​IB Exam Material

Grace: the love and mercy given to us by God because He desires all to have it, not because of anything we may have done to earn it; the love and presence of God; the undeserved, free gift of divine favor in the justification and sanctification of sinners and the bestowal of blessings

Heaven ("Kingdom of Heaven"): a state or condition of existence or a physical place; the afterlife where God is present in his dwelling place; it is a paradise where Jesus sits at the right hand on the Throne of Heaven

Hell: (considered by some to be a physical place) the afterlife where there is an absence of God; it is eternal and irreversible and is a place of conscious torment; a place of God's final and retributive punishment

Heresy: it denotes the formal denial of a core doctrine of the Christian faith; disobeying the Church in the form of heresy often leads to excommunication; preaching that it is incorrect and trying to sway others about it 

Iconostasis: an altar screen or wall which, in an Orthodox church, separates the Sanctuary from the nave; the mystery at the heart of the Eastern Orthodox faith is emphasized by the fact that large parts of the service take place out of sight of the congregation, behind the iconostasis (this action symbolizes the revelation of Christ to the people); adorning the holy place about the Christian altar.

Icon: representation of Jesus or another holy figure; used to aid in worship in the Eastern Orthodox church; visual reminder of Jesus' incarnation

Incarnation: The Word made Flesh; the doctrine that Jesus is a divine, eternal being who became a man

according to the gospel of John; "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" showing Jesus's nature as completely human, yet completely holy as well; the mystery and complex nature of Jesus' incarnation led to many heresies from disbelievers; one of a series of lifetimes that a person spends on earth.

Inerrancy: the doctrine that the Bible is without fault or error, in either just faith or all facts; reliability of God's word; (1) it is attached to the character of God, (2) it is taught in the Scriptures, (3) it is the historic position of the Christian Church, and (4) it is foundational to other essential doctrines.

Kerygma: term indicating the essential message (or gospel) of the New Testament Church; refers primarily to the preaching of the apostles after Jesus' resurrection (on Pentecost); message based on the belief that Jesus, in fufillment of Old Testament prophecies, came to Earth, preached the Word of God, died, and resurrected

Kingdom of God: both an earthly and heavenly closeness to God; the spiritual domain over which God is sovereign; It is the central theme of Jesus’ teaching and the foundational message of the Church founded by Him through His disciples

Logos ("reason" or "word"): the Word of God, and the principle of divine and creative order; divine reason or the mind of God; Christ is related to God as the word to the idea; John 1 is where the idea of the logos first appears

Messiah: Hebrew word directly translated to Christos in Greek, which translates to the Christ; "anointed one"; savior or liberator of a group of people; a King or High Priest literally anointed with holy anointed oil; in Christianity, refers to Jesus

Miracle: an event which cannot be explained by human-actions and therefore,  occurs as a work of God; in the Gospels there are many categories including healing, power over death, control over nature, and exorcisms; miracles in the New Testament include not only those Jesus performed such as turning water into wine, but also the birth of Jesus himself as he was conceived by the Holy Spirit

Parable: the "everyday" stories of Jesus that had deeper, divine messages for those who would hear them; almost all of the parables told by Jesus were about the Kingdom of God and related to the way believers should live their lives on Earth or get to the Kingdom itself; the stories of the Good Samaritan and of the Prodigal Son are examples

Patriarch (EOC) ("father ruler"): an early biblical figure such as Abraham or one of the "church fathers" of the early Christian church; biblical figures regarded as fathers of the human race; the spiritual leader of Eastern Otrhodoxy (the Patriarch of Constantinople is the Pope's Eastern counterpart)