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Mere Christianity
''Mere Christianity'' is a Christian apologetical book by the British author C. S. Lewis. It was adapted from a series of BBC radio talks made between 1941 and 1944, originally published as three separate volumes: ''Broadcast Talks'' (1942), ''Christian Behaviour'' (1943), and ''Beyond Personality'' (1944). The book consists of four parts: the first presents Lewis's arguments for the existence of God; the second contains his defence of Christian theology, including his notable " Liar, lunatic, or Lord" trilemma; the third has him exploring Christian ethics, among which are cardinal and theological virtues; in the final, he writes on the Christian conception of God. ''Mere Christianity'' was published in the United Kingdom by Geoffrey Bles on 7 July 1952. While initial reviews to the book were generally positive, modern reviewers were more critical of it, and its overall reception was relatively mixed. The praise was primarily directed to Lewis's humorous, straightforward styl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christian Apologetics
Christian apologetics (, "verbal defense, speech in defense") is a branch of Christian theology that defends Christianity. Christian apologetics have taken many forms over the centuries, starting with Paul the Apostle in the early church and Patristic writers such as Origen, Augustine of Hippo, Justin Martyr and Tertullian, then continuing with writers such as Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus, William of Ockham and Anselm of Canterbury during Scholasticism. Blaise Pascal was an active Christian apologist during the 17th century. In the modern period, Christianity was defended through the efforts of many authors such as John Henry Newman, G. K. Chesterton and C. S. Lewis, as well as G. E. M. Anscombe. History Jewish precursors According to Edgar J. Goodspeed in the first century CE Jewish apologetic elements could be seen in works such as The Wisdom of Solomon, Philo's ''On the Contemplative Life'' and more explicitly in Josephus' '' Against Apion''. Apostolic and post-aposto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pantheism
Pantheism can refer to a number of philosophical and religious beliefs, such as the belief that the universe is God, or panentheism, the belief in a non-corporeal divine intelligence or God out of which the universe arisesAnn Thomson; Bodies of Thought: Science, Religion, and the Soul in the Early Enlightenment, 2008, page 54. as opposed to the corporeal gods of religion such as Yahweh. The former idea came from Church theologians who, in attacking the latter form of pantheism, described pantheism as the belief that God is the material universe itself.Worman, J. H., "Pantheism", in ''Cyclopædia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature, Volume 1'', John McClintock, James Strong (Eds), Harper & Brothers, 1896, pp. 616–624. Under some conceptions of pantheism, the universe is thought to be an immanent deity, still expanding and creating, which has existed since the beginning of time. Pantheism can include the belief that everything constitutes a unity and that t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Social Relations
A social relation is the fundamental unit of analysis within the social sciences, and describes any voluntary or involuntary interpersonal relationship between two or more conspecifics within and/or between groups. The group can be a language or kinship group, a social institution or organization, an economic class, a nation, or gender. Social relations are derived from human behavioral ecology, and, as an aggregate, form a coherent social structure whose constituent parts are best understood relative to each other and to the socioecology, social ecosystem as a Holism in science, whole. History Early inquiries into the nature of social relations featured in the work of sociologists such as Max Weber in his theory of social action, where social relationships composed of both positive (affiliative) and negative (agonistic) interactions represented opposing effects. Categorizing social interactions enables observational and other social research, such as Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaf ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charity (Christian Virtue)
In Christian theology, charity (Latin: ) is considered one of the seven virtues and was understood by Thomas Aquinas as "the friendship of man for God", which "unites us to God". He holds it as "the most excellent of the virtues". Aquinas further holds that "the habit of charity extends not only to the love of God, but also to the love of our neighbor". The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines "charity" as "the theological virtue by which we love God above all things for His own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God". : the altruistic love The phrase from 1 John 4:8 ()—or () in the original Greek is translated in the King James Version as: "God is love", and in the Douay-Rheims bible as: "God is charity" (). Thomas Aquinas does not simply equate charity with "love", which he holds as a passion, not a virtue. The King James Version uses both the words ''charity'' and ''love'' to translate the idea of / (): sometimes it uses one, then sometimes the o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Faith In Christianity
Faith in Christianity is often discussed in terms of believing God in Christianity, God's promises, trusting in his faithfulness, and relying on God's character and faithfulness to act. Some denominations believe in the New Covenant and in the doctrine of Salvation in Christianity, salvation by justification by faith, faith alone (). According to most Christian traditions and denominations, Christian faith requires a belief in the resurrection of Jesus, and the Agony in the Garden which Jesus states is the plan of God the Father. Since the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century, the meaning of the term ''faith'' has been an object of major Christian theology, theological disagreement in Western Christianity. The differences have been largely overcome in the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (1999). The precise understanding of the term "faith" differs among the Christian denomination, various Christian traditions. Despite these differences, Christians generally ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hope (virtue)
