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Page Uncial
The Greek characters of upper
case: ABGDE, etc. Different copies of Greek manuscripts appear in Uncial form.
Minuscules are the lower case letters of the Greek alphabet
order and rank.
Unitarianism
A theological movement that
came of age during the colonial period in the U. S. and holds to the unity of
God by denying the Trinity, the deity of Jesus, and the deity of the Holy Spirit. Unitarians
teach the unity of God while holding open the opportunity for individuals within
the denomination and in some cases entire congregations to profess a more traditional
Christian faith. Unitarians do not emphasize creeds or confessions and promote
freedom of thought. They often profess to have no dogma. Unitarians also
generally believe that the whole of humanity will be included within the kingdom
of God. Universalism
The teaching
that all people will eventually be saved through the universal redemption of Jesus.
Some universalists teach that even the devil, after a time of punishment, will
be redeemed. Vellum
A material used for writing,
like paper. It was made from animal skins, usually from cattle, sheep, goats,
and antelope. The hair was scraped off of the skins, then they were washed, smoothed,
and dressed with chalk. Vellum was used until the late Middle Ages until paper
was introduced into Europe from China via Arab traders. Vellum lasted longer than
papyrus and was tougher, but the edges sometimes became torn and tattered. The
two oldest parchment manuscripts are the Codex Vaticanus (from Egypt) and the
Codex Sinaiticus. Venial Sin
In Catholicism, a sin but not as bad as mortal Sin. It lessens the grace of God within
a person's soul. Vicarious Atonement
The theory of the atonement
which states that Christ's death was "legal." It satisfied the legal justice
of God. Jesus bore the penalty of sin when he died on the cross. His
death was a substitution for the believers. In other words, he substituted
himself for them upon the cross. Jesus hung in our place as He bore our
sin in his body on the cross. See 1
Pet. 2:24. Word, The
In Greek the word for "word" is
logos. It is used in many places, but of special interest is how it is used of
Jesus. In John 1:1 it says,
"In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was
God." The Word is divine and the word "became flesh and dwelt among us" (John
1:14). In other words, Jesus is the Word of God who represents God to us and
us to God.
The term is also used to describe the Scriptures (Rom. 9:6; Heb. 4:12), Christ's
teaching (Luke 5:1), and
the gospel message (Acts 4:31).
The Word of God:
- is inspired: "All scripture is inspired
by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training
in righteousness" (2 Tim. 3:16).
- is truth: "all thy commandments are truth"
(Psalm 119:151).
- makes free: "...If you abide in My word, then
you are truly disciples of mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall
make you free" (John 8:32).
- produces faith: "So faith comes from hearing,
and hearing by the word of Christ" (Rom. 10:17,
NASB).
- judges: "For the word of God is
living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as
the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge
the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Heb. 4:12).
Worship
The obligation of God's creation
to give to God all honor, praise, adoration, and glory as holy and divine creator.
Worship is to be given to God only (Exodus 20:3; Matt. 4:10). Jesus,
being God in flesh (John 1:1,14 ; Col. 2:9), was worshipped
by some (Matt. 2:2,11;
14:33; John 9:35-38; Heb. 1:6). Wrath
Biblically, it is the divine judgment
upon evil. It does not merely mean that it is a casual response by God to ungodliness,
but carries the meaning of hatred, revulsion, and indignation. God is by nature
love (1 John 4:16), however,
in justice God must punish sin. The divine response to evil is referred to as
the wrath of God. Some Christians tend to equate the wrathful God with the Hebrew
Bible, while associating love with the God of the New Testament. This is an unfortunate
tendency, in that it tends to obsure the continuity of biblical teaching about
God.
Yin and Yang
A dualistic
philosophy of passive and active, good and bad, light and dark, positive and negative,
male and female, etc., and that they are in opposition, each is part of the whole
and works together. Yoga
A philosophical
as well as physical way of life emphasizing harmony of body and mind. The
philosophy of yoga is based in Eastern Metaphysical beliefs. The goal of the
philosophy is to help a person become balanced in mind and body and attain self-enlightenment.
Yoga, apart from its metaphysical teachings, is beneficial to the body.
Zodiac
The stars
in the heavens divided into twelve main groups. Imaginary patterns are imposed
upon various star patterns as an aid to remember the stars. In Astrology, the Zodiac signs signify personality types
for the people born under them. The Zodiac signs are determined by durations
of time in the calendar. The twelve signs are Aries, Taurus, Gemini,
Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces.
1. Adapted from Baker's Dictionary of Theology, p. 470.
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