Sermons & Devotionals by Dictionary of Theology

A focus on existential and psychological aspects of religious experience and denounces the literalism of the Bible. Experience with the divine is what makes scripture real, not biblical revelation, not reason. Neo orthodoxy is subjective and selective in its "orthodox" positions.... Read More

States that the two natures of Christ were so separated from each other that they were "not in contact"; the problem here is that worship of the human Jesus would then not be allowed.... Read More

Especially in the Roman Catholic Church, those women who consecrate their lives to spiritual service and various religious orders. They do not marry and are normally virgins.... Read More

A branch of philosophy which asserts that reality exists apart from the human mind and that the knowledge of this reality is based upon observation.... Read More

The philosophical rule that the simplest explanation is preferred over the more complicated one and that explanations should be first proposed in relation to concepts that are already known. Another way of seeing it is to say that the fewer assumptions that need to be made to support an explanation ... Read More

Occult means "hidden". It covers practices that are not approved of by God e.g., astrology (Isaiah 47:13), casting spells (Deut. 18:11), consulting with spirits (Deut. 18:11), magic (Gen. 41:8), sorcery (Exodus. 22:8), witchcraft (Deut. 18:10), and spiritism (Deut. 18:11). Occult practices such as O... Read More

An attribute of God alone. It is the quality of having all power (Psalm 115:3). He can do all things that do not conflict with His holy nature. God has the power to do anything He wants to.... Read More

An attribute of God alone. It is the quality of being present in all places at all times (Jer. 23:23.4). He is not bound by time and space. This does not mean that nature is a part of God and is, therefore, to be worshiped. Creation is separate from God, but not independent of Him.... Read More

An attribute of God alone. It is the quality of having all knowledge (Isaiah 40:14). Omnipotence, Omnipresence, and Omniscience represent the nature of God concerning His relation to the creation.... Read More

An attempt to prove God’s existence first postulated by Anselm. In brief, it states that God is a being of which no greater thing exists or can be thought of. Therefore, since we can conceive of God as the greatest of all things that exist, then God must exist.... Read More

The study of the nature of being, reality, and substance.... Read More

Oracles are the divine revelations given to God's people. God's method of communicating these oracles varied from dreams and visions (Num. 12:6-8), to wisdom (Prov. 30:1), and even the Urim and Thummim (Num. 27:21; 1 Sam. 14:337).... Read More

In Christianity it is the ceremony of consecration to ministry. It is usually administered by a commissioning and a laying on of hands.... Read More

Latin for “order of salvation.” Theologically it is the order of decrees by God in bringing about the salvation of individuals. In the Reformed camp, the ordo solutis is 1) election, 2) predestination, 3) calling, 4) regeneration, 5) faith, 6) repentance, 7) justification, 8) sanctification, and 9) ... Read More

This is a term used to describe the effect of Adam's sin on his descendants (Rom. 5:12-23). Specifically, it is our inheritance of a sinful nature from Adam. The sinful nature originated with Adam and is passed down from parent to child. We are by nature children of wrath (Eph. 2:3).... Read More

Belief in the standards of accepted and true doctrines taught in the Bible.... Read More

The belief that the universe is contained within God. The universe is a part of God, but not all of God.... Read More

This is an identification of the universe with God. With this view there is a blurring of the distinction between the Creator and the creation as well as an attack upon the personality and nature of God. Pantheism tends to equate God with the process of the universe and states that the universe is G... Read More

A plant growing along the Nile in Egypt during biblical times. It was used as writing material. Papyrus scrolls were made by cutting and pressing sections of the papyri plant together at right angles. The typical maximum length of a scroll was about 35 feet. The scribe, when using papyrus, would oft... Read More

An illustrative discourse or story that uses common events and culture and is meant to convey a meaning or lesson. Jesus used parables extensively. Some of the OT parables are Trees Making a King (2 Sam. 12:1-4); The Thistle and the Cedar (2 Kings 14:9); Israel, a Vine Planted by Water (Ezek. 24:101... Read More