1.
Christianity
–
Christianity is a Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, who serves as the focal point for the religion. It is the worlds largest religion, with over 2.4 billion followers, or 33% of the global population, Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the savior of humanity whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament. Christian theology is summarized in creeds such as the Apostles Creed and his incarnation, earthly ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection are often referred to as the gospel, meaning good news. The term gospel also refers to accounts of Jesuss life and teaching, four of which—Matthew, Mark, Luke. Christianity is an Abrahamic religion that began as a Second Temple Judaic sect in the mid-1st century, following the Age of Discovery, Christianity spread to the Americas, Australasia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the rest of the world through missionary work and colonization. Christianity has played a prominent role in the shaping of Western civilization, throughout its history, Christianity has weathered schisms and theological disputes that have resulted in many distinct churches and denominations. Worldwide, the three largest branches of Christianity are the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the denominations of Protestantism. There are many important differences of interpretation and opinion of the Bible, concise doctrinal statements or confessions of religious beliefs are known as creeds. They began as baptismal formulae and were expanded during the Christological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries to become statements of faith. Many evangelical Protestants reject creeds as definitive statements of faith, even agreeing with some or all of the substance of the creeds. The Baptists have been non-creedal in that they have not sought to establish binding authoritative confessions of faith on one another. Also rejecting creeds are groups with roots in the Restoration Movement, such as the Christian Church, the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada, the Apostles Creed is the most widely accepted statement of the articles of Christian faith. It is also used by Presbyterians, Methodists, and Congregationalists and this particular creed was developed between the 2nd and 9th centuries. Its central doctrines are those of the Trinity and God the Creator, each of the doctrines found in this creed can be traced to statements current in the apostolic period. The creed was used as a summary of Christian doctrine for baptismal candidates in the churches of Rome. Most Christians accept the use of creeds, and subscribe to at least one of the mentioned above. The central tenet of Christianity is the belief in Jesus as the Son of God, Christians believe that Jesus, as the Messiah, was anointed by God as savior of humanity, and hold that Jesus coming was the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. The Christian concept of the Messiah differs significantly from the contemporary Jewish concept, Jesus, having become fully human, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, but did not sin
Christianity
–
An
Eastern Christian icon depicting
Emperor Constantine and the Fathers of the
First Council of Nicaea (325) as holding the Niceno–Constantinopolitan Creed of 381
Christianity
–
Various
depictions of Jesus
Christianity
–
Crucifixion, representing the death of
Jesus on the
Cross, painting by
Diego Velázquez, 17th century
2.
The gospel
–
In Christianity, the Gospel, or the Good News, is the news of the coming of the Kingdom of God, and of Jesuss death on the cross and resurrection to restore peoples relationship with God. It may also include the descent of the Holy Spirit upon believers, the message of good news is described as a narrative in the four canonical gospels. The message of good news is described as theology in many of the New Testament letters and it relates to the saving acts of God due to the work of Jesus on the cross and Jesus resurrection from the dead which bring reconciliation between people and God. It is called Proto-Evangelion or Proto-Gospel, Good News is the English translation of the Koine Greek εὐαγγέλιον euangélion. The Greek term was Latinized as evangelium in the Vulgate, in Old English, it was translated as gōdspel. The Old English term was retained as gospel in Middle English Bible translations, the written accounts of the life and teaching of Jesus are also generally known as Gospels. The good news can be summarized in many ways, reflecting various emphases, Acts 3, 18-26 This has taken place through the birth, life, ministry, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Acts 2, 22-31 By virtue of the resurrection, Jesus has been exalted at the hand of God as Messianic head of the new Israel. Acts 2, 32-36 The Holy Spirit in the church is the sign of Christs present power, Acts 10, 44-48 The Messianic Age will reach its consummation in the return of Christ. Acts 3, 20-21 An appeal is made for repentance with the offer of forgiveness, the Holy Spirit, Christian writers and teachers often present the Good News set within the context of the storyline of the whole Bible. This discipline, of understanding the Christian message in terms of Biblical salvation history, is known as Biblical Theology and this attempts to posit a connection between Old Testament and the Christian teachings of the good news about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. For example, the Roman Catholic Church promotes the teaching of the news in the context of biblical salvation history as a fundamental part of the content of its instruction. There are numerous exponents of the Biblical Theology approach to understanding the Good News, many Bible scholars and Christian groups have placed similar descriptions on the internet. Because the good news is multifaceted, there is a degree of variation in perspective between such descriptions. A brief summary of the teachings of the Bible writers, might read as follows, The Book of Genesis describes humanity, male and female, humanity was given a perfect place in which to live in perfect relationship with God, dependent upon God for all his needs. This resulted in the breaking of mankinds fellowship with God, leading to spiritual death, Genesis describes how God scattered mankind over the face of the earth, forming the different nations and ethnic groups. Beginning with the prophet and patriarch Abram, God chose specific people to live in obedience and fellowship with him, and blessed them, their land and this was so that the different peoples of the world would receive Gods blessing. This person would be called the Messiah, Gods son, the prophet Isaiah described a servant-like figure, who would suffer because of the offences of mankind against God
The gospel
–
Depicted is Jesus' famous
Sermon on the Mount in which he
commented on the Jewish Law. Some scholars consider this event to be a
completion or fulifilling ("
antitype ") of the proclamation by
Moses on
Mount Sinai of the
Ten Commandments and the promises and law of God (the "
Mosaic Covenant ").
The gospel
–
The Women at the Sepulchre. From an Armenian gospel manuscript held by the
Bodleian Library
The gospel
–
"The certain mark by which a Christian community can be recognized is the preaching of the gospel in its purity."—
Martin Luther
3.
Protestant
–
Protestantism is a form of Christianity which originated with the Reformation, a movement against what its followers considered to be errors in the Roman Catholic Church. It is one of the three divisions of Christendom, together with Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy. The term derives from the letter of protestation from German Lutheran princes in 1529 against an edict of the Diet of Speyer condemning the teachings of Martin Luther as heretical. Although there were earlier breaks from or attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church—notably by Peter Waldo, John Wycliffe, Protestants reject the notion of papal supremacy and deny the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, but disagree among themselves regarding the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The Five solae summarize the reformers basic differences in theological beliefs, in the 16th century, Lutheranism spread from Germany into Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Baltic states, and Iceland. Reformed churches were founded in Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Scotland, Switzerland and France by such reformers as John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, the political separation of the Church of England from Rome under King Henry VIII brought England and Wales into this broad Reformation movement. Protestants developed their own culture, which made major contributions in education, the humanities and sciences, the political and social order, the economy and the arts, some Protestant denominations do have a worldwide scope and distribution of membership, while others are confined to a single country. A majority of Protestants are members of a handful of families, Adventism, Anglicanism, Baptist churches, Reformed churches, Lutheranism, Methodism. Nondenominational, evangelical, charismatic, independent and other churches are on the rise, and constitute a significant part of Protestant Christianity. Six princes of the Holy Roman Empire and rulers of fourteen Imperial Free Cities, the edict reversed concessions made to the Lutherans with the approval of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V three years earlier. During the Reformation, the term was used outside of the German politics. The word evangelical, which refers to the gospel, was more widely used for those involved in the religious movement. Nowadays, this word is still preferred among some of the historical Protestant denominations in the Lutheran and Calvinist traditions in Europe, above all the term is used by Protestant bodies in the German-speaking area, such as the EKD. In continental Europe, an Evangelical is either a Lutheran or a Calvinist, the German word evangelisch means Protestant, and is different from the German evangelikal, which refers to churches shaped by Evangelicalism. The English word evangelical usually refers to Evangelical Protestant churches, and it traces its roots back to the Puritans in England, where Evangelicalism originated, and then was brought to the United States. Protestantism as a term is now used in contradistinction to the other major Christian traditions, i. e. Roman Catholicism. Initially, Protestant became a term to mean any adherent to the Reformation movement in Germany and was taken up by Lutherans. Even though Martin Luther himself insisted on Christian or Evangelical as the only acceptable names for individuals who professed Christ, French and Swiss Protestants preferred the word reformed, which became a popular, neutral and alternative name for Calvinists
Protestant
–
(
The Ninety-Five Theses)
Protestant
–
The Memorial Church in
Speyer, Germany
Protestant
–
Key figures of the Protestant Reformation: Martin Luther and John Calvin depicted on a church
pulpit. These reformers emphasised preaching and made it a centerpiece of worship.
Protestant
–
The Bible translated into
vernacular by Martin Luther. The supreme authority of
scripture is a fundamental principle of Protestantism.
4.
Evangelicalism
–
Its origins are usually traced back to English Methodism, the Moravian Church, and German Lutheran Pietism. While all these phenomena contributed greatly, John Wesley and other early Methodists were at the root of sparking this new movement during the First Great Awakening, today, Evangelicals are found across many Protestant branches, as well as in various denominations not subsumed to a specific branch. Among leaders and major figures of the Evangelical Protestant movement were John Wesley, George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, Billy Graham, Harold John Ockenga, John Stott and Martyn Lloyd-Jones. The movement gained momentum during the 18th and 19th centuries with the Great Awakenings in the United Kingdom. The Americas, Africa, and Asia are home to the majority of Evangelicals, United States has the largest concentration of Evangelicals in the world, its community forms a quarter of the population, is politically important and based mostly in the Bible Belt. In the United Kingdom, Evangelicals are mostly represented in the Methodist Church, Baptist communities, Evangelicalism, a major part of popular Protestantism, is among the most dynamic religious movements in the contemporary world, alongside resurgent Islam. While on the rise globally, the world is particularly influenced by its spread. The first published use of evangelical in English came in 1531 when William Tyndale wrote He exhorteth them to proceed constantly in the evangelical truth. One year later Sir Thomas More produced the earliest recorded use in reference to a theological distinction when he spoke of Tyndale his evangelical brother Barns, during the Reformation, Protestant theologians embraced the label as referring to gospel truth. Martin Luther referred to the evangelische Kirche to distinguish Protestants from Catholics in the Roman Catholic Church, into the 21st century, evangelical has continued in use as a synonym for Protestant in continental Europe, and elsewhere. This usage is reflected in the names of Protestant denominations such as the Evangelical Church in Germany, the term may also occur outside any religious context to characterize a generic missionary, reforming, or redeeming impulse or purpose. For example, the Times Literary Supplement refers to the rise, one influential definition of Evangelicalism has been proposed by historian David Bebbington. Conversionism, or belief in the necessity of being again, has been a constant theme of Evangelicalism since its beginnings. To Evangelicals, the message of the gospel is justification by faith in Christ and repentance, or turning away. Conversion differentiates the Christian from the non-Christian, and the change in life it leads to is marked by both a rejection of sin and a corresponding personal holiness of life. A conversion experience can be emotional, including grief and sorrow for sin followed by great relief at receiving forgiveness, the stress on conversion is further differentiated from other forms of Protestantism by the belief that an assurance of salvation will accompany conversion. Among Evangelicals, individuals have testified to both sudden and gradual conversions, biblicism is reverence for the Bible and a high regard for biblical authority. All Evangelicals believe in inspiration, though they disagree over how this inspiration should be defined
Evangelicalism
–
(
The Ninety-Five Theses)
Evangelicalism
–
Jonathan Edwards' account of the revival in Northampton was published in 1737 as
A Faithful Narrative of the Surprising Work of God in the Conversion of Many Hundred Souls in Northampton.
Evangelicalism
–
John Wesley preaching
5.
Missionaries
–
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to proselytize and/or perform ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development. The word mission originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin missionem, meaning act of sending or mittere, meaning to send. The word was used in light of its usage, in the Latin translation of the Bible. The term is most commonly used for Christian missions, but can be used for any creed or ideology, a Christian missionary can be defined as one who is to witness across cultures. The Lausanne Congress of 1974, defined the term, related to Christian mission as, Missionaries can be found in many countries around the world. Jesus instructed the apostles to make disciples of all nations and this verse is referred to by Christian missionaries as the Great Commission and inspires missionary work. The New Testament-era missionary outreach of the Christian church from the time of St Paul expanded throughout the Roman Empire and beyond to Persia, in 596, Pope Gregory the Great sent the Gregorian Mission into England. In their turn, Christians from Ireland and from Britain became prominent in converting the inhabitants of central Europe, about the same time, missionaries such as Francis Xavier as well as other Jesuits, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Dominicans started moving into Asia and the Far East. The Portuguese sent missions into Africa and these are some of the most well-known missions in history. While some missions accompanied imperialism and oppression, others were relatively peaceful, contemporary Christian missionaries argue that working for justice forms a constitutive part of preaching the Gospel, and observe the principles of inculturation in their missionary work. Over time, the Vatican gradually established a church structure in the mission areas, often starting with special jurisdictions known as apostolic prefectures. The two 9th-century saints Cyril and Methodius had extensive success in central Europe. The Byzantines expanded their work in Ukraine after a mass baptism in Kiev in 988. The Serbian Orthodox Church had its origins in the conversion by Byzantine missionaries of the Serb tribes when they arrived in the Balkans in the 7th century, Orthodox missionaries also worked successfully among the Estonians from the 10th to the 12th centuries, founding the Estonian Orthodox Church. The Russian St. Nicholas of Japan took Eastern Orthodoxy to Japan in the 19th century, the Russian Orthodox Church also sent missionaries to Alaska beginning in the 18th century, including Saint Herman of Alaska, to minister to the Native Americans. Quaker publishers of truth visited Boston and other mid-17th century colonies, the Danish government began the first organized Protestant mission work through its College of Missions, established in 1714. This funded and directed Lutheran missionaries such as Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg in Tranquebar, India and he also got to know a slave from the Danish colony in the West Indies. Within thirty years, Moravian missionaries had become active on every continent, and they are famous for their selfless work, living as slaves among the slaves and together with the Native Americans, the Delaware and Cherokee Indian tribes
Missionaries
–
Village of Christianized Tapuyos Indians,
Brazil c. 1820
Missionaries
–
English missionary
John Williams, active in the
South Pacific
Missionaries
–
Jesuits who were martyred by the
Araucanian Indians in Elicura in 1612
Missionaries
–
The first recorded baptism in
Alta California.
6.
Koine Greek
–
It was based mainly on Attic and related Ionic speech forms, with various admixtures brought about through dialect levelling with other varieties. Koine Greek displayed a wide spectrum of different styles, ranging from more conservative literary forms to the vernaculars of the time. As the dominant language of the Byzantine Empire, it developed further into Medieval Greek, Koine Greek remained the court language of the Byzantine Empire until its dissolution in 1453, while Medieval and eventually Modern Greek were the everyday language. Literary Koine was the medium of much of post-classical Greek literary and scholarly writing, such as the works of Plutarch, Koine is also the language of the Christian New Testament, of the Septuagint, and of most early Christian theological writing by the Church Fathers. In this context, Koine Greek is also known as Biblical, New Testament and it continues to be used as the liturgical language of services in the Greek Orthodox Church. The word koinē is the Greek word for common, and is understood as referring to the common dialect. The word is pronounced /kɔɪˈneɪ/, /ˈkɔɪneɪ/ or /kiːˈniː/ in US English, the pronunciation of the word in Koine gradually changed from Greek pronunciation, to Greek pronunciation. Its pronunciation in Modern Greek is, the term was applied in several different senses by ancient scholars. Others chose to refer to Koine as the Alexandrian dialect or the dialect of Alexandria, the former was often used by modern classicists. Koine Greek arose as a dialect within the armies of Alexander the Great. Under the leadership of Macedon, their newly formed common variety was spoken from the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt to the Seleucid Empire of Mesopotamia and it replaced existing ancient Greek dialects with an everyday form that people anywhere could understand. The passage into the period, known as Medieval Greek. The post-Classical period of Greek thus refers to the creation and evolution of Koine Greek throughout the entire Hellenistic, the linguistic roots of the Common Greek dialect had been unclear since ancient times. During the Hellenistic period, most scholars thought of Koine as the result of the mixture of the four main Ancient Greek dialects, ἡ ἐκ τῶν τεττάρων συνεστῶσα. The view accepted by most scholars today was given by the Greek linguist Georgios Hatzidakis, who showed that, despite the composition of the Four, the stable nucleus of Koine Greek is Attic. In other words, Koine Greek can be regarded as Attic with the admixture of elements especially from Ionic, the degree of importance of the non-Attic linguistic elements on Koine can vary depending on the region of the Hellenistic World. The literary Koine of the Hellenistic age resembles Attic in such a degree that it is mentioned as Common Attic. Koine Greek was therefore considered a form of Greek which was not worthy of attention
Koine Greek
–
Papyrus 46 is one of the oldest extant
New Testament manuscripts in
Greek, written on
papyrus, with its 'most probable date' between 175-225.
