1.
Theology
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Theology is the critical study of the nature of the divine. It is taught as a discipline, typically in universities, seminaries. Augustine of Hippo defined the Latin equivalent, theologia, as reasoning or discussion concerning the Deity, the term can, however, be used for a variety of different disciplines or fields of study. Theologians use various forms of analysis and argument to help understand, explain, test, critique, the English equivalent theology had evolved by 1362. Greek theologia was used with the discourse on god in the fourth century BC by Plato in The Republic, Book ii. Drawing on Greek Stoic sources, the Latin writer Varro distinguished three forms of discourse, mythical, rational and civil. Theologos, closely related to theologia, appears once in some manuscripts, in the heading to the book of Revelation, apokalypsis ioannoy toy theologoy. The Latin author Boethius, writing in the early 6th century, used theologia to denote a subdivision of philosophy as a subject of study, dealing with the motionless. Boethius definition influenced medieval Latin usage, Theology can also now be used in a derived sense to mean a system of theoretical principles, an ideology. They suggest the term is appropriate in religious contexts that are organized differently. Kalam. does not hold the place in Muslim thought that theology does in Christianity. To find an equivalent for theology in the Christian sense it is necessary to have recourse to several disciplines, and to the usul al-fiqh as much as to kalam. Jose Ignacio Cabezon, who argues that the use of theology is appropriate, can only do so, he says, I take theology not to be restricted to its etymological meaning. In that latter sense, Buddhism is of course atheological, rejecting as it does the notion of God, within Hindu philosophy, there is a solid and ancient tradition of philosophical speculation on the nature of the universe, of God and of the Atman. The Sanskrit word for the schools of Hindu philosophy is Darshana. Nevertheless, Jewish theology historically has been active and highly significant for Christian. It is sometimes claimed, however, that the Jewish analogue of Christian theological discussion would more properly be Rabbinical discussion of Jewish law, the history of the study of theology in institutions of higher education is as old as the history of such institutions themselves. Modern Western universities evolved from the institutions and cathedral schools of Western Europe during the High Middle Ages
2.
Harvard University
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Although never formally affiliated with any denomination, the early College primarily trained Congregationalist and Unitarian clergy. Its curriculum and student body were gradually secularized during the 18th century, james Bryant Conant led the university through the Great Depression and World War II and began to reform the curriculum and liberalize admissions after the war. The undergraduate college became coeducational after its 1977 merger with Radcliffe College, Harvards $34.5 billion financial endowment is the largest of any academic institution. Harvard is a large, highly residential research university, the nominal cost of attendance is high, but the Universitys large endowment allows it to offer generous financial aid packages. Harvards alumni include eight U. S. presidents, several heads of state,62 living billionaires,359 Rhodes Scholars. To date, some 130 Nobel laureates,18 Fields Medalists, Harvard was formed in 1636 by vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1638, it obtained British North Americas first known printing press, in 1639 it was named Harvard College after deceased clergyman John Harvard an alumnus of the University of Cambridge who had left the school £779 and his scholars library of some 400 volumes. The charter creating the Harvard Corporation was granted in 1650 and it offered a classic curriculum on the English university model—many leaders in the colony had attended the University of Cambridge—but conformed to the tenets of Puritanism. It was never affiliated with any denomination, but many of its earliest graduates went on to become clergymen in Congregational. The leading Boston divine Increase Mather served as president from 1685 to 1701, in 1708, John Leverett became the first president who was not also a clergyman, which marked a turning of the college toward intellectual independence from Puritanism. When the Hollis Professor of Divinity David Tappan died in 1803 and the president of Harvard Joseph Willard died a year later, in 1804, in 1846, the natural history lectures of Louis Agassiz were acclaimed both in New York and on the campus at Harvard College. Agassizs approach was distinctly idealist and posited Americans participation in the Divine Nature, agassizs perspective on science combined observation with intuition and the assumption that a person can grasp the divine plan in all phenomena. When it came to explaining life-forms, Agassiz resorted to matters of shape based on an archetype for his evidence. Charles W. Eliot, president 1869–1909, eliminated the position of Christianity from the curriculum while opening it to student self-direction. While Eliot was the most crucial figure in the secularization of American higher education, he was motivated not by a desire to secularize education, during the 20th century, Harvards international reputation grew as a burgeoning endowment and prominent professors expanded the universitys scope. Rapid enrollment growth continued as new schools were begun and the undergraduate College expanded. Radcliffe College, established in 1879 as sister school of Harvard College, Harvard became a founding member of the Association of American Universities in 1900. In the early 20th century, the student body was predominately old-stock, high-status Protestants, especially Episcopalians, Congregationalists, by the 1970s it was much more diversified
3.
Cambridge, Massachusetts
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Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, and is a part of the Boston metropolitan area. According to the 2010 Census, the population was 105,162. As of July 2014, it was the fifth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, Worcester, Springfield, Cambridge was one of the two seats of Middlesex County prior to the abolition of county government in 1997, Lowell was the other. The site for what would become Cambridge was chosen in December 1630, because it was located safely upriver from Boston Harbor, Thomas Dudley, his daughter Anne Bradstreet, and her husband Simon, were among the first settlers of the town. The first houses were built in the spring of 1631, the settlement was initially referred to as the newe towne. Official Massachusetts records show the name capitalized as Newe Towne by 1632, the original village site is in the heart of todays Harvard Square. In the late 19th century, various schemes for annexing Cambridge itself to the city of Boston were pursued and rejected, in 1636, the Newe College was founded by the colony to train ministers. Newe Towne was chosen for the site of the college by the Great and General Court primarily—according to Cotton Mather—to be near the popular, in May 1638 the name of the settlement was changed to Cambridge in honor of the university in Cambridge, England. Hooker and Shepard, Newtownes ministers, and the colleges first president, major benefactor, in 1629, Winthrop had led the signing of the founding document of the city of Boston, which was known as the Cambridge Agreement, after the university. It was Governor Thomas Dudley who, in 1650, signed the charter creating the corporation which still governs Harvard College, Cambridge grew slowly as an agricultural village eight miles by road from Boston, the capital of the colony. By the American Revolution, most residents lived near the Common and Harvard College, with farms and estates comprising most of the town. Coming up from Virginia, George Washington took command of the volunteer American soldiers camped on Cambridge Common on July 3,1775, most of the Tory estates were confiscated after the Revolution. On January 24,1776, Henry Knox arrived with artillery captured from Fort Ticonderoga, a second bridge, the Canal Bridge, opened in 1809 alongside the new Middlesex Canal. The new bridges and roads made what were formerly estates and marshland into prime industrial and residential districts, in the mid-19th century, Cambridge was the center of a literary revolution when it gave the country a new identity through poetry and literature. Cambridge was home to some of the famous Fireside Poets—so called because their poems would often be read aloud by families in front of their evening fires, the Fireside Poets—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Russell Lowell, and Oliver Wendell Holmes—were highly popular and influential in their day. Cambridge was incorporated as a city in 1846, the citys commercial center began to shift from Harvard Square to Central Square, which became the downtown of the city around this time. The coming of the railroad to North Cambridge and Northwest Cambridge then led to three changes in the city, the development of massive brickyards and brickworks between Massachusetts Ave. For many decades, the citys largest employer was the New England Glass Company, by the middle of the 19th century it was the largest and most modern glassworks in the world
4.
Massachusetts
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It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the states of Connecticut and Rhode Island to the south, New Hampshire and Vermont to the north, and New York to the west. The state is named for the Massachusett tribe, which inhabited the area. The capital of Massachusetts and the most populous city in New England is Boston, over 80% of Massachusetts population lives in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, a region influential upon American history, academia, and industry. Originally dependent on agriculture, fishing and trade, Massachusetts was transformed into a manufacturing center during the Industrial Revolution, during the 20th century, Massachusetts economy shifted from manufacturing to services. Modern Massachusetts is a leader in biotechnology, engineering, higher education, finance. Plymouth was the site of the first colony in New England, founded in 1620 by the Pilgrims, in 1692, the town of Salem and surrounding areas experienced one of Americas most infamous cases of mass hysteria, the Salem witch trials. In 1777, General Henry Knox founded the Springfield Armory, which during the Industrial Revolution catalyzed numerous important technological advances, in 1786, Shays Rebellion, a populist revolt led by disaffected American Revolutionary War veterans, influenced the United States Constitutional Convention. In the 18th century, the Protestant First Great Awakening, which swept the Atlantic World, in the late 18th century, Boston became known as the Cradle of Liberty for the agitation there that led to the American Revolution. The entire Commonwealth of Massachusetts has played a commercial and cultural role in the history of the United States. Before the American Civil War, Massachusetts was a center for the abolitionist, temperance, in the late 19th century, the sports of basketball and volleyball were invented in the western Massachusetts cities of Springfield and Holyoke, respectively. Many prominent American political dynasties have hailed from the state, including the Adams, both Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, also in Cambridge, have been ranked among the most highly regarded academic institutions in the world. Massachusetts public school students place among the top nations in the world in academic performance, the official name of the state is the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. While this designation is part of the official name, it has no practical implications. Massachusetts has the position and powers within the United States as other states. Massachusetts was originally inhabited by tribes of the Algonquian language family such as the Wampanoag, Narragansett, Nipmuc, Pocomtuc, Mahican, and Massachusett. While cultivation of crops like squash and corn supplemented their diets, villages consisted of lodges called wigwams as well as longhouses, and tribes were led by male or female elders known as sachems. Between 1617 and 1619, smallpox killed approximately 90% of the Massachusetts Bay Native Americans, the first English settlers in Massachusetts, the Pilgrims, arrived via the Mayflower at Plymouth in 1620, and developed friendly relations with the native Wampanoag people. This was the second successful permanent English colony in the part of North America that later became the United States, the event known as the First Thanksgiving was celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the New World which lasted for three days
5.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
6.
