• Shuffle
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Alphabetize
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Front First
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Both Sides
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Read
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
Reading...
Front

Card Range To Study

through

image

Play button

image

Play button

image

Progress

1/118

Click to flip

Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;

Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;

H to show hint;

A reads text to speech;

118 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
accommodation
Two meanings depending on context.
1.) The idea that God's revelation needs to be adapted to human capabilities for understanding and reception. Even though it's infallible, Scripture adjusts its wording for its readers.
2.) Efforts of missionaries to present their teachings in ways that take into account the culture they're addressing.
acculturation
The process whereby missionaries try to adapt their communication style to build a bridge between their faith and the receiving culture.
adiaphora
"Indifferent things". The things neither commanded nor forbidden by Scripture. Also applies to views that, while they might not be part of orthodox doctrine, don't contradict it.
allegory
A way of reading texts which sees in them, not their apparent literal meaning, but a symbolic one.
analogy
Similarity among differing things, on which a comparison can be made.
anathema
A curse or prohibition. A formal condemnation from by church.
contextual theologies
Theologies developed in a specific cultural context which offer insight into scripture (if context is taken into consideration).
correlation
Consists of studying the deep existential questions posed by individuals and by a society, and then responding to them in terms of the gospel.
culture
A system of symbols, attitudes, behaviors, relationships, beliefs, and responses to the environment shared by a particular human group in contrast to others.
dialectical theology
Often spoke of God's relationship to the world - and to humankind - in contrasting terms, as both grace and judgement, yes and no, etc, emphasizing the contrasting and ambiguities inherent within the Christian experience.
doctrine
Literally "teaching". Can mean someone's opinion and teaching about a given subject, or the views that characterize a particular group within the church
dogmatics
Studying the doctrines of the church rather than constructing personal speculative systems.
hermeneutics
The discipline that studies the rules of interpretation of a text- usually biblical interpretation.
feminist theology
Reflects theologically while taking into account the experience of women - particularly, their experience of oppression in male-dominated societies and churches.
Latin American theology
A particular form of contextual and liberation theology, seeking to interpret the gospel within a setting of poverty and oppression. It seeks to reflect theologically both on the causes of the evils that beset the entire region and on the Christian responses to such evils.
metaphor
Not simply a figurative way of speaking. The power of metaphor isn't just in stating that one thing is like another, but also most importantly stating that the two are different.
myth
In common usage - something that is not true. In its classical usage it's a story about the gods or celestial beings, whose purpose is to explain certain phenomena or to promote a certain form of conduct.
orthodoxy
Strictly speaking - "correct doctrine". Points of Christian doctrine on which the church has long agreed.
orthopraxis
The idea that praxis is just as important as proper doctrine - and any doctrine that does not lead to and derive from the praxis of love is flawed.
praxis
The idea that it's not enough to just speak or believe the truth, but that Christian truth is always truth in action, truth in deed.
process theology
Sees reality not as a series of given objects, but as a continuum of events in which reality is constantly "becoming".
symbol
Something that stands for or represents something else, bringing it to mind
theology
Refers to a discourse or a study of God (or of the gods).
worship
Essentially to recognize, celebrate, and praise God's majesty; and, as a result, it also means to acknowledge our own sin and unworthiness before God.
apocrypha
The body of books not included in the canon.
apostolicity
A characteristic or mark that the church began claiming for itself, meaning that the church had been founded by apostles, whose doctrines it still taught and whose successors were the present leaders of the church.
Biblicism
Applied to those who insist on the inerrancy of Scripture, rejecting the findings of historical and literary criticism and often claiming that theirs is the only correct interpretation of Scripture.
canon
The list of books declared to be authoritative as part of Scripture. Originally meaning "rule" or "measuring rod".
confession