Koine Greek
–
Dark blue: areas where Greek speakers probably were a majority. Light blue: areas that were Hellenized. [
when?] [
citation needed]
7.
Four Gospels
–
A gospel is an account describing the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Christianity places a value on the four canonical gospels, which it considers to be revelations from God. This position however, requires a view of Biblical inerrancy. The word gospel derives from the Old English gōd-spell, meaning good news or glad tidings, the gospel was considered the good news of the coming Kingdom of Messiah, and of redemption through the life and death and resurrection of Jesus, the central Christian message. The Greek word euangelion is also the source of the terms evangelist, the authors of the four canonical Christian gospels are known as the Four Evangelists. Paul the Apostle used the term εὐαγγέλιον when he reminded the people of the church at Corinth of the gospel I preached to you, the earliest extant use of gospel to denote a particular genre of literature dates to the 2nd century. Justin Martyr in the Apology wrote of. the apostles, in the memoirs composed by them, more generally, gospels compose a genre of early Christian writings. Gospels that did not become canonical also circulated in Early Christianity, many, such as the work known today as Gospel of Thomas, lack the narrative framework typical of a gospel. Scholars hold a wide spectrum of views on the origins and composition of the gospels, for example, the vast majority of material in Mark is also present in either Luke or Matthew or both, suggesting that Mark was a source for Matthew and Luke. He writes that the four gospels were probably all written by the end of the first century. But they did not yet at that time have a consistent narrative, in 170 Tatian sought to find a solution by composing a single narrative out of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, with some additional oral material. Richies concludes that the gospel passages themselves can be unclear, and some of the messages within are straightforwardly ambiguous, the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are considered synoptic gospels on the basis of many similarities between them that are not shared by the Gospel of John. Synoptic means here that they can be seen or read together, the fourth gospel, the Gospel of John, presents a very different picture of Jesus and his ministry from the synoptics. Of the many gospels written in antiquity, only four came to be accepted as part of the New Testament. An insistence upon there being a canon of four gospels, and no others, was a theme of Irenaeus of Lyons. Irenaeus was ultimately successful in declaring that the four gospels collectively and he also supported reading each gospel in light of the others. This canon, which corresponds to the modern Catholic canon, was used in the Vulgate, Gospel of Matthew Gospel of John Gospel of Luke Gospel of Mark This order is found in the following manuscripts, Bezae, Monacensis, Washingtonianus, Tischendorfianus IV, Uncial 0234. Although there is no set order of the four gospels in patristic lists or discussions, moody Smith suggests that the standard order of Matthew-Mark-Luke-John projects a kind of intention that can scarcely be ignored
Four Gospels
–
The first page of the
Gospel of Mark in
Armenian, by
Sargis Pitsak, 14th century.
Four Gospels
8.
Matthew the Evangelist
–
Matthew the Apostle was, according to the Christian Bible, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus and, according to Christian tradition, one of the four Evangelists. Matthew may have collected taxes from the Hebrew people for Herod Antipas, Matthew is also listed among the twelve, but without identification of his background, in Mark 3,18, Luke 6,15 and Acts 1,13. Matthew was a 1st-century Galilean, the son of Alpheus, as a tax collector he would have been literate in Aramaic and Greek. His fellow Jews would have despised him for what was seen as collaborating with the Roman occupation force, after his call, Matthew invited Jesus home for a feast. On seeing this, the Scribes and the Pharisees criticized Jesus for eating with tax collectors and sinners and this prompted Jesus to answer, I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. The New Testament records that as a disciple, he followed Jesus, and was one of the witnesses of the Resurrection, afterwards, the disciples withdrew to an upper room in Jerusalem. The disciples remained in and about Jerusalem and proclaimed that Jesus was the promised Messiah, in the Babylonian Talmud Mattai is one of five disciples of Jeshu. Later Church fathers such as Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria claim that Matthew preached the Gospel to the Jewish community in Judea, ancient writers are not agreed as to what these other countries are. The Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church each hold the tradition that Matthew died as a martyr, the Gospel of Matthew is anonymous, the author is not named within the text, and the superscription according to Matthew was added some time in the second century. The consensus is that Papias does not describe the Gospel of Matthew as we know it, in the 3rd-century Jewish–Christian gospels attributed to Matthew were used by Jewish–Christian groups such as the Nazarenes and Ebionites. Fragments of these survive in quotations by Jerome, Epiphanius. Most academic study follows the distinction of Gospel of the Nazarenes, Gospel of the Ebionites, critical commentators generally regard these texts as having been composed in Greek and related to Greek Matthew. A minority of commentators consider them to be fragments of a lost Aramaic or Hebrew language original, the Infancy Gospel of Matthew is a 7th-century compilation of three other texts, the Protevangelium of James, the Flight into Egypt, and the Infancy Gospel of Thomas. Origen said the first Gospel was written by Matthew and this Gospel was composed in Hebrew near Jerusalem for Hebrew Christians and translated into Greek, but the Greek copy was lost. The Hebrew original was kept at the Library of Caesarea, the Nazarene Community transcribed a copy for Jerome which he used in his work. Matthews Gospel was called the Gospel according to the Hebrews or sometimes the Gospel of the Apostles, however, this has been challenged by modern biblical scholars such as Bart Ehrman and James R. Edwards. This Gospel has been preserved in the writings of the Church Fathers. Epiphanius does not make his own the claim about a Gospel of the Hebrews written by Matthew, Matthew is recognized as a saint in the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican churches
Matthew the Evangelist
–
St. Matthew by
Frans Hals
Matthew the Evangelist
–
Matthew in a painted miniature from a volume of Armenian Gospels dated 1609, held by the
Bodleian Library
Matthew the Evangelist
–
Saint Matthew and the Angel by
Rembrandt
Matthew the Evangelist
–
The statue of St. Matthew at the
Archbasilica of St. John Lateran in the
Vatican by
Camillo Rusconi
9.
Mark the Evangelist
–
Mark the Evangelist is the traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark. Mark is said to have founded the Church of Alexandria, one of the most important episcopal sees of Early Christianity and his feast day is celebrated on April 25, and his symbol is the winged lion. According to William Lane, an unbroken tradition identifies Mark the Evangelist with John Mark, however, Hippolytus of Rome in On the Seventy Apostles distinguishes Mark the Evangelist, John Mark, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas. According to Hippolytus, they all belonged to the Seventy Disciples who were sent out by Jesus to saturate Judea with the gospel. According to Eusebius of Caesarea, Herod Agrippa I, in his first year of reign over the whole of Judea, killed James, son of Zebedee and arrested Peter, Peter was saved miraculously by angels, and escaped out of the realm of Herod. Peter went to Antioch, then through Asia Minor, and arrived in Rome in the year of Emperor Claudius. Somewhere on the way, Peter encountered Mark and took him as travel companion, Mark the Evangelist wrote down the sermons of Peter, thus composing the Gospel according to Mark, before he left for Alexandria in the third year of Claudius. Aspects of the Coptic liturgy can be traced back to Mark himself and he became the first bishop of Alexandria and he is honored as the founder of Christianity in Africa. According to Eusebius, Mark was succeeded by Annianus as the bishop of Alexandria in the year of Nero, probably. Later Coptic tradition says that he was martyred in 68, most modern scholars argue the Gospel of Mark was written by an anonymous author, rather than direct witnesses to the reported events. Evidence for Mark the Evangelists authorship of the Gospel that bears his name originates with Papias, scholars of the Trinity Evangelical Divinity School are almost certain that Papias refers to John Mark. The Coptic Church accords with identifying Mark the Evangelist with John Mark, as well as that he was one of the Seventy Disciples sent out by Christ, as Hippolytus confirmed. Furthermore, Mark is also believed to have been among the servants at the Marriage at Cana who poured out the water that Jesus turned to wine, according to the Coptic tradition, Saint Mark was born in Cyrene, a city in the Pentapolis of North Africa. This tradition adds that Mark returned to Pentapolis later in life, after being sent by Paul to Colossae, when Mark returned to Alexandria, the pagans of the city resented his efforts to turn the Alexandrians away from the worship of their traditional gods. In AD68, they placed a rope around his neck, where Saint John Mark is distinguished from Saint Mark, the composer of the earliest Gospel that we have, Saint John Mark is celebrated on September 27 and the writer of the Gospel on April 25. In addition to Saint John Marks in Jerusalem, the Parish Church of Chester Hill with Sefton in the Diocese of Sydney is Saint John Marks and it celebrated its patronal festival on September 27. An icon of Saint John Mark on Cyprus, painted by a Russian Orthodox monk at Walsingham, was formerly in that church and is now in Christ Church Saint Laurence in Sydney. In 828, relics believed to be the body of Saint Mark were stolen from Alexandria by two Venetian merchants with the help of two Greek monks and taken to Venice, a mosaic in St Marks Basilica depicts sailors covering the relics with a layer of pork and cabbage leaves
Mark the Evangelist
–
Mark the Evangelist
Mark the Evangelist
–
Mark the Evangelist
symbol is the
winged lion, the
Lion of Saint Mark
Mark the Evangelist
–
Icon, St. Mark the Evangelist, 1657.
Mark the Evangelist
–
St. Mark by
Donatello (
Orsanmichele,
Florence)
10.
Luke the Evangelist
–
Luke the Evangelist is one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of the canonical Gospels. The New Testament mentions Luke briefly a few times, and the Pauline epistle to the Colossians refers to him as a doctor, Christians since the faiths early years have regarded him as a saint. He is believed to have been a martyr, reportedly as having been hanged in an olive tree, though some believe otherwise. Many scholars believe that Luke was a Greek physician who lived in the Greek city of Antioch in Ancient Syria, though other scholars. Bart Koet for instance considered it as widely accepted that the theology of Luke–Acts points to a gentile Christian writing for a gentile audience, gregory Sterling though, claims that he was either a Hellenistic Jew or a god-fearer. His earliest notice is in Pauls Epistle to Philemon—Philemon 1,24 and he is also mentioned in Colossians 4,14 and 2Timothy 4,11, two works commonly ascribed to Paul. He had become a disciple of the apostle Paul and later followed Paul until his martyrdom, having served the Lord continuously, unmarried and without children, filled with the Holy Spirit he died at the age of 84 years. If one accepts that Luke was in fact the author of the Gospel bearing his name and also the Acts of the Apostles, the we section of Acts continues until the group leaves Philippi, when his writing goes back to the third person. This change happens again when the returns to Philippi. There are three we sections in Acts, all following this rule, Luke never stated, however, that he lived in Troas, and this is the only evidence that he did. The composition of the writings, as well as the range of vocabulary used, a quote in the Letter of Paul to the Colossians differentiates between Luke and other colleagues of the circumcision. 10 My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark,11 Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my co-workers for the kingdom of God,14 Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings. This comment has traditionally caused commentators to conclude that Luke was a Gentile, if this were true, it would make Luke the only writer of the New Testament who can clearly be identified as not being Jewish. However, that is not the only possibility, although Luke is considered likely to be a Gentile Christian, some scholars believe him to be a Hellenized Jew. The phrase could just as easily be used to differentiate between those Christians who strictly observed the rituals of Judaism and those who did not. Lukes presence in Rome with the Apostle Paul near the end of Pauls life was attested by 2 Timothy 4,11, Only Luke is with me. In the last chapter of the Book of Acts, widely attributed to Luke, we find several accounts in the first person also affirming Lukes presence in Rome including Acts 28,16, And when we came to Rome
Luke the Evangelist
–
detail of the St. Luke altarpiece by
Andrea Mantegna
Luke the Evangelist
–
Base of a pillar at
Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
Puducherry, India
Luke the Evangelist
–
James Tissot, Saint Luke (Saint Luc),
Brooklyn Museum
Luke the Evangelist
–
Luke as depicted in the head-piece of an Armenian Gospel manuscript from 1609 held at the
Bodleian Library
11.
John the Evangelist
–
John the Evangelist is the name traditionally given to the author of the Gospel of John. Christians have traditionally identified him with John the Apostle, John of Patmos, the Gospel of John refers to an otherwise unnamed disciple whom Jesus loved, who bore witness to and wrote the Gospels message. Christian tradition says that John the Evangelist was John the Apostle, the Apostle John was a historical figure, one of the pillars of the Jerusalem church after Jesus death. He was one of the twelve apostles and is thought to be the only one to have lived into old age. John is associated with the city of Ephesus, where he is said to have lived, some believe that he was exiled to the Aegean island of Patmos, where he wrote the Book of Revelation. However, this is a matter of debate, with some attributing the authorship of Revelation to another man, the authorship of the Johannine works has been debated by scholars since at least the 2nd century AD. The main debate centers on who authored the writings, and which of the writings, if any, orthodox tradition attributes all the books to John the Apostle. In the 6th century, the Decretum Gelasianum argued that Second and Third John have an author known as John. Historical criticism rejects the view that John the Apostle authored any of these works, many modern scholars conclude that the apostle John wrote none of these works, although others, notably J. A. T. Robinson, F. F. Bruce, Leon Morris, and Martin Hengel hold the apostle to be behind at least some, there may have been a single author for the gospel and the three epistles. Some scholars conclude the author of the epistles was different from that of the gospel, the gospel and epistles traditionally and plausibly came from Ephesus, c. 90-110, although some argue for an origin in Syria. In the case of Revelation, many scholars agree that it was written by a separate author, John of Patmos. In the Tridentine Calendar he was commemorated also on each of the days up to and including 3 January. This Octave was abolished by Pope Pius XII in 1955, the traditional liturgical color is white. John the Evangelist is usually depicted as a young man, in Christian art, John is symbolically represented by an eagle, one of the creatures envisioned by Ezekiel and in the Revelation to John. The use of the chalice as a symbol for John is sometimes interpreted with reference to the Last Supper, another explanation is to be found in the words of Christ to John and James, My chalice indeed you shall drink. According to some authorities, this symbol was not adopted until the 13th century, the painting Saint John the Evangelist by Domenico Zampieri was auctioned in London in December 2009, for an estimated US$16.5 million
John the Evangelist
–
Saint John the Evangelist
John the Evangelist
–
St. John the Evangelist by Zampieri (1621–29)
John the Evangelist
–
John the Evangelist on Patmos, 1490
John the Evangelist
–
Piero di Cosimo, St. John the Evangelist, oil on panel, 1504-6,
Honolulu Museum of Art, USA
12.
