Religion and Theology

To teach the word of God is like cleaning King Arthurs horse stable. Even Jesus Christ, the considered greatest teacher of all times, had experienced a lot of constraints and difficulties in spreading the good news about the promises and blessings of the Almighty Creator through the words of God.

In todays world, even we are at the peak of the highest level of modernity and advances wherein there are several modern equipments for teaching, the teachers of the word of God are still suffering from great dilemma in inculcating the gospel to the hearts and minds of the people.

Nevertheless, aside from the problem with regards to the people who are hearing the gospel, it is also said that different people who are spreading the word of God to the different places of the world have different reasons, goals and strategies in teaching.

Stanleys Three possibilities

Stanleys Three Possibilities offer diverse possible goals on communicating from the Scriptures to the target group of audience. The first goal is to teach the Bible to people. This style of teaching the word of God simply focuses only on the importance of the Bible itself for it only explains what the Bible means. In this method, the teacher is only concerned on the context of the Bible. The teachers main concern is only to tell and explain the bible to the people. Because of this, no creativity is required in order to achieve success in this style. No application, likewise, is needed so that the teacher will become successful in transferring the word of God to the target audience. Since the only concern is to merely explain the Bible, it is not really difficult for the teachers as such there would be no needed application and creativity to ensure that authentic learning takes place to the audience.

The second goal, on the other hand, is to teach people the Bible. If the first possibility barely lies on the importance of the Bible, the second type has the main focus on the people who are supposed to receive the message from the Bible. This is considered to be the most effective way to impart Biblical truth to the mind and heart of the people. Since the primary importance is given to the audience, this type of teaching needs creativity such as alliterations and multiple illustrations.  These techniques will eventually help the teacher to successfully transfer the information to the people. Since the success of this type of goal lies on the success of the information transfer, the teacher should be sensitive to the needs of the learners to assure the success of the learning process. With this, an outline would be very helpful on the part of the teachers.

Furthermore, the last goal among Stanleys Three Possibilities is to teach people how to live a life that reflects the values, principles, and truths of the bible. The last one is believed to be the integration of the first and second techniques. In here, the importance lies both on the Bible and the people. This type of teaching aims to create change to the people who will hear the gospel of God. This requires both the in-depth knowledge of the teacher to the Bible and the creativity to use applications so that learning will be achieved to its maximum level.

Looking critically to the three possibilities suggested by Stanley, it can be deducted that the third one has the edge among all the others. It is indeed true that the greatest aim of teaching the word of God to the people is to create change to the life of the people who will listen to the good news from the Bible. It would be futile if people will just have the knowledge on the word of God and there is no practical application to their everyday lives. The first goal can be just compared to eating without digesting. If the main concern of the teacher is just to teach the Bible, then it would just be a waste of time. The second one, on the other hand, though it can be said that ensuring the people to receive the words of God to their hearts and minds is a noble act, still, the greatest aim in teaching the Bible is not satisfied. Knowing the truth is not really enough. There should be change after the people had known the truth from the Bible. And through this, it can be considered that the third one is the best method to adopt when teaching the words of God to the people. Creating change not only to the knowledge of the people but also to the actions and attitudes would be the perfect goal when teaching them about the Bible.

Younts Learning Theory System
Younts Learning Theory System lies on the influences of the well-known theories B. F. Skinners Operant Conditioning and A. Banduras Social Learning Theory in which the teachers have several factors to consider in the learning system of the students.

In the Operant Conditioning theory, the use of rewards to alter classroom behavior is extremely used. This has something to do with the belief of Skinner about the effect of reinforcement to the attitudes of the learners. This means that if the students will be given rewards, there is a great tendency that learning will take place. On the other hand, punishment could also be a form of reinforcement to the students. This can be best explained through an illustration inside the classroom real life situation. For instance, if the teacher will give extra points or candies to the students who always answer the questions correctly, there will be a possibility that all the students will be motivated to answer and participate because of the reinforcement given by the teacher. The extra points or candies serve as the motivating factors that cause the distinct reaction of the students. Because of this reinforcement, the students are motivated to study, learn and participate in the class.

On the other hand, Social Learning Theory merely dwells on the effect of the environment to the learning attitudes of the students. This means that the perception of the learners with regards to learning merely depends on the influence of the environment. For instance, if a child grows in a religious family, the child has the tendency also to learn religious activities like reading the Bible, going to church and the like. Nevertheless, if a child grows in a place wherein religion is not given much importance, there is a probability that the child will not even learn how to read the Bible. Thus, this explains that environment plays an important role in the development of attitudes of the individuals with regards to learning system.

With regards to teaching the words of God, the said theories would be very much applicable and useful as such teaching the Bible needs a lot of motivation from the learners or the group of audience. For example, if the people are motivated by a reward or influenced by the environment, there is a great possibility that they will be reinforced to study the Bible.

Nevertheless, along with the advantages of using the said theories are likewise the disadvantages if not properly used. Using the operant conditioning, for instance, will just make the learners to become dependent on the rewards that they can get in order to study. This means that if there is no reward, there will be no learning that will take place. And this is not in accordance to the principle of learning the words of God.  The gospel of God should be learned voluntarily by the individuals so that it will be successfully imparted to the hearts and minds of the people. Likewise, on the concepts of Social Learning Theory, if the learners will be exposed to bad examples or influences, there is a great danger that they will never want to learn about the Scriptures. Therefore, the use of these learning theories should be carefully and critically examined as such they can make and unmake the attitude and perception of the learners to the studying of the words of God.

What is the role of the teacher and what steps will you take to ensure that you are fulfilling this role
Teachers play a very important role in ensuring that they have prepared the learner in a way that is both productive and fulfilling, so that the learner is developed with all the relevant factors deemed ideal and necessary for development under consideration. Specifically, a teacher ought to motivate the learner. In essence, the teacher must excite the learner to work towards a given purpose, which in this case is achieving the academic requirements and goals. The overall role here is therefore to ensure that the learner is disciplined. In order to impart discipline in the learner, the teacher will need to adopt the use of the principles that are presented in the Bible. To impart discipline, the teacher must be ready to apply the godly principles in the bible, and to ensure that learners are disciplined as much as possible. Emphasis on God must be accompanied by the emphasis of good and right behaviors and choices for the learner. Finally, the teacher will fulfill this role by ensuring that the choices that the learners make are consistent with the expected outcomes.

What is the difference between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation when it comes to learning
Given that motivation is the effort to excite a certain act or behavior in order to achieve a certain purpose or goal, it has been classed into two based on how this excitation is done and on the specific purpose it intends to achieve. Intrinsic motivation is associated with a high level of learner achievement and results from the rewards that are associated with a given activity or task. It is a kind motivation that has a source within the learner and the teacher ought to let it thrive. On the other hand, extrinsic motivation is usually traced from sources that are outside the learner. For instance, the teacher can threaten to punish the learner or coerce himher in order to have the learner motivated. Money and other gifts are also great motivators.What is the significance of group dynamics in the motivation of a learner.

Group dynamics is a very critical aspect in shaping each member of the group. As group theorists will point out, the smaller the group, the better its members will be able to interact and influence each other. While large groups promote group loafing, smaller ones are ideal for instilling good characters. Group dynamics are significant in bringing about motivation because the learner gets to get the views of the other members of the group and as such is able to understand what is right or wrong. The learner also has access to a variety of viewpoints and is exposed to people with whom heshe is able to relate very well. Each member of the group desires to achieve at least to the level that the group expects. If the group has other learners with a record of performing well, they are likely to motivate those who do not perform as well to improve. It is a matter of having very close influence on each other. Some learners are also able to relate better with peers or age-mates rather than the teacher. As such, groups will help such ones to get motivated through getting to open up and share ideas with the others.

What are the structural factors that motivate learning
Learning can also be motivated by structural factors. These are the factors that are not at all linked to the learner or the teacher but which are related to the learning environment as is determined by the facilities pout in place by the management. Structural factors that motivate learning include having the relevant learning resources and learning aids for the learner, so that heshe is given an opportunity to concentrate on the learning process. Structural motivators ensure that the learning process is not disrupted. Others are good programs to be followed by learners, and a ready and willing support team or staff. What suggestions would you give to a novice teacher concerning motivating their students in their given context.

The advice that I would give to a novice teacher is that, first, it is essential that just like Jesus taught his disciples using parables so they could understand everything and never miss anything, heshe ought to use a language in which the learners will best understand the concept being taught. Every learner ought to be given a chance to develop their unique learning skills as well. In addition, the teacher must motivate the learners to not only work hard for academic excellence but also to grow up in a godly manner. The other advise is that the teacher must ensure that impartation of godly morals is accompanied by instilling of discipline in the learner. Discipline goes a long way in ensuring good academic performance. The teacher must also be able to encourage the learners to take part in group activities. This is because group dynamism plays a great role in not only motivating learners but also giving them a chance to learn from each other what they might have missed in class. Finally, learners, according to the Biblical book of Proverbs, usually grow up in the way they are trained. This is especially if they are still young. Based on this, I would advise the teacher to train the learners in a godly way so that they do not depart from it when they are adults.

The book of Daniel is controversial in many respects. First, some scholars questioned the authorship of the book on the ground. The apocalyptic character of the book seems to stretch beyond its historical location. Second, if the book of Daniel is to be considered spurious on the ground that it presents miracles, it would necessarily follow that most of the book in the Bible would also be eliminated as valid inspired writings. The third criticism of the book is concentrated on the perceived reductions and tempering of the book. According to some scholars, the original book of Daniel is Aramaic while the tempered versions are either Hebrew or Babylonian. Other criticisms are directed towards the content of the book itself. For example, according to the book, Daniel describes Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon who besieged the city of Jerusalem (Daniel, 246). If this event occurred before the Battle of Carchemish, then Nebuchadnezzar was not yet king of Babylon.

To most scholars though, the book is a genuine historical and theological document. The book parallels the basic theme in the New Testament  the salvation of man by the grace of God. In its broad revelation, the book overwhelmingly describes a universal, omnipotent, omnipresent, and all-powerful God. This reflects the thematic unity of Old Testament writings. In a sense, the book may also be considered a transition book because it tackles both the first and second coming of Christ. Again, this validates the claim of other Old Testament texts.

In sum, the book of Daniel may be considered as the prophetic revelation of the Old Testament. It is a description of history, of the future, of a God-given promise. The book is both sufficient and complete, as far as history and theology are concerned.

Jesus founded Christianity, while Mohammed founded Islam. These two men have affected the world in a very powerful way. Jesus is the fundamental figure of Christianity. Christians view Jesus as the messiah who was prophesied in the Old Testament. He is also believed to be the Son of God, who was raised from the dead (Baugh, 1997). Jesus is one of the most influential people in history. What Jesus was teaching was not new, but a confirmation of the Old Testament. Mohammed is the founder of the Islamic religion. He is regarded by his followers as the messenger and prophet of Allah. He is the final and the law bearer among the prophets as revealed by the Quran. Muslims consider Mohammed as the restorer of original monotheistic faith (Andrae, 1960). The paper traces the lives of the two historically, reveals the impact of their deaths to their followers, tells how each of them is worshipped and how their messages are spread to the world.

