Question | Answer |
orthodox | "sound doctrine; right opinion" |
kataphatic | the use of concrete images to describe God (ex., God is like a rock) |
apophatic | clearing your mind of images and negating our frail human concepts (ex., god is not like a rock) |
paradox | composed of two seemingly irreconcilable points of view which are inexplicably interwoven to form a truth; a both/and statement |
heresy | an opinion that is not orthodox; "veer off course" |
creed | Latin for "I believe"; originally, public professions of faith made before baptism |
Docetists | Jesus was not really human, only appeared to have a body |
Arianism | Jesus was not truly divine because he was a created being |
Elohim | Hebrew term for God; masculine plural word |
Eloah | Hebrew term for God; feminine singular word |
monotheism | belief in one supreme God |
essence (Greek) | being (is-ness) |
energies (Greek) | doing (activeness ) |
aura | energy field of a living being |
essence (Latin) | being |
attributes (Latin) | characteristics |
omniscient | "all-knowing" |
omnipotent | "all-powerful" |
omnipresent | "all-places" |
Believers | religious; believe there is a God |
agnostics | don't know if there is a God |
atheists | know there is not a God |
YHWH | Jewish name for God; "I am who I am"; a tetragrammaton |
Adonai | Jewish name for "Lord" |
Origen and communications | God employs languages (metaphors, analogies, etc.) that we can understand |
ex nihilo | "out of nothing"; refers to creation |
pantheism | "all is God"; everything is God |
panentheism | "all is in God" |
Gregory of Nyssa | had the idea of theistic evolution |
theistic evolution | God's creation changes; at one point, there was an explosion of light |
triadic | three |
I am who am | shows God as the subject, object, and reflexive consciousness |
yod | hand = power |
Ruach | spirit or breath |
Ireaneus | taught God as Word and Spirit |
Evagrius and Augustine | said "the God whom you know cannot be God" |
ad intra | in and of God's self; internal God |
ad extra | external God |
monarchianism (adoptionism) | God "adopted" Jesus as a special son; the spirit is the memory of Jesus |
monarchianism (dynamic) | God gave Jesus powers; Spirit is the dead Jesus |
guntherism | God evolves; God is not infinite, absolute, etc. |
modalism | only one God who can only be one person (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) at a time |
tritheism | three separate Gods co-operate in doing, each being equal in power; lacks a relationship between the three persons |
begotten | to Greeks, meant to bring forth; to Christians, meant the Son was always in the Father |
ousia | Greek for essence |
heteroousian | different essences |
homoosian | same essences |
semi-Arians | since there is a God Almighty, there may be demigods who are above time |
subordinationism | God is a chain of command; God Almighty at the top, Son in the middle, and Spirit at the bottom |
triumvirate | a government with three executives with one above the other two |
distinct | main emphasis on commonality, yet distinguishing characteristics |
different | emphasis on what is not the same |
Cyril of Alexandria | "God is a reciprocal irruption of love" |
kolpos | Greek for "womb" |
circumincession (Latin approach) | "circle without ceasing"; like modalism |
circuminsession (Latin approach) | "circle in session" (court); God is three judges around a circle table |
perichoresis (Greek approach) | "circle - choral dance"; three persons dancing and singing in harmony in a circle |
trinity | "three unity" |
prosopon | Greek for "person"; pros = toward sopon = eyes/face |
hypostasis | subsistence; manner of existence |
filioque | Greek for "and the Son" |
ecclesiology | study of the Church |
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