bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Ebionites
Authors: Hartog Paul
Published: January 2012

As Origen noted in the 3rd century, the label “Ebionite” is a derivation from the Hebrew word meaning “poor.” Irenaeus is the first witness to the term being applied to a Jewish‐Christian sect (Haer. 1.26.2). According to Irenaeus, the Ebionites observed the Torah, retained circumcision, rejected the apostle Paul as an apostate, used an emended Gospel of Matthew (written in “Hebrew” or Aramaic), and venerated Jerusalem. Patristic heresiologists combated an Ebionite “psilanthropic” doctrine, the belief that Jesus Christ was a “mere man,” although some polemical texts countered an Ebionite angelic christology. According to Irenaeus, the Ebionites excised the infancy narratives from the Gospel of Matthew, thus removing references to a virginal conception. Origen, however, asserted that some Ebionites accepted the virgin birth. Ebionitism correlated well with an Adoptionist christology, since it emphasized God's approval of the Torah‐observant righteousness of Jesus. Epiphanius of Salamis interacted with excerpts from an Ebionite Gospel, and he referred to the Ebionite acceptance of theAnabathmoi JakobouorAscents of James(Haer.30.16‐7‐9). One excerpt from the so‐calledGospel of the Ebionitesdescribes John the Baptist as a vegetarian Nazirite teacher, while another affirms the abolishment of the sacrificial system. Scholars have debated the connections (or overlaps) between theGospel of the Ebionites, theGospel of the Hebrews, and theGospel of the Nazarenes.Scholars also disagree to what extent those polemically branded as “Nazarenes” were “Ebionites,” and whether such labels were sometimes applied interchangeably. Moreover, the exact relationships between early Ebionitism(s), the followers of John the Baptist, the Jerusalem church led by James the Just, and the “Desposyni” (blood relatives of Jesus) are also unclear. Some researchers maintain that some of the sources used in the “Pseudo‐Clementine” literature may have been Ebionite. Symmachus, who composed one of the Greek versions found in Origen'sHexapla, was perhaps the most renowned Ebionite author and commentator. Ebionite groups survived for centuries into the Common Era, and some have even suggested that they endured long enough to influence early Islamic thought.
ecclesiology
Authors: Kärkkäinen Veli‐Matti
Published: January 2012

Ecclesiology means the doctrine of the church, her being, ministry, mission, and worship. The sacraments, such as water baptism and the Eucharist, are discussed elsewhere. While Christian theologians have always reflected on the nature and role of the church, as a separate theological topic ecclesiology is a fairly recent development. Ecclesiology did not gain its own place in Christian theology until the time of the Reformation.
Economic Ideas
Authors: Green Bradley G.
Published: January 2012

Since the beginning of recorded history humanity has organized and distributed various goods and services. God creates man and the world and calls all things “good” (Gen. 1). Our lives have to do with a real, created, and good universe. Because of the doctrine of creation, man can never reject the material world as inherently bad or evil. Thus, with the affirmation of a good, created order, the seed is sown for the development of Christian thinking regarding economic realities where emphasis will be on the proper use and purpose of things — including material things. This universe is sovereignly ruled and provided for by a good, orderly, and gracious God, who provides coherence and stability to the created order through his gracious governance. Man is given a mandate to be “fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen. 1:28). The first man is placed in the garden and told to “cultivate and keep” it (Gen. 2:15). Man and the world — as created realities — are good, and man has to do something with the created order. Man's duties include economic duties and responsibilities.
Ecuadorian
C
hristianity
Authors: Kurian George Thomas
Published: January 2012

Christianity entered Ecuador through Spanish missionaries who followed the earliest conquistadores. The diocese of Quito was established in 1545, 12 years after the founding of the city. The first hospital was built in 1565, the first diocesan synod held in 1594. The evangelization of the Amazon Region began in 1599 and continued for the next 200 years. By the end of Spanish rule in 1822, the church had become a pervasive force in national life. The history of the church has been closely interwoven with that of the country. Monks accompanied every expedition and were charged with conversion and moral education of the Indians. Church involvement in colonial life was not confined to the spiritual. It was the primary agent of Spanish culture and almost all schools and hospitals were run by monks or priests. Indians learned new techniques of agriculture from the missionaries. Quito became known as the city of convents and the building and adornment of churches provided the inspiration for the development of art. Most important of all, the church was the only protector of the Indians against the rapacity of the white settlers. On its part, the church became one of the wealthiest landowners in the Sierra.
World Missionary Conference,
E
dinburgh (1910)
Authors: Welty Kyle
Published: January 2012

The World Missionary Conference, Edinburgh, which met from 13 to 23 June 1910 in Edinburgh, Scotland, represents an important event in both Protestant Christian history and Christian missions. It was not the first international missionary conference, but the three sessions held prior to it are best understood as precursors to Edinburgh. The preparation for Edinburgh, which was begun two years in advance of the conference, and the unprecedented range of participants distinguish it from its predecessors. While the number of denominations represented at Edinburgh is impressive, it was not an authentic ecumenical gathering as neither the Orthodox nor the Roman Catholic Church was represented.
Education and Training
Authors: Leinweber David
Published: January 2012