Jesus
Jesus is believed to have been sent by God to the earth more than 2000 years ago. He became a human being and was born of a virgin, Mary, who was betrothed to a man named Joseph. Although Jesus lived like a man he never committed any sin. He performed a lot of miracles and wonders during his stay in the world and converted a lot of followers (Aron, 1962).

Jesus is believed to have died on the cross to save mankind and rose from the dead after three days. Those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God and follow his ways are Christians.

The exact date in the contemporary world when Jesus was born is not evident. The current western style of recording date tries to count the years from when he is believed to have been born. The Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament, talks of his birth as having taken place during the reign of King Herod. Herod died in 4 BCBCE. The Gospel of Luke indicates that he was born during the initial census of Syria and Judea. This is believed to have taken place in 6 ADCE. This is the reason why majority scholars assume that he was born between 6 and 4 BCBCE (Baugh, 1997).

Jesus grew in the town of Nazareth in Galilee. The earthly father of Jesus, Joseph, was a carpenter. This is why he is sometimes referred to as a carpenter because he assisted his father in his work. It is believed that he was thirty years when be was baptized by John the Baptist in River Jordan. It is believed that the baptism of Jesus was the beginning of his public ministry. After he was baptized, he went to the desert where he fasted for forty days and was tempted by the Devil three times. He never fell into the temptations for each time he answered the devil by quoting the scripture. Jesus spent most of his time here teaching about the kingdom of God, exorcising demons, and performing miracles. He healed the sick, the lame and the blind and also raised the dead. Some examples of those raised by Jesus from the dead were Lazarus and Jairus daughter, among others. He spoke in parables and aphorisms. Mark talks of Jesus giving his life as ransom for sinners. He came to bring the good news of the kingdom and for all those who believed in him to have eternal life (Baugh, 1997).

During his time on earth he won many followers, with twelve as his disciples. He speaks to them about the demands of discipleship and stated that they had to make sacrifices to follow him.  Jesus was betrayed by one of his followers, Judas Iscariot, after a Passover celebration where he prophesied about his betrayer and ultimate death. During the Passover celebration Jesus took bread and wine, which symbolized his body and bread as a new covenant that his followers would drink and practice in his remembrance. Before his arrest he washed the feet of his disciples, talked about persecution of his disciples and the coming of the counselor (Aron, 1962). The councilor was the Holy Spirit who would give them courage and teach them Gods ways.
Jesus was arrested by temple guards who were ordered to do so by Sanhedrin and the high priest. The Jewish rulers took him to Pilate to be persecuted. Pilate was reluctant to persecute him, but his efforts were hindered by the public who chose Barabbas, a thief to be released instead of Jesus. Jesus was finally crucified with two thieves. He died and was buried but he rose after the third day. After his death and resurrection, he appeared to his disciples. He told them to go and wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit who would invest them with power. According to the gospels Jesus ascended to heaven after the appearances before his disciples. Before he ascended he talked to him about his second coming (Baugh, 1997).

Mohammed
Mohammed was born in Mecca between 570 and 580 AD. Mohammed is said to have heard the angel of God speak to him for the first time when he was almost 40 years. The angel who is identified as Gabriel revealed to him that there existed only one God and that it was wrong to revere idols. He also told him that the end of the world would be coming with the final judgment. Mohammed was active as a military attach, theorist, spokesman, mercantile, lawmaker, reformer, and military general (Andrae, 1960). He is believed by Muslims as an agent of divine faith. Mohammed was brought up by his uncle after the death of his parents. He worked as a merchant and shepherd. Mohammed married at the age of 25. He was dissatisfied with life and took refuge in the cave in the mountains to meditate and reflect. According to Muslims it is here at the mountains, in the month of Ramadan that he got his initial revelation from Allah. Three years after this took place Mohammed began to preach the revelations in public. He began proclaiming that God is one and that total surrender to him was the only way tolerable to him. He proclaimed to be the messenger and prophet of Allah (Archer, 1924).  

In the beginning Mohammed gained few followers. He was opposed by Meccan tribes and he and his followers were treated harshly. To evade persecution, he sent some of his followers to Abyssinia. Later he and his other followers shifted to medina. This event is known as the Hijra and marks the start of the Islamic calendar. After eight years of conflicts with the Meccan tribes, the followers of Mohammed who had increased in number defeated Mecca. Mohammed died in 632, after coming back to medina after a farewell pilgrimage. By the time he died, Mohammed had most of the Arabian Peninsula to Islam. He had also converted the tribes of Arabia into a Muslim religious polity. The revelations that Mohamed reported to have gotten from the angel, comprise the verses of the Quran. The Quran is regarded by the Islamic religion as the Word of God, and it is the basis for the religion. The Quran does not blatantly show Mohammed as a miracle performer, but the supreme miracle of Mohammed is identified with the Quran itself (Andrae, 1960).
Impact of their death to their followers
Unlike with Jesus who preached mercy and forgiveness, the Islamic faith is associated with conflicts beginning at the time they fought to conquer Mecca. When Jesus was rejected by his opponents, he forgave them and persevered to the point of death. The final words of Jesus and Mohammed have impact on their followers. Jesus prayed for forgiveness for his persecutors for they did not know what they were doing, while Mohammed prayed a curse from God to Jews and Christians because they constructed their places of worship at the tombs of the prophets. After the death of Jesus his followers continued to preach peace, love and forgiveness, just as he had forgiven his persecutors. After the death of Mohammed there were conflicts as to who would succeed him as the leader of the Islamic community. They continued fighting to win followers and to defend their faith (Mohammed, 1998).  While Mohammed was a self-fulfilling prophet, Jesus was prophesied before his coming and his second coming is also prophesied. In preaching about Jesus, Christians are urged to stay a sin-free life so that they can enjoy the everlasting kingdom with him and other righteous (Mohammed, 1998).  

Ways of worship
Jesus was the only key to being a member of Gods family it is only though him that it is possible for the mankind to relate with God. It is only through the son that Christians can get to the father. He is believed by Christians to be a link between them and the father (Aron, 1962).

The life and traditions of Mohammed are upheld by the Islamic religion. Muslims consider Mohammed and other prophets with veneration. They add the phrase peace be upon him whenever they are mentioning their names. Mohammed is revered greatly in the Muslim faith with his mane populating their thoughts and poetry. The Quran refers to Mohammed as a mercy to the worlds. His birthday is celebrated as a major feast (Andrae, 1960).

Spreading of the religion to the world
Christians follow the teachings of the bible in preaching about Jesus, while the Muslims use the Quran. While there is no specific formula, although kneeling is sometimes used to show surrender to God, in Christianity, Muslims are supposed to pray five times a day facing Mecca. In Islamic faith men and women do not pray in the same place (Mohammed, 1998). Following the declaration of one God, the belief in Mohammed as a prophet is the main aspect of Islamic religion. Each Muslim proclaims in the Shahadah that Mohammed is the messenger of God. The Shahadah is the fundamental creed of Islam. It is the one through which the Islamic faith is passed over to people. It is the first thing a child hears after birth, is taught as soon as he can understand and is uttered when he is dead. They repeat the Shahadah in their call to pray and the prayer itself. Those who wish to convert to Islam are supposed to recite the Shahadah (Andrae, 1960).

Conclusion
Both Jesus and Mohammed are influential figures in their subsequent religions but they were different in every aspect of their life. Even today the followers of Jesus Christ preach peace, forgiveness and sacrifice in defense for their faith while the Muslims have no mercy when it comes to defending their faith. In fact the Muslim advocate jihad, holy war, to protect their faith.

Judaism and Islam are regarded as related, belonging to the same family of religions. The earliest form of Jewish prayer may date from the time of Abraham, around about 1,500 CE or earlier. Chronologically, Islam is younger, dating from the seventh century CE, although Muslims believe that Islam is the religion of nature, so say that it is as old as creation. However, Muhammad (570-632CE) established five daily prayers after the event known as the hijrah in 622CE, so Muslim prayer is of more recent origin. Often referred to as two of three Abahamic faiths (the other being Christianity), there are similarities and differences between them.

This research focuses on daily prayer in these two religions. In both, these fulfill religious duties or obligations, as well as satisfying believers own spiritual needs. Requirements for men and women differ in both. In many respects, Islam appears to have been more influenced by Jewish than by Christian practices, as Abraham Geiger argued (Heschel, 1998, p. 61). More or less the same traditions are followed by all Jews and Muslims, so variation from this tradition is rare.

Jewish Prayer
The tradition of praying three times a day dates from the Babylonian exile (586-538BCE), after the first Jerusalem Temple had been destroyed. Then, the system of sacrifices and offerings in the Temple was, at least for the time being, discontinued. This built on an older tradition of praying at the start and end of every day, derived from the Shema at Deuteronomy 6 4-9. The Shema was recited in the morning and at night. During the Exile, the practice of praying three times a day began, corresponding to the times when sacrifices were offered in the Temple. Later, the Talmud linked the three prayers not only with the Temple but with the Patriarchs, saying that Abraham instituted the Morning Prayer, his son, Isaac the Afternoon Prayer and his son, Jacob the Evening Prayer (Goldman, 200, p. 214). The Rabbis came to associate these daily prayers with the obligation to serve God (see Exodus 23 25), declaring that all Jewish men (over the age of 13) must observe them, as one of the 613 mitzvot or commandments (Eisenberg, 2005, p. 8). Before prayer, both hands are ritually washed. Worship in Judaim always follows set patterns and forms, set out in books known as siddur. Mnay Jews memorize the prayers. No leader is neededThe sages emphasize that prayer must be offered sincerely and with devotional intent, not mechanically or to impress others with your piety. Men wear the tefillin, the leather boxes containing the Shema and other Torah verses on their foreheads and left arms during morning service.

Maimonides encouraged people to spend time before and after formal prayer and to repeat the prayer if genuine kavannah (direction of the heart) was lacking (Eisenberg, p. 8). Blessings are recited before bathing, putting on the Tefillin and the Tallit (prayer shawl). Over time, the content of the three daily prayers became more or less set, although there is some variation across different sub-traditions, such as Orthodox and Reform. Torah portions are read on Sabbath and on Monday and Thursday mornings, so that the whole text is read over the year. Anyone considered competent can lead the prayers. The Schema is always recited, representing belief in One God and what can be understood as a declaration of Jewish identity.  Shemoneh Esrei, the 18 Blessings composed in the fifth century BCE, selected psalms and hymns, form the core elements. There is no music in Orthodox services  a cantor leads the chanting. Where there are ten men (or ten Jews for Reform), prayer must be offered as a congregation. The Sabbath service has additional elements, especially surrounding the reading of the Torah, which is first carried around the congregation and kissed. The Sabbath (sunset Friday to sunset Saturday) is a day of rest. While the Torah is always read in Hebrew, prayers can be said in other languages. At various set points in the service, worshippers bow.
Orthodox Jews, however, use Hebrew. Women do not have to observe the three prayers or attend Synagogue. If they do attend Synagogue, they sit apart from and separated from men. They play no role in the service among the Orthodox. Orthodox women should pray at least once a day, following any form they choose. However, they light the Sabbath candle in the home, reciting the blessing.

