Christian Evaluation of Current Approaches

Christian Evaluation of Current Approaches Order Instructions: The 4-MAT REVIEW system is a way of responding to readings, lectures, and life experiences that require the learner to interact with new ideas on several levels.

Christian Evaluation of Current Approaches
Christian Evaluation of Current Approaches

Please use the following format in preparing 4-MAT Book Reviews:

1. ABSTRACT. Summarize what you have read, boiling the book down into 400-600 words (no more than 2 pages). Prove you comprehend the readings by writing a no-nonsense summary. The abstract is not a commentary or listing of topics but rather an objective summary from the reader’s viewpoint. Abstract equals “boiled down.” This section should include a minimum of 2 footnotes to the text being reviewed.

2. CONCRETE RESPONSE. Get vulnerable! In no less than 250 words and no more than 1 page, relate a personal life experience that this book triggered in your memory. Relate your story in the first person, describing action, and quoting exact words you remember hearing or saying. In the teaching style of Jesus, this is a do-it-yourself parable, case study, confession. You will remember almost nothing you have read unless you make this critical, personal connection. What video memory began to roll? This is your chance to tell your story and make new ideas your own.

3. REFLECTION. This is the critical thinking part of the review (not critical in the sense of negative, but in the sense of questioning). In no less than 250 words and no more than 1 page, describe what questions pop up for you in response to what you have read. Keep a rough-note sheet at hand as you read. Outsmart the author by asking better questions than he/she raised in the book. Tell how the author could have made the book better or more appealing to those in your field of service. One way to begin this section is by stating what bothered you most about the book. This is not a place to provide an endorsement or affirmation of the book.

4. ACTION. So what are you going to do about it? In 400-600 words (no less than 1 page and no more than 2 pages) provide 2 actions that describe what changes you are going to make in your life, ministry, and/or work as a result of your reading. Actions should be measurable and reveal a commitment to specific time, specific people, and identified steps.

5. Please provide a Turabian style* title page, pagination, footnotes & Bibliography.

Books:
Banks & Ledbetter: chs. 4–6
Howell: chs. 3–7; Part 6 (pp. 295–301)
Malphurs: ch. 2

The paper is due on Sunday, September 6th, 2015 @ 7 am

Please do not plagiarize on this paper. It counts as 2 test grades, please.

Christian Evaluation of Current Approaches Sample Answer

Reviewing Leadership, a Christian Evaluation of Current Approaches

Abstract

The book published under the title “Reviewing Leadership, a Christian Evaluation of Current approaches” was prepared with the intention to create a connection or junction between two forms of leadership. On one had here is leadership as it is manifested in this day and age and on the other hand there is the Christian approach to leadership mainly based on scriptures and traditions that have been passed down in the church. The book is not authored with the aim of defining what the authors think leadership is. On the contrary, the book analyzes the concept of leadership as it is manifested in secular society. This leadership is then subjected to evaluation for the reader to better understand the points that the authors wanted to raise. The main factor that may have motivated the authors is the fact that today’s society is constantly looking for ways of appraising leadership in the public arena as well as in the private sector. The book takes a multi-dimensional perspective of this concept of leadership (Banks and Ledbetter, 2004).

A lot of consideration is given to the value system that is applied to leadership as well as the core components of what leadership is. The issue of a value system was considered to be very important by the book’s authors because it helps to form a basis from which leadership standards can be measured whether they exceed expectations laid or fall short of the same. The most suitable value system in the view of the authors was Christianity and specifically the worldview. Further motivation for this comes from the fact that leadership needs to be appraised relative to something as it can’t be independently measured. Besides the investigation of how leadership performs, the authors also go ahead to illustrate the different manifestations of leadership in society as brought out by various agents (Banks and Ledbetter, 2004). Within the Christian perspective, leadership is considered with respect to how it plays out in the church since this is an existent group of Christians who are moderated and led by an individual or group of individuals working in tandem towards the specific goals of the church. Given the fact that Paul was the first leader of the greater church, having spearheaded its spread beyond Jerusalem, his style of leadership and methods he used are given a lot of attention. How he led the individual churches and coordinated them makes him the ideal leadership model to consider when attention needs to be directed to the expectation for church leaders.

The manner in which this book’s topics are arranged as well as the language used make it possible for it to be understood and put into use by people in different positions whether they are leaders or not. Its structure and lessons are laid out in a way that can be applied to different areas of human interest be it religious, professional or informal settings such as one’s family or personal life.

Concrete Response

One of my most memorable personal experiences that came to mind as I was reading this book is my time as a member of the high-school football team. The specific thing about the book that made me think about my high-school athletics years was in the introduction where the authors detail the roles that a manager has within the organization. The book defines the manager not in the hierarchical sense but more from the perspective of the social role the individual given this job plays within the organization. The book defines the manager as a person who is mainly concerned with an interpersonal function within the group of people be it a company government department or even the church. The connection between this definition of a manager and my time in high-school is the team captain we had in the football team. I don’t remember him because of the way the team used to perform but mostly because of the dedication he always demonstrated both during practice and in the competitive games.

Like any other football team, we had an offensive department and a defensive department. He was the fullback and this meant he had to stay behind the offensive line. During training he fixed himself in other positions including many that disadvantaged him, so as to ensure all the team members are communicating with each other and everyone knew what they were supposed to do. For a long time I never understood why he never simply gave attention to the most promising players who in my view would have won all games for us. He always stressed the importance of communication on and off the pitch. Most of the players failed to take this to heart but now that I have seen the definition of a manager, I feel the captain was doing a tremendous job administrating the football team.

Christian Evaluation of Current Approaches Critical Reflection

This book is relatively well written but there are two issues that have been on my mind since I started reading it. These are the issue of conflict of interest on the part of the leader and the second issue I had questions about is about individualism. I am curious to find out individualism is something that negatively impacts leadership or actually enhances it.

From the Christian point of view, being a leader essentially means going out to serve those who are being led.  This means that many of the actions that the leader will engage in within his or her leadership position are outward and evident to many, especially those being led. It is difficult to accurately discern the motivation behind the leaders’ actions when they do them, especially what can be considered to be positive. Perhaps the motivation that drives these leaders is a personal stake they may have in the end result. Within the corporate world there are often a series of monetary and non-monetary forms of appreciation for leaders who excel at their jobs. At times the reward is recognition and acknowledgment from higher up in the chain of command. In this regard I need to know if leaders can boost their efficiency by picking something within the results of good leadership that appeals to their selfish ambitions.

