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definitions of theology, faith, jesus christ
What is Theology?
Theology is a complex idea that refers to different things to distinct individual. However, the basic meaning of theology is that this discipline is the study of, or the discipline that involves discourse about, God. The word comes from two words with a Greek origin: theos, which means the word about God, or talking of God for the purposes of understanding what can be comprehended of who God is. One essential explanation of theology is that it is equal to the practice of contemplation of or thinking of God. As it follows, people know and study God through meditation, and through their inner experiences that only occur during sessions of deep prayers that helps one comprehend of God and how he is involved with creation. When knowledge of who God is and what God can do is gained through this way, those involved in the study and prayer of God are said to be involved in mystical theology.
This kind of theology is culturally conditioned, highly personal and idiosyncratic. The most common and most popular understanding of theology is one that refers to theology as the ‘study of God and religious beliefs about God’ (Flynn 2).theology has developed into a number of things. For instance, it developed into an answer to a religious position that conflicts with the proposed guidelines and doctrines implemented and practiced by a church. In the Roman Catholicism’s context, theology is a statement of belief that conflicts or is at considerable variance with the teachings of the hierarchy in Roman Catholic. There are other developments as well, that are owed to the shaping of theology that has occurred over the years. However, of theology one can conclude that every instance of theology is an activity of seeking understanding about God.
What is Faith?
Religious faith can be described as one’s choice to live life in a relationship or in association to God or one’s choice to believe firmly in God. In Isaiah 49: 15 and Mathew 6: 11, faith is described as ‘one’s choice to believe in God and to live life in relationship to God; God, our Mother and Father who cannot be without tenderness for the child of the womb and who provides our daily bread’ (Flynn 49). Faith is unique and intangible in the heart of every believer, it is complex and challenging to fashion a precise description that describes it best. For some individuals, faith is usually a dominant force in that determines and rules their life; to others it is not so significant. It is easy for people to misunderstand and confuse faith with superstition and take one for another. Others confuse it with the resignation of personal responsibilities. Faith is a complex phenomenon, but this is not to mean that it is a reality whose certain elements cannot be understood.
Faith has a number of characteristics, five to be specific. For instance, faith is a gift. Those whose believe is in God know and acknowledge that faith is a gift. God is the provider of the gift of faith and believers can chose or not chose to accept this gift. Another characteristic of faith is that it is obscure. This characteristic is well understood after reading the book of Mark. The obscurity characteristic of faith is located in one’s psychological reality, and not in the element of faith. Other characteristics of faith include that faith is stained by certitude, faith involves risk and that it is and must be rooted deeply.
Who is Jesus Christ?
Jesus Christ is a critical foundation to Christianity, as without Jesus, there would be no Christian theology or Christianity. Jesus is the son of God who lived on this earth two thousand years ago. He came to earth after being sent by God, his father, to come save the world. There is enough evidence that shows that Jesus Christ was a person. A number of epistles in the New Testament and in the four Gospels have Jesus as their key subject. These bible books cite different sayings of Jesus, his anecdotes about his message and life, and recollections of his messages and life from eyewitnesses. Jesus is also mentioned in other books other than the Christian bible. For example, he is mentioned in apocryphal gospels and Talmud, as well as, by a number of secular historians.
Therefore, one can say that Jesus existed as a man during this period and that his influence and life accounted for his being the topic of religious teachings. Jesus was also mentioned in secular treatises after he died. This fact leads to one to conclude that Jesus was a significant person whose life and teachings continue to make numerous, critical impressions on Christians and other individuals even after centuries after his death. Jesus Christ was involved in different events during his life, which when carefully analyzed provide a foundation for an outline of his life and the major events he was involved in during his life on earth.
Work cited
Flynn, Eileen Patricia. Why Believe? Foundations of Catholic Theology. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2000. Print.
Corruption, Where does it start
Corruption: Where does it start?
