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Healing of the Blind Man at Bethsaida
[Bible]The healing of the blind man at Bethsaida is a miracle in which Jesus spat on the eyes of a blind man at Bethsaida and laid his hands on him twice, restoring his sight in stages. Of the four Gospels, it appears only in Mark 8:22–26.
Redaction Criticism
[Doctrine & Theology]Redaction criticism is a method of biblical interpretation that examines how the Gospel writers selected, arranged, and modified material already handed down to them, in order to identify each writer's theological intentions and emphases.
Lectionary
[Worship & Rites]A lectionary is a list of Scripture passages appointed in advance to be read on each Sunday and feast day according to the church year. It typically groups together readings from the Old Testament, the Psalms, the Epistles, and the Gospels.
Merit
[Doctrine & Theology]Merit is a theological term for an act that serves as the ground for receiving a reward or salvation from God, or for the value of such an act. Because it bears directly on the place of human works in salvation, it is one of the principal issues that divided Catholicism and Protestantism.
Exorcism
[Christian Life]Exorcism is the casting out, in the name of Jesus Christ and through prayer, of demons believed to enter people and do them harm. The Gospels record Jesus casting out demons, and the practice has continued in various forms in Catholic rites and in Pentecostal and charismatic deliverance ministry.
Parable of the Barren Fig Tree
[Bible]The Parable of the Barren Fig Tree is a parable of Jesus found in Luke 13:6–9. In it, the owner of a vineyard wants to cut down a fig tree that has borne no fruit for three years, but the vinedresser asks him to leave it one more year. The parable calls for repentance and illustrates the patience of God.
Ceremonial Law
[Doctrine & Theology]Ceremonial law is a theological term for the part of the Mosaic law that governed Israel's worship and religious rites, including the regulations concerning sacrifices, feasts, circumcision, food, and purity.
Q Source
[Bible]The Q source is a hypothetical collection of the sayings of Jesus that scholars posit as the source of material found in both Matthew and Luke but absent from Mark. No manuscript copy of it survives.
Perpetual Virginity of Mary
[Doctrine & Theology]The perpetual virginity of Mary is the teaching that Mary, the mother of Jesus, remained a virgin throughout her life, not only before but also after giving birth to Jesus. The Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church profess it as doctrine, while Protestants generally do not accept it.
Deacon
[Church Offices]A deacon is a member of the clergy ranking below the priest in churches, such as the Catholic and Anglican churches, that divide holy orders into the three ranks of bishop, priest, and deacon. The term comes from the same Greek word that Korean Protestant churches use for the distinct office known as jipsa.
Higher Criticism
[Doctrine & Theology]Higher criticism is an approach to biblical study that uses historical and literary methods to investigate the authorship, date of composition, sources, and editorial process of each book of the Bible. It is distinguished from textual criticism, which compares manuscripts to reconstruct the original text.
Macedonian Vision
[Bible]The Macedonian vision is the vision Paul saw at night in Troas during his second missionary journey. A man of Macedonia appealed to him, "Come over into Macedonia, and help us," and in response Paul and his companions crossed the sea to Philippi, where they preached the gospel (Acts 16:6–10).
Pastoral Epistles
[Bible]The Pastoral Epistles is the collective name for three New Testament books: 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus. They are presented as letters in which Paul instructs his coworkers Timothy and Titus on caring for and teaching the church.
Christian Zionism
[Doctrine & Theology]Christian Zionism is a school of thought and movement within Christianity that regards the return of the Jewish people to the land of Palestine and the founding of the State of Israel in 1948 as the fulfillment of biblical prophecy, and that supports the State of Israel for religious reasons.
Oriental Orthodox Churches
[Denominations]The Oriental Orthodox Churches are a communion of ancient Eastern churches that did not accept the decisions of the Council of Chalcedon (451) and recognize only the first three ecumenical councils. Members include the Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, and Ethiopian churches.
Family Salvation
[Doctrine & Theology]Family salvation refers to unbelieving members of a family coming to faith in Jesus Christ and being saved, or to the practice of praying and evangelizing in the hope that this will happen.
Creation ex nihilo
[Doctrine & Theology]Creation ex nihilo is the Christian doctrine that God brought all things into existence without any preexisting material, solely by his word and will. The Latin phrase creatio ex nihilo means "creation out of nothing."
Christmas Dawn Caroling (Saebyeoksong)
[Christian Life]Christmas dawn caroling (saebyeoksong) is a custom of Korean churches in which members go in groups, in the early hours of Christmas Day, to the homes of fellow members and sing Christmas hymns to announce the birth of Jesus.
Natural Theology
[Doctrine & Theology]Natural theology is the branch of theology concerned with what can be known about God through the order of the natural world and through human reason and conscience, without relying on special revelation such as Scripture.
Nature Miracles
[Doctrine & Theology]"Nature miracles" is a theological term for biblical miracles that directly affected the natural world, such as wind, water, food, and plants. Representative examples include the calming of the storm and the feeding of the five thousand.