bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Devil
Authors: Neal Ryan A.
Published: January 2012

The devil is commonly viewed as the principal supernatural evil sentient being in the Abrahamic faiths. Although the devil (or a being approximating the devil) is found in virtually every culture, the devil has a broad, complicated history and occupies a distinct and important place in Christian thought. The origin of the devil is unclear, and the church has had little to say. Nevertheless, the devil is typically identified as the primary figure and force opposed to God. The nomenclature associated with the devil is diverse, and typically masculine, although angels have no sex. “Devil” (lit. adversary, 1 Pet. 5:8) has its derivation through Latin, from Greek, which has most often been synonymous with Satan (Hebrew, adversary, obstructor), but also with an array of titles and attributes: accuser (Zech. 3:1), diabolos (lit. slanderer, Matt. 4:1), tempter (Matt. 4:3), the evil one (Matt. 6:13), father of lies (John 8:44), and god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4. In the Old Testament there are only a few usages and depictions: people in opposition (2 Sam. 19:22); God uses someone to oppose someone else (1 Kings 11:14); and even a supernatural figure sent by God (Num. 22:22); perhaps most famously Satan enters the heavenly court (Job 1–2).
Migration, Diaspora, and Identity
Authors: Gerloff Roswith
Published: January 2012

Contemporary studies in anthropology and sociology of religion speak of “religions on the move,” referring to processes of transmigration and transculturation, which unleash dynamic, reciprocal, transitory, and multidimensional creations in shaping a polycontextual world. This implies that religions have to be regarded as cultural and spiritual phenomena whose taken for granted essence has resulted from transcultural and transmigrational processes of mutual influence, interaction, and continuous adaptation to new environments, developments, and encounters. Religions, including different forms of Christianity, respond to ever changing circumstances and play a role in reconstructing and constructing, even inventing cultural and national identities. Modern migration movements have effected the arrival of indigenous religions from Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia with their respective experiences at western shores, and have, besides world religions, initiated a constant exchange also with traditional beliefs and new movements in cross‐fertilization with contextualized Christian interpretations. These current manifestations have precursors in a multi‐faceted human history, yet they acquire a new quality and urgency in postmodern times.
Dispensationalism
Authors: Waldrep B. Dwain
Published: January 2012

Dispensationalism is a system of theology that began in the mid 19th century. It is primarily associated with the Reformed wing of Protestantism and has been defined as a philosophy of history delineating God's relationship to human affairs, a hermeneutical methodology defining how Scripture is to be interpreted, and more popularly as a particular form of eschatology, a futurist premillennialism with an apocalyptic view of the end times. These interpretations rest upon derivative features of the system and tend to conceal rather than to explain dispensationalism in terms of its foundational principle and the historical developments that transformed that principle into a systematic theology.
Divine Mercy Devotion
Authors: Praetorius Regina T.
Published: January 2012

The Divine Mercy devotion encompasses several means of focusing on God's mercy and sharing that mercy with others. The primary message of the Divine Mercy devotion is, as stated by the Marians of the Immaculate Conception, “God loves us — all of us, no matter how great our sins. And He wants us to turn to Him so He can bless us. He wants us to recognize His mercy and let it flow through us to others. Thus, all will come to share in His joy.” This message is spread through a variety of ways, including Divine Mercy Sunday, the Image of the Divine Mercy, and the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.
Divine Providence
Authors: Spiegel James S.
Published: January 2012

In its most general sense, “providence” refers to God's care for creation. Christians, like other theists, maintain that God not only created the world but also actively manages it (cf. Ps. 135:6; Isa. 46:10; Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3). Some distinguish between general providence and special providence, which refer respectively to divine governance of the world in the form of natural regularities or “laws,” and divine activity aimed at achieving God's purposes regarding particular persons or situations.
Docetism
Authors: Mueller Steven P.
Published: January 2012

Docetism is a heresy that denies the humanity of Christ by applying Gnostic principles to Christianity. These principles included the notion that matter is impure while spirit is pure. God, who is spirit, is not tainted by material existence. He could not unite his deity to inherently sinful matter. Furthermore, Gnostic principles stated that suffering was incompatible with deity. If he truly suffered, they reasoned, he was affected by his creation and thus not perfect or not superior to creation. In other words, a being that can suffer cannot be truly God. Since Scripture clearly teaches Christ's deity, he must not have suffered.
Doctrinal Development
Authors: Green Bradley G.
Published: January 2012

It appears that in the early Christian centuries, Christian thinkers did not perceive their doctrinal affirmations or construals in terms of “development.” There was a type of divine deposit received through revelation, the deposit of faith (depositum fidei), and this divine deposit was passed on generation to generation. There could be a development of sorts, in that implications of the deposit were teased out, but the emphasis seems to have been on explicating the holy scriptures, and working out the necessary implications of the scriptures themselves. Indeed, the consciousness of doctrine “developing” is likely a consciousness to be found in later centuries. With Arianism (4th century), for example, Athanasius does not appear to be concerned about the “development” of doctrine. Rather, Athanasius likely saw himself as making explicit what was already implicit in Scripture. Vincent of Lerins (died c.445) taught that Christians should hold to those things believed “everywhere, always, by all.”
Doctrine of Creation
Authors: Phillips Benjamin Blair
Published: January 2012

The Nicene Creed begins with the affirmation, “I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth,” paralleling Genesis 1:1 by starting with the identification of God as Creator. Here, “Heaven and earth” is a phrase which encompasses all that is “not‐God.” Apart from what God has made, God is the only thing that exists. The Christian doctrine of creation centers on what it means to say that God has created.
D
ominic (c.1171–1221)
Authors: Macy Gary
Published: January 2012

Dominic de Guzmán, founder of the Order of Preachers (Dominicans), was born into a noble family in the village of Caleruega in Castile, Spain. He attended school at Palencia and became canon of the church of Osma c.1196. In 1203 and again in 1205 Dominic accompanied Bishop Diego de Azevedo of Osma on diplomatic missions to Denmark. While on these journeys, Bishop Diego and Dominic passed through Toulouse and there met with the Cathar heresy. On the return from the second trip, the bishop stopped in Rome and requested that the pope allow him to resign his see in order to undertake missionary work. The pope refused, but while passing through southern France, Diego and Dominic joined the mission against the Cathars. Dismissing their entourage, Diego and Dominic decided to match the austere life of the Cathar leaders by committing themselves to a life of poverty and preaching, earning their way by begging. The mission met with success, and Dominic was placed in charge of mission headquarters in Toulouse in 1215. The preachers who joined him adopted the Rule of St. Augustine, and were recognized by Pope Honorius III as a new religious order, the Order of Preachers.
Dominican Order
Authors: Murphy Francesca Aran
Published: January 2012

In 1216, St. Dominic (1170–1221) created a new kind of Christian missionary — the Friar. A friar is a brother. Whereas monks take vows to their abbot, and come under his jurisdiction, a friar belongs to a brotherhood. Instead of a physical basis, like a monastic house, this brotherhood has a constitutional or legal basis, the Dominican Constitutions. Bound by the authority of a constitution rather than that of a person or place, the Dominican friars were intended to be mobile preachers of the Gospel of Christ. The ecumenical Council of Lyons II (1274) named the Dominicans (along with the Franciscans, Carmelites, and Augustinians) as one of the four legitimate mendicant orders. The Dominicans were originally a “mendicant” order, that is, a “begging” order, owning little property. This added to their freedom from the constraints of physical ownership of buildings. Dominic created such an order to produce preachers who could evangelize in the new urban centres of Europe. A further need was for preachers who could argue cogently against proponents of heresies such as Albigensianism. The Dominican friars entered the university cities just as the first universities were emerging. Some Dominicans, such as Hugh of St. Cher (+1263) achieved the philological reconstruction of an accurate text of the Scriptures. Others, notably Albert the Great (c.1206–1280) and Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) were great theologians.
D
onatello (1386/1387–1466)
Authors: Drake Joshua Farris
Published: January 2012

Donatello Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi was among the first artists to present sacred themes with an earthy realism — that is, to present Christ and the saints as fully human — without sacrificing the theological meaning of the more stylized Gothic sculpture that preceded him. In 1550 Giorgio Vasari recorded Donatello's reaction to a crucifix by Brunelleschi. After standing in awe for a moment, Donatello remarked, “to you it is given to do Christs and to me peasants.” In fact, however, he did both at once.
Donatism
Authors: Mueller Steven P.
Published: January 2012

Donatism is a heresy named after Donatus (bishop of Carthage from 313 to 347), influential leader of the movement that developed from this heresy that broke with the Catholic Church. Donatism emerged following the persecution of Diocletian (303–305), which was particularly harsh in North Africa. Under persecution some clergy had given up their bibles for destruction rather than face death. When these clergy, known as traditors, later repented, the Donatists objected and claimed that their ministry was invalid since clergy were to be holy. The Donatists maintained that a traditor had removed himself from the true church and would need to be rebaptized if he was to return. They believed that the visible church was a holy presence in the world and could not contain hypocrites. The most significant and troublesome teaching of Donatism was that sacraments performed by impious or hypocritical clergy were invalid. This is the teaching most often in view when Donatism is alleged today.
D
onne,
J
ohn (1572–1631)
Authors: Veith Gene Edward
Published: January 2012

John Donne was born in London in 1572 to Roman Catholic parents. His father, also John, was a wealthy ironmonger, and he and his wife Elizabeth gave their son a Jesuit education. Later, after studying law, John Donne the younger converted to the Church of England in order to advance his ambitions at court. Here he won a reputation for his wit, his womanizing, and his strikingly original love poems. Eventually, though, Donne became an Anglican priest, known for his vivid sermons, piercing devotional writings, and his equally original religious poems. Donne pioneered the style that would be known as “metaphysical poetry,” which would prove especially influential in the 20th century.
Drama, Modern
Authors: Roark Carolyn D.
Published: January 2012

