The case of christ Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The case of christ - Essay Example From this movement has come the Christian apologetics who, according to The Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry, are a group of people that â€Å"use logic and evidence to defend Christianity and promote the truth of the Bible†(Slick, 2011). Perhaps one of the most influential books from the Christian Apologetics movement is The Case for Christ which proposes a myriad of evidence that supports the existence of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Lee Stobel and Jane Vogel, authors of the Student Version of The Case for Christ, provide a summary of who Jesus Christ was. At the very core of the argument is that Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God (Strobel and Vogel, 23). His role on Earth was to save the sinners which was accomplished by sacrificing himself and dying on the cross for everyone’s sins. One of the important aspects of this that the authors take on is the fact that Jesus did not explicitly state that he was God: â€Å"Some of Jesus’ statements a s they are recorded in the Bible don’t seem to be clear claims that Jesus is God†(Strobel and Vogel, 23). However, Strobel provides several scriptures that support the claim that Jesus believed he was God and through conversations with disciples, followers, and others stated as much. Some of the evidence included Matthew 16: 15-17 where Jesus asks Peter who he (Peter) thinks Jesus is and Peter replies â€Å"You’re the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of the Living God†(Strobel and Vogel, 23). Strobel present very convincing evidence that Jesus was in fact the Messiah by way of presenting Isaiah 53 which is in essence a prophecy of who the Messiah would be. Strobel claims that Jesus matched the prophecy and that many of these aspects could not be manipulated by Jesus in order to make them match such as birthplace, family, the betrayal by Judas Iscariot, and the guards that gambled over Jesus’ clothes when he was dying on the cross(Strobel and Vogel, 44-4 6). Since Isaiah 53 was written hundreds of years before Jesus was born, the argument that Jesus was indeed the Messiah is extremely convincing. The next step in presenting the case for Christ is to delve into the reliability of the Gospels which are the books of the Bible that detail Jesus Christ and his life. Strobel presents evidence that indicates that these books are quite reliable. The biggest piece of evidence is the differences between Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Although many people would say these contradictions make the books less reliable, Strobel disagrees stating that â€Å"the idea is that if the writers were lying, they’d make sure to get their stories straight—and they’d agree in every detail. What seems to be a contradiction is often the same event viewed from different perspectives†(Strobel and Vogel, 54). Additionally, Strobel brings up an interesting point about the timeline of Christ’s death and the teachings of Paul. Accor ding to Strobel, the timeline suggests that Paul came to learn about Christ dying on the cross for the world’s sins and his resurrection within 2-5 years of it occurring. Strobel makes the argument that the fact Christianity was already teaching this aspect about Christ suggests that â€Å"that’s far too fast for legend to have developed and wiped out a core of historical truth†(Strobel and Vogel, 60). This is compelling evidence since it is widely thought that the time

S XYZ Co. Able to Identify and Exploit Sources of Competitive Dissertation

S XYZ Co. Able to Identify and Exploit Sources of Competitive Advantage to Sustain The Emerging Competition - Dissertation Example Other changes followed the implementation of the first Saudi Insurance company's services, which were evident in the increased awareness of the people in regards to insurance policies, as well as the substantial increased risk in accordance with the introduction of compulsory motor third party liability (BMI, 2011). Other changes included the legislation passed which made health insurance on expatriates and their families mandatory and the increase in oil prices had also been reflected on the citizens of the country's personal incomes in accordance with classes that includes travel insurance (Ansari, 2011). Other insurances include life and property, which was subsequently followed by the increase in house loans, the amplified boost of the insurance market, as reinforced by the registration of more than 15 new insurance companies, thus fortifying the competition within the market. The growth in competition led to enjoining new entrants in the industry, which was supported by the gove rnment's efforts to open the chance for foreign capital to investment in Saudi's insurance sector (Ansari, 2011). 1.1. The Significance of Competitive Advantage among business firms A firm is equipped with competitive advantage when it has the means to edge out rivals when vying for the favour of customers. In that regard, a firm is considered to possess competitive advantage by implementing strategies that produce value that are not simultaneously being implemented by any current or potential competitors (De Wit and Meyer, 2005). However, the defined subject of competitive advantage in financial service has a wide existence in the body of literature. The complexity and intangibility focusing on financial service products that include insurance limited the understanding of the average customer in regards to the features and benefits provided by such service. This then implies the complexity of identifying and achieving competitive edge (Barney, 1991). The study of competitive advant age in the field of insurance as an aspect of financial service imposes the process of collecting literature in the context of competitive advantage that is particular to financial service in order to deliberately construct a theoretical model of attributes or features against the perception of the subject of the study, which is the company management to be evaluated. For instance, Delvin (1997a) had made use of a detailed questionnaire, which he had distributed widely among marketing personnel. The context of the questionnaire delved on the strategy employed by relevant senior personnel in UK retail financial services. Delvin (1997a) investigated the factors which managers emphasise when attempting to formulate strategies to add value to service offerings and, hence, achieve competitive advantage in services markets. The study was able to conclude that the features and quality of the core service, inclusive of the price, image and reputation, functional service quality, support ele ments, and location and service recovery are the factors crucial in adding value to service offerings (Delvin, 1998). In comparison to the findings of Delvin's study, it would be noted that in a study conducted by Gronroos (2001) pertaining to service quality, the latter confirmed the importance of the functional quality on the basis of his perspective, as a very vital factor in order to maintain the gap between the expected service and the perceived service