

Life of Jesus
Jesus was born to a virgin named Mary in Bethlehem, Israel 2000 years ago. An angel named Gabriel was sent by the God to a young Jewish woman Mary. He told Mary that she would have a son by Gods power and he would be the son of God. Jesus spent his childhood in Egypt and adolescence in Nazareth, Israel (Jesus Central, 2003). For the first thirty years, Jesus lived a traditional Jewish life, working as a carpenter.

In his thirties, Jesus started his public teaching and displayed recorded miracles (Jesus Central, 2003). Over a 3 year period, in spite of his efforts to maintain a low profile, his reputation spread nationwide and attracted thousands of followers. Jesus taught people that god loves you and is with you, god forgives those who ask and love one another. Jesus did many controversial acts the most shocking was that he repeatedly claimed to be god. This was a direct infringement of the Jewish law (Jesus Central, 2003). The religious leaders convinced the Roman Governor, Pilate, to kill Jesus. Therefore, he was executed by the Roman government with the request of religious leaders. Jesus was cruelly tortured by hanging his hands to a horizontal wooden beam, with nails. This method of killing stopped the flow of air to his lungs, and he was killed in three hours (Jesus Central, 2003). According to more than 500 eyewitnesses, Jesus was said to have been returned from the dead after three days. For the next 40 days, he traveled both north and south provinces of Israel. Jesus then went back to Jerusalem where he was killed. According to the eye witnesses, he rose up into the sky alive by leaving the earth (Jesus Central, 2003).

Life of Mohammed
Mohammed was born in the town of Mecca, a mountain town in the high desert plateau of western Arabia in 570AD. The name is derived from Arabic word hamada, meaning to praise, to glorify. Mohammed was the first and only son of Amina bint Wahb and Abd Allah bin Al-Muttalib. Abd Allah bin died before the birth of Mohammed and therefore he was raised by Amina, mother (Public Broadcasting Service, 1995). Amina, following Meccan tradition, handed over his son to Halima, a wet nurse. Halima was from nomadic tribe of Sad ibn Bakr (Public Broadcasting Service, 1995). When Mohammed was at the age of five or six, his mother took him to his fathers grave in Yathrib, which is a few hundred miles north of Mecca. While returning, Mohammeds mother became ill and died (Public Broadcasting Service, 1995). The nurse Halima took Mohammed to Mecca and kept him under his paternal grandfather, Abdul Al-Muttalibs protection. Under the guidance of grandfather, he learned the basics of statecraft. After the death of grandfather in 578, Mohammed was placed in the care of Abu Talib, paternal uncle (Public Broadcasting Service, 1995). In his early twenties, Mohammed met a woman named Khadija bint Khawalayd. She was a wealthy Meccan merchant and Mohammed worked for her. After some years, they both were married. After the marriage, Mohammed continued to look after the business affairs of Khadija. They had six children, two sons died in infancy and four daughters. Mecca became materialistic and Mohammed was worried by this. Mohammed started making long retreats out of Mecca to a mountain cave, where he fasted and meditated (Public Broadcasting Service, 1995). On one instance, after a number of unclear visionary experiences, an overpowering presence visited him and educated him to deliver the words of such beauty and force that Mohammed and others slowly credited them to God. These experiences continued to occur and even though Mohammed was frightened, he told the experiences to his tribe (Public Broadcasting Service, 1995).At first, Mohammed and his followers were humiliated and ridiculed and later they were mistreated and physically attacked. After ten years, both Mohammeds wife and uncle died (Public Broadcasting Service, 1995). The Mecca leaders attempted to kill Mohammed. In 622 AD, Mohammed and his followers decided to leave Mecca and traveled to Yathrib, Medina. There was a violent civil war going on there and the leaders invited him to act as their mediator. Mohammed stayed there for six years, building the first community for Muslims (Public Broadcasting Service, 1995). By 630AD, much power was gained by the Muslims and outweighed Meccans. In 630AD, Mohammed and his followers marched on Mecca and tribes joined them along the way. Without violence, they entered Mecca and the Meccans also joined them (Public Broadcasting Service, 1995). Mohammed came back to live in Medina. In 632, for one last time, he returned to Mecca for performing a pilgrimage. After completing pilgrimage, he came back to Medina. He died in 632AD and was buried in a mosque in Medina.

Impact on Christianity after the death of Jesus
Many people believed that Jesus was truly the son of God after the death, rebirth and ascension of Jesus Christ. These astonishing events made people to accept Christianity in spite of harassment. According to a record, few months later in the same Jerusalem city, 3000 new followers accepted Christianity in a single day. Many people chose Christianity after the unbelievable events that took place after the death of Jesus (Ganly, 2007).

Impact on Islam after the death of Mohammed
After hundred years of Mohammeds death, his way of life and teachings had reached from the isolated Arabia corners to as far east as Indo-China and as far west as France, Morocco and Spain. The death of Mohammed not influenced for the success of his religion as strong as the death of Jesus was influenced. Mohammeds actions played a stronger part in creating the religion of Islam when he was alive. The death of Jesus was a significant aspect for the spread of Christianity, whereas the life practices of Mohammed were more of a governing aspect in the spread of Islam (Ganly, 2007).

The way Jesus is worshipped
All over the world, Christians worshipped Jesus as he was considered as God in the holy trinity. People worshipped Jesus even when he was alive. When people worshipped Jesus and bowed before him, he did not reprimand the worshippers and did not advice that he was worthless of such worship (Ganly, 2007).

