Introduction To Theology

Sola Scriptura

"By scripture alone" Luther's assertion that only the Bible and not church tradition can function as authority for theology. The bible is the sole source of authority for Christians and the Church, not ecclesiastical tradition or human opinion.

Vocation

"Calling" God's summoning of persons to be Christians - faith, salvation, witness, etc. More specific is the non-NT view, associated with Luther & Calvin, that God calls persons to certain professions (ex. doctors, chaplains) or ways of life (married, single) as avenues of Christian service & devotion. No specific vocation is superior to another.

Credo Ut Intelligam

"I believe in order to understand" A statement of theological method emphasizing that faith is the first step that leads to further understanding & knowledge of Christian truth. Associated with Augustine (354-430) & Anselm (1033 - 1109)

Gnosticism

A group of early Christians who stressed a quest for secret knowledge transmitted only to the "enlightened" by God & marked by the view that the material world is evil and Christ was not human.

Incarnation

Doctrine that God became flesh, that God assumed a human nature & became man in the form of Jesus Christ, the Son of God & the second person of the trinity. Mystery & dogma of the Word made Flesh. Christian doctrine of the union of God and man in the person of Jesus Christ

Eschatology

Doctrines of the last things; study of the last things or the end of the world. Theological dimensions include the second coming of Jesus Christ & the last judgment.

Koinonia

Greek word meaning communion, fellowship,participation, community, or association; The relationships experienced by Christians with God, Jesus, Spirit, and among themselves in the early church. The community of the church. Sharing of faith & goods & support

Apostolicity

Having the authority & sanction of the apostles. It is often used as a mark of the church to indicate the essential continuity of the church with apostolic teaching

Adiaphora

Items of belief not essential to salvation. A Greek word meaning "indifferent things." Elements of faith regarded as neither commanded nor forbidden in scripture & so liberty of conscience may be exercised.Refers to matters not regarded as essential to faith which might therefore be allowed, if deemed helpful. Puritans = if not in scripture it is forbidden, Anglicans = many traditional practices w/o scriptural warrant are ______________.

Anthropomorphism

The attribution of a human characteristics to God, such as feelings, actions, physical form/parts. It uses analogous (similar) and metaphorical (dissimilar comparison) language.

Immanence

The belief that God is present in all of creation, while remaining distinct from it. His sovereign control extends everywhere simultaneously. God is present within time & space.

Imago Dei

The condition in which humans were created so that they might have a relationship with God, with each other, with nature (dominion), and with reason & free will.

Original Sin

The condition of sinfulness which all persons share, caused the fall of Adam & Eve. It consists of the loss of original righteousness & the distortion of the image of God.

Epistemology

a branch of philosophy that investigates the origin, nature, methods, grounds, and limits of human knowledge; study of how human knowledge is obtained, its bases, forms, criteria, & validity; how we know what we know.

Confession

a public declaration of faith or acknowledging sins to God; formal statements of beliefs serving as authoritative guides of doctrine for a church body

Subordinationism

view which holds that the nature and status of Jesus Christ is less than that of God the Father, or that the Holy Spirit is inferior to the Father and the Son.

Ecumenical

worldwide, universal;concerned with promoting unity among churches or religions. Concerns all churches and their relationships with each other as well as the relation of Christianity to other world faiths.

Covenant

A formal agreement between two parties that establishes a relationship, may contain obligations & mutual responsibilities.

Communicatio Idiomatum

"Interchange of Properties" Christological view that the attributes of the divine & human natures of Jesus Christ are attributes of one person and that what can be said of Christ's divinity can be said of his humanity, and vice versa. The doctrine of the hypostatic union of the two distinct natures of Christ was approved by The Council of Chalcedon. Applied to the person of Christ by those in the early church who believed that although the human and divine natures remained separate, the attributes of the one could be applied to the other. Thus the divine Word could be described as dying on the cross and the Virgin Mary was the mother of God (Theotokos).

Pantheism

"all God " or "everything God" (Toland) view that God is all and all is God; Everything is the appearance of one single reality so God & nature are identical; the belief that God and nature are one and the same; Doctrine that God is identical with the universe. God is the sum total of everything that exists.

Panentheism

"all in God" (Krause) view that God is in all things & the world & God are mutually dependent for their fulfillment. God as in all. Everything is God, but God is more than everything. Doctrine that God is not identical with the universe but also not separate from it. (Process Theology)

Ecclesia (Ekklesia)

"assembly,to call out, those called out, gathering" Greek word for a duly summoned assembly; also means church- The church is all believers in Jesus Christ through the ages

Gospel

"good news"; The central message of the Christian church to the world, centered on God's provision of salvation for the world in Jesus Christ - the good news of God's mercy and love revealed in the life, death, and resurrection of Christ; one of the first four books of the NT. A doctrine that is believed to be of great importance.

