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The Probationer's Catechism
''The Probationer's Catechism'', also called ''The Probationer's Handbook'', is a catechism authored by Methodist divine S. Olin Garrison for probationary members of the Methodist Episcopal Church seeking full membership. First published in 1883, it has been the most used probationer's manual in the history of Methodism in the 19th and 20th centuries. It was widely used in the thirty years since it was first printed, with over a half-million sold. Several editions of ''The Probationer's Handbook'' have been released, including those of "1885, 1887, 1896, 1904, and 1909." The period of probationary membership in Methodist connexions normatively lasts six months. As such, the text provides a "topic and resources for each of the six months for the prescribed probationary period." ''The Probationer's Catechism'' teaches Methodist history, doctrine and polity; it includes the Articles of Religion, General Rules, as well as holiness standards on "amusements, dress marriage, tempera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stephen O
Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; he is widely regarded as the first martyr (or "protomartyr") of the Christian Church. In English, Stephen is most commonly pronounced as ' (). The name, in both the forms Stephen and Steven, is often shortened to Steve or Stevie. The spelling as Stephen can also be pronounced which is from the Greek original version, Stephanos. In English, the female version of the name is Stephanie. Many surnames are derived from the first name, including Stephens, Stevens, Stephenson, and Stevenson, all of which mean "Stephen's (son)". In modern times the name has sometimes been given with intentionally non-standard spelling, such as Stevan or Stevon. A common variant of the name used in English is Stephan ; related names that have found some curr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecclesiastical Polity
Ecclesiastical polity is the operational and governance structure of a church or of a Christian denomination. It also denotes the ministerial structure of a church and the authority relationships between churches. Polity relates closely to ecclesiology, the study of doctrine and theology relating to church organization. ''Ecclesiastical polity'' is defined as both the subject of ecclesiastical government in the abstract and the particular system of government of a specific Christian organization. The phrase is sometimes used in civil law. History Questions of ecclesiastical government are first documented in the first chapters of the '' Acts of the Apostles'' and "theological debate about the nature, location, and exercise of authority, in the church" has been ongoing ever since. The first act recorded after the Ascension of Jesus Christ was the election of Saint Matthias as one of the Twelve Apostles, to replace Judas Iscariot. The Twelve Apostles were the first to instan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Consecration
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different groups. The origin of the word comes from the Latin stem ''consecrat'', which means dedicated, devoted, and sacred. A synonym for consecration is sanctification; its antonym is desecration. Buddhism Images of the Buddha and bodhisattvas are ceremonially consecrated in a broad range of Buddhist rituals that vary depending on the Buddhist traditions. Buddhābhiseka is a Pali and Sanskrit term referring to these consecration rituals. Christianity In Christianity, consecration means "setting apart" a person, as well as a building or object, for God. Among some Christian denominations there is a complementary service of "deconsecration", to remove a consecrated place of its sacred character in preparation for either demolition or sale for s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments (Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְּרוֹת, ''aséret ha-dibrót'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words), are a set of Divine law, biblical principles relating to ethics and worship that play a fundamental role in Judaism and Christianity. The text of the Ten Commandments appears twice in the Hebrew Bible: at Book of Exodus, Exodus and Book of Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy . According to the Book of Exodus in the Torah, the Ten Commandments were revealed to Moses at Mount Sinai (Bible), Mount Sinai and inscribed by the finger of God on two Tablets of Stone, tablets of stone kept in the Ark of the Covenant. Scholars disagree about when the Ten Commandments were written and by whom, with some modern scholars suggesting that they were likely modeled on Hittites, Hittite and Mesop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Confession
The General Confession is a prayer of contrition in various Christian denominations, including Anglicanism, Methodism, and Roman Catholicism. Anglicanism and Methodism In Anglicanism, the "General Confession" is the act of contrition in Thomas Cranmer's 1548 order of Communion and later in the ''Book of Common Prayer''. In Methodism, the General Confession is the same act of contrition in ''The Sunday Service of the Methodists'' and Methodist liturgical texts descended from it. It is taught to probationary members seeking full membership in Methodist connexions, being included in ''The Probationer's Catechism''. Roman Catholicism As understood by St. Ignatius of Loyola, General Confession is a form of Confession whereby one spends 3 to 10 days preparing for a confession of all one's 'sins up to that time.' The main goal of the "general confession" is to turn one's life from one of sin to a more devout one. The '' Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius'' have done much to popu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apostles' Creed