The way Mohammed is worshipped
Muslims do not adore Mohammed, as in Islam only God is to be worshipped and Mohammed was not a God. God sent him as Prophet and as a teacher, but Mohammed is not a God by himself. In Islam religion, idol or saint worship is wrong (Ganly, 2007). Christians worshipped Jesus as he is believed as God, but Muslims do not worship Mohammed as he was not a God but he was a tool that God spoke through and it is in opposition to the religion to adore other than God (Ganly, 2007).

How the messages of Jesus and Mohammed are carried out in the world today
The messages of Jesus are still being followed today. Many people are preaching, publishing and publicizing Christianity all over the world. Different Christianity sects are practicing the Jesus teachings. The largest religion in the world today is Christianity (Ganly, 2007). Like Christianity, the Islam religion is also practiced by people all over the world. After Christianity, Islam is the second largest religion in the world today. The lives of Jesus and Mohammed occurred 570 years apart, but these two have the largest following in the world by people. Jesus lived up to thirties, but his death was a main point in the religions success.

Mohammed lived up to sixties, and gathered the following up to 30 years of his life (Ganly, 2007). Both the religions, Christianity and Islam flourished long after the death of Jesus and Mohammed, and these religions are still followed by many people all over the world.

Jesus himself devoted to a small number of people and not the ample. In the beginning he has decide to choose small group for his ministry. This group had contained only 12 uneducated and normal men. He had chosen only few men to build a stronger foundation in order to change the world. He had spent most of the time with them ministering to the people daily. He trained these 12 men to love and each other and serve people and to go ahead and pass good news to the world. The way Jesus live and spent time with his disciple clearly indicates that he is a true man and true incarnation of God. He talked, ate, fished, sailed and spent time in prayer with them. He had to spend a good amount of time with them as he found the need for human support and fellowship. Luke 2228 says, You are those who have stood by me in my trials

Status of Early Church
The knowledge of the disciples led them to establish the small churches. The early church was just a small group where the people had gathered to share the good news and support one another. The other people are attracted toward the Church, looking at their love and concern for each. This initial group gathered to gather daily in their homes and praised the God together and ate together and the other people had come and join them Acts 246. The initial church gathered together in a common place probably a home which would limit the quantity of people.

Most of the churches have followed the footsteps of the deciles and early church. St. Francis of Assisi had used only small groups for the service, training and prayer. Hutterites, Anabaptists, Lutherans and Religious Society of Friend used small group for religious activities.

John Wesley, who led the Methodist revival, had started it with the small groups for common confession to each other in order to give support and encouragement to overcome the temptation in improving a Christian life style. The Methodist church used classes and bands which led by the lay people who used to give report on the spiritual progress, problems and needs and to receive prayer and support.

Bible Studies, Groups Discussion, Sermons, Lectures, Topical Studies, to an assembled people attending worship, comes under the example of education in the Church. If biblical examples are taken Jesus taught the Beatitudes to multitude of people and he too had included the parables in his teachings.

Service expectations for Christian Education workers
Leadership in Church
To fulfill the vision, Good Leaders will motivate, mobilize, resource and direct people. Very often the options must be provided for the personal growth to comprise the possibilities and the benefits.  Failing to climb aboard it can be considered as their lack of commitment with out realizing that they are committed to those things which fit with in their vision of a meaningful life. Failure to appoint a leader in the process of disciple making of the church will enables the people to misunderstand the opportunity given to them.

Christians who have responsibility and who are  in specific positions in the church needed to be examples in persona faith, and in business affairs in order to maintain a higher standard in favor of workers is one of the better ways to present Jesus Christ to the community. Thus, the following directions will be necessary of any person who is working in the Christian Education Ministry
1) The person must be a member of the church
2) Must be regular to the church
3) Need regular presence of the trainer in development in training workshop meetings
4) Must be faithful and loyal to leadership and pastor.
5) Need to give information before enough days in case of absence.
6) Should be very neat in appearance.
7) Must be there in church at least 15 minutes before at the designated position or a post.
8) Home life must be kept in the order
9) Need to give a specific time of notice before resigning the job.

Educator role
Also when a course is offered as a package, the educators expect everyone to take the same journey without considering the individual differences in reaching the maturity.

Challenge
George Barna says that Most of the Christian education is offered to the believers without specific content and is offered randomly. As a result of this after some time the information value is getting diminished due to the non applicability of the information to the user circumstances. So a purposeful and systematic manner of course offer is required in the area of Christian education.

Mission and vision statements for Christian Education
The procedure to develop vision unites prayer and reflection to understand the foot steps of Jesus. This process may take few days or months to implement fully. This can be either used by the leader or perhaps by means of small leadership team. This team either be selected by the church or be formed by the appropriate people who have particular skills and talents which reflect the aims of the church. By all the means the end of the procedure is to be taken to an understanding of the will of God.    

Thinking Through Vision Statement
Clear and accurate thinking is a precondition of a clear and accurate communication. Till the time the vision in the mind is clear regarding the priority of the church, it can not be hoped to be logical to explain to others.   Ones one is in agreement then it is the proper time to share and improve the vision with the large community of faith. Provoke people to consider and reflect and call upon through the vision. Sometimes it is required to be changed, depending on the time when the entire community comes together in the purpose of vision. If a vision can not lead to a specific kind of achievement is improbably to be much of aid to the God or to the church. Initially a group is needed to take time and begin to work toward the small visions and goals according to the proper planning which might turned to be positive in giving good results in the end, and this will give a good foundations to the small groups before they archive the greater visions of the church.

