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A Handbook of Theological Terms: Their Meaning and Background Exposed in Over 300 Articles
Harvey's little blue paperback is truly the seminarian's friend and I always keep a copy in sight whem I'm preparing a sermon or otherwise committing "God talk" to paper. An especially nice feature of the Handbook is that it points out distinctions between Roman Catholic and Protestant terminologies, important in these ecumenical times when we often dialog together and take courses at each other's colleges and seminaries. There are glossaries and dictionaries that are more up to date but that's not always an advantage, because their trendiness comes at the expense of excluding theological terms that are centuries old and will be around for centuries to come. I'm not sure the lay person will have much need for the Handbook, but by all means if people at your church are arrogant enough to use terms like "Arianism," "Docetism" or "Prevenient Grace" without defining them, get yourself a copy and fight back!
256 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1964
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 4, 2019
Interested in theology, or the bible? Then Van Harvey's little book is your friend. I always try to keep a copy in sight when I'm preparing a sermon or otherwise committing "God talk" to paper. An especially nice feature of the Handbook is that it points out distinctions between Roman Catholic and Protestant terminologies, important in these ecumenical times when we often dialog together and take courses at each other's colleges and seminaries.
There are glossaries and dictionaries that are more up to date but that's not always an advantage, because their trendiness comes at the expense of excluding theological terms that are centuries old and will be around for centuries to come. I'm not sure the lay person will have much need for the Handbook, but by all means if people at your church are arrogant enough to use terms like "Arianism," "Docetism" or "Prevenient Grace" without defining them, get yourself a copy and fight back!
(Note to reader: Yes, I know this text may appear elsewhere in the listing for this book. But since I wrote the review for Amazon way back in 2000, I figure I was entitled to re-present it here, now.)
There are glossaries and dictionaries that are more up to date but that's not always an advantage, because their trendiness comes at the expense of excluding theological terms that are centuries old and will be around for centuries to come. I'm not sure the lay person will have much need for the Handbook, but by all means if people at your church are arrogant enough to use terms like "Arianism," "Docetism" or "Prevenient Grace" without defining them, get yourself a copy and fight back!
(Note to reader: Yes, I know this text may appear elsewhere in the listing for this book. But since I wrote the review for Amazon way back in 2000, I figure I was entitled to re-present it here, now.)
October 8, 2023
My aim has not been to provide definitions of obscure theological terms but to indicate how such terms, ancient and modern, have been variously used in differing circumstances and what is at issue in these various uses. It is a wordbook, not a dictionary. It was clear from the outset that this would necessarily involve an exercise of my own judgment, which, in turn, would reflect my own theological perspective. This judgment is involved not only in the inclusion of certain terms and the exclusion of others but in what I choose to say about the terms themselves. Because of this, the wordbook will inevitably appear slanted and nonobjective to many who have different perspectives. I do not see any way of doing what I wanted to do and avoiding this criticism. The only comfort I have is that I have yet to find its a philosophical or theological dictionary, not to speak of a wordbook, which does not have a definite point of view and most have several conflicting points of view) and which, therefore, escapes this criticism; although editors of Christian theological dictionaries are more prone to think that they have because they unconsciously equate objective and orthodox.
- A handbook of Theological Terms : Their Meaning and Background exposed in over 300 articles by Van A. Harvey
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It took me 2 weeks to finish this book. 250 pages should be done within 2 days if its a fiction (per my standard) but when it comes to non-fiction that dealt with history and theology background, i figured i should take my time reading it. The book highlighted 350 words which some of it just an ordinary english word to us (especially when its my second language) but if we looked deeper, Harvey connected it to religious and philosophical discussion behind it. While i was hoping it to elaborate the word beyond Roman Catholics and Protestant differences and include other religions as well, i think it would be excessively ambitious to do so. Overall, this is a must read if you are interested in understanding how certain words fared differently among Catholics and Protestants teaching. I believe if you are learning about these specific religions, this can be some sort of assistance to comprehend it.
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Here’s few examples i would like to share with you :
- [ ] Communion of the Saints is a phrase that appears in the Apostles' Creed and is the usual translation of the original Latin phrase communio sanctorum, which first appears in the creed in the early 5th century. Since the Latin term sanctorum could refer to either persons or things, it is not perfectly clear whether the creed refers to the communion Christians share in "holy things" (the EUCHARIST), and thus is a creedal statement about the visible nature of the CHURCH, or whether it refers to the communion (KOINONIA) Christians share with one another living and dead. The phrase plays an important role in the Reformers' doctrine of the church, for Luther (1483-1546) insisted that the church is nothing but the C.O.S. and, therefore, spiritual and invisible in its ESSENCE, although brought about by the visible means of preaching and the SACRAMENTS.
