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Laying On of Hands
[Worship & Rites]The laying on of hands is the act of placing one's hands on a person's head or body while praying. In Protestant churches it is practiced when installing church officers such as pastors, elders, and deacons, and in prayers for blessing or healing.
Hannah
[People]Hannah is a woman in the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel, the wife of Elkanah and the mother of the prophet Samuel. She is known for the prayer and vow she made at the sanctuary in Shiloh while she was childless, and for the "Song of Hannah."
Mercy Seat
[Bible]The mercy seat was the slab of pure gold that covered the Ark of the Covenant in the Most Holy Place of the tabernacle. On the Day of Atonement the high priest sprinkled blood on it, and it was the place where God met with Moses and spoke to him.
Tribe of Ephraim
[Bible]The tribe of Ephraim was an Israelite tribe made up of the descendants of Ephraim, the second son of Joseph. It settled in the central hill country of Canaan, and after the division of the kingdom its name came to stand for the northern kingdom of Israel.
Gennesaret
[Bible]Gennesaret is a place name for the plain along the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee. In the New Testament, the name refers both to this land and to the lake named after it (the Sea of Galilee).
Anointing Oil
[Bible]The anointing oil is the holy oil that God commanded Moses to make in Exodus 30. It was used to consecrate the tabernacle and its furnishings, as well as Aaron and his sons.
Continual Burnt Offering
[Bible]The continual burnt offering was the regular burnt offering of Old Testament Israel in which the priest burned one young lamb every morning and another every evening. It is prescribed in Exodus 29 and Numbers 28.
Siloam Tunnel
[Bible]The Siloam Tunnel is a rock-cut channel that carries water from the Gihon Spring in Jerusalem to the Pool of Siloam inside the city. It is commonly identified as the conduit dug by King Hezekiah of Judah and is therefore also called Hezekiah's Tunnel.
Dedan
[Bible]Dedan is the name of a people and a place in northwestern Arabia mentioned in the Old Testament. It first appears as a personal name in the genealogies of Genesis, and in the prophetic books it appears as a place known for its caravan trade.
Problem of Evil
[Doctrine & Theology]The problem of evil is the theological and philosophical question of why evil and suffering exist in the world if God is omnipotent and perfectly good.
Rule of Saint Benedict
[History]The Rule of Saint Benedict is a rule for monastic life written in the sixth century by Benedict of Nursia at the monastery of Monte Cassino. It addresses prayer and work, obedience, and communal life, and from the Middle Ages onward it became the foundational rule of Western monasticism.
Holiness of God
[Doctrine & Theology]The holiness of God is the divine attribute by which God is set apart from all creatures and is perfectly pure, unmixed with sin. On the basis of this holiness, Scripture calls God's people to live holy lives as well.
Mustard Seed
[Bible]The mustard seed is the seed of the mustard plant. In the Gospels, Jesus uses it as the classic example of something very small when teaching about the growth of the kingdom of God and about faith.
Galatians 4
[Bible]The fourth chapter of Galatians, in which Paul uses the analogy of an underage heir who differs nothing from a servant and the allegory of Hagar and Sarah to argue that believers are not servants under the law but sons of God who inherit the promise.
Predestination and Free Will
[Controversies]Predestination and free will is a debate over whether salvation depends on God's election or on the human response. Calvinism, followed by Presbyterians, and the Arminian-Wesleyan tradition, followed by Methodists, Holiness churches, and Full Gospel churches, explain the question differently.
Image of God
[Doctrine & Theology]The image of God is the biblical teaching that God created human beings in his own image. It is a central concept in Christian anthropology that explains human dignity and humanity's relationship with God.
2 Peter 3:10–13
[Bible Verses]A passage declaring that the day of the Lord will come as a thief and that the heavens and the earth will be dissolved by fire, while believers look for "new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." On this basis it urges holy living. Interpreters differ over whether the world will be annihilated or renewed, and over a textual variant in verse 10.
Exodus 34:6
[Bible Verses]The words the LORD proclaimed on Mount Sinai as he passed before Moses, declaring his name and character and naming in turn his mercy, grace, slowness to anger, steadfast love (hesed), and faithfulness. Because this classic confession of God's character recurs throughout the Old Testament, it is frequently cited in discussions of the divine attributes and of forgiveness.
Samaria
[Bible]Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel in the Old Testament; in the New Testament period, the name refers to the region lying between Judea and Galilee.
Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem
[Bible]The Triumphal Entry is the event in which Jesus, shortly before His Passion, rode into Jerusalem on a donkey while the crowds welcomed Him with shouts of "Hosanna." It is recorded in all four Gospels, and the church commemorates it on Palm Sunday.