Theology Terms

Hispanic theology

Hispanic theology The contextual theology that interprets Christian faith in the light of the historical, social, cultural, and religious heritage and experience of Latino/ a Christians in North America. Among the emphases of Hispanic theologians are God's solidarity with the poor and the marginalized; the importance of the experience of cultural mixture (mestizaje) for understanding God's purpose to establish a community of the different; and Christian life as a summons to struggle (lucha) for freedom, justice, and dignity.

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 metaphors 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."

charismata

A Greek word meaning "gifts" used by the apostle Paul in 1 Cor. 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.

aseity

Based on the Latin a se, "from himself," the term "aseity" is 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 aseity as God's necessary being as opposed to the contingent being of creatures; Barth interpreted aseity as God's actuality in sovereign freedom and divine self-determination.

Docetism

Docetism A Christological heresy claiming that Jesus Christ only "appeared" (from the Greek, dokeo, "appear") 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.

apophatic theology

From the Greek apophasis, meaning "negation." Apophatic theology holds that God cannot be grasped by the categories of finite reason and hence can only be spoken of in the form of negations: God is not finite (infinite), not mortal (immortal), not changeable (immutable). The negative way of apophatic theology implies that mystical experience is the true way to knowledge of God. Pseudo-Dionysius (fifth-sixth century) is the most famous of apophatic theologians and his influence, especially in Eastern Orthodoxy, has been profound.

dialectical

Refers generally to a mode of thought that seeks to hold in tension apparently opposing truths, such as the claim that God is both hidden and revealed, or both transcendent and immanent, or that the kingdom of God has already broken in but is not yet complete, or that we are at the same time sinners and a new creation in Christ in whom our sins are forgiven. The theological movement of the 1920s led especially by Karl Barth and Rudolf Bultmann is often referred to as "dialectical theology."

apocalyptic

Refers to a literary genre found in the Old Testament (e.g., Isa. 27; Daniel), in intertestamental writings (e.g., 1 and 2 Ezra), and in the New Testament (e.g., Mark 13, Revelation). These writings speak of a "revelation" (apokalypsis) of the hidden plan of God to bring about the destruction of evil and the ultimate victory of God's purposes throughout the creation. Filled with visions and symbols, apocalyptic writings arose out of situations of severe oppression and persecution. The New Testament scholar Ernst Käsemann called apocalyptic the "mother of Christian theology."

ascension

Scripture (Luke 24: 51; Acts 1: 9-11) and the Nicene and Apostles' Creeds declare that after his resurrection Jesus "ascended into heaven." The doctrine of the ascension of the risen Jesus affirms that he rules from heaven as head of the church and Lord of the world and that he continues to be present and active in the world in the power of the Holy Spirit. An important aspect of this doctrine is that the presence of Jesus cannot be directly identified with the structures and practices of the church or the events and movements of history. The doctrine thus calls in question every ecclesiastical or secular triumphalism.

anhypostasis/ enhypostasis

Technical Greek terms used in post-Chalcedonian Christology to guard the unity of the person of Christ. That the human nature assumed by the Word in the Incarnation is anhypostasis means that it has no independent existence (hypostasis, in Latin, persona) apart from the Word. That the human nature is enhypostasis means that it receives its hypostasis or concrete existence when united with the Word. .

inspiration

That Scripture is "inspired" or composed under the special guidance of the Holy Spirit is a common teaching in classical Christian theology and in the confessions of the church. "All Scripture is inspired by God" (2 Tim. 3: 16) is frequently cited in support of this teaching. How to understand the work of the Spirit in inspiring the biblical writers has been a subject of much debate. At one extreme is the claim that the words of Scripture were dictated by God, making Scripture inerrant in every respect. At the opposite extreme, inspiration is equated with religious genius and creative imagination. Between these extremes is the affirmation that the Holy Spirit works in and through the human writers of Scripture to convey God's word, respecting their human limitations and conditioning by historical, social, and cultural contexts.

creationism Also known as "creation science,"

creationism Also known as "creation science," creationism opposes the theory of evolution and the estimates of the age of the universe by modern cosmology. It holds that the world was created by God in a manner corresponding closely to the biblical accounts and is perhaps 10,000 years old rather than many billions of years old as modern cosmology teaches.

apokatastasis

A Greek term meaning "universal restoration" (Acts 3: 21) and interpreted by some patristic theologians, notably Origen, to refer to the final redemption of all creatures. While the view that universal salvation is a certainty of faith (universalism ) has been rejected by church teaching, a number of twentieth-century theologians, including Karl Barth and Hans Urs von Balthasar, hold that we are not forbidden to pray and to hope for universal salvation even if there is no necessity or guarantee that God's redemptive purposes will be consummated in this way.

adiaphora

A Greek word meaning "indifferent things." Adiaphora are peripheral or non-essential matters that are not to be made binding on the Christian conscience. They include ceremonies, customs, practices,and viewpoints neither commanded nor forbidden by the Word of God. According to Calvin, knowledge of Christian freedom in relation to adiaphora is of great importance, "for if it is lacking, our consciences will have no repose and there will be no end to superstitions."

creatio 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 (cf. Rom. 4: 17). The world is not part of God's being, nor does anything co-exist eternally with God (e.g., eternal unformed matter) out of which the world is created. "Creation out of nothing" stands in contrast to every form of dualism and pantheism in understanding the relationship between God and the world.

covenant

A promissory relationship established by God with the world and particularly with the people of Israel. Based on God's grace and faithfulness and calling for obedience and service, covenant in the biblical sense must be distinguished from a legal "contract" agreed upon by equal partners. God's covenant with Israel is summarized in the promise, "I will be your God and you shall be my people" (Lev. 26: 12; Jer. 7: 23; 11: 4; 30: 22). Scripture describes various covenants of God with Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David. The prophet Jeremiah speaks of a "new covenant" that will be written not on tablets of stone but on human hearts (31: 31ff.). Scripture proclaims the realization of this new covenant in Jesus Christ in whom all the promises of God are fulfilled.

descent into hell

According to the Apostles' Creed, after Christ was crucified, died, and was buried, "he descended into hell." This doctrine has a complicated history. 1 Peter 3: 18-20 is usually cited as one of its exegetical bases. In the theological tradition two streams of interpretation are identifiable. One understands the descent as a missionary journey of Christ into hell (or sheol/ hades, the collective abode of the dead) to preach the gospel and to liberate those imprisoned there, although there is no consensus about who are the ones liberated (the Old Testament saints? the righteous pagans? all people?). The other stream of interpretation understands the descent into hell as Christ's experience of separation from God on the cross when he endured God's judgment on sin on our behalf (Calvin, Barth).