Kerygma

"proclamation" The act of preaching and the content of the early Christian gospel message as proclaimed by the Apostles, centered on God's saving actions in the life, death, resurrection, & ascension of Jesus Christ. Faith & conversion are responses to the gospel. The original core of the Christian gospel within the NT and its preaching in the early church.

Orthodoxy

"right belief" or "right teaching" In contrast to heresy. Belief in the fundamental truths of faith. That which is considered correct or proper belief, particularly the teachings of early ecumenical church councils from Nicaea (325) to Chalcedon (451). Also, the doctrines & practices of the Eastern ______________.

Canon

"ruler" An ecclesiastical decree from a church council or church body. Also: ecclesiastical law; a list of sacred books, saints; the central portion of the Mass; a person who lives according to the rule of an institution; an ecclesiastic title for a position in a parish; a name for those books which have been accepted by the Church as normative for faith due to their witness to Jesus Christ

Holy

"set apart" "well" "whole" That which is regarded as sacred or able to convey a sense of the divine. Refers to God or to that which has its sanctity directly from God or is connected with God. Also, that which is set apart for God's will or use or that which is God-like by being spiritually whole, well, pure, or perfect. The human condition as God created it, before Original Sin, and the human condition Jesus came to restore

Simul Justus Et Peccator

"simultaneously justified & sinner" (Luther) phrase describing the condition of the Christian who is justified by faith alone & declared righteous in God's sight, yet who still experiences sin and unrighteousness in the Christian life. The sinner who, one day, will be righteous because of their faith in Jesus Christ has reason for hope. We remain sinners all our lives, even though Christ has justified us.

Doctrine

"teaching"; the whole body of Christian teachings or, specifically, what Christians believe about particular aspects of their faith. A collection of beliefs that shape how we view a particular topic in Christian Theology. Ex. ___________ of God, _________ of Christ, etc.

Revelation

"uncovering" "to unveil" God's self disclosure and self-communication; God making known hidden aspects of the character & purposes of God, of humanity in its relationship with God & of what is to occur in the future through God's providence or a self-manifesting encounter with God - always through God's action. Natural + revealed theology = full image of Christian salvation

Catholic

"universal"; One of the four marks of the Church (One, Holy, and Apostolic,& _____). Term used to designate the Christian church throughout the world. Opposite of sectarian which means separated from the worldwide church.

Fides Quaerens Intellectum

(Lat. - "faith seeking understanding" or "faith preceding the intellect") The theological method stressed by Augustine (354-430) and Anselm (c. 1033-1109) in which one begins belief in faith and on the basis of that faith moves on to further understanding of Christian truth.

Creatio Ex Nihilo

(creation from nothing) The Christian view that God created all things out of "nothing" and is thus the ultimate cause and source of meaning for the whole created order.

Protestant Principle

1)"justification by faith alone," , sola fide, sola gratia - considered by Luther to be the key to salvation. 2)Tillich used the term to indicate that there is always a lack of perfect identity between the symbols of faith & their infinite object. He articulated this as that theological principle which must challenge all historical (Roman Catholic) representations of the divine. ["creedal statements of the ultimate concern of the community must include their own criticism. It must become obvious in all of them-be they liturgical, doctrinal, or ethical expressions of the faith of the community-that they are not ultimate. Rather, their function is to point to the ultimate which is beyond all of them. This is what I call the "_______," the critical element in the expression of the community of faith and consequently the element of doubt in the act of faith."]

Logos

A Greek word meaning "Word". Refers to the second Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, who as the creative power of God embodied truth & was God incarnate.

Forensic

A legal act or declaration, used in relation to "righteousness" and "justification" in Protestant theology. It indicates that God "declares" a sinner righteous or justified (not "makes" one righteous) through Jesus Christ. The term is used quite frequently in discussions of the doctrine of justification by faith. It is a synonym for legal, and so when we say its_______ character, we mean, essentially, its legal character.

Deism

A view which holds that knowledge of God comes through reason rather than revelation, & that after God created the universe, God has had no further involvement in it

Hermeneutics

An approach to theological study that attempts to interpret scripture via exegesis (an explanation or critical interpretation of Biblical scripture), seeks to provide rules for interpretation as well as a theory of understanding Biblical texts. Theory of how to interpret.

Sacrament

An outward sign instituted by God to convey an inward or spiritual grace. They are liturgical practices of churches.

Via Negativa

Because language is inadequate to describe God, this method of theological speech attempts to reduce as much as possible the effects of anthropomorphic human theological language. To do this, statements pointing to the reality of God are often given in the format of opposites: Humans are ________ but God is ______. Or God's reality is hinted at by stating what God is not. Often associated with mystical/experiential schools of thought as well as advocated as a preliminary theological or spiritual practice.

