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Christianity
Article Free Pass- Introduction
- The church and its history
- The essence and identity of Christianity
- The history of Christianity
- The primitive church
- The internal development of the early Christian Church
- Relations between Christianity and the Roman government and the Hellenistic culture
- The early liturgy, the calendar, and the arts
- The alliance between church and empire
- Theological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries
- Liturgy and the arts after Constantine
- Political relations between East and West
- Literature and art of the “Dark Ages”
- Missions and monasticism
- The Photian schism and the great East–West schism
- From the schism to the Reformation
- Christianity from the 16th to the 20th century
- Contemporary Christianity
- Christian doctrine
- The nature and functions of doctrine
- Scripture and tradition: the apostolic witness
- Evangelism: the first teaching about the God of Jesus Christ
- Catechesis: instructing candidates for baptism
- Liturgy: the school and feast of faith
- Ethics: obeying the truth
- Aversion of heresy: the establishment of orthodoxy
- Apologetics: defending the faith
- Restatement: respecting language and knowledge
- Inculturation: respecting places and peoples
- Dogma: the most authoritative teaching
- Consensus: patterns of agreement
- Theology: loving God with the mind
- Symbolics: creeds and confessions
- Development: the maturation of understanding
- Schism: division over substantial matters
- Controversy: fighting over the faith
- Ecumenism: speaking the truth in love
- God the Father
- God the Son
- God the Holy Spirit
- The Holy Trinity
- Anthropology
- What it is to be human
- The human as a creature
- The human as the image of God
- Human redemption
- The problem of suffering
- The resurrection of the body
- Progressive human perfection
- The “new man”: The human being in the light of Christ
- The “reborn human”
- Human liberation
- Joy in human existence
- The charismatic believer
- Christian perfection
- Fellow humans as the present Christ
- The church
- Church tradition
- Eschatology
- Expectations of the Kingdom of God in early Christianity
- Expectations of the Kingdom of God in the medieval and Reformation periods
- Expectations of the Kingdom of God in the post-Reformation period
- The role of imminent expectation in missions and emigrations
- Eschatological expectations and secularization
- Concepts of life after death
- Aspects of the Christian religion
- Christian philosophy
- Christian mysticism
- Christian myth and legend
- The Christian community and the world
- The relationships of Christianity
- Christian missions
- Ecumenism
- Christianity and world religions
- Related
- Contributors & Bibliography
- Year in Review Links
- Introduction
- The church and its history
- The essence and identity of Christianity
- The history of Christianity
- The primitive church
- The internal development of the early Christian Church
- Relations between Christianity and the Roman government and the Hellenistic culture
- The early liturgy, the calendar, and the arts
- The alliance between church and empire
- Theological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries
- Liturgy and the arts after Constantine
- Political relations between East and West
- Literature and art of the “Dark Ages”
- Missions and monasticism
- The Photian schism and the great East–West schism
- From the schism to the Reformation
- Christianity from the 16th to the 20th century
- Contemporary Christianity
- Christian doctrine
- The nature and functions of doctrine
- Scripture and tradition: the apostolic witness
- Evangelism: the first teaching about the God of Jesus Christ
- Catechesis: instructing candidates for baptism
- Liturgy: the school and feast of faith
- Ethics: obeying the truth
- Aversion of heresy: the establishment of orthodoxy
- Apologetics: defending the faith
- Restatement: respecting language and knowledge
- Inculturation: respecting places and peoples
- Dogma: the most authoritative teaching
- Consensus: patterns of agreement
- Theology: loving God with the mind
- Symbolics: creeds and confessions
- Development: the maturation of understanding
- Schism: division over substantial matters
- Controversy: fighting over the faith
- Ecumenism: speaking the truth in love
- God the Father
- God the Son
- God the Holy Spirit
- The Holy Trinity
- Anthropology
- What it is to be human
- The human as a creature
- The human as the image of God
- Human redemption
- The problem of suffering
- The resurrection of the body
- Progressive human perfection
- The “new man”: The human being in the light of Christ
- The “reborn human”
- Human liberation
- Joy in human existence
- The charismatic believer
- Christian perfection
- Fellow humans as the present Christ
- The church
- Church tradition
- Eschatology
- Expectations of the Kingdom of God in early Christianity
- Expectations of the Kingdom of God in the medieval and Reformation periods
- Expectations of the Kingdom of God in the post-Reformation period
- The role of imminent expectation in missions and emigrations
- Eschatological expectations and secularization
- Concepts of life after death
- Aspects of the Christian religion
- Christian philosophy
- Christian mysticism
- Christian myth and legend
- The Christian community and the world
- The relationships of Christianity
- Christian missions
- Ecumenism
- Christianity and world religions
- Related
- Contributors & Bibliography
- Year in Review Links
Church and society
The development of Christianity’s influence on the character of society since the Reformation has been twofold. In the realm of state churches and territorial churches, Christianity contributed to the preservation of the status quo of society. In England, the Anglican Church remained an ally of the throne, as did the Protestant churches of the German states. In Russia the Orthodox Church continued to support a social order founded upon the monarchy, and even the monarch carried out a leading function within the church as protector.
