January 2010

TheTen Commandments are a series of religious and moral imperatives that are recognized as a moral foundation inJudaism,Christianity andIslam. The Commandments are described in theOld Testament books ofExodus andDeuteronomy, where they are said to form part of acovenant offered by God to theIsraelites. According to theCatechism of the Catholic Church—the official exposition of theCatholic Church's Christian beliefs—the Commandments are considered essential for spiritual good health and growth, and serve as the basis forCatholic social teaching. A review of the Commandments is one of the most common types ofexamination of conscience used by Catholics before receiving thesacrament of Penance.

The Commandments appear in the earliest Church writings; theCatechism states that they have "occupied a predominant place" in teaching the faith since the time of SaintAugustine (AD 354–430). The Church had no official standards for religious instruction until theFourth Lateran Council in 1215; evidence suggests the Commandments were used in Christian education in theEarly Church and throughout the Middle Ages, but with inconsistent emphasis. The lack of instruction in them by some dioceses formed the basis of one of the criticisms launched against the Church byProtestant reformers. Afterward, the first Church-widecatechism in 1566 provided "thorough discussions of each commandment", but gave greater emphasis to theseven sacraments. The most recentCatechism devotes a large section to interpret each of the commandments.

February 2010

Church teaching of the Commandments is largely based on the Old andNew Testaments and the writings of the earlyChurch Fathers. In the New Testament, Jesusacknowledged their validity and instructed hisdisciples to go further, demanding a righteousness exceeding that of thescribes andPharisees. Summarized by Jesus into two "great commandments" that teachlove of God andlove of neighbor, they instruct individuals on their relationships with both. The first three commandments demand respect for God's name, observation of theLord's Day and prohibitthe worship of other gods. The others deal with the relationships between individuals, such as that between parent and child; they include prohibitions against lying, stealing, murdering,adultery andcovetousness.

March 2010

Ecclesiastical heraldry is the tradition ofheraldry developed byChristianclergy. Initially used to mark documents, ecclesiastical heraldry evolved as a system for identifying people and dioceses. It is most formalized within theRoman Catholic Church, where most bishops, including thePope, have a personalcoat of arms. Similar customs are followed by clergy in theAnglican Church, theLutheran Church, theEastern Rite Catholic Churches, and theEastern Orthodox Churches. Institutions such as schools anddioceses bear arms called impersonal or corporate arms. Ecclesiastical heraldry differs notably from other heraldry in the use of special symbols around the shield to indicate rank in a church or denomination. The most prominent of these symbols is the ecclesiastical hat, commonly the Romangalero or Geneva bonnet. The color and ornamentation of this hat carry a precise meaning.Cardinals are famous for the "red hat", but other offices are assigned a distinctive hat color. The hat is ornamented with tassels in a quantity commensurate with the office. Other symbols include the cross, themitre and thecrozier.

April 2010

Jesus of Nazareth (c. 5BC/BCE – c. 30AD/CE),^[1] also known asJesus Christ orJesus, is the central figure ofChristianity, which views him as theMessiah foretold in theOld Testament, with mostChristian denominations believing him to be theSon of God andGod incarnate who was raised from the dead.^[2]Islam considersJesus aprophet and also the Messiah.^[3] Several other religions revere him in some way. He is one of the most influential figures in human history.

The principal sources of information regarding Jesus' life and teachings are the fourcanonical gospels, especially theSynoptic Gospels,^[4][5]though some scholars argue such texts as theGospel of Thomas and theGospel of the Hebrews^[6][7] are also relevant.^[8]