Muslim Prayer
Like Jewish prayer, Muslim prayer takes place at set times. Traditions surrounding Jewish prayer developed over many centuries, involving many contributors. All traditions related to Muslim prayer are from Muhammad, who was in turn instructed by the Angel Gabriel (Rippin, 1990, p. 90). Muslims regard God as the ultimate source of all aspects of their prayer tradition. Prayer is a fard (obligatiory duty), one of the five pillars of Islam. The set times are daybreak, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset and evening. Jewish men begin obligatory prayer at age 13 but there is no specific age for Muslims, who arte expected to begin as soon as they are capable. Muslims point to Quranic verses mentioning these prayer times. Some non-Muslim scholars argue that only three prayer times can be identified (Leaman, 2006, p.560). Some think that traditions surrounding prayer developed over a lengthier time, although still far shorter than applies to Jewish tradition. Rippin suggests that five times may have been a conscious effort to produce a self-definition which was mid-way between and yet clearly distinct from Judaism and Christianity referencing the three daily Jewish and the six-prayer times of Syrian Christian monastic ritual (91). Before prayer, it is obligatory to perform ablution. This is more elaborate than Jewish ablution, involving washing face, arms, hands, feet, ears, nose and rinsing the mouth. Before commencing, a prayer is recited, representing right intent (niyyah). The same conviction underlies Muslim and Jewish ritual  that it is only valid if performed with devotional intent.

Prayer is always in Arabic.
There is no equivalent of tefallin or prayer shawl for Muslims, who technically do not require any objects to perform prayer. Prayer can be offered anywhere (as can Jewish prayer) but the qiblah (direction of Mecca) has to be located and faced. Often, a prayer mat will be used. Prayer is preceded by the recitation of the Call, which has no equivalent in Judaism. There is no quorum that requires congregational prayer, although a minimum of three (men) is needed for this to occur (Glass 400). Congregational prayer for men (not for women), though, is obligatory on Friday. Then, a portion of the Quran is read and explained (khutbah). There is no equivalent of processing the Torah, or kissing it. The prayer leader, though, can choose any portion (there is no set text, unlike in Judaism, for each week) and the day is considered normal, not one of rest. Women may attend but sit apart, as do women in Orthodox Jewish synagogues. Women and men otherwise have identical obligations. Both are excepted when ill or traveling but should make up later.

Women who miss due to menstruation are excused from making up. Certain words are always spoken, as they are in Jewish prayer, namely the Fatiha (Quran chapter one) and a form of the Shahadah, which is similar to the Shema, a declaration of faith in One God. Each prayer time has a set number of cycles, after which make up prayer can be added. The cycle moves through standing, bowing, to complete prostration. This movement is more elaborate than the bowing involved in Jewish prayer. Both Jewish and Muslim prayer has spoken and silent components. Quranic verses can be included, usually shorter chapters as freely chosen by the leader (as long as they progress forward, for example 96, 98, 100 not backwards numerically). There is no siddur-type book involved, no form of singing.

Contemporary Practice, Jewish-Muslim Interaction and Interviews
Jews and Muslims view daily prayers as honoring and respecting tradition but also as religious obligation. In both religions, rules regarding prayer are integral to legal traditions, covered by Halakah and Shariah respectively. Subsequently, they can not be changed. Faithfulness to tradition is valued as much by contemporary Jews and Muslims as it was by their ancestors. Nonetheless, in Judaism, some adaptation took place when the Reform movement began in the early nineteenth century. In Reform synagogues, the length of services is shortened, vernacular languages are used as well as Hebrew and some Torah portions omit lists and genealogies. Perhaps the major difference is that women in Reform (and Conservative in the US) sit with men and wear the prayer shawl. In these Jewish movements, women serve as Rabbis. Women are counted as part of the quorum (Fisher, p 170). They may read the Torah portion (Fisher, p. 171).

Contemporary Orthodoxy permits women to wear Tefillin although this is not encouraged. Some groups of Orthodox women gather to conduct their own Torah-services, observing all relevant traditions but these services have encountered great opposition (Denison, 1998, p. 258). Reform is strong outside the state of Israel, where the Rabbinate does not recognize the authority of non-Orthodox Rabbis (Fisher, p. 168).

Among Muslims, prayers continue to be offered exclusively in Arabic, although some legal schools allow new converts to use another language until they are able to recite the Arabic. Minimal differences exist between different schools, except for Ismailis who have three prayers and a different format. The role of women is a controversial topic. Muslim prayer involved lining up shoulder to shoulder and few if any argue that women and men should mix. Women may form a prayer line at the rear but some Muslims insist on complete separation. Muslim women who attend mosque are expected to pray, following the lead of the Imam, exactly as men do. An Imam is simply a prayer leader who knows the ritual. Some have undergone special training and are paid by the community. However, any Muslim can act as a prayer leader (as can any adult Jew). A Muslim woman can lead prayer for other women. Whether a woman can lead mixed prayer or mens prayer is much more controversial. Many Muslims say that this is against Islamic Law. A few disagree. The five daily prayers follow a relatively simple format. They are also quite short. There is no equivalent of a Reform movement among Muslims, although it has been outside majority-Muslim countries that a few women have led mixed prayer and preached the Friday khutbah.

Since the creation of the modern nation state of Israel, Jewish-Muslim relations have been dominated by issues related to the fate of the Palestinian people. This tends to sour interaction and encounter between the two traditions. Nonetheless, there is no barrier as such preventing Muslims from visiting a Synagogue or Jews from visiting a mosque. There are interfaith circles and associations where Jews and Muslims engage in dialogue and visit each others places of worship. When a non-Jew attends a Synagogue, there is no reason why they cannot participate in the prayers. Non-Jews known as god-fearers attached prayed in Synagogues in Roman times. Much depends on ability to follow the Hebrew. In Reform synagogues, transliteration of the Hebrew is often available and more vernacular is used, which some Jews also utilize. If a Jew visits a Mosque, participating in prayer is more problematic. Technically, only Muslims should join the prayer line, after performing ablution.  However, someone who knows Arabic or who has memorized the prayers could easily join and those present would assume they were Muslim. Someone less familiar with the words might be taken as a new Muslim. It is unlikely that a Jew would wish to do so. They are more likely to observe, offering their own, silent prayers as they do so. Outside Muslim-majority countries, Mosques are more used to non-Muslims attending, either as possibly converts or to broaden their understanding of Islam.

Visiting a local reform Synagogue and a local Mosque gave opportunity to speak with a Rabbi and an Imam. The Rabbi was a woman. The Imam was a trained scholar employed by the Mosque. The Synagogue was called a Temple, which is not uncommon among Reform but Orthodox do not use this term. The service included a Bar-mitzvah  a 13 year old boy became a full member of the community. Many guests were present, mainly Jewish. However, the Rabbi explained the service as it proceeded, always indicating relevant page numbers. She explained later that she does this when she knows that guests are present. She said that many of the Jews attending for the bar-mitzvah were unfamiliar with the service, too. She stressed that anyone was welcome to attend the synagogue. She pointed out that it was easier for strangers to follow, because more English was used and the Hebrew was transliterated in the siddur. However, while she sang the songs and recited the prayers with great enthusiasm, few others actually joined in, which was a surprise.

Before the prayers began, the Imam explained in English what he was going to preach in Arabic. The Imam later explained that the Khutbah should be Arabic. If no one present could deliver an Arabic address, another language could be used. Observing the synchronized movement of prayer was impressive. It was more coordinated than the Synagogue service, simple yet uplifting. On the other hand, the Synagogue service was easier to follow, since English was used. The two experiences were very different, yet many similarities exist between Jewish and Muslim prayer, set-times, a set form, body movements, stress on inner intent and devotion.

The synagogue service, in some respects, seemed closer to Christian worship use of a service book the procession of the Torah (the Gospel is processed in some Christian services). However, the requirement to pray at set times has only applied to monks and nuns. Nor is prayer understood as an obligation in quite the same way. Ablution before prayer, common to Jews and Muslims, is not a Christian practice, nor for many Christians does worship in todays world follow exactly the same form as it did a thousand years ago. Some Christians, though, allow women worship leaders, some do not.

Conclusion
This research challenged preconceived ideas about Jewish and Muslim prayer as mechanical. Prayer, said Muhammad, without the Presence of the Lord in the heart is not prayer at all (Fisher, p. 239). The idea of set prayers at set times as obligatory, some differences between male and female practice, crosses the two traditions. The idea that historical links and common origins lie behind these two traditions appears justified by the many similarities that exist. The similarities appear to outweigh differences, suggesting a more intimate relationship than is often imagined, given contemporary hostility between some Jews and Muslims.

The book Knowing Jesus through the Old Testament is organized into five chapters namely, Jesus and the Old Testament Story, Jesus and the Old Testament Promise, Jesus and his Old Testament Identity, Jesus and his Old Testament Mission, and Jesus and his Old Testament Values in approximately 250 pages. The book has been written by Reverend Dr. Christopher J. H. Wright in the context of the Old Testament as being a guide book to emphasize the truth that Jesus is indeed the Son of God. This book is primarily written as a resource to help those who want to understand Jesus in the context of old testament and also to reestablish the strong connection existing between the Old Testament and the New Testament, a connection which is probably lost in todays time. In this book, author has sincerely tried to establish the connection between the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah of Israel and the lifetime of Jesus during which Jesus emerges as a Savior of the World in a realistic manner based on a thorough biblical research.

Brief Summary
All five chapters of the book presents a number of Old Testament passages which are further elaborated to correlate with the corresponding New Testament passages in order to establish the fact that Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies about the coming of a Messiah. In his book, the author asks the reader to look at the Old Testament in a new light so that the reader can see himself unfolding the story of Jesus through out the Old Testament such as the promise of a Messiah for the Israel, prophecy about Jesus and his birth, Jesus life and his mission, Jesus death and finally his resurrection. In chapter 1 titled as Jesus and the Old Testament Story (pp. 1-54), the author tries to establish the point that  Jesus is the descendant of Abraham and David as mentioned in the ancient Holy Scriptures and the life of Jesus is the culmination of the Old Testament story. In chapter 2 (pp. 55-102) titled as Jesus and the Old Testament Promise, the author correlates the Old Testament promise of Israels Messiah with the important events of Jesus life such as the promise of Jesus birth, Josephs dream, Jesus escape to Egypt, King Herods killing of infants, Jesus return from Egypt and his settlement in Nazareth. In chapter 3 titled as Jesus and his Old Testament Identity (pp. 103-135), the author draws parallels between Isaac, Abrahams only son and Jesus, the only Son of God. In chapter 4 titled as Jesus and his Old Testament Mission (pp. 136-180), the author narrates the mission of Jesus as a Savior of the World in the context of the Old Testament. In chapter 5 titled as Jesus and his Old Testament Values (pp. 181-252), the author shows the alignment of Jesus life with the law of God.

Interaction of Authors Writings
The author starts his book with the strong convictions that Jesus completes the story which is told in the Old Testament and Jesus is the fulfillment of Gods promise for the Israel. To establish this fact he starts with St. Matthews gospel and works backward to the Old Testament scriptures. Jesus genealogy as illustrated in the gospel of St. Matthew establishes the fact that Jesus is a Jew by birth and a descendant of Abraham and David. In Old Testament, it is prophesized that the Messiah will be from the descendants of King David. The author goes on to establish the connection of the Old Testament and Jesus life by stating that Jesus used the values of the Old Testament in his ministry and when faced with temptation he responded using the passages from the Old Testament. He became the identity of Israel when Israel failed in order to save the chosen ones. The author warns the modern Christians that without understanding the Old Testament, they would lose the meaning of Jesus himself and this understanding can be achieved only by delving in the Old Testament scriptures.