Hope () is one of the three theological virtues in the Christian tradition. Hope is a combination of the desire for something and expectation of receiving it. The Christian virtue is hoping specifically for Divine union and so eternal happiness. While faith is a function of the intellect, hope is an act of the will. As a deeply rooted aspect of human life, it also encompasses other dimensions, such as the cultural and mythical dimension of hope, the hope required to perform every action, psychological hope, and the legal aspect of hope. Overview Thomas Aquinas defined hope as "...a future good, difficult but possible to attain... by means of the Divine Assistance... on Whose help it leans". Hope is always concerned with something in the future. Like the theological virtues of faith and charity, hope finds its "origin, motive, and object" in God. In Hebrews 10:23, Paul the Apostle says, "Let us hold unwaveringly to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Courage
Courage (also called bravery, valour ( British and Commonwealth English), or valor (American English)) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in battle. Physical courage is bravery in the face of physical pain, hardship, even death, or threat of death; while moral courage is the ability to act rightly in the face of popular opposition, shame, scandal, discouragement, or personal loss. The classical virtue of fortitude (, ) is also translated as "courage", but includes the aspects of perseverance and patience. In the Western tradition, notable thoughts on courage have come from philosophers Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, and Kierkegaard; as well as Christian beliefs and texts. In the Hindu tradition, mythology has given many examples of courage; with examples of both physical and moral courage exemplified. In the Eastern tradition, the Chinese text '' Tao Te Ching'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Temperance (virtue)
Temperance in its modern use is defined as moderation or voluntary self-restraint. It is typically described in terms of what a person voluntarily refrains from doing. This includes restraint from revenge by practicing mercy and forgiveness, restraint from arrogance by practicing humility and modesty, restraint from excesses such as extravagant luxury or splurging, restraint from overindulgence in food and drink, and restraint from rage or craving by practicing calmness and equanimity. The distinction between temperance and self-control is subtle. A person who exhibits self-control wisely refrains from giving in to unwise desires. A person who exhibits temperance does not have unwise desires in the first place because they have wisely shaped their character in such a way that their desires are proper ones. Aristotle suggested this analogy: An intemperate person is like a city with bad laws; a person who lacks self control is like a city that has good laws on the books but doesn’ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Justice
In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Institutes'' of Justinian I, Justinian, a 6th-century codification of Roman law, where justice is defined as "the constant and perpetual will to render to each his due". A society where justice has been achieved would be one in which individuals receive what they "deserve". The interpretation of what "deserve" means draws on a variety of fields and philosophical branches including ethics, rationality, law, religion, and fairness. The state may pursue justice by operating courts and enforcing their rulings. History Early Western theories of justice were developed in part by Ancient Greek philosophers such as Plato in his work ''Republic (Plato), The Republic'', and Aristotle, in his ''Nicomachean Ethics'' and ''Politics (Aristotle), Politics'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prudence
Prudence (, contracted from meaning "seeing ahead, sagacity") is the ability to govern and discipline oneself by the use of reason. It is classically considered to be a virtue, and in particular one of the four cardinal virtues (which are, with the three theological virtues, part of the seven virtues). Prudentia is an allegorical female personification of the virtue, whose attributes are a mirror and snake, and who is frequently depicted as a pair with Justitia, the Roman goddess of Justice. The word derives from the 14th-century Old French word , which, in turn, derives from the Latin meaning "foresight, sagacity". It is often associated with wisdom, insight, and knowledge. The virtue of prudence is the ability to judge between virtuous and vicious actions, not only in a general sense, but with regard to appropriate actions at a given time and place. Although prudence itself does not perform any actions, and is concerned solely with knowledge, all virtues are regulated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ethics
Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches include normative ethics, applied ethics, and metaethics. Normative ethics aims to find general principles that govern how people should act. Applied ethics examines concrete ethical problems in real-life situations, such as abortion, treatment of animals, and Business ethics, business practices. Metaethics explores the underlying assumptions and concepts of ethics. It asks whether there are objective moral facts, how moral knowledge is possible, and how moral judgments motivate people. Influential normative theories are consequentialism, deontology, and virtue ethics. According to consequentialists, an act is right if it leads to the best consequences. Deontologists focus on acts themselves, saying that they must adhere to Duty, duties, like t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Delusional
A delusion is a fixed belief that is not amenable to change in light of conflicting evidence. As a pathology, it is distinct from a belief based on false or incomplete information, confabulation, dogma, illusion, hallucination, or some other misleading effects of perception, as individuals with those beliefs ''are'' able to change or readjust their beliefs upon reviewing the evidence. However: "The distinction between a delusion and a strongly held idea is sometimes difficult to make and depends in part on the degree of conviction with which the belief is held despite clear or reasonable contradictory evidence regarding its veracity." Delusions have been found to occur in the context of many pathological states (both general physical and mental) and are of particular diagnostic importance in psychotic disorders including schizophrenia, paraphrenia, manic episodes of bipolar disorder, and psychotic depression. Types Delusions are categorized into four different groups: * ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
