Vocab Terms

Question 1

anthropology, theological

Answer 1

The doctrine of humanity that views humans in terms of their relationships to God. It includes critical reflection on issues such as the origin, purpose, and destiny of humankind in light of Christian theological understandings.

Question 2

antinomianism

Answer 2

The view that there is no need for the law of God in the Christian life (Romans 3:8; 6:15). It has appeared periodically throughout Christian history.

Question 3

apologetics

Answer 3

The endeavor to provide a reasoned account of the grounds for living in the Christian faith.

Question 4

apostolicity

Answer 4

Having the authority and sanction of the apostles. It is often used as a mark of the church (Ephesians 2:19ff) to indicate the essential continuity of the church with apostolic teaching.

Question 5

atonement

Answer 5

The death of Jesus Christ on the cross, which effects salvation as the reestablishment of the relationship between God and sinners.

Question 6

Christology

Answer 6

The study of the person and work of Jesus Christ. The church’s understanding of who Jesus Christ is and what he has done grew and developed through the centuries. Early church councils produced christological statements.

Question 7

dogma

Answer 7

A teaching or doctrine that has received official church status as truth. In the Roman Catholic Church it is a definitive or infallible church teaching.

Question 8

election

Answer 8

God’s choosing of a people to enjoy the benefits of salvation and to carry out God’s purposes in the world (1 Thessalonians 1:4; 2 Peter 1:10). This doctrine has been of particular importance in Reformed theology.

Question 9

eschatology

Answer 9

Study of the “last things” or the end of the world. Theological dimensions include the second coming of Jesus Christ and the last judgment.

Question 10

fundamentalism

Answer 10

A mentality advocating strict adherence to certain principles or doctrines regarded as basic, essential, and “fundamental” to a viewpoint. The term is used for a form of Protestantism in the 20th century America that sought to preserve conservative views and values against liberal theology and the higher criticism of scripture. A strong focus was on the inerrancy and literal interpretation of scripture.

Question 11

heresy

Answer 11

A view chosen instead of the official teachings of a church. Such a view is thus regarded as wrong and potentially dangerous for faith.

Question 12

historical Jesus

Answer 12

The Jesus of Nazareth who lived in history and whose life can be studied by the methods and tools of historical research. The term is contrasted to “the Christ of faith,” with some scholars emphasizing differences between the two.

Question 13

homoiousios

Answer 13

“Of like substance” was a term used in early christological debates by Arians and others who perceived Jesus Christ as “like” God the Creator, but not as being of the “same” substance as God the Creator (homoousios).

Question 14

homoousios

Answer 14

“Of the same substance.” Used in early church christological debates and adopted by church councils of Nicaea (325) and Constantinople (381) to indicate that Jesus Christ was of the same essence as God the Creator. It contrasts with heteroousios and homoiousios.

Question 15

immanence of God

Answer 15

The view that God is present in and with the created order. In Christian belief, God is not identified with the created order. It contrasts with transcendence.

Question 16

impassibility

Answer 16

The traditional theological view that God does not change and thus is not affected by actions that take place in the world, particularly in terms of experiencing suffering or pain. It emphasizes that God is active, rather than passive or acted upon by other agents.

Question 17

imputation, doctrine of

Answer 17

To attribute or ascribe in the sense of reckoning. The concept relates to sin, guilt, or righteousness, as when Paul indicates that through Adam’s sin, death and guilt are imputed to all (Romans 5:12-14), while through Christ’s work, righteousness is “reckoned” (“imputed”, KJV) to those who believe (Romans 4:22-24; 5:15-21).

Question 18

incarnation

Answer 18

The doctrine that the eternal second person of the Trinity became a human being and “assumed flesh” in Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus Christ was the “Word made flesh” (John 1:14). The doctrine holds that Jesus was one divine person with both a divine and a human nature.

Question 19

justification

Answer 19

God’s declaring a sinful person to be “just” on the basis of the righteousness of Jesus Christ (Romans 3:24-26; 4:25; 5:16-21). The result is God’s peace (Romans 5:1), God’s Spirit (8:4), and thus “salvation.”