The story of the contemporary relationship between Christianity and theater actually begins well before the modern period, as the Renaissance brought sweeping changes to Western Europe that encompassed political, social, intellectual, and creative endeavors throughout the region. Prior to the Renaissance, many western cultures had an active theater practice that was in some way connected to the religious life of the community. For the Ancient Greeks, plays formed an important part in their yearly celebrations honoring Dionysus. The Romans thought that their gods enjoyed entertainment, and often set statues of various deities in the stadiums and playhouses so that they could watch the action. Though the founders of the early Christian communities disapproved of Roman spectacles for a variety of reasons, as the medieval church developed priests occasionally staged short plays in their worship services, called liturgical dramas, and helped to sponsor the grand cycle plays that the laity of their communities produced for feast days. But both political and intellectual changes that happened in the region after 1500celed to a kind of parting of the ways between the church and the theater. While the relationship has continued to grow and change, there has not since been the kind of confluence between them that existed prior to the “re‐birth” of Europe and its accompanying rise of humanism, strife within and between the developing nations, and growing zeal for commercial trade. In the 16th and 17th centuries, in the aftermath of the Protestant Reformation, drama enjoyed less support from the church.
E
astern Catholic Churches
Authors: Warner Christopher B. , Warner David B.
Published: January 2012

Eastern Catholics are those Christians who are in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, and worship according to one of the five ancient liturgical Traditions (Rites) of the Christian East: the Alexandrian, East Syrian, West Syrian, Byzantine, and Armenian Traditions. This entry is focused on the historical development and current status of the 22 Eastern Catholic churches.
Dominion/Ecological Ethics
Authors: Phillips Benjamin Blair
Published: January 2012

The Christian notion of dominion, or ecological ethics, has been a subject of much controversy in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Lynn White Jr. articulated the classic critique of the Christian idea of dominion as the driving force behind the modern ecological crisis. The “mastery hypothesis” argues along three major lines: Christianity is said to have killed off humanity's wonder and awe of nature by de‐sacralizing nature; it promotes an anthropocentrism which legitimates exploitative human rule over nature; and it relegates the physical world to a lower status and value than that which is spirit. Yet the perception of a worldwide ecological crisis is much more recent than the ancient Judeo‐Christian worldview which is supposed to be its source.
Ecumenism
Authors: Vondey Wolfgang
Published: January 2012

The term “ecumenism” refers to any attempt to establish and preserve visible unity among Christians. The word derives from a family of Greek terms that refer to the inhabited world (
oikoumene
), or more basically, the house (
oikos
). These two realms mark the frontiers of all ecumenical endeavors. Historically, an ecumenical praxis emerged from the houses of the faithful that formed the place of meeting for the primitive Christian communities until Christianity became more firmly established and buildings could be designated as the official place of worship. Theologically, the goal of all ecumenical endeavors is the establishment of visible unity among all Christians on a global scale. Ecumenism is therefore determined by individual and private endeavors as well as by communal, local, national, and international practices that seek the reconciliation, renewal, and unity of the visibly divided churches.
E
dwards,
J
onathan (1703–1758)
Authors: Caldwell Robert W.
Published: January 2012

New England Congregationalist minister and leading theological defender of North America's Great Awakening, Jonathan Edwards is arguably the most influential colonial American theologian of the 18th century. His writings, which wedded a penetrating psychological analysis of Christian experience with a powerful Puritan Calvinism, provided American Protestants of many persuasions with a formidable defense of revivalism and spawned a new school of theology that carried his revivalist vision well into 19th century America. Today, many evangelical Protestants worldwide still revere Edwards as a theological mentor and spiritual guide.
Eighteenth Century
C
hristianity
Authors: Moody Joshua
Published: January 2012

The 18th century witnessed a marked development in human understanding, learning, and modern scientific investigation. Later termed the “Age of Enlightenment,” and at the time referred to by those contemporaneous with events as “this age of light and inquiry” or equivalent statements, the 18th century was home to such well‐known intellectual giants as John Locke and Isaac Newton, the “philosophes” Jean‐Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire and Montesquieu, as well as Benjamin Franklin and Jonathan Edwards in the Americas. Everywhere in the 18th century there is new discovery, questioning, and research.
Eighth Century
C
hristianity
Authors: Casiday Augustine
Published: January 2012

The 8th century was a time of political reconfiguration across the Christian world that was witness to conflicts, but also great achievements — notably, in the arts, in missionary work, and in the renewal (and, to some extent, the restructuring) of monastic institutions. Several Christian kingdoms began a period of cultural decline and, eventually, failure; others merged or expanded. The two conspicuous Christian political orders within Europe — the Frankish and the Byzantine — had fractious relations, particularly as they competed for influence over the Italian peninsula. Within the shifting frames of these political orders, huge strides were made in spreading Christianity into northern Europe; by the century's end, the institutional structures were in place that would support the Christianization of Scandinavia. In these enterprises, the efforts of Anglo‐Saxon missionaries were critical. Other significant accomplishments were made in the arts. Indeed, it is within this domain that the greatest theological debate of the day — over the propriety, or even necessity, of religious imagery and known as the “iconoclast controversy” — was fought. The debate was closed (for the 8th century at least, since a new phase of debating began in the 9th century) by the Second Council of Nicaea (787), which was subsequently reckoned as the Seventh Ecumenical Council.
Election
Authors: Hector Kevin W.
Published: January 2012

