Lessing's Importance: The Ugly Broad Ditch

Gotthold Lessing

       Gotthold Lessing was truly a man of the Enlightenment.  Lessing lived a well accomplished life.  From working as a librarian to being a playwright of works that influenced German literature, being a literary critic,  a diplomat, and much more, Lessing did many things during his life.  On top of this, Lessing was a philosopher who made a great impact on theology during his day. 

      Much of Lessing's philosophy was a product of the Enlightenment.  Lessing's epistemology began with man and man's ability to reason.  From this, Lessing took an empiricist position on miracles and reports of miracles.  In order for a miracle to be useful as truth, one must experience it.  Accounts of miracles are not worth anything.  With reason and experience at the forefront of the discovery of truth, Lessing believed that historical accounts are not really profitable for truth, because they only record what is probable.  Alongside of this idea, Lessing argued that the Scriptural accounts are not useful for determining truth either.  Therefore, Scripture cannot be used as a foundation for the truth of Christianity. 

      To Lessing it was not as important that Christianity is true, as it was that Christianity yields good fruits within people.  This is very similar to the way liberal Christian theology promotes Christianity today.  Lessing's writings on theology and truth made an impact in the Enlightenment which still affects today's view of truth and religion.  Knowing where these philosophies of truth, and the importance of truth in religion, come from leads to a better understanding of modern theology, where it came from, and how to deal with it. 

How the Reformation Moved The Church Forward

Martin Luther

     

      After the Church rose in power within the Roman Empire, the bishops of Rome developed an identity of authority.  Since Peter was the leader of the Church in Rome, bishops of Rome believed they succeeded Peter and were therefore more important than bishops elsewhere.  Pope Leo I (440-461 A.D.) expounded this idea of Petrine supremacy and the supremacy of the Pope.  As the bishop of Rome, Leo I claimed to be the successor of Peter as the vicar of Christ on Earth.  Following popes carried on this title.  As the Roman Catholic Church expanded, popes gained even more power.
      Very important to Roman Catholicism was and is tradition.  The Catholic Church of the Middle Ages viewed tradition as just important as the Scriptures.  Through the years of the Catholic Church's reign in the Middle Ages more and more became added to tradition.  Some of these additions included: the idea of purgatory, indulgences, that Catholic priests needed to intercede for believers, the promise of salvation by the pope, and the pope as God's representative on Earth.  Roman Catholicism also taught that the Bible needed to be taught by trained clergy. 
       In the sixteenth century a revolution began which is known as the Protestant Reformation.  Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk, found no hope in the stale works based Roman Catholicism.  As he read the Bible, he found that God reached down to man through his Son to provide a way to restore man's broken relationship with God.  Luther found that it was by grace alone through faith in Christ alone that one is reconciled to God and counted as righteous.  Luther's reading led him to see that the Catholic Church put barriers between people and God. 
      Seeing such a travesty, Luther stood up against the Catholic Church.  The Catholic Church made faith as something a priest must impart.  There was no personal devotion that would matter.  Everything had to go through the Catholic Church to go to God and vice verse.  Because of this, Luther nailed ninety-five theses onto his local cathedral's doors to stand up for the truth. 
      As part of these theses, Luther argued for the supremacy of the Bible, not the pope, as the authority over the believer.  Within Luther's writing one finds his condemnation of indulgences and Catholic teachings which make Sacraments and indulgences vital to salvation.  It is only by grace alone through faith that one is justified, argued Luther.  In Luther's conviction against Roman Catholicism, he translated the Bible into the vernacular German so that common laymen had the opportunity to read the Word of God. 
      The Protestant Reformation began with Luther and continued on by men like John Calvin and John Knox.  Central to the aim of the Reformation was to make faith personal.  Roman Catholicism placed to many bounds for believers and made faith focused on the actual structure of the church rather than a personal relationship with God.  Through the Reformation, bibles were translated into vernacular languages so that common people could read God's Word.  The Reformation pushed the Bible as the foundation for theology and opened faith to be experienced by the individual.  No longer could a system get in the way of a person's faith and relationship with God. 

