Testimony (religion)

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The term testimony is not clearly defined and varies depending on the social / denominational context. In general, one can say that "giving witness" is given a higher priority in pietistic communities than in other Christian groups. The religious testimony can also be found in other denominations and religions .

Roman Catholic Church

In the Roman Catholic Church , testimony is called martyrdom and includes the proclamation and spreading of the gospel . It is one of the basic functions of the church.

Evangelical and Pietist View of the Witness

As testimony is by evangelical Christian and these related directions of the report of a personal experience of God or an experienced radical life change that for conversion leads called.

Evangelical , pietistic and free church groups see themselves here in the tradition of the apostles , who, according to biblical tradition in the Acts of the Apostles, were called by the risen Jesus Christ to be his witnesses in Jerusalem , Judea , Samaria to the borders of the earth by being their witnesses pass on their own experiences, share what they have heard and seen, and stand up for their testimony with their lives. These first witnesses were also referred to by the Greek word martys , originally a legal term. The term martyr later developed from this .

Testimonials in this sense can be both short insertions in everyday conversations and lecture-like experience reports. A Christian today can testify to personal experiences of God, but can never replace the original testimony of the first disciples of Jesus with his testimony, as it is reflected in the writings of the New Testament . Testimonies are common in free church services and evangelistic events. Its aim is to prove the old Gospel as current by communicating personal experiences of God . In this context, they are of particular importance in so-called guest worship services . People who are distant from the church and faith are to be conveyed that the Christian faith is not limited to dogmatics and orthodoxy, but has a lively relation to the basic questions and needs of the contemporary. Such testimonials are usually tailored to the topic of the service or the event. In free church and pietistic circles, the quality of sermons is judged, among other things, according to whether they contain testimony-like elements. Whether a sermon has passed through the preacher becomes a decisive criterion for evaluating the sermon. The preacher is seen primarily as a witness of the risen Christ. He is expected to report in connection with the Bible text about what this text did to him and what changed it for him.

Conversion certificate

The conversion testimony is a special form of testimony, which is about a person turning away from his previous world view and turning to Jesus Christ . The starting point of such conversions are both special transcendent experiences and life crises that result in a change of perspective. Conversion certificates can also be found in the New Testament . The best known of them comes from the Apostle Paul in Acts 22 : 1–22.

Quaker certificates

In Quakerism there are also so-called (Quaker) certificates , namely:

  • Peace certificate
  • Testimony of truthfulness
  • Testimony to simplicity
  • Witness of equality

The first is what they are known for today. Testimony is understood here as "You shall recognize them by their fruits." (Matthew 7:16) The Quakers see their way of life as a testimony to their faith and - at least in the beginning - also as a testimony to their orthodoxy. This brought them on the part of the Lutherans the charge of " work righteousness ".

See also

literature

  • Paul E. Little: Spread the word. Witnessing - How Do You Do It? , 1992, ISBN 3-7615-0116-1

Web links