Misplaced Pages

#839160

102-725: Christ , used by Christians as both a name and a title , unambiguously refers to Jesus . It is also used as a title , in the reciprocal usage "Christ Jesus", meaning "the Messiah Jesus" or "Jesus the Anointed ", and independently as "the Christ". The Pauline epistles , the earliest texts of the New Testament , often call Jesus "Christ Jesus" or just "Christ". The concept of the Christ in Christianity originated from

204-657: A Nazirite to God. The Hebrew śāmū is also related to the Akkadian šâmū (𒊮𒈬), which shares the same meaning. From the explanation given in 1 Samuel 1:20 , however, it would seem to come from a contraction of the Hebrew שְׁאִלְתִּיו מֵאֵל ( Modern: Šəʾīltīv mēʾĒl, Tiberian: Šĭʾīltīw mēʾĒl ), meaning "I have asked/borrowed him from God". Further shortened to שָׁאוּל מֵאֵל ( Šāʾūl mēʾĒl, "asked/borrowed from God" ), then finally contracted to שְׁמוּאֵל ( Šəmūʾēl/Šămūʾēl ). This meaning also relating to Hannah dedicating Samuel as

306-598: A 2012 Pew Research Center survey, if current trends continue, Christianity will remain the world's largest religion by 2050. By 2050, the Christian population is expected to exceed 3 billion. While Muslims have an average of 3.1 children per woman—the highest rate of all religious groups—Christians are second, with 2.7 children per woman. High birth rates and conversion were cited as the reason for Christian population growth . A 2015 study found that approximately 10.2 million Muslims converted to Christianity . Christianity

408-620: A 2012 Pew Research Center survey, Christianity will remain the world's largest religion in 2050, if current trends continue. In recent history, Christians have experienced persecution of varying severity, especially in the Middle-East , North Africa, East Asia , and South Asia . The Greek word Χριστιανός ( Christianos ), meaning ' follower of Christ ' , comes from Χριστός ( Christos ), meaning ' anointed one ', with an adjectival ending borrowed from Latin to denote adhering to, or even belonging to, as in slave ownership. In

510-681: A God-sent chieftain". During Samuel's youth at Shiloh , the Philistines inflicted a decisive defeat against the Israelites at Eben-Ezer , placed the land under Philistine control, and took the sanctuary's Ark for themselves . Upon hearing the news of the capture of the Ark of the Covenant, and the death of his sons, Eli collapsed and died. When the Philistines had been in possession of

612-464: A Levite, was denominated an Ephraimite is analogous to the designation of a Levite belonging to Judah (Judges 17:7, for example). According to 1 Samuel 1:1–28, Elkanah had two wives, Peninnah and Hannah. Peninnah had children; Hannah did not. Nonetheless, Elkanah favored Hannah. Jealous, Peninnah reproached Hannah for her lack of children, causing Hannah much heartache. Elkanah was a devout man and would periodically take his family on pilgrimage to

714-412: A Nazirite to God as well. Samuel worked under Eli in the service of the shrine at Shiloh. One night, Samuel heard a voice calling his name. According to the first-century Jewish historian Josephus , Samuel was 12 years old. Samuel initially assumed it was coming from Eli and went to Eli to ask what he wanted. Eli, however, sent Samuel back to sleep. After this happened three times, Eli realised that

816-465: A child. "... [She] called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the Lord" (KJV). From its appearance, the name Samuel ( Hebrew: שְׁמוּאֵל Šəmūʾēl , Tiberian: Šămūʾēl ) appears to be constructed from the Hebrew Śāmū (שָׂמוּ) + ʾĒl, meaning "God has set" or "God has placed". This meaning relating to the idea of God setting/placing a child in the womb, alongside Hannah dedicating Samuel as

918-408: A derisive element in the term Christian to refer to followers of Christ who did not acknowledge the emperor of Rome. The city of Antioch, where someone gave them the name Christians , had a reputation for coming up with such nicknames. However Peter's apparent endorsement of the term led to its being preferred over "Nazarenes" and the term Christianoi from 1 Peter becomes the standard term in

1020-675: A name, one part of the name " Jesus Christ ", though it was originally a title ("the Messiah"). Its usage in "Christ Jesus" emphasizes its nature as a title. Compare the usage "the Christ". The spelling Christ in English became standardized in the 18th century, when, in the spirit of the Enlightenment , certain words' spelling changed to fit their Greek or Latin origins. Before that, scribes writing in Old and Middle English usually used

1122-456: A political context, is Ṣalībī ( صليبي ' Crusader ' ) from ṣalīb ( صليب ' cross ' ), which refers to Crusaders and may have negative connotations. However, Ṣalībī is a modern term; historically, Muslim writers described European Christian Crusaders as al-Faranj or Alfranj ( الفرنج ) and Firinjīyah ( الفرنجيّة ) in Arabic. This word comes from the name of

SECTION 10

#1732776254840

1224-781: A report commissioned by the United Kingdom's Secretary of State of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to investigate global persecution of Christians found religious persecution has increased, and is highest in the Middle East, North Africa, India, China, North Korea, and Latin America, among others, and that it is global and not limited to Islamic states. This investigation found that approximately 80% of persecuted believers worldwide are Christians. Etymology Samuel#Biblical account#Calling Samuel's mother

