All General Terms, Christology, and Pneumatology

Dr. McKinion

christology

the study of Christ

doctrine

what the whole Bible teaches us today about some particular topic

ecclesiology

the study of the church

eschatology

the study of last things

heresy

a teaching that should be rejected because it is contrary to Scripture

metanarrative

"an overarching, all-embracing story of humankind into which all the more particular narratives fit"; "... the biblical narrative functions in Christian teaching as the central metanarrative." (Grenz, Guretzki, Nordling, 77)

orthodoxy

"right praise" or "right belief"; used to refer to that which is consistent with the tenets of the Christian faith as informed by Scripture and testified to in the creeds and liturgy of the church

pneumatology

the study of the Holy Spirit

revelation

the act of God wherein he has revealed himself to humanity; generally referred to under the categories of general and special revelation

soteriology

the study of salvation

adoptionism

the belief that Jesus was born human and was made God's Son later in life

advent

"coming to" or "arrival"; used to refer to the coming of Christ at his first advent as well as the expectation of his coming in a second advent

Apollinarianism

the belief that the one person of Christ had a human body but not a human mind or spirit, and that the mind and spirit of Christ were from the divine nature of the Son of God

Arianism

the erroneous doctrine that denies the full deity of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit

ascension

the rising of Jesus from the earth into heaven 40 days after his resurrection

Athanasius

(c. 296-373); "An early church apologist, theologian and bishop of Alexandria. Anthanasius's greatest contribution to Christian theology was his uncompromising stance against the popular Arian teaching of his day." (Grenz, Guretzki, Nordling, 17)

Cappadocian fathers

"A group of theologians writing between the Council of Nicaea (a.d. 325) and the Council of Constantinople (a.d. 381)." (Grenz, Guretzki, Nordling, 24); included Basil of Caesarea, Gregory of Nyssa, and Gregory of Nazianzus; trinitarian formula: "three persons in one essence"

Chalcedonian Formula/Definition

The statement—formed by the council that met in AD 451 in Chalcedon—that guarded against Apollinarianism, Nestorianism, and Eutychianism. It is recognized as the orthodox view of the biblical teaching on the person of Christ.

creed

Derived from the Latin credo (I believe), a creed is a summary statement of Christian faith and belief." (Grenz, Guretzki, Nordling, 33)

docetism

the teaching that Jesus was not really a man, but only seemed to be one (from the Greek dokeō "to seem")

economic trinity

"Refers to the manifestations of the three persons of the Trinity in relationship to the world, particularly in regard to the outworking of God's plan (economy) of salvation." (Grenz, Guretzki, Nordling, 42)

eternal generation of the Son

used to describe the relationship between the Father and the Son, wherein the Father is said to "beget" the Son eternally; speaks to the Son's relationship to the Father, not to his origin

Eutychianism

the belief held by Eutyches that the human nature of Christ was taken up and absorbed into the divine nature, resulting in a third kind of nature (→ monophysitism)

Gnosticism

from the Greek word meaning "knowledge," this term refers to a broad religious group prevalent in the 2nd-century A.D.; "Gnostics believed that devotees had gained a special kind of spiritual enlightenment, through which they had attained a secret or higher level of knowledge not accessible to the uninitiated. Gnostics also tended to emphasize the spiritual realm over the material, often claiming that the material relam is evil and hence to be escapted." (Grenz, Guretzki, Nordling, 56)

homoiousios

Greek word meaning "of a similar nature"; used by Arius to affirm that Christ was a supernatural heavenly being but not of the same nature as God the Father

homoousios

Greek word meaning "of the same nature"; included in the Nicene Creed to teach that Christ was of the exact same nature as God the Father and therefore was fully divine as well as fully human

hypostatic union

the doctrine that the humanity and divinity of Jesus Christ was brought together in such a way that he is both fully divine and fully human

immaculate conception

Roman Catholic doctrine that Mary was not tainted by original sin, in order that she might give birth to Jesus

immanent trinity

"The term used to explore and, to an inadequate degree, explain the internal workings and relationships among the three persons of the Trinity. ... Thus the immanent Trinity is God-as-God-is throughout eternity." (Grenz, Guretzki, Nordling, 63)

impeccability

the doctrine that Christ was not able to sin

incarnation

the act of God the Son whereby he took to himself a human nature

kenosis theory

the erroneous idea that Christ gave up some of his divine attributes while he was on earth as a man; comes from the Greek meaning "to empty"

Marcionism

teaching (originating in Marcion in the 2nd-century) that the God of the OT and the God of the NT are incompatible; therefore, there was a rejection of the OT

monophysitism

the belief that Christ had one nature only (→ Eutychianism)

Nestorianism

the belief that there were two separate persons in Christ, a human person and a divine person

Nicene Creed

the theological confession coming out of the Council of Nicaea (a.d. 325); teaches that the Son is of one substance with the Father; note that the Creed cited by churches today is usually the revised version coming out of the Council of Constantinople (a.d. 381)

Origen

(a.d. 185-254); theologian and scholar of the early Greek church; defended the orthodox faith; later declared a heretic in a.d. 553 by the Second Council of Constantinople

ousia

"substance" or "being" (Grk.); according to the Cappadocian fathers, God was one ousia but three hypostaseis

procession

a term used in trinitarian discussions to articulate how the Son and the Spirit are related to the Father; "generation" or "filiation" is used of the Son; "spiration" is used of the Spirit

resurrection

a rising from the dead into a new kind of life not subject to sickness, aging, deterioration, or death

session

the "sitting down" of Christ at God's right hand after his ascension

subordinationism

the heretical teaching that the Son was inferior in being to God the Father; also called "ontological subordination" in distinction from "economic subordinationism"

cessationist

someone who thinks that certain miraculous spiritual gifts ceased when the apostles died and Scripture was complete

filioque

"and the Son" (Lat.)

internal testimony

the work of the Spirit to bring about human confidence in the truthfulness of Scripture and its message of salvation

pneumatology

the study of the Holy Spirit

spiration

literally "breathing"; the term used to describe the way that the Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son [see "procession" under Christological terms]