Thursday, March 19, 2020

Paul The Apostle Of The New Testament Religion Essay Essay Example

Paul The Apostle Of The New Testament Religion Essay Essay Example Paul The Apostle Of The New Testament Religion Essay Essay Paul The Apostle Of The New Testament Religion Essay Essay Paul the Apostle is one of the most of import people in the New Testament. He wrote more books in the New Testament than any other writer. This adult male did non get down out as the individual he was in the terminal nevertheless, for he was non ever a Christian or lover of them. For a individual to cognize who they are and where they come from is one thing, but to merchandise all one knows in for a different individuality, life, and faith is something else wholly. Paul lived a life that was life changing, every bit good as universe changing, to those he came into contact with. Paul was a really difficult and rugged adult male and would non hold made it through everything he encountered if it had non been for ; the manner he was raised as Saul, his transition to Christianity, and his ability to put the mission of God before his ain. Paul was born as Saul in the metropolis of Tarsus, a commercial metropolis in Asia Minor, located non excessively far from the Mediterranean seashore. He more than probably was named after the first male monarch of Israel, King Saul. His female parent and male parent were Judaic, his male parent being a Pharisee from the household line of Benjamin, the boy of Jacob. Being born and raised in a topographic point like Tarsus made him cognizant of many other types of people from all walks of life. He encountered crewmans, soldiers, merchandisers, affluent and poverty afflicted people. He besides learned the trade of collapsible shelter doing while turning up in order to gain a nice life. In the tradition of the household during that clip, whatever the male parent did as a trade the boies did besides. The fabric industry of that twenty-four hours, which included collapsible shelter devising and outer garments, did a reasonably moneymaking profession back so due to the presence of the crew mans and soldiers normally necessitating shelter from the elements. Not merely was Saul born a Jew but he was besides a Roman citizen. No 1 knows for certain ; nevertheless it was Roman jurisprudence that if a individual was born free anyplace in the Roman Empire so they were Roman citizens. When males were born to Jewish parents they were dedicated to the service of God and brought up in really rigorous Jewish spiritual usage. Saul s female parent read the Torah to him until around age four or five and so his male parent became his instructor for a twelvemonth. By the clip he was about six old ages old he was taken to school to larn the instructions of Moses in Hebrew and Greek, memorising them as the instructor recited them. This took a batch of difficult work and concentration on a immature kid s portion but this is how serious his parents were about their tradition and spiritual belief. At 14 or 15 old ages old it was away to rabbinical school to analyze under Gamaliel, who was considered the maestro Rabbi. After analyzing under Gamaliel he became a Pharisee, for he said of himself in the bible ; Work force and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the boy of a Pharisee ( Acts 23:6 ) . ( Nelson ) In the passage of analyzing in Tarsus and so analyzing in Jerusalem, Saul discovered that to be a Pharisee meant something wholly different. He had learned that in Tarsus, it meant to detect the instructions of Moses and its readings by the Rabbi. In Jerusalem it meant to be a separationist and legalistic in your positions refering the Law. This is a major turning point in the life Saul. These work forces sought to ache or even kill anyone who opposed them or name them out on their incorrect making. This is the advanced instruction Saul now received and had a fire in his bosom to transport out this new