In metaphysics, Aristotelianism had a profound influence on philosophical and theological thinking in the Islamic and Jewish traditions in the Middle Ages, and it continues to influence Christian theology, especially the scholastic tradition of the Catholic Church.

Jewish and Christian music were originally a cappella, and this tradition has existed continuously in both of these religions as well as in Islam.

The first references in the western historical tradition begin at Syracuse in 399 BC and these devices were widely employed by the Roman Legions in Republican times well before the Christian era.

It is widely used by a number of Christian denominations for both liturgical and catechetical purposes, most visibly by liturgical Churches of Western tradition, including the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, Lutheranism, Anglicanism, and Western Orthodoxy.

In Niue, certain activities remain forbidden on Sunday, reflecting the country's history of observing Christian Sabbath tradition.

There is a third view that sees merit in both arguments above and attempts to bridge them, and so cannot be articulated as starkly as they can ; it sees more than one Christianity and more than one attitude towards paganism at work in the poem, separated from each other by hundreds of years ; it sees the poem as originally the product of a literate Christian author with one foot in the pagan world and one in the Christian, himself a convert perhaps or one whose forbears had been pagan, a poet who was conversant in both oral and literary milieus and was capable of a masterful " repurposing " of poetry from the oral tradition ; this early Christian poet saw virtue manifest in a willingness to sacrifice oneself in a devotion to justice and in an attempt to aid and protect those in need of help and greater safety ; good pagan men had trodden that noble path and so this poet presents pagan culture with equanimity and respect ; yet overlaid upon this early Christian poet's composition are verses from a much later reformist " fire-and-brimstone " Christian poet who vilifies pagan practice as dark and sinful and who adds satanic aspects to its monsters.

M. H. Abrams and Stephen Greenblatt assert in their introduction to Beowulf in the Norton Anthology of English Literature that, " The poet was reviving the heroic language, style, and pagan world of ancient Germanic oral poetry it is now widely believed that Beowulf is the work of a single poet who was a Christian and that his poem reflects well-established Christian tradition.

Baptism ( from the Greek noun Βάπτισμα baptisma ; itself derived from baptismos, washing ) is a Christian rite of admission ( or adoption ), almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also a particular church tradition.

Benjamin () was the last-born of Jacob's twelve sons, and the second and last son of Rachel in Jewish, Christian and Islamic tradition.

The combined book Ezra-Nehemiah of the earliest Christian and Jewish period was known as Ezra and was probably attributed to him ; according to a rabbinic tradition, however, Nehemiah was the real author but was forbidden to claim authorship because of his bad habit of disparaging others.

Jewish and Christian tradition held that the entire book is by the 8th century BCE prophet Isaiah, but scholars have concluded since the late 19th century that it cannot be by a single author.

The full title in Hebrew is named after a young woman of Moab, the great-grandmother of David and, according to the Christian tradition, an ancestress of Jesus :, Megillat Ruth, or " the scroll of Ruth ", which places the book as one of the Five Megillot.

Although the date, place, and circumstances of his death are historically unverifiable, Christian tradition holds that Barnabas was martyred at Salamis, Cyprus, in 61 AD.

It is widely used by a number of Christian denominations for both liturgical and catechetical purposes, most visibly by liturgical Churches of Western Christian tradition, including the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church, Lutheranism, Anglicanism, and Western Orthodoxy.

Calvinism ( also called Reformed tradition, or the Reformed faith, and sometimes Reformed theology ) is a type of Protestant theological system and an alternative approach to the Christian life.

In early Christian Ireland the druidic tradition collapsed due to the spread of the new Christian faith.

The Apostles ' Creed is widely used by most Christian denominations for both liturgical and catechetical purposes, most visibly by liturgical Churches of Western tradition, including the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church, Lutheranism, the Anglican Communion, and Western Orthodoxy.

In this connection, it has been observed that the increasing number of Irish Catholics, priests and laity, in England, while certainly seen as good for Catholicism, is nevertheless a source of embarrassment for some of the more nationalistic English Catholics, especially when these Irishmen offer to remind their Christian brethren of this good.

Articles of faith are sets of beliefs usually found in creeds, sometimes numbered, and often beginning with " We believe ...", which attempt to more or less define the fundamental theology of a given religion, and especially in the Christian Church.

He applied this knowledge as preacher, concentrating especially on exegesis of the Old Testament, and his rhetorical abilities impressed Augustine of Hippo, who hitherto had thought poorly of Christian preachers.

The Holy Spirit is shown guiding the decisions and actions of Christian leaders, and the Holy Spirit is said to " fill " the apostles, especially when they preach.

The accusations often assert that the blood of Christian children is especially coveted, and, historically, blood libel claims have been made to account for otherwise unexplained deaths of children.

It states that it is not a totally objectionable thing, but also that its abolishment can be driven by genuine Christian values, especially stressing the need for mercy.

The First Church of Christ, Scientist, is widely known for its publications, especially The Christian Science Monitor, a daily newspaper published internationally in print and on the Internet.

Christian Scientists believe that through scientific study of the inspired word of the Bible, especially Jesus ' words and works, one can learn to heal.

Such sentiments especially grew strong in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when ecumenism evolved out of a liberal, non-sectarian perspective on relations to other Christian groups that accompanied the relaxation of Calvinist stringencies held by earlier generations.

The alliance was especially close in the late 1980s and early 1990s under the leadership of Christian Democrat Helmut Kohl and Socialist François Mitterrand.

