1) Trinity: One God existing eternally in three co-eternal persons i.e. Father, Son and Holy Spirit who are distinct in their personal identity and functions but one in substance, attributes, glory, authority and essence.
1.1) Modalism: A wrong way of understanding Trinity thinking if same God is merely switching in between the persons i.e. One God working as three modes.
1.2) Partialism: Another wrong way of understanding Trinity thinking if God is composed of three persons as in three pieces puzzle i.e. each person becomes one- third of God.
1.3) Subordinationism: Another wrong way of understanding the Trinity thinking if Son (Jesus) is subjected to the Father in essence and substance.
2) Hypostatic Union: It signifies Jesus' mysterious two natures i.e. divine and human in one person that are separate but completely united.
3) Continuationism: A theological position which allows for belief that all spiritual gifts are continuing even today until Jesus returns. Other branches of this position are: Pentecostalism (1906+) and Charismatic (1960+). This circle can have lots of variations depending on what and how they emphasize in their practices e.g. Pentecostals emphasize tongues as sign of Baptism by Spirit.
4) Cessationism: A theological position that stands just opposite of continuationism. The position denies certain miraculous gifts like healing, tongues, visions and prophesy as continuing even today. For them we have God's complete revelation at our hand, hence we no longer need those gifts that were used during Apostolic times to confirm the Gospel and merely limited to their unique office of spreading Gospel and setting up the required foundation for the church.
5) Egalitarian: A theological position associated with women in ministry that embraces woman can be pastors and preachers. They believe both male and female are co-equal in God's eyes. Hence, women should also get pastoring position in a church.
6) Complementarian: A theological position that denies women pastoral leadership. They believe the leadership roles are for males. They hold that males and females are obviously one and equal in God's eyes but they have separated roles just as in Triune God.
7) Young Earth creationism: A theological position associated with creation that argues for a literal 24 hours day in Genesis 1 creation week resulting in a universe recently created somehow like 6000 years ago. This can take form of either Mature creation in which God intentionally created the world that appeared to be old or Flood geology which argues the Global flood was responsible for all sorts of geological effects and massive impact on earth that led to fossils. They argue against evolution, Big Bang and carbon dating.
8) Old Earth creationism: A theological position that argues for non-literal meaning of days in Genesis 1 allowing for billion years timeline of the universe as discovered by modern science. This position has lots of variations out of which Gap theory and Day-Age are perhaps prominent. Other form may include Framework hypothesis. Gap theory states unspecified time between Gen. 1:1-3, Day-Age states days could be understood as long ages while Framework states creation account merely a literary work having symmetry of earlier 3 days of forming and later 3 days of filling.
9) Concordism: A way of imposing modern scientific reading into ancient cultural passages of the scripture in order give an impression that the Bible is divinely inspired. E.g. Gen. 1:3 teaches Big Bang, Job 40, 41 explains dinosaurs, Isa. 40:22 demonstrates spherical earth, etc.
10) Proof-texts: The selective citing or passages that are particularly used in favour of a specific theological position. E.g. Young Earth creationists use Exodus 20:11 to affirm God created everything in six days. Cessationists use 1 Cor. 13:8-10 to argue that since we have complete Bible, we no longer need any prophecy and tongues today. Complementarians use lots of passages from Titus and Timothy to stress male leadership. Such sort of verses or passages are called proof-texts.
What AI has to say about this?
This document provides a solid introduction to key theological concepts for beginners in Christian theology. It covers important doctrinal positions with clear definitions.
Strengths:
- Organizes complex theological concepts in a structured format
- Defines opposing theological positions (like continuationism vs. cessationism)
- Explains common misunderstandings (e.g., modalism and partialism for Trinity)
- Covers diverse theological topics (Trinity, Christology, gender roles, creation)
Potential improvements:
- Add scriptural references for each position
- Include historical context for when different positions developed
- Consider adding a brief glossary for theological terms like "essence" or "substance"
- Provide examples of denominations that hold each position
This would be valuable for Sunday School classes, new believers, or anyone wanting a basic theological framework before deeper study.
Stay tuned for more terms...
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