Models of Church
Competencies Model
This model is an exceedingly integrated approach towards discipleship which stands out in its personal evaluation and the integration with all characteristics of the ministry. It consist of 30 specific foci in which 10 are the fundamental beliefs in which the church based on, 10 are the fundamental practices which the church follows and another 10 are the fundamental virtues which describes the qualities of the church.  It also consists of Celebrationcell congregation and the profile of the Christian life and the Classes for Topical adults.

Missional Model
To be a missional church is to study about all of the life of the church around Gods mission. To be a member of missional church means to discern.This model comprises the Worldview models along with a blend of competencies, the six foundation competenciesqualities, and the Introduction class it also consists of Small group and specialty classes.

The neighborhood Model
In Neighborhood Church, the Small Groups discipleship has been a prominence and the Discipleship is the supreme work of God to convert our minds and hearts to become faithful followers of Jesus Christ and all His preaching. The neighborhood model includes the combination of all the Worldview, Missional and the Competencies models, class of inquirer, Discipleship team which includes 5 to 9 people, the Neighborhood congregation which consists of 15 to 20 people, Modeling evangelism and it also includes the curriculum of Church authored discipleship.

The World View Model
The World view model deals with the impartation of biblical wisdom which directs to the transformation of individual, the Goals such as service, participation, decision making and understanding. It deals with the small group process of two years, the Discovery series from four Topical books, the issue oriented, and the peer mentors who deal with one-one basis and finally the Dissonance based which deals with the dissension.

Lecture  Lab Model
In the Lecture Lab model the Delivery of the content will be through the lectures and lab sessions with small groups, it also provides the Biblical knowledge with faith based relationships which directs towards godly character and the Christian service, the outlines of the sermons and it also consists of small groups as the major forum for learning.

Barnas Best Model
The Barnas Best model follows these principlesnot to reinvent the wheel, only look for the principles but not for templates, the senior Pastor is champion, the membership of the church is related to the discipleship, every program of the ministry is coupled with the outcomes of the discipleship, they minimized programs to concentrate on discipleship, there will be synchronization of all the teachings, the discipleship is coupled with the mission statement of the church, utilizing PDPs, Disciples in small group, Disciples in mid size, Disciples in worship services, Disciples with mentors, Disciples in the community services, yearly evaluations and revised PDPs, Coordinated sermon content.

In this regard, Robert Choun  and Jr. Michael Lawson, Suggests that Christian education specialist must understand the necessities of the modern church requirements before starting the education. He suggests that, there are two answers one must evaluate in considering the education, 1- Nature of the task or challenges before the church must be addressed through the course 2- Does the church need specialized help in achieving the task.

Adaptability to Local Church
The name of my church is Church of South India. My church is the outcome of the combination of varying traditions Methodist, Anglican, Presbyterian, Congregational, and it is renewed in that region my church was inaugurated in September 1947, after prolonged negotiations and compromise among the concerned churches. It is organized into 16 dioceses every church is under the spiritual direction of the bishop. The whole church is overseen by a church council, which elects a presiding bishop once in 2 years. Therefore Episcopacy is combined with government synodical (church counsel), and the church clearly recognizes the Presbyterian, congregational and Episcopal elements are all essential for the life of our church. The practice of Scriptures is the definitive standard of faith.

The Church of South India has got its own communion service and service book, both draw from quite a few denominational resources. It is in limited spiritual union with the Episcopal Church of the United States and the Anglican Church. The union, particularly in its understanding of the doctrine of apostolic succession of Anglican with the vision of other denominations, is frequently cited as a familiar sight in the movement of ecumenism.

My church  has almost 3.8 million people and over 14 000 congregations within 21 dioceses .The Church of South India runs over 2000 schools, almost 130 colleges and more than104 hospitals. In the year1960 the Church had become aware of its social duties along with responsibilities and began organizing rural progressing projects.

Solid theological foundations and theological system are vital for any religion, and Islam does not constitute an example.  In fact, in Islam these foundations are vividly manifested and emphasized as Five Pillars or Acts of Worship.  However, it is important to understand that the Islamic doctrine of good works differs sharply with that of Evangelical Christianity (McInerney, 2003).  Islamic doctrine makes very evident that good works achieve merit, and these merits improve ones chances of entry into paradise.  As the Quran postulates, The balance that day will be true those whose scale of good will be heavy, will prosper those whose scale will be light, will find theur souls in perdition (Quran, 78).  Therefore, from religious perspective, of great importance in weighting the scales in ones favor is the faithful performance of Islams Five Pillars.
Traditionally, Five Pillars are the recitation of the creed (shahada) five daily prayers of recitation toward Mecca (salat) almsgiving (zakat) the yearly fast during the month of Ramadan (sawm) and making the pilgrimage to Mecca once in a lifetime (hajj) (McInerney, 2003).  Entrance into Muslim religion and community is granted by simply embracing the confession of faith known as the shahada There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His prophet.  Reciting this creed three times with sincerity makes one a Muslim.

Prayer (salat) in Islam is a specified ritual which combines action, feeling and thought.  It is done five times each day, and, salat serves as a means of psychological centering.  To understand what God is saying, the person must pay close attention he must concentrate.  One should not think about past experiences or anticipate events in the future. Prayer trains the individual to focus on what is happening in the present, in the here and now.  Salat also helps the individual keep the daily experiences of life in perspective.  Each prayer begins with Allah Akbar (God is Great), which is intended to remind the individual that problems faced in life are a small part of Gods plan and that one should not think about them more than he or she thinks about God.  Sawm means fasting, and its purpose is to weaken the individuals animal instincts for pleasure and power, making it possible for the mind to take over. Fasting is required in Islam from sunrise to sunset thirty days a year during the month of Ramadan. The Quran says in this regard, The month of Ramadan is that in which the Quran was revealed, a guidance to men and clear proofs of guidance and the distinction therefore whoever of you witness the coming of this month, he shall fast therein (Quran, 2185).  Zakat is yearly tax that is paid and redistributed to the people in the community who are in most need of it. The Quran says regarding zakat, And keep up prayer and pay the zakat and offer to Allah a goodly gift (Quran, 7320).  The purpose of zakat is to fight against greed, which is an inherent characteristic of humankind.  Hajj constitutes the pilgrimage to Mecca, the city in Saudi Arabia where Mohammed first began receiving and preaching the Message of Islam.  According to the Quran, and pilgrimage to the House is incumbent upon men for the sake of Allah, upon every one who is able to undertake the journey to it (Quran, 397).  Hajj is a unifying experience, bringing Muslims together from all over the world and emphasizing the Islamic belief that all human beings are equal and should work together toward the common good.

From the religious perspective, following Five Pillars of Islam can lead to the absolution of sin.  A prayaer said in the mosque is said to have twenty-give times the weight of a prayer at home said at the congregational gathering on Fridays, five hundred times, at Medina or Jerusalem, fifty thousand times and at the Kaaba in Mecca, one hundred thoughsand times (Sweetman, 197-198).  For a truthful follower of Islam, there perhaps is no difficulty in fulfilling any of the Five Pillars.  From the critical perspective, a daily prayer or salat represents the pillar of highest priority.  The most challenging pillar to accomplish would be hajj.  It is not surprising that many Muslims believe that a trip to Mecca absolves one totally from sins committed up to that point.  However, hajj is only required once in an individuals life, and only if one can afford it.

Learning the word of God is such a great privilege in my part an honor that cannot be bought with money because even the treasures of this world cannot contain of what God has in store for all of us just as the wise of this world cannot outwit what Gods words will bring to humankind. It gives life to the hopeless warns the reckless about the end of their actions. This learning keeps me going and makes me desire to go deeper and deeper in His words. This made me decide to pursue a study in Continuing Education Program. I intend to pursue this degree because I want to gain profound knowledge in my calling as a minister. I believe deep within my heart that God is calling me to preach his words to the broken hearted. Yes, many are called but few are chosen and deep within my inmost being and with strong conviction that I am one of those chosen to shepherd His flock. Through this program, it will enhance my gift in teaching the word of God efficiently and effectively through the help of the Holy Spirit and will also give me the insights in how to pastor a church. Just like the apostles and disciples, Jesus did not send them right away to preach but these people were with Him for while to learn from Him and learn in His ways so they can preach the word of God effectively. They were taught in His words, trained, and had personal encounter with our Lord to preach the good tidings with power that converted a lot of souls in the apostles and disciples time.

I really like to attend and continue my education at Northwestern College for this degree because it has strong biblical stance on the word of God. It will help me become equip in my desired profession, a minister of Gods words. In addition, it has a conducive environment for working adults and has positive and great reviews from students who have attended.

My career goal is to pastor a church a church that is really for the service of the people not for myself. I envision the church I will pastor for to have ministries such as a mission rehab for young men and women who have addicted to drugs a mens and womens ministry a soup kitchen and a ministry for young urban children who are placed in foster care. Thus, learning that each member of the body of Christ is well equipped and capable in spreading the word of God in the community where they belong and refute the lies of the enemy (Satan).

Moreover, this degree will help me train other Christians to lead the ministries. It will also help me achieve the goals written above because it will allow me to understand the word of God deeper and the principles of ministry. It will teach me on how to develop, organize and lead ministries through the word of God but I will only accomplish these through my training and education from Northwestern College.

The fundamental law of the land contains many freedoms that have become the stronghold of the American Society. Among these freedoms available to the people of the United States is their freedom of religion. Since time immemorial, people have suffered persecution simply because they stood up for what they believe is right. Some people valued their faith so much and by refusing to give up, they paid the price with their lives. The founding fathers placed this clause in the Constitution because of many reasons. They were aware of how important religion is to the people and as such, they felt the need to secure and protect that right by putting it in the First Amendment. Furthermore, history is filled with religious prosecutions that endangered many societies. The establishment clause also protected the church from the corruption of the politics (Craig). With everything that the framers went through for the enforcement of this right, it is a depressing fact that nowadays, this very sacred right is being openly violated. Today is the time to remind the people about the importance and value of the First Amendment.

The First Amendment of the American Constitution safeguards the right of the people to religion and expression against the interference of the government. The two clauses stated in the First Amendments ensures the safety of the freedom of religion. The establishment clause expressly forbids the government from enacting any laws that prefer one religion over and above another. It also upholds the separation of the church and the state ( First Amendment ).

Many people feel that regardless of the protection afforded by legislations, their freedom to express their religion has been restricted. Some of them feel that their freedom is being hampered because they cannot say Merry Christmas in some stores while some people feel that their right is violated because there are some pledges in schools that the students are not allowed to say.  Jurisprudence also shows how the Supreme Court upheld the First Amendment right of the people in expressing their religion. The case of Engel v. Vitale (1962) was one of the landmark cases about the freedom of religion that was decided by the Supreme Court. The Board of Regents for New York allowed their day to begin with a nondenominational prayer acknowledging their dependence upon God. The invocation is as follows  God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Three and beg Thy blessings upon us, our teachers, and our country . The Supreme Court held that requiring this prayer daily means that New York city has approved a religion which is an express violation of the Constitution. As such, the government must not sponsor any religious activities.

The struggle for freedom of religion has been going on for many years and this conflict has led to many tragedies but even so, this right is not only supported by domestic laws it is also supported by international laws as well. The United Nations has already declared the significance of the freedom of religion in Article 18 of their Universal Declaration of Human Rights which states that  Everyone shall have a right to the freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right includes the freedom to have a religion or whatever belief of his (her) choice ( Freedom of Religion or Belief ).

Former President Clinton is of the view that in order to safeguard the rights stated in the First Amendment, both the freedom of speech and religion must be balanced. A persons ability to practice his speech or religion does not have any bearing on the freedom of speech of other people. The protection of speech that is about religion is of extreme importance because people with different faiths will surely hold divergent views about their religions and these differences must be met with extreme caution and tolerance rather than suppression. Clinton also said that the freedom of religion is what allows a nation to be more stable and prosperous. Former Assistant Secretary of the State for democracy Michael Posner aptly observed that the authoritarian regimes that suppressed the freedom of religion for the sake of stability have created the very condition that subverted their goals. The coerciveness and arbitrariness of these governments hardened the resentment of the people and this situation led to insurgency (Morse).

Another problem about the First Amendment right that the people have been encountering is the discrimination against the minority religions. This is an ongoing problem that not only the American society has been experiencing but the entire globe as well. Some people argue that since United States was founded on Christian faith, this fact must be used as a guide for which other religions are recognized. On the other hand, the minority argues that since every person has a right to free speech, those who have the opinion outside of the majority must be respected as well.  Even if Christian values are acceptable to many people, those who have different beliefs are not able to get the same recognition and protection for their rights. The minority religions are continuously struggling for equal rights for quite sometime now. One common example of a group that has been vying for equal rights of their religious freedom are those that belong to the military. According to Alan Cooperman of the Washington Post, the figures in Pentagon show that there are 2,900 active clergies in the military, 41 Mormon chaplains for about 17,513 Mormons, 22 Rabis for about 4,038 Jews and 11 Imams for 3,386 Muslims, 6 teachers for about 636 Christian Scientists, and only one Buddhist chaplain for 4,546 Buddhists. Outside of the military, the ratio and the proportion of the non-Christians is very high as well. The study conducted by the Graduate Center of New York, about 77 of the Americans identify themselves as Christians and this has been declining from 86 to 77 between 1990 and 2001 (CUNY).

The government has the power to restrict the peoples right of speech and expression under their inherent right of police power in order to protect the general welfare but they can never take away the right of the people to believe. Religion is one of the most important aspect of a persons life. Since the dawn of time, humans have an innate longing and belief there is a greater being out there. This is a freedom that has existed long before any laws have and without it, the people do not have anything to look forward to.

Across religions and cultures, sacrifice in various forms and methods can be seen. It takes the form of offerings, fasting, rituals and even human sacrifice. This essay shall provide examples of the sacrifices that was made and are presently being made in Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. Furthermore, it shall cite passages which explain why the sacrifices have to be made.

Sacrifice in Christianity
Sacrifice has been a recurring theme in Christianity during the Bible times and even long after it. Thus, the cross is a very appropriate symbol of the religion. Examples of such acts of sacrifice cited in the Bible are Mark 1241-44 talked about a widow who gave two mites to the treasury which was all she had Philippians 33-8 spoke of the sacrifice of Paul, Saul of Tarsus, in order to follow Christ Genesis 221-12 cited the story of Abraham who was willing to sacrifice his own son in order to follow God who told him, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. Jesus himself made the ultimate sacrifice of life when he was crucified and when he retreated in the desert for forty days where he fasted and prayed.

To Christians nowadays, the cross is a symbol of love and sacrifice. Primarily, it symbolizes Gods love for his people because it was by the cross that he made the ultimate sacrifice embodied in the passage For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 316) It is also a symbol of Jesus Christs triumph after his sacrifice. In Colossians 215, it was said that, Having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them.

The cross is the best known religious symbol of Christianity. However, it has not always been this way. In fact, it was regarded as a symbol of persecution and execution because it was used as a form of capital punishment until Constantine removed it after the Roman Empire was converted to Christianity in memory and honor of Jesus Christs sacrifice.

