Introduction What is the right way of life? How does someone convert to the right religion? How do we choose between religions or philosophies of life? On what basis do we determine how to live well? We might articulate the problems faced by looking at a dialogue in one of Lucian’s writings in AD 2 nd century and offer some responses from Scripture. The problems of choosing the right way of life is raised in Lucian’s Hermotimus , also known as The Rival Philosophies . [1] Hermotimus tells Lycinus that he has chosen to follow the philosophical school of the Stoics. The Stoics set virtue alone as the goal to pursue, whatever the challenges of life. External circumstances, like wealth or social status, had nothing to contribute to the good life, and the process of becoming virtuous was like travelling to a far off city (cf. 2). Lycinus presses Hermotimus on his choice to follow Stoic philosophy—or to follow any philosophy, for ...
Introduction Seeing Jesus approach him, John the Baptist declared, 'Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world' (John 1.29). His testimony was of Jesus' impending crucifixion, His shedding of blood in death as a sacrifice for sin for the whole world. In this essay, I will examine the ways in which the Old Testament's hope in God as Saviour comes to fulfillment in Jesus Christ. In his Lectures in Old Testament Theology , Dennis Kinlaw draws attention to similes and metaphors applied to God. [1] The metaphors derive from various social paradigms. One metaphor comes from a political paradigm: God is King and Lord. A second comes from the judicial context: God is Judge. A third derives from the family paradigm: God is Father. Kinlaw’s fourth paradigm is marriage: God is the Groom to His people. I would point out that these metaphors and paradigms also relate to Jesus in the New Testament. If God is said to be ...