Education and training have played a major role in Christian history. Since ancient times the church has been a leading force in western schooling and learning.
E
l
G
reco (1541–1614)
Authors: Vlavianos Sotirios
Published: January 2012

El Greco (i.e. “The Greek”) was a famous painter, architect and sculptor. His original name was Domenikos Theotokopoulos. He was born in Handakas (Heraklion) in Crete, Greece in 1541 and died in Toledo, Spain in 1614. Until 1567 he worked in Crete as a post‐Byzantine icon painter and then moved to Italy. He stayed in Venice from 1567 to 1570 and in Rome from 1570 to 1576. His works painted in Italy were influenced by the Venetian Renaissance style of the period, with agile, elongated figures reminiscent of Tintoretto, and a chromatic framework that connects him to Titian's workshop, where he was employed. In Italy he was transformed to a western painter, influenced by Bassano, Baroccio, Veronese, and other famous painters of the era.
Eleventh Century Christianity
Authors: Matus Zachary A.
Published: January 2012

In 1095 at Clermont, Pope Urban II's call for holy war was met with spontaneous cries of “Deus vult!” (God wills it!), or so the chroniclers would have us believe. Whatever the effect on the audience, the call for crusade crystallized a moment of unification of western Christians under a common idea ofChristianitas(Christendom) that transcended national, feudal, and cultural boundaries. That such an eventuality came to pass hardly would have been predictable at the beginning of the 11th century.
Eliot,John (1604–1690)
Authors: Baker Dwight P.
Published: January 2012

John Eliot, born in England on August 5, 1604, found his life's calling as a Puritan minister and “Apostle to the Indians” in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
E
liot,
T
.
S
. (1888–1965)
Authors: Veith Gene Edward
Published: January 2012

Thomas Stearns Eliot was American, naturalized English. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the youngest of seven children. His parents were Henry Ware Eliot, the president of a brick company, and Charlotte Champe Stearns. T. S. Eliot refashioned English verse and became the leading poet of the modernist movement.
E
llul,
J
acques (1912–1994)
Authors: Malone David B.
Published: January 2012

Jacques César Ellul, born January 6, 1912 with a self‐described varied ethnic heritage in Bordeaux, France, was a sociologist, historian, and lay theologian. Dying May 19, 1994, he left a literary legacy that is found in more than fifty books in French, many of which were translated into English and several other languages.
Emerging Church
Authors: Smith R. Scott
Published: January 2012

In westernized countries, a missiological conversation has developed amongst Christians about what the church ought to believe, and how it can “reach” western cultures, since western culture is increasingly becoming post‐Christian, and postmodern. The “Emerging Church” is a broad umbrella term for that conversation. On the other hand, “Emergent” is a leadership group that arose initially from a Leadership Network conference in the mid 1990s, and it has included, for example, Doug Pagitt, Brian McLaren, Tony Jones, Andrew Jones, Chris Seay, Dan Kimball, and Mark Driscoll.
Environmental Crisis
Authors: Schirrmacher Thomas
Published: January 2012

In 1967 historian Lynn White published a now famous article, “The Historical Roots of Our Ecological Crisis,” in which he concluded that many of the 20th century's environmental problems could be traced to the Christian notion that God gave this earth to humans for their use and specifically directed humans to exercise dominion over the earth. Carl Amery followed with an even weightier accusation in 1972.
Environmental Ethics
Authors: Lamp Jeffrey S.
Published: January 2012

Though human civilization has frequently expressed some level of interest in environmental stewardship, from the 1960s onward a greater social consciousness directed toward ecological issues has emerged. Christianity has had several responses to the various movements that have arisen to address matters of environmental responsibility, ranging from antipathy to activism.
Eschatological Movements
Authors: Prosser Peter
Published: January 2012

Eschatological movements (Greek
eschatos
, last things) are religious groups down through church history that look for the imminent end of the world. Sometimes they are violent movements which seek to overthrow the existing order. Others are peaceful movements which seek to live by themselves, cutting themselves off from the world around them. They are characterized by a literalist emphasis on the reading of scripture, often seeking to find the exact year and time of Christ's Second Coming, the millennium, and end of the world. They also endeavor to interpret how Bible prophecy found in books like Daniel in the Old Testament and Revelation in the New Testament fit together, since they seem to speak of eschatological events. In the past few years, television preachers such as John Hagee, and the popular video film series
Left Behind
, produced by Tim Lahaye's organization, have emphasized this theme. Most of these preachers rely on a 19th century eschatological belief called dispensationalism, invented by John Nelson Darby and popularized by the Scofield Bible and the best‐selling book
The Late Great Planet Earth
.
Eschatology
Authors: Doak Mary
Published: January 2012

Eschatology is the branch of theology devoted to the
eschata
, the last things, and to the
eschaton
, or the end time. In Christian thought, eschatology has been subdivided into individual eschatology, focusing on the ultimate destiny of the person after death, and collective eschatology, concerned with the Second Coming of Christ and the consummation of history. A collective eschatology that expects a sudden and especially violent end of history can also be described as an “apocalyptic” eschatology.
Eternity
Authors: Estes Douglas
Published: January 2012

