The following are the definitions of some commonly
used terms which relate to Christianity, and some that relate to
spiritual belief systems in general.
Christian/Christianity
- About 2,000 years ago a Jewish man named Jesus claimed to be the
Son of God, and the Messiah whom Jewish prophets had prior to that
time prophesied would appear. People who believe He is the Son of
God, and also follow His teachings are called Christians, and their
adopted belief system is called Christianity. A question that is
sometimes heard spoken is, "He/she says he/she's a Christian, so
who am I/are we/are you to question that?" Jesus says in Luke
6:46, "Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and don’t do the
things which I say?" Therefore, the response to that question is
that a person should be looked upon based not only on what they say
but also on what they do.
The Bible - A book who's
contents form the basis for Christian beliefs. It is divided into two
main parts, the Old Testament and the New Testament. The New
Testament focuses on Jesus Christ, His teachings, and the new
covenant God has with mankind through Christ. Christians consider the
writings in the Bible to have been divinely inspired by God.
The church - The Bible defines the church
not as a building, but a body made up of a group of Christians, the
head of the body being Christ.
Saint - The Bible
defines "saint" to be a synonym for "Christian".
The catholic church - The phrase found in
some Protestant Bible translations, and in the Christian declaration
of beliefs known as the Apostle's Creed. The usage of "catholic"
in this phrase is the same as the dictionary definition, and means
"universal". It refers to all the churches throughout of
the earth.
The Roman Catholic Church (or The
Catholic Church in brief) - A church which was officially established
in the fourth century A.D., which has its headquarters in Rome,
Italy. The version of the Bible it uses is basically the same as what
Protestant churches use, but is significantly different in that it
contains more books in its Old Testament. These books are
collectively known as The Apocrypha and were officially recognized in
the 16th century. Though they share much basic doctrine, there are
significant and important doctrinal differences between the Roman
Catholic Church and the Protestant churches.
The
Eastern Orthodox Churches - Churches that split from the Roman
Catholic Church in 1054. It is a fellowship of groups of autonomous
self-governing churches, each of which is under the leadership of a
bishop.
The Protestant Church - Established in the
16th century as a reaction against The Roman Catholic Church, in
rejection of some of its doctrines and practices of that time. In
modern times the term basically refers to Christian churches which
are not Eastern Orthodox and not affiliated with the Roman Catholic
church. Their version of the Bible is basically the same as that of
the Roman Catholic Church, but somewhat different (see: The Roman
Catholic Church). Though they share much basic doctrine, there are
significant and important doctrinal differences between the Roman
Catholic Church and the Protestant churches.
Evangelicals - See the "The Adherence
Spectrum: Christianity" page.
Radical - See
the "The Adherence Spectrum: Christianity" page.
Nominal Christian - A somewhat unusual term since in phrases an adjective usually affirms and moderates its corresponding noun. That may account for why the phrase seems to be sometimes mistakenly taken by people to mean that someone is "somewhat a Christian", or is a Christian in a minimalist sense, and is thus often though of as having a optimistically positive meaning. In actuality the term has a negative meaning; that of someone who though they may claim to be Christian, in one or more of the most important ways, their beliefs and/or actions are contradictory to the biblical definition of being a Christian. In short, the term means "a Christian in name only".
Naturalism - A system of thought that says nature and natural causes account for all phenomena in the universe, including the establishment of moral laws. The belief of there being a supernatural aspect to the universe, including the belief in God, is rejected. Note: Naturalism is partially related to Natural Law.
(Natural Law - Body of laws or principles that are (asserted to be) derived from nature, and binding upon human society in the absence of, or in addition to, other laws.)
Humanism - A doctrine, attitude or way of life centered on worldly interests or values. It stresses the dignity and worth of the individual, and capability for self-realization through reason. It uses as its basis for morality, the values and behavior that are believed to be the best in human beings. It usually rejects supernaturalism.
Secularism - The exclusion, rejection, or indifference to religion or its influence, and belief that decisions and actions, especially in the public realm, should be based on worldly considerations, excluding religious influences.
Note: In recent history in much of contemporary Western society, secularism has advanced to the stage that it often says that everywhere in the public realm, including public institutions like public schools, discussions about religion, the historical influence of religion on culture or society, and in some cases the display of anything related to religion, must be avoided. This contemporary version of secularism can be seen as the logical product of the combination and progression of Naturalism and Humanism.
Moral Relativism - A system of thought that says that basic human rights, and moral values (which according moral relativism, can be synonymous with societal standards and norms) are not universal, and originate from natural entities such as nature, a society, or a government. It says that basic human rights and moral values are subjective, and therefore it is valid and acceptable for the stance on any given moral issue to be different among different people or groups; even if the stances are totally opposite to one another. Also, it says that basic human rights and moral values can legitimately be granted, changed, or taken away by the originating natural entities. Additionally, it says that there is no absolute truth regarding moral matters; that everyone can have their own truth.