bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
N
eale,
J
ohn
M
ason (1818–1866)
Authors: Norris Frederick W.
Published: January 2012

Neale is most often known for his translation and composition of hymns. His poetic gifts were extraordinary, leading to translations that brimmed over with life. The ancient meaning was kept, while the rendering into English was neither wooden nor cramped. The first of the revived hymnals, The Hymnal Notes, published 94 of his hymns out of its 105. The estimation is that he translated or wrote over 400 hymns, 61 of 473 in the first edition of Hymns Ancient and Modern and 72 of 626 in the English Hymnal. Among the best known are “All Glory, Laud, and Honor,” “Come, Ye Faithful, Raise the Strain,” “The Day of Resurrection,” “Good Christian Men Rejoice,” “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” and “Good King Wenceslas.” He found the hymns of Isaac Watts (1674–1748) as well as popular composers of his day to be tainted in doctrine and rather tasteless.
Nestorian Missionary Enterprise inAsia
Authors: Norris Frederick W.
Published: January 2012

Illegal and persecuted since theTheodosian Code(438), Nestorians (East Syrians) had begun moving out of the Byzantine Empire and became a strong missionary church. After 457 they and their school were a force at Nisibis (now southeastern Turkey) and in Persia (Iran and Iraq). Later among Muslims they were particularly useful as physicians and administrators. Traveling along the Silk Roads primarily as traders, they reached China by the 6th century.
N
estorius (
c
.380–451)
Authors: Oderberg David S.
Published: January 2012

Nestorius was the Patriarch of Constantinople and founder of the heresy known as Nestorianism, which holds that the person to whom the Virgin Mary gave birth is not the same person as the Second Person of the Trinity. Hence in Christ there are two persons, and the Incarnation is not the assumption by God of human nature but the coming to dwell in the man Jesus of the Divine Word. The person of God the Son and the person of Christ the man are accidentally united, not united hypostatically in one single person — one substance. Mary is thus not literally the Mother of God, only the temple of the Word, and all of Christ's human actions are only the actions of a man, not of God.
New Apostolic Church
Authors: Hasel Frank M.
Published: January 2012

The movement known as the New Apostolic Church (NAC) has no association with any other orthodox Christian organization. It developed in Germany from the Catholic Apostolic Church in 1863 through various schisms and has grown to almost 11 million members on all continents. It has a strong eschatological orientation and sees itself as the final renewed apostolic church of the end‐time that awaits the return of Christ. While the NAC claims to base its teachings on Holy Scripture, it is led by elected apostles and has established a system of apostolic guidance through the chief and district apostles. The position of the chief apostle can be compared to the one Peter had 2,000 years ago in the circle of the apostles. The district apostles, who are the heads of the different regional churches, work closely with the chief apostle and are assisted by other apostles. According to the belief of the NAC, Christ is present in the chief apostle and the apostolic office. Through the apostles Christ speaks his word for our time. This apostolic word is a second source of faith besides the Bible and, for all practical purposes, becomes the most important source of guidance. Without the ministry of the apostles there is no salvation. In 1951 the then chief apostle, J. G. Bischoff, declared that God had made known to him that he would not die before the second coming of Jesus Christ. When Bischoff died in 1960 his dogma about Christ's return had not been fulfilled. The NAC continues to maintain that it was a valid message from God.
N
ouwen,
H
enri (1932–1996)
Authors: Dashnau Laurie A.
Published: January 2012

Dutch Catholic priest and writer Henri Joseph Machiel Nouwen felt God's call upon his life at a very early age and was ordained as a diocesan priest in 1957. After studying psychology at the University of Nijmegen in his native country of Holland and at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas, he taught at the University of Notre Dame and in the Divinity Schools of Yale and Harvard. Twice during the 1970s he lived and worked alongside the Trappist monks at the Abbey of the Genesee in upstate New York, and in the early 1980s he spent time living among the poor of Peru. A year after being called to join L'Arche in Trosly, France, the first of over one hundred communities founded by Jean Vanier where assistants live among people with developmental disabilities, he left Harvard in order to serve as pastor and assistant at the L'Arche community of Daybreak in Toronto, Canada.
N
ewman,
C
ardinal
J
ohn
H
enry (1801–1890)
Authors: Coulter Michael
Published: January 2012

John Henry Newman, born in London on February 21, 1801, was an important 19th century Catholic theologian and a famous convert to the Catholic Church. Newman was proclaimed “venerable” in 1991 after a thorough examination of his life and work by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. An influential author, he was a major figure in the Oxford Movement, which sought to bring the Church of England back to its Catholic roots. These beliefs pushed him toward reforming the church and contributed to his conversion from the Anglican Church to Catholicism.
Nicaea, Council of
Authors: Williams D. H.
Published: January 2012

By the early 4th century, all Christians asserted that Jesus was divine and worshipped Him as such, following the understanding laid down in an early 2nd century sermon known as 2 Clement: “Brethren, we ought to think of Jesus as we do of God” (1.1). However, early baptismal creeds which have come down to us said very little beyond the basic wording: “of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, who was born of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary” (
Apostolic Tradition
of Hippolytus).
N
icholas of Cusa (1401–1464)
Authors: Duclow Donald F.
Published: January 2012