The Importance of the Medieval Church

                                

      Constantine's conversion in 312 A.D. brought a dramatic change to Roman society.  Though Constantine made Rome tolerate Christianity, the Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire circa. 378 A.D.  Going from persecuted, to accepted, to authoritative, the Church experienced a rapid change over such a brief period of time.
      After gaining so much power in the Roman Empire, the Roman Catholic Church became the central governing body after the collapse of the Roman Empire in 410 A.D.  The collapse of the Roman Empire ushered in a time known as the Middle Ages, or the Medieval Period.  During this time, the Catholic Church was the most important source of spirituality throughout Europe.  The Catholic Church ruled in manners of spirituality and daily life.  Even though kings arose, the Medieval Period found itself in the hands of the Roman Catholic Church. 
      During the Middle Ages, spanning from 410-1400 A.D., the importance of the Catholic Church was great.  Though some believe that the Catholic Church stifled society and its progress during the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church made some great developments in Society.  Monasteries helped the sick and the poor as best as they could.  Many monks were copyists who reprinted great works from Antiquity.  In the Renaissance, these copies provided a way to go back to the classics.  Because of the monks work, these classics are available today. 
      In the eleventh and thirteenth century, faith became reasonable.  No longer would someone need to blindly accept what the Scriptures said.  Two great men of the High Middle Ages developed this change within the Church.  Anselm of Canterbury and Thomas Aquinas developed a method of study and use of logic called Scholasticism.  This method focused on the ability of people to develop logical and reasonable claims about the the Christian faith and its doctrines.  The components of this method include: posing a question, outlining the opposing sides of the topic, and making a decision based upon reason.  Reconciling faith and reason was the main purpose of this method. 
      Another important development that came through the Church in the Middle Ages was the founding of universities.  As mentioned earlier, Monasteries provided learning opportunities for children and those eager to learn.  By the tenth century, cathedrals became centers of learning where non-monastic clergy.  The cathedral schools mainly taught young men who meant to become clergy.  However, as these schools expanded, the cathedral schools became places of learning the classical liberal arts.  (1)
      Out of the cathedral schools evolved universities.  The university's purpose was to educate their students with the classical liberal arts including: reading, writing, logic, rhetoric, mathematics, astronomy, and music.  Universities equipped their students to carry professions in Law, Theology, or Medicine. 
      The Church's impact on the Medieval society was incredible.  Though the Catholic Church made some negative effects, the Church also made some great advancements.  During the Middle Ages, the Church brought learning back into the picture.  This learning followed after the classical approach of the Greeks and Romans.  Great men of the faith, Anselm and Aquinas, championed theology in making faith reasonable.  Today, universities follow a similar approach to learning as the Church provided in the High Middle Ages.  In the Middle Ages, the Church reigned and made an indelible mark on history. 
      For theology, the Medieval Church shines its importance on making faith reasonable.  Looking back through history, one sees the developments in theology.  These developments give insight into where the theology of today comes from.  Men like Anselm and Aquinas changed the way people viewed faith.  Having an understanding of their impact on the Medieval Church gives a better understanding of how they affect contemporary theology and how theologians can answer questions concerning faith and doctrine.







Sources:
(1)  Jackson J. Spielvogel. Western Civilization, Volume A: To 1500. (Boston, MA: Wadsworth, 2009).

The Importance of the Early Ecumenical Councils

      Before 300 A.D., most churches had very few documents outlining the faith.  In fact, churches were more localized than they were connected.  At this time the canon of Scripture did not exist, and churches were lucky to have portions of the New Testament Scriptures.  As a result of this localization and lack of canon, there was no universally accepted set of doctrines unifying the Early Church churches. The early ecumenical councils were very important to the solidification of key doctrines of the Christian faith.
      When the third century came to a close, it opened the fourth as a period of change for Christianity.  In 312, Emperor Constantine of Rome converted to Christianity after seeing a vision, which came true, of a banner of the cross leading him to victory in battle.  With Constantine's conversion came a dramatic shift for Christianity.  Though Rome persecuted Christianity before Constantine, Christianity suddenly became tolerated and promoted within the Roman Empire. At this time the Church began to take on a more episcopal structure. 
      After Constantine converted to Christianity, he noticed that there were many divisions within the Church and wanted to reunify the Christian Church.  One reason of the divisions was a debate over the divinity/humanity of Christ between followers of Arius who believed Jesus was fully human yet not divine, the followers of Docetism who viewed Christ as fully God yet only appearing human, and those who believed that Christ was fully human and fully divine.  In order to reunify the Church, Constantine called for all of the bishops of the surrounding areas to gather in Nicea (325 A.D.).  This council, known as the Council of Nicea, came together to place in writing the keystone doctrines of the Christian faith against heresies. 
      On top of the Council of Nicea there are six other ecumenical councils, namely: the Council of Constantinople (381), the Council of Ephesus (431), the Council of Chalcedon (451), the Council of Constantinople II (553), the Council of Constantinople III (680), and the Council of Nicea II (787).  All of these councils were reactions against heresies to defend the orthodox Christian faith. The ecumenical councils were and are important, because they helped define the core core doctrines of Christianity while exposing heresies as false doctrine.  At a time when the New Testament canon was scarce, the councils provided Christian orthodoxy for the Church and set the standard for Christendom. 
      Today, the ecumenical councils shine light into the the history of Christianity.  For the modern day theologian, the creeds provide insight into the integral doctrines of the faith.  Though the creeds are not inspired as Scripture, they are a witness to doctrines found within Scripture.  The council's creeds reveal the Church's effort to proclaim the timeless truths revealed in Scripture during a time of theological reaction to false teachings. 

