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 traces back to ancient Greek philosophy, centuries before the birth of Christ. Greek thinkers like Plato and Aristotle …
Grace
Grace was controversial enough to cause the first major theological split in Christianity during the 5th century. The division centered on a debate over whet…
Heaven
The concept of heaven has changed over centuries, and early Christians held different ideas about it than most people today. In the earliest days of Christia…
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 identified as giants, appear in ancient Jewish and Christian texts under interpretations ranging from fallen angels to ancient kings. Anc…
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. It holds a central role in contemporary Christian theology. …
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 debated how Jesus and the Holy Spirit fit into Jewish monoth…
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…