Four Evangelists
–
The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are known as the Synoptic Gospels, because they include many of the same stories, often in the same sequence. Also known to have written the book of Acts and to have been a friend of Paul of Tarsus, John – a disciple of Jesus. They are called evangelists, an meaning people who proclaim good news. Images normally, but not invariably, appear with wings like angels. e. Man, the king of creation as the image of the creator, the lion as the king of beasts of prey, the ox as the king of domesticated animals and the eagle as the king of the birds. Matthew the Evangelist, the author of the first gospel account, is symbolized by a winged man, matthews gospel starts with Josephs genealogy from Abraham, it represents Jesus Incarnation, and so Christs human nature. This signifies that Christians should use their reason for salvation, Mark the Evangelist, the author of the second gospel account, is symbolized by a winged lion – a figure of courage and monarchy. The lion also represents Jesus resurrection, and Christ as king and this signifies that Christians should be courageous on the path of salvation. Luke the Evangelist, the author of the gospel account, is symbolized by a winged ox or bull – a figure of sacrifice, service. Lukes account begins with the duties of Zacharias in the temple, it represents Jesus sacrifice in His Passion and Crucifixion, the ox signifies that Christians should be prepared to sacrifice themselves in following Christ. John the Evangelist, the author of the gospel account, is symbolized by an eagle – a figure of the sky. This symbolizes that Christians should look on eternity without flinching as they journey towards their goal of union with God, each of the symbols is depicted with wings, following the biblical sources first in Ezekiel 1–2, and in Revelation. They were presented as one of the most common found on church portals and apses. When surrounding Christ, the figure of the man appears at top left – above Christs right hand. Underneath the man is the ox and underneath the lion is the eagle and this both reflects the medieval idea of the order of nobility of nature of the beasts and the text of Ezekiel 1.10. From the thirteenth century their use began to decline, as a new conception of Christ in Majesty, showing the wounds of the Passion, sometimes in Evangelist portraits they appear to dictate to the writing evangelist. Matthew is often cited as the first Gospel account, not only owing to its place in the canon, most biblical scholars however, see the gospel account of Mark as having been written first and Johns gospel account as having been written last. It has become customary to speak of the Gospel of Matthew
Four Evangelists
–
Jacob Jordaens,
The Four Evangelists, 1625–1630
Four Evangelists
–
The four winged creatures that symbolise the Four Evangelists surround
Christ in Majesty on the
Romanesque tympanum of the
Church of St. Trophime in
Arles
Four Evangelists
–
The lion symbol of
St. Mark from the
Echternach Gospels, here without wings.
Four Evangelists
–
The symbols of the four Evangelists are here depicted in the
Book of Kells. The four winged creatures symbolize, clockwise from top left,
Matthew,
Mark,
John, and
Luke.
13.
New Testament
–
The New Testament is the second major part of the Christian biblical canon, the first part being the Old Testament, based on the Hebrew Bible. The New Testament discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christianity, Christians regard both the Old and New Testaments together as sacred scripture. The New Testament has frequently accompanied the spread of Christianity around the world and it reflects and serves as a source for Christian theology and morality. Both extended readings and phrases directly from the New Testament are also incorporated into the various Christian liturgies, the New Testament has influenced religious, philosophical, and political movements in Christendom and left an indelible mark on literature, art, and music. In almost all Christian traditions today, the New Testament consists of 27 books, John A. T. Robinson, Dan Wallace, and William F. Albright dated all the books of the New Testament before 70 AD. Others give a date of 80 AD, or at 96 AD. Over time, some disputed books, such as the Book of Revelation, other works earlier held to be Scripture, such as 1 Clement, the Shepherd of Hermas, and the Diatessaron, were excluded from the New Testament. However, the canon of the New Testament, at least since Late Antiquity, has been almost universally recognized within Christianity. The term new testament, or new covenant first occurs in Jeremiah 31,31, the same Greek phrase for new covenant is found elsewhere in the New Testament. Modern English, like Latin, distinguishes testament and covenant as alternative translations, John Wycliffes 1395 version is a translation of the Latin Vulgate and so follows different terms in Jeremiah and Hebrews, Lo. Days shall come, saith the Lord, and I shall make a new covenant with the house of Israel, for he reproving him saith, Lo. Days come, saith the Lord, when I shall establish a new testament on the house of Israel, use of the term New Testament to describe a collection of first and second-century Christian Greek Scriptures can be traced back to Tertullian. In Against Marcion, written circa 208 AD, he writes of the Divine Word, by the 4th century, the existence—even if not the exact contents—of both an Old and New Testament had been established. Lactantius, a 3rd–4th century Christian author wrote in his early-4th-century Latin Institutiones Divinae and that which preceded the advent and passion of Christ—that is, the law and the prophets—is called the Old, but those things which were written after His resurrection are named the New Testament. The canon of the New Testament is the collection of books that most Christians regard as divinely inspired, several of these writings sought to extend, interpret, and apply apostolic teaching to meet the needs of Christians in a given locality. The book order is the same in the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, the Slavonic, Armenian and Ethiopian traditions have different New Testament book orders. Each of the four gospels in the New Testament narrates the life, death, the word gospel derives from the Old English gōd-spell, meaning good news or glad tidings. The gospel was considered the good news of the coming Kingdom of Messiah, and the redemption through the life and death of Jesus, Gospel is a calque of the Greek word εὐαγγέλιον, euangelion
New Testament
–
Books of the New Testament
New Testament
–
Evangelist Mathäus und der Engel, by
Rembrandt.
New Testament
–
Saint Paul Writing His Epistles, 17th-century painting. Most scholars think Paul actually dictated his letters to a secretary.
New Testament
–
Papyrus Bodmer VIII, at the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, showing 1 and 2 Peter.
14.
Proselytism
–
Proselytism /ˈprɒsəlᵻˌtɪzəm/ is the act of attempting to convert people to another religion or opinion. The word proselytize is derived from the Greek language prefix προσ-, historically in the Koine Greek Septuagint and New Testament, the word proselyte denoted a gentile who was considering conversion to Judaism. Proselytism is illegal in some countries, in the writings of the Baháí Faith, the endeavour to attract people to the religion is strongly emphasized. The process of attracting people to the religion is referred to as teaching, the term proselytism is given the connotation of aggressively teaching the religion to others, and is prohibited. Every Baháí has the obligation of teaching their religion, as it is seen as the path toward bringing peace and justice to the world. Some Baháís move to countries or cities where there are a small number of Baháís to help spread the religion. Some other Baháís move from place to place in a process called travel teaching, when moving or travelling to other countries Baháís are encouraged to integrate into their new society and apply Baháís principles in living and working with their neighbours. In total, however, only a minority of Baháís are directly teaching their religion to others. Despite this, religion has grown at least twice as fast as the population of almost every UN region over the last century, at the same time he stated that Baháís should exercise moderation, tact and wisdom and not be too aggressive in their teaching. In sharing their faith with others, Baháís are cautioned to make sure the person they are proposing to teach is open to hearing what they have to say, in most countries becoming a Baháí is a simple matter of filling out a card stating a declaration of belief. This includes acknowledgement of Baháullah as the messenger of God for this age, awareness and acceptance of his teachings and it does not involve negating ones previous beliefs, due to the Baháí belief in progressive revelation. The Acts of the Apostles and other sources contain several accounts of early Christians following this directive by engaging in individual conversations, evangelical Christians often use the term witnessing to mean discussing ones faith with another person with the intent of proselytism. Most self-described Christian groups have organizations devoted to work which in whole or in part includes proselytism of the non-religious. However the boundary varies from group to group, the Catholic Church claims that it is supporting the existing Catholic community within Russia and is not proselytizing. In 1993 the Balamand declaration on proselytism was released between the Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches, even today Buddhism is a growing religion in the West. The role of the bhantes and bhikkus monks for the spread of the message of Buddha, some adherents of Nichiren Buddhism actively proselytise referred to as Shakubuku. Hinduism, also known as Sanatana Dharma, is one of the worlds oldest continuously practiced religions, there is a trend in certain areas of India to stop any apostasy from Hindu faith through social ostracism by fundamentalist Hindu political groups, and the reconverts are usually accepted back. Similarly in recent times any converts from Hinduism to Islam have converted basically to avail polygamy which, however, conversion just for the purpose of polygamy is not permissible by Indian law
Proselytism
–
Statue of
St. Patrick of the Celtic Church, who was famous for proselytizing
Proselytism
–
Buddhist proselytism at the time of king
Ashoka (260-218 BC), according to the
Edicts of Ashoka
Proselytism
–
Proselytism protest in Switzerland
Proselytism
–
Mecca - Center of Islam
15.
Theology
–
Theology is the critical study of the nature of the divine. It is taught as a discipline, typically in universities, seminaries. Augustine of Hippo defined the Latin equivalent, theologia, as reasoning or discussion concerning the Deity, the term can, however, be used for a variety of different disciplines or fields of study. Theologians use various forms of analysis and argument to help understand, explain, test, critique, the English equivalent theology had evolved by 1362. Greek theologia was used with the discourse on god in the fourth century BC by Plato in The Republic, Book ii. Drawing on Greek Stoic sources, the Latin writer Varro distinguished three forms of discourse, mythical, rational and civil. Theologos, closely related to theologia, appears once in some manuscripts, in the heading to the book of Revelation, apokalypsis ioannoy toy theologoy. The Latin author Boethius, writing in the early 6th century, used theologia to denote a subdivision of philosophy as a subject of study, dealing with the motionless. Boethius definition influenced medieval Latin usage, Theology can also now be used in a derived sense to mean a system of theoretical principles, an ideology. They suggest the term is appropriate in religious contexts that are organized differently. Kalam. does not hold the place in Muslim thought that theology does in Christianity. To find an equivalent for theology in the Christian sense it is necessary to have recourse to several disciplines, and to the usul al-fiqh as much as to kalam. Jose Ignacio Cabezon, who argues that the use of theology is appropriate, can only do so, he says, I take theology not to be restricted to its etymological meaning. In that latter sense, Buddhism is of course atheological, rejecting as it does the notion of God, within Hindu philosophy, there is a solid and ancient tradition of philosophical speculation on the nature of the universe, of God and of the Atman. The Sanskrit word for the schools of Hindu philosophy is Darshana. Nevertheless, Jewish theology historically has been active and highly significant for Christian. It is sometimes claimed, however, that the Jewish analogue of Christian theological discussion would more properly be Rabbinical discussion of Jewish law, the history of the study of theology in institutions of higher education is as old as the history of such institutions themselves. Modern Western universities evolved from the institutions and cathedral schools of Western Europe during the High Middle Ages
Theology
–
Augustine of Hippo (354–430),
Latin theologian. His writing on
free will and
original sin remains influential in Western Christendom.
Theology
–
Albert the Great (1193/1206–1280),
patron saint of
Roman Catholic theologians
Theology
–
Tommaso D'aquino was the greatest Western theologist of the Middle Ages.
Theology
–
Allamah Sayyid Abul A'la Maududi was the most influential Islamic theologist of the 20th century.
16.
Calvinists
–
Calvinism is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice of John Calvin and other Reformation-era theologians. The term Calvinism can be misleading, because the tradition which it denotes has always been diverse. The movement was first called Calvinism by Lutherans who opposed it, early influential Reformed theologians include Ulrich Zwingli, John Calvin, Martin Bucer, William Farel, Heinrich Bullinger, Peter Martyr Vermigli, Theodore Beza, and John Knox. In the twentieth century, Abraham Kuyper, Herman Bavinck, B. B, Warfield, J. Gresham Machen, Karl Barth, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Cornelius Van Til, and Gordon Clark were influential. Contemporary Reformed theologians include J. I, sproul, Timothy J. Keller, John Piper, David Wells, and Michael Horton. Reformed churches may exercise several forms of polity, most are presbyterian or congregationalist. Calvinism is largely represented by Continental Reformed, Presbyterian, and Congregationalist traditions, the biggest Reformed association is the World Communion of Reformed Churches with more than 80 million members in 211 member denominations around the world. There are more conservative Reformed federations such as the World Reformed Fellowship, Calvinism is named after John Calvin. It was first used by a Lutheran theologian in 1552 and it was a common practice of the Catholic Church to name what they perceived to be heresy after its founder. Nevertheless, the term first came out of Lutheran circles, Calvin denounced the designation himself, They could attach us no greater insult than this word, Calvinism. It is not hard to guess where such a deadly hatred comes from that they hold against me, despite its negative connotation, this designation became increasingly popular in order to distinguish Calvinists from Lutherans and from newer Protestant branches that emerged later. Moreover, these churches claim to be—in accordance with John Calvins own words—renewed accordingly with the order of gospel. Since the Arminian controversy, the Reformed tradition—as a branch of Protestantism distinguished from Lutheranism—divided into two groups, Arminians and Calvinists. However, it is now rare to call Arminians a part of the Reformed tradition, some have also argued that Calvinism as a whole stresses the sovereignty or rule of God in all things including salvation. First-generation Reformed theologians include Huldrych Zwingli, Martin Bucer, Wolfgang Capito, John Oecolampadius, scripture was also viewed as a unified whole, which led to a covenantal theology of the sacraments of baptism and the Lords Supper as visible signs of the covenant of grace. Another Reformed distinctive present in these theologians was their denial of the presence of Christ in the Lords supper. Each of these also understood salvation to be by grace alone. Martin Luther and his successor Philipp Melanchthon were undoubtedly significant influences on these theologians, the doctrine of justification by faith alone was a direct inheritance from Luther
Calvinists
–
Reformation Wall in
Geneva; from left to right:
William Farel,
John Calvin,
Theodore Beza, and
John Knox
Calvinists
–
Calvin preached at
St. Pierre Cathedral, the main church in Geneva
Calvinists
–
Calvin's
magnum opus:
Institutio Christianae religionis
Calvinists
–
Calvinism has been known at times for its simple, unadorned churches and lifestyles, as depicted in this painting by
Emanuel de Witte c.1661
17.
Catholicism
–
The use of terms catholicism and catholicity is closely related to the use of term Catholic Church. The earliest evidence of the use of term is the Letter to the Smyrnaeans that Ignatius of Antioch wrote in about 108 to Christians in Smyrna. In 380, Emperor Theodosius I limited use of the term Catholic Christian exclusively to those who followed the faith as Pope Damasus I of Rome. Numerous other early writers including Cyril of Jerusalem, Augustine of Hippo further developed the use of the term catholic in relation to Christianity. In Christian theology, and specially in ecclesiology, terms Catholicism, when used with small c, terms catholicism and catholicity generally designate theological doctrine of the catholicity of the Church without denominational connotations. A common belief in Catholicism is institutional continuity with the early Christian church founded by Jesus Christ, many churches or communions of churches identify singularly or collectively as the authentic church. The Bishop of Rome was also considered to have the right to convene ecumenical councils, when the Imperial capital moved to Constantinople, Romes influence was sometimes challenged. The first great rupture in the Church followed this Council and they are often called Ancient Oriental Churches. The next major break was after the Council of Chalcedon and this Council repudiated Eutychian Monophysitism which stated that the divine nature completely subsumed the human nature in Christ. This Council declared that Christ, though one person, exhibited two natures without confusion, without change, without division, without separation and thus is both fully God and fully human, the next great rift within Christianity was in the 11th century. This division between the Western Church and the Eastern Church is called the East–West Schism, several eastern churches reunited, constituting some of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Liturgical and canonical practices vary between all these particular Churches constituting the Roman and Eastern Catholic Churches, in all these cases the beliefs and practices of Catholicism would be identical with the beliefs and practices of the Church in question. However, in Roman Catholicism, the term catholic is understood as to cover those who recognize and are in standing with the Magisterium. The sense given to the word by those who use it to distinguish their position from a Calvinistic or Puritan form of Protestantism. It is then meaningful to attempt to draw up a list of common characteristic beliefs, the Roman Catholic Church includes the 23 rites who recognize the Magisterium. Belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the belief that Christ is made manifest in the elements of Holy Communion, possession of the threefold ordained ministry of Bishops, Priests and Deacons. Belief that the Church is the vessel and deposit of the fullness of the teachings of Jesus and this teaching is preserved in both written scripture and in unwritten tradition, neither being independent of the other. A belief in the necessity and efficacy of sacraments, liturgical and personal use of the Sign of the Cross The use of sacred images, candles, vestments and music, and often incense and water, in worship
Catholicism
–
Ruins of gothic Catholic church in
Liptovská Mara (
Slovakia).
Catholicism
–
Ancient statue of
Saint Peter in the Basilica dedicated to him in the
Vatican.
Catholicism
–
An
Italian priest during the sacrament of
Baptism
18.
Russia
–
Russia, also officially the Russian Federation, is a country in Eurasia. The European western part of the country is more populated and urbanised than the eastern. Russias capital Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world, other urban centers include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a range of environments. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, the East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, in 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus ultimately disintegrated into a number of states, most of the Rus lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion. The Soviet Union played a role in the Allied victory in World War II. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the worlds first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space. By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the second largest economy, largest standing military in the world. It is governed as a federal semi-presidential republic, the Russian economy ranks as the twelfth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2015. Russias extensive mineral and energy resources are the largest such reserves in the world, making it one of the producers of oil. The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction, Russia is a great power as well as a regional power and has been characterised as a potential superpower. The name Russia is derived from Rus, a state populated mostly by the East Slavs. However, this name became more prominent in the later history, and the country typically was called by its inhabitants Русская Земля. In order to distinguish this state from other states derived from it, it is denoted as Kievan Rus by modern historiography, an old Latin version of the name Rus was Ruthenia, mostly applied to the western and southern regions of Rus that were adjacent to Catholic Europe. The current name of the country, Россия, comes from the Byzantine Greek designation of the Kievan Rus, the standard way to refer to citizens of Russia is Russians in English and rossiyane in Russian. There are two Russian words which are translated into English as Russians
Russia
–
Kievan Rus' in the 11th century
Russia
–
Flag
Russia
–
The
Baptism of Kievans, by
Klavdy Lebedev
Russia
–
Sergius of Radonezh blessing
Dmitry Donskoy in
Trinity Sergius Lavra, before the
Battle of Kulikovo, depicted in a painting by
Ernst Lissner
19.
Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz (archbishop)
–
Archbishop Monsignor Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz is the Belarusian Roman Catholic Archbishop of Minsk and Mahilyow, Belarus. Born as Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz to an ethnic Polish family, he was the elder of the two children of Ignacy Kondrusiewicz and his wife Anna and his sister was the late Maria Kondrusiewicz Buro. In 1964, he entered the Department of Energetics and Machinery Construction at the Leningrad Polytechnical Institute and he graduated in 1970, becoming a mechanical engineer. In 1976, aged 30, he entered Kaunas Priest Seminary and was ordained priest on May 31,1981 and he served as curate in a number of parishes in Lithuania. On February 13,1988, he was appointed parish priest of the parishes of Our Lady of Angels and St. Francis Xavier in Hrodna, in 1989, Pope John Paul II appointed him Apostolic Administrator of Minsk, Belarus and Titular Bishop of Hippo Diarrhytus. On October 20, he was consecrated bishop by the Pope at St. Peters Basilica in Rome, with Cardinals Edward Idris Cassidy, during his service as a bishop he has founded the Senior Hrodna Seminary, managed to return and reopening of about 100 churches in Belarus. He initiated translation and publication of Catholic religious literature in the Belarusian language, on April 13,1991, two Apostolic Administrations were erected in Russian Federation, that of Russia Europea and of Siberia, Msgr. Kondrusiewicz being appointed to head the former and Msgr, joseph Werth SJ to the latter. Moscow, the Russian capital, was chosen as the city for European Russia. In 1999, this Apostolic Administration was divided in two, Msgr, finally, on February 11,2002, the Pope elevated the four Apostolic Administrations of Russia to Dioceses united in an ecclesiastical province. The Apostolic Administration of Moscow now became the Diocese of the Mother of God in Moscow, Kondrusiewicz was named Archbishop and Metropolitan. Kondrusiewicz spent two terms as chairman of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Russia, being then succeeded by Msgr. From 1994 to 1999, he was a member of the Pontifical Congregation for the Oriental Churches, without any doubt, he has been instrumental in the reestablishment of the Roman Catholic Church in Russia after the collapse of the Communist regime. Kondrusiewicz was appointed Metropolitan Archbishop of Minsk-Mahilyow by Pope Benedict XVI and he was succeeded in the Archdiocese of Mother of God at Moscow by Italian-born Fr. Paolo Pezzi, FSCB, until then rector of the seminary of Mary Queen of the Apostles in Saint Petersburg. On June 30,2011, Kazimierz Świątek retired from his position as Apostolic Administrator of Pinsk and he was awarded the Medal In Commemoration of the 300th Anniversary of Saint Petersburg
Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz (archbishop)
–
His Excellency Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz
20.
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
–
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is the oldest among the nine congregations of the Roman Curia. It was founded to defend the church from heresy, today and its headquarters are at the Palace of the Holy Office, just outside Vatican City. The congregation employs a board including cardinals, bishops, priests, lay theologians. The current Prefect is Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller and it served as the final court of appeal in trials of heresy and served as an important part of the Counter-Reformation. This body was renamed the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office in 1908 by Pope Saint Pius X, in many Catholic countries, the body is often informally called the Holy Office. The Congregations name was changed to Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on 7 December 1965 and this includes investigations into grave delicts, i. e. These crimes, in a motu proprio of 2001, Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela, in effect, it is the promoter of justice who deals with, among other things, the question of priests accused of paedophilia. Within the CDF are the International Theological Commission, the Pontifical Biblical Commission, the Prefect of the CDF is ex officio president of these commissions. Until 1968, the Pope himself held the title of prefect, instead, he appointed one of the cardinals to preside over the meetings, first as Secretary, then as Pro-Prefect. Since 1968, the Cardinal head of the dicastery has borne the title of Prefect, therefore, from 1968 onwards, the title of Secretary refers to the second highest-ranking officer of the Congregation. The Congregation has a membership of some 18 other cardinals and a number of non-cardinal bishops, a staff of some 38 priests, religious and lay men and women. The work of the CDF is divided into four sections, the doctrinal, disciplinary, matrimonial, staff, Prefect, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller Secretary, Archbishop Luis Ladaria Ferrer, S. J. Assistant Secretary, Archbishop Joseph Augustine Di Noia, O. P and they refused to recant the doctrines of the Community of the Lady of All Nations. The nuns are members of the Good Shepherd Monastery of Our Lady of Charity, sister Mary Theresa Dionne,82, one of 6, said they will still live at the convent property, which they own. The sect believes that its 86-year-old founder, Marie Paule Giguere, is the reincarnation of the Virgin Mary, notification on the works of the Reverend Father Jon Sobrino, S. J. Notification regarding the book Jesus Symbol of God of the Reverend Father Roger Haight, notification on the book Toward a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism by the Reverend Father Jacques Dupuis, S. J. Notification concerning some writings of Professor Dr. J, notification concerning the Text Mary and Human Liberation by the Reverend Father Tissa Balasuriya, O. M. I. Notification on the writings and activities of Mrs. M. I. P, essay on militant Ecclesiology by Leonardo Boff, O. F. M
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
–
Astronomer
Galileo Galilei presented before the Holy Office, a 19th-century painting by
Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
–
The Palace of the Holy Office, seat of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
21.
Bible
–
The Bible is a collection of sacred texts or scriptures that Jews and Christians consider to be a product of divine inspiration and a record of the relationship between God and humans. Many different authors contributed to the Bible, what is regarded as canonical text differs depending on traditions and groups, a number of Bible canons have evolved, with overlapping and diverging contents. The Christian Old Testament overlaps with the Hebrew Bible and the Greek Septuagint, the New Testament is a collection of writings by early Christians, believed to be mostly Jewish disciples of Christ, written in first-century Koine Greek. These early Christian Greek writings consist of narratives, letters, among Christian denominations there is some disagreement about the contents of the canon, primarily the Apocrypha, a list of works that are regarded with varying levels of respect. Attitudes towards the Bible also differ amongst Christian groups and this concept arose during the Protestant Reformation, and many denominations today support the use of the Bible as the only source of Christian teaching. With estimated total sales of over 5 billion copies, the Bible is widely considered to be the book of all time. It has estimated sales of 100 million copies, and has been a major influence on literature and history, especially in the West. The English word Bible is from the Latin biblia, from the word in Medieval Latin and Late Latin. Medieval Latin biblia is short for biblia sacra holy book, while biblia in Greek and it gradually came to be regarded as a feminine singular noun in medieval Latin, and so the word was loaned as a singular into the vernaculars of Western Europe. Latin biblia sacra holy books translates Greek τὰ βιβλία τὰ ἅγια ta biblia ta hagia, the word βιβλίον itself had the literal meaning of paper or scroll and came to be used as the ordinary word for book. It is the diminutive of βύβλος byblos, Egyptian papyrus, possibly so called from the name of the Phoenician sea port Byblos from whence Egyptian papyrus was exported to Greece, the Greek ta biblia was an expression Hellenistic Jews used to describe their sacred books. Christian use of the term can be traced to c.223 CE, bruce notes that Chrysostom appears to be the first writer to use the Greek phrase ta biblia to describe both the Old and New Testaments together. The division of the Hebrew Bible into verses is based on the sof passuk cantillation mark used by the 10th-century Masoretes to record the verse divisions used in oral traditions. The oldest extant copy of a complete Bible is an early 4th-century parchment book preserved in the Vatican Library, the oldest copy of the Tanakh in Hebrew and Aramaic dates from the 10th century CE. The oldest copy of a complete Latin Bible is the Codex Amiatinus and he states that it is not a magical book, nor was it literally written by God and passed to mankind. In Christian Bibles, the New Testament Gospels were derived from traditions in the second half of the first century CE. Riches says that, Scholars have attempted to reconstruct something of the history of the oral traditions behind the Gospels, the period of transmission is short, less than 40 years passed between the death of Jesus and the writing of Marks Gospel. This means that there was time for oral traditions to assume fixed form
Bible
–
The
Gutenberg Bible, the first printed Bible
Bible
–
The Kennicott Bible, by
Benjamin Kennicott, with illustration, Jonah being swallowed by the fish, 1476
Bible
–
Tanakh
22.
William Carey (missionary)
–
William Carey was a British Christian missionary, Particular Baptist minister, translator, social reformer and cultural anthropologist. He went to Kolkata in 1793, but was forced to leave the British Indian territory by non-Baptist Christian missionaries and he joined the Baptist missionaries in the Danish colony of Frederiksnagar in India. One of his first contributions was to start schools for impoverished children where they were reading, writing, accounting. He opened the first theological university in Serampore offering divinity degrees, Carey is known as the father of modern missions. His essay, An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens, led to the founding of the Baptist Missionary Society. ”He translated the Hindu classic the Ramayana into English, and the Bible into Bengali, Oriya, Assamese, Arabic, Marathi, Hindi and Sanskrit. William Carey has been called a reformer and illustrious Christian missionary, as well as an ideologue with prejudice, hyperbole. William Carey, the oldest of five children, was born to Edmund and Elizabeth Carey, William was raised in the Church of England, when he was six, his father was appointed the parish clerk and village schoolmaster. As a child he was naturally inquisitive and keenly interested in the natural sciences and he possessed a natural gift for language, teaching himself Latin. At the age of 14, Careys father apprenticed him to a cordwainer in the village of Piddington. His master, Clarke Nichols, was a churchman like himself, through his influence Carey would eventually leave the Church of England and join with other Dissenters to form a small Congregational church in nearby Hackleton. While apprenticed to Nichols, he taught himself Greek with the help of a local villager who had a college education. When Nichols died in 1779, Carey went to work for the local shoemaker, Thomas Old, he married Olds sister-in-law Dorothy Plackett in 1781 in the Church of St. John the Baptist, Piddington. Unlike William, Dorothy was illiterate, her signature in the register is a crude cross. William and Dorothy Carey had seven children, five sons and two daughters, both died in infancy, as well as son Peter, who died at the age of 5. Thomas Old himself died soon afterward, and Carey took over his business, during which time he taught himself Hebrew, Italian, Dutch, Carey acknowledged his humble origins and referred to himself as a cobbler. However, the community often knew him by the higher status of a shoemaker. John Brown Myers entitled his biography of Carey William Carey the Shoemaker Who Became the Father and Founder of Modern Missions and they invited him to preach in their church in the nearby village of Earls Barton every other Sunday. On 5 October 1783, William Carey was baptised by Ryland, in 1785, Carey was appointed the schoolmaster for the village of Moulton
William Carey (missionary)
–
Missionary to India
William Carey (missionary)
–
William Carey's motto on a hanging in St. James Church, Paulerspury, Northamptonshire, where Carey attended as a boy
William Carey (missionary)
–
Engraved plaque in St. James Church, Paulerspury, Northamptonshire, where Carey attended as a boy
William Carey (missionary)
–
Detail from wall hanging depicting William Carey's life, in Carey Baptist Church, Moulton, Northamptonshire, UK
23.
Jesus
–
Jesus, also referred to as Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus Christ, was a Jewish preacher and religious leader who became the central figure of Christianity. Christians believe him to be the Son of God and the awaited Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament, Jesus was a Galilean Jew who was baptized by John the Baptist and subsequently began his own ministry, preaching his message orally and often being referred to as rabbi. He was arrested and tried by the Jewish authorities, and was crucified by the order of Pontius Pilate, Jesus debated fellow Jews on how to best follow God, performed healings, taught in parables and gathered followers. After his death, his followers believed he rose from the dead, and his birth is celebrated annually on December 25 as a holiday known as Christmas, his crucifixion is honored on Good Friday, and his resurrection is celebrated on Easter. The widely used calendar era AD, from the Latin anno Domini, most Christians believe Jesus enables humans to be reconciled to God. The Nicene Creed asserts that Jesus will judge the living and the dead either before or after their bodily resurrection, the great majority of Christians worship Jesus as the incarnation of God the Son, the second of three persons of a Divine Trinity. A minority of Christian denominations reject Trinitarianism, wholly or partly, in Islam, Jesus is considered one of Gods important prophets and the Messiah. Muslims believe Jesus was a bringer of scripture and was born of a virgin but was not the Son of God, the Quran states that Jesus himself never claimed divinity. To most Muslims, Jesus was not crucified but was raised into Heaven by God. Judaism rejects the belief that Jesus was the awaited Messiah, arguing that he did not fulfill Messianic prophecies, a typical Jew in Jesus time had only one name, sometimes supplemented with the fathers name or the individuals hometown. Thus, in the New Testament, Jesus is commonly referred to as Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus neighbors in Nazareth refer to him as the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, the carpenters son, or Josephs son. In John, the disciple Philip refers to him as Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth, the name Jesus is derived from the Latin Iesus, a transliteration of the Greek Ἰησοῦς. The Greek form is a rendering of the Hebrew ישוע, a variant of the earlier name יהושע, the name Yeshua appears to have been in use in Judea at the time of the birth of Jesus. The 1st century works of historian Flavius Josephus, who wrote in Koine Greek, the etymology of Jesus name in the context of the New Testament is generally given as Yahweh is salvation. Since early Christianity, Christians have commonly referred to Jesus as Jesus Christ, the word Christ is derived from the Greek Χριστός, which is a translation of the Hebrew משיח, meaning the anointed and usually transliterated into English as Messiah. Christians designate Jesus as Christ because they believe he is the Messiah, whose arrival is prophesied in the Hebrew Bible, in postbiblical usage, Christ became viewed as a name—one part of Jesus Christ—but originally it was a title. The term Christian has been in use since the 1st century, the four canonical gospels are the only substantial sources for the life and message of Jesus. Acts of the Apostles refers to the ministry of Jesus
Jesus
–
(
stained glass at
St John's Ashfield in
Sydney, Australia)
Jesus
Jesus
–
A 3rd-century Greek
papyrus of the
Gospel of Luke
Jesus
–
Adoration of the Shepherds by
Gerard van Honthorst, 1622.
24.
Gospel of Matthew
–
The Gospel According to Matthew is the first book of the New Testament. The narrative tells how the Messiah, Jesus, rejected by Israel, most scholars believe the Gospel of Matthew was composed between AD80 and 90, with a range of possibility between AD70 to 110. The title Son of David identifies Jesus as the healing and miracle-working Messiah of Israel, as Son of Man he will return to judge the world, an expectation which his disciples recognise but of which his enemies are unaware. As Son of God he is God revealing himself through his son, the gospel reflects the struggles and conflicts between the evangelists community and the other Jews, particularly with its sharp criticism of the scribes and Pharisees. The original versions of the Gospel of Matthew and the gospels are lost. The oldest relatively complete extant manuscripts of the Bible are the Codex Vaticanus and the Codex Sinaiticus, besides these, there exist manuscript fragments ranging from a few verses to whole chapters. P104 and P67 are notable fragments of Matthew, in the process of recopying, variations slipped in, different regional manuscript traditions emerged, and corrections and adjustments were made. The Gospel of Matthew is anonymous, the author is not named within the text, the consensus is that Papias does not describe the Gospel of Matthew as we know it, and it is generally accepted that Matthew was written in Greek, not in Aramaic or Hebrew. The majority view of scholars is that Mark was the first gospel to be composed. The author of Matthew did not, however, simply copy Mark, an additional 220 verses, shared by Matthew and Luke but not found in Mark, from a second source, a hypothetical collection of sayings to which scholars give the name Quelle, or the Q source. The author also had at his disposal the Greek scriptures, both as book-scrolls and in the form of collections, and, if Papias is correct. The majority view among scholars is that Matthew was a product of the last quarter of the 1st century, the Christian community to which Matthew belonged, like many 1st-century Christians, were still part of the larger Jewish community, hence the designation Jewish Christian to describe them. The author of Matthew wrote for a community of Greek-speaking Jewish Christians located probably in Syria, Matthew, alone among the gospels, alternates five blocks of narrative with five of discourse, marking each off with the phrase When Jesus had finished. The Gospel of Matthew begins with the words The Book of Genealogy of Jesus Christ, John baptizes Jesus, and the Holy Spirit descends upon him. Jesus prays and meditates in the wilderness for forty days, and is tempted by Satan and his early ministry by word and deed in Galilee meets with much success, and leads to the Sermon on the Mount, the first of the discourses. The sermon presents the ethics of the kingdom of God, introduced by the Beatitudes and it concludes with a reminder that the response to the kingdom will have eternal consequences, and the crowds amazed response leads into the next narrative block. From the authoritative words of Jesus the gospel turns to three sets of three miracles interwoven with two sets of two stories, followed by a discourse on mission and suffering. Opposition to Jesus comes to a head with accusations that his deeds are done through the power of Satan, Jesus in turn accuses his opponents of blaspheming the Holy Spirit
Gospel of Matthew
–
Books of the
New Testament
Gospel of Matthew
–
Papyrus
4, fragment of a flyleaf with the title of the Gospel of Matthew, ευαγγελιον κ̣ατ̣α μαθ᾽θαιον (euangelion kata Maththaion). Dated to late 2nd or early 3rd century, it is the earliest manuscript title for Matthew
Gospel of Matthew
–
37, a 3rd-century CE papyrus of
Matthew 26
Gospel of Matthew
–
The Evangelist Matthew Inspired by an Angel (
Rembrandt)
25.
NIV
–
The New International Version is an English translation of the Protestant Bible. Biblica is the publisher and copyright holder of the NIV. Originally published in the 1970s, the NIV was updated in 1984 and 2011, a 2014 survey of Americans who read the Bible found that 19% use it. The NIV began in 1956 with the formation of a committee to study the value of producing a translation in the common language of the American people. Wenger, Stephen W. Paine, and Marten Woudstra, the New York Bible Society was selected to do the translation. The New Testament was released in 1973 and the full Bible in 1978, the English version underwent a minor revision in 1984. In 1990 the committee on Bible translation headed by Drs, a planned 1997 English edition was discontinued over inclusive language. An easy-reader version, New International Readers Version, was published in 1996, a revised English edition titled Todays New International Version released a New Testament in March 2002, with the complete Bible published February 2005. In 2011, a version was released. The update modified and dropped some of the language of the TNIV. Translational issues with Pauls letters were also addressed, the manuscript base for the Old Testament was the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia Masoretic Hebrew Text. The manuscript base for the New Testament was the Koine Greek language editions of the United Bible Societies, the deuterocanonical books are not included in the translation. The core translation group consisted of fifteen Biblical scholars using Hebrew, Aramaic, the translation took ten years and involved a team of over 100 scholars. From the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, the range of those participating included many different denominations such as Anglicans, Assemblies of God, Baptist, Christian Reformed, Lutheran and Presbyterian. The NIV is a balance between word-for-word and thought-for-thought or literal and phrase by phrase translations, recent archaeological and linguistic discoveries helped in understanding passages that have traditionally been difficult to translate. Familiar spellings of traditional translations were generally retained, in Genesis 2,19 a translation such as the NRSV uses formed in a plain past tense So out of the ground the LORD God formed every animal. But the NIV imposes a questionable pluperfect Now the LORD God had formed out of the all the wild animals. To try to make it appear that the animals had already been created, theologian John Sailhamer states Not only is such a translation
NIV
–
Cover for a NIV Bible
26.
Approaches to evangelism
–
Throughout history, Christians have used many different approaches to spread Christianity via the practice of evangelism. Christianity began with only a few different evangelistic approaches, but over the years, many of these forms of evangelism are often employed in only certain parts of the world by Christians in different geographical areas. In particular, most new approaches to evangelism today have arisen out of Europe or the United States, supporters of this approach note that both Jesus and many of the Old Testament prophets often preached about God in public places. It is one of the oldest approaches to evangelism, in the Gospel of Luke, it was recorded that Jesus also gave an open-air sermon known as the Sermon on the Plain. After Jesus death, many of his apostles and followers open-air preached the gospel in the Temple of Jerusalem or in open spaces. During the Middle Ages and the Protestant Reformation, open-air preaching was often employed by Protestants throughout Europe who could not always preach inside churches, open-air preaching in Europe continued during the rise of Puritanism and other Protestant movements. In the time period of the late 19th century and early-to-mid-20th century many famous open-air preachers in the United States began to preach, such as Billy Sunday and Billy Graham. To this day field preaching is a cross to me, but I know my commission, wesleys contemporary, Anglican preacher George Whitefield stated, I believe I never was more acceptable to my Master than when I was standing to teach those hearers in the open fields. I now preach to ten more people than I should. Including the field outside Park Street and it was said that one of the regular practices of America evangelist Dwight L. Moody in the late 1860s was to exhort the passersby in the evenings from the steps of the court house, often these impromptu gathering drew as many hecklers as supporters. It was practiced especially often during the Middle Ages, trickle-down evangelism was also applied often in European areas during ancient times, such as in the northern Sweden area, as the Catholic Church tried to send missionaries into the area. Jesus often went into other peoples homes during his own ministry, the international organization Every Home for Christ began door-to-door preaching in 1953 throughout many countries, and as of 2010, total home visits by their members became 1.3 billion. Many local parishes and churches use this approach to evangelism. Groups such as Jehovahs Witnesses and Mormons are famous in particular for spreading their beliefs by door to door evangelism at peoples homes, both groups main organizations use door-to-door preaching to a great extent. Full-time missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints use this, many churches regularly have a gospel message preached in a sermon. Often, this include an altar call where people are invited to come forward. The use of calls is somewhat controversial, while it is practiced by many evangelical churches
Approaches to evangelism
–
A representative painting of
Jesus Christ delivering the open-air
Sermon on the Mount
27.
Jehovas Witness
–
Jehovahs Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a membership of more than 8.3 million adherents involved in evangelism. Jehovahs Witnesses are directed by the Governing Body of Jehovahs Witnesses, a group of elders in Warwick, New York and they prefer to use their own translation, the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, although their literature occasionally quotes and cites other Bible translations. The name Jehovahs witnesses was adopted in 1931 to distinguish themselves from other Bible Student groups, Jehovahs Witnesses are best known for their door-to-door preaching, distributing literature such as The Watchtower and Awake. and refusing military service and blood transfusions. They consider use of the name Jehovah vital for proper worship and they reject Trinitarianism, inherent immortality of the soul, and hellfire, which they consider to be unscriptural doctrines. They do not observe Christmas, Easter, birthdays or other holidays, adherents commonly refer to their body of beliefs as the truth and consider themselves to be in the truth. They consider secular society to be corrupt and under the influence of Satan. Congregational disciplinary actions include disfellowshipping, their term for formal expulsion, baptized individuals who formally leave are considered disassociated and are also shunned. Disfellowshipped and disassociated individuals may eventually be reinstated if deemed repentant, the religions position regarding conscientious objection to military service and refusal to salute national flags has brought it into conflict with some governments. Consequently, some Jehovahs Witnesses have been persecuted and their activities are banned or restricted in some countries, persistent legal challenges by Jehovahs Witnesses have influenced legislation related to civil rights in several countries. The organization has received criticism over issues surrounding biblical translation, doctrines, handling of abuse cases. The claims are rejected by the leaders, and some have been disputed by courts. In 1870, Charles Taze Russell and others formed a group in Pittsburgh, in 1876, Russell met Nelson H. Barbour, later that year they jointly produced the book Three Worlds, which combined restitutionist views with end time prophecy. Beginning in 1878 Russell and Barbour jointly edited a religious journal, from 1879, Watch Tower supporters gathered as autonomous congregations to study the Bible topically. Thirty congregations were founded, and during 1879 and 1880, Russell visited each to provide the format he recommended for conducting meetings, as congregations continued to form during Russells ministry, they each remained self-administrative, functioning under the congregationalist style of church governance. In 1881, Zions Watch Tower Tract Society was presided over by William Henry Conley, by about 1900, Russell had organized thousands of part- and full-time colporteurs, and was appointing foreign missionaries and establishing branch offices. By the 1910s, Russells organization maintained nearly a hundred pilgrims, Russell engaged in significant global publishing efforts during his ministry, and by 1912, he was the most distributed Christian author in the United States. He identified the movement as Bible Students, and more formally as the International Bible Students Association
Jehovas Witness
–
International headquarters in
Brooklyn, New York
Jehovas Witness
–
Worship at a Kingdom Hall.
Jehovas Witness
–
Jehovah's Witness prisoners were identified by purple
triangle badges in Nazi concentration camps.
28.
The Power Team
–
The Power Team is a group of Christian Evangelists, based in Dallas, Texas, who incorporate their preaching with displays of strength and martial arts skills. They were founded in the late 1970s by John Jacobs and their performances, usually taped at large megachurches, were broadcast on TBN and other Christian television stations in the United States in the late 1980s. The Power Team often conducts performances in such as schools. As performances in schools could not discuss religion, these performances instead promote social responsibility and abstention from drugs. The groups promotional material indicated that it presented a message that strengthens, Power Team leader John Jacobs divorced his wife, Ruthanne in May 2000, which was followed by numerous members leaving the Power Team to form a new ministry, Team Impact. In 2002 the Power Team filed for bankruptcy protection, in 1999, The Power Team portrayed themselves in The Principal episode of Walker, Texas Ranger to motivate a high school of wayward students. Host Piers Morgan remarked, You must be bonkers, the team was not selected to go on to the semi-finals. They also appeared on The American Bible Challenge on GSN, in 2004, an independent team of documentary filmmakers began filming The Power Team. The film, titled Born Again, The Power Team Story, chronicles the 30-year history of the team, as well as the familial, emotional, spiritual and physical sacrifices they make to preach the gospel. Directed by Matthew Luem, produced by James L Reid & Scarlett Lam, filmed by Chaz Zelus, and written by Greg Fiering, however, as of October 2016, the film has not yet been released. John Jacobs & The Power Team -1990 Frontline Records,1 hour VHS video John Jacobs & The Power Team -1990 Frontline Records, CD & Cassette Official website Official documentary website
The Power Team
–
This article is about the Evangelical Christian Ministry. For the cartoon show, see
The Power Team (TV series).
29.
Christian music industry
–
The Christian music industry is a small part of the larger music industry, that focuses on traditional Gospel music, Southern gospel, contemporary Christian music, and alternative Christian music. It is sometimes called the music industry, although this designation is not a limitation on the musical styles represented. Christian artists generally use secular styles, pairing them with lyrics that display faith, generally speaking, the industry is influenced by mainstream culture. Musical trends, for instance, follow those of the secular scene, the Christian music industry carries the distinction of being the only music subculture whose content is labeled by its lyrical dimension rather than its music. Still, music within the industry is sold by its musical style rather than lyrical content, Christian musics critics point to the divergent interests of commercialization and ministry, which have, according to some, polar opposite goals. Aspects of Christian music have long struggled to gain general acceptance, what some see as secularization and a lacking of direct theology, others see as artistic ministry. This opens up questions of the definition of Christian music that have lingered over the industry since its inception, the Christian music industry experienced tremendous growth in the 1990s. Christian music sales grew to exceed those for classical, jazz, even so, the Christian music industry has experienced the same issues as the general market in recent years. The contemporary Christian music industry has roots in the late 1960s and early 1970s Jesus Movement, the Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music points out three reasons that the Christian music industry developed as a parallel structure to the general music industry. First, the Jesus movement produced a number of bands in a very short period. This was in due to a lack of appreciation for the ideology expressed by such artists. Finally, Jesus music artists tended toward mistrust of secular corporations, petra, for instance, struggled to find an audience for their hard rock sound, partially due to limited distribution to Christian bookstores. Even so, the 1970s saw established corporations become involved in the Christian music market, Word Records, founded in 1951, was bought in 1976 by ABC. Other music industry giants also got involved, CBS started a short-lived Christian label, Priority Records, while the Jesus movement had ended by the 1980s, the Christian music industry was maturing and transforming into a multi-million dollar enterprise. The early 1980s saw an increase Christian booksellers taking product, as a percentage of gross sales, Christian music rose from 9% in 1976 to 23% in 1985. By her 1982 release Amy Grant had saturated the Christian marketplace, Sandi Patti and Michael W. Smith also gained influence within Christian music, each playing significant roles in the development of the industry. Harder forms of Christian music, such as metal, also began to gain acceptance. This is largely credited to Stryper, who had begun making inroads into the market by 1985
Christian music industry
–
Classification of videos on Z Music by content
30.
Rock music
–
It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by blues, rhythm and blues and country music. Rock music also drew strongly on a number of genres such as electric blues and folk. Musically, rock has centered on the guitar, usually as part of a rock group with electric bass guitar. Typically, rock is song-based music usually with a 4/4 time signature using a verse-chorus form, like pop music, lyrics often stress romantic love but also address a wide variety of other themes that are frequently social or political in emphasis. Punk was an influence into the 1980s on the subsequent development of subgenres, including new wave, post-punk. From the 1990s alternative rock began to rock music and break through into the mainstream in the form of grunge, Britpop. Similarly, 1970s punk culture spawned the visually distinctive goth and emo subcultures and this trio of instruments has often been complemented by the inclusion of other instruments, particularly keyboards such as the piano, Hammond organ and synthesizers. The basic rock instrumentation was adapted from the blues band instrumentation. A group of musicians performing rock music is termed a rock band or rock group, Rock music is traditionally built on a foundation of simple unsyncopated rhythms in a 4/4 meter, with a repetitive snare drum back beat on beats two and four. Melodies are often derived from older musical modes, including the Dorian and Mixolydian, harmonies range from the common triad to parallel fourths and fifths and dissonant harmonic progressions. Critics have stressed the eclecticism and stylistic diversity of rock, because of its complex history and tendency to borrow from other musical and cultural forms, it has been argued that it is impossible to bind rock music to a rigidly delineated musical definition. These themes were inherited from a variety of sources, including the Tin Pan Alley pop tradition, folk music and rhythm, as a result, it has been seen as articulating the concerns of this group in both style and lyrics. Christgau, writing in 1972, said in spite of some exceptions, rock and roll usually implies an identification of male sexuality, according to Simon Frith rock was something more than pop, something more than rock and roll. Rock musicians combined an emphasis on skill and technique with the concept of art as artistic expression, original. The foundations of music are in rock and roll, which originated in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its immediate origins lay in a melding of various musical genres of the time, including rhythm and blues and gospel music, with country. In 1951, Cleveland, Ohio disc jockey Alan Freed began playing rhythm and blues music for a multi-racial audience, debate surrounds which record should be considered the first rock and roll record. Other artists with rock and roll hits included Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Fats Domino, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis
Rock music
–
Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2006, showing a quartet lineup for a rock band (from left to right: bassist, lead vocalist, drummer, and guitarist).
Rock music
–
Elvis Presley in a promotion shot for
Jailhouse Rock in 1957
Rock music
–
Chubby Checker in 2005
Rock music
–
The Beach Boys performing in 1964
31.
Reinhard Bonnke
–
Reinhard Willi Gottfried Bonnke is a German Pentecostal evangelist, principally known for his gospel missions throughout Africa. Bonnke has been an evangelist and missionary in Africa since 1967, Bonnke has overseen 75 million recorded conversions to Christianity. Reinhard Bonnke was born on 19 April 1940 in Königsberg, East Prussia and he was born again at the age of nine after his mother spoke with him about a sin that he had committed. He left for missionary work Africa at the age of 10 and he is the son of a pastor and ex-serviceman in the German Army. Bonnke studied at The Bible College of Wales in Swansea, where he was inspired by the director Samuel Rees Howells, in one meeting after Howells spoke of answered prayer, Bonnke prayed, Lord, I also want to be a man of faith. I want to see your way of providing for needs, after graduation, he pastored in Germany for seven years. He began his ministry in Africa, with which he is principally identified and he has subsequently held evangelical meetings across the continent. Encountering poor results from his efforts and frustrated at the pace of his ministry. He reported that had a dream with a picture of the map of Africa being spread with red and this dream recurred four nights in a row and led him to adopt large scale evangelism, rather than the traditional small scale missionary approach. He rented a stadium in Gaborone, and preached with little cooperation from local churches, beginning with only 100 people, the stadium meetings grew. Bonnke began his ministry holding tent meetings that accommodated large crowds, according to this account, the event was subsequently attended by over 100,000 people which is far greater than the 34,000 seating capacity the tents could contain. In 1991, during Bonnkes visit to Kano in Nigeria, there were riots in the city as Muslims protested over remarks he had made about Islam in the city of Kaduna on his way to Kano. A rumor was spread that Bonnke was planning to “lead an invasion” into Kano, muslim youths gathered at the Kofar Mata Eide-ground where they were addressed by several clerics who claimed that Bonnke was going to blaspheme Islam. About 8,000 youths gathered at the Emirs palace and after noon prayers the riots ensued, during which many Christians sustained various injuries, after nine years he returned to Nigeria to preach. In the early 1990s Bonnke, who had prophesied a major world revival which would start in the United Kingdom, was involved in an initiative to reverse the decline in attendance there. This involved the distribution of millions of copies of a booklet he had written called Minus to Plus to homes throughout the country, which was hoped to win 250,000 converts. However, only 20,000 were claimed to have won over. Church attendance in the United Kingdom continued to decline, after graduating from the Bible College of Wales and returning to Germany, Bonnke led a series of meetings in Rendsburg
Reinhard Bonnke
–
Reinhard Bonnke
32.
Pastor
–
A pastor is usually an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, the term may be abbreviated to Pr or Ps, a pastor also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. The word pastor derives from the Latin noun pastor which means shepherd and relates to the Latin verb pascere - to lead to pasture, set to grazing, cause to eat. The term pastor also relates to the role of elder within the New Testament, many Protestant churches call their ministers pastors. Present-day usage of the word is rooted in the Biblical image of shepherding, the Hebrew Bible uses the Hebrew word רעה. English-language translations of the New Testament usually render the Greek noun ποιμήν as shepherd, the two words occur a total of 29 times in the New Testament, most frequently referring to Jesus. For example, Jesus called himself the Good Shepherd in John 10,11, the same words in the familiar Christmas story refer to literal shepherds. 1 Corinthians 9,7 - Paul says, of himself and the apostles, in the United States, the term pastor is used by Catholics for what in other English-speaking countries is called a parish priest. The Latin term used in the Code of Canon Law is parochus, the parish priest is the proper clergyman in charge of the congregation of the parish entrusted to him. Many Protestants use the term pastor as a title or as a job title, United Methodists, for example, ordain to the office of deacon and elder, each of whom can use the title of pastor depending upon their job description. These pastors may be lay people, seminary students, or seminary graduates in the ordination process, and cannot exercise any functions of clergy outside the charge where they are appointed. The use of the pastor can also be regional in some denominations, including some parts of the Methodist, Presbyterian, Seventh-day Adventist, American Churches of Christ. The use of the pastor to refer to the common Protestant title of modern times dates to the days of John Calvin. Both men, and other Reformers, seem to have revived the term to replace the Catholic priest in the minds of their followers, the pastor was considered to have a role separate from the board of presbyters. In some Lutheran churches, ordained clergy are called priests, while in others the term pastor is preferred, ordained clergy are called priests in the Episcopal Church, as in all other branches of the Anglican Communion. Bercot, David W. Will The Real Heretics Please Stand Up, newAdvent. org, The Catholic Encyclopedias entry on the term pastor. LifeWay. com, Articles to help the pastor in the roles of preacher, missionary, leader, shepherd, and person
Pastor
–
Christ's Charge to Peter by
Raphael, 1515. In telling Peter to shepherd his sheep, Christ appointed him as a "pastor".
Pastor
–
Saint Peter
Pastor
–
Pastor Dr. Arthur Schmidt (1866-1923), pastor in
Bielsko-Biała (1894-1923)
33.
Billy Graham (evangelist)
–
He held large indoor and outdoor rallies, sermons were broadcast on radio and television, some still being re-broadcast today. In his six decades of television, Graham is principally known for hosting the annual Billy Graham Crusades and he also hosted the popular radio show Hour of Decision from 1950 to 1954. Graham was an adviser to American presidents, he was particularly close to Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson. He insisted on integration for his revivals and crusades in 1953 and invited Martin Luther King, Graham bailed King out of jail in the 1960s when King was arrested in demonstrations. He was also friends with another televangelist, Robert H. Schuller. Graham operates a variety of media and publishing outlets, according to his staff, more than 3.2 million people have responded to the invitation at Billy Graham Crusades to accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior. As of 2008, Grahams estimated lifetime audience, including radio and television broadcasts, because of his crusades, Graham has preached the gospel to more people in person than anyone in the history of Christianity. Graham has repeatedly been on Gallups list of most admired men and women and he has appeared on the list 60 times since 1955, more than any other individual in the world. William Franklin Graham, Jr. was born on November 7,1918, in 1927, when he was eight years old, the family moved about 75 yards from their white frame house to a newly built red brick home. He was raised in the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church by his parents and is of Scotch-Irish descent, before this, in 1924, when Graham was only five, he focused on the outdoors, but rarely did he walk, as he was running and zooming, constantly. At the same time, he started as a student at the Sharon Grammar School, starting to read books from an early age, Graham loved to read novels for boys, especially Tarzan. Like Tarzan, he would hang on the trees, and gave the popular Tarzan yell, according to his father, that yelling had led him to become a minister. In 1933, when he was fourteen, as Prohibition in the United States ended, Grahams father forced him and this created such an aversion that both avoided alcohol and drugs for the rest of their lives. After Graham was turned down for membership in a youth group because he was too worldly, Albert McMakin. According to his autobiography, Graham was converted in 1934, at age 16 during a series of meetings in Charlotte led by Ham. After graduating from Sharon High School in May 1936, Graham attended Bob Jones College, then located in Cleveland, after one semester, he found it too legalistic in both coursework and rules. At this time, he was influenced and inspired by Pastor Charley Young from Eastport Bible Church. He was almost expelled, but Bob Jones, Sr. warned him not to throw his life away, At best and you have a voice that pulls
Billy Graham (evangelist)
–
Graham in 1966
Billy Graham (evangelist)
–
Graham with his son, Franklin, at
Cleveland Stadium, June 1994
Billy Graham (evangelist)
–
President
Ronald Reagan and first lady
Nancy Reagan greet Graham at the
National Prayer Breakfast of 1981
Billy Graham (evangelist)
34.
Church (building)
–
A church building, often simply called a church, is a building used for Christian religious activities, particularly worship services. The term in its sense is most often used by Christians to refer to their religious buildings. In traditional Christian architecture, the church is arranged in the shape of a Christian cross. When viewed from plan view the longest part of a cross is represented by the aisle, towers or domes are often added with the intention of directing the eye of the viewer towards the heavens and inspiring church visitors. The earliest identified Christian church was a church founded between 233 and 256. During the 11th through 14th centuries, a wave of building of cathedrals, a cathedral is a church, usually Roman Catholic, Anglican, Oriental Orthodox or Eastern Orthodox, housing the seat of a bishop. In standard Greek usage, the word ecclesia was retained to signify both a specific edifice of Christian worship, and the overall community of the faithful. This usage was retained in Latin and the languages derived from Latin, as well as in the Celtic languages. In the Germanic and some Slavic languages, the word kyriak-ós/-ē/-ón was adopted instead, in Old English the sequence of derivation started as cirice, then churche, and eventually church in its current pronunciation. German Kirche, Scottish kirk, Russian церковь, etc. are all similarly derived, according to the New Testament, the earliest Christians did not build church buildings. Instead, they gathered in homes or in Jewish worship places like the Second Temple or synagogues, the earliest archeologically identified Christian church is a house church, the Dura-Europos church, founded between 233 and 256. During the 11th through 14th centuries, a wave of building of cathedrals, in addition to being a place of worship, the cathedral or parish church was used by the community in other ways. It could serve as a place for guilds or a hall for banquets. Mystery plays were performed in cathedrals, and cathedrals might also be used for fairs. The church could be used as a place to thresh and store grain, a common architecture for churches is the shape of a cross. These churches also often have a dome or other large vaulted space in the interior to represent or draw attention to the heavens. Other common shapes for churches include a circle, to represent eternity, or an octagon or similar star shape, another common feature is the spire, a tall tower on the west end of the church or over the crossing. The Latin word basilica was used to describe a Roman public building
Church (building)
–
La Madeleine, a
Neoclassical,
Catholic church in
Paris, France.
Church (building)
–
The
Church of Saint Simeon Stylites in
Aleppo, Syria is considered to be one of the oldest surviving church buildings in the world.
Church (building)
–
Evangelical (
Lutheran) church in
Štrba (
Slovakia) - a typical village church in
Europe.
Church (building)
–
The
Frauenkirche in
Munich is a largely
Gothic, medieval church.
35.
Open air preaching
–
Open-air preaching, street preaching, or public preaching is the act of evangelizing a religious faith in public places. Early Methodist preachers John Wesley and George Whitefield preached in the open air, motives for open-air preaching include to glorify God and to fulfill the command to preach and make Gods Word known. Others listed include Pauls speech to the Athenians in Acts 17, however, others believe from scripture that Jesus was not technically a street preacher nor could possibly be one, He shall not strive, nor cry, neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets
Open air preaching
–
Evangelist
Ray Comfort open-air preaching at a Great News Network evangelism boot camp in 2004
Open air preaching
–
Street preacher in Los Angeles, California, 1972
Open air preaching
–
George Whitefield 's outdoor preaching in the 18th century made him a household name in England and
Colonial America.
36.
Apologetics
–
Apologetics is the religious discipline of defending or proving the truth of religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers who defended their beliefs against critics and recommended their faith to outsiders were called Christian apologists, in 21st century usage, apologetics is often identified with debates over religion and theology. The term apologetics derives from the Ancient Greek word apologia, in the Classical Greek legal system, two key technical terms were employed, the prosecution delivered the kategoria, and the defendant replied with an apologia. To deliver an apologia meant making a speech or giving an explanation to reply and rebut the charges, as in the case of Socrates Apologia defense. This term appears in the Koine Greek of the New Testament, the Apostle Paul employs the term apologia in his trial speech to Festus and Agrippa when he says I make my defense in Acts 26,2. A cognate form appears in Pauls Letter to the Philippians as he is defending the gospel in Philippians 1,7, many apologetic books have been written in defence of the history or teachings of the Baháí Faith. The religions founders wrote several books presenting proofs of their religion, among them are the Bábs Seven Proofs, later Baháí authors wrote prominent apologetic texts, such as Mírzá Abul-Fadls The Brilliant Proof and Udo Schaefer et al. s Making the Crooked Straight. In the mid-19th century, encounters between Buddhists and Christians in Japan prompted the formation of a Buddhist Propagation Society. In recent times, A. L. De Silva, an Australian convert to Buddhism, has written a book, Beyond Belief, providing Buddhist apologetic responses, gunapala Dharmasiri wrote an apologetic critique of the Christian concept of God from a Theravadan Buddhist perspective. Christian apologetics combines Christian theology, natural theology, and philosophy to present a basis for the Christian faith, to defend the faith against objections. Christian apologetics has taken many forms over the centuries, in the Roman Empire, Christians were severely persecuted, and many charges were brought against them. J. David Cassel gives several examples, Tacitus wrote that Nero fabricated charges that Christians started the burning of Rome, other charges included cannibalism and incest. Saul of Tarsus, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus and others often defended Christianity against charges that were brought to justify persecution, later apologists have focused on providing reasons to accept various aspects of Christian belief. Christian apologists of many traditions, in common with Jews, Muslims, theodicy is one important aspect of such arguments, and Alvin Plantingas arguments have been highly influential in this area. Many prominent Christian apologists are scholarly philosophers or theologians, frequently with additional work in physics, cosmology, comparative religions. Others take a popular or pastoral approach. Christian apologists employ a variety of philosophical and formal approaches, including ontological, cosmological, the Christian presuppositionalist approach to apologetics utilizes the Transcendental argument for the existence of God. Tertullian was a notable early Christian apologist and he was born, lived and died in Carthage
Apologetics
–
The
Scutum Fidei, a diagram frequently used by
Christian apologists to explain the
Trinity.