Conflict of interest was another question I had and I was asking myself how one can deal with it as a leader. Many times leaders ascend to their positions due to character traits considered pleasant by the then hiring authority. Leaders are however human and this means that despite their best efforts to give the best to the organization; there are instances when they will be faced with moral dilemmas on how to go about their duties. An example is when one needs to oversee the retrenchment of workers, some of whom are good friends with him or her. Such conflicts are ever present in the leader’s work but I hardly found this issue covered in the book.

Action Plan

The insights that I have picked up from the book have given me good ideas on how I can improve my output as a leader in the different aspects of my life. I have two main target areas I have in mind with respect to this. They are changes in my personal life and changes at my place of work.

In my personal life I will work towards getting the basics of leadership right so as to make me prepared to lead whether it is in a formal position or in an informal one. This is because leadership skills have the potential to make me give more positive contributions irrespective of the position I am in. This means that I will be able to be a better friend, student, parent, voter and also sibling among many other areas of personal life. The teaching Paul was given by Jesus took place before the start of his ministry and this is why I believe leadership skills need to be a foundation rather than something I pick up along the way.

In my professional life I also need to be deliberate about good leadership. Paul for instance stands out because he really valued the concept of mentorship. In the same way that Jesus mentored him, he strove to personally get involved in the lives of his so to say apprentices such as Timothy, constantly giving them guidance and advice. I will have to ensure that I have someone who can mentor me and I will also reciprocate it by mentoring some of those who I am formally responsible for within the organization.

Christian Evaluation of Current Approaches References

Banks, R. J., & Ledbetter, B. M. (2004). Reviewing leadership: A Christian evaluation of current approaches. Baker Academic.

Christian Worldview Research Paper

 

Christian Worldview
                                Christian Worldview

Christian Worldview

Christian Worldview

Order Instructions:

research examples of people in law enforcement who have demonstrated or expressed their integration of a Christian Worldview into the field of criminal justice. You will then use this example to write a 1–2-page essay including 2 sources on bringing a Christian Worldview to any role in law enforcement. Your essay must be written in current APA format.

SAMPLE ANSWER

Christian Worldview

A perfect example of a law enforcement officer with a Christian Worldview of the criminal justice system is Jim Warner Wallace (Outreach Speakers). Wallace, a church planter and a mission leader, has been working as cold case homicide detective for more than 25 years. Despite the fact that Jim was not born and raised in a Christian family, and that he grew up with a strong belief that he was an atheist, Wallace eventually experienced a turning point in his life at the age of 35 years. After a long time of believing that truth and evidence were directly tied to each other, Wallace ultimately took a more expansive and serious approach on the issue of the Christian Worldview and came to settle on the belief that Christianity was real. When he converted to Christianity in 1996, he deepened his understanding of the connection between truth and evidence through the examination of the Christian Worldview. He ended up earning a Master’s Degree in Theology and later serving as a Youth Pastor, after which he established a church in 2006. Wallace has written a book called Cold-Case Christianity, which is aimed at enlightening readers on the 10 principles of investigations in cold case homicides and how to utilize these principles in examining the reliability of accounts of gospel witnesses. Wallace’s work as a detective has received national acknowledgement, with his cases repeatedly featuring on NBC’s Dateline. He also won the Police and Fire Medal of Valor of “Sustained Superiority Award.

As reflected in the perspective of Wallace, it can be drawn from his life that a law enforcement officer’s worldview considerably affects the manner in which he carries out his policing duties. A Christian Worldview is reflected in people who desire to be like Christ (Pehrson, nd). By having a Christian Worldview, a police officer is capable of preventing ethical struggles. The profession of law enforcement presents many challenges to police officers. For instance, when they charge suspects, the have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the suspect committed the charge presented before the court. There are so many ethical dilemmas that a police officer faces in his daily work. Research indicates that police officers who have upheld their Christian faith do not face too much difficulty when faced with ethical dilemmas. In fact, it is easier for a police officer with Christian worldview, who is a believer in Christ to keep his actions in line with his claims. As it can be seen with Detective Wallace, he has been able to maintain his action of providing adequate evidence to back up his charges, which goes in line with his claim that truth and evidence are closely interconnected.

Christian police officers with the desire to fulfill the will of God in their lives indicate sheer motivation to reflect godliness in their actions for the sake of pleasing Him (Pehrson, nd). These are the kinds of professionals who can deliver the best results when serving in the criminal justice system. The Bible, in Romans 13:1-5, provides that all people should respecting their governing authorities. To Christians, God is the supreme authority that should be obeyed at all costs. Such Biblical principles help Christian law enforcement officers to uphold high standards of respect for life and to avoid evil practices such as corruption and alcoholism. They hold their position as a God-given responsibility and they believe that they are accountable to God for all their actions.

 References

Outreach Speakers. J. Warner Wallace: Los Angeles County homicide detective and author of Cold-Case Christianity. Retrieved from: http://www.outreach.com/events/christian-speakers/J.-Warner-Wallace.aspx

Pehrson, B. A. (nd). Christian Police Officers…..Is There a Need? Marshall City Police Department. Retrieved from: http://www.emich.edu/cerns/downloads/papers/PoliceStaff/Miscellaneous/Christian%20Police%20Officers–Is%20There%20a%20Need.pdf

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Interpretation of the Genesis 1 account

Interpretation of the Genesis 1 account
            Interpretation of the Genesis 1 account

Religion and Theology;interpretation of the Genesis 1 account

Order Instructions:

Read the assigned article by C. Marvin Pate, “Genesis 1–3: Creation and Adam in Context,” Criswell Theological Review 10 (2013): 3–25 (available thru the ATLA database). After you have read the article, answer the following 3 questions:

1. Explain your interpretation of the creation account in Genesis 1. Do you read this as an account of a literal six-day creation or do you hold to another interpretation? What specific details or evidences most influence your understanding of this text and your belief that the text should be read literally or figuratively? (300–400 words)

2. What is your view on the age of the universe, and do you believe that the data in Genesis 1–11 can be reconciled with an old Earth view? Why or why not? (200 word minimum)

3. What evidence shapes your view on the issue of the historicity of Adam and Eve? Explain your understanding of the theological significance and importance of this issue. (200 word minimum)

Interact with specific details and issues raised in the assigned article as you answer each of these questions. You are also free to interact with other sources. Cite sources that you reference or quote, and your answers must be your own work. Be sure that your reply engages specific issues, questions, or passages related to the thread.