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 (communicatio idiomatum). The incarnate Word takes on the attributes of human nature and his human nature participates in the attributes of divinity. Hence we can say of the incarnate Word, "The Son of God suffered," and "Jesus is Lord of all creation." Rooted 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 Lutheran tradition because of its concern to assert 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 the doctrine of the communication of properties.

communion of the saints

Affirmation of the "communion of the saints" is an article of the Apostles' Creed. It is based on the biblical teaching of the "communion" or "fellowship" (koinonia) of believers in Christ that is created and sustained by the Holy Spirit and that constitutes the church as the one body of Christ. The Latin term communio sanctorum can mean both a communion of the saints (sancti) of all times and places with each other, and a communion of the saints with the holy things (sancta) of God, including proclamation of the Word, celebration of baptism and the Lord's Supper, and participation in the church's worship and service in the world.

analogy

Analogy means "likeness" or "similarity." Use of some form of analogy is indispensable in theology because creator and creatures are radically different. Theologians who speak of an "analogy of being" (analogia entis) insist on some similarity as well as difference between the being of God and the being of creatures. Real if limited knowledge of God is thus possible on the basis of knowledge of ourselves and other creatures. Other theologians, emphasizing the radical discontinuity between God and creatures, reject the analogy of being and employ instead an "analogy of faith" (analogia fidei). Theology governed by the analogy of faith does not attempt to understand God in terms of created reality but interprets created reality in the light of God's self-revelation in Jesus Christ.

apostolic succession

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

atonement

Atonement or "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 atonement in Scripture, and there is no single official church dogma defining the work of Christ as there is of his person. Nevertheless, several "theories of the atonement" have been especially influential: the ransom or "classical" theory of early Greek Fathers like Origen and Gregory of Nyssa; the satisfaction theory formulated by Anselm; and the exemplarist or "moral influence" theory associated with Abelard.

baptism

Baptism is the sacrament (some churches say "ordinance") of initiation into the Christian community. Commanded by Christ (Matt. 28: 19) and practiced in all Christian churches, baptism takes the form of a public confession of faith and immersion in, pouring of, or sprinkling with water in the name of the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The rich symbolism of baptism includes washing away of sin, dying and rising to new life in Christ, being born to new life by the Spirit, and being welcomed as a child of God into the family of faith. Disagreement continues among the churches whether only those able to make a free and responsible confession of faith should be baptized (Baptist churches), or whether the children of believing parents may also be baptized (Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and many Protestant churches).

black theology

Black theology interprets the biblical witness and historic Christian doctrine within the context of the history and experience of African Americans. Biblical themes such as the exodus of the people of God from bondage, the critique of injustice by the prophets, and the ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus illuminate and in turn are illuminated by the African American experience of bondage, systemic racism, and the struggle of African Americans for freedom and justice. Among the prominent emphases of black theology are God's solidarity in Christ with the poor and the oppressed, the value in God's sight of people of color, and the courageous and faithful witness of the African American churches in the midst of suffering. The witness of African American churches finds expression in a distinctive heritage of worship, preaching, music, and social action. James Cone is one of the pioneers and leading representatives of black theology.

Alexandrian school

Centered in Alexandria, Egypt, this school of patristic thought included Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Athanasius, and Cyril of Alexandria. In Christology, the Alexandrian school emphasized the full divinity of Christ and the personal unity of his divine and human natures. Athanasius championed the Nicene declaration of Christ's equality with God the Father against Arianism, and Cyril emphasized the unity of the incarnate Word over against the Antiochian (especially Nestorian) tendency to separate the divine and human natures of Christ. For the Alexandrians, salvation depended on the reality of the union of God and humanity in Christ.

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 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).

Latin American liberation theology

Latin American liberation theology A theology rooted in the context of the economic deprivation and political oppression of Latin American people. Special emphases of this theology are God's preferential love of the poor, salvation as holistic liberation, and theology as an element in the practice of liberation rather than as mere theory. The concrete settings of Latin American liberation theology are "base Christian communities," local gatherings of lay Christians for worship, Bible study, and strategic planning for social action. Gustavo Gutiérrez is widely recognized as the father of Latin American liberation theology.

Lord's Supper/ eucharist/ communion

Lord's Supper/ eucharist/ communion The Lord's Supper is the central sacrament of the Christian Church. While the churches differ in their theology and practice of the Lord's Supper, there are important points of convergence. In the breaking and eating of the bread and pouring and drinking of the cup with thanksgiving to God, Christ's saving life, death, and resurrection are remembered and proclaimed; his real presence and grace for the forgiveness of sins and the renewal of life are received and celebrated; and the church is strengthened for its mission in the world in the confident hope of Christ's coming again and of the consummation of his saving work. Each of the different names by which this sacrament is known brings out some aspect of its rich meaning. "Lord's Supper" emphasizes that Jesus Christ is the host who invites all to his table and gives himself to all who put their trust in him. "Communion" expresses the fact that in this meal we are repeatedly given new life in communion with God and each other through Christ in the power of the Spirit. The name "eucharist" declares that in this meal the church "gives thanks" in the Spirit to God for God's sacrificial love and great goodness to us in Jesus Christ.

dogma

Meaning "decree," dogma refers to a central doctrine of Christian faith that has been officially recognized by an ecumenical council of the church as normative for a right understanding and confession of Christian faith. The triune nature of God and the union of divine and human natures in the one person of Jesus Christ are the chief examples of "dogma." In Protestant theology, a particular formulation of dogma, like all doctrinal formulations, is provisional and in principle reformable. Some theologians thus speak of true dogma as an "eschatological" (Barth) or "doxological" (Pannenberg) concept because the church must never claim that its dogmatic formulations infallibly or exhaustively express the content of revelation. In Roman Catholic theology, dogmas are truths contained in divine revelation and authoritatively defined by the church's magisterium.

Nicene Creed

Nicene Creed A milestone in the development of a fully explicit trinitarian understanding of God, the Nicene Creed, adopted by the first ecumenical council of the church meeting in Nicea in 325 A.D., affirmed the full divinity of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Against Arius who claimed that the Son, the Logos of God, was not equal to the Father, that he was only the highest of the creatures, and that there was a time when he did not exist, the Nicene Creed confesses Jesus Christ the Son of God to be "of one being" (homoousios) with God the Father, not created but "eternally begotten" of the Father. What is commonly called the Nicene Creed today is actually the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed. The second ecumenical council meeting in Constantinople in 381 A.D. adopted an expanded version of Nicea including an explicit recognition of the full divinity of the Spirit. The Spirit is called "Lord" and "Life-giver" who is "worshiped and glorified" together with the Father and the Son.

Chalcedon

Site of the fourth ecumenical council of the church (451 A.D.). 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 Nestorianism (the extreme Antiochian tendency) are rejected. The Oriental Orthodox churches, such as Armenian, Coptic, and Syrian, are non-Chalcedonian.

