This post attempts to collect in one place various belief systems, traditions, and theologies by name and description. As an open-ended post, it will be edited over time to add, delete, change, and format changes as they come about. The purpose is to set in place a personal record of who’s who of given theological and eschatological protestant beliefs. Individuals listed appear among the various systems are notable and historically of some significant contribution or influence to the widely distributed perspectives that are less than obvious.
This post is simply a component among others to map how individuals, churches, agencies, and institutions organize around historical interpretations of faith and a more coherent understanding of humanity’s existence and relationship with God and His creation. The numerous individuals listed as having a personal alignment are a matter of historical record. Within context to understand what systems and theologies fit together among persons with other adjacent beliefs and commitments that have a bearing on worldview, credibility, and truth or error.
Belief Systems
| Title | Description | Personal Alignment |
|---|---|---|
| Arminianism [4] | A theological system based on the teachings of Dutch theologian Jacobus Arminius and his early followers, the Remonstrants. After Arminius’s death, the Remonstrants issued five articles summarizing their beliefs in opposition to Calvinists, who countered with the Canons of Dort, much later summarized by TULIP. While originally condemned as heretics by the Synod of Dort, the Remonstrants later obtained legal toleration in Holland, and many Protestants still adhere to Arminianism today. While it has many doctrines in common with Reformed theology, it differs significantly in its teaching on predestination, free will and atonement. The system follows Arminius’s original teachings that God’s election is conditional on his foreknowledge of human free choice, that God provides prevenient grace to everyone in order to enable people to choose faith in Jesus, and that believers are able to lose their salvation since they always have the free will to accept or reject Christ. Contemporary Arminianism includes a wide variety of viewpoints on key issues, like whether the governmental or penal-substitutionary atonement is more accurate. Arminians today also differ at times with Arminius’s own views, such as his support of infant baptism, which is now opposed by most Arminians. | Abraham, William J. Andrews, Herbert T. Basinger, David Basinger, Randall G. Carter, Charles W. Cottrell, Jack W. Craig, William L. Earle, Ralph Evans, C. Stephen Findlay, George G. Finney, Charles Forester, Roger T. Fritz, Guy Graham, Billy Headlan, Arthur Lewis, C. S. MacDonald, William G. Mantey, Julius R. Marshall, I. Howard Marston, V. Paul Melanchthan, Philip Miethe, Terry L. Miley, John Montgomery, John Warwick Osborne, Grant R. Pinnock, Clark Reichenbach, Bruce R. Rice, Richard Sanday, William Sanders, John E. Shank, Robert L. Simpson, Albert B. Taylor, Vincent Turner, George Allen Walls, Jerry L. Wesley, John Wiley, H. Orton |
| Calvinism [4] | As a synonym for the Reformed tradition, this term highlights the influence of John Calvin and his work in Geneva in shaping the movement. While Calvin did wield considerable influence, Calvinism is a complex tradition shaped in its early stages by many leaders, including Ulrich Zwingli, William Farel, Heinrich Bullinger, Martin Bucer, and John Knox. Calvin himself was interested in reconciling with Lutheranism, which shared similar concerns for sola scriptura, justification by faith, rejection of a corrupt and theologically errant papacy, and the marks of the true church. By the mid-sixteenth century, however, differences had solidified, and the Reformed or Calvinist perspective was demarcated by a commitment to the comprehensive sovereignty of God, a view of the Lord’s Supper distinct from Lutheranism, an emphasis on the positive third use of the law and a distinct practice of church polity. It is difficult to generalize, however, because as the theology and cultural system of Calvinism spread from Switzerland to France, the Netherlands, Scotland, Ireland, England, Hungary, and eventually North America, it continued to develop and adapt to particular localities, controversies, and personalities. The Canons of Dort were a benchmark for distinguishing the movement from Arminianism, although numerous confessions of faith had previously outlined Calvinist belief and practice. Consequently, while some identify TULIP as an accurate summary of the five points of Calvinism, these doctrines alone actually limit, and in some cases even caricature and misrepresent, the complexity and breadth of the tradition. | Adams, Jay Edward Alexander, J. A. St. Augustine Bavinck, Herman Beeke, Joel Berkhof, Hendrikus Bloesch, Donald Boetner, Loraine Boice, James Bridges, Jerry Buswell, J. O. Calvin, John Carson, Donald A. Dabney, Robert L. Dever, Mark Duncan, J. Ligon Edwards, Jonathan Ferguson, Sinclair Filson, Floyd Vivian Frame, John Hacket, Horacia Haldane, Robert Haykin, Michel Hendricksen, William Hodge, A. A. Hodge, Charles Horton, Michael Hughes, Philip Johnson, Phil Keller, Timothy Kik, Jaboc Marcellus Lawson, Steve Lecerf, Auguste Luther, Martin MacArthur, John Malone, Fred Marcel, Pierre Martin, Albert Mohler, Albert Moore, Thomas V. Moule, H.C.G. Murray, Andrew Murray, John Nicole, Roger Orr, James Packer, J. I. Pieters, Albertus Pipa, Joseph A. Piper, John Robertson, O. Palmer Rushdooney, R. J. Ryken, Philip Graham Ryle, J. C. Schaeffer, Francis Sproul, R. C. Steele, David N. Storms, C. Samuel Strombeck, J. F Strong, A. H. Thiessen, Henry Clarence Thomas, Curtis C. Van Til, Cornelius Ware, Bruce Warfield, B. B. Watson, Thomas Well, David White, James Whitney, Donald Wilson, Jeffrey B. |