Consequent discussions of Christian Gnosticism included pre-Christian religious beliefs and spiritual practices argued to be common to early Christianity, Hellenistic Judaism, Greco-Roman mystery religions, Zoroastrianism ( especially Zurvanism ), and Neoplatonism.

The Persian era, and especially the period 538 – 400, laid the foundations of later Jewish and Christian religion and the beginnings of a scriptural canon.

Each Christian community also had presbyters, as was the case with Jewish communities, who were also ordained and assisted the bishop ; as Christianity spread, especially in rural areas, the presbyters exercised more responsibilities and took distinctive shape as priests.

Such images functioned as powerful relics as well as icons, and their images were naturally seen as especially authoritative as to the true appearance of the subject: naturally and especially because of the reluctance to accept mere human productions as embodying anything of the divine, a commonplace of Christian deprecation of man-made " idols ".

As one of the first great Christian theologians, he emphasized the traditional elements in the Church, especially the episcopate, Scripture, and tradition.

The opening lines of this founding document would declare that the Society of Jesus was founded to " strive especially for the propagation and defense of the faith and progress of souls in Christian life and doctrine.

Having no children, he bequeathed much of his estate to Christian charities, especially those that helped the poor.

" The rise of Christian Zionism — that is, religiously motivated Christian interest and support for the state of Israel — along with a growth of philo-Semitism ( love of the Jewish people ) has increased interest among American Evangelicals in Judaism, especially areas of commonality with their own beliefs, see also Jerusalem in Christianity.

Great numbers of Christian pilgrims visit Israel, especially in times of trouble for the Jewish state, to offer moral support, and return with an even greater sense of a shared Judeo-Christian heritage.

Created for a 1967 Rediffusion series, The Seven Deadly Virtues, Orton's play dealt with charity -- especially Christian charity — in a confusion of adultery and murder.

especially 1 John 1: 1-5 ; 4: 14 ), that he had lived for a long time in Asia Minor, was thoroughly acquainted with the conditions existing in the various Christian communities there, and that he had a position of authority recognized by all Christian communities as leader of this part of the Church.

Lactantius, a Christian apologist of the early 4th century ( deeply hating Decius for the persecution of Christians resulted from his edict on sacrifices ) described the emperor's demise as following:

* Lactantius, De mortibus persecutorum, from Christian Classics Ethereal Library

Diocletian was demonized by his Christian successors: Lactantius intimated that Diocletian's ascendancy heralded the apocalypse, and in Serbian mythology, Diocletian is remembered as Dukljan, the adversary of God.

Lactantius and Rome: The Making of a Christian Empire.

This argument was a type favoured by the ancient Greek skeptics, and may have been wrongly attributed to Epicurus by Lactantius, who, from his Christian perspective, regarded Epicurus as an atheist.

Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius was an early Christian author ( ca.

Lactantius was not born into a Christian family.

Like so many of the early Christian authors, Lactantius depended on classical models.

It can be found in Christian theologian Lactantius's Treatise on the Anger of God where Lactantius critiques the argument.

However, it appears that some contemporary and later writers, such as the Christian author Lactantius, and Sextus Aurelius Victor ( who wrote about fifty years later and from uncertain sources ), misunderstood the Tetrarchic system in this respect, believing it to have involved a stricter division of territories between the four emperors.

* Lactantius ( c. 240 – c. 320 ) Christian theologian, advisor to Constantine I

The early Christian writer Lactantius criticizes Epicurus at several points throughout his Divine Institutes.

This type of trilemma argument ( God is omnipotent, God is good, but Evil exists ) was one favoured by the ancient Greek skeptics, and this argument may have been wrongly attributed to Epicurus by Lactantius, who, from his Christian perspective, regarded Epicurus as an atheist.

* Lactantius, Christian writer ( d. 320 ) ( approximate date )

* Lactantius, Christian writer ( approximate date )

Lactantius recounts that Constantine and his soldiers had a vision of the Christian God promising victory if they daubed the sign of the cross on their shields.

An early Christian source, Lactantius, maintained that for some time prior to his death Valerian was subjected to the greatest insults by his captors, such as being used as a human footstool by Shapur when mounting his horse.

Many Christian writers, including Lactantius, Augustine, Giordano Bruno, Marsilio Ficino, Campanella and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola considered Hermes Trismegistus to be a wise pagan prophet who foresaw the coming of Christianity.

The Christian rhetor Lactantius suggested that Maximian shared Diocletian's basic attitudes but was less puritanical in his tastes, and took advantage of the sensual opportunities his position as emperor offered.

While he was not counted under the persecutors of the Christians by early sources like Lactantius, under the influence of the official propaganda later Christian tradition framed Maxentius as hostile to Christianity as well.

Lactantius ( early Christian author 240 – 320 AD ) about the Getae belief in Zalmoxis provide an approximate translation of Julian the Apostate writing, who put these words in Traian's mouth:

The Christian author Lactantius, claiming the late Republican polymath Varro as his source, describes her as Faunus ' wife and sister, named Fenta Fauna, or Fenta Fatua ( Fenta " the prophetess " or Fenta " the foolish ").

Lactantius, an early Christian author ( ca.

Many Christian writers, including Lactantius, Augustine, Giordano Bruno, Marsilio Ficino, Campanella and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola considered Hermes Trismegistus to be a wise pagan prophet who foresaw the coming of Christianity.