Christian Beliefs Exam Flashcards
Distinct, Christian teachings
Doctrine
“The entire inhabited earth”, God’s salvific love applies to the whole world
Ecumenical
The study of God (Logos: “Word, Reason”, Theos: “God”)
Theology
Christian teaching at the highest level of authority and trustworthiness
Dogma
Scripture, Tradition, Reason, Experience
Wesleyan Quadrilateral
“Scripture alone.”
Sola Scriptura
Early summaries of Christian doctrine
Rule of Faith
Statements of Christian beliefs
Creeds
Right Christian belief
Orthodoxy
Beliefs that have been rejected by the church as contrary to Scripture
Hersey
Intentional practices meant to help us grow deeper in the spiritual life.
Spiritual Disciplines
Ways God has provided for us to be put in touch with the grace that is always there
Means of Grace
God’s self-disclosure in creation and the human conscience
General Revelation
God’s specific self-revelation in the history of Israel, the incarnation of Jesus Christ, and Scripture
Special Revelation
A theology drawn from general revelation, because its evidence comes from nature
Natural Theology
Special revelation does not replace general revelation, but builds on it.
Ongoing Continuity
Rational defense of the Christian faith to those who are not believers
Apologetics
Idea that God built a moral framework into creation itself
Natural Law
Both sorts of revelation convey truth about God, and each is continuous with the other, but we are unable to see this unless God pulls back the veil that obscures nature
Unveiled Continuity
The Spirit’s work as the author of the Scriptures, a work the Spirit did in and with the human authors of the biblical texts
Inspiration
The ways the Spirit continues to work in and with God’s people, as readers of the Scripture, to help us understand and be faithful to what we read there
Illumination
Biblical interpretation
Hermeneutics
“measure”, the whole of Scripture as the measuring stick, or rule, for Christian faith and life.
Canon
a man in the Early Church (around year 140) who pushed for a different collection of Biblical texts than what is in the canon, including major edits and exclusion of the Old Testament
Marcion
Ecstatic prophecies of Montanus, Maximilla, and Prisca claimed to speak for the Holy Spirit, raising questions about the authority of the written Scriptures relative to new claims to truth.
Montanist Controversy