- [ ] Immaculate Conception refers to the R.C. belief that the Virgin Mary was preserved free from the stain of ORIGINAL SIN from the first moment of her conception "by a unique GRACE and privilege of the omnipotent God and in consideration of the MERITS of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race." Prots generally reject the belief, and it was even vigorously debated among R.C.s until 1854, when Pope Pius IX taught it in the bull Ineffabilis Deus. Although no ECUMENICAL council has positively declared it to be a R.C. DOGMA it is generally regarded as such because of the bull mentioned above and because the Council of Trent (1545-83) explicitly exempted Mary from its statement on the original sin of man.
- [ ] Pre-existence of Souls refers to the belief that every soUL possesses a career before its embodiment in this life. It is a belief found in many forms in many religions, although there is considerable variation as to the type and nature of the prior existence the soul is believed to have had. Strictly speaking, it is not to be identified with a belief in trans-migration, although they are closely related. Early Christian theologians, who were strongly under the influence of Greek philosophy, must have been strongly tempted to embrace the idea, and some did. The most famous of them was Origen of Alexandria (c.185-c.254). Convinced that SPIRIT was indestructible, he saw the material world as created for the discipline and purification of free spirits who had fallen and been banished. Origen's doctrine was condemned, however, and the doctrine is viewed as heretical.
- A handbook of Theological Terms : Their Meaning and Background exposed in over 300 articles by Van A. Harvey
.
.
It took me 2 weeks to finish this book. 250 pages should be done within 2 days if its a fiction (per my standard) but when it comes to non-fiction that dealt with history and theology background, i figured i should take my time reading it. The book highlighted 350 words which some of it just an ordinary english word to us (especially when its my second language) but if we looked deeper, Harvey connected it to religious and philosophical discussion behind it. While i was hoping it to elaborate the word beyond Roman Catholics and Protestant differences and include other religions as well, i think it would be excessively ambitious to do so. Overall, this is a must read if you are interested in understanding how certain words fared differently among Catholics and Protestants teaching. I believe if you are learning about these specific religions, this can be some sort of assistance to comprehend it.
.
Here’s few examples i would like to share with you :
- [ ] Communion of the Saints is a phrase that appears in the Apostles' Creed and is the usual translation of the original Latin phrase communio sanctorum, which first appears in the creed in the early 5th century. Since the Latin term sanctorum could refer to either persons or things, it is not perfectly clear whether the creed refers to the communion Christians share in "holy things" (the EUCHARIST), and thus is a creedal statement about the visible nature of the CHURCH, or whether it refers to the communion (KOINONIA) Christians share with one another living and dead. The phrase plays an important role in the Reformers' doctrine of the church, for Luther (1483-1546) insisted that the church is nothing but the C.O.S. and, therefore, spiritual and invisible in its ESSENCE, although brought about by the visible means of preaching and the SACRAMENTS.
- [ ] Immaculate Conception refers to the R.C. belief that the Virgin Mary was preserved free from the stain of ORIGINAL SIN from the first moment of her conception "by a unique GRACE and privilege of the omnipotent God and in consideration of the MERITS of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race." Prots generally reject the belief, and it was even vigorously debated among R.C.s until 1854, when Pope Pius IX taught it in the bull Ineffabilis Deus. Although no ECUMENICAL council has positively declared it to be a R.C. DOGMA it is generally regarded as such because of the bull mentioned above and because the Council of Trent (1545-83) explicitly exempted Mary from its statement on the original sin of man.
- [ ] Pre-existence of Souls refers to the belief that every soUL possesses a career before its embodiment in this life. It is a belief found in many forms in many religions, although there is considerable variation as to the type and nature of the prior existence the soul is believed to have had. Strictly speaking, it is not to be identified with a belief in trans-migration, although they are closely related. Early Christian theologians, who were strongly under the influence of Greek philosophy, must have been strongly tempted to embrace the idea, and some did. The most famous of them was Origen of Alexandria (c.185-c.254). Convinced that SPIRIT was indestructible, he saw the material world as created for the discipline and purification of free spirits who had fallen and been banished. Origen's doctrine was condemned, however, and the doctrine is viewed as heretical.
February 2, 2008
Not as dry as it sounds, this is a good comprehensive guide to the vocabulary used by philosophical types. I have an older version (Niebuhr, Tillich, Jaspers, Satre and still alive) but the summaries are still applicable. I often wonder if the "guild" makes it more difficult than it should sound. I mean, c'mon... Infralapsarianism?! Can't you just say "predestination"?
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews