Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the teaching of Martin Luther, a 16th century German reformer. Luther’s efforts to reform the theology and practice of the church launched the Protestant Reformation. The reaction of the government and church authorities to the international spread of his writings, beginning with the 95...
![The Eucharist has been a key theme in the depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art,[8] as in this 16th-century Juan de Juanes painting.](https://slife.org/wp-content/uploads/1707px-Última_Cena_-_Juan_de_Juanes-520x329.jpg)
Eucharist The Eucharist is a sacramental or memorial reenactment of the Last Supper between Jesus and his disciples, in which Christians partake in the “body” and “blood” of Christ. It is also known as Holy Communion. Christians generally recognize a special presence of Christ in this rite, though they differ about exactly how, where, and...
Christian Worship Christian worship is the act of attributing reverent honor and homage to God. In the New Testament, various words are used to refer to the term worship. One is proskuneo (“to worship”) which means to bow down to God or kings. Throughout most of Christianity’s history, corporate Christian worship has been liturgical,...
Confession In Religion This article covers confession in religion in detail. Confession, in many religions, is the acknowledgment of one’s sins (sinfulness) or wrongs. A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep...
Repentance In Christianity This article is about Repentance In Christianity. Repentance is a theological term that describes a stage in salvation where the believer turns away from sin. As a distinct stage in the ordo salutis its position is disputed, with some theological traditions arguing it occurs prior to faith...
Wisdom In Christian Theology This article covers Wisdom In Christian Theology The paradigms of Israel‘s religion — law, prophecy, and wisdom were not exclusive to Israel but were shared by other ancient Near Eastern cultures. So it was not the form of Israel’s religion that made it distinctive, but its...
The Doctrine Of The Trinity The doctrine of the Trinity is that there are three separate and distinct Divine Persons in Godhead-God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. The Athanasian Creed states: “There is one person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the...
Azazel In the Bible, the name Azazel (עֲזָאזֵל ʿAzāʾzēl; عزازيل, ʿAzāzīl) appears in association with the scapegoat rite; the name represents a desolate place where a scapegoat bearing the sins of the Jews during Yom Kippur was sent. During the end of the Second Temple period, his association as a fallen angel responsible for introducing humans to forbidden knowledge emerged due to...
Devil In Christianity In mainstream Christianity, the Devil (or Satan) is a fallen angel who rebelled against God. Satan was expelled from Heaven and sent to Earth. The devil is often identified as the serpent in the Garden of Eden, whose persuasions led to the two corresponding Christian doctrines: the Original Sin and its cure, the Redemption of Jesus Christ. He is also identified as the...
God As The Devil In Christian heresiology, there have been historical claims that certain Christian sects worshipped God as the devil. This was especially an issue in the reaction of the early Church to Gnosticism and its dualism, where the creator deity is understood as a demiurge subordinate to the actual, transcendent God. See also:...
Satan Satan,[a] also known as the Devil,[b] is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehood. In Christianity and Islam, he is usually seen as either a fallen angel or a jinn, who used to possess great piety and beauty, but rebelled against God, who nevertheless allows him temporary power over the fallen world and a...
Soul In The Bible This article covers the soul in the Bible. The traditional concept of an immaterial and immortal soul distinct from the body was not found in Judaism before the Babylonian exile, but developed as a result of interaction with Persian and Hellenistic philosophies. Accordingly, the Hebrew word נֶ֫פֶשׁ, nephesh, although translated as “soul” in some...
Christian Mortalism Christian mortalism incorporates the belief that the human soul is not naturally immortal; and may include the belief that the soul is uncomprehending during the time between bodily death and resurrection, known as the intermediate state. “Soul sleep” is an often pejorative term so the more neutral term “materialism” was also used in the nineteenth century...
Minor Exorcism In Christianity This article covers the minor exorcism in Christianity in detail. The expression minor exorcism can be used in a technical sense or a general sense. The general sense indicates any exorcism which is not a solemn exorcism of a person believed to be possessed, including various forms...
Exorcism In The Catholic Church This article covers the exorcism in the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church authorizes the use of exorcism for those who are believed to be the victims of demonic possession. In Roman Catholicism, exorcism is sacramental but not a sacrament, unlike baptism or confession. Unlike a sacrament, exorcism’s “integrity and...
Demonic Possession Demonic possession is believed by some to be the process by which individuals are possessed by malevolent preternatural beings, commonly referred to as demons or devils. Demonic possession involves the belief that a spirit, demon, or other entity can control a person’s actions. Those who believe themselves to be possessed commonly claim that symptoms of demonic possession...
Spirit Possession Spirit possession is an unusual or altered state of consciousness and associated behaviors purportedly caused by the control of a human body by spirits, ghosts, demons, or gods. The concept of spirit possession exists in many cultures and religions, including Buddhism, Christianity, Haitian Vodou, Hinduism, Islam, Wicca, and Southeast Asian, African, and Native...
Exorcism Exorcism (εξορκισμός, exorkismós “binding by oath”) is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that are believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be done by causing the entity to swear an oath, performing an elaborate ritual, or simply by commanding...
Classification Of Demons There have been various attempts throughout history by theologian scholars the classification of demons for the purpose of understanding the biblical and mythological context of adversarial spirits. Theologians have written dissertations in Christian demonology, classical occultism, classical mythology, and Renaissance magic to clarify the connections between these spirits...
Fruit Of The Holy Spirit The Fruit of the Holy Spirit is a biblical term that sums up nine attributes of a person or community living in accord with the Holy Spirit, according to chapter 5 of the Epistle to the Galatians: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,...