1.
Protestantism
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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
2.
Holiness movement
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The movement is defined by its emphasis on John Wesleys doctrine of a second work of grace leading to Christian perfection. As of 2015 Holiness-movement churches had an estimated 12 million adherents, though it became a multi-denominational movement over time and was furthered by the Second Great Awakening which energized churches of all stripes, the Holiness movement has its roots in Wesleyanism. The Methodists of the 19th century continued the interest in Christian holiness that had started by their founder. They continued to publish Wesleys works and tracts, including his famous A Plain Account of Christian Perfection, in 1835, Palmers sister, Sarah A. Lankford, started holding Tuesday Meetings for the Promotion of Holiness in her New York City home. In 1837, Palmer experienced what she called entire sanctification and had become the leader of the Tuesday Meetings by 1839, at first only women attended these meetings, but eventually Methodist bishops and hundreds of clergy and laymen began to attend as well. At the same time, Methodist minister Timothy Merritt of Boston founded a journal called the Guide to Christian Perfection and this was the first American periodical dedicated exclusively to promoting the Wesleyan message of Christian holiness. In 1865, the Palmers purchased The Guide which at its peak had a circulation of 30,000, at the Tuesday Meetings, Methodists soon enjoyed fellowship with Christians of different denominations, including the Congregationalist Thomas Upham. Other non-Methodists also contributed to the Holiness movement in the U. S. in 1836, Mahan experienced what he called a baptism with the Holy Spirit. Mahan believed that experience had cleansed him from the desire. Finney believed that experience might provide a solution to a problem he observed during his evangelistic revivals. Some people claimed to experience conversion but then slipped back into their old ways of living, finney believed that the filling with the Holy Spirit could help these converts to continue steadfast in their Christian life. This phase of the Holiness movement is referred to as the Oberlin-Holiness revival. Hannah Whitall Smith, an English Quaker, experienced a personal conversion. Sometime in the 1860s, she found what she called the secret of the Christian life—devoting ones life wholly to God and her husband, Robert Pearsall Smith, had a similar experience at the camp meeting in 1867. The couple became figureheads in the now-famous Keswick Convention, which rise to what is often called the Keswick-Holiness revival. Also representative was the revivalism of Rev. James Caughey, an American missionary sent by the Wesleyan Methodist Church to work in Ontario and he brought in the converts by the score, most notably in the revivals in Canada West 1851–53. Phoebe Palmers ministry complemented Caugheys revivals in Ontario circa 1857, at least two major Wesleyan denominations broke away from Methodism during this period. In 1843 Orange Scott organized the Wesleyan Methodist Connection at Utica, roberts and John Wesley Redfield founded the Free Methodist Church on the ideals of slavery abolition, egalitarianism, and second-blessing holiness
3.
Episcopal polity
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An episcopal polity is a hierarchical form of church governance in which the chief local authorities are called bishops. Churches with an episcopal polity are governed by bishops, practicing their authorities in the dioceses and conferences or synods, bishops are considered to derive their authority from an unbroken, personal apostolic succession from the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. Bishops with such authority are said to represent the historical episcopate or historic episcopate, Churches with this type of government usually believe that the Church requires episcopal government as described in the New Testament. In some systems, bishops may be subject to higher-ranking bishops and they also meet in councils or synods. These gatherings, subject to presidency by higher ranking bishops, usually make important decisions, for much of the written history of institutional Christianity, episcopal government was the only known form of church organization. The definition of the word episcopal has variation among Christian traditions, there are subtle differences in governmental principles among episcopal churches at the present time. To some extent the separation of episcopal churches can be traced to these differences in ecclesiology, for some, episcopal churches are churches that use a hierarchy of bishops that regard themselves as being in an unbroken, personal apostolic succession. Episcopal is also used to distinguish between the various organizational structures of denominations. For instance, the word presbyterian is used to describe a church governed by a hierarchy of assemblies of elected elders, similarly, episcopal is used to describe a church governed by bishops. Self-governed local congregations, governed neither by elders nor bishops, are referred to as Congregational. More specifically, the title Episcopal is applied to several churches historically based within Anglicanism including those still in communion with the Church of England, many Methodist churches retain the form and function of episcopal polity, although in a modified form, called connexionalism. All orthodox Christians were in churches with a government, that is, one Church under local bishops. Writing between ca.85 and 110, St. Ignatius of Antioch, Patriarch of Antioch, was the earliest of the Church fathers to define the importance of episcopal government. Assuming Ignatius view was the Apostolic teaching and practice, the line of succession was unbroken and passed through the four ancient Patriarchal sees, Rome, Jerusalem, Antioch, some organizations, though aloof from the political wranglings of imperial Christianity, nevertheless also practiced episcopal polity. The single Roman Empire was divided between two autonomous administrative centers, Roman and Constantinopolitan, West and East, Latin speaking and Greek speaking. This remained the status quo through the fourth century, a deep chasm developed between the East and West, becoming critical around 350, known as the Aryan, or Nicene controversy. The Eastern Christian Churches were thought by Constantine to believe against the Trinity, Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, France, believed that the Eastern Church should be given the opportunity to, at least, be educated on the subject. Constantine, in his wisdom, and upset by disagreement, banished Hilary to the East and this truth became known in the West, though some differences lingered
4.
