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Relationship between Christianity and Culture

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  According to J. Gresham  Machen, one of the greatest problems that has agitated the Church is the relation between knowledge and piety, between culture and Christianity.  He defines Christianity as a way of life that is founded upon doctrines which is considered as objectively true. Culture is defined as those intellectual forces in the world that are hostile to the claims of Christ and these make it problematic for Christians living in a pagan culture. Most of the time Christians are unprepared to face this challenge since our education system keeps religion and culture as far apart as possible and no question of joining them together is allowed to arise. In the study of philosophy, religion is kept at the background while on Sunday the sermons do not encourage thoughtful reflection. The scientific spirit seems like it is incompatible with the old spirit of simple faith.  So it comes down to the problem of the relationship between knowledge and spirituality.  It is portrayed as if c
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Theology and Doctrine

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Theology Theology is the study of divine things or religious truth. It is the field of study and analysis that treats of God and of God’s attributes and relations to the universe. It can also be defined as a study about God which is done in a systematic and careful way. Systematic theology involves collecting and understanding all the relevant passages in the Bible on various topics and then summarizing their teachings clearly so that what we should believe about each topic is clear. [1] Doctrine Doctrine is a body or system of teachings relating to a particular subject. It could be a particular principle, position, or policy taught or advocated by a religion or government. In biblical terms, a doctrine is what the whole Bible teaches us today about some particular topic. Doctrine is the result of doing systematic theology in regard to one particular topic. [2] Doctrine can be very broad or very narrow. Object of Theology The object of theology is that it should both be objectiv
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PERSPECTIVALISM

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 Introduction to Perspectivalism 'Relativism' is the doctrine that knowledge, truth, and morality exist in relation to culture, society, or historical context and are not absolute. It is the belief that different things are true, right, etc., for different people or at different times. It can also be defined as a theory that knowledge is relative to the limited nature of the mind and the conditions of knowing or a view that ethical truths depend on the individuals and groups holding them. Epistemology is the branch of philosophy concerned with the theory of knowledge. A form of relativism in epistemology is perspectivalism , the idea that all knowledge is "from a point of view" and therefore suspect. Two views on Perspectivalism Commitment to Total Perspectivalism One view is a total commitment to perspectivalsim . They are the ones who believe that the idea of objective truth is entirely suspect and claim that all knowledge is embedded in a perspective. They
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A Literature Review of Azusa Street Revival, focusing on Racial Segregation and its Implication on Pentecostal movement

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Most of the Pentecostal denominations traces back its history to the Azusa Street Revival. This literature review is limited to key developments and issues, and will focus on two areas: ·        racial segregation, and ·        implications on the Pentecostal movement. Azusa Street Revival and Interracial Meetings William Joseph Seymour (1870-1922), the African American pastor of the Azusa Street Mission, was the son of former slaves. [1] Seymour came in contact with Charles F. Parham and enrolled in his Bible school in Houston, Texas. Segregation law did not allow Seymour to take a seat inside the classroom, but Parham allowed him to attend from the hallway . Parham was teaching about a “baptism in the Holy Spirit,” with accompanying empowerment for service and ministry along with speaking in other tongues. Seymour got an invitation to serve as the pastor of a congregation in Los Angeles and accepted it. After being asked to leave his congregation due to a doctrinal dispute
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Significance of Joel 2:28-32 in the Historical context of Israel

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Introduction The fulfillment of Joel 2:28-32 is normally seen from the perspective of events that happened on the day of Pentecost mentioned in the book of Acts chapter two. This research is focused on the historic meaning of the text as to what it meant to Israel.   The text is concerned with the salvation of Israel with the fact that all will be prophets and there is deliverance for the remnant promised by God from the oppressors. The prophecy of Joel is occasioned by a terrible locust plague. It is a message to the people of Judah that their sin and rebellion will be punished in the form of locusts- flying, grasshopper-like bugs that fed off the vegetation of the land. During this time, people lived off the land and they farmed, raised food for their animals. This type of disaster will make the survival of the people difficult. This prophecy focuses on the coming hard times as well as the future salvation through God’s eventual forgiveness. This plague is an event that is rep
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