Council Of Jerusalem The Council of Jerusalem or Apostolic Council was held in Jerusalem around AD 50. It is unique among the ancient pre-ecumenical councils in that it is considered by Catholics and Orthodox to be a prototype and forerunner of the later ecumenical councils and a key part of Christian ethics. The council decided that Gentile converts to...
Essence–energies Distinction The essence–energies distinction was formulated by Gregory Palamas of Thessaloniki (1296–1359), as part of his defense of the Athonite monastic practice of hesychasmos, the mystical exercise of “stillness” to facilitate ceaseless inner prayer and noetic contemplation of God, against the charge of heresy brought by the humanist scholar and theologian Barlaam of Calabria. In Palamite theology, there is a distinction between the essence (ousia) and the energies (energeia) of God....
The Catholic Church And The Eastern Orthodox Church This article covers theological differences between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. The Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church have been in a state of official schism from one another since the East-West Schism of 1054. This schism was caused by historical and linguistic...
Christianity In The ante-Nicene Period Christianity in the ante-Nicene period was the time in Christian history up to the First Council of Nicaea. This article covers the period following the Apostolic Age of the first century, c.100 AD, to Nicaea in 325 AD. The second and third centuries saw a sharp divorce of Christianity from its early...
Religious Images In Christian Theology Religious images in Christian theology (Idolatry in Christianity) have a role within the liturgical and devotional life of adherents of certain Christian denominations. The use of religious images has often been a contentious issue in Christian history. Concern over idolatry is the driving force behind the various...
Christian Influences In Islam Christian influences in Islam could be traced back to Eastern Christianity, which surrounded the origins of Islam. Islam, emerging in the context of the Middle East that was largely Christian, was first seen as a Christological heresy known as the “heresy of the Ishmaelites”, described as such in Concerning...
Protestant Culture Although the Reformation was a religious movement, Protestant culture also had a strong impact on all other aspects of life: marriage and family, education, the humanities and sciences, the political and social order, the economy, and the arts. Protestant culture is diverse, being more divided theologically and ecclesiastically than either the...
Biblical Sabbath Biblical Sabbath is a weekly day of rest or time of worship given in the Bible as the seventh day. It is observed differently in Judaism and Christianity and informs a similar occasion in several other faiths. Though many viewpoints and definitions have arisen over the millennia, most originate in the same textual tradition of...
Sabbath In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath (שַׁבָּת) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, commanded by God to be kept as a holy day of rest, as God rested from creation. The practice of observing the Sabbath (Shabbat) originates in...
Sabbath In Christianity Sabbath in Christianity is the inclusion or adoption in Christianity of a sabbath in the sense of a day set aside for rest and worship, a practice that within Judaism was expressed through the commandment of the Mosaic Law to “remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy” in line with God‘s blessing of the seventh...
Apostles’ Creed The Apostles’ Creed (Symbolum Apostolorum or Symbolum Apostolicum), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is an early statement of Christian belief—a creed or “symbol”. It is widely used by a number of Christian denominations for both liturgical and catechetical purposes, most visibly by liturgical Churches of Western tradition, including the Catholic Church, Lutheranism and Anglicanism. It is also used by Presbyterians, Moravians, Methodists and Congregationalists....
Jehovah’s Witnesses And Salvation This article covers the relationship between Jehovah’s Witnesses and salvation. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe salvation is a gift from God attained by being part of “God’s organization” and putting faith in Jesus‘ ransom sacrifice. They do not believe in predestination or eternal security. They believe in different forms of resurrection for two groups of...
Eschatology Of Jehovah’s Witnesses Eschatology of Jehovah’s Witnesses is central to their religious beliefs. They believe that Jesus Christ has been ruling in heaven as king since 1914 (a date they believe was prophesied in Scripture), and that after that time a period of cleansing occurred, resulting in God’s selection of...
Jehovah’s Witnesses Beliefs Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Beliefs are based on the Bible teachings of Charles Taze Russell—founder of the Bible Student movement—and successive presidents of the Watch Tower Society, Joseph Franklin Rutherford, and Nathan Homer Knorr. Since 1976 all doctrinal decisions have been made by the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses, a group of elders at the denomination’s headquarters....
Assyrian Church Of The East The Assyrian Church of the East (ʿĒḏtā ḏ-Maḏnḥā ḏ-ʾĀṯūrāyē, كنيسة المشرق الآشورية), officially the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East (Ēḏtā Qaddīštā wa-Šlīḥāytā Qāṯōlīqī ḏ-Maḏnḥā ḏ-ʾĀṯūrāyē; كنيسة المشرق الآشورية الرسولية الجاثلقية المقدسة), is an Eastern Christian church that follows the traditional Christology and ecclesiology of the historical Church of the...
Christianity And Other Religions Christianity and other religions documents Christianity‘s relationship with other world religions, and the differences and similarities. Christian views on religious pluralism Classical Christian view Evangelical Christians believe that religious pluralism is heresy and contradicts the Bible. Some Christians have argued that religious pluralism is an invalid or self-contradictory concept. Maximal...
Christian Democracy Christian democracy is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching, as well as Neo-Calvinism. Christian democratic political ideology advocates for a commitment to social market principles and qualified interventionism. It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ideas and traditional Christian...
Christian Mission A Christian mission is an organized effort to spread Christianity to new converts. Missions involve sending individuals and groups, called missionaries, across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries, to carry on evangelism or other activities, such as educational or hospital work. Sometimes individuals are sent and are called missionaries. When groups are sent, they are...
Progressive Christianity Progressive Christianity is a “post-liberal movement” within Christianity “that seeks to reform the faith via the insights of post-modernism and a reclaiming of the truth beyond the verifiable historicity and factuality of the passages in the Bible by affirming the truths within the stories that may not have actually...
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...