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Thomasines
Thomasine is a name given to a Syrian Christian group that originated in the first or the second century, who especially revered the apostle Thomas and some scholars speculate to have written the gospel of Thomas. The group was said to have held esoteric, mystical, and ascetic ideas. Some have associated them with the proto-Gnostics. However modern critics have disputed their affiliation with Gnosticism, especially because they lack many uniquely Gnostic beliefs. History According to one view the Thomasines were an early group that questioned the authority of the Jerusalem church and the apostle James, with the Thomasine church beginning around the middle of the first century in Syria. Elaine Pagels dates the Thomasine community to around the time of the Gospel of John’s compilation (AD 70–110), as the Gospel of John appears to contain "anti-Thomasine" elements and the Johannine community may have splintered off from the same group as the Thomasine. Though minority views ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Proto-Gnosticism
Proto-Gnosticism or pre-Gnosticism refers to movements similar to Gnosticism during the first century of Christianity. Proto-Gnostics did not have the same full-fledged theology of the later Gnostics, but did prefigure some of their views. There is, however, some debate regarding the existence of proto-Gnosticism in the first century. New Testament Some believe that the opponents mentioned in 1 John, Jude and 1-2 Corinthians are proto-Gnostics or partly proto-Gnostic. According to some the Corinthian church that was criticized by Paul the Apostle and which existed in the time of Paul included proto-Gnostic beliefs. Possible identifications with proto-Gnosticism * Maghāriya were a minor Jewish sect that appeared in the first century BCE, their special practice was the keeping of all their literature in caves in the surrounding hills of Israel. They made their own commentaries on the Bible and the law. The Maghāriya believed that God is too sublime to mingle with matter, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gospel Of Thomas
The Gospel of Thomas (also known as the Coptic Gospel of Thomas) is a non-canonical Logia, sayings gospel. It was discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in 1945 among a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library. Scholars speculate the works were buried in response to a letter from Bishop Athanasius of Alexandria, Athanasius declaring a strict canon of Christian scripture. Most scholars place the composition during the second century, while some have proposed dates as late as 250 AD and others have traced its signs of origins back to 60 AD. Some scholars have seen it as evidence of the existence of a "Q source" that might have been similar in its form as a collection of sayings of Jesus, without any accounts of his deeds or his life and death, referred to as a sayings gospel, though most conclude that Thomas depends on or harmonizes the Synoptics. The Coptic language, Coptic-language text, the second of seven contained in what scholars have designated as Nag Hammadi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Predestination
Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby God's omniscience seems incompatible with human free will. In this usage, predestination can be regarded as a form of religious determinism; and usually predeterminism, also known as theological determinism. History Pre-Christian period Some have argued that the Book of Enoch contains a deterministic worldview that is combined with dualism. The book of Jubilees seems to harmonize or mix together a doctrine of free will and determinism. Ben Sira affirms free will, where God allows a choice of bad or good before the human and thus they can choose which one to follow. New Testament period There is some disagreement among scholars regarding the views on predestination of first-century AD Judaism, out of which Christianity came. Josephus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syrian
Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indigenous elements and the foreign cultures that have come to rule the land and its people over the course of thousands of years. By the seventh century, most of the inhabitants of the Levant spoke Aramaic. In the centuries after the Muslim conquest of the Levant in 634, Arabic gradually became the dominant language, but a minority of Syrians (particularly the Assyrians and Syriac-Arameans retained Aramaic (Syriac), which is still spoken in its Eastern and Western dialects. The national name "Syrian" was originally an Indo-European corruption of Assyrian and applied to Assyria in northern Mesopotamia, however by antiquity it was used to denote the inhabitants of the Levant. Following the Muslim conquest of the Levant, Arab i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns language codes to 32 varieties of Arabic, including its standard form of Literary Arabic, known as Modern Standard Arabic, which is derived from Classical Arabic. This distinction exists primarily among Western linguists; Arabic speakers themselves generally do not distinguish between Modern Standard Arabic and Classical Arabic, but rather refer to both as ( "the eloquent Arabic") or simply ' (). Arabic is the List of languages by the number of countries in which they are recognized as an official language, third most widespread official language after English and French, one of six official languages of the United Nations, and the Sacred language, liturgical language of Islam. Arabic is widely taught in schools and universities around the wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apocalypticism