German canonist, cardinal, philosopher, and theologian, Nicholas was born in Kues (Bernkastel‐Kues) on the Mosel river. A degree in canon law from Padua (1423) launched his ecclesiastical career. At the Council of Basle his
Catholic Concordance
(1433) defended conciliarism, which affirmed a general church council's authority over the pope. In 1437 Nicholas, supporting Pope Eugenius IV's efforts to unite the Greek and Latin churches, sailed to Constantinople to prepare for the Council of Florence (1439). He then traveled for ten years throughout Germany to win support for Eugenius over Basle's anti‐pope, Felix V. For his successful efforts, Nicholas was named cardinal. In 1450–1452 he toured Germany and the Low Countries as papal legate. Appointed Bishop of Brixen (Bressanone) in the Tyrol, Nicholas' attempts to reclaim diocesan independence from secular control and to reform monasteries provoked conflict. At his friend Pope Pius II's urging, Nicholas settled in Rome (1458), where he served in the Curia and acted as vicar general (1459). Living simply, he continued — not without frustration — to advocate reform. In 1464 he died at Todi on his way to join Pius II's abortive attempt to launch a new Crusade.
N
icholas of Myra (End of the 3rd Century–345 or 352)
Authors: Vlavianos Sotirios
Published: January 2012

Nicholas was a bishop who was recognized as a saint after his death. He was born in Patara of Lycia, a province of Asia Minor, in the end of the 3rd century and died in Myra of Lycia in 345 or 352. Although he is one of the most popular saints in the Eastern as well as the Western Church, there is scarcely anything historically certain about him, except that he was Bishop of Myra in the 4th century. According to various traditions, he was ordained a presbyter at an early age by his uncle Archbishop Nicholas. He was well known as an almsgiver and a pastor who took special care of the orphans from the early years of his ministry. Later he was elected bishop of Myra. He was imprisoned around 305, during the persecutions of Diocletian and Maximian. He is said to have participated in the First Ecumenical Synod, convened in Nicaea by Constantine the Great against the heresy of Arianism. However, there are doubts regarding his presence in the synod, since his name is not mentioned in any of the old lists of bishops that attended. He died in Myra and was buried in a basilica dedicated to his memory. In 1087 his relics were abducted and brought to Bari by crusaders of the First Crusade.
N
icodemus of the Holy Mountain (1749–1809)
Authors: Benisis Marios
Published: January 2012

Distinguished Greek theologian and monk of the Orthodox Church, author of many ascetic and spiritual works.
N
iebuhr,
H
.
R
ichard (1884–1962)
Authors: Patterson Brett Chandler
Published: January 2012

A notable 20th century Christian ethicist, H. Richard Niebuhr belongs to a theologically oriented family, which includes his brother Reinhold, who also became a well‐known Christian theologian in the United States, and his sister Hulda, who was a professor of Christian education. Richard grew up in Missouri, guided in theology by his father, Gustav Niebuhr, a German Evangelical Synod pastor, and in literature and music by his mother, Lydia Hosto Niebuhr, the daughter of an Evangelical pastor. Richard attended Elmhurst College (1908–1912) and Eden Theological Seminary (1912–1915). Ordained in 1916, he served a short term as pastor in Saint Louis. In 1919 he took a teaching position at Eden while also studying at Washington University and the University of Chicago, where he studied with G. H. Mead, a pragmatist philosopher. In 1920 he married Florence Marie Mittendorf; the couple would later have two children, Cynthia and Richard Reinhold. After completing doctoral studies at Yale (1922–1924) and tenures as president at Elmhurst College and academic dean at Eden, he in 1932 accepted an invitation from Yale Divinity School to teach Christian ethics. He served there over 30 years and influenced a number of students, including Paul Ramsey, Hans Frei, and James Gustafson — and indirectly influenced Yale's postliberal school of theology (George Lindbeck, Stanley Hauerwas, etc.).
N
iebuhr,
R
einhold (1892–1971)
Authors: Barre Elizabeth A.
Published: January 2012

American, Protestant theologian, social ethicist, and political theorist, Reinhold Niebuhr was born in 1892 in Wright City, Missouri. He was the son of first‐generation German immigrants and his father was an ordained minister in the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Niebuhr also prepared for the vocation of ministry, attending Elmhurst College, Eden Theological Seminary, and Yale Divinity School. After graduating from the latter in 1915, he assumed the pastorate of a small congregation in Detroit, Michigan. He remained in this position until 1928, when he left to teach Christian Ethics at Union Theological Seminary.
Ninth Century Christianity
Authors: Kurian George Thomas
Published: January 2012

By the 9th century Christianity had been pushed back from its original Mediterranean homelands in the Middle East and North Africa to Europe. The coronation of Charlemagne as the new patron of Christianity marked the beginning of what has been termed by historians the Carolingian Renaissance. This was the first time after the Age of Constantine that a state church became a force that shaped European culture for the next half a millennium. Charlemagne appointed Alcuin as his adviser to oversee the founding of schools and scriptoria. Throughout the ninth century the Carolingian empire was the dominant power in Europe. Charlemagne himself initiated reforms to improve standards of literacy and Latin throughout his realm, assisted in these efforts by not only Alcuin but also Theodulf of Orleans, Paul the Deacon, and Angilbert. In 789
Admonitio Generalis
decreed that schools should be established in every monastery and episcopal center where boys would learn psalms, music, arithmetic, and grammar. In 787 Charlemagne circulated a letter entitled “On the Cultivation of Letters” to all abbots and bishops stressing the importance of Christian learning including correct speech. The emperor noted the importance of good teachers in the transmission of knowledge. The long association of Christianity with education and learning began with Charlemagne, although Augustine and others had advocated learning as a handmaiden of faith.
Offices of Christ
Authors: Mueller Steven P.
Published: January 2012

