|
Marks Of The Church (Protestantism)
The Marks of the Church are those things by which the True Church may be recognized in Protestant theology. Three marks are usually enumerated: the preaching of the Word, the administration of the sacraments, and church discipline. The Belgic Confession devotes a chapter (Article 29) to the "Marks of the True Church" and lists them as follows: The Anglican Thirty-nine Articles states in chapter 19: Louis Berkhof notes that Reformed theologians have differed as to the number of marks: Theodore Beza spoke of only one (preaching), John Calvin and Heinrich Bullinger spoke of two (preaching and sacraments), while Peter Martyr and Zacharias Ursinus spoke of three – preaching, sacraments and discipline. Nevertheless, Edmund Clowney points out that Calvin "included discipline in the proper observance of the sacraments." Albert Mohler calls church discipline the "missing mark" of the church. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
One True Church
The expression "one true church" refers to an ecclesiological position asserting that Jesus gave his authority in the Great Commission solely to a particular visible Christian institutional church—what is commonly called a denomination. This view is maintained by the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox communion, the Assyrian Church of the East, the Ancient Church of the East, the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, the Churches of Christ, and the Lutheran Churches, as well as certain Baptists. Each of them maintains that their own specific institutional church (denomination) exclusively represents the one and only original church. The claim to the title of the "one true church" relates to the first of the Four Marks of the Church mentioned in the Nicene Creed: "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church". As such, it also relates to claims of both catholicity and apostolic succession: asserting inheritance of the spiritual, ecclesiasti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Martyr Vermigli
Peter Martyr Vermigli (8 September 149912 November 1562) was an Italian-born Reformed theologian. His early work as a reformer in Catholic Italy and his decision to flee for Protestant northern Europe influenced many other Italians to convert and flee as well. In England, he influenced the Edwardian Reformation, including the Eucharistic service of the 1552 ''Book of Common Prayer''. He was considered an authority on the Eucharist among the Reformed churches, and engaged in controversies on the subject by writing treatises. Vermigli's ''Loci Communes'', a compilation of excerpts from his biblical commentaries organised by the topics of systematic theology, became a standard Reformed theological textbook. Born in Florence, Vermigli entered a religious order and was appointed to influential posts as abbot and prior. He came in contact with leaders of the Italian ''spirituali'' reform movement, and read Protestant theologians such as Martin Bucer and Ulrich Zwingli. Through readin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecclesiology
In Christian theology, ecclesiology is the study of the Church, the origins of Christianity, its relationship to Jesus, its role in salvation, its polity, its discipline, its eschatology, and its leadership. In its early history, one of the Church's primary ecclesiological issues had to do with the status of Gentile members in what had become the New Testament fulfilment of the essentially Jewish Old Testament church. It later contended with such questions as whether it was to be governed by a council of presbyters or a single bishop, how much authority the bishop of Rome had over other major bishops, the role of the Church in the world, whether salvation was possible outside of the institution of the Church, the relationship between the Church and the State, and questions of theology and liturgy and other issues. Ecclesiology may be used in the specific sense of a particular church or denomination's character, self-described or otherwise. This is the sense of the word in su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
On The Councils And The Church
''On the Councils and the Church'' (1539) is a treatise on ecclesiology written by Protestant reformer Martin Luther late in life. ''On the Councils and the Church'' is best known for its teaching, in the third part of the book, of the "seven marks of the Church", of which the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church can be recognized. These marks are: #''holy word of God'', effective means of grace #''holy sacrament of baptism'', regeneration #''holy sacrament of the altar'' #''office of keys exercised publicly'', although not the office of pope. Includes also private confession as a means of grace. #''it consecrates or calls ministers, or has offices, that is, to administer'', bishops, pastors, and preachers. #''prayer, public praise, and thanksgiving to God'', the liturgy #''holy possession of the sacred cross'', suffering and carrying the cross as followers of Christ. English translation Luther's Works: vol. 41 See also *Four Marks of the Church The Four Marks of the Church, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Means Of Grace
The means of grace in Christian theology are those things (the ''means'') through which God gives grace. Just what this grace entails is interpreted in various ways: generally speaking, some see it as God blessing humankind so as to sustain and empower the Christian life; others see it as forgiveness, life, and salvation. Catholic theology According to the Catholic Church, the means of grace that Christ entrusted to the Church are many.Catholic Bishops' Conferences of England & Wales, Ireland and Scotland, ''One Bread One Body'' , p. 7 They include the entirety of revealed truth, the and the hierarchical ministry. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albert Mohler