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 to 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 literally means "rule" or "standard." By speaking of Scripture as "canon" 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, the canon of Scripture is composed of 39 books of the Old Testament and 27 books of the New. In the Roman Catholic Church several other writings found in the Greek Septuagint but not contained in the Hebrew Scriptures (e.g., The Wisdom of Solomon) are also included within the Old Testament canon.

consubstantiation

The interpretation of the eucharist according to which, after the consecration, the substances of the body and blood of Christ co-exist 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. He held that the body and blood of Christ are really present "in, with, and under" the bread and wine of the eucharist and used the analogy of the co-presence of fire and iron in a red-hot iron.

appropriation

The practice, based on biblical usage, of ascribing or "appropriating" a particular attribute or act to one of the persons of the Trinity, even though all attributes and acts of the triune God are indivisible and cannot be assigned exclusively to one of the persons. Thus the act of creation is appropriated to the Father, the act of redemption to the Son, and the act of sanctification to the Spirit, even though, strictly speaking, all are acts of the one triune God. The doctrine of appropriations helps guard the truth of the distinctions within the Trinity just as the doctrine of perichoresis helps guard the truth of the unity of the Trinity.

Asian American theology

The project of expressing Christian faith and theology in the context of the distinctive heritage and experience of first- and second-generation Asian American Christians. Some major themes of Asian American theologians are the experience of marginality, racial discrimination against Asian Americans in North American society, and the challenge of bearing a unique and prophetic witness at the intersection of Western and Asian cultures.

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. Rejecting all adoptionist Christologies, the creeds of Nicea and Chalcedon follow John 1: 1 and other New Testament texts in declaring that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God who became human for our salvation.

deism

The view that after creating the world God is no longer actively related to it. The God of deism neither providentially guides the world nor acts within it in any way. Some deist thinkers likened the relationship between God and the world to an omniscient clockmaker who constructs a perfect clock that is able to run on its own and needs no help from its maker. This view of the relationship between God and the world, held by a number of Enlightenment thinkers, was strongly influenced by the emergence of modern science and its accompanying optimism.

free will

The view that human beings always have the power of choice and that no decisions are necessitated. In Christian theology, debate about the freedom of the will is closely connected with understandings of the doctrines of sin and grace. Theological defenders of free will argue that if sin wholly eradicated human freedom, human beings could not be held responsible for their decisions and actions. Theological critics of free will argue that although human beings make "free choices," under the conditions of sin their choices are determined by desires, motives, and social influences that are inevitably marked by sin. Hence sinners may be said to have a kind of "free will" (liberum arbitrium) but apart from God's grace they do not have true human "freedom" (libertas) to live in accordance with God's will. The controversy between Erasmus and Luther is a classic in the debate about free will.

Trinity

Trinity The distinctively Christian understanding of God as ineffable mystery of love, distinct in three eternal persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, related to each other as Begetter, Begotten, and Breathed Forth, or as Lover, Beloved, and Love. The three equal persons are united in an eternal movement of mutual self-giving love so intimate as to be an "indwelling" or "in-existing" of each other (perichoresis). The doctrine of the Trinity received formal articulation at the Councils of Nicea (325 A.D.) and Constantinople (381 A.D.), and was further refined in the theologies of Augustine in the West and the Cappadocian theologians in the East.

doctrine

While the term "doctrine" (derived from the Latin docere, "to teach") is sometimes used in the general sense of any church teaching, its more specific reference is to an exposition of an important article of Christian faith, e.g., the doctrine of creation. In the Reformation tradition doctrines are based on the witness of Scripture and are attempts to interpret and summarize its witness in a clear and precise manner. While serving as indispensable guides for the preaching and teaching of the church, doctrinal formulations in the Reformation tradition are not considered infallible but are subject to reexamination in the light of the scriptural witness.

Word of God

Word of God Refers to the self-expression or self-communication of God. In the Old Testament the Word of God is spoken through prophets. In the New Testament the Word of God refers at times to what is written in Scripture and proclaimed in the gospel, but primarily it refers to the Word of God that was with God in the beginning (Jn. 1: 1) and has been embodied in the person and work of Jesus Christ (John 1: 14). Barth developed a highly influential doctrine of the Word of God as event that takes a threefold form: Word of God revealed (incarnate in Jesus Christ), Word of God written (Scripture), and Word of God proclaimed (sermon and sacrament).

economic Trinity

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 (economic Trinity) that we are able, confidently if always inadequately, to speak of real distinctions and relationships within God's one eternal being (immanent Trinity).

ecumenical

ecumenical The Greek word oikumene means "the whole inhabited earth." "Ecumenical movement" refers to the effort throughout much of the twentieth 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.

ecumenical councils

ecumenical councils Refers to church assemblies that represent the whole church and whose decisions are accepted as authoritative and binding. The number of councils recognized as truly ecumenical is disputed in the churches: the Roman Catholic Church counts twenty-one, from Nicea I to Vatican II; the Eastern Orthodox churches recognize the first seven; and many Protestant churches recognize at least the first four.

eschatology

eschatology The doctrine of the "last things" or the completion of God's works of creation and redemption. Traditionally, eschatology has dealt with the topics of the second coming of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the final judgment, and heaven and hell. Because of the importance of the coming reign of God in the message of Jesus, this theme has 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. exclusivism/ inclusivism/ pluralism

ex opere operato

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.

exclusivism/ inclusivism/ pluralism

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. "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. "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 will in their lives. "Pluralism" holds that all religions mediate knowledge of God and are equally valid ways of salvation, though differing in their symbols and practices.

extra Calvinisticum

extra Calvinisticum A Latin phrase meaning "the Calvinist extra." The phrase was coined by critics of the followers of Calvin because he insisted that God remains transcendent and free in all God's relationships with the world, including the Incarnation. According to Calvin, in assuming human existence, the Word of God does not cease to be active "outside the flesh" (extra carnem). Critics see this doctrine as Nestorian in tendency, while defenders argue that it properly underscores the inseparability of the creative and redemptive activities of the eternal Word of the triune God and that it is in fact the view of the ancient catholic tradition.

extra ecclesiam nulla salus

extra ecclesiam nulla salus A Latin phrase translated "outside the church there is no salvation." This controversial claim originated with some of the patristic theologians, especially Cyprian, and is still official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, although its interpretation has undergone significant modification since Vatican II. Some contemporary theologians, Protestant and Roman Catholic, propose as an alternative: "outside Christ there is no salvation," or "outside communion with God and others made known fully in Christ there is no salvation."

faith

faith Faith is the personal response of trust and confidence in the gracious God made known in Jesus Christ. As wholehearted dedication of one's life to Christ, faith differs radically from blind submission to church teachings and from routine and unthinking adherence to inherited doctrines and practices. The object of Christian faith is not some thing or idea but the living Lord Jesus Christ who is God with us in the power of the Holy Spirit. Substitution of any other object of faith — whether self, family, church, race, or nation — is idolatry. The subject of faith is the whole person, including mind, will, and affections.

