Top 10 Theological Words in the Bible
Okay, Bible Forum groupies and contributors alike... I have a question for us. It's more of a personal question, but one that will come together and form the kind of rock soup that will taste good to me. Here goes:
WHAT IS ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE THEOLOGICAL WORDS IN THE BIBLE? What theological word in the Bible opens up and expands things in such a way that you just keep on returning to it in your own theological musings and in your writing?
What theological word found in the Bible helps you "encapsulate" or "summarize" in a way that floats your boat... (and tell us why it floats your boat)? I'm thinking we might develop a list together of our Top 10 Theological Words Found in the Bible (it will be my job to combine submissions and develop the actual top 10 list - my penance for asking this kind of question)
Let's do it this way too: ONE WORD PER PERSON. This is not YOUR TOP TEN... this is YOUR ONE CHOICE (which I know we'll all whine about because we have to narrow it down)... just choose the one that come to you first or most forcefully.
-David
posted by David Drury @ 10:54 AM
19 Comments:
Cool, I'm first...
holy (holiness) - I'll take the whole word group 8^)
I think my favorite word is "secret" - 1 Corinthians 4:1 on that one.
Brian -- Cool. Holy - and the rest of the word group :-) Why is that your word, Brian?
And Tony - why is Secret your word?
You reference: "So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God."
Is this your gnostic confession? (just kidding)
I chose holy/holiness because I think that this word group stands at the center of biblical theology. It is important for understanding Creation, the meaning/purpose for humanity, salvation, and God's character.
When I was 40 I would have chosen "sanctification." Today I would chose "mystery."
"reconciliation"
So far our list is:
Holy
Secret
Mystery
Reconciliation
any other takers?
ps - Keith/Ken - want to explain why you'd pick those words?
The passage on the ministry of reconciliation is one of the most encouraging words to me in the New Testament (2 Cor 5 I think)
You're talking about this, right?
18 All this newness of life is from God, who brought us back to himself through what Christ did. And God has given us the task of reconciling people to him. 19 For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. This is the wonderful message he has given us to tell others. 20 We are Christ's ambassadors, and God is using us to speak to you. We urge you, as though Christ himself were here pleading with you, "Be reconciled to God!" 21 For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.
That's the ticket! One of my favorite passages in the Bible.
You know, I could just keep it a secret... :)
"Secret" in that passage is translated many ways, but in it's purest form I love the idea that people get a sense that there is "something" in me that is unknown... something divine so that in everything I do there is a link back to "something" or Someone. This whole "musterion" concept is the product of living out the Great Commandment in its proper order, keeping any sort of ministry an authentic "inside out" deal.
You hear it conversations when someone says, "You know, I've met people who call themselves Christians, but there's just something different about your life... What's up with that?"
Some of you know me - some of you don't - that's alright :)
If I had to choose a word, I would probably go with "revelation" because of the fact that God chooses to reveal Himself to us, through His Word, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Chris Van Den Berg
Okay. With this addition we have a top 5...
Holy
Secret
Mystery
Reconciliation
Revelation
I think I would have chosen Reconciliation, Revelation or Holy myself... But with those already chosen, I think I'd choose the one the Gospel of John chooses:
Word
And I think I'd go to John 1 as a summation of the whole deal... with "word" as the hinge pin. In the beginning... became flesh... dwelt among us... etc. I'd be drawn more to the narrative dimensions of this theological word of course... rather than the purely conceptual.
So our list is:
Holy
Secret
Mystery
Reconciliation
Revelation
Word
That was me BTW
Hey, this is my first post ever on your site, and I really like a lot of the stuff you've written. One (hopefully helpful) contribution I would make would be to add the word "Love." It seems kind of cliche, but it is the foundation for the faith of Christianity and what makes our lives different, special, and essentially worth living.
Updated list:
Holy
Secret
Mystery
Reconciliation
Revelation
Word
Chesed (Hebrew)
Grace
Love
Hi folks! I happened by and saw the list. May I contribute? I must admit that I have struggled throughout my ministry with the most significant word for me. I went through undulations of passion for: atonement (similar to reconcile), propitiation (theologically charged word, in my opinion), and covenant. I have settled on covenant as best for me, and one which opens new vistas of understanding the more I study it.
Feel free to contribute! I'm afraid, though, that I may be the only one who gets comments forwarded to them! We haven't posted here for over a year!
I wondered... I saw the title and only counted 9 words! Thanks for replying.
Post a Comment
<< Home