National Association of Evangelicals
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The National Association of Evangelicals is a fellowship of member denominations, churches, organizations, and individuals. Its stated goal is to honor God by connecting and representing evangelicals in the United States, today it works in four main areas, Church & Faith Partners, Government Relations, Chaplains Commission, and World Relief. The NAE is a member of the World Evangelical Alliance, the mission statement of the association is to honor God by connecting and representing evangelical Christians. The National Association of Evangelicals was formed by a group of 147 people who met in St. Louis, the Fundamentalist–Modernist Controversy and the related isolation of various evangelical denominations and leaders provided the impetus for developing such an organization. Houghton called for a meeting in Chicago, Illinois in 1941, a committee was formed with Wright as chairman, and a national conference for United Action Among Evangelicals was called to meet in April 1942. Harold Ockenga was appointed the first president, carl McIntire and Harvey Springer led in organizing the American Council of Christian Churches in September 1941. It was a militant and fundamentalist organization set up in opposition to the Federal Council of Churches. McIntire invited the Evangelicals for United Action to join with them, the tentative organization founded in 1942 was called the National Association of Evangelicals for United Action. In 1943 the proposed constitution and doctrinal statement were amended and adopted, by the 1950s, NAEs Washington, D. C. office gained a reputation as a service organization that could get things done. President Eisenhower welcomed an NAE delegation to the White House — a first-time honor for the association, the NAE filed an amicus brief at the Supreme Court in 1982 in Bob Jones University v. United States and Goldsboro Christian Schools v. United States. Federal regulations had denied tax-exempt status to private schools and universities that discriminate on the basis of race, and the NAE unsuccessfully urged the court to overturn those regulations. At the NAEs 1983 conference in Orlando, Florida, NAE President Rev. Arthur Evans Gay, the 50th anniversary of the organization was celebrated in 1992 at the annual March Convention at the Chicago Hyatt Hotel. President George H. W. Bush spoke to the World Relief annual luncheon at the invitation of the organizations president Arthur Gay, during the convention Billy Graham spoke for the last time at an NAE gathering, calling on evangelicals to a renewed commitment to spread the gospel. In a move signaling its primary focus, the NAE changed its annual convention venue from hotels, in 2003, the first church-hosted convention was held at Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. In 2004, the NAE adopted For the Health of the Nation, there are over 40 denominations representing approximately 45,000 churches in the organization. The organization is headquartered in Washington, D. C, Leith Anderson has been its president since November 7,2006. In 1944, the NAE formed the National Religious Broadcasters at its convention in Columbus, NRB was the first of many related service agencies NAE would charter with a particular purpose in mind. NRB, after holding its own constitutional convention later that year, responded to the challenge, in addition to NRB, NAE created the Chaplains Commission in 1944 to assist evangelical chaplains in the military
5.
World Methodist Council
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The World Methodist Council, founded in 1881, is a consultative body and association of churches in the Methodist tradition. It comprises 80 member denominations in 133 countries which together represent about 80.5 million people, the highest organ of the World Methodist Council is the World Methodist Conference meeting every five years. The last conference, gathering under the theme Jesus Christ - for the Healing of the Nations, was held in August 2011 in Durban, South Africa. On 24 July 2006, Sunday Mbang stepped down as chairperson of the council, in 2006, it formally approved the historical Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification. The World Methodist Council has offices in, Lake Junaluska, North Carolina, Nashville, Tennessee, New York City, current officers are, General Secretary, Bishop Ivan M. Abrahams President, Bishop Paulo Lockmann Vice-President, Gillian Kingston Treasurer, Kirby Hickey Jr. It is also working towards a dialogue with the Orthodox Church, Education is concerned with education in churches and with Methodist educational institutions. It has organized an international Association of Methodist Schools, Colleges, the association links representatives from over 700 Methodist related schools and colleges all over the world. It has worked out the World Methodist Social Affirmation which was approved in 1986 and is part of the literature of several Methodist denominations, theological Education focuses on training for ministry based on basic Christian beliefs and distinctive emphases from the Wesleyan tradition. The World Methodist Peace Award is the highest honor bestowed by Methodists around the world, since 1977, it is given annually by the World Methodist Council. This award is given to individuals or groups who have significant contributions to peace, reconciliation and justice, considering courage, creativity. One ministry of the World Methodist Council is the World Methodist Evangelism Institute in Atlanta and it is an educational institution committed to the task of world evangelization and connected to a major university, Candler School of Theology, Emory University
6.