Doctorate
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There are a variety of doctoral degrees, with the most common being the Doctor of Philosophy, which is awarded in many different fields, ranging from the humanities to the scientific disciplines. The term doctor derives from the Latin docere meaning to teach, the doctorate appeared in medieval Europe as a license to teach Latin at a university. Its roots can be traced to the church in which the term doctor referred to the Apostles, church fathers. The right to grant a licentia docendi was originally reserved to the Catholic church, the Third Council of the Lateran of 1179 guaranteed the access—at that time largely free of charge—of all able applicants. This right remained a bone of contention between the authorities and universities that were slowly distancing themselves from the Church. The right was granted by the pope to the University of Paris in 1213 where it became a universal license to teach, according to Keith Allan Noble, the first doctoral degree was awarded in medieval Paris around 1150. The so-called professional, vocational, or technical curriculum of the Middle Ages included only theology, law, the doctorate of philosophy developed in Germany in the 17th century. The term philosophy does not refer solely to the field or academic discipline of philosophy, but is used in a sense in accordance with its original Greek meaning. In most of Europe, all fields were traditionally known as philosophy, the doctorate of philosophy adheres to this historic convention, even though the degrees are not always for the study of philosophy. D. University doctoral training was a form of apprenticeship to a guild, the traditional term of study before new teachers were admitted to the guild of Masters of Arts was seven years, matching the apprenticeship term for other occupations. Originally the terms master and doctor were synonymous, but over time the doctorate came to be regarded as a higher qualification than the masters degree, University degrees, including doctorates, were originally restricted to men. The use and meaning of the doctorate has changed over time, for instance, until the early 20th century few academic staff or professors in English-speaking universities held doctorates, except for very senior scholars and those in holy orders. After that time the German practice of requiring lecturers to have completed a research doctorate spread, universities shift to research-oriented education increased the doctorates importance. Today, a doctorate or its equivalent is generally a prerequisite for an academic career. Professional doctorates developed in the United States from the 19th century onward, the first professional doctorate to be offered in the United States was the M. D. The MD became the standard first degree in medicine during the 19th century, the MD, as the standard qualifying degree in medicine, gave that profession the ability to set and raise standards for entry into professional practice. The modern research degree, in the shape of the German-style Ph. D. was first awarded in the U. S. in 1861, in the UK, research doctorates initially took the form of higher doctorates, introduced from 1882 onwards. The PhD spread to the UK from the US via Canada, following the MD, the next professional doctorate, the Juris Doctor, was established by Chicago University in 1902
7.
Cambridge, Massachusetts City Hall
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The Cambridge, Massachusetts City Hall is the city hall for Cambridge, Massachusetts, located at 795 Massachusetts Avenue, and built in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. The building additionally serves as a centerpiece of the surrounding City Hall Historic District, the hall was built between 1888–1889, and was largely funded through a donation from Frederick Hastings Rindge. The architects were Longfellow, Alden & Harlow, the building is three stories tall, with a bell tower that rises to 158 feet. Load-bearing stone walls are of Milford granite trimmed with Longmeadow brownstone, Cambridge City Hall houses offices for the city council, the city manager and several municipal departments. In addition to the building, the city of Cambridge also houses several other departments a couple of city blocks away in the City Hall Annex, located at Broadway. On May 17,2004, shortly after midnight, the first legal applications in the United States for marriage licenses for same-sex couples were issued at Cambridge City Hall, at 9,15 a. m. that day, the Cambridge City Clerk began solemnizing same-sex marriages. Official page for city of Cambridge Datasheet at Towerclocks. org
8.
Religious studies
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Religious studies, alternately known as the study of religion, is the multi-disciplinary academic field devoted to research into religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically based, Religious studies draws upon multiple disciplines and their methodologies including anthropology, sociology, psychology, philosophy, and history of religion. Religious studies originated in the 19th century, when scholarly and historical analysis of the Bible had flourished, early influential scholars included Friedrich Max Müller, in England, and Cornelius P. Tiele, in the Netherlands. Today religious studies is practiced by scholars worldwide, in its early years, it was known as Comparative Religion or the Science of Religion and, in the USA, there are those who today also know the field as the History of religion. The field is known as Religionswissenschaft in Germany and Sciences des religions in the French-speaking world, the term religion originated from the Latin noun religio, that was nominalized from one of three verbs, relegere, religare, and reeligere. During the Medieval Period, the religious was used as a noun to describe someone who had joined a monastic order. The religious studies scholar Walter Capps described the purpose of the discipline as to provide training, in directing and conducting inquiry regarding the subject of religion. At the same time, Capps stated that its purpose was to use prescribed modes and techniques of inquiry to make the subject of religion intelligible. Some scholars of religious studies are interested in studying the religion to which they belong. It has also argued that studying religion is useful in appreciating and understanding sectarian tensions. Throughout the history of studies, there have been many attempts to define the term religion. Other forms of definition are polythetic, producing a list of characteristics that are common to religion, in this definition there is no one characteristic that need be common to every form of religion. Conversely, other scholars of religious studies have argued that the discipline should reject the term religion altogether, in this perspective, religion is argued to be a Western concept that has been forced upon other cultures in an act of intellectual imperialism. According to scholar of religion Russell T. McCutcheon, many of the peoples that we study by means of this category have no equivalent term or concept whatsoever, there is, for instance, no word for religion in languages like Sanskrit. Before religious studies became a field in its own right, flourishing in the United States in the late 1960s, one of these figures was the famous pragmatist William James. His 1902 Gifford lectures and book The Varieties of Religious Experience examined religion from a perspective and is still influential today. His essay The Will to Believe defends the rationality of faith, Max Weber studied religion from an economic perspective in The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, his most famous work. As a major figure in sociology, he has no doubt influenced later sociologists of religion, Émile Durkheim also holds continuing influence as one of the fathers of sociology
9.
University of Chicago Divinity School
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The University of Chicago Divinity School is a private graduate institution at the University of Chicago dedicated to the training of academics and clergy across religious boundaries. Formed under Baptist auspices, the school today lacks any sectarian affiliations, the school offers courses leading to the Ph. D. Div. /A. M. With the Irving B. Harris School of Public Policy Studies A. M. R. S. /J. D, with the University of Chicago Law School M. Div. /A. M. Kitagawa, the Dean of the Divinity School from 1970 to 1980, the Institute for the Advanced Study of Religion officially opened in October 1979, with Professor Marty as its director. The program sponsors workshops and seminars throughout the academic year, affiliated faculty include Daniel A. Arnold, Steven Collins, Paul Copp, Matthew Kapstein, James Ketelaar, Gary A. Tubb, and Christian K. Wedemeyer. Completed in 1926, Swift Hall was designed by Coolidge and Hodgdon in the collegiate Gothic style of architecture and it contains lecture halls, seminar rooms, faculty offices, a student-run coffee shop, a commons, and administrative offices. The lecture hall was formerly the home of the Divinity Library, before its holdings were consolidated into the research library. Southwest of Swift Hall and connected to it by a beautiful stone cloister is the Joseph Bond Chapel, both Swift Hall and Bond Chapel were designed by the architects Coolidge and Hodgdon at the end of the Gothic revival period in America. The Chapel was given by Mrs. Joseph Bond in memory of her husband, a former Trustee of the Baptist Theological Union, the predecessor institution of the Divinity School. Mr. and Mrs. Bonds daughter, Elfleda, married Edgar J. Goodspeed, after her death in 1949, Mr. Goodspeed donated the stained-glass windows in her memory. The cornerstone of the chapel was laid by Mrs. Bond on April 30,1925, in 2012-13, the Chapel was renovated and its organ was replaced by the Reneker Organ. It was dedicated in 1984 in honor of the late Robert W. Reneker, Reneker, and was moved to Bond Chapel in the autumn of 2012. The cloister connecting Bond Chapel to Swift Hall was reconstructed in 2014, a cloister garden is due to be installed between Swift and Bond in 2015. As a Divinity School chapel in a university, its main function is to provide a sanctuary for reflection, worship. Wendy Doniger, scholar of Hinduism and comparative mythology, jean Bethke Elshtain, political philosopher and ethicist Michael Fishbane, Semitic languages, biblical studies, and Judaica Franklin I. Gamwell, scholar of ethical and political theory W. Clark Gilpin, emeritus, historian of modern Christianity Dwight Hopkins, theology, black theology, toward encouraging critical conversations in the field, HR also publishes review articles and comprehensive book reviews by distinguished authors. Founded in 1890, Ethics publishes scholarly work in moral, political, and legal philosophy from a variety of perspectives, including social and political theory, law. In addition to articles, Ethics also publishes review essays, discussion articles
10.
Yale Divinity School
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The Divinity School at Yale University, in New Haven, Connecticut is one of twelve graduate or professional schools within Yale University. Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, the school had maintained its own campus, faculty, and degree program since 1869, and it has become more ecumenical beginning in the mid-19th century. Since the 1970s it has been affiliated with the Episcopal Berkeley Divinity School and has housed the Institute of Sacred Music, Theological education was the earliest academic purpose of Yale University. A professorship of divinity was established in 1746, in the same motion, Second Great Awakening theologian Nathaniel William Taylor was appointed to become the first Dwight Professor of Didactic Theology. Taylor was considered the figure in the schools founding, and he was joined in 1826 by Josiah Willard Gibbs, Sr. a scholar of sacred languages. After a significant period of enrollment decline, the school began fundraising from alumni for new faculty, Divinity Hall was constructed on the present-day site of Calhoun College between 1869 and 1871, featuring two classroom wings, a chapel. Around the time of the new campus construction came the arrival of new faculty, including James M. Hoppin, George Edward Day, George Park Fisher, the first Bachelor of Divinity was conferred in 1867, and the department became a separate School of Divinity in 1869. The school remained across from Old Campus until 1929, when a new campus was constructed on the edge of the university campus. Berkeley Divinity School affiliated with Yale Divinity School in 1971, while Berkeley retains its Episcopal Church connection, its students are admitted by and fully enrolled as members of Yale Divinity School. The Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University, a division of the Divinity School, maintains a collection of primary source materials about Jonathan Edwards. The Yale Institute of Sacred Music is jointly-affiliated with the Divinity School and School of Music and it offers programs in choral conducting, organ performance, voice, and church music studies, and in liturgical studies and religion and the arts. The buildings, designed by Richard Morris Hunt, were demolished under the college plan. In 1929, the trustees of the estate of lawyer John William Sterling agreed that a portion of his bequest to Yale would be used to build a new campus for the Divinity School. The Sterling Divinity Quadrangle, completed in 1932, is a Georgian-style complex built at the top of Prospect Hill and it was designed by Delano & Aldrich and modeled in part on the University of Virginia. A $49-million renovation of Sterling Divinity Quadrangle was completed in 2003, poling Peter L. Pond, human rights activist and philanthropist who adopted 16 Cambodian orphans. Adam Clayton Powell, Sr. George Rupp Father V. C
11.
