Pantheism: What is it?

Hinduism’s main belief system is pantheism; here is the definition:

*Greek for “everything is God”, the belief that God and the universe are essentially identical. More specifically, pantheism is the designation for the understanding of the close connection between the world and the divine reality found in certain religions, including Hinduism. One variety of pantheism speaks of God as the “soul” of the universe, which is thought to be God’s “body.” Pantheistic religions often suggest that our experience of being disconnected from each other and from the divine is merely an illusion.

* Stanley J. Grenz, David Guretzki & Cherith Fee Nordling, Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), p. 88

God Bless

Brian Mason

Terminology Tuesday: Panentheism

*The belief that God’s being includes and permeates the entire universe so that everything exists in God. In contrast to pantheism, panentheists declare that God’s being is greater than and not exhausted by the universe. God is affected by each event in the universe, and thus God’s knowledge must change and grow. However, God simultaneously retains personal integrity and complete reality.

* Stanley J. Grenz, David Guretzki & Cherith Fee Nordling, Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), p. 88

God Bless
Brian Mason

Terminology Tuesday: Theistic Evolution

*An understanding of the development of life on earth that arose out of the attempt to relate the interpretation of Genesis to the scientific theory of organic evolution by taking a nonliteral view of the creation account while wholeheartedly trusting its truthfulness as the Word of God. Theistic evolution teaches that while the various species emerged through the evolutionary process, God superintended the development of life. That is, evolution was the means that God used in bringing about the divine purpose of creating life on this planet. Theistic evolutionists generally maintain the classical Christian doctrines of creation, original sin and human depravity in need of redemption.

* Stanley J. Grenz, David Guretzki & Cherith Fee Nordling, Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), p. 112

God Bless
Brian Mason

Terminology Tuesday: Magisterium

With a lot of attention being focused on the Roman Catholic Church and of course the “election” of a new pope, you will hear the word “magisterium” being thrown around, so here is the definition of the word;

*The prerogative of the church to proclaim and teach the good news about Jesus. In many church bodies the term refers more specifically to the group of persons, generally vocational theologians and church officials, who together possess the authority to determine the content of and to pass on to others the official doctrine, teachings and practices of the church. Magisterium is used in a more limited sense to refer to the authoritative teaching body within the Roman Catholic Church, consisting of the bishops under the authority of the pope. The bishops fulfill various kinds of “ordinary” magisterium in an ongoing manner. The “extraordinary” magisterium emerges when bishops are assembled into a council or the pope proclaims new dogma (ex cathedra).

God Bless
Brian Mason

* Stanley J. Grenz, David Guretzki & Cherith Fee Nordling, Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), p. 74

Terminology Tuesday: Pluralism

*The advocacy and embrace of a social system that promotes the autonomy and ongoing development of diverse religious, ethnic, racial and social groups within the system. In theology, pluralism suggests that there are many paths to and expressions of truth about God and several equally valid means to salvation.

God Bless

Brian Mason

*Stanley J. Grenz, David Guretzki & Cherith Fee Nordling, Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), p. 92