B. T. Roberts
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Benjamin Titus Roberts was an American Methodist bishop. He first trained as an attorney, then entered the ministry in the Genesee Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church of New York State and his ministerial studies were done at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. He married Ellen Lois Stowe, had seven children, and pastored churches in New York state. During his tenure at Wesleyan University, B. T. Roberts excelled and he was admitted to the Conference in 1848 on trial Roberts first pastoral appointment was Caryville, New York, followed by Pike, New York. Roberts was married during his first charge, at the 1850 annual conference, Roberts was admitted to full membership and ordained a deacon. In 1851, he was sent to the Rushford, New York charge, during these early charges, Roberts demonstrated a concern not only for abolition but also for the destructive effects of wealth upon Methodist livelihood. Roberts also encountered leaders of what has come to be called the Holiness Movement, Roberts was also influenced by Methodist evangelist John Wesley Redfield. In 1852, Roberts was ordained elder and sent to Niagara Street Church, Roberts conflict with the conference began in earnest at the Niagara Street appointment for he sought to make the church a free church, i. e. eliminate the pew system. Roberts here observed the potential problems of the pew system in which families could purchase and/or rent pews for congregational worship. In 1853, Roberts was sent to Brockport, New York, by 1854, it was clear that a major, conference-wide conflict was brewing. These conflicting undercurrents bubbled to the surface in 1855 and it is true that McCreery did design an organization to combat the Buffalo Regency, as the controlling faction came to be called. But McCreery emphatically declared that the so-called Nazarite Union existed only on paper, nevertheless, much was made of the affair and the 1855 Conference adopted a resolution which assumed the actual existence of such a union and passed disapprobation thereon. The term Nazarite Union came to designate the group for several years. Unfortunately for Roberts and the other so-called Nazarites, the so-called Buffalo Regency controlled conference officers and this caused great trouble for Roberts who published the article New School Methodism in The Northern Independent, a religious news journal, just days before the 1857 Annual Conference met. In the article, Roberts cited exactly where he believed the present day Methodist Episcopal Church to have deviated from its Wesleyan heritage, in 1857, the Annual Conference of Genesee convened in LeRoy, NY. Ecclesiastical charges were brought against Roberts, all of his attempts at appeal, trial by committee, or trial in civil court of law were denied. Roberts was convicted of immoral and unchristian conduct, Roberts was not the only Methodist minister to be formally charged by the Genesee Conference in this period, all done so in an avowed effort to stamp out Naziritism. Though formally reproved, however, Roberts was surprisingly appointed to a new charge in Pekin, while in Pekin, a local preacher named George W. Estes republished Roberts New School Methodism in pamphlet form, including with it documentation of Roberts trial at the 1857 Annual Conference
7.
Schism
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A schism is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a religious body. It is also used of a split within an organization or movement or, more broadly. A schismatic is a person who creates or incites schism in an organization or who is a member of a splinter group. Schismatic as an adjective pertaining to a schism or schisms, or to those ideas, policies. In religion, the charge of schism is distinguished from that of heresy, since the offence of schism concerns not differences of belief or doctrine but promotion of, or the state of, however, schisms frequently involve mutual accusations of heresy. In Roman Catholic teaching, every heresy is a schism, while there may be some free of the added guilt of heresy. Liberal Protestantism, however, has often preferred heresy over schism, mcCord drew a distinction between them, teaching, If you must make a choice between heresy and schism, always choose heresy. As a schismatic, you have torn and divided the body of Christ, in Buddhism, the first schism was set up by Devadatta, during Buddhas life. This schism lasted only a short time, later, the early Buddhist schools came into being, but were not schismatic, only focusing on different interpretations for the same monastic community. In the old texts,18 or 20 early schools are mentioned, later, there were the Mahayana and Vajrayana movements, which can be regarded as being schismatic in origin. Each school has various subgroups, which often are schismatic in origin, for example, in Thai Theravadin Buddhism there are two groups, of which the Dhammayut has its origin partly in the Mahanikaya, and is the new and schismatic group. Both Mahanikaya and Dhammayut have many subgroups, which usually do not have schismatic origins, Tibetan Buddhism has seen schisms in the past, of which most were healed, although the Drukpa school centred in Bhutan perhaps remains in a state of schism from the other Tibetan schools. The words schism and schismatic have found their heaviest usage in the history of Christianity, to denote splits within a church and these words have been used to denote both the phenomenon of Christian group splintering in general, and certain significant historical splits in particular. A distinction is made between heresy and schism, heresy is rejection of a doctrine that a Church considered to be essential. But, when for any reason people withdraw from communion, two distinct ecclesiastical entities may result, each of which then, or at least some of its members, may accuse the other of heresy. In Roman Catholic Church canon law, an act of schism, like an act of apostasy or heresy, as stated in canon 1312 §1 1° of the Code of Canon Law, this penalty is intended to be medicinal, so as to lead to restoration of unity. This nuanced view applies especially to the Churches of Eastern Christianity, the First Council of Nicaea distinguished between schism and heresy
8.
