The Encyclopedia of World Religions

eschatology S 135

sacred scriptures of C HRISTIANITY . Of the 21 epistles in the New Testament, 13 are said to be by the apostle P AUL , one by J AMES , two by P ETER , three by John, and one by Jude. The Epistle to the Hebrews was attributed to Paul by tradition but does not actually bear his name and is now believed to be by another hand. Many scholars believe that some of the epis tles were not written by the attributed apostolic author but by admirers or followers of the apostle writing in his name, a common practice in ancient times. However, the earliest of the epistles, prob ably including those generally recognized as hav ing been written by Paul himself—those to the Thessalonians, the Corinthians, the Romans, the Galatians, the Philippians, and Philemon—repre sent the earliest Christian literature, that written closest to the time of Jesus. Only a little later are several other epistles, including Ephesians and those attributed to Peter, James, and John. However, neither those nor any other of the epistles contain much about the actual life of Jesus, apart from his death on the CROSS and his RESURRECTION . Their emphasis is basically the meaning of those events and the way to lead a Christian life. Later epistles, such as I and II Timothy, Titus, II Peter, and Jude, deal more and more with sound doctrine and good order in the young churches. Other early Christian epistles, such as those of Barnabas, Clement of Rome, and Ignatius of Antioch, were and still are read for inspiration but are not included in the New Testament. See also APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE ; A POCRYPHA ; N EW T ESTAMENT . eschatology Religious doctrines about the end of human life and the end of the world. The word basically means the “study of the last things.” Religiously, the “last things” can be seen as either gloomy, the “twilight of the gods” or descent into an underworld like the Greek Hades or the Hebrew Sheol, or glorious, the RESURRECTION of the body and the new HEAVEN and earth ( see AFTERLIFE IN WORLD RELIGIONS ). Individual eschatology includes

and Episcopalianism mean “having bishops” and refer to the way church governance is centered on the role of bishops as leaders of dioceses, which include all churches in a geographical area. Bish ops alone can ordain PRIESTS and other ministers. In this and other ways, this church follows traditional Catholic patterns of organization and worship, though it also has a Protestant side emphasizing the Bible, preaching, and freedom of individual interpretation. The Anglican tradition that was to become the Episcopal church first came to America in 1607, with the establishment of an English colony and church at Jamestown, Virginia. By the time of the Revolutionary War, Anglican churches were found throughout the Thirteen Colonies. After the war they separated from the Church of England, form ing the Episcopal Church. They were led by bish ops consecrated to that office by bishops of the Episcopal Church of Scotland, the minority Angli can church there, since relations with the Church of England were still difficult. The Episcopal Church spread west with the new nation, although its greatest numbers have remained on the eastern seaboard. In 2004 it had nearly two and a half mil lion members in some 7,400 churches. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries the Episcopal Church was convulsed by divi sive issues. One was whether women should be ordained to the priesthood. Another centered on a new, considerably changed edition of the Book of Common Prayer. Commonly called the Prayer Book, this book contains the forms of worship used in church. (Episcopal churches are supposed to follow a set LITURGY and RITUAL .) Both the ordi nation of women and the new Prayer Book were authorized by the church’s General Convention in 1976. Then controversy arose over the ordination of homosexuals. Some dissenters left the Episcopal Church because of these issues, but the majority have adapted to change. See also A NGLICANISM .

epistles In the N EW T ESTAMENT , letters attributed to one of the APOSTLES of J ESUS , and included in the