In the following chapter, i.e. chapter 2, the author has tried his best to correlate the Old Testament promise of Messiah with Jesus life by elaborating the passages from the Old Testament about a virgins conception (Isaiah 714), the birth of her son Jesus (Micah 52) Jesus escape to Egypt and his return (Hosea 111) the murder of the young boys in Bethlehem (Jeremiah 3115) and Jesus settlement in Nazareth.

This elaboration about the Old Testament promise is followed by the authors assertion that Jesus understands his own mission as the Son of God from three Old Testament passages as illustrated in Psalm 27 (here Jesus identified himself as the Son of David and as Israels Chosen King) Isaiah 421(here Jesus understands himself as a servant of God. This Davidic, Kingly Son would serve his people even unto death as the Servant Songs of Isaiah teaches us. The servant would suffer so that his people might be healed) and Genesis 222. (Here Jesus sees himself as the beloved son of God like Isaac unto Abraham. Yet in stark contrast, Isaac is spared, Jesus is not). In this chapter, the author reaffirms the truth that Jesus is the fulfillment all Old Testament prophecies about the Son of God and the New Testament is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. From the identity of Jesus as revealed in the Old Testament, the focus shifts to the mission of promised Messiah in the following chapter. In this chapter, the author covers all possible expectations of the Israel people about the coming of Messiah as they were quite desperate and suppressed under the rule of the Romans and were expecting the coming of Messiah in order to liberate them from the Roman suppression.

Here the author states the important fact that the Israels expectations about a Messiah were purely on a physical plane rather than on a spiritual plane. But Jesus, being the Son of God, had a deeper understanding about the Old Testament and realized that his mission is purely on spiritual plane.  And now says the Lord, who formed me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him.

In the final chapter, the author again focuses on establishing the continuity between the Old Testament and the New Testament by elaborating the ways to be followed by modern day Christians in order to follow Jesus. The crux of this chapter is that to enter into kingdom of God one must submit oneself to the law of God.

Conclusion
Since this book is written based on a thorough research of the Old Testament, it provides a great insight in to the life and culture of Jews both during the times of the Old Testament and that of the New Testament. Jews (or rather Israel as they are called) in the time of Old Testament lived in the expectation of the arrival of a Messiah whom God of Israel promised them long ago as their Savior. The author, in his book, establishes the fact that Jesus is this Promised Savior of Israel and the life of Jesus is the culmination of all Old Testament prophecies about the Coming of Messiah. Therefore the author asserts that to know Jesus truly, one must have a strong understanding of the Old Testament and it is only through the Old Testament one must be able to know Jesus true identity. Overall it is a good book worth referring for knowing Jesus and mainly written for the establishment of the connection between the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Theological differences between Luther and Zwingli on baptism not only had paved the way for disunity and enmity between these two reformers that costs the lives of dozens of European Protestants but it must also have contributed to Luthers desertion of Zwingli during the war in 1531 that left Zwingli dead at Zurich battle field. Although Zwingli and Luther agreed on many doctrinal issues such as the sacraments in which both Luther and Zwingli rejected much of which were held by the Roman Catholic Church for centuries, yet they were in stark contrast in their theological standpoint regarding baptism. Luther believed that baptism is a sign of unmerited justification through Gods grace which was made available through the death of Christ, while Zwingli regarded baptism the other way around. He regarded baptism as merely a pledge of allegiance to Jesus Christ, or simply a public declaration of ones faith and commitment in Jesus Christ and has nothing to do with justification much less with salvation.

Brief summary and Thesis
One of the issues in baptism which triggered a conflict between Martin Luther and Zwingli is the role of baptism in the justification and salvation. For his part, Zwingli does not see that water baptism is necessary at all because it is only an outward sign. Zwingli could not agree to Luthers assertion that the purpose and effect of baptism is to confirm faith, claiming that signs that could confirm faith are the miraculous signs and this confirmation is the work of the Hoy Spirit rather than by baptism. He therefore believed that inward baptism or conversion is more important than water baptism thereby separating inward and outward baptism.

Whereas, Luther emphasized that baptism was the visible sign of justification initiated by God through grace. In Luthers theological view point, baptism in water is essential towards receiving the righteousness of Christ and it carry out the justification through the grace of God. Apparently, both Luther and Zwingli had strong theological basis for their view on baptism, however, it also appears that both theological positions have weakness that served as a point of argument against each other.  The weakness of Zwinglis theology on baptism was that he failed to show any compelling necessity for infant baptism on theological grounds as he does not accept an original guilt in infants of which is the means or sign of remission. On the contrary, Luther insisted that that even a child needed to have faith in order to receive salvation by baptism.

The theological differences on baptism between Luther and Zwingli anchored on their notion of what the church is, based on their protestant perspective. In this case, Luthers perspective of the church and its rituals including baptism was highly associated with Roman Catholic teachings while Zwinglis theology of the church in general and of baptism in particular was a genuine protestant theology.   (Thesis in italics)

Introduction
In the works of Roland Bainton, Luther seemed to have completely broken up with the Roman Catholic Church as he has with one stroke reduced the number of the sacraments from seven to two. According to Bainton, Luther accepted only two sacraments throwing away confirmation, marriage, ordination, penance, and extreme unction while embracing the Lords suffer and baptism, on the ground that these two were the only sacraments directly instituted by Christ  which must distinctively Christian. In his Lecture to the Romans (4), it was quite apparent that baptism occupies very important place in Luthers theology. Citing Pauls discussion of baptism in his lecture to the Romans, Luther placed special emphasis on baptism associating it to the death and the burial of Christ. According to Luther, by faith in Jesus means we were baptized into his death, that is, through the merit and power of his death, hence, baptism (baptismus) dipping (mersio) and to dip (mergo) all mean that we were buried therefore together, that is spiritually. Here, Luther clearly indicated that baptism is not simply an outward sign or symbol that has nothing do with justification and salvation rather he asserts that through our baptism in Christ (water baptism) we might walk, progress, in newness, which comes through the grace of baptism, of life, spiritual life.

In contrast with Luthers theological assertion on the spiritual importance of baptism, Zwingli argued that baptism was not at all that spiritually necessary citing that Jesus himself accepted Johns baptism by which sinners were baptized. Zwingli stressed that the baptism of John and the baptism of Christ are the same thing which suggest that baptism was only an outward symbol or sign of ones commitment to follow Jesus Christ. Zwingli further asserts that since Christ received the baptism of John and made no change in it either in his own case or that of the apostles, it is clearly established that baptism had its beginning under John, and that baptism had its beginning under John and that there was no difference between the baptism of Christ, as far as the nature, effect, and purpose is concerned.    

For Zwingli, the fact that Christ has accepted Johns water baptism, it was final and the same with his own baptism. Therefore Zwingli insists that there is no need of other baptism anymore even the baptism of Christ as Christ himself validated Johns baptism. The purpose however of this argument was to emphasized that what is more important is the inward decision to follow Christ, the personal conviction of who Christ is, and the genuine conversion to Jesus Christ. At first glance however, the argument was narrow and confined to the notion of baptism whether it has spiritual significance as Luther asserts, or it was merely an outward symbol or sign of relationship with Jesus Christ which Zwingli stressed. Considering however the level of both Zwingly and Luther, it was unlikely to suppose that both men will argue on such a simple ground. Thus, this paper will dig further on the issue focusing on Luthers theology as may have been influenced by the Roman Catholic teaching and Zwinglis genuine protestant theology. In this sense, the theological difference between Luther and Zwingli on baptism could be seen in the theological difference between Roman Catholic and Protestantism.

Luthers theology on baptism
Who was Martin Luther He was no doubt a great reformer. A son of a copper mines worker, Luther was a former German priest who came to realize the corrupt practices of the Roman Catholic Church which he subsequently made a list and posted it at the door of Wittenberg Church. With this, Luthers career as a reformer began.

Baptism occupies an important role in Luthers theology. This is depicted in his Large Catechism which teaches that in baptism, Christian has enough to study and to practice all his life. According to Mark Tranvik, Luther injected vitality into baptism missing since the early days of the church. This vitality as reflected in Luthers Large Catechism has made baptism meaningful as it promises and brings blessings, victory over death and the devil, forgiveness of sin, Gods grace, the entire Christ, and the Holy Spirit. Apparently, in Luthers Large Catechism, baptism was not merely the sacrament of infancy or simply a rite regarding human justification and salvation but it also promised blessings. Indeed, Luther emphasized that the blessings of baptism are so boundless that if timid nature considers them, it may well doubt whether they could all be true.

Thus, Tranvik asserts that for Luther, baptism extend far beyond the the momentary rite at the font.  However, this theological stand point decreased during the middle ages compared to the early church. According to Tranvik, the development of the medieval sacramental system has associated baptism only with the beginning of life with its chief purpose to wash away the guilt of the original sins. Tranvik contends that during this time, Luther held that the emphasis on the understanding of the sacrament had diluted baptisms transformative power as the sacraments virtually eliminated the need of faith.

In view of the early churchs decreased emphasis on baptism, Tranvik stated that Luthers theological notion on baptism had changed too. He now placed more emphasis on the necessity of faith, and asserted that it is not baptism that justifies or benefits anyone, but it is faith in that word of promise to which baptism is added. For Luther then, faith plays a fundamental role in baptism. Essentially therefore, baptism holds a very important role in the Christian life because of the faith which is associated to baptism. That is, a logical understanding of Luthers theology on baptism is that baptism is essential to Christian spirituality because it suggest that when one undergoes baptism, he or she must have faith that that baptism will justifies him or her. Baptism therefore becomes essential because it confirms ones spiritual relations with God.

Luther however continues to reshape his view on baptism. For instance, Tranvik pointed out Luthers statement stating When one is baptized, say Luther, one should not understand this allegorically as the death of sin and the life of grace but as actual death and resurrectionfor baptism is not a false sign. This statement now reflects a more expressive conviction that baptism is more than just washing away of sin or an outward rite symbolizing the faith in Jesus Christ. It now literally asserts an actual death and resurrection which means that the individual sinners need to die, in order to be wholly renewed and made into another creature.

Looking back at the Roman Catholic teaching of the Eucharist, Catholics believe that during the Lords Suffer, the bread and wine becomes the real flesh and blood of Jesus. This teaching is called the doctrine of Trans substantiation. Luthers view on baptism which requires sinners to die in order to be made wholly new into another creature resembles the doctrine of Trans substantiation. Indeed, Eucharist and baptism were the only sacraments retained by Luther. In First Lectures on the Psalms I appearing in Luthers Works vol. 10, Luther asserts that Christians have the Keys, Baptism, the Eucharist, and the promise, the Word, and the voice of God

While Luther appears to have a sound theology on baptism, his interpretation of the apostle Pauls teaching of baptism in his Lecture to the Romans seemed to be over stated as there seemed to have no such emphasis in the teaching of Jesus Christ in the four books of the New Testament dealing with his life, teachings, and death. Thus, it appears that the basis of his interpretation is of baptism was his understanding of the teaching of Trans substantiation. In other words, his theology on baptism seemed to be influenced by his own understanding of the teaching of the Eucharist during he was a Catholic priest. This is quite evident in his discussion on the continuity of the church from the Old Testament particularly in his Lectures in Genesis. In this work, Luther recognized the pope and the papacy in baptism. He stated, In this way God gathered and preserved His church from the beginning, just as under the papacy baptism, the keys, the Eucharist, and other pure articles of faith were retained.