Methodist Episcopal Church
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The Methodist Episcopal Church was the first Methodist denomination founded in the United States. In the early 19th century, it was the largest Protestant denomination in the U. S, the Methodist Episcopal Church existed from 1784 until 1939, when it merged with the Methodist Episcopal Church, South and the Methodist Protestant Church to form the Methodist Church. In 1968, the Methodist Church merged with the Evangelical United Brethren Church to form the present-day United Methodist Church, the Methodist Episcopal Church originated from the spread of Methodism outside of England to the Thirteen Colonies in the 1760s. Wesley was loyal to the Anglican Church, and he organized his followers into parachurch societies and classes with the goal of promoting spiritual revival within the Church of England, around fifteen or twenty societies formed a circuit. Anywhere from two to four itinerant preachers would be assigned to a circuit on a basis to preach. One itinerant preacher in each circuit would be made the assistant, and he would direct the activities of the itinerant preachers in the circuit. Wesley gave out preaching assignments at an annual conference, in 1773, Wesley appointed Thomas Rankin general assistant, placing him in charge of all the Methodist preachers and societies in America. On July 4,1773, Rankin presided over the first annual conference on American soil at Philadelphia, at that time there were 1,160 Methodists in America led by ten lay preachers. Itinerant Methodist preachers would become known as circuit riders, Methodist societies in America also operated within the Church of England. There were several Anglican priests who supported the work of the Methodists, attending Methodist meetings and these included Charles Pettigrew of North Carolina, Samuel Magaw of Dover and then Philadelphia, and Uzel Ogden of New Jersey. Anglican clergyman Devereux Jarratt was an active supporter, founding Methodist societies in Virginia. The American Revolution severed ties to England and left Americas Anglican Church in disarray, due to the scarcity of Anglican ministers, Methodists in the United States were unable to receive the sacraments of baptism and Holy Communion. Wesleys actions were based in his belief that the order of bishop and priest were one, the founding conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, known commonly as the Christmas Conference, was held in December 1784 at Lovely Lane Chapel in Baltimore, Maryland. At this conference, Coke ordained Francis Asbury as co-superintendent according to Wesleys wishes, Asbury had been serving as general assistant since Rankin returned to England. The German-born Philip W. Otterbein, who helped found the Church of the United Brethren in Christ. American Methodists, however, preferred non-liturgical worship and The Sunday Service was largely ignored, the conference adopted an organization consisting of superintendents, elders, deacons, traveling preachers, and local preachers. Preachers were licensed to preach but were not ordained and could not administer sacraments, traveling preachers worked full-time in itinerant ministry and were supported financially by the societies they served. Local preachers pursued secular employment but preached on Sundays in their local communities, deacons were preachers authorized by a superintendent to officiate weddings, bury the dead, baptize, and assist the elders in administering the Lords Supper
9.