criterion of belief and instruction, this belief system that exchanged the spirit of the jurisprudence for the missive of the jurisprudence. Unlike the individual he was a f ew old ages before he now becomes a deranged, heartless, spiritual overzealous that desires to destruct anyone that believes openly what is contrary to what he believes. He gets to the point where he non merely kills Christians but because of his deep hate for them, he besides rounds them up to convey them into the metropolis for anguish, amusement and athletics. He goes all out oppressing Christians for what he believes is right ; things like acquiring written permission to drag people from their places to convey them to Jerusalem ; until one twenty-four hours he has an experience on the Damascus route. ( Boyd ) While going from Jerusalem to Damascus on a mission to round up Christians, Saul had an experience he would neer bury. As he rode down the Damascus route, all of a sudden he fell off the Equus caballus he was siting and a bright visible radiation shined all around him. ( Acts 9:3-4 ) ( Nelson ) So bright in fact, that he was blinded by it. He heard a voice he thought to be a adult male but subsequently recognized that it was non a adult male but the really Christ he persecuted by oppressing the Christians. This was another major turning point in the life of Saul. He now goes from oppressing, killing, whipping, and tormenting Christians to going one. His sightlessness lasted for three yearss and so he was healed of his sightlessness by the puting on of custodies as it had been antecedently told to him. His name now is changed from Saul to Paul and he leaves Damascus and goes to Arabia in order to acquire to cognize the God of his redemption personally. He knows who God is by the missi ve of the written jurisprudence but now needs to cognize Him by the spirit, so he gets off for about three old ages to pass clip with God. After Paul returns to Damascus he proves custodies down that Jesus is the Messiah, merely like Jesus said He was, and the Jews at that place tried to kill him because he now preached the truth of the jurisprudence they knew and recited. Paul s get awaying with his life from this decease effort became the accelerator to him traveling from topographic point to topographic point and metropolis to metropolis distributing the Gospel. He was nevertheless, made an Apostle, and commissioned to prophesy the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, the Grecians and all the non Judaic people, and change over them to Christianity and non the Jews. ( Boyd ) Paul began to go on what is known as his missional journeys throughout Asia Minor meeting multiplex crises and near decease experiences. He forged really strong relationships with work forces and adult females of similar passion for God and His work every bit good as set uping many churches and put ining curates to supervise them as he traveled. He visited the churches he established and wrote letters to them when he could non physically be at that place. These letters came to be known as the Pauline epistles in the New Testament. These same letters serve today as way and counsel for holy life. Paul the Apostle was shipwrecked several times, attacked, arrested, beaten with rods, and left for dead ; yet persevered until he had accomplished his mission. Absolutely nil but decease would maintain Paul from carry throughing the fate that was his to finish and he did non gustatory sensation of decease until he knew he was ready. However, when the clip had come for him to decease they execu ted him. Normally, they would hold crucified him but it was improper to crucify a Roman citizen, so he was beheaded. Paul the Apostle was a great adult male in history and his life lives on through the pages of Holy Scripture. ( Boyd ) Citations Boyd, Robert T. Paul the Apostle. Iowa Falls: World Bible Publishers, 1995 Holy Bible: King James Version. Nashville: Nelson, 1999