From this theological viewpoint, Luther has clearly delineated the influence of the Roman Catholic teaching on his own theological point of view. Indeed, during the early 1540s, efforts had been made by the Roman Catholic Church through the Council of Trent, to find common ground between Roman Catholics and Protestants on the issue of salvation and justification. Donald K. McKim mentioned that as per the debate between the Lutherans and the Roman Catholics is concerned a decree builds on the Trents teaching that the original sin affects the entire human race, but through the grace of baptism, both this sin and the resulting punishment are remitted. Given this, it was quite evident that Luthers theology on baptism was influenced by the Council of Trents theological position especially in doctrine of justification.

Zwinglis Theology on baptism
Before going further on Zwinglis theology on baptism, it seemed necessary to identify this reformer. A Swiss patriot, he led the reformation in the Swiss city of Zurich and his main emphasis on his reformation effort was to purify the Christian worship.

Like Martin Luther, Zwingli was a former priest and a humanist scholar prior to his conversion to Protestantism.  In Zwinglis Commentary on True and False Religion Zwingli criticizes the doctrine of the Catholic regarding the Keys, the Church and the Sacraments. It could be recalled that earlier in this paper, Luther asserted that the Keys, Baptism, and the Sacraments and the voice of God essentially Christians must have, yet Zwingli hereby criticizes this doctrine. In this commentary, Zwingli has depicted widely the theological difference between him and Luther. Contrary to Luthers theological standpoint on baptism, Zwinglis theology on baptism was genuinely based on the practical implication of the gospel of Christ. In the introduction to his commentary, the author cited that because of pure interpretation coming from the gospel, the evangelical Christian has deeper insight into his sin and misery, than the average Roman catholic The implication of this assertion was that for Zwingli the Christian religion is nothing else than a firm hope in God through Jesus Christ and a blameless life wrought after the pattern of Christ as far as he giveth us. The point therefore is that Zwingli does not care at all about sacraments including baptism. What he cared about was what the scripture or the gospel demands. This was in stark contrast with Luther as he was very much concern about baptism and the Eucharist.

Reflecting on the above discussion, Zwinglis theology on baptism is simply based on the pure interpretation on the practical implication of the gospel. Thus, his understanding of baptism was purely derived from the way baptism was interpreted by John the Baptist. According to the gospel of John, Johns baptism was symbol of repentance. Later in the apostles teaching in the in the New Testament books, water baptism was a confirmation of a persons decision to follow Jesus Christ. It was a public testimony of ones faith in Jesus Christ. This is exactly the view held by Zwingli. He does not believe that baptism is necessary for spiritual regeneration. According to Zwingli himself, Why does one need baptism who already, through faith in God, is sure of the forgiveness of his sins Faith that requires a ceremonial to certify it is not a true faith. And if the recipient of baptism does not beforehand have true faith, his baptism is meaningless.  

Given the statement above, Zwinglis theological position on baptism was clear. That it is not absolutely necessary in the salvation and justification of the individual person. That what is absolutely necessary is a genuine faith in Jesus Christ that through our confession of our sins to him, and after asking his forgiveness with all sincerity, we believe and we have faith deep in our minds and heart that Christ has indeed forgiven our sins, and that through our faith, we receive the salvation which Christ offers through his grace. For Zwingli, this kind of conversion and faith in Jesus Christ requires no baptism.

The above discussion is quite evident in his On True and False Religion wherein Zwingli emphasized that baptism is only an outward sign or merely a public testimony of ones faith. He asserts that Johns water baptism and Jesus baptism was the same. He cited an occasion in the in the gospel of Luke where two disciples of John the Baptist joined Jesus Christ. Zwingli asserts that despite they were obviously baptized by John they were nowhere re-baptized by Christ. In this case, their baptism was obviously only the baptism of John. Zwingli argues that Johns baptism also demanded a new life which means it is enough. Zwingli stated, The baptism of Christ required nothing different, for He, just like John, began to preach, Repent Matt.47.
Here, Zwingli draws comparison between Jesus and Johns purpose of baptism where in he noted that Both Jesus and John preach repentance. According to Zwingli, The fact that Christ was Himself the hope, and that John was not the hope (for he was himself the hope (for he was not himself the light, John 1 8, but sent men to Christ), produced no difference in the baptisms for both tended to Christ, that is, demanded a new life which should be modeled after the pattern of Christ. Nay more, no difference is argued by the fact that Christs baptism had the author of salvation at hand in person, while Johns promised that he was coming, for the lot was the same of those who were baptized in the baptism of John as those who were baptized in the baptism of Christ      

Zwinglis theological standpoint on baptism therefore was simple and based on practical interpretation of John the Baptists water baptism. Though biblical, yet Zwingli apparently does not regard baptism as important just as the way that Luther regarded baptism and sacrament.

Theological differences between the two
Obviously, there is a stark difference between the theological positions of Luther and Zwingli regarding baptism. Zwingli strongly argued that Jesus baptism was the baptism which John the Baptist did for everyone, sinners and righteous alike who came to him at the Jordan River. Zwingli argued that even Jesus disciples themselves were not baptized by Jesus but by John the Baptist as it is not likely that they baptized others, but had never been baptized themselves. It seemed to assume that the reformers teachings and doctrine about baptism were a complete breakaway from the doctrines and teachings they so embraced during they were still Roman Catholics.

Martin Luther on the other hand has a more organized theological view both on Eucharist and baptism suggesting that he has a concrete basis for his doctrine. That is, it is quite unlikely to think that Luther has developed such thoroughly articulated teachings about baptism and the Eucharist. Luthers acknowledgement of and incorporating as part of the Christian heritage some of the Roman Catholic teachings which were attacked and criticized by Zwingli earlier, depicted a sharp distinction between the theological perspective of the two reformers. Luthers reliance on such teachings reflect that some of the Roman Catholic doctrines still holds some influence on Luthers theology, whereas, Zwingli has totally relinquished all the theological influences by starting his own independent theological interpretation about baptism and the sacrament.
In Luthers theology, baptism and the sacrament were very essential doctrine of the church. Luthers contended that any should not pay regard to external form but to the word and to baptism, and the church must sought where the sacraments are purely administered, where there are hearers, teachers, and confessors of the word. Luther apparently had placed special significance on baptism which has become the completeness of ones spiritual rebirth. That is, baptism has become the confirmation of ones regeneration, justification, and salvation, which was markedly different from what Zwingli preaches. From the view of Geoffrey William Bromiley however, Zwingli rather than Luther represents the reformed position. His theology on baptism was directly opposite Luthers theology as he held that baptism is simply a covenant sign thus, utterly disagreeing with Luther that the purpose of such a sign is to confirm faith. According to Bromiley, Zwinglis idea of baptism as merely a covenant sign is a sign which pledge to faith and discipleship. For Zwingli, baptism does not pledge to a life of perfection and it does not effect an inward change in those who received it.

One reason why Zwingli rather than Luther is representing the reformed position was perhaps Luthers doctrine were in some way identified to be following some of the Roman Catholic tradition. Referring to Luthers sermon in 1519, Oswald Bayer stated The general approach of the baptismal sermon of 1519 shows that Luther was still following the Augustinian tradition, characterizing the understanding of baptism by using the three-part framework of sign, thing, thing signified, and faith, and faith.

Given therefore the arguments by both parties, it appears that the theological difference of Luther and Zwingli had to do with the backgrounds of their theological view points. Luthers doctrinal stand in baptism in some way was identified to the Augustinian teachings which were still held by the Roman Catholic during his time. Zwingli on the other hand seemed to have a genuine doctrine on the baptism. As Bromiley noted, that in the second section Zwingli attempted to date the institution of Christian baptism from the baptism of John and not from the commission of Matthew 28. Medieval theologians had allowed an institution of the sacrament prior to passion, but they could agree that it had the same force, and the identification with the baptism of John was completely necessary.

Thus, while Luthers doctrinal position on sacrament and baptism seemed to have been influenced by Augustine in particular and by the Roman Church, Zwinglis doctrine was regarded as genuine protestant. Apparently however, both baptismal doctrinal standpoints had strength and weaknesses. For instance, Luthers view on baptism as a confirmation of faith, justification, and salvation seemed to apply only among individuals capable to understand the responsibilities behind such doctrine. However, Luther also believed in infant baptism. This led to the question of the infant capability to understand the teachings on baptism.

In the same way, Zwingli also believed in infant baptism, but he also has the problem of reconciling what the baptism will symbolized since the child does not understand what baptism means. It was indeed this difference that created disunity between this two great reformers. Zwinglis refusal to recognize the doctrine formulated by the Anabaptists, one of the militant Swiss protestant reformers, whose theological tenets was similar with Luthers doctrine, heightened this difference which brought Zwingli and Luther to a conference at Marburg in 1531. However, the conference failed to resolve the conflict between Luther and Zwingli which had established the disunity between the Swiss and the German Protestants. Thus, in a battle against the Roman Catholic armies in Zurich in the same year, Luther did not during never have sent support. Zurich Protestants was defeated and Zwingli died in that battle.

Conclusions
The Protestant reformation during the medieval period has indeed brought many lessons. Of course, one of the important lessons that we can draw more strength of character is that the courage, dedication and perseverance, and determination of the reformers to preach the gospel had brought us enormous blessings. However, just like any epic story of heroism in times of war, the theological difference between Luther and Zwingli has led to disastrous end. This lesson is difficult yet it mirrored the human character of self assertion rather than to accommodate others.

Of course both Luther and Zwingli are great men, great reformers, and great leaders. They have steered Europe into a more active participation on the affairs of society, and reshape the European history. But their lasting legacy was that through their great effort, it opened the door for many to search for new outlook especially in the spiritual dimension. Though they may indeed have theological difference, yet they deserve to be recognized as the greatest men of their era, the greatest men of the Protestant reformation and the greatest men of the Protestant faith. Europe owes them a lot and so the world is.

Hinduism and Buddhism evolved out of ancient Indian spirituality Hinduism from the brahmin tradition and Buddhism from the non-brahmin ascetic tradition that flourished in the region of Ganges (Oxtoby and Segal 379). Buddhism rejected the authority that Hinduism gives to brahmin scriptures and the brahmin class. With these change, differences between gender roles and ideals in Hinduism and Buddhism were also observed.
In Hindu Classical texts, women seem to be depicted as hierarchically inferior to men. According to Oxtoby and Segal, Manava Dharmasastra or Laws of Manu, which was probably written around the first century when the caste system is firmly in place, indicates that women have slipped to an inferior position from the relatively high status they enjoyed in the period of the Vedas (279). Manu Smrti also justifies the subjugation of women to men (Oxtoby and Segal 71). An extract from his writing describes the virtues of a faithful wife. Among others, faithful wife is described as one who worships his husband as a god even if the husband is destitute of virtue, seeking pleasure elsewhere or devoid of good qualities (Oxtoby and Segal 71) desires to dwell with her husband after death and never does anything that might displease him whether he be dead or alive (Oxtoby and Segal 71). In Hindu tradition, menstruation is also regarded as physically polluting (Oxtoby and Segal 312). This entails the removal of menstruating women in everyday life and prohibits them from activities like cooking, attending religious rituals or going to a place of worship.

