Christian Theology Final

atonement

"At-one-ment" refers to the reconciling act of God in Jesus Christ, especially though not exclusively through his passion and death, that mends the broken relationship between God and humanity caused by sin. While the New Testament is unanimous in declaring that Christ lived and died "for us" ("Christ died for our sins," 1 Cor. 15:3), there are many images and metaphors of this in Scripture, and there is no single official church dogma defining the work of Christ as there is of his person. Nevertheless, there are several theories of this have been influential

Theories of atonement

"Christus Victor" or ransom theory of early Greek Fathers like Origen and Gregory of Nyssa; the "satisfaction" theory famously formulated by Anselm; and the exemplarist or "moral influence" theory associated with Abelard.

Analogy

"Similarity within great difference." Because God and creatures are radically different, theology speaks of God by analogy to avoid both univocation (words used of God and humans, e.g., "wise" are exactly the same in meaning) and equivocation (words used of God and humans are altogether different in meaning). Many theologians argue that the "analogy of being" is both possible and necessary because God is the ultimate source of the creature's being, while other theologians insist that sound talk of God follows the "analogy of faith", that is, is ventured on the basis of the biblical witness to God's self-revelation in Jesus Christ.

docetism

A Christological heresy claiming that Jesus Christ only "appeared" to be human and only appeared to suffer and die on the cross. This effort to protect the divinity of Christ from contact with suffering and death was rejected by the church because it undercut the reality of the Incarnation and the efficacy of Christ's saving work.

theotokos

A Greek term translated "bearer of God" and used as a name of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Use of this title in worship was the focus of the fifth-century Chrstological dispute between Cyril of Alexandria, who supported it, and Nestorius, who rejected in favor of Christotokos, "bearer of Christ." Since the Councils of Ephesus (A.D. 431), this term has been recognized as a standard of orthodox Christology in both Eastern and Western Churches.

charismata

A Greek word meaning "gifts," it is used by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 12:8-11 to speak of the unique endowments given by the Holy Spirit to Christians to equip them for their particular ministries in the community of faith. Paul emphasizes that all Christians receive gifts and that all gifts are to be used for the enrichment and nurture of the whole community.

kenosis

A Greek word translated "emptying." In Philippians 2:7, Christ is said to have "emptied" himself and taken the form of a servant for our salvation. Nineteenth-century "kenotic" theologians developed a distinctive interpretation of the Incarnation. Wanting to take the full humanity of Jesus more seriously than traditional Christology, they taught that the incarnate Lord emptied himself on the "metaphysical" attributes of divinity like omnipotence while retaining the "moral" attributes of divinity like love and holiness. While the concept of [term]in the sense of self-emptying and self-giving is employed by many theologians today, most would agree that God's act of self-giving does not mean that God ceases in any way to be fully God.

perichoreis

A Greek word translated as "mutual indwelling" or "interpenetration." It was first used by patristic theologians to described the mutual indwelling of the divine and human natures of the incarnate Word. John of Damascus (8th century) was the first to make extended use of the term to speak also of the mutual indwelling or unique communion of the triune persons. The three persons of the Trinity live in, with, and through each other in ineffable communion. This term has become a central concept in contemporary trinitarian theology, and some theologians make analogous uses of it in other doctrinal loci like theological anthropology and ecclesiology.

hypostasis

A Greek word used by the Cappadocian theologians in the fourth-century trinitarian debates as a technical term to distinguish the personal distinctions within the one being (ousia) of the triune God. In the Latin West this was rendered by word persona (person). Neither word, as used in the early trinitarian formulations, had the meaning of a "person" in the modern sense of an autonomous agent with an independent self-consciousness and will.

theosis

A Greek word usually translated "divinization" or "deification." This is a central theme in Eastern Orthodox theology and spirituality, summed up in the familiar statement of Athanasius: God became human that we might become divine." The closest counterparts to the idea of this in the theologies of the Western church are "mystical union" with Christ and "santification."

