Theological word of the day

[Kelp]

Evidentialism
[ev’-ih-den‘-shul-iz-um]

The form of Christian apologetics that believes that the Holy Spirit often uses evidences to help people overcome obstacles to Christianity so that true faith can be exercised on the basis of epistemic justification. Evidentialists are opposed to fideists who believe that evidence is contrary to faith. Important evidentialists include J.P. Moreland, William Lane Craig, Robert Bowman, and John Warwick Montgomery.

[Kelp]

Aseity
[uh-say’-ih-tee]

(Latin a-, “from” + se, “itself”)

Attribute or property of God describing his self-existence and non-contingency. In other words, God is the only absolutely independent being. His existence and well-being are not dependent upon any being or circumstance. He is the final and primary cause of all things, therefore, there is no cause that precedes him. He is in need of nothing.

Scripture Reference: Ps. 50:10–12; Acts 17:23–26, Ex. 3:14

[Kelp]

Christian Fundamentalism
Originally fundamentalism referred to the early 20th century movement that opposed liberalism and took a decisive stand for the essentials or “fundamentals” of the Christian faith (e.g. virgin birth, miracles, deity of Christ, etc.). Later the term “fundamentalism” became associated with Christian legalism and radical conservatism. In this sense, it has become a derogatory term with implications of anti-intellectualism. Also, in this later sense, it is to be distinguished from Evangelicalism.

[Kelp]

Panentheism
[pan-en’-thee-iz-um]

(Greek pan-, “all” + Greek en-, “in” + Greek theos, “God”)

A view of God which combines pantheism with theism. The panentheist believes that all of creation is in God, but does not make up the sum total of what God is. Like cells in a body, the universe is part of God. Important panentheists include Charles Hartshorne and Alfred North Whitehead.

[Kelp]

sensus plenior
[sen’-sus plen’-ee-or]

Latin, “fuller sense” or “fuller meaning”

The principle of interpretation which seeks the fuller meaning of the text that was not necessarily understood by the biblical author. There is much debate among exegetes as to whether a text can have a fuller meaning and if this fuller meaning can be distinct in nature from the meaning of the human author. This concept is especially applied with reference to when a New Testament author quotes from the Old Testament.

[Kelp]

Propitiation
[pro-pish’-ee-ay‘-shun]

Translated from the Greek word hilasterion, meaning “that which expiates or propitiates” or “the gift which procures propitiation”. It means “satisfaction” or “appeasement,” specifically towards God. In the New Testament, propitiation is the work of Jesus Christ on the cross by which He appeases the wrath of God who would otherwise be offended by our sin and demand that we pay the penalty for it. The concept of propitiation is often associated with the idea of a substitutionary atonement.

[Kelp]

Monergism
[mon’-ur-jiz-um]

(Greek mono-, “one” + Greek ergon, “work”)

The doctrine that God the Holy Spirit solely and independently acts to regenerate the heart of man so as to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. In other words, God performs a unilateral inward action upon man’s heart to respond to the call of salvation.

Speaking of monergism…

[Kelp]

Exegesis
[ek’-suh-jee‘-sis]

(Greek exegeisthai, “to explain” or “to interpret,” from Greek ex-, “out of” or “from” + Greek hegeisthai, “to guide”)

With respect to biblical interpretation, it involves the process of critical analysis of the given text to produce direct, logical conclusions (utilizing the who, what when, where, why method). It often involves the evaluation of the original texts of the Bible (OT-Hebrew, NT-Greek).

Read why good exegesis does not always produce good theology.

[Kelp]

Open Theism
Also referred to as “free will theism” and “openness theology,”it is the belief that God does not exercise meticulous control of the universe but leaves it “open” for humans to make significant free will choices that impact their relationships with God and others. A corollary of this is that God has not predetermined the future. Open Theists further believe that this would imply that God does not know the future exhaustively. (ref. theopedia).

Proponents of this view are Gregory Boyd, John Sanders, and Clark Pinnock.

Download a debate between James White and John Sanders on this topic here…or view Michael Patton’s discussion on Sovereignty here.

[Kelp]

Anselm of Canterbury

or, Saint Anselm (1033–1109)

He was a Roman Catholic philosopher and clergyman best known for his work Cur Deus Homo [Why the God-man?], 1098. Called the founder of scholasticism, he is considered the father of the ontological argument for the existence of God. He also openly opposed the Crusades.

Read more on Anselm here.

…and here.

[Kelp]

creatio ex nihilo
[kray-aw’-tsee-o eks nee’-uh-lo]

(Latin, “creation out of nothing”)

Describes the shared theistic worldview which believes all of creation was created by God out of non-existent matter. This belief is extremely important and foundational to the Christian belief in a transcendent God. God’s nature transcends time, space, and matter. Therefore, all that exists outside of God is dependent upon Him for its existence. This belief is contrasted with the worldviews of Mormons and other polytheists who believe that matter is eternal and God created the present universe from this pre-existing matter (creatio ex materia). It is also to be contrasted with the worldview of pantheists and panentheists who believe that creation came from God’s essence (creatio ex deo).

“Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” (Hebrews 11:3)

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homooousios
[hoe-moe-oo’-see-oss]

(Greek homo-, ”same” + Greek ousia, “substance” = “of the same substance” “consubstantial”)

This is the Trinitarian term that expresses a belief that Christ is of the same substance or nature as the Father. This word was central to the fourth-century debate between Athanasius and the Arians. Arius believed that Christ was of “similar substance” to the Father (homoiousios), but not of the “same substance” (homoousios). The two positions were separated by one letter in Greek, an iota. Thus the common phrase “it doesn’t make one iota of difference.” The Council of Nicea (325) believed that Christ shared in the exact same essence as the Father and therefore adopted the term homoousios to describe the relationship between the members of the Godhead. This concept was further developed by the Cappadocian fathers and further applied to all three members of the Trinity at the Council of Constantinople (381).

See: Creed of Nicea

[Kelp]

Dittography
[dih-taw’-gruh-fee]

(Greek dittos, “double” + Greek graphos, “written”)

A term used by textual critics which describes the unintentional duplication of material in the transcribing process of the Scriptures. Often a scribe would accidentally write a word or sentence twice. This could happen for many reasons (fatigue, misplacement of marker, or negligence in copying). A dittograph is relatively easy for a text critic to recognize and correct. A dittograph is relatively easy for a text critic to recognize and correct.

[Kelp]

Autograph
(Greek autos, “self” + Greek graphos, “written” = “written with one’s own hand”)

Refers to the original documents of the Scriptures that are no longer extant. The closest our current manuscript evidence comes to the original is p52 (papyrus #52), often referred to as the John Rylands Papyrus. P52 contains a few verses of the Gospel of John and dates ca. 125. This is at least thirty years removed from the autograph.

[Kelp]

Theodicy
[thee-awd’-ih-see]

(Greek theos, “god” + Greek dike, “justice” = “the justice of God“)

The branch of theology (and philosophy) which attempts to harmonize the reality of evil with an omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent God. More specifically, it endeavors to vindicate the divine attributes of God, particularly with respect to holiness and justice.

Read Damian Romano’s ongoing book review of William Hasker’s The Triumph of God over Evil (here) and (here).