Theological Dictionary word of the day: Joseph of Arimathea
Joseph of Arimathea, according to the Gospels, was the man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus after Jesus was crucified. A native of Arimathea, he was apparently a man of wealth, and a member of the Sanhedrin (which is the way bouleutes, literally "senator", is interpreted in Matthew 27:57 and Luke 23:50). Joseph was an "honourable counsellor, who waited (or "was searching" which is not the same thing) for the kingdom of God" (Mark, 15:43). As soon as he heard the news of Jesus' death, he "went in boldly" (literally "having summoned courage, he went") "unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus."

Pontius Pilate, who was reassured by a centurion that the death had really taken place, allowed Joseph's request. Joseph immediately purchased fine linen (Mark 15:46) and proceeded to Golgotha to take the body down from the cross. There, assisted by Nicodemus, he took the body and wrapped it in the fine linen, sprinkling it with the myrrh and aloes which Nicodemus had brought (John 19:39).

The body was then conveyed to a new tomb that had been hewn for Joseph himself out of a rock in his garden nearby. There they laid it, in the presence of Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of Jesus, and other women, and rolled a great stone to the entrance, and departed (Luke 23:53, 55). This was done speedily, "for the Sabbath was drawing on".

Joseph of Arimathea is venerated as a saint by the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. His feast-day is March 17 among Latins, and July 31 in the East. He appears in some early New Testament apocrypha, and a series of legends grew around him during the Middle Ages, which tied him to Britain and the Holy Grail.

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of execution, where the victim was tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang there until dead. It is mostly widely known as a not uncommon but extremely dishonorable as well as excruciating form of judicial execution in the Roman Empire, though similar methods were employed in other ancient cultures. Crucifixion has special significance in Christianity, which holds that Jesus was crucified but later resurrected. Because of this the Christian cross or crucifix has become a common symbol of Christianity.

Crucifixion was used by the Romans (see Roman Empire) until about 313 AD, when Christianity became the dominant faith in Rome. However, it has been used in various places in modern times.

Details of crucifixion
Crucifixion was rarely performed for ritual or symbolic reasons.
Usually, its purpose was to provide a particularly painful, gruesome, and public death, using whatever means were most expedient for that goal. Widely different crucifixion methods varied considerably with location and time period.

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: Jerusalem
Jerusalem is the holiest city of Judaism (since the 10th century BCE) and some denominations of Christianity (since the 5th century CE) and, after Mecca and Medina, the third holiest city of Islam (since the 7th century CE). A heterogeneous city, Jerusalem represents a wide range of national, religious, and socioeconomic groups. The section called the "Old City" is surrounded by walls and consists of four quarters: Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim.

37"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. 38Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.[1]'" -יהושע Yehoshua, Matthew 23:37-39

The status of the united Jerusalem as Israel's capital is not widely recognized by the international community, and Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem is particularly controversial.
Jerusalem has long been embedded into the religious consciousness of the Jewish people. Jews have always studied and personalized the struggle by King David to capture Jerusalem and his desire to build the Jewish temple there, as described in the Book of Samuel and the Book of Psalms. Many of King David's yearnings about Jerusalem have been adapted into popular prayers and songs.

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: First Council of Nicaea
Separation of Easter from the Jewish Passover

After the June 19 settlement of the most important topic, the question of the date of the Christian Passover (Easter), was brought up. This feast is linked to the Jewish Passover, as crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus occurred during that festival. By the year 300, most Churches had adopted the Western style of celebrating the feast on the Sunday after the Passover, placing the emphasis on the resurrection, which occurred on a Sunday. Others however celebrated the feast on the 14th of the Jewish month Nisan, the date of the crucifixion according to the Bible's Hebrew calendar. Hence this group was called Quartodecimans. The Eastern Churches of Syria, Cilicia, and Mesopotamia determined the date of Christian Passover in relation to the 14th day of Nisan, in the Bible's Hebrew calendar. Alexandria and Rome, however, followed a different calculation, attributed to Pope Soter, so that Christian Passover would never coincide with the Jewish observance and decided in favour of celebrating on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox, independently of the Bible's Hebrew calendar.

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: Passion
The Passion is the theological term used for the sufferings of Christ, especially in the agony of the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross. (see crucifixion). The Crucifixion is an event central to Christian beliefs.

The etymological origins of the word lie in the Christian Latin passus, (stemming from pati, patior- to suffer) and first appearing in the 2nd century precisely to describe the travails and suffering of Jesus in this present context. The word passion has since taken on a more general application. The term the Agony of Jesus is sometimes used alternately, although is generally more specifically applied to Jesus' agony of mind while praying before his arrest: the Agony in the Garden [of Gethsemane].