Mostcritical scholars in biblical studies believe that some parts of theNew Testament are useful for reconstructing Jesus' life,^{[9][10][11][12]}agreeing that Jesus was aJew who was regarded as a teacher andhealer, that he wasbaptized byJohn the Baptist, and wascrucified inJerusalem on the orders of theRoman Prefect ofJudaea,Pontius Pilate, on the charge ofsedition against theRoman Empire.^{[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]}Aside from these few conclusions, academic debate continues regarding the chronology, the central message of Jesus' preaching, his social class, cultural environment, and religious orientation.^[8] Critical scholars have offered competing descriptions of Jesus as a self-described Messiah, as the leader of an apocalyptic movement, as an itinerant sage, as a charismatic healer, and as the founder of an independent religious movement. Most contemporary scholars of the historical Jesus consider him to have been an independent, charismatic founder of a Jewish restoration movement, anticipating an imminent apocalypse.^[25] Other prominent scholars, however, contend that Jesus' "Kingdom of God" meant radical personal and social transformation instead of a future apocalypse.^[25]

Christians predominantly believe that Jesus is the "Son of God" (generally meaning that he isGod the Son, the second person in theTrinity) who came to providesalvation andreconciliation withGod by his death for theirsins.^{[26]: 568–603} Christians traditionally believe that Jesus wasborn of a virgin,^{[26]: 529–532} performedmiracles,^{[26]: 358–359} founded the Church, rose from the dead, andascended intoHeaven,^{[26]: 616–620} from which hewill return.^{[26]: 1091–1109} While the doctrine of the Trinity is accepted by most Christians, a few groupsreject the doctrine of the Trinity, wholly or partly, as non-scriptural.^[27] Most Christian scholars today present Jesus as the awaited Messiah^[28] and as God.

May 2010

June 2010

July 2010

Huldrych (orUlrich^[32])Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a leader of theReformation in Switzerland. Born during a time of emergingSwiss patriotism and increasing criticism of theSwiss mercenary system, he attended theUniversity of Vienna and theUniversity of Basel, a scholarly centre ofhumanism. He continued his studies while he served as a pastor inGlarus and later inEinsiedeln where he was influenced by the writings ofErasmus.

In 1519, Zwingli became the pastor of theGrossmünster inZürich where he began to preach ideas on reforming theCatholic Church. In his first public controversy in 1522, he attacked thecustom of fasting duringLent. In his publications, he noted corruption in the ecclesiastical hierarchy, promoted clerical marriage, and attacked the use ofimages in places of worship. In 1525, Zwingli introduced a newcommunionliturgy to replace themass. Zwingli also clashed with theAnabaptists, which resulted in their persecution.

August 2010

"Amazing Grace" is a Christianhymn written by English poet and clergymanJohn Newton (1725–1807), published in 1779. With a message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of the sins people commit and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God, "Amazing Grace" is one of the most recognizable songs in the English-speaking world. Newton wrote the words from personal experience. He grew up without any particular religious conviction but his life's path was formed by a variety of twists and coincidences that were often put into motion by his recalcitrant insubordination. He waspressed into theRoyal Navy and became a sailor, eventually participating in the slave trade. One night a terrible storm battered his vessel so severely that he became frightened enough to call out to God for mercy, a moment that marked the beginning of his spiritual conversion.

Author Gilbert Chase writes that "Amazing Grace" is "without a doubt the most famous of all the folk hymns", and Jonathan Aitken, a Newton biographer, estimates that it is performed about 10 million times annually. It has had particular influence infolk music, and become an emblematicAfrican American spiritual. Its universal message has been a significant factor in its crossover into secular music. "Amazing Grace" saw a resurgence in popularity in the U.S. during the 1960s and has been recorded thousands of times during and since the 20th century, sometimes appearing on popular music charts.

September 2010

"Amazing Grace" is a Christianhymn written by English poet and clergymanJohn Newton (1725–1807), published in 1779. With a message that forgiveness and redemption are possible regardless of the sins people commit and that the soul can be delivered from despair through the mercy of God, "Amazing Grace" is one of the most recognizable songs in the English-speaking world. Newton wrote the words from personal experience. He grew up without any particular religious conviction but his life's path was formed by a variety of twists and coincidences that were often put into motion by his recalcitrant insubordination. He waspressed into theRoyal Navy and became a sailor, eventually participating in the slave trade. One night a terrible storm battered his vessel so severely that he became frightened enough to call out to God for mercy, a moment that marked the beginning of his spiritual conversion.

