When I first looked at this assignment, I was kind of scared. I didn’t know anything about the Lord of Rings, I’ve never seen any of the movies, read any of the books, or known anything about J.R.R. Tolkien. Although I was intrigued at the idea of researching a massively popular series. While doing searching about Mr. Tolkien I was fascinated by his quotes. One of the ones that I liked the most was “I am a Christian…so that I do not expect ‘history’ to be anything but a ‘long defeat’ – though it contains (and in a legend may contain more clearly and movingly) some samples or glimpses of final victory”. This quote proved to enlighten me before I started my reading. I say that Mr. Tolkien was a realist who appreciated the beauty, simplicity, and, finesse that is within Christianity.

From the start of the Lord of the Rings reading, I immediately found theological meaning that’s connected to Christianity. The first thing that I noticed was the diction. Right off the bat, on the first page (256) of chapter 11 Frodo says “I feel ready for anything”. This is the exact mentality that we must have when exploring religion. We must be hungry and curious for exploration and be ready with an open mind to accept God. Another thing that I noticed is that Gandalf appears to be a leader of sorts. I can see him as being someone like Moses who is going to lead people away from danger and into a new, safe area. Something else that reminded me of scripture and mass especially is on page 259, when it says “For a while we had news and it seemed good” although my comment doesn’t necessarily fit into the context of the remainder of the sentence, this reminded me of church when the people are told to spread the good news. Lastly, something else that reminded me of Christ was on mage 263, it says “a hundred and ten days I have journeyed all alone”. This reminds of when Jesus spent 40 days and nights in the wilderness through the devils temptations. This was in the Judaean Desert. During this time he also fasted. A similar thing happened with Moses when after the 10 plagues Moses led the Exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt. They wondered in the desert.

Through this reading there were multiple parallels that I noticed. It was very evident that Mr. Tolkien had a great influence by religion when he was writing the story.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church immediately instructs that the four characteristics of the Nicene Creed: one, holy, catholic, and apostolic are inseparably linked with each other. The Catechism also makes it very clear that the church does not possess these characteristics, but rather it is Christ who, through the Holy Spirit then makes the church home to these qualities.

For the purpose of this blog post I’m going to be focusing on the second of the four: The Church is Holy. The holiness of the church was rooted in Christs love. The Catechism notes how the church served as the bride of Christ (823) and how Christ gave himself up to sanctify the church through the glory of God. The article even mentions how the church is “the holy People of God” and that all of the churches members are called “saints”

From reading the paragraphs, the basic notion that I got was that the root goal of the church in all of its activities is the sanctification of men in Christ and the glorification of God. The church is pure. It is a symbol of Gods everlasting love and the members are working towards that perfect holiness. This perfect holiness is something that will most likely not be achieved by humans. The only one who has fully achieved this perfection of sanctity is the Father himself who is perfect. The church knows that we will not be able to achieve this, and it is okay. But it is our goal to work to get as close as possible.

From what I understand of the paragraphs, the church is almost regarded as a person. Like the church is a being, or something actually tangible. Paragraph 827 says that the church is holy, even though there are sinners within her midst. The church herself has no other life but the life of grace.

I must admit that this is a bit confusing. I think some of the language is hard to interpret and it feels like I read the same thing over and over. Nonetheless, I think that the church is ultimately holy and divine. The people that belong to the church might be sinful but it is important to stay optimistic and do your best to stay away from this sin.

I found it to be somewhat convincing. It is inevitable that people are going to sin. It’s just the reality of the world that we live in. Christ was divine and I guess that then by default the church is holy as well. The people who work for the church are holy and its their job to promote holiness across the globe.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church has a wide range of descriptions in regards to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For the purpose of this blog, we’re focusing on paragraphs 639-655 particularly. Paragraph 639 starts with explaining how the resurrection is in fact a real event because it can be verified by the New Testament as the proof. It speaks on how everything that happened, happened in accordance with the scriptures. The Catechism of the Catholic Church also goes on to speak on how the tomb was indeed found empty so Jesus must’ve risen. It says “It suggests that he realized from the empty tomb’s condition that the absence of Jesus’ body could not have been of human doing and that Jesus had not simply returned to earthly life as been the case with Lazarus” (paragraph 640). Through this quote, it is evident that it wouldn’t been impossible for Jesus to have left the cave in human shape and condition. He has to leave in a way that is not physically possible.