Vanderbilt University Divinity School
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The Vanderbilt Divinity School and Graduate Department of Religion is an interdenominational divinity school at Vanderbilt University, a major research university located in Nashville, Tennessee. It is one of only five university-based schools of religion in the United States without an affiliation that service primarily mainline Protestantism. A notable period in the history of Vanderbilt Divinity School was the Civil Rights Movement, in 1960, African-American Divinity student James Lawson was expelled from the university for his role in nonviolent protests in the Nashville area. This expulsion, in turn, sparked great protest from members of the Vanderbilt community, including most of the faculty of the Divinity School. Students come from throughout the United States, representing numerous denominations and traditions, the dean of the Vanderbilt Divinity School is Emilie M. Townes, formerly on the faculty of Yale Divinity School in Connecticut. Notable recent deans of the Divinity School include Joseph C, hough, Jr. Sallie McFague, Walter Harrelson, and H. Jackson Forstman. Vanderbilt Divinity School is a member of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States, langdon Brown Gilkey - Professor Amy-Jill Levine - E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Professor of New Testament Studies Wilhelm Pauck - Distinguished Professor of Church History Jack M. S. Congress Wilbur Fisk Tillett, early Dean Divinity School homepage
12.
Wake Forest University School of Divinity
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Wake Forest University School of Divinity is an ecumenical divinity school located on the campus of Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Wake Forest University developed out of an institute established by the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina in 1834, from the beginning, the education of ministers was a primary purpose. Much of the estate of the R. J. Reynolds family was donated for the campus, and when the college moved to the new location in 1956, in 1967 Wake Forest became a university with a graduate school, medical school, and law school. In 1989 the trustees of the University approved the idea of forming a School of Divinity, the very first gift came from the First Baptist Church in New Bern, N. C. where Samuel Wait once served. The first students were admitted in 1999 and accreditation was granted in 2005 by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada. The Baptist heritage informs the School of Divinity, but from the beginning the school has been intentionally ecumenical in terms of faculty, student body and it is the first university-based divinity school to begin with no formal denominational affiliation. The faculty and administration embody the traditional Baptist values of respect for individual conscience and freedom of religion. The School of Divinity is intentionally ecumenical and open to a variety of viewpoints, valuing Wake Forest College’s Baptist heritage that was shaped by “soul freedom. ”Our goal is to women and men from diverse theological and religious perspectives for faithful. The School of Divinity takes an approach to educating ministers. A truly integrated approach is one of the hallmarks of the School of Divinity, the School of Divinity offers The Master of Divinity and, combined with other schools of the University, joint degrees in bioethics, counseling, education, law, and sustainability. Wake Forest University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges, the School of Divinity is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada. In March 2013, the Center for Religion and Public Affairs’ director, Melissa Rogers, was named as the Director of the Office of Faith-Based, with Rogers’s new appointment the Center is no longer operating. The “Joint Statement on Religious Expression in American Public Life, ” produced by the Center, is available online through the School of Divinity website. The School of Divinity’s first class was roughly 20 students strong, the intimacy of the program allows students to interact with the world-class faculty in small class settings and one on one. 59% of the student body is female, 62% are under 30 years old, students come from 73 different colleges and universities,25 states, and 6 countries. Over 25 religious affiliations are represented in the community
13.
Puritans
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Puritanism in this sense was founded as an activist movement within the Church of England. The founders, clergy exiled under Mary I, returned to England shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, Puritanism played a significant role in English history during the first half of the 17th century. One of the most effective stokers of anti-Catholic feeling was John Pym, Puritans were blocked from changing the established church from within and were severely restricted in England by laws controlling the practice of religion. They took on distinctive beliefs about clerical dress and in opposition to the episcopal system and they largely adopted Sabbatarianism in the 17th century, and were influenced by millennialism. Consequently, they became a political force in England and came to power as a result of the First English Civil War. Almost all Puritan clergy left the Church of England after the Restoration of 1660, the nature of the movement in England changed radically, although it retained its character for a much longer period in New England. Puritans by definition were dissatisfied with the extent of the English Reformation. They formed and identified with various groups advocating greater purity of worship and doctrine, as well as personal. Puritans adopted a Reformed theology and, in sense, were Calvinists. In church polity, some advocated separation from all other established Christian denominations in favor of autonomous gathered churches. The Puritans were never a formally defined sect or religious division within Protestantism, the Congregationalist tradition, widely considered to be a part of the Reformed tradition, claims descent from the Puritans. Historically, the word Puritan was considered a term that characterized Protestant groups as extremists. According to Thomas Fuller in his Church History, the dates to 1564. Archbishop Matthew Parker of that used it and precisian with the sense of the modern stickler. In modern times, the word puritan is often used to mean against pleasure, in this sense, the term Puritan was coined in the 1560s, when it first appeared as a term of abuse for those who found the Elizabethan Religious Settlement of 1559 inadequate. The term Puritan, therefore, was not intended to refer to strict morality, a common modern misunderstanding, the word Puritan was applied unevenly to a number of Protestant churches from the late 16th century onwards. Puritans did not originally use the term for themselves, the practitioners knew themselves as members of particular churches or movements, and not by a single term. Precise men and Precisians were other early derogatory terms for Puritans, seventeenth century English Puritan preacher Thomas Watson used the godly to describe Puritans in the title of one of his more famous works The Godly Mans Picture
14.
Congregational church
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Congregational or Congregationalist churches are Protestant churches practicing congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs. Congregationalism is often considered to be a part of the wider Reformed tradition, ideas of nonconforming Protestants during the Puritan Reformation of the Church of England laid foundation for these churches. Congregationalists also differed with the Reformed churches using episcopalian church governance, within the United States, the model of Congregational churches was carried by migrating settlers from New England into New York, then into the Old North West, and further. With their insistence on independent local bodies, they became important in social reform movements, including abolitionism, temperance. Congregationalist tradition has a presence in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and it has been introduced either by immigrant dissenter Protestants or by missionary organization such as the London Missionary Society. Congregationalists believe their model of church governance fulfils the description of the early church, Congregationalism is more easily identified as a movement than a single denomination, given its distinguishing commitment to the complete autonomy of the local congregation. The early Congregationalists shared with Anabaptist theology the ideal of a pure church and they believed the adult conversion experience was necessary for an individual to become a full member in the church, unlike other Reformed churches. As such, the Congregationalists were an influence on the Baptists. They differed in counting the children of believers in some members of the church. On the other hand, the Baptists required each member to experience conversion, in England, the Anglican system of church government was taken over by King Henry VIII. It declared the sovereign of England to be the only supreme head on earth of the Church in England. In the reign of Elizabeth I, this title was changed to Supreme Governor of the Church of England, an act still in effect. Robert Browne, Henry Barrow, John Greenwood, John Penry, William Brewster, Thomas Jollie, the underground churches in England and exiles from Holland provided about 35 out of the 102 passengers on the Mayflower, which sailed from London in July 1620. They became known in history as the Pilgrim Fathers, the early Congregationalists sought to separate themselves from the Anglican church in every possible way and even eschewed having church buildings. They met in homes for many years, in 1639 William Wroth, then Rector of the parish church at Llanvaches in Monmouthshire, established the first Independent Church in Wales according to the New England pattern, i. e. Congregational. The Tabernacle United Reformed Church at Llanvaches survives to this day, during the English Civil War, those who supported the Parliamentary cause were invited by Parliament to discuss religious matters. This government would last until 1660 when the monarch was restored, in 1658 the Congregationalists created their own version of the Westminster Confession, called the Savoy Declaration, which remains the principal subordinate standard of Congregationalism. The work in South America began in 1921 when four Argentine churches urgently requested that denominational recognition be given to George Geier, the Illinois Conference licensed Geier, who worked among Germans from Russia who were very similar to their kin in the United States and in Canada
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Princeton Theological Seminary
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Princeton Theological Seminary is an independent school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey and the largest of ten seminaries associated with the Presbyterian Church. Princeton Seminary has long been influential in theological scholarship, with many leading scholars, theologians. It houses one of the largest theological seminaries in the world and hosts a number of special collections, Today, the seminary enrolls approximately 500 students. The institution also has a relationship with the Center of Theological Inquiry. The plan to establish a seminary in Princeton was in the interests of advancing and extending the theological curriculum. The educational intention was to go beyond the arts course by setting up a postgraduate. The Seminary remains an institution of the Presbyterian Church, being the largest of the ten theological seminaries affiliated with the 1. 6-million-member denomination, in 1812, the Seminary boasted three students and the Reverend Dr. Archibald Alexander as its first professor. By 1815 the number of students had increased and work began on a building, Alexander Hall was designed by John McComb, Jr. a New York architect. The original cupola was added in 1827, but it burned in 1913 and was replaced in 1926, the building was simply called Seminary until 1893, when it was officially named Alexander Hall. Some of the institutions active in this movement included Charles Hodge, B. B. Warfield, J. Gresham Machen. The college was later the center of the Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy of the 1920s and 1930s, the library has over 1,252,503 bound volumes, pamphlets, and microfilms. It currently receives about 2,100 journals, annual reports of bodies and learned societies, bulletins, transactions, and periodically issued indices, abstracts. The Libraries are, Princeton Theological Seminary Library was opened in 2013, ashbel Green, Dr. William Buell Sprague, Prof. Joseph Addison Alexander, Dr. Alexander Balloch Grosart, Prof. William Henry Green, Prof. Samuel Miller, and Prof. B. B. Speer Library, opened in 1957 and named in honor of the missionary statesman Robert E. Speer. It was closed in late 2010 and was replaced by the new library, Henry Luce III Library, dedicated in 1994 and named in honor of a distinguished trustee, Henry Luce III,350,000 volumes and 250 readers. This library was closed for renovation in 2013, in 2015, the U. S. News & World Report placed Princeton Seminary among the top 50 graduate programs for the field of history in the United States. Built in 1834, Princetons chapel was named to honor Samuel Miller and it was designed in the Greek Revival style by Charles Steadman, who also designed the nearby Nassau Presbyterian Church. Originally located beside Alexander Hall, it was moved in 1933 toward the center of the campus, Miller Chapel underwent a complete renovation in 2000, with the addition of the Joe R. Engle Organ