An affirmation or declaration, and therefore a term with two distinct meanings in theological discourse, for it is possible to confess sins as well as to confess faith.
exegesis
The interpretation of a text, analyzing it in order to clarify its meaning.
fideism
The attitude of those who hold that the proper Christian attitude is to accept doctrines "by faith," without questioning their origin, significance, or rationality.
fundamentalism
A movement in North American Protestantism that held to the five fundamentals of Christianity: the inerrancy of Scripture, the virgin birth of Jesus, his death in substitution and payment for human sin, his physical resurrection, and his impending return.
Now used to refer to extremists in any religion.
Gnosticism
Name jointly given to a variety of religious systems that promised salvation by means of a secret knowledge.
heresy
Signifies a doctrine against the central tenants of the Christian faith - or, more precisely, a doctrine that, while claiming to be Christian, threatens a fundamental aspect of Christianity.
historicism
A term with two distinct meanings. Can refer to the reductionist view that all reality can be explained in terms of a sequence of historical events and circumstances. More recently this came to mean the view that all thought is historically conditioned, reflecting the conditions in which it takes place.
illumination
The idea that all true knowledge is based on the activity of God, illuminating the mind.
inerrancy
The claim that the Bible is absolutely true, and contains no error, not only in matters of faith and doctrine, but also in matters of history and physical sciences. This refers only to the original autograph texts of Scripture, and therefore there may be errors in all present copies, manuscripts, and translations. It also refers to the final truth, to be discovered only in the end times. Thus, if the Bible says that the sun moves around the earth, one cannot say that science proves this to be wrong, for all the facts are not in, and in the end we shall discover that what the Bible says was in fact true, no matter how unscientific or inexact it might appear at present.
infallibility
The capacity to teach, and particularly to define doctrine, without the possibility of error.
inspiration
A term most commonly used in connection with the authority of Scripture. Etymologically it derives from the Latin for "breathing," and is the common way of translating the assertion in 2 Tim 3:16.
Marcionism
According to this, the world is the creation of the god of the Old Testament, Yahweh. In this sense, the Hebrew Scriptures are true. Yet Yahweh is not the same as the Father of Jesus Christ, the Christian God. Yahweh is an inferior and vindictive god, who created the world either out of spite or ignorance, and caused human souls to be trapped in it. Also asserts the evil of matter and goodness of spiritual reality.
metaphysics
Has come to mean an inquiry into the nature of being, and eventually almost any philosophical inquiry.
neo-orthodoxy
Also called "dialectical theology" or "crisis theology" because it stressed the dialectical tension between the divine and human. It was a reaction against the optimism regarding human capabilities which was tried by the first world war.
Protestant principle
The protestant resistance to granting final and absolute authority to any creature, be it the church, hierarchy, rite, or even the Bible. The reason for this is that God and God's grace exceed the bounds of any such authority, and therefore faith is always paradoxical, knowing that its own content is not its true object.
revelation
God's self-disclosure. The principle that God can only be known through God's self-disclosure or revelation.
sacrament
Augustine defined this as "the visible form of an invisible grace," and most traditional definitions include words such as "an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace."
Scripture
Sacred writings that help a religion define themselves and preserve their continuity through the centuries.
word of God
While some use this term synonymously with scripture, that is way to narrow. This is the second person of the trinity that has become incarnate in Jesus Christ, it is God's very action, creating and effecting what God speaks.
apostolic succession
A tradition claiming that authority or teaching by claiming that it had been passed down from Jesus, through the apostles, and down a line to them.
autonomy
Refers to the ability to act out one's own volition and integrity, rather than being led by random stimuli or by outside forces.
bishop
A title meaning "overseer" or "supervisor", given to church leaders beginning in the late first century. Sometimes interchangeable with "elder".
church
Derived from a Greek word meaning "that which belongs to the Lord." While always referring to the community of the faithful, the term "church" has various meanings according to the context. It often refers to the local congregation. At other times it includes all believers everywhere. It is also used in the name of a particular denomination or faith community.