1326-498: A review of the Nobel Prizes award between 1901 and 2000 reveals that (65.4%) of Nobel Prizes Laureates, have identified Christianity in its various forms as their religious preference. In 2017, Open Doors , a human rights NGO , estimated approximately 260 million Christians are subjected annually to "high, very high, or extreme persecution", with North Korea considered the most hazardous nation for Christians. In 2019,

1428-410: A single individual (priest, prophet, judge)." After 20 years of oppression, Samuel, who had gained national prominence as a prophet (1 Samuel 3:20), summoned the people to the hill of Mizpah , and led them against the Philistines. The Philistines, having marched to Mizpah to attack the newly amassed Israelite army, were soundly defeated and fled in terror. The retreating Philistines were slaughtered by

1530-497: A source of some key Christological connections; e.g., Ephesians 3:17–19 relates the love of Christ to the knowledge of Christ , and considers the love of Christ as a necessity for knowing him. There are also implicit claims to him being the Christ in the words and actions of Jesus. The Hellenization Μεσσίας (Messías) is used twice to mean "Messiah" in the New Testament: by the disciple Andrew at John 1:41 , and by

1632-533: A speech of Samuel that portrays him as the judge sent by God to save Israel may have been composed by the Deuteronomists. In 1 Samuel 9:6–20, Samuel is seen as a local "seer". According to documentary scholarship, the Deuteronomistic historians preserved this view of Samuel while contributing him as "the first of prophets to articulate the failure of Israel to live up to its covenant with God." For

1734-541: A third of the world's population and is the largest religion in the world. Christians have composed about 33 percent of the world's population for around 100 years. The largest Christian denomination is the Roman Catholic Church , with 1.3 billion adherents, representing half of all Christians. Christianity remains the dominant religion in the Western World , where 70% are Christians. According to

1836-544: A translation of the Biblical Hebrew term mashiach ( מָשִׁיחַ ) (usually rendered as messiah in English). While there are diverse interpretations of Christianity which sometimes conflict, they are united in believing that Jesus has a unique significance. The term Christian used as an adjective is descriptive of anything associated with Christianity or Christian churches , or in a proverbial sense "all that

1938-699: A unique significance." Michael Martin evaluated three historical Christian creeds (the Apostles' Creed , the Nicene Creed and the Athanasian Creed ) to establish a set of basic Christian assumptions which include belief in theism , the historicity of Jesus , the Incarnation , salvation through faith in Jesus, and Jesus as an ethical role model. The identification of Jesus as the Messiah

2040-527: A university degree in institutions of higher education (67%), followed by the Christians of Israel (63%), and the Christians of Georgia (57%). According to the study, Christians in North America , Europe , Middle East , North Africa and Asia Pacific regions are highly educated since many of the world's universities were built by the historic Christian denominations , in addition to

2142-568: Is an English form of χ-mas, itself an abbreviation for Christ-mas. The Oxford English Dictionary ( OED ) and the OED Supplement have cited usages of "X-" or "Xp-" for "Christ-" as early as 1485. The terms "Xpian" and "Xren" have been used for "Christian", "Xst" for "Christ's" "Xρofer" for (Saint) Christopher and Xmas, Xstmas, and Xtmas for Christmas. The OED further cites usage of "Xtianity" for "Christianity" from 1634. According to Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English Usage , most of

SECTION 20

#1732776254840

2244-714: Is coming into the world", signifying that both titles were generally accepted (yet considered distinct) among the followers of Jesus before the raising of Lazarus . During the Sanhedrin trial of Jesus , it might appear from the narrative of Matthew that Jesus at first refused a direct reply to the high priest Caiaphas 's question: "Are you the Messiah, the Son of God?", where his answer is given merely as Σὺ εἶπας ( Su eipas , "You [singular] have said it"). Similarly but differently in Luke, all those present are said to ask Jesus: 'Are you then

2346-475: Is described as having exercised the functions of a (biblical) judge, during an annual circuit from Ramah to Bethel to Gilgal (the Gilgal between Ebal and Gerizim ) to Mizpah and back to Ramah ( 1 Samuel 7:15-17 ), is foreshadowed by Deborah , who used to render judgments from a place beneath a palm between Ramah and Bethel. Source-critical scholarship often considers it to be a redaction aimed at harmonizing

2448-455: Is described as having grieved copiously and having prematurely aged. His yahrzeit is observed on the 28th day of Iyar . For Christians , Samuel is considered to be a prophet, judge, and wise leader of Israel, and treated as an example of fulfilled commitments to God. On the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox , and Lutheran calendars, his feast day is August 20. He is commemorated as one of

2550-513: Is generally understood to be derived from Nazarenes , believers of Jesus of Nazareth through Syriac (Aramaic); Masīḥī ( مسيحي ) means followers of the Messiah. Where there is a distinction, Naṣrānī refers to people from a Christian culture and Masīḥī is used by Christians themselves for those with a religious faith in Jesus. In some countries Naṣrānī tends to be used generically for non-Muslim Western foreigners. Another Arabic word sometimes used for Christians, particularly in