A classic system of organizing the work of Christ, the term “office” refers to his official work: what the Father sent him to do. While there are many biblical descriptions of the work of Christ (e.g. teacher, Savior, shepherd), one system has been used more than any other. This classifies Christ's work as prophet, priest, and king. Priests and kings were anointed into office (e.g. Exod. 40:13, 2 Kings 9:3) and prophets were sometimes anointed (e.g. 1 Kings 19:16). Christ, literally “the anointed one,” was anointed with the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:38). The prophetic office of Christ refers to his authoritative speaking of God's word. Old Testament prophecy indicated that he was to be a great prophet (Deut. 17:15); Hebrews 3:3–6 calls him the supreme prophet, speaking his own word. As priest, he offers himself as sacrifice (Rom. 3:25) and intercedes for his church (Heb. 7:25). The messiah was prophesied to be a son of David (Isa. 9:7), and now reigns over all as the king of kings (Rev. 17:14).
Old Believers in
R
ussia
Authors: Parsons William H.
Published: January 2012

The Russian Orthodox believers who refused to accept the liturgical reforms of Patriarch Nikon carried out from 1652 to 1658 were called “Old Believers.” Nikon tried to bring Russian Orthodox practices in line with the Greek practices of that time. With the support of the Muscovite state, he declared the Russian practices erroneous and subject to suppression. This created a schism in the church, with hundreds of thousands of Old Believers rejecting the changes and being persecuted by the official church and the state.
Opus Dei
Authors: Coulter Michael
Published: January 2012

Opus Dei, which is Latin for “Work of God,” is a Catholic organization whose purpose is to help people obtain sanctity through their work and daily activities. The formal name is the Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei. In 1982 it was given the status of a personal prelature by Pope John Paul II. A prelature is a type of institution proposed at Vatican II that carries out a special pastoral mission. It is the only prelature recognized by Vatican authorities.
Orthodoxy
Authors: Köstenberger Andreas J.
Published: January 2012

The term “orthodoxy” is derived from two Greek words,
orthos
(straight, correct) and
dokeō
(think, believe). While the expression is not found in extant literature prior to the 2nd century
ad
(though see the use of the verb
orthodoxein
, e.g., in Aristotle's
Nichomachean Ethics
1151a.19; see also
orthotomein
in 2 Tim. 2:15), the notion of a standard for right belief is attested in the New Testament. In Christianity the question of orthodoxy is bound up primarily with correct teaching regarding the person and work of Jesus Christ. By contrast, “heresy” (from
hairesis
, faction or division) involves teaching regarding Jesus that deviates from standard norms of Christian doctrine (see 2 Pet. 2:1). Since its inception, Christianity has had to deal with questions concerning the nature, origin, and contours of orthodoxy, and throughout the history of the church councils and creeds have sought to define and guard the church's orthodox teaching, resulting in both schisms and reforms.
Oxford Movement
Authors: Hefling Charles
Published: January 2012

Named for the university in which it had its beginning, the Oxford Movement was a campaign to enhance and restore the “Catholic” character of Anglicanism. Its most outstanding leader was John Henry Newman (1801–1890), whose own account of its early years in his famous
Apologia pro Vita Sua
has until recently been the standard interpretation of its origins and aims. For Newman the movement was above all a reaction against liberalism, by which he meant an optimistic philosophy that subordinated revealed religious truth to human thought and feeling, and the life of the church to political expediency. Thus in the first of the
Tracts for the Times
(1833–1841) he stressed the supernatural basis of clerical authority and resisted the idea of bishops as mere officers of the state. Later tracts in the series ranged from pamphlets to treatises, and gave the alternative name “Tractarian” to the movement and its followers. Among the authors were John Keble and E. B. Pusey, the most prominent of those who remained loyal to the Church of England after Newman made his submission to Rome in 1845.
O
ceania
Authors: Kurian George Thomas
Published: January 2012

Oceania is one of the most Christianized regions of the world. Consisting of approximately 25,000 islands, Oceania extends from Easter Island in the east to Palau in the west and from Hawaii and Northern Mariana Islands in the north to New Zealand in the south.
Packer, James Innell (
b
. 1926)
Authors: Bain‐Conkin Jeffrey L.
Published: January 2012

James Innell Packer came from humble origins to become one of the most recognized theologians of the second half of the 20th century. Theologian, author, speaker, and teacher are labels that approach but cannot sum up his contribution to evangelical Protestantism on two continents. Born in 1926 in England, Packer suffered a head injury as a child that, during his recuperation, fostered a love of reading and writing. A favorite author, with whom he was later to be compared, was C. S. Lewis.
P
alestine and
I
srael
Authors: Yeats John M.
Published: January 2012