Richard Albert Mohler Jr. (born October 19, 1959) is an American evangelical theologian, the ninth president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and host of the podcast ''The Briefing'', where he daily analyzes the news and recent events from an evangelical perspective. He has been described as "one of America's most influential evangelicals". Education and personal life Mohler was born on October 19, 1959, in Lakeland, Florida. During his Lakeland years, he attended Southside Baptist Church. Mohler attended college at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton in Palm Beach County as a Faculty Scholar. He then received a Bachelor of Arts from Samford University, a private, coeducational Baptist-affiliated college in Birmingham, Alabama. His Master of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in systematic and historical theology were conferred by the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Career In addition to his presidency at SBTS, Mohler ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inter-Varsity Press
Inter-Varsity Press (IVP) was previously the publishing wing of Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship. It support the publishing or distribution of well over one million books each year to over 150 countries, including the translation of titles into over 90 different languages. Following a UCCF-wide strategic review in 2005, IVP was divested. It was intended that this would reduce the financial burden on UCCF. By 2015, IVP was nearly insolvent. The trustees transferred its assets and liabilities to religious publisher SPCK, with an agreement to use the imprint for evangelical Christian publishing. History Foundation In 1877, the Cambridge Inter-collegiate Christian Union was created to encourage evangelical faith, and four years later, a sister organisation, the Oxford Inter-Collegiate Christian Union was founded. In 1919, members of these two unions gathered in London during an annual 'Inter-Varsity' sporting match. They decided to meet again and to encourage the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edmund Clowney
Edmund Prosper Clowney (July 30, 1917 – March 20, 2005) was a theology, theologian, educator, and pastor. Early life and education Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he earned a Bachelor of Arts from Wheaton College (Illinois), Wheaton College in 1939, a Bachelor's degree, Bachelor of Theology from Westminster Theological Seminary in 1942, a Master's degree, Master of Sacred Theology from Yale Divinity School in 1944, and a Doctor of Divinity from Wheaton College in 1966. Ministry Clowney was ordained in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, and served as pastor for churches in Connecticut, Illinois, and New Jersey from 1942 to 1946. Westminster Theological Seminary invited him to become an assistant professor of practical theology in 1952. In 1966 he became the first president of that seminary, and remained so until 1984, when he became the theologian-in-residence of Trinity Presbyterian Church (Charlottesville, Virginia), Trinity Presbyterian Church (part of the Presbyterian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Banner Of Truth
The Banner of Truth Trust is an Evangelical and Reformed non-profit"The Story of The Banner of Truth" by Iain H. Murray. publishing house, structured as a charitable trust and founded in in 1957 by Iain Murray, Sidney Norton and Jack Cullum. Its offices are now in , Scotland with a key branch office and distribution point in [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zacharias Ursinus
Zacharias Ursinus (18 July 15346 May 1583) was a sixteenth-century German Reformed theologian and Protestant reformer, born Zacharias Baer in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland). He became the leading theologian of the Reformed Protestant movement of the Palatinate, serving both at the University of Heidelberg and the College of Wisdom ( Collegium Sapientiae). He is best known as the principal author and interpreter of the '' Heidelberg Catechism''.Fred H. Klooster, "The Priority of Ursinus in the Composition of the Heidelberg Catechism," Controversy and Conciliation: The Reformation of the Palatinate 1559-1583, ed. Derk Visser (Allison Park, Penn.: Pickwick, 1986), 73-100. Origins and early education At age fifteen he enrolled at the University of Wittenberg, boarding for the next seven years with Philipp Melanchthon, the erudite successor of Martin Luther. Like many young scholars of that era he gave himself a Latin name, in his case one that was based on his German name, Baer, ste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heinrich Bullinger
Heinrich Bullinger (18 July 1504 – 17 September 1575) was a Swiss Reformer and theologian, the successor of Huldrych Zwingli as head of the Church of Zürich and a pastor at the Grossmünster. One of the most important leaders of the Swiss Reformation, Bullinger co-authored the Helvetic Confessions and collaborated with John Calvin to work out a Reformed doctrine of the Lord's Supper. Life Early life and studies (1504–1522) Heinrich Bullinger was born to Heinrich Bullinger Sr., a priest, and Anna Wiederkehr, at Bremgarten, Aargau, Switzerland. Heinrich and Anna were able to live as husband and wife, even though not legally married, because the bishop of Constance, who had clerical oversight over Aargau, had unofficially sanctioned clerical concubinage by waiving penalties against the offense in exchange for an annual fee, called a cradle tax. Heinrich was the fifth son and youngest of seven children born to the couple. The family was relatively affluent, and often ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