2652-523: Is growing in Africa , Asia, Eastern Europe , Latin America , the Muslim world , and Oceania . According to a study from 2015, Christians hold the largest amount of wealth (55% of the total world wealth), followed by Muslims (5.8%), Hindus (3.3%) and Jews (1.1%). According to the same study it was found that adherents under the classification Irreligion or other religions hold about 34.8% of

2754-694: Is noble, and good, and Christ-like." According to a 2011 Pew Research Center survey, there were 2.2 billion Christians around the world in 2010, up from about 600 million in 1910. Today, about 37% of all Christians live in the Americas , about 26% live in Europe , 24% live in sub-Saharan Africa , about 13% live in Asia and the Pacific , and 1% live in the Middle East and North Africa . Christians make up

2856-578: Is not accepted by Judaism. The term for a Christian in Hebrew is נוֹצְרִי ( Notzri ' Nazarene ' ), a Talmudic term originally derived from the fact that Jesus came from the Galilean village of Nazareth, today in northern Israel. Adherents of Messianic Judaism are referred to in modern Hebrew as יְהוּדִים מְשִׁיחִיִּים ( Yehudim Meshihi'im ' Messianic Jews ' ). In Arabic-speaking cultures , two words are commonly used for Christians: Naṣrānī ( نصراني ), plural Naṣārā ( نصارى )

2958-660: Is not followed by kings and prophets, but some critical scholars look elsewhere seeking a harmonization of the issues. In the Book of Chronicles , Samuel is described as a Levite, rectifying this situation; however critical scholarship widely sees the Book of Chronicles as an attempt to redact the Book(s) of Samuel and of Kings to conform to later religious sensibilities. Since many of the Biblical law codes themselves are thought to postdate

3060-509: Is one of Christianity's highest holy days. Christians A Christian ( / ˈ k r ɪ s tʃ ən , - t i ə n / ) is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity , a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ . Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words Christ and Christian derive from the Koine Greek title Christós ( Χριστός ),

3162-640: Is seen as a prophet and seer in the Islamic faith. The narrative of Samuel in Islam focuses specifically on his birth and the anointing of Talut . Other elements from his narrative are in accordance with the narratives of other Prophets of Israel , as exegesis recounts Samuel's preaching against idolatry . He is not mentioned by name in the Qur'an , but may be alluded to in Surah Al-Baqara 2:246 . In

Christ (title) - Misplaced Pages Continue

3264-592: The Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas , in the singular case of Jesus, the word Christ has a twofold meaning, which stands for "both the Godhead anointing and the manhood anointed". It derives from the twofold human-divine nature of Christ ( dyophysitism ): the Son of man is anointed in consequence of His incarnated flesh, as well as the Son of God is anointing in consequence of the " Godhead which He has with

3366-1074: The Amalekites in fulfilment of the commandment in Deuteronomy 25:17–19: During the campaign against the Amalekites, King Saul spared Agag , the king of the Amalekites, and the best of their livestock. Saul told Samuel that he had spared the choicest of the Amalekites' sheep and oxen, intending to sacrifice the livestock to the Lord. This was in violation of the Lord's command, as pronounced by Samuel, to "... utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass" (1 Samuel 15:3, KJV). Samuel confronted Saul for his disobedience and told him that God made him king, and God can unmake him king. Samuel then proceeded to execute Agag. Saul never saw Samuel alive again after this. Samuel then proceeded to Bethlehem and secretly anointed David as king. He would later provide sanctuary for David, when

3468-725: The Apostolic Age , the use of the definite article before the word Christ and its gradual development into a proper name show the Christians identified the bearer with the promised Messias of the Jews. In the Old Testament , anointing was a ceremonial ritual reserved to: In the Septuagint text of the deuterocanonical books , the term "Christ" (Χριστός, translit. Christós) is found in 2 Maccabees 1:10 (referring to

3570-651: The Early Church Fathers from Ignatius and Polycarp onwards. The earliest occurrences of the term in non-Christian literature include Josephus , referring to "the tribe of Christians, so named from him;" Pliny the Younger in correspondence with Trajan ; and Tacitus , writing near the end of the 1st century. In the Annals he relates that "by vulgar appellation [they were] commonly called Christians" and identifies Christians as Nero 's scapegoats for

3672-635: The Franks and can be seen in the Arab history text Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh by Ali ibn al-Athir . The most common Persian word is Masīhī ( مسیحی ), from Arabic . Other words are Nasrānī ( نصرانی ), from Syriac for ' Nazarene ' , and Tarsā ( ترسا ), from the Middle Persian word Tarsāg , also meaning ' Christian ' , derived from tars , meaning ' fear, respect ' . An old Kurdish word for Christian frequently in usage

3774-725: The Great Fire of Rome . Another term for Christians which appears in the New Testament is Nazarenes . Jesus is named as a Nazarene in Matthew 2:23 , while Paul is said to be Nazarene in Acts 24:5 . The latter verse makes it clear that Nazarene also referred to the name of a sect or heresy, as well as the town called Nazareth. The term Nazarene was also used by the Jewish lawyer Tertullus ( Against Marcion 4:8), who records