Eternity, the concept of divine temporality, is the theological term used to describe the timeframe of God's existence as well as the timeframe of future eschatological existence of believers in Christ. Since eternity is the temporal mode in which God exists, it is an attribute or characteristic of God. Likewise, since eternity is the destined temporal mode in which those who are in Christ will dwell with God, it is also an attribute or characteristic of heaven. As a result, the concept of eternity is significant for understanding the nature of God and the nature of a believer's eschatological future; however, this significance is often thwarted by the great amount of confusion on the subject of eternity.
Ethics
Authors: Baggett David
Published: January 2012

Ethics is an important branch of philosophy; it's the study of a particular set of values, though neither aesthetic nor political. Ethical values distinctively pertain to what's right and wrong; morally permissible, forbidden, or obligatory; issues of good and evil; what constitutes moral conduct and the good life. Ethics is usually subdivided into three parts: applied ethics, normative ethics, and meta‐ethics. Applied ethics takes up ethical questions within specialized areas like the medical profession, the business arena, and journalism. It also takes up specific ethical questions, like the moral questions of abortion, homo‐sexuality, and euthanasia. Normative ethics is more theoretical, as it attempts to uncover the basis for the distinction between right and wrong. Meta‐ethics raises yet deeper theoretical concerns: fundamental questions about the connection between rationality and ethics, the meaning of moral terms, how it is we come to know moral truth, and whether there are any moral facts in the first place.
Eucharist
Authors: Vondey Wolfgang
Published: January 2012

The word “Eucharist” generally refers to the Christian celebration of the Lord's Supper. Sometimes a substitute for the entire liturgical celebration of the sacrament, the word also relates more specifically to the presence of Jesus Christ in the elements of bread and wine. The word itself derives from the Greek
eucharistein
, a combination of the word
eu
(good) and the word
charis
(gift). Often translated as “thanksgiving,” the term thus refers in the broadest sense to the reception of good gifts from God in an attitude of thankfulness.
Eucharistic Theology
Authors: Macy Gary
Published: January 2012

Critical and systematic thought about the Eucharist appeared in western theology in the 9th century when the monk Paschasius Radbertus wrote the first systematic treatment of the Eucharist, “On the Body and Blood of the Lord.” Christian writers had discussed the Eucharist before, but only as part of their explanations of Christian belief to non‐Christians and to the recently baptized. Paschasius wrote to explain how the risen Christ could be present in the bread and wine of communion. His fellow monk, Ratramnus, soon followed with another treatise with the same title. Two centuries later, the questions raised by the theologian Berengar of Tours about the mode of presence of the risen Christ in the Eucharist occasioned a series of treatises on this subject, and, with the attack on the Cathars on the value of communion, the topic remained one of intense interest throughout the Middle Ages. During the Reformation, the Reformers split with the Roman Catholics as well as among themselves over their understanding of that presence. These disagreements produced a flurry of theological activity that continues to the present day. Despite the preponderance of theological writing concerning the mode of presence of the risen Christ in the Eucharist, other equally important issues were addressed by the medieval, Reformation, and modern theologians. The most important of these issues remains how the celebration of the Lord's Supper aids the life of faith. Roman Catholics would stress that reception of communion empowers them (gives them the grace) to live a life of faith and love. Reform theologians are more likely to stress that the Eucharist is a pledge of the salvation already given in baptism. Most recently, Eucharistic theology tends to address how the different Christian understandings of the sacrament might be reconciled or at least mutually respected.
Evangelical Poverty
Authors: Poston Larry
Published: January 2012

The views of evangelicals with regard to socio‐economic status — including the purpose and/or cause of poverty — are drawn from four main streams of thought. Chronologically, these are as follow: the New Testament/monastic stream; the Reformed stream; the Marxist stream; and the Pentecostal/Charismatic stream.
Evolution
Authors: Rios Christopher M.
Published: January 2012

The most popular pre‐Darwinian theories of evolution came from Jean‐Baptiste Lamarck (1744–1829), a French naturalist who began publishing his transmutation theories in the first decade of the 19th century. Although Lamarck's ideas failed to attract significant attention during his life, scientists such as Etienne Geoffroy Saint‐Hilaire, Robert Chambers, Richard Owen, and Herbert Spencer advanced various forms of Lamarckian evolution during the middle and late 19th century. Evolution, however, attracted significant attention only after the publication of Charles Darwin's (1809–1882)
Origin of Species
in 1859
.
Darwin introduced the idea of natural selection as the primary mechanism of evolution, arguing that external forces rather than an innate predisposition for progress prompted transmutation.
Faith and Reason
Authors: Ganssle Gregory E.
Published: January 2012

The relation between faith and reason is thought to be a problem for Christian belief. The charge is that Christianity is a matter of faith in opposition to reason. It is, therefore, intellectually suspect. There are three basic ways to relate faith and reason. Faith can be given precedence, reason can be given precedence, or they can be brought together.
Fatherhood of
G
od
Authors: Lang David P.
Published: January 2012

