Theological Dictionary word of the day: Empire
Scholars debate about what exactly constitutes an empire (from the Latin "imperium", denoting military command within the ancient Roman government). Generally, they may define an empire as a state that extends dominion over and populations distinct culturally and ethnically from the culture/ethnicity at the center of power. Other definitions may emphasize economic or political factors. The term generally implies military hegemonic power.

Like other states, an empire maintains its political structure at least partly by coercion. Land-based empires (such as the Mongol Empire or the Persian Empire) tend to extend in a contiguous area; sea-borne empires, also known as thalassocracies (the Athenian, Portuguese and the British empires provide examples), may feature looser structures and more scattered territories.

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: Christian Music
The Christian church creates Christian music or adapts existing music for Christian use. Contemporary Christian music explores Christian themes, but not always in the confines of the church. Music makes up a large part of Christian worship and includes the singing of hymns, vocalized psalms, vocal and instrumental versions of spiritual songs for the purpose of uplifting and praising God. Musical instruments often accompany singing in the service, either through live performance or the use of soundtracks. Some churches employ only a cappella music to worship God. On other occasions instrumental music only expresses praise toward God. Churches today use these methods of musical expression in many different combinations to offer their praise to God.

Being Jewish, Jesus and his disciples would most likely have sung the psalms from memory.

However, without a centralised music industry, the repertoire of ordinary people was much greater than it is today, so they probably knew other songs too. Early Christians continued to sing the psalms much as they were sung in the synagogues in the first century.

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: Achaemenid Empire
The Achaemenid (uh-kee-muh-nid) Empire (Old Persian: Hakhāmanishiya) was a dynasty in the ancient Persian Empire with high cultural and economical achievements during its highest power [After Achaemenes, legendary ancestor of Cyrus II the Great, founder of the dynasty.] . At the height of their power, around 500 BC, the Achaemenid rulers of Persia ruled over territories roughly encompassing today's Iran, Iraq, Armenia, Afghanistan, Turkey, Bulgaria, eastern parts of Greece, Egypt, Syria, much of what is now Pakistan, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Caucasia, Central Asia, Libya, and northern parts of Arabia. The empire ruled by Persia eventually became the largest empire of the ancient world (see also: Iraq Maps).

Darius I was the first to speak of Achaemenes, who he claimed was an ancestor of Cyrus the Great, (ca. 576 - 529 BC) and therefore the progenitor of the entire line of Achaemenid rulers. However, some scholars hold that Achaemenes was a fictional character used to legitimize Darius' rule, and that Darius the Great usurped the Persian throne. In any case, the name Achaemenid has been commonly accepted for the line of Persian kings beginning at least with Darius the Great. When the name refers to the entire line of early Persian rulers, including Cyrus and his son Cambyses, the Achaemenid era stretches from about 650 to 330 BC.

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: Hasmonean Kingdom
The Hasmoneans (Hebrew: חשמונאים, Hashmonaiym) were the ruling dynasty of the Hasmonean Kingdom (140 BCE–37 BCE), an autonomous Jewish state in ancient Israel. The Hasmonean dynasty was established under the leadership of Simon Maccabaeus, two decades after his brother Judah the Maccabee defeated the Seleucid army during the Maccabee Revolt in 165 BCE. The Kingdom was the only independent Jewish state to exist in the four centuries after the Kingdom of Judah was destroyed by Babylonia in 586 BCE. It survived for over 100 years before becoming a client Kingdom of the Roman Empire under the Herodian Dynasty, in 37 BCE.

According to historical sources including the books 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees and the first book of The Wars of the Jews by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus (37–c.100 CE), the Hasmonean Kingdom rose after a successful revolt by Jews against the Seleucid Antiochus IV. After Antiochus' successful invasion of Ptolemaic Egypt was turned back by the intervention of the Roman Republic, he moved instead to assert strict control over Israel, sacking Jerusalem and its Temple, suppressing Jewish religious and cultural observances, and imposing Hellenistic practices.