creation ex nihilo

A Latin phrase meaning "creation out of nothing." Affirming that all that exists is the result of the sovereign, free love of God, the doctrine of the creation of the world out of nothing is congruent with, although not explicitly taught in, the scriptural witness (Rom 4:17). The world is not part of God's being, nor does anything coexist eternally with God (e.g., eternal unformed matter) out of which the world is creating. "Creation out of nothing" stands in contrast to every form of dualism and pantheism in understanding the relationship between God and the world.

ex opere operato

A Latin phrase meaning "from the work performed." In Roman Catholic theology of the sacraments, their efficacy does not depend on the faith of the recipient or on the sanctity of the priest but is realized objectively by the sacramental act itself when administered by a duly ordained priest. In Protestant theologies of the sacraments, their efficacy is referred to the work of the Holy Spirit and the importance of the faith of the recipient is underscored.

simul iustus et peccator

A Latin phrase translated "at the same time justified and sinful." This phrase is related to the Reformers' doctrine of justification by grace through faith alone. While sin continues to be at work in the life of believers, they are graciously forgiven by God for Christ's sake. This doctrine emphasizes the radicality of sin and the gratuity of God's grace and opposes all self-righteousness among believers as well as all perfectionist doctrines of Christian life.

Presbyterianism

A form of Protestant Church government in which the church is administered locally by the minister with a group of elected elders of equal rank, and regionally and nationally by representative courts of ministers and elders.

magisterium

A term that means "teaching office" and refers to designated positions of teaching authority in the church to declare what is sound and binding doctrine. In Roman Catholicism this teaching authority is vested in the bishops, church councils, and ultimately the pope. While the term is not widely used in Protestant churches, Scripture, creeds and confessions, rules of order, and church councils provide authoritative direction.

communication of properties

According to this doctrine, the union of divine and human natures in the one person of Christ includes a "communication" or interchange of properties. The incarnate Word takes on the properties of human nature, and the human nature united with the Word is exalted in its service. Hence it can be said of the incarnate Word, "The Son of God suffered," and "Jesus is Lord of all creation." Rotted in the Christology of the Fathers, this doctrine has been interpreted rather cautiously in the Reformed tradition because of its concern to respect the distinctions between the natures, more boldly in the Luthern tradition because of its concern to affirm the union of the natures in the person of Christ. Luther's teaching of the ubiquity or omnipresence of the body and blood of Jesus Christ in the celebration of the eucharist rests on this doctrine.

Apollinarianism

An early Christian heresy named after Apollinarius, who taught that while the incarnate Lord had a human body and soul, his human mind was replaced by the divine logos.

modalism

An interpretation of trinitarian doctrine in which Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not three distinct, eternal divine persons, as in orthodox trinitarianism, but are simply roles or "modes" of activity of the one, undifferentiated being of God. Thus the Father is God in the role of creator, the Son is God in role of redeemer, and the Spirit is God in the role of giver of new life. This is also known as Sabellianism after the early third-century theologian Sabellius, who taught that the modes of God's being were transitory rather than intrinsic and eternal.

ordinances

Another name for sacrements

aseity

Based on the Latin a se "from himself" - used in classical theology to describe God's self-existence or underived being in contrast to the derived and dependent being of creatures. Anselm interpreted this as God's necessary being as opposed to the contingent being of creatures. Barth interpreted this as God's actuality in soverign freedom and divine self-determination.

