When writing about the origins of Christianity, don't
forget that you are writing an academic paper, engaging in
historical research. I realize that we have students of many
different religions and students of no religion, but I cannot
ignore the fact that Christianity is the most popular form of
religion here in Panama, and so many students are used to taking
the truth of Christian belief for granted in their essays.
Consider the following:
The immaculate
birth of a baby boy called Jesus Christ, from a virgin Mary
and Joseph, a Jewish couple, marked a special time in history.
I suspect that the
student who wrote this does not understand what is meant by
talking about the immaculate conception: this does not refer
to the conception of Jesus, but to the belief that Mary
herself was unstained by original sin from the moment when
she was conceived by her own parents. In any case, these
religious doctrines cannot be incorporated into a historical
narrative without some qualification. For example you could
write:
Christians,
myself included, believe that Jesus was born from a virgin
named Mary. But whether or not his birth was miraculous,
it is certain that his life marked an important turning
point in the history of Judaism.
That way, you do not deny your religious beliefs, but you
keep them separate from your historical analysis.
Now on to issues of understanding:
We already know
that Christianity and Judaism are similar religions in
many ways. They both believe in the same God and started
in the same culture and people. They also believe that
...Adam and Eve were the first humans to walk in the earth
and also the first sinners that condemned humanity to live
in the earth and a fight for salvation.
There is an
interesting issue here. Jews in the time of Jesus hoped
for salvation, and Christians say that Jesus offered
salvation. However, the meaning of the word 'salvation'
is not the same in each case. The Jewish belief was that
God would keep his nation safe. The Christian belief is
that God will save people from hell. That difference,
and the reason for the change, is worth commenting on.
Finally, choose your sources carefully:
Considering
the importance they [the Pharisees] put upon tradition
and the Torah, as well held high into consideration
purity and cleanliness (Jesus
and the Pharisees). They were considered by many
people to be greedy and self-righteous group and in
fact many people did not like them on a personal
level. They nonetheless commanded a high level of
respect from the general population including Jesus
himself.
Of course,
the Gospel writers did not like the Pharisees, but
do we have any independent evidence to support the
view that many people thought the Pharisees were
greedy? Josephus tells us that the Pharisees were
admired for their thrifty lifestyle. The negative
stereotypes about the Pharisees are hard to justify
on historical grounds.
The student did cite a source, a paper from an
organization called lastdays.org.
Check out their home-page and ask yourself: is this
a good, reliable source of information? Objective?
Academic?
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