Despite being described as inferior beings in classical Hindu texts, there are still a lot of positive images of women in the form of various goddesses like the two consorts of Vishnu Lakshmi and Parvati. Lakshmi is the incarnation of female virtue, the model wife, the bringer of prosperity and the incarnation of compassion and Parvati is also depicted as the model wife and follower and is often referred to as the model mother.

Hindu tradition also describes powerful women goddesses. One example would be Durga who is known as the consort and spiritual power of the god Siva. Seated on her lion, she defeated the demons who were threatening to overrun the world.

It would be wrong to think that the images of the Hindu female deities reflect the real roles of women in society. This is not the case but the various characters of goddesses seem to recognize the complex roles that women may adjust to in society.

Hinduism also recognizes the importance of a man and womans union. Hinduism describes physical love as an essential part of life. Kama or sensual love, a sensual enjoyment of all kinds is considered a legitimate goal (Fisher and Bailey 299). Spouses were expected to be partners in kama as well as dharma.

Another depiction of sexual equality between man and woman is seen in the dharmasastra, a man born is born with debts to the sages, the gods, and the ancestors that he cannot repay without marrying (Oxtoby and Segal 306). He repays his debt to the gods by performing the correct domestic and social rituals with and only with his wife only and his debt to the ancestors is repaid by having children. A wife is accordingly, a mans partner in fulfilling dharma and he cannot fully complete his religious obligations without her. In the wedding ceremony, the couple take seven steps around a sacred fire while chanting mantras taken from sections of the Upanishads and Vedas. The officiating priest speaks the mantras, which the bride and bridegroom repeat after him (Oxtoby and Segal 306). In these mantras, the wife is considered as the husbands in dharma and his companion and friend in love not merely a mans possession, chattel or obedient servant.

Hindu scriptures and rituals seem to offer contradictory views of women. According to Oxtoby and Segal (311), an understanding of auspiciousness may help to clarify some of these contradictions. Auspiciousness refers to prosperity in life. Because of a married womans ability to bear children are auspicious because they promote the three fundamental human goals recognized by classical scriptures dharma (duty), artha (prosperity), and kama (sensual pleasure). In dharmasatras and in practice even today, a sumangali or a woman whose husband is alive is auspicious because she can be a full partner in dharma, artha, and kama, can bear children, and can help her husband acquire both wealth and religious merit (311). Traditionally, a woman is portrayed as a faithful wife both in her husbands life and after his death and is expected to worship and serve his husband as a god. But a wifes faithfulness and fidelity gives her limitless powers. The Puranas and oral tradition both include many stories depicting a faithful wifes power to save lives and even perform miracles.

Unlike Hinduism, Buddhism gave ambiguous information on womens role in society though there were still more rules for women than men. Buddhism did not ever define women as the property of men but earlier texts gives vague descriptions of womens roles in society. Shakyamuni is said to have cautioned the bhikshus against allowing themselves to be distracted by women and to have resisted the formation of an order for women, the bhikshuni sangha, and predicted that its existence would shorten the life of his teachings (Oxtoby and Segal 426-427). But Shakyamuni still agreed to the establishment of the order for women and even encouraged close relatives including his stepmother to join. This indicates that both men and women in Buddhism are capable of becoming Arhats and achieving nirvana regardless of their gender.

But apparently, a distinct difference can be observed between monks and nuns with regard to their status. The male sangha (congregation of Buddhist monks or nuns) officially outranked its female counterpart, and bhikshunis (ordained nuns) were not allowed to teach bhiksus (ordained monks). Over time, the bhikshuni sangha was allowed to die out in many Bhuddist countries (Oxtoby and Segal 427). Recently an effort was seen to revive the practice of bhikshuni ordination in Theravada countries. Theravada laywomen practise at home and in temples. They join orders, live a pious life, serve others, and in some cases take vows of poverty and service even though they are not officially ordained. Some of these women seem to be not interested in being ordained because they feel that they have more freedom to serve others if they are not bound by vinaya rules, a section of the Pali canon containing the rules of practice and conduct for monks (Oxtoby and Segal 428).

Buddhism has very little, if not none, teachings that identifies with a particular gender. Buddhas teachings revolve around a universal law, which if followed, allows men and women alike to achieve nirvana or the state of bliss. To become a Buddhist is to adopt the Three Refuges I take refuge in the Buddha, the dharma, and the sangha. Buddha taught the four Noble Truths (1) Life inevitably involves suffering (2) Suffering originates in desires for transient things (3) Suffering can be ceased by the eradication of desires (4) The path to liberation from desires is the Eightfold Path (Fisher and Bailey 113). Notice that these core teachings of Buddhism does not hint of any reference to a particular gender instead it mainly points out that it is by living by the dharma which the Buddha taught that one achieves liberation through the continual painful round of births and deaths that one achieves the blissful state known as nirvana.

Buddhism has three main traditions or vehicles the Theravada (oldest) which spread to Southeast Asia, the Mahayana which became the principal school in East Asia and the third is Vajyarana which developed out of Mahayana and became closely associated with the Himalayan regions (Oxtoby and Segal 377). All schools stress non-violence and compassion for all living beings but none emphasize any particular rule pertaining to gender.

Emerging from a time when strict caste systems are observed and spiritual achievement is mostly given for males, Buddhism has represented liberty and a refreshing view of religion during its time. Its universal message is designed for the good of humanity as a whole without regard to caste, race or sex.
Appreciatively, Buddhism propelled a change of attitude towards women which gave them the possibility of ultimate spiritual liberation. The Dhamma or Dharma which the Buddhists consider the supreme guide teaches the way to the Path, does not have any gender and thereby indicating that the Buddhas Path could be practiced by anyone, male or female. Supreme enlightenment, the highest form of achievement for Buddhism, is obtainable by both male and female.

Of all the religious disciplines in the world, perhaps Buddhism has regarded a woman at a much higher elevation in social position. Hinduism has had little change even in modern times. Christianity has been considered a masculine religion because its doctrine relates to a male God (Father) and his son Jesus Christ.
Until today, the interesting subject of gender roles, particularly that of womens has sparked continued debate which resulted to changes in roles played by women in social and economic perspective. The churches are not exempt from these debates and changes are being done as well. May it be taken in the social, economic, political or religious point of views, gender roles for women is radically changing the way we live our lives today.

The Crucified God of Compassion, Chapter 3 of the Quest for the Living God by Elizabeth Johnson, talks about God who is compassionate enough to suffer along with his people. In this chapter, the works of Johann Baptist Metz, Dorothee Soelle and Jurgen Moltman are discussed and emphasized.

The idea of compassionate God in times of suffering came along after the end of the Second World War in Germany. The suffering during this time includes poverty, rape, slavery, war, genocide and hunger. These sufferings damaged each persons character and gift of love. Political theologians viewed God to be always present in the sufferings in Germany, particularly with the Holocaust of the Jews. Soelle believed that God stands along with all who suffer and in pain.

The views and reflections of God having been always along with those who are in pain can be realized through the Holy Scripture itself. The compassionate God had cried and face the suffering along with his people through Jesus Christ. They particularly believed that God is actually not just watching people to suffer but is always our companion every time we face challenges and sufferings. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ showed God as a compassionate and self-giving God.

The crucified God of compassion shows a God who suffers and stand up and raise after all the sufferings. This power by God of bringing death to an everlasting life transcends all sufferings his people could ever imagine.

The book Christian Theology (2nd Edition) records the changes of the theological world that has taken place which also relates about the changes in the fields of economic, intellectual, social worlds and political. A new chapter on postmodernism and several other sections has been included in the latest edition as some portions of the older editions are no longer given such priority because the issues with which they once dealt with are no longer considered to be effective in order to create awareness about Christianity among the people. The second edition includes chapters on objectives, study questions, chapter summaries, etc. The second edition of Christian Doctrine is an abridged less technical version of Millard J Ericksons classic Christian Theology.
Pastors and students are likely going to found this edition of Christian Theology as a work of classic since it will serve them with all information related to Christianity. Erickson begins with the explanation of what theology is and then proceeds by giving information about the doctrines of revelation, Jesus Christ, humanity, sins, the Holy Spirit, the church, the atonement and salvation, God, creation and providence and eschatology. This new edition also includes chapter on pedagogical aids, post modernity and also chapters on Christian Theology revealing the gospel message.

Main Discussion
Milliard J. Erickson (b.1932) is a Christian theologian, a professor of Theology and author who has constructed widely acclaimed systematic works on Christian Theology in addition, he has also written 20 other books. Currently he is working as a distinguished professor on Theology at Western Seminary in Portland and Oregon. Previously he also taught at Baylor University and earned a B.A. from the university at Minnesota, a B.D. from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary and M.A. from the University of Chicago and a PhD from Northwestern University.

Erickson was an ordained Baptist minister and a fairly conservative evangelical and moderately Calvinistic. He accommodates alternate views on a number of issues and also the worlds most vocal opponent of the liberal side of evangelicalism. He is a prominent critic on open theism and postmodern Christianity including the Emerging Church Movement. Milliard Erickson, who is a newly appointed Research Professor of Theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, has provided valuable materials for Evangelicals for writing the systematic theology text. He states in the preface that while the textbooks written by Augustus Strong, Charles Hodge, Louis Berkhof, they could in no way anticipate with the recent developments related with theological concepts on Christianity.

It often happens that a book that owes its publicity, appreciated does never undergoes any addition or revision. Milliard Ericksons Christian Theology was first published in three volumes over three years (1983-1685 unabridged one volume edition, 1986) has successfully proved itself as a contemporary standard in terms of evangelical circles an it is very much appreciable to see the fact that Erickson has spend time and energy in order to include some additions and labor to update his magnum opus. The wide use of the original edition was mainly to understand the Christian philosophy which was first comprehensive at the seminary level, evangelical Christian theologies that were published after a considerable dry spell. Ericksons book was considered to be a great contribution to the virtual deluge of the comprehensive and the systematic text on theology in the recent years.

He occupies a theological position and could describe as a centrist evangelical seeking to avoid extremes. Christian Theology is appreciated owing to its clarity of structure and content, its accuracy and fairness to its varieties of theological perspectives. Over the years students finds it very useful to understand the principles of Christianity.

L.Arnold Hustad is a professor on Theology and Philosophy at Crown College, Bonifacius, Minnesota. Millard J. Erickson is a distinguished professor of Theology at Truett seminary and also at Western seminary Portland, who wrote distinguished works on Christian Theology including works of classics such as The word Became Flesh, God in Three Persons and Christian Theology. Millard Ericksons Christian Theology, was first published in three volumes in over three years these volumes states that Erickson has worked to update his magnum opus.

The basic purpose of this book on Christianity is to understand the basic principle of Christianity. This work was considered to be the dry-spell (If something or someone is having a dry spell, they arent being as successful as they normally are) and comprehensive at seminary-level and evangelical theologies. Ericksons work on Christian Theology is a great contribution to virtual deluge. Ericksons philosophy on Christianity is clear and also at the same time evangelical. He occupies a great place as far as Christian theologies are concerned that are described as centrist evangelical that avoids extremes. Christian Theology is appreciated owing to its clarity of structure and content, its accuracy and fairness to varieties of theological perspectives.
Many students find this book by Erickson as understandable and enjoyable.

