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As noted in the question, these are layman's terms. However, I am providing links to more official definitions, which have been used as source material.
Definition of the term "Inspired": The doctrine of the inspiration of the Bible means that the Bible in the original documents is God-breathed, that it is a divine product, and, because it is divine, the ...
26
A brief look at any harmony of the Gospels will immediately point out an obvious fact - namely, Matthew, Mark, and Luke go over a lot of the same ground, but John is very different.
For the uninitiated, a harmony of the Gospels is a work that attempts to show the life of Christ in chronological order, pointing of the reference texts.
The number of ...
24
Word origin
As stated in previous answers, the "X" in "Xmas" comes from the Greek word for Christ, Χριστός. However, since precision is important, I want to clarify when the abbreviation was first used in English. The 1511 date comes from the Oxford English Dictionary entry for ''Xmas'', which reads:
1551 in E. Lodge Illustr. Brit. Hist. (1791) I. 145 ...
23
In the Old Testament, priests would appeal to God on behalf on sinful men through sacrifices. Jesus is the Great High Priest who 1) offered Himself as a sacrifice once for all and 2) who ever lives to intercede for us.
The old priesthood order was of the line of Aaron, but in 70 A.D. in the destruction of Jerusalem, the ancestral records were destroyed, ...
22
Important Question
What purpose could the prohibition against drunkenness possibly have to a group of people who were unable to get drunk?
If the wine wasn't really wine, then how could they get drunk? Noah certainly got drunk and appears to have passed out from wine. This could be the result of wine fermenting faster in the post-flood environment than ...
21
First, the Bible is the entire collection of Jewish scripture (known by Christians as the "Old Testament") and Christian scripture (which also includes the "New Testament") as recognized by modern Christian groups. Most Protestant Christian groups recognize 66 "books" (or individual pieces of literature) as their Bible. Greek Orthodox and Catholics ...
21
"See" comes from the Latin word sedes, which means "seat" or "chair".
"Holy See" is Sedes Apostolica (lit. "Apostolic Chair") in Latin.
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) gives this etymology for see, n.1:
Etymology: < Anglo-Norman see, sed, sied, siet, sez, siez, Anglo-Norman and Old French se, sie, Middle French sie, siet dwelling (c 1100), ...
20
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 male missionaries must be found worthy to be ordained an ...
20
The word for "scripture" in the Greek text is (ἡ) γραφή, often occurring in the plural, (τῆς) γραφῆς, which literally means "writing(s)." The word occurs approximately 50 times in the New Testament (depending on the manuscript used it is 50 or 51) and it seems pretty clear to me from a word search that this almost exclusively refers to the Old Testament ...
20
What does “see” in “The Holy See” mean?
Each bishop and archbishop has the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of an episcopal see. The Roman Pontiff (Pope) has complete jurisdiction of the Holy See, also known as Vatican City.
An episcopal see is, in the usual meaning of the phrase, the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
Phrases concerning ...
19
Great Britain monks used "X" for "Christ" nearly a thousand years ago. They used "X" for "Christ" while transcribing manuscripts in Old English. They did so because the Greek word for Christ, ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ, begins with the letters "chi" (or “X”) and "rho" (or "P"). And the monks used either "X" or "XP" in writing as an abbreviation for "Christ." The first ...
18
Protestants believe in a concept called the "priesthood of all believers". Check out Wikipedia's article on the Universal priesthood.
The basic belief is that each Christian has the authority to preach and teach, read and interpret the Bible, and confess their own sins directly to Jesus. We still have professional clergy, but without formal sacraments to ...
17
We need to be careful thinking that our English (or other language) translations always reflect God's Words perfectly. The word 'Ark' when referring to Noah's ark or the ark of bullrushes that Moses was placed into is the hebrew word 'teebah'. The word used for the Ark of the Covenant is 'arown'. I believe that there are similarities between the two as ...
17
In the US, a Bible college is typically a 2 year or 4 year school that specializes in Christian undergraduate education. (typically with programs like Biblical Studies, youth ministry, things like that, rather than traditional math/science/teaching programs you'd find at say a Christian liberal arts school)
A seminary is typically a graduate school that ...
