Questions tagged [origin]
Questions about the origins of beliefs, concepts, and terminology
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The concept of being a "Vessel"?
I've been hearing more and more of this concept that humans are vessels, either controlled by the spirit of the world (Satan) or the Holy Spirit (if saved) and that there is no "independent self&...
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Why are the gospel writers called the "Four Evangelists" in traditional church commentaries / studies, but not in modern Study Bibles?
In viewing and scanning theological literature and commentaries of the past centuries, the four disciples who wrote the Gospels were called "evangelists", the "Four Evangelists". ...
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What is the basis for the belief "It is possible to have free-will and be incapable of sinning, but it is not possible to be created in that state"?
Some Christians believe that "It is possible to have free-will and at the same time be incapable of sinning, but it is not possible to be created in that state".
For example, in my recently ...
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Where does the idea that faith must be a condition for baptism originate from?
I have been told that I possess a very definitive view of faith in regards to baptism. So far as I believe faith in Jesus as personal Lord and Savior must be present at the time of baptism.
Hence my ...
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Did the religion of Christianity arise in AD70?
It has been suggested that the religion of Christianity arose as a result of the destruction of the Jewish temple and the Jewish priesthood by the Romans in the year 70. This date marks the inception ...
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Where did Christian monasteries originate from?
How did the Christians get the idea to create monasteries? As far as I know, monasteries, monks and nuns did not exist in the religion Jesus was born into and he did not ask, he did not even talk ...
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When were Protestants first called 'Protestants' and what were they, originally, protesting about?
I am asking, precisely, the first time when 'Protestants' were so called, either among themselves or by others. And what, precisely, they were in protestation regarding.
There is a previous question ...
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Can the Pentecostal/Charismatic belief in "territorial spirits" and "Strategic-Level Spiritual Warfare" be traced back to prior sources?
According to the Wikipedia article on Territorial spirit:
Territorial spirits are national angels, or demons, who rule over certain geographical areas in the world, a concept accepted within the ...
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Aquamation (alkaline hydrolysis) as alternative to burial or cremation; NY Catholic Conference and Catholic Church's current position?
Wikipedia's Desmond Tutu (the former archbishop of the Anglican_Diocese_of_Cape_Town, theologian, and known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist) says:
A Funeral Mass was held ...
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What are the earliest references to Jesus' birthday being December 25?
One of the arguments in favor of the traditional date of December 25 being the actual date of Jesus birth is that of church tradition.
Of course, it's possible that the early church just picked a date ...
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Are there Christians that believe that God is a substance?
If there are groups that believe God is a substance, where is such a belief based? When did this belief started?
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Does John 1:3 contradict Isaiah 44:24? [closed]
How could all things come into being and "apart or without" Him come into being that has come into being? This question is for those groups or others that deny the deity of Jesus Christ, who ...
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What is the origin of the "Fire Tunnel" ritual at Bethel Church?
According to Wikipedia:
Bethel Church is an American non-denominational hyper-charismatic megachurch in Redding, California with over 11,000 members. The church was established in 1952 and is ...
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Does "Lithium" have any meaning in Christianity?
I was surfing around and found the following from this link:
Erin from Tulsa, Ok: It is said that Kurt got inspired to this song,
during the time he lived at his friend Jesse Reed's family. Jesse's
...
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Does the concept of Godhead (one God, but multiple persons) predate Christianity? Can we find evidence of this concept in Judaism before 0 A.D.?
Was the concept of Godhead (one God, but multiple persons) known by the Jews prior to the advent of Christianity? Were there Jews that held a Binitarian, Trinitarian or similar "Godhead" ...
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What are the root causes of the recent clerical sexual abuse scandals within the Catholic Church?
What are the root causes of the recent clerical sexual abuse scandals within the Catholic Church?
A comment to this question (Is it known which seminary or seminaries produced the majority of Catholic ...
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What are the origins of St. Joseph's title "Guardian of Virgins"?
When and where did St. Joseph's title "Guardian of Virgins" originate?
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What are origins and when did the tradition of the Yule Candles come into existence as a Christian tradition?
What are origins and when did the tradition of the Yule Candles come into existence as a Christian tradition?
I stumble upon this Christmas Candle idea as a tradition. Can anyone help find more ...
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Does the Old Testament word Sheol have Greek or Hebrew origins?
The word "Sheol" is a fairly modern word used in modern translations of the Old Testament to represent hell, Hades or The Grave or 'The Place of the Dead'. It's the Hebrew's conception of ...
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When was the "Evangelist" title first applied to the Gospel authors?
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are known as the "Four Evangelists" because they are believed to have written the four canonical Gospels. The word "evangelist" means a messenger of ...
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What is the origin and basis of the idea of spending an hour each day in prayer?
In my society there is this odd thing being discussed or requested of people to pray i.e to spend one hour a day praying.
I do not understand why one needs to pray for one hour. The closest is the ...
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What are the oldest records of "gold teeth" miracles in Church History?
Claims of unexpected and spontaneous fillings or full restorations of teeth with gold are not unheard of in many faith healing services and other religious gatherings. For example, in a video recorded ...
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What is the earliest claim that Jesus Christ kept the law of Moses on behalf of others?
J N Darby and William Kelly, those responsible for the Plymouth Brethren movement in the mid to late 1800s, did not accept the concept that, during his earthly life, Jesus Christ kept the law on ...
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What are the origins and history of shaking, trembling, jerking, contorting, collapsing, fainting and similar manifestations in Christianity?
I'm interested in learning about the origins and evolution throughout Church history of manifestations such as shaking, trembling, jerking, contorting, collapsing or fainting attributed to the Holy ...
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Is the quote "there is no saint without a past and no sinner without a future" attributed to St. Augustine?
