Abstract
This paper examines the collection of essays known as "Black Witness to the Apostolic Faith" edited by David Shannon and Gayraud S. Wilmore about black and apostolic churches. It looks at how the purpose of the book is to find common ground among black Apostolic Christians and to expand their influence in the Christian and non-Christian world. It discusses how the editors believe that black Christian writers and theologians have not had the attention they deserve in the world of Christianity partly as a result of the racism of the past, which has left much power in white hands and less power in black hands. It evaluates how it seeks to take away the distortions of the Christian message which blacks were given by whites in the days of slavery.

From the Paper
"In other words, in the bigger picture it should be all Christians, black and white and others, who come together in their common faith. The "confession' the authors write about is not only confession of sins but confession of faith, and that common confession can bring people together only if all sins are confessed and only if the confessor sees God as bigger than his own fears and prejudices. Wilmore is not saying that blacks should hate whites, but that whites must look at the past and accept what they did, just as blacks have had to look at the past and face what was done to them. To these Christian writers, it is God and Jesus Christ Who have allowed them to survive that past and to come out of their experiences with love and forgiveness in their hearts."

Tags:slavery, church, blacks, whites, racism

Abstract
This research sets forth the context in which Christian spirituality unfolded in the first century A.D., also known at the apostolic period. It discusses in particular evidence of how the apostles made connections from spiritual experience to the shared experience of faith in the Christian community. The paper examines how the apostolic generation arrived at and then fostered a cohesive doctrine of spirituality that centered around the figure of Jesus Christ, in the shape of a mission of love.

From the Paper
"No less significant is the fact that this spirituality and the apostolic mission are new because they specifically differ from Judaism, not only in the content of the message but also in the behavior of the messengers. For example, Matthew's Jesus (13:14) refers to those who are taught in parables as a fulfillment of "the [Hebrew] prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing he shall hear, and shall not understand." What is implied here is that the teachings of Jesus are meant to be directly relevant to Jewish experience, but the Christian mission is also meant to reinterpret it and point it in new directions. When Matthew says that "every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven" (13:52), the implication is that the new interpretation, not the old law, will be preeminent, hence that the Christians and not the Jews (i.e., the new scribes and not the old black-letter-law priests of Judaism) are to have the keys of the kingdom."

Tags:Confessions, Augustine, Paul, Spirit, Catholicism

Abstract
In this paper, the writer discusses that the paleographic subjectivity of authorship and the conflict of theocratic Roman Catholic authority are logical reasons to exclude the Didache from the New Testament. The writer maintains that there is a great lack of evidence that the Didache could have been written by the Apostles or any of their immediate followers, especially in the way that scribes can alter or manipulate scripture or rules of conduct within the Church. Furthermore, the writer discusses that the Didache provides rules of official appointment for clergy that would essentially destroy the "apostolic succession" currently used within the complex theocratic institution of the Church of Rome.

Tags:didache, bible, text

Abstract
This is a short paper on the writings of some of the very early fathers of the Christian/Catholic church, Ignatius and Clement. This paper mostly relates to the role and importance of bishops and priests to the early church.

From the Paper
"Clement and Ignatius certainly agree that only an exclusive group within the faith is permitted to hold worship services and offer gifts. Clement devotes a significant portion of his First Letter to the issue, stating that the orderly procedure of preaching and worship depends on God's will. Thereafter, he explains the basis for the doctrine of apostolic succession concluding that those who celebrate "the sacrifices" (the Eucharist) with persons of proper authority "shall be guilty of no slight sin.""

Tags:communion, doctrine

Abstract
In this paper, an analysis of Chuck Palahniuk's messianic character is represented in the dual personality of Jack and his alter ego, Tyler Burden. By realizing the tendency toward a messianic urge in the growing disgust of Jack as victim of American consumer culture and corruption; Tyler Burden becomes his alter ego seeking to destroy American culture though the example of Christ's crucifixion. The archetype of the messianic figure is ever present in this novel with Tyler's desire to cleanse humanity of corruption and sin through fight club's anarchist terrorism.

From the Paper
Analyzing Apostolic Fiction in the Messianic Characterizations of Chuck Palahniuk's Fight Club This study will analyze the role of messianic characterization in the novel Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk. The main character, Jack, is a messianic figure that is founded through a split ego personality, which provides him the necessary invention and leadership of Tyler Burden to invent fight club. However, the messianic overtones of Fight Club revolve around his desire to thwart the materialism of American society, which acts as a recruiting ground for various apostolic followers in the club. In essence, Palahniuk creates the Jack/Tyler personality as a messianic

Tags:fight, club, palahniuk

Abstract
This theological analysis of the Roman Catholic text the "Didache"l analyzes why this early document was excluded from the New Testament. It looks at how the rediscovery of this document in 1875 is part of one major reason why the church excluded the document and how the historical validity of paleographic sources for the document denied apostolic authorship. It also examines how the the exclusion of the "Didache" from the New Testament is a direct conflict for the rules of institutional theocratic authority of "apostolic succession" for Roman Catholic Church leaders.

