Terms

Question 0

Aetiology

Answer 0

Causal explanation or “causality” – from the Greek ai0ti/a (aitia), meaning cause or origin

Question 1

Adoptionism

Answer 1

the view that Jesus was born as a typical human being who was then “adopted” (usually at his baptism in the Jordan) by the Son or Word of God on a semi-permanent or permanent basis

Question 2

Allegorical interpretation

Answer 2

reading a text as if it were a metaphor; similar to typological reading

Question 3

Apocalyptic

Answer 3

literature about a vision of God, written either of personal experience (by being transported to heaven), or as prophecy, about God’s future appearance to the world (see: eschatology)

Question 4

Apologetic(s)

Answer 4

a reasoned defense of belief or behavior

Question 5

Apologists

Answer 5

early Christians concerned with defending Christianity against the criticisms made by Jews and Pagans

Question 6

Apostolic Succession

Answer 6

the doctrine that the true teachings of Christianity, as well as spiritual authority over believers, is handed or passed down through succeeding generations of bishops who trace their origin back to the apostles

Question 7

Binitarianism

Answer 7

an account or logical explanation of the diversity in God that finds two rather than three (trinitarianism) existents/persons in God

Question 8

the Canon (of Scripture)

Answer 8

those books regarded by the Church as containing an authentic fundamental statement of Christian belief

Question 9

CE

Answer 9

“Common Era”, the era shared by both Judaism and Christianity = AD (Anno Domini – “in the year of our Lord”)

Question 10

Docetism

Answer 10

the view that Jesus’ humanity was only an appearance or disguise, so that it only seemed to be real

Question 11

Dualism

Answer 11

any belief that explains the world in terms of pair(s) of opposing principles ie:heaven and earth, flesh and spirit

Question 12

Eisegesis

Answer 12

elaborating on or explaining the meaning of a text by reading your own ideas into it (putting your meaning into a text); (contrast eisegesis with exegesis)

Question 13

Eschatology

Answer 13

an account of the end of natural history

Question 14

Exegesis

Answer 14

elaborating on or explaining the meaning of a text by considering the author’s intent (taking a meaning out of a text)

Question 15

Gnosticism

Answer 15

radical dualistic beliefs that emphasize the gaining of secret knowledge as the only means of salvation. Christian gnosticism emphasizes Christ’s unique function as revealer of the hidden God

Question 16

Hierarchical trinitarianism

Answer 16

an explanation of the diversity in God that involves a non-subordinationist (see: subordinationism) ranking of the Three

Question 17

Metaphysics

Answer 17

an account of the different kinds of existence; usually involving an account of something that exists in terms of the kind of existence it has. The kind of existence is called the being of an existent.

Question 18

Modalism

Answer 18

a belief that the different persons of the Trinity are actually just different appearances or modes of one divine person; or a doctrine that denies any permanent distinctions within the Godhead

Question 19

Pneumatology

Answer 19

the theology of the Holy Spirit; pneu=ma (pneuma) means spirit

Question 20

Radical dualism

Answer 20

a type of dualism that identifies goodness with spirit (the spiritual) and evil with matter (the material)

Question 21

Septuagint

Answer 21

the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament used by the apostles and early Greek Christians

Question 22

Soteriology

Answer 22

an account of the means of salvation

Question 23

Subordinationism

Answer 23

an explanation of the diversity in God that involves gradations of divinity, so that the Son and/or Holy Spirit are less divine than the Father