Author Gilbert Chase writes that "Amazing Grace" is "without a doubt the most famous of all the folk hymns", and Jonathan Aitken, a Newton biographer, estimates that it is performed about 10 million times annually. It has had particular influence infolk music, and become an emblematicAfrican American spiritual. Its universal message has been a significant factor in its crossover into secular music. "Amazing Grace" saw a resurgence in popularity in the U.S. during the 1960s and has been recorded thousands of times during and since the 20th century, sometimes appearing on popular music charts.

October 2010

St. Michael's Cathedral is a Catholic church inQingdao (formerly Tsingtao),Shandong Province,People's Republic of China; it is also the seat of the Bishop of theRoman Catholic Diocese of Qingdao. It is located in the oldest part of Qingdao, inShinan District. It is the largest example ofRomanesque Revival architecture in the province. St. Michael's Cathedral is the product of a strong German presence in Shandong Province in the 19th and early 20th centuries. In the mid-19th century the European powers forcibly opened China to foreign trade. TheDivine Word Missionaries built a church in theJiaozhou Bay concession in Shandong in 1902, and in 1934 erected the cathedral, which remained nominally under their administration until 1964. In 1942 it came under the control of the Japanese Army, returning to Chinese control when the Japanese left Qingdao in 1945. In the early 1950s, all foreign missionaries, including the Bishop of Qingdao, were either imprisoned or expelled from China, and during theCultural Revolution (1966–1976) the cathedral was defaced and abandoned. In 1981, it was repaired and reopened for services, and in 1992 it was listed as a Provincial Historic Building by the government.

November 2010

TheOrmulum is a 12th-century work of biblicalexegesis, written in earlyMiddle English verse by a monk named Orm (or Ormin). Because of the uniquephoneticorthography adopted by the author, it preserves many details of English pronunciation at a time when the language was in flux after theNorman Conquest. Consequently, and in spite of its lack of literary merit, it is invaluable tophilologists in tracing the development of the language. Orm was concerned with priests' ability to speak thevernacular, and developed an idiosyncratic spelling system to guide his readers to pronounce each vowel. He composed using a strict poetic meter which ensured that readers would know which syllables were stressed. Modern scholars use these two features to reconstruct Middle English as Orm spoke it.

