Chapter 1 (Introduction) Key Terms, Verses and Players

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Ecumenism

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The push to foster unity among various Christian traditions that disagree on key doctrinal issues.

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Evangelicalism

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A mid-twentieth-century Protestant movement that sees the essence of Christianity as the gospel: salvation comes by grace through faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ.

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Fundamentalism

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An early twentieth-century Protestant movement that sought to defend orthodox Christianity against the challenges of liberalism, modernism, and Darwinism by requiring strict adherence to a set of 'fundamental' doctrines.

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Gnosticism

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A second century heretical Christian movement that taught that the material world was created and maintained by a lesser divine being, that matter and the physical body are inherently evil, and that salvation can be obtained only through an esoteric knowledge of divine reality and the self-denial of physical pleasures.

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Imago Dei

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From the Latin for the 'image of God'; the idea that human beings were created in God's likeness.

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Metaphysics

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The branch of philosophy that investigates the ultimate nature of reality.

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Moral Majority

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A late twentieth-century political and religious movement founded by Jerry Falwell to further Christian ideals through conservative politics; namely, promoting laws that protect religious expression in public education and that restrict abortion on demand.

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Moralistic Therapeutic Deism

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A term coined by sociologist Christian Smith in reference to the shallow beliefs of many young Christians in the 21st century; the belief that God loves everyone and wants them to be happy.

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Narcissism

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The love of or obsession with oneself; selfishness; self-centeredness.

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Shalom

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From the Hebrew for 'peace, prosperity, and wellness'; implies harmony in creation and with one's neighbors as well as a right relationship with God.