In the aftermath of Obergefell v. Hodges, ministers in American churches have a choice to either ... more In the aftermath of Obergefell v. Hodges, ministers in American churches have a choice to either give in to or resist the demand to officiate same-sex weddings as an equal right. For those of us who will resist, we must learn how to navigate a more hostile and litigious environment while remaining faithful to The Great Commission (Mt. 28:18-20). The review of the literature provides a glimpse into The Rule of Benedict and its application to a 21st Century church that exists and potentially thrives within a more hostile, secularized culture. Lessons from the past provide insight into how coenobitic orders preserved a Christian culture and formed a solid basis for formation and later cultural transformation.
DEATH AND THE INTERMEDIATE STATE: COMPARISON OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC, ORTHODOX, AND PROTESTANT DOCT... more DEATH AND THE INTERMEDIATE STATE: COMPARISON OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC, ORTHODOX, AND PROTESTANT DOCTRINAL VIEWS ABOUT THE CHRISTIAN’S ETERNAL STATE
PAPER TYPE: Synthesis and Expository
THESIS STATEMENT: The study will contrast and compare Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant doctrines concerning death and the intermediate state, with the purpose of understanding what happens to the soul upon death, the intermediate state, the resurrection of the body, and how its implications affect the way we live our lives in preparation for our eternal life.
ABSTRACT: Death is as much a part of life as life itself. One day, everyone will die, and until that day, most will encounter the death of a friend or a loved one. For unbelievers, death is tragic, and yet for Christians, death is the servant who ushers us into God’s presence. However, erroneous beliefs abound to the point of superstition. In Kallistos Ware’s article, ‘One body in Christ’: Death and the communion of the saints, he described how little the immanence of death is discussed in Western churches and how we should instead discuss it as a vital part of life, rather than something that hits us when we least expect it.
When Christians fail to properly understand death, the intermediate state, and the resurrection to come, it minimizes the missional impact of the church on our culture. In N.T. Wright’s book, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church, Wright explains the importance of understanding the resurrection in such a way that it influences the way we live in the body and propels us to a greater emphasis on building the Kingdom.
Different theological views abound when the intermediate state is compared between the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant faiths. Roman Catholicism teaches Purgatory as the state where the souls are purged from venial sins. Alan Schreck’s book, Basics of the Faith: A Catholic Catechism describes the purging process, not as a second chance, but as an exercise of God’s infinite mercy. Richard P. McBrien’s book, Catholicism, explains the doctrine from Scripture and its development from its patristic roots.
Kallistos Ware’s book, The Orthodox Way, describes “A journey into the infinite” (Ware, 137) and how this concept befuddles our “fallen imagination” (Ibid.). Constantine N. Tsirpanlis, Introduction to Eastern Patristic Thought and Orthodox Theology, argues against the doctrine of Purgatory outright, claiming that no eastern or western patristic father taught the this doctrine.
From an Anglican Protestant perspective, Wright described paradise as the Christian’s state of blissful rest, but not sleep, but in a state of conscious presence with Christ, awaiting the final resurrection. What we believe about the resurrection, ought to shape the way that we view the mission of the church and the manner in which we live in the body until we meet the Lord Jesus Christ in the veil of death. Death is the servant who ushers us into the very presence of Christ and is nothing to fear.
In the aftermath of Obergefell v. Hodges, ministers in American churches have a choice to either ... more In the aftermath of Obergefell v. Hodges, ministers in American churches have a choice to either give in to or resist the demand to officiate same-sex weddings as an equal right. For those of us who will resist, we must learn how to navigate a more hostile and litigious environment while remaining faithful to The Great Commission (Mt. 28:18-20). The review of the literature provides a glimpse into The Rule of Benedict and its application to a 21st Century church that exists and potentially thrives within a more hostile, secularized culture. Lessons from the past provide insight into how coenobitic orders preserved a Christian culture and formed a solid basis for formation and later cultural transformation.
DEATH AND THE INTERMEDIATE STATE: COMPARISON OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC, ORTHODOX, AND PROTESTANT DOCT... more DEATH AND THE INTERMEDIATE STATE: COMPARISON OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC, ORTHODOX, AND PROTESTANT DOCTRINAL VIEWS ABOUT THE CHRISTIAN’S ETERNAL STATE
PAPER TYPE: Synthesis and Expository
THESIS STATEMENT: The study will contrast and compare Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant doctrines concerning death and the intermediate state, with the purpose of understanding what happens to the soul upon death, the intermediate state, the resurrection of the body, and how its implications affect the way we live our lives in preparation for our eternal life.
ABSTRACT: Death is as much a part of life as life itself. One day, everyone will die, and until that day, most will encounter the death of a friend or a loved one. For unbelievers, death is tragic, and yet for Christians, death is the servant who ushers us into God’s presence. However, erroneous beliefs abound to the point of superstition. In Kallistos Ware’s article, ‘One body in Christ’: Death and the communion of the saints, he described how little the immanence of death is discussed in Western churches and how we should instead discuss it as a vital part of life, rather than something that hits us when we least expect it.
When Christians fail to properly understand death, the intermediate state, and the resurrection to come, it minimizes the missional impact of the church on our culture. In N.T. Wright’s book, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church, Wright explains the importance of understanding the resurrection in such a way that it influences the way we live in the body and propels us to a greater emphasis on building the Kingdom.
