Christianity is highly dynamic and living religious tradition, as it has ongoing relevance within the lives of practicing Christians through providing rituals and a model for living an ethical and spiritual life, therefore the statement is accurate. Christianity is the world’s largest religion, with over 2.4 billion adherents as of 2015. All adherents of Christianity, with slight variations between the denominations, are connected through the Church’s core ethical teachings, rituals and theological works of influential individuals - for example Baptism, Environmental Ethics, and St Paul of Tarsus - which provide a basis for their principal beliefs and the way in which they choose to live their life. Therefore, through the continued significance of the role of Baptism, Environmental Ethics and the contributions of St Paul of Tarsus within the lives of adherents, it is clear that Christianity is “an authentic example of a thriving religious tradition.”
Fantastic introduction; good integration of beliefs and your core 3 elements of the study. I'd perhaps look at integrating the stimulus in your introduction, rather than just saying "it's accurate," I think it would be smoother. Just steal phrases and use them in quotation marks just like you did at the end, looks great to markers! You MIGHT also want to introduce the beliefs of Christianity you will be discussing, but that isn't an urgent thing.The sacrament of Baptism plays a critical role within the lives of adherents and wider Christian society, as it
includes the initiation of an individual into the community, providing them with a sense of belonging and a support network as they develop their beliefs. According to the statement, Christianity offers its adherents “meaningful rituals which are rich in symbol and clearly link to the principal beliefs of the tradition,” and Baptism is clear example of this. Though the specific practices vary depending upon the denomination of Christianity, Baptism is a uniting features amongst all Christian churches, and is
described as the ritualistic initiation of an individual into the Christian faith. It is a declaration by the adherent (if they are an adult, if not it is a declaration by the legal guardians to raise them as a Christian) of their Christian faith, and their commitment to live a Christian life. Therefore, as it is a lifelong commitment, Baptism plays a significant role within the daily lives of the adherents, as it is their promise to live by the teachings of Jesus, as according to Galatians 3:27 “for all you who are baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ.” Along with this, through Baptism the adherent is admitted into a community who is committed to help nurture the adherent’s faith, and provide support as they undergo their spiritual journey. This support plays a major role within the daily lives of the adherent, particularly those who where baptized young, as it is the community’s commitment to teaching the adherent the scripture and beliefs of their faith, and raise them to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Therefore, as it is clear that the sacrament of Baptism plays a critical role within the daily lives of the adherents and wider Christian community, Christianity is a dynamic and living religion, therefore the statement is accurate.
Great paragraph! Remember a few things; First, not all Christian denominations have Baptism. Salvation Army for example, does not. Just something to consider. Notice the bits in red are repetitious; say it once I think you'd hit the importance more effectively if you targeted some specific beliefs that Baptism allows connection to. EG - "The method of immersion used in Orthodox Baptisms has greater symbolic meaning; it allows the adherent to empathise with the death and resurrection of Christ, subsequently reaffirming their beliefs." Or something. Really hamemr home the importance of this by linking to some key beliefs from Prelim; Nature of God and The Trinity is an easy one!The contributions of St Paul of Tarsus play a crucial role within the lives of adherents through many avenues, such as providing key teachings on love and salvation, being a role model for adherents and helping to spread Christianity and establish it as a dominant religious tradition. According to the statement, Christianity offers its adherents with “inspirational individuals and ideas [that] offer models for thinking and living,” and the contributions of St Paul of Tarsus are a clear example of this. Paul of Tarsus is considered to be one of the key role models of Christianity (aside from Jesus), due to his conversion and contributions to the faith in regards to spreading the Christian message further and making it more applicable, aiding in Christianity becoming a dominant world religion. A principal reason for Paul of Tarsus being such an influential figure within Christianity are his theological teachings on love and salvation, which provide adherents with an outline of the ethical demands they are committed to. Paul of Tarsus believed firmly that it was a Christians duty to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, and placed great importance on the role of love or “agape” (self-less love) within every day lives of Christians. According to Paul in Galatians 5:14, love is a critical aspect of Christian life as “the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command “love your neighbor as yourself”’ Therefore, Paul encouraged love to be the centre point of Christian ethical teachings, suggesting that any action done without “agape,” even charity work, was obsolete within the eyes of God. Paul of Tarsus also provided the Christian understanding that Salvation is only possible due to the death and resurrection of Jesus, and hence one can only achieve Salvation through faith in him. This is clear within Romans 5:20-21 where Paul describes Jesus as “bring[ing] eternal life.” These are both critical teachings that greatly impact upon the daily lives of Christians, as love and faith in Jesus should drive their actions. Therefore, it is clear that the role and contribution of St Paul of Tarsus has had a critical impact upon the daily lives of Christians, proving that Christianity is a dynamic and living religion, therefore the statement is accurate.
Another excellent paragraph, you are answering the question excellently. Great inclusion of scripture. Again, try to really hammer home how the work of Paul is active in the lives of adherents, it feels just a tad bit shy of perfect right now. The beliefs are a fantastic way to achieve this. You can easily link to the Divinity and Humanity of Christ here; connection to his ministry is important to the adherent!Christianity provides its adherents with an ethical base in regards to significant issues facing modern society, particularly in regards to how we treat, and take care of the Earth’s environment in an era of climate change and the deterioration of the natural world. According to the statement, Christianity offers its adherents with “the ethical position offered on significant issues [that] speak to the realities of life in the twenty-first century.” The term environmental ethics is used to describe the ecological conscience or morality that reflects a commitment and responsibility towards the environment, our common home. As the threat of Climate Change is a highly significant and relevant issue within the 21st Century, and has been discussed – both positively and negatively – by a range of public figures such as politicians, celebrities, activists and even religious leaders, such as Pope Francis, it is clear that environmental ethics has ongoing relevance within the lives of 21st Century Christians. The Christian Church has their own set of beliefs in regards to the maintenance of our environment, which is based upon the belief that the Earth is Gods creations, and that human beings were put on this earth in order to be its stewards. This is evident within Genesis, which focuses upon God’s creation of all things, particularly Genesis 2:15, where “the Lord God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.” This suggests that God put humans upon this earth in order to take care and cultivate the land, for humans to use as we need, but not exploit it. This belief drives Christian environmental ethics, and is further emphasized by Pope Francis’s second encyclical paper Laudato si’: On Care For Our Common Home, which focuses upon the urgent need for environmental care, and heavily critiques the consumerism and irresponsible developments of the modern world. According to Pope Francis, “"Never have we so hurt and mistreated our common home as we have in the last two hundred years," calling upon Christians to push for better treatment of our natural world. Pope Francis connects environmental ethics to other critical ethical teachings within Christianity, such as those to do with poverty, therefore further emphasizing the critical importance of environmental ethics within the daily lives of adherents. Therefore, it is evident through the ongoing relevance and significance of environmental ethics within the lives of Christians, it is clear that Christianity is a dynamic and living religious tradition that provides its adherents with guidelines upon how to act in modern situations.
Be sure that your first sentence in each paragraph connects to the question; REALLY make that connection between the ethical teachings and WHY they make Christianity a dynamic, living religious tradition obvious from the start. Love your integration of an encyclical; very very impressive.Through the continued significance of the role of Baptism, the contributions of St Paul of Tarsus, and environmental ethics, it is clear that Christianity provides the adherents with core ethical teachings, rituals and theological works that guide their day to day actions, and drive their morality and beliefs. Therefore, it is clear that Christianity is a highly dynamic and living religious tradition, as it has a definite ongoing relevance within the lives of practicing adherents, therefore the statement is accurate.
A tad shy on the conclusion; but it works! You could add more if you want but this does the job nicely!