feminist theology

feminist theology A distinctive vision and method in contemporary theology representing a wide range of concerns including the critique of attitudes and practices of male domination in both church and society (patriarchy); the reclaiming of women's experience as an indispensable theological resource; the rejection of exclusively male images and metaphors of God in liturgy and theology; the recovery of the long-forgotten or suppressed contributions of women in the biblical literature and in church history; and the insistence that women and men be valued and treated fairly and equally in all areas of life.

filioque

filioque A Latin phrase meaning "and from the Son." The phrase 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 through the Son" is among the proposed substitutes to mediate the dispute.

forgiveness

forgiveness God's free and gracious acceptance of sinners decisively declared in Jesus' teaching, ministry to sinners and outcasts, and death for the salvation of the world. Forgiveness is God's reception of sinners into new communion in advance of and apart from reparations for offenses committed. As an act of divine grace, forgiveness is free, scandalous, and costly. Christians are called by Christ to practice forgiveness in their relationships with others.

freedom

freedom In popular usage as well as in many philosophies ancient and modern, freedom is understood as maximum autonomy and independence from all external constraint. By contrast, Christian theology understands true freedom as the gift of freedom from the bondage of sin and death and freedom for the new life of reconciliation, communion, and service that God purposes for humanity. This distinctive understanding of human freedom is grounded in God's own exercise of freedom — that is, God's self-determination to be God with and for the world revealed decisively in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

historical Jesus

historical Jesus Refers to what can be known of Jesus of Nazareth by modern historical-critical study of early Christian origins in distinction from the portrayals of Jesus in the Gospels and in later church teachings. There have been at least three waves of historical Jesus studies: (1) the liberal nineteenth-century "quest of the historical Jesus" that attempted to write biographies of Jesus (described and critiqued by Albert Schweitzer); (2) the "new quest" of the historical Jesus inaugurated by Ernst Käsemann in the 1950s, whose primary purpose was to show the continuity between the message of Jesus and the New Testament kerygma; and (3) the recent studies of Jesus in his environment, giving special attention to sociological and cultural studies of the first century and emphasizing Jesus' embeddedness in the life and history of the Jewish people.

homoousios

homoousios The crucial Greek term used in the Nicene Creed (325 A.D.) 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 the Arians that the Logos-Son, though divine, was "created" and therefore not equal with God the Father.

hope

hope A gift of God, hope anticipates the fulfillment of God's promises to and purposes for the world. Traditionally considered one of the three "theological virtues" along with faith and love, hope fights against despair and resignation to the way things are and keeps human life open to transformation in personal and social dimensions. At the same time, Christian hope differs from liberal optimism and revolutionary presumption that count on a better future to come as a result of human activity apart

hypostasis

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 hypostasis was rendered by the word persona (" person"). Neither hypostasis nor persona, 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.

hypostatic union

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 hypostatic union, 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.

idolatry

idolatry Meaning literally "worship of idols," idolatry is placing one's ultimate trust in, or giving one's ultimate allegiance to, any creature — whether it be an individual, idea, cause, institution, value system, or nation — rather than in the one and only God. The first of the ten commandments forbids every form of idolatry (Exod. 20: 1-5).

imago Dei

imago Dei This Latin phrase translated "image of God" is one of the basic concepts of the Christian doctrine of human being. The phrase derives from Gen. 1: 27: "So God created human beings in God's image; in the image of God he created them." Various answers have been given to the question of what constitutes the image of God in humanity. Among the proposals are self-consciousness, the capacity to reason, freedom of choice, and the unique faculties like reason and imagination that enable humanity to have dominion over the other creatures. Some twentieth-century theologians (e.g., Bonhoeffer, Barth) have argued that life in right relationship with God and others constitutes the image of God. For Christian faith and theology, Jesus Christ is the perfect realization of the image of God (Col. 1: 15).

immanence

immanence From the Latin immanere, "remaining within" or "indwelling." God's immanence is God's nearness to and indwelling of 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 immanence of God over against views of God's otherness as alienated transcendence — mere opposition to and separation from creatures.

immanent Trinity

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 "immanent Trinity" and the "economic Trinity" are not two different trinities but one and the same Trinity seen from different perspectives. The "immanent Trinity" 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.

immutability

immutability Literally, the capacity to be "unchanging" or "changeless." According to traditional doctrines of God, immutability is one of the most distinguishing attributes of divinity. Unlike all creatures, which are subject to change and corruptibility, God, who is perfect, remains eternally the same and thus is changeless. Much modern theology has challenged this doctrine as being more indebted to ancient Greek philosophy than to Scripture. What characterizes the depiction of God in the scriptural witness is not an abstract notion of changelessness but God's constancy and faithfulness to God's own nature and to God's covenant with the world.

impassibility

impassibility One of the attributes of God in classical theology, impassibility 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. The doctrine of God's impassibility runs counter to the biblical witness, and it has been thoroughly critiqued by many theologians in recent times (e.g., Bonhoeffer's theology of the "suffering God," Moltmann's theology of the "crucified God").

imputation

imputation This technical theological term derives from Paul's argument in Romans 4 that just as God counted or "imputed" righteousness to Abraham on account of his faith, so God counts or imputes righteousness to Christians on account of their faith in Christ. According to the doctrine of imputation, 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 imputed or ascribed by God to all who trust in him because 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 period and in subsequent eras of the church.

infallibility

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 "infallible" is used in different ways. For some, the infallibility 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 of the unique and authoritative witness of Scripture to the character, acts, and will of God without using problematic terms like "infallibility" 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."

internal testimony of the Holy Spirit

internal testimony of the Holy Spirit The doctrine that the Holy Spirit illumines, confirms, and seals the truth of the witness of Scripture in the minds and hearts of believers. For Luther and Calvin, Word and Spirit are inseparable. The Word gives external and objective testimony to the saving acts of God while the Spirit works internally and subjectively to certify and seal the truth of the scriptural writers in the hearts of believers. Calvin writes, "The Word will not find acceptance in human hearts before it is sealed by the inward testimony of the Holy Spirit."

justification

justification A term drawn from the legal sphere, justification refers to God's gracious pardon and acceptance of sinners not on account of their own virtues or good works but solely because of God's sheer grace embodied in Jesus Christ and received by faith. Believers are accounted just not in themselves but in Christ. As God's free act of forgiveness of sin, justification is the basis of sanctification or the new life in Christ. Luther called the doctrine of justification "the article on which the church stands or falls," and Calvin called it "the hinge on which religion turns."

kenosis

kenosis A Greek word meaning "emptying." The verb ekenosen is used in Phil. 2: 7 where 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 of the "metaphysical" attributes of divinity like omnipotence and omniscience while retaining the "moral" attributes like love and holiness. While the concept of kenosis 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.

