<> Ask the Pastor The Rev. Walter Snyder Today marks the end of the so-called "festival" half of the Church Year. Many churches around the world are today observing Trinity Sunday, a day especially set aside to mark God's revelation of himself as one God, yet three Persons - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Following this day, no "major" church festivals or observances will come until Advent. Last week's column drew several questions and comments, and people have asked about the names of other Christian churches and non-Christian religions. I didn't mean to cheat anyone out of being recognized; space ran out too quickly. The Pentecostal churches are, obviously, named for Pentecost, which marked the special coming of the Holy Spirit to the disciples. These churches took this name to emphasize their focus on the various gifts of the Spirit named in Scripture, with special focus on ecstatic speaking, healing, prophecy, and such. Related to the Pentecostal churches are the various Charismatic groups. The name comes from "charismata," or spiritual gifts. Unlike the Pentecostal churches, the Charismatic movement appears in subgroups within other churches. For example, there are charismatic Catholics, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Methodists, Baptists, and more. Seventh Day Adventism's name comes from two core beliefs of that body. With a strong reliance on the Old Testament Law, based especially on Daniel 7:25, the church determined in its early days that the great antichristian sin was moving the Sabbath into Sunday. Adventism refers to the belief in Christ's visible return, and the establishment of a thousand-year reign on earth. Another Adventist group is Jehovah's witnesses. They are named for whom they claim to believe in and what they desire to do. Jehovah is an altered form of God's revealed Name in the Old Testament. It is formed by using the consonants for the revealed name, "Yahweh," and the vowels in the Hebrew word for Lord, "Adonai." The focus on Jehovah as one God is so strong that the witnesses deny the doctrine of the Trinity. They believe that they are to be active witnesses to the truth of Jehovah's revelations. The "w" in witness is normally written in the lower-case to emphasize the difference between God and man. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) has multiple sources for its name. Joseph Smith founded the body in 1830. He said that Moroni, son of Mormon (who was claimed to be a prophet in the Americas around the 4th Century AD), came to him repeatedly. This was to prepare him to help restore the full Gospel in preparation for the premillenial return of Jesus Christ. Smith said that as he translated the ancient scriptures revealed to him on golden plates, those sections he completed were returned to Moroni. The appellation "Latter-day" refers to the body's end-time beliefs, while "Saints" indicates the members' relationship with God, moral progression in this life, and further progression in the afterlife. The Unitarian Universalist Association, by its very name, stands opposed to much of Christian teaching. Unitarianism grew out of the Congregational churches. The name espouses its chief doctrine, namely, that God is one person, thus denying the Trinity. In 1961, the American Unitarian Association consolidated with the Universalist Church of America. The latter named themselves for their belief in universal salvation: God will destroy all sin and save all mankind. No final judgment will take place, although punishment might extend for a certain period beyond this life for the extremely wicked. Both bodies allowed adherents to believe a variety of teachings, as long as they were not strongly imposed on others. The merger has further opened the Association to allow almost any system of belief within itself. This is reflected in the "Association," which implies much less doctrinal constraint than does the word "church." Have a new question? You can mail (or E-mail) "Ask the Pastor" at PO Box 1080, Jasper, Texas, 75951 (xrysostom@aol.com) or just ask me on the street. Walter Snyder is the pastor of St. Paul and Faith Lutheran Churches, Jasper and Woodville, Texas, and coauthor of "What Do Lutherans Believe? A Study Guide in Christian Teachings for Adults." Copyright (c) 1996 by Walter P. Snyder Permission is granted by author to reproduce or retransmit this by any means, provided that its content is not altered, that this notice of copyright and permission is included, and that no financial gain is realized.