dogma
Doctrine that is promulgated by an official and authoritative body of the church.
Ultramontanism
The movement in the Roman Catholic Church that sought to centralize authority in the city of Rome and the person of the pope.
hierarchy
An ordering in which a series of echelons connect the lower levels with the higher. In church language, it refers to the orders of the clergy.
proofs for the existence of God
A series of ideas that lead to the unavoidable conclusion that God exists.
rationalism
A very ill-defined term whose exact meaning depends almost entirely on context. In general, it refers to any system of thought or methodology of research that employs reason as the final measure of truth. This, however, may be understood in any number of ways.
reason and faith
The question of the role of one in the other has been long debated by a variety of theologians. "What does the academy have to do with the church?"
rule of faith
Literally "the canon of faith", this was a summary of the main tenets of Christian belief that circulated in the early church. Devised as a shorthand method to determine what doctrines were to be rejected, so that believers who did not have all of Scripture at hand, and who were not sophisticated in theological matters, could recognize and reject false teaching.
tradition
The original meaning of the term had little to do with repetitive action, as it is commonly used today. It originally meant something given by one to another.
act
A realized potentiality; when something has come to actuality.
adoptionism
A term used to refer to any doctrine that holds that Jesus was a man whom God adopted into sonship.
anthropomorphism
The tendency to depict God - or any gods - in human form. Another way of thinking about it is that we have no other way to speak about God than human language, and in that sense all speech about God is anthropomorphic. Finally, it also can refer to the central claim that God became human in Jesus Christ. This is to say that in the incarnation God became anthropomorphic.
aseity
The characteristic of a being that is of, by, and from itself, without deriving its existence from any other being, or being in any way dependent from any other being.
attributes (of God)
Those characteristics or qualities that may be properly said of God- attributed to God. For example, the three main claims are that all that is good has its origins in God, no human attribute may be properly applied to God, and that God is omnipotent or omniscient.
Deism
A movement that claims that religion should be reduced to its most reasonable and universally accepted elements, and should be based on reason rather than revelation. Today, it is often used in a more general sense to describe the notion that while God exists, he is not active in the world.
emanation
A particular understanding of the relationship between the One (God) and "the many" - the world. In this view the One radiates its own substance, as in a series of concentric circles from a center of a pool of water.
economic trinity
The name usually given to the notion that the distinctions within the Trinity have to do with God's activity in creation, and are not intrinsic to the Godhead.
essence
That which makes a thing be what it is, often in contrast to or in juxtaposition with that which makes a particular thing be.
filiation
"Being a son." This term is used in classical Trinitarian theology to refer to the eternal relationship between the First and Second Persons of the Trinity.
filioque
"And from the Son." As apposed to the Son coming from the Father, this is the idea that the Spirit proceeds from the Father "and the Son."
monarchianism
The insistence on the unity of God to the point of denying the Trinity.
omnipotence
One of the traditional attributes of God, meaning that God possesses all power to its maximum degree.
hypostasis
Literally, "substance"; as in "three persons, one substance".
impassibility
One of the traditional attributes of God, resulting from the philosophical notion that being changed by another - or being capable of such a change - is an imperfection. Strictly, it does not mean that God is incapable of passion or compassion, but rather that God is never the passive object of action by another.
love
The highest of "theological virtues". As such, it is to be the supreme rule of action for Christians, who are called to imitate a God who "is love".
monotheism
The belief that there is only one God.
omnipresence
One of the traditional attributes of God, meaning that God is fully present everywhere.
omniscience
One of the traditional attributes of God, meaning that God knows all things.
ousia
A substance; a synonym of Hypostasis.
patripassianism
A name often given by their opponents to modalism and Sabellianism, on the basis that if there is no real distinction between the Father and the Son, one is led to the conclusion that the Father suffered in Christ.
person
In contemporary usage, it means a conscious individual. In more traditional trinitarian usage, it would have meant an eternal principle of subsistence within the Godhead.