Kalam Argument

Everything that has a beginning must have a cause... Specifically, "Whatever begins to exist has a cause. The universe began to exist. Therefore, the universe has a cause."

immanence

From the Latin immanere, "remaining within" or "indwelling." God's [term] is God's nearness to and presence with all created beings (Ps. 139). Although often understood to be in opposition to the transcendence of God, God's immanence is properly understood as God's intimacy and closeness to all creatures yet without ceasing to be the free and sovereign Lord of all. The various mystical traditions characteristically emphasize the [term] of God over against views of God's otherness as alienated transcendence - mere opposition to and separation from creatures.

transcendence

From the Latin, "stepping over" or "going beyond." As an attribute of God, this is God's mode of being "beyond" or above the world. God's being and power surpass the world and are never identical with, confined to, or exhausted in the world God has freely created and to which God freely relates. The early Barth reclaimed the importance of this doctrine by speaking of God as radically free and "wholly other," while the later Barth spoke more often of this doctrine as God's freedom to be "God for us."

trithesim

Heresy. Belief in three Gods. Opponents of trinitarian faith charge that it amounts to tritheism, but this is not what is taught by the classical doctrine of the Trinity. Trinitarian theologians who emphasize a social analogy and sometimes speak of the Trinity as a "community" or "society" of three persons are said by their critics to risk falling into this heresy.

Exclusivism

Holds that Christian faith alone is the true religion and only those who explicitly confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior will be saved.

Pluralism

Holds that all religions mediate knowledge of God and are equally valid ways of salvation, through differing in their symbols and practices.

apostolic succession

In churches with episcopal polity, apostolic succession means the legitimate ordination to church office by bishops who stand in historical succession with the apostles. In many Protestant churches, this refers to the church's faithful transmission of the gospel message that has its origin and norm in the witness of the apostles.

heresy

In the Greek New Testament, hairesis means "faction" or "sect." In later Christian usage, heresy is teaching that conflicts with the central message of Scripture and the primary doctrines of the church. Schleiermacher famously identified four major heresies of the Christian faith: the Docetic (Christ cannot save us because he is not really human); the Ebionitic (Christ cannot save us because he is merely human); the Manichean (humanity is hopelessly evil and cannot be saved); and the Pelagian (humanity is not in need of salvation).

ecumenical

It's Greek origin means "the whole inhabited earth." "Ecumenical movement" refers to the effort throughout much of the twnetieth century to bring the Christian churches into closer relationship through common study, worship, and service with the hope of eventual reunion. "Ecumenical theology" refers to theological reflection that draws from all Christian theological traditions rather than seeking only to defend and develop one of those traditions.

panentheism

Literally, the teaching that "everything is God." This differs from both pantheism, which identifies God with the world, and from traditional Christian theism, which speaks of God as creator of the world out of nothing. According to this teaching, God and the world, while distinct, are nevertheless parts of a single ontological whole. Some world, if not this world, is necessary to God; apart from a world God would be only an abstract possibility. For this teaching, not only is God affected by all that happens in the world, but it is through the world that God becomes concrete and reaches full self-actualization.

impassibility

One of the attributes of God in classical theology, this means God's "immunity to suffering." According to the axioms of ancient Greek metaphysics, to suffer is to change, and change is either for the better or for the worse, each being inconsistent with the perfection of God. Hence the being of God must be understood as unmoved and unaffected by events in the world. If understood in this way, divine [term] runs counter to the biblical witness, and it has been critiqued by many theologians in recent times (e.g., Bonhoeffer's theology of the "suffering God," Moltmann's theology of the "crucified God").

social analogy

One of the primary analogies for speaking of the mystery of the Trinity, the other being the psychological analogy. According to the social analogy, employed by the Cappadocians, Richard of St. Victor, and contemporary theologians like Jurgen Molltmann and Leonardo Boff, the Trinity is reflected in personal life in relationship. The advantage of the this analogy is that it emphasizes personal relationship and differentiated communion in the triune life, while the disadvantage is that if pressed too hard it verges on tritheism.

psychological analogy

One of the two primary analogies for speaking of the mystery of the Trinity, the other being the social analogy. According to this analogy, employed by Augustine, Thomas Aquianas, Karl Rahner, and numerous other theologians, a glimpse of the mystery of the Trinity is found in the differentiated unity of memory, knowledge, and will in an individual human being. This analogy has the advantage of emphasizing the unity of the divine life, but the disadvantage of speaking of the three of the Trinity in a way that suggests they are only aspects or faculties of God and hence less than "personal"

actual sin

Particular transgressions of God's will. Divided into moral and venial sins. As opposed to original sin which is the radical and universal sinful human condition.