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Presbyterianism
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Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism which traces its origins to the British Isles, particularly Scotland. Presbyterian churches derive their name from the form of church government. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures, Presbyterian church government was ensured in Scotland by the Acts of Union in 1707 which created the Kingdom of Great Britain. In fact, most Presbyterians found in England can trace a Scottish connection, the Presbyterian denominations in Scotland hold to the theology of John Calvin and his immediate successors, although there are a range of theological views within contemporary Presbyterianism. The roots of Presbyterianism lie in the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, most Reformed churches which trace their history back to Scotland are either presbyterian or congregationalist in government. In the twentieth century, some Presbyterians played an important role in the ecumenical movement, many Presbyterian denominations have found ways of working together with other Reformed denominations and Christians of other traditions, especially in the World Communion of Reformed Churches. Some Presbyterian churches have entered into unions with other churches, such as Congregationalists, Lutherans, Anglicans, Presbyterian history is part of the history of Christianity, but the beginning of Presbyterianism as a distinct movement occurred during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. As the Catholic Church resisted the reformers, several different theological movements splintered from the Church, the Presbyterian church traces its ancestry back primarily to England and Scotland. In August 1560 the Parliament of Scotland adopted the Scots Confession as the creed of the Scottish Kingdom, Presbyterians distinguish themselves from other denominations by doctrine, institutional organization and worship, often using a Book of Order to regulate common practice and order. The origins of the Presbyterian churches are in Calvinism, many branches of Presbyterianism are remnants of previous splits from larger groups. Presbyterians place great importance upon education and lifelong learning, Presbyterian government is by councils of elders. Teaching and ruling elders are ordained and convene in the lowest council known as a session or consistory responsible for the discipline, nurture, teaching elders have responsibility for teaching, worship, and performing sacraments. Pastors are called by individual congregations, a congregation issues a call for the pastors service, but this call must be ratified by the local presbytery. Ruling elders are usually laymen who are elected by the congregation and ordained to serve with the elders, assuming responsibility for nurture. Often, especially in larger congregations, the elders delegate the practicalities of buildings, finance and this group may variously be known as a Deacon Board, Board of Deacons Diaconate, or Deacons Court. These are sometimes known as presbyters to the full congregation, above the sessions exist presbyteries, which have area responsibilities. These are composed of teaching elders and ruling elders from each of the constituent congregations, the presbytery sends representatives to a broader regional or national assembly, generally known as the General Assembly, although an intermediate level of a synod sometimes exists. The Church of Scotland abolished the Synod in 1993, Presbyterian governance is practised by Presbyterian denominations and also by many other Reformed churches
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Andover Theological Seminary
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Andover Theological Seminary is located in Newton, Massachusetts and is the oldest graduate school of theology in the United States. Andover Theological Seminary and Newton Theological Institution merged formally in 1965 to form the Andover Newton Theological School, as the institution developed, it adopted Andovers curricular pattern and shared the same theological tradition of loyalty to the evangelical Gospel and zeal for its dissemination. That desire was expressed in the founding of Phillips Academy in 1778 for the promotion of true Piety, in 1806, a growing split within the Congregational churches, known as the “Unitarian Controversy, ” came to a full boil on the campus of Harvard College. The Hollis Chair of Divinity sat empty at Harvard for many years owing to tensions between liberal and more orthodox Calvinists and this theological battle soon divided many of the oldest churches in Massachusetts and began to impact church polity and the hiring of ministers. Between 1886 and 1892, a dispute known as the Andover Controversy broke out between the conservative New England Calvinism of the founders and the liberal theology of many on the faculty. In 1908, Harvard Divinity School and Andover attempted to reconcile, Andover, therefore, relocated to the campus of Newton Theological Institution in 1931. Andover Theological Seminary and the Newton Theological Institution formally merged in 1965 as the Andover Newton Theological School, in November 2015, ANTS announced that it would sell its campus and relocate, after a presence of 190 years on that site. Prior to the founding of Andover and Newton, the model for the training of clergy was based on an undergraduate degree, reflecting that zeal, the modern missionary movement began in this country through a group of Andover students known as the Brethren. Both Andover and Newton quickly assumed leadership in the mission movement. Graduates such as Luther Rice and Hiram Bingham pioneered in Christian missions around the world, adoniram Judson, an 1810 Andover alumnus, is best known for his work in Burma, where he translated the Bible into Burmese and produced the first Burmese-English dictionary. Alumni of Andover Theological Seminary include the following notables, listed in order of their last year at the Seminary. Adoniram Judson, class of 1810, one of the first U. S. missionaries sent by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, later became a Baptist missionary to Myanmar, then known as Burma. Hiram Bingham, class of 1816, leader of the first group of missionaries to Hawaii, david Oliver Allen, class of 1824, American missionary. Nehemiah Adams, class of 1829, clergyman and author, bela Bates Edwards, class of 1830, Andover Theological Seminary faculty, 1837-1852, editor of American Quarterly Observer, Biblical Repository, and Bibliotheca Sacra. William Adams, class of 1830, one of the founders of the Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, caleb Mills, class of 1833, first professor of Wabash College and father of the Indiana public education system. Samuel Francis Smith, class of 1834, Baptist minister who wrote the words to My Country, laurenus Clark Seelye, attended 1858-59, first president of Smith College Henry F. C. George Trumbull Ladd, class of 1869, was an American philosopher, educator and psychologist. He was the first foreigner to receive the Second and Third Orders of the Rising Sun, joseph Hardy Neesima, attended 1870-72, 1873–74, but did not graduate. Founder and president of Doshisha University in Japan, pauls College in Tarsus, papers at MNHS. org Rev. Claude Black, class of 1943, noted pastor of Mt. Zion First Baptist Church, civil rights icon, politician
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Calvinism
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Calvinism is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice of John Calvin and other Reformation-era theologians. The term Calvinism can be misleading, because the tradition which it denotes has always been diverse. The movement was first called Calvinism by Lutherans who opposed it, early influential Reformed theologians include Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin, Martin Bucer, William Farel, Heinrich Bullinger, Peter Martyr Vermigli, Theodore Beza, and John Knox. In the twentieth century, Abraham Kuyper, Herman Bavinck, B. B, Warfield, J. Gresham Machen, Karl Barth, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Cornelius Van Til, and Gordon Clark were influential. Contemporary Reformed theologians include J. I, sproul, Timothy J. Keller, John Piper, David Wells, and Michael Horton. Reformed churches may exercise several forms of polity, most are presbyterian or congregationalist. Calvinism is largely represented by Continental Reformed, Presbyterian, and Congregationalist traditions, the biggest Reformed association is the World Communion of Reformed Churches with more than 80 million members in 211 member denominations around the world. There are more conservative Reformed federations such as the World Reformed Fellowship, Calvinism is named after John Calvin. It was first used by a Lutheran theologian in 1552 and it was a common practice of the Catholic Church to name what they perceived to be heresy after its founder. Nevertheless, the term first came out of Lutheran circles, Calvin denounced the designation himself, They could attach us no greater insult than this word, Calvinism. It is not hard to guess where such a deadly hatred comes from that they hold against me, despite its negative connotation, this designation became increasingly popular in order to distinguish Calvinists from Lutherans and from newer Protestant branches that emerged later. Moreover, these churches claim to be—in accordance with John Calvins own words—renewed accordingly with the order of gospel. Since the Arminian controversy, the Reformed tradition—as a branch of Protestantism distinguished from Lutheranism—divided into two groups, Arminians and Calvinists. However, it is now rare to call Arminians a part of the Reformed tradition, some have also argued that Calvinism as a whole stresses the sovereignty or rule of God in all things including salvation. First-generation Reformed theologians include Huldrych Zwingli, Martin Bucer, Wolfgang Capito, John Oecolampadius, scripture was also viewed as a unified whole, which led to a covenantal theology of the sacraments of baptism and the Lords Supper as visible signs of the covenant of grace. Another Reformed distinctive present in these theologians was their denial of the presence of Christ in the Lords supper. Each of these also understood salvation to be by grace alone. Martin Luther and his successor Philipp Melanchthon were undoubtedly significant influences on these theologians, the doctrine of justification by faith alone was a direct inheritance from Luther
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Harvard College
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Harvard College is the undergraduate liberal arts college of Harvard University. Founded in 1636 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest institution of learning in the United States. The school came into existence in 1636 by vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony—though without a single building, in 1638, the college became home for North Americas first known printing press, carried by the ship John of London. Three years later, the college was renamed in honor of deceased Charlestown minister John Harvard who had bequeathed to the school his entire library, Harvards first instructor was schoolmaster Nathaniel Eaton, in 1639, he also became its first instructor to be dismissed, for overstrict discipline. The schools first students were graduated in 1642, in 1665, Caleb Cheeshahteaumuck from the Wampanoag … did graduate from Harvard, the first Indian to do so in the colonial period. The colleges of Englands Oxford and Cambridge Universities are communities within the university, each an association of scholars sharing room. The Indian College was active from 1640 to no later than 1693, the body known as The President and Fellows of Harvard College retains its traditional name despite having governance of the entire University. Radcliffe College originally paid Harvard faculty to repeat their lectures for women students, since the 1970s, Harvard has been responsible for undergraduate governance matters for women, women were still formally admitted to and graduated from Radcliffe until a final merger in 1999. About 2,000 students are admitted each year, representing between five and ten percent of those applying, of those admitted, approximately three-quarters choose to attend and these figures make Harvard perhaps the most selective and sought-after college in the world. Midway through the year, most undergraduates join one of fifty standard fields of concentration. Joint concentrations and special concentrations are also possible, a smaller number receive the Scientiarum Baccalaureus. There are also special programs, such as a five-year program leading to both a Harvard undergraduate degree and a Master of Arts from the New England Conservatory of Music. In 2012, dozens of students were disciplined for cheating on an exam in one course. The university instituted a code beginning in the fall of 2015. The total annual cost of attendance, including tuition and room and board, under financial aid guidelines adopted in 2012, families with incomes below $65,000 no longer pay anything for their children to attend, including room and board. Families with incomes between $65,000 to $150,000 pay no more than 10% of their annual income, grants total 88% of Harvards aid for undergraduate students, with aid also provided by loans and work-study. Each house is presided over by a senior-faculty Faculty Dean, while its Allston Burr Resident Dean supervises undergraduates day-to-day academic, many tutors reside in the House, as do the Faculty Dean and Resident Dean. The way in which students come to live in particular Houses has changed greatly over time, under the original draft system, Masters negotiated privately over the assignment of rising sophomores considered most—or least—promising