3876-699: The Greek Septuagint , christos was used to translate the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ ( Mašíaḥ , ' messiah '), meaning "[one who is] anointed". In other European languages, equivalent words to Christian are likewise derived from the Greek, such as chrétien in French and cristiano in Spanish. The abbreviations Xian and Xtian (and similarly formed other parts of speech) have been used since at least

3978-535: The Greek word χριστός ( chrīstós ), meaning literally " anointed one". The word is derived from the Greek verb χρίω ( chrī́ō ), meaning literally "to anoint." In the Greek Septuagint , χριστός was a semantic loan used to translate the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ ( Mašíaḥ , messiah), meaning "[one who is] anointed". The word Christ (and similar spellings) appears in English and in most European languages. English speakers now often use "Christ" as if it were

4080-478: The Samaritan woman at the well at John 4:25. In both cases, the Greek text specifies immediately after that this means "the Christ." Christology, literally "the understanding of Christ", is the study of the nature (person) and work (role in salvation) of Jesus in Christianity . It studies Jesus Christ's humanity and divinity, and the relation between these two aspects; and the role he plays in salvation . From

4182-470: The anointed High Priest of Israel ) and in the Book of Sirach 46:19, in relation to Samuel , prophet and institutor of the kingdom under Saul. At the time of Jesus, there was no single form of Second Temple Judaism , and there were significant political, social, and religious differences among the various Jewish groups. But for centuries the Jews had used the term moshiach ("anointed") to refer to their expected deliverer. Mark 1:1 ("The beginning of

Christ (title) - Misplaced Pages Continue

4284-601: The education of women , which led to the eradication of illiteracy among females in Protestant communities. Christian culture describes the cultural practices common to Christian peoples. There are variations in the application of Christian beliefs in different cultures and traditions. Christian culture has influenced and assimilated much from the Greco-Roman , Byzantine , Western culture , Middle Eastern , Slavic , Caucasian , and Indian cultures . Since

4386-473: The messianic predictions in a fuller and a higher sense than had been given them by the rabbis . The so-called Confession of Peter , recorded in the Synoptic Gospels as Jesus's foremost apostle Peter saying that Jesus was the Messiah, has become a famous proclamation of faith among Christians since the first century. In John 11:27 Martha told Jesus, "you are the Christ, the Son of God, who

4488-724: The 16th and 17th centuries before the religion was banned by the Tokugawa shogunate . Today, Christians are referred to in Standard Japanese as キリスト教徒 ( Kirisuto-kyōto ) or the English-derived term クリスチャン ( kurisuchan ). Korean still uses 기독교도 ( RR : Gidokkyodo ) for ' Christian ' , though the Portuguese loanword 그리스도 (RR: Geuriseudo ) now replaced the old Sino-Korean 기독 (RR: Gidok ), which refers to Christ himself. In Thailand,

4590-549: The 17th century: Oxford English Dictionary shows a 1634 use of Xtianity and Xian is seen in a 1634–38 diary. The word Xmas uses a similar contraction. The first recorded use of the term (or its cognates in other languages) is in the New Testament , in Acts 11 after Barnabas brought Saul (Paul) to Antioch where they taught the disciples for about a year. The text says that "the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch" ( Acts 11:26 ). The second mention of

4692-487: The Ark for seven months and had been visited with calamities and misfortunes, they decided to return the Ark to the Israelites. According to Bruce C. Birch, Samuel was a key figure in keeping the Israelites' religious heritage and identity alive during Israel's defeat and occupation by the Philistines. "[I]t may have been possible and necessary for Samuel to exercise authority in roles that would normally not converge in

4794-460: The Book(s) of Samuel (according to the Documentary Hypothesis ), this would suggest Chronicles is making its claim based on religious motivations. According to most modern scholarship, the Levitical genealogy of 1 Chronicles 4 is not historical. According to the documentary hypothesis of Biblical source criticism, which postulates that " Deuteronomistic historians " redacted the Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings),

4896-451: The Book(s) of Samuel. The oldest is considered to be that marking Samuel as the local seer of Ramah, who willingly anointed Saul as king in secret, while the latter presents Samuel as a national figure, begrudgingly anointing Saul as king in front of a national assembly. This later source is generally known as the Republican source , since it denigrates the monarchy (particularly the actions of Saul) and favours religious figures, in contrast to

4998-451: The Deuteronomistic historians, Samuel would have been an extension of Moses and continuing Moses' function as a prophet, judge, and priest, which makes the nature of the historical Samuel uncertain. According to the Book of Jeremiah and one of the Psalms , Samuel had a high devotion to God. Classical Rabbinical literature adds that he was more than an equal to Moses , God speaking directly to Samuel, rather than Samuel having to attend

5100-454: The Deuteronomists idealized Samuel as a figure larger than life, like Joshua . For example, Samuel's father Elkanah is described as having originated from Zuph , specifically Ramathaim-Zophim , which was part of the tribal lands of Ephraim , while 1 Chronicles states that he was a Levite . Samuel is portrayed as a judge who leads the military, as the judges in the Book of Judges, and also who exercises judicial functions. In 1 Sam 12:6–17,

