Christian beliefs

• Agape

  Selfless love (a key ethical teaching of Jesus Christ)
• Environment

  The surroundings in which plants and animals live and on which they depend
• Conservation

  Protecting something from being damaged or destroyed (e.g. the environment)
• Incarnation

  To take on flesh; when God became a human being as Jesus Christ
• Eschatology

  An area of Christianity that is concerned with life after death
• Baptism

  The Christian ceremony that welcomes a person into the Christian community
• Creationism

  The belief that the world was created in a literal six days and that Genesis is a scientific/historical account of the beginning of the world
• Atonement

  The action of restoring a relationship; in Christianity, Jesus' death and resurrection restores the relationship between God and human beings
• Heaven

  Place of eternal paradise where Christians hope to spend the afterlife
• Grace

  Undeserved love
• Natural Evil

  Suffering caused by natural events (e.g. earthquakes)
• Impersonal

  Not of human form
• Definition

  • Omnibenevolence: All-good
  • Omnipotence: All-powerful
• Reconciliation

  Restoring peace and friendship between individuals or groups
• Salvation

  Being saved from sin and the consequences of sin; going to heaven
• Purgatory

  A place where the souls of the dead are cleansed and prepared for heaven
• Sacrament

  An important Christian ceremony which is an outward sign of an inward blessing
• Vale of Soul-Making

  An environment in which human beings can develop a moral character by overcoming evil and suffering (e.g. become charitable by helping those in need)
• Theodicy

  A proposed solution to the Problem of Evil
• Stewardship

  Looking after something so it can be passed on to the next generation (e.g. the environment)
• Universalism

  The belief that because of the love and mercy of God everyone will go to heaven
• Begotten

  Born of
• Analogy

  A comparison between two things that have similarities
• Crucifixion

  Being nailed to a cross and left to die
• Pentecostalism

  A Protestant movement that puts special emphasis on a direct and personal relationship with God through the Holy Spirit
• Free Will

  Having the freedom to choose what to do
• Holy Spirit

  The Spirit of God, which gives the power to understand worship
• Satan

  The adversary'; one of God's angels who rebelled against the rule of God
• Repentance

  To say sorry for, and turn away from, any wrongdoing
• Transcendent

  Beyond time and space (a.k.a. metaphysical)
• Liberal

  Typically used to identify Christians who support a metaphorical interpretation of the Bible and uphold a more open and inclusive morality
• Ascension

  Going up into heaven ("The Ascension' refers to Jesus going up to Heaven)
• Trinity

  God as one being in three persons
• Confirmation

  The Christian ceremony that accepts a person who formally asks to become a member of the Church
• Humanity

  All human beings
• Sin

  Anything that prevents a relationship with God, either because the person does something they shouldn't, or neglects to do something they should
• Fundamentalist

  Typically used to identify Christians who support a literal interpretation of the Bible and uphold a traditional rule-based morality
• Day of Judgment

  God (as Jesus Christ) assesses a person's life and actions sending them to Heaven or Hell
• Resurrection

  Rising from the dead
• Moral Evil

  Suffering caused by humans (e.g. war)