Systematic 1 Terms

Christology

The study of the person and work of Jesus Christ

Prolegomena

Literally “to say beforehand.” Those things that come before the main body of a work, preparing the way for the key topics

Pneumatology

Theological doctrine of the Holy Spirit

Anthropology

The doctrine of humanity, which views humans in terms of their relationships to God. It includes critical reflection on issues such as the origin, purpose, and destiny of humankind in light of Christian theological understandings

Eschatology

Study of the “last things” or the end of the world

angelology

The study of the doctrine of angels

Soteriology

The doctrine of salvation

Theology proper

The theological study of the doctrine of God

Hamartiology

The study of the doctrine of sin

Ecclesiology

The study of the church as a biblical and theological topic

Bibliology

The teachings of churches about the nature of the Bible and ways in which it is to be understood

Demonology

The study of the doctrine of demons

Liberalism

A theological movement stemming from F. D. E. Shleiermacher that sought to reformulate Christian doctrine in contemporary terms. It emphasized the use of reason, science, freedom, and experience while focusing on human goodness, progress, and the continuities between the divine and human

Modernism

A theological movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries among Protestants and Roman Catholics who sought to interpret Christianity in light of modern knowldge

Dogmatic theology

Theological reflection on the beliefs of the Christian community, primarily though not exclusively through the study of Christian creeds and confessions of faith

Fundamentalism

Evangelicalism in 20th-century America that sought to preserve conservative Protestant views and values against liberal theology and the higher criticism of Scripture; a strong focus on the inerrancy and literal interpretation of Scripture

Historical theology

The study of the views of theologians, and of the Christian church, in their historical contexts

Christian theology

The body of beliefs and doctrines that constitute the Christian faith. Theology has been understood as faith seeking understanding and the critical reflection on God’s revelation

Philosophical theology

The approach to theology that employs the methods, terms, and resources of philosophy for theological work

Systematic theology

The branch of Christian theology that attempts to present theological thinking and practice in an orderly and coherent way. It may be based on Scripture and expressed through doctrines

Biblical theology

The attempt to arrange biblical teachings of themes in a more systematic way while maintaining biblical images, frameworks and worldviews

Liberation theology

Various 20th-century theological movements that see the gospel as emancipation from all forms of oppression— economic, spiritual, political, and social

Dispensationalism

A view of God’s activities in history expounded in the Scofield Reference Bible and traced to John Nelson Darby. Each epoch is a different period in which humans are tested in responding to God’s will

Covenant theology

A theological perspective most developed by 17th-century Reformed theologians. It focuses on the ways in which the divine-human relationship has been established by covenants. These include God’s covenant of grace and works, though the latter is not recognized by all Reformed theologians.

Revelation

An act of self-disclosure and self-communication

Authority

The power or right to command belief, action, and obedience

Authority of Scripture

The conviction that the writings of the OT and NT have a unique status in being and/or conveying God’s self-revelation. They are thus to be recognized as such and obeyed as reliable guides for Christian living

Natural theology

Knowledge of God attained through God’s revelation in nature and available to human reason

General revelation

God’s self-disclosure and self-communication in the universe and created world

Biblicism

An unquestioning allegiance to the Bible and one’s own understanding of it

Anthropomorphism

The attribution of a human quality to God, such as “eyes,” “hands,” or “arms.” It uses analogous and metaphorical language

Creed

A formal statement of belief. Christian churches from the early church period to the present have often constructed summary statements of Christian beliefs

Word of God

God’s self-revelation as the incarnate Son, the Holy Scripture, and through preaching

Traditional

The transmission of a received teaching or practice

Orthodoxy

That which is considered correct or proper belief

Special revelation

God’s particular self-disclosure and self-communication at specific times and places and to particular people

Scripture

A writing regarded as sacred. In the Christian tradition, the OT and NT are considered such in that they are, or convey, the self-revelation of God. The term may refer to a single verse or the whole Bible

Fideism

The view that faith rather than reason is the means by which Christian truth is known

Analogy

The use of likeness or proportionateness to relate one known thing to another that is unknown

Univocity

A view of language in which names are seen as having the same meaning throughout their uses. Also the exact application of a name or term to two different things

Sense of divinity

An innate, intuitive perception in all people of the existence of the divine; it forms the basis for all religion and a natural theology

Cosmological argument

Argument for God’s existence that proposes that since all things in the universe must have a cause, God must exist as the ultimate cause of all things

Negative theology

A way of speaking about God that takes human characteristics and describes God in terms of their opposites