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: Cyrus the Great
Cyrus the Great (Old Persian: Kuruš, modern Persian: کوروش, Kourosh; ca. 576 or 590 BC — July 529 BC), also known as Cyrus II of Persia and Cyrus the Elder, was the founder of the Persian Empire under the Achaemenid dynasty and the creator of the Cyrus Cylinder, considered to be the first declaration of human rights. As the ruler of the Persian people in Anshan, he conquered the Medes and unified the two separate Iranian kingdoms.


In historical artifacts discovered in the ancient ruins of Babylon and Ur, Cyrus identifies himself as King of Iran, where he reigned from 559 BC until his death. He is the first ruler whose name was suffixed with the words the Great (Vazraka in Old Persian, Bozorg in modern Persian), a title adopted by many others after him, including the eventual Acheamenid Shah, Darius the Great, and Alexander the Great, who overthrew the Achaemenid dynasty two centuries after the death of Cyrus.

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: The Roman Empire

The Roman Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Ancient Roman society in the centuries following its reorganization under the leadership of Caesar Augustus in the late 1st century BC. After Constantinople had been made capital and the Western parts were lost, the Eastern part continued its existence, in what is currently known as Byzantine Empire.

"Roman Empire" is also used as translation of the expression, Imperium Romanum, probably the best known Latin expression where the word imperium is used in the meaning of a territory, the "Roman Empire", as that part of the world under Roman rule.

The expansion of this Roman territory beyond the borders of the initial city-state of Rome had started long before the state organization turned into an Empire. In its territorial peak after the conquest of Dacia by Trajan, the Roman Empire controlled approximately 5

900 000 km². (2,300,000 sq.mi.) of land surface, thereby being the largest of all empires during the classical antiquity period of European history.

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: denomination
A religious denomination, (also simply denomination) is a large, long-established subgroup within a religion that has existed for many years. However, in Islam such subgroups are referred to as "sects", not denominations.

The term is frequently used to describe the different Christian churches (Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism and the many varieties of Protestantism); it is also used to describe the four organised branches of Judaism (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist), and (less often, though it would not be inappropriate) to describe the two main branches of Islam (Sunni Muslims and Shiite Muslims).

Hinduism is also traditionally divided into four major denominations: Saivism, Shaktism, Vaishnavism and Smartism.

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: seven churches of Asia
The seven churches of Asia (properly Asia Minor) are seven
major churches of the early Christianity, as mentioned in the New Testament Book of Revelation. All sites are in modern-day Turkey. In Revelation, Jesus Christ instructs 'Saint John the Evangelist' to:

"Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea." (Revelation 1:11)

It should be understood that "churches" in this context refers to the community of Christians living in each city, and not merely to the building or buildings in which they gathered for worship. This letter should also apply to the community of Christians today.

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: First Council of Nicaea
The First Council of Nicaea, convoked by the Roman emperor Constantine the great in ad 325, was the first ecumenical conference of bishops of the Christian church.

The purpose of the council (also called a synod) was to resolve disagreements in the church of Alexandria over the nature of Jesus in relationship to the father: in particular whether Jesus was of the same or of similar substance as God the Father. St. Alexander of Alexandria took the first position; the popular presbyter Arius, from whom the term arian controversy comes, took the second. The council decided against the Arians.

Another result of the council was an agreement on the date of the Christian Passover, now called Easter, the most important feast of the church's life. The council decided in favour of celebrating passover on the first Sunday after the Spring Equinox, independently of the bible's Hebrew calendar, and authorized the Bishop of Alexandria (presumably using the Alexandrian calendar) to annually announce the exact date to his fellow bishops.

The Council of Nicaea was historically significant because it was the first effort to attain consensus in the church through an assembly representing all of Christendom. "It was the first occasion for the development of technical Christology". Further, "Constantine in convoking and presiding over the council signaled a measure of imperial control over the church."