The fatherhood of God can be understood in either of two senses: God considered in the unity of the divine nature as the creator of all finite beings, or God as the first person of the Trinity. The scriptural evidence for both of these senses will be discussed, after some relevant philosophical and theological points are addressed for each sense in turn.
Fellowship
Authors: Bigalke Ron J.
Published: January 2012

The New Testament uses several Greek word groups for fellowship. The root word iskoinos(“common”) and indicates the subjective sense of fellowship held in common by Christians. The primary word iskoinōneō(“to share with someone, to take part together”) and its cognates. The verbsmetechō(“to have together, to partake”) andmerizō(“to share”) stress the concept of spiritual partnership (cf. the parallel usage ofkoinōnia,metochē, andmerisin 2 Cor. 6:14–15). Several words have thesyn‐ (“with”) prefix since fellowship is always life “to share with” or “to have with” (in the sense of a partnership). Fellowship as the children of God is the consequence of regeneration (2 Cor. 5:17; 1 John 3:9), and is the practical expression of fellowship “with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:3, 6; cf. John 17:3). Christians are “partakers of a heavenly calling” and “partakers of Christ” (Heb. 3:1, 14); therefore, there is a community relationship that unites the church together in a spiritual partnership by God's grace and for his glory. The fellowship that regenerated Christians' experience is not limited to the present, but remains eternal and is consummated in heaven (Eph. 2:19–22; Rev. 21:1–4).
Fifteenth Century Christianity
Authors: Bigalke Ron J.
Published: January 2012

The expeditions of Marco Polo resulted in a new way of thinking in Europe that cannot be underestimated. The changes in Europe helped foster the Age of Exploration, as Europeans desired to find a direct sea route to the Far East for the purpose of trade. The medieval, feudal institutions were becoming destabilized. Whereas kings formerly relied upon the nobles, they were now becoming dependent upon the bourgeoisie and nation states to support them. The kings now hired armies and navies to maintain peace and order, which led to greater prosperity and the continual growth of nationalism. Society was becoming confident concerning the ability to ascertain answers to the mysteries of the world. The rebirth of learning, characterized by the Renaissance (c.1350–1650), truly changed the world. The decline of medieval society, therefore, was the result of the revival of learning and trade during the Renaissance. The Protestant Reformation would commence and challenge both the role and teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, which resulted in expansion of the civil role of the state and development of Protestant biblical theology. As the result of historical influences throughout the 15th century, the emergence of political national units significantly expanded during the 16th and 17th centuries. Feudal loyalty to a local lord of a manor was replaced with the idea of an enduring nation and identity with a group of people.
Filipino
C
hristianity
Authors: Roxborogh John
Published: January 2012

Through over 450 years the Philippines has developed as an Asian Christian civilization. Catholic and Protestant Christianity and international religious movements have interacted with primal spiritualities, ethnic and cultural diversity (there are over 80 identifiable groups and languages), and Islam. Shaped by Spanish and American colonialism and the hazards of postcolonial independence, Christianity plays a major role in a dynamic society. Filipinos defy secularization and wrestle with poverty and corruption. Whatever its problems, society is saturated with Christian language, symbolism, and story. Christianity is the religion by which the majority of the population defines itself.
F
inney,
C
harles
G
randison (1792–1875)
Authors: Knowles Brett
Published: January 2012

Charles Finney, Revivalist, began his highly successful evangelistic work in 1824 in upper New York State. His success was due largely to his unorthodox methods, known as “New Measures” revivalism, which contributed to changing religious perceptions in 19th century America. Earlier revivals were viewed (in Calvinist terms) as sovereign acts of God, which could not be predicted or produced — hence Jonathan Edwards' description of the beginnings of the Great Awakening (1735–1743) as “the surprising work of God.” However, by the time of the Second Great Awakening (1797–1835), an emphasis on the systematic promotion of revivals by human instrumentality was beginning to emerge. Finney exemplified — and did much to reinforce — this shift from “revivals” to “revival
ism
.”
F
ischer,
J
ohann
M
ichael (1692–1766)
Authors: Kurian George Thomas
Published: January 2012

German Baroque architect who built 32 churches and 22 abbeys. Exuberant rococo decoration was his signature style.
Flagellation
Authors: Oderberg David S.
Published: January 2012

Flagellation is the administration of pain by means of whips, rods, or other implements applied with violence to the back. One thinks immediately of the flagellation of Christ with the Roman flagellum, a short whip made of several leather thongs knotted with pieces of metal. It was nearly always used on prisoners before crucifixion, causing massive damage to the body and excruciating pain. In the case of Pilate it seems also that he was prepared to have Jesus chastised as a substitute for crucifixion, which the Jews did not accept as adequate punishment (Luke 23:13–24); whether this would have been a flagellation is unclear. The flagellation is graphically and accurately depicted in Mel Gibson's movie
The Passion of the Christ
.
Florensky,PavelAlexandrovich (1882–1937)
Authors: Foltz Bruce V.
Published: January 2012