| Molinism [5] | Molinism is a view of the relation between God’s grace and human free will, emanating from the Spanish Jesuit theologian Luis de Molina (1535–1600). Molina asserted that God has a special kind of foreknowledge of human free acts, which are the basis of God’s gracious gift of salvation. Molinism was widely adopted by Jesuits and opposed by Dominicans. After examination by a special congregation in Rome (1598–1607), both views were allowed in Catholic schools. According to Molinism, God has three kinds of knowledge: natural, middle, and free. 1.) Natural knowledge is God’s knowledge of all possible worlds. This knowledge is essential to God. It is concerned with the necessary and the possible. 2.) Free knowledge is God’s knowledge of this actual world. After a free act of his will, God knows these things absolutely, but such knowledge is not essential to God. 3.) Middle knowledge or scientia media is distinctive of Molinism. God cannot know future free acts in the way he knows other things. God knows some things absolutely, but future free acts are known only contingently. “God, from a most profound and inscrutable comprehension of every free will in His essence, has intuited what each, according to its innate liberty, would do if placed in this or that condition” (Garrigou-Lagrange, The One God, 460; see FREE WILL). Unlike natural knowledge, this middle or intermediate knowledge is in some sense dependent on what free creatures choose to do. God’s omniscience “waits” to see what a free creature does “before” he selects those who will be saved. Since God is eternal, the sequence is only logical, not chronological. | Craig, W.L. Molina, Luis de |
Primary Theologies
| Title | Description | Personal Alignment |
|---|---|---|
| Covenant Theology [6] | Also known as federal theology, this form of biblical theology focuses on the way God relates to his creatures through covenants—binding relationships between God and humanity involving mutual promises and responsibilities. In Reformed theology, this perspective traces back to Zwingli’s emphasis on God’s covenant with Abraham, which he used in defense of infant baptism. Bullinger wrote the first full Protestant treatise defending a unified biblical covenant, although Calvin similarly stressed the unity of God’s covenant of grace and continuities of law and gospel in both Testaments. The covenant theology of Johannes Cocceius, who built on the work of Calvin, Zacharias Ursinus, Caspar Olevianus and others, is important because of the distinctions he developed between an eternal covenant of redemption between Father and Son and two basic redemptive-historical covenants: the covenant of works and the covenant of grace. God established the covenant of works with Adam and Eve, promising life conditional on obedience, but after Adam and Eve’s disobedience, God established the covenant of grace as a promise to bring victory over the devil (Gen 3:15). This covenant is reiterated in various forms throughout redemptive history and culminates in the new covenant of Christ. Cocceius’s perspective was widely received by Reformed theologians and found expression in the Westminster Standards. Covenant theology continued to be a prominent theme in Reformed theology in contrast to dispensationalism, although significant debate emerged regarding the distinction between a covenant of works and a covenant of grace, which was rejected by Karl Barth and John Murray but accepted by others in the tradition. | Allis, O. T. Bass, Clarence B. Bear, James Berkof, Louis Carson, Herbert Cotton, John Fuller, Daniel Paxton Gerstner, John Goodwin, Thomas Hendricksen, William Hodge, A. A. Hodge, Charles Ladd, George Eldon Lincoln, C. Fred Mauro, Philip Murray, John Orr, James Owen, john Payne, J. Barton Poythress, Vern Robertson, O. Palmer Sproul, R. C. Van Gemeren, Willem Van Til, Cornelius |
| Dispensational Theology [7] | Dispensationalism, a periodization of human history into distinct time periods, or dispensations, during which God relates to humans in unique ways, was popularized in Darby’s frequent trips to America and contributed to the rise of fundamentalism. A theological system dividing the history of redemption into separate periods (dispensations) in which God relates to his people in unique ways, first developed by Englishman John Nelson Darby (1800–1882) and primarily popularized in the United States through the Scofield Reference Bible. Dispensationalism differs from covenant theology by identifying two separate peoples—Israel and the church—to whom God relates in distinct ways, thus introducing greater discontinuity into the biblical story than normally affirmed in the Reformed tradition. Given its wide-ranging influence, however, dispensationalism has been affirmed by some Reformed theologians, particularly in North America. | Barnhouse, Donald Grey Brooks, James H. Chafer, Lewis Sperry Darby, John Nelson English, E. Schuyler Feinberg, Charles L. Gaebelein, Arno C. Gaebelein, Frank Graves, J. R. Hoyt, Herman Ironside, H. A. Kelly, William MacArthur, John Mackintosh, C. H. Mason, Clarence E. Mayhue, Richard McClain, Alva J. Pache, Rene Pentecost, J. Dwight Pettingill, William Ryrie, Charles Sauer, Erich Scofield, C. I. Scroggie, W. Graham Walvoord, John F. |