December 2010

1. ^Sanders (1993).p.11, p 249.
2. ^Theologian and bishopLesslie Newbigin says "the whole of Christian teaching would fall to the ground if it were the case that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus were not events in real history but stories told to illustrate truths which are valid apart from these happenings." Newbigin, J. E. L. (1989). "The Gospel In a Pluralist Society". London: SPCK. p. 66.
3. ^Abdulsalam, M. (19 February 2008)."Jesus in Islam".IslamReligion.com.
4. ^"The Gospel of John is quite different from the other three gospels, and it is primarily in the latter that we must seek information about Jesus." Sanders (1993), p. 57.
5. ^Funk, Robert W.;Seminar, Jesus (1998). "Introduction".The acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco. pp. 1–40.ISBN 978-0-06-062978-6.
6. ^P. Parker,A Proto-Lukan Basis for the Gospel According to the Hebrews Journal of Biblical Literature, Vol. 59, No. 4 (Dec., 1940), pp. 471-473
7. ^J. R. Edwards,The Hebrew Gospel & the Development of the Synoptic Tradition, Eerdmans Publishing, 2009 pp. 1-376
8. ^^abLevine, Amy-Jill (1998). "Visions of Kingdoms: From Pompey to the First Jewish Revolt (63 BCE—70 CE)". In Coogan, Michael D. (ed.).The Oxford History of the Biblical World. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 370–371.ISBN 978-0-19-508707-9.
9. ^Funk, Robert W.; Hoover, Roy W.;Jesus Seminar (1993). "Introduction".The Five Gospels. New York: Maxwell Macmillan. pp. 1–30.ISBN 978-0-02-541949-0.
10. ^Harris, Stephen L. (1985).Understanding the Bible : a reader's introduction. Palo Alto: Mayfield. pp. 255–260.ISBN 978-0-87484-696-6.
11. ^Crossan, John Dominic (1998).The essential Jesus : original sayings and earliest images. Edison, NJ: Castle Books.ISBN 978-0-7858-0901-2.
12. ^Examples of authors who argue theJesus myth hypothesis:
    • Thompson, Thomas L. (2006).The messiah myth: The near eastern roots of Jesus and David. London: Jonathan Cape.ISBN 978-0-224-06200-8.
    • Martin, Michael (1991).The case against Christianity. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. pp. 36–72.ISBN 978-1-56639-081-1.
    • Robertson, John Mackinnon
13. ^Brown, Raymond E. (1994).The death of the Messiah : from Gethsemane to the grave : a commentary on the Passion narratives in the four Gospels. New York: Doubleday, Anchor Bible Reference Library: Doubleday. p. 964.ISBN 978-0-385-19397-9.
14. ^Carson, D. A.; et al. pp. 50–56.{{cite book}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)
15. ^Cohen (1987). pp. 78, 93, 105, 108.{{cite book}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)
16. ^Crossan.The Historical Jesus. pp. xi–xiii.
17. ^Grant, Michael. pp. 34–35, 78, 166, 200.{{cite book}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)
18. ^Paula Fredriksen (1999).Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.Alfred A. Knopf. pp. 6–7,105–110,232–234, 266.
19. ^Meier, John P. (1993). Vol. 1:68, 146, 199, 278, 386, 2:726. Sanders. pp. 12–13.{{cite book}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)
20. ^Vermes, Géza (1973).Jesus the Jew. Philadelphia: Fortress Press. p. 37.
21. ^Maier, Paul L. (1991).In the Fullness of Time. Kregel. pp. 1, 99, 121, 171.
22. ^Wright, N. T. (1998).The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions. HarperCollins. pp. 32, 83,100–102, 222.
23. ^Witherington, Ben III. pp. 12–20.{{cite book}}:Missing or empty|title= (help)
24. ^Though many historians may have certain reservations about the use of the Gospels for writing history, "even the most hesitant, however, will concede that we are probably on safe historical footing" concerning certain basic facts about the life of Jesus;Cruz, Jo Ann H. Moran; Gerberding, Richard (2004).Medieval Worlds: An Introduction to European History. Houghton Mifflin Company. pp. 44–45.
25. ^^abTheissen, Gerd and Annette Merz. The historical Jesus: a comprehensive guide. Fortress Press. 1998. translated from German (1996 edition). Chapter 1. Quest of the historical Jesus. p. 1-16
26. ^^abcdeGrudem, Wayne (1994).Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand Rapids:Zondervan.ISBN 0-310-28670-0.
27. ^Friedmann, Robert (1953)."Antitrinitarianism".Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. RetrievedJune 8, 2008.
28. ^For instanceBrown, Raymond E. (1979).The Birth of the Messiah. Garden City, NY: Image Books. p. 9.ISBN 978-0-385-05405-8.
29. ^Houlden, James L. (2005).Jesus: The Complete Guide. London: Continuum.ISBN 978-0-8264-8011-8.
30. ^Prof. Dr. Şaban Ali Düzgün (2004)."Uncovering Islam: Questions and Answers about Islamic Beliefs and Teachings". Ankara: The Presidency of Religious Affairs Publishing.
31. ^"Compendium of Muslim Texts".
32. ^Potter 1976, p. 1 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFPotter1976 (help). According to Potter, "Huldrych" was the spelling Zwingli preferred. However, Potter uses "Ulrich", while Gäbler, Stephens, and Furcha use "Huldrych". His signature at the Marburg Colloquy was theLatinised name "Huldrychus Zwinglius" (Bainton 1995, p. 251 harvnb error: no target: CITEREFBainton1995 (help)). For more on his name, seeRother, Rea."Huldrych - Ulrich". Evangelisch-reformierte Landeskirche des Kantons Zürich. Retrieved2008-03-03. (in German only, Reformed Church of Zürich)