The new editions include several additions which are made on theological, intellectual, political, economic, social realms, etc. There are chapters on summaries, study questions, chapter objectives, biblical criticism, relationship between theology and philosophy and also contemporizes the Christian message. Erickson includes non-evangelical viewpoints giving the readers an inside look to what the conservative evangelical circle believes. The comments made are user friendly.

One of the most obvious additions made is on the chapter related to the technology of Postmodernism (pp. 158-74). According to Erickson Postmodernism has a close relation with premodernism and modernism, critiques radical postmodernism and put forward his own principle of positive postmodern theology. He develops a positive posture on postmodernism but we proposed to develop a genuine postmodern view which does not mean to retain the views of the premodern period (p. 169) and also it states that we must resist the tenets of the postmodernism (p. 169). The tenets are in the form of logic that embraces logical inconsistency and untenable subjectivism (pp. 170-71). In contrast to this Erickson comments on the perspectival objectivism that acknowledges and accounts the particulars of multiple perspectives and at the same time upholding the distinction between reality and our knowledge on reality (pp.171-172).

Erickson suggests in the light of postmodern shift( to know about the modern facility their culture, attitude) (p. 168) that the theologians should interact with the community of persons and consider for a more presuppositional approach in order to communicate with the non-Christians and use sequence of events as a communicational tool (pp. 173-174). In order to understand the language and the authority of the Bible, Erickson involves a speech act theory (pp. 153-57, 247). The speech act theory is very much beneficial in order to understand the genres in the Bible, different purposes and several elements that go into communication (p. 157).

There are several matters which are not mentioned properly such as in the case of discussion about historical Jesus, there is no such mention about perspectives related with Third Quest that deals primarily with historical Jesus. The section which deals with this part does not mention about any reference to recent discussions of the law, Paul, and justification. Erickson has done something more than other systematicians is to listen to the grass roots issues related to life of the church , his unchanged comments on worship and states that worship in actual has not been raging.

Erickson has included several other philosophies that to some extent fill the gap between the older edition and the revised edition of Christian Theology by publishing a dozen of books and materials. This revised edition does not deal with current fundamental philosophies related with Christian Theology though it successfully earns appreciation from the reviewers as well as the readers.

There are many changes that have been incorporated in the second edition which can only be understood through a close reading. There are several reviews of the original edition that has been published that are more than cosmetic and small and are woven throughout the book but there are no major substantive changes in the conclusions framed by Erickson. Some of the irrelevant materials have been deleted as they are unable to promote the message of Christianity and are no longer considered to be effective. Sometimes a sentence, paragraph or a small section has been deleted (e.g. material on R.M. Hares concept of the blik). Additions are made on both substantive and pedagogical. A list of summary, study questions, objectives, etc. has been included at the beginning of each chapter. The incorporation of materials that has been identified engages theological issues of significance to evangelicals are considered to be more substantive. For example, he comments on the Gods Open Hearted Mind debate (pp.307-308), Lordship-salvation (p.950) and Third Wave movements (p.872-73).

The section dealing with Methodology which includes a philosophically coherent collection of theories, concepts or ideas as they relate to a particular discipline or field of inquiry has undergone several changes Part One, Studying God (To know About God, His Power, How much be he is closed to our heart and so on) Three pages have been included in the review of twentieth century philosophies (pp.53-56). He does not prefer to go to the way of the deconstructionist but objects on the basis of its internal logical inconsistencies. In order to describe the theological scene he adds a paragraph on globalization (p. 68) and for the delineation of the process of doing theology, he adds a step Consultation of other cultural perspectives which states that interaction with other cultural perspectives helps us to distinguish the essence of biblical teaching from one cultural expression of it (pp. 74-75).

From the orthodox perspective, Erickson critiques on the process theology and the Neo-orthodoxy schools, and engages modern thoughts that are influencing the church today. His treatment of aberrant and heretical ideas are closely related with the Apostolic injunction (2 Tim. 224-26). In the first chapter what is theology (Theology describes the study, writing, research, or speaking on the nature of gods, especially in relation to human experience.) he gives a detailed description about theology which is a biblical, systematic and relates to the issues of general culture and learning. Theology is not only an intellectual enterprise but also a foundation of a God glorifying life. Theology describes the study, writing, research, or speaking on the nature of gods, especially in relation to human experience.

In Part two of the edition he states about the scriptures which is firmly convinced. He states his views about inerrancy of scripture, full inerrancy, and positions it in between absolute and limited inerrancy, which means that the Bible is truly truthful in all that it affirms which are interpreted in the light of the culture and means of communication (233-34). The glory of God is the evident theme throughout the work. His treatment of the doctrine of God reveals the view of divine sovereignty. Creation and providence are carried out in accordance to the decree of God which he calls as the plan of God which deals with mutual cooperation among the people and the blueprint for the free action. The plan of God states the eternal decision rendering on certain and on all things which shall come to pass (346). Erickson identifies his views which Warfield called Calvinistic congruism.

Milliard Ericksons Christian Theology is used widely in the universities and seminaries which are a reliable and comprehensive introduction for systematic theology. The new editions include several additions which are made on theological, intellectual, political, economic, social realms, etc. There are chapters on summaries, study questions, chapter objectives, biblical criticism, relationship between theology and philosophy and also contemporizes the Christian message. Erickson includes non-evangelical viewpoints giving the readers an inside look to what the conservative evangelical circle believes. The comments made are user friendly.

Magnificence of God is the central theme of Christian Theology. The author mentions about the greatness of Go din terms of his knowledge, power, other traditional natural attributes as well as his excellence and splendor. He reminds us that Theology as well as life needs to be centered on the living of God as well on other human creature. Careful theological reasoning and affirmation is given more priority in this edition. The author hopes that his book will successfully cater to all information related to Christianity and extend the kingdom. He writes for a conservative, Baptist perspective, Evangelical and though reformed he is not ardently Calvinistic. Christian Theology contains both Greek and Hebrew transliterations but are not at all overwhelming. This book is accessible for the use of seminars, lay readers as well and the scriptural quotations that are invented are mainly from the New International Version.

In spite of the widespread familiarity of Christian Theology and availability of many reviews and edition to the original context, this review mainly focuses on the changes that have been included in the second edition. The editions are perfectly woven in the book that is determined only through a close reading. Though there are no substantive changes included in the approach of the writer and conclusion. Several portions have been deleted owing to the fact that they are no longer considered as effective (e.g., Material on R.M Hares concept on blik). Some of the included items are study questions at the beginning of each chapter, incorporation of materials that identifies andor engages of the theological issues and significance to the evangelicals in the past or present, objectives, summary, etc. For instance, he comments on the openness of God debate (pp 307-308), Lordship- salvation (p. 950) and Third Wave movements (pp. 872-73). The Openness of God presents a careful and full-orbed argument that the God known through Christ desires. Lordship Salvation is a mean to teaching in the Christian theology which tells us to maintain us and also make balance on that good works are a necessary consequence of being declared righteous before God. Lordship salvation basically came on the 20th century. Third Wave is the part to describe about the Holy Spirit in this 20th century.

The additions made deals with methodology Part One, Studying God. Three pages on the subject of deconstruction have been included to the review of 20th centuries of philosophies (pp. 53-56). Erickson objects on the internal logical inconsistencies and does not follow the way of the deconstructionists. Erickson includes a brief paragraph on globalization ( p. 68) and in his delineation of the process of doing theology, he adds a step Consultation of other Cultural Perspectives stating that the essence of the biblical teaching from one cultural expression of it can only be distinguished through interaction with other cultural perspectives (pp. 74-75). There are also several pages included on the critical study of the Bible (pp. 105-112).

Calvinistic in his soteriology, holds firmly to the total depravity, unconditional election, perseverance of the saints at two points Erickson deviates from the Dortian stream. He makes a stark distinction between effectual calling and regeneration dealing conversation about the application of salvation. The tie is a universal atonement which is effectual only to those who receive it by faith. The view is espoused by Armenians but believes it to be biblical. A reading of chapter 28 in J.P. Boyces Abstract of Systematic Theology which provides for a helpful critique for the position he espouses.

Ericksons views on perseverance state the understanding of the laws of perseverance allows no room for indolence and laxity. Genuine faith issues in the fruit of spirit, salvation resulting from Holy Spirit gives evidence that he is at work for the benefits of the individual. If ones commitment to Christ is genuine then there is certainty on the biblical grounds that god will enable them to persist in such relationship (996-7).
Some of the irrelevant materials have been deleted as they are unable to promote the message of Christianity and are no longer considered to be effective. Sometimes a sentence, paragraph or a small section has been deleted (e.g. material on R.M. Hares concept of the blik). Additions are made on both substantive and pedagogical. A list of summary, study questions, objectives, etc. has been included at the beginning of each chapter. The incorporation of materials that has been identified engages theological issues of significance to evangelicals are considered to be more substantive.

The section dealing with Methodology (Basically Methodology refers to more than a simple set of methods.) has undergone several changes Part One, Studying God. Three pages have been included in the review of twentieth century philosophies. He does not prefer to go to the way of the deconstructionist but objects on the basis of its internal logical inconsistencies. In order to describe the theological scene he adds a paragraph on globalization and for the delineation of the process of doing theology, he adds a step Consultation of other cultural perspectives which states that interaction with other cultural perspectives helps us to distinguish the essence of biblical teaching from one cultural expression of it.

This volume mentions about ordinances, nature of church that leaves the students, pastors, deacons, layman, Sunday school teachers, etc. with an overview of Christianity.

The most important addition made is a chapter on Postmodernism and Theology(pp.158-74) where Erickson describes about postmodernism and modernism reviews a number of proposals for doing theology in postmodern ways , critiques radical postmodernism and proposes principles of positive postmodern theology. He develops a positive posture with reference to postmodernism which states about postmodern view but does not returns to the philosophy of premodern period (p.169) and at the same time we must resist the certain variety of postmodernised tenets . These tenets include new forms of logic which embrace logical inconsistency and untenable subjectivism (pp.170-71). Erickson comments perspectival objectivism which acknowledges and accounts the particularities of multiple perspectives and at the same time upholding the distinction between reality and knowledge of reality (pp. 171-72). Erickson suggests in the light of postmodern shift (to shift the thinking on the post modern culture, society etc.) (p.168) theologian interact with broad community of persons as well and to communicate with the non-Christians a presuppositional approach is essential which is possible by the use of narrative as a communication tool (pp.173-74).

In order to understand the language and authority of the Bible, Erickson introduced the speech act theory (pp.153-57, 247). This technique helps us to remind the genres in the Bible, several elements that go into communication (p.157).

In the light of the discussion of historical Jesus (in the history time to know about the Jesus) there is not a single reference mentioned about Third Quest. The Third quest for the historical Jesus began at that time as a protest against traditional Christian dogma, but when neutral historians peered into the well and came in front of us all they saw at that moment was a featureless Jesus. The section on justification makes no reference to the recent discussions about Paul, the law and justification. Erickson has addressed the grass roots issues of the life associated with church and his comments on the worship has remained unchanged as if the worship wars had not been raging. Basically the wars on the worships are just for style. No one really cared about this. Erickson has included near about dozen of books so as to fill the void between the original and the revised edition, for example. The Evangelical Mind and Heart Perspectives on Theological and Practical Issues, where is Theology Going.