| Ultra-Dispensational Theology [8] (Church began with Paul, not at Pentecost) | In modern times, the term dispensationalism is most often associated with nineteenth-century theologian John Nelson Darby, who was associated with the Plymouth Brethren Church in England. Darby’s key work, Synopsis, clearly delineated human history into well-defined time periods called dispensations. In each dispensation, God demands different expressions of faith from believers. In the dispensation of law, for example, the faithful were obedient to the Mosaic code, but this no longer applied after the death of Christ, when the dispensation of grace began. Later teachers, such as C. I. Scofield (1843–1921), expanded the number of dispensations to seven periods. Each dispensation ended in judgment, and only a few, a remnant, survive that testing to begin the next dispensation. Important to this view is the idea that Israel is distinct from the church and the promises and covenants made to Israel do not necessarily apply to modern-day believers. | Baker, Charles F. Berean Bible Society Bullinger, Ethelbert W. Gelesnoff, Vladimir Knoch, A.E. McGee, J. Vernon O’Hair, J.C. Sellers, Otis Q. Stam, Cornelius R. Welch, Charles H. |
Secondary Theologies
| Title | Description | Personal Alignment |
|---|---|---|
| Antinomianism [9] | A form of spiritual anarchy, which rejects the law as having any place in the Christian life, whether as instructor or as assessor. Paul’s teaching that Christians are free from the law is sometimes misunderstood as antinomian. But Paul reveres God’s law, and teaches believers, who are free from the law as a system of salvation, to keep it out of gratitude for salvation freely given, and because holiness, as defined by the law, is the Christian calling. | Agricola, Johannes Brearley, Roger Crisp, Tobias Eaton, John Hutchinson, Anne Saltmarsh, John, Traske, John Towne, Robert |
| Black Theology [10] | Derived from both traditional African-American religion and the historical process of liberation, Black Theology focuses on God in Christ as deliverer of oppressed people, and blackness as the key to understanding that deliverance. | Cleage, Jr., Albert B. Cone, James Roberts, Deotis |
| Charismatic Renewal [11] (Generally Arminian) | Neo-Pentecostalism – The classical Pentecostal movement usually traces its origin to New Year’s Day, 1901, when Agnes Ozman first spoke in tongues in Charles F. Parham’s Bible school in Topeka, Kansas. The movement that ensued was ridiculed by many outsiders as the religion of the economically deprived, the socially disinherited, the psychologically abnormal and the theologically aberrant. However, by the 1960s many sociological, psychological and theological theories had given way under the increasing evidence that Pentecostals were becoming middle class and educated. At the same time, their characteristic teachings were gaining acceptance among Christians within mainline Protestant denominations, as well as the Catholic Church. As the national media publicized this new movement, American Christians began to grapple with a phenomenon that would come to be known as the charismatic, or neo-Pentecostal, movement. | Benett, Dennis Braham, William Bredesen, Harald Christensen, Larry Coe, Jack duPlessis, David Harper, Michael C. Irwin, David Osborne, Tommy Lee Roberts, Oral Smith, Chuck (Calvary Chapel) Wilkerson, David |
| Creation Spirituality [12] | New Age Movement (NAM) – The NAM is both eclectic and syncretistic, drawing on sources as diverse as Vedantic Hinduism, assorted varieties of spiritism and avant garde theories in quantum physics. It is best viewed not as a unified denomination, sect, cult or conspiracy—although these factors are not lacking—but rather as a world view shifting away from both monotheism and atheistic materialism, and toward the “ancient wisdom” or “perennial philosophy” (A. Huxley) of various Eastern religions (e.g., Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, etc.), pre-Christian Western religions (e.g., Druidism), Christian heresies (Gnosticism, heterodox mysticism) and the occult (e.g., divination, magic, spiritism). In the 1980s the Dominican priest Matthew Fox was teaching what he called “Creation Spirituality” in books such as The Coming of the Cosmic Christ (1988) and through his Institute in Culture and Creation Spirituality. Clearly a proponent of the New Age perspective, in October 1988 Fox was ordered silenced by the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. | Matthew Fox (Catholic) |
| Feminist Theology [13] | Feminist theology has an unmistakable ideological slant (Colin Grant, “Feminist Theology Is Middle Class). It is patently tied to the women’s revolution in society, which insists on equal pay for equivalent work and presses for the liberation of women from male domination. God becomes the Empowering Matrix (Rosemary Ruether) that enables both men and women to realize their full potential as sons and daughters of a new age in which sexual differences are no longer a barrier to economic and political advancement as well as to spiritual leadership. The immanentalistic bent of feminist theology is tied to its reconception of God as the vital force within nature rather than as Sovereign King or Lord (Cf. Dorothee Sölle: “God is our capacity to love … the spark that animates our love.”). Feminist theology converges with process theology at many points, for both mirror the new wave of democratic egalitarianism that seeks to eradicate all hierarchy in human relationships. | Bilezikian, Gilbert Frymer-Kensky, Tikva Gundry, Patricia Hardesty, Nancy Jewett, Paul Mollenkott, Virginia Myers, Carol Ogden Bellis, Alice Scanzoni, Letha Spencer, Aida Bensancon Trible, Phyllis Williams, Dan |