SAMPLE ANSWER

Religion and Theology

My interpretation of the Genesis 1 account

The Genesis chapter 1 account discusses creation as an activity that took place in six days with God resting on the seventh. For one I believe that it is accurate in its representation of how things came into existence through the hand of God, in an orderly manner that works well to this day. The Account in Genesis tells a story of God somehow building the world from the ground-up starting with the building blocks for life both in the context of humans, animals and plant-life. I however feel that the six days that God took to create the world is something that needs not to be taken literally. As complex as man is, it is important to note that God remains the creator and this means that the plane in which God exists is much different from that one where humanity exists. As such it will not make sense to count the days as six days literally. The naming of six days must have been done to express the narrative in a format that humanity will easily fathom. Furthermore if it is to be taken as six literal days, humans should consequently have the power to supernaturally command things into existence and make other humans out of mud then breathe life into them like God did when he was creating Adam. The impossibility of these things in human terms conversely implies that the six literal days is not possible but rather figurative. While scientific approaches to creation tend to appear to be on a collision course with the Biblical account, I believe they have a lot in common and tell the same story but from alternate perspectives. On one hand the creationist perspective tends to be over-simplified by its proponents to the point of almost lowering the power or position of God. On the other hand, scientific approaches such as the Big Bang theory point to an immensely powerful force that suddenly came about leading to a chain of events that brought the world forth. This process is believed to have taken billions of years. I am inclined to believe that the six days God took if taken literally would be in the region of billions of actual days. Last but not least, I believe the inability of both old world theorists and new world theorists to tell the actual age of the world is testament to God’s power (Marvin, 2013).

Old Earth View and the account of Genesis 1: 1-11

I am inclined to believe in the Old Earth school of thought which proposes that the Universe is much older than the estimated 6000 years generally agreed upon in the New Earth theory. The reason for this is the ambiguity of the Bible and also the use of language. The narrative first begins with the existence of God’s spirit moving around a ‘formless and desolate plane.’ This formless and desolate plane cannot be said to be the earth but rather the medium in which the earth would be created in. Conventional wisdom dictates that night and day are caused by the rotation of the earth around the sun with alternating sides being exposed to light while the other side is exposed to darkness. Before this, God created the light, highly likely to have been the sun.  The earth’s creation therefore comes about at the point when there is day and night due to the phenomenon of rotation. My belief in the earth’s being billions of years old is based on the scientific theories that estimate the period of time these things would have taken place from a human point of reference with the units familiar to us. The human system of counting day and night could only have come about on the sixth day, but it should be noted that the first six days take place from the perspective of the creator and humans have not yet occupied the earth. Psalm Chapter 90 verse 4 better explains the fact that God’s system of counting days is much different from the way they are manifested for humanity (Beggren, 2014).

Historicity of Adam and Eve

With respect to the issue of Adam and Eve’s historicity, I tend to rely on Biblical evidence based on the fact that the lineages of various Bible Characters can be traced back to Adam and Eve. If they were mythical individuals used in a representative way, then this means that the names of people on the Biblical lineages are also fictitious and this brings to doubt almost the whole Bible since many of the stories told involve the lives and times of people who descended from Adam.

From a theological perspective it is important to accept Adam and Eve as real people as this validates the entire history of humans and also their relationship with God. While it is important to distinguish between real and figurative references used in the Bible, it is necessary to also take into consideration the implication that each direction has on the larger picture. The fall of man, the Exodus, God’s laws in the Old Testament, the New Testament and God’s salvation plan all have meaning based on the acceptance that Adam and Eve were living, breathing human beings. Given the fact that they had a personal relationship with God which was ruined at the fall of man, their susceptibility to sin and its consequences is a critical element in explaining and understanding this spiritual concept and its specificity to the lives of individuals (Marvin, 2013).

References

Berggren, William A., and John A. Van Couvering, eds. Catastrophes and earth history: the new uniformitarianism. Princeton University Press, 2014.

Marvin Pate, “Genesis 1–3: Creation and Adam in Context”, Criswell Theological Review 10 (2013): 3–25

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Differentiation between Christianity and Judaism

Differentiation between Christianity and Judaism
     Differentiation between Christianity and                                Judaism

Historical events that led to the differentiation between Christianity and Judaism

Order Instructions:

In 300 words, please consider the following: Discuss some of the historical events (e.g. Jewish revolt in Jerusalem) that led to the differentiation between Christianity and Judaism.

SAMPLE ANSWER

Historical events that led to the differentiation between Christianity and Judaism

From a historical as well as theological point of view, Christianity and Judaism have a lot in common. Christianity has strong roots in Judaism and this is seen in the structure of the Bible. Judaism is based on the Old Testament of the Bible, a holy book Christians also use. Despite this similarity in origin, the two faiths have experienced a sustained split leading to Judaism and Christianity becoming two distinct faiths. Several events in history contributed to this fact

The rejection of Jesus as the Messiah by the Jewish establishment is one of the main precursors to the split between Judaism and Christianity (Levine, 2014). For many Pharisees and teachers of the law, Christianity was more of a sect misleading Jews than a fully-fledged legitimate faith. This was based on the connotation of the Messiah being a political savior from Roman rule, something Jesus was not (Snyder, 2013).

Paul’s conversion was another factor that led to the split between Judaism and Christianity. Prior to his conversion, Paul dedicated his life to prosecuting Jews who practiced Christianity, his conversion made him dedicate his life to furthering Christianity and spreading the gospel to non-Jews. This helped to give Christianity a different identity from its Jewish roots as it became more cosmopolitan affair. This coupled with the difference in doctrine between a belief in inward transformation against Judaism’s emphasis on several tangible aspects such as circumcision and the strict following of Jewish practices further led to the split with Christians being keen on setting themselves apart as a unique group from the faith that had been in existence before (Atkinson, 2012). Prosecution and sustained opposition by Jewish religious leaders only gave the split inertia.

