Jews and Gentiles: Law and Early Christianity
As Christianity surfaced, it was adhered to not as a religion other than Judaism but rather as a continuation of Judaism where adherents believed Jesus to be the promised Jewish Messiah whose birth, life, death, and resurrection bring forth salvation to Israel and a light for the Gentile nations. Thus, early Christians, most of whom were of a Jewish descent, welcomed Gentiles to join the fold of God. At the core of the Christian faith is the celebration of the Eucharistic meal, the consecrated bread and wine that become truly and mystically the body and blood of Christ. The struggle then hinged on how Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians can share a single meal without Jewish Christians necessarily breaking their Kashrut laws.
The Messiah in the Gospel of John
Wine at the Wedding The Gospel of John is certainly the most mystical and theological of the four gospels. While it contains numerous motifs and metaphors, we will pay close attention to the marriage banquet theme. The first of Jesus’ miracles, changing the water into wine at the wedding in Cana, takes place “on […]
The Messiah in the Gospel of Luke
Luke and Genesis The book of Genesis opens with the words, “In the beginning, God created heaven and earth”. The combination of heaven and earth was often used in stories surrounding the inauguration of temples where the gods dwelt with humans. Likely, the original recipients thought of the world as a cosmic temple in […]
On the Eucharist and the Levels of Corruptibility
Both Severus and Gregory agreed on the body and blood of Christ communicating the divine life. Both agreed that the substance remains corruptible or changeable which makes the possibility of its taste and other properties changing feasible.
Vision, Knowledge and Unity – Part I
The Mustein’s theory is a psychological theory that explains mate-selection process over three stages: (1) one selects a partner based on external characteristics, (2) one makes judgement about a partner based on similar values and interests and (3) finally the stage of working out future together. These three stages are analogous to three stages that […]