| Liberation Theology [14] | The term “liberation theology” is attributed to the Latin American theologian Gustavo Gutierrez. In 1970, Gutierrez published A Theology of Liberation, in which he offers a theological perspective “from the underside of history” (Huebner, Introduction, 466). According to Thiselton, a liberation hermeneutic shares these common themes with feminist and womanist hermeneutics (Thiselton, New Horizons, 410): 1.) They critique frameworks of interpretation. 2. ) They offer alternative reinterpretations. 3.) They unmask the ways in which interpretations are used to serve the interests of those in power. Liberation theologies and hermeneutics find expression in critical scholarship, but more so among theologians in active, missional movements that derive their theology from an “ecclesial location,” such as Gutierrez who is known for theological reflections located in stories from his life among the poor (Gutierrez and Muller, On the Side). Juan Luis Segundo, a Uruguayan liberation theologian, suggests that the key to a “this-worldly” hermeneutic (and not an “other-worldly” one, meaning one that is practicable now) is the kingdom—preached, lived, and initiated by Jesus (Segundo, Grace, 73). Liberation theology and hermeneutics attempt to inform a kingdom of justice, which is often described as a spirituality that holds in tension divine transcendence and human action, gift and initiation (Segundo, Grace, 73). | Boff, Leonardo Gutierrez, Gustavo Miguez-Bonino, Jose |
| Lutheranism [15] | The theological and ecclesiastical tradition based on the teachings of Martin Luther (1483–1546), who is credited with launching the Reformation in Germany. Luther’s “tower experience” convinced him that the essence of the gospel is that justification comes only by the gift of God’s grace appropriated by faith (see sola gratia; sola fide). According to Luther, God declares the sinner righteous through Jesus’ death rather than through human merit or works. Faith entails trust in and acceptance of God’s gift of salvation through the “merits” of Christ. | Althaus, Paul Bornkamm, Heinrich Chemnitz, Martin Forde, Gerhard O. Gerhard, Johann Jensen, Robert Kolb, Robert Lohse, Bernhard Luther, Martin Maier, Paul L. Melanchthon, Philip Montgomery, John W. Pieper, Franz Preus, Robert Sasse, Hermann Veith, Gene Edward Walter, C. F. W. Wengert, Timothy |
| Mercersburg Theology [16] | Mercersburg Theology was a German-American theological movement that began in the mid-19th century. It draws its name from Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, home of Marshall College from 1836 until its merger with Franklin College (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) in 1853, and also home to the seminary of the Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS) from 1837 until its relocation to Lancaster in 1871. A significant aspect of the Mercersburg Theology is the view of history and theology found in Philip Schaff’s Principle of Protestantism. In this work, Schaff takes a Hegelian model of history and applies it to the history of theology. Theology must come to one final synthesis, as Schaff expressed in his remark that “the Reformation must be regarded as still incomplete. It needs yet its concluding act to unite what has fallen asunder, to bring the subjective to a reconciliation with the objective.”[4] By this, he proposes a reunion of the subjective doctrines of Protestantism with the objective character of the Roman Catholic Church. Thus, an outworking of this belief is a generous ecumenism extended toward all, especially toward Roman Catholics. The Mercersburg Society was founded in 1983 to maintain the sacramental and ecclesial approach of the theology. | Nevin, John Williamson Schaff, Philip |
| Liberal Theology [17] (Neo-Liberalism) (Existential Theology, Existentialism) | American liberal theologians in the early twentieth century emphasized Scripture as experience. Standing in the tradition of Friedrich Schleiermacher (1768–1834), Albrecht Ritschl (1822–1889) and Adolf von Harnack (1851–1930), these theologians sought to reconstruct traditional orthodoxy to meet the challenges of the modern world. They viewed the Bible as an ancient document written by fallible, human writers who were “religious geniuses.” These inspiring writers produced a literature that conveys religious experience to its readers as it brings them into contact with the great questions of human existence. Thus the liberal pulpiteer Harry Emerson Fosdick spoke of the Bible as presenting “abiding experiences and changing categories.” This means the basic human experiences of which the Bible speaks will be the same in any age, though expressed in various concepts and frameworks at different periods of history. Theologians must search out the abiding experiences that underlie biblical categories and express them in ways appropriate to the present times. For liberal theology, God is revealed in the events of history and especially in Jesus Christ. Humans may open themselves to this revelation and find the ring of truth in Scripture as biblical experiences coincide with their own religious experiences. | Bultmann, Rudolf (existential) Coffin, Henry S. Gilkey, Langdon Van Dusen, H.P Schleiermacher, Fredrich Fosdick, Harry E. Kierkegaard, Søren (existential) Ogden, Schuber Niebuhr, Reinhold (“post-liberal”) Tielhard de Chardin, Pierre Tillich, Paul (existential) Tracy, David (Catholic) |