From the Paper
"The Didache was a document of importance due to its early references to the apostolic Christian Church before the New Testament was collected and published as canon or law. The highly subjective nature of the authorship is one critical perspective that has been brought forth in the paleography of the Didache. The authorship of the Didache is one historical point that some critics of the writings bring forth in modern evaluations of the manuscript. Although the rediscovery of the document in 1875 connotes that the writings were apparently written in 1056, there is modern evidence that suggests that the original manuscript is dated at around 100 A.D. or even earlier. However, this study will bring forth the argument of authorship as one reason why many critics of the Didache find it too ambiguous to have been included in the Christina canon of the New Testament."

Tags:Catholic, Church

Abstract
The paper relates that the narrative of Acts Two of the Apostles defines the first public expression of apostolic preaching to the general public. The paper explains that after the Holy Ghost has entered into Peter and the other apostles, it has become an acknowledged fact that Christ has given the authority to extend his message into the public arena. The paper discusses how in this manner, Peter has become a divine messenger that reflects the spiritual narrative of Acts, as he begins to tell the other visitors in the crowd that he his now connected with Christ in body, mind and spirit.

Tags:sermon, religion, mount

Abstract
In this article the writer describes how Methodists, Apostolics, the Word Church, and the New Age Movement view baptism. The writer describes the practice of baptism and explains that it refers back to the time and action of Jesus, who was baptised by his cousin, John the Baptist.

From the Paper
"The practice of baptism is of long standing within Christianity. At its most basic, baptism consists of either immersion in water or sprinkling with water as a form of replicating the actions of Jesus Christ when he allowed himself to be baptized by his cousin, known as John the Baptist. Within the context of the early Christian faith, Pentecost characterized the practice of baptism as a means of cleansing the spirit and the soul of any sinfulness and preparing the individual ... "

Tags:religion, baptism

Abstract
This paper examines the factors that were responsible for the formation of Christianity, particularly in the context of Orthodoxy and Heresy. In other words, the paper discusses how Christianity became Christianity as seen through the lenses of Orthodoxy and Heresy. The research explores several defining moments in the history of Christianity including proto-orthodox and the boundary markers that enabled the proto-orthodox to prevail and become the dominant religion of the empire from the first through the fourth century.

Outline:
Introduction
Proto-Orthodox
Heretical Text and Heretical Doctrines
The Rule of Faith and Apostolic Succession
Gender
The Appeal to Jewish Antiquity
Future Research
Conclusion

From the Paper
"In addition to docetic theologies there were other theologies that emerged and were deemed to be heretical by the proto-orthodoxy. Among these was the adoptionists theology. This particular theology asserted that Jesus was a man but he was not divine. They also asserted that Jesus was adopted by God as his son (Grant). Those that held this view asserted that there were church traditions that solidified this view but just what these church traditions were differed greatly from that of proto-orthodox Christians (Grant). Adoptionists also claimed that all Christian held the aforementioned doctrine. However proto-orthodox Christians argued that the doctrine of the adoptionists was in opposition to scriptures (Grant). They also asserted that Christian apologists and anti-heretical authors had throughout history, declared that Jesus was God or that Jesus was both God and Man (Grant). In addition both hymns and psalms that were written from the beginning of time describe Christ as the Logos and describe him as God (Grant). "

Tags:apostolic, theology, jewish, roots, jesus, christ

Abstract
This paper explains that the epic "The Song of Roland", written in France in the 12th century, is about a legendary 8th-century hero and member of the court of Charlemagne, who is the champion of the Roman Church in Europe. This paper discusses that the Christian identity of "The Song of Roland" can be distinguished from the Christian identity of the Apostolic Period. The author points out that the Church's affiliation with military objectives is reflected in the epic.

From the Paper
"The relevance of Charlemagne's history to the history of Christianity and to The Song of Roland is the fact that, under Charlemagne, Christianity was identified with the institution of the Church. And, just as at its origin, Christianity was in significant part to be understood as a fulfillment of Jewish law, so was Charlemagne's activity meant to be understood as a fulfillment of the mission of Christianity in the shape of the Church. This dynamic is in the background of The Song of Roland, though the focus of the epic poem is on Roland's adventures, betrayal, and death in the context of France's battles with the "Paynim [pagan, Saracen] King of Spain.""

Tags:apostolic, charlemagne, paul, jesus, matthew