agrapha: From the Greek word for “unwritten,” a technical term in
contemporary scholarship for sayings of Jesus not written down in the New
Testament but found in other writings, such as those of the church fathers.
alien immersion: In Landmarkism, baptism in any non Baptist church—
which, even when it is adult baptism by immersion, as required by Baptist
teaching, is not a true baptism because it is alien to the true church.
allegory: A form of reading, ¿ rst used by pagan writers, in which religious
texts are understood as having hidden, usually philosophical, meaning. In
early Christian theology this is often combined inextricably with typology.
Alumbrados: Spanish for “the illuminated ones,” a mystical movement
in 15th and 16th century Spain, which was rejected by Rome and may have
contributed to the late 16th-century theology of Quietism. (See dejamiento.)
Amish: (See Anabaptists.)
Amyraldianism: Named after Moses Amyraut or Amyraldus, and also
called “hypothetical universalism” or “four point Calvinism” (or “moderate
Calvinism” by its advocates), according to which Christ died for the
redemption of every human being (thus rejecting the doctrine of limited
atonement). However, this redemption is available only on condition that
Christ be accepted in faith, which is done only by those to whom God
chooses to give the gift of faith (thus af¿ rming the doctrine of unconditional
election). Richard Baxter was its most important advocate among the
English Puritans.
Anabaptists: From the Greek term for “rebaptizers,” a name given them by
their opponents. This Protestant movement originated mainly in German-
speaking lands in the 16th century, known for rejecting infant baptism (which
means they did not think people baptized as infants received true Christian
baptism, and thus they did not think it was “rebaptism” when they baptized
adults who had been baptized as infants). They are not to be confused with
Baptists, who also rejected infant baptism but who arose in England in the
17 th century. The best known Anabaptist groups today are the Mennonites
and the Amish.