| Neo-Orthodoxy [18] | The Swiss theologians Karl Barth and Emil Brunner are associated with neo-orthodox theology, a movement which characteristically speaks of Scripture as witness. Barth, reacting strongly to the liberal theology in which he was schooled, developed a dialectical theology that in its early stages stressed the great contrast and distance between the transcendent, holy God and finite, sinful humanity. In Jesus Christ, this gulf was bridged. Christ is God’s self-revelation so that to say revelation is to say the Word made flesh. Barth spoke of the threefold Word of God as the Word revealed (Jesus Christ), the Word written (Scripture) and the Word proclaimed (preaching). Scripture “becomes” God’s Word when, through its proclamation, it witnesses or points to the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ. The inspired writers of Scripture were witnesses to God’s revelation. Barth could speak of “verbal inspiration” in the sense that the witnesses to God’s revelation recorded their witness in words. But these were fallible words of humans, having “the capacity for errors,” yet nevertheless used by God to accomplish his own purposes. Scripture gains authority insofar as the Holy Spirit takes human witnesses and through their witness creates faith and obedience to Jesus Christ. | Barth, Karl Bonhoeffer, Dietrich Bunner, Emil |
| New Covenant Theology [19] | A position teaching that the person and work of Jesus Christ is the central focus of the Bible. One distinctive assertion of this school of thought is that Old Testament Laws have been abrogated or cancelled with Jesus’ crucifixion, and replaced with the Law of Christ of the New Covenant. It shares similarities with, and yet is distinct from, dispensationalism and Covenant theology. | Wells, Tom Zaspel, Fred Lehrer, Steve Reisinger, John |
| Pentecostalism [20] | Pentecostalism is a movement that began in the early twentieth century that emphasizes a post-conversion “baptism in the Holy Spirit” for all believers, with glossolalia (speaking in tongues) as the initial evidence of such baptism. Historically, Pentecostals have been missionary-minded people, due in part to the fact that the first Pentecostals taught that one central purpose of baptism in the Spirit was to endow the believer with power for evangelism. | Hayford, Jack Mason, Charles H. McPherson, Amy Semple |
| Pietism [21] | Pietism as it is now widely understood has its roots both in the magisterial and radical phases of the Reformation, as well as in the emphasis on “godliness” of many Puritans. It gradually comes into view in what is sometimes referred to as “precisianism” in the Reformed churches of the Netherlands. Among the Dutch Reformed it was represented by men like Willem Teellinck (1579–1629); the scholarly Gysbertus Voetius (1509–1676); Jadocus van Lodensteyn (1620–1677); as well as the Brakels—Theodor Gerardi (1608–1669) and his son Willem (1635–1711). Among separatists with a Dutch Reformed background, mention should be made of the former Jesuit Jean de Labadie (1610–1674) and his gifted disciple Anna Maria van Schurmann (1607–1678). | Arndt, Johann Francke, August Hermann Spener, Philipp Jakob Zinzerdorf, Count Von |
| Process Theology [22] (Panentheism) | Panentheism is not to be confused with pantheism. Pantheism literally means all (“pan”) is God (“theism”), but panentheism means “all in God.” It is also called process theology (since it views God as a changing Being), bipolar theism (since it believes God has two poles), organicism (since it views all that actually is as a gigantic organism), and neoclassical theism (because it believes God is finite and temporal, in contrast to classical theism). | Cobb, John B. Hartshorne, Charles Peters, Eugene H. Whitehead, Alfred North |
| Prosperity Theology [23] | Prosperity theology (sometimes referred to as the prosperity gospel, the health and wealth gospel, the gospel of success, or seed faith) is a religious belief among some Protestant Christians that financial blessing and physical well-being are always the will of God for them, and that faith, positive speech, and donations to religious causes will increase one’s material wealth. Prosperity theology views the Bible as a contract between God and humans: if humans have faith in God, he will deliver security and prosperity. The doctrine emphasizes the importance of personal empowerment, proposing that it is God’s will for his people to be blessed. The atonement (reconciliation with God) is interpreted to include the alleviation of sickness and poverty, which are viewed as curses to be broken by faith. This is believed to be achieved through donations of money, visualization, and positive confession. | Capps, Charles Cho, Paul Copeland, Kenneth Hayes, Narvelle Hagin, Kenneth Kenyon, Essek William Osteen, John Price, Frederick K. C. Savelle, Jerry |
| Puritanism [24] | A reform movement heavily influenced by Calvinism but initially part of the Church of England that had its zenith in the seventeenth century in England and North America. The stereotype of a Puritan as someone who is prudish and legalistic is quite misleading; Puritans enjoyed their beer and knew how to laugh. They were agents of cultural renewal in spheres as diverse as poetry and political philosophy, and they left a lasting imprint through the colonies founded in New England. | Ames, William Baxter, Richard Bolton, Robert Bridge, William, Brooks, Thomas Burroughes, Jeremiah Bunyan, John Charnock, Stephen Clarkson, David Cotton, John Flavel, John Goodwin, Thomas Gouge, William Hooker, Thomas Manton, Thomas Owen, John Perkins, William Rutherford, Samuel Shepard, Thomas Sibbes, Richard Swinnock, George Ussher, James Watson, Thomas |
