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Open Theism
[Doctrine & Theology]Open theism is a theological view holding that God does not foreknow future free choices as settled facts and that part of the future remains open. It became the subject of major controversy within American evangelicalism in the 1990s.
Glory (Bible)
[Bible]In the Bible, glory refers to the visible manifestation of God's majesty and presence. In the Old Testament it appears as the cloud and light that filled the tabernacle and the temple; in the New Testament it continues in the revelation of God in Jesus Christ.
Commandment
[Bible]A commandment is a biblical term for the commands God gave to his people. It encompasses the Ten Commandments and the provisions of the law in the Old Testament, as well as the commandments of love that Jesus summarized in the New Testament.
1 Timothy 6:6–9
[Bible Verses]First Timothy 6:6–9 corrects the attitude that treats godliness as a means of financial gain and declares that godliness accompanied by contentment is great gain. The passage is frequently cited in discussions of the Christian view of material possessions and of prosperity theology.
Ashtoreth
[Bible]Ashtoreth (also Ashtaroth) is a Canaanite and Sidonian goddess named in the Old Testament. Usually mentioned together with Baal, her name serves as a representative term for the foreign gods that Israel served after forsaking the LORD.
Teraphim
[Bible]Teraphim are household idols mentioned in the Old Testament, generally thought to have been venerated in the home or used for divination. They appear in the accounts of Rachel and Michal and are condemned as a form of idolatry in the prophetic and legal traditions.
Prayer
[Christian Life]Prayer is an act of faith in which believers offer praise, thanksgiving, confession, and petition to God; Protestants commonly describe it as "conversation with God." Korean Protestant churches are known for their active prayer gatherings, such as early morning prayer meetings and praying aloud together (tongseong gido).
Repentance
[Doctrine & Theology]Repentance is sorrow for sin together with a turning of heart and life toward God. Protestants regard it, together with faith, as the response by which a person comes to salvation.
Romans 8:28
[Bible Verses]A verse declaring that "all things work together for good to them that love God." It is among the passages most widely quoted for comfort in suffering, and discussion centers on what "good" means and whether "all things" includes evil and pain.
Luke 2:14
[Bible Verses]Luke 2:14 is the hymn of praise sung by the heavenly host before the shepherds on the night of Jesus' birth. It is a central verse in Christmas worship and hymnody, and manuscripts and translations differ over to whom peace on earth is given.
Luke 17:20–21
[Bible Verses]Luke 17:20–21 records Jesus' reply to the Pharisees when they asked when the kingdom of God would come. A central question in both translation and interpretation is whether "the kingdom of God is within you" refers to a kingdom within the heart or to a kingdom already present among those he addressed.
John 4:24
[Bible Verses]John 4:24 records the words of Jesus to the Samaritan woman: "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." The verse teaches that true worship depends on something other than place, and it is frequently cited in discussions of the forms of worship.
Genesis 1:1
[Bible Verses]The first sentence of the Bible, declaring that God created the heavens and the earth. It is the starting point of the Christian doctrine of creation and the first verse cited in the creation–evolution debate over the timing and manner of creation.
1 John 4:16
[Bible Verses]First John 4:16 confesses that believers have known and believed the love of God, declares that "God is love," and teaches that God and the one who dwells in love dwell in each other. It is widely quoted as a concise summary of the character of God.
James 4:7
[Bible Verses]James 4:7 is the exhortation in the Epistle of James to submit to God and resist the devil, with the promise that the devil will then flee. It is frequently quoted in sermons and prayers dealing with temptation and spiritual warfare. Interpretation centers on how "submitting" and "resisting" relate to each other.
Proverbs 30:5–6
[Bible Verses]A passage among the sayings of Agur that declares the word of God pure and trustworthy and warns against adding anything to it. It is frequently cited in discussions of the sufficiency and inerrancy of Scripture and of revelation outside Scripture.
Hebrews 4:9–11
[Bible Verses]This passage declares that a "rest" still remains for the people of God and urges believers to labor to enter that rest. It is frequently cited in discussions of whether this rest is present or belongs to the last day, and of how it relates to the Sabbath commandment.
Ark of the Covenant
[Bible]The Ark of the Covenant was a gold-overlaid wooden chest made at God's command in the time of Moses. It held the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments and was kept in the Most Holy Place of the tabernacle and later of the temple. It is also called the "ark of the law."
Shemaiah
[People]Shemaiah was a prophet in the reign of Rehoboam, the first king of the southern kingdom of Judah. He delivered the word of God that prevented war with the northern tribes. When Shishak king of Egypt invaded, he brought God's warning to the leaders of Judah.
Devoted Thing
[Bible]A "devoted thing" (Hebrew herem) is an object or person wholly dedicated to God, which therefore can no longer be put to private use or redeemed. The term is best known from the account of Achan in Joshua 7.