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Henry Ware (Unitarian)
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Henry Ware was a preacher and theologian influential in the formation of Unitarianism and the American Unitarian Association in the United States. Born in Sherborn, Massachusetts, Ware was educated at Harvard College and he was from 1787 to 1805 the minister of the First Parish in Hingham, Massachusetts. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts, in 1805 he was elected to the Hollis Chair at Harvard, precipitating a controversy between Unitarians and more conservative Calvinists. He took part in the formation of the Harvard Divinity School and his son, Henry Ware, Jr. followed his father as a Harvard Divinity professor and Unitarian theologian. He is also the grandfather of Mary Lee Ware through his son, Dr. Charles Eliot Ware - Mary. Ware biography from The Unitarians and the Universalists by David Robinson
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American Unitarian Association
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The American Unitarian Association was a religious denomination in the United States and Canada, formed by associated Unitarian congregations in 1825. In 1961, it consolidated with the Universalist Church of America to form the Unitarian Universalist Association, the AUAs official journal was The Christian Register
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United Church of Christ
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The United Church of Christ is in historical continuation of the General Council of Congregational Christian churches founded under the influence of New England Puritanism. The Evangelical and Reformed Church and the General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 to form the UCC and these two denominations, which were themselves the result of earlier unions, had their roots in Congregational, Christian, Evangelical, and Reformed denominations. At the end of 2014, the UCCs 5,116 congregations claimed 979,239 members, in 2015, Pew Research estimated that 0.4 percent, or 1 million adult adherents, of the U. S population self-identify with the United Church of Christ. The UCC maintains full communion with other mainline Protestant denominations, many of its congregations choose to practice open communion. The denomination places high emphasis on participation in interfaith and ecumenical efforts. The national settings of the UCC have historically favored liberal views on issues, such as civil rights, LGBT rights, womens rights. However, United Church of Christ congregations are independent in matters of doctrine and ministry and it is self-described as an extremely pluralistic and diverse denomination. The United Church of Christ was formed when two Protestant churches, the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the General Council of the Congregational Christian Churches united in 1957 and this union adopted an earlier general statement of unity between the two denominations, the 1943 Basis of Union. At this time, the UCC claimed about two million members, in 1959, in its General Synod, the UCC adopted a broad Statement of Faith. The UCC adopted its constitution and by-laws in 1961, there is no UCC hierarchy or body that can impose any doctrine or worship format onto the individual congregations within the UCC. Within this locally focused structure, however, there are central beliefs common to the UCC, the UCC often uses four words to describe itself, Christian, Reformed, Congregational and Evangelical. While the UCC refers to its characteristics, it springs from mainline Protestantism as opposed to Evangelicalism. The word evangelical in this more closely corresponds with the original Lutheran origins meaning of the gospel as opposed to the Evangelical use of the word. UCC is generally liberal, and the denomination notes that the Bible, though written in specific historical times and places. The motto of the United Church of Christ comes from John 17,21, the denominations official literature uses broad doctrinal parameters, emphasizing freedom of individual conscience and local church autonomy. As expressed in the United Church of Christ constitution, The United Church of Christ acknowledges as its sole Head, Jesus Christ, Son of God and it acknowledges as kindred in Christ all who share in this confession. It looks to the Word of God in the Scriptures, and to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit and it claims as its own the faith of the historic Church expressed in the ancient creeds and reclaimed in the basic insights of the Protestant Reformers. It affirms the responsibility of the Church in each generation to make this faith its own in reality of worship, in honesty of thought and expression, and in purity of heart before God
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Age of Enlightenment
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The Enlightenment was an intellectual movement which dominated the world of ideas in Europe during the 18th century, The Century of Philosophy. In France, the doctrines of les Lumières were individual liberty and religious tolerance in opposition to an absolute monarchy. French historians traditionally place the Enlightenment between 1715, the year that Louis XIV died, and 1789, the beginning of the French Revolution, some recent historians begin the period in the 1620s, with the start of the scientific revolution. Les philosophes of the widely circulated their ideas through meetings at scientific academies, Masonic lodges, literary salons, coffee houses. The ideas of the Enlightenment undermined the authority of the monarchy and the Church, a variety of 19th-century movements, including liberalism and neo-classicism, trace their intellectual heritage back to the Enlightenment. The Age of Enlightenment was preceded by and closely associated with the scientific revolution, earlier philosophers whose work influenced the Enlightenment included Francis Bacon, René Descartes, John Locke, and Baruch Spinoza. The major figures of the Enlightenment included Cesare Beccaria, Voltaire, Denis Diderot, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, David Hume, Adam Smith, Benjamin Franklin visited Europe repeatedly and contributed actively to the scientific and political debates there and brought the newest ideas back to Philadelphia. Thomas Jefferson closely followed European ideas and later incorporated some of the ideals of the Enlightenment into the Declaration of Independence, others like James Madison incorporated them into the Constitution in 1787. The most influential publication of the Enlightenment was the Encyclopédie, the ideas of the Enlightenment played a major role in inspiring the French Revolution, which began in 1789. After the Revolution, the Enlightenment was followed by an intellectual movement known as Romanticism. René Descartes rationalist philosophy laid the foundation for enlightenment thinking and his attempt to construct the sciences on a secure metaphysical foundation was not as successful as his method of doubt applied in philosophic areas leading to a dualistic doctrine of mind and matter. His skepticism was refined by John Lockes 1690 Essay Concerning Human Understanding and his dualism was challenged by Spinozas uncompromising assertion of the unity of matter in his Tractatus and Ethics. Both lines of thought were opposed by a conservative Counter-Enlightenment. In the mid-18th century, Paris became the center of an explosion of philosophic and scientific activity challenging traditional doctrines, the political philosopher Montesquieu introduced the idea of a separation of powers in a government, a concept which was enthusiastically adopted by the authors of the United States Constitution. Francis Hutcheson, a philosopher, described the utilitarian and consequentialist principle that virtue is that which provides, in his words. Much of what is incorporated in the method and some modern attitudes towards the relationship between science and religion were developed by his protégés David Hume and Adam Smith. Hume became a figure in the skeptical philosophical and empiricist traditions of philosophy. Immanuel Kant tried to reconcile rationalism and religious belief, individual freedom and political authority, as well as map out a view of the sphere through private
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Jedidiah Morse
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Jedidiah Morse was a notable geographer whose textbooks became a staple for students in the United States. He was the father of telegraphy pioneer and painter Samuel F. B, Morse, and his textbooks earned him the sobriquet of father of American geography. Born to a New England family in Woodstock, Connecticut, Morse did his undergraduate work, while pursuing his theological studies under Jonathan Edwards and Samuel Watts, in 1783 he established a school for young women in New Haven. In the summer of 1785 he was licensed to preach, and he became a tutor at Yale in June 1786, but, resigning this office, was ordained on November 9,1786, and settled in Midway, Georgia. Where he remained until August of the following year and he spent the winter of 1787/8 in New Haven in geographical work, preaching on Sundays to vacant parishes in the vicinity. He became a pastor in Charlestown, Massachusetts on April 30,1789, among his friends and numerous correspondents were Noah Webster, Benjamin Silliman and Jeremy Belknap. In 1795 he received the degree of D. D. from the University of Edinburgh and he was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1796. Throughout his life he was occupied with religious controversy. Ultimately his persevering opposition to views of religion brought on him a persecution that affected deeply his naturally delicate health. He participated in the organization of the Park Street Church in Boston in 1808, in 1805 he established The Panoplist for the purpose of illustrating and defending the commonly received orthodoxy of New England, and continued its sole editor for five years. This journal later became The Missionary Herald, Morse strongly influenced the educational system of the United States. While teaching at a school for women, he saw the need for a geography textbook oriented to the forming nation. The result was skimpy and derivative, Geography Made Easy and he followed that with American Geography, which was widely cited and copied. New editions of his textbooks and the more weighty works often came out annually, earning him the informal title. His postponed gazetteer for his work of 1784 was bested by Joseph Scotts Gazetteer of the United States in 1795, with the aid of Noah Webster and Rev. Samuel Austin, Morse published his gazetteer as Universal Geography of the United States. This work occupied his attention during two winters, and the results of his investigations were embodied in a Report to the Secretary of War on Indian Affairs, Morse is also known for his part in the Illuminati conspiracy theory in New England 1798-99. Beginning May 9,1798, Morse delivered three sermons supporting John Robisons book Proofs of Conspiracy, Morse was a strong Federalist and shared fears that the anti-Federalists were influenced by alleged French Illuminati. According to a theory, they were responsible for the French Revolution
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Arminianism
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Arminianism is based on theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. His teachings held to the five solae of the Reformation, but they were distinct from particular teachings of Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli, John Calvin, Jacobus Arminius was a student of Theodore Beza at the Theological University of Geneva. Arminianism is known to some as a diversification of Protestant Calvinist Christianity. However, to others, Arminianism is a reclamation of early Church theological consensus, Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the Remonstrance, a theological statement signed by 45 ministers and submitted to the States General of the Netherlands. The Synod of Dort was called by the States General to consider the Five Articles of Remonstrance, must be more particularly determined from the Scriptures. These points, note Drs. Keith D. Stanglin and Thomas H. McCall, are consistent with the views of Arminius, indeed and those who signed this remonstrance and others who supported its theology have since been known as Remonstrants. Some falsely assert that Universalists and Unitarians in the 18th and 19th centuries were theologically linked with Arminianism. The original beliefs of Jacobus Arminius himself are commonly defined as Arminianism, but more broadly, the term may embrace the teachings of Hugo Grotius, John Wesley, and others as well. Classical Arminianism, to which Arminius is the contributor, and Wesleyan Arminianism. Wesleyan Arminianism is often identical with Methodism, some schools of thought, notably Semipelagianism—which teaches that the first step of salvation is by human will, —are confused as being Arminian in nature. But classical Arminianism holds that the first step of salvation is solely the grace of God, the two systems of Calvinism and Arminianism share both history and many doctrines, and the history of Christian theology. Arminianism is related to Calvinism historically, however, because of their differences over the doctrines of divine predestination and election, many people view these schools of thought as opposed to each other. In short, the difference can be seen ultimately by whether God allows His desire to save all to be resisted by an individuals will or if Gods grace is irresistible, put another way, is Gods sovereignty shown, in part, through His allowance of free decisions. Some Calvinists assert that the Arminian perspective presents a system of Salvation and therefore is not only by grace. Many consider the differences to be crucial differences in doctrine. Jacobus Arminius was a Dutch pastor and theologian in the late 16th and he was taught by Theodore Beza, Calvins hand-picked successor, but after examination of the scriptures, he rejected his teachers theology that it is God who unconditionally elects some for salvation. Instead Arminius proposed that the election of God was of believers, Arminiuss views were challenged by the Dutch Calvinists, especially Franciscus Gomarus, but Arminius died before a national synod could occur. Arminiuss followers, not wanting to adopt their leaders name, called themselves the Remonstrants, when Arminius died before he could satisfy Hollands State Generals request for a 14-page paper outlining his views, the Remonstrants replied in his stead crafting the Five articles of Remonstrance