Throughout history, the geographical land bridge known as Palestine has held significant physical and theological prominence for the Christian church. Within the boundaries of this small nation, Jesus ministered to the people in the region of Galilee and Jerusalem. After his death and resurrection, the early church established its first congregations in the city of Jerusalem by meeting in homes and in the temple courts (Acts 2). Jesus' final challenge to his disciples placed the city of Jerusalem as the center for the expansion of Christianity, proclaiming that the gospel would be known first, “in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and the uttermost parts of the world” (Acts 1:8).
P
astorius,
F
rancis
D
aniel
Authors: Schmidt Alvin J.
Published: January 2012

Born in 1651 in Sommerhausen, Bavaria, Germany, where he was baptized and reared by Lutheran parents, Pastorius studied classics and theology at several universities, eventually obtaining a doctor's degree in law from the University of Nuremberg in Bavaria. For a short time he lectured at the University of Frankfurt/Main. In 1683, he was asked by some German Quakers and Mennonites in western Germany about purchasing land in Pennsylvania where they would find religious freedom. He negotiated a contract for them and in June left for Pennsylvania ahead of them, arriving in August, 1683. The Quakers and Mennonites (13 families in all) left Krefeld, Germany, two months later, landing in Philadelphia on October 6, 1683. Pastorius and his group settled on a large tract of land (some reports say 15,000 acres) that had been purchased from William Penn (1644–1718). Here, near present‐day Philadelphia, they built a village they named Germanopolis, but the public soon changed it to Germantown. Pastorius' German immigrants were the harbingers of other German immigrants — millions of them — who came to America the next two‐hundred years.
P
elagius (
c
.354–
c
.420)
Authors: Thompson John
Published: January 2012

Pelagius was an ascetic monk and lay theologian in the early church who denied the doctrine of original sin from Adam. He was eventually declared a heretic by the Roman Catholic Church. His doctrine of a free will became commonly known as Pelagianism, which was strongly opposed by Augustine of Hippo.
Pentecost
Authors: Fatokun Samson Adetunji
Published: January 2012

The word “Pentecost,” from the Greek,
he Pentecoste hemera
(meaning “the 50th day”) is derived from the Greek translation of the Old Testament for the Jewish “Feast of Weeks” (also called Feast of Harvest and Feast of First Fruits). It followed the last day of the seven weeks reckoned from “the morrow of the Sabbath” (Lev. 23:5–6, 11, 15, 16). It was one of the major three Jewish pilgrim festivals (Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacle). Pentecost was celebrated on the 50th day after the Passover. And since the Feast of Passover fell on the 15th of Nisan (which was around the middle of April), the Feast of Pentecost thus fell on the 6th day of Sivan (which was possibly the first week in June).
Perpetua and Felicity, Passion of
Authors: Beiting Christopher J.
Published: January 2012

The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity
, an account of the imprisonment, trials, and martyrdoms of several early 3rd century Christians, was in large part the product of one woman, who dies during the course of the narrative, making the work a kind of auto‐hagiography. Important for its accuracy and its unusual authorship, the
Passion
became a very popular document in the churches of north Africa, second only to the Gospels in importance, and the names of Perpetua and her fellows were added to the list of the saints in the canon of the Mass by the 4th century.
Peruvian Christianity
Authors: Kurian George Thomas
Published: January 2012

The diocese of Cuzco was set up in 1536, three years after Pizarro reached Peru. Lima became a diocese in 1541, and by 1546 it was the metropolitan see for the Pacific region. The 17th century was the golden age of Peruvian Christianity, when it produced two canonized saints. In 1845 Catholicism was made the official religion; foreigners were given permission to conduct Protestant services provided no Peruvians attended. In 1920 the new constitution severed the ties between Catholicism and the state. The 1933 constitution, however, accorded a special status to the Catholic Church.
Pilgrimage
Authors: Quantz Amanda D.
Published: January 2012

It has been said that mysticism is an interior pilgrimage whereas pilgrimage is externalized mysticism (Turner & Turner 1978). Throughout Christian history, pilgrimage has been a form of devotion shared by the faithful in the Greek East, the Latin West, and beyond. In 326ceEmperor Constantine's mother, St. Helen, fulfilled her desire to see the places associated with Christ and the saints by undertaking a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Although the details of her itinerary are speculative, the experience prompted Helen to pour money into building projects to celebrate the life of Christ. The most noteworthy of these monuments was the Church of the Holy Sepul‐cher. From the 4th through the 6th centuries there was a steady stream of pilgrims to the Holy Land, until Palestine began to suffer from Persian raids, followed by nearly five centuries of Muslim rule. This turn of events made it difficult for Christian pilgrims to move freely throughout the region. It was also during this period that it became customary for pilgrims both to collect mementos from their pilgrimages and to leave behindex‐votos(Latin, from the vow) as an act of gratitude. These objects might consist of jewelry, small statuary, or even a wax image of a body part that had been healed.
Pillar Saints
Authors: Benisis Marios
Published: January 2012

