Review

Here is a review of one of my sources on some of the history of Christianity.

website is http://www.bibletruths.net/archives/BTARO65.htm

I should start by saying that the reason I am citing this article is because it does not express theology alone, but historical acts of the Christian faith.
In the first paragraph the author questions if the reader knows the true meaning of Christianity. He then defines it very broadly as "a conglomerate of all religions, regardless of how remotely they resemble the scriptures, that profess to believe in Jesus Christ." He continues (more briefly) that this can range from belief in a personal relationship to mere acknowledgement of Christ's existence.
In the following section he discusses the churches splintering into denominations, and points out that one of the oldest church (the Lutherans) are still 1500 years removed from the life of Christ. He goes further in saying that Catholicism was still not really a full grown and established church until 606 A.D. Even then, the article states, it still did not have many of the doctrines (such as celibacy) for hundreds of more years.
As he takes us back through time, we finally arrive at the first century, what some scholars refer to as "primitive Christianity". It is at this point, that the author loses impartiality. He soon idealizes the 1st century as the good old days, when religion was practiced only for faith, not for a preacher's money. He tells of a simple life of faith and devotion instead of lavish entertainments at congregations. But most of all he states that the word of god was the final reference then, whereas now it is the word of a man. This belief may be true. Or it may not. That is not the purpose of this summary.
In conclusion, the author of this article stated many facts, backed up by solid evidence. On the other hand, he lost his objectivity at the end, and starts to cite sources less and less. As a reference it is useful in referring to the bible, as it uses many passages in the bible to back up it's beliefs, but few outside sources. I guess that's it. Beyond this, I don't really understand what I'm supposed to write about.

My site visit:

I attended Cru last thursday. It seems like a very tight community, but not so tight that new faces aren't welcomed. That's the point after all. It is very active; with many athletic events, etc. and that activity is one of the main ways people hear about Cru. I interviewed a 4 year member of Cru, who's family has been involved for the past 26 years.

He said that the mission statment of Cru is to capture hearts, transform lives, and launch men and women into a life long relationship with Jesus Christ. When I asked what he belived makes a good christian, he said "Anyone who strives to be like Jesus Christ in everything they do everyday." He didn't mean blasphemy, or egomania. He explained further that following Christs example of perfection, of goodness is what allows people of the christian faith to better their lives.

He told me these things, and I asked him about our country, and what he thought mass religion would do to it. He replied that "Faith in Jesus and in his teachings are good personal guides, but religion is not a fix all," which I took to mean, you can use faith to better yourself, and many can use it to better themselves as a whole, but you cannot expect it to "magic" everything better. You have to use your morals and your cause to improve the physical world that you live in.

Here are my questions:

Cru Survey

1) Just for my records, what is your name, and position here at CRU?
2) How long have you been a member here?
3) How did you find out about CRU, and what made you want to join?
4) Can you describe the organization briefly for me? What are its’ goals? Why was it founded? When was it founded?
5) Where do you see CRU in five years?
6) Do you have a particular favorite parable? Why?
7) What do you think makes a good Christian?
8) What do you think of modern religion?
9) What do you think of our country currently, and do you think it could be improved by Christianity? How?
10) How do you think your organization plays into that?

My 1204 H goals:

1) I joined this course so I could learn how to talk good. Oh yeah-I know-adverb, talk goodly. There we go.

2) I joined this course because I was pretty sure that it would teach me how to write papers at a collegiate level. This, I am nearly positive, is true.

3) I joined this course because it was the harder option. I wanted a course that would challenge me to succeed, and this, I believe, it will do. Maybe not tomorrow, or next week, but I'm pretty sure when I have to actually start writing papers, I'm gonna get my money's worth.

Elephants

I'm not really sure what to write about. I've just read that an asian elephant scored an 87% on a math test. This leads scientists to believe elephants are one of the better animals when it comes to mathematical reasoning. I say it's because they can't fall back on using their fingers to count.