Pavel Alexandrovich Florensky was one of Europe's greatest polymaths, and for this reason he is often compared to Leonardo, Pascal, and Leibniz. He is also likely to emerge as Russia's most important philosopher. Although not yet widely known in English‐speaking circles, his work is being read by an increasingly large and appreciative audience in the West, especially in Germany where hisCollected Worksare currently being translated in ten volumes. Of Russian and Armenian ancestry, Florensky grew up in the Caucasus Mountains where he developed a mystical affinity for nature that never left him, and which may be taken as a key to his writings, as he suggests in the posthumously published work,To My Children: Recollections of a Youth in the Caucasus(1992, in Russian). A brilliant mathematician, physicist, engineer, and inventor, while at the same time a distinguished linguist (who knew more than a dozen languages). art historian, theologian, and philosopher, Florensky graduated with the highest honors from Moscow University in 1904 with a thesis (“On the Peculiarities of Flat Curves as Places of Interrupted Discontinuity”) so extraordinary that he was immediately offered a position on the mathematics faculty. Instead, he chose to enter that same year the Moscow Theological Academy, from which he graduated in 1908, soon accepting a position at the Academy as senior lecturer in philosophy, his first position in what became an illustrious academic career. He was ordained an Orthodox priest in 1911, and insisted on wearing his cassock, cross, and cap while conducting his university lectures and scientific research, even throughout the period of the Stalinist purges. For this, and for his written work, he was arrested and first sent to the labor camps in Siberia in 1933, and eventually to the infamous Solovetsky Islands Gulag on the White Sea, where despite his captivity, he conducted scientific research on the production of agar and iodine from seaweed, while ministering to his fellow prisoners. He was murdered by the KGB in 1937, probably on December 8 at Toksovo, near St. Petersburg, where he was secretly buried in a mass grave, a loss lamented in Solzhenitsyn'sGulag Archipelago.
Forgiveness
Authors: Kurian George Thomas
Published: January 2012

Forgiveness is one of the defining concepts of Christian theology and forms the heart of the Christian message. It is part of a constellation of ideas that serve as road markers in a Christian's life journey. These concepts include: reconciliation, absolution, mercy, justice, repentance, grace, and confession and remission of sins; and their antonyms: transgression, sin, and guilt.
Fourteenth Century
C
hristianity
Authors: Nieuwenhove Rik Van
Published: January 2012

It is a matter for debate whether the 14th century is a period of decline and stagnation, a period of fermentation and burgeoning renewal ultimately leading to the Renaissance and the Modern way, or both. It seems clear that in those regions where early capitalism had made its most incisive inroads we find both the harvest of the old and the beginnings of a new era (northern Italy, Flanders and Rhineland, northern France).
F
ox,
G
eorge (1624–1691)
Authors: Hill Bracy V.
Published: January 2012

George Fox was a British Seeker, religious reformer, and founder of Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Born in Fenny Drayton, Leicestershire, the son of Christopher Fox, a weaver and churchwarden, Fox was reared in a devout Puritan home and his parents were influential in his spiritual formation. He was trained in country business and enjoyed rural life, but became aware of perceived inconsistency and hypocrisy in the lives of observed “Christians.” Fox went on a spiritual journey in 1643, characterized by solitary wandering throughout England, and through various movements, including Baptists, Seekers, Levellers, and Ranters. In 1647, overcome by despair that he could find no resource to guide him to consistent spiritual truth, Fox had a mystical experience of the love of God. Buoyed by his experience outside of any institutionalized authority, Fox spread the message that practices, doctrines, and traditions had separated people from the truth. The truth, which brought a changed life, was personal, immediate, and unmediated in the Inner Light of Christ.
F
rancis of Assisi,
St
. (1181/2–1226)
Authors: Kurian George Thomas
Published: January 2012

