Theology
Foundational Christian doctrines — Trinity, Grace, Atonement, Predestination, Heaven, Hell — traced from Scripture through centuries of debate.
21 topics
Apocalyptic Literature
Apocalyptic Literature emerged as a distinct genre in Jewish writing between approximately 300 BC and 100 AD, though its roots reach into the prophetic tradi…
Atonement
Christianity's concept of Atonement has evolved over the centuries, with no single interpretation universally accepted by all denominations. From its earlies…
Excommunication
Excommunication was not always a permanent sentence in the Christian Church. It could be revoked if the person demonstrated genuine repentance and took steps…
Free Will
Debate over free will in Christianity has roots that trace back to ancient Greek philosophy, long before the birth of Christ. Greek thinkers like Plato and A…
Grace
Grace was so controversial that it led to the first major theological split in Christianity during the 5th century. This division centered on a debate over w…
Heaven
The concept of heaven has evolved dramatically over centuries, with early Christians having a very different idea of it than most people today. In the earlie…
Hell
Christianity's concept of hell as a place of eternal torment was not universally accepted in its early stages and has evolved over the centuries. Hebrew Scri…
Justification by Faith
People could be made right with God through faith alone, without the need for deeds or rituals, igniting the Protestant Reformation and fracturing Western Ch…
Nephilim
The Nephilim, often thought of as giants, have intrigued humanity for centuries, inspiring a wide range of interpretations that include everything from falle…
Original Sin
Early Christianity did not universally accept the concept of original sin, and it sparked intense theological discussions that shaped Christian doctrine. The…
Predestination
Debates over predestination have led to the formation of entirely new branches of Christianity. The question of whether God has predetermined who will be sav…
Pseudepigrapha
During the early centuries of Christianity, many ancient pseudepigraphal texts held a status similar to scripture among various communities. Writings attribu…
Purgatory
Purgatory, though not officially defined by the Catholic Church until the 16th century, has been a part of Christian thought for over a millennium. Early Chr…
Salvation
Salvation has evolved so much that early Christians might not recognize today's interpretations. During Christianity's earliest days, salvation was primarily…
Speaking in Tongues
For nearly 2,000 years, the practice of speaking in tongues has sparked both unity and division among Christians. Known as glossolalia, this phenomenon is be…
The Canon of Scripture
Forming the Christian biblical canon was a lengthy and contentious process, taking over 300 years and involving debate and disagreement among early church le…
The Incarnation
The Incarnation was a debated concept in early Christianity, not universally accepted initially. This may surprise some, given its central role in contempora…
The Major Prophets
The designation 'major prophets' refers to the four longest prophetic books in the Hebrew Bible: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. The term is a Christi…
The Rapture
In the 19th century, the concept of the Rapture, as it is popularly understood today, took shape. Before this period, Christian theology did not include the …
The Trinity
The Trinity was not fully established until over 300 years after Jesus's death. Early Christians grappled with understanding the nature of God, specifically …
Transubstantiation
Transubstantiation, the belief that bread and wine become the actual body and blood of Christ during the Eucharist, wasn't officially defined by the Church u…