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Altar Call
An altar call is a tradition in some Christian churches in which those who wish to make a new spiritual commitment to Jesus Christ are invited to come forward publicly. It is so named because the supplicants gather at the altar located at the front of the church building. Most altar calls occur at the end of an evangelical address. Background Altar calls are a recent historic phenomenon beginning in the 1830s in America. During these, people approached the chancel rails, anxious seat, or mourner's bench to pray. One of the most famous 19th century revivalists, Charles Grandison Finney, "popularized the idea of the 'altar call' in order to sign up his converts for the abolition movement." In many Churches of the Wesleyan-Arminian theology, the altar call, in addition to being an invitation for people to experience the New Birth, is also often used to implore believers to experience the second work of grace, known as entire sanctification. Notable examples in history of using a ...
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Christian Church
In ecclesiology, the Christian Church is what different Christian denominations conceive of as being the true body of Christians or the original institution established by Jesus. "Christian Church" has also been used in academia as a synonym for Christianity, despite the fact that it is composed of multiple churches or denominations, many of which hold a doctrinal claim of being the "one true church", to the exclusion of the others. For many Protestant Christians, the Christian Church has two components: the church visible, institutions in which "the Word of God purely preached and listened to, and the sacraments administered according to Christ's institution", as well as the church invisible—all "who are truly saved" (with these beings members of the visible church). In this understanding of the invisible church, "Christian Church" (or catholic Church) does not refer to a particular Christian denomination, but includes all individuals who have been saved. The branch theory, ...
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Reformed Churches
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the Christian theology, theological tradition and forms of Christianity, Christian practice set down by John Calvin and other The Reformation, Reformation-era Protestant Reformers, theologians. It emphasizes the Sovereignty of God in Christianity, sovereignty of God and the Biblical authority, authority of the Bible. Calvinists broke from the Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church in the 16th century. Calvinists differ from Lutheranism, Lutherans (another major branch of the Reformation) on the Lord's Supper in Reformed theology, spiritual real presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper, regulative principle of worship, theories of worship, the purpose and meaning of baptism, and the Law and Gospel#Lutheran and Reformed differences, use of God's law for believers, among other points. The label ''Calvinism'' can be misle ...
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Decision Theology
Decision theology is the belief of some evangelical denominations of Christianity, such as the Baptist Churches and Methodist Churches, that individuals must make a ''conscious'' decision to "accept" and follow Christ (be " born again", also known as experiencing the "New Birth"). In denominations of the Methodist tradition, after experiencing the New Birth (the first work of grace), ministers teach that believers should seek entire sanctification (the second work of grace). While Methodists teach that these works of grace can be experienced anywhere, revival services in tents and camp meetings are often held to call individuals to experience the New Birth and entire sanctification; altar calls in which individuals approach the mourner's bench or chancel rails to seek these works of grace also take place in services of worship throughout the year. Lutherans and Reformed Christians reject the "decision theology", believing that faith receives the gift of salvation rather than c ...
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Synergism (theology)
In Christian theology, synergism is the position of those who hold that salvation involves some form of cooperation between divine grace and human freedom. Synergism is upheld by the Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Churches, Anabaptist Churches and Methodist Churches. It is an integral part of Arminian theology common in the General Baptist and Methodist traditions. Synergism stands opposed to monergism (which rejects the idea that humans cooperate with the grace of God), a doctrine most commonly associated with the Reformed Protestant as well as Lutheran traditions, whose soteriologies have been strongly influenced by the North African bishop and Latin Church Father Augustine of Hippo (354–430). Lutheranism, however, confesses a monergist salvation but rejects the notion that anyone is predestined to hell (see ). Synergism and semipelagianism each teach some collaboration in salvation between God and humans, but semipelagian thought teaches that the beginning half of faith ...
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Sinner's Prayer
The Sinner's prayer (also called the Consecration prayer and Salvation prayer) is an evangelicalism, evangelical Christian term referring to any prayer of repentance, prayed by individuals who feel convinced of the presence of sin in their lives and have the desire to form or renew a personal relationship with God in Christianity, God through Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. It is a popular prayer in evangelical circles.Olsen, Ted. "Southern Baptists Debate the Sinner's Prayer". ''Christianity Today''18 Mar 2013 It is not intended as Christian prayer#Liturgical, liturgical like a creed or a confiteor said or chanted within the Catholic Church, Catholic Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, Mass, but rather, is intended to be an act of ''initial'' conversion to Christianity; at the same time, it is roughly analogous to the Catholic Act of Contrition, though the theology behind each is markedly different, due to the intrinsically different views of salvation between Catholicism and Prot ...