5202-412: The Father" (ST III , q. 16, a. 5). The use of "Χ" as an abbreviation for "Christ" derives from the Greek letter Chi (χ), in the word Christós ( ‹See Tfd› Greek: Χριστός ). An early Christogram is the Chi Rho symbol, formed by superimposing the first two Greek letters in Christ, chi (Χ) and rho (Ρ), to produce ☧ . The centuries-old English word Χmas (or, in earlier form, XPmas )

SECTION 50

#1732776254840

5304-450: The Holy Forefathers in the Calendar of Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on July 30. In the Coptic Orthodox Church , the commemoration of the departure of Samuel the Prophet is celebrated on 9 Paoni . Herbert Lockyer , minister and author, and others have seen in Samuel's combined offices of prophet, priest, and ruler a foreshadowing of Christ. Samuel ( Arabic : صموئيل or شموئيل , romanized :  Šamūʾīl or Ṣamūʾīl )

5406-428: The Islamic narrative, the Israelites after Moses wanted a king to rule over their country. Thus, God sent a prophet, Samuel, to anoint Talut as the first king for the Israelites. However, the Israelites mocked and reviled the newly appointed king, as he was not wealthy from birth (Q 2:247 ). But, assuming Talut to be Saul , in sharp contrast to the Hebrew Bible, the Qur'an praises Saul greatly, and mentions that he

5508-431: The Israelites. The text then states that Samuel erected a large stone at the battle site as a memorial, and there ensued a long period of peace thereafter. Samuel initially appointed his two sons Joel and Abijah as his successors; however, just like Eli's sons, Samuel's proved unworthy for they accepted bribes and perverted judgement. The Israelites rejected them. Because of the external threat from other tribes, such as

5610-463: The Jewish messiah, e.g. in the Confession of Peter , he was usually called "Jesus of Nazareth" or "Jesus, son of Joseph ". Jesus came to be called "Jesus Christ" (meaning "Jesus the Khristós ", i.e. "Jesus the Messiah" or "Jesus the Anointed ") by Christians, who believe that his crucifixion and resurrection fulfill the messianic prophecies of the Old Testament, especially the prophecies outlined in Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22. Christ derives from

5712-399: The Lord. Upon receiving the communication, Eli merely said that the Lord should do what seems right unto him. Samuel grew up and "all Israel from Dan to Beersheba " came to know that Samuel was a trustworthy prophet of the Lord. Anglican theologian Donald Spence Jones comments that "the minds of all the people were thus gradually prepared when the right moment came to acknowledge Samuel as

5814-465: The Philistines, the tribal leaders decided that there was a need for a more unified, central government, and demanded Samuel appoint a king so that they could be like other nations. Samuel interpreted this as a personal rejection, and at first was reluctant to oblige, until reassured by a divine revelation. He warned the people of the potential negative consequences of such a decision. When Saul and his servant were searching for his father 's lost donkeys,

5916-470: The Russian term крестьяне ( khrest'yane ) acquired the meaning ' peasants of Christian faith ' and later ' peasants ' (the main part of the population of the region), while the term Russian : христиане ( khristiane ) retained its religious meaning and the term Russian : русские ( russkie ) began to mean representatives of the heterogeneous Russian nation formed on the basis of common Christian faith and language, which strongly influenced

6018-448: The Son of God?', to which Jesus reportedly answered: Ὑμεῖς λέγετε ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι ( Hymeis legete hoti ego eimi , "You [plural] say that I am". In the Gospel of Mark, however, when asked by Caiaphas 'Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?', Jesus tells the Sanhedrin: Ἐγώ εἰμι ( ego eimi , "I am"). There are instances from Jewish literature in which the expression "you have said it" is equivalent to "you are right". The Messianic claim

6120-453: The Western world, Christians has had an influence and contributed on various cultures, such as in Africa, the Near East, Middle East, East Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Christians have made noted contributions to a range of fields, including philosophy, science and technology , medicine , fine arts and architecture , politics , literatures , music , and business . According to 100 Years of Nobel Prizes

6222-409: The assumption that Samuel was still living when summoned, is discredited (Tosef., Soṭah, xi. 5). Still he was invoked during the first twelve months after his death, when, according to the Rabbis, the spirit still hovers near the body (Shab. 152b). In connection with the incidents of the story the Rabbis have developed the theory that the necromancer sees the spirit but is unable to hear his speech, while

SECTION 60

#1732776254840

6324-419: The central role of the Western world and Western culture . Western culture, throughout most of its history, has been nearly equivalent to Christian culture, and a large portion of the population of the Western Hemisphere can be described as practicing or nominal Christians. The notion of "Europe" and the "Western World" has been intimately connected with the concept of "Christianity and Christendom". Outside

6426-416: The concept of the messiah in Judaism . Christians believe that Jesus is the messiah foretold in the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament . Although the conceptions of the messiah in each religion are similar, for the most part they are distinct from one another due to the split of early Christianity and Judaism in the 1st century . Although the original followers of Jesus believed Jesus to be

6528-412: The country's rich history of early Christianity during the Spanish colonial era . Some Protestants in the Philippines use the term Kristiyano (before the term born again became popular) to differentiate themselves from Catholics ( Katoliko ). The region of modern Eastern Europe and Central Eurasia has a long history of Christianity and Christian communities on its lands. In ancient times, in