How People Dealt With Faith From the Early Church Through the Enlightenment

            Throughout the history of Christianity, there is a discernable evolution of the idea of faith.  For instance, the Early Church dealt with faith in a different manner than the Medieval Church, as did the Medieval Church from the Church during the Reformation, and so on through the Enlightenment until today.  In this post, special attention is given to the Early Church, the Medieval Church, the time of the Reformation, and the Enlightenment.  All of these held different views of faith. 

            To start off with, what did the Early Church do with the idea of faith?  The Early Church period was a tumultuous time for young Christendom.  Though Christians of this period lived the closest to the apostles and Christ, knowing solid doctrines was hard, because the Scriptures were not circulated well and there was no set canon until the fourth century.  Because of this lack of a foundation, the Early Church focused on making faith normative.  Normative in the sense that the church fathers solidified doctrine. 

            In the Early Church one easily finds debates between Christian leaders as to which doctrines are sound.  An example of this is Ignatius' attack on Docetism which held that Jesus Christ was fully divine, but only appeared to be human.  Also within the Early Church, leaders created creeds that expressed basic and essential orthodox doctrines within Christianity.  The Apostle's Creed and Chalcedonian Creed are examples of this.

            During the Early Church, the church fathers wrote vast amounts of letters and books explaining the Christian faith.  This included men like Ignatius, Irenaeus, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Augustine of Hippo, and Gregory the Great.  The works of both Tertullian and Augustine still impact today's theology.  Among these works are Augustine's Confessions and On the Trinity. 

            Towards the middle of the sixth century, a shift occurred in how people viewed faith.  In the Medieval Church, Christianity conceived two great theologians and philosophers: Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109) and Thomas Aquinas (1224-1274).  At this time, people began to view faith as something that needed to be reasonable.  Both Anselm and Aquinas were determined to make faith reasonable.  Aquinas believed that reason, apart from faith, could lead one to grasp spiritual truths like the Trinity and the incarnation of Christ. 

            Through efforts of Anselm and Aquinas, Scholasticism reached its zenith in the High Middle Ages.  Scholasticism was the idea of reconciling faith and reason.  The Scholastic method included asking a question, discussing all the sides of arguments about the subject, and then arriving at a conclusion based upon reason.  Through Scholastic methods, Aquinas and Anselm both made proofs of the existence of God.  This was the method through which the Medieval Church made faith reasonable. 

            In the sixteenth century, the idea of faith transformed yet again.  At this time, the Protestant Reformation began.  Before the Reformation, people relied heavily upon educated theologians to provide them with information about how to live.  Because the printing press was not invented yet, Bibles were in great demand.   Most of the Bibles were owned by either monasteries or leaders of churches who could use them to teach others.  The everyday layman did not usually have a chance to own a copy of his own to study. 

            With the Reformation came the push of making faith personal.  Martin Luther led this by translating the Bible into the vernacular of the Germans.  Translating the Scriptures into the vernacular of the day opened up many doors for faith to become personal, because more and more people were able to dig into the Scriptures themselves.  The Reformation pushed faith into the realm of the individual where people could ask what faith really means and develop a relationship with God themselves instead of needing a priest to teach them. 

            As the Medieval Church strived in making faith reasonable, the Enlightenment period (c. 1700-1800) made faith bound to reason.  During the Enlightenment, unaided human reason became the judge of truth.  Two different groups appeared out of this time period: the Rationalists, and the Empiricists.

