This is my understanding of certain theological, and other specialized, words - so when I use them, this is what I mean.
Theology: is literally the study of God, but is used to refer to a broad rage of religious and spiritual studies.
Sin: is the failure to do and be that which one was created for. It is not merely the violation of rules and regulations. It is the breaking of creation’s shalom/harmony. The natural consequence of this brokenness is death.
Salvation: is the fixing of – the making good – the broken creature so that it may not die. It is not merely going to heaven when one dies. It is the restoring of shalom/harmony and righteousness.
Sanctification: is to be made holy, which means to be set apart for a special purpose or task. Christians, including me, use the word to identify the temporal process by which a person is eventually cleansed from all sin and corruption of the mind and body.
Righteousness: is right standing before God. It is to be seen as good and whole.
Shalom: is complete peace, harmony and balance in creation. Peace in this sense is not merely the absence of violence it is an active prosperity.
Emerging Church: is an extremely loose term which can refer to a wide variety of churches. The movement is diverse. It encompasses different denominations, beliefs, styles, ages, ethnicities. The one thing they all have in common is that they are questioning the way evangelicals have been doing things the last few years, or so. What is emerging is the emerging church. It's not the same thing as the emergent church, which is an actual organization.
