Biblical, Charismata, Parousia, Dispensationalism

Word Definitions

What is the meaning of: biblical, beatification, charismata,
confessional, parousia, dispensationalism.

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What is meant by 'Biblical' ?

biblical (also 'Bible-based', 'scriptural') : 'according to the Scriptures'. The phrase has had its meaning so watered down or septically-laden that it describes anything from snake-handlers to end-time cultists and dominionists to the seminary teachers that boost the 'new morality' or modern pantheisms and neo-gnosticisms. For most Christians, 'biblical' means that the substance and the shape of Christian faith and life is drawn from the main course of what the Bible says. This gives each person, each teacher, each Bible study, and each congregation a great responsibility. Being biblical is a commitment. It can't be done without learning the main thrust of Scripture thoroughly, and keeping everything in the Bible in the context of everything else in the Bible. Being biblical also means not taking a principle from outside of Scripture and superimposing it onto Scriptural study or what comes from it. Being biblical means asking questions of the Bible and not taking it to be something it's not. It means understanding that there are many angles to what it says. "Biblical" is an adjective, that is, a term that describes something, instead of defining it.

Explore some of the words Christians use to describe what's involved in being biblical. These words are not themselves sacred, but are used for describing something that is sacred. You can also check for 'biblical' in the dictionary.

What Is Beatification?

beatification [< Latin beatus (blessed), used as equivalent of Greek makarios; + Latin facere (to make)] Recognition by the Roman Catholic Church of the accession to Heaven of a past leading figure in the Catholic faith. This is done by an act of the Pope declaring that the person's holy life makes them worthy of ritual acts of devotion and respect (veneration). Someone who is beatified is seen by Roman Catholics as being able to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his/her name. The beatified can be venerated in places connected with them. However, they are not canonized into sainthood just yet; there are more processes along that road. The proper title for them is 'Blessed', not 'Saint'.

Protestants do not give anyone beatification or sainthood, though there are prayers of thanks offered for many great Christians by Anglican and Lutheran churches (as well as by many congregations of other denominations, and by the 'New Monastics') on their assigned feast days, and their lives and deeds are remembered. For all Protestants, this is a matter of honoring and respecting those that have shown themselves worthy of honor and respect, not done as any form of worship.

What are Charismata?

charismata (pl.), charisma (sg.): [Greek; 'things given']. Or put another way, 'stuff from grace'. A charisma is given, not earned or bought. It is given by the Spirit, not by a leader or a church body. (It can sometimes come from the Spirit through a church body or a leader; it can also come against the desires of church bodies, leaders, or even the body of believers as a whole or the whole world, if need be.) There are many kinds of gifts the Spirit gives - ultimately, life itself is a free gift from God. But when Christians speak of 'charismata', they are talking of a specific kind of gift: a gift that is given specifically to build up the community of believers, those within it, and those it serves. These gifts are given not to save, but to empower the saved and grow the depth of character they need to strengthen other people.

What does 'Confessional' Mean?

confessional:

• as a noun, it means a small room designed to be used when someone goes for privacy with a priest in order to turn away from one's wrong doings and wrong thoughts. They say it to the priest, who then can tell you that God has forgiven your sin (this is called 'absolution'). This is used for the Roman Catholic form (or 'Rite') of something Jesus called on us to do.
• as an adjective/adverb, a 'confessional' Christian is one who turns to certain historic documents such as the early Creeds or the works of the Reformation (also known as 'the Confessions'). These documents were written to define and describe the teaching and the renewing thrust of the Church, in order to further shape their faith. Confessional documents present a specific approach to the truths revealed in Scripture. Nearly all Christian churches hold to two ancient creeds: the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed. This is true even of churches that reject even the idea of using creeds as 'tests of faith'; on the whole they uphold the same truths spoken in the Creeds.

What Is the Parousia?

parousia : (Greek; a "coming" or "arrival".) For Christians, the term means the return ("second coming") of Christ during the end times. When? Who knows... Christians have debated the second coming since just after the first coming. The mainstream of Christian thought see the parousia as the End itself, with His second return marking the completion of a Kingdom of God which has already started and has been foreshadowed constantly since Christ's first return. Others, called 'chiliasts' (from a Greek word for 'thousand'), believe Christ will reign on earth for a thousand years before a final confrontation brings in the Kingdom. Many modern fundamentalists, many evangelicals, and a surprisingly large portion of those in the more established churches, are chiliasts, and they've been there almost from the start. The ancient creeds don't mention timing. They simply assert that "He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His Kingdom will have no end" (Nicene Creed). Between then and now, Christ is with us through the work of the Holy Spirit.

What Is Dispensationalism?

dispensationalism : a way of viewing the history of divine action and interaction with humans recorded in the Bible. The best-known version of dispensationalism is that which was made popular by the Scofield Reference Bible (orig. 1909) and developed by John Nelson Darby (1800-1882). It divides history into eras or 'dispensations': the eras of innocence, conscience, civil government, promise, law, grace, and the Kingdom. In each, God puts human obedience to the test in a different way, revealed by God. In each, of course, we fail the test. Eventually, the last 'dispensation' will end, and the Lord will dispense judgement in His thousand-year earthly reign.

There are many problems with dispensationalism. It creates 'eras' out of nowhere, then overplays the importance of each era and exaggerates main 'themes' for each era. It only faintly touches on how much alike each 'era' really is. It has all the difficulties of other millenialist/chiliastic teachings (based on thousand-year time frames), plus those of having a rigid and fixed view of history. It is also used by some to defend dominionism. It is found almost entirely among US-based fundamentalist churches and their offshoots worldwide.