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[German Version] The Bible Christians are a small denomination that emerged in 1815 from Wesleyan Methodism in the wake of William O'Bryan (1778–1868), a lay evangelist who refused to accept the discipline of preaching appointments in WesleyanMethodism. Their theology (Arminians: II) and organization remained Methodist in the Wesleyan (J. Wesley) sense. The Bi…

[German Version] designates the third person of the Holy Trinity in his capacity as “Creator Spirit.” In the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed the Holy Spirit (Spirit/Holy Spirit) is confessed as “sovereign, life- giving.” Traditional Christian theology sees an OT witness to the presence and operation of the Spirit at the beginning of creation (Gen 1:2; cf. Ps 33:6, “by the breath of his mouth”), and in the renewal of “the face of the earth” (Ps 104:29–30) and of “the house of Israel” (Ezek 37:1–14). In the NT the Holy Spirit is the …

[German Version] In 1982, following a 55-year period of reflection on these issues by the Faith and Order movement, the Commission for Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches completed the convergence paper Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry in Lima (Peru). The definitive text was submitted to the churches with a request for “an official response at the highest appropriate level of authority.” The text was soon translated into at least 30 languages. The nearly 200 responses were analyzed and outlined in the booklet Baptism, Eucharist, and Ministry 1982–1990. Report on the…

[German Version] Faith and Order is one of the principal streams contributing to the modern ecumenical movement. Springing from the World Missionary Conference at Edinburgh in 1910, it followed its own course until 1948, when it joined with Life and Work to form the World Council of Churches, where its constitutional function is “to call the churches to the goal of visible unity in one faith and one eucharistic fellowship, expressed in worship and in common life in Christ, in order that the world may believe.” While practical cooperation for the purposes of evangelization may hav…

[German Version] I. Form Criticism – II. Theology – III. Liturgy – IV. Music I. Form Criticism 1. Old Testament Derived from the expression δόξαν λέγειν ( dóxan légein; cf. Ps 28:9 LXX), in the OT doxology denotes the liturgical act of paying homage to the deity, which in turn has its roots in the ceremonial of the royal court. Words and gestures express veneration, glorification, and exaltation of the addressee together …

[German Version] I. Religious Studies Wherever notions of “supernatural” anthropomorphic powers arise, so does the notion of spirit possession. A spirit can enter into a person’s body and sometimes supplant the spirit or soul (considered the same in many cultures) of the host’s body; often the spirit settles in the host’s head or on his or her shoulders. It is then described as being “in the saddle” and “riding” its human means of transportation. If a relationship develops between the spirit and the …

[German Version] I. Religious Studies and History of Philosophy The dogmatic definition of the Holy Spirit as a person within the one divine substance (Trinity/Doctrine of the Trinity) presupposes not only a particular philosophical context but also a religio-historical horizon. A formative influence on the conceptualization of the Holy Spirit was exercised by the various anthropomorphic interpretations of elemental anthropological or normative qualities in the context of polytheistic interpretations of …

[German Version] I. Terminology The German word Gottesdienst (“worship,” lit. “service of God”) is attested since the 13th/14th century as a German translation of Latin cultus (Cult/Worship). It came into common use in the 16th century, especially in Luther’s works. Starting with an ethical understanding of the word, Luther himself used it as a technical term for the common celebration of the Word of God, as it evolved from the evangelical reform of the Catholic sacrifice (IV) of the mass. For centuries the term Gottesdienst remained limited to this specific form of worship of …