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1000 articles found for “God; humankind”

• Eternal Punishment

  [Doctrine & Theology]

  Eternal punishment is the Christian doctrine of the penalty that those who have rejected God are held to suffer without end after the Last Judgment. Interpretations differ on its nature and on whether it continues forever.

• Herem

  [Bible]

  Herem is a Hebrew term for the irrevocable devotion of a person or thing to God, which removes it from human use, or for the thing so devoted. In the accounts of the conquest of Canaan, it is also rendered "utter destruction."

• Four Living Creatures

  [Bible]

  The four living creatures are four beings who appear beside the throne of God in the visions of Ezekiel and Revelation. They bear the likeness of a lion, an ox, a man, and an eagle, and the book of Ezekiel calls them cherubim.

• Conditional Immortality

  [Doctrine & Theology]

  Conditional immortality is the theological view that human beings are not inherently immortal and that God grants eternal life as a gift only to those who are in Christ.

• Signs and Wonders

  [Bible]

  "Signs and wonders" is a biblical word pair referring to the marvelous works God performs to reveal his will and power. The Old Testament applies the phrase mainly to the Exodus, and the New Testament to the ministry of Jesus and the apostles.

• Holy War

  [Bible]

  A scholarly term for the Old Testament wars portrayed as fought by God himself on Israel's behalf. The term does not appear as such in the Bible; these conflicts are also called "Yahweh war" or "the wars of the LORD."

• Altar

  [Bible]

  An altar is a structure built of earth, stone, or similar materials for offering sacrifices to God and for worship. The altars of the patriarchs lead to the altar of burnt offering in the tabernacle and the temple, and the New Testament reads the altar in connection with the sacrifice of Christ.

• Monastic Vows

  [Organization & Polity]

  Monastic vows are the public promise, made before God by a person entering a religious community, to live according to the community's rule. They most commonly consist of three vows: poverty, chastity, and obedience.

• The Five Visions of Amos

  [Bible]

  The Five Visions of Amos is the collective name for five scenes that God showed the prophet Amos, recorded in Amos 7:1–9:4 in the Old Testament: the locusts, the fire, the plumb line, the basket of summer fruit, and the Lord standing beside the altar.

• Child Dedication

  [Worship & Rites]

  Child dedication is a rite in which parents present a newborn child to God and promise to raise the child in the faith, while the church blesses the child and prays for him or her.

• Imperial Cult

  [History]

  The imperial cult was the practice in the ancient Roman Empire of honoring the emperor, living or deceased, as a god and offering sacrifices to him. Early Christians who refused to take part were persecuted.

• Theosis

  [Doctrine & Theology]

  Theosis, also called deification, is the teaching that the goal of salvation is for human beings, by the grace of God, to participate in God's life and nature and so grow into the likeness of God. It is a central concept of Eastern Orthodox soteriology.

• Works-Righteousness

  [Doctrine & Theology]

  Works-righteousness is the attitude or belief that a person can obtain salvation or God's grace through his or her own good deeds and religious acts. The term is used mainly in Protestantism, usually in a critical sense.

• Subordinationism

  [Doctrine & Theology]

  Subordinationism is the view that, within the triune God, the Son and the Holy Spirit are inferior to the Father in essence or divinity. Since the Nicene Creed, the orthodox church has rejected this position.

• Realized Eschatology

  [Doctrine & Theology]

  Realized eschatology is an interpretation of the New Testament holding that the kingdom of God proclaimed by Jesus is not a future reality but has already arrived in Jesus' ministry. It was systematized by the British New Testament scholar C. H. Dodd.

• Angel Worship

  [Doctrine & Theology]

  Angel worship refers to offering angels the worship or prayer that belongs to God alone. Protestants reject it on the basis of Colossians 2:18 and other passages.

• Light to the Gentiles

  [Bible]

  "Light to the Gentiles" is an expression in the Book of Isaiah describing the mission given to the Servant of God to bring salvation beyond Israel to all nations. The New Testament applies it to Jesus Christ and to the preaching of the gospel.

• Apokatastasis

  [Doctrine & Theology]

  Apokatastasis (the restoration of all things) is the view that at the end of time God will restore all creation to its original good state, so that all beings are ultimately reconciled to God. It is closely associated with Origen.

• Covenant Renewal

  [Bible]

  Covenant renewal refers to Israel's public reaffirmation of its covenant with God and its renewed pledge to keep it. Such renewals are recorded in the times of Moses, Joshua, Josiah, and Nehemiah, among others.

• Genesis 1

  [Bible]

  The first chapter of Genesis, which recounts how God, by His word, made light, the sky, the land and seas, the heavenly bodies, and living creatures over six days, and created male and female in His own image.