| Scholasticism [25] | Through their intense study of the Bible and their preservation of ancient manuscripts, the monks did much to keep the spirit of learning alive during the Dark Ages. The cathedral and monastic schools were centers of study that served as seed beds for the later universities. Scholasticism refers both to the revival of learning that occurred during the Middle Ages and the method of study by which it occurred—the process of careful, rational scrutiny, logical deduction, and the systematic ordering of truth. | Abelard, Peter Anselm Aquinas, Thomas Bonaventure Ockham, William of |
| Secular Theology [26] (“God is Dead”) | Secular theology rejects the substance dualism of modern religion, the belief in two forms of reality required by the belief in heaven, hell, and the afterlife. Secular theology can accommodate a belief in God—as many nature religions do—but as residing in this world and not separately from it. Historians such as Charles Freeman hold that the AD 325 Council of Nicaea did much to establish dualism in Christian thought. Dualism has greatly influenced not only religion but science as well. By desacralizing the natural world, dualism has left it vulnerable to exploitation and damage. The field of secular theology, a subfield of liberal theology advocated by Anglican bishop John A. T. Robinson somewhat paradoxically combines secularism and theology. Recognized in the 1960s, it was influenced both by neo-orthodoxy, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Harvey Cox, and the existentialism of Søren Kierkegaard and Paul Tillich. Secular theology digested modern movements like the Death of God Theology propagated by Thomas J. J. Altizer or the philosophical existentialism of Paul Tillich and eased the introduction of such ideas into the theological mainstream and made constructive evaluations, as well as contributions, to them. | Altizer, Thomas Cox, Harvey Hamilton, William Robinson, John A. T. Rubenstein, Richard L. (Jewish Rabbi) Vahanian, Gabriel |
| Social Gospel [27] (Liberal Theology, Liberalism) | The Social Gospel was a social movement within Protestantism that applied Christian ethics to social problems, especially issues of social justice such as economic inequality, poverty, alcoholism, crime, racial tensions, slums, unclean environment, child labor, lack of unionization, poor schools, and the dangers of war. It was most prominent in the early-20th-century United States and Canada. Theologically, the Social Gospelers sought to put into practice the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:10): “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. They typically were postmillennialist; that is, they believed the Second Coming could not happen until humankind rid itself of social evils by human effort. The Social Gospel was more popular among clergy than laity. Its leaders were predominantly associated with the liberal wing of the progressive movement, and most were theologically liberal, although a few were also conservative when it came to their views on social issues. Important leaders included Richard T. Ely, Josiah Strong, Washington Gladden, and Walter Rauschenbusch. | Ely, Richard T. Gladden, Washington Rauschenbusch, Walter |
| Third Wave Movement [28] | Although Wagner has been influential in the wider evangelical world, his extensive research into and writing on the Pentecostal and charismatic movements have given him particular expertise in these areas. Through his longtime association with the charismatic leader John Wimber, leader of the Vineyard Movement, and their joint teaching of a controversial course on charismatic ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary entitled, ‘MC 510 Signs and Wonders’ (1984), he became identified with the charismatic movement. He is credited with originating the term ‘third wave’, to designate the increased openness among other evangelicals to the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit and joint ministry with Pentecostals and charismatics. | Wagner, C. Peter Wimber, John |
| Wesleyan Theology {Wesleyan Quadrilateral) | The various groups and churches associated with, spawned by, or that look for their genesis in John Wesley (the founder of Methodism) and his theology. These include the various Methodist churches, the Holiness Movement and Pentecostalism. Wesley’s theology attempted to balance the doctrine of justification by faith with an emphasis on the Spirit’s ongoing process of sanctification in the life of the believer. Wesleyans are often known for certain doctrines, including entire sanctification and the second blessing. Wesleyans tend to be Arminian as opposed to Calvinist in their understanding of the dynamic of personal salvation. The four “sources” on which Wesleyan theology is often constructed and defended: Scripture, reason, tradition and experience. There is some debate today as to whether the Wesleyan quadrilateral actually dates to Wesley himself, although there is general agreement that it does represent Wesley’s own theological approach. | Allen, Richard Asbury, Francis Coke, Albert C. Varick, James Wesley, Charles Wesley, John |
Eschatological Systems
Derived from the combination of the Greek eschatos, meaning “last,” and logos, meaning “word” or “significance.” Refers to the biblical doctrine of last things. The doctrine of last things normally focuses on a discussion of the return of Christ at the end of the age, the coming judgments, various expressions of the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God, the nature of the glorified body, and the prospects for eternal destiny. Generally, eschatology sets itself apart as a theology of the future and in juxtaposition to both history and the present age.[1]