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Regeneration (theology)
Regeneration, while sometimes perceived to be a step in the ('order of salvation'), is generally understood in Christian theology to be the objective work of God in a believer's life. Spiritually, it means that God brings a person to new life (that they are "born again") from a previous state of separation from God and subjection to the decay of death (Ephesians 2:5). Thus, in Lutheran and Roman Catholic theology, it generally means that which takes place during baptism. In Calvinism (Reformed theology) and Arminian theology, baptism is recognized as an outward sign of an inward reality which is to follow regeneration as a sign of obedience to the New Testament; as such, the Methodist Churches teach that regeneration occurs during the new birth. While the exact Greek noun "rebirth" or "regeneration" ( grc, παλιγγενεσία, palingenesia) appears just twice in the New Testament (Matthew and Titus ), regeneration represents a wider theme of re-creation and spiritual rebirth. ...
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Monergism
Monergism is the view within Christian theology which holds that God works through the Holy Spirit to bring about the salvation of an individual through spiritual regeneration, regardless of the individual's cooperation. It is most often associated with Lutheranism, as well as with the Reformed tradition (such as Presbyterianism, low church Anglicanism, Puritans, Dutch Reformed Church, Reformed Baptist etc.) and its doctrine of irresistible grace, and particularly with historical doctrinal differences between Calvinism and Arminianism. This position supposedly contrasts with what is pejoratively called Arminian synergism, the belief that God and individuals cooperate to bring individuals salvation. Statement of the doctrine Monergism states that the regeneration of an individual is the work of God through the Holy Spirit alone, as opposed to Synergism, which, in its simplest form, argues that the human will cooperates with God's grace in order to be regenerated. To most syner ...
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Evangelism
In Christianity, evangelism (or witnessing) is the act of preaching the gospel with the intention of sharing the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians who specialize in evangelism are often known as evangelists, whether they are in their home communities or living as missionaries in the field, although some Christian traditions refer to such people as ''missionaries'' in either case. Some Christian traditions consider evangelists to be in a leadership position; they may be found preaching to large meetings or in governance roles. In addition, Christian groups who encourage evangelism are sometimes known as evangelistic or ''evangelist''. Etymology The word ''evangelist'' comes from the Koine Greek word (transliterated as ''euangelion'') via Latinised ''evangelium'' as used in the canonical titles of the Four Gospels, authored by (or attributed to) Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (also known as the Four Evangelists). The Greek word originally meant a reward given ...
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Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual experiences personal conversion; the authority of the Bible as God's revelation to humanity (biblical inerrancy); and spreading the Christian message. The word ''evangelical'' comes from the Greek (''euangelion'') word for " good news". Its origins are usually traced to 1738, with various theological streams contributing to its foundation, including Pietism and Radical Pietism, Puritanism, Quakerism, Presbyterianism and Moravianism (in particular its bishop Nicolaus Zinzendorf and his community at Herrnhut).Brian Stiller, ''Evangelicals Around the World: A Global Handbook for the 21st Century'', Thomas Nelson, USA, 2015, pp. 28, 90. Preeminently, John Wesley and other early Methodists were at the root of sparking this new movement during the ...
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Conversion To Christianity
Conversion to Christianity is the religious conversion of a previously non-Christian person to Christianity. Different Christian denominations may perform various different kinds of rituals or ceremonies initiation into their community of believers. The most commonly accepted ritual of conversion in Christianity is through baptism, but this is not universally accepted among them all. A period of instruction and study almost always ensues before a person is formally converted into Christianity and becomes a church member, but the length of this period varies, sometimes as short as a few weeks and possibly less, and other times, up to as long as a year or possibly more. Most mainline Christian denominations will accept conversion into other denominations as valid, so long as a baptism with water in the name of the Trinity took place, but some may accept a simple profession of faith in Jesus as Lord as being all that was needed for true conversion. Other Christians may not accept ...
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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 ...
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Billy Sunday
William Ashley "Billy" Sunday (November 19, 1862 – November 6, 1935) was an American outfielder in baseball's National League and widely considered the most influential American evangelist during the first two decades of the 20th century. Born into poverty in Iowa, Sunday spent some years at the Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home before working at odd jobs and playing for local running and baseball teams. His speed and agility provided him the opportunity to play baseball in the major leagues for eight years, where he was an average hitter and a good fielder known for his base-running. Converting to evangelical Christianity in the 1880s, Sunday left baseball for the Christian ministry. He gradually developed his skills as a pulpit evangelist in the Midwest and then, during the early 20th century, he became the nation's most famous evangelist with his colloquial sermons and frenetic delivery. Sunday held widely reported campaigns in America's largest cities, and he attracted the l ...
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