Bible Methodist Connection of Churches
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This movement became distinct from other Wesleyan-Holiness bodies in the mid-20th century amid disagreements over modesty in dress, entertainment and other old holiness standards. There are an estimated 2,000 congregations in the movement, the Holiness movement was largely contained within Methodism during the 19th century. By the 1880s a persistent wave of come-outism was beginning to gather steam, the come-outers were concerned that Methodism had begun to water-down Holiness teachings and even shun its more outspoken proponents. The Holiness movement, for the most part, huddled together tightly while Pentecostalism was competing for the hearts, during the Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy of the 1920s and onward, most Holiness groups found themselves at home in the Fundamentalist camp or allied with them. By the post-World War II era, a relaxed attitude toward morality and theological differences caused Holiness conservatives. Many conferences, districts and local churches reinforced prohibitions on behavior in their governing documents and these items were often referred to as old holiness standards. Not at home with other Fundamentalist alliances, an Interdenominational Holiness Convention was called at a Wesleyan Methodist campground in Fairmont, Indiana, entire sanctification and traditional holiness strictures on dress and entertainment held a prominent place in convention sermons. The swelling divorce rate, the envisioned papal take-over of America, the spread of Communism. Participants resisted a call to form a new denomination, but became an ally toward a series of institutional secessions to follow, in 1955 the Bible Missionary Church was formed in Idaho and soon grew nationwide as local congregations left the Church of the Nazarene over worldliness issues. In 1963, the Pilgrim Holiness Church of New York seceded from the Pilgrim Holiness Church to become an independent organization, Social change constantly confronts Conservative Holiness Christians. The Church of God in 1999 removed a ban on owning televisions, urging charity over “the ownership or use of television, videos, movies, the internet, listed below are a few of the mission organizations affiliated with the conservative holiness movement. Most of the denominations listed above also maintain their own missions boards, dayton The Holiness Heritage, by Dr. Brian Black A Social Science Perspective On The Conservative Holiness Movement, John Johnson The History And Development Of Bible Methodism, A
10.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
11.
Methodism
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Methodism, or the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity which derive their inspiration from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and Johns brother Charles Wesley were also significant leaders in the movement and it originated as a revival within the 18th century Church of England and became a separate Church after Wesleys death. Because of vigorous missionary work, the movement spread throughout the British Empire, Wesleys theology focused on sanctification and the effect of faith on the character of a Christian. Distinguishing Methodist doctrines include an assurance of salvation, imparted righteousness, the possibility of perfection in love, the works of piety and the primacy of Scripture. Most Methodists teach that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for all of humanity and that salvation is available for all, in theology and this teaching rejects the Calvinist position that God has pre-ordained the salvation of a select group of people. However, Whitefield and several others were considered Calvinistic Methodists and held to the latter position, Methodism emphasises charity and support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the works of mercy. These ideals are put into practice by the establishment of hospitals, orphanages, soup kitchens and schools to follow Christs command to spread the gospel, the movement has a wide variety of forms of worship, ranging from high church to low church in liturgical usage. Denominations that descend from the British Methodist tradition are generally less ritualistic, Methodism is known for its rich musical tradition and Charles Wesley was instrumental in writing much of the hymnody of the Methodist Church. In Britain, the Methodist Church had an effect in the early decades of the making of the working class. In the United States, it became the religion of many slaves who later formed black churches in the Methodist tradition. The Methodist revival began with a group of men, including John Wesley and his younger brother Charles, the Wesley brothers founded the Holy Club at the University of Oxford, where John was a fellow and later a lecturer at Lincoln College. The club met weekly and they set about living a holy life. They were accustomed to receiving Communion every week, fasting regularly, abstaining from most forms of amusement and luxury and frequently visited the sick, the fellowship were branded as Methodist by their fellow students because of the way they used rule and method to go about their religious affairs. John, who was leader of the club, took the attempted mockery, unsuccessful in their work, the brothers returned to England conscious of their lack of genuine Christian faith. They looked for help to Peter Boehler and other members of the Moravian Church, at a Moravian service in Aldersgate on 24 May 1738, John experienced what has come to be called his evangelical conversion, when he felt his heart strangely warmed. Charles had reported an experience an few days previously. Considered a pivotal moment, Daniel L. John Wesley came under the influence of the Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminius, Arminius had rejected the Calvinist teaching that God had pre-ordained an elect number of people to eternal bliss while others perished eternally. Conversely, George Whitefield, Howell Harris, and Selina Hastings, George Whitefield, returning from his own mission in Georgia, joined the Wesley brothers in what was rapidly to become a national crusade
12.