Pillar saints were anchorite recluses, also called Stylites from the Greek word
stylos
: pillar, who lived on pillars and remained on them until the end of their lives. The pillar became their hermitage which, by being on top of it, helped them to spend days and nights in prayer and fasting.
Plymouth Brethren
Authors: Lineham Peter
Published: January 2012

The Plymouth Brethren is a movement in Protestant Christianity which emerged in the third decade of the 19th century in southern Ireland and southern England. The name most strongly associated with it as founder is John Nelson Darby (1800–1882), a clergyman in the Church of Ireland, a passionate evangelical with a very high view of the church, who came to believe that ordained ministry was a sin against the Holy Ghost, and that the church should focus on being prepared for the future return of Christ. Alongside Darby were a number of other church reformers, mostly Anglican, but also including some discontented Nonconformists, troubled at the emergence of the age of denominationalism. They included Anthony Norris Groves (1795–1853), a dentist and missionary to Persia, famous for his views on discipleship, J. G. Bellett of Dublin, and Lady Powerscourt of Ireland. Their views were shaped by extremist Protestants at odds with establishment churches, including J. A. and Robert Haldane, radical evangelical renegades from the Church of Scotland, Edward Irving, the proto‐Pentecostal, and H. B. Bulteel, the high Calvinist. The movement was thus a protest against the cautious evangelical Anglicanism and Presbyterianism of the early 19th century. The movement practiced a weekly communion service conducted somewhat after the manner of the Quakers, waiting on the leadership of the Holy Spirit. It rejected ordained ministry in favor of the gifts of Christ disposed on the church. Early leaders were fascinated by futurist eschatology and the movement gradually developed the approach known as Dispensationalism, which has had great influence in America through the Scofield Bible and is sometimes called rapture theology because of its emphasis on a secret rapture of Christ prior to the second coming. By the 1840s the movement had made significant gains in the west of England but it was then rent by extreme tensions over eschatology, Christology, and ecclesiology. The largest of the earliest assemblies was at Raleigh Street in Plymouth, where Benjamin Wills Newton was the most prominent leader, but he was accused of heresy by Darby and a subsequent dispute about what to do with people contaminated by Newton's ideas led to a deep ecclesiological dispute about how far to take the demand for “purity” of belief and separation from the impure. The vision of Darby was both purist and sectarian, while on the other side, leaders like Anthony Norris Groves and George Muller argued for a nonsectarian abandonment of denominationalism. It was a tension that reappeared frequently in the history of the movement.
Poetry, Christian
Authors: Masson Scott
Published: January 2012

Broadly conceived, Christian poetry may include three distinct categories of writing: the poetry contained in holy scripture itself; the poetry evincing its influence; and the poetry written by Christians in general. While these are not mutually exclusive categories, there has always been a general sense in discussions on the subject that the scriptures ought to govern the others in the same way God does his creatures. The reason is theological. Human beings have been created by the Word of God
in imago Dei
(Gen. 1:26–27; Col. 1:15–20; Jas. 1:18); words thus seem intrinsic to human nature, while also subordinating it (and them) to God. Coleridge (1817: I, 13) perhaps expressed the relationship between the Word and words best, albeit somewhat cryptically, in his famous description of what he and his contemporaries deemed the poetic faculty
par excellence
, the primary imagination: “the living power and prime Agent of all human perception, and … a repetition in the finite mind of the eternal act of creation in the infinite I AM.” The understanding of the poet's art as essentially mimetic stretches back as far as Aristotle, the subordination of human poet to the materials furnished by the Divine Author as far back as there have been Christians to write on the subject.
Postliberal Theology
Authors: Mills D. E. “Gene”
Published: January 2012

Postliberal theology, begun in the 1970s and still somewhat influential, serves as an explicit reaction to the liberal theology in fashion at most prestigious universities. While there has been much recent dialogue between postliberal and evangelical theologians, it also serves as a response to more conservative theologies. As a loose system, it is most often associated with the work of Hans Frei and George Lindbeck of Yale. Others associated include Kathryn Tanner, Stanley Hauerwas, Ronald Thiemann, and Don Saliers, though each quite distinct from each other and emphasizing different characteristics of postliberal thought. It is also known as “narrative theology” and the “Yale school.”
Poulenc,Francis (1899–1963)
Authors: Kurian George Thomas
Published: January 2012

French composer. The accidental death of a friend led to his conversion to Roman Catholicism in 1935. Thereafter he composed a number of religious works of which the first wasLitanies to the Black Virgin of Rocamadour, 1936. His masterpiece was theDialogue of the Carmelites(1956), an opera in three acts on the martyrdom of a group of nuns during the French Revolution for refusing to abjure their vows. The depth of his spirituality may be seen in the unaccompanied mass in G and other choral works, while theStabat Mater(1950) andGloria(1959) are grandiose in their fervor. Other unaccompanied choral works for the church include four penitential motets (Timor et tremor,Tenebrae factae sunt,Vinea mea electa, andTristis est anima mea), anExultate Deo, and aSalve Regina(1941) and four Christmas motets,O Magnum Mysterium,Quem Vidistes Pastores,Videntes Stellam, andHodie Christus Natus est. His large‐scale compositions includeStabat Mater(1950) andSept Repons des Tenebres(Office for Holy Saturday, 1961).
Praise Music
Authors: Johnson R. Kevin
Published: January 2012