Those parts of the four Gospels that describe these events are known as The "Passion narratives". The non-canonical Gospel of Peter is also a Passion narrative.

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: Passover
Passover (Hebrew: פסח; transliterated as Pesach or Pesah), also called חג המצות (Chag HaMatzot - Festival of Matzot) is a Jewish holiday beginning on the 15th day of Nisan, which falls in the early spring and commemorates the Exodus and freedom of the Israelites from ancient Egypt. Passover marks the "birth" of the Jewish nation, as the Jews were freed from being slaves of Pharaoh and allowed to become servants of God instead.

In most languages of Christian societies, other than English, German and some Slavic languages, the holiday's name is derived from Pesach, the Hebrew name of Passover, a Jewish holiday to which the Christian Easter is intimately linked.

Together with Sukkot and Shavuot, Passover is one of the three pilgrim festivals (Shalosh Regalim) during which the entire Jewish populace made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in the days of the Holy Temple.

In Israel, Passover is a 7-day holiday, with the first and last days celebrated as a full festival (involving abstention from work, special prayer services and holiday meals). Outside Israel, the holiday is celebrated for 8 days, with the first two days and last two days celebrated as full festivals. The intervening days are known as Chol HaMoed (festival weekdays).

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: Palm Sunday
Palm Sunday is a moveable feast in the Christian calendar which falls on the Sunday before Easter. The feast commemorates an event reported by all four Canonical Gospels (Mark 11:1-11, Matthew 21:1-11, Luke 19:28-44, and John 12:12-19) - the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem in the days before his Passion. The difficulty of procuring palms for that day's ceremonies in unfavorable climates for palms led to the substitution of boughs of yew, willow or other native trees. The Sunday was often designated by the names of these trees, as Yew Sunday or by the general term Branch Sunday (the only French equivalent is (Dimanche des) Rameaux, 'branches sunday').

In the New Testament
According to the Canonical Gospels, before entering Jerusalem, Jesus was staying at Bethany and Bethphage, and the Gospel of John adds that he had dinner with Lazarus, and his sisters Mary and Martha. While there, Jesus is described by the Synoptic Gospels as sending two unnamed disciples to the village over against them, in order to retrieve a colt that had been tied up but never been ridden, and to say, if questioned, that the colt was needed but would be returned in a short period of time. The Synoptics and John state that Jesus knew people in the area, such as Simon the Leper, and so it could be argued that the presence of the colt had already been organised by Jesus' associates. The Gospel of John, however, merely says that Jesus found the colt.

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: Protestantism
The theological system of any of the churches of western Christendom that separated from the Roman Catholic Church during the Reformation in the 16th century.

Protestantism is a movement within Christianity, representing the splitting away from the Roman Catholic Church during the mid-to-late Renaissance in Europe —a period known as the Protestant Reformation.

Commonly considered one of the three major branches of Christianity (along with Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy); the term "Protestant" represents a diverse range of theological and social perspectives, churches and related organizations.

Originally, "protestant" meant "to be a witness for something" rather than "to be against something", as the current popular interpretation of the word seems to imply. The prefix pro means "for" in Latin. The Latin adjective protestans refers to "a person who gives public testimony for something or who proves or demonstrates something". The term Protestant originally applied to the group of princes and imperial cities who "protested" the decision by the 1529 Diet of Speyer to reverse course, and enforce the 1521 Edict of Worms. The 1521 edict forbade Lutheran teachings within the Holy Roman Empire. The 1526 session of the Diet had agreed to toleration of Lutheran teachings (on the basis of Cuius regio, eius religio) until a General Council could be held to settle the question, but by 1529, the Catholic forces felt they had gathered enough power to end the toleration without waiting for a Council.

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: Catholicism
Catholicism has two main ecclesiastical meanings, described in Webster's Dictionary as: a) "the whole orthodox Christian church, or adherence thereto"; and b) "the doctrines or faith of the Roman Catholic church, or adherence thereto."

The term Catholicism, derived from the Greek adjective καθολικός (katholikos), meaning "general" or "universal", is widely understood to refer to the Church, governed by the Bishop of Rome and the bishops in communion with him. However, other Churches that trace their historic episcopate to the apostolic succession — such as the Oriental Orthodox Churches, the Eastern Orthodox Churches, the Assyrian Church of the East, the Churches of the Anglican Communion, and the Old-Catholics — consider themselves to be branches of the Catholic Church. Neo-Lutheranism argues that Lutheran Churches are simply a Protestant reform movement that remains within the greater Church catholic.