The founder of the Franciscan Order, Francis was born in Assisi, the son of a wealthy cloth merchant, and joined his family business. In 1202, in the Battle of Collestrada between Assisi and Perugia, he was taken prisoner. On his return home, he found himself disillusioned with life after a long illness and increasingly drawn to a life of penance and prayer. On a pilgrimage to Rome, he was moved to compassion by the beggars outside St. Peter's; he gave his possessions to one of them and as a result had to beg for alms. Returning to Assisi he broke with his old companions and his father. He overcame the fear of disease by embracing lepers, and began spending his resources in repairing churches, beginning with St. Damiano. One morning in 1208 while attending mass in the Church at Portiuncula in the plain below Assisi, he had a vision in which he was called to renounce everything and follow the Lord as commanded in Matthew 10:7–19. He discarded his shoes and staff, put on long, dark raiment girded with a cord and entered into his lifelong ministry. He renounced his patrimony in a dramatic scene before the Bishop of Assisi. Soon he gathered a band of people and began preaching publicly. Within a year he had 12 brothers and he wrote down a brief statement that would serve as their Rule, known as
Regula Primitiva
. Francis journeyed to Rome and secured the approval of Pope Innocent II for his group, now known as Lesser Brothers or Friars Minor. With the rural chapel of Portiuncula as their headquarters, they spread out in small bands through central Italy devoting themselves to contemplative prayers even while working as laborers and preaching. In 1212 Clare, a young aristocratic Assisian, joined the movement and with several other companions founded the community called the Poor Ladies of San Damiano. Around the same time, Francis founded his Third Order, known as Brothers and Sisters of the Penance. Francis' ministry soon spread beyond the borders of Italy. In 1215 he was at the Fourth Lateran Council and obtained from Pope Honorius III the Portiuncula Indulgence giving special dispensation for his Order. In the same year he sent missions beyond the Alps and even to the Middle East, then under the grip of the Muslims. Francis was in Egypt in 1219 where the Crusaders were mounting an attack on the Muslim forces of Sultan Al‐Kamil. He was present at the siege of Damietta and engaged the sultan in a discussion but was unable to convert him. He returned to Italy where he was faced with serious dissensions in the Franciscan Order. Francis resigned the day‐to‐day administration of the order and placed Cardinale Ugolino da Segni, the future Gregory XI, at its head. In 1223 Francis obtained papal approval for codifying his Rule known as
Regula Prima
into
Regula Bullata
, the first rule to receive papal sanction. Under the new Rule, Francis resigned as minister general of the order but remained its spiritual head. Also in 1223 Francis created the first Christmas crib in history when celebrating Christmas at the hermitage in Greccio.
Franciscans
Authors: McAlhaney Timothy M.
Published: January 2012

This reform movement was founded by Francis of Assisi (1181/82–1226) in 1209 following papal approval. Francis had, however, begun his movement three years earlier when he withdrew from society to live a life of solitude and poverty. Eventually a group of like‐minded individuals congregated, leading to formal organization. In reality three orders formed from the vision of Francis: the first order known as Friars Minor (Ordo Fratrum Minorum — Order of Lesser Brothers), a second order founded by Clare of Assisi (d. 1253) known as the Poor Clares, and a third order for laypersons known as the Brothers and Sisters of Penance.
Free Will
Authors: Emerick Christopher C.
Published: January 2012

It seems intuitive that human beings are free and that this freedom supports responsibility. But in exactly what sense humans are free remains contentiously debatable. In the history of the debate, there have emerged essentially two options: the liberty of spontaneity and the liberty of indifference. The liberty of spontaneity maintains that humans make choices and engage in actions consistent with human character or nature, which results from antecedent factors and conditions largely outside of one's control. In short, humans choose various courses of action because they
want
to do so. The liberty of indifference holds that agents may have chosen differently under the same set of circumstances. That is, no antecedent conditions and causal laws determine an agent's choices and actions.
Freedom
Authors: Ziegler Geoffrey
Published: January 2012

While the Christian understanding of freedom has had relevant implications for political theory, its primary emphasis has been upon the individual's relationship to God and sin. Beginning with the Bible, this essay seeks to trace how this concept has been understood over the course of church history.
Fruit of the Spirit
Authors: Spiegel James S.
Published: January 2012

The “fruit of the Spirit” is traits of Christian character which serve as outward signs of grace. Nine of these are listed by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:22–23: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self‐control. These qualities are essentially moral virtues, which Paul contrasts with the “acts of the sinful nature,” viz. impurity, debauchery, idolatry, hatred, discord, jealousy, selfish ambition, envy, etc. (Gal. 5:19–21). Persons who display such vices, says Paul, “will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal. 5:21), while those who exhibit the fruit of the Spirit “will reap eternal life” (Gal. 6:8).
F
austina,
M
aria (1905–1938)
Authors: Praetorius Regina T.
Published: January 2012

St. Maria Faustina Kowalska, commonly known as an apostle of the Divine Mercy, was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 2000, making her one of the first saints of the new millennium. Though her life was a short 33 years lived entirely in her native Poland, her impact on Christianity is widespread. Born Helena Kowalska, she entered a Polish convent in 1925 and received the name Maria Faustina. While in the convent, between 1931 and 1938, St. Faustina received numerous apparitions of the resurrected Christ. Acquiescing to Christ's request, she was his secretary and reluctantly recorded his messages in her diary. Her reluctance can be attributed to her concern for recording the message perfectly; St. Faustina was of a poor family and had only three years of formal education. Yet, when reviewed by the Catholic Church for her canonization, all of the information in the
Diary
was found to be congruent with church doctrine. This diary,
The Diary of St. Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul
, is now available in numerous languages.
F
uller,
C
harles
E
dward (1887–1968)
Authors: Streett R. Alan
Published: January 2012

Charles Edward Fuller, Baptist evangelist and radio broadcaster who founded Fuller Theological Seminary (Pasadena, CA), was born on April 25, 1887, the fourth and last son of Henry and Helen Day Fuller, prosperous owners of a furniture store and fruit orchard in Los Angeles. Charles grew up in privilege. Both parents were strong Christians and had set up a trust fund to support overseas missionaries. After graduating
magna cum laude
from Pomona College in 1910 with a bachelor's degree in chemistry, he married Grace Leone Payton, the daughter of a prominent physician. A year later she was converted. Charles headed to northern California to dredge for gold, a business his father heavily underwrote. After a near‐death experience while panning for gold, Charles promised to live for God. He and Grace moved to Placentia and began a fruit‐packing business. With their profits they bought a ten acre orange orchard, a purchase that would eventually make them wealthy when oil was discovered on the property. They also joined the Placentia Presbyterian Church. Despite his promise to serve God, Charles rarely attended Bible study. In 1914 the couple lost a child at birth, and the following year Grace was infected with tuberculosis. She returned home to her parents, who for the next two years nursed her back to health.
Fundamental Theology
Authors: Bain‐Conkin Jeffrey L.
Published: January 2012