The term “election” refers to God's choosing of and covenanting with a people; God's covenant with ancient Israel is the paradigmatic instance of election, as God pledges to be the Israelites' God, and that the Israelites will be God's people. Christians see Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of this election: it is in view of
this
Israelite, according to Christians, that God is the Israelites' God and the Israelites are God's people; their original election looked forward to, and was in a sense for the sake of, God's election of this one. Jesus Christ fulfills the covenant from both sides, so to speak: in Jesus Christ, God has come to dwell among the Israelites as God's people, and in Jesus Christ, Israel has wholeheartedly covenanted itself to God in return. Moreover, Christians believe not only that Jesus Christ fulfills God's election of ancient Israel, but that he also opens Israel's election to those who are not Israelites by birth; through the Spirit sent by Jesus Christ, one can be adopted as a member of God's family even if one is not a descendent of Abraham.
Emerging Global Church
Authors: Johnson Todd M.
Published: January 2012

Christianity, expanding and contracting throughout its history, now has a ubiquitous presence around the world. However, over the course of many centuries and especially with the rise of European Christendom and colonialism (by 1500, 92 percent of all Christians were Europeans), Christianity increasingly became identified with the political and economic agenda of the West. This European colonial world system gave rise to the impression that the Christian faith was exclusively Western — even though significant non‐Western Christian movements began as early as the 16th century.
English Christianity
Authors: Kurian George Thomas
Published: January 2012

Britain was one of the earliest countries in Europe outside of Greece, Italy, and Spain to receive the Gospel. The first church, according to tradition, was erected in Glastonbury in
ad
61. In 314 three English bishops attended the Council of Arles in France. The Anglo‐Saxon invaders set back the fledgling church and Christians were driven to the western part of the island. The conversion of the pagan conquerors was the work of Columba and other Celtic missionaries from Ireland who established monasteries such as the celebrated one at Iona. In 597 the pope sent St. Augustine to bring England back into the Roman fold. Because England was divided into several petty kingdoms called the Heptarchy, Christianization moved only slowly. There were also fundamental differences between Celtic traditions and the Roman tradition. At a synod held at Whitby in 664 the conflict was resolved in favor of the Roman tradition. Augustine became the first archbishop of Canterbury. He was followed by Theodore of Tarsus, who was the first in a long line of ecclesiastical statesmen in British history. He set up the administrative organization of the English church and summoned ecclesiastical councils. Under Theodore learning flourished and the church produced great scholars such as the Venerable Bede, the historian. Willibrord and Boniface were sent out as missionaries to Holland and Denmark. Norwegian and Swedish kings educated in England helped to introduce Christianity to their own countries. Under King Edgar, Archbishop Dunstan labored with St. Ethelwold and St. Oswald to reform monasteries and cathedral chapters.
Epiphany
Authors: Johnson R. Kevin
Published: January 2012

The Feast of the Epiphany occurs each year on January 6, the twelfth day after Christmas. Through the centuries the Epiphany, meaning manifestation or appearance, has been a day to mark the birth of the Christ (Luke 2), the Baptism of the Lord (Mark 1), the visit of the Magi to the Christ child (Matt. 2), and the first miracle of Jesus at a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee (John 2).
E
rasmus,
D
esiderius (
c.
1468–1536)
Authors: Maas Korey D.
Published: January 2012

Desiderius Erasmus, Dutch biblical humanist and moral reformer, was born in Rotterdam and educated by the Brothers of the Common Life. He devoted his adult life to the reform of letters and morals. Northern Europe's standard‐bearer for the revival of classical learning begun in Italy a century earlier, Erasmus early on turned his attention to a program for the reform of education. In original works such as
De ratione studii
(1511),
De copia verborum ac rerum
(1512), and
De pueris instituendis
(1529), he outlined a program for liberal studies inspired by the best of classical antiquity, supplementing these more formal treatises with numerous and ever‐expanding editions of
Colloquia
(model Latin discourses) and
Adagia
(Greek and Latin proverbs), in which were exemplified both the eloquent style and moral wisdom of the ancients.
Etchmiadzin
Authors: Hovhanessian Vahan
Published: January 2012

The city of Etchmiadzin (Ejmiatsin) is located in the Armavir region of Armenia in the foothills of the biblical Mount Ararat, approximately 13 miles west of the capital, Yerevan (Erevan). The historic center of the Armenian Church and the residence of the Catholicos — the Supreme Patriarch of All Armenians — are located in the city of Etchmiadzin.
Ethiopian Christianity
Authors: Abate Eshetu
Published: January 2012

