Author Archives: mraybur2

Team 2-Question 1

Posted on by under global christianity

Christianity in the United States has developed quite a bit since the end of World War II. For instance, the membership trends in mainstream, traditional denominations post World War II showed that church attendance rates in the 1950’s were the highest that they have ever been in American history. At this time, the term “Mainline Protestantism” was used to describe a select group of Christian denominations that have been well-established for a long time and were found in centralized parts of the country. The membership in these groups consisted mainly of “polite, white, respected and community oriented” citizens, fitting for the time after the war in which the primary concern was restoring normalcy to society again (Jacobsen 202).

Some of the movements that have been advancing the fastest in the realm of Christianity in the U.S. include Evangelicalism and Pentecostalism. Evangelicalism experienced a huge jump in growth between the 1960’s and the 1990’s as it offered Americans some stability in a society that had been dealing with a lot of social change. Evangelicalism also provided people with a direct way to connect with God in a meaningful way. The other movement that shot up in growth is Pentecostalism, now considered a part of Evangelicalism. In the past 20 years, much of the growth of Evangelicalism can be attributed to Pentecostals as their emphasis on spiritual experience is attractive to many people.

America defines “spiritual” and “religious” as two different things. Spiritual can be defined as something that comes naturally to an individual person, allowing “spirituality to be interpreted as something authentic and ‘real’” (Jacobsen 212). On the other hand, religion is defined as the teachings and practices that are claimed by specific religious groups. In general, spirituality is viewed as a positive thing while religion is viewed negatively to Americans as religion is seen as imposing on an individual and their inner self while spirituality is seen to embrace the inner self.

Freedom is one of the defining components of American Christianity. Historically, a large component of this freedom was “soul liberty,” a term coined by Baptist minister Roger Williams. “Soul liberty” refers to the idea that religious beliefs should not be forced upon anyone. If religious beliefs are forced on someone, then faith is not always genuine. This shows the idea that the Christian lifestyle and relationship with God is something personal, between an individual and God, and cannot be forced by any person or institution. In addition to this idea, American Christianity emphasizes the idea that salvation is a choice, something that every individual has the free will to choose. Jacobsen describes this in how Jesus “knocks, hoping for an invitation to come in, wanting to become both Savior and friend” (218). Finally, freedom is also described in the context of community and how as Christians, freedom does not merely mean physical freedom, such as freedom from oppression, but also the freedom to love and respect one another. This idea was seen through Martin Luther King Jr.’s many speeches and protests during the Civil Rights movement which emphasized the greater freedom of loving and treating everyone equally, regardless of race or background. The Christian concept of shalom encompasses this idea by highlighting the importance of being more aware of others around you.

One of the practices that would best comprise a “super Christianity” would be the concept of Ubuntu which is emphasized in African Christianity. A defining concept of Christianity is forgiveness and the importance of having good relationships with the people around you. The practice of Ubuntu demonstrates forgiveness in a way that impacts both the forgiver and the one being forgiven in a powerful way. Another concept that is important is the dedication to serving the oppressed in Latin America. One of the greatest commands in Christianity is to love your neighbor as yourself, and the way that Latin Americans show such enthusiasm and devotion to serving the poor and oppressed people in their society is a strong demonstration of that command. Finally, it would also be important to include the belief found in American evangelicalism that Christianity is a relationship between and individual and God and that such a relationship is the individual’s choice. The relationship aspect of Christianity emphasizes the gospel message that each person is saved by their faith in God alone, rather than by only obeying a set of rules, something that is common among most Christian denominations. A concept that would be de-emphasized is the idea in African Christianity that the individual’s relationship with God is not as important as the relationship with one’s community in the context of a relationship with God. Just like it is helpful to be fit in order to teach a fitness class, it makes sense that it is also important to have a personal relationship with God in order to be a contributing member in a Christian community.

Team 2-Question 1

Posted on by under civil rights movement

Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” uses impressive rhetoric to prove his clear points on why he came to Birmingham while graciously addressing each of his critic’s points against him. Throughout the letter, King uses scripture along with references to the early church to explore various themes for which he has been critiqued. For instance, he addresses the ideas of justice and injustice by arguing that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (1). King defends his trip to Birmingham to promote justice by referencing the apostle Paul and how he journeyed from his homeland to spread the gospel to areas far from him. Where there is injustice, King points out it is his duty as a Christian to promote justice for the sake of humanity.