Paragraph 648 begins with the talk of the resurrection as a work of the trinity. It says “Christs Resurrection is an object of faith in that it is a transcendent intervention of God himself in creation and history. It is in the three divine persons act together as one, and manifest their own proper characteristics. the Father’s power “raised up” Christ his son and by doing so perfectly introduced his Son’s humanity, including his body, into the Trinity” (paragraph 648). Through this paragraph it shows how Jesus resurrection is the example of his power. It ultimately leads to the completion of his time on earth. For death is produced by the separation of the human components, so resurrection is achieved by the union of the two. This shows how Jesus is truly the son of God and his power is endless.

The connection between the resurrection of Christ and our resurrection is that his resurrection served as the fulfillment of the promises of both the Old Testament and Jesus himself during his early life. If Christ has not been raised, then all of the preaching by Christ would’ve been vain and so would’ve Catholic faith. Finally, Christs Resurrection is the principle and source for our future resurrection. Therefore, we are able to rise and go up to heaven because Jesus paved the way for us.

The book of revelation was written by John and is the book of revelation of Jesus Christ. Revelation means the act of revealing or making known and this book is all about making Christ’s presence known to the world. The purpose in itself is to show how servants some of the things that would shortly come to pass.

In trying to compare the book of Revelation to other works that we’ve read, I can honestly say that I liked this much better than others. Revelation is said to be an “apocalyptic” prophecy that contains a series of letters which introduce the seven churches in the roman province of Asia. “Apocalypse” means the revealing of divine mysteries; John is to write down what is revealed (what he sees in his vision) and send it to the seven churches. The seven churches were: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and lastly Laodicea.

This idea of writing to the various churches was said in a voice during chapter 1. Chapters 2 and 3 focus especially on the seven churches which these letters were sent to.

The letter that I’m going to focus on is the first one: Ephesus. Ephesus begins with “Write to the angel in Ephesus and say, Here is the message of the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and who lives among the seven golden lamp-stands. I know your activities, your hard work and your perseverance. I know you cannot stand wicked people, and how you put to the test those who were self-styled apostles, and found them false” (pg 2031). This quote does indeed go on to list other things that this angel has done for God. Although as the message continues, God says “Nonetheless, I have this complaint to make: you have less love now than formerly. Think where you were before you fell; repent, and behave as you did at first, or else, if you will not repent, I shall come to you and take your lamp-stand from its place” (pg 2031). Reading this I was honestly extremely shocked because it’s kind of like a threat.

This reference of a lamp-stand stood out to me while reading. As I continued and put pieces together I learned that the seven stars are the seven messengers to the seven congregations; while the seven lamp-stands represent the seven congregations themselves. Each congregation is (significantly) represented by a lamp-stand and this is a source of light. We see this in chapter 1 as it says “The secret of the seven stars you have seen in my right hand, and of the seven golden lamp-stands, is this, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lamp-stands are the seven churches themself” (pg 2031). In the note, when it says that if the angel in the church of Ephesus doesn’t continue to do his job and make sure that everyone can hear him, God will take away his church, his lamp-stand, or remove him from the position.

I found this to be quite interesting because it shows a side of God that is very vicious. Almost like a park bully, if you don’t do something then I’m going to punish you, and if you do what I want then we will be on good terms. God even says “It is in your favor” (pg 2031) literally saying “Hey buddy, this is in your best interest, otherwise it’s not going to be good for you”.

The Book of Romans is the letter of Paul to the church in Rome. In order to understand and break down the book of Romans, I think that it is important to first focus on Paul and what he was about and stood for. Paul is notably one of the most well known apostles and figures in history. Throughout his bible, he portrays the basic message that the end of the age had arrived in the Jewish Messiah who was Jesus. Paul also has another name and is referred to as Saul, especially in the book of Acts.