6630-403: The evidence for these words comes from "educated Englishmen who knew their Greek". The December 1957 News and Views published by the Church League of America , a conservative organization founded in 1937, attacked the use of "Xmas" in an article titled "X=The Unknown Quantity". Gerald L. K. Smith picked up the statements later, in December 1966, saying that Xmas was a "blasphemous omission of

6732-735: The first centuries after the birth of Christ, when this region was called Scythia, the geographical area of Scythians – Christians already lived there. Later the region saw the first states to adopt Christianity officially – initially Armenia (301 AD) and Georgia (337 AD), later Bulgaria ( c. 864) and Kyivan Rus ( c. 988 AD). In some areas, people came to denote themselves as Christians ( Russian : христиане, крестьяне ; Ukrainian : християни , romanized :  khrystyiany ) and as Russians ( Russian : русские ), Ruthenians ( Old East Slavic : русини, руснаки , romanized:  rusyny, rusnaky ), or Ukrainians ( Ukrainian : українці , romanized :  ukraintsi ). In time

6834-414: The gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God") identifies Jesus as both Christ and the Son of God . Matthew 1:1 uses Christ as a name and Matthew 1:16 explains it again with: "Jesus, who is called Christ". The use of the definite article before the word "Christ" and its gradual development into a proper name show that the Christians identified Jesus with the promised messiah of the Jews who fulfilled all

6936-432: The highest numbers of years of schooling among Christians were found in Germany (13.6), New Zealand (13.5) and Estonia (13.1). Christians were also found to have the second highest number of graduate and post-graduate degrees per capita while in absolute numbers ranked in the first place (220 million). Between the various Christian communities , Singapore outranks other nations in terms of Christians who obtain

7038-405: The historical evidence that "Christian monks built libraries and, in the days before printing presses, preserved important earlier writings produced in Latin, Greek and Arabic". According to the same study, Christians have a significant amount of gender equality in educational attainment, and the study suggests that one of the reasons is the encouragement of the Protestant Reformers in promoting

7140-494: The history and development of the region. In the region, the term Orthodox faith ( Russian : православная вера , pravoslavnaia vera ) or Russian faith ( Russian : русская вера , russkaia vera ) from the earliest times became almost as common as the original Christian faith ( Russian : христианская, крестьянская вера khristianskaia, krestianskaia ). Also in some contexts the term cossack ( Old East Slavic : козак, казак , romanized:  kozak, kazak )

7242-408: The holy site of Shiloh . On one occasion, Hannah went to the sanctuary and prayed for a child. In tears, she vowed that if she were granted a child, she would dedicate him to God as a nazirite . Eli , who was sitting at the foot of the doorpost in the sanctuary at Shiloh, saw her apparently mumbling to herself and thought she was drunk, but was soon assured of both her motivation and sobriety. Eli

7344-589: The jealous Saul first tried to have him killed. Samuel is described in the biblical narrative as being buried in Ramah . According to tradition, this burial place has been identified with Samuel's tomb in the West Bank village of Nabi Samwil . Some time after his death, Saul had the Witch of Endor conjure Samuel's spirit from Sheol in order to predict the result of an upcoming battle (1 Samuel 28:3–24). Samuel

7446-526: The larger category as Christian. Most Baptists and fundamentalists ( Christian Fundamentalism ), for example, would not acknowledge Mormonism or Christian Science as Christian. In fact, the nearly 77 percent of Americans who self-identify as Christian are a diverse pluribus of Christianities that are far from any collective unity. Linda Woodhead attempts to provide a common belief thread for Christians by noting that "Whatever else they might disagree about, Christians are at least united in believing that Jesus has

7548-404: The majority of the population in 158 countries and territories. 280 million Christians live as a minority . About half of all Christians worldwide are Catholic , while more than a third are Protestant (37%). Orthodox communions comprise 12% of the world's Christians. Other Christian groups make up the remainder. By 2050, the Christian population is expected to exceed 3 billion. According to

7650-646: The most common terms are คนคริสต์ ( RTGS : khon khrit ) or ชาวคริสต์ (RTGS: chao khrit ) which literally means ' Christ person/people ' or ' Jesus person/people ' . The Thai word คริสต์ (RTGS: khrit ) is derived from Christ . In the Philippines , the most common terms are Kristiyano (for ' Christian ' ) and {{lang[fil|Kristiyanismo}} (for ' Christianity ' ) in most Philippine languages ; both derive from Spanish cristiano and cristianismo (also used in Chavacano ) due to

7752-550: The name of Christ" and that "'X' is referred to as being symbolical of the unknown quantity." More recently, American evangelist Franklin Graham and former CNN contributor Roland S. Martin publicly raised concerns. Graham stated in an interview that the use of "Xmas" is taking "Christ out of Christmas" and called it a "war against the name of Jesus Christ." Roland Martin relates the use of "Xmas" to his growing concerns of increasing commercialization and secularization of what he says

