Religion and Theology

Book for this class: Patten, M. L. & Newhart, M. (2018). Understanding Research Methods: An Overview of the Essentials (10th ed.). Routledge. ISBN: 978-0-415-79052-9 Focus: Focus: Biblical Counseling View Summary Weekly Paper: 2-page (minimum; only include a one-line title; double-spaced) reflection on the readings

https://northwesterntheologicaljournal.com/thesis-directory/ The above link is a sample of a partial list of Northwestern student thesis. The link below are the guidelines that must be followed for the completion of your Thesis or Dissertation. http://www.northwesternseminary.com/NTSThesis.htm Name: Jean B Pierre – e-mail: [email protected] Title: Trinity: the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead P.S. This assignment must be complete by someone with a total knowledge on the subject. Writers must have a degree in Religion or theology to be qualified for this assignment.

Outline (please work around this outline. you don’t have to follow it chronologically. you can also include somethings and remove somethings, but make as few changes as possible) (I). Introduction: Hook: Wearing clothes is a big component of our lives. It is something we don’t even think about when we are doing. Everyone wears clothes and anyone who doesn’t is labeled insane; Something everyone agrees upon. This practice stemmed from ancient times, as a way for humans to protect themselves from the harsh winters and harsh summers. When we think of early humans, pictures of naked people covered with leaves and animal skins come to mind. Something that was worn as a necessity/protection is, today, combined with a different sense of style. 1. Clothing and Meaning (I). Clothing and symbolic meaning. A. Humans and clothing (brief history). B. Categories and types. (II). Form of expression in our identity A. How do we use clothes to express our identity? B. Which clothes are conducive to identity expression. A. Clothing in Christianity. B. Clothing in Islam. C. The practice of Veiling (women). (III). Thesis Statement. A. Christian women have been covering their heads while praying, when in church, or when in public. Veiling was a form of modesty and a way of showing humility to God, adapted by Judaism, Islam, and Christianity in ancient times. This paper will analyze the practice of veiling, covering the head and face, in ancient Christianity. I will analyze how the custom is perceived today, and how it is interpreted in XXI century Western culture as seen in the ethnic attacks toward Islamic women in France, Sri Lanka, etc. (II). Body 1. The practice of veiling (as a comparison). (I). In Judaism. A. The form of veiling practiced in Judaism. B. Its significance? C. Scriptural evidence? Whether it is a cultural practice or Religious practice, prescribed by God. (II). In Islam. A. The form of veiling practiced in Islam. B. Its significance? C. Scriptural evidence? Whether it is a cultural practice or Religious practice, prescribed by God. 2. The practice of veiling in Christianity. (I). Who did the veiling A. In terms of social class? B. The type of veiling practiced in Christianity. C. Its significance? D. Scriptural evidence? Whether it is a cultural practice or Religious practice, prescribed by God. 3. Perception of veiling today. (I). The shift from veiling, in Christianity. A. The spread of Christianity, Geographically. B. Different cultures having different clothing customs. (II) The industrial boom/ The effects modernization had on clothing. A. The rise of the design and fashion industry B. The rise of advertisement. C. How advertisements are used to influence people, (clothing style). D. How this advertisement of big fashion companies has persuaded women away from veiling (as a way of encouraging them to flaunt their beauty). 4. How veiling is viewed today. 1. The negative connotation that is associated with veiling. A. Who still practices? (Nuns wear a habit, as a way of devotion and a display of the unimportance of fashion, how some Orthodox Jewish women wear a wig or a handkerchief because of their faith, how Muslim women wear hijab or burqa as a form of modesty, to highlight how the practice of veiling had continued. B. Veiling as a symbol today (oppression). C. Countries that ban veiling and the reasons why? D. Countries that require women to veil. E. How the media depicts depict women who chose to veil oppressed and the victims of extreme patriarchal practices. (III). Counterargument 1. Was veiling a cultural practice or religious practice, in early Christianity. (I). Paul’s Letters A. How it is perceived? From a religious point of view and a feministic point of view? (the argument). (IV). Conclusion. Bringing together all the points I have made and reiterating the significance of veiling in early Christianity, in terms of the question of whether the practice was cultural or religiously prescribed, the cause of the shift from the veiling practice, and how veiling is viewed today. The annotated Bibliography (make sure to use some of these sources and also include new ones) Crane, Diana, and Laura Bovone. 2006. “Approaches to Material Culture: The Sociology of Fashion and Clothing.” Poetics 34 (6): 319–33. doi:10.1016/j.poetic.2006.10.002. The article is a study of material culture in terms of fashionable clothing. The authors analyze the symbolic value of clothing. The five ways this analysis is done is: “ (1) analyses of material culture as a type of text that expresses symbols and contributes to discourses and to cultural repertoires; (2) analyses of systems of cultural production in which symbolic values are attributed to material culture through the collective activities of members of culture worlds; (3) analyses of the communication of symbolic values associated with items of material culture and the processes whereby these meanings are disseminated to consumers through the media; (4) analyses of the attribution of symbolic values to material culture by consumers and of their responses to symbolic values attributed to material culture by producers of material culture or in other ways; (5) cross-national studies of symbolic values expressed in material goods and of the systems that produce them in order to reveal differences in the types of symbolic values attributed to material culture in different countries and regions.” The authors explore through the analysis the cultural, social, and organizational factors that influence the creation of the fashion world. Ross, Robert. 