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Cross (Christian Symbol)
[Worship & Rites]The cross is the principal emblem of Christianity, representing the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and His resurrection. It is widely used on church buildings and pulpits and in jewelry.
Division of the Land of Canaan
[Bible]The division of the land of Canaan was the allotment of territory by lot to the twelve tribes, carried out by Joshua and Eleazar the priest after Israel entered Canaan. It is recorded chiefly in Joshua 13–21.
The Church and Politics
[Controversies]The question of how the church and individual Christians should engage in politics. Views differ on the meaning of the separation of church and state, the boundary between preaching and political speech, and the proper forms of the church's social engagement.
Hardening of the Heart
[Bible]Hardening of the heart is a biblical term for the condition of a heart that has grown hard and refuses to receive God's word and warnings. It is best known from the account in Exodus of the hardening of Pharaoh's heart.
Gath
[Bible]Gath was one of the five principal cities of the Philistines in the Old Testament. It was the hometown of Goliath and the place where David sought refuge while fleeing from Saul.
Kinsman-Redeemer
[Bible]The kinsman-redeemer (Hebrew goel) is an Old Testament institution in which a close relative paid the price to recover land or freedom that a family member had lost through poverty or similar circumstances. Boaz in the Book of Ruth is the best-known example.
1 Peter 1:18–19
[Bible Verses]First Peter 1:18–19 states that the price by which believers were set free from the futile way of life inherited from their forefathers was not silver or gold but the blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish. The passage is frequently cited in explanations of Christ's atonement.
Lamb of God
[Bible]The Lamb of God is the title John the Baptist applied to Jesus, recorded in John 1. Conveying the idea of a sacrifice offered for sin, it became one of the principal expressions for the death and atoning work of Jesus.
Gospel of the Hebrews
[History]The Gospel of the Hebrews is a New Testament apocryphal gospel said to have been read among Christians of Jewish origin around the second century. No copy survives, and the work is known only from a few passages quoted by the Church Fathers.
Canaan
[Bible]Canaan is the land lying between the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. It is the "Promised Land" that God pledged to give to Abraham and his descendants, and it is the principal setting of Old Testament Israel's history.
Matthew 5:38–42
[Bible Verses]A passage in the Sermon on the Mount in which Jesus teaches a life of non-retaliation in place of the principle of retaliation, "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." Because it bears on nonviolence and pacifism, state authority, and the protection of victims, it has received a range of interpretations.
Obadiah 1:15
[Bible Verses]In this verse Obadiah, having indicted Edom for its sins, declares that the day of the LORD is near upon all nations and sets out the principle of retribution: what one has done will return upon one's own head. The verse marks the turning point at which judgment on the single nation of Edom widens into judgment on all nations, and it is frequently cited as a representative statement of the idea of retribution.
Acts 5
[Bible]Acts 5 recounts the deaths of Ananias and Sapphira, who lied about the price of their land; the signs performed by the apostles and their imprisonment; their examination before the council; Gamaliel's counsel; and the apostles' release.
Jeremiah 18:1–10
[Bible Verses]A passage that speaks of God's sovereignty through the image of a potter reshaping a marred vessel and sets out the principle that God "repents" of calamity or blessing depending on how a nation responds. It is frequently cited in discussions of predestination and free will.
Acts 5:1–4
[Bible Verses]In this passage Peter rebukes Ananias, a member of the early church, for secretly keeping back part of the price of his land while presenting the rest as a gift. Because Peter equates lying to the Holy Spirit with lying to God, the passage is often cited as evidence for the deity of the Holy Spirit. It is also frequently quoted in sermons on giving and honesty.
Romans 5:12
[Bible Verses]Romans 5:12 states that sin entered the world through one man, Adam, and death through sin, so that death passed upon all people. It is the principal scriptural basis for the Western church's doctrine of original sin, and the Eastern, Western, and various Protestant traditions differ on how Adam's sin is passed on to his descendants.
Religious Persecution in the Soviet Union
[History]Religious persecution in the Soviet Union refers to the suppression of churches and believers by the Soviet regime after the Russian Revolution of 1917. The regime made atheism its state ideology and restricted religious activity through laws, administrative measures, propaganda, and arrests.
IHS
[Doctrine & Theology]IHS is an abbreviation that renders in Latin letters the first three letters of ΙΗΣΟΥΣ, the Greek name of Jesus. It is one of the principal Christian symbols representing Jesus Christ.
Malachi 3:10
[Bible Verses]A verse in which God commands His people to bring all the tithes into the storehouse and prove Him, promising to open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing. It stands at the center of debates over tithing, and in Korean Protestant churches it is the principal text for teaching on the tithe.
1 Samuel 15:22
[Bible Verses]1 Samuel 15:22 records Samuel's rebuke of Saul: "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." It is a key verse for the principle that obedience to God's word takes precedence over ritual worship. It also raises questions about application, particularly about whom one is to obey.