| A | B |
|---|
| gospel | The "good news" that God raised Jesus from the dead and in doing so has begun the transformation of the world. |
| Common era | Years after the traditional date used for the birth of Jesus, previously used in exclusively Christian terms as AD and now abbreviated to CE as opposed to BCE (before the common era) |
| Messiah | In Christianity the annointed one Jesus Christ |
| Trinity | The Christian doctrine that in the One God are three divine persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit |
| baptism | A Christian sacrament by which God cleanses all sin and makes one a sharer in the divine life, and a member of Christ's body, the Church |
| Eucharist | The Christian sacrament by which believers are renewed in the mystical body of Christ by paraking of bread and wine, undertsood as his body and blood. |
| Confirmation | A Christian sacrament by which awareness of the Holy Spirit is enhanced. |
| Original sin | A Christian beliefe that all people are bound together in prideful egoicentricity. Described mythically in the Bible as an act of disobedience on the part of Adam and Eve. |
| Apocalypse | In Judaism and Christianity, the dramatic end of the present age. |
| Ascension | The ascent of Jesus to heaven forty days after his resurrection. |
| Creed | A formal statement of the beliefs of a particular religion; in Christianity, especially the Nicene Creed. |
| Crucufixion | In Roman times, the execution of a criminal by fixing him to a cross; with reference to Jesus, his death on the cross, symbolic of his self-sacrifice for the good of ll humanity |
| Denomination | One of the Protestant branches of Christianity |
| Dogma | A system of beliefs declared to be true by a religion |
| Ecumenism | Rapproachment between branches of Christianity or among other faiths. |
| Fundamentalism | An insistence on the historical form of their religion, in contrast to more contemporary influences. |
| Gentile | Any person who is not of Jewish faith or origin |
| Incarnation | Physical embodiment of the divine in Christianity, with particular refernce for Jesus becoming man. |
| Inquisition | The use of force and terror to eliminate heresies |
| Pentecost | The ocassion when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples of Jesus after his death. |
| Parable | aligorical story |
| Pope | The Bishop of Rome and head of the Roman Catholic Church |
| Resurrection | The rising of Christ in his earthly body on the first Easter Day, three days after his crucifixion and death. |
| Sacrament | outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace |
| Synod | A council of Church officials called to reach agreement on doctrines and administration. |
| synoptic | Referring to the three similar books of the Christin Bible; Matthew, Mark, Luke, John |
