Proposal: The church has established an image in the modern world that is often associated with being conservative, strict, and pious. In reviewing the picture of the early church painted in the Bible and logged through other historical writings, the modern church has increasingly little remaining in common with its parent. Did the changes within the church come from a desire to better reach the people? Or were these changes merely a reflection of current affairs? Did these changes effectively cripple the church’s mission in today’s society?
Introduction: Your neighbors have several families living in the house with them. There are four cars in the driveway, and you never see the same people driving the same one twice. There are frequently kids from the house sent out to mow the lawn of the elderly widow down the street, often they stay and talk with her. You’ve seen some of the women bringing food to the sick on the block, and once a man helped you fix your truck. Your other neighbors are Christians. They wave at you every morning when they get the paper, and you can set your clock by their punctuality to church on Sundays. If the church started out as the first set of neighbors, what caused them to evolve into the second neighbors? Throughout its history, the church has changed in response to pressures of the times and current issues and may have compromised its influence.
Main Points:
· Picture of the early church
o Structure
o Theology
o Practice
· Periods of marked change in the Church
o Medieval
o Reformation
o Prohibition/ Morality Drive
o Modern
· Picture of the Modern Church
· Comparison of the Early church to Modern
o Theology
o Practices
o Structure
o Ministry
Conclusion: The modern church neither looks nor functions like the early church. Through the attempt to live within society, the church has ended up ostracizing itself from the very people who it’s trying to reach. Instead of being welcoming and radically different from the world around it, the modern church has slumped into stuffiness and irrelevancy.
Sources: For a description of the early church as well as the proclaimed purpose of the church according to its holy book, I will be referencing the Bible. I will also use archeological texts and early writings from the Roman and Greek times that reference the activities of the early church. As I advance through the years, I will also be looking at historically important texts such as Martin Luther’s 95 theses and other important reformation texts from leaders such as John Wesley and John Calvin. As I look more toward the modern church, I will be examining statistics and taking real-life opinions on the state and presence of the church.
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Really cool topic that I think def needs researching! I'm wondering though if you might want to narrow down your main points to not include all of the history such as the medival church, but instead focus more on the contrast b/t the early church and today's church. I also think you need to be more specific about what you mean by "church." Do you mean Roman catholic, baptist, methodist, or all of these?
ReplyDeleteThis is a really touchy topic, but I like where your head's at. However, your conclusion is a little vague and difficult to follow. You should be careful to not offend your audience because that would ruin the whole point of your argument to your audience.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting and controversial subject. I think it would be a good idea to research how people that are not involved in church view the church today. Also for your intro. I would introduce your topic a little more before you start the scenario so the reader understands what you are talking about.
ReplyDeleteI love the topic; it's very interesting. However, I can't really tell from your proposal or introduction where your paper is going. I understand that the paper will be on Christianity changing, but you don't really specify how it has changed. Maybe if you include exactly what points you are going to be proving. I also like the comparison in the introduction, but I was still confused at what point was trying to be made.
ReplyDeleteYou could also include how peoples faith is not as strong today. There are statistics that show that even though people classify themselves as Christians, they don't practice their faith. I like your topic
ReplyDeleteThis topic is really interesting. I think that there will need to be some very in depth research in order for you to build your case.
ReplyDeleteYour topic is very interesting, I think that you should also use some outside sources, that is more in depth to your topic. You should also be more specific on what you are trying to prove in your paper.
ReplyDeleteI really really like this topic, its super controversial. Just keep in mind your going to have to be really careful about bias sources.
ReplyDeleteWow, what an interesting topic, I think it's really cool that youre using this as your research topic. I would introduce your topic a little more in depth first.
ReplyDeleteNice original choice on the topic. I really like how you developed your proposal but I feel like the paper could go a number of different ways. Maybe you could tweak your thesis to be slightly more focused.
ReplyDeleteWell I told myself to only comment on topics that didn't have many comments already, but this was too interesting to let go. I'm immediately interested because of personal bias. I think you will be able to find good evidence, but the problem is most of the evidence I'm thinking of comes from the Bible, and we're supposed to be careful about citing the Bible. However, what you say about looking at activities of the early church will work well too. This should be a fun and interesting topic.
ReplyDeleteI like your sources. I think that you are basing your argument on the Acts church, without explicitly saying it. Go ahead and say it. In class, I was talking relying on the Bible as the only source. Acts (or whatever book you choose) will probably be your base, but you will build with other texts. OR you can go another route. Do what works.
ReplyDeleteAlso, consider the arguments of those who would criticize your paper (counterarguments). Incorporate them and argue against them.
-Candace