Romans Chapter 4 begins with an introduction to who Abraham is. He mentioned how Abraham is the ancestor from whom we are descended physically. This is a direct relation to the covenant that Abraham had with God. Abraham obeyed a command by God to leave his relatives and to take his wife and his household westwards to the land God wanted him to have. Because Abraham listened to God and didn’t question him, God promised Abraham that his defendants would be numerous like the stars in the sky.

Abraham is the perfect example to use in Romans, thats why Paul turns to him. The moral of the chapter is to show how Abraham was considered to be righteous in the eyes of God even before he was circumcised. The circumcision is a physical sign of this righteousness, but Abraham was the example. Our bible mentions how “Not when he had been circumcised, but while he was still uncircumcised, and circumcision was given to him later, as a sign and a guarantee that the faith which he had while still uncircumcised was reckoned to him as unrighteousness. In this way, Abraham was to be the ancestor of all believers who are uncircumcised, so that they might be reckoned as upright, as well the ancestor of those of the circumcision who not only have their circumcision but who also follow our ancestor Abraham along the path of faith that he trod before he circumcised” (pg 1872). Abraham is the father of all of those who believe. The promise depends on faith.

In closing, Pauls letter focuses on Abraham as the example. The argument is to essentially have faith. Even through sins, troubles, and tribulations. There is always room for forgiveness and new opportunity throughout our faith.

To start this blog, I think that the best thing to do is summarize the 3 chapters which we are covering. John Chapters 18, 19, and 20. They’re not the most happy or cheerful chapters in the bible, but they certainly are significant. In Chapter 18, this is where Judah betrays Jesus by leading a group of soldiers to the garden where Jesus was. The soldiers were armed with various items such as torches, lanterns, and other weapons.

The part of this story that I particularly like which shoes the passion of Christ is when these men ask for Jesus of Nazareth and he willing says “I am he”. Jesus is proud of the man that he is and the reputation that he has. Additionally, he is a great protector of his people (disciples) as he tells the men to let them go and to only take him.

This story also deals with the denial by Peter. Simon Peter were following Jesus and were asked if he was one of Jesus’ disciples and he replied that he is not. This is another example of a lack of passion from someone who should be especially loyal to Jesus. He then continues to deny Jesus twice more. It’s sad to see that someone who Jesus trusted to be there for him wouldn’t stand by his side when he needed him the most.

Chapter 19 discusses when the soldiers took Jesus and crucified him. I think the strongest part of this text was when Jesus was being killed. It mentions how he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. This deals with his passion and his modesty. It shows how peaceful and accepting Jesus was. He didn’t try to fight his death. But he rather bowed his head and let it happen.

What I feel makes this gospel someone unique from the synoptic gospels is that Matthew, Mark, and Luke focus mainly on the work that Jesus did (through miracles and parables, etc). They describe his actions and how they affected others, while John really describes who Jesus is. It feels much more personable.

Lastly, chapter 20 describes Mary Magdalene as she went to the tomb to look for her Jesus. In the tomb she doesn’t see a body and begins to cry. Only then to find two angels sitting over the body. Before long she realizes that it’s Jesus. Mary then possesses some of the most important news: that Jesus has ascended to his father, to all of our fathers.

I like these accounts because we get to see a very personable side of Jesus. We see him and get to know who he truly is. The people around him not only personify him through the pages, but develop his grace through their actions.

The assigned chapter readings from the Gospel of Luke (1-9,17-24) and Gospel of John (1-6) do in fact have a lot in common. They both tell stories about the beginning of the belief in Christ, although slightly different they both hold a lot of the same details. For example in John Chapter 6: “Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were sitting there; he then did the same with the fish, distributing as much as they wanted. When they had eaten enough he said to the disciples ‘Pick up the pieces left over, so that nothing is wasted’ So they picked them up and filled twelve large baskets with scraps left over from the meal of five barley loaves… This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world” (pg 1755-1756). This story is the exact same story as in Luke Chapter 9 where Jesus performs a miracle in feeding 5,000 people from a minuscule amount of food.