2008. “Clothing: A Global History.” Polity, 074563186X, 9780745631868. The book looks into the symbols associated with clothing and the message it bears. It analyzes what causes many countries, in the terms of men and women, today to dress very similarly, with a focal point of what had caused this similarity. The author then proceeds to explore the reason why certain places in the world don’t dress as similar to other places. The unique way they dress is what sets them apart and how their beliefs and cultures influence that. The book first investigates western dressing and the cultural influence at different time periods. And besides culture influence, how clothing has been a political act whether as a form of rebellion, personal choice, or as a form of identity. “Dress, Religion, Identity.” 2010. Material Religion 6 (3): 371. doi:10.2752/175183410X12862096296883. This article is an overview of the “languages of clothes” a book by Alison loan E. It discusses how clothing is a form of communication; How clothes contain both a political and social stand with a deep connection to religion and identity. this article brings to light many debates occurring based on the way people dress, such as the ban of head covering in France, the ban against wearing Christian crosses in primary schools in the USA, etc. And how these forms of expression are viewed as symbols. Loewenthal, Kate Miriam, and Lamis S. Solaim. 2016. “Religious Identity, Challenge, and Clothing: Women’s Head and Hair Covering in Islam and Judaism.” Journal of Empirical Theology 29 (2): 160–70. doi:10.1163/15709256-12341344. This is research intended to examine the issues of women head covering in Islam and Judaism. It examines the relations between clothing and the development and expression of religious identity. The paper gives a background history of the religious rulings about women’s head covering in Judaism and Islam; Then, proceeds to analyze the significance of head covering in both religion in terms of identity development. It highlights the significant role clothing plays in the expression of religious identity and focuses on issues surrounding dress code for Muslims and Jewish women. Ten practicing Muslim and Jewish women are used as subjects in this research. Galadari, Abdulla. “Behind the Veil: Inner Meanings of Women’s Islamic Dress Code.” International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences 6, no. 11 (December 2012): 115–25. http://search.ebscohost.com.berea.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=91821689&site=ehost-live. This article examines the Islamic dress code for women. It investigates how the debates that are surrounding this dress code, especially “the veil” worn by Muslim women. It highlights how the veil is a way of obeying God’s command through physical portrayal. The “hijab” or “veil” as it is described is a headscarf or a covering that Muslim women wear. There are different types of coverage in the Islamic world, from burqa to hijab. The paper begins first by defining the veil; it expresses the reason for wearing “the veil” on religious ground. It shows how it has a deeper spiritual meaning than what societal norms and different cultures display it to be in the physical realm. The article investigates what parts of the dressing codes are religiously prescribed and what part is culturally influenced. It also looks at how this dress code is seen as a form of oppression/repression. TARIQ, TAHMINA. 2013. “Let Modesty Be Her Raiment: The Classical Context of Ancient-Christian Veiling.” Implicit Religion 16 (4): 493–506. doi:10.1558/imre.v16i4.493. The article offers an overview of ancient Christian veiling, how veiling was used when participating in religious sources, Paul letters about veiling, and how men veiled as well. It first discusses the context in which veiling was practiced in the Greco-Roman world; how the ideal place for women was home, where she would be away from the public space of men and their gaze. Out of the house, the veil symbolized a form of protection. The article proceeds to discuss how social status influenced clothing; the veiling at first was only worn by the wealthy because the clothing was a form of displaying social status. Peasants and slaves were identified as inferior and could not veil; the main reason for veiling was that the male gaze wouldn’t fall upon a women’s body to avoid him from pressuring that image in his mind and recalling it through sexual fantasies, which will belittle the women’s honor. Women from lower caste honor were not regarded. The article also offers examples of how veiling was used as a form of modesty and honor, that women safeguarded. Wilkinson, Kate. 2013. “Early Christian Dress: Gender, Virtue, and Authority.” Church History 82 (1): 168–70. doi:10.1017/S0009640712002569. The article is a review of the book “Early Christian Dress: Gender, Virtue, and Authority” by Kristi Upson-Saia. The article explores the construction of gender in Christian late antiquity and how Christians adapted Roman rhetoric about the dress. It discusses how many texts in terms of women’s clothing are constructed by males and how it is a representation of their own construction of femininity, rather than the real lives and subjective of early Christian women. Martin, Troy W. 2004. “Paul’s Argument from Nature for the Veil in 1 Corinthians 11:13-15: A Testicle Instead of a Head Covering.” Journal of Biblical Literature 123 (1): 75–84. doi:10.2307/3268550. This article gives an analysis of the New Testament Biblical passage of 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, calling for the veiling of women in public worship. The article discusses the confusion Paul’s argument causes for many women, especially feminists. The author emphasizes how the teachings are male-gender enforced. Pazhoohi, Farid, Antonio F. Macedo, and Joana Arantes. 2017. “The Effect of Religious Clothing on Gaze Behavior: An Eye-Tracking Experiment.” Basic & Applied Social Psychology 39 (3): 176–82. doi:10.1080/01973533.2017.1307748. This is an eye-tracking experimental study regarding religious clothing. The study investigates whether the role of conservative dressing is to restrict the male gaze and whether or not it decreases female physical attractiveness. The results were discussed in terms of the roles of conservative clothing in women’s clothing choice, men’s mate retention tactics, and parent-offspring conflict over mate choice. Wilhelm, Leonie, Andrea S. Hartmann, Manuel Waldorf, Silja Vocks, Julia C. Becker, and Melahat Ki?i. 2018. “Body Covering and Body Image: A Comparison of Veiled and Unveiled Muslim Women, Christian Women, and Atheist Women Regarding Body Checking, Body Dissatisfaction, and Eating Disorder Symptoms.” Journal of Religion & Health 57 (5): 1808–28. doi:10.1007/s10943-018-0585-3. The study examined whether body image, body checking, and disordered eating differ between veiled and unveiled Muslim women, Christian women, and atheist women. The results were discussed.

