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1000 articles found for “the disciples”

• Biblical Archaeology

  [History]

  Biblical archaeology is a field of study that excavates and examines sites and artifacts from the lands and periods described in the Bible in order to illuminate the historical and cultural background of the biblical record. It began in the nineteenth century and took systematic shape in the twentieth.

• Majority Text

  [Bible]

  The Majority Text is a textual-criticism term for a reconstructed text of the Greek New Testament that follows the common readings of the medieval Byzantine manuscripts, which make up the numerical majority of extant Greek New Testament manuscripts.

• Theology of Worship

  [Doctrine & Theology]

  The theology of worship is the field of theology that examines what worship is, and why and how it is offered, in light of Scripture and church tradition. It is treated as a branch of practical theology.

• Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy

  [History]

  A theological controversy of the 1920s and 1930s within mainline Protestant denominations in the United States, such as the Northern Presbyterian and Northern Baptist churches. It pitted fundamentalists, who sought to defend the authority of Scripture and the core doctrines of the faith, against modernists, who sought to reinterpret the faith in light of modern scholarship.

• Historical Theology

  [Doctrine & Theology]

  Historical theology is the branch of theology that studies how Christian faith and doctrine have been understood and formulated in successive eras. It encompasses both church history and the history of doctrine.

• Systematic Theology

  [Doctrine & Theology]

  Systematic theology is the field of theology that organizes the teaching of Scripture into a unified system, arranging it under topics such as the doctrine of God, anthropology, Christology, soteriology, ecclesiology, and eschatology. It is also called dogmatics.

• Patristics

  [Doctrine & Theology]

  Patristics is the theological discipline that studies the lives, writings, and thought of the Church Fathers, the theologians and leaders of the early church. It is usually treated as a branch of church history (historical theology).

• Christian Education

  [Doctrine & Theology]

  Christian education is the activity by which a faith community teaches Scripture and its faith tradition in order to nurture people in the faith. The term also refers to the academic discipline that studies this activity.

• Church Discipline

  [Organization & Polity]

  Church discipline is the practice by which a church examines the sins and wrongdoing of its members or officers, urges them to repent, and, when necessary, imposes censures in accordance with its church constitution. It is also referred to as church governance or, in its judicial form, ecclesiastical trial.

• Church Constitution

  [Organization & Polity]

  A church constitution is the foundational body of rules in which a denomination codifies its principles of confession of faith, church government, offices, worship, and discipline. Depending on the denomination, it may be called a "constitution," *The Doctrines and Discipline*, or another name.

• Deposition (Church Discipline)

  [Organization & Polity]

  Deposition is a form of church discipline in which an officer such as a minister, elder, or deacon is stripped of the office itself. It is distinct from excommunication, which also removes church membership.

• Suspension (Church Discipline)

  [Organization & Polity]

  Suspension is a form of church discipline in which an officer such as a pastor, elder, or deacon retains the office itself but is barred from performing its duties, either for a set period or indefinitely.

• Suspension from the Lord's Supper

  [Organization & Polity]

  Suspension from the Lord's Supper is a form of church discipline in which a member who has sinned is barred from participating in Communion for a period of time. The term is used chiefly in Presbyterian church constitutions.

• Clerical Celibacy

  [Organization & Polity]

  Clerical celibacy is a discipline that requires members of the clergy to remain unmarried and celibate. It is most notably practiced by the Latin Church of the Catholic Church, while Protestant churches have not followed it since the Reformation.

• Bible Transcription

  [Christian Life]

  Bible transcription is the devotional practice of copying the text of Scripture by hand as a spiritual discipline for meditating deeply on the Word and taking it to heart. In Korea it is widely practiced across denominational lines.

• Matthew 18:15–17

  [Bible Verses]

  Matthew 18:15–17 sets out a step-by-step procedure for when a brother sins: one should first admonish him privately, then with one or two witnesses, and, if he still refuses to listen, tell it to the church. It is the foundational text for church discipline, and its scope of application is debated when it is applied to conflicts and crimes within the church.

• Proverbs 13:24

  [Bible Verses]

  Proverbs 13:24 is a proverb teaching that one who spares the rod hates his son, while one who loves him disciplines him diligently: "He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes" (KJV). The verse has often been cited in support of loving physical discipline, for example as the basis of the Korean expression "the rod of love." As social attitudes toward corporal punishment have changed, however, its interpretation and application have become a matter of ongoing debate.

• Proverbs 22:15

  [Bible Verses]

  A proverb stating that foolishness is bound in the heart of a child and that the rod of correction drives it far away. Because it is often cited in support of child discipline, and of corporal punishment in particular, its meaning and application have been understood in several ways.

• Matthew 18:20

  [Bible Verses]

  Matthew 18:20 records a promise of Jesus: "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." It is widely used to offer comfort that Christ is present even in small gatherings, although some interpreters note that its original context concerns the church's judgment and prayer.

• Ecumenical Councils

  [History]

  The ecumenical councils were assemblies of bishops representing the whole Church that decided matters of doctrine and church discipline. The seven councils held between 325 and 787 are recognized by both the Eastern and Western churches.