References

Atkinson, A. C. (2012). Pauline conversion and the resurrection narrative (Doctoral dissertation, uga).

Levine, A. J. (2014). The Misunderstood Jew. HarperCollins e-Books.

Snyder, H. G. (2013). 9 Early Christianity. The Cambridge Companion to Ancient Mediterranean Religions, 177.   http://assets.cambridge.org/97805211/13960/frontmatter/9780521113960_frontmatter.pdf

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Share Jesus without Fear by William Fay

Share Jesus without Fear by William Fay Order Instructions:

Share Jesus without Fear by William Fay
Share Jesus without Fear by William Fay

1. ABSTRACT. Summarize what you have read, boiling the book down into 300 words (1 page). Prove you comprehend the readings by writing a no-nonsense summary. The abstract is not a commentary or listing of topics but rather an objective summary from the reader’s viewpoint. Abstract equals “boiled down.” This section should include a minimum of 2 footnotes to the text being reviewed.

2. CONCRETE RESPONSE. Get vulnerable! In no less than 150 words and no more than 1 page, relate a personal life experience that this book triggered in your memory. Relate your story in first person, describing action, and quoting exact words you remember hearing or saying. In the teaching style of Jesus, this is a do-it-yourself parable, case study, confession. You will remember almost nothing you have read unless you make this critical, personal connection. What video memory began to roll? This is your chance to tell your story and make new ideas your own

3. REFLECTION. This is the critical thinking part of the review (not critical in the sense of negative, but in the sense of questioning). In no less than 150 words and no more than 1 page, describe what questions pop up for you in response to what you have read. Keep a rough-note sheet at hand as you read. Out smart the author by asking better questions than he/she raised in the book. Tell how the author could have made the book better or more appealing to those in your field of service. One way to begin this section is by stating what bothered you most about the book. This is not a place to provide an endorsement or affirmation of the book.

4. ACTION. So what are you going to do about it? In no less than 2–3 page and no more than 5 pages for your entire paper.provide 3 action steps that describe what actions or changes you are going to make in your life, ministry, and/or work as a result of your reading. Action steps should be measurable and reveal a commitment to specific time, specific people, and identified steps.

5. Please provide a Turabian style* title page, pagination, footnotes, and Bibliography.

Total pages excluding title page, bibliography should be 5 full pages.

Share Jesus without Fear by William Fay Sample Answer

Share Jesus without Fear is a book by William Fay about sharing one’s faith with others without any fear and letting others know Jesus through you. William believes that the sole purpose of evangelism is obedience where one spreads the gospel and professes their faith to others because God commands it. The book is divided into three parts containing questions that can guide one or help him to confess their faith to others and help them make a decision on professing their faith and becoming saved. The fast set of questions is the five share questions: these questions guide the evangelist to guide the non-believer into a spiritual discussion from within. William Fay states that in order for one to be able to make the non-believer open up one silent to make him or her open and ready to discuss freely without pressing the Holy Spirit on him or her.

The second part  that guides a believer to convert a non-believer into a believer is the seven scriptures which are, Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, John 3:3, John 14:6, Romans 10:9-11, II Corinthians 5:15 and  Revelation 3:20. These scriptures help to bring the non-believer to realize that he or she needs Christ in their lives, the scriptures show the non-believer what he or she is missing by not believing in Christ. The third party and the last are the commitment questions these questions guides someone to accept Christ as their personal savior. Through these questions, one can come up with his or her confession about the wonderful things they feel after receiving Christ. In the last part of the book William talks about the questions that most people give about why they are not saved or ready to get saved, William urges us to face the questions head on without fear.[1]

Reading the book made me think about the reason am not saved, many believers have preached to me but still am yet to be saved. The reason as to why am not saved is because every time I think or decide to get saved I think of my friends and whether they would accept me if I [2]were to get saved. Getting saved to me seems like the last option because I think it prevents me from living my teen years fully. The worst scenario is making my friends believe in Jesus Christ without coming out as odd, everyone needs friends in his teenage years in good and bad times. As much as people say that Jesus will be with you during hard times it’s harder in the real life, thus I find it better to stay with friends than salvation. Getting saved now as a teenager seems harder to me than when I will be married and my forties the decision will be much easier than now. When is older the decision to get saved becomes much easier to make since one has lived most of his life compared to being asked to get saved as a teenager.

Reading the book has helped raise some better questions to ask as a teenager such as is it possible to be cool even after getting saved? The author only asks basic questions without considering that people are going through the different thing and have different ages. Being young, one has not experienced a lot thus in order to make a teenager to get saved how can one convince him or her without making them feel as if they will miss out on a lot in their lives compared to their unsaved peers. The author also does address the life getting saved as this is the hardest part one encounters a lot of temptations after getting saved. He should have addressed how to keep one’s faith strong no matter the situation. How to still live life while being saved? The life of a believer seems boring and not fun at all; the author should have addressed the issue of having fun as a believer. If one is to get saved when still at a tender age one needs not to feel left out, other non-believers are out there having fun, so the book should have mentioned ways how one can learn to have fun as a young Christian.

Have a positive mindset about salvation this is the first step I will take in my life as a step towards salvation. Having a positive mind on the subject of salvation will make it easier for me to make a decision on getting saved. Exploring on subjects that I find harder to accept, such as sex until marriage, using the bible I will be able to understand why sex before marriage is forbidden and the rewards of waiting until marriage. Controversial topics for me will be the biggest hindrance to salvation, knowing why and the rewards of following the rules and wants of the Bible. Having conversations with believers will also be a step in getting a positive mindset since it will expand my knowledge of the BIBLE.  Also talking to other believers might get some friend once I become a believer hence making my life complete. Having your mind ready makes one open to conversation about getting saved and knowing how to accept a call from GOD.

Changing my ways, leaving old ways and adopting new ones will help when I choose to abandon old ways and become saved. What makes it hard for someone to get saved is finding it to leave his old life, friends and family before he or she gets saved. If one can be able to abandon one thing at a time before getting saved making the final decision to be a believer will be much easier, and the life after receiving salvation will also be better. Learning to study the BIBLE rather than reading a magazine and irrelevant stuff on the internet will be one way I will change my life. Also, I will try to convince a friend to choose the way of salvation this helps to make the road to salvation less cold. Preparing my family for my new transition will be a step that I will take towards changing my ways. Making my family know about will give an idea to whom to go to for support and also to avoid speculation about why I have changed my life. Informing those [3]around me about my decision will avoid harsh judgment which making it hard to cope with the new changes of being a Christian.