law, uses of

law, uses of In Scripture the law or commandments of God are not burdens but gifts and blessings. Obedience to the law of God serves both human well-being and the glorification of God in the world. Under the conditions of sin, however, the law of God is misused when it becomes an instrument of sinners to justify themselves and to boast before God. Luther spoke of two proper uses of the law: the theological (to unmask human sinfulness and drive sinners to Christ), and the civil (the power of the state to keep order, by force if necessary, and thus restrain evildoers who would otherwise cause chaos). Calvin added a "third use of the law": the use in the life of believers who freely and gladly obey the commandments of God rather than seeing them as a heavy obligation or as a means of salvation.

loci

loci A Latin term meaning "topics" or "areas," it is used to designate the major subjects of doctrinal or systematic theology. The doctrines of God, creation, providence, humanity, the person and work of Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the church are among the distinct "loci" of theology.

logos

logos A Greek term meaning "word" but also "reason" and "discourse." The concept of logos played a central role in ancient Greek philosophies like Stoicism. It designated the rationality of the order of nature in which individual human reason participates. In the Old Testament the prophets declare the "word of God" or God's judgment, purpose, and instruction to the people of Israel. Wisdom literature celebrates the eternal "wisdom" of God, sometimes personifying it (Prov. 8). Drawing on some or all of these traditions, the Prologue to the Gospel of John identifies Jesus as the eternal Word of God become flesh (John 1: 1-18). This identification formed the basis of the Logos Christology of the early church, according to which Jesus is the perfect expression of the logos (word and wisdom) of God. Logos Christology found in the logos concept a "point of contact" with non-Christian philosophical traditions. It also was important in the development of trinitarian doctrine.

love

love Love is the act of seeking and maintaining the good of another. In Scripture the steadfast love of God for Israel (hesed) and the self-giving love of God for the world in Jesus Christ (agape) define the essential nature of God. The love of God is a free and unconditional gift rather than an act prompted by an internal need or external necessity. Jesus summed up the law in the twofold commandment to love God and neighbor and made the love of enemies the touchstone of genuine love. Following the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 13, classical theology has viewed love as the greatest of the three "theological virtues" that include faith and hope.

magisterium

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 "magisterium" is not widely used in Protestant churches, there are nevertheless established structures and processes, at the local, national, and international levels, that function as teaching authorities.

marks

marks of the church According to the Nicene Creed, the distinguishing marks of the church are "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic." Without denying these Nicene marks, the sixteenth-century Reformers insisted that a true Christian church is present whenever there is pure preaching and hearing of the Word of God and right celebration of the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper. In some confessions of the Reformed tradition, discipline is included as a third mark of the church alongside faithful proclamation of the Word and proper observance of the sacraments.

method of correlation

method of correlation Developed by Paul Tillich, the method of correlation connects existential questions arising out of a particular human situation with answers contained in the Christian message. For example, the modern experience of estrangement and alienation is correlated with the Christian message of reconciliation. David Tracy proposes a modification of Tillich's method of correlation by speaking of the need for "mutually critical correlation," where both analysis of a situation and retrieval of the Christian message mutually inform and enrich each other.

ministry

ministry The "service" (Latin, ministerium; Greek, diakonia) of God in the church and through the church to the world. Christian ministry has its basis and model in the ministry of Jesus Christ who as the incarnate Word of God came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10: 45). Every baptized Christian is called to share in the ministry of Christ, bearing witness to the gospel and showing compassion to all in need. Particular gifts for ministry are given to all by the Holy Spirit to build up the church and equip it for service in the world (1 Cor. 12-14). Since New Testament times, special ministries of leadership in the church have taken different forms (e.g., bishop, presbyter, and deacon) and are recognized by rites of ordination. In most Protestant churches, the main form of ordained ministry is the pastoral ministry of Word and sacrament in a local congregation.

modalism

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 the role of redeemer, and the Spirit is God in the role of giver of new life. Modalism 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.

modern/ postmodern

modern/ postmodern As used in contemporary theology and philosophy, "modern" refers to the worldview dominant in Western society since the period of the Enlightenment. Generally critical of religious traditions, the modern mentality emphasizes autonomous human reason, a closed universe described by Newtonian science, and an optimistic hope about the progress of the human race through education, science, and technology. In distinction, the "postmodern" attitude emphasizes the relativity of all truth claims, the pervasiveness of power interests in all human interaction, and the end of all religious and secular "grand narratives," including the liberal theory of progress and the Marxist theory of the classless state to be achieved through revolution. Some theologians see the emergence of the postmodern era as leading to complete relativism and oppose it as a mortal threat to Christian faith. Other theologians see it as a new opportunity to present the claims of Christian faith in a context where modern prejudices of a closed universe, the supremacy of autonomous reason, and the idea of the absolute self have been superseded.

mujerista theology

mujerista theology The theological work of Hispanic women in the United States. Their goal is to help Latinas to understand the nature of the oppressive forces that control their lives, to struggle against these forces, to develop the Latinas' sense of dignity and moral agency, and to recognize the presence of God in their communities and their everyday life.

natural theology

natural theology Refers to a theology based on the natural light of reason, the dictates of conscience, or purported evidences of God in the processes of nature or the events of history. Natural theology is independent of God's revelation attested in Scripture and God's decisive self-communication in Jesus Christ. Karl Barth launched an all-out attack on natural theology as leading to distraction in the faith and life of the church and easily succumbing to idolatry. Barth's opposition is enshrined in the first article of the Barmen Declaration of 1934: "Jesus Christ, as he is attested for us in Scripture, is the one Word of God that we have to hear and that we have to trust and obey in life and in death."

nature and grace

nature and grace Nature and grace are fundamental categories in Thomistic theology. According to Thomas Aquinas, "Grace does not destroy nature but perfects it." In some scholastic forms of Thomism, this dictum is interpreted to mean that the "nature" of creatures is an independent dynamism and constitutes a kind of substructure to which grace is added from the "outside," e.g., through the use of the sacraments of the church. Twentieth-century Thomists like Karl Rahner reject this model of the relationship of nature and grace as the error of "extrinsicism" and argue that nature is always and everywhere already permeated by grace.

omnipotence

omnipotence The divine attribute of being "all-powerful," or having "power over all things." Mistakenly construed to mean that God can do everything (including what is self-contradictory) or that God is the direct cause of every event (including what is evil), divine omnipotence is properly understood to mean that God has all the power to accomplish God's creative and redemptive purposes in a manner consistent with God's character. A major concern of Christian theologians, ancient and modern, has been to distinguish God's omnipotence from tyrannical or abusive power. Barth, for example, distinguished God's omnipotence from sheer "almightiness" (which he called the power of the demonic) and spoke of the "omnipotent love" of God. Process theologians distinguish between persuasive and coercive power and ascribe only the former to God.