Not to be confused with fundamentalism, which is a movement in several faith traditions, fundamental theology is a Catholic intellectual and public tradition. It delves deeply into both the form and content of theology. In other words, some scholars have called it a “pre‐theology.” This theological position argues for the rationality of several “fundamental” truths: God's existence, God's revelation, the biblical Christ event. (Exploring the foundations of Christianity, sometimes this theology is called “foundational theology.”)
Gertrude ofHelfta,Saint (1256–c.1301/1302)
Authors: Harrison Anna
Published: January 2012

Gertrude of Helfta was a nun at the noble monastery at Helfta in Saxony, located in the diocese of Halberstadt. Although not formally incorporated into the Cistercian Order, the convent appears to have been one of many women's houses that followed some Cistercian customs, tailoring them to their particular needs and circumstances. Gertrude entered Helfta at the age of 5; we know nothing about her family or the circumstances of her entry. Raised in a bookish environment, Gertrude had a precocious intellectual appetite and was a disciplined student of the liberal arts. She was a young woman when she received her first vision, that of a beautiful adolescent she recognized as her Lord. She began, thereafter, to be regularly privy to revelations suffused with vivid imagery and dense with spiritual teachings.
G
ladstone,
W
illiam (1809–1898)
Authors: Ringenberg William C.
Published: January 2012

William Ewart Gladstone (1809–1898) was a British statesman and reformer. Few 19th century western political leaders exercised as much influence, while so deeply motivated by religious faith.
Gnosticism
Authors: Smith Jay E.
Published: January 2012

Gnosticism is the modern term used to designate a variety of religious movements more or less contemporary with early Christianity. These movements emphasized salvation through a secret, transcendent gnosis (Greekgnōsis, knowledge) of one's nature and origin. Such knowledge was thought to have salvific power, freeing the soul from the evil, material world and the cosmic forces that ruled it.
G
onzalez,
J
usto
L
uis (
b
. 1937)
Authors: García Alberto L.
Published: January 2012

Justo Luis Gonzalez was born on August 9, 1937 in Havana, Cuba. He is an ordained Methodist minister, prolific author, and one of the fathers of US Hispanic theology. His parents Justo Bernandino (a minister, professor, and author) and Luisa née García (a professor of Spanish literature, minister, and author) worked in literacy projects throughout Latin America and founded Alfalit, a faith‐based nonprofit organization, that provides programs in literacy and basic education to the most needy of the world. He is married to Catherine née Gunzalus, who is also a church historian, and has co‐authored a number of publications with him. Gonzalez is a world renowned church historian and his work
A History of Christian Thought
(1970) is a standard text in most theological schools in the US. This work is in tune with global themes beyond a western reading of history. He is considered one of the fathers of Latino/Hispanic theology in the US because of his innumerable contributions. He has written ground breaking theological and pastoral works to support themission of the church among US Hispanics. He founded and served as editor of
Apuntes
, a journal dedicated to Hispanic theology. Gonzalez has contributed to Hispanic/Latino theological education and the formation of leaders through his guidance in founding the Association for Hispanic Theological Education (AETH), the Hispanic Theological Initiative (HTI), and the Hispanic Summer Program, sponsored by over 40 graduate theological schools in the US.
Good Friday
Authors: Neal Ryan A.
Published: January 2012

The importance of Good Friday for Christianity is summed up with exacting brevity in the second article of the Apostles' Creed: Jesus Christ “suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and was buried” (Traditional English Version). Divided into four elements, these ten words capture the vital core of Good Friday, by 1) affirming the reality of Jesus' suffering; 2) situating it in historical context by connection with a political figure; 3) verifying the cause, manner, and certainty of death; and 4) asserting Jesus' burial (which is relevant primarily for resurrection claims, which presuppose the crucifixion).
G
raham,
B
illy (
b
. 1918)
Authors: Williams Will
Published: January 2012

Evangelist and Southern Baptist minister, William Franklin “Billy” Graham has preached in person to more people than anyone else in history. Born near Charlotte, North Carolina, Graham enjoyed a rural childhood on a dairy farm, with his religious interests developing only after his conversion at a 1934 revival led by Mordecai Ham. In 1939 he became an ordained Southern Baptist minister. He graduated from Florida Bible Institute and later Wheaton College, marrying fellow Wheaton student Ruth McCue Bell, the daughter of medical missionaries to China.
G
rief and Mourning
Authors: Shields Candace C.
Published: January 2012

