On the Samaritan Woman at the Well

On the Samaritan Woman at the Well: Not too many people today, at least in the First World, obtain their water from a well or a cistern. Two-thousand years ago, however, it was quite common. For the most part, people would go to the well at either sunrise or sunset. Yet in this Gospel of John story, Jesus encounters the Samaritan woman at the well around noon. This peculiar fact indicates that she may not have been a highly respected individual in Samaria. What's more is that she's said to have had five husbands. Perhaps it's this reason alone why the Samaritan woman has been shunned by the local community. Whatever the case may be, the idea that Jesus (a Jewish man) sought out this Samaritan woman for a spiritual conversation (involving water as a metaphor for eternal life) shows how diplomatic He could be. And diplomacy was always important between Judea and Samaria, especially since the Jews and Samaritans tended to view each other with disdain.

On Salvation and the End of Time

On Salvation and the End of Time: Two ideological constructs of Christian theology come to mind when considering topics such as salvation and the end of time: soteriology and eschatology. As for soteriology, theologians focus their studies on the Gospels' resurrection stories, which generally concern either Lazarus or Christ. In effect, salvation is a "free gift" that originates from God's divine sovereignty. And depending on one's personal engagement with Faith and free will, salvation can either be accepted or rejected. Regarding eschatology, however, people will necessarily be confronted with the choice of salvation at the end of time. To gain perspective on end times, theologians emphasize the Book of Revelation, which foretells apocalyptic events and Christ's Second Coming. In a historical context, therefore, every generation feels like it's the last one on Earth. But this kind of thinking largely materialized in the 1840s during the Second Great Awakening in Upstate New York. Encouraged by the teachings of Baptist preacher William Miller in the 1830s, people attempted to discern an exact date in either 1843 or 1844 for Christ's return. After questions about which Jewish calendar to use when calculating a date, the Millerites (as they became known) finally decided on October 22, 1844. And when Christ did not return on that date, Millerites labeled the event the Great Disappointment. An intriguing coincidence: Nietzsche was born in Prussia seven days prior to this event.

Ridiculing Mariology

Ridiculing Mariology: Despite its name, Mariology is not the rational study of Mario from the Mario Bros. video game franchise. In fact, Mariology constitutes a theological examination of Mary as the Mother of Christ. For Catholics, Mariology symbolizes the logical extension of Christology, especially since it offers a fuller understanding of Jesus' life as a man in the world. Protestant theologians, however, generally claim that although Mary's role in Christ's life is significant, having a theology of her beliefs and teachings venerates her as a kind of goddess. In this sense, Mary's role can be seen as somewhat diluted when studying the historicity and ministry of Jesus. But the Catholic counterclaim to Protestant reservations about Mariology entails the idea that Mary's Immaculate Conception and Assumption into Heaven are two primordial pillars unto which Christians should morally ascribe. In effect, Mary represents a model of virtue that pertains to a level of Christian mysticism beyond the scope of Trinitarian theology. Mary ultimately resides just below the Trinity on Christianity's hierarchy of importance, as she is clearly the most important female figure in the entire religion.

On the Constantinian Shift

On the Constantinian Shift: When Roman Emperor Constantine I converted to Christianity in 312 AD, the religion emerged from its otherwise underground status. The following year he issued the Edict of Milan, which legalized Christian worship throughout the Roman Empire. Constantine I's conversion experience (depicted in the above picture) occurred just before his legions were about to fight in the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. Prior to 313 AD, Christians faced persecution from Roman authorities - examples included being thrown to the lions in the Coliseum for public entertainment or being crucified (upside down at times) as Saint Peter was. In their willful attempts to worship the Trinity, early Christians often assembled in caves marked by the fish symbol (ichthys) because in ancient Greek the word for "fish" was the same as "savior." With their symbolic use of language, they not only avoided certain persecution, but also established basic theological decrees to govern the Church's liturgical processes. These processes eventually became standardized in 325 AD at the First Council of Nicaea, where early Church Fathers achieved consensus on the elemental beliefs of Christianity.

