An idea came to me recently. Yes, I know, my brain doesn't get a lot of traffic. It's like Amish country in here. Or the Australian outback. But anyway, I notice that a lot of debates about Christianity happen because people tend to have different definitions for the same words, or use different words to explain the same concepts.
This thread is for people to give a definition and/or explanation of a certain term or theological idea as it is defined according to one's tradition/personal interpretation. Post one or a few terms you would like to define, and I can include those terms and definitions in the OP for easy navigating. Make sure to include your name and affiliation (if any) with your definition, so we can start to get a feel for who defines what terms how. Feel free to post your definition of any Christian term you feel like, even if (and especially if!) you're defining a word in a way completely opposite to how I or someone else has defined it.
I'll start with a few basic ones. Christological and Trinitarian dictionaries might go in their respective DIRs, just because each term there has a lot to explain. Would you guys like to see posts like these in the soteriology and eschatology DIRs as well?
-Baptism: (Shiranui117's Catholic definition) The act of being immersed in water (or having water poured over you) in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This one-time process wipes away all your past sins and initiates you as a member of the Body of Christ. In Catholicism, this is not viewed as merely a public declaration of faith, but is an act through which the Holy Spirit comes in and cleanses the person being baptized.
-Church: (Shiranui117's Catholic definition) The body of Christ, including all those who have faith in Christ. This is a community of believers that comes together in worship, prayer, fasting and fellowship.
-Believe: (Shiranui117's Catholic definition) The act of intellectually assenting to the Faith. You buy it. "Seems legit." One half of faith.
-Eucharist: (Luca85's Roman Catholic definition) The most important Sacrament of Christianity, instituted by Jesus during the Last Supper. The word comes from Greek verb εὐχαρίστω , which means "to give thanks".
As Jesus instituted in the Last Supper (Luke, 22:19), Christians are supposed to eat the body and the blood of Christ, in remembrance of Him. The bread and wine become the real body and the real blood of Jesus (transubstantiation).
As Justin Martyr says (First Apology, 65-67) the Eucharist is the meal "over which the prayer of thanksgiving, the word received from Christ, has been said". Through Eucharist, Christians receive His word, His Gospel, that's the reason why Christians are supposed to be pure and without guilt (they are supposed to confess their sins to a priest first), before receiving this Sacrament.
-Faith: (Shiranui117's Catholic definition) Belief put into action. You believe in Christ, therefore you follow the commandments of Christ and do the good works that are expected of us by Christ and by the Father. One must have faith to be justified and sanctified, or saved.
-Fasting: (Shiranui117's Catholic definition) The act of refraining from food or from certain types of food for spiritual purposes. Essentially a denial of ourselves and our desires to place more emphasis on God's will. Often used to as a companion to discernment or prayer, especially during certain times of the year when everybody in the Church fasts.
Free will: (Luca85's Catholic definition): According to the Catechism (n. 1731), freedom is the power rooted in reason and will, that enables people to do or not to do, to put deliberately decisions into action. Thanks to free will, anyone takes decisions for themselves. Freedom enables men to grow up cultivating goodness and truth. Freedom attains its perfection when directed toward God.
-Good Works: (Shiranui117's Catholic definition) What happens when you follow the commandments of Christ. Praying, helping the poor, donating to charity, helping a friend, giving someone helpful advice, speaking kindly, going to church, etc, etc. The other half of faith.
-Justification (Shiranui117's Catholic definition) In Western Christianity (i.e. Roman Catholic and Protestant), this means the act of being reborn into a life of Christ, or being saved (see my definition below). In Catholicism, this is not seen as a final state of salvation, but merely its beginning; we are born again in Christ, but now we have an entire new life in which to grow and mature.