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: Body of Christ
The Body of Christ is a term used by Christians to describe believers in Christ. Jesus Christ is seen as the head of the body, which is seen as the church. The "members" of the body are seen as members of the Christian Church.

In the Roman Catholic tradition, the term "Body of Christ" refers most specifically to the "bread" received at the Eucharist, while the "wine" is referred to as the "Blood of Christ." It is, however, doctrinally incorrect to refer to these elements as "bread" and "wine" after the Consecration; according to Catholic doctrine, at the moment of Consecration, the elements (or "gifts" as they are termed for liturgical purposes) are transformed (literally transubstantiated) into the actual Body and Blood of Christ. Catholic doctrine holds that the elements are not only spiritually transformed, but rather are actually (substantially) transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ. The elements retain the appearance or "accidents" of bread and wine, but are indeed the actual Body and Blood of Christ. This is what is meant by Real Presence; the actual, physical presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Other traditions accept this doctrine in various forms, often utilizing the term “consubstantiation” to refer to a spiritual change into the Body and Blood, without changing the substance of the elements. For this reason, what remains of the sacrament after the Communion procession is reserved in the Tabernacle, where it can be utilized for later Masses, for private devotion and prayer, as well as for public Eucharistic adoration.

In the context of the local churches it is a metaphor used to describe the synchronicity between different localities and God. In this, God is the head and the people who make up the Church in each locality are termed "members of the body". The "members of the body" may look different and/or may perform different functions, but they all work as one under the will of the head (God). For example, a person who is a gifted orator is encouraged to use his or her talents to act as a mouthpiece for God. Other such personal strengths would be similarly applied towards the "expression of Christ". In this way people can be functioning and active members of the "Body of Christ".

The Body of Christ, meaning the entire community of Christians, is also called the Bride of Christ, for whom Christ will return.

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: cessationism
In Christian theology, cessationism is the view that the charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as tongues, prophecy and healing, ceased being practiced early on in Church history.
Cessationists usually believe the miraculous gifts were given only for the foundation of the Church, during the time between the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, c. AD 33 (see Acts 2) and the fulfillment of God's purposes in history, usually identified as either the completion of the last book of the New Testament or the death of the last Apostle. Its counterpart is continuationism.

Types of cessationist

Cessationists are divided into four main groups:

1. Concentric Cessationists believe that the miraculous gifts have indeed ceased in the mainstream church and evangelized areas, but appear in unreached areas as an aid to spreading the Gospel (Luther and Calvin, though they were somewhat inconsistent in this position. Daniel B. Wallace is now the most prominent scholar to hold this view).


2. Classical (or "Weak") cessationists assert that the miraculous gifts such as prophecy, healing and speaking in tongues ceased with the apostles and only served as launching pads for the spreading of the Gospel. However, these cessationists do believe that God still occasionally does miracle-like activities today, such as healings or divine guidance, so long as these "miracles" do not accredit new doctrine or add to the New Testament canon (Warfield, Gaffin). John MacArthur is perhaps the best-known classical cessationist.


3. Full Cessationists argue that along with no miraculous gifts, there are also no miracles performed by God today. This argument, of course, turns on one's understanding of the term, "miracle."


4. Consistent Cessationists believe that not only were the miraculous gifts only for the establishment of the first-century church, but the so-called five-fold ministry found in Eph 4 was also a transitional institution (i.e., There are no more apostles, prophets, but also no more pastors, teachers, or evangelists).
   

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: Eucharist
Translated from Greek noun "Eucharistia") meaning thanksgiving. This noun or the corresponding verb (I give thanks) is found in 55 verses of the New Testament. Four of these verses recount that Jesus "gave thanks" before presenting to his followers the bread and the cup that he declared to be his body and his blood. The Gospel of John affirms this. It is a sacrament of the church which comes from the Last Supper when Jesus said to his disciples "Do this in remembrance of me…" (Luke 22: 14-23; Matthew 26: 26-29; Mark 14: 22-25). The Lord's Supper, Holy Communion, the Mass are other ways of referring to this sacrament. The gifts of wine and bread are brought forward, blessed and shared with the gathered faithful.

Christians generally do recognize a special presence of Christ in this rite, though they differ about exactly how, where, and when Christ is present. The word "Eucharist" is also applied to the bread and the cup consecrated in the course of the rite.

Most Christians classify the Eucharist as a sacrament. Some Protestants view it as an ordinance in which the ceremony is seen not as a specific channel of divine grace but as an expression of faith and of obedience to Christ.

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: timeline of Christianity
The purpose of this chronology is to give a detailed account of Christianity from the beginning of the current era to the present. Question marks on dates indicate approximate dates. For "Old Testament" chronology, see History of ancient Israel.


Era of Jesus
The year one is the first year in the Christian calendar (there is no year zero), which is the calendar presently used (in unison with the Gregorian calendar) almost everywhere in the world, because of the current dominance of the Western world. Traditionally, this was held to be the year Jesus was born, however most modern scholars argue for an earlier date and later dates, the most agreed upon being between 6 B.C. and 4 B.C.

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: Old Testament
The first of the two main divisions of the bible, containing the books of the old or Mosaic Covenant, and including the historical books, the prophets, and poetical books.

The Old Testament or the Hebrew Scriptures (also called the Hebrew Bible) constitutes the first major part of the Bible according to Christianity. It is usually divided into the categories of law, history, poetry (or wisdom books) and prophecy. All of these books were written before the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, who is the subject of the subsequent Christian New Testament. The Bible of Jesus is the Old Testament, specifically according to the Gospel of Luke 24:44–45 "written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms ... the scriptures". According to historians, the Old Testament was composed between the 5th century BC and the 2nd century BC, though parts of it, such as the Torah, date back much earlier.

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: New Testament
That portion of the Bible containing the life and teachings of Christ, including the gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the Pauline epistles, the General epistles, and the Revelation of John.
The New Testament (Καινή Διαθήκη), sometimes called the Greek Testament or Greek Scriptures, and sometimes also New Covenant (which is the more accurate translation of the original Greek), is the name given to the part of the Christian Bible that was written by various authors c. AD 48–140 and gradually collected into a single volume over the next few centuries. Some minor groups commonly refer to the New Testament as the B'rit Chadashah, Hebrew for New Covenant, or the Apostolic Writings.

The New Testament is twenty-seven separate works: the four narratives of Jesus Christ's ministry, called "Gospels"; a narrative of the Apostles' ministries, which is also a sequel to the third Gospel; twenty-one early letters, commonly called "epistles" in Biblical context, which were written by various authors and consisted mostly of Christian counsel and instruction; and an Apocalyptic prophecy, which is also technically the twenty-second epistle.

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: Talmudical Hermeneutics
Talmudical Hermeneutics (Hebrew: approximately, מידות שהתורה נדרשת בהן) refers to the science which defines the rules and methods for the investigation and exact determination of the meaning of the Scriptures, both legal and historical. Since the Halakah, however, is regarded simply as an exposition and explanation of the Torah, Talmud hermeneutics includes also the rules by which the requirements of the oral law are derived from and established by the written law. These rules relate to:

grammar and exegesis

• the interpretation of certain words and letters and superfluous words, prefixes, and suffixes in general


• the interpretation of those letters which, in certain words, are provided with points


• the interpretation of the letters in a word according to their numerical value (see Gemaṭria)


• the interpretation of a word by dividing it into two or more words (see Noṭariḳon)
  the interpretation of a word according to its consonantal form or according to its vocalization


• the interpretation of a word by transposing its letters or by changing its vowels
  the logical deduction of a halakah from a Scriptural text or from another law
  

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: Biblical canon

The Biblical canon is an exclusive list of books written during the formative period of the Jewish or Christian faiths; the leaders of these communities believed these books to be inspired by God or to express the authoritative history of the relationship between God and his people (although there may have been secondary considerations as well).