Millennialism
This expression, taken from Latin words, means 1,000 years. The Bible passage that mentions the “thousand years” is Rev. 20:1–7, where the word appears six times. The Latin Vulgate uses mille anni and its variant renderings to translate the Greek chilia ete. Various theological proposals have been offered to explain this passage from Rev. 20 as well as various other Scriptures that might be taken to speak to the same issue. One’s view on this text will be determined by one’s approach to interpreting predictive prophecy and by one’s view on symbolic and apocalyptic language.[1]
| Title | Description | Typical Association | Personal Alignment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amillennialism [2] | The belief that the thousand years mentioned in Revelation 20 do not represent a specific period of time between Christ’s first and second comings. Many amillennialists believe instead that the millennium refers to the heavenly reign of Christ and the departed saints during the Church Age. Amillennialists usually understand Revelation 20 to mean that the return of Christ will occur at the end of history and that the church presently lives in the final era of history. | Amillennials usually commit to Covenant theology | Adams, Jay Edward Allis, Oswald T. Augustine Bass, Clarence B. Beckwith, Isbon T. Bennett, T. Miles Berkof, Louis Berkouwer, G. C. Bowman, John Wick Brown, David Calvin, John Charles, Robert H. Colclasure, Chuck Ellison, Henry L. Farrar, Fredric W. Ferguson, Sinclair Foster, Richard J. Gerstner, John Gifford, Edwin H. Hamilton, Floyd E. Hendricksen, William Hoekema, Anthony A. Hoeksema, Herman Kik, Jacob Marcellus Laetsch, Theodore F. K. Lenski, Richard Leopold, Herbert C. Luther, Martin Machen, John Gresham Mauro, Philip Morgan, George Campbell Morris, Leon Pink, A. W. Pusey, Edward B. Ridderbos, Herman Riddlebarger, Kim Sproul, R.C. Summers, Ray Swete, Hanry Barclay Van Til, Cornelius Vos, Gerhardus Waltke, Bruce Warfield, B. B. Young, Edward J |
| Premillennialism [2] | The view that the millennium follows the return of Christ, which therefore makes his return “premillennial.” In the teaching of some premillennialists, the millennium will begin supernaturally and cataclysmically, preceded by signs of apostasy, worldwide preaching of the gospel, war, famine, earthquakes, the coming of the antichrist, and the great tribulation. Jesus will then return and rule on the earth with his saints for one thousand years, during which time peace will reign, the natural world will no longer be cursed and evil will be suppressed. After a final rebellion, God will crush evil forever; judge the resurrected, nonbelieving dead; and establish heaven and hell. | Historic premillennialists usually commit to Covenant Theology, with post-tribulation eschatology. Dispensational premillennial is generally pre-tribulation. | Alford, Henry Amerding, C. A. Anderson, Robert Beasley-Murray, G. R. Bengel, _ Blackstone, William E. Bonar, A.A. Bowman, John (Historic) Chafer, Lewis Sperry Culver, Robert D. Darby, John Nelson DeHaan, Martin R. Ellicott, C.J. English, Eugene Schuyler Erickson, Millard (Historic) Fausset, A. R. Feinberg, Charles L. Fuller, Daniel Payton (Historic) Gaebelein, A. C. Gill, John Goodwin, Thomas Grudem, Wayne Hiebert, Davis Edmond Hoyt, Herman A. (Disp.) Ironside, H. A. Jennins, Frederick C. Jeremiah, David Keach, Benjamin Kromminga, D. H. Ladd, George E. (Historic) Lange, John Lightfoot, J.B. Lillie, (John?) Luck, G. Coleman MacArthur, John MacIntosh, C.H. Mauro, Philip (Historic) Mayhue, Richard McClain, Alva (Disp.) Meyer, F.B. Morgan, George Campbel Mounce, Robert Newell, William Reed Ottman, Ford C. Payne, J. Barton (Historic) Piper, John Ross, James Robert (Historic) Ryle, J.C. Ryrie, Charles (Disp.) Seiss, Joseph A. Smith, Jacob B. Smith, Wilbur M. Steir. _ Stevens, W. C. Stifler, James M. Strombeck, J. F. Tatford, Frederick A. Tenney, Merrill C. Tregelles, Samuel P. Unger, Merril Walvoord, John (Disp.) Westcott, B.F. Wiley, H. Orton |
| Postmillennialism [2] | The view that Christ’s second coming will follow the millennium; that is, his return is postmillennial. Postmillennialists assert that the millennium will come by the spiritual and moral influence of Christian preaching and teaching in the world. This will result in increased conversions, a more important role of the church in the world, earthly prosperity, the resolution of social ills and a general adoption of Christian values. Evil will diminish until the time of Christ’s second coming, which will mark as well the resurrection of the dead and the last judgment. | Alexander, Archibald Alexander, Joseph A. Barnes, Albert Boettner, Loraine Brown, David Dabney, R. L. Dabney, Robert T. Edward, Jonathan Fairbairn, Patrick Hodge, A. A. Hodge, Charles Marcellus, K. K. J. Murray, John North, Gary Shedd, W. G. T. Snowden, James H. Strong, Augustus H. Warfield, Benjamin B |
Rapture
God’s taking the church out of the world instantaneously. The Latin term rapio, which means to “snatch away” or “carry off,” is the source of the English word. While there are differing views of the millennium (Rev. 20:2–7) in relation to Christ’s second coming (e.g., premillennial, postmillennial, and amillennial), nevertheless, all evangelicals affirm a literal return of Christ to the earth preceding the eternal state. In premillennialism, however, the distinct event of the rapture is often emphasized.