-Prayer: (Shiranui117's Catholic definition) The act of communing with God. This can either be done through impromptu talking with God or through reading prayers composed by others that have been passed along (i.e. the Lord's Prayer, psalms, the Jesus Prayer, the Trisagion, hymns written by Saints, hymns from your church service, etc.) It can even be done by straight-up being silent and being still with God, either listening to anything He might tell you or just being there with Him. Some say that all of life can become a prayer if we do everything for God's glory and by keeping Him in mind.
-Sanctification: (Shiranui117's Catholic definition) In Western Christianity (i.e. Roman Catholic and Protestant), this means the ongoing act of purification, or being molded in the image of Christ through the working of the Holy Spirit. You are being made more holy, and a better and better reflection of God's virtue and glory. Sanctification is a never-ending process, even once we reach Heaven.
-Saved: (Shiranui117's Catholic definition) You were saved when you were baptized, you are being saved through living your faith, and you will be saved on the Last Day. Unlike many branches of Protestantism, Catholics don't really believe that being "saved" is a state; we view it as an ongoing process. The idea of being "saved" generally means "Congratulations, you're going to Heaven now."
-Theosis: (Shiranui117's Byzantine Catholic definition) In Eastern Christianity (i.e. Eastern & Oriental Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy), this term is basically the same thing as justification and sanctification balled into one. Theosis is the process through which we become more and more like God. It encapsulates the entire Christian life, starting with repentance, developing a relationship with God, being baptized, developing faith, being transformed through your faith and God's grace, the image of God inside you becoming ever more purified, defeating the influence of sin in your life, and becoming more and more like God in virtue and holiness. We become "partakers of the Divine Nature". St. Anthony the Great of Egypt said that "God became man so that man may become God". Theosis is how we get into Heaven, but continues on afterwards for eternity.
Theotokos (Θεοτόκος) (Luca85's Catholic definition) : Very important dogma both in Catholicism and in Orthodoxy, that states that Mary generated Jesus, who has both a human and a divine nature, therefore Mary is mother of God. This was decreed during the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD.
-Worship: (Shiranui117's Catholic definition) The act of the Church coming together to give praise and glory to God via song, prayer and sacrament (i.e. having the Lord's Supper/Communion/the Eucharist).
This thread is for people to give a definition and/or explanation of a certain term or theological idea as it is defined according to one's tradition/personal interpretation. Post one or a few terms you would like to define, and I can include those terms and definitions in the OP for easy navigating. Make sure to include your name and affiliation (if any) with your definition, so we can start to get a feel for who defines what terms how. Feel free to post your definition of any Christian term you feel like, even if (and especially if!) you're defining a word in a way completely opposite to how I or someone else has defined it.
I'll start with a few basic ones. Christological and Trinitarian dictionaries might go in their respective DIRs, just because each term there has a lot to explain. Would you guys like to see posts like these in the soteriology and eschatology DIRs as well?
-Baptism: (Shiranui117's Catholic definition) The act of being immersed in water (or having water poured over you) in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This one-time process wipes away all your past sins and initiates you as a member of the Body of Christ. In Catholicism, this is not viewed as merely a public declaration of faith, but is an act through which the Holy Spirit comes in and cleanses the person being baptized.
-Church: (Shiranui117's Catholic definition) The body of Christ, including all those who have faith in Christ. This is a community of believers that comes together in worship, prayer, fasting and fellowship.
-Believe: (Shiranui117's Catholic definition) The act of intellectually assenting to the Faith. You buy it. "Seems legit." One half of faith.
-Eucharist: (Luca85's Roman Catholic definition) The most important Sacrament of Christianity, instituted by Jesus during the Last Supper. The word comes from Greek verb εὐχαρίστω , which means "to give thanks".
As Jesus instituted in the Last Supper (Luke, 22:19), Christians are supposed to eat the body and the blood of Christ, in remembrance of Him. The bread and wine become the real body and the real blood of Jesus (transubstantiation).