7854-549: The other main source—the Monarchial source —which treats it favourably. The Monarchial source would have Saul appointed king by public acclamation, due to his military victories, and not by Samuel's cleromancy . Another difference between the sources is that the Republican source treats the ecstatic prophets as somewhat independent from Samuel (1 Samuel 9:1ff) rather than having been led by him. The passage in which Samuel

7956-665: The past, the Malays used to call Christians in Malay by the Portuguese loanword Serani (from Arabic Naṣrānī ), but the term now refers to the modern Kristang creoles of Malaysia . In the Indonesian language , the term Nasrani is also used alongside Kristen . The Chinese word is 基督 徒 ( jīdū tú ), literally ' Christ follower ' . The name Christ was originally phonetically written in Chinese as 基利斯督 , which

8058-433: The people to foreign invaders should they disobey. 1 Kings 11:5, 33, and 2 Kings 23:13 note that the Israelites fell into Asherah worship later on. When Saul was preparing to fight the Philistines, Samuel denounced him for proceeding with the pre-battle sacrifice without waiting for the overdue Samuel to arrive. He prophesied that Saul's rule would see no dynastic succession. Samuel also directed Saul to "utterly destroy"

8160-559: The person at whose instance the spirit is called hears the voice but fails to see; bystanders neither hear nor see (Yalḳ., l.c.; Redaḳ and RaLBaG's commentaries). The outcry of the woman at the sight of Samuel was due to his rising in an unusual way—upright, not, as she expected, in a horizontal position (comp. LXX. ὄρθιον in verse 14). Some authors see the biblical Samuel as combining descriptions of two distinct roles: Source-critical scholarship suggests that these two roles come from different sources, which later were spliced together to form

8262-485: The phrase "the Jews call us Nazarenes." While around 331 AD Eusebius records that Christ was called a Nazoraean from the name Nazareth , and that in earlier centuries "Christians" were once called "Nazarenes". The Hebrew equivalent of Nazarenes , Notzrim , occurs in the Babylonian Talmud , and is still the modern Israeli Hebrew term for Christian. A wide range of beliefs and practices are found across

8364-583: The second to the fifth centuries, the relation of the human and divine nature of Christ was a major focus of debates in the early church and at the first seven ecumenical councils . The Council of Chalcedon in 451 issued a formulation of the hypostatic union of the two natures of Christ, one human and one divine, "united with neither confusion nor division". Most of the major branches of Western Christianity and Eastern Orthodoxy subscribe to this formulation, while many branches of Oriental Orthodox Churches reject it, subscribing to miaphysitism . According to

8466-483: The servant suggested consulting the nearby Samuel. Samuel recognized Saul as the future king. Just before his retirement, Samuel gathered the people to an assembly at Gilgal , and delivered a farewell speech or coronation speech in which he emphasised how prophets and judges were more important than kings, that kings should be held to account, and that the people should not fall into idol worship, or worship of Asherah or of Baal . Samuel promised that God would subject

8568-436: The spelling Crist —the i being pronounced either as / iː / , preserved in the names of churches such as St Katherine Cree , or as a short / ɪ / , preserved in the modern pronunciation of " Christmas ". The spelling "Christ" in English is attested from the 14th century. In modern and ancient usage, even in secular terminology, "Christ" usually refers to Jesus, based on the centuries-old tradition of such usage. Since

8670-510: The spread of Christianity from the Levant to Europe and North Africa and Horn of Africa during the early Roman Empire , Christendom has been divided in the pre-existing Greek East and Latin West . Consequently, different versions of the Christian cultures arose with their own rites and practices, centered around the cities such as Rome ( Western Christianity ) and Carthage , whose communities

8772-585: The tabernacle to hear God. Samuel is also described by the Rabbis as having been extremely intelligent; he argued that it was legitimate for laymen to slaughter sacrifices, since the Halakha only insisted that the priests bring the blood , Eli, who was viewed negatively by many Classical Rabbis, is said to have reacted to this logic of Samuel by arguing that it was technically true, but Samuel should be put to death for making legal statements while Eli (his mentor)

8874-549: The term follows in Acts 26 , where Herod Agrippa II replied to Paul the Apostle , "Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian." ( Acts 26:28 ). The third and final New Testament reference to the term is in 1 Peter 4 , which exhorts believers: "Yet if [any man suffer] as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf." ( 1 Peter 4:16 ). Kenneth Samuel Wuest holds that all three original New Testament verses' usages reflect

8976-410: The total global wealth. A study done by the nonpartisan wealth research firm New World Wealth found that 56.2% of the 13.1 million millionaires in the world were Christians. A Pew Center study about religion and education around the world in 2016, found that Christians ranked as the second most educated religious group around in the world after Jews with an average of 9.3 years of schooling, and

9078-533: The two portrayals of Samuel. The Book(s) of Samuel variously describe Samuel as having carried out sacrifices at sanctuaries, and having constructed and sanctified altars . According to the Priestly Code / Deuteronomic Code only Aaronic priests/ Levites (depending on the underlying tradition) were permitted to perform these actions, and simply being a nazarite or prophet was insufficient. The books of Samuel and Kings offer numerous examples where this rule

