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While this video is not particularly exciting, I thought he raised some good points.
First, he says that it is important to understand the world we live in. I agree with this statement. Christianity has been around much longer than any of us. If it wasn't for Christianity, who knows what the world would be like today? Whether you're a Christian or not, Christianity has somehow shaped your life.
He also points out that within Christianity, there are many groups that have very different views. It is important to understand the New Testament because it alone is where we can find Christian beginnings. Understanding the New Testament is primarily the means of keeping it alive.
I'll leave the rest of the video for you all to check out and speculate on. Again, I know it's dull, but give it a chance. There are some good ideas in here.
http://youtu.be/sNr2YzVsj0c
Cindy Smith
Cindy, I agree with the arguments that Russell Pregeant is making in this video. Having grown up in a Catholic home, and having attended Catholic schools for my entire life, I know that Christianity and the New Testament are particularly important to me. However, I have never stopped to consider what it means fo the rest of the world, including those who are not Christian. As we delve deeper into the history of Christianity and the meaning of the New Testament in this class, it is becoming evident to me that Christianity has informed almost every aspect of the world we live in today. For instance, many different factions of religious communities have branched off of Christianity and spread throughout the world. Many of our social, economic and political systems are directly related to a Christian worldview. Would our notions of social justice, political equality, and basic humanity be the same today if it were not for Christianity? Would our societies still relate to one another in the same ways if in were not for Christianity? As I continue to study this material, it becomes more and more evident to me that our world would be a much different place if Christianity never came to be.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with Russell. I think that to say Christianity is more important than the Jewish religion or the Muslim or Islamic religions is a falsehood. Christianity is not so unique in its views expressed in the new testament. For instance, the ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Oriental peoples all had religious views about salvation, had a figure that rose from the dead to save the world, and had a place you went when you died. In Rome, if you died and were good, you went to the Elysian Fields and if you were bad, you went to Hades. In Egypt if your heart weighed more than the rest of your organs (meaning you had a full heart and were a just person) you were given audience with Anubis, which was the ultimate paradise. In the Zoroastrian religion (Persia, parts of Asia) Ormazd and Ahriman were constantly at war within you and whoever won when you died, got your soul.
ReplyDeleteThe radical thing about Christianity that really sticks out is the notion of one God, and one Savior. However this wasn't originated by the Christians, it was started by the jews. They don't believe that Jesus is that savior, and we do, but that's besides the point.
Christianity was only important to the world because the Bible was the first religious text to be widely distributed around the world in different languages. That, and the emperor Constantine stopped the persecution of Christians. Had it not been for the Bible being translated into German, Old English, French, Hindi, etc. The religion couldn't have grown past Roman boarders. It would have been like any other ancient religion, specific to one group. But because someone along the way thought it was important to translate it, it was circulated widely enough to become what it is today.
In conclusion, I think that Christianity is what it is today not because of its actual message, because its message isn't unique, but because of how it got it's message to the people. Christianity is like the Facebook of religions. It gets its message to all corners of the world in the same way. Whereas other religions are like the social media sites that are specific to Germany, France, China, India, etc.