There are differences between Christians and Jews, as well as between different Christian traditions, over which books meet the standards for canonization. The different criteria for, and the process of, canonization for each community dictates what members of that community consider to be their Bible.

At this time, all of the below canons are considered to be closed; that is, most adherents of the various groups do not think that additional books can be added to their Bible. By contrast, an open canon would be a list of books which is considered to be open to additional books, should they meet the other criteria. Each of the canons described below was considered open for a time before being closed. Generally, the closure of the canon reflects a belief from the faith community that the formative period of the religion has ended, and that texts from that period can be collected into an authoritative body of work. Certain non-mainstream churches (such as the Latter-day Saints) which accept a Bible as part of their formally adopted sacred literature may also include other works in the totality of their canon. See Sacred text for examples.

The relationship between the closing of the canon and beliefs about the nature of revelation may be subject to different interpretations. Some believe that the closing of the canon signals the end of a period of divine revelation; others believe that revelation continues even after the canon is closed, either through individuals or through the leadership of a divinely sanctioned religious institution. Among those who believe that revelation continues after the canon is closed, there is further debate about what kinds of revelation is possible, and whether the revelation can add to established theology.

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Theological Dictioanry word of the day: Bible
The writings of the old and new testaments, as accepted by the Christian church as a divine revelation: in certain churches embracing also parts of the Apocrypha (not in the canonical Hebrew Scriptures nor in the Authorized Version).

If one takes a thoughful, unbiased look at the Judeo-Christian texts (Old and New Testaments, in any language), eliminating all presuppositions, they will discover that they all point to one thing: the Messiah.

Jesus is the Messiah.

Speaking to the serpent, God said,

"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." -Genesis 3 (3:15)

The Bible is the most widely distributed book in the world. Both Hebrew Scripture and the Christian Bible have been translated more times and into more languages (more than 2,100 languages) than any other book. It is said that more than five billion copies of the Bible have been sold since 1815, making it the best-selling book of all-time.


Because of Christian domination of Europe from the late Roman era to the Age of Enlightenment, the Bible has influenced not only religion but language, law and, until the modern era, the natural philosophy of mainstream Western Civilization. The Age of Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolution in Europe and America brought skepticism regarding the divine origin and historical accuracy of the Bible.

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Theological Dictionary word of the day: Masoretic Text

The Masoretic Text (MT) is the Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible (Tanakh). It defines not just the books of the Jewish canon, but also the precise letter-text of the biblical books in Judaism, as well as their vocalization and accentuation for both public reading and private study. The MT is also widely used as the basis for translations of the Old Testament in Protestant Bibles, and in recent decades also for Catholic Bibles.

The MT was primarily copied, edited and distributed by a group of Jews known as the Masoretes between the seventh and tenth centuries CE. Though the consonants differ little from the text generally accepted in the early second century, it has numerous differences of both little and great significance when compared to (extant 4th century) versions of the Septuagint, originally a Greek translation (around 300 BCE) of the Hebrew Scriptures in popular use in Palestine during the common era and often quoted in the second part of the Christian Bible (known as the New Testament).

The Hebrew word mesorah (מסורה, alt. מסורת) refers to the transmission of a tradition. In a very broad sense it can refer to the entire chain of Jewish tradition (see Oral law), but in reference to the masoretic text the word mesorah has a very specific meaning: the diacritic markings of the text of the Hebrew Bible and concise marginal notes in manuscripts (and later printings) of the Hebrew Bible which note textual details, usually about the precise spelling of words.

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Larry and Susan's Summer 2007 schedule

• Alaska: 30 May to 9 June


• Beloit: 10-19 June


• Eastern Cape of Africa: June 20-6 September