17
Yes, the Catechism and Canon Law are two separate things
The Catechism is a teaching tool for the bishops and various catechists to instruct the faithful. (Why do we receive the Eucharist? What makes Easter so special?) The first Catechism worthy of the name came out of the Council of Trent (1545 - 1563). The more recent one, linked to on-line with some ...
16
Biblical and systematic theology are two different ways of studying the Bible. The main difference is what the theologies study.
Biblical theology is focused on studying a portion of the Bible and how that relates to the rest of the Bible. An example may be specifically studying a portion of Isaiah. The person studying may look back at what led up to one ...
16
The most useful term is one of those you already mentioned: non-trinitarian.
The technically correct—but practically speaking useless—term is unnitarian. As you already found out, the latter quickly becomes confusing due to its overlap with a specific denomination that has other theological (in)distinctives. There is one more related term, Arianism, which ...
15
An ark isn't a boat - it is a place of refuge - a container that protects things.
Jews place their Torahs in an "ark" - a special box made to preserve the contents.
The ark of the covenant was a box that protected and preserved the 10 commandments, Aarons rod, and an omer of manna.
More importantly, despite the fact that when you say "ark" most people ...
15
Short Answer: When we say "God is omnipotent" we mean "He has the power to do whatever He pleases". There are other definitions, such as "capable of doing anything man can think up", but by such definitions He would not be considered "omnipotent".
Semantics
As indicated in the wikipedia post you linked, there are many definitions for the word omnipotent. ...
15
The Jewish Historian Alfred Edersheim seems to have done a fair bit of research on this subject. Basically, the subject is far more complex than a simple 10%, and would usually have amounted to more under Old Testament law. In fact, I am not sure I fully understand what Edersheim has explained—but that helps to convey just how complex it really was.
The ...
15
"Amen" is a Hebrew word that stems from the word aman, which means "to be faithful, support, or confirm." The word "amen" actually means, "so be it," or "truly."
The Catholic definition agrees.
’Amen itself is an interjection used to agree with, affirm, approve,
or emphasize something else that has been said. Thus when Jesus begins
certain sayings ...
13
The wording of that creed has caused confusion among untold thousands of people over the past millennium and across scores of languages. For as much consternation as it has spawned, the intended meaning is really very simple.
The word catholic in the a Apostle's Creed is being used as an adjective, not a proper name! A quick English dictionary search will ...
13
Catholic version
Priest The biblical order of presbyters. One who conducts sacrifices
Vicar, a priest who is the bishop's helper
Dean (arch-priest) a priest who is designated by the bishop to oversee a number of parishes
Monsignor, a title given by a Bishop to an exemplary priest.
Pastor The priest who is in charge or a parish, he may have associate ...
13
Not really sure it is enough for an answer, but feels too long for a comment; as with here, it primarily seems to be people who feel that the label "Christian", regardless of it's origin and literal meaning, has too many associations (perhaps more in the people they interact with than themselves).
As an example, there are phrases often used in media and ...
13
"Evangelical" is certainly difficult to pin down! The Encyclopedia of Christianity says
[In America] it covers a wide range of not completely harmonious uses, from the Pentecostal churches to the peace churches, Missouri Synod Lutherans, Southern Baptist Convention, Holiness movement (eg Church of the Nazarene), charismatic groups (including Roman ...
13
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 ...
12
An attempt at a generic Protestant version. Note that these are guidelines, and additional tradition-specific versions should be consulted!
Clergy:
Priest One who conducts the rituals that mediate between God and man.
Pastor From a word meaning 'shepherd', one who 'watches over' a church, manages it, and tends to its members. Because of the shepherd ...
12
It means "We Have a Pope!"
Usually the media declares this as soon as it sees white smoke, but the proper announcement is actually given by the Cardinal Protodeacon a short time later. Here is the English text of the full announcement, from the recent election of Pope Francis:
I announce to you a great joy: We have a pope!
The most eminent and most ...
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