             Rationalists believed that human reason was the source of finding truth, because sense experiences are erroneous.  Empiricists believed that only sense experiences provided truth, because brains only image that which is sensed.  Both of these groups took faith and ultimately threw it out the door, because neither group could prove knowledge from faith through their epistemologies.  Reason became the norm, where faith and metaphysics could not be considered knowledge.  Knowledge could only come from reason unaided by faith.  Man became the ultimate judge of truth rather than God. 

            Moving through the periods of Christianity until the nineteenth century, one finds a discernable transition among the different eras and how each one dealt with faith.  Each period came as a response to earlier periods.  Every new theology came as a response to earlier theologies.  In the big picture, one finds the truth of God (from the Early Church) replaced with the truth of man discovered by his "omnipotent" reason (from the Enlightenment). Knowing these transitions makes it easier to see where theologies of today come from.

The Most Important Church Fathers

           

           Between the first and fifth century A.D. many people influenced Christian theology.  Some brought clarification of doctrines through using the Scriptures, while others developed heresies by not using the Scriptures as their foundational source.  The church fathers were leaders of the faith from after the founding of the Church at Pentecost until the late fifth to early sixth century A.D. who made significant impacts on the Christian faith.  Important church fathers of this time include: Ignatius (died c. 107), Justin Martyr (c. 100-165), Irenaeus (c. middle second century), Tertullian (c. 160-225), Augustine of Hippo (354-430), and Gregory I (The Great) (c. 540-604).

            Ignatius was the Bishop of Antioch in Syria who lived during the time close to the New Testament writers.  Holding views similar to the writers of the New Testament, Ignatius carried a commitment to Christ and his physical birth, death, and resurrection.  Though the New Testament writes of local churches governed by elders of equal standing, Ignatius' letters recorded the growth of episcopal structure where a single bishop would rule over a city. (1)

            In Ignatius' letters one discovers most of Ignatius' teachings.  Ignatius wrote against two leading heresies of his day: the Ebionite heresy and Docetism.  The Ebionite heresy declared the Jewish regulations of the Old Testament as the way of salvation.  To combat this view, Ignatius said that one should actually reject the Jewish practices totally.  Docetism taught that Jesus was fully God, but only appeared to be man.  In his defense against Docetism, Ignatius affirmed the virgin birth of Jesus.  Ignatius also stated that the disciples touched the actual physical body of Christ after his resurrection. (2)   

            Justin Martyr was born in Palestine to Greek parents.  Throughout his life, stories of Christian martyrs strongly affected Justin Martyr, but he became a Christian by the influence of an older humble Christian.  To Justin Martyr, "Christianity was Platonism and Stoicism corrected and completed by the Bible and by the Logos that enlightens everyone." (3) Standing for the historical truth of Christ, Justin Martyr opposed Gnostic heresies.  Justin Martyr also stood against Marcionism, which held that Christianity should separate itself from Old Testament precedents.  Both Ignatius and Justin Martyr held the view that the Church is the true Israel.  Reformed Theology of today holds a similar view. 

            Irenaeus studied under the apostolic father Polycarp while living in Asia Minor.  In Who's Who in Christian History, Irenaeus is noted as "one of the most important Christian writers of the second century." (4)  Succeeding Polycarp as bishop of Lyons, Irenaeus rebuked Gnostic heresies.  He was the first to compile four Gospels, some of the apostolic writings, and the Old Testament as canon.  Irenaeus believed in the authority of faith stemming from the apostles directly through the elders.  Irenaeus founded his theology more heavily in the Scriptures than the later Greek church fathers.  (5)

            Tertullian spent his whole life in Carthage.  Growing up, he received the best possible education and became a very well educated man.  In his thirties, Tertullian converted to Christianity and taught at his local church.  Tertullian made an incredible impact on Christian theology.  His works played major roles in the ecumenical councils and in the development of Augustine of Hippo's theology. 

            Some of Tertullian's theology include: God as trinitas (three persons in one substance), the hypostatic union of Christ (both His human and divine natures), man's subjection to original sin, and Christ's virgin birth and resurrection. (6)  Though Tertullian viewed some Apocryphal books as revelation, Tertullian viewed all of the books which make up the present canon of Scripture as authoritative texts.  Tertullian promoted a lot of the views which are considered orthodoxy today. 