Praise music (also referred to as
praise and worship music
) is a loosely defined term in 21st century church music. The most obvious definition of the term is “music offered in praise to God.” However, praise music has become better known as a new and developing genre of music used in some Christian worship settings beginning in the 1960s.
Prayer
Authors: Kelley Joseph T.
Published: January 2012

A classical Christian definition of prayer emerged slowly over the early centuries of church history: prayer is raising mind and heart to God, or asking good things of God. Theologians like Basil, Augustine of Hippo, John Damascene, and John Climacus all contributed to this understanding of prayer.
Prayer and Spirituality
Authors: Jensen Paul
Published: January 2012

Christian prayer and spirituality are integrally related to each other like breath is to life and communication is to love. One implies the other. The mystery surrounding the means and nature of prayer and its relation to spirituality have drawn keen interest from the 1st century to today, when a widespread thirst for all things spiritual has erupted outside and inside the Christian faith.
Preaching
Authors: Moody Joshua
Published: January 2012

Since earliest days preaching has been central to the practice of Christianity. Jesus was, among other things, an itinerant preacher whose homespun parables have stuck in the memory of his disciples ever since, and whose more polemic utterances likewise in those who have disagreed with him. The first “Christian sermon,” it could be said, was delivered at Pentecost, where the apostle Peter stood up and carefully explained before the massed crowd how what they had seen in terms of the gift of the Spirit was being poured out because the promised Christ in the Jewish Scriptures had arrived in the death and resurrection of one Jesus of Nazareth. Luke, in his book of Acts, frequently refers to the progress of the Word or the message of the gospel as making progress and spreading, and records individuals, as well as the more official functionaries of apostles and deacons and evangelists, taking the gospel wherever they went.
Apologetics, Presuppositional
Authors: Oliphint Scott
Published: January 2012

The approach to apologetics sometimes labeled “presuppositionalism” was developed, over time, by Cornelius Van Til. Faced with the demise of apologetics in his own time, and armed with an education in Reformed theology and in philosophy, Van Til began his teaching career at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by applying the theology that came out of the Reformation to the philosophical objections to the Christian faith.
Priesthood
Authors: Hayes Patrick J.
Published: January 2012

The story is told of Jesus walking along the Sea of Galilee and there he spotted Simon Peter and his brother Andrew hauling in a catch of fish. “He said to them, ‘Come after me and I will make you fishers of men.’ Immediately, they dropped their nets and followed him” (Matt. 4:19–20). The “call” to priesthood is one that is radically sacrificial. The doctrinal nature of priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church and those Eastern churches in communion with it, the Orthodox, and the Anglican churches is such that all have insisted on ancient rites to obtain for their clergy an abiding sacredness, indelibly marked on the very character of the ordained. Because these rites are neither employed, nor frequently seen as necessary for other Christian clergy, the concept of priesthood in the technical sense does not pertain to them.
Princeton Theology
Authors: Rios Christopher M.
Published: January 2012

A theological school in the Reformed tradition emanating from Princeton Theological Seminary (PTS) between 1812 and 1929 that integrated stringent Biblicism, Reformed confessionalism, Scottish Common Sense philosophy, and religious experience. The Princeton Theology (PT) began when Archibald Alexander (1772–1851) became the first professor of PTS in 1812. An engaging, effective, and experienced leader, Alexander had served as a Presbyterian pastor and President of Hampton‐Sydney College before moving to Princeton. Though widely published, his considerable influence came more from the institution he established and his work in the classroom than from his writings. His theology determined the direction of PTS for well over a century.
Priscillianism
Authors: Gray Patrick
Published: January 2012

Priscillianism was a movement that originated in Spain c.370 and spread to southern France with the temporary exile of its leaders. Its founder was Priscillian, a noble‐born layman who became Bishop of Avila despite censure at the Council of Saragossa in 380. With the cancellation of the decree of exile, he attracted a considerable following in Galicia, especially among women. Opposition persisted, however, and a synod at Bordeaux in 384 condemned his doctrines. When Priscillian was beheaded at Trier in 385, along with six of his disciples, he became the first person executed for heresy in the recorded history of the church. The perceived injustice of the sentence — Martin of Tours and Ambrose of Milan, among others, expressed outrage — led many followers to venerate Priscillian as a martyr. The movement eventually disappeared after the anathemas of the Council of Braga in 563.
Prison Ministry
Authors: Beane Rebecca M.
Published: January 2012

Jesus identified so closely with the lowest orders of people — the needy, the poor, the oppressed, the debased — that to serve one of these was regarded as serving Christ himself. Jesus' identification with the “least of these,” including prisoners, elevated them to an unprecedented level of value.
Psychology and Christianity
Authors: Bruce James E.
Published: January 2012