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Unitarian Universalism
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Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religion characterized by a free and responsible search for truth and meaning. The Unitarian Universalist Church does not have a creed, instead, UUs are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth. As such, UU congregations include many agnostics, theists, the roots of UU are in liberal Christianity, specifically Unitarianism and Universalism. Unitarian Universalists state that from these traditions come a deep regard for intellectual freedom, Congregations and members seek inspiration and derive insight from all major world religions. The Unitarian Universalist Association was formed in 1961, a consolidation of the American Unitarian Association, established in 1825, and it is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and serves churches mostly in the United States. A group of thirty Philippine congregations is represented as a member within the UUA. The Canadian Unitarian Council became an independent body in 2002, the UUA and CUC are, in turn, two of the seventeen members of the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists. At the time of the North American consolidation, Unitarians and Universalists had expanded beyond their roots in liberal Christian theology, today they draw from a variety of religious traditions. Individuals may or may not self-identify as Christians or subscribe to Christian beliefs, Unitarian Universalist congregations and fellowships tend to retain some Christian traditions, such as Sunday worship with a sermon and the singing of hymns. New England Unitarians evolved from the Pilgrim fathers Congregational Christianity, which was based on a literal reading of the Bible. Liberalizing Unitarians rejected the Trinitarian belief in the godhead, Father, Son. Instead, they asserted a unitary notion of God, in addition, they rejected the doctrine of original sin, moving away from the Calvinism of the Congregationalists. New England Universalists rejected the Puritan forefathers emphasis on the few, the Elect. Instead Universalists asserted that all people will eventually be reconciled with God, Universalists rejected the hellfire and damnation of the evangelical preachers, who tried to revive the fundamentalist Christianity of the early Pilgrim fathers. This core doctrine asserts that through Christ every single human soul shall be saved, in 1793, Universalism emerged as a particular denomination of Christianity in the United States, eventually called the Universalist Church of America. Early American advocates of Universal Salvation such as Elhanan Winchester, Hosea Ballou and John Murray taught that all souls would achieve salvation, Christian Universalism denies the doctrine of everlasting damnation, and proclaims belief in an entirely loving God who will ultimately redeem all human beings. Historically, various forms of Nontrinitarianism have appeared within Christianity, Nontrinitarianism was especially prevalent during the theological turmoils of the Protestant Reformation. A Spanish physician, Michael Servetus, studied the Bible and concluded that the concept of the Trinity and his books On the Errors of the Trinity and Christianismi Restitutio caused much uproar
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Master of Theology
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A Master of Theology is an advanced theological research degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. The degree is earned after the Master of Divinity or an equivalent of three years of graduate studies in theology. This degree can range from one or two years of specialized advanced studies in theological research and it may or may not require comprehensive subject exams and a research thesis. The Master of Theology is usually designed as an academic degree with an emphasis on academic research. Often functions as a terminal and/or doctoral level degree, dependent upon ones particular educational route and institution of study
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Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences
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The Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard is the largest of the seven faculties that constitute Harvard University. Headquartered principally in Cambridge, Massachusetts and centered in the historic Harvard Yard, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences is responsible for the courses offered at Harvard College, the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and the Harvard Extension School. It is currently headed by Dean Michael D. Smith, Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science, there are 6,500 full-time undergraduates and 3,500 graduate students. In fiscal year 2003, FAS has a budget of $698 million. As of June 2003, the FAS endowment had a value of $8 billion. Harvards total endowment now stands at $32.3 billion, FAS consists of the following degree granting colleges, schools, and divisions, Harvard College The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences The John A. This is because the SEAS does not award earned degrees, undergraduate concentrators and masters and doctoral students in the engineering and applied science departments instead receive their degrees from the College and GSAS, respectively. In addition, FAS includes 35 research centers, institutes, and interdisciplinary programs, the Harvard College Library, which is also part of FAS, consists of eleven major libraries, including the Harry Elkins Widener Memorial Library, and holds some 9 million volumes. The dean of FAS is invariably drawn from the ranks of the faculty in the division. The current dean, Michael D. Smith, a professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, while Harvard traces its origins to 1636, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences only came into existence in the late nineteenth century. The Graduate Department became the Graduate School of Harvard University, in 1905, the name changed to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The Lawrence Scientific School opened in 1847 and marked Harvards first major effort to provide a program in engineering. In 1905, the Lawrence Scientific School became the Graduate School of Engineering, in 1948, the School merged with the Department of Engineering Sciences and Applied Physics in FAS to form the Division of Applied Sciences. In 2007, the Division of Engineering and Applied Sciences formally became the School of Engineering, Harvard University Faculty of Arts and Sciences Home page
29.
Africa
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Africa is the worlds second-largest and second-most-populous continent. At about 30.3 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earths total surface area and 20.4 % of its land area. With 1.2 billion people as of 2016, it accounts for about 16% of the human population. The continent includes Madagascar and various archipelagos and it contains 54 fully recognized sovereign states, nine territories and two de facto independent states with limited or no recognition. Africas population is the youngest amongst all the continents, the age in 2012 was 19.7. Algeria is Africas largest country by area, and Nigeria by population, afarensis, Homo erectus, H. habilis and H. ergaster – with the earliest Homo sapiens found in Ethiopia being dated to circa 200,000 years ago. Africa straddles the equator and encompasses numerous climate areas, it is the continent to stretch from the northern temperate to southern temperate zones. Africa hosts a diversity of ethnicities, cultures and languages. In the late 19th century European countries colonized most of Africa, Africa also varies greatly with regard to environments, economics, historical ties and government systems. However, most present states in Africa originate from a process of decolonization in the 20th century, afri was a Latin name used to refer to the inhabitants of Africa, which in its widest sense referred to all lands south of the Mediterranean. This name seems to have referred to a native Libyan tribe. The name is connected with Hebrew or Phoenician ʿafar dust. The same word may be found in the name of the Banu Ifran from Algeria and Tripolitania, under Roman rule, Carthage became the capital of the province of Africa Proconsularis, which also included the coastal part of modern Libya. The Latin suffix -ica can sometimes be used to denote a land, the later Muslim kingdom of Ifriqiya, modern-day Tunisia, also preserved a form of the name. According to the Romans, Africa lay to the west of Egypt, while Asia was used to refer to Anatolia, as Europeans came to understand the real extent of the continent, the idea of Africa expanded with their knowledge. 25,4, whose descendants, he claimed, had invaded Libya, isidore of Seville in Etymologiae XIV.5.2. Suggests Africa comes from the Latin aprica, meaning sunny, massey, in 1881, stated that Africa is derived from the Egyptian af-rui-ka, meaning to turn toward the opening of the Ka. The Ka is the double of every person and the opening of the Ka refers to a womb or birthplace
30.
African Americans
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African Americans are an ethnic group of Americans with total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. The term may also be used to only those individuals who are descended from enslaved Africans. As a compound adjective the term is usually hyphenated as African-American, Black and African Americans constitute the third largest racial and ethnic group in the United States. Most African Americans are of West and Central African descent and are descendants of enslaved peoples within the boundaries of the present United States. On average, African Americans are of 73. 2–80. 9% West African, 18–24% European, according to US Census Bureau data, African immigrants generally do not self-identify as African American. The overwhelming majority of African immigrants identify instead with their own respective ethnicities, immigrants from some Caribbean, Central American and South American nations and their descendants may or may not also self-identify with the term. After the founding of the United States, black people continued to be enslaved, believed to be inferior to white people, they were treated as second-class citizens. The Naturalization Act of 1790 limited U. S. citizenship to whites only, in 2008, Barack Obama became the first African American to be elected President of the United States. The first African slaves arrived via Santo Domingo to the San Miguel de Gualdape colony, the ill-fated colony was almost immediately disrupted by a fight over leadership, during which the slaves revolted and fled the colony to seek refuge among local Native Americans. De Ayllón and many of the colonists died shortly afterwards of an epidemic, the settlers and the slaves who had not escaped returned to Haiti, whence they had come. The first recorded Africans in British North America were 20 and odd negroes who came to Jamestown, as English settlers died from harsh conditions, more and more Africans were brought to work as laborers. Typically, young men or women would sign a contract of indenture in exchange for transportation to the New World, the landowner received 50 acres of land from the state for each servant purchased from a ships captain. An indentured servant would work for years without wages. The status of indentured servants in early Virginia and Maryland was similar to slavery, servants could be bought, sold, or leased and they could be physically beaten for disobedience or running away. Africans could legally raise crops and cattle to purchase their freedom and they raised families, married other Africans and sometimes intermarried with Native Americans or English settlers. By the 1640s and 1650s, several African families owned farms around Jamestown and some became wealthy by colonial standards and purchased indentured servants of their own. In 1640, the Virginia General Court recorded the earliest documentation of slavery when they sentenced John Punch. One of Dutch African arrivals, Anthony Johnson, would own one of the first black slaves, John Casor
31.