Christian denomination
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A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity, identified by traits such as a name, organisation, leadership and doctrine. Individual bodies, however, may use alternative terms to describe themselves, groups of denominations—often sharing broadly similar beliefs, practices, and historical ties—are sometimes known as branches of Christianity or denominational families. Individual Christian groups vary widely in the degree to which they recognize one another, several groups claim to be the direct and sole authentic successor of the church founded by Jesus Christ in the 1st century AD. Others, however, believe in denominationalism, where some or all Christian groups are legitimate churches of the same regardless of their distinguishing labels, beliefs. Because of this concept, some Christian bodies reject the term denomination to describe themselves, however, the Catholic Church does not view itself as a denomination, but as the original pre-denominational church. This view is rejected by other Christian denominations, Protestant denominations account for approximately 37 percent of Christians worldwide. Together, Catholicism and Protestantism comprise Western Christianity, Western Christian denominations prevail in Western, Northern, Central and Southern Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Americas and Oceania. The Eastern Orthodox Church, with an estimated 225–300 million adherents, is the second-largest Christian organization in the world, unlike the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church is itself a communion of fully independent autocephalous churches that mutually recognize each other to the exclusion of others. The Eastern Orthodox Church, together with Oriental Orthodoxy and the Assyrian Church of the East, Eastern Christian denominations are represented mostly in Eastern Europe, North Asia, the Middle East and Northeast Africa. Christians have various doctrines about the Church and about how the church corresponds to Christian denominations. Both Catholics and Eastern Orthodox hold that their own organizations faithfully represent the One Holy catholic and Apostolic Church to the exclusion of the other, sixteenth-century Protestants separated from the Catholic Church because of theologies and practices that they considered to be in violation of their own interpretation. But some non-denominational Christians do not follow any particular branch, though regarded as Protestants. Each group uses different terminology to discuss their beliefs and this section will discuss the definitions of several terms used throughout the article, before discussing the beliefs themselves in detail in following sections. A denomination within Christianity can be defined as an autonomous branch of the Christian Church, major synonyms include religious group, sect, Church. Some traditional and evangelical Protestants draw a distinction between membership in the church and fellowship within the local church. Becoming a believer in Christ makes one a member of the universal church, a related concept is denominationalism, the belief that some or all Christian groups are legitimate churches of the same religion regardless of their distinguishing labels, beliefs, and practices. Protestant leaders differ greatly from the views of the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, each church makes mutually exclusive claims for itself to be the direct continuation of the Church founded by Jesus Christ, from whom other denominations later broke away. These churches, and a few others, reject denominationalism, Christianity can be taxonomically divided into five main groups, the Church of the East, Oriental Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and Protestantism
13.
Evangelicalism
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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
14.
Wesleyanism
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Wesleyanism, manifest today in Methodist and holiness churches, is named for its founders, the Wesleys. In 1736, these two brothers traveled to the Georgia colony in America as missionaries for the Church of England, both of them subsequently had religious experiences, especially John in 1738, being greatly influenced by the Moravian Christians. They began to organize a movement within the Church of England to focus on personal faith. The Wesleyan churches are similar to Anglicanism, yet have added a strong emphasis on personal faith. At its heart, the theology of John Wesley stressed the life of Christian holiness, to love God with all heart, mind, soul and strength. Wesley’s teaching also stressed experiential religion and moral responsibility, the doctrine of Wesleyan-Arminianism was founded as an attempt to explain Christianity in a manner unlike the teachings of Calvinism. Arminianism is a study conducted by Jacobus Arminius, from the Netherlands. After the death of Arminius the followers, led by Simon Episcopius and this document is known today as the five articles of Remonstrance. Arminianism was officially recorded and presented to Dutch leaders in 1610 A. D. about one hundred, the doctrine is based upon five essential beliefs that are purposely biblical in nature. The first of five points is the reason for the conflict between Calvinism and Arminianism in its basic foundation, it is the concept of free will. Arminius believed that even after the fall of humankind, all persons had the responsibility to accept Jesus Christ, the second point of Arminianism declares conditional election. Arminius states that the choosing of the elect is based upon the foreknowledge of God as to who would believe and it is this choosing by Gods grace to accept Jesus Christ that elects one to inherit salvation. Thus, salvation is made to initially by Gods prevenient grace and then ones free will. Third, Arminianism explains that redemption is based on the fact that God loves everyone, that Christ was sacrificed for all, the crucifixion of Christ satisfied Gods wrath, provided the means by which forgiveness can occur, and Christs resurrection enables the forgiven to inherit life. However, once again, one must choose Christ in order to be saved, hence Christ died for every person who has lived and will ever live, but only those that freely choose to follow Jesus are elected unto salvation. Fourth, the idea of Obstructable Grace states that since God does desire all persons to be saved, God sent the Holy Spirit to encourage, yet, again because of free will, one may choose to reject salvation and thus resist Gods will. God wills all people to be saved and worship God in spirit and in truth, in the early 1770s, John Wesley, aided by the theological writings of John William Fletcher emphasized Arminian doctrines in his controversy with the Calvinistic wing of the evangelicals in England. Then, in 1778, he founded a journal which he titled the Arminian Magazine
15.