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: Sunni Muslims
Sunni Muslims are by far the largest denomination of Islam, the second largest being Shia Islam They are also referred to as Ahlus Sunnah wal-Jamaa'h (Arabic: أهل السنة والجماعة) (people of the example (of Muhammad) and the community) which implies that they are the majority, or Ahl ul-Sunna (Arabic: أهل السنة; "The people of the example (of Muhammad)") for short. The word Sunni comes from the word sunna (Arabic : سنة ), which means the words and actions or example of the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad. They represent the branch of Islam that accepted the caliphate of Abu Bakr due to him being chosen by majority, thus elections, or Shurah, on the caliphate being the first distinguishing factor in Sunni Islam. Most Sunni lawyers define themselves as those Muslims who are rooted in one of the four orthodox schools of Sunni law (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafii or Hanbali).

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion centered on the life, teachings, and actions of Jesus, the Christ, as recounted in the New Testament.

With an estimated 2.1 billion adherents, Christianity is the world's largest religion. Its origins are intertwined with Judaism, with which it shares much sacred text and early history; specifically, it shares the Hebrew Bible, known in the Christian context as the Old Testament. Christianity is considered an Abrahamic religion, along with Judaism.

In the Christian scriptures, the name "Christian" and so "Christianity" is first attested in Acts 11:26: "For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people.

And in Antioch Jesus' disciples were first called Christians" (Gr. χριστιανους, from Christ Gr. Χριστός, which means "the anointed").

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: Judaism
Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people, with around 14 million followers (as of 2005). It is one of the first recorded monotheistic faiths and one of the oldest religious traditions still practiced today. The values and history of the Jewish people are a major part of the foundation of other Abrahamic religions such as Samaritanism (see Samaritan), Christianity, and Islam.

Judaism has seldom, if ever, been monolithic in practice, and has not had any centralized authority or binding dogma. Despite this, Judaism in all its variations has remained tightly bound to a number of religious principles. the most important of which is the belief in a single, omniscient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent, transcendent God, who created the universe and continues to be involved in its governance.

According to Jewish thought, the God who created the world established a covenant with the Jewish people, and revealed his laws and commandments to them in the form of the Torah. The practice of Judaism is devoted to the study and observance of these laws and commandments, as they are interpreted according to the Tanakh, Halakha, responsa and rabbinic literature.

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: Islam
Islam (Arabic: الإسلام, "submission (to the will of God)") is a monotheistic faith, considered one of the Abrahamic religions, and the world's second-largest religion. Followers of Islam are known as Muslims. Muslims believe that God revealed his divine word directly to mankind through many prophets and that Muhammad was the final prophet of Islam.

In Arabic, Islām derives from the three-letter root Sīn-Lām-Mīm (س-ل-م), which means "submission; to surrender; to obey; peace". Islām is a verbal abstract to this root, and literally means "submission/obedience," referring to submission to Allah.

Compare that root with the cognate word in Hebrew, shalom, which derives from the root shin-lamedh-mem (ש-ל-ם), which has cognates in many Semitic languages, and means completeness, fulfillment, wellbeing, a concept usually encapsulated by translation in the word peace.

The Christian and Jewish faiths do not consider Allah to be the same deity as Yahwey, the God of Israel.

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: Isaac
Isaac (Yitschak or Yitzhak) (יִצְחָק "He will laugh") is the son and heir of Abraham and the father of Jacob and Esau as described in the Hebrew Bible. His story is told in the book of Genesis 25:29-34.

Isaac was named because when his mother, Sarah, overheard that she would bear a child in her old age, she laughed (Genesis 18:10-15, 21:6-7). Some commentators believe that in the Book of Amos there is some suggestion that Israel may actually be another name for Isaac (Amos 7:9, 16) despite the Bible stating that Israel is the later name given to Isaac's son Jacob (Genesis 32:22-28, especially 28).

Isaac was born to Abraham by his wife Sarah, and the only child they had together. He was the longest lived of the three patriarchs (Genesis 21:1-3). Isaac was circumcised by his father when eight days old (Genesis 4-7); and a great feast was held in connection with his being weaned.

The next memorable event in his life is that connected with the story of God testing Abraham by asking him to offer Isaac as a sacrifice on a mountain (Mount Moriah) in the land of Moriah (Genesis 22, current location of The Temple Mount).

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: Ishmael
Ishmael or Yishma'el (יִשְׁמָעֵאל "God hears or obeys") is Abraham's eldest son, born by his servant Hagar. Ishmael the son of Abraham, is first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Genesis as the eldest son of Abraham by Hagar, Sarah's female Egyptian maid-servant or slave.
In Islam and the Qur'an, Ishmael is considered one of the prophets.