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Corruption is the act of being dishonest and perverting the morals of the society especially towards people of low social class. It starts with an individual because one needs to be honest and demonstrate integrity at all times in his or her work. Corruption occurs when one is selfish and wants to carry out things without other people’s views and concerns in mind. Many politicians and bureaucrats, in many parts of the world, face corruption charges as one of the main offences. Anyone who is not honest and transparent in his actions is corrupt. Individuals who want to acquire wealth fast illegally without working for it is the main cause of corruption in a nation. A person who accepts a bribe to offer services, employment or gain resources, is corrupt. A person in authority will exercise his powers to gain wealth and channel the public resources into a personal account (Clark, Prior & Caldow 2000). Corruption occurs everywhere especially in public institutions and firms like law firms, schools, churches and corporates. The political powers play a crucial role in siphoning of the public resources for one’s own benefit. This retards the development of some projects in the society like building hospitals, schools, roads, boreholes or any other infrastructure in the society. This is because political forces channel the funds elsewhere; hence, no resources are available for development.
Greed for both money and power is the main cause of corruption especially in public offices. Public officers normally ask for bribes from the public in order to offer services like in hospitals or schools. This exercise has become a norm in the society and the members of the society always prepare to bribe the officers at all times. This makes them corrupt too because it is their right to be served so they should never give the bribe at any time. They lose faith in public officers, and this makes life costly to them because it becomes necessary to give a bribe. The youths also lose their morals and positive motive of getting to work in a public office. They will get in power with the aim of amassing as much wealth as one can through the receiving of bribes. People themselves can help prevent corruption if they stand their ground and refuse to give the bribe.
Greed for power is another source of corruption since people want to get into power with the aim of extorting money from the public. Those in power manipulate their subjects by forcefully asking for money so that services and any form of assistance can be rendered to them. Political candidates bribe the voters to elect them despite their corrupt ways of leadership. They forcefully want to remain in power by bribing the voters (Goel, & Nelson, 2010). Racism and nepotism exercised by government officers is also a source of corruption. The officers will render exceptional services and assign a portion of the public resources to their friends, relatives or people belonging to a certain race. These people benefit at the expense of other needy people in the society. The poor and unrecognized people in the society are mainly the victims of corruption.
Corruption has negative effects on the society such as paralyzing the development and growth of a nation. This is because the funds allocated for the developments instead find ways into personal pockets. The vices in the society also increase because everyone becomes selfish and wants to do things for his own gain. There is also lack of employment in the society since qualified potential employees have to bribe their employers in order to get a post in the organization. The unqualified people end up getting the jobs because they are relatives and friends of the people in authority due to racism and nepotism (Uslaner, 2008).
Everyone has a role to play in fighting corruption because it is a vice in the society. Moreover, officers in power and citizens, at large, have a responsibility in saying no to corruption. Eradicating corruption in the society is more of a personal decision than of a group.
References
Clark GL, Prior Jonson E & Caldow W. (2000) Accountability and Corruption: Public Sector Ethics. Australia: Allen & Unwin.
Goel, R. & Nelson, M. (2010). Causes of corruption: History, geography and government Journal of Policy Modeling (32) pp.433-447.Uslaner, M. E., (2008). Corruption, inequality, and the rule of law: the bulging pocket makes the easy life. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Definitions Of terms
Definitions
Behavioral scientist – is a person who focuses their time on studying how people’s actions affect their development, their relationship with others as well as their future behaviors.
Rhetorician – refers to a person who is an expert in formal rhetoric.
Objective approach – Refers to the use of valid evidence that include relevant facts, logical implications and perceptions and human purposes in the attempt to explain an issue.
Resonance – Refers to the intensification and the prolongation of sound, especially of a musical tone, that is produced by sympathetic vibrations.
Birth-death-rebirth cycle – It is a fundamental assumption of most Indian religions that refers to the concept of rebirth and cyclicality to all life, matter and existence.
Humanistic scholarship – Refers to the reading of humanistic perspectives that emphasizes on empathy and stresses the good in human behavior.
Epistemology – Refers to the study of knowledge, justification, and the rationality of belief.
Determinism – Refers to the philosophical belief that all events are determined entirely by previously existing causes.
Empirical evidence – Refers to the information received through such means of senses, especially through observation and documentation of patterns and behavior through experimentation.
Stanley Deetz – Is the president of interaction design for innovation and Professor Emeritus and President’s Teaching Scholar at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Emancipation – Refers to the fact or process of being set free from legal, social or political restrictions.
Metatheory – Refers to a theory that is concerned with the investigation, analysis or the description of the theory itself.