This quote is often attributed to St. Augustine, but I have not been able to find anything that cites where in his works he writes this, nor have I found any historical account where he says this in a ...
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Christ and the Believer Icon (Companion Icon) origin?
I was in Taize and besides finding it to be a rather interesting place, I found a lot of refreshing symbols there. Particularly the (based on Taize page) Christ and the Believer Icon (or the companion ...
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What is the first documented usage of "Prima Scriptura"?
While the concept may have existed far prior, a recent discussion has left me wondering - What is the earliest documented usage of the term "Prima Scriptura" in Christian writings. I am not interested ...
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What is the earliest documented usage of the term "Sola Scriptura"?
While the concept may have existed far prior, a recent discussion has left me wondering - What is the earliest documented usage of the term "Sola Scriptura" in Christian writings. I am not interested ...
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In Catholicism since when did willfully violating Sunday Mass obligation become mortal sin?
In the history of the Catholic Church, what led to the classification of willfully violating Sunday Mass obligation to be mortal sin? I'm looking for the origin of canon law, council document, ...
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Who first coined the term "Christian"?
It is correct that the term "Christian" was first used in Antioch, but not coined by just someone who made up nicknames.
Is it possible that St. Ignatius, the 3rd Bishop of Antioch coined this term?
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What is the origin and meaning of the rosary?
What is the origin and meaning of the rosary?
It’s a repetitive customary prayer of “Hail Mary, the lord’s prayer, glory be, and oh my Jesus”.
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What is the origin of "cruciform theodicy"?
The philosophical Problem of evil concerns the existence of evil, specifically how it can be that evil exists in the world even though God is said to be both omnipotent (all powerful) and ...
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What's the origin of this approach of trying to obtain meaning from the individual letters of Hebrew words?
In a recent question about the names of God, two answers from different people wrote that the letters of the Tetragrammaton by themselves give the meaning of:
The Hebrew letters mean “Behold the hand,...
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What is the origin of the "religion vs. relationship" dichotomy?
These days the word "religion" often has a bad connotation. Christians (including myself) often emphasize that they have a "relationship" with Jesus, not that they are "religious."
But this doesn'...
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Did St. James write the Divine Liturgy of St. James?
This is related to the question titled "What is the earliest written surviving liturgy?", but different in what it is asking. I was reading on Infogalactic the following.
The Liturgy of Saint James ...
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What is the origin of the cope?
I've heard that the cope originated as a raincoat the priests would wear in outdoor processions, and it was never dropped as part of priestly vestments per the mode of the Church in general, not to ...
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What is the origin of the term Prima Scriptura and the background against which it was defined?
Prima Scriptura is the doctrine that
canonized scripture is "first" or "above all" other sources of divine revelation. Implicitly, this view acknowledges that, besides canonical scripture, there ...
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What is the modern origin of the phrase "hell is the absence of God"?
I'm familiar with debates about the theological implications of the statement "Hell is the absence of God" (see here for instance), but I have not been able to find a source for the phrase nor in what ...
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What is the origin of the idea that Miriam, sister of Moses, was a virgin?
Church father Chromatius, writing around the turn of the 4th century, appeals to an interesting OT example to defend the perpetual virginity of Mary:
Remember that Miriam the prophetess of the Old ...
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What is a Catechism and when and how did they originate
One Protestant source says it wasn't until the 16th century that the word "catechism" came into use and it refers to the Heidelberg Catechism, first published in 1563 and approved by the Synod of Dort ...
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What is the earliest explicit mention of infant baptism?
The Bible describes several adults being baptized (notably Jesus and the Ethiopian eunuch that Phillip baptized). And while it mentions many others being baptized, it doesn't explicitly mention ...
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How do various Christian traditions view the expression "crossing over Jordan"?
John Bunyan's 'The Pilgrim’s Progress' (published 1678) makes reference to "crossing the River" in order to get to the Celestial City. Chapter 20 mentions that only Enoch and Elijah did not have to ...
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What is the earliest surviving reference to the Paschal Greeting?
It's common in some traditions to greet one another with a "Paschal Greeting" on Easter, such as "Christ is risen," with the response "He is risen indeed."
The custom seems to have originated in the ...
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When did the term "New Testament" first come into usage?
While reading William Bridge's, "The Wounded Conscience Cured," (1642) I came across Bridge's usage of the term "New Testament" :
"And in the New Testament, Romans 13.1..."
-William Bridge, "...
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Did the myth of the holy grail originate from Catholicism?
Or its practices? Catholic church sanctioned holy wars suggest they didn't think the Holy Grail a myth back then.
The question is about its' origins, source.
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Why do many old churches face east?
Many of the old churches including Anglican, Catholic and Orthodox ones face east. My question is: Was the tradition of construction of churches facing east, a product of certain beliefs, or was it ...
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What was the earliest reference to the 3 States of the Church?
The Churches Militant, Penitent and Triumphant are used quite regularly not only in The Catholic Church but also in some Protestant denominations. The Catechism has a reference to the three states of ...
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In Roman Catholicism, how far back in history does the process (Sacrament) of Confirmation go?
Does the Sacrament of Confirmation go back to the early Church? Also, has it always occurred around the age 14 (except in situations where it would occur later, such as conversions)?
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Perseverance of the Saints – Historical Interpretations before Calvin
When I read the writings of early Christians I am constantly seeing references to persevering to the end and absolutely nothing resembling this teaching. It is almost as if everything taught prior to ...
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According to Catholicism, what is the difference between forgiveness and release from punishment?
The first thing to note is that forgiveness of a sin is separate from punishment for the sin. Through sacramental confession we obtain forgiveness, but we aren't let off the hook as far as punishment ...
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