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Prevenient Grace
Prevenient grace (or preceding grace or enabling grace) is a Christian theological concept that refers to the grace of God in a person's life which precedes and prepares to conversion. It was termed and developed by Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430). It was affirmed by the Second Council of Orange (529) and appeared in Catholic theology. Prevenient grace is embraced primarily by Wesleyan-Arminian Christians. They believe that grace enables, but does not ensure, personal acceptance of the gift of salvation. Definition The concept of "prevenient grace" was termed and developed by Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430), based on St. Ambrose (c. 339 – c. 397) writings. Prevenient grace refers to the grace of God in a person's life that precedes conversion. The original expression ( la, gratia praeveniens) meas literally "grace that comes before". The word "prevenient" comes from an archaic English usage meaning "anticipating", "coming before", or "preceding". In current English, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christian Theology
Christian theology is the theology of Christianity, Christian belief and practice. Such study concentrates primarily upon the texts of the Old Testament and of the New Testament, as well as on Christian tradition. Christian theology, theologians use biblical exegesis, rationality, rational analysis and argument. Theologians may undertake the study of Christian theology for a variety of reasons, such as in order to: * help them better understand Christian tenets * make comparative religion, comparisons between Christianity and other traditions * Christian apologetics, defend Christianity against objections and criticism * facilitate reforms in the Christian church * assist in the evangelism, propagation of Christianity * draw on the resources of the Christian tradition to address some present situation or perceived need * education in Christian philosophy, especially in Neoplatonism, Neoplatonic philosophyLouth, Andrew. The Origins of the Christian Mystical Tradition: From Plato ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pelagianism
Pelagianism is a Christian theological position that holds that the original sin did not taint human nature and that humans by divine grace have free will to achieve human perfection. Pelagius ( – AD), an ascetic and philosopher from the British Isles, taught that God could not command believers to do the impossible, and therefore it must be possible to satisfy all divine commandments. He also taught that it was unjust to punish one person for the sins of another; therefore, infants are born blameless. Pelagius accepted no excuse for sinful behaviour and taught that all Christians, regardless of their station in life, should live unimpeachable, sinless lives. To a large degree, "Pelagianism" was defined by its opponent Augustine, and exact definitions remain elusive. Although Pelagianism had considerable support in the contemporary Christian world, especially among the Roman elite and monks, it was attacked by Augustine and his supporters, who had opposing views on grace ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jacobus Arminius
Jacobus Arminius (10 October 1560 – 19 October 1609), the Latinized name of Jakob Hermanszoon, was a Dutch theologian during the Protestant Reformation period whose views became the basis of Arminianism and the Dutch Remonstrant movement. He served from 1603 as professor in theology at the University of Leiden and wrote many books and treatises on theology. Following his death, his challenge to the Reformed standard, the ''Belgic Confession'', provoked ample discussion at the Synod of Dort, which crafted the five points of Calvinism in response to Arminius's teaching. Early life Arminius, was born in 1559 or 1560 in Oudewater, Utrecht. He became an orphan while still young. His father Herman, a manufacturer of weapons, died, leaving his wife a widow with small children. He never knew his father, and his mother was killed during the Spanish massacre at Oudewater in 1575. The child was adopted by Theodorus Aemilius, a priest inclined towards Protestantism. Around 1572 (th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arminianism
Arminianism is a branch of Protestantism based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609) and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the ''Remonstrance'' (1610), a theological statement submitted to the States General of the Netherlands. This expressed an attempt to moderate the doctrines of Calvinism related to its interpretation of predestination. The Synod of Dort (1618–19) was called by the States General to consider the ''Five Articles of Remonstrance''. Classical Arminianism, to which Arminius is the main contributor, and Wesleyan Arminianism, to which John Wesley is the main contributor, are the two main schools of thought. Many Christian denominations have been influenced by Arminian views on the will of man being freed by grace prior to regeneration, notably the Baptists in 17th century, the Methodists in the 18th century, and the Pentecostals in the 20th cen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apostolic See
An apostolic see is an episcopal see whose foundation is attributed to one or more of the apostles of Jesus or to one of their close associates. In Catholicism the phrase, preceded by the definite article and usually capitalized, refers to the See of Rome. Tertullian (c. 155 − c. 240) gives examples of apostolic sees: he describes as churches "in which the very thrones of the apostles are still pre-eminent in their places, in which their own authentic writings are read, uttering the voice and representing the face of each of them severally" the following churches: Corinth, Philippi, Ephesus, and Rome. Tertullian says that from these "all the other churches, one after another, derived the tradition of the faith, and the seeds of doctrine, and are every day deriving them, that they may become churches. Indeed, it is on this account only that they will be able to deem themselves apostolic, as being the offspring of apostolic churches". Cited by early apologists for doctrinal a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caesarius Of Arles