The main biblical passage for the rapture (Gk. harpazo) of the church is 1 Thess. 4:15–17. Other texts often used to support the doctrine of the rapture are John 14:1–3 and 1 Cor. 15:51–52. There are three main approaches to understanding the rapture in premillennialism:
| Title | Description | Personal Alignment |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-Tribulational [3] | In the pretribulational view, Christ raptures the church before any part of the seven-year tribulation begins (Dan. 9:24–27; Matt. 24:3–28; Rev. 11:2; 12:14). Upon Christ’s coming in the air, which is distinct from and that precedes His coming to the earth, believers will be “caught up together … in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thess. 4:17). In this view, believers are delivered “from the coming wrath” (1 Thess. 1:10; Rev. 3:10) by being taken out of the world. | Harrison, Norman B. Hogg, Charles F. Stanton, Gerald B. Theissen, Henry C. Vine, Howard Frederick |
| Mid-Tribulational [3] | A midtribulational view also sees the rapture as a distinct event that precedes Christ’s second coming and delivers believers from the last half of the seven-year period, the “great tribulation” (Matt. 24:15–28; Rev. 16–18). | Peters, George N. H. |
| Post-Tribulational [3] | A posttribulational view holds that the rapture and the second coming occur at the same time. Therefore, the church remains on earth during “the time of Jacob’s distress” (Jer. 30:7 NASB). Unlike the world, however, believers who go through the tribulation will be protected from the devastating outpouring of God’s wrath and judgment (1 Thess. 5:9). | Erickson, Millard Ladd, G. E. Lang, George H. Tenney, Merrill C. |
Citations
[1] Doros Zachariades, “Millennium,” ed. Chad Brand et al., Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 1127.
[2] Stanley Grenz, David Guretzki, and Cherith Fee Nordling, Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), 8–9.
[3] Pete Schemm, “Rapture,” ed. Chad Brand et al., Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 1366.
[4] Kelly M. Kapic and Wesley Vander Lugt, Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed Tradition, The IVP Pocket Reference Series (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2013), 29–30.
[5] Norman L. Geisler, “Molinism,” Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, Baker Reference Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999), 493.
[6] Kelly M. Kapic and Wesley Vander Lugt, Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed Tradition, The IVP Pocket Reference Series (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2013), 38–39.
[7] Ibid, 41.
[8] Nathan P. Feldmeth, Pocket Dictionary of Church History: Over 300 Terms Clearly and Concisely Defined, The IVP Pocket Reference Series (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2008), 52–53.
[9] Martin H. Manser, Dictionary of Bible Themes: The Accessible and Comprehensive Tool for Topical Studies (London: Martin Manser, 2009).
[10] Daniel G. Reid et al., Dictionary of Christianity in America (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1990).
[11] Ibid.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Donald G. Bloesch, Freedom for Obedience: Evangelical Ethics in Contemporary Times (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2002), 266–267.
[14] Carrie Sinclair Wolcott, “Liberation Theologies and Hermeneutics,” ed. John D. Barry et al., The Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).
[15] Stanley Grenz, David Guretzki, and Cherith Fee Nordling, Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), 74.
[16] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercersburg_theology
[17] Daniel G. Reid et al., Dictionary of Christianity in America (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1990).
[18] Ibid.
[19] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Covenant_theology
[20] Stanley Grenz, David Guretzki, and Cherith Fee Nordling, Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), 90.
[21] Daniel G. Reid et al., Dictionary of Christianity in America (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1990).
[22] Norman L. Geisler, “Panentheism,” Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics, Baker Reference Library (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999), 576.
[23] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosperity_theology
[24] C. Stephen Evans, Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), 98.
[25] David S. Dockery, ed., Holman Bible Handbook (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 1992), 865.
[26] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secular_theology
[27] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Gospel
[28] D. Hedges, “Wagner, Charles Peter,” ed. Timothy Larsen et al., Biographical Dictionary of Evangelicals (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003), 691.
[29] Stanley Grenz, David Guretzki, and Cherith Fee Nordling, Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), 120–121.
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