Apocalypticism is the religious belief that the Eschatology, end of the world is imminent, even within one's own lifetime. This belief is usually accompanied by the idea that civilization will soon come to a tumultuous end due to some sort of catastrophic global event. Apocalypticism is one aspect of eschatology in certain religions, the part of theology concerned with the final events of human history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity (societal collapse, human extinction, and so on). Religious apocalypticism Religious views and movements often focus on cryptic revelations about a sudden, dramatic, and cataclysmic intervention of God in human history; the judgment of humankind; the salvation of the faithful elect; and the eventual rule of the elect with God in Heaven and/or in a renewed Earth. Arising originally in Zoroastrianism, apocalypticism was developed more fully in Jewish eschatology, Judaic, Christian eschatology, Christian, and Islamic eschatology, Islamic eschato ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Salvation In Christianity
In Christianity, salvation (also called deliverance or redemption) is the saving of human beings from sin and its consequences—which include death and separation from God—by Christ's death and resurrection, and the justification entailed by this salvation. The idea of Jesus' death as an atonement for human sin was recorded in the Christian Bible, and was elaborated in Paul's epistles and in the Gospels. Paul saw the faithful redeemed by participation in Jesus' death and rising. Early Christians regarded themselves as partaking in a new covenant with God, open to both Jews and Gentiles, through the sacrificial death and subsequent exaltation of Jesus Christ. Early Christian beliefs of the person and sacrificial role of Jesus in human salvation were further elaborated by the Church Fathers, medieval writers and modern scholars in various atonement theories, such as the ransom theory, Christus Victor theory, recapitulation theory, satisfaction theory, penal su ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sabbath
In Abrahamic religions, the Sabbath () or Shabbat (from Hebrew ) is a day set aside for rest and worship. According to the Book of Exodus, the Sabbath is a day of rest on the seventh day, Ten Commandments, commanded by God to be kept as a Holiday, holy day of rest, as God rested from Genesis creation narrative, creation. Sabbath (Shabbat) observance is commanded in the Ten Commandments: "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy". The Sabbath might have been influenced by Babylonian mid-month rest days and lunar cycles, though its origins remain debated. The Sabbath is observed in Judaism, Islam, and by some Christian groups. Observances similar to, or descended from, the Sabbath also exist in other religions. The term may be generally used to describe similar weekly observances in other religions. Origins A number of scholars propose a cognate Akkadian language, Akkadian word ''šapattu'' or ''šabattu'', which refers to the day of the full moon. A lexicographic list found i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jesus
Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Christianity, central figure of Christianity, the Major religious groups, world's largest religion. Most Christians consider Jesus to be the Incarnation (Christianity), incarnation of God the Son and awaited Messiah#Christianity, messiah, or Christ (title), Christ, a descendant from the Davidic line that is prophesied in the Old Testament. Virtually all modern scholars of classical antiquity, antiquity agree that Historicity of Jesus, Jesus existed historically. Accounts of Life of Jesus, Jesus's life are contained in the Gospels, especially the four canonical Gospels in the New Testament. Since the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment, Quest for the historical Jesus, academic research has yielded various views on the historical reliability of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johannine Community
The term Johannine community refers to a hypothesized ancient Christian community which placed great emphasis on the Gospel of John, which elaborated on teachings attributed to Jesus that were not present in the Gospels of Mark, Luke, and Matthew. Their particular Christian practices, rituals, and theology may be referred to as Johannine Christianity. Biblical scholars and historians of Christianity who assert the existence of such a community that drew heavily from Johannine literature in their doctrine include Harold W. Attridge and Raymond E. Brown. Scholarship According to Attridge, this community of early followers of Jesus "defined themselves rather starkly against the Jewish milieu in which they arose, these believers cultivated an intense devotion to Jesus as the definitive revelation of God's salvific will. They understood themselves to be in intimate contact with him and with one another, under the guidance of the Spirit-Paraclete. They were conscious of their re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gospel Of John
The Gospel of John () is the fourth of the New Testament's four canonical Gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "Book of Signs, signs" culminating in the raising of Lazarus (foreshadowing the resurrection of Jesus) and seven "I am (biblical term), I am" discourses (concerned with issues of the Split of early Christianity and Judaism, church–synagogue debate at the time of composition) culminating in Thomas the Apostle, Thomas's proclamation of the risen Jesus as "my Lord and my God". The penultimate chapter's concluding verse set out its purpose, John 20:31, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name." John reached its final form around AD 90–110, although it contains signs of origins dating back to AD 70 and possibly even earlier. Like the three other gospels, it is anonymous, although it identifies an unnamed "disciple whom Jesus loved" as the source o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
