Filioque Filioque is a Latin term added to the original Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed (the Nicene Creed), and which has been the subject of the great controversy between Eastern and Western Christianity. The Latin term Filioque describes the Holy Spirit as proceeding from both the Father and the Son, (not from the Father only). In the Nicene Creed it...
Perichoresis Perichoresis (“rotation”) is a term referring to the relationship of the three persons of the triune God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) to one another. Circumincession is a Latin-derived term for the same concept. It was first used as a term in Christian theology, by the Church Fathers. The noun first appears in the writings of Maximus Confessor (d....
Introduction To The Trinity A difficult but fundamental concept within Christianity, the Trinity is the belief that God is three separate persons but is still a single God. The core belief The doctrine of the Trinity is the Christian belief that: There is One God, who is Father, Son, and Holy...
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....
Socinianism Socinianism is a system of Christian doctrine named for Italians Lelio Sozzini (Latin: Laelius Socinus) and Fausto Sozzini (Latin: Faustus Socinus), uncle and nephew, respectively, which was developed among the Polish Brethren in the Minor Reformed Church of Poland during the 16th and 17th centuries and embraced by the Unitarian Church of Transylvania during the same period. It is most...
Demigod A demigod or demigoddess is a part-human and part-divine offspring of a deity and a human, or a human or non-human creature that is accorded divine status after death, or someone who has attained the “divine spark” (spiritual enlightenment). An immortal demigod(-dess) often has tutelary status and a religious...
Monad in Philosophy Monad (from monas, “singularity” in turn from monos, “alone“) refers, in cosmogony, to the Supreme Being, divinity or the totality of all things. The concept was reportedly conceived by the Pythagoreans and may refer variously to a single source acting alone, or to an indivisible origin, or to both. The concept was...
Ignosticism Ignosticism or igtheism is the idea that the question of the existence of God is meaningless unless the word “God” is given a coherent and unambiguous definition, preferably yielding falsifiable logical consequences. Also, Ignosticism — a personal discipline that holds that the concept ‘god’ bears no deductive or falsifiable (Popper) definition (Wittgenstein), and therefore prohibits...
Monolatry Monolatry (single worship) is belief in the existence of many gods but with the consistent worship of only one deity. The term “monolatry” was perhaps first used by Julius Wellhausen. Monolatry is distinguished from monotheism, which asserts the existence of only one god, and henotheism, a religious system in which the believer worships one...
What Is Deus? Deus is the Latin word for “god” or “deity“. Latin deus and dīvus (“divine“) are in turn descended from Proto-Indo-European deiwos, “celestial” or “shining”, from the same root as (Vedic Sanskrit: Dyáuṣpitṛ́, द्यौष्पितृ), and Proto-, the reconstructed chief god of the Proto-Indo-European pantheon. In Classical Latin, deus (feminine dea) was a general noun referring to a deity, while in technical usage a divus or diva was...
Divine Filiation Divine filiation is the Christian doctrine that Jesus Christ is the only-begotten Son of God by nature, and when Christians are redeemed by Jesus they become sons (and daughters) of God by adoption. Because of its Biblical roots, this doctrine is held by most Christians, but the phrase “divine filiation” is used primarily...
Triple Deity A triple deity (sometimes referred to as threefold, tripled, triplicate, tripartite, triune or triadic, or as a trinity) is three deities that are worshipped as one. Such deities are common throughout world mythology; the number three has a long history of mythical associations. Carl Jung considered the arrangement of deities into triplets...
Mother goddess A mother goddess is a goddess who represents or is a personification of motherhood. When equated with the Earth or the natural world, such goddesses are sometimes referred to as Mother Earth or as the Earth Mother. The concept is complementary to a “Sky Father” or “Father Sky“. There is difference of opinion between...
Cataphatic Theology Cataphatic theology or kataphatic theology is a theology that uses “positive” terminology to describe or refer to the divine – specifically, God – i.e. terminology that describes or refers to what the divine is believed to be, in contrast to the “negative” terminology used in apophatic theology to indicate what it is believed the divine is not....
Apophatic Theology Apophatic theology, also known as negative theology, is a form of theological thinking and religious practice which attempts to approach God, the Divine, by negation, to speak only in terms of what may not be said about the perfect goodness that is God. It forms a pair together with cataphatic theology, which...
Christianity And Judaism This article covers the relationship between Christianity and Judaism. Christianity is rooted in Second Temple Judaism, but the two religions diverged in the first centuries of the Christian Era. Christianity emphasizes correct belief (or orthodoxy), focusing on the New Covenant as mediated through Jesus Christ, as recorded in the...
Skeptical Theism Skeptical theism is the view that we should remain skeptical of our ability to discern whether our perceptions about evil can be considered good evidence against the existence of the orthodox Christian God. The central thesis of skeptical theism is that it would not be surprising for an infinitely intelligent...
Personal god A personal god is a deity who can be related to as a person instead of as an impersonal force, such as the Absolute, “the All”, or the “Ground of Being”. In the scriptures of the Abrahamic religions, God is described as being a personal creator, speaking in the first person and...
Pandeism Pandeism (or pan-deism) is a theological doctrine first delineated in the 18th century which combines aspects of pantheism with aspects of deism. It holds that the creator deity became the universe (pantheism) and ceased to exist as a separate and conscious entity (deism holding that God does not interfere with the...
Philosophical Theism Philosophical theism is the belief that a deity exists (or must exist) independent of the teaching or revelation of any particular religion. It represents belief in a personal God entirely without doctrine. Some philosophical theists are persuaded of a god’s existence by philosophical arguments, while others consider themselves to have a religious faith that need not be,...