            The search for truth from philosophy dominated Augustine of Hippo's life until the age of thirty-three when he converted to Christianity and sought baptism.  After conversion, Augustine became the bishop of Hippo Regius, a coastal town in the Roman province of Numidia.  One of Augustine's great works is his book titled: Confessions.  In this journal, Augustine examined his Christian walk.  Confessions also portrays a theologically sound and full view of man.  Another important text from Augustine is his work titled: On the Trinity.  This major work of Augustine's brought the doctrine of the trinity to its completion. (7)

            Throughout Augustine's time as bishop, he refuted heresies within the church and attacks from outside the church.  In 311 A.D. the Donatist church formed under the idea that sacraments served or performed by an unholy bishop were not valid.  Augustine wrote that man does not give the sacraments their effect, but rather it is God who graces them.  Though the Donatists believed they were the "pure church," Augustine refuted this by showing that there will always be weeds mixed in the wheat before final separation at harvest.  (8)

            In the beginning of the fifth century, Rome was attacked by the barbaric King Alaric.  Pagans blamed Christians for this suffering and devastation, because they turned away from the gods of Old Rome.  Augustine, over a period of twenty years, wrote a book titled The City of God, in a collection of twenty-two books which refuted the attack of the pagans.  His book describes a biblical view of history.  (9)

            Another heresy Augustine attacked was that of Pelagianism and Semi-Pelagianism.  Pelagianism views humans as good by nature and capable of perfection apart from God.  Pelagius criticized Augustine's view of the dependence of man on God's grace.   In Augustine's attack against Pelagianism and Semi-Pelagianism, Augustine outlined the following doctrines: Adam was not mortal before the Fall of Humanity, all of mankind is born with original sin as transmitted through Adam, even infants need the remission of sins, the will and grace of God is sovereign over man, man can only do good out of the grace of God, and perfection is not attained in this life. (10)

            Augustine of Hippo is one of the most important church fathers.  Many view Augustine as second only to Paul.   His theology impacted not only his time period, but it still impacts western culture and theology today.  It is because of Augustine that the grace of God is the central theme of the gospel in western theology. 

            Gregory I is the last of the great church fathers.  Gregory believed in the verbal inspiration of Scripture.  For him, it was not important to try to know who the writers of books of the Bible actually were.  Along with this belief, Gregory thought that sin might be forgiven on the basis of repentance.  This idea led to a "mechanical theory of penance and indulgences," which kept its prevalence throughout the Medieval Church. (11)

            Gregory became the Pope when the emperor deserted Rome.  After the death of Gregory, people viewed the Pope as the chief bishop of the West.  Throughout his time in Rome, Gregory tried to extinguish the remaining strands of Arian heresy in Rome and reunite the Eastern and Western church.  On top of this, Gregory wrote many books containing sermons, views of the pastoral life, and expositions on Scripture. (12)

            All of these church fathers made great impacts on Christianity and theology.  Some of them did not promote the best of doctrines, but each of them was nonetheless important in shaping Christian Theology.  The most important of the church fathers were Tertullian and Augustine of Hippo.  These two men made an indelible mark on the study of the Scriptures and central doctrines.   

           

*Sources*:

1. J. Newton. eds. J.D. Douglas, P.W. Comfort, and D. Mitchell. Who's Who in Christian History. (Wheaton, Il.: Tyndale House, c1992). Libronix Digital Library System.

2. Ibid

3. A. Cabaniss. eds. J.D. Douglas, P.W. Comfort, and D. Mitchell. Who's Who in Christian History. (Wheaton, Il.: Tyndale House, c1992). Libronix Digital Library System.

4.  J. Newton. eds. J.D. Douglas, P.W. Comfort, and D. Mitchell. Who's Who in Christian History. (Wheaton, Il.: Tyndale House, c1992). Libronix Digital Library System.

5. Ibid

6. K.J. Bryer. eds. J.D. Douglas, P.W. Comfort, and D. Mitchell. Who's Who in Christian History. (Wheaton, Il.: Tyndale House, c1992). Libronix Digital Library System.

7.  J. Newton. eds. J.D. Douglas, P.W. Comfort, and D. Mitchell. Who's Who in Christian History. (Wheaton, Il.: Tyndale House, c1992). Libronix Digital Library System.

 
8. Ibid

9. Ibid

10. Ibid

11. D.S. Cushman and J.D. Douglas. eds. J.D. Douglas, P.W. Comfort, and D. Mitchell. Who's Who in Christian History. (Wheaton, Il.: Tyndale House, c1992). Libronix Digital Library System.

12. Ibid.

*Note: All of my written work is from research from Who's Who in Christian History, which is found in the Libronix Digital Library System.  I researched these church fathers in other texts, but this source contained the best description found. 