37.
Missionary
–
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to proselytize and/or perform ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development. The word mission originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin missionem, meaning act of sending or mittere, meaning to send. The word was used in light of its usage, in the Latin translation of the Bible. The term is most commonly used for Christian missions, but can be used for any creed or ideology, a Christian missionary can be defined as one who is to witness across cultures. The Lausanne Congress of 1974, defined the term, related to Christian mission as, Missionaries can be found in many countries around the world. Jesus instructed the apostles to make disciples of all nations and this verse is referred to by Christian missionaries as the Great Commission and inspires missionary work. The New Testament-era missionary outreach of the Christian church from the time of St Paul expanded throughout the Roman Empire and beyond to Persia, in 596, Pope Gregory the Great sent the Gregorian Mission into England. In their turn, Christians from Ireland and from Britain became prominent in converting the inhabitants of central Europe, about the same time, missionaries such as Francis Xavier as well as other Jesuits, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Dominicans started moving into Asia and the Far East. The Portuguese sent missions into Africa and these are some of the most well-known missions in history. While some missions accompanied imperialism and oppression, others were relatively peaceful, contemporary Christian missionaries argue that working for justice forms a constitutive part of preaching the Gospel, and observe the principles of inculturation in their missionary work. Over time, the Vatican gradually established a church structure in the mission areas, often starting with special jurisdictions known as apostolic prefectures. The two 9th-century saints Cyril and Methodius had extensive success in central Europe. The Byzantines expanded their work in Ukraine after a mass baptism in Kiev in 988. The Serbian Orthodox Church had its origins in the conversion by Byzantine missionaries of the Serb tribes when they arrived in the Balkans in the 7th century, Orthodox missionaries also worked successfully among the Estonians from the 10th to the 12th centuries, founding the Estonian Orthodox Church. The Russian St. Nicholas of Japan took Eastern Orthodoxy to Japan in the 19th century, the Russian Orthodox Church also sent missionaries to Alaska beginning in the 18th century, including Saint Herman of Alaska, to minister to the Native Americans. Quaker publishers of truth visited Boston and other mid-17th century colonies, the Danish government began the first organized Protestant mission work through its College of Missions, established in 1714. This funded and directed Lutheran missionaries such as Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg in Tranquebar, India and he also got to know a slave from the Danish colony in the West Indies. Within thirty years, Moravian missionaries had become active on every continent, and they are famous for their selfless work, living as slaves among the slaves and together with the Native Americans, the Delaware and Cherokee Indian tribes
Missionary
–
Village of Christianized Tapuyos Indians,
Brazil c. 1820
Missionary
–
English missionary
John Williams, active in the
South Pacific
Missionary
–
Jesuits who were martyred by the
Araucanian Indians in Elicura in 1612
Missionary
–
The first recorded baptism in
Alta California.
38.
10/40 Window
–
The 10/40 Window concept highlights these three elements, an area of the world with great poverty and low quality of life, combined with lack of access to Christian resources. The Window forms a band encompassing Saharan and Northern Africa, as well as almost all of Asia, roughly two-thirds of the world population lived in the 10/40 Window. The 10/40 Window was populated by people who are predominantly Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, animist, many governments in the 10/40 Window were formally or informally opposed to Christian work of any kind within their borders. This region of the world was known to Christians as the resistant belt. In 1990, Bushs research led to a meeting with Pete Holzmann and they analyzed the region using a box between 10 and 40 degrees north latitude and called it the 10/40 Box. A few weeks later, Bush and his wife Doris were inspired to rename it the 10/40 Window, the analysis and concept was a generalization that focuses on a region, not a sharp boundary defining what is a priority, and what is not. For this reason, many prefer to use the phrase 10/40 Window Region. Some have objected to such a term which seems to imply a unifying characteristic of the window when in fact no large area of the planet is completely homogenous in cultural attributes. Note the emphasis on access not percent Christian, the West has ubiquitous access to such resources, this area of the world did and does not. This research deals in overall population characteristics, the 10/40 Window is a term that helps people visualize the general area of the analysis, where the above characteristics are generally true, but with exceptions proving it is only a generalization. Some examples of the exceptions, The Window article refers to the poorest of the living in that region. Of the three people living in such poverty-stricken nations, 82% lived in the 10/40 Window. Yet the 10/40 Window also includes such as South Korea. In the late 20th century, Japan boasted the third largest economy. Such nations were strong throughout the late 20th century, the window does not encompass Indonesia or Sri Lanka, nations with very little access to Christian resources. Over the years, the 10/40 Window has evolved from a specialist term used by Christian missiologists to assumed vocabulary for Christians in the West and it is an emerging term in the secular press and can be found in press style glossaries. Non-western writers and organizations also refer to the 10/40 Window, in addition, those opposed to the idea of evangelism make use of the term. The first edition GIS analysis maps highlighted the three major blocks in the 10/40 Window, specifically the majority Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist nations
10/40 Window
–
The 10/40 Window
39.
Catholic Action
–
Catholic Action was the name of many groups of lay Catholics who were attempting to encourage a Catholic influence on society. They were especially active in the century in historically Catholic countries that fell under anti-clerical regimes such as Spain, Italy, Bavaria, France. Adolf Hitler attacked one of the heads of a Catholic Action group in Nazi Germany during the Night of the Long Knives, Catholic Action is not a political party, although in many times and places this distinction became blurred. Catholic Action generally included various subgroups for youth, women, workers, a variety of diverse groups formed under the concept of Catholic Action. In 1919 he started the Young Trade Unionists, in 1924, the name of the organization was changed to Jeunesse Ouvrière Chrétienne, the Young Christian Workers. JOC grew rapidly throughout the world, its members were known as Jocists. By 1938, there were 500,000 members throughout Europe, in 1967, the National Civic Council is an Australian Catholic Action group formed in 1957 out of the Australian Catholic social studies movement under the leadership of B. A. Santamaria. Precursors to the NCC were active in the Australian Labor Party, the expelled members of the party went on to form the Australian Labor Party and the subsequent Democratic Labor Party. In Chile, Catholic Action was the name of a youth movement. Under the aegis of Saint Alberto Hurtado it was responsible for the founding of the Chilean Trade Union Association, azione Cattolica is probably the most active Catholic Action group still around today
Catholic Action
–
AC membership card, 1953
40.
Catholic Charismatic Renewal
–
Catholic Charismatic Renewal is a spiritual movement within the Catholic Church that incorporates aspects of both Catholic and charismatic practice. It places an emphasis on having a relationship with Jesus. Parishes that practice charismatic worship usually hold prayer meetings outside of Mass and feature such gifts as prophecy, faith healing, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, a Catholic church describes charismatic worship as uplifted hands during songs and audible praying in tongues. Perceptions of the Charismatic movement vary within the Catholic Church, proponents hold the belief that certain charismata are still bestowed by the Holy Spirit today as they were in Early Christianity as described in the Bible. Critics accuse Charismatic Catholics of misinterpreting, or in some cases violating, Church teachings on worship and liturgy. Renewal advocates believe that the charisms identified in Saint Pauls writings, especially in Romans 12, 6-8,1 Corinthians 12-14 and these gifts are related to the traditional seven gifts of the Holy Spirit described in Isaiah 11, 1-2. The nine charismatic gifts in 1 Corinthians 12, 8-10 are also related to the spiritual and corporal works of mercy, other references to charisms in the Catechism of the Catholic Church include §§688,768, 799-801,890,951,1508 and 2035. The belief that spiritual gifts exist in the present age is called Continuationism, in search of a Spiritual experience, professors from Duquesne University, a Catholic university in Pittsburgh, attended the Congress of the Cursillo movement in August 1966. While visiting, they were introduced to the book entitled The Cross and the Switchblade, which emphasized the Holy Spirit and this book became the focus of their studies and further led them to pursue the Holy Spirit. In January 1967, professors Ralph Keifer and Patrick Bourgeois attended a meeting where they ultimately received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. The following week, Keifer laid hands on other Duquesne professors, then, in February, during a gathering at Duquesne University, more people asked Keifer to pray over them. This led to the event at the chapel where they too received the Holy Spirit and spoke in tongues, Keifer sent the news of this event to the University of Notre Dame, where a similar event later occurred, and the Renewal began to spread. Adherents of the movement formed prayer groups called covenant communities, in these communities, members practiced a stronger commitment to spiritual ideals and created documents, or covenants, that set up rules of life. One of the first structured covenant communities was the Word of God Community and it affiliated with the International Communications Office in the 1980s, and its continued growth resulted in a larger overall community called The Sword of the Spirit. The original Word of God Community eventually split from The Sword of the Spirit, the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services had a significant role in the guidance of this form of expansion. As of 2013, the Catholic Charismatic Renewal exists in over 230 countries in the world, participants in the Renewal also cooperate with non-Catholic ecclesiastical communities and other Catholics for ecumenism, as encouraged by the Catholic Church. The Charismatic element of the Church is seen as being evident today as it was in the days of Christianity. The mission of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal is to educate believers into the totality of the declaration of the gospels and this is done by a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, a one-to-one relationship with Jesus is seen as a possibility by the Charismatic
Catholic Charismatic Renewal
–
A
dove, symbolizing the Holy Spirit, who is believed by Christians to confer various gifts.
Catholic Charismatic Renewal
–
Pentecost by
El Greco
Catholic Charismatic Renewal
–
The Eucharist being elevated during a Catholic Charismatic Renewal healing service, in which the faithful not only pray for spiritual and physical healings, but also for miracles.
Catholic Charismatic Renewal
–
Praise and Worship during a CCR Healing Service.
41.
Evangelical Catholic
–
The term Evangelical Catholic is used by Christians who consider themselves both catholic and evangelical. Evangelical catholic can refer variously to, Evangelical Protestants who consider themselves to be Catholic in the sense that they identify with the historic Christian Church, the first is a strong theological and devotional emphasis on the Christian scriptures. Secondly, evangelical Catholics stress the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the cause of salvation for all mankind, a personal need for interior conversion is the third defining mark, and, consequently, the fourth is a deep commitment to evangelization. Evangelical Catholics see these evangelical emphases as the core of the 2, Evangelical preaching movements such as St. Dominics, who was called the Vir Evangelicus, are a common point of reference. To Catholics, the term refers to its etymological root—the Greek word euangelion—which means good news or Gospel. New bibles, catechetical materials, youth programs, and young adult ministries witness to greater evangelical zeal within the Church. Campus ministry and parish ministry are focusing more of their resources on outreach, a Catholic organization called the Evangelical Catholic exists for the purpose of equipping Catholic ministries to be evangelical. The Augsburg Confession further states that. one holy Church is to continue forever, the Church is the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered. In Lutheranism, the evangelical catholic has a specific meaning. In Anglicanism there has also been a similar to that in orthodox Lutheranism. The Book of Concord states, contrary to Enthusiast belief, that salvation can be received only through the means of grace, Gods Word, the Augsburg Confession stresses that in doctrine and ceremonies nothing has been received on our part against Scripture or the Catholic Church. Article XXIV of the Augsburg Confession Of the Mass states, Falsely are our churches accused of abolishing the Mass, for the Mass is retained among us, some Lutheran church bodies claim to also have retained the historical episcopate and apostolic succession. In the era of Lutheran orthodoxy, theologians Martin Chemnitz and Johann Gerhard made extensive use of patristic sources, the evangelical feature of Lutheranism is justification by faith, as defined by Law and Gospel and simul iustus et peccator. The term evangelical has a different origin and meaning in Lutheranism than in Evangelicalism, in the Lutheran tradition, evangelical refers to the gospel, with the specific meaning of grace centered. The opposite of evangelical is not catholic or liberal, but legalistic, in the 19th century, Evangelical Catholicism was seen as a vision for the Church of the future. The term Evangelical Catholic is often used instead of the term High Church Lutheranism because it is a theological term. It is comparable to the term Anglo-Catholic within Anglicanism, in 1976 Joseph Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI, suggested that the Augsburg Confession might be possible to recognise as a Catholic statement of faith. This did not happen due to differences in understanding of the theology on justification, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada defines its doctrinal basis as such, We derive our teachings from the Holy Scriptures and confess the three ecumenical creeds of the Christian church
Evangelical Catholic
–
Contents
42.
Missionary (LDS Church)
–
Mormon missionaries may serve on a full- or part-time basis, depending on the assignment, and are organized geographically into missions. The mission assignment could be to any one of the 418 missions organized worldwide, the LDS Church is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, reporting that it had over 74,000 full-time missionaries worldwide at the end of 2015. Most full-time Mormon missionaries are young men and women in their late teens and early twenties. Missionaries are often assigned to serve far from their homes, including in other countries, many missionaries learn a new language at a missionary training center as part of their assignment. Missions typically last two years for males,18 months for females, and 6 to 18 months for older couples, the LDS Church strongly encourages, but does not require, missionary service for young men. All Mormon missionaries serve voluntarily and do not receive a salary for their work, many Latter-day Saints save money during their teenage years to cover their mission expenses. Throughout the churchs history, over one million missionaries have been sent on missions, LDS Church president Spencer W. Kimball said, Every young man should fill a mission. Completing a mission is described as a rite of passage for a young Latter-day Saint. The phrase the best two years of my life is a common cliché among returned missionaries when describing their experience, hinckley had suggested that a mission is not to be a rite of passage, this cultural aspect remains. With the usual starting age of 18–20, a provides a clear event or marker for the traditional age of adulthood. Young men between the ages of 18 and 25 who meet standards of worthiness are strongly encouraged to consider a two-year and this expectation is based in part on the New Testament passage Go ye therefore, and teach all nations. Prior to the announcement, some held that male missionaries may be 18 years old because of educational or military requirements. It was also announced that women may serve beginning at age 19 instead of 21. In 2007, approximately 30% of all 19-year-old LDS men became Mormon missionaries, from LDS families that are active in the church, in cases where an immediate family member dies, the missionary has the choice to travel home for the funeral or to remain on the mission. Missionaries can be sent home for violating rules, and occasionally missionaries choose to go home for health or various other reasons. However, the vast majority of serve the whole two-year or eighteen-month terms. As of 2007, 80% of all Mormon missionaries were young, single men, 13% were young single women, women who would like to serve a mission must meet the same standards of worthiness and be at least 19 years old. Women generally serve as missionaries for 18 months, married retired couples, on the other hand, are encouraged to serve missions, but their length of service may vary from 6 to 36 months depending on their circumstances and means
Missionary (LDS Church)
–
Two missionaries of The Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-day Saints
Missionary (LDS Church)
–
The Provo MTC is the LDS Church's largest
Missionary Training Center.
Missionary (LDS Church)
–
A pair of name-tags, part of the requisite dress code for LDS missionaries.
Missionary (LDS Church)
–
Ratio of Converts Baptized to Full-Time Missionaries, 1971–2010
43.