Apocatastasis

Biblical picture of the final restoration of all things to a previous state of well being. Origen's heresy of universal salvation in which all souls (even Satan) will be saved in the end (Universalism). It is associated with Origen who believed all would be restored to a loving unity with God.

Providence

Doctrine concerning how God watches over all of creation. God's maintenance, guidance, & continuing involvement w/ creation & humans as means of carrying out divine purposes in history; Christian understanding of God's continuing action by which all creation is preserved, supported, & governed by God's purposes & plans for human history & human lives.

Arianism

Fourth century heresy founded by the Alexandrian priest Arius who believed that Christ, the Son of God, did not always exist, but was created by—and is therefore distinct from and inferior to—God the Father. Condemned by the Council of Nicaea (325) & Constantinople (381), held the position coined heterousios "of a different substance" because Jesus & God were not made of the same essence. Promoted subordinationism (Jesus was divine, but not as divine as the Father) in order to maintain "one true God" theology.

Transcendence

God as being over & beyond the created order and superior to it in every way. God is other, unnamable, holy, beyond our comprehension & descriptions. God exists outside of time & space. God's independence beyond the universe.

Omniscience

God as knowing all things, all events, & all circumstances in a way that is perfect & immediate. Infinite awareness, understanding, and insight.

Predestination

God's action in willing something to a specific result. The belief that God has determined in advance who will be saved (the elect) and who will be damned (the reprobate) (Calvin and Reformed Tradition) Works & merit do not weigh into the decision!

Election

God's choosing of a people or individuals to enjoy the benefits of salvation, everlasting life, & to carry out God's purposes in the world. God chooses without regard for merit or good works. Ex: Israel, Disciples, Christians, Christian Church. Theological issues associated with it include predestination and free will.

Piety

Humble reverence for & devotion to God expressed in a commitment to leading a Christian life by fulfilling a variety of duties & practices; dutiful, religious, devout.

Secularism

Ideology advocating the elimination of religious influence in state and social institutions, particularly education. An indifference or, in some cases, opposition to religion and a belief that religion should be excluded from civic affairs. Movement includes rationalism, toleration, & the working against inequalities in this world, not waiting for possible resolution in afterlife. A term that relates human viewpoints, beliefs, values, actions, or institutions to this world in contrast to relating them to religious dimensions beyond the natural order.

Asceticism

In general, exercises & forms of discipline believed to be necessary to the Christian path. Commonly includes renouncing worldly pleasures & living a life of abstinence, austerity and extreme self-denial while practicing prayer, meditation, & labor for the purpose of limiting distractions & achieving spiritual growth & doing God's will.

Fundamentalism

Literal interpretation and strict adherence to basic principles of a religion (or a religious branch, denomination, or sect).

Prolegomena

Literally means "things which are spoken beforehand". Those things which come before the main body of work (introduction). In theology, certain issues & questions that prepare the way for treating other main topics. Deals with the foundational issues of theology such as theological methodology, sources, and reasons for the study of theology. Introduction, or the what, why, and how of theology.

Christology

Literally the study of Christ; the theological interpretation of the person & work of Jesus Christ including incarnation, resurrection, his human & divine natures & their relationships

Soteriology

Part of theology dealing with the work of Christ & how Christ saves us. The study of the Christian doctrine of salvation - it's function & meaning. Primarily concerned with the saving work of Jesus Christ.

Sanctification

Making holy or being made holy. Only God is holy, people become holy (godlike , spiritually whole, well, pure, or perfect) when they reflect or participate in God. It is God's gift, not our goal. The process or result of God's continuing work in Christian believers through the power of the Spirit. In Protestant theology this occurs after justification & is growth in grace & holiness of life marked by good works. A continuous action of God (a process) whereby the believer is progressively made holy

Justification

Salvation or reconciliation with God. Sinful person being made right (righteous) with God. It is a free and undeserved gift of God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Teleology

Study of the end or final purposes of the universe. It can refer to a philosophical or theological system which holds that the universe has purpose or design. Ethically, it is assessing right or wrong by looking at the consequences. An argument for the existence of God based on the idea that a designed universe implies a designer.

Inspiration

That which moves humans to receive divine truths, associated particularly w/ biblical writers in the writing of Scripture

Transubstantiation

The Roman Catholic doctrine that the during the consecration of the bread & wine, their deepest realities (subjects,essential natures) are changed into the actual body & blood of Christ while the accidents (properties, appearances) of the bread & wine remain intact.

Concupiscence

The desire of the self for the self, which is the human tendency toward sin; an inclination to commit sin that can be found in human desires and appetites as a result of Original Sin; inordinate desire which is the root of sin.

Theological Anthropology

The doctrine of human beings in terms of their relationships to God. It includes critical reflection on issues such as the origin, purpose, & destiny of humankind in light of Christian theological understandings.

Trinity

The doctrine that God, although one essence, is three Divine Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. [Economic ____ = how The ____ appears to the world = 3; Immanent ___ = The _____ as it is in God's essence = 1]

Dogmatics (Dogma)

The formal study of the christian faith which presents its beliefs & doctrines in an organized & systematic way; a teaching or doctrine which was divinely revealed & has received official church status as truth; Theological study of Christian beliefs primarily through creeds & confessions of faith. All dogmas are doctrines, not all doctrines are dogmas

Docetism

The heretical doctrine (associated with the Gnostics) that Jesus had no human body and his sufferings and death on the cross were apparent rather than real. God was "dressed up" as a man in order to communicate revelations, but was not really involved in the human state and withdrew before the passion.

Monism

The philosophical view that stresses unity of being, idea, soul, substance, or experience as opposed to diverisity, dualism, or pluralism;The philosophical view that all reality is of one type or essence; reality consists of a single basic substance or element, all apparently separate realities are ultimately one; seeing mind and body as different aspects of the same thing; The belief that God and the universe (nature) are the same, that the universe (nature) is divine

Tradition

The transmission of a beliefs, doctrines, rituals, Scriptures, & the life of the Church;The process of transmission and what is transmitted throughout history of church.

Analogy

The use of likeness or proportionateness to relate one know thing to another that is unknown. Aquinas used it to indicate how the same qualities could be ascribed to God, who is infinite, and humans, who are finite. Language about God that is between literal (two uses identical meanings) and equivocal (two uses completely different meanings). Proportionate similarities with dissimilar features. Ex. healthy person and healthy diet

Natural Theology

Theological conclusions, or knowledge about God & the divine order, reached through reason apart from revelation. Knowledge of God attained through God's revelation in nature and available to human reason.

Impassibility

Traditional theological view that God cannot experience pain or suffering. It emphasizes that God is active rather than passive or acted upon by other agents. Doctrine that God cannot be affected by other things.

Apocalyptic

Type of biblical literature that designates ancient visionary writings which purport to reveal the mystery of the end of this age & the glories of the age to come with themes of dualism of heaven/earth & good/evil, radical transformation of the world, cosmic catastrophes prior to the end, predetermined epochs prior to the end, angels/demons mediating events, righteous remnant who will enjoy fruits of coming age, action of Messiah/Angel to establish new age

Monasticism

a religious way of life characterized by the practice of renouncing worldly pursuits in order to fully devote one's self to spiritual work. Often includes celibacy, poverty, and ascetic practices in seclusion. Tradition where a person makes a baptismal commitment in which their whole life a detailed & specific response to the gospel to the exclusion of all other interests & responsibilities, seeking to receive Christ in the center of one's being through the spirit to act for the redemption of creation - the cross moment/New Adam. Relies on practical experience of God through prayer & meditation on scripture as opposed to intellectual reflection.

Ex opere operato

a term in sacramental theology (literally, "by the work done"), meaning that sacraments are effective by means of the sacramental rites themselves, and not because of the worthiness of the minister or recipient. Efficacy of a sacrament doesn't depend on the spiritual goodness of the administrator. Sacraments are fundamentally acts of God, not men but efficacy requires correct disposition of recipient.Developed in response to Donatists.

Omnipotence

all-powerful; God's sovereignty over all things; God's ability to do all things that do not conflict with divine will or knowledge & limited only by God's nature & not external forces.

Atonement

an action or series of actions by means of which guilt could be removed, Humanity's salvation/reconciliation with God through the sacrificial suffering and death of Christ

Heresy

any opinions or doctrines which go against the official or orthodox position, the denial of basic Church doctrines, deviation from church doctrine or from an established belief; unorthodox teaching

Charismatic

refers to Christian groups that focus on Gifts of the Spirit. A movement that emphasizes the gifts of the Spirit, particularly glossolalia (speaking in tongues), words of wisdom, knowledge, healings, prophecy, & interpretation of tongues.

Grace

the free and unmerited gift of God's loving and active presence in the universe and in our lives; extended to sinful humanity in providing salvation & forgiveness through Jesus Christ & is not deserved, & withholding judgment that is deserved

Millennialism

the belief prevalent among certain sects that there will be a dramatic transformation of life on earth and that Christ will rule the world for a thousand years of prosperity and happiness (pre = Christ will return prior to a period of 1,000 yrs. during which he will reign; post = Christ will return following the 1,000 yr. reign of the saints; a= 1,000 yr. reign metaphorical for the time of the Christian church or Christian period! [Revelation 20:1-7])

Ecclesiology

the branch of theology concerned with the nature, constitution, & functions of a church, doctrine of the church; the study of the church as a biblical and theological topic.

Theodicy

the branch of theology that defends God's goodness & justice in the face of the existence of evil & suffering. Attempts to explain why God allows evil.

Apologetics

the endeavor to provide a reasoned account of the grounds for believing in the Christian faith