write an article on god’s existence and essence philosophical theory Paper must be at least 1250 words. Please, no plagiarized work! It was during this time that Aristotle’s teachings were common. He used these teachings in his own theological work although Aristotle’s teachings were really at the neck of the Christians during his reign. The intent of this paper is to discuss issues that reveal through Thomas Aquinas’ way of thinking on the existence of God. Ideas According to Thomas Aquinas came up with five ways that prove the existence of God. Then, in his first away he observed that some of the things found on earth are in constant motion. It is from his point of view that anything that is moving is likely to get started by another item, which was also in motion (Aquinas, 2006). The other item in motion was also exposed to motion by another moving item then the process continues in the same manner. The series of moving objects cannot go back to infinity to indentifying the first mover. It is true that there was a first mover of the objects that are in motion though the mover is unknown. This gives an impression that there is a mover who does not move. In this context, the unmoved mover is God. In the second way, he states that everything has a cause and nothing can cause be a cause of itself. In this context, the causes go back to infinity since all causes depend on the past cause and the eventual cause depended on the previous cause leading to an infinitive cause. This means that the first cause is unidentified (Aquinas, 2006). The absentee of the first cause cannot end with our scrutiny. Therefore, there must be a first cause of all these events, in which all people refer to as God. The third way to identify that there are things in nature that we observe to be possible and others are impossible as they come to exist and pass away from existence. In this context, nothing that could not exist at one point can exist. It requires that, first something exists before it can find itself existing at another moment (Aquinas, 2006). Form this statement, if there was nothing that existed in the first place, then there could be nothing existing at this time in the world. Since an effect has its cause and the subsequent cause goes to infinitive without indentifying the cause it is possible that something existed first to cause the other to exist. The unidentified cause of events in this context is the Almighty God. It is true that God existed first then caused other things on earth to exist. The fourth states that the world has characteristics that vary in degree. Some of the characteristics are more or less true, good, noble and many more examples. The grading of these characteristics is done in relation to maximum. This indicates that there should be something truest, noblest and best. According to Aristotle, there are some things, which are supreme in truth. In his view, something causes supreme truth in these characteristics and any perfection that we get in every beings of the world. He refers to this supreme cause as God. Aquinas observes nonintelligent and inanimate objects in nature that act in the direction of achieving the best probable purpose although the objects themselves would lack awareness of doing so (Aquinas, 2006). It is possible that the objects achieve their purpose though an organized a plan.