Although both storytelling gospels are overly similar, the two do have a lot of underlying differences as well. The first thing that I noticed during the first six chapters of reading is that John’s gospel feels a lot more symbolic. I don’t know if I’m articulating this correctly, but I feel that Luke’s gospel was more first-person per se and personable whereas John’s gospel feels more synthetic. Additionally, even though they are saying very similar things, they have different perceptions of Jesus. Throughout the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is portrayed as this merciful individual. He is someone who is always there when someone needs his help and is compassionate in spreading his word. I also get the impression that throughout Luke, Jesus is just living his life and going with the flow of time. He doesn’t seem overly tense of anything like that and is committed to serving the poor, women, children, and especially gentiles.

On the contrary, the Jesus in the Gospel of John is seen as almost powerful. He is noble and seems to know where he is going and is in control of his destiny. He makes commands like in Chapter 2 saying “Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (pg 1748). Although he was not speaking of the physical temple, and rather him rising from the dead, this quote appears to be delivered with confidence and passion.

I think that a partial reason to the disparity between the works is when they were written. Luke is said to have been written 80-85 CE and John 90-110 CE. Additionally, Luke’s gospel was written within the company of the people of Theophilus whereas Johns gospel was written within the company of Jews, the Samaritans, and the Gentiles as well. I feel like these small differences could’ve definitely played a large role as to why these differences exist and are so noticeable.

From the start of the assigned reading, it is evident that the book of Luke is extremely chronologically accurate. Throughout reading I felt that I got this large feeling because it followed the life of Jesus from a young child to his ultimate death and resurrection. I feel that the theme of overall sense of the reading is something along the lines of “a new beginning”.

From the start of the reading in Luke Chapter 1, the angel Gabriel approaches Mary and informs her that she is going to have a child. This is news to Mary but she responds in the best way possible “Let it happen to me as you have said” (pg 1687). Mary is embracing this new life and the soon motherhood that she will be part of. This wasn’t something that she asked for, but rather something that she was gifted with. This moment in Chapter 1 is truly the starts of “a new beginning” as the Lord Jesus Christ will soon be brought into the world.

As the reading continues, the next few chapters are about Jesus’ early life. Chapter 2 is when Mary gives birth and is greeted by the shepherds. Jesus is then presented to the temple. In Chapter 3, Jesus was baptized in Chapter 4 he performed his first miracle in healing the sick. Through his popularity growth, he attracted followers. In Chapter 5, Simon, James, and John essentially leave everything and follow Jesus.

These followers are an example of his power and how many people are starting to believe it. In Luke Chapter 9, Jesus performs one of the most well known miracles throughout the bible. “Then he took the five leaves and the two fish, raised his eyes to heaven, and said the blessing over them; then he broke them and handed them to his disciples to distribute among the crowd” (pg 1704). This is crazy as he feel 5,000 men from a minuscule amount of food. This is certainly one of the high points in the bible. The men that he has with him are there as trainees for when Jesus’ time on earth ends.

Throughout the gospel, all of the stories serve to be the building blocks for Jesus’ crucifixion in Chapter 23, another one of the critical points throughout the bible. Jesus lived a righteous, peaceful, and beautiful life and this Gospel shows that in its purest form. It shows how he was truly deserving of his ascension into heaven. In Chapter 24, the women finds Jesus tomb empty, as he appeared to the apostles and was “carried up to heaven” (pg 1732). This is probably the most important part of the bible as Jesus returns to heaven. He did his job. He came to earth, spread God’s message, showed the power of God, and returned to his true home. We followed his life from birth to death and it couldn’t have been more beautiful.

After reading the article “An Introduction to the New Testament” by Raymond Brown, there were many things that I walked away with. In the beginning of the article, we are introduced to what the New Testament means “good announcement” referring to proclamation or a message. The article notes how Mark opens by discussing “the good news of what God has done, once proclaimed to Israel, will now be proclaimed in and through Jesus Christ to all the nations (13:10). It talks about all of Jesus miracles. It then notes how Matthew nor Luke begins in the same was as Mark, as their basic gospel outlook is much the same. Matt starts with Jesus proclaimed the gospel of the kingdom, and Luke uses the verbal form “euaggelizein” (to proclaim the good news) to describe this activity. Johns gospel is a bit different in that it uses the word “aggelia” (message) to distinguish its difference.