Define: Lutheran Dilemma

Define: Lutheran Dilemma: When Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the doors of the All Saints' Church (Schlosskirche) in Wittenberg in 1517, he precipitated a theological dilemma of monumental proportions. As an Augustinian monk, Luther exhibited a staunchly individualistic outlook toward matters of Christian theology. The doctrine of justification, which entailed a sinner's conversion to righteousness in the eyes of God, became a central tenet in his theological teachings. More specifically, Luther believed that Faith alone (sola fide) was the final determinant in the process of justifying mankind. Nevertheless, Luther had visions of himself falling on an eternal ladder that stretched between Heaven and Hell. They haunted his conscience to the point when he confessed to a priest who told him to do what lied within himself. That response did not placate Luther's dilemma. He saw the Roman Catholic Church as growing increasingly corrupt. For example, the selling of indulgences - where parishioners could purchase either full or partial remission for their sins - infuriated Luther. After his formal excommunication in 1521, Luther sought to establish a new church that conducted services in the vernacular (German) instead of Latin. This change appealed greatly to a wide degree of commoners, as it increased access to the liturgical processes of Christian worship.

Cardinal Newman's "Grammar of Assent"

Cardinal Newman's "Grammar of Assent": In 1870, John Henry Newman published An Essay in Aid of a Grammar of Assent. As a Cardinal in the Catholic Church who converted from Anglicanism, he adamantly defended Christianity in the face of British empiricists like John Stuart Mill. One of the key points in the book entails the notion that a person of Faith does not have to understand fully what he worships. That is precisely where Faith plays its most integral role in the process of religious conversion. Of course, there are times when people cast doubt and demand answers rooted in a scientific rationale. But when taken to an extreme, that kind of thinking only leads to solipsism. And as a logical fallacy, solipsism states that nothing exists outside of one's own mind. Adhering to such a philosophical doctrine would perhaps be the greatest display of personal arrogance since Narcissus first discovered the beauty of his own reflection. Above all, however, Newman believes the human mind is engaged in an unending search to close the logic-gap that stems from the innate flaws of deductive reasoning.

Half-Way Covenant

Half-Way Covenant: Conceived by New England Puritans in 1662 as a means to incorporate partial church membership, the Half-Way Covenant offered a viable alternative for congregants to participate in ecclesiastic circles without having had an authentic "conversion experience." Reverend Solomon Stoddard advocated this doctrine in order to extend the church's influence throughout the Puritan community, which was becoming evermore impious due to the growing commercialization of New England in the late seventeenth century. The central problem, however, rested with the third generation of Puritan settlers, whose religious affinities seemed increasingly aloof. Less parishioners received baptism, and thus, the rights to exercise the church's fundamental dogma. Therefore, ministers preached warnings of moral decay, otherwise known as "jeremiads" after the ancient Hebrew prophet Jeremiah, as a great fear of societal declension swept through the colony. Often cited as one of the first religious crises in early America, the controversy surrounding the Half-Way Covenant served as a precursor to the First Great Awakening, which entailed Reverend Jonathan Edwards delivering his notorious Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God sermon in 1741.

Christianity and Communism

Christianity and Communism: One of Christianity's major tenets emphasizes the inherent sacredness and equality of a community. Whenever people gather in the name of Christ, He is present. This divine sacrality merits attention insofar as Christians comprehend the full implications of what they worship. Take the archetypal image of the Last Supper, for example. It highlights equality in a communal setting, as God Himself is effectively on the same level as His disciples. And in doing so, it lends itself to an ideology like communism, which understands the civic virtue of a community in a more secular, albeit atheistic, fashion. An image of the Soviet Politburo could just as easily be superimposed over the Last Supper. Given that Christianity is fundamentally antagonistic toward socio-economic hierarchies, it is essentially analogous to the classless society that communism endorses. In fact, Christianity, as an agent of inversion, seeks to level all hierarchical orders that inevitably rise from social constructions of knowledge like gender, race, and class. The True Levellers, who assumed their name from a passage in Acts of the Apostles, were a prominent social group during the English Civil War that called for a leveling of the property distinctions in England, which they perceived as the root of all class consciousness. This kind of thinking found its way into separatist Christian sects such as the Pilgrims. When they conceived of their Plymouth Colony in America through the Mayflower Compact, the Pilgrims understood the necessity for equalizing social conditions among members in their community. The dire circumstances that befell them in early America forced the Pilgrims to put aside their petty differences and bind together in a collective effort to survive. The problem is, of course, communism ceases to function as a workable ideology in a society driven largely by notions of private property and individualism.