Caesarius of Arles ( la, Caesarius Arelatensis; 468/470 27 August 542 AD), sometimes called "of Chalon" (''Cabillonensis'' or ''Cabellinensis'') from his birthplace Chalon-sur-Saône, was the foremost ecclesiastic of his generation in Merovingian Gaul.William E. Klingshirn: ''Caesarius of Arles : The Making of a Christian Community in Late Antique Gaul'', Cambridge University Press, 1994). Caesarius is considered to be of the last generation of church leaders of Gaul who worked to promote large-scale ascetic elements into the Western Christian tradition. William E. Klingshirn's study of Caesarius depicts Caesarius as having the reputation of a "popular preacher of great fervour and enduring influence".Conrad Leyser, "Authority and Asceticism from Augustine to Gregory the Great" Among those who exercised the greatest influence on Caesarius were Augustine of Hippo, Julianus Pomerius, and John Cassian. The most important problem for Caesarius was the efficiency of the bishop's fulfi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boniface II
Pope Boniface II ( la, Bonifatius II; died 17 October 532) was the first Germanic bishop of Rome. He ruled the Holy See from 22 September 530 until his death on 17 October 532. Boniface's father's name was Sigibuld. He was probably born in Rome, and was designated to succeed to the papacy by his predecessor, Felix IV, who had been a strong adherent of the Arian Ostrogothic kings. Boniface was later elected, largely due to the influence of King Athalaric. For a time, he served as pope in competition with Dioscorus, who had been elected by most of the priests of Rome. Boniface and Dioscorus were both consecrated in Rome on 22 September 530, but Dioscurus died only twenty-two days later. Boniface II's most notable act was confirming the decisions of the Council of Orange, teaching that grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Damnation
Damnation (from Latin '' damnatio'') is the concept of divine punishment and torment in an afterlife for actions that were committed, or in some cases, not committed on Earth. In Ancient Egyptian religious tradition, citizens would recite the 42 negative confessions of Maat as their heart was weighed against the feather of truth. If the citizen's heart was heavier than a feather they would be devoured by Ammit. Zoroastrianism developed an eschatological concept of a Last Judgment called Frashokereti where the dead will be raised and the righteous wade through a river of milk while the wicked will be burned in a river of molten metal. Abrahamic religions such as Christianity have similar concepts of believers facing judgement on a last day to determine if they will spend eternity in Gehenna or heaven for their sin . A damned human "in damnation" is said to be either in Hell, or living in a state wherein they are divorced from Heaven and/or in a state of disgrace from God's fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Predestination
Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby God's omniscience seems incompatible with human free will. In this usage, predestination can be regarded as a form of religious determinism; and usually predeterminism, also known as theological determinism. History Pre-Christian period Some have argued that the Book of Enoch contains a deterministic worldview that is combined with dualism. The book of Jubilees seems to harmonize or mix together a doctrine of free will and determinism. Ben Sira affirms free will, where God allows a choice of bad or good before the human and thus they can choose which one to follow. New Testament period There is some disagreement among scholars regarding the views on predestination of first-century AD Judaism, out of which Christianity came. J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christian Anthropology
In the context of Christian theology, Christian anthropology is the study of the human (anthropos) as it relates to God. It differs from the social science of anthropology, which primarily deals with the comparative study of the physical and social characteristics of humanity across times and places. One aspect studies the innate nature or constitution of the human, known as the ''nature of humankind''. It is concerned with the relationship between notions such as body, soul and spirit which together form a person, based on their descriptions in the Bible. There are three traditional views of the human constitution – trichotomism, dichotomism and monism (in the sense of anthropology). Early Christian writers Gregory of Nyssa The reference source for Gregory's anthropology is his treatise ''De opificio hominis''. His concept of man is founded on the ontological distinction between the created and uncreated. Man is a material creation, and thus limited, but infinite in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grace (Christianity)
In Western Christian theology, grace is created by God who gives it as help to one because God desires one to have it, not necessarily because of anything one has done to earn it. It is understood by Western Christians to be a spontaneous gift from God to people – "generous, free and totally unexpected and undeserved" – that takes the form of divine favor, love, clemency, and a share in the divine life of God. In the Eastern Orthodox Church, grace is the uncreated Energies of God. Among Eastern Christians generally, grace is considered to be the partaking of the Divine Nature described in 2 Peter 1:4 and grace is the working of God himself, not a created substance of any kind that can be treated like a commodity.Gregory (Grabbe), Archbishop. ''The Sacramental Life: An Orthodox Christian Perspective.'' Liberty TN: St. John of Kronstadt Press, 1986 As an attribute of God it manifests most in the salvation of sinners and Western Christianity holds that the initiative in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Semi-Pelagianism
Semi-Pelagianism (or Semipelagianism) is a Christian theological and soteriological school of thought on salvation. Semipelagian thought stands in contrast to the earlier Pelagian teaching about salvation, Pelagianism (in which people are born untainted by sin and do not need salvation unless they choose to sin) which had been dismissed as heresy. Semipelagianism in its original form was developed as a compromise between Pelagianism and the teaching of Church Fathers such as Saint Augustine, who taught that people cannot come to God without the grace of God. In semipelagian thought, a distinction is made between the beginning of faith and the increase of faith. Semipelagian thought teaches that the latter half – growing in faith – is the work of God, while the beginning of faith is an act of free will, with grace supervening only later. It, too, was labeled heresy by the Western Church at the Second Council of Orange in 529. Catholicism teaches that the beginning of faith invol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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