Different theological views abound when the intermediate state is compared between the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant faiths. Roman Catholicism teaches Purgatory as the state where the souls are purged from venial sins. Alan Schreck’s book, Basics of the Faith: A Catholic Catechism describes the purging process, not as a second chance, but as an exercise of God’s infinite mercy. Richard P. McBrien’s book, Catholicism, explains the doctrine from Scripture and its development from its patristic roots.
Kallistos Ware’s book, The Orthodox Way, describes “A journey into the infinite” (Ware, 137) and how this concept befuddles our “fallen imagination” (Ibid.). Constantine N. Tsirpanlis, Introduction to Eastern Patristic Thought and Orthodox Theology, argues against the doctrine of Purgatory outright, claiming that no eastern or western patristic father taught the this doctrine.
From an Anglican Protestant perspective, Wright described paradise as the Christian’s state of blissful rest, but not sleep, but in a state of conscious presence with Christ, awaiting the final resurrection. What we believe about the resurrection, ought to shape the way that we view the mission of the church and the manner in which we live in the body until we meet the Lord Jesus Christ in the veil of death. Death is the servant who ushers us into the very presence of Christ and is nothing to fear.
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PAPER TYPE: Synthesis and Expository
THESIS STATEMENT: The study will contrast and compare Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant doctrines concerning death and the intermediate state, with the purpose of understanding what happens to the soul upon death, the intermediate state, the resurrection of the body, and how its implications affect the way we live our lives in preparation for our eternal life.
ABSTRACT: Death is as much a part of life as life itself. One day, everyone will die, and until that day, most will encounter the death of a friend or a loved one. For unbelievers, death is tragic, and yet for Christians, death is the servant who ushers us into God’s presence. However, erroneous beliefs abound to the point of superstition. In Kallistos Ware’s article, ‘One body in Christ’: Death and the communion of the saints, he described how little the immanence of death is discussed in Western churches and how we should instead discuss it as a vital part of life, rather than something that hits us when we least expect it.
When Christians fail to properly understand death, the intermediate state, and the resurrection to come, it minimizes the missional impact of the church on our culture. In N.T. Wright’s book, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church, Wright explains the importance of understanding the resurrection in such a way that it influences the way we live in the body and propels us to a greater emphasis on building the Kingdom.
Different theological views abound when the intermediate state is compared between the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant faiths. Roman Catholicism teaches Purgatory as the state where the souls are purged from venial sins. Alan Schreck’s book, Basics of the Faith: A Catholic Catechism describes the purging process, not as a second chance, but as an exercise of God’s infinite mercy. Richard P. McBrien’s book, Catholicism, explains the doctrine from Scripture and its development from its patristic roots.
Kallistos Ware’s book, The Orthodox Way, describes “A journey into the infinite” (Ware, 137) and how this concept befuddles our “fallen imagination” (Ibid.). Constantine N. Tsirpanlis, Introduction to Eastern Patristic Thought and Orthodox Theology, argues against the doctrine of Purgatory outright, claiming that no eastern or western patristic father taught the this doctrine.
From an Anglican Protestant perspective, Wright described paradise as the Christian’s state of blissful rest, but not sleep, but in a state of conscious presence with Christ, awaiting the final resurrection. What we believe about the resurrection, ought to shape the way that we view the mission of the church and the manner in which we live in the body until we meet the Lord Jesus Christ in the veil of death. Death is the servant who ushers us into the very presence of Christ and is nothing to fear.
PAPER TYPE: Synthesis and Expository
THESIS STATEMENT: The study will contrast and compare Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Protestant doctrines concerning death and the intermediate state, with the purpose of understanding what happens to the soul upon death, the intermediate state, the resurrection of the body, and how its implications affect the way we live our lives in preparation for our eternal life.
ABSTRACT: Death is as much a part of life as life itself. One day, everyone will die, and until that day, most will encounter the death of a friend or a loved one. For unbelievers, death is tragic, and yet for Christians, death is the servant who ushers us into God’s presence. However, erroneous beliefs abound to the point of superstition. In Kallistos Ware’s article, ‘One body in Christ’: Death and the communion of the saints, he described how little the immanence of death is discussed in Western churches and how we should instead discuss it as a vital part of life, rather than something that hits us when we least expect it.
When Christians fail to properly understand death, the intermediate state, and the resurrection to come, it minimizes the missional impact of the church on our culture. In N.T. Wright’s book, Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church, Wright explains the importance of understanding the resurrection in such a way that it influences the way we live in the body and propels us to a greater emphasis on building the Kingdom.
Different theological views abound when the intermediate state is compared between the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant faiths. Roman Catholicism teaches Purgatory as the state where the souls are purged from venial sins. Alan Schreck’s book, Basics of the Faith: A Catholic Catechism describes the purging process, not as a second chance, but as an exercise of God’s infinite mercy. Richard P. McBrien’s book, Catholicism, explains the doctrine from Scripture and its development from its patristic roots.
Kallistos Ware’s book, The Orthodox Way, describes “A journey into the infinite” (Ware, 137) and how this concept befuddles our “fallen imagination” (Ibid.). Constantine N. Tsirpanlis, Introduction to Eastern Patristic Thought and Orthodox Theology, argues against the doctrine of Purgatory outright, claiming that no eastern or western patristic father taught the this doctrine.
From an Anglican Protestant perspective, Wright described paradise as the Christian’s state of blissful rest, but not sleep, but in a state of conscious presence with Christ, awaiting the final resurrection. What we believe about the resurrection, ought to shape the way that we view the mission of the church and the manner in which we live in the body until we meet the Lord Jesus Christ in the veil of death. Death is the servant who ushers us into the very presence of Christ and is nothing to fear.