Project Tocsin's Handy-Dandy Theological Glossary

Edited by Jerry Sloan

• ARMAGEDDON
• BIBLICAL LAW
• BORN AGAIN
• CALVINISTS
  • THEONOMY
  • POSTMILLENNIAL
  • PRESUPPOSITIONAL
  • DOMINION/KINGDOM THEOLOGY
• CHARISMATIC
• CHRISTIAN IDENTITY
• CHRISTIAN RECONSTRUCTIONISM
• COVENANT THEOLOGY
• DEFECTIVE ELITES
• ELECT
• ESCHATOLOGY
  • THE RAPTURE
    • THE TRIBULATION PERIOD
    • PRE-TRIB, MID-TRIB, POST-TRIB
  • THE MILLENNIUM
  • PRE-MILLENNIALISM
• EVANGELICAL/ISM
• FUNDAMENTALIST/ISM
• GATEKEEPERS
• GLOSSOLALIA
• HEAVENLY DECEPTION
• IMPRECATORY PRAYER
• LATTER RAIN/MANIFEST SONS OF GOD
  • JOEL'S ARMY
• PROMISE KEEPERS
• PENTECOSTAL
• SHEPHERDING
• MILITIA MOVEMENT
• STEALTH

ARMAGEDDON: Place of the final battle between Christ and Satan at the end of the millennium. Also the last battle of the nations during the Tribulation. According to the Revelation of St. John the Divine, the battle will be so fierce that blood will run as high as a horse's bridle.

BIBLICAL LAW: The 600+ laws of the Old Testament, including the Ten Commandments, which Christian Reconstructionists claim are also a covenant for Christians because the Old Covenant between God and Israel (Jews) was transferred to the Church.

BORN AGAIN: Said to be a spiritual experience rooted in John 3 attained by praying the "Sinner's Prayer";  being saved.

CHRISTIAN RECONSTRUCTIONISM: A variation of Kingdom Now/Dominion/Covenant Theologies as taught by Presbyterian minister, the Reverend Dr. Rousas John Rushdoony, president of Chalcedon (kal-se'-don) Inc., located in Vallicito CA. By their own definition, Reconstructionists are Calvinist, Theonomists, Postmillenialists, Dominionists, and Presuppostitionalists. All Reconctructionists are Fundamentalists. All Fundamentalists are not Reconstructionists.

CALVINISTS: People who follow the theology of John Calvin, especially as defined in the acronym: TULIP:

Total Depravity

Unconditional Election

Limited atonement

Irristible grace

Perseverance Of The Saints

THEONOMY: God's law (Old Testament) and the application of it to our everyday lives. Many believe Theonomy not only rules the spiritual things in our lives but also the economical.

POSTMILLENNIAL: The belief that Christians must prepare the world for the coming of Christ by proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom to the entire world. Everyone must be converted to Christ.

PRESUPPOSITIONAL Certain things are inherently true, ie., they do not require proof to be true. No proof is required to prove God exists or that the Bible is true. One already presupposes that God exists. In other words "Don't confuse me with facts, my mind is made up!".

DOMINION / KINGDOM THEOLOGY: A belief that Christians should have dominion over all they see because God has given it to them to have dominion over; that every area dominated by sin must be "reconstructed" in terms of Biblical Law.This applies to the individual, the family, the church, society, and civil government. Dominion is supremacy in determining and directing the actions of others.

CHRISTIAN IDENTITY: A perversion of the British Israelite theory that the white people of Europe are descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel with whom God has a special covenant. Many White Supremacists such as Identity and White Aryan Nation churches hold to this teaching. Also many in Christian Identity also hold varying degrees of Christian Reconstructionist theology, particularly in the matter of the death penalty.

CHARISMATIC: One who speaks in an unknown tongue or heavenly language. Modern term for Pentecostal.

COVENANT THEOLOGY: Belief that a covenant of works was established with Adam before the fall of humanity and we are still obligated to it today. A covenant of grace has existed since the fall.

DEFECTIVE ELITES: Elected and appointed officials who are not in a theopolitical mold. A term of favored use by Paul Weyrich of the Free Congress Foundation.

ELECT: Doctrine of Calvinism which asserts there are certain people chosen by God to salvation and grace and the rest are left to go to hell which really doesn't matter because they were going there anyway.

ESCHATOLOGY: The study of the last days or end times which encompasses such events as:

THE RAPTURE: The catching up "in the twinkling of an eye," of all living believers and the faithful dead in Christ prior to his return to establish his kingdom. Christian Reconstructionist ridicule the idea of the rapture. For those who believe in the rapture it will act as a catalyst for these events:

THE TRIBULATION PERIOD: A time, seven years in length, of terrible judgment on all of humanity. Many believe it will not last the full seven years as humanity would not be able to survive it.