omniscience

omniscience One of the attributes of God in classical Christian theology, omniscience means "knowing all things" or "possessing perfect knowledge." Traditionally, this has been understood to mean that God knows all things past, present, and future in one timeless act of cognition. Some theologians and philosophers have addressed the difficulties this understanding of omniscience presents by saying that God knows the actual as actual and the possible as possible. Others have contended that the Bible does not speak of the omniscience of God in an abstract philosophical sense. Instead, it affirms the wisdom of God, the inner truth, depth, clarity, and purposefulness of God's actions, which remains hidden to us apart from God's self-revelation. According to the apostle Paul, Christ crucified is proclaimed as the hidden wisdom of God, although this proclamation is dismissed as scandalous and foolish by unbelievers (1 Cor. 1: 18-25).

ordination

ordination The reception and confirmation of a person into a ministry of leadership in the church. After a period of preparation and examination, the church publicly confirms that God has called a candidate to a special leadership ministry in a service of ordination. The ordination service includes prayers for the empowering grace of the Holy Spirit and the laying on of hands by ordained ministers, symbolizing the gift of the Spirit. In the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, ordination is a sacrament and is held to bestow an "indelible character" (character indelibilis) qualifying the ordinand to exclusive exercise of certain leadership practices, such as presiding at the eucharist. Reformation churches also take ordination with great seriousness but characteristically stress the functional rather than ontological distinction between ordained ministries and the ministry of the whole people of God. No barriers, created by supposed essential differences, should be erected between "clergy" and "laity."

original sin

original sin The condition or state of captivity in which the whole of humanity finds itself after the Fall. Original sin is radical (affecting every aspect of human life) and universal (affecting all human beings). Augustine defended the doctrine of original sin 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, Reinhold Niebuhr interpreted the doctrine of original sin 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.

panentheism

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

pantheism

pantheism Literally, the teaching that "everything is divine." Pantheism affirms that beyond surface appearances all beings are one with God. Pantheism thus denies the ontological difference between God and creature expressed in the doctrine of creation out of nothing and overlooks the moral difference between the holy God and sinners. It thus loses touch with the radical otherness of the God of the biblical witness and classical Christian faith.

perfection

perfection According to John Wesley, the goal of God's work of sanctification is the perfecting of the saints. Since Jesus calls us to perfect love of God and neighbor (Matt. 5: 48), we should direct our lives to this goal and trust in God's power to realize it. Wesley believed that perfection or full sanctification was realized in this life only in relatively few Christians, but that all Christians should at least want to be made perfect in love.

perichoresis

perichoresis A Greek word translated "mutual indwelling" or "interpenetration." It was first used by patristic theologians to describe the mutual indwelling of the divine and human natures of the incarnate Word. John of Damascus (eighth 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. Perichoresis has become a central concept in contemporary trinitarian theology, and theologians make analogous uses of it in other doctrinal loci like theological anthropology and ecclesiology.

person

person In modern philosophy a person is a self-conscious individual capable of independent decision and action. In trinitarian theology "person" is a technical term used to refer to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, who are not three separate beings but are united in essence and distinguished by their relationships with each other. In recent trinitarian theology, relationality is emphasized as a constitutive element of being a person. A major task of trinitarian theology is to avoid the tritheism that hovers over any uncritical use of the modern definition of "person" in trinitarian doctrine and the modalism that reduces the persons of the Trinity to mere modes or manifestations of a solitary being and fails to grasp that the essence of God's being is love and communion.

prayer

prayer A practice, fundamental to Christian faith and life, of calling on God and petitioning God for daily needs. As the lifeline of communion with God, prayer takes many forms, including praise, thanksgiving, confession of sin, lament, petition, and intercession. The model of Christian prayer is the Lord's Prayer taught by Jesus to his disciples. Calvin called prayer "the chief exercise of faith." Barth made prayer central in his depiction of Christian life and spoke of it as a necessary presupposition of all serious theology.

predestination

predestination The doctrine that God has eternally ordained the destiny of human beings. With deep roots in Scripture, this doctrine has been 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 judgment on sin has been borne for all.

process Theology

process theology A prominent school of North American theology that emphasizes the "processive" or dynamic character of all reality. In contrast to static views of the world as comprised of inert, unchanging substances, process theology views reality as constituted by "actual occasions" or transient novel events bearing the influence of past events and in turn influencing future events. God is described in process theology as "di-polar," having a "primordial" nature that contains all ideals or possibilities for concrete actualization, and a "consequent" nature that receives, preserves, and harmonizes all that is actualized in the world process. Alfred North Whitehead and Charles Hartshorne are the two chief philosophical sources of American process theology.

proofs of God's existence

proofs of God's existence Attempts to prove or demonstrate (i.e., provide logically compelling arguments for) God's existence have been perennially debated in philosophy and theology. The most famous formal arguments for God's existence are Anselm's ontological argument (derived from his definition of God as "that than which nothing greater can be conceived") and Thomas Aquinas's five "ways": from motion to an unmoved mover; from causality to a first cause; from contingent being to a necessary being; from value to perfection; and from design to a designer. Many contemporary theologians share Paul Tillich's assessment that these arguments are failures as arguments but that they are significant expressions of the irrepressible human search for God.

providence

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) and Jesus' teaching that not a single sparrow falls without the knowledge of God the Father (Matt. 10: 29) are instances of the strong faith in God's providence characteristic of the mainstream of the biblical witness. The doctrine of providence opposes the idea that all things happen by chance. At the same time, divine providence must be distinguished from fatalism or determinism, according to which God directly causes everything that happens.

psychological analogy

psychological analogy One of the two primary analogies for speaking of the mystery of the Trinity, the other being the social analogy. According to the psychological analogy, employed by Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, 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 and the disadvantage of speaking of the three of the Trinity in a way that suggests they are only modes, aspects, or faculties, and hence less than personal.

real presence

real presence A phrase used to designate the real or actual presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper. A doctrine of real presence stands in contrast to views such as Zwingli's that Christ's presence is only figurative or symbolic. While Calvin rejected the doctrine of transubstantiation, he also resisted the idea that the Lord's Supper is a "vain and empty sign," arguing for the real presence of Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. According to Calvin, in the Lord's Supper, "Christ pours his life into us, as if it penetrated into our bones and marrow." The phrase "real presence" provides common ground to Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, and Reformed theologians whose doctrines of the Lord's Supper may nevertheless differ significantly as to the precise mode of Christ's real presence.