Arminianism
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Arminianism is based on theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. His teachings held to the five solae of the Reformation, but they were distinct from particular teachings of Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli, John Calvin, Jacobus Arminius was a student of Theodore Beza at the Theological University of Geneva. Arminianism is known to some as a diversification of Protestant Calvinist Christianity. However, to others, Arminianism is a reclamation of early Church theological consensus, Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the Remonstrance, a theological statement signed by 45 ministers and submitted to the States General of the Netherlands. The Synod of Dort was called by the States General to consider the Five Articles of Remonstrance, must be more particularly determined from the Scriptures. These points, note Drs. Keith D. Stanglin and Thomas H. McCall, are consistent with the views of Arminius, indeed and those who signed this remonstrance and others who supported its theology have since been known as Remonstrants. Some falsely assert that Universalists and Unitarians in the 18th and 19th centuries were theologically linked with Arminianism. The original beliefs of Jacobus Arminius himself are commonly defined as Arminianism, but more broadly, the term may embrace the teachings of Hugo Grotius, John Wesley, and others as well. Classical Arminianism, to which Arminius is the contributor, and Wesleyan Arminianism. Wesleyan Arminianism is often identical with Methodism, some schools of thought, notably Semipelagianism—which teaches that the first step of salvation is by human will, —are confused as being Arminian in nature. But classical Arminianism holds that the first step of salvation is solely the grace of God, the two systems of Calvinism and Arminianism share both history and many doctrines, and the history of Christian theology. Arminianism is related to Calvinism historically, however, because of their differences over the doctrines of divine predestination and election, many people view these schools of thought as opposed to each other. In short, the difference can be seen ultimately by whether God allows His desire to save all to be resisted by an individuals will or if Gods grace is irresistible, put another way, is Gods sovereignty shown, in part, through His allowance of free decisions. Some Calvinists assert that the Arminian perspective presents a system of Salvation and therefore is not only by grace. Many consider the differences to be crucial differences in doctrine. Jacobus Arminius was a Dutch pastor and theologian in the late 16th and he was taught by Theodore Beza, Calvins hand-picked successor, but after examination of the scriptures, he rejected his teachers theology that it is God who unconditionally elects some for salvation. Instead Arminius proposed that the election of God was of believers, Arminiuss views were challenged by the Dutch Calvinists, especially Franciscus Gomarus, but Arminius died before a national synod could occur. Arminiuss followers, not wanting to adopt their leaders name, called themselves the Remonstrants, when Arminius died before he could satisfy Hollands State Generals request for a 14-page paper outlining his views, the Remonstrants replied in his stead crafting the Five articles of Remonstrance
16.
Indianapolis
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Indianapolis, is the capital and largest city of the U. S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. It is in the East North Central region of the Midwestern United States, with an estimated population of 853,173 in 2015, Indianapolis is the second most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and 14th largest in the U. S. The city is the economic and cultural center of the Indianapolis metropolitan area, home to 2 million people and its combined statistical area ranks 26th, with 2.4 million inhabitants. Indianapolis covers 372 square miles, making it the 16th largest city by area in the U. S. The city grew beyond the Mile Square, as completion of the National Road and advent of the railroad solidified the position as a manufacturing. Indianapolis is within a single-day drive of 70 percent of the nations population, Indianapolis has developed niche markets in amateur sports and auto racing. The city is perhaps best known for hosting the worlds largest single-day sporting event. The city is notable as headquarters for the American Legion and home to a significant collection of monuments dedicated to veterans and war dead, the most in the U. S. outside of Washington, D. C. Since the 1970 city-county consolidation, known as Unigov, local government administration has operated under the direction of an elected 25-member city-county council, Indianapolis is considered a high sufficiency global city. In 1816, the year Indiana gained statehood, the U. S. Congress donated four sections of land to establish a permanent seat of state government. Two years later, under the Treaty of St. Marys and this tract of land, which was called the New Purchase, included the site selected for the new state capital in 1820. The availability of new lands for purchase in central Indiana attracted settlers. Although many of these first European and American setters were Protestants, few African Americans lived in central Indiana before 1840. The first European Americans to permanently settle in the area that became Indianapolis were either the McCormick or Pogue families, on January 11,1820, the Indiana General Assembly authorized a committee to select a site in central Indiana for the new state capital. The state legislature approved the site, adopting the name Indianapolis on January 6,1821, in April, Alexander Ralston and Elias Pym Fordham were appointed to survey and design a town plan for the new settlement. Indianapolis became a seat of county government on December 31,1821, a combined county and town government continued until 1832, when Indianapolis incorporated as a town. Indianapolis became an incorporated city effective March 30,1847, Samuel Henderson, the citys first mayor, led the new city government, which included a seven-member city council. In 1853, voters approved a new city charter provided for an elected mayor
17.