On the subject of nonviolent direct action, King asserts that the goal of these protests is to bring to the surface the underlying tensions present in society so that they may be addressed in light of a higher moral standard. Here, he uses an example from Daniel in the bible in which three men, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, refuse to bow before the statue of King Nebuchadnezzar upon the grounds of being faithful to God in not bowing before an idol. These men, King points out, peacefully disobeyed the law due to the higher moral standard for which they were accountable and accepted their punishment for it, bringing to light the injustice of Nebuchadnezzar’s law without violence.

In terms of extremism, King admits that at first he did not want to be associated with extremism. However, looking back at the bible, he points out the good that can come from extremism if it is used the correct way. He exemplifies Paul, Amos, and Jesus Christ as extremists who were bold in their declarations about love, justice and the gospel. For instance, he quotes Jesus as saying “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to             them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you,” something that was radical to the people of the time who were taught to love their neighbor but to hate their enemies (6). Thus, extremism can be used for good things, like advocacy for love and justice, something King argues is much needed in the United States.

In addressing the mainstream church, King asserts that the church has become weak with an “uncertain sound” (8). He recalls the early church, where Christians were not afraid to suffer for what they believed and calls the church to return to that state of faith. In regards to the spiritual church, he commends those within the church who are stepping outside of the weakness of the mainstream church and have “preserved the true meaning of the gospel in these troubled times” (8).

Finally, King addresses the fact that using immoral means to achieve moral ends is just as wrong as using moral means to achieve immoral ends. He draws from T.S. Eliot, quoting “‘the last temptation is the greatest treason: to do the right deed for the wrong reason’” (9). Therefore, his protests are justified in that they are using moral, nonviolent means in order to achieve a moral end, justice everywhere for everyone.

King uses exceptional rhetoric throughout his letter. For example, he uses several metaphors, one being his comparison of injustice to a boil that needs to be popped in order to be fully taken care of and healed. He also appeals to emotions in several spots, the most prominent in a long paragraph describing the daily sufferings of colored people. He explains at one point how a father has to explain to his six year old daughter that she cannot go to an amusement park, “and see tears welling up in her eyes because she is told that Funtown is closed to colored children” (3). King also references historical events to prove his point, such as the fact that technically everything Hitler did was “legal” while those who housed Jewish families during that time were acting “illegally.”

Team 2: Question 1

Posted on by under spiritualism

From very early on in his life, George Fox was driven and compelled to act by the Spirit of God. At just nineteen years of age, he quit his apprenticeship as a cobbler and began to seek out religious meetings in order to gain revelation and wisdom from God. As the nudges he received from the Spirit increased, he came to realize his calling to announce to various religious groups what God had revealed to him regarding Christianity. The most prominent principle through which Fox was guided in his thoughts about Christianity was that of the “inner light” which is inherent in everyone, pagan and Christian alike. This “inner light” reveals to each human the true way to finding God and allows them to accept and be in the presence of God. This is essentially the foundation of faith, as it is the means to which the Christian life is possible. Fox differed from mainstream Catholic and Protestant teachings in that he believed that orderly forms of worship, pastors who work for salary, and meeting in church buildings to experience the presence of God are all hindrances to the work of the Spirit. He was often thrown out of meetings and sometimes beaten for his declarations.

In Fox’s Journal, he describes mystical experiences such as being brought up into paradise with God and being in such a state of perfection and righteousness that matched Adam’s before he fell into sin. He also describes a time when he was led into a steeple house to tell the people there about the Seed of Christ which was planted within all of them to teach them the wisdom of God. It was through these experiences that Fox determined his role as a Christian was to lead people to the Spirit of God which would give them further enlightenment of the Scriptures. Also, Fox believed that showing another human any type of special respect, whether rich or poor, was showing disrespect to God because God was the only one who was worthy to be addressed with such a manner of respect. Thus, when he did not remove his hat in the presence of his contemporaries, as was custom at the time, he and his followers often experienced beatings and imprisonment. Through this, the Quaker movement became known as highly pacifist, its members refusing to take up arms against their enemies, even in the face of persecution.

In his Epistles, Fox encourages his audience to look within and to wait to hear the voice of the Lord through his Spirit while also working to not become too involved in business and to not wrong the world in bargaining. He emphasizes the power of sitting in quiet and seeking to feel the presence of God after a day of doing business in the world almost to center oneself again on what matters most. Fox also said that when facing punishment, one should pray for the enemies that have punished them and to bless them even when they curse you. He comforts his followers by pointing them to the Spirit of God within them when they face trials so that they would find full comfort and joy in God, reinforcing his strong belief in the power of the Spirit. In terms of social justice, Fox reminds his followers to remember the poor when they have plenty, and to refresh the poor by giving to them without expecting anything in return.

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