As far as origins, scholars have tended to advocate towards the New Testaments gospels exclusiveness in their “creations”. Origin in the Old Testament and Jewish developments derived from the Old Testament. While, Israel’s scripture, contends that the structure of the Synoptic Gospels was dictated by the Old Testament story of God’s dealing with Israel. In the book of Jeremiah, a portion of oracular speeches is much higher than that of Jesus’ words in the canonical Gospels, the Book of Jeremiah illustrates the joining in one work of many elements that are joined in the Gospels. In the 1st century AD, we found a Jewish text known as “Lives of the Prophets”. This work reflects the influence of the ancient biographies that are now being described.

Through reading, it became evident to me that the origin of the books was simply a form of imitation from the ones before them. Different texts that proposed counterparts to the Gospels that have divergent tonalities. The third point that is made in the reading: “Talbert” what considered the portrayal of “immortals” and of “eternals.” Humans could be immortals at death, whereas eternals were divine beings who descended to earth, lived as humans, and then ascended into heaven again. He contends that Matt, Mark, and Luke present Jesus as an immortal, whereas John portrays him as an eternal-a comparison that needs serious qualification.

Throughout the reading of Raymond Brown’s work, what surprised me the most was learning how big of an influence previous works were on the books of the New Testament. To be honest, I thought that they were all original and individually crafted. The questions that still remain was how did the first books get created? Was it simply individuals who actually witnessed the events orally passing down what they saw? Or was it people just makings up at first? The bible as a whole is something that I am very hesitant to believe. Both the Old and the New Testament are books that I often question. Some of the stories in there are too unrealistic to have taken place, and are unexplainable through science. With that in mind, I am still excited to explore their readings and understand the knowledge that they offer.

The book of Job focuses on questioning. The story evolves around Job who is loyal and does everything in his power and will to serve God. Yet, he somehow has his money and property all taken from him. This story is rather intriguing because it is typical in the bible for people to be rewarded for their actions, rather than punished. I enjoyed the introduction and found it particularly interesting when it said “This is the doctrine, therefore, on which the teaching of wisdom is based, maintaining, as it does, that the world is ruled by a God who is just and wise. In its support it claims experience, despite the fact that experience often contradicts it. This contradiction is dramatically demonstrated in the Book of Job where the three friends defend the traditional thesis. But the problems of the virtuous in affliction there is no intellectually satisfactory answer as long as we hold the theory of adequate retribution on earth; unquestioning faith in God is the only recourse.” Throughout that long quote, I think that the most important part is the last sentence: “there is no intellectually satisfactory answer as long as we hold the theory of adequate retribution on earth; unquestioning faith in God is the only recourse.” I think that this is the most important part because it holds that as long as we don’t ask questions, everything will be alright. It’s simply having faith in God and that is what Christianity is all about. Studying the Catholic tradition and bible may be scholarly, but if one goes searching for an academic or intellectual hard answer to the presence and actions of God, it certainly won’t be found.

Throughout the reading, it is evident that God is extremely powerful and not to be messed with. In his relationship, God is obviously the superior. It is shown in Job 1 when Satan tests Job. Job has his oxen stolen by Sabaeans, his sheep were burnt by fire from the sky, and his sons and daughters killed by the corners of their house (Job 1:13-19). This is the lesson that in life, bad things can indeed happen to good people. It is just the reality at times.

Another example if a lesson is in chapter 13. “I am taking my life in my hands, let him kill me if he will; I have no other hope than to justify my conduct in his eyes. And this is what will save me for the wicked would not dare to appear before him” (Job 13: 14-16). These lines are crucial because they show putting your faith in God. He acknowledges that even when things aren’t going well, and we’re suffering, that we cannot ever loose our faith in the lord. God already has our lives planned out, we don’t need to justify or exclude our actions, he is already on top of that. Job teaches us to never lose faith because it is one of the strongest things in our world.