Christianity

Lutheran

Lutheranism is a Protestant tradition following the theology of Martin Luther (1483-1546), the reformer who was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church and launched the German reformation. He emphasized the sole authority of the Bible, the priesthood of all believers, and justification before God by faith alone.

Paul

Paul, an early Jewish convert to the way of Christ (about 33 CE), became the Apostle to the Gentiles, preaching the Gospel and establishing churches in Greece, Asia Minor, and Rome. Some thirteen letters of Paul to these early churches have become part of the scriptural treasury of Christians known as the New Testament.

Angel

Angels are a class of supernatural or spiritual beings, imaginatively understood to perform various functions on God’s behalf. Angels are especially described as divine messengers. Angels are common to Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

deacon

A deacon is a minister of the church, ordinarily a preliminary rank of clergy below a fully ordained minister or priest.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

(also: Mormons; LDS) The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also called the Mormon Church, was launched by Joseph Smith (1805-44) who discovered a new revelation, the Book of Mormon, which became, along with the Bible, the “latter day” scripture of the new community. The Mormons, under the leadership of Brigham Young, established a thriving community in Utah in the 1840s and are today a worldwide church.

parish

A parish is the geographical neighborhood or area served by a church or pastor.

Adam

Adam is Hebrew for “human, man.” It is the name given to the first person created by God and as such has an important symbolic role in the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim traditions.

convent

A convent is a religious association and residential home of a religious order, particularly an order of women or nuns; the term is commonly used in both the Christian and Buddhist traditions.

Joseph

In the Christian tradition, Joseph is the earthly father of Jesus and husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Old Testament

(also: Hebrew Bible) The Old Testament is the term Christians often use for the body of writings that comprise the Hebrew Bible which Jews call Tanakh.

Unitarian Universalist Association

(also: Unitarian Universalist; UU) The Unitarian Universalist Association came into being in 1961 through the union of two communities of faith: the Unitarians who stressed the oneness of God and the Universalists who insisted on universal salvation. Both movements became popular in 18th- and 19th-century America, especially in the northeastern states. The two groups were both involved in issues of social justice and social action. These similarities, combined with a shared commitment to freedom of religious belief and expression, led the two groups to their eventual merger. Today the... Read more about Unitarian Universalist Association

Jehovah’s Witness

The Jehovah’s Witnesses are a Christian sect or movement founded in America by C.T. Russell (1852-1916) who foresaw the millennium, the return of Christ, and the end of the world and condemned many institutionalized forms of Christianity. The Jehovah’s Witnesses have refused military service and the pledge of allegiance to the American flag, which compromises their allegiance to God alone. In a landmark case (West Virginia State Board of Education vs. Barnette, 1943) the U.S. Supreme Court upheld their right to refuse the pledge.

New Testament

The New Testament is the collection of a body of writings the early Christian community came to accept as authoritative: the four gospels, the Book of Acts, the letters of Paul, several other letters or epistles, and the Book of Revelation.

sacrament

Sacraments are the sacred rites of the Christian church, sometimes defined as “an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.” Two sacraments are universally accepted as instituted by Christ himself: the Eucharist (holy communion) and baptism. The late 20th century has seen unprecedented convergence of the churches—Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox—over the meanings of these sacraments (See “Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry” studies). Other rites viewed as sacraments by some churches include confirmation, marriage, penance, ordination to ministry, and rites of death and burial.

catechism

A catechism is a manual or lesson book of Christian instruction, containing essential Christian teachings for young people or those seeking to join the Christian community.

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