According to Robert A. Pyne and Gary L. Nebeker, Bibliotheca Sacra, Ericksons work is unhesitatingly recommended for the purpose to be used for Christian Colleges. The Baptist standards states that this work of Erickson is a prominent publication and it is the most worthy to be studied for serious readers. B. Dale Ellenburg, Mid-America Theological Journal states that Ericksons main motive was to prepare a classic work on Christianity so that it is recommended as briefer version on Christian Theology with a view to provide a primer and more extended information about Christianity. Millard J. Erickson is a distinguished professor on Theology at Truett seminary. He wrote several books on Christianity such as God in Three Persons, The Word Became Flesh and Christian Theology. When read merely as a contestation of post modernity as a cultural phenomenon and a suggestion for how the Church can overcome consumerism and theological vacuity, this book overall is very persuasive.

For more than fifteen years Milliard Ericksons Christian Theology has been widely used and is regarded as the reliable and most interesting episode to the systematic theology. In order to retain such unique qualities and to cater to the needs of the bright, sociological, polititical, economical and also social works he included chapter important objectives, chapter all over summaries, new chapters on postmodernism, study questions, etc. The main theme deals with Magnificence of God ( central attractive theme of Christian Theology) where the author pray to the endless greatness of God , his power, knowledge, ,splendor excellence, natural attributes and centers on the great one God rather than on the human being. Millard J. Erickson is a distinguished professor of Theology at Baylors universitys Truett seminary and at Western Seminary, Portland. He is a dominating famous spokesperson along with various volumes to his credit, including God and the Father Almighty, The World Became Flesh, God in Three Persons, and Post modernizing the Faith.
We can also learn here to tell about the truth. Always we have to speak truth. When truth becomes private, it cannot be absolutely universal. But when truth is not universal, it cannot be say as truth. If the Church is not in possession of truth, truth as an understanding that corresponds exactly to what is in reality, and corresponds exactly to what is in the will and character of God, then it has been left speechless. It has nothing to say. Without this truth, its private insights are no more believable, no more compelling, and no more desirable than anyone elses. We are now in a position to understand that it is a pastoral conviction that underlies Wells advantage point from which the book is written that there is nothing in the modern world that is a match for the power of God.

The book teaches us that Jesus knows all and he does not know all. There is huge differences between the two meaning of know. We cant be overlapping it with each other. This is Gods Book and we know about the truth of all.

For anyone who is looking for a thorough, contemporary and accessible summary of historic Christian then it is Ericksons work on Christian Theology that has catered to the needs of pastors, laypeople and for anyone who wants to derive knowledge about Christianity that has been concluded by the Presbyterian Layman, (1998). His work is considered to be a classic in terms of modern evangelical textbook for seminary level of systematic theology. The popularity rests upon its Baptist approach, its moderate Calvinism and its premillennial stance which has been concluded by Robert D. Bell, biblical viewpoint. Endorsements are a book which is a very dedicated presentation of Christian theology depending on the scripture but continues conversation with the tradition of the church as well as contributes with concepts on modern theological and philosophical texts affirming Christianity. The arguments for affirming the inerrancy of the Bible as well as the divine inspiration are not fundamentalist. He includes critical historical exegesis. According to Wolfhart Pannenburg, the book constitutes for an excellent example of the evangelical outlook on the Christian faith as well as the basis on the dialog with all other theological existence. Milliard Ericksons Christian Theology has attained its popularity especially in the past few decades. According to J.I Packer this work is altogether a unique piece of work.

According to the Presbyterian Layman, (1998), this work benefits both the pastors and the laypeople so as to derive information about Christianity. According to Richard A Fordyce (Stone Campbell Journal), it is more for a seminar level than for the undergraduates. According to Robert Bell, Biblical viewpoint, it is clearly mentioned as a modern theology textbook for all seminary level systematic theology. The popularity rests upon the Baptist approach. Russ Bush, from Southwestern Journal of Theology, states that it is the better systematic theology also available. David Dockery from Grace Theological Journal, states that the work belongs to a library of every evangelical pastor, teacher and also student. Charles Chaney, Review and expositor, states that it is destined to be the major beginning text in systematic theology for the evangelicals. Alan D Strange from New Horizon, states that it is a right place for to follow for the statement for the varying different theological positions who confirms the meaning of the Bible.

The editions are perfectly woven in the book that is determined only through a close reading. Though there are no substantive changes included in the approach of the writer and conclusion. Several portions have been deleted owing to the fact that they are no longer considered as effective (e.g., Material on R.M Hares concept on blik). Some of the included items are study questions at the beginning of each chapter, incorporation of materials that identifies andor engages of the theological issues and significance to the evangelicals in the past or present, objectives, summary, etc. He adds a step Consultation of other Cultural Perspectives stating that the essence of the biblical teaching from one cultural expression of it can only be distinguished through interaction with other cultural perspectives. There are also several pages included on the critical study of the Bible.

We should be very polite in our approach towards others that is the main truth and responsibility and these has been described even in the classically marginalized and numerous incidents that is described in the history. The philosophies of both Foucault and Rorty have been challenged regarding their practical results. Rorty requires for the categories for which he has been abandoned for his liberal utopia. Foucaults conception of truth is simply a repetition of the political marginalization in the opposite direction. Though both of these philosophers require a deep and substantive engagement with the philosophies portrayed by each of these philosophers it is hard for them to understand the philosophy as portrayed by Wells.

Wells philosophy that postmodernism is characterized by private truth and radical individualism which has been opposed by Foucault and Rourty together with Heidegger and Wittgenstein. According to these philosophers truth exists within the public spaces of human existence. The private spheres are intelligible in the light of the public hermeneutic practices. If Wells would have resisted the tie between the objective universality and private truth then his reading might become more accurate. Moreover it is said that the truth claimed in postmodernism are never able to retain the status of being absolutely objective and historically universal.

When postmodernism resists objectivity and universality then the views portrayed by Thomas Negel view from nowhere is ought to be understood as a rejection. For a concise articulation of Foucaults position then you should consult with the interview of Foucault conducted by Alessandro Fontana and Pasquale and Pasquino which was published with the title  Truth and Power. Erickson has taken into consideration and accounts the inputs from professors , students, reviewers and added several sections including chapters on postmodernism, chapter summaries, chapter objectives, study questions, etc. The central theme of the Christian Theology deals with the magnificence of god which states that god is present everywhere, and states about his power , knowledge and other traditional natural attributes as well as excellence and splendor. Life should be centered on the philosophy of Christianity rather than on human creature. It is true that postmodernism is a large umbrella and that many very disparate movements and thinkers can rightly be fit underneath it.

Millard J. Erickson, is a distinguished professor of Theology at Baylor Universitys Truett seminary and at western seminary, Portland He also wrote several books like The Postmodern Word, The World Became Flesh, Truth or Consequences, Introducing Christian Doctrine, and Post modernizing the Faith. According to ninth edition of the Christian Theology, we have to spread out and promote the truth from man to man. Always we have to speak the truth from our mind, from the internal heart with sincerely, freely and clearly. Always be positive and have the brave to stand in front of the truth and that attitude top face the truth. Lovable with your neighbors, try to be honest and good human being. Our duties are to be honest, become a true spoken person, honest and good human being. While whispering, speaking loudly, denying the gods gift and other things related to god all these is not the symptoms of a good person. Neglecting all those are good efforts and good reports and practicing those things are good. Speak politely, softly or not avoiding ourselves all are the good symptoms. We have to be alert on those parts of our daily life and these all are our duties. So from the ninth edition we can see that speaking the truth, upholding the good name of neighbors, not avoiding ourselves for telling truth and practicing it again and again are the main duties of the human beings. When we as a nation needed some sort of moral foundation and absolute Truth, we discovered the grim reality that neglect leads to decay.

Milliard Ericksons Christian Theology 2nd Edition is considered to be the best according to the survey of the modern protestant on the Christian truth. According to Packer this book is robustly evangelistic, firmly Baptist, thoroughly contemporary, and gently Calvinistic cautiously post-tribulationist premillennial, its fair minded breadth, meticulous analysis of the options has contributed to its popularity (J.I. Packer). It is a learned presentation of Christian doctrine on the basis of scripture but also includes theological contribution and modern philosophical contribution. According to Presbyterian Layman, it caters to the seminary level rather than for the undergraduates. Fordyce, Stone-Campbell journal, it is easily recognized as a popular modern evangelical textbook for the seminary level systematic theology. According to Robert D. Bell, Biblical viewpoint, this book states about Christian theology which is reliable and provides comprehensive introduction to systematic theology.

Analysis and evaluation of the book
Ericksons classic Christian Theology serves all information about Christianity including God, Jesus Christ, creation, humanity, sin, providence, atonement and salvation, eschatology, doctrines of revelation and the church. His analysis on Christian Theology 2nd Edition is easily accessible to any serious readers giving valuable information about Christianity. According to Mc Williams , Religious Studies Review , the book on Christian Theology by Erickson is clearly written and also well-outlined which at the same time serves as an excellent college textbook as well as it is easily accessible to any serious readers or educated laypersons. According to John Kohlenberger III, a Bookstore journal who states about Ericksons work of classic that it is an outstanding introduction on Christian Theology which ahs become a standard textbook for the undergraduate which are easily accessed by all general readers and also he recommends this to other bookstores so that common people could easily derive knowledge on Christianity.

According to Pyne and Nebeker, Ericksons work is unhesitatingly recommended for the purpose to be used for Christian Colleges.

According to Fordyce, a stone Campbell journal states that this book is appropriate for the seminars of the undergraduates and for the persons who are interested in deriving variety of information related with Christianity. The second edition of the Christian Theology by Milliard J. Erickson is comprised of 1312 pages and also Baker Academic, 1998. Dr. Erickson is a distinguished professor on Theology at Western Seminary, Portland, and he received his PhD from North Western University, and for many years he taught Theology at Bethel Seminary where he was also the academic dean. He has written more than twenty books including The World Became Flesh and Post modernizing the Faith.

Conclusion
The presentation of the Christian doctrine in this book on the basis of the scripture is so learned that one can continue conversation with the basic knowledge derived from this book and can contribute to the philosophical and theological concepts. For affirming the divine inspiration and inerrancy of the Bible, the form of arguments is not fundamental but it is open to all especially for those who are interested in the doctrine of Christianity. He describes about the critical historical exegesis. His book is a perfect example for the evangelical outlook for the Christian faith and is also a basis for dialog with other theological positions
Millard Ericksons Christian Theology has been widely used and has successfully established itself as the most useful according to the survey by the modern protestant of the Christian truth. Conservative, evangelically robust, thoroughly contemporary, gently Calvinistic, firmly Baptist and cautious post-tribulations premillennial, its fair minded breadth and proper analysis of the Christian theology has catered to its popularity.

For anyone who is looking for a thorough, contemporary and accessible summary of historic Christian then it is Ericksons work on Christian Theology that has catered to the needs of pastors, laypeople and for anyone who wants to derive knowledge about Christianity that has been concluded by the Presbyterian Layman, November  December 1998. His work is considered to be a classic in terms of modern evangelical textbook for seminary level of systematic theology. The popularity rests upon its Baptist approach, its moderate Calvinism and its premillennial stance which has been concluded by Robert D. Bell.