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The term "Elder" actually has two (related) meanings among Latter-Day Saints: first, it's an office in the Priesthood, which all worthy male members can attain. It doesn't imply any leadership, just certain duties, responsibilities, and privileges associated with being an Elder in the Priesthood. All missionaries must be found worthy to be ordained an ...

There are two senses In the benign sense, a cult is any minority group with shared beliefs or practices that intentionally deviate from the majority. The connotation is one of foreignness and friction with a larger group. In the malignant sense, the psychological perspective is generally applied, and there actually is set of criteria (a "formula") for ...

Cult is not an easy word to define. In popular culture usage, it is often used to refer to any "group whose beliefs or practices are considered abnormal or bizarre"1. This easily explains the bulk of the general usage, particularly by media. It is an easy label to slap on any group small enough if their practices are abnormal or bizarre enough to attract ...

Perhaps the greatest difference between mainstream Christianity and LDS theology lies in this point: The mainline definition of "divinity" includes "Within Christianity it belongs to God alone". Since the "mainstream" understanding of who Christ is is that Jesus is God, not a physical/spiritual son of God, this bears on the doctrine of the Trinity. ...

"Veneration" and "worship" are imprecise terms. The precise terms are: Dulia: a theological term signifying the honor paid to the saints. Hyperdulia: a theological term signifying the honour paid to Mary the mother of Jesus. Latria: a theological term signifying the honour paid to God. "Veneration" is commonly associated with dulia and hyperdulia; ...

I think that's considered His passive will as opposed to His active will ...the will is the intellectual appetite. But in the intellect there are two powers--the active and the passive. Summa Theologica Question 83 article 4 objection 3

The word professing means "to declare openly". So a "professing Christian" is one who declares their faith openly. This leads to the conclusion that the opposite of a professing Christian is one who does not announce his or her faith. They may believe and practice their Christianity in private. Christianity Today recently divided Christians into five ...

There is no universally accepted terminology for this idea. While some circles have distinctions they make, the lines between them and the terminology are not ubiquitous. Whatever terms you use, you would do well to define what you mean by them as part of your own content. That being said, the most common terms I have heard are Will of Decree and Will of ...

Interesting question. From what I can tell 'brother' if the most common term, followed by saints and believers, far behind in second place. Christian is what outsiders called the believer so it is last. Here are the hits based on the greek words; Χριστιανός Christiania; Christian 3  πιστός pistos -believers,faithful 53 ἅγιος hagios - saints 61 ἀδελφός ...

Summary: As you noted, the concept of a "personal relationship with Jesus" could be argued from Scripture, but it is certainly not emphasized in any way. Relationship with God is almost exclusively described in Scripture as a communal experience. The emphasis on "personal relationship" is a modern emphasis, and is rooted more in Enlightenment thinking ...

Yes they do have different meanings, though not consistently. Joseph Fielding Smith declared about the fall: I never speak of the part Eve took in this fall as a sin, nor do I accuse Adam of a sin. … This was a transgression of the law, but not a sin … for it was something that Adam and Eve had to do! -Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, ...

The two terms are often used interchangeably, in line with John's declaration that "sin is the transgression of the law." (1 John 3:4) However, there is at least one significant point in LDS doctrine where the two terms are treated as distinct. The second Article of Faith states: We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for ...

There is no single definition of "cult". There are several definitions of which I am aware, and I can't say any of them are necessarily more right than any others. Words only have meanings insofar as people agree to give them the meanings that they do. So we can't say one of these definitions is right and the other is wrong. We can just say they are ...

Just to add another version I have mostly heard: Sovereign Will and Moral Will Here's a really good article for reference - http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/gods-moral-will-and-sovereign-will In summary, God's sovereign will, will be accomplished and cannot be changed. His moral will consists of morals He has prescribed for us, but His moral will can ...

In the first letter from John, the first chapter, there something that could be interpreted as "personal relationship", with God and Jesus. And truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. [...] If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as ...

The distinction is not between professing christians and non-professing Christians, but between professing Christians and non Christians. The idea of professing is using your mouth to say words that identify you as a Christian. The term professing Christian is often used in contexts where the actual status of a persons faith or beliefs are in doubt. A ...

Early Christians were often exhorted to "test every Spirit" to see if it was of God. (1 John 4:1). When the Bible was first received, there was very little question of whether or not spirits were at work, but rather which ones. For this reason, the question "Is it God" isn't particularly within the domain of Scripture - or even doctrine. God is assumed ...

Jesus spoke of this personal relationship on at least two occasions. Here is text from John 14:15-26 with my emphasis: 15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows ...

TL; DR - essentially, it is a method of praising God and bringing him glory. This article addresses the very issue: There are two main things that we do when we bless the Lord. The first is synonymous with giving thanks and praise. Some translations actually say, “Give thanks to the Lord,” where others say, “Bless the Lord.” So, blessing the Lord is ...

To bless is related to to consecrate. Both imply an act of recognizing and/or declaring and devoting something to have a particular purpose or holiness. If a father blesses his son's decision in a matter, we mean that the father supports and acknowledges the decision. If a priest blesses a marriage, he declares, with the approval of the whole Church in the ...

The following is sort of an answer to your question: the desert fathers (from the beginnings of monasticism) thought a lot about the beginning of sin. Sin has its origins in "logismoi," thoughts in our mind floating hither and thither, often from whence we know not. "Logismoi" is usually translated as "thoughts," though maybe in this usage it would be more ...

It is what satan throws at you if you bite you sin. How to stop it. Don't take the bate. There is no such thing as sudden sin. It happen just like this you hear it in your ear, or you see it with eyes, then you want it with you heart so much you say it out your mouth then you do it "sin", seed time, it grew, then bam harvest you just did the will of satan. ...

Temptation is one of those words that shows just how.... difficult English can be. I am assuming that when you talk about the temptations and Christ, you are talking about the temptations that were apart of his 40 day fast and the ones immediately following that fast? Now the scripture in Matthew reads: Matt 4: 1,3 ) 1. Then was Jesus led up of the ...

Speaking from experience; in general use I would advise against it. It's used more as a curse than a description, as such it does not achieve anything other than anger, seperation, contention and hate. As a technical description all abrahamic religions (IE christians, jews, and muslims) would fall under the term cult. People generally associate a negative ...

Yes, this is the same as "systematic theology". Systematics looks at the Bible in a logical fashion, whereas biblical theology looks at the Bible in its revealed order and tries to make sense of the overarching flow and history of redemption. Many commentators believe that systematics has nothing to do with exegesis or biblical theology, but nothing could be ...

I think the popularity of the phrase "personal relationship with Jesus", and "accepting Jesus into your heart" among evangelicals comes from the influence of a few evangelical figureheads in the past century such as Billy Graham, Bill Bright, and others. However, the concepts themselves - when understood correctly - can certainly be found in very explicit ...

I think it's based on when did people start to use the phrase about religious or other subjects. It's not really a church history, but a English language history. It turns out the earliestg quote another group found was in 1864, but popularized much more recently into a cliche: In this coming again of Christ by the Spirit, there is included also the ...