The relationship between Christianity and psychology is a complicated one, not least because of the challenge in securing consensus on definitions for the terms involved.
Psychology
commonly refers to a relatively recent discipline, experimental or scientific psychology. Psychology by this reckoning began with, among others, Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920), who offered a course in psychology in 1862 and opened a psychological laboratory in 1879, and William James (1842–1910), whose
Principles of Psychology
was published in 1890. Modern psychology has, at times, taken a critical view of religion generally. So J. H. Leuba (1868–1946), in
Psychology of Religious Mysticism
(1925), concludes that the mystical experiences of Teresa of Ávila (1515–1582) and Saint Catherine of Genoa (1447–1510) were hysterical attacks, and he advocates progress through the advancement of medical knowledge and procedures rather than Christian reflection and practice. With a similar spirit, Sigmund Freud (1856–1939), an atheist who founded the psychoanalytic school in psychology, saw a connection between psychological problems and the repression of sexual desire demanded by religion. Freud also wrote a book, titled
Moses and Monotheism
(1939), which contradicts the biblical account of Moses and explains the history of the Jewish people through Freudian psychology.
Publishing, Christian
Authors: Köstenberger Andreas J.
Published: January 2012

Christian publishing has distinct goals that set it apart from general publishing. The major aim of Christian publishing is to explain, defend, and promote biblical truth. This aim covers the broad range of Christian perspectives, from the conservative, evangelical position, to what might be considered more liberal. While most Christian publishers will be consistent as far as the general aim of publishing is concerned, some are owned by secular parent companies or individuals that may disagree with this perspective or that may have other divisions that publish non‐Christian materials intended for the general public. For instance, one division of Thomas Nelson publishes books on “True Crime” (e.g.
Aruba
). What remains consistent with publishers with these diverse interests is their desire to publish books that have a good moral content and value and that in some way point the reader to God.
Purcell,Henry (1659–1695)
Authors: Kurian George Thomas
Published: January 2012

Foremost English composer of the Baroque period. A chorister in the Chapel Royal, he succeeded John Blow as organist of Westminster Abbey and served in the Chapel Royal from 1682.
R
aikes,
R
obert (1736–1811)
Authors: Baker Dwight P.
Published: January 2012

Robert Raikes (born September 14, 1736, died April 5, 1811; birth‐date sometimes given as 1735), British newspaper editor and philanthropist, is best known as the “founder” of the worldwide Sunday School movement.
Reconstructionism
Authors: Bigalke Ron J.
Published: January 2012

Reconstructionism, as a Christian movement, began development in the 1960s. The presuppositionalism of Cornelius Van Til is regarded as the intellectual foundation of the movement (e.g. the axiom concerning the sovereignty of God and the nonautonomy of man). Van Til, however, always denied that he was a reconstructionist. Reconstructionism is a neopostmillennial view that God created man with a mandate to subdue the earth on his behalf by forcing society to obey the law of God. Christianity agrees that the mandate was originally given in Genesis 1:28, and applied not only to Adam but also to his posterity (i.e. all humanity). Adam did not lose his dominion when he rebelled against his Creator. Since it was a stewardship responsibility, humanity still retained the dominion that God had given even after the Fall. The mandate does not have to be regained. Psalm 8:6–8 clearly states that man does now possess dominion over the creation. The mandate was restated as a component of the everlasting Noahic covenant (Gen. 9:1–3). Ecclesiastes 2:26 explains that even those in rebellion to God will contribute to the fulfillment of the mandate; God's sovereignty makes even the rebellious accomplish his will. Reconstructionists understand that the intended outcome of this mandate would be the establishment of the kingdom of God (i.e. a Christian republic) on earth. A theology of dominion is an essential tenet of the reconstructionist goal of establishing a Christian republic wherein the law of God governs all dimensions of society. The responsibility of all Christians is to extend personal moral holiness to encompass public social responsibility whereby obedience of society to the law of God is mandated. The reconstruction of society according to the law of God is the intended goal of the movement. Unique to reconstructionism is their understanding of the law of God, or theonomy (

, “God”;

, “law”). Reconstructionist theonomists emphasize the continual application of the judicial and social (not ceremonial) laws of the Old Testament as a “biblical blueprint” for the direct rule of God (viz. theocracy:

, “God”;

, “rule”). Apparently, the term “theocracy” was first used with a political connotation by Josephus to describe Jewish society. Theocracy is a concept central to the covenant nation receiving the Mosaic Law in the Old Testament (Exod. 19:4–9; Deut. 17:14–20; 33:4–5; 2 Sam. 7:13–16). Reconstructionist “rule by God” would also extend the Mosaic Law to encompass New Testament principles since it is understood that Jesus established and restored the theocracy (cf. Matt. 5:17–19). Therefore, theocracy is now to be the Christian's rule of life.
Reformed Epistemology
Authors: Clark Kelly James
Published: January 2012

Reformed epistemology rejects the widely held Enlightenment evidentialist assumption that one must have evidence for belief in God to be rational, where evidence is understood as a propositional argument (a theistic proof) for the existence of God. The evidentialist objection to belief in God holds that it is irrational to believe in God without sufficient evidence; and there is not sufficient evidence for the existence of God. Hence, although God might actually exist, it is irrational to believe in God.
R
eid,
T
homas (1710–1796)
Authors: Bruce James E.
Published: January 2012

Thomas Reid, a Presbyterian minister in 18th century Scotland, is most well known for his commonsense philosophy, a response to the skepticism of another Scottish philosopher, David Hume. Reid was born on April 26, 1710, in Strachan, Scotland, a town near Aberdeen. Reid attended Marischal College (merged with King's College, Aberdeen in 1860 to form the University of Aberdeen).
Religious Experience
Authors: Geivett R. Douglas
Published: January 2012