Knowing how to live the life of a fearless believer is the next step that I will take towards improving my life. Living your life as a believer can be hard sometimes to the surrounding environment such as seeing friends going to parties and memories of having fun. If one were a strong non-believer, the life of salvation can very hard due to friends one had, memories and the beliefs which one has. Changing one’s beliefs can be one way of learning to live the life of a believer for example, if one believes that being a virgin is not cool. Changing such a belief will help to live the life of abstinence, which is strongly urged in the BIBLE. One also has to know how to come out to both believers and non-believers and profess his or her faith without any fear as insisted by William Fay. Being young having body changes can lead to a lot of temptations thus will need to look for a mentor who has passed through that stage to help though. Having a person to hold your hand is better than just reading the BIBLE and depending on your faith to keep you strong.

Share Jesus without Fear by William Fay Conclusion

William Fay book is very good as it has helped in advising believers on how to keep their faith strong and spread the gospel without any fear. As the biggest enemy of salvation is fear, having fear of getting saved prevents more people from joining Christianity and the fear of professing one’s faith denies others the opportunity to listen to a message that might help them make a decision on the life of salvation. Making a decision to get saved while still young can be very hard but after making that first step things will easily fall in place and things will seem as if they never changed.

Share Jesus without Fear by William Fay References

Fay, William, and Linda E Shepherd. Share Jesus without Fear. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999.

[1] William Fay and Linda E Shepherd, Share Jesus Without Fear (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999).

[2] William Fay and Linda E Shepherd, Share Jesus Without Fear (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999).

[3] William Fay and Linda E Shepherd, Share Jesus Without Fear (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999).

The idea of Progress in Science and Religion

The idea of Progress in Science and Religion
The idea of Progress in Science and Religion

Compare or contrast the idea of progress in science and religion. The paper should include specific historical examples and should include a paragraph of counterpoint. The paper must have a clear thesis statement that addresses at least one of the following questions:
-What factors(personal, historical, social, etc.) encourage inhibit change?
-How are ideas established or discredited?
-At what speed are changes made within the profession and in general understanding?
-What criteria are used to evaluate changes?
-What determines if a change is welcomed or resisted?
This is just an outline paper. So just write a thesis statement and 3 to 4 topic sentences for the supporting paragraphs.

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Response to “The Great Commission to Worship”

Response to “The Great Commission to Worship”
Response to “The Great Commission to Worship”

Response to “The Great Commission to Worship”

Order Instructions:

Please use the following format in preparing 4-MAT Book Reviews:

1. ABSTRACT. Summarize what you have read, boiling the book down into 300 words (1 page). Prove you comprehend the readings by writing a no-nonsense summary. The abstract is not a commentary or listing of topics but rather an objective summary from the reader’s viewpoint. Abstract equals “boiled down.” This section should include a minimum of 2 footnotes to the text being reviewed.

2. CONCRETE RESPONSE. Get vulnerable! In no less than 150 words and no more than 1 page, relate a personal life experience that this book triggered in your memory. Relate your story in first person, describing action, and quoting exact words you remember hearing or saying. In the teaching style of Jesus, this is a do-it-yourself parable, case study, confession. You will remember almost nothing you have read unless you make this critical, personal connection. What video memory began to roll? This is your chance to tell your story and make new ideas your own.

3. REFLECTION. This is the critical thinking part of the review (not critical in the sense of negative, but in the sense of questioning). In no less than 150 words and no more than 1 page, describe what questions pop up for you in response to what you have read. Keep a rough-note sheet at hand as you read. Out smart the author by asking better questions than he/she raised in the book. Tell how the author could have made the book better or more appealing to those in your field of service. One way to begin this section is by stating what bothered you most about the book. This is not a place to provide an endorsement or affirmation of the book.

4. ACTION. So what are you going to do about it? In no less than 2–3 page and no more than 5 pages for your entire paper.provide 3 action steps that describe what actions or changes you are going to make in your life, ministry, and/or work as a result of your reading. Action steps should be measurable and reveal a commitment to specific time, specific people, and identified steps.

Make sure the action steps are implemented between the time the review are submitted inModule/Week 7. Discussion Board activity asks for you to reveal the results of 1 of your actions.

5. Please provide a Turabian style* title page, pagination, footnotes, and Bibliography.

Total # of pages will be 5 excluding the title page, pagination, footnotes and bibliography.

PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT ANY FORM OF PLAGIARISM WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. PLEASE DO NOT PLAGIARIZE.

SAMPLE ANSWER

Response to “The Great Commission to Worship”

Abstract

The book titled “The Great Commission to Worship” authored by David Wheeler and Vermont Whaley, both scholars at Liberty University, is a book that is aimed at contemporary Christians who are concerned about their salvation. The two authors have different areas of specialization in theology; these are Evangelism and Worship respectively. Through the book, they discuss the unity of evangelism and worship. Not an existent unity but rather an ideal one which has been forgotten or simply ignored by many believers. Through the use of scriptures from the Bible, specifically the New Testament, these two authors lay a foundation for their arguments by defining both what worship is and what prayer is. The central theme here is the great commission which Jesus gave his disciples in Matthew 28: 18-20[1]. This scripture is discussed in light of the fact that Christians target their worship at God and this is done as a result of the desire of most of them to get saved. The authors argue that being saved is part of the salvation plan; much like the great commission spells out. The authors go to great lengths to discuss myths that are at times held in relation to what worship is and what it entails. These are dispelled through the use of scripture. Given the great importance of worship to Christianity and the equally huge importance of the great commission, the authors argue that worship is incomplete if there is no element of evangelism. Evangelism in the context of this book can be summarized as the act of telling other people about the goodness of having a relationship with Jesus, God’s son[2]. In this form of Worship according to the authors, there can be true transformation in the lives of individuals and it can also be appraised and evaluated instead of simply being repetitive. What the book discusses in summary is the need to have worship as a foundation for one’s Christianity and other things added onto it. This is contrary to the current situation whereby worship is seen as one of the activities of Christianity, a situation that makes it possible to separate it from evangelism.