Indiana
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Indiana /ɪndiˈænə/ is a U. S. state located in the midwestern and Great Lakes regions of North America. Indiana is the 38th largest by area and the 16th most populous of the 50 United States and its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th U. S. state on December 11,1816, before becoming a territory, varying cultures of indigenous peoples and historic Native Americans inhabited Indiana for thousands of years. Indiana has an economy with a gross state product of $298 billion in 2012. Indiana has several areas with populations greater than 100,000. The states name means Land of the Indians, or simply Indian Land and it also stems from Indianas territorial history. On May 7,1800, the United States Congress passed legislation to divide the Northwest Territory into two areas and named the section the Indiana Territory. In 1816, when Congress passed an Enabling Act to begin the process of establishing statehood for Indiana, a resident of Indiana is officially known as a Hoosier. The first inhabitants in what is now Indiana were the Paleo-Indians, divided into small groups, the Paleo-Indians were nomads who hunted large game such as mastodons. They created stone tools made out of chert by chipping, knapping and flaking, the Archaic period, which began between 5000 and 4000 BC, covered the next phase of indigenous culture. The people developed new tools as well as techniques to cook food, such new tools included different types of spear points and knives, with various forms of notches. They made ground-stone tools such as axes, woodworking tools. During the latter part of the period, they built mounds and middens. The Archaic period ended at about 1500 BC, although some Archaic people lived until 700 BC, afterward, the Woodland period took place in Indiana, where various new cultural attributes appeared. During this period, the people created ceramics and pottery, an early Woodland period group named the Adena people had elegant burial rituals, featuring log tombs beneath earth mounds. In the middle portion of the Woodland period, the Hopewell people began developing long-range trade of goods, nearing the end of the stage, the people developed highly productive cultivation and adaptation of agriculture, growing such crops as corn and squash. The Woodland period ended around 1000 AD, the Mississippian culture emerged, lasting from 1000 until the 15th century, shortly before the arrival of Europeans. During this stage, the people created large urban settlements designed according to their cosmology, with mounds and plazas defining ceremonial
18.
Wesleyan University
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Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college in Middletown, Connecticut, founded in 1831. About 20 unrelated colleges and universities were named after Wesley. Wesleyan, along with Amherst College and Williams College, is a member of the Little Three colleges, Three histories of Wesleyan have been published, Wesleyans First Century by Carl F. Potts. Wesleyan was founded as an all-male Methodist college in 1831, the University, established as an independent institution under the auspices of the Methodist conference, was led by Willbur Fisk, its first President. Despite its name, Wesleyan was never a denominational seminary and it also has maintained a larger library collection than institutions comparable in size. The Wesleyan student body numbered about 300 in 1910 and had grown to 800 in 1960, the latter being a figure that Time described as small. In 1872, the University became one of the first U. S. colleges to attempt coeducation by allowing a number of female students to attend. Given that concern, Wesleyan ceased to admit women, and from 1912 to 1970 Wesleyan operated again as an all-male college, Wesleyan became independent of the Methodist church in 1937, although in 2000, the university was designated as an historic Methodist site. The building program begun under this system created three residential colleges on Foss Hill and then three more residential colleges. Although the facilities were created, only four of the academic programs were begun. Fund raising proved highly effective and by 1960 Wesleyan had the largest endowment, per student, of any college or university in America, and a student-faculty ratio of 7,1. The University and several of its admissions deans were featured in Jacques Steinbergs 2002 book The Gatekeepers, Inside The Admissions Process of a Premier College. In the fall 2007 semester, Michael S. Roth, a 1978 graduate of Wesleyan, when Wesleyan University was founded in 1831, it took over a campus on which two buildings, North College and South College, had already been built in 1825. They were originally constructed by the City of Middletown for use by Captain Partridge’s American Literary, Scientific, in 1829, after the Connecticut legislature declined it a charter to grant college degrees, Capt. Alden Partridge moved his Academy to Northfield, Vermont. The Academy later became Norwich University and the Middletown buildings were acquired by Wesleyan, the book, Norwich University, 1819-1911, Vol. I, provides the following description of South College and North College. These buildings were constructed of sandstone from the quarries in Portland. The Barracks was four stories high,150 feet long and 52 feet wide, with a large attic, halls extended the full length of the building. The Lyceum was located 20 feet south of the Barracks, was three high, with a basement partly above the ground
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