Mystique (personality Trait)

Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects.

Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "charisma" is used to describe a particular type of leader who uses "values-based, symbolic, and emotion-laden leader signaling".

In Christian theology, the term appears as ''charism'', an endowment or extraordinary power given by the Holy Spirit."Spiritual gifts". ''A Dictionary of the Bible'' by W. R. F. Browning. Oxford University Press Inc. ''Oxford Reference Online''. Oxford University Press. Accessed 22 June 2011.

Etymology

The English term ''charisma'' is from the Greek (''khárisma''), which means "favor freely given" or "gift of grace". The term and its plural (''charismata'') derive from (''charis''), which means "grace" or indeed "charm" with which it shares the root. Some derivatives from that root (including "grace") have similar meanings to the modern sense of ''personality charisma'', such as "filled with attractiveness or charm", "kindness", "to bestow a favor or service", or "to be favored or blessed"."charisma" in ''Oxford English Dictionary,'' second edition. 1989. Moreover, the ancient Greek dialect widely used in Roman times employed these terms without the connotations found in modern religious usage.Ebertz, Michael N. "Charisma" in ''Religion Past & Present.'' edited by Hans Dieter Betz, et al., Brill, 2007, p. 493. Ancient Greeks applied personality charisma to their gods; for example, attributing charm, beauty, nature, human creativity or fertility to goddesses they called ''Charites'' ().

Theologians and social scientists have expanded and modified the original Greek meaning into two distinct senses: ''personality charisma'' and ''divinely conferred charisma''.

The meaning of ''charisma'' has become greatly diffused from its original ''divinely conferred'' meaning, and even from the ''personality charisma'' meaning in modern English dictionaries, which reduces to a mixture of charm and status. John Potts, who has extensively analyzed the term's history, sums up meanings beneath this diffused common usage:

Contemporary charisma maintains, however, the irreducible character ascribed to it by Weber: it retains a mysterious, elusive quality. Media commentators regularly describe charisma as the "X-factor". …The enigmatic character of charisma also suggests a connection – at least to some degree – to the earliest manifestations of charisma as a spiritual gift.

History

Divinely conferred charisma

The Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible record the development of ''divinely conferred charisma''. In the Hebrew text the idea of charismatic leadership is generally signaled by the use of the noun ''hen'' (favor) or the verb ''hanan'' (to show favor). The Greek term for ''charisma'' (grace or favor), and its root ''charis'' (grace) replaced the Hebrew terms in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (the Septuagint). Throughout, "the paradigmatic image of the charismatic hero is the figure who has received God's favor".Scheper, George L. "Charisma" in ''Encyclopedia of Religion'' edited by Lindsay Jones. Macmillan Reference US, 2005, v 3, p. 1545. In other words, ''divinely conferred charisma'' applied to highly revered figures.

Thus, Eastern Mediterranean Jews in the had notions of ''charis'' and ''charisma'' that embraced the range of meanings found in Greek culture and the spiritual meanings from the Hebrew Bible. From this linguistic legacy of fused cultures, in 1 Corinthians, Paul the Apostle introduced the meaning that the Holy Spirit bestowed ''charism'' and ''charismata'', "the gift of God's grace," upon individuals or groups. For Paul, " ere is a clear distinction between charisma and ''charis''; charisma is the direct result of divine ''charis'' or grace."

In the New Testament Epistles, Paul refers to ''charisma'' or its plural ''charismata'' seven times in 1 Corinthians, written in Koine (or common) Greek around . He elaborates on his concepts with six references in Romans (c. 56). He makes 3 individual references in 2 Corinthians (c. 56), 1 Timothy, and 2 Timothy (c. 62 – c. 67). The seventeenth and only other mention of ''charisma'' is in 1 Peter.

The gospels, written in the late first century, apply ''divinely conferred charisma'' to revered figures. Examples are accounts of Jesus' baptism and of his transfiguration, in which disciples see him as radiant with light, appearing together with Moses and Elijah. Another example is Gabriel's greeting to Mary as "full of grace". In these and other instances early Christians designated certain individuals as possessing "spiritual gifts", and these gifts included "the ability to penetrate the neighbour to the bottom of his heart and spirit and to recognize whether he is dominated by a good or by an evil spirit and the gift to help him to freedom from his demon".Benz, Ernst Wilhelm. "The Roles of Christianity" in ''The new Encyclopædia Britannica'', v. 16, 1986, p. 306.

Believers characterized their revered religious figures as having "a higher perfection… a special ''Charisma''". Then, with the establishment of the Christian Church, "the old charismatic gifts and free offerings were transformed into a hierarchical