resurrection

resurrection Based on the New Testament witness to the resurrection of the crucified Christ, Christians affirm belief in "the resurrection of the dead" (Nicene Creed) and "the resurrection of the body" (Apostles' Creed). Faith and hope in bodily resurrection stand in contrast to the idea of the immortality of the soul. The latter holds immortality to be intrinsic to some aspect of the human creature, whereas resurrection faith presupposes that death is total and the hope for life beyond death rests on the sheer gift of God who brought creation out of nothing and raised the crucified Jesus from the dead. Moreover, resurrection faith affirms the significance of embodied existence in God's sight and by extension the value of the entire material cosmos.

revelation

revelation This word translates the Greek apocalypses and means God's "unveiling" or disclosure of the divine character, purpose, and will. As an event of personal self-disclosure, the revelation of God is God's own free act and must therefore be distinguished from an insight or truth discovered independently by human beings. For Christian faith and theology God's decisive self-revelation is the person and work of Jesus Christ as attested in Scripture. When a distinction is made between special and general revelation, special revelation refers to God's self-disclosure in the covenant history with Israel and supremely in Jesus Christ, and general revelation refers to what can be known of God through observation of nature and by the dictates of universal human conscience.

rule of faith

rule of faith The expression "rule of faith" (regula fidei) is used by patristic theologians like Irenaeus to refer to the brief summary of the faith recognized and confessed in all the churches. It is often appealed to as a rule or standard for the right interpretation of Scripture over against heterodox and heretical interpretations. The rule of faith, as formulated for example in the Apostles' Creed, can be characterized as trinitarian in scope, narrative in form, and centered on the saving work of Jesus Christ.

sacrament

sacrament The word derives from the Latin sacramentum, which in turn translates the Greek mysterion, "mystery." Sacraments 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 sacrament 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 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.

salvation

salvation The Greek term soteria is translated "salvation" and means rescue from mortal peril, deliverance from sin and death, and the gift of fulfilled life in communion with God. According to the biblical witness, salvation comes from God's mighty acts and above all from the work of Jesus Christ the Savior. The doctrine of the threefold office of Christ and the several theories of atonement are attempts to express the ways in which Christ accomplishes human salvation. It is significant that the New Testament speaks of salvation in past, present, and future tenses: we "have been saved" (Eph. 2: 8); we "are being saved" (1 Cor. 15: 2); and we "shall be saved" (Rom. 5: 10). Paul Tillich rightly notes that "salvation has as many connotations as there are negativities from which salvation is needed." In the early centuries of the church, death and error are the perils from which deliverance is sought, and salvation is the gift of knowledge of God and immortality. In classical Protestantism, salvation is forgiveness of sins and rescue from the condemnation of the law. In pietism and revivalism, salvation is the conquest of specific sins and progress toward moral perfection. In the modern period, the ultimate threat, according to Tillich, is meaninglessness and nihilism, and salvation is the gift of meaning, purpose, and wholeness of life.

sanctification

sanctification Sanctification is the process of "being made holy." It is the renewal of life in the power of the Spirit by participation in Christ through membership in the community that is his body. While a deeply personal process, sanctification is cultivated in and for community and involves all the formative practices of Christian life, including worship, prayer, service, and mission. Its basis is justification or forgiveness of sins by God, and its goal is fullness of life in communion with God and others. Calvin spoke of justification and sanctification as the twofold grace (duplex gratia) of Christ.

semper reformanda

semper reformanda A Latin phrase meaning "always in need of being reformed." The full motto from which this phrase comes is ecclesia reformata semper reformanda secundum verbum Dei, "the church reformed, always in need of being reformed according to the Word of God." This motto expresses the truth that reformation is not a one-time event in the life of the church but is needed again and again. The quest for better understanding and more faithful practice require continuous vigilance and self-criticism in the life of the church in the light of the Word of God.

simul iustus et peccator

simul iustus et peccator A Latin phrase meaning "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 and all perfectionist doctrines of Christian life. .

sin

sin Sin is all that contravenes the will of God as this is expressed in special revelation (the ten commandments; the life, teaching, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ) or known to some degree by general revelation (conscience, the sense of moral responsibility). An important distinction is made in theology between actual sins (particular transgressions of God's will) and original sin (the radical and universal sinful human condition). Sin is not only manifested in personal life; it is also embedded in social structures. The roots of sin are distrust of God, denial of grace, rejection of life in solidarity with others, and the idolatry of wealth, power, pleasure, or nation. Every Christian doctrine of sin will be explicitly or implicitly correlated with an understanding of the saving work of Jesus Christ.

social analogy

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 (according to some readings), Richard of St. Victor, and contemporary theologians like Jürgen Moltmann and Leonardo Boff, the Trinity is reflected in personal life in relationship. The advantage of the social 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.

sola

sola fide One of the watchwords of the Reformation, this Latin phrase means "by faith alone." As the apostle Paul teaches in Galatians, Romans 3: 21ff., and elsewhere, sinners are justified before God not by their good works, but by God's grace alone received "by faith alone." This teaching does not mean that our faith rather than our works is the way we achieve our salvation. Rather, the grace of God is freely given and is gratefully and trustingly received by faith alone.

sola gratia

sola gratia A Latin phrase meaning "grace alone." As the free and unmerited mercy and forgiveness of God extended to sinners, God's grace alone is the entirely sufficient basis of the healing of the relationship between God and humanity broken by sin. Grace is not some thing but God's personal self-gift of renewed relationship with us. It includes both God's pardon of our sin (justification) and the power of God's reconciling grace that opens new life in communion with God and others (sanctification).

sola scriptura

sola scriptura According to the sixteenth-century Reformers, the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the only necessary source and sufficient norm of Christian faith and life. The Reformers defended the principle of "scripture alone" against the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church that the tradition of the church is an additional and independent source of revelation and that the magisterium of the church is the ultimate interpreter of Scripture and church tradition. While "scripture alone" has long been seen as an insuperable barrier separating the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches, the difference has been narrowed somewhat in recent decades. On the Roman Catholic side, there is the renewed vitality of biblical studies and the recognition of the primacy of the scriptural witness in post-Vatican II theology, and on the Protestant side there is the acknowledgment that tradition, experience, and reason all play important roles in the interpretation of Scripture.

soteriology

soteriology The doctrine of the saving (reconciling, liberating, renewing) work of Jesus Christ and the participation of believers in the new life in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Soteriology thus deals both with the work of Christ "for us" and the transforming work of the Holy Spirit "in us."

spirituality

spirituality A term widely used in contemporary theology to refer to the practices that cultivate and strengthen Christian life. The term is a reminder that being a Christian is more than a theory or the acquisition of certain information; it is a practice, a way of life centered in Christ and energized by the power of the Holy Spirit. Some Christian traditions speak of "piety" or "devotional life" or simply "Christian life" instead of spirituality. In all cases the concern is to speak of the importance of such matters as regular worship, prayer, and service in the life of Christians.

