Ask a Theologian IV

[_random_]

The Big Bang theory was first proposed by a Catholic priest, and was seen as a triumph by many religious people because it demonstrated that the universe had a beginning, so I doubt the veracity of that anecdote.

 

[classical_hero]

What happens to babies pass away before baptism according to different schools of Christian theology?

I am sure that most go on the innocence principle that they weren't old enough to learn about salvation. By the way this is coming from some who believes that Baptism doesn't save you from you sins, just simple belief in Christ.

 

[Cutlass]

3. What role does religion play in society? I realize you aren't a sociohistoric scholar, but what overall effect does it have on a population, bearing in mind we aren't illiterate and religion isn't the only stabilizing influence in our lives as it was in the Dark Age? Does religious doctrine influence our beliefs and values or is it the other way around? I once heard an argument advanced that New Englanders are progressive and community minded because New England was originally settled by religious, utopian Puritans who had strict religious laws and little freedom for opinion. If that's true, I find it interesting that while they retained their values but have largely abandoned religion, the tradition-oriented south (which descended from English gentry and their slaves) appear to be more pious than them, and even incorporate religion into their beliefs.

New England wasn't always progressive, and is not all so now. It's actually quite conservative, even now. The Puritans were certainly a conservative influence, not a progressive one. And it took a long time to overcome that.

 

[Mouthwash]

New England wasn't always progressive, and is not all so now. It's actually quite conservative, even now. The Puritans were certainly a conservative influence, not a progressive one. And it took a long time to overcome that.

The American definition of "progressive." You'd understand my point better if you knew what Puritans believed and how their political system worked.

 

[MagisterCultuum]

The Puritans were definitely not conservative. They did not want to preserve the status quo of their era at all, but wanted radical reforms (mostly in directions with which you would happen to disagree strongly). Perhaps you could call them reactionary (there was some idea that they were going back to how the church worked before it became corrupted, although this was less emphasized than in some other sects), but utopian is more accurate. As Postmillennialists, they considered it their duty to bring about the coming of the age when Christ would rule the whole Earth and so tried to progress towards that goal.

The terms Conservative and Progressive of course tell us nothing about any ideology in and of itself, but describe their place in the course of history.

(The Puritans weren't always as Puritanical as people assume either. Their dress was not as somber as commonly assumed. It wasn't really any different than others at the time, lacking bright colors simply because such dyes were very expensive. There are even records of them using tax money to provide free alcohol at funerals, enough for all of the guests to get seriously drunk.)

 

[Cutlass]

The American definition of "progressive." You'd understand my point better if you knew what Puritans believed and how their political system worked.

Having lived in New England all my life, I can assure you that I'm more than familiar with what is and what is not progressive in this area.

 

[Dachs]

The fact that so many people stridently believe that a tiny, marginal religious group that had ceased to exist several decades before the American Revolution played such an enormous role in American social history never fails to confuse me.

 

[Mouthwash]

The fact that so many people stridently believe that a tiny, marginal religious group that had ceased to exist several decades before the American Revolution played such an enormous role in American social history never fails to confuse me.

The first settlers in an area always set the cultural attitude of later generations, even if they aren't actually descended from the original population (e.g. Dutch in NYC).

 

[Yui108]

The fact that so many people stridently believe that a tiny, marginal religious group that had ceased to exist several decades before the American Revolution played such an enormous role in American social history never fails to confuse me.

American history isn't taught all that well at the secondary level?

 

[ParkCungHee]

The first settlers in an area always set the cultural attitude of later generations, even if they aren't actually descended from the original population (e.g. Dutch in NYC).

This is why Iceland is so culturally similar to Ireland.

 

[Arakhor]

This is why Iceland is so culturally similar to Ireland.

They're both islands whose people get drunk a lot and lose people's money?

 

[timtofly]

The fact that so many people stridently believe that a tiny, marginal religious group that had ceased to exist several decades before the American Revolution played such an enormous role in American social history never fails to confuse me.

Perhaps education played a role?

 

[_random_]

Did St. John the Baptist violate Mosaic Law by wearing camel hair?

 

[Mouthwash]

This is why Iceland is so culturally similar to Ireland.

I don't follow your analogy?

 

[ParkCungHee]

I don't follow your analogy?

Iceland was first settled by the Irish. That is why it is culturally so similar to Ireland, sharing the same literary tradition, manner of dress, family structure, social classes etc.

 

[Masada]

The first settlers in an area always set the cultural attitude of later generations, even if they aren't actually descended from the original population (e.g. Dutch in NYC).

This explains Australians are all criminals and thugs (except South Australia, and by extension the NT, which were free settled).

 

[Dachs]

The first settlers in an area always set the cultural attitude of later generations, even if they aren't actually descended from the original population (e.g. Dutch in NYC).

The Lenape antedated the Dutch and exercise precisely zero influence on the modern New York City milieu.

One can't really say that the Dutch do, either. It's hard to imagine any continuity between Stuyvesant and "Empire State of Mind".

Perhaps education played a role?

It explains why the first few generations of bad Ivy-trained American historians might think that way, but not why the myth has endured for so long.

 

[Jehoshua]

This explains Australians are all criminals and thugs (except South Australia, and by extension the NT, which were free settled).

Should we not take after the aboriginals as the first settlers?

 

[GhostWriter16]

What interpretations have historical precedent for that "David did not ascend into the heavens" phrase and which do you think is the most sound? I know you said one of Pelagius' disciples said that David was actually damned, how rare was this seemingly absurd viewpoint?

 

[MagisterCultuum]

Many Medieval theologians would have placed David's soul in the Limbo of the Patriarchs.

Considering that Plotinus has said that the biblical doctrine of the Resurrection of the Dead is more respectable than the doctrine of the survival of the soul (which was borrowed from Greeks like Plato), I would assume he would think it more sound to assume that David is still waiting for the Final Judgement like the rest of us.