In this assignment, you will assess your understanding of the Christian worldview, including the main topics you have covered up to this point. You will summarize and analyze the essential elements of the Christian worldview and reflect on implications for your own worldview. Write a 1,250-1,500-word essay using at least two-course resources (textbook, topic overviews, the Bible) and at least two other sources from the GCU Library to support your points. Remember, the Bible counts as one reference regardless of how many times you use it or how many verses you cite. Begin your paper with an appropriate introduction, including a thesis statement to introduce the purpose of the paper. Organize your paper with the following sections, using the seven underlined titles for subheadings. Write at least one paragraph for each component using the underlined titles for a subheading. God: What is God like? What are God’s characteristics? What is his creation? Humanity: What is human nature? What is the human purpose? What is the root cause of human problems? Jesus: What is Jesus’ true identity? What did Jesus do? Why are Jesus’ identity and work significant for the Christian worldview? Restoration: What is the solution to human problems according to the Christian worldview? What role do grace and faith play in Christian salvation? How do Christians think that the transformation of self and society happen? Analysis: Analyze the Christian worldview by addressing each of the following questions: What are the benefits or strengths of Christian belief? What is troublesome or confusing about Christianity? How does Christianity influence a person’s thinking and behaviour? Reflection: Reflect on your worldview by answering one of the following questions: If you are not a Christian, what similarities and differences are there between your worldview and the Christian worldview? If you are a Christian, how specifically do you live out the beliefs of the Christian worldview? Conclusion: Synthesize the main points, pulling the ideas of the paper together. References Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the GCU Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. Review the GCU Template for formatting and utilize the attached “Gospel Essentials Template” to complete the benchmark assignment. Benchmark – Gospel Essentials In at least 150 words, complete your introductory paragraph with a thesis statement in which you will address each of the following six sections with at least one paragraph each. God: In at least 150 words, respond thoroughly to the questions in the assignment. Be sure to include citations Humanity: In at least 150 words, respond thoroughly to the questions in the assignment. Be sure to include citations. Jesus: In at least 150 words, respond thoroughly to the questions in the assignment. Be sure to include citations. Restoration: In at least 150 words, respond thoroughly to the questions in the assignment. Be sure to include citations. Analysis: In at least 150 words, respond thoroughly to the questions in the assignment. Be sure to include citations. Reflection: In at least 150 words, respond thoroughly to the questions in the assignment. Be sure to include citations. Conclusion: In at least 150 words, synthesize the main points, pulling the ideas of the paper together. Be sure to include citations References: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of the article. Journal Title, Volume(Issue), Page numbers. Retrieved from URL/permalink with hyperlink removed