congregationalism

Protestant churches practicing congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs.

common grace

Referring to the grace of God that is either common to all humankind, or common to everyone within a particular sphere of influence. It is common because its benefits are experienced by, or intended for, the whole human race without distinction between one person and another. It is grace because it is undeserved and sovereignly bestowed by God. In this sense, it is distinguished from the Calvinistic understanding of special or saving grace, which extends only to those whom God has chosen to redeem. (Primarily in Reformed and Calvinistic circles)

immanent Trinity

Refers to the internal life and relationships of the triune God in which there is an eternal begetting of the Son by the Father and an eternal breathing forth of the Spirit by the Father and the Son. The [term] and the "economic Trinity" are not two different trinities but one and the same Trinity seen from different perspectives. The [term] is the triune God seen as the free, eternal basis of God's relationship to the world and thus as "God for us in advance" (Barth). The "economic Trinity" is the triune God seen in relationship to the world and particularly in the work of salvation in which the love of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is made known.

economic trinity

Refers to the triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, as related to the world and as evident in the work or "economy" of salvation. It is only on the basis of God's self-revelation and self-communication in the work of Jesus Christ and in the activity of the Holy Spirit that we are able, confidently if always inadequately, to speak of real distinctions and relationships within God's one eternal being.

Chalcedon (451 AD)

Site of the forth ecumenical council of the church (A.D. 451). The Formula of Chalcedon declares that Jesus Christ is truly God, truly human, existing in two natures united in one person "without division or separation, confusion or change." This decree, which set the standard of orthodox Christology in most churches East and West, incorporates the concern of the Alexandrian school for the unity of the person of Christ as well as the concern of the Antiochian school for his full humanity. Both monophysitism (the extreme Alexandrian tendency) and the Nestorianism (the extreme Antiochian tendency) are rejected. Some Oriental Orthodox churches are non-Chalcedonian.

Inclusivism

Teaches that the grace of God, definitively present and decisively made known in Jesus Christ, is also active among all who are responsive to the divine presence and purpose in their lives.

gospel

The "good news" of salvation through the free and unmerited grace of God in Jesus Christ. Luther sharply opposed gospel and law as the basis of right relationship to God. Although the law is the good gift of God, it is intended to lead sinners to Christ and not be a way of establishing one's righteousness before God. For Luther, the distinction between gospel and law contained "the sum of all Christian doctrine," and the person who can rightly distinguish the two is a "right good theologian."

canon

The Greek term that means "rule" or "measuring rod". By Speaking of scripture as this and of its writings as canonical, the church acknowledges that Scripture is the basic standard or criterion of Christian faith, life, and theology. In the Protestant churches, this is composed of thirty-nine books of the Old Testament and twenty-seven books of the New. In the Roman Catholic Church, several other writings found in the Greek Septuagint but not contained in the Hebrew scriptures are also included.

filioque

The Latin phrase, translated "and from the Son," was added to the Western text of the Nicene Creed in the sixth century. So altered, the creed affirms that the Holy Spirit proceeds "from the Father and from the Son." This addition to the creed was a major factor in the separation of the Eastern and Western churches in 1054 A.D. While there is universal agreement that the Western church acted imprudently in unilaterally adding the phrase, exegetical and theological arguments continue to be advanced for and against its inclusion. "From the Father of (or through) the Son" is among the proposed substitutes to mediate the dispute.

xenolalia

The ability to speak in a language which the individual has not learned. In Pentecostalism, seen as a gift of the Spirit.

theodicy

The attempt to justify the goodness, providential care, and wisdom of God in the face of horrendous evil in the world and particularly the suffering of the innocent. This question is often stated in the form: If God is both perfectly good and all-powerful, why does evil exist? Whereas in the early modern period natural evils (e.g., earthquakes, floods) were often the occasion of theodicies, in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries the theodicy question is posed more often in relation to the staggering evils and suffering perpetrated by human beings on each other and on the natural environment.

