Compiling the Complete Theological Dictionary
Saturday, September 30, 2023
5:28 PM
As you complete the final weekly set of terms, you will turn toward creating a final document to submit.  Certainly the "Dictionary" format would imply that you would put these terms in alphabetical order.  However, if you are wanting to take the next step in your theological journey, I might suggest that you organize these topically.  As you do this, you may see yourself moving from "What is [Term]?" to "What do I believe about [Term]?"  My goal in this course has been to postpone moving too quickly toward writing your own position on these topics.  However, now that you have worked through a theology (specifically, Confessing The One Faith), you may want to begin crafting your own credo.  If that's the case, you may want to organize your terms topically.  If that's the case, here's the structure I would use; however, you may feel that another organizational approach would work better for you. Along these lines, you may want to return retrieve content you shared in the weekly discussions to include. 
A couple of notes along the way: (1) Put it in the form you feel you will find most helpful going forward.  I asked you to use OneNote and to create a dictionary because it is one of the things that I wished I had known to do much earlier in my own theological education.  Both in my academic life and in ministry, I have spent a lot of time tracking back down content I have dealt with earlier because I did not have a good system for keeping up with what I had already learned (or at least put my hands on).  My hope has been that you would create a tool that was useful for you.  Don't get too worried about my personal preferences.  I see my role in CMLT courses as more accountability partner than grader.  (2) Do work a little more precisely with sources.  If this were an academic course meant to be for university credit, I would more strictly require MLA Source citation. That said, I have found it incredibly important to provide as much detail as I can about who said what, when, where, and how to find it again in things like sermons, Bible study lessons, board reports, and other content.  A URL is a remarkably fluid reference.  They don't always work when I want to return to them to find the content I once had.  
Again, do not feel like you are required to organize things this way.  You may see these terms relating to each other differently.  However, if I were moving from describing these terms in objective ways to naming subjectively what it is I believe about them, this is how I would organize things.  
Approach theology
Theology
Faith
Three aspects of believing (from Reflection Question) 
Sources of Theology
Revelation
--> In general, how might you answer the question, "How does God reveal God's self to us?"
Scripture (as source for theology)
Canon
Hermeneutics
Reason (as a source for theology)
Experience (as a course for theology)
Tradition (as a source of theology)
Apostolicity
Creed
Nicene Creed
--> How would you narrate where you belong within the panorama of Christianity?  What's your origin story?  What denomination, theological movement, ethnic/culture expression, and/or theologians influence your theology?  
Doctrine of God, the Creator
How do we understand the ways religions approach the question of God.
Pantheism
Atheism
Secularism
Who is God
Pantokrator
Omnipotence
Creator
Ex nihilo
Father--including your discussion of reflection question for 9/4-9/10
How does God work
Theodicy
Doctrine of God, the Son
Christology
Person of Jesus
Pre-existence
Incarnation (including your reflection from September 11-17)
Homoousios
Ministry of Jesus
Work of Christ
Christus Victor
Atonement 
Reconciliation 
Expiation
Discussion from September 18-24, How can the universal condition of sin with all its consequences be changed by the suffering and crucifixion of the one person of Jesus Christ?
Titles of Christ
Son of God
Lord
Doctrine of the Holy Spirit
Pneumatology
Identity of the Holy Spirit
Filioque
Paraclete
Discussion from September 25-October 1 (part 1)
The Work of the Holy Spirit
Sanctification
Charism
Spiritual Gifts
The role of the Holy Spirit in the formation of the Church (discussion from September 25-October 1, part 2)
Theology embodied in the Church
Participation in the life of Christ
Baptism
Eucharist
-->Insertion of Opinion (What differentiates Baptism and Eucharist from the other "Sacraments" of the church is that they are liturgical means of participating in the life/death/resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Whereas the other ordinances, while good, are other covenantal expressions). 
Discernment
What is my theological understanding of humanity
Imago Dei
Sin/Separation (not a required term, but you may want to define it hear)
Soteriology
Reconciliation (as alternative placement rather than in Christology section)
Atonement (as alternative placement rather than in Christology section)
Expiation (as alternative placement rather than in Christology section)
Justification
Discipleship
Include discussion from October 2-8.  
Sanctification (as an alternative placement rather than the in the Pneumatology section)