What is your definition of spiritual care? How does it differ or accord with the description given in the topic readings? Explain.This is the topic readingChristian Spiritual CareAs discussed earlier in this book, worldview questions (e.g., “Where did I come from?”) correspond to the basic Christian narrative acts of creation, the fall, redemption, and restoration, as people make sense of God, their relationship with God, and their role and actions in this world according to the Bible. This understanding also guides how important decisions are made. With the context that human beings are inherently spiritual beings, then they have a need for spiritual care in whatever stage of life. For nurses and other health care providers, understanding a patient’s internal worldview is at the core of how providers approach their administration of health care, their ability to respect that worldview, and the belief system of the patient. Being intentional and attentive to a patient and his or her family’s spiritual needs leads to positive holistic health care outcomes.Nursing has long been associated with spirituality and how it helps to inform and make meaning of life situations to patients. Nursing educators Timmins and Caldeira (2017) state that for religious people, “spirituality refers to the soul and its protection and nurturing during life … ‘protected’ through correct moral thought and by living as directed through sacred texts” (p. 50). Research continues to demonstrate that there is a positive relationship between spirituality, health, and well-being (Hall, Hughes, & Handzo, 2016). Spirituality affects every aspect of a person’s life, so offering emotional and spiritual care support should be an important focus for all health care providers.Even though The Joint Commission (TJC) requires all patients be asked about how their spiritual and religious preferences may impact their health care, only 54-63% of hospitals fulfill these requirements through employing professional health care chaplains (Hall et al., 2016). Nurses who understand the importance of spirituality and faith can effectively fill in the gap and administer effective soul care to those in need. By understanding and providing interventions that help relieve spiritual distress, nurses can help reduce the patient’s worries and concerns, which allows for more complete physical, emotional, and social well-being. Often a nurse can promote this by asking simple questions such as, “What has helped you cope well in the past?” or “What gives meaning to your life?” and “Do you have any spiritual or faith preferences?” If a nurse is truly attentive, he or she can easily see what may bring comfort or angst as a patient provides answers to these questions.A patient’s spiritual needs, even if unspoken, should always be a primary focus for treatment in this area, not the spiritual ideals or specific religion of the nurse. Nurses should not assume they must be religious or steeped in a specific faith tradition to give quality spiritual care, attending to the whole person inwardly. Although many patients will follow formal religious and theological doctrines, and often express those beliefs through traditional religious rites and practices, many others will seek to express their spiritual beliefs, morals, and life values in other diverse ways. These can sometimes be determined by looking at a patient’s overall demeanor. Similar to a hospital chart that identifies levels of pain through simple facial expressions, with some practice, a health care professional can also look for expressions of sadness, gloom, depression, concern, and fear, among others.Because of the complexity of spirituality, “nurses feel underequipped to provide spiritual care” and often “struggle to articulate a functional or ‘actionable’ definition of spirituality, and are ‘uncertain about what constitutes spiritual care’” (Hughes et al., 2017, p. 3). Most patients and their families “do not anticipate in-depth, specialized spiritual care from their nurses, but they do have a strong expectation for some basic spiritual care connections including interventions such as active and empathic listening, proactively communicating, and expressing compassion” (Hughes et al., 2017, p. 8). Another way to view this is to consider what the person is experiencing internally even as nursing care primarily focuses on physical care.As reviewed, a person’s spiritual beliefs and values will guide day-to-day decisions as well as critical health and end-of-life-treatment choices. Within that context, this chapter will discuss the topics of advance care planning, end-of-life care options and decisions, a foundation for Christian theology and holistic spiritual care, and how to use a spiritual needs assessment tool to discover any spiritual needs of the patient or their family. On the surface, one might not see how each of these connect, but underlying all these topics and decisions are the individual’s worldview that really does inform how individuals view life and death. As previously introduced, this understanding of one’s worldview both determines and distinguishes each patient’s unique personal values, experiences, and spiritual beliefs.Role of Spirituality in Clinical Care and End-of-Life Decision-MakingA person’s spirituality and faith values impact his or her understanding of illness as well as health care decisions. Several critical decisions informed and influenced by one’s spirituality are advance care planning, self-autonomy preferences around treatment, and understanding of illness and medication or treatment compliance (Puchalski et al., 2014). For example, does the individual view his or her current diagnosis and illness as a blessing, a curse, or another form of punishment from God? Understanding the person’s perception of the illness can aid the clinician’s development of appropriate treatment plans. If someone thinks the illness is a punishment, he or she may not be amenable to treatment. The nurse should consider: What is the patient’s life story, and how does the illness and treatment choices fit into that story?Spirituality, beliefs, and faith values will, in turn, impact a patient’s compliance to medical treatment recommendations. For example, religious beliefs may impact choices about blood transfusions and use of certain medical treatments. For example, a member of the Christian Science faith tradition is highly discouraged against taking vaccinations, a Muslim patient may want to be alert at the time of death and decline a palliative treatment of morphine, or a Jehovah’s Witness is unlikely to consent to blood products because of religious views, even if the choice leads to death.Grand Canyon University (Ed.). (2020). Practicing dignity: An introduction to Christian

write two pages addressing some of the issues related to: -The history Christianity in Africa -The history Islam in Africa  -Some of the problems  and conflicts between Traditional Religious  Islam and Christianity in PreColonial  Civilization.  Important: Please use only sources provided. also, use this video as a source https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAJeo6kybMk

1. Introduction – the general subject matter of the paper 2. What is the author’s main point (Summary of the paper) 3. The author’s addition/contribution to the subject matter 4. Our own critique of the paper and  5. Conclusion and recommendations

What are the differences between the Theravada and Mahayana expressions of Buddhism? Be sure to address all of them

In what ways does Jesus teaching challenge or contradict the conventional outlook of his time? Explain your position in detail