Though the impulses for transformation of the social order according to the spirit of the Christian ethic came more strongly from the Free churches and state and territorial churches made positive contributions in improving the status quo. In 17th- and 18th-century Germany, Lutheran clergy, such as August Francke (1663–1727), were active in establishing poorhouses, orphanages, schools, and hospitals. In England, Anglican clerics, such as Frederick Denison Maurice and Charles Kingsley in the 19th century, began a Christian social movement during the Industrial Revolution that brought Christian influence to the conditions of life and work in industry. Johann Hinrich Wichern proclaimed, “There is a Christian Socialism,” at the Kirchentag Church Convention in Wittenberg [Germany] in 1848, the year of the publication of the Communist Manifesto and a wave of revolutions across Europe, and created the “Inner Mission” in order to address “works of saving love” to all suffering spiritual and physical distress. The diaconal movements of the Inner Mission were concerned with social issues, prison reform, and care of the mentally ill.
The Anglo-Saxon Free churches made great efforts to bring the social atmosphere and living conditions into line with a Christian understanding of human life. Methodists and Baptists addressed their message mainly to those segments of society that were neglected by the established church. They recognized that the distress of the newly formed working class, a consequence of industrialization, could not be removed by the traditional charitable means used by the state churches. In Germany, in particular, the spiritual leaders of the so-called revival movement, such as Friedrich Wilhelm Krummacher (1796–1868), denied the right of self-organization to the workers by claiming that all earthly social injustices would receive compensation in heaven caused Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels to separate themselves completely from the church and its purely charitable attempts at a settlement of social conflicts and to declare religion with its promise of a better beyond as the “opiate of the people.” This reproach, however, was as little in keeping with the social-ethical activities of the Inner Mission and of Methodists and Baptists as it was with the selfless courage of the Quakers, who fought against social demoralization, against the catastrophic situation in the prisons, against war, and, most of all, against slavery.
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People
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(German theologian and church historian)"/>
(German theologian and church historian)"/> Adolf von Harnack (German theologian and church historian)
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al-Ḥākim (Fāṭimid caliph)
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(Flemish theologian)"/>
(Flemish theologian)"/> Cornelius Otto Jansen (Flemish theologian)
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(king of Scotland)"/>
(king of Scotland)"/> David I (king of Scotland)
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(Dutch humanist and scholar)"/>
(Dutch humanist and scholar)"/> Desiderius Erasmus (Dutch humanist and scholar)
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Elaine Pagels (American scholar)
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(German theologian)"/>
(German theologian)"/> Ernst Troeltsch (German theologian)
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(German theologian)"/>
(German theologian)"/> Ferdinand Christian Baur (German theologian)
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(king of Denmark)"/>
(king of Denmark)"/> Harald I (king of Denmark)
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(Bohemian religious leader)"/>
(Bohemian religious leader)"/> Jan Hus (Bohemian religious leader)
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(Czech philosopher)"/>
(Czech philosopher)"/> Jerome Of Prague (Czech philosopher)
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Jesus Christ
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(English philosopher)"/>
(English philosopher)"/> John Locke (English philosopher)
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John Toland (British author)
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(Mohawk chief)"/>
(Mohawk chief)"/> Joseph Brant (Mohawk chief)
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(Spanish architect)"/>
(Spanish architect)"/> Juan de Herrera (Spanish architect)
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Keshab Chunder Sen (Hindu philosopher and social reformer)
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(German religious philosopher)"/>
(German religious philosopher)"/> Martin Buber (German religious philosopher)
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Martin E. Marty (American historian of religion)
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(mother of Jesus)"/>
(mother of Jesus)"/> Mary (mother of Jesus)
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Mary Hannah Fulton (American physician and missionary)
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Matthias Flacius Illyricus (European religious reformer)
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Michael Psellus (Byzantine philosopher, theologian, and statesman)
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(Italian artist)"/>
(Italian artist)"/> Michelozzo (Italian artist)
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Mieszko I (duke and prince of Poland)
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Minh Mang (emperor of Vietnam)
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(Danish bishop and poet)"/>
(Danish bishop and poet)"/> N.F.S. Grundtvig (Danish bishop and poet)
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(German religious leader)"/>
(German religious leader)"/> Nikolaus Ludwig, count von Zinzendorf (German religious leader)
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Nikolay Aleksandrovich Berdyayev (Russian philosopher)
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Olaf I Tryggvason (king of Norway)
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Olaf II Haraldsson (king of Norway)
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Pelagius (Christian theologian)
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(American theologian)"/>
(American theologian)"/> Philip Schaff (American theologian)
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(French philosopher)"/>
(French philosopher)"/> Pierre Bayle (French philosopher)
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Pseudo-Dionysius The Areopagite (Syrian author)
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(German theologian, scientist, and philosopher)"/>
(German theologian, scientist, and philosopher)"/> Saint Albertus Magnus (German theologian, scientist, and philosopher)
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(Russian painter)"/>
(Russian painter)"/> Saint Andrey Rublyov (Russian painter)
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(Christian bishop and theologian)"/>
(Christian bishop and theologian)"/> Saint Augustine (Christian bishop and theologian)
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(Anglo-Saxon historian)"/>
(Anglo-Saxon historian)"/> Saint Bede the Venerable (Anglo-Saxon historian)
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(Christian Apostle)"/>
(Christian Apostle)"/> Saint Paul, the Apostle (Christian Apostle)
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Saint Theophilus of Alexandria (Egyptian theologian)
