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Half-Way Covenant
The Half-Way Covenant was a form of partial church membership adopted by the Congregational churches of colonial New England in the 1660s. The Puritan-controlled Congregational churches required evidence of a personal conversion experience before granting church membership and the right to have one's children baptized. Conversion experiences were less common among second-generation colonists, and this became an issue when these unconverted adults had children of their own who were ineligible for baptism. The Half-Way Covenant was proposed as a solution to this problem. It allowed baptized but unconverted parents to present their own children for baptism; however, they were denied the other privileges of church membership. The Half-Way Covenant was endorsed by an assembly of ministers in 1657 and a church synod in 1662. Nevertheless, it was highly controversial among Congregationalists with many conservatives being afraid it would lead to lower standards within the church. A num ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Congregationalism In The United States
Congregationalism in the United States consists of Protestantism, Protestant churches in the Reformed tradition that have a Congregationalist polity, congregational form of church government and trace their origins mainly to Puritans, Puritan settlers of colonial New England. Congregational churches in other parts of the world are often related to these in the United States due to American Christian mission, missionary activities. These principles are enshrined in the Cambridge Platform (1648) and the Savoy Declaration (1658), Congregationalist confession of faith, confessions of faith. The Congregationalist Churches are a continuity of the theological tradition upheld by the Puritans. Their genesis was through the work of Congregationalist divines Robert Browne (Brownist), Robert Browne, Henry Barrowe, and John Greenwood (divine), John Greenwood. Congregational churches have had an important impact on the religious, political, and cultural history of the United States. Congreg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Conversion Narrative
Broadly speaking, a conversion narrative is a narrative that relates the operation of conversion, usually religious. As a specific aspect of American literary and religious history, the conversion narrative was an important facet of Puritan sacred and secular society in New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ... during a period stretching roughly from 1630 to the end of the First Great Awakening. Definition As defined by Patricia Caldwell, the conversion narrative was "a testimony of personal religious experience…spoken or read aloud to the entire congregation of a gathered church before admission as evidence of the applicant's visible sainthood"Caldwell, Patricia. ''The Puritan Conversion Narrative: The Beginnings of American Expression.'' New York: Cambridg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dorchester, Boston
Dorchester () is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood comprising more than in the city of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Originally, Dorchester was a separate town, founded by Puritans who emigrated in 1630 from Dorchester, Dorset, England, to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. This Municipal annexation in the United States, dissolved municipality, Boston's largest neighborhood by far, is often divided by city planners in order to create two planning areas roughly equivalent in size and population to other Boston neighborhoods. The neighborhood is named after the town of Dorchester in Dorset, from which History of the Puritans in North America, Puritans emigrated to the New World on the ship ''Mary and John'', among others. Founded in 1630, just a few months before the founding of the city of Boston, Dorchester now covers a geographic area approximately equivalent to nearby Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nathaniel Smibert Portrait Of A Cleric
Nathaniel is an English variant of the biblical Hebrew name Nathanael. It can be a given or surname. People with the name Nathaniel Given name * Nathaniel Archibald (1952–2018), American basketball player * Nate Archibald (born 1948), American basketball player * Nathaniel Ayers (born 1951), American musician who is the subject of the 2009 film '' The Soloist'' * Nathaniel Bacon (1647–1676), Virginia colonist who instigated Bacon's Rebellion * Nathaniel P. Banks (1816–1894), American politician and American Civil War General * Nat Bates (born 1931), two-term mayor of Richmond, California * Nathaniel Bowditch (1773–1838), American mathematician, father of modern maritime navigation * Nathaniel Buzolic (born 1983), Australian actor * Nathaniel Chalobah (born 1994), English footballer * Nathaniel Clayton (1833–1895), British politician * Nat King Cole (1919–1965), American singer and musician * Nathaniel Clyne (born 1991), English footballer * Nathaniel W. Depee ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Infant Baptism
Infant baptism, also known as christening or paedobaptism, is a Christian sacramental practice of Baptism, baptizing infants and young children. Such practice is done in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, various Protestant denominations, and also in other denominations of Christianity.Brasher, B. (Ed.). (2001). ''Encyclopedia of fundamentalism: Volume 3 of religion & society'' (p. 47). Berkshire Publishing Group. The practice involves baptizing infants born to believing parents as a means of initiating them into the Christian faith. Supporters of infant baptism cite biblical references to the baptism of entire households in the New Testament, as well as Jesus’ teachings on welcoming children, as justification for this approach. In contrast, Believer's baptism, believers' baptism (credobaptism) is based on the premise that baptism should be administered only to individuals who can personally profess their faith. Those who support this view ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Communion (religion)
