Glossary Terms 1-20: Called by the Gospel, An Intro to the New Testament

Question 1

Agape feast

Answer 1

a gathering for a common meal in which the Lord’s Supper was shared.

Question 2

Agape

Answer 2

one of several Greek words for “love”; emphasizes the self-sacrificial giving of God and God’s people. Other Greek words for love are eros (sensual love), philos (love of friends), and storge (familial love); agape is able to permeate and influence all other loves.

Question 3

Alpha and Omega

Answer 3

first and last letters of the Greek alphabet used as title for Jesus Christ in Revelation.

Question 4

Amanuensis

Answer 4

the occupation of one who wrote documents.

Question 5

Antichrist

Answer 5

“opposed to” or “in place of Christ”; used only by 1 John and in the plural in the New Testament; some equate this term with the “man of lawlessness” in 2 Thessalonians.

Question 6

Antilegomena

Answer 6

“being spoken against”; refers to seven New Testament books whose place in the canon of the New Testament was questioned by some in the early church.

Question 7

Antinomianism

Answer 7

“against the Law”; asserts that the Law is no longer valid or to be applied and obeyed in New Testament times.

Question 8

Apocalyptic

Answer 8

a distinct literary genre using visions, symbolism, cosmic struggles and violent imagery to disclose what will happen at the end of time.

Question 9

Apocrypha

Answer 9

“hidden”; fourteen book in the Septuagint but not in the Hebrew Bible; accepted as authoritative by most Christians except Protestants,

Question 10

Apostles’ Creed

Answer 10

Christian statement of faith developed from early third-century Roman creed used in baptismal rite; present form not set until centuries later.

Question 11

Aramaic

Answer 11

the native language of most people in the Jesus’ time in the Jewish homelands, derived from Hebrew.

Question 12

Aretology

Answer 12

popular Roman stories if individuals born of divine and human parents who were known for their ability to perform miracles.

Question 13

Ark of the Covenant

Answer 13

the gold-covered box which the Israelites made at Mount Sinai containing the tablets with 10 Commandments, jar of manna, and Aaron’s staff; Ark led Israel through the wilderness and into the promised land; later placed in the Holy of Holies of Solomon’s temple; lost prior to or during the destruction of Solomon’s temple by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.

Question 14

Asceticism

Answer 14

adoption of a rigorous way of life characterized by self denial as part of a spiritual discipline.

Question 15

Astral fatalism

Answer 15

the belief that one’s future is set by fate and that fate may be discerned at least partially by studying the stars (astrology).

Question 16

Baptism

Answer 16

a ritual washing of purification in Jewish circles; in Christianity, a rite by which a person is joined with Jesus Christ and enters the Christian community.

Question 17

Biblical theology

Answer 17

field of study identifying themes and a consistent theology that run throughout the Old and New Testaments.

Question 18

Blasphemy

Answer 18

the charge leveled against Jesus by the religious authorities; technically, involves cursing or slandering the divine name or acting in such a way as to imply such defamation.

Question 19

Book of Concord

Answer 19

the official statement of Lutheran doctrine, also known as the Lutheran Confessions; assembled into a book in 1580; includes the Augsburg Confession and Luther’s Small and Large Catechisms; “concord” means harmony or agreement.

Question 20

Catholic

Answer 20

as in “Catholic Epistles” refers to a subset of New Testament books a having a more universal address; also called the General Epistles; includes James, the Petrine and Johannine letters, and Jude.