Main Glossary


Words matter! Know the meanings of the words you speak, write, preach and teach to perfectly accomplish the things the LORD God wills.

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A

Arianism

The name given to the heresy of Arius (see Arius); believers in this heresy were subjected to great persecutions by fellow Christians, and the heretical belief died with them. The death toll of Arians killed by fellow Christians was far greater than the number of Christian victims of Roman persecution.1

1 Perry, Marvin, et al. "The Young Church." Western Civilization: Ideas, Politics, and Society, Eighth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2007, 182.
Entry link: Arianism

Arius

A Greek priest in Alexandria and leader of a faction that denied the complete divinity of Jesus Christ. He believed that Jesus Christ was more than man and less than God and that the Father and the Son did not possess the same nature or essence, with no permanent union between Them; the Father alone is eternal and truly God. The resulting controversy concerning these arguments resulted in the assembly of the Council of Nicaea (A.D. 325), the first ecumenical council with bishops from all parts of the Roman world. The council condemned Arius and ruled that God and Christ were of the same substance, coequal and coeternal; their position was expressed in the "Nicene Creed," which continues to be an official stance of most Christian churches.
Entry link: Arius

Ark of the Covenant

A gold-plated, ornate wooden chest that housed the two tablets of the Law given to Moses by the LORD God. It was placed in the Tabernacle, in the Holiest of Holies, as the wandering Israelites set up camp. The Ark received the presence of the LORD God between the two Cherubims that sat atop it. It is believed to have been captured when Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians in 586 BC, and its fate is unknown today; however, many claim it is hidden in the relic chapel of the church of Saint Mary of Zion, at Axum Ethiopia (See Ethiopian Jews). (Exodus 24)
Entry link: Ark of the Covenant

Armenia

A mountainous area located between the Roman and Persian empires in southwestern Asia, SE of Black Sea and SW of Caspian Sea. Christianity arrived at the end of the third century and was made the official religion of the state, even before Rome. The present-day location is divided between Armenia, Turkey, and Iran.

Entry link: Armenia

Asceticism

The severe practice of self-discipline and the abstention of indulgencies like sexual activity and diet often seen in monastic religious communities that withdraw from society.

Entry link: Asceticism

Autograph

Original texts of the Bible.

Entry link: Autograph

Avarice

Lust for money.1

Reference:

1Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, The City of God, trans., Marcus Dods, Modern Library Paperback ed. (New York: Random House, Inc., 2000), 464

Entry link: Avarice

Axumite Empire

Northeastern Africa trading nation growing from the proto-Axumite period ca. 4th century BC to achieve prominence by the 1st century AD. Legend speaks of the founder of the Axumite Empire in Ethiopia to be Manelik, rumored son of Queen Sheba and King Solomon. The Axumite possessed the largest navy on earth at one time, and were the only African civilization south of Egypt to develop writing. Their tribal language was Ge'ez, and they also spoke Greek. The Axumite had close links with the ancient Israelites, and were Jews themselves, although their religion was based solely upon the Torah and not the Pharisaic Judaism that was the norm in the Middle East and Europe. The lost Ark of the Covenant is rumored to have been stored by Manelik in the Ethiopian highlands for safekeeping.1

Reference:

1 Hill, Jonathan. "Early Christianity: A World Religion." Handbook to the History of Christianity. Zondervan, 2006, 106.
Entry link: Axumite Empire

B

Baptism

The Baptism of Jesus Christ is a baptism of redemption through immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Baptism of Jesus Christ frees the believer from the control of sin, by bringing death to sin. When the believer arises from the baptismal waters, he is born again, and resurrected into the new life in Christ Jesus. It is an act of obedience of the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to faith in the final resurrection of the dead.
Entry link: Baptism

Barbarian

Society of lowest form before it evolves into higher civilization
Entry link: Barbarian


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