Concrete Response

When I read this book, a memory that came to mind was the evangelism sessions we used to engage in during my high school years. The church group that I used to worship with had a youth group and this group was further sub-divided to individuals who have different general occupations such as college and high-school students. Each group had a set of activities it did during the weekends and holidays. The leaders of the group often mentioned the need to evangelize and invite people to church after telling them the good news about Jesus. This was often done through the sharing of scriptures that we had prepared in advance for short and straight to the point discussions. The plan was to meet and go around as individuals or in groups of two and start up conversations with strangers, telling them about gospel of Christ with the aim of getting into a spiritual conversation. I had trouble with this first because I was shy and second because I never truly appreciated the need to evangelize. At times I used to deliberately miss these meetings so as to avoid the likely awkward situations that would have ensued had I proceeded. One of the central scriptures that were used as a motivator for us was Matthew 28:18-20. At the time I thought it was possible for me to compensate by perhaps contributing extra money during the offertory session or find another activity within the church that I would engage in to make up for the lost time. The point of view I held was very much in tandem with that of Christians who view worship and evangelism separate. I thought of the two, and actually treated them as completely separate entities, but this was to selfish ends and I now see that I was gravely wrong.

Reflection

A question that I had in my mind in the course of reading the book was about the relevance of the topic and choice of words the authors used. On one hand I saw the relevance of the lessons given but on the other hand I could not help but wonder about the issue of semantics with respect to the words used. The title of the book is “The Great Commission to Worship” but what the book really discuses is obedience to God. Perhaps a title of “Obedience as true worship” could have been more befitting for this book. The term worship as used by Christians or within the context of religion tends to have two meanings depending on the context. The first and main use of the word is the centralization of a supernatural deity or some other entity in the life of an individual. In Christianity this basically means the complete allegiance to God. It also applies to other entities such as Baal in the Old Testament and Money in contemporary times. The other use of the term worship is the collection of activities mainly revolving around the offering of songs during a meeting of believers. While this second use is limiting, it is used by believers across the world in reference to the specific process of singing sacred songs. The great commission was more of a command given by Jesus to his believers and by extension to all Christians. The appropriate term for their reaction is obedience. While the action will be a manifestation of worship, what they are really doing is obeying what God commanded them to do. Going by the author’s definition of worship, obedience should have taken the central theme since it has relatively more continuity than evangelism in the life of a Christian. An obedient Christian will maintain virtues even when nobody is seeing him or her, giving them the moral authority to preach about the standards Christ set.

Action

Based on what I read in this book there are three things that I am going to do in an effort to ensure I engage in true worship. The first of this is to list down the activities I currently engage in in the name of worship. The second thing I will do is to decide on how and where I am going to evangelize. The third step will be the actual evangelism, not on my own but by pulling my spiritual friends along on the journey.

The step of listing down what I consider to be true worship is important in that it will help me to see where I have been falling short and also if my worship has been one of convenience as opposed to true worship as discussed in the scriptures. True worship for me will not just be instances of evangelism but the activities that I give of myself wholeheartedly. I will also evaluate these activities with respect to the transformational element. This is because it I could be engaging in some activities for my own glorification instead of God’s.

Following the evaluation of my worship, it is likely that I will have to eliminate or reduce some of the activities I do. I intend to replace these with meaningful evangelism. This means I will have to purpose to go out and tell people about the word of God based on scriptures. For this I will seek out opportunities that I usually have but seldom take advantage of. Possible options I will go for include the local sports club I attend as well as the strangers who I sit with on public transport almost every day.

The third step will be to actually go out and have a daily target of at least one person and gradually increase the number as I gain more confidence and courage. For confidence and courage, I will rope in some of my peers in the evangelism. For those who have been doing it consistently, I will seek to learn from them and for those who have not been paying particular attention to it; I will share what I learnt from this book about the need for Christians to take evangelism very seriously as part and parcel of their worship. My hope is that this will call them to action and they will be willing to accompany me as I go out and evangelize. In this way I will not just improve my evangelism but also ensure that as many people as possible get to hear about the word of God.

Reference

Wheeler, David, and Vernon M. Whaley. “The Great Commission to Worship.” Nashville, TN: B & H (2011).

[1] Wheeler, David, and Vernon M. Whaley. “The Great Commission to Worship.”Nashville, TN: B & H (2011).

[2] Wheeler, David, and Vernon M. Whaley. “The Great Commission to Worship.”Nashville, TN: B & H (2011).

https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1280&context=tcl

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How Terrorism is Propagated in the name of Religion.

How Terrorism is Propagated in the name of Religion.
How Terrorism is Propagated in the name of Religion.

How Terrorism is Propagated in the name of Religion.

Order Instructions:

My paper topic is: How Terrorism is Propagated in the name of Religion. This is for my CJUS 480 Terrorism class.

Minimum of 5 sources from both online and printed source material.

WIKIPEDIA does not qualify as a source.

SAMPLE ANSWER

How Terrorism is Propagated in the name of Religion.

Religious terrorists, such as radical Muslims, Christians, and Judaists, kill people, commit suicidal bombings among other terrorist activities in the name of a certain religion, yet in the real sense, these terrorist actions usually do not have any connection with the religion propagated (Qamar, nd). Religious extremists interpret religious provisions strictly in a manner that serves their goals of revenging, intimidating or causing a certain influence on their audience (Stern, 2003).

In most cases, religious terrorists aim at promoting a combination of material and religious goals, for instance, the acquisition of political power for purposes of imposing certain interpretations of religious provisions or forcing a certain outcome from religious texts in the bid to justify their fight to acquire contested authority (Qamar, nd). For instance, most Islamist movements have successfully managed to convince many Muslims that “jihad” is the most effective interpretation of contemporary Islam, and this has led to conversion of many ignorant Muslims into terrorists. Islamic scholars of the 18th Century, who founded “jihadism” and justified the killing of non-combatants, is the basis for the belief that Islamic terrorism is justified (Upadhyay, R. (2005).

