adam eve and the serpent by elaine pagels

ADAM , EVE , AND THE SERPENT BY ELAINE PAGELS

ADAM , EVE , AND THE SERPENT BY ELAINE PAGELS

Politics works within a certain ideological framework . A political structure is based upon a particular ideology . Such a case can be considered more or less parallel with that of religion , wherein individuals are encouraged , if not coerced , to subscribe to a certain religious belief . Christianity is a religious doctrine that has long been subject to both physical and ideological dispute . In Adam , Eve , and the Serpent by Elaine Pagels , the developments in Christian theology was

explored in its first five centuries . Through the literature 's historical account of the evolution of Christianity , several issues on ecclesiastical politics came up along with corresponding political theories (Pagels

The ideological influence somehow embodies the umbrella theme of Adam Eve , and the Serpent in the sense that the issues on religion within the book all boils down to a goal of eventual subscription to Christianity Predictably , the matter of original sin ' is at the top of the list being the turning point of the gist in the first book of the Bible . Not unlike any ideology , the theory of original sin ' as presented by Augustine , a belief that influenced past generations and is still present today , proved to be enforcing to the political and psychological thinking of Christians and non-Christians alike , therefore creating a need for establishing both a Christian state and state-supported church (Pagels . This thus becomes a preliminary issue that indirectly subsumes the others under its wing . Here , Louis Althusser 's theory on the ideological state apparatus or ISA is rather applicable . According to Althusser , the ideological state apparatus is a method of domination which , unlike the repressive state apparatus , does not employ force but instead works based on a particular ideology . In Adam , Eve , and the Serpent , the ideology is Christianity , wherein pagans and Jews alike are induced to become advocates of the religious belief Nevertheless , as political power or pure power for that matter only exists when one party dominates another , the ideological state apparatus similarly functions with a repressive state apparatus , one which uses force , although not simultaneously . This can be explained by the persecution of Christians . The persecution , as a repressive state apparatus , was one of the reasons that many Christians accepted the institutionalized structure and in effect , supervision of each group was easily done as well as instructing and disciplining its members . By the second century , there was an attempt of turning Jesus ' Sermon on the Mount into an ethical imperative that separated Christians from paganistic influence (and sometimes opposed it ) and strengthened further the political structure of the institutionalized church

HYPERLINK "http /mydropbox .com /g .pl ?i 634305 d cccb385585b231d62b272cc84f2f6944 \t "_blank " In the aforementioned statements , another political framework surfaces , being that the Christian institution is bound to face inevitable opposition . In such disposition of the church can be applied the conflict theory , a sort of political strategy that breeds internal solidarity through conflict with outside elements . This theory may...