Reason. The mental activity that enables a person to think, know, and understand. There is no single Hebrew or Greek term exactly equivalent to the English “reason.” Instead, Scripture speaks of kno…

Hymns, Early Christian. Religious songs that early Christians sang in honor of God. Religious services were joyful occasions for the early Christians and a fitting opportunity to sing praises to God…

Hedonism. An ethical and philosophical outlook that regards pleasure as the chief good of life (from Gr. hedone , “pleasure”). Psychological hedonism holds that people in fact always seek pleasure …

Birthright (Heb. bekhorah ; Gk. prototokia ). The special status and right attributed to the firstborn son. The Old Testament contains eight verses discussing the concept of birthright (Gen 25:31–…

Baptism of Jesus. This event refers to Jesus’s baptism by John the Baptist at the Jordan River and is mentioned in the four Gospels (Matt 3:13–17; Mark 1:9–11; Luke 3:21–22; John 1:29–34). Jesus’s b…