Question 20

koinonia

Answer 20

The relationships experienced by Christians with God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and among themselves in the early church (Acts 2:42-47; 1 Corinthians 1:9; 2 Corinthians 13:14 [13:13 NRSV]; 1 John 1:3,6).

Question 21

logos

Answer 21

In Greek and Stoic philosophy, the universal power or mind that gave coherence to the universe. In Christian theology it refers to the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ (John 1:1), who as the creative power of God embodied truth and was God incarnate.

Question 22

natural revelation

Answer 22

The disclosure of God through nature or the natural order. Some have argued that this disclosure is accessible to all through reason; others that it is known only from the perspective of faith.

Question 23

omnipotence of God

Answer 23

God’s ability to do all things that do not conflict with the divine will or knowledge. God’s power is limited only by God’s own nature and not by any external force (Job 42:2; Matthew 19:26; Luke 1:37).

Question 24

omnipresence of God

Answer 24

God as an infinite spirit being everywhere present in the cosmos (Psalm 139:7-10; Jeremiah 23:23-24).

Question 25

omniscience of God

Answer 25

God as knowing all things, all events, and all circumstances in a way that is perfect and immediate (Hebrews 4:13).

Question 26

ordo salutis

“order of salvation”

Answer 26

A term found particularly in Calvinistic theology to indicate the temporal order of the process of salvation of the sinner according to the work of God. Elements include calling, regeneration, adoption, conversion, faith, justification…

Question 27

original sin

Answer 27

The condition of sinfulness that all persons share and that is caused by the sinful origins of the race (Adam and Eve) and the fall (Genesis 3). Theologically it consists of the loss of original righteousness and the distortion of the image of God. It results in the hereditary corruption of all humanity.

Question 28

orthodox

Answer 28

That which is considered to be correct or proper belief as defined by official ecclesiastical bodies.

Question 29

positivism

Answer 29

Philosophical view that facts alone are certain and only what is personally experienced can be true. Associated with Auguste Comte (1798-1857), the term broadly means relying on the methods used in the natural sciences.

Question 30

predestination

Answer 30

God’s actions in willing something to a specific result; also called “foreordination”. Some Christian theologians, particularly in the Reformed tradition, have seen it as indicating God’s eternal decree by which all creatures are foreordained to eternal life or death. It may also be used synonymously with “election” and indicates God’s gracious initiation of salvation for those who believe in Jesus Christ.

Question 31

prolegomena

Answer 31

Those things that come before the main body of a work. In theology, certain issues and questions that prepare the way for treating other major topics.

Question 32

providence, doctrine of

Answer 32

The Christian understanding of God’s continuing action by which all creation is preserved, supported, and governed by God’s purposes and plans for human history and for human lives.

Question 33

sacrament

Answer 33

An outward sign instituted by God to convey an inward or spiritual grace. Sacraments are liturgical practices of churches. Roman Catholicism recognizes seven sacraments; most Protestants, two.

Question 34

sanctification

Answer 34

The process or result of God’s continuing work in Christian believers through the power of the Holy Spirit. In Protestant theology this occurs after justification and is growth in grace and holiness of life marked by good works.

Question 35

synergism

Answer 35

Working together in the gospel (Rom. 16:3, 9, 21). Theologically the term is used for views of salvation, particularly semi-Pelagianism and Arminianism, where the human will cooperates with the divine will in achieving salvation.

Question 36

theodicy

Answer 36

The justification of deity’s justice and goodness in light of suffering and evil. The term was coined by the philosopher Gottfried Leibniz, though the issue has long been explored religiously.

Question 37

transcendence of God

Answer 37

God as being over and beyond the created order and superior to it in every way.

Question 38

Trinity, doctrine of the

Answer 38

Latin: “triad”; The Christian church’s belief that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three persons in one Godhead. They share the same essence or substance. Yet they are three “persons”. God is this way within the Godhead and as known in Christian experience.

Question 39

tritheism

Answer 39

Latin: “Three Gods”; Belief in three separate and individual gods. Some early formulations by Christian theologians were considered to move in this direction. Early Christian apologists sought to defend the faith from charges of belief in three gods.

Question 40

universalism

Answer 40

Latin: “Belonging to the whole”; The view that all persons will ultimately receive salvation from God.