Buddhism
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Buddhism is a religion and dharma that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices largely based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. Buddhism originated in India sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, from where it spread through much of Asia, two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by scholars, Theravada and Mahayana. Buddhism is the worlds fourth-largest religion, with over 500 million followers or 7% of the global population, Buddhist schools vary on the exact nature of the path to liberation, the importance and canonicity of various teachings and scriptures, and especially their respective practices. In Theravada the ultimate goal is the attainment of the state of Nirvana, achieved by practicing the Noble Eightfold Path, thus escaping what is seen as a cycle of suffering. Theravada has a following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Mahayana, which includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Shingon, rather than Nirvana, Mahayana instead aspires to Buddhahood via the bodhisattva path, a state wherein one remains in the cycle of rebirth to help other beings reach awakening. Vajrayana, a body of teachings attributed to Indian siddhas, may be viewed as a branch or merely a part of Mahayana. Tibetan Buddhism, which preserves the Vajrayana teachings of eighth century India, is practiced in regions surrounding the Himalayas, Tibetan Buddhism aspires to Buddhahood or rainbow body. Buddhism is an Indian religion attributed to the teachings of Buddha, the details of Buddhas life are mentioned in many early Buddhist texts but are inconsistent, his social background and life details are difficult to prove, the precise dates uncertain. Some hagiographic legends state that his father was a king named Suddhodana, his mother queen Maya, and he was born in Lumbini gardens. Some of the stories about Buddha, his life, his teachings, Buddha was moved by the innate suffering of humanity. He meditated on this alone for a period of time, in various ways including asceticism, on the nature of suffering. He famously sat in meditation under a Ficus religiosa tree now called the Bodhi Tree in the town of Bodh Gaya in Gangetic plains region of South Asia. He reached enlightenment, discovering what Buddhists call the Middle Way, as an enlightened being, he attracted followers and founded a Sangha. Now, as the Buddha, he spent the rest of his teaching the Dharma he had discovered. Dukkha is a concept of Buddhism and part of its Four Noble Truths doctrine. It can be translated as incapable of satisfying, the unsatisfactory nature, the Four Truths express the basic orientation of Buddhism, we crave and cling to impermanent states and things, which is dukkha, incapable of satisfying and painful. This keeps us caught in saṃsāra, the cycle of repeated rebirth, dukkha
32.
Hebrew Bible
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They are composed mainly in Biblical Hebrew, with some passages in Biblical Aramaic. The term does not comment upon the naming, numbering or ordering of books, the term Hebrew Bible is an attempt to provide specificity with respect to contents but avoid allusion to any particular interpretative tradition or theological school of thought. Hebrew Bible refers to the Jewish biblical canon, in its Latin form, Biblia Hebraica, it traditionally serves as a title for printed editions of the Masoretic Text. Many biblical studies scholars advocate use of the term Hebrew Bible as a substitute to terms with religious connotations. Hebrew Bible Old Testament without prescribing the use of either, however, he accepts that there is no reason why non-Christians should feel obliged to refer to these books as the Old Testament, apart from custom of use. Modern Christian formulations of this tension include Supersessionism, Covenant Theology, New Covenant Theology, Dispensationalism, in terms of canon, Christian usage of Old Testament does not refer to a universally agreed upon set of books but, rather, varies depending on denomination. The Hebrew Bible includes small portions in Aramaic, written and printed in Aramaic square-script, the books that constitute the Hebrew Bible developed over roughly a millennium. The oldest texts seem to come from the 11th or 10th centuries BCE and they are edited works, being collections of various sources intricately and carefully woven together. Since the 19th century, most biblical scholars have agreed that the Pentateuch consists of four sources which have been woven together and these four sources are J, D, E and P sources. They were combined to form the Pentateuch sometime in the 6th century BCE and this theory is now known as the documentary hypothesis, and has been the dominant theory for the past two hundred years. The Deuteronomist credited with the Pentateuchs book of Deuteronomy is also said to be the source of the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, several editions, all titled Biblia Hebraica, have been produced by various German publishers since 1906. Between 1906 and 1955, Rudolf Kittel published nine editions of it,1966, the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft published the renamed Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia in six editions until 1997. Since 2004 the Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft has published the Biblia Hebraica Quinta, other projects include, Hebrew University Bible Project Hebrew Bible, A Critical Edition Biblical canon Books of the Bible Non-canonical books referenced in the Bible Torah Brueggemann, Walter. An introduction to the Old Testament, the canon and Christian imagination, the People of Ancient Israel, an introduction to Old Testament Literature, History, and Thought, Harper and Row,1974. Sinai and Zion, An Entry into the Jewish Bible, archived from the original on 14 March 2012. The Ancient Near East, Volume I, Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University Press. An abridgement of Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament Noth, how the Bible Became a Book. The Old Testament, A Literary History, hebrew-English Tanakh, the Jewish Bible Complete, fully vocalized, contilated, Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible, together with the classic English translation by the Jewish Publication Society
33.
Old Testament
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Its counterpart is the New Testament, the second part of the Christian Bible. The books that comprise the Old Testament canon differ between Christian Churches as well as their order and names. The most common Protestant canon comprises 39 books, the Catholic canon comprises 46 books, the 39 books in common to all the Christian canons corresponds to 24 books of the Tanakh, with some differences of order, and there are some differences in text. The additional number reflects the split of texts in the Christian Bibles into separate books, for example, Kings, Samuel and Chronicles, Ezra–Nehemiah, the books which are part of a Christian Old Testament but which are not part of the Hebrew canon are sometimes described as deuterocanonical. In general, Protestant bibles do not include books in its canon. The Old Testament consists of translations of many books by various authors produced over a period of centuries. The canon formed in stages, first the Pentateuch by around 400 BC, then the Prophets during the Hasmonean dynasty, and finally the remaining books. The Old Testament contains 39 or 46 or more books, divided, very broadly, into the Pentateuch, the books, the wisdom books. For the Orthodox canon, Septuagint titles are provided in parentheses when these differ from those editions, for the Catholic canon, the Douaic titles are provided in parentheses when these differ from those editions. Likewise, the King James Version references some of these books by the spelling when referring to them in the New Testament. The Talmud in Bava Batra 14b gives a different order for the books in Neviim and Ketuvim and this order is also cited in Mishneh Torah Hilchot Sefer Torah 7,15. The order of the books of the Torah is universal through all denominations of Judaism and they are present in a few historic Protestant versions, the German Luther Bible included such books, as did the English 1611 King James Version. Empty table cells indicate that a book is absent from that canon, several of the books in the Eastern Orthodox canon are also found in the appendix to the Latin Vulgate, formerly the official Bible of the Roman Catholic Church. The books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings follow, there is a broad consensus among scholars that these originated as a single work during the Babylonian exile of the 6th century BC. The two Books of Chronicles cover much the material as the Pentateuch and Deuteronomistic history and probably date from the 4th century BC. Chronicles, and Ezra–Nehemiah, were finished during the 3rd century BC. Catholic and Orthodox Old Testaments contain two to four Books of Maccabees, written in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC and these history books make up around half the total content of the Old Testament. God is consistently depicted as the one who created or put into order the world, the Old Testament stresses the special relationship between God and his chosen people, Israel, but includes instructions for proselytes as well
34.
History of Christianity
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The history of Christianity concerns the Christian religion, Christendom, and the Church with its various denominations, from the 1st century to the present. Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity spread to all of Europe in the Middle Ages, Christianity expanded throughout the world during Europes Age of Exploration from the Renaissance onwards, becoming the worlds largest religion. Today there are more than two billion Christians worldwide, during its early history, Christianity grew from a 1st-century Jewish following to a religion that existed across the entire Greco-Roman world and beyond. The Roman persecution of Christians ended in AD313 when Constantine the Great decreed tolerance for the religion and he then called the First Council of Nicaea in AD325, beginning of the period of the First seven Ecumenical Councils. The Apostolic Church was the community led by the apostles, and to some degree, in his Great Commission, the resurrected Jesus commanded that his teachings be spread to all the world. While the historical reliability of the Acts of the Apostles is disputed by critics, Acts gives a history of the Church from this commission in 1, 3–11 to the spread of the religion among the Gentiles and the eastern Mediterranean by Paul and others. The first Christians were essentially all ethnically Jewish or Jewish proselytes, in other words, Jesus preached to the Jewish people and called from them his first disciples, see for example Matthew 10. Circumcision in particular was considered repulsive by Greeks and Hellenists while circumcision advocates were labelled Judaisers, related issues are still debated today. The doctrines of the apostles brought the Early Church into conflict with some Jewish religious authorities and this eventually led to their expulsion from the synagogues, according to one theory of the Council of Jamnia. Acts records the martyrdom of the Christian leaders, Stephen and James of Zebedee, the name Christian was first applied to the disciples in Antioch, as recorded in Acts 11,26. Some contend that the term Christian was first coined as a term, meaning little Christs, and was meant as a mockery. The sources for the beliefs of the community include the Gospels. According to a recorded by Eusebius and Epiphanius, the Jerusalem church fled to Pella at the outbreak of the First Jewish–Roman War. The post-apostolic period concerns the time after the death of the apostles until persecutions ended with the legalisation of Christian worship under Emperors Constantine the Great, according to the New Testament, Christians were subject to various persecutions from the beginning. This involved even death for Christians such as Stephen and James, according to Church tradition, it was under Neros persecution that Peter and Paul were each martyred in Rome. Similarly, several of the New Testament writings mention persecutions and stress endurance through them, the last and most severe persecution organised by the imperial authorities was the Diocletianic Persecution,303 -311. In spite of these sometimes intense persecutions, the Christian religion continued its spread throughout the Mediterranean Basin, There is no agreement on how Christianity managed to spread so successfully prior to the Edict of Milan and the establishment of Christianity as the state religion of the Roman Empire. In The Rise of Christianity, Rodney Stark argues that Christianity triumphed over paganism chiefly because it improved the lives of its adherents in various ways
35.