PRE-TRIB, MID-TRIB, POST-TRIB: The belief that Christ will, depending on one's point of view, return before the, in the middle of, or at the end of the Tribulation Period to establish his kingdom.

THE MILLENNIUM: The Thousand Year Reign of Christ on the Earth which begins at the end of the Tribulation Period. A time when the lion shall lay down with the lamb. According to the Revelation of Saint John the Divine, a New Jerusalem will descend from God out of Heaven which will have a foundation of 12 layers of precious stones, the streets will be of gold, and the tree of life will grow in the middle. Satan will be bound for 1000 years. He will be loosed at the end of the 1000 years to go forth and deceive the nations which will result in one final battle.

PRE-MILLENNIALISM: A belief that Christ will return to the earth prior to the Millennium to rapture away the Church, his Bride. This will save the believers who are alive at the time from going through the Tribulation Period.

EVANGELICALISM: Christians who actively proselytize and convert others. All fundamentalists are evangelicals. All evangelicals are not fundamentalists. They may or may not be Charismatic/Pentecostal.

FUNDAMENTALISM: A Christian fundamentalist believes the Bible is the literal, inerrant Word of God which holds all truth for humanity and should be the guide for our every day lives. Fundamentalists can be found in all denominations and religions.

GATEKEEPERS: Old Testament term referring to the elders who sat at the gates of their city where the controlled the flow of commerce, i.e., who would be allowed in and out of the city. As used by the Theocrats it means they intend to run everything in society -- law, education, entertainment, commerce, etc. The term is used many times in the Community Impact Committee Seminars as put on by Focus on the Family.

GLOSSOLALIA: (Greek) Speaking in an unknown tongue or heavenly language;  gibberish.

HEAVENLY DECEPTION: Lying for the Glory of God. It is OK not to tell the truth because in the end it furthers the cause of the Kingdom of God (see stealth).

IMPRECATORY PRAYER: A prayer, not necessarliy limited to these two subjects, asking God to remove a politician from office (failing to get re-elected) or to stop a doctor from performing abortions. If God fails to intervene, then the prayer asks for God to lay it on someone's heart to kill the politician/doctor.

LATTER RAIN/MANIFEST SONS OF GOD: A teaching which first appeared in the early 1900s based on a phrase in the writings of the Prophet Joel which was spread in the early 1950s by evangelist William Branham. It is a belief God will, in the Last Days, cause great miracles to occur. Although the Assemblies of God declared it a heresy, it is preached by many of AOG pastors and it has taken root in many independent Charismatic churches. Many of the "name it and claim it" ministries such as Oral Roberts, Frederick C. K. Price, Rev. Ike, Kenneth Copeland and Morris Curello have their roots in Latter Rain.

JOEL'S ARMY: A belief arising out of the Latter Rain/Manifest Sons of God movement which teaches in the last days God will raise up an invincible army which bullets will not harm. Joel's Army has been predicted by many preachers including Pat Robertson. It is also a teaching which is widely circulated by the Vineyard Christian Fellowship Churches associated with Rev. John Wimber. Former Colorado University football coach Bill McCartney, founder of Promise Keepers, is a member of the Vineyard Christian Fellowship.

PROMISE KEEPERS: Christian men's movement started by Bill McCartney. This movement has been sweeping America in huge stadium rallies. It urges men to return home to claim their rightful place of leadership in their family.

PENTECOSTAL: Original term used to denote those who believe in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit as a second work of grace manifested by speaking in tongues. They also believe in miraculous divine healing. With the advent of the Charismatic movement in the late 1960s, there came great jealousy between the two groups. Old-time Pentecostals such as those who belong to the Assemblies of God, Church of God in Christ, Pentecostal Holiness, etc., expected the Charismatics to leave their denominations and join Pentecostal churches but most Charismatics chose to remain in their mainline denominations such as Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Methodist or to join new independent Charismatic congregations with no denominational affiliation.

SHEPHERDING: Every believer, be they pastor or lay person, needs a shepherd or spiritual authority over them. The individual must obey their shepherd as he/she represents Christ. Promise Keepers has come up with a variation of Shepherding called Accountibility Groups, where up to six men submit themselves to one another for "spiritual counseling". The group is then accountable to an overseer, the overseer to someone else and so on.

MILITIA MOVEMENT: The proponents of this movement make the spurious claim of having their existence rooted in the 2nd Amendment of the Bill of Rights and that they are the inheritors of the spirit of the original Minute Men. In reality they are guerillas of private armies with no legal standing. It is a movement which is a coalition of many movements including but not limited to: Christian Identity, Posse Comitatus, Tax Resisters, Racists, Aryan Nations, United We Stand, Gun Owners.

STEALTH: Term used by former Christian Coalition Executive Director Ralph Reed during the 1992 election cycle as applied to an unusually low profile campaign or candidate to hide ties to the Theocratic Right (see Heavenly Deception).