pneumatology

The branch of Christian theology concerned with the Holy Spirit.

original sin

The condition or state of captivity in which the whole of humanity finds itself after the fall. This state is radical (affecting every aspect of human life) and universal (affecting all human beings). Augustine defended this doctrine in debate with Pelagius over the possibility of fulfillment of the law apart from grace, and Luther deepened the doctrine in debate with Erasmus over the issue of the freedom of the will. Standing within the Augustinian tradition, Niebuhr interpreted this doctrine as teaching that sin is "inevitable but not necessary": our sinful condition is one from which we cannot escape by our own power, yet we are responsible and without excuse.

homoousios

The crucial Greek term used in the Nicene Creed (A.D. 325) to affirm that Jesus Christ the Son of God is "of one substance" with God the Father and hence truly and fully divine. This word contradicted the teaching of Arians that the Logos-Son, though divine, was created and therefore not equal with God the Father but only himoiousios, "of like substance" with him.

eschatology

The doctrine of "last things" or the completion of God's works of creation and redemption. Traditionally, this has dealt with the topics of the second coming of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the final judgement, and heaven and hell. Because of the importance of the coming reign of God in the message of Jesus, this theme had special prominence in twentieth-century interpretations of eschatology. The reign of God is not something built by humans but comes as a gift of God. Moreover, it concerns not simply the completion of the life of individuals, but also the consummation of God's purposes for the whole creation.

Incarnation

The doctrine of the enfleshment or the becoming human of the eternal Word of God in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

predestination

The doctrine that God has eternally ordained the destiny of human beings. With deep roots in Scripture, this doctrine has be taught in some form by many theologians, including Augustine, Aquinas, Luther, Calvin, Schleiermacher, and Barth. In scholastic Calvinism the doctrine was interpreted to mean God's election of some people to salvation and God's rejection or reprobation of others to damnation. Barth offered a major reinterpretation of the doctrine, centering it on Jesus Christ as both electing God and elected and rejected human being. For Barth election is first and foremost God's self-determination to be God for the world in Jesus Christ. In him all humanity is elect and by him the divine judgement on sin has been borne for all.

providence

The doctrine that God unceasingly cares for the world, that all things are in God's hands, and that God is leading the world to its appointed goal. Abraham's assurance to Isaac that "God will provide" (Gen. 32:8), the psalmist's confidence that we need not fear even through kingdoms totter (Ps. 48), and Jesus' teaching that not a single sparrow falls without the knowledge of God the Father (Matt. 10:29) are examples of the strong faith in God's [term] characteristic of the mainstream of the biblical witness. This doctrine opposes the idea that all things happen by chance. At the same time, divine [term] must be distinguished from fatalism or determinism, according to which God directly causes everything that happens.

accommodation

The idea that God adapts revelation so that it can be grasped by finite creatures. Calvin, with whom this idea is often associated, explains that anthropomorphic images and metaphores of God found in the bible, such as describing God as having hands or being jealous, are the result of God's accommodation to our weakness. According to Calvin, the Incarnation is the primary instance of accommodation. In the humanity of Christ, God "has accommodated himself to our little measure lest our minds be overwhelmed by the immensity of his glory."

consubstantiation

The interpretation of the eucharist according to which, after the consecration, the substances of the body and blood of Christ coexist in union with rather than as replacements of the substances of the bread and wine. This explanation, which some late medieval theologians discussed as an alternative to transubstantiation, is also attributed to Luther, who held that the body and blood of Christ are really present "in, with, and under" the bread and wine of the eucharist.

polity

The operational and governance structure of a church or of a Christian denomination. It also denotes the ministerial structure of a church and the authority relationships between churches.