SOLA SCRIPTURA: AN OVERVIEW OF THE TOPIC OF BIBLICAL AUTHORITY

            Biblical authority is the concept that the Bible is God's inspired, inerrant, and authoritative word.    Containing the full authority of God, the Bible stands as the revelation of God to the world and the source of truth on matters of life and eternity.  This is a significant topic, because it not only affects Christians, but all of creation as well.  If the Bible was not inspired by God, then the very foundation of Christian theology and Christianity would crumble to pieces.  However, since the Bible is God's word, those who reject it, reject their Creator and His authority.¹ To understand Biblical authority, one must first start with an understanding of its inspiration. 

            Throughout the Old and New Testaments, Scripture is referred to as inspired by God.  This is generally regarded as to the style of oration, but one can see that the written word carries the same authority.²  For instance, Jesus continually spoke truth in the form of "it is written."³  Jesus' adherence to the written form, the Old Testament (OT), speaks to its status as inspired and, thus, authoritative.  He spoke as if the OT was God's word, so it should be regarded as so.⁴  Paul, in 2 Timothy 3:16, ascribes the quality of being "breathed out by God" to Scripture.  In this sense, God did not just give them inspiration, but He spoke through them, using their own writing styles.⁵  Another verse that relays this message is 2 Peter 1:21.  "The Scripture's human authors were controlled by the divine Author, the Holy Spirit."⁶  Scripture did not come from man or his own creativity, but was "breathed out by God."⁷

            To Christians, the New Testament (NT) is regarded to be on the same level of authority as the OT.  One reason for this is that of the authority invested in those who wrote the books of the NT.  Jesus commissioned men as apostles who would watch over the founding of the Church. He promised them that the Spirit of truth would indwell and lead them.  They wrote the words of God to the Church as they were consciously moved by the Spirit.⁸  For the NT canon, the writings were chosen based upon whether the authorship was apostolic, whether they contained apostolic messages, whether they included claims to inspiration, and whether they were accepted by loyal churches.⁹  Also, Christians have historically thought that the Holy Spirit directed the canonization of the New Testament by God's providence.¹⁰

            Being "breathed out by God," the OT and NT contain God's mark of authorship, and therefore carry the authority of God Himself.  Naturally following the inspiration of Scripture is the notion of their infallibility.  Because God is perfect, His word stands perfect as well.  Our God is a God of truth.  He does not deceive.  His word is perfect and "profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:16).  Since it is His word, the Bible has authority over truth and matters of life.  As such, it stands as the normative rule over all creation. Christianity stands on this, as the authority of the Bible is the firm foundation that Christianity grounds its theology in.  As Christians it is important to truly believe that the Bible is the authoritative Word of God, because it is on the Bible that believers find truth and come closer to God, through the inner working of the Holy Spirit.   

Endnotes:

¹ Walter A. Elwell, ed., Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, (Grand Rapids: Baker              Book House Company, 1996), 55.

² Geoffrey W. Bromiley, ed., The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, (Grand Rapids:         William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1988), Volume 4, 365.

³ Merrill C. Tenney, ed., The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, (Grand Rapids:         Zondervan Publishing House, 1975), Volume 5, 308.

⁴ Walter A. Elwell, ed., Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House   Company, 1984), 139.

⁵ M.G. Easton, Easton's Bible Dictionary, (Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems Inc., 1996),       Libronix Digital Library.

⁶ J.F. Walvoord and R.B. Zuck, The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1983), Libronix Digital Library.

⁷ W.W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary: An Exposition of the New Testament,             (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1996), Libronix Digital Library. 

⁸ Merrill C. Tenney, ed., The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, 306.

⁹ Walter A. Elwell, ed., Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, 55.

¹⁰ Ibid., 61.

Bibliography:

Bromiley, Geoffrey W., ed. The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Grand Rapids:                 William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1988. Volume 4, 362-363.

Easton, M.G.  Easton's Bible Dictionary. Oak Harbor: Logos Research Systems Inc., 1996.           Libronix Digital Library.

Elwell, Walter A., ed. Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Book       House Company, 1996. 55-61.

Elwell, Walter A., ed.  Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House      Company, 1984. 136-145.

Tenney, Merrill C., ed. The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible. Grand Rapids:             Zondervan Publishing House, 1975. Volume 5, 304-310.

Walvoord, J.F., Zuck, R.B. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures.   Wheaton: Victor Books, 1983. Libronix Digital Library.

Wiersbe, W.W. The Bible Exposition Commentary: An Exposition of the New Testament.   Wheaton