Writing Homework Help

Instructions: In Section One, give a short essay answer to three of the questions provided. In sections Two and Three, either answer 2 questions in Section Two and 3 questions in Section Three or answer 3 questions in Section Two and 2 questions in Section Three (all short essay answers).

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Section One

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• Explain the difference between religious studies and theology, with an example of the unique kinds of questions each discipline tries to answer.
• Explain the general spiritual beliefs of early primitive hunter-gatherers.
• Explain the social and cultural factors that led to the transition from primitive to archaic religion, focusing primarily on agricultural and social/political changes.
• Give a general explanation of how monotheism developed during the history of Israel from the Exodus to shortly after the Babylonian captivity.
• Explain the concept of Brahman in Hindu thought during the axial age.
• Explain the difference between natural and special revelation in Christian theology.
• Explain Thomas Aquinas’ definition of theology (“sacred doctrine”) as a “science”.
• Explain Bernard Lonergan’s definition of theology, particularly as it pertains to culture.
• Give a definition of Gustavo Gutiérrez’s liberation theology and how it relates to Christian praxis.

Section Two

• Give an account of the “Documentary Hypothesis”, particularly the differences between J (Yahwist), E (Elohist), D (Deuteronomic), and P (Priestly) sources.
• Give a general outline of the major points of plot leading to the Great Commission in Matthew chapters 26-28.
• Explain Paul’s notion of sin and justification in Romans, making sure you explain how the Old Testament law is related to these ideas
• Give an account of the four senses of Scripture in the Catholic tradition (literal, allegorical, moral [tropological], anagogical).

Section Three

• 14) Give an account of Augustine’s movement from Manichaeism to Neoplatonism to Christianity in the Confessions, explaining why he made those movements.
• 15) Explain the fundamentals of Catholic social teaching (first give the foundational idea of Catholic social tradition, then define the option for the poor and vulnerable, solidarity, and subsidiarity).
• 16) In your own words, explain Aquinas’ doctrine of divine simplicity.
• 17) List all of the Five Ways Aquinas uses to try to prove the existence of God, focusing on where the argument begins and the conclusion that is reached for each argument.
• 18) Explain Luther’s doctrine of Sola Fide, and explain what he means by faith (including notional/intellectual and mystical/spiritual elements of faith).
• 19) Explain what the Catholic Worker Movement is, how it began, and the particular beliefs of the organization.
• 20) Define personalism and how it relates to Dorothy Day’s belief about solidarity.
• 21) Explain the historical events leading up to Vatican II, particularly the political, global/multicultural, and ecclesial (internal church-related) reasons for opening the council.
• 22) Summarize the Catholic ideas about non-Christian religions present in Nostra Aetate.