(), communion, or fellowship in Christianity is the bond uniting Christians as individuals and groups with each other and with Jesus Christ. It refers to group cohesiveness among Christians. Pre-Christian antecedents is a transliterated form of the Greek word , which refers to concepts such as fellowship, joint participation, partnership, the share which one has in anything, a gift jointly contributed, a collection, a contribution. In the ''Politics'' of Aristotle it is used to mean a community of any size from a single family to a polis. As a polis, it is the Greek for republic or commonwealth. In later Christianity it identifies the idealized state of fellowship and unity that should exist within the Christian church, the Body of Christ. This usage may have been borrowed from the early Epicureans—as it is used by Epicurus' Principal Doctrines 37–38.Norman DeWitt argues in his book ''St Paul and Epicurus'' that many early Christian ideas were borrowed from the Epicureans. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Predestination In Calvinism
Predestination is a doctrine in Calvinism dealing with the question of the control that God exercises over the world. In the words of the Westminster Confession of Faith, God "freely and unchangeably ordained whatsoever comes to pass." The second use of the word "predestination" applies this to salvation, and refers to the belief that God appointed the eternal destiny of some to salvation by grace, while leaving the remainder to receive eternal damnation for all their sins, even their original sin. The former is called "unconditional election", and the latter "reprobation". In Calvinism, some people are predestined and effectually called in due time ( regenerated/born again) to faith by God, all others are reprobated. Calvinism places more emphasis on election compared to other branches of Christianity. Origins Predestination of the elect and non-elect was taught by the Jewish Essene sect, Gnosticism, and Manichaeism. In Christianity, the doctrine that God unilaterally predes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Covenant Theology
Covenant theology (also known as covenantalism, federal theology, or federalism) is a biblical theology, a conceptual overview and interpretive framework for understanding the overall structure of the Bible. It is often distinguished from dispensational theology, a competing form of biblical theology. It uses the theological concept of a covenant as an organizing principle for Christian theology. The standard form of covenant theology views the history of God's dealings with mankind, from Creation to Fall to Redemption to Consummation, under the framework of three overarching theological covenants: those of redemption, of works, and of grace. Covenentalists call these three covenants "theological" because, though not explicitly presented as such in the Bible, they are thought of as theologically implicit, describing and summarizing a wealth of scriptural data. Historical Reformed systems of thought treat classical covenant theology not merely as a point of doctrine or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sacrament
A sacrament is a Christian rite which is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence, number and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of the reality of God, as well as a channel for God's grace. Many denominations, including the Catholic, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Anglican, Baptist, Methodist, and Reformed, hold to the definition of sacrament formulated by Augustine of Hippo: an outward sign of an inward grace, that has been instituted by Jesus Christ. Sacraments signify God's grace in a way that is outwardly observable to the participant. The Catholic Church, Hussite Church and the Old Catholic Church recognize seven sacraments: Baptism, Penance (Reconciliation or Confession), Eucharist (or Holy Communion), Confirmation, Marriage (Matrimony), Holy Orders, and Anointing of the Sick (Extreme Unction). The Eastern Churches, such as the Eastern Orthodox Church an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calvinists
Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, Congregational, and Waldensians traditions, as well as parts of the Methodist, Anglican (known as "Episcopal" in some regions) and Baptist traditions. Reformed theology emphasizes the authority of the Bible and the sovereignty of God, as well as covenant theology, a framework for understanding the Bible based on God's covenants with people. Reformed churches emphasize simplicity in worship. Several forms of ecclesiastical polity are exercised by Reformed churches, including presbyterian, congregational, and some episcopal. Articulated by John Calvin, the Reformed faith holds to a spiritual (pneumatic) presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper. Emerging in the 16th century, the Reformed tradition developed over several generations, esp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Invisible Church
The church invisible, invisible church, mystical church or church mystical, is a Christian theological concept of an "invisible" Christian Church of the elect who are known only to God, in contrast to the " visible church"—that is, the institutional body on earth which preaches the gospel and administers the sacraments. Every member of the invisible church is "saved", while the visible church contains all individuals who are saved though also having some who are "unsaved". According to this view, Bible passages such as , , and speak about this distinction. Views on the relation with the church visible Distinction between two churches The first known and recorded person in church history to introduce a view of an invisible and a visible church is Clement of Alexandria. Some have also argued that Jovinian and Vigilantius held an invisible church view. The concept was advocated by St Augustine of Hippo as part of his refutation of the Donatist sect, though he, as other Ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Visible Church
Church visible is a term of Christian theology and ecclesiology referring to the visible community of Christian believers on Earth, as opposed to the '' Church invisible'' or '' Church triumphant'', constituted by the fellowship of saints and the company of the elect. In ecclesiology, the Church visible has many names, such as '' Kingdom of God'', ''Disciples of Christ'' and '' People of God''. St. Ignatius of Antioch was one of the first Christian authors to write about the subject, insisting that the Church visible was centered on the Bishop and the Eucharist or Last Supper. In early Christianity, anti-Gnostic writers such as Irenaeus Irenaeus ( or ; ; ) was a Greeks, Greek bishop noted for his role in guiding and expanding Christianity, Christian communities in the southern regions of present-day France and, more widely, for the development of Christian theology by oppos ..., or anti-Novatian writers like Cyprian of Carthage, would often focus on the visible Church ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
