Great ApostasyThe Great Apostasy is a concept within Christianity to describe a perception that mainstream Christian Churches have fallen away from the original faith founded by Jesus and promulgated through his twelve Apostles. A belief in a Great Apostasy has been characteristic of the Restorationist tradition of Christianity, which includes unrelated Restorationist groups emerging after the Second Great Awakening, such as the Christadelphians, Latter Day Saints, Jehovah's Witnesses, and Iglesia ni Cristo.
UnitarianismUnitarianism () is a Nontrinitarian branch of Christianity. Unitarian Christians affirm the unitary nature of God as the singular and unique creator of the universe, believe that Jesus Christ was inspired by God in his moral teachings and that he is the savior of humankind, but he is not comparable or equal to God himself. Unitarianism was established in order to restore "primitive Christianity before [what Unitarians saw as] later corruptions setting in"; Likewise, Unitarian Christians generally reject the doctrine of original sin.
ArianismArianism (Ἀρειανισμός, Areianismós) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (AD 256–336), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God the Father with the difference that the Son of God did not always exist but was begotten/made before "time" by God the Father; therefore, Jesus was not coeternal with God the Father, but nonetheless Jesus began to exist outside time as time applies only to the creations of God.
ChristadelphiansThe Christadelphians (ˌkrɪstəˈdɛlfiənz) are a restorationist group that hold a view of biblical unitarianism. There are approximately 50,000 Christadelphians in around 120 countries. The movement developed in the United Kingdom and North America in the 19th century around the teachings of John Thomas, who coined the name Christadelphian from the Greek words for Christ (Christos) and brothers (adelphoi). Asserting the Bible as the sole basis of their beliefs, Christadelphians differ from mainstream Christianity in a number of doctrinal areas.
MormonismMormonism is the religious tradition and theology of the Latter Day Saint movement of Restorationist Christianity started by Joseph Smith in Western New York in the 1820s and 1830s. As a label, Mormonism has been applied to various aspects of the Latter Day Saint movement, although there has been a recent push from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) to distance themselves from this label. A historian, Sydney E.
EbionitesEbionites (Ebiōnaîoi, derived from Hebrew אֶבְיוֹנִים (or אֶבְיוֹנִם), ʾEḇyōnīm, meaning 'the poor' or 'poor ones') as a term refers to a Jewish Christian sect, which viewed poverty as a blessing, that existed during the early centuries of the Common Era. The Ebionites embraced an adoptionist Christology, thus understanding Jesus of Nazareth as a mere man who, by virtue of his righteousness in following the Law of Moses, was chosen by God to be the messianic "prophet like Moses".
Denial of the virgin birth of JesusDenial of the virgin birth of Jesus is found among various groups and individuals throughout the history of Christianity. These groups and individuals often took an approach to Christology that understands Jesus to be human, the literal son of human parents. In the 19th century , the view was sometimes called psilanthropism, a term that derives from the combination of the Greek ψιλός (psilós), "plain", "mere" or "bare", and ἄνθρωπος (ánthrōpos) "human". Psilanthropists then generally denied both the virgin birth of Jesus and his divinity.
AdoptionismAdoptionism, also called dynamic monarchianism, is an early Christian nontrinitarian theological doctrine, subsequently revived in various forms, which holds that Jesus was adopted as the Son of God at his baptism, his resurrection, or his ascension. How common adoptionist views were among early Christians is debated, but it appears to have been most popular in the first, second, and third centuries. Some scholars see adoptionism as the belief of the earliest followers of Jesus, based on the epistles of Paul and other early literature.
BlasphemyBlasphemy, as defined in some religions or religion-based laws, is an insult that shows contempt, disrespect or lack of reverence concerning a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religious crime, especially the Abrahamic religions, including insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, speaking the "sacred name" in Judaism, and the "eternal sin" in Christianity.
MonolatryMonolatry (monos, and latreia) is the belief in the existence of many gods, but with the consistent worship of only one deity. The term monolatry was perhaps first used by Julius Wellhausen. Monolatry is distinguished from monotheism, which asserts the existence of only one god, and henotheism, a religious system in which the believer worships one god while accepting that others, for example in different areas, may worship different gods with equal validity.
