Christian beliefs and sources of authority

The foundational doctrines of Christianity including belief in God as Trinity, Jesus Christ as the incarnate Son of God,

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

Form criticism investigates preliterary oral traditions (sayings, miracle stories, parables) embedded in biblical texts,

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

The discipline of biblical interpretation investigating how to understand ancient texts within their cultural-historical

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

Biblical texts employ diverse literary forms: historical narrative, law codes, wisdom literature, poetry, apocalyptic, p

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

The view that all of Scripture is divinely inspired (plenary = full) without necessarily claiming verbal inspiration. Pl

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

Redaction criticism examines how Gospel writers selected, arranged, and modified inherited traditions to communicate dis

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

The understanding that the Bible (Old and New Testaments) possesses divine authority for Christian belief and practice.

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

The Christian doctrine that God exists eternally as three distinct persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—while remaining

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

The belief that God guided biblical authors so completely that the biblical text itself is divinely inspired, not merely

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

Theological explanations of how Christ's death redeems humanity from sin and reconciles them to God. Major theories incl

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

The doctrine that Jesus Christ is one person (hypostasis) with two distinct natures: divine and human, without confusion

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

The doctrine of Christ's self-emptying (kenosis): Jesus's assumption of human nature involved divine self-limitation or

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

The central Christian events: Jesus's execution by crucifixion (death) and his bodily resurrection (return to life). The

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

Theological distinction between economic Trinity (God's action in history: creation, redemption, sanctification) and imm

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

The Christian doctrine that God, the eternal Son, became fully human in Jesus Christ while remaining fully divine. The i

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

The Christian doctrine that humanity inherited sinfulness from Adam and Eve's primordial disobedience. Original sin expl

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

The Christian understanding of deliverance from sin and reconciliation with God through Christ. Salvation involves justi

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

The Nicene Creed (325 CE) formally defined Christian Trinitarian doctrine, affirming the Son's homoousios (same substanc

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

Christian theology concerning the end of history and the afterlife: heaven (eternal communion with God), hell (separatio

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

Beatific vision is the blessed state of seeing God directly (2 Corinthians 13:12). Annihilationism claims the damned cea

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

Parousia is Christ's promised second coming. Final judgment involves God's evaluation of all people at history's end: pa

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

Martin Luther's doctrine that salvation comes through faith in Christ alone, not human works. Justification is God's dec

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

Sanctification is the process of becoming morally and spiritually transformed after justification. Prevenient grace, irr

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

Agape (divine love, self-giving love) functions as the foundational Christian ethical principle. Applied to specific iss

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

Justice, a central Christian ethical principle, encompasses social justice (equitable social structures), distributive j

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

Christians approach Scripture's moral authority differently: literal interpretation (all biblical commands bind today);

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

Christian ethics emphasizes conscience—the internal moral sense guiding ethical decisions. Newman's 'primacy of conscien

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

Catholic social teaching's 'preferential option for the poor' asserts that Christian ethics prioritizes the poor and mar

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

Christian baptism traditions: infant baptism (paedobaptism) practiced by Catholics and many Protestants; believer's bapt

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

Eucharist/Communion theology varies: transubstantiation (substance transforms), consubstantiation (both substances coexi

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

Gustavo Gutiérrez developed liberation theology emphasizing God's option for the poor and theology's responsibility to a

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

Baptism, the ritual of water immersion or sprinkling initiating Christians, exists in two major forms: believer's baptis

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

Christian denominations understand the Eucharist (Holy Communion, the Lord's Supper) differently: transubstantiation (Ca

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

Christian prayer encompasses multiple types: adoration (praising God), confession (acknowledging sin), thanksgiving (gra

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

Christian mission encompasses evangelism (proclaiming the Gospel and inviting conversion) and broader work toward holist

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

The ecumenical movement seeks Christian unity across denominational divisions. Major organizations include the World Cou

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Christian beliefs and sources of authority

Church-state relations encompass establishment (state sponsorship of official religion), Christendom (Christian civiliza

Study of Christianity