Even today, sacrifice is a very important facet in Christianity. Fasting is very much practiced especially during the Holy Week when Christians commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Sacrifice in Islam
Sacrifice is also an important theme in Islam. In fact, they have a Festival of Sacrifice also known as Eid al-Adha which lasts for three days and which is celebrated after the annual pilgrimage of Mecca called Hajj. This is actually celebrated in memory of the trials and triumphs of Abraham. The Quran describes Abraham Surely Abraham was an example, obedient to Allah, by nature upright, and he was not of the polytheists. He was grateful for Our bounties. We chose him and guided him unto a right path. We gave him good in this world, and in the next he will most surely be among the righteous. (Quran 16120-121)

During this festival, the Muslims slaughter an animal which may be a camel, goat or sheep whose meat is mostly given away to others which symbolizes the willingness of giving up things we hold dear in order to follow the commands of Allah just like Abraham.

Sacrifice in Buddhism
Sacrifice holds significance in Buddhism. Buddha, like Jesus, also made some sacrifices. Siddhartas sacrifice of leaving his life as a prince and his palace including his family to live as a homeless beggar was made in order to find a solution to the spiritual problems of the human life. He was also tempted by Mara with his daughters, tried to scare him with demons and storms. He was able to resist these temptations and achieved nirvana.

Sacrifice is a common theme in Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. The motivation for sacrifice is to perpetuate, intensify, or reestablish a connection between the human and the divine. It is often intended to gain the favor of the god or to placate divine wrath. The term has come to be applied specifically to blood sacrifice, which entails the death or destruction of the thing sacrificed. The sacrifice of fruits, flowers, or crops (bloodless sacrifice) is more often referred to as an offering. In whatever form or method, sacrifice is linked to being saved, purification, divinity, evangelization, sainthood and others. Sacrifice is not just related to religion, it can also be cultural. The meaning apparently may be uniform across cultures and even across time.

Jesus Camp is a 2006 documentary which shows the process of indoctrination of children during an evangelical Christianity summer camp. A majority of the people who watch this film would already be aware of the trend of rising fundamentalism and its pernicious influence on the delicate, impressionable minds of children but actually watching it happen, watching so many real children being brainwashed could be a very disturbing experience.  It makes us wonder about how strong the grip of fundamentalism is really getting on so many communities across the heartland of America, particularly in the Bible belt.

We are engaged today in a culture war, says the voice of an evangelist among the radio snippets played at the beginning of the film. It is a rather accurate description. But this is not just a culture war, the fundamentalist movement is essentially at war against science and civilization, and it will not rest content till we give up the wicked ways of the modern civilization and go back to the medieval times or the dark ages. (A chapter in Steve Bruces book Fundamentalism is titled Modernity the Great Satan.) We want to reclaim America for Christ, continues the voice but I will argue in this essay that it will not and cannot stop there. To ultimately establish a Christian society in America and all over the world, so that the Word of God can reign supreme on earth, the entire framework of science and reason on which our civilization is based has to be thoroughly undermined. There is no alternative. This is what Becky Fisher, the preacher running the summer camp, calls fixing the world  the sick old world as it were.

Fundamentalism is not a wave that has risen just because of favorable political circumstances, i.e., Bush administration. It is not just a wave that will swell and froth for a while and then ebb away. In the short term it may go up or down unsteadily depending upon many social and political factors, but during this whole time it is just incubating to become a strong enough force to eventually take over America and the world. Future generations depend on us, says another voice among the radio snippets. This is so true, the future of humanity is indeed at stake here. Fundamentalism is like a deadly virus that has so far only been endemic in certain parts of the country and across the world, but it is just biding its time to rage forth and become an epidemic and then spread into a pandemic. Jesus Camp makes us seriously ponder on our chances of being able to contain this virus before it gets out of hand.

The statistics are alarming as of 2006, nearly 50 percent of Americans consider Genesis as the true account of the creation of the world, while there are many who still do no believe in the heliocentric model of the solar system. An overwhelming 75 percent reject Darwins theory of evolution, and 40 percent believe in the existence of angels (Jones, 503). In other words, fundamentalism has been sweeping the nation.

The secret of the power of fundamentalism lies in carrying out effective indoctrination. And the most effective form of indoctrination is taking hold of childrens minds at as early a stage as possible. The younger the children the more pliable they are, the more open to absorb in and assimilate any kind of nonsense fed into their minds. Becky Fisher points out that children in certain parts of the Islamic world are being given intense training right from the age of five, to get ready to kill themselves  so why not adopt that model in preaching the Bible too Fisher and her fellow fundamentalists would be interested in training the children not to kill themselves or others, of course, but only to kill their minds and extinguish all possibility of rational thinking among human beings.

Evangelical Protestants make their children accept Jesus as their personal savior. Not all, but a significant fraction of them are thorough fundamentalists and a majority are supporters of fundamentalism (Green 30). Accepting Jesus might seem innocuous to some degree, it might appear to be just a matter of ones personal belief system. Throughout the history and throughout the world, people have held various mythological and metaphysical beliefs, and they continued to do so even after the scientific revolution began in the 18th century. But science and technology went on developing and progress happened regardless of peoples personal beliefs. While this is true, believing in Jesus in the way a fundamentalist is required to do is a totally different proposition. It is not just a question of faith which can remain on the sidelines and which can coexist with an otherwise reasonably mature worldview.  For a fundamentalist, belief in Jesus is the central truth of his or her existence and it colors and influences everything else that is part of their beings and lives.

To accept Jesus as savior means to accept the truth that one needs to be saved, in the first place. The punishment for sin is death we notice in a banner under preparation in the documentary. The word death here seems to be a euphemism for eternal damnation. But where did this enormous sin that is liable to get us consigned to hell fires of eternity come from Of course it comes from Adam, because he and Eve ate the apple. To really believe in such juvenile stories as literal truths of cosmic importance demands a radical deadening of common sense and basic human intelligence. However, there is much more to it.