Monday, March 2, 2020

Old Smyrna - The Possible Home of Homer in Anatolia

Old Smyrna - The Possible Home of Homer in Anatolia Old Smyrna, also known as Old Smyrna Hà ¶yà ¼k, is one of several archaeological sites within the modern day limits of Izmir in Western Anatolia, in what is today Turkey, each reflecting early versions of the modern day port city. Prior to its excavation, Old Smyrna was a large tell rising approximately 21 meters (70 feet) above sea level. It was originally located on a peninsula jutting into the Gulf of Smyrna, although natural delta buildup and changing sea levels have moved the location inland about 450 m (about 1/4 mile). Old Smyrna lies in a geologically active region at the foot of Yamanlar Dagi, a now-extinct volcano; and Izmir/Smyrna has been subjected to numerous earthquakes during its long occupation. Benefits, however, include the ancient baths called the Agamemnon hot springs, found near the southern coast of Izmir Bay, and a ready source of building material for architecture. Volcanic rocks (andesites, basalts, and tuffs) were used to build many of the public and private structures within the town, alongside adobe mudbrick and a small amount of limestone. The earliest occupation at Old Smyrna was during the 3rd millennium BC, contemporaneous with Troy, but the site was small and there is limited archaeological evidence for this occupation. Old Smyrna was occupied fairly continuously from about 1000-330 BC. During its heyday in the mid 4th century BC, the city contained about 20 hectares (50 acres) within its city walls. Chronology Hellenistic period, ~330 BCVillage period, ~550 BCLydian Capture, ~600 BC, after which Smyrna was abandonedGeometric, strong Ionic influence by 8th century, new city wallProtogeometric, beginning ~1000 BC. Aeolic wares, probably a small anchorage of some kindPrehistoric, 3rd millennium BC, first habitation, prehistoric According to Herodotus among other historians, the initial Greek settlement at Old Smyrna was Aeolic, and within the first couple of centuries, it fell into the hands of Ionian refugees from Colophon. Changes in pottery from monochrome Aeolic wares to polychrome painted Ionic wares are in evidence at Old Smyrna by the early 9th century  and clear domination of the style by the beginning of the 8th century. Ionic Smyrna By the 9th century BC, Smyrna was under Ionic control, and its settlement was quite dense, consisting mainly of curvilinear houses packed tightly together. The fortifications were remodeled during the second half of the eighth century and the city wall extended to protect the entire south side. Luxury goods from across the Aegean became widely available, including export wine jars from Chios and Lesbos, and balloon amphorae containing Attic oils. Archaeological evidence suggests Smyrna was affected by an earthquake about 700 BC, which damaged both houses and the city wall. Afterward, curvilinear houses became a minority, and most architecture was rectangular and planned on a north-south axis. A sanctuary was constructed at the north end of the hill, and settlement spread outside the city walls up into the neighboring coast. At the same time, evidence for an improvement in architecture with volcanic block masonry, the apparently widespread use of writing, and remodeling of public buildings suggest new prosperity. An estimated 450 residential structures were located within the city walls  and another 250 outside the walls. Homer and Smyrna According to an ancient epigram Many Greek cities argue for Homers wise root, Smyrna, Chios, Colophon, Ithaca, Pylos, Argos, Athens. The most important poet of ancient Greek and Roman writers was Homer, the archaic period bard and author of the Iliad and the Odyssey; born somewhere between the 8th and 9th centuries BC, if he lived here, it would have been during the Ionian period. There is no absolute evidence for his birth location, and Homer may or may not have been born in Ionia. It seems fairly likely that he lived at Old Smyrna, or someplace in Ionia such as Colophon or Chios, based on several textual mentions of the River Meles and other local landmarks. Lydian Capture and the Village Period About 600 BC, based on historical documentation and a predominance of Corinthian pottery amongst the ruins, the prosperous city was attacked and captured by Lydian forces, led by the king Alyattes [died 560 BC]. Archaeological evidence associated with this historic event is shown by the presence of 125 bronze arrowheads and numerous spearheads embedded in demolished housewalls destroyed in the late 7th century. A cache of iron weapons was identified in the Temple Pylon. Smyrna was abandoned for some decades, and reoccupation seems to come about the middle of the sixth century BC. By the fourth century BC, the town was a flourishing port city again, and it was refounded and moved across the bay to New Smyrna by the Greek generals Antigonus and Lysimachus. Archaeology at Old Smyrna Test excavations at Smyrna were conducted in 1930 by Austrian archaeologists Franz and H. Miltner. Anglo-Turkish investigations between 1948 and 1951 by Ankara University and the British School at Athens were led by Ekrem Akurgal and J. M. Cook. Most recently, remote sensing techniques have been applied to the site, to produce a topographic map and record of the ancient site. Sources Flickrite Kayt Armstrong (girlwithatrowel) has amassed a collection of photos of Old Smyrna.Berge MA, and Drahor MG. 2011. Electrical Resistivity Tomography Investigations of Multilayered Archaeological Settlements: Part II – A Case from Old Smyrna Hà ¶yà ¼k, Turkey. Archaeological Prospection 18(4):291-302.Cook JM. 1958/1959. Old Smyrna, 1948-1951. The Annual of the British School at Athens 53/54:1-34.Cook JM, Nicholls RV, and Pyle DM. 1998. Old Smyrna Excavations: The Temples of Athena. London: The British School at Athens.Drahor MG. 2011. A review of integrated geophysical investigations from archaeological and cultural sites under encroaching urbanisation in Izmir, Turkey. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, Parts A/B/C 36(16):1294-1309.Nicholls RV. 1958/1959. Old Smyrna: The Iron Age Fortifications and Associated Remains on the City Perimeter. The Annual of the British School at Athens  53/54:35-137.Nicholls RV. 1958/1959. Site-Plan of Old Smyrna. The Annual of the Br itish School at Athens 53/54. Sahoglu V. 2005. The Anatolian trade network and the Izmir Region during the Early Bronze Age. Oxford Journal of Archaeology 24(4):339-361.Tziropoulou-Efstathiou A. 2009. Homer and the So-Called Homeric Questions: Science and Technology in Homeric Epics. In: Paipetis SA, editor. Science and Technology in Homeric Epics: Springer Netherlands. p 451-467.