subordinationism

subordinationism An interpretation of trinitarian doctrine in which Son and Spirit are divine persons but "subordinate" or inferior to God the Father. This interpretation differs from orthodox trinitarianism, in which Father, Son, and Spirit are co-equal persons of the one triune God. Subordinationism is driven by the concern to protect true divinity from the suffering and death experienced by the incarnate Word in the economy of salvation.

theodicy

theodicy The attempt to defend or 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. The question of theodicy 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 sufferings perpetrated by human beings on each other and on the natural environment.

supersessionism

supersessionism The teaching that the church "supersedes" or replaces the people of Israel as God's chosen people. Supersessionism is deeply embedded in the Christian tradition and can take a number of different forms. In one form, Israel is seen as preparatory to the coming of the church but is of only historical interest to Christian faith after the establishment of the church. In a still more virulent form, supersessionism teaches that the people of Israel have been rejected and punished by God and replaced by the church as God's chosen. Today most Christian theologians reject supersessionism and acknowledge that it has been a contributing factor in the reprehensible history of anti-Semitism in Western societies. Critics of supersessionism cite Romans 9-11, where Paul argues that Israel remains God's chosen and describes the church as having been "grafted" onto the root of God's elect people. seen as preparatory to the coming of the church but is of only historical interest to Christian faith after the establishment of the church. In a still more virulent form, supersessionism teaches that the people of Israel have been rejected and punished by God and replaced by the church as God's chosen. Today most Christian theologians reject supersessionism and acknowledge that it has been a contributing factor in the reprehensible history of anti-Semitism in Western societies. Critics of supersessionism cite Romans 9-11, where Paul argues that Israel remains God's chosen and describes the church as having been "grafted" onto the root of God's elect people.

systematic theology

systematic theology The name of the area of theological studies whose task is to interpret the major doctrines of Christian faith, explore their interrelationship or "systematic" coherence, and engage in critical and constructive restatement of Christian doctrines in conversation with other theological disciplines and with contemporary culture. "Doctrinal theology," "dogmatic theology," and "constructive theology" are other names for "systematic theology," each name emphasizing one of the aspects of the task.

theologia crucis/ theologia gloriae

theologia crucis/ theologia gloriae Latin phrases meaning "theology of the cross/ theology of glory." The phrase "theology of the cross" is associated especially with Martin Luther, who, on the basis of the Pauline proclamation of the cross of Christ, emphasized God's shocking self-revelation and gracious act of redemption through the death of Christ for us. Luther set the "theology of the cross" over against every "theology of glory" that looks for God elsewhere than in Christ and his cross, and that thinks of salvation as other than the free, unmerited gift of God.

theosis

theosis A Greek word meaning "divinization" or "deification." Theosis is a central theme of 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 theosis in the theologies of the Western church are "mystical union" with Christ and "sanctification."

theotokos

theotokos A Greek term meaning "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 Christological dispute between Cyril of Alexandria, who supported it, and Nestorius, who rejected it in favor of Christotokos, "bearer of Christ." Since the Councils of Ephesus (431 A.D.) and Chalcedon (451 A.D.), theotokos has been recognized as a standard of orthodox Christology in both Eastern and Western churches.

threefold office of Christ

threefold office of Christ 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 extensively the doctrine of the threefold office (munus triplex) of Christ.

transcendence

transcendence From the Latin transcendere, "stepping over" or "going beyond." As an attribute of God, transcendence 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 the transcendence of God by speaking of God as radically free and as "wholly other," while the later Barth spoke of God's transcendence as God's freedom to be "God for us."

transubstantiation

transubstantiation The official Roman Catholic doctrine of the eucharist, according to which, after the consecration by an ordained priest, the "substances" of the bread and wine are changed into the "substances" of the body and blood of Christ, while the "accidents" (external properties or appearances) of the bread and wine remain unchanged. This medieval doctrine, which received formal definition at the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century, was a major point of contention with the Reformers. Some recent Roman Catholic theologians have attempted to reconceptualize the doctrine of transubstantiation by speaking instead of transignification (a change in what the elements signify) or transfinalization (a change in the purpose or use of the elements).

tritheism

tritheism Belief in three gods. Opponents of trinitarian faith charge that it amounts to tritheism, but this is not what is taught by the orthodox 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 the heresy of tritheism.

truth

truth As a quality of the being and activity of God, "truth" means reliability and faithfulness and contrasts with human unfaithfulness and falsehood. For Christian faith and theology, the truth of God and God's will has been personally realized and decisively disclosed in Jesus Christ. Theories of truth discussed by philosophers and theologians include truth as correspondence between language and actual reality, truth as that which is coherent or forms a meaningful pattern, and truth as that which is effective in leading to abundant life. Although one of these theories of truth may be given prominence in the work of a theologian, each must receive appropriate attention.

vestiges of the Trinity

vestiges of the Trinity Refers to the "marks" or "traces" of the triune being of God in the creation. A number of theologians have found such traces in the natural world (source, spring, river), in the human mind (memory, understanding, will), in the nuclear family (father, mother, child), and in the epochs of human history (age of the Father, age of the Son, age of the Spirit). A classic treatment of vestiges of the Trinity is found in Augustine's On the Trinity. While Barth's rejection of natural theology made him suspicious of efforts to discover vestiges of the Trinity, he nevertheless proposed that the one true vestige of the Trinity is the unity in difference of the revealed, written, and proclaimed Word of God.

via negativa, via eminentiae, via causalitatis

via negativa, via eminentiae, via causalitatis Latin phrases for three "ways" of speaking of God: "the negative way," speaking of God by way of negation: God is infinite, immortal, etc. (see apophatic theology); "the way of eminence," speaking of God as the perfect realization of goods and values possessed by creatures: God is all-powerful, all-knowing, etc.; and "the way of causality," speaking of God as the source or origin of all that exists.

visible/ invisible church

visible/ invisible church This distinction is used in two ways. In one use, "visible" church refers to the church on earth here and now (the "church militant"), while "invisible" church refers to all the saints who have died and now live with God in heaven (the "church triumphant"). In a second use, prominent in the Reformed theological tradition, "visible" church refers to the empirical church in which there are both elect and non-elect, and "invisible" church refers to all the elect, living and dead, who are known only to God. The point of the distinction in this second sense is that the church is not self-defining but is defined only by God. However, critics of the second distinction argue that it is at best misleading and at worst denigrates the actual church in favor of a merely ideal church.

womanist theology

womanist theology The distinctive theological emphases of African American women in the United States. Womanist theology affirms the experience of black women and the deep wisdom formed in the struggle for survival under oppressive conditions. This experience and wisdom are seen as resources for a revitalized faith, a reclaiming of the biblical witness, and a prophetic practice by the church today. Related to both black theology and feminist theology, womanist theology criticizes the former as insufficiently attentive to the reality of sexism in both black and white churches, and criticizes the latter as insufficiently attentive to the realities of racism and classism.