The Bible reports many direct experiences of God. In the Old Testament, Moses comes across a burning bush in the desert, and God commands him to return to Egypt to free his people (Exod. 3–4). The Angel of the Lord promises Gideon divine deliverance from Israel's enemies, the Midianites (Jud. 6:11–8:32). The Lord promises Abraham that he and Sarah, both of whom are beyond child‐bearing age, will have a son through whom Abraham will become the father of a great nation (Gen. 12 and 28). God frequently appears to kings and prophets with numerous warnings and promises (see 1 and 2 Kings).
R
embrandt (1606–1669)
Authors: Bigalke Ron J.
Published: January 2012

Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn was born the son of a wealthy miller and baker's daughter in Leyden, July 15, 1606, and died in Amsterdam, October 4, 1669. He began his studies at Municipal Latin School in 1613 where he received a classical education, and enrolled at the University of Leyden in 1620. Rembrandt withdrew from academic training at Leyden to study art. From 1622–1624, he studied as an apprentice with a local painter, Jacob van Swanenburgh, who was influenced by Flemish painter Hieronymus Bosch (1474–1516). Swanenburgh taught him to reproduce models and to seek inspiration from other artists. He developed his artistic ability during approximately six months of training with a separate artist, Pieter Lastman, in Amsterdam. Lastman was a renowned historical painter who influenced Rembrandt to paint portraits, still lifes, and portraits, but especially in regards to the biblical and mythological subjects of his art. Following his training with Lastman, he returned to Leyden in 1625, so highly regarded that he accepted his first student, Gerrit Dou (1613–1675), in 1628. By 1629, Rembrandt was already renowned, and his reputation extended to The Hague where he worked for the Prince of Orange, with another artist, John Lievens. Following his father's death in 1630, Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam in 1631 and lived with Dutch art dealer Hendrick van Uylenburgh as his landlord.
Repentance
Authors: Bigalke Ron J.
Published: January 2012

The Hebrew word for repentance,

(
sûbh
), indicates a change in direction of the entire person. When the prophets used the word in the context of God's covenant with Israel (sc. Gen. 12:1–3; Deut. 28–30) it denoted a return to covenantal relationship with God. The primary word for repentance in the Greek is

(
metanoeō
), which is a compound word of the preposition

(
meta
, “after, with”) and

(
noeō
, “to notice, to perceive”) meaning a change of mind. Repentance is the conscious turning from sin toward God. As a change of mind will affect behavior, genuine repentance is determination to forsake sin. The Latin Vulgate translated “repent” (Matt. 4:17) as
poenitentiam agite
thus denoting sorrow or doing penance. Sorrow and repentance are not the same (cf. Matt. 27:3; Luke 18:23; Acts 2:37–38; 2 Cor. 7:9). Sorrow involves regret (
metamelomai
) and may culminate in repentance (cf. Acts 2:37–38; 2 Cor. 7:10), but it does not necessarily precede repentance (Rom. 2:4). Repentance and faith are necessary commands of God in genuine conversion (Matt. 3:1–8; 9:13; Mark 1:15; Luke 13:3; 24:47; Acts 5:31; 17:30; 26:20; 2 Pet. 3:9). Some biblical texts demand repentance (Acts 2:38); others stress the necessity of faith (16:31); and some texts reveal that conversion comprises both faith and repentance (20:21). Faith and repentance are separate concepts and ought to be distinguished. Faith and repentance are not synonymous, but form a consistent relationship that cannot be separated in the application and appropriation of salvation by grace. Defined in relation to conversion, faith is trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Biblical faith not only includes the desire to receive forgiveness of sin, but also the conscious desire to be delivered from sin. Repentance involves repudiation of sin and the desire for sanctification. In apostolic preaching, both were interchangeable in proclamation. Genuine repentance always involves faith, and genuine faith always involves repentance. Both are necessary components of conversion. Repentance certainly denotes a turning of the mind that leads to a transformation from the old nature and practice. It may be debated whether repentance precedes faith, but it is certainly a consequence (fruit) of faith. Repentance (Acts 5:31; 11:18; 2 Tim. 2:24–26) — like faith (Eph. 2:8–10; Phil. 1:29; 2 Pet. 1:1) — is a gift of God's grace, and both evidence spiritual life (regeneration).
Resurrection
Authors: Habermas Gary R.
Published: January 2012

For Christianity, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are at the very center of both Christian theology as well as practice. This is generally conceded across the scholarly spectrum. Approximately 300 verses in the New Testament address the resurrection. These texts are related to almost the entire range of Christian theology, apologetics, and practice.
Return of Christ
Authors: Steinacher C. Mark
Published: January 2012

The return of Christ is broadly accepted within Christianity, from charismatic splinter groups to the largest single organization, Roman Catholicism. This acceptance is not as selfevident as might appear, given that other biblically justified practices, such as the sacraments, are universal. Routine emphasis on Christ's return tends to be more frequent among evangelists, the doctrine being relatively unpopular since the early 20th century's Fundamentalist–Modernist controversy. A core paradox is the tenet's attempt to make sense of time by speaking about its destruction upon Jesus' return; the goal lends meaning to the interim.