Theology Thursday

COGNITIVE DISSONANCE

The condition when some of a person’s beliefs are in contradiction to other beliefs they hold or to the way they live. Often people’s habitual patterns do not harmonize with their intellectual convictions. In Christianity, it is often the case that people attempt to live according to a Christian worldview due only to traditional bents without ever personally experiencing a true cognitive or intellectual conviction about such. This can produce a dichotomous life of dissonance or inconsistency in their beliefs and practices.

ORDO SALUTIS

(Latin, “order of salvation”)

Refers to the successive order of events in the process or event of salvation. This order includes necessities such as predestination, regeneration, faith, justification, repentance, atonement, and glorification. Depending on one”s particular stance on theological issues having to do with salvation, he or she would place these events in a different sequence. For example, the Calvinist would normally place regeneration before faith in their ordo, while the Arminian would see regeneration as a result of faith. The Roman Catholic would see justification as an event and a process that takes place throughout the Christian”s life, while Protestants would see justification as a definite event resulting from faith. Therefore, the Roman Catholic and Protestant ordo would differ from one another.

APOPHATIC THEOLOGY

[ap-uh-fat’-ik thee-aw’-luh-jee]\r\n\r\n(Greek apo-, “other than” + Greek phanai, “speak” = apophasis, “to say no”)

Theological methodology which starts with the ineffability of God, believing that God’s infinite nature cannot be contained by finite men through finite language. The best way to describe God, therefore, is through way of negation (via negativa). In Christianity, apophatic theology is often associated with Eastern Orthodoxy and is foundational to much of the conversation of the so-called emerging church in Protestantism.

LIBERTARIAN FREE WILL

(Latin liberum arbitrium)

The belief that the human will is free from any necessitating constraint (necessitas coactio). This is often refeed to as “the power of contrary choice.” In this, whatever decisions are made, its alternative decisions are viable options. The alternative to libertarianism is fatalism, divine determinism, or self-determinism. The reformers believed that the faculty of the will is free (vonutas), but this will is in bondage to its nature, as all wills are. The reformers rejected both libertarianism and fatalism, seeking a mediating position that allows the will to be free, but does not allow its liberty to act out of concert with its nature.

INSPIRATION

(Latin in-, “in” + Latin spirare, “to breathe”)

The doctrine relating to the divine origin of Scripture, that it is a joint product of God and man. “Scripture is not only man”s word, but also, and equally God’s word, spoken through man’s lips or written with man’s pen” (J. I. Packer, The Origin of the Bible). The term comes from the Latin translation, and some English translations (esp. KJV), of the Greek theopneustos, found in 2 Tim. 3:16. Though the English connotes a “breathing in,” both the Latin and Greek imply a “breathing out,” specifically from God to the human authors.

ECUMENISM

[ik-yoo''-muh-niz''-um or ek''-yuh-muh-niz''-um] (Greek oikouneme, “the inhabited world”)

The principle of, or a movement associated with, promoting unity, understanding and cooperation among various religious groups, specifically among Christian denominations (though more generally can refer to similar efforts among various world faiths). Viewed favorably, it seeks to overlook minor differences in doctrine and practice, while focusing on shared beliefs and priorities that are felt to be more significant. Critics of the concept, however, often feel that such endeavors, while striving for peace, will lead to neglecting or compromising the truth

EPIPHANY

[ih-pif''-uh-nee] (Greek epiphaneia “to show”)

Refers to an appearance or revealing. It is when something is realized or understood to a greater degree than it was before. In Christianity, the Epiphany of Christ is celebrated as God was revealed to man in the incarnation in a way not previously understood. There is a Christian feast day which celebrates this God-man encounter at the visitation of the Magi to Christ. The feast falls on January 6. Eastern Christians commemorate another epiphany at the baptism of Christ as he was manifested to the world through the word spoken from Heaven. It is also called ”Theophany”, meaning a manifestation of God.