procession
Used in theology to denote a special relationship of the Holy Spirit with the other two persons of the Trinity. For example, the son "proceeds" from the father.
Sabellianism
The most common name given in antiquity to Modalistic Monarchianism.
substance
Refers to the underlying reality of a thing. Related to hypostasis or ousia.
Trinity
The doctrine that God, while being one, exists eternally in three "persons," usually called Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This word itself doesn't appear in scripture.
Unitarianism
A modern movement of rationalistic tendencies, which denies the doctrine of the Trinity; but it also denied the divinity of Christ, and tended to consider sin a passing imperfection in human nature that is essentially good.
Alienation
Separation or estrangement, most often refers to one's estrangement from oneself, others or God.
Antinomianism
Greek for "against law" coined by Martin Luther who objected to the use of the law in instructing believers in their obligation and later use as means to call sinners to repentance
Augustinianism
the teachings of Augustine of Hippo, most influential theologian on western theology
Concupiscence
an inordinate desire in which temporal ends take the place of eternal ones, the senses and their appetites are not under the proper control of reason
Total Depravity
Calvinism, all humanity is depraved and capable of no purely good action, intention, or thought because of sin. This doesn't mean that there is no good left in humans, but all aspects are depraved.
Devil
The adversary; enemy of God who questions and tests the faithfulness of believers.
Hell
the most common English term for "hades" derived from old English "helen" which means to conceal
Manichaeism
branch of Gnosticism, an extremely dualistic view
Mortal Sin
Roman Catholic doctrine, a sin so grave that is separates the sinner from God to such a degree that a person who dies with such sin unforgiven is condemned to hell.
Original Sin
The idea that sin pervades all human life from birth and is more than mere acts we commit but a state in which we live
Purgatory
a place where the souls of the dead go to be cleansed and thus prepared for their admission into heavan.
Privation of good
lack of goodness
Traducianism
one of the ways in which ancient theologians spoke of the origin of individual souls, just as the body and its characterisitics are inherited form one's parents so are the soul and its characteristics
Providence
God's foreknowledge - Omniscience - God forsees and therefore moves events toward the intended en
Theodicy
The problem of evil; i.e. How can a good and loving God allow there to be evil in the world?
causality
The relationship by which one event or thing results in another.
cosmology
An explanation of the origin of the universe, usually mythical
cosmological argument
The name given to a series of arguments that seek to prove the existence of God by looking at the world, and moving from it to the existence of a Creator.
covenantal theology
Also called Federal Theology. The idea that the relationship of God with humankind is one of covenant.
creation
The doctrine that stands at the root of the Christian understanding of the relationship between God and the world.
creationism
The response of some conservative Christians to the theory of evolution, which they see as a threat to the Christian doctrine of creation.
dualism
The notion that there are two sources of being. In its extreme case, it sees these two principles as eternally opposed to each other.
ex nihilo
Latin for "out of nothing." As in creation out of nothing.
Fall
The events described in Genesis 3, used in traditional Christian theology as the explanation for the undeniable distance between God's will for creation and the present state of humankind.
grace
The unmerited love of God, which both forgives and transforms the sinner.
kenosis
Derived from the Greek word for emptying. Key term in the christological view that sought to explain the possibility of the incarnation by claiming that the eternal Word divested himself of the divine attributes that are incompatible with being human.
materialism
The belief that reality consists exclusively of physical matter, and that spiritual, nonmaterial realities are either nonexistent or irrelevant.
matter
Usually, the "stuff" of which things are made.
natural law
The law implanted on human hearts, allowing them to know what is good even apart from revelation.
pantheism
The claim that the universe in its totality is God.
panentheism
The idea that while all things share in divine nature, the divine is not limited to them. Thus, god is immanent to the universe, which itself is divine; but God is also transcendent, existing beyond the totality of the universe.
Platoism
The philosophy of Plato; respected by many in the early centuries. Christians used Plato's philosophy to defend their beliefs against the Greek intelligentsia who accused them of being uncivilized.