In the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), Ishmael's life is described in the Book of Genesis (Genesis 16, 17, 21, 25) and later texts. In Genesis 16 Sarai (Abram's wife) gives him her maid-servant Hagar to bear him children, since she believed that God had kept her from having children (Genesis 16:2).

Hagar became pregnant and despised Sarai (Genesis 16:4) who then expelled Hagar from the home of Abraham in retaliation. Hagar fled from Sarai and ran into the desert, where an angel found her near a spring.

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: Abrahamic religion
In the study of comparative religion, an Abrahamic religion is any of those religions deriving from a common ancient Semitic tradition and traced by their adherents to Abraham ("Father/Leader of many" Hebrew אַבְרָהָם Arabic ابراهيم), a patriarch whose life is narrated in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament, and as a prophet in the Qur'an.

This forms a large group of related, largely monotheistic religions, generally held to include Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Bahá'í Faith (based upon Islam), and comprises about half of the world's religious adherents.

According to the Jewish tradition, Abraham was the first person to reject idolatry, hence he symbolically appears as the founder of monotheistic religions. In that sense, Abrahamic religion could be simply equated with monotheistic religion, but not all monotheistic religions are Abrahamic. In Islam he is considered as the first monotheist and is often refered to as Ibrahim al-Hanif or Abraham the Monotheist. The term, desert monotheism, is sometimes used for a similar purpose of comparison in historical contexts, but not for modern faiths.

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: New Testament view on the life of Jesus
The four canonical gospels of the New Testament are the main sources of information for the traditional Christian narrative of Jesus' life.


Genealogy and family

The Gospels give two accounts of Jesus' genealogy: one in the male line through his legal father Joseph of Nazareth (Matt 1:2–16 and one through his mother, Mary, while referencing his supposed father; Luke 3:23–38). Both accounts trace his line back to King David and from there to Abraham. These lists are identical between Abraham and David, but they differ between David and Joseph. Matthew starts with Solomon and proceeds through the kings of Judah to the last king, Jeconiah. After Jeconiah the line of kings terminated when Babylon conquered Judah. Thus, Matthew shows that Jesus is the legal heir to the throne of Israel. Luke's genealogy is longer than Matthew's; it goes back to Adam and provides more names between David and Jesus, thus giving us direct descendants from Adam to Jesus through Mary.

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation, also called Revelation to John or Apocalypse of John is the canonical book of the New Testament commonly placed last in the Bible. It is the only biblical book that is wholly composed of apocalyptic literature.

Naming
The book is frequently called "Book of Revelation" or simply "Revelation"; however, the title found on some of the earliest manuscripts is "The Apocalypse/Revelation of John" (ΑΠΟΚΑΛΥΨΙΣ ΙΩΑΝΝΟΥ), and the most common title found on later manuscripts is "The Apocalypse/Revelation of the theologian" (ΑΠΟΚΑΛΥΨΙΣ ΤΟΥ ΘΕΟΛΟΓΟΥ). Many mistake The Book of Revelation for the plural revelations, which is false; there was only one known revelation recorded in the author's manuscript. The first sentence of the book, The Revelation of Jesus Christ ... unto his servant John, is also sometimes used as a title.

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PRAISE GOD! (Beloit, March 21, 2007)

Greetings, Timothy Family,

I wanted you to know that we sold the Timothy Truck, painlessly, yesterday. Thank you for praying about that over these past 6 weeks since our meeting. We got $3500 for it and with a "seed gift" we got from a lady in Cashton, WI, we have over 50% of our money for the purchase of a used Toyota pick-up for the Six Trees work, already. Praise God for His faithfulness to detail. Our base line is $7000 by 17 June.

I've put a paragraph about it in the Easter newsletter that will be out soon. Wanted all of you to know.

God bless you!
Larry and Susan

Theological Dictionary word of the day: General epistles
General epistles (also called Catholic Epistles) are books in the New Testament in the form of letters. They are termed "general" because for the most part their intended audience seems to be Christians in general rather than individual persons or congregations as is the case with the Pauline epistles. However, 2 John and 3 John are included in this group despite their addresses respectively to the "elect lady", speculated by many to be the church itself, and to "Gaius", about whom there has been much speculation but little in the way of conclusive proof as to his identity.

There has been considerable speculation as to the authorship of these works. All but the most conservative scholars tend to believe 2 Peter to be a pseudonymous forgery, but these scholars are adamant in their defense of its authenticity and place in the Biblical canon. Protestant Conservatives tend to attribute the books of James and Jude to Jesus' younger half-brothers, while Roman Catholics and others who hold to the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary see this, obviously, as heretical.

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