Christianity in Ethiopia goes back to its first centuries. There are two reasons for that. The first one is the geographical proximity of the Pre‐Axumite and Axumite kingdoms (
ad
150–770) to the cradle of Christianity, and the second is the constant contact among peoples of the regions in pursuit of political supremacy, trade, and culture, particularly using the Red Sea routes leading to the Far East.
Ethiopian Art
Authors: Kurian George Thomas
Published: January 2012

The oldest Christian monuments in Ethiopia are found along an ancient road which climbs from Adulis to the highlands and goes through Cohaito, Toconda, Cascasse, and Ieha to Aksum. The most common churches are rectangular with a square apse, the body of the building being usually divided into three aisles by two rows of monolithic stone pillars. In the Middle Ages the center of Ethiopian civilization moved from Aksum toward Lasta where, at Imraha, the churches are different. The pillars dividing the church into three aisles support arcades, and the sanctuary consists of three rooms, the central one covered by a small dome, while the nave is raised above the aisles. The most important monuments of the Zagwe period (1137–1270) are the celebrated rock‐cut churches of Lalibela, similar to ones found in Cappadocia built out of solid rock. Even here there are differences. The church of Libanos and Mary has an Axumite structure while others have five aisles and are cruciform, such as the church of St. George. They often have arcades on pillars and women's galleries. The church of Golgotha is remarkable for its sculptures of saints and an altar with the symbols of the Four Evangelists. With the advent of the Solomonic dynasty in 1270 there was a decline in church building. Round churches are more common during this period. Medieval churches have numerous paintings and some of them, like the church of Debra Mamo, have inlaid wooden panels. There are a large number of sacred vases, thuribles,
tabot
(sacred stones), and other liturgical objects richly ornamented with precious metal. But the most common and numerous of these objects are the codex miniatures, whose style and iconography betray Egyptian and Syrian influences. By the 15th century evidence of a western influence is unmistakable, as in the church of Martula Mariam in Gojam. Finally, among Ethiopia's most unique artistic treasures are the illustrated magic scrolls (
asmat
or
talsam
) with their protective prayers. These parchment texts are illustrated with angels, saints, crosses, the Virgin, and imaginative geometric designs.
E
thiopian Orthodox Church
Authors: Abate Eshetu
Published: January 2012

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox churches. The other churches are the Coptic Orthodox, the Syrian Orthodox, the Armenian Orthodox, and the Indian Orthodox. Unlike the Byzantine (Eastern) Orthodox churches, the Oriental Orthodox churches do not accept the decision of the Council of Chalcedon in
ad
451 on the two natures of Christ. They follow the “one nature” Christology of Cyril of Alexandria (c.378–444).
Mass Evangelism
Authors: Baltrip Ryan
Published: January 2012

Mass evangelism has been used from Pentecost to the present day as a means of spreading Christianity. From the 18th century to the early 21st century, the term “mass evangelism” has meant a cooperative and focused large evangelistic event aimed at presenting the gospel to a mass audience and encouraging conversions to Christianity. Although sometimes known as “evangelical crusades,” the term came under scrutiny in the late 20th century because of historical connotations. Churches and organization still hold mass evangelistic “crusades” today; however, they are just called festivals, conferences, or some other name.
Evangelical Wealth
Authors: Bigalke Ron J.
Published: January 2012

Wealth (riches) is a major theme of both Old and New Testaments (Deut 6:10–12; 8:10–18; 31:20; 32:15; 1 Sam. 2:7; Ps. 37:16; Prov. 10:2, 22; 11:4, 28; 13:7–8; 14:24; 15:6, 16–17; 16:8; 19:4; 21:6; 23:4; 27:23–24; 28:8, 20, 22; 30:8–9; Eccles. 5:9–20; 6:1–2; 7:1–12; 10:19; Isa. 5:8; Jer. 48:36; Hos. 12:8; Matt. 6:19–21; 13:22; 19:16–29; Mark 4:19; 10:17–25; Luke 12:15; 18:18–25; 1 Tim. 6:4–19; James 2:6–7; 5:1–5; 1 John 3:17). The Old Testament provides limitless teaching regarding the godly and ungodly use of riches. Wealth itself was initially created as a component of God's creation over which mankind was given dominion (Gen. 1:26). Although the dominion mandate remained after the Fall, sin greatly tainted the process (9:1–3). As wealth is a component of God's creation, it is rightly considered “good” even though humanity may abuse the creation for evil purposes. Although there are many condemnations of the rich and wealth in the Old Testament, there are also examples of righteous individuals who were wealthy. However, each Old Testament example of the wealth of the righteous demonstrates the riches to be the blessing of God.
Evangelicalism
Authors: Olson Roger E.
Published: January 2012

Although the word “evangelical” has several uses, evangelicalism is generally understood to mean the movement of mostly conservative Protestant Christians that arose out of Protestant fundamentalism after World War II. Evangelicalism is a movement and network of individuals, churches, publishers, parachurch organizations, and missionary agencies all of which adhere to the following distinctives identified and described by evangelical scholars David Bebbington and Mark Noll: biblicism, conversionism, crucicentrism, and activism.
Evangelism
Authors: Heck Joel D.
Published: January 2012