The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". The creed most likely originated in 5th-century Gaul as a development of the Old Roman Symbol, the old Latin creed of the 4th century. It has been in liturgical use in the Latin rite since the 8th century and, by extension, in the various modern branches of Western Christianity, including the modern liturgy and catechesis of the Catholic Church, Lutheranism, Anglicanism, Presbyterianism, Moravianism, Methodism, and Congregational churches. It is shorter than the full Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed adopted in 381, but it is still explicitly trinitarian in structure, with sections affirming belief in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. It does not address some Christological issues defined in the Nicene Creed. It thus says nothing explicitly about the divinity of either ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Covenant Theology
Covenant theology (also known as covenantalism, federal theology, or federalism) is a conceptual overview and interpretive framework for understanding the overall structure of the Bible. It uses the theological concept of a covenant as an organizing principle for Christian theology. The standard form of covenant theology views the history of God's dealings with mankind, from Creation to Fall to Redemption to Consummation, under the framework of three overarching theological covenants: those of redemption, of works, and of grace. Covenentalists call these three covenants "theological" because, though not explicitly presented as such in the Bible, they are thought of as theologically implicit, describing and summarizing a wealth of scriptural data. Historical Reformed systems of thought treat classical covenant theology not merely as a point of doctrine or as a central dogma, but as the structure by which the biblical text organizes itself. The most well-known form of Covenant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Outward Holiness
Outward holiness, or external holiness, is a Wesleyan–Arminian doctrine emphasizing modest dress and sober speech. It is a testimony of a Christian believer's regeneration, done in obedience to God. The doctrine is prevalent among denominations emerging during the revival movements, including the Methodists (especially those in the Holiness Movement), as well as Pentecostals. It is taken from 1 Peter 1:15: "He which hath called you is Holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation." History According to Methodist theology held by the holiness movement, before the fall of man, "Nakedness was 'very good' from the beginning, but its innocence was corrupted by the fall", a concept taught in and . and teach that after the fall of man, "publicly exposed nakedness is a symbol of the shame of sin." In , Adam and Eve tried to cover their nakedness, though their attempt was inadequate for God; this reflects the tendency in humans to "invent inadequate coverings for our nakedness ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Articles Of Religion (Methodist)
The Articles of Religion are an official doctrinal statement of Methodism—particularly American Methodism and its offshoots. John Wesley abridged the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England, removing the Calvinistic parts among others, reflecting Wesley's Arminian theology. The resulting Twenty-five Articles were adopted at the Christmas Conference of 1784, and are found in the Books of Discipline of Methodist Churches, such as Chapter I of the ''Doctrines and Discipline'' of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and paragraph 103 of the '' United Methodist Church Book of Discipline''. They have remained relatively unchanged since 1808, save for a few additional articles added in later years in both the United Methodist tradition and Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection, among other Methodist connexions. References External links Methodist Articles of Religion. A.D. 1784.in ''Creeds of the Evangelical Protestant Churches.'' by Philip Schaff Philip Schaff (Janua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethnic groups of Africa *** Demographics of Africa *** African diaspora ** African, an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to the African Union ** Citizenship of the African Union ** Demographics of the African Union **Africanfuturism ** African art ** *** African jazz (other) ** African cuisine ** African culture ** African languages ** African music ** African Union ** African lion, a lion population in Africa Books and radio * ''The African'' (essay), a story by French author J. M. G. Le Clézio * ''The African'' (Conton novel), a novel by William Farquhar Conton * ''The African'' (Courlander novel), a novel by Harold Courlander * ''The Africans'' (radio program) Music * "African", a song by Peter T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, nine Minor Outlying Islands, and 326 Indian reservations. The United States is also in free association with three Pacific Island sovereign states: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. It is the world's third-largest country by both land and total area. It shares land borders with Canada to its north and with Mexico to its south and has maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, Russia, and other nations. With a population of over 333 million, it is the most populous country in the Americas and the third most populous in the world. The national capital of the United States is Washington, D.C. and its most populous city and principal financial center is New York City. Paleo-Americ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Connexionalism
Connexionalism, also spelled connectionalism, is the theological understanding and foundation of Methodist ecclesiastical polity, as practised in the Methodist Church in Britain, Methodist Church in Ireland, United Methodist Church, Free Methodist Church, African Methodist Episcopal Church, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Bible Methodist Connection of Churches, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas, and many of the countries where Methodism was established by missionaries sent out from these churches. The United Methodist Church defines ''connection'' as the principle that "all leaders and congregations are connected in a network of loyalties and commitments that support, yet supersede, local concerns." Accordingly, the primary decision-making bodies in Methodism are conferences, which serve to gather together representatives of various levels of church hierarchy. In the United Methodist Church and Free Methodist Church ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
