Pro-Secular? Luke\u27s Relationship with Roman Imperial System and Culture

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay\u27s first paragraph. He has…rescued [us] from the hands of our enemies, [so that] without fear we might worship him in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. - Luke 1:74-75 This statement, spoken by Zechariah at the birth of John the Baptist, serves as a forecast of where the story of Jesus and his early community will end up. Acts 28:30-31 reports its accomplishment when, talking about Paul’s lodgings in Rome, it says, “He remained two full years in his lodgings. He received all who came to him, and with complete assurance and without hindrance he proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.” The narrative of Luke-Acts begins in Jerusalem (Lk 1:5-25), moves to Galilee (Lk 4:14-15), returns to Jerusalem (Lk 19:28), then ventures throughout Asia Minor and ends in Rome (Acts 28:14). The movement of the story is also the movement of the church, at least the movement of the church as Luke wanted to present it. With the Gospel of Luke terminating in the heart of the Roman Empire and the missionary call strong in the hearts of his main characters, the question arises as to how Luke reconciles the demands of the Christ event with the reality of imperial rule. It will be the goal of this paper to suggest that Luke-Acts presents a view of Christianity relating to the Empire in a way that is mutually beneficial. Luke does not maintain anti-imperial sentiments, nor does he see the church as diametrically opposed to the surrounding culture

The Life and Miracles of Fisher Alumnus Peter Santandreu

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay\u27s first paragraph. What can one say about life with a degree in Religious Studies from St. John Fisher College? Well, it\u27s almost been a year since graduation and I can say that things are definitely different but ever the same. I am now at the Faculty of Theology at the University of St. Michael‟s College (USMC) in Toronto, Ontario. When people ask me what I am doing with my life now, I do sometimes answer using the acronym. Of course, to an American, it is first heard as the branch of the United States military and not a theological institution. But here in Canada, USMC has no other connotation than a member school in the Toronto School of Theology consortium. The TST is a good fit for me. Here I am exposed to many different theological outlooks and denominational worldviews that could have otherwise gone unnoticed in a different setting. Such diversity is refreshing and, at times, challenging. On the whole I view these opportunities as growing/learning experiences

Some Thoughts on the Relation of Aesthetics and Ethics: A Possible Christian Perspective

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay\u27s first paragraph. One of, if not the, major questions that I have been working on recently is the relation between aesthetics and ethics. In question form, it reads something like this: Can, and if so to what extent, aesthetics be said to be ethically evaluated or ethically informative? In some sense this question has been on the table (at least in the west) since the time of Plato. Such a question is not an easy one to answer given various factors that must be taken into account. For my purpose here, I wish only to offer what I believe to be the most convincing Christian answer to this ongoing debate. I will argue that Christianity is, at its core, a religion of ethical action (praxis). Christianity also requires a life commitment. If one is to be a Christian, s/he accepts a life that strives toward the full integration of Christ in her/his day to day dealings with the world. Such a take on Christian life is what Paul described when he said, “…it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20). I will close by allowing the aforementioned discussion to guide our thinking about the relation of aesthetics and ethics. This will provide us with the answer that I find most convincing for a committed follower of Christ. Due to time and length restrictions I will not be able to go into the depth that some of these points deserve. This will therefore be a brief presentation of what I view as the Christian answer to ethical evaluation of the aesthetic and aesthetics usefulness for ethics

Enculturation of the Gospel through Image: Influences and Attitudes Surrounding Early Christian Art

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay\u27s first paragraph. The Gospel message, it seems, cannot exist in a “pure” form. It is always mediated through a culture, literary style, historical circumstance or artistic practice. This means that it incorporates influences that are alien to it, though it does so in a critical manner. With regards to the biblical account, such a realization led to the search for the “historical Jesus” which began in the 18th century. This study will take into account the socio‐cultural and historical factors that went into the first production of Christian images aimed at communicating something about this recently established faith. For reasons of length and time I will restrict this study to the West in general, Rome in particular, and I will only consider the very beginnings of Christian artistic production without venturing much past the 5th century. The aim of this inquiry is to explore early pagan influences and the doctrinal/apologetic attitudes of Christian image production during the first few centuries of the church in the West. In doing so, I will look at the Jewish roots of Christianity as applies to the prohibition of image making (Ex 20:4). Next I will turn to Christian interaction with the Hellenized world surrounding art and its uses. Then I will explore some of the earliest Christian symbol art and trace its evolution into the forms of iconography that we are familiar with today

Ecclesial Questions for the Global Community

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay\u27s first paragraph. In recent times we, the church, are faced with the ever broadening scope of cultures related to Christianity. What it means to be “Christian” has come a long way from the W.A.S.P. profile that was previously a good cultural indicator. Now, as noted by Shenk, “60% of all Christians live outside of the traditional western heartland.”1 With this fact in mind, we have to ask ourselves two very important questions. How can the history of Christianity be represented in the most all-encompassing way, and what about the Christian present liturgy can be changed to incorporate a greater sense of cultural relevance for non-Western churches? This means taking another look at Africa and Asia and reevaluating how these cultures fit, not only into the history books, but into the way in which Christians perceive themselves today

The Church and Homosexuality

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay\u27s first paragraph. Why is it, exactly, that Jesus hates gays? Why has God seen it fit to introduce natural disasters, like hurricane Katrina, to wipe out the modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah? If you are a Christian and have ever seriously asked yourself one of these questions, or one similar, you do not understand Christianity and should probably not go anywhere near a public stage. It is questions like these and the people that ask them with a straight face that have given a bad name to Christianity and Jesus Christ. What is the Church’s relation to homosexuals and vice versa then? This is the question that I wish to explore in this paper

My Mom the Theologian

In lieu of an abstract, below is the essay\u27s first paragraph. Let me start off by saying that I love my family, all of them, and not one person more than the others. However, I really love my mom. In recent times, as she grows deeper in her faith and I in mine, we have had so much to talk about. It seems that, whenever I go home from college, the conversation quickly turns into some sort of exam on everything I have been learning through my Religious Studies classes. Well, not so much an exam as a test on the practical application of what I may have learned. I really like these conversations with her, because she brings a whole new side to my studies. By “a whole new side,” I mean the side of lived-out faith