Grief and mourning are words that are often used simultaneously to express how an individual confronts bereavement after a loss in their life. However, while grief and mourning are often used interchangeably, there are subtle differences in the meanings of the two words. These differences allow for leverage in the individual's ability to relate to the loss. Contrary to popular belief, grieving and mourning do not just occur in people's lives with the death of a loved one, friend or associate. There are many types of losses that people face every day of their lives. Because of these losses, grief and mourning occur whenever an individual experiences a loss of any dimension. The intensity of the loss, however, accounts for how an individual will grieve and mourn. What makes the difference in grief and mourning is the process an individual must go through to bring resolution. Often there is no resolution, but an acceptance on the part of the individual that what happened was inevitable. There is no time limit as to how long it will take to reach the acceptance stage. Each person must grieve and mourn the loss in a way that helps them to be able to be a part of life again.
G
roote,
G
erard (1340–1384)
Authors: Jensen Paul
Published: January 2012

Gerard Groote was the Dutch founder of a late medieval renewal movement called the
Devotio Moderna
or New Devotion, which spread around Northern Europe after his death; on this all scholars agree. By the time of his death, he had firmly established two of the movement's three branches — the Brothers and the Sisters of the Common Life. Groote was born into a family of wealthy cloth merchants in the town of Deventer on the Ijssel River in the diocese of Utrecht. His father, who also served as town treasurer, and his mother both died from the plague in 1350, when Groote was 10. Nearly a decade later, Deventer's record keeping changed from Latin to Middle Dutch. Had Groote followed his father vocationally, he would have kept the city's records in the vernacular language. Instead, as founder of the New Devotion, he translated and wrote spiritual texts in Middle Dutch so laity could access them for meditation in their heart language.
G
rünewald,
M
athis (1470/75–1528)
Authors: Kurian George Thomas
Published: January 2012

Austrian painter Mathis (or Matthias) Neithardt Grünewald worked for the Archbishop of Mainz although he had strong Protestant sympathies. He is considered the greatest German artist after Dürer.
G
uarini,
G
uarino (1624–1683)
Authors: Kurian George Thomas
Published: January 2012

Guarini was the most innovative Italian Baroque architect of the 17th century. His two books,
Architettura Civile
and
Architettura Ecclesiastica
, make him a major influence on Baroque architecture.
G
utiérrez
M
erino,
G
ustavo (b. 1928)
Authors: García Alberto L.
Published: January 2012

Born on June 8, 1928 in Lima, Peru, to a humble mestizo urban family. He is part Hispanic and part Quechuan Indian. He has distinguished himself for his pastoral action and theological reflection on behalf of the poor in Latin America. He is regarded as the founder of Latin American Liberation theology, although he hides away from this recognition since he believes that a theology of liberation is born in the action (praxis) and reflection from the living experience of the people in response to injustice and poverty.
H
ahn,
S
cott
W
alker (b. 1957)
Authors: Morrow Jeffrey L.
Published: January 2012

Scott Walker Hahn was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, in 1957. He became an evangelical Protestant Christian while in high school, and was involved in the parachurch movement Young Life. He earned a B.A. (1979) from Grove City College, where he triple majored in theology, philosophy, and economics. He then earned an M.Div. (1982) from Gordon‐Conwell Theological Seminary, and finally completed his Ph.D. (1995) in theology at Marquette University. After studying at Gordon‐Conwell, he became a Presbyterian minister and served as associate pastor in Virginia. During the same period he taught theology, philosophy, and economics at a Christian high school, and taught seminary courses as an assistant professor. Hahn became a high profile intellectual convert to Catholicism when in 1986 he entered the Catholic Church. He currently teaches theology at both Franciscan University of Steubenville, where he is professor of theology and scripture, and at St. Vincent Seminary, where he is The Pope Benedict XVI Chair of Biblical Theology and Liturgical Proclamation. Hahn and his wife Kimberly have six children and currently reside in Steubenville, Ohio. Hahn is also the president and founder of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, which hosts a popular website for the study of the Bible and theology (
www.salvationhistory.com
). Hahn has published 28 books, including nine brief Scripture commentaries through the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible Series (Ignatius Press). His
Rome Sweet Home
(1993), which was co‐authored with his wife Kimberly and details their conversion to Catholicism, is a bestseller. He has also published widely in lay Catholic periodicals, and has produced numerous CDs containing both popular and academic theology lectures. He has become one of the most popular lay Catholic writers.
Hauerwas,Stanley (b. 1940)
Authors: Ashford Bruce Riley
Published: January 2012

Stanley Hauerwas, theologian and ethicist, born July 24, 1940 in Pleasant Grove, Texas, is one of the most prominent theologians at the turn of the 21st century. He is often identified, along with George Lindbeck and Hans Frei, as a postliberal theologian and is best known for his revival of virtue theory in ethics, his nonfoundational theology, and for his stance of “Christian nonviolence.” The publication ofA Community of Character(1981) pushed him to the forefront of American theology, while the torrent of essays and books that followed has secured his prominence in the field. Among the more noted and influential books areThe Peaceable Kingdom,Resident Aliens, andWith the Grain of the Universe.