According to FBI reports, more than 90% of terror threats and attacks are carried out by Islamist movements and groups. Since they believe that they are fighting a holy war with ultimate spiritual benefits, religious extremists do not fear any kind of earthly penalties that they may be subjected to as a result of their “religious cause”. This is the reason for many terrorists offering to undertake such dangerous missions as suicidal bombings and attacking high-profile buildings. These radicals also wage war against other members of their religion who are not radicals (Atran, 2003).

References

Atran, S. (2003). Genesis of suicide terrorism. Science299(5612), 1534-1539.

Eleveld, K. (2015). Obama: No Religion is Responsible for Terrorism. Retrieved from: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/02/18/1365323/-Obama-No-religion-is-responsible-for-terrorism

Qamar, N. A. (nd). Religious Terrorism: Causes and Remedies. Retrieved from: https://www.alislam.org/library/articles/Religious_Terrorism_Causes_and_Remedies-20081006MN.html

Stern, J. (2003). Terror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.

Upadhyay, R. (2005). Terror Ideology – Is it Divine. Retrieved from: http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/paper1006

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Korb on Religion of the Palestine Essay Paper

Korb on Religion of the Palestine Essay Paper Order Instructions: Create an original, “grabber” title for your essay and number your pages. Provide an introduction and a conclusion in your essay.

Korb on Religion of the Palestine Essay Paper
Korb on Religion of the Palestine Essay Paper

Use the third person voice only. Do not use “I,” “me,” mine” “we,” “our” “your,” “you,” or “us.” It is possible to express your opinion in the third person; editorial writers do this sort of thing regularly. Use the past tense, as one always should when writing about history–the past– and stay away from the dreaded “false” present tense that inexplicably has become so popular in historical documentaries. Avoid slang–that you must also avoid vulgarity should go without saying. Remember to carefully proofread your papers for spelling, grammar, factual content, and overall clarity. If writing is a challenge for you, I encourage you to visit Darton State College’s fine writing center well ahead of the paper due date. You will need to do this since there is usually a backlog of papers at the Writing Center. Answer all of the following questions in the order provided. You need not to restate the questions; simply write your responses in paragraph form and in complete sentences. You should devote approximately a typed page for each response. Please do not write out the questions.

1) According to Korb, what religion did most of Palestine’s inhabitants practice in year one? What were some of the dietary restrictions and important rituals observed by the adherents of this religion? Does Korb provide any rationale for these practices? Why or why not?

2) What did it mean to be “unclean” in Palestine during the year one? Was there more than one type of uncleanliness? Explain.

3) What were the lives of women like in Palestine during year one? In what ways were women restricted? What rights, if any, did they enjoy?

4) According to Gary Wills (in a quotation from Cicero), what constituted the “extremest penalty” in first-century Palestine? Why? Please provide numerous and pertinent details in your response.

Korb on Religion of the Palestine Essay Paper Sample Answer

The highly readable book by Scott Korby provides great insight by which the readers get insights into the happenings in the Old Testament. The book is set in a most straightforward manner by examining things such as money, home, food, baths respect and religion. The author took the fairly exotic topic from the Old Testament in the past two centuries and tries to link them with the current context. The author takes the familiar things like money, women, and religion by putting the ancient situations in the contemporary ways of seeing the world

  1. According to Korb, what religion did most of Palestine’s inhabitants practice in the year one? What were some of the dietary restrictions and important rituals observed by the adherents of this religion? Does Korb provide any rationale for these practices? Why or why not?

Korb notes that religion was a key issue among the Palestine’s since they were highly God fearing. The observance of religion among Palestine’s can be evident from the manner in which they observed the Sabbath and kept it holy. The nationalist groups began to revolt against the Roman Empire after the birth of Jesus. According to Korb religion played a key role in the traditional settlement and most of the things were seen in the religious context. Korb links religion to the dietary behaviors of the Palestine’s such that some food were accepted while others were rejected.

According to Korb, the Palestine observed various important rituals observed the adherents to the religion. These Palestinians valued their children, whether boy child or girl child, such that marriages were arranged and divorces were tolerated. According to Korb, these people used ritual paths for purification purposes as part of their godliness and traditional beliefs. However, Korb notes that the use of ritual baths reduced after the destruction of the second temple after 70CE.
2) What did it mean to be “unclean” in Palestine during the year one? Was there more than one type of uncleanliness? Explain.

According to Korb, cleanliness was given great consideration as being unclean was connected with a heavy burden to the society and individuals. In this era, diseases such as leprosy were linked with uncleanliness and not bacteria as in the case today. Palestine’s feared people with leprosy since coming into contact with them would imply coming into contact with a dirty person. In this regard, these people were moved away from the normal residential areas into secluded regions so that they don’t affect the rest of the population with their dirt. Such persons were made to wear torn clothes with shaggy hairs on their bodies to epitomize their dirtiness. Apart from disease such as leprosy, there were other forms of uncleanliness that were considered among Palestine’s. Marrying from other tribes was considered unclean as people were encouraged to marry from their own tribes. 
3) What were the lives of women like in Palestine during the year one? In what ways were women restricted? What rights, if any, did they enjoy?

According to Korb, women and men lived different lives in Palestine. The men were held in high positions as compared to the women. Korb argues that the women were held in the slavery kind of life while the men enjoyed high privileges in the society. The traditional Palestine women were subjected to a restrictive personal status that often resulted in discrimination of women by men. Women were restricted in the sense that they could not hold high offices in the land and lead the people. The women were also restricted in the traditional Palestine in that they could not be allowed to make crucial decisions that would shape the destiny of the society. On the other hand, the rights enjoyed by the Palestinian women are not clearly highlighted by the author.
4) According to Gary Wills (in a quotation from Cicero), what constituted the “extremist penalty” in first-century Palestine? Why? Please provide numerous and pertinent details in your response.

According to Garry Wills, blasphemy constituted to extremist penalty since people were so religious. The author argues that it was very hard to separate these people from their religious beliefs as it took a central place in themselves. Since these people had much regard for their religion, going against the teachings of the church would amount to blasphemy and the extremist penalty. In this regard, most of the people who were brought into the Roman Empire ended up taking the Jewish identity as in order to evade the extremist penalty. On the other hand, the behaviors that would not directly touch on the religious beliefs were never given much consideration.