9180-432: The voice was the Lord's, and instructed Samuel on how to answer: If He calls you, then you must say, "Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears". Once Samuel responded, the Lord told him that the wickedness of the sons of Eli had resulted in their dynasty being condemned to destruction. In the morning, Samuel was hesitant about reporting the message to Eli, but Eli asked him to honestly recount to him what he had been told by

9282-507: The world among those who call themselves Christian. Denominations and sects disagree on a common definition of "Christianity". For example, Timothy Beal notes the disparity of beliefs among those who identify as Christians in the United States as follows: Although all of them have their historical roots in Christian theology and tradition, and although most would identify themselves as Christian, many would not identify others within

9384-526: Was felle ( فەڵە ), coming from the root word meaning ' to be saved, attain salvation ' . The Syriac term Nasrani ( ' Nazarene ' ) has also been attached to the Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala , India. In northern India and Pakistan , Christians are referred to ʿĪsāʾī ( Hindi : ईसाई , Urdu : عیسائی ). Masīhī ( Hindi : मसीही , Urdu : مسیحی ) is a term Christians use to refer to themselves as well. In

9486-587: Was Hannah and his father was Elkanah . Elkanah lived at Ramathaim in the district of Zuph . His genealogy is also found in a pedigree of the Kohathites (1 Chronicles 6:3–15) and in that of Heman the Ezrahite , apparently his grandson (1 Chronicles 6:18–33). According to the genealogical tables in Chronicles, Elkanah was a Levite —a fact not mentioned in the books of Samuel. The fact that Elkanah,

9588-449: Was angered by his recalling, and told Saul that the Lord had left him. While the Witch of Endor remains anonymous in the Biblical account, the rabbinical Midrash maintains that she was Zephaniah, the mother of Abner (Yalḳ, Sam. 140, from Pirḳe R. El.). That a supernatural appearance is here described is inferred from the repeated emphasis laid on the statement that Samuel had died and had been buried (I Sam. xxv. 1, xxviii. 3), by which

9690-588: Was called Western or Latin Christendom , and Constantinople ( Eastern Christianity ), Antioch ( Syriac Christianity ), Kerala ( Indian Christianity ) and Alexandria , among others, whose communities were called Eastern or Oriental Christendom. The Byzantine Empire was one of the peaks in Christian history and Christian civilization . From the 11th to 13th centuries, Latin Christendom rose to

9792-621: Was gifted with great spiritual and physical strength. In the Qur'anic account, Samuel prophesies that the sign of Talut's kingship will be that the Ark of the Covenant will come back to the Israelites. `Abdu'l-Bahá , a central figure in the Bahá'í Faith , mentions Samuel as an example of a genuine Prophet of the House of Israel, alongside Ezekiel . Actors who have portrayed Samuel include Leonard Nimoy in

9894-580: Was later abbreviated as 基督 . The term is Kî-tuk in the southern Hakka dialect ; the two characters are pronounced Jīdū in Mandarin Chinese. In Vietnam, the same two characters read Cơ đốc , and a "follower of Christianity" is a tín đồ Cơ đốc giáo . In Japan, the term kirishitan (written in Edo period documents 吉利支丹 , 切支丹 , and in modern Japanese histories as キリシタン ), from Portuguese cristão , referred to Roman Catholics in

9996-453: Was less significant than the claim to divinity, which caused the high priest 's horrified accusation of blasphemy and the subsequent call for the death sentence. Before Pilate , on the other hand, it was merely the assertion of his royal dignity which gave grounds for his condemnation. The word "Christ" is closely associated with Jesus in the Pauline epistles , which suggests that there

10098-523: Was no need for the early Christians to claim that Jesus is Christ because it was considered widely accepted among them. Hence Paul can use the term Khristós with no confusion as to whom it refers, and he can use expressions such as "in Christ" to refer to the followers of Jesus, as in 1 Corinthians 4:15 and Romans 12:5 . Paul proclaimed him as the Last Adam , who restored through obedience what Adam lost through disobedience. The Pauline epistles are

10200-573: Was present. Samuel is also treated by the Classical Rabbis as a much more sympathetic character than he appears at face value in the Bible; his annual circuit is explained as being due to his wish to spare people the task of having to journey to him; Samuel is said to have been very rich, taking his entire household with him on the circuit so that he didn't need to impose himself on anyone's hospitality; when Saul fell out of God's favour, Samuel

10302-576: Was the priest of Shiloh , and one of the last Israelite Judges before the rule of kings in ancient Israel . He had assumed the leadership after Samson 's death. Eli blessed her and she returned home. Subsequently, Hannah became pregnant, later giving birth to Samuel, and praised God for his mercy and faithfulness. After the child was weaned, she left him in Eli's care, and from time to time she would come to visit her son. According to 1 Samuel 1:20, Hannah named Samuel to commemorate her prayer to God for

10404-543: Was used to denote "free" Christians of steppe origin and East Slavic language. Nominally "Christian" societies made "Christian" a default label for citizenship or for "people like us". In this context, religious or ethnic minorities can use "Christians" or "you Christians" loosely as a shorthand term for mainstream members of society who do not belong to their group – even in a thoroughly secular (though formerly Christian) society. As of 2020, Christianity has approximately 2.4 billion adherents. The faith represents about

#839160