Theological Vocabulary

Accommodation

the idea that God adapts revelation so that it can be grasped by finite creatures

Actual sin

an act contrary to the will and law of God

Adoptionism

the heretical view that Jesus was a human being “adopted” by God and elevated to divine sonship at some point in his life

Analogy

a likeness or similarity; used to speak of an “analogy of being” to show similarity and difference between God and creatures

apostolic succession

for many Protestants, a reference to the church’s faithful transmission of the Gospel message that has its origin in the apostles; for those of episcopal polity, a legitimate ordination to church office by bishops who stand in historical succession with the apostles

Doctrine of appropriations

ascribing a particular attribute or act to one of the persons of the Trinity, even though all attributes and acts of the triune God are indivisible and cannot be assigned exclusively to one of the persons

Arianism

the heretical Christological position that Jesus Christ was created by God (and therefore less than God or only partly divine)

aseity

from Latin, “from himself”; used in classical theology to describe God’s self-existence or underived being

Canon

from Greek, “rule” or “standard”; used to attest to the authority of biblical writings

Chalcedon

The fourth ecumenical council of the church (451 AD), which declared Jesus Christ to be truly God and truly human, existing in two natures united in one person

Council of Trent

Sixteenth-century Counter-Reformation council of the Western Roman Catholic Church, which addressed matters of doctrine and practice that needed reform.

Creation ex nihilo

from Latin, “creation out of nothing”; affirms that all that exists is the result of the sovereign, free love of God; the world is not part of God’s being

Dualism

philosophical view that reality is made up of two fundamental, irreducible substances or principles

Economic Trinity

refers to the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as related to the world and evident in the ‘economy’ of salvation

Ecotheology

a field of constructive theology that examines how human religious and spiritual worldviews connect to environmental degradation, sustainability, and the protection of nature

Election

The teaching that God sovereignly chooses certain individuals or groups for salvation and eternal life before the creation of the world

Filioque

from Latin, and from the Son”; added to the Western text of the Nicene Creed in the sixth century, altering the creed to affirm that the Spirit proceeds “from the Father and from the Son.” A major factor in the Great Schism of 1054 AD

Folk theology

a theology that is unreflective and relies on traditions, myths, or other unreflected beliefs

General revelation

general truths that can be known about God through nature, as with reason or by observing beauty; associated with ‘natural theology’

gospel

The “good news” of salvation through the free and unmerited grace of God in Jesus Christ

heresy

from Greek, “faction” or “sect”; Christians believe heresy is teaching that conflicts with the central message of Scripture and primary doctrines of the church

Hierarchical dualism

an unbiblical worldview that divides reality into higher, spiritual realms and lower, physical realms, viewing the material world as inferior or evil

holism

an integrated approach to faith and life that sees the human person, society, and creation as interconnected wholes rather than separate, compartmentalized parts

Holistic dualism

a Christian theological view that humans are an integrated unity of both a material body and an immaterial soul, which can still temporarily exist apart from each other after death

Homoousios

The crucial Greek term used in the Nicene Creed (325 AD) to affirm that Jesus Christ the Son of God is “of one substance” with God the Father and hence truly and fully divine

Hypostastis

from Greek to distinguish the personal distinctions within the one being (ousia) of the triune God (not a ‘person’ in the modern sense of autonomy and independence)

Image of God

Imago dei, that has been used to refer to the particular gift to humans such as self-consciousness, reason, freedom, etc.

Immanence

from Latin, “remaining within” or “indwelling”; God’s nearness and indwelling of all created beings.

Immanent Trinity

Refers to the internal life and relationships of the triune God in which there is an eternal begetting of the Son by the Father and an eternal breathing forth of the Spirit by the Father and the Son

Immutability

Literally, the capacity to be “unchanging” or “changeless”; unlike creatures subject to change and corruptibility

Impassibility

one of the attributes of God in classical theology; meaning “immunity to suffering” and unable to change

Individual/structural sin

A deliberate, conscious choice by a person to break God's moral law or act selfishly against God and neighbor vs. the accumulation of many personal, individual sins in a wider society (e.g. financially, politically, etc.)

Inerrancy

The property of being “incapable of error,” extending beyond doctrine and practice to matters of history (as in the Gospels)

Infallibility

the property of being “incapable of error,” especially with regard to matters of faith and life (doctrine and practice)

Kalam Argument

an argument for the existence of God, stating (1) Whatever begins to exist has a cause; (2) The universe began to exist, (3) therefore, the universe has a cause

Lay theology

a theology that begins to reflect on faith and practice, moving away from legends, myths, and unreflective traditions

Materialism

a theological and philosophical view that humans are entirely physical organisms and that bodily resurrection is essential for life after death

Method of correlation

associated with Paul Tillich, it connects existential questions arising out of the particular human situation with answers contained in the Christian message

Modalism

an interpretation of trinitarian doctrine in which Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not three distinct, eternal divine persons (as in orthodox trinitarianism) but simply roles or ‘modes’ of activity of the one, undifferentiated being of God

Montanist controversy

a second-century charismatic Christian movement that emphasized new prophetic revelations, ecstatic utterances, and strict moral asceticism

Moral evil

evil caused by human actions (e.g. murder)

Natural evil

evil caused by natural disasters (e.g. earthquakes) that challenge how an all-powerful and all-loving God can exist

Non-reductive physicalism

The view that human beings are entirely physical organisms, yet their higher capacities (like morality, spirituality, and consciousness) are real, emergent properties that cannot be fully reduced to mere brain activity or chemistry

Original sin

the condition or state of captivity in which the whole of humanity finds itself after the Fall

pantheism

literally, the teaching that “everything is divine” and that, beyond all surface appearances, all beings are one with God

Panentheism

literally, the teaching that “everything is in God” and that God and the world, while distinct, are nevertheless parts of a single ontological whole

Patripassianism

an ancient Christian heresy that argues that God the Father suffered and died on the cross during the crucifixion of Jesus

Perichoresis

from Greek, “mutual indwelling” or “interpenetration”; mutual indwelling of the divine and human natures of the incarnate Word and, in trinitarian theology, of the three persons of the Trinity in, with, and through each other in ineffable communion

Pneumatology

the study of the person and work of the Holy Spirit

Predestination

The doctrine that God has eternally ordained the destiny of human beings, including (often) some to salvation and others to reprobation

Providence

the doctrine that God unceasingly cares for the world, that all things are in God’s hands, and that God is leading the world to its appointed goal

Psychological analogy

one of the two primary analogies for the mystery of the Trinity; associated with the differentiated unity of memory, knowledge, and will in an individual human being; emphasizes the unity of the divine life

Social analogy

one of the two primary analogies for the mystery of the Trinity; associated with the belief that emphasizes personal relationship and differentiated communion in the triune life; emphasizes the difference between the divine persons

Sola Scripture

“Scripture alone”; according to the sixteenth-century Reformers, the Scriptures are the only necessary source and sufficient norm of Christian faith and life

Special revelation

the specific and direct way God makes Himself, His character, and His plan of salvation known to particular people at specific times, especially through the Bible

Subordinationism

an interpretation of trinitarian doctrine in which Son and Spirit are divine persons but ‘subordinate’ or inferior to God the Father; seeks to protect God from suffering and death experienced by the incarnate Word. Orthodox trinitarianism, by contrast, emphasizes the co-equal persons of the one triune God

Theodicy

the attempt to defend or justify the goodness, providential care, and wisdom of God in the face of the horrendous evil in the world and particularly the suffering of the innocent

Theological anthropology

the systematic study of human nature, identity, and purpose as revealed by God through scripture and theology

Theosis

from Greek, “divinization” or “deification”; an Easter Orthodox teaching that “God became human that we might become divine” (Athanasius); Protestant counterparts are “mystical union” and “sanctification”, though each are different

Total depravity

a theological doctrine teaching that every person is born with a fallen nature and is completely unable to save themselves or choose God without divine grace

Transcendence

from Latin, “stepping over” or “going beyond”; God’s mode of being “beyond” or “above” the world; God surpasses the world and his being and power are never identical with or exhausted in the Word that God has freely created

Tritheism

belief in three gods; opponents of the doctrine of the Trinity accuse it of this

Unveiled continuity

refers to the understanding of how God's single, eternal plan of redemption is gradually revealed and connected across history (and OT/NT)

Vincentian canon

the defense of tradition in biblical interpretation that Christians hold only to that which has been believe everywhere, always, and by all people

Wesleyan Quadrilateral

created by Wesleyan historian and theologian Albert Outler to explain the relationship between four vehicles or sources of Christian revelation or knowledge: the Bible, traditions, reason, and experience

Womanist theology

the distinctive theological emphases of African American women in the United States, affirming the experience of black women and the wisdom found in the struggle under oppressive conditions