“Windows To Spirituality”
Free Christians The term Free Christians refer specifically to individual members and whole congregations within the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches. Free Christians do not subscribe to any officially written doctrinal or creedal statement, as found in other churches. Because of their connections with British Unitarianism, they...
Blood Atonement Blood atonement is a disputed doctrine in the history of Mormonism, under which the atonement of Jesus alone does not by itself redeem the Eternal sin. Instead, to atone for this sin, the sinner should be killed in a way that allows their blood to be shed upon the ground as a sacrificial offering, so...
Christadelphians The Christadelphians or Christadelphianism are a restorationistic and millenarian Christian group who hold a view of Biblical Unitarianism. There are approximately 50,000 Christadelphians in around 120 countries. The movement developed in the United Kingdom and North America in the 19th century around the teachings of John Thomas, who coined the name Christadelphian from the Greek words for Christ...
Christian Agnosticism Christian agnosticism is a plausibly viable option which may not only provide significant benefits for both apologetics and evangelism but may also offer much needed encouragement and hope for seekers and believers who find themselves plagued with doubts. Christian agnostics practice a distinct form of agnosticism that applies only to the properties of God....
Mormon Fundamentalism Mormon fundamentalism (also called fundamentalist Mormonism) is a belief in the validity of selected fundamental aspects of Mormonism as taught and practiced in the nineteenth century, particularly during the administrations of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, the first two presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Mormon fundamentalists seek to uphold tenets and...
Esoteric Christianity Esoteric Christianity (linked with the Hermetic Corpus since the Renaissance) is an ensemble of Christian theology which proposes that some spiritual doctrines of Christianity can only be understood by those who have undergone certain rites (such as baptism) within the religion. In mainstream Christianity, there is a similar idea that faith is...
Latter Day Saint Movement The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Joseph Smith in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 16 million members, although the vast...
Nontrinitarianism Nontrinitarianism is a form of Christianity that rejects the mainstream Christian doctrine of the Trinity — the teaching that God is three distinct hypostases or persons who are coeternal, coequal, and indivisibly united in one being, or essence (from the Greek ousia). Certain religious groups that emerged during the...
Christian Atheism Christian atheism is a form of cultural Christianity and ethics system drawing its beliefs and practices from Jesus‘ life and teachings as recorded in the New Testament Gospels and other sources, whilst rejecting supernatural claims of Christianity. Christian atheism takes many forms: some Christian atheists take a theological position in which the belief in the transcendent or interventionist...
Unitarian Universalism Unitarian Universalism (UU) is a liberal religion characterized by a “free and responsible search for truth and meaning“. Unitarian Universalists assert no creed, but instead are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth, guided by a dynamic, “living tradition”. Currently, these traditions are summarized by the Six Sources and Seven...
The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, often informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian, Christian restorationist church that is considered by its members to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The church is...
Jehovah’s Witnesses Jehovah‘s Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.69 million adherents involved in evangelism and an annual Memorial attendance of over 17 million. Jehovah‘s Witnesses are directed by the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, a group of elders in Warwick, New York, United States, which establishes all doctrines based on its...
Tritheism Tritheism (from Greek τριθεΐα, “three divinity“) is a nontrinitarian Christian heresy in which the unity of the Trinity and thus monotheism are denied. It represents more a “possible deviation” than any actual school of thought positing three separate deities. It was usually “little more than a hostile label” applied to those who emphasized the individuality of...
Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805 – June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he had attracted tens of thousands...
Gnosticism Gnosticism (from gnōstikós, ‘having knowledge’) is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasised personal spiritual knowledge (gnosis) above the orthodox teachings, traditions, and authority of religious institutions. Viewing material existence as flawed or evil, Gnostic cosmogony generally presents a...
Sophia In Gnosticism Sophia (“Wisdom“, “the Sophia”) is a major theme, along with Knowledge (gnosis, Coptic sooun), among many of the early Christian knowledge-theologies grouped by the heresiologist Irenaeus as gnostikos, “learned”. Gnosticism is a 17th-century term expanding the definition of Irenaeus’ groups to include other syncretic and mystery religions. In gnosticism, Sophia is a...
What Is Arianism? Arianism is a nontrinitarian Christological doctrine which asserts the belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who was begotten by God the Father at a point in time, a creature distinct from the Father and is therefore subordinate to him, but the Son is also God (i.e. God the Son). Arian teachings were...
What Is Unitarianism? Unitarianism (unitas “unity, oneness”, from unus “one”) is a Christian theological movement named for its belief that the God in Christianity is one person, as opposed to the Trinity (tri- from Latin tres “three”) which in many other branches of Christianity defines God as one being in three persons: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Unitarian Christians, therefore, believe that Jesus was inspired by God in his moral teachings,...
Mormonism And Women This article covers the relationship between Mormonism and women. The status of women in Mormonism has been a source of public debate since before the death of Joseph Smith in 1844. Various denominations within the Latter Day Saint movement have taken different paths on the subject of women and...
Degrees Of Glory In Latter-day Saint theology and cosmology, there are three degrees of glory (alternatively, kingdoms of glory) which are the ultimate, eternal dwelling place for nearly all who lived on earth after they are resurrected from the spirit world. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints believe that...