Evangelism refers to the activity “speaking the Good News,” that is, the Good News of the story of Jesus: his suffering, death, and resurrection with the accompanying message of forgiveness and eternal life through faith in him. Evangelism began at Pentecost, when Peter gave his sermon to those Jews who were gathered in Jerusalem. The Bible relates that when people heard this Good News, they could not contain themselves and had to speak, even if this risked persecution …
Excommunication
Authors: Gray Patrick
Published: January 2012

Excommunication is formal exclusion from a religious community. Although typically associated with Christianity, most religions practice some form of exclusion as a means of regulating the belief and behavior of their members. Reasons for and effects of excommunication vary according to the denomination, and while such a sentence is reversible in most cases with the satisfaction of certain requirements, it is regarded as the most severe of ecclesiastical censures.
Existentialism, Christian
Authors: Rodkey Christopher D.
Published: January 2012

To speak of Christian existentialism implies that there is a non‐Christian existentialism; and while existentialism as a philosophical movement has often been criticized as too religious or theological for a philosophical enterprise, many existentialists would likely dismiss the very notion of a Christian existentialism. That said, existentialists — as one of the defining characteristics of the movement — also typically deny the label or classification of “existentialism.” To this end, existentialism (Christian or otherwise) can be difficult to define.
Faith‐Based Organizations
Authors: Watts Thomas D.
Published: January 2012

Faith‐based social services are social services provided by persons or organizations that are characterized by their affiliation with religious faiths. However, there is a debate about the exact definition of a faith‐based organization as these are labels ascribed to certain groups by others rather than necessarily being an internal description.
Fasting
Authors: Spiegel James S.
Published: January 2012

Fasting is the practice of voluntary abstinence from food, drink, or both for some determinate period of time. While sometimes used for medical reasons, such as for weight loss, detoxification, and even the treatment of disease, fasting is most commonly practiced as a spiritual discipline. Fasts can be continuous or intermittent, total or partial, proactive or responsive.
Feminist Theology
Authors: Köstenberger Margaret E.
Published: January 2012

The underlying controlling premise of all feminist theology, whether radical, reformist/liberationist, or evangelical/biblical, is the full equality of women to men. Anything in Christianity and Scripture that stands in conflict with this central premise is critiqued by feminism in its quest for women's liberation from all forms of male oppression. Feminist theology, in developing its view on the various facets traditionally included in theology (God, Man, Christ, salvation, the church, etc.), draws on a variety of sources including, but not limited to, the Bible. As such, it is not a mere description of Scripture's teaching on these topics. Key to an understanding of feminist theology is an understanding of the foundational premises of feminist biblical interpretation.
Fénelon, François (1651–1715)
Authors: Smith Steven
Published: January 2012

François de Salignac de La Mothe‐Fénelon was born the fourteenth child in his family in Périgord, France, on August 6, 1651. He died in Cambrai on January 7, 1715. At the age of 12, he enrolled in the college of Cahors, and three years later at the college of Du Plessis in Paris under the tutelage of his bishop and uncle, Marquis Antoine de Fénelon. Marquis Fénelon provoked him to enter Saint‐Sulpice seminary, and after graduation he continued in the parish at Saint‐Sulpice. He had ambitions for the mission field, but his work was primarily among the poor of his native France.
Filioque
Authors: Wilkins Jeremy D.
Published: January 2012

Filioque
(Latin, “and [from] the Son”) is a controversial western addition to the Nicene‐Constantinopolitan creed. It asserts that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father
and the Son
, which is a typically western doctrine; the East generally holds that the Spirit proceeds from the Father alone,
through
the Son. The East resented the unilateral addition to the creed, and came to challenge the orthodoxy of the doctrine itself.
F
innish
C
hristianity
Authors: Paavola Daniel E.
Published: January 2012

Christianity in Finland has a long history and remains a unique part of the Finnish culture today. Christianity's approach to Finland can be first traced to around
ad
1000. The gospel arrived from three directions at roughly the same time. Traders and other travelers from Sweden, Germany, and Russia (Novgorod) likely introduced the Christian message to the native Finnish people over the first centuries of the 2nd millennium. A relatively definitive date and event in the Christianizing of Finland came with the crusade of King Eric of Sweden between 1154 and 1157. He entered southwestern Finland with a comparatively small army, overcame Finnish resistance, and formally introduced Christianity to the Finns. When King Eric left, an Englishman, Bishop Henry, remained to administrate the newly established church. Bishop Henry was noted for his administrative leadership and for his violent end. A Finnish legend tells of Henry taking food from a farmer named Lalli. When Lalli returned, he was enraged even though the bishop had left money for the food. Lalli pursued Henry, overtook him on frozen Lake Köyliö, and killed him. Henry's death elevated him to the status of a martyr for Finnish Christians for whom he became St. Henry.
F
lorovsky,
G
eorges (1893–1979)
Authors: Gkortsilas Paschalis
Published: January 2012