Teleological argument

One of the five arguments for God formulated by Thomas Aquinas. The order of the universe is said to imply a designer who has shaped the universe to fulfill divine purposes as a final goal

Atheism

Denial of the existence and reality of a god

Incomprehensibility

God’s greatness as exceeding all human capabilities ever to understand God fully

Moral

An argument for the existence of God based on the view that there must be an ultimate explanations for why there are ethical values and a concern for ethical activity

A posteriori

Thought or knowledge that is based on, or arises after, experience

Agnosticism

The view that it is not possible to have any certain knowledge beyond ordinary experience, so that one cannot know whether or not God exists

Ontological argument

One of the classic arguments for the existence of God based on the powers of reason. As developed by Anselm, it considers God to be “that than which nothing greater can be conceived.” As such, God must exist because to lack existence would be a defect

Cataphatic theology

A mode of theology used to describe God positively on the basis of the divine self revelation

A priori

Thought or knowledge arising from a concept or principle that precedes empirical verification, or that occurs independently of experience

Eternal generation

The relation of the Son to the Father in the Godhead, with the Son being eternally begotten by and from the Father

Tritheism

Belief in three separate and individual gods. Some early formulations by Christian theologians were considered to move in this direction

Binitarianism

The view that the Godhead consists of only the Father and Son. It was prevalent in the early church among Monarchians, some Arians, and the Pneumatomachians

Filioque

Phrase inserted into the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed at the Council of Toledo to say that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son in the Trinity

Modalism

A view of the Trinity considered by the early church as heretical. It was believed that the one God was revealed at different times in different ways and thus has three manners of appearance rather than being one God in three persons

Trinity

The three persons of the Trinity in themselves, sharing the divine essence

Unitarianism

The belief that God is one. It contrasts with Trinitarianism, which holds that God is one God in three persons. The modern religious movement arose from the liberal theologies of Faustus Socinus (1539-1604)

Subordinationism

The view that the nature and status of Jesus Christ is less than that of the Father, or that the Holy Spirit is inferior to the Father and the Son

Perichoresis

A term used in the theology of the Trinity to indicate the intimate union, mutual indwelling, or mutual interpenetration of the three members of the Trinity with each other. Also used for the relation of the two natures of Christ

Relations in the Trinity

In the doctrine of the Trinity, the relations of the three persons to one another; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

Economic Trinity

A view of the Godhead that stresses the functions or work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit rather than their eternal being in relation to each other

Trinitarian Functions

The differing works of the three persons of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In classical theology, the work of one member of the Trinity is also considered to be the work of the whole Trinity

Person

Bioethius defined this idea as “an individual substance of a rational nature.” Contemporary theologians emphasize the relational aspect of this concept

Hypostasis

The objective essence of something. Biblically, the term is used for confidence or assurance. Theologically, it was used in the early church for the three persons of the Godhead, each as an individual reality

Omnipotence

God’s ability to do all things that do not conflict with the divine will or knowledge. God’s power is limited only by God’s own nature and not by any external force

Transcendence of God

God as being over and beyond the created order and superior to it in every way

Holiness of God

God’s separateness from all creation as well as the divine purity and goodness in God’s being and willing

Attributes of God

Divine qualities with no corresponding attribute in humans, such as perfection, omnipotence, and omniscience

Infinity of God

The limitlessness of the divine essence so that God is superior in all ways to all things

Impassibility of God

The traditional theological view that God does not change and that is not affected by actions that take place in the world, particularly in terms of experiencing suffering or pain. It emphasizes that God is active, rather than passive or acted upon by other agents

Mercy of God

God’s grace and compassion toward sinful creatures and special care for those in need

Immanence of God

God’s presence and ongoing actions within the created order

Integrity of God

The aspects of God’s truthfulness that include God’s being true, telling the truth, and proving to be true

Omnipresence of God

God as infinite spirit being everywhere present in the cosmos

Communicable attributes of God

Divine characteristics considered to have corresponding characteristics in humans beings

Simplicity of God

God is absolutely ultimate and perfect by being completely free from all composite parts. All the attributes of God do not become added together to form God; rather, God’s attributes are identical with God’s essence and constitute God’s oneness

Immutability of God

God’s freedom from all change, understood emphasize God’s changeless perfection and divine constancy

Omniscience of God

God as knowing all things, all events, and all circumstances in a way that is perfect and immediate

Aseity of God

The view that God is entirely self-sufficient and not dependent upon anything else