To believe that Adam transgressed Gods command and therefore all his descendents have incurred mortal sin, one would have to believe the entire account of Gods creation and the Garden of Eden as provided in the Bible to be historical facts. But science has different theories on how we came to be here and science has tons of evidence to back its theories. Therefore fundamentalism is at war with science and the entire scientific worldview. About 14 minutes into the documentary, the first thing they show when they start focusing on individual children, is the boy watching a creationist program which ridicules the theory of evolution. It says that the world was created 6000 years ago, and the concept that we have all emerged from green goo is laughable. Creationism vs. evolution is the core issue in the context of fundamentalism. Once a child is made to accept that the entire universe came to be all at once around 4000 B.C., his mind is totally programmed now he can readily take in any absurd theological belief without the least intellectual resistance. That is the reason why fundamentalists are so keen to get the theory of evolution and anything related to it out of the way, and to establish Biblical theology in their place. The primary agenda of the fundamentalists in America today seems to be to push the doctrine of creationism and suppress the theory of evolution. Once this is done, Jesus can easily find his way into the hearts of millions.  

For the fear that their children would learn about evolution if they are educated in a nonreligious setting, among other fears of general moral corruption, evangelical Christians are resorting to homeschooling the children. The boy in the documentary is learning science from his mother, and his science textbook is called Learning about Creation through Physical Science. His mother emphatically asserts that science does not prove anything. An interesting thing here is that we see the mother also teaching the boy that all the hullabaloo about global warming in the recent years is just nonsense. There has only been 0.6C increase in temperature which is nothing to worry about. We must note that the fact of global warming does not go against anything said in the Bible, so why this opposition Could it be politically motivated or is this just another expression of pure contempt for all that science says The program itself offers an interesting explanation in this connection, to which we will come shortly.

Christian fundamentalists seem to very much relish denying anything associated with science. And they are also creating a great deal of confusion over the fact that evolution is called a theory and it is not a fact. No scientist or non-creationist doubts that evolution occurred, though there could be some uncertainties about how exactly it happened. Biologists do not deny the fact of evolution. We do, however, debate its mechanism and tempo. (Berra 131) (Italics in the original.)

But the fundamentalists have to deny evolution in toto. The only logic they have to support their stance is that evolution is normally called a theory, and a theory is not a fact, and that which is not a fact is not true. However, evolution is an absolutely irrefutable fact  for one thing there are millions of fossils available to prove it. To accommodate the problem of fossil evidence, some sections of the fundamentalists have resorted to a compromise, although a reluctant compromise the theory of intelligent design. Intelligent design proponents try to find weakness of the current theory of evolution, but their arguments really do not hold water. Every objection they have raised so far has been demolished by mainstream scientists. Then there are other fundamentalists who in a desperate bid to save face claim that all the fossils dug up by scientists are planted there by the Devil in order to try to tempt the believers away from the true path. Or there is another version which says that the fossils are planted by God himself to test the strength of the true faith (bibleandscience.com). Obviously these fundamentalist Christians can have no hope of convincing any person possessing an iota of reasoning power with their crackpot interpretations, resorting as they do to the devil for everything that cannot be explained by them. (For Becky Fisher, if there was a power cut during the seminar, it would be the doing of the devil) That is why the focus of their strategy is to catch hold of the tender minds of growing children and deeply impress upon them the infallible veracity of the Bible. They have to catch the children when their discriminative powers are totally undeveloped.

The fundamentalists have a typical cult psychology in the way they go rabidly against the whole mainstream world. But their threat to humanity arises from the fact that they are by no means content to rest there. They have every intent to become the mainstream world themselves, and they received a huge fillip to move in this direction during the Bush era. The Bush administration encouraged faith-based schools, and promoted fundamentalist beliefs through such activities as prisoner rehabilitation and charity (Jones, 503). After Bush, they may have lost an important ally, but their momentum is still gathering. The fact that President Bush was re-elected for the second term is itself an indication of the strength of the devoutly Christian base of voters in America. Though only 9 percent of the total votes that went for Bush in 2004 came from the fundamentalist community, it was decisive in bringing about his victory (Green 30).  The fundamentalist bastion in the southern parts and in the American Midwest is still very much consolidating itself, and under the surface is insidiously growing in its power. They wield considerable political clout already.
Thus it is clear that Christian fundamentalism can be a considerable political force  as it remains to this day in the United States where the back of the Evangelicals may have proved decisive in securing victories for both Reagan and George W. Bush. Fundamentalism  a literal approach to the interpretation of the Bible  is strictly speaking, a purely theological doctrine and not equivalent to a belief in the political supremacy of the Church. Some fundamentalists would endorse a strict separation of secular and religious matters, but where they are in a majority this distinction often ceased to be of practical importance. (Tansey  Jackson, 82)

We must not forget that up until the 17th century the whole Western world was in the clutches of the Vatican Church, which had a staunchly anti-science disposition, and which put in a great effort to quell scientific thinking from taking off. The Vatican recently accepted the existence of intelligent life on other planets (Associated Press), whereas 400 years ago, it burned Giordano Bruno at stake for claiming that there could be many planets in the universe which harbor intelligent life. Today, Vatican is not a significant opposition to science and reason, but Protestant fundamentalism is. It is poised to become the next Church and inaugurate the second Dark Ages, given half a chance.