Georges Vasilievich Florovsky was a Russian Orthodox priest, theologian, and historian of Russian thought, born in Elizavetgrad in 1893 and raised in Odessa, Russia. He began his academic career at Odessa University (1919–1920), where he taught philosophy until he left Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution, in 1920. His first official academic appointment was in Paris, at St. Sergius Academy, where he taught Patristics, until the outbreak of World War II. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1932 and subsequently hired as dean and professor at St. Vladimir's Orthodox Seminary in New York (1948–1955). During his career at St. Vladimir's he established the theological journal
St. Vladimir's Seminary Quarterly
. His later academic appointments were at Harvard University (1956–1964), where he held the chair of Eastern Church History at the Divinity School, and at Princeton University (1964–1972), where he was a visiting professor of Slavic Literature and Religion, and also taught courses in Patristics. He concluded his academic career at Princeton Theological Seminary as visiting lecturer in Church History, until his death in 1979.
F
olk
C
hristianity
Authors: Shaw R. Daniel
Published: January 2012

Folk religion is the religion of the “folk” — real people struggling with the realities of life. Folk Christianity emphasizes the experiences of Christian folk as they seek to connect their religious experience, as expressed in the Bible and the church, to the reality of their lives. In the process, people tend to rely on their understanding of who God is and what God can do for them. This produces an appreciation of the practical effects of what Christianity claims to be on the one hand (formal/institutional religion), and personal experience on the other (informal/personalized religion). There are so many human questions to be answered. Here the parameters of this topic are explored from a Christian position that accounts for an awareness of God's desire to be in relationship with his creation, and the desire of people, created in God's image, to connect to their creator. Folk Christianity should reflect beliefs and values expressed in actual behavior.
Forgiveness of Sins
Authors: Fatokun Samson Adetunji
Published: January 2012

Forgiveness, as a concept in Christian theology, has its origin in the Old Testament Scripture. In the English Bible, three Hebrew words are translated “pardon” and “forgiveness,” and are used metaphorically for the removal of sin. These words are
kipper
(rendered “cover” once, “pardon and forgiveness” thrice),
nasa
(“lift up,” “carry away”, used 4 and 13 times respectively), and
salach
(possibly “let go,” used 13 and 35 times). And as pointed out by Snaith (1969: 85), sin is covered so that it no longer obtrude itself between man and God; it is carried away so that it ceases to form a barrier; it is forgiven so that there is no resentment or anger in the mind of the injured party. In other words, forgiveness, from its Old Testament background, connotes the cleansing away of dirt, the elimination of the barrier that stands between God and man.
F
osdick,
H
arry
E
merson (1878–1969)
Authors: Pratt J. Kristian
Published: January 2012

The American pastor Harry Emerson Fosdick was a leader of the Modernist movement, professor of Practical Theology, and renowned preacher and author. Born in Buffalo, New York, Fosdick converted to Christianity at the age of 7 and dedicated himself to a life of Christian service. During his undergraduate studies at Colgate University, the teaching of theology professor William Newton Clarke greatly influenced his acceptance of modern methods of biblical criticism. Following his graduation in 1900, Fosdick enrolled at Union Theological Seminary. During a bout of depression, he attempted suicide and entered a sanitarium, briefly interrupting his studies.
F
oster,
R
ichard
J
. (
b
. 1942)
Authors: Dashnau Laurie A.
Published: January 2012

A leading contemporary writer and speaker on spiritual development, Richard J. Foster grew up among and the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and has served as a Friends pastor and taught at Friends University. In 1986, he founded the Milton Center, an organization dedicated to building community and promoting excellence and integrity among creative writing by Christians. Two years later, he founded Renovaré, an international, ecumenical parachurch organization whose members covenant to work for church renewal.
Fourth Century
C
hristianity
Authors: Schmidt Alvin J.
Published: January 2012

Soon after Christ's ascension, the early Christians encountered persecutions, for them fulfilling one of Christ's predictions. “They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service” (John 16:2). History shows that early Christians endured ten major persecutions during the first three centuries. Many were empire‐wide. One of these took place under Emperor Diocletian (284–305), whose reign began in
ad
284. Together with Maximian (co‐emperor), Diocletian launched a reign of terror against all Christians. In 303, he issued an edict to destroy all Christian churches and New Testament books (the Scriptures). That same year he also cancelled the right of citizenship for all Christians. The next year, another edict ordered all Christian clergy and laity to sacrifice to pagan gods or suffer death. Persecutions continued even after Diocletian retired in 305, although they were less intense under his successor Emperor Galerius, who six years later issued an edict favorable to the Christians, the Edict of Toleration, in 311 on his deathbed. Two years later, in 313, when Constantine and Licinius were co‐emperors, they signed the Edict of Milan. The edict recognized Christianity as a legal religion, giving it essentially the same rights that the pagans had. But persecutions were still occurring in the eastern empire where Licinius was emperor. Although Licinius had cosigned the Edict of Milan in 313 with Constantine (emperor in the West), in about 320 he resumed persecuting Christians in the East where he was in control. His persecutions did not end until 324 and then only because Constantine in the Battle of Chrysopolis defeated Licinius and soon had him executed.
Damien, Father (1840–1889)
Authors: Mills D. E. “Gene”
Published: January 2012