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Sir Sigmund Sternberg (British philanthropist and entrepreneur)
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(Danish philosopher)"/>
(Danish philosopher)"/> Søren Kierkegaard (Danish philosopher)
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(king of Hungary)"/>
(king of Hungary)"/> Stephen I (king of Hungary)
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(American missionary and educator)"/>
(American missionary and educator)"/> Susan Lincoln Tolman Mills (American missionary and educator)
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Theōdūrus Abū Qurrah (Syrian bishop)
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Tu Duc (emperor of Vietnam)
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(grand prince of Kiev)"/>
(grand prince of Kiev)"/> Vladimir I (grand prince of Kiev)
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(prince of Bohemia)"/>
(prince of Bohemia)"/> Wenceslas I (prince of Bohemia)
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(British missionary)"/>
(British missionary)"/> William Carey (British missionary)
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Places
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Armageddon (biblical place)
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(ancient city, Israel)"/>
(ancient city, Israel)"/> Caesarea (ancient city, Israel)
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(Ireland)"/>
(Ireland)"/> Clonmacnoise (Ireland)
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(Spain)"/>
(Spain)"/> El Escorial (Spain)
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Le Temple (prison, Paris, France)
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(monasteries, Greece)"/>
(monasteries, Greece)"/> Metéora (monasteries, Greece)
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(mosque, Córdoba, Spain)"/>
(mosque, Córdoba, Spain)"/> Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba (mosque, Córdoba, Spain)
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(mountain, Greece)"/>
(mountain, Greece)"/> Mount Athos (mountain, Greece)
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(ridge, Jerusalem)"/>
(ridge, Jerusalem)"/> Mount of Olives (ridge, Jerusalem)
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(Italy)"/>
(Italy)"/> Rome (Italy)
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(monastery and church, Assisi, Italy)"/>
(monastery and church, Assisi, Italy)"/> San Francesco (monastery and church, Assisi, Italy)
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School of Alexandria (institution, Alexandria, Egypt)
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(ecclesiastical state, Europe)"/>
(ecclesiastical state, Europe)"/> Vatican City (ecclesiastical state, Europe)
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(Scotland, United Kingdom)"/>
(Scotland, United Kingdom)"/> Whithorn (Scotland, United Kingdom)
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Topics
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(Christianity)"/>
(Christianity)"/> Annunciation (Christianity)
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apocrypha (biblical literature)
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apologetics (Christianity)
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(Christianity)"/>
(Christianity)"/> Apostle (Christianity)
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(Christianity)"/>
(Christianity)"/> Ascension (Christianity)
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(Christianity)"/>
(Christianity)"/> Assumption (Christianity)
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(Christianity)"/>
(Christianity)"/> baptism (Christianity)
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(denomination)"/>
(denomination)"/> Baptist (denomination)
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(biblical literature)"/>
(biblical literature)"/> Beatitude (biblical literature)
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(sacred text)"/>
(sacred text)"/> Bible (sacred text)
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biblical literature
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canon law (religion)
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catechism (religious manual)
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(liturgical vessel)"/>
(liturgical vessel)"/> chalice (liturgical vessel)
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(doctrine of Christ)"/>
(doctrine of Christ)"/> Christology (doctrine of Christ)
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church (Christianity)
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Church Father (Christianity)
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church year (Christianity)
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city mission (Christianity)
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confirmation (Christianity)
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creationism
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(religious symbol)"/>
(religious symbol)"/> cross (religious symbol)
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(Christianity)"/>
(Christianity)"/> ecumenism (Christianity)
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gospel music
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heresy
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(Jesus Christ)"/>
(Jesus Christ)"/> Incarnation (Jesus Christ)
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justification (Christianity)
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kerygma and catechesis (Christian theology)
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Kingdom of God (Christianity)
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Kirishitan (religion)
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(Christianity)"/>
(Christianity)"/> Last Supper (Christianity)
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(philosophy and theology)"/>
(philosophy and theology)"/> logos (philosophy and theology)
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Lord’s Prayer (Christianity)
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(theology)"/>
(theology)"/> Mariology (theology)
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ministry (Christianity)
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moral theology
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(biblical literature)"/>
(biblical literature)"/> New Testament (biblical literature)
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oratorio (music)
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(religion)"/>
(religion)"/> ordination (religion)
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original sin (theology)
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Passion music (vocal music)
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patristic literature (Christianity)
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(Christianity)"/>
(Christianity)"/> Protestantism (Christianity)
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Religionsgeschichtliche Schule (biblical criticism)
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Roman Catholicism
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Second Coming (Christianity)
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Sunday school
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theological liberalism (religion)
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tithe (almsgiving)
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