The Church of the medieval times could maintain so much power for so many centuries because of the military might it could muster. Today, the fundamentalists too have a great weapon on their side children. One of the biggest things we have learned in the 20th century is the power of indoctrination of children. In Soviet Russia and China, in the Nazi Germany, and Hirohitos Japan, in the Islamic world, in so many places during different periods, we have seen again and again the indoctrination of children being used with stunning results. Indoctrination is the basic modus operandi of sustaining a totalitarian regime. In our modern, affluent and democratic world, advertisers too realize the power of effective indoctrination, and much of the advertisements in our advertisement-soaked culture are directed toward women and children.

But advertising is a haphazard kind of indoctrination. They have to make much appeal to emotion, and at least some sense to reason. The efficacy of advertisements can vary widely. However, the kind of indoctrination fundamentalist Christian parents carry out is a thorough and systematic one. Although they may use the word reason from time to time, they do not really try to appeal to reason in any plausible manner. For instance, earlier in this essay we have wondered why the boys mother was dismissing global warming so lightly when its effects can be seen everywhere, and all the experts agree that it is happening and that it is a gravely worrying issue although some may not concede that it is anthropogenic. Mike Papantanio, a radio host and the only voice of sanity featured in the documentary, says in his radio program that because fundamentalists believe in the imminent second coming of the Christ, they do not feel responsible for earth and its future they have therefore no particular qualms about devastating the planet in every possible way for as long as we can for our temporary gains. But if this is so, the fundamentalist parents and teachers could still teach their children that global warming is happening and just add a clause that it does not really matter because the Christ is going to land one earth very soon anyway. This would make more sense, rather than outright denying something the signs of which are going to become more and more visible in the coming years. But it would seem like these parents are so confident about the efficacy of their indoctrination, they simply do not bother about causing avoidable clashes with reality in the minds of their children. And so they do not feel any compunction in telling their children that global warming does not exist at all.

One wonders, can anything be implanted into the minds of children, anything at all, without needing to worry that the beliefs so implanted may collide with reality one day and be shattered Today they are teaching that evolution did not happen, tomorrow can they be teaching that earth is at the center of the universe The Genesis and the entire Bible would only make sense if the earth is at the center of the universe, and not just a dust particle lost in a billion billion solar systems.

The fundamentalist groups in America are only fighting for the subject of evolution to be dropped for school textbooks, as of now.  From Jesus Camp, we gather (through the radio host) that in Kansas State they have succeeded in getting a modified version of creationism, the theory of intelligent design, taught in the schools, affecting around 600,000 children. It is difficult to say whether the fundamentalists will ever go beyond these relatively modest gains and get an upper hand over science in this matter, but it cannot be ruled out and if they do succeed in achieving an edge over the current mainstream knowledge, then that would be the beginning of the end. It is certain that they will not stop short of reversing the whole progress of the past 400-500 years.

The concept of evolution is a big pain in the collective neck of Christian fundamentalists, but it is not the only one. Once evolution is cleared from the way, they will most probably attack gravity. Science cannot really exist in parts.

The rise of modern science began in the 15th century with Copernican revolution. The Church fought bitterly to suppress the Copernican heliocentric theory from gaining prevalence. The Church forced Galileo to retract his assertions about earth moving around the sun, and put him under house arrest. The first chapter of the Bible, Genesis, clearly says the God created the sun and the moon for the sake of day and night on earth heliocentric theory clearly goes against the Bible. But beyond that, the Church clearly knew if it allowed a scientific view of the world to take hold, its own power and influence would be vastly diminished. But the telescopes were invented by then, and the Church could not do much to stem the rising tide of science. The next great revolution to happen in science was the Darwinian revolution in biology. Today the Christian fundamentalists are fighting the Darwinian revolution, and it would seem to many that they do not have much of an issue with the rest of science. But if they win this battle in any significant way and rise to power, it is very much conceivable that they will target the Copernican revolution. Because the simple logic here is that, Darwinian revolution followed the Copernican revolution, and is bound to follow in the very logic of things, because they both have emerged out of the same scientific way of looking at the world. It is not possible to let the Copernican revolution and its products be, without the fear of creating a Darwinian revolution.

In fact we already see the signs of this. The creationist program shown to the boy in Jesus Camp makes mockery not just of the fact that we have all come from green goo but also the fact that the universe was born in an explosion. The word explosion, obviously referring to the Big Bang, is used twice in a brief snippet that hardly lasts a minute. Although fundamentalists are focusing their struggle against the Darwinian revolution for now, they have already set their sights on the Big Bang, which is a direct product of the Copernican revolution. While the former deals with the evolution of life on the planet earth, the latter deals with the birth and evolution of the cosmos itself. The fundamentalist beliefs go against one as much as they go against the other, it is only that for now these people are concentrating on one of the aspects. To go against the other would mean coming into a clash with the whole of physics and the whole of science, and the fundamentalists need to be in a much stronger position in the society to wage their final war against science.

 There is a slow chipping away between the church and the state, laments Mike Papantanio of the documentary. One day the church could have become the state. Papantino calls it the Thief in the night effect. If we do not do something really very effective and definitive about it, one day we are sure to wake up and find that the thief has not only taken away our children from us, but he has also taken the future away from humanity.