Korb, Scott. Life in Year One: What the World Was Like in First-Century Palestine. Riverhead Books, 2010

Ibid

Korb, Scott. Life in Year One: What the World Was Like in First-Century Palestine. Riverhead Books, 2010

Ibid

Ibid

Korb, Scott. Life in Year One: What the World Was Like in First-Century Palestine. Riverhead Books, 2010

The Doctrine of God Essay Paper Available

The Doctrine of God
The Doctrine of God

The Doctrine of God

Order Instructions:

This essay is to be no less than 1000 words and prepared in Turabian format (including footnotes).

In our reading the concept of God’s love emerges several times (a) in connection with Plato, (b) Augustine’s understanding of the essential nature of God in the Trinitarian relation, (c) the relation of God toward creation, and (d) especially as an attribute directed toward sinful humanity. Van hooper attempts thread the needle between Plato and Nygren on the matter of God’s love toward fallen creation (c and d, above).
1. Discuss the significance of this issue for classic theology vs. the contemporary discussion regarding the immutability of God.
2. Would you agree more with Vanhoozer or Nygren on this issue? Why?
3. In what way(s) does Feinberg contribute to this discussion in response to “Openness” theism and in relation to the immutability of God? Explain the importance of this issue for the gospel and Christian ministry.

SAMPLE ANSWER

The Doctrine of God

Understanding the nature and the Love God has to humanity is something that has elicited mixed reactions from various scholars. People hold contrary views about God’s love. For instance, people such as Plato, Augustine and Van hooper among many others have different perspectives and insights concerning the love of God and whether indeed God changes. The author therefore deliberates on the significance of the issue concerning immutability of God from the perspective of classic theology and contemporary and provides own view on the stance of Vahnoozer or Nygren on the issue. Contribution of Feinberg on the aspect of openness theism in relation to immutability of God is as well discussed.

Immutability of God (whether God changes or not) from classic theology and contemporary theology is important as it provides an opportunity to have a deeper understanding of God’s love.  The views of classic theology on immutability of God differ from that held by the contemporary theology on various instances. The Bible talks about God’s love in a number of verses. For instance, in 1 John 4:7-8 the Bible says ‘”Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love”[1]. This verse clearly shows that God Himself is love and therefore people must replicate this love.

However, classic theology, which has been greatly influenced by Platonic philosophy, holds the view that God or gods does not need anything from the human beings therefore cannot love[2]. The argument is that if God is perfect it means that He is not able to change since change means that He could be imperfect. Therefore, this classical view about God’s love is not supported by the Holy bible believed to be inspired by the Holy Spirit hence, Gods word. On contrary, contemporary theology uses the Bible as a reference to ascertain and prove of God’s love. Because love needs reciprocity between two people it means that God is not immutable meaning that God changes.  A number of verses shows this such as (Genesis 18:16-32, Exodus 32:14)[3].  This perspective furthermore, provides a number of lessons.  First is that the schools of thought indicates that God is the creator of all the things in the world and He has control over everything. He is therefore able to change in some times when people do not walk and do the way He has commanded and Wishes. It is the love of God that actually contributed to the sending of Christ, His only Son to save man from sin. Therefore, this is enough evidence about the love of God and that God can change.

I do concur with Van hooper perspective when it comes to the relation of God towards creation and when it comes to attribute directed towards the sinful humanity.   God is a loving God, he sometimes changes, and this does not mean that God is imperfect.  From the scripture that Van Hooper relies on to argue his point, it is important that God extend his love by forgiving the fallen humanities.  Human beings that had defied the commands of God were saved from their sins.  God love therefore, is surmountable. God forgives humanity their sins by sending His son to die for the sake of our sins[4]. This is a sign of love. Furthermore, in the Old Testament God is able to spare Sodom and Gomorra from destruction by promising Abraham that he will not   destroy the city if he found anyone righteous. In Exodus 32:14 God repents for the evils he thought to have done to people.  Therefore, I agree with Vanhoozer that indeed God is a loving God and He changes.

John Feinbeg as well contributes to this discussion.  His response to open theists whose version is of (incomplete God who is neither all knowing, all-powerful nor eternal beyond time), he believes that this is unscriptural. In relation to immutability of God, Feinberg believes that there are other things such as His inherent attributes and God Moral character that cannot change while some other things such as His Relationships to people and His emotions can change[5]. Therefore, the views of Feinber reconciles that passages or the views of changing and unchanging aspects of God but rather is weakened when God is viewed or placed as inhabitant of time[6].  This issue is therefore important for gospel and Christianity ministry. The church leaders and ministers must be able to understand this to know where they are heading.  For the classic theist God is far and is uncaring hence does not qualify to be God.  For the open theists, God seems confused and is not near God and projected in the Bible. The best way for Christian to live is to believe in the word of God as written in the bible. God is unchanging but will change in response to the activity of human beings as manifested through various instances in the bible. He is sovereign God and has given man freewill hence; people are responsible for whatever things they do.

Bibliography

Dolezal, James. ‘Trinity, Simplicity and the Status of God’s Personal Relations’.  International Journal of Systematic Theology, 16(1), 79-98.

Duby, Steven. ‘Classical Christian Theism and the Criterion of Particularity’.  International Journal of Systematic Theology, 15(2), 196-215.

King James version. Bible

Learn theology.com. The Openness Of God: A Critical Assessment, 2014). Retrieved from:             http://learntheology.com/the-openness-of-god-a-critical-assessment.html

Mdharrismd. Com. The Love and Immutability of God”.  2012. Retrieved from:             http://mdharrismd.com/2012/04/20/the-love-and-immutability-of-god/

[1] King James version. Bible

[2] Steven, Duby. ‘Classical Christian Theism and the Criterion of Particularity’.  International Journal of Systematic Theology, 15(2), 196-215.

[3] King James version. Bible

[4] Learn theology.com. The Openness Of God: A Critical Assessment, 2014). Retrieved from: http://learntheology.com/the-openness-of-god-a-critical-assessment.html

[5] Mdharrismd. Com. The Love and Immutability of God” Retrieved from: http://mdharrismd.com/2012/04/20/the-love-and-immutability-of-god/

[6] James, Dolezal. ‘Trinity, Simplicity and the Status of God’s Personal Relations’.  International Journal of Systematic Theology, 16(1), 79-98.

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