Islam
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Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion which professes that there is only one and incomparable God and that Muhammad is the last messenger of God. It is the worlds second-largest religion and the major religion in the world, with over 1.7 billion followers or 23% of the global population. Islam teaches that God is merciful, all-powerful, and unique, and He has guided mankind through revealed scriptures, natural signs, and a line of prophets sealed by Muhammad. The primary scriptures of Islam are the Quran, viewed by Muslims as the word of God. Muslims believe that Islam is the original, complete and universal version of a faith that was revealed many times before through prophets including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses. As for the Quran, Muslims consider it to be the unaltered, certain religious rites and customs are observed by the Muslims in their family and social life, while social responsibilities to parents, relatives, and neighbors have also been defined. Besides, the Quran and the sunnah of Muhammad prescribe a comprehensive body of moral guidelines for Muslims to be followed in their personal, social, political, Islam began in the early 7th century. Originating in Mecca, it spread in the Arabian Peninsula. The expansion of the Muslim world involved various caliphates and empires, traders, most Muslims are of one of two denominations, Sunni or Shia. Islam is the dominant religion in the Middle East, North Africa, sizable Muslim communities are also found in Horn of Africa, Europe, China, Russia, Mainland Southeast Asia, Philippines, Northern Borneo, Caucasus and the Americas. Converts and immigrant communities are found in almost every part of the world, Islam is a verbal noun originating from the triliteral root s-l-m which forms a large class of words mostly relating to concepts of wholeness, submission, safeness and peace. In a religious context it means voluntary submission to God, Islām is the verbal noun of Form IV of the root, and means submission or surrender. Muslim, the word for an adherent of Islam, is the active participle of the verb form. The word sometimes has connotations in its various occurrences in the Quran. In some verses, there is stress on the quality of Islam as a state, Whomsoever God desires to guide. Other verses connect Islām and dīn, Today, I have perfected your religion for you, I have completed My blessing upon you, still others describe Islam as an action of returning to God—more than just a verbal affirmation of faith. In the Hadith of Gabriel, islām is presented as one part of a triad that also includes imān, Islam was historically called Muhammadanism in Anglophone societies. This term has fallen out of use and is said to be offensive because it suggests that a human being rather than God is central to Muslims religion
36.
Jews
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The Jews, also known as the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group originating from the Israelites, or Hebrews, of the Ancient Near East. Jews originated as a national and religious group in the Middle East during the second millennium BCE, the Merneptah Stele appears to confirm the existence of a people of Israel, associated with the god El, somewhere in Canaan as far back as the 13th century BCE. The Israelites, as an outgrowth of the Canaanite population, consolidated their hold with the emergence of the Kingdom of Israel, some consider that these Canaanite sedentary Israelites melded with incoming nomadic groups known as Hebrews. The worldwide Jewish population reached a peak of 16.7 million prior to World War II, but approximately 6 million Jews were systematically murdered during the Holocaust. Since then the population has risen again, and as of 2015 was estimated at 14.3 million by the Berman Jewish DataBank. According to the report, about 43% of all Jews reside in Israel and these numbers include all those who self-identified as Jews in a socio-demographic study or were identified as such by a respondent in the same household. The exact world Jewish population, however, is difficult to measure, Israel is the only country where Jews form a majority of the population. The modern State of Israel was established as a Jewish state and defines itself as such in its Declaration of Independence and its Law of Return grants the right of citizenship to any Jew who requests it. The English word Jew continues Middle English Gyw, Iewe, according to the Hebrew Bible, the name of both the tribe and kingdom derive from Judah, the fourth son of Jacob. The Hebrew word for Jew, יְהוּדִי ISO 259-3 Yhudi, is pronounced, with the stress on the syllable, in Israeli Hebrew. The Ladino name is ג׳ודיו, Djudio, ג׳ודיוס, Djudios, Yiddish, ייִד Yid, ייִדן, Yidn. The etymological equivalent is in use in languages, e. g. but derivations of the word Hebrew are also in use to describe a Jew, e. g. in Italian. The German word Jude is pronounced, the corresponding adjective jüdisch is the origin of the word Yiddish, in such contexts Jewish is the only acceptable possibility. Some people, however, have become so wary of this construction that they have extended the stigma to any use of Jew as a noun, a factual reconstruction for the origin of the Jews is a difficult and complex endeavor. It requires examining at least 3,000 years of ancient human history using documents in vast quantities, as archaeological discovery relies upon researchers and scholars from diverse disciplines, the goal is to interpret all of the factual data, focusing on the most consistent theory. In this case, it is complicated by long standing politics and religious, Jacob and his family migrated to Ancient Egypt after being invited to live with Jacobs son Joseph by the Pharaoh himself. The patriarchs descendants were later enslaved until the Exodus led by Moses, traditionally dated to the 13th century BCE, Modern archaeology has largely discarded the historicity of the Patriarchs and of the Exodus story, with it being reframed as constituting the Israelites inspiring national myth narrative. The growth of Yahweh-centric belief, along with a number of practices, gradually gave rise to a distinct Israelite ethnic group
37.
New Testament
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The New Testament is the second major part of the Christian biblical canon, the first part being the Old Testament, based on the Hebrew Bible. The New Testament discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christianity, Christians regard both the Old and New Testaments together as sacred scripture. The New Testament has frequently accompanied the spread of Christianity around the world and it reflects and serves as a source for Christian theology and morality. Both extended readings and phrases directly from the New Testament are also incorporated into the various Christian liturgies, the New Testament has influenced religious, philosophical, and political movements in Christendom and left an indelible mark on literature, art, and music. In almost all Christian traditions today, the New Testament consists of 27 books, John A. T. Robinson, Dan Wallace, and William F. Albright dated all the books of the New Testament before 70 AD. Others give a date of 80 AD, or at 96 AD. Over time, some disputed books, such as the Book of Revelation, other works earlier held to be Scripture, such as 1 Clement, the Shepherd of Hermas, and the Diatessaron, were excluded from the New Testament. However, the canon of the New Testament, at least since Late Antiquity, has been almost universally recognized within Christianity. The term new testament, or new covenant first occurs in Jeremiah 31,31, the same Greek phrase for new covenant is found elsewhere in the New Testament. Modern English, like Latin, distinguishes testament and covenant as alternative translations, John Wycliffes 1395 version is a translation of the Latin Vulgate and so follows different terms in Jeremiah and Hebrews, Lo. Days shall come, saith the Lord, and I shall make a new covenant with the house of Israel, for he reproving him saith, Lo. Days come, saith the Lord, when I shall establish a new testament on the house of Israel, use of the term New Testament to describe a collection of first and second-century Christian Greek Scriptures can be traced back to Tertullian. In Against Marcion, written circa 208 AD, he writes of the Divine Word, by the 4th century, the existence—even if not the exact contents—of both an Old and New Testament had been established. Lactantius, a 3rd–4th century Christian author wrote in his early-4th-century Latin Institutiones Divinae and that which preceded the advent and passion of Christ—that is, the law and the prophets—is called the Old, but those things which were written after His resurrection are named the New Testament. The canon of the New Testament is the collection of books that most Christians regard as divinely inspired, several of these writings sought to extend, interpret, and apply apostolic teaching to meet the needs of Christians in a given locality. The book order is the same in the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, the Slavonic, Armenian and Ethiopian traditions have different New Testament book orders. Each of the four gospels in the New Testament narrates the life, death, the word gospel derives from the Old English gōd-spell, meaning good news or glad tidings. The gospel was considered the good news of the coming Kingdom of Messiah, and the redemption through the life and death of Jesus, Gospel is a calque of the Greek word εὐαγγέλιον, euangelion
38.
Philosophy of religion
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According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, philosophy of religion is, the philosophical examination of the central themes and concepts involved in religious traditions. It is an ancient discipline, being found in the earliest known manuscripts concerning philosophy, and relates to other branches of philosophy, including metaphysics, epistemology. It is designed such that it can be carried out dispassionately by those who identify as believers or non-believers, some aspects of Philosophy of religion has classically been regarded as a part of metaphysics. In Aristotles Metaphysics, the necessarily prior cause of motion was an unmoved mover. This, according to Aristotle, is God, the subject of study in theology, although the term did not come into general use until the nineteenth century, perhaps the earliest strictly philosophical writings about religion can be found in the Hindu Upanishads. Around the same time, the works of Daoism and Confucianism also dealt, in part, the Buddhist writing in the Pali canon contains acute philosophical thinking, and we have in Buddhism a very shrewd grasp of the nature of religion as philosophy illuminates it. The philosophy of religion has been distinguished from theology by pointing out that, for theology, also, theology is responsible to an authority that initiates its thinking, speaking, and witnessing. Philosophy bases its arguments on the ground of timeless evidence, three considerations that are basic to the philosophy of religion concerning deities are, the existence of God, the nature of God, and the knowledge of God. There are several positions with regard to the existence of God that one might take. Pantheism - the belief that God exists as all things of the cosmos, panentheism - the belief that God encompasses all things of the cosmos but that God is greater than the cosmos, God is both immanent and transcendent. Deism - the belief that God does exist but does not interfere with human life, monotheism - Usually defined as the belief that a single deity exists which is omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent created everything. Polytheism - the belief that deities exist which rule the universe as separate. Henotheism - the belief that multiple deities may or may not exist, henology - believing that multiple avatars of a deity exist, which represent unique aspects of the ultimate deity. Agnosticism - the belief that the existence or non-existence of deities or God is currently unknown or unknowable, a weaker form of this might be defined as simply a lack of certainty about gods existence or nonexistence. Atheism - the rejection of belief in the existence of deities, apatheism - a complete disinterest in, or lack of caring for, whether or not any deity or deities exists. Possibilianism These are not mutually exclusive positions, for example, agnostic theists choose to believe God exists while asserting that knowledge of Gods existence is inherently unknowable. Similarly, agnostic atheists reject belief in the existence of all deities, the attempt to provide proofs or arguments for the existence of God is one aspect of what is known as natural theology or the natural theistic project. This strand of natural theology attempts to justify belief in God by independent grounds, there is plenty of philosophical literature on faith and other subjects generally considered to be outside the realm of natural theology