The Ripples of Divine Revelation

The Ripples of Divine Revelation: The penultimate Pastoral Constitution to originate from the Second Vatican Council in November 1965 was Dei Verbum (Word of God). And in this fundamental Catholic document, the Church discussed the nature of God's Word, as revealed to man in the form of Sacred Scripture. Karl Barth, who was a Protestant theologian of Swiss heritage, explicated much about the nature of divine revelation in his thirteen-part volume Church Dogmatics. For the most part, Barth claims that theology itself is NOT the Word of God, but rather Christ-in-the-world embodies the Word of God. To him, the Church was the eyewitness of Christ-in-the-world, or what Kierkegaard referred to as "The Instant." From the moment Christ set foot on the Earth, divine revelation began rippling outward in all directions, like when somebody throws a rock into a pond. In reference to Dei Verbum, the Catholic Church saw the existence of Christ in human form (and in history) as the glowing beacon to which all people ought to aspire. But this Christlike model depends on the fact that it was God with whom man was communicating. And like Barth said, "The goal of human life is not death, but resurrection." This statement blissfully encompassed all there ever was and all there is to be in this world.

Catholicism and Monarchy

Catholicism and Monarchy: Any Catholic ought to understand the innately monarchical structure under which the Church operates. And as the period of Lent approaches, it becomes important for Catholics to reflect on the nature of the Church. Why is it inherently exclusive? Why is it so slow to change its Catechism? Why is the Pope the "Supreme Pontiff"? These questions beg American Catholics to ponder their ultimate allegiance. As a Catholic in the U.S., with whom should I side? The President or the Pope? Democracy or Monarchy? Is there truly a middle ground? Wars have been waged over these kinds of questions. Take King Henry VIII in England for example. He did not see eye-to-eye with the Pope, especially when it came to the sacrament of matrimony. As a result, he broke away from the Catholic Church and formed the Anglican Church, or what is known as the Episcopalian Church in the United States. The English Civil War and the Glorious Revolution of the seventeenth century essentially occurred in reaction to Henry VIII's controversial maneuver. Even so, where does the Pope derive his monarchical authority? In effect, every Pope, who is ironically "ELECTED" by the College of Cardinals, assumes the throne given to Simon Peter by Christ. Therefore, Simon Peter (Saint Peter), one of Christ's Twelve Apostles, was ordained the first Pope by Christ himself to spread the "Good News" of the Gospels. And Peter was subsequently crucified (upside down at his request) for the role he played in promulgating Christianity.

Catholicism as Cannibalism?

Catholicism as Cannibalism?: When Catholics receive the "Body of Christ" in the form of a consecrated piece of bread, they assume Christ-like qualities. That is, through the ingestion of the sacramental bread (host), Christians become infused with the Holy Spirit, and thus, attempt to recenter their lives on the principles of love, forgiveness, and humility. To some non-Christians, however, the symbolic eating of Christ's body appears as a cannibalistic act. Ingesting the body of God is certainly a unique feature of Catholic Christianity. Other Christian sects view this act as blasphemous, especially considering the presumed arrogance of someone to think that he or she is worthy of consuming a piece of the Divine. Even so, for Catholics, the sacrament of the Eucharist is the source of all life, and thus, the most important part of weekly mass celebrations. Also referred to as the "Lord's Supper," Catholics gather in Church to seek unity with Christ. This union of the human and the Divine, of the finite and the Infinite, of the temporal and the Eternal, is an essential part of the "Mystery of Faith" whereby the bread on the altar effectively becomes God through the process of transubstantiation.