Open-air preaching
–
Open-air preaching, street preaching, or public preaching is the act of evangelizing a religious faith in public places. Early Methodist preachers John Wesley and George Whitefield preached in the open air, motives for open-air preaching include to glorify God and to fulfill the command to preach and make Gods Word known. Others listed include Pauls speech to the Athenians in Acts 17, however, others believe from scripture that Jesus was not technically a street preacher nor could possibly be one, He shall not strive, nor cry, neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets
Open-air preaching
–
Evangelist
Ray Comfort open-air preaching at a Great News Network evangelism boot camp in 2004
Open-air preaching
–
Street preacher in Los Angeles, California, 1972
Open-air preaching
–
George Whitefield 's outdoor preaching in the 18th century made him a household name in England and
Colonial America.
44.
Romans Road
–
The Epistle to the Romans or Letter to the Romans, often shortened to Romans, is the sixth book in the New Testament. Biblical scholars agree that it was composed by the Apostle Paul to explain that salvation is offered through the gospel of Jesus Christ and it is the longest of the Pauline epistles and is often considered his most important theological legacy and magnum opus. N. T. Wright notes that Romans is. neither a systematic theology nor a summary of Pauls lifework and it dwarfs most of his other writings, an Alpine peak towering over hills and villages. Not all onlookers have viewed it in the light or from the same angle. Not all climbers have taken the route up its sheer sides. What nobody doubts is that we are dealing with a work of massive substance. The scholarly consensus is that Paul authored the Epistle to the Romans, cranfield, in the introduction to his commentary on Romans, says, The denial of Pauls authorship of Romans by such critics. Is now rightly relegated to a place among the curiosities of NT scholarship, today no responsible criticism disputes its Pauline origin. The evidence of its use in the Apostolic Fathers is clear, every extant early list of NT books includes it among his letters. The external evidence of authenticity could indeed hardly be stronger, and it is borne out by the internal evidence, linguistic, stylistic, literary. The letter was most probably written while Paul was in Corinth, probably while he was staying in the house of Gaius, There are a number of reasons why Corinth is considered most plausible. Paul was about to travel to Jerusalem on writing the letter and this probably implies Corinth as it was the location of Paul’s greatest missionary success in Greece. Erastus, mentioned in Romans 16,23, also lived in Corinth, being the commissioner for public works and city treasurer at various times. The majority of writing on Romans propose the letter was written in late 55/early 56 or late 56/early 57. Early 55 and early 58 both have some support, while German New Testament scholar Gerd Lüdemann argues for a date as early as 51/52, following on from Knox, Lüdemann is the only serious challenge to the consensus of mid to late 50s. For ten years writing the letter, Paul had traveled around the territories bordering the Aegean Sea evangelizing. Churches had been planted in the Roman provinces of Galatia, Macedonia, Achaia and Asia, Paul, considering his task complete, wanted to preach the gospel in Spain, where he would not build upon another man’s foundation. This allowed him to visit Rome on the way, an ambition of his
Romans Road
–
Books of the
New Testament
Romans Road
–
A 17th-century depiction of Paul writing his epistles. Only
seven out of 13 letters that bear Paul's name are accepted as being authentic. 16:22 indicates that Tertius acted as his
amanuensis.
Romans Road
–
Saint Paul arrested by the Romans
Romans Road
–
The beginning of the Epistle in
Codex Alexandrinus
45.
Luis Palau
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Luis Palau, Jr. is an international Christian evangelist living in the Portland, Oregon, United States. He was born in Argentina and moved to Portland in his mid-twenties to enroll in a program in Biblical studies. Palau had a long and close relationship with evangelist Billy Graham, one of the world’s leading evangelical Christian figures, he is known for his strong appeal to young people, and for his efforts to reach out to secular leaders to address issues like homelessness. In 2007, he was estimated to have shared Christian teachings with 25 million people in 70 nations, Palaus ministry employs 70 people in Beaverton, Oregon and another 25 around the world. Luis Palau, Jr. was born November 27,1934 in Maschwitz, Buenos Aires and he has five younger sisters and one stepbrother. His father, an executive, died when Palau was 10. Palau says that he was again at the age of 12. He was educated in British-run boarding schools and he worked at a bank in Córdoba, Argentina, and joined a missionary organization. Palau first heard Billy Graham on a radio broadcast from Portland, Oregon while still living in Argentina in 1950 and he later worked for Graham as a Spanish translator and as an evangelist. In 1970, Graham contributed the money for Palau to start his own ministry. Since then, Palau has held many large-scale evangelistic festivals and gatherings around the world, Palau arrived in Portland in 1960 to attend a graduate program at Multnomah Bible College, from which he graduated in 1961. His travel and tuition was paid by U. S. benefactors, there he met his wife, Pat, a Beaverton kindergarten teacher, who was a fellow student. He became a U. S. citizen in 1962, Palau presently resides in Cedar Mill, Oregon. His ministry, the Luis Palau Evangelical Association, is based in nearby Beaverton, three of his four sons work for his ministry. In 1999, a writeup in a Portland weekly newspapers noted that Palau had assembled an 80,000 member audience in the nations least-churched major city. It also noted the contrast with the previous large revival, led by an aging Graham, media coverage of Palaus event mentioned Palau as a potential successor to Graham. The annual budget of his ministry was estimated that year at $6 million, as of 2003, he hosted three daily radio programs, an English show carried by 900 stations in 23 countries, and two Spanish programs carried by 880 stations in 25 countries. In August 2003, Palau mobilized several thousand volunteers from churches to spruce up local public schools
Luis Palau
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Luis Palau
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Religion
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Religions have sacred histories and narratives, which may be preserved in sacred scriptures, and symbols and holy places, that aim mostly to give a meaning to life. Religions may contain symbolic stories, which are said by followers to be true, that have the side purpose of explaining the origin of life. Traditionally, faith, in addition to reason, has considered a source of religious beliefs. There are an estimated 10,000 distinct religions worldwide, about 84% of the worlds population is affiliated with one of the five largest religions, namely Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism or forms of folk religion. With the onset of the modernisation of and the revolution in the western world. The religiously unaffiliated demographic include those who do not identify with any religion, atheists. While the religiously unaffiliated have grown globally, many of the religiously unaffiliated still have various religious beliefs, about 16% of the worlds population is religiously unaffiliated. The study of religion encompasses a variety of academic disciplines, including theology, comparative religion. Theories of religion offer various explanations for the origins and workings of religion, Religion is derived from the Latin religiō, the ultimate origins of which are obscure. One possible interpretation traced to Cicero, connects lego read, i. e. re with lego in the sense of choose, go over again or consider carefully. The medieval usage alternates with order in designating bonded communities like those of monastic orders, we hear of the religion of the Golden Fleece, of a knight of the religion of Avys. In the ancient and medieval world, the etymological Latin root religio was understood as a virtue of worship, never as doctrine, practice. In the Quran, the Arabic word din is often translated as religion in modern translations and it was in the 19th century that the terms Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and Confucianism first emerged. Max Müller characterized many other cultures around the world, including Egypt, Persia, what is called ancient religion today, they would have only called law. Some languages have words that can be translated as religion, but they may use them in a different way. For example, the Sanskrit word dharma, sometimes translated as religion, throughout classical South Asia, the study of law consisted of concepts such as penance through piety and ceremonial as well as practical traditions. Medieval Japan at first had a union between imperial law and universal or Buddha law, but these later became independent sources of power. There is no equivalent of religion in Hebrew, and Judaism does not distinguish clearly between religious, national, racial, or ethnic identities
Religion
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Urarina shaman, Peru, 1988
Religion
Religion
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The
Yazılıkaya sanctuary in
Turkey, with the twelve gods of the underworld
Religion
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Confucianism,
Taoism, and
Buddhism are one, a painting in the litang style portraying three men laughing by a river stream, 12th century,
Song dynasty
47.
Major religious groups
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The worlds principal religions and spiritual traditions may be classified into a small number of major groups, although this is by no means a uniform practice. This theory began in the 18th century with the goal of recognizing the relative levels of civility in societies, in world cultures, there have traditionally been many different groupings of religious belief. In Indian culture, different religious philosophies were traditionally respected as academic differences in pursuit of the same truth, in Islam, the Quran mentions three different categories, Muslims, the People of the Book, and idol worshipers. Initially, Christians had a dichotomy of world beliefs, Christian civility versus foreign heresy or barbarity. Daniel Defoe described the definition as follows, Religion is properly the Worship given to God. Therefore, Hannah Adamss early encyclopedia, for example, had its name changed from An Alphabetical Compendium of the Various Sects. to A Dictionary of All Religions and Religious Denominations. The modern meaning of the world religion, putting non-Christians at the same level as Christians. T. Suzuki, and Alan Watts, who influenced the public conception of world religions. Even history professors have now taken note of these complications and advise against teaching world religions in schools, others see the shaping of religions in the context of the nation-state as the invention of traditions. Religious traditions fall into super-groups in comparative religion, arranged by historical origin, Abrahamic religions originate in West Asia, Indian religions in the Indian subcontinent and East Asian religions in East Asia. Another group with supra-regional influence are Afro-American religion, which have their origins in Central, middle Eastern religions, Abrahamic religions are the largest group, and these consist mainly of Christianity, Islam, Judaism and the Baháí Faith. They are named for the patriarch Abraham, and are unified by the practice of monotheism, today, around 3.4 billion people are followers of Abrahamic religions and are spread widely around the world apart from the regions around East and Southeast Asia. Several Abrahamic organizations are vigorous proselytizers, iranian religions, partly of Indo-European origins, include Zoroastrianism, Yazdânism, Ætsæg Din, Ahl-e Haqq and historical traditions of Gnosticism. It has significant overlaps with Abrahamic traditions, e. g. in Sufism and in recent movements such as Bábism and the Baháí Faith. Indian religions, originated in Greater India and partly of Indo-European origins, they tend to share a number of key concepts, such as dharma, karma, reincarnation among others. They are of the most influence across the Indian subcontinent, East Asia, Southeast Asia, the main Indian religions are Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism. East Asian religions consist of several East Asian religions which use of the concept of Tao or Dō. They include many Chinese folk religions, Taoism and Confucianism, as well as Korean, indigenous ethnic religions, found on every continent, now marginalized by the major organized faiths in many parts of the world or persisting as undercurrents of major religions
Major religious groups
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An 1821 map of the world, where "Christians, Mahometans, and Pagans" correspond to levels of civilization (The map makes no distinction between Buddhism and Hinduism).
Major religious groups
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An 1883 map of the world divided into colors representing "Christians, Buddhists, Hindus, Mohammedans and Pagans".
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Religious denomination
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A religious denomination is a subgroup within a religion that operates under a common name, tradition, and identity. The term refers to the various Christian denominations and it is also used to describe the four branches of Judaism. Within Islam, it can refer to the branches or sects, as well as their various subdivisions such as sub-sects, schools of jurisprudence, schools of theology, the worlds largest religious denomination is Sunni Islam, followed by Roman Catholicism. A Christian denomination is a term for a distinct religious body identified by traits such as a common name, structure, leadership. Individual bodies, however, may use alternative terms to describe themselves, groups of denominations often sharing broadly similar beliefs, practices, and historical ties are known as branches of Christianity. Jewish religious movements, sometimes called denominations or branches, include different groups which have developed among Jews from ancient times, today, the main division is between the Orthodox, Reform, and Conservative lines, with several smaller movements alongside them. This threefold denominational structure is present in the United States. The movements differ in their views on various issues and these issues include the level of observance, the methodology for interpreting and understanding Jewish law, biblical authorship, textual criticism, and the nature or role of the messiah. Across these movements there are marked differences in liturgy, especially in the language in services are conducted. In Hinduism, the deity or philosophical belief identifies a denomination. The major denominations include Shaivism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism and Smartism, historically, Islam was divided into three major sects well known as Sunni, Khawarij and Shī‘ah. Nowadays, Sunnis constitute more than 85% of the overall Muslim population while the Shias are slightly more than 12%, today, many of the Shia sects are extinct. The major surviving Imamah-Muslim Sects are Usulism, Nizari Ismailism, Alevism, on the other hand, new Muslim sects like African American Muslims, Ahmadi Muslims, non-denominational Muslims, Quranist Muslims and Wahhabis were later independently developed. The term multi-denominational may describe an event that includes several religious denominations from sometimes unrelated religious groups. Many civic events include religious portions led by representatives from several denominations to be as inclusive or representational as possible of the expected population or audience. Schools of Buddhism Christian denomination Hindu denominations Islamic denominations Jewish denominations Non-denominational Schism Sociological classifications of religious movements
Religious denomination
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Major denominations and religions of the world.
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Abrahamic religions
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Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are the largest Abrahamic religions in terms of numbers of adherents. As of 2005, estimates classified 54% of the population as adherents of an Abrahamic religion, about 32% as adherents of other religions. Christianity claims 33% of the population, Islam has 21%, Judaism has 0. 2%. It has been suggested that the phrase, Abrahamic religion, may mean that all these religions come from one spiritual source. Christians refer to Abraham as a father in faith, there is an Islamic religious term, Millat Ibrahim, indicating that Islam sees itself as having practices tied to the traditions of Abraham. Jewish tradition claims descent from Abraham, and adherents follow his practices and it is the Islamic tradition that Muhammad, as an Arab, is descended from Abrahams son Ishmael. Jewish tradition also equates the descendants of Ishmael, Ishmaelites, with Arabs, as the descendants of Isaac by Jacob, who was also later known as Israel, are the Israelites. The Báb, regarded by Baháís as a predecessor to Baháulláh, was a Sayyid, or a descendant of Muhammad. Tradition also holds that Baháulláh is a descendant of Abraham through his third wife, while there is commonality among the religions, in large measure their shared ancestry is peripheral to their respective foundational beliefs and thus conceals crucial differences. For example, the common Christian beliefs of Incarnation, Trinity, there are key beliefs in both Islam and Judaism that are not shared by most of Christianity, and key beliefs of Islam, Christianity, and the Baháí Faith not shared by Judaism. Judaism regards itself as the religion of the descendants of Jacob and it has a strictly unitary view of God, and the central holy book for almost all branches is the Masoretic Text as elucidated in the Oral Torah. In the 19th century and 20th centuries Judaism developed a number of branches, of which the most significant are Orthodox, Conservative. Christianity began as a sect of Judaism in the Mediterranean Basin of the first century CE and evolved into a separate religion—Christianity—with distinctive beliefs, Jesus is the central figure of Christianity, considered by almost all denominations to be God the Son, one person of the Trinity. The Christian biblical canons are usually held to be the ultimate authority, over many centuries, Christianity divided into three main branches, dozens of significant denominations, and hundreds of smaller ones. Islam arose in the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century CE with a unitary view of God. Muslims hold the Quran to be the authority, as revealed and elucidated through the teachings and practices of a central. The Islamic faith consider all prophets and messengers from Adam through the messenger to carry the same Islamic monotheistic principles. Soon after its founding Islam split into two branches, each of which now have a number of denominations
Abrahamic religions
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An interpretation of the borders (in red) of the
Promised Land, based on God's promise to
Abraham.
Abrahamic religions
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Clockwise from Top Left:
Christian cross, Islamic
star and crescent, Bahá'i
nine-pointed star, Jewish
Star of David
Abrahamic religions
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The tomb of
Abraham, a
cenotaph above the
Cave of the Patriarchs traditionally considered to be the burial place of Abraham.
Abrahamic religions
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A Bible handwritten in
Latin, on display in
Malmesbury Abbey, Wiltshire, England. This Bible was transcribed in Belgium in 1407 for reading aloud in a monastery.
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