glossolalia

The phenomenon of "speaking in tongues," which the apostle Paul discusses in 1 Corinthians 12-14.

infallibility

The property of being "incapable of error" ascribed to Scripture by some Protestant churches and to the pope by the Roman Catholic Church. The term is used in different ways. For some the [term] of Scripture includes every aspect of its teaching, including its historical data, scientific assumptions and statements, and theological and moral teachings. Others employ the term more strictly with reference to Scripture's function in the church as the "infallible rule of faith and life." Still others prefer to speak as the unique and authroitative witness of SCrioture to the character, acts, and will of God without using problematic terms like [term] or "inerrancy." The infallibility of the pope, declared a dogma in 1870, means that the pope is guarded from all error when as head of the church he solemnly defines Catholic doctrine concerning matters of faith and morals ex cathedra, "from the (papal) chair."

patripassionism

The teaching that God the Father suffered on the cross. While declared heretical by the early church, a more sophisticated defense of "the suffering of God" in Christ has been the subject of intense theological discussion in recent years.

hypostatic union

The technical term for the union of the second "hypostasis" or person of the triune God with a human nature. According to the Formula of Chalcedon, in Jesus Christ divine and human natures are united in one person. Post-Chalcedonian theologians interpreted this to mean that, by virtue of [term], the single subject of the life of the incarnate Lord is the hypostasis of the eternal Word or the second person of the Trinity who "assumed" or took human nature into union with himself.

Vincentian canon

The threefold test of Catholicity laid down by St Vincent of Lérins, namely 'what has been believed everywhere, always, and by all'. By this triple test of ecumenicity, antiquity, and consent, the Church is to differentiate between true and false tradition.

adoptionism

The view that Jesus was a human being "adopted" by God and elevated to divine sonship at some point in his life. The time of his adoption has been variously set at his baptism, his birth, or his resurrection from the dead. Rejection all adoptionist Christologies, the creeds of Nicea and Chalcedon follow John 1:1 and other NT texts in declaring that Jesus Christ is the eternal Word of God who became human for our salvation.

sacrament

The word derives from the Latin sacramentum, which in turn translates to the Greek mysterion, "mystery." [term] are sacred practices of the church based on a scriptural mandate and made effective by the Spirit of God as "means of grace" to confirm the presence and promise of Christ to believers. Augustine defined a [term] as a "visible sign of an invisible grace," Calvin as a "sign and seal" of God's promise of salvation. Although the definition and number of sacraments varied considerably during the first millennium of the church, the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches today recognize seven sacraments: baptism, confirmation, penance, eucharist, holy orders, marriage, and the anointing of the sick. In Protestant churches, only baptism and the Lord's Supper are recognized as sacraments, because they alone rest on a direct command of Christ.

exclusivism/inclusivism/pluralism

These terms are frequently used to designate the most common types of response to questions about the relationship of Christian faith and other religions.

threefold office of Christ (triplex munus)

This doctrine articulates the saving work of Christ as his fulfillment of the three divinely appointed vocations or offices of prophet (who proclaims God's word), priest (who offers redeeming sacrifice to God), and king (who rules in God's name and to God's honor). This way of presenting the work of Christ has the advantage not only of comprehensiveness but also of relating it closely to the Old Testament in which prophet, priest, and king are offices established by God. Calvin was one of the first theologians to develop this doctrine extensively.

imputation

This technical theological term derives from Paul's argument in Roman's 4 that just as God counted or "imputed" righteousness to Abraham on account of his faith, so God counts or imputes righteousness to believers on account of their faith in Christ. According to this doctrine, the guilt of Adam is imputed or ascribed by God to all of Adam's descendants because Adam was head of the human race and acted representatively for all, and the righteousness of Christ is the second Adam and acts as representative of all humanity. Whether righteousness is imputed to believers on account of Christ only in the sense of a legal verdict or whether believers also really become righteous in Christ was vigorously debated in the Reformation and in subsequent eras of the church.

episcopacy

government of a church by bishops