Father Damien was born Joseph De Veuster in Tremeloo, Belgium on January 3, 1840. He died on the island of Molokai in the kingdom of Hawai'i of Hansen's disease, a victim of his own passionate service, on April 15, 1889. Damien was a missionary priest of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary and of Perpetual Adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. Ending his training early, he replaced his ill older brother, also a Sacred Hearts priest, who had been assigned to the mission to the Hawaiian islands. After 148 days aboard ship, Father Damien arrived in Hawai'i on March 19, 1864 to begin his ministry as a parish priest that would last until his death.
F
reeman,
T
homas
B
irch (1809–1890)
Authors: Olabimtan Kehinde
Published: January 2012

Thomas Birch Freeman, British Methodist missionary to West Africa, was born in 1809 in Hampshire, England, to an English woman and an African father. Not much is known about his early life, except that he served as a gardener in Suffolk. Subsequently, he enlisted to serve as a missionary of the Wesleyan Missionary Society. Until his arrival in the Gold Coast, the work of the mission had suffered from the untimely deaths of earlier European missionaries whose constitutions could not endure the climate. His recruitment was, therefore, in the spirit of the contemporary thinking in western missions that African converts to Christianity from Europe and America might salvage the fledgling mission efforts going on West Africa. Freeman arrived in 1838 and immediately set to work, building a church at Cape Coast and extending the mission through preaching and schools that he established among the coastal people. He identified a young Fanti preacher, William de Graft, as a suitable assistant and stationed him at the coast, while he made extended visits into the interior as far as the Ashanti court at Kumasi. At Kumasi he established friendly ties with the king and his chiefs.
F
rei,
H
ans (1922–1988)
Authors: Ashford Bruce Riley
Published: January 2012

German‐born American theologian and professor of religious studies at Yale, Hans Frei was associated with narrative and postliberal theology. Early in his career, Frei delivered a lecture at Harvard Divinity School entitled “Remarks in connection with a theological proposal,” in which he set forth the agenda that he would extend and develop for the rest of his career. The thesis of his lecture was that theologians should seek to understand the Christian faith before seeking to defend it; they should put the hermeneutical and doctrinal task before the apologetic task.
F
rench Christianity
Authors: Watkins Daniel
Published: January 2012

The first Christian communities in Roman Gaul appeared around the city of Lyons by the middle of the 2nd century. After an uprising in 177, there was intense persecution of Christians in the area. Martyrdom accounts from the period mention that of Ponthinus, the first Bishop of Lyons. After his death, the famous early church writer and theologian Irenaeus assumed the bishopric and inspired the spread of Christianity throughout Gaul. By 250, there were 30 episcopal sees including churches in Lyons, Arles, Paris, and Marseilles. By the 4th century and the reign of Constantine, the church in Gaul had expanded to 36 sees with 16 being represented at the Council of Arles in 314.
Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
Authors: Bjornsgaard Kirk
Published: January 2012

From its origins in the liberal wing of the 17th century English Reformation, the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) today thrives as a small, inward‐looking sect whose melding of meditative worship and social action has earned influence far beyond its small numbers.
F
uller,
A
ndrew (1754–1815)
Authors: Anderson Jeffrey
Published: January 2012

A Baptist theologian who resisted Hyper‐Calvinism in favor of an evangelical position, Fuller was born in Wicken, Cambridgeshire, England on February 6, 1754. His parents were farmers by trade and raised their gifted son in the Soham Particular Baptist Church. The Soham Particular Baptist Church was known for its “hyper” or “high” Calvinism. That is, the church was opposed to evangelism in an open and indiscriminate manner, as it was believed to undermine the sovereignty of God. This variety of Hyper‐Calvinism so stressed the sovereignty of God that it was believed that non‐Christians would be saved apart from any means and without the involvement of any mortal. Hence, any attempt to carry the gospel to other lands was deemed to undermine God's salvific purpose in the world.
G
aelic Hymnody
Authors: Whytock Jack C.
Published: January 2012

Comprising Christian hymns which arose first in Gaelic‐speaking Scotland in the 18th and 19th centuries, Gaelic hymnody borrowed much from the style and forms of Gaelic secular poetry, wherein the bard composed praise poems for the clan chief, laments and elegies, and descriptions of battles fought or incitements to battle. However, after 1745, with changes in the Highlands, Gaelic poetry became more religious for reasons both political and spiritual. The tunes and forms remained the same, but the content of the Gaelic songs moved toward evangelical piety.
Geographical Exploration and Christianity
Authors: Welty Kyle
Published: January 2012

From its inception Christianity has crossed both cultural and geographical frontiers. While cultural contacts were abundant in the Mediterranean world of late antiquity, geographical knowledge was slower in accumulating. After an extended period of limited growth in geographical knowledge and few successful voyages of exploration, there were rapid Christian advances during the Renaissance.