Discuss Each Topic Council Of Trent
Discusses each topic in 250 words. There are 8 topics. Only use the material that I gave to you.
Nicene Creed: Be prepared to discuss the catholic church’s teaching on the blessed trinity, the person of Jesus Christ and grace articulate in the Nicene Creed. (Hint: Memorize the Nice Creed). Also be prepared to discuss the heretical beliefs that the Council of Nicea and the Creed opposed. Such as Arianism, Gnosticism, Nestorianism, Monophysitism and Pelagianism.
Council of Trent: Be prepared to discuss how the Council of Trent articulated what Catholics believed and reformed many of the abuses that the protestants challenged. T. Include specific doctrinal teachings and matters of discipline addressed by the Council
Augustine of Hippo: Finding meaning in life by looking within. what did Augustine mean when he taught that each person has the capacity for God, and by looking within we could Discover God and true meaning in our life.
Gregory of Nyssa: the way to perfection. How does one make oneself better and what are the limits and goals of perfection? Be prepared to discuss Gregory’s perspective on the perfect life, living a life of virtue and the soul’s ascent to the Divine.
Julian of Norwich: New insights into the feminine dimension of God in divine motherhood. Discuss the many images of God as Mother written by Julian. Describe the impact of Julian’s writings and feminine language about God for our Church both then and now.
Francis of Assisi: Prayers for peace and gratitude for God’s creation. In a time of darkness, despair and corruption, St. Francis of Assisi offers us images of God full of hope, beauty and peace and inspires feeling of gratitude for the grandeur of God’s creation. Describe how these image of God were impactful for the Church in during the despair of the dark ages and how their spiritualities can offer us insight even today.
Martin Luther: A careful thinker and brilliant preacher. Luther strongly opposed the abuses of the Catholic Church. Discuss how Luther was a forceful personality during the Reformation. What did he stand for and against? what characteristics make him a role model.
ST. Thomas More: A great mind and theologian who resigned his post as Chancellor to the King of England when the King declared himself ruler of the Church of England. Discuss the situation Sir Thomas More faced, the decisions he made and how he can be a role model for Catholics today.
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Discuss Each Topic
Nicene Creed
The Catholics understand what God is like through the doctrine of the Trinity. The doctrine places God at the center of the triangle which means that He is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the assignment discusses the Catholic Church teachings about the doctrine of Trinity and the heretical beliefs that the Creed and the Council of Nicea opposed.
The Catholics believe that God has three identities. Then other three persons exist independently and only God can possess the three attributes. The Creed and the Council of Nicea oppose certain heretical beliefs such as Arianism, Pelagianism, Nestorianism, Gnosticism, and Monophysitism. Arianism describes that Christ is the Son of God instead of being the Father. However, Pelagianism hold that ‘’the original sin did not taint human nature and mortal will is still capable of choosing good or evil without special divine aid.’’ Similarly, Nestorianism contradicts then idea of hypostatic union but stresses on a radical variation between two natures. Finally, Monophysitism expounds that there is only one divine nature instead of two in the person of Jesus Christ.
To sum up, the Catholics believe in the doctrine of Trinity that God can be three in one which are the Son, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. However, there are several heretical beliefs that contradict the concept such as Monophysitism, Nestorianism, and Pelagianism. Therefore, the belief of various Churches and people differ depending on their ideas.
Council of Trent
The Council of Trent was an ecumenical Catholic Church’s council which was prompted by the reformation of Protestants. The objectives of the council were to explain the teachings of the Catholic Church and to address the abuses that were made against the Church. Therefore, the work discusses the specific teachings by the council and the abuses that the Protestants challenged.
The Protestants believed in passive reception of grace which the council explained that no person can identify the person who has received the grace of God. Further, the council expounded that God’s grace can be forfeited through mortal sin. Also, during the time which sacrament is taken, the council condemned the belief among people that only vernacular language needs to be used and insisted on using Latin language. Additionally, the council reaffirmed the importance of celibate state where a person can decide to remain unmarried for religious reasons. The council explained that the validity of marriage will only be proved after a Church wedding inform of a priest and more than one witness.
Therefore, the role of the council was to reduce the rate of abuses that the Catholic Church experienced from the Protestants. The council explained the reason for their Church believes and expected the Protestants to understand and obey the same. Hence, the council played a role in promoting peace among the Protestants and the Catholic Church believers.
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo was an early Christian philosopher and theologian who made several writings that impacted the development of Western philosophy and Christianity. He taught people to be good Christians including the slaves, the rich and poor, the leaned, and the patricians. Therefore, the work focuses on his teachings and their meaning.
Augustine taught that ‘’each person has the capacity for God, and by looking within we could Discover God and true meaning in our life.’’ The statement means that God does not discriminate people and gives everyone an equal opportunity to serve Him. Therefore, by considering what He has done in our lives, a person should appreciate the role of God in their lives. Moreover, the knowledge of God helps people to define what life is and why we live. People live to worship God and appreciate everything that He has done to us including giving us life. Hence, through Augustine’s teachings, people will be able to know the reason why they live and the importance of God in their lives.
To sum up, the teachings of Augustine through his writings promoted Christianity. He taught about being a good Christian and why people should appreciate the importance of God in their lives. Also, he taught about the reason why we live which is to worship God. Hence, his teachings helped people to change their lives and become God’s children.
Gregory of Nyssa
Gregory of Nyssa was a theologian who did not have much administrative influence as his bothers but made a great contribution towards the Nicene Creed and the doctrine of Trinity. Additionally, he made teachings regarding the ways in which people can make themselves perfect. Therefore, the work focuses on the Gregory’s view on the perfect life, the soul’s ascent to the Divine, and living a life of virtue. He explains that it is impossible for those who pursue the life of virtue to attain perfection. Just as the end of life is marked by the beginning of death, the end of good things is marked by the beginning of evil. Similarly, the statement that the attainment of perfection is with reference to virtue is true. Therefore, he defined that a perfect life cannot be attained because there is no limit to measure it just as attaining perfection is impossible as the limits always stretches. Also, he defy the power of the Holy Spirit in baptism by arguing that a man become god by mimicking the traits of the divine nature. This is possible through modeling on the properties of ...