As Justin Martyr says (First Apology, 65-67) the Eucharist is the meal "over which the prayer of thanksgiving, the word received from Christ, has been said". Through Eucharist, Christians receive His word, His Gospel, that's the reason why Christians are supposed to be pure and without guilt (they are supposed to confess their sins to a priest first), before receiving this Sacrament.
-Faith: (Shiranui117's Catholic definition) Belief put into action. You believe in Christ, therefore you follow the commandments of Christ and do the good works that are expected of us by Christ and by the Father. One must have faith to be justified and sanctified, or saved.
-Fasting: (Shiranui117's Catholic definition) The act of refraining from food or from certain types of food for spiritual purposes. Essentially a denial of ourselves and our desires to place more emphasis on God's will. Often used to as a companion to discernment or prayer, especially during certain times of the year when everybody in the Church fasts.
Free will: (Luca85's Catholic definition): According to the Catechism (n. 1731), freedom is the power rooted in reason and will, that enables people to do or not to do, to put deliberately decisions into action. Thanks to free will, anyone takes decisions for themselves. Freedom enables men to grow up cultivating goodness and truth. Freedom attains its perfection when directed toward God.
-Good Works: (Shiranui117's Catholic definition) What happens when you follow the commandments of Christ. Praying, helping the poor, donating to charity, helping a friend, giving someone helpful advice, speaking kindly, going to church, etc, etc. The other half of faith.
-Justification (Shiranui117's Catholic definition) In Western Christianity (i.e. Roman Catholic and Protestant), this means the act of being reborn into a life of Christ, or being saved (see my definition below). In Catholicism, this is not seen as a final state of salvation, but merely its beginning; we are born again in Christ, but now we have an entire new life in which to grow and mature.
-Prayer: (Shiranui117's Catholic definition) The act of communing with God. This can either be done through impromptu talking with God or through reading prayers composed by others that have been passed along (i.e. the Lord's Prayer, psalms, the Jesus Prayer, the Trisagion, hymns written by Saints, hymns from your church service, etc.) It can even be done by straight-up being silent and being still with God, either listening to anything He might tell you or just being there with Him. Some say that all of life can become a prayer if we do everything for God's glory and by keeping Him in mind.
-Sanctification: (Shiranui117's Catholic definition) In Western Christianity (i.e. Roman Catholic and Protestant), this means the ongoing act of purification, or being molded in the image of Christ through the working of the Holy Spirit. You are being made more holy, and a better and better reflection of God's virtue and glory. Sanctification is a never-ending process, even once we reach Heaven.
-Saved: (Shiranui117's Catholic definition) You were saved when you were baptized, you are being saved through living your faith, and you will be saved on the Last Day. Unlike many branches of Protestantism, Catholics don't really believe that being "saved" is a state; we view it as an ongoing process. The idea of being "saved" generally means "Congratulations, you're going to Heaven now."
-Theosis: (Shiranui117's Byzantine Catholic definition) In Eastern Christianity (i.e. Eastern & Oriental Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy), this term is basically the same thing as justification and sanctification balled into one. Theosis is the process through which we become more and more like God. It encapsulates the entire Christian life, starting with repentance, developing a relationship with God, being baptized, developing faith, being transformed through your faith and God's grace, the image of God inside you becoming ever more purified, defeating the influence of sin in your life, and becoming more and more like God in virtue and holiness. We become "partakers of the Divine Nature". St. Anthony the Great of Egypt said that "God became man so that man may become God". Theosis is how we get into Heaven, but continues on afterwards for eternity.
Theotokos (Θεοτόκος) (Luca85's Catholic definition) : Very important dogma both in Catholicism and in Orthodoxy, that states that Mary generated Jesus, who has both a human and a divine nature, therefore Mary is mother of God. This was decreed during the Council of Ephesus in 431 AD.
-Worship: (Shiranui117's Catholic definition) The act of the Church